Going Astray and Finding the Way | The Church of Almighty God

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1. Going Astray and Finding the Way

Xiaobing    Xuanzhou City, Anhui Province

“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.” Every time I sing this song of God’s word “Enjoying Fleshly Comforts Will Ruin Your Future,” I think of time after time when I tested and betrayed God, and I feel both endless remorse and incredible gratitude.

Worship song 2018 | God Loves Us to Today & Christian Music

Christian Music & God Loves Us to Today

I
You become flesh on earth. Who knows how long You've been hidden. You blaze a trail to do Your work, fully tasting hardships and pain. Today You part from us. We cannot help but feel sorrow and pain. Our time together is short. Who knows when we will meet again? You've been with us in every season, guiding us towards today, never taking so much as a step away. Oh … If not for Your mercy, who knows where I would be? Thank You, God, for my salvation. That I'll recall forever!
II
Each day You suffered, working Your heart out for us, for us. Oh, the love I felt in Your embrace! You carried me when I was weak. Comforted when I was hurt. Encouraged when I lost heart. Each step brought me to today. Each moment I cannot forget. So hard to describe Your love. Your majesty revealed, with wrath, love and mercy. You judged my sinfulness, forgave my ignorance. Only through Your tolerance was I able to live before You. If not for Your mercy, who knows where I would be? Thank You, God, for my salvation. That I'll recall forever! (Oh … oh … oh …)
III
What You entrust I take to heart. I must not fail to live up to what You hope for. I'm willing to accept what comes and meet Your demands of me. I will never again be weak. If I fall I will climb to my feet. I will repay You with a true love, bear a strong testimony for You! If not for Your mercy, who knows where I would be. Thank You, God, for my salvation. That I'll recall, oh … If not for Your mercy, who knows where I would be. Thank You, God, for my salvation. That I'll recall forever! Forever, forever!
from Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs



EasternLightning | The Church of Almighty God came into being because of the work of the returned Lord Jesus—the end-time Christ, “Almighty God”—in China, and it isn't established by any person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. After reading God’s word, you will see that God has appeared.

The Significance and Practice of Prayer

Chapter 34. The Significance and Practice of Prayer

How do you currently pray? How is it an improvement on religious prayers? What do you actually understand about the significance of prayer? Have you examined these questions? Everyone who does not pray is distanced from God, everyone who does not pray follows their own will; the absence of prayer implies distance from God and betrayal of God. What is your actual experience with prayer? Right now, God’s work is already nearing the end and the relationship between God and man can be seen from man’s prayer.

The Work and Word of Almighty God in the Last Days Is not an Addition to the Bible

The Work and Word of Almighty God in the Last Days Is not an Addition to the Bible

     Some people say: The work of Almighty God in the last days goes against the prophesy in the Revelation 22:18-19: “For I testify to every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” They say that this is adding to the book of prophecy in the Bible, and that whoever accepts and follows the work of Almighty God in the last days shall lose their part in the kingdom of heaven. But actually, this word is contrary to the real facts, and it overlooks the context of the Revelation and relies on man’s imagination and notions.

