LESSONS ON THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY

Lesson Twelve

Contacting People with a Loving Atmosphere

Scripture Reading:

Luke 15:4-5 Which man of you, who has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

1 John 4:16-17 And we know and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. In this has love been perfected with us, that we may have boldness in the day of the judgment because even as He is, so also are we in this world.

1 John 4:19-20 We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar.

Eph. 5:18b-19 …but be filled in spirit. Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord.

Phil. 2:2 Make my joy full, that you think the same thing, having the same love, joined in soul, thinking the one thing.

I. In the church life, we must have the loving and forgiving heart of our Father God and the shepherding and seeking Spirit of our Savior Christ—Luke 15:4, 20; 1 Pet. 5:2-3:

A. The God-man concept is that Christ came to save sinners — 1 Tim. 1:15; Matt. 9:12-13.

B. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble—James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5.

C. Love covers all transgressions — Prov. 10:12; 1 Pet. 4:8.

II. In our church life we need to have an intimate and loving atmosphere—Rom. 16:1-24; 1 John 4:16-17, 19-21:

A. When the new ones come into the meeting halls, they should be able to sense the warm care and intimacy among us.

B. Though a new one may not have even heard the gospel or believed yet, he will still be impressed with the loving atmosphere and the intimate atmosphere among the saints.

C. The church is not a police station to arrest people or a law court to judge people, but a home to raise up the believers; the church is a loving home to raise up children, a hospital to heal and recover the sick ones, and a school to teach and edify the unlearned ones—John 8:10-11.

D. Love covers and builds up, so love is the most excellent way for us to be anything and to do anything for the building up of the Body of Christ.

III. The nature and condition of a loving atmosphere—Eph. 5:18b; 1 Thes. 5:16; Phil. 2:2:

A. Being spiritual:

1. The entire situation, environment, atmosphere, sphere, realm, items, and the contents are spiritual—1 Cor. 12:1, 3.

2. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit within and without—Acts 4:31b.

B. Being joyful—not merely a joyful voice, but a joyful noise—Acts 13:52; Psa. 100:1.

C. Loving one another with one accord—John 13:34-35.

D. Being in oneness—being a living oneness, a real oneness, an active and acting oneness—John 17:19-21, 23.

E. Bringing in the mutual care in love through the thorough, intimate fellowship.

IV. In contacting people, we must be full of love, concern, and sympathy in a meek and humble spirit—Gal. 6:1:

A. Not through rebuke or condemnation with any kind of negative spirit, attitude, and tone—2 Cor. 2:4.

B. With the full realization that what people need is the Lord and what can solve their problem is to meet with the Lord—Matt. 11:28-30.

C. Not to convince, to catch, or to arrest, but to recover, to bring people back to the Lord—Gal. 6:1.

D. Avoiding superiority complex, argument, offense, or any form of humiliation—Phil. 4:5.

E. Taking the opportunity to minister life and light into people—Matt. 5:14; Eph. 5:8.

F. Stirring up people’s hunger and thirst to seek the Lord—John 4:15; 6:34.

G. Learning to minister Christ to meet the need of every kind of person—Eph. 3:8; Col. 1:28.

 

Excerpts from the ministry:

HAVING THE LOVING AND FORGIVING HEART OF OUR FATHER GOD
AND THE SHEPHERDING AND SEEKING SPIRIT OF OUR SAVIOR CHRIST

The God-Man Concept Is That Christ Came to Save Sinners

The God-man concept is that Christ came to save sinners, especially the top sinners. He saves the “gangsters,” even the leader of the “gangsters,” Saul of Tarsus. Paul said, “Faithful is the word and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost” (1 Tim. 1:15). Paul could say this because he was the top sinner opposing Christ. He rebelled against Christ, but while he was rebelling, Christ knocked him down, called him, and saved him. Jesus Himself said, “Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill…. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:12-13). That is why He was there among the sinners and tax collectors, eating and feasting with them, reclining at the table and enjoying with them. (A Word of Love, p. 29)

God Resists the Proud but Gives Grace to the Humble

Someone may say that a certain brother should not be an elder. If not, then who should be an elder? None are qualified. We must humble ourselves. Pride is the biggest enemy of God. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5). Whenever we criticize others, we miss grace and instead suffer God’s resistance. We all must learn to shepherd one another. This does not mean that since I am shepherding you, I do not need your shepherding. I need your shepherding. We all have defects and shortcomings. Everyone has defects. Therefore, we have to humble ourselves to meet God’s grace. This strengthens our spirit to visit people and to take care of people regardless of whether they are good or bad. Regardless of what they are, we must go to visit them and keep visiting. According to their statistics, the Jehovah’s Witnesses knock on six thousand doors to visit people in order to gain one. They do this legally, but we do not. We have no such law forcing others to go out. However, I am trying my best to help the church to build up the vital groups with such a shepherding spirit full of love and care for others. (A Word of Love, p. 32)

