Eastern Lightning | Most people in our church cannot tell the difference between being discerning with people and judging people. I’d like to ask, with regard to dissecting and discerning the God-defying essence of the pastors and elders, and calling them the Pharisees of the present age, is this not judging people?

Bible Verses for Reference:

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. Truly I say to you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delays his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat 24:45-51).

What is following God’s will? Is it following God’s will if one only carries out missionary work for the Lord?

What is following God’s will? Is it following God’s will if one only carries out missionary work for the Lord?

Bible Verses for Reference:

“Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Mat 7 :21-23).

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mat 22:37-39).

Eastern Lightning | Through seeking and investigating the words of Almighty God, we are certain that Almighty God is the appearance of the Lord. But after we decided to follow Almighty God, some unfortunate things and mishaps happened in our lives. We have read so little of God’s words and we still don’t understand the truth, so it is possible for our states to be disturbed which leads us to doubt God. How then should we experience these things when we encounter them?

  Bible Verses for Reference:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour (1Pe 5:8).

And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God (Zec 13:9).

Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him (Jas 1:12).

Relevant Words of God:

God works, God cares for a person, looks upon a person, and Satan dogs His every step. Whoever God favors, Satan also watches, trailing along behind. If God wants this person, Satan would do everything in its power to obstruct God, using various evil ways to tempt, harass and wreck the work God does in order to achieve its hidden objective. What is its objective? It does not want God to have anyone; it wants all those that God wants, to possess them, control them, to take charge of them so they worship it, so they commit evil acts alongside it. Is this not Satan’s sinister motive? Normally, you often say that Satan is so evil, so bad, but have you seen it? You can only see how bad man is and has not seen in reality how bad Satan actually is. But have you seen it in this issue concerning Job? (Yes.) This issue has made Satan’s hideous countenance and its essence very clear. Satan is at war with God, trailing along behind Him. Its objective is to demolish all the work God wants to do, to possess and control those whom God wants, to completely extinguish those whom God wants. If they are not extinguished, then they come to Satan’s possession to be used by it—this is its objective.

from “God Himself, the Unique IV” in Continuation of 

The Word Appears in the Flesh

In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men, and the interference of men. Behind every step that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle. … When God and Satan do battle in the spiritual realm, how should you satisfy God, and how should you stand firm in your testimony to Him? You should know that everything that happens to you is a great trial and the time when God needs you to bear testimony. Externally, they might not seem like a big deal, but when these things happen they show whether or not you love God. If you do, you will be able to stand firm in your testimony to Him, and if you have not put the love of Him into practice, this shows you are not someone who puts the truth into practice, that you are without the truth, and without life, that you are chaff! Everything that happens to people is when God needs them to stand firm in their testimony to Him. Nothing major has happened to you at the moment, and you do not bear great testimony, but every detail of your daily life relates to the testimony to God. If you can win the admiration of your brothers and sisters, your family members, and everyone around you; if, one day, the unbelievers come, and admire all that you do, and see that all that God does is wonderful, then you will have borne testimony.

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

If many things come upon you that are not in line with your notions but you are able to put them aside and know God’s actions from these things, and in the midst of refinements you reveal your heart of love for God, this is standing witness. If your home is peaceful, you enjoy comforts of the flesh, no one is persecuting you, and your brothers and sisters in the church obey you, can you display your heart of love for God? Can this refine you? It is only through refinement that your love for God can be shown, and it is only through things occurring that are not in line with your conceptions that you can be perfected. It is through many negative things, many adversities that God perfects you. It is through many of Satan’s actions, accusations, and its expression in many people that God allows you to acquire knowledge, thus perfecting you.

from “Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement”
in The Word Appears in the Flesh

As creatures, people should fulfill the duties that they ought to, and stand witness for God in the midst of refinement. In every trial they should uphold the witness that they should bear, and bear a resounding witness for God. This is an overcomer. No matter how God refines you, you remain full of confidence and never lose confidence in God. You do what man should do. This is what God requires of man, and man’s heart should be able to fully return to Him and turn toward Him at every single moment. This is an overcomer. Those who God refers to as overcomers are those who are still able to stand witness, maintain their confidence, and their devotion to God when under the influence of Satan and under siege by Satan, that is, when within the forces of darkness. If you are still able to maintain a heart of purity and your genuine love for God no matter what, you stand witness in front of God, and this is what God refers to as being an overcomer. If your pursuit is excellent when God blesses you, but you retreat without His blessings, is this purity? Since you are certain that this way is true, you must follow it until the end; you must maintain your devotion to God. Since you have seen that God Himself has come to the earth to perfect you, you should give your heart entirely to Him. No matter what He does, even if He determines an unfavorable outcome for you at the very end, you can still follow Him. This is maintaining your purity in front of God. Offering a holy spiritual body and a pure virgin to God means keeping a heart of sincerity in front of God. For mankind, sincerity is purity, and being able to be sincere toward God is maintaining purity. This is what you should put into practice. When you ought to pray, you pray; when you ought to gather together in fellowship, you do so; when you ought to sing hymns, you sing hymns; and when you ought to forsake the flesh, you forsake the flesh. When you perform your duty you do not muddle through it; when you are faced with trials you stand firm. This is devotion to God.

