God Has Brought His Glory to the East

God gave His glory to Israel then moved it away from there,bringing the Israelites and bringing all men to the East.God has led them all to the light,so that they may be reunited and associate with light,no longer have to search, search for the light.

Who is my Lord

Liu Zhizhong is a pastor at a local house church in China. He's been a believer for over 30 years, and has constantly maintained that "The Holy Bible is inspired by God," "The Holy Bible represents God, believing in God is believing in the Bible, believing in the Bible is believing in God."

Faith in God

Yu Congguang is a gospel preacher from the Church of Almighty God. Because he was pursued by the CCP government while preaching the gospel, he fled to the mountain and got help from Zheng Xun, a co-worker of the local house church.

XiaoZhen's Story

Xiao Zhen used to be a pure, kind-hearted Christian, who always treated her friends sincerely. However, when it was to their benefit, her former friends became her enemies.

The Mystery of GodLiness

Lin Bo’en had believed in the Lord for decades and was a senior preacher. Ever since his acceptance of Almighty God, Christ of the last days, he had been confronted with the condemnation and rejection of the pastors, elders, and antichrist forces in the religious world and was eventually expelled from the religion.

Showing posts with label the church of Almighty God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the church of Almighty God. Show all posts

Friday, November 17, 2017

Escaping Satan’s Sieges by God’s Word

Escaping Satan’s Sieges by God’s Word

Kuozhan
I was once a leader of a Three-Self church. Seeing the pastors and elders scrambled for fame and gain, I was very disappointed with them and my faith and love gradually grew cold. Later, Almighty God’s work of the last days was preached to me. Through a period of investigation, I felt the work and guidance of the Holy Spirit and recovered the faith and love I had at the start. I was fully convinced of Almighty God’s work of the last days, and began to read His words hungrily and have meetings with my brothers and sisters in the Church of Almighty God. However, just then, I unexpectedly encountered the disturbances and sieges of the leaders and fellow believers in the Three-Self Church. In my bewilderment and confusion, it was Almighty God’s words that led me to overcome the temptations and disturbances of Satan, made me see clearly Satan’s ugly face and evil nature, and strengthened my faith in following Him to the very end.
One day, it was raining a bit. Pastor Huang and Sister Song, a leader of another Three-Self church, came to my house. I thought, “They have never come to visit me; for what do they both come today? Did they hear of my acceptance of Almighty God? They have been rejecting God’s work of the last days and sealing off the churches. Do they come to persuade me? It seems that they are well prepared. I must be very careful not to fall into their trap.” After they entered the room, Song queried, “Brother, we heard that you’ve accepted the Eastern Lightning. Is it true?” I thought to myself, “Sure enough they come for that. How did she know that? My wife told them? Well, it seems that I can’t hold out on them.” So I said, “Yes. Someone gave me a book, and I have read it. I think the words in it completely accord with facts, and what’s more, they carry authority and cannot be spoken by any man. I believe they are God’s utterances.” They exchanged knowing looks at each other, and then Song said solemnly, “Brother, you have believed in the Lord for many years; aren’t you confused? Aren’t the words of the Lord all in the Bible? There are no words of the Lord outside the Bible. You read their book; doesn’t it mean that you have departed from the Bible and abandoned the Lord’s way?” I looked at them and said confidently, “It says in John 21:25, ‘And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.’ And John 16:12-13 says, ‘I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.’ From these verses, we can see that there are God’s words outside the Bible; or else the Lord Jesus wouldn’t have said that the Spirit of truth would tell people many things when He came. Doesn’t that prove there are God’s words outside the Bible? You say there are no God’s words outside the Bible; how do you explain about the little scroll prophesied in Revelation? Aren’t you denying the prophecy by saying that? To tell the truth, I also thought that way in the past as you do. But after I read the words of Almighty God, I knew that The Word Appears in the Flesh is God’s utterance in the last days and is the scroll to be opened by the Lamb prophesied in the Bible. I hope you make an investigation and don’t miss the opportunity to be saved by God.” Hearing that, they stood up abruptly, and Song said in anger, “We only believe in the Lord Jesus! The Lord Jesus is our only Savior! And we won’t accept whoever is not called the Lord Jesus!” Pastor Huang also said angrily, “We came to persuade you for your good, but you’re simply irredeemable! I urge you to look out for yourself.” With that they went away in a huff. Looking at their receding figures, I felt sick at heart. “They have believed in God for years, but they don’t seek or investigate God’s work of the last days; instead, they try hard to disturb the believers and stop them from accepting God’s new work. They believe in God but do not know God; they are so pitiable.”
