Testimony of a Christian: How She Overcame the Temptation to Have an Affair (Part 1)

By Xiyue, Henan Province

      One evening, Jingru was tidying her place.

“Ring, ring.” The phone began to ring. She answered it and a strange yet familiar voice sounded in her ear: “Hello! It’s Wang Wei. You’re home!”

      “Wang Wei?” Jingru was somewhat astonished: Why was he calling her now after so many years?

      “Yes … I’m home. What’s up?” asked Jingru in surprise.

      “Long time no see. I’d like to take you for a ride. I’m on my way to your place and will arrive soon. Wait outside your door for me!” said Wang Wei.

      After she’d hung up, Jingru’s heart began to race, and her thoughts immediately returned to those days at school …

     Jingru had not only grown to be pretty, but she also got good grades, and many boys in the school, including Wang Wei, pursued her. In order to get himself into Jingru’s world, Wang Wei employed all kinds of ways to get closer to her, like passing messages, writing letters and giving her presents to express his feelings for her. But Jingru was an obedient, sensible girl, and she didn’t want her studies to be affected or to disappoint her parent’s expectations of her because of some emotional distraction, and so she always adopted an indifferent attitude in the face of Wang Wei’s persistent pursuit. But Wang Wei didn’t give up just because Jingru gave him the cold shoulder, and several years later Wang Wei was still pursuing her just as he’d always done. His persistence began ever so slightly to move Jingru’s heart, but she was only slightly moved. Later, a few female classmates began to appear around Wang Wei, and they would follow him around all day long. Jingru’s tranquil heart began to surge, and she thought she could use this circumstance to test Wang Wei for a semester; if he remained unmoved by these girls and kept pursuing her, then she would relent to his pursuit …

God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II (Part Three)

From the beginning until today, only man has been capable of conversing with God. That is, among all living things and creatures of God, none but man has been able to converse with God. Man has ears that enable him to hear, and eyes that let him see, he has language, and his own ideas, and free will. He is possessed of all that is required to hear God speak, and understand God’s will, and accept God’s commission, and so God confers all His wishes upon man, wanting to make man a companion who is of the same mind with Him and who can walk with Him. Since He began to manage, God has been waiting for man to give his heart to Him, to let God purify and equip it, to make him satisfactory to God and loved by God, to make him revere God and shun evil. God has ever looked forward to and awaited this outcome. Are there any such people among the records of the Bible? That is, are there any in the Bible capable of giving their hearts to God? Is there any precedent before this age? Today, let us continue reading the accounts of the Bible and take a look at whether what was done by this figure—Job—has any connection to the topic of “giving your heart to God” that we’re talking about today. Let us see whether Job was satisfactory to God and loved by God.

What is your impression of Job? Citing original scripture, some people say that Job “feared God, and eschewed evil.” “Feared God, and eschewed evil”: Such is the original assessment of Job recorded in the Bible. If you used your own words, how would you pin down Job? Some people say that Job was a good and reasonable man; some say that he had true faith in God; some say that Job was a righteous and humane man. You have seen the faith of Job, which is to say, in your hearts you attach great importance to and are envious of Job’s faith. Today, then, let us look at what was possessed by Job that God is pleased with him so. Next, let us read the scriptures below.

The Testimony of a Christian｜How Can My Young, Brash, and Arrogant Self Get Along With My Grandmother?

An Qi

(Source: Megapixl)

　My name is An Qi. Before the age of six, I was living at my grandmother’s house. At the time, my grandmother was the person with whom I felt closest to. Each day when I went to the kindergarten, my grandmother decided which clothes I would wear and how I would comb my hair. I felt that my grandmother did these things the best. Gradually, I grew up and I started to disapprove of some of the things that my grandmother did. My grandmother also started to disapprove of me as well. Each time I went to her house, she would scold me. If she wasn’t nagging me on one thing, she would be nagging me about something else. I felt very upset.

　In 2016, it became very popular to wear a necklace around one’s collarbone. I had also bought one of these necklaces. One day, after school, I went happily to my grandmother’s home. When I got there, she squinted at me and disapprovingly said, “Look at what kind of gadget you have around your neck. It’s like a dog collar. Do you feel comfortable with it so tight around your neck?” Originally, I was feeling quite happy but after hearing her say this, I was no longer happy at all. I disgruntledly replied, “You’re so old. What do you understand? This is called fashion. Even if I explained it, you would not understand!” For this reason, I was still moody in the evening.

