Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” (IV)
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“The work of the last days is to separate all according to their kind, to conclude the management plan of God, for the time is near and the day of God has come. God brings all who have entered His kingdom, that is, all those who have been loyal to Him to the end, into the age of God Himself. However, before the coming of the age of God Himself, the work that God desires to do is not to observe the deeds of man or to inquire about the lives of man, but to judge his rebellion, for God shall purify all those who come before His throne. All those who have followed the footsteps of God to this day are those who have come before the throne of God, hence all who accept the last of God’s work are those to be purified by God. In other words, all those who accept the last of God’s work are those who will be judged by God.
As previously spoken of, judgment would begin with the house of God. This ‘judgment’ refers to the judgment God does today on those who come before His throne in the last days. Perhaps there are those who believe in such supernatural imaginings as that when the last days have arrived, God will erect a big table in the heavens, upon which a white tablecloth will be spread, then God will sit upon a great throne and all men will kneel on the ground. God shall then reveal all sins laid against each man to determine whether he shall ascend to heaven or be sent down to the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. No matter what the imaginings of man, the substance of God’s work cannot be altered. The imaginings of man are nothing but the constructs of man’s thoughts and come from the brain of man, summed up and pieced together from what man has seen and heard. Therefore I say, however brilliant the images conceived, they are still no more than a drawing and no substitute for the plan of God’s work. After all, man has been corrupted by Satan, so how can he then fathom the thoughts of God? Man conceives the work of judgment by God to be particularly fantastic. Man believes that since it is God Himself doing the work of judgment, then it must be of the most tremendous scale and incomprehensible to mortals; it must resound through the heavens and shake the earth, otherwise how can it be the work of judgment by God? Man believes that as this is the work of judgment, then God must be particularly imposing and majestic as He works, and those being judged must be howling with tears and on their knees begging for mercy. The scene must be a grand sight and very rousing…. Every man conceives God’s work of judgment to be legendary. Do you know, however, that long after God has begun the work of judgment among men, you are still nestled in sleep? Do you know, at the time that you believe God’s work of judgment has officially begun, it shall already be the time when God changes heaven and earth? At that time, perhaps you will have only just understood the meaning of life, but the merciless work of punishment of God shall bring you, still slumbering, into hell. Only then will you suddenly realize that God’s work of judgment has already concluded.
Let us not waste precious time and talk no more of these abhorrent and detestable topics. Let us speak instead of what constitutes judgment. When it comes to the word “judgment,” you will think of the words that Jehovah spoke to all the places and the words of rebuke that Jesus spoke to the Pharisees. Though these words are stern, they are not God’s judgment of man; these words are only those spoken by God within different environments, that is, different settings, and they are unlike the words spoken by Christ as He judges man in the last days. In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, reveal 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 disposition of God, and so on. These words are all focused on the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that reveal how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. When God does the work of judgment, He does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words, but carries out revelation, dealing, and pruning over the long term. Such manner of revelation, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only such manner of work is deemed judgment; only through such judgment can man be persuaded, be thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and 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 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 could not be understood by man. 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 such work is actually the work of opening up the truth, way, and life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God. If you do not regard these truths with importance and constantly think of avoiding them or of a new way out apart from them, then I say you are a grievous sinner. If you have faith in God, yet seek not the truth or the will of God, nor do you love the way that brings you closer to God, then I say that you are one who is trying to evade judgment. You are a puppet and traitor who flees from the great white throne, and God will not spare any of the rebellious that escape from under His eyes. Such men shall receive even more severe punishment. Those who come before God to be judged and have been purified shall forever live in the kingdom of God. Of course, this is in the future.
The work of judgment is God’s own work, so it must naturally be done by God Himself; it cannot be done by man in His stead. Because judgment is the conquering of man through the truth, it is unquestionable that God still appears as the incarnate image to do this work among men. That is to say, in the last days, Christ shall use the truth to teach men around the earth and to make all truths known to them. This is God’s work of judgment. Many have a sour taste in their mouths about the second incarnation of God, for man finds it difficult to believe that God shall do the work of judgment as an incarnation. But I must tell you that often the work of God greatly exceeds man’s expectations and is difficult for the minds of men to accept. For men are merely maggots upon the earth, while God is the supreme One that fills the universe; the mind of man is akin to a pit of foul water that gives rise only to maggots, whereas each stage of the work directed by the thoughts of God is the fruit of God’s wisdom. Man constantly wishes to contend with God; then I say it is self-evident who stands to lose in the end. I exhort you all not to regard yourselves with more importance than gold. If others can accept the judgment of God, then why can you not? How much higher do you stand above others? If others can bow their heads before the truth, why can you not also do so? The great trend of God’s work is unstoppable. He will not repeat the work of judgment again for the sake of your “merits,” and you will sorely regret losing such a good opportunity. If you do not believe My words, then just wait for that great white throne in the sky to pass judgment upon you! You must know that all of the Israelites spurned and denied Jesus, yet the fact of Jesus’ redemption of mankind still spread to the ends of the universe. Is this not the fact that God has long ago fulfilled? If you are still awaiting Jesus to take you up to heaven, then I say that you are an obstinate piece of deadwood.[a] Jesus will not acknowledge a false believer such as you who is disloyal to the truth and seeks only blessings. On the contrary, He will show no mercy in casting you into the lake of fire to burn for tens of thousands of years.
Do you understand now what is judgment and what is truth? If you now understand, then I exhort you to submit to judgment, otherwise you shall never have the opportunity to be commended by God or to be taken by God into His kingdom. Those who only accept judgment but can never be purified, that is, those who flee in the midst of the work of judgment, shall forever be detested and rejected by God. Their sins are much more, and more grievous, than those of the Pharisees, for they have betrayed God and are rebels against God. Such men who are not worthy even to do service shall receive more severe, everlasting punishment. God shall not spare any traitor who once claimed loyalty with words yet then betrayed Him. Such men shall see retribution through punishment of the spirit, soul, and body. Does this not reveal the righteous disposition of God? Is this not exactly the purpose of God’s judgment and revelation of man? God shall place all those who perform all kinds of wicked deeds during the time of judgment in the place where evil spirits live for their fleshly bodies to be destroyed at the will of the spirits. Their bodies shall give off the odor of a corpse, and such is their fitting retribution. God writes down in their record books each and every one of the sins of those disloyal false believers, false apostles, and false workers, then when the time is right, He casts them amidst the unclean spirits so their entire bodies may be defiled by the spirits at will and, as a result, they will never be reincarnated and shall never again see the light. Those hypocrites who did service at one time but are unable to remain loyal to the end shall be numbered by God among the wicked so that they walk in the counsel of the wicked, becoming part of the disorderly multitude. In the end, God shall destroy them. God casts aside and takes no notice of those who have never been loyal to Christ or dedicated any effort, and shall destroy them all in the change of ages. They shall no longer exist on earth, much less gain passage into the kingdom of God. Those who have never been true to God but are forced into dealing with God shall be numbered among those who do service for His people. Only a small number of such men can survive, while the majority shall perish along with those who are not qualified even to do service. Finally, God shall bring into His kingdom all those who are of the same mind as God, the people and sons of God as well as those predestined by God to be priests. Such is the fruit begotten by God through His work. As for those who can belong to none of the categories set by God, they shall be numbered among the unbelievers. And you can surely imagine what their outcome shall be. I have already said to you all that I should say; the road that you choose shall be your decision to make. What you should understand is this: The work of God never waits for any that cannot keep pace with God, and the righteous disposition of God shows no mercy to any man.”
Footnotes:
a. A piece of deadwood: a Chinese idiom, meaning “beyond help.”
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This passage of God’s words relates to the truth pertaining to the vision. When one believes in God, they must recognize His work, then they have a foundation. When one recognizes His work, then they can follow Him. If a person’s faith in God is confused, they don’t know why they believe; they believe but don’t know what they should experience. This is what it means to be confused in one’s faith. No matter how long such a person believes, they will achieve no gains. So it is that an understanding of the truth of the vision is very important.
Our communion will now look at a few questions. Why does God do the work of judgment and chastisement during the last days? This is the most important question. God’s chosen people must see clearly. But why does God judge humanity in the last days? What is the meaning of His judgment? Can you express it in your own words? I will read a passage of God’s words: “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, reveal 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 disposition of God, and so on. These words are all focused on the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that reveal how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God.” What is this passage saying? If you want to understand why God passes judgment in the last days, then read this passage. After finishing, you will understand why He must pass judgment and what the meaning of such judgment is. Many of God’s chosen people have some knowledge through experience, but that doesn’t mean they fully comprehend, it doesn’t mean their understanding is deep enough. Now, let us continue our fellowship on these issues: First, man’s corruption is deep, they are an enemy force against God. Is this not an objective truth? Some question this, saying, “Humanity has corrupt disposition, this is true, but how can they be an enemy force against God?” Such a person finds it hard to understand. If we look from the perspective of the truth, we will see that many believe in the God in heaven, in an invisible God. This is what we commonly refer to as the “vague God.” About 70% of people admit there exists a God in heaven. But does this suggest that humanity obeys God? It does not, because such faith is not true faith, it is merely a recognition of God, a recognition based on signs that He exists. This does not represent knowledge of Him, it does not represent true belief. Now, what can we use to show that corrupt humanity has become an enemy force against God? Let us put forward some examples. If I do not fellowship about it, then people will not see clearly. They will assume, “I truly believe in God! For Him I can cast things aside, I can put myself out for Him. If He requires my life, then I will give it; whatever He asks of me I will do it.” Do these words represent obedience to God? Do they? There are those who say no. Why don’t they represent obedience? In experiencing the work of God, if you have conceptions about Him or His work, if you have conceptions regarding the man used by God, you will become demoralized, you will back away. So, what problem is this? Such conceptions about God can create negativity, they can cause one to back away. If these conceptions are strong enough, they are likely to lead to betrayal. Is this not how it is for man? So, what does this example show? It shows that man is an enemy of God. Then, what is man’s mentality? How can we describe it accurately? “I believe in God, but that which God does must adhere to my conceptions, only then will I believe, only then will I obey. Then, I will do whatever He asks of me, and however He requires me to be I shall be. But if there is something which does not adhere to my conceptions, then I cannot accept it. I will not believe.” Is this not an enemy of God? When people examine the true way, there are so many rumors about God’s house and God’s work which have been created by the evil forces of Satan and the religious antichrists. Even Wikipedia is spreading and posting rumors. They do not post the truth about God’s house, they do not post the true testimonies of God’s house. They specifically post the rumors of the Chinese Communist government and the religious world. What, then, is Wikipedia? It is a representation of the evil force which exists within the world, is it not? It cannot make comment on matters fairly, cannot justly and objectively explain things. But the rumors, the attacks, the lies formulated by the Chinese Communist government and the religious world, they are all posted. This proves the world is evil! After developing such conceptions, people stop believing. “I believe Wikipedia, it is correct. If Wikipedia says it is the true way, I’ll believe it. If the religious pastors say it is the true way, I’ll believe it. If the Chinese government says it is the true way, I’ll believe it.” What is the problem here? This proves the depths of man’s corruption and that they have become an enemy force against God. But there is still clearer, greater proof. That is, each time when God becomes flesh, why is He condemned by the world, by the religious community and cast aside by the people of the age? Why is this? Has God incarnate committed a crime? The first time that God became flesh was through conception by the Holy Spirit. The religious community did not believe it. They say it did not accord with science. But what is science?! They don’t believe God’s words. The whole of the Jewish faith did not believe them. What does this prove? Corrupt mankind is an enemy of God, is it not? Nailing Christ incarnate to the cross was to invite death! What was the result? The Jewish nation was destroyed, and for two thousand years the Jews were scattered about the world, reduced to slaves. Eventually, the adversity which befell them was almost too horrific to imagine. The devil, Hitler, killed millions of them. Some ask, “Aren’t the Israelites God’s chosen people?” God’s chosen people resisted God and as such received His righteous punishment! When God becomes flesh in the last days, He is condemned again by the religious community. He is also condemned by the Chinese Communist government who pursues Him and tries to kill Him. They create many lies and slander to discredit the Church of Almighty God. What does this prove? Corrupt humanity has become an enemy power against God. So, this time, how will God treat humanity and this world? He will totally destroy it. He will bring down disaster, the like of which the world has never witnessed. He will totally and thoroughly destroy the world, and this will be known as retribution for what humanity has done. What does this prove? That mankind’s corruption is deep and it has become an enemy of God. Is this concrete proof? It is. Now, can we admit that humanity has become an enemy of God? Then, is God’s judgment during the last days necessary? Is it appropriate? It is the most appropriate way. So, God says, this time, when He becomes flesh, He brings with Him disaster. But where is this disaster? When God incarnate has finished expressing the truth and created a group of overcomers, disaster will befall this world. This disaster is a part of God’s work during the last days, it is part of His judgment during this time. God’s judgment during the last days consists of two parts: First, the perfection of a group of overcomers. Second, the bringing down of disaster on humanity. This part will be the peak of the judgment: the rewarding of the good and the punishment of the wicked.