During the days that followed, the pastors, elders, preachers, co-workers, and believers in the Three-Self church came to persuade me time after time. They said, “Brother, please come back. We all miss you. If you come back, we will line up to welcome you….” After hearing these words repeatedly, I began to waver. I remembered my years of belief in the Lord in the Three-Self church; every tree and bush and every inch there were so familiar to me. I became kind of weak within. Just when I hesitated, a hymn of God’s word that I often sang rang in my ears: “The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation, condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for the truth; only in this way will you benefit. …” (“You Should Be Someone Who Accepts the Truth” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). I sang it repeatedly in my heart. I pondered the lyrics, thinking, “What God has expressed today is the truth, and God’s work is all the more brought by the incarnate God Himself. If I don’t accept the returned Lord Jesus, won’t I be condemned? This is just as when the Lord Jesus came and did His work; the Pharisees held on to their conceptions and refused to accept Jesus’ gospel and finally was condemned by God. If today I yield to the persuasion of the people in the Three-Self church, won’t I be condemned like the earliest Pharisees? Besides, I have enjoyed the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church of Almighty God. In the past, when I was in the Three-Self church, I didn’t feel the work of the Holy Spirit at all. The pastors and elders had jealous disputes with one another and schemed against one another, and their preaching couldn’t supply the believers with life. The believers became cold in their faith and love. Now I am fortunate to keep up with God’s new work and receive the truth that can provide me with life; won’t I ruin myself if I go back? If they really take responsibility for my life, why did they not come to sustain or supply me when I was passive, but come and try hard to prevent me from walking the right path when I accepted God’s new work? The Lord Jesus said: ‘No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’ (Luke 9:62). I shouldn’t turn back. All that came upon me these days is a spiritual battle of life and death. I must see through Satan’s cunning schemes and not waver. I should have a firm faith and rely on God’s words to overcome Satan’s sieges and follow God to the end.”
One day soon after, Mr. Sun came to my house on his motor tricycle. Upon entering my room, he said to me excitedly, “Brother, I have some good news for you. The director of the Religious Affairs Bureau told me that he wanted to talk to you. He asked you to go back to the church and continue to serve as the leader, and he promised to pay you a salary. He personally told me that. Once you agree and call him, it is done. Where would you find such a good opportunity?” At his words, I said to myself, “Today the director sent him to persuade me; it shows that he thinks highly of me. He remembers me and asks me to go back to work as the leader with salary; this will bring me both fame and gain. If I agree, I’ll have a guaranteed livelihood and be financially secure in my old age. That is what I have been expecting these years.” But then I thought, “If I go back to the Three-Self church, won’t I resume a life of struggling for fame and gain? Won’t I suffer the exclusion of the pastors and elders once again? Have I not suffered that enough? Besides, if I go back, it means that I have rejected God’s name and work and have given up the true way for the sake of fame and gain.” So I said to Sun, “I have retired from that position; I won’t go back. Thanks for your kindness.” He said anxiously, “Think it over again. Do not miss such a good opportunity. I’ll come in several days.” After Sun left, I was troubled: One way is to continue to follow Almighty God and endure the rejection of the religious people, the exclusion of the world, and the persecution of the government…. The other way is to have fame and gain and position as well as an assured life in my later years. What should I choose? Just then Sun returned. At the sight of my hesitation, he said loudly to me, “You can’t miss such a good opportunity!” I hovered. Then the words in a hymn occurred to me: “That which you are enjoying today is the very thing which is ruining your future, whereas the pain you are suffering today is the very thing that is protecting you. You must be clearly aware of that so as to keep away from the hook of temptation and to avoid entering the dense fog that blocks out the sun. When the dense fog clears off, you will find yourself in the judgment of the great day” (“Enjoying Fleshly Comforts Will Ruin Your Future” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). God’s enlightenment made me realize that the material enjoyments I pursued would only ruin my life and cause me to end up being completely eliminated by God. At the time, I thought, “Why didn’t the Pharisees accept the gospel of the Lord Jesus? Wasn’t it because of their pursuit of fame and gain, position, and the enjoyments of the flesh that they rejected the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus and were cursed by God in the end? Satan’s scheme is really sinister! If I take a wrong path today, I will surely be eliminated by God. It is so horrible!” Then I refused Sun on the excuse of my old age and poor health.
Afterward, I read these words of God: “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men, and the interference of men. Behind every step that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). At the moment, I understood more clearly: The disturbances that have come upon me are all spiritual battles, and they are Satan’s accusations against me and also the sinister means Satan uses to plunder me. Its purpose is to try every way to make me reject the true way and deny God’s work and thus live under its domain again. I thought, “All that have happened to me during this period of time, whether Song’s disturbance, time after time of persuasion of the clerics and fellow believers in the church, or the director’s enticement of benefit, are actually despicable means Satan uses to deceive me. Satan is so hateful. It has been eyeing me greedily and trying every possible means to make me stray away from God and betray God and return to its camp.” The disclosure and guidance of God’s words enabled me to see through Satan’s schemes. I was resolved to stand testimony and firmly follow God to the end no matter what contemptible means they would use to disturb me in the future. So when Sun came and tried to persuade me again, I declined. From then on, they no longer came to interfere with me. I knew God had triumphed and that Satan had failed in humiliation. Thank God for leading me out of the sieges of Satan step by step. All the glory be to Almighty God!

