Look, The Truth Reigns Here

Zhang Chao

I am an ordinary believer in the Church of Almighty God. Exalted by God, I was assigned to fulfill hosting duty. I often had meetings with Sister Zhao, an upper-level leader of thechurch. From her talk in the meetings, I realized that she didn’t coordinate harmoniously with her partner in their work. They both were very arrogant, and each rejected the other’s views and wanted the obedience of the other. When they couldn’t agree on the work, they would work apart. I thought to myself, “As upper-level leaders, if they have no harmonious partnership, both living in their arrogant corrupt disposition and sticking to their own views, they won’t be able to gain the work of the Holy Spirit. Then the work they do would be unbeneficial to the church work and to the brothers and sisters’ entry into life. This is not a small matter. I must point it out and have fellowship with Sister Zhao.” But then I thought, “Sister Zhao is an upper-level leader, and I am only an ordinary sister who performs hosting duty. Even if she needs help, it shouldn’t be me but her superior. Doing my best to fulfill my hosting duty is enough.”

Just then, I saw a passage of God’s words: “In the church, you should stand My testimony and hold on to the truth. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. Don’t confuse black and white. You should fight against Satan and defeat it thoroughly, leaving it unable to rise again. Safeguard My testimony at any cost; this should be the principle of your doing things. Don’t forget” (“The Forty-first Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From these words of God, I understood God’s will: In the church, the truth reigns. When anything incompatible with the truth happens, everyone can stand up and speak for the truth. When seeing any brother or sister reveal their corrupt disposition, everyone else can help them by fellowshiping about the truth with them. This is the duty and obligation of every one of us, and is also God’s requirement for us. God hopes that when we encounter a situation, we can stand on the right ground and practice the truth resolutely, and go all out to defend God’s work and God’s testimony. Hosting the brothers and sisters is my duty, it is also my duty and obligation to point out my leader’s shortcomings and corruption and fellowship about the truth with her in order to benefit her life and protect the church work from loss.

When I thought of this, I had the path of practice. So I said to Sister Zhao, “After hearing your recent experiences, I feel your coordination with your partner is not harmonious. I think of ‘The Principle of Coordination in Service.’ Shall we fellowship about it?” With that, I found God’s words and began to read: “Now you are asked to lead the churches within a region. You not only do not deny yourselves but even cling to your own notions and views, saying something like ‘I think it should be done in this way. God has said don’t be restrained by others. Blind obedience is unacceptable now.’ So, you still hold on to your own opinions, obedient to no one. Even when you clearly know you have no ways to go in your service, you say, ‘I think my fellowship is OK. Anyway, each of us is talking about one aspect. Let us each fellowship the way he likes. You fellowship about your vision, and I talk about my entry.’ You are always irresponsible or perfunctory with many affairs that you should settle. You just air your own opinions and safeguard your own position, fame, and face cautiously. No one wants to humble himself, and no one wants to deny himself initiatively so that you can complement each other and grow faster in life. … To aid in God’s work, benefit the church, and uplift all your brothers and sisters, you must achieve harmony in your partnership, you must help each other, and must be mutually supportive, which makes your work more effective, and therefore allows you to show consideration to God’s will. This is the hallmark of a true partnership, and of those who have a real entry” (“The Service of the Israelites Should Be Followed” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Then I said, “From God’s words, I see the basic requirements we should meet in fulfilling our duties adequately. We should place the interests of the church first, and learn how to work harmoniously with others, complementing, obeying and learning from each other. Moreover, we should seek the truth in things and solve the problem with the truth. Just as the Israelites served God, we must be of one mind and one heart to fulfill the work God has entrusted to us and satisfy God’s heart. Only by serving this way can we obtain God’s blessings. If, in our service, we all live in arrogant disposition and don’t obey each other, our duty will not be fulfilled effectively, and therefore, we will be detested and hated by God.” At that time, Sister Zhao said with a scowl, “I have believed in God longer and understood more truths than my partner; she should listen to me!” At her words, I was stunned, thinking, “She is an upper-level leader of the church, and I am only an ordinary sister who performs hosting duty. I should obey her and listen to her. Is it appropriate to point out her shortcomings? Now that she doesn’t accept my help, I shouldn’t say any more. I will just turn a blind eye.” This thought made me discouraged, and I didn’t want to speak any more, but I was rebuked and accused inside. I said to myself, “I saw clearly that Sister Zhao didn’t accept the truth; is it right to shut my eyes to it? God searches all things. I can’t deceive God.” So I prayed to God silently, “O God, I’m restrained by the influence of position. Though I have understood the truth, I’m unable to practice it. I’m feeling very uneasy inside: If I don’t help the sister, she can’t know her corruption. In that case, will she be damaged by it? Also, the church work will suffer losses. O God, I am in a quandary now. May You guide me.”

