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There are two verses in the New Testament that speak of the relationship between God’s dwelling place and our spirit. Ephesians 2:22 says, “In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” We are being built together in the Lord to be a dwelling place of God, and this dwelling place is in our spirit. First Peter 2:4-5 says, “Coming to Him...you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house.” We are being built up to be a spiritual house; hence, building is closely related to our spirit.
In recent years we have established numerous regular weekly meetings, and we even have special times for special meetings. In nearly every meeting a message is given. We give a message at the end of the bread-breaking meeting, and we do the same in the prayer meeting. There is rarely a meeting that does not involve giving a message and listening to a message. According to our concept, a meeting without a message would not have much meaning. In addition to meetings we have many service activities. We are thankful that the elders and those in the various districts give of their time and strength in the Lord’s service. Many brothers and sisters have jobs or household responsibilities. Additionally, some do not have much free time, some are not physically strong, and some are financially limited. Although the saints are under various kinds of limitation, all willingly participate in the services in the church. In short, we have many meetings, and we also have numerous service activities. However, if we carefully review our situation, we will realize that the spiritual results from these meetings and activities are not satisfactory. We have many meetings with many messages, and we also have many activities, but the spiritual results do not match the amount of our labor.
Consider the bread-breaking meeting. If seventy saints meet on the Lord’s Day in a certain district, fewer than half release their spirit to worship God by praying and praising in the meeting. If even half the saints would open their spirit, exercise their spirit, and release their spirit to pray, praise, and worship, the meeting would be more living and enriched. Regrettably, more than half the saints never exercise their spirit to pray in the bread-breaking meetings. The saints who prayed this month are the same ones who prayed in prior months. Simply speaking, those who pray always seem to pray, and those who do not pray never seem to pray.
We should not think that the number of saints in the bread-breaking meeting prevents some from praying. Someone who does not pray in the bread-breaking meeting tends to be weak in the matter of personal prayer as well. Even if such a one were praying with only another brother, he would still be hesitant in his prayers. His prayers are like smoking flax in need of being fanned into flame (2 Tim. 1:6). Many of the saints who do not pray are not occasional visitors; they regularly attend the weekly message meetings and the bread-breaking meetings. Nevertheless, they do not pray, and they do not open their mouth or exercise their spirit. No matter how much we try to help, they always seem reluctant to pray. According to a conservative estimate, this is the condition of more than fifty percent of the saints. If, among seventy saints in a bread-breaking meeting, thirty-five would pray regularly, the meeting would become richer and more living. At most, only thirty to forty percent of the saints function regularly.
We have worked in Taipei for many years, holding many conferences and trainings. Moreover, the elders, co-workers, full-timers, and responsible ones in the districts all labor in service together. In spite of this, very few saints pray regularly in the meetings. If we only had large joint meetings, which do not provide many opportunities for the saints to open their mouth, it would be understandable that many do not pray. However, there are more than thirty districts in the church in Taipei, and for a period of time the saints have been exercising to release their spirit and blend in spirit. Nevertheless, we still have only limited results. We continue to hear good reports that the number of saints who are praying is increasing and that their prayers are stronger, but we cannot be satisfied with this. Although we have many meetings, give many messages, and have many activities, the percentage of saints who open their mouth to exercise their spirit and release their spirit in the meeting is still too low. This indicates that our spiritual condition is poor.
Our spiritual results are poor because we do not exercise our spirit, even though we have many meetings, give many messages, and have many activities. We are trying to build up our work with meetings, messages, and activities but not through the exercise of our spirit. This is the reason for our lack of results. For example, in hall one, after the message meeting, the saints pray in small groups, and I have participated in some of these small groups. If there are seven or eight saints in a small group, three or four are reluctant to pray; their voices even sound as if they were sick. Furthermore, it is difficult to understand the words of their prayer. We have practiced praying in small groups after a message meeting for three to four months, but the situation has not changed. In every group there are always two or three who are released to pray. These are the same ones who pray in the prayer meeting and the bread-breaking meeting. They always pray. In the small groups their prayers are fluent and strong, and their spirit is released. Hence, even in the small groups, some almost always pray, and some almost never pray.
We must come back to God’s Word and consider our work; that is, we need to consider what God’s goal is for the saints. Is it for them to be in meetings, for them to listen to messages, or for them to be involved in some service? Rather than just this, we must bring them into the dwelling place of God in spirit; this is God’s ultimate goal. We must admit that the spiritual result of our work is poor. We began more than ten years ago in Taipei, laboring in many meetings and giving many messages, but only a small number of saints are living and released in spirit. We have not brought the saints into the spirit. After considering and analyzing our work in these days, I have no other burden.