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Cease of Divorce Crisis

Cease of Divorce Crisis

Luxi    Japan
In 2015, a friend preached the gospel of Almighty God to me and I accepted it. After I knew Almighty God’s work of salvation in the last days, I read His words eagerly. My husband said to me, “It’s better for you to believe in God and read books than watch South Korean dramas every day. I’m happy about it.” As my mother-in-law was a believer in the Lord, my husband believed that there exists God and supported me to believe in God despite his not attending meetings. When I received enlightenment from God’s words, I shared it with him and he thought that belief in God was good. Afterward, he noticed that I always mentioned Almighty God whereas his mother believed in the Lord Jesus. Out of curiosity, he surfed on the internet to see what kind of church the Church of Almighty God was. Unexpectedly, he was deceived and lost direction by the overwhelming online rumors, false testimonies and words of blasphemy against Almighty God. And he began to oppose my belief in Him. But, after reading the words Almighty God expressed and listening to brothers and sisters’ fellowship and testimony, I was convinced that Almighty God is the only true God while those online words are lies and deceptions. Nevertheless, regardless of how I testified about God’s work to my husband and exhorted him, he didn’t hear anything.
A period of time later, through the exhortation and testimony of my good friend Sister Yinghe and I for many times, my husband unwillingly agreed to investigate Almighty God’s work in the last days. Nonetheless, influenced by his mother, he held on to the Bible. To reverse his notions, Sister Yinghe advised me to watch the gospel movie “Disclose the Mystery About the Bible” with him. But I didn’t adopt her suggestion yet decided by myself to watch the movie “Break Through the Snare” with him, which disclosed the CCP and the religious antichrists’ resistance against God’s work. After watching only a part of the movie, he said, “The Church of Almighty God is attacked by the Chinese government. Might makes right. What if we are arrested after going back to Mainland China? You’d better not believe. Moreover, there’s so much disapproval on the internet. What you believe in may not be right.” I tried to persuade him to watch the whole movie, but he rebuffed it. Finding that I insisted on my belief, he got angry with me directly one day, saying, “Believe in it if you have to. But don’t tell others I’m your husband if you are arrested. I don’t want to get implicated! You put me under great pressure. If I don’t believe in the gospel, what if He is the true God? If I believe in Him, I’ll be in danger of being arrested. Besides, there’re so many negative statements on the internet. To whom should I listen?” Seeing that he toiled in suffering and despair by the online rumors, I felt that those online rumors and false testimonies were really harmful. They not only hindered man from accepting the true way, but broke up families. It seems that those who fabricated rumors and made false testimonies are purely the devil’s satanic horde. Thank God for giving me the capability to discern and keeping me from being scammed by Satan.
One day, my husband came back from work. At the sight of me having a meeting, his face clouded at once and he slammed the door and went out with anger. After the supper time, he still didn’t come back and I couldn’t help but worry about him. At 8 p.m. he finally came back but was foaming with rage. I went to cook for him, but he said coldly, “Mind your own business! Since you don’t listen to me and continue your belief in God, stay out of my business from now on. I’ll only be responsible for the family’s living expenses. What I do outside has nothing to do with you. It’s none of your business that even I do something harmful to this family.” The more I thought about his words, the more distressed I felt. I couldn’t fall asleep that night. I prayed to God unceasingly, “O God! What should I do about this? May You lead me! I don’t want to leave You.” The next morning, God’s words fellowshiped in the meeting suddenly occurred to me, “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men, and the interference of men. Behind every step that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle. … When God and Satan do battle in the spiritual realm, how should you satisfy God, and how should you stand firm in your testimony to Him? You should know that everything that happens to you is a great trial and the time when God needs you to bear testimony” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Originally, I fixated my eyes on my husband. I had thought that there are too many false matters in this world and that lies and deceptions fill everywhere. For the sake of their interests and for their own purposes, man judges and attacks others and even creates rumors to frame them and makes false testimonies to harm them. As long as those who have a good mind engage in brief reflection, they will know those online words attacking, judging and condemning Almighty God are all false and they will not be deceived. However, my husband believed in them without further thought and took them as the fact and was blinded by them. I thought it should not have been that way. But now God’s words change my viewpoint. I understand that God’s trial has come upon me, that God wants to see whether my faith in Him is true through this matter, and that He wants me to bear witness for Him in this trial. At that point, I thought of the biblical verses on divorce, and I became confident and knew how to face him.