Christian Skit | "My Father, the Pastor" | A Debate on the Truth in a Christian Family

Impression after watching:

The Lord has promised that He will come again in the last days, and take us into The Kingdom Of Heaven, and we all yearn for the Lord's return, hope to know it at the first time and to welcome God’s appearance.  Isn't this the common desire and the common pursuit of us followers of God?

Chi Shou, a religious pastor who has been a believer in the Lord for forty years, has always held to the views that "all of the Lord's words and work are within the Bible," and that "belief in the Lord may not deviate from the Bible, and believing in the Bible means believing in the Lord." When it transpires that his daughter has accepted God's work of the last days, he makes a plan with his wife to stop her. On this day, their daughter returns home to bear them testimony to the gospel of the Lord's return, and a heated, witty, yet serious family debate thus ensues …

God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II (Part One)

During our last meeting we shared a very important topic. Do you remember what it was? Let Me repeat it. The topic of our last fellowship was: God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself. Is this an important topic to you? Which part of it is most important to you? God’s work, God’s disposition, or God Himself? Which one interests you most? Which part do you want to hear about most? I know it’s difficult for you to answer that question, because God’s disposition can be seen in every aspect of His work, and His disposition is revealed in His work always and in all places, and, in effect, represents God Himself; in God’s overall management plan, God’s work, God’s disposition, and God Himself are all inseparable from each other.

Christian Wang Dongdong's Account of His Experience of the CCP's Cruel Persecution

Impression after watching:

China, a country who declared the freedom of religion. In order to get more money, the CCP arrests and tortures Christian in the background. Finally, I know the true colors of the CCP after watching below movie.

Wang Dongdong started to believe in the Lord Jesus along with his parents since he was little. In 2001, his whole family accepted Almighty God’s kingdom gospel. In 2011, his elder brother was arrested because of believing in God. Wang Dongdong and his parents were forced to flee their home. In 2012 when he was in exile, he heard the news that his mother passed away due to sickness while hiding from the hunting of the police. Wang was arrested by the Chinese SWAT officers in 2013 because of preaching the gospel, and he was tortured by them for three months and eleven days. After his release, he had no choice but to flee abroad in order to escape from the CCP’s persecution.

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The Testimony of a Christian | A Youth Spent Without Regret

My understanding:

When facing temptations and seducement of Satan, we should use the truth to overcome Satan!

Xiaowen, Chongqing

　　“Love is a pure emotion, pure without a blemish. Use your heart, use your heart to love and feel and care. Love doesn’t set conditions or barriers or distance. Use your heart, use your heart to love and feel and care. If you love you don’t deceive, grumble, turn your back, look to get something in return” (“Pure Love Without Blemish” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). This hymn of God’s word once helped me get through the pain of a long and drawn-out life in prison that lasted 7 years and 4 months. Even though the CCP government deprived me of the most beautiful years of my youth, I have obtained the most precious and real truth from Almighty God and therefore have no complaints or regrets.

 　　In 1996 I received God’s exaltation and accepted Almighty God’s salvation in the last days. Through reading God’s words and gathering in fellowship, I determined that all God has said is truth, which is in complete contrast to all the knowledge and theories of this evil world. Almighty God’s word is the highest maxim for life. What made me more excited was that I could be simple and open and freely talk about anything with the brothers and sisters. I didn’t have the slightest need to protect myself against second guessing or being outwitted by people when interacting with them. I felt a comfort and happiness I had never felt before; I really liked this family. However, it wasn’t long before I heard that the country didn’t permit people to believe in Almighty God. This matter made me feel at a complete loss, because His word allowed people to worship God and walk the correct path of life; it allowed people to be honest. If everyone believed in Almighty God, then the whole world would be at peace. I really didn’t understand: Believing in God was the most righteous undertaking; why did the CCP government want to persecute and oppose believing in Almighty God to the point that they would arrest His believers? I thought: No matter how the CCP government persecutes us or how big social public opinion is, I have determined that this is the correct path of life and I will certainly walk on it to the end!

I don’t think believing in God is that complicated and that one doesn’t need to be too focused or too invested in it. So long as I keep going to church every week, do my devotions and give alms, and in the normal course of events also attend some activities organized by the church, then this is believing in God and I can be saved. I’d like to ask whether this conception I have is correct or not?

