Experiencing Christ as the Wheat and the Barley
“Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)
“Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes into Me, even if he should die, shall live.” (John 11:25)
Whenever you are put into a situation by the Lord’s sovereignty in which you are limited, in which you are pressed, you may experience the Lord as wheat. When in the midst of that limiting and pressing situation you contact the Lord, He is just as a grain of wheat to you. Immediately upon contacting Him, you can be completely satisfied with your situation and your limitation.
Actually, in order to experience Christ as the grain of wheat, the limited Jesus, we must apply Him as the barley, as the resurrected Christ. It is the resurrected Christ who is living in us. This resurrected Christ possesses a life that has passed through incarnation, crucifixion, and burial, but He Himself today is the resurrected One. Today we are following the limited Jesus, but we do it in the power of the unlimited Christ.
This kind of experience not only causes you to know Christ inwardly as the wheat and as the barley, but by this experience you become a grain of wheat; you become a loaf of barley. Then you are food for others. You are able to feed others by what you have experienced. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” pp. 234, 236, 237-238)
Church in Los Angeles Joint Meeting
The whole church in Los Angeles—all halls, districts, and languages—will meet together at 10:00 am this Lord’s Day, April 28 at the LA Convention Center.
Please pray for a healthy attendance and blending, and for the timely speaking of the Lord to shepherd all the saints in the church to be brought on for the sake of His testimony in Los Angeles and for the building up of the reality of the Body of Christ, the preparation of the bride of Christ, and the manifestation of the kingdom of Christ.
Semiannual Training Live Registrations
The deadline to register for the in-person July Semiannual Training, July 1 to 6, in Anaheim ($205) is next Tuesday, April 30. Late registrations will not be accepted. For saints in LA, registration and payment instructions are at tinyurl.com/summertrainingla. Please contact your district’s registration coordinator if you have any questions. Registrations for our local video trainings are due June 16.
We hope that many saints will seize the opportunity to participate in this training. As the Lord leads, may many be led of the Lord to budget their time and money so that they can attend the in-person meetings. As Paul commended Timothy, “You have closely followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, endurance” (2 Tim. 3:10). May we likewise closely follow the Lord’s up-to-date speaking so that He may build His Body and prepare His bride.
2024 Olympics Bible Distribution
There is still space available for the last two gospel trips in August and September. For this special move in the Lord’s recovery, please pray for:
- The granting of the final approval from civic authorities for the distributions in a timely manner.
- The Lord’s casting “fire” on French-speaking Europe—France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
- The logistics of all the Bibles going out to the various cities, that they would arrive on time and at the right destinations.
- The Lord to release the saints needed for all the gospel trip teams.
The April 2024 issue of LSM’s newsletter features an article on the current burden in the Lord’s move in French-speaking Europe at newsletters.lsm.org/having-this-ministry. The application for gospel trips is at www.amanatrust.org.uk/page/2024Paris. Saints in LA burdened to give for the distribution and associated expenses can do so through the Church in Los Angeles designated for “Paris Olympics.”
Israel
Please continue to 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 Lord’s leading of the brothers in Taiwan concerning the best way to meet the need in Hualien, so that the church life there will continue in an uninterrupted way, and the testimony in that city will be stronger than ever. 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 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.”
South Africa
This weekend, April 26 to 28, there will be a blending conference near Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town is one of the strategic cities in South Africa targeted for strengthening the Lord’s existing testimony. Despite living very far apart geographically, the saints endeavor to enter into the God-ordained way through a house-to-house church life. This is the first time since 2019 that this conference is taking place, and it represents a turning point for the church in Cape Town and the Western Cape area. At least 87 adults have registered, 36 of whom are from Cape Town, plus 15 young people and 19 children.
Please pray for the Lord’s speaking for His move. Pray for the release, both outwardly and inwardly, of everyone who signed up to be able to attend this conference as open vessels to receive a fresh infusion of the divine dispensing and to be more blended together for the Lord’s testimony in this outermost part of the earth!
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 3 of Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified by the Good Land…
- Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: The ministry meeting continues this week starting at 7:25 pm.
- Sixth Grade Preparation Meeting: This Saturday, April 27 there is a preparation meeting related to the Sixth Grade Conference at Oak Glen the following weekend, May 3 to 5. Please fellowship with the serving ones or go to scyp.com for more information.
- Semiannual Training: July 1 to 6 in Anaheim. For LA saints, registration is open until April 30 (live) and June 16 (video) at tinyurl.com/summertrainingla.
- 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‘s most recent blog post, The Crucial Role of Our Mind in Our Christian Life, is available to read and share at blog.bfa.org. Helpful videos are also available 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.
- Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.