In the Holy Bible, the Book of Revelation comes from John the Apostle after he was banished by the Roman emperor to the island of Patmos. It is an account of all the visions he witnessed while imprisoned. It was sometime shortly after 90 A.D., before the New Testament had been laid out, before the completion of the New and Old Testaments. So, when this book is mentioned in Revelation 22:18-19, it absolutely does not refer to the complete Bible of today, nor is it referring to the Old Testament, rather, it is referring just to the Book of Revelation. In the Scripture it says that “if people do certain things to these prophecies.” And it does not mean to do things to the Bible. These people taking this book as today’s Bible have an issue with acceptance. We ought to pay attention to what has been added to or taken away from the Scripture by man, and this does not include God Himself, because these prophecies deal with the work that God will carry out in the future, they can only be proven to be true when God comes to carry out His work. So, man cannot add to or take away from this as he wishes. We cannot limit God’s work in the last days to the prophesies in Revelation because of these two lines of the Scripture, nor can we delimit God to the point where He is not able to carry out work that is not prophesied in the book of prophecy. Since God is the Creator, He is in charge of all things. He has total authority to carry out His own work outside of what is prophesied. This is something that cannot be blocked by any of His creation and cannot be delimited by anybody. In Deuteronomy 12:32 in the Old Testament it says: “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” When the Lord Jesus was carrying out His work in the Age of Grace, many of the laws and decrees set forth by Jehovah in the Old Testament were added to or diminished. For example, in the Age of Law it demanded of men that they take an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but when the Lord Jesus arrived He said that you need not set yourself against evil men, even if someone strikes you on the right side of your face and then you turn and have them strike you on the left side of your face; the law dictated that you must hate your enemy, but the Lord Jesus said to love your enemy, and made people pray to this effect (See Mat 5:38-44). Through these examples we can see that in the eyes of those who abided by these laws, the things that Jesus did and said went beyond the law, He added things that went outside of the law. As a result, the Jews took the laws of Jehovah to condemn the Lord Jesus (See Jhn 19:7). You could say that this was an expression of man’s lack of reason, and man should not take God’s word where He requests man not to add nor diminish and turn this around to restrict God. Man should not use God’s old work that He carried out in the past to delimit His new work being carried out now. God is the Master of all creation. God carries out work according to His own management plan, His own free will. No matter how God carries out His work it is always righteous, because God’s essence is righteous; no matter how God carries out His work it is always the truth, because God’s essence is the truth; no matter how God carries out His work it is always able to bring life to those who believe in Him, because God’s essence is the source of life. God’s work, God’s word absolutely cannot be restricted by people, events, objects, place or time, much less be restricted by the letters of the Scripture. Almighty God says: “The work done by Jesus during the time of the New Testament opened up new work: He did not work according to the work of the Old Testament, nor did He apply the words spoken by Jehovah of the Old Testament. He did His own work, and He did newer work, and work that was higher than the law. Thus, He said: ‘Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.’ Thus, in accordance with what He accomplished, much doctrine was broken with. He took the disciples to the grain fields to pick and eat the heads of grain, He did not keep the Sabbath, and said ‘the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.’ At the time, according to the rules of the Israelites, whosoever didn’t keep the Sabbath would be stoned to death. Jesus, however, neither entered the temple nor kept the Sabbath, and His work had not been done by Jehovah during the time of the Old Testament. Thus, the work done by Jesus exceeded the law of the Old Testament, it was higher than it, and was not in accordance with it” (“Concerning the Bible (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The word of God enables us to know that in Revelation where it says not to add nor diminish that was God’s requirement to man. Man cannot take this requirement that God has of him and turn it around and put it on God, nor can man use the letters and regulations of the Bible to restrict and limit God or not allow Him to carry out new work or say things that go beyond the Bible. For if this were so, wouldn’t these things turn the world upside down, confusing cause and effect? The Book of Revelation comes from all of the visions witnessed by John after being moved by the Holy Spirit. At that time God had not yet carried out His work of the last days, so all that man had received was just God’s prophecies. But when God appears in the last days to carry out His work, His word becomes fact, and the prophecies also become true. In Revelation 5: 1-5 it says: “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. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders said to me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” These scriptures tell us that in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne there is a scroll that is sealed with seven seals. The One sitting at the throne is of course God, and the seals illustrate that the information contained in this scroll must be kept secret from man for a period of time, that he cannot know about it, that its mystery must be maintained. So who is able to unfold this scroll and uncover the mystery? “The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David.” These words make it very easy for us to understand or think about the Lord Jesus. The first time that Jesus became flesh was in the tribe of Juda, and His flesh belonged to the Root of David. But in His thirty-three and a half years on earth, the only disposition that Jesus revealed was that of the lamb. Very rarely did He possess the wrath and majesty of the lion, and it is based on this point that people have difficulty with confirming that this lion is referring to Jesus. But in the following sentence it says He has triumphed, which makes us convinced that this lion is referring to Jesus. Jesus was nailed to the cross for mankind, He surmounted death and defeated Satan, becoming the triumphant King. This line from the Scripture definitively tells us that the Lord Jesus was triumphant, that only He can open the scroll, that only He can break open those seven seals. The Jesus that is being talked about here is the Lord Jesus who returns in the flesh in the last days. The Lord who returns at this time expresses a disposition like that of the lion. He is full of majesty and wrath. He breaks the seals from the scroll in the last days (the scroll of course contains the word of God), and He will speak in His own words to the people, carrying out the work of judgment beginning with the house of God, for He is no longer the Lamb who was nailed to the cross to atone for man’s sins. He is no longer led along and ordered about by man. When this time comes He will make known to all of mankind every secret contained in the scroll, which will allow man to understand the mysteries of the spiritual world, and God’s management plan for mankind, and his own nature and substance, and God’s righteous disposition, the principles of God’s work, and the wisdom and almightiness of God; this will allow man to find the right path to go down, the path that leads to the entrance into the kingdom of heaven, the path that will allow man to separate himself from injustice and gain purification. This is all God’s work in the last days. This is the new work of Almighty God in the last days that we are all experiencing right now. Revelation 10:1-4: “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was on his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.” These lines from the Scripture allow us to know that the voices of the seven thunders were not written by John. In other words, in the Bible there simply is not the voices of the seven thunders. In summary of these two lines from the Scripture, the details of this little book and the voices of the seven thunders are not recorded in the Bible. From this it can be seen that if man were to use the words about adding or diminishing to delimit God’s work, and delimit God to where He couldn’t have new things to say that go beyond the Bible, then how could this little book be opened? How could God carry out judgment in the last days? If God did not open this little book, how could man know the details of this little book? How could he understand all the truths and mysteries? How could man know what the details are of the voices of the seven thunders? And then how could the prophecies in the Bible be proven to be true? From this it’s clear to see that God must have new work to carry out and new words to say in the last days. Only then can all of the prophecies in the Bible be proven to be true. Today, Almighty God has come, expressing the words of life and the truths and mysteries that man has not understood for generations past, thus fulfilling the prophecies in Revelation. These truly are the voices of the seven thunders, and the lamb opening the scroll. This has already become an irrefutable fact! Almighty God says: “Those who obey The truth and submit to the work of God shall come under the name of the second incarnate God—the Almighty. They will be able to accept the personal guidance of God, and shall acquire more and higher truth and receive the real human life. They shall behold the vision that people of the past have never seen: ‘And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the middle of the seven candlesticks one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like to fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shines in his strength’ (Revelation 1:12-16). This vision is the expression of God’s entire disposition, and such an expression of His entire disposition is also the expression of the work of God when He becomes flesh this time. In the torrents of chastisements and judgments, the Son of man expresses His inherent disposition through the speaking of words, allowing all those who accept His chastisement and judgment to see the true face of the Son of man, a face that is a faithful depiction of the face of the Son of man seen by John. (Of course, all this will be invisible to those who do not accept the work of God in the Age of Kingdom)” (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh).

