Mutual Helpfulness and Devotion

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Short Summary
The discourse emphasizes the importance of mutual helpfulness and devotion within the congregation, highlighting shared prayers, hymns, and testimonies as vital for spiritual growth and unity. It encourages believers to prepare devotionally for meetings, actively participate by sharing personal experiences and reflections, and focus on living the truth practically rather than merely acquiring knowledge. Ultimately, the goal of ecclesiastical gatherings is to build Christlike character and strengthen bonds among brethren through heartfelt worship and fellowship.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on Mutual Helpfulness and Devotion in Ecclesia Meetings

Theme and Scriptural Foundation:
– The discourse centers on the importance of mutual helpfulness and devotion among the Lord’s people, especially during congregational meetings.
– The key scripture is Ephesians 5:19:
*“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”*
– Emphasis is placed on encouraging one another not only through Bible studies but also through shared devotions—prayers, hymns, testimonies—during meetings.

Historical and Emotional Context:
– Reference to the Waldensians, known for their joyful singing after persecution, illustrating the power of communal singing.
– The pandemic disrupted communal singing, which is a significant spiritual blessing.
– Brother Brad Sweeney recently conducted a service on the importance of sharing what particular hymns mean personally.

Need for a Deeper Work of Grace:
– Brother Russell (from Reprint 3090) urged a balanced effort in devotions as much as in Bible study.
– Early Brethren were focused on doctrinal study, but a deeper devotional life is equally necessary for spiritual growth.

Illustration from Psalms 45:13-14:
– The “king’s daughter” is described as wearing a garment embroidered with gold, symbolizing the beauty of the Church adorned with devotion.
– This embroidery represents the spiritual qualities and devotional efforts that beautify the Church.

Mutual Helpfulness through Testimonies, Prayers, Hymns, and Fellowship:
– Testimonies serve as lessons and encouragements; example given of a sister (“Sister Faith”) who shared weekly providences demonstrating how to read the Lord’s hand in life.
– Congregational prayer is highlighted as a vital, practical expression of mutual support. Immediate prayers for those in need during meetings are encouraged.
– Prayers unify hearts and strengthen the congregation.
– Personal connections, even over the phone (e.g., Brother Bob Gray’s practice of ending calls with prayer), show the value of shared devotion.

Role of Hymns:
– Hymns are described as “distilled thinking” of past saints meeting life’s challenges.
– Hymn 179 (“My Life Flows On”) is cited as a powerful example of sustaining faith through suffering and anticipating victory in Christ.
– Members are encouraged to share why certain hymns resonate deeply with them.
– Hymns help prepare hearts for meetings and assist in spiritual warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Fellowship and Sharing Experiences:
– Sharing testimonies connects brethren, allowing mutual encouragement.
– Example of a sister who helped the speaker see how to recognize the Lord’s hand in everyday work life, integrating consecration into all aspects of life.
– The importance of each believer sharing their spiritual progress and experiences is stressed.

Profitable Meetings Include Worship, Praise, and Prayer:
– Quoting Reprint 1866, Brother Russell taught that meetings should always include worship, praise, and prayer, with Bible study following.
– The ultimate goal of meetings is not mere doctrinal knowledge but the development of Christlike character.
– The 144,000 are described as those who have done the necessary spiritual work, not just learned head knowledge.

Living the Truth vs. Knowing the Truth:
– Many are content to know the truth intellectually but fail to live it daily and hourly (Reprint 3090).
– Knowing truth is like putting on armor; living it means engaging in spiritual warfare.
– The discourse warns against dismissing the importance of prophecy and knowledge of God’s plans, noting that grace and character flourish best when combined with knowledge.
– The Lord reveals truth progressively to those who keep their hearts right and continue studying.

Preparation for Meetings:
– Ephesians 5:18-19 is used to encourage members to come prepared not only in study but devotionally, with hymns, poems, or testimonies.
– Testimonies should focus on edification and victory, not just personal failings.
– Sharing struggles is good but should be balanced with anticipation of victory in Christ.
– Gratitude and thankfulness are important, referencing Ephesians 5:20-21:
*“Giving thanks always for all things to God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ… submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”*

Diversity of Spiritual Contributions:
– Recognizing that members have different gifts (singing, poetry, teaching), all should participate to build up the body (1 Corinthians 12 analogy).
– Example of a meeting focused on “peace,” where everyone brought hymns, scriptures, poems, or testimonies related to the theme, demonstrating the power of preparation and shared devotion.

Testimonies as Evidence of the Lord’s Hand:
– The Greek word for testimony (“martyria” or “martyrion”) means “evidence given.”
– Testimonies report personal progress in the narrow way, growth in grace, and struggles against the world, the flesh, and the devil.
– They knit the ecclesia’s hearts together in love.

