HAVING A LITTLE POWER AND HAVING CONSTANT CONTACTS WITH PEOPLE (2)
Recently, some have asked me whether or not they have had a start in the vital groups. We need to realize that our start in the vital groups is a matter of degree. Someone who is learning the English language begins by learning the ABCs. Surely he has started to learn the English language. But another one who is more proficient in English may be starting to learn at a higher stage and level. His start is to a higher degree… If I intended to learn English and had only learned the ABCs, I would have had a start, but I would still not be satisfied with that. I would want to learn more and improve until I mastered the English language.
Many of us have been faithful to the Lord. We love Him and are seeking after Him. We need to accept what we have and where we are at the present time and aspire to go on with the Lord step by step. The church in Philadelphia was the top one, but it had only a little power. They did their best for the Lord with what they had. This indicates that what pleases the Lord is not our doing much for Him but our doing our best for Him with what we have. We have only a little power, and we have done something. We have started, but we should not be contented or satisfied with what we have started.
We should be comforted. The signs showing that we have started are already among us. Our trouble is our analyzing mind. When what we do is not according to what we expect, we begin to doubt about whether we have something real or genuine. We analyze and then we check with others concerning the genuineness of what we are practicing and what we have experienced. We may ask someone, “Do you think I have started?” Then the one whom we are asking may respond, “Do you believe I have started?” Then the next question may be, “Who among us has started in full?” But to what extent do we mean when we say “in full”? Who is vital one hundred percent “in full”? Maybe only the apostle Paul was such a one. I am sharing this to show that we cannot deny that the Lord has been going on among us. In the past year the Lord has really done something in Southern California. When we look back at our situation from the proper angle, we have to kneel down to praise Him: “Lord, I am still so weak, so down, yet I cannot deny that You have done something.”
I want to say again that the Lord is the One full of authority, full of power. He has the key, the power, to open the door that no one can shut, and He has the power to shut the door that no one can open. Yet He was so clear about the situation of His best church. Even His best church had only a little power. The Lord was satisfied with this. The Lord did not expect that this top church could have great power—just a little power. But why was the Lord so appreciative of this church? Because she had a little power and also kept His word and did not deny His name. We do have a little power, and we can pray, “Lord, thank You for Your mercy. We have started. Yet Lord, we still need more mercy. Have more and more mercy upon us that we could go on, that we could grow, that we could improve, and that we could mature.”(Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and Practice of the Vital Groups”, ch. 9, pp. 332-334)
The church in Zamboanga 