How should we meet? The meeting we have for exercising gifts often does not reach the level described in 1 Corinthians 14. A gift-exercising meeting is not a meeting for bread breaking, or for giving messages. It is a meeting where all the saved ones come together to exercise their spiritual gifts. If a person has a prayer, a testimony, or a psalm, he can use his gift in the meeting. More than twenty years ago we hoped that our fellowship meeting would reach the level of everyone using their gifts as described in 1 Corinthians 14. In practice, however, as the years went by, it became more and more difficult to attain this goal in the fellowship meeting; hence, we had a heavy burden inwardly and felt that we needed to change the meeting. We saw that in order to have a gift-exercising meeting, we must pay attention to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The meeting for using the gifts in 1 Corinthians 14 is inseparable from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we need to lead the saints to pursue both the infilling and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
When a meeting has fallen into a deadened and downward situation, it means that there are no gifts and no way to use the gifts. This is due to the brothers and sisters not experiencing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The use of gifts requires the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Surely this requires exercise. First Corinthians 14 is an exercise. Such an exercise should begin with the responsible ones. This means that when the saints come together, they need to exercise according to the grace and the gifts that they have received. This requires that all the responsible ones exercise in this matter.
The responsible brothers should take the lead to exercise and bring such an atmosphere of exercise to the meetings. In this way all the brothers will gradually have some gifts. When a brother stands up and reads a portion from the Bible, there will be much light and people will feel happy. Then when another brother stands up and gives a word of encouragement, the saints will be inwardly lifted up. In order to have such an atmosphere in the meetings, the responsible ones need to take the lead to exercise.
We must maintain the purpose of meeting in the districts. The meetings in the homes are entirely according to the nature of the church and not according the nature of a ministry meeting. If our intention is to give a message, there is no need to divide up the meetings into districts. Meeting in the districts is not for a minister of the word to release a message to God’s children; these meetings are absolutely in mutuality and for the whole church. If we feel that we have a message to release to God’s children, it is right to release it in a ministry meeting. In the district meetings, however, there must be an opportunity for all the saints to serve. I hope that God will have mercy on us and cause us to see that we are not serving merely as individuals but that we need to enable the brothers and sisters to serve together. The district meeting is not for one person to speak while the rest listen. This meeting is for the brothers and sisters to serve together.
An entire district meeting should be used to help the brothers and sisters serve together according to the five points mentioned above. If a brother intends to give a message in the Bible-reading meeting on Saturday, it is wrong. He is changing the nature of the Bible-reading meeting to that of a ministry meeting. Instead, the intention of the Bible-reading meeting is that all the saints read the Lord’s word together. They need the Lord to have mercy on them, to give them light, and to pour out His Spirit upon them so that they can be bold and open their mouths to read the word in a released way. If we have such an intention, we will pray accordingly, and we will help the saints to see that each one of them is responsible to open his mouth to speak God’s word.
Furthermore, we need to be wise in how we begin a meeting so that people’s spirit will be opened up, and we will be able to lead the meeting in a living way. For instance, we must take care of the fact that a certain brother is moved by the Spirit to speak something. If we help him a little, he will be able to speak next time. Practicing in this way for three or four weeks will create an atmosphere among the saints so that when they come together, each one will immediately open his mouth to speak. Thus, the purpose of our meeting in the districts will be fulfilled.
We should never think that the saints do not know how to function and that we should take their place and do everything for them. The saints have heard enough messages. Now they need practical exercise, practical help, in order to practice the things that they have heard. They do not need one man speaking and the rest listening. Instead, the responsible ones need to take the lead and help the brothers and sisters to use their gifts and exercise according to what they have heard. We should not expect this work to proceed quickly, nor should we expect it to take shape within a week. This is impossible. This kind of work is a cultivating work that requires a long time. A flower or a plant requires more than one or two days of watering. Some flowers require six months of cultivation before they blossom, and some trees require two to five years of cultivation before they bear fruit.
A meeting in a home is like a garden. We cannot expect leaves to sprout after we pray only a few times. Likewise, we need to cultivate the meetings, helping the brothers and sisters to use their gifts. Perhaps after six months our “little garden” will sprout leaves or bloom. Eventually, the meeting in the home will become a beautiful garden. In other words, when all the saints come together, they will use their gifts. Everyone will speak, one for three minutes, another for five minutes, and still another for seven minutes. All will speak in a fresh way.
Right now the need is for the responsible ones to take the lead to practice perfecting the saints, watering them, and helping them to grow. Gradually, the saints will receive this way of meeting with joy and want to participate even more. The saints will enjoy coming to the meetings and will also bring others. Our gospel has not been effective because we have not been able to hold and support the new ones. We were able to give birth to new ones, but we could not raise them up. This was not because we did not love the Lord or were not capable but because we lost the supporting and holding ability.
Our present endeavor is to make our meetings smaller in order to increase our ability to support and hold. We do not need to preach the gospel to more people. Instead, we should find those who can feed others. Preaching the gospel fervently is no longer sufficient. We need to aggressively find those who can hold and support others. If we want to beget children, we need to prepare a home for them.
I hope that the responsible ones will not remain in the theory but will put everything into practice. If we succeed in this exercise, all the ones who attend the meetings will be supported. Then it will not be difficult for fifteen hundred people to support an additional fifteen hundred. After six months we will have sixty homes and five thousand saints meeting. Then our baptisms will be fresh, and under such circumstances there will be strong support for many new ones. For this reason, we must render practical help in all the districts. All the responsible brothers and sisters should help the saints practically rather than merely giving them messages.