The deep corruption of mankind to the extent that it has become an enemy of God is not only reflected throughout the world but in every corrupt person, who resists God. Is this difficult to accept? Some say, “I have accepted Almighty God, am I also resisting Him?” You are, because you are not yet made perfect. Before you are perfected, you are one who resists God. Now, is this difficult to accept? Some say, “I am certain about God. I sacrifice and expend for Him.” But, do you have conceptions about God? If you have such conceptions, then you are one who resists Him. If you truly love God, then it is good, you are not one who resists Him. And, if you don’t love God, if you have conceptions about Him, then you are one who resists Him. Anyone who has conceptions about God resists Him. However, some say, “I have some conceptions, but they are not that extreme.” Regardless, you are still resisting God. Only if you have no such conceptions, and if you can see all there is to adore about God and truly love Him, can you then be said to have changed your life disposition. This kind of person is one who obeys God and does not resist Him. Do you dare claim to have no conceptions about Him? Do you? If you do not say you have none, then you must have conceptions about Him. If you have conceptions about Him then you are resisting Him. So why must you have conceptions about God? What has God done to give you such conceptions? If you dare to have conceptions about God, then you are vilely arrogant and you do not understand Him. Just ask the angels, who dares to have conceptions about God? All that God does is righteous, is truth, is holy. He who dares have conceptions about God invites death! Some say, “If God’s work does not adhere to my conceptions, then I will have questions about it. If it does not adhere to the way in which I imagined it, then I shall also question it.” What theory is this? Isn’t this Satan’s logic? It is. Saying such a thing proves that Satan’s nature exists within you. Only if God’s work adheres to your notions, will you stop having conceptions about Him. If He does not adhere to your conceptions, then you develop notions about Him. So, what are you? Are you truth? Are you righteousness? Are you holiness? Are your conceptions the truth? Are the conceptions and imaginations which man has the truth? You all admit that they are not. If they are not then why do you use them as a measure of God? Why? Your audacity knows no bounds, you do not revere God! You dare to appraise Him. Are you not one of Satan’s brood? It goes without saying that you cannot appraise God, is it acceptable for you to appraise me? It is not acceptable, and yet you even dare to appraise God? If God, before your very eyes, cursed a person and caused their death, would you have an opinion about that? If God cursed an entire family, a family which resisted Him, and so they all died, were destroyed, would you have conceptions about it? If God spoke and an earthquake came, destroying an entire country, and the scene was so horrific you couldn’t bear to look, would you have thoughts about it? If you have conceptions about God, then this is proof you are Satan. You do not obey Him, you do not accept His righteousness. When the Lord Jesus came to earth did He have to adhere to the laws and rules? He did not. If on the Sabbath He wished to go into the fields and pick the ears of corn, then He could. He could disobey the law. He could work on the Sabbath. What of it? Do you have a problem with that? If you have problems with the way that God works then you invite death! He could deliberately break the rules, ignore them, because He was the Lord of the Sabbath. On the Sabbath He could work, and however He chose to work, do you dare question it? If you have conceptions about the way in which God works what does this prove? That you do not understand God, you resist Him. Now, many people believe in God according to their notions, perhaps 99% believe in their notions of God. But is this kind of belief successful? It is not. Why not? Because the process by which you believe is in resistance against God. You do not obey Him, you do not understand Him, you do not worship Him. If you have conceptions about Him how can you worship Him? You believe in the God of your own imagination. But is such a God plausible?
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Some people base their opinions of me on what they are like themselves. They fornicate with people, so they think I too must, secretively, fornicate. If they steal offerings given to God’s house to spend themselves, they think I must do the same. If they speak letters and doctrines, they assume I do the same. In general, if they do something, they think that I will also do such a thing; whichever type of person they are, they think that I am also that type of person. Does this kind of person understand the truth? They do not. What is the essence of this person’s belief in God? They do not pursue the truth, their belief exists only in their own notions and imaginings, and it is serious. How serious is it? They use their small-minded ideas to assess others, to assess their betters, and even try to assess God. Is this not arrogance and conceit? It is arrogance and conceit. They don’t even know they are no better than anyone else. Who do they think they are that they can judge others based on their own standards? How can all people be the same? If all people were the same, then when the world is destroyed so will all mankind; or, when we are saved, all will be saved. In which case, why bother to destroy part of them? Why does God need to reward the good and punish the wicked? Because each person is different. Some can accept God. They can feel that, “The truths and the words that God has expressed are so good that I must eat and drink these words, and I must pursue the truth.” Such a person believes. However, some people have no interest in the truth, saying, “No matter what you say, I just don’t believe you. I only believe in money, believe in pleasures of the flesh.” Some can believe in God and accept the truth. If they understand the truth, then they can carry out the truth. Some people believe in God for many years but do not carry out even the smallest amount of truth, to the extent that they may even do much evil. Isn’t this the difference that exists within corrupt mankind? It is. People are different. Although their corrupt disposition is the same, in essence, there are still differences. Am I the same as you or different? You would all say I am different. How am I different? Every day I must eat and sleep. If I don’t eat I will be hungry, if I get sick I will feel pain. These things are all the same. But in terms of doing one’s duty, are we the same? Or in terms of carrying out the truth? In terms of these things, we are different. If you don’t believe this, but we were to live together for a few years, you would see that I am different to you. I am not interested in those things which interest you. The pain which I can endure, you may have no way of enduring. The things which I do, you may have no way of doing. Would you dare insist we are the same? Of course, you wouldn’t. This is the difference between people. On any given day, I can guarantee that I will not tell a lie, can you? I can speak at length and never tell a lie. Can you guarantee the same? You cannot. On any given day, I do things and people can see that they are meaningful, they are of benefit to others. You cannot do such a thing. On any given day, I can resolve many problems but can you? Each day I can talk casually with others and help them. Who here can do that? Those pastors in the religious community can deliver sermons, well, I can speak off the cuff and give better ones than they can. I need not think at length or prepare, I can simply sit and speak, and what I say will contain more reality than what they said. So, are people different? When this stage of work is complete, many will have gained the truth, and the differences will be even greater. Before the work is complete though, the differences remain small. But when the work is finished, when some people really have gained the truth, when they can really obey God, when they can endure suffering at any cost without complaint, when they really understand God, then the difference between those who do and do not pursue the truth will be even greater. Greater and greater the differences will become! This is the effect of God’s judgment. To those who pursue the truth, God’s judgment in the last days is cleansing, is salvation, is perfection. To those who are bored with the truth, who hate it, the judgment is condemnation, destruction and a curse. So, to those who fully experience God’s work in the last days, they feel that His judgment is full of meaning. Without God’s judgment, we would never obtain His truth, would never be able to achieve changes in our life disposition. This is the most meaningful part of God’s work in the last days: to perfect a group of overcomers. This is the fruit of God’s six-thousand-year management plan.
