136-A-7 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “In Your Faith in God You Should Obey God” (I)

    “In Your Faith in God You Should Obey God.” Every believer in God must possess this sense. If a believer doesn’t obey God, it is their greatest failure, as well as their greatest disgrace. You must understand this! What goal do you aim to achieve through examining yourself daily? You must look and see whether or not you are a person who genuinely obeys God, whether or not you have been transformed in this way and have attained the reality of obedience. If you don’t obey the man used by God, then you will be a far cry away from obeying God. This is the most basic thing for you to put into practice, for God’s administrative decree has thus prescribed. Some antichrists say, “I have faith in God, and so I’ll just listen to Him directly. I won’t obey the man used by the Holy Spirit. You think you can preach? I’ll pick up God’s word and preach, and I bet I won’t be any worse than you! This is how I practice faith. We’ll see if I can enter the kingdom of heaven or not!” This is the voice of the antichrist, the words of Satan. Will anyone who speaks like this be able to enter the kingdom of heaven? Some say no. Why not? This relates to the passage we read from God’s word today. What is the topic of the passage? “In Your Faith in God You Should Obey God.” This man has believed in God for many years, and not only has he yet to obey God, on the contrary, he’s become an antichrist! Will he be able to enter the kingdom of heaven? How could this person possibly enter the kingdom of heaven? This kind of person wants to enter the kingdom of heaven, but Heaven will not tolerate it! Can anyone who wants to enter the kingdom of heaven do so? You must look for the answer in God’s word. If you’ve believed in God for many years and you’ve really been transformed in your life disposition, how can you prove this? It isn’t enough to merely do good deeds; you must be a person who truly obeys God. In this way, you will be qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Lord Jesus performed His redemption work in the Age of Grace and in the last days Almighty God does His work of judgment. How do we recognize that the judgment work of the last days and the redemption work of the Age of Grace are from one God?

The Answer from God’s Word:

After the work of Jehovah, Jesus became flesh to do His work amongst man. His work was not carried out in isolation, but built upon the work of Jehovah. It was work for a new age after God had concluded the Age of Law. Similarly, after the work of Jesus ended, God still continued His work for the next age, because the entire management of God is always progressing forward. When the old age passes, it will be replaced by a new age, and once the old work has been completed, a new work will continue the management of God. This incarnation is God’s second incarnation following the completion of Jesus’ work. Of course, this incarnation does not occur independently, but is the third stage of work after the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. Each new stage of God’s work always brings a new beginning and a new age. So too are there corresponding changes in the disposition of God, in His way of working, in the location of His work, and in His name. No wonder, then, that it is difficult for man to accept the work of God in the new age. But regardless of how He is opposed by man, God is always doing His work, and is always leading the whole of mankind forward. When Jesus came into the world of man, He brought the Age of Grace and ended the Age of Law. During the last days, God once more became flesh, and when He became flesh this time, He ended the Age of Grace and brought the Age of Kingdom. All those who accept the second incarnation of God will be led into the Age of Kingdom, and be able to personally accept the guidance of God. Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God has returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment, and this work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.

from Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh

The work being done at present has pushed forward the work of the Age of Grace; that is, the work under the entire six-thousand-year management plan has moved forward. Though the Age of Grace has ended, God’s work has made progress. Why do I say time and again that this stage of work builds upon the Age of Grace and the Age of Law? This means that the work of this day is a continuation of the work done in the Age of Grace and an advance over that done in the Age of Law. The three stages are tightly interconnected and each link in the chain is closely tied to the next. Why do I also say that this stage of work builds on that done by Jesus? Supposing that this stage did not build on the work done by Jesus, He would have to be crucified again in this stage, and the redemptive work of the previous stage would have to be done all over again. This would be meaningless. And so it is not that the work is completely finished, but that the age has moved forward and the level of the work has been raised even higher than before. It may be said that this stage of work is built on the foundation of the Age of Law and on the rock of Jesus’ work. The work is built stage by stage, and this stage is not a new beginning. Only the combination of the three stages of work may be deemed the six-thousand-year management plan. The work at this stage is done on the foundation of the work of the Age of Grace. If these two stages of work were unrelated, then why is the crucifixion not repeated in this stage? Why do I not bear the sins of man? I do not come through conception by the Holy Spirit, nor do I bear the sins of man through crucifixion; rather, I am here to chastise man directly. If My chastisement of man and My coming now not by the conception of the Holy Spirit did not follow the crucifixion, then I would not be qualified to chastise man. It is precisely because I am one with Jesus that I come directly to chastise and judge man. The work at this stage is built entirely on the work in the preceding stage. That is why only work of this kind can bring man, step by step, into salvation. Jesus and I come from one Spirit. Even though We are unrelated in Our fleshes, Our Spirits are one; even though the content of what We do and the work that We take on are not the same, We are alike in essence; Our fleshes take different forms, but this is due to the change in era and the differing requirements of Our work; Our ministries are not alike, so the work We bring forth and the disposition We reveal to man are also different. That is why what man sees and understands this day is unlike that of the past; this is so because of the change in era. … Similarly, the Spirit of Jehovah is not the father of the Spirit of Jesus, and the Spirit of Jesus is not the son of the Spirit of Jehovah: They are one and the same Spirit. Just like the incarnate God of today and Jesus. Though They are not related by blood, They are one; this is because Their Spirits are one. God can do the work of mercy and lovingkindness, as well as that of the righteous judgment and of chastisement of man, and that of calling down curses on man; and in the end, He can do the work of destroying the world and punishing the wicked. Does He not do all of this Himself? Is this not the omnipotence of God? He was able both to promulgate laws for man and to issue him commandments, and He was also able to lead the early Israelites to live their lives on earth and to guide them to build the temple and altars, holding all the Israelites under His dominion. Relying on His authority, He lived on earth with the people of Israel for two thousand years. The Israelites dared not rebel against Him; all revered Jehovah and observed His commandments. This was the work that was done relying on His authority and His omnipotence. Then, during the Age of Grace, Jesus came to redeem the whole of fallen mankind (and not only the Israelites). He showed mercy and lovingkindness to man. The Jesus that man saw in the Age of Grace was filled with lovingkindness and was always loving toward man, for He had come to save humanity from sin. He was able to forgive men their sins until His crucifixion completely redeemed mankind from sin. During this period, God appeared before man with mercy and lovingkindness; that is, He became a sin offering for man and was crucified for the sins of man so that they might forever be forgiven. He was merciful, compassionate, enduring, and loving. And all those who followed Jesus in the Age of Grace likewise sought to be enduring and loving in all things. They were long-suffering, and never fought back even when beaten, cursed, or stoned. But during the final stage this can no longer be so. Similarly, even though Their Spirits were one, the work of Jesus and Jehovah was not entirely alike. Jehovah’s work was not to bring the age to an end but to guide it, ushering in mankind’s life on earth. However, the work now in hand is to conquer those in the Gentile nations who have been deeply corrupted, and to lead not just the family of China, but the entire universe. … From the creation of the world down to the present, the Spirit of God has set this great work in motion, and has moreover done different work in different ages and in different nations. The people of each age see a different disposition of His, which is naturally revealed through the different work that He does. He is God, filled with mercy and lovingkindness; He is the sin offering for man and man’s shepherd; but He is also man’s judgment, chastisement, and curse. He could lead man to live on earth for two thousand years, and He could also redeem the corrupted mankind from sin. Today, He is also able to conquer mankind, who do not know Him, and prostrate them under His dominion, so that all submit to Him fully. In the end, He will burn away all that is unclean and unrighteous within men throughout the universe, to show them that He is not only a merciful and loving God, not only a God of wisdom and wonders, not only a holy God, but, even more, a God who judges man. To the evil ones among mankind, He is burning, judgment, and punishment; to those who are to be perfected, He is tribulation, refinement, and trial, as well as comfort, sustenance, provision of words, dealing, and pruning. And to those who are eliminated, He is punishment and also retribution. Tell Me, is God not almighty? He is capable of any and all work, not just the crucifixion as you imagined. You think too lowly of God!

from “The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

125-B-5 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “‘The Sixth Utterance’ of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe”

