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[00:00:01] We read together in the roman letter, chapter twelve. The 12th chapter of Romans.
[00:00:15] Romans, chapter twelve.
[00:00:26] I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service, and be not fashioned according to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
[00:01:00] For I say, through the grace that was given me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but so to think as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.
[00:01:22] For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another, and having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry. Or he that teacheth to his teaching, or he that exhorteth to his exhorting, he that giveth, let him do it with liberality, he that ruleth with diligence, he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good in love of the brethren. Be tenderly affectioned one to another in honour, preferring one another in diligence, not slothful, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, communicating to the necessities of the saints, given to hospitality.
[00:02:57] Bless them that persecute you. Bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that rejoice.
[00:03:05] Weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another.
[00:03:13] Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to things that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceits.
[00:03:28] Ost Thursday evening and this Thursday evening we have taken the whole matter of our home gatherings. The home gatherings of the church. I've just entitled it some thoughts on the home gatherings of the church. And last Thursday evening we spent our time dwelling perhaps on the more spiritual aspect of the whole matter, if it's right to so use that term.
[00:04:03] We spoke about the fact that it is not a question of convenience, but it is a matter of principle. We don't just simply.
[00:04:17] We haven't just broken up into home groups because it's easier, but on principle we've done so and we've looked into the word of God and last week we sought as far as possible to see how evidently, at least at the very beginning in the church in Jerusalem though they numbered some 3000 and within a matter of weeks, 5000. And then matter of few more weeks a good deal more than that if we put their minimum number at about four or 5000.
[00:04:48] They had big gatherings when they were all together and they had these gatherings in different homes right through the city of Jerusalem. Then I can't go over that because it's on tape. And I would appeal to anyone who was not here last week. Do please listen to that tape of last week's ministry because that is foundational to all the practical things we're going to say this evening.
[00:05:23] We were dealing with a second point last week and then I felt that we should break off and take it up again this week. And the second point was one church, many homes.
[00:05:37] And what we underlined last week was the simple fact that although the church in Jerusalem numbered so many thousands of people it was never called the churches in Jerusalem but always the church in Jerusalem. And furthermore had only one eldership that governed this vast number of folks. Now we found that rather interesting and from it we get one clear thing for ourselves anyway and that is that there is one church but there may be many home gatherings. And virtually it is the church meeting in this home or that home or the other home on certain nights. It may be the church is meeting in eight different homes but it is still the church. It's not church versus home. That's the point. It's not church versus home. So that we are in home meetings on certain nights and church meetings other nights. It is the church whether we meet here all together in our main gathering or whether we are divided up into our home groups. Now then we ended last week if I remember rightly saying something about the purpose of the main gatherings which is really for testimony for cohesion to express our unity and the sense that we all belong together. There is only one body of Christ and for teaching. It is the sphere in which the main gifts are exercised which we have in Ephesians chapter four, verses 1213 and so on.
[00:07:24] Apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists. This is the sphere of the main gatherings are the sphere in which these operate. And then we have the home gatherings that the book of acts puts it. They break bread from home to home.
[00:07:45] And it would seem that these times are really for reality that everything we are learning and hearing may be put to the acid test because our large gatherings can mask and hide many weaknesses. We can be carried along by just a nucleus. But in the home gatherings. It very quickly becomes apparent. Whether we really are functioning or not. Whether we're contributing or not. Whether we're participants or not. If we're just passengers in a smaller group.
[00:08:23] It's very clear whether we are or not. And that's the whole point of these home groups, is reality. We can escape from the fact that we cannot get on with somebody in large gatherings. But when we're hemmed together. In some small home group. Of about a dozen or more people.
[00:08:43] We cannot get away from the fact we've got to get through together. It's just not so easy. You're facing reality. It's easy to say, oh, we're one. We're one and have nothing to do with one another in large gatherings. But when you happen to live in the same district group. And you've got to really pray together. And work together. And share together and all the rest of it. That's not so easy. And that is the whole matter of reality. So our love, our unity, our functioning, our value.
[00:09:14] The real test is in the home gathering. Rather than in the main gathering. And then, of course, it is a sphere of intimacy. And this is a very important point. Especially in the growing urbanization of our society.
[00:09:30] That here we have, as it were. A company small enough. In which we can know some intimacy. And where we can get to know one another in a meaningful way. Where we can get related to one another in practical ways.
[00:09:47] It is the home gathering is the sphere of sharing, of contribution. Of fellowship, of prayer, and so on. Well, now I want to go on from there this evening. Still talking about this matter of one church, many homes. It is a mistake to carry over the pattern of the main gatherings into the homes.
[00:10:12] There is, of course, a need to distinguish between details and principles. For instance, in a main gathering we may have a lectern. We may have a table. We may have a chair. And we may have this kind of setup on a Thursday evening. Now, supposing we were to decide that next Thursday we will all be in our home groups. It would be a terrible mistake if every home decided, well, we'll have a lectern, a table and a chair. And try somehow or other. To put people in a semicircle. But this is the kind of thing we all drop into very easily, somehow or other. Because we're used to that. It's much easier to do it. And that is a great mistake. When we make the pattern of our main gatherings. The pattern. For our home gatherings, we need to distinguish between the table, the lectern, the chair, the layout. These are details.
[00:11:12] These are details. It doesn't matter if you don't have any lecterns, if you don't have any table at all in the home gathering, it's a detail. If you want to have a lectern, have a lectern. I mean, if it's felt by all of you that it would be nice to have a sort of a lectern, have one. If you want to light a candle, have a lit candle. If it makes you feel happier, why not? Why should people think, ah, they're going high church, they've lit a candle.
[00:11:41] If you want to light a candle in your home meeting, light a candle in your home meeting, be at home. But don't that you've got. That's a detail. The unity of the people of God is a principle that is, that cannot be tampered with. Anything that contradicts the oneness of the body, anything that runs against our being one, anything that is an overreaching of our authority as a home group that would contradict not a detail, but a principle. Do you begin to get what I'm trying to say now, for instance, let me put another little point, just as an illustration. Praise and worship is a principle we tend to have, especially when we're praying. And when we know we're going to have warfare in prayer, we tend always to start by praising the Lord. Now, we can get into a rut over this, but it is a principle, because we have discovered that in praising the Lord, it's as if we state and declare and assert something which is absolute truth and the enemy knows it. So when we praise the Lord, a way is made for prayer, a way is made for intercession. And most of us know this. When we, years ago, never used to praise the Lord at the beginning of prayer, we used to have much greater battle in prayer. We have discovered through bitter experience that the. That by worshiping and praising the Lord, if a way is made for prayer, and we find this in many other things, so much so that whenever we feel a cloud of heaviness or darkness or the enemy oppressing us, we tend always to praise the Lord. Because we find that in simply praising the Lord and asserting and declaring his lordship and headship over us, the enemy falls back. Now, that is a principle, not a detail. It cannot be tampered with. Where we have the praise and worship may be possibly changed and altered at times from gathering to gathering. Although there again, generally speaking, we find it best, from the spiritual point of view, to begin that way. But having a cup of tea is a detail.
