The Ministry Vol 10 No 06

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the messages given during the Memorial Day weekend conference held in Phoenix, Arizona, May 26-29, 2006. The general subject of the conference was entitled "Cooperating and Coordinating with the Energizing God in His Up-to-date and Ultimate Move to Carry Out His Economy," and the main burden of the conference can be summarized by the following four statements: 1) we need to cooperate and coordinate with the inner energizing Triune God to bring in a new revival and turn the age, 2) the burning of the seven lamps of fire motivates us to rise up and take action to carry out God's ultimate move in raising up the golden lampstands, 3) we need to march on as one with the energizing God and fight the battle to recover the earth for the kingdom of God, and 4) we need to cooperate and coordinate with Christ in His heavenly ministry to be His overcomers for His up-to-date and ultimate move to carry out His economy. Last of all, we include a report concerning a recent conference for the young people in Europe.

This issue of The Ministry contains the messages given during the Spring 2005 International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones, held April 10-12 in Anaheim, California. The general subject of this training was the churches, the ministry, and the work. The Body is the governing law of the life and work of the children of God today. The church, the ministry, and the work are on the ground of the Body. The basic principle of the churches is the Body, the basic principle of the ministry is the Body, and the basic principle of the work is the Body. The churches are the Body expressed locally, the ministry is the Body in function, and the work is the Body seeking increase (Acts 13:1-2; 21:19). Concerning this subject, in fellowship with a few co-workers on December 15, 1995, Brother Witness Lee said, "I ask you to render to this work the highest cooperation. When I say 'the highest cooperation,' I mean that you must dive into these things, as I did, day and night. Second, you have to experience them. Third, you have to live a God-man life. Fourth, you have to be an overcomer to keep every principle of the Body." May the Lord enlighten us concerning every principle of the Body! Last of all, we include a report concerning the Lord's move in Israel.

About This Issue of The Ministry In this issue of The Ministry we begin a series of messages given by Brother Lee in Taipei, Taiwan in April and May of 1950. These messages concern the salvation of God; a brief presentation of the history, content, and outline of the Bible; the person and work of the Lord; and the history and ground of the church. In the first message, Brother Lee reminds us that although human society esteems self-improvement and religion, these things have no place in God’s salvation. Rather, God’s salvation is simply God Himself, the One who is able to deliver us from the things that we are not able to overcome by our resolve. God’s salvation is inward, in spirit; not outward, in letter. The six messages that follow were given in the 1999 Thanksgiving Conference in Irving, Texas. The general subject is A New Revival—Reaching the Highest Peak of the Divine Revelation. Message One shows us that God’s intention in His economy is to build Himself in Christ into our being. Message Two presents the great question, the great answer, and the great way to fulfill the answer. Message Three presents the "diamond" in the "box" of the divine revelation from the aspect of the gospel of God. The main subject of Message Four is 2 Samuel 7:12-14a, which is the unveiling of a prophecy through typology showing us that we need God to build Christ into our intrinsic constitution so that our entire being will be reconstituted with Christ. Message Five shows us that God in Christ is within us to build Himself into our being and to build us into His being. Such a Christ who is built and constituted into us is both God’s house and our house. Message Six concludes with the charge that the intrinsic element of our work must be to minister the building and builded God into others so that the Triune God may build Himself into their being for His corporate expression. Last of all, we include reports concerning the Lord’s move in Romania and in Armenia among the young people, and a recent conference in Thessaloniki, Greece.

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the nine messages given during the 2005 International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones in Moscow, Russia, in October 2005. The general subject of the training was the vision of the Lord's recovery and its application. The burden for these messages can be summarized in the following four statements: 1) the true vine--Christ the Son with the believers in the Son as the branches--is the organism of the Triune God in the Son for His multiplication, spreading, and glorification in the divine life; 2) we must stay on the way of life, the line of life, in the maintenance of life by enjoying Christ as the tree of life in the flow of life for God's building in life by our growth in life; 3) the kingdom of God is constituted with God's life as the realm of the divine life for His ruling, in which He reigns by His life and expresses Himself as the Divine Trinity in the divine life; and 4) the intrinsic significance of the golden lampstand is the highest peak of the divine revelation, the subjective experience of the golden lampstand is the God-man living, and the organic maintenance of the golden lampstand is Christ's shepherding in His heavenly ministry. We also include a report concerning the Lord's move in Ghana and Nigeria, West Africa.

