Seventy percent of the building of the practical church life depends on the sisters

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“Romans 16 is a chapter on the practical church life, not in doctrine but in practicality. Until we could see the real serving sisters and so many mothers, our church life is not practical, it is not on the top.

If you sisters would be serving as Phoebes and loving as mothers, I can assure you that the church would be seventy percent built up right away. Seventy percent of the building of the practical church life depends on the sisters. Without such a coordination with the sisters in this way, no matter how much the brothers would labor in the church life, there would be very little result as far as the building goes. When the sisters would be serving and would be the mothers, right away the church will be built up. Through this there will be a strong connection in the spiritual building, and a prevailing revival will spontaneously be brought in. Satan will be defeated. It will be fully proved how much depends on the sisters. Seventy percent of the practical building depends on the sisters. We all must pray that the Lord will have mercy upon the church that all the sisters will be Phoebes and will be mothers.”

(Loving Mothers in the Church Life)

How do we have a genuine revival?

/ livinglywrong

“The only way to have a revival, a new beginning, is to be open. This is the only way to be fresh. We need to open and be released instead of being locked inside the self. It is very simple to open ourselves. For example, instead of being shut within our oppressed self, we can tell a brother that we feel oppressed and old. If we would open to one another whenever we meet together, there would be a revival among us. There are many serving ones in the churches. On the one hand, we know one another because we see one another nearly every day, but on the other hand, we do not know one another, because we are closed. I do not open my inner spiritual condition to you, and you do not reveal your inner spiritual condition to me. How can there be a revival among us under such circumstances?

…We should not think that the revival will come to us from heaven or from the abyss; it simply needs to flow out of us. The impression that we receive from reading the history of revivals in the church is that believers anticipate that revivals would descend from above. However, those who have experience realize that the power they thought would descend from above actually flows out of their inner being. Hence, the key to revival is being open. The power in us is an explosive force. As long as we are willing to open and let it explode from within us, we will have a prevailing revival.

It is right to say that we need to pray in order to have a revival. However, I must repeat that the key, the secret, of having a revival is not in our asking the Lord to give us something from above but in our opening to Him and letting Him flow out. Being open is the basic principle for allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us. The more we are reserved and closed, the less likely we are to receive grace.

…This is where our problem lies. When we come together for fellowship or in the meetings, we are closed. Most of the saints who come to the prayer meeting on Tuesday night come with a closed attitude. They have made up their mind not to open their mouth to pray. How can we have a strong prayer meeting? Perhaps in the prayer meeting and the bread-breaking meeting we should give messages concerning being open in order to encourage the saints to open. Some saints might feel reluctant to speak because they are not “inspired” by the Holy Spirit. However, as long as we are open, inspiration will come. The less we open, the more difficult it will be to open, and the more we wait for inspiration, the less inspiration we will receive.

We have a treasure in us, but it is locked up. It does not matter whether we are weak, strong, cold, or burning. When we are burning, this rich source is in us, and when we are cold, this rich source is still in us. This source never changes. The question is whether we would let it flow out.

When I was young, I liked to play with firecrackers. I would get about a dozen firecrackers and use a pin to open the paper wrapping around the fuse so that the gunpowder was exposed. Then I would set off a couple of firecrackers and let them explode. The sparks from these firecrackers would touch other firecrackers and kindle the gunpowder. As a result, all the firecrackers would explode. This analogy is fitting for Christians. Each of us is a firecracker, and Christ is our gunpowder. Our problem is that Christ is securely wrapped within us, and we are neither willing to be broken nor to open. We pray for a revival, but we keep ourselves tightly closed. Hence, we cannot “explode,” and even our earnest prayer does not avail. If we want to pray, we should pray that the Lord would cause us to open.

We must submit to the Lord and humbly ask Him to give us a vision. We should not merely have enjoyment, satisfaction, and a sense of sweetness in our pursuit of the Lord. We need to see that the Lord is in resurrection. We need a vision of resurrection so that we would be able to leap upon the mountains and skip upon the hills. In spite of the things pressing on our spirit and the difficulties in our environment, we need to see that the Lord is living and strong in us; He is leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills. If we would know resurrection and be open, we would be like unwrapped firecrackers. Once one firecracker explodes, it can kindle the others. If I am open, I can burn someone else until he is open, and then he can burn me. As a result, we will have a genuine revival.”

