THE PRACTICE HANDBOOK FOR THE DISTRICT SERVING ONES
SERIES TWO
THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY AND VARIOUS KINDS OF MEETINGS
Message Fourteen
The Complete View of Raising Up the New Believers
Col. 1:28 Whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man full-grown in Christ.
Eph. 4:13 Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
THE COMPLETE VIEW OF BELIEVERS
The Bible always gives us a complete view of a matter, especially of our history as believers. This means that the Bible reveals both sides of a matter. On the one hand, we have the side of Christ; on the other hand, we have the side of what we are in our fallen nature. According to one side, the side of Christ, we are holy. We are saints in Christ. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 36)
LEADING PEOPLE TO LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
After a person is saved, we need to lead him to live the Christian life. …Hence, we should not use theories or high and profound spiritual doctrines when we speak with new believers. Since we are speaking about practice, we must be specific. … We need a practical and normal way. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 2, “The Vision, Living, and Work of the Lord’s Serving Ones,” msg. 1)
Gaining People by Gaining an Intimacy with Them
We gain people by gaining an intimacy with them, by showing an intimate concern for them. If we merely teach them to help their understanding, they will not follow us. But if we visit them and become intimate with them in a proper way, we will gain them for the Lord. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (3),” ch. 9)
Learning How to Be Interested in
and Concerned for Others
Almost every aspect of the Lord’s work involves people. Without people, we cannot serve the Lord in a practical way, because people are the objects of our service. …Therefore, in order to function in a practical way, we must take care of others, and to take care of others requires that we first have an interest in people. Thus, we all need to learn how to be interested in and concerned for others. If we do not like to contact people, have fellowship with them, and build up a relationship with them, we do not have a part in the Lord’s work. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, “The Proper and Adequate Service to the Lord,” ch. 7)
Contacting Someone Again and Again
until He Open Up the Things on His Heart
The interest in others’ spiritual welfare is the interest concerning people’s condition with the Lord, which ministers life in the organic building up of the Body of Christ. … We must contact someone again and again, until he has a trust in us and will open up the things on his heart. Without this, we cannot know his real condition. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (3),” ch. 2)
We must learn to trust and rely upon the ones who are under our care. This is to have a proper fellowship. In one sense, we are the parents nourishing our children, but in another sense, we are all brothers and sisters. Therefore, we should show others that not only do they rely on us, but we also rely on them. This mutual reliance creates much profit. It causes others to be open to us, trust us, and have confidence in us. This is to “open our veins for the blood to circulate.” All the members must be open to one another. Then the circulation will do its proper work. (CWWL, 1973-1974, vol. 2, “The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church,” ch. 8)
Knowing One Another and Building Up a Close Friendship
When you talk with someone, you should discern what kind of person he is. If you discern that he is a person who likes to have friendship, you should not go back to his home and jump to the high, spiritual subject of the mingled spirit. In future meetings you should get acquainted with and get to know this new brother better. It would be good to inquire about his business and his welfare. This will make him happy. You should also let him talk. As you have opportunity, let him know something about you. After three or four visits like this, you and the new brother will have gotten to know one another in a more intimate way, and a close friendship could begin to be built up. Then it will be easier for you to talk more freely with him and to gradually introduce something in the field of God’s salvation. At this point you could begin to stir up his interest in this other field. Week after week, perhaps after twenty visits, something will be built up within him. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 3, “The Exercise and Practice of the God-ordained Way,” msg. 18)
Giving the Newly Saved Ones the Edifying Fellowship for New Believers
and Other Similar Pursuits and Exercise
We must give the newly saved ones in the districts the edifying fellowship for new believers and other similar pursuits and exercise as their spiritual “gymnastics”. In practice, we should lead the saints to pursue item after item according to their practical need. (CWWL, 1966, vol. 3, “The Transformation of Life and the Building Up of the Church,” msg. 11)
Leading the New Ones to Call on the Name of the Lord
If we are going to raise up the new believers, we must learn how to lead them to call on the name of the Lord (Rom. 10:12-13; 2 Tim. 2:22). There are many ways to lead the new believers into calling on the name of the Lord; the way largely depends on your practice. Learn to call and practice calling on the name of the Lord. If you are a person who spontaneously, constantly, and instantly calls on the name of the Lord, this will not only impress the new ones but also stir them up to spontaneously call on the name of the Lord. As little children like to follow their parents, the new believers will follow you to copy and imitate whatever you practice. We should not merely teach the new ones but lead them to call on the name of the Lord.