If corrupt humanity refuses to accept God’s judgment, then what will happen? They will be destroyed by God. Of course, those unbelievers will be destroyed. But those who believe in the Lord can also be destroyed. Look at these words here: “If you are still awaiting Jesus to take you up to heaven, then I say that you are an obstinate piece of deadwood. Jesus will not acknowledge a false believer such as you who is disloyal to the truth and seeks only blessings. On the contrary, He will show no mercy in casting you into the lake of fire to burn for tens of thousands of years.” These words condemn those in the religious community who are merely awaiting the Lord Jesus’s return with the clouds. Do you now understand what will happen to such people? To fail to accept Almighty God’s judgment in the last days and still expect entry to heaven is to daydream. Corrupt humanity must accept God’s judgment and chastisement in order to obtain the truth, achieve changes in their life disposition, and become one who obeys God and worships Him. If man cannot gain the truth, then there will be no change in his life disposition. Without such a change, good behavior on the outside is useless. Good behavior does not pertain to a change in life disposition—the devil can still do some good work. Look at what the great devil of the Chinese Communist Party Mao Zedong said: “If a person does one good thing, it is not an accurate representation of them. What is difficult, is to do good for one’s whole life.” If even the great devil could do one or two good things, then what meaning is there in corrupt humanity carrying out a few good deeds for the sake of obtaining blessings and entering into heaven? It would be far too easy, would it not? So, does the carrying out of many good deeds represent a change in life disposition? It does not. What do pastors in the religious community say? “We who believe in the Lord have changed. Who can say that we haven’t? We now have the credentials to enter heaven.” What credentials? You obstinate pieces of deadwood! You just wait for the Lord Jesus’s return when He will cast you into the lake of fire to burn for tens of thousands of years. You dare say you have changed. Such a claim is a blatant lie! Can you discern the differences now? Does a change in outward behaviors and the doing of some good deeds represent a change in life disposition? We can all see that it does not. Man has tamed tigers, has tamed lions. As such, the beasts may even let people pet them, ride on them, play with them and run with them. But one day, if they get angry or displeased about something, with one bite they can kill their masters. What’s the problem? The problem is the beast has not changed in nature. Regardless of whether it knows you, one sudden burst of anger and it will devour you. Humanity’s corruption runs deep! They have already become an enemy force against God. With just a few simple conceptions, they can resist God. With just a simple grasp of something, they develop notions, and never stop! See now the degree to which some people hold conceptions about God. When God wears a piece of clothing that they have not seen, they steal looks at it. If they’re sitting near to God, then they thrust out their fingers and squeeze it in their fingers, “What material is this? I haven’t seen it. Where was it made?” If God wears a watch, their eyes fix on it. “What make is that? Is it a famous brand?” Presently, such people think, “I haven’t seen such clothing before, I haven’t seen such a watch.” And they become negative. They develop notions. What notions could they have? “When Christ comes to do His work, why would He wear a fancy watch? It’s not right. Christ shouldn’t wear a nice watch, He should suffer. Christ’s life is one of suffering. If He isn’t suffering, then He is not Christ.” Are these not the words spoken by corrupt humanity? What is the essence of this way of thinking? This kind of person hates God! They think that Christ should suffer. “If You wear nice clothes, You don’t suffer, You are enjoying Yourself, it is not acceptable! You are not Christ. I have my notions about this! You’re wearing a fancy watch! I have my notions!” If God eats a good meal, “I have my notions!” If some brothers and sisters see God is in ill health and buy Him something to help, such a person would still take issue with it. They would say, “How come you didn’t buy me anything? Why, it’s not fair!?” Such people have notions about everything. Isn’t corrupt humanity rebellious? So rebellious. If God’s situation becomes a little better, then man is not happy. But if God is always sick, always suffering, wearing tattered clothing, then man is happy. “Oh, this is God!” Isn’t man’s heart full of evil? Aren’t his thoughts bad? His thoughts are so bad! What is the meaning of God’s suffering? God suffers, firstly, because He is clothed in an ordinary flesh. God on high wears the flesh of one creation. This is, in of itself, a form of immense humiliation. Some say, “This so-called humiliation, why is it that I do not see it as such?” Let me offer you an example. You are a human, if in the next life God brought you back as a mouse, would you not consider it humiliating? “Make me a mouse? A mouse is just like a rat, living out its life in a hole. What does it eat? Corn and chaff. It is much more lowly than being a person; it really would be humiliating!” This is what it meant for God to take on human form. God on high donning the flesh of mortal man is in itself an act of great humiliation. Only God is able to do such a thing. To save mankind God has suffered this immense humiliation; He wears the flesh of man. Is this not the suffering which God endures? Aside from this, God has expressed much truth to man but they remain rebellious and they don’t accept it. Most detestable of all, the Chinese Communist Party and the religious community fabricated rumors and lies to sully, desecrate and attack God. You can imagine how indignant God would feel about it! Let us look at an example. If you are a good person and someone spreads rumors about you, they say you have raped women and robbed banks, and say that the house you live in was obtained through corruption and bribery, and that it was all acquired through robbery. How would you feel? Would you be angry? If you are a lady, and someone spreads a rumor that you are cavorting with many men, and acting as a mistress, wouldn’t you be angry? If they said the money you made came from prostitution, from selling your body, wouldn’t you be indignant? You would be. This is how corrupt humanity treats God. Don’t you think humanity such as this should be destroyed? If a person treated me as such, I would hate them to my very core, hate them as an enemy. I would not be able to love my enemy. Loving one’s enemies, as it was spoken in the Age of Grace does not mean the love of Satan, but the love of those who do not recognize God’s work. Those unbelievers who do not understand our faith in God and so speak words of resistance and judgment, these are the enemies who should be loved. But true evil spirits, true devils cannot be loved. The Lord Jesus said “love your enemies,” but He was not telling you to love Satan or the devils. This must be properly accepted. But there are some who blindly speak about literal meanings and apply rules. I cannot love my enemies. The pastors and elders of the religious community hate me, they curse me, and I hate them in return because they are demons. If brothers and sisters have notions, I don’t hate or curse them, I patiently go about my work. I communicate the truth to them. Isn’t this normal humanity? “Love what God loves, hate what God hates.” I do not observe religious rules; I do things in accordance with the truth.
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How can we solve the problem of man always having conceptions about God? This can be solved through pursuit of the truth. For example, some people claim I have embezzled the churches funds, that I stole it and ran away, but does that sound correct to you? I would not steal the churches money and run. Offerings to God are for me to manage and to allocate; how can you call this taking it and running away? That is not what it is. It is my responsibility to allocate this money and I have the authority to do so. So, such a claim is wrong. Some say I have escaped from China and run abroad. This is not so. I carried out my work in mainland China for over ten years. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that God would send me abroad. I thought that as long as God was doing His work in China, I would carry out my duty in China. I never thought of leaving. But this is where God led me; it was His instruction. At the time I had reservations, “I am on a wanted list. If You make me leave the country, then at customs won’t I be trapped? Isn’t this asking for trouble? If anything goes wrong, then surely I will be caught!” But I didn’t say these things. I said to myself, “Obey. Leave!” As a result, at customs, despite the danger, I was not caught. Would you call this running away? This was the Holy Spirit’s guidance, it was God’s instruction. So, once again the rumors spread by the Chinese Communist Party are wrong. They say I was being hunted down so I ran. This does not adhere to the truth. I never considered going abroad. It was God’s instruction to do so. He sent me. I took the risk and obeyed, albeit reluctantly, and so He led me through customs safely. At the time, what did I think about this? “If I make it through customs, then it is because God leads me through. If I do not make it through, then God has handed me over to Satan.” I accepted this. I obeyed!
Should we say that the information which the Chinese Communist Party spreads is hearsay? Some people, in accordance with such hearsay, say: “The way you preach is not true. Look at the leader. He is hunted by the police. He took the churches money and ran away. Isn’t he just the same as a non-believer? How can this way be true?” On hearing the rumors wouldn’t some people think this way? But such people do not believe in God because of hearing God’s voice. They just analyze the situation with the church, the leader, the man. “If this person is approved of by the government, is famous, perhaps internationally famous, if he makes a name for himself and is not accused of crimes by the government or condemned by the religious community, then we’ll accept him. If such a person is accused by the government and by the religious community, well then, he must be a villain. So, no matter how good the message is I will not listen.” Is this an analysis of the true way? This is the logic of one who is confused. It is Satan’s logic. If you research the true way, then you must seek out whether the words spoken by God incarnate really are the voice of God, whether they are the truth and whether or not they are the work of God. This is what you should be investigating. If these words are truth, if they are the voice of God, and they are God’s work for the last days, then despite what Satan may tell us, we will believe in God; because God is truth, and Satan’s mouth is filled with lies. Is there a government in this world which does not lie and deceive? Is there a government whose words are not all fallacious, are not all lies? Look at God’s words. They are the truth. His words are His work. God is righteous and holy. So, God’s work is absolutely correct. Any person can be wrong, but God can never be wrong. Any person can lie, they can be deceitful to trick others. But God does not lie, God is holy and righteous, God is the truth. Some people do not analyze God’s words, they merely look at how the religious community critique the Church of Almighty God and how they critique the leader of the Church. But does this represent God’s words? If you do not believe a person, that’s fine, but you must believe God. If such a person does not read God’s words and they always listen to what Satan has to say, then is it not Satan whom they trust? Then do they believe that it is Satan’s words which are truth? This person’s belief has problems; they actively believe Satan’s words. There are some who, when looking into the true way, look specifically to Wikipedia. They say, “What Wikipedia says is accurate!” But, really, what is Wikipedia? It is still of this world. Is it not written by corrupt humanity? Is it not part of Satan’s evil power? Does it have truth? It does not have truth. It does not serve God, it certainly does not revere God and it is not a group which is witnessed by God. Why do you believe it? It is a pack of lies. It spreads falsehoods. Whichever rumors or lies Satan’s governments create, Wikipedia spreads them. Therefore, is it not an organization which spreads lies? Whichever rumors the Chinese Communist Party creates, or whichever ways they try to discredit the Church of Almighty God, Wikipedia will write them. So, isn’t Wikipedia a tool for Satan to spread its lies? Isn’t it a tool for Satan to deceive man? But when researching the true way why do people believe Wikipedia? Do these people have something wrong with them? Do these people believe that the world is righteous and fair? If the government or religious community makes comments and claims as to which is the true way, which is the true God, then these people believe in this way, in this God. If the government or religious community says something isn’t the true way, or says that some God is not real, then these people will not believe in this way or in this God. Who do these people believe? They believe in the government, they believe in the words of the religious community and the words of religious pastors and elders. So, is this kind of person really one who believes in God? They do not believe in God. They do not trust in God, they do not believe that God is real and they do not admit that God is the truth, for they do not recognize the truth. Therefore, if such a person tries to analyze the true way, on hearing Satan’s lies and rumors, they become paralyzed by them. Is this person an intelligent person? No, they are not. They are confused! There is one principle for my belief in God. If someone is God, if He can express the truth and save humanity, then I believe in Him. My belief for Him is unmoving. And don’t we believe in God in order to receive the truth? To obtain the truth is to obtain God. If you do not obtain the truth then your faith is a failure, it is useless. Only when you obtain the truth can you obtain God. Without obtaining the truth, you cannot obtain God.