(The Law of Revival, chapter 2)

How do we draw closer to the Lord?

/ livinglywrong

“…Even though our Lord is great, He does not neglect the small things. We may think that what we tell Him must also be something great, or else He will not listen. Little do we realize that our Lord never neglects the small things. There is nothing that is too small for the Lord to listen to. He is willing to listen to everything. He is willing to listen to everything concerning us. He was willing to listen to His own disciples, and He was willing to listen to John’s disciples. The disciples of John had followed their teacher for a long time. One can imagine the affection there was between them and John. When their teacher was killed, how could they not be brokenhearted? The Bible does not say that they complained about Herod, nor does it say that they cried all day long. They only buried John’s body and then came to tell Jesus.

Some would bury their dead and then say, “Everything with me is over. I have lost all hope. He is dead, and I have lost everything. Everything I had left with him.” Yet these are the times when we should draw near to the Lord. We can tell the Lord our sorrow. He will not rebuke us as being too worldly, too affectionate, or too attached to our dead ones. He knows our emotion, and He sympathizes with our heart. Some may have never experienced the sorrow of losing their parents, wife, brothers, or relatives. Nevertheless, when they lose something, they still feel as if their “John” has died, and they are left in despair and disappointment. They feel that the sky above them is no longer blue and that everything around them has lost its ardor; they find no way out. At such times it is most unprofitable to not bury the corpse, to cry, and to be sorrowful over it all the time. They should bury the corpse, like the disciples of John did, and go and tell the Lord. We should realize that when we have a thorough talk with the Lord and pour out our heart to Him, our intimacy with the Lord is one step further, and we know Him a little more. Intimate contact with Him at these times is hundreds of times better than our ordinary fellowship with Him. By these contacts we advance in life. We should bring our problems to the Lord and tell Him about them. He can comfort us and help us. If a person has never shed tears before the Lord, if he has never shared his joy or sorrow with the Lord, and if he has never talked with the Lord about his private matters, he has never had any intimate fellowship with the Lord; he has never had any deep acquaintance with Him. We are not saying that you cannot ask others to pray for you or ask others to help you. We are saying that one can only be drawn closer to the Lord through telling Him everything.

Once John’s disciples told the Lord of their sorrows, every problem dissolved. No matter what we tell Him, He will listen. No man can sympathize with everyone. But our Lord can sympathize with everyone. He is sympathetic to every one of our problems. He cares for the affairs of us all. In His heart, there seems to be no one else’s affairs but ours. He bears all our sorrows. No matter how weak we are, He will sympathize with us and bear our sorrow for us. Our Lord is willing to bear all our anxieties and patient to listen to our speaking. Do not think that He will not listen. We should never be lazy in bringing our matters to Him. He is waiting for us to tell them to Him, and He is happy to listen to our speaking.”

(Tell Him)

How do we live a life free of anxiety?

/ livinglywrong

“If we would have a life free of anxiety, we need to realize that all our circumstances, good or bad, have been assigned to us by God. We need to have this realization with a full assurance. Suppose a brother is in business as a merchant. His business may prosper, and he may earn a good deal of money. Later his business may fail and he may lose much more than he earned. Both earning money and losing it are God’s assignment to him. If this brother has the full assurance that his circumstances come from God’s assignment, he will be able to worship the Lord for His arrangement. Perhaps losing money will benefit him more than earning money, for through such a loss he may be perfected and built up.

Likewise, both illness and good health come from God as His assignment. We should all aspire to be healthy. But sometimes good health does not perfect us as much as a period of illness. Furthermore, when our health fails, we may be more inclined to pray than when we are in good health.

The first prerequisite to having no anxiety is to have the full assurance that all the sufferings we experience are God’s assignment. What need is there to worry about things? God has assigned them to us. He knows what we need.

