Believers in the Lord Jesus think,
if their sins are forgiven once,
they will gain eternal salvation,
and when the Lord comes,
they will be directly raised to the kingdom of heaven.
In the past, when I believed in the Lord,
I thought that too.
But what, exactly, does it mean to believe in the Lord and be saved?
Does simply having our sins forgiven really qualify us to enter the kingdom of heaven?
Those questions always confused me.
After I accepted God's work of judgment in the last days,
read many passages of Almighty God,
saw the mystery of God's three stages of work Almighty God revealed,
and understood the mystery of God's management plan to save mankind,
I finally had clarity on what it meant to be saved by the Lord.
I also saw clearly that God's work of judgment in the last days
was the work of completely purifying and saving mankind.
For a believer in the Lord, what it means to be saved is indeed a mystery.
Without experiencing God's work of judgment in the last days,
we have no way to see these mysteries clearly …
Where is Brother Xu?
He should be here soon, just wait.
Who's there?
It's me, Xiao Xu.
Oh, Brother Xu. Come in.
OK.
I'm here.
There was a crowd of strangers in the alley.
I thought I was being watched.
I waited for them to leave before I came in.
OK.
The CCP has been arresting lots of Christians,
they have many people watching all the residential districts.
There are more seniors with red armbands than ever before.
We have to be extra careful!
I think,
from now on, our groups can't hold meetings in fixed locations.
We need to move around.
Otherwise, we'll be in trouble if the CCP discovers us.
Hey, how are things in your neighborhood?
Director Zhang, what's this you're putting up?
Come take a look at it.
"Report illegal religious activities based on the law.
Illegal gatherings and preachings must be sternly cracked down on."
The CCP's arrests of believers are getting insane.
What a terrible world!
Xiaoxiu …
The CCP's arrests are getting more serious,
and more people are wearing red armbands on the street.
You need to be extra careful when you go out.
Choose your words carefully.
Don't talk carelessly about believing in God. 'K?
Okay, mom. I got it.
Where is Xu Zhiqian?
He's not here.
Not here?
What are you doing here? Why are you searching my house?
Answer me, where is he preaching today?
I don't know!
Don't know?
Search everywhere!
Why are you arresting my husband? What law did he break?
What law? Believing in God is illegal!
He was reported for preaching. That's against the law!
We're arresting him!
Which law does believing in God and preaching violate?
You came in and started searching my house without any papers or proof.
You're the ones breaking the law!
Shut up about the law.
Don't hit my mom!
Excuse me?
Listen here! In China, the CCP is law!
If the CCP bans belief in God, then it's against the law!
The central government said
that we can deal with believers in God however we like.
Don't you get it? We don't need a warrant.
Chief, we found nothing.
We didn't catch him today. He's lucky we didn't.
Interrogate his wife! (Yes, sir!)
Mom! Mom!
Why are you arresting my mom?
Xiaoxiu!
Go!
Let's go! Get in! (Mom! Mom!)
Mom!
Dad!
Dad! Dad!
Xiaoxiu?
Xiaoxiu …
You fell, are you hurt? (No.)
What's going on? (Dad,)
the police came to our house to arrest you!
The police came to our house?
When they didn't find you, they arrested mom!
Dad, whatever you do, don't go home!
That's right. Your house isn't far from here.
The police might find you. (Right.)
Brother Xu, you need to leave! Go somewhere and hide!
Go into hiding!
I knew this day would come.
Xiaoxiu, be strong.
I need to go into hiding for a while.
You're growing up.
You need to learn to rely on God and live independently.
Fellowship with your brothers and sisters if you need anything.
Okay.
Brother Xu, go ahead.
We'll take care of things at home for you.
Yeah.
Brother Xu, we just moved to this village.
The people here don't know we believe in God.
You should be safe living here.
Yes, thank you.
Brother Xu, eat something. (OK.)
After such a long journey, you must be tired.
Finish eating and get some rest.
We'll talk tomorrow.
Alright. You get some rest too.
OK. (Alright.)
Talk! Talk!
Pick him up.
Tell us!
Where's your church's money?
Answer!
Who is the church leader?
If you don't answer our questions, I'll beat you until you're dead!
I'm not breaking any laws.
Freedom of religion is written clearly in the constitution.
Everything the church does is legal in the constitution.
What do you want from me?
I hope Xinjie is alright.
And I hope she'll be able to stand firm under the torment of their questioning.
What is God's will? Why did this happen to me?
What lessons should I learn?
Brother Xu, you're up early.
Brother Zhao, sit.
