Week of August 7
Coming to the Lord and Drinking Him by Calling on His Name
"Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink." (John 7:37)
"For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him; For 'whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'" (Rom. 10:12-13)
In order to receive the living water of life, man must first sense his thirst. This inward thirst compels man to come to the Lord Jesus. When you feel thirsty, you need to come to the Lord Jesus in a simple way. You should come without hesitation or reservation. (CWWL 1950-1951, vol. 3, "Changing Death into Life," ch. 6, pp. 143-144)
God has poured out His Spirit, and we receive the outpoured Spirit by calling on the name of the Lord. By calling "O Lord Jesus!" we receive the outpoured Spirit. By calling on the name of the Lord, we participate in all His riches, and these riches are in the all-inclusive Spirit. In order to drink the all-inclusive Spirit by calling on the name of the Lord, we must exercise our entire being, and especially our spirit, when we call. As we call "O Lord Jesus" by exercising our entire being, the all-inclusive Spirit has a way to be released from within us, and then He has a way to get into us more. (CWWL 1970, vol. 2, "Drinking the All-inclusive Spirit for the Practice of the Church Life and the Central Work of God," ch. 1, pp. 312-313)
Our Young People
Please continue to pray for our young people to go on in the way of life—especially as they start the next school year. Pray for our junior high and high schoolers to enter into a normal, age-appropriate Christian living by freshly turning to the Lord every morning, learning to converse with Him, reading His word daily, and flowing out to magnify Christ!
FTTA and FTTA-XB
The fall term of the Full-time Training in Anaheim and Extension in Boston begins next week. Please pray for all of those serving the trainees, that they themselves would enjoy the Lord's serving of them as their abounding grace. Also, pray for a safe return for all the trainees and a healthy, strong beginning in the Lord together.
GTCA Cities and Virtual Tours
Please continue to pray for the migration of burdened saints and the strengthening of the Lord's testimony in our 2022-2023 target cities (Columbus, OH; Nashville, TN; Normal, IL; Omaha, NE; Tampa, FL; and Virginia Beach, VA) and campus teams (Cincinnati and Columbus, OH; Lexington, KY; Pittsburgh, PA; Columbia SC; St. Louis, MO; and Tampa, FL).
This Saturday, August 13 there will be virtual tours featuring Virginia Beach (1:00 pm PT) and Omaha (3:00 pm PT). More information and links will be posted at http://gtca.us.
Bibles for America
At the recent World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, saints from four localities gave away Bibles, ministry books, and gospel tracts to people from at least 42 nations. The saints enjoyed the prayer, fellowship, and mutual encouragement each morning before they went out to distribute materials.
In total, 951 copies of the NT Recovery Version were given away, in addition to a number of books and tracts. Please pray that all the recipients would have an open heart as they read what they received. Pray that the Word of God would operate in them, causing them to grow and to come to the full knowledge of the truth.
Germany — Stuttgart Meeting Hall
The church in Stuttgart has not had a permanent meeting location since the Plieningen meeting hall, the former meeting hall that brother Witness Lee designed, was taken over by the opposers in the late 1980s. The church has been meeting in rented venues since then. Currently, there are around 65 saints and 15 children and young people in the church.
A suitable facility has been identified and its location is ideal. It is close to many saints and to the university with easy access to public transport. Next to the property is a public park with playgrounds and spacious green areas for picnics, recreation, and gospel outreach.
Due to its age and condition, the property will require extensive renovation. Immediate needs include better soundproofing and some cosmetic repairs. For longer term use, after approval from the city in 6 to 12 months, more extensive restorations and installations will be necessary to meet current building codes. The total project costs are estimated to be 2,775,000 euros.
Please pray for timely approval from the city and for adequate giving. Saints in LA who are burdened to contribute may give through the Church in Los Angeles designated for 'STUTTGART MEETING HALL'.
Ukraine
Please continue to pray that:
- Adequate housing will be found for the Ukrainian saints who expect to remain in Europe.
- The Lord will continue to shepherd the Ukrainian refugees in Europe and bring the chosen ones to believe into Christ and enter the church life.
- The local saints and serving ones will be blended with the Ukrainian refugees for the strengthening and building up of the Lord's testimony in key European cities.
- The saints in Russia and Ukraine will be kept in the oneness of the Body and the reality of the new man, where Christ is all the members and in all the members.
- The Lord will open a way for several thousand Russian NT Recovery Versions to enter into Europe and be distributed among the refugees.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 4 of our morning revival topic on "Life in the Gospel of John." On August 22, we begin Taking the Way of Enjoying Christ as the Tree of Life (Memorial Day Conference).
- Labor Day Conference: A conference for the saints and churches in Southern California will be held from September 2 to 4, Friday evening to Lord's Day noon. The general subject will be "The Lord's Coming." Because of a concern for the saints' health, the conference will be held completely online. Information will be sent later regarding ways to participate in the meetings.
- Bibles for America's latest posts at http://blog.biblesforamerica.org include "What Does It Mean to Be Spiritual?" and "Our Spiritual Remedy: The Spirit as an All-Inclusive Dose."
- Ministry Books Website: Living Stream Ministry has recently updated http://ministrybooks.org with greater functionality. Some publications can be read for free, including all the Life-studies. Access to The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The Collected Works Witness Lee, and The Conclusion of the New Testament and more is available through a monthly or yearly subscription.
- A Timely Speaking of Supply: Enjoy a free weekly video from messages given by Brother Lee at http://lsm.org/timely-speaking.html. The current series is Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification.
- 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.
