The Word the Holy Spirit Speaks to the Churches | "Knowing God's Work Today"

The Word the Holy Spirit Speaks to the Churches | "Knowing God's Work Today"

Introduction

Almighty God says, "The work done by God during this age is chiefly the provision of the words for the life of man, the disclosure of the substance of the nature of man and the corrupt disposition of man, the elimination of religious conceptions, feudal thinking, outdated thinking, as well as the knowledge and culture of man. This must all be laid bare and cleansed away through the words of God. In the last days, God uses words, and not signs and wonders, to make man perfect. He uses His words to expose man, to judge man, to chastise man, and to make man perfect, so that in the words of God, man comes to see the wisdom and loveliness of God, and comes to understand the disposition of God, so that through the words of God, man beholds the deeds of God."

“Pigeon” Mail

                              “Pigeon” Mail

                                           Su Jie, China

One day in 1999, after the meeting had ended, the pastor said to me, “Su Jie, here is a letter for you.” As soon as I saw it, I knew that it came from the church I established in Shandong. I took the letter and on the way home, I thought as I walked: This letter is so thick, could it be that they have encountered some difficulties? …

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.

17 God Exposes Man in Order to Perfect Man

Liu Jie Liu’an City, Anhui Province

In the course of performing our duty, we are often exposed by God because of not knowing ourselves. For example, some of us are exposed in position, some in money, some in emotion, some because of performing their duty perfunctorily and deceitfully, some because of being arrogant and self-conceited and testifying themselves, some because of being crooked and crafty and practicing deceit, some because of being selfish and being poor in humanity, and some because of being cowardly and having no will. When being exposed, mostly we show passive resistance, become discouraged and disappointed, refuse, escape, and even write ourselves off as hopeless and act recklessly. This not only shows that we are not good at pursuing the truth, but also exposes our arrogant, hypocritical, and crafty nature of being unable to face up to true facts, and it even more shows that we still do not know the purpose of God’s exposing man and the ways of God’s perfecting man.

The Principles of Accepting the Judgment and Chastisement of God’s Words

     The Principles of Accepting the Judgment and Chastisement of God’s Words

  1. You must acknowledge that God’s words are the absolute truth, that they are the reality of positive things whether they accord with people’s conceptions or not, and that this will never change even should heaven and earth turn upside down;

  2. No matter how God’s words judge and chastise you, so long as they accord somewhat with facts and there is truth to seek, then you should obey, and seek the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit;

  3. No matter how God tests or refines you, it is all done to save and change you, and you should obey and accept it, and seek to enter the reality of the truth;

  4. In experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement, you must examine yourself and know the truth of your own corruption and the essence of your nature; and you must accept the truth and have true repentance.

   Relevant Words of God:

  The truth is the most real of life’s aphorisms, and the highest of such aphorisms among all mankind. Because it is the requirement that God makes of man, and is the work personally done by God, thus it is called life’s aphorism. It is not an aphorism summed up from something, nor is it a famous quote from a great figure; instead, it is the utterance to mankind from the Master of the heavens and earth and all things, and not some words summed up by man, but the inherent life of God. And so it is called the highest of all life’s aphorisms.

  from “Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

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

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

Chapter 66. To Attain the Truth, You Must Learn From the People, Matters, and Things Around You

Chapter 66. To Attain the Truth, You Must Learn From the People, Matters, and Things Around You

  When you perform your duties, everybody should pray and fellowship together; the duty belongs to everyone as well as to each individual. Each individual, therefore, has a responsibility and an obligation to perform well. This responsibility is not for one alone but for all, so everyone must work hard together and put in extra effort to achieve it. You learn a little, I learn a little; you provide a little, I provide a little—in this way, the outcome of the duty will get better and better. Why do the unbelievers put so much strenuous effort into doing something?

