Ex-Member-Rosemead

My heart goes out to that brother who is suffering for his family's sake. This is possibly the worst position that someone can be in. It is a very sad but common issue in the LC (Local Church). I was a member in the LC from 1983 to 1987, a lot went down back then. Anyways I do not want to get side tracked with all of that. I left in 1987 and never looked back. How did I do that? We were told by many in the LC that we would suffer if we left the church and that we would not be over-comers if we left. I used the word "we" because at the time there was a few of us that left. So how were we able to leave and not look back.
1. We kept on reading the bible. That is, we did not replace the bible with the life-studies or any material that would interfere with reading of the bible. We made all material about the bible secondary to the bible. We started checking the things that we were given and not take them at face value just because someone said it was so. That is, let the bible define the bible. For example understanding words in the bible, you have to look at other places in the bible to see how that word is used. That way you can see how the word is defined by the bible.
2. Prayer is important and it is your time with the Lord. He is worth it and you should give it to Him. This was a big help to me and others. If you walk away from the LC that does not mean you have to walk away from the Lord. Yes we were told by many LC members "we were throwing away the baby with the bath water". That was there position but our position was we were keeping the good (our walk with the Lord) and getting rid of the bad (the LC doctrine that lead my slaves astray (Rev.2:20)).
3. Fellowship with other is important because we all represent the body of Christ. I know there are genuine believers in the LC but they are being mislead because "the church life" has taken the place of where Christ should be. The church should never become an entity that controls, or effects the walk of the believer. The church should never ever come in between you and the Lord. I am not saying it, the Lord Jesus is saying it right there in the verse (2:20). He (Jesus) is saying "my slaves". How is that possible? The slaves of Christ being taught by Jezebel, being lead astray to commit prostitution and eat idol sacrifices. How is that possible? Jesus is calling them "my slaves". Doesn't that mean you know the Lord and are walking with Him if you are called His slave. This is the problem with many churches today, they (the churches) take the position above the believers between you and the Lord and block you from ever knowing Him in an intimate way. That is what the LC has become "a prophetess that teaches and leads my slaves astray to commit prostitution and eat idol sacrifices" (Rev.2:20). Having fellowship with others keeps you open to adjustment if you are open to it. I don't have all the answers but that does not stop me from looking for the right answers.

These are the three legs that have kept me stable all these years. And I have to say my walk with the Lord has never been better, it is not perfect but I just get up and keep going. We have His promises and He will fulfill them as long as we don't leave Him. He is faithful above all.

To the brother who is looking for advise in this terrible situation, I believe the Lord has opened your eyes which is good. It sounds like you have already left the LC, I am not sure. If you are still in communication with your wife you are going to have to be very gentile, she is brain washed. My advise is not to contend with her or them. You will lose every-time because they use bad logic and they feel they are defending their faith. And to be honest it is very exhausting. I have relatives in that group and they bury their heads in the sand when they hear anything negative about the LC. They will not weight things in the balance or consider right or wrong. I had to eventually had to give them up and give them to the Lord in prayer. So if you can be undercover for you family sake, meaning outwardly you are for them in the recovery, but inwardly you know the situation and want to get them the heck out of there but you can't because they are not ready yet. I believe you can still maintain your walk with the Lord in the LC but just realize if you go into the LC, you are basically going into a swamp. That is, no fresh water is coming in or going out. If you look at verse Rev. 2:22 the Lord cast her (Jezebel, the church) into a bed and if you look up that word "bed" and look at the other verses that it is used in you will find out that word is used with people who are paralyzed. So spiritually speaking she (the church) becomes paralyzed because the Lord throws her into it (the bed). I think the Lord knows your heart and will be with you in this trying time. And what ever you do don't lose heart because you are being tested also by the Lord. May the Lord be with you in this trying time.