July 6, 2018 – Ephesians 5:17 – Seek the Lord’s Will

　　Why be you not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

– Ephesians 5:17

　　

　　Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

　　From this verse we know that only the wise can understand the will of the Lord, because when things befall the wise, they won’t treat them according to their conceptions and imaginations, but seek the will of the Lord at all times, understand the will of the Lord, and do things according to the Lord’s will. This is the man that God approves. But in reality, we easily follow our own desires to treat the people, things, and objects we personally encounter, and are influenced by them. Thus, we neglect to quiet before the Lord and seek His will. As a result, we did not understand the Lord’s will and have done many unwise things, and fell into Satan’s cunning scheme, becoming the unwise. So we should learn to be wise, to seek the will of the Lord in everything. Only by grasping the Lord’s will and demands, and practicing according to His will can we have a God-loving heart and be approved by God. Just as God’s words say: “Loving God requires seeking God’s will in all things, and that you probe deep within when anything happens to you, trying to grasp God’s will, and trying to see what God’s will is in this matter, what He wishes you to achieve, and how you should be mindful of His will.”

More content: Mysteries of the Bible

How to Keep Temper When Hurt by Others

By Titie, United States

　　In our life, we always feel we lose face on account of others’ words or looks. And sometimes, we develop prejudices against them for this reason, with our hot blood flaring up, even resulting in a conflict between them. In the face of such a circumstance, as a Christian, how should we treat it in accordance with God’s heart? As regards to this, I’ve found out a path to practice and I want to share it with you.

　　After I arrived in America, I began engaging in nursing in an old couple’s home. There, the following scene was an everyday occurrence …

　　Grandpa shouted: “Xiaomiao, help me make the tea.” While I was going to do it, grandma shouted: “Xiaomiao, give me a cup of juice.” When I was making the juice, grandpa said: “You haven’t poured tea for me.” As I was pouring tea, grandma said: “You haven’t mopped the floor.” When I was cooking, they called me to fetch letters and newspaper. … I worked unceasingly like a spinning top. When I was way too busy, I would reply impatiently: “Could you wait a moment?” At my words, the grandma got angry and lost her temper with me, calling me a blockhead. On hearing what she said, I was filled with rage, thinking to myself: You’re so arrogant and you don’t respect me in the slightest. I really wanted to vent my anger on her by talking back to her. However, I started to have second thoughts: “Forget it. Don’t argue over trivial matters with her. I won’t have face either if I talk back to her. Moreover, I’m a Christian. Well, I’ll suck it up. All I need to care about is doing my own work well.” However, as days went by, this scene still always played itself out, and I harbored deeper and deeper prejudices against them. So every time I went to their home, I hurried to do the work. Then, I left as soon as everything was finished and I wanted to say nothing else to them.

Questions and Answers on Being Saved and Being Finally Saved (2)

Question 2: It is said in the Bible, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns?” (Rom 8:33-34). This proves that the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross forgives us of all sin. The Lord doesn’t see us as sinners anymore. Who can accuse us now?

　　Answer: “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?” Here, we must be very clear. Who, exactly, are members of God’s elect? Those frequent sinners, they who sell out the Lord and their friends, they who eat God’s sacrificial offerings, they who blaspheme, those corrupted, hypocritical Pharisees, are they God’s elect? If anyone that believes in God is part of God’s elect, then how do we explain what the prophecies say, “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and makes a lie” (Rev 22:15). Therefore, not all people that believe in God are part of God’s elect. Only those who really serve the Lord and love God, those that bear witness to Him are part of God’s elect. People like Abraham, Job and Peter obey God and revere God. They were righteous people and witnesses. What they did obtained God’s grace. No one could control them. When did God say that all the faithful were righteous? The majority of people often sin, resist God and betray God. That is a fact. Lord Jesus never said the majority of believers were righteous. Therefore, the people God is talking about include the righteous people that can implement God’s will.

from the movie script of Stinging Memories

Watch more:

Christian Worship Song 2018 "How to Know the Appearance and Work of Christ of the Last Days" 

Questions and Answers on the Conditions for Entering the Kingdom of Heaven (8)

Question 8: Since believing in the Lord, we have given everything to expend ourselves and have worked very hard for the Lord, and we have undergone quite a lot of persecution and tribulation. We have even been imprisoned for Him and we’d rather die than deny the name of the Lord or betray Him. I think that this is carrying out God’s will. By suffering for the Lord and standing witness we can achieve holiness, and be qualified to see the Lord. As long as we continue to uphold this, when He returns we will be raptured into the kingdom of heaven.