Did you sleep well last night?
I couldn't sleep at all.
My wife was arrested and put in detention.
I'm worried about her.
The CCP are cruel to God's believers. I know they'll torture her.
I don't know if she can take it.
When I was arrested for spreading the gospel, the police nearly killed me.
I prayed to God for strength. I stayed strong and didn't betray God.
But she's a woman, and she's never been through this.
What will happen to her if they torture her?
If they cripple her, how will our family get by?
All I can do is pray to God.
When believers are arrested and jailed,
it's a big trial.
Your wife is of great faith.
I think she will be able to get through it.
But torture really isn't easy to bear.
The CCP police push believers in God to the brink of death.
It's hard enough for men like us to hold up under torture,
never mind women.
I'm worried that my wife won't be able to stand firm.
Or, if they cripple her, I'll have to take care of her.
How will I have time for the church?
Just the thought of it terrifies me.
But, I read God's word, and I started to understand God's will.
God uses trials to reveal and purify us.
He uses these situations to let us see our own corruption,
so that we can pursue the truth and be purified and perfected by God.
God allows the hard times to come. There's His intentions.
That's right.
This has revealed my true stature before God.
Before, I thought there were no limits to what I could renounce.
When I was tortured, I didn't deny or betray God,
so I thought I had true belief that my faith in God was genuine.
I never thought, when my wife was arrested, that I could be so weak,
but my belief is still very weak, I don't have enough faith or love for God.
God knows my defects,
and is using this to reveal and perfect me.
Thanks be to God.
Experiencing all manners of trials betters us for our life.
God uses trials to help us grow throughout our lives.
We should thank and praise God.
Thank God.
Hey, you're awake.
Brother Li, I was going to come see you. Come in.
OK.
Brother Li's here.
Come in. Breakfast? (OK.)
Go ahead and eat. I've got some things to do.
Alright. Thank you.
How are things in the church right now?
Oh.
The CCP government is suppressing and arresting our brothers and sisters,
and the forces of the antichrist are making it really difficult.
Many who have just accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days
are weak and afraid …
When I think about it, I feel a lot of pressure.
We must nurture these brothers and sisters,
help them understand the truth and remain firm in the true way.
There's a lot of work to do. (Yes.)
My understanding is limited.
Brother Xu, you're my partner in church work,
so I'll need your help.
If you see problems in my work,
point them out so I can correct them.
That way, it'll be a big help for the work.
Sure.
There are a lot of difficulties in church work,
so we should rely on God.
I don't have a lot of real experience. My view is limited.
So if there's trouble in the future, we need to face it together.
As long as we pray, read God's word, and seek the truth,
there are no problems we can't solve. (Right.)
I'm also someone with a lot of inadequacies,
so if you see that I'm doing something wrong,
point it out right away.
That's what it means to act with love.
Right. That's what it means to be a partner.
Right.
Oh, Brother Xu,
there's a meeting tomorrow,
and there are still some things I need to do.
Would you like to go instead?
I'd love to.
Brother Wu,
you're on lookout duty today? (Yes.)
Keep your eyes peeled! (Yes.)
Go and have your meeting in peace. (OK.)
Brother Xu,
after hearing your fellowship on Almighty God's word, we understand,
the work of the Lord Jesus was only to redeem our sins in the Age of Grace, (Yes.)
and the truth expressed by Almighty God in the last days
is to judge, purify, and save man. (Amen!)
But we still haven't experienced God's judgment
and we don't understand the truths about how God judges and purifies man.
That's right.
Brother Xu, I wanted to ask you,
what is the difference between the salvation granted in the Age of Grace
and the purification and attaining salvation in the Age of Kingdom you talk about?
I wonder.
Will the believers who were forgiven for their sins in the Age of Grace
be able to enter God's kingdom?
We still lack clarity on this aspect of truth,
so please explain it to us. (Alright.)
Thanks be to God! I was about to ask that question.
This is something we really need to hear about.
Regarding the relationship between salvation through forgiveness of sin in the Age of Grace
and attainment of salvation in the Age of Kingdom,
Almighty God's word is very clear.
Let's watch some reading videos of Almighty God's word,
and then fellowship about our understanding of them, alright? (Alright!)
Thank be to God!
No more video for now,
let's read a passage of Almighty God's word.
Okay.
I'll read the passage.
Alright.
Hey, now I'm starting to understand what salvation means. (Thanks be to God!)
Now that you've heard these passages of Almighty God,
is the difference clear to you?
Yes.
Thanks be to God!