If we lead one of the new believers into calling, he will enter into all the spiritual realities. All the spiritual and divine realities are in the Lord’s name and are wrapped up with our calling. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 3, “The Scriptural Way to Meet and to Serve for the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” ch. 19)
Helping the New Ones to Pray
Not Only in the Meetings but Also in Their Daily Life
You need to help the new ones to pray, not only in the meetings but also in their daily life. Again, you have to carry out this kind of teaching in a spontaneous way. Do not exercise yourself as a teacher who is teaching them something crucial. That is wrong.
Helping the New Ones to Read the Bible Daily
and Use It for Their Sharing in the Meeting
We should also help the new ones to read the Bible daily and use it for their sharing in the meetings. There are two ways for us to help the new ones read the Bible. We may teach them in a formal way, but this is a killing way. Instead, we should teach them in a spontaneous way in our talk, our fellowship, with them. If we help them in a spontaneous and informal way, they will begin to read the Bible daily. When we see them after a couple of days, we can informally check with them to see if they are reading the Bible. By talking to them, we can find out whether they have read the Bible or not. In the home meetings we should not do anything formal or legal. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, “Speaking Christ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” ch. 11)
Leading and Teaching the Singing of Hymns
The home meeting should begin and end with singing hymns. If a hymn is deep in content and has many stanzas, it is sufficient to sing only the chorus. We should always sing two or three shorter hymns to give the new one an impression. We should also ask him to sing while at home. This will influence his daily living. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 1, vol. 1, “The Proper Way for Believers to Meet and to Serve,” msg. 7)
Leading Them To Keep Morning Watch
(Through The Telephone As The Best Way)
With The Two Verses
That They Should Read In The Morning
We need to learn to use the telephone to help the new ones keep morning watch. Today the telephone is a “modern weapon” that we can use. Anyone who is not having a morning revival with the Lord is defeated. All the elders should keep morning watch and should also practice having morning watch with others on the phone. I would encourage the elders to try to do this with others six days a week. We should not do this with the same person throughout the week. Instead, we may have morning watch with six different people on the six days of the week. This will really help people. When we help people in this way, we are the ones who receive the top benefit. There is the urgent need everywhere to help and to stir up the saints to participate in this new way of morning watch. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (3),” ch. 9)
Leading the New Believers to Meet with the Church
As you labor in the home meetings, you will realize that the new believers under your care need to be led into the practice of the church life. You should not forget that the goal of gaining people is to bring them into the proper church life for the increase of Christ to build up the Body of Christ. Do not wait too long before bringing the new believers into the practice of the church life. Actually, from the day you baptize the new believers, you should begin to direct them into other meetings of the church. If possible, it is best to direct the new believers into the church meeting on the Lord’s Day because that meeting best represents the character of the church life. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 3, “The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way,” msg. 22)
Helping People in Each Stage of Life
to Have Particular Experiences
We need to shepherd people in the way of experience. This is not simply to share our experiences with them. Rather, when we care for young ones, new ones, and weak ones, we need to know where they are in their experience. … This illustrates our need to help those who are under our shepherding to have definite, particular experiences of life. (CWWL, 1973-1974, vol. 2, “The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church,” ch. 9)
Contacting the Lord
We should help those in our group realize that they need to contact Christ. There is no need for us to give them a message. We should simply tell them that today the Lord is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17, 6), and when we believe into Him, He enters into us to dwell in us so that we may contact Him at any time (2 Tim. 4:22).
Making a Thorough Confession to the Lord
Second, in order for the new ones to contact the Lord, we need to help them make a thorough confession to the Lord. We should tell them that before we can experience the Lord as our life, we must experience Him as our light and that when we open to the Lord, we will be enlightened and exposed. God is light (1 John 1:5), and if we open ourselves to Him, He will shine in us, causing us to be exposed and to realize that we are wrong in many things and with many persons (vv. 7-8, 10). Thus, we need to confess (v. 9). We should also tell the new ones not to confess in a general way but to confess to the Lord specific items, just as a bookkeeper may read an account. In our confessing to the Lord, we must follow the inner sense. We may tell the new ones, “When you open yourself to the Lord and the Lord enlightens you, you will have an inward sense to say something to the Lord. You will feel that you were wrong in certain things, and when you receive this feeling, you should itemize all your faults, trespasses, mistakes, and wrongdoings before the Lord. If you do this you will enjoy the Lord’s strengthening, refreshing, satisfying, and watering.”