from “You Ought to Maintain Your Devotion to God” in
The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Man’s Fellowship:

For all the people who belong to the first group to have accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days, in all walks of life in all countries, you need to pursue the truth; God has given you a great commission. Those who have first accepted, and who first obtain the truth, certainly will be used by God, to water, to shepherd their own people, the chosen of God in their country. You first accept the work of Almighty God in the last days and if you in fact are pursuers of the truth, God will entrust you with a task, He will train you, and you will face trials; God will test your faith, to see how truly you believe, to see if you can be certain about God’s word, be certain about the appearance of God. For example, with some people, as soon as they believe, someone in their family falls ill; with others, when they believe, unbelievers rise up to persecute them and oppress them; with yet others, as soon as they believe, their family suffers a serious problem. “What is this? The true God comes, but as soon as I believe something bad happens, bad luck, a disaster? Is this really the true God?” Some people doubt, and don’t pray. Think about it, you believe in the true God, won’t the devils and Satan hate this? Will they just let it go? They will want to snatch you! They will create this or that sort of situation to create difficulties for you, to make you back off and leave Almighty God. … Because demons and Satan prowl everywhere seeking victims to devour, if you believe in Jesus they don’t respond to you, but if you believe in Almighty God this is critical in the spiritual world. This is an ideological war between the truth and falsehood! So when you face a trial do not doubt God; stand by your testimony. Everything is in the hands of God; all you have to do is stand by your faith.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, B7 Volume 131

During God’s work in the last days, even more trials befall man. Why does man have to encounter trials? It is because Satan has corrupted mankind. It wants to bear mankind away from God’s hands in order to destroy God’s management plan—this is Satan’s goal; God wants to save mankind, to take mankind back from Satan’s grasp, to make man complete, and to bring them back to God once again. In this way, the battle of the spiritual world seems unusually fierce. The focus of the battle is on man, so it appears normal for man to undergo trials as part of God’s work. God wants to save man, and Satan wants desperately to corrupt man and is unwilling to lose. So what can God do to save man? God must allow the temptations of Satan to befall man and, through the temptations of Satan, God exposes Satan’s deceptions and allows man to see through them, making them able to accept God’s words and to stand on the side of God so that they turn to God and obey God. Only in this way can corrupt mankind be truly saved; this is the way in which God saves mankind. Because God saves mankind in this way, as corrupt mankind accepts God’s work, they come across all manner of Satan’s temptations (that is, all manner of temptations that God permits to befall man), and this is normal, this is the natural order. Some people say: ‘Would it be okay if we didn’t have to encounter these temptations?’ Maybe some people cannot see through this matter and, for this, they need to thoroughly understand the facts about the battle of the spiritual world.

from “Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word ‘God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II’ (II)” in Sermons and
Fellowship on Entry Into Life (X)

You will encounter all kinds of trials. If you have not encountered any today, you shall encounter them tomorrow; if you shall not encounter any tomorrow, eventually you shall encounter them one day. In short, God requires that you encounter them. Why? There is no bearing of witness without trials. Your loyalty will not reveal itself if you have not been placed in tribulations, your true heart will not be revealed. Your true heart has to be revealed, your loyalty has to be revealed, your obedience also has to be revealed, and then this shall be the end. God demands such things from everyone. We are examined thus during the Age of Kingdom, we are examined thus when appearing before the seat of Christ, every one of us must pass this examination. If you do not pass this examination, if you should be captured by Satan at any stage and be imprinted with the “mark of the beast,” you will never be qualified to enter the kingdom of God. Because to accept Christ of the last days, to be taken up in front of God, this shall be the key moment to enter the kingdom, therefore we must encounter major battles and great tribulation. There will be many difficulties on this path to enter the kingdom, and it requires the offering of one’s life to reach the destination. In Revelation, look at those who believe in Almighty God, “These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Revelation 14:4), “of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” (Revelation 7:9), “These are they which came out of great tribulation” (Revelation 7:14). Look upon these words, they are all referring to those who believe in Almighty God. These people follow Christ without deviating one single step, they are loyal until their death; these are the overcomers.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, A6 Volume 132