[00:13:57] Do you understand? No. I know that some of the home groups have a cup of tea.
[00:14:04] And there are hostesses with the mostesses who seek to make the best cake. You know, that kind of thing. Well, it's great. I mean, in our group we have some marvelous cakes and marvelous tea, whether Saturday or Tuesday. And I know other groups that for some reason, I don't know why, they just don't have a cup of tea. But that is a detail.
[00:14:26] Now, of course, I mean, if you want to have a cup of tea, rise up in arms about the matter in your particular group and say something about. But it is a detail, it's not a principle. There's nothing in the word that says, thou shalt have a cup of tea at the end of your meeting.
[00:14:42] By sipping tea you shall be spiritually exalted.
[00:14:48] No, there's nothing about it. It does say that we will triumph in thy salvation. It does say that the high praises of God shall be in our mouth and a double edged sword in our hand. That's a principle, not a detail.
[00:15:04] But whether we have tea or coffee or orange squash or whatever else at the end or at the beginning of a gathering, that is a detail. Do you understand what I'm trying to get at? To try and copy the pattern of gatherings here in Halpern House would be foolish. Those details can be altered to suit each particular group, but the principle remains the same. Now, that leads me to say another thing about this matter of one church, many homes, and it is this. There is a very real need of originality in the home gatherings of the church.
[00:15:48] That's taking it a positive step forward. From what I've just said.
[00:15:54] Within our unity, there can be, and should be much originality.
[00:16:00] For instance, I can well imagine that if one group happens to have Kevin and Brad within it, well, I would certainly have them on the piano and a violin playing accompanying the times. Why not?
[00:16:17] But it would be equally stupid of us in East Twickenham to say, we hear that in Twickenham they are having the piano and the violin. We will have a piano and a violin.
[00:16:30] I think the result might be devastating. In my particular home group.
[00:16:39] The fact of the matter is we may have someone who can play a mouth organ very well. I don't know. We haven't discovered them yet.
[00:16:47] But it seems to me that there. There can be originality. Why should we always have a piano? Why should we always have a guitar. There can be much originality, obviously dependent upon the constituent of that group, the constituents of that group. Do you understand? The people who make it up, their spiritual measure and character, and whether the gift that they have has really gone through the mill as far as the Lord is concerned and can be used by the law. But originality, I think, is very, very important.
[00:17:21] It is always good for those who are responsible in leadership to share with the elders over any new ventures.
[00:17:29] I think that would always be good where there is a really new venture just to share. Now, in our particular group, that's East Twickenham, we have indulged in a number of walks on a Saturday, and I must say that this last one I went on, I thought was the most blessed time. We began rather late and chewed the cud for a while, and those who were late. But then finally we got off and we had a very good walk round. Shear, if you know shear.
[00:18:06] And of course, I mean, we had good fellowship, because so often when you're walking and all kinds of things come, you get to know people, things bubble up. It's good. And then we came back and had a lovely love feast in the evening. Now, that kind of originality is good because it breaks the routine. It helps people to relate to one another. Sometimes you find that you get to know somebody that you didn't really know before. And by just sitting in a home sort of in one corner or someone else perched in another corner, you find it a little bit difficult just to break the ice and get to know them just like that. But sometimes on such a thing, you can do it. Such originality. We need just to feel that there's got to be an absolute sort of uniformity throughout is very sad.
[00:18:57] There can be so much originality within our unity.
[00:19:04] Principles must not be tampered with. Details can be changed all the time. And if this is borne in mind by everyone, I think it will help us very greatly. And that's why there's always a need when there's some really new venture, something's come up, we'll just share it with the elders.
[00:19:24] Because on the whole, I think the brethren really do long for people to take initiative and be original in a right way, without being silly, really find ways of expressing our fellowship and our life together in our home groups. Now, finally, on this matter of one church, many homes, I would just like to say, by the way, on this matter of originality, let me say something else.
[00:19:49] When we have a small group and some are like Q, like Isleworth for the life of me, I can't understand why we have to behave as if we're one of the bigger groups. Do you understand what I mean? Why not? As I know Q has done, I think Isabel has done as well. Why not start instead with a cup of tea? If there are only eight of you meeting together, why not all sit round the table together, have an ice cake, a cup of tea or whatever. If you don't want tea, have something else. It breaks the ice. It makes everyone feel at home, and it's burned. Breaking bread from home to home.
[00:20:26] Do you see? Our problem is so often that we've got this feeling now we must first of all have the little word of prayer beforehand, you see? Then the brothers march in.
[00:20:36] And now there's nothing wrong with that when there are about 20 of us or 30 of us, but when there are five of us and three of the mothers march in and sit down, there is something essentially artificial about the time. Or there again, when we've sat down, we say, now we will sing hymn number so and so. So the five of us sing hymn number so and so. It's so silly, isn't it? We feel awkward, we feel sticky. We're very conscious of someone out of tune, of someone's weedy little voice trying to contribute and so on. Much better to say if we're smaller number. Let's all just come down, let's sit around the table, let's have a cup of tea and talk about, say, how have you got on this week? And so and so says this and this. And before, you know, ever the tea things are put aside. And now we're going to pray. I mean, there's real fellowship, it's a real home gathering, and there's real contact with one another. Now, when you're smaller in number, you can do that in a way, that larger group. And I always remember in the east when we used to sit round the table and how very blessed sometimes those. It seemed to destroy formality in one way.
[00:21:50] And although again, you can make another great rut tradition out of that. Well, that's what I mean by originality. Now, before we pass on from this matter, one church, many homes, let me just say that there is a need to go to your home gathering in your immediate district.
[00:22:12] We must not go to the one we like.
[00:22:17] It is a great temptation to feel that we already have a sort of link with such and such a group, and therefore we will go to that group.
[00:22:32] That is a mistake. Unless you are prepared to change your address now, if you are prepared to go to such lengths to change your address. There is nothing we can do about it. You belong to that group in which. Whose district you are living. All right? Now, there are some problems on this. And people have brought this matter up. And those problems, I think, should be decided by the elders in all cases.
[00:23:07] Now, we have made, of course, as you know, some points on this. So that there wasn't any legality in this matter. We said if someone was, for instance, going for tea with somebody else on a Tuesday or a Saturday. They were very welcome to stay on in that particular group. We thought it's rather silly to say that a person, even though they had arranged to go to tea there and all the rest, should have to go all the way back to another group. But we shall see, I think, in a moment, why this matter is so important. We never ever conceived that some people would have tea in another area every single week.
