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The Lord wants to lead us out of rituals, ordinances, doctrines, and methods. Therefore, we should follow the spirit and not methods. At present we still depend on methods. We have dropped an old method and turned to a new method. Thus, the nature of our meetings has not changed.
A change in nature makes a change in concept, not a change from one method to another method but rather a change from methods to the Spirit. Whether we use an old method, a new method, a wrong method, or a right method, we are still using and depending on methods, not on the Spirit. We know that we are not depending on the Spirit, because in the meetings our spirit is not living; the condition of our meetings is not ideal. Some meetings may seem like a performance. Calling on the Lord and praising Him in order to have a released and uplifted spirit should be our living, not a performance. We should have a released and uplifted spirit not only when we are in the meetings. Hence, calling on the Lord and praising Him should be our daily practice.
It is easier to pray and call on the Lord’s name in a meeting than to pray and call on His name in other places, such as on the street or in a bus. Our spiritual condition should match our living; they should be the same. Although it may not be suitable to call loudly upon the Lord’s name when we are in a bus, we can still exercise our spirit. We can call softly, not loudly. If we spend our time looking around instead of fellowshipping with the Lord when we are in the meeting, our calling on the Lord’s name will be a performance. This situation indicates that our meeting life is separate from our daily living. This is wrong. We truly need the Lord’s mercy to save us.
Since our meetings are the expression of our daily living, there is no need to consider which method we should use. Breathing is not a matter of method. We do not need to stand in a particular way in order to breathe, nor do we need to make a conscious effort to breathe. We breathe spontaneously in every place. However, in some places we can practice deep breathing, but in other places this is not suitable. Our meetings should be an expression of our daily living. Some Christians argue and fight in their daily life but are well behaved when they gather to worship. This is a performance. May the Lord have mercy on us so that we have a change in our concept. We are not changing methods; we are changing our concept.
In the meetings we should not rely on any method but should follow the Spirit. It is not wrong to call loudly on the name of the Lord, but this kind of calling has become a new method. It seems as if we do not know how to pray anymore, because calling has replaced praying. Surely, this kind of calling is not exercising the spirit or following the Spirit. Does the Spirit lead us only to call in a loud way? Good music has a beautiful melody with high and low notes; it should not have only one note. We may be used to this kind of calling, but the new believers are not accustomed to the noise, and it is unpleasant. We need a change in concept.
Formerly, in our meetings we followed a routine and ordinances. Every week our meetings followed the same routine. We have condemned that way of meeting and put it to death. Now we are learning to follow the Spirit. However, while following the Spirit, we picked up the method of calling loudly. This is another method. Some saints said that without a method, they do not know what to do. To follow a method is to not follow the Spirit. The Spirit does not move like a train that follows tracks. The Spirit is like wind that blows where it wills (John 3:8). The wind may blow from the east in the morning, blow from the south in the afternoon, and be a whirlwind in the evening. The Spirit is like wind that has no set direction and no set method.
According to the Bible, in the New Testament age Christian meetings should not have any rules. The Bible does not say how Christians should meet, nor does it give rules for Christian meetings. We need to be led by the Spirit. When we do not know how to follow the Spirit, we pick up methods. The Baptist denomination has the Baptist method, the Presbyterian denomination has the Presbyterian method, the Methodist denomination has the Methodist method, and the Lutheran denomination has the Lutheran method. Every denomination has its method. We also have found a method. However, instead of following a method, we should live by the Spirit. Our meetings are not a performance; they are the expression of our daily living. We walk according to the Spirit in our daily life so that when we come to the meetings, we will continue to walk according to the Spirit.
If we live by the Spirit in our daily life by fellowshipping with Him, praising Him, and looking to Him, we will have inspiration in the meetings. The Spirit may lead a brother to say, “Lord, we worship You!” There is no need to wait for someone to call a hymn. When the brother says, “Lord, we worship You!” the meeting begins. Immediately another brother may say, “Yes, Lord, You are truly worthy of our worship.” Then spontaneously a sister may begin singing a hymn of worship, and everyone joins her. In this way, no specific person is designated to call a hymn or to open the meeting. After the singing, a brother might give a testimony, and another brother might read a few verses. Although our activities are different, we are following the Spirit.
This is the flow of the Spirit, and every saint should follow this flow. This can be compared to a team playing basketball. When one member begins playing, the rest of the team should be ready. When one person receives the ball, he should pass it to another person. There is no rule concerning who should pass and who should receive the ball.
In the meetings we tend to be strict when we pray the hymns; there is no flow, and the prayers are not connected. We do not listen to the prayers of the other saints. As a result, we do not water each other’s spirit, and we cannot touch the supply of the Spirit by following the sense in our spirit.
In order to be saved from these shortcomings, we need to live in our spirit daily. Otherwise, instead of being able to participate in the meetings, we will be spectators. We will be like spectators in a basketball game who, because they do not practice with the team, cannot dribble, pass, or catch the ball. Some saints do not exercise their spirit regularly. They have proper conduct, love the Lord, and are concerned for the church, but they lack the exercise of their spirit. Such ones are like members in the denominations. Thus, they do not participate in our meetings, because in our meetings everyone must exercise their spirit to carry out their priestly ministry.
