We might think that the apostle Paul would bring thousands to the Lord, but we can see in Paul’s history that this was not the case. In Colossians 1:28-29 Paul said that he labored to announce Christ, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that he might present every man full-grown in Christ. He desired to admonish every man, teach every man, and present every man. The “every man” work could never be a miracle. Paul was the biggest gift, so we may think he would do everything miraculously. But the Bible tells us that Paul was not able to do that many miracles. Paul was not one who depended upon miracles. He was one who labored all the time.

In Acts 20 we see that he was with the saints in Ephesus for three years. He said that he served the Lord and admonished each one of the saints with tears (vv. 19, 31). Tears indicate much hardship and difficulty. He said that he admonished the saints “night and day” (v. 31). He taught publicly in the meetings and from house to house (v. 20). He taught publicly, but his work was much more in the “every man” way. He was not just giving lectures. Paul tutored each one of the saints.

A person who is always soaring in the air cannot bear remaining fruit. Perhaps he will say that he gained three last week and two more this week, but after a year he will not gain one as remaining fruit. He may say, “Well, last week I got two. Eventually, I realized they were not so good, so I gave them up. Now I have found some better ones.” Eventually, however, not one is better, and everyone has to be discarded. The mothers are not like this. Every mother loves her child regardless of the child’s appearance or behavior.

T. Austin-Sparks knew this quite well. He came to visit us in Taiwan for the first time in 1955. He said, “Every mother loves her child. If you are wise, don’t say anything bad about her child. Otherwise, you will offend her.” Once a mother brought her child to him, and this child was not so attractive. But he dared not to say that before the mother. The mother handed over the child to him, and he felt he had to say something. He said, “Oh, what a child!” This was a neutral saying, but this caused the mother to think, “My, what a child I have.” To a mother, all her children are good. We need such a mother’s heart (1 Thes. 2:7). Concerning a new one, we should not say, “He is not good material; I am sure he could never be like the apostle Paul.” If we have such an attitude, we will not be able to bear remaining fruit.

We should not work on that many people. Instead, we should always keep just three or four under our hand. We must learn to restrict ourselves in our labor. The Lord’s constitution in Matthew tells us we have to enter. Then we have to walk. We should not think that we do not need to work too much, since we should not contact too many. This would mean that we have stopped entering the narrow gate and walking on the constricted way. This is against the kingdom constitution to the uttermost. The Lord’s constitution of His kingdom is that we have to enter and then walk. We have to work.

When I say that we should not spread too much, I do not mean that we should not work. Rather, we have to work every day. A good student prepares his lessons every day and does a little bit every day. The problem with us is that we do not work regularly. After being in the training concerning the vital groups, we still may not have started the vital work. We may say that we do not feel that we are vital and that we will work when we become vital. But this is wrong. If we do not work, we can never be vital. If we would work, then we would be vital.

What is it to be vital? To be vital is to be common. We Christians should be common in a living way. We should always contact the Lord, trying our best to remain in our spirit, doing everything according to the spirit, and praying unceasingly. This makes us a common believer, a vital believer. I can testify that without a certain amount of prayer, I cannot give a message. The message comes out of my common prayer. If we do not have a time to be with the Lord in the morning to have some prayer, we will become weak and down. The only way to rise up is to pray, “Lord, forgive me and cleanse me. Lord, anoint me.” Taking care of the life principles makes us vital.

We should carry out what God has ordained. God ordained that we should bear fruit. God ordained that we should contact people for His kingdom’s sake. This is God’s ordination, and we have to carry it out. If we do not carry out God’s ordination, we can never be common. Instead, we will be abnormal Christians. Physically speaking, we must breathe, eat, sleep, and exercise properly if we want to be normal and healthy. If we do not take care of these things, it is impossible for us to be healthy. To be vital simply means to be healthy, and to be healthy we need to breathe, to pray. We have to eat and drink the Lord. We also need to exercise to do something. At least we need to go out twice a week to contact people. This is God’s ordination, and we have to carry it out. We also need to rest. To sleep means to rest in the Lord. Do not think that to be vital is a miracle. To be vital is just to be common, to be normal.

Over thirty years ago, a brother told me that every time he saw me, I was so fresh. He wondered how I could be like this. If I do not pray and touch the Lord in my spirit, I can never be fresh. Instead, I will be stale. The key to my being fresh is that I contact the Lord. This causes me to lead a normal Christian life, to become vital. Often I pray for the churches around the globe. If I do not pray, I feel abnormal. Vitality comes from our being normal, common.

Now that we have had some training in the vital groups, we must take action. We should not wait. We must do our duty to carry out God’s ordination. If we do this, be assured that we will bear at least one remaining fruit yearly. All the life principles are implied in John 15. Bearing fruit is a normal situation of a branch of the vine tree.

We need to practice what we have seen in a common way. Then we will be vital, and we will see the Lord’s blessing following us. In these days I am so grateful to the Lord that His blessing has been following me for so many years. From my hometown, Chefoo, I went to Shanghai. From Shanghai I traveled through the provinces of China. Eventually, I was sent to Taiwan. From Taiwan I went to the Philippines and to southeastern Asia. Then I came to the United States. For more than sixty years, I have seen the Lord’s blessing following me. If the Lord’s blessing can be with me, it surely can be with all of us. If the Lord’s blessing is not with us, we are abnormal; we are not vital. We must learn to enter through the narrow gate and then to walk on the constricted way. Thank the Lord for His constriction.

We should not expect to be flourishing and spreading in an unrestricted way. Our going to Russia was not our kind of flourishing. It was the Lord’s doing. We have seen the Lord’s constriction even in our going to Russia. When we drive on the highway, we have to drive within the lines. That is constriction. If we do not drive in this way, we will damage ourselves and others.

Do not expect to be big. You need to be restricted. The environment in the church life narrows us down and restricts us. We have to enter through the narrow gate and walk on the constricted way. Do not expect to do a big work and to become a great person. Just live normally, commonly, always entering through the narrow gate and walking on the constricted way. Then be assured that you will bear remaining fruit each year. Also, many saints will be helped by you to pass through the narrow gate and walk on the constricted way.

I have been working for the Lord for over sixty years. Nearly every day I am learning to enter through the narrow gate and to walk on the constricted way. I want to be constricted. I do not want to maintain a career of man to achieve man’s enterprise. Instead, I want to bear the testimony of Jesus Christ to carry out God’s economy. We should live a normal, common Christian life, seeking after the Lord and pursuing Him all the time. Always exercise to enter through the narrow gate and to walk on the constricted way.
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