A Blade of Grass That Grows Among Thorns

A Blade of Grass That Grows Among Thorns

Yixin    Singapore

Editors’ note:

Yixin, a kind and caring beautician, came to Singapore from China. Under the Lord’s protection, she had a secure job and led a happy and steady life. Later, she heard the news about the Lord’s return. Unexpectedly, during the process of her investigation, she was paid attention to by her company and pastor. She was once afraid of a rupture with others and the loss of her job. However, God’s words led her. Depending on the guidance of God’s words, she saw clearly what came from Satan and what came from God in the hindrance and attack from her pastor and fellow believers. She understood many aspects of truths and grew gradually amid attacks and threats, ultimately solidifying her will to follow God all her life. Here is the inspiring experience she narrated.

A Sister of My Original Church Knew That I Was Investigating the Work of God in the Last Days

In November of 2016, I made the acquaintance of people in the Church of Almighty God on Facebook, a brother named Lin Quan, two sisters called Zhang Hua and Xiaoxiao. They fellowshiped and bore witness to me about God’s work in the last days combining with the prophecies in the Bible. Through their fellowship and testimony, I got to know that Almighty God has done a stage of work of judgment and purification with the word based upon the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus. In the last days, God intends to completely save man from the domain of Satan through judgment, allow man to break away from Satan’s influence, stopping disobeying Him and resisting Him and becoming someone truly obedient to Him. From Almighty God’s words, I also came to understand that God will separate wheat from tares, sheep from goats through judgment so that man shall be classified according to kind. Through Almighty God’s words and the testimonies of the brothers and sisters, I realized that Almighty God is exactly the coming of the Lord Jesus whom I longed for. I was willing to accept His work in the last days.

One day, Sister Zhu of my original denomination suddenly asked what I was up to recently. Then I told her my investigation on Almighty God’s work in the last days. Upon hearing the Church of Almighty God, she began to slander the Church and blaspheme Almighty God by repeating many online rumors and words of condemnation of God. She also advised me not to contact the people of the Church of Almighty God. I said, “I have engaged with those brothers and sisters for a while and felt good to communicate with them. They are different from what you said. What’s more, Almighty God’s words are very practical and easy to understand and remember. They can supply man and be the bread of life and show man the way to practice, giving me much more than the pastor’s sermons.” Seeing my determined attitude, she quit trying to persuade me but asked me whether to tell my investigation on the work of Almighty God in the last days to Sister Yun, who preached the Lord’s gospel to us. I answered, “No. There are still many things I don’t understand. I will tell everyone when I fully verify it.” She promised me not to speak to Sister Yun until I was clear about it.

My Investigation on God’s Work in the Last Days Was Given Away and I Was Attacked by My Boss

Against all expectations, five days later, my boss found me and said, “Yixin, Sister Yun asked me to pray for you. Although I don’t know how to pray, I will try my best….” Upon hearing these words, I realized that Sister Zhu had told Sister Yun my investigation on Almighty God’s work of the last days. Such behavior of hers was so immoral and full of deceit and betrayal to me, making me feel that even brothers and sisters in the Lord were untrustworthy…. As I thought of this, my boss, without asking me the ins and outs, accused me of not believing in the Lord properly and going astray in the presence of over ten people in the company. She also spoke many words resisting Almighty God and condemning the Church of Almighty God. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t know what to do, with a very awful feeling. So I prayed silently, “O Lord! Why did they say those words of resistance and condemnation without investigation? How could they put so much trust in the online rumors? O Lord! What should I do? Am I really wrong? O Lord! I wish for You to protect me. I don’t know what to do….”

