61. The Principles of Pursuing the Truth

61. The Principles of Pursuing the Truth

1. You must take obtaining the work of the Holy Spirit on the foundation of obeying God’s work as your principle, and only in this way will your pursuit of the truth be effective;

2. You must establish a normal relationship with God, obtain the perfection of the work of the Holy Spirit, and obey and closely follow the leadership and shepherding of the man used by the Holy Spirit;

3. You must dedicate your life to God. You must suffer and pay the price for the sake of fulfilling your duty to your utmost ability and upholding God’s work, so that God’s will may be carried out;

4. You must walk the path of Peter, do your utmost to pursue the truth and seek to love God, go by God’s words in all things and never follow false leaders or antichrists.

3. The Principles of Pursuing to Know God

                       The Principles of Pursuing to Know Go

  1. You must eat and drink all of God’s words to reach an understanding of the truth, and to know the significance and purpose of the three stages of God’s work;

  2. You must obey God’s judgment and chastisement, and trials and refinement, to reach a knowledge of God’s righteous disposition and life essence;

  3. You must obtain the guidance of the work of the Holy Spirit and walk Peter’s path of pursuing the truth and being perfected, and be able to seek a true love of God;

  4. You must practice exalting God and bearing witness for God according to God’s words and the truth, and you must use the truth to resolve problems in order to bring people before God.

   Relevant Words of God:

  The effects of the lesson of knowing God cannot be achieved in one or two days: Man must accumulate experiences, undergo suffering, and have true obedience. First of all, start from the work and words of God. You must understand what knowing God includes, how to achieve the knowledge of God, and how to see God during your experiences. This is what everyone must do when they have yet to know God. No one can grasp the work and words of God straight away, and no one can achieve a knowledge of God’s entirety in a short time. What’s required is the necessary process of experience, without which no one would be able to know God or truly follow God. The more work that God does, the more that man knows Him. The more at odds the work of God is with the conceptions of man, the more man’s knowledge of Him is renewed and deepened. If the work of God were to remain forever unchanged, then man would have but a small knowledge of God. From the creation of the world until today, you must know clearly the visions of what God did during the Age of Law, what He did during the Age of Grace, and what He does during the Age of Kingdom. You must know the work of God.

  from “Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

God Himself, the Unique X God Is the Source of Life for All Things (IV)

                        God Himself, the Unique X

                        God Is the Source of Life for All Things (IV)

  Today, we are communing a special topic. For each and every one of you, there are only two main things that you need to know, experience and understand—and what are these two things? The first is people’s personal entry into life, and the second relates to knowing God. Today I give you a choice: Choose one. Would you like to hear about a topic that relates to people’s personal life experience, or would you like to hear one about knowing God Himself? And why do I give you such a choice? Because, today, I have in mind to commune some new things to you about knowing God.

The Principles of Eating and Drinking God’s Word in Congregation

           The Principles of Eating and Drinking God’s Word in Congregation

  1. One must eat and drink God’s word strictly according to the principles as stipulated by the work arrangements from the above in order to keep apace with the Holy Spirit’s work.

  2. One must eat and drink God’s word in combination with the existing problems of the church and the actual situations of the majority of God’s chosen people, with emphasis on solving the problems with the truth.

  3. Conduct eating and drinking of God’s word with piety. Be quiet before God, pray and ponder on God’s word earnestly so as to receive the Holy Spirit’s work and understand the truth.

  4. The purpose of congregating to eat and drink God’s word is to understand the truth, resolve problems and enter into the reality of the truth. It must not devolve into religious rituals and ceremonial procedures.

  Relevant Words of God:

  The work of the Holy Spirit changes from day to day, rising higher with each step; the revelation of tomorrow becomes even higher than today’s, step by step climbing ever higher. Such is the work by which God perfects man. If man cannot keep pace, then he may be forsaken at any time. If man does not have an obedient heart, then he cannot follow to the end. … God abides not by the rules, nor does He treat any stage of His work as unchanging. Rather, the work done by God is ever newer and ever higher. His work becomes more and more practical with each step, more and more in line with the actual needs of man. Only after man experiences this kind of work can he attain the final transformation of his disposition. Man’s knowledge of life grows ever higher, therefore the work of God likewise becomes ever higher. Only in this way can man reach perfection and be fit for God’s use. … In God’s work, He supplies you through His word. When you obey and accept His word, then the Holy Spirit shall surely work in you. The Holy Spirit works exactly in the way I speak. Do as I have said, and the Holy Spirit will promptly work in you. I release a new light for you to see and bring you into the present light. When you walk into this light, the Holy Spirit will immediately work in you. Some may be recalcitrant and say, “I simply will not do as you say.” Then I tell you that now this is the end of the road. You have withered away and have no more life. Therefore, in experiencing the transformation of your disposition, it is most crucial to keep pace with the present light.