We absolutely cannot continue to go down the old path of the Pharisees as God carries out His work in the last days. We cannot think, because God’s work and word in the last days are not recorded in the Bible, that these are additions. We must know that the work and word of Almighty God in the last days are not additions to the Bible, but rather they are the prophecies of Revelation coming about as predicted. It’s like in the Old Testament when it was prophesied that the Messiah would come. In the minds of the Israelites they all knew He would come to save them, and they also knew that a virgin female was pregnant with a child, and He was named Emanuel, who was to be a sin offering, among other things. However, as for the specifics on how He would come, and when He came how He would be a sin offering, they were not clear about these things. Moreover, these prophecies were just words, they were not facts that had already come about. But when Jesus came to carry out His work, all of the prophecies related to the Messiah that were recorded in the Old Testament were proven to be true, so then can we say that the New Testament (that is, the work of Jesus) is an addition to the prophecies in the Old Testament? Of course it’s not. Although when Jesus was carrying out His new work it did not conform to the Old Testament in the eyes of people of that time, nor did it conform to people’s notions, nor was it the same as the work and word of Jehovah, yet, what Jesus did was not diminishing or adding to the law, rather it was perfecting the law. The work of Jesus was a new stage of work being carried out on the foundation of the work from the Age of Law, it perfected the law, it gave man new things to put into practice, and a new understanding of God. It’s just as the Lord Jesus said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Mat 5:17). Since the work of Jesus in the New Testament was not recorded in detail in the Old Testament, people thought that the work of Jesus went beyond the law of the Old Testament and added new commandments. However, in the eyes of God, He was just carrying out the work in His plan. The work of Jesus was a new stage of work being carried out on the foundation of the work from the Age of Law, it was an improved form of work, it accomplished the prophecies of the prophet. In the same way, God’s work in the last days shall accomplish the prophecy of the New Testament, it is the third stage of work based on God’s work of redemption. Can we say that this is adding to the Bible? Hasn’t the Bible already told us the answer to this question: “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” (Jhn 16:12-13). This stage of work by God in the last days fulfills the truth of these lines of the Scripture. The word of God in the last days has already revealed to man mysteries that were concealed for generations past, and it has brought us many truths that we had never before had access to. It has given us a path to being cleansed, a path that will allow us to enter into the kingdom. The work of Almighty God in the last days is the newest stage of work based on the two stages of work carried out by Jehovah and Jesus, and it is an improved form of work from the previous two stages.

Almighty God says: “The work done by Jesus was merely a stage higher than the Old Testament; it was used to begin an age, and to lead that age. Why did He say, ‘I have not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill’? Yet in His work there was much which differed from the laws practiced and the commandments followed by the Israelites of the Old Testament, for He did not come to obey the law, but to fulfill it. The process of fulfilling it included many actual things: His work was more practical and real, and, furthermore, it was alive, and not the blind adherence to doctrine. Did the Israelites not keep the Sabbath? When Jesus came He did not observe the Sabbath, for He said that the Son of man was the Lord of the Sabbath, and when the Lord of the Sabbath arrived, He would do as He wished. He had come to fulfill the laws of the Old Testament and to change the laws. All that is done today is based upon the present, yet it still rests upon the foundation of the work of Jehovah in the Age of Law, and does not transgress this scope. To watch your tongue, and not commit adultery, for example—are these not the laws of the Old Testament? Today, what is required of you is not only limited to the Ten Commandments, but are commandments and laws that are higher than those of before, yet this does not mean that what came before has been abolished, for each stage of God’s work is carried out upon the foundation of the stage that came before. That which Jehovah introduced to Israel, such as giving sacrifice, honoring your father and mother, not worshiping idols, not assaulting others, not cursing others, not committing adultery, not smoking, not drinking, not eating the dead, and not drinking blood, is it not the foundation for your practice even today? It is upon the foundation of the past that the work has been carried out up until today. Though the laws of the past are no longer mentioned, and new requirements have been made of you, these laws have not been abolished, and instead, they have been uplifted. To say that they have been abolished means that the previous age is outdated, yet there are some commandments that you must always honor. The commandments of the past have already been put into practice, have already become the being of man, and there is no need to reiterate commandments to not smoke, not drink, and so on. Upon this foundation, new commandments are laid down according to your needs today, according to your stature, and according to the work of today. Decreeing commandments for the new age does not mean abolishing the commandments of the old age, but lifting them higher upon this foundation, to make the actions of man more complete, and more in line with reality” (“The Vision of God’s Work (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The word of God allows us to see that God’s work stage by stage really is its own complete entity. Each stage of work is based on the previous stage of work, and each stage is an improved form from the previous stage. We cannot split apart the work of God, to know God we must know God’s three stages of work. If we only know one or two of the three stages of work, then we will not have a comprehensive and complete understanding of God’s work of saving mankind. Only by knowing all three stages of God’s work can we know God’s entire disposition, and His wisdom and wondrousness. As an example, it’s like a person who gets full after eating three bowls of rice. This person couldn’t say they are full just from eating the third bowl. If they did not finish eating the first and second bowl then they would not be filled with the rice from these two bowls, so they could not be filled by the rice from the third bowl. Therefore, we cannot say that the work of Jesus is adding to or diminishing the Old Testament, and in the same way we cannot take the work and word of Almighty God in the last days and say that this is adding to or diminishing the New and Old Testaments. It would be absurd to accept such ideas.