Feeding on the Word by Pray-reading
In our third contact with the young believers who are under our care, we may help them realize that they need to learn to pray daily. Furthermore, they need to learn to pray with the reading of the Word.
The main point is that we help them realize that merely reading the Word is not adequate. While they are reading, they must pray if they read a verse and there is some inspiration in their spirit, they should immediately pray regarding that inspiration, using that inspiration to pray. We should tell them, “Do not pray long prayers simply pray a short prayer, a few words. Then continue reading. Eventually, your reading and praying will be mingled together so that it will be difficult to tell whether you are reading or praying. The two will be one. In this way you will receive the milk from the word.” We must help them develop a daily habit of feeding and feasting on the Lord by the praying and reading of the Word.
Consecration
The fourth matter that we should help the young believers practice is consecration. We need to help the young believers consecrate themselves to the Lord.
First, a truly consecrated person is one who recognizes the Lord’s headship and lordship. To consecrate yourself to the Lord is to recognize the Lord’s headship and lordship, to recognize that in all things He, not you, is the Head and the Lord.
When we go shopping, we must go as a servant of the Lord. We have no freedom to buy what we like, because we are merely bondslaves of the Lord, who is our Head. We need to help the younger ones, weaker ones, and new believers realize the Lord’s headship and lordship in their daily living and in all the things related to their living. We cannot emphasize this point too much.
Second, a truly consecrated person is one who has given the Lord all the ground in everything. We need to help the new believers constantly give the Lord the ground. We must ask them who has the ground in their daily living, in their home, and in their business—them or the Lord? We should tell them to check how much ground they have given to the Lord.
The Clearance of the Past
The fifth matter we should fellowship with the new believers the clearance of the past (Luke 19:8; Acts 19:18-19). We who have been saved need a clearance of many things. Because of the fall we were damaged and became involved in many things such as wrong doings, mistakes, trespasses, and things against God and against man. Thus, if we are serious with the Lord and if we have taken the standing as a consecrated one, we will have the deep sense within that there are many things that we need to clear up. We need to have a clearance of our entire life, of things that we need to confess to the Lord and to others. There may be some things that we need to return to others and other things for which we must recompense others.
However, we should tell people that this matter is not something legal. It is not something that the Word of God demands that we do; rather, if we are in fellowship with the Lord and are standing on the ground of consecration, the more we fellowship with the Lord and contact the Lord, the more we will have the sense that many things need to be cleared up. We should not give this matter to the young believers as something legal. If we do so, we will damage them. This is not a legal matter but a help to their growth in life.
The Anointing
To help them realize the anointing, one matter is very basic and important. That is, we must tell them never to analyze. When we follow the inner anointing, we should simply follow it. When we have the peace to do something, we should do it; when we do not have the peace, we should stop. Do not analyze whether this is of the soul or the spirit, whether it is from heaven or hell, or whether it is from the Spirit or the devil. We should never analyze. Instead, we should check whether or not we are fully consecrated to the Lord. If we recognize the headship and lordship of Christ, have given Him the full ground, and have put the right to everything in His hand, whatever we sense within is the anointing. (CWWL, 1966, vol. 1, “Fellowship on Life, Building, and Fruit-Bearing,” ch. 6)
Bringing the New Ones into the Truth
Whether going out door-knocking or going to people’s homes to lead the meetings, we need to learn this truth in a thorough way. Not only should we know and understand it, but we should study it to the point that we can teach others as if our tongue were the pen of a ready writer. Every newly baptized brother or sister, after attending such meetings for six months, can also become one who teaches others. In this way many people will soon come to know the truth of the Bible. This is only a guide, to lead all the newly saved ones to read the Bible in a good way and understand all the truth in the sixty-six books of the Bible. This is the commission of the truth of which we speak. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Mystery of the Universe and the Meaning of Human Life,” msg. 8)
Today we are here for the Lord’s recovery. For the long run we surely have to help the saints in the Lord’s recovery to get into the top spiritual education. You must remember that we still uplift the living Christ, the life-giving Spirit, life itself and its riches, and the church in a living way.… The standard of the Lord’s recovery depends upon the standard of the truth that we put out. The truths will be the measure and the standard. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 3: The Way to Carry Out the Vision,” msg. 10)
God’s Eternal Economy Being the Essence of the Bible,
the Center of the Bible
We need to lead people to know the truth. This truth is not what is generally known—the common, superficial, and shallow truth. This truth concerns God’s eternal economy, which is God in His Divine Trinity dispensing Himself into His chosen people by passing through all the processes so that they may be regenerated, sanctified, transformed, conformed, and glorified and so that they may be the members of Christ and become the Body of Christ as God’s corporate expression on the earth. This is the truth we are talking about.