[00:23:49] That never occurred to us on the whole, everyone has watched this theme. Because I think most of us have seen the point on this. But, you see, it is a matter which needs to be watched. That we. Otherwise we will never really learn the lessons we ought to learn. The main point is that the home gatherings are not just a matter of convenience.
[00:24:19] It is a question of getting down to the realities of the church. And of being built up together.
[00:24:28] Now, when we see that, we will realize. You see, if it's just a question of convenience, someone will say, well, it doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, if I go there and I pray or I take part, it's okay. But, you see, if we see that it is a matter of realities.
[00:24:44] And not just a question of where we feel at home.
[00:24:48] But sometimes we've got to get at home. Where sometimes we may not feel that immediately we are at home. Do you understand?
[00:25:00] Now, that's the reality of the situation.
[00:25:04] And that's why this matter is so important. Now, I'd like to go on to a third point. And it is the character of the home gatherings.
[00:25:12] To repeat something I said last week. It needs to be a company small enough to be intimate. In which every member of the body function.
[00:25:26] It is this which must characterize our home gatherings.
[00:25:33] It follows, therefore, that prayer and intercession are not the sole purpose of such times.
[00:25:43] Now, we need to be clear on this point.
[00:25:46] It is vitally. I don't want to be misunderstood by anyone. It is vitally important that we all learn the lessons of corporate prayer. Allowing the Holy Spirit to train us. We've got to learn how to use the weapons of our warfare in the place of prayer. We have all got to learn how to take executive action. It's no good just being dependent upon the big guns in the church. We've all got to learn by bitter experience that unless we rise by the spirit to this matter, things will not get settled and not get done and we shall suffer.
[00:26:33] So I am not at all seeking to devalue this matter of prayer or intercession. It is for this very reason that our main time of praise and prayer is on a Tuesday, is in our home gatherings. We decided to do that deliberately because we knew very well that short term it would be much better to stay together in centralized prayer gatherings and get things done.
[00:27:01] But we also realized that on the long term it would be disastrous and catastrophic because a large number of folks would not learn the lessons, but would always be dependent upon a nucleus who had learned the lessons earlier.
[00:27:16] But by dividing that time into our home groups, it immediately means that every home group has got to rise to this matter, has got to allow the Holy Spirit to teach them some very real and hard lessons on the matter of prayer warfare.
[00:27:37] Nevertheless, however important and vital such warfare is, and we must never undervalue it or downgrade it or give it a less portion of time, the purpose of the home group covers a wider range than intercession.
[00:28:01] Do not think for a moment that we are just dividing into home groups for intercession and prayer. The purpose, the character of the home gathering covers a much wider range than intercession alone.
[00:28:18] That purpose covers the need of getting to know one another, of becoming related to each other in practical ways, of caring for one another. It also covers the need for everyone to be a living, functioning member of the body.
[00:28:43] Now its for this reason that our home gatherings are basically open times. Now, what do we mean by open times? Well, we mean as we find it in one corinthians 1426. What is it, brethren, when ye come together, one hath a psalm, one hath a hymn, one hath a revelation, one hath aphasy, one hath a tongue, one hath an interpretation that all things be done unto building up. In other words, when we come together, we come together not according to some prearranged pattern or according to a particular person sitting in a chair and saying, now so and so will you give your hymn, so and so will you come in with your reading, so and so will you do this. But we are under the government of the spirit to do with us just as he will and to manifest himself through us as he will.
[00:29:39] Now, these open times, therefore, are that every one of us has the ability and the possibility. To participate under the sovereignty and direction of the Holy Spirit.
[00:29:56] In both our Tuesday and Saturday times.
[00:30:01] There is an area of intensely practical training. Therefore.
[00:30:10] Now, what do I mean?
[00:30:12] Because on the Sunday morning time. You can come Sunday after Sunday, month after month, year after year. And be greatly blessed. And never learn the lesson of having to distinguish the anointing for yourself.
[00:30:29] Always being able to see others take it. And when something goes wrong or something else comes in which shouldn't, others, taking it up by the spirit. And it comes back to the main theme again. Back to the point that the Lord wants. Now you can just sit there and say, wasn't that wonderful, blessed time or not so good this morning. It was rather heavy and so on. You can judge it like that. But in our home gatherings, these open times become the sphere for intensely practical training. We have to learn there to recognize and obey the anointing in a gathering. You know there is an anointing in a gathering. What do we mean? We mean that the Holy Spirit is there. And that there isn't a special anointing. Now, I will not go into this matter because. Too fully. Because for those of you who want to. I suggest you get one of the tapes of our training course. On the Holy Spirit, I think. And our times of prayer. I think it was something like that. Anyway, when I talked about anointing. But suffice it to say this. That there were every single thing in the tabernacle was anointed. Not only the priests, not only the Levites, but even the furniture. And the tent of meeting had an anointing. Even the tent of meeting had an anointing. There is an anointing for every gathering of God's people. And what it means is the head has a design and a plan for that particular, particular gathering of his people. And it is incumbent upon all the members of the body. And especially those with responsibility and leadership.
[00:32:04] To distinguish that mind of the Lord. To know that mind of the Lord. And to carry it out by the grace of God. Now, you see, in our bigger gatherings, we can all hide in this manner and say, well, there's lance and there's Ron. Or if they collapse, then there's always Derek and Eric and brother Shaw. And if they collapse, Paul and Doug and Bob. And if they collapse, well, where there's Ian or there's somebody else. Or somebody else, perhaps they'll step in, you see, and do something. But you see, the fact of the matter is that in our home gatherings. We're all split up into smaller groups. And we really have got to find the Lord.
[00:32:50] And it is incumbent upon every one of us to learn to distinguish the anointing. Now, many people have great problems about the will of God. I will tell you something. If you will only learn the lessons in your home gatherings. You will not have the same problems about the will of God in your own personal life. Now, you may say, well, how on earth, what's that got to do with. Very, very simply that? You see, our problems about guidance is that we cannot distinguish the voice of the Lord. And we cannot distinguish the anointing. And the direction the Holy Spirit is taking. If we learn it as little children in our gatherings. Before long we begin, we become trained to know. Ah, the Lord is saying this to me.
[00:33:31] Do you understand what I'm trying to get at? That's the whole value of these times. You see, it's not just corporate things. It is, in fact that we learn much about our own personal lives in these things. Many of the problems we suffer from are solved by these gatherings. Now, I say that this is a very important thing. We must learn to recognize and obey the anointing in the gathering. Now, the very youngest person in that gathering can learn this.
[00:34:02] Because when. When there is a heavy time.
[00:34:06] We often learn from our mistakes more than we do from those successes. And, you know, when we have a hard time. We know in our. We went wrong at that point and no one came in. We went clean out of the way of the Lord at that point. It was marvellous. Now, I won't ask for hands, but I wonder how many of you have known that in such home gatherings.
