138-B-1 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” (IV)

“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.

135-B-8 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “It Is Very Important to Establish a Normal Relationship With God” (IV)

Listening to this, some people might say, “Today I finally understand. Apparently, establishing a normal relationship with God is all too practical and meaningful! I will do it. I am resolved to do it! I will practice every day until I have a normal relationship with God.” If you practice like this every day, pray to God every day and live before Him, you will obtain the work of the Holy Spirit and be made perfect. If the Holy Spirit perfects you to a point where you can communicate the truth, then the Holy Spirit will start to use you. If the Holy Spirit uses you, how great an honor is that for a creation?! Even if you could be the president, you wouldn’t do it. Where is the honor of the president? There’s no honor at all. Unbelievers may consider them honorable, but their honor disappears in the blink of an eye. They themselves are destroyed just in the blink of an eye. It’s a flash in the pan; it’s meaningless.

135-B-7 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “It Is Very Important to Establish a Normal Relationship With God” (IV)

Everyone who believes in God has a different relationship with God, which is decided by the person’s nature. Those who love the truth often pray to God and commune with God, so their relationship with God becomes more normal over time. For those who do not love the truth, their prayers are not genuine, which means their relationship with God will certainly not be normal. Why? Because they do not love the truth, they do not truly commune with God, and they do not truly pray to God. Their prayers are pleas and more pleas, perhaps pleading for a cure for their illnesses, or for grace and blessings from God, or for God to solve their problems. There is always more pleading. Such men are despised by God. For those who hate the truth, their relationship with God will be even more abnormal. They have a hostile relationship with God, they are sworn enemies of God and Christ. All those who hate the truth are wicked people and antichrists, therefore it is impossible for them to establish a normal relationship with God, because their nature and their disposition are in opposition to God, and they resist God. For example, the priests, scribes and Pharisees of Judaism, as well as the pastors and elders of the religious world of the last days all hate the truth, therefore they believe in the vague God in heaven, yet are sworn enemies of Christ. Isn’t their relationship with God a hostile one? All those who hate the truth have a hostile relationship with God. All those who do not love the truth or are bored of the truth have an abnormal relationship with God. All they do is plead. They all live for themselves, they all plead for themselves, they never strive to grasp God’s will, nor are they considerate of it. Only those who love the truth have a normal relationship with God. All those with a normal relationship with God have the love of God in their heart and are able to obey God. Why do they need to always pray to God? Why do they need to always fellowship with God? Maybe we can already see the underlying reason, which is that they love the truth. They see that God’s words are the truth, they see that God’s words thoroughly explain all of life, that the best words to live by are God’s words, and that all the famous words spoken by the famous people of the world are all Satan’s lies, Satan’s logic and philosophies.

135-B-6 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “It Is Very Important to Establish a Normal Relationship With God” (IV)

Some people ask, “How can I establish a normal relationship with God? Are there things I should put into practice to guarantee this? If I am to establish a normal relationship with God, in which aspects do I need to commune with God and pray to God to attain this?” There are 5 major aspects. If you are able to attain normal contact with God, normal communion with God and have normal prayers to God through these 5 aspects, you are assured to attain a normal relationship with God. First, to commune with God you must read the word of God, and based on the word of God you must plead and pray to God. Second, you must recognize your own true situation through the word of God, and see your own deficiencies, understand your own corruption, pray to God, plead to God, beseech God to save and cleanse you. To have a true burden for your own life entry, this is the most important. Third, you must entrust unto God that which you cannot yourself obtain or accomplish. You must be able to rely on God and look to God. That is the third aspect. Fourth, you must completely deliver your own heart and your whole person to God. You must accept the judgment and purification of God and be perfected by God. Fifth, if you are able to disobey God, if you are able to betray God, then you must be able to curse yourself, and plead for the punishment of God, and this is very important! If you commune with God this way, are you not expressing your true feelings? These are the actual details of these several aspects of communing with God.

