Experiencing the Lord’s Dealing Touch
“And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. And…He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated as he wrestled with Him.” (Gen. 32:24-25)
“Therefore we do not lose heart but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” (2 Cor. 4:16)
What was wrong with Jacob that the Lord had to wrestle with him? There was nothing wrong. The reason the Lord wrestled with Jacob was because he was still so natural. Here the dealing is not with anything sinful; it is with the natural life, with the natural man. It takes a long time to expose our natural life. We need an extended period of wrestling before this can take place. Through this period of wrestling, our naturalness, like Jacob’s, is utterly exposed.
Most [Christians] devote their attention to dealing with outward sin, wrong doings, and worldliness, never thinking that their natural life, natural strength, must be touched. But the Lord is not only concerned with changing our outward living; He desires even more to touch our natural life. The way of religion is to change man’s outward behavior; the way of God in His economy is to touch man’s inward life in order to change his inward being. This is our need today. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 75, pp. 965-969)
God cuts off our natural life gradually, little by little, according to the degree of our growth in the divine life. The more Christ increases in us, the more He will replace our natural life. (Note 1 on Exo. 23:29)
Let us pray for the Lord to have mercy on us that we could experience His dealing touch so that we may decrease and He may increase in us for His purpose.
ICSC
The 2024 International Chinese-speaking Blending Conference takes place February 10 to 11 in Taipei. The general subject is “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.”
The conference will also be streamed both live and via archived messages from lsmwebcast.com until March 12; no login credentials are needed. After this date, a subscription or payment will be required. Conference outlines are already available on the website.
Please pray for:
- The release of the Lord’s timely and fresh speaking to His Body in this first “feast” of the new year.
- As many saints as possible to participate through the online options, regardless of language.
- The safe travel, health, and blending of all the saints attending in person, including many saints from Los Angeles.
Bibles for America
Our next expected shipment of 100,000 Bibles has been delayed and is now projected to arrive early this month. Because of this unfortunate delay, we’ve had to briefly pause sending out Bibles while we wait for the new inventory to arrive.
Additionally, the current volatile situation in the Suez Canal is forcing shipping companies to travel all the way around the Cape of Good Hope, adding up to 2 months to estimated shipping times. This situation has delayed a shipment of paper that will be used to produce our next order of 100,000 Bibles, which was previously scheduled to arrive in June.
Please pray that Satan would be bound and that his kingdom would suffer much loss in the coming year. Pray specifically that the Lord would cover every step of Bible production, from the paper shipments to the printing, shipping, and distributing. May all those who place an order remain open and soft toward the Lord as they wait to receive their Bibles.
FTTA Middle-age Training
The Spring 2024 term of the FTTA-MA will be from March 18 to June 29. Please pray for more saints in the Lord’s recovery to seize this opportunity to be perfected. All applications must be received by the training office no later than Tuesday, February 27.
FTTA Gospel Trips
The FTTA gospel trips in Europe ended on February 5. Please pray that the Lord would:
- Continue to enlarge the view of the FTTA trainees and burden them for His move on the earth.
- Strengthen the local saints and full-timers to shepherd the newly saved and contacted ones until they become remaining fruit in the churches.
- Gain more fruit through the new ones who are added to the church life.
To review specific reports and prayer burdens from these trips, please visit ftta.org/gospeltrips.
Bible Distribution in France
Bible distributions in France will take place May 8 to September 10 in many cities associated with the Olympic torch relay and the Olympic games. The goal is to raise up golden lampstands in at least ten key cities. Please petition the Lord concerning:
- His wisdom to the brothers planning these distributions.
- His administration of the earth to bring forth the best environment for our activities in every city.
- Many French people to be open to the gospel, the truth, and fellowship.
- Praying and going from churches around the earth, including from Los Angeles.
A detailed application form (due February 28) is available at www.amanatrust.org.uk/page/2024Paris. 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.”
Tajikistan
Please continue to pray for the Lord’s work among the gospel friends who have read the shepherding materials, that they may be enlightened and attracted to enter steadfastly into the Lord’s word with the saints. In particular, pray for a family, two sisters and a brother to continue to have home meetings with the saints and to come to know the truth fully.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 5 of our guided reading through Genesis.
- 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.