Almighty God Led Me Onto the Path of Obtaining Cleansing (Part 2)

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I read many of God’s words after accepting Almighty God’s work in the last days. I read about the three stages of God’s work, the mystery of the incarnation, the meaning of God’s name and the inside story of the Holy Bible, as well as how the overcomers are made, how the kingdom of Christ is realized, how the final outcome and destination of each type of person will be determined, and other aspects of the truth, gradually gaining some understanding of them. I also gained more faith in God.

At first, when I read God’s words that judge and expose man so harshly, I felt distressed and uncomfortable and had some notions about them; I felt that God’s words were too severe. Could He not be a little gentler? If God judges man in this way, is man not then condemned? How can he then be truly saved? Later, I read in the word of God: “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the essence of man, and to dissect the words and deeds of man. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, the words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan, and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth of which man is utterly bereft. Only methods such as these can be called judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Through what is God’s perfection of man accomplished? Through His righteous disposition. God’s disposition primarily consists of righteousness, wrath, majesty, judgment, and curse, and His perfection of man is primarily through judgment. Some people don’t understand, and ask why it is that God is only able to make man perfect through judgment and curse. They say, ‘If God were to curse man, wouldn’t man die? If God were to judge man, wouldn’t man be condemned? Then how can he still be made perfect?’ Such are the words of people who do not know the work of God. What God curses is the disobedience of man, and what He judges are the sins of man. Although He speaks harshly, and without the slightest sensitivity, He reveals all that is within man, and through these stern words He reveals that which is essential within man, yet through such judgment, He gives man a profound knowledge of the essence of the flesh, and thus man submits to obedience before God. The flesh of man is of sin, and of Satan, it is disobedient, and the object of God’s chastisement—and so, to allow man to know himself, the words of God’s judgment must befall him and there must be employed every kind of refinement; only then can God’s work be effective” (“Only by Experiencing Painful Trials Can You Know the Loveliness of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words I realized that God performs His work of judgment in the last days through expressing the truth, and that He severely judges, exposes and condemns man’s corrupt dispositions, satanic nature, and wicked deeds that oppose God. He does this so that we see clearly the truth of our own corruption, understand thoroughly the essence of our corrupt dispositions, and know our own satanic nature and the source of our corruption. This is the only way we can despise ourselves and forsake the flesh. In addition, it is only because God shows His righteous, majestic and wrathful disposition through His judgment and chastisement that we are able to see His righteousness and holiness, as well as see clearly our own filthiness, ugliness and wickedness. God also does this so that we may know our own satanic nature and the truth of our corruption. If God did not judge man so severely, if God did not expose man’s corruption by striking right at the heart of the matter, and if He did not reveal His righteous and majestic disposition, then we humans, who have been corrupted so deeply by Satan, would be unable to reflect on ourselves or know ourselves. We would be incapable of knowing the truth of our own corruption or our satanic nature. If that were the case, then how would we rid ourselves of our sinful nature and be purified? From the results achieved by God’s stern words we can see that hidden within them are God’s true love for man and the painstaking efforts He goes to to save man. The more I read God’s words, the more I feel how wonderful God’s work of judgment is. God’s work is so practical! Only God’s severe judgment can purify, transform, and save man. God’s work of judgment in the last days is truly what we need!

Due to my arrogant and extremely self-righteous nature, when speaking to others I often lectured them in a condescending way, and in my actions I was a law unto myself. I always loved getting others to listen to me and was prone to showing off. Several times at gatherings, I gave fellowship about how I had handled problems in my work unit, how I had rebuked staff who hadn’t followed instructions and subdued them, as well as how my wife and daughter did what I told them to. Particularly when I shared fellowship on God’s words, I would say things like, “I believe this passage of God’s words means this,” and “this is what I think.” A brother saw that I was always revealing an arrogant and self-righteous disposition without being aware of it myself. He pointed this out to me at a gathering, saying that speaking and acting in this way was an expression of arrogance, self-righteousness, and unreasonableness. If anyone had exposed me that way in the past, and in front of so many people to boot, I would certainly have argued my own case and refuted them right away. But at the time, I chose to be silent without arguing or justifying myself, because these words from a sermon came to mind: “If you always say ‘I think’ with every subject you encounter, well, you had best let go of your opinions. I urge you to let go of your opinions and seek the truth. See what the words of God say. Your ‘opinion’ is not the truth! … You are too arrogant and self-righteous! When faced with the truth, you cannot even let go of or deny your own notions and imaginings. You do not want to obey God in the slightest! Of those who truly pursue the truth and truly have a heart that reveres God, who still says ‘I think’? This saying has already been eliminated, for by saying it one reveals one’s satanic disposition” (Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life). This fellowship reminded me that, whenever I encountered an issue, words such as “I think,” “I maintain,” and “I believe” were generally on my lips, always starting with the word “I,” and myself always had the final say on everything. I believed that I could see through things myself, and could deal with problems. I always made others do as I said and obey me. By always regarding myself so highly, was that not precisely revealing an arrogant disposition? What that brother said to me when he pointed out my disposition was all true, and I should accept it. The things I believed emanated from my notions and imaginings, they came from Satan, and they were certainly not the truth. I thought about how, whether at home, at work, or amongst colleagues, I was always behaving as if I were number one. If anyone didn’t listen to me or did something out of line with my views, I would get angry and tell them off. The fact that I was capable of revealing these things meant that there was no place for God in my heart, that I did not honor God as great, but rather honored myself as great. That was generally how I spoke and behaved, proving what an incredibly arrogant disposition I have!

