Christian Testimonies | The Power of Prayer—Witnessing a Miracle Amidst Despair

Christian Testimonies | The Power of Prayer—Witnessing a Miracle Amidst Despair

December 7, 2018

By Zhao Zhihan, China

As we journey through life, every one of us will experience some extraordinary events which become inscribed on our memory and will never be forgotten. The experience that has left me with the deepest impression was the time my husband was involved in a car accident, when no one knew whether he would pull through or not, and the days that followed, during which I felt at a complete loss and was at the end of my tether. But what was different for me was that, because God was with me and I had His guidance, I thus had a support, and through praying to God and relying on Him, I witnessed a miracle in the midst of my despair. During that disastrous time, what I gained more was understanding of God’s authority and sovereignty, and a true appreciation of God’s love …

Christian Testimonies | The Truth Showed Her the Way to Get Along With Others (Part 1)

Christian Testimonies | The Truth Showed Her the Way to Get Along With Others (Part 1)

September 29, 2018

Xiaomo

Jiandan sat on her chair, staring at the number of articles on the worksheet in complete amazement and muttering to herself: “Why is there such a backlog of unchecked articles? Could Sister Liu Yan be in a bad state? But even if she is, she mustn’t let that interfere with her work.”

Jiandan was a conscientious, responsible person. When she saw a problem like this come up in work, she started to worry. She had initially wanted to call Sister Liu Yan over to ask her what exactly was going on. But thinking that if she started asking Liu Yan about her work when she herself had only just come back from performing another task somewhere else, she worried what Liu Yan would think of her. The two of them had always gotten along well together, so it would be terrible if this matter caused upset between them!

Christian testimonies | How to Appropriately Deal With Other People?

Christian testimonies | How to Appropriately Deal With Other People?

September 25, 2018

Siyuan

One day, Brother Chen in the church came to me. He said he wanted to practice spreading the gospel in his spare time and offer some of his strength to the gospel work. Due to my past interactions with Brother Chen, I knew that he had a very arrogant disposition. I had some prejudices and biases against him. Furthermore, I thought that those that spread the gospel must have a certain level of knowledge of the Bible. They must be able to communicate the truth clearly and be able to answer the questions of the gospel targets. I felt that he did not possess these qualities, and so I did not agree to it. When he saw this, he said, “Based on my abilities, do you think that I can be trained to spread the gospel? Wouldn’t I be wasting my talent if I do not spread the gospel?” When I heard this, I felt very fed up and I thought, “Do you think that spreading the gospel is something that is very easy? If you do not have genuine talent, do you think that you can fulfill this duty well? You think too highly of yourself. You simply do not have an accurate evaluation of yourself!” Afterward, I talked about Brother Chen’s situation with a few other brothers and sisters so that they had discernment of him. Some of the brothers and sisters, after hearing what I had to say, also said how Brother Chen had manifested some arrogance in his behaviors. This confirmed for me that the opinions I had of Brother Chen were indeed accurate. I was never aware that because I did not seek the truth and clearly see Brother Chen’s condition, I was blindly making comment on him. I was basically judging him and colluding with others.

One time, when I was attending a meeting with Brother Chen, after we had finished reading the work arrangement, he said, “I think that the leaders and co-workers do not have much reality of the truth. Their fellowship is quite blind and they are unable to resolve the practical difficulties that our brothers and sisters face. It is great that we can watch a movie in the meetings. This will be beneficial for us to understand the truth.” He continued to say, “When I was fulfilling this duty in the beginning, because I did not understand the principles, I had many difficulties. However, now that I have a grasp of the principles, I feel fulfilling this duty is going much more smoothly. The result of my work is particularly good. …” When I heard him say this, I was very disgusted and contradicted him in my heart. I thought, “You are really good at seizing the opportunity. You are using the fellowship of the man used by the Holy Spirit to belittle us leaders and co-workers. At the same time, you haven’t forgotten to bear witness to yourself and show yourself off. You are truly arrogant and irrational. …” Then, we discussed how we would communicate the five questions in the next meeting. At this moment, Brother Chen offered to be in charge for three of the questions and he even proposed a certain person to be responsible for the remaining two questions. When I arranged for the group leader to take charge of the next meeting, he quickly asked the group leader in a suspicious manner, “Do you think you can handle it? Can you do it?” From the tone of his voice, it seemed like he thought that only he could take charge of the meeting. In regard to his behavior, I thought, “You are very irrational. Can you do this? You just want to use this opportunity as a platform to show yourself off to the brothers and sisters. You want to get all the attention but I won’t allow it.” In order to prevent him from achieving his objective, I used my “authority” to rearrange it so that he would not be in charge. Thinking about all of Brother Chen’s manifestations, I disliked him very much in my heart and my prejudices toward him became even more intense. Especially when I remembered that after I had communicated with him several times about his arrogant manifestations he only verbally acknowledged it and afterward he did not change, I felt that he was not ordinarily arrogant. He was excessively arrogant to the point that I felt he could never change and that he was beyond hope. And I even thought that he was so arrogant that he was basically not suited for fulfilling his present duty. I’d just replace him with somebody else.

After the meeting ended, when I reflected on each of the thoughts and ideas that I revealed during the meeting, my heart felt some reproach and great pain. I prayed to God, “O God! I have many thoughts and biases toward Brother Chen. I feel that he is very arrogant. Now, right when I hear him speak, my heart feels conflict and disgust. I even want to replace him. O God! I know that I am in a wrong state. However, I do not understand Your will and I do not know what aspect of the truth I should enter. O God, please enlighten and guide me.” After I finished praying, I thought about the contents of a sermon: “Does this sort of thinking exist in your hearts? When you think of someone, you first think of their weaknesses, and first think of the ways in which they are corrupt. Is it right? If you go on thinking this way, you will never be able to get along with others normally. … he genuinely believes in God, however, and desires to pursue truth. It won’t be long, therefore, before this corrupt aspect of him begins to change, and disappear. This is the way we must see the issue, we must see issues with a vision for growth. We must not see a person’s weakness, then condemn him forever, saying that the person will be this way lifelong, that he is this sort of person. To do this would be judging people. This action of yours would be to define other people! In saving people, God has not spoken this way, saying, evidently humans are corrupted to this extent, it is pointless to save them. This would be the end of the human race. Even God does not see it this way. So we are all pursuing truth now. We all desire to pursue truth, and we believe that, at a minimum, if we keep on with our pursuit, within a few years, we will certainly be able to change somewhat, and ultimately be completely able to achieve change of disposition and be perfected by God. You all have this kind of faith, don’t you? Since you have this sort of faith, you therefore ought to believe that other people also have this kind of faith” (“How to Establish Normal Interpersonal Relationships” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (I)). This sermon revealed my condition and I started feeling shame. I saw how arrogant and conceited my disposition was. I acted as if I had the truth and I was able to judge a person accurately at one glance and see through to his essence. By relating the words in the sermon to myself, I realized: From my interactions with Brother Chen, I felt that he was young and proud when I saw him expressing his arrogant disposition in the words he was saying and the things that he was doing. I felt that he had absolutely no self-knowledge. I even judged in my heart that he was an arrogant person that was completely irrational and had no hope of change. That was why I would never treat him fairly or appropriately. God saves people to the greatest extent possible, yet I have judged Brother Chen in every respect. Today God’s revelation of me has caused me to see my arrogance and conceitedness clearly. Using my perspectives and beliefs as the truth and the standards by which I weigh people is very irrational. Do I have the principles and correct standards by which to view and judge others? Is my method of viewing and judging people in accordance with the truth? I am lower than a maggot. How am I qualified to judge and condemn other people? God’s words say: “The people God saves have corrupt dispositions; they were corrupted by Satan, and are not flawless or perfect human beings, nor do they live in a vacuum” (“Life Entry Is Most Important to Believing in God” in Records of Christ’s Talks). We all have not yet been perfected and we are still in the process of changing through our experience of God’s work. Even though we have expressed our corrupt dispositions or committed some transgressions when we fulfill our duties, as long as we sincerely believe in God and pursue the truth, we will be able to change. However, I do not see others through a lens of development. Instead, I judge others with my own perspectives and corrupt disposition. I am indeed very arrogant.

