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The new way is entirely open to all the saints and all the churches. All the opportunities in church service — preaching the gospel, home meetings, and group meetings — are open to everyone. There are many opportunities for us to function, and we all need to function to preach the gospel and to participate in home meetings, group meetings, and district meetings.
Presently, there are about ten thousand who attend the various meetings — home meetings, group meetings, and district meetings — of the church in Taipei. Those who attend are not merely numbers; each one represents an actual person with a name. In addition, there are approximately ten thousand saints who have become dormant over the years. We have also contacted over thirty-eight thousand people through door-knocking during the training. We are now able to take care of only eight thousand, but the remaining thirty thousand are left unattended. Through the brothers’ study and fellowship, we have found that it is worthwhile to continually labor on at least twenty thousand of these newly saved ones. According to this calculation, there are at present about forty thousand brothers and sisters who are waiting for us to labor on them. This demonstrates that if we temporarily stopped knocking on doors to gain new ones, we would still have forty thousand people waiting to be led and served.
Through our fellowship with all the churches and our consideration before the Lord, we feel that there are three places that urgently require our care and our labor — Tainan, Taichung, and Hsinchu. We should pay attention to the campus work in these places. If we ignore the campus work in these places, it is like eating chickens but ignoring their eggs. That would be pitiful. However, if we labor in these places, we will have to divert a part of the energy from Taipei, which still requires our labor. Furthermore, because of the great need and high quality of people in Taipei, many things can still be learned in this large church, that is, unless we do not have the heart. If we have the heart, we should remain in Taipei to observe and compare all the different aspects, whether right or wrong, whether good or bad. If we would do this, we will receive much benefit, and at minimum our field of vision will be broadened.
Today in the church there is not only the need to take the lead well and to teach well, but there is also the need to prophesy well. There are currently ninety-six districts in the church in Taipei. If in every district there is a prophet who can minister the word strongly and speak God’s words precisely, accurately, and to the point, the entire church in Taipei will be able to spread rapidly. If a person were to ask why we stay in Taipei and do not go elsewhere after having been in the church for so many years, we should answer by saying, “I am waiting for the ninety-seventh district to be formed so that I may go and be a prophet there.” If all of us strive to press on in this way, perhaps two hundred districts will be produced by the end of the year. Each of these two hundred districts will need at least two prophets, and for this reason we need to endeavor to exercise to be prophets. In fact, if there is a strong prophet in each district, the situation will stabilize. Even if the leading is not adequate, the condition of the district will be fine if there is a strong prophet. Even if the teaching is not satisfactory, the teaching can be strengthened in the prophesying. However, if all the other aspects are strong except for the prophesying, the manifestation will be poor and the need will not be met.
Paul realized the importance of prophesying; thus, he wrote 1 Corinthians 14, an entire chapter concerning the matter of prophesying. In verse 1 he says to “desire earnestly...that you may prophesy.” In verse 39, the last verse, he again charges, “Desire earnestly the prophesying.” Moreover, in verse 12, in the middle of the chapter, he says, “Seek that you may excel for the building up.” In this chapter Paul repeatedly spoke of prophesying. His hope for the church was that the church would prophesy. Verse 1 says, “Pursue love, and desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” In this verse Paul speaks of three things. First, he speaks of love, which is easy to understand and is appreciated by everyone. Next, he speaks of the need to desire earnestly spiritual gifts. Then Paul goes on further to say that in desiring spiritual gifts, one should especially desire to prophesy. The word prophesy is rendered “speak the word as a prophet” in the Chinese Union Version. Prophesying is a big lack in Christianity and has been neglected even among us because of the harm done by the traditional concept and system. Now that the old system has passed away, everything in the church life is open to the saints, and everyone has the opportunity to speak. This is a great opportunity for all of us.
If the elders in all the churches rise up to urge the saints to learn the truth, dive into the truth, and enter into the riches of the spiritual publications, the content of the church life will be greatly enriched. Currently, among the churches in the United States, the churches in Texas are the best in this matter. The Life-studies are everywhere in the saints’ homes — in the bedrooms, on the dressers, on the nightstands, and even in the bathrooms and kitchens. In their homes there is no place without at least a few Life-study messages. Each saint’s home is full of spiritual riches. A person can go to any corner of the saints’ homes and receive benefit by opening and reading any paragraph on any page of any book. This is the significance of the saying “Reading is always beneficial.” Such an atmosphere is worth promoting.