Brothers and sisters, what is recorded in the Bible is just the work that God carried out in the Age of Law and the Age of Grace, as well as prophecies pertaining to God’s work in the last days, but it is not recorded in detail how this work in the last days will be carried out, or how mankind will be saved. So, we must view the Bible properly. When God has not come we must act in accordance with the teachings of the Bible. This is a requirement that God has of us that we must attain. But, when God opens up a new age to carry out new work, then we must carry out our actions in accordance with God’s current requirements, for only by following the footsteps of God will we be able to gain His praise. We cannot use the work that has been carried out by God that is recorded in the Bible to delimit God’s new work, much less say that God’s new work and new words diminishes the Bible, nor can we say that God’s work and word in the last days add things that go beyond the Bible. God was able to go beyond the law of the Old Testament to carry out His work in the time of the New Testament, and in the same way He can also go beyond the Bible to carry out His work in the last days. In the last days, the words expressed by Almighty God guide us to enter into all truths, so we can no longer refuse to accept God’s work and word in the last days with stiff necks. Brothers and sisters, we all must set aside our notions, and seek and study the work and word of God in the last days while keeping reverence for Him in our hearts, for God will enlighten us, allowing us to come to understand all truths. Let us follow the example of the disciples who came before us who followed Jesus, let us walk away from the Bible and follow the work that God is currently carrying out so that we may attain the salvation that we have looked forward to for so long!

Kang Jian, Shenyang, Liaoning Province

Read more: Is Eastern Lightning the Return of the Lord Jesus?

                   The brief introduction of the Church of Almighty God

From Suffering Is Emitted the Fragrance of Love | The Church of Almighty God

From Suffering Is Emitted the Fragrance of Love

January 19, 20157

Xiaokai, Jiangxi Province

I’m an ordinary country woman and, because of the feudalistic idea of only valuing male children, I was unable to raise my head in front of others for shame at having borne no son. Just when I was suffering the most, I was chosen by the Lord Jesus and, two years later, I accepted the salvation of Almighty God. Moreover, I understood much truth from within the words of Almighty God and my heart obtained true release. However, while I was performing my duty to repay God’s love, I was twice arrested by the CCP government and I suffered brutal torture and torment at the hands of the CCP’s pawns. Just when I was on the verge of death, the words of Almighty God guided me and inspired me and caused me to stand witness in the midst of Satan’s cruel harm, thereby strengthening my determination to follow God and love God for all my life.

I Fell in the Light of Almighty God

August 22, 20150

Zhou Liwei

Bei’an City, Heilongjiang Province

I was a church leader of the Pentecostal Church in Bei’an City. I turned to the Lord by grace in 1993. Since then, reading the Bible had been my great pleasure. Several months later, I began to teach hymns and give sermons in my church. I always reckoned myself as a loyal believer of the Lord, who was most worthy to see the Lord in the future. However, when the Lord truly came, I became one who resisted His new work.

At the end of 1998, I attended a co-workers’ meeting called by the leader of the upper level. At the meeting, the leader said to us, “There now appears a false Christ, called the ‘Eastern Lightning.’ Nobody knows where this gang come from. They are very horrible. As long as you join them, you’ll never get out. If you try to do so, you’ll be beaten to death. They are purely ‘heretics,’ ‘cultists,’ and are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Tell the believers, throw them out when they come to their home, and if they don’t leave, beat them away with a stick. Such behavior is loyalty to God, not a sin.” I had no doubt about what he said, and began to hate the “Eastern Lightning” from my heart. After I came back, I immediately got the brothers and sisters together and indoctrinated them with what I heard from the leader in an exaggerated way, in order to prevent them from accepting the “Eastern Lightning.” And I also told them, “Without my permission, no one shall receive any outsider, not even your parents.” What’s more, I wrote on the blackboard the words of cursing the “Eastern Lightning,” which I put down at the co-workers’ meeting, and ordered them to recite together and to say these words in every prayer.

In May, 2001, two sisters who had once sustained me came to my home to preach God’s new work of the last days. I said to myself, “Even though you sustained me before, I can’t be soft on you.” I pulled a long face and said, “Get out of here! I don’t know you devils!” Seeing this, one sister said softly, “We mean no harm. We just came here to testify God’s new work to you. Sister, let me read God’s word to you and you’ll understand!” As the sister took out the book and was about to read, I grabbed the book with fury and dashed it to the ground, and shouted at her, “Read what? I don’t want to listen! I order you to leave at once in the Lord Jesus’ name!” With that, I pushed and shoved them out of the door.

One day in the late fall of 2001, an elderly sister came to my home in the rain. When I was well aware that she was a believer of the “Eastern Lightning,” I said to her fiercely, “Who sent you here?” “God,” said the sister. “God expects you to come to Him earlier, so He gives me this burden. That’s God’s love!” I flung her a scornful smile, “You don’t deserve to talk about ‘love,’ I don’t need this kind of ‘love.’ Go away!” The sister said sincerely, “Sister, please don’t resist anymore. God truly has come and done a new work…” “Don’t talk nonsense here. I don’t want to listen. Go away!” As I was saying, I jerked the door open and shoved the sister out with force… I felt no guilty at all as I watched her doddering away in the heavy rain. After that, many people constantly came to my home to preach the gospel, but they were all refused by me by various means. Meanwhile, I put stringent measures in “flock guarding.” I paid a visit to every believer and told them never to go easy on the people of the “Eastern Lightning” and that it wasn’t a sin to treat them with any means.

Just when I spared no effort to resist Almighty God’s new work of the last days, my five-year-old child suddenly began to keep crying all day long. No matter how earnestly I prayed, there was no effect. I took her to the church and fasted and prayed with others for her. However, she not only didn’t turn better but got even worse instead. I was so exhausted that I couldn’t eat or sleep. Just when I was in anxiety, my child accidentally stepped her foot into the pan filled with hot dish. It was scalded and the whole skin peeled off, and she cried more fiercely. My husband hence shouted his complaints at me and quarreled with me every day. Furthermore, the church fell into a gradual decline, and I got no nourishment in preaching and received no moving of the Holy Spirit in praying. Facing all these, I was consumed by an unspeakable misery. The double pressure, the family problem and the desolation of the church, put me into a tight corner. Many times I called out to God with tears, “O God! Please turn and look at me. O God! What have I done to You? Please enlighten me. O God! I can’t live without You.”

pray,  Pictures of The Church of Almighty God

When I was in a bitter struggle of weakness and disappointment, Almighty God’s great love came to me again.