I later read those words of God: “If you really possess the truth within you, the path you walk will naturally be the correct path. Without the truth, it is easy to do evil, and you will do it despite yourself. For example, if you had arrogance and conceit, you would find it impossible to keep from defying God; you would feel compelled to defy Him. You would not do it on purpose; you would do it under the domination of your arrogant and conceited nature. Your arrogance and conceit would make you look down on God and see Him as being of no account; they would cause you to exalt yourself, constantly put yourself on display, and, finally, sit in God’s place and bear testimony for yourself. In the end, you would turn your own ideas, your own thinking, and your own notions into truths to be worshiped. See how much evil is done by people under the dominance of their arrogant and conceited nature! To resolve their evil acts, they must first resolve the problem of their nature. Without a change in disposition, it would not be possible to bring a fundamental resolution to this problem” (“Only by Pursuing the Truth Can You Obtain Changes in Your Disposition” in Records of Christ’s Talks). Every word spoken by God is the truth—I was utterly convinced. I thought of how I used to lecture others condescendingly at construction sites, around my colleagues, and when I was at home. All of this was me being dominated by my satanic, arrogant nature; it was not brought about because I’m an angry person, or because I have a bad temper or lack self-restraint. I believed myself to have caliber and talent and good earning power, which fed my arrogance and became the currency of my life, so I thought of myself as better than others. I looked down on everyone else, I thought I was better than everyone else and always lorded over other people. I had found the source of my sin and had seen the perilous consequences of leaving my satanic and corrupt disposition unresolved. And so I made an effort to look up and read many of God’s words judging and exposing man’s arrogant nature, and reflected on myself in comparison. Through God’s words of judgment and revealing as well as the fellowship of brothers and sisters in gatherings, I began to gain a shallow understanding of my own arrogant nature. I saw that I was not in fact better than anyone else, and that my ability and wealth had all been bestowed by God, so I had nothing to boast about. If God hadn’t bestowed wisdom and intelligence on me, if God hadn’t blessed me, what could I have done just relying on myself? There are so many talented people in the world; why do they toil and rush about all their lives just to end up empty-handed? I also found the path to resolve my arrogant nature within God’s words, which was to accept more of being pruned and dealt with by brothers and sisters, to accept more of the judgment, chastisement, trials and refinement of God, reflect on myself in light of God’s words, achieve true self-knowledge and self-hatred, and to no longer act according to my satanic disposition but to act in accordance with God’s words. I later experienced many instances of being judged and chastised, pruned and dealt with, and I experienced many setbacks and failures. My knowledge of my satanic nature and corrupt essence was gradually deepened, and I also gained a shallow understanding of God’s greatness, righteousness and holiness. The more I came to know God’s righteousness and holiness, the more I saw my own filthiness, lowliness, insignificance and pitifulness. The things which I thought important before or had boasted about, I then felt weren’t even worth mentioning. Before I knew it, my arrogant disposition began to change. Whoever said something that was correct—brothers and sisters, my colleagues, or my family—I would accept it. I no longer spoke to others condescendingly, but acted with humility and I was no longer a law unto myself. Whenever an issue arose I would discuss it with others, and I would act according to whoever’s suggestion was correct. Slowly, my relationships with those around me began to normalize. I had peace and joy in my heart, and I felt that I was finally living out a bit of a human likeness.

By constantly reading God’s word and living the life of the church, I felt more and more how truly great it was that I was able to accept God’s work of judgment in the last days. I genuinely experienced that I would have no way to resolve my corrupt disposition myself. Only through the judgment and chastisement of God’s words have I been gradually changed and cleansed. In The Church of Almighty God, I see many brothers and sisters working hard at pursuing the truth, and accepting the judgment and chastisement of Almighty God’s words. Whenever someone reveals corruption, others point it out and everyone helps each other. We all reflect on ourselves and know ourselves in the light of God’s words, and we seek the truth to resolve our corruption. Everyone practices being honest people and being pure and open; we accept and submit to whatever fellowship is in conformity with the truth and our corrupt dispositions change more and more. The words of Almighty God can indeed purify and change people. God incarnate has come amongst us, He personally expresses His words to judge and purify us, and He leads us to cast off sin and be fully saved—we are so fortunate! Thinking of all those true believers who are waiting impatiently for His return, who yearn to cast off the bonds of sin and be cleansed, yet who live in pain without a path to follow, I said a prayer to God and made a resolution: “I wish to preach Your kingdom gospel to other people so that they can be like me, following Your footsteps and embarking upon the path to purification and complete salvation!”

 From Almighty God Led Me Onto the Path of Obtaining Cleansing (Part 2)