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The purpose of this training is for the full-time serving ones to learn to receive a burden. In order for you to help the small groups, you must realize the need for learning. You should not expect to accomplish something in a quick way or even to do something well in your first attempt. God creates, but man must study. To study means to learn. Whoever expects to do something well in his first attempt will not achieve success. In the story of the tortoise and the hare, the capable hare lost the race, whereas the incapable tortoise won. If we desire to succeed in anything, we must be like the tortoise; we must be patient and willing to spend time to labor persistently.
After finishing the training, you must concentrate on reading the Bible and the Life-study messages from Monday to Friday for four hours every morning. Then, depending on the arrangement in your locality, you should serve in coordination with the church in the afternoon. You must also set aside some time to review your notes from the training. Furthermore, seven hours of sleep should be sufficient. If you usually sleep eight hours and do not have time to review your notes, you can sleep for seven and a half hours and use thirty minutes to review your notes or to consider how to help your small group. This can be compared to playing basketball. Even if you receive instructions from a coach, you will not know how to play properly if you do not practice. We need time for practice.
My greatest concern when a person begins to serve the Lord is that he may become useless. “I am serving the Lord, not men” becomes a slogan that he hides behind in order to not improve himself. The denominations in Christianity have a system of examinations and promotions, but we do not have any examinations or promotions. Therefore, it is easy for full-timers to neglect to improve themselves. In today’s society, if a person is not aggressive, he will not be promoted, nor will he be able to keep his job. Since World War II the whole world has been advancing. If a person is not aggressive to learn, he will lose his job and also fall far behind as the world progresses. Hence, I encourage you to exercise your spirit and to exercise a strong will to be aggressive in your service to the Lord. You must be aggressive; otherwise, after serving full time for six months, you will be useless. Even if you do not take the way of serving full time, you need to be aggressive and seek to advance in your job; otherwise, you will be eliminated. If this is the situation in the world, we should be even more aggressive in serving the Lord.
All the young serving ones should be aggressive. There is no limit to being aggressive. Every occupation has specialized knowledge, and no one is born with this knowledge. After I had been saved for seven years, the Lord raised up a church in my hometown in 1932. It was my responsibility to release messages in the meetings since I had learned some truths. The more I spoke, the more there was a need to speak, and the more there was a need, the more I spoke. Gradually I discovered that depending on the Chinese Union Bible and the King James Version of the Bible as my only reference books was not sufficient to meet the need, because many items of the truth required the defining of doctrine. The Chinese Union Version is a smooth and elegant translation, and its language is full of rhythm; however, in some places it lacks accuracy. In order to determine whether its translation is accurate, I could not rely on English Bibles; I needed to base my judgment of the words in the Bible on the original languages.
At that time I wrote to a brother in Shanghai and requested that he go to a Christian bookstore to purchase a copy of an English-Greek interlinear Bible for me, which I received at the end of 1932. Before then I had not learned the Greek alphabet, but a copy of the New Testament in Chinese that I received from an elderly brother included an explanation of the Greek language. The first page of this explanation consisted of the Greek alphabet with a pronunciation guide in both Mandarin and English. I used this to learn the Greek alphabet in six months.
Gradually I discovered that the English translation in the English-Greek interlinear Bible does not always convey the right meaning. In every language there are often words that have more than one meaning. For this reason, I needed a Greek dictionary to understand the Greek. When Japan invaded China, the Japanese army put many Western missionaries into concentration camps and sold their books. I took the opportunity and purchased many used books, including two excellent Greek-English dictionaries. I used these books to learn Greek.
During the fifty-two years that have passed since 1932, I have done in-depth study of biblical Greek using the writings of biblical scholars throughout the centuries, even though I have not studied Greek in any school. I regularly consult Greek dictionaries and Bible concordances. One of these works is Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, a ten-volume set by a German brother, Gerhard Kittel. This dictionary lists and explains every Greek word according to its usage in the ancient times, in the New Testament times, and in modern times. I consult this set of books the most. As a result, I can cut straight the word of the truth according to the Greek language when I expound the New Testament.
We must be aggressive. I hope that the young people who are serving full time will study Greek. There are even good videotapes available that teach Greek. In order to serve the Lord, you must be immersed in the Lord’s Word and spend time in it. Hence, you must learn some Greek. Some may wonder when they can find the time to learn Greek. You can find the time to learn Greek by spending less time for your meals, your sleep, talking on the phone, conversing, and reading the newspaper. Saving time in this way is what the Scriptures call “redeeming the time” (Eph. 5:16). For example, it is important to know the world situation, but for this there is a need to read only the international section of the newspaper.
Since I understand the Bible and the truth, and I also know history, I know the spiritual application of history. The book The World Situation and God’s Move proves that I have a thorough understanding of world history. Hence, you need to study a little history and know the world situation. This will help you in serving the Lord. If you know history and the world situation, you will understand people and different circumstances. Young people should have this kind of training. You must be aggressive. The more you learn, the more useful you will be.