　　Question 2: I don’t think believing in God is that complicated and that one doesn’t need to be too focused or too invested in it. So long as I keep going to church every week, do my devotions and give alms, and in the normal course of events also attend some activities organized by the church, then this is believing in God and I can be saved. I’d like to ask whether this conception I have is correct or not?

　　Bible Verses for Reference:

　　The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Mat 11:12).

　　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).

The Testimony of a Christian | Almighty God Led Me Onto the Path of Obtaining Cleansing

Almighty God Led Me Onto the Path of Obtaining Cleansing | The Testimony of a Christian

Gangqiang, USA

　In 2007, due to a lot of pressure in my life, I came to Singapore by myself to work to make a living. All year round, the climate in Singapore is very hot, so every day I would sweat profusely when I was working. It was so rough that I suffered an unspeakable amount, and on top of that it was an unfamiliar life without any relatives or friends, so I thought it to be boring and tedious. One day in August, I received a gospel leaflet on my way home from work which read: “But the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you” (1Pe 5:10). Seeing these words gave me a warm feeling in my heart. Then a brother brought me to the church, and the brothers and sisters welcomed me cordially and served me delicious food. I had worked the better part of a year since leaving home, and the warmth of family and delicious home cooked food was something that I hadn’t enjoyed in such a long time. Since I was lonely and drifting aimlessly, hot tears immediately welled up in my eyes, and in that moment I had the feeling that I was back home. From then, the church was a place I need to go every Sunday.

God's will | Chapter 19. The Meaning of God’s Experiencing the Pain of the World

The Church of Almighty God | God's will | Chapter 19. The Meaning of God’s Experiencing the Pain of the World