Love Covers All Transgressions

We need to have this kind of love and go to tell all the dormant ones who think that the church condemns them that the church does not condemn anyone. Rather, the church wants to see all the dormant ones come back. If they all would come back, I would weep with tears of thanksgiving to the Lord. The Lord can testify for me that I do not condemn anyone. We have no qualification to condemn anyone. Without the Lord’s mercy, we would be the same as the dormant ones. Therefore, we must love them. It all depends upon love, as the wise king Solomon said, “Love covers all transgressions” (Prov. 10:12). We love people. We love the opposers, and we love the top rebels. I really mean it. We love them and do not hate them. Who am I? I am not qualified to condemn or to hate. Am I perfect? Even the prophet Isaiah, when he saw the Lord, said, “Woe is me, for I am finished / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell” (Isa. 6:5). Who is clean today? If we criticize people and say something bad about them, we are not clean. (A Word of Love, pp. 32-33)

THE NEED TO HAVE AN INTIMATE AND LOVING
ATMOSPHERE IN THE CHURCH LIFE

When the New Ones Come Into the Meeting Halls,
They Should Be Able to Sense the Warm Care
and Intimacy among Us

I have observed that many brothers and sisters contact only their familiar acquaintances after the meeting. They do not go to contact the new ones in the meeting. Thus, the new ones are left as orphans. Before the meeting and after the meeting we should create an intimate and loving atmosphere in the hall. When the new ones come in, they should be able to sense the warm care and intimacy among us. (The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, p. 72)

A New One May Not Have Even Heard the Gospel Yet,
but He Will Be Impressed with the Loving Atmosphere,
and the Intimate Atmosphere among the Saints

A new one may not have even heard the gospel yet. He may not even have believed yet. But he will be impressed with the loving atmosphere, the intimate atmosphere, among the saints in the meeting hall.

If everyone is so familiar to me, some will smile at me while I am sharing. Their smiling tells me to “sail on” in my speaking for the Lord. We must have such an atmosphere in the church meeting, an atmosphere in which people know that we really love one another. We are really a big, loving, intimate family with brothers, sisters, and parents. Some older ones are really our parents in the Lord (Rom. 16:13; 1 Cor. 4:15).

No human being likes to be isolated. We all like to be flocked together. But in human society, where is a pure flock of people who love one another in an incorruptible way with much encouragement, building up, and help? Every human being would like to join such a group. I feel that we are lacking the proper atmosphere in our church meetings. We need to create such a loving atmosphere in our start of contacting people. We can make appointments with people for the Lord’s Day morning meeting by calling them on the telephone. We should try to do this.

We should also try to invite people to our home and be invited by others to their home. The Lord’s blessing will follow us if we practice this in a loving and intimate way. If a brother received a number of invitations every week, he might not be able to go, but these invitations would encourage him and make him buoyant. (The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, pp. 72-73)

The Church Is Not a Police Station to Arrest People
or a Law Court to Judge People,
but a Home to Raise Up the Believers

The church is not a police station to arrest people or a law court to judge people, but a home to raise up the believers. Parents know that the worse their children are, the more they need their raising up. If our children were angels, they would not need our parenting to raise them up. The church is a loving home to raise up the children. The church is also a hospital to heal and to recover the sick ones. Finally, the church is a school to teach and edify the unlearned ones who do not have much understanding. Because the church is a home, a hospital, and a school, the co-workers and elders should be one with the Lord to raise up, to heal, to cover, and to teach others in love.

