CRUCIAL ASPECTS OF THE HOME MEETINGS (3)– THE PROPER WAY TO PREACH THE GOSPEL
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). Through the gospel, life and incorruption are brought to light. Some become weak after they are saved and turn back to idols. We should not be alarmed, much less give up. We must be bold and encouraged to go to them to nourish them. If we cannot pray or read the Word when we stand in front of an idol, it proves that we are not strong enough. If we are strong, we can pray, read the Word, and sing, even if we are in hell.
Some may criticize, saying, “What kind of church is this? They have a card game and then follow it with a meeting. You allow such people to have meetings in their homes? Even if you allow such people to have meetings in their homes, I would not dare to bring any new ones to their homes. If we bring someone to the door and they see the card game, are we not corrupting them? Have we not spoiled the testimony?” I cannot argue with that. However, we should consider the matter from a long-term perspective. We cannot look merely at the present situation. It is true that this home has a card game today, but after two weeks the card game may move to a hidden place. After another two weeks the game may disappear altogether, and after another month the host may decide to burn the game. This is the story of life. At the beginning the host may not be able to overcome the game. To be sure, he will eventually overcome it. He may even throw away the card table. If we look back at that time, we will see that had we not brought the meeting to his home, he might still be playing cards. He might not have experienced any growth in life even after five or ten years.
Consider the four Gospels in the New Testament. When the Lord was on the earth, did He always do things in a “proper” way? Is it not true that often the Lord performed His work in a seemingly messy way? Outwardly speaking, there was no glamour in anything He did. If we were with the Lord, we might have said, “Lord Jesus, we heard of Your name, and we were told that You have a very successful work. This is the reason we came purposely to see You.” To be sure, the Lord would answer us by saying, “What do you want to see? Do you want to see how the Pharisees oppose Me? Do you want to see how the Sadducees tempt Me? Do you want to see how Peter denies Me? Do you want to see how the disciples desert Me? What are you here to see?” If what could be seen was all there was, it would have been a very poor situation indeed. But the truth lies deeper than the surface. The Lord accomplished God’s will; He finished all of God’s work. In the end, in spite of the persecutions, oppositions, and denials, He gained one hundred twenty people who prayed in one accord for ten days in a little room in Jerusalem and brought in God’s kingdom. This is the view we should have. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way, pp. 157-158)
The church in Zamboanga 