Why does God judge and chastise corrupt mankind when he works in the end time?

Bible Reference

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God…” (1 Peter 4:17).

“And I saw another angel fly in the middle of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Revelation 14:6-7).

The answer from God’s word:

“The work of the last days is to separate all according to their kind, to conclude the management plan of God, for the time is near and the day of God has come. God brings all who have entered His kingdom, that is, all those who have been loyal to Him to the end, into the age of God Himself. However, before the coming of the age of God Himself, the work that God desires to do is not to observe the deeds of man or to inquire about the lives of man, but to judge his rebellion, for God shall purify all those who come before His throne. All those who have followed the footsteps of God to this day are those who have come before the throne of God, hence all who accept the last of God’s work are those to be purified by God. In other words, all those who accept the last of God’s work are those who will be judged by God.”

from “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“The essence of God’s work of chastisement and judgment is to cleanse humanity, and it is for the day of final rest. Otherwise, the whole of humanity will not be able to follow their own kind or enter into rest. This work is humanity’s only path to enter into rest. Only God’s work of cleansing will cleanse humanity of their unrighteousness, and only His work of chastisement and judgment will bring to light those disobedient things among humanity, thereby separating those who can be saved from those who cannot, and those who will remain from those who will not. When His work ends, those people who remain will be cleansed and enjoy a more wonderful second human life upon the earth as they enter a higher realm of humanity; in other words, they will enter into humanity’s day of rest and live together with God. After those who cannot remain have undergone chastisement and judgment, their original forms will be entirely revealed; after this they will all be destroyed and, like Satan, will no longer be allowed to survive upon the earth. The humanity of the future will no longer contain any of this type of people; these people are not fit to enter the land of the ultimate rest, nor are they fit to enter the day of rest that God and man will share, for they are the targets of punishment and are the wicked, and they are not righteous people.”

from “God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“In His final work of concluding the age, God’s disposition is one of chastisement and judgment, which reveals all that is unrighteous, and publicly judges all peoples, and perfects those who truly love Him. Only a disposition such as this can bring the age to an end. The last days have already arrived. All things will be classed according to kind, and will be divided into different categories based on their nature. This is the time in which God reveals the end and the destination of man. If man does not undergo chastisement and judgment, then there will be no way of revealing the disobedience and unrighteousness of man. Only through chastisement and judgment can the end of all things be revealed. Man only shows his true colors when he is chastised and judged. Evil shall return to evil, good shall return to good, and man shall be classified according to kind. Through chastisement and judgment, the end of all things shall be revealed, so that the evil shall be punished and the good shall be rewarded, and all people shall become subject under the dominion of God. All the work requires righteous chastisement and judgment to be achieved. Because man’s corruption has reached its peak and his disobedience has been too serious, only God’s righteous disposition, which is principally one of chastisement and judgment, and is revealed during the last days, can fully transform and complete man. Only this disposition can expose evil and thus severely punish all the unrighteous. … If, when the end of man is revealed during the last days, God still bestows upon man inexhaustible compassion and love, if He is still loving toward man, and He does not subject man to righteous judgment, but shows him tolerance, patience, and forgiveness, if He still pardons man no matter what serious sins he commits, without any righteous judgment, then would there ever be an end to all of God’s management? When would a disposition such as this be able to lead mankind into the right destination? Take, for example, a judge who is always loving, kindhearted and gentle. He loves people irrespective of the sins they have committed, and he is loving and tolerant of people whoever they are. Then when will he be able to reach a just verdict? During the last days, only righteous judgment can classify man and bring man into a new realm. In this way, the entire age is brought to an end through God’s righteous disposition of judgment and chastisement.”

