In this message I would like to give some brief fellowship to help us see the need of the vital groups from a particular angle. Probably none of us has ever picked up this angle to look into the need of the vital groups. Why were we burdened to have such groups, and why did we pick up the word vital? I would like us to consider the reason for this from one particular angle, and this angle is the situation we have gradually come to in the United States.
The Lord’s recovery came to this country in 1961 and we started our ministry in 1962. That was sixteen years after the end of the Second World War. Due to the war, the American psychology was changed quite much. At that time among the Christians, there was a remnant of seeking ones raised up by the Lord. By that time the United States had become the biggest country with Christianity as its main religion. This country had millions of Christians, both Catholics and Protestants. Mainly among the Protestants, the Lord gained a remnant, the real seeking ones. Sixteen years after the war, the recovery came, and the recovery was greatly welcomed by this remnant of seeking ones. I traveled across the United States in the early years of my ministry, and many were caught by the Lord. That was the first stage of the recovery in the United States, and it lasted for about nine years, from 1962 to 1971. In those years, much of the increase came from my visits to many places and people throughout the United States. Wherever I went, seeking people were caught for the Lord’s recovery.
By 1970 we had over six hundred saints meeting in the church in Los Angeles. In that year we decided to migrate. This migration of the saints to other localities in the United States was victorious. In 1973 we had our summer conference in Los Angeles in the convention center. There were over three thousand there. We had to open up four overflow rooms, and that still could not meet the need. This was the first stage of the Lord’s recovery to bring in the increase.
In that increase, however, some came in with a heart that was not so pure. They saw the booming work among us, and they came in to try their best to get this work. When they realized they could not get it, they rebelled. That period of time lasted from 1973 to 1978.
During the time that we were booming, our young people were really on fire. Eighty college students set aside half a year just for the purpose of building our meeting hall in Anaheim. Meanwhile, another group of people in Berkeley saw our situation and did not agree with us, so they formed a group to write something against us. They produced a manuscript full of false and defamatory things about us. Later, they were split into two groups. One used this manuscript to write the book called The Mindbenders, and the other group used the same manuscript to write another book called The God-men. These evil writings against us came out in 1977. That began the opposition in the United States. Also in 1977 another group hired someone to come to Anaheim to oppose us. In order to deal with this opposition and proclaim the truth, we put an article in the newspaper every Saturday for three and a half months. We also repeatedly tried to contact the writers and publishers of the two evil, defamatory books against us, but they rejected us.
In 1980 we had a conference in Albuquerque. When the leading brothers met there, one of the co-workers said that if we did not deal with these two books, our work, especially on the campuses, could not be carried on. This was because whenever we contacted a new one, regardless of whether he was a Christian or not, he would receive a copy of these evil books soon afterward. It was in Albuquerque that we made the decision to appeal to our “Caesar,” just as Paul did to preserve his ministry (Acts 25:11). Our “Caesar” is the law of the United States. Because of our appeal, both of these evil books were exposed, withdrawn, and put down. However, our good name was damaged and our reputation was smeared throughout the whole country. We took five years in litigation to put down those two books and gained the victory in both cases. If we had not taken this action, those two books would have continued to damage us to the uttermost.
In addition to this, we need to realize that the United States is a very worldly country due to its riches. Americans are living in worldliness without any consciousness of it. The whole world follows the worldliness of the United States. Because we are not worldly, others may think we are out of date. Many Americans think that they are the most modern people on this earth. But we do not want to be in this worldly way. In order to dress well, have the best house, and have the best car many try to get a high education so that they can get a high position to make the most money. This is all worldliness.
Of course, the Lord brought His recovery to the United States. My coming here was not up to me. Then when I met all the seeking ones in this country, that surprised me. The Lord collected eight hundred to one thousand real seeking ones for His recovery within just a few years. In those early years, nearly everyone among us was a real seeking one who would pay any price to follow the Lord absolutely for His interest. But we have to realize that worldliness is a big obstacle in the United States.
Furthermore, the truth which we practice concerning the ground of the church—one church for one city, one city with only one church—annuls all the standings of the denominations. Thus, what denomination would have anything good to say about us? Under the teaching of the ground of the church, all the divisions, the denominations, are condemned.
Worldliness, the opposition, and the denominations are three layers of obstacles to the Lord’s recovery in the United States. The United States is the strongest country for Christianity. All the denominations are very strongly founded. Yet we were raised up to stand on the ground of the church, the genuine ground of oneness, which is a testimony against all the denominations.
We may think that it will be easy to gain people for the Lord’s recovery, but it is not easy. We are not in an easy situation. These three layers of obstacles, or three blockades, are here to frustrate us. We need to overcome the worldliness in the United States. Worldliness, the opposition, and the denominations are three blockades to gaining the proper increase in the Lord’s recovery. If this were not the Lord’s recovery, with the foundation on the truth and with the condition in life, we would have been brought to nothing already. Despite the blockades, the Lord’s recovery is still solidly standing here.
In the last five years, beginning in 1987, there has been turmoil caused by certain factious ones who have caused divisions. In spite of this turmoil, the churches in Southern California had an increase of close to thirty percent per year over the last five years. At the beginning of 1987, we had only a little over one thousand saints in Southern California. But by October of 1992, we had increased to about three thousand. The only drawback is that we have had very little increase among the Caucasians during this period of time. With all of this fellowship as a background, we can see how difficult it is for us to gain the typical, middle-aged Caucasians.