Later on, the word of God continues: “Things are not now as they once were: I am going to do things that, since the beginning of creation, the world has never seen, I am going to speak words that, throughout the ages, men have never heard, because I ask that all humanity come to know Me in the flesh. These are steps in My management, about which humanity has not the faintest inkling. Even when I speak of them openly, man is still so befuddled in his mind that it is impossible to articulate them to him in every detail. Herein lies man’s abject lowliness, does it not? This is precisely what I wish to remedy in him, is it not?” What is “man’s abject lowliness”? It is that people do not understand the intention of God, and even when God’s words are spoken as clearly as this, people are still befuddled in their minds. What does it mean for a person to be “befuddled in his mind”? Not being able to comprehend the word of God, but being muddled and seeming as if not yet awakened, and being unable to understand the word of God. When God says, “These are steps in My management,” what are the steps in God’s management? That is, what work is God’s work in the last days? “I am going to do things that, since the beginning of creation, the world has never seen,” the things God will do are things that no one has never seen before, since the world was created, and God will speak words that, throughout the ages, men have never heard. This work done by God in the last days, and these things done by God and these words spoken by God—are they not things that no one has seen or heard in all the succession of generations? Had Moses ever heard such words? Had Peter ever heard such words? Had Peter seen these things done by God? People in the religious world say, “We do not acknowledge these words that were not written in the Bible, and do not accept them.” Is this not a clear proof? The work of God in the last days is to do what “since the beginning of creation, the world has never seen,” and it is to say what “throughout the ages, men have never heard,” so what does this phrase prove to be fulfilled? God always does new things, and He does not repeat anything in deed or word, and does not repeat any work. God is always new and never old! People have no way to fathom God’s almightiness and omniscience. He is continuously speaking new words and doing new things, and never repeats anything. In how many years and ages, can it be guaranteed that the work of God will not be repeated? Can people fathom it? Eternally it will not repeat, because God is almighty. So today we see these words that God expressed—are they words that “throughout the ages, men have never heard”? One hundred percent, of course they are! The words that God has expressed throughout the ages are relatively limited, but the words that God expresses in the last days surpass all the words that He has expressed before. This is a fact, and people have seen this.

Why Do Christians Still Sin After Being Saved?

                                              

By Xiaomo, China

The mention of “Jesus’ Redemption” always fills us with gratitude to the Lord. Two thousand years ago, to redeem us from the hands of Satan, the Lord Jesus was crucified and sacrificed for the sins of humanity, thereby forgiving all our sins. When we sin, as long as we repent and confess our sins to the Lord, our sins are forgiven, and we enjoy peace and joy. But recently, some brothers and sisters have been confused: Although our sins are forgiven by the Lord, we have never been able to escape the bondage of sin, we often lie and deceive, we are stuck in the cycle of sinning and confessing, and we cannot keep the Lord’s teachings. The Bible clearly tells us, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26). We know clearly that we can sin involuntarily despite knowing our actions go against God’s will, and that if we merely repent without changing, the sacrifice for our sins is useless. Like this, can we truly be directly raptured into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes? But there are also some brothers and sisters who believe that although we often sin, the Lord has forgiven our sins and does not see us as sinners, and when the Lord returns, we will be raptured into the kingdom of heaven! So, will we be raptured into the kingdom of heaven? Let’s explore the issue together.

125-B-6 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “‘The Sixth Utterance’ of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe”

Now we have known something about how to experience God’s work. The most important thing that is necessary in satisfying the needs in the spirit is being able to satisfy God on the basis of God’s word, and in this way one then finally has true enjoyment, and true peace. Is this not a matter of the greatest happiness? Some people ask what it means to satisfy the needs in the spirit. It just means to satisfy God. Once you satisfy God, you will be happy and full of enjoyment within your spirit, for God is the source of man’s spirit and man’s life, and the origin of the feeling within the spirit is all from God!  If God were to give you a feeling of emptiness, you would not be able to break free of it, and you would always feel this emptiness. But if God were to make you feel pleasure in your spirit, then it would be just like feeling the pleasure of enjoying God’s presence and the blessings of God. So the feeling within the spirit originates in God! Why do we speak of it this way? God is the source of the life of all things! If people are able to thoroughly know this very word and this very truth, then they will know what is most urgent to satisfy. They will know how man’s peace and man’s happiness are produced, and by whom they are decided. Is the feeling when you finish carrying out the truth the same as when you attain fleshly desires? Why do we say it is not the same? Is there a basis for this in the word of God? If you can find a basis in the word of God, then that explains that you know those words of God. If you cannot find a basis, then you have no knowledge of the word of God. So seek out a basis from within the word of God—why is there no real happiness in satisfying the flesh? There are certain things in satisfying the flesh that are not sins, and since they are not sins, why is there no happiness or true enjoyment, and why does one still feel empty? How does this happen? Who can explain this matter thoroughly? This is a matter within the spirit, so can you see through it thoroughly? If you cannot see through it then your experience is too shallow.