　　Answer: Working hard for the Lord is doing God’s will—this is a notion of most people in the religious world. As far as people see it, that’s quite right, but does it accord with the truth, and is it in line with the Lord’s will? Let’s first look at a fact. When the Jewish Pharisees traveled over land and sea to preach and do His work, to other people it looked like they were upstanding in behavior and pious. So why were they condemned and cursed by the Lord Jesus, who said “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites”? God can see into people’s hearts! Even though the Pharisees worked hard, they were just carrying out religious rituals and explaining knowledge and theory from the Bible. They did not put God’s word into practice at all, and they did not follow His commandments. Every single thing they did was for blessings, for rewards, and it was also for their status and to make a living. In their hearts, they didn’t love God at all and they didn’t have any reverence for Him. Their mad resistance and condemnation of the Lord Jesus completely exposed their nature of hating the truth and their hypocritical essences. That is why the Lord Jesus hated and cursed them. From this fact we can see that being able to work hard absolutely does not represent doing God’s will, and someone being upstanding in their behavior does not represent purification. As long as a person does not love God in their heart, does not put God’s words into practice, and does not keep His commandments, all of their hard work is in vain. It is all meaningless and absolutely cannot gain God’s praise. Anyone who is capable of resisting and condemning Christ in the flesh will certainly suffer the hatred and damnation of God. So then what really is doing God’s will? This refers to people being able to put God’s words into practice, obeying His commandments, being able to perform their duty in accordance with His words and the principles of His words, relying on their love for God to expend themselves for Him, having a heart of magnifying God, being able to fear God and shun evil, and frequently exalting Him and bearing witness to Him. Only this is truly doing God’s will. We can all see that there truly are many people who suffer quite a lot after believing in the Lord, that they pay quite a great price and even go to prison or are martyred and still do not depart from the Lord. The only thing this means is that they have genuine faith in the Lord. However, they are not pursuing the truth while they are working hard and they do not place emphasis on putting the Lord’s words into practice or keeping His commandments. Instead, they follow their own will and are obstinate and arrogant. After believing in God for many years, their disposition in life has not changed at all—they are still arrogant and do not obey anyone else. They frequently tell lies and engage in deceit, and even though they are able to do a lot of work and suffer a great deal, and they have some good behaviors and testimony, everything they do is for the sake of gaining blessings, gaining rewards. It is to enter into the kingdom of heaven and be crowned. Paying a price and expending oneself this way is trying to make a deal with the Lord and it is deceitful in nature. Personal motives and objectives are hidden within. They absolutely are not people who love and obey the Lord, so how could it be said that they do God’s will? What’s more, although they wave the flag of working and expending themselves for the Lord, they have never exalted Him or borne witness to Him. Rather, they are showing themselves off in all things to have people look up to them. They are struggling for fame and fortune and setting up their own little kingdoms. Their hard work is for the same purpose as the Pharisees’—it is entirely for their status and their living. This has nothing to do with doing God’s will. Instead, it is doing evil and resisting God. We can see from this that if a person cannot put God’s words into practice and they cannot keep His commandments, if they do not have a heart of love and obedience for God, then no matter how much they suffer and how much work they do, they still are not doing God’s will, and it particularly does not mean that they have cast off sinfulness and achieved purification, so how could they be worthy of entering into the kingdom of heaven? Just as the Lord Jesus said: “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Mat 7:21-23).

Questions and Answers on the Conditions for Entering the Kingdom of Heaven (7)

Question 7: Today we believe in the Lord Jesus; we suffer and sacrifice to spread the Lord’s name, forsaking everything else. We are doing the heavenly Father’s will. This means we have already been made holy. When the Lord arrives, He will definitely rapture us into the kingdom of heaven.

　　Answer: As for how we can enter the heavenly kingdom: The Lord Jesus said, “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Mat 7:21). Although people sacrifice to spread the Lord’s name, forsaking all else, you cannot deny that they also sin quite a lot. The fact that they sin means that they belong to Satan and are still corrupt. They are still able to resist and betray God; this means they have not truly been cleansed. If they were kings, they would set up their own kingdoms in opposition to God. This is enough to prove that they haven’t truly been cleansed and made holy. How can people that resist God this way be qualified to enter the heavenly kingdom? Sacrificing for the Lord, spreading the gospel, establishing the church, supporting the faithful, etc, these are all very good behaviors. If people practice these behaviors out of love, if they truly are sacrificing for God, if they want to obey and satisfy God, if they do not seek to make a deal with God, then these behaviors are truly good; God will remember these behaviors and bless these people. If they are doing it in an attempt to make a deal with God, if they seek to satisfy their fleshly desires, if they're doing it to enter the heavenly kingdom and be rewarded, then these behaviors are just attempts to trick God; these people are resisting God! Therefore, is the fact that you practice these behaviors evidence that you are implementing the heavenly father’s will? Does it mean you’re holy? Definitely not! Their good behaviors will still be matched with their sinful natures. They are only doing those things because they want to make a deal with God. This proves that men are too adulterous. How can people like this truly love God and obey God? Men are subject to and controlled by their sinful natures. When God does and says this that are not in line with their own conceptions, they judge Him, denounce and condemn God. When God puts them through trials, they misunderstand, hate and betray God.Men can believe in God while exalting and following other men at the same time. They listen to other men before they listen to God. People who serve God can often act on their own conceptions, exalt themselves, bear witness to themselves and take God as their enemies. Men are controlled by their sinful nature. As soon as they gain power, they will establish their own kingdoms, with God as their enemy. This is just like what the rabbis, scribes and Pharisees did; when Lord Jesus came to do His works, they fanatically condemned and resisting Him in order to protect their own positions. As a result, Lord Jesus’s grace never came to the Jews. Were they not establishing their own kingdoms in opposition to God? Therefore, if their sinful nature has not been resolved, even people who look like they’re laboring and behaving well have not had their satanic natures cleansed. Therefore, how can these people really implement God’s will, regardless of how much they suffer or what works they do? Those that implement God’s will are undoubtedly also those that obey God. They are definitely of the same mind as God. They surely will not rebel against or resist God. These people are the ones who are qualified to enter the heavenly kingdom and receive God’s promise.