[00:34:28] You know, where there's been a time when you say, this is marvelous. And suddenly we've gone out.
[00:34:35] You could put your finger on it.
[00:34:38] Now, I want to ask you a question. Why on earth didn't you, by the spirit of God, bring it back?
[00:34:46] You see, you were a spectator. You learnt one thing. We've come out of the way. But you never had the glorious joy of seeing it come back. Because you thought, what's wrong with brother so and so? May the Lord give him a kick in the pan spiritually.
[00:35:04] Spiritually.
[00:35:07] What's wrong with them all?
[00:35:09] Why don't they get on with it? We've gone off. Fool can tell. We've got out of the way of the Lord. They're all sitting there with their heads bedded in the armchairs.
[00:35:20] I'm going to do something. But you see, perhaps the Lord is saying, you, you're not doing anything.
[00:35:34] You see, we don't when, when something comes wrong, a red herring comes in spiritually, we don't just get back by sort of legalistically praying on like a tank about what we're praying for. We all have to look to the Lord and say, now, Lord, is it me? You want to use me?
[00:35:51] But so often we say, not me, Lord, not me. I know we've gone wrong, Lord. You must be terribly pleased with me, Lord. I know, I know we've gone wrong.
[00:36:00] And I feel sorry for you, Lord, with this lot, very dull.
[00:36:07] But the Lord really wants to say to you, now, look here, that's not good enough just to know that you've gone wrong. What you've got to know is how to put it right.
[00:36:19] Now, maybe I won't use you, but when you're in a positive way, say, lord, do you want me to come in? Do you want me to do anything? The Lord may use somebody else. Oh, what joy it is when they come in. Instantly, we're back again. We're back again under the anointing. Now, when that happens, you've learnt lessons. You've learned lessons about your life.
[00:36:36] For there are times when every single believer gets out of the will of God and out from covering. And then to learn how to get back so simple, so immediate that getting back can be.
[00:36:53] Well, now, I'm just saying, you see, all this we can learn. You can't just leave it to leadership. We must also learn through our mistakes. There's no other way to learn. If every group wants to be a perfect copybook, you know marvelous. Well, we're not going to learn anything. Every one of our home group is going to make those dreadful spiritual faux pas. And it is through those mistakes that we learn. Just like there's not a person in this room who learned to walk without falling I don't know how many times, hitting their heads on corners of tables, bumping into chairs, falling over things. I mean, we all learned to walk that way. No one ever suddenly got up and became the most like a ballerina or a sort of just gracefully gliding through life. It just didn't happen. Well, I'd like to meet you if it. You are an exception. But it just doesn't happen that way. We learn through our mistakes. Now, it is in these times that every one of us can and ought to function. That is, in these open times. If we find ourselves bound. Listen, if we find ourselves bound, then we should be open about it and ask for prayer.
[00:38:14] You see, when we're in the big gathering, we don't partake, we don't participate. We don't contribute because there are so many people there.
[00:38:21] There are many more spiritual ones than me and anywhere I couldn't possibly contribute in front of that large gathering. But you see, then the Lord says, oh, well, that's all right. I'll get you in the home gathering. So he gets you in the home gathering, and then you say, oh, I can't do it. I couldn't possibly do it.
[00:38:39] I don't feel right today. But it's a strange thing that generally we don't feel right gathering after gathering. Now. Sooner or later we have to wake up to reality that there is a bondage in us. And when we wake up to that, we add, what do we do? Ah, now comes the point. Shall we run off to the elders and tell them. Or shall we lose face in front of our home group and stutter out at some point when there comes an opening? Do you think you could all pray for me? I so want to participate, but I just am unable to. Now, when you say that, it's as if there's real fellowship for the first time. For you will find your brothers and sisters, far from jumping in and crushing you. Will lift you up in prayer and surround you with sympathy. Because we've all felt it in some measure or another.
[00:39:33] And it becomes a means which we open to one another. So get this clear. If you are bound in this matter of functioning in yen, come out into the open and say, look, could you please pray for me? And if you feel too bad about that, get one or two of them to pray with you.
[00:39:53] But whether in worship or prayer or sharing or testimony or gift. Everyone should participate under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Now, let me just say something about the gifts of the spirit. In the home gathering. We have, of course, something about the gifts of the spirit. In one corinthians twelve, from verses four to eleven.
[00:40:14] The manifestation of the spirit. Which is given to everyone to profit withal. There is such a place for this in both prayer and other times, such as Saturday, for example. How wonderful it is when we are in prayer. And we have really got a sense of heaviness. And someone has a word of knowledge. They don't have to sort of say in sort of stentorian tones, I have a word of knowledge.
[00:40:48] I mean, that's enough to put fear into anybody.
[00:40:52] All you have to do is to simply say, brothers and sisters, I wonder whether this and this is the reason for our happiness.
[00:41:04] Sometimes we're praying about a certain matter and we're not sure why. We're not coming through on it in prayers. No heaviness, but we're just not coming through. Someone has a funny sense in their spirit. Now, sometimes people pray it out. They actually say to the Lord, lord, is it so and so and so and so? And immediately there's a witness in other hearts. It's a word of knowledge given in the guise of prayer. Doesn't matter.
[00:41:28] But you see, this matter of knowledge is tremendous because once we know the facts, we can get somewhere.
[00:41:33] We know this and this and this. These are the facts about this case. Now we know, you understand?
[00:41:42] But if only we could function in this way, if only the Holy Spirit was able to use this one or that one just in this way, or take them. A matter of wisdom. This is not just the facts. This is what to do about the facts. For instance, we might know there's a perplexing spirit that is holding up a particular matter to know it is all right. What do we do then? The Lord says, here is such and such a word in such and such a psalm. Here is the way to come through. And we just worship the Lord and we praise the Lord. And maybe it's just worship that's needed. He's God's.
[00:42:20] It becomes a cause of great instruction for everybody to find that this thing that's been held up for months disappeared within 24 hours as people prayed. And people begin to say, is it coincidence?
[00:42:33] You know how you do? You begin saying, well, perhaps it's coincidence, but of course it isn't.
[00:42:41] This kind of thing is so tremendous. Now, take a word of prophecy. Now, I don't mean necessarily the great word of prophecy about the way things are going in the world or what lies in the future, but sometimes just a word from the Lord that someone's got very much on their heart about someone present who's very, very burdened or very, very much at the end. And they had just a word. It's a very small word in itself. It doesn't mean a lot to others. They could have said, well, so and so could have got that out of psalm 34, but it means such a lot to so and so who's going through the thing that the Lord has spoken to them.
[00:43:19] This is ministering to one another.