Some may say, “I cannot play ball. If you force me to play, you will cause me to suffer. I can watch you and cheer you on, but do not force me to play.” In the church life there are no spectators or observers; everyone must be a participant. Those who want to be spectators and not participate are bringing in the clergy-laity system because the saints who participate will become the clergy, and those who are spectators will become the laity. There should be no such distinction in the churches. We are all priests, and we all must participate in the meetings.
In the Old Testament a priest could not say, “I will offer sacrifices, but please do not ask me to burn incense. I can bring the sacrifices for you to kill and skin, and I can carry them to the burnt-offering altar, but I cannot enter the tabernacle to burn incense. We each have our own function. Do not force me to do that service.” It is true that we each have our own function, but there are some things that we cannot do for another person. For example, we cannot ask someone to drink water or to eat for us. Everyone has a service, such as sweeping the floor or dusting the window. However, we all need to breathe, drink, and eat for ourselves. When we meet, we come to eat and drink spiritually; hence, no one can participate on our behalf.
In the denominations it is not possible for everyone to participate in the preaching, praying, and singing, so there is the need for some to study in the seminaries in order to carry out these functions. Some study how to give sermons or how to preach the gospel, and some study music. A person who studies music will lead the singing in a denomination when he graduates. He cannot speak or visit the saints. This is not our way. The divine life within us is a priestly life, so we cannot say that we do not know how to serve. Any person who is saved has the capacity to serve, but his actual service depends on the daily exercise of his spirit. Therefore, we all need to diligently practice exercising our spirit.
We must not be idle in the meetings. Since we come to a meeting to function, when the meeting begins, we should be ready to function. Hence, we must be alert. If we are idle, it will be difficult to have a meeting.
Since the Lord does not lead us according to set rules or methods, we need to exercise our spirit daily in order to be living, and we need to live before the Lord. Furthermore, when we come to a meeting, we must be alert and ready to minister as priests by offering our portion of Christ at the opportune moment.
The Bible does not give a definite way for Christians to meet, but it does say what the early Christians did in their meetings. In the entire New Testament, only 1 Corinthians 14 says something concerning how to meet. The Gospel of Matthew says that only two or three can be gathered into the Lord’s name (18:20). Acts speaks of the meetings of the believers, but it does not give the specifics of how they met. Only 1 Corinthians says something concerning how to meet.
First Corinthians contains several basic points. The first basic point is that Christ is the allotted portion given to us by God (1:2). God has given Christ to us as our portion. When the children of Israel entered the land of Canaan, everyone was allotted a portion of the land. The Lord Jesus is our good land, and we have a share of the allotted portion (Col. 1:12). Hence, Christ is “theirs and ours” (1 Cor. 1:2); He belongs to all the believers. He is our portion. God has made Christ, who is our portion, to be our power and our wisdom (v. 24). He also became our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (v. 30). He is our Passover (5:7), our foundation (3:11), and our spiritual food, spiritual water, and spiritual rock (10:3-4). Christ is also our Head (11:3). As our portion, He is our everything. Christ was the last Adam to be our Redeemer, and then He became the life-giving Spirit (15:45). Christ, who is our portion, is the Spirit who gives life to us. This is the first basic point in 1 Corinthians.
The second basic point is that we must know and exercise our spirit. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” We must be spiritual persons who walk in the spirit and live by the spirit. In 2:1 Paul says, “I, when I came to you, brothers, came not according to excellence of speech or of wisdom.” Then in verse 4 he says, “My speech and my proclamation were not in persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” The word demonstration indicates expression. Paul’s speaking with the saints was not according to excellence of speech or persuasive words of wisdom. His speaking was a demonstration of the Spirit so that the Spirit would be manifested, expressed. Believers in the Pentecostal movement say that the Spirit is expressed when they speak in tongues. However, we need to combine 2:4 with 14:6, which says, “Brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you, unless I speak to you either in revelation or in knowledge or in prophecy or in teaching?” By combining these two verses, we can see that the demonstration, or expression, of the Spirit does not refer to speaking in tongues but to clear, ordinary words. The Spirit is expressed in clear words.
The first main point in 1 Corinthians is that Christ is our portion, and the second point is that we should exercise our spirit in order to enjoy this Christ. For this reason, in our meetings we should do nothing but exercise our spirit in order to present the Christ we have enjoyed.
Christ being our portion and exercising our spirit in order to enjoy Christ as our everything are the main points in 1 Corinthians. These two main points should also be our living. What, then, should we do in the meetings? The meetings are for the exhibition of the Christ we have enjoyed in our living. In our daily life we exercise our spirit and enjoy Christ as our everything. Then in the meetings we exercise our spirit as a demonstration of the Spirit. When we exercise our spirit to present the Christ whom we have enjoyed to the saints, we are prophesying. In 1 Corinthians prophesying does not refer to predicting but to speaking for the Lord.
First Corinthians 1:2 says that Christ is theirs and ours. He is the last Adam who became the life-giving Spirit (15:45), and we have been joined to Him as one spirit (6:17). We do not need to go to heaven in order to be joined to Him. After His ascension, He descended in order to be joined to us in our spirit. Christ is in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). Hence, we can experience Him in our daily living when we exercise our spirit, and we can release our experiences of Christ with our spirit when we come to the meetings. This is very simple. This is what it means to prophesy, to speak for Christ. Since prophesying is so easy, we all can prophesy. However, we should not have long-winded speeches. We should be brief so that everyone has an opportunity to speak.
We need to be delivered from the influence of degraded Christianity. Then it will be easy to live the Christian life as well as to meet. It will be an ordinary thing for us to love the Lord, fellowship with Him, and live in our spirit. The Lord is our portion. He is the Spirit who lives in our spirit, and we exercise our spirit to contact Him. This is the way to have experiences of Christ. Then when we come to a meeting, our spirit will be living and released, and we will be ready to speak concerning our experience of Christ. If every saint would do this, our meetings would be rich. We can also use the Bible and our hymnal to receive inspiration and speak in the meetings. It is easy for our meetings to be fresh and rich.
Although the Christian life is a mystery, it is not difficult to comprehend. We need a change in concept. Once our concept is changed, our meetings will be different. We love the Lord, but we are still influenced by Christianity. I am burdened to pull the saints out of the influence of Christianity.
We are saved, and we love the Lord and pursue Him. Hence, we should daily use our spirit to call on Him and to contact Him. When we call, “O Lord,” we will experience Him. We can prove this in our experience. Our Lord is not a doctrine, nor is He nebulous. He is real and practical, and He is living in us. Not only so, He has given us the Bible, which contains His words. These words are not doctrine; they are spirit and life. If we pray-read these words regularly, we will touch and enjoy Him. Then every day and all day long we will have many experiences of the Lord.
If we practice touching the Lord every day, our spirit will be fresh and living. When we come to the meeting, our spirit will be ready, uplifted, and released. When our spirit is exercised, it will be released and manifested. Our spirit is manifested so that we can display the Christ we have experienced. When fifty to sixty saints display their portion of Christ, they supply one another, and the meeting is very rich. Then when we pray, praise, sing hymns, and pray-read, the meeting will be rich and fresh. There will be no need to follow old procedures or always have a message. In such a fresh and living meeting, we pave the way for the Lord to move.
Our present need is to practice, and this is a matter of learning skills. Everything we do requires skill. On the one hand, in our daily life we need to live by the spirit by enjoying the Lord and experiencing Him. On the other hand, in the meetings we need to coordinate with others in our singing, praising, testifying, and pray-reading. In the meetings we need to function as a team. For this reason, we need to learn some skills. When someone is praying, I should refrain from praying. When no one is praying, I should release a prayer. When I hear another voice, I should stop. When he stops, I should continue from where he left off in a meaningful way. When we sing and pray the hymns, sometimes we can proceed sequentially from one stanza to the next, sometimes we can skip a stanza or two, and sometimes we can select certain stanzas. These matters require skill. When we pray over a stanza, there should be continuity in our prayer and the release of our spirit. Moreover, our voice should not be so loud that it hurts others’ ears or so soft that others cannot hear us. We need to take care of these matters. We should not be indifferent. Whatever we do needs skill. Without the proper skills, we cannot do a good job. Hence, we need to practice.
If we are willing to practice regularly, over time we will become skilled, and gradually our spirit will be able to flow where the Spirit wills. When the practice of exercising our spirit in the meetings is built up among us, it will become our family tradition, and it will be easy for new believers to join us. A child who is born into a Chinese-speaking family does not need a Chinese teacher to teach him the Chinese language; the child spontaneously learns to speak Chinese. Pray-reading has not yet been built up among us; hence, we must continue to practice. We have thrown away the old way of meeting, but if we are not able to build up the skill of using our spirit, we will be in a state of suspension. Some old things are gone, but new things have not been built up in their place. Of course, we do not want the old way, but we need to quickly learn the new way of doing everything according to the Spirit.
Doing things according to the Spirit is not an individual matter. All the serving ones must rise up and practice. When the serving ones are skilled, they can lead the whole church to practice in small groups. Gradually this practice of worshipping in the spirit will be established and become the practice in the churches.
We truly need to make this turn. Otherwise, we will limit the Lord. If we do not let the Lord work out this way among us, He will work it out with another group of people. The age has turned. If we let the Lord move among us, we will be blessed. However, if we do not let the Lord move, He will find another group of people. The Lord will take His way. He will not continue in the situation of Christianity any longer, nor will He allow the situation of oldness among us to continue.
Hence, we must endeavor to change our concept. In our daily living we must exercise our spirit to experience Christ. We must also endeavor to practice our skills in the meetings. We should look to the Lord and ask Him to give us the patience to practice. As believers, we are priests, and we need to learn how to serve and how to meet.
