Prayer, Week of March 21
Being Constituted with God According to His Economy
"For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." (Phil. 1:19)
"For our momentary lightness of affliction works out for us, more and more surpassingly, an eternal weight of glory." (2 Cor. 4:17)
God's intention was to tear down the natural Job in his perfection and uprightness that He might build up a renewed Job in God's nature and attributes in order to make Job a man of God, constituted with God according to His economy; such a man (like Paul) would never be entangled by any troubles and problems so that he would curse his birth and prefer to die rather than to live.
Neither Job nor his friends knew the purpose of God's dealing with him, as the apostle Paul did in declaring to the New Testament believers that the affliction the believers are suffering works out for them an eternal weight of glory, which is the God of glory to be their glorious portion for them to gain and enjoy unto eternity. (CS Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, msg. 3, I.B, E)
Let us pray for all the saints to see and pray according to God's desire for them to be reconstituted with Himself, and even to see that their suffering is working out for them an eternal weight of glory.
California High School Conference
The first-ever California-wide high school conference will be this weekend, March 26 to 28. The topic is "A Pattern of an Overcomer" and will cover Paul's words in 2 Timothy 4:7-8: "I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day, and not only me but also all those who have loved His appearing."
Please pray for the Lord to prepare the hearts of each young person and gain the response He desires.
Sixth Grade Students
Over the past few months there has been a weekly meeting for our sixth graders on Lord's Day evenings. There are six sixth graders in Halls 1 and 4 combined, one in Hall 5, and three in Hall 2: Jacob, Isaac, Karsten, Isaac, Tyler, David, Zoe, Allison, Felicity, and Betsabe. Please pray:
- that the Lord would be so real and so fresh to all these dear ones;
- that He would appear to each one of them so that they will fall in love with Him;
- that they would confess their sins and touch the Lord with their spirit;
- that they would each experience a special and unforgettable salvation; and
- that they would have a strong baptism and a good beginning of their Christian life.
Bibles for America
BfA recently implemented some upgrades at their distribution center to improve the Bible shipping process, including installing a new label printer and automatic dispenser that further increase efficiency. They have also added a new barcode to their labels that saves 5 cents on postage per Bible.
Please continue to pray for the wrapping, labeling, packing, and shipping of the thousands of Bibles that are sent out each week. Pray that each Bible would reach its recipient in a timely way without any hindrances. Please also pray particularly for the staff and volunteers who faithfully labor to make sure every Bible order is fulfilled.
European University Conference
"Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." (Col. 2:13)
The spring conference for European university students will take place online March 25 to 28. The topic is "The Kingdom of the Son of His Love." Please pray for the Lord to gather all the students and young adults in Europe and the Middle East and bring them fully into the kingdom of the Father's beloved Son. May the Lord impart a heavenly vision that will capture, preserve, and direct them to live in God's economy.
Through the messages, workshops and personal shepherding, may this generation learn to live the kingdom life by taking root downward and bearing fruit upward, and love the Lord's appearing and follow the Lamb to preach the gospel of the kingdom for the Lord's testimony to end this age.
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic is a French-speaking country with a population of 5 million people. For many years, the country has been plagued by civil war. Due to the political unrest, the meetings of the church in Bangui, the capital city, were stopped, and the saints were scattered and lost contact with one another. Praise the Lord that after more than four years, 6 saints from three families have been reconnected in the country and in the fellowship of the Body.
Please pray that the Lord will shepherd these dear saints and open a way to supply them with ministry resources. Pray also that the Lord will gather the rest of the scattered saints and recover the church life for a testimony in the Central African Republic.
To read more, please see the February 2021 newsletter supplement of the Lord's Move to Africa.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 3 of Crystallization-study of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes.
- Spring Junior High Conference: Registration for the Junior High Conference (April 9 to 11) is due this Lord's Day, March 28.
- Words of Fellowship to the Church in LA: A video entitled Love Prevails is available to watch now on YouTube and in our church app, with translated versions in Chinese, Korean and Spanish. We hope the saints will be encouraged and supplied by these short and practical fellowships.
- LSM Audiobooks are available for select titles on platforms such as Audible and Amazon. Visit http://www.lsm.org/audiobooks.html.
- Life-study of the Bible with Witness Lee: This 30-minute program focuses on the enjoyment of the divine life as revealed in the Scriptures. Ministry portions are followed by a discussion, including helpful questions and answers. The entire archive is available for free at http://www.lsmradio.com. In particular, saints may be interested in Job (15 episodes) and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (10 episodes).