[00:43:22] Such a prophetic word can be a great help sometimes. We're all going through it. And sometimes the Lord encourages us, sometimes he corrects us. But this can be a tremendous help. Now, I'm just saying. See this matter of gifts. Oh, how tremendous. Thou. Not only in prayer, but in sharing and in other matters.
[00:43:44] It's great. We should be open. Just as we must be open to the Lord to use us in the matter of prayer. So we should be open to the Lord to use us in the matter of the exercise of gifts. Don't feel that they've got to be all so dramatic. There's a great, great damage has been done to this whole matter of the exercise of spiritual gifts. By making the thing seem to be so otherworldly. Instead of being something that really is the Lord speaking.
[00:44:16] On the other hand, we don't want you just whispering into the crease of the armchair.
[00:44:20] I mean, what's the point when someone was his. And the Lord says to you.
[00:44:26] I mean, you don't know what the Lord is saying to you.
[00:44:35] What is the point of a word of prophecy? If it's.
[00:44:39] On the other hand, why do we have to say, thou shalt the Lord?
[00:44:45] I mean, it becomes so artificial so that it damages other people. They cannot exercise a gift because somehow or other it seems to be so artificial. They go, oh, dear, I could never do that.
[00:45:00] And we're glad you cannot.
[00:45:07] We must, however, be careful that we only see our home gatherings in terms of meetings either for prayer or for worship and sharing. Now, listen to me carefully on this matter.
[00:45:25] One of the functions of such times is to provide a sphere or area for intimacy and relationship.
[00:45:35] A company small enough for everyone to be cared for. And everyone to get to know each other. This is necessary if we are to be built up a spiritual house.
[00:45:51] Now, I fear sometimes that we get the idea, especially those of us with a more disciplined spiritual background. That unless the thing is a decent meeting, it has very little value.
[00:46:10] On the other hand, we can come into such a meeting and it can be so sticky and so formal and so lifeless. And there are other times when we can just come in and sit and we talk. And before we know where we are, all kinds of things are bubbling out.
[00:46:28] Now, my point, of course, is not get rid of meetings. Not at all. My point is this. Let us see that the whole point of being in home groups is not just for meetings.
[00:46:43] There is an area of intimacy, an area of fellowship that goes beyond our meetings. Now, how can we care for one another? Well, a very good way, straight away is to pray for each other. If everyone in a home group prayed for everybody else in that home group. I do not doubt that before long there would be a sensitivity to the needs of one another. And this is one of the reasons why we said a little while ago, if you feel this a burden, ask the leaders of your group for the prayer list which divides all your particular group up so that each day you have a number that you can pray about and bear up before the Lord. Now, this may seem, at first glance to be all terribly organized, but on the other hand, it can be a tremendous blessing, you see? I mean, you don't have to do that. You can make your own list if you want to, but as long as you don't lose anybody.
[00:47:47] That would be a terrible crime if you sort of said, oh, so and so. I don't think they should. They shouldn't be with us anyway.
[00:47:56] Not much value in them, I think, their hangers on.
[00:48:01] I felt sometime we got rid of the tea and cakes, they wouldn't be there.
[00:48:09] That is not our lord's view, is it?
[00:48:13] He prays for every one of us, even when some of us are very unspiritual. He prays for us, intercedes for us and loves us through into a place where we mean something to the Lord. Now, I say that that is one of the points. You make your own prayer list, but pray for one another, I think that's one great thing. Then we need to have a sensitivity to one another. You see, I don't believe sensitivity to one another ever comes until you pray. Have you ever found that when you pray for a person, you cannot hate them?
[00:48:41] Isn't it interesting?
[00:48:44] You can be very bitter about something until you really start to pray for them. Now, of course, I don't mean of course, if you pray that kind of hell, fire and damnation, lord, may they be cut off forever.
[00:48:57] May they be broken to pieces.
[00:49:00] Of course, I can understand that you feel some kind of satisfaction for your bitter feelings coming out in the guise of prayer. I'm not talking, but I mean, if you really pray for someone you find very difficult before very long, you begin to understand them. It is an extraordinary fact of spiritual life.
[00:49:18] It is an extraordinary fact of spiritual life. So here is a very simple little thing that you should pray for those you feel problems with. Maybe that will increase the prayer for me after tonight.
[00:49:32] But we should pray for those we have problems with and pray for them really intently, intelligently.
[00:49:39] But this sensitivity to one another, you can't just develop it. You try to, you say to yourself, now, I've got to be sensitive to everyone in my group. You just can't do it. It becomes artificial.
[00:49:50] It's only when you begin to really care for them in prayer and pray for them and pray for their needs and so on, that slowly but surely a sensitivity develops even in the most insensitive of us.
[00:50:02] And then again, I think there are other ways to. In caring for one, this visitation. It's not sometimes, it says, be not often in your neighbor's house. That's the word of God, you know, the book of proverbs.
[00:50:16] But I must say that sometimes only just a fleeting visit for a few moments can mean a lot to somebody, especially those who are older, who can't get out and about just to see somebody for a few moments visitation.
[00:50:34] And of course, there are practical ways of helping, many practical things that can be done, especially those who just are unable to do certain things and they're getting older, they get so worried about these things. And it's a great thing when someone can just step in and say, I'll do this and this and this and so on, and really do it. Well, those are ways in which we can care for one another. We can't do it for the whole church, but we can do it for a group, you know, as quite a different thing to have anything from ten to 20 people to care for than, say, 300.
[00:51:09] And it's quite feasible, if we would all take this matter on our hearts. Do not be afraid of quite human things. For instance, meals together, walks together. Other. There are other possibilities. Don't be afraid of us. As if somehow this comes outside of the category. We should become a social club. We don't want to be a social club. We want to put first things first.
[00:51:35] We want intercession and prayer warfare to be right at the heart. Worship and praise right at the heart, sharing together the Lord right at the heart. But when we've got those things at the heart, why can't we have meals together and walks together and sometimes, if you want to, or go up to. To the natural history museum, I don't know, or the planetarium or something. I bore some of you stiff, but at least it'll give you a point for fellowship, won't you? I was bored stiff by the whole thing. That ought to cause some fellowship on the way back.
[00:52:07] I mean, why not a few possibilities? Why feel somehow or other, we've got to confine everything, providing we put first things first. If we've not put first things first, then this other is a great danger.
[00:52:25] But when we have put first things first, then this other can be a means of opening up a means somehow or other, you know, just. I don't know where there is a need to break up distance and formality, isn't there?
[00:52:41] I've said something about that already. But these are things we need to watch and do. Don't be afraid of little human things. You see, people often tell me that, oh, they say, don't fuss about the way people are seated or so. That doesn't matter. But it is a very strange thing that if you make a room like a left luggage office of Victoria station, fellowship becomes very sticky. And those people who normally don't have no sensitivity to surroundings and often say, I don't know, it doesn't bother me at all. It's a strange thing how they feel, the stickiness, little things like that.
