A Different Kind of Love | Returning Before God Under the Guidance of the Holy Spirit’s Work (Part 1)

A Different Kind of Love | Returning Before God Under the Guidance of the Holy Spirit’s Work

Chengxin, Brazil

 The Picture of The Church of Almighty God | A Different Kind of Love

By a chance opportunity in 2011, I came to Brazil from China. When I had just arrived, my eyes were overflowing with fresh and new experiences, curiosity, and I had a beautiful feeling about the future. But after a short time, this fresh and new feeling was quickly replaced by the loneliness and pain of finding myself in a far-off foreign land. Every day I went back home all alone, ate by myself, looking at the walls around me every day without anyone even to talk to, and I felt especially lonely in my heart, often crying all alone. When I felt the most pain and helpless, the Lord Jesus brought me into a gathering by means of a friend. Through reading the word of the Lord, singing hymns, and praying in gatherings, my lonely heart received the consolation of the Lord. I learned from the Bible that heavens, earth, and all things were created by God, and man too is God’s creation. The Lord Jesus was crucified for the redemption of mankind, and it was the Lord Jesus who redeemed us from sin, and He is the only Redeemer of mankind. In the face of the Lord’s salvation, which is greater than all else, I felt deeply moved and resolved to follow the Lord for the rest of my life. Because of this I was baptized on Thanksgiving to become a Christian not just in name but in reality. Because I liked singing hymns, especially those in praise of God, after I was baptized I took the initiative to join the choir and work as part of it. Through God’s guidance and blessings, I lived in peace and happiness. Every time I went to a gathering or praised God in worship, I felt suffused with energy.

But a good situation didn’t last forever, and as I entered the ranks of the church ministry, I gradually saw that in the concern and care the brothers and sisters in the church showed to each other on the surface they were all seemingly harmonious, but that in their speech and actions they were all actually acting out of self-interest. They didn’t want to suffer any personal loss while working in the ministry of the church, and often gossiped behind others’ backs about who was doing more and who was doing less. Even the pastor was extremely snobby. He treated people based on the amounts of their donations, and when preaching always talked about donations. Every time he came to a gathering, the thing the pastor put the most emphasis on was whether or not people were giving donations and how much they had given, and he didn’t want to hear anything about the lives of the brothers and sisters. He talked about love, but didn’t show a single genuine action. When the brothers and sisters had difficulties, the pastor wouldn’t help them, but what made people even more indignant was that he would still criticize them and that he looked down on those powerless and penniless brothers and sisters…. When I saw this environment of the church, I was disappointed but also confused: How had the church changed so that it was no different than society? Slowly, I lost the love and faith I had had before, and on Sunday when I would go to the church I felt much less invigorated. I didn’t even want to sing. Every week when I went to church, I was either standing outside drinking coffee or taking a quick nap in the pews. When the sermon was over, I’d toss in my donation and head out. There was always a feeling of grief or helplessness in my heart.

One Sunday in August of 2016, I met Sister Li Min who had come from America and who was the classmate of sisters Gao Xiaoying and Liu Fang. They all believed in the Lord. We got to chatting while sitting on the lawn. We talked and talked, and came around to the topic of the church environment, and I said everything I had seen in the church. After Sister Li Min heard that, she nodded thoughtfully and said: “Nowadays, not only has your church become this way, but the whole religious world has lost the work of the Holy Spirit. They’ve fallen into darkness and desolation. The Lord Jesus once prophesied: ‘And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold’ (Mat 24:12). It’s already the period of the last days, and lawlessness is growing ever more rampant in religion. The pastors and elders don’t abide by the commandments of the Lord Jesus, they don’t carry out the way of the Lord, and they think it is not a big deal to live in sin like that. We all know that the flourishing of the church is the fruit obtained by the work of the Holy Spirit. Today, God has already done new work, and the work of the Holy Spirit has been transmitted to a group of people who accept and obey God’s new work. The pastors and elders in religion don’t lead believers in seeking and investigating God’s work in the last days, but rather resist and condemn God’s new work by disseminating all kinds of rumors and misconceptions to block people from returning to God. They meet with God’s hatred and rejection, so the entire religious world is without God’s blessing and has completely lost the work of the Holy Spirit, and has been cast aside and eliminated by the Lord. So the religion becomes more and more desolate and darkened. It is just like the time when the Lord Jesus became incarnate to perform work. The work of the Lord Jesus opened up the Age of Grace and put an end to the Age of Law. And because those people who followed the Lord Jesus accepted and obeyed the new work of God, they then gained the work of the Holy Spirit, whereas on the contrary the Holy Spirit did not work among those people who did not accept the Lord Jesus and still remained in the temple. So the temple that once was filled with glorification of God and where believers worshiped God became a place for doing business and a den of thieves. That is to say that the reason for the desolation of the church in one respect is caused by the pastors and elders not adhering to God’s commandments nor carrying out the word of God, and their commission of evil acts. In another respect it is brought about by God performing new work, and that the work of the Holy Spirit has transformed, and by people not having caught up to the footsteps of God. However, God’s will is present in the desolation of the church, and there is a truth that can be found therein. Through the desolation of the church, God compelled all those who believe in God with true hearts and who thirst for the truth to leave the religion behind, so that they can leave it to search for the work of the Holy Spirit and to catch up with the footsteps of God and to come into the presence of God to obtain God’s present work and salvation.”

Hearing what Sister Li fellowshiped, I nodded my head and said: “What you said is right. It’s certainly just as you say. I was never able to understand this problem, as the church was originally a place for worshiping God, but there is no difference anymore between the church and society at large. Furthermore, there is no new light in what the pastors preach, nor any enjoyment in listening to them, and people now live in darkness. As it turns out, it is that we have not yet caught up to God’s new work, so what must we now do to catch up to God’s new work?” Sister Li said: “The Lord Jesus has long since returned. In the last days, God is incarnated as a man to express the truth under the name of Almighty God. He has done a stage of the work of judging and purifying mankind. We have to catch up to God’s work in the last days and accept the judgment of God’s word, and then we can obtain the work of the Holy Spirit….” When I heard that the Lord Jesus had already returned to do a stage of the work of judgment, I was astonished. I thought: “Isn’t judgment to punish a person after he is convicted? God comes in the last days to judge those people who don’t believe in God, and we who believe in the Lord Jesus have already been absolved of our sins and have been graced with salvation. We don’t need to receive God’s judgment, for when the Lord comes He will directly raise us to the heavenly kingdom. How could He come to judge us?” With that thought, I had given rise to my own opinion. At that moment, Sister Liu Fang said, “Brother, I have already been investigating Almighty God’s work of the last days for a week with Sister Gao. From the word of Almighty God, we have recognized it is the voice of God. Almighty God is indeed the returned Lord Jesus. Read the word of Almighty God, and you will understand. The reason why the Lord Jesus returned to do the work of judgment is that, although we who believe in the Lord have been forgiven of our sins, we are living all along amid sin from which we cannot free ourselves. There is no way to free ourselves from the bondage and control of sin, and indeed we really do need God to express the truth to judge and purify us, and to root out our sinful nature and corrupt satanic disposition. Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days is a new and outstanding work built on the foundation of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus. It completely purifies and saves men through the judgment of the word, and brings people to a wonderful abiding place.” After this, they patiently fellowshiped about some more truths with me. But no matter what they said, I just couldn’t accept that the Lord was returning to judge those who believed in Him. At the same time I was conflicted, I was also bewildered in my mind: Sisters Gao and Liu were very pious believers, and everyone acknowledged their belief and love for the Lord, so how could they believe that the Lord Jesus was returning to judge us who believe in Him, and that He would not raise us directly into the kingdom of heaven? Could it be that there was some mystery of the truth in this that I did not know?

As I was thinking, Sister Li Min took out a book and said earnestly to me: “Brother, the Lord Jesus said: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Mat 5:3). Don’t jump to a conclusion first, OK? Let us first see if the word of Almighty God is the voice of God, and whether it can provide life for us, and whether it can purify and save us, and then we will know whether Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. God’s sheep will listen to the voice of God, so let us read God’s word together!” I was a bit unwilling in my heart and didn’t answer her question. The three sisters were a little saddened to see my attitude. Sister Liu suddenly suggested: “First let’s pray, and then read some more from the word of God!” After she said that, the three sisters began to pray, and I had to follow along with them. Still, as I was praying, I could hardly quiet my heart. Even though I couldn’t hear what the sisters were praying about, I was moved by their living out. They treated God with such an attitude of sincerity, and searched for God’s will in everything. They hoped that I would investigate God’s work in the last days, and this also came out of God’s love for me. After the prayer, Sister Li handed me a book and said sincerely to me: “Most of the questions in this book, A Hundred Questions and Answers on Investigating the True Way, exist among people of all sects. For each question, related passages are chosen from the word of God to explain it. Go ahead and take a look.” I didn’t want to take the book, but seeing how sincere they were, I looked again at Sister Gao and Sister Liu, and how much they hoped I would investigate and seek. I thought how crucial a matter it was indeed to welcome the coming of the Lord, and that I shouldn’t treat it carelessly. At that, I accepted the book and said: “Alright, I’m willing to accept this book. Let’s stop here for today. I will read the book first, and then we’ll talk.”

