LEARNING TO SPEAK CHRIST, TO SPEAK BY THE SPIRIT, AND TO SPEAK ACCORDING TO THE LEADING OF THE SPIRIT
In contacting sinners, we must learn to speak Christ. This is not easy. It is easy to talk about common things, but to speak Christ requires much exercise. Not only must we speak Christ in a general way, but we must also learn to speak Christ in a particular way. The enemy is very subtle. Whenever we share the gospel with a sinner, sooner or later the sinner will try to stop our speaking. When we are speaking Christ, our mouths should never be stopped by the unbelievers. This cannot be learned easily and requires much practice. Every time we go out to preach the gospel, we should first practice speaking Christ for at least ten minutes in our home. We all must practice speaking Christ. If we practice speaking Christ all the time, it will become easier for us, and we will become rich in speaking Christ. Then, regardless of how the unbelievers respond to us, we will be able to speak Christ to them in a particular way that they may be saved. Sometimes we may need to speak a short story concerning Christ, but this should not be a long “sea story.” If we practice, we all can learn to speak Christ to the sinners.
We must also learn to speak by the Spirit. If we are going to speak, we must speak by the Spirit. To speak Christ and to speak by the Spirit will save us from all kinds of meaningless talk. But I cannot tell you what you should speak. The Lord said, “When they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you shall speak; for it shall be given to you in that hour what you shall speak; for you are not the ones speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is the One speaking in you” (Matt. 10:19-20). When we speak to people, our heart should be always looking to the Lord. We should not speak anything but Christ, and we should speak only by the Spirit. These are the governing principles. If we keep these two principles, the Spirit will lead us to speak the right words.
Now that we have been charged by our Master to go forth and bear fruit, we need all these items as our preparation. We need to be serious, earnest, and desperate in our desire to bear fruit. We need to pray for the sinners’ salvation continually, and we need to learn to speak Christ, to speak by the Spirit, and to speak according to the leading of the Spirit. We can practice these things in two ways. First, we can speak Christ by the Spirit in our homes. We can speak Christ to the air and speak to the air by the Spirit. While we are speaking, we should practice looking unto Him to receive the leading of the Spirit. We can all practice in this way. The other way to practice is to go to your close relatives and speak Christ to them by the Spirit under the Lord’s leading. By this kind of practice, we will learn a lot.
THE WAY TO GO FORTH AND BEAR FRUIT
As a Team
When we go to contact the sinners, we should not go by ourselves but as a team. According to our study, it is best to have a team of three with two brothers and one sister or one brother and two sisters. Because we are going to baptize people, there should be a brother to do the baptizing. Furthermore, the ideal team would have an old one, a young one, and a middle-aged one. To have these three different age levels is very useful. It may be hard to form such an ideal team, but we should do the best we can. Once we have formed a team, each member must learn to bear his own particular responsibilities.
With the Proper Coordination
When we go out to preach the gospel, we must first learn how to knock on a door or ring a doorbell in a proper way. If we go to a sinner and ring the doorbell in a wild way, this may offend him, and he may not open the door to us. Even if he opens the door, he may not talk to us because we have made him unpleasant and unhappy. We must learn to do everything in a way that is pleasant to people. No one can teach us this; we must learn it by practice.
The team members must be frank with one another in determining who is the best for each responsibility. Who is the best one to ring the doorbell? We should not be too polite or humble but frank and honest with one another, and we should not be offended by the other team members. One on the team is the best to ring the doorbell in a way that does not offend people. Another may be best at greeting people when they come to the door. We have to learn this as a team. We all were born with different dispositions and appearances. We should have a person greet them with a smiling face that would make everyone happy. Among the three on a team, one may be best at ringing the doorbell, another may be best at greeting people with a pleasant face, and the third may be very smart in answering people. This is a team with a proper coordination. In principle, we must practice in this way. These small steps lay a foundation for our contact with sinners.
(The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
