Living the Church Life under the Government of God
“Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.” (Heb. 12:2a)
“And my God will fill your every need according to His riches, in glory, in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19)
“But without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him, for he who comes forward to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6)
God takes care of the needs of all those who are part of His expression. In New Testament terms, this means that Christ takes care of every member of His Body. In the church life we should love the Lord Jesus, love His Body, and take care of the needs of all the members.
Only by faith can we live the church life under the government of God. God wants His people to do whatever He requires not by self-effort but by faith. God’s economy is in faith, and faith is the unique way for God to carry out His economy. The church is “the household of faith.” The household of faith is composed of all who are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. All the believers in Christ together constitute a universal household, the great family of God—a family that believes in God. (Crystallization-study of Deuteronomy, msg. 11, III.B.1-2, F.1-3.)
Being Sober unto Prayers
“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41)
First Peter 4:7 says, “But the end of all things has drawn near; therefore, be sober-minded and be sober unto prayers.” All things on which the flesh rests will pass away, and the end of them, the apostle tells us here, has drawn near…. Therefore, we should be sober-minded and be sober unto prayers. Literally, to be sober-minded is to be of a sound mind; it is to have a mind of sobriety, able to understand things properly and thoroughly without being disturbed. Furthermore, to be sober unto prayers is to be sober to watch; hence, vigilant. This is to be on guard; hence, sober unto prayer. This equals the Lord’s word, “Watch and pray” (Matt. 26:41; Luke 21:36). (Life-Study of 1 Peter, ch. 27)
“Persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving.” (Col. 4:2)
Unceasingly Pray is encouraging a 30-day repeat. Let us continue praying at set times alone and with companions. Each day they are repeating the email from April with a burden, verses, and ministry about prayer. You can still sign up at http://unceasinglypray.org. There’s no need to moan about missing prayer in past days. The Lord is always our new beginning!
LA Gospel – Speaking and Spreading through Visitation
More than 400 people attended our May 2 gospel meeting entitled “A New Normal: Some Good News from God’s Word.” We know of at least 11 who received the Lord during the meeting and 33 who want further contact. Thank You, Lord! May we follow Paul’s example to care for these ones—”we were gentle in your midst, as a nursing mother would cherish her own children” (1 Thes. 2:7). May we also be like Ananias whom the Lord sent to visit Saul days after his salvation (Acts 9:10-12, 17).
If we preach the gospel on the Lord’s Day and a hundred people sign up and express their willingness to receive the Lord, we have to follow up with a second step. We have to arrange for saints to visit them immediately. Within a week, we have to arrange for a hundred to two hundred brothers and sisters to visit them. We must not just invite people to come to the gospel meetings; we must send brothers to make personal calls to these ones. We have to surround them and gain them at any cost. The more gospel meetings we have, the more visitation work we need. If visitation falls behind, our gospel will fail miserably. The failure of the gospel mainly lies in the lack of visitation. (CWWN, Vol. 61: Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (1), ch. 5)
May we pray for the spread of the gospel throughout LA, not only by big meetings. In these days of outward restriction, we can conveniently “visit” by phone, email, and video calls. Lord, motivate us and inspire us to speak the gospel by any means. Fill us with Your necessity for the gospel (1 Cor. 9:16). Lord, then bless LA with many new believers being nourished regularly with the milk of Your word.
Videos of the Saturday gospel meeting, as well as the following morning’s fellowship, can be enjoyed and shared at http://youtube.com/churchinlosangeles.
FTTA Information Session
There will be an FTTA information session on Lord’s Day, May 10, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. This session will be held via an online webinar. The presentation will be include an encouraging up-to-date word on the burden and need for training in these unprecedented times, the expectation for the Fall 2020 term, personal testimonies from current trainees, and small group sessions for questions.
A video invitation from current trainees is posted at http://www.ftta.org/ftta-info-meeting.php. Everyone interested should register on this site to receive meeting access details.
GTCA
The co-workers in North America coordinating for the GTCA move are closely monitoring the situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and will provide ongoing updates related to GTCA. If you haven not already done so, please sign up to receive email updates at http://gtca.us/burden.
We want to assure the saints that despite the current volatile situation, the burden for GTCA has not diminished. Let us not be deterred but be comforted and strengthened in the Lord, and continue to intercede for His move in this country. We believe the sovereign God will use this situation to further His purpose in America and throughout the whole earth.
Berlin, Germany
Please pray for the mailing of a new gospel tract to 854,000 households in Berlin. Both the printing and the mailing have had delays. Please pray for delivery to the households in a timely way during this critical time when people may be most open because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Announcements
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Morning Revival: Crystallization-study of Deuteronomy, week 11.
May 25 we will begin The Will of God (March 2020 ITERO). -
Giving to the church at this time, see https://churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
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We will not have the 6th Grade Conference at Oak Glen this year. It is our hope later in the summer to have a one day conference for the 6th graders.
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The European Young People’s Conference will be online, Saturdays, May 16 (10:30 am to 12:30 pm in LA) and June 20, Friday July 31 to Monday, August 3, and Saturday, August 29. Registration is open only May 4 to 11. The related European Parents Conference will be June 5 to 7 and the Family Conference will be June 26 to 28. All details are at http://ypconference.eu.
Online Resources
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The Church in Los Angeles has a new YouTube channel to show videos from recent gatherings, such as our gospel meeting from May 2. http://youtube.com/churchinlosangeles
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The Bible Tells Me So is posting daily videos from Monday to Friday. The purpose is to foster a “Family Time” in each household. http://www.thebibletellsmeso.com/familytime
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LSM Webcast is offering access to all video content at a reduced subscription rate until June 30. http://www.lsmwebcast.com
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LSM Christian Radio broadcasts hymns and messages of the ministry 24 hours each day. http://lsmchristianradio.com
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Bibles for America has a new webpage with easy-to-use resources for telling people about God’s salvation. http://gospel.biblesforamerica.org
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GTCA has a redesigned website to present ongoing burdens and updates about the ten target cities for migration this year. Participate by praying, giving or going! http://gtca.us
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Living to Him provides a forum for dialogue, study and prayerful exploration with a goal of helping young working saints to practically enter into a vital living for the building up of the Body of Christ. http://livingtohim.com.