After I went back home, I set the book to one side and my thoughts were all mixed up. I thought back on what Sister Li Min had fellowshiped and had a feeling that it was all clear and distinct. Every sentence she said was a fact, but what I couldn’t understand was: Why would the Lord perform a stage of the work of judgment upon His return? After contemplating it carefully, I still didn’t understand it. But as for this matter of the Lord’s second coming, since I had heard about it, I couldn’t blindly make up the rules and sit resigned to my fate. I thought it would also be a good idea to take a look at the book and grow a little in my differentiation. At that, I spent six days reading that book from cover to cover. I saw that Almighty God had made known many, many truths and mysteries that I had never heard of before. It allowed me to gain great providence, and also, when I had read the words of Almighty God, I felt that there were many things that were said in the same tone as that of the Lord Jesus. There was authority and power as if it were God’s voice speaking. So, after I finished reading the book, I wanted to understand even more what was behind the work of judgment done by Almighty God. I decided to go find Sister Gao to ask for clarification. 

 Source The Internet

Recommendation: Where Does Eastern Lightning Come From?

Read More

What is The Rapture?

What is The Rapture?

Li Huan

The Picture of The Church of Almighty God | What is The Rapture?

Just like many other Christian brothers and sisters, I eagerly long for the second coming of the Lord Jesus. We abide by the following passage from the Bible: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Ts 4:17). For this reason, we foolishly look up to the skies longing for the day that Jesus will return and take us up into the clouds so that we can be with the Lord. However, after so many years have passed, the four blood moons have already appeared; earthquakes, famines, plagues and war and all sorts of other disasters are becoming more and more intense. The prophecies of the Lord’s second coming have basically been fulfilled. However, we still have not seen one Christian raptured into heaven. I cannot help but think, “Why does the Lord not come to receive us? The Lord is trustworthy. The Lord promised that He would take us into the heavenly kingdom in the last days. The Lord’s promise certainly will be accomplished and fulfilled. I do not doubt this at all. Yet, how come up until now, we still have not been raptured by the Lord into heaven? Could it be that there are some problems with our longing?”

Just when I was feeling very perplexed, a preacher who had done work in foreign areas for many years came back and I received some new light from her. The sister replied directly to my question: “The Bible passage that you referred to was something that Paul said. It was not something that Jesus said. Paul was just an apostle. Even though his words were recorded in the Bible, only some of his words could be described as enlightenment from the Holy Spirit. Even though his words were in accordance with the truth, they were not God’s words and they cannot be mentioned as if they were on equal terms with God’s words. Furthermore, some of what Paul said could not be described as enlightenment from the Holy Spirit. Instead, it was derived from his notions and imaginations and it brings man’s meaning with it. These words are not based on God’s words. Therefore, when it comes to the matter of welcoming the second coming of the Lord, we must not use Paul’s words as a foundation. Instead, we should use the Lord’s words as a foundation and seek His intentions because only the Lord’s words are the truth and 100% accurate.” After I heard this, I thought, “Yes. Jesus indeed never said ‘raptured into heaven.’ These were Paul’s words. Paul was just a man. His words really cannot be equated to God’s words. We must not use Paul’s words as a basis for welcoming the second coming of the Lord. As someone who believes in God, I should use God’s words and God’s work as a basis. This is what is in accordance with God’s intentions!”

The sister continued speaking, “Jesus said: ‘And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven’ (Jhn 3:13). From Jesus’ words, we could see that aside from the Son of man who came down from heaven, who is the incarnate God, nobody else ascended into heaven. Heaven is God’s throne. Only God Himself can ascend to this high place. As human beings, we cannot ascend into this high place to see God. Instead, when God first created man, He predestined that mankind would live on earth. God used the earth to create mankind’s ancestors Adam and Eve and helped them settle in the Garden of Eden. They listened to God’s words, received God’s blessings and managed everything within the garden. Afterward, mankind would also manage everything on the earth but not in heaven. When mankind was corrupted deeply and the earth was full of corruption and violence, God decided to use a flood to destroy the world. God saved Noah a righteous person who worships God but God did not rapture him into heaven so that he would avoid the flood waters. Instead, God made Noah build the ark. When the floods came, Noah and his family of eight people took shelter in the ark. After they emerged from the ark, Noah and his family continued to live on earth and multiply. During the Age of Law, the Israelites suffered under enslavement by the hands of Egypt’s Pharaoh. When God led the Israelites out of Egypt and helped them escape the Pharaoh’s hunting, God did not rapture the Israelites into heaven. Instead, God showed His authority on earth by performing all sorts of miracles so that people could witness God’s almightiness and know God’s wisdom and how wonderful He is. Afterward, God issued His laws and commandments through Moses and guided the Israelites on how to live on earth. During the Age of Grace, when mankind was unable to adhere to the laws and faced the dangers of execution, man did not go to heaven to atone for his sins. Instead, God incarnated into the image of Jesus and came down to earth. To save mankind, He was nailed to the cross. This was the only way for man to obtain the Lord’s salvation. Clearly, we, as human beings, belong on the earth. God predestined us to live on the earth. Additionally, Jesus taught us: ‘After this manner therefore pray you: Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven’ (Mat 6:9-10). The words that the Lord speaks contain His intentions. The Lord wants us to worship Him on earth. Christ’s kingdom will also descend onto the earth. There is a prophecy in the Book of Revelation that reads: ‘And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God’ (Rev 21:3). Clearly, our desire to be raptured into heaven to meet the Lord is completely our own notion and imagination and it is absolutely not a fact.” After I listened to my sister communicate, I understood very clearly that regardless if we look at the work that God did in the past or the Lord’s prophecies, God never mentioned that we would be raptured into heaven. If we still believe that God will return and rapture us into heaven, isn’t this our own notion and imagination? Isn’t this our own delusional thinking? Fundamentally, this is not in accordance with God’s words and intentions! My heart felt like things had cleared up. However, I still had one more question: Even though our acceptance of rapture is wrong, just what does rapture refer to? I continued to ask this sister to seek in regard to this question.

The sister said, “In regard to rapture, this is a mystery and we, as human beings, are unable to fathom it. Almighty God, Christ of the last days, has come and expressed millions of words and revealed all sorts of truths and mysteries. I only came to an understanding of what I just communicated from reading God’s words. In regard to the subject of rapture, let’s take a look at God’s words. Almighty God said: ‘“Being caught up” is not being taken from a low place to a high place as people imagine. This is a huge mistake. Being caught up is referring to My predetermining and selecting. It is targeted at all those I have preordained and chosen. … This is most incompatible with people’s notions. Those who have a share in My house in the future are all people who have been caught up before Me. This is absolutely true, never-changing, and cannot be refuted by anybody. This is the counterattack against Satan. Anyone I preordained shall be caught up before Me’ (‘The One Hundred and Fourth Utterance’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words we could see that rapture was not the way we imagined it to be. It was not ascending from the earth to heaven to see God. Instead, it refers to those who God has predetermined and selected. This includes those who can hear God’s voice and accept God’s work. They will come before God when God comes to earth to do His work. These are the people who are brought before God. This is similar to the last period of the Age of Law. When Jesus came to do His work, all those who could tell that Jesus’ words were the voice of God and accepted Jesus as the Lord of salvation were brought before God. This included Peter, John, Matthew and other disciples, the apostles and all those who accepted the Lord’s salvation. They were all brought before God. As for all those who adhered to the Old Testament Bible such as the Pharisees and the common people, not only did they not accept God’s salvation, they convicted, resisted and blasphemed God’s new work. Not only were these people not brought before God, instead, they were thoroughly revealed, eliminated and abandoned by God’s new work. Now, it is already the last days and Almighty God has done a new work and expressed words that cleanse and save man. Those who can tell that it is God’s voice speaking God’s words, follow the footsteps of the Lamb and accept God’s new work of the last days will be brought before God. Since Almighty God’s work of the last days unfolded, more and more truly faithful brothers and sisters, from reading the words of Almighty God, believe firmly that Almighty God’s words are the truth and that they are the words that the Holy Spirit speaks to the churches. One after another, they have returned before Almighty God. They are all clever virgins and they have accepted the watering, nourishing, judgment and chastisement of God’s words. Their corrupt dispositions have gradually been cleansed and they truly know God. These people are all brought before God. As for those who foolishly wait for the Lord to come and rapture them up into heaven where they will meet God, they simply adhere to their own notion and imagination. Not only do they not seek and investigate Almighty God’s work of the last days, they judge, slander and resist God’s new work. They are all foolish virgins. Not only will they not be brought before God, they will, in the end, descend into the midst of disaster and be punished by God.”

