The Ministry, Vol. 09, No. 10


Book Description

This issue of The Ministry contains the last nine messages given during the 2004 spring term of the Full-time Training in Anaheim, California. The general subject of this series of messages is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In a simple, basic way the God of Abraham is the God of justification, the God of Isaac is the God of grace, and the God of Jacob is the God of transformation through divine discipline. Messages 2 through 7 of the October 2005 issue of The Ministry presented the God of Abraham. Messages 8 and 9 of that issue presented the God of Isaac. In this issue Message 10 concludes the fellowship concerning the God of Isaac. Isaac signifies our living a life of enjoying God; hence, we live a grace-enjoying life for God's good pleasure. Messages 11 through 17 present the God of Jacob. The God of Jacob, who is the God of transformation, issues in the God of Israel, who is the God of the transformed Jacob. Message 18 presents the Israel of God. All the experiences of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, represented by the lives and experiences of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are to produce this corporate person--the Israel of God. We do not have the experiences of the God of Abraham merely to be spiritual persons, we do not enter into the experiences represented by Isaac simply to be individuals enjoying God's grace in a personal way, and we do not go through all the experiences represented by Jacob's long life just to end up as spiritual individuals who have some spiritual stature. God desires a corporate person; He wants a people to express Him and represent Him. Last of all, we include a report concerning the Lord's move in the United Kingdom.




The Ministry, Vol. 09, No. 05


Book Description

This issue of The Ministry contains the final group of eight messages given during the 2004 fall term of the Full-time Training in Anaheim, California. The general subject for this line of messages is the intrinsic significance of the Lord's recovery for the building of the church as the house of God and the city of God. With the first message of this volume, six crucial words are introduced which are related to the intrinsic situation and need in the Lord's recovery. The first three words--purification, education, and reconstitution--are related to the ministry of Ezra, who not only enriched the recovery but, in particular, purified the recovery. The other three words--separation, protection, and expression--are related particularly to the ministry of Nehemiah with its pure, absolute, and aggressive leadership. The ministry of Ezra with the elements of purification, education, and reconstitution make up the intrinsic need in the Lord's recovery today. The leadership of Nehemiah comes after the ministry of Ezra. Nehemiah principally took the lead to build up the wall. The wall is the intrinsic significance of the city. To build up the wall and the temple is to build up the church as the house of God for the expression of God. To build up the wall with the city is to build up the church as the kingdom of God for the dominion of God. Both of these aspects of building up the church as the house of God and as the kingdom of God were so that God could have a corporate man in His image to express and represent Him with His dominion. These are for the full accomplishment of the economy of God, that is, to build up the Body of Christ, to usher in the kingdom of Christ, and to consummate the New Jerusalem. Last of all, we include reports concerning the distribution of the ministry in Romania and in Poland.




The Ministry, Vol. 09, No. 01


Book Description

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the twelve messages given during the 2004 winter training on the Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, held December 20-25 in Anaheim, California. The crucial truth and burden embodied in these twelve messages may be summarized in four statements: (1) God's economy--His household administration--is to produce and constitute the Body of Christ by dispensing Himself into our being to make us the same as He is in life and nature but not in the Godhead. (2) The church of God is the house of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth, and the great mystery of godliness--God manifested in the flesh. (3) We must be inoculators, those who inoculate others against the decline of the church, by exercising our spirit and remaining in the healthy teaching of God's economy. (4) We must be inoculators, those who inoculate others against the decline of the church, by being a man of God with the breath of God. These messages are being published immediately following the training in order that they might benefit the saints participating in the many video trainings that are held throughout the earth. Because of the particular nature and length of this issue, the usual section of reports concerning the Lord's move throughout the earth has been omitted. We have, however, included a calendar, giving the dates and locations of the seven Living Stream Ministry conferences and trainings--the seven annual feasts--for 2005. 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.




The Ministry, Vol. 09, No. 06


Book Description

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.




The Ministry, Vol. 09, No. 07


Book Description

This is a special combined issue (July/August 2005) of The Ministry. It contains a complete record of the messages given in Anaheim, California, during the 2005 Summer Training on the Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians and Song of Songs 7--8. Ten messages were given on 1 and 2 Thessalonians and two messages were given on Song of Songs 7--8. The relationship between these books is remarkable: At an intrinsic level, the crystals in Song of Songs 7--8 interface beautifully with those in 1 and 2 Thessalonians. In Song of Songs 7 we see the type of the deified lover of the Lord becoming His co-worker, working with Him for His Body. This matches what is revealed in 1 Thessalonians concerning Paul and the brothers as patterns [1:5]...Song of Songs 8 expresses in type the longing of the lover of the Lord to be raptured, hoping to be transfigured and praying for the Lord to make haste to come. This matches, in spirit, what is revealed particularly in 1 Thessalonians, which ends every chapter with the mention of the Lord's coming back (1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:15-17; 5:23). The crucial truth and burden embodied in these twelve messages may be summarized in two sets of statements. The first set of four statements concerns the books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians: (1) we need to see a vision of the church in God the Father with His life and nature and in the Lord Jesus Christ with all He is and has done; (2) faith as the nature and strength of the work, love as the motivation for and characteristic of labor, and hope as the source of endurance are the structure of a holy life for the church life; (3) to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls us into His kingdom and glory, is to live God and express God in our daily living by walking according to the mingled spirit; and (4) in order to live a holy life for the church life, we need to cooperate with God's operation to establish our heart blameless in holiness and to sanctify us wholly, with our spirit, soul, and body preserved complete. The second set of two statements concerns Song of Songs 7--8: (1) as we become the same as Christ in life, nature, expression, and function, we are qualified to work with Him for His Body; (2) as we trust in the Lord helplessly, depend on Him as our love and strength, and listen to His speaking, our hope is to be raptured through the redemption of our body, and our prayer is--"Come, Lord Jesus!" We include reports concerning the Lord's move in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, and concerning the need for a property in London. The Announcements section contains dates and locations for upcoming Living Stream Ministry trainings and conferences.




Journey toward Wholeness


Book Description

With roots stretching to before the Civil War, the National Convocation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) today serves as the connection between African Americans and the Stone-Campbell Movement. Founders of the African American Convention movement were visionaries, coordinating the opposition to slavery, forced relocation of free African Americans to Africa, and a multitude of social ills. Following emancipation, organizations that later became the National Convocation worked to improve the lives of freed slaves and their descendants. Journey toward Wholeness: A History of Black Disciples of Christ in the Mission of the Christian Church, chronicles the predecessors of the National Convocation and the movement's roots and growth through almost three centuries.




The Changing Role of the British Protestant Missionaries in China, 1945-1952


Book Description

This book focuses on the British Protestant missionaries in China in the period from 1945 to 1952. It captures the complexity and contradictions between the missionaries' own perception of their role and Chinese reality. It also examines the missionaries' perception of the nature of Communism and their evaluation of the future prospects under Communist rule. This study offers a stimulating reflection on the missionaries' strategies for propagating the Christian faith, their priorities, and theological as well as cultural assumptions with regard to mission and politics, mission and culture, and mission-church relations during the transition from Guomindang to Communist rule. In general terms, it provides an insight into the idealism and frustrations of missionaries as they wrestled with the changing political context in China.







Black Belt


Book Description

The oldest and most respected martial arts title in the industry, this popular monthly magazine addresses the needs of martial artists of all levels by providing them with information about every style of self-defense in the world - including techniques and strategies. In addition, Black Belt produces and markets over 75 martial arts-oriented books and videos including many about the works of Bruce Lee, the best-known marital arts figure in the world.





Book Description