Prayer with an Excellent Spirit
“…I, Daniel, understood by means of the Scriptures the number of the years, which came as the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah the prophet, for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, that is, seventy years. So I set my face toward the Lord God to seek Him in prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.” (Dan. 9:2-3)
“Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.” (Matt. 6:10)
God reveals His heart’s desire through the Scriptures. To participate in His desire we come to the Scriptures, read them, understand with a spirit of wisdom and revelation, and join ourselves to the Scriptures with prayer. Daniel took God’s desire for the 70-year captivity (Dan. 9) as his own desire and echoed God’s desire by praying with the words of the Scriptures.
Daniel was a man with an excellent spirit. He prayed with much calling on the Lord, simple words, and for God’s interests rather than for his own (v. 19). Daniel prayed only for the nation of Israel; today, we pray for every nation on earth. Besides his spirit, a key to Daniel’s prayer was having companions (2:17).
Lord, raise us up in persistent prayer to be overcomers like Daniel. Keep us praying for Your interests, according to Your word, with an excellent spirit, and in close fellowship with companions.
Lord, Bless the United States for Your Purpose
Since God has a purpose to accomplish with mankind on earth, He surely has the sovereign authority to manage the situation in human history; as an example, for the spreading of His recovery and for the final stage of His recovery—the building up of the Body as the preparation of the bride—God has sovereignly prepared, preserved, and blessed the United States. (Memorial Day Conference, msg. 1, I.A)
Lord, we ask You to continue Your blessing on the United States for the sake of Your divine history! Use the current rioting to save many people and to draw believers to seek You fully. Bless all the churches and particularly the church in Minneapolis in their gospel endeavors, relieve the saints’ anxieties, and strengthen the migrating saints to rise up and come to Minneapolis for the church life and campus team (one of ten target cities for this summer, http://gtca.us).
LA Gospel – Under the Lord’s Sovereignty
“This [Jesus] God has exalted to His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 5:31)
God exalted the man Jesus…as the highest Leader, the Prince, the Ruler of the kings to rule over the world (Rev. 1: 5; 19:16), and the Savior to save God’s chosen people. Leader is related to His authority, and Savior to His salvation. He rules sovereignly over the earth with His authority that the environment might be fit for God’s chosen people to receive His salvation. (from Acts 5:31, footnote 2)
Gospel Meeting in Korean
On Friday, May 29, over 170 people attended our online Korean-speaking gospel meeting entitled “Zaccheus, Hurry and Come Down” based on Luke 19:1-6. At least 33 guests were unbelievers or believers who do not meet regularly. After some songs and testimonies, a brother spoke about the Lord’s coming to us with unconditional love when we were dissatisfied, remorseful, and lonely. Everyone was led to pray and invited to more meetings. Please pray for these 33 guests to receive the Lord and be connected with saints. Lord gain more “Zaccheuses” and lead them into the church life!
Gospel Meeting in Spanish
On Saturday, May 30, around 60 people attended our online Spanish-speaking gospel meeting entitled “Why Does Christ Need to Fill Us? An Answer from the Word of God.” The atmosphere was sweet, intimate, and loving. Through the Lord’s mercy and the saints’ prayer the Spirit was able to operate and lead some guests to repentance unto salvation. Please pray for the saints to follow up and for the new ones to be open for more fellowship and gatherings that the Lord may continue to guide them onward unto full salvation.
Sixth Grade Baptisms
This past school year, through much shepherding from parents and serving ones, 11 of our 15 sixth graders in the church in LA made a firm decision to be baptized and to enter into God’s kingdom. On May 30 a Zoom meeting was held for the church to baptize these young ones. In close coordination with the serving ones, the parents led their children to be baptized into the name of the Triune God. Over 200 saints, relatives, and friends witnessed this joyful occasion. Hallelujah! Please pray:
- that the sixth graders would quickly be connected with saints to usher them into the church life;
- for all the members of the household of God to rise up afresh and be poor in spirit to seek the Lord’s leading in caring for these dear ones;
- that the Lord would give all the parents the wisdom and grace to continue cultivating a conducive home environment for these sixth graders to grow before God and man;
- for continued shepherding of the remaining 4 students to result in their personal choice to be baptized.
Thousand Oaks Gospel Meeting in Chinese
On Saturday, May 30, 70 to 80 people, including some from Asia, attended an online gospel meeting. At least 20 new people were present and many prayed to receive the Lord.
Semiannual Video Training – Jeremiah and Lamentations
The upcoming semiannual video training will be conducted as an online training. It is not limited to the six-day format in Anaheim. In Los Angeles it will be June 29 to July 7 for English, Chinese, and Korean, and June 29 to July 10 for Spanish. Messages will be scheduled for evenings and weekends.
The firm registration deadline is Saturday, June 13. Cost is $100 per person. Details are at http://tinyurl.com/summertrainingla. Lord, get us registered by the 13th.
May the Lord bring us all to the training to be infused with His word for our enjoyment, growth, prayer, and building together. May we all exercise to maintain a high training atmosphere in Los Angeles for the receiving of the Lord’s up-to-date word. Pray for the speaking brothers that the burden of this semiannual training may be fully released.
European Parents’ Conference
This conference is June 5 to 7. (It is usually part of the Poland camp at the end of July.) We will fellowship concerning a holy marriage for God’s purpose and a godly family for the church life. We will also cover the responsibility and function of the parents in raising up their children and leading them to the knowledge of the Lord. http://ypconference.eu/epcc
Announcements
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Morning Revival: The Will of God (March 2020 ITERO), week 2.
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Guidelines for in-person church meetings (halls, districts, groups) will be posted in the coming weeks on the church website. We will proceed slowly, cautiously, in loving care for one another.
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Giving to the church, including Semiannual Training registrations, now includes an online option through Zelle, which is free for both the sender and receiver. Please be sure to indicate the purpose of the payment in the memo field. For instructions, see http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
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The European Young People’s Conference is on June 20, July 31 to August 3, and August 29. The Parents Conference is June 5 to 7 and the Family Conference is June 26 to 28. All details at http://ypconference.eu.
Online Resources
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The Church in Los Angeles has a YouTube channel to show videos from recent gatherings, such as gospel meetings and midweek perfecting fellowships. http://youtube.com/churchinlosangeles
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New: A Timely Word of Supply to meet the present need from messages given by Brother Lee is posted each week on LSM’s website. http://www.lsm.org/timely-speaking.html