- Ways to Give: Information on setting up online giving through Subsplash, as well as where to mail checks, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
Prayer, Week of March 14
Staying in Our Mingled Spirit to Overcome the Enemy
"Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." (Rom. 16:20)
"So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." (Rom. 12:5)
The Greek word rendered "your" in Romans 16:20 is plural; this points to the Body. God will crush Satan under the feet of the Body. Romans 16 does not refer to the Body in a universal sense, but it refers to the local and practical expression of the Body. This means that Satan can only be crushed under the feet of the practical expression of the Body in the local churches.
The only way to overcome Satan is to stay in the in high tower of our regenerated spirit. When we stay in the spirit, we are built up in the Body in a practical way… In the spirit we experience not only Christ as life, but also the Body. In the spirit Christ is both our life personally and the life of the Body. Therefore, in the spirit with the divine life and with the Body of Christ, Satan is overcome and even crushed under our feet. He is defeated not by individuals, but by the Body.
Never neglect your regenerated spirit, the high tower within you where you may hide from Satan…, the place where Satan cannot touch us, the place where we enjoy Christ as our life and experience the reality of the Body. When we are in such a place, Satan can do nothing to us. (LS Romans, pp. 528-532)
California High School Conference
From March 26 to 28 we will have the first-ever California-wide high school conference, which will be held online. The topic is "A Pattern of an Overcomer." Please pray for the Lord to prepare the hearts of the young people. Also pray for an important time of fellowship with the parents and serving ones this Lord's Day, March 21 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.
Azerbaijan
Please pray for the printing and distribution of 6,000 copies of the six "rainbow booklets" translated into Azeri which are scheduled to be released this month. Pray for the recipients, that the booklets in their hands will be read and shared, and that they will be nourished and enlightened to seek God's economy.
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe is the second-smallest country in Africa after Seychelles with a population of about 220,000. With the pandemic, the already fragile economy has become even more precarious. The number of saints who have been gathering has reduced, but they continue to praise the Lord in all things and thank Him for His calling. We pray for Lord's move to increase in this country and in this region!
To read more, see the February 2021 newsletter supplement of the Lord's Move to Africa.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 2 of Crystallization-study of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes.
- Words of Fellowship to the Church in LA: A new video, Love Prevails, is available to watch now on YouTube and in our church app, with translated versions in Chinese, Korean and Spanish. We hope the saints will be encouraged and supplied by these short and practical fellowships.
- LSM Audiobooks are available for select titles on platforms such as Audible and Amazon. Visit http://www.lsm.org/audiobooks.html.
- Life-study of the Bible with Witness Lee: This 30-minute program focuses on the enjoyment of the divine life as revealed in the Scriptures. Ministry portions are followed by a discussion, including helpful questions and answers. The entire archive is available for free at http://www.lsmradio.com. In particular, saints may be interested in Job (15 episodes) and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (10 episodes).
- Ways to Give: Information on setting up online giving through Subsplash, as well as where to mail checks, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
Prayer, Week of March 7
The Mystery Hidden in God
"But You have hidden these things in Your heart; I know that this is with You." (Job 10:13)
"And to enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things." (Eph. 3:9)
The forty-two chapters in Job leave us with a crucial question of two parts: What was the purpose of God in His creating of man, and what is the purpose of God in His dealing with His chosen people?
The great answer to this great question is the mystery hidden in God throughout the ages, the eternal economy of God.
God's purpose in dealing with those who love Him is that they may gain Him to the fullest extent, surpassing the loss of all that they have other than Him, so that He might be expressed through them for the fulfillment of His purpose in creating man. (CS Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, msg. 1, I, II, Key Statement 1)
Bibles for America
BfA has recently updated gospel tracts in Spanish, including three new titles: "You Must Be Born Anew," "Who is Jesus?" and "How Can I Know God Exists?" These new tracts will soon be available in print on http://materials.bfa.org. In addition, all the Spanish tracts are now accessible digitally on the Spanish Share the Gospel page on our site.
Please pray that the printing process would go smoothly. Pray also that these tracts would be widely shared with many people who need to hear the word of the truth of the gospel.
FTTL
The Spring semester of the Full-time Training in London begins this week on March 8. Please pray for the perfecting of the young European saints for the Lord's move in these crucial days.
