I Was Saved by Almighty God
Zhang
Min
Luoyang
City, Henan Province
I
was formerly a leader of the Independent Church, in charge of more
than a dozen churches, and had the final say on all the affairs of
the churches. By my abilities to preach, compose songs, heal the
sick, and drive out demons, I often showed myself off. So I became
the “most able person” and the “toast” of the churches,
exalted and looked up to by all the brothers and sisters, and became
an idol in their hearts. They all thought highly of me and adored me.
As a result, I became all the more self-right and arrogant. When I
said “Yes,” none of them ever dared to say “No.” Whenever I
went out to visit the churches or preach the gospel,
a church member would be assigned to carry my book bag and luggage.
Whichever church I
went to visit, the brothers and sisters there would travel a long
distance to pick me up and see me off. I kept all the brothers and
sisters in the churches under strict control. Without my permission,
no one should overstep the mark (that is, go out to seek the true
way). It was not until I had accepted God’s
work of the last days that I came to realize that I was in
no sense one who led the churches but a leading demon that resisted
the work of God.
In
1996, God’s gospel of the last days was preached to our churches.
Since then, I began to resist, blaspheme, and condemn God’s work,
and desperately hinder the brothers and sisters from accepting it. I
went everywhere to seal off the churches. I specially assigned people
to guard each church, and forbad anyone to receive those who preached
Almighty God’s gospel of the last days or go out to contact them.
If I found that a church member had received them, I would hold
meetings to denounce and disgrace him. I would have all the brothers
and sisters attack and reject him and force him to confess his sins
before them, so that he would never be able to hold up his head
again. The churches were sealed off by me so tightly as to be
impenetrable, and the brothers and sisters were strictly controlled
in my hands. But this could in no way hinder their hearts from
thirsting for and seeking the truth.
Once,
the leader of a church secretly received some preachers of the gospel
of the last days. After he heard their preaching about the true way,
he was willing to follow Almighty God and also wanted to bring the
brothers and sisters in his church to Almighty God. When I learned of
that, I immediately rushed there to “save” them. I led some
believers to abuse, slander, and insult the gospel preachers and
spite them by every means, and I also prayed loudly to curse them,
and told the believers to mock and drive them until they were thrown
out. After they left, I rebuked the brother who received them, and
began to consider how to punish him. Another time, when I learned
that a brother whose home was a meeting place also wanted to accept
Almighty God, I braved the snow and walked dozens of miles visiting
several places at that very night, trying to find a home to host the
church in his home’s stead. After that, I had all the believers
accuse him of taking the wrong way and falling into the trap of the
“Eastern Lightening,” so that he was under attack by all, unable
to lift up his head in the churches.
At
another time, the believers in several meeting places were gathered
together celebrating Christmas. I knew that a brother among them had
received the believers in Almighty God, so I dragged him out and
forced him to confess his sin in front of everyone and denounced him.
I also told all the believers to rise up against him. He was so
frightened that he slunk off into a cave-house and hid himself. When
I found him, I pulled him out, and forced him to stand still before
everyone and confess what he had done, and made an example of him. I
pointed at him, like a criminal, and said to the brothers and
sisters, “He received the ‘Eastern Lightning’ followers. If I
hadn’t kept a close watch over him, he would have followed them and
led away the believers in his charge. Today, I make him lose face
before all the brothers and sisters just for you never to be like him
or to be deceived by the ‘Eastern Lightning’ followers! From now
on, whoever receives them will suffer what he suffers today…” At
that, all the brothers and sisters were scared into silence.