And I read another passage of God’s words: “For example, in relation to the aspect of getting along with others, what is the principle behind how one treats one’s brothers and sisters, whether it be those with status or those without status, ordinary brothers and sisters, or all levels of leadership? You cannot treat your brothers and sisters in the same way as the unbelievers treat others; you must treat them fairly and reasonably. You cannot be close to this one, but not that one; you cannot form cliques or collude with others; you cannot bully someone because you have taken a dislike to them, and fawn on those who are strong—this is what is meant by this principle. You must be principled in the way you deal with other people; you must treat them all fairly. To bring those who you think are pretty good over to your side and exclude those who are hard to approach—isn’t this an unprincipled way of going about things? What method is this? This is the life philosophy of the unbelievers and it is the principle behind how unbelievers treat other people. This method is of a satanic disposition, and it is satanic logic. What should the principle be of the way people treat each other in God’s family? (To fairly treat each and every brother and sister.) How do you treat them fairly? (To help others with a loving heart, to be tolerant and to be patient.) Yes, everyone has small faults and foibles and they all have some things that are characteristic to them; they can all be self-righteous, weak and lacking. You should therefore help others with a loving heart, be tolerant, be forbearing and don’t be too harsh or make a fuss over every tiny detail. If someone is young, or they haven’t believed in God for very long, or they have only recently started to perform their duty, or if they have some special requirements and all you do is obsess over it and not let it go—what is this called? This is called being harsh. You ignore the evil done by those false leaders and antichrists, and yet when you see the small shortcomings and small faults of your brothers and sisters you don’t help them, but instead you exclude them, make a fuss over those things and judge them behind their backs, making more people oppose them, exclude them and ostracize them—what kind of way is this to do things? This is not treating people fairly, but acting based on one’s personal preferences. Being unable to treat people correctly—this is a corrupt satanic disposition and it is a transgression! When people do things, God is watching. However you do things and however you think in your heart, God is watching! If you are to master principles, you must first understand the truth. Once you have understood the truth which tells you how to treat people, you will then know what way to treat people is God’s will; if you don’t understand the truth, then you will certainly not understand God’s will. How you are to treat people is clearly told, clearly shown and pointed out in God’s word; the attitude with which God treats man is the attitude which people should adopt in their treatment of one another. How does God treat each and every person? Some people are of immature stature, or they are young, or have not believed in God for very long. As for some people, the essence of their nature is not bad or malicious, it is only that they are somewhat ignorant or lacking in caliber, or that they have been affected too much by society. They haven’t entered into the reality of the truth and have not yet crossed the threshold, and so it is difficult for them to avoid doing ignorant things or expressing their ignorance. But God doesn’t see these things—He sees only their hearts. If they have resolved to enter into the reality of the truth, they take this correct direction and have this objective, then God watches them, waits for them and gives them the time and the opportunities to allow them to enter. It is not that God knocks them down with one stroke or beats them the moment they make a mistake. God has never treated people like this. This being said, if people treat each other like this, isn’t it their corrupt disposition? It is their corrupt disposition. You must look at how God treats ignorant people, how He treats those with immature stature, how He treats the common expressions of man’s corrupt disposition and how He treats those who are malicious. He has different ways of treating different people and He also has different ways of managing different people’s different conditions. You must understand the truth of these things. Once you have understood these truths, you can then know how to experience them” (“To Attain the Truth, You Must Learn From the People, Matters, and Things Around You” in Records of Christ’s Talks). God’s words have described the principles and ways to properly treat people very clearly. They have also described how to approach antichrists, evil people and that God’s attitude toward these people is full of hatred, curses and punishment. As for those whose stature is tiny, who are of poor caliber and have all sorts of corrupt dispositions and deficiencies, as long as they truly believe in God, are willing to pursue the truth, can accept the truth and can put the truth into practice, God’s attitude toward them is one of love, mercy and salvation. From God’s words, I can see that God has principles and standards in regard to how He treats each person. God demands that we love those whom God loves and hate those whom God hates. We must be tolerant and forgiving to the brothers and sisters who truly believe in God. We must give them an opportunity to repent and change. We cannot knock them down with one stroke when they have expressed their corrupt disposition. This is not consistent with God’s principles and methods of treating people nor is it in accordance with God’s will. I started to think of how Brother Chen was normally burdened in fulfilling his duties, how he had a sense of responsibility and how he was able to do some practical work. I never considered his strengths. Instead, I grabbed hold of his corruption and did not let go of it and I judged him and condemned him. My humanity is truly malicious!

At this time, I thought of a passage of God’s words: “The attitude and way in which God treated Adam and Eve is akin to how human parents show concern for their own children. It’s also like how human parents love, look after, and care for their own sons and daughters—real, visible, and tangible. Instead of putting Himself in a high and mighty position, God personally used skins to make clothing for man. It doesn’t matter whether this fur coat was used to cover their modesty or to shield them from the cold. In short, this clothing used to cover man’s body was personally made by God with His own hands. Rather than creating it simply through the thought or miraculous methods as people imagine, God had legitimately done something man thinks God could not and should not do. This may be a simple thing some might not even think as worthy of mentioning, but it also allows all those who follow God but were previously full of vague ideas about Him to gain an insight into His genuineness and loveliness, and to see His faithful and humble nature. It makes insufferably arrogant people who think they are high and mighty bow their conceited heads in shame in the face of God’s genuineness and humbleness” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself I” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Each verse of God’s words warmed my heart. I could feel God’s concern and empathy for people and that His care and solicitude were real. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command and ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God did not lecture them, scold them or even get angry at them. Instead, He was considerate of their immature stature and personally made clothing out of skins for them to wear. God is truly lovely and His disposition is truly good. His attitude toward corrupt people and people with transgressions is waiting with patience. Due to His mercy, He is considerate of man’s ignorance, weakness and immaturity. He gives man time and the opportunity to repent. While He waits, He continuously provides man with truth so that he can enter into it. God’s salvation for man is so real. He is faithful and His love for man is actual, not fake or pretentious at all, tangible and appreciable. When I thought about this, tears welled up in my eyes and started to flow. I started to reflect on all my experiences. In the work of adjusting the leaders and workers, since I was not abiding by principles, I did some things that interrupted and disturbed the work of the church. However, God did not eliminate me or punish me. Instead, He used the report that my brothers and sisters wrote to make me reflect upon myself, repent and change so that I could fulfill my duties according to principles. When I was negative and weak, God used His words to comfort and support me. He also moved the brothers and sisters who were at my side into communicating God’s intentions with me. This strengthened me. During times when I committed transgressions or when I made mistakes in my work, I lived in misunderstanding and guarding against God and I became negative and slacking in my work. At such times, God enlightened and guided me with His words so that I could understand His intentions, see His love and see His salvation. This rescued me from the midst of negativity and misunderstanding. … Hasn’t God already done this on me a long time ago? When I saw God’s limitless love for me, my obstinate and numb heart was melted by God’s sincere love. I prayed a prayer of repentance to God, “O God! I have disobeyed and resisted You time and time again. However, You still treat me with love and tolerance and You show understanding for my weaknesses. Time and time again, You used words to enlighten me, guide me, support me and nourish me. You have led me step by step up to today. I am not worthy of You expending so much care and effort in saving me. O God! Your love for me is inexpressible. At the same time that you wait patiently for me to change, You also give me opportunities to repent. All I wish is that from now on, I will practice in accordance with Your will and demands. I hope to rely on the truth and principles to treat each brother and sister that truly believes in You.”