God is incarnated to suffer on man’s behalf, and in so doing will bring about the wonderful destination that will follow for mankind. That stage of work completed by Jesus was only His becoming the likeness of sinful flesh and being crucified, His serving as a sin offering and redeeming all mankind, and this laid a foundation for mankind’s future entry into their wonderful destination. He took man’s sins upon Himself and became the likeness of sinful flesh and was crucified; He was crucified on behalf of all mankind, after which all of mankind was redeemed. He used His crucifixion and His precious blood to redeem mankind. His precious blood served as a sin offering, meaning that it served as a testimony that man may be without sin and may finally come before God: It was a counter move in the war against Satan. Now in this stage, God is to complete His work and bring the old age to a close. He will bring those of mankind who are left into their wonderful destination. So God has once again become flesh and, as well as conquering man, He has come to endure some suffering on man’s behalf so that their suffering will in the end be taken from them. All of man’s suffering will be removed from them by means of this testimony, this deed, which is God bearing witness for Himself and using this testimony and this bearing witness to defeat Satan, humiliate the devil, and bring about mankind’s wonderful destination. Some people say: “The work of the incarnation is still done by God Himself. It isn’t this flesh that does it, it is done under the control of the Spirit within.” Is it correct to say this? It is not correct. It has been said before that God incarnate’s work of conquest is done in normal humanity, that what you can see is normal humanity, when actually it is God Himself that is doing the work, and that the work this flesh does is being done by God Himself. This is how it was explained and fellowshiped. People often think that this flesh is just a tool or a shell. If God within Him speaks or controls Him, then this flesh speaks or acts, and doesn’t do anything without God’s control. If He is controlled to say something then He says something, otherwise He remains silent. Is this the situation? No, it isn’t. The most powerful explanation now is this: One aspect of God becoming flesh this time is that He has come to do the work of conquest and to bring this age to its end; another aspect is that the flesh’s experiencing the pain of the world is God Himself coming to experience the pain of the world—God’s flesh and God Himself are as one. This flesh is not a tool as people think Him to be, nor is He just a shell; neither is He a physical thing that can be controlled, as people think. This flesh is the embodiment of God Himself. People actually understand it too simply. If it is just fellowshiped in that way, then people will easily separate the flesh from the Spirit. Now people should understand another aspect: God incarnate has come to experience the pain of the world; all the tribulations and illnesses the incarnation suffers are things that He shouldn’t suffer. Some people think that, since He is an ordinary and normal flesh, then this suffering is unavoidable. They think: “People will have a headache and slight fever, and He will also have this. This is something that cannot be avoided, as He is an ordinary and normal flesh. He is not transcendent. He is an ordinary person and He should suffer whatever people suffer. He must feel heat as people do and be bitten by the cold, as people are; He must catch colds as people do….” If you think this, then you are only seeing the ordinariness and normality of the flesh. This normal flesh is just like man with no difference at all. In actual fact, all that He suffers has meaning. People will normally become ill, or suffer something else, and this is that which people ought to suffer. Corrupted people should suffer this way, and this is a normal law. Why does God incarnate endure this suffering? Should Jesus have been crucified? Jesus was a righteous man. According to the laws of that time and all the things He did, He shouldn’t have been crucified. So why was He? He was crucified so that all mankind could be redeemed. Has all the pain and all the persecution that the current incarnation has gone through happened by chance? Or has God arranged it all on purpose? It is neither that God has arranged it on purpose, nor has it happened by chance. It is that it has developed in accordance with normal laws. Why do I say this? It is because God has placed Himself in amongst man so that He can do His work freely. In the doing of His work He is just like man and suffers the same as man. If He were to arrange some pain intentionally, then He would suffer for a few days, but ordinarily He would not be distressed. That is to say that God does His work—His experiencing the pain of the world is not arranged on purpose, even less is it suffered unconsciously. It is that He has come to experience the pain of the world, to place Himself among man, to put Himself in the midst of man and endure the same pain as they do, to be treated equally, and not to be excepted from anything. Just as you have suffered persecution, does Christ not also suffer persecution? As you are hunted and pursued, is Christ not also hunted and pursued? People are afflicted by illnesses, so is His suffering then lessened? He is not excepted. Is this matter easy to understand? There are also some who think that God should endure this pain as He came to work in the nation of the great red dragon. Isn’t this also wrong? To God, there is no argument surrounding whether He should or shouldn’t suffer any pain; God said that He wished to experience the pain of the world and that, at the same time as suffering this pain, He would suffer it on man’s behalf. Then He would bring mankind into their wonderful destination, and Satan would be utterly convinced. To God, it is necessary for Him to endure this suffering. If He didn’t wish to suffer in this stage, if He just wanted to comprehend the pain of man and nothing more, then He could use a few people to do this in His stead. He could use a few apostles or the ones used by the Holy Spirit to take His place and report back to Him on their pain. Or He could use some special people to bear witness, cause them to endure the worst pain in the world and, if they could endure it, they could then bear this witness and Satan would be utterly convinced, and a future where mankind suffers no more would be brought about. Could God do this? Yes, He could do this. But the work of God Himself can only be done by Him. Though man could bear witness well, their witness would not resound with Satan, and it would say: “Now that You have become flesh, why do You not experience the pain of the world Yourself? …” That is to say, if God didn’t do this work Himself, then that kind of witness would not have sufficient power. The work of God must be done by He Himself; this is the only practical way. It can also be seen from this stage of God’s work that everything God does has meaning, that all the pain that is endured by the incarnation has meaning. You can see that nothing God does is done at random or at will, and that God doesn’t do anything that is of no use. The incarnation has come to do His work and to experience the pain of the world. It matters that God does this work, and it is very essential, both for mankind and for mankind’s future destination. It is all for the salvation of man, for the obtaining of man—these deeds are done and this effort is expended for man’s wonderful destination.

The Testimony of a Christian | The Tranquility of Victory and the Calm of Defeat —Obeying God Is Best

The Church of Almighty God | The Testimony of a Christian | The Tranquility of Victory and the Calm of Defeat —Obeying God Is Best

Ma Na, USA

　During a person’s life, facing success and failure is unavoidable. There are many people who are happy when they have success, and who are frustrated and pained when they face failure. There are even many people who stake all their efforts in wanting to reach a point at which all their hopes are fulfilled, but things are often not how people would like them to be. Because of this, many people think that this life is not as they want it to be. Previously, I also always relied on my own ability in the work I did, and all that I got from that was the pain of failure. But afterward, through experiencing some things, my perspective had a bit of a transformation: Tranquility in success, and calmness in failure—obeying the sovereignty and arrangements of God is the best, and one can also be liberated and free in life that way.