After He finished the work of redeeming man in the Age of Grace,
why does God still need to judge and purify man in the last days?
Yes, why?
The significance here is very profound.
Without experiencing Almighty God's work of the last days,
we can't understand this aspect of truth.
In the past, we believers in the Lord all knew what salvation meant.
Salvation meant to be forgiven of our sins because of the Lord Jesus' redemption,
and therefore to escape being condemned and cursed by the law.
To have our sins forgiven was to no longer be condemned by the law.
Also, the Lord Jesus, by being nailed to the cross,
took on all of our sins.
When we prayed to the Lord and confessed our sins,
we received the Lord's forgiveness
and enjoyed the peace and joy granted by the Holy Spirit.
Thanks be to God!
This proved that God had forgiven our sins. (Yes.)
But while the Lord Jesus forgave our sins,
He didn't solve our sinful nature and satanic dispositions.
We still often tell lies, sin, and hate and become envious of others.
We are still wildly arrogant, show ourselves off
and exalt ourselves, and belittle others.
When great trials such as natural disasters or suffering befall us,
we still argue with God, oppose Him, blame Him, and betray Him.
When God's work is not in accord with our notions,
we still judge and resist God.
So, I ask you,
with how often we rebel against God,
are we qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven?
No.
The Bible says clearly,
The Lord Jesus also said,
Amen!
The Lord never said our sins forgiven we could enter God's kingdom.
He explicitly told us
that only those who do the will of the Father can enter the kingdom of heaven. (Right.)
These words in the Bible prove that ideas like
"You can enter the kingdom of heaven once your sins are forgiven"
and "Being saved is eternal salvation"
are human notions with no basis in God's word. (Amen.)
After believing in the Lord for years, we can see
that after believers are forgiven for their sins,
they still live in a state of constantly sinning and confessing. (Amen.)
This proves that being forgiven for sin
doesn't equate to escaping the bondage and restraints of sin,
nor does it mean that he is holy. (Yes.)
That's absolutely true.
The Bible says,
Based on what the Bible tells us, we can say for certain
that if a person's satanic disposition isn't purified,
he isn't qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now, let's contemplate a question.
What's the question?
Why, after we believe in the Lord and our sins are forgiven,
do we still sin so often?
Why, no matter how hard we try,
can't we escape the bondage and restraints of sin?
Why?
Because in the Age of Grace,
the Lord Jesus did the work of redeeming mankind,
not the work of judging and purifying mankind in the last days.
That's really true!
Christ of the last days, Almighty God, has come to express the truth
and do the work of judgment within God's house,
primarily to resolve mankind's satanic disposition and satanic nature,
to get to the root cause of mankind's sinful nature.
Now, we all clearly understand
why God is doing the work of judging and purifying mankind in the last days.
I understand. Yes, now we understand.
A passage from Almighty God's word will make it clear.
Can I read the passage? (Yes.)
Amen! Thanks be to God!
Praise God!
Now do we all clearly understand what salvation in the Age of Grace means?
Thanks be to God. Now I understand a little more.
That's true.
Salvation means that after you have your sins forgiven,
you are qualified to pray to God
and enjoy God's grace,
but your sinful nature is still buried deep in your heart.
People are still controlled by their sinful nature and often sin.
They even blame and resist God.
This proves that people whose sins are forgiven still haven't been gained by God,
and they still can't truly obey or worship God.
Even though people believe in the Lord and their sins are forgiven,
no matter how much of God's grace they enjoy,
they still live under Satan's domain. They still belong to Satan.
It's an indisputable fact.
Yes, that's true.
But people who've experienced God's judgment,
been purified, attained salvation are different.
Because they understand the truth and have true knowledge of God,
they can truly hate Satan, forsake Satan
and live by God's words.
Their satanic disposition has been purified,
and they can truly obey God.
In God's eyes, people like this are the ones
who have truly escaped the influence of Satan and are gained by God,
the ones who have escaped sin and have changed in their life disposition.
Right.
These people who can obey God are people who have attained salvation,
they are qualified to go to the kingdom of heaven and inherit God's promise.
This is the difference between the salvation in the Age of Grace
and the salvation attained in the Age of Kingdom.
Is everyone clear on this question now? (Yes.)
I understand it more now. Yes. Yeah.
Thanks be to God!
What true salvation means,
and what it means to be purified and saved,
now I understand!
Thanks be to God!
It's like the window to my heart was opened.
And everything makes sense!
Right.
In the past, our pastors and elders always told us
that we had gained salvation by faith,
that being saved once was eternal salvation,
and once the Lord Jesus came, we would be raised up to the kingdom of heaven.
