[View as PDF]

Enjoying Christ as the New Wine

“Neither do they put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matt. 9:17)

“For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ.” (1 Cor. 12:12)

The new wine here signifies Christ as the new life, full of vigor, stirring people to excitement. When we receive His life, it works within us all day long to stir us up and to excite us. This new wine strengthens us, energizes us, and makes us very happy.

The fresh wineskins signify the church life in the local churches as the container of the new wine, which is Christ Himself as the exciting life. The kingdom people are built into the church (16:18), and the church is expressed through the local churches in which the kingdom people live (18:15-20). They are regenerated persons who constitute the Body of Christ and become the church (Rom. 12:5; Eph. 1:22-23). The Body of Christ as His fullness is also called “the Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12), referring to the corporate Christ. The individual Christ is the new wine, the inward exciting life, and the corporate Christ is the fresh wineskin, the outward container that holds the new wine.

We have Christ in a corporate way as our church life…The church is God’s ultimate goal. When we arrive at the church, we are in the ultimate consummation of God’s purpose. (Life-study of Matthew, 2nd ed., pp. 323-329)

ITERO and the Gospel

The October 2024 International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones takes place October 4 to 6 in Warsaw, Poland. The general subject is “Living in the Reality of the Kingdom of God.” Brothers in many churches around the world (including Los Angeles) will watch videos of the messages according to different schedules throughout the month. Please petition the Lord for an increase in our living in the reality of His kingdom. Pray also for the travel and health of all the brothers, the release of the Lord’s up-to-date speaking, the blending of all the brothers from different countries, and all the practical arrangements at the hotels and the training venue.

Following ITERO, the afternoon of October 6 will be a blending meeting in Warsaw to which all the saints are invited. Lord, bring all who attend further into the experience of Your one Body! Overcome the language differences and release many into fellowship with saints they have never met before! “There is no distinction between [nations, languages, and appearances], for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him” (Rom. 10:12).

The week of October 7 to 13 there will be gospel trips in eight European nations. These will include local saints serving with ITERO brothers and their wives. These gospel trips include distribution of Recovery Version NTs and contacting people with the desire to shepherd them into the church life. Lord, unveil many people and shine into many hearts “to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

UCLA

Saints, we truly depend on and appreciate all of the prayers for our welcome activities last week at UCLA. We are continuing to enjoy the Lord’s blessing of bringing many new students to our events. Looking ahead, now we are entering a crucial phase where we need your continued prayers. As we head into the first full week of classes, please pray:

  • For the Lord to bring forward the new students who are truly open to Him and are willing to follow Him as the great light more and more.
  • For the forming of Bible study groups where mutuality and nourishment from the Word are fresh and enjoyable to all students.
  • For the cherishing, refreshing, and connecting together of the students at our mini-retreat this Saturday.

Sacramento Meeting Hall

Please pray for the completion of the purchase of a new meeting hall property in Sacramento and for the Lord to release the funds to pay the purchase price $3.25 million by the October 15 deadline.

Once the 2.48-acre property is secured, there will be some retrofitting, upgrades and repairs estimated at around $1.2 million for a total cost of $4.45 million. A detailed letter with a brochure of the property is at www.churchinsacramento.org. As the Lord leads, the saints in LA may give through the Church in LA designated for “Sacramento Meeting Hall.”

France – Shepherding Trips

Now that the gospel trips in French-speaking Europe have concluded, there is an urgent need to care for the ones we have contacted over the last five months. In many areas, groups of new ones have begun meeting consistently. This next stage of the move requires more concentrated, detailed contact with new ones, hence burdened saints are requested to stay for a longer period of time. Please pray:

  • For many saints who participated in the gospel trips to return for one to three months to meet the urgent need to participate in follow-up shepherding trips to care for all the new contacts.
  • For the release of one-year visas for the full-timers migrating to France; so far, four graduates of the FTTA Extension in Boston and two serving families have applied.

All reports, as well as more information on migration, are posted at lme.org/reports.html. Saints in LA burdened to give may do so through the Church in Los Angeles designated for “Paris Olympics.”

Middle East

Please pray that recent developments in Israel and the surrounding region will be under the ruling of God’s throne so that He will work out the counsel of His will. Pray for the saints there to be strengthened into their inner man, so that they are not shaken by what is happening, but live a life that expresses God and cooperates with God’s move.

Cambodia

Pray for continual breakthroughs in the young people’s work across the country, that the Lord can gain more quality young people who are open to Him. Pray also for the saints to establish a habit of going out weekly to visit people for the gospel and for shepherding.

For report with photos, see the September 2024 issue of the Lord’s Move to Asia newsletter:

Announcements

  1. Morning Revival: Week 1 of Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1).
  2. Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: Due to preparations for ITERO, this week’s ministry meeting on October 2 has been canceled. The meeting will resume on October 9 at 7:25 pm.
  3. December Semiannual Training: December 23 to 28 in Anaheim. Registration opens this week for LA saints at tinyurl.com/wintertrainingla. Registration due October 31 (live) or December 8 (video).
  4. Thanksgiving Conference: November 28 to December 1 in Atlanta, GA. Interested LA saints can get more information on hotel rates and RSVP at tinyurl.com/thanksgivingconfla.
  5. SCYP Junior High Conferences: October 11 to 13 in Diamond Bar (sisters) and Irvine (brothers).
  6. SCYP High School Conferences: October 25 to 27 in Cerritos (sisters) and Huntington Beach (brothers). Registration is due October 13.
  7. Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.