The Christian Life—a Life of Abiding in the Lord
“Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)
“That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.” (Rom. 8:4)
Our abiding in Christ, the vine, by being one with the Lord in our mingled spirit is not only a divine fact but also a spiritual factor that affects our entire spiritual life. It is in and by abiding that we have the genuine holiness, spirituality, and victory over sin, the world, Satan, our flesh, and the self; it is in and by abiding that we become practical members of the Body of Christ; and it is in and by abiding that we live the normal Christian life and church life. When we are abiding in the vine, we have no problems, because we are one with the Son of God, who has conquered every enemy and dealt with every negative thing. When we abide in the Lord, we lack nothing, and we need to do nothing other than enjoy what He has accomplished, because all that He has accomplished becomes our experience when we are one with Him.
To abide in the Lord by unceasing prayer means that we have a constant and unceasing trust in the living One, who is one spirit with us. We need to see this. More than fifty years ago I spent much time seeking holiness, a victorious life, and spirituality. I bought all kinds of books and spent time reading them and practicing what they outlined. However, nothing that I practiced was effective. Through the years the Lord in His mercy allowed us to discover the secret for all the “how-tos.” This secret is to abide in the mingled spirit.
If the church is in a poor and low condition, our abiding will help the church be uplifted and enriched. The real remedy to the church’s poor condition comes from our abiding in the Lord. Today the reason there is much spiritual death among the saints is that we do not abide in the Lord by remaining in our mingled spirit to worship God, receive His instant word, and dwell with Him. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, pp. 165-168, 172-173)
Taking the Shepherding Way
“The way that can save people effectively must be by small vital groups, and everyone in this small vital group must be a shepherd. After a short time the church will be revived. No other way is more prevailing than this shepherding way.” (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” ch. 13, p. 451)
Shepherding the believers is very crucial for their growth in life. We must take the shepherding way to preach the gospel and revive the church. We should pray, “Lord, I want to be revived. From today I want to be a shepherd. I want to go to feed people, to shepherd people, and to flock people together.” (SoCal Labor Day Conference, msg. 1, III.C, 1)
Pray that the saints would receive the burden to participate in Christ’s wonderful shepherding and to take the shepherding way to preach the gospel and revive the church.
Bibles for America – San Francisco
In August, saints gave away copies of the NT Recovery Version at City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University. The saints distributed 58 NTs and obtained information from 68 new contacts for follow-up. They were able to have Bible studies with some of these students, and a number of them prayed to receive the Lord.
Please pray for the continued follow-up with these students. Pray that the Lord would keep their hearts soft and open as they are contacted by the saints, and that they would be nourished to grow in the divine life. Pray also that many more saints would be filled with the spirit of the gospel, especially as classes begin on campuses across the US.
Sacramento Meeting Hall
After much prayer and diligent searching, the church in Sacramento has found a facility that will meet the needs of the Lord’s increase and spread in that city and the surrounding area. This larger property would meet the need for:
- Safety for the saints attending the meetings.
- Enlarging the capacity for blending meetings with area churches which are increasing in number.
- Providing for larger blending meetings for the North Central Valley churches and seeking ones.
- Outreach at nearby Sacramento State University, in coordination with nearby campus teams.
Located 10 minutes’ drive from Sacramento State University, the 2.48-acre property includes multiple buildings connected by covered walkways and three paved parking lots. After some remodeling, the seating capacity of the main hall can be increased from 390 to over 500. An additional “fellowship hall” seats around 200 and has no need of upgrading; it could be used by the saints in Sacramento immediately.
The church must fulfill the purchase price of $3.25 million by October 1, after which there will be retrofitting, upgrades and repairs estimated at around $1.2 million for a total cost of $4.45 million.
A detailed letter with a linked brochure of the property is at www.churchinsacramento.org. Saints in LA may participate in giving through the Church in LA designated for “Sacramento Meeting Hall.”
2024 Paris Olympics Gospel Trips
The final Olympics gospel trip ended on September 9. The Lord has done more than we could ask or think. Now our eyes are turning to the urgent need before us: there must a way to care for the ones we have contacted during our consecutive gospel trips.
Many saints from the gospel teams have expressed the desire to return soon and spend one to three months where they have labored. We felt that this was the Lord’s speaking on how the urgent need could be met. The co-workers in Europe have begun to fellowship about how retired saints and those serving full-time might be able to return soon so that the shepherding of our new ones could continue. A letter is being prepared to inform the saints on how they may participate in this way. Please pray:
- That the saints, retired or full-time, who have participated in the TR or OL gospel trips would have the echo of the Lord’s burden in their heart to come for one to three months to meet the urgent need for the continued shepherding of the dear new ones the Lord has put into our hands.
- That all those who have applied to migrate and serve in France would get their visas approved in a timely manner so that a new Paris-based team could begin coordinating and serving by mid-October.
- That many students, families, and mature saints would have open hearts to hear and respond to the Lord’s call to migrate migrate within the next couple of years for the Lord’s interest in France.
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.”
India
Pray for the leading brothers’ training in various states in September, that the speaking and leading of the ministry would become the speaking and leading among the churches.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 4 of The Christian Life (from the Memorial Day Conference).
- Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: The ministry meeting continues this week starting at 7:25 pm.
- Thanksgiving Conference: Atlanta, GA from November 28 to December 1. Interested LA saints can get more information on hotel rates and RSVP for updates at tinyurl.com/thanksgivingconfla.
- The LA Years: Chapter 6: Visiting Seekers Throughout America is published at www.layears.org, an oral history project documenting the early years of the church life in Los Angeles from 1958–1974.
- Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.