Love Covers and Builds Up, so Love Is
the Most Excellent Way for Us to Be Anything and to Do
Anything for the Building Up of the Body of Christ

Some of the churches, however, are police stations to arrest the sinful ones and law courts to judge them. Paul’s attitude was different. He said, “Who is weak, and I am not weak?” (2 Cor. 11:29a). When the scribes and Pharisees brought an adulterous woman to the Lord, He said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). After all of them left, the Lord asked the sinful woman, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you” (vv. 10-11). Who is without sin? Who is perfect? Paul said, “To the weak I became weak that I might gain the weak” (1 Cor. 9:22). This is love. We should not consider that others are weak but we are not. This is not love. Love covers and builds up, so love is the most excellent way for us to be anything and to do anything for the building up of the Body of Christ. (The Vital Groups, p. 75)

THE NATURE AND CONDITION OF
A LOVING ATMOSPHERE

Being Spiritual

The Entire Situation, Environment, Atmosphere, Sphere,
Realm, Items, and the Contents Are Spiritual

Although it is not wrong to insert the word gifts in [1 Cor. 12] verse 1, we have to study why Paul only wrote “spiritual.” He was not only talking about spiritual gifts. When we touch or when we exercise the spiritual gifts, we touch a spiritual realm, we touch spiritual things, not only the gifts. We touch an entire situation which is pneumatic, an entire situation which is spiritual. Not only the gifts but also the situation, the environment, the atmosphere, the sphere, the realm, the items, and the contents are spiritual. I believe Paul used the word spiritual to indicate all these things. Whenever we touch or exercise spiritual gifts, a kind of environment, situation, or atmosphere is involved. The environment, the situation, the atmosphere, and even the persons should all be spiritual. We must be spiritual persons to exercise spiritual gifts. The environment should be spiritual, the atmosphere should be spiritual, the situation should be spiritual, what we speak should be spiritual, the speaker should be spiritual, and even our wording, utterances, and expressions all should be spiritual. (The Home Meetings, pp. 49-50)

We Must Be Filled with the Holy Spirit within and without

The nature of the vital groups is spiritual (Acts 13:52; 4:31b). To be spiritual means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, within and without. We need to practice to be filled every day, every morning, and even every evening. …I eat three meals every day, and every meal is a regular meal. In the same way, I pray every day that the Lord will fill and saturate me thoroughly. We all, young and old, need to pray in such a way. This will cause us to be active, fresh, and new.

I cannot rest without seeing the saints stirred up by the Spirit and having their spirits fanned into flame. We should all be stirred up by the Lord, and we also need to fan our spirits into flame (2 Tim. 1:6). A proper Christian is one who is filled with the Spirit. We should not be “flat tires.” We should be those who are filled with the Spirit, within and without, essentially and economically. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, p. 51)

It Is Joyful—Not Merely a Joyful Voice, but a Joyful Noise

The Bible tells us that whenever the people of God come together, they should make not merely a joyful voice, but a joyful noise (Psa. 100:1). Whenever they speak, certain saints speak very solemnly. However, if they would speak exultantly, they would be normal. (Missing sentence––For this we need to be filled inwardly with the Holy Spirit.)

Acts 13:52 says that the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. They were filled with the Spirit within. Then, Acts 4:31b indicates that they were also filled with the Spirit without. At that time a number of them prayed together in one accord. Eventually, they were all filled outwardly, They experienced the outpoured spirit again. In Acts the disciples experienced the outpoured Spirit again and again (2:1-4; 4:31; 9:17; 10:44; 13:9; 19:6). (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, pp. 51-52)

Loving One Another with One Accord

The condition of the vital groups is that of loving one another in oneness and with one accord (John 13:34-35). To love one another may seem very common. However, we must admit that although we do love one another, we may not love one another very much. Because we meet together day after day and year after year, we surely have human affection for one another; but the condition of loving one another in the vital groups should be more than this. We need to love one another, meeting together in a mutual love.

We not only love one another, but we love one another in oneness and with one accord. In John 17 the Lord Jesus said that when His disciples are one in the Triune God, the whole world will believe that He was sent by the Father (vv. 21, 23). This is the way to gain people. Often when we go out to visit people by twos and threes, the people whom we visit may realize that there is no oneness among us. The result is a lack of impact. But if two or three of us go out as one man, the people whom we visit will realize that there is a dynamic power among us. There will be the impact, and they will be convinced.

In John 13:34-35 the Lord Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” By our loving one another the whole world will know that we are the Lord’s disciples. This is the real impact. Without our speaking anything, people will be convinced because they see us loving one another in oneness and with one accord. On the whole earth, in every society everyone knows that whenever people group together, there is struggling and fighting. Wherever there are groups of people, there will be debates, arguments, and strife. But when people are among us and we are really one, they will wonder what has made us one. The Lord Jesus is the living person who has made us one. Our being one is the strongest testimony that we are the people of Jesus. We are disciples of the One who has made us one.