from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Today I judge you, and chastise you, and condemn you, but know that your condemnation is so that you might know yourselves. Condemnation, curse, judgment, chastisement—these are all so that you might know yourselves, so that your disposition might change, and, moreover, so that you might know your worth, and see that all of God’s actions are righteous, and in accordance with His disposition and the needs of His work, that He works in accordance with His plan for man’s salvation, and that He is the righteous God who loves man, and saves man, and who judges and chastises man. If you only know that you are of lowly status, and that you are corrupt and disobedient, but do not know that God wishes to make plain His salvation through the judgment and chastisement that He does in you today, then you have no way of experiencing, much less are you able to continue onward. God has not come to kill, or destroy, but to judge, curse, chastise, and save. Prior to the conclusion of His 6,000-year management plan—before He makes plain the end of each category of man—God’s work on earth is for the sake of salvation, it is all in order to make those who love Him totally complete, and bring them back to His dominion. … In the eyes of man, salvation is the love of God, and the love of God cannot be chastisement, judgment, and curse; salvation must contain love, compassion, and, moreover, the words of solace, and must contain the boundless blessings bestowed by God. People believe that when God saves man He does so by touching him and making him give his heart to Him through His blessings and grace. In this way, He saves man: When He touches man He saves him. Salvation such as this is salvation in which a trade is being made. Only when God bestows him with a hundredfold does man submit to the name of God, and strive to do well for God and bring Him glory. This is not God’s will for mankind. God has come to work on earth in order to save corrupt mankind—there is no falsehood in this; if not, He would not do His work in person. In the past, His means of salvation was showing the utmost love and compassion, such that He gave His all to Satan in exchange for the whole of mankind. Today is nothing like the past: Today, your salvation occurs at the time of the last days, during the classification of each according to kind; the means of your salvation is not love or compassion, but chastisement and judgment in order that man may be more thoroughly saved. Thus, all that you receive is chastisement, judgment, and remorseless smiting, but know that in this heartless smiting there is not the slightest punishment, know that regardless of how harsh the words are, what befalls you is but a few words that appear utterly heartless to you, and know that, regardless of how great My anger, what comes upon you are still words of teaching, and I do not mean to harm you, or to put you to death. Is this not all fact? Know that today, whether it be righteous judgment or heartless refinement and chastisement, all are for the sake of salvation. Regardless of whether today there is the classification of each according to kind, or the laying bare of the categories of man, all of God’s utterances and work are in order to save those who truly love God. Righteous judgment is in order to purify man, heartless refinement is in order to cleanse man, harsh words or chastening are all in order to purify, and for the sake of salvation. And thus, today’s method of salvation is unlike in the past. Today, righteous judgment saves you, and is a good tool for classifying you each according to kind, and ruthless chastisement brings you supreme salvation—and what have you to say in the face of this chastisement and judgment? Have you not enjoyed salvation from start to finish? You have both seen God incarnate and realized His omnipotence and wisdom; moreover, you have experienced repeated smiting and discipline. But have you not also received supreme grace? Are your blessings not greater than those of anyone else? Your graces are more bounteous than the glory and riches enjoyed by Solomon! Think about it: If My intention in coming to earth were to condemn and punish you, and not to save you, could your days have lasted so long? Could you, these sinful beings of flesh and blood, have survived until today? If it were only for the sake of punishing you, why would I have become flesh and embarked upon such a great enterprise? Would it not take but a single word to punish you mere mortals? Would I still be of a mind to destroy you after condemning you? Do you still not believe these words of Mine? Could I save man merely through love and compassion? Or could I only use the crucifixion to save man? Is My righteous disposition not more conducive to making man completely obedient? Is it not more able to thoroughly save man?”

from “You Should Put Aside the Blessings of Status and Understand God’s Will for the Salvation of Man” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

source from: Find the Shepherd

FacebookTwitterGoogle+ReddiTumblPinterest分享

29 The Lord Jesus once promised us, “That whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” How will God fulfill these words?

