FaithInChrist, thank you for your kind reply. I am glad to hear from you.
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Originally Posted by FaithInChrist
I do not believe that it's the only genuine Christian church.
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Then you disagree with Witless Lee, Ron Kangas, and other leaders of the LC.
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"The Lord is not building His church in Christendom, which is composed of the apostate Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations. This prophecy is being fulfilled through the Lord's recovery, in which the building of the genuine church is being accomplished."
Witness Lee in The New Testament Recovery Version,
note 184 (Matthew 16:18)
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1991), p. 99
http://online.recoveryversion.org/Fo...asp?FNtsID=639
"I am afraid that a number of us are still under the negative influence of Christendom. We all have to realize that today the Lord is going on and on to fully recover us and bring us fully out of Christendom."
Witness Lee, The History of the Church and the Local Churches
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1991), p. 132
"In every denomination, including the Roman Catholic Church, there are real, saved Christians. They are God's people belonging to the Lord. But the organization of the denominations in which they are is not of God. The denominational organizations have been utilized by Satan to set up his satanic system to destroy God's economy of the proper church life."
Witness Lee, "Message Thirty-Four" in The Life-Study of Genesis
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1987), Vol. 1, p. 464
http://www.open-letter.org
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Brother Ron Kangas about the LRC and Christianity:
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"The Lord’s recovery is not a part of Christianity"—Ron Kangas, Senior Editor and Director of Living Stream Ministry (LSM)
"If there are any bridges…between a local church and Christianity, I hope that we would go back, burn the bridges and broaden the gap."—Ron Kangas
"It is impossible for there to be any reconciliation between the recovery and Christianity."—Ron Kangas
http://www.blendedbody.com/AAA-Perso...ristianity.htm
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Here is one more WL's quote:
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"The great Babylon is fallen. We do not care for Christianity, we do not care for Christendom, we do not care for the Roman Catholic church, and we do not care for all the denominations, because in the Bible it says that the great Babylon is fallen. This is a declaration. Christianity is fallen, Christendom is fallen, Catholicism is fallen, and all the denominations are fallen. Hallelujah!"Witness Lee, The Seven Spirits for the Local Churches
(Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1989), p. 97
http://www.open-letter.org/
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If "Christianity is fallen" and "the prophecy is being fulfilled through the Lord's recovery", then the LRC is the only genuine church. It’s not just my conclusion. It’s a statement made by leaders of the LRC. I heard the statement from brother Ron Kangas at a conference. He clearly said that the LRC is the only genuine church. It was "us" against "them" mentality, typical for any cult or sect. That was a turning point that made me ponder over the LRC, her nature, doctrines, and practices. Then I found this forum and it was an eye-opener.
When you are deep inside the LRC, it’s like a dream and you can hardly realize that you are dreaming. You can know all the facts but not realize what they mean. For example, now I am confident that the LRC substitutes the word of God (the Holy Bible) for the word of man (WL and his books). I am almost sure that you will disagree with me. However, if in the morning, you read Morning Revival instead of the Bible, then that may tell you something.
Open any HWMR and see how many Bible verses it contains. Then compare any page from the Gospels with any page from Morning Revival. Where do you see Christ and His message? If you say that nothing compares to the Gospels, then check this: Do messages of Morning Revival have anything to do with Christ's message from the Gospels? 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. How often do you hear these words in the Local Church? This is the high-peak truth for every Christian and there is nothing higher than that. But WL went further. He replaced Christ's message with his own “recovery” message.
WL created a system that substitutes spiritual life (life in and with Christ) for "proper church life" (life in and with WL’s doctrines). He didn’t need spiritual giants, saints who bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit. He needed obedient followers who would strive for the unreachable. Saints eagerly “exercise their spirit”, struggling to have oneness, build the church, and reach the New Jerusalem. What is the use of it? They run round like a squirrel in a cage but the system doesn’t lead them anywhere. WL’s books, LRC meetings, and conferences are not drawing them closer to Christ. The problem is that “the high-peak truth” of WL and the message of Christ are not the same.
I look at myself, my wife, my relatives and other saints in the LRC. The system killed our spiritual growth. We don’t love God and our neighbors more than we love our pets. However, we struggle to be perfected by knowledge, "living the proper church life". At the end of the day, we have more knowledge than love. But what is more useful: the former or the latter? If we want to enter the kingdom of God, do we need more love or more information? Do we need a plan of the New Jerusalem or a key that opens its gates?
I believe communion with God is only possible if love dwells in our hearts. Through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, man comes to living communion with God the Father. There is no other meaning and purpose to the Church and to life itself. But where is Christ in WL’s message? Where is love in Morning Revival and Crystallization Study? They are full of information about God’s economy, oneness, and the New Jerusalem, but does it matter? If Christ and His love don’t live in our hearts, then all man’s doctrines are no use. What is easier: to live “the proper church life” or “love thy neighbor as thyself”? I think you know the answer. And that’s why I want a change. I want to follow Christ, not Witness Lee because I see the difference. I want the key, not the map. Otherwise, when the Lord comes to separate
the sheep from the goats, I am afraid we will belong to the latter.
(Matthew 25:31-46)
FaithInChrist, that was my personal experience with the LRC. Your experience can be different. Anyway, I believe you are a good personality and I am sure you are a good Christian. May the Lord bless and guide you.