After knocking on doors and preaching the gospel, we must go on to establish meetings in the homes of the newly baptized saints and begin to teach them the truth. This truth is the essence of the Bible, the center of the Bible, and what is according to God’s heart’s desire, yet this truth is mostly neglected among Christians. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “The Mystery of the Universe and the Meaning of Human Life,” msg. 8)
The Triune God Having Passed through the Wonderful Process
in order to Dispense Himself into Us
We should also teach people about the wonderful process through which the Triune God has passed in order to dispense Himself into us. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1,”The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move,” ch. 3)
We need to lead the new ones in the home meetings to advance in the truth and to grow in life. This is not just nourishing but teaching.… Some might wonder how it can go this fast. Yes, it can truly go this fast. We need to turn our concepts. In the past our knowledge was inadequate, but now we are in an age of advancement, and the standard of education has been raised. We must believe that the level of the new ones is also higher. In the past we felt that it was too hard to understand certain hymns, but now the new ones understand the hymns as soon as they sing them. Therefore, when we teach the new ones, we should not think that they will not be able to understand and therefore consider waiting until another time to tell them about certain things. We must realize that once we wait, we might end up waiting forever. We should just speak boldly and believe that they certainly are able to understand. Parents all know that the way to teach little children to speak is to constantly speak when you are around them. After you have spoken much, they spontaneously are able to speak too. If you do not teach them to speak, in just three years’ time they will become mutes who truly are not able to speak. Leading the home meetings is just like this. Do not be afraid to speak about the deeper truths such as the dispensing of the Triune God; … You must believe that by your speaking again and again, they will be able not only to understand but also to speak according to your speaking. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 3, “The Furtherance of the New Way for the Lord’s Recovery,” msg. 6)
The Triune God Passing through Various Processes
First Corinthians 15:45 says that the Lord became “a life-giving Spirit” to dispense life into us. It is very easy for us to understand this verse to mean that God has merely given us a gift. When someone gives us a gift, the gift is the gift, and we are we; the gift and we are separate. This is a wrong understanding of dispensing. When God dispenses His life into us, He dispenses Himself into us. He is not separate from us. Moreover, for God to dispense Himself into us and enter into us to be our life, He needed to pass through various processes.
Becoming Flesh
First, He needed to become a man. He was God on high in eternity, but in order to enter into man, He had to become a man. How could He become a man? It was by putting on a physical body, that is, by becoming flesh. There is a difference between the body and the flesh. The body is that which was created by God. It was sinless; it was not contaminated by sin, defiled by sin, or corrupted. Nevertheless, after the fall of man, man was contaminated and corrupted by sin inwardly, which caused the body that God created to become flesh. This is true even to the extent that the Bible calls man “flesh.”
Passing through Human Living
He lived on this earth for thirty-three and a half years. He first lived in a poor carpenter’s family in Nazareth for thirty years. When He was thirty years old, He came out of Nazareth and began to minister. While He was working as a carpenter, He was found in the likeness of a man. Philippians 2 says that He became in the likeness of men and was found in fashion as a man (vv. 7-8). When He was found by people as a man, He had the likeness not of an angel but of a man.
