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Something must be improper or wrong if we are not bearing fruit

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“Barrenness is an even more subtle enemy. Some married couples are not able to have children, and this becomes a big problem to them. According to human desire, the meaning of a couple’s life is to have children. Likewise, if we do not bear fruit, beget some spiritual children, there is not much meaning to our church life. Without fruit-bearing, there is no practical church life. Suppose that we baptized fifty-eight new ones in the next Lord’s Day church meeting. All of us would be excited and joyful in the Lord. But we do not have much joy, because we are barren. Barrenness is the biggest enemy that annuls the proper church life.

If we cannot have children in our human life, we can have the Lord as our replacement. But the Lord will not be the replacement for the fruit that we do not bear in the church life. We may feel that we have been enjoying the Lord every day, but a tree is known by its fruit. The real church life can be evidenced only by fruit-bearing. If we have not borne fruit for three years, for five years, or even for ten years, our enjoyment of Christ should be questioned. Something must be improper or wrong if we are not bearing fruit.

In the seven epistles to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, the Lord touched the deadness with Sardis and the lukewarmness with the Laodiceans, but He did not touch barrenness. This is because He had already dealt with this very seriously in John 15. In the four Gospels the Lord did not deal with deadness or with lukewarmness. But He dealt with barrenness to the uttermost in one chapter—John 15. Some people would say that this is a chapter on abiding in Christ. Actually, however, it is not on abiding but on fruit-bearing. Abiding is for fruit-bearing. The Lord said, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes it away…If one does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is dried up” (vv. 2a, 6a). For a branch to be cast out means that it is cut off from participation in the riches of the life of the vine.

If we do not bear fruit, there is a danger that we will be cut off from the vine tree. This does not mean that we will suffer eternal perdition but that we will lose our enjoyment of Christ as our portion. This proves that if we do not bear fruit, there is a problem with our enjoyment of Christ. This is just like a couple who cannot bring forth children. They may say that they do not feel that anything is wrong with them, but actually something is wrong, which is preventing them from having children. They may even go to some doctors to find out what is wrong with them. This is an illustration of our problem of barrenness. We may feel that there is nothing wrong with us, but based upon the fact that we have not borne fruit, we must realize that something is wrong with our enjoyment of Christ. If we do not have fruit, our so-called enjoyment of Christ can be a self-deceiving matter. It is not so real.

We may think that we have seen a number of saints who have not borne fruit for quite a long time, but we did not notice that they were cut off from the enjoyment of the Lord. My answer to this is that the matter of life is a mystery. There may be a couple who cannot bear children, but no one can see the reason. In the same way it may seem that we are doing quite well, but where is our fruit? This is a test. If we are not bearing fruit, this is evidence that we have lost our enjoyment of Christ. In this chapter I want us to realize that every day, day and night, these three enemies are around us: deadness, lukewarmness, and barrenness.

In the previous chapter I shared that we need to get some companions, at least two or three, with whom we can labor in the gospel. We should never work by ourselves. Instead, we should work by fellowshipping with our companions. The trouble is that we do not like to have fellowship with others. We are self-contented, and some of us may think that we are omnipotent and all-capable. But according to my over sixty years of experience, none of us is omnipotent. Each of us is very limited in his capacity and ability. You need the help, and I need the help. My helpers in the work know how much I need them. I purposely fellowship with them and ask them questions in order that I may learn. I want to be taught by them. If there is no fellowship among us in our work, there cannot be the real one accord. We need to labor in oneness through thorough fellowship. Because of our unwillingness to have thorough fellowship, we are dead, lukewarm, and barren. We must get some companions and open up ourselves to fellowship with them to the uttermost.”

(The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, Chapter 3, Section 2)

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The genuine care for one another needs to be recovered among us

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“Verses 24 and 25 of Hebrews 10 are the basis for our practice of the group meetings. These verses say, “Let us consider one another so as to incite one another to love and good works, not abandoning our own assembling together, as the custom with some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more as you see the day drawing near.” These verses first say that we need to consider one another. This implies that we have a genuine care for all the members of our vital group. To care for one another means to consider one another. Today we may not care for others. We do not really care whether or not a certain brother comes to the meeting or whether or not a certain sister is sick. The genuine care for one another needs to be recovered among us.