And that's what we believed. (Exactly.)
But in real life,
no matter how hard we refrained, we couldn't escape the bondage of sin.
We wanted to practice the Lord's word, and love and obey the Lord,
but no matter how we tried, we couldn't do it.
That's true.
I was always confused.
Could people like us who rebel against God so often
really enter the kingdom of heaven?
I understand after hearing the word of Almighty God.
The salvation we talked about in the past
is forgiveness of sin, not to be condemned by the law,
but without purifying the sinful nature and satanic disposition within us,
it's not true salvation.
That's true.
Almighty God does the work of judging and purifying mankind in the last days,
if we accept God's judgment, our satanic natures will be resolved.
That's salvation and being saved. (Thanks be to God.)
That qualifies us to enter the kingdom of heaven!
Amen! Thanks be to God!
Yes. Without reading the word of Almighty God,
we would never understand what true salvation means.
Yes.
We would still believe the pastors, think our sins were forgiven.
That we'd be allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Faith without understanding the truth isn't really faith.
But now I see clearly that only when our satanic disposition is purified
and we can truly obey God, follow His will,
can we say we've attained salvation!
Amen!
In the last days, Almighty God's work of judging and purifying man
is exactly what we need. (Amen! Exactly!)
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
Brother Zhou, bad news! The police are here! Go!
The police are here? Hurry!
Brother Zhao, get Brother Xu out of here first.
OK! Brother Xu, come with me!
Brother Xu, your fellowship was fantastic.
It feels like we lack so much!
Without someone who understands and can fellowship the truth with us,
if we just read God's words on our own,
our growth would be slow and shallow.
Brother Xu, (Yes?)
it would be wonderful if you could fellowship with us more often.
Sure! We'll have more meetings together in the future.
Perfect! (Let's go!)
Fly! Fly!
Xiaxia, you've played long enough. It's time to do your homework.
Go on. (OK.)
So, there's something that's been confusing me the last few days.
I think that Brother Xu's fellowship is very enlightening
and very helpful for us,
but he doesn't seem to talk about his experience of practicing God's word.
Do you think that's a problem?
Oh come on.
Brother Xu gave up his home and family to fulfill his duties,
when he was arrested and put in jail for believing in God, he stood firm.
And his wife was just arrested and jailed,
rather than complain, he still worked in the church.
Doesn't he understand the truth better than we do?
He knows how to do his work and give good sermons.
Guess so.
You're back.
So many airplanes.
Xiaxia was playing with them.
Did you eat? (Yes.)
Tomorrow I'm going to a meeting in the city.
I'll be gone a few days. (Hello?)
Then I'll make breakfast early tomorrow morning. (Mom! Grandpa, grandma!)
Mom and dad are on the phone!
OK, coming. (Go ahead.)
Mom, dad, when are you coming back?
I miss you.
Oh, things are fine here.
Don't worry!
Oh, you'll be back for Spring Festival?
OK, OK. Sure, sure. Don't worry about things here.
Dear Brother Fang,
I hope Xiaoxiu staying with you isn't causing you too much trouble!
How is she lately?
What's happening with my wife? Is there any news?
Oh, Brother Xu is here!
You know, hearing you practice, you almost sound like a real choir!
We have to do this because of the CCP.
Exactly.
Using this as cover makes our meetings safer.
Right.
Let's start the meeting!
OK.
Hey, where is Sister Qin?
She should be here soon.
She's usually always on time. (Yeah.)
Oh, there she is.
Sister Qin, you're here.
Sister Qin, is everything alright with you?
What's wrong?
The last few days have been incredibly difficult.
I can't go on with my non-believer husband just not anymore.
Just a few days ago he found another woman.
He took every penny we had and now he's living somewhere with that woman.
What an evil world!
When I found out, my heart was filled with hatred.
I work so hard to run the business that supports my family
while he plays around with someone else.
Now I don't have any money.
How are my child and I supposed to survive?
I was furious, so I fought with him. I argued with him.
And he? He doesn't even come home.
Now that this happened, I feel miserable and weak.
I don't know what to do.
You're going through a trial indeed.
As believers, we should know that God rules over everything.
There is God's permission and good intentions in everything that happens to us.
When this happens,
we should ask ourselves what lessons we should learn,
what truth we need to understand.
We need to discover God's will.
Right.
We should pray to God and seek the truth.
That's the most important thing. (Right.)
Let's read a passage from Almighty God.
Alright.
Amen!
