“Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah”
“And one of the elders said to me, Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Rev. 5:5)
“And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as having just been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sits upon the throne.” (Rev. 5:6-7)
After Christ passed through death, resurrection, and ascension, He stood in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures. There was a resurrected Lamb standing before the throne in heaven.
This Lion-Lamb was standing, not sitting, and His seven eyes were flashing. This indicates that His work was not finished…As far as redemption is concerned, Christ sat down at the right hand of God in the heavens after His ascension (Heb. 1:3; 10:12); however, regarding the carrying out of God’s administration, He is still standing in His ascension.
The redeeming Lamb is now standing at the center of the universe, before God’s throne. This reveals that the Redeemer is now in God’s administration. He is the Administrator of the universe, executing God’s economy…The whole universe is watching this scene. The four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, myriads of angels, and all other creatures are wide-awake, alert, and observing. These are the circumstances in which they proclaim, “To Him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever” (Rev. 5:13). There is a Lion-Lamb standing in the center of the universe with seven flashing, burning eyes. He saves us from our silence, coldness, and laziness. Our vision must be uplifted to see this Lamb accomplishing a work of eternally vast dimensions. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4225-4226, 4236-4237)
Cooperating with the Lord by Being His Faithful Stewards
“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.” (John 15:4)
“And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and prudent steward, whom the master will set over his service to give them their portion of food at the proper time?” (Luke 12:42)
In order to carry out His economy, God must have faithful stewards, dispensers, who dispense the divine life supply to God’s children. The Christian living is the living of grace, the experience of grace, so that we may carry out our stewardship of grace, the dispensing of grace. We need to be channels of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of grace, those who minister, who dispense, the word of God’s grace to the saints for their growth in life and for their enjoyment of Christ. (The Ministry of the Word and God’s Dispensing for God’s Economy, msg. 5, II, D, E)
Please pray for all of the saints to continue to abide in the vine to receive the dispensing of grace so that all may be channels of supply to every neighborhood and community in Los Angeles.
Semiannual Training Registrations
This Thursday, April 30 is the firm deadline for saints meeting with the church in Los Angeles to register for live, in-person attendance at the upcoming Semiannual Training, June 29 to July 4 in Anaheim ($205). Late registrations cannot be accepted. Sign-up and payment instructions are at tinyurl.com/summertrainingla. Registrations for local video trainings ($130) are due June 14. Please contact your district’s registration coordinator if you have any questions.
We hope that many saints will seize the opportunity to participate in this training. As the Lord leads, may many be led of the Lord to budget their time and money so that they can physically attend the meetings. Just as Timothy “closely followed” Paul’s “teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, endurance” (2 Tim. 3:10), may we likewise closely follow—in a regulated way, girded up in our spirit—the Lord’s up-to-date speaking so that the Lord may build His Body and prepare His bride.
Sixth Grade Conference
This weekend, May 1 to 3, the Southern California Sixth Grade
- For the preparation of all the sixth graders in the churches for this time of being infused with the precious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- For the Lord to be with all the speaking brothers, to anoint them with the Spirit and give them the utterance to speak a word that will penetrate the hearts of the sixth graders.
- That the parents and serving ones will be in one accord to pray and care for the children in the best way, so that the Lord may dynamically save them and gain them for His purpose.
FTTT Gospel Trips
The Full-time Training in Taipei concludes its five-week overseas gospel trips on April 30. We thank the Lord for blessing and covering all the teams in Europe, Asia and Africa. The trainees have been diligent to preach the gospel daily, share God’s word and the riches of this ministry with others, and encourage the local saints to do the same.
In addition to the safe return of all the trainees to Taipei, please continue to pray for the follow-up shepherding of all the new contacts, that many become remaining fruit in the local churches. As John 15:16 reminds us, “I chose you, and I set you that you should go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give you.”
Angola
Located on the western coast of Southern Africa, Angola is the second-largest Portuguese-
A blending conference will take place in Huambo from May 1 to 3. Nearly 300 saints from around the country are expected to attend. Please uphold the following matters in prayer:
- For the ministry of the Word—that the Lord, through His speaking, gain a living and labor according to the vision of the age, and that this vision would change the age.
- For the traveling saints—that the Lord cover and protect all those traveling from different cities of Angola to the conference.
- For all serving ones—that their service minister life for the building up of the Body of Christ.
- For the new ones coming from the eastern part of the Angola—that they see the vision of the local churches as the practical expression of the universal Body of Christ.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 40 of Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (4), vol. 7.
- Semiannual Training: April 30 is the firm registration deadline for live, in-person attendance at the next Semiannual Training, June 29 to July 4 in Anaheim. For LA saints, please register on time at tinyurl.com/summertrainingla. Registration to participate by video/webcast is due later (June 14).
- Memorial Day Conference: May 22 to 25 in Dallas, TX. For LA saints attending in person, please RSVP by May 1 at tinyurl.com/memdayla. More information is linked at that site.
- The Truth Sets US Free: The recording of the webinar on April 26 is posted at tsuf.us/participate.
- Bibles for America’s recent blogpost “How Can We Practice Praying Without Ceasing?” is available to read and share at bfa.org/blog.
- Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: The ministry meeting on 1 & 2 Thessalonians continues this Wednesday at 7:25 pm at the Ministry Conference Center and online at www.lsmwebcast.com.
- Ways to Give: Information may be found at www.churchinlosangeles.org/
members/offerings.