Proper wives always have their husbands in their consideration. A sister may make sure that her husband has a coat to wear as he is leaving the house. This means that she is considering her husband, caring for her husband. We need to have this kind of practical care for one another. To consider one another in a practical way is to love one another. We say that we love one another, but in what way do we love? We may not care for anyone in a practical way. Love means practical care and consideration. When we consider one another, we incite one another to love and good works. We stir up one another. If someone cares for me, that spontaneously stirs me up, incites me, to love and good works. To love here is not an infinitive. Love is a noun, just as good works is a noun. We incite one another to love and good works by caring for one another, considering one another.

We need the intimate fellowship with one another with the practical care and shepherding. One sister may point out that another sister in the group is absent because she is having some particular trouble. After sharing with the other group members the nature of the problem, the group can pray for her and fellowship about how to give her the practical care and help.

If a brother has lost his job, we should pray for him. We should also consider his material situation. This is real love. James in his Epistle says, “If a brother or sister is without clothing and lacks daily food, and any one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, yet you do not give them the necessities of the body, what is the profit?” (2:15-16). In his first Epistle, John says, “Whoever has the livelihood of the world and sees that his brother has need and shuts up his affections from him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue but in deed and truthfulness” (3:17-18). If we see brothers who are in need and merely tell them that the Lord will take care of them, that is not love. That is vain talk. We should care for one another, consider one another, in a practical way.

This kind of care stirs up our love and our good works. These good works may refer to small things or big things that are related to God’s economy. A saint in your group may not think about God’s economy. God’s economy seems too abstract and unattainable to him. He thinks that we talk much about God’s economy but that this has nothing to do with our present need in our daily life. Through our loving care for this brother, he will be incited to consider God’s economy. Without such a loving care and consideration of one another, we may be very indifferent toward the things of God’s economy concerning Christ and the church. But once a brother is loved in some practical care, that impresses him and incites him to think about the Christian life and about God’s economy. When a brother who is Italian cares for another brother who is Chinese, this is a marvelous testimony. This shows that the different races are swallowed up in the new man and testifies of the practical love among the members of the Body of Christ.

Paul says that we should consider one another so as to incite one another to love and good works, not abandoning our own assembling together. Today our vital group meeting is our own assembling together. For the Hebrew believers at Paul’s time to abandon their own assembling together would have been to return to the Jewish way of meeting and to abandon their assembling together as Christians. Paul exhorted them not to abandon their own assembling together as Christians. Hebrews 10:25 says that in the group meetings we should exhort one another, and so much the more as we see the day drawing near.

The first thing we have to do in the vital group meetings is to have a thorough fellowship together so that we can know the members of our group in an intimate way. The more thorough our fellowship is, the better. Do we know the occupations of the saints in our vital group and where each one works? Do we know the first and last names of every member of our vital group with their proper pronunciation? By considering these questions, we can see that our fellowship has not been thorough. To love one another involves a lot. We need to endeavor to know one another intimately in the Lord. If someone is absent from our vital group meeting, we should immediately ask where he or she is. We say that our group should be blended, but our blending has not been completed, because we do not know each other thoroughly. When you take action together in serving the Lord, you will see that this is very important. Week after week we have been meeting together, yet we still do not really know one another.

We should know each other’s situation and condition in an up-to-date way. Then we will realize there is the need of practical care. If we realize that a sister is sick, we can fellowship about how to render the proper and practical care to her. We can fellowship about who would be burdened to go or about who could and should go. In the larger prayer meetings of the church, we pray in a general way, but the prayer for one another in the groups is specific with a view to the practical care and shepherding. We may pray for a few minutes, and then we can arrange for some person or persons to visit our sister. This is the shepherding. Later, the one who visits should let the group know the situation of this sister. This is what is implied when we say that the group meetings are eighty percent of the church life.

The new ones whom we bring to our group meetings will not merely be taught by us outwardly. They will observe our practice. This is similar to the children in a family learning things by observing the way the family lives and acts. The new ones will follow the pattern that they see and hear in our vital groups. This is why we must learn how to fellowship with one another and how to get ourselves released.”

(Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, ch. 17)

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Verses about the church in certain localities being in a house

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“Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. And greet the 1church, which is in their 2house.” (Romans 16:3-5a)

Rom 16:51 church
The church in Prisca and Aquila’s house must have been the church in Rome. When they were living in Ephesus (Acts 18:18-19), the church in Ephesus was in their house (1 Cor. 16:19). Wherever they were, they were willing to bear the burden of the practice of the church by opening their home.

Rom 16:52 house
Showing that the early saints met primarily in their houses. Such a practice corresponds with Acts 2:46 (see note 3 there) and 5:42.

“Aquila and Prisca greet you much in the Lord, with the 1church, which is in their house.” (1 Cor. 16:19b)

1 Cor. 16:191 church
This means that when Aquila and Prisca lived in Ephesus, the church there met in their home (Acts 18:18-19, 26). When they lived in Rome, the church in Rome met in their home (Rom. 16:5; cf. Col. 4:15-16; Philem. 2).

“Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nymphas and the 1church, which is in his house.” (Col. 4:15)

Col. 4:151 church
The church in the house of Nymphas was the local church in Laodicea, which met in Nymphas’s house. Such meetings in the saints’ homes afford every attending believer the opportunity to function, and they also strengthen the mutual fellowship among the saints.

“And to 1Apphia the sister and to 1Archippus our fellow soldier and to the 2church, which is in your house” (Philem. 2)

Philem. 21 Apphia and Archippus
According to the familial nature of this Epistle, Apphia must have been Philemon’s wife, and Archippus, his son.

Philem. 22 church
Philemon lived in Colossae (v. 2 cf. Col. 4:17; v. 10 cf. Col. 1:2; 4:9) and according to history was an elder of the church there. It must have been that the church in Colossae met in his house. Hence, it was the church in his house.

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How should we meet according to God’s economy?

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“And day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the 1temple and 2breaking bread from 3house to house, they partook of their food with exultation and 4simplicity of heart” (Acts 2:46)

Acts 2:461 temple
In the initiation of God’s New Testament economy, the early believers and even the first group of apostles were not clear that God had forsaken Judaism with its practices and facilities, including the temple (see Matt. 23:38 — “your house,” referring to the God-forsaken temple). Hence, according to their tradition and habit, they still went to the temple for their New Testament meeting.

Acts 2:462 breaking
The early believers remembered the Lord by breaking bread daily in their houses; this showed their love and enthusiasm toward the Lord.

Acts 2:463 house
Or, at home; in contrast to in the temple. Meeting in homes as the Christian way of meeting together is fitting to God’s New Testament economy. This way differs from the Judaic way of meeting in the synagogues (6:9). It became a continual and general practice in the churches (cf. Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philem. 2).

Acts 2:464 simplicity
Or, singleness; describing the heart’s being simple, single, and plain, having one love and desire and one goal in seeking after the Lord.

“Now Peter and John were going up into the 1temple at the ninth-hour prayer” (Acts 3:1)

See note 461 in ch. 2 [above]. It was not only the early believers who were not clear concerning God’s New Testament economy in relation to the Judaic temple; even the early apostles did not have a clear vision concerning God’s abandoning of the Judaic things. Hence, even after God poured out the Spirit upon them on the day of Pentecost to initiate a new dispensation, they still would not separate themselves from the Judaic temple. At the initial stage God tolerated their ignorance in this matter. But this led to a mixture of the church with Judaism, which was not condemned by the early church in Jerusalem (cf. 21:20-26). Eventually, the temple was destroyed by Titus with his Roman army in A.D. 70, as prophesied by the Lord in Matt. 23:38 and 24:2. That destruction cleared up the religious mixture.

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Fellowship on opening our homes with Andrew Yu in Diamond Bar, 9/11/2011

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What is to practice the church life according to the God-ordained way?

  1. Work the truth into all the saints
  2. Work the church life into the homes
  3. Work the gospel into our living

In order to do this, we need to move away from the “meeting” mentality to the “person” mentality.

Four new words to replace the word “meeting”:

  1. Prayer (together in the homes)
  2. Care (for one another in the homes)
  3. Share (the Lord’s riches in the homes)
  4. Bear (fruit in the homes)

This is the essence of the church life!

“Do you know what is the universal language? Not Chinese, not English. Love! Love is the universal language. It transcends all barriers. It doesn’t matter. You know as long as you love, I don’t care what color of skin you are. Then you open up, and then you have the real Body life.”

