Furthermore, in 1963 and 1964 there were newspaper reports about some Pentecostal prophecies that an earthquake would strike the city of Los Angeles and that the city would fall into the ocean. However, the date of the predicted earthquake passed, and nothing happened. Certainly this lack of fulfillment is sufficient to prove that this prophecy was a falsehood. For a number of years, we in the Lord's recovery in China were under the influence of the Pentecostal things. Through our experience we can testify that our involvement with Pentecostalism was more of a loss than a gain. The greatest damage of Pentecostalism is that it makes it difficult for believers to appreciate the inward, organic union with the Triune God. Many believers are interested in speaking in tongues, healing, and miracles, but not in the development and cultivation of the organic union with the Triune God.
From the very beginning of the Lord's recovery in the United States, I told the saints that I believed there was the matter of speaking in tongues in the Bible, but according to our observation and experience, the speaking in tongues in today's charismatic movement is not genuine, but is humanly manufactured. Some say that they can teach others to speak in tongues. They do this by encouraging others to speak in nonsense syllables. Obviously, this "speaking in tongues" is not a genuine dialect. To speak in tongues in this way does not minister life and does not build up the believers. When some were stressing speaking in tongues in the Lord's recovery, this created a problem. I did not give any orders to prohibit this, but I did my best to have a thorough fellowship with the saints to tell them that speaking in tongues does not minister life or help the Lord's recovery at all.
There is the danger of teachings coming in among us that stress things other than God's New Testament economy. We do not need to exercise too much leadership over these kinds of things, but we need to teach the saints in the Lord's recovery to learn the New Testament economy. By learning God's economy, the saints will have the ability to discern what is needed and what is not needed. The saints who have a vision of God's New Testament economy would not care for teachings that stress and emphasize other things. Because of the Lord's new way, the door is wide open for everyone to speak and to act. Therefore, we must be restricted by the heavenly vision, by the revelation of the New Testament economy.
The leadership in the New Testament ministry in actuality is not the leadership of one controlling person. In the Lord's recovery we reject the notion of one person controlling persons and matters. We do have some leadership, but not the leadership of one controlling person. Instead, we have the leadership of one controlling revelation in the one ministry through those who bring in the revelation of the ministry. The revelation controls, and it controls through those who bring in the revelation. The revelation in the Lord's recovery controls us and restricts us.
The ministry among us is not the ministry of a single person, but the unique New Testament ministry, the ministry of the Lord's move on this earth in the dispensation of the church. The Lord's move on this earth is through His unique ministry, and we are all participating in this unique ministry. Even our going out to visit people by knocking on their doors is a part of this unique ministry. The leadership is not the leadership of any single person who is controlling people in the Lord's recovery. The leadership in the Lord's recovery is the leadership of the God-given revelation that restricts us, directs us, and controls us so that confusion and division can be avoided.
Thank the Lord for the unique ministry and for the unique leadership in this ministry. I am so happy that we all receive one revelation under one leadership, taking one way and reaching one goal. If all of the saints in the Lord's recovery would rise up to take the God-ordained way to practice the New Testament economy, what an impact we would have! In the Lord's new way, all the saints have many opportunities to serve the Lord by knocking on doors, baptizing people, setting up home meetings, teaching the truth, and helping people to grow in life. We must cooperate with the Lord to pick up the new way, the God-ordained way, to practice the New Testament economy. I do believe that this will bring back the Lord Jesus.