136-A-4 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “In Your Faith in God You Should Obey God” (I)

Let us continue communicating God’s words, “All those who do not seek obedience to God in their faith oppose God.” Let me give you an example. There are some people in God’s family that have believed for 10–20 years but you cannot see any changes to their life disposition. What is the issue here? Where is the root of this issue? These people do not seek obedience to God in all things and they do not seek the truth in all things. They still rely on their own notions and imaginations to do things. They still rely on Satan’s philosophies to live. For these kinds of people, even if they believed for 100 years, they will not obtain the truth, not to mention believing for 10–20 years. Why? Their way of believing in God is incorrect. They do not seek the truth. They do not search for the truth. Isn’t it over for them? They are muddleheaded and careless all day. They do not seek the truth in any matter. In whatever situation they encounter they think, “I will do this according to my own thoughts. If I think it is appropriate, that is how I will do it. If it benefits me to do it in a particular way, that is how I will do it. I will do it in whatever way that minimizes loss for myself.” Isn’t this living according to Satan’s philosophies? Many people’s principle when they do things is, “If I do it this way, will I take a loss? Is it advantageous for me to do it this way? Is it appropriate for me to do it this way?” Aren’t these Satan’s philosophies? If they live according to Satan’s philosophies, then they are not people that seek the truth. They live according to Satan’s philosophies and they do not seek the truth. Externally, it does not appear that they have committed any grave evil nor have they clearly committed evil in any way. However, they are not people that obey God. Isn’t this true? Right now, you can see that in God’s family, there are quite a few people that do not have the reality of the truth. However, they are also not wicked people. They have not committed any evil. Externally, they are good and guileless. These kinds of people, externally, they are good people. When people see such a person, they say, “This person is not bad. He truly believes in God.” Now, why is it that he has believed in God for many years, yet he does not have the reality of the truth? Externally, he hasn’t committed any evil. Why does God say that he is not someone who obeys God but he is instead someone that opposes God? In this matter, you must understand God’s will. Why does God say this? What would you say is the difference between living according to Satan’s philosophies and putting the truth into practice? Externally, you have not committed any sin. But putting the truth into practice is more correct. It is in accordance with God’s will, it is a good deed and it is witnessing. If you live according to Satan’s philosophies, you are only concerned about whether or not you have anything to gain and whether you are taking any loss.

135-B-1 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “It Is Very Important to Establish a Normal Relationship With God” (IV)

Let’s start our meeting. Let’s first read a passage of God’s word, “It Is Very Important to Establish a Normal Relationship With God.”

How Can One Find Happiness? A Retired Physician’s Experience Tells You

At the close of every night, month, and year, careful people will sum up their experience, plan, and set goals for the results in their study and work, so that they can improve in the future. Even more careful people will sum up their experience in their own life, “How did I come pass through at every stage of my life? Does the life I lead now have any significance? Am I truly happy? What should I pursue to find real significance and gain true happiness?” I am a retired physician who previously worked in a hospital, and recently I also summed up my own experience in life. My conclusion: Whether or not a person is happy in life has nothing to do with whether he is successful and famous.

We are all caught living in a cycle of sinning and confessing with no way to escape; can the words of Almighty God truly change and cleanse mankind?