After I heard these things from this sister, I suddenly saw the light. As it turns out, rapture refers to us accepting God’s new work, following the footsteps of the Lamb and coming before God. The way she communicated this was indeed very illuminating. It is much more realistic than how we originally believed that we would be raptured into heaven where we would meet the Lord. If it were not for God’s words opening up this mystery, regardless of how long we believe in the Lord, we would not be able to understand. We would be living within our notion and imagination and we would foolishly await the Lord to rapture us into the kingdom of heaven!

After this sister left, I repeatedly reflected on what she said. I recognized that if we want to be brought before God, the key is that we must open-mindedly seek the words that the Holy Spirit speaks to the churches. We must be clever virgins and proactively seek and investigate the Lord’s voice. In this manner, we will be able to welcome the return of the Lord and be brought before God! At this moment, I thought of one of Jesus’ teachings: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. … Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Mat 5:3, 8). I am thankful that God’s enlightenment has helped me find a practical path. I finally understand the true meaning of rapture. Presently, all sorts of disasters are occurring one after another in countries around the world. The great disaster is before our eyes and seeking God’s appearance is imminent. Today, only The Church of Almighty God bears witness to the fact that the Lord has already returned. Additionally, the gospel of The Church of Almighty God has already reached all corners of the globe. Its books, videos and movies are available online and people from all around the world can access them and investigate. Right now, the only thing that I should do is to investigate Almighty God’s words immediately and see whether or not Almighty God’s words are God’s voice and the truth. This is the most crucial major event when it comes to welcoming the return of the Lord!

Source The Internet

 Recommendation: Where Does Eastern Lightning Come From?

Read More

Judgment Has Begun in God’s Family

Judgment Has Begun in God’s Family

Aishen, America

The Picture of The Church of Almighty God | Judgment Has Begun in God’s Family

I am a Christian. When I first started believing in God, I frequently heard sermons where people said, “The Lord Jesus is our Redeemer. He was nailed to the cross for our sins. Jesus is merciful and loving. As long as we frequently come before the Lord and confess our sins through prayer, our sins will be forgiven and when the Lord returns, we will be able to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Afterward, I noticed, when I read the Bible, many parts where the word “judgment” is mentioned. For example: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17). “Because he has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained” (Act 17:31). At the time, I did not understand what judgment meant. So, I went to ask the preacher. The preacher told me, “When the Lord returns, He will do the work of judgment to determine man’s sins. Since Jesus is the sacrifice for our atonement, our sins will be forgiven and we will not be convicted. Furthermore, those who spend and toil for the Lord will receive crowns in accordance with their contributions. There will be large and small crowns….” I did not quite understand what the preacher told me. I felt that this “crown” idea was very similar to the idea that seniority must be given priority in the secular world. My heart could not accept it.

Afterward, I found a secretary position working for a gospel organization. My boss was also a preacher and she naturally became one of my spiritual elders. She explained many spiritual perspectives to me. The one I remembered most clearly was: As a person, one not only must have wisdom, he must also be clever when it comes to the secular world. What she meant by wisdom referred to doing more work for the Lord. Since the results of people’s work are not the same, the crowns are also not the same. If the results of the work are big, the crown would also be big. She used her own experiences as an example. In order to spread the gospel, she suffered a lot and paid a great price. Locally, she had established a church and had guided many people into believing in the Lord. She has also been to many countries to spread the gospel and she had also been imprisoned for believing in the Lord. Each time she talked about these experiences, I thought back to the words, “The crowns will be given in accordance with the work.” Unconsciously, I felt that she was a person that the Lord liked. After all, she had done a lot of work for the Lord and she had suffered a lot. As a result, I started to worship her more and more.

Just as I was passionately worshiping this preacher, I discovered that she had unexpectedly embezzled some funds from the church. This was not a small amount either. No wonder she would spend ostentatiously every day. She would frequently take her family to the restaurant to eat, pay for me to study theology with her own name and even bought a big house in the States with cash. Previously, I was very puzzled, “When her husband came to the States, he did not have a job. Her family was completely dependent on her financially. How did she have so much money?” I did not understand the inside story until I discovered that she had embezzled money from the church. I could not comprehend it. She was a preacher, yet she was able to openly violate the Lord’s teachings and steal His offerings. Could it be that she was not afraid of being punished? The Bible says: “For he comes, for he comes to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth” (Psm 96:13). God is righteous and trustworthy. What this preacher did had already violated the Lord’s demands. Could it be that when the Lord comes, He will not judge her? Externally, she looked perfect, but in reality, she was someone that did not have any reverence or fear for the Lord. Is this someone that truly believes in the Lord? Could it be that a Christian who has worked and suffered for the Lord will not be convicted regardless of how great a sin she commits? These successive problems made me want to understand just what judgment is all about. When the Lord returns, how will He judge people? However, in the end, I was unable to find the answer in the Bible.

Due to this preacher, I came to know many Christian leaders. Through my interactions with them, I could see that a great many of them lived within sin and were unable to extricate themselves from it. They sinned during the day and asked for forgiveness at night. They brandished God’s name to collect money and afterward took it for themselves so that they and their families could live a lavish lifestyle. Some even had extramarital affairs which hollowed out their marriages. Some even had divorces…. Verbally, they claimed to obey the Lord’s way and that their priorities were God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness. However, in practice, they were the same as worldly people. They lusted after wealth, status and fame and they lived despicable, dirty and evil lives. I was disgusted with what they did and my heart was unable to approve of it.

Afterward, full of hope, I went to a few other churches. However, the circumstances of these churches and the believers in these churches were pretty much the same as what I had seen in the past. I was very disappointed. In addition, I was unable to live out the Lord’s teachings. When interacting with my family members and friends, I always got angry and got into arguments with them over small matters. I would even judge others behind their backs. Basically, I was unable to put patience and acceptance into practice. I could see that I myself was living in sin and I had no way of extricating myself from it. I felt very perplexed and I frequently thought, “If we continue down this path of faith, this endless cycle of committing sins and then asking forgiveness for them, when the Lord comes to judge people, would we really be forgiven for our sins because of Jesus’ atonement and be able to enter the kingdom of heaven?” I felt this may not be possible since I remember that the Bible said, “You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:45). “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). If man is not pure and holy, he is not qualified to even see the Lord. Would the Lord let him into the kingdom of heaven? This is like believing one’s own lies! Nobody was able to answer my questions and it seemed that nobody was concerned about them either. Furthermore, since I was continuously committing sins and asking forgiveness for them, I felt ashamed to come before the Lord. Gradually, I no longer wanted to go to church.

Just when I was feeling desperate, one day in February, 2017, I met a sister online. Listening to her talk about her acceptance of the Bible, I thought it was very pure. She communicated with a lot of light and I felt very happy that I had finally found a kindred spiritual sister. We talked endlessly. Sometimes, we would not even realize that we had talked for an entire afternoon. It never felt tiring. On the contrary, I enjoyed it very much because each time I listened to this sister communicate, I felt like I benefited a lot. One day, this sister told me that the Lord had already returned, He is expressing new words and doing His work of judgment beginning with God’s family, which fulfills Jesus’ following words: “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (Jhn 12:47-48). When I heard this news, I was both shocked and happy. Our Jesus, whom we have been expecting, has finally returned! In the past, when I was reading the Bible, I envied the disciples that followed Jesus because they were able to see the Lord face to face and listen to Him speak. What a blessed opportunity! I never thought that I myself would have the opportunity to welcome the returned Lord. Astonishingly, I also had some worries: The Lord has returned to do His work of judgment. How will the Lord judge people? How will the Lord judge me? I was very anxious and I wanted to know the answer to these questions.