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Old Way/ New Way

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 Old Way New Way
Caring for the meeting Caring for people
Being isolated in my home Opening my home to saints and /or visiting saints in their homes
Only staying in or thinking about my district/locality/state/country Blending, visiting, migration; praying for the Lord’s move all over the Earth; being Body-conscious
Being set, settled, and occupied Being open to migrate
Big meetings Twos and threes
Charismatic speakers Every member functioning
Scheduled activities / special events Everyday activities done together
Big Small
Meeting hall Homes
Individual spirituality Corporate building up
Criticizing the elders and/or other saints Being a pattern of the healthy church life
Spiritual giants Vital groups
Trying to become a five-talented member Investing my one talent
Regulating behavior Growing in the divine life
The principle of the tree: outward display, deeply rooted in the earth, a lodging place for birds (Matt. 13:32) The principle of the mustard seed: small, sojourning, good for food
Having meetings Wanting to be with the saints
Taking care of meetings Taking care of people (saints, new ones, unbelievers)
Hierarchy/clergy-laity Mutuality
One-directional working on a few “promising” ones Mutual caring among all
Top to bottom: having a top-down one-directional organized church structure Bottom to top: everyone actively initiating and functioning
Small to big: making one home meeting bigger and bigger Few to many: multiplying one home into many homes
Meeting once or twice a week Contacting saints regularly throughout the week (because I need them)
Dressing up and putting on a performance for the big meetings Being genuine with one another, getting to really know one another, loving one another
Brothers doing everything, sisters being left out (including husbands and wives) All members especially sisters functioning, couples and families serving together, brothers heading up and covering
Inviting new ones to our meetings and conferences Visiting new ones where they are, especially in their home
Only meeting with saints who are from my cultural background or language Being open to blend with all the saints
The 20% church life The 80% church life
Brothers being 2/3 of the saints Sisters being 2/3 of the saints
Looking to a “pastor” or leading brother to run the home meeting and give a teaching/message Every member functioning in mutuality in the homes, learning by asking and answering questions
Focusing only on college students All saints being cared for
Living to our children Living with the tabernacle (Christ and the church) as our center
Not letting others care for our children Caring for one another’s children so the sisters can make it to the meetings
Barrenness Corporate bearing of remaining fruit
Formulaic meetings (pray-eat-sing-read) Organic functioning of every member, following the leading and flow of the Spirit
Focusing on the Lord’s Day meetings Daily church life
Following our jobs Following the Lamb
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We do not open up to others, because we are afraid to be known by them

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“… When we come together in the vital groups, we should release ourselves by opening up to one another. We may have been with one another for years, but we do not really know one another. Instead, we like to hide ourselves in certain things from the saints. I am afraid that not one of us is really open. All of us are pretending to be “good” members of the vital groups. We may show up on time and behave ourselves as nice ladies and gentlemen, but this is seclusion. We do not want to talk openly with the saints in our vital group because we are secluded. To talk openly with the intimate and thorough fellowship in Christ is to be released.

We do not open up to others, because we are afraid to be known by them. As a result, we cannot receive the inner healing from the Lord. We may be sick of “gangrene,” but we want to cover and hide our sickness from others. We need to realize that the other members of our vital group are our doctors. If we open ourselves up in a proper way to the other saints in our group, we will be healed. But instead of opening up, everyone is hiding. Some of us are released, but we are not absolutely released, because we are not used to being open to others. We are not open, but closed and secluded.

When we come together, we may feel that there is not much to do. I have said that the group meetings are eighty percent of the church life, and the first item of the group meetings is to come together to fellowship in an intimate, thorough, and spontaneous way. Maybe a sister would open up by saying, “I can’t tolerate my children. Would you tell me how to overcome my temper?” Why would we not open up to one another in this way? Instead of seeing a scenery of intimate fellowship in the vital groups, I see a very behaving scenery. Everybody behaves. No one wants to make a mistake. Everyone wants to be a “good boy” and a “good girl.” I have seen this for many years, and I am disgusted with this. I want to see a group of seeking saints coming together to gain the Lord Jesus.

