Therefore, within some of the saints there is a voice saying, “Let us go back to holding worship services! The way of everyone speaking is too hard; let us go back to the way of one person speaking and the rest listening.” Thus, some would choose the easy way and go back to train preachers and then assign them to preach. They would say, “After all, this is also doing the work of the Lord.” However, if this becomes the case, how will the Lord have a way to go on? Will the word of the Lord still be propagated and prevailing? No, the Lord will have no way to go on and propagate. If we look at the various Christian organizations, we can see that they all have a long history, yet they do not have much increase, nor do they allow the Lord to have a way to go on.

How we hope that every one of us would have a ball in our hands and know how to use it, and that we all would play using the same ball. This is our goal, and this is what the Bible teaches us. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul said that we are not worshipping dumb idols, but we are speaking in the Spirit of God (vv. 2-3). When we come to the meeting, we must be in the Spirit of God, because when we are in the Spirit of God we cannot and will not be dumb. When we speak, we are in the Spirit of God.

The young people do not dare to speak in the meeting primarily because they are shy. They feel that they are the younger generation, so they are nervous and scared and wait for the older ones to open their mouths first. In this way they naturally become dumb, trying to worship God without exercising their spirit. Over a long period of time, this becomes their habit. This is not the proper condition. When the young people come to a meeting, they have to take the initiative to exercise their spirit and say, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” Then they should release their spirit and pray, “O Lord Jesus! We love You.” When you open your mouth in this way, you will breathe freely, and your spirit will be released.

In the universe there are fixed laws in God’s creation and in His redemption. Do not think that to call “O Lord Jesus” is an easy matter. If we were to ask an unsaved person to call “O Lord Jesus,” that would be a very difficult matter. Even if you held him by his throat to force him to say it, he might not be able to say it because Satan is there. When we talk to people about Chinese philosophers such as Confucius and Wang Yang-ming, they feel glorious and honored. But when we talk to them about the Lord Jesus, they feel ashamed and oppose us. This is because Satan, the devil, is still walking about, seeking someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8). This is why the gospel is a battle.

The fact that we are able to spontaneously call “O Lord Jesus” is a strong proof that we have been saved, that we have been delivered out of the power of Satan, and that we are now in spirit. The more Christians call “O Lord Jesus,” the better. Stanza 1 of Hymns, #208 says, “O Jesus,...I say...Thy sacred name / A thousand times a day.” The writer of this hymn said that he says the Lord’s name a thousand times a day. Actually a thousand times is still not enough. This is just like our breathing-it is hard to count the number of times we breathe daily. We breathe continuously; we breathe without ceasing. Paul told the Corinthians that whenever they meet, instead of worshipping the dumb idols, they should speak in the Holy Spirit. “No one speaking in the Spirit of God says, Jesus is accursed; and no one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3).

Whenever we meet, we are not worshipping the idols, so we should not be dumb; rather, we are breathing a living Lord, so we all must speak for the Lord. Hymns, #864 is on exhibiting Christ. Although exhibiting Christ is good, it might be a dumb exhibition. It would be good if we changed exhibiting Christ to speaking Christ, because in speaking Christ we surely cannot be dumb. In the meetings, not only do we exhibit Christ, but even the more we speak Christ.

In our natural concept we always feel that our own testimony is too common and too shallow and that it is not worth the trouble to speak and testify about it. However, we must see that to speak in the meeting is not a question of whether or not we ought to testify; rather, it is a question of whether or not we ought to breathe. For instance, although I am an older brother, I may come into the meeting filled with the Spirit and say, “Hallelujah! I am saved. While I was still a student, one day the Lord Jesus met me, and I did not want the world any longer; the Lord captured me.” This kind of testimony is living and fresh. Therefore, do not think that it is useless to give an old testimony. We can turn an old testimony into a new testimony; it all depends on whether or not our spirit is living. As long as our spirit is living, even if we speak just a few sentences in the meeting, the congregation will sense the freshness and be supplied. Therefore, the Christian meeting is for speaking.
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