Then, I read another sermon which said: “For example, you are a leader, and you should be responsible for the brothers and sisters. Suppose there is a brother or sister who does not pursue the truth, and is not going the right way. What should you do? You must help this person. This help includes pruning them and dealing with them. It includes censure and criticism. This is the way to help. All of this is love. Is it necessary to coax them along or use a consulting tone? Not necessarily. If there is a need for pruning and dealing with them, do it. Expose what should be exposed. This is because you are a leader and a worker. If you don’t help, who will? This is the duty that you should fulfill” (“How One Must Experience God’s Work in Order to Achieve Salvation and Be Perfected” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (VI)). From this sermon, I learned that a leader or a worker who truly has the reality of the truth treats his brothers and sisters with principles. He knows what his responsibility and commission are. He is able to rely on the principles and the truth to deal with people according to their nature and essence. He is able to practically help people based on their corruptions and deficiencies. He knows when he should help them with a loving heart, when to strictly deal with and prune them and when to rebuke them. He is able to behave appropriately, have principles and will not haphazardly treat the brothers and sisters who have expressed corruption as enemies. I began to think again of how I treated Brother Chen. When I saw him reveal his arrogant disposition, I did not help or support him in a practical manner. I did not dissect his arrogant nature in order to help him achieve a knowledge of the essence of his nature or help him see clearly the dangerous consequences if his arrogant disposition did not change. Instead, I haphazardly judged, excluded and condemned him. I even disseminated biases against him behind his back. I did not exhibit any tolerance or patience nor did I treat him with a loving heart. At this moment, I became clearer about God’s will and the path of practice. As a result, I went and found Brother Chen. I pointed out his problems and offered my help and support. At the same time, I also dealt with and pruned him. I dissected his incorrect perspectives on pursuit and the wrong path he was taking. I also fellowshiped about God’s holy essence and His disposition that cannot be offended. Thank God for His guidance. Through my communications with him, Brother Chen gained some understanding of his own arrogant nature and the corruption that he had expressed. He said, “Even though I also know that I am very arrogant, I often just verbally acknowledge it. I have never dissected my own arrogant nature in depth nor have I truly despised it. Today you have pointed these things out to me. Only now do I discover that my own condition is very terrible and dangerous. I do not have God within my heart and I do not respect anyone. I always feel that I am correct. Especially when the work produces results, not only have I stolen God’s glory, I am even more arrogant and conceited because I feel that I am a terrific person. I am on the path of the antichrist. I am doing evil deeds and resisting God. Today, thanks to your warning and help, it urges me to do self-reflection and offers me an opportunity to repent and change. …” When I heard him say this, it really touched my heart. I deeply felt that I had not fulfilled my duties well and that I did not have a compassionate heart. I had not given help or support to my brother. Instead, I seized upon his corruption and condemned him. It is God’s work that has saved me, making me see clearly that I have an arrogant and malicious nature. God’s work has also reversed my absurd perspective. I read a sermon of the above, which said: “It can be said that those people who really love the truth and who have the will to pursue being perfected all have a wildly arrogant and self-righteous disposition. As long as they are able to accept the truth and to accept pruning and dealing and are able to absolutely obey the truth, no matter what the circumstances, then this type of people can achieve salvation and be perfected. In fact, there are no people who are not wildly arrogant who are truly of good caliber and really have the will. This is a fact. God’s chosen people must be able to differentiate. They must not establish that someone is not a good person and cannot be saved and perfected because they are extremely arrogant and self-righteous. No matter how wildly arrogant the person is, as long as they are of good caliber and can pursue the truth, then they are people whom God wants to perfect. The conditions for God perfecting people are mainly that one is a good person, of good caliber and in pursuit of the truth. If a person’s caliber is too poor and from start to finish they are unable to understand the truth, then even if their disposition is extremely meek and not at all arrogant, they are good-for-nothing and not worth perfecting. On this point, one needs to understand God’s intentions. If a person’s caliber is good, and they have the will and are not arrogant and self-righteous, then that is absolutely a guise or a sham surface appearance, for there is no such person. One must know that corrupt mankind has a wildly arrogant and self-righteous nature. This is an undeniable fact” (“Only People Who Really Accept and Obey God’s Judgment and Chastisement Are Truly Pursuing the Truth” in Collection of Sermons—Supply for Life). The sermon helped me understand clearly how I should deal with people who have arrogant disposition. I learned that it is possible for those who have an arrogant disposition to change. The key is whether they are able to pursue the truth and accept the truth. If they are able to accept the truth, accept God’s judgment and chastisement and accept dealing and pruning, they can absolutely change and be perfected by God. Now when I took another look at Chen’s condition, I realized that since he was young and he had not believed in God for very long and had not experienced much of God’s judgment and chastisement, his expressing an arrogant and conceited disposition is quite normal. We have been corrupted by Satan and we are under the control of an arrogant disposition, so we love to seek fame and to show off. This is a common characteristic of corrupt humanity. Haven’t I also frequently expressed arrogance and conceitedness? Why do I feel that I myself can change yet he cannot? Why are the standards I have set for myself lower than the standards that I have set for him? Doesn’t this mean that I am even more arrogant than him? This is not a fair way to treat him. When I realized this, I was able to let go of my biases and prejudices that I had against Brother Chen. I felt that the essence of his nature was not bad. He had the resolve to pursue the truth, and it was just that his arrogant disposition was a little bit more serious. I should help him with a loving heart and should allow him an opportunity and time to repent and change.

Thank God for His enlightenment and guidance. From this experience, I learned that those who live in corrupt disposition and do not treat others in accordance with the principles of God’s words and who are unable to properly treat the strengths and weakness of other people cannot treat others in a fair manner. Not only will they bring harm to their brothers and sisters, they will also delay their entry into life. They can even give others a hard time or punish them, taking the path of the antichrist. Thank God for the judgment and chastisement work that He performed on me during this time. When I was living in my rebellious disposition and was unable to treat my brother in accordance with the truth and the principles, God promptly exercised His judgment and chastisement to save me and caused me to recognize my own arrogant and malicious disposition. When I turned back to God, put myself aside and sought the truth, I gained God’s guidance and leadership—I understood from God’s words how to deal with people with principles. When I treated Brother Chen in accordance with God’s words, I truly experienced spiritual peace and stability. Furthermore, I was able to discover and learn from the brother’s strengths to make up for my deficiencies. I tasted the sweetness of putting God’s words into practice. It was God’s work and guidance that allowed me to understand some truths and to gain some understanding of my own corruption and deficiencies. At the same time, I truly feel that dealing with other people in accordance with the truth and principles is very important. I only wish to continue putting God’s word into practice when I fulfill my duties. I will treat each of my brothers and sisters in accordance with the truth of God’s words.

Christian Testimonies | God’s Love Guided Me Through the Trial of Illness

Christian Testimonies 

God’s Love Guided Me Through the Trial of Illness

November 16, 2018

By Yiming, Hubei Province

I Rejoice to Be Reunited With the Lord

I’m 78 this year and I have always suffered from headaches and diabetes. After I began to believe in the Lord in 2005, the illnesses that had beset me for years were eased; I perceived God’s love and thanked the Lord from the bottom of my heart. Two years later, a relative preached God’s work of the last days to me and he said that the Lord Jesus had returned as the incarnated Almighty God. He said that Almighty God was now performing a newer, higher stage of work on the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, and that Almighty God was using the truth to judge and chastise man, to cleanse our corruption, and God would lead those who ultimately attained salvation into His kingdom. I was thrilled to hear this news, and I thought to myself, “I never imagined that I would actually be able to welcome the Lord in my lifetime. If in the future I could be led by God into His kingdom, that would be wonderful indeed!” Thinking this, my heart became filled with a joy I couldn’t express, and I thanked God’s love and salvation. After a period of seeking and investigating, I became certain from reading God’s words that Almighty God was indeed the Lord Jesus returned, and very soon after I was living the church life and doing all I could to perform my duty within the church.

Illness Strikes, and My Deplorable Motives Are Exposed

In the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, I was just doing my housework when suddenly I felt a pressure on my heart and found it difficult to breathe, and I had a feeling like I couldn’t catch my breath and was about to suffocate. My husband saw that I was in distress and he hurriedly called our daughter and her husband, and they took me to the municipal hospital.

