Put Aside Our Notions to Welcome the Lord’s Return

Wang Hui

We often live in our notions and imaginations, which can give us wonderful hope or become the motivation of our life. However, once the reality doesn’t line up with our imaginations, that can have serious consequences for us.
I have heard such a story:

Once there was an old lady and her two sons. When the sons were small, their father went abroad to work. The father often sent money and necessaries of life to support the family. As time passed by, the two sons had forgotten what their father looked like, so the old lady often talked about their father to them. Thus, there was an imagined father in their mind. Soon after the old lady’s death, their father wrote to them that he would come back, but he didn’t tell them the time of his return. Knowing that their father would be back, the two sons were very excited and looking forward to their father’s return, for they had long known from their mother that their father had already become a rich man abroad.

One day, an ugly old man dressed in rags, was standing at the door of the elder son. He knocked at the door softly and called the son’s pet name. “Who is it?” asked the elder son. “It’s me, your father,” answered the old man. Hearing his pet name, the elder son knew it was his father coming back because no one knew his pet name except his mother and father. He was both astonished and happy; he wasn’t expecting his father back so soon. He gladly ran to open the door, but he was dumbfounded. Standing outside the door was an old man, short, ugly, and in shabby clothes. “How can he be my father? My father will come back in a limousine with his bodyguards.” So he roared angrily, “You poor beggar! How dare you profess to be my father! I won’t give you any food! Go away!” Hearing that, the old man still said calmly, “I am really your father…” But before he could finish speaking, the elder son interrupted him and shouted, “My father is not like you! He is abroad, rich, and will be back soon. Don’t you try to profess to be my father to take advantage of me? Go away quickly!” The old man wanted to say more, yet the elder son pointed at him and said, “Do you not go? If you don’t go, I’ll set my dog on you!” The old man shook his head, sighed and left disappointedly.

Then the old man came to the younger son’s house. He called his pet name as he knocked at the door. On hearing this, the younger son felt it was like his father’s voice, but he was not sure, for this old man before him differed greatly from his father in his mind. However, he invited the old man into the house and got him something to eat. Afterward, he inquired him of the details of his past. From his words, he confirmed that this old man was indeed his father. So he said, “Father, whether poor or rich, you are my father. I will look after you. Please live with us. This is your home.” Hearing these words, the old man was moved to tears.

Afterwards, the old man had ascertained that his younger son treated him genuinely. No matter how his brother gave bad advice to him, his younger son never kicked him out, but treated him better. In the end, the old man gave all his property to his younger son. After the elder son knew it was a test, he sorely regretted, kowtowing continually and apologizing to his father in bitter tears. He promised that he would mend his ways and treat him well. However, his father shook his head and said, “It’s too late!”

After reading this story, you may feel sorry for the elder son. When his father was standing at his door, he refused him and shut the door on him due to his imaginations. Eventually he was filled with bitter regret. This shows us that our notions and imaginations are too harmful. At the moment, I can’t help thinking of the time when the Lord Jesus came to do His work. Wasn’t it because of their notions and imaginations that the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees opposed the work of the Lord Jesus? Because God’s work was incompatible with their imaginations, that is, because they held on to the views of “impossible,” such as the Lord couldn’t possibly be called Jesus or preach outside the temple when He came, much less be born in a manger, etc., they opposed God—nailed the Lord Jesus who came to redeem mankind to the cross—and committed a heinous crime. Consequently, the entire Israel was subjected to destruction.

Today, two thousand years later, all Christians are looking forward to the return of the Lord Jesus. But they have committed the same mistake, that is, they also use their notions and imaginations to define God. Some insist that God cannot work in China and should work in Israel; others think that God cannot come in flesh and should come upon a white cloud in spiritual body; and so forth. These notions and imaginations severely hinder people from investigating God’s work, and make them shut the door on God’s salvation time and again. Jehovah God said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). And the word of God says, “Put aside your view of ‘impossible’! The more that people believe something is impossible, the more likely it is to occur, for the wisdom of God soars higher than the heavens, God’s thoughts are higher than man’s thoughts, and the work of God transcends the limits of man’s thinking and conception. The more that something is impossible, the more there is the truth to be sought; the more that something is beyond the conception and imagination of man, the more it contains the will of God” (“The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age”).

From God’s words, we can see that God’s thoughts soar higher than the heavens. We can never fathom His thoughts, much less can we measure how He will work by our notions and imaginations. God cannot possibly do His work according to our notions, for man’s notions and imagination are Satan’s schemes. If we always live in our notions and imaginations, we will make the same mistake as the Pharisees—nailing God to the cross. Only if we put aside our notions and imaginations, seek and investigate God’s work, can we witness God’s appearance and welcome the Lord’s return. Otherwise, we will lose the chance to be saved. Just as 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. 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 and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit” (“When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth”).