One day in January, 2003, I went to the home of a relative of mine (who believed in the Lord) on business. There I met several brothers and sisters who preached God’s new work of the last days. (At that time, I didn’t know they had accepted God’s new work.) At first, we fellowshipped very harmoniously. But when they talked about God’s new work of the last days, His judging and purifying men through words, and showed me the little scroll, I took the book and slammed it aside, and said, “I didn’t expect you’re the preachers of the ‘Eastern Lightning’! You are the tares plucked out by God. But you even attempt to deceive me. A colossal joke!” But the sister said mildly, “Sister, man cannot decide who are the tares and who are the wheat, for only God can separate the wheat from the tares. It says in John 4:37, ‘One sows, and another reaps.’ Here ‘One sows’ means that when Jesus did the redemptive work in His first incarnation, He sowed the seeds of the kingdom gospel in the world. ‘Another reaps’ refers to God’s carrying out the work of judgment with words in the last days through His incarnation and separating the good from the evil, that is, separating the wheat from the tares. When Jesus sowed the seeds, the tares and the wheat grew together. But when it’s time to reap, the wheat will be gathered into the barn and the tares will be burned with fire. Sister, God’s reaping is not as simple as man imagines. God has His own plan and He does not do the work according to man’s notions. For example, at the end of the Age of Law, the Israelites expected a king, like David, to lead them to overthrow the Roman rule. But when Jesus came, He didn’t work according to people’s concepts, and so people denied the truth expressed by Him, rejected Him, and nailed Him onto the cross. Today, God has done a new work on the basis of redemptive work of the Age of Grace so as to bring the people from the Age of Grace into the Age of Kingdom. Though this stage of work is likewise inconsistent with man’s notions, yet those who truly belong to God can drop their notions and seek the truth, and they can accept God’s new work and seek the transformation of their disposition and finally become sanctified. Such people are the wheat in God’s eyes. If those who don’t know God’s work and condemn it with their notions insist on refusing to accept it until the end of the work, then they will be the tares in God’s eyes. Just as Almighty God says: “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.” (from “When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Sister, today only those who keep up with God’s new work can be purified completely in the chastisement and judgment of God’s word, and the holy ones who are purified are the grains God desires to gain. Only such mankind can glorify God, manifest God, and testify God. These people have accepted the truth God expresses in the last days and kept pace with God’s footsteps. They are the very ones approved by God. So, we can’t confine God’s work within our imaginations and notions.” At this point, the sister read the following passage of God’s word to me: “When Jesus came into the world of man, He brought the Age of Grace and ended the Age of Law. During the last days, God once more became flesh, and when He became flesh this time, the Age of Grace ended and the Age of Kingdom began. All those who accept the second incarnation of God will be led into the Age of Kingdom, and be able to personally accept the guidance of God. Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and began the work of chastisement and judgment, which brought man to a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.” (from “Preface” to The Word Appears in the Flesh) “I am never hurried in My work. No matter how man follows Me, I do My work in accordance with each step, as in My plan. Therefore, though you rebel against Me so much, I do not stop My work and still continue to speak the word I wish. I call to My house all those I predestined to listen to My word, then place all who obey and long for My word before My throne. Those who rebel against My word, those who do not obey and submit to Me, and those who openly defy Me, shall all be cast off to the side to await their final punishment. All men live in corruption and under the hand of the evil one, so not many of those who follow Me actually long for the truth. That is to say, most do not worship Me with a true heart or with the truth, but try to gain My trust through corruption, rebellion, and deceitful measures. It is for this reason I say, ‘Many are called, but few are chosen.’ All those called are deeply corrupted and live in the same age, but those who are chosen are only the ones who believe in and acknowledge the truth and who practice the truth. …” (from “Many Are Called, but Few Are Chosen” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) God’s words, with authority, struck my heart. “In the past, I thought I was most loyal to the Lord. But faced with my family problem and the desolation of the church, I either became weak or made complaints. Do I have any loyalty? I condemned and resisted Almighty God and despised and slandered the brothers and sisters who believed in Almighty God. Do I have any love? But the brothers and sisters in front of me, who were once considered as demons by me, have such a good living out, and they can suffer and pay the price for the sake of preaching Almighty God’s gospel.” Compared with them, I felt extremely ashamed, and tears rolled down my face. The brothers and sisters saw that I was moved by the Holy Spirit, and they all shed tears with excitement. I took the book of God’s word from the sister and read it sentence by sentence. Every word of God, which carried power, shook my heart. Almighty God says: “Do many people not oppose God and obstruct the work of the Holy Spirit because they do not know the varied and diverse work of God, and, furthermore, because they possess but a smidgeon of knowledge and doctrine with which to measure the work of the Holy Spirit? Though the experiences of such people are superficial, they are arrogant and indulgent in nature, and they regard the work of the Holy Spirit with contempt, ignore the disciplines of the Holy Spirit and, moreover, use their trivial old arguments to ‘confirm’ the work of the Holy Spirit. They also put on an act, and are wholly convinced of their own learning and erudition, and that they are able to travel across the world. Are such people not those who are rejected by the Holy Spirit, and will they not be eliminated by the new age? Are not those who come before God and openly oppose Him myopic little people, who are merely trying to show how clever they are? With but a meager knowledge of the Bible, they try to straddle the world’s ‘academia,’ with but a superficial doctrine to teach people, they try to reverse the work of the Holy Spirit, and attempt to make it revolve around their own thought process, and short-sighted as they are, they try to behold in one glance 6,000 years of God’s work. Do these people have any reason to speak of? In fact, the greater people’s knowledge of God, the slower they are to judge His work. Furthermore, they only talk a little of their knowledge of God’s work today, but they are not rash in their judgments. The less people know of God, the more arrogant and overconfident they are, and the more wantonly they proclaim God’s being—yet they only talk of theory, and offer no real evidence. Such people are of no value whatsoever.” (from “Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) God’s words, like a sharp two-edged sword, pierced through my joints and marrow, and I knelt down, bursting into tears, “O Almighty God, I am the kind of person You speak of. I am arrogant and willful by nature and slight the work of the Holy Spirit, and I have shallow knowledge and am worthless. I, like a worm, dare to measure and condemn Your new work and reject Your coming by my only little Bible knowledge. Too arrogant I am! O God! I’m unworthy to live before You, and really deserve to be cursed. Thank You for Your mercy. You didn’t treat me according to my transgression but instead opened my blind eyes with Your words and showed me Your wonderful deeds. O God! I’m willing to accept Your work of the last days and accept the chastisement and judgment of Your word, so that I may become a person after Your heart, to glorify and testify Your holy name.”

