[View as PDF]

Sowing with Blessings and Abounding with Thanksgiving

“But take note of this: He who sows sparingly shall also sparingly reap; and he who sows with blessings shall also with blessings reap.” (2 Cor. 9:6)

“Now He who bountifully supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and cause the fruits of your righteousness to increase. You in everything are being enriched unto all liberality, which works out through us thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor. 9:10-11)

According to [2 Cor. 9:6], he who sows sparingly shall also sparingly reap, and he who sows with blessings shall also with blessings reap. In verse 6 we have the thought of sowing for the benefit of others. But what farmer, when he sows seed in his field, has the thought of sowing for others? Surely, most farmers have the concept of sowing for themselves. This kind of sowing, however, is not with blessings. To sow with blessings is to give to others. This is to sow with blessings to others. When we give of our money, we are sowing, and this sowing is not for ourselves but is for others. If we sow with blessings to others, we will reap with blessings from God.

When we sow with blessings to others, we will reap with blessings from God. Furthermore, the harvest will always far surpass the amount of seed sown. It may be multiplied thirty or even one hundred times. This does not happen miraculously; it takes place according to natural law…Regarding this, there is no need for God to do anything miraculous. We all need to sow, to give. The more we give, the more we will reap.

We should sow more and in turn reap more. The goal is not to make ourselves rich. The result is the abounding of thanksgivings to God. I hope that in the time to come, many of the saints will become a factor of thanksgiving to God. This means that your giving will abound in much thanksgiving to God. (Life-study of Second Corinthians, 2nd ed, ch. 48)

Learning to Praise the Lord with New Utterances

“My heart overflows with a good matter; I speak what I have composed concerning the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” (Psa. 45:1)

Praise is the “cream” of our Christian experience. In order to produce cream, a certain quantity of milk is required; moreover, many milk cows are needed to produce this milk. In order to sustain the cows, farms are needed with pastures full of green, tender grass. Without farms, pastures, cows, and milk, it is not possible to produce cream. This illustrates the fact that without experiencing Christ, we cannot release the proper praises as the cream of our experience. In our Christian daily walk, if we are short of “farms,” “pastures,” “cows,” and milk, we will have no “cream” to bring to the meetings as praise to the Lord…

We all need to experience Christ, and we need utterances to compose our praise to the Lord. After we experience Christ, we need to look to Him, saying, “Lord, give me some utterance so that I can have something as an expression of my experiences of You to offer as praise in the meetings and also as an edification to all the saints.” (CWWL, 1969, vol. 2, “Praising God with Christ as the Content by Our Experiencing and Enjoying Him,” ch. 5, pp. 79, 85)

In this new year, may we all learn, inwardly and personally, to praise the Lord with new utterances based on our new experiences and fresh enjoyment of Him.

A New Term for Our Students

LAUSD, UCLA, USC, and most schools and campuses throughout LA begin their new terms this week or next week. Please pray that:

  • All our students would have a new beginning in the Lord, with the Lord, and unto the Lord!
  • The Lord would protect and keep our next generation from the evil one and cause them to grow humanly and spiritually in a healthy way.
  • The Lord would flow out through our students to water those around them and flow these ones into the church life!
  • That we can immediately reconnect with many contacts from previous terms for face-to-face fellowship and continued shepherding.

SoCal Young People’s Blending Conference

The 2025 Winter Young People’s Blending Conference, the first conference of this new year, will be held in person at the Ministry Conference Center (MCC) in Anaheim this Saturday and Lord’s Day, January 11 and 12. The topic of the conference is “And Peter.” To foster more blending, activity times will be held in four nearby locations. More information can be found at scyp.com/blending.

Please pray for a healthy time of blending, and for the young people to both see themselves in the testimony of Peter and have a vision of God’s building (Matt. 16:18).

Czech and Slovak Translation Work

There is a burden to translate the NT Recovery Version into the Czech and Slovak languages. Since the two languages are closely related, one team of Czech and Slovak translators will work together to produce the two versions simultaneously. The team is currently focusing on learning the Greek language. This crucial period of several months requires the best time management and focus from all involved. At the end of this period the translators should be equipped to work on the translation of the original text under the guidance of the saints at Living Stream Ministry. Please pray with us:

  • For the Lord to be the real consecration and wisdom for these student/translators.
  • For the translators to be kept from all unnecessary distractions to be focused on their preparation.
  • For the present situations in the personal and professional lives of all the saints involved to be settled in the best way for the future work and coordination of the whole team.

Athens, Greece

As the capital and largest city of Greece, the city of Athens has scriptural and prophetic significance. In Acts, it says: “And while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he beheld that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16). Also, Brother Lee felt strongly that the coming Antichrist will be of Greek descent. The saints have been meeting as the church there since 2006 with about 25 on Lord’s Day. Please pray for saints to migrate under the Head and in the Body to strengthen the Lord’s testimony in Athens!

Madrid House Purchase

We thank the Lord for providing the funds necessary to meet the January 6, 2025 installment deadline for the purchase of the house next to the meeting hall in Madrid, Spain. Pray that the Lord will release the remaining funds (570,000 Euros) needed to close the purchase on March 6. The acquisition of this house will greatly expand the usefulness of the overall property to the church in Madrid and the Lord’s move in the Iberian Peninsula. A detailed letter can be downloaded at lme.org/reports.html.

As the Lord leads, saints in LA may participate in giving through the Church in Los Angeles designated for “Madrid House.”

Announcements

  1. Morning Revival: Week 5 of Material Offerings and the Lord’s Move Today. Next week, we will get into Galatians with recommended resources.
  2. SoCal Spanish-speaking Conference: January 17 to 19 at the Ministry Conference Center, Anaheim. Pray for the Lord’s abundant blessing during this time. English-speaking and Spanish-speaking saints are invited to attend in person. All relevant information is posted at conf.socalspanish.org.
  3. LSM Feasts: The 2025 International Chinese-speaking Conference (ICSC) will be February 14 to 16 at the Ministry Conference Center, Anaheim. All the saints are invited. Information on other upcoming Living Stream Ministry conferences and trainings can be found at lsm.org/events.
  4. FTTA: A video of the graduation meeting on December 21 is available for a limited time at ftta.org.
  5. Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.