At breakfast, my husband didn’t speak anything, with a straight face. However, I felt God’s presence and didn’t worry or fear as I did in the former night. I said to him calmly, “In believing in God, I don’t do anything shameful to our family. If you intend to do something that hurts our family, it is created by you degrading yourself but not by my belief in God. The Bible says that man can’t commit adultery. God’s words also allow us to know that it’s ordained by God that two people can become a couple. But if one side has an affair, the other side can choose divorce. One who has such an infidelity not only will go to hell, but will be punished.” My words softened his tone and he said, “I said those words because you don’t take my advice and insist on your belief.” Later, my husband didn’t say anything about it. This storm receded almost as quickly as it had come. Thanks be to God! It was God’s words that gave me the courage to overcome Satan’s temptation.
Nonetheless, the tranquility was illusory. One month later, my husband saw the online rumors again. One day when he came back from work, seeing me sit in front of the computer, he scolded, “I think you’re mad. After consideration, I had a solution: Either you stop your belief immediately, or we divorce. I’ve also thought about the two children. You can have their custody. But I guess it’s difficult for you to stay in Japan. So, you can go back to Shanghai with them. I’ll give the flat in Shanghai and monthly maintenance of 100,000 yen to you. If you don’t want the children, it’s OK. You can choose freely. I’ve also consulted the procedure of divorce. We just need to sign the divorce paper in City Office. Tell me your choice.”I couldn’t answer him immediately and forgot prayer as well. I only thought about what would happen after the divorce: If my children stay with me, they’ll be happy, but I don’t have enough money to raise them. If they don’t follow me, they’ll be very pitiable. What’s more, how will my parents and relatives and friends think of me? It’s glamorous to live abroad. But, if I divorce, my parents will lose face. I told him that I needed consideration. But I didn’t know how to do. Going into the room, I bawled my eyes out. I stayed awake through the night and my tears wetted the pillowcase. In the following day, my husband went to work without any word. I prayed to God for the strength to face him. When I lived in pain and was at a loss what to do, I told this matter to brothers and sisters. They encouraged and comforted me, saying that Satan’s temptation had come upon me. They asked me to learn to rely on God and not to lose faith or misunderstand God. They shared the testimonies of experiences of other brothers and sisters and said that God is a God who saves man and that He doesn’t break up man’s family or want man to divorce, and that only Satan gives man distress and destroys man’s relations. They read a passage of Almighty God’s words for me, “When people have yet to be saved, their lives are often interfered with, and even controlled by, Satan. In other words, people who have not been saved are prisoners to Satan, they have no freedom, they have not been relinquished by Satan, they are not qualified or entitled to worship God, and they are closely pursued and viciously attacked by Satan. Such people have no happiness to speak of, they have no right to a normal existence to speak of, and moreover they have no dignity to speak of. Only if you stand up and do battle with Satan, using your faith in God and obedience to, and fear of God as the weapons with which to fight a life-and-death battle with Satan, such that you fully defeat Satan and cause it to turn tail and become cowardly whenever it sees you, so that it completely abandons its attacks and accusations against you—only then will you be saved and become free” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words made me understand that before I believed in God, I completely lived under Satan’s domain and I was Satan’s toy and slave, and that after I believed in God, I came before God from Satan’s camp. This means a betrayal of Satan. So, Satan is unwilling to admit defeat and uses my husband to attack and threaten me so as to make me give up my belief. I worry that after divorce, my children will be affected, people in my hometown will think ill of me, my parents will be looked down upon by the neighbors. All these thoughts are from Satan. If I am controlled by them, I will be controlled by Satan, eventually staying away from God, even denying Him, and going back to Satan’s camp. Satan is too contemptible and hateful. It is positive, right and proper for me to believe in God and worship the Creator. No one has the right to intervene. But Satan wants to control me. I know I lack enough confidence but I am willing to depend on God’s words to take the way ahead and not to yield to Satan. At the thought of that, my uneasy heart finally calmed down.
