Read and Pray: "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (1 Corinthians 4:7)
We have reached the critical point of the urgent need for edification. If we only save sinners and instruct them, we will repeat the work of Christianity in the past hundred years. This work did not result in edification or the habitation of God.
When a person is edified in Kaohsiung, even if they leave this city and go to Hualien or Tainan, they are still edified. Even though they leave Kaohsiung, they haven't left the building; they are still part of the spiritual house. This house is not limited by time or space. Wherever they go, they will remain edified in the Body of Christ. In the unique edification of God in the universe, they are an edified person.
This is different from someone who is merely saved. It is different from a spiritual person. They are edified. Only such a person can be part of God's habitation and function as a member of the Body of Christ wherever they go.
God urgently needs a group of such people on earth today. He urgently needs a work of edification. If we want to participate in this work, we need the administration of the church, and even more, the ministry of the word. The ministry of the word comes first, and then the administration of the church.
Currently, our greatest lack is in the ministry of the word. This is a very serious issue. All our meetings are poor, weak, deficient, cold, dead, and superficial because we lack the ministry of the word. The administration of the church is second in order of importance. Therefore, the brothers who speak from the pulpit need to seriously consider this matter and strive to learn the lesson concerning the ministry of the word.
We must never depend on age. In other words, we should not think that because we have been speaking for many years, we can simply prepare a message taken from our old notes and consultation books. Such a message will have no value or impact. It will not touch others or achieve the goal.
We need to learn to always trouble the brothers when they hear a message. They must be touched even if they forget the topic or lose the content. They should feel as if they have been stung by an insect. As a result, they will not be able to rest after the meeting because something has been injected into them.
The sisters should also have this ability when visiting others. Asking people if they have read the Scriptures or prayed makes them embarrassed. We should not be dead; we need to learn to be alive and also develop some skills. Perhaps we won't mention anything spiritual, but unconsciously, a spiritual injection is applied. We might talk to people about the world they love, but by the end of our conversation, they are "stung." They cannot rest and feel troubled. We need to learn to do this.
We need to share, through prayer and consideration, with those we serve, regarding the content of our word. When I served in northern China between 1940 and 1943, there was a brother whose situation was always in my thoughts. Sometimes, I would feel a burden while speaking from the pulpit and would say that this brother needed a visit. The brothers who heard me would receive a charge and then visit him.
However, nowadays, as everyone strives to stand out when they speak in order to become famous, they are not concerned with receiving a charge. This cannot be considered service.
It is regrettable that the brothers from northern China did not leave the mainland. The messages they gave addressed practical needs and were not hastily compiled. When the saints returned from their visits to the brothers, they would give a report. On Monday mornings, we would share about the conditions of the saints from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sometimes, we would even fast and pray for them.
As a result, we learned many lessons. We studied how to help those going through problems and how to face them. Often, after a visit, a person would be revived. Our speaking and visiting worked in harmony. However, this harmony did not result from discussions but was spontaneous. This is true and practical coordinated action.
The preaching from the pulpit was alive, and those who attended the meetings were also alive. Many of the saints were astonished by how the messages met their specific needs. Whenever they came to a meeting, their problems were solved. The word touched their problems and their inner being; as a result, their problems were resolved and their needs satisfied. What was spoken was the living word.
This was the situation for almost two years because those who served sought a living word, not just a routine talk. They were not disorganized or lazy, nor did they speak whatever they pleased. Therefore, wherever they went, their leadership in the church was life-giving.
The best period of our coordination in the ministry of the word was between 1940 and 1943. The current situation cannot compare to what we had then. During that time, the coordination between those who served and those who ministered the word was alive. Printing something was not as easy as it is today, and there was not as much organization, but everything was alive.
CONCLUSION
In summary, we cannot be individualists. We need to learn to depend on others, trusting them with our life. We need to learn to act in coordination with others regarding our service. We should not use dead ordinances or speak dead messages. Rather, we should study a life-giving means and learn the lessons. Furthermore, we must receive a charge and understand the needs of the people. We must know the various problems of the saints, the children, the young people, and the elderly.
Based on this knowledge, we will be able to touch the elderly, the young people, and the parents when we speak. Everyone who hears the message will be touched. The church needs this living word that brings a living situation.
Nowadays, we find death in all our meetings. The children's meeting, the youth meeting, and the Sunday meeting are all conducted according to dead ordinances. These meetings are our responsibility. We cannot continue like this. The work of the Lord and the church suffer great loss, and the greatest responsibility lies with those who minister the word. The supply in the ministry of the word is important for the children, the youth, the parents, the elderly, and the saints who work.
Enjoy more: Hymn 268
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