One
day in 1998, I remember, it was raining heavily when two brothers
came to my house to preach the gospel to me. No sooner had they
opened their mouth than I jumped down my throat and rudely drove them
away. After that, some other brothers and sisters came several times
to preach to me, but I drove all of them out of the door. Once, a
brother came again. It was a Sunday, and there was a meeting going on
in my house. At the sight of him, I told the congregation to sing the
songs of driving out demons, and I also called him a big gray
serpent. But he told us calmly, “God has already returned and done
a new work…” Before he had finished his words, I pointed at his
head and shouted, “Is your father male or female? It is written:
‘Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name. …’
Isn’t the Father male? The one you believe in is female; you came
here to deceive people. Get away quickly!” Then, I threw him out
before he could say anything. Later, some other people came to preach
to me, but I still refused to listen, and I even fasted and prayed to
the Lord and asked Him to shut up their mouths. Before long, on a
rainy night, two brothers came to our church again to preach Almighty
God’s work of the last days. When I learned of that, I rushed there
in anger. Pointing at their heads, I said, “Get out, you preachers
of the ‘false way’! Or else, I won’t be so easy on you…”
Then, I called the brother who guarded the church to me and rebuked
him, “How did you guard the church? Why didn’t you drive them
away?” Just before the preachers went out of the church, I suddenly
thought to try a scheme, and so I said to them, “If you want to be
friends with us from now on, come to visit me in my house, and don’t
come here again.” They immediately asked me, “Where is your
house? We are glad to be friends with you.” I then told them my
address. The next day, they really came to my house. I forced them to
kneel before the cross and “confess their sins and repent.” And I
also spoke some offensive words to them. After a period of time, one
of them didn’t come anymore. That might be because he was busy with
other things or because he couldn’t bear my ill-treatment. The
other brother still came to have meetings in my house. I often asked
him to do a lot of work for me, but he never complained. He helped me
do the farm work and cook meals, and he never talked much. Once we
went up a hill to cut sesame plants, and he alone pulled the cart. By
the time he had reached the top of the hill, he was sweating like a
pig, but he didn’t say anything. After we cut off and bound up the
sesame plants, he pulled them to my house and carried them up to the
roof by himself. Seeing all that, not only did I not feel ashamed and
uneasy, but I still told him to kneel before the cross and continue
to confess his sins. I thought, “Who told you to join in the
‘Eastern Lightning’? You deserve this!” Like this, I didn’t
have any feelings of guilt about what I had done, but believed that
by doing so, I was loyal to God, responsible for the life of the
brothers and sisters, and completely after God’s heart. I rushed to
and fro all day long, busy with guarding against the “false way.”
However, the more I did so, the less faith the brothers and sisters
had. They were passive, cold, weak, and fell. Some went to work out
of town to earn money; some, though they attended the meetings, dozed
or slept during the service. The number of the believers in the
churches kept on dropping. I also found that while preaching, I was
dry and had no guidance of God, and what I delivered was all old
stuff. I didn’t know the reason for that, and so I prayed to God,
“O God! Why all these happened? Have I done any thing wrong? If I
have done something wrong and resisted You, I’m willing to confess
my sins and repent. May You enlighten me, guide me, and give me the
direction ahead. I am willing to seek and understand Your will and
bring the brothers and sisters before You.”
God
heard my prayer. A few days later, the brother who had never talked
much but often labored for me without any complaints said to me
gently, “Sister, would you like to go and hear messages with me?”
I looked at him, and somehow, a sense of indebtedness welled up
within me: In the past, I deliberately created difficulties for him
and treated him badly, but he never took it to heart, and instead
just kept silent and treated me sincerely as before. If God had not
worked in him, how could he have had such great patience, faith, and
love? I shall not hurt him anymore. At the moment, I said to myself,
“It’s all right to go and listen. Anyway, I have my own judgment,
and I won’t follow others blindly.” So, I went with him. After we
got there, a sister told me, “God has already come among men and
begun to do a new work. His first stop is China, the nation of the
great red dragon, the most dark, corrupt, filthy, and cruel place,
where God is resisted the most. And enduring rejections and slanders,
God has been saving those who are desperately longing and waiting for
Him in darkness. But they do not know Him, and even try every
possible means to resist Him. No one welcomes His coming, because His
work does not conform to man’s notions, and especially His
incarnation as a female this time all the more shatters man’s
notion.” Having said this, she took out the book of Almighty God’s
word and read, “The work of God continues to advance, and though
the purpose of His work remains unchanging, the means by which He
works are constantly changing, and thereby so are those who follow
God. The more work of God, the more thoroughly man comes to know God,
and the disposition of man changes accordingly along with His work.
However, it is because the work of God is ever-changing that those
who do not know the work of the Holy Spirit and those absurd men who
do not know the truth become opponents of God. Not ever does the work
of God conform to the conceptions of man, for His work is always new
and never old. Not ever does He repeat work of old but rather forges
ahead with work never before done. As God does not repeat His work
and man invariably judges the work of God today based on His work of
the past, it is exceedingly difficult for God to carry out each stage
of work of the new age. Man presents far too many hindrances! The
thinking of man is too hidebound! No man knows the work of God, yet
they all define such work.” “His substance and what He has and is
shall never change. His work, however, is always progressing forward,
always going deeper, for God is always new and never old. In every
age God assumes a new name, in every age He does new work, and in
every age He allows the creatures to see His new will and His new
disposition. If people do not see the expression of God’s new
disposition in the new age, would they not forever nail Him to the
cross? And by doing so, would they not define God? If God was only
incarnated as a male, people would define Him as male, as the God of
men, and would never believe Him to be the God of women. Then, men
would believe that God is of the same gender as men, that God is the
head of men—and what of women? This is unfair; is it not
preferential treatment? If this were the case, then all those whom
God saved would be men like Him, and there would be no salvation for
women. When God created mankind, He created Adam and He created Eve.