But where can we see a group of saints practicing the New Testament revelation today? Who is denying himself? Who is being renewed, transformed, and conformed to the image of the One who has passed through death and resurrection? Gradually, we have drifted into practicing a routine church life, but where is the Spirit and where is the leading of the Lord? There is not much leading of the Spirit among us. Instead, you act by your way, and I act by my way. You pray by your way, and I pray by my way. Who is going to be adjusted? Who is going to learn? If we are not inwardly adjusted and transformed, then where is the church life?

We have lost the impact in winning the sinners because we are a group of behaving people. We do not have the real spirituality as the power from on high, as the impact. In nearly everything, we have lost our spiritual impact. This is why we need a strict training. Otherwise, there will be no remedy to our situation. We love the recovery, we love the Lord, we love the church, and we are so good. We behave ourselves so that we do not offend anyone or make mistakes in the church life. But this is not the church life. This is a kind of top social club. The church life, however, is a group of Jesus-lovers who seek after Him.

These lovers of Jesus are ones who, after being regenerated, go on to learn the lesson of denying themselves in everything so that they can be renewed. They are living, serving, and meeting not by their doing and adjustment but by the Holy Spirit’s leading. They are being renewed even in the way they deal with their children and in the way they talk to their spouse.

… We need to be transformed in everything. The Lord needs a group of people who have been regenerated, renewed, transformed, and conformed to the firstborn Son of God so that they can be built up together. This building is the Body and the practical church life.

I appreciate that the Lord has raised up so many churches on the earth, but the actual situation of the churches with respect to the practice of the God-ordained way is not that much up to the standard. This is why we need to raise up the vital groups. The remedy is here. In our vital groups, we must have much and thorough prayer to get ourselves blended with others in love. Whenever we come together, we should open up to one another to have an intimate and thorough fellowship.”

(Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, Chapter 15)

The seven-layer tomb that hinders us from living Christ

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HINDRANCES TO LIVING BY CHRIST

You may feel that for years you have heard of living by Christ. You may have a heart to do so. In fact, you may have tried and tried again to live Him. Yet your efforts have been unsuccessful and you have given up. Why is it that you have not succeeded?

It is because we are buried in a seven-layered tomb! The first layer is the fall of man. The second layer is our natural life. After man was created, he fell; because of the fall, he has his natural life, with its own inclinations and intentions. The third layer, and the thickest, is human culture. To live by the culture into which we were born comes naturally; but to live Christ seems like a strange notion to us. The fourth layer is religion, which also affects all mankind. Whether we are very set in our religion, like the Moslems, or consider ourselves atheists, we nonetheless are religious. The fifth layer is ethics or morality. The concept of morality is imbedded deep in our being. To be pleasant and considerate of others is needed in human society, but in order to live Christ we must be above ethical considerations. The sixth layer of our tomb is our virtues, closely related to ethics. What we esteem as virtues others may not agree with. We may appreciate patience, but others may regard quickness as a virtue. We may like humility, but others may think ambition is desirable. Whatever our virtues, they are a layer of the tomb in which we are buried. The last layer of the tomb is spiritual seeking. To seek holiness, victory, and spirituality can be a layer of the tomb that buries us from the living Christ.

(Life Messages, Vol. 2, chapter 13)

How do we know if we are built with others?

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Because the church is a corporate entity, we need to be built with one another (Eph. 2:22). Two indicators that we are built with others are that we have no problem with them and that we care for them. As long as we have a problem with any saint, we are not built with others. By the Lord’s mercy I can testify that as far as it depends on me, I do not have a problem with any saint (cf. Rom. 12:18).

(CWWL, 1982, vol. 1, “Miscellaneous Messages in Anaheim”)

How can we save people effectively?

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The way that can save people effectively must be by small vital groups, and everyone in this small vital group must be a shepherd. After a short time the church will be revived. No other way is more prevailing than this shepherding way.

I hope that we would pray, “Lord, I want to be revived. From today I want to be a shepherd. I want to go to feed people, to shepherd people, and to flock people together.”

(CWWL, 1994–1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John”)

How should we meet as Christians?

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“How then should we meet? First, if we would meet properly, our meeting must be related to the church, and our meeting must belong to the church. Our meeting must be standing with the church and be a part of the church. The purpose of our meeting must be to execute the decision of the church.

