【Topic: The Myth of Church Size - Sharing on April 21, 2019】

Let us talk about the myth of church size. Why talk about this? Because it is a matter of life and death. I often hear Christians say: This church is good. This church has many people, a grand scene! Later, I looked for a basis in the Bible. We must cultivate a habit, and everything we do must have a biblical basis.

Where did the pursuit of church size begin? It started with Peter in the Book of Acts. Peter preached a sermon one day, and three thousand people believed in the Lord. Later, he did something else, and five thousand people believed in the Lord. Later, a discipline of church growth was established in the United States, taught in seminaries. We have always felt that it should be like this. It is not that I think this is not good; I think this is quite good. However, as I gradually understood the Bible and began to understand the Word of God, we began to discover that it was not the case.

In the early days, I especially envied some pastors who preached a sermon, and five thousand people believed in the Lord. How wonderful! After a period of time, many problems emerged. I am not making an excuse or a defense for why my church does not have so many people. I think we should return to the Bible to see God's original intention. This is very important. How important is it? It lies in whether the church built has the presence of God!

Is it a problem that three thousand or five thousand people believe in the Lord? In fact, that is also God's work. However, if a church leader only pursues the size of the church, as the number of people continues to increase, the problem becomes more and more complicated. The Book of Acts speaks of these people who believed in the Lord, and the church was in chaos. They could not manage it. There were many complaints, and there were many messy things. Then they selected seven deacons and sent them to manage the meals.

After reading this, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing? This is worth discussing. We have always thought it was a good thing, but looking further, what was the state of the entire church in Jerusalem, that is, the people who first believed in the Lord led by the apostles Peter and John? The Jerusalem church became a super poor church.

Is poverty spiritual? Poverty is a problem. Take my advice, if this place is very poor, not a temporary poverty, but a long-term poverty, until the Jerusalem church closed down later, it has always been in this state, we should reflect on where the problem started. The problem started with three thousand people believing in the Lord and five thousand people believing in the Lord.

Do Not Pursue Numbers, Start Pursuing God's Will

Three thousand or five thousand people believing in the Lord is God's work, but at that time, the apostles Peter and John were overwhelmed by this matter, because it was glorious to see so many people. Later, the Jerusalem church formed a sharp contrast with the Gentile church established by the apostle Paul.

The Jerusalem church was managed by James, who wrote the Book of James. James sent out people to continuously preach the law of Moses, while Paul continuously preached God's grace and faith, imitating Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and no longer the law of Moses. As a result, the concept of building a victorious church that the apostle Paul passed on was preserved in the Bible, and later became more and more prosperous. The Jerusalem church, including Peter, John, and James, became more and more衰败.

Which one prospered? It was the apostle Paul who prospered. Those who pursue numbers do not prosper, but those who do not pursue numbers prosper. Therefore, in the apostle Paul's teaching, there is no pursuit of numbers. He speaks of how to build a holy, united, and glorious church.

Later, when old John was very old, he wrote the Book of Revelation. The beginning of the Book of Revelation writes about seven churches. The seven churches are all about building victorious churches. What old John wrote is the heart of God, so building a victorious church is the key, and the number of people is not the key.

Let's go back and look at what Jesus, the apostles Peter, and John did back then. Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, and later fed four thousand people with seven loaves of bread and five fish. That is to say, out of so many people who followed Jesus, about one hundred and twenty people remained, and a little more than that, five hundred people.

In fact, the Word of God must be read carefully. God chooses treasures in the world, not garbage. Therefore, we must bring God's people into God's kingdom, not collect garbage in God's kingdom. The church must constantly build a holy, united church with combat capability and full of God's glory.

The Disadvantages of Simply Pursuing Numbers

What about what the apostle Peter did? He did not do this cleanup work. These people who believed in the Lord, three thousand people and five thousand people, later voted Peter down and elected James, who was Jesus' physical brother. Many people in the world like to read the Book of James. Some people think it is very good, but I don't think it is good. Because no matter what, I cannot implement the things recorded in the Book of James in building God's glorious church.

Moreover, the reason why the Book of James exists is a response to Paul's letter to the Galatians. That is to say, the views are often opposing. When we see the opposition between the Book of James and the Letter to the Galatians in the Bible, what should we do? I would choose the apostle Paul's Letter to the Galatians and also choose to read Paul's other books. What did the later results prove? The gospel preached by Paul is effective.

Later developments have a lot of room for imagination. Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and sent to Rome for trial. Then there was a man named Luke, who was Paul's lawyer, who wrote the Book of Acts and the Gospel of Luke. We still don't know who Theophilus is, but the Book of Acts was written to Theophilus. Luke's writing is very good. When you read it, the things he wrote, especially in Acts chapter 15, you will find that the way James spoke is very interesting as long as you pay a little attention.

Therefore it is my judgment that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues. (Acts 15:19-21)

What does it mean to trouble? They should have kept the law of Moses, because he said later that the book of Moses is preached in every city and read in the synagogue every Sabbath. Therefore, they should keep the law of Moses. This was a long-term disagreement between Paul and James, but no matter what, Paul got what he wanted. Paul had Gentile Christians and also Jewish Christians, except that those churches were not in the Jewish area.

Paul established a set of concepts of a victorious church that was in accordance with God's heart and wrote it in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians.

To Build a Glorious Church of God, We Must Cultivate Elite Soldiers of the Kingdom of God

I am arguing a point: if a church is pursuing numbers, that is very dangerous. If a church is full of many people, but we have not resolved the state of their belief, that is very dangerous. The church is the body of Jesus Christ, and it must not harbor filth. We must mold each individual into a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The church is a united team of Jesus Christ, this is key. We are like many products produced in a factory, only when the products meet the requirements, the quantity is effective. If we produce many products, but a large number of them are defective, then no matter how large the quantity is, it is useless.

Some time ago, I went to provide training for a company. They took out their charts, which were quality management charts. Quality management will definitely talk about Sigma. Six Sigma is equivalent to three to four defective products out of one million products. If 99% of the products we produce are waste products, then no matter how much the quantity is, it is useless. Quality management is calculated according to the proportion of waste products.

Building a church is like a club for loving God. If it is filled with a majority of people who do not love God, how can God dwell here? Because it is not built according to God's will. Therefore, the church should not pursue numbers. If there are numbers, then there are, if not, then so be it. Only in this way can we enter into God's heart. The Jerusalem church was a church that pursued numbers, so later it was mixed with all sorts of people, and there were many Pharisees and all kinds of sects in it, all in the church.

Among the pastors I know, there is one person who goes around preaching everywhere, and people come because of his fame, because he is very sensational and can speak well, and then many Christians run to him. His church faces extreme challenges. The pastors he hires also have different backgrounds, and there are many disputes in the church. When we were eating together, he lamented why his church had so many disputes. Later, the three pastors became three churches.

Later, these three churches still carried this concept, they called having many people revival. This kind of pursuit is deadly. I see such situations everywhere, and I scoff at them, because they are obviously not in accordance with God's will. Preaching in the church is very difficult. Why? Because the row on the left approves of speaking in tongues, and the row on the right does not approve of speaking in tongues. How do you preach on this?

We must restore a concept: we must build a church that is according to God's heart, a church filled with God's glory, a holy and united church. I must be frank with you, some of my colleagues are really loving. If it were according to my temperament, some people would be hard to keep. The important point of this matter is not whether there is love or not, but whether it is in accordance with God's will or not.

Some of our brothers and sisters may say, why are you telling me this? I tell you, our requirements for Christians have never been lowered. If you cannot do it, then may you have peace. There are many churches without requirements that you can go to, but what can you gain? Building a church not according to God's will is deadly. I do not care about the number of people at all. Many years ago, I told my brothers and sisters that even if there is only me left in the church, I will still build a victorious church according to God's word, and never gather a crowd of rabble.

We must begin to change again, if you can stay, you are within that 5%. Our survival rate is about 20:1, 95% are eliminated. Are you willing to be here? Or in a church without any requirements? You decide for yourself.

It is we who need God, not God who needs us. Without us, God still establishes his kingdom. It is not the church that needs us, it is we who need a victorious church. We all act according to God's will, and there is God's presence in this place, and this place can solve our problems.

A Church with God's Presence Has Power

There is a sister who followed me to believe in the Lord many years ago. Later, she developed depression and has now returned. In a church of tens of thousands of people, her group leader told her to see a psychologist. As a result, she came to me, knowing that there is God's presence here. If the church cannot even solve depression, then what is the church doing? Gathering a group of people to beat gongs and drums to perform a big show? It is useless. If you are willing to go to such a church, then may you have peace.

But we are determined to build God's victorious and glorious church, and the promises in the Bible are all ours. Not being victorious is a deadly thing! I used to pursue numbers, but now I do not pursue them anymore. Now I only pursue building a church according to God's word and his heart. When we build according to God's will, God's presence is among us.

Do not think that being a Christian is so difficult. It is like this. If you read Hebrews, why do you feel it is difficult? Because you have many things to do, right? Have the problems been solved? No. The financial situation has not been turned around, and many problems have not been solved. So today, we readjust this concept and build God's church according to God's word. If there is anything I do that does not comply with God's word, I will definitely change it.

Think about it carefully, you come among us to be healed and receive grace, not because you deserve it, but because before you, there was a group of people who built a victorious church according to God's word, and there is God's presence here. Then you come here, and this place becomes a place to bless you.

Some people are foolish. They are healed and then leave, and go enjoy life again. As a result, they get sick again and go to the hospital to see a doctor, giving the doctor so much money. You were healed here, so why do you dedicate so little to God? Later, they come back hurting all over and give testimony.

I think this kind of testimony can only testify to one thing, that is, there really is God's presence here! But are you willing to be like me? Someone said, how can you live like this believing in the Lord? I also want to ask you, how should you live like this believing in the Lord? Which one lives better? Of course, being a victorious Christian lives better, right?

May God bless everyone!