Thereupon, I spoke out these questions that I had. The sister read two passages of God’s words for me: “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, expose the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes it over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only methods of this kind are deemed judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “The essence of God’s work of chastisement and judgment is to cleanse humanity, and it is for the day of final rest. Otherwise, the whole of humanity will not be able to follow their own kind or enter into rest. This work is humanity’s only path to enter into rest. Only God’s work of cleansing will cleanse humanity of their unrighteousness, and only His work of chastisement and judgment will bring to light those disobedient things among humanity, thereby separating those who can be saved from those who cannot, and those who will remain from those who will not” (“God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

After she finished reading God’s words, the sister said, “During the Age of Grace, Jesus only did the work of redemption. He did not do the work of absolving man of his sinful nature. That is why, even though we have been forgiven for our sins, our nature of committing sins still resides within and we are still capable of frequently expressing satanic corrupt disposition such as arrogance, conceitedness, crookedness, treachery, selfishness, greed, evil, etc. Due to the bindings and control of satanic nature, we frequently live in and are unable to escape from this endless cycle of committing sins and admitting to them.” The sister asked me, “If we live in sin all the time, would we be raptured into the kingdom of heaven?” I replied with certainty, “No.” The sister nodded her head and said, “Correct. Those that live in sin absolutely cannot enter the kingdom of heaven because God is pure and holy. Why would God allow people who are filled with satanic corrupt disposition and are not at all able to put the Lord’s words into practice to enter into the kingdom of heaven? If this were so, there is no way of letting people see God’s righteousness, purity and holiness, nor would Satan be convinced. Therefore, in the last days, God has done a stage of work of judgment through His words on the foundation of Jesus’ redemption work. He has expressed the truth of millions of words, revealed mysteries, exposed the truth and essence of mankind’s corruption and also pointed a practical path for man to walk, etc. The purpose of these truths is to cleanse and change man’s life disposition so that we can attain salvation, and perfection and so that we can be qualified to enter into God’s kingdom. Additionally, the purpose of God’s judgment work is not targeting any one specific person’s corruption. Instead, it targets the entire human race’s nature and essence of resisting God and betraying God in order to judge man. Through reading God’s words of judgment, we are able to understand the truth of how we have been corrupted by Satan and we can see clearly satanic poisons within us as well as satanic nature of contradicting and resisting God. This is similar to how externally, even though we are able to toil, work, cast away and spend for God, a part of the results of our work are immeasurably self-satisfied. We still lift up ourselves and bear witness to ourselves so that others will regard us highly and look up to us. When we have spent a bit for God, we try to enter into a deal with God because we want to obtain God’s grace, blessings, rewards and crowns. When we encounter unhappy situations or disasters, we start to complain to God, misunderstand God and during serious times, we are even able to betray God and leave God, etc. Within the judgment of God’s words and revealing of facts, we are finally able to have a true understanding and hatred of ourselves and thirst to no longer live in these corrupt dispositions that cause God to detest us. At the same time, we can see that God’s righteous disposition does not tolerate offense and God’s pure and holy essence does not tolerate tarnishes. We have corrupt dispositions and we should accept God’s judgment. From this, we should generate hearts that revere God. By experiencing many instances of this kind of judgment and chastisement, we gradually cast away the bindings of our satanic corrupt disposition. Our conscience and rationality is restored bit by bit and we can live out a bit of the likeness of a genuine human being. These are all results that can be obtained through God’s judgment work of the last days.”

Listening to God’s words and the sister’s communications, my heart felt that everything suddenly became clear and I was benefiting immensely. I understood that in the last days God does His work of judgment by means of expressing the truth. He judges, cleanses and saves man with His words. At this time, I deeply felt that this work of God was truly practical and fantastic! Now, I finally understood. If we want to enter into the kingdom of heaven, just experiencing Jesus’ redemption and having one’s sins pardoned is not enough. We must also accept the work of judgment through His words that Jesus returned to do. Only then will we be cleansed and saved. This is the only path through which man can be saved and enter the kingdom of heaven. I could not help but think of the following verses from the Bible: “Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth” (Jhn 17:17). “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1Pe 1:5). At that very moment, I felt all the confusion that I had carried up to that point was lifted off my shoulders and my heart felt crystal clear. I thought of what Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jhn 14:6). The truth can only come from God. Only God can express the truth. I believe that the judgment work that Almighty God has started doing begins with God’s family and that it is the work of God. Almighty God is the returned Lord. Consequently, I gladly accept Almighty God’s salvation of the last days.

Afterward, I actively participated in gatherings and I eagerly read God’s words. One day, I read the following passage: “I decide the destination of each person not on the basis of age, seniority, amount of suffering, and least of all, the degree to which they invite pity, but according to whether they possess the truth. There is no other choice but this. You must realize that all those who do not follow the will of God will be punished. This is an immutable fact. Therefore, all those who are punished are so punished for the righteousness of God and as retribution for their numerous evil acts” (“You Ought to Do Enough Good Deeds to Prepare for Your Destination” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “I will have no sense of pity for those of you who suffer for many years and work hard with nothing to show for it. On the contrary, I treat those who have not met My demands with punishment, not rewards, still less any sympathy. … I do not care how meritorious your hard work is, how impressive your qualifications, how closely you follow Me, how renowned you are, or how improved your attitude; so long as you have not done what I have demanded, you will never be able to win My praise. … for I cannot bring My enemies and people reeking of evil on the model of Satan into My kingdom, into the next age” (“Transgressions Will Take Man to Hell” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words helped me understand that God is fair to each and every person. God does not determine someone’s final destination based on their external spending. Instead, it is based on whether someone has the truth and whether they comply with God’s way. God is indeed very righteous! Only God Himself can reveal such a righteous disposition. After reading Almighty God’s words, I associated those words with something that Jesus once said: “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Mat 7:21). Before, I believed that those who toiled and worked for the Lord and those who paid a big price and suffered a lot, when the Lord returns to do His work of judgment, God would definitely treat them leniently. Now, I learned that this was completely my own notion and imagination. It is an erroneous way of accepting it and it basically is not in accordance with God’s intentions. Today, Almighty God has opened up His own work, His disposition and His intentions to us. This was when I understand the inner meaning of what Jesus said. This is truly God’s blessing!

What made me even happier was, after I accepted Almighty God’s work for a period of time, I could see that God’s words of judgment and chastisement were indeed able to resolve my problem of committing sins. In the past, Jesus taught us that we must be tolerant and patient to others, however, I was unable to put this into practice. After reading Almighty God’s words and accepting God’s judgment and chastisement, I recognized that the reason I was unable to put these things into practice was because I was being controlled by my arrogant and conceited satanic nature. I realized that I was full of hubris, my gaze was always fixated on others and I always looked down upon others. Through God’s words of judgment and chastisement, I came to realize the truth of how I was corrupted by Satan. In fact, I was no different from anybody else. We were all crooked, treacherous, selfish, despicable and only out for profit. We had every kind of corrupt disposition. I was also someone who had been corrupted deeply by Satan and I had no humanity and rationality. The more I received God’s judgment, the more I could see that I was impoverished, pathetic and insignificant, and the more I saw that God was pure, holy, great and supreme. I no longer wanted to be so egotistical and look down upon others. When I interacted with those around me, I was able to treat them properly. In this way, I was not relying on practicing external self-control and patience. Instead, from my heart, I had more understanding, tolerance and forgiveness for others. I understand that actually, everybody is living within satanic corrupt disposition. We are all victims. It is Satan who has corrupted us. At the same time, I was a little more grateful toward God. It is Almighty God’s work of judgment that has brought us to the path of changing our disposition and the opportunity of attaining cleansing and salvation!

Through experiencing Almighty God’s judgment and chastisement work, I can see that God’s work of saving man is very practical! In the past, when I believed in the Lord, I sought to become holy but I did not have a path. My sins became more and more serious. Aside from praying to the Lord and asking the Lord for forgiveness, in terms of our essence of committing sins, we were the same as those who do not believe in God. God has incarnated to do His work of judgment in order to resolve our essence of committing sins. This is the work that Jesus wants to do when He returns in the last days. It completely fulfills the prophecies in the Bible involving the Son of man doing the work of judgment in the last days. Even though it has not been a long time since I had accepted God’s work of the last days, however, through reading God’s words and experiencing God’s work, I feel that when I accept God’s words of judgment and chastisement, reflect upon myself based on God’s words, seek to understand God and put God’s words into practice, I am able to attain a change in my disposition. Seeking to the very end in this manner, one can definitely attain cleansing and salvation and be allowed by God to enter God’s kingdom. At this moment, it is as if I can already see the beautiful sight of life in the kingdom.

Thank God! May all the glory belong to Almighty God!

Source The Internet

Read More

The Transformation of a Fallen Man

The Transformation of a Fallen Man

Tong Xin Fujian Province

 The Picture of The Church of Almighty God | The Transformation of a Fallen Man

I was born in the countryside. I came from a line of humble farmers and on top of that our family was few in number, so we were often bullied. When I was 13 years old, there was a child beaten by someone from outside of our village. The villagers falsely accused my father of instigating it and they said they were going to search our house and confiscate our property, take away our pigs and even beat my father. There was also a time when another villager took our fishing net and kept it as his own. When my father went to get it back, the villager actually hit my father, relying on his own power and influence. My father had to just eat humble pie as he knew that he had neither money nor power. My mother told my brothers and me that we must fight for ourselves in the future, and never live a life of oppression like this. Being young and detesting the injustice in society, I was determined that in the future I would stand out from the crowd and earn their respect, and never be oppressed. So I studied very hard, but I wasn’t smart enough and I couldn’t get into any universities, so I chose to pursue development in the army and joined easily by going through connections.