You should not rely on the diploma from your school; instead, you should study hard and be aggressive. You are still young and full of potential. Your time is precious; you must redeem every minute by learning everything related to serving the Lord. In addition to Chinese, you should study at least two other languages: Greek and English. This will help you.
You should also be aggressive to learn how to converse with others and how to speak for the Lord. You should learn how to have the proper attitude, expression, and gestures when you converse with others. I have studied all these matters. In 1927 I realized that I would spend my whole life preaching the Lord’s word. I did not study theology, nor did I study methods of preaching, but I came up with two ways to practice—I would preach to the ocean, and I would stand before a mirror and practice preaching. This practice helped me greatly. When it was time for me to stand up to give a message, everyone was surprised and asked where I had learned to speak. I also learned how to contact others and how to use proper mannerisms in greeting or shaking hands with others so that I could earn others’ respect.
You should not think that these matters are unrelated to serving the Lord. When we go out to contact people, our attitude, expression, speaking, and conduct have much to do with serving the Lord. If we are proper in these aspects, we will give others the impression that we are a weighty person who does not act rashly or frivolously. Thus, what we say will be taken into consideration by others. Our work consists of nothing but speaking with others to help and to enlighten them. If the way we speak or conduct ourselves is not acceptable, no matter what we say, others will have a negative impression of us, and this will nullify everything. Therefore, I advise you to learn all these things.
Those who learn to be diplomats must be trained to contact people. Not only must they be courteous, but they must also have a certain demeanor. A diplomat represents his country. Therefore, when he meets with the heads of other countries, he must have a proper demeanor in order to gain others’ respect before he can gain their trust. We are not uplifting ourselves, but when we speak for the Lord, we are what Paul calls an ambassador of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20; Eph. 6:20). Hence, we should learn to speak and conduct ourselves with gravity even though we are young. We should not be hasty in our speaking; rather, when we speak, we should consider to whom we are speaking, what to say, how much to say, and when to stop speaking.
We must learn all these things because we represent the Lord. Suppose you are a young sister who recently graduated from college. You will know how to conduct yourself and how to speak with gravity if you are properly aggressive. The saints in your small group will be impressed and think that you are special. If the Spirit leads you, you can pray a few simple and weighty sentences. After the meeting, you will not be frivolous; rather, your contact with others will be proper before leaving. This will leave the saints in your small group with the impression that you are a person who is worthy of respect. Even your reading of the Bible should be proper in a small group. If you conduct yourself in this way, the saints in your group will be gained by your proper reading. Thus, over time you will build up a certain amount of credibility among them.
The Lord raised up a church in my hometown when I was young. A year later the Lord led me to leave my job, and after that He took me to Shanghai. At that time I prayed that the Lord would give me wisdom to know how to go out and come in among His people (cf. 2 Chron. 1:9-10). I prayed this for at least two or three years, and I believe that the Lord heard my prayer. We must be aggressive. We should pray concerning the way we dress. We should consider even the style and the color of the clothes we wear. We must not love fashion. As soon as we dress fashionably, we sell ourselves cheaply. However, we should not dress like an old person. When we pray concerning how to dress appropriately, the Lord will lead us.
You should conduct yourselves such that others consider you as weighty young persons full of gravity. If others have this impression of you, your words will have weight. People will be amazed that you are only in your twenties, and they will treasure and receive your words.
I was saved through the gospel preached by Sister Peace Wang. I was not yet twenty years old then, and she was a young woman who was six years older than I. When she preached the gospel in my hometown, I went to hear her out of curiosity. As she was speaking, I was greatly touched, and I received everything she said. I was genuinely saved at that time. Seven years later the Lord raised up a church in my hometown, and in the spring of the following year, around March or April, she was the first person who came to visit us. We observed her attitude, her mannerisms, her way of contacting people, and the way she handled things. Everything she did impressed us. At that time she was a very influential sister in Christianity. No matter what she did, whether she was standing to give a message or sitting down, she impressed others. It was not only the power in her spirit that impressed others, but much more it was her demeanor.
You must learn all these things. You should not behave in a loose or crazy way, nor should you be old fashioned or too conservative. You must pray and learn to be appropriate. Even how we style our hair requires much learning. We must not forget that serving the Lord is contacting people, and an important part of contacting people is our appearance, because this affects the impression that others have of us. Hence, we must be aggressive to learn, even in the matter of cutting our hair.
These points illustrate that we must learn to be aggressive in everything. If the two hundred full-timers are aggressive to learn, even your hairstyle and clothing will show others your quality. All these things are related to your serving the Lord; hence, you must be aggressive, not casual, in everything.
Question: If a Christian who claims that he is Elijah, sent by Jehovah to help others, comes to our small group meeting, how should we handle him?
Answer: We should simply tell him, “We are open to all who are saved, but we will not receive such speaking. Let me escort you to the door.”
Question: How can we get to know the actual situation of the people we contact?