The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:3). We can see that the Lord loves people who has a humble heart. So when it comes to the matter of the Lord’s second coming, if we can put our conceptions to one side, seek humbly and follow God’s footprints, then we will be the most blessed ones. If you have other understanding and new light, you’re welcome to have a real-time chat with us via the online chat window at the bottom of the website or send an email to info@findshepherd.com. We’re all ears to your experience and knowledge of belief in the Lord. Looking forward to exchanging our sharing and welcoming the Lord’s second coming together.

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Take a Firm Stance in Welcoming the Second Coming of Jesus Christ

Xiewen

In our daily life, we often see that when faced with something, the ambivalent people are obsessed with right and wrong and torn between two possibilities without taking a firm stance, and afterward, they will be very bothered and regret what they have done. Today, in the important matter of welcoming the second coming of Jesus Christ, many believers also hesitate at the crossroads, following the herd without taking a firm stance. If this goes on, what then will be the consequences? Let’s read a story:

In ancient times, there was a man in the State of Qi. One day, he went to sell a donkey with his son. After going out, he asked his son to ride on the donkey while he walked and led it. On the way they met a man, and the man sneered, “What an unfilial boy! Your father is an old man, but you let him walk and you are riding on the donkey!” Upon hearing this, the boy immediately got down from the donkey and asked his father to ride, and he walked. After a short while, they met another man, and the man said, “What a cruel old man! You yourself are riding on the donkey but let your poor little boy follow as best he can on his own legs.” At his words, they dared not ride the donkey anymore, so they walked and led it. Before they hadn’t gone far, they met another man, and he said, “What a pair of fools! They trudge along the road when they might be riding!” After hearing this, they two immediately mounted the donkey. However, they hadn’t gone far when they met another man, and the man said, “They are so cruel-hearted. Both of them are riding on the little donkey. You see, the donkey is dead tired!” Hearing this, the father and son hurriedly dismounted the donkey, and discussed what they should do. Then they said, “We’d better carry the donkey.” Again, they hadn’t gone far when they met a crowd of people, and these people all said, “How stupid they are! They are carrying their donkey rather than riding on it.” At the moment, the father and son got stumped, “The donkey cannot be ridden: when one of us rode on it, we were criticized by others; when both of us rode on it, we were blamed. When we carried it, they said us to be stupid.” It happened that they saw a well at the side of the road, so they threw the donkey into it for fear of being judged by others.

This story is short, but it is thought-provoking. The father and son were unable to think for themselves, had no discernment, and were afraid of others’ criticisms, so they complied with the opinions of various kinds of people and brought a lot of troubles on themselves. In the end, they threw their donkey away alive instead of selling it. They completely lost their donkey because of their vanity and self-respect. This reminds me of a fact: Today there are many people who have heard the news that the Lord Jesus has returned to flesh and does His work in China, and they have even heard the word of the truth and read the personal utterance of God. They think that they are in accordance with what the Bible prophesied and acknowledge in their heart that they are from God, but they believe the words of their pastors and elders and reject God’s salvation in the last days because of having no place for God in their heart and adoring and looking up to man. There are many, too, who cannot maintain a firm stance after hearing the rumors of the outside world formed on mistaken premises, and they eventually follow the crowd and shut the door on God. Don’t these people who have no discernment and stance reject God’s salvation for fear of being ridiculed and slandered? This is the same as what happened in the Age of Grace. At that time, the Lord Jesus came to the world to spread the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, and He bestowed upon man abundant grace, healed the sick, cast out demons, and performed many deeds of God, such as the great miracles of “feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fish,” “resurrecting Lazarus,” and so on. The people knew that all that the Lord Jesus did was unattainable by an ordinary prophet, and they all agreed and admitted in their heart that the deeds of the Lord Jesus were extraordinary. However, when the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees attacked, condemned, and slandered the Lord Jesus, and judged that He performed miracles and cast out devils by the prince of the devils, many muddled people had no discernment, so some of them, because of admiring the leaders, others, for fear of being persecuted, and still others, because of following the general trend, denied all that the Lord Jesus had done, and followed the Pharisees to reject and resist Him and even nail Him to the cross. As a result, they were condemned by the Lord Jesus and the nation of Israel was subjected to destruction. These were the consequences of their lacking discernment and having no stance and following the herd in dealing with the great matter of the Lord’s coming. In the last days, God has been incarnated again to speak utterances among man. He has carried out a stage of work to judge and purify man upon the foundation of the work of the Age of Grace, expressing the words of life to supply man. In order to free us humans completely from sin and make man holy, now the words spoken by God in the new age are already made public to the whole world on the Internet, and the work of God in the new age is testified through various means, including a great variety of books, movies, hymns, and dances, so that all those who truly yearn for the appearance of God can receive the rich supply of life prepared for us by God, live under the personal guidance of God, and enjoy a life on earth akin to heaven. But those muddled believers, who follow what others said and have no discernment and stance, believe all kinds of rumors of the outside world and are subjected to various kinds of restraints. They dare not accept God’s work in the last days for the sake of safeguarding their own interests, and hence are classified as ones standing on the side of the evil one, and they will ultimately live in the disaster that has scarcely been seen through the ages. This is determined entirely by the righteous disposition of God. Therefore, as Christians who have been longing desperately for the Lord to come, how should we treat the great matter pertaining to our end and destination? Should we follow the herd and gain nothing like the father and son who were on their way to sell the donkey or be the wise virgins who take a firm stance and go out to meet the Bridegroom when hearing the news of His coming? To welcome the second coming of Jesus Christ, we must actively seek the truth and gain discernment, and be able to hear and recognize God’s voice. Only in this way can we witness the appearance of the Lord.