Passing through Death
Then He passed through the process of death. The process of the death of the Lord Jesus is special. He did not die on the cross in a common way. His way of passing through death was a very special process. According to the book of Colossians, while He was passing through death, there was a spiritual warfare at the cross (Col. 2:14-15). While His flesh was being put to death there, His Spirit was still working there (1 Pet. 3:18b-19). Then He entered into Hades, passed through Hades, and came out of it. When He was passing through Hades, He remained for a period of time to carry out His work there. Afterward, He came out of Hades and out of the tomb.
Entering into Resurrection
When He came out of the tomb, He did not come out hastily. Instead, He came out gracefully, taking off and folding in an orderly way the linen cloths He wore in His burial. In the morning of His resurrection the disciples went into the tomb and saw that the handkerchief and cloths were lying there in an orderly manner (John 20:6-7). This proves that He went out of the tomb calmly and gently. He came out from death and entered into resurrection.
After He entered into resurrection, He was still in the midst of the disciples and stayed on the earth for forty days and nights. In these forty days and nights He was within them and moved with them, yet they did not realize it. At that time the Lord’s presence with the disciples was sometimes visible and sometimes invisible. It was sometimes manifested and sometimes hidden. When He was manifested, the disciples felt that He had come. When He hid Himself, the disciples said that He had gone. In fact, He had neither come nor gone. He was simply there, allowing them to see Him in one instance and hiding Himself in another.
Today the Lord and we have the same relationship. Sometimes He is manifested, and sometimes He is hidden. Sometimes we feel that the Lord is truly with us, but sometimes we feel that we do not know where He has gone. It seems that although our circumstances are very difficult, He is not with us. Our situations are difficult, yet He does not appear to care. Nevertheless, when we feel that the Lord no longer cares for us, He appears again suddenly. This is the Lord Jesus in resurrection.
The Triune God Being Processed to Enter into Men to Be Their Life
Our God is the God who put on humanity so that divinity could be mingled with humanity as one. In addition, He completed the experience of human living, accomplished an all-inclusive death, and entered into resurrection. It is hard to tell whether such a One is physical or spiritual. You may say that He is spiritual, but He could be touched by the disciples. On the other hand, you may say that He is physical, but He was able to enter into a room where the doors were shut. After His resurrection He became such a mysterious One. Now He has put Himself into His words so that the gospel we preach and every sentence we speak is He Himself. He is in the words that we speak. When these words are spoken and when they touch the spirit of a person, this person is enlightened to say, “Lord Jesus,” and He enters into him. Such entering is the entering of the Triune God, the entering of God yet man, who completed human living, passed through death, and entered into resurrection. He enters into man with His human living, death, resurrection, His divinity, and His humanity, to be man’s life.
When we go to lead a home meeting, it is a joyful matter if the new ones are kept and stabilized. However, this is not adequate. If we are not able to bring them into the fellowship of life, what we do is simply a work of human affiliation, a work of dealing with people’s emotion. When we lead them in the home meetings, they enjoy it very much, and when we visit their homes, they welcome us. All this is very good, but it is not adequate. We need to bring them into the Triune God who dwells in them so that they may have the fellowship of life with Him. Merely having contact with us is not enough; they must also contact God. Merely having fellowship with us is not adequate; they must also fellowship directly with God. It is not adequate if we are the only one who fellowships with them. We must bring God along with us so that they know that there is a Triune God in us and on us. Moreover, this God is also in them, so they can fellowship with such a One in life in their daily living, not only when we are there but even when we are not. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 1, “Bearing Remaining Fruit,” msg. 21)
Teaching the Truths Concerning the All-inclusive Christ
and the Church as the Organic Body of Christ
The people also need to see all the aspects of the church. They need to eventually see how the one universal church, as the Body of Christ, should be expressed as the local churches in many localities. We need to teach with much stress the truths concerning the all-inclusive Christ and the church as the organic Body of Christ. Eventually, the church will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the ultimate manifestation of the processed Triune God mingled with the transformed tripartite man to express the Triune God to the fullest in eternity. Our teaching of the divine truths should include the New Jerusalem as the ultimate consummation of God’s dispensing. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, “The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move,” ch. 3)
Helping People to Function
so That They May Be Built Up
We must all know how to build up the church. We should not be too proud and think that only we can build up others, nor should we be too humble and think that only others can build us up. We need to be built up, and we need to build up others. The genuine building up of the church includes several items. First, to build up the church we must help people to function. This is a great need, because without functioning there is no building up. In Christianity there is not much real building; there is mainly organization. We need to help people to function so that they may be built up. If someone never takes the opportunity to function in the church life, he can never be built into the church. He needs us to build him up in his function. This is a part of our shepherding. (CWWL, 1973-1974, vol. 2, “The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church,” ch. 9)
Leading the New Believers to Preach the Gospel
We have to take the lead to bring the new believers into the practice of preaching the gospel. First, we baptize them, and then we feed them in the home meetings. While we are feeding them, we should help them to have a burden for their relatives. We may say to them, “We brought Christ to you, and now we encourage you to bring Christ to your relatives.” As we accompany the new believers to visit their relatives, these “warm doors” will be open to us. We must lead the new believers to visit their relatives, helping them to realize that this is another part of the practice of the church life.
