Whom Do You Actually Believe in? III

My son’s every word struck my heart deeply, and I was exceedingly upset. I could not believe that the pastors and elders whom I adored and looked upon for years were antichrists. However, what my son fellowshiped was irrefutable. I just sat there feebly and asked myself silently: Am I wrong to listen to my pastors and elders and obey them?

My son exhorted us with patience, “Dad and mom, it’s time for us to wake up. Let’s look into ourselves and see whom we actually believe in, who can really save us, who bestows upon us everything, and who leads and supplies us all the way. How can we put our life at the mercy of others in such a foolish way? We should know God is the only One we ought to worship; only God is the truth, the way and the life. No one can gain the truth and life without God’s watering and shepherding. No matter how great one’s position and how high his status, he is merely a corrupt man and can never be on a par with God. This is because man has no truth, much less is he the source of the truth. If you don’t believe me, let us look back: Under the guidance of our pastors and elders, we have heard lots of biblical knowledge and understood so many letters and doctrines. But who has gained the truth? Who has lived out the likeness required by the Lord? Who has had the knowledge of the Lord? And have we got any change in our life disposition? These facts make us see that even though we have believed in the Lord for years, we not only don’t know the Lord or achieve a change in disposition, but instead become more and more arrogant and self-right, bow to no one. When things happen, we are still selfish and base, and crooked and crafty. We are narrow-minded, and engage in intrigue when dealing with others. We also follow the worldly trends, without any likeness of a believer in the Lord, and our hearts stray farther and farther from God. Dad and mom, the disasters are more and more serious now, and the biblical prophecy of the four blood moons has been completely fulfilled. As the day of God chastising man is drawing nearer and nearer, if we remain unrepentant, obey and worship our pastors and elders as God, won’t we be ruining ourselves? It will be too late to regret then. We believe in God but obey man in truth. This is worshiping idols. It’s resisting God and blaspheming God! We believers all know God most hates people worshiping idols. The Lord Jesus said, ‘This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men’ (Matthew 15:8-9). Almighty God also says, ‘You who follow God with your words had better open your eyes wide to see who it is you truly believe in. Is it God or Satan? If you know that the one you believe in is not God but an idol, you had better not say that you believe in God. And if you do not know who you really believe in, you had better not say that you believe in God. It is blasphemy to say that! Believing in God is not something to be forced. Do not say you believe in Me—I have heard it often enough and do not want to hear it again, for the ones you believe in are the idols in your heart and the villains among you. All those who shake their heads when hearing the truth, yet are all smiles when hearing the words of death, are the descendants of Satan and are to be eliminated’ (“Warnings to Those Who Do Not Practice the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘Some people do not rejoice in the truth, much less judgment. Rather, they rejoice in power and riches; such people are deemed to be snobs. They exclusively seek out those sects in the world with influence and those pastors and teachers coming from seminaries. Despite having accepted the way of truth, they remain skeptical and are unable to devote themselves fully. They speak of sacrificing for God, but their eyes are focused on the great pastors and teachers, and Christ is brushed aside. … For they only value position, prestige, and power; what they hold in high regard are large groups and sects. They have no regard at all for those led by Christ; they are simply traitors who have turned their backs on Christ, on truth, and on life’ (“Are You a True Believer of God?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).”

My wife looked at me and said solemnly, “Liu, there is indeed the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment in what Aiguang fellowshiped. It is accordant with the fact. I can’t help thinking of today’s pastors and elders. Although they don’t blatantly claim to rule in the church, in roundabout ways, they testify about themselves and exalt themselves to be the ones who wield power in the church, and make the brothers and sisters worship and obey them. From Almighty God’s words, I know these pastors and elders are just the Pharisees who competed with God for people and status. They are antichrists of today. We are really ignorant, blind, wretched, and absurd. Aren’t we seeking self-destruction if we follow them as we believe in God?”

I nodded with shame, and sighed, “Almighty God’s words are exactly right. Through this fellowship, I seem to understand that I blindly listened to my pastors and elders in believing in the Lord, and thought obeying them was submitting to God; in fact, this simply is not believing in God. These years, the believers of the Church of Almighty God have preached Almighty God’s work of the last days to me many times. However, I dared not investigate it because of listening to my pastors and elders. Now I really feel regretful at the thought of that. If one obeys man while believing in God, he will indeed offend God and be eliminated by God. Aiguang, who among the believers does not wish to obey the Lord and gain God’s approval? But what is it to obey God?”