People in the world pay much attention to education and know that education is the foundation of everything. In the church we highly regard the truth; hence, we should pay much attention to the cultivation of the truth. If the truth is given the free way and the proper standing among us, the church will be strong. Studying the truth is basic and fundamental, and we should pay much attention to it. I am afraid that although many brothers and sisters purchase the Life-studies, they merely put them on their bookshelves without spending much time to read them; this is pitiful.
The Recovery Version of the New Testament is the crystallization of the collection of the knowledge of the divine revelation seen by all the saints throughout the past two thousand years. If we study properly by entering into the text and footnotes of the Recovery Version and by entering into the Life-studies, the church life will undergo a noticeable change. If we enter into the riches of the Recovery Version and the Life-studies, within a few years the outcome will be astonishing. Our entering into the riches of the truth will be a great help to the success of the new way, because the success of the new way depends upon speaking the Lord’s word. In order to speak the Lord’s word properly, we need the proper materials, preparation, foundation, and base. For example, people who speak Mandarin or Taiwanese do not all have the same degree of proficiency. A person with an elementary-school education speaks in a certain way, whereas one who has received a high-school education speaks in another way. Moreover, a person who has received a college education speaks in an even more sophisticated manner. A person’s level of education has a definite effect on his speaking.
Today our spiritual education is fully related to the Bible; however, most people read the Bible according to their own way. The Bible is not easy to apprehend. Even if we read it a hundred times, we may still not be able to understand its meaning. Because it is not easy to understand the Bible, people tend to read it according to what they think they understand based on their particular knowledge. In the Recovery Version of the New Testament there are over nine thousand footnotes to help us understand the Bible. The Bible verses that are difficult to understand have footnotes to help guide our understanding. If we find that the footnotes are inadequate in answering our questions, we can read the Life-study messages. As long as we search carefully according to the chapter and verse, there will always be an explanation. If we study systematically in this way, we will definitely obtain many riches from the truth.
Perhaps we may not all be able to buy our own set of the Life-studies of the New Testament, but at least several saints should have one set in common. One-third of the set may be at one saint’s home, another third may be at another saint’s home, and the final third may be at the home of yet another saint. If we do this, we can read according to a monthly rotation. In terms of the application of our time, the brothers and sisters with jobs can put a book in their briefcase and bring it with them. While they wait for the bus or have a break at work, they can freely read a few pages. In short, we must try our best to urge the saints to pursue to know the truth, which comes from familiarity with the Lord’s word. This is the base, the foundation. When the saints have this base, this foundation, we should then encourage them to speak.
When Brother Nee first promoted the matter of everyone speaking, he proposed that we use the brothers’ meetings and sisters’ meetings. In this way everyone could exercise together. This way was good because there were no chairmen or leaders in the brothers’ meeting. Everyone was a brother and was absolutely equal. Everyone was free to call hymns, pray, and give testimonies. However, eventually we did not know how to go on in these meetings because the meetings depended primarily upon everyone giving their testimonies. In half a year everyone had exhausted their testimonies. The same situation occurred in the sisters’ meetings. Hence, it is not easy for the brothers and sisters to learn to speak the Lord’s word.
There are three practices that can strengthen the participation in the meetings: first, calling on the name of the Lord; second, pray-reading the Word; and third, sing-speaking the hymns. These practices are a great help to the meetings. When we come to a meeting, we can begin by calling on the name of the Lord, then we can find a verse from the Bible, read it, and pray over it. We can also begin by choosing a hymn and sing-speak it together; these practices will be a great help. Moreover, there are several “crutches” that can help us speak: the Life Lessons and the Truth Lessons. If we think that these two sets of books are too rigid, there is a third “crutch,” the Life-studies. If some think that the Life-studies are too broad, there is yet a fourth “crutch,” that is, the other spiritual publications, such as The Knowledge of Life, The Experience of Life, and God’s New Testament Economy. All these books are our “crutches” for us to use. They are there to help us. For the long term, however, we must help the brothers and sisters to learn to prophesy. Without prophesying, nothing can be realized.