Whatever God does, you are not qualified to condemn Him, correct? Amongst the religious community and the non-believers there are those who say that the Lord Jesus had a wife and children. There are also those who do not believe the conception by the Holy Spirit was real. They do not believe in the testimony of Mary. They do not believe the Lord Jesus’ words and that He came from God. Instead, they believe in the words of the devil and science. What is the result of all this? They joined the tide of people in the religious community who condemned and resisted the Lord Jesus; they even nailed Him to the cross. Then let us say again, we do not care whether or not the Lord Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. If He expressed the truth, then I will follow Him. If He gave testament that He came from God, then I will believe in Him. I will not listen to the words of others for they should be ignored. The words of corrupt humanity are the words of Satan; they are lies. If they are not truth, then they are lies, regardless of whether they are correct. Sometimes reality is a lie, it is not truth and it does not represent truth. If the Lord Jesus really had a wife and children, would you still believe in Him? Some say they would. If He had a wife and children, why do you still believe in Him? Why? Some say, “If Jesus had a wife and children then He is not the Lord, I won’t believe in Him. If He did not have a wife and children, then I believe He is the Lord, is Christ. But if He really had a wife and children then I will not believe in Him.” This is the opinion held by some. But what is your view? Speak it. Some say the Lord Jesus is God and He could redeem humanity of their sins. Is there anything else? Is there only this one sentence to say about Him? The Lord Jesus is God incarnate, He had normal humanity. If He had a wife He is still Christ. If He did not have a wife, then He is still Christ. Whether or not He had a wife or child does not contradict His substance as Christ our Lord. His substance as Christ does not change. So, if you hear someone saying that the lord Jesus had a wife and children, will you still believe in Him? Some will continue to believe and some will not. Then, why do those who do not believe do so? Because they have conceptions about God. They start to question whether the Lord Jesus’ substance as Christ is real or false, because they think that Christ cannot have a wife or child, for if He had a wife or child then His substance as Christ would change, or become false. Can you see how such a person makes assertions about the substance of Christ? Then tell me what has Christ’s substance got to do with Him having a wife and children? It has nothing to do with it. So, on hearing rumors or negative information saying this and that, one who truly knows the Lord Jesus will not be influenced by it. Their faith in Him will be unmoving. They will obey Him and follow Him. Those who do not understand the substance of the Lord Jesus will develop their own conceptions about Him. It will be easy for them to back away or even betray Him.
Now tell me, If I, as one who is used by God, were to commit adultery, how would you treat me? Would you cast me aside? Convict me? Or would you betray God? Everyone should offer their thoughts. Today, I want to hear the truth from you. How would you treat me? Would it affect you so that you develop conceptions about God and betray Him? Many say that it wouldn’t. So, how would you treat me? When I preach would you listen? Would everyone raise up and demand to vote me out? Some say they would not. Then tell me in principle why you would not? How would you treat me? One must be principled in what they do. So, if this thing really happened I want to know if you would be principled. It is these things that reveal people! Speak up, tell me your thoughts. Some say the man who the Holy Spirit uses has been established by God Himself. And then what? What attitude would I be met with from you? Some say, “The work of the man used by the Holy Spirit is to water and shepherd the churches. These actions are nothing to do with his work, so God’s chosen people should not pay attention to them. Obeying the teachings of the man used by the Holy Spirit and obtaining the supply of life, that is what is most important.” This point of view is about right, would anyone like to add to it? Speak up. Why am I making you speak out? You must speak out. For this is not a simple matter. I will now get to the point which is to resolve the issue of your conceptions. Today, the issue I am going to communicate to you revolves around that of resolving people’s conceptions about God. This is of great importance to you. Now, there are people who read God’s words and form their own opinion. They see that God said: “He who is used by God, on the other hand, is someone who has been prepared by God, and who possesses a certain caliber, and has humanity. He has been prepared and made perfect in advance by the Holy Spirit, and is completely led by the Holy Spirit, and, particularly when it comes to his work, he is directed and commanded by the Holy Spirit—as a result of which there is no deviation on the path of leading God’s chosen ones, for God surely takes responsibility for His own work, and God does His own work at all times” (from “Concerning God’s Use of Man” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Such a person says, on reading God’s words, that they feel that God has already arranged it so that the man used by the Holy Spirit will act as a mediator between God and man; he will transmit God’s will. So, when he is working he is directed and commanded by the Holy Spirit and this can never be wrong. With regard to the adultery, this has nothing to do with God’s work. It is a matter regarding the personal humanity of the man used by the Holy Spirit, but it does not affect his work. Therefore, we should continue to listen to that which he communicates to us. This is the correct way of thinking about this, but there is another important issue. How would you treat me with regard to my mistake? In terms of your opinion of this matter, if I really made such a mistake, how would you treat me? And how would you treat God and His work? This is a key issue. I need to hear your thoughts on this. Please speak up! Is there a need for everyone to comment on this? I’m asking you, so please speak up. I assure you it is for your own benefit. If I do not propose such a question, should you encounter such a thing you will not know how to deal with it and will not be principled in your efforts. Then, you could easily make mistakes. So, who will speak now? One of our brothers spoke out, let us listen to what he had to offer. He said, “It is similar to how I would treat my mother. No matter what mistake she might make, even something like committing murder, first and foremost she is still my mother. This will not change. So, I think, today I believe in God. No matter the mistakes of others or of those who lead me, it will not affect my opinions about faith in God. Just like if you committed adultery, that is your business. It has no direct connection to my belief in God. I will treat you in accordance with God’s words when you are communicating with and shepherding us.” What do you make of our brother’s understanding? It is quite reasonable. This person is very rational. He used this example, the example of his mother committing murder. He doesn’t care whether this act is right or not, she is still his mother, this would not change. Whether or not she has killed, whatever mistakes she may or may not have made, he thinks, he should be filial to his mother and show respect to her in the same way as before. Is this a good position to adopt with regard to this matter? The position our brother has adopted is good. “She is still my mother no matter what. Whatever mistake she may make, it has nothing to do with me. I should adopt a position as her son and stick to it. This will not change. I will treat my mother as a mother should be treated.” Doesn’t this touch upon the principle of how to conduct oneself properly? This is one of the principles of how to conduct oneself properly. Our brother’s opinion on this issue is very good. It is principled and reasonable. It is full of humanity.
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So, in accordance with this idea, let us now look back at the Age of Law when David committed adultery. How did the people of Israel treat him? Did anyone rebel and suggest replacing him? Did such a thing happen? It did not. So, how did the people of Israel treat David? Certainly, many people were very good to him. They loved him and held him in high regard; they called him a hero. No matter how long King David sat upon the throne, the people of Israel admired him, approved of him and offered him the utmost respect. Although David made a mistake, the people of Israel did not sully his name. They did not blame him; there are no records of this. The people of Israel treated him correctly. What did they say? “We all make mistakes. But King David is much better than the rest of us. Although he is in error, he is not that type of person, for that is a transgression.” Was that the only time which David made this mistake? It was. Afterward, he repented. He was punished by God and endured much suffering, and because of this mistake he shed many tears. He was filled with remorse and self-hatred, and so afterward, he never made this mistake again. In his later years, he became very sensitive to the cold. So, the people of Israel brought a young girl to his bed to join him under the covers and keep him warm. But he would not move close to her. This proves how thoroughly he had repented. So, when God said that David was one who was after His will, was it before or after this mistake occurred? It was after. So why was it that after he made this mistake, God said that David was after His will? What was He speaking in accordance with? Part of it was because of David’s obedience with regard to God’s judgment and chastisement; he truly repented. After he made this mistake, committed this crime, he obeyed God’s words which the prophet transmitted to him. God said He would punish him, and made him choose the method of punishment. He chose that the sword would never depart from his house. In this way he obeyed God’s judgment and chastisement. When he had a transgression, he obeyed God’s judgment and chastisement. God’s righteous disposition does not tolerate offense. David was king, he wasn’t a common Israelite. But God didn’t spare him because of this. He sent a prophet to relay a message to him, and he obeyed. For his mistake, David shed many tears. God saw his response, and in addition David showed the most consideration for God’s will. He wanted to build a temple for God’s name. This was how David was after God’s will. In the Age of Law, what result did God’s work aim to achieve on earth? Was it not to make man worship God? Only David understood God’s heart. So, what was the purpose of building a temple? To bring people to the temple to worship Jehovah God. Others were not mindful of God’s will, only David. David knew the will of God. And on top of this, David obeyed God’s judgment and chastisement after having a transgression. He was truly regretful. So, because of these two things, God stated that David was after His will. Then, what is the difference between those who did not commit a transgression and David who did, but then obeyed God’s judgment and chastisement, and then truly repented? Is there a difference? Can you say that a person who has not committed adultery is better than one who, like David, has? Some say, not necessarily. Why daren’t one say that they are better? Because they are not the king. If they were king they would probably have committed far more criminal acts, wouldn’t they? At that time, David was king in Israel and he had power, much like being president now, so if he wanted something he could make it happen. With such power, if he’d wanted a few girls it would have been easy, wouldn’t it? A common person may want such a thing, but without power they cannot have it. David had the power, but he only committed the crime once, and after he did he was full of regret. He was such a good person, we cannot compare ourselves to him. Even if I compared myself to him I would fall short. Those who have not committed this crime are not necessarily better than David, because if they had power they would probably commit it multiple times. If, after committing such an act, these people were to be punished by God, they may not truly obey. But David did obey God’s judgment and chastisement absolutely. He was chastised in the most severe way, but he obeyed, he accepted, and he shed an innumerable number of tears. So, when God said that David was after His will, the reasons were clear. Those who see this truth must surely be convinced. David was truly a great man, a hundred times, a thousand times better than those who have not committed adultery. Not committing adultery does not make one pure, because most people are not in a position to do such a thing. First, most do not have the position to do such a thing, and second, if they did commit such an act they would not necessarily accept God’s judgment and chastisement. This is a more serious matter indeed.