When I first joined, I scrambled to take on all the difficult and dirty work and to show my proactiveness to impress my leaders and be promoted in the future. However, no matter how hard I tried, I could not even get a position of squad leader. I was also constantly made fun of and bullied by my comrades because of my shabby clothes and thriftiness, which just intensified my desire to stand out. Later, based on advice from my fellow villager, I learned that evaluations and promotion in the army did not depend on hard work, but rather gift-giving. Even though I found this kind of thing was disgusting, I had to take the only path to promotion. Therefore, I determined to take all my savings to give gifts to my leaders and make connections, just like everyone else around me; after that I was finally able to enroll in the military academy. But after I graduated, I was assigned to cook in the canteen because I didn’t have enough money for gift-giving, and later I became a quartermaster, but in name only. After several years of army life, I understood that bureaucrats never discipline gift-givers and you can’t accomplish anything without licking their boots. If you want to keep a foothold, you have to try every means to make money and give gifts, otherwise you won’t achieve anything no matter how great your abilities are. In order to achieve my aspiration, I started to make money and raise funds everywhere: I over quoted and exaggerated the quantity on purpose when buying food, getting a little bit of extra dirty money; seeing other quartermasters selling rice, I secretly sold a truck of rice from the army and made several thousand yuan, and so on. Though I had believed in Jesus since childhood and clearly knew that these things I was doing were crimes, I was also constantly worried about being found out and convicted someday, the desire to be promoted drove me to do those things against my conscience. Once I had saved up some money, I started to flatter my leaders and give them gifts catering to their likes. Every time a leader came to see me I would busy myself going to drink with them, sing, get in touch with prostitutes…. I did every possible thing to curry favor with them. I tried to flatter them with any means possible. Whenever the leaders needed some help, I was happy to offer my services. Whoever had a good relationship with the leaders, I would try to get close to him in order to get a positive recommendation. During those years, I rose quickly to the position of battalion commander by resorting to this kind of worldly philosophy. I finally stood out and I could return home gloriously! After that, every time I went back home, the villagers would crowd around me, flattering and complimenting me, which greatly satisfied my vanity. My ambitions and my desires grew then. As people say, “Some officials are just looking out for number one, not the public,” “Use power when you have it, because after it’s gone, you can’t use it,” and “There’s no such thing as an official who’s not corrupt.” So, I started to enjoy the privileges of an official. I would get things for free wherever I went, and if someone sought help from me, I would ask them for gifts and I wouldn’t help them if the gifts were inadequate. I started to go after fancy food and clothing, and began to put on airs. Relying on the fact that I was like a “golden child” with important leaders such as the commander and political commissar, I even became so arrogant that I would bully people by flaunting my powerful connections, requesting gifts from my subordinates in the names of these leaders. This was how I degenerated from a simple Christian country boy into a greedy, deceitful person of the devil.

Being corrupt and fallen, I even projected my own terrible nature onto others. I often suspected for no good reason that my beautiful wife who worked for a foreign company was having affairs; this led to more conflict between us and growing estrangement. In 2006, my wife was pushed to her limit and initiated divorce; this felt like a great disgrace to me, so I would not agree to it. Late at night I would often think about my life. I thought to myself: I have been determined to stand out since childhood and my wife and I are both successful in our careers. Conditions in our home are good in every way and other people envy us, so why am I living in such pain, and why has it gotten to the point that my wife wants to divorce me? Even our son is suffering along with us. Is my life the way I want it to be? What exactly am I living for? Just as I was feeling lost and confused, my wife accepted Almighty God’s salvation in the last days. Through frequent meetings and fellowship with sisters and brothers, she became more and more optimistic, stopped arguing with me, and never mentioned divorce again. Instead, she was busy preaching the gospel and fulfilling her duty. Later, driven by my wife and mother, I also started to believe in Almighty God.

Because of the life in the church, I understood that God is holy and righteous, and that He most hates the filth and corruption of humans. I thought of the filthy ways I developed in the army and that I could not possibly be saved by God if I didn’t change my old disposition, so I started to hungrily read God’s words, hoping that I could find a solution in them. One day, I read these words from God: “Born into such a filthy land, man has been severely blighted by society, he has been influenced by feudal ethics, and he has been taught at ‘institutes of higher learning.’ The backward thinking, corrupt morality, mean view on life, despicable philosophy, utterly worthless existence, and depraved lifestyle and customs—all of these things have severely intruded upon man’s heart, and severely undermined and attacked his conscience. As a result, man is ever more distant from God, and ever more opposed to Him” (“To Have an Unchanged Disposition Is to Be in Enmity to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words exposed the secrets in the bottom of my heart; I was badly shaken. Over those years of serving in the army, I had followed the “unspoken rules” of the world for the sake of standing out. I had done many things which burdened my conscience. I had become wealthy from ill-gotten gains and lived a dark and corrupted life—I constantly indulged myself in sin but felt no shame. Then, God’s words not only allowed me to distinguish good from evil, but also made me see clearly the origin of my fall and my corruption. It turned out that these scourges came from Satan. It was Satan that turned this country into a morass of evil and viciousness where powerless, honest people were oppressed and struggled to get by while the powerful, influential and tyrannical prospered. In this society was full of heresies and fallacies like “Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost,” “Officials do not make things difficult for those who bear gifts,” “You can’t accomplish anything without licking their boots,” “Some officials are just looking out for number one, not the public,” “Use power when you have it, because after it’s gone, you can’t use it,” and so on. I was taken in by these terrible sayings, and because of the oppression around me I lost my way, abandoned human principles, sought high positions unscrupulously, and became entrenched in a mire of sin. I eventually became a filthy demon who sought nothing but wealth, abused power for personal gain, and embezzled public funds. From the judgment in God’s words, I saw the intense rage and holiness of God, and understood that offending His righteous disposition was not permitted. I regretted my evil actions and my heart was filled with fear. I felt that if it had not been for God saving me in time and pulling me from the evil mire, I would have been cursed and punished by God for what I had done. Thank God for letting me see light again, and understand human principles. From then on, I never again did those things that brought shame to God’s name.

As I understood more and more of the truth, I experienced more and deeper salvation from God. In 2009, I had served in the army for 20 years. According to national regulations, I was permitted to go out and look for work on my own. I determined to shun evil and do good, so I left the army and chose to be transferred to civilian work, and put my heart and soul into working for God. However, my leader tried to persuade me to stay and asked me to think it over thoroughly, and another older leader in a high position made me a promise that I would be promoted to deputy regimental commander if I continued to work hard. I hesitated a bit—this was the opportunity that I had longed for day and night! I couldn’t let go of the idea of that position, so I sought help from God and prayed, “Oh, God, being in a high position has always been my dream. Now I have that opportunity and I don’t know how to choose. May You enlighten and lead me!” The following words of God brought me enlightenment, “If you are of high station, of honorable reputation, possessed of abundant knowledge, the owner of plentiful assets, and supported by many people, yet these things do not prevent you from coming before God to accept His calling and His commission, to do what God asks of you, then all that you do shall be the most significant on earth and the most righteous of mankind. If you reject the call of God for the sake of status and your own goals, all that you do shall be cursed and even despised by God” (“God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “People come to the earth and it is rare to encounter Me, and it is also rare to have the opportunity to seek and to gain the truth. Why would you not prize this beautiful time as the right path of pursuit in this life?” (“Words to the Young and Old” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Every word of God struck my conscience, and I was awoken from my hesitation. I had the privilege of encountering the work on the earth of God incarnate and the precious opportunity to seek the truth and work for God. What an exaltation and grace from God! What career in the world could be more meaningful than working for the Creator? Even if you were in the highest position and were the highest official, if you did not know God and had not made any changes in your disposition, you would eventually be punished by God. So many people in prestigious positions had fallen into disaster and died a premature death, and so many high-ranking officials had had an ignominious fall and a terrible end. As for me, I had fought and tried desperately to stand out as an official, resulting in me ruining myself to such an extent that I was tarnished and filthy, and lived the life of someone who was barely human. God had then led me back from the wrong path and clearly showed me the path for a human life. How could I still choose to take those risks and return to my old ways? The first half of my life had been subject to Satan’s affliction and trickery and brought me great pain. I could not be enslaved, exploited, and corrupted by Satan for the latter half. I had to change my way of living, follow God steadily, walk the path of pursuing the truth, and live a meaningful life. So I resolutely determined to find a job on my own and leave the army completely. However, because my corruption from Satan was so profound, its poisonous idea of standing out and being an important person had been deeply rooted in my heart and often hindered me from taking the right path. God had performed even more work of judgment and purifying in me to lead me down the true path in life, and I received even greater salvation from God.

