Crossing the Jordan River and Being Prepared for Battle
“For we who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death operates in us, but life in you.” (2 Cor. 4:11-12)
Israel’s crossing of the river Jordan typifies… the believers’ experience of the death of Christ, in which the old man is terminated and buried. We need to realize that our old man, our natural man, is not qualified to fight the spiritual warfare for the gaining of Christ. In Christ we are no longer the old man but a new man.
The priests carrying the Ark of the Testimony stood firmly on dry ground at the bottom of the river Jordan until all the nation had completely crossed over the Jordan. [They] were the first ones to go into the water and the last ones to come up out of the water. They waited at the bottom of the river for all of God’s people to cross over. The Lord is seeking for a group of people who, like the priests in Joshua 3 and 4, step into the water, that is, walk into death first. In the Lord’s recovery we need to die so that life may work in others; hence, our dying is our working. (Crystallization-Study of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, msg. 3, I.C, 2.c, III, A, B.3, C.4)
May we pray for the death of Christ to operate in all the saints so that life could be ministered to others and that the church could find the way of life in order to possess and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ.
International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones
The International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones will take place by webcast this weekend, October 8 to 10, with brothers participating from around the globe. The general subject is “Meeting God’s Need and Present Needs in the Lord’s Recovery.”
Please pray for the rich and timely supply of Christ to be ministered to all the brothers that they may grow in life and be equipped further in their function and service. May the Lord gain and perfect all the brothers as able ministers of the New Testament, effective building material for the universal building up of the Body of Christ, and good stewards and serving ones in their respective local churches.
Please pray that all the elders and responsible brothers throughout the Lord’s recovery will receive and enter into the burden of this training and cooperate with the Lord in order for His will to be done on earth and for His eternal purpose to be fulfilled.
Church in Los Angeles Joint Meeting
The whole church in Los Angeles—all halls, districts, and languages—will meet together on Lord’s Day, October 17. Saints are encouraged to attend their regular in-person or online gathering by hall at 10:00 am, then join a common Zoom link from 10:45 am to 12:00 pm. There will be translation to Chinese, Korean, and Spanish.
Please pray for a healthy attendance and blending, and for the timely speaking of the Lord as our Captain and Leader to bring all the saints in the church in Los Angeles more into a revived living.
UCLA
Thank you, saints, for all your prayers to defeat the stratagems of the devil and release our continued contact with many UCLA students! Last week we saw solid numbers of students at our Bible study and Friday college meeting, including many new ones. While we are thankful to the Lord for His bountiful blessing, we also have some critical prayer requests for this week (the second full week of classes) that we ask the saints to labor together in prayer on:
- A solid and sweet beginning for each student in their new small group Bible studies this week.
- Setting up specific appointments with students for cherishing and nourishing.
- Connecting with community saints and homes for mutual shepherding.
Bibles for America
Bibles for America hosted a special online event on Thursday, September 23 for the general public, including Bible recipients and BfA Blog subscribers. In total, 141 people joined the event live and the remaining 1,000 who registered will receive the recording, which may be shared with family, friends, and neighbors: http://webinar.biblesforamerica.org.
The focus of this time was on how the Recovery Version can unlock the meaning of God’s Word and help us know Him in a deeper way. This was highlighted by a panel of brothers who shared their rich experiences of Christ in the Word.
Please pray that all those who participated in this event would be encouraged to read the Recovery Version and dive into its footnotes. Pray also that they would each have a personal touch with the Lord and learn to draw out the life from His Word.
Sri Lanka
Pray for the translation team to be preserved in their spirit, soul and body and for their families to be blessed and covered. Also pray for the saints there to bear the burden and responsibility to pray, share in, and offer for the translation work.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 3 of Crystallization-study of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, vol. 1.
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Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: NO MEETING this Wednesday, October 6. The live broadcast will resume at 7:25 pm on October 13. Past messages may be found at http://www.lsmwebcast.com. Saints may also watch a video of Brother Lee speaking on the Crystallization-study of Song of Songs at http://www.lsm.org/timely-speaking.html; this week’s message is “Pursuing Christ for Satisfaction.”
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SCYP Fall Conferences: Registration is open for the California-wide young people’s conferences for Junior High (October 15 to 17) and High School (October 22 to 24; register by October 10).
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North America Korean-speaking Conference: On Zoom, October 23 (5:00 to 6:30 pm) and October 24 (9:00 am to 12:00 pm). Subject: “Meeting God’s Need and Present Needs in the Lord’s Recovery.”
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Living Stream Ministry‘s newsletter presents a number of resources to help the saints who desire to attend the December 2021 Semiannual Training on the Crystallization-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel to prepare themselves. See the current issue at http://newsletters.lsm.org/having-this-ministry.