Doesn't God's word explain clearly how we should treat trials
and how we should practice and seek entry?
As we undergo God's work in the last days,
we often encounter trials, setbacks and failures.
But after we experience them,
even though we suffer, we understand God's will.
We see that all the people, things, and matters we encounter are allowed by God,
and all serve to help us grow in life.
God uses these things to try and refine us,
to reveal our corruption, rebellion, and deficiencies,
to make us seek the truth, experience God's word, and grow in life,
and we see that God's work of salvation is very practical.
That's right.
No matter what trial or suffering comes to us,
as long as we pray to God, seek the truth, and seek God's will,
God will enlighten and illuminate us,
and lead us to victory over Satan, and stand witness.
Amen! Thanks be to God!
Sister Qin,
if these things didn't happen to us,
would we clearly see the ugliness of Satan?
What proves to others
that we as believers walk a different path than the non-believers?
How do we testify that we are distinguished as holy from the world?
Now do you understand God's good intentions in letting these things happen?
What is it that the non-believers pursue?
They walk a different path from we believers in God.
Are we able to speak in the same terms? (No.)
That's why living with them is misery and torment.
If you can understand this fact,
you'll know how to treat this issue, how to handle it,
you won't be restrained by it.
As long as we understand the truth, everything is easy to handle.
When we don't know the truth, and indulge the flesh, we are miserable.
The wise choose to practice the truth and obey God.
That way, we can escape our burdens and gain our freedom.
If we don't pursue the truth and still seek the joys of the flesh,
we are in for endless suffering and torment.
There's a line from a hymn that puts it well,
"Without the truth, living is suffering."
That's not wrong at all.
Yes. That's absolutely right.
Brother Xu, you're right.
Really, "When we're caught up, we need to be pulled out."
That's right.
I'm being too emotional.
God knows my deficiencies. He knows my fatal weakness.
God allowed this to happen to me to save me from the constraints of my emotions,
to help me escape from Satan's grasp.
Yes.
This is truly God's love! (Thanks be to God!)
Even though I've had to undergo some pain and refinement, this is a good thing.
I'll start seeking and practicing the truth in this.
Thanks to God.
I understand when you explain it like that.
God's good intentions are in everything.
That's absolutely true.
When something first happens, I don't seek the truth.
But once I do, every problem becomes easy to solve.
Right. That's where we need to improve.
Brother Xu's sermon was wonderful! (Thank God!)
Thank God!
I had no idea how to help Sister Qin experience or resolve her problem,
but after this fellowship, the solution is clear.
So God's intention
was to save us by helping us to escape our desires of the flesh,
to help us find freedom in the truth and live in the presence of God.
Amen.
Understanding the truth is wonderful!
Yeah.
When things happen to us, we really have to seek the truth!
I can fellowship on the truth to help my brothers and sisters resolve their problems.
I have had the reality of some truth,
which means I shouldn't be far from attaining salvation …
Thanks be to God!
Now, let me tell you about my own experience.
OK.
Hello, Brother Xu.
Drying towels?
Yeah.
Did you go to the meeting?
Yes. (And?)
I need help with something.
Sister Guo and Sister Xu have been partnered up for a while,
and they are both very self-righteous, insist on their own opinions,
and rarely listen to others' advice.
They always try to protect their own dignity,
and when their opinions differ, conflicts always occur.
Neither is willing to back down.
They can't fulfill their duties peacefully together.
My understanding of the truth is too shallow,
I was wondering if you could help them resolve their conflict.
Sister Guo and Sister Xu are capable workers,
but they can't forsake the flesh while obeying the truth.
Dispositional problems aren't easy to solve.
I know.
Even if I fellowship with them, I may not be able to help them.
They will have to pursue the truth and experience more of God's judgment and chastisement
to achieve a real change.
But, I can fellowship with them see what I can do.
If there's still no change, and they can't cooperate,
we'll have to separate them. That's the only thing we can do.
It's really hard to solve people's corrupt disposition.
Your solution is a good one.
You really do see things clearly when you understand the truth.
It's only what I've learned from my experience.
Actually, all the problems in the church are simple.
It just depends on how much truth you understand.
When you understand the truth,
you're able to solve more problems.
Brother Xu, I really admire you.
You can rebut all the rumors of the CCP.
You can solve all the problems our brothers and sisters have.
I'm sure you'll attain salvation and enter the kingdom of heaven.
Do you really think I'll enter the kingdom of heaven?
Of course. If you can't enter the kingdom of heaven, none of us can!
Brother Xu, let's go.
