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| How can you pursue the truth so that you are not taken in by lies? What are the principles of practice? (2) |
The Man’s Fellowship:
Some people listen to so many of God’s words, yet when they listen to one sentence of the great red dragon’s negative propaganda, they start to be suspicious all of a sudden. It is as if God’s words are not true and the work that God does is false. Do these kinds of people have faith in God? This is not faith. Look at the faith of Abraham and Job. That is genuine faith. They did not have any notions no matter what God said! What are the most important words that Peter spoke? “Even if God were playing with humans like they were toys, how would humans be able to complain? What right would they have?” (“Interpretation of the Thirty-fifth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Do you think these are words of faith? No matter what God does, he would obey. What’s the big deal with the great red dragon spreading rumors? “Even if all the things that the entire religious world and the great red dragon say were true, I would still believe in Almighty God.” Is this a genuine faith? This is what a genuine faith is like. Why do you need to believe in this manner? You can see that God is real. You can see that the things that God says are true. You can see God doing the work of perfecting man. This is why even if what the great red dragon says were true, God would still be God. God will forever be God! Someone asked, “Now, is it the case that no matter what God does, He is still God?” Correct. This is how it is. If He throws your child into a well, is He still God? Would you still believe? Let’s say you have two children. With one word, God lets your two children die.
Would you still believe? If God lets your entire family perish in an earthquake, would you still believe? You all say that you would still believe. Why would you still believe? Isn’t it because this does not affect the essence and the reality that God is still God? God is God. No matter how many good things that Satan does, it is still Satan. No matter how many things God does that are not in accordance with man’s notions and no matter how many times He destroys mankind, He is still God. Isn’t this a genuine knowledge of God? Someone asked, “Then how do you tell the positive from the negative?” What are positive things and what are negative things? What is correct, and what is wrong? What is true and what is false? How do we differentiate these things? What God says is the truth. God is the truth. All the things that Satan says and does are evil. That is why everything that Satan does and says is fallacy. They are all negative. It is fine if you define these things in this way. No matter how many things Satan does that people think are good, it is still Satan. No matter how many things God does that destroy and punish mankind, He is still God. Isn’t this an objective fact? It is an objective fact. I’ll give you an example. Regardless of why your father hits you, he is still your father. No matter how he scolds you, he is still your father. No matter how he treats you, he is still your father. If he treats you well, he is still your father. If he does not treat you well, he is still your father. If he gives you money to spend, he is still your father. If he does not give you money to spend, he is still your father. Isn’t this the case? Why do I say this? It is a fact that he is your father. If he actually is your father, then what he does is not related at all to this fact. Nothing that he does can cause this fact to be untrue. This is the correct way to see things. Someone said, “Of the things that God does, there are some matters in which I do not see how it could be the truth nor do I see how they could be beneficial to mankind.” In this case, you must seek the truth, listen to sermons, and read and ponder more of God’s word. As for some key aspects which are not clearly explained by man, pray to God about them and perhaps the Holy Spirit will enlighten you so you can understand a bit more. One day you will know whatever comes from God, everything that God does or says is the truth. All of it is positive. Is it good to experience God’s work in this way? Everyone says it is good. If you always try to define God, you will never be able to know God. Once you learn how to obey God, you will be able to know God. This is the secret to obtaining the truth!
from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, Volume 142
Some people say, “How many years do I have to pursue the truth in order to attain an understanding of God? I have yet to attain the truth. If the tricks and rumors of Satan come upon me, what should I do?” Is this problem easy to tackle? Let me tell you the truth. If you firmly believe that Almighty God is the incarnate God and He has begun to speak and appear at work, then no matter what Satan says, first, do not listen. Say no to Satan. Second, you say, “Even if what you say is all true, I cannot deny God. I still accept God’s work.” Is this true faith? Why is it so? Don’t look at this statement as very ordinary. The meaning therein is deep! Take a thousand steps back and say, “Even if what Satan says is true, Almighty God is God. He is still God appearing at work. Why don’t I accept Him? Even if what the devil Satan says is true, it cannot be denied that He is the incarnate God, that this is God’s judgment work in the last days.” (Yes.)