The answer from God’s word:

“The 6,000 years of work of God’s management are divided into three stages: the Age of Law, the Age of Grace, and the Age of Kingdom. These three stages of work are all for the sake of mankind’s salvation, which is to say, they are for the salvation of a mankind that has been severely corrupted by Satan. At the same time, however, they are also so that God may do battle with Satan. Thus, just as the work of salvation is divided into three stages, so the battle with Satan is also divided into three stages, and these two aspects of God’s work are conducted simultaneously. The battle with Satan is actually for the sake of mankind’s salvation, and because the work of mankind’s salvation is not something that can be successfully completed in a single stage, the battle with Satan is also divided into phases and periods, and war is waged upon Satan in accordance with the needs of man and the extent of Satan’s corruption of him. … In the work of man’s salvation, three stages have been carried out, which is to say that the battle with Satan has been split into three stages prior to the complete defeat of Satan. Yet the inner truth of the entire work of the battle with Satan is that its effects are achieved through bestowing grace upon man, and becoming a sin offering of man, forgiving the sins of man, conquering man, and making man perfect. As a matter of fact, the battle with Satan is not the taking up of arms against Satan, but the salvation of man, the working of the life of man, and the changing of man’s disposition so that he may bear testimony to God. This is how Satan is defeated. Satan is defeated through changing the corrupt disposition of man. When Satan has been defeated, that is, when man has been completely saved, then the ashamed Satan will be completely bound, and in this way, man will have been completely saved. And so, the substance of man’s salvation is the battle with Satan, and the war with Satan is primarily reflected in the salvation of man. The stage of the last days, in which man is to be conquered, is the last stage in the battle with Satan, and also the work of man’s complete salvation from the domain of Satan. The inner meaning of man’s conquest is the return of the embodiment of Satan, man who has been corrupted by Satan, to the Creator following his conquest, through which he will forsake Satan and completely return to God. In this way, man will have been completely saved. And so, the work of conquest is the last work in the battle against Satan, and the final stage in God’s management for the sake of Satan’s defeat. Without this work, the full salvation of man would ultimately be impossible, the utter defeat of Satan would also be impossible, and mankind would never be able to enter the wonderful destination, or get free from Satan’s influence.”

from “Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Once the work of conquest has been completed, man will be brought into a beautiful world. This life will, of course, still be on earth, but it will be totally unlike man’s life today. It is the life that mankind will have after the whole of mankind has been conquered, it will be a new beginning for man on earth, and for mankind to have such a life will be proof that mankind has entered a new and beautiful realm. It will be the beginning of the life of man and God on earth. The premise of such a beautiful life must be that, after man has been purified and conquered, he submits before the Creator. And so, the work of conquest is the last stage of God’s work before mankind enters the wonderful destination. Such a life is man’s future life on earth, it is the most beautiful life on earth, the kind of life that man longs for, the kind that man has never before achieved in the history of the world. It is the final outcome of the 6,000 years of work of management, it is what mankind yearns for most, and it is also God’s promise to man. But this promise cannot come to pass immediately: Man will enter the future destination only once the work of the last days has been completed and he has been completely conquered, that is, once Satan has been utterly defeated. Man will be without a sinful nature after he has been refined, because God will have defeated Satan, which means that there will be no encroachment by hostile forces, and no hostile forces that can attack the flesh of man. And so man will be free, and holy—he will have entered eternity. Only if the hostile forces of darkness are bound will man be free wherever he goes, and without rebelliousness or opposition. Satan has but to be bound for man to be okay; today, he is not okay because[a] Satan still stirs up trouble everywhere on earth, and because the entire work of God’s management has yet to reach its end. Once Satan has been defeated, man will be completely liberated; when man gains God and comes out from under the domain of Satan, he will behold the sun of righteousness.”

from “Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“God Himself is life, and the truth, and His life and truth coexist. Those who are incapable of gaining the truth shall never gain life. Without the guidance, support, and provision of the truth, you shall only gain letters, doctrines, and, moreover, death. God’s life is ever-present, and His truth and life coexist. If you cannot find the source of truth, then you will not gain the nourishment of life; if you cannot gain the provision of life, then you will surely have no truth, and so apart from imaginations and conceptions, the entirety of your body shall be nothing but flesh, your stinking flesh. …