Poland
A seminar was held on February 27 for Rhema Set 3 readers in Poland. Approximately 35 readers and 55 saints joined the seminar by Zoom. The small group times were sweet and enjoyable for all participants. Some readers shared their enjoyment and were very open to the fellowship. One Polish reader from Germany was so happy to have met the saints in the study group that he wanted to have more contact with saints in his area in order to be baptized. Please pray that the readers of the ministry in Poland and all over Europe will be shepherded by the saints into the church life.
Southern Africa
The annual Southern Africa Blending Conference will be online from March 12 to 14. The general subject is "The Intrinsic and Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ." Participating countries include Angola, Botswana, Egypt, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This year, there is a particular burden to care for the children in a way that is simple yet full of life, so that they would sense that they, too, are part of the conference.
Please pray that the saints—of all ages—will be cared for by the Lord's presence and enlightened through His Word. May they be unveiled to enter into and cooperate with the Lord's intrinsic move.
On March 15, the new academic year begins at the University of Pretoria with online classes. Recently, during a weeklong national internship for our students in South Africa, the burden was to know Christ and to make Him known. Topics included life, fruit-bearing and the vital groups, as well as considering various avenues (mainly online) to reach students this year.
In the coming weeks, we are looking to the Lord for Him to gain remaining fruit from among the freshmen. Please pray for the Lord to bless us with one accord and be our wisdom as we endeavor to reach these ones by all means possible.
Lord's Move to Asia
The March 2021 newsletter of the Lord's Move to Asia contains reports on Nepal, Turkey, and a recent blending conference in the Middle East. Details and photos are at:
http://lmasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/E-2021-03.pdf (English)
http://lmasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Asia-2021-03.pdf (Chinese)
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 1 of Crystallization-study of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes.
- The Spring High School Conference will be California-wide via Zoom, March 26 to 28. Deadline for registration ($15) is this Lord's Day, March 14.
- Words of Fellowship to the Church in LA: Seizing Every Favorable Opportunity is available to watch now on YouTube and in our church app, with translated versions in Chinese, Korean and Spanish. We hope the saints will be encouraged and supplied by these short and practical fellowships.
- Life-study of the Bible with Witness Lee: This 30-minute program focuses on the enjoyment of the divine life as revealed in the Scriptures. Ministry portions are followed by a discussion, including helpful questions and answers. The entire archive is available for free at http://www.lsmradio.com. In particular, saints may be interested in Job (15 episodes) and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (10 episodes).
- Ways to Give: Information on setting up online giving through Subsplash, as well as where to mail checks while our meeting halls are closed, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
Prayer, Week of February 28
Living in the Divine History for the One New Man
"…You were slain and have purchased for God by Your blood men out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." (Rev. 5:9)
"Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." (Rev. 19:7)
Now we need to ask ourselves this question: Are we living in the divine history, or are we living merely in the human history? If our living is in the world, we are living in the human history. But if we are living in the church, we are living in the divine history. In the church life God's history is our history. Now two parties—God and we—have one history, the divine history. (LS Joel, p. 36)
We praise the Lord that we are in the divine history, experiencing and enjoying the mysterious, divine things for our organic salvation and for His spreading through the preaching of the gospel of peace to the whole inhabited earth so that we may become the one new man in reality to be His overcoming bride. (The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man, msg. 6, III.B.2)
Living in the Mingled Spirit
"But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. 6:17)
We need to see that the reality of all spiritual things is in the spirit. The church itself is in the spirit, the building of the church is in the spirit, and the eternal testimony of the church is in the spirit. This is the hinge, the secret, and the key to our Christian life and our church life. (CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 1, "Living in the Spirit," ch. 2, p. 476)
Pray that the saints would learn and practice to live constantly in the mingled spirit as the secret of God's organic salvation and the key to the entire Christian life and church life! (Beseeching.org, Day 253)
Southern California Special Training on the Eldership
A new term of the special training on the eldership for elders and responsible brothers in Southern California began on February 20 with a plenary session on Zoom. Through regular corporate gatherings, group times, and personal study, the burden is to strengthen the present eldership and responsible brothers in the churches, to perfect and raise up the next generation of elders and responsible brothers, and to gradually bring more younger brothers into a functioning role in an organic way. Please pray:
- That the Lord will abundantly grace and strengthen all the participants and become their perseverance and faithfulness to continually present themselves absolutely to this training.
- That an unprecedented one accord among the churches in Southern California will be ushered in as all the participants are attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion.
- That the Lord will bless this ongoing training so that all participants will be perfected further for the Lord's testimony in Southern California and for the building up of the church, the Body of Christ.