The key to our advancing is that we who love the Lord and His recovery must learn to prophesy; some must advance in this matter. For a school to do well in basketball, not every student needs to play basketball. Out of one thousand students, there may be five or six teams, that is, thirty to fifty basketball players. In the church in Taipei there are several thousand brothers and sisters who love the Lord. If they exercise to speak, some competent prophets will soon be produced. For this reason I hope that hall by hall and district by district the elders in the church in Taipei will take this word and immediately begin to lead the brothers and sisters to exercise to read the Bible, the footnotes, the Life-studies, and other related spiritual publications. In this way, over a period of several months and years, the saints will unconsciously acquire a deposit of the truth. Moreover, we all need to acquire some experience. If we have the practical experience as well as the truth, we will have light when we speak for the Lord.
When we exercise to speak for the Lord, we should avoid conducting ourselves lightly or frivolously. Once we are frivolous, we are worthless; thus, we must be solemn. One of the virtues of an elder is gravity, which refers to the weightiness of a person. Some among us, although they have an intelligent mind and strong comprehension, are too frivolous in their speaking. In contrast, often when saints in their sixties or seventies open their mouth, light shines forth. A person who constantly laughs and jokes gives people a light feeling. It is best if this kind of person does not stand up to speak for the Lord; otherwise, he sells himself cheaply. It may be acceptable, however, if he simply gives a testimony. Hence, if a person speaks for God and speaks God’s word with a frivolous attitude, his speaking lacks significance; even if a saint is merely giving a testimony, he still should not be flippant. A Christian should be grave. To be grave means to be weighty. Weightiness is to be as steady and weighty as a precious stone, not light or easily tossed about like a feather in the air.
Gold, silver, and precious stones are weighty, whereas wood, grass, and stubble are light. Some people are at a disadvantage in that according to their natural disposition they give people a feeling of being frivolous. Their lightness causes them to lose the qualification to speak in the meetings. I have also seen the opposite situation. Some American young people, who are only fifteen or sixteen and have not yet graduated from high school, bear themselves in such a way that whenever they stand up in the meetings they give people a feeling of weightiness and gravity. People receive such an impression even before they open their mouths. In this regard, it is not proper for us to always be laughing and joking in the meetings. We should be free, released, fresh, and living in the meetings, yet we should not to be frivolous, casual, or reckless.
Our meetings should be high, yet they must also be weighty. This does not mean that we need to wear a long face all the time, as if someone has offended us. If we are always stiff and have a stern look when we speak in the meetings, people will be afraid. This also is not acceptable. We should smile, but we should also give people the feeling of weightiness when we smile. To speak according to this principle requires the proper exercise. The way we are according to our natural disposition, our old creation, must be terminated in the new creation. If we pursue in such a way, people will spontaneously respect us.
If we do not receive much spiritual training and education related to our speaking, our meetings will have an atmosphere of being “rough.” Our prayers and testimonies will give people a “rough” feeling. However, if we spend time in the Lord’s word and pursue the spiritual life, after several months and years our condition will be completely different. The meetings in all the churches in Taiwan will be rich and sweet, because the level of spiritual education will have risen. In the past we had only the equivalent of an elementary- school education or perhaps even no education at all. Now we not only have finished the equivalent of high school, but some who have made faster progress have already attained to the equivalent of a college education. By spending time in the Lord’s Word and pursuing the spiritual life, a high level will spontaneously be expressed in our meetings, prayer, singing, and speaking without any special effort on our part.
In the past, we did not have much heart to learn; we simply went to the meetings faithfully. We did not care who called hymns in the meetings, we sang casually, and it did not matter to us whether we sang at all. This was our condition in the meetings. Some time ago, I saw several people talking in a meeting; this was a big distraction. While the brothers were giving reports on different districts, conversations were going on in the audience. This was truly disturbing. This is against the regulation of the training and is impolite; it not only offends man but also offends the Holy Spirit. When everyone is paying their full attention to the meeting, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us, how could some talk among themselves? This is not proper. All the leading ones should pay attention to this matter in the meetings. It does not matter what kind of meeting or training we are conducting, we must pay attention to the weightiness and cannot be loose; otherwise, everything will be in vain, no matter how great our capability or how high our skill.
It is definitely not an easy or light matter for an elder to take the lead in a church. A brother is not capable of taking the lead simply because he has such a desire. As an elder, a brother cannot be late to the meetings; this is to take the lead. In one of the district meetings I noticed that most of the brothers and sisters were at the meeting before the elders arrived. This is to have no leading. When there is no leading, the meetings drag on. If the elders are three minutes late, others will be five minutes late, and some will even be ten minutes late; as a result, a meeting scheduled to begin at 9:30 A.M. will not be fully attended until 10:15 A.M. This shows a lack and unfaithfulness in leading.