[00:53:23] Don't be afraid of being human.
[00:53:28] Just make things pleasant, nice as you can in homes. Now, for all these reasons, I think the Saturday time could be such a blessing.
[00:53:39] Of course, Tuesday we give principally to prayer and it must be so. But I think the Saturday kind could be used in so many more ways, even for breaking bread together. I would love to see some of the home groups break bread together on a Saturday evening and thus worship and praise the Lord and share together and testify. Only be very careful that that breaking of bread doesn't become cheap or familiar, but it could be such a blessing.
[00:54:08] And then lastly, there's the question of which homes to use on this matter. And I want to pass on to one other matter and so finish what homes to use. This is a great problem. I've gone over and over and over. You see our brethren in Shanghai all those years ago. It's very interesting. They decided, and I think there's something to be said for it, that they should find one home in each group and keep to it.
[00:54:36] First they wanted to find the people who had really gone through the mill with the Lord and were absolutely safe as far as the Lord was concerned. And then they wanted to find a home that was reasonably sized to which the home group in which the home group could meet. Now, their point was this. They felt it was much better to do that than go around circulating in the homes. And of course, that particular group and the church helped that home in the wear and tear of the home. And there were many other practical ways in which they helped. I don't know. That's one way. Now our way has been to circulate in homes. And so far I felt it's very good because it helped everybody to see different homes and so on, move around. And so that has been our way to do it. I don't know if any change would come. Of course, now, this is a detail. You understand that and not a principle. But the main point I'm making is there's one church and many homes. You can have 50 homes. You can have a hundred homes in the end if you wish. But there's only one church in a locality.
[00:55:49] Not all the believers may in fact meet on that ground. But thank God for those who do. And those who are prepared for the Lord to build them up together and get through together and so on and so forth. Now, my last point I want to make this evening is the place of leadership in the home gatherings. Now, I'm going to say quite a bit about brothers here. And I want to say immediately something to the dear sisters.
[00:56:13] I very much wanted to, before I went away, to give at least one whole evening to the place of sisters in the life of God's people. Because so many of the sisters tell me that they feel somehow or other they're in a kind of spiritual man's world. And that they haven't got a place and a function and all the. The rest of it. Unfortunately, time has stopped me from doing it. But when I come back, I promise you before the Lord that I have cooked up some things. At least I hope the spirit of the Lord has for the sisters. And that occasion will be a bumper fiesta for all the sisters of the company. And if the brothers want to come along, they may do so. But we will talk on that occasion about the ministry of the sisters. But now I want to talk about the place of leadership in these home gatherings. Although the home gatherings are basically open times, that does not rule out the need of leadership. In fact, open times require much more real leadership than directed times. This is a point that many overlook and why the brethren have fallen on such hard days. It is because, in fact, you see, an open time where we're under the government of the spirit needs more prayer, more authority exercised in the background, more real leadership. Prayer present in the gathering, though not obvious than a directed time. When the whole thing is planned and in the hands of one brother, much easier.
[00:57:50] The whole time will take its character, in a sense, from the brother. If he's a good spiritual brother and knows the Lord, then the mind for that time, Lord's mind put it, plan for it will come through. You see, this is a point. Open times require more real leadership than directed times. Once you've got that plan for a directed time, you can just rest. No need to worry. You can relax. Almost the only person who does the work is the person at the top here who's leading it all.
[00:58:23] You can all just rest. But my word, when it's an open time, you know, if you really have spiritual leadership, you can go through agonies that the Lord. If you're really careful for the Lord's glory and really careful for the will of God to be done every deviation, you feel a pain in your spirit and feel, oh, we're going off, we're going off.
[00:58:46] And you've got to look to the Lord all the time. Now, Lord, get us back, get us back and so on. Now the authority or the headship of Jesus Christ is a basic principle in the life of the church. Whenever and however it gathers. It follows then that there needs to be a recognition of that authority or headship in our home gatherings.
[00:59:13] Once we have submitted to and owned the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our own lives, our personal lives, our problem with authority is nearly always practically to do with the men in whom that authority is vested. Isn't that so? For instance, when we have not submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we have a general problem over authority. It doesn't matter if the Lord says he wants this and this and this for my life, I'm not going to have it.
[00:59:47] I do not want to go to South America and furthermore, I am not going to go to South America.
[00:59:58] I'm going to be a Christian here in Richmond.
[01:00:04] But when the Lord deals with us, we submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Now we have no further problems with the authority of Christ. Sometimes we don't find it easy, the will of God for us, but we have no further upon. We say, well, Lord, if that, I'm going to do it because I'm going to seek grace from you to do it. But then where does our problem begin? Our problems are nearly always to do with the human vessels in whom the authority of Christ is vested. Doesn't matter who it is. We come up against them and we begin to see the flaws and the weaknesses and the failings. Before long, that's all we can say. And we say, I wouldn't listen to so and so, not for toffee. I mean, they're just nothing.
[01:00:43] They think they can tell us what the will of God is.
[01:00:49] Now this is not a contemporary problem only. Even in the New Testament we see that many had problems with the apostles as well as the elders.
[01:01:00] You see about the church in Corinth, split up, said, I'm of apollos one apostle. I'm of Sebastian another apostle. I'm a Paul apostle. A name of Christ, the exclusives, problems, and another place in two Timothy, chapter one and verse 16, Paul says, all day of Asia have turned away from me. Now the man might have had the most incredible authority vested in him by the Lord. He may have had all the signs and evidences of apostleship in his ministry and his work, yet all the churches in Asia turned away from him.
[01:01:40] Why?
[01:01:41] I say, because they must have come up against quite a number of problems. They saw the weaknesses. He himself wrote him one letter, I know you despise me, you say, when he's with us, he stammers and stutters and he half blind, he doesn't seem to be much. But when he writes, oh, such weighty letters, and then of course, you've got that word in Hebrews 1317, obey them that have the rule over you and submit to them.
[01:02:13] Obviously, because there were real problems even in those days, in more authoritarian days, there were real problems about submitting to elders and so on and so forth. And we had the Judaizers who went everywhere. Do you remember these people who dogged the apostles, especially the apostle Paul, everywhere, contradicting his work, gainsaying his ministry, bringing other things in, and so on and so forth. If we wish to. Even with an apostle Paul, we can find reasons for not recognizing divine authority in that one.
[01:02:49] I don't care who it is.
[01:02:53] It doesn't matter whether it's a watchman knee, or whether it's an Austin sparks, or whether it's a John Wesley or a Martin Luther or a John Calvin or a St. Augustine, or whether it's John or James or Peter or whatever. I believe it is possible to refuse to recognize divine authority in them because of their human failings, if we want to. In other words, this matter of authority is very interesting. If you want to get out of it, you can.
