Pray that the saints would learn to function in the Lord’s table meeting in a connected way, coordinating together like a team to pray, speak, and sing hymns and to praise and thank the Lord (Eph. 5:18b-20; Hymns, #867).
Eph. 5:18b-20—Be filled in spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father.
Hymns, #867:
As members of the Body
Christ we would manifest,
Each learning how to function
His fulness to express;
We would not be spectators
But each as members move,
None bringing death or damage
But each our profit prove.
As in a team we’d never
Act independently,
But in coordination,
Each would dependent be;
Not acting by our choosing
But following the flow,
Distraction never bringing,
The Spirit’s way we’d know.
On Christ we here would focus,
No other center make;
With Christ in sweet communion
His riches to partake.
He is our Head and content,
His Body we express;
Whate’er we do while meeting
Himself must manifest.
Built up in love together,
Not one would criticize;
To perfect one another,
We all would exercise.
Each one from self delivered,
The natural life forsakes;
In grace each trained in spirit
The Body-life partakes.
MINISTRY PORTION:
During the meeting we need to function in the way of coordination. Often in our meetings we are like a basketball team in which each person has his own basketball and plays his own game. On such a team no one cares for the other members, but each one is concerned solely with his own basketball. However, a proper basketball team uses only one ball and plays in a coordinated way. Likewise, in our meetings we must learn to function in a coordinated way as a team, using only one “ball.” For instance, if one brother begins the meeting by praying, another brother should follow by praying along the same line. Then a third one may choose an appropriate hymn, and after the hymn is sung, another saint may offer an explanation of the hymn. We should function in the meetings in the same way that a basketball team passes the basketball.
To meet and worship the Lord in this way requires training. In order to drive a car, we must be trained. We cannot say that we can drive simply because we have the human life, which has the capacity to drive. We need to practice driving. Only after many hours of practice can we properly drive a car. Similarly, we have been born again and have received the spiritual life that has the capacity to worship the Lord. However, it is not sufficient merely to have this life; we also need the practice. The reason we often come to the meetings empty-handed is that we do not practice preparing ourselves before the meeting. The reason our meetings are often poor is that we do not exercise our spirit to sense the atmosphere and to function in coordination. The more we practice these things, the more we will be accustomed to meeting in this way.
In order to function in a coordinated way, we first need to learn to pray. Functioning in coordination with others depends on the way we pray. Second, we need to familiarize ourselves with the hymns and know how to use them. After someone prays or speaks a word in the meeting, we may have the feeling to continue the burden by calling a hymn. To do this effectively, we must be able to find the hymn promptly. We need to realize that the hymns greatly affect the atmosphere of the meetings. A hymn can bring the meeting either up into the heavens or down into a deep pit. Thus, we need to learn to use the hymns in a proper way and at the proper time. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 3, “Basic Principles for the Church Meetings,” ch. 1, pp. 6-7)
Livingly Wrong 