God says: “If, in the pursuit of God, man does not have his own position to stand by, and does not know what truth he should hold to, then it means that he has no foundation, and so it is not easy for him to stand firm. Today, there are so many who do not understand the truth, who cannot distinguish between good and evil or tell what to love or hate. Such people can hardly stand firm. … Those who do not understand the truth always follow others: If people say that this is the work of the Holy Spirit, then you, too, say it is the work of the Holy Spirit; if people say it is the work of an evil spirit, then you, too, become doubtful, or also say it is the work of an evil spirit. You always parrot the words of others, and are incapable of distinguishing anything by yourself, nor are you able to think for yourself. This is someone without a position, who is unable to differentiate…. It is actually the work of the Holy Spirit, but you say it is the work of man; have you not become one of those who blaspheme against the work of the Holy Spirit? In this, have you not opposed God because you cannot differentiate?” (“Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God”). From God’s words we see that if a believer in God does not have his own position to stand by, he will be a failure in his belief in God, for he can follow others to do evil and resist God. So we should draw a lesson from the failure of the Jews who blindly adored and followed the religious officials and the Pharisees. We should not parrot the words of others and follow the herd, but should stand our ground, seek the truth and rely on God, and be able to discern what is the true way.

God says: “Distinguishing between the true way and the false way requires several aspects of basic knowledge, the most fundamental of which is to tell whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit. For the substance of man’s belief in God is the belief in the Spirit of God. Even his belief in God incarnate is because this flesh is the embodiment of the Spirit of God, which means that such belief is still the belief in the Spirit. There are differences between the Spirit and the flesh, but because this flesh comes from the Spirit, and is the Word become flesh, thus what man believes in is still the inherent substance of God. And so, in distinguishing whether or not it is the true way, above all you must look at whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit, after which you must look at whether or not there is the truth in this way. This truth is the life disposition of normal humanity, which is to say, that which was required of man when God created him in the beginning, namely, all of normal humanity (including human sense, insight, wisdom, and the basic knowledge of being man). That is, you need to look at whether or not this way takes man into a life of normal humanity, whether or not the truth that is spoken of is required according to the reality of normal humanity, whether or not this truth is practical and real, and whether or not it is most timely. If there is truth, then it is able to take man into normal and real experiences; man, furthermore, becomes ever more normal, man’s human sense becomes ever more complete, man’s life in the flesh and the spiritual life become ever more orderly, and man’s emotions become ever more normal. This is the second principle. There is one other principle, which is whether or not man has an increasing knowledge of God, whether or not experiencing such work and truth can inspire a love of God in him, and bring him ever closer to God. In this can be measured whether or not it is the true way. Most fundamental is whether this way is realistic rather than supernatural, and whether or not it is able to provide the life of man. If it conforms to these principles, the conclusion can be drawn that this way is the true way. … If you grasp these several key principles, then whatever happens you will not be deceived” (“Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God”).