Spring California College Conference
This past weekend our college students enjoyed messages from the California College Conference on the "Five Keys to a Godly Living Today." More than 1,100 were registered, including 775 students. From LA, we had at least 80 college students and 11 high school seniors. Nearly half of these college students did not grow up in the church life. Many of them were truly moved by the Lord's anointed speaking, including a very touching testimony and Q&R time in the last session.
The prayers of the saints ushered in the Lord's blessing during this time. Now we are seeking that the students would apply what they heard during this weekend. Please pray that the students would:
- Spend time in God's word daily to buy truth;
- Exercise their spirit and deal with their heart under the Lord's shining, letting Him into more parts of their heart;
- Be supplied and encouraged by the Lord to overcome and have a godly living in the present age.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the second largest country by area in Africa (after Algeria). With close to 90 million people, it is the fourth most populous country in Africa (after Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt) and the most populous French-speaking country in the world.
Despite political instability and many public health challenges in the country, the church life is going on well, with nearly 700 saints in 12 localities. The saints have now returned to holding the Lord's Table in all localities as they had before the pandemic. In some places, they gather daily, enjoying the Life-studies and morning revival books. They have received some ministry books from abroad, but unfortunately these were in English. Please pray for more provision of ministry materials in French.
To read more, please see the February 2021 newsletter supplement of the Lord's Move to Africa.
Lord's Move to Asia
The January 2021 newsletter of the Lord's Move to Asia contains reports on newly established churches in Sri Lanka and a recent national conference in Pakistan. Details and photos are at:
- http://lmasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/E-2021-01.pdf (English)
- http://lmasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Asia-2021-01-1.pdf (Chinese)
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 6 of The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man. Next week, we begin Crystallization-study of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.
- The Spring High School Conference will be California-wide via Zoom, March 26 to 28. Deadline for registration ($15) is March 14.
- Words of Fellowship to the Church in LA: A new video, Seizing Every Favorable Opportunity, is available to watch. Translated videos are in Chinese, Korean and Spanish. We hope the saints will be encouraged and supplied by these short and practical fellowships in the midst of these days.
- Life-study of the Bible with Witness Lee: Broadcast since 1996, this 30-minute radio program focuses on the enjoyment of the divine life as revealed in the Scriptures. Ministry portions are followed by a discussion, including helpful questions and answers. The entire archive is available for free at http://www.lsmradio.com. In particular, saints may be interested in Job (15 episodes) and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (10 episodes).
- Ways to Give: Information on setting up online giving through Subsplash, as well as where to mail checks while our meeting halls are closed, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
Prayer, Week of February 21
Learning Christ as the Reality Is in Jesus
"But you did not so learn Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him as the reality is in Jesus." (Eph. 4:20-21)
The reality in Jesus is the real situation of the life of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels, a life filled with truth, reality…. Jesus lived in a way that always corresponded to God's righteousness and holiness.
In Ephesians 4:24 Paul says that the new man is created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality. This reality no doubt is the very reality in Jesus. Our standard of living should not be according to the law or according to the standards of society; it must be according to the truth in Jesus, the reality lived out by Jesus when He was on earth. Hence, the life of Jesus should be our life today in the church. In other words, the living of the new man should be exactly the same as the living of Jesus. The way Jesus lived on earth is the way the new man should live today….
If we all live in a way that is heavenly, divine, righteous, holy, and glorious, we shall have a wonderful community life in the church. This is the corporate life of the new man. (LS Ephesians, p. 781)
Spring California College Conference
The Spring California College Conference takes place this weekend, February 26 to 28. The general subject is "Five Keys to a Godly Living Today." Meetings times will be Friday 8 pm, Saturday 5 pm and 8 pm, and Lord's Day 8 pm. More info at http://www.college-conference.com. Please pray that:
- More students would be released to attend the conference;
- The students' hearts and small group arrangements would be blessed by the Lord; and
- The Lord would infuse His speaking into the students so that they would take a stand to live a godly life in the midst of an ungodly age.
Bibles for America
BfA has recently seen an increase in the number of requests from saints who want to participate in spreading the good news of the gospel and the free Bible offer. Many have registered for an account at http://materials.bfa.org to order gospel tracts and offer cards.
Please pray for the sounding out of the word of the Lord throughout the US. Pray also that many more people who desperately need the gospel of peace and God's Word would be contacted and helped to know God and understand the Bible.