This is the situation not only in our district meetings but even in our co-workers’ meetings. Some co-workers attend the co-workers’ meetings throughout the year but never pray, and some elders attend the elders’ meetings regularly but never pray. We must realize that the way of our leading determines the kind of fruit that we bear. In the past our work consisted of meetings, messages, and service activities. We did many things, but we were very short of prayer. Since we did not pray, the saints under our care did not pray either. People can only produce children who have their same racial and ethnic traits. If we rarely pray in spirit, how can we produce people who pray in spirit? We say that the work in Christianity only brings people to a Sunday service, but we should ask ourselves, “Where are we bringing the saints? Are we bringing them into the spirit? Have we caused them to be enlivened in the spirit?” If we look at the results of our work, it should cause us to be in fear and trembling. We have not brought many saints into the spirit, and there are not many whose spirit has been enlivened as a result of our service and work.
In a recent elders’ meeting I fellowshipped that we should not bring up any matter to discuss in our times of fellowship but, instead, that we should pray more. We should pray, and we should even fast and pray. Looking at the results of the past decade, we should no longer do things according to the old way. The elders truly need to pray. In the past the brothers surely endeavored to labor, but laboring according to our old way is not enough; we need to exercise our spirit more. We must study how to lead the saints to worship in spirit in the meetings so that they will not merely come to attend a meeting and listen to a message. In the past we emphasized inviting people to the meetings and listening to messages, but we did not lead them to exercise their spirit to serve and worship. This is why so few of them can exercise their spirit to serve and worship. Many of the co-workers, elders, and responsible ones in the districts have not been delivered from the concept of just attending meetings and listening to messages; consequently, few really serve in spirit. We are used to having meetings and listening to messages, but we do not have the concept of exercising our spirit to serve in the meeting. When we come to a meeting, we should exercise our spirit to serve, worship, pray, and praise. We must change our concept.
Many who participate in the service meetings feel that they are merely coming to another meeting; few have the concept that they must exercise their spirit to serve and worship. Formerly, we were not clear concerning our lack, but now that we are clear, we should no longer merely give messages, listen to messages, or labor in activities; we need service that is in spirit. Our goal is not to just bring people to the meetings, because meetings are not our ultimate destination. We must lead people into the spirit, because a dwelling place in spirit is our ultimate destination. We should not bring people just to listen to a message, but we must bring them into the spirit.
If we desire to bring people into the spirit, we must exercise our spirit and pray; this is the key. If we use our mind, we will bring people into their mind, and if we use our emotions, we will bring people into their emotions. We can bring people only to the place where we are. Thus, if we use our spirit, we will bring people into the spirit. Although the saints have been attending many meetings, we rarely bring them into the spirit. As a consequence, their spiritual growth has been very slow, and their spiritual insight has not progressed. The saints can experience spiritual growth, receive spiritual enlightenment, and be delivered from sins only when they touch God in their spirit. If we continue to meet, give messages, and serve in activities without bringing the saints into the spirit, we cannot expect them to touch God in their spirit.
A message without the Spirit is mere doctrine, and a message not spoken in spirit is mere letter. Such a message cannot touch the human spirit, and if a person is not in spirit, he cannot be enlightened or touched by God while listening to a message. Only a person who fellowships with God in spirit can be enlightened inwardly to see his sins, corruption, flesh, natural man, and natural disposition. Only a person who contacts the Spirit in his spirit and is touched by God can have real knowledge and real growth.
Our knowledge and experience of the Lord should not be merely doctrinal. For example, both Hymns, #78 and #510 speak of various items of the riches of Christ, but if we commit these items only to our memory, we are increasing only our mental knowledge, not our experience of Christ. Christ can never be experienced in our mind through doctrines. We must touch the Spirit in our spirit and allow the word of God, the living word of God, to enlighten us. This is the way to genuinely touch the riches of Christ. We need to know the riches of Christ in reality. Every real experience of Christ depends on touching the Spirit in our spirit, not on doctrines.
The greatest hindrance to the genuine building up in coordination is our opinions. Every person has opinions. If a person did not have any opinions, it would be very easy for him to coordinate with others. Whether young or old, we all have opinions. Sisters have opinions, brothers have opinions, and even newly saved ones have opinions. I have never met a person who does not have an opinion. The only place where we can be delivered from our opinions is our spirit. Our spirit transcends opinions. When we bring the saints into the spirit and we are all pursuing in spirit, praying in spirit, exercising the spirit, and releasing the spirit, we will not have any opinions. The more a person exercises his spirit, the fewer opinions he will have, whereas the more a person remains in his opinions, the less he will exercise his spirit. This is a spiritual law: a person who prays little has many opinions. If a person has many opinions, he is surely lacking in prayer. The more we are in spirit, the fewer opinions we have; once we are in spirit, we are delivered from opinions.