After a comprehensive checkup, the attending doctor said with an imposing expression: “You have a very serious illness. It’s a problem with your heart that could cause you to die at any minute. You need to be admitted to the hospital for treatment straight away.” The doctor’s words were like a bolt from the blue and I immediately started to panic. I thought, “How come I’ve suddenly contracted such a serious illness? And I could die at any minute? Since I started believing in God, I’ve always faithfully fulfilled my duty. How could God not protect me? If I die, I won’t be able to see the spectacular event of the manifestation of the beautiful kingdom, and I won’t be able to live with my daughters and my husband again. Will I not be able to share in the eternal happiness of the heavenly kingdom?” The more I thought, the more grieved I was, and a feeling of desolation crept into my heart. In pain, all I could do was keep praying to God in my heart: “O God! Such a serious illness has now befallen me, and I feel helpless and weak. I don’t know what to do and I don’t understand Your will. But I believe that all this is happening by Your leave, and I ask You to lead me and guide me.” After I’d prayed, these words of God came to my mind: “Now you all know that man’s belief in God is not solely for salvation of the soul and welfare of the flesh, nor is it to enrich his life through love of God, and so on. As it stands, if you love God for the sake of welfare of the flesh or momentary pleasure, then even if, in the end, your love for God reaches its peak and you ask for nothing, this love you seek is still an impure love and not pleasing to God. … This kind of love can only maintain the status quo; it cannot attain eternal constancy, nor take root in man. This kind of love is that of a flower which bears no fruit after it has bloomed then withered. In other words, after you have loved God once in such a way and there is no one to lead you on the path ahead, then you will fall. … Those gained by God are those who rebel against Satan and escape from its domain. Such men will be officially numbered among the people of the kingdom. This is how the people of the kingdom come to be. Are you willing to be this kind of person? Are you willing to be gained by God?” (“What Viewpoint Believers Ought to Hold” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

The revelations of God’s words made me ashamed, for only then did I realize that it was actually my views on my belief in God that were wrong. Thinking back, I only started believing in the Lord Jesus so that my illnesses could be cured, and afterward I heard that one could get into the heavenly kingdom and enjoy eternal bliss if one accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, and so in order to attain this blessing, I accepted the gospel of the last days and actively fulfilled my duty, believing that the more I worked for God the greater my blessings would be in the future. But now a life-threatening illness had befallen me and my hopes to be blessed were just about to be dashed. So I began to blame and misunderstand God and reason with God, believing that I’d abandoned everything and expended myself for God, and suffered and paid a price for God, and that God should therefore bless me and not allow me to contract such a serious illness. Only then did I see that my belief in God and the fulfilling of my duties had not been sincere, much less was I performing the duty of a created being to repay God’s love. Instead, I had gone by my own personal motives and my purpose was to gain blessings from God and enjoy the grace and blessings of God. My expending myself had also been done in order to bargain with God and to obtain the bliss of the heavenly kingdom in return. With such a tainted belief in God, no matter how faithful I appeared on the outside, it could not stand up against the facts; when a slight storm came along, I fell easily, like a pretty flower that is tender and beautiful for a short time, but which bears no fruit. I thought about how everything I had had come from God, and how I should fulfill my duty well to repay God’s love, and that this was a heavenly law. And yet I had used my duty to make bargains with God, filled with my own extravagant desires—was I not rebelling against God and trying to cheat Him by performing my duty in this way? I had not a shred of conscience or reason! I then understood God’s will. God was using this illness to test me and to enable me to see clearly the wrong motives behind my belief in God. He was using this refinement to purify and change me, to make me let go of the unreasonable demands I was making to God, to make me recover my conscience and reason, and worship the Creator standing firmly in the place of a created being. Thinking this, everything suddenly clicked into place and I thanked God for His salvation. Were it not for the salvation of God, I’d still be pursuing along the wrong path with nothing as my reward at the end of it, and I could then only be abandoned and sifted out by God. Through this illness, I also came to see that, if one doesn’t know God’s work and doesn’t know how God purifies and saves man, one is then unable to revere and obey God, and when things happen that is not to one’s liking, one will become dispirited, and will even misunderstand and blame God; my stature really was so pitifully small. Thinking of these things, my heart was filled with self-reproach and a feeling of indebtedness to God.

After I was admitted to hospital, I kept God in my thoughts at every moment, and I felt that my heart and God had become even closer. I thought of God’s words that say: “Almighty God is an all-powerful physician! To dwell in sickness is to be sick, but to dwell in the spirit is to be well. If you have but one breath, God will not let you die” (“The Sixth Utterance” of Utterances and Testimonies of Christ in the Beginning in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From within God’s words, I saw God’s authority and love, and in my heart I then said a prayer to God: “O God! Although I feel a little fainthearted now that this illness has befallen me, yet I believe that You are the Ruler of all things and my illness is also in Your hands. I wish to entrust myself to You and I believe that You are my pillar. I ask that You give me faith and enable me to submit to Your orchestrations and arrangements.”

Death Approaches and God’s Words Strengthen My Faith

Over ten days later, my illness was still no better. One day, I suddenly went into shock and had to be resuscitated. My son-in-law, seeing my condition worsen, had me transferred to the provincial hospital. The specialist at the provincial hospital looked at my medical transfer papers and arranged for me to be in the intensive care unit, and he gave me oxygen. I heard another patient say that all the patients admitted to the intensive care unit were going to die soon. I felt terrified when I heard them say this, and I thought to myself, “Has the doctor arranged for me to be here because I’m going to die soon?” As I thought this, I felt death approaching, and in my heart I felt inexplicable panic and unrest. That afternoon, they wheeled a man into the ward and an hour later he was dead. In that instant as I watched him being wheeled away, I felt myself being enshrouded by death and I felt that the next death would be my own. The more I thought about it, the more afraid I became: “Could it be that I really am going to die? But I don’t want to die, I want to …” I was utterly helpless and terrified, and all I could do was to call on God silently in my heart, asking Him to protect my heart. Just then, these words of God came to mind: “When Job lost his livestock that filled the mountains and untold masses of wealth, and his body became covered in sore boils, it was because of his faith. When he could hear the voice of Me, Jehovah, and see the glory of Me, Jehovah, it was because of his faith. That Peter could follow Jesus Christ, it was by his faith. That he could be nailed to the cross for My sake and give glorious testimony, it was also by his faith. When John saw the glorious image of the Son of man, it was by his faith. When he saw the vision of the last days, it was all the more by his faith. The reason why the so-called multitudes of the Gentile nations have obtained My revelation, and came to know that I have returned in the flesh to do My work among man, it is also because of their faith. All those who are smitten by My harsh words and who are saved—have they not done so because of their faith? People have received a lot of things through faith. What they receive is not always blessing…. For example, in the case of Job, he received Jehovah’s blessing as well as a scourge through faith. Whether you receive a blessing or suffer a scourge, both are blessed events” (“The Inside Truth of the Conquering Work (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

God’s words ignited my hopes and gave me faith. I thought of all the saints throughout the ages, like Job and Peter. When they were undergoing all manner of trials, though they were grieved to the core and in extreme pain at the time, and they couldn’t understand God’s will, they still had true faith in God. No matter what God did, they didn’t complain, but instead they obeyed the Creator standing firmly in their place as created beings, and in the end they obtained God’s blessings and witnessed God’s great power and sovereignty. For example, when Satan’s attacks and temptations came upon Job, his property was all taken away, his children met with disaster, and his whole body was covered in sores, and he suffered such a great degree of pain. And yet he had a place for God in his heart, and he would rather have cursed the day he was born than speak sinfully, and in the end, he spoke these words: “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). What he held onto was true faith in and reverence for God. He was willing to obey whether God gave or God took away, and in the end God appeared to him, and Job’s love and faith for God were heightened. Although there was no comparison between the saints of all the ages and myself, it was also by God’s leave that this illness had befallen me now, and even more so it was by God’s love. God wanted to give me true faith and compassion, to allow me to experience His authority, and to make true knowledge of God arise in me. My life and death were in God’s hands and God would have the final say. All my worries were unnecessary, and they were the result of not believing in the sovereignty of God and always wanting to rule and orchestrate things by relying on my own strength. Thinking this, my heart was much calmed.

