I hope you are not disappointed. All men can do is help you to solve some mental block. Other than that, men can do nothing.
So, if you have any real spiritual problem, remember: go to the Lord Himself. Otherwise, your problem will never be solved.
I received some questions here: “How is the Lord disciplining us? Can you give an illustration from the Word? What are the ways of the Lord to discipline us to be His disciples?”
I think these two questions are closely related. As we read the Word of God, we find that there are plenty of illustrations of how our Lord Jesus dealt with His disciples and how He disciplined them.
You get the words: unless our Lord Jesus disciplines us, He is not treating us as His children. You find in Hebrews 12 that it is the love of the Father to discipline His son. If He is not treating one as His son, He will not bother about him.
Some brothers and sisters, I think our mentality has to be changed. We need to see discipline as love, not as hatred. It is because of the love of God that He condescends Himself to discipline us, in order to bring us out of ourselves and into Christ.
So far as God’s discipline is concerned, we find that His way of disciplining us is according to our spiritual condition. Usually, in the beginning of our Christian life, probably He will discipline us in something that is more outward.
For instance, probably we have the habit of sleeping late. When we get up, we have no time for our daily devotion. In our hurriedness, maybe for a few minutes, we try to pray or even try to read the Word before we go out to school or to work.
I remember Miss Groves, who was a companion of Miss Barber. She said, “The problem between God and man is over the bed”—whether, in the morning, you can get up earlier to have time with the Lord.
Now, that is a problem. I believe that when our Lord Jesus is disciplining us, probably in the beginning it will come to you as a matter over your bed.
Maybe the Lord, by His Spirit, is moving in you and challenging you: “Do you also love your body? Are you able to put your body under yourself, to obey you, instead of letting your body be your master?”
Now, it seems to be a very small thing. But, brothers and sisters, probably your spiritual life depends upon that.
Usually, when the Lord is disciplining us, He begins with something outward, small, and external. Then, gradually, finally He begins to challenge you with something deeper and more inward.
In a sense, when we are talking about the discipline of the Lord, usually the Holy Spirit will arrange our environment and use our environment to deal with different things in our life.
You remember the Bible tells us, for instance, that when our Lord Jesus first sent His disciples out in Matthew 10, He told them that He was sending them out as sheep among wolves.
Then, in Matthew 10:37, He says that if you love your father or mother, brother or sister, or yourself more than Him, you cannot be His disciple.
In other words, the Lord is dealing with the emotional life. We all have our emotions. To love our father and mother, brother and sister, wife or husband, and children—that is good. That is natural.
Even in the commandment, we are commanded to respect and love our parents. This is the one commandment with promise. But, unfortunately, after man has fallen, our self-life is so fallen that it has to be delivered.
To deliver us from our self-life—that is, from our soul-life—the Lord has to deal with the emotion of our soul-life, because emotion is the most evident expression of our soul.
There is nothing more important than love or hate. If we love the right things and hate the right things, then we are on the right path. Otherwise, if we hate what we should love and love what we should hate, then something is radically, drastically wrong.
So you find that, usually, when God is dealing with us, He will deal first of all with our emotional life.
It is something commendable to love our parents. But the demand of the Lord is this: if you love your father or mother more than Me, you cannot be My disciple.
Why? Because the love—the emotional life—of our life has to be changed. It does not mean that if you love the Lord more than your parents, then you do not love your parents. On the contrary, if you love the Lord more than your father or mother, you will love your parents more, in the right way.
Usually, you will find that in our early days God will deal with us in this area. I remember, when I was a young Christian, the Lord dealt with me over baptism.
I was baptized when I was a baby. But after I was saved, I was told, “Now you need to be baptized according to the Word of God, by immersion.” I always opposed that because I told people, “When my father baptized me in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I was baptized. I should not use the name of God idly.”
But gradually, as I was reading the Bible, more and more I was convinced that you have to believe first and then be baptized. Inwardly, I was touched by the Word of God, but outwardly I was still resisting it.
Why? Because I loved my father. My father was a Methodist pastor. He loved the Lord, and I loved him. I thought, “If I were to be baptized by immersion, what will happen to my father?” I could not do that.
