Chenwen
Several years passed in a flash. Then, gradually I found that every time we came to the meetings, Brother Shi, the preacher of our church, always gave us messages on Genesis. He preached repeatedly on what God made on the first day, on the second day … on the sixth day. In the afternoon, the elder would teach us to recite the Bible verses. He also asked us to recite some verses at home. He said that only by doing so could we remember the words of the Lord and have eternal life. After returning home, I recited the verses every day. Sometimes for fear of failing to recite them in the next meeting, I even wrote them on my hands to have a look at them at times of forgetting. However, I still failed to recite them when the elder asked me to do so in the meetings. The other brothers and sisters were the same with me. As time went on, we believers began to feel bored and said it was useless and very tiring to recite the Bible verses. Everyone complained. Once, in a meeting, Brother Shi walked onto the pulpit, and he started to preach on Genesis again. My heart sank at what he preached, and I thought, “Why can’t he preach something new? Every time I gain nothing after a whole day of meeting. I have left a pile of work undone at home and sometimes cannot cook in time for my husband. All I wish is to understand and gain something here, but I don’t gain anything.” As I thought of this, I really couldn’t bear it anymore. So I nerved myself to walk up to the pulpit and asked Brother Shi if he could preach something deeper. He said with his head down, “Auntie, to be honest, I can preach nothing more than this; otherwise, would I not have given a deeper preaching?” I felt so bad to hear his words, but I could do nothing other than go back to my seat. Thus, the meeting attendance gradually dropped off. Whenever I looked at the empty gathering place, I felt so awful. I came before the Lord and prayed tearfully, “O Lord! Why is the church like this now? Why have we completely lost our former enthusiasm? I don’t know where the brothers and sisters have gone. Besides, the preacher is unable to deliver good sermons. Have You forsaken us? O Lord! Where are You? Please guide me!” After the prayer, I suddenly remembered the hymn “Many Crowd the Savior’s Kingdom.” I thought, “Have those brothers and sisters who are absent from the meetings all entered the kingdom?” This thought made me somewhat anxious. So I began to ask where those brothers and sisters had gone, but nobody could give me the answer.
One day during a meeting, a young sister came to the gathering place, breathless, and she told the elder that her two elder sisters had accepted the Eastern Lightning. The elder was anxious at hearing it, and he said, “What? They have stolen all our good sheep. We must go to drag your sisters back!” With that he took Deacon Sun on his motorcycle and left. At the time of the next meeting, I came to the gathering place early. As I approached the gate, I saw both the elder and Deacon Sun sitting inside the gate with a book in their hands and reading it with interest. When I saw The Scroll Opened by the Lamb on the cover of the book held by Deacon Sun, I thought, “This book must have been taken from the two sisters who investigated the Eastern Lightning. What is written in it?” Then I suddenly remembered what Revelation 5:1 said, “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.” “Can this book be the one spoken of in Revelation? Doesn’t the Lamb refer to God? Only the Lamb is worthy to open the book. So, doesn’t this prove that the Lord has come back?” I thought. Then, I heard the elder say, “This book is so good. No wonder those who have read it are unwilling to come out of the Eastern Lightning. Did you remember that those two sisters cried when we took the books away from them? No wonder they cried; no man is capable of speaking the words in this book. They are truly the words of God!” Deacon Sun said with a smile, “I have yet to finish it, but it is indeed a good book.” When I heard what they said, my heart leaped with excitement. “Has God really come? Will they lend this book to me?” As I thought of this, I heard the elder whisper to Deacon Sun, “We should hide these books. Don’t let the brothers and sisters see them. If they know this book is so good, they will all go to the Church of Almighty God. Won’t our church be finished then?” With that, they both closed the book and went into their rooms. At those words, my joyful heart sank in an instant, and I thought, “All is over. They will certainly not lend the book to me. Where can I get the book?” Then I thought, “After reading this book, they both said it was good and firmly believed that the words in it are the words of God, but they actually would not let the brothers and sisters know that. They even deceive us by saying that outside our church there are too many people preaching false ways, and forbid us to go out to seek the truth. Are they not hindering us from accepting the true way? Why are their hearts so malicious? Won’t I be ruined by them if I continue to stay here? No, I have to go out quickly to look for a copy of this book.” I came before the Lord and prayed to Him, “O Lord, I know You have come back, but I have no idea where You are now. My heart is longing desperately to receive life and Your provision, but the elder and the deacon of the church are so malicious that they won’t let us see that book. O Lord, Where can I find a copy of it? May You guide me.”
