Cooperating with the Lord to Satisfy the Hungry
“And after commanding the crowds to recline on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve handbaskets full.” (Matt 14:19-20)
The Lord fed the people; He ministered the life supply to them. By having the crowds recline on the grass, He put the people into good order. This shows the Lord’s wisdom and orderliness. By looking up to heaven the heavenly King indicated that His source was His Father in the heavens. Then He blessed the loaves and fishes and broke them. This indicates that whatever we bring to the Lord must be broken for it to become a blessing to others….
After the Lord broke the loaves, He gave them to the disciples. The loaves were from the disciples, and they brought them to the Lord. After being blessed and broken by the Lord, they were given back to the disciples for distribution to the crowds, to whom the loaves became a great satisfaction. This indicates that the disciples were not the source of blessing; they were only the channels used by the Lord, who was the source of the people’s satisfaction. The broken bread was passed on to the disciples, and the disciples distributed it to the crowds. This broken bread became the satisfaction to all the hungry people, and there was great blessing. The principle is the same today….
Twelve baskets full of fragments indicate not only that the resurrected Christ is unlimited and inexhaustible, but also that the Lord’s provision for us is abundant, more than sufficient to meet all our need….What we offer to the Lord may be very little; but the blessing will be great, and the overflow, the surplus, will be greater than what we offered. What we offer to the Lord cannot be exhausted. Rather, it will be used by the Lord to bless others abundantly, even with a surplus, to testify that this is the Lord’s marvelous doing. (Life-study of Matthew, msg. 43, pp. 517-519)
FTTA Gospel Trips
Until February 11 gospel teams from FTTA and FTTA-XB are visiting 20 countries in Europe, as well as the US and Canada, for the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. Approximately 240 trainees and serving ones on 36 teams are involved. Please pray that:
- The Lord will blend and build the saints involved so that He will have the free way to fully bless the trips.
- The sanctifying Spirit will go before the saints to prepare the hearts of those the Lord has chosen.
- The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom will be prevailing and reach all those the Lord desires to save.
- Fruit, even remaining fruit, will be borne in each place visited, and the Lord will add to the churches as His testimony in each of these nations.
- The Lord will fully cover the travel, safety, security, and health of all those involved.
To receive more specific reports and prayer burdens, please visit http://ftta.org/gospeltrips.
2023 North America College Training
Registration for the 2023 North America College Training is open! The subject of this training is “Love Prevails,” and it will be held July 16 to 22 in Champaign, Illinois. To encourage early registration, a substantial discount for those who register in the month of January is being offered. During this month, we desperately need the fighting prayers of all the saints:
- Pray for the stirring up of at least 1,400 throughout North America to register and pay in the month of January, boldly registering in faith and giving the Lord the first place in their summer plans!
- Pray that the serving and shepherding saints could render the proper fellowship to all those considering the NACT and that all impediments for those who would like to go would be completely removed.
- Pray that the Lord would stir up the students not only to register but also to pray for this time and encourage others around them to “Come forward!” to the NACT without delay!
May the Lord continue to raise up a generation of young people for His will and purpose to end this age!
Los Angeles Large Group Fellowship
This Friday, February 3 all college students in Los Angeles are invited to join us for a Large Group Fellowship at Hall 5. We will be covering Matthew 16:16-19. Please pray that:
- Jesus would gather the students throughout the LA area together to this time.
- All attending would be touch the living Spirit.
- A vision of the Lord’s hearts’ desire would be imparted through the speaking.
Ukraine
Please continue to pray that:
- The Lord will keep all the saints in the involved countries open to Him for their experience of the divine dispensing in all the situations of their daily living.
- The Lord will meet all the practical needs of the saints as the cold weather of winter settles in.
- The brothers who are fighting in the war will be preserved by the Lord in their tripartite being.
- The Lord will shepherd the refugees and establish them in the church life.
- The local saints, serving ones, and trainees will be blended with the refugees by being through the cross and by the Spirit to minister Christ to one another for the building up of the Body.
- The saints in the involved countries involved will be kept in the oneness of the Body and the reality of the new man.
- The tripartite being of saints in besieged cities will be protected and preserved for the Lord’s interests.
- The Lord will comfort and sustain those who have lost loved ones in the war.
- The enemy will be bound in his attack on the Lord’s interests in Russia, Ukraine, and Europe.
Tajikistan
Pray for the saints to establish regular home meetings with the locals or the foreign students.
Lord’s Move to Asia
The January 2023 newsletter of the Lord’s Move to Asia contains encouraging reports on last October’s LMA Conference and the current situation in Timor-Leste. To download and read this issue, go to:
- http://reurl.cc/OEZgD3 (English)
- http://reurl.cc/6LoMkd (Chinese)
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 3 of our guided reading through the Gospel of Matthew. On February 20, we will begin The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity for the Divine Economy (Thanksgiving Conf).
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ICSC: The International Chinese-speaking Conference will be held February 17 to 19 in Anaheim. All saints welcome! Those needing translation into English, Korean or Spanish should bring their own FM radio headset or install the free Listen Everywhere app on their iPhone or Android phone.
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Free e-Booklets: Living Stream Ministry offers a series of free e-booklets to read and share at http://www.lsm.org/booklets, including “Life’s Setting Free—the Need of Those under the Bondage of Sin.”
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Bibles for America‘s latest post is available to read and share at http://blog.biblesforamerica.org.
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Living to Him has a podcast series particularly helpful to working saints, available on all major podcasting services at http://livingtohim.com/the-living-to-him-podcast.
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A Timely Speaking of Supply: Enjoy a free weekly video from messages given by Brother Lee at http://lsm.org/timely-speaking.html.
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Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.