Oh, OK.
Brother Xu, I received your letter.
Xiaoxiu is doing well, and she understands things,
so don't worry.
When it comes to your wife, we're doing our best to get information.
The moment we hear something, we'll let you know.
Don't worry. Focus on your duties with the church.
Thanks be to God.
Our meeting today was very fruitful.
It was truly a blessing from God!
Brother Xu, I want to say
I've realized you're like me. We have the same problem.
In our sermons, we both talk about our understanding
but not about real experience.
When we fellowship on God's word,
we rarely talk about the corruption within us or how we understand our satanic nature,
or how we seek truth to solve it and what changes we have made.
That's something we both need to work on.
In our sermons, we only focus on other people,
but we rarely practice the truth.
We supply the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit,
but we don't have any practice.
Our fellowship on the truth to others is clear,
but we have little of our own reality to offer.
This is a problem we both share.
In the past, I used to be like this. I was too focused on work,
for years I believed but with no growth.
My spiritual stature is still very small,
there hasn't been much change in my life disposition.
Working and serving God like this,
it's hard for us to attain salvation and be perfected.
When we believe without gaining the truth,
we're likely to stumble and fall when faced with disaster.
It's only lately that I've realized this problem.
Brother Xu, have you had the same thoughts?
You are right.
I've also been having that feeling lately.
But I didn't put too much stock in it.
I felt like, in my belief,
as long as I can sacrifice, labor, work, and be effective in my duties,
God will be satisfied.
But now that you say it, I realize it's a problem.
Yeah.
Do you really think I'll enter the kingdom of heaven?
Of course. If you can't enter the kingdom of heaven, none of us can!
In our sermons, we only focus on other people,
but we rarely practice the truth.
We supply the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit,
but we don't have any practice.
Our fellowship on the truth to others is clear,
but we have little of our own reality to offer.
Working and serving God like this,
it's hard for us to attain salvation and be perfected.
I was lucky Brother Li pointed it out.
After reading God's word, I realized that was precisely my problem.
How was I any different than the hypocritical Pharisees?
How was I qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven?
Brother Fang, bad news. Something happened.
Brother Xu's wife was murdered by the police in jail.
What? When did this happen?
A few days ago.
The sub-district officer brought the police to Brother Xu's brother's house
to tell him to collect the body.
We have to tell Brother Xu.
Excuse me, that's the Zhaozhuang just up ahead?
Yeah.
What? Killed by the police?
The CCP really is a murderous devil!
How are we going to tell Brother Xu?
How do we tell him?
Brother Xu is back.
You're back.
Hey! Brother Fang! What are you doing here?
I have something to tell you.
Oh.
Is my family alright?
Your wife was killed by the police.
How could this be?
I have to find out.
The police are looking for you. You can't go back.
Our brothers and sisters are taking care of your affairs at home.
Don't worry about that.
God! All these years,
we've been serving You and doing our duties!
How could this happen to us?
Why, God? Why couldn't You protect my wife?
Weren't we acting in accordance with Your will?
Sister Yang, did you hear about what happened to Brother Xu?
We did. We were just talking about that.
I'll go see him when we're done.
Good.
Brother Xu's been through some trials before.
He was arrested by the CCP police and tortured,
but he didn't betray God. He stood firm and testified.
But now, what happened to his wife is no small trial.
I don't know how he'll learn and grow from it …
Brother Xu, do you feel any better?
I never imagined this would happen to my wife.
I can't understand at all. I feel tired and weak.
This would be hard to accept for anyone.
But no matter what,
we can't misunderstand and blame God.
Your wife was persecuted by the CCP.
She'd rather die than betray God or her brothers and sisters.
This is testimony of victory over Satan.
Right.
Think of past prophets and apostle.
How many laid down their lives to spread God's gospel and carry out God's will?
God memorialized their deeds.
Even though their bodies perished, their souls lived on.
God orchestrates all things.
Brother Xu, if you can understand this, you won't feel so miserable.
You have to be strong.
Pray to God and read God's word.
When we understand the truth, there's nothing we can't overcome.
Brother Xu! (Oh, you're here!)
Come in, sit down!
How have you been?
Thanks to God, much better.
Brother Zhou, come in, sit down.
Brother Xu, how are you feeling now? Better?
Better.
Your wife …
Your wife's death must have been difficult to go through.
It's been something that has showed me my spiritual stature.
At first, it was very hard to bear. It was painful I blamed God.
I felt that we had believed in God for years
and had given up everything to serve Him.
So God should have protected us.
How could He let this disaster happen to us?