When I was very young, I read a story about a conversation between two sparrows who were talking about the sorrows and the worries common among human beings. One sparrow asked the other why people worry so much. The other sparrow answered, “I don’t think they have a Father who cares for them like we do. We don’t need to worry about anything because our Father takes care of us.” Yes, our Father does care for us. But sometimes He sends us hardships and sufferings to serve in fulfilling our destiny to magnify Christ. We can be freed from worry not because God has promised us a life without suffering, but because we know that all our circumstances come to us as God’s assignment. Paul did not care about life or death. He cared only that Christ would be magnified in him. He realized that every circumstance was for his good. This is the way to have no anxiety.”

(Life-Study of Philippians, message 60)

What is it to live by faith?

/ livinglywrong

“What is it to live by faith? It is what the three Hebrew men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego said to Nebuchadnezzar:  ‘Our God… will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if He does not… we will not serve your gods nor worship the golden image that you have set up’ (Dan. 3:17-18). They were saying even if God did not save them, they still would not change. This is to live by faith.”

(CWWN, vol. 11, Living by Faith)

Let me love and not be respected

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“Let me love and not be respected;
Let me serve and not be rewarded;
Let me labor and not be remembered;
Let me suffer and not be regarded.
‘Tis the pouring, not the drinking;
‘Tis the breaking, not the keeping —
A life suff’ring to seek others’ blessing,
A life of loving and of true comfort giving.
Not expecting pity or concern,
Not accepting solace or praise;
Lonely, even forgotten;
Wordless, even forsaken.
Tears and blood for the righteous crown
My price shall be; losing all,
My cost for a faithful pilgrim’s life.
‘Twas the life, O Lord, that You chose to live
In those days when on earth You walked,
Gladly suff’ring all injuries and loss
So that all might draw near and repose with You.
I cannot see how much farther I shall go;
Still I press on, knowing there is no return.
Let me follow Your pattern, so perfect and true,
Bearing all gratefully without complaint.
In this time of trial, O my Lord,
I pray that You would wipe my hidden tears away;
Let me learn, O Lord, that You are my reward;
Let me be a blessing to others all my days.”

(hymn by Watchman Nee, circa 1930)

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We do not open up to others, because we are afraid to be known by them

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“… When we come together in the vital groups, we should release ourselves by opening up to one another. We may have been with one another for years, but we do not really know one another. Instead, we like to hide ourselves in certain things from the saints. I am afraid that not one of us is really open. All of us are pretending to be “good” members of the vital groups. We may show up on time and behave ourselves as nice ladies and gentlemen, but this is seclusion. We do not want to talk openly with the saints in our vital group because we are secluded. To talk openly with the intimate and thorough fellowship in Christ is to be released.

We do not open up to others, because we are afraid to be known by them. As a result, we cannot receive the inner healing from the Lord. We may be sick of “gangrene,” but we want to cover and hide our sickness from others. We need to realize that the other members of our vital group are our doctors. If we open ourselves up in a proper way to the other saints in our group, we will be healed. But instead of opening up, everyone is hiding. Some of us are released, but we are not absolutely released, because we are not used to being open to others. We are not open, but closed and secluded.

When we come together, we may feel that there is not much to do. I have said that the group meetings are eighty percent of the church life, and the first item of the group meetings is to come together to fellowship in an intimate, thorough, and spontaneous way. Maybe a sister would open up by saying, “I can’t tolerate my children. Would you tell me how to overcome my temper?” Why would we not open up to one another in this way? Instead of seeing a scenery of intimate fellowship in the vital groups, I see a very behaving scenery. Everybody behaves. No one wants to make a mistake. Everyone wants to be a “good boy” and a “good girl.” I have seen this for many years, and I am disgusted with this. I want to see a group of seeking saints coming together to gain the Lord Jesus.

But where can we see a group of saints practicing the New Testament revelation today? Who is denying himself? Who is being renewed, transformed, and conformed to the image of the One who has passed through death and resurrection? Gradually, we have drifted into practicing a routine church life, but where is the Spirit and where is the leading of the Lord? There is not much leading of the Spirit among us. Instead, you act by your way, and I act by my way. You pray by your way, and I pray by my way. Who is going to be adjusted? Who is going to learn? If we are not inwardly adjusted and transformed, then where is the church life?