Suppose there is someone who really recognizes Almighty God is the second coming of the Lord Jesus and God’s appearance at work in the last days, and Satan says to him, “The Church of Almighty God is a criminal enterprise that has been convicted by the Communist Party as a cult.” He will retort, “Oh, what does the conviction of a cult have to do with my belief in Almighty God? You wouldn’t dare to say that Almighty God is not God, would you? I challenge the Communist Party to tell me, isn’t Almighty God the incarnate God? Would you dare to deny it? Would you dare to say that the truth expressed by Almighty God is not the truth? If you would, why don’t you try to express something about the truth? Pastors and elders of the religious circle, you keep denying Almighty God. Can you express anything about the truth? What are you babbling about when you can’t express anything about the truth?” Some people made up a lot of rumors about Christ. They made up a lot of rumors about me too. There are those who are confused, “Is it true?” For argument’s sake, would you still believe in Almighty God if the rumors were true? Those of you who say, “If the rumors were true, I would still believe,” please raise your hands. Everybody did. What about those who wouldn’t believe anymore if the rumors were true? No one raised his hand. Why did you still raise your hands if you felt the rumors were true? Someone says it has nothing to do with God. That’s right. These rumors have nothing to do with God and God’s work.
How should man face the fallacies, nonsense and lies of Satan? First, deny them, reject them. Say no to Satan. Second, whether its lies are consistent with your notion or not, they have nothing to do with the appearance, work and incarnation of God. There is no contradiction at all. Isn’t it what this is about? Then why did some say this after listening to Satan’s lies, “I don’t believe in God anymore. God is false”? It was all because of the nonsense uttered by Satan that they denied God incarnate, along with the truth expressed by God and the judgment work of God in the last days. Someone says that “It is because God did that thing, so I don’t believe in Him. No matter how real, how practical and good are the things He accomplishes and the truth He expresses, I still don’t believe.” Isn’t this person absurd? Too absurd.
from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, Volume 142
Today there are many people whose notions are absurd, stupid and ignorant! Would you believe it if someone fabricated some lies and rumors about me? (I definitely wouldn’t believe rumors.) How would you know they were rumors? You do not know they are rumors. From where I stand they are rumors, but from where you stand they are not necessarily rumors. This is a real problem. Whether or not people believe depends on whether or not they can distinguish them. Remember! All that nonbelievers, the great red dragon, and the religious world say about God and the man used by the Holy Spirit is incorrect. It is all rumors, lies, distorted facts, fabrications and false charges. Because they are nonbelievers and demons. They are not God. You must be certain of this first. Whose words are most credible? God’s words are most credible. In addition, the words of God’s family and of the man used by the Holy Spirit are also credible. What he tells you is all the truth. He does not distort the facts. He speaks according to the truth and reality and he takes responsibility for people in what he says. So no matter what you are dealing with, you must first have the truth. If you do not have the truth then you can only rely on your notions and that little normal sense that you have to make a judgment and this is not appropriate and you will not be able to stand firm. You must be able to see through many real matters. If you can only speak letters and doctrines then as soon as you face a real matter, you will get confused. Such people do not have the reality of the truth. If you do not have the reality of the truth then when faced with many issues, you will not be able to see through them and you will act passively when the great red dragon’s rumors and the religious world’s lies come. You will deny and doubt God and will develop notions. What does this illustrate? If you do not have the truth you cannot see things clearly. What problem needs to be resolved before you can know if a word is true or false? You need to first see whose mouth this word came from. Is this important? (It is important.) Why can you not grasp this principle? Can good words come out of the great red dragon’s mouth? Can there be true words? There cannot be true words. Can true words come from the mouths of the priests of the religious world? They cannot either. Because the priests of the religious world do not know God. If they do not know God, can good words come from their mouths? Can good words come from the mouths of nonbelievers? None of these can be good words. So from whose mouth do reliable words come? (God’s.) The words that come from God’s mouth are the truth and the words that come from the mouths of those who have the truth are reality. Those are true words and in line with the facts. Have you grasped this principle? (Yes.) What must you get to know first when you hear something? Whose mouth it comes from. If the words come from Satan, the great red dragon or the religious community, then they are one hundred percent certain to be lies, rumors, fabrications, false charges, defamatory words and false accusations! If they are spoken from the mouths of people who understand the truth, then they are the true, honest and highly credible words. If they come out and are revealed from the mouth of God incarnate, then no matter whether you understand or not, know or not and recognize or not, these words are all the truth. If you do not recognize it today then you must sooner or later recognize that this is the truth. If the great red dragon says another word and discredits the Church of Almighty God, what should you do? You say: “The words come from the mouth of the great red