Therefore, in the last days, those who accept God’s judgment and chastisement are the ones who are truly after His will. If one can accept His judgment and chastisement, then they will repent. Accepting God’s judgment and chastisement is the most difficult thing to do. For corrupt humanity, the most difficult thing is to actively obey God’s judgment and chastisement and to willingly accept His punishment. If they have this desire, then it is greater even than the desire to practice the truth. And if one is willing to actively obey, then they will have no trouble in practicing the truth. Why is it that some people believe in God for ten, maybe twenty years, and yet they are unable to practice even a single aspect of the truth? It is because they do not have the will to obey God’s judgment and chastisement. They cannot accept it. There are lots of people who develop their own conceptions and then do not accept God’s judgment and chastisement. Their conceptions about God cannot be resolved. How do those who have conceptions about God go about believing in Him? They believe in their imagined God. Should God appear before them He must disguise Himself, He must adhere to their imagined conceptions about Him in what He does and how He speaks, so that they will follow Him to the end. If God acts in accordance with His own will, in accordance with His own substance, if He acts in His own natural way, then these people will resist Him. So, these people who adopt their own conceptions when judging things, who adopt their own conceptions by which they judge God, are they people who resist God? If a person believes for over ten years and still has conceptions about God, then they are not one who loves the truth. They are absolutely lacking of love for God in their heart. Now, see how hard it is for people to believe in God. The rumors, the slander, this is what people believe when they hear it. God has spoken so many words, expressed so much truth, but they don’t believe a word of it. But Satan’s rumors, these are what they can accept and what they believe in their hearts. And these rumors stay with them for many years. So, what is the problem? A preference for believing in Satan’s rumors over God’s expression of the truth, is this not the essence of corrupt humanity? An essence of hatred for the truth? It goes without saying that these rumors are false. If they were true, would anyone still believe in God? If we say such things are true, if I tell you they are true, then to keep believing in God would not be so simple. If all these things were true and you still believed in God, what kind of faith would that be? If all those rumors were true, some people would still believe. When other people heard rumors which were clearly false they wondered whether they were true, but such a person said, “Regardless if they are true, I still believe.” What kind of faith would this be? Is this not true faith? This is true faith, is it not? This kind of faith represents a person is truly obedient and truly follows God. “I don’t care what God does. If, before my very eyes, He does something which does not adhere to my conceptions, then I will forget my conceptions, for He is God. These things which God does that do not adhere to my conceptions are still truth, they still have meaning.” Isn’t this level of acceptance impressive? To achieve this level of acceptance what kind of faith must you have? “If all the rumors are true, I will still believe in Him. Do not speak of those things. If God were to do something that is most incompatible with man’s conceptions, I would still believe He is God.” To speak of why you should still believe, you say, “Because God is the truth and because corrupt humanity cannot fathom anything. Whatever God does, I will not question it. I do not trust my own feelings, my own conceptions. I simply admit that He is God, whatever He does, He is God.” Isn’t this true faith? One who has truly achieved this type of faith, I dare say, is one who is nearly perfected. They have already received truth. They know God. They do not believe in their own personal conceptions and feelings about Him.
Tell me, what fruit will be borne by those who pursue the truth? Some say it is to understand God and to have no conceptions about Him. Then, how does one show that they understand God? To have no conceptions about God, no matter what He does. If God said, “I will kill someone in front of you,” they would have no conceptions about this; if God said, “I will have a relationship with someone before your very eyes,” they would have no conceptions; if God said, “I will get married and have a child,” they would have no conceptions; if He said, “I will curse in front of you, I will curse Satan,” they would have no conceptions. If God then asked, “Do you still believe?” they would answer, “I believe! You are God, God is, forever, God.” This level of belief is good. They adhere to God’s will and do not resist Him in the slightest; they will not resist Him again, they have grasped who He is. Can this type of person still have conceptions about God? They cannot. If a new member of the faith produces some negative material saying, “Look, is what this says correct?” Such a person will respond, “Oh, this material is great. If all this information were correct, were the truth, I would still believe in God! God is to be adored, He is the One to be trusted, He is the true God. If it wasn’t for this information, I would question whether or not He is God. If corrupt humanity, with all its evil, was not resisting God and condemning Him, something would be wrong, it wouldn’t be right! When the Lord Jesus came into this world via the conception by the Holy Spirit, many people stood up to condemn Him. The entire Jewish faith stood up and condemned the Lord Jesus, they sullied His name. Now, in the last days, when corrupt humanity’s evil has reached its peak, if no one condemned God’s appearance, if no one spread negativity about Him, this would not be normal! So, when God of the last days appears, rumors, lies and falsehoods must surely abound. Amongst the endless flood of lies, I found God’s voice and I seized it with all my might. I believe in Him and I follow Him. I recognize Him, and recognize that He is my Savior.” Who is ready to believe in this way? Some are ready. They do not have conceptions about God. They say, “Whether You married or not, You are still God. Whether You had a wife or not, had children or didn’t, You are still Christ. However many disasters You rain down, You are still God. If You destroy the world, I would praise You, for this would allow me to see Your righteousness.” If God arrives and corrupt humanity did not condemn Him, if there were no rumors about Him, then it would be strange, would it not? So, if I were to make a mistake, what would you think of me? Is there a correct answer? Just now, one of our brothers answered well, his position on the matter was good. He said that, “If you have done something in error it is your business, it has nothing to do with us. However, you are still our leader, I still respect you and obey you.” You can see how good this point of view is. It is because the man used by the Holy Spirit is one who God has witnessed. If you don’t accept the man who He has witnessed, if you do not obey him, then you are not obeying God! God anointed David. He sent a prophet to anoint him, yet when he made a mistake God punished him. However, God used him, so we must obey him. His mistake has nothing to do with us. God punished him for he was God’s man. God witnessed him and used him, so it is God who knows how to deal with such matters, we need not concern ourselves with them. We need only concern ourselves with obeying. Is this not the case? If a young girl sees her mother making a mistake, and says, “You’re not the mother, I am the mother,” is this acceptable? “You made a mistake, so can you still act as a mother?” Does this mode of thinking stand up to scrutiny? It does not. The mother made a mistake but she is still the mother. The daughter should treat her mother in the way that a mother deserves to be treated. She must be a good child. This is one of the principles of being a good person, is it not? Look at Abraham’s slave. How did he pray to God? His master Abraham, when praying said, “Lord Jehovah….” But Abraham’s slave, what did he say? Did he dare to pray in the same way as his master? He said, “God of my master Abraham….” You can see he acted according to his position, did he not? If you act according to your position, then you will be reasonable and principled. You will be a good person and others will admire you. So, if those who study the true way are not principled and do not have truth, then they will always read the negative propaganda. They will not see how God’s work saves man, and they will not see God’s expression of the truth. They will merely research whether or not the lies of man, the falsehoods and the rumors are true. Were such lies true, then what of it? If they are untrue, then what of it? Is this how one should search for the true way? Is this the road toward the study of the true way? What use is it to always look for meaning in people’s lies? Will the truth fall from the mouths of people? Will living water flow from them? Isn’t all that spurts forth from people’s mouths lies? But what are lies? The falsehood which people speak, the dishonesty, the deception, these are all lies. So why do you believe the lies which people speak? Why don’t you believe the truth God has expressed? You are biased and unjust, are you not? If you could see that such are the words expressed by God incarnate, that it is the work of God in the last days, the truth, then why would you still believe the lies of corrupt man? As for corrupt humanity, from the governments to local organizations, to the thinkers, philosophers and politicians, do any of them have even a modicum of truth? Aren’t they all just part of corrupt humanity? All that they say is merely the words of man. In more straight terms what they say is all lies, not a word of it adheres to the truth. Man’s words do not hold even a modicum of the reality of truth, so are they not then lies? They are all lies. Aside from everyday conversations, that which involves politics or criticism, especially that which is critical of God’s work and His Church, is all lies! Corrupt humanity criticizing the work of God? Are they qualified to do so? They are demons, what qualifies them to criticize the work of God?! They are inviting death. They will cry only when death is staring them in the face. What is Wikipedia? Is it not a tool for the spreading of demon’s lies? Those who run Wikipedia certainly are not people who believe in and worship God. Do you believe their lies? Don’t you feel stupid?
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When Christ comes to earth in the last days, what does He ultimately seek to achieve? What does He want to achieve? Do you know this or not? After a group of overcomers are made, Christ’s kingdom will be realized on earth. Let’s look at what God says in the “Kingdom Anthem.”
“Kingdom Anthem
The people cheer Me, the people praise Me; all mouths name the one true God, all people raise their eyes to watch My deeds. The kingdom descends to earth, My person is rich and bountiful. Who would not celebrate for this? Who would not dance with joy for this? Oh, Zion! Raise your triumphant banner to celebrate Me! Sing your triumphant song of victory and spread My holy name! All things on earth! Now purify yourselves in sacrifice for Me! Stars in the sky! Now return to your places and show My greatness in the firmament! I attend to the voices of the people on earth, pouring out infinite love and reverence for Me in song! On this day, as all things rejuvenate, I come to walk the earth. At this moment, the flowers bloom, the birds sing, all life is full of jubilation! In the sound of the kingdom’s salute, Satan’s kingdom collapses, destroyed in the reverberating chorus of the kingdom anthem. And it will never rise again!
Who on the earth dares to rise and resist? As I descend to earth I bring burning, bring wrath, bring all disasters. The earthly kingdoms now are My kingdom! Up in the sky, the clouds tumble and billow; under the sky, lakes and rivers surge and churn out a moving melody. Resting animals emerge from their dens, and all peoples who slumber are awakened by Me. The day all peoples have awaited finally has come! They offer up the most beautiful songs to Me!”
What is God saying here? “Who on the earth dares to rise and resist? As I descend to earth I bring burning, bring wrath, bring all disasters. The earthly kingdoms now are My kingdom!” These words have authority. They are now being fulfilled. After God issues His words, things start to come to pass. In the blink of an eye, His kingdom is realized. It says here, “Who on the earth dares to rise and resist?” What does this mean? Someone said, “Aren’t religious communities all resisting and condemning too? Isn’t the ruling party, the great red dragon, resisting Him as well?” Yes, they are resisting Him. Well, God says, “Who on the earth dares to rise and resist?” What does this mean? “I will destroy all those who resist Me!” That’s what it means, understand?! What does God say next? “As I descend to earth I bring burning, bring wrath, bring all disasters.” This means, “Who are you to dare to resist Me? I have now arrived on earth.” “As I descend to earth I bring burning, bring wrath, bring all disasters.” “I’ve prepared all this for you, so resist Me if you want. I will use these disasters to destroy you!” Isn’t that what it means? Now both the religious world and the ruling party are resisting and condemning God. They will soon be destroyed. The great disaster is about to arrive. Do you see? When they’re done resisting, they will be turned to ashes in the blink of an eye, completely destroyed. That’s what it means. “I … bring all the disasters.” After this step of God’s work is finished, the great disaster will begin.