It has been over one year since I accepted Almighty God’s new work. My family has restored to its former peace. I am performing my bounden duty under the guidance of God’s word, and feel very delighted. Dear brothers and sisters, maybe you are now full of suspicion and hostility toward Almighty God’s work of the last days and haven’t dropped your notions as I did before. I hope you may learn from my experience and come to Almighty God earlier. Almighty God will tell you all the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and even more, bring you the truth, the way, and the life.

Recommendation:  The Church of Almighty God

Fleeing From the “Tiger’s Den” (Part 1) | Eastern Lightning

Fleeing From the “Tiger’s Den” (Part 1)

January 1, 201871

Xiaoyou

My name is Xiaoyou and this year, I am 26 years old. Originally, I was a Catholic. When I was little, I went with my mother to church for Mass, chanting scriptures, confessing and receiving communion. My mother was very zealous in her faith. She would often donate food and clothing as well as money to the church. The church leaders and nuns particularly liked my mother. When they saw her, they would greet her with smiles and show great concern for her. They would also frequently call my mother on the phone to ask her to participate in all kinds of church activities and to help out with various tasks. I would also proactively participate in the classes that the nuns taught. My church friends and I would chant scriptures together. At that time, I felt the joy and the peace that comes along with being with God. I was very happy every day. However, as time passed on, the faith of my church friends became colder and colder. My spirit also became weak and I was unable to adhere to the teachings of God. I would frequently commit sins and confess. After I got married, I went with my husband to other parts of the country for work.

God Is Here | Christian Video "A Wandering Heart Comes Home" | Find the Real Life

God Is Here | Christian Video "A Wandering Heart Comes Home" | Find the Real Life

Introduction

From the time he was little, Novo believed in the Lord Jesus, just like his mother. Even though he frequently read the Bible, prayed, and attended sermons, he often couldn't help but follow the evil trends of the world, long for the enjoyments of the flesh, and lie and cheat…. He resolved many times to cast off that life of cycling through sinning and confessing, confessing and sinning. However, he always failed. Later on when Novo was working in Taiwan he heard the gospel of the kingdom, and by reading the words of Almighty God he came to the conclusion that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus, and that His work of judgment and purification in the last days is fully able to resolve the problem of mankind's sinful nature. So, he accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days with a heart full of joy. Two years after that, Novo returned to the Philippines and began fulfilling his duty in The Church of Almighty God. He found his goal and direction in life, and from then on his wandering heart finally came home.

      Recommendation: Eastern Lightning

What will the outcome of the CCP government and the religious world be after they madly condemn and resist God? | The Church of Almighty God

What will the outcome of the CCP government and the religious world be after they madly condemn and resist God?

Pictures of The Church of Almighty God

Bible Verses for Reference:

All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven to men. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come (Mat 12:31-32).

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (Mat 23:13).

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Rev 20:10).

How can you pursue the truth so that you are not taken in by lies? What are the principles of practice? | The Church of Almighty God

How can you pursue the truth so that you are not taken in by lies? What are the principles of practice? 

November 29, 20170

Pictures of The Church of Almighty God 

Relevant Words of God:

My words represent Me, Myself. Remember this! Do not have doubts; you absolutely must be certain. This is a matter of life and death! This is a terrible thing! As soon as My words are spoken, what I want to do has come to pass.

from Utterances and Testimonies of Christ in the Beginning

Right now, the path the Holy Spirit walks is God’s current words. So, for one to walk it, he must obey, and eat and drink of the current words of God incarnate. He is doing the work of words, and everything is spoken from His words, and everything is established on His words, His current words. Whether it’s being fully without doubts about God become flesh or knowing Him, one must put much effort into His words. Otherwise, he cannot accomplish anything at all, and he will be left with nothing. Only by coming to know God and satisfy Him on the foundation of eating and drinking His words can one gradually establish a proper relationship with Him. Eating and drinking His words and putting them into practice is the best cooperation with God, and it is the practice that best bears witness as one of His people. When one understands and is able to obey the essence of God’s current words, he is living on the path that is led by the Holy Spirit and he has entered the right track of God perfecting man. It used to be that people sought grace and sought peace and joy, and then were able to obtain God’s work. It’s different now. If they do not have the words of God become flesh, if they do not have the reality of those words, they cannot gain approval from God and will be eliminated by God.

