The Bride—the Goal of the Lord’s Recovery
“Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” (Rev. 19:7)
The marriage of the Lamb [in Revelation 19:7-9] is the issue of the completion of God’s New Testament economy, which is to obtain for Christ a bride, the church, through His judicial redemption and by the organic salvation in His divine life. The bride is the goal of the Lord’s recovery. (The Preparation of the Bride, msg. 1, II.A, III)
There is no doubt that Revelation 19 will be completely fulfilled. Furthermore, we believe that the process of fulfillment is taking place today. The bride, however, cannot be prepared quickly. This preparation is a gradual work that takes place over a period of time. Certainly the Lord must be doing a work on earth to prepare His bride. This preparation involves the work of a corporate building. Those who make up the bride must not only be mature in life; they must also be built together as the one bride. The primary work of the Lord in His recovery is to prepare His bride. In His recovery He is calling out a remnant of those who love Him and who are faithful to Him. He is sending out the call to overcome the degradation of Christianity so that a number of those who seek Him may be prepared as His bride. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4324)
Pray for the saints to hear the call to overcome by becoming part of the bride through cooperation, preparation, beautification, and maturation.
Having a Breakthrough in Contacting People
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes it away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it that it may bear more fruit…If one does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned…You did not choose Me, but 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.” (John 15:1-2, 6, 16)
Some brothers and sisters have been faithful in the recovery and for the recovery for many years…They love the church, they are for the church, and they support the church financially, but they are not bearing fruit. They should realize that to not bear fruit is a serious thing before the Lord. The Lord wants us to have a spiritual life in the church, to go to the meetings, to worship Him, and to live Him. But what is all this for? If all the saints in the church were like this, yet no one bore any fruit, the church would eventually die out…The most basic, crucial, and vital thing is for us to bring forth children.
…To bring forth spiritual children, you must make a serious decision to contact people directly. Do not trust in preachers and in preaching meetings. Just trust in your direct, personal, continual contact with people. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “Elders’ Training, Book 10: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2),” ch. 9, pp. 455-456)
Please pray that all the saints would have a breakthrough in gaining people for the Lord themselves by learning how to bear fruit and practicing fruit-bearing continually.
FTTA
The Fall 2025 term of the Full-time Training in Anaheim (as well as the Boston Extension) began this week on August 10. For this pre-training week, please pray:
- That the Lord would speak all that is on His heart to supply and prepare the trainees and to gain their full consecration.
- For the Lord’s covering and strengthening of all the staff and serving saints as they cooperate with Him to care for all aspects of the training.
- For the Lord’s arrangements of all the service groups and campus teams, and for the surrounding localities to be ready to receive and care for the trainees assigned to them.
Our Young People
The LAUSD 2025–2026 academic year started on Monday, August 11 with other school districts having already begun or beginning soon. Please pray for all our young people to consecrate this upcoming school year to the Lord and to abide in Him. Pray that they would become seeds of the gospel and branches of Christ and would lead their friends and classmates to the Lord (John 12:24; 15:5).
France
We continue to be burdened for the raising up of at least 3 new lampstands in 2025, particularly in Lille, Nanterre (Paris region), and Toulouse.
Please continue to pray for more saints to receive the Lord’s burden to serve in French-speaking Europe for one to three months to meet the urgent need for continued shepherding of the new ones the Lord has put into our hands. Also pray that many students, families, and mature saints will migrate to France within the next several years for the Lord’s interest.
Ukraine and Russia
A reminder from the footnote on 1 Kings 8:48: “No matter for whom we are praying, our prayers should be aimed at the interests of God, i.e., at Christ and the church as God’s interests on earth, for the fulfilling of God’s economy.”
Please continue to pray for the Lord to:
- Keep all the saints in the countries involved open to Him for His divine dispensing.
- Meet all their practical needs and preserve their tripartite beings for His interests.
- Protect His people and His interests in Ukraine, Russia, and throughout Europe.
Laos
Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia with a population of approximately 8 million. There are currently four local churches, including in the capital, Vientiane.
Please pray for the campus work in Vientiane to bear 10 remaining fruits and gain 20 college students who are willing to read the Bible. Also, continue to pray for the literature work to be strengthened and for the final proofreading and publication of the Rhema books in the Lao language. May these materials become a timely and rich supply to the saints and seekers throughout the country.
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 1 of The Preparation of the Bride (Memorial Day Conference).
- Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: The ministry meeting will resume next week, August 20.
- Free e-Booklets: Living Stream Ministry offers free e-booklets to read and share. For example, sixty nuggets and gems have been extracted from the Life-study of Philippians with practical and relevant topics such as “The Way to Be Freed from Anxiety” and “The Need of Forbearance in Married Life and Family Life.” These e-booklets may be accessed for free at www.lsm.org/life-study-philippians.
- Bibles for America‘s blogpost “The Importance of Spending Personal Time with Jesus in the Morning” is available to read and share at bfa.org/blog. Helpful videos are available at bfa.org/videos.
- France Shepherding Trips: An invitation letter to participate in ongoing short-term shepherding trips throughout France is posted at lme.org/reports.html.
- Germany Gospel Trips: Saints are invited to participate in gospel trips October 5 to 19 in Germany for the purpose of contacting university students. Information is at tinyurl.com/Gospeltrips-2025.
- Italy 2026 Winter Olympics: A letter of fellowship and a letter with instructions on how to apply and participate in gospel trips are posted at lme.org/reports.html.
- The LA Years: This oral history project at www.layears.org documents the early years of the church life in Los Angeles from 1958–1974, including written history, photos, and first-hand testimonies.
- Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.