Read and pray: "If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward;" (1 Corinthians 3:14)
LEARNING TO KNOW THE PEOPLE
It is crucial also to learn to know the people as we administer the church and minister the word. We need to know them in order to administer the church and also to minister the word. If we do not know them, we cannot build the church. On the contrary, the church will be led to confusion and destruction.
Anyone who wants to build the church must know the people. We must know the personal condition of the brothers. This includes knowing their intentions before God, their fleshly inclinations, and also their spirit. Every skilled construction worker must be instructed regarding stones, tiles, and wood. He needs to know how to discern the nature of the wood, whether it is light or heavy. If he does not know the nature of the wood and uses it indiscriminately, it will be dangerous to live in the houses he builds.
Much of the knowledge we have of people is based on the transformation we have already received. If the Lord has dealt with us about a certain aspect, it will be easier to know people in that aspect. If our motivations have never been worked on by the Lord, it will be difficult to discern whether the motivations of others are pure or not. If our intentions, motivations, and purposes have been completely dealt with by the Lord, when we come into contact with others, we will know their intentions, motivations, and thoughts, and we will promptly know the root of their problems.
We will know when they are pure. If our flesh has never been dealt with by the Lord and we have never learned the lesson of being broken, we will not be able to discern when others are in the flesh. Therefore, our knowledge of people is based on our knowledge of ourselves. Whoever is serious and correct in dealing with himself knows people accordingly.
It is very important that the elders who administer the church know the intentions, motivations, and purposes of the brothers. They need to know the spiritual condition of the brothers and where they stand before God. If this does not happen, they are prone to make many mistakes. When someone who is gentle, eloquent, educated, zealous, and capable of preaching messages comes to the church, they may think that he can serve in coordination with the others. However, when he is put to work, an entire service group may collapse.
Those who administer the church must avoid inconsistency. It is not appropriate for them to constantly change their evaluation of the brothers. They should not say that a brother is spiritual and change their mind two months later. This must be avoided in the administration of the church; and it can only be avoided when we know the people and always learn to know them.
The elders who have already learned this lesson and have been worked on by the Lord will have a clear understanding of others, knowing where they are and the condition of their spirit, regardless of how they behave. When someone speaks, they know if what he says represents his true spiritual condition. They know if he is full of the impurity of his ego and the natural man because his spirit has never been freed from his ego.
You will know if he is inclined to do a work alone, without the collaboration of anyone else. A believer may have experience, knowing how to behave, but still not be freed from his ego. If his vision and knowledge are secular, he cannot take on a spiritual service. If someone like this becomes an elder, he will destroy the church even if he knows how to minister the word.
Any responsibility and coordination of service that he assumes will be a work of demolition. It will be like installing a time bomb in a building: after some time, it will explode, and the whole building will collapse. Preparing everything for him to become an elder will result in destruction, not building. Instead of being something good for edification, it will be like a time bomb. When the time comes to lose control, the whole situation will already be out of control. He may be able to win people and help them through his humility, knowledge, eloquence, and persuasive speech, but all of this will have been according to the flesh. The church will be ruined in his hands.
This is the real situation in some places. Making a mistake in knowing a person can ruin five years of work and effort. Some damage cannot be recovered in a short time. The Lord may require five years to restart a work.
Some pray according to their own direction, not according to the direction of the Spirit. Others speak according to their own direction, not according to the direction of the Spirit. We should not encourage them by giving them responsibility or charge to serve. We cannot prohibit people from speaking in the church meetings, but we must observe them and check if their conduct is appropriate. If their way of proceeding is inappropriate, we must exhort them so that they know we do not encourage or approve of their manner.
This will touch their feelings. We should not excommunicate them for saying something inappropriate, but if they do it a second time, we need to tell them that their manner is not approved. We need to make them feel that their way of behaving is not approved. This will open the way for them to receive the proper help.
When the elders do not have this kind of discernment, they may appoint an older brother who seems humble, educated, and experienced as responsible for some service. Later, when problems arise and the church is harmed, they will begin to understand that they should not know people according to the flesh. This has been the situation in many places.
Voice and piano (in Portuguese): https://hinario.org/detail.php?tab=1&mainmp3=admin/Uploaded-mp3-Files/0412.master.mp3&id=486
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