　

The Testimony of a Christian｜The Loss and Gain of Gatherings

The Church of Almighty God | The Testimony of a Christian｜The Loss and Gain of Gatherings

Guozi, USA

　My name is Guozi, and I’m a high school student studying abroad in the USA. I was born in a Christian family, and my mother accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days when I was one year old. I remember when I was very young that my mother would always say to me: “God created heavens, earth, and everything that exists. We humans were also created by God, and God loves us more than anything. Whenever something happens to you, remember to pray to Almighty God, and He will watch over and protect you.” So when I was very young I learned that God exists, and when anything happened to me and I prayed to God, I experienced God’s protection for me. But truly having knowledge of God and God’s work was something I gradually gained in the course of attending gatherings and fellowshiping about the truth together with brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God and practicing entering into the word of God …

　

The Testimony of a Christian | Breaking Through Satan’s Tight Encirclement (Part 2)

The Church of Almighty God | The Testimony of a Christian | Breaking Through Satan’s Tight Encirclement (Part 2)

Zhao Gang

My wife told the sisters what Brother Guan had said to us when he came to our house, and Sister Zhang asked me how I felt about this whole thing. So I told the sisters about the weakness that I was feeling and about the knowledge that I had just come across. Sister Zhang smiled, saying: “Thanks be to God! This is such a pure understanding, this is God’s guidance!” My wife asked, confused, “Since we haven’t made any missteps, why is Brother Guan saying those things? He is a major leader who has believed in the Lord for many years!” I looked at my wife and said: “Hey, he just wants us to come back to our former church!” Sister Zhang smiled, saying: “Right now all that we are looking at is their outward appearance, but we haven’t looked into the substance of their nature! The Lord Jesus once said: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). “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” (Matthew 23:27). If you look at someone from their outward appearance, then the Pharisees were very loyal in their service to God. In people’s minds the Pharisees were devout servants to God, and they were the most trustworthy of religious leaders. However, when the Lord Jesus came to carry out His work, the God-resisting nature of the Pharisees was revealed. It was these Pharisees who frantically resisted and condemned the work of the Lord Jesus. They fabricated all kinds of rumors and bore false witness to deceive the common people: They said that the Lord Jesus was deceiving all under heaven, that He cast out demons through Beelzebub, the prince of the demons. And once the Lord Jesus was resurrected three days after being nailed to the cross, they bribed soldiers to spread rumors about the Lord Jesus’ body being stolen away by His disciples. The Pharisees fabricated all kinds of lies and used all the tricks at their disposal to block people from seeking out and inspecting the true way. Their goal was to suppress the work of God so that they could forever hold dominion over God’s chosen people. Although they appeared devout on the outside, in essence they hated the truth and were antichrists who stood as enemies to God. It’s just like what the Lord Jesus said when He exposed and condemned them: “You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33). So now think about it. Are these religious leaders of today any different from the Pharisees?” As I took this in, the sisters found a passage of Almighty God’s word for me to read: “Those who read the Bible in grand churches recite the Bible every day, yet not one understands the purpose of God’s work. Not one is able to know God; moreover, not one is in accord with the heart of God. They are all worthless, vile men, each standing on high to teach God. Though they brandish the name of God, they willfully oppose Him. Though they label themselves believers of God, they are ones who eat the flesh and drink the blood of man. All such men are devils who devour the soul of man, demons who purposefully disturb those who try to step onto the right path, and stumbling blocks that impede the path of those who seek God. Though they are of ‘robust flesh,’ how are their followers to know that they are antichrists who lead man in opposition to God? How are they to know that they are living devils who specially seek souls to devour?” (“All Who Do Not Know God Are Those Who Oppose God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The sisters gave me a detailed fellowship according to these words of God, dissecting all the actions of religious leaders along with the substance of their nature, until finally I came to realize that by persistently disturbing and obstructing us from believing in Almighty God and even threatening and menacing us, the leaders were not in order to protect us, rather, they did this so that they could hold dominion over God’s chosen people, so that we could treat them as if they were God, worshiping and enshrining them. So actually, they are just like the Pharisees. They all are antichrists who hate the truth and resist God. God has come to save us, but they think up every possible method to stop us from accepting God’s work and to stop us from reading God’s words. Isn’t this the same as them pulling us down into hell? They truly are so malicious! If it weren’t for Almighty God’s words revealing the substance of how these people resist God and fight with God over man, then I would have nearly fallen for their tricks, ruining my own chance of receiving salvation. At this time my wife said in astonishment: “As it turns out they were here to do harm to us! Humph! These people really won’t finish until they drag us down into hell! I will no longer believe what they say.”