Leading the New Believers to Take Care of Other Saints
From the very beginning, we should also lead the new ones to take care of other saints. In raising children the best parents always lead their children to do the same thing that they do. While we are caring for the home meetings, we should gradually lead our new ones into the practice of the church life. The practice of the church life is first, to preach the gospel to gain new believers; second, to meet with the saints and with the whole church; and third, to take care of other saints. From the beginning of their Christian life, the new believers should be brought into the habit of caring for other believers. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 3, “The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way,” 22)
The Saints Whom We Perfect Perfecting Others
The Body is built up by itself through the gifted persons, the joints, and through the other members of the Body, each one part. The joints have the position and the storehouse of Christ’s riches, but they still need to act. The other members do not need the rich supply; they only have to operate. When the joints and the parts are functioning, this keeps all the members of the Body living, moving, acting, and operating. Then sinners will be saved, and the saved sinners will be established, nourished, cherished, and perfected. Eventually, all of them will repeat the same thing that we are doing.
We need to practice to perfect the saints in our locality. After two weeks the saints whom we perfect will go to others to perfect them. By this way the whole church will be stirred up. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “The Excelling Gift for the Building Up of the Church,” ch. 4)
Learning to Perfect Others to Speak for the Lord
Eventually, we will learn to perfect others to speak for the Lord. Then all the meeting members in the local church will be prophets. Everyone will be able to speak something for the Lord and of the Lord into others. To prophesy is to minister Christ with all His riches to the other members. This is the actual, practical, building up of the Body of Christ organically. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “The Excelling Gift for the Building Up of the Church,” ch. 5)
The First Thing for Which He Sets Us Here Being
to Create in Others a Hunger for Himself
We have to know why God has put us in the world. He has put us in the world so that our presence would create a hunger and thirst for righteousness in sinners, believers, and the world. In our work, we have to create a hunger within others. There must be an enigmatic freshness, power, nourishment, and supply within us that will drive others to seek after God by our presence. Others should have a desire to seek after God as a result of meeting us and speaking to us. If we always see others and communicate with them without creating a desire within them for God, it means that we have failed. If our reading of the Bible, prayer, service, and gospel preaching do not produce such a powerful hunger within man, our work has failed. (CWWN, vol. 42, “Conferences, Messages, and Fellowship (2),” msg. 31)
But if once that point is reached, you may or may not seem to be much used in an outward way, but God will begin to use you to create a hunger in others. People will scent Christ in you. The least saint in the Body will detect that. He will sense that here is one who has gone with the Lord, one who has suffered, one who has not moved freely, independently, but who has known what it is to let go everything to Him. That kind of life creates impressions, and impressions create hunger, and hunger provokes men to go on seeking until they are brought by Divine revelation into fullness of life in Christ.
God does not set us here first of all to preach or to do work for Him. The first thing for which He sets us here is to create in others a hunger for Himself. That is, after all, what prepares the soil for the preaching. …and it can be created in others only by those who carry with them the impressions of God. (CWWN, vol. 13, “The Normal Christian Life” ch. 14)
THE PRINCIPLES OF SPIRITUAL LIVING REVOLVING AROUND
CROSSING A BARRIER AND WALKING ON THE WAY
All the principles of spiritual living revolve around crossing a barrier and walking on the way. I … realize that all spiritual blessings are in Christ… This is to cross the barrier. After we cross the barrier, step by step, we have to stand on the word God has shown us. This is to walk on the way. We need to pay attention to both aspects. All those who have not crossed the barrier cannot walk on the way. If a person has crossed the barrier, yet is too lazy to progress in the way, he will not be able to go on and not be able to advance. One must take definite steps, one by one, and must occupy the land, city by city. The enemy will never surrender without a fight. Spiritual warfare is something that we have to experience.