But again and again, the Holy Spirit worked in my life. Until one day, a brother began to talk to me about baptism. Again, I agreed with him. You know, inwardly I knew it was right, but outwardly I was still very strong and persistent.
So he gave me up. He said, “You are hopeless,” and left me alone.
I remember very vividly: I was sitting there by myself and praying. I said, “Lord, I know I should be baptized by immersion, but this is not the time. I promise You, after I graduate from college, after I am independent, then I will be baptized.”
You know what? I heard a voice. Suddenly, a voice spoke to me: “He who loves his father, mother, or so forth, more than Me cannot be My disciple.”
This was the first time I heard it as if somebody were talking to me. There was nobody around. When that word came to me with such power, I told the Lord, “I will be baptized.”
So I came down from my friend’s room and went next door, where a Watchman Nee brother was living. I knocked at the door. He came down, and he knew me; he knew my father. So he said, “What do you want?”
I said, “I want to be baptized.”
He said, “Does your father know?”
I said, “I have not told my father yet, but I feel the Lord calls me to do so.” By the grace of God, I was baptized the next day.
Brothers and sisters, why do I mention this? Because this was the beginning of my spiritual life. Before that day, I was zealous for the Lord. I was serving the Lord according to my own will.
But that day, God began to open my eyes. That was the beginning of my spiritual journey.
So, brothers and sisters, you find that our emotional life needs to be delivered. Who controls our emotional life? I myself.
But the discipline of the Lord is to allow Christ to be in charge of my soul. Instead of my soul expressing myself, my soul will express Christ. He sits on the throne of my soul.
That is discipline. That is purification. That is transformation. That is to be conformed to the image of Christ.
Then you find in Matthew 16, after Peter confessed, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” the Lord began to tell His disciples that He would go to Jerusalem and be crucified.
Then you find what Peter did. He took hold of the Lord and said, “Lord, this shall never happen unto Thee. Be mindful of Thyself.”
Peter did it with goodwill and with good intention, yet he was out of the will of God. So our Lord turned and said, “Get thee behind Me, Satan, because thou art not mindful of God, but mindful of men.”
In other words, here is another illustration of how our mind needs to be disciplined. Instead of self using the mind, Christ should express Himself through our mind. That is the result of discipline.
You also remember, in Matthew 26, when our Lord Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, He was in tremendous conflict. He who knew no sin was to be made sin for us.
Humanly speaking, He could not bear it. He asked the Father, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.” But then He said, “Not My will, but Thy will be done.”
In other words, our will needs to be disciplined. Unless our will is disciplined, we are the master of our life. But if our will is disciplined and God’s will becomes our will, then you find there is the salvation of the soul.
Surely, brothers and sisters, there are so many cases we can find in the Scripture of how the Lord will discipline us. It is always out of love.
When such discipline comes to us, in whatever area it may be, so far as we ourselves are concerned, it is impossible. Who does not love himself? Who does not want to be on his own? Who does not want to have his own will?
Only when we are constrained by the love of Christ—that is the only way. We ourselves cannot fight against ourselves. No man can lift himself up.
But thank God, with the discipline of the Lord is the love of Christ. So, when we are constrained by the love of Christ, nothing is impossible.
Brothers and sisters, these are the ways that the Lord will deal with us. Do not seek only for some spectacular ways. In our daily life, in small things as well as big things, the Lord is purifying us. He is saving us. He is delivering us from ourselves into Christ.
You know, our greatest enemy is not Satan. Our greatest enemy is ourselves.
Martin Luther said, “I am not afraid of the pope, the cardinals, and all these others. But I am afraid of the pope within me.”
Brothers and sisters, in our spiritual progress, sooner or later, you have to face this matter of discipline. If you reject it, you are still saved, but barely saved.
But if you are willing to give yourself up and allow the Lord to have His way with you, then your soul will be delivered.
Our Lord Jesus said, “If you love your soul, you lose it. If you lose it for My sake, you will gain it unto eternity.” I think probably this is more of a hindrance to our spiritual progress than anything else.
There are another two questions: “Can the salvation of the soul be completed before our mortal body dies? Under what condition do we fully cooperate with the Holy Spirit to carry the cross daily?”
