A Digital Newsletter from Living Stream Ministry
For many years, trainees in the Full-time Training in Anaheim have participated in domestic and international gospel trips. One of their main activities during these times has been to distribute the Recovery Version of the New Testament and the ministry literature. The most recent gospel trips concluded at the beginning of February. As the following testimonies demonstrate, the Lord’s abundant blessing upon the spreading of His word was manifested once again.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come (Matt. 24:14).
From January 22 to February 5, over 230 trainees and serving ones in 36 teams coordinated with local saints in 23 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America to preach the gospel of the kingdom. As part of their gospel service, teams set up tables on university and college campuses to distribute free copies of the Recovery Version of the New Testament, volumes from the Basic Elements of the Christian Life series, and other ministry publications. We offer the following reports as a sample of the testimonies of what the Lord has done through the coordinated spread of His word and as an encouragement to all of us to continue sowing gospel seeds through the ministry publications in our daily lives. Enjoy!
A young orthodox Christian college student felt he knew a lot about the Bible, but after fellowshipping with one of the brothers on our team, he felt he knew hardly anything about the Bible. So, when he received a New Testament Recovery Version with footnotes, he said it was “the greatest gift” he has ever received.
We met a young person in Sofia who received a Rhema set because he saw the booklet Basic Elements of the Christian Life, volume 1. He recognized Watchman Nee and said, "Oh, that's a good writer! Thank you."
A newly saved student we met just began reading the Recovery Version New Testament we gave her. She says it soothes her very much to read the Bible and she is learning a little more every day. She has a yearning to know more and to read it in its entirety. The Recovery Version footnotes and Basic Elements of the Christian Life also help her very much.
An open young man came to our distribution table. We showed him the contents of Basic Elements of the Christian Life and gave a brief explanation of each chapter. He was very happy to receive this ministry book because he realized it would help him advance in his Christian life.
During our Bible distribution in Sweden as we were handing out Bibles, two separate people came up to us on the way to buy a Bible. They were so happy to receive a free study Bible!
A man stopped by the table with a lot of questions regarding how we read the word with our heart or with our mind. After talking with him for a while, we showed him 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and the footnotes and mentioned John 5:39. He prayed to receive the Lord and signed up for further contact.
There was a group of high schoolers passing by, and they all saw what we were offering. But one of them brought everyone to the table. After sharing a footnote on believing into the Lord in John 3:16, everyone in the group except one wanted to have a copy of the New Testament Recovery Version. They expressed their gratitude and appreciation for such a work. One of them also checked the box on the information card for small group fellowship.
On one occasion, there were two men who came to the Bibles for Canada table, and one of them took a free study Bible. We started having a conversation and then the other saw the book The Normal Christian Life. He said that he had bought that book a while before and that when reading it, he could not go more than two pages without stopping to pray. He also said that he had purchased more copies to give to his family and friends. He expressed how happy he was that he could get free copies from the Bibles for Canada website.
On one of the campuses we visited, we gave free Christian books to those who were quite interested in the Recovery Version. To one student in particular we gave the full set (three volumes) of Basic Principles of the Christian Life. The next day we met him again and he told us that he had already read the first five chapters.
One man was interested in the book The Economy of God. He read it and came to the table the next day to ask for more books that were as good as the first one. We handed The All-inclusive Christ to him.
A student who attends university in Virginia Beach had come up to our Bibles for America table on the second day and received one of the ministry books. The same student returned at the next day and collected one of each ministry book that we had available including The Knowledge of Life, The Glorious Church, and others. He shared with us that he enjoyed reading the first book and just had to return for the rest.
A student came up to our table on campus and was interested in getting a free New Testament. We explained how to use the Recovery Version and shared a little bit from The Mystery of Human Life. The student is a believer and is interested in getting to know more, so she grabbed the first volume of Basic Elements of the Christian Life.
We had a second appointment with a believer who was meeting regularly with a Christian group on campus. This student was bothered because sometimes he would pray, but he didn't have the assurance that God really heard him. We went through the first chapter of Basic Elements of the Christian Life, titled “The Mystery of Human Life,” and he was surprised to see that there was a difference between our soul and our spirit. Now he knows that we were created with a human spirit to contact God and that God wants to spread from our spirit to fill every part of our soul.
We told a student that all men have the question “What is the purpose of my life?” and showed her that the answer was written on the inside of the booklet The Big Question: Man was created in God’s image as a vessel to contain God. Because we are a vessel, we all try to fill ourselves with many things, including entertainment, education, etc. She agreed very much with these statements. We went on to tell her these things cannot fill us—the only thing that can fill us is the eternal God. God is eternal life without beginning and end, and as vessels, we can receive this eternal, divine life into us. I asked her if she would like to pray with us, and we read the prayer on the back of the booklet together. Praise the Lord!
A student came by the table and was immediately drawn to the New Testament Recovery Version with footnotes. He asked what it was and as we explained it to him, he told us it was exactly what he had been looking for and was amazed by all the cross-references and depth of the footnotes, in particular the footnote for Hebrews 4:12, his favorite verse. He happily received a copy and was excited to continue his Bible reading with more light.
During our time in Minneapolis, we read the booklet Tell Him by Watchman Nee during an appointment with a college student. The student had been feeling a sense of wanting to be more intimate with the Lord and responded positively to the booklet.
We had a table for Bibles for America in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis. There was a positive response from those who approached our table, and many were interested in the footnotes. After further conversation, some were interested in receiving further contact.
We met a student who saw the sign for our table, walked past it, and then was compelled to walk back. He was looking for a Bible study and a Christian community, having just moved to that city for school. He came to the Bible study the next day, which was on the topic of the Greek word oikonomia. The students had a great discussion about how to grow in life and how, eventually, the Lord wants to saturate our souls from our spirit. He lingered for an hour after the Bible study was officially over and seemed to have a great time talking with the other students. Then, he came to the college meeting the same night. He mentioned to some of the brothers that he loved the topics, had never heard of anything like that before, and was interested in continuing to meet with the club.
There was one student who came to the table asking some questions. She said that she was burdened for her parents and that she wants to grow in the Lord. She is not satisfied with her current Christian community and is seeking fellowship with Christians where she can grow in her faith. After some conversations, she signed up for the club, then she came for the welcome dinner, as well as the college meeting, and days later, she also came to the Lord’s Day meeting.
We will continue these reports in the next issue of “Having This Ministry…”