We have lost the impact in winning the sinners because we are a group of behaving people. We do not have the real spirituality as the power from on high, as the impact. In nearly everything, we have lost our spiritual impact. This is why we need a strict training. Otherwise, there will be no remedy to our situation. We love the recovery, we love the Lord, we love the church, and we are so good. We behave ourselves so that we do not offend anyone or make mistakes in the church life. But this is not the church life. This is a kind of top social club. The church life, however, is a group of Jesus-lovers who seek after Him.

These lovers of Jesus are ones who, after being regenerated, go on to learn the lesson of denying themselves in everything so that they can be renewed. They are living, serving, and meeting not by their doing and adjustment but by the Holy Spirit’s leading. They are being renewed even in the way they deal with their children and in the way they talk to their spouse.

… We need to be transformed in everything. The Lord needs a group of people who have been regenerated, renewed, transformed, and conformed to the firstborn Son of God so that they can be built up together. This building is the Body and the practical church life.

I appreciate that the Lord has raised up so many churches on the earth, but the actual situation of the churches with respect to the practice of the God-ordained way is not that much up to the standard. This is why we need to raise up the vital groups. The remedy is here. In our vital groups, we must have much and thorough prayer to get ourselves blended with others in love. Whenever we come together, we should open up to one another to have an intimate and thorough fellowship.”

(Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, Chapter 15)

What is the basis of our spiritual wealth?

/ livinglywrong

“Many people have spent much time before God, but they have not passed through many experiences before God. If one wants to become rich, he must spend time before God, and he must pass through many experiences before God. The experiences one has to go through are the discipline of the Holy Spirit.

…Let us not be dismayed by the difficulties we face before God. Every one of these situations adds to our wealth. The fewer problems we have, the less we will have in reserve, and the fewer words we will be able to share with others. No one can have a word without experience. Our wealth in the Word and our service to God’s children are in proportion to the experiences we go through. Our supply comes through the lessons we have learned before God. This is not something that doctrines can give to us; nor is it something that commentaries on the Bible can give to us. It is something we learn when the Holy Spirit leads us in our daily walk.

Therefore, I hope that we will not be slack in our daily experience in learning to follow God. In all the disappointment and disillusionment we face, let us recognize the Lord’s severe dealings with us. Let us bow before Him in gratitude and worship Him, acknowledging that His purpose in all these things is to enrich us and to lead us to abundance.

A certain brother thought that he was quite strong in faith until he fell ill. Then he began to learn the real meaning of faith. If we have never been poor, we do not know how to look to the Lord. If we have never been ill, we do not know faith. If we have never had problems, we do not know true worship. If we are without experiences and have not learned anything, we are poor. Anyone who tries to avoid difficulties is a poor person. Everyone who asks for easy circumstances is poor. If we want progress, we must ask for some situations to pass through. The more we want to learn, the more we must experience. Our hope, our faith, and our submission all come into these different situations to edify us and bring us through. If we have one more situation added outwardly, we will have one more item of spiritual wealth added inwardly. We must realize that every situation we encounter is for teaching us something, no matter how hard it is for our flesh or how much we dislike it. We must bow our head and say, ‘This is a chance, a once-in-a-lifetime chance, a hard-to-come-by opportunity! Lord, I thank You!’

…When you encounter trials, you should lift up your head and praise the Lord, saying, ‘Lord, You are creating another opportunity within me for me to gain some riches. Everything is working together for good. You are going to produce something in me that others do not have so that I can supply the church.’ Brothers, do not be deceived into thinking that you will be able to preach by dint of much study. A man can deliver a message, but he does not necessarily have a rich spirit. A man can improve his preaching and increase the abundance of his words, but this does not make him wealthy in his spirit.

Being full of meaningful utterance and being full of the Spirit are two entirely different matters. God is not treating us wrongly when He gives us more trials and difficulties; He is actually treating us very well. He has selected us and has granted us favor by providing us this big opportunity. We must look for this. If we have the light, we should always consider one matter: How many experiences have we passed through before the Lord? Do we have any reserves?  …The amount of our spiritual wealth is based on the amount of experiences we have passed through.”

(Special Grace and Reserve Grace)