One very necessary matter is that all the saints must learn how to pray in a living way and how to read the Word to feed on the Lord in the spirit. All the saints must learn the lesson to rise up a little earlier to have a time with the Lord, to pray in a living way, and to read the Word to feed on the Lord. We should check ourselves concerning these things. Do not listen to vain talk about doctrines, sovereign will, and absolute grace. Rather, check concerning people’s living. At what time does someone rise in the morning? What is he doing at 6:00 A.M.? If a brother or sister does not know how to rise early in the morning to contact the Lord with living prayer and living reading of the Word, yet this one speaks much doctrine, we should not listen. Rather, this one should be reproved. We may say, “Brother, I do not care for your talk. I would check you by your living, not by your talk. I advise you to rise early in the morning. Do not love your bed more than you love the Lord.” However, I do not see those who speak much about doctrine come often to morning watch.
I do not believe in vain talk. Rather, we must have a practical living. All the dear brothers and sisters must be helped to practice the normal, practical Christian living. We are children of God. Therefore, day by day we need to contact the Lord in a living way. We need to know how to pray to Him and how to read His Word. We need to have a living contact with Him day by day. Then based on this, we need to deal with our motive, intention, desire, conscience, and relationships with others. This is practical. Whether or not we know what sovereign will is means nothing. What is truly sovereign is that we learn how to have a practical living and bear a burden for young ones, for spiritual children, caring for them and feeding them all the time. We should always be bearing a responsibility for two or three, or five or six, unbelievers, praying for them, bringing their names into the presence of the Lord, watching for them, crying to the Lord for them, and finding a time to bring them to the Lord and to help them to know the Lord. These are the necessary things.
Do not stay in your sitting rooms to have vain talk. Whenever the church has a meeting, come to the meeting. I am sorry to see that some do not come to our prayer meeting. Where are they? Are they sitting in their living room talking about vain things? Come to the church meeting to function, to build up others and to be built up by others. These are the practical things. Forgive me if this offends you. I am a frank brother, and I cannot stand to see the saints going astray. I like to see them going on in the proper way.
We need something practical and real. If we still have the distracting things, there is no need to meet together here. There are many Christian “bodies.” You can go there to talk with them, because they are for the teachings. We, however, are not for the teachings. We are here for a practical life to experience Christ and to come together to express Him. We do not care for the doctrines. We look to the Lord to rescue us from going astray, to deliver us from the distracting elements.
I exercise my heart and my spirit much to look to the Lord that from now on the church will go on in a very practical way to help the saints, not to gain more knowledge but to put all the instruction we have received into practice, to deal with all these things, not to criticize or condemn but to fellowship with one another, to help others, and to be willing to be helped. Then we can go on in a practical way, and we will have the real growth. We will see the glory of the Lord among us, and His glory will fill us. Then we will render help to many others; that is, we will minister Christ to them. Whenever people come into our meetings, they will not sense teachings or something else, but the anointing and the gracious presence of the Lord. Many people will be saved in the way of life, and we will help them to know Christ in the way of life. This is what the Lord is seeking after today. This is our burden, and we all have to pray and plan for this. I beg you, not that you would cooperate with me-I am nothing-but that you would cooperate with the dear Lord for His recovery. I assure you that if we go on in this way, we will see His blessing on us. On the other hand, however, I must warn you that if you are doing something against this recovery, I am concerned for you. Some vindication may come from the Lord.
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