  from “The Truly Obedient Shall Surely Be Gained by God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

7 On How to Achieve Results in Reading God’s Word

Lu Ming Nanyang City, Henan Province

When God is incarnated in the end time, he does the work of the word, and through the word, he conquers man, perfects man, and gains man. If we want to be saved and gained by God, the most fundamental thing is to read God’s word. However, now most brothers and sisters are still unable to achieve the due results in reading God’s word, so they are slow in life entering in. Although they have believed in God for several years, they have not understood much truth, even less gained the transformation of their life disposition. Then, how can we achieve results in reading God’s word?

77 Christ of the Last Days Brings the Way of Eternal Life | The Church of Almighty God

The Hymn of God's Word
Christ of the Last Days
Brings the Way of Eternal Life

I
God Himself is life and truth,
and His life and truth are intertwined.
Those who gain not His truth,
gain not life.

1 How to Pursue to Be an Honest Person

Miaoxiao Anyang City, Henan Province

In the past, when reading in God’s word that we were required to be an honest person, many brothers and sisters thought that it was not hard to be an honest person and that as long as one told the truth without cheating others in everything, he was an honest person. Most people did not meditate or seek whether they had lived up to the standards of an honest person, and even less did they pay attention to entering into being an honest person. Thus, the matter of practicing being an honest person was shelved. Recently, through the man’s fellowship “The Four Indices People Have to Grasp in Pursuing the Truth to Gain the Transformation of Their Disposition,” we have clearly realized the importance and crucialness of being an honest person, knowing that being an honest person is the prerequisite and the foundation for the transformation of our disposition and is the start of pursuing the transformation of our disposition. Because God likes honest people and loathes crafty people, only if we begin by practicing and entering into being an honest person will we be able to establish a normal relationship with God, and will we easily communicate with God and receive the working of the Holy Spirit. If we have no entering in in being an honest person, we cannot have transformation of our disposition, even less can we be saved and perfected by God.

Questions and Answers About the Truth of Incarnation | The Church of Almighty God

           Questions and Answers About the Truth of Incarnation

Question 1: I’ve believed in the Lord for many years. Although I know the Lord Jesus is the God incarnate, I still don’t understand much about the truth of His incarnation. If the Lord comes again and appears just as He did then, working as the Son of man, we won’t be able to recognize Him, and we can’t welcome His coming. The incarnation truly is a mystery. Very few people can understand the truth of it. Please fellowship about what incarnation truly is.

The Church of Almighty God | Reflection on Getting Lost

                                                     By Xiaowei

    It was six o’clock at dusk when I came out from a sister’s house, and the evening lights were already lit. The street was full of traffic and people. I mounted my electric scooter and joined them carefully. Owing to my near-sightedness, I felt a little difficult when I rode through the crowd. In addition, I had only moved here and was not familiar with this road at all. 

Thanksgiving Day, Speaking of Thanksgiving | The Church of Almighty God

                                             Cheng Hang, United States

    Thanksgiving Day means giving thanks to God for the blessing of the harvest. In September 1620, there were 102 persecuted Puritans from England in the ship named “Mayflower” sailing across the seas to Americas. Because of exposure, tiredness and infectious diseases, there were only about 50 people left.When desperate, they learned fishing, hunting, farming and feeding turkey from Indians.

125 Almighty God Saved Me, a Blind and Ignorant Person | The Church of Almighty God

                                                       Li Jinzhi
                                          Fuxin City, Liaoning Province
    In May 1990, I accepted Jesus in the Three-Self sect because of illness. In 1993, I turned to the Church of Truth and later became a junior leader there.
    In July 1999, our church leader told us at a meeting, “In recent years, a biggest ‘heresy,’ ‘cult,’ called ‘Eastern Lightning,’ has appeared in mainland China. They preach that God has come, and as a female. The spirit in them is very powerful.

Interpretation of the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Utterances

  Without a close reading, it is impossible to detect anything in the utterances of these two days; in fact, they should have been spoken in one day, yet God divided them across two days. That is to say, the utterances of these two days form a single whole, but to make it easier for people to accept them, God divided them across two days to give people a chance to breathe.

To Give Credence to Rumor Is to Lose God’s Salvation of the Last Days | The Church of Almighty God

To Give Credence to Rumor Is to Lose God’s Salvation of the Last Days

    Whenever they hear someone talking about Almighty God’s gospel of the last days, many brothers and sisters within the church are unable to listen and don’t dare accept what is said because they have been startled by sensationalized rumor.