…………

Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path through which man shall gain life, and the only path by which man shall know God and be approved by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history. …

… Christ is man’s gateway to the kingdom during the last days, which none may bypass. None may be perfected by God except through Christ. You believe in God, and so you must accept His words and obey His way. You must not just think of gaining blessings without receiving the truth, or accepting the provision of life. Christ comes during the last days so that all those who truly believe in Him may be provided with life. His work is for the sake of concluding the old age and entering the new one, and is the path that must be taken by all those who would enter the new age. If you are incapable of acknowledging Him, and instead condemn, blaspheme or even persecute Him, then you are bound to burn for eternity, and shall never enter the kingdom of God.”

from “Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

link: https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/whoever-believes-in-him-should-not-perish-but-have-eternal-life

The Lord Jesus said that He would come again. In which way will He come again?

The answer from God’s word:

“For several thousand years, man has longed to be able to witness the arrival of the Savior. Man has longed to behold Jesus the Savior on a white cloud as He descends, in person, among those who have pined and yearned for Him for thousands of years. Man has longed for the Savior to return and be reunited with the people, that is, for Jesus the Savior to come back to the people from whom He has been apart for thousands of years. And man hopes that He will once again carry out the work of redemption that He did among the Jews, will be compassionate and loving toward man, will forgive the sins of man, bear the sins of man, and even bear all of man’s transgressions and deliver man from sin. They long for Jesus the Savior to be the same as before—a Savior who is lovable, amiable and venerable, who is never wrathful toward man, and who never reproaches man. This Savior forgives and bears all of man’s sins, and even dies upon the cross for man once more. Since Jesus departed, the disciples who followed Him, and all of the saints who were saved thanks to His name, have been desperately pining for Him and awaiting Him. All those who were saved by the grace of Jesus Christ during the Age of Grace have been longing for that joyful day during the last days, when Jesus the Savior arrives on a white cloud and appears among man. Of course, this is also the collective wish of all those who accept the name of Jesus the Savior today. Throughout the universe, all those who know of the salvation of Jesus the Savior have been desperately yearning for the sudden arrival of Jesus Christ, to fulfill the words of Jesus when on earth: ‘I shall arrive just as I departed.’ Man believes that, following the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven upon a white cloud, and took His place at the Most High’s right hand. Similarly, man conceives that Jesus shall descend, again upon a white cloud (this cloud refers to the cloud that Jesus rode upon when He returned to heaven), among those who have desperately yearned for Him for thousands of years, and that He shall bear the image and clothes of the Jews. After appearing to man, He shall bestow food upon them, and cause living water to gush forth for them, and shall live among man, full of grace and love, living and real. And so on. Yet Jesus the Savior did not do this; He did the opposite of what man conceived. He did not arrive among those who had yearned for His return, and did not appear to all men while riding upon the white cloud. He has already arrived, but man does not know Him, and remains ignorant of His arrival. Man is only aimlessly awaiting Him, unaware that He has already descended upon a white cloud (the cloud which is His Spirit, His words, and His entire disposition and all that He is), and is now among a group of overcomers that He will make during the last days. Man does not know this: Although the holy Savior Jesus is full of affection and love toward man, how could He work in ‘temples’ inhabited by filth and impure spirits? Though man has been awaiting His arrival, how could He appear to those who eat the flesh of the unrighteous, drink the blood of the unrighteous, wear the clothes of the unrighteous, who believe in Him but do not know Him, and who constantly extort Him? Man knows only that Jesus the Savior is full of love and compassion, and is the sin offering filled with redemption. But man has no idea that He is also God Himself, who is brimming with righteousness, majesty, wrath, and judgment, and possessed of authority and full of dignity. And so even though man eagerly yearns for and craves the return of the Redeemer, and even Heaven is moved by the prayers of man, Jesus the Savior does not appear to those who believe in Him but do not know Him.”