From these words of God we see that it requires principles to distinguish what is the true way. It requires us to tell whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit in this way, whether or not there is the expression of the truth in it, whether or not it can make our conscience and sense become ever more normal, and whether or not we can obtain a knowledge of God in experiencing such work and truth. If there’s the work of the Holy Spirit, we will become ever more normal, will have an increasing knowledge of our corrupt satanic disposition and substance, and will be increasingly transformed in our corrupt disposition. At the same time, we will understand more and more truths and grow in life, have a deeper knowledge of God, recover our reason and conscience, and come ever closer to God. If there are these results of the Holy Spirit’s work following, this way is undoubtedly the true way. For example, in the Age of Grace, the truths expressed by the Lord Jesus could supply what His followers needed in life, so when the disciples spread the gospel, they didn’t revile in return when reviled or strike back when struck. They were full of faith, love, tolerance, and patience, and could endure the ridicule and slander of various kinds of people to carry out God’s will and cooperate with God in preaching the gospel to save man. Judging from the humanity they lived out, their sense and conscience as well as their knowledge of God, they were the very ones who followed God’s work. Today, The second coming of Jesus Christ has expressed all the truths that enable man to know God and be saved, including the inner truths of the three stages of God’s work, the mystery of God’s incarnation, the significance of God’s names, God’s disposition, and what God has and is. Meanwhile, He has also revealed the truths and mysteries concerning our substance corrupted by Satan, the true condition and root of our corruption by Satan, the end and the destination of us humans, and so on. Through experiencing God’s words of judgment, we can gain some knowledge of our satanic nature and corrupt disposition of arrogance and conceitedness, treachery and craftiness as well as selfishness and baseness, and we can also obtain a knowledge of God’s righteous and unoffendable disposition, so that we will have a heart that fears God and be gradually transformed in our corrupt disposition, and eventually we will be completely set free from sin and made clean. All these can fully prove that the work of God is the true way. Although condemned by the religious world and suppressed and in danger of being captured by the CCP government, the believers in God, under the guidance of the work of the Holy Spirit, have spread God’s gospel of the kingdom to all the nations by their faith and love toward God, and have established many churches in dozens of countries and regions, which is completely the result of the Holy Spirit’s work. I believe that from this the wise virgins will be able to hear the voice of God, welcome the bridegroom and feast with Him!

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After the Mountain Was “Removed” …

Wang Zhi

“The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains” is a well-known ancient Chinese fable about an old man who was determined to dig away the two mountains in front of his house despite the impossibility of the task. Today, I’d like to tell a modern version of the story.

There was once a young man who lived in an isolated mountain village. A great mountain lay right in front of his house, making his travel very inconvenient. Whenever he went out, he had to take a path around it. Afterward, he got married and had three sons. As time went by, the young man turned old and frail, while his sons all grew up to be successful. The first son became a builder, the second one worked in business, and the third one was in charge of a logistics team. The only constant was the mountain in front of the house. Every time the old man traveled, he hobbled all the way circumventing the mountain. … One day, an idea suddenly occurred to the old man, so he called his three sons, saying that he wanted to have the mountain removed. Hearing that, his sons all advised him to give up the idea and live with them in the city. But the old man said, “I won’t go to the city, for I’ve already been used to the life in the village. The air is fresh, and there is no noise. The only problem is the mountain that stands in the way.” After discussion, the three sons decided to fulfill their father’s wish since they were capable of that. Then, the first son dispatched front-end loaders and excavators to the site, the second one paid the money, and the third one mobilized his logistics team. Having got everything prepared, they broke ground on the project. Instantly, the machines rumbled and kicked dust into the air. After a few months of operation, a 10-plus-meter-wide road was cut through the mountain and paved with asphalt. Besides, a pavilion was built in the yard, and the house looked literally like a villa. The old man was overwhelmed with joy as he saw the sight before him.

One day, high winds ripped through the newly built road to the house of the old man, sand smashing against the glass with noises. Immediately, the pavilion in the yard was blown askew, and the tiles were torn off the roof of the house. … After the wind passed, the onetime villa was left in ruins. The old man cried out in confusion, “Heavens! What did I do wrong? Why did this befall me? I’d never come across anything like this before. What’s going on?”

Why did this happen to the old man? God has given us the answer in His words. He says: “So what use is the mountain here? Is it somewhat like a filter for the wind? (Yes.) The mountain takes the fierce wind and cuts it down into what? (A slight breeze.) Into a slight breeze. Most people could touch and feel it in the environment where they lived—was it a fierce wind or a slight breeze that they felt? (A slight breeze.) Isn’t this one of the purposes behind God’s creation of mountains? Isn’t this His intent? What would it be like for people to live in an environment where the fierce wind blew around bits of sand without anything to block or filter it? Could it be that with sand and stones blowing around, people wouldn’t be able to live on the land? Some people might get hit in the head by the stones flying about, or others might get sand in their eyes and wouldn’t be able to see. People could get sucked up into the air or the wind could blow so hard they couldn’t stand up. Houses would be destroyed and all sorts of disasters would happen.” “such as mountains, mountain ranges, plains, hills, basins, valleys, plateaus, and rivers. God applies these different geographical environments to change an airflow’s speed, direction and force, using such a method to reduce or manipulate it into an appropriate wind speed, wind direction, and wind force, so that humans can have a normal living environment. Doing something like this seems difficult for humans, but it is easy for God because He observes all things. For Him to create an environment with a suitable airflow for mankind is too simple, too easy. Therefore, in such an environment created by God, each and every thing among all things is indispensable. There is value and necessity in all of their existence. However, Satan and corrupted mankind do not have such a philosophy. They keep destroying and developing, vainly dreaming of turning mountains into flat land, filling up canyons, and building skyscrapers on flat land to create concrete jungles. It is God’s hope that mankind can live happily, grow happily, and spend each day happily in the most suitable environment He prepared for them. That is why God has never been careless when it comes to dealing with mankind’s living environment.” “Why has man found himself in his current environmental predicament? Is it because of man’s greed and destruction? If man ends this destruction, won’t the living environment gradually right itself? If God does nothing, if God no longer wishes to do anything for mankind—that is to say, He doesn’t want to intervene—the best method would be for mankind to stop this destruction and return things to how they were. Putting an end to all this destruction means to stop the plundering and devastation of the things God has created. This will allow the environment where man lives to gradually improve. Failure to do so will result in further destruction of the environment and it will only become more serious.”

