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Enjoying Christ as our Subjective Righteousness

“And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints.” (Rev. 19:8)

“Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day, and not only me but also all those who have loved His appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:8)

The righteousness (Christ) that we received for our salvation (1 Cor. 1:30) is objective and enables us to meet the requirement of the righteous God, whereas the righteousnesses of the overcoming believers are subjective (Phil. 3:9) and enable them to meet the requirement of the overcoming Christ…Thus, the queen in Psalm 45 has two garments. (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 265-266)

The queen in Psalm 45 signifies the church. Her first garment is “inwrought with gold,” and her second is “embroidered clothing.” In the Bible gold signifies the divine nature of God. At the time of our salvation, we received a golden garment that enabled us to be in the presence of God. In addition to this, we need another garment, a garment of embroidery. This embroidery signifies the transforming work of the Holy Spirit…Although we have the first garment, our second garment is now being prepared under the embroidering work of the Holy Spirit. Day by day we are under the needle, the transformation, of the Holy Spirit. (Life-study of Revelation, 2nd ed., pp. 608-609)

In order to be awarded with Christ as our crown of righteousness in the next age, we must experience and enjoy Him as our subjective, lived-out righteousness in this age. (Fighting the Good Fight, Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith…, msg. 5, I. A., II)

FTTA

The Fall 2024 term of the Full-time Training in Anaheim (as well as the Boston Extension) began this week on August 11. For this pre-training week, please pray:

  • That the Lord would speak all that is on His heart to supply and prepare the trainees and to gain their full consecration.
  • For the Lord’s covering and strengthening of all the staff and serving saints as they care for all aspects of the training.
  • For the Lord’s arrangements of all the service groups and campus teams, and for the surrounding localities to be ready to receive and care for the trainees assigned to them.

2024 Paris Olympics Gospel Trips

The third 10-day Olympic Games gospel cycle (OL3) began last Saturday, August 10 and concludes next Monday, August 19. Two more 10-day cycles will follow. This cycle includes five teams in and near Paris, plus teams in Lille and Rouen, as well as in Luxembourg.

There has been much distributing of New Testaments and preaching of the gospel, especially with Le Mystère de la vie humaine (The Mystery of Human Life). There are also appointments with seekers and dinners or meetings with ministry to which many are invited. In all of this the goal is to strengthen the Lord’s testimony, gain people into the church life, and raise up new churches.

Please pray for:

  • The bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19) to the few full-timers currently serving in France, that the Lord strengthen them in spirit and soul and body, and be their wisdom in all the practical and spiritual matters they face week by week.
  • The continuing shepherding of people contacted in trips since early May, that they remain open to fellowship in person and by electronic means, and that the shepherding saints be diligent to continue nourishing them.
  • The migrating of many more to France to raise up a team of at least 20 full-timers and to open many homes for group gatherings. May the Lord thrust out workers into His harvest in France and open a way for these saints to obtain a long-term visa. As Psalm 110:3 says, “Your people will offer themselves willingly in the day of Your warfare, in the splendor of their consecration.”

Subscribe to receive trip reports and testimonies at courantdevie.myflodesk.com; archived reports are at tinyurl.com/2024gospeltrips. A special report on the Lord’s move in France and a presentation on migration to serve in France given at the recent July Semiannual Training are at lme.org/reports.html.

Saints in LA burdened to give for the distribution can do so through the Church in Los Angeles designated for “Paris Olympics.”

Ukraine and Russia

A reminder from the footnote on 1 Kings 8:48: “No matter for whom we are praying, our prayers should be aimed at the interests of God, i.e., at Christ and the church as God’s interests on earth, for the fulfilling of God’s economy.”

Please continue to pray for the Lord to:

  • Keep all the saints in the countries involved open to Him for His divine dispensing.
  • Meet all their practical needs and preserve their tripartite beings for His interests.
  • Protect His people and His interests in Ukraine, Russia, and throughout Europe.

Bangladesh

Pray for the social and political situation to be restored to stability as soon as possible and for people’s hearts to be open to the gospel through the turbulence in the external environment.

Announcements

  1. Morning Revival: Week 5 of Fighting the Good Fight, Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith, and Loving the Lord’s Appearing in Order to Receive the Reward of Christ as the Crown of Righteousness. Next week, we begin The Christian Life (from the Memorial Day Conference).
  2. 2024 SoCal Labor Day Blending Conference: Saturday, August 31 from 4:00 to 5:45 pm and 7:00 to 8:45 pm; Lord’s Day, September 1 with table meeting at 10:00 am, then message from 10:30 to 12:30 pm. In person at the Ministry Conference Center in Anaheim; no childcare will be provided.
  3. Thanksgiving Conference: This year’s conference will be held in Atlanta, GA from November 28 to December 1. Childcare for those in kindergarten through 6th grade will be provided during the meetings. Saints from LA who are interested in attending can get more information on hotel group rates and RSVP to receive any pertinent updates at tinyurl.com/thanksgivingconfla.
  4. Free e-Booklets: Living Stream Ministry offers free e-booklets to read and share. For example, sixty nuggets and gems have been extracted from the Life-study of Philippians with timely topics such as “Pursue toward the Goal for the Prize of the High Calling” and “The Way to Be Freed from Anxiety.” These e-booklets may be accessed for free at www.lsm.org/life-study-philippians.
  5. The LA Years: Chapter 6: Visiting Seekers Throughout America is published at www.layears.org, an oral history project documenting the early years of the church life in Los Angeles from 1958–1974, including written history, photos, and first-hand accounts.
  6. Bibles for America‘s recent blog post “How Should Christians Respond to the World Situation?” is available to read and share at blog.bfa.org.
  7. Shepherding Words: Seven articles concerning Israel in God’s economy have been posted to shepherdingwords.com, a helpful resource in ushering the saints into a view of the present situation in the Middle East according to God’s view in His eternal economy.
  8. 500 Life-studies App: To learn more about the burden for the Life-studies, including the 500 Life-studies app, please visit 500lifestudies.org.
  9. Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.