Do You Know What Principles You Should Understand When Making Offerings to God?

Do You Know What Principles You Should Understand When Making Offerings to God?

                                         Li Hui

Because of some trouble at home, in 1997 I began to believe in the Lord Jesus. Afterward, through practicing the Lord’s words, there was no longer any arguing at home. The Lord saved my family, saved me from my pain and gave me hope in life.

Believing in God Should Focus on Reality, Not Religious Rituals

Believing in God Should Focus on Reality, Not Religious Rituals

How many religious customs do you observe? How many times have you rebelled against the word of God and gone your own way? How many times have you put into practice the word of God because you are truly considerate of His burdens and seek to fulfill His desire? Understand the word of God and put it into action. Be principled in your actions and deeds; this is not abiding by rules or to do so grudgingly just for show. Rather, this is the practice of truth and living by the word of God. Only practice such as this satisfies God. Any custom that pleases God is not a rule but the practice of truth.

Does the Trinity Exist?

                         Does the Trinity Exist?

It was only after the truth of Jesus become flesh came to be that man realized this: It is not only the Father in heaven, but also the Son, and even the Spirit. This is the conventional notion man holds, that there is a God such as this in heaven: a Trinity that is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all in one. All mankind has these notions: God is one God, but comprises three parts, what all those grievously entrenched in conventional notions deem to be the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Only those three parts made one is all of God. Without the Holy Father, God would not be whole. Similarly, neither would God be whole without the Son or the Holy Spirit. In their notions, they believe that neither the Father alone nor the Son alone can be deemed God. Only the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together can be deemed God Himself. Now, all religious believers, including each and every follower among you, hold this belief. Yet, as for whether this belief is correct, none can explain, for you are always in a fog of confusion about the matters of God Himself. Though these are notions, you do not know whether they are right or wrong, for you have become too grievously infected by religious notions. You have accepted too deeply these conventional notions of religion, and this poison has seeped too deep within you. Therefore, so too in this matter have you succumbed to this pernicious influence, for the Trinity simply does not exist. That is, the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit simply does not exist. These are all conventional notions of man, and the fallacious beliefs of man. Throughout many centuries, man has believed in this Trinity, conjured up by notions in the mind of man, fabricated by man, and never before seen by man. Throughout these many years, there have been many spiritual greats who have explained the “true meaning” of the Trinity, but such explanations of the Trinity as three distinct consubstantial persons have been vague and unclear, and all are befuddled by the “construct” of God. No great man has ever been able to offer a thorough explanation; most explanations pass muster in terms of reasoning and on paper, but not a single man has a fully clear understanding of its meaning. This is because this great Trinity man holds in the heart simply does not exist. For none have ever seen the true countenance of God or have any been fortunate enough to ascend to the abode of God for a visit so as to examine what items are present in the place where God lies, to determine exactly how many tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of generations are in the “house of God” or to investigate just how many parts compose the inherent construct of God. What mainly needs to be examined is: the age of the Father and the Son, as well as the Holy Spirit; the respective appearances of each person; exactly how is it that They split up, and how is it that They are made one. Unfortunately, in all these many years, not a single man has been able to determine the truth of these matters. They all simply conjecture,

The Principles of Praying to Associate With God

The Principles of Praying to Associate With God

1. Praying to associate with God must be established on the foundation of eating and drinking God’s words; you must pray, seek the truth and associate with God within God’s words;

2. Prayer must be done to achieve an understanding of the truth, to grasp God’s will and to obey God, and not for the sake of engaging in religious ritual to deceive God;

3. Prayer is done to obtain the work of the Holy Spirit and to establish a normal relationship with God, to gain the Holy Spirit’s guidance and to reach a real association with God;

4. You must practice and enter into all the enlightenment, illumination and guidance gained from the Holy Spirit during prayer, and do your utmost to hold onto it—this is an important principle of obeying God.

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.

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

Christians Believe in God, Regularly Attending Gatherings Cannot Be Neglected!

    Christians Believe in God, Regularly Attending Gatherings Cannot Be Neglected!

                                                 Xiaogao

  Hello brothers and sisters of Spiritual Q&A,

  I get very tired from working during the day, and I do not sleep very well at night. As a result, I am not willing to make it to gatherings on time. I do not like to be restricted. I feel that if I have spiritual needs, as long as I look for my brothers and sisters to chat during those times, it should be fine. I wonder what the cause of this issue is. How should I resolve this?

  An Jing

  Hello Sister An Jing,

  You said that you are not willing to attend gatherings on time and that when you feel you have spiritual needs, that is the only time you will actively look for your brothers and sisters to chat. We can think like this because we do not understand what truly believing in God and the importance of gatherings are. Thank the Lord. I will talk a little bit about my understanding about this aspect. I hope it will be useful to you.