The Answer from God’s Word:

Though the word “word” is simple and ordinary, the word from the mouth of the incarnate God shakes up the entire universe; it transforms man’s heart, notions, and old disposition, and the way the whole world used to appear. Through the ages, only the God of today works in this manner, and only He speaks thus and comes to save man thus. From this time forward, man lives under the guidance of the word, shepherded and supplied by the word. All humanity has come to live in the world of the word, within the curses and the blessings of God’s word, and even more of them have come to live under the judgment and chastisement of the word. These words and this work are all for the sake of man’s salvation, for the sake of fulfilling God’s will, and for the sake of changing the original appearance of the world of old creation. God created the world with the word, leads men from all over the universe with the word, and again conquers and saves them with the word. Finally, He shall use the word to bring the entire world of old to an end. Only then is the management plan wholly complete. Throughout the Age of Kingdom, God uses the word to do His work and achieve the results of His work; He does not work wonders or perform miracles; He merely does His work through the word. Because of the word, man is nourished and supplied; because of the word, man gains knowledge and true experience. Man in the Age of Word has truly received exceptional blessings. He suffers no physical pain and simply enjoys the bountiful supply of the word of God; without needing to go seeking or journeying forth, from the midst of his ease he sees the appearance of God, hears Him speak with His own mouth, receives what He supplies, and watches Him personally doing His work. These are things that men in ages past were unable to enjoy, and these are blessings that they could never receive.

Know God’s Sovereignty and Find Happiness in Life

By Kaoshen, Germany

When I was little, my father would often say to me, “My son, our family is not well-off, so if you want anything you have to earn money. When you have money, you have everything!” From then on, my dream was to have a career making big bucks so that my family could live a good life.

Once I’d grown up and left school, I worked as an apprentice in a restaurant and a warehouseman at a chemical plant. Although working tired me out, seeing the money I was earning gradually grow, I thought it was all worth it no matter how hard the work was.

136-A-6 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “In Your Faith in God You Should Obey God” (I)

Let’s go on reading God’s word: “If your motivations are not for the sake of obedience to God, and you have other aims, then all that you say and do—your prayers before God, and even your every action—will be in opposition to God. You may be soft-spoken and mild-mannered, your every action and expression may look right, you may appear to be one who obeys, but when it comes to your motivations and your views about faith in God, everything you do is in opposition to God, and evil.” God’s words are the truth. Each sentence conveys a facet of the truth, all the way from the first word to the last. These words of God are clearly spoken. Some people are soft-spoken and mild-mannered, and their every action and expression might seem right to others, and they might seem to be obedient to God, yet God’s word says, “but when it comes to your motivations and your views about faith in God, everything you do is in opposition to God, and evil.” In the eyes of God, these people are all evil-doers. On what basis does God determine that a person’s actions are evil? Does He base His reasoning on whether or not a person appears soft-spoken and mild-mannered? Does He judge whether a person’s behaviors are evil based on what people can see from the outside? Of course not. God makes His decision based on a person’s motivations and his views about faith in God! God’s word is the truth. Does this make sense now?

In God’s work of the last days, why does He issue forth so many words of judgment and chastisement?

The Answer from God’s Word:

The sins of man were forgiven, and this is because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live within the corrupt satanic disposition of old. This being so, man must be completely saved from his corrupt satanic disposition, so that his sinful nature may be completely extirpated, never to develop again, thus enabling the disposition of man to be transformed. This would require man to grasp the path of growth in life, to grasp the way of life, and to grasp the way to change his disposition. Furthermore, it would require man to act in accordance with this path, so that his disposition may gradually be changed and he may live under the shining of the light, so that all that he does may be in accord with the will of God, so that he may cast away his corrupt satanic disposition, and so that he may break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation. At the time that Jesus was doing His work, man’s knowledge of Him was still vague and unclear. Man always believed Him to be the son of David, and proclaimed Him to be a great prophet, the benevolent Lord who redeemed man’s sins. Some, on the strength of their faith, were healed just from touching the edge of His garment; the blind could see and even the dead could be restored to life. However, man was unable to discover the corrupt satanic disposition deeply rooted within himself, neither did he know how to cast it away. Man received much grace, such as the peace and happiness of the flesh, the faith of one member bringing blessing on an entire family, the healing of sickness, and so on. The rest were the good deeds of man and his godly appearance; if man could live on the basis of these, he was considered an acceptable believer. Only believers of this kind could enter heaven after death, which means that they were saved. But, in their lifetime, these people did not understand at all the way of life. All they did was to commit sins and then confess their sins in a constant cycle without making any path toward changing their disposition: Such was the condition of man in the Age of Grace. Has man received complete salvation? No! Therefore, after that stage of work was finished, there still remained the work of judgment and chastisement. This stage is to make man pure by means of the word and thereby give him a path to follow. This stage would not be fruitful or meaningful if it continued with the casting out of demons, for it would fail to extirpate man’s sinful nature, and man would come to a standstill at the forgiveness of his sins. Through the sin offering, man has been forgiven his sins, for the work of the crucifixion has already come to an end and God has prevailed over Satan. But the corrupt disposition of man still remaining within him, man can still sin and resist God, and God has not gained mankind. That is why in this stage of work God uses the word to expose the corrupt disposition of man, causing him to practice in accordance with the right path. This stage is more meaningful than the previous one, as well as more fruitful, for now it is the word that directly supplies man’s life and enables the disposition of man to be completely renewed; it is a much more thorough stage of work. Therefore, the incarnation in the last days has completed the significance of God’s incarnation and completely finished God’s plan of management for man’s salvation.

