This issue of The Ministry contains the third and fourth messages given by Brother Lee to the co-workers in Southern California in September 1996. These messages comprise a timely, loving warning from our brother to beware of four destructive matters: ambition, pride, self-justification and exposing others’ failures and defects, and not conforming to the death of Christ. Trouble after trouble has come to the Lord’s recovery over the years simply because of these four matters. But if we will deal with these four matters, the Lord’s recovery will immediately have a revival. In addition to dealing with these four matters, we must also be right in following others. In actuality, our leading is not a person but the divine truth, the divine vision. Consequently, our following others must be according to the divine truth and the divine vision. The next three messages in this issue are the concluding messages of the Living Stream Ministry’s Summer Training of 1998 on the Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Message Ten emphasizes the crucial matter of the dividing of soul and spirit for the experience of the reality of the Sabbath rest. Message Eleven indicates strongly that in order for the believers to be brought on to maturity (Heb. 6:1), we must progress from the word of the beginning of Christ—the milk—to the word of righteousness—the solid food. Message Twelve, as a conclusion to the summer training, stresses the critical need of being transformed and of being matured. To be transformed is to be metabolically changed in our natural life, whereas to be matured is to be filled with the divine life that changes us. We need to go on, to be brought on, to maturity by forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, pursuing toward the fullest enjoyment and gaining of Christ for the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom. Ultimately, the Lord’s desire to bring us on to maturity must be matched by our willing cooperation with His gracious work. Lastly, we include a report concerning the International Elders’ Training in October 1998, held on the new campus for the ministry in Anaheim, California.

In this issue of The Ministry, we include a collection of short messages spoken by Brother Lee at different times and in different places throughout the United States between 1969 and 1972 concerning migration. These messages emphasize the twofold need in the Lord’s recovery in this country: to build up a strong, large, and adequate testimony in a metropolitan city as a center, and from such a center to spread the church life to the strategic cities throughout the whole country. Following this are six messages from the Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Hebrews, which were given in the Living Stream Ministry’s Summer Training of 1998. The major crystals presented during this time of training can be expressed in the following statements: The believers in Christ should be river crossers following the Lord Jesus, the Pioneer and Forerunner, into the glorious expression of the Divine Being; Christ, as the Captain of salvation, is leading God’s many sons into glory, the corporate expression of God, by saving them organically through sanctification; Christ, our High Priest, ministers to us whatever we need, dispensing Himself into us as our supply for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose; and we need to be brought on to maturity, pursuing toward the fullest enjoyment and gaining of Christ for the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom. Lastly, we include a number of letters of appreciation concerning The Stream magazine in the Spanish language (El Manantial). Due to necessary adjustments in the schedule for producing this magazine, we are combining the August and September issues.

This issue of The Ministry contains the third and fourth messages given by Brother Lee to the co-workers in Southern California in September 1996. These messages comprise a timely, loving warning from our brother to beware of four destructive matters: ambition, pride, self-justification and exposing others’ failures and defects, and not conforming to the death of Christ. Trouble after trouble has come to the Lord’s recovery over the years simply because of these four matters. But if we will deal with these four matters, the Lord’s recovery will immediately have a revival. In addition to dealing with these four matters, we must also be right in following others. In actuality, our leading is not a person but the divine truth, the divine vision. Consequently, our following others must be according to the divine truth and the divine vision. The next three messages in this issue are the concluding messages of the Living Stream Ministry’s Summer Training of 1998 on the Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Message Ten emphasizes the crucial matter of the dividing of soul and spirit for the experience of the reality of the Sabbath rest. Message Eleven indicates strongly that in order for the believers to be brought on to maturity (Heb. 6:1), we must progress from the word of the beginning of Christ—the milk—to the word of righteousness—the solid food. Message Twelve, as a conclusion to the summer training, stresses the critical need of being transformed and of being matured. To be transformed is to be metabolically changed in our natural life, whereas to be matured is to be filled with the divine life that changes us. We need to go on, to be brought on, to maturity by forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, pursuing toward the fullest enjoyment and gaining of Christ for the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom. Ultimately, the Lord’s desire to bring us on to maturity must be matched by our willing cooperation with His gracious work. Lastly, we include a report concerning the International Elders’ Training in October 1998, held on the new campus for the ministry in Anaheim, California.

In this issue of The Ministry, we include a message by Brother Lee to the co-workers, elders, and full-timers in Taipei concerning the practice of the new way. Because the homes of the saints are the life pulse in the practice of the new way, we need to endeavor with all the energy, strength, and time that the Lord has given us to recover a proper atmosphere in the homes. The first thing we must do is to make every saint’s home a home for meeting. Then we must learn the proper way to meet in the homes. We need to help every attendee to function, and we should use the proper materials in the meetings. In particular, however, we need to prepare for the meetings by praying and thoroughly confessing before the Lord so that we may be beside ourselves in the exercise and release of our spirit. Only by being “crazy” in spirit can we conduct a meeting properly and make it come alive. The next three messages in this issue are a continuation of the Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Hebrews and were given in the winter training of 1998 in Anaheim. Message Thirteen stresses the great turn from the realm of Christ’s earthly ministry to His heavenly ministry. Message Fourteen presents the definition and enactment of the new covenant, and Message Fifteen shows the execution and application of this new covenant. Last of all, we include several reports from conferences in England, France, Kyrgyzstan, and Holland.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the semiannual training held July 2-7, 2018, in Anaheim, California, on the continuation of the “Crystallization-study of Leviticus.” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains a complete record of the twelve messages given during the 2013 winter training held December 23 through 28, 2013, in Anaheim, California, on the continuation of the Crystallization-study of Genesis. The banners in the following section embody and summarize the crucial truths and main burdens in these twelve messages. 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. The Reports and Announcements section at the end contains a report regarding the burden of the Lord’s move to Europe and information concerning upcoming conferences and trainings sponsored by Living Stream Ministry.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the summer training held July 4-9, 2016, in Anaheim, California, on the continuation of the “Crystallization-study of Exodus.” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.