Xie Surong
Tangshan City, Hebei Province
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| Picture of The Church of Almighty God | Almighty God Has Given Me a Second Life |
For years, life has been continuing in this world through generation after generation. Everyone live a life in their respective roles, smooth or rough, poor or rich. No matter what kind of life they live, very few have found the real life. Before the age of 28, I had lived my life as most people do.
On a very common day, I was chosen by God from among the vast sea of people. It was then that I came to know the source of all things, the source of man’s life, and the two different destinations for man, heaven or hell, and I also knew that God, because of mankind’s sin, was incarnated personally and laid down His life for them through His crucifixion, thereby bringing them grace, peace, and joy. This was the first turning point in my life. From then on, I began to preach the gospel and build up the church, and healed the sick and cast out demons in the Lord’s name; I also attended service and studied the Bible. All that almost became my entire life, and I no longer felt empty. The church gradually revived because of God’s favor. The brothers and sisters loved one another and shared everything together. They helped anyone in the church who needed help. As the number in the church increased, the church selected co-workers at different levels, and I became the most senior leader. Everything in the church must be approved by me, and the brothers and sisters also submitted to whatever I said. Later, some puzzling things happened in the church. The sick could not be healed, and the demon-possessed could not be released. The brothers and sisters asked me the reason, and I said, “It is because you lack faith in prayers. You should fast when necessary.” Actually, I myself didn’t know the reason either. Later, such things happened more often. And what’s more, I obviously felt that I had nothing to say in preaching. My sermon was becoming dry as dust, and I was often incoherent with lack of words. The co-workers in the church often raised such question, “What should we preach in the meetings?” I answered them, “I don’t know either. Just read the Bible if you really have no idea what to preach.” But this was only a temporary remedy. Because there was no supply of the living water, the number in the church, which could be maintained in the beginning, began to drop later. Faced with this, I burned with anxiety but did not know why it happened. I could do nothing but pray to God, “Lord, You know best what is happening in our church. In the past, whatever we asked in Your name, You granted it to us, and we often witnessed the signs and wonders. Now, we do the same, calling on Your name, reading the Bible, and praying to You, but why does it not work today? We pray but receive no answer; we preach the gospel but gain no fruit; the number of the believers is decreasing; and some co-workers even want to return to the world to find another way out. Lord! Why so? Please help us!” Later, to recover the love of the brothers and sisters, I asked all in the church to pray in shifts around the clock and to fast on the 21st day every month. I wanted to revive the church by doing so, but I didn’t expect that after practicing for some time, all the brothers and sisters said, “We have no desire to eat in ordinary days, but on the fasting days we feel extremely hungry and can’t hold on.” Having no choice, I came before the Lord again, “O Lord! Please help us! If it goes on like this, we will all be finished! I really don’t know what to do…” Yet the church was still in such condition.