125-B-2 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “‘The Sixth Utterance’ of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe”

“The Sixth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh–this passage is very important to us in having faith in God, experiencing God’s work, attaining knowledge of God, so today we just want to lay importance on communicating this passage. The beginning of this passage is thus: “In matters within the spirit, you should be delicately sensitive; to My words, you should be carefully attentive. You should aim for the state in which you see My Spirit and My fleshly self, My words and My fleshly self, as one indivisible whole, and make it so that all of humanity will be able to satisfy Me in My presence.” What matter is being addressed here? In the course of experiencing God’s work in order to attain knowledge of God, what must we place importance on first of all? “In matters within the spirit, you should be delicately sensitive; to My words, you should be carefully attentive.” These two matters are crucial. There are many people who do not seek the truth, with the result that even after having believed in God for many years they still possess nothing of the truth, and they have no real knowledge of God, and this causes them to be without principles in performing their duties. This kind of person is even unworthy to do service, is this not a fact? They are unworthy to do service! Because in doing your duty you still cannot be up to the standard, you are not qualified to do service. If your service is not up to the standard, and if God’s work is finished in the very end, can you survive? You cannot. Those who continue to exist are the faithful service-doers. What conditions must a faithful service-doer be equipped with? One whose service can be justifiable and who is truly able to produce good results that can be put to use is a faithful service-doer.

I Now Know What the Meaning of Life Is

                                           

                                               By Jinqu, South Korea

“God chose me from a vast ocean of people, miraculously arranging that I come to His side. His kind words warmed my heart, His earnest calls woke me up from my dream. That familiar voice, that beautiful countenance have not changed from the very beginning. In God’s family I taste the sweetness of His love. I lean close to Him and do not want to part again. Without God, the days were hard to bear. I staggered along with each step full of pain. Only with God’s hidden protection did I reach today. And now with God’s words by me I am satisfied” (“Attachment to God” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). Whenever I hear this beautiful and melodic hymn, I am filled with gratitude to God. It was God who saved me from the abyss of money and caused me to no longer work so desperately hard, and I said farewell to the days of selling my life for money …

What Is God’s Will Behind the Parable of the Master and Servant?

By Wang Yan, China

Ever since we were baptized and returned to the Lord, we have often heard our pastors and elders say, “The apostle Paul said, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing’ (2 Timothy 4:7–8). As long as we forsake everything, work, suffer and expend for the Lord, and endure to the end, when the Lord returns, we will gain the crown of glory and be lifted up into the kingdom of heaven.”

In the past few years, we have pursued as our pastors and elders told us, and believed that by laboring, working, suffering, and expending for the Lord, we will gain crowns and blessings from the Lord. As we accumulate ever greater merits through work, we think that we are ever more qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven, so every one of us vigorously expends for the Lord, to the point that we feel any degree of suffering is worth it. But have we ever reflected on whether doing things in this manner is in accord with the Lord’s will, and whether it has a basis in the Lord’s word? Did the Lord Jesus praise pursuit in this manner?