[01:03:31] And generally speaking, that is the reason why we do get out of this matter. Now, I've said that in general, the leadership in our home gatherings is principally concerned with the well being and spiritual health and sound functioning of that particular company of the church which meets in that home.
[01:03:54] The elders responsibility is the whole church, and all matters to do with the life and direction of the church as a whole, including all the home gatherings, you understand?
[01:04:07] But there is a place for leadership in our home gatherings. That's obvious.
[01:04:14] We must therefore recognize the authority of Christ in the leaders of our home gatherings, even though sometimes we may feel they're rather weak. This may be easier if he's already an elder.
[01:04:27] It is not less a necessity. If he is not, you know, we sort of say, well, nice to be in such and such a group. They've got so and so. There's that. All we've got is so and so and so and so.
[01:04:46] Now that's not really good enough.
[01:04:50] If things are spiritually healthy there should be the evolvement of true leadership and gift within our home gatherings.
[01:05:01] Men who are leaders have got to lead.
[01:05:06] Now I want to just explain what I mean by this.
[01:05:13] You see, everyone has got it within them, the desire to lead.
[01:05:17] But what most of them have got the idea of is the sort of rather more glamorous idea of being up at the front or having authority and being able to say we're going to do so and so and so and so. And everyone says yes, or being able to direct a gathering or whatever it is, a work or something else.
[01:05:38] But I don't believe that's biblical leadership, spiritual leadership at all. Spiritual leadership is simply this, that the person who is a leader must lead.
[01:05:50] I don't mean bossing people, I mean they have to lead in example, they have to be pioneers. In other words, listen carefully to me. Leadership is within the extra mile.
[01:06:06] And that's why we have so much trouble in the church of God, not just here, I don't mean here, but everywhere. Because leadership has been prostituted into something where people are something in themselves, where they can boss, where they can exercise. With all this authority complex and all this away with it, leaders should be pioneers. If there's going to be intercession, they've got to be in the forefront of that intercession. If there's going to be a night of prayer, they've got to stay the whole night, not an hour.
[01:06:39] It's no good them coming to us and pleading, oh, I've got my business, I've got this. I can give an hour away with it. We will not have such leaders.
[01:06:48] Either they serve the Lord completely and utterly or we don't want their leadership. That's the kind of leadership that's in this world. But we need leaders who are pioneers in faith, pioneers in sacrifice, pioneers in laying down their lives for others, pioneers in giving of energy and time and everything else.
[01:07:13] That is leadership. And that is the kind of leadership we have to look for in our home groups, in the whole church.
[01:07:23] Because the church will never be safe in anybody else's hands. Always. That dread poisoned ambitiousness will raise its ugly head. That self centredness, self glorying will come in the end and wreck the church unless we have leaders who are pioneers in this whole matter of serving the Lord. It is within the extra mile, true leadership.
[01:07:58] So in everything, leaders have got to be examples.
[01:08:05] Conscientiousness, punctuality.
[01:08:09] Their presence always at the fore. No battle at which they're not in the front. Even though at times they may not say so much. They're there. And they're not just there asleep.
[01:08:21] They may not even open their mouth at some point, but they're there. And from their spirit. There is a sacrificial travail.
[01:08:32] That puts something into our gatherings. That nothing else in this universe can put into them.
[01:08:39] That puts a character into our gatherings. That you will not get in any other way.
[01:08:50] I say this because I feel it's very important.
[01:08:54] I know, particularly with brothers. And when we come to have this sister's time. I'll have something to say about this as well on this matter. But brothers are not always very good. When it comes to the more social side of things, are they really?
[01:09:08] You know, they tend to feel, oh, dear, I don't want to just sit there with a cup of tea in their hands. I mean, sort of, you know, sort of like a women's sunshine hour or chitchat. We don't want that kind of thing. And of course, there can be a failing right here. That on this side we're talking about an intimacy in this side of where we really have got to get to know each other. Then sometimes our leaders are not there. When we have a love feast, they don't come. When we have a walk. They're not present.
[01:09:43] Because somehow they feel, no, no, no. It's the things that matter.
[01:09:51] But leadership has to give itself entirely.
[01:09:58] And the example of all leadership. Leadership is our Lord Jesus.
[01:10:09] That is the pattern and standard of leadership. Now, having said that, let me say a few other practical things and close.
[01:10:16] The times of prayer before the home group meets. Should be open to all brothers in that group.
[01:10:25] This is for one simple reason. That by opening it to every brother in that group. We soon find out those who are prepared to sacrifice.
[01:10:37] We soon distinguish those that are prepared to go the extra mile.
[01:10:46] It's there that leadership will become apparent.
[01:10:49] Now, remember the need to pray. And not endlessly discuss and talk. There is a dreadful disease amongst evangelicals where we meet together for prayer. And we spend three quarters of an hour talking and talking. And a quarter of an hour in prayer. Now, there are times when we need to fellowship and when we need to talk.
[01:11:11] But generally speaking, it's prayer that's required. And why should we have a time of prayer before a time of prayer, doesn't it all seem rather if we're going to have a time of prayer, why do some of the brothers have to get together beforehand? For a very simple reason, that if it's warfare or anything else, we know there is enemy interest in that time. And the whole function of that little time of prayer is to assert the lordship of Jesus Christ over that time and possess it in his name.
[01:11:41] That's the key. Now that is leadership.
[01:11:46] Hidden, unknown. A work behind the scenes where brethren get together and assert the lordship of Jesus Christ and possess the time for the Lord and make a way for the rest.
[01:11:59] It is a time when we cover the whole company thats going to gather.
[01:12:04] This is where open times need more preparation than lead times. And this is where true leadership will always be found.
[01:12:12] Now another point. How much leadership should be given in the actual times.
[01:12:18] Now this is never easy to define. There is a need of balance here. Leadership can stultify and leadership can help. We all know the kind of leadership that can stultify. You know the kind of thing that someone who somehow or other, you just feel that everything is completely in their hands and somehow you just feel unable to do anything because it's all. It's neither this nor that. You don't know where you are now. That is where leadership can get out of its place.
[01:12:46] Real leadership is rather like Sunday morning. It's not all that apparent. It's there.
[01:12:51] And yet to someone coming in, perhaps they would just see this flowing of the spirit, this one, that one, the other one, and so on. But the leadership's there generally. It's apparent when we go off the rails, if something thats wrong comes in immediately, its stopped. Now that is leadership.
[01:13:14] Or sometimes there has to be a word of correction or sometimes a word of encouragement.
[01:13:20] But its very hard to actually define the place of leadership in an open time because it is so important. And yet there is a balance between it being there and yet not. To a parent. I cannot explain it any other way. I hope that it will help you all to leave it really rather vague.