I Entrust My Life and Death to God and I Witness God’s Deeds

A few days later, my family asked the hospital specialist and a professor to give me a thorough examination. After consulting together, the specialist and the professor said that my illness was a coronary occlusion caused by my diabetes, that three arteries were now blocked and that I had to undergo surgery right away, otherwise, they said, I could die at any minute. But they said that even if I did have the operation, they could not guarantee that I would be cured.

My family then had me transferred to a specialist heart hospital. After examining me, the doctor said that I had to have the operation right away, but that the risks were great. When operating on cardiac problems caused by diabetes, the incisions do not heal well, the doctor said, and if the opening did not heal, the result would be even worse than not having the operation at all. Because this operation had to be done by grafting blood vessels from my thighs to bypass the blocked coronary arteries around my heart, if the operation failed then I could be paralyzed for the rest of my life. Also, things could go wrong at any moment during the operation and there was a possibility that I could die on the operating table. The doctor said it was difficult to predict whether I would ever wake up again after the operation, and he asked my family to consider carefully whether or not they really wanted me to have the operation. After hearing the doctor out, my daughter and son-in-law were hesitant, afraid that a lot of money could be spent, and I may still not be better afterward, and then not only would they have no money left, but I’d still not be cured either. My husband was also a believer in God and he knew that our lives and deaths were in God’s hands, and that it wasn’t human beings who have the final say. And so he said to the doctor without any hesitation, “You just concentrate on performing the operation, and whether my wife survives or not has nothing to do with this hospital. I can bear anything that happens.” My husband then signed the consent forms, and the doctor began to prepare for the operation.

After everything was ready, I was wheeled into the operating room. As I lay on the operating table, I thought of what the doctor had said, and sorrow and distress once again filled my heart. I thought, “If I really do become paralyzed, won’t that be like a living death? With my husband so old now, won’t I be a burden on him? Though I have several daughters, they all now have their own lives and families, so who could look after me all year round? If that really does happen, then I’ll just have to think of a way to end it all!” But then I thought that I could possibly die alone on the operating table, and my heart became even more troubled. Just then, I realized that my state of mind was wrong, and I hurriedly called on God to protect my heart and make me able to submit to His orchestrations and arrangements. At that moment, a passage of God’s words came to mind: “Who of the whole of mankind is not cared for in the eyes of the Almighty? Who does not live in the midst of the Almighty’s predestination? Whose birth and death come from their own choices? Does man control his own fate? Many people cry out for death, yet it is far away from them; many people want to be those who are strong in life and fear death, yet unbeknownst to them, the day of their demise draws near, plunging them into the abyss of death; many people look to the skies and sigh deeply; many people cry great, wailing sobs; many people fall amidst trials; and many people become the prisoners of temptation” (“The Eleventh Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Yes! The God I believe in controls all things and the fate of every human being is in His hands. The time when each person is born and the time when they die are predestined by God, so wasn’t my fate also orchestrated by God? I thought of how, although I was resolved to bear witness to God, when I was faced with a real test I began worrying about my own life, death and future; I was both afraid of dying and worried about being paralyzed and becoming a burden on others, and I was thinking about ending my own life. By doing this, was I not desiring to orchestrate my own fate? How was this submitting to God’s sovereignty and arrangements? Did this not show that I had no faith in God? God gave me my life and whether I lived or died was in God’s hands. I knew I should not be timid, not be afraid, and not live amidst the deceits of Satan, but instead I should have faith in God, look to God and entrust Him with my life, my death and my future. Thinking this, I prayed to God in my heart: “O God! I will soon be having an operation. Although I’m still worried, yet I believe that the success or failure of this operation is in Your hands. Whether I live or die, I wish to submit to Your orchestrations and arrangements.” After praying, I felt much calmer. The doctor anesthetized me, and soon after I knew nothing more.

After the operation, I was moved to the intensive care unit for observation. When I woke up, already two days had passed, and my family told me joyfully that the operation had been very successful and that all I had to do now was recover. When I heard this, I felt very moved and I kept thanking God for His love! I knew that having survived the operation and that the operation had been so successful was all down to God’s wondrous protection! I became convinced from the bottom of my heart that our lives and deaths are controlled and orchestrated by God, and that this is a manifestation of God’s authority.

As I recovered, I listened to the loud cries of pain coming from some of the patients in the same ward, and some of them groaned constantly, but I felt no pain whatsoever. I knew clearly in my heart that the lack of pain from my incisions was entirely the wondrous deed of God. I perceived God’s love, and thanks and praise for God flowed forth from my heart. In the afternoon, the doctor in charge of my case came and asked me, “Madam, do your incisions hurt at all? Do you feel any discomfort?” And I replied, “Thank you for your concern, but I feel no discomfort.” Three days later, the doctor saw that I was recovering very well and had me transferred to a normal ward. I saw that patients without diabetes needed four or five days to recover after an operation before they were transferred out of the intensive care unit, and yet, despite my advanced years and having diabetes—meaning that my incisions were arguably a lot harder to heal—I was able to eat solid food only three days after my operation. I was also recovering faster than other people, and this was indeed God’s great power and His great love for me.

Over the days that followed, my husband often read God’s words to me and I pondered them, contemplating the salvation work God was performing on me, and I truly felt how real God’s love was. Despite having been tormented by illness so that I had been hovering between life and death, God was with me always and never left my side: Each time I became negative and weak and I lost my faith, God’s words led and guided me, giving me faith and strength. With God as my staunch backup, I would no longer be fainthearted and afraid; when I sincerely relied on God and became willing to wholly entrust myself to God and submit to His orchestrations and arrangements, God not only enabled me to survive, but He eased my bodily pain. This allowed me to see God’s wondrous deeds and feel God’s love. Only through this experience did I come to realize that although this incarnation of God doesn’t display signs and wonders in His work, the power of God’s words far exceeds the power of showing signs and wonders; God’s words are indeed the truth, they can become people’s life and they are both the principles and the direction for our actions.

After some time, my incisions healed very well and, whereas patients who had had the same operation as me still couldn’t move, I was able to walk outside supported by my husband. The doctors and my fellow patients were all amazed to see this. I knew very clearly in my heart, that my body could recover so quickly was God’s deed, God’s blessing and God’s love, for only God could make such a miracle happen!

Two weeks later, when I was being discharged from the hospital, the doctor said to me, “There are seven other people in this hospital with the same illness as you, and only yours was caused by diabetes. Your condition was more serious than theirs, and yet you are the first to recover. It really boggles the mind! There is still a lump in your pericardium, however, which remains a danger. You must come back to the hospital in a month’s time for a checkup. If this lump is still getting bigger, then you will have to have another operation.” Hearing the doctor say this, I no longer felt afraid or worried, and I thought to myself: “I’ve undergone such a grave illness and God did not cause me to die. I have seen God’s authority, and I now have even greater faith to rely on God. I’ll entrust my illness into God’s hands and let Him take control.” Afterward, the doctor prescribed me some medicine and I returned home. After I got home, I spent every day reading God’s words and singing God’s praises with brothers and sisters, enjoying God’s love. I felt so liberated and free, and my illness completely slipped my mind.

When I returned to the hospital for my checkup a month later, every physical indicator showed normal and the lump in my pericardium had disappeared. Once again, this allowed me to see God’s wondrous deeds and His love for me.