After fulfilling my duty in the church for some time, I saw that some of the church leaders were quite young and one of them had been my friend, which made me feel uncomfortable. I thought: None of your positions in the earthly world were as high as mine, but your current positions in the church are higher than mine. If you are capable of being leaders, then I am even more so! So I worked hard in this pursuit; I got up at five every morning to read God’s words, and set goals for myself—listening to at least two hours every day of preaching and fellowship on entering into life, learning three songs every week, and learning all the songs of God’s word. I worked even harder at performing my duty in the church. As long as it was something that I was capable of dealing with in the church, I would rush to do it regardless of how difficult or tiring it was. Meanwhile, I bragged my experience and skills in the army in front of sisters and brothers, turned my nose up at the communications of the church leaders or subtly belittled how they approached issues or dealt with problems. So, I charged straight ahead, struggling to make a name for myself, hoping to get an official position in the church as soon as possible. In 2011, I was finally selected to be a leader in the church as I had expected. I was very excited and I prepared to distinguish myself and accomplish a great many things in order to impress others. However, my wife reminded me many times that I was not suitable to lead others and suggested that I resign. I had no choice but to resign and I recommended a sister as the leader. However, I had not reconciled with this in my heart. After some time, I found that the leader had some shortcomings in how she dealt with problems, and my ambition once again reared its head. I indirectly suggested to her that she take the blame and resign, which would give me the chance to be selected in the next election. However, the sisters and brothers who heard of this analyzed me, saying that I was too crafty and ambitious, and that I always wanted to take control of the church, so they dismissed me from my post of group leader. I simply could not accept it. I was such a capable person; how could it be that I was not even fit to be a group leader! For months, I was very dissatisfied in my heart and I was not happy with my sisters and brothers, so I did not talk much in the meetings. My spirit was full of darkness and I could not find God. In the midst of this pain, I asked God to lead me out of the darkness. And one day, I read God’s words, “Today, in man’s experience, each step of God’s work strikes back at the conceptions of man, and every step is unimaginable by man’s intellect, and beyond his expectations. God provides all that is needed by man, and in every respect it is at odds with the conceptions of man…. By striking back at your conceptions, you come to accept the dealing of God, and only in this way can you get rid of your corruption” (“Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “If you do not obey now, in the end you will be cursed—will you be happy then? You do not pay attention to the way of life but only focus on your status and title; what is your life like? … You don’t focus on pursuing personal transformation and entering in; you always focus on those extravagant desires, and things that constrain your love for God and restrain you from getting close to Him. Can those things transform you? Can they bring you into the kingdom?” (“Why Aren’t You Willing to Be a Foil?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words were like a sword cutting into my heart, making rebellious me feel ashamed and embarrassed. Not until then did I realize that all the things that had happened to me recently, while not what I wanted, did not mean that people were just giving me a hard time. Rather, they were the just judgment of me from God, and His timely salvation of me. God’s work that time was meant to change people’s old thoughts and perspectives, to save them from the influence of Satan, and for them to gain the truth and life from God to live a bright life. I did not take the correct path and seek to gain the truth as my life, but pursued status and fame, and I even played tricks and hatched schemes, no different than the pursuit of becoming an official and someone of importance. Wasn’t this against God’s work and His will to save mankind? How could I gain the truth and live a meaningful life if I continued to pursue these? If I had not turned back, wouldn’t it have ruined me and made me a target for punishment by God when He completes His work? Through those around me, God pruned aspects of me and dealt with me “ruthlessly,” took away my status, and shattered my ambitions and desires in order to prevent me from taking the wrong path, to correct my flawed ideas of pursuits, and to make me turn back. I then understood the righteous and holy disposition of God, and that my intentions, motivations, and even every single thought and action were under His observation. God carried out the most genuine salvation of me at the same time that He demonstrated His majesty. After recognizing the grace of God’s salvation, I no longer allowed myself to get entangled in the loss of a position, and I had the will to pursue the truth. God loved me so much that He tried to save me, so I could not let Him down. I had to obey God’s arrangements, and no matter whether I was a leader or a layperson, I should pursue the truth and do my duty as well as possible.

Half a year later, the leader in the church arranged for me to continue my church life at another church. Its church leaders were being selected at that time. When I learned that I had believed in God longer than all the sisters and brothers, I felt very happy and I thought: Now comes my chance. I can finally show my abilities as a leader. After all, I have more life experience and I believed in God earlier than they did. I am the best person for the position. As I was preparing to present myself well to them, one of the sisters from the previous church was transferred to join the election. I was afraid that she would reveal my previous scandal of jostling for position, which would be an embarrassment to me, so I had to give up my initial plan. I decided to try to get elected as a group leader, then work my way up step by step after that. I hadn’t imagined that I would not be elected as a group leader, but I would instead be arranged to carry out some minor work which required delivering books of God’s words to sisters and brothers. I, a dignified battalion commander, was running around doing little errands. I found this difficult to accept. However, after undergoing the judgment and chastisement of God, I understood that this was from the rule of God and His arrangements. God was dealing with my desire to pursue status, so I forsook myself and obeyed. However, before long the place where I attended meetings was spotted by the police, so the church arranged for me to meet with another two old sisters somewhere else. As for the leader of the church, she could not come very often to perform her watering duty for us as she was being persecuted by the Communist Party of China. At that time, I could not bear it any longer: Aside from having me do petty work, I have to meet with those elders with poor caliber. How did I get to this place? The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. I even felt that life was not worth living. In pain, I earnestly prayed unto God and asked for His enlightenment. One day, I read God’s words, saying, “What’s the most appropriate method of pursuit on today’s path? What kind of figure should you see yourself as in your pursuit? You should know how to handle everything that is befalling you now, be it trials or suffering, merciless chastisement or curses—you should give careful consideration to all of this” (“Aren’t Those Who Do Not Learn and Know Nothing but Beasts?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words, I understood that I was driven by my arrogant satanic nature, deviated from God’s will, and walked on the wrong path of pursuing fame and positions. As a result, I only regarded those duties with “official titles” as important and despised other duties, and even detested those sisters and brothers of low caliber in the sense that I felt my status was lowered by being with them. The status, fame and wealth had gone to my head. However, I did not know that in the house of God, all duties were equal, and my sisters and brothers as well as I were all creatures with equal status. My high status in the earthly world could not ever change that fact. Thinking of this, I felt greatly relieved. However, I knew that fame and status were my fatal weaknesses, so I prayed unto God to seek more truth to resolve this issue. Later, I heard some preaching giving fellowship regarding entering into life, saying: “In your opinion, is it meaningful for people to hold positions and cherish them? You should see through status and fame and be indifferent to them. They are empty and meaningless. A high position does not guarantee blessings. If you don’t have a good disposition, a high position may bring you misfortune. If you do not pursue the truth, that position will be a source of great evil for you. Without the truth, you cannot see through things, and might easily be ruined by positions. … You cannot be a leader without pursuing the truth; it can only ruin you. If you pursue the truth, leadership can make you perfect” (“The Differentiations of and Solutions to the False Leaders, Antichrists and the Wicked” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (VII)). “People appear to be good when they don’t have power but as soon as they have it, they will show their true colors. How can power expose the truth in people? When someone is an ordinary person, they seem decent and appear to be dignified and upright. Once they hold some power, they become perverse” (“How People Should Cooperate With God’s Work of Perfecting Man” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (III)). These words suddenly opened my eyes and I saw the void and meaninglessness of pursuing status. Valuing status and failing to pursue the truth can only lead to people’s ruin. Take my experience in the army as an example—I hated those corrupt officials when I was a soldier. However, as my status continued to grow, I started to become perverse and in the end I became a truly corrupt official. Those who were in high positions seemed to be good and honest when they didn’t have high status. However, as soon as they held power, they started to behave tyrannically and commit countless crimes. These facts were enough to illustrate that after people had been corrupted by Satan, they would without exception be subject to its affliction and trickery; if they did not pursue the truth and have a change in disposition, they could only become perverse and do evil once they held power and status, be it in the earthly world or in God’s house, with an end result of being punished justly by God. Thinking of this, I felt both fear and gratitude. It turned out that my repeated frustrations was my salvation, done out of love for me! Because I struggled to ascend in the world of officialdom for many years, I had been sullied with the poisons of Satan. It could be said that I was a combination of arrogance, craftiness, selfishness and greed. After believing in God, I valued status too much and did not really pursue the truth. As a result, even by then I had gained little of the truth, and I had little fear of God. If I had actually been in a high position, I would only have become ambitious and behaved tyrannically as I did in the army, and I would end up being punished for offending God’s disposition. Thanks to God’s enlightenment, I could see clearly the essence and the outcome of pursuing fame and status, and more than that, I could see the importance of pursuing the truth.