Now, while God is doing His work, He’ll perfect a group of overcomers and His people. How God’s people should experience God’s judgment and chastisement is a matter of great importance. If they don’t know how to experience God’s work, they won’t be perfected. Experiencing God’s work depends on how you read His words. If you know the right way to read them, you will be able to get lots of light. If you can receive the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and understand God’s will, and then you truly obey and stand witness to God, enduring the sufferings you’re supposed to endure and paying the price you’re supposed to pay, you will be perfected. Is it easy to experience God’s work if you don’t know how to read His words? It’s not easy. People have conceptions; they rebel and betray. These behaviors can occur at any time and are beyond our control! You see, some people have just accepted God’s work in the last days for about a month. They start out pretty good, but then along comes a friend or relative showing them some negative propaganda. They stand there paralyzed. Isn’t this disaster coming to befall them? It’s just like rain pouring down, and they suddenly become confused, “Is my faith wrong?” When they listened to God’s voice before, they felt everything was the truth. Why does it not sound like truth now? What is the problem here? The voice of God they heard before was wrong? When you figured out that everything Christ expressed is the truth, were you wrong? Aren’t you too foolish? The truth is always the truth. God’s voice is always God’s voice. This is beyond doubt! How can this fact be changed by the negative propaganda of Satan, the devil? It can’t be changed. So, isn’t it very easy for people to have conceptions on and opinions about God? If so, how do we solve it? First, we must read God’s words more. The consequences of negative propaganda are doubt in God, the truth and God’s words. Therefore, you must eat and drink God’s words more, communicate the truth more, and listen to more sermons. That way you can fight off the negative influence and harm. For example, people that want to be healthy should eat more and exercise more. Eating less doesn’t work. Diseases will continually attack, disturb and torture you. If you eat more, that is, a normal diet, and eat things that help your immune system, you will be healthy. That way, when you do physical exercise, the diseases will run away. At first, people have no power to resist and they have no truth. Therefore, they are vulnerable to negative propaganda. Even if they wanted to push it away or rid themselves of it, they can’t. If you communicate more, read more of God’s words, ponder over the words of God more, listen to more sermons, you will understand more. Satan’s lies and rumors will be destroyed and will not affect you. At this time, is it important to eat and drink the words of God more and ponder over His words more? It’s all too important! Do not doubt God’s words or the truth. You cannot doubt these things. If you do not doubt them, Satan’s lies and negative propaganda will not shake your confidence. If you ever start to doubt the voice of God or the truths expressed by Christ, your confidence will completely collapse, and you’ll be broken down by Satan. Therefore, when you start building the foundation you must eat and drink the words of God more and ponder over all the truths He has issued during His work of judgment. How many of the truths that God issued during His work of judgment have you obtained? How many do you understand? Can you sum up 50 or 100 of them? You shouldn’t just summarize the main aspects. There are too many details contained within each one. If you can summarize 50 or 100 pieces of truths, then you’ll be completely true and obedient to Christ. If you don’t understand enough truths, that won’t do.
With just one word, Christ exposes the nature and essence of this corrupt humanity and the fact that they are the descendants of Satan. This is the truth. When the Lord Jesus came, He exposed the truth about this wicked age of fornication, “This is an evil generation…” (Luke 11:29). It’s written in the Bible, “The whole world lies in wickedness” (1 John 5:19). This means that this world is ruled by the forces of Satan. Though Satan’s forces appear as individual ruling regimes, the power lies with Satan. Satan is controlling this corrupt humanity. The ruling of any corrupt man represents Satan. Everything he does is Satan’s work. Some people can’t see this. They say, “Why does this person do so many bad things as soon as he becomes president?” Some people say, “It’s because of the power of the presidency. It changes whoever assumes that position.” What do they mean by “changes”? It means that Satan has come into power. Satan is controlling this human race. This is a fact, one that is rarely understood. You see, everyone wants to control their own fate. Has anyone successfully taken control of their own destiny? Has this ever happened before? No. This is enough to prove that Satan is controlling humanity. Which people are controlled by which spirits, this is a fixed thing. No one can escape it! If you really want to free yourself from Satan’s influence, there’s only one way. You must accept God’s work. As soon as you accept God’s work in the last days, God will sanctify you, keep you and put you in His own domain where Satan can’t touch you. Therefore, there are many of God’s people, on whom the evil spirits do not dare work. They don’t dare try and take these people’s lives. These people are in God’s hands; they are marked, and Satan doesn’t dare to touch them. Look at how people use geomancy, divination and witchcraft. They claim it keeps them safe, but people that believe in God have no need for these things. True believers do not practice geomancy, divination or witchcraft, but Satan still can’t harm them. They are in God’s hands; they are managed by God. This is all the truth! Everything God says is the truth. God exposes the fact that this dark world is controlled by Satan. This is the truth. God exposes the fact that in essence, the corrupt humanity is the descendant of Satan. This is the truth. God will save this deeply corrupted human race, which means God will change the fact that humanity has been corrupted into devils by Satan. He will take these people who were corrupted into devils by Satan and turn them back into humans. Is this process simple? Do people have to suffer? They must suffer a lot; they must go through many different processes and experience many works of God, all kinds of works: the judgment and chastisement of God’s word, plus pruning and dealing, trials and refining, the service of all types of evil forces of Satan the devil, and even the torture of illness, before they can leave their deep corruption and transform into a real man. Therefore, if people want to comprehend God’s work, gain the truth and transformation of their disposition, and be obtained by God, there is no way apart from suffering judgment and chastisement. Look at how those religious people believe in God. No matter how long they believe, they wouldn’t achieve any result, because they can’t change. They can only do a bit of good, exhibit a bit of good behavior, and they think God will approve of them. They think of God much too simply. God sees through your bones; He sees that your true essence is devilish. You are all descendants of Satan. You still want to enter the kingdom of heaven? You don’t have a chance. Therefore, it is not easy to experience God’s work. You must endure a lot of suffering, and there must be the great red dragon to serve as a foil. Sometimes God hands you over to Satan’s prison. He makes you refine yourself in prison for a while to see if you change your heart toward God. Sometimes He makes you ill and tortures you for a while to see if you complain, if you can endure the suffering or not. Sometimes He prunes and deals with you to see if you can accept the truth and obey the truth or not. Sometimes He lets you live a comfortable life to reveal if you indulge in the pleasures of the flesh, if you betray Him and fail to perform your duties. Therefore, these different environments are how God makes people perfect. They have all been put in place so that God can make people perfect.
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Some people, after they believe in God for one or two years, come to do their duty. I ask them, “Do you have a foundation?” They say, “I don’t know.” “Can the rumors or negative propaganda of the great red dragon and the religious communities knock you down?” They say, “No, they can’t. I’ve experienced such things and I know them. I heard them but I didn’t fall.” I say, “OK, you did stand, but can you use the truth to refute these fallacies and rumors? If you can’t refute these fallacies and rumors with the truth, what does that mean? You still haven’t obtained the truth, and you simply saw through to a few facts. Isn’t that right?” You haven’t obtained the truth; you do not really understand the truth. If you can still have conceptions about God, you are still likely to betray Him. Therefore, what kind of process is it to experience God’s judgment and chastisement? It is the process of obtaining the truth, completely rejecting Satan, realizing the truth of your corruption and freeing yourself from Satan’s influence. If you can be struck down by conceptions, influenced or bound up by negative propaganda, then this means you do not have the truth; you have not been obtained by God. God has planned this environment for you: the negative preaching of the religious world, the lies and schemes of the great red dragon, etc. God has placed it here to expose you, examine you, and test you to see if you can see through Satan’s evil plot. He wants to see if you can stay away from these rumors, avoid being bound by negative preaching, truly obey God and follow God. Hasn’t the time come to expose you? You are being exposed. Many people say, “Isn’t the One we believe in the true God? Why doesn’t He get rid of the rumors of the religious communities and the evil plots of the great red dragon? Why doesn’t He just destroy it? If He does so, wouldn’t God’s chosen people be able to believe in Him safely and freely?” Is this kind of thinking correct? Why doesn’t God act this way? Because God wants to obtain a group of people during His work in the last days. He will put these negative things in front of you; He will expose you, test you and examine you every day. The day when you are able to stand firm, bear a shining testimony to God and shame Satan, you will have succeeded in your faith in God. Why do Satan’s lies and negative propaganda constantly revolve around you? Satan is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Now it sees you there for the taking. If you don’t have the truth, you’ll be exposed! Look, why don’t those rumors and conspiracies come to me? Even if they did come to me, they wouldn’t affect me. Forget the current rumors; even if they spread more rumors, I’ll dispatch them rather quickly; a few sentences will solve all of them, and get to the heart of the matter. I’ll strike them all down in an instant. It is easy for me to refute these fallacies. It’s simple and pleasant. They constantly revolve around you, which shows that you do not have the truth. You do not have the truth, so this thing can strike you down and make you know yourself, and reveal your true stature and poverty. Therefore, if you do not equip yourself with the truth and have not the will to seek the truth, you will be taken by Satan. You see many people have believed in God for ten or twenty years, so this matter is not a threat to them at all. They say, “I’ve heard this nonsense before. It’s all fake. What I’ve seen in the Church of Almighty God is the real truth. Everything those guys are saying is false.” They say that God’s family calls people for donations and money, which absolutely is a rumor. God’s family has never called for donations. Any leaders who do this must be replaced. They are all false leaders. Who dares to talk about donation? No one dares say anything to make people donate. Anyone found doing that must be replaced. When you first believe in God, you are not allowed to donate anything. If you do not write an affidavit and sign it, you are not allowed to do any duty. It’s strict. If you say you don’t want to believe in God, then turn around and go! No one will bother you. No one is allowed to hold or pull you back. This is Christ’s kingdom. It’s that strict. The gate is open, but to pass through it, you must be examined. However, you’re free to leave; no one will hold you back or stop you. You’re always free to leave at any time. But anyone who wants to get in must be examined. The gate must be well guarded. This is like the key that the Lord Jesus gave Peter in the Age of Grace, the key to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever Peter bound on earth was bound in heaven. Whatever Peter released on the earth was released in heaven. Is this not the power of the church? This is the power of the church.
Everything people do must be done for God. God is always watching. God records the way you perform in your belief in God in your file. When the time comes, He will decide your outcome based on your performance. No one can compel you to do anything. Some people say, “I’ve suffered too much for doing my duty.” If you think you’ve suffered too much, go home; no one is forcing you to stay here. You’re allowed to not do your duty. Then why do you need to be pruned and dealt with when you do your duty? This is God’s salvation. And He wants to perfect you. If He doesn’t prune and deal with you, will you change? Without pruning and dealing, can you know yourself? It is very difficult to enter the truth of knowing oneself! Are there any people in religious communities that know themselves? Let’s take Paul as an example. He is the idol of all religious elders and pastors. But did Paul know himself? No, he didn’t. He never proclaimed that his true evil nature was hatred of the truth. He never realized that his nature was that of an antichrist. Instead, he talked shamelessly. He did not dare say he loved the Lord Jesus. He did not dare say why he resisted the Lord Jesus for so many years. Even after the Lord Jesus was crucified and resurrected, Paul still persecuted Him. Why? Because in his nature, he hated the truth. He only said that he suffered so much, trying to show off himself, but he never told people what kind of person he really was. Did Paul have life experience? He didn’t have any life experience, because he didn’t know himself. If he didn’t have self-awareness, how could he have life? Why did he hate the Lord Jesus? Did he ever say why? He never said a single word about it. He also never dared to say he loved the Lord Jesus in his heart. He never acknowledged that the Lord Jesus is God. Instead, He always said, “God the Father,” “God the Father.” He exalted Jehovah God but never exalted Jesus Christ. He said Jesus Christ wasn’t crucified for the sins of man but because of His weakness. (See 2 Corinthians 13:4.) You see, Paul did spread many fallacies. Isn’t that right? Therefore, in this stage of God’s work, God judges, chastises and refines people. What is His purpose? To make people perfect. What does “make people perfect” mean? First, it means making them obtain the truth as life; second, changing their life disposition; third, perfecting their will of loving God and obeying God. If you can achieve these criteria, you are one perfected by God. You see, to be made perfect by God, first, one must obtain the reality of the truth; second, he must have change in his life disposition; and third, he must love God. If you can achieve these results, then you are made perfect.