After reading God’s words, have you known who was to blame for the old man’s tragedy? What did he do wrong? Yes, he shouldn’t have “removed” the mountain that had protected him. Actually, God created all things and set boundaries and laws for them—all of this God has done is for us human beings to live happily. There is value in the existence of each and every thing among all things. For example, the mountain can block the wind and change its speed, so that the fierce wind is reduced to a mild breeze which can please people. Nonetheless, when we are blinded by greed and act contrary to God, for the sake of our own self-interests, trying to change the laws established by God for all things and wantonly damaging the homeland we rely on for our survival, can we still enjoy the pleasant breeze? When we believe we have led a cozy and comfortable life by changing the environment where we live, have we ever wondered the dire consequences of such willful destruction of the living environment God prepared for us? Considering the benefits the old man enjoyed from the mountain’s “removal,” we might approve of him; however, faced with the unexpected result of his house being destroyed by the strong wind carrying sand, we couldn’t help but heave a sigh: The old man, you are truly foolish!

The story is well worthy for us to deliberate. In real life, how can we save the land our lives depend on—the earth, where there has already been widespread devastation? The only answer is that we should stop the destruction, return things to how they were, gain knowledge of the Creator’s sovereignty and return to His side. …

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Inspiration From Two Flower Baskets

Xu Fan

There was a popular story in the time of Solomon, which goes like this: Once, King Solomon received two baskets of rare flowers from the envoy of a neighboring kingdom. These two baskets of flowers were extremely alike in their leaves and petals. The envoy said to King Solomon, “Your Majesty, of these two baskets of flowers, one is that of genuine flowers and the other artificial ones. Sire, your wisdom is famous all over the world, and all the people in my country admire you. Your Majesty, please differentiate for us the basket of genuine flowers from that of artificial ones, and the people in my country will surely celebrate your inexhaustible wisdom.” Thereupon, King Solomon commanded his attendants, “Take these two baskets of flowers to the garden.” None of his courtiers knew what their king would do. After a while, Solomon led his courtiers and the envoy to the garden to admire the flowers. The garden was full of beautiful, blooming flowers giving out sweet fragrance, and many bees were buzzing around from flower to flower, collecting honey. Looking at the two baskets of flowers, Solomon said smilingly, “The flowers in that basket are exceptionally beautiful, but attract no bees. Those in this one, attracting bees, are genuine flowers.” His courtiers and the envoy of the neighboring kingdom all gasped in admiration, “You are really a wise king!”

This is a simple story, but it reflects Solomon’s wisdom, and from it we can also find the spiritual meaning. Only the flowers with life can give forth fragrance, secrete nectar, and attract bees; the flowers without life, on the contrary, are dead, and they cannot send forth fragrance to attract bees or secrete nectar for bees to gather even if they look very similar to the real ones.

After reading the story of King Solomon telling the genuine flowers from the artificial ones, I couldn’t help thinking: Now there are many believers in the Lord Jesus devoutly waiting for His return, but they at the same time refuse the gospel of His return for fear of being deceived, because of these words of the Lord Jesus in the Bible: “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). In fact, God’s purpose in saying these words was for us to learn to discern false Christs, and not for us to refuse the gospel of His return because of the appearance of false Christs during the last days. If we give priority to guarding against false Christs for fear of being deceived and pay no attention to listening to and recognizing God’s voice, then how can we meet the Lord’s return? Take Peter and the Samaritan woman for example. They recognized that the Lord Jesus was the coming Messiah because they had heard His words. Revelation 3:22 says, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches….” And Roman 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Hence when we hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus’ return, we should first seek and investigate it to discern whether it is His return, so that we will not miss the chance to be reunited with the Lord.

