The Move Of God In His Recovery As Portrayed In Ezekiel

This issue of The Ministry contains the fourth of a series of messages which Brother Lee spoke concerning migration in Los Angeles in 1969. This message focuses on the testimony of God. According to the context of the entire Bible, the testimony of God is God Himself in Christ and the church. As the New Testament people of God, we must be the corporate witness, bearing this unique testimony. This requires that we know and practice the church life in its proper generality, which is the all-inclusive testimony of God and the full recovery of the Lord. For the church to take another way brings in confusion and division, and it causes us to lose God’s testimony. Therefore, the purpose of our migrations is to spread the church life as the completion of the Lord’s recovery, not the recovery only of certain items, but the recovery in totality. Following this are the messages from the Memorial Day Weekend Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The subject of this conference was “The Move of God in His Recovery as Portrayed in Ezekiel.” In these messages we see the high, awesome, and profoundly mysterious “visions of God” (Ezek. 1:1), showing us the intrinsic depths of God’s heart’s desire, His plan, His eternal economy, and His move to carry out His eternal economy. At the same time, we see many applications of the visions for the Lord’s current move in migration to raise up new churches. We also include a report on the open house and meeting of thanksgiving, praise, and consecration at the campus for the spread of the work of God’s New Testament ministry in the Lord’s recovery. This glorious and memorable inauguration of the new facility included an open house in three of the buildings on the campus, a love feast, a review of crucial points of the ministry of Brother Lee, and a solemn time of prayer. Following this is a report on the publication of the ministry in the Czech Republic with some encouraging responses from readers of The Stream magazine, a report on the radio broadcast of the ministry in the Spanish language, and a report on the ten-day training in Ardzini, Armenia.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains the final eight messages given during the spring 1998 term of the full-time training in Anaheim, California. These messages unveil many practical points concerning the overcomers, particularly as seen in the epistles in Revelation 2 and 3 to the seven churches. These epistles issue a call for overcomers to respond to the speaking Spirit to overcome particular items of degradation in the churches. Messages 9 through 15 speak of the Lord's call for the overcomers in Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Message 16 concludes with the composition and consummation of the overcomers. The Announcements section at the end of this issue contains a list of upcoming conferences and trainings sponsored by Living Stream Ministry.

This issue of The Ministry contains the final eight messages given during the 2006 fall term of the full-time training in Anaheim, California. The general subject of this series of messages is entitled "The Reality of the Body of Christ." The Body of Christ is crucial in relation to God's economy. In short, God's economy is to constitute us with Christ and thereby make us the same as Christ in life, nature, and expression. Therefore, God's goal is the Body of Christ, which is simply the enlargement, increase, duplication, and reproduction of Christ. God in His economy wants us to experience Christ and be filled with Christ in our daily lives, yet His ultimate goal is to gain the Body of Christ for His expression and dominion. Furthermore, His Body is also His bride for His satisfaction in love. We need to be infused with a burden concerning the reality of the Body of Christ, and we need to become the Body of Christ in reality in order to hasten our Lord's return. Last of all, we include a report concerning the recent international conference in London, England. In addition, we include a letter from the Russian-speaking churches to all the churches in the Lord's recovery.

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the nine messages given in Auckland, New Zealand during the International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones in October 2004. The general subject of these messages is the uniqueness of the Lord's recovery (see The Ministry, February 2004, and June 2004). The burden for these messages can be summarized in the following fellowship from Message One, from excerpts of Practical Talks to the Elders by Witness Lee: We don't know how long the coming days will be; only the Lord knows. But for as long as the Lord tarries, the recovery will be on this earth...With these future days and future new ones especially in mind, I feel there needs to be a basic vision or basic knowledge of the Lord's recovery. Just five years ago a distraction came in which confused some dear ones who were concerned for the Lord's recovery. Since such a thing could happen in the past right before our eyes, how can we have the assurance that such a thing will not be repeated in the future? Thus, while the Lord still grants me the days, I would like to do as much as I can to put things clearly into writing. Then the dear ones who are in and who will be brought into the Lord's recovery can have a clear view about what it is. (pp. 51-52) God is unique. His plan is unique. His work is unique. His way to carry out His work is unique. And the very instrument used for His way is the ministry. Thus this ministry is also unique. In the New Testament, there is the unique Christ, the unique way, and the unique focus to carry out the unique circumference, the church, by the unique ministry. (p. 57) In the Lord's recovery...we are doing one work, carrying out one ministry. We are serving one Lord, worshipping one God. We are in His unique plan, in His unique economy, in His unique work, in His unique way. We minister His unique focus. (p. 60) If we are not in the focus and if we do not experience what we preach to others, we face two perils. One, sooner or later there will be divisions. Two, if we don't practice the focal points, the saints have no way to practice them. The things we teach will eventually become doctrines in the Lord's recovery. There will be no reality. The recovery will be just empty. If we don't care for the Lord's recovery by paying heed to all these unique points, then we will care for the spreading of our work. To care for the spread of our work is dangerous. It will produce different works to build up different ministries. Then division will result...I am fearful and trembling of these two perils: the peril of different works being produced to cause division and the peril of emptiness. (pp. 62-63) May the Lord speak to us in these messages to show us the uniqueness of His recovery. May the Lord keep us secure in this vision, and may He keep His recovery from division and from emptiness. Last of all, in the sections regarding reports and announcements, we include a schedule of the upcoming conferences and trainings in Europe for 2005.

This work completes Daniel Block's two-volume commentary on the book of Ezekiel. The result of twelve years of studying this difficult section of Scripture, this volume, like the one on chapters 1-24, provides an excellent discussion of the background of Ezekiel and offers a verse-by-verse exposition that makes clear the message of this obscure and often misunderstood prophet. Block also shows that Ezekiel's ancient wisdom and vision are still very much needed as we enter the twenty-first century.