After that I started to concentrate my efforts on God’s words. I deeply longed for God’s words to be my life and paid no attention to duties with “official titles,” and never belittled other duties. I felt that every duty had its meaning, and as long as someone worked hard in their duties its value would be apparent. When I longed for God’s words with all of my heart and tried to complete my duties, I not only understood many truths which I had not understood before, but also enjoyed God’s presence quite often. I received the enlightenment and leadership of the Holy Spirit, which made me feel grounded and unspeakably joyful. After a period of time, I found myself keeping a low profile when interacting with others, and I no longer boasted about my old positions in the army or used them to show off. No matter who pointed out my shortcomings, I would obey first and reflect on myself later. I could treat the sisters and brothers in the church with poor education and low caliber equally, and I no longer regarded myself as superior to them. Before I knew it my opinions on pursuit changed a lot, and I became indifferent to status and fame and was not so constrained and controlled by these. When I saw sisters and brothers who had believed in God for less time than me get elected as leaders of the church, I felt a little bit of jealousy. However, I was able to let it go through prayer. I felt embarrassed thinking of the fact that I used to struggle for fame and gain; I felt it was ugly and inhumane. Now, my wife and I fulfill our duties at home together. Though they are not significant, I feel content and I experience enjoyment. My son now also believes in Almighty God, which makes our family a true Christian family where God’s words rule. No matter who speaks in line with the truth, we will listen to that person. Even if there is revelation of corrupt dispositions, we can understand, forbear and forgive each other, and examine ourselves according to God’s words, which has made our family happier and happier. I strongly feel that it is Almighty God who has changed me and my wife, who has saved my marriage and family, and what’s more, has saved me from extreme corruption and transformed me from an arrogant, evil and filthy seeker of fame into a person who pursues light and justice, who has real life goals. When I sing this song of God’s word, all sorts of feelings well up in me: “God has no hatred for man, and all that He does is true love. Even chastisement and judgment are also His love, and are a great salvation for you. It is only because you are too disobedient, and you were born in the licentious and sinful place and have been trampled by Satan. God does not want you to become more depraved and does not have the heart to let you fall into the underworld, so He chastises and judges and refines you again and again. This is a deep love, like a father teaches his son. He does so for the purpose of leading you to the right path. It is also a great protection, and even more a great grace for you. Although you have suffered a lot from the chastisement and judgment, and even become half alive, you receive the most true, most real, and most precious thing. You see the final destination of God’s creations, come to comprehend the origin of mankind’s corruption, see God’s arm, come to fully understand human life, and gain the right path of human life. Because of today’s chastisement and judgment, you know the wondrous deeds of the Almighty and see His righteous disposition and His beautiful, glorious countenance. Without them, your faith would be in vain” (“Chastisement and Judgment Are the Most True and Most Real Love” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). Yes, without God’s salvation, I would not have taken the right path in life; I would only have become more and more degenerate, and would have become filthy scum who would be cursed by God in the end. It is the just judgment of God that has saved me, and ruthless refinement that has changed me. This allows me to understand what is ugly and what is holy as well as God’s greatness, beauty and goodness, and Satan’s meanness and evilness. I will never follow Satan again, and will only pursue the truth wholeheartedly, rid myself of Satan’s corruption, and live a real human life. Although I have experienced the suffering of many chastisements and refinements, I have gained the most precious path of life, allowing me to be reborn and enter a true path in life.

This year, I went back to my former work unit to take care of some procedural tasks. I saw that my previous colleagues and my previous leaders had all been promoted. When my previous colleagues saw me, they said, “If you had not left the army, you would have been promoted by now.” I remained unmoved, and thought: Of what use is a high position? If you live without any goal, direction or meaning as a person but just churn in that mire of evil, isn’t it the most degrading kind of life? Aren’t you just Satan’s slaves, its toys? You will suffer God’s just punishment and retribution in the end! Though I do not have a high position, I never regret my choice, because I have truly experienced peace and ease in my heart, which is true happiness. Only being the creature you should be, obeying and worshiping God is a true human life, and only through this can you have a bright future!

Source The Internet

Read More

Blessings Due to Sickness —Essay on God’s Love

Blessings Due to Sickness —Essay on God’s Love

Dujuan, Japan

The Picture of The Church of Almighty God | Blessings Due to Sickness —Essay on God’s Love

I was born into a poor family in a rural village. Since I was a child, I lived a tough life and was looked down upon by others. I sometimes did not even know if I would have my next meal, let alone snacks and toys. Since my family was poor, when I was little, I would wear what my older sister used to wear. Her clothes were usually too big for me. As a result, when I went to school, the other kids would laugh at me and they would not play with me. My childhood was very bitter. From that point on, I would secretly tell myself: Once I grow up, I will be somebody and make lots of money. I won’t let others look down on me again. Since my family had no money, I was forced to drop out before junior high school. I went to the county town to work in a medicine factory. In order to earn more money, I would frequently work until 9 or 10 PM. However, the money I earned was not enough to reach my goals. Afterward, when I heard that my sister was able to earn in five days what I earned in a month selling vegetables, I quit my job at the medicine factory and went to sell vegetables. After a period of time, I found that I could make even more money selling fruits, so I decided to start a business selling fruits. After I married my husband, we started a restaurant business. I thought that now that I had a restaurant, I would be able to earn even more money. Once I could earn a considerable amount of income, naturally, I would win other’s admiration and regard. Other people would start looking up to me and at the same time, I would be able to live a better life. However, after operating the business for a period of time, I discovered that I was actually not making a lot of money. I started getting anxious. When would I be able to lead a life that others would admire?

In 2008, by chance I heard a friend say that working for one day in Japan was the equivalent of working ten days in China. When I learned this news, I was very happy. I felt that finally, I had found a great opportunity for earning money. I thought that I should secure the greater benefit by sacrificing the lesser. All I needed to do was go to Japan to work and I would be able to recoup my expenses. In order to realize our dreams, my husband and I did not care how much the agent fee would be. We decided to go to Japan immediately. After we arrived in Japan, we were able to find a job very quickly. Each day, my husband and I worked for 13 or 14 hours. Work stress was quite significant. I was completely exhausted all day long. After work, all I wanted to do was lie down and rest. I did not even want to eat. I found it difficult to endure such a fast-paced lifestyle. However, once I thought about the money I would have after I struggled for a few years, I encouraged myself: Even though it is difficult and tiring right now, later on, my life will be wonderful. I must go on. As a result, each day I worked my fingers to the bone as if I were a money-making machine. By 2015, I collapsed under the heavy work load. I went to the hospital for an examination and the doctor told me that I had a herniated disc and that it was pressing against a nerve. If I continued to work the way I was working, I would eventually be bedridden and unable to care for myself. This news hit me like thunder from a clear sky. I became extremely weak right away. My life had just begun to be better off, and I was getting closer and closer to my dream. I never would have thought that I would get sick. I refused to give up. I thought: “I am still young. I just need to clench my teeth and get through this. If I do not earn more money now, by the time I go home, I will not have a lot of money. Wouldn’t that be even more embarrassing?” As a result, I clenched my teeth and dragged my weak body back to work. However, after a few days, I was so sick that I literally could not get up.

I felt very miserable as I lay on a bed in the hospital with nobody to take care of me. “How do I end up in this situation? Could it be that I will actually be unable to get out of bed?” I really hoped for someone to be by my side. Unfortunately, my husband was at work and my son was at school. My boss and my colleagues were only focused on profit. They basically did not care at all about me. The ward was filled with all kinds of sick people. I could not help but think deeply: For what purpose do people live? How can one live a meaningful life? Can money really buy happiness? I reflected on what I had after 30 years of struggling. I worked in a medicine factory, sold fruit, ran a restaurant and came to Japan to work. Even though I did earn some money all these years, however, I endured much sadness. I had thought that once I reached Japan, I would be able to realize my dreams very quickly. After a few years in Japan, when I returned to China, I would be able to start a new life as a rich person and be envied by other people. However, now I was bedridden and faced with the possibility that I would no longer be able to take care of myself and that I would bitterly spend the second half of my life in a wheel chair…. At the thought of this, I started to regret that I had risked even my own life in order to earn money and get ahead in life. The more I thought about this, the more bitter tears began flowing down my face. In agony, I couldn’t help but cry out: God! Save me! Why is life so cruel?

Just when I was in pain and helpless, that was when Almighty God’s salvation came to me and my “sickness” became my “blessing.” What a great coincidence that I knew of three sisters from The Church of Almighty God. Since they had communicated with me, I understood where my illness was coming from and I knew where my suffering was coming from. As a person who never had any faith before, I was now someone who had a life direction and I knew who I should be living for. The sister recited a passage of Almighty God’s words for me: “Where did the pain of birth, death, illness and old age present throughout the life of man come from? Because of what did people first have these things? Did man have these things when they were first created? They didn’t, did they? So where did these things come from? These things came after man was tempted by Satan and their flesh became degenerate, such as the pain of the flesh, the troubles and emptiness of the flesh and the extreme wretchedness of the world. Satan began to torment man after it had corrupted them. Man then became more and more degenerate, the illnesses of man were deepened, and their suffering became more and more severe. Man felt more and more the emptiness, the tragedy and the inability to go on living of the world, and they felt less and less hope for the world. So this suffering was brought on man by Satan, and it only came after man had been corrupted by Satan and became degenerate” (“The Meaning of God’s Experiencing the Pain of the World” in Records of Christ’s Talks). One of the sisters told me that when man was created in the beginning, man did not have the pain of birth, death, illness and old age nor did he have anxiety and distress. Instead, he led a carefree life in the Garden of Eden, enjoying all the good things that God had bestowed upon man. However, mankind betrayed God and no longer listened to God starting from when mankind was enticed and corrupted by Satan. God no longer watched over, protected and blessed man and he lived under Satan’s domain. He lived according to Satan’s laws. He started living for fame, status, money. We humans thus schemed against each other. We fought each other fiercely. We deceived one another, and we even killed one another. This was where our illness, the difficulties in our life, and the pain and sorrow in our hearts was coming from. This pain and distress causes each and every person to feel that life on earth is extremely bitter, tiring and difficult. These things all emerged after Satan had corrupted man. It is Satan that harms us. After I listened to what the sister had to say, I came to understand: In the beginning, we were living under the blessings of God. Our lives were happy and there was no sickness or distress. After Satan corrupted us, we lost God’s protection and we started getting sick and we started enduring all kinds of suffering. At this point, I truly felt that Satan was very despicable. I also understood that the pain that I had been suffering all these years resulted from Satan.