He did not create only Adam, but made both male and female in His
image. God is not only the God of men, He is also the God of women.”
When I heard this, I couldn’t help crying. I had never expected
that the God whom I had been longing for day and night had returned,
yet I had failed to recognize Him. I had opposed, rejected, and
slandered Him time and again, and had actually become a leading demon
that resists Him. “O my God! My God! Why are Your enemies the
members of Your own household?” I choked with sobs, and began to
recall the scenes of the brothers and sisters preaching the gospel to
me in the past years. “The painstaking effort God has exerted on me
and the price He has paid for me are too great. He has given me so
many opportunities to be saved, but I, a blind, foolish, ignorant,
arrogant, and malicious person, have missed them all, and I have even
done everything possible to resist, condemn, and impede His work, and
have tried by every means to bully, disgrace, abuse, and mock the
brothers and sisters who preached the gospel to me. I am really a
most wicked servant. Am I different from the Pharisees who opposed
the Lord Jesus?” The more I thought about that, the more remorseful
I felt, and the more deeply I regretted. I cried and prayed to God to
confess my sins and repent, “O dear Almighty God! I, a sinner, have
done so many things that resist You in these years. And for so many
times I have abused, disgraced, and bullied the people sent by You to
preach Your work of the last days to me, and I have hindered the
brothers and sisters from accepting the true way. I am grievously
sinful and deserve more than death. O God, not only have You not
abandoned me, but sent people time and again to preach Your new work
to me. O Almighty God, no matter how You punish me in the future, I
will be most willing to accept it. O God, I will hand all Your sheep
over to You, so that this hungry and lost flock will be filled.” I
cried every day confessing my sins to God and asking His forgiveness.
When I read the words from the very mouth of God, I felt that every
word struck right home to my heart. My hardened and numb heart was
touched, and I knew for sure that the work of Almighty God is the
work of God Himself. I always couldn’t help shedding remorseful
tears. I cried for over ten days, and finally I resolved to offer up
my whole being to bear witness to God.
Soon
I brought the brothers and sisters under my charge to Almighty God,
and so they all could read the words from the very mouth of God, and
they were extremely excited. The once lifeless churches completely
changed, as if placed under a new heaven and on a new earth. All the
brothers and sisters wore smiles on their faces and were in good
spirits. They sang new songs, danced new dances, and drank the
inexhaustible living water of life flowing out from the throne of
Almighty God, of which no one can enjoy the last. All the churches
saw the true light of Almighty God and were lightened up by His
words. Seeing these, I felt my indebtedness was somewhat relieved.
But I knew that what I had done was far from enough to make up for my
indebtedness to God. So, I made up my mind to bring more hungry and
lost lambs in darkness to the house of Almighty God, so that they
would, like us, enjoy the nourishment of the words of Almighty God,
the watering of the living water, and receive His personal guidance
and shepherding and all the riches bestowed by Him.
Later,
I went out to preach the gospel, and I saw with my own eyes how the
people of various denominations and sects resisted, slandered,
blasphemed, and falsely accused Almighty God, and how they reviled
and hit the gospel preachers and even reported them to the police,
which was no different from how I had resisted Almighty God. So I
even more regretted my past doings and disobedience and resistance.
And I couldn’t help but fall down before Almighty God and prayed,
“O God!
Dear Almighty God! If You had not enlightened and saved me, I would
still live in darkness like them, and would still resist and disobey
You. Thank You for bestowing such great grace upon me. Such a person
like me, who has done all kinds of evil, can still receive
Your salvation and
have an opportunity to know You and enjoy You, and this is really a
great uplifting and favor from You. What You have done in me has
revealed Your loving kindness and mercy, Your infinite and boundless
love for man, and moreover, revealed that Your intention is to save
rather than to destroy mankind. O God! Your love is so great and so
real that it has melted my heart. I will love You with all my heart,
and will devote all my life to Your gospel work to repay You, and use
my personal experiences to wake up those who are still fooled and
deceived by Satan and live in darkness. O God! I will live for You,
enjoy Your words gratefully, and seize the opportunity You give me to
fulfill the duty of a created being and cooperate with Your gospel
work properly, so that more innocent souls may come back to Your
house and Your sorrowful and anxious heart may be comforted. O God! I
will offer up to You all I have to repay Your love for
me!”
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