Almighty God Guided Me to See Through Satan’s Plot

Later, I told Brother Lin Quan what happened to me. He sent me some God’s words, “Satan is constantly devouring the knowledge that men hold of Me in their hearts, and constantly, with teeth bared and claws unsheathed, engaged in the last throes of its death struggle. Do you wish to be captured by its deceitful stratagems at this moment? Do you wish, at the moment that the last phase of My work is completed, to cut off your own life? Surely you are not still waiting for Me to dispense My leniency one more time? Seeking to know Me is the key thing, but neither should you neglect to pay attention to actual practice. I am revealing insights to you directly in My words, in hopes that you will be able to submit to My guidance …” (“The Sixth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh). And “When God is working in the flesh, He is actually doing battle with Satan in the flesh. When He works in the flesh, He is doing His work in the spiritual realm, and makes the whole of His work in the spiritual realm real on earth” (“Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Brother Lin told me, “God’s words make us understand that it is a spiritual battle and that Satan’s harassment has come upon you. God incarnate expresses words for man to know Him, His work and His disposition so as to save them. While Satan follows on the heels of God to disturb and disrupt God’s work, deny God’s work and Christ, and reject the truth so as to hinder man’s return to God. The Bible says, ‘And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not’ (John 1:5). ‘He came to his own, and his own received him not’ (John 1:11). When the Lord Jesus came to do His work, the leaders of Judaism, like the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees, not only rejected Him but also became Satan’s servants, making every effort to defy His work. They mainly used the means of creating rumors and giving false testimonies to oppose God. For example, they slandered and blasphemed the Lord Jesus, saying that He drove demons out by the prince of the devils. They also framed Him for perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar. What’s more, after the Lord Jesus’ resurrection, they even bribed the soldiers to give the false testimony that the body of the Lord Jesus was stolen by His disciples. It is even recorded in the books other than the Bible that the Lord Jesus was an illegitimate son. In the last days when God carries out His new work, the CCP government fabricates numerous rumors in order to establish an atheistic place in China, and many pastors and elders in the religious world give lots of false testimonies for the sake of maintaining their status and jobs. So that people might be blinded, frightened, and hindered from investigating and accepting God’s new work. Therefore, we must see clearly that the atheist CCP government is the enemy of God, that the pastors, elders and the wicked who prevent man from investigating God’s work of the last days are the Pharisees of modern times, and that the online rumors are Satan’s schemes. Only in this way can we stand at God’s side in this spiritual struggle, without being taken captive by Satan….”

Brother Lin’s fellowship allowed me to know the root cause of the rumors. None of the people who attacked me had investigated Almighty God’s work of the last days before resisting it. They got really carried away with those rumors. Wise people would draw a conclusion after investigation. However, since belief in God was a serious matter, I feared taking a wrong path and had some misgivings. After I got home from work, I prayed to the Lord in tears, “O Lord! You are the God who observes the depths of man’s heart. You once guided me when I was most in need, making me happy and joyful. O Lord! I am very bewildered right now. May You guide and lead me. O Lord! Today I won’t listen to others and follow the crowd. I am willing to act in harmony with Your will.” As I was sleeping that night, without knowing the time, I felt in a daze that something was pressing on me. I wanted to open my eyes but failed and my struggling was in vain. I shouted hurriedly, “Lord Jesus, save me!” But it was useless although I had shouted twice. I was very fearful and was at a loss what to do. Suddenly I thought of Almighty God. So I cried out “Almighty God” twice and then I woke up. I was seized by panic and it was quite a while before I recovered. I thought to myself: Why was it useful to cry out to Almighty God while calling out to the Lord Jesus was not? At that time, I remembered Brother Lin’s fellowship: Almighty God has come and continued the work of the Lord Jesus. He has ushered in a new age and concluded the old by the name of Almighty God. Because there is one name for each age, the Holy Spirit upholds His new name in the new age. Now it is the last days. Almighty God set about His work in 1991. So, God only answers our prayers when we pray in the name of Almighty God. Only then did I realize that what happened just now was not accidental, but the confirmation given by God after He heard my prayer. Thanks be to the Lord! Thus, I had confidence to face the attacks from my boss and my colleagues.