from the movie script of Stinging Memories

More details:

Since the Lord Jesus and Almighty God are the same God, isn’t just believing in Jesus enough to be saved? 

Gospel Movie Clip (4) - Is the Pardoning of Our Sins Really a Ticket to the Kingdom of Heaven?

Christian Film Clip (4) - Is the Pardoning of Our Sins Really a Ticket to the Kingdom of Heaven? 

Many people in religion think that they have admitted their sins and repented of them after believing in the Lord, so they have been redeemed, and been saved by grace. When the Lord comes, He will lift them up directly into the kingdom of heaven, and He cannot possibly do the work of purification and salvation. Does this view tally with the reality of God's work? It is said in the Bible: "Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). God says: "You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God" (The Word Appears in the Flesh).

More attention:

What Is the Difference Between Christianity and The Church of Almighty God? 

Do You Know the Most Important Grace of God?

By Lianxin, United States

　　When it comes to God’s grace, many of the Lord’s brothers and sisters will think of these: Their families are safe from disaster, their spouses work smoothly with a high salary, their children are obedient, sensible, and successful in their studies, and they are living a peaceful and harmonious family life. They think these are God’s grace. In the beginning, I also thought like this. Later, through studying the Bible I came to know that God’s grace is far more than these, and the greatest grace bestowed upon us humans by God is His word. As long as we follow His word and act according to His demands in everything, we will receive greater blessings from God.

　　First of all, let’s read Noah’s story recorded in the Bible. It tells us that the people in Noah’s day didn’t revere God. They stopped at no evil, such as theft, robbery, murder, raping, looting, and so on, which was unbearable for God to witness. Therefore, God intended to destroy the evil mankind with a flood. Nevertheless, before destroying mankind, He still had mercy on them and hoped that they would confess their sins and repent so that they could survive. So, God commanded Noah to make an ark, and told him that He would flood the world. Noah listened to God’s words and did as God instructed. During the time when he was building the ark, he continually passed on God’s will to people that God would destroy the world with a flood, but no one believed his words and turned back and truly repented to God. In the end, on the day that the ark was finished, the flood came. Apart from Noah’s family of eight embarking upon the ark, all of mankind drowned. From this, we can see that Noah listened to God’s word and acted according to God’s word so that he received God’s grace and blessings, surviving the catastrophic disaster; others didn’t listen to God’s word so that they lost God’s grace, losing their lives.

The Love of God Is Great | "Only God Loves Man Most"

God becomes flesh in the last days to save man for He loves man.

Driven by His love, He carries out today’s work.

It’s under the foundation of love.

God takes on flesh and suffers disgrace to save the tainted and broken ones.

He endures such pain.  

For again and again, He shows His immeasurable love.

God doesn’t want any soul to be lost.

Man doesn’t care what his future will be.

Man doesn’t know how to cherish his own life.

But God does. Only He loves man. Oh … oh … 

Books of the Church of Almighty God | Questions and Answers on Rapture (2)

Question 2: We still haven’t determined whether God’s kingdom is on earth or in heaven. The Lord Jesus once talked about “the kingdom of heaven being at hand” and “the kingdom of heaven coming.” If it is the kingdom of heaven, it should be in heaven. How can it be on earth?

