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Giving Heed to the Lamp Shining in a Dark Place

“The night is far advanced, and the day has drawn near. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the weapons of light.” (Rom. 13:12)

“And we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Pet. 1:19)

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psa. 119:105)

If the church does not pay adequate attention to [the prophecies in the Bible], many believers will inevitably lose faith, be deceived by lies, be destroyed because of a lack of that knowledge, and forget the Lord’s coming by not being watchful. If the believers do not have the prophecies in the Bible, they will fall into darkness. The present age is the nighttime. When the Lord Jesus comes, the day will dawn, and the next age, the kingdom age, will be the daytime.

The day is a metaphor illustrating a time coming that will be full of light, as a bright day dawning, with the morning star rising, before its dawning, in the hearts of the believers, who are illuminated and enlightened by giving heed to the shining word of prophecy in the Scripture. This will cause and encourage the believers to earnestly seek the Lord’s presence and be watchful so that they will not miss the Lord in the secret part of His coming (parousia), when He will come as a thief.

If we continually give heed to the shining word of the Scriptures, we will have the kingdom as the day dawning in us and Christ as the morning star rising in our hearts before His actual appearing as the bright morning star. Christ as the morning star will be given to the overcomers as their first reward; we need to make ourselves ready for the secret appearing of the Lord as the morning star. (Making Ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Coming, msg. 3, I.C-D, III.B, 1, D.4-5)

North America College Training

Last week, July 16 to 22, 92 Los Angeles-related saints (including 66 college students and recent graduates and 26 serving ones) participated in the NACT held in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. It was an exciting and immensely enjoyable week filled with released singing, enlightening ministry of the word, blending with other students from around the globe, and time after time of rich, personal fellowship with the Lord in His word!

Our students were equipped with a vision of the most excellent way of love (1 Cor. 12:31; 13:8)—God as love, and love for the Lord Himself, for the brothers, and for the whole world—as well as a hunger for the truth, who is just the reality of the wonderful person of Christ (John 8:32, 36). They were also helped to spend time with the Lord in the morning to behold His beauty and inquire in His temple (Psa. 27:4), and they enjoyed practicing with one another how to contact students on their campus for the sake of the gospel (1 Tim. 2:4). This was such a special occasion and invaluable opportunity for every attendee and even more so for the Lord and His interests in this young generation. We sincerely thank the saints for all their prayers throughout the year leading up to this week.

As all the trainees return to work or classes or transition into their next life stage, may we continue to pray for the lasting impact of this training on their love for Christ and the church, their pursuit and defense of and constitution with the truth, and their splendorous consecration to the Lord to offer themselves to Him willingly in this day of His warfare for His soon return (Psa. 110:3).

LA Truth School

“But there is need of one thing, for Mary has chosen the good part.” (Luke 10:42a)

For the preparation of all of the different services that will take place before and during our upcoming Truth School (August 4 to 12), please pray for all of the serving ones to choose the good part of loving and listening to the Lord. All of the services—including music, food and activities—are wonderful opportunities for those serving to enter into the Lord’s desire and preference to serve Him by caring for our young people.

Although the deadline to register has already passed, the young people, parents and serving ones are still able to register and are encouraged to do so. Lord, release any late registrations!

Chinese-speaking Perfecting Training

The 2023 North America Chinese-speaking Saints’ Perfecting Training will be held in Anaheim from July 26 to 30. The training continues the burden from the previous three years, which is to focus on perfecting the saints in the churches in the areas of truth, life, and service, so they can be mature in life and strengthened to function in their service to build up the Body of Christ. The subject of this year’s training is “The Application of the Interpretation of the New Jerusalem.”

Please pray for the Lord to:

  • Strengthen, protect, and prepare the saints who have registered for this training.
  • Cover all the practical needs of the training so that the burden of the training can be fully released.
  • Encourage and perfect the saints for the day-to-day church life.

European Young People’s Conference

The European Young People’s Conference will take place July 30 to August 5 in Małe Ciche, a small village near the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland, for young people from 13 to 19 years of age. There will also be the European Family Conference taking place concurrently in the same location. The burden of the EFC is that the Lord would raise up families for the church life. The schedule includes activities such as singing, stories, family talks, crafts, games, workshops, and informal times of fellowship.

In total, 1290 saints, including 400 young people and 200 children, from 41 countries (31 European countries) are registered for this five-day gathering. Please pray for:

  • The Lord’s speaking to the young people and their response. May the Lord meet the particular needs of the young people and open “The Significance, Preciousness and Enjoyment of the Birthright” to them.
  • The Lord to raise up more families for the church life.

Germany – Gospel Trips

Registration is open to join the churches and the developing localities in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in their gospel labor from October 8 to 22, especially on the campuses at the beginning of the university year. For see more information, additional opportunities for blending, and registration, go to bit.ly/GermanyGospelTrips. Lord, release the saints—including some from LA—to participate!

Egypt

The July 2023 newsletter of the Lord’s Move to Africa contains an update on North Africa, specifically a report on the 2023 Cairo International Book Fair and the Arabic publication work.

Announcements

  1. Morning Revival: Week 3 of Making Ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Coming (ICSC).
  2. FTTA: A video of the graduation meeting on July 1 is available for a limited time at ftta.org.
  3. LSM Digital Resources: Living Stream Ministry has consolidated many of its helpful digital resources, including apps and free booklets, at lsm.org/daily. The July 2023 newsletter contains an interview with Brother Ron Kangas concerning the history of the Life-study publication work.
  4. A Timely Speaking of Supply: Enjoy a free weekly video from messages given by Brother Lee at lsm.org/timely-speaking.html.
  5. Bibles for America‘s recent post “What It Means to Have a Good Conscience and Why It’s So Important” is available to read and share at blog.biblesforamerica.org.
  6. Living to Him has a podcast series particularly helpful to working saints, available on all major podcasting services at livingtohim.com/the-living-to-him-podcast.
  7. GTCA: To learn more about the burden for migration within North America, please visit gtca.us.
  8. Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.