dragon. They are lies and rumors! They are fixed as such!” If they are words uttered by God and literally they look to be correct and as soon as you see they were uttered by Christ, then say: “Without a shadow of doubt, this is the truth! Today I did not recognize it, and I did not yet understand, but it is the truth.” Or: “Today these words did not match my notions but they are also the truth. Sooner or later I must recognize that this is the truth and this is undeniable.” Can you treat the word of God like this? If you uphold this principle, you will be able to stand firm. If you do not uphold this principle, you will easily fall down. … A lot of things happen to reveal people! If people do not have the reality of the truth, it is so easy for them to be taken in and deceived. There are some things that God will not tell you and nor will I and there is not an environment to tell you, so what should you do? What should you rely on to resolve them? (The truth.) If you do not have the truth then you cannot see through them. For example, if someone says that your husband has had sexual relations with another person or that your husband has stolen money from people, or that your husband has committed a crime, how would you judge if this is true or false? What would your first reaction be? Is my husband that kind of person? Could my husband do this kind of thing? That is according to your understanding and knowledge of your husband. If you do not understand or know your husband and you have just been united, then you dare not say if this is true or false. If you have lived with your husband for many years and understand your husband very well, then you can easily judge whether this is true or false. Here, understanding is the most important thing. If Satan makes up some rumors and lies about things about God, what should you base your judgment on? The most accurate way is based on your knowledge and understanding of God. Because at that time, God cannot see you and you cannot get definitive words from God. If you do not truly know God, then this is really troublesome for you and may reveal and even eliminate you. So people will face many issues. The critical thing as to whether or not people can stand firm is whether or not they have the truth. If you do not have the truth then when you face many of Satan’s temptations, you will not have a way and you will feel doubt in your heart and develop notions, you will be shaken and make some wrong judgments and choices and may even be ruined. This is such a critical issue!
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Can people who do not know God follow Him until the end? It is not easy! People who do not know God can resist, deny or betray God at any moment. The danger of people betraying God is one hundred percent! Are you in danger of betraying God now? Everyone has this danger. Whatever you do must be done in a principled manner. Understanding and knowledge of God is not a simple matter. If you do not understand or know God, then you will easily believe Satan’s lies and whatever the great red dragon and the religious world say. What is this called? Bewilderment! Where did those words come from? You also believe that which comes from the mouth of demons. Are you not stupid? You let yourself be trapped by Satan and were hit by Satan’s enchantment bomb. If you do not believe God’s words, do not believe God’s holiness, do not believe God’s righteousness and do not believe that God is the truth and are still capable of believing Satan’s words then this is called being blind! Is what you believe in not God? If you believe that Satan’s words are real, possible and credible then do you actually believe in God or Satan? You cannot say. You believe in God nominally but actually in your heart what you believe in most of all is Satan. Can this be said? (Yes.) Do you believe that words of the truth can also come from Satan’s mouth? (No.) What words can be used to explain this fact? (A filthy mouth cannot utter decent language.) This is a good proverb. If you have really understood this sentence, you will know that words of truth will never come from Satan’s mouth. Some people only understand doctrines, but doctrines are of no use. As soon as Satan speaks, they believe it. “Oh, maybe it is true!” This is the end! “A filthy mouth cannot utter decent language.” It will not do for you not to believe this proverb. The truth will never come from Satan’s mouth. Satan will only ever speak lies, rumors and distortions. It is all false charges, fabrications, slander and defamation of positive things! Do you believe this? (Yes.) If there were many people discrediting, making up rumors and false allegations about the Church of Almighty God, what would you do? Could you see through it all as absolutely being lies, not listen to it at all and renounce it from your hearts? You must be able to renounce it. Regardless of what words come you must get where they come from right first. If these words come from God’s mouth, then this is the truth; if they come from the mouths of the people the Holy Spirit uses, then they are credible; if they come from the mouths of nonbelievers, religious people and the great red dragon, then they are not credible and you must totally deny and not accept them. Even if their words are somewhat factual, they are also distorting the truth and are still defamatory words and false charges…. Have you understood the meaning of these words that I have conveyed to you today? Whether or not people have a true knowledge and understanding of God determines everything. If you only understand some doctrines then that is of no use and cannot substitute your real knowledge of God. You can only avoid being taken in by Satan, reject all of Satan’s lies and overcome Satan’s temptations by having a real knowledge and understanding of God. This is the main meaning. Did you understand? (Understood.)
from “Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word ‘God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III’ (I)” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (XI)