Week of July 24
The Immoral Needing Life's Satisfying
"Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." (John 4:10)
"But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life." (John 4:14)
In [John 4:9-14] we see the contrast between the emptiness of religion's tradition and the fullness of life's living water… Although religion considers its way to be the most prevailing, yet religion's "water" never quenches the thirst of religious people… To "ask" is more prevailing than religion's way. The living water of God quenches our thirst and becomes a spring of water welling up into eternal life. Death's thirst is quenched by life. In principle, this also is to change death into life.
May the Lord impress us with what is proper worship. The proper worship is continually to drink the living water. God the Spirit is the living water, and our organ for drinking the living water is our human spirit. Whenever we exercise our human spirit to contact God, the living Spirit, we drink of Him as the living water in His Son, Jesus Christ. (Life-study of John, pp. 138-140, 150)
LA Truth School
Last Friday we began our Truth School. As each session progressed, so did the flow of the river of life, gushing up and springing up within all of our precious junior high and high school saints. Their hearts were opened up to see that our Lord Jesus came as life (John 1), that He quenches our thirst as living water (John 3 and 4), that He satisfies our hunger as the bread of life (John 6), and that He even meets the need of the dead as the One who is the resurrection and the life (John 11).
Please pray for a glorious continuation this week as our young people and serving ones endeavor in smaller groups to read the accompanying portions in John and be further impressed that their real need is Christ as life. Also pray that in their teenage years, our young people would lay the groundwork for a healthy diet in God's word, a solid foundation they could draw from all the days of their lives.
The 2022 Truth School concludes this Saturday, July 30.
UCLA Summer Freshmen Outreach
This summer, UCLA is hosting ten weekly orientations for incoming freshmen. The third three-day session starts on Tuesday, July 26 with an afternoon club fair. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to meet and connect with incoming students. So far we have 25 sign-ups from the two previous orientations. At the same time, we are also reaching out to incoming freshmen online through social media platforms such as Instagram. A good number are looking for fellowship and eager to meet up with us.
Please pray that we could meet many seekers and sons of peace on campus and online during this summer. May the Lord find these students and gain them to be remaining fruit for the church!
North America Chinese-speaking Perfecting Training
The 2022 North America Chinese-speaking Perfecting Training will be held online from July 27 to 31. This training is for Chinese-speaking saints who would like to be perfected in the areas of truth, life and service. The subject will be "The New Testament Priesthood." Over 3,200 saints from 172 churches have registered, including 30 saints from Los Angeles, and even many from Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Please pray that the saints attending the training would:
- Prepare themselves as trainees, open their hearts, and have the spirit of an instructed one.
- Be encouraged by all the speaking and fellowship, and touch the burden of the training.
- Consecrate themselves for the New Testament priesthood, and enter into daily exercise for the priesthood after the training.
Bibles for America
As of mid-July BfA has sent out over 95,000 free NT Recovery Versions this year. Pray "that the word of the Lord may run and be glorified" (2 Thes. 3:1) and that all the recipients will experience "the word of God, which also operates in you who believe" (1 Thes. 2:13).
European Young People's Conference
This year's EYPC will be held in-person from July 31 to August 6 in Małe Ciche, Poland for the first time since the pandemic. Please pray for the Lord's speaking to the European young people and their response by loving and enjoying the Lord Jesus as the tree of life.
Ukraine
Please continue to pray that:
- Adequate housing will be found for the Ukrainian saints who expect to remain in Europe.
- The Lord will use the shepherding gospel trips in key cities in Europe to bring the chosen ones among the Ukrainian refugees to believe into Christ and enter into the church life.
- The local saints and serving ones will be blended with the Ukrainian refugees for the strengthening and building up of the Lord's testimony in key European cities.
- The saints in Russia and Ukraine will be kept in the oneness of the Body and the reality of the new man, where Christ is all the members and in all the members.
As the Lord leads, saints may give through the Church in Los Angeles designated for 'Ukraine'.
The Lord's Move to Africa
The July 2022 issue of the Lord's Move to Africa newsletter presents an update regarding the Lord's move in three countries in West Africa: Ghana, Togo and Côte d'Ivoire. Read more in English or Chinese at http://www.lmafrica.org.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 2 of our special morning revival topic on "Life in the Gospel of John."
- Free e-Booklets: Living Stream Ministry offers a series of free e-booklets to read and share at http://www.lsm.org/booklets, including "Life's Satisfying – the Need of the Immoral."
- LSM Newsletter: The July issue contains helpful articles including an introduction to a set of free e-booklets on "Life's Meeting Every Person's Need."
- GTCA: A virtual tour of Columbus, OH will take place July 30, 1:00 pm PST at http://gtca.us.
- Lord's Move to Europe: Both video and written reports on the Lord's present move in Europe can be found at http://amanatrust.org.uk/page/reports. Please stream but do not download any videos from this page. These reports will help to direct your prayer toward different aspects of the spreading and building up of the Lord's testimony in Europe.
- Bibles for America's latest blogpost asks, "What Does It Mean to Be Spiritual?" To read the answer, visit http://blog.biblesforamerica.org.
- Ministry Books Website: Living Stream Ministry has recently updated ministrybooks.org with greater functionality. Some publications can be read for free, including all the Life-studies. Access to The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The Collected Works Witness Lee, and The Conclusion of the New Testament and more is available through a monthly or yearly subscription.
- A Timely Speaking of Supply: Each week LSM posts a free video from messages given by Brother Lee at http://lsm.org/timely-speaking.html. This week's is on Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification.
- 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.