Appendix A:

Using the Ministry Literature Skillfully
to Contact and Shepherd People

Scripture Reading: 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Tim. 1:13; 2:2,15; 3:14-17; 4:2; Eph. 3:8-9; Matt. 28:19-20; 24:14

I. We must fulfill the Lord’s commission to His recovery by spreading the divine truths—Isa. 11:9; 1 Tim. 2:4:

A. The Lord has given us His truths for us to spread them not only to Christians but even to the unbelievers—2 Cor. 5:14-15; Matt. 24:45.

B. The points in the publications of this ministry are full of life and light; hence we should simply present them as they are—John 1:4; Eph. 5:8-9.

C. We should use the material of the ministry and should only know the truths of God’s New Testament economy—1 Tim. 1:4; Eph. 3:9.

D. If we will use the Recovery Version, ministry booklets, and the Life-studies, and present them to the believers and unbelievers all the time, we will not only gain people but we will build something altogether to the Lord—Psa. 119:130; Matt. 24:45.

II. We need to get ourselves equipped with the proper “tools”—the Word and the Spirit–in order to lead the home meetings [or appointments]—Col. 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:45:

A. If we are to lead the home meetings, we first need to be equipped with a store of the Lord’s word—2 Tim. 3:16-17; Matt. 10:27:

1. Not only should we read the Bible, but we should also read the spiritual books in the Lord’s recovery to help us know such things as God’s economy, the dispensing of the Triune God, and the mystery of human life—Psa. 119:130; Matt. 10:27.

2. We should grasp the odd moments throughout the day by placing the Bible and ministry books all over our house so that we can use our time well by reading at any time in any place—Col. 3:16.

3. In this way the Lord’s word will be gradually deposited into our inward parts until it saturates our being; then when we go out to knock on doors or to lead a home meeting, we will be able to boldly speak and minister the Lord’s word—Matt. 28:19-20.

B. The second “tool” for leading the home meetings is the Holy Spirit, who is the Lord Himself; God leads us by being such a Spirit who indwells us—1 Cor. 15:45; John 14:16.

C. When we speak God’s word, the Word of God, which is Spirit and life, supplies people with the Spirit and life; as a result, when people hear it, they are infused with the divine element—John 7:37-39; Phil. 1:19.

III. Then we need to lead the home meetings by effectively using the ministry publications—Acts 2:46; 2 Tim. 2:2:

A. We need to set up a meeting in the new ones’ homes to teach them the pure truth; if we will use the proper ministry books, they will respect them, keep them, and treasure them—Acts 2:46; 2 Tim. 2:2.

B. We do not need to use an entire lesson; we can circle or mark out certain paragraphs and teach them these certain paragraphs in about twenty minutes or at the most thirty minutes—Matt. 24:45; 1 Cor. 9:17.

C. Then we should give them an assignment, telling them that they have to read the rest of the paragraphs—Eph. 4:12-13.

D. For example, if they want to know what the church is, show them a lesson on the church; in other words, give them a little portion for your teaching, but assign them to read the rest of the paragraphs of a certain lesson—2 Tim. 2:15.

E. Also encourage them to get a copy of the Recovery Version of the New Testament because they can read all the notes—3:14-17.

F. After this, recommend to them our publications, the Life-study Messages, and the many other small books; encourage them to get these publications gradually and lead them to grow into the habit of reading the Bible and the spiritual books—v. 17; John 6:63.

IV. We need to learn how to use the Bible and spiritual publications to bring people to salvation and to nourish them—John 14:10, 24; 1 Thes. 2:7:

A. From the time we begin to contact people, we must learn not to speak idle words, common words, or our own words—John 14:10, 24.

B. We should open the Recovery Version of the Bible and read a few verses with the footnotes; when we read the important verses to someone and then read the footnotes with them, they will definitely be touched—21:15; 1 Thes. 2:7.

C. When we are meeting in home meetings with someone, we must observe in what areas they are lacking; once we sense a lack in a certain area, we must immediately find pertinent messages to go over with them in order to nourish and to perfect them—Eph. 4:12.

D. We also need to choose appropriate spiritual publications and carry two or three with us and prepare ourselves by finding a few suitable verses; this is to learn how to use the Bible—2 Tim. 4:2; 1 Thes. 2:7.