These are the terms and conditions for us to gain people. Regardless of how much others oppose us, if we are such people, nothing can prevent us from gaining the proper increase. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, pp. 52-53)

Being In Oneness—Being a Living Oneness,
a Real Oneness, an Active and Acting Oneness

In John 17:19-21 the Lord Jesus prayed, “And for their sake I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. And I do not ask concerning these only, but concerning those also who believe into Me through their word, that they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” We are all members of the Body of Christ. As such, we must have the real oneness. We are really one. However, although today we are still in the recovery and in the oneness, we need to realize that the oneness among us is not a living oneness. Our oneness is not a working oneness. We all are one, but you are you and I am I. The oneness among us is a dormant oneness, a sleeping oneness. Our oneness should be very active. The genuine oneness will cause us to take action when we hear of a need among the saints in the Body. The real oneness is an active and acting oneness.

We are one, yet we may not know the eight members of our group so well. That is not the living oneness. In John 17 the Lord said that if we have this oneness, the people of the world will know that Christ is the One who was sent by the Father (vv. 21, 23). This indicates that when we go to visit people, they will realize that we are one among ourselves. They will realize that with us there is something heavenly, something divine, that the people of the world could never have. The worldly people cannot be one, yet we are one in a living way, so that our oneness is expressed and is realized by others. When they meet us, people can sense that we have the oneness.

In John 13:34-35 the Lord said, “A new commandment I give to you , that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” If we love one another, we do not need to tell people that we are Christ’s disciples. The worldly people will realize this.

The first thing after the training concerning prayer is to train all the saints how to have fellowship. Fellowship is altogether based on oneness and mutual love. We are one, and we love one another. These are two strong signs. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, pp. 70-71)

Bringing in the Mutual Care in Love
through the Thorough, Intimate Fellowship

Everyone should bear a burden for the vital groups. Do not despise your burden and your portion. If a new one comes into a group meeting and all the members of the group meeting speak, he will be surprised and attracted. Our group meeting must be living and active, with all the members in the group speaking.

According to my experience, the most attractive thing is the thorough fellowship. In your vital groups, you must always practice the thorough, intimate fellowship. This brings in the mutual care in love. If a new one comes to our group and sees this kind of intimate, open, thorough fellowship and mutual care, he will be inspired. He would say that he has never seen people who are so one and who love, open to, and care for one another so much. He would say, “This is the place where I should be. I have to be among these people.” This kind of intimate fellowship and care for one another attracts people, so we have to practice this.

We must do everything we can to strengthen the vital groups. We should spend every drop of our blood, every bit of our strength, and every minute of our time to strengthen the vital groups, making the vital groups so beautiful, so high, and so attractive. This is the only thing we should stress to get people. A number of things can attract people, but not so effectively as the vital groups. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, pp. 235-236)

IN CONTACTING PEOPLE, WE MUST BE FULL OF LOVE, CONCERN,
AND SYMPATHY IN A MEEK AND HUMBLE SPIRIT

Not Through Rebuke or Condemnation
with Any Kind of Negative Spirit, Attitude, and Tone

As we have seen, the purpose of the elders’ contact with people is to gain them for the increase of the kingdom of God, for the feeding and raising up, for the perfecting of the saints, and for the building up of the Body of Christ through prophesying. Our gaining of people, however, should not be through rebuke or condemnation with any kind of negative spirit, attitude, and tone. To be a good elder, the first thing one must learn is not to rebuke people. Through many mistakes, we have learned that rebuking never works. For this reason, Paul said, “And the fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but nurture them in the discipline and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). If we do not rebuke our children when we discipline them, we will not provoke them. Provoking comes from rebuking. If a child misbehaves and we rebuke him, he will be provoked. Instead, we should spend a pleasant time with him, and in this time we will be able to pass on the proper knowledge of how to behave. (Elders’ Training Book 11, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3), p. 23)

BEING FULL OF LOVE, CONCERN, AND SYMPATHY
IN A MEEK AND HUMBLE SPIRIT

With the Full Realization That What People Need Is the Lord
and What Can Solve Their Problem Is to Meet with the Lord

In their contact with people, the elders must be full of love, concern, and sympathy in a meek and humble spirit (Gal. 6:1). Only a reconstituted person can be like this. Any negative case in the church life is an exhausting matter. Visiting the persons involved in an issue and determining who is right and who is wrong exhausts the elders’ time and energy. In such a situation, natural love, natural concern, natural kindness, and natural sympathy cannot last. The saints cannot be helped by us unless we have a real love, concern, and sympathy for them in the Lord. Otherwise, a small issue may be built into a major case in the church, like a small hill becoming a great mountain. Regardless of who comes to us, we should wait for a chance to minister Christ to them. (Elders’ Training Book 11, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3), p. 31)