Poland
Please pray for those in Poland who have read the third set of the Rhema books. Two weeks ago we sent an invitation for a seminar on Saturday, February 27 to about 2000 of these readers from the past 4 years. Around 40 saints are involved with the practical preparation of this event and the shepherding of the readers during the group time. Lord Jesus, encourage the readers to reply to this invitation and cause them to seek for more spiritual food!
Cameroun
Cameroun is situated in the western part of Central Africa. The church life is going on in four localities, including the capital city of Yaoundé, in addition to gatherings in three other places. There are encouraging reports of the Lord's testimony spreading through the speaking of the saints and the literature distribution of the ministry. We thank the Lord for His rich supply through the ministry and we look to the Lord for guidance regarding the further distribution of the ministry to His seeking ones.
To read more, please see the February 2021 newsletter supplement of the Lord's Move to Africa.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 5 of The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man. On March 8, we begin Crystallization-study of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.
- Words of Fellowship to the Church in LA: The second video in our new series, Singing to the Lord in Our Daily Life, is available to watch. Translated videos are in Chinese, Korean and Spanish. We hope the saints will be encouraged and supplied by these fellowships in the midst of these days.
- Life-study of the Bible with Witness Lee: Broadcast in North America and Europe since 1996, this 30-minute radio program composed of excerpts from Brother Lee's spoken ministry focuses on the enjoyment of the divine life as revealed in the Scriptures. The ministry portions are followed by a discussion of the portion presented, including helpful questions and answers. The entire archive is available for free at http://www.lsmradio.com. In particular, saints may be interested Job (15 episodes) and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (10 episodes).
- Ways to Give: Information on setting up online giving through Subsplash, as well as where to mail checks while our meeting halls are closed, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
Prayer, Week of February 14
The Intrinsic Growth of the Church, the Organic Body of Christ
"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)
"Holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God." (Col. 2:19)
Christ became the intrinsic essence of the church through the release of His divine life as the one grain of wheat falling into the ground and dying there for His multiplication and through the impartation of His divine life as the firstborn Son of God in His resurrection.
The growth of the Body depends on the growth of God, the addition of God, the increase of God, within us. How much God grows within us depends on how much room we give Him to grow. When we give God room in us, He expands and increases within us; this increase is His growth in us. God's growth in us becomes our growth because He and we are one. (ICSC, msg 1, I.B, C; msg 2, I.B.3, 4, a, b)
Spring California College Conference
A California-wide college conference will be held online from February 26 to 28. High school seniors are also invited to join. The registration deadline is this Lord's Day, February 21. More details at https://www.college-conference.com. Please pray for the college students from both Northern and Southern California, including many first-timers and high school seniors, to sanctify this weekend unto the Lord.
Europe
Please continue to pray for the migration of burdened saints to the six designated European cities of Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Rome, and Zurich. More details on these cities can be found at http://lordsmove.org/reports.html.
Myanmar
Pray for the saints and the Lord's testimony to be preserved and protected during the present political turbulence.
Lord's Move to Asia
Pray that the Lord may have a way in the following countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Maldives, North Korea, Palestine, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Yemen.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: REPEAT Week 4 of The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man.
- Words of Fellowship to the Church in LA: The second video in our new series, Singing to the Lord in Our Daily Life, is available to watch. Translated videos are in Chinese, Korean and Spanish. We hope the saints will be encouraged and supplied by these fellowships in the midst of these days.
- Living to Him has a new podcast series particularly helpful to working saints, available on all major podcasting services at http://anchor.fm/livingtohim.
- Ways to Give: Information on setting up online giving through Subsplash, as well as where to mail checks while our meeting halls are closed, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
Prayer, Week of February 7
Being Renewed to Become as New as the New Jerusalem
"Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day." (2 Cor. 4:16)
"We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life." (Rom. 6:4)
We need to be those who are being renewed day by day with the fresh supply of the resurrection life to replace our culture and to become the one new man in reality by becoming as new as the New Jerusalem. In order to be renewed day by day, we need to be revived every morning. We are renewed day by day through four items: the cross; the Holy Spirit by which we are reconditioned, remade, and remodeled with the divine life; our mingled spirit; and the holy word of God. (The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man, msg. 4, IV, E-F)
Pray that all of the saints would open to the Lord so that He can renew them to be as new as He is, and become the New Jerusalem.