Recommendation:  Gospel Movies

Eastern Lightning | We believe in the Lord and we spread the gospel as the Lord requires. We frequently give financial aid to deprived areas or to help the disabled, we donate money and items to the church, we do well at our jobs and with our children’s education and we conduct ourselves well. This way, we have glorified the Lord and been approved by Him, and when the Lord returns we will be raptured up into the kingdom of heaven. Why then do we also have to experience God’s work of judgment in the last days?

  Bible Verses for Reference:

  Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity (Mat 7:21-23).

  Relevant Words of God:

  Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God has returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment, and this work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.

from Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh

  Through the sin offering, man has been forgiven his sins, for the work of the crucifixion has already come to an end and God has prevailed over Satan. But the corrupt disposition of man still remains within them and man can still sin and resist God; God has not gained mankind. That is why in this stage of work God uses the word to reveal the corrupt disposition of man and asks man to practice in accordance with the right path. This stage is more meaningful than the previous one and more fruitful as well, for now it is the word that directly supplies man’s life and enables the disposition of man to be completely renewed; it is a stage of work more thorough.

from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

  Through this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come to know the filthy and corrupt substance within him, and he will be able to completely change and become clean. Only in this way can man be worthy to return before the throne of God. All the work done this day is so that man can be made clean and be changed; through judgment and chastisement by the word, as well as refinement, man can cast away his corruption and be made pure. Rather than deeming this stage of work to be that of salvation, it would be more apt to say it is the work of purification. In truth, this stage is that of conquest as well as the second stage of salvation.

from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

  What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God.

from “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth”
 in The Word Appears in the Flesh

  Faith in God does not mean that He requires you to be a good person, to be someone who is well-behaved, or law-abiding, or someone who is unable to think for themselves or use their own brain. People used to think that changes in disposition that came from the belief in God meant being a decent person, that it meant having some human likeness outwardly, well brought-up, and patient, or seeming pious, or loving, and willing to help others, and charitable. In short, it meant being the kind of good person that existed in their conceptions and imagination. This is similar to how there are people in the world who say: “If you’re rich, you should give to the poor or beggars.” You could say that these kinds of notions exist within each and every person’s concepts—they all have these sorts of things, and it is one type of poison. For people who believed in God before, there was no one to clearly explain this kind of issue, and everyone was unfamiliar with matters of believing in God. It is not that people could understand these things right after being born, nor that they could understand them after a few years of believing in Christianity. This is because before, God Himself had not fully explained this, and He Himself had not performed work in this aspect. Thus, many people believed that belief in God was nothing more than a few changes in one’s external behavior, thinking, and actions, and there were even some people who believed that faith in God meant suffering much hardship, not eating fine foods, and not wearing fine clothes. … And what kind of person? Someone who does not fight with others, or curse them, or swear, someone who does not do bad things, someone who looks as if they believe in God; there are even some who say being a person that brings glory unto God. This is the mental state of every single person who believes in God, every single Christian, or every person who believed in the past, or every person who has just begun to believe in God. They believe that this is a change in disposition, that only this is being a person that God truly loves, that only this way can they go to heaven, and that only this way will they be able to have a favorable destination. … In particular, some who have just come from religion have yet to fully make the transfer from religious ceremony and religious thinking and viewpoints in their mindset and outlook toward the belief in God; they still try to be spiritual, and pious, and patient, to be someone who is naturally decent, who loves to do good and give to others. This is utterly wrong! If you pursue being a person such as that, you will never be praised by God, and you will never have a change in disposition….

from “What a Change in Disposition Is and the Path to a Change in Disposition” in Records of Christ’s Talks