When we believe in the Lord Jesus, we are saved. But which part of you is saved?
Not your body, because when you believe in the Lord Jesus, you find yourself still in this mortal body. Of course, there is a little change. I often say, from a long face to a round face. But that is superficial.
Even though we are saved, we are still in this mortal body. We are still affected by the environment around us. We can still get sick.
When you are saved, was your soul saved at the same time? No. You are still you.
Even though in the beginning it seems as if you have been delivered, because in your first love you are really riding on the cloud. At that time, if the Lord should demand anything from you, you would give it to Him. That is our first love.
But gradually, you fall down, and you begin to discover that you are even stronger than that.
What was saved when you were first saved? Your spirit. Your spirit was dead in sins and transgressions. It had lost its communication with God.
Now, when you are saved, not only are your sins forgiven—that is negative—but positively, the Lord has given you a new spirit. Your human spirit, dead in sins and transgressions, has been renewed and awakened.
In Ezekiel, we find that you have a new spirit, and the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in your spirit.
We say Christ dwells in us. Where does He dwell in us? In our body? In our soul? No, in our spirit.
So we find that what we usually call salvation refers to our spirit. Something marvelous has happened in our spirit. Our communication with God is renewed.
Christ becomes the life of our spirit, and the Holy Spirit is there to see to it that the life of Christ will grow into maturity. That is the work of God in the Holy Spirit.
That is what we usually call salvation. That is initial salvation. That is not the end; that is the beginning.
After we are saved, why is it that the Lord does not just rapture us to heaven? I often feel how glorious and how good it would be if the moment I was saved, I was raptured. Then He would save me from all the troubles I would be going through.
But the love of God is otherwise. He loves us so much that He leaves us upon this wretched world to go through things.
For what? To save our soul.
Brothers and sisters, having believed in the Lord Jesus, why is it that the Lord still leaves you on earth? If He loves you, why not take you immediately to Himself? No, because He loves you, He leaves you here.
I thank God for leaving me so long. Because He loves me, He wants to complete His work.
Thank God every day we are living. Thank God because He is still giving us opportunity. Salvation of the soul is for today.
Daily, He is working to save our souls—to save our souls from ourselves and to replace self with Himself, with Christ.
This is the work that is going on today. Brothers and sisters, every day is precious. Every day is opportunity. Every day is training.
Every day, the Holy Spirit is arranging our circumstances. Every day, the Spirit of God is speaking to us. He is putting us to the cross and putting Christ into us.
Christian life is really exciting.
How we mourn when we are disciplined! But actually, we should praise when we are disciplined. If we are disciplined, it shows that He is still loving us. If He lets us go, it shows we are hopeless.
So, brothers and sisters, the salvation of the soul is for today. God is working in us. Whom He has called, He has justified; whom He has justified, He will glorify.
To be glorified simply means to be like Christ: to build His character into our lives, that we will live not for ourselves, but for the life of Christ Jesus.
Now, can such salvation also be completed before our mortal body dies? It can. It should.
Why? When you read 2 Timothy 4, you know that when Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians, he said, “I do not say I have arrived. I am forgetting what is behind and stretching out myself toward the goal that is before me.”
But when he wrote 2 Timothy, before his martyrdom, he could say:
I have finished the course.
I have fought the good fight.
I have kept the faith.
A crown of righteousness is waiting, not only for me, but for all who love the Lord.
So, brothers and sisters, from 2 Timothy, I think we can simply say—and I hope it will be real to each and every one of us—that we may also declare, “I have finished the course.” Thank God for it.
Now, under what condition do we fully cooperate with the Holy Spirit to carry the cross daily? Only under one condition: absolute surrender.
That is the reason why, in Romans, you find that after eleven chapters which tell us of the mercies of God, our response is to present our bodies as a living sacrifice.
This is holy, acceptable to God, and it is our reasonable service and spiritual worship.
So, brothers and sisters, the only condition required on our part is absolute surrender. All the other work is being done by God Himself. That is grace. So may the Lord help us.