Practical Challenges and Encouragement:
– Encouragement for brethren to be ready to share and contribute without pressure or guilt.
– Emphasis on the importance of mutual care and submission among brethren.
– Recognition that all have unique challenges and stages of spiritual growth.

—

Summary of Key Bible Verses Mentioned:

Ephesians 5:19:
*“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”*

Psalms 45:13-14:
*“The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework.”*
(Symbolizing the Church’s beauty adorned with devotion.)

Ephesians 5:20-21:
*“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”*

—

Overall Takeaway:

The discourse underscores that congregational meetings are not just for doctrinal study but are vital opportunities for mutual spiritual uplift through shared devotions—hymns, prayers, testimonies, and fellowship. These foster deeper grace, build Christlike character, knit hearts in love, and prepare the Body for the narrow way. Each member’s participation, preparation, and willingness to share evidence of the Lord’s hand in their lives enrich the entire congregation and help sustain faith amid life’s challenges.

Transcript

Is mutual helpfulness and devotion, and the reason I chose this subject, I have had tremendous help from the Lord’s people in shared devotions, and I know many others who have had that as well. Okay, here we go. So the theme text Here is Ephesians 5:19.

Now, this is speaking to the congregation. You want to keep that in mind, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart. We have opportunities, dear friends, in our meetings to encourage one another, not just in our studies. Our devotional aspects of our meetings are really very important in our walks. That’s really our subject here today.

And, You know, this is a picture of the Walden Seas. One artist’s depiction of them up in the mountains after the persecution. They were famous for their singing together. I don’t know about you, brethren, but that was one of the things, I think that the pandemic broke, and it is such a blessing to raise our voices together and to hear the meaning.

If you’ve ever had brethren share why particular hymns mean so much to them. I understand Brother.

Brother Brad Sweeney had a service just on that in Orlando recently. Now, Brother Russell makes a point. This is from reprint 3090. That we need a deeper work of grace in our own hearts and in the hearts of all the dear household of faith. More special effort in this particular direction on the part of all would be great benefit.

You know, friends, sometimes, and I think it’s understandable, in his day, the Brethren were so new to understanding the truth. They were studying just amazingly, trying to understand every feature of the plan, and it’s in that context he makes this point that we should make an equal effort in our devotions as part of our worship, as we do to our studies.

You all know Psalms 45, 13, 14. The king’s daughter is all glorious within her clothing is interwoven with gold. You know, this is the embroidery upon the justification that we’re given, Brethren. This is actually a garment that has. I didn’t know they had such garments.

But it’s a garment that has gold actually embroidered into the fabric. You might say that’s the height of fashion. I suppose this is something the queen wore at her inauguration back in the 50s. But the scripture goes on to say that the king desires the beauty of the church, brethren. But that devotional work is shown in the embroidery of the garment.

So opportunities for mutual helpfulness. Our testimonies, our prayers, our hymns, our fellowship. You know, friends, when I was growing up, we had a sister. I think of her as Sister Faith. Because every Week there was a new chapter in how the Lord overruled for her that week, a providence that she saw.

And there were four of us that were very young in the class. It was like we were getting a continuing lesson on how to read your providences, how to find faith, or how to use your faith to read your experiences. You know, friends, prayer, really, one thing we’d really recommend strongly is congregational prayer. You know, how often does it happen in a testimony that someone has a very difficult experience and they ask for prayers? Can we give a prayer immediately?

Are the brethren ready to get up and to give a prayer? Could we ask anyone in the congregation, Would you pray for Sister so and so? And the loss of her child? Can we do that now? I know some brethren.

It’s a little bit of a challenge. Why do we pray so specifically? And they’ll make it that to Sister and all those who have been bereaved, that’s a very good addition to have. But you know, brethren, I think one of the purposes of our meetings is uniting the brethren’s hearts together, and this is where devotion is really critically important.

And those prayers can be so helpful. Not just our prayers at home, but our prayers together. Probably many of you experience Brother Bob Gray on the phone and almost always ending with the prayer with whoever he was speaking with. You know, the means don’t matter, brother, and I think it’s the connection, the personal connection is so helpful.

You know, in our hymns. I’m going to quote a hymn to you, brother. I’ll explain why some of you I know would love him. 179. I noticed a brother requesting this hymn.

He was nearing the end of his life and he requested this hymn whenever he had an opportunity. My life flows on and endless song above earth’s limitation I catch the sweet not far off hymn that hails a new creation through all the tumult and the strife I hear the music ringing it finds an echo in my soul how can I keep from singing?

He had a wasting cancer. Brethren. What though my joys and comfort die? The Lord my Savior liveth what though the darkness gather round Songs in the night he giveth no storm can shake my inmost calm While to that refuge clinging Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth how can I keep from singing? I lift mine eyes the cloud grows thin I see the blue above it and day by day this pathway smooth since first I learned to love it the peace of Christ makes fresh my heart A fountain ever springing all things are mine since I am his how can I Keep from singing, friends.