136-A-5 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “In Your Faith in God You Should Obey God” (I)

Let’s continue communicating. “If your motivations are truly thus, then God will surely raise you up, and will surely be gracious toward you. No one can doubt this.” If man is truly motivated to obey God, seek the truth, thirst for God’s words, eat and drink God’s words and put God’s words into practice, then God will raise him up! “Then God will surely raise you up and will surely be gracious toward you.” Have we experienced the way in which God raises us up and treats us with grace? Sometimes God raises us up and gives us the opportunity to perform some duties. He treats us with grace when He puts us in important positions to fulfill duties. He allows us to be people with responsibilities, group leaders, people who take the initiative and people who take the lead. This is God raising us up and treating us with grace. Another way of saying this is that God lets us encounter bigger environments, obtain the truth, experience deeper breaking and greater discipline, obtain more truth and obey Him more. These are all examples of God raising us up and treating us with grace. Does everyone understand what I said? Are there any people who think like this, “If the duties I fulfill are more and more important, don’t I have to endure more and more dealings? Isn’t the bitterness that I have to suffer even greater?” Are there people who think these thoughts? There are definitely people who think like this. What kind of people think like this? People who do not love the truth think like this. They are not willing to suffer! Look, what kind of sayings are popular in some churches? “Do not become a leader! If you become a leader and later you are eliminated, you would not even have the qualifications to be one of the chosen people. At this point, it is completely over.” It is these types of antichrist, satanic remarks that are popular. Nobody spreads the maxims of experiencing God’s words and obtaining an understanding of the truth. Nobody will talk about these things. What does spreading these fallacious antichrist words indicate? The atmosphere of this church is unhealthy. The antichrists and false leaders are in power. That is why I arrange for God’s chosen people in each church to quickly expose leaders and workers. It doesn’t matter which worker or leader, if they say incorrect things, spread fallacies or do evil things, then they must be exposed without delay. I ask the churches to have a democratic election. You get to vote for leaders and workers. However, some churches do not implement this.

What is the difference between the redemption work of the Age of Grace and the judgment work of the Age of Kingdom? Why must one accept the judgment work of the last days before achieving salvation?

The Answer from God’s Word:

At the time Jesus’ work was the redemption of all mankind. The sins of all who believed in Him were forgiven; as long as you believed in Him, He would redeem you; if you believed in Him, you were no longer a sinner, you were relieved of your sins. This is what it meant to be saved, and to be justified by faith. Yet in those who believed, there remained that which was rebellious and opposed God, and which still had to be slowly removed. Salvation did not mean man had been completely gained by Jesus, but that man was no longer of sin, that he had been forgiven his sins: Provided you believed, you would never more be of sin. … Jesus did not come to perfect and gain man, but to do one stage of work: bringing forth the gospel of the kingdom of heaven and completing the work of the crucifixion—and so once Jesus was crucified, His work came to a complete end. But in the current stage—the work of conquest—more words must be spoken, more work must be done, and there must be many processes. So too must the mysteries of the work of Jesus and Jehovah be revealed, so that all people may have understanding and clarity in their belief, for this is the work of the last days, and the last days are the end of God’s work, the time of this work’s conclusion. This stage of work will elucidate for you the law of Jehovah and the redemption of Jesus, and is principally so that you may understand the entire work of God’s six-thousand-year management plan, and appreciate all the significance and substance of this six-thousand-year management plan, and understand the purpose of all the work done by Jesus and the words He spoke, and even your blind credence in and adoration of the Bible. All this it will allow you to perceive. You will come to understand both the work done by Jesus, and the work of God today; you will understand and behold all of the truth, the life, and the way. In the stage of work done by Jesus, why did Jesus depart without concluding God’s work? Because the stage of Jesus’ work was not the work of conclusion. When He was nailed to the cross, the words that He had spoken also came to an end; after His crucifixion, His work completely finished. The current stage is different: Only after the words are spoken to the end and God’s entire work is concluded will His work have finished. During Jesus’ stage of work, there were many words that remained unsaid, or which were not fully articulated. Yet Jesus cared not what He did or did not say, for His ministry was not a ministry of words, and so after He was nailed to the cross He departed. That stage of work was chiefly for the sake of the crucifixion, and is unlike the stage today. This stage of work is principally for the sake of completion, of clearing up, and of bringing all work to a conclusion. If the words are not spoken to their very end, there will be no way of concluding this work, for in this stage of work all work is brought to an end and accomplished using words. At the time, Jesus did much work that was incomprehensible to man. He departed quietly, and today there are still many who do not understand His words, whose understanding is erroneous yet still believed by them to be correct, who do not know that they are wrong. In the end, this current stage will bring God’s work to a complete end, and will provide its conclusion. All will come to understand and know of God’s management plan. The conceptions within man, his intentions, his erroneous understanding, his conceptions toward the work of Jehovah and Jesus, his views about the Gentiles, and all his deviation and errors will be corrected. And man will understand all the right paths of life, and all the work done by God, and the entire truth. When that happens, this stage of work will come to an end.