To meet the Lord’s return, we must first understand what is Christ, and know how to discern the true Christ from false ones. Let’s see what God says about it. God says, “God become flesh is called Christ, and so the Christ that can give people the truth is called God. There is nothing excessive about this” (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life”). From God’s words, we can see that only God become flesh is called Christ. Christ is God’s Spirit materialized in the flesh, is God appearing, and is God clothed in flesh to do His own work. Although in appearance Christ is an ordinary, normal man, His substance is the divinity, and the work He does is God’s work. Then how can we discern the true Christ? God says, “To investigate whether it is God’s incarnate flesh, man must determine this from the disposition He expresses and the words He speaks. Which is to say, whether or not it is God’s incarnate flesh, and whether or not it is the true way, must be judged from His substance. And so, in determining whether it is the flesh of God incarnate, the key is to pay attention to His substance (His work, His words, His disposition, and many more), rather than external appearance. If man sees only His external appearance, and overlooks His substance, then that shows the ignorance and naivety of man.” From God’s words, we can know that to discern the true Christ, we should mainly discern Him from His substance, rather than external appearance; that is, we should discern Him from His work, His words, and His disposition. Christ can give man the truth, provide man with life, and express God’s righteous disposition and the wisdom of His work. Christ is the holy, righteous God Himself. Take for example the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace. He was no different from ordinary, normal people in appearance, but He expressed many truths and bestowed the way of repentance upon man. Through manifesting a disposition dominated by mercy and lovingkindness, He taught people to forgive others seventy times seven, healed the sick, cast out demons, performed many miracles, and led them out of the bonds of the law, and He was crucified and completed the work of redeeming all mankind. The words and work of the Lord Jesus most indisputably proved that Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. Today, Almighty God—the Lord Jesus who has returned to flesh—has brought a new age, the Age of Kingdom. He has expressed millions of words and carried out the work of judgment of the last days. He judges and purifies man with His righteous and holy disposition, so that man will no longer live in the cycle of sin and confession, and will ultimately be free from the bondage of sin, fully saved and perfected by God. The words of Almighty God have revealed to us all mysteries and told us God’s will for mankind, the outcomes of all kinds of people, and the work God intends to accomplish, so that we can have more ways to practice the truth. From Almighty God’s words and work, we can see that He is the embodiment of the truth. His work also proves that Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. These are forever unattainable by false Christs.

Then how should we discern false Christs? God says, “If a man calls himself God yet is unable to express the being of divinity, do the work of God Himself, or represent God, he is undoubtedly not God, for he has not the essence of God, and that which God can inherently achieve does not exist within him” (“The Difference Between the Ministry of the Incarnate God and the Duty of Man”). “If, during the present day, there is to emerge a person who is able to display signs and wonders, and can cast out demons, and heal, and perform many miracles, and if this person claims that they are the coming of Jesus, then this would be the counterfeit of evil spirits, and their imitation of Jesus. Remember this! God does not repeat the same work. Jesus’ stage of work has already been completed, and God will never again undertake that stage of work. … If, during the last days, God still displayed signs and wonders, and still cast out demons and healed—if He did exactly the same as Jesus—then God would be repeating the same work, and the work of Jesus would have no significance or value. Thus, God carries out one stage of work in every age. Once each stage of His work has been completed, it is soon imitated by evil spirits, and after Satan begins to follow on the heels of God, God changes to a different method; once God has completed a stage of His work, it is imitated by evil spirits. You must be clear about these things.” “Today, God has come to bring an end to the Age of Grace and cast out all the practices of the Age of Grace. … The God of today does not display signs and wonders, nor does He heal and cast out demons. When Jesus came, the work He did represented one part of God, but this time God has come to do the stage of work that is due, for God does not repeat the same work; He is the God that is always new and never old, and so all that you see today is the words and work of the practical God” (“Knowing God’s Work Today”).

From God’s words, we can know that God is always new and never old and His work is always progressing forward. Today, Almighty God, Christ of the last days, has new work. He does not display signs and wonders, heal the sick, or cast out demons; but rather, by expressing the truth, He does the work of judging, purifying, and perfecting man and shows man the ways of practice in the new age. So if a person who can display signs and wonders, heal the sick, and cast out demons claims to be Christ, he is absolutely an evil spirit that counterfeits the work of Jesus. Once God has completed a stage of His work, the evil spirits will follow on the heels of Him and imitate the work He has finished. If man doesn’t have discernment, he will be deceived.

Moreover, false Christs possess no truth, nor can they express any truth. They can only imitate God’s former work and deceive people by displaying some small miracles and wonders, but they can never imitate such miracles displayed by the Lord Jesus as “feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fish,” “bringing Lazarus back from the dead,” “rebuking the winds and the sea,” and so on. They are evil spirits that counterfeit the work of the Lord, and they don’t possess the authority and power to rule over or control all things, which are completely determined by their substance. Just as God says, “Sooner or later, those fake Christs will all fall, for although they claim to be Christ, they possess none of the substance of Christ. And so I say that the authenticity of Christ cannot be defined by man, but is answered and decided by God Himself” (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life”). So, if we can master the principles for discerning between the true Christ and false Christs, we will not be afraid of being deceived. The truths expressed by Almighty God today can enable us to differentiate between all positive things and negative things. If we don’t seek, investigate, and accept the salvation of Christ of the last days for fear of being deceived, we will miss God’s salvation in the last days.