from “Those Whose Disposition Has Changed Are Those Who Have Entered Into the Reality of God’s Words” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You must come to know the vision of God’s work and grasp the general direction of His work. This is entry in a positive way. Once you accurately master the truths of the vision, your entry will be secure; no matter how His work changes, you will remain steadfast in your heart, be clear about the vision, and you will have a goal for your entry and your pursuit. In such manner, all the experience and knowledge within you will grow deeper and become more refined. Once you have grasped the bigger picture in its entirety, you will suffer no losses in life, and you shall not be lost. If you do not come to know these steps of work, you shall suffer loss at each of them. You cannot turn around in just a few days, and you will not be able to set upon the right track in even a few weeks. Is this not setting you back? There is much of entry in a positive manner and such practices that you must master, and so too must you grasp several points on the vision of His work, such as the significance of His work of conquest, the path to being made perfect in the future, what must be achieved through experience of trials and tribulations, the significance of judgment and chastisement, the principles of the work of the Holy Spirit, and the principles of perfection and of conquest. These are all truths of the vision. The rest are the three stages of work of the Age of Law, the Age of Grace, and the Age of Kingdom, as well as future testimony. These too are truths pertaining to the vision, and are the most fundamental, as well as most crucial.

from “The Difference Between the Ministry of the Incarnate God and the Duty of Man” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You must understand the truths of the visionary aspect, and as for the truths relating to practice, you need to find the appropriate paths of practice once you have understood them; you need to practice according to the words, and enter in according to your conditions. Visions are the foundation, and if you pay no attention to this, you will not be able to follow to the very end. As you experience this way, you will either go astray or fall down and fail. There will be no way to succeed! People who do not have great visions as their foundation can only fail and not succeed. You cannot stand firm!

When a person has visions he has a foundation. When you practice on the basis of this foundation, it will be much easier to enter in. This way you will have no misgivings on the basis of entering in, and it will be very easy for you to enter in. This aspect of understanding visions, of understanding the work is the key. You must be equipped with this aspect. If you are not equipped with this aspect of the truth, and only talk about the paths of practice, this is a huge defect. I have discovered that many of you do not emphasize this aspect, and when you listen to this aspect of truth it’s just like listening to doctrinal words. One day you will stand to lose. There are some words now that you do not understand and have not assimilated; in this case you should seek patiently, and the day will come when you understand. Become equipped little by little. Even if you understand only a few spiritual doctrines, it is better than paying no attention to them. It is better than understanding none at all. This is all helpful to your entry, and will clear away those doubts of yours. It is better than your being filled with notions. It is much better to have these visions as a foundation. With no misgivings whatsoever, it is possible to enter in with a strut and a swagger. Why bother always confusedly following in a doubtful way?

from “You Must Understand the Work; Don’t Follow Confusedly!” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

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. Externally, they might not seem like a big deal, but when these things happen they show whether or not you love God. If you do, you will be able to stand firm in your testimony to Him, and if you have not put the love of Him into practice, this shows you are not someone who puts the truth into practice, that you are without the truth, and without life, that you are chaff!

from “Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Man’s Fellowship:

Watering new believers so they can quickly establish a firm foundation on the true way and enter the right track of believing in God is the most fundamental and core work of God’s house. The truths that must be watered well to new believers include: The truth of the three stages of God’s work; the truth relating to God’s incarnation; the truth relating to God’s name; the truth relating to the difference between God’s work and man’s work; the truth relating to discerning the true Christ from the false ones; the truth relating to the knowledge of the work of the Holy Spirit and discernment of the work of the evil spirits; the truth relating to bringing God’s words into real life; and the truth relating to being an honest person, etc. Water these truths deep into the hearts of all those who accept God’s work so they can lay good foundations. This can ensure that they can stand firm on the true way and not betray or deny God no matter what disturbances they encounter from satanic demons. Only when one’s work achieves this result does he serve God to His liking and genuinely carry out God’s will. … When it comes to people who have just accepted God’s work, the most important thing should be to make them first understand the three stages of God’s work, know the meaning of God’s conquering work of the last days, understand the mystery of God’s incarnation, achieve discernment of the true Christ and the false ones, and know the difference between God’s work and man’s work. Only by doing so will it be guaranteed that they will have good foundations on the true way and will never be deceived or pulled away by Satan.

from “Nurturing and Providing for New Believers Is the Top Priority of the Church’s Work” in Selected Annals of the Work Arrangements of the Church of Almighty God

Isn’t it very easy for people to have conceptions on and opinions about God? If so, how do we solve it? First, we must read God’s words more. The consequences of negative propaganda are doubt in God, the truth and God’s words. Therefore, you must eat and drink God’s words more, communicate the truth more, and listen to more sermons. That way you can fight off the negative influence and harm. For example, people that want to be healthy should eat more and exercise more. Eating less doesn’t work. Diseases will continually attack, disturb and torture you. If you eat more, that is, a normal diet, and eat things that help your immune system, you will be healthy. That way, when you do physical exercise, the diseases will run away. At first, people have no power to resist and they have no truth. Therefore, they are vulnerable to negative propaganda. Even if they wanted to push it away or rid themselves of it, they can’t. If you communicate more, read more of God’s words, ponder over the words of God more, listen to more sermons, you will understand more. Satan’s lies and rumors will be destroyed and will not affect you. At this time, is it important to eat and drink the words of God more and ponder over His words more? It’s all too important! Do not doubt God’s words or the truth. You cannot doubt these things. If you do not doubt them, Satan’s lies and negative propaganda will not shake your confidence. If you ever start to doubt the voice of God or the truths expressed by Christ, your confidence will completely collapse, and you’ll be broken down by Satan. Therefore, when you start building the foundation you must eat and drink the words of God more and ponder over all the truths He has issued during His work of judgment. How many of the truths that God issued during His work of judgment have you obtained? How many do you understand? Can you sum up 50 or 100 of them? You shouldn’t just summarize the main aspects. There are too many details contained within each one. If you can summarize 50 or 100 pieces of truths, then you’ll be completely true and obedient to Christ. If you don’t understand enough truths, that won’t do.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, Volume 138