It didn't make sense to me.
My faith and love for God vanished in an instant.
I had no desire to serve Him.
My heart was filled with darkness …
Afterward, by praying to God and reading God's word,
I began to reflect:
When I enjoyed God's blessings and grace,
I was grateful to God and had the desire to serve.
But when suffering and trials came, I misunderstood blamed God.
I even tried to reason with and oppose God.
Sacrificing and expending like that wasn't really practicing the truth.
It wasn't serving as one of God's creatures, repaying God's love,
it was exchanging my duties for His blessings,
for the peace of my family, for their health and safety.
Expending for God is a good thing,
but it was just my satanic nature's desire for benefits.
I was using my service to God to satisfy my need for blessings.
In essence, I was just trying to make a deal with God.
Doing my duties like that,
wasn't I rebelling against and deceiving God?
Where was my conscience and reason?
I think about how many years I've believed in God,
how many sermons I've given.
I've supplied the Holy Spirit's enlightenment to others,
but I have no entry into the reality of God's word,
and my life disposition hasn't changed at all.
It's really a shame.
This trial revealed something to me.
It exposed that my intentions in serving God were to gain blessings,
and exposed the contamination in my belief.
Believing in God and expending for God like this
doesn't accord with God's will or requirements.
With such contamination in me, how can I ever truly obey God?
Even if I say I love God, it is false.
I don't have any reality of truth.
Since I was expending for God like this without realizing the problem,
God allowed this trial to come.
I needed this experience to happen. I know God was trying to save me.
But my understanding is still too shallow.
Sister Yang, I'd love to hear what you have to say.
Yeah.
It's good you understand it like that. You've learned a lot.
Thank God!
Without the judgment of God's words and the revelations of trials,
it's hard for us to know our own corruption and defects.
We can't see our own practical problems.
We weren't even aware that the way we served God was corrupt.
Yeah.
We worked for God purely based on our own notions and imaginings.
We even thought that as long as we don't betray the law, judge God, resist God, or sin,
that if we do some good deeds, if we give sermons,
it means we understand the truth, attained salvation and can enter the kingdom of heaven.
In the past, when I believed in the Lord, I had the same problem.
But after I believed in Almighty God
and experienced the judgment of God's words.
I saw the truth of how deeply I was corrupted by Satan.
I was arrogant deceitful and greedy.
These satanic dispositions were rooted deep in my heart.
They had become my life and controlled my thoughts.
They caused me to regularly rebel against and resist God against my will.
That's when I realized the necessity of God's judgment and chastisement in the last days.
Without God's judgment and chastisement, even if God forgives our sins,
we still belong to Satan and resist God.
We will never gain God's approval.
So true.
Let's listen to a few passages of Almighty God's word.
Yes.
It feels as if God's word has pierced my heart with His judgment.
The corruption exposed in these words is my true state.
We are all this way,
God's word reveals what's truly in our nature.
Let's read two more passages.
Brother Xu, you read.
OK.
Alright. Let's stop here for now.
God's word reveals the contamination, the problem with belief,
our desire to gain blessings, and our satanic natures and dispositions
that often lead us to sin.
Impossible not to be convinced! (Yes.)
God's word is indeed the truth!
Amen.
Even though, when we believe in the Lord,
our sins are forgiven and we return to God's presence,
it doesn't resolve our satanic dispositions,
and our nature is still to resist God.
When trials and refinements come that threaten our vital interests,
we still against our own will, blame, judge, and resist God,
and even deny and betray God.
Even if such people's sins are forgiven, are they gained by God?
Have they gained God's approval?
When we believe in the Lord, no one can see this clearly.
So true.
After I believed in Almighty God,
and experienced trials, refinement, pruning, and dealing,
and understood some truth, I was able to see this.
When I first believed in Almighty God,
I gave up everything to perform duties in the church,
and was chosen to be a church leader,
but my self-righteousness made me arbitrary in my duty.
I couldn't accept pruning.
I ended up disrupting the work of the church and I was dismissed.
I nearly fell apart.
It was really hard after all my years of belief,
after being a church leader, church elder,
someone my superiors trusted, my brothers and sisters looked up to.
To be removed?
How could I face my brothers and sisters?
I suffered while preforming my duties for God,
now my reputation and status were gone.
Where would I go from here?
What was the point of doing my duties and believing in God?
In my heart, I blamed God, argued with Him and opposed Him.
I was constantly acting rebellious and resistant to God.
But these statements from God convinced me
They are absolutely true.
This is really what people are like.
That's right.