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the twelve messages given during the 2005 winter training on the Crystallization-study of the Building of God, held December 26-31 in Anaheim, California. The crucial truth and burden embodied in these twelve messages may be summarized in four statements: (1) The building of God is the processed Triune God wrought into us so that under His continual dispensing we become His enlargement, expansion, and corporate expression. (2) The three tabernacles--the type of the tabernacle, the reality of the tabernacle, and the consummation of the tabernacle--reveal the goal of God's economy to have a corporate people to be His dwelling place for His expression and representation in eternity. (3) The intrinsic element of the work of the divine building is to minister the building and builded God into others for the building up of the Body of Christ. (4) The desire of God's heart is the building of God into man and the building of man into God for the building of a great corporate God-man, the New Jerusalem. These messages are being published immediately following the training in order that they may benefit the saints participating in the many video trainings that are held throughout the earth. The Reports section includes an update on the purchase of the Bower House property in England and highlights on how the new facility is being used to carry out the burden of the work in Europe. In the Announcements section we include the 2006 schedule of European and Middle Eastern events as well as a calendar, giving the dates and locations of the seven Living Stream Ministry conferences and trainings--the seven annual feasts--for 2006. One cannot measure the benefits derived during these feasts from the Lord's rich speaking in His ministry and the mutual blending and building up of the saints and the churches in the Lord's recovery from every continent.

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the twelve messages given during the 2006 summer training on the Crystallization-study of the Body of Christ, held July 3 to 8 in Anaheim, California. The crucial truth and burden embodied in these twelve messages may be summarized in four statements: (1) The divine economy is God's plan to dispense Christ into His chosen people to produce, constitute, and build up the organic Body of Christ. (2) The unique oneness of the Body of Christ is the oneness of the Spirit--the mingling of the processed Triune God with all the believers in Christ. (3) The overcomers see the Body, know the Body, care for the Body, honor the Body, do the work of the Body, and keep every principle of the Body. (4) The overcomers live out and work out the New Jerusalem by the mingling of God with man for the oneness of the Body of Christ. These messages are being published immediately following the training in order that they may benefit the saints participating in many video trainings that are held throughout the earth. The Announcements section includes fellowship concerning the use of the Bower House property in London, UK.

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the six messages given during the 2005 Thanksgiving Weekend Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia, November 24-27, 2005. The general subject of the conference was the Lord's coming. The burden of these messages can be summarized in the following four statements: 1) we need to be purified and reconstituted with the healing Christ in the last days for His coming; 2) if we pay the price to allow the Spirit to saturate our entire being, we are watchful persons, making ourselves ready for the Lord's coming; 3) in order to enter into the joy of the Lord in the coming age of the kingdom, we need to pay the price in this age by losing our soul-life; and 4) all those who are used by God to turn the age must be Nazarites--voluntarily consecrated ones who are sanctified absolutely and ultimately to God. Lastly, we also include two reports: a report concerning the Lord's move in Ethiopia and a report concerning two seminars held in eastern Europe in the countries of Poland and Romania.

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the eight messages given during the 2006 International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones, held March 31--April 2, 2006 in Anaheim, California. The general subject of the training was "Taking the Shepherding Way to Preach the Gospel and Revive the Church." Three important matters in the ministry will bring in a genuine revival: the high peak of the divine revelation, the God-man living, and shepherding according to God. This third matter--shepherding according to God--is the subject of this entire volume. Shepherding touches the heart, burden, and concern of the ministry. Shortly before he passed away, Brother Lee wrote down six points that were intended for the Elders' Training of April 1997. These points which all relate to shepherding include: 1) not lording it over God's allotment, 2) be willing to be a slave to the saints, 3) humble yourself under the saints, 4) elders should shepherd one another and love one another to be a model of the Body-life, 5) take care of the saints in everything and in every way for the dispensing of Christ into them, and 6) contact and visit the saints and invite them to your homes for meals. May the Lord grant us grace to take the shepherding way to preach the gospel and revive the church. We also include reports concerning the Lord's move in Poland and in the Czech Republic.