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The Church: The History of the Church on Earth - Part 2
Stephen Kaung

Stephen Kaung (1915 - 2022). Chinese-American Bible teacher, author, and translator born in Ningbo, China. Raised in a Methodist family with a minister father, he converted to Christianity at 15 in 1930, driven by a deep awareness of sin. In 1933, he met Watchman Nee, joining his indigenous Little Flock movement in Shanghai, and served as a co-worker until 1949. Fleeing Communist persecution, Kaung worked in Hong Kong and the Philippines before moving to the United States in 1952. Settling in Richmond, Virginia, he founded Christian Fellowship Publishers in 1971, translating and publishing Nee’s works, including The Normal Christian Life. Kaung authored books like The Splendor of His Ways and delivered thousands of sermons, focusing on Christ-centered living and the church’s spiritual purpose. Married with three children, he ministered globally into his 90s, speaking at conferences in Asia, Europe, and North America. His teachings, available at c-f-p.com, emphasize inner life over institutional religion. Kaung’s collaboration with Nee shaped modern Chinese Christianity.
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Sermon Summary
In this sermon, the preacher discusses the importance of unity and love among believers. He emphasizes the recovery of truth within the Church and the popularity of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The preacher mentions a movement that started in Dublin and spread to Britain and Europe over a span of twenty years. He also talks about a split that occurred in 1848 due to differing views on discipline. The sermon concludes with a prayer for the church to walk according to God's will.
Sermon Transcription
He urged people to return to the state. And the most significant thing he did was to translate the Bible into English. There are a group of people who preach the gospel with him. And they call themselves Lola. People call them Lola. In Europe, and John Foose was in Europe, and those people maintain the testimony of the Lord. Until the 15th century, two organizations came out, two groups of people came out in Europe. One is called United Brethren. They proclaimed that they need to be baptized. They need to live a holy life, and the freedom of conscience. And they said all God's children are unified. They do not want to start another denomination. Rather, they want to be with the God's children. And there's another, called the Brethren of the Common Life. According to the gospel, they emphasize education. And the school they had is most famous. And there's a very popular book, The Imitation of a Christ. And that was written by someone among them. And even in such a rigid organization of Roman Catholics, in such a dark environment, our Lord is still building His church. And when we look up the church history, and if we search the real history of the church, not official documents, and we are amazed. For what we see today of the new revelation, they mentioned it at that time already. And for what they see, they lay down their lives. The Lord is building His church. And in the fifth period, in the church of Sardis, and the Sardis church is the Reformation church. Before the Reformation, about three hundred years, the Lord was preparing for this movement. And because there's a school, and there's a new translation of the Bible, and the printing press has been invented, and the deviations of the Roman Catholic church, and all of those have propelled the heart of the people. And when the 16th century came, the Reformation started. In Germany, there's Martin Luther. There's Zinkley and Calvin in Switzerland. William Fowler in France. In Henry VIII, there's a Reformation in England as well. I think most of you know something about the Reformation already. I will not get into the details. But there's a very important document at that time. That explains why the Christian church is called the Protestant church. Because in the year of 1529, at the second meeting of the Empire, at the meeting of the Spies, at that time, after the German invasion, they asked for a protest. So the Protestants protested. They have a document. They have a document. How did they say? That they would use their ultimate exertion in advance the glory of God, and to maintain a doctrine in conformity with His word. And thank God, because in their time, they obtained the truth of justification by faith, which was buried at that time. So they will not allow the newly revealed truth being diminished. Because of this Protestant document, so the Reformed church is called the Protestant church. There's two things that are most important for the Reformation. One is justification by faith. Second is the open Bible. And the power for the Reformation is from the word of the Lord. But there's one thing those Protestants in the Reformation times made a mistake. They made one big mistake. They put themselves under the Protestant princes. Let them protect them. Let them come back. And they didn't see. They overlooked the grand truth that all the power inwardly and outwardly is hidden in the head. And the result is it's not thorough for the Reformation. And those churches that came out of the Roman Catholic becomes the national church. And in those times of the Reformation, they are a group of people not allured with the pure heart. They think the Reformation is not thorough. They want to return to the absolute truth of God. And they proclaim to be baptized. Because at that time in the national church, you're just a sprinkle. If you are German, and you are the member of a Lutheran, because when you go there, but those people, they love the Lord. They deny such a thing. They say that we need to believe first, and we want to immerse into the water. So at that time, people called them Anabaptists. And that is to say, to baptize again. And they think Anabaptists are terrorists. And they state a much bad thing about them. And destroyed. And only the history of Anabaptists suffered, not just because they baptized again. And at that time, there were a lot of brothers and sisters, because they were baptized again. And to what extent? Do you want to be baptized? They put a stone on your neck and threw it out. It's just a hand. The Anabaptists is not just one system. There are many types of people. There are different emphasis among them. But all of them want to return to the original purpose. They know to have a direct communication with the Lord or the Savior. They do not allow any man or any system to stand between them and the Lord. They want to keep those original teaching examples in the First Church. How do they describe the Church of Christ? They say it is the assembly of the believers. The Holy Spirit gathered them together. Because of Christ, they separated from the world. And they were put together by the Holy Law. And offered spiritual offerings from the heart to the Lord