Later, brothers and sisters shared another passage of God’s words with me, “Without God’s permission, it is difficult for Satan to touch even a drop of water or grain of sand upon the land; without God’s permission, Satan is not even free to move the ants about upon the land—let alone mankind, who was created by God. In the eyes of God, Satan is inferior to the lilies on the mountain, to the birds flying in the air, to the fish in the sea, and to the maggots on the earth. Its role among all things is to serve all things, and work for mankind, and serve God’s work and His plan of management. Regardless of how malicious its nature, and how evil its substance, the only thing it can do is to dutifully abide by its function: being of service to God, and providing a counterpoint to God. Such is the essence and position of Satan. Its substance is unconnected to life, unconnected to power, unconnected to authority; it is merely a plaything in God’s hands, just a machine in service to God!” (“God Himself, the Unique I” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words, I understood that God is the One who possesses the supreme authority, that God controls all things among the heavens and the earth, and that everything of man is in God’s hand. Man’s marriage and family rests in God’s palm. Without God’s permission, Satan can do nothing. Whether I get divorced or not is ruled and predestined by God rather than decided by my husband. I want to obey God’s sovereignty and arrangement. Some unbelievers divorce due to money, some due to an affair, and some due to a rupture of affections. If I get divorced because I choose to believe in God, pursue the truth, and pursue to live out a meaningful life, this is an honor, not a shame. At that time, I thought of God’s words, “Faith is a single-plank bridge: Whoever fears death will have a hard time crossing it, and whoever gives up their life will cross it securely. When man has the thought of timidity and fear, it is the fooling of Satan. It fears that we might pass the bridge of faith into God. Satan always tries every possible means to give you thoughts. Beseech God to illuminate and enlighten us at any time, rely on God to cleanse the satanic poisons within us at any time, and exercise to draw near to God in spirit at any time, letting God rule over and occupy our whole being” (“The Sixth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words granted me strength and faith, so that I had the courage to face my husband. Yes. I should hold nothing back. No matter how the future way is, it is right for me to take the way of believing in God.
At night when my husband came back, I told him in a simple and direct way, “It’s impossible for me not to believe in Almighty God. If you want to divorce, do as you like.” He was somewhat dumbfounded, saying helplessly, “It seems that I don’t have any control over you. There’re so many opposing views on the internet, so if I don’t handle you and something happens to you one day, I’ll have to take the responsibility. But now I use the divorce to threaten you yet you don’t abandon your belief. If you get into troubles on account of your belief and your mother knows it, don’t shift the blame to me.” From then on, my husband washed his hands of my belief. Miraculously, our relations were restored and he never mentioned the divorce.
Later, once my small daughter and I both caught cold. It was raining. But, my big daughter needed to take practices outside. So, I had to pull my tired body to accompany her with my little daughter. When my husband came back and knew the situation, he said, “Luxi, you did a lot of work. I find that you’ve changed. You love the children all the more and become very diligent.” Hearing his words, I deeply knew that it is Almighty God who changed me. I have God’s words as the basis and have the direction of life, so I no longer get angry with my children casually or only live for enjoyment. Gradually, I found that my husband also changed. Before, he always thought he was right. Now when he deals with some matters, he will ask me for advice and practice being an honest person according to God’s requirements I have told him. And he even testifies about God’s authority and sovereignty to his friends.
Thank God for orchestrating all this to me, so that I have experienced God’s words and understood many truths. I have seen that Satan is very contemptible, doing everything possible to cause man to leave God and become its plunder and be devoured by it, while God rules over all things and orchestrates everything. Without God’s permission, Satan can do nothing and even can’t touch a single hair of ours. As long as we have faith and believe in God’s words and live by God’s words, we can break through Satan’s influence of darkness, stand the testimony for God and let God gain the glory. I have also seen that the online rumors and false testimonies will never stand. Time will prove everything and the fact will show everything. God’s sheep hear God’s voice. Regardless of how great Satan’s hindrance is, they will surely come before God in the end. This can’t be hindered by any force of Satan. May all the glory go to Almighty God!