Some people have said, “If we keep the way of the Lord Jesus and conduct ourselves in accordance with His requirements, if we are humble and patient, love our enemies, bear the cross, subdue our body, preach and do work for the Lord and witness Him, if we strive in these things, we will become holy.” Why is it wrong to say this?

The Answer from God’s Word:

The sins of man were forgiven through the agency of the incarnate God, but this does not mean that man no longer has sin within him. The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but as for just how man can be made to sin no more, and how his sinful nature may be extirpated completely and transformed, he has no way of solving this problem. The sins of man were forgiven, and this is because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live within the corrupt satanic disposition of old. This being so, man must be completely saved from his corrupt satanic disposition, so that his sinful nature may be completely extirpated, never to develop again, thus enabling the disposition of man to be transformed. This would require man to grasp the path of growth in life, to grasp the way of life, and to grasp the way to change his disposition. Furthermore, it would require man to act in accordance with this path, so that his disposition may gradually be changed and he may live under the shining of the light, so that all that he does may be in accord with the will of God, so that he may cast away his corrupt satanic disposition, and so that he may break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin.

Why does God judge and chastise corrupt mankind in His work of the last days?

Bible Reference:

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 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” (Rev 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, until the coming of the age of God Himself, the work that God shall do is not to observe the deeds of man or to inquire into the life 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, and this being so, every single person who accepts God’s work in its final phase is the object of God’s purification. In other words, everyone who accepts God’s work in its final phase is the object of God’s judgment.

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

How the Prophecy of the Lord Jesus’ Return Is Fulfilled

Dear brothers and sisters:

Hello everyone, I’m very happy to see you all here. First, let’s give thanks to God for preparing this opportunity for us, and may God guide us and work amongst us.

Brothers and sisters, after our Lord Jesus had resurrected and risen up to heaven, all of us who believe in the Lord yearn for Him to soon return in order to make our many years of wishes true, and so that we could receive His promise and enjoy His blessings. Especially in the last days, our desire to see the Lord’s return is even more urgent. The prophecy of the Lord Jesus’ return has now already been fulfilled, and we have all seen or already heard of the frequent occurrences of all kinds of disasters in all nations of the world. They are, moreover, without historical precedent, and there are disasters occurring everywhere, such as floods, droughts, earthquakes, plagues and wars. The state of the world is also in turmoil, and there are frequent wars and terrorist attacks. Furthermore, the sermons of pastors and elders in the church are nothing but stale platitudes without any new light whatsoever. Many believers hear these sermons and feel no enjoyment, and desolation takes the place of their faith and love. Is this not precisely the situation when the prophecy of the Lord Jesus’ return is to be fulfilled? The Lord Jesus said: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near: So you in like manner, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that it is near, even at the doors” (Mark 13:28–29). We all know that this passage of scripture is referring to the reemergence of Israel. Israel reemerged several decades ago, the fig tree has put forth tender leaves, and the prophecies of the Lord Jesus’ return have been fulfilled. Brothers and sisters, since these prophecies have already been fulfilled, why then haven’t we seen the Lord Jesus descending upon a white cloud? Could it be that He has forgotten the promise He made two thousand years ago? Surely not, for God is faithful and His words are both faithful and to be trusted; when He utters a word, it will then necessarily be fulfilled in accordance with His plans and with the promise He made to man. Just as it is recorded in the Bible: “He that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37). In fact, the Lord Jesus long ago incarnated and descended in secret amongst us in accordance with His promise, and He now performs a new work. But some brothers and sisters believe that it is clearly recorded in the Bible: “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). They believe that, because the Lord Jesus resurrected and ascended into heaven upon a white cloud, therefore when He returns, He will certainly descend upon a white cloud in the sky and everyone will be able to see Him. And so they ask how it can be said that the Lord has already incarnated and has descended in secret? And if that is the case, they ask, then how will the prophecy that the Lord shall descend upon a white cloud be fulfilled? We will now fellowship about this issue.