I Was Again Attacked Because I Persisted in Believing in Almighty God

When I was at work the next day, my boss again criticized me in front of all the employees, saying that I was walking the wrong path. She also spoke very harsh words to blaspheme God. I was indignant at those words and asked her, “What is evil? We all believe in God. Why do you condemn others in this way?” After saying this, I stormed away. A few minutes later, my boss came for me and blamed me for losing my temper with her. I said, “I did not mean to get mad. But you shouldn’t have said those words. We believers in God should not say the words profaning, resisting or condemning God, which is sinning against God. If you feel I will be detrimental to the company, I can choose to leave. All I want is to believe in God properly. I won’t hurt you or affect the company. You think you mean well. But I’m an adult with rational thinking. Concerning whether Almighty God is the coming of the Lord Jesus, I have sought and investigated it rather than believed it by listening to others casually.” She then asked me if I had read the statements on TV and online. I answered, “Anything negative comes from Satan. What I have seen differs from what you have seen. The Church of Almighty God has never made people do those evil things. Rather, quite the opposite, we’re asked to be good and honest people.” Then she was speechless and left.

A Hymn of God’s Word Gave Me Confidence to Fight

However, from then on, my boss has been freezing me out and even satirizing me in order for me to give up my faith in Almighty God. One day, my boss suddenly told me, “Sister Yun will talk to you when she comes back from her business trip.” At those words, I felt somewhat bad and nervous. It was Sister Yun who spread the Lord’s gospel to me. She was also a VIP client in our beauty salon. If she was offended, it would be hard for me to deal with her and my boss would be unhappy. As the day of Sister Yun coming back approached, I became more nervous and scared. One afternoon, I prayed to God in a VIP room. Just after my prayer, my boss phoned to say, “Sister Yun will come in a moment. Give a facial treatment to her.” Though reluctant, I had no excuse to wriggle out of it. I went to the staff room, listening to hymns of God’s word in order to quiet my heart before God. I listened to the 210th hymn “I Am Determined to Love God”: “… I wish for You to open the eyes of my spirit, I wish for Your Spirit to touch my heart, so that before You I am divested of all passive states, and unconstrained by any person, matter, or thing; my heart I completely lay bare before You, such that my entire being is devoted before You, and You may test me however You wish. Now, I give no thought to my prospects, nor am I bound by death. Using my heart that loves You, I wish to seek the way of life.” God’s words gave me faith. Gradually, my heart calmed down and was at ease. Yes. Whatever others say, I should seek the truth, search for the appearance and work of God and pursue to love Him without the constraint of anyone. How my boss sees or treats me and how my relationship with Sister Yun is going to be rest in God’s palm. Therefore, I got the faith to face all this.

I Triumphed in the Test by Praying to and Depending on God

A few minutes later, Sister Yun arrived. I prayed to God silently, “Almighty God! I am afraid that she will speak words that blaspheme, resist and condemn You…. May You protect and help me.” She started by only talking with me about what she reaped from her business trip to Israel. In the end, however, she asked me in a roundabout way, “In the last days, many false Christs and false prophets have appeared to deceive people….” I said, “Yes. The Lord Jesus indeed reminded us of that. But He also said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). The Lord will lead us onto the right path. We should not only worry about deception from false Christs in the last days, because God has told us that His sheep listen to His voice.” However, she didn’t listen to me at all but kept telling me to be careful of false Christs that appeared in the last days to deceive people. She then spoke negative words about the Church of Almighty God. I ignored her words. Seeing me not respond to her, she no longer said anything. I thanked God for protecting me. As such, I passed this test.

God’s Words Guided Me Again and Gave Me Discernment

Later, my boss was still not pleased about me believing in Almighty God, keeping freezing me out and attacking me in front of my colleagues. During that time, brothers and sisters from the Church of Almighty God constantly fellowshiped and shared with me in order to allow me to understand God’s will. They told me: God gives people freedom of choice and He never forces them, which is His working principle. People volunteer to accept or not accept Almighty God’s work in the last days without being compelled. They also sent me a passage of God’s words, “Now what I set is the exercise for your life to grow, so that your spirit will be acute, your spiritual eyes will be opened and thus you will know what is from God. If it is from God, you will be capable and burdened in your service and be assured in your spirit. If it is not from Me, everything will be empty, and you will gain nothing, feel down in your spirit, lose faith, become distant from Me, and sink into mind. Now, living in the spirit, you can transcend all the worldly things. Living in the mind, you will fall into Satan’s trap and come to a dead end. Now, it is very simple. Look up to Me with your heart, and immediately you will be strong in your spirit and have ways of practice. I will lead you at your every step, and My word will be revealed to you anywhere and anytime. No matter when and where it is and how adverse the environment is, as long as your heart looks up to Me, I will surely let you see clearly, My heart will surely be revealed to you, and you will not get lost when running forward” (“The Thirteenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I gained a bit of knowledge about this passage of God’s words through their fellowship. There was always God’s permission no matter what happened to me. He created such an environment to try me and test me whether or not I had true faith in Him. Meanwhile, God wanted to open the eyes of my spirit so that I could distinguish between what came from God and what came from Satan. God also wished me to learn to rely on and look up to Him in trials because He would be with me to lead, guide, care and protect me.