We received some questions here. I will start with this one: “There are some people in evangelical circles who claim that our Lord no longer speaks directly to us or calls us except through the Bible. Is this a wrong understanding? It is somewhat puzzling and confusing.”
I would like to read just a little portion of Scripture in 1 Corinthians 13. There is also an associated question on the topic of the gift of speaking in tongues.
We read, beginning in 1 Corinthians 13:8:
Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away;
whether there be tongues, they shall cease;
whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away.For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child:
now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things.For now we see in a mirror darkly; but then face to face:
now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known.But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Then 1 Corinthians 14:1 says:
Follow after love; yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification, exhortation, and consolation.
We have been talking this weekend, and I would like to put these questions in the context of learning to walk in the way that bears the testimony of the Lord.
This way is very expensive. It is beyond our understanding. It is a new and living way. It is the result of the life of the Lord Jesus being poured out upon His people.
There are many expressions of the life of the Lord Jesus—many that we understand, and many that are sometimes puzzling.
Practically speaking, in order for us to walk in the way of the Lord, we have to walk in the cross.
The picture we get of the New Testament church is so wide, so lively, and so wonderful. But the way of this church in testimony meant that the saints needed to bear the cross and accept one another.
Have mercy upon one another. We have mentioned that God has moved and spoken once again, and it is a message of mercy. The whole atmosphere of the church should really be mercy.
If we are going to express the largeness of the Lord Jesus, there must be great mercy upon us and a love for all the brethren.
Now, the question specifically concerns whether the Lord speaks only through the Bible. There is a context here. Probably a number of you know that there is a school of thought among Christians called dispensationalism.
It divides different parts of the Bible according to who a message is relevant to and at what period of time. This is a very Bible-knowledge-filled way of working things out.
But in some forms of dispensationalism, people believe that when the apostles passed on, the gifts of the Spirit ceased operating: the gift of tongues, even prophecy.
Then they add that when the Bible came together as a complete Bible—the Old Testament and New Testament—that is interpreted as “the perfect” having come. Therefore, they say, the gift of tongues and prophecy are no longer needed because now we have the Word.
The problem with these kinds of statements, especially when they are ministered in a dogmatic way, is that they cause division immediately.
Without saying too much about these particular issues, let me tell you that we have a great problem even right here in our midst.
We, in Adam, tend to be narrow. We like certain things and do not like other kinds of things. So the Lord provides antidotes.
I am thinking that twenty-five years ago, our brother Hosea, his wife Ellen, and some saints in South Jersey said, “Maybe the Lord wants us to have a conference, gather people together, and talk about the testimony of the Lord.”
It was to be a conference whose end would be that every man could be presented perfect in Christ. Amazingly, people started coming, and they have now been coming for twenty-five years.
Unfortunately, within the group are a good number of charismatics and a number of those who are not persuaded in that way. The Lord says, “Here you go.”
If you can stand it, there is a wideness, greatness, and fullness to the body of Christ. But if these doctrinal things bother you, then there is the possibility that Adam can divide things.
Now, let me say that I understand why such a doctrine would be proclaimed. If you see some supposedly charismatic and Pentecostal things that are so out of the character of Christ that they are simply wrong, you can become filled up with that business and say, “Okay, that is it. All that stuff is no good.”
Then the baby is thrown out with the bathwater. We do not want to deal with the fact that gifts could be ministered in the love and Spirit of Christ. So we throw the whole thing out and say it is no good.
There are some really excellent and wonderful preachers alive today who propound this doctrine, and they do it by the gift of prophecy—which they do not admit they have, because the gift has ceased.
Other brothers who have this anti-gifts-of-the-Spirit feeling have been mightily used by God, even with the gift of healing—which they do not have, because these gifts have ceased.
What I am trying to say is that the Lord enables people to minister in the body of Christ by spiritual gifts. Whatever you want to call them, they are still with us today.
Some believe that “the perfect” which has come is the Bible and, therefore, there is no need for these spiritual gifts. I do not see that interpretation.
Because the very next verse gives us a word which I believe is still relevant for us today: “Pursue love, and seek spiritual gifts, but especially that you might prophesy.”