Freshly Attracted for a Fresh Pursuit
"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine. Your anointing oils have a pleasant fragrance; your name is like ointment poured forth; therefore the virgins love you. Draw me; we will run after you." (S.S. 1:2-4a)
"Your eyes will see the King in His beauty." (Isa. 33:17a)
Pray that the saints would be freshly attracted by Christ's love, charmed by His name, and captivated by His person in order to have a fresh pursuit of Him. (Beseeching.org, Day 213)
International Chinese-speaking Conference
The 2021 ICSC will be held online this weekend, February 13 to 14. The general subject is "The Intrinsic and Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ." All saints are encouraged to join all five sessions. No registration needed. In LA, we will have separate Zoom arrangements for English, Chinese, Korean and Spanish. Details about the way to join will be provided in hall announcements.
The meeting schedule for English-speaking saints is Saturday 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 7:30 pm; and Lord's Day 11:00 am, 4:00 pm.
Please pray for the blending of all the saints and the building up of the Body through the Lord's up-to-date speaking to His recovery!
Bibles for America
As mentioned during the webinar on January 31, the BfA Blog is a wonderful resource for shepherding people. Over the past year we have seen a tremendous increase in traffic to the BfA Blog over the past year—specifically, a 147% increase in pageviews year over year (1.9 million pageviews in 2019 to 4.7 million in 2020).
Please pray that the saints would use the blog posts as a resource to shepherd others and help them progress in their Christian experience. Pray also that this would be a useful tool to introduce people to the ministry of the age.
European Winter School of Truth Continuation
Every year there is a Winter School of Truth during the last week of December for young people in Europe. This year there is a continuation which began last Saturday and goes through April 3. The subject is "The Bible, the Word of God." Each Saturday has a large online meeting followed by local online groups. March 6 is a gospel meeting for all of Europe. More information is at https://truthschool.eu/new-schedule-for-2021. Ask the Lord to gain many in this young generation for His move in Europe!
Lord's Move to Africa
The February 2021 online newsletter continues to present the Lord's move in West Africa (Togo and Benin) and introduces the Lord's move in North Africa (Egypt). The church in Cairo, Egypt is currently the only lampstand in the predominantly Arabic-speaking region with about 30 saints enjoying the church life. We need to pray for the spread of the Lord's testimony in the seven countries of North Africa!
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 4 of The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man. Next week, starting February 15, we will REPEAT Week 4.
- Words of Fellowship to the Church in LA: The first video in our new series, Rekindling Our Love for the Lord, is now also available in Chinese (subtitles only), Korean and Spanish. We hope the saints will be encouraged and supplied by these words of fellowship in the midst of these days.
- Spring California College Conference: Registration is now open for the second all-California online college conference, February 26 to 28. More details at college-conference.com.
- Living to Him has a new podcast series particularly helpful to working saints, available on all major podcasting services at http://anchor.fm/livingtohim.
- Ways to Give: Information on setting up online giving through Subsplash, as well as where to mail checks while our meeting halls are closed, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
Prayer, Week of January 31
Having a Vision of the All-inclusive, Extensive Christ
"And He is before all things, and all things cohere in Him; and He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things." (Col. 1:17-18)
"But Christ is all and in all." (Col. 3:11b)
The book of Colossians reveals that the all-inclusive, extensive Christ is everything in God's economy. We need a clear vision of this wonderful Christ being everything to us. Such a vision will terminate the influence of culture on the experience of Christ and on the church life, and instead of being cultured people, we will be people occupied with, possessed by, and saturated with Christ.
When we have a vision of the all-inclusive, extensive Christ, experience Him as our life and the constituent of our entire being, and live Him instead of our culture, the one new man will appear among us in a practical way, and we will realize the life of the new man. (The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man, msg. 3, II.A-B, Key Statement 2)
International Chinese-speaking Conference
The 2021 ICSC will be held online from February 13 to 14. All saints (not just Chinese-speaking) are encouraged to join all five sessions. No registration needed. The meeting schedule for English-speaking saints in LA is Saturday 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 7:30 pm; Lord's Day 11:00 am, 4:00 pm. Specific details on how to participate will be forthcoming.
Please pray for the blending of all the saints and the building up of the Body through the Lord's up-to-date speaking to His recovery.
FTTA
The Spring 2021 term of the Full-time Training in Anaheim begins Wednesday, February 3. This term will again be conducted remotely. In these days, may the Lord still continue to gain the training He needs in all these dear saints who have consecrated themselves to be trained.