With the guidance of God’s words and the help of brothers and sisters, I was even more aware of what was the right path. I ascertained that following Almighty God was keeping pace with the footsteps of the Lamb rather than taking the wrong path. Brothers and sisters in the Church of Almighty God fellowshiped about the truth and God’s will with me, and bore witness to what God has and what God is. They never forced me to believe but allowed me to choose freely. They only communicated with me on God’s will and helped me learn to discern various views. Whereas Sister Yun and my boss kept saying the words of profanity and resistance to God according to the online rumors in order to obstruct me from accepting God’s work of the last days by compulsion. When I didn’t listen to them, they just denounced and took digs at me. This made me thoroughly understand that only what was from Satan would push, attack and force man. Thanks be to God! It was obvious for me that who was from God and who was from Satan.

I Was Attacked and Threatened by the Pastor of My Original Church

I had thought things had come to an end, but something unexpected again happened. One day, I had just finished a beauty treatment for a client when my boss came to take me to the next building. I remembered she was out for a couple of hours, but I didn’t know she was actually talking with Sister Yun and the pastor of my original church in the next building. She didn’t tell me that Sister Yun was waiting for me until when we were almost to the door. I entered and saw that Pastor Liu and his wife and Sister Yun were there. I was a little nervous at that time for I had no idea what they would do. So I prayed to God silently, “Almighty God! They come to me for another talk. I ask You to protect me, help me and give me Your wisdom to respond to them.” About ten minutes later, I was no longer nervous or flustered. I thought to myself: Are they here to force me to leave Almighty God? If I don’t agree, will I lose my job? But I then called to mind that everything was in God’s hand and He would make proper arrangements. I wouldn’t leave Almighty God even if my job was lost. Pastor Liu asked me when I started believing in the Lord and spoke many things about belief in the Lord. Then he asked, “Do you know the Church of Almighty God? Are you still in touch with them? …” He also said many words that blasphemed Almighty God and vilified the Church. I said with some anger, “Why do your knowledge and opinion of the Church of Almighty God conflict with what I’ve learned through contact? We all browsed on the Internet. I saw both negative and positive information. But you started to condemn it without considering the positive or investigating. Is that proper?” Instead of answering me, Pastor Liu said, “The Church of Almighty God develops rapidly and has stolen the lambs from many churches. If you don’t listen to our admonitions and persist in believing in Almighty God, we won’t be courteous to you. We will tell all the brothers and sisters in the church that you have believed in Almighty God and they will think that you want to steal lambs if you go to the church.” He then intimidated me by saying some false testimonies. I wasn’t scared of his words but on the contrary, I asked him with confidence, “Have you seen these things with your own eyes? Are you sure that people in the Church of Almighty God did them? You blindly condemn the Church and blaspheme Almighty God by echoing others’ views without seeking or investigation. Aren’t you the same as the Pharisees who resisted the Lord Jesus?”

