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Becoming the New Jerusalem

“…Come here; I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God…” (Rev. 21:9-11)

“He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore…” (Rev. 3:12)

For our Christian life and church life we need to have a vision of the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is a composition of divinity and humanity mingled, blended, and built up together as one entity. All the components have the same life, nature, and constitution and thus are a corporate person—the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

The Lord Jesus will make the overcoming one in the recovered church a pillar built into the temple of God, which is the Triune God Himself. In Revelation 21:22 we see that in the New Jerusalem the Triune God Himself will be the temple. For the overcomer to be a pillar in the temple means that he will be a pillar in the Triune God. This involves being mingled with the Triune God and constituted with the Triune God.

The Lord makes us pillars by transforming us, that is, by carrying away our natural element and replacing it with His divine element. In the church life today the Lord is making us, constituting us, into pillars in the temple of God. The Lord’s work in the church is to work Himself into us as the divine flow to carry away our natural being and replace it with His substance that we may be gradually processed by His transforming element. As the result of this transforming work, we become pillars in the temple of God. (An Overview of the Central Burden and Present Truth of the Lord’s Recovery Before His Appearing, msg. 12, I, Key Statement 4, III, A-B; The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 1215)

December Semiannual Training

It is only by having the divine truth in the Word thoroughly wrought into us that we can live and magnify Christ in our daily life, preach the gospel to the unbelievers, and present the truth and minister life to the seeking believers, thereby becoming the prevailing testimony of Jesus, the living Body of Christ. (From June 2022 issue of LSM’s digital newsletter, “Having This Ministry…”)

Next week’s Semiannual Training will be held in Anaheim from December 25 to 30 and by webcast in Los Angeles and around the world. The general subject is “Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified by the Good Land for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ, for the Reality and the Manifestation of the Kingdom, and for the Bride to Make Herself Ready for the Lord’s Coming.”

Please pray for the release of the Lord’s timely word and burden in this training. Pray for the speaking of the sevenfold intensified Spirit to all the churches and the response of the saints to be the Lord’s overcomers to meet His need at the end of this age.

FTTA and FTTA-MA Graduations

This Saturday, December 23 at 9:30 am, the graduation meeting for the 2023 Fall Class of the FTTA, including a recognition of the FTTA-XB (Boston Extension) trainees, will be held at the Ministry Conference Center on the LSM campus. This meeting will also be streamed live at www.ftta.org.

In the afternoon, beginning at 3:00 pm, the graduation meeting for the FTTA-MA (Middle-age) will be held at 1853 W Ball Rd in Anaheim. This meeting will also be streamed live on Zoom.

Please pray for the Lord’s leading of:

  • All these training graduates—33 FTTA, 2 XB, and 31 MA—to follow the Lamb wherever He may go.
  • Each graduate to continue to grow in life and remain under the Lord’s perfecting for the normal development of their function in the church.
  • Many college graduates, young working saints, and middle aged saints to answer God’s call to attend the training in upcoming terms.

European Winter School of Truth

This year’s Winter School of Truth will be on “The Two Spirits” and held in the UK and in the Netherlands, December 27 to 31.

Please pray for the Lord’s blessing on these truth schools, for the atmosphere during this time, weather suitable for outdoor activities and to bind any illnesses. Pray the serving saints, including the speaking brothers, and all the practical arrangements and especially the groups. May the Lord gain this generation of young people for His interests to meet His need in Europe!

Paris Olympics

Gospel trips are being planned for the 2024 Paris Olympics. An 8-minute video of the announcement given during the Thanksgiving Conference is at www.lsmwebcast.com (click on the red rectangle labeled “Reports”); an information letter is at amanatrust.org.uk/page/2024paris. Saints who are interested should read through all the information carefully. An application form is being prepared and will be available soon.

Let us cooperate with the Lord for the spread of His ministry and testimony through this important event. As we each seek the Lord’s calling and leading concerning how we can participate, let us pray:

  • For the gospel of the kingdom to be preached all over France in 2024.
  • For Satan to be bound and for his kingdom to suffer loss.
  • That the gates of the New Jerusalem will be open in every direction in France (Rev. 21:13; 22:14).
  • For the French people to repent and to receive forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47; Acts 26:18).
  • That during the Torch Relay Christ’s triumphal procession will move from city to city all over France.
  • That we will be able to distribute Bibles freely in every city we visit and that the distribution will be carried out righteously before God and before men.
  • For the church to be raised up in at least ten key cities.

Pakistan

Please pray for the strengthening of the shepherding work in the church in Karachi and that the saints can be raised up through shepherding. Pray also for the Lord’s blessing on the propagation work in Faisalabad, that a golden lampstand may be established by the end of the year.

For a report with photos, see the December 2023 issue of the Lord’s Move to Asia newsletter:

Announcements

  1. Morning Revival: Week 12 of An Overview of the Central Burden and Present Truth of the Lord’s Recovery before His Appearing. Next week, repeat Week 12 or enjoy the training verses and content.
  2. Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: The final ministry meeting of the fall term will be this Wednesday starting at 7:25 pm.
  3. Thanksgiving Conference: Recordings may be accessed at lsmwebcast.com at no charge until December 26. The subject was “The Enjoyment of Christ and Our Growth in Life unto Maturity.”
  4. LSM Digital Resources: Living Stream Ministry’s many digital resources, including apps and free booklets, may be found at lsm.org/daily. The December 2023 newsletter features the third part of an interview with Brother Ron Kangas concerning the history of the Life-study publication work along with a report on the literature service in Brazil.
  5. Bibles for America‘s recent post entitled “The Deep Significance of the Birth of Jesus Christ” is available to read and share at blog.bfa.org.
  6. GTCA: To learn more about the burden for migration within North America, visit gtca.us.
  7. Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.