We just encourage you. A dear brother that I knew in recent years, we would often talk about the hymn Thoughts, and, you know, the hymns are like the best distilled. Thinking of the Lord’s people of the past as they met the experiences of life. So have you ever had a line from a hymn that just sticks in your head and that means something to you?

Have you shared it and why it is so important to you? Or have you ever been intrigued by a line in a hymn? We never can prove the depth of his love until all on the altar we lay well, it makes me ask have I laid and kept everything on the altar? Have I plumbed the depths of our master’s love? Fellowship, you know, brethren, I should tell you the brethren, and I think Wilmington have learned this.

If you don’t testify, I will come fellowship and get your testimony. That way, you know, brethren need the connections, one with another. There’s helpfulness in testimonies. You have an experience and someone has a similar experience and they share it and you realize later you needed that lesson from them or in fellowship, you know, there’s a dear sister, and I don’t know, brother, if you’ve had this experience, but there’s a dear sister who would always ask me about my work experience, and I was really puzzled about that.

Why is she interested in my work experience? Shouldn’t we be talking all the time about our spiritual lives? Well, I learned that what she was doing was seeing how I analyzed my everyday experiences to see the Lord’s hands. So it was a purpose that was a spiritual purpose, and it meant a lot to me because I had thought of my work life as sort of what I did before my consecration started.

Well, you know, your consecration is the whole pie, so to speak, and she really helped me with that. So take your opportunities, dear friends. In reprint, 1866, Brother Russell addresses the subject of profitable meetings. That they should always include worship, praise and prayer.

And hymns are a good way to do that. You know, sometimes there’s trends not to have the hymns. But, you know, some of the brethren having the hymn, it just helps prepare their heart for the meeting to settle them down. Whatever has happened during the day, the hymn is so helpful. It helps us in waging victorious warfare against the world, the flesh and the devil.

There’s nothing like practical examples, brethren, you know, my brethren are like treasures that I’m mining their experiences from. I’m learning how the Lord is working with them, and it inspires me that this sister who went through losing her husband Well, I could go through and it’s hard to think about. But if I had to lose Karen, could I carry on? Would I carry on?

Those examples are really critical for us, dear friends, Prayerful meetings also include the study of God’s word. But it’s interesting he lists that after the other two. All right.

The ultimate object of ecclesiastical meetings, this may sound like heresy to some, is not knowledge of doctrines, it’s the building up of Christ like characters. You know, friends, when the church is finished at the end and the Lord shows them to the world as part of Christ, it will be recognized that, that 144,000 are those who have done the necessary work, that there’s no one better prepared to help mankind than that group. So it’s not just head knowledge. Now, friends, I want to know everything I can about the Lord’s plan that unlocks for me so much about him and his dealings. It’s really critical to us.

But I can’t be so enamored with that that I don’t overcome the sin that I see that I don’t fight the hardest. I mean, knowing I’m not going to conquer everything, but I have to fight as if I can conquer everything. So again, this devotion is a critical part of this preparation. It’s living the truth, and here he Comments Back in 3090, too many, we find, have been contenting themselves with knowing the truth without making special efforts to live it daily and hourly.

You know, brethren, knowing the truth is easy compared to living it, and in the picture of the armor, knowing the truth is like putting the armor on, but you haven’t used it yet. You haven’t been out in the warfare. That’s living the truth when you apply those principles.

Now, I contrast that. This was one of the quotes that helped me a lot when I was learning the importance of prophecy. It’s a serious error into which many fall to suppose that a knowledge of God’s doings and plans is of little importance, that the graces of Christian character are all that God requires, and these are better conserved by ignorance. You know, brethren, I grew up with that.

You know, believe on Jesus and be saved. You know, try to live a good life. It’s not important to understand all these things. They’re mysteries. Why did the Lord give us a Bible that is so complicated with so much in it?

Did he give us a gift that we can just set aside and say, this isn’t so important now. We all have different capacities, friends, you know, I’m not saying we all learn all the Details of every prophecy and so forth, and I think we have to really a part of our living, the truth is recognizing the Lord reveals to us. We don’t figure things out, brethren. Sometimes we think that, but he reveals his truth.

One of the earliest things I was told that was so helpful to me, I didn’t understand differences among the brethren at the time, and the brother said, brother John, your problem is you want to know everything right now, and it’s true. I felt like the brethren had this knowledge and I had, like this much, and they had all this knowledge, and he said, you know, if you keep your heart right and you keep studying, when you’re ready, the Lord will show you.

And that’s really helped me. Friends, sometimes you have to use the bookshelf. We can’t be so studious. We think we can figure it all out. That can be a distraction from doing this hard work of living the truth that Ephesians 5:19.

I read mentions before in the verse before, be filled with the Spirit and friends, I like to think of verse 19 as what everyone brings to the meeting. Do you have a poem? Do you have a hymn? Do you have some thought to share? Are you prepared?

Are you prepared not just in study, but are you prepared devotionally? Do you spend as much time preparing your testimony as you do for your studies? You know, brethren, when we share our testimonies, we want to share what’s edifying and what’s helpful. Brethren, early in my consecration, I think it’s because I was a Baptist and they teach you so much about sin and how wrong you are and so forth. I felt like I had to own up in my testimonies to my failings all the time.

And then I realized at one point, does that help the brethren? Is that edifying for me to do that? And, you know, the Lord was very kind because I learned we need to anticipate the victory. Don’t just be, you know, down in the dumps. Look what I did.

Look how terrible I am. But, brethren, I want to overcome. I’m anticipating that day. This scripture has helped me always put a positive on that. But, you know, the Lord overruled because there was a brother who came up to me and he said, brother John, I’m thankful for your testimonies.

I can’t own my. I can’t share my failings. It was too humbling for him. I think he was a humble one to begin with, but he couldn’t put himself down any further. We don’t always know, but it’s good to consider.

Are our testimonies helpful to others, Even the most difficult ones Sister Carina just testified about. You know, when we mourn, we have to let the Lord even direct that we don’t want to be over much in mourning, and it’s interesting what the Lord does with us that things you never expect that he’s teaching us.

Ephesians 5:20 and 21, giving thanks always for all things to God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Gratitude and thankfulness. That is such a beautiful, I guess you’d say spice to our testimonies, and Ephesians 5:21. Friends, I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed the number of times in the scriptures there’s a thought like this verse, submitting yourselves one to another in the reverence of God.

You know, we’re to have the same care for each other. Paul tells us in Romans and he tells us in Corinthians that the parts of the body that don’t seem as necessary really are more necessary, and it’s interesting he says that don’t seem necessary. Sometimes a brother sister goes through a very difficult experience and they seem like they’re struggling, and you know, we need to see that and we need to take the opportunity to assist and also gain the lesson from the providence as the Lord gives to them.

I don’t know, brethren. Bouche. Ever listen to one of the brethren’s testimonies and it sounds so victorious and you think, oh, I wish I could give that testimony, and then yours is like, I’m still taking baby steps trying to overcome this. Well, you know, friends, sometimes I think we have to remember that all of our brethren have experiences that challenge them deeply.

And maybe we look at one and think, well, hasn’t that brother overcome that? Here he is testifying about it again. But do you realize how difficult some of your own experiences are? And maybe you’ve overcome anger, but have you overcome self control? It could be just a difference in the challenges that the friends have.

This is a favorite. What should be done then? My friends, when you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. You know, brethren, we’re not all the same.

Some of us are wonderful with art, some are wonderful writing poetry. Some have such beautiful voices to sing. Let’s all do our parts. I think everyone should have a part. We had a meeting one time in Muhammad.

I was so struck by because the brethren was looking at these verses that I’ve been telling you about, and he thought, you know, prayer, praise and testimony meetings, we don’t really do the prayer and the praise part very well, and he looked at this verse and he said, really, this should be the way it is. You all bring something to the meeting and share it, and so he chose a subject.

I think he chose peace, and he asked the brethren, bring a hymn, bring a poem, scripture, whatever is on your heart, a testimony, and that brother studied so well everything he could find on peace. All the hymns about peace, all the scriptures about peace. So it’s one of the hardest services I’ve ever seen any of the brethren give.

And he would just ask, who has something to share about peace? And a sister would raise her hand and share a poem, and he’d have a comment that fit that because he was so well studied on that subject. But everyone brought and he didn’t know what they would bring. Everyone brought and it shared that way.

I say that brother not to say you should do that, but I think just in terms of our preparation, be ready to be a blessing, and never forget the importance of each consecrated brother and sister participating in the class studies and in the testimonies we need to hear from all our friends, and I have to be careful, brethren, I’m not overboard on this because one brother told me one time, you make me feel guilty, I should give a testimony. Well, that’s not the intent. So it’s better to get his, you know, personally in fellowship testimony.

Just a couple of things on that because I’m going to have to conclude here. It’s interesting. The word for testimony comes from the word martyria or martyrion, which means evidence given. You know, it’s evidence of the Lord’s hand in our lives, evidence of our consecration. So think of the testimony meeting friends, as reporting personal progress in the narrow way.

How you’re growing in grace and striving to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. Let the brethren see your hearts. Testimonies for me above all, really are part of how ecclesia’s hearts are knit together in love.

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