Inheriting the All-inclusive Christ as the Good Land
“The whole commandment which I am commanding you today, you shall keep and do, so that you may live and multiply, and enter and possess the land which Jehovah swore to your fathers.” (Deut. 8:1)
“All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Tim. 3:16)
The goal of God’s calling of the children of Israel was that they would enter into the promised land to enjoy its riches so that they might establish God’s kingdom and be God’s expression on earth. In order to fully possess Christ as the good land, we must maintain our freshness and newness with the Lord by receiving His new speaking to us day by day. We must beware of languishing in the land (Deut. 4:25); the word languish implies “the loss of spiritual freshness, and the blunting of original impressions, produced by force of custom, or long residence in the same spot” (S. R. Driver).
If we love God, humble ourselves, and come to the Lord as the living word in His written word by pray-reading His Word, He becomes the applied word of the Spirit to us; His instant words are spirit and life to us for our supply and nourishment, we are infused with God’s substance through His words, and we become one with God in life and nature but not in the Godhead for His glory, His expression. (Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified by the Good Land…, msg. 2, I, III.B.3-4)
May we all learn to love God, humble ourselves, and come to Lord as the living word so that we might become one with God to establish God’s kingdom and to be God’s expression on earth.
ITERO
The Spring 2024 International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones was held in Anaheim this past weekend, April 12 to 14. The general subject was “Being a Vessel unto Honor, a Fully Equipped Man of God, by Being Empowered in the Grace Which Is in Christ Jesus to Fully Accomplish Our Ministry in the Unique Ministry of God’s Economy.”
Please pray that the Lord’s up-to-date speaking would operate in brothers through their reviewing and praying over the messages, that they would “be empowered in the grace which is in Christ Jesus” to be “faithful men, who will be competent to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:1-2).
USC Celebration Meeting
This Friday, April 19, we are having a special, end-of-year celebration meeting for college students at USC and in the downtown area. Please pray for:
- The Lord to gather our students together, especially ones who were new with us this past year.
- The students to fan their spirits into flame during the singing.
- The rich overflow of Christ through testimonies from all the students that would bring glory to the Lord for all that He has done this past year.
European Brothers Training and Blending Conference
The Spring 2024 European Brothers’ Training will take place in London at Woodland Camp from April 17 to 19. The brothers will review the messages from last week’s ITERO in Anaheim. Please pray that the Lord will strengthen His testimony in Europe through this training.
Following the brothers’ training, the Spring 2024 International Blending Conference will take place in London from April 20 to 21. Please pray for many saints to be able to attend and for the Lord to speak a timely word for the building up of His Body.
Israel
Pray for the situation in Israel and the Middle East, that through the prayers of the saints the evil rulers and authorities in the air, and the human agents used by them, will be bound, and God’s interests will be furthered and His chosen ones preserved.
Pray that God will use the situation to cause the gospel of the kingdom to be proclaimed, and that many people, regardless of ethnicity, religion or background, will be unveiled to see Christ as the Savior and the only way to God.
Taiwan
A major earthquake occurred in Hualien, Taiwan, on April 3. The meeting hall and some of the saints’ homes were damaged. About 10 saints were injured and were discharged after being admitted to hospital. About forty saints were placed in temporary residences.
Please pray for the comfort, care, and safety of the saints in Hualien. Pray for saints to be guarded by the peace of God (Phil. 4:7) and emboldened to speak the gospel (Eph. 6:19-20), and for the people of Taiwan to be open to receive the gospel and be transferred into God’s unshakeable kingdom.
Saints in LA who are burdened to contribute toward the needs of the church and the saints in Hualien may do so through the Church in Los Angeles designated for “Hualien Earthquake Relief.”
Laos
In 2021, a family and two sisters received the burden to migrate from the capital Vientiane to Luang Prabang, the fourth-largest city in the country, for the spread of the Lord’s testimony. Despite the ongoing pandemic and a difficult environment, the saints faithfully labored in one accord until they experienced a breakthrough and gained one family in a solid way and some gospel friends on the campus. In April 2022, the church in Luang Prabang had its first bread-breaking meeting.
This month, 6 FTTT trainees are visiting Laos for gospel trips. Please pray for the propagation in Vientiane and Luang Prabang in coordination with the trainees. May the Lord bless the churches in Laos to bear much remaining fruit for the Father’s glory!
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 2 of Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified by the Good Land…
- SAVE THE DATE: Lord’s Day, April 28 we will have our spring LA Joint Meeting—all halls, all languages—beginning 10:00 am at the LA Convention Center.
- Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: The ministry meeting resumes this week starting at 7:25 pm.
- Sixth Grade Conference: May 3 to 5 at Oak Glen. Registration is due April 21.
- Semiannual Training: July 1 to 6 in Anaheim. For LA saints, registration is now open until April 30 (live) and June 16 (video) at tinyurl.com/summertrainingla. Past issues of LSM’s digital newsletters contain helpful fellowship on the burden for semiannual trainings, the need for training and regulations, and the purpose of training donations.
- Memorial Day Conference: May 24 to 27 in Bellevue, WA. For LA saints attending in person, please RSVP by April 30 at tinyurl.com/memdayla. More information is linked at that site.
- Bibles for America has created a new video, What’s the Difference between the Soul and the Spirit?, to explain how the soul and spirit are indeed different and why knowing the difference is crucial in our Christian life. This video is available to watch and share at bfa.org/videos.
- Free e-Booklets: Living Stream Ministry offers free e-booklets to read and share. The latest release is “The Expression of a Life Which Lives Christ” at www.lsm.org/life-study-philippians.
- LSM Newsletter: The March 2024 issue features more encouraging FTTA Gospel Trip Testimonies and a report on the 55th Cairo International Book Fair. Go to lsm.org/daily.
- Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.