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 Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment

The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment

 When he was being chastised by God, Peter prayed, “O God! My flesh is disobedient, and You chastise me and judge me. I rejoice in Your chastisement and judgment, and even if You do not want me, in Your judgment I behold Your holy and righteous disposition. When You judge me, so that others may behold Your righteous disposition in Your judgment, I feel content. If it can show forth Your disposition, and allow Your righteous disposition to be seen by all creatures, and if it can make my love of You purer, so that I can attain the image of one who is righteous, then Your judgment is good, for such is Your gracious will.

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.

Christian Testimony: Secret of Happy Family

By Jingzhen

    Since my marriage, I had the final say for everything in the family, and all my family members had to listen to me. Even after my daughter got married, I also had to ask and worry about her family’s problems. Only in this way did I feel steadfast and peaceful in my heart, and that the responsibility of a mother was fulfilled.

The Church of Almighty God | God Saved Me From the Verge of Death—Gas Poisoning

                                                    By Wenxin

    Around November of 2013, I lived in a rental apartment alone. Because it was rather cold, I began to build a fire. On the third evening after that, I went to bed a bit later than usual. I took the burnt briquette out of the stove and put it outside my bedroom, banked up the coal stove and also put a basin of water beside it, and then I went to sleep, leaving the door of my bedroom half closed.

The Church of Almighty God | God’s Goodwill in Accident

  By Jingxin, Japan

    One day, while I was making dumplings in the kitchen of our factory, a plastic basket suddenly fell out of the sky, hitting me on the head. My head buzzed and then was filled with a fierce pain. This sudden scene shocked the colleagues around me and they asked me to hurriedly step aside for a break. Later, my headache grew increasingly serious before I had to ask for leave to go home for some rest.

Believing in God Just for Blessings and Ascending to Heaven?

By Zhao Yu 

 Recently, once when I was browsing the web, I saw a book Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus. This title, striking and novel, immediately attracted me. Having believed in the Lord Jesus for so many years, I never thought about such questions: According to the present situation of my belief in the Lord, am I a believer or a fan? And do I have genuine faith in the Lord?

Short Sketch From the Christian Church | "The Police Pay a New Year Visit" | Eastern Lightning

Zheng Xinming, an elderly man of nearly seventy, is a devout Christian. Because of his faith in the Lord, he was detained and imprisoned, and sentenced to eight years. On his release, he was still listed by the Chinese Communist police as a target of focused monitoring. In particular, after the old man accepted Almighty God's work in the last days, the police came almost every day to terrorize, intimidate and disturb him. There was no way that Zheng Xinming could normally read the word of God at home, and even his family members shared his state of anxiety. Now it is New Year's Eve and the old man is at home reading God's word, not knowing what may happen …

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. 

Five Key Elements of being the Poor in Spirit | The Church of Almighty God

                                                            By Li Yang

    When I was practicing spiritual devotions this morning, I saw the following verse in the Bible: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3), and I thought: Why did the Lord Jesus ask people to be the poor in spirit? And why shall the poor in spirit enter into the kingdom of heaven? As I was contemplating this, some thoughts came to my mind: When the Lord Jesus came to do work, much of His work vastly differed from the work of Jehovah God.

Three Secrets to Easily Improve Interpersonal Relationships | The Church of Almighty God

                                                  By Chen Xiaoran 

    One day, I saw a problem on a gospel website, “Recently, there arose some problems in my interpersonal relationship with people around me. I always thought they had opinions and biases about me, and I was also dissatisfied with some acts of them. As the time went by, I gradually felt the relationships between them and me became ever more estranged. Even this situation also happened to my families. I had no idea how to get along well with them.

Confusion Was Solved, I Finally Returned to God | The Church of Almighty God

                                               By Xunqiu, Japan

    After getting married, I needed to face a new home environment. In order to protect my relationships with my husband’s family, I spoke and acted cautiously every day, fearing that I would make mistakes. So, I felt a lot of pressure in my heart. At that time, when I saw the believers in the Lord in my village lived with much joy, I just couldn’t figure that out: Why are they so delighted? Out of curiosity, I also went to the church to attend a meeting.