There is a largeness which, to me, you can see especially in two places in the New Testament. One is the book of Acts, where you see new wine poured out, and that poor old Judaism wineskin could not take it.
The reason you can see the largeness of the body of Christ in the book of Acts is that the saints had to deal with the cross.
Those saints in Jerusalem were having the best old Jerusalem time until these Gentiles came around. But they had to embrace the cross and say, “If the Spirit has fallen on the Gentiles, we have to embrace them.” Thank God they did.
But then it meant that some of those Jerusalem believers did not quite trust the Pauline believers. They had to continually lay all that down, time and time again, in order for the Lord to continue to move out and out and out and create this wonderful thing.
Our brother Christian Chen has given some wonderful messages recently about the church of Antioch. He says the unique thing about the church in Antioch was that it was no longer a Jewish group, so you could not call them merely the people of the Way.
But they were not simply a Gentile group either, because there were probably more than half Jews there, along with people from Cyrene, Cyprus, Antioch itself, and Syria.
Finally, people looked at that gathering in Antioch and said, “You know what they are? They are little Christs—Christians.”
That is the only definition they could find for them. They were no longer Jewish Christians; they were just little Christs.
That is wonderful. If a group can become so large that they are no longer a Chinese Christian church but simply Christians—or a German group, “Oh yes, them Lutherans”—there is something so original.
But it comes out of bearing the cross and accepting one another. In the book of Acts, the saints had continually to say, “The Lord is moving, and it is uncomfortable for us, but we agree with the Lord.” So things were large.
Also, in 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14, you see a great expansiveness. Paul has no problem with the gifts of the Spirit. But what he is saying is that if there is not an order of the Spirit, then the gifts of the Spirit get out of control.
That involves the cross. To put it simply, the body of Christ cannot continue to have prophecy if the prophets are not subject to the spirits of the prophets. There must be discipline and accountability.
When something is simply a charismatic firestorm, with people prophesying all kinds of wild things and no correction, we have to say, “Wait a minute.” What is our correction? The Word of God.
Here you see the two great tools that the Lord uses: the Word of God—the Bible—and the Holy Spirit. He moves forward with the Word and the Spirit, the Word and the Spirit. But they must be this close to one another.
Probably most of you know that I have been to Russia a number of times. There has been a whole new revival going on, with many hundreds of thousands of people saved since 1991, when the Iron Curtain fell.
The people going in, for the most part, who have brought much of this work, are charismatics from Ukraine. One of the great oppositions they face there is the Pentecostals.
That may sound strange to you. But the Russian Pentecostals are a unique brand, as they are everywhere. This particular group heavily believes in angelic visions.
Many of their churches and leaders have gone far off into angel worship and ranks of positions in the heavenlies which people are supposed to reach by righteous legalism. It has no relationship to the Word of God.
I cannot speak for all of them; I am sure many are wonderful saints. But many are no longer even connected to the Word of God. They follow prophets.
Your pastor is your prophet, and he tells you he is in the third level, the angels are speaking, and they are saying that all women wearing pants are going to hell. I mean, that is a typical message.
But it is no longer connected to the Bible. The gifts of the Spirit need to express the character of Christ. That is the only way they are legitimate.
Any other way, they need to be brought into submission to the reality of Christ in His Word.
I do not think we have any warrant in the Bible for saying that we should simply disallow gifts of the Spirit.
Especially because we notice something historically verifiable: when you see God doing a recovery work in the church throughout church history, in almost all of those times there have been expressions of gifts of the Spirit.
There has been a new season, as it were, when the Spirit is poured out. Miracles happen—mighty and wonderful things—especially at the beginning of these times.
Whether it is among the Moravians, among the Wesleyans in John Wesley’s day, or elsewhere, there have been these spiritual expressions.
As the church grows and matures, sometimes those initial signs seem to diminish. But hopefully not a Spirit-filled life before the Lord.
Those who are cessationists—that is what they call those who say there are no more gifts of the Spirit because the Bible is here—have a problem when they see what the Lord is doing in what we call the Third World, where many people are being saved.
Out in the fields of missionary endeavor, especially where the gospel is first being preached, signs and wonders are happening almost on a daily basis.
