The Consecration of the Priests
“…And you shall anoint them and consecrate them and sanctify them, that they may serve Me as priests.” (Exo. 28:41)
Our consecration for the priesthood must be with the all-inclusive Christ as all the five offerings (the burnt offering, the meal offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, and the peace offering) “filling our hands” for our enjoyment.
God’s ordaining us to be priests is a matter of sanctification, a matter of being made holy, that is, a matter of being separated unto God and saturated with God, the Holy One.
The anointing brings the Triune God compounded with Christ’s humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension to the priests and to the church life. This indicates strongly that the anointing of the priesthood is to make God one with us, for the anointing signifies that whatever God is, is doing, and will do are ours. (Crystallization-Study of Leviticus, msg. 13, II.C, H.1-2)
Ready to Distribute, Willing to Share
“Charge those who are rich in the present age not to be high-minded, nor to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches but on God, who affords us all things richly for our enjoyment; to do good, to be rich in good works, to be ready to distribute, to be ones willing to share.” (1 Tim. 6:17-18)
The tithing of ten percent to the Lord is altogether an Old Testament thing, belonging to the law. There was no grace, life, or life power in that. We must be different. We are in the age of grace, which provides us with much supply of life.
It is a low practice to give merely ten percent. God is not a beggar; do not treat Him as one. You should honor Him as the very bountiful Giver who affords you all the riches (1 Tim. 6:17). All your riches come from Him. You must simply labor day and night. He then will follow your labor to bless you, not for your enterprise but for the spreading of His kingdom. (Elders’ Training, Book 8, ch. 9)
Whether we are rich or poor, our hope should never be on material riches. Rather, trusting God, we should be ready to distribute and willing to share what we have for the Lord’s move in LA.
Los Angeles Campuses
“And He said to them, Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt. 4:19)
UCLA begins classes this Thursday, so this is an important “fishing week” on campus. We will be handing out flyers on Tuesday and starting our weekly Bible studies on Wednesday. Last Lord’s Day, we had 25 new ones come to our special on-campus meeting, so the Lord is definitely blessing! We hope many saints can desperately intercede with us this week:
- To solidly and quickly reconnect with the 15 to 20 solid contacts from the summer;
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For the continued one accord of the full-timers, students, and community saints to shepherd new students; and
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For a warm connection with many freshmen through appointments, Bible studies, and Lord’s Day morning meetings.
Santa Barbara Campuses
This fall about 12 new students, freshmen and transfers have come to Santa Barbara from other churches. Most will attend UCSB, with classes starting this Thursday. Their number is larger than the number of working saints in SB. Please pray for a bountiful supply to the local saints to care for these students, and for the students to be open to this care and willing to participate in the church life.
High School Juniors & Seniors Special Fellowship
This weekend, September 29 to 30, is a time of fellowship for Southern California high school juniors and seniors at Oak Glen. The burden of this retreat is to equip these ones with some practical and spiritual skills as they enter their college years. Please pray that the fellowship would hit the mark of what this class of juniors and seniors need to hear, and for our care for them to advance in all the local churches.
Europe
Germany
There will be a young adults’ conference September 28 to 30. We come together that the Lord may train us to follow the pattern in Acts—grouping together to enjoy the Lord and consequently to grow in the Lord’s life and have the Word of God grow mightily and prevail.
London
There will be weekend retreats September 29 to 30 and October 6 to 7. This is a time for seekers in the UK and other nations to enter into the practice of pursuing the Lord personally and corporately while spending time in the Word of God and getting connected to other believers from their area.
Slovakia and Nearby Nations
An International Blending Conference (especially for saints from Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia) will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia from September 29 to 30.
Lyon, France
We are very excited to announce the meeting hall project finished September 1. When the tabernacle was raised up, it was filled with glory; we experienced the same glory. Groups of saints from Marseille, California, and New Caledonia came to visit the same weekend without knowing that we would start to use the hall that day. A three-minute video: https://youtu.be/viHxNRemp2A.
Málaga, Spain
This year’s Iberian Peninsula Conference will be held in Málaga from December 14 to 16. All saints are invited. Register by October 1 at http://www.amanatrust.org.uk/calendar/iberian-peninsula.
Announcements
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Morning revival: week 13 of Crystallization-Study of Leviticus, Vol. 3 (Summer Training).
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Joint LA Meeting: The whole church in LA will meet together on Lord’s Day, October 14, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm at LA Trade Tech College.
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The Winter Training will be December 24 to 29 in Anaheim and by local webcasts in LA. Registration will open in October.
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The Thanksgiving Conference will be in Charlotte, North Carolina from November 22 to 25. Saints from LA who plan to attend are asked to RSVP by October 31. Childcare registration required. Information is at https://churchinlosangeles.org/prayer.