John chapter one shows us that after Andrew met the Lord, immediately he found his own brother and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (v. 41). He then led him to see Jesus. When Philip met the Lord, he went and found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and prophets, wrote” (v. 45). Nathanael had more knowledge than Philip did. He said, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” (v. 46). He was right, for the Old Testament clearly records that Christ would come out of the city of David. After such a word, even Philip became confused. He did not know what to say. Then he came up with a solution: “Come and see.” This is a good way. He took Nathanael to see Jesus. Here we see two pairs: Andrew bringing Peter to the Lord, and Philip bringing Nathanael to Jesus. The two of them each brought one sheep with them.
In Acts chapter ten, Cornelius sent for Peter. Before Peter arrived, Cornelius had called together his relatives and intimate friends, and they were waiting for Peter. This is a pattern for us to follow. When a home meeting is held in your house, the first people you should invite are your relatives and intimate friends. Fill the house with them.
In Acts 16:31, Paul told the jailer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.” In this verse we do not see any word concerning bringing a sheep. However, as soon as one believes in the Lord, he will immediately think of his household: his parents, wife, children, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins. All these are one’s “household.” The scope of this household is extremely broad. Strictly speaking, this whole household is your “kids.” You must take them along.
The United States immigration law provides that entrance to the United States is based upon two principles: humanitarian considerations and family reunion. It is this principle of family reunion that has caused trouble for the United States. For example, perhaps I may enter the United States first. But I have parents, brothers, and sisters with me. They are my direct relatives. Of course, I have my wife and children as well. When they all enter the United States, my sister-in-law has her parents and, of course, brothers and sisters too. With such connections, the Chinese are all over the United States, and are giving the Americans a big headache. My point is that a big number may give the United States a big headache, but it will never give the heavenly kingdom any headache.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.” You may extend the scope of the word household as widely as you like. I have seven families connected to me by marriage. And these seven families have more families connected to them by marriage. All these are our close relatives. We cannot see them die. We must bring them to salvation.
Now you will probably tell me, “Brother Lee, I have believed in the Lord for five years, but my wife absolutely refuses to believe.” I have heard this kind of word. My answer to that is, “Go home, and do not talk to her about Jesus any more; neither pray in her presence. She is tired of hearing about Jesus. You must find out what your wife wants from you. If she is upset about your coming home late at night, you have to learn the lesson. You should sacrifice the meeting a little to get home earlier.” Perhaps you would say, “Do you mean you want me to go home before the meeting is over?” That is right. You either sacrifice the meeting, or you sacrifice your wife. You have to choose between the two. To save your wife you must sacrifice the meeting. If you do this, after two months your wife’s opposition to Jesus will gradually go away.
I know that some sisters really love the Lord. However, their dispositions are too strong. Since the day they were married, their husbands have been under their control. When they were saved, their husbands were hoping that their temper would change. Eventually their temper did improve a little. But their dispositions remained quite strong. They forced their husbands to go their way. They would even force their husbands to believe in Jesus. The husbands would think that this Jesus is too terrible. Before their wives were saved, they were not as forceful. But now they are forcing them even to go to meetings. The more they do that, the more the husbands will just refuse to go. Sisters, I advise you to let go. Do not pressure your husbands anymore to believe in the Lord. You have to learn the lessons. You must learn to accommodate them. When you are fully changed, they will easily believe.
I know that many parents learn much in leading their children to believe in the Lord. Some parents have strong personalities. Their children have been taught to be obedient since their youth. But in their hearts they do not necessarily like their parents’ personalities. When they are forced to believe in the Lord one day, they will refuse. Brother Nee’s salvation had much to do with his mother’s change. His mother was a shrewd wife at home. She never admitted mistakes to her husband and children. But one day she was saved. When she went home, the first thing she did was to admit her mistakes in tears to Brother Nee. Such a change in the shrewd mother’s personality moved the son. Because of that, he went to hear the gospel. When he heard it, he was saved.
Some parents are thoughtless and attend few meetings after they are saved, but their children are very spiritual. This shows us a general tendency: those of us who greatly love the Lord easily alienate our children by our zeal. Some mothers love the Lord very much. They rank first in attending meetings. But they have no way to bring their children to the Lord. The reason for this is that they are too strong. The same principle applies to all of us. We must bring people in, not by our zeal but by our gentleness. Everyone who wants to bring in others should learn to be as yielding as paste. The main characteristic of paste is that it is very accommodating. You can spread paste on anything, be it a flat surface, a sharp corner, or a crooked edge.