Fighting for the Good Land
“Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil. For our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.” (Eph. 6:10-12)
“For Jehovah your God is bringing you to a good land, a land of waterbrooks, of springs and of fountains, flowing forth in valleys and in mountains.” (Deut. 8:7)
If we read the Scriptures carefully, we will see that there is a battle for the good land. In order to understand the significance of the Israelites entering Canaan and the warfare in Canaan, we need to know that Canaan has a twofold significance in typology: on the positive side, Canaan, a land of riches, typifies the all-inclusive Christ with His unsearchable riches; on the negative side, Canaan signifies the aerial part, the heavenly part, of the dark kingdom of Satan, the heavenlies that are full of Satan’s forces. (Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified By the Good Land…, msg. 1, I, II, A, B)
We must…remember that there are evil powers in the heavenlies. We must fight the battle with the enemy. We are enjoying a portion of the all-inclusive Christ, yet the enemy and his evil forces in the heavenlies are still usurping and occupying the land…As soon as we enjoy Christ in such a way, we realize in our spirit the reality of the evil forces in the heavenlies. These evil forces are veiling the all-inclusiveness of Christ from the Lord’s children…There is an exceedingly real spiritual warfare in which we must engage. By enjoying something of the all-inclusive Christ, we will be burdened for this fighting; we will be burdened for this battle. That is why we have been formed as an army. The conflict is before us. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” p. 336)
ITERO
The Spring 2024 International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones will be held in Anaheim this weekend, April 12 to 14, as well as by webcasts around the world throughout this month. Please pray for the full release of the Lord’s timely speaking with His burden to His Body, especially the elders and responsible ones, for the advancement of His economy on the whole earth.
Spring College Conference
Thank you, saints, for praying with us for the Southern California College Conference in Arcadia this past weekend. In total, 65 college students and 7 high school seniors from LA participated.
The conference, entitled “Whose House We Are,” covered crucial revelations of the church as the house of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth, the mystery of godliness, and a dwelling place of God in spirit. The speaking was practical and highlighted our cooperation to build up the church by exercising our spirit, growing in life, and meeting on the proper ground, the ground of oneness.
Our students’ response to the messages was very positive, especially related to our personal experience of our spirit being crucial for the building up of the church. The Lord’s blessing was surely with us, as many students came to more meetings than they had originally planned. Furthermore, on the last day, four college students were baptized, including two from LA. Praise the Lord! Please continue to labor with us through prayer that many of these students would give themselves to be living stones built up together as God’s house on the proper ground.
Bibles for America
Last year, Facebook ads were responsible for 68% of all BfA’s Bible orders. Recently, Facebook updates have caused significant disruption for advertisers and users alike. Keeping up with their changing algorithm is always challenging, but this last month has been particularly difficult. The cost per Bible order has increased by almost 60% while producing only 30% of the usual number of orders.
Please pray that BfA would have a breakthrough in using new strategies for ad campaigns. Pray that the Lord would be wisdom to us in how to establish ads in a cost-effective way that would allow us to reach more people. Pray also that the Lord would continue to work behind the scenes to make the digital advertising environment fit for the going out of His Word.
Europe
Teams of trainees from the Full-time Training in Taipei have traveled to a number of cities in Europe this month to blend with the local saints and serving ones and to spread the gospel of the kingdom to the local people. Pray for the Lord’s blessing on these trips for the increase and building up of His Body.
Taiwan
“Therefore receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us have grace, through which we may serve God well-pleasingly with piety and fear.” (Heb. 12:28)
Last Wednesday, April 3, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Taiwan. The epicenter was near the city of Hualien, where the meeting hall of the church has sustained damage and a number of saints’ homes have collapsed, forcing the saints to take shelter elsewhere.
Please 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.
Turkey
Pray for the propagation work in Adana to be strengthened that the saints can be perfected and built up to be His lampstand. With nearly 2.3 million people, Adana is the fifth most populous city in Turkey.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 1 of Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified by the Good Land…
- No Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: There is no ministry meeting this week due to preparations for ITERO. The meeting will resume next week, April 17.
- SAVE THE DATE: Lord’s Day, April 28 we will have our spring LA Joint Meeting—all halls, all languages—beginning at 10:00 at the LA Convention Center.
- 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 newsletter 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.
- Sixth Grade Conference: May 3 to 5 at Oak Glen. Registration is due April 21.
- 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.