PERFECTING AND EDIFYING THOSE WHO ARE RICH
AND IN HIGH POSITIONS
We have to let the rich ones and those in high positions see that the church does not beg for their services. Who is begging for their services? There are others who can do things better than they can. But we have to let them see that the reason we allow them to serve is for perfecting them and edifying them. In addition, we have to help them to care for the poor in material things. We have to help those saints who occupy high positions to step down from their heights and to open up their wallets, so that God can edify all.
THE RECOVERY OF THE WHOLE CHURCH
PREACHING THE GOSPEL
In the matter of preaching the gospel, we have to recover the kind of preaching that is done by the whole church. We do not need to invite people with big advertisements. We should rather ask all the brothers and sisters to invite people individually. There is a difference between inviting people through the advertisements and inviting them individually through the brothers and sisters. In this way, the whole church will be able to rise up to serve. This kind of service will be the whole Body serving together. If we have only a few serving today, we have not reached God’s standard.
The way to go on today is to have authority plus the one-talented ones. When authority is added to the one-talented ones, we have the church. Whether or not a church is up to standard depends on whether or not the one-talented ones are functioning. It is not enough just to have the two-and five-talented ones. If your work does not bring out the one-talented ones, your work is a failure.
The flesh always comes with the one talents. Before you have learned obedience yourself, you will not know if others are obeying or not. But after you have learned obedience, you will detect disobedience as soon as it is there. If we are coordinated, there will be authority among us. With the authority, we can deal with the rebellious and the insubordinate ones.
Our co-workers have been working and laboring all this time. I would like to ask if they feel tired? Perhaps God is telling us to let go now. The way today is not to struggle individually by ourselves. The way today is to do things all together and in coordination. The church is the reservoir of Christ; all the riches of Christ are stored in the Body. If one day we see the whole church rising up to preach the gospel, we will realize what a beautiful and powerful picture it will be.
TAKING THE WAY OF THE WHOLE CHURCH SERVING
Today, very few spiritual giants are any longer being produced. In the last century, during the Keswick movement many spiritual giants were produced. At that time, people had very shallow knowledge about the Bible. When A. T. Pierson stood up to preach, very few people knew what he was talking about. Today, man’s knowledge about the Bible has increased. When a person steps up to the platform to preach today, he only needs to speak the first sentence, and everyone knows what will follow. Today there are very few five-talented ones like Paul. However, although there are very few spiritual giants, two or three one-talented ones and two-talented ones will make up for a Paul. Today we do not have many Pauls. We cannot wait any longer for the spiritual giants to come to us. I believe the time has come for the church to rise up to serve, to work, and to preach the gospel. There is no way for us to go on individually any longer. Today is the time for us to take the way of the church. We have to be in the same mind with God. We criticize the denominations and their system of one man monopolizing everything. But in the local churches, it is one co-worker plus two or three elders that are monopolizing the services. They are replacing the functions of the saints. In principle, this is the same as the denominations.
(Messages Given During the Resumption of Watchman Nee's Ministry (2 volume set), Chapter 46, by Watchman Nee/Witness Lee)