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

God’s Words Rescued Me From Satan’s Sieges I

God’s Words Rescued Me From Satan’s Sieges I

Bai Xue
One day in April, 1999, an elderly sister of our local Three-Self church brought two young brothers to my house, and they preached God’s work of the last days to me, who was thirsty and hungry in the spirit at that time. Through seeking and investigating for over a month, I was certain that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. I was very happy that the Lord Jesus whom I had longed for every day had really come back. I thought, “I must tell this good news to those brothers and sisters who are still waiting for the Lord to return.” But little had I expected that when I, full of faith, went everywhere preaching the gospel, news of my accepting God’s work of the last days reached the pastors and elders of the Three-Self church. Then Satan’s temptations and attacks came upon me one after another …
My Former Co-worker Huang Tried to Deceive Me Using the Words of the Lord Jesus
Early one morning, my former co-worker Huang in the Three-Self church came to my house angrily. I thought, “I have been on good terms with her; today I must tell her the news that God has come back.” So I said to her with a smile, “Auntie! I haven’t seen you for so long. Today I will tell you some very good news…” But she interrupted me in a harsh tone, with her finger pointing at me, “Have you converted to the ‘Eastern Lightning’? Don’t you know that there will appear false Christs in the last days? It is written, ‘Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect’ (Matthew 24:23-24). Why didn’t you guard against them? How could you have been deceived by them? Your doing so is betraying the Lord. During these years, you have undergone so many sufferings in building up the church, preaching the gospel, and sustaining the brothers and sisters for the Lord; haven’t you undergone all those sufferings in vain? When the Lord comes back, you will be forsaken by Him.” Upon hearing that, I immediately remembered the words that the brothers and sisters of the Church of Almighty God had said when fellowshipping about these verses. So I said with great calmness, “Do you know the intended meaning of these words of the Lord? The Lord said them in order to tell us that we should be cautious and have discernment when waiting for His coming, and not to forbid us to seek His return because of the appearance of false Christs during the last days. If we treat every message telling us that the Lord has come as a false one without seeking the truth or making any investigation, how can we possibly meet the returned Lord? Through reading the words of Almighty God these days I have realized that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. My following Almighty God is keeping up with the new work of God rather than betraying the Lord….” At my words, she left in a huff.
Afterward, she came to my house almost every two days. Every time she came, she spoke some blasphemies and words to disturb me, but I had a firm faith and remained unwavering whatever she said. Besides, I became ever more disgusted with her. Finally I told her, “Don’t come again. No matter what you say, I will not listen to you.” My uncompromising attitude enraged her, and after that she never came again.
The Leaders of the Local Three-Self Church Tried to Entice Me to Leave God by Offering to Install the Aluminum Alloy Doors and Windows
A few days later, when I was doing my housework, five people, the leadership of the Three-Self church, came to my house. At the sight of them, I became nervous in my heart, and I thought, “When Sister Huang came alone, she was so rude and unreasonable. Now several people come together; how will they treat me? Can I withstand it?” The more I thought, the more afraid I felt. My heart thumped, and I immediately prayed in my heart, “O God! May You keep my heart and give me the words I should say so that I can stand fast and will not betray You when Satan disturbs me.” At that moment, these words of Almighty God occurred to me: “Be not afraid; Almighty God of hosts must be with you. He will be your support and your shield” (“The Twenty-sixth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words gave me faith and strength. “Yes, God is my support; I should be afraid of nothing.” I calmed down, not so nervous or afraid. After taking a few breaths, I said with a smile, “Please come in and have a seat.” I had thought that they would be rude and unreasonable like Sister Huang, but unexpectedly, a sister said to me with a smile, “Sister, we heard that you have accepted the ‘Eastern Lightning.’ We are all worried about you. We are to blame for that, because we have not cared for you much before. We come to see you today, and we wish you to turn back quickly. Besides, we want to see what your family lacks so that the church can help you.” With that they inspected my house. Then a sister in charge of the affairs of the Three-Self church took my hands and said, “Sister, your family is really in need. You see, the doors and windows are in so bad a condition that your rooms must be very cold in winter. They really should be replaced! Besides, you have elderly parents, and they have to suffer cold. If you are willing to come back to our church and believe in the Lord firmly, we will have the doors and windows of your house replaced with aluminum alloy ones without any charge, as we have brothers and sisters from every walk of life. What do you think about it?” At the time, another sister who was also in charge of the affairs of the Three-Self church patted me on the shoulder and said, “Right! Sister, you have had a good faith in the Lord! You have built up a church for the Lord. Don’t worry. Our church will not leave you uncared-for. From now on, when your family has any difficulty, just tell us, and we will help you.” At their words, my heart was warmed up, and I thought, “It’s true that the doors and windows should be replaced, but we have been in straits for money and can’t afford the expense, so that our parents are cold with us. They say that if we lack anything, just tell them. And they also promise to replace our doors and windows without any charge. What a good thing! If I agree to go back to the Three-Self church, I will not need to spend money to replace the doors and windows.” But then I thought, “That is not right! Today God has carried out His new work. If I go back there, will I not lag behind God’s work?” At that moment, the story of the rich man in the Bible who received good things in his lifetime but went to hell after his death came to my mind. So I thought, “Right! If I am forsaken by God, I can never buy back such an opportunity no matter how much I pay. But the doors and windows indeed should be replaced. What should I do?” Then I suddenly remembered a passage of God’s word that Sister Yang of the Church of Almighty God had read to me: “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). So I realized: Behind what is happening now is Satan’s wager with God. It is up to me whether I choose to betray God or stand firm in my testimony to God. Every word of Almighty God is truly the truth. Through His words He has not only revealed the mysteries of God’s management of mankind, but also disclosed the corrupt nature within man and shown man the way to be saved and enter the kingdom of heaven. If I abandon the true way for the sake of the aluminum alloy doors and windows, my belief in God will be in vain. I must see through the scheme of Satan. Nothing is more important than to gain life. Then I immediately prayed in my heart, “O God! They are trying to pull me back to the Three-Self church with petty favors. I know this is Satan’s scheme. May You watch over me and keep me from betraying You. Amen!” After the prayer, I said to them decidedly, “Thank you for your kindness. We don’t need you to have our doors and windows replaced. We ourselves can have them replaced. You can go now!” Though my attitude was very firm, they were still all smiles, and said, “You don’t need to spend any money. Don’t be in a hurry to reply. Think it over again.” With these words they went away.
Although I knew that was Satan’s scheme, I kept thinking about it at night. After I lay down, I began to consider it, tossing in my sleep, “If I go back to the Three-Self church and believe in the Lord there, the brothers and sisters there will support me, and the church will have our doors and windows replaced, but I will be forsaken by the Lord. Oh! …”
The next day, Sister Yang of the Church of Almighty God came. She found a passage of God’s word in light of my state: The building of the kingdom is aimed directly at the spiritual realm. In other words, the battle of the spiritual realm is made plain directly among all My people, and from this can be seen that all people are always warring, not just in the church, but even more in the time of the kingdom, and that although man is in the flesh, the spiritual realm is revealed directly, and man engages with the life of the spiritual realm. … In My plan, Satan has ever snapped at the heels of every step, and, as the foil of My wisdom, has always tried to find ways and means to disrupt My original plan” (“The Eighth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After reading these words, she fellowshiped, From God’s words we see clearly that this is a battle of the spiritual realm, in which Satan has tried its utmost to disrupt and disturb God’s work of saving man. Because you are a new believer and have yet to lay the foundation, Satan has tried to disturb and attack you time and again in order for you to betray God. When its scheme failed, it tried another. It wanted to use those material things to tempt you and harm you. Such an action is actually a kiss of death. You should never be fooled by it. In Satan’s performance, we can see it is base and shameless in substance. We should see through its scheme and stand firm in our testimony to God. After hearing her fellowship, I thought, “What a near thing that was! When Satan disturbed me with a hard tactic last time, I saw through it. So it used a soft one this time. It used both hard and soft tactics against me! I was almost fooled by it. I must be careful from now on lest I be trapped by it.”