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God’s Economy Needing Man’s Cooperation

“And she made a vow and said, O Jehovah of hosts, if You will indeed look upon the affliction of Your female servant and… give to Your female servant a male child, then I will give him to Jehovah for all the days of his life, and no razor will come upon his head.” (1 Sam. 1:11)

“It was for this child that I prayed, and Jehovah has granted me my request that I requested from Him. Therefore I, for my part, have lent him to Jehovah; all the days that he lives, he is lent to Jehovah…” (1 Sam. 1:27-28)

“And working together with Him, we also entreat you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” (2 Cor. 6:1)

The central thought of 1 and 2 Samuel is that the fulfillment of God’s economy needs man’s cooperation—the principle of incarnation. The principle of incarnation is that God enters into man and mingles Himself with man to make man one with Himself. Thus, God is in man and man is in God, having one life and one living. We need to be deeply impressed with the fact that the fulfillment of God’s economy requires our cooperation. To cooperate with God means to be bound together with God. (Crystallization-Study of 1 and 2 Samuel, msg. 1, I, A-B)

God chose Hannah because she was willing to cooperate with Him. God answered her prayer and opened her womb, and Hannah conceived and bore a son. Then according to her vow, she offered her son to God, placing him in the custody of Eli. From this we see that Hannah, Samuel’s mother, was one who cooperated very much with God. Her case shows us the kind of persons God expects to have today….There is the need for some to make a vow like Hannah. I hope that many of the young people will make such a vow. You need to say, “Lord, I am Yours. I just lend myself to You.” God will take your heart and accomplish something to fulfill what you vow to Him. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 6-7)

July Semiannual Training Registrations

Registration for the July 2022 Semiannual Training (July 4 to 9) is open until May 3 for the live in-person training in Anaheim ($205) and June 14 for webcasts in LA ($130). Saints in LA should register online at http://tinyurl.com/summertrainingla and follow payment directions.

May the Lord grant us to treasure these trainings and seize every opportunity to attend them not only to see the intrinsic essence of the divine revelation but also to serve as a proper audience for the unhindered release of the crystals in the Word of God. May we all, by the Lord’s mercy, highly value and enter into all the divine truths in the Word that He has released through His ministry by means of the life-study and crystallization-study trainings until we are constituted with these truths, enjoy the Lord as life according to these truths, and minister Him to others for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose to produce and build up the Body of Christ, consummating in the New Jerusalem. (“The History and Significance of the Life-study and Crystallization-study Trainings,” in the April 2022 issue of “Having This Ministry…”)

Please ask the Lord to release as many saints as possible to participate in His speaking to the churches in this training!

SCYP Spring Junior High Conferences

The Junior High Sisters Conference is this weekend from April 22 to 24. The gathering will be held in a hybrid format with options to join online or in person at Oak Glen. The messages on “The Precious Blood of Christ” will help to solve three problems—separation from God, guilt in our conscience, and accusation from the enemy—so that we can partake of God as our portion.

We encourage all the saints—especially the parents, serving ones and college students—to pray for the Lord to open and soften the hearts of our young people to be good receivers this coming weekend!

France

The annual French-speaking conference will be April 22 to 24 in Paris. This will be a joyful return to in-person meetings (with a Zoom option). This will be one of the first times messages will be spoken by local French-speaking brothers rather than by English-speaking co-workers from other places. Over 1,100 invitations were sent to those who have ordered Bibles and ministry books. We are expecting up to 100 first-time attendees. We pray that “God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ” (Col. 4:3); for all who attend to receive and treasure this word; and for many first-time attendees to enter into direct fellowship with the churches.

The same weekend, on April 24, will be the presidential run-off election in France for the top two candidates from the initial presidential election earlier this month. We have no preference among these two. Our prayer is that the will of God be done on earth for His move here. He is the One who “deposes kings and causes kings to ascend” (Dan. 2:21).

Ukraine

Please continue to pray for the ruling of the heavens over the entire situation so that:

  • The teams going out to proclaim the gospel among the refugees in Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, and Romania will be in good health and will find many sons of peace who will receive the Lord and be gained for the church life.
  • The saints in Ukraine and the refugees in the European countries will receive the supply of the resurrection life and will rise up to live and proclaim the gospel to their fellow Ukrainians.
  • The tripartite being of the saints who are under attack, including the brothers fighting in the army, will be protected and preserved.
  • Those who care for the Ukrainian refugees in Europe will enjoy the Lord as their bountiful supply of grace, wisdom, and endurance.
  • Satan and the authority of darkness over Europe will be bound, and God’s move in His economy will advance.

As the Lord leads, saints may give through the Church in Los Angeles designated for ‘Ukraine’.

India

Pray for the final printing of the NT Recovery Version in the Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Mizo languages. The final print files have already been sent to LSM, so please pray that the printing can be done without delay and for the Bible distribution afterwards in the various states of India.

Announcements

  1. Morning Revival: Week 1 of Crystallization-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, vol. 1.

  2. July Semiannual Training will take place in-person July 4 to 9 in Anaheim. Registration is open until May 3 for the live sessions in Anaheim ($205) and June 14 for webcasts in LA ($130). No late registrations. Saints in LA are invited to register at http://tinyurl.com/summertrainingla.

  3. Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: Live broadcast this Wednesday beginning at 7:25 pm at http://lsm.org/live in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. Outlines will be posted on the same site.

  4. Sixth Grade Conference: In-person at Oak Glen, May 6 to 8 (registration due April 24).

  5. Memorial Day Conference: Living Stream Ministry is now able to open the live, in-person portion of the 2022 International Memorial Day Blending Conference to all the saints in the Lord’s recovery from May 27 to 30 in Anaheim. The meetings will also be streamed online.

  6. Free e-Booklets: Living Stream Ministry has made a series of free e-booklets available to read and share with others at http://www.lsm.org/booklets. The latest release is “The Law of the Spirit of Life.”

  7. 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.