Understanding the Way in Which the Lord Comes: I Welcome His Return (Part 2)
Understanding the Way in Which the Lord Comes: I Welcome His Return (part 2)
One day, I quarreled with my little brother about something. My mother said, “You usually scolded your two brothers when you were in bad mood. And you have undergone little change since you believed in the Lord. In fact, this is the revelation of your corrupt disposition.” Following this, she listed all my bad behaviors one by one. Then she read to me a passage of God’s words: “A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God, can you be after God’s heart? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? Within, you are beset by impurity, selfish and mean, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus — you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. And so you, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance.”
These words especially pricked my heart. I thought: Yes. The Lord Jesus redeemed us, so our sins were forgiven, and we are qualified to pray before the Lord. But I still commit sins — I’m so rebellious that I often face off with my mum and lie to her; I often conflict with my classmates. These behaviors are all sins and are not pleasing to the Lord. The Bible says, “and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrew 12:14). How can such a sinner as I, who sins every day, be taken into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes? The kingdom of heaven doesn’t tolerate the existence of any filthy man. It seems groundless that, as the pastor has said, the Lord will appear publicly and take us into the kingdom of heaven directly when He returns. When thinking that my mother had witnessed to me Almighty God’s work of the last days many times, I just couldn’t help wondering: Why can’t I understand even a little of it? At the time, my rigid heart melted bit by bit. Later I put aside my notions and began to attend meetings with my mother.
In a meeting, a sister fellowshiped, “In the last days, why does God become flesh and do His work in a hidden way? Within this lies God’s will.” Hearing that the sister was talking about the problem I had been wanting to understand, I was immediately refreshed. The sister read to me a passage of God’s words: “The flesh of man has been most profoundly corrupted, and it has become something which opposes God, which even openly opposes and denies the existence of God. This corrupt flesh is simply too intractable, and nothing is more difficult to deal with or change than the corrupt disposition of the flesh. Satan comes into the flesh of man to stir up disturbance, and uses the flesh of man to disturb the work of God, and impair the plan of God, and thus man has become Satan, and the enemy of God. For man to be saved, he must first be conquered. It is because of this that God rises to the challenge and comes into the flesh to do the work He intends to do, and do battle with Satan. His aim is the salvation of mankind, who has been corrupted, and the defeat and annihilation of Satan, which rebels against Him. He defeats Satan through His work of conquering man, and simultaneously saves corrupt mankind. Thus, God solves two problems at once. He works in the flesh, and speaks in the flesh, and undertakes all work in the flesh in order to better engage with man, and better conquer man.”
Then she fellowshiped, “After we humans were deceived and corrupted by Satan, we have fallen into Satan’s domain. Satan has, for thousands of years, ingrained its poisons into us without a pause. Living with these poisons, we are arrogant, reckless, and lawless in nature, we have completely become the embodiment of Satan, and the brood of Satan who conspire with Satan to resist God. However, we don’t have the slightest awareness of it. Especially when the Lord’s coming doesn’t accord with our notions and imaginations, we not only don’t have a heart of humble seeking, but we rigidly cling to our notions to rebel against and resist God. Because we think that the Lord only comes down on a cloud with great glory, we reject and resist God’s judgment work the Lord will do when He returns through incarnation during the last days. From this, we can see that we are too arrogant. Then, can we be raptured into God’s kingdom when God appears openly to reward the good and punish the wicked?” Hearing her fellowship, I felt a thrill of fear, thinking: Really, if God only appears openly to reward the good and punish the wicked and I go on resisting Him like this, then I will definitely be a target for punishment by God.
The sister continued, “God is the Creator, and He knows best the extent to which we have been corrupted by Satan. So, in the last days, God has become flesh again to do the work of judgment starting from the house of God, and expresses the truth to judge and purify us, so as to make us see clearly the truth of our corruption by Satan, the nature and essence of our resisting God, and to make us have the resolution of hating and forsaking ourselves at the same time. When any true believer who thirsts for the truth see that, due to Satan’s corruption, they have become extremely filthy and devoid of any conscience and reason as a created being, they all can bow down before God to willingly accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, and gradually break free from Satan’s dark influence. All in all, the reason God becomes flesh and does His work and speaks while humbly hiding among men is to save and purify us. Only when God works in the flesh can we hear God’s personal utterance and experience God’s work face to face. This is God’s truest love for us.”