Answer: We should all be clear that “Heaven” is always referred to as God. The “heavenly kingdom” obviously refers to God’s kingdom. Revelation says, “the tabernacle of God is with men,” “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.” This means that God’s kingdom will be established on earth. In the end, the kingdoms of earth will become God’s kingdom. After the old world is destroyed in the great disasters, the Millennial Kingdom will appear. The kingdoms of the earth will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Then God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This will completely fulfill the prophecy: New Jerusalem will come to earth. God has become flesh and does the work of judgment in the last days to end this dark, evil generation. All who hear God's voice and are raptured before His throne will be perfected into overcomers. Then the great disasters will begin. Only those who have been cleansed and saved by God’s work in the last days will survive. They will become the people of God’s kingdom. We are the most blessed to be able to accept God’s work in the last days here today. We who are lucky enough to hear God’s voice and be raised up before His throne will be cleansed through the judgment and chastisement of His words, and be made overcomers before the disasters, the firstfruits that are obtained by God. Then God will send down the great disasters. All who resist God, as well as all devilish non-believers will be destroyed in the great disaster. All who are cleansed and made perfect will receive God’s protection during the disaster; they will survive. When the Lord descends on a cloud and appears to everyone, God will come into His kingdom on earth. This is what God will soon accomplish. If we believers cannot see this vision, then are we not blind? Those who simply gaze up at the sky and wait for the Lord to come with clouds will cry and gnash their teeth when He actually does return on the clouds. It’s just as the prophecies in Revelation said, “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (Rev 1:7). People who do not hear God’s voice before the disasters and fail to be raptured before His throne will fall into disasters and be punished therein, crying and gnashing their teeth.

The Testimony of a Christian | Do You Possess the “Immunity” Needed to Defeat Temptation? (Audio Essay)

One day, I came across a story. This story mainly told about a mouse that came out of its hole and found that people had intentionally placed a piece of meat in a mousetrap in order to lure it in. The mouse knew that if it touched that piece of meat, then it would be killed by the trap, so it initially thought to refuse the lure, and that it would absolutely not touch that piece of meat. But when the smell of the meat reached its nose, it just couldn’t overcome the temptation, and against its own will it crept closer and closer to the trap. In the end, it couldn’t resist the enticement, and so when it went to eat the piece of meat, it was killed by the trap.



  　How do we feel after reading this short story? Don’t we laugh at the stupidity of the mouse, while at the same time feel sorry for it being so greedy? And maybe we will also think that if the mouse’s willpower had been just that little bit stronger, then it wouldn’t have been lured in and killed! But who ever thought that mice lose their lives because they can’t overcome the traps laid by people? That is, because the mouse doesn’t possess the strength to conquer temptation, how could it then escape its fatal doom?

Questions and Answers on God’s Work of Judgment in the Last Days(3)

Question 3: I’ve believed in the Lord for many years and I’ve read the Bible quite a bit, so why haven’t I seen the Lord prophesying that in the last days He will become flesh again and become the Son of man to perform the work of judgment? You bear witness that the Lord Jesus has already been incarnated again, that He is Almighty God, and that He’s doing the work of judgment in the last days. Is there any biblical basis for this? Is this affirmed by the religious world?

Answer: Whether or not there is a biblical basis for God incarnating in the last days and doing the work of judgment is actually quite clear to anyone with their eyes open. The Bible prophesies in at least 200 places that God will do the work of judgment in the last days, and there is clear scripture proof of God becoming flesh to do the work of judgment in the last days. The Lord Jesus said, “For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son.…” (Jhn 5:22). “And has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man” (Jhn 5:27). The Lord Jesus directly prophesied that God of the last days will become flesh as the Son of man to carry out His judgment. All references to “Son” or “Son of man” are certainly references to Christ in the flesh. If He were a Spirit, He cannot be called the “Son of man.” When God becomes flesh, He becomes a regular, normal person, and only then is He called the Son of man, that is, Christ. That is utterly certain. So, when the Lord Jesus returns in the last days, of course He is the Son of man in the flesh who walks among mankind to utter words and do the work of judgment in the last days. We bear witness that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus who is doing the work of judgment in the last days, and this completely fulfills the biblical prophecies. The Lord Jesus also said: “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (Jhn 12:47-48). The Lord Jesus’ words were very clear: He came to do the work of redemption, not the work of judgment, and He would judge people in the last days using the words He speaks. Almighty God has accomplished what the Lord Jesus prophesied, and He has done the work of judgment that begins with the house of God. This book, “The Word Appears in the Flesh,” is made up of personal utterances from Almighty God, and it is a record of God’s work of judgment in the last days. Let’s read some of Almighty God’s words.

The Minimum Reason That Ought to Be Possessed in Serving God

People who serve God all ought to know that if those who serve God are not people who have been perfected by God, then they are not suitable for being used by God. That’s because corrupt humanity all has the nature of resisting and betraying God, and they all have arrogant, conceited, self-important, and self-righteous dispositions. When they perform their duties, they are willing to do it according to their own will, but they are not willing to search for the will of God, and they are even more unwilling to seek fellowship. They do not have true obedience to God, yet they greedily enjoy the benefits of their positions without any reason at all. If they do a few days of work, they will start getting arrogant, and they will start asking God for crown and blessing, and they will prepare to rule together with God. Once they receive being pruned or dealt with or God’s elimination, they start complaining and are shamed into anger, thinking that serving God is like the perilous condition of serving a wild tiger. They have not recognized that God is righteous, good, and beautiful, but people are too corrupt and too lacking in humanity, deserving punishment for their crimes. In people’s hearts, God is not fair to humans, as if God has treated them wrongfully. This kind of people serve God for several years, but they become God’s enemies, openly resisting and judging God. How could this kind of people be suited to God’s use? If people who serve God are truly people who pursue the truth, they should recognize the source of corrupt humanity’s resistance of God, they should recognize their own nature of resisting God, they should recognize that when corrupt humanity serves God they ought to receive pruning and dealing, and especially they ought to receive God’s judgment and chastisement. If in their service they disrupt God’s work by mixing in human will or diverting the work onto their own paths, then they should even receive God’s punishments and curses and obey God’s work. Only in this way can people achieve changes in life disposition through service and walk on the right track of serving God.

