Third, I want to fellowship with all of you about how to use the Life-study messages. We have been exercising here for half a year and have learned some things. But one of the problems with the home meetings is that people are on different levels. No two persons are on the same level. In a home meeting there may be those who have been saved for many years, those who are newly saved, and some who are not yet saved. There may even be some who are hearing the gospel for the first time. Although everyone is different, please do not be bothered. The key to meeting is not to be afraid of anything. For example, we may be scheduled to read Galatians 5:16-19 this Saturday. Even if some gospel friends show up, we can still use these verses to preach the gospel. The home meetings are all in the brothers’ and sisters’ homes. One sits here; another sits there. One comes early; another comes late. Everyone speaks a little, and there is no need for any formality. This is the best point about the home meetings.
There is another principle that I would ask you to keep. Every time we come to meet, we are meeting around the Lord’s Word, contacting the Word and getting help from the Lord. The help the Lord gives us never comes apart from the Word. This is like the current of electricity flowing into a building; it never comes apart from the wires. If there are no wires, the electricity in the generating plant will never come over to the house. The Lord’s Word is like the wire. In every meeting we should eat and drink the Lord’s word. This is one point that we must grasp firmly. The home meeting only lasts an hour and a half. If we do not make good use of the time, before we know it, forty-five minutes will be gone. If we let a few say some more unrelated things here and there, another half hour will fly away. After the one and a half hours, although the atmosphere is good and everyone is happy, no one received any practical help. If one does not get any supply in the meeting, he probably will not want to come again.
Every home meeting must have some core members. The core members should grasp the opportunity. Do not let time slip away. Instead, bring out the Lord’s Word and read it. Perhaps we are not too accustomed to doing this. Our habit is to sing a hymn, have some prayers, read the Bible, and then give some testimonies. We are not accustomed to carrying on a meeting according to the Lord’s Word. We must all exercise to get into the Lord’s Word properly in the meetings. This does not mean that we cannot give testimonies of our daily life in the meetings. It only means that we must testify according to the Lord’s Word.
Let us take the morning watch I just spoke of as an example. A brother said, “It is most difficult for us brothers to stay in spirit when we speak to our wives.” At that point a brother should have followed with a testimony like this: “You are absolutely right. Last night as I was speaking to my wife, although I did not lose my temper or get angry, under the light now I see that what I said to my wife was totally not in spirit. At that time I talked about how this brother and that sister were, how the meeting was, how the church was. I spoke about spiritual things, but I was not in my spirit.” This kind of testimony is very precious.
If we do not have a proper testimony along this track, it is better for us not to speak. Sometimes the testimonies given by the brothers and sisters in the meetings are not on the track of the Lord’s Word. They speak about the North Pole and about the South Pole; there is no track at all. If we do not take the Lord’s Word as the track in our testimonies, our speaking will not carry any weight.
In the home meetings we should bring out the Lord’s Word and have everyone read it. If there is anything that we do not understand, we should refer to the footnotes together. First pick up the facts, and then find the explanation. Read in a living way. After reading the Recovery Version, read the Life-study messages. The home meeting is not a Bible class in a seminary. We do not need to go through every chapter, every verse, and every word. The home meetings are “eating” meetings. When we invite people to come, we should only think about how to feed them. It is like going to the market to buy a chicken to cook for the family. First, you need to pluck the feathers and peel off the skin. Then you need to cut off the beak and the claws. Last, you need to cook the plump, tender part of the chicken in a tasty way. Only then can you bring it to the table and invite your guests to dine.
In every home meeting, I have noticed that the brothers and sisters offer people an abundance of physical food. Everyone eats very well. But I am afraid that after attending such a home meeting, many people still go away hungry in spirit. We all need to change our concept. Every Saturday, when we come together, do not be so polite. The most important thing is to spread out the Lord’s word as a feast. You brothers and sisters who are the core members should be well prepared on Saturday afternoon for the meeting that evening. Look up some verses in the Recovery Version. Read the footnotes carefully. You do not need to read all the footnotes; just read the important ones. Whatever you do, you are preparing a meal. When the people come, you should know how to bring out the tasty dishes. In this way everyone will be well fed and happy.