What results do you need to achieve in terms of pursuing the truth? You have to meet the three criteria for being made perfect. They are as follows: First, you must enter the reality of the truth; second, you must change your life disposition; third, you must truly love God. If you can’t meet these three criteria and you say you have been made perfect by God, then it’s false, it’s fake, not real. To elaborate on this, you must change your values and outlook on life, you must change your perspective on all matters; and in addition, you must do your duty and serve God in accordance with His will. These things all go without saying. There are three main criteria: First, you must obtain the truth, the reality of the truth; second, you must change your life disposition and outlook on things; and third, you must truly love and obey God. Are these three things easy to achieve? Can people that constantly have conceptions really love God? No, they can’t. What are the consequences of having conceptions? First, negativity; second, conflict; third, betrayal. The third consequence is to betray God. Even if such people are still in the church, they have betrayed God. Their hearts are opposed to God. That means they have a betraying mentality! Some people say, “I have believed in God for so many years, and what have I obtained?” What does this question show? It proves that this kind of person has not obtained the truth. Why haven’t they obtained the truth? Their intention is incorrect. They sought to obtain grace and blessings but failed to get them. Anyone who says “I have believed in God for so many years, and what have I obtained?” has a false intention when it comes to belief in God. They believe in God for blessings and grace. When they fail to get them, they say things like this. What kind of person does God bless? He blesses those that pursue the truth, those that truly obey God’s judgment and chastisement, and those who pursue knowledge of God. These are the kinds of people that God blesses. For anyone who has such intentions and who has a will to pursue the truth, belief in God for ten years will yield ten years’ worth of a harvest and belief in God for twenty years will yield twenty years’ worth of a harvest. Many people that believe in God have suffered greatly. People ask them, “What have you obtained? Have you enjoyed the blessings of grace?” “No, over the years of believing in God I’ve understood and obtained many truths. I know God now, and I know how to be a real human and follow the path of life. I’ve seen through this world and this human race. I’ve seen through the wealth and luxury that humans love. They are nothing but fleeting clouds of smoke! They are empty and useless! Only the truth has eternal value. If I obtain the truth, I obtain God. No matter how many hardships I must suffer, what I must forsake or the price I must pay, understanding many truths is still my greatest achievement. I have reached my purpose for believing in God.” Isn’t this better than finding a good spouse? Obtaining the truth is much more important than finding a good spouse. Is it more important than becoming wealthy? Yes, it’s much more important than that too. Fortune is useless. If you’ve just become wealthy, and then an earthquake strikes, “Crash!” everything is gone in an instant. If you’ve just become wealthy and a plague arrives, then you’re dead. What’s the point of being rich? If you’ve obtained the truth, then you have life; you won’t die. It is eternal life. The truth is priceless! Let’s say a person gets a serious illness. At the same time they obtain the truth, they also get cancer. Tell me, do you think they will be panic? No, they won’t. They will say, “I have obtained the truth. I’m no longer afraid of death!” Suppose there is a person who learns that he’s got cancer after an X-ray examination, but he hasn’t obtained the truth. What will happen to that person? He will be in trouble, big trouble. “Oh no! I haven’t obtained the truth, and I’m about to die! They say the latency of cancer is five to eight years. Can I obtain the truth in these years? If I can obtain the truth, it’ll be worth it. If I cannot obtain the truth, I will surely die in hell!” If you die, then all is over. You will not be reincarnated. This is your last chance.
God sets this kind of environment up for us. The great red dragon spreads all kinds of rumors, persecutes us and brings harm to our families. The religious communities participate in all kinds of false preaching, their absurd notions flying about. How should you pursue the truth so that you are in accordance with Christ? If you’re not advancing down this path, you’re retreating. There’s no other choice. You’d better pursue the truth and break free from Satan’s influence. Then Satan won’t be able to hurt you anymore. If you do not pursue the truth, you will be handed over to Satan in the end. If you do not have the truth, you will die in the end, and you will die in the same way non-believers do. When people experience God’s work and His judgment and chastisement, they must have three principles. First, when you have your own conceptions, you must remain sure that God’s words are the absolute truth and that the incarnation is the manifestation of God. You must know that no matter what God does, He is always the truth; He is always righteous! You must be certain about this first. If you are certain about this fact, then conceptions will not be able to beat you. You have your own protection. Second, do not talk about your own reasons or trust your own feelings. You must be clear about this fact: You cannot trust yourself, and you are nothing. Everything you think is wrong! Everything you feel is wrong! All your own reasons are ridiculous! By doing so, you can completely deny and forsake yourself. This is the second principle. Third, do not believe man’s nonsense. Anyone who has not been made perfect by God does not have the truth, and many of the things they say are specious, are their own conceptions, imaginations, or doctrines. Do not listen to them; do not be deceived by them. Only believe in God’s words. That is correct. This is the third principle. Fourth, the more conceptions one has, and the more he tries to reason with God, the more it proves that he is arrogant and conceited. The more arrogant and conceited he is, having conceptions against God and reasoning with God, the more it proves that he is of Satan, the devil. You must keep this principle. Whenever you start to have your own conceptions, you should think, “Now I’m being arrogant and conceited!” When you start talking about your own excuses, you should tell yourself, “I am Satan because I can’t obey God! Only devils and Satan always find excuses for themselves.” At this time, you’ll hate yourself. If you hate yourself, you’ll be able to forsake yourself and stand on the side of God. These are the four principles to accepting God’s judgment and chastisement. What do you think of these four principles? Are they useful? Every person can be helped by practically applying these principles. It’s only beneficial; there’s no harm in it. If you do not have these four principles, the very minute you start having conceptions, you’re vulnerable to collapse and being knocked down, unable to stand up. Sometimes, you will need some days to recover. There is danger in this, the danger of betrayal. These are the four principles to experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement. What is the first of the four principles? Identify God’s words as the truth; don’t doubt that God’s words are the truth. As soon as you have this doubt on your mind, you will be completely paralyzed and fall into hell. It will be too late then. Second, do not reason with God; don’t trust your own feelings. Third, don’t believe man’s nonsense. Fourth, the more you have conceptions and try to reason with God, the more it shows that you are arrogant and conceited, that you are Satan, the devil. You should curse yourself. “I am a satanic devil! I am an antichrist. I should be punished!” This is good. This means you are freeing yourself from your conceptions. There are some more detailed things which you also need some principles to solve. First, sometimes when you have conceptions in your heart, you should select a few paragraphs of God’s words to read and ponder. Then your heart will definitely be enlightened and you will no longer be attacked by your own conceptions. This is a little tip. Second, when a problem happens and you’re perplexed and don’t know what to do, what should you do? Pray more. Pray to God a few times, seeking the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. When you come before God and say something sincerely, you will feel like your problem has eased quite a bit. An inner light will shine, and you’ll feel like it’s not that big of a problem after all. If you go before God and say a few words, it will be very different than not saying anything at all. If you don’t pray, your insides will be like dead water. If you pray, this water will start to stir. It will be different, and things will change. This is the second of the four principles to solving problems. Third, when you have no other way to turn, seek the truth. Talk with the brothers and sisters that understand the truth. Don’t suffer in silence. Do not allow yourself to stay trapped in a dark corner. Open your heart and talk to others that understand the truth. Share your experiences with each other. This will give you a lot of enlightenment and make you feel like you have a way forward. Perhaps some of the brothers and sisters have experienced this issue before and can help you solve your problems immediately. This is the third principle. The third principle is a little tip on spiritual experience. It never fails. Fourth, when you encounter major problems, do not worry or make any decision in haste. Wait for God’s time. If you pray a few times, perhaps after praying for a while you’ll gain some enlightenment. You’ll seem to get a grasp of the situation and understand the way forward. So wait for God, and do not make any decision in haste! If you become nervous, make blind decisions or jump to a conclusion, when God’s time arrives and He makes you understand, it will be too late to regret. The toothpaste is already out of the tube. This especially applies to looking for a spouse. You must wait for God; do not be hasty. A decision made in haste will lead to trouble. It can easily lead to bad consequences! You must wait for God’s time. I have failed many times. This is a lesson I’ve drawn from my experience. What do you think of these four principles? They’re somewhat useful, right?
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Questions & Answers
Question 1: What does it mean to rebel against the flesh? How do we rebel against the flesh?
Answer: Specifically, men’s conceptions, imaginations, fallacies and doctrines all come from physical emotions. If you rebel against these things created by the flesh, that is to say, rebel against the conceptions, imaginations, fallacies, deviations, etc., then you will be rebelling against the flesh. Understand? Preferences, emotions, disobedience, notions and imaginations created by the flesh should all be disobeyed, no matter what they are. This is what it means to rebel against the flesh. For example, if you are in the crucial period of experiencing God’s work, but your flesh compels you to find a spouse, should you rebel against it? If you do your duty and endure some hardships, but you lust uncontrollably for fleshly pleasures, shouldn’t you rebel against that? If, when you eat, your flesh compels you to eat meat—you like to eat meat, then shouldn’t you rebel against the flesh? Why should you rebel against your flesh when your flesh wants you to eat meat? Eating meat is unhealthy. If you eat too much meat, you’ll get fat and sick. Rebelling against the flesh is good for your body. Then, should you rebel against lust caused by the flesh? Lust will make you approach and cling to other people. You should say, “I will stay away from them.” It makes you get closer. Well, if you say, “I’ll stay away from them!” isn’t that rebelling against it? It makes you touch others. Well, if you say, “I won’t touch them!” isn’t that rebelling against it? The flesh makes you eat meat. Well, if you say, “I won’t eat it! I’ll eat more vegetables instead. It’s healthier!” isn’t that rebelling against it? If the flesh makes you hate some people, you say, “I won’t hate them! They are my brothers and sisters!” Then you are rebelling against the flesh.