…If you read the book of Acts, you will see that whatever decision was made by this one group of elders was taken by all the believers, because they were all one church. Acts 8:1 says, “The church which was in Jerusalem.” Why do I stress this matter so much? Because it is so basic to the matter of meeting. The first thing we must care for in the matter of meeting is that our meeting must be a part of the local church. We must meet by taking the stand of the church and by carrying out what the church intends to do. We may have scores of home meetings. I would like to see in the city of Los Angeles more than one hundred home meetings, yet all one church under one eldership. In the city of Taipei, on the island of Taiwan, there is an actual example of this at the present time. In that city there is one church, the church in Taipei, with thousands of believers and more than sixty home meetings, yet all under one eldership. All those home meetings are not isolated and independent meetings; they are in full relationship one to another and to the one church there. The first thing we must care for in regard to our meetings is that we meet in this way. By being related to the local church, we are right. This is a basic matter.

…This matter has very much to do with the oneness of the Body. If a few brothers meet here and there in the Lord’s name without caring for the church, the Body of Christ is divided. We must all meet with a proper and positive relationship to the local church. Then our meeting will not be a divisive meeting; it will be a meeting that stands with the church and executes the church’s will. We cannot begin any meeting carelessly. We cannot start any meeting without taking care of the church. Whenever we begin to meet, we must meet for the church: either we meet as the church or as a part of the church. That means that we are absolutely one with the church and that there can be no divisions. It is in this way that our meetings will be kept in the church in oneness. The Lord be merciful to us.”

(From How to Meet, chapter 1: “On the Position of the Church”)

Nothing is as real as spiritual matters

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Our being broken and living before the Lord, His being built within us, and the church being the expression of Christ’s Body cannot be faked. People can sense this immediately when they meet with us. Similarly, the condition of our locality cannot be faked. It is cold or hot, poor or rich, in the flesh or in Christ. As soon as people touch us, they will touch the inward reality. Nothing is as real as spiritual matters; they cannot be faked at all.

Some people are in Christ, allowing Him to rule in them and to overflow out of them. They are persons who are broken, restricted, and ruled by the Holy Spirit. When we come into their midst, we are released and freed, regardless of how heavy a burden or how difficult a situation may be pressing upon us. As soon as we enter into a meeting with them, our entire being is released and freed. This is because there is freedom in the fullness of Christ. If the Son of God sets us free, we are free indeed. Of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. If we live in Him and allow His fullness to be expressed, there will be something in us that sets others free.

(The Church as the Body of Christ, Chapter 11, Section 3)

God wants to be the Giver and the Doer

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Luke 15:21-24a:
“The son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his slaves, Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fattened calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry, because this son of mine was dead and lives again; he was lost and has been found.”

WORDS OF MINISTRY:

When the prodigal returned home after wasting all of his substance on riotous living, the father did not have a word of rebuke concerning the waste or a word of inquiry regarding the substance. He did not sorrow over all that was spent; he only rejoiced that the prodigal’s return afforded him the opportunity to spend much more. God is so wealthy that His chief delight is to give; His treasure-stores are so full that it is painful to Him when we refuse Him an opportunity to lavish His treasures upon us. It was the father’s joy that he found a willing applicant in the prodigal son for the robe, ring, shoes, and feast; it was his sorrow that he found no such application in the elder brother. It is a grief to the heart of God when we try to give things to Him, because He is so rich. It is a joy when we simply allow Him to give and give to us. It grieves Him when we try to do things for Him, because He is so able. He longs for us to simply allow Him to do everything. He wants to be the Giver and the Doer eternally. If only we saw how rich and how great He is, we would leave all the giving and doing to Him.

(The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 46, “The Christian’s Relationship to the Law,” pp. 1161-1162)

Why do people in the Lord’s recovery say “Amen” in the meetings so much?

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Answer from ChatGPT:

In the Lord’s recovery, “Amen” is used very frequently because it is understood not merely as a way of ending a prayer, but as a way of actively responding to the Lord and agreeing with what is being spoken.

The practice has several layers:

1. Biblical meaning: “Amen” basically means “truly,” “surely,” or “so be it.” It is a Hebrew word carried directly into the New Testament. When someone says “Amen,” they are affirming, “Yes, this is true,” or “May this be so.”