V. We must learn how to use ministry material—Eph. 6:17; Col. 3:16; John 6:63:

A. We should precede each portion with a few crucial verses; every time we meet together, we should first pray-read the verses—Eph. 6:17-18.

B. In reading the publications, we should not be dull or monotonous and we should avoid reading together except when we come across the crucial sentences—Col. 3:16; Rom. 10:17.

C. The best way to read is for each one to read one sentence—Col. 3:16.

D. We should focus on the main points; when we come to the main points, we should read with emphasis; we should also ask questions to highlight the main points—v. 16.

E. In teaching we must minister Christ and point out the things related to the Spirit and life—John 6:63; 2 Cor. 3:6.

Excerpts from the Ministry:

FULFILLING THE LORD’S COMMISSION TO HIS RECOVERY

The Lord’s commission is His recovery, and His recovery today is to recover Christ as life, to recover the church as our living, to recover the enjoyment of Christ as everything to us, and to recover all the significances of the church life for the purpose of not only preaching the gospel but also spreading the truth. I believe that this is the unique reason that He has given us nearly all the truths in today’s Christianity. He has given us His truths for us to spread them not only to Christians but even to the unbelievers. The entire globe is under darkness. Every human being on the earth needs to hear the truth, but our spreading of the precious truths we have received has been strongly limited. There have been many strong testimonies concerning people getting attracted and caught by the notes in the Recovery Version, but who has the burden to go out and spread these truths?

It breaks my heart to see some practicing to have another ministry, using the material of the ministry. We all have to pray, “Lord, rescue me from my ambition to be somebody in the recovery.” We should only know the truths of God’s New Testament economy. We only use one way by one accord, prayer, the Spirit, and the Word. This is what I believe the Lord is after, and this is what we all expect in the depths of our being. Everyone will feel happy about this.

We do not need to do that much. We just need to go out with a pure heart, without anything to ourselves but all things to Him. Just go out with all the truths and the Recovery Version to read to people. I assure you that you will catch someone every week. You do not need to preach your teaching or your kind of doctrine with your terminology. We have to see what the Lord’s recovery is. The Lord’s recovery has been commissioned with a big enterprise to spread the Lord’s truths. He has given us the truths which we are holding. But we need the faithful, pure-hearted ones, who do not have any intention to live to themselves but to Him, to go out to spread these “gold bar” truths. There is no need for you to preach or teach in your way. Open up the Recovery Version and read some of the notes with the hungry ones…If you use the “gold bar” (the Recovery Version), the rainbow booklets, and all the Life-studies, and present them to the believers and unbelievers all the time, within three months you will get one person. I believe that you may even get one person every week. In the Lord’s ministry, we are not building something to ourselves but something altogether to Him…If we go out to read the notes of the Recovery Version to people, they will be caught…If we spread these truths, we will become the faithful servants to serve food to the Lord’s people at the appointed time (Matt. 24:45). Then we will fulfill the commission of the Lord’s recovery.

Let us rise up to go full-time, either by dropping our jobs to go out or by remaining in our jobs to make more money and give every cent to the Lord’s move. Then the Lord’s move will not be short of men or money. We will be short of nothing. If the Lord can gain ten thousand saints in the United States to go full-time with one kind of teaching, one kind of preaching, one kind of material, one kind of publication, one kind of way, and everything one kind, this will be our morale! The wise way is that we all take the full-time way and speak the same thing, think the same thing, present the same thing, and teach the same thing, having the same essence, appearance and expression. Then we will have the morale, the impact, to defeat the enemy. This is what the Lord needs! (Elders’ Training, Book 8: The Life-Pulse of the Lord’s Present Move, pp. 124-127)

OUR TOOLS FOR LEADING THE HOME MEETINGS—THE WORD AND THE SPIRIT

At present, our greatest need is to learn how to lead the home meetings…Our “tools” clearly consist of two items: the Word of God—the Bible—and the Spirit of God…If we are to lead the home meetings, we first need to be equipped with a store of the Lord’s word. Not only should we read the Bible, but we should also read the spiritual books in the Lord’s recovery to help us know such things as God’s economy, the dispensing of the Triune God, and the mystery of human life.

