Supplanting Hands Becoming Blessing Hands
“And Joseph brought in Jacob his father and set him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.” (Gen. 47:7)
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Cor 13:14)
Jacob’s supplanting hands eventually became blessing hands (Gen. 25:26; 47:7, 10; 48:14-16). In chapter twenty-five we see that Jacob began his supplanting even when he was in his mother’s womb. How skillful he was in supplanting! But in chapters forty-seven and forty-eight we see that these two supplanting hands have become blessing hands, bringing people into God’s presence and ministering God into people so that they may enjoy Him. Would you have believed that Jacob’s supplanting hands could become the blessing hands of a mature person? Here we see the growth and maturity in life. A supplanter, a heel-holder, became the greatest person on earth at the time. He was able to bless Pharaoh because he had become greater than Pharaoh. He became this kind of person by the way of life. We need the growth in life and the maturity in life so that we may be filled with Christ to become those who are able to bless others. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 95, p. 1224)
Maturity in life is a matter of being filled with God as life, and blessing is the overflow of life, the overflow of God through the maturity in life. To bless others is to bring them into the presence of God and to bring God into them as grace, love, and fellowship that they may enjoy the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (14:18-19; Num. 6:23-27; 2 Cor. 13:14). (Gen. 47:7, note 1)
FTTA
The Spring 2024 term of the Full-time Training in Anaheim begins February 18. Please pray for all the trainees to present themselves as open vessels to grow in Christ’s life unto maturity. Lord, richly infuse Yourself into each trainee—in their classes and studying, in corporate living, in gospel teams, in service, and in blending with the nearby churches!
ICSC
Please continue to pray for the word spoken earlier this month in the International Chinese-speaking Blending Conference in Taipei to supply and operate in all the saints.
The five messages on “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” are available for free until March 12 at lsmwebcast.com.
Bible Distribution in France
All the saints are asked to consider how they can participate in the Lord’s move in France this summer during the 2024 Olympics. Even though the Torch Relay distributions in May and June are already full, there is still the opportunity for 400 more saints to go during the Olympics from mid-July to late August. Saints with some knowledge of French are especially requested, but knowledge of the language is not required since English will be the main language for coordination.
Financial contributions are also needed to support the operation of these gospel trips since there are expenses involved in reserving rooms for coordination, purchasing Bible distribution kits, transporting thousands of Bibles to each city, etc.
Finally, please continue to remember before the Lord this matter of His move in the French-speaking world and in particular the Bible distributions during the Torch Relay and Olympics. Petition the Lord concerning His wisdom to the saints planning these trips, as well as the praying and going from churches around the world, including from Los Angeles.
Saints in LA who are burdened to give for the Bible distribution and other associated expenses can do so through the Church in Los Angeles designated for “Paris Olympics.” Updated information and an application form (due February 28) are available at www.amanatrust.org.uk/page/2024Paris.
Ukraine
Please pray that the Lord will protect the tripartite being of all the saints and will rule in the heavens over every aspect of this conflict so that the result will advance His economy on earth.
Vietnam
Please pray for the translation of the Old Testament Recovery Version into Vietnamese.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 7 of our guided reading through Genesis. Next week, we begin a new book, The Enjoyment of Christ and Our Growth in Life unto Maturity (Thanksgiving Conference).
- Bibles for America‘s most recent post, How Can We Experience Christ Living in Us?, is available to read and share at blog.bfa.org.
- Memorial Day Conference: The 2024 International Memorial Day Blending Conference will be held in Bellevue, WA at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue Hotel from May 24 to 27. Saints in LA who are considering attending in person are asked to RSVP by April 30 at tinyurl.com/memdayla. More information, including recommended hotels at discounted rates, is available at that site.
- ICSC: Archived messages from the recent International Chinese-speaking Blending Conference in Taipei are available to watch for free until March 12 at lsmwebcast.com.
- Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: The ministry meeting will resume next week on February 28.
- High School Conferences: At Oak Glen for brothers, March 8 to 10 (registration due February 25); for sisters, March 15 to 17 (registration due March 3).
- Junior High Conferences: At Oak Glen for brothers, March 29 to 31 (registration due March 17); for sisters, April 5 to 7 (registration due March 31).
- LSM Digital Resources: Living Stream Ministry’s many digital resources, including apps and free booklets, may be found at lsm.org/daily. The January 2024 newsletter features the fourth and final part of an interview with Ron Kangas concerning the history of the Life-study publication work as well as helpful fellowship on nourishing new ones with the hymns.
- LSM Radio Programs: Life-study of the Bible with Witness Lee is a 30-minute radio broadcast composed of excerpts from Brother Lee’s spoken ministry that focuses on the enjoyment of the divine life as revealed in the Scriptures. The ministry portions are followed by a discussion of the portion presented, including questions and answers. For example, all 134 episodes on Genesis are available for free at www.lsmradio.com/programs/genesis.
- Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.