I Saw Through the Pastor’s Lie

I continued to ask, “It is prophesied in the Bible that the Lord will be rejected by this generation when He comes again. What does it mean? Is people’s resistance against Almighty God the same as that of the Pharisees against the Lord Jesus? What did the Lord Jesus say when the Pharisees opposed Him? He said, ‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in’ (Matthew 23:13). Why was it that they opposed the Lord Jesus while His disciples followed Him? The Lord Jesus once said that His sheep hear His voice and that He would separate sheep from goats. I haven’t believed in God for a long time and don’t understand the Bible. Pastor Liu, you studied theology. I think you’ll have some answers.” He was incapable of replying to my questions. He only said, “We can obtain everlasting life since we believe in the Lord and have been baptized.” I said, “What? Is it this simple to obtain everlasting life? Does everyone who was baptized in the church treat the Lord with sincerity? There are always sermons to encourage offerings in the church. But the Lord never said giving offerings is love for Him. Then what does it really mean to love the Lord? Please talk about it.” He answered, “Loving the Lord is to read the Bible more and pray more.” At that point, I thought: Although I don’t know what true love for the Lord is, his answer is purely fooling me. The Pharisees read many scriptures and offered a lot of prayers. Could it be said that they loved the Lord? If they did, why did they blaspheme and condemn the Lord and nail Him to the cross? Pastor Liu has no idea at all about what it is to love the Lord. It turns out that having biblical knowledge and theology doesn’t mean understanding the truth. When my thoughts went there, I felt that it was meaningless to argue with him. So I didn’t want to say more. But Pastor Liu still continued, “Do you know they claim that the Lord has returned through incarnation as a female to do His work?” On hearing this question, I said, “What form the Lord takes when He becomes flesh is His own business. We are just small and insignificant men. Can we define the work of God? Men are mere dust before God and cannot even compare with ants. It is not necessary for God to seek our advice about how to perform His work.” Seeing that they did not at all have a heart of seeking and investigating God’s work of the last days, I didn’t want to go on talking with them. At last, I asked, “Have you ever thought that your arrival to the company for me like this would affect my work?” I didn’t expect that Pastor Liu lied to me, “Your boss has no idea about the content of our conversation.” Upon hearing his words, I didn’t say anything but forced a smile. I prayed silently to God in my heart, “Dear God, You have allowed me to see clearly the pastor’s true face. He is full of lies. He spent the whole afternoon talking with my boss. What’s more, since my boss heard it from Sister Yun that I believe in Almighty God, she has got a sharp tongue and kept attacking me. Now the pastor actually tells me that the content of our conversation is unknown to my boss, which is really blatant deceit of me.” I didn’t want to speak to him anymore, and felt like leaving.

Sister Yun’s “Persuasion” and the Pastor’s Warning

Seeing me not want to go on with the conversation, Sister Yun said, “Yixin, you have parents and children. You should think about them.” I said, “My family are all good and safe. I have God’s blessings and guidance when I believe in Almighty God. We will get better and better.” Pastor Liu and Sister Yun suggested making a prayer for me but I refused. Then Pastor Liu warned me by saying, “If you don’t leave the Church of Almighty God, nobody of our church will admit you in the future.” I thought: How does the church look like now? It has become a den of thieves, just like the temple when the Lord Jesus came to do His work. I can’t receive any provision there. There is nothing I cannot bear to part with. I have accepted God’s work in the last days, followed the Lamb’s footsteps, come before God’s throne, being supplied by the living water of life flowing from Christ. The Church of Almighty God is my only true family.

I Saw the Fulfillment of Almighty God’s words

Thanks to God’s mercy. I have gained discernment through the disturbance from the religious force. I saw that the pastor told a pack of lies. What he lived out and what he did totally came from Satan. Besides, the believers in religion deceived each other and were unworthy of trust. The religious circle has lost the work of the Holy Spirit, been completely shrouded by darkness and dominated by Satan. In the meanwhile, I also saw that the brothers and sisters in the Church of Almighty God solve people’s problems and difficulties with God’s words, living under the guidance of God’s words. It is the truth that rules in the Church, it is the word of God that rules, it is the Holy Spirit that rules. The sun shines resplendent here. No wonder Almighty God says, “Now what I set is the exercise for your life to grow, so that your spirit will be acute, your spiritual eyes will be opened and thus you will know what is from God” (“The Thirteenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After experiencing these words from Almighty God, I’ve recognized that He is as good as His word and that His word shall be accomplished. This is absolute. Almighty God’s words are indeed the truth, and I am even more certain that the Church of Almighty God is the real church and that Almighty God is the Creator who has appeared to work. I am willing to follow Him all my life.