2. A corporate response: Recovery meetings emphasize that the church is not primarily an audience listening to one person minister. Everyone is encouraged to function. Saying “Amen” is a very simple way for everyone to participate.

3. Affirming the Lord rather than merely the speaker: Ideally, when someone shares something concerning Christ or the Word, the “Amen” is directed toward what is true of the Lord—not simply, “I agree with that brother.”

4. Praying with the speaker: If someone prays, “Lord, we love You and want to enjoy You more,” others may say “Amen” because they are making that prayer their own.

5. Receiving the Word: Someone might read a verse and then make a short declaration about it. Others say “Amen” as an expression of receiving and agreeing with the truth.

6. Spiritual exercise: The Recovery places considerable emphasis on believers exercising their spirit in the meetings rather than remaining passive. Vocal responses—“Amen,” “Praise the Lord,” “Hallelujah,” etc.—are part of that practice.

There is actually a particularly relevant verse:

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes; therefore also through Him is the Amen to God, unto the glory of God through us.” — 2 Corinthians 1:20, RcV

The Recovery’s understanding of that verse is that Christ Himself is God’s “Yes” to us, and our “Amen” is our response to God through Christ.

Why it can sound like a lot of Amens:

There’s also a cultural/meeting-practice component. In a typical Recovery meeting, people have been trained to respond audibly and frequently. So you might hear:

“The Lord Jesus is so wonderful!”
“Amen!”
“We just want to love Him!”
“Amen!”
“We need to exercise our spirit!”
“Amen!”

And sometimes it can become almost automatic.

That’s worth distinguishing from the biblical principle itself. The New Testament certainly supports corporate verbal affirmation—Paul explicitly says that the other believers should be able to say Amen to someone’s prayer (1 Corinthians 14:16). But the Bible doesn’t prescribe a particular frequency or meeting style for saying it.

So there are really two things going on:

1. Biblical principle: Amen = “Yes, I agree; may it be so,” and it can be a genuine corporate response to the Lord.

2. Recovery culture: frequent audible “Amens” have become one of the characteristic ways that Recovery meetings express corporate participation.

And, frankly, the second can sometimes continue even when the first isn’t happening very consciously. A person can say “Amen” because everyone else just said “Amen.” That doesn’t necessarily mean the practice itself is wrong; it means the spiritual reality behind the practice matters.

Related Bible verses:

“Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, From eternity to eternity. And all the people said, Amen, and praised Jehovah.” (1 Chronicles 16:36)

“And Ezra blessed Jehovah the great God; and all the people answered, Amen, Amen, lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshipped Jehovah with their faces to the ground.” (Nehemiah 8:6)

“Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, / From eternity to eternity. / And let all the people say, Amen. / Hallelujah.” (Psalm 106:48)

“Otherwise if you bless with the spirit, how shall he who fills the place of the unlearned in tongues say the Amen at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?” (1 Corinthians 14:16)

“For as many promises of God as there are, in Him is the Yes; therefore also through Him is the Amen to God, for glory through us to God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.” (Revelation 22:21)

What is the optimal size for a small group? 

/ livinglywrong

It is preferable for a small group to have no more than twelve people. Five or six is the best, seven or eight is fine, and even eight or ten is good. Because we love Him and mean business with Him, we should daily pray, read the Word, learn the truth, see the light, experience Christ, and labor on Christ. Then when we come together, we will have experiences to share, rather than being an “audience” waiting for others to speak.

(On Home Meetings, chapter 1)

Why do we have to know the hymns?

/ livinglywrong

“In order for us to enrich, strengthen, enliven, refresh, and uplift our meetings, we need to use the hymns. We have seen that according to 1 Corinthians 14:26 and Hebrews 10:25, we need both speaking and singing in our meetings. The speaking is not only the speaking of the word of God or the speaking forth of Christ but also the speaking of the hymns. The first item listed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:26 is a psalm. A psalm is poetry. In both Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, we are charged to speak in hymns. This indicates that the saints in the early Christian meetings used a lot of hymns. Many times we may not be able to find a verse or some verses in the Bible to meet the real need in the meeting, but we can easily find a hymn to meet the need. This is why we have to know the hymns. If we use the hymns adequately and properly in our meetings, they will be uplifted, enlivened, and refreshed.”

(Speaking Christ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ, p. 73)