The Gate and the Way
My purpose today is not to expound Matthew 7:13-14 but to show the kind of way a Christian should take. Matthew 5 through 7 is meant for Christians. I will not delve, however, into the specific lessons that are intended for the Christians because this is not the purpose of my message. I am only borrowing Matthew 7:13-14 as the theme of my message. These two verses touch on two main principles: entering through the gate and walking on the way. There is one extreme of emphasizing only entering and not walking. There is another extreme of emphasizing only walking and not entering. God has put before every Christian both a gate and a way; there is a way, and there is a gate. Without these two things, the Christian life would be unbalanced.
To Enter a Gate Meaning to Cross a Barrier,
and to Walk on a Way Meaning to Make Progress
What does it mean to enter a gate? Entering a gate means passing through a barrier. The gate has a door which acts as a barrier. When you cross it you enter an area where you have not previously been. No matter how big the door may be, crossing and entering takes less than five minutes. In an instant, you are through the crossing, and you will notice a clear difference. There is a big difference between the time before and the time after entering the gate. A few minutes ago you were in one world; a few minutes later you are in another. First you were outside the gate; now you are inside the gate. Entering the gate means experiencing a big difference within a short time; it means crossing the biggest barrier within the shortest time. After this your situation becomes completely different.
The Spiritual Pathway Beginning with the Crossing of a Barrier
and Being Followed by a Walk on a Way
According to the Bible, the spiritual pathway begins with an entry into a gate and is followed by a walk on a way; that is, it begins with the crossing of a barrier and is followed by a walk. This is opposite to the way of the world. The pathway in the world involves first walking and then entering. For example, you have to walk on Hardoon Road before you can enter through the gate of Wen-teh Lane. But the spiritual pathway is different. The spiritual pathway is more like a palace or an imperial burial ground; there is a huge wall, and a person has to go through a gate. Then he has to walk a long way before he reaches his destination. The Bible often mentions the gate and the way together.
A Christian must not only cross a barrier, but must also walk on a way before him. The way is long and takes time to cover. Does entering the gate take much time? No, one step is all that is necessary. Does it take more time to enter the gate or to walk on the way? The way takes more time. To enter the gate without walking on the way is not balanced. Once a person enters the gate, he has to advance step by step. To walk means to progress gradually and advance step by step. It only takes one step to enter the gate, but walking is not a one-step work. Rather, it takes a long time for one to walk step by step. Once a person enters a gate, he will notice an obvious difference. Having crossed one barrier, it may take a hundred steps before he needs to cross another barrier. It may take another thousand steps before he needs to cross yet another barrier. The minute a person enters a gate, he has to begin walking.
Today Christians have many arguments. One group emphasizes crossing barriers, another emphasizes making progress. Some consider entering the gate a super-experience. Others think that there is no need to enter a gate and that there is only a need to walk on the way. Walking on the way is surely a way of making progress, but this alone does not give one a clear separation. Both groups have deviated. We must recognize that we must cross the barrier and walk on the way; we must walk on the way as well as cross the barrier. Entering the gate and walking on the way are two great principles in the Bible. The entering and the walking should receive equal attention from us. (CWWN, vol. 10, “The Present Testimony (3),” The gate and the way)
Discussion:
1. How to build a relationship with the new ones that they may always open their heart to us?
2. How to help new ones to build up spiritual habits (calling upon the Lord, praying, reading the Bible, singing hymns)?
3. How to lead the new ones to enter into the experience of life?
4. How to help the new ones to have basic knowledge of the truth?
5. How to lead the new ones to function organically to practice begetting, nourishing, perfecting, and building?
6. How to help the new ones to have the corporate God-man living?
7. How to lead the new ones to attend conferences and trainings?
8. How to lead the new ones to pass through the gate of consecration?
