To Be Balanced and Corrected in the Fellowship
We have decided that when the co-workers come together, we will seek the Lord’s presence and fellowship concerning different situations. We must be brave and fierce in order to fight the spiritual warfare. We must also strive to bear the burden and not be afraid of sufferings. When we fellowship, our spirit should be keen, and we should open to one another in order to be balanced and corrected by others. A brother should say that he is not sure how the others feel about a situation. He should say that he has a feeling, but it may be from his natural man; hence, he is seeking to be balanced in fellowship. Among us there should be a situation of open fellowship.
It is not right for us to be discouraged or to be proud. Those who are discouraged are comparing themselves with others. If we have learned the lesson, we would not be in our feelings. When a brother releases the light that he has received, we would not compare ourselves with him. Rather, we would thank the Lord for raising up such a brother among us. A number of brothers are discouraged because they compare themselves with those who are successful in the work, receive light from the Bible, shepherd the saints, or give messages. There is also a number of brothers who say that that they are able to preach the gospel and shepherd the saints. They also say that they have a vision and that they can succeed when others fail. This kind of talk exposes their heart. They have unconsciously fallen into pride.
Some serving ones are discouraged because they have been asking the Lord to increase their faith, but the Lord has not answered their prayer. Even though many years have passed, they have not been able to get through in their Bible reading, and they have not received any burden directly from the Lord. The Lord says that it is sufficient for our faith to be the size of a little mustard seed. We must forget our feelings and not compare ourselves with others. If it were not for our small faith that upholds and maintains us, many co-workers would have fallen down discouraged. The co-workers often do not rise up in the work, because they are disheartened. There are also co-workers who consider themselves capable of administrating the church, preaching the gospel, and shepherding the saints. They do not acknowledge that they are unprofitable slaves. We lack the spirit of humility. Those whose functions are not manifested are discouraged, but those whose functions are manifested are self-contented. May the Lord have mercy on us. We do not want to fall into either of these two categories.
No matter how many things we accomplish, we still must admit that it is by the Lord’s mercy and that it is He who has blessed us and led us. Furthermore, we must also acknowledge that there are many things that we have not accomplished. We should realize that even if the blessing we received from the Lord were doubled, we still would not have done enough. There is nothing that we can boast of. We must prostrate ourselves before the Lord and say that we are unprofitable slaves. There is no limit to the progress we can make in regard to visions, burdens, light, reading the Bible, spiritual knowledge, leading the church, or preaching the gospel. Hence, no one can say that he has reached the peak and can go no further. We should humble ourselves. We should not be discouraged, nor should we be proud.
Extracted from “The Sufficiency, Pursuit, and Learning of the Lord's Serving Ones” (6) – Chapter One “Two Problems Facing The Lord’s Serving Ones— Being Discouraged And Being Proud”. This message was given in Chinese by Brother Witness Lee in Taipei at 19 July 1960. Published by Living Stream Ministry.