No matter how passionately we corrupt humans serve God,
no matter how many good deeds we do,
how many sermons we give, or how hard we work,
without experiencing God's judgment and purification,
we still belong to Satan.
The moment things get tough or the environment allows,
our satanic nature acts up immediately.
We start blaming and judging God, or even betray God.
This is our true state.
God is holy and righteous.
Only by escaping our satanic dispositions
can we truly obey and fear God
and enter the kingdom of heaven.
People like us who still haven't had their satanic disposition purified
are not able to enter the kingdom of heaven.
After experiencing God's judgment I understood some truth.
Now I know how my satanic nature betrays God.
I found that I have way too many satanic dispositions within.
Almost like I am not a real person.
I was far from meeting God's requirements.
That's when my view on belief in God began to change,
and I focused on pursuing the truth,
using God's word to understand the satanic nature within me
and how it makes me corrupt,
learning to forsake the flesh and live in a way that God approves of.
Slowly, my satanic disposition began to be purified
and I became more obedient to God.
Thanks be to God!
I genuinely experienced
the depth of my corruption by Satan.
I was resistant to God,
I needed God's judgment and refinement.
I needed God's salvation.
Now I'm willing to endure anything to gain the truth.
Nothing is more important.
Amen!
Thank God. This was a useful sermon.
Sure was.
Without the revelations of refinement and the judgment of God's word,
it would be impossible to understand our satanic nature
and very hard to clearly see what our essence is.
It's impossible to see how much faith we really have in God,
how much we obey God,
under what circumstances
we'd betray Him and whether we belong to God or to Satan.
Yeah.
Today's fellowship makes me see
that in the past, our belief was greed for God's grace.
We only served God to satisfy our own conscience,
and our faith is still contaminated by so many individual desires, hopes, and demands.
These demands are hidden deep in our heart.
They run deeper than sin and are the root cause of our resistance to God.
We live under the control of these satanic dispositions.
How can we say that we're freed of Satan's influence and saved?
Yes, we rebel against God.
We are unqualified to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Attaining salvation isn't an easy thing to do.
Accepting Almighty God's work in the last days isn't enough.
If we believe in God but don't experience God's judgment.
Our satanic disposition will remain
and we won't enter the kingdom of heaven.
Thinking back on it,
we thought that being saved once was the same as eternal salvation,
and we could enter the kingdom of heaven.
That was naive and ridiculous.
Those were just ideas man came up with.
If we hadn't accepted God's work in the last days,
we would never understand what true salvation means or how to attain it.
Religious people who believe in the Lord still believe
that being forgiven for your sins means you are saved,
and they are simply waiting for the Lord to raise them up to the kingdom of heaven.
They don't know what real salvation is
or understand God's righteous disposition,
or know who is qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven.
With confused faith like that they are just believing in vain.
It's such a shame!
Before we who believe in Almighty God obtain the truth,
we're on the brink of disaster.
When trials come,
we still complain and rebel against God,
we still haven't been truly purified or attained salvation.
Religious people think they can enter God's kingdom
without accepting God's judgment in the last days.
That's so unrealistic.
Yes, it is.
In the past, I was just like them waiting to get into the kingdom of heaven.
Thinking back, I realize it was a pipe dream.
But weren't we all like that?
Thanks be to God!
After hearing everyone's fellowship, I see things more clearly.
Thanks be to God!
In my years of belief,
I served God, suffered and paid a price.
I've fellowshiped with others to solve problems.
After I was tortured by the CCP, I did not deny God.
After that, I did my duty as usual.
So I thought I had the reality of the truth
and my life disposition had been changed,
I thought I had truly been saved,
that I would definitely enter the kingdom of heaven.
But my wife's death exposed me.
All I had learned over the years was just spiritual doctrine.
I learned to work hard and do some good deeds,
but my natures to be arrogant, self-righteous, to lie, sin and deceive
were still rooted deep inside me.
There was no purification or change.
When this big trial came,
I still complained and blamed God,
which proves that I can still rebel against and resist God.
I'm still not obedient to God.
I had only changed my actions and not my life disposition.
How can I say that I am any different than the hypocritical Pharisees?
Only after experiencing God's judgment, chastisement, trial, and refinement
could I see clearly
that forgiveness of my sins was not true salvation,
and I did not qualify to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Only by experiencing God's judgment, chastisement, trial, and refinement
can the sinful nature and satanic disposition rooted deep in man be completely purified.
Only through such experience can people understand the truth and know God
and become someone who follows God's will.
Only these people are qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven!