These messages were given to a group of brothers at a retreat with brother Titus to help them realize what it means to serve the Lord by ministering His word.

In our speaking, we should not focus on being successful, i.e., giving a good message. Instead, to speak for the Lord in the church meetings we must first of all be very clear concerning our commitment from the Lord; He does not care for many things, but only for Christ and the church. We must also take care of such basic matters as being filled with the Spirit, being in the Lord’s word, and being with the saints. (more…)

To speak on behalf of the Lord is a great matter. God always works by speaking, and thus to carry out what He desires to do He must have those who can work with Him in this way. However, if we desire to be prophets who can speak for the Lord we must first see a number of visions concerning God and His economy.

Prophets are the spiritual strength of a local church. The vision of the prophets will determine how their local church will go on. Don’t think that this is a light thing, for it is very easy to deviate from what has been committed to us by the Lord. Therefore, if you wish to exercise as a prophet in your local church, the first thing I would say to you is that you must be a spiritual person who is under a controlling vision. For this, you must be a spiritual man, for your vision cannot be kept by any other means. You cannot by your natural strength guard such a vision. If your vision is not clear, sooner or later the church or churches you serve will become something “other.” Your vision is the controlling element for your life-long operation.
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When we believed in the Lord Jesus and received the divine life, we also received that life’s many capabilities, attributes, and virtues. For us to serve the Lord properly these must be developed in us. In this message brother Titus considers a number of the virtues we need to treasure as we serve the Lord in the church life.

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These messages were given in May and June of 1985 to brothers and sisters participating in a year-long labor in the Bible. Sometimes they were spoken to the trainees together with the rest of the church, but more frequently they were talks with those in the labor. Brother Titus’ burden came out of Paul’s first epistle to Timothy and focused upon how we may grow fully into what God has arranged for us despite all the frustrations and dangers which confront us as we are growing. Those who were present can testify how much they continue to be helped by our brother’s fellowship on this crucial matter.

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This series of messages stresses that to serve the Lord we must have a humanity that is uplifted by our experience of Christ. It does so by focusing on the pattern of the apostle Paul as seen in the books of Romans, First Corinthians, and Second Corinthians. It begins:

Few serving ones realize that a proper service before the Lord is an exhibition of humanity with divinity. The origin of this serving life in humanity is the humanity of Jesus. Most serving ones, on the contrary, often seek other things for their serving life. First, they seek high revelations and rich knowledge. Second, they seek to become dynamic and powerful. Third, they seek after a spiritual exercise which manifests authority. Certainly these are necessary, but not many serving ones realize that these factors are not the real source of an effective operation. To serve effectively there must be humanity with divinity.
— Article One, page 1 (more…)

All who desire to serve the Lord in the church life, edify the saints, and build up the church must first realize what Christ has accomplished for us. The reality of His accomplishment exists for us as a realm that is both divine and mystical. Thus, the key to our serving is to abide in this heavenly realm in which the Triune God is accomplishing His purpose.

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Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
— John 12:24

Immediately after speaking of Himself as a grain of wheat, the Lord went on to speak of how, if we desire to serve Him, we must follow Him (John 12:26). This shows us that if we truly desire to serve the Lord, we must also become “seeds” that fall into the ground and die. (more…)

Those who seek to serve the Lord on a full-time basis face some particular challenges in their Christian life. This series of messages covers basic matters that relate to our person, our seeking of the Lord, and our spiritual operation, for us to serve the Lord effectively. (more…)

The highest place ordained by God for you is to be a brother. Regardless of how manifested you become, always remember that you can never be more than a brother. If you appreciate your being a brother, you will be adequately protected.

I hope I can impress you with this. The highest place to which you can attain in the Lord’s recovery is that of a brother. Satan’s work is to cause us to despise our place as common and low. This is why some are not satisfied with being simply brothers. Too many saints have been stumbled after growing so well due to the thought that there is something further they should have arrived at or gained. We must realize that from the beginning we have been given the highest in being placed as a brother in the church life. (more…)

As a person grows spiritually, various crises are bound to confront him. Just as there are particular problems with each stage of our physical growth, so it is with our spiritual growth. In this series of messages we consider the three major crises that every serving one must confront and deal with if he is to serve the Lord effectively. (more…)

The apostle Paul wrote three books of the New Testament which were entirely focused upon the practice of the church life: First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus. In these three epistles we can see how the church should operate, how the church should bear the testimony, the relationship between the church and the workers, and how to handle the situation when the church becomes degraded. (more…)

There are two parts to this message. First, we consider a number of the very wonderful items that we as believers in Christ have received from God: The Lord, who is Christ, life, and Spirit; the Bible; the saints; and our environment. Second, we see that based on what the Lord has given us we should function in the church life and grow and even be perfected as Christians. (more…)