The Testimony of a Christian | The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit (Part 2)

The Church of Almighty God | The Testimony of a Christian | The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit (Part 2)

Yuan Zhi, Brazil

Opening Up My Heart and Seeing the Lord’s Face

　At night, while I am tossing and turning restlessly in bed, I think, “I must find Sister Yang, whom I have blacklisted. If I can find her, I would definitely be able to find Brother Zhang from The Church of Almighty God. I recall that Sister Yang is someone who truly believes in God. All along, she has investigated the work of Almighty God in the last days. Right now, she should have already understood a lot. I want to know how her investigation is coming along. Through the help of some friends, two days later, with difficulty, I found Sister Yang’s Facebook account. I was glad that she was not angry at me for blocking her. After I contacted her, she told me that she had already investigated things quite clearly. Almighty God is the return of Jesus. She also happily connected me with Brother Zhang.

#7 The Church of Almighty God Never Proclaims the "Doomsday" - Massimo Introvigne

#7 The Church of Almighty God Never Proclaims the "Doomsday" - Massimo Introvigne

On November 20–21, 2017, in just two days, seventeen reports attacking The Church of Almighty God (CAG) were published intensively on Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po, the mouthpiece media of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Hong Kong (HK), citing the rumors and fallacies consistently fabricated by the CCP to discredit and condemn the CAG. The reports attacked and slandered the CAG with a fraudulent accusation of “proclaiming the end of the world.” But was the idea of apocalypse produced by the CAG? What’s the attitude of the CAG toward the idea of apocalypse? Prof. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist, the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), makes comment on this.

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Only by Experiencing Refinement Can Man Truly Love God

Utterances of Almighty God-Only by Experiencing Refinement Can Man Truly Love God

　　How should man love God during refinement? Having experienced refinement, during refinement people are able to truly praise God and to see just how much they are lacking. The greater your refinement, the more you are able to renounce the flesh; the greater their refinement, the more people’s love for God. This is what you should understand. Why must people be refined? What effect does it aim to achieve? What is the significance of God’s work of refinement in man? If you truly seek God, then having experienced His refinement to a certain point you will feel that it is so good, and that it is of the utmost necessity. How should man love God during refinement? By using the resolve to love God to accept His refinement: During refinement you are tormented inside, as if a knife were being twisted in your heart, yet you are willing to satisfy God using your heart, which loves Him, and you are unwilling to care for the flesh. This is what is meant by practicing the love of God. You hurt inside, and your suffering has reached a certain point, yet you are still willing to come before God and pray, saying: “O God! I cannot leave You. Although there is darkness within me, I wish to satisfy You; You know my heart, and I would that You invest more of Your love within me.” This is practice during refinement. If you use the love of God as the foundation, refinement can bring you closer to God and make you more intimate with God. Since you believe in God, you must hand over your heart before God. If you offer up and lay your heart before God, then during refinement it will be impossible for you to deny God, or leave God. In this way your relationship with God will become ever closer, and ever more normal, and your communion with God will become ever more frequent. If you always practice in this way, then you will spend more time in God’s light, and more time under the guidance of His words, there will also be more and more changes in your disposition, and your knowledge will increase day by day. When the day comes and God’s trials suddenly befall you, you will not only be able to stand by God’s side, but will also be able to bear testimony to God. At that time, you will be like Job, and Peter. Having borne testimony to God you will truly love Him, and will gladly lay down your life for Him; you will be God’s witness, and one who is beloved by God. Love that has experienced refinement is strong, and not weak. Regardless of when or how God subjects you to His trials, you are able to care not whether you live or die, to gladly cast aside everything for God, and to happily endure anything for God—and thus your love will be pure, and your faith real. Only then will you be someone who is truly loved by God, and who has truly been made perfect by God.

