There are some who talk so much about the universal church. It is wonderful and so spiritual. But where is it? Where is the universal church? It is so heavenly, so spiritual, so eternal, so wonderful, and so marvelous, but where is it today? It is really invisible. Those who are so much for the universal church say that the invisible church is the real one, and all the visible churches are the false ones. Of course, it is easy to say this. They tell you that something is wonderful, but if you ask them where it is, they can only say that it is invisible. It is so heavenly, so spiritual, so eternal, so wonderful, and so marvelous. But it is invisible today. That is all. It is just invisibly wonderful, invisibly heavenly, invisibly spiritual, and invisibly eternal. But where is its practicality?
Do not think that someday we will be in the church in the heavens. When we get to heaven, the church age will be over. Even when we get into the New Jerusalem, that will not be the church age. Today is the age of the church.
Do not talk about the church in the future. The church is not something in the future; the church is something of today. The church is not something in the heavens but in the places where we are on the earth. Praise the Lord, there is a church in Los Angeles today. Even in this evil district of Hollywood there is a church today.
In the Gospels, in Matthew 16, the Lord began to talk about the church. Then in Acts, in all the Epistles, and in Revelation the main matter concerns the church. If the Bible is mainly about the church, we must have something practical today. This is necessary for the Lord’s return, and this is a real shame to the enemy. I say again loudly and clearly that in the city that is famous for Hollywood, nearly the most evil city on the earth, there is a church today. There is a golden lampstand in Los Angeles. This is a real glory to Christ and a shame to the enemy.
Some Christian teachers say that in this evil age it is an impossibility to have a real church; we must wait until that day. We all must reject this kind of teaching. It is one hundred percent wrong. The future age is not the church age. When the future age begins, the church age will be over.
It is like someone telling us to see a football game tomorrow morning, but when we get there, the game is over. The game was not in the morning but the night before. We must go to see the game tonight and not wait until tomorrow morning; then it will be too late. Praise the Lord, we are in the “game” now! Hallelujah! Regardless of how dark or how evil the age is, we are in the “game.” We are playing the “game” here in the local church today.
Let me tell you what is on my heart and deep within my spirit. From what I have seen in the past six years in traveling through this country, I am fully convinced that the Lord is sweeping over the United States. He is sweeping from the West Coast to the East Coast for the local churches.
There has been a rumor in the past two or three years that there will be a big earthquake with a tidal wave on the West Coast, and Los Angeles will drop into the ocean. When I heard this, I said, “Yes, there will be a big earthquake, but not for this city to go down into the ocean but to rise up.” There will be a tide, but it will be a tide of the local churches sweeping throughout the United States.
If you do not believe me, simply wait and see. No one can stand against this tide. This is the Lord’s doing, and this is the Lord’s moving. It is not a human movement. Before His return, the Lord must recover the church life in the localities. He must build up the local churches. I have the full assurance that the Lord will use the United States for this purpose.
I do not care what people say about the United States. There are so many opinions, but I say that they are all nonsense. The Lord will keep and protect the United States for His purpose. The Lord will keep this country to recover the local churches as a real preparation for His return.
This is what I mean when I say that we must be up to date with the Lord. The Lord is moving to recover the local churches. It is not a matter of doctrine; it is a matter of the tide, the flood, the moving, of the Lord.
The Brethren saw the doctrine, but they stopped there; they would not go on with the Lord. But the Lord could not wait. The Lord went on to recover the reality and the spirituality of the church. Then the first group began to criticize the second group: they said that the spirituality was not according to the doctrine. Thus, they started to be and still are against the second group. But the sad story has been repeated. The second group was used by the Lord in the beginning of the twentieth century to recover the reality of the church, yet they also stopped there; they would not go on with the Lord. Yet the Lord could not wait. He has gone on to recover the practicality of the church life. So now the first group plus the second group are all opposing the third group.
What will come after the practicality? I believe that the Lord will come back. The Lord will prepare His bride by recovering the local churches, the practicality of the church life. Praise the Lord for His recovery! Praise the Lord for the doctrine, the reality, and the practicality of the church life. The practicality of the church life is in the local churches. God is in Christ, Christ is in the church, and the church is in the local churches. So to be up to date is to be up to the local churches. We must be in the local churches. This is God’s divine way.