Prayer and the Lord’s Move
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.” (Rev. 2:7)
Eating the tree of life, that is, enjoying Christ as our life supply, should be the primary matter in the church life. The content of the church life depends on the enjoyment of Christ. The more we enjoy Him, the richer the content will be. But to enjoy Christ requires us to love Him with the first love. If we leave our first love toward the Lord, we will miss the enjoyment of Christ and lose the testimony of Jesus; consequently, the lampstand will be removed from us. These three things — loving the Lord, enjoying the Lord, and being the testimony of the Lord — go together. (Rev. 2:7, note 6)
Pray for the vitalization of the saints and the churches in the Lord’s recovery through the exercise and practice of all the aspects of the God-ordained way to become the living testimony of Jesus in all the localities for an anti-testimony to the degradation around us. (Suggested Directions for Prayer, 6)
More resources for prayer are at http://beseeching.org and http://livingtohim.com.
Winter Training
The training in Anaheim is this week. Some video trainings are simultaneous, some delayed. Ask the Lord to release a rich and operative word and to cause all the trainees to absorb and digest the word.
College “Fan the Flame”
Next Lord’s Day, December 30, 6 to 9 pm will be a “Fan the Flame” time for dinner, fellowship, and prayer for Southern California college students. The Lord desires to end this age and return, and for this He needs many young “Daniels,” who cooperate with Him through prayer.
Australia
Dick Taylor, James Lee, and Craig Birchler (from Irvine) will be in Australia for their four day national conference starting Saturday evening. The subject is Prayer and the Lord’s Move for His Unique Work. About 550 are expected to attend. There will be a simultaneous summer school of the truth for young people with Ricky Acosta (from NY). Prior to the conference Dick and Craig will have time with the leading brothers there. Dick will remain in Australia for three weeks after the conference.
Pray that through the Lord’s speaking His name be sanctified more, His kingdom come more, and His will be done more so that the Triune God will be as prevailing in Australia as in the heavens.
India
A two-page report with a photo from South India is at https://churchinlosangeles.org/prayer. They request prayer 1) for their migration to a new city; 2) for a continued revival among all the churches there through entering into vital living practices, prayer, pursuing the truth, and preaching the gospel; and 3) for more consecration to follow the Lord for His spread.
Turkey
We signed a preliminary agreement for purchase of the building. The owner applied for an occupancy permit. The process takes two weeks to a month (but sometimes a few months). We will complete the purchase when the permit is issued, with a target date of January 18. The total cost including remodeling is around US$300,000. We received US$136,513 offering for this Blending Center from the saints. Please pray for this need and for the Lord’s move in Turkey and the surrounding nations.
Announcement
- Morning revival: Taking the Lead as Elders and Responsible Ones (spring 2012 ITERO):
December 24 to 30: winter training verses or repeat week 5 (prophesying will include both)
December 31 to January 6: winter training verses or repeat week 1 (prophesying will include both)
January 7 to 13: week 4