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Everyone Has a Bill That He Does not Have to Pay

Liang Zhi

Thoughts Provoked by the Story of the Bills

There was once a boy named Tom who presented his mother with a bill.

The bill says, “The sum Mom owes Tom is as follows:

Mom should pay Tom $5 for helping mop the floor; $10 for buying mom daily necessities; $15 for babysitting my younger sister; and $20 for being a good boy. That comes to $50. Your son, Tom.”

Then Tom hung out cheerfully after making out the bill. In the evening, he came back and found 50 dollars at his bedside. Just when he was pleased about the reward offered by his mom, he saw another bill beside it. And he picked it up and read it with curiosity.

“The sum Tom owes Mom is as follows:

Mom charges Tom $0 for having given birth to little Tom after months of pregnancy; for worrying about and looking after Tom when he is ill, $0; for teaching Tom to talk, walk, and eat, $0. Mom prays to God every day for Tom to grow healthily and happily, Tom should pay $0. In total, Tom should pay Mom $0. Love, Mom.”

After reading mother’s bill for $0, Tom was quite ashamed. He walked stealthily up to his mother, who was preparing the dinner, and buried his hot face in his mother’s bosom, cautiously slipping the 50 dollars into her pocket.

Having just read the story, I merely laughed it off. After all, Tom was only a child, for what reason should we not forgive him for his innocence? But then, on reflection, I thought most people’s morbid mentality was also mirrored by the ignorant child’s idea. In this society full of material desires, a great number of things can be sold at marked prices. And it is natural that we gain our due reward in exchange for the price we have paid. Sometimes, those that are supposed to be the expressions of love at last turn into merciless bargains owing to our selfishness.

My Relationship With God Is Revealed As One of Making a Deal With Him Through Labor

Some time ago, the work of the church was very busy, and I ran around from early morning to late at night. Once, I had to get to a place 30 miles away to meet a few brothers and sisters at 6 o’clock in the morning, so I got up early and set off at 5. Though the severe winter was gone, it was still cold. Especially at dawn, after a long night, there was a chill in the air, and the trees by the roadside were shriveled up. Despite my thick cotton-padded jacket under the dust coat, the wind still forced its way into my sleeves and reached my chest while I was riding the motorcycle. My legs were numb with cold. So, many times I had to get off and stamped my feet to warm them up. At that time, I couldn’t help thinking, “If not for the work of the church, I would never go outside so early in such cold weather. God may have seen all I did. And will He commemorate and bless me?” A sharp pang of guilt shot through me when I thought this way. I remembered the short story of Tom billing his mother. And a passage of God’s words which a brother had shared with us in the meeting suddenly occurred to me too, “Many of those who follow God are only concerned with how to gain blessings or avoid disaster. … Such people have one very simple aim in following God: to gain blessing, and they are too lazy to attend to anything that doesn’t involve this aim. For them, believing in God to gain blessings is the most legitimate of goals and the very value of their faith. They are unaffected by anything that cannot achieve this objective. Such is the case with most of those who believe in God today. Their aim and motivation seem legitimate, because at the same time as believing in God, they also expend for God, dedicate themselves to God, and perform their duty. They give up their youth, forsake family and career, and even spend years busying about away from home. For the sake of their ultimate goal, they change their interests, alter their outlook on life, and even change the direction they seek, yet they cannot change the aim of their belief in God. They run about for the management of their own ideals; no matter how far the road is, and no matter how many hardships and obstacles there are along the way, they stick to their guns and remain fearless of death. What power makes them continue to dedicate themselves in this way? Is it their conscience? Is it their great and noble character? Is it their determination to do battle with the forces of evil to the very end? Is it their faith in which they bear witness to God without seeking recompense? Is it their loyalty for which they are willing to give up everything to achieve the will of God? Or is it their spirit of devotion in which they’ve always forgone personal extravagant demands? For people who have never known the work of God’s management to give so much is, quite simply, a wondrous miracle! … Apart from the benefits that are so closely associated with them, could there be any other reason for these people who never understand God to give so much to Him? In this, we discover a previously unidentified problem: Man’s relationship with God is merely one of naked self-interest. It is the relationship between the receiver and giver of blessings. To put it plainly, it is like the relationship between employee and employer. The employee works only to receive the rewards bestowed by the employer. In a relationship like this, there is no affection, only a deal; there is no loving and being loved, only charity and mercy; there is no understanding, only resignation and deception; there is no intimacy, only a gulf that cannot be bridged.”