Bibles for America
Two weeks ago, 100,000 Bibles were delivered to the BfA distribution center in Anaheim! Staff and volunteers are continuing to work hard receiving, checking, and storing the Bibles in an efficient way. Please pray for all those organizing the warehouse even as they continue to fulfill Bible orders. Pray especially for the thousands of people who will be ordering their free copies of the NT Recovery Version in the coming months. May they be granted an open heart and a spirit of wisdom and revelation as they read God's Word.
Zürich, Switzerland
Please pray for the migration of burdened saints to Zurich, one of six designated European cities. Zurich (German-speaking) is the largest city in Switzerland. It has a wide variety of cultural activities. It was the first Swiss canton to adopt the Protestant Reformation under the direction of the theologian Ulrich Zwingli. The movement of the Anabaptists (part of the so-called Radical Reformation) originated in this city. There is a burden for a church to be established soon in Zurich, where 25 saints are currently meeting. For a short video presentation, go to https://youtu.be/huCsrOdLytw.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 3 of The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man (Thanksgiving Conference).
- Words of Fellowship to the Church in LA: Beginning this month, the leading brothers in LA would like to share some brief words of fellowship with the whole church. These will be posted every other week on our church YouTube channel and within our church app. We hope the saints will be encouraged and supplied by this new videos series in the midst of these days. The first video is called "Rekindling Our Love for the Lord".
- Spring California College Conference: Registration is now open for the second all-California online college conference, February 26 to 28. More details at http://www.college-conference.com.
- The SoCal Spanish-speaking Conference messages are available at http://audio.socalspanish.org.
- Living to Him has a new podcast series particularly helpful to working saints, available on all major podcasting services at http://anchor.fm/livingtohim.
- Ways to Give: Information on setting up online giving through Subsplash, as well as where to mail checks while our meeting halls are closed, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
Prayer, Week of January 24
Living Christ Habitually
"But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. 6:17)
"For to me, to live is Christ." (Phil. 1:21a)
The main point of our Christian life is to live Christ. To live Christ should be our primary goal; all the troubles in our Christian life come because of our not living Christ. We need to practice to live Christ, realizing that He is the life-giving Spirit in our spirit, until we live Christ habitually….
In order to live Christ, we must practice being one spirit with Him, and in order to practice being one spirit with Him, we must exercise our spirit to pray unceasingly. If we pray unceasingly from our spirit, "Lord, live in me; Lord, live through me," we will build up a habit of not living our self but Christ; then we will live Christ habitually. The habit of living Christ is the habit of prayer. Apart from unceasingly praying, we cannot live Christ. It is only by such continual prayer, such breathing prayer, that we can live Christ spontaneously. In order to have such a prayer life, we must watch and pray, praying at every time in spirit, watching unto prayer in all petition, and persevering in prayer. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3485-3486)
LA Campuses
This semester we will be continuing our monthly, online Southern California College meetings on the last Thursday of each month. Our series title is "Vanity, Eternity, and Reality" and our first meeting will be this Thursday, January 28 at 8pm. Pray that the Lord would grant us a strong beginning and would:
- Aggressively gather the students to join and even pray for this time;
- Spiritually refresh, mutually encourage, and blend the students through their testimonies to one another; and
- Minister the word that would strengthen them in their pursuit of Christ.
Baltic-Nordic Blending Conference
This weekend, from January 29 to 31, the Baltic-Nordic Blending Conference will take place online, hosted by the churches in the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). The Nordic countries include Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland. As in previous years, the plan is to digest five selected messages from the December Semiannual Training. Speaking will be in English and Russian.
Pray for the Lord's rich blessing and for the blending of the participating saints for the building up of the Body of Christ. May the Lord continue to move in these regions and advance in a prevailing way.
Rome, Italy
Please pray for the migration of burdened saints to Rome, one of six designated European cities. Concerning this city, Brother Lee once said, "If there could be a church in Rome with a hundred fifty people who are shining, filled with Christ, and immersed in Christ, the Lord would be able to boast to Satan" (The Kernel of the Bible, p. 192). Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire, where the apostle Paul was martyred and where the enclave of Vatican City is located, the destruction of which is prophesied in the book of Revelation (Rev. 17:16-18). The church in Rome currently has 25 saints. Italian is the last of the major Western European languages that does not yet have the NT Recovery Version. Pray that the Lord will make the necessary arrangements for its translation in the near future.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 2 of The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man (Thanksgiving Conference).
- Bibles for America will host a Zoom webinar on January 31 at 2:00 pm entitled "Using the Bibles for America Blog as a Resource to Shepherd People." To attend or get the recording afterward, please register here. There will be a Q&A session, so joining live is encouraged.