If the president were to visit us, would we arrive late? I believe that we would all arrive early. If this is the case, we must consider the Lord Jesus to be inferior to the president. Since we are meeting with the Lord Jesus, how can we be late? All the leading ones must see the significance of taking the lead in the church. To take the lead in the church is to build up the saints day by day and little by little until a model is eventually established and a pattern is set before them. This is to take the lead. If the elders do not take the lead in small matters, it will be difficult for them to take the lead in big matters. Even in regard to the hymnals used in our meetings, there should be a proper arrangement; they should be kept properly, not in a manner that is disorderly. Likewise, waste paper should not be thrown away carelessly but should be disposed of properly. These are examples of taking the lead.
Today the new way is open to all of us and should be borne by all of us. If we do not bear the responsibility to carry out the new way, it will become an empty way, and we will not be able to proceed. Since we all need to bear the responsibility, everyone should be responsible to learn whatever he needs to learn and to exercise accordingly; in this way we will definitely succeed.
Our ground is accurate, and our way is straight. No matter how much opposition there is from people in Christianity, at least they understand in their heart that our ground and way are irreproachable and that our truth is rich. The Lord has brought us further to see this new way in the Bible; this is a great recovery. Our endeavor has a definite way. We have the ground, the way, the truth, and the goal; in other words, we are serving with a just cause. We will surely win a swift victory.
In regard to the matter of prophesying, if we rise up to pursue the truth, within three years more people will be speaking in the meetings, and every meeting will be enriched. We will become an “educated” spiritual family. Our meetings will be filled with spiritual learning because everyone learns and everyone teaches one another mutually; moreover, as everyone speaks, the riches will spontaneously flow out.
Some brothers and sisters have told me that although my messages are good, they are often repetitious. However, one sister has discovered the secret. She explained, saying, “Do not overlook this kind of repetition. These messages are repeated over and over again because a few do not understand. This repetition is for them.” This explanation is accurate. When we release a message, we do not fulfill our duty simply by speaking it; rather, our hope is that everyone who listens will be able to understand it. When I speak from the podium, I can clearly tell that some do not understand what I have spoken. At the same time, I am also aware that the message I have released contains some profound truths. Such a profound message cannot be understood simply by listening to it three or five times; it may require us to hear it eight or ten times in order to adequately apprehend it. Moreover, there is a sequence to my repetitions. I do not repeat myself exactly. The first time I may speak from one angle, and the second time, from another angle. I always try to speak from different angles so that the listeners will be able to understand. However, I also realize that even after this kind of repetition, some may still not understand or know how to enter into what I have spoken; this is the reason that we need to release some messages again and again.
Today the truth is among us, and we need to endeavor to enter into it. We have several meetings a week, which we should use to learn the truth, exercise in the truth, and enter into the truth. Everything in our Christian life depends upon the truth; hence, our goal should be to learn the truth. Beginning in 1974 I felt that my work in the United States should not focus on traveling to visit the saints and the churches as I had done for the previous ten years. Although this kind of visitation was able to bring people into the Lord’s recovery and gradually raise up churches in various places, I realized that the supply of the truth would be inadequate if I continued my work in this way. Hence, I made a firm decision to spend time to carry out a life-study of the entire Bible. The purpose of this kind of Bible study is to release messages based on the entire New Testament and according to the truth contained therein, not to release messages randomly according to an instant feeling or inspiration. As a result, we began the life-study trainings in the United States. Through the publication of the Life-study messages, several hundred churches have been raised up all over the earth. These few hundred churches are mainly the result of the Life-studies.
Sadly, few of the elders and co-workers in the churches in Taiwan know how to use the Life-studies. This is not to say that they do not use them but that they do not know how to use them. Using the Life-studies is not simple. When we do something, it makes a difference how we do it. It is one thing to do something in a matter of fact way, it is another thing to do something with our whole effort, and it is yet another thing to give our life for it. The outcome will naturally be different, depending on the way a matter is carried out. The more effort there is, the better the outcome will be. It is not that the churches in Taiwan do not use the Life-studies but that the elders and co-workers do not feel that it matters whether they use them. The leading co-workers have not entered into the Life-studies aggressively. The Life-study messages that were released, especially in the final stage, have focused on God’s economy; nevertheless, I am concerned that the co-workers in Taiwan may have not entered into God’s economy and may even have only a limited understanding concerning God’s dispensing. Entering into the truth is a matter of degree. We have spent months and years leading the churches, but several decades have passed, and the churches remain more or less the same, without much progress or riches. Nevertheless, to the degree that the brothers have applied these spiritual riches in their leading of the churches, there are some visible results today.
