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The Ministry of Grace in Life

“And he [Elisha] went out to the source of the water and threw salt there; and he said, Thus says Jehovah, I have healed this water; there will not be any more death or barrenness from there.” (2 Kings 2:21)

“For if, by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:17)

Elisha was a type of Christ in doing miracles of grace in life. Elijah did some great miracles, such as closing up the heavens so that it might not rain and calling down fire from heaven to consume the burnt offering and the water that had been poured upon it. However, when Elisha came in to replace him, he did not perform wonders. Instead, Elisha did miracles of grace in life.

Grace is God doing everything for us by giving Himself to us as our enjoyment. This grace issues in the divine life, which is rich and high, even unto making us co-kings with Christ… More than any other prophet, Elisha did things that, in type, were the same as what the Lord Jesus did in reality. In principle, Elisha and the Lord Jesus did the same thing, performing miracles of grace in life. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Kings, pp. 85-86)

In the decline of the church and in suffering for the church, the gift of power is not as much needed as the grace in life. According to the New Testament, miraculous gifts may have a place when the church is first raised up. But for the church to withstand decline or persecution, miraculous gifts or powers are not very helpful. Only the eternal life on which we are to lay hold is prevailing. By this life we can withstand decline and persecution. (Life-study of 2 Timothy, pp. 71-72)

Let us pray for the prevailing ministry of grace in life to be raised up that can withstand all decline and persecution in the suffering of this age.

The Church in Los Angeles

The whole church in Los Angeles—all halls, districts, and languages—will meet together at 10:00 am this Lord’s Day, October 23 at the LA Convention Center. Further details will be announced by hall.

Please pray for the timely speaking of the Lord to shepherd all the saints in the church to be brought on for the sake of His testimony in Los Angeles. Pray that through this blending meeting all the saints would be encouraged to love the Lord and love one another for the organic building up of the church as the Body of Christ.

Southern California High School Conferences

The Spring 2022 High School Conferences will be held October 21 to 23 with sisters in Cerritos and brothers in Huntington Beach. The topic is “The Tree of Life.” Please pray for our high schoolers to enjoy Christ as life (John 6:57) and learn to live according to this life (Rom. 8:6). Pray also that they would be encouraged by and blended with other young people across Southern California.

Germany and Switzerland

In this second week of gospel trips from October 17 to 23, the visiting saints will be divided into smaller teams and join the local saints in target cities, where the saints have been laboring faithfully with the view of raising up new lampstands. Please pray that the Lord will gain many young Germans and Swiss as remaining fruit through the campus labor at the beginning of the university year. Pray also for the spread of the Lord’s testimony in all the cities through these gospel trips.

Frankfurt, Germany

The church in Frankfurt will do some outdoor literature distribution this weekend to coincide with the Frankfurt Book Fair, which will be October 19 to 23. Pray for the one accord and harmony in the saints’ service as the master key to every blessing in the NT and “that the word of the Lord may run and be glorified” (2 Thes. 3:1)!

Ukraine

Please continue to pray that:

  • The Russian and Ukrainian brothers fighting in the war will be preserved in their tripartite being.
  • The Lord will shepherd the Ukrainian refugees in Europe and establish them in the church life.
  • The local saints, serving ones, and trainees will be blended with the Ukrainian refugees for the strengthening and building up of the Lord’s testimony in key European cities.
  • The enemy will be bound in his attack on the Lord’s interests in Russia, Ukraine, and Europe.

Tajikistan

Tajikistan is a secular Muslim country in Central Asia with a population of 9 million. The main language is Tajik, but most people are also fluent in Russian. The largest city is the capital, Dushanbe.

At present, there is no testimony of the Lord’s recovery in Tajikistan, but several saints have received the burden to migrate. May the Lord open the door for the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. May He protect and bless the saints’ going, and enable them to spread the gospel wisely and gain vessels prepared by Him. Also pray for more saints to receive the burden and go for propagation in coordination.

To read a report from some brothers who visited Tajikistan over the summer, see the October 2022 issue of the Lord’s Move to Asia newsletter:

Announcements

  1. Morning Revival: Week 3 of Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Kings. Next week, after our LA Joint Meeting, we will proceed to Week 4.
  2. December Semiannual Training: December 26 to 31, conducted live in Anaheim and by video via Zoom. Registration for LA saints will remain open until October 30 (live) and December 11 (video). Go to http://tinyurl.com/wintertrainingla.
  3. LSM Newsletter: The September issue contains helpful fellowship on the purpose of training donations, maintaining the standard of video trainings, and praying for the semiannual trainings. Go to http://newsletters.lsm.org/having-this-ministry.
  4. Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: Live broadcast this Wednesday 7:25 pm at http://lsm.org/live.
  5. Benson Phillips Memorial Meetings: Recordings of memorial meetings for Brother Benson may be viewed at http://www.memorial-meeting.org.
  6. Living to Him has a podcast series particularly helpful to working saints, available on all major podcasting services at http://anchor.fm/livingtohim.
  7. North American Korean-speaking Conference: October 29 to 30 on Zoom.
  8. Thanksgiving Conference: Saints from LA planning to attend the in-person sessions November 24 to 27 in Washington, DC are asked to RSVP by October 31 at http://tinyurl.com/thanksgivingconfla (adults) and http://tinyurl.com/thanksgivingchildrenla (children). All conference and hotel information is posted at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/prayer.
  9. 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.