Question 2: During trials, how can we truly obey God?
Answer: First you must understand what trials are. Any major suffering or adversity you encounter counts as a trial. If there’s no path forward, that’s even more of a trial. Some people are stricken with a major illness, let’s say, cancer. This is a serious trial. Cancer is a deadly illness. If you are afflicted with cancer, you won’t know how you will live. No one can shrug off a blow like that. Is this not a trial? Tell me, in an environment like the country of the great red dragon, the sirens of a police car count as a trial too, right? When we in mainland China hear a police siren, we immediately become suspicious: Oh no! Are the police following me? Are they going to arrest me? We panic and don’t know how or where to hide. Just being in that kind of environment is a trial, understand? Nowadays, some new believers, those that have only been in the faith for a month or so, still don’t have any foundation at all. When negative propaganda comes around, their sister, brother or parents might say, “Look! Is this way you believe in true? Look at how many people are spreading negative propaganda. You still think you’re right?” You look, and your eyes do a double-take. “Should I really believe?” Your heart is now at war with itself. Is this not a trial? In summary, when you encounter disaster, distress or pain and there seems to be no way out, that is a trial. Some trials are so serious that you lose all heart. Does serious pruning and dealing count as a trial? Pruning and dealing is also a trial. When most people encounter pruning and dealing, they are unable to sleep or eat well for a day or two, maybe two or three days if it’s serious. I’ve been through this so many times before. That is also a trial, not a small trial, but not a major one either.
How can we truly obey God during trials? You must search for the truth and obey the truth in order to really obey God. If you do not search for the truth, you won’t be obeying God, no matter what you do. Some people say, “Satan is trying to confuse me and make me believe negative things. I won’t listen to it. Isn’t that obeying God?” This doesn’t count as obedience. True obedience to God means obeying the truth. All we can say you’re doing here is rejecting Satan. You haven’t run from God or been tricked by Satan, but that doesn’t mean you’re really obeying God. Therefore, to obey God you must walk in His will and seek the truth. After you understand the truth, you say, “I hold fast to the truth. I practice the truth.” This is the most precise, accurate way to obey God, understand? What does “obeying God” refer to? It refers to obeying the truth and practicing the truth. Obeying the truth, well, give an example. What does it mean to obey the truth? If you just say you’re obeying the truth and you understand the doctrine, but in practice, you don’t even know what the truth is, then how are you obeying? This isn’t something you just say. Talk is useless. For example, encountering negative propaganda is what causes most new believers to become at war with themselves. Their internal struggle over this negative propaganda usually lasts a year or so. During this struggle, they’ll have days where they come out of it. However, a few days later, they encounter more negative propaganda and fall into it again. They stand up, and then fall down. They fall down, and then stand up again. It goes on and on this way for about a year. Then they won’t listen to anyone who spreads negative propaganda. They reject it. This is fine. When you encounter negative propaganda you should pursue the truth and listen to God’s words. You say, “The more I read God’s words, the more I feel they are God’s voice and the more I feel they are the truth. It is correct to believe in Almighty God; He is the true God! This negative propaganda of yours has nothing to do with my belief in the true God!” For example, in their negative propaganda, someone remarks that this person being used by the Holy Spirit is like this or that. You should say, “That person isn’t the one I believe in. I believe in Almighty God!” Isn’t this what it means to stand your ground? They tell you the Church of Almighty God specifically cuts out the eyes and ears of non-believers. You should respond, “Well, they should have them cut out! Because they are devils! It’s true that the Church of Almighty God doesn’t cut out their eyes or ears, but it will still happen when they go to hell! Let the demons cut out their eyes and ears then!” However, the Church of Almighty God has never cut out someone’s eyes or ears. If such a case existed, the Chinese Communist Party would have already exposed it. The entire world would have exposed it. Isn’t that right? Would the Chinese Communist Party ever miss an opportunity like that? To this day, they’ve never found a case, so these are all Satan’s lies and rumors, right? Unbelievers say, “The people in the Church of Almighty God believe in a person. We know who the person is.” It’s true that He is a person. God has become flesh. How could He not be a person? If God became flesh but did not have the outer appearance of a person or normal humanity, then He would not be God incarnate! Therefore, we believe in a real person, but a person with a divine essence. That person is Christ, the practical God. The Lord Jesus is the incarnation of God Himself. Christians believe in the Lord Jesus, but the Jewish people still scorn them. They say, “You believe in a human. We all know that. His name is Jesus. Everyone in our country knows it. We don’t believe He is God. Your beliefs are wrong!” How many people in Christianity doubt the Lord Jesus because of these factors? None, isn’t that right? We believe in a human; that’s correct, because He is God incarnate. If God incarnate did not have normal humanity, He wouldn’t be called “incarnate.” Angels are spiritual body, but we do not believe in angels. We believe in Christ, God incarnate. If He was not a person, how would that work? He must be a person. If He wasn’t a person, “incarnate” would have no meaning; He would not be God incarnate. If He’s a person, can He get married or get sick? Getting sick and getting married are normal. They do not affect the true essence of a person. Does God condemn people for getting sick? Does it count as a sin? No, it doesn’t. As for marriage, does marrying a wife and having a child count as a sin? No, it doesn’t. Therefore, these things are normal. Regardless of what people in the religious community say, even if these things were all true, they are not sins, let alone actually fake. Isn’t this so? They say the Lord Jesus was not conceived by the Holy Spirit. What evidence do they have? I believe in the conception by the Holy Spirit. I believe in whatever God testifies, all of His words. I do not believe the words of humans. Humans’ words are all nonsense! If you can’t see this, then you are a person of low quality. Isn’t that right? You do not think normally.
What are the other most egregious types of negative propaganda? Saying the Church of Almighty God tricks people out of their money. Do people say that? You see how new members of the Church aren’t even allowed to donate anything, so how is the Church tricking people out of their money? Who does the Church trick out of their money? Have you ever been told how much money a person that accepts the work of Almighty God must donate? Does anyone say that? Not only does no one say it, but new believers are barred from donating anything during their first year in the faith. If they do try and donate, the Church won’t accept the money. It’s not even allowed to give sermons about donating in the Church. We can’t even talk about donating. In addition, all of our books are free of charge. In that case, where does all of our money come from? Tell me, if it’s not the work of God, how could the Church have this much money? Is this not due to the work of God? No one who donates to the Church is dumb. Can you really bar people from donating? Some people have been expelled, but they donate more. They say, “I was expelled. I have sinned. I must do some good deeds to make up for it!” They donate quite a bit. If you tried to limit them, you wouldn’t be able to. Therefore, the truer the way is, the more they will donate. If they do not donate, they’ll be afraid they won’t be blessed and won’t be in accordance with God’s will. They can’t help but do good deeds. If this is a false way, they won’t be able to donate no matter how you try to persuade them. No one is foolish. Isn’t this the case? Then aren’t those just rumors? They say we are after money or tricking people out of their money; that is a lie. They say we’re love swindlers; that’s even more of a lie. They say we cut out the eyes or ears of non-believers; that’s even more of a lie. They say we’re bribing people to join our Church, that’s still a lie. They say I was pursued and escaped overseas; that’s even more of a lie. When I came overseas, God was leading me here, God sent me here. If God hadn’t sent me here, do you think I would still have been courageous enough to go? Would I, a wanted person, still dare to go through customs? As soon as they saw what I look like, they would apprehend me. They would throw me in jail. If God wasn’t leading, who would dare go out? A wanted man would not dare go out, right? The propaganda of the great red dragon is nonsense, right? It’s too easy to see through this stuff! You have listened to my sermons for all these years. Tell me, am I the kind of person that the great red dragon says I am? Although you have never seen my face, if you do come in contact with me, you would immediately see that I am not a bad person. I don’t trick people. I never force anyone to do anything, nor do I ever cheat anyone. When I speak to people, I’m always gentle, thoughtful and reasonable. As soon as I say that, some people disagree. They say, “You are reasonable? You nearly killed me when you dealt with me!” Wasn’t that a special case? I am not like that in everyday life. That is work. Work and life are two different things.
If you stay in the Church of Almighty God for a while you’ll know that not one sentence of the lies spread by the religious community or the great red dragon is true. You’ve all experienced it, right? Those people who have never encountered the Church of Almighty God before and do not understand it still believe that the words of the ruling satanic regimes of the world may all be true, those people do not know that the great red dragon has never uttered one true sentence. The great red dragon doesn’t even speak truthfully to those within its ranks. It is filled with in-fighting and class warfare. Does it speak any truth? Therefore, all the people of the great red dragon are demons. Their mouths are full of lies. You don’t know which of their words are true and which are lies. Every sentence they say carries ulterior motives. Every sentence they say furthers their own objectives. That’s how devilish they are. Shouldn’t they be destroyed? Look at something that the devil of the great red dragon once said, “The yearnings of our people for a better life, that’s what we fight for.” Isn’t this nonsense? This is nonsense! They fight and struggle for positions every day, killing each other. If common people want to believe in God and have a better life, they persecute them to the point where they have nowhere to stay. Believers in God are beaten to death for no reason. Yet, the CCP still talks about the goals they “struggle” for! The object of their struggles is to kill you, to make you die. Isn’t this the truth? Aren’t they telling lies? Everything the devils of the great red dragon say is lies. They lie through their teeth. These words represent their true nature! Therefore, how can you ever believe anything these demons say? They never even utter one true sentence; it’s all lies! They’re just devils! Real devils! 99% of the pastors and elders in the religious community are satanic devils. These people will definitely not obtain salvation. God says when the great disaster arrives, only a few of the people from the religious community will return before God. However, those people definitely won’t be pastors or elders. Remember, most of the pastors and elders are antichrists, devils and confusing people. They all block people’s paths to the kingdom of heaven. They’re all demons that devour people’s souls. For some people, as soon as they hear me say this, they’re not satisfied. They’re always defending their pastors and elders. Why do you defend them? Why aren’t you mindful of God’s will? They compete with God for His chosen people. They grab hold of the believers and try to control them; they do not want to give them to God. This makes God’s heart hurt. God hates them! Why don’t you stand on God’s side? Why don’t you say a few words of justice? Would you mind if the Lord Jesus cursed the Pharisees? You’re still standing on the side of the Pharisees? Then you’re on the wrong team! It can be said that whoever loves, worships or feels warmly toward religious pastors and elders is definitely not a person who loves the truth. God’s house does not like these types of people and does not welcome them.
From Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life
Source from：The Church of Almighty God
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