135-B-3 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “It Is Very Important to Establish a Normal Relationship With God” (IV)

Above, we have mentioned a total of six kinds of people. Each of them has a different method of believing in God that constitutes a relationship with God that is not normal. This has now been defined. Now, when it comes to these six types of people, regardless of how many years they have believed in God, are they able to obtain the Holy Spirit’s work? Can they enter the kingdom of heaven? We all say that they cannot. They cannot obtain the Holy Spirit’s work but they still want to enter the kingdom of heaven. Isn’t this delusional? Therefore, if you believe in God but you are unable to obtain the Holy Spirit’s work, then all is empty talk, you will not be able to obtain anything. This sentence is very accurate! Now, why do we need to establish a normal relationship with God? It is so that we can obtain the Holy Spirit’s work, obtain the truth in order to achieve an understanding of God and become perfected by God. Once we become perfected by God, we will become people who truly obey and worship God and we will obtain God’s promise. Now, if we have this kind of intention and this kind of goal, would we be able to establish a normal relationship with God? If our intentions are correct, then our goals can be achieved. Since our intentions are correct, we will be able to receive God’s blessings. When we receive God’s blessings, the Holy Spirit will start working on us. Isn’t this the case?

135-B-2 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “It Is Very Important to Establish a Normal Relationship With God” (IV)

Let’s start this fellowship now. “It Is Very Important to Establish a Normal Relationship With God.” We have communicated this piece of God’s word three times. I’m not sure if the majority of brothers and sisters have much of a grasp or understanding of these words of God. Perhaps someone will say, “Why are we still talking about this piece of God’s word? If we believe in God, then just let us believe. Why must we establish a normal relationship with God?” These are the thoughts of some new believers. So we must continue our fellowship to make it clear. Why is it that having faith in God involves establishing a normal relationship with God? This is a subject that every believer must understand clearly in their hearts. We are all clear about how the Lord Jesus did redemption work during the Age of Grace. He was nailed on the cross and died for us. We received the Lord Jesus’ salvation, and our sins were forgiven before we started to pray to God and had a connection with God. Who opened up the road to having a connection with God? It was God who personally established this path when He became flesh during the Age of Grace. If we hadn’t had Jesus’ redemption, would we sinners have had the qualifications to pray to God? Would we be qualified to have a connection with God? Perhaps someone will ask, “Now, if we believe in God and pray to God, God will forgive our sins. We are able to offer ourselves to God and expend for God. Isn’t that all there is to this? Why is it that we still need to establish a normal relationship with God?” Would you say that there is a mystery here? There is a mystery here inside. There is truth that must be sought. You will need to figure it out, “God, what is the importance of establishing a normal relationship with You? I still do not understand. From the Age of Grace until now, we have been praying like this for 2,000 years and You did not say these things. Why do You say these things now during the last days? What kind of meaning is there to this? Where is the mystery? God, may You enlighten and illuminate me.” This is a truth-seeking prayer. After you have finished reading God’s words, you must understand God’s intentions. Why does He require us believers to establish a normal relationship with Him? There is meaning to this! The things that God does, the requirements He has of man, the things He must accomplish, all of these are the most meaningful of matters. Let’s look back at Adam and Eve. In the Garden of Eden, what was it that caused them to leave God? Someone said, “It was because of Satan’s corruption that God chased them out of the Garden of Eden.” Now, why is it that man got corrupted by Satan? What is the reason that man got corrupted by Satan? It is because man did not have an understanding of God and did not have the truth. If we have the truth and we understand God, would Satan be able to corrupt us? Why is Satan unable to corrupt Christ? It is because Christ is the truth and He cannot be corrupted. Satan’s evil teachings and fallacies can confuse mankind but they cannot confuse Christ. Isn’t this the case? What is the end result that we want to achieve through establishing a normal relationship with God? We want to achieve an understanding of the truth and of God. If we understand the truth and God, would Satan be able to corrupt us? Would we be confused by all the different kinds of evil teachings and fallacies of this wicked world? Would all the different kinds of poison of the great red dragon poison us? It cannot poison us. Why is this? It is because we understand God, we have the truth as our life. This is how we can thoroughly distance ourselves from Satan’s influence and be completely obtained by God.