  What It Means to Truly Believe in God

  We all know that the reason why God originally created man was so that man would honor and worship God on earth. The Lord Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Mat 22:37-38). As believers in the Lord, we should all prioritize faith and worshiping God and have normal relationships with God. Gatherings, prayer, communicating the truth, singing hymns and praising God are ways to establish a normal relationship with God. As Christians, these are things that we must do at the very least. God’s words say: “‘Belief in God’ means believing that there is a God; this is the simplest concept of faith in God. What’s more, believing that there is a God is not the same as truly believing in God; rather, it is a kind of simple faith with strong religious overtones. True faith in God means experiencing the words and work of God based on a belief that God holds sovereignty over all things. So you shall be freed of your corrupt disposition, shall fulfill the desire of God, and shall come to know God. Only through such a journey can you be said to believe in God” (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh). “There are some people whose belief has never been acknowledged in God’s heart. In other words, God does not recognize that these people are His followers, because God does not praise their belief. … They regard believing in God as some kind of amateur hobby, treating God merely as spiritual sustenance…. How does God look upon these people? He views them as non-believers” (“How to Know God’s Disposition and the Result of His Work” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From here we can see, if our faith in God merely consists of verbal acknowledgement and believing within our hearts, yet we do not pursue the truth, do not experience and practice God’s words but regard faith as spiritual sustenance or a hobby, this is not truly believing in God. God does not praise this sort of faith. True believers in God should frequently come before God, pray to God often, read God’s words often, attend gatherings often and understand more of the truth from God. At the same time, they must bring God’s words into real life. They believe that what happens every day is presided and arranged by God. This is especially the case when they encounter something that is not in accordance with their notions and when they reveal their own corruption and are unable to let go of it. They are able to come before God and reflect upon themselves in accordance with God’s words. They are able to seek in the environment arranged by God the lessons they should learn and the truths they should enter and put into practice. Afterward, they actually put them into practice in accordance with God’s demands, cast off satanic corrupt disposition, live out a normal humanity and in the end, achieve a true understanding of God, obedience to God and love for God. Only this way of experiencing God’s work and words constitutes truly believing in God. We can only obtain God’s approval if we believe in God in this manner. If we do this, in the end, we will be brought into God’s kingdom. Contrarily, if our faith does not involve a normal relationship with God, regular participation in gatherings, prayer, communicating the truth and putting God’s words into practice; if it is just a spare-time faith, if we believe in God a few years yet our corrupt disposition has not changed whatsoever and if we do not have a true understanding of God, God does not acknowledge this sort of faith. There is no difference between this and the faith of unbelievers. If our faith is like this, even though we believe until the very end, we will not be able to obtain God’s approval and salvation.

4. The Principles of Upholding a Normal Relationship With God

        The Principles of Upholding a Normal Relationship With God

  1. You must first of all give your heart to God and allow God to take charge, frequently have real prayer and association with God, and obtain the guidance of the work of the Holy Spirit;

  2. You must frequently eat and drink of God’s words, fellowship the truth, practice the truth and fulfill your duty in order to repay God’s love;

  3. In all things, you must harbor right intentions, accept God’s scrutiny, put the interests of God’s family first. You must not make plans for yourself, and you must obey God’s arrangements;

  4. You must seek the truth in all things, seek to love God in your heart and practice loving God, and allow God to take charge and hold power in all things.

  Relevant Words of God:

  People believe in God, love God, and satisfy God by touching the Spirit of God with their heart, thereby obtaining His satisfaction; when engaging with God’s words with their heart, they are therefore moved by the Spirit of God. If you wish to achieve a proper spiritual life and establish a proper relationship with God, you must first give your heart to Him, and quiet your heart before Him. Only after you have poured your whole heart into God can you gradually develop a proper spiritual life. If people do not give their heart to God in their belief in Him, if their heart is not in Him and they do not treat His burden as their own, then everything they do is cheating God, and it is all the behavior of religious people—this cannot receive God’s praise. God cannot get anything from this kind of person; this kind of person can only serve as a foil to God’s work, like a decoration in the house of God, taking up space, and is a good-for-nothing—God does not use this kind of person. … If your heart can be poured into God and keep quiet before Him, then you will have the opportunity and the qualifications to be used by the Holy Spirit, to receive the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit, and even more, you will have the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to make up for your shortcomings. When you give your heart to God, you can enter more deeply into the positive aspect and be on a higher plane of insight; in the negative aspect, you will have more understanding of your own faults and shortcomings, you will be more eager to seek to satisfy God’s will, and you will not be passive, and will actively enter in. This will mean that you are a correct person. …

…………

  If you want to have a proper relationship with God, your heart must turn to God.… When one does not give his heart to God, his spirit becomes obtuse, it becomes numb and unconscious. This kind of person will never understand God’s words and will never have a proper relationship with God; this kind of person will never change their disposition. … When you are able to give your heart to God, you will be able to perceive every subtle moving within your spirit, and you will know every enlightenment and illumination received from God. Hold onto this, and you will gradually enter into the path of being perfected by the Holy Spirit. The quieter your heart can be before God, the more sensitive and delicate your spirit will be, and the more your spirit will be able to perceive the moving of the Holy Spirit, and then your relationship with God will become more and more proper.