The Significance For God Making Clothes for Adam and Eve | The Church of Almighty God

The image originated from the internet source

                                                 By Xiangyi

    I remembered that in the first biology class in middle school, our teacher once asked us what the mankind’s ancestors’ first piece of clothing was made of. At that time, my classmates offered various answers. Some said that it was made of grass; some said that it was made of linen. …

3 Yesterday’s Resistance, Today’s Remorse | The Church of Almighty God

                                                   Wei Shuyao

                                        Xinyi City, Jiangsu Province

    I was formerly a leader’s assistant in the Justification by Faith Church. I had believed in Jesus for over twenty years and been trained in a theological seminary, so I was very much looked up to by the brothers and sisters in our churches. We were in charge of over thirty churches and had contact with the churches in Beijing, Guangdong, Shandong, Hubei, and other places. The churches had been very prosperous a few years before, but somehow they turned more and more desolate in recent years.

126 Almighty God’s Love Melted My Long-frozen Heart | The Church of Almighty God

                                              Zhang Zhongyou

                                    Shenyang City, Liaoning Province

    I am from Shenyang City, and was a leader of the True Jesus Church. In 1995, a flood brought our family business to the verge of breakdown, so I went to a Christian church to seek a tower of strength. In the second half of 1996, I entered the True Jesus Church.

VI Questions and Answers About Salvation and Final Salvation | The Church of Almighty God

 

Question 7: If we reject Almighty God’s work of judgment, can we become someone who does the heavenly Father’s will and enter the kingdom of heaven?

    Answer: If we only accept the Lord Jesus’ redemptive work in the Age of Grace, but reject Almighty God’s work of judgment and chastisement in the last days, then we can never free from sin and become someone who does heavenly Father’s will and enters God’s kingdom.

Can All the Believers in God Enter the Kingdom of Heaven? | The Church of Almighty God

picture of The church of Almighty God

                                              By Zhang Min

    I saw the Lord Jesus said in the Bible, “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” (Matthew 7:22-23). Every time I read these verses, I would be puzzled: Since we believed in the Lord, we’ve suffered much and paid the price in preaching the Lord’s gospel.

Ⅱ Questions and Answers About the Way in Which the Lord Returns | The Church of Almighty God

Question 2: I have been a Christian for half of my life. I have worked hard for the Lord all along and waited for His coming again. Why didn’t the Lord reveal to me when He came? The Lord cannot possibly forsake me. I am very confused by that. I would like to know what you think.

God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III

These several fellowships have had a great impact on every single person. As of now, people can finally really feel the true existence of God and that God is actually very close to them. Although people have believed in God for many years, they have never truly understood His thoughts and ideas as they do now, neither have they truly experienced His practical deeds as they do now. Whether it’s knowledge or actual practice, most people have learned something new and achieved a higher understanding, and they have realized the error in their own past pursuits, realized the superficiality of their experience and that too much is not in line with God’s will, and realized that what man most lacks is knowledge of God’s disposition. This knowledge on the part of people is a type of emotional knowledge; to rise to the level of rational knowledge requires a gradual deepening and strengthening through their experiences. Before man truly understands God, subjectively it could be said that they do believe in the existence of God in their hearts, but they have no real understanding of specific questions such as what kind of God He actually is, what His will is, what His disposition is, and what His real attitude toward mankind is. This greatly compromises people’s faith in God—their faith simply cannot achieve purity or perfection. Even if you are face to face with God’s word, or feel that you have encountered God through your experiences, it still cannot be said that you completely understand Him. Because you don’t know God’s thoughts, or what He loves and what He hates, what makes Him angry and what brings Him joy, you do not have a true understanding of Him. Your faith is built on a foundation of vagueness and imagination, based on your subjective desires. It is still far from an authentic belief, and you are still far from being a true follower. Explanations of the examples from these Bible stories have allowed humans to know God’s heart, what He was thinking at every step in His work and why He did this work, what His original intention and His plan were when He did it, how He achieved His ideas, and how He prepared for and developed His plan. Through these stories, we can gain a detailed, specific understanding of God’s every specific intention and every real thought during His six thousand years of management work, and His attitude toward humans at different times and in different eras. Understanding what God was thinking, what His attitude was, and the disposition He revealed as He faced every situation, can help every person more deeply realize His true existence, and more deeply feel His realness and authenticity. My goal in telling these stories is not so that people can understand biblical history, nor is it to help them become familiar with the books of the Bible or the people in it, and it’s especially not to help people understand the background of what God did during the Age of Law. It is to help people understand God’s will, His disposition, and every little part of Him, and gain a more authentic and more accurate understanding and knowledge of God. This way, people’s hearts can, little by little, open up to God, become close to God, and they can better understand Him, His disposition, His essence, and better know the true God Himself.