Contemplating these thought-provoking words, I felt terribly ashamed at my thought of making demands on God and bartering with Him when I suffered a little. I realized that I had abandoned my family and job and endured hardship and suffering, not because of my noble character, my resolution to follow God, even less because of my love for God, but just for the sake of demanding God’s blessings and rewards, and buying blessing of the kingdom of heaven with my labor and sacrifice. Wasn’t I conducting a transaction with God? Wasn’t I making use of Him and deceiving Him? At this moment, I truly felt myself a person who sought nothing but profits and lacked conscience and sense before God.

God’s Love Cannot Be Measured, and Is Far More Than I Can Repay

After back home, I went to the brother and communicated with him. He then combined a passage of God’s words to fellowship with me, which was edifying and helped me gain a better knowledge of God’s will. And the passage of God’s words say: “God created mankind; regardless of whether they have been corrupted or whether they follow Him, God treats human beings as His loved ones—or as human beings would say, the people dearest to Him—and not His playthings. Although God says He is the Creator and that man is His creation, which may sound like there is a bit of a difference in rank, the reality is that everything God has done for mankind far exceeds a relationship of this nature. God loves mankind, cares for mankind, and shows concern for mankind, as well as constantly and unceasingly provides for mankind. He never feels in His heart that this is additional work or something that deserves a lot of credit. Nor does He feel that saving humanity, supplying them, and granting them everything, is making a huge contribution to mankind. He simply provides for mankind quietly and silently, in His own way and through His own essence and what He has and is. No matter how much provision and how much help mankind receives from Him, God never thinks about nor tries to take credit. This is determined by the essence of God, and is also precisely a true expression of God’s disposition. This is why, regardless of whether it is in the Bible or any other books, we never find God expressing His thoughts, and we never find God describing or declaring to humans why He does these things, or why He cares so much for mankind, in order to make mankind be grateful toward Him or praise Him. Even when He is hurt, when His heart is in extreme pain, He never forgets His responsibility toward mankind or His concern for mankind, all while He bears this hurt and pain alone in silence. To the contrary, God continues to provide for mankind as He always does. Even though mankind often praises God or bears witness to Him, none of this behavior is demanded by God. This is because God never intends for any of the good things He does for mankind to be exchanged for gratitude or for it to be paid back. On the other hand, those who fear God and shun evil, those who truly follow God, listen to Him and are loyal to Him, and those who obey Him—these are the people who will often receive God’s blessings, and God will bestow such blessings without reservation. Moreover, the blessings people receive from God are often beyond their imagination, and also beyond anything human beings can exchange for what they have done or the price they have paid. When mankind is enjoying God’s blessings, does anyone care about what God is doing? Does anyone show any concern for how God is feeling?” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself I”).

I was greatly touched by these words. God silently bestows the truth and life on us, and provides for us, and what He has done for us humans cannot be measured. We used to be ones who wandered and were lost in the world, and it is thanks to God’s salvation that we can come before God, so that we come to understand some truths, can discern good from evil, and beauty from ugliness, and can walk on the correct path to break away from Satan’s influence of darkness and march on toward a brilliant life. Recollecting the days of our first believing in God: How many times we have responded to God with silent tears in our prayers when we thought of His salvation and grace. How many times we have promised to give our whole lives to God. But after years of belief, when we sacrifice and suffer a little in our work, our selfish and greedy nature is revealed—we frequently take our devotion and sacrifice as the bargaining stock for God’s grace, demanding of Him to keep us so that our families always live harmoniously and peacefully, and moreover expecting Him to grant us a beautiful destination, and the blessing of the kingdom of heaven…. There are many items in our bill that we ask God to pay in our heart. In contrast, what has God demanded from us for all that He did for us mankind since the time of creation? God prepared the air, the sunshine, the rain and dew, various foods, and all the other conditions for us mankind to survive and to be able to thrive and reproduce. Moreover, after mankind was corrupted by Satan, in order to ensure their normal existence on earth, God issued laws and commandments and led man’s life for thousands of years. And later, in order to redeem mankind, who would soon be devoured by Satan, He Himself put on the flesh and was crucified for mankind. God also promised to return in the last days to do the work of judging and purifying man, bestow all the truths man needs to be saved, so as to thoroughly destroy Satan and take man to a wonderful destination…. God has never demanded anything from humans for all He did. He does everything so that we human race will live and enjoy His love forever.

Faced with God’s such profound love and ardent expectations, will we still make demands of God and claim grace from Him for the sake of our own self-interests or because of our expending and suffering? We know that God hopes we can pursue the truth, forsake our flesh and abandon Satan to practice His words, truly love Him and care for His heart to expend for Him, and obey His teachings willingly and happily, so that we will live out the likeness of a creature with humanity and sense to comfort His heart. That is our duty and responsibility as God’s creation, and only by living that way can we be worthy of all that God selflessly supplies and gives to us.

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