Here is a practical example. During the years that I served in the church in Chefoo, I devoted my attention, my heart, and my time to the church. My home was next door to the meeting hall. Every morning I went to the hall at eight and worked on various things. I went home at noon for lunch and a brief rest and then returned to the hall. Before the evening meeting I went home for dinner, after which I returned to the meeting hall and stayed there until ten o’clock at night. I did this seven days a week without any holidays. Nevertheless, none of the church affairs were in my hand. During the Sino-Japanese War, I was arrested and put into prison. After my release from prison, I contracted a serious illness. I was bedridden for more than a year in Chefoo, and later I left Chefoo. I was able to leave because nothing was in my hand. There was nothing for me to hand over to anyone.
During that time one brother was a deacon, and another brother was learning to be an elder. Every day we were together to work on the saints and do things. Therefore, we were able to perfect the saints and produce some useful ones. Every Monday, beginning from eight in the morning, we trained the saints who did visitations, and sometimes the training would last until three o’clock in the afternoon. Three groups of saints did visitations: elders, deacons, and co-workers. We came together with these saints, not to discuss things but to study how to visit the other saints. For example, a co-worker would say that he was burdened for a brother who met with us but was having problems. We would then study the situation of the brother to know how best to handle it. We also considered who would be the most suitable person to handle the situation. This meeting lasted from eight in the morning until three in the afternoon. These elders, deacons, and co-workers received practical perfecting.
There was a brother in the church in Chefoo who was the director of a hospital run by the Presbyterian denomination. He had a heart for the Lord and occasionally came to the meetings, but he had not yet taken this way. We had a burden for him and considered when to visit him, how to visit him, who should visit him, and what to say to him. We considered all these matters. During that time we learned much concerning how to visit the saints, and the Lord’s presence was with us in that training.
One brother had a burden for this director and visited him often. On two different occasions the brother suggested that we visit the director, but we did not feel that it was the right time. After a period of time he suggested that we visit the director again, and we all responded positively and felt to visit the director that afternoon. This time of fellowship was wonderful, and we saw the practical operation of the Holy Spirit in our fellowship concerning the saints. We also decided who should go. Everyone felt that two brothers and I should go. I had never contacted the director before, but the fellowship was that I should be one of the brothers to visit him.
Something wonderful indeed took place that day. The assistant to the director was also a brother. When we came to the hospital, this assistant told us that we had come at the right time because the director had a dream the night before in which he saw me drawing a picture of an ear on a blackboard. The director was deeply impressed by this dream, and all morning long he considered the dream and hoped that the Lord would send Brother Lee to him. So when the assistant told him that two brothers and I were there to visit him, he was excited. When we met him, he told us of his dream. Based on Job, I explained that our ears were made to listen to God’s words (33:16). We all realized that the Lord had sent me to open the director’s ear so that he might hear the Lord’s words. The next Lord’s Day he came to participate in the table meeting. The meeting was filled with praises, and the atmosphere was very high. In that meeting the brother had a turn, and he has taken this way ever since then.
The elders and co-workers need to spend time and make an effort to perfect the saints. It is convenient to do things by ourselves, but mothers know that patience and time are needed to teach children to do things. The effort we make is not in vain, because apprentices are produced, and the saints are perfected. Regrettably, we have not been willing to take this way. We always look for a quick and easy way and avoid the difficult aspect of the work. Most of us take the easy way. Some do not know how to teach others, because they themselves never learned. It takes time and effort to teach; it also takes time and effort to learn. We are not desperate to have a spirit of learning, and as a result, we have learned things in a shallow way. In order to learn, we must study. It is easy to perform routine tasks, but specialized tasks require learning. Our specialized task is to learn how to work with the saints.
Working with the saints is not easy. The co-workers have been serving together for many years and are able to give messages on any topic. However, in order to give a message that touches the saints, they must make an effort. This principle applies to everything we do. A person who is casual in running a business will not make any profit. In order to make a profit, he must make an effort. The co-workers are serving diligently but with little result. If they want results, they must resolve to learn and make an effort to teach others. When the co-workers can perfect the saints to be elders or deacons, there will be results.