God sets this kind of environment up for us. The great red dragon spreads all kinds of rumors, persecutes us and brings harm to our families. The religious communities participate in all kinds of false preaching, their absurd notions flying about. How should you pursue the truth so that you are in accordance with Christ? If you’re not advancing down this path, you’re retreating. There’s no other choice. You’d better pursue the truth and break free from Satan’s influence. Then Satan won’t be able to hurt you anymore. If you do not pursue the truth, you will be handed over to Satan in the end. If you do not have the truth, you will die in the end, and you will die in the same way non-believers do. When people experience God’s work and His judgment and chastisement, they must have three principles. First, when you have your own conceptions, you must remain sure that God’s words are the absolute truth and that the incarnation is the manifestation of God. You must know that no matter what God does, He is always the truth; He is always righteous! You must be certain about this first. If you are certain about this fact, then conceptions will not be able to beat you. You have your own protection. Second, do not talk about your own reasons or trust your own feelings. You must be clear about this fact: You cannot trust yourself, and you are nothing. Everything you think is wrong! Everything you feel is wrong! All your own reasons are ridiculous! By doing so, you can completely deny and forsake yourself. This is the second principle. Third, do not believe man's nonsense. Anyone who has not been made perfect by God does not have the truth, and many of the things they say are specious, are their own conceptions, imaginations, or doctrines. Do not listen to them; do not be deceived by them. Only believe in God’s words. That is correct. This is the third principle. Fourth, the more conceptions one has, and the more he tries to reason with God, the more it proves that he is arrogant and conceited. The more arrogant and conceited he is, having conceptions against God and reasoning with God, the more it proves that he is of Satan, the devil. You must keep this principle. Whenever you start to have your own conceptions, you should think, “Now I’m being arrogant and conceited!” When you start talking about your own excuses, you should tell yourself, “I am Satan because I can’t obey God! Only devils and Satan always find excuses for themselves.” At this time, you’ll hate yourself. If you hate yourself, you’ll be able to forsake yourself and stand on the side of God. These are the four principles to accepting God’s judgment and chastisement. What do you think of these four principles? Are they useful? Every person can be helped by practically applying these principles. It’s only beneficial; there’s no harm in it. If you do not have these four principles, the very minute you start having conceptions, you’re vulnerable to collapse and being knocked down, unable to stand up. Sometimes, you will need some days to recover. There is danger in this, the danger of betrayal. These are the four principles to experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement. What is the first of the four principles? Identify God’s words as the truth; don’t doubt that God’s words are the truth. As soon as you have this doubt on your mind, you will be completely paralyzed and fall into hell. It will be too late then. Second, do not reason with God; don’t trust your own feelings. Third, don’t believe man’s nonsense. Fourth, the more you have conceptions and try to reason with God, the more it shows that you are arrogant and conceited, that you are Satan, the devil. You should curse yourself. “I am a satanic devil! I am an antichrist. I should be punished!” This is good. This means you are freeing yourself from your conceptions. There are some more detailed things which you also need some principles to solve. First, sometimes when you have conceptions in your heart, you should select a few paragraphs of God’s words to read and ponder. Then your heart will definitely be enlightened and you will no longer be attacked by your own conceptions. This is a little tip. Second, when a problem happens and you’re perplexed and don’t know what to do, what should you do? Pray more. Pray to God a few times, seeking the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. When you come before God and say something sincerely, you will feel like your problem has eased quite a bit. An inner light will shine, and you’ll feel like it’s not that big of a problem after all. If you go before God and say a few words, it will be very different than not saying anything at all. If you don’t pray, your insides will be like dead water. If you pray, this water will start to stir. It will be different, and things will change. This is the second of the four principles to solving problems. Third, when you have no other way to turn, seek the truth. Talk with the brothers and sisters that understand the truth. Don’t suffer in silence. Do not allow yourself to stay trapped in a dark corner. Open your heart and talk to others that understand the truth. Share your experiences with each other. This will give you a lot of enlightenment and make you feel like you have a way forward. Perhaps some of the brothers and sisters have experienced this issue before and can help you solve your problems immediately. This is the third principle. The third principle is a little tip on spiritual experience. It never fails. Fourth, when you encounter major problems, do not worry or make any decision in haste. Wait for God’s time. If you pray a few times, perhaps after praying for a while you’ll gain some enlightenment. You’ll seem to get a grasp of the situation and understand the way forward. So wait for God, and do not make any decision in haste! If you become nervous, make blind decisions or jump to a conclusion, when God’s time arrives and He makes you understand, it will be too late to regret. The toothpaste is already out of the tube. This especially applies to looking for a spouse. You must wait for God; do not be hasty. A decision made in haste will lead to trouble. It can easily lead to bad consequences! You must wait for God’s time. I have failed many times. This is a lesson I’ve drawn from my experience. What do you think of these four principles? They’re somewhat useful, right?

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, Volume 138

Read more: Where Does Eastern Lightning Come From?

                   The origin of the Church of Almighty God.