- The International Chinese-speaking Conference (ICSC) will be held online on February 13 to 14. More details will be provided soon.
- LSM Audiobooks are now available in English for a handful of titles on platforms such as Amazon and Audible. Visit http://www.lsm.org/audiobooks.html.
- Living to Him has a new podcast series particularly helpful to working saints, available on all major podcasting services at http://anchor.fm/livingtohim.
- Ways to Give: Information on setting up online giving through Subsplash, as well as where to mail checks while our meeting halls are closed, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
Prayer, Week of January 17
Delivered Out of Culture, Transferred into Christ's Kingdom
"Beware that no one carries you off as spoil through his philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ." (Col. 2:8)
"Giving thanks to the Father… who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." (Col. 1:12-13)
The book of Colossians was written because the church in Colossae had been pervaded with culture, and the saints had been distracted from Christ by culture. The enemy of God uses culture to replace Christ; he will try to use the good aspects of culture to replace Christ. (The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man, msg. 1, I, I.B)
In Colossians "the authority of darkness" refers especially to the good aspects of culture and of our natural being. God has delivered us out of all this and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, where we live under a heavenly rule and restriction. Because we love Him, we desire to take Him as our person and as our life. Let us allow the pure Christ to fill our being and replace every aspect of our natural human life with Himself. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 35, 427)
United States
"Let the name of God be blessed from eternity to eternity, for wisdom and might are His. And it is He who changes the times and seasons; He deposes kings and causes kings to ascend." (Dan. 2:20b-21a)
"I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men; on behalf of kings and all who are in high position, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and gravity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of our Savior God, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim. 2:1-4)
Pray for the saints to know that the heavens do rule in the midst of the present world situation and that the purpose of God's heavenly ruling is to complete God's elect so that Christ may be preeminent. Pray that a peaceful situation would be kept in the United States and throughout the globe for the word of the Lord's recovery to go out. (http://www.Beseeching.org, Days 128, 117)
Our Young People
This past weekend, young people, serving ones, and parents gathered on Zoom to hear the Lord's speaking in the SoCal YP Blending Conference. The topic was "Faith, Love, and Hope" from 1 Thes. 1:3. From LA, 75 junior high and high school brothers and sisters participated, in addition to parents, college students, and serving ones, and we believe each received precious seeds from the speaking and were refreshed by seeing one another.
Praise the Lord for His rich and timely word! Please pray that the faith of our YP in LA would grow, that they would be rooted and grounded in love, and that their hope would be in the Lord's coming.
Recorded sessions may be viewed at http://www.scyp.com/ypblendingconference.
Bibles for America
In 2020, BfA gave away a record 135,000 copies of the NT Recovery Version to people all over the United States, a 20% increase from 2019's total. They are looking to the Lord to give away even more Bibles in 2021. In addition, BfA is continuing their efforts to spread God's Word through digital channels, and is seeing record traffic to the BfA Blog from all over the world. To read more about BfA's milestones in 2020, please visit the 2020 Year in Review.
Our hearts are full of thanks to the Lord for all He has done. Please pray that He will continue to bless BfA's labor in this new year, and use the difficult outward environment to turn many more people to Him.
Lisbon, Portugal
Please pray for the migration of burdened saints to Lisbon, one of six designated European cities. Lisbon (Portuguese-speaking) is the capital of Portugal, the westernmost country in Europe. It stands out in history for being the port through which the Portuguese expeditions of the Age of Discoveries departed. Today it is one of the great European cultural centers. There is a burden that a church will be established there shortly. There are currently 14 saints meeting in Lisbon.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 1 of The All-inclusive, Extensive Christ Replacing Culture for the One New Man (Thanksgiving Conference).
- The International Chinese-speaking Conference (ICSC) will be held online on February 13 to 14. More details will be provided at a later time.
- LSM Audiobooks are now available in English for a handful of titles on platforms such as Amazon and Audible. Visit http://www.lsm.org/audiobooks.html.
- Andrew Yu Memorial Meeting: The 70-minute online memorial meeting hosted by the church in Anaheim on January 8 is still available to be viewed at http://www.memorial-meeting.org.
- Living to Him has a new podcast series with excerpts from Brother Andrew's speaking, particularly to working saints, available on all major podcasting services at http://anchor.fm/livingtohim.
- Ways to Give: Information on setting up online giving through Subsplash, as well as where to mail checks while our meeting halls are closed, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.