In the middle of March, due to COVID-19 outbreak, California issued stay at home order, so the churches in the Inland Empire of Southern California moved our meetings online, including the prayer meeting, small group meeting, Lord’s Day meeting and service fellowship meetings, everyone learn this new format of the church life together., yes , in a bumpy yet exciting process.
The co-workers in the Lord’s recovery has sent us letters for fellowship and encouragement for all the saints in all the churches. While we are self-quarantine within our homes, we need to keep in mutual contact, for mutual care, and mutual encouragement. All the saints need the supply of the Body. We might not be able to meet in person, but we cannot abandon our meetings, but must utilize the capabilities of modern technologies to meet even more. That we can contact mutually, in threes and twos or in the small group meetings to enjoy mutual fellowship and prayer.This kind of fellowship are really necessary to lead the whole Body to move on in these days of cloudness and thick darkness.
Because of the outward environment, though we cannot meet face to face, but the Spirit that God has given is unlimited, there is no limit in our spirit, thus, thru the past three weeks, our testimony is this: The church life is firmer, the fellowship and contact between the saints is more intimate, on matters of building up the Body, both in quantity and quality progressed. For example, there are many morning revival, prayer and Bible Study small groups; the saints have much care in humanity, and nourishing in divinity. In such an environment, let us deeply feel the preciousness of having threes and twos for vital companions. This kind of gatherings not only lessened our terror and anxiety, but also increased Christ within us more and more. The brothers and sisters are more open to God’s word, seeking it more, and fellowship with the Lord deeper and more intimate. This also strengthened our burden for the gospel, praying for the gospel friends; and calling dormant saints, grasping this chance, bringing them one by one, back to God’s home.As for gospel outreach to new ones, we are still learning , may the Lord provides us proper “e-bullets”on the net and fervent love from God to people.
What is most worth mentioning is this: We’ve been greatly blessed on prayer, in the third round of 24-hour global watchman’s prayer on March 31, many prayer small groups formed; and encouraged the brothers and sisters to seize the opportunities to coordinate with God’s move, to take part of the 21 day long global watchman’s prayer starting April 1. Thru the supply of a public page of Wechat –New One Nourishing( in Chinese), our daily prayer burdens and timely words were sent , so that all of us can be supplied and nurtured, so the prayer is filled with power, and in one heart and one will, may the Lord’s will be accomplished on earth as it is accomplished in the heavens.
A few small churches in remote places sometimes can’t continue meeting as before, yet theLord lead them to blend with nearby localities , either Lord’s day meeting or grop meeting, quite a sweet blending ever tyan before. Gradully we find out this terrible pandemic turn out to be a disguised blessing to us so long as we love Him, love His good will as revealed in the 2020 Spring ITERO recently.
In addition, the ten localities in the Inland has a little bit over twenty responsible brothers, who had an hour of online prayer, fellowship and mutual supply, support and learning every 4pm on Lord’s Day starting the middle of March. This brought us into the fellowship, blending and reality of the one Body, even more.
What is sweeter is this: there are saints in China who know of how hard the epidemic hit the USA, and there’s very hard to buy face masks, they cared. Offered in love, and shipped a great quantity of face masks, supplied the exact need of all the saints in the ten localities of the Inland. This love in Christ touched every saint deeply, to enjoy and experience the love in the fellowship of the Body of Christ. May this divine love motivate us, to consecrate ourselves and our family to Christ and the Church. May we be able to fight the spiritual warfare together, run the heavenly race, welcome the Lord back! Lord Jesus, I want You to return!
Your ongoing prayers are indespensible for us to move on, may the Lord bless much more this one New Man on earth!
Source：https://www.facebook.com/churchnews/posts/3026125264076034