135-B-5 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “It Is Very Important to Establish a Normal Relationship With God” (IV)

So let me ask another question: What is the way that man is perfected by the Holy Spirit? It is attained by establishing a normal relationship with God. When you establish a normal relationship with God, your path of communing with God will open up; once this path is opened, the benefits you gain become greater and greater, the provision you receive becomes more and more, and the quality of your communion with God becomes more and more real, pure, and closer to the truth and life. You will then begin to enter into the path to being perfected. At this time, your communion with God will have become perfectly normal and will be a matter of any time or place. When a person’s relationship with God has become completely normal, there is no impurity: First, there is no transaction; second, it is not a relationship of exploiting God; third, it is not only asking for bread from God to eat one’s fill, but is seeking the truth from God as well as seeking to know God. In this way, a man’s relationship with God will become perfectly normal. When his relationship with God has become normal, how does God look upon this person? If someone’s relationship with God is not normal, how does God look upon and treat this person? Can you see into this matter? When man’s relationship with God has become normal, isn’t his intention in believing in God correct and normal? Is there still anything impure in his prayers to and communion with God? There is nothing impure. Then what is the principle in his prayers to and communion with God? What is his intent? What is his purpose? He communes with God, seeks God’s perfection, and seeks God’s guidance entirely for the sake of seeking the truth, for the love of God, and for obeying God and following God’s will in order to live out a meaningful human life. In this way, his prayers to and his communion with God receive God’s blessing and God’s praise.

136-A-8 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “In Your Faith in God You Should Obey God” (I)

Question 2: I have always striven to make and maintain a good name for myself among others. As such, when carrying out my duty, I have always done my utmost to protect my position and my image as it appears to the brothers and sisters. I have used apparent good behavior in place of carrying out the truth, and I have not regarded such as shameful. In fact, I had thought that what I was doing was correct and was a positive thing. However, through the real environment which God has set for me, and through that which He reveals in His words, I recognized that I was, in fact, truly deceitful. I was, in essence, vying with God for position. When this was revealed to me and I saw the essence of my nature for what it is, I was left in a very negative and confused state. It appears that a person’s essence is predetermined, and I don’t know if I can change. I would like to know how I should go about solving this problem.

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.

136-A-3 Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “In Your Faith in God You Should Obey God” (I)

“All those who do not seek obedience to God in their faith oppose God.” So what does it mean to be a person who seeks obedience to God? We all will encounter things in our daily lives, or perhaps we will come across some difficulties while performing our duties, and as soon as these difficulties befall us, we may ask, “How can I be obedient to God through this? How can I carry this thing out in a way that conforms to the intention of God?” It is at this time that we are seeking obedience to God. What does it mean to seek obedience to God? It means seeking how we should do something in a way that is obedient to God, how to practice conforming to God’s intention, this is seeking obedience to God. To put it simply, seeking obedience to God is, as we often have talked about, to seek the truth in all things to have a path of practice. Let me give you an example. Say there is a boy who believes in God. His dad doesn’t permit him to believe in God, but his mom is a believer and permits him to believe in God. Who do you think he ought to obey? He might try to make a wild guess, “Dad won’t allow it if I obey Mom; Mom won’t allow it if I obey Dad,” but he won’t know what to do. Seek the truth! It doesn’t matter whether it’s your mom or your dad, whoever speaks in accordance with the truth is who you should obey, that is who you should listen to, that is what we call being obedient to God. Some people find partners that are not believers, and their partners don’t allow them to believe in God. They might think to themselves: “Should I be obedient to God or to my partner? If I am to be obedient to God I should break it off with my partner, we should break up. If I am to be obedient to my partner, I will keep away from God and then I will certainly perish, and after I die I will descend to hell. Whom then should I be obedient to?” For this you must seek the truth. You should obey whoever is able to save you. If you obey your partner will your partner be able to save you? Seek the truth in all things, this is what is meant by seeking obedience to God. What does one think about when seeking obedience to God? “How do I act in a way that is obedient to God? How do I carry out my actions in a way that conforms to God’s intentions?” To ponder over these things is what we call seeking obedience to God. Some people say: “Wow, time is pressing nowadays! Here I am toiling away to make money to fill my stomach, but as soon as the great disasters come life will cease to exist, what could possibly be more important than life? Right, I should hurry to believe in God; it is important that I seek the truth.” But when it comes to seeking the truth, you are busy all day long making money, it’s only in your little bit of spare time that you are able to practice your faith in God, but this is not much of an experience. After work when you get back home you are exhausted, and after eating dinner you can barely think, so you just go to bed. Are you really still able to practice your faith in God? Even though you go along believing you do not obtain much, your progress is very slow, right? I’ve experienced this myself. People have 10 hours of energy in a day. If most of that energy is used to make a living and feed yourself, it will be guaranteed that you have very little to gain in your faith in God; your progress will be slow, and there isn’t enough time!

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.

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.