The genuine building of the saints is in spirit. God’s dwelling place is a spiritual house, a dwelling place in spirit (Eph. 2:22; 1 Pet. 2:5). Oneness is not the result of everyone having the same opinion but of everyone being in spirit. This can be seen in Paul’s speaking concerning the oneness of the Spirit in Ephesians 4:3. Our oneness can never be based on trying to have the same opinion but on being in spirit.
If we only study doctrines, the result will be division. This is another law that we cannot escape. Doctrinal discussions only increase the distance between us and generate more opinions. One opinion generates another opinion, which, in turn, generates yet another opinion. The only place where we can be rescued from our opinions is our spirit. Those who pray in spirit and even pray forth their spirit do not care for doctrines or opinions. On one hand, they are very clear concerning doctrines and opinions, but on the other hand, they do not care for any doctrine or opinion, because they know that being in spirit is the key.
God desires that we be in spirit. When we are in spirit, there will be no problems, even if we differ in our opinions or views, because we will be one in spirit. Hence, when the Bible speaks of the oneness of the saints, the oneness in the church, it is referring to the spirit. Ephesians 2:22 says, “In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” Our being built together is in spirit, and what we are building up is the dwelling place of God in spirit. How can we have the building if we do not bring the saints into the spirit? In order for the saints to have genuine growth and to really know themselves, including the corruption of their natural man, we must help them to turn to the spirit. In order to really experience Christ and touch His riches, they must turn to the spirit. In order to have genuine oneness and genuine building up to become God’s dwelling place, they must turn to the spirit. Presently, however, the serving ones are very neglectful of this point. We pay attention to matters related to meetings, messages, and activities, but we neglect leading the saints to their spirit. I have a heavy burden concerning this.
I hope that all the co-workers, elders, and responsible ones in the districts will receive this burden from the Spirit. We must weep and pray concerning our lack, crying out to the Lord. We meet, but we exercise our spirit very little; we preach the gospel, but we exercise our spirit very little; we listen to messages, but we exercise our spirit very little; and we labor in activities, but we exercise our spirit very little. We have everything, but we do not pray. If all the saints would have this sense, the Spirit would surely overturn the condition of the church.
Concerning the prayer time in the small groups after the message meeting, we need to improve our skills in leading the saints. Nevertheless, I have an even heavier feeling that the co-workers, elders, and responsible ones in the districts are short in exercising their spirit and inadequate in their prayer. This is not a matter of just changing our methods. We need to change our concept; we need to have a change in ourselves. We have fellowshipped concerning releasing the spirit, blending in spirit, learning to be priests, and ministering in spirit; however, the co-workers, elders, and responsible ones still have not touched the burden behind these points. They are satisfied with our meetings, messages, and activities, but they are not dissatisfied with our shortage of prayer in the spirit. If they truly felt this lack, they would immediately change their focus from activities and messages to turning to the spirit.
This is a serious matter—we need to turn to our spirit. We need to pray to be a Christian anew. Our prayer is inadequate; our spirit is not strong, and we do not release our spirit. If we do not take heed to the matter of bringing the saints into the spirit, we will lead them astray. If we are not willing to turn to the spirit to pray, we cannot bring others to their spirit to pray. If we do not open our mouth and exercise our spirit in the meeting, we cannot expect the saints to open their mouth and exercise their spirit when they come to the meeting. If the co-workers, elders, and responsible ones in the districts do not change their concept, we will only address the symptoms of our root problem, even if we change our methods.
In the past the elders, co-workers, and responsible ones have labored much. However, there are thousands of saints in the church in Taipei who function only a little and whose spirits are not strong, in spite of the fact that they come to meeting after meeting, hear message after message, and labor in activity after activity. This situation grieves me very much. We cannot allow this situation to continue. We must turn to the Lord and begin to learn that the only thing that matters is prayer in spirit. Acts 1:14 speaks of the apostles and the saints continuing “steadfastly with one accord in prayer.” Later, the three thousand, who were baptized following Peter’s message with the eleven, continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers (2:42). The work of the apostles came from their prayer, and the result of their work was to lead people into prayer.
If we look at our work, however, thousands have been saved, but only a few hundred pray in the meetings. This is because our work did not come from prayer, and we have not led people into prayer. It is pitiful that many saints, who obey the word, fellowship with one another, and break bread, are lacking in prayer and in the exercise of the spirit. Is the prayer in our districts dead or fervent, feeble or prevailing? Is the spirit strong or weak, living or half dead? We need to have a clear understanding and realization that merely having meetings, giving messages, and doing activities is inadequate if we are short in prayer and in the exercise of our spirit. We must wake up; we need to begin with prayer and work to bring people into prayer. We must continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word (6:4).