Contacting People Not to Convince, to Catch, or to Arrest,
but to Recover, to Bring People Back to the Lord

The elders’ contact with people is not to convince, to catch, or to arrest, but to recover, to bring people back to the Lord (Gal. 6:1). The elders are not policemen sent by the Lord to catch people and arrest them. Rather, they are sent to recover, to bring people back to the Lord. Sometimes the elders catch and arrest people by convincing them that they are wrong. This is to care for a case in the realm of good and evil. To do this is to fall into Satan’s snare as Eve did. Once the elders are snared in this way, they cannot solve the case at hand. Rather, they become negatively involved. (Elders’ Training Book 11, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3), pp. 32-33)

Avoiding Superiority Complex, Argument,
Offense, or Any Form of Humiliation

In contacting people, the elders must avoid superiority complex, argument, offense, or any form of humiliation. A superiority complex is very common in human society. Everyone has his prestige and desires to show that he excels in certain things. People like to show their superiority, but the elders should not have a superiority complex. An elder may be fifty-five years old, and the one he contacts may be only fifteen, but the elder should not care for his status. He should be careful in the way he expresses himself when he speaks with this person. The elder should not feel that he is better or higher than the one with whom he speaks.

In contacting people, the elders should avoid arguments. Arguments do not help people. Rather, the way to contact people is to try to find the opportunity to minister Christ to them, to give them an “injection” of Christ.

The elders should also avoid offense in their contact with others. …It is also possible that the offended persons will remember the offense for a long time. The elders must also avoid any form of humiliation in their contact with people. (Elders’ Training Book 11, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3), pp. 38-39)

Taking the Opportunity to Minister Life and Light Into People

As the leading ones, the elders bear a certain responsibility to consider people’s situations, but they must not forget that their ministry is to minister life. When we know someone’s background, we should not go to others to talk about him. We should go to him, not to talk about what he has done, but to take the opportunity to minister life and light into him. Then he may be enlightened by the Lord, and when he gets home, he may repent. This is the way for the elders to take care of the people in the church.

If we know that someone has done something improper, we should not touch it. We must have a strong burden to touch the person, but not his sin or failure. To know others’ failures is a strong temptation and a strong spoiling of our contact with them. If we do not know someone’s sins and failures, they may be helped by us when we touch them. However, once we know of someone’s failures, this knowledge changes our contact with that person. It is difficult to know the defeated background of a brother without being changed in our attitude toward him. We must contact such a brother as if we knew nothing about him and in a way full of life and full of Christ. By one hour of this kind of contact, he will receive something which will enlighten him. Then he may go home to repent to the Lord. This is the way to contact people. We are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14) and the children of light (Eph. 5:8). Whenever we contact people, we should be a light shining over them. People must come to us to be under our enlightening, not our condemning or rebuking. (Elders’ Training Book 11, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3), pp. 39-40)

Stirring Up People’s Hunger and Thirst to Seek the Lord

The elders must also stir up people’s hunger and thirst to seek the Lord by praying with them (John 4:15). Brother Nee once said that to minister a special supply to people is easy, but to cause people to be hungry is hard. We must find a way to create an appetite in people. Certain saints come to the meetings but do not seem to have an appetite for the Lord. We must find a way to create a hunger for the Lord within them. If we would practice to always seek a way to get people to open to us, to find the proper utterance to touch people’s spirit, to catch the proper time to dispense Christ either by a verse or by our inspiration, and to know how to create an appetite to cause people to hunger and thirst after the Lord, the attendance in the church will be increased. We must change our way of contacting people, staying away from catching or condemning people, and learning to minister Christ to every kind of person. Eventually, people will be gained by the Lord through our contact. (Elders’ Training Book 11, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3), pp. 42-43)

Learning to Minister Christ to Meet the Need of Every Kind of Person

The elders should contact people in a way that is full of love, concern, and sympathy in a meek and humble spirit (Gal. 6:1), not in a way to convince, to catch, to arrest, but to recover, to bring people back to the Lord. Their contact should be with the full realization that what the people need is the Lord and what can solve the people’s problems is to meet with the Lord. In their contact with others, they should avoid a superiority complex, argument, offense, or any form of humiliation, always remembering well that the church is neither a police station nor a law court, and that we are neither the policemen nor the judges. (Elders’ Training Book 11, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3), p. 26)

References: A Word of Love, ch. 2; The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, ch. 6; The Vital Groups, ch. 8; The Home Meetings, ch. 4; Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, chs. 7, 9, 25; Elders’ Training Book 11, The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3), chs. 3-5.