My son smiled and said patiently, “Thanks be to God. It’s most important for us believers in the Lord to understand the truth of how to obey God, because it involves the great matter of whether we can enter the kingdom of heaven and be approved by the Lord. As to the truth in this aspect, let’s read some words from Almighty God. Almighty God says, ‘If you are unable to accept the new light of God, and cannot understand all that God does today, and do not seek it, or else doubt it, pass judgment on it, or study and analyze it, then you have no mind to obey. If, when the light of the here and now appears, you still treasure the light of yesterday and oppose God’s new work, then you are nothing more than a joke, you are one of those who deliberately oppose God. Key to obeying God is appreciating the new light, and being able to accept it and put it into practice. Only this is true obedience. Those who are unwilling to thirst for God are incapable of being of a mind to obey God, and can only oppose God as a result of their satisfaction with the status quo. That man cannot obey God is because he is possessed by what came before. The things that came before have given people all manner of conceptions and illusions about God that have become the image of God in their minds. Thus, what they believe in are their own conceptions, and the standards of their own imagination. If you measure the God who does actual work today against the God of your own imagination, then your faith comes from Satan, and is according to your own preferences—and God does not want faith such as this. Regardless of how lofty their credentials, and regardless of their dedication—even if they have devoted a lifetime of efforts to His work, and have martyred themselves—God does not approve of any with faith such as this’ (“In Your Faith in God You Should Obey God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘The work done by God differs across periods of time. If you show great obedience in one phase, yet in the next phase show less or none at all, then God shall desert you. If you keep pace with God as He ascends this step, then you must continue to keep pace when He ascends the next. Only such men are obedient to the Holy Spirit’ (“The Truly Obedient Shall Surely Be Gained by God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Dad, mom, Almighty God’s words have made it very clear. True obedience to God refers to that one can obey God’s new work and new light rather than living in the past steps of God’s work, that is, one should follow the Lamb wherever He goes. People who can closely follow the work of the Holy Spirit step by step are those who obey God. The obedient aren’t slaves of Satan or anyone else, but God’s servants only; these people only honor God as great in their hearts and are not restrained by influence or position; they can distinguish people, matters and things according to God’s words, and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in everything; as long as what one says, regardless of whom he is, accords with the truth and comes from God, they will obey; if what one says goes against the truth, regardless of how high his position or how great his influence, they won’t obey. Only such are the ones who obey God. Take Peter for an example: He didn’t esteem position or influence, much less worshiped or looked toward man. When the Lord Jesus came to work, he sought modestly and saw that the words of the Lord Jesus are the truth, the way and the life, and that what He did was with God’s authority. So, he resolutely followed Him. During the time he worked and preached for the Lord, he endured all manner of persecution of the Pharisees and those in power, but he submitted to God all the time rather than obeyed and followed man. Such people like Peter are the ones who truly obey God. Now the Church of Almighty God has published on the Internet the words God expresses in the last days, and the hymns, choir albums, gospel movies and videos, and so on, for those who thirst for God’s appearance all over the world to seek and investigate. The Lord Jesus once said, ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me’ (John 10:27). The wise virgins are those who can take the initiative to seek the bridegroom’s voice. Now some people in various sects and denominations who truly believe in the Lord, thirst for the truth and yearn for the light have ascertained that Almighty God is exactly the returned Lord Jesus through investigation. They’ve returned before the throne of God, and attended the rich feast laid out by God. Only those who are timid and esteem position and influence, who are still bound by their pastors and elders and refuse to investigate the work of God in the last days, will fall into darkness, weep and gnash their teeth, and will never see the light. They dig their own grave. Whom can they blame for such a result?”

Both humiliated and moved, I decided to investigate Almighty God’s work in the last days. After an investigation of a week, I was certain that Almighty God is really the returned Lord Jesus, and recognized that the truth expressed by Almighty God is truly for the sake of man’s purification and salvation. My heart brimmed with gratitude toward God, and I did thank His salvation for me. If it had not been for God’s mercy, I would never know why I was to die in the end as I believed in God yet followed man.

…………

After I told my experience, Brother Liang sighed with feeling, “Brother, your experience reminds me of my own, which is similar to yours. It seems that we are both raptured in peril to accept Almighty God’s work in the last days. If Almighty God did not reveal the consequence of worshiping man and following man, we would still be following man. Today we can break free from the bondage of our pastors and elders and accept God’s work in the last days. It’s truly God’s grace. Praise God!”

Brother Li was also overwhelmed with emotion, “Exactly! As people all adore status and influence, they unknowingly worship man in belief in God. Through Almighty God’s words, we see through the substance of the religious leaders, and also realize the outcome of those who follow man as they believe in God, which is the same as that of the Jews who followed the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees. That is so close!”

We knelt down and prayed together, giving thanks to Almighty God for His salvation, bringing our meeting to an end.

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