Studying depends on our heart. If we want to know the truth, we must set our hearts on the truth and spend much time in thorough study. Even though most people say they do not have enough time to read, I would still suggest that you learn to grasp the odd moments throughout the day. You should place books like the Bible, the life-studies, and Truth Lessons all over your house so that you can use your time well by reading at any time in any place. There is a saying, “Whenever you open a book, you will be benefitted.” If you read much, you will spontaneously love to read. I hope that we all could read the Bible and the ministry books to such an extent that we would read only the headlines of the newspapers and not be interested in watching television; we would read the Lord’s word with great relish. Although we still have to work, eat, and carry on our daily routine as usual, we can still do our best to grasp each extra moment and diligently read the Word. This will help us to have intimate fellowship with the Lord and to obtain a good supply from the Lord. In this way the Lord’s word will be gradually deposited into our inward parts until it saturates our being, so that all we think about is just His word and all we speak will spontaneously also be just His word. When we go out to knock on doors or to lead a home meeting, we will be able to boldly speak and minister the Lord’s word.

The second “tool” for leading the home meetings is the Holy Spirit, who is the Lord Himself. Today the worldly religion either has the demonic spirits or is without any spirit, but we have the Holy Spirit. God is Spirit, and the third of the Divine Trinity is the Spirit. The Lord Jesus as the Son also passed through death and resurrection to be transfigured into the Spirit. Consummately, God leads us by being such a Spirit who indwells us. I am more than eighty years old and I am still here laboring with all my strength. The saints often worry about me, and my wife especially is afraid that I will be too tired. Instead of feeling tired, however, I have been strengthened by working more because I have the covering and supply of the Lord’s Spirit.

When we love the Lord, are joined to the Lord, draw near to Him, fellowship with Him, read His Word, hate sins, and confess our sins as soon as we have been contaminated, then this pneumatic Lord is with us in our experience. He is one with us and He is in us, speaking and acting together with us. Thus, when we go out to knock on doors and lead the home meetings, we must first believe that He speaks when we speak, and He moves when we minister to others. At the same time, we must also pray and ask the Lord to speak in our speaking, telling the Lord that we would speak only when He speaks.

The Working of the Word and the Spirit within Us

Many times when we speak for the Lord we are not so eloquent, but people truly are supplied. Actually, this is not our doing but the working of the Word and the Spirit within us. When we speak God’s word, the Word of God, which is Spirit and life, supplies people with the Spirit and life. As a result, when people hear it, they are infused with the divine element. The Word and the Spirit are our “tools.” (The Furtherance of the New Way for the Lord’s Recovery, pp. 67-69)

Setting up Appointments to Teach the Pure Truth

If you only give the new ones a sheet of paper with points of the truth on it, they may not respect it very much. After using it, it might be put aside. However, if you would recommend these books [originally referring to the New Life Lessons series but similarly applicable to the ministry literature set series], telling them that this series will [be progressive with levels and volumes], they will be impressed. When they see a set of books like this, they will respect them, keep them, and treasure them.

You do not need to teach them lesson by lesson as we have done in the past one or two years…You do not need to use the entire lesson. Circle or mark out certain paragraphs and teach them these certain paragraphs in about twenty minutes or at the most thirty minutes. Give them an assignment, telling them that they have to read the rest of the paragraphs.

You have to get yourself familiar with all the truth lessons. Then you can tell them that this set of [lessons] is in a good order. If they want to know where the Bible came from, there is [a] lesson to tell them. This will not be a lesson book to them, but their reading material. It is written in such a way that everybody can read it. They may not understand certain phrases, or terminology temporarily, but gradually they will pick them up.

If they have a question about who Jesus Christ is, show them a lesson telling them who Jesus Christ is. Ask them to read that lesson with much prayer. Then they will get the full knowledge of Jesus Christ. If they want to know what the church is, show them a lesson on the church. In other words, give them a little portion for your teaching, but assign them to read the rest of the paragraphs of a certain lesson.