from “The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“God is incarnated in the Chinese mainland, what the compatriots in Hong Kong and Taiwan call the inland. When God came from above to the earth, no one in heaven and earth knew about it, for this is the true meaning of God returning in a concealed fashion. He has been in the flesh working and living for a long time, yet no one has known about it. Even to this day, no one recognizes it. Perhaps this will remain an eternal riddle. God’s coming into flesh this time is not something anyone is able to be aware of. No matter how large-scale and powerful the Spirit’s work, God always stays composed, never giving Himself away. One can say that it is as if this stage of His work is taking place in the heavenly realm. Even though it is perfectly obvious to everyone, no one recognizes it. When God finishes this stage of His work, everyone will awake from their long dream and reverse their past attitude. … In rescuing man off the cross, Jesus was only completing redemption work; He was not doing perfection work. Thus only half of God’s work was being done, and finishing the redemption work was only half of His whole plan. As the new age was about to begin and the old one about to recede, God the Father began to deliberate the second part of His work and started preparing for it. In the past, this incarnation in the last days may not have been prophesied, and therefore that laid a foundation for the increased secrecy surrounding God’s coming into flesh this time. At the break of dawn, unbeknownst to any, God came to earth and began His life in the flesh. People were unaware of this moment. Maybe they were all fast asleep, maybe many who were watchfully awake were waiting, and maybe many were praying silently to God in heaven. Yet among all these many people, not one knew that God had already arrived on earth. God worked like this so as to more smoothly carry out His work and achieve better results, and it was also to avoid more temptations. As man’s spring slumber breaks, God’s work will have long been finished and He shall depart, bringing to a close His life of roaming and sojourning on earth. Because God’s work requires God to act and speak personally, and because there is no way for man to help, God has endured extreme pain to come to earth to do the work Himself. Man is unable to stand in for God’s work. Therefore God risked dangers a thousand times greater than those during the Age of Grace to come down to where the great red dragon dwells to do His own work, to put all His thinking and care into redeeming this group of impoverished people, redeeming this group of people mired in a heap of manure.”

from “Work and Entry (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Now the new work of God has begun, and it is also the beginning of a new age. God brings to His house those redeemed to begin His new work of salvation. This time, the work of salvation is more thorough than in times past. It will not be done by the Holy Spirit working in man to allow him to change on his own, nor will it be done through the body of Jesus appearing among men, and least of all will it be done in another manner. Rather, the work will be done and steered by God incarnate Himself. This is done in order to lead man into the new work. Is this not a great thing? God does not do this work through a part of men or through prophecies, but by God Himself. …

This time, God comes to do work not in a spiritual body but in a very ordinary one. Not only is it the body of God’s second incarnation, but also the body in which God returns. It is a very ordinary flesh. In Him, you cannot see anything that is different from others, but you can receive from Him the truths you have never heard before. This insignificant flesh is the embodiment of all the words of truth from God, that which undertakes God’s work in the last days, and an expression of the whole of God’s disposition for man to come to know. Did you not desire greatly to see the God in heaven? Did you not desire greatly to understand the God in heaven? Did you not desire greatly to see the destination of mankind? He will tell you all these secrets that no one can ever tell you, and He will even tell you of the truths that you do not understand. He is your gate into the kingdom, and your guide into the new age. Such an ordinary flesh holds many unfathomable mysteries. His deeds may be inscrutable to you, but the goal of all the work He does is sufficient for you to see that He is not a simple flesh as man believes. For He represents the will of God as well as the care shown by God toward mankind in the last days. Though you cannot hear the words He speaks that seem to shake the heavens and earth or see His eyes like blazing flames, and though you cannot feel the discipline of His iron rod, you can hear from His words the fury of God and know that God shows compassion for mankind; you can see the righteous disposition of God and His wisdom, and moreover, realize the concern and care that God has for all mankind. The work of God in the last days is to allow man to see the God in heaven live among men on earth, and to enable man to come to know, obey, revere, and love God. This is why He has returned to flesh for a second time.”

from “Do You Know? God Has Done a Great Thing Among Men” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

source from: Find the Shepherd 

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