I do not know how people who say those things do not exist can explain the miracles happening: miracles of provision, miracles of weather, miracles of healing—amazing things.
On some of my short visits into Russia, they have taken me by car out to where cars can no longer travel, and then I have walked through the snow, far out into places I do not know where. Yvonne knows well; she has been in those same spots.
Out there, it is the funniest thing. I always thought Russia was an atheistic country—maybe in Moscow and Leningrad. But when you go far out into the country, they are animists and worship demons.
If you go there, your hair will stand on end—if you have any hair. It is palpable.
These dear saints who evangelize pray in the power of the Spirit. Some pray in tongues; they prophesy; they get on their knees in the snow. Then they enter the village, and you can almost sense a light coming in and forces of evil leaving the village as they preach the gospel.
Now, that is just a reality. If you want to come with me on my next trip, and you have some big boots, you will see.
Now, we do not want to be miracle mongers and look for a demon under every bush. Nor do we want to get taken away, as sometimes groups do. They become distracted with gifts of the Spirit, and the next thing you know, they lose their basis and purpose.
The Word of God is so precious. Some of the leading teachers in the movement that pronounces these things are among the most gifted preachers. From their ranks come brothers and sisters who really know the Bible, and I praise God for that.
But they also believe it is their mission to be divisive on this basis. Especially where some of the strongest ones are in California, it causes a mess, because that is where most charismaniacs live.
You have two churches: one group believes in the gifts of the Spirit, and the group next door says they are of the devil. You have a problem.
But we cannot just accept anything that calls itself a gift of the Spirit. Many of these false things need to be severely tested today. Things have gone so far wrong that even charismatics are embarrassed at what they sometimes see.
At the same time, you cannot shut down something that is a reality. If we are going to live in the expanse of life in the body of Christ, there is just too much going on out there.
There are many who have these gifts of the Spirit today and have had them throughout the centuries, and they faithfully serve God. So we have a situation, and I think it takes mercy. I think we need to be merciful.
Finally, I want to say that I believe this situation will come to your back door. If you live in the United States of America and you begin to join yourself together with God’s people, I believe God will send some charismaniacs to you.
Now, what are you going to do about that? Sorry I use that term. I do not really denigrate something that the Lord has done. People who have gifts of the Spirit—it is a wonderful thing.
But they may come and say, “Oh, I love this fellowship.” What will you say to them?
Many fellowships started with Bible-believing former Baptists joined together with former Pentecostals. The Lord says, “You are one. Fight it out.”
As you fellowship together, you begin to see the beauty of the fullness of what the Lord can do.
We must be biblically based. If we become merely 1 Corinthians 12 or exercise ourselves like 1 Corinthians 14—with meetings, visions, revelations, speaking in tongues, and prophecy—but we do not have chapter 13, which is the cross, which is called love, then the body of Christ will just veer off one way or the other.
I actually love saints who basically say, “I have the Bible; that is enough.” If the Bible is living to them and not merely doctrine, I think it is wonderful. I want to be joined with them.
If I see people who have the Holy Spirit, joy and release in their lives, who are thankful to God and able to worship—not all stopped up, but able to raise their hands—I want to be with that group too. But not if they go plumb crazy.
So we are in a living way, and the Lord deals with all of us. Probably our greatest problem with becoming all the Lord wants us to be as assemblies is how judgmental we are of one another.
We are in a day of mercy, but we judge everybody pretty much. The Lord usually says, “If you look around and see somebody near you, you may have a judgment about them, but you are probably wrong.”
The Lord is doing something much more in them than you realize. Judgment is not our task. Mercy is where we are at.
Now, finally, I have a long question here. But it is actually a very relevant question, and I am sure it is near and dear to several hearts.
Here is the story in essence. Here is a dear saint who has seen and tasted something of God’s purpose, way, and testimony. But now that person lives in a place where they cannot find such a fellowship.
They have a heart to serve the Lord. They love the Lord. They have even been traveling around the local area trying to find a place where they can say, “Home, home.”
But they feel like a foreign invader. They go to these places and see this and that going on. Now, finally, this dear one has found a place—not what the Lord wants ultimately, perhaps—but a place where they receive some love and fellowship.