Questions and Answers on the Conditions for Entering the Kingdom of Heaven(7)

Question 7: Today we believe in the Lord Jesus; we suffer and sacrifice to spread the Lord’s name, forsaking everything else. We are doing the heavenly Father’s will. This means we have already been made holy. When the Lord arrives, He will definitely rapture us into the kingdom of heaven.

Answer: As for how we can enter the heavenly kingdom: The Lord Jesus said, “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Mat 7:21). Although people sacrifice to spread the Lord’s name, forsaking all else, you cannot deny that they also sin quite a lot. The fact that they sin means that they belong to Satan and are still corrupt. They are still able to resist and betray God; this means they have not truly been cleansed. If they were kings, they would set up their own kingdoms in opposition to God. This is enough to prove that they haven’t truly been cleansed and made holy. How can people that resist God this way be qualified to enter the heavenly kingdom? Sacrificing for the Lord, spreading the gospel, establishing the church, supporting the faithful, etc, these are all very good behaviors. If people practice these behaviors out of love, if they truly are sacrificing for God, if they want to obey and satisfy God, if they do not seek to make a deal with God, then these behaviors are truly good; God will remember these behaviors and bless these people. If they are doing it in an attempt to make a deal with God, if they seek to satisfy their fleshly desires, if they're doing it to enter the heavenly kingdom and be rewarded, then these behaviors are just attempts to trick God; these people are resisting God! Therefore, is the fact that you practice these behaviors evidence that you are implementing the heavenly father’s will? Does it mean you’re holy? Definitely not! Their good behaviors will still be matched with their sinful natures. They are only doing those things because they want to make a deal with God. This proves that men are too adulterous. How can people like this truly love God and obey God? Men are subject to and controlled by their sinful natures. When God does and says this that are not in line with their own conceptions, they judge Him, denounce and condemn God. When God puts them through trials, they misunderstand, hate and betray God.Men can believe in God while exalting and following other men at the same time. They listen to other men before they listen to God. People who serve God can often act on their own conceptions, exalt themselves, bear witness to themselves and take God as their enemies. Men are controlled by their sinful nature. As soon as they gain power, they will establish their own kingdoms, with God as their enemy. This is just like what the rabbis, scribes and Pharisees did; when Lord Jesus came to do His works, they fanatically condemned and resisting Him in order to protect their own positions. As a result, Lord Jesus’s grace never came to the Jews. Were they not establishing their own kingdoms in opposition to God? Therefore, if their sinful nature has not been resolved, even people who look like they’re laboring and behaving well have not had their satanic natures cleansed. Therefore, how can these people really implement God’s will, regardless of how much they suffer or what works they do? Those that implement God’s will are undoubtedly also those that obey God. They are definitely of the same mind as God. They surely will not rebel against or resist God. These people are the ones who are qualified to enter the heavenly kingdom and receive God’s promise.

from the movie script of Stinging Memories

Questions and Answers on the Desolation of Churches（3）

Question 3: Right now, desolate churches are widespread throughout the entire religious world, but we have never fully understood the primary cause. That’s why we’ve been earnestly reading the Old Testament and have focused on how the actions of the Jewish chief priests, scribes and Pharisees in the late Age of Law led to such desolation in religion. Although some problems have been discovered, it’s never been entirely clear. We’ve also gone to churches in many different places and from different sects, but we haven’t seen the work of the Holy Spirit. We’re not very clear on why the entire religious world is so desolate. What’s the real reason for this?

Answer: Now, the whole of the world of religion is a widespread desolation, devoid of the work of the Holy Spirit, and many people’s faith and love have cooled—this has already become an accepted fact. What exactly is the primary cause of the desolation in the world of religion is a question that all of us must thoroughly understand. First let us look back a moment at why the temple became desolate in the latter days of the Age of Law, and we will then be able to understand thoroughly the cause of the religious world’s desolation in the last days. In the latter days of the Age of Law, the Jewish leaders did not keep God’s commandments, they walked their own path and went against God; this is the main reason that directly resulted in the desolation of the temple. The Lord Jesus exposed and rebuked the Pharisees, saying: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like to white washed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Mat 23:27-28).

