Christ is the Constituents of God’s Armor for the Church
“Receive…by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints, and for me, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known in boldness the mystery of the gospel.” (Eph. 6:17-19)
Ephesians 6:10-20 reveals that Christ is the constituents of God’s armor for the church, the one new man, as the corporate warrior of God. Prayer is the unique way to apply Christ as the armor of God; it is prayer that makes the armor available to us in a practical way. We need to persevere in prayer because prayer involves a battle, a fight; two parties, God and Satan, are hostile to each other; the third party consists of God’s chosen and redeemed people. Before we try to persevere in prayer, we should first make a vow to the Lord concerning our prayer life; we need to say to Him, “Lord, I am desperate about this; I offer myself to You so that I may have a prayer life; Lord, keep me in the spirit of prayer; if I forget this or neglect this, I know that You will not forget it; remind me again and again about prayer.” (The Spiritual Warfare of the Church as the New Man, msg. 2, II, II.H.2,3,5)
Summer School of Truth in Los Angeles
Our SSoT starts this Friday, July 20, and continues until July 28. The topic this year is The Church. We hope through this special week the young people will find a home in the church, and will declare along with the psalmist, “One thing I have desired of the Lord…that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (27:4) Please pray for:
- the hearts of the young people to be softened and prepared by the Lord this week;
-
a warm, helpful, and loving start this weekend;
-
the speaking to be relevant, transparent, and full of life;
-
the Lord to supply and be the wisdom and heart of the serving ones; and
-
the young people to meet the Lord and see their crucial place in the church.
A New Heart and a New Spirit
“I will also give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you…” (Ezek. 36:26). The Southwest Summer College Training, A New Heart and a New Spirit, was last week. Attendance was slightly over 300, including 220 students. Four other regional college trainings are this week with the same subject.
In the training the Lord spoke very clearly about our heart, asking everyone to 1) deal with the conscience, the leading part of both heart and spirit, 2) deal with all loves other than the Lord, 3) not try to improve but solely to love the Lord, and 4) to practice maintaining a pure heart for the Lord day by day.
Everyone was wide open and many had sweet personal experiences. Pray now for the development of a daily habit in each one, practicing two or three specific items presented during the training.
Nordic Conference
The annual Nordic Conference will take place July 20 to 23 in Stockholm. This conference is a yearly highlight for the saints in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. About 150 saints will gather for a weekend of fellowship with one of the co-workers to blend as the Body and enjoy the rich supply from the ministry of the age.
Please pray that there will be a breakthrough for the Lord’s recovery in this region, which is heavily influenced by atheism and secularism. Although these five countries have a combined population of 25 million, there are only around 100 local saints meeting as 6 churches. Nevertheless, they stand with God and His interests on the earth today. Come, Lord Jesus!
Turkey
A group of saints from Hong Kong will visit Turkey July 20 to 30. Please pray for this journey and the blending time with the saints.
Bibles for Europe
The BfE website (http://www.biblesforeurope.org) was launched last year in English. It is now in English, French, German, Polish, and Spanish. Currently over 4000 Bible orders are received each month from throughout Europe; we expect this to increase to 5000 by the end of the year.
When a person requests a Bible, they have the option to also request five emails to help them understand and enjoy the Bible. About 50% request these emails. Please pray for an increase in our shepherding of those who want further contact after receiving these five emails.
Announcements
-
Morning revival: week 2 of The Spiritual Warfare of the Church as the New Man (Memorial Day).
-
SoCal Blending Conference: outlines, audios, and videos are at http://socalblending.org.
-
Audio of the May 6 joint meeting of the church in LA is available at http://tinyurl.com/greatgrace.
-
Information on Germany and Europe, see the right side of https://churchinlosangeles.org/prayer.