After listening to the sister’s fellowship, I felt much indebted to God in my heart. God becomes flesh and does His work in secret because He intends to save us. I, however, being blind and foolish and ignorant, didn’t seek or investigate God’s work, but blindly believed the pastor’s words, stubbornly kept to my notions, and even tried various means to hinder my mother from accepting Almighty God’s work of the last days. I was really too arrogant. When thinking that I would miss the opportunity of welcoming the Lord’s return if it were not for God’s mercy and salvation, I was very remorseful.
In April, 2017, I formally accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days. From the videos of The Church of Almighty God and God’s words, I understood some truths and, God’s words also solved many puzzles that I previously had. I was truly assured that Almighty God is the second coming of the Lord Jesus.
Later, the sister shared with me a passage of God’s words: “Any who do not understand the purpose of God’s work are those who stand against God, and even more so are those who are aware of the purpose of God’s work yet do not seek to satisfy God. Those who read the Bible in grand churches recite the Bible every day, yet not one understands the purpose of God’s work. Not one is able to know God; moreover, not one is in accord with the heart of God. They are all worthless, vile men, each standing on high to teach God. Though they brandish the name of God, they willfully oppose Him. Though they label themselves believers of God, they are ones who eat the flesh and drink the blood of man. All such men are devils who devour the soul of man, demons who purposefully disturb those who try to step onto the right path, and stumbling blocks that impede the path of those who seek God. Though they are of ‘robust flesh,’ how are their followers to know that they are antichrists who lead man in opposition to God? How are they to know that they are living devils who specially seek souls to devour?”
After reading God’s words, the sister communicated with me, “In the past, we had no discernment of the religious pastors and elders when we believed in the Lord. Since they knew the Bible well, we thought they should be the ones who knew God and God’s will the best, and so we worshiped and looked up to them. If we don’t discern them, we will be easily deceived. Just as when the Lord Jesus was performing work, the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees had seen that the Lord Jesus worked and spoke with authority and power and had more and more followers; however, for the sake of securing their status and livelihood, they frantically condemned the Lord Jesus with false accusations and finally nailed Him on the cross. Likewise, the religious pastors and elders today all have seen that Almighty God’s words are the truth, and have authority and power, and that many truth-lovers and true believers in God acknowledged that Almighty God’s words are God’s voice and that the Lord Jesus has returned after hearing His words. However, for fear of losing their status and livelihood, they wildly fabricate rumors, judge, resist, and condemn Almighty God, and do their utmost to disturb and hinder believers from investigating the true way. It’s obvious that the root of their condemning and resisting Almighty God is the same as that of the Pharisees resisting the Lord Jesus. Both are driven by their satanic nature of being tired of the truth and hating the truth. They are the antichrists who have been revealed in God’s work of the last days. The Bible says, ‘Hereby know you the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world’ (1 John 4:2–3). From these verses we can know that anyone who doesn’t recognize God incarnate is an antichrist; anyone who refuses to accept but resist and condemn God’s incarnation is an antichrist. If we can’t discern antichrists, it will be very easy for them to deceive and control us and very difficult for us to return before God’s throne.” The sister’s fellowship allowed me to see that it’s too dangerous if I can’t discern people but blindly worship people and follow people. I was close to losing the Lord’s salvation forever because I believed the pastors’ and elders’ words.
Recollecting my rebellious behaviors, my heart was very painful. I said to my mother in tears, “Mum, previously I didn’t know God’s work, I refused to accept Almighty God’s work relying on my arrogant nature, and I tried preventing you from coming before God again and again. I’m sorry, mum! I’m more indebted to God. I know I’m wrong, please forgive me!” My mother, who was tearful, too, said, “We both should thank God. Were it not for God’s personal guidance and the enlightenment and guidance of God’s words, we couldn’t have come before God. This is God’s great love and salvation for us. From now on, we must diligently eat and drink God’s words, pursue the truth, and repay God’s love.”
Now, all my family have accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days. My mother preached gospel to testify about God during her free time at work. I watered the younger brothers and sisters in the children’s group with another elder sister. Regardless of age, we eat and drink God’s words, enjoy the watering and feeding of God’s words together, I felt incomparable assurance and enjoyment. Thanks for the every bit God expended on me. I’m willing to pursue the truth earnestly, perform my duty well to repay God’s grace of salvation. All the glory be to Almighty God!
This is a letter to a brother who held onto being justified by faith from a brother of The Church of Almighty God. Let’s see how he transcend his conceptions of being justified by fait
Source from: find the shepherd
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