They also need a complete Bible including the Old Testament…Also encourage them to get a copy of the Recovery Version of the New Testament because they can read all the notes. After this, recommend to them our publications, such as the rainbow booklets, the Life-study Messages, and the many other small books. Encourage them to get these publications gradually and lead them to grow into the habit of reading the Bible and the spiritual books. (Being Desperate and Living Uniquely for the Gospel, pp. 41-42)

LEARNING TO USE THE BIBLE AND SPIRITUAL PUBLICATIONS

TO BRING PEOPLE TO SALVATION AND TO NOURISH THEM

We need to learn to use the Bible and spiritual publications to nourish people. From the time we begin to contact people, we must learn not to speak idle words, common words, or our own words. The best thing is to read a good book, especially the Bible. The Bible is the world-renowned classic of classics and is the highest book in the human race. Although people may not believe it and may even oppose it, they still would admit that the teachings in the Bible are the highest. When you go to contact someone, you should open the Bible and read a few verses to him. It is especially good to read our Recovery Version because there are footnotes for all of the crucial verses. When you read the important verses to someone and then read the footnotes with him, he will definitely be touched. Once he is stirred up inwardly, you can then explain the footnotes to him, and he will surely be receptive.

Besides the Bible, we still have many spiritual publications such as The Mystery of Human Life. This title elicits respect, and the content is not something common. It is not about going to heaven; that is too shallow. The Mystery of Human Life is the key to open up people’s hearts. This booklet stirs up people’s interest, causing them to want to read it, to discover something uncommon and to see the mystery of the four keys. Whether you read it to a person or he reads it himself, you need to observe his facial expression. Once you detect that there is an opening in him, stop reading and ask him directly how he feels. Then ask him to pray with you. Once he prays in the name of the Lord, he is saved. However, there is another half step, the other foot, which is baptism. At this time, you must quickly get the water ready, not giving him any chance to have second thoughts, and baptize him immediately. As soon as he is baptized, it is as if you have made a contract and had it signed. Later, when you meet with him in his home, you must continue the use of the Bible and spiritual publications. When you are meeting in the home meetings with him, you must observe in what areas he is lacking. Once you sense the lack in a certain area, you must immediately find pertinent messages and go over them with him to nourish and to perfect him.

Among us are a large number of spiritual publications, close to one thousand, on all kinds of topics. Every message is appealing. We need to choose appropriate publications and carry two or three with us. We also need to prepare ourselves by finding a few suitable verses; this is to learn how to use the Bible. Then when you go to the next level of visitation, you should not begin with idle words but rather say to him, “This Bible verse is very good. Please read it.” According to my experience, eight out of ten people after reading it would say, “I want to buy this book. I want to have this Bible.” (Rising up to Preach the Gospel, p. 104)

LEARNING HOW TO USE THE READING MATERIAL

One point needs special attention: In selecting the reading material, we should precede each portion with a few crucial verses. Every time we meet together, we should first have the attendants pray-read the verses. This will plant the Lord’s word into man’s heart. His word is living, operative, and full of power. We hope that those who come to the meeting will receive nourishment and truth and will testify that we are here for the spreading of the gospel and the presenting of the truth.

Do not underestimate the practice of pray-reading in the meetings. There are three to four meetings a week, and fifty-two weeks in a year. In time, the deposit will add up. As the saints pray-read the Lord’s words into them, these words become a deposit in them and serve as their timely supply. We need to pay much attention to this. Never neglect this practice by saying that there is not enough time for pray-reading. No matter how long the meeting is, there should always be three to five minutes for pray-reading a few verses. Even if there is not enough time, we should still take care of this, because this is an indispensable element of the meeting.

In reading the publications, do not be dull or monotonous. A few ways of reading should be avoided. First, we should not have everyone read together except when we come across the crucial sentences. If the whole congregation reads through half a message or an entire message together, that will kill the meeting. Next, we should not have one person read through an entire paragraph. According to my experience, observation, and personal investigation, the best way to read in the small group meetings and the home meetings is for each one to read one sentence. This kind of reading may be difficult at the beginning, but in time it will become easy. I hope all the halls, small groups, and home meetings will promote this kind of reading. I would like to see this practice developed until it becomes our “family tradition.”

In teaching, we should help the saints to focus on the main points. Take John 3:16 as an example. It says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. We need to learn to bring out the word gave; that is a main point. Lead the saints to emphasize the word gave. Repeat that word. Learn to point out the main points. We do not need to spend much time to explain them. The saints will realize by our hints what the main points are. We must see that our exposition does not carry much weight. The most effective way is to bring out the Lord’s word and have everyone pray-read it, directing everyone to the main points. In this way, we will provide everyone with the opportunity to function. No one will stand idle. In order to achieve this, we need to continually lead the brothers and sisters to practice this in the meetings. I believe that in fewer than six months the church in Taipei will produce a model for others to follow. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1, pp. 228-229)