After Undergoing This Baptism, I Faced the Future Stronger Than Before

While in the car on the way home, I watched the tall white poplar trees go by on either side and I thought: “They are all under God’s sovereignty. They accept the baptism of wind, frost, snow and rain all year round and the life within them becomes even stronger and indomitable. This serious illness I’ve had has been like going through a life baptism; not only has it purified my love for God, but it has increased my faith in God.” I then thought of God’s words that say: “God’s life force can prevail over any power; moreover, it exceeds any power. His life is eternal, His power extraordinary, and His life force not easily overwhelmed by any created being or enemy force. The life force of God exists, and shines its brilliant radiance, regardless of time or place. God’s life remains forever unchanged throughout the upheavals of heaven and earth. All things pass away, but God’s life still remains, for God is the source of the existence of all things, and the root of their existence. Man’s life originates from God, the existence of the heaven is because of God, and the existence of the earth stems from the power of God’s life. No object possessed of vitality can transcend the sovereignty of God, and no thing with vigor can break away from the ambit of God’s authority” (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I couldn’t help but sigh with emotion: The authority and power of God’s words really are so great! In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them with words, and because of God’s words, all things live and multiply within the rules predestined by God, one generation after another. In the last days, God expresses the entire truth that purifies and saves man, and even more so God’s truth is the root of our survival and the direction in which we must follow. When my life and death were hanging in the balance, God’s words gave me faith and courage. They enabled me to learn how to rely on God and look to God during my illness, they guided me to break through my fear of death and overcome the constraints of death. I really gained so much during this experience.

I wish only to believe in God and perform my duty in earnest for the rest of my life, and to repay God’s love and salvation. Thank You God!

Christian Testimonies | The Secret Tip to Resolving Hatred

Christian Testimonies | The Secret Tip to Resolving Hatred

December 28, 2017

Xiao Wu

I was self-employed. Mainly I sold all kinds of textiles, and I also made clothes for my customers part-time. After a few years, my business became more and more popular, and people around me were all very envious. Later, a neighboring household opened the same kind of shop as mine and became my competitor. Naturally, the business in my shop was affected. The popular proverb says two of a trade never agree, but my peer was not just anyone, but my most trusted pupil, Xiaochen.

Not only did Xiaochen open the same store next to my house, she even waited outside of her shop to intentionally steal my business. Whenever she saw somebody pass by the shop, she approached them and greeted them enthusiastically, guiding them into the shop, and she even purposefully said awful things about me. Seeing Xiaochen do everything she could to steal my business, I regretted taking her as my pupil and started hating her from my heart. When I saw her, I was unwilling to approach or talk to her, and sometimes I would even say some bad things about her in front of customers, or I would intentionally give customers a discount to bring back repeat customers, so that I could reduce her clients. But because we were neighbors, we could not avoid running into each other. As time passed, I became more and more pained and repressed in my heart, and my hate for her became deeper and deeper. It reached the point that whenever I looked at her, my heart became awfully choked, and my whole mind was occupied with thoughts of how to deal with her. Even when I dreamed, I dreamed I was fighting her. I was living so painfully at that time!

In 2002, I heard my schoolmate say that believing in Jesus could bring peace and happiness, that it could broaden our hearts so that we no longer harbored hatred, so I believed in the Lord Jesus. I saw that the Lord Jesus said: “But I say to you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which spitefully use you. And to him that smites you on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that takes away your cloak forbid not to take your coat also” (Luk 6:27-29). From the Lord’s words I saw that the Lord has an unlimited and boundless love for us. He has unlimited tolerance, patience, and forgiveness for us. Didn’t the Lord already practice out these things that He required us to do? The Lord’s love deeply encouraged me, so I wanted to follow the Lord’s teachings, and I tried to tolerate Xiaochen, and not to quarrel with her. But in real life, I still hated her uncontrollably, and I could not practice the Lord’s word at all. When I thought that the Bible said that hating somebody is like killing them, I felt even more pain. I thought: I want to forgive Xiaochen, but why is it that I simply could not do it? I believe in the Lord and I know His demands, but why can’t I put the Lord’s word into practice? I lived in pain, and I could not extricate myself.

Soon, in 2003, I had the fortune to accept God’s work in the last days. In a gathering, a sister read a part of God’s word directed toward my difficulty: “Man was only saved and forgiven his sins for his faith, but the sinful nature of man was not taken away and still remained within him. … This requires man to understand the path of growth in life, the way of life, and the way to change his disposition. It also needs man to act in accordance with this path so that the disposition of man can gradually be changed and he can live under the shining of the light, and that he can do all things in accord with the will of God, cast away the corrupt satanic disposition, and break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). She also fellowshiped to me: “During the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus did a step of redemptive work. The sin of us humans was only forgiven, so that we were no longer sentenced by the laws. However, our sinful nature still remained, and it had not been resolved. It is like you living in hatred to Xiaochen, you can only control your external behavior to not insult her, but you have not resolved the source of hatred in your heart. We humans have been corrupted by Satan for thousands of years, and we have been completely taken over by all kinds of satanic poisons. Satanic philosophies and laws such as “Heaven destroys those who are not for themselves,” and “A man dies for money; a bird dies for food” have become our life and our nature. We uncontrollably rely on these things to live, so we have all become selfish, self-interested, and only interested in profit. We fight and argue over our own interests and become jealous and hateful, causing us to uncontrollably commit sins and oppose God. Although in our heart we want to practice the Lord’s word, because we are bound and limited by satanic nature, we cannot put them into practice and we live in unbearable pain. In the last days Almighty God comes to resolve the root problem of us corrupt humans committing sins, to completely rescue us from Satan’s domain. For this purpose, God speaks words to perform the work of judging and purifying man, so that, through the judgment and chastisement of God’s word, we recognize our own satanic nature, come to understand that God’s righteous disposition is beyond reproach, gradually come to revere God, no longer live by Satan’s poison, seek the truth in all things, live on God’s word, and replace our own corrupt disposition with practicing the truth. In this way, we can live out a normal humanity, we can know how to act and how to conduct ourselves in contact with others. When we have left the bondage of Satan’s authority and are no longer controlled by our corrupt disposition, then we are living in release and freedom. Sister, if you often read the word of the Almighty God, experience God’s judgment and chastisement, often pray to God, ask God to protect your heart, then you will surely be able to let go of the hatred in your heart, break away from Satan’s corrupt disposition, and live relaxed and free. So, you must have confidence in God….”

After listening to the sister’s fellowship, I understood that the reason I was never able to resolve the hatred in my heart while believing in the Lord Jesus is because the Lord Jesus only performed the work of redeeming sin, but not the work of casting away sin. This is why the satanic nature and corrupt disposition within me have not yet been removed. Only Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days can fully cleanse and transform me, rescuing me from sin! Having understood this, I became confident again about how to resolve the hatred between Xiaochen and me, and I made up my mind to properly pursue the truth and shed the satanic corrupt disposition soon.

One day, I saw God’s word saying: “Cruel, brutal mankind! The conniving and intrigue, the jostling with each other, the scramble for reputation and fortune, the mutual slaughter—when will it ever end? … How many do not act for the sake of their own interests? How many do not oppress and discriminate against others for the sake of maintaining their own status” (“The Wicked Must Be Punished” in The Word Appears in the Flesh)? After reading God’s word, I began to self-reflect. Why is it that I keep living in hatred to Xiaochen? Isn’t it just because she stole my business and this affected my own interests? In order to get more money and have one less competitor, all I thought about was how to exclude her and resent her, and I even had dark thoughts about her. In the past, I thought that my hatred of her had a reason. She offended me first, so that’s why I hated her to this extent. Now, I know that this is caused by my own selfish nature. Having recognized these things, I quickly prayed to God: “God, only now do I know that I hate Xiaochen because I have a selfish nature within me. God, I am willing to rebel against myself, I am unwilling to live by my satanic nature. I hope that You can help me, so that I can let go of my hatred to Xiaochen and live out a normal humanity.”