In 1961 I went to America, and as a result, that year became a point of demarcation in my work. The following year I began my work in America. Prior to 1961, every time I returned to Taipei from abroad, I was afraid to go to the Lord’s table meeting because everything was old. The hymns were old, and the prayers were old. However, during the few recent times I have come back to Taipei, I found that the singing at the Lord’s table meeting has improved. The saints have learned to sing: “In the bosom of the Father, / Ere the ages had begun, / Thou wast in the Father’s glory, / God’s unique begotten Son,” and “Once Thou wast the only grain, Lord, / Falling to the earth to die” (Hymns, #203, stanzas 1 and 3). At the same time, I noticed that some older sisters, who are not highly educated, still knew to pray: “O Lord, You are the only grain that fell to the ground and died to produce us as many grains. Thank You for dispensing Your life into us.” The old hymns used in the remembrance of the Lord were gone. Thus, we can say that we have entered into a new age.
From our youth we have been taught that there is a big category in our hymnal for the breaking of bread. Those hymns are related to our attendance of the Lord’s table, and we cannot say that they are not good. However, if we continue to sing the hymns belonging to that category, we will stay forever at that level. Now when we come to the Lord’s table, we sing concerning the Lord being the only grain that died and brought us forth as the many grains and blended us together in spirit to make us the one Body. This is much higher. The Lord’s table meetings in Taipei have been uplifted so that nearly all the old hymns are no longer used. For instance, Hymns, #806, “Break Thou the Bread of Life, / Dear Lord, to me,” is a good hymn, but its level is not high enough. This requires our learning.
In one of our meetings, a brother without a high level of education called Hymns, #152; this surprised me greatly, because this hymn speaks of the Lord’s love on a high level. It not only speaks of how the Lord was crucified for our redemption, but concerning His love it says, “It has caused Thee death to suffer / And to me Thyself impart” (stanza 1). This is on a high level. Singing these kinds of hymns and being on this kind of level spontaneously affect our living. I have seen that some of the elderly brothers and sisters are very much influenced and uplifted in their living. These are examples related to leading the church. When there is the proper leading, the church will spontaneously advance. The evaluation that I am giving should also be a leading to us. With this kind of leading, we will know how to advance.
We need to lead the saints to have a foundation in the truth, the Lord’s Word, and to enter into the experiences of life. Over a long period of time, these will become a deposit within us. Then when we come to the meetings, whether a group meeting, home meeting, or district meeting, our tongue will be the pen of a ready writer, because of our inward constitution; this is not merely a kind of composition but a constitution. If we are under the influence of such an atmosphere for a period of three years, the element of this atmosphere will be all the more constituted into us.
If a person stays for three hours in a house filled with the smell of garlic, when he walks out of the house, he will smell of garlic because garlic will have become his constitution. Likewise, if we sit in a seafood restaurant eating seafood for two hours, we will smell like seafood when we walk out. If on the contrary, we have been meeting for three years, attending three or four meetings per week, but are not constituted with anything, this indicates that our meetings are plain and flavorless. They do not carry a strong flavor like that of garlic or seafood; rather, our meetings are just like plain water. If, after meeting for three years, we do not have any special flavor, it would be like drinking plain boiled water for three years. The result depends upon the leading brothers motivating the saints. The way has been set, and the goal, the focus, and the path are clear. If we do not advance, I do not know how we can give an account to the Lord.
Today the riches of the truth are before us, and everyone has the opportunity to pursue them; moreover, the truth is not too mysterious for us to enter into. When a person is newly saved, he may feel that he does not fit in, but after pursuing for two years, he should begin to enter into the truth. Due to their intense pursuing, within a year some brothers may gain significant familiarity with the truth. Some brothers and sisters, who have come into the church life for only a short period of time, come to the prayer meeting, burning within and desiring to pray something to the Lord; nevertheless, they are not able to pray, so they try to recite a few sentences. Sometimes, however, they are not able to recite anything but still try to pray. In this regard, there is nothing to be embarrassed about. If all of us would go on in such a way, the practice of everyone speaking in the church meetings will succeed. I encourage all of us to try our best to promote this matter so that everyone will exert much effort in studying the Recovery Version and the Life-studies. In this way, after a few months or even a few years, we will have a significant constitution of the truth.