I went with an eager heart to a church by bus which I had previously known of, expecting to find the book there. I walked toward a sister and sat down beside her and asked, “Sister, have you ever seen a book named The Scroll Opened by the Lamb?” She took a look at me and said, “No, I haven’t. We all read the Bible.” I was very disappointed at her words. After I came back home, I thought, “This small place does not have the book. I will go to a big city to look for it.” Having made some inquiries, I learned that there was a big church in some city, so I went there by train. After getting off the train, I found the church through difficulty. There were more than one thousand people there. The scene was very impressive. Hurriedly, I squeezed myself on to a seat in the middle of a row, hoping to hear of the book there. However, I saw all the brothers and sisters take out a Bible from their bags. And also I didn’t hear the pastor preach anything new. So I left sadly. I got home, exhausted, and I knelt down and prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, how I long to find You! O Lord, where are You?” After the prayer, the words in Matthew 7:13-14 came into my mind:
“Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it.” Therefore, I went to a house church called The Sanctified. In the meeting, many believers looked at me with a strange eye, guarding against me as if I were a bad person. At the time, I was very sad, and my tears of grievance began to pour down my face. When I listened to the message, I found it was the same as that in our church, which was also on some Bible verses. I felt especially disappointed then, thinking, “I have been to several churches but have not found the book.” Helplessly, I returned to my former denomination with my bag. However, I never forgot the book The Scroll Opened by the Lamb. I often prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, now I am thirsty and hungry. I only heard that You have returned. I have looked for You for over a month, but I haven’t found You. O Lord, where are You? …”
Over two months later, I dropped in on my sister-in-law. Hardly had I entered her house and sat down when a woman and three men came. To judge from their dress, they were quite decent and upright. My sister-in-law had a word with them in the outside room, and then she let them in. I hastened to invite them to be seated, and they nodded at me politely. Judging by their manners, they seemed to be believers in the Lord. So I asked, “I guess you are also believers in the Lord, right? What denomination are you from?” A man said, “Yes. We are from the Church of Almighty God.” When I heard the Church of Almighty God, I was so pleased, thinking, “Isn’t it the Church of Almighty God our elder and deacon spoke of?” The brother noticed my expression, and he continued, “The Lord Jesus has returned to flesh and done a new work. He works and speaks under the name of Almighty God, and He has expressed millions of words and disclosed all mysteries.” With that, he took a book out of his bag and gave it to me. I took it from him and found it was just the book The Scroll Opened by the Lamb that I had been earnestly looking for. I was so excited as to hold it to my chest and grin from ear to ear. I said to the brothers and sisters with emotion, “I have nearly broken my neck looking for this book. I have known for some time that the Lord has come back. The elder of our church already got a copy of this book. But he didn’t let the brothers and sisters read it for fear that they would all go to the Church of Almighty God once they read. So I had to search for it everywhere. Today I have finally found it! I am really grateful to the Lord!” At that moment, tears blurred my eyes, and all the brothers and sisters there were very delighted too. With tears in their eyes, they said, “Amen! God is faithful, for the Lord Jesus said, ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you’ (Matthew 7:7).” Then, they testified to me the work of Almighty God—the returned Lord Jesus—in the last days. A young brother read me a passage of God’s word: “The work done at present has pushed forward the work of the Age of Grace; that is, the work in the entire six-thousand-year management plan has moved forward. Though the Age of Grace has ended, the work of God has progressed further. Why do I say time and again that this stage of work builds upon the Age of Grace and the Age of Law? This means that the work of this day is a continuation of the work done in the Age of Grace and an uplifting of that done in the Age of Law. The three stages are closely interconnected