[01:13:39] What is the place of correction and encouragement?
[01:13:44] Very much. There's a very big place in the matter of leadership. You see. I believe that leadership needs to correct sometimes corporately, although we have to be very careful here and often privately, because there are times when we just need to be helped. For instance, if there's someone who prays for 20 minutes every time we have a time of prayer, where it's going to destroy that time and what happens is those who really do know how to pray just simply become disillusioned and discouraged and they give up. Now, it's no good standing up and giving a heavy word because the person who prays for 20 minutes every time doesn't seem to take it. And all the others who know, they all say, oh, oh dear, oh dear, oh. Then they can't pray anymore because they're not praying in the spirit. It's strange, isn't it? The only thing to do is to go to the person concerned and have a talk with them.
[01:14:41] That's a place of leadership. Now, if we have to correct, there's also a place for encouragement. It would be wonderful if every time a person really did exercise a gift or share something of the Lord or testify to something, one of those more responsible were to say to that person, you know, the Lord really helped you there.
[01:15:01] Just that word of encouragement is part of the function of leadership.
[01:15:08] Leaders need to speak up, be bold and clear.
[01:15:14] There's nothing so terrible. As a leader who you can't hear them. You must speak. Speak up. Learn to speak up so that everyone can hear you. Be bold and clear in that manner. They need to be available and approachable to be listeners as well as talkers.
[01:15:33] Now, of course, all of us leaders, most of us anywhere good talkers, it's very hard to be a listener. I remember, I'm not going to give you any names, but I remember a very famous evangelical minister that I knew rather well.
[01:15:48] He was a one. I mean, if you went to him and talked, after a few minutes, you could see his eyes.
[01:15:54] They were miles away.
[01:15:57] You could have sent to him pouring out some problem. You could have said to him, and Charlie's aunt has just died. And still he would have been looking away and then he would have turned back and said, well, I think you should wait on the Lord.
[01:16:21] When you get busy, you can't help it. There is a sense in which your mind becomes so tired. There's a way in which you tend. You can just switch off and a person is saying these things and you are no longer taking any of it in.
[01:16:35] You're thinking about something else. Now, you've got to be very careful there because leaders have got to learn to listen as well as talk. And it's no good just switching on now. It may not seem very important to you what's all being poured out, but to the person who's pouring it out, it happens to be very important indeed. And so it's, you see what the danger is. There are garrulous members of the body who are for ever pouring out things at great length. And we get into a habit where we can switch off. But unfortunately there comes some dear little sort of, to use a biblical phrase, some dear little widow in the church, and she pours at her bob. And of course, we've got so into the ability of switching off, we've switched off.
[01:17:29] So we have to say this to all of us who are leaders. We do need to be listeners as well as talkers.
[01:17:39] And then finally, we all need to support leadership. It is hard for anyone who has not had that kind of responsibility to imagine the spiritual pressures that are brought to bear upon leaders.
[01:17:54] It is nothing like sort of responsibility on a lower level. Once you begin to step into the shoes of real leadership, you suddenly enter into another dimension of spiritual activity. For if the enemy can ever knock out leadership, he has won a very great victory. And those leaders, whoever they are, on whatever level they might be of leadership, are subjected to incessant enemy pressure day and night. Furthermore, the enemy knows the weaknesses of every single one. He knows that what the pressure he can exert on somebody was not going to get them down, but he can get so and so down by exerting that pressure. And when I see what is happening in the church of God today, the men who have been giants, who are at present ill or knocked out or having to rest, one realizes if all of us are feeling the increased pressure of the enemy and the resultant weariness, how much more those who have responsibility in leadership, we need to support leadership.
[01:19:17] We also need to be very practical in this matter.
[01:19:22] We need to inform leaders of matters and needs. You know, it's quite incredible how cruel people can be on this matter. For instance, you know, they won't say anything about any matter that's perhaps very important about a matter, shall we say, for example, that's very important. They just don't send. They know something about it. They don't inform, don't send, don't pass anything on.
[01:19:47] And then when there's some kind of catastrophe or something happens, the person says, well, of course I knew all along, but I was never asked.
[01:19:55] Now tell me, how really can leaders ask every single person about every single matter?
[01:20:03] We would go out of our minds even in a small home gathering. You'd if you only had 15 people, and you had to keep going around to every single one asking about all the different matters.
[01:20:18] You see, if you don't inform them of things, I mean, it's up to them what happens and what the Lord says to them about it. But it's your responsibility if you know facts about a matter. At least to let leadership know. Or if you've got any burden from the Lord. Or any sense of direction or somewhere. You let them know. Then let the Lord lead them as to what is done about it. If everyone in the home gathering prayed for the leaders. Even if it was only, after all, one a day, I think most of the gatherings, why, we could pray for them sort of.
[01:20:53] How many times a week? Three days a week.
[01:20:58] But if you took all the different leaders and prayed, wouldn't it be a wonderful thing?
[01:21:03] And if all those leaders were to pray for the flock each day. I mean, some portion of the flock each day. I think there would be such a change in the whole mentality of this matter. Well, now we've said something about home gatherings. I do hope that helps. There's so many more things, so much more that could be covered in different realms. But our main point point about this question, this whole matter of our home gatherings. Is that we have here a realm, a sphere in which this whole matter of being built up together, a spiritual house. Is brought down to hard realities.
[01:21:47] And it is there that all that we have received in teaching is put to the acid test.
[01:21:56] May the Lord give us all grace to rise up to this thing. We dont know how long we have before things become difficult for us to gather in the way that we have been gathering. Or other things could happen, I dont know which could cut right across the whole. Let us, whilst we have the opportunity, seize this whole matter with both hands. And look to the Lord. That he may get the maximum of value out of it working in us.
[01:22:26] Something really of himself.
[01:22:29] And so causing the body to build up itself in love.
[01:22:37] Shall we pray now? Lord, we do just bow in thy presence with thanksgiving and praise for all that thou art.
[01:22:52] And, o Lord, we are conscious that we've been dealing this evening with much that is down to earth practical.
[01:23:05] But, father, we pray that the fact that it is something very much of thyself. Will not be hidden by being down to earth.
[01:23:21] But rather, Lord, thou wilt burn this whole thing into our hearts.
[01:23:27] So that we begin to realize, Lord, that every one of us has got to face up to realities.
[01:23:33] And that we have got to find our place in the body and we have got to function.
[01:23:40] O Lord, have mercy and compassion upon us all. Thou knowest our frailty and our weakness, o Lord. And thou has clothed us with the garment of thy salvation. O Lord, wilt thou go on to do this greater work of building us up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to thyself through Jesus Christ.
[01:24:12] O Father, may this be the outcome of these two studies. We pray and we ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus.