Christ. No matter who wants to be a member in God's family, he must live and walk in the Lord. By the way, there are people called the Huguenots in France. The Huguenots are called the Great Crusaders. The Great Crusaders are a century in history. It can be said that the Anabaptists is a history of revival and declension. I don't have time to talk about each century. But we know that later on we have the St. John's and the Moravians. And there are Wesleyans. And there are many others. And we are not going to mention them here. In Philadelphia, this is the beginning of the 19th century. The Church is in the 19th century. And brotherly movement. Some say the impact of the 19th century brotherly movement is greater than the 16th century Reformation. But if you read the official Church history, there is no such history. In 1828, in Ireland-Dublin, there were several brothers. Because they wanted to have unity with all God's people. They did not desire to join any denominational church. As a result, they are not welcome to anywhere. And they cannot do anything at that time. There are several brothers meet at home. They worship the God there. They broke the bread and remember the Lord. The other brothers and sisters of the Lord came to their meeting. They gathered unto the Lord. They don't have a name. They are called brothers. No matter what title you have, no matter how much knowledge you possess, there are only brothers among them. They learn to love one another. And the word of God is so abundant among them. It can be said that many of our recovery of truth is at that time. For example, the return of Lord Jesus Christ is very popular. And this truth was recovered during the Brethren. For example, the truth of the church was recovered at that time. They do not want to separate into any denomination. Within one body they want to live a body life. God knows so many people that they have received the light of the Bible. And this movement started from Dublin outward. And nobody knows their name because they didn't have a name. And so, at that time, it was promoted from Dublin, not only to England, but also to Europe and other places. Twenty years! This movement spread a great wave. Many people who love the Lord responded. But unfortunately, in the year of 1848, there is a split among them. Because their discrepancy in their view for discipline, they split into the so-called public Brotherhood and the secluded Brotherhood. But thanks to God. Even so, from the 19th century until today, we know that there are so many brothers who love each other all over the world. They are manifestation of the continuation of those brotherly love. All over the world they obey the law of the Lord. They will not deny the name of the Lord. They learn how to love one another. Even though they have nothing to do with the Brotherhood movement, but indeed they are brothers. And the Lord is doing His work everywhere. And according to the world, they are hidden people. But they are known by the Lord. Seventh, in the Church as Laodicea. And this is the 20th century Christian entity. And we know the situation of the 20th century just like that day at the Laodicea. It's not hot nor cold. And it's all rich. And lack of nothing. But the Lord said you are pitiful. And you are blind. And you do not want to pay the price. And to buy the dog. You cannot pay the price. And to buy the white gown. And you will not pay the price. And to buy this purified gold. Brothers, today the Christian entity is just like this. And it's the opinion of the people. It's not the opinion of the Lord. And to live a life not paying the price. The Lord said, if you don't repent, I'm going to spit vomit you out. The Lord is not on the door of the house. And whoever hears the voice and opens the door, and the Lord will come into him and suffer with him. And strictly speaking, Laodicea, the Church is the fallen of the Philadelphia Church. Because only when Philadelphia falls, then the Church of Laodicea can boast. When we read those seven letters, we know the first three churches are up to the Lord. For example, Ephesians Church is the first century church. It's passed. And comes Samhainer. And the second and the third centuries. And Samhainer Church passed. The Church of the Pergamos passed. And when the Pergamos Church was removed from the stage, the Church of Philadelphia started. In other words, until the sixth century, the Roman Catholic Church was formed. Until the sixteenth century, the Laodicea Church started. However, the Laodicea Church did not pass. In other words, the Reformation Church was there and the Roman Catholic Church remained. And we all heard about the coming of the Lord in the Bible. And in Saratera Church, the coming of the Lord was mentioned there. And same thing to the Sardis Church. Until the nineteenth century, when the Philadelphia, the drop-away movement was there, and the Sardis Church is still there. In the twentieth century, the Lord was mentioned. So, brothers and sisters, we saw today on this earth the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformation Church, the Pergamos Church, the Laodicea Church, and the Laodicea Church were all here at the same time. So, today we are here in front of you. So, today, before the Lord, the path of the Church has changed. So, we thank you and praise you. Lord, we praise you and thank you because you say that you are going to build your Church on this rock. Our Lord, our God, we see and the gate of Hades is open. It is the gate to engulf your Church. We saw the Christianity made of man's hand was engulfed. But we praise and thank you because the Church you built stands. Not only Hades cannot prevail against it, but it overcomes the power of Hades. We praise and thank you because you built a glorious Church there.
The Church: The History of the Church on Earth - Part 2
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Stephen Kaung (1915 - 2022). Chinese-American Bible teacher, author, and translator born in Ningbo, China. Raised in a Methodist family with a minister father, he converted to Christianity at 15 in 1930, driven by a deep awareness of sin. In 1933, he met Watchman Nee, joining his indigenous Little Flock movement in Shanghai, and served as a co-worker until 1949. Fleeing Communist persecution, Kaung worked in Hong Kong and the Philippines before moving to the United States in 1952. Settling in Richmond, Virginia, he founded Christian Fellowship Publishers in 1971, translating and publishing Nee’s works, including The Normal Christian Life. Kaung authored books like The Splendor of His Ways and delivered thousands of sermons, focusing on Christ-centered living and the church’s spiritual purpose. Married with three children, he ministered globally into his 90s, speaking at conferences in Asia, Europe, and North America. His teachings, available at c-f-p.com, emphasize inner life over institutional religion. Kaung’s collaboration with Nee shaped modern Chinese Christianity.