We need to promote the home meetings with all our strength. The saints should first have home meetings in their homes; then they should go out to lead others and establish home meetings in the homes of the ones they are leading. Of course, there is also the need to lead the group meetings. In short, every aspect of the new way needs our promoting and leading. The elders need to look to the Lord’s leading. If possible, they can call a miniconference in order to fellowship with the saints regarding this particular burden. It may not do any harm to have a set practice of sending twenty-five out of one hundred saints door-knocking. This does not mean that the same twenty-five saints should go out every time but that one-fourth of our manpower will be visiting people by door-knocking. We need to encourage the brothers and sisters to consecrate themselves and set apart their time for this matter. We also need to continually pray and fellowship with them and make arrangements for them. We must perfect these ones and direct this matter along the right path. Gradually, the practice of the new way will become a kind of atmosphere and will be established as a habit. If we merely make a few announcements and provide the saints with a little encouragement to go door-knocking, those who hear our encouragement will not think that they need to carry it out; in the end, less than ten percent of our manpower will participate. Hence, we need to lead the saints practically and strongly promote the burden of using one-fourth of our manpower to go door-knocking.
In order to perfect the saints in door-knocking, we need to have some training. The main point is not to knock on many doors or expect a quick result. If there are one hundred saints meeting in a certain church and twenty-five saints go door-knocking, at most they will gain four hundred people a year; do not expect too many. Even out of these four hundred new believers, three hundred may not remain in the church life due to various reasons; nevertheless, as long as one-fourth remain, we will have a twofold harvest. Of course, these four hundred new ones will require continual visitation and care from the brothers and sisters in the church. If these ones are well cared for and become stable, we can continue to go door-knocking. In this way the one hundred saints who meet regularly will always have at least four hundred new ones as fruit for them to visit and take care of.
The church definitely needs leading. Most brothers and sisters will not take care of the new ones simply because the elders have spoken about it and made a few announcements; rather, we need to find a way to lead the saints and make arrangements for them. There is a need for some administration, regardless of the situation. Even in regard to cleaning the meeting hall, we must arrange chairs for the meeting in an orderly way and not simply pile them up haphazardly. In addition, we also need to keep the things for public use in prearranged places. Even in a small district, there is the need for a proper arrangement; this is what is involved in leading. With this kind of leading, the church life will have a pathway upon which it can advance steadily and sequentially in every aspect and according to every step. Both the individual saints and the church will be able to advance.
The majority of the saints love the Lord, and as long as the elders lead them, some will surely be willing to knock on doors. However, they do not need to knock on doors every week. A team of three may only need to go out every other week for two hours. After a year they will more or less be able to gain the number we have estimated. At the beginning they will need to nourish the newly saved ones gradually. Eventually, everyone should receive the burden to take care of the home meetings. Moreover, during the week there should be group meetings. While the home meetings are for stabilizing the new ones, the group meetings are for joining them to the saints and caring for them mutually. Finally, we will take them to the district meetings. We should not expect quick results. It may take as many as six months or even a year. As long as we are serious about our participation — knocking on doors and taking care of the home meetings, group meetings, and the various aspects in the district meetings — the entire operation will be like a machine, and everything will be on the right track; then there will surely be a rich result within a year.
In not only 1 Corinthians 14:1 does Paul say, “Pursue love, and desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy,” but also in verse 39 he says, “Desire earnestly the prophesying.” In addition, in verse 12 he says, “Since you are zealous of spirits, seek that you may excel for the building up of the church.” This means that in terms of spiritual gifts, we should seek to excel; we should not desire the inferior gifts but the excelling gift, that is, to prophesy. Verses 3 through 5 also speak of prophesying: “He who prophesies speaks building up and encouragement and consolation to men. He who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but he who prophesies builds up the church. I desire that you all speak in tongues, but especially that you would prophesy; and greater is he who prophesies than he who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, that the church may receive building up.” Verses 29 through 31 say, “As to prophets, two or three should speak, and the others discern. But if something is revealed to another sitting by, the first should be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged.” From the beginning to the end of chapter 14, Paul simply charges everyone to prophesy. He had a deep realization that without prophesying, the church would not be rich or strong; thus, he paid much attention to prophesying. In order to be able to prophesy, we need to be constituted through exercise every day so that when we come to the meetings, we can truly speak for the Lord.