  Changes in nothing more than behavior are unsustainable. If there is no alteration in people’s life disposition, then sooner or later their wicked side will show itself. Because the source of the changes in their behavior is fervor, coupled with some work by the Holy Spirit at the time, it is extremely easy for them to become fervent, or to be good for a time. As the unbelievers say, “Doing one good deed is easy, what’s hard is doing a lifetime of good deeds.” People are incapable of doing good deeds their whole life. Their behavior is directed by the life; whatever their life is, so is their behavior, and only that which is revealed naturally represents the life, and one’s nature. Things that are fake cannot last. … Behaving well is not the same as obeying God, much less does it equal being compatible with Christ. Changes in behavior are based on doctrine, and born of fervor—they are not based on the true knowledge of God, or upon the truth, much less do they rest on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Even though there are times when some of what people do is directed by the Holy Spirit, this is not the expression of the life, much less is it the same as knowing God; no matter how good a person’s behavior, it does not prove that they obey God, or that they put the truth into practice.

from “The Difference Between External Changes and Changes in Disposition” in Records of Christ’s Talks

  Those who are impure are not permitted to enter into the kingdom, those who are impure are not permitted to besmirch the holy ground. Though you may have done much work, and have worked for many years, in the end if you are still deplorably filthy—it is intolerable to the law of Heaven that you wish to enter My kingdom! From the foundation of the world until today, never have I offered easy access to My kingdom to those who curry favor with Me. This is a heavenly rule, and no one can break it!

from “Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks” in
The Word Appears in the Flesh

  The Man’s Fellowship:

  Many believers in the Lord believe the same thing that you do: ‘As long as I work hard and bear the cross for the Lord, exhibit some good behaviors and bear witness well, I will be qualified to wait for the Lord’s return and be raptured into the kingdom of heaven.’ Humans see this as perfectly reasonable, but is that what God’s will is? Do His words bear that out? If not, then this thinking on the part of man certainly comes out of human notions and imagination. … In fact, those of us who believe in the Lord are all clear on the fact that after a person believes in the Lord, although they may enthusiastically abandon other things and expend themselves for the Lord, work very hard, and exhibit some good behaviors, even while they are working they frequently sin and resist God, and make an enemy of God. There are some who complain to Him when disaster strikes, when there is persecution and adversity, and they may even deny and betray God. Although the pastors and elders of the religious world are able to work and preach, they are particularly like the Pharisees, establishing themselves so that others adore them, deceiving and controlling God’s chosen people, and establishing their own little kingdoms. Facing God’s work in the last days, they madly condemn and resist it, and even though they clearly know that Almighty God’s words are the truth, they are still stubbornly defiant toward God. This shows that as long as people still have a sinful nature, and as long as they have a satanic disposition that has not been resolved, they may resist and betray God at any time, and any place. No matter how well someone behaves, that doesn’t mean that they can truly obey God and follow His way. No matter how much of the Bible someone understands, it’s not the same as understanding the truth and knowing God. No matter how much someone suffers and what price they pay when expending themselves for God, it does not mean that they are someone who carries out God’s will. It is evident that when someone has a sinful nature that has not been resolved and a satanic disposition that has not been purified, no matter how hard they work for the Lord and for how many years, their nature and essence will not change. This is a fact that no one can deny.

from the movie script of The City Will Be Overthrown

Recommendation:  gospel videos

How to Hear the Voice of God | Have You Met Lord Jesus? | "What a Beautiful Voice" Christian Movie

How to Hear the Voice of God | Have You Met Lord Jesus? | "What a Beautiful Voice" Christian Movie

Introduction

Dong Jingxin is a preacher in a house church in China. She's believed in the Lord for thirty years, and loves the truth; she frequently reads the Lord's words and is driven by them.

Eastern Lightning | Gospel Movie "Break Through the Snare" - Why Pastors and Elders Convict the Eastern Lightning

Why do the pastors and elders of the religious world resist and convict Almighty God? It is because they hate, are hostile towards and cannot accept the truth that Almighty God incarnate expresses. This is why they deny, convict and resist Christ. This exposes the satanic essence they have that hates the truth. The truth that Christ expresses is enormously powerful and authoritative. It can awaken and save the human race as well as cause the people to break away from all the forces of Satan and return to God. This is why, in order to protect their own fame, profit and status, the leaders of the religious world nail Christ to the cross again. These are the true fact and essence about how the leaders of the religious world serve God yet resist God at the same time.

Gospel Movie clip "Awakening From the Dream" (2) - Without Holiness No Man Shall Enter God's Kingdom

Gospel Movie clip "Awakening From the Dream" (2) - Without Holiness No Man Shall Enter God's Kingdom

Introduction

When the sins of us believers in the Lord are forgiven, do we attain purification? If we do not strive for purification, and only pay attention to expending ourselves for the Lord and diligently doing the Lord's work, will we be raptured into the kingdom of heaven? This movie clip of Awakening From the Dream, will give you all the answers!