The basic supply in a meeting comes from God’s Word; the basic vitality, motivation, or power in a meeting comes from the Holy Spirit. The Lord has given us two great gifts: one is His divine Word, which is the Bible; the other is the Holy Spirit, who is the source of our motivation, vitality, and power. Whether it be a big meeting or a small meeting, for the meeting to be rich and strong there must be the word of the Lord and the Spirit. Some think that if you have the Holy Spirit, you have the Lord’s word. Actually, to pay attention to the Spirit without the Lord’s Word results in poverty. The Bible says that the word is related to the Spirit (Eph. 6:17; John 6:63). For all these years, the reason we in the Lord’s recovery have been so blessed by the Lord has been because of the Lord’s word and the Lord’s truth.
In the home meetings we must promote the Lord’s Word. To make our meetings strong and rich, we must learn to use the Life-studies. The Life-studies can assist us in our Bible study in the same way that a good machine can assist us in accomplishing something. The Life-study is in your hand; you need to learn how to use it. We hope that in two meetings a home meeting would finish one Life-study Message. When you attend the home meeting, you must not divide the message rigidly: you see that it has eight pages, so you read four this time and four the next time, like a quack doctor performing a surgery. Instead, you should consider the sections. The first time you read a new book, you have to study the background. The second time you should study the subject. If we intend to study the Life-studies well in the home meetings, when we come to points of truth in messages, we need to speak them properly, emphasizing the important points and spending a little more time on them. In this way the message can be studied thoroughly.
It is even better if, before the home meeting, every brother and sister would read the message once, and have some digestion and prior preparation. During the meeting, the brothers who are the core members, who are stronger in knowledge, richer in life, and better in utterance, should all bear the responsibility to explain the new terms so that everyone can receive the benefit. When it comes to the crucial points, there may be some spontaneous pray-reading. At this time if some are touched, some prayers can be offered. Or perhaps some, after hearing the words of the message, may recall their past experiences and offer some fellowship. Or some, having eaten and having been satisfied, may recall a song with grace in their hearts, and everyone may sing together. If there is no song and no inspiration, do not just carelessly select a hymn to sing. This is like forcing a denture into someone’s mouth.
We see clearly that the building of the church is based on home meetings. Then who builds the home meetings? Not the co-workers nor the elders, but the brothers and sisters. The home meeting is the touchstone (a test for determining the quality or genuineness) of the building of the church. The church is built on this foundation.
According to the present situation, the first thing that the home meetings need to do is to restore those who have not been meeting for a long time. We hope that all the brothers and sisters will be mobilized to seek out, according to their addresses, those who have not been meeting for a long time and restore them to attend the home meetings. The second thing is to motivate every brother and sister, whether old or young, as long as he has a house, to open his house at least once every two weeks. You should have a gospel meeting in the home every other week. You need to gradually educate and enlighten people in the home meetings, providing them with the gospel materials and encouraging them to speak for the Lord and to open their homes. From house to house, every house should preach the gospel. The third thing is to do your best to keep people coming to the meetings. When a person comes, stick to that one; you must keep him. The responsibility for keeping people cannot rest on the elders, co-workers, or a few people. The responsibility for keeping the people must rest on the home meeting, that is, on all the brothers and sisters. This is a great responsibility for the home meeting. The fourth thing is to strengthen the home meetings. To have rich meetings, you must work the Lord’s word richly into the home meetings. The fifth thing is to cause the home meetings to reach God’s purpose for the church. The Lord desires to gain a living Body to express Him on the earth.