After prayer, I went into another room to read God’s word. Under God’s guidance, I saw these words of God: “People who believe in God should obey God and worship Him. You should not exalt or look up to any person; you ought not to give first place to God, second place to the people you look up to, and third place to yourself. No person should hold a place in your heart, and you should not consider people—particularly those you venerate—to be on a par with God, to be His equal. This is intolerable to God” (“The Ten Administrative Decrees That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of Kingdom” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s stern words of judgment made me feel ashamed and guilty: As a created being, one should honor God as the greatest in everything and absolutely obey God’s word. Only such a person is one who safeguards God’s testimony. But I do not have a heart of reverence for God. Although I claim that I believe in God, I have no place for God in my heart, and I do not honor Christ above all else, nor can I stand up for the truth. Rather, I esteem status and power, regard my leader highly, and even dare to offend Christ and sell the truth without offending her. This is rebellion against the truth. In the secular world, what the boss says goes. Subordinates must absolutely submit to their superiors or leaders and restrain themselves from arguing back when scolded. Even if sometimes seeing they use power to bully and oppress others as they please, profiting at others’ expense, nobody dare to say anything. If anyone reveals them, he will be suppressed and excluded, even met with a fatal disaster. However, the Church of Almighty God is different from society, and it is the place where God works, where Christ reigns and the truth reigns. The brothers and sisters are all equal in status, without distinction between high and low, and the only difference is that we perform different duties.

Having gained that insight, I had the courage to fellowship with Sister Zhao again. But when I saw her being cold toward me, I flinched, still unable to open my mouth. Realizing that I still couldn’t put the truth into practice, I immediately prayed to God in my heart. Then I remembered these words of God: “Remember! Remember! In everything there is My good purpose, and it is I who search it. Can you act by My word in your every word and deed? When fiery tests come, will you bow your knees and cry or flinch and be unable to go forward?” (“The Tenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Today, those who spend for Me, who offer up themselves for Me, and who bear the burden for Me I will never treat unfairly. Here My righteousness is revealed” (“The Thirty-eighth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

“Yes! God is a righteous God. God’s righteous disposition is to safeguard the existence and development of the positive things and to prevent the evil things from multiplying and running rampant. If my intention is correct, is to really help the sister know herself so that she can practice the truth, which is beneficial to her life, God will uphold it. I should have faith in God and should not be constrained by the influence of darkness.” When I thought of that, I had strength inside. So I said to Sister Zhao, “Sister, let’s have a further fellowship.” I found another two passages of God’s words according to her condition and began to fellowship with her….

After my fellowship, she lowered her head and said regretfully, “Thank God for the revelation through His judgment and chastisement. It allows me to see I am truly inhumane and too arrogant by nature. I haven’t practiced the truth in fulfilling my duty, and I insist on having the final say in everything, with no place for God in my heart and no respect for others, so that I can’t work harmoniously with my co-worker, which has brought loss to the church work and also hindered the brothers and sister’s entry into life. I never expected that I would have done so many evil things involuntarily driven by my arrogant and conceited nature. I have already fallen into a dangerous situation but I didn’t realize it at all. Thanks be to God! Today through your dealing with and exposing my evil deeds, I have seen that God detests man’s sin. As long as man sins and resists God, God will surely judge him. This reveals God’s righteous and holy substance and is also God’s great salvation and protection to me. In addition, it has made me see that the church is truly ruled by Christ and by the truth. Sister, your fellowship matches my deficiency. I accept it. I beg you will pardon me for treating you that way just now.”

I was very happy when I saw Sister Zhao had changed her attitude and got such a knowledge of herself. I also felt ashamed of my former thoughts and deeds, and realized that I didn’t know God’s righteous disposition or the fact that righteousness and the truth reigns in the church. Through the circumstances God arranged, I practically understood: Although my leader has position and seniority, when she doesn’t practice the truth, doesn’t honor God above all else, and doesn’t fulfill her duty according to the principles, she incurs God’s judgment and finally is forced to bow her proud head before the judgment seat of Christ. This is the authority and power of God’s word. Speaking of me who have no position, deeply corrupted by Satan, and bound by the influence of status, yet I can receive the support of the Holy Spirit and see God’s smiling face when I am willing to practice the truth and stand witness to God under the guidance of God’s word.

At that moment, I had emotions in my heart: The whole world lies in the evil one and the humanity lies in the domain of Satan. Therefore, the world has become ever more wicked and dark. Those who have power and wealth lord over others, no one dares to expose their evil actions. However, in the Church of Almighty God, Christ reigns and the truth reigns. With God’s presence and His personal shepherding and watering, the Church of Almighty God is full of fairness and light. Only in the Church of Almighty God are we able to speak out freely and tell the truth and point out others’ shortcomings; only in the Church of Almighty God can we be a person who has a sense of justice, who can practice the truth, defend the justice, and hate evil. Only in the Church of Almighty God can we associate with others without worry, and receive no retribution because of disclosing someone’s corrupt behavior and substance, for he will accept it from the perspective of the truth and pursue to know himself and God’s salvation for him. Everyone can open their heart to each other and live in harmony with each other. Only the Church of Almighty God is the good land of Canaan!

                                                                                  source from: Finds the Shepherd