They start to go to this church, whatever it is. They go for just a little while, and they obviously love the Lord. The next thing you know, the church tells them, “We want you to co-work with us. We want you to come into the ministry with us—perhaps ministry to the young people.”
But here is the hitch: “You have to join the church.”
Now, what should I do? That is the question.
The answer is: go back and go through the beginning of the tape. Brother Stephen said only God can answer this question.
God is very sovereign. If you look at Revelation 2 and 3, God has overcomers in some churches that are really missing the mark. He has sovereignly placed some people there, and He says, “Now you overcome. You listen to My voice.”
So what should this saint do? I could say what I would do, but that does not necessarily apply.
For me, once my name was withdrawn from the Baptist church membership roll, I have never been able in good conscience—and never would—join a church, because I already belong to Him.
To me, that is what membership in the church is. It is not just some sniggly little point of semantics. To join something that in any way separates me within the body of Christ, I have a difficult time with.
But now, on the other hand—and I say this is just me—if I were in such an isolated situation, and there were young people there who needed attending to, I would not mind serving and helping with the young people, but not if I had to join.
I might say, “I am willing to help, but I cannot join the church.” If they say, “Then you cannot serve,” I might say, “Can I provide transportation for the children? Can I bring food for them, if I am not allowed to minister to them?”
If you have a heart to serve, these are God’s dear children. But you cannot do something that is against your conscience.
You cannot say, “Ah, I will join this.” Then they say, “Okay, now we are also going to sprinkle you on Thursday.” And then, “Do not forget, here are your envelopes for the year.”
The next thing you know, you are in full tilt, you become the assistant pastor, and they ordain you.
All I am saying is this: not everybody has an assembly of saints of similar mind and heart. Thank God, this dear saint has found some people who love the Lord.
It is better to fellowship, hear the Word of God, and pray together with the saints than to go nowhere. I do not think it is a good idea to go nowhere.
But I do think that you may just be the prayer powerhouse that group needs in order to begin to understand the more perfect way.
Sometimes the Lord puts us in there and says, “Pray what is not into being.” After you have prayed for a while, you discover there are others in that group—you did not even know it—like a Nicodemus, who also has a burden. Then you begin to pray together, and the Lord does amazing things.
If we looked at the various assemblies represented here, you would find that many of these assemblies really started when a few dear sisters began to pray. That was about it.
Then they lassoed a couple of guys, young people, whatever, and the Lord began to move.
Never think, “I have no ministry because I am in some kind of church.” You always have a ministry.
You come before the Lord and realize how precious these saints are. Listen, that is part of the tragedy in which we live.
I hope you do not just say, “Ah well, I am going to be an overcomer. I am only going to an overcomer church, and all the rest, forget about it.” The Lord has not forgotten about them.
I hope you have a burden to pray that the saints would be delivered from the things preventing them from fully expressing Christ, and that you might help saints along the way.
Bring to them the fullness of Christ. When you are in the Bible study, share a perspective they have never seen before. It is amazing how many hungry souls exist in many places around the country.
You may just be the provision and supply for such a situation. But I cannot tell you what to do. The Lord really has to tell you.
This is a desperate situation, and we need to pray for people like this because they want to serve the Lord with all their heart.
The Lord is working on what? The salvation of their soul—by limiting them at this time. “Let us see what your spiritual gumption is really about under restriction. Are you still praying?”
Can you not be held down? Paul said, when he was in jail, “I may be in jail, but nobody can imprison the Word of God.”
When Paul was in jail, it was the worst thing that ever happened to the Roman jail: they got saved.
Maybe, in one sense, you are circumstantially in jail right now. But there is no limitation to what the Spirit can do with you in that situation.
Oh, may the Lord help you. It is very difficult, but I know the Lord has mercy.
Please have mercy if I have answered questions wrongly or if you do not agree with me. Let us have mercy.
Listen, this is a day of mercy. We make mistakes. But by the mercy of God, we endeavor to maintain the unity of the Spirit.
So the Lord teaches us, helps us, and brings us all into a larger taste of the Alpha and the Omega as we are together.