THE FOURTH PART: THE PATHWAY OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY
God-Ordained Way
Message Sixteen
The Eight Major Items of Managing a Small Group (1)
Scripture Reading: Acts 1:8, 6:4; 2:46; 5:42; Phil. 3:13-14; 1 Cor. 9:26; 1 Cor. 12:24-25; Eph. 4:3-4
I. The book of Acts not only records the facts related to the church’s increase and spread; it also shows four important means of the church’s increase and spread—Acts 1:8; 6:4,7; 2:46; 5:42: (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 2)
A. The first means is the economical Spirit, the Spirit of power, descending on the lovers of the Lord—1:8; 2:2-4. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 2)
B. The second means is prayer, which is continued steadfastly—6:4; 1:14; 2:42. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 2)
C. The third means is God’s word, which is Christ Himself; God’s word has power, because the word of God is life, light, and truth. As such, it brings salvation to man; we preach and release the word of God—6:7. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 2)
D. The fourth means is the believers’ homes; this is the practical means for God’s increase and spread; Acts does not contain a record concerning meetings in a chapel, but there is a record of meeting “from house to house”—2:46; 5:42; 20:20. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 2)
E. In addition to these four aspects, we need to be His witnesses; every witness should be a martyr; in order for God to have a way to propagate, we must have the spirit of a martyr—Acts 1:18; 26:16. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 2)
II. First, there is the need of statistics—Using statistics and having a plan for the increase and spread and of the church—cf. Eph. 1:4-5; 5:15-17; John 15:16: (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 2)
A. We must prepare a statistical chart; we should not think that this is not spiritual; in order to arrive at a goal, we must keep some statistics; statistics help us set goals and keep us advancing—Acts 24:41; 4:4. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 5, “The Faithful and Diligent Spreading of the Truth—concerning the Publication Service,” msg. 7)
B. If we want the church to increase and spread, we must have a plan; the church must have a corporate plan, and the saints must have a personal plan; in order for anything to have results, it is necessary to make estimates and keep statistics—vv. 24:41; 4:4: (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 2; CWWL, 1987, vol. 1, “Bearing Remaining Fruit,” msg. 2)
1. Without estimating there is no preparation; the more estimates we make and the more detailed they are, the more adequate our preparation will be and the more reliable our work will turn out—vv. 24:41; 4:4. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 1, “Bearing Remaining Fruit,” msg. 2)
2. Making a schedule according to a plan, a schedule is the best means to redeem the time; including a schedule in a proper plan; we are God’s children, and as imitators of God, we should have a schedule related to all matters—Eph. 5:1. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 4; 3)
3. Carrying out the law of fruit-bearing according to a set time; the law is according to set times; the increase and spread of the church not only require a plan but also a schedule to carry out the plan—Acts 5:42. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 3; 4)
C. The purpose of my continuous talk about statistics is to help us understand the means and base for the increase and spread of Christ; these statistics can point us in the proper direction to find the means and base—vv. 24:41; 4:4. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church,” msg. 2)
III. Second, there is the need to classify the brothers and sisters according to their condition for caring for and shepherding them—Matt. 24:45; Luke 12:42; Heb. 10:24-25: (CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” msg. 11)
A. You need to take out the files of the brothers and sisters and read them carefully; sometimes you have to fellowship with the brothers and sisters directly to touch their real inward condition—1 Pet. 4:10: (CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” msg. 11)
1. After you have touched their real condition, you can classify them; the living ones will belong to one category; the dead ones will belong to another category; those who are half-dead are also put into a third category—v. 10. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” msg. 11)
2. When I was taking care of the churches in northern China, we did this kind of classification at that time; we divided the brothers and sisters into twelve classes; the lowest-numbered class is the dead ones; the highest-numbered class is the living ones; in between are the half-dead ones, and the ones who have been dead for a long time and are about to come alive—v. 10. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” msg. 11)