Almighty God’s Words-Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God

Almighty God’s Words-Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God

　　It is Heaven’s law and earth’s principle to believe in God and know God, and today—during an age when God incarnate personally does His work—is a particularly good time to know God. Satisfying God is achieved upon the foundation of understanding God’s will, and to understand God’s will, it is necessary to know God. This knowledge of God is the vision that a believer must have; it is the basis of man’s belief in God. If man does not have this knowledge, then his belief in God is vague, and lies in empty theory. Though it is the resolution of people like this to follow God, they obtain nothing. All those who obtain nothing in this stream are the ones who will be eliminated, and they are the people who are merely doing the bare minimum. Whichever step of God’s work you experience, you should be accompanied by a mighty vision. Without such a vision, it would be difficult for you to accept each step of new work, for man is incapable of imagining the new work of God, it is beyond man’s conception. And so without a shepherd to tend to man, without a shepherd to fellowship about the visions, man is incapable of accepting this new work. If man cannot receive the visions, then he cannot receive the new work of God, and if man cannot obey God’s new work, then man is incapable of understanding God’s will, and so his knowledge of God amounts to nothing. Before man carries out the words of God, he must know the words of God, that is, understand God’s will; only in this way can God’s words be carried out accurately and according to God’s heart. This must be possessed by everyone who seeks the truth, and is the process that must be experienced by everyone who tries to know God. The process of knowing the words of God is the process of knowing God, and also the process of knowing the work of God. And so, knowing the visions not only refers to knowing the humanity of God incarnate, but also includes knowing the words and work of God. From the words of God people come to understand God’s will, and from the work of God they come to know God’s disposition and what God is. Belief in God is the first step to knowing God. The process of advancing from the initial belief in God to the most profound belief in God is the process of knowing God, and the process of experiencing the work of God. If you only believe in God for the sake of believing in God, and do not believe in God in order to know God, then there is no reality to your belief, and it cannot become pure—of this there is no doubt. If, during the process by which he experiences God, man gradually comes to know God, then his disposition will gradually change, and his belief will become increasingly true. In this way, when man achieves success in belief in God, he will completely gain God. God went to such great lengths to become flesh for the second time and personally do His work so that man would be able to know Him, and would be able to see Him. Knowing God[a] is the final effect to be achieved at the end of God’s work; it is God’s final requirement of mankind. He does this for the sake of His final testimony, and so that man may finally and completely turn to Him. Man can only love God by knowing God, and to love God he must know God. No matter how he seeks, or what he seeks to gain, he must be able to achieve the knowledge of God. Only in this way can man satisfy God’s heart. Only by knowing God can man truly believe in God, and only by knowing God can he truly revere and obey God. Those who do not know God shall never truly obey and revere God. Knowing God includes knowing God’s disposition, understanding God’s will, and knowing what God is. Yet whichever aspect of knowing God it is, each requires man to pay a price, and requires the will to obey, without which no one would be able to follow to the end. The work of God is too incompatible with the conceptions of man, God’s disposition and what God is are too difficult for man to know, and all that God says and does is too incomprehensible to man; if man wishes to follow God, but is unwilling to obey God, then man will gain nothing. From the creation of the world until today, God has done much work that is incomprehensible to man and which man has found hard to accept, and God has said much that makes the conceptions of man difficult to heal. Yet He has never ceased His work because man has too many difficulties; He has carried on working and speaking, and even though great numbers of “warriors” have fallen by the wayside, He is still doing His work, and continues to choose group after group of people who are willing to obey His new work. He does not pity those fallen “heroes,” but instead treasures those who accept His new work and words. But to what end does He work in this way, step-by-step? Why is He always eliminating and choosing people? Why does He always employ such method? The aim of His work is for man to know Him, and thus be gained by Him. The principle of His work is to work on those who are able to obey the work He does today, and not to work on those who obey His past work, but oppose His work of today. This is the very reason why He has eliminated so many people.

The Church of Almighty God | Movie clip (5) - Are the Pastors and Elders of the Religious World Truly Appointed by the Lord?

　　God personally gives testimony to everyone He appoints and makes use of. At the very least, they all receive the confirmation of the work of the Holy Spirit, exhibit the fruits of the Holy Spirit's work, and can help God's chosen people receive the provision of life and true shepherding. Because God is righteous and holy, everyone He appoints and uses must accord with God's will. Pastors and elders from the religious world all lack the word of God as testimony, and also lack the confirmation of the work of the Holy Spirit. So how could pastors and elders within the religious world be personally appointed and used by God?

The Church of Almighty God Is a Test of Religious Freedom in Hong Kong - Massimo Introvigne

The Church of Almighty God Is a Test of Religious Freedom in Hong Kong - Massimo Introvigne

On November 20–21, 2017, in just two days, seventeen reports attacking The Church of Almighty God (CAG) were published intensively on Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po, the mouthpiece media of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Hong Kong (HK), citing the rumors and fallacies consistently fabricated by the CCP to discredit and condemn the CAG. These reports criticized HK’s present approval system for civil society groups as too simple and loose, compared to that during the British colonial period, when applications for the registration of societies must be reviewed by the Special Branch of MI5. With that comparison, they questioned the legitimacy of the registration of the CAG in HK. Prof. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist, the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), makes comment on this.

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