In order to help me walk out of hatred, God arranged a situation for me. One day, Xiaochen was refurbishing her kitchen, and it took up the stairwell passageway shared between our two houses. Looking at this, I felt angry in my heart, that she was really pushing it too far. After stealing my business, now she was coming to take over my territory. This was really getting more and more out of hand! When I wanted to argue with her, I suddenly remembered that God said: “God is forever supreme and ever honorable, while man is forever base, forever worthless. This is because God is forever making sacrifices and devoting Himself to mankind; man, however, forever takes and strives only for himself. … for the effort of man is always for his own sake and not for others. Man is always selfish, while God is forever selfless. God is the source of all that is just, good, and beautiful, while man is he who succeeds to and makes manifest all ugliness and evil” (“It Is Very Important to Understand God’s Disposition” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Yes, God’s love is too selfless. God is incarnated into flesh twice only to save us humans. God has paid the absolute price so that we can achieve salvation. In the past, He sacrificed Himself on the cross for the salvation of humanity, and now He is incarnated into flesh again, enduring people’s resistance, condemnation, persecution, and defamation to perform work and save people, all without complaints or regrets and never asking us to repay Him. God’s life substance is so beautiful, so lovable, so worthy of our admiration and worship! And I have been corrupted by Satan to be too selfish and despicable, too cunning and evil, and I lived by Satan’s poison, “Fight for every inch of land and seize every bit you can get.” As long as it relates to a bit of my profits, I would fight with others, haggle over every penny, and I cannot take any losses. I see what I live out is exactly the same as Satan’s, as if I am a living demon. Now, God has pointed out a path to changing my life disposition. I ought to practice it in accordance to God’s word, rebel against Satan, and no longer live by Satan’s poison. So, I prayed to God: “God, the matter that I encounter today is set up by You for me. I am willing to live out Your word, and no longer live by Satan’s poison. I hope that You will grant me confidence and strength, so I will no longer be fooled by Satan and let go of my hatred to Xiaochen in my heart.” After praying, my heart gradually became calmer, and I felt incomparably secure in my heart. At that moment, I felt for the first time that letting go of hatred could be so relaxing and releasing.

Having had this experience, I was more willing to live my life in accordance to God’s word, and I was no longer willing to be fooled or corrupted by Satan. One morning, Xiaochen’s shop hadn’t opened yet, and I heard somebody yelling outside, “Miss Tailor! Open the door quickly!” I opened it up and had a look, and it turned out to be Xiaochen’s customer coming to pick up clothes from her shop. The customer saw that I opened the door, asking me if Xiaochen was at home. At this moment, I remembered something that happened before: One day, I was cleaning upstairs, and a customer came to look for me downstairs. Even though he knew I was at home, Xiaochen’s husband didn’t tell the customer. Thinking of this, I felt angry, and I didn’t want to tell the customer about the fact that Xiaochen’s at home. Then I remembered God’s word said: “You ought to know that God likes an honest man. … To be honest is to refrain from impurity in your actions and words, and to deceive neither God nor man” (“Three Admonitions” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “When you rebel against the flesh, there will inevitably be a battle within you. Satan will try and make you follow it, will try and make you follow the conceptions of the flesh and uphold the interests of the flesh—but God’s words will enlighten and illuminate you within, and at this time it is up to you whether you follow God or follow Satan” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The enlightenment of God’s word allowed me to see that what I had just thought was still living by Satan’s poison. I wanted to treat Xiaochen as an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Isn’t this still living within Satan’s corrupt disposition? God asks us to be an honest person and not lie or deceive people, but Satan allows me to act in accordance to the corrupt disposition of the flesh. Should I follow Satan and satisfy the flesh, or should I rebel against Satan, practice the truth, and satisfy God? At this moment, I felt God observing my every word, every act, and each and every movement. No, I must rebel against the flesh and practice the truth to satisfy God. Thinking of this, I told the customer calmly, “If you’re looking for Miss Xiaochen, she’s at home, just wait for a bit and she’ll come out.” When I practiced this, I felt very secure in my heart.

Later, when repeat customers came to my house to make clothes but I was too busy and couldn’t manage it, I would introduce them to Xiaochen’s shop. When she found out later, she was also very touched. Finally, one day, when she saw me, she deliberated for a long time, and then called excitedly out, “Master!” This “Master” made me feel extremely warm inside. Ever since she opened her shop next to my house, she had never called me Master once. I knew at that moment that the reason we could resolve our hatred was because of the effect achieved by God’s word. Otherwise, the hatred between us could only get deeper and deeper. Thank God! All glory and praise unto Almighty God!

Christian Testimonies | A Restaurant’s Harvest

Christian Testimonies | A Restaurant’s Harvest

Cong Xin worked as a waitress in a restaurant, and she had always been a conscientious worker. But for some reason, the manager had recently started to lose his temper with her indiscriminately. Ever since she was small, Cong Xin had always wanted to excel and to do her best at everything she did, and even her stepfather very seldom spoke ill of her. But now she had to face the restaurant manager who was purposefully making things difficult for her. So many times, Cong Xin had wanted to get into a blazing row with him, but when she thought of how she was a believer in God and that she must be someone with humanity and reason, she would realize that she could no longer act however she wished, as she had done before she believed in God. Therefore, whenever the manager got angry at her, Cong Xin prayed in her heart: “O God! You permit this current situation to happen, and I pray that You keep me from getting hot-blooded, and from doing anything that brings shame to Your name or that makes me Satan’s laughingstock.” After praying, her heart would become a little calmer.

One time, after praying, Cong Xin thought of a passage of God’s words: “In the dispositions of normal people there is no crookedness or deceitfulness, people have a normal relationship with each other, they do not stand alone, and their lives are neither mediocre nor decadent. So, too, is God exalted among all, His words permeate among man, people live in peace with one another and under the care and protection of God, the earth is filled with harmony, without the interference of Satan, and the glory of God holds the utmost importance among man” (“Interpretation of the Sixteenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). She also thought of a passage in the brother’s fellowship that said: “Presently, everybody’s interpersonal relationships are abnormal. The main reason for this is that people have been corrupted by Satan very deeply and their integrity is extremely flawed. Men seek nothing but profit and try to benefit at other people’s expense in everything that they do. They are guided by their own individual intentions and goals in all matters. People live for themselves and for their flesh. They are absolutely not concerned at all about others and they do not even have the loving emotions that they should possess. Men fight and scheme against each other and they do so both openly and covertly. There is no way for mankind to get along with one another in a normal fashion. The conscience and rationality that man should possess has vanished from the face of the earth. There is no spirit of cooperation amongst mankind. Without a little bit of patience, people would be enemies with one another. Man’s heart is filled with evil, conflict, hostility and irreconcilable differences. It’s as if man does not have the image of human being at all. He is completely possessed by Satan and his inner heart is filled with Satan’s philosophy. All of this has been revealed by God’s words and there is absolutely nothing wrong about it. These real situations exist in everybody” (“Which Problems One Should Resolve Primarily in Reading God’s Words” in the fellowship from the above).

From God’s words and from the brother’s fellowship on entry into life, Cong Xin understood that people’s relationships with each other were abnormal, because every single person has been corrupted so much by Satan that they’ve lost normal humanity, and because they live by the satanic life philosophies such as “Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost,” “We will not attack unless we are attacked; if we are attacked, we certainly counterattack.” They therefore fight with each other so as to defend their own profits and maintain their appearances and vanity, they argue until their faces are flushed red over trivial things, and even fight to the death over them. Cong Xin realized that she was angry with her manager because she felt that she was doing a good job and so should receive his approval, but the manager not only never gave her his approval, but on the contrary got angry with her and caused her to lose face. For this reason, she felt that it was the manager who had been wrong first, and that she had good reason to treat him in exactly the same way he treated her. But wasn’t she living by the satanic poison of “an eye for an eye”? Thinking of this, Cong Xin understood that God was using this matter to cleanse and change her, allowing her to learn to recognize her own corrupt nature through her association with other people, as well as learn how to practice the truth and live out normal humanity, and learn to lower her conceited head and be patient when other people hurt her.