The Word of God | "You Ought to Live for the Truth Since You Believe in God"

My understanding:

I used to believe in God according to my own imagination, notions and religious regulations, and thought that as long as I attend the meetings and read God’s word in my free time, praying to God in difficulties, this is believing in God. Never did I think whether what I do in daily life is in line with God’s will or what I practice is based on God’s word. After listening to the Recital Videos of God’s Word, I then quiet my heart to think that I just believe in God in words, and what I have done has no relationship with the truth, so my faith in God is not truly believing in God. Then what kind of faith can be approved by God?

Almighty God says, "believing in God is not so simple as man may say. As God sees it, if you only have knowledge but do not have His word as life; if you are limited only to your own knowledge but cannot practice the truth or live out the word of God, then this is proof still that you have no heart of love for God, and shows that your heart belongs not to God. Coming to know God by believing in Him; this is the final goal and that which man shall seek. You must devote effort to living out the words of God so that they may be realized in your practice. If you have only doctrinal knowledge, then your faith in God will come to naught. Only if you then also practice and live out His word can your faith be considered complete and in accord with God’s will. "

Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement

　　If you believe in God, you must obey God, put the truth into practice and fulfill your duties. Additionally, you must understand the things you should experience. If you only experience dealing, discipline and judgment, if you only enjoy God, but you are unable to feel when God is disciplining you or dealing with you, this is unacceptable. Perhaps in this instance of refinement, you stand firmly where you are. This is still not enough, you must march forward. The lesson of loving God is endless, and there is never an end to it. People see believing in God as too simple, but once they gain some practical experience, they realize that belief in God is not as simple as people imagine. When God works to refine man, man suffers, his love of God becomes greater, and the more of God’s power is made plain in man. The less man’s refinement, the less his love of God, and the less God’s power is made plain in him. The greater his refinement and pain and the more his torment, the deeper his true love of God will be, the more genuine his faith in God will be, and the deeper his knowledge of God will be. In your experiences you will see that those who suffer great refinement and pain, and much dealing and discipline, have a deep love of God, and a more profound and insightful knowledge of God. Those who have not experienced any dealing have but a superficial knowledge, and can only say: “God is so good, He gives people graces so that they can enjoy Him.” If people have experienced dealing and discipline, then they would be able to speak the true knowledge of God. So the more wondrous is God’s work in man, the more valuable and significant it is; the more impenetrable it is to you and the more incompatible it is with your conceptions, the more God’s work is able to conquer you, gain you, and make you perfect. The meaning of God’s work is so great! If He did not refine man in this way, if He did not work by this means, then God’s work would be ineffectual and without significance. This is the reason behind the extraordinary meaning of His selection of a group of people during the last days. Previously, it was said that God would choose and gain this group. The greater the work He carries out within you, the deeper and purer your love, and the greater the work of God, the more you are able to appreciate His wisdom and the deeper is your knowledge of Him. During the last days, 6,000 years of God’s plan for management will come to an end. Can it possibly end just like that, so easily? Once He conquers mankind, will His work be over? Can it be so simple? People imagine that it’s so simple, but what God does is not that simple. No matter what part of God’s work it is, all is unfathomable to man. Were you able to fathom it, then God’s work would be without significance or value. The work done by God is unfathomable, it is too at odds with your conceptions, and the more irreconcilable it is with your conceptions, the more it proves that God’s work is meaningful; were it compatible with your conceptions, then it would be without meaning. Today, you feel that God’s work is too wondrous, and the more wondrous it is, the more you feel that God is unfathomable, and you see how great are God’s deeds. If it only took some perfunctory work to conquer man, after which this work was finished, then man would be incapable of beholding the significance of God’s work. Although you have received a little refinement today, it is of great benefit to the growth of your life—and so such hardship is of the utmost necessity to you. Today, you have received a little refinement, but afterward you will truly be able to behold the deeds of God, and ultimately you will say: “God’s deeds are so wondrous!” Such will be the words in your heart. Having experienced God’s refinement for a while (the trial of^[a]service-doers and the times of chastisement), some people ultimately said: “Believing in God is really difficult!” This “difficult” shows that God’s deeds are unfathomable, that God’s work is possessed of great meaning and value, and highly worthy of being treasured by man. If, after I have done so much work, you had not the slightest knowledge, then could My work still have value? I will make you say: Service to God is really difficult, the deeds of God are so wondrous, God truly is wise! He’s so lovely! If, after experiencing for a while, you are able to say such words, then this proves that you have gained God’s work in you. One day, when you’re abroad to spread the gospel and someone asks you: “How is your faith in God?” you will be able to say: “God’s actions are so marvelous!” As soon as they see you say this, they’ll feel that there’s something within you and that God’s actions truly are unfathomable. This is truly bearing witness. You will say that God’s work is full of wisdom, and His work in you has truly convinced you and conquered your heart. You will always love Him because He is more than worthy of mankind’s love! If you can speak to these things, you can move people’s hearts. All of this is bearing witness. If you are able to be a resounding witness, to move people to tears, that shows that you truly are one who loves God. That’s because you are able to act as a witness of love for God and God’s actions can be expressed through you. And through your expression, other people can seek out His actions, experience God, and they’ll be able to stand steady in whatever environment they find themselves in. Only bearing witness this way is genuinely bearing witness, and this is exactly what is required of you now. You should say that God’s actions are extremely valuable and worthy of being treasured by people, that God is so precious and so abundant, He can not only speak, but even more He can refine people’s hearts, bring them enjoyment, and He can gain them, conquer them, and perfect them. From your experience you will see that God is very lovable. So how much do you love God now? Can you really say these things from your heart? When you are able to express these words from the depths of your heart you will be able to bear witness. Once your experience has reached this level you will be capable of being a witness for God, and qualified for it. If you don’t reach this level in your experience, then you will still be too far off. It’s normal for you to have weaknesses in refinement, but after refinement you should be able to say: “God is so wise in His work!” If you are truly able to take in practical recognition of this, it is precious, and your experience is valuable.

