How can you pursue the truth so that you are not taken in by lies? What are the principles of practice? (1)

Relevant Words of God:

My words represent Me, Myself. Remember this! Do not have doubts; you absolutely must be certain. This is a matter of life and death! This is a terrible thing! As soon as My words are spoken, what I want to do has come to pass.

from “Chapter 77” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Right now, the path taken by the Holy Spirit is God’s current word. So, for one who wishes to walk on the path taken by the Holy Spirit, he must obey as well as eat and drink of the current word of God incarnate. He is doing the work of the word, and everything takes its starting point from His word, and everything is established on the basis of His word, His current word. Whether it is to put an end to all doubts about the incarnate God or to know Him, one should put more effort into His word. Otherwise, humanity will accomplish nothing and be left with nothing. Only by building on the foundation of eating and drinking God’s word, and thereby coming to know Him and to satisfy Him, can one gradually build a proper relationship with Him. Eating and drinking God’s word and putting it into practice is for man the best way of collaborating with God, and it is the kind of practice that they can best stand firm in their testimony as His people. When one understands and is able to obey the essence of God’s current word, he is living on the path on which he is guided by the Holy Spirit and has entered upon the right track by which God perfects man. It used to be that people would, as they sought grace, or peace and joy, be able to obtain God’s work. It is different now. If they do not have the word of the incarnate God, if they do not have the reality of His word, they will not be able to gain approval from God, and they will be eliminated by God.

from “Those Whose Disposition Has Changed Are Those Who Have Entered Into the Reality of God’s Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You must come to know the vision of God’s work and grasp the general direction of His work. This is entry in a positive way. Once you accurately master the truths of the vision, your entry will be secure; no matter how His work changes, you will remain steadfast in your heart, be clear about the vision, and you will have a goal for your entry and your pursuit. In such manner, all the experience and knowledge within you will grow deeper and become more refined. Once you have grasped the bigger picture in its entirety, you will suffer no losses in life, and you shall not be lost. If you do not come to know these steps of work, you shall suffer loss at each of them. You cannot turn around in just a few days, and you will not be able to set upon the right track in even a few weeks. Is this not setting you back? There is much of entry in a positive manner and such practices that you must master, and so too must you grasp several points on the vision of His work, such as the significance of His work of conquest, the path to being made perfect in the future, what must be achieved through experience of trials and tribulations, the significance of judgment and chastisement, the principles of the work of the Holy Spirit, and the principles of perfection and of conquest. These are all truths of the vision. The rest are the three stages of work of the Age of Law, the Age of Grace, and the Age of Kingdom, as well as future testimony. These too are truths pertaining to the vision, and are the most fundamental, as well as most crucial.

from “The Difference Between the Ministry of the Incarnate God and the Duty of Man” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You must understand the truths of the visionary aspect, and as for the truths relating to practice, you need to find the appropriate paths of practice once you have understood them; you need to practice according to the words, and enter in according to your conditions. Visions are the foundation, and if you pay no attention to this, you will not be able to follow to the very end. As you experience this way, you will either go astray or fall down and fail. There will be no way to succeed! People who do not have great visions as their foundation can only fail and not succeed. You cannot stand firm! …

When a person has visions he has a foundation. When you practice on the basis of this foundation, it will be much easier to enter in. This way you will have no misgivings on the basis of entering in, and it will be very easy for you to enter in. This aspect of understanding visions, of understanding the work is the key. You must be equipped with this aspect. If you are not equipped with this aspect of the truth, