In light of the present situation we are in, what shall we do? I have studied our situation thoroughly and I feel that nothing can attract and move the present middle-aged American Caucasians unless they see the vitality among us. To be vital means to be living and active. If a group of people are meeting together and are a real vital group—living and active—whoever comes in and sees this will be convinced. If we are so vital and some seeking ones come in among us, they will be caught by the Lord. Vitality is the most convincing factor.
If we do not have vital groups, we will have no prevailing way to gain the middle-class Caucasians. If we are vital, sooner or later, in our neighborhood and among our relatives, colleagues, classmates, and friends, we will meet some seeking ones. The seeking ones care for our vitality, for our being living and active.
The truth has an amount of influence with people, but it depends upon who passes on the truth. If you are a vital person, the truth will be effective. If you are not a vital person, others will not be convinced. They will think that you just have some good talk but are really no different than they are. If we bring some new ones to our meeting, and our meeting is dormant, we will not convince them.
This is the reason that we are stressing the vital groups. If we do not have the vital groups, we will still survive as the Lord’s recovery. We will still exist, but there will not be much hope of getting the typical American increase. The only convincing factor we could have is the vital groups. If we are not vital, we are finished.
Since we love the Lord and we are for the Lord’s recovery, what shall we do? We have to be vital at any cost. We have no choice. We must learn diligently and practice absolutely to be vital; then there is much possibility for us to gain a good number of the seeking ones. These seeking ones caught by us will spread the news. They will say, “I am now meeting in a group full of vitality. Come and see.” This kind of news will not be appreciated by the general Christians, but some real seeking ones will be attracted. Through this fellowship, I hope we realize where we are and what we need to be.
Now that we have begun to get into the field of contacting others, there are many lessons for us to learn. We can spend only a certain amount of time to recover the backsliding ones, because we have the sinners and the new ones waiting for our help. When we contact a backsliding one, the first thing we have to learn is how to say something definite and to the point. If a certain brother is backslidden and has been distracted for years, we need to have a thorough fellowship with him to find out where he stands. Then we can give him the appropriate antidote. To give people the proper antidote, we need to learn much. If we talk too much, that would not work. If we talk too little, that is not adequate.
We may spend the next two or three months to contact the other saints among us. Then we need to contact the unbelieving sinners. If we can get a backsliding one recovered, that is wonderful. If we cannot get him recovered, we still should not be disappointed, because we have sown something into him. I want to encourage us to learn something as we endeavor to contact others.
As we contact others, we need to exercise our spirit so that the Spirit may have a way to move on. Quite often, what we speak would not work, but what we express, what we impress people with, is what works. Maybe our words will not influence someone but what we are will. If we have something real and living of the Lord, this will impress people. Quite often, this impression will not work out something right away. Maybe after six months, someone would be brought back to the Lord through the impression which he received of you. There is no need for us to be disappointed, because we are sowing. With any kind of sowing, there is a reaping.
I advise you all to learn to exercise your spirit. Even when some of us share in the meeting, we do not have an impressing spirit. Whenever you speak something in the meetings, you should exercise your spirit. In order to say something concerning the Lord to help people, you need to exercise your spirit. Then the Holy Spirit will move on. If someone is down or discouraged and listens to the speaking of some who are so vital, he will become vitalized.
It is so easy for us to remain in our oldness. What we speak may be good, but it will not be effectual if we do not have our spirit exercised with the Holy Spirit expressed. If we do not exercise our spirit, our sharing cannot be a real spiritual help to others. We must learn to exercise our spirit in everything.
We need to make everything we do definite through our prayer and with our experience of the Spirit. Then we have to match the Spirit with our exercise of our spirit. We need these two things: to experience the Spirit and to match it with the exercise of our spirit. We are all short of this. When we come together in our group meetings, we must exercise our spirit and speak with our spirit.
When you exercise your spirit, you give the Spirit who is indwelling you the way to take action. Then some riches of Christ will come out of you. If you ask certain ones who have a quiet disposition to speak loudly, this will put them on the cross. But if these ones are filled inwardly with the Spirit and experience the outpouring of the Spirit, they will change and become different persons. We should not remain in our oldness and in our old habit. Whenever we function we must exercise our spirit. The Spirit goes along with our voice. If our voice is not released, the Spirit will not be released. Certain quiet and shy ones need to learn to exercise their spirit and their voice so that the Holy Spirit can be expressed.
I want to see your improvement in this matter. I have been improving for over sixty years, and I am still endeavoring to improve. I am not satisfied. I am not content with what I am. I hope that we will all learn to exercise our spirit to make some real progress in our Christian life.
The Christian life actually is just the life of the Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit, and the only way to get into this Holy Spirit is to pray. Only prayer can usher you into the Spirit. When you pray adequately, spontaneously you will have the infilling of the Spirit and the outpouring of the Spirit. I encourage you all to pray, not lightly but thoroughly.
Each week you need to have a group meeting, and you also need to set aside a day or an evening for the purpose of contacting people. You need these two times weekly. These are additional to the prayer meeting of the church and the Lord’s table meeting. In our group meeting in these days, we have to pray for our work of contacting people. Then we should fellowship about the situation with our contacts, so that we can study their cases, fellowship about them, and receive the mutual help. After your study, we should pray again. This kind of practice will be very practical, useful, and vital. Then you can decide whom you should contact and by what way. We have to believe that what we are doing by the vital groups will not be in vain, because this is a very practical sowing. Surely there will be the real reaping.
Accompanying this message, on page 247, is an outline entitled How to Classify People for Gospel Preaching. This publication gives a list of twenty different kinds of people. This was done in 1954 in Taipei when we had a training course for service. In the past I also put out a list of prevailing verses to match the different categories of people. We need to consider the appropriate verses to use when we contact certain people. The twenty categories of people we have classified for gospel preaching are as follows:
The accompanying outline gives basic instructions concerning how to take care of each of these categories of people. I would encourage you to read this, study it, and fellowship with others about it, but do not apply the things in it in a legal way. You have to build up yourself with this kind of practical knowledge. Then when you talk to people, spontaneously you will know how to handle them according to what kind of persons they are.
Also accompanying this message, on page 253, is an outline entitled How to Produce and Establish a Vital Group in the Church Life. I hope that we will read and study this outline prayerfully so that we can be made vital and go to vitalize others.