BUILDING THE CHURCH THROUGH THE SMALL GROUPS
I am afraid that even while we have been talking about meeting in the homes, we do not have a meeting in every home but rather in a selected way. Some might have said already, “We don’t have that many big speakers, do we?” To have a big hall with a big number of people coming together with a big speaker is the Christianity way to worship God today. They do not see how the home meetings are needed. This God-invented way was altogether lost by Christianity.
In the early days of the church life, when the apostles were first raised up by the Lord, they built the church in this way. It was very quick. The church in Jerusalem was built up. Acts 9:31 says, “So the church throughout the whole of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being built up.” In a short time they were all built up. Could we say that all the churches in the U.S.A. have been built up? You cannot say that we have been built up, because we have never taken the building way. What is the building way? Small groups! Home meetings!
The big speakers are useful. Peter was useful. Peter spoke to the big congregations, and his speaking brought in thousands of people. But that was only one side. There was another side. They met in their homes, in their houses, from house to house. There was no time for them to train preachers. There was no time for them to learn the truth. They had heard only one message, and that message was their New Testament. On the day of Pentecost their New Testament was so short, just one message given by Peter in Acts 2. But everybody heard that, everybody learned of that, and everybody spoke that. On the day that Peter spoke the message, they all got baptized. Then I believe that they went back home and began to meet, repeating what they had heard from Peter. I believe this shows that everybody can teach and everybody can preach.
If you open up your home for meetings, you will feel there are some things there that need to be cleared up. However, if you do not open up your home, you will leave those things there, maybe for three years. You will come to the big congregations without any feeling about those black, dark things. If you would open up your home, you would consider before you lose your temper with your wife. You would think that after half an hour all the saints will come to meet. This is just something on the negative side, but there are a lot of benefits, a lot of blessings, on the positive side. When saints come into your home, they all come in with God, they all come in with Christ, and they all come in with a lot of prayer to bless your home. One will step in and say, “Lord, bless this home.” And another one will say, “Bless this family. Lord, remember them all.” The Lord will answer the prayers, and there will be much blessing for you. You may say that you are so weak, but if you will open up your home, many will come in who are not so weak. You may be poor, but those who come are rich. The home meeting will rescue you, strengthen you, and enrich you. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 3, “The Meetings–the Unique Way for the Increase and the Building Up of the Church”, ch. 1, pp. 116-117)
PAGTUKOD SA IGLESIA PINAAGI SA GAGMAYNG MGA GRUPO
Nahadlok ko nga bisan maghisgot ta bahin sa tigom diha sa mga balay, apan wala tay tigom sa matag balay ug namili ra hinoon ta. tingali nisulti na ang pipila, “ walaman tay daghang mga maayong mamulong, diba? Kanangdunay dakong balay tigomanan nga dunay daghangnagtigom uban sa maayong mga mamulong mao ang paagisa kristianidad karon sa pagsimba sa Dios. Wala nilamakita kon unsa ka importante ang tigom sa balay. Kiningpaagiha nga gi-imbento sa Dios ang nawala karon tungodsa kristianidad.
Sa bag-ong mga adlaw diha sa iglesiahanong kinabuhi, sagipabangon una sa Ginoo ang mga apostol, gitukod nilaang iglesia sa sama niini nga paagi. Dali ra kaayo. Natukoddayon ang iglesia sa Jerusalem. Mga Buhat 9:31 niingon, “busa dunay kalinaw ang iglesia sa tibuok kayutaan saJudea ug sa Galilea ug sa Samaria, gitukod.” Natukodsilang tanan sa mubo nga ran ga panahon. Makasulti ba ta nga natukod na ang tanang kaiglesiahan sa U.S.A? dili ka makasulti nga natukod na ta, tungod kay wala man natobuhata ang paagi nga makatukod. Unsa man kiningpaagiha? Gagmayng grupo!tigom sa mga balay!
Mapuslanon ang maayong mga mamulong. Mapuslanon si Pedro. Mamulong si Pedro sa mga dinagkong mga tigoman, ug nakadala og linibo ang iyang mga pagpamulong. Apan usa ra kana sa usa ka bahin, dunay usa pa ka bahin. nagtigom sila sa ilang mga balay, sa balay-balay. Walay panahon alang nila nga mobansay og tigpamulong. Walay panahon alang nila nga makat-on sa kamatuoran. Nakapamati ra silag usa ka mensahe, ug kanang mensahea maoy ilahang bag-ong tugon. Mubo ra ang ilang bag-ong tugon sa adlaw sa pentecostes, usa ra ka mensahe nga gihatag ni Pedro diha sa Mga Buhat 2. Apan nakapamati ang tanan nianang mensahea, nakat-on ang matag usa, ug namulong kalabot niana ang matag usa. Sa adlaw nga gipamulong ni Pedro ang mensahe, nabautismohan silang tanan. Dayon nagtoo ko nga nibalik dayon sila sa ilahang mga balay ug nagsugod og tigom, gisubli-subli ang ilahang nadungog kang Pedro. Nagtoo ko nga nagpakita kini nga makatudlo ang matag usa ug makasangyaw ang matag usa.
Kon mobukas ka sa imong balay alang sa tigom, mabati nimo nga dunay butang dinha nga kinahanglan mahusay. Bisan pa niana, kon dili ka mobukas sa imong balay, pasagdan ra tingali nimo kanang butanga, tingali mga tulo ka tuig. Motambong ka sa mga dinagkong mga tigom nga walay pagbati kalabot sa itom, ngitngit nga mga butang. Kon mobukas ka sa imong balay, hunahunaon gyod tingali nimo kon masuko pa ba ka sa imong asawa. Maghunahuna ka nga human sa tungag oras moabot na ang mga igsoon ug magtigom. Kalabot kini sa negatibong bahin, apan dunay daghang kaayohan, daghang mga panalangin, sa positibong bahin. kon moabot ang mga balaan sa imong balay, moabot sila uban sa Dios, mosulod sila uban ni Cristo ug moabot sila uban sa daghang mga pag-ampo aron mapanalanginan ang imong panimalay. Tingali dunay usa kaigsoon ang mosulod, “Ginoo, panalangini kining panimalaya.” Ginoo hinumdomi silang tanan.” Motubag ang Ginoo ning mga pag-ampoa, ug dunay dakong panalangin alang nimo. Mosulti tingali ka maluyahon kaayo ka, apan kon mobukas ka sa imong balay, daghan ang mosulod nga dili kaayo maluyahon. Tingali kabos ka, apan dato ang mga mosulod. Moluwas nimo ang tigom sa balay, maglig-on kanimo, ug magpadato kanimo.(CWWL, 1985, vol. 3, “The Meetings–the Unique Way for the Increase and the Building Up of the Church”, ch. 1, pp. 116-117)
The church in Zamboanga 