Worship Song | Learn How to Pray to God | "True Prayer"

Worship Song | Learn How to Pray to God | "True Prayer"

Introduction

True prayer is speaking your heart’s words to God.

It’s based on God’s will and His word.

True prayer is feeling, oh, so close to God, as if He’s in front of you.

The Church of Almighty God | Faith Grows in Sufferings

By Li Jin

    Along with a shrill clang of the bell, an ambulance was driving to the city hospital speedily. Inside it, a man kept speaking to his daughter, “Don’t sleep, Xinyi. We’ll get to the hospital soon….” Xinyi, her face pale, said in a faint, shivering voice, “Daddy, am I dying?” These words brought the quick tears to the father’s eyes. He consoled her at once, “No, you won’t. We’ll get to the hospital soon….”

God Listens to Reasonable Prayer

By Xin Ling 

One day, I happened to see such an interesting story in my son’s Pupil Weekly: A little girl tripped on an examination question. She answered the capital of America was New York rather than Washington. So she prayed, and asked God to move its capital from Washington DC to NewYork.A little girl tripped on an examination question. She answered the capital of America was New York rather than Washington. So she prayed, and asked God to move its capital from Washington DC to NewYork.

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?

Church Life Movie | "Awoken" | How Christians Break Free From the Shackles of Fame and Status

Her name is Chen Xi, and since she was little the education and influence of her parents and her schooling made her always want to stand out from the crowd and seek to be above others, so she was diligent in her studies and would spare no effort. After believing in God Chen Xi read a great deal of God's words and came to understand some truths. She saw that the only correct path in life is to believe in and follow God and became an enthusiastic seeker, and was very proactive in performing her duty.

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. 

The Church of Almighty God | God Is the Source of Man’s Life: I Overcame the Disease

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                                                 By Wang Mei

In 2005 my daughter was born. I, as a first-time mother, felt very happy. Looking at my daughter’s lovely little face, I forgot my labor pains and felt the happiness and joy I had never had. After my confinement, when I was enjoying the happiness of being a mother, a disease came upon me quietly and broke my happy life.

Christian Movie | "The Lies of Communism: Account of the CCP's Brainwashing" | Revealing the Truth

    Zhang Mingdao is a Christian in The Church of Almighty God who has experienced several years of Almighty God's work in the last days, understands some truths, and can see the real significance of human life. He is resolved to abandon everything and follow God, and bear witness for God's work and appearance of the last days.

Sunday, January 28, 2018 – Revelation 2:17 | The Church of Almighty God

He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna. … 

                                                                                                    – Revelation 2:17 

    Thoughts on Today’s Verse… 

     This word “what the Spirit said to the churches” appears repeatedly in the Book of Revelation. What does it mean? And what does “the hidden manna” refer to? Recall the story of Exodus: God rained manna from heaven, and manna is their bread.

Witness God’s Wondrous Deeds in Category 14 Typhoon | The Church of Almighty God

          

                                            By Zhan Yi

    My name is Zhan Yi and this year, I am 75 years old. I’m a Christian of the Church of Almighty God. Six months after I accepted the kingdom gospel of Almighty God, I suffered a very violent typhoon. I was in danger, but because of Almighty God’s protection, I turned from danger to safety. I truly experienced that it is God who controls the fate of us humans, that the life and death of everyone is in God’s hands and that Almighty God is the only salvation of us humans.

True Meaning of “Judgment Must Begin at the House of God” | The Church of Almighty God

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                                           By Huiru, Hongkong

    When I believed in the Lord, I saw the Bible recorded, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). So, I knew God would judge us mankind in the last days. At that time, I imagined: When God appears publicly in the last days, He will sit on a great white throne and set a large table before Him. On the table there was a big screen where various sins of people before their death are projected. All the people will accept God’s judgment one by one, and know their outcome.

The Church of Almighty God | Find the Wellspring of Living Water of Life, Thirst No More

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                                          By Zhihui, United States

    It was in 2012. The complicated human relationships made me weary in body and mind. In the depths of perplexity and helplessness, I didn’t know to whom I should pour out my heart, nor did I know how to free myself from these sufferings. Later, on my friend’s recommendation, I went to church.