The sister continued to communicate with me: “God cannot bear watching mankind continue to be corrupted and harmed by Satan. He even incarnated once again, lives among men and expresses the truth in order to save us from our corruption. As long as we listen to God and understand the truth within God’s word, we will be able to distinguish and see clearly all the methods and ways that Satan corrupts mankind. We will see through to Satan’s evil essence and have the strength to abandon Satan, throw off Satan’s harm, return before God, obtain God’s salvation and in the end, be brought by God to a beautiful destination.” When I heard that God had personally come to save mankind, I became very emotional. Since I really did not want Satan to continue to harm me, I told my sisters about my pain and doubt: “I just don’t understand. Why is it that I feel so much pain from seeking to be better than everybody else? Could it be that this is due to Satan as well?” The sister read some more of God’s words to me: “Any great or famous person, all people in fact, anything they follow in life relates only to these two words: ‘fame’ and ‘gain.’ Is this not so? (Yes.) People think that once they have fame and gain, they can then capitalize on them to enjoy high status and great wealth, and to enjoy life. Once they have fame and gain, they can then capitalize on them in their pleasure-seeking and unscrupulous enjoyment of the flesh. People willingly, albeit unknowingly, take their bodies, minds, all that they have, their futures and their destinies and hand them all over to Satan in order to attain the fame and gain they desire. People do this without ever a moment’s hesitation, ever ignorant of the need to recover it all. Can people still have any control over themselves once they go over to the side of Satan in this way and become loyal to it? Certainly not. They are completely and utterly controlled by Satan. They are also completely and utterly unable to free themselves from the quagmire they have sunk down into…. So Satan uses fame and gain to control man’s thoughts until all they can think of is fame and gain. They struggle for fame and gain, suffer hardships for fame and gain, endure humiliation for fame and gain, sacrifice everything they have for fame and gain, and they will make any judgment or decision to both maintain and obtain fame and gain. In this way, Satan binds man with invisible shackles. These shackles are borne on people’s bodies, and they have not the strength nor courage to throw them off. So people trudge ever onward in great difficulty, unknowingly bearing these shackles” (“God Himself, the Unique VI” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh). The revelation of God’s word caused me to have a sudden flash of insight. I was a classic example of someone who had been enslaved by Satan, someone who was destroying himself through the seeking of fame and gain. I had lost myself in the pursuit of being better than others and earning much money to be envied. I basically became a money-making machine. For fame and fortune I had even sacrificed my own health. I was indeed a slave to fame and gain. Directed by the outlook on life of earning money and becoming an object of envy, I struggled hard to achieve my goals until my body basically had enough. These desires for fame and gain caused me much physical and emotional suffering. If it wasn’t for the revelation of Almighty God’s words, I would never have known that the things that I was seeking were wrong. In fact, it was one of Satan’s ways of harming man.

Gradually, as those sisters frequently came to visit me and communicate Almighty God’s words to me, I became more and more convinced of Almighty God’s work. At the same time, I became better at distinguishing the methods and ways that Satan harms man. During this time, I noticed the situation of one of my female colleagues. In order to earn money, she and her husband came to Japan to work. Even though they had both earned some money, her husband started to have some physical difficulties. He had no choice but to return home for treatment. The result was that he was found to have late-stage cancer. After they found out about this, they no longer wanted to come to Japan again to earn money. The whole family was living in fear and sorrow. Almighty God said: “People spend their lives chasing after money and fame; they clutch at these straws, thinking they are their only means of support, as if by having them they could keep on living, could exempt themselves from death. But only when they are close to dying do they realize how distant these things are from them, how weak they are in the face of death, how easily they shatter, how lonely and helpless they are, with nowhere to turn. They realize that life cannot be bought with money or fame, that no matter how wealthy a person is, no matter how lofty his or her position is, all people are equally poor and inconsequential in the face of death. They realize that money cannot buy life, that fame cannot erase death, that neither money nor fame can lengthen a person’s life by a single minute, a single second” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh). My colleague’s misfortune made me feel even more so that life was indeed precious. At the same time, I could see the way Satan was using “fame” and “gain” to harm the lives of many people. At this very moment, I felt extremely lucky that I was able to receive Almighty God’s work of the last days. If I did not read Almighty God’s word, I would never have been able to see through to the truth of how Satan harms man. Sooner or later, I would have been swallowed alive by Satan.

Afterward, the sisters from the church would frequently come to my house to see me. Since I could not move my hips, those sisters would help massage me and do some cupping on me. One of the sisters who was medically trained told me that if I pressed a specific acupuncture point, it would bring relief to my condition. They would also take the initiative and help me with my household chores. They took care of me as if they were my family relatives. As an expatriate in a foreign country, I was without a friend in the world. Today I truly felt moved that these sisters took care of me better than my own relatives would. I thanked them again and again. However, my sisters told me, “Thousands of years ago, God predestined and selected us. Now, He has arranged for us to be born in the last days and to accept God’s work of the last days. Together, we walk this path. This is the rule of God. We were actually a family a long time ago already. It’s just that we got separated and it wasn’t until now that we found each other.” Once my sisters said this, I could no longer control my emotions and I hugged them with tears running down my face. At this moment, I felt a closeness with my sisters that I cannot describe. My heart was even more grateful to Almighty God.

Unconsciously, I was getting better and better. After experiencing the pain and torment of this instance of sickness, I reflected on how I had been under the control of Satan’s incorrect life perspective of “striving to be better than everyone else.” All along, I sought to stand out among my peers and lead an abundant life so that others would admire and envy me. However, I never thought what I would obtain instead was pain and sadness. I did not get even a bit of peace and happiness. I have tasted this process of pain and I am no longer willing to fight against destiny nor am I willing to seek fame and gain. This is not the life I want. I’m no longer like a high-speed money-making machine. Instead, I lead a regular life every day. Aside from going to work, I frequently attend meetings, read God’s word and share my own experiences and understanding with my brothers and sisters. I also learn to sing hymns of God’s word and live happily. I have gained a kind of assuredness and peace that I never tasted before in my heart. One day I read the following passage of God’s words: “When one has no God, when one cannot see Him, when one cannot clearly recognize God’s sovereignty, every day is meaningless, worthless, miserable. Wherever one is, whatever one’s job is, one’s means of living and the pursuit of one’s goals bring one nothing but endless heartbreak and irrelievable suffering, such that one cannot bear to look back. Only when one accepts the Creator’s sovereignty, submits to His orchestrations and arrangements, and seeks true human life, will one gradually break free from all heartbreak and suffering, shake off all the emptiness of life” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words, I understood that the meaning of man’s existence is to live according to God’s words and to obey the rule and arrangements of the Creator. This is a true human life. The things that man can obtain in his lifetime do not depend on him busily rushing about and working frantically. Instead, it is based on God’s rule and God’s preordination. At the same time, I also understood that it does not matter how much wealth that someone accumulates for it is all just worldly possessions. You did not bring it with you when you were born and you cannot take it with you after you die. After I had this understanding, I was willing to obey God’s rule and arrangements. I had the second half of my life completely entrusted to God. I no longer sought the admiration of others. Instead, I sought to be someone that obeys God. Now, I work three to four hours a day. My boss is a Japanese. Even though we cannot communicate through words, my boss looks after me. Each time he asks me to do something, he uses simple words to communicate his message to me. He never gives me stress. I feel even more so now that, as long as man obeys God, he would be able to live a relaxed and happy life.

Whenever I am alone, I frequently think back to the process of my coming before God. If it was not for my sickness which stopped me from seeking fame and gain, I would still be a money-making machine in the world. I would be blind to this until Satan’s devastation kills me. Satan harmed me by using fame, gain, and disease. Contrarily, Almighty God used my sickness to bring me before Him. Through His words, I clearly saw that Satan is responsible for man’s corruption. I also saw clearly how evil and despicable it was for Satan to use fame and gain to swallow people up. I was finally in a position to throw off the shackles of fame and gain and establish a proper life perspective. My spirit was liberated. God is so almighty and wise! I’m thankful that God has loved me and saved me. All the glory be to Almighty God!

Source The Internet

Read More