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Laboring in Oneness according to God’s Operation

“Then Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the three hundred men with him, weary yet pursuing.” (Judg. 8:4)

“For which also I labor, struggling according to His operation which operates in me in power.” (Col. 1:29)

Gideon and his men moved and acted together in one accord as one man, signifying the oneness of the Spirit and the living in the Body. They were blended together in resurrection, signified by the barley, the first-ripe grain, to be one bread, signifying the church. Gideon and his three hundred men fought the battle and labored, yet the whole congregation chased the enemy and reaped the harvest, signifying that when we overcome, the whole Body is revived until Jehovah as peace, Jehovah-shalom, reigns on earth.

As Gideon and his men were pursuing the kings of Midian, they were “weary yet pursuing.” Because we have received God’s mercy to minister and live in the reality of God’s eternal economy, we do not lose heart. We may labor to the point of exhaustion, but our labor is according to God’s operation, which operates in us in power. (Crystallization-Study of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, msg. 8, II.D.1, E-F)

Our Meeting Together to Thank God and Take Courage

“…We came to Puteoli, where, having found brothers, we were urged to remain with them seven days. And thus we came to Rome. And from there the brothers, having heard about the things concerning us, came as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.” (Acts 28:13-15)

These verses show the beautiful Body life in the early days among the churches and the apostles. This life was a part of the heavenly kingdom life on the Satan-darkened and man-inhabited earth. While he was suffering the persecution of religion in the empire of Satan, Paul was enjoying the church life in the kingdom of God, which was a comfort and an encouragement to him.

When Paul saw the brothers, he thanked God and took courage. This indicates that the apostle was quite human. Although he was encouraged by the Lord directly (23:11) and he was very courageous all the way in his voyage (27:22-25, 33-36), he still took courage at the brothers’ warm welcome. (Life-Study of Acts, ch. 71)

Every gathering with the saints is a source of thanksgiving and mutual encouragement. As we continue our current transition toward in-person meetings of the church in Los Angeles, let us look to the Lord for doing so safely without fear or anxiety. Pray for one another and for more saints to be shepherded back to the enjoyment of in-person meetings and “face-to-face” fellowship (2 John 12).

College Conference Follow-up

Thank you, dear saints, for all of your prayers for this past weekend’s college conference! About 190 people attended the in-person conference at Oak Glen, including 42 students from LA. At least 15 more students in LA watched remotely. Of these 57 students, 24 did not grow up in the church life.

Overall, we can definitely say the Lord answered many of our prayers! Although a large percentage of the students at Oak Glen were attending an in-person college conference for the first time, their spirits were gradually fanned into flame and the atmosphere was full of warmth and openness to the Lord’s word. By Lord’s Day morning, a large number of students were aggressively coming forward to share at the microphone how the Lord touched them from the weekend, including some who are brand new.

The Lord richly anointed the word from the Book of Ruth in all of the meetings and fellowship. Now we need to continue to pray that the students would:

  1. Exercise their right to enjoy the Lord this week and to freshly love Him by spending private time with Him and in His word;

  2. Become Naomis and Boazes to help others know the Lord and enjoy their inheritance in the Lord; and

  3. Choose to take the way of life in their Christian life and church life.

LA Gospel Meeting in Chinese

“I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b)

The Chinese-speaking saints will be holding a gospel meeting this Saturday, November 13. It will be conducted in a hybrid form, with an in-person love feast starting at 6:00 pm at Hall 3 and the online meeting at 7:00 pm. We may also be joined by some nearby churches, including Cerritos, Thousand Oaks, and Santa Barbara. All are welcome! The Zoom meeting ID is 923 0505 4050.

Please pray for all the preparation, invitation, and participation. Pray for the Spirit’s speaking and for more souls to be saved!

SCYP Children’s Work Conference

The Children’s Work Conference this Saturday, November 13 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm is for parents with children under 12 years of age and for the saints who are serving with the children’s service. During the three sessions, matters related to the burden and vision for the children will be covered along with fellowship related to some practices for the families in the home and for the church in raising up the next generation for the church life. Translation into Chinese, Spanish and Korean will be provided. Please fellowship with the children’s serving ones in your hall if you have any questions.

Semiannual Video Training Registration

The church in Los Angeles will participate in the 2021 December Semiannual Training by video training. It will be a Crystallization-study of 1 & 2 Samuel. The schedule will be December 20 to 25 for English, Chinese, and Korean, and December 20 to 29 for Spanish. The cost is $125. Registration must be completed no later than Tuesday, November 30. Details are at http://tinyurl.com/wintertrainingla.

Ethiopia

The war that began a year ago in the northern part of Ethiopia is now spreading southward, closer to Addis Ababa and the country’s main trade corridor.

The truth of the Lord’s recovery is spreading all over the country and saints are enjoying the ministry in an unprecedented way. There is a great potential for spreading the truth and raising up many churches not only in Oromia, the regional state where Addis Ababa is located, and other southern regions, but also in nearby countries. For instance, the Ethiopian government has been granting scholarships to students from other East African nations, and we now have contact with students from South Sudan and Somalia.

Please pray that our Lord would keep Ethiopia open for the Lord’s move and that the situation in the country would may remain favorable for the propagation of the ministry and the raising up of churches.

Announcements

  1. Morning Revival: Week 8 of Crystallization-study of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, vol. 2.

  2. Thanksgiving Conference for the saints in LA will be held as a webcast from November 26 to 28.

  3. Living Stream Ministry is offering a free e-booklet, The Gospel of God. Formats include PDF, Kindle, Audiobook, and more! Visit http://www.lsm.org/gospel-god.

  4. Bibles for America‘s latest blog post is entitled “8 Verses that Show Jesus Christ Lives in You.” Read and share it at http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/8-verses-showing-jesus-lives.

  5. Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: Live broadcast this Wednesday beginning at 7:25 pm at http://lsm.org/live in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. Outlines will be posted on the same site.

  6. Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform and where to mail checks are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.