3. After classification, we should not work with the dead ones or the living ones first; instead, we should work on the ones who are about to come alive; we looked up these people and fellowshipped with them one by one; we invited them to the love feasts and helped them solve all their problems. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” msg. 11)
4. Sometimes we could not even help them ourselves, and we would ask another brother who had learned the lesson to help them; after we did this for a while, some of these came alive; they were class eleven; now they have advanced to level twelve; next, we should work with the ones who are worse, the class-ten ones—v. 10. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” msg. 11)
B. If the elders would classify the brothers and sisters according to their condition and would try to make the dead ones alive, how busy they would be! I worked in this way before the revival in Chefoo; for three years, I went to the meeting hall every morning at 10:30 and stayed until 11:30 each evening; this was what I did the whole day long, considering what kind of leading each person needed and whether I should personally lead them or have others help them. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” msg. 11)
C. The kind of stirring, visitation, and fellowship there was in those days! How did we arrive at such a state? It was because one man was there continually stirring others up; to use the language of the world, he kept promoting until everyone had to act and go out! (CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” msg. 11)
D. By the end of 1942, there were at least eighty or ninety brothers and sisters out of one hundred who were very living; in a short time the revival of the church broke out—1 Cor. 12:23-27. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” msg. 11)
IV. Looking toward the future and seeking the Lord’s guidance and leading together—Deut. 33:8; Acts 16:6-10; Phil. 3:13-14; 1 Cor. 9:26: (CWWL, 1966, vol. 2: “Being Delivered from Religious Practices by the Exercise of the Spirit”, msg. 1)
A. It is a meeting for us all to come together to fellowship concerning all that we have passed through, all that we have sensed, and all that we look forward to and hope for. (CWWL, 1966, vol. 2: “Being Delivered from Religious Practices by the Exercise of the Spirit”, msg. 1)
B. Through such a fellowship we can come together reevaluate our pathway, consider the prospects of the Lord’s recovery, and seek the Lord’s guidance and leading so that we may know how to go on from this time forward—Deut. 33:8; Acts 15:6-12, 22, 28; Matt. 18:20. (CWWL, 1966, vol. 2: “Being Delivered from Religious Practices by the Exercise of the Spirit”, msg. 1)
C. This devotion should be valued according to its prospect; the greater the seed required, the greater is the prospect for increase; if our devotion related to the enjoyment of Christ will afford a greater prospect for the increase of the church, this devotion will be more valuable—Luke 6:38. (Life-Study of Leviticus, msg. 63)
V. Fourth, there is the need of blending from the “center to the circumference”—Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17; 12:12-13, 24-25; Lev. 2:4; Eph. 4:3-4: (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 2, “The Priesthood and God’s Building,” msg. 4)
A. Genuine fruit depends on genuine blending; having fellowship in spirit, being blended in spirit, entering into the feeling of the Body, and spreading the work according to the feeling in the Body are the most important matters—2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 2:1; 1 John 1:3. (CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 2, “Serving in the Flow of the Age,” msg. 5)
B. Blending is the life pulse of the church in its going forward; if the brothers in every locality cannot be blended, it will be very difficult to advance to have a deeper work—1 Cor. 12:12-13; 24-25. (CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 2, “Serving in the Flow of the Age,” msg. 5)
C. Whether or not we can be in one spirit is the key to serving in a locality; the most important thing is being blended in our spirit, not discussing how things should be done; when there is blending, it is possible to take some action—Phil. 2:1; 1 John 1:2-3. (CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 2, “Serving in the Flow of the Age,” msg. 5)
D. In our church life today we need to be mingled with all the brothers and sisters on the earth; the more successful the mingling, the better it is; whoever cannot be mingled with others will eventually be disqualified by the age—1 Cor. 12:24. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 2, “Words of Training for the New Way,” msg. 5)
E. In the group meetings where the number is not big, the members can easily contact and fellowship with one another, and be mingled together; once there is the mingling, many problems are solved—vv. 24-25. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 2, “Words of Training for the New Way,” msg. 19)
F. When we practice, we must work first with a few and then include many; we must blend from the “center to the circumference”—1 Cor. 12:12-13; 24-25. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 2, “The Priesthood and God’s Building,” msg. 4)