Answer: In order to do anything, we must have the proper knowledge. If you gave me an English essay to correct, but I did not know English, I could read it a hundred times and still be unable to correct it, because I do not have the necessary knowledge. I would need sufficient knowledge of English grammar in order to correct the essay. Similarly, our ability to know people depends on two factors: how much we have learned and how much we know the spirit of others. We cannot know a person by listening merely to his words; we must touch his spirit with our spirit. How much we have learned to exercise our spirit determines our ability to know others. This cannot be learned in one day; it can only be learned over time. A person who handles fabric every day is able to tell whether a fabric is good or not simply by touching it. Whether we are able to render some help to others depends on how much we know them.
Question: Many of us grew up in the children’s meetings. We love the Lord and the church, and we desire to serve Him full time. How do we conduct ourselves before the older saints who have seen us grow up?
Answer: This is a difficult point. On the one hand, a prophet has no honor in his own country (John 4:44; Matt. 13:57), but on the other hand, as your speech and mannerisms change, and you become stable and serious, the older saints will feel different about you. The most important thing is to always appropriately present yourself before people. For this reason, when you return to your locality, you must be aggressive and make progress so that others will respect you. The attitude of the saints depends on how you present yourself. This does not mean that we are pretentious or put on airs but that we are real.
Question: What do we do if a weak and backslidden brother comes to a small group meeting and expresses his negative views concerning the church?
Answer: Everything depends on the circumstance. Nevertheless, the brothers and sisters need a broad heart, and they need to be considerate of the weak saints who have not been meeting for a while. We should not be offended by what he says. However, if he does this every time, we should ask him to stop his negative speaking or to stay home. Moreover, the saints in the small group should pray, asking for the Lord’s leading concerning how to help such saints. We should not be quick to address the situation. We need a broad and patient heart, and we need to follow the Lord’s leading in the situation to render him some help.
Question: Eighty percent of the saints in my small group are older saints who have been in the small group for some time; it is therefore easy for them to practice the group meeting as they have in the past. What should we do to turn them to the present practice?
Answer: You should not be legal in adopting the present practice. You should not be “reformers” and attempt to change everything once you join a small group. You should simply meet with the saints. Gradually, as you gain their trust, you can begin to speak to them. Even if you make no progress for a year, there is still the next year. The Lord Jesus is full of patience toward us. With Him a thousand years are like one day (2 Pet. 3:8). Hence, we should not be anxious. Our goal is to bring the brothers and sisters to exercise their life function. Some of them might already have formed habits that are difficult to break; nevertheless, we must not cut them off. The Lord will operate and raise up some who have the same vision and burden as we do. We should believe in the Lord.
As you young people go to serve the Lord, you must avoid rushing into things. Instead, you should exercise patience. This does not mean that you should not do anything, or that you should not be concerned or positive. On the contrary, you must be positive, concerned, and burdened but at the same time realize that you must not be hasty in the situation and circumstance. The saints may not be able to match your burden; hence, you need to give the Lord some time to raise up the proper atmosphere. Then the saints will change their view and their attitude, and there will be plenty to do. This can be compared to a farmer who plants seeds and tills the ground in December. This is foolishness; his effort is in vain. Instead, he should be actively getting ready and waiting so that he will be able to plant seeds when spring arrives.
You should not be quick to do anything. You should not say, “I have participated in the training. Now I have a heavy burden to change the situation in my church.” I guarantee that if you do this, you will fail. When you return, you should learn to be patient and wise. You should allow the Lord to change winter into spring in His timing. While you wait, you must pray to prepare yourself and also exercise to make progress. You should learn how to converse with the older saints. If you do not succeed, you can try another way. This is being aggressive, and this is the way to learn to serve the Lord. You need to learn in all these things.
Question: Since the success of a small group depends on whether the leading ones have a clear burden, should we have a training for the leading ones so that we may all get the help?
Answer: This training is to charge you full-timers to be aggressive to learn so that when you join a small group meeting, you will function spontaneously. If it is needed, you may follow the Lord’s leading and share a little concerning His present leading in the church in relation to the small group meeting. Your purpose is not to promote the small groups or to arrange the saints into small groups. That is organization. Our desire is that you function in the Body and bring a little spark of fire with you. The church is not an organization; rather, the church is like an orchard with all kinds of trees. Some trees may not grow so well for a time, but after a while an opportunity will arise, and the timing will be right. We must continue to meet, and the Holy Spirit will lead us. We are not an organization; there is no need to have a set of regulations. We have the Lord, the Spirit, and the Word.
Question: Does the church have a plan for nurturing the brothers and sisters? How do we help the brothers and sisters become persons who are faithful and prudent?
Answer: The church life is a life of nurturing. If we meet regularly, we will be nurtured and nourished. At the same time, the church life causes every saint’s gift and talent to be manifested. Hence, the church life does not suppress the saints; rather, it encourages everyone to manifest his ability so that the gifts and talents are manifested. The churches should encourage the brothers and sisters to travel abroad to visit other countries. This is beneficial. However, we do not wish to make such things into rules, because the church is the Lord’s organic Body; everything in the church depends on life.