and linked one to the next. Why do I also say that this stage of work builds on that done by Jesus? If this stage did not build on the work done by Jesus, then in this stage the crucifixion, the work of redemption done previously, would still need to be carried out. This would be meaningless. Therefore, it is not that the work has completely finished, but that the age has moved forward, and the work has become even higher than before. It could be said that this stage of work is built on the foundation of the Age of Law and the rock of the work of Jesus. The work is built stage by stage, and this stage is not a new beginning. Only the combination of the three stages of work can be deemed the six-thousand-year management plan” (“The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After the young brother finished reading these words, he fellowshiped, “Auntie, the three stages of God’s work are complementary and none of them is dispensable. They are imbued with God’s kind and thoughtful intentions….” He fellowshiped with me about the three stages of God’s work from beginning to end, including the work done by God and the names of God in the Age of Law, the Age of Grace, and the Age of Kingdom, and the significance of each stage of God’s work. His extremely clear fellowship was like a breath of fresh air to me. I thought, “What the elder of our church talks of is obsolete, which cannot supply our life at all, but what this young brother has fellowshiped is something new. It is so good and I have really received supply from him.” So I asked with a smile, “Brother, how many years have you believed in Almighty God? Why do you know so many things?” He replied sincerely, “I have just believed in Almighty God for two years, and I know all these from His words. If you read His words, you will know them too.” Then, they fellowshiped about many truths with me, allowing me to have more understanding of the three stages of God’s work, especially His work in the Age of Kingdom.
Back home, I began to read the words of Almighty God voraciously. Almighty God says: “The first part of this book is the words of the Spirit to the churches. These words represent the transition from the end of the Age of Grace to the beginning of the Age of Kingdom, and are the Spirit’s public testimony of the Son of man to the churches. They are also fulfillment of the words in Revelation that ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches.’ This is the work that God began in the Age of Kingdom. The second part of this book is the words personally spoken by the Son of man after He officially revealed Himself. It includes a rich content of several types of utterances and words such as prophecy, the revelation of mysteries, and the way of life. There are predictions for the future of the kingdom, revelations of the mysteries of God’s management plan, dissections of the nature of man, exhortations and warnings, severe judgments, heartfelt words of consolation, talk of life, talk of entry, and so on. In short, what God has, what He is, and the disposition of God are all expressed in His work and words. Of course, when God becomes flesh this time, His work is to express His disposition, primarily through chastisement and judgment. Using this as the foundation, He brings more truth to man, shows more ways of practice, and so achieves His objective of conquering man and saving man from his corrupt disposition. This is what lies behind the work of God in the Age of Kingdom. Do you wish to enter the new age? Do you wish to rid yourself of corrupt disposition? Do you wish to obtain higher truth? Do you wish to see the true face of the Son of man? Do you wish to live a life that is worthwhile? Do you wish to be made perfect by God? Then, how will you welcome the return of Jesus?” (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh). After reading these words, I couldn’t help but utter praises from my heart: “The words in this book are truly the utterances of God Himself—this is absolutely right! Only God Himself is capable of expressing all these truths. God’s words are so tender that I feel as if I saw God’s face when reading them.” I was thankful to have found this book, and I read it every day and could hardly bear to tear myself away from it. In twenty one days, I read it through twice. Every word of God has touched my heart, nourished my spirit and quenched the thirst in it, and God’s words have also led me to keep up with His work of the last days. May all the glory be to Almighty God!
Source by: holyspiritspeaks
Source by: holyspiritspeaks
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