The meetings and services in the past did not create enough opportunities for the saints to serve. In the past, on the one hand, we brought people to be regenerated and to grow. On the other hand, we took away their opportunity to serve. Today, everywhere abounds with opportunity, from preaching the gospel by visitation, through the home meetings, to the small group meetings and the district meetings. At the same time, the Lord’s grace is waiting there. If you do not know how to take care of a home meeting or a small group meeting, the church has the direction, and everyone can learn together. In the district meetings, everyone can prophesy, speaking the Lord’s word and speaking for the Lord. Even if you say that you cannot do it, there is grace waiting for you to learn and to pick it up. Recently, many brothers and sisters who have been saved for only half a year have been standing up to prophesy in the meetings. The words they release are very fresh. This is a good sign. At present, opportunity to serve abounds everywhere.
The practice of the new way also affords the saints a chance to let out a breath of life, which is their desire to serve the Lord. When I was young, it was difficult to find an opportunity to serve. I attended worship services from my youth until I was twenty-six years old. During that time, no one ever asked me to pray, and I never dared to pray. When I was twenty-six, I attended a Bible study meeting. An older brother there who knew me realized that I loved the Lord. During one of the meetings, he called my name and asked me to offer a prayer. On the one hand, I was afraid. On the other hand, I felt privileged. Every one of us who is saved and loves the Lord has a desire to serve the Lord. There is a breath which we are ready to let out. Now the practice of the new way enables us to let out this breath of desire for serving the Lord.
In order to meet the Lord’s present need, we must first recall our past experiences and vision. I believe all of you have had some experiences and some vision in the past. Now we have to recall them. Second, we have to respond to the Lord’s attraction and calling. The fact that you are here today proves that the Lord has attracted you from within. In this attraction there is a calling that calls us to meet the need of the Lord in the new way today. Third, we have to renew our past commitment and consecration. In the past, many of us have had a heart for the Lord and have consecrated ourselves to the Lord. Now we need to have these renewed. Fourth, we need to set aside some time and specifically budget our lives. We have to set down some guidelines for our lives. In our daily lives, we should set aside some time for the service of the Lord. Fifth, we have to meet the different needs of the saints. There are the following four needs:
(1)Visit people to preach the gospel and to gain new ones. The practice of knocking on doors to visit people for the preaching of the gospel is absolutely correct. It should not be stopped. The only problem is that in the past few years we have knocked on too many doors and have saved too many people. We need a time of digestion.
(2)Regularly and consistently help the new ones in the home meetings. To help the new ones to have home meetings is a work that needs to be done regularly. We should visit them at least once a week.
(3)Diligently learn to help the small group meetings. All who have worked in the communities know that it is not easy to conduct a home meeting or a small group meeting. Especially the young saints, whose experience in the human life is not rich, find it hard to help others when family and marriage problems are involved. We have to learn all these things. For this purpose, the church also should give training of all kinds.
(4)Pursue seriously functioning and prophesying in the district meetings. This also requires a lot of learning. Now that we have the New Testament Recovery Version, it should help us somewhat in prophesying. For example, in the Chinese Recovery Version there is a footnote to John 3:16 for the word “world.” One day I came across this footnote and was very much impressed by it. This note describes man from his fall, with the poison of the serpent injected into him, until the New Jerusalem, where he becomes God’s eternal expression. You should first study such a note at home and digest it a little. Then practice speaking it. In this way, you will be able to function and to prophesy when you come to the meetings.
Our life is to live Christ. Our goal is the building up of the Body of Christ. The result is the reward in the kingdom. This is the glorious life and the glorious goal for those saints who practice the new way.
(A message given by Brother Witness Lee in Taipei on May 22, 1988)
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