How to Pray in Accordance With God’s Will

The Outcomes and the Content of Prayer

What can be effected through prayer? We have to be clear on this. First of all, prayer can enable man to understand God’s word, to understand the truth of His word. This is the first outcome. Secondly, prayer can enable us to understand God’s will, to understand what He requires of us. Thirdly, prayer can increase our faith; in times of trial and tribulation, in particular, prayer enables us to confidently walk the road ahead. Fourthly, prayer enables us to feel God as dear and beloved, and to grow a heart that loves God and satisfies Him. Finally, prayer enables us to truly know God, especially His disposition, His loveliness, and His wondrous works. The more we pray, the more we sense the wonder of God, the more we touch Him. Hence, the more we pray, the more we come to know God. Prayer is the only way for man to come into contact with God’s Spirit. Without prayer, you have no means to contact God’s Spirit. God sees into man’s heart, yet man cannot see Him. But through prayer we touch the work of the Holy Spirit, we understand the work of the Holy Spirit and know what the Holy Spirit does upon us and with what effects. This produces real knowledge of God. Prayer can effect so many outcomes upon us, and has then an immeasurable effect on our salvation through belief in God, on our entering the truth to our final perfection by God. A heart that truly loves God is won through prayer. When man does not pray or prays little, he does not know God, and even should he wish to love God he will fail. Through prayer we are able to know something of how God’s Spirit acts, what it is to be moved by God’s Spirit; we are able to know something of God. In this way, we can see His wondrousness, and a heart is born within us that loves Him. Thus, contacting God’s Spirit through prayer results in a genuine knowledge of God. Now, many people know how to pray, and have some experience of it. It is through this experience that they have learned how to have their prayers heard, and what kind of prayers God will not answer. I believe all of us have some experience and knowledge of this. What is the nature of prayers that God hears? It must be a prayer that accords with His will. If we pray to God to understand the truth, do you think this accords with His will? If we pray for guidance of the Holy Spirit, does this accord with His will? Such prayers are all in accordance with His will. Praying to seek out God’s will, to seek out what He requires of us, accords too with His will. Praying for God to deal with real difficulties within our family accords with His will: When we seek to entrust the unbelievers in our family to God for Him to save them, that accords too with His will. When we pray for our brothers and sisters, when we pray for those religious people to return to God, this all accords with God’s will. When we meet with persecution, with adversity or are faced with all kinds of disasters and we pray for God’s deliverance, this too accords with His will. You can say that all prayers that accord with His will, will be heard. Then what might you pray for that does not accord with His will? Some pray to be rich; do you think that accords with God’s will? Some pray for their children to get into university; does that accord with His will? Some pray for God to find them a good job with more money; does that accord with His will? Or some pray for God to find them a suitable spouse; does that accord with His will? None of these prayers accord with God’s will. It is clear now too what kind of prayers do not accord with His will, isn’t it? How should we then distinguish between those things we pray for that are in accordance with God’s will and those that are not? We must be able to distinguish. We have to figure out in our own hearts the things we encounter that can be brought before God in prayer. Since the work of God is to save man, if what we pray for is in contradiction to our seeking salvation from God, if it conflicts with that, and is not beneficial to our salvation, then we need not pray for such a thing. For example, if you wish to go among the unbelievers to get rich, is this not rebellion? Does praying for this accord with God’s will? For certain, it does not. Do not pray or ask for anything that betrays God, or that offends Him. So, we have to distinguish which things accord with God’s will and should be put in our prayers, and which things do not. Furthermore, there are times we encounter something, and we are faced with a choice: Do we choose to care for God’s will or care for and submit to the flesh? These are times when man is tested, and we see which road man will take; this is temptation coming upon us. Therefore, in praying we must make distinction; we should pray for whatever things we ought to. How do we judge which things we should pray for, according to what do we ascertain them? We discern them on the basis of God’s work, on the basis of His word. Judging from what the work is that God does, do the things we pray for conflict with God’s work? Do they interrupt His work, are they beneficial to our seeking salvation? We ascertain the things we should pray for on these grounds. And what problem does this touch upon? In praying before God man must possess conscience and reason, he must possess a pure and open, an honest heart; you cannot be deceitful with God, you must be pure and open. You must possess a heart that seeks the truth, a heart that thirsts for the truth. Most importantly, you must possess a heart that genuinely loves God, a heart obedient to God. Only in this way, when coming before Him to pray, are we pleasing to God. If the heart you bear within does not love God, is not obedient to Him, and yet you pray, saying “God, what am I to do in this matter?”, and you are not willing to obey, then you are seeking God’s agreement to your rebelling against Him, to contravening Him. Is this not an expression of blasphemy? Such prayer will not be pleasing to God, and He will say, “When you pray you still are disobeying Me, you still are going against Me, you are not seeking the truth at all, you have not an iota of obedience in you.” So, there are prayers that do not accord with God’s will, that go against God, that disobey Him, prayers that you must not pray to Him. If you pray thus, you are going against God; to put it seriously, this is blasphemy. What we bring before God to pray for must accord with His will; we must be genuinely seeking truth, and not testing God. There are some whose prayers are testing in nature; they are only too eager for God to fulfill their wishes, to satisfy their needs of the flesh, to satisfy their extravagant desires. If man comes before God to pray with such a heart, this is utterly unacceptable to Him for this is an expression of going against Him, of opposing Him. In addition, there are some meaningless things we need not pray for. What are the meaningless things? Some will pray to God as to whether they should read His word, or whether they should meet together; there are even some who will pray to Him as to whether they should eat, or whether they should go shopping. They ask God whether He agrees, whether He permits. I ask you, does such prayer have any meaning? Such people appear a little crazy; they’re not too normal. I have observed that some people who are afflicted by evil spirits pray much this way: They even pray to God about going to the restroom, about whether they’re allowed; when they go to eat, they ask Him whether they’re allowed. Even more absurd are those who when they go to do any little thing, have God do it for them: When they go out the door, they have God watch over their home, protect their property and keep thieves away. Don’t you think praying for these kinds of things is absurd? What kind of prayers a person puts before God proves what kind of person they are. What someone absurd prays for is also absurd.