Cong Xin then thought of a passage in the brother’s fellowship that she would often hear: “If you want to have patience toward others, you first need to understand them, meaning no matter who says something that hurts you, you should know how to think and how to deal with it. You should first understand this: His words have hurt me. What he said seemed to be exposing my shortcomings and appeared to be directed at me. If his words are directed at me, what does he mean by them? Is he trying to do me harm? Does he see me as his enemy? Does he hate me? Is he exacting revenge against me? I did not offend him, so the answer to these questions cannot be yes. … When they said these words they were simply expressing what a normal person thinks, rather than directing them at any particular person…. they were certainly not consciously targeting any specific individual. First you offer understanding, then your anger can dissipate, and then you can achieve patience” (“How to Build Church Life and the Meaning of Building Church Life” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (I)).

Cong Xin then knew that if she wanted to really be patient with other people, then she must first achieve understanding. So by speaking to her co-workers, Cong Xin came to understand recent developments for the manager: It turned out that a new waitress in the restaurant had recently been taking the wrong money when people ordered dishes, and because of this the manager had been in a bad mood and was taking his anger out on Cong Xin; it wasn’t because of anything she herself had done. Cong Xin thought that if their positions were reversed and she was the manager, she would also get angry when something like this happened. But for the judgment and chastisement of God’s words which protected her, she would be just the same as the manager. When Cong Xin thought along these lines, the anger she held in her heart toward the manager was wondrously reduced. She no longer wished to reason with the manager, and she became able to contemplate God’s words normally on the one hand, and do her share of the work on the other. One evening, as she was finishing work and clocking out, Cong Xin just so happened to meet the manager. She greeted the manager politely, saying: “See you tomorrow, sir.” The manager was surprised and then, contrary to his normal behavior, replied warmly: “Take care on your way home.” That night, Cong Xin, who was normally very timid walking along streets at nighttime, completely forgot her fear, for all the way home she was recalling the last few days during which, through prayer and contemplating God’s words, she had come to know herself and had been practicing the truth. She had experienced that living by God’s words, she was indeed capable of living out a normal humanity, and her heart was filled with peace and joy.

Over the days that followed, because the restaurant was so busy, Cong Xin had to work overtime with her co-workers. Though work was busy and tiring, Cong Xin never complained. The only thing that made her unhappy was that she discovered that her co-workers would often goof off. For example, when a customer came in, her co-workers would rush over to take the customer’s order and take drinks over, whereas all the dirty work like cleaning the tables was all left for Cong Xin to do. Especially at peak times, Cong Xin would be running here, there and everywhere and would sweat buckets, and when it was time to finish work, she still had to mop the floor. Almost every day she was the last to change her clothes and clock off. As time went on, Cong Xin started to feel like she couldn’t bear it anymore. She thought about how she was getting paid the same wage as her co-workers, but that she did more work and the work was more tiring than what her co-workers did, and the more she thought about it, the more wronged and resentful she felt. Cong Xin really wished that the manager would see all this and know that she expended more effort than her co-workers. If she could even get a bit of a raise, then she wouldn’t feel so out of sorts. Cong Xin sometimes tried being lazy and sly, but when she saw one table after another waiting to be cleaned, she couldn’t help but get to work. Cong Xin felt very depressed and pained, and felt as though she was being bullied. In her pain, Cong Xin prayed to God: “O God! I feel exhausted and wronged in my association with my co-workers. We get the same wage, so I’m not willing to work any harder. What lessons should I be learning in this environment? What can I do to live out a normal humanity? I pray for You to guide me….”

One day after work, Cong Xin got home and saw a passage in the brother’s fellowship which said: “You must be real with other people. Even if you have done some practical thing for someone else, don’t say that you have, for it is better to do real deeds. Say, for example, someone else has a difficulty and you help them solve it, and afterward you say, ‘I was able to help you today to solve your difficulty. Didn’t I do it because we love each other? Didn’t I do it because I love you?’ Saying this is pointless, right? When you help someone else, you know in your heart that you’ve helped them, and that’s all you need to do—what’s the point in saying things like this? It’s best to do some real deeds! These words you say imply that by helping someone a little, you then want to gain their affection, you want them to remember you and be good to you. Is it right? Isn’t that being false and using a disguise? Isn’t that making bargains with other people? … Therefore, when you speak with others, speak honestly, and when you do things, do real deeds; don’t speak false or cloaked words. Even if we help someone, and they are kind to us or feel very grateful, we don’t demand these things from them, for we do not require anyone’s gratitude” (“How to Build Church Life and the Meaning of Building Church Life” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (I)).

After reading this passage in the brother’s fellowship, Cong Xin understood that only an honest person has a true human likeness, that honest people are real, they expend themselves honestly and sincerely when they do things, and they ask for nothing in return. Her own expressions, however, showed that if there was nothing in it for her then she may as well not get out bed, that if she expended more effort then she wanted to be paid for it, and if she couldn’t get anything in return then she wasn’t willing to expend the energy. Actually, it wasn’t that she was tired from working so hard, but that her heart was tired. She thought about it: How could I not be tired when I won’t make the slightest effort without getting paid for it? And so Cong Xin finally found the root of her pain and resentment, and she found the way to get along peacefully with her co-workers, which was to truly be an honest person, to be willing to do things, and not to require anything in return. Only in this way do people earn God’s acceptance, and their hearts become calm and free. Otherwise, no matter how much effort someone puts in to what they’re doing, it is all meaningless. From that moment on, Cong Xin was no longer mean in her dealings with her co-workers; she just quietly did as much as she could do, and no longer wished to change anyone else. Later, the shift leader in the restaurant suddenly started to actively help Cong Xin with her work, and the restaurant manager could tell that Cong Xin’s co-workers were goofing off, and so set about arranging for them to do more work, and Cong Xin would go out of her way to help them. From then on, her co-workers were reformed, and began to consciously look for work to do. In Cong Xin’s heart, there was a kind of inexpressible feeling of joy; she knew that this had been the result of her conducting herself in accordance with God’s will, and she kept thanking God in her heart.

Later, because of an emergency, Cong Xin could no longer keep working at the restaurant. According to restaurant policy, she had to give one month’s notice before she could quit, otherwise not only would she not receive that month’s pay, but she would also not get hired again in the future. But Cong Xin really didn’t have time to give a month’s notice, and she was already prepared to lose her pay when she handed her notice into the manager. Unexpectedly, the manager spoke in earnest to her, saying, “To be honest, I really hate to let you go. It’s really hard now to find someone as honest as you. I think you have a really great caliber.” Cong Xin replied: “Sir, you’re too kind. I have no caliber, and am only educated to middle school level.” The manager said, “The caliber I’m talking about is not based on your level of education, but rather it refers to your quality as a person and your mindset.” When Cong Xin heard this, she felt greatly comforted in her heart, yet she felt very clearly that this was not because of her own merits, but was entirely because she had been changed by God’s work and words.

What topped it all for Cong Xin was that, one day, after she quit her job at the restaurant, the manager called and asked her to go pick up her last month’s wages. After getting to the restaurant, the manager handed every penny of her wages over to her, and stressed again and again that she could always come back to work there whenever she wanted. Little would she have thought that the restaurant’s policy, which had never once been changed, would be broken by her! At that moment, Cong Xin once again kept thanking and praising God in her heart. She knew that this was all done by God, and that it had been God’s words that had changed her and enabled her to win the respect of other people. Cong Xin thought that if she had treated other people and handled things by relying on her corrupt disposition, then never mind the manager saying she would be welcome back there to work anytime, she would not have gotten even a penny of her last month’s wages.

After having this experience, Cong Xin truly felt that, when difficulties arose, as long as she practiced by relying on God’s words, she could then live out a normal humanity. On the surface, it may appear that one has to suffer some loss temporarily, and one may also lose some face, yet practicing the truth and satisfying God is a testimony that brings glory to God! As a created being that could practice the truth and satisfy God, not only could she win the respect of others, but most importantly the comfort she felt in her heart could not be measured nor replaced by any material gain, or any amount of reputation or vanity. It is God’s words that have today allowed Cong Xin to learn how to conduct herself as a person and learn how to associate with other people, and she sincerely feels that the joy she reaps in her heart after each time she practices the truth is the greatest and truest blessing of God!