From Classic Selections From Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life

The Testimony of a Christian | The Significance of Obeying God

Which Aspects Are Included in Obeying God

Obeying God includes several aspects. The first aspect, which is the most important, is to obey the work of God. Obeying the work of God includes eating and drinking and enjoying the entire word of God, especially the words of judgment and chastisement, the words of pruning and dealing, and the words that reveal mankind’s corrupt essence. These are the most important, but there are also various kinds of words of trials and refinements, such as the trial of “service-doers” and the trial of death. There are also words of particular judgments of God, words that have the quality of God’s chastisements and the quality of refining people, all of which are words that can cause men to undergo refinements. It takes some time for man to accept these words and obey them. He cannot obey them immediately after reading them. This involves obeying the work of God. If man is not able to properly obey the word of God, then he has no hope of being saved, for this is the most crucial point of obedience. To obey the work of God is to obey the judgments and chastisements of God, to obey the pruning and dealing of God, and to obey the trials and refinements of God in order to be saved. This is the first part of obeying God. The second aspect of obeying God is to obey God’s requests and put into practice the word of God. In carrying out His work, God requests many things from man, and each and every one of these words where God is requesting man to do something should be properly eaten, drunk and contemplated over by man. These requests by God should be met by man. This is the second aspect of obedience. This second aspect also includes putting the word of God into practice. God’s request for men “to be honest” is a major one, but receiving the judgments and chastisements of God is also His request. God also requests that you conduct yourself, that you stand witness for God, and that you follow Him to the end. There are many words from God that are requests for man. You ought to sort out all of the requests that God has of man, all of the things that He requires man to do, you should be able to know this by heart, and you should obey and enter into these words of requests. This is the second aspect of obedience. The third aspect of obedience is obeying the work of the Holy Spirit. This is also very crucial. Obeying the work of the Holy Spirit includes submitting to the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Submitting to the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit primarily refers to submitting to the work of the Holy Spirit in such aspects as understanding the word of God, fellowshiping the truth, the entry of man, and man’s knowledge of God. These aspects of obedience are the most crucial link to guarantee that you will be saved and enter into the word of God. Also included among the aspects of obeying the work of the Holy Spirit is obeying the arrangements of the man used by the Holy Spirit. This also constitutes an item of the work carried out by the Holy Spirit. This is the third aspect of obedience. The fourth aspect of obedience is to submit to the sovereignty and arrangements of God. Your environment, your family, these are what have been preordained by God long ago. In addition, the duties that you ought to perform in the house of God, the duties that you are suited to perform, are also preordained by God. For the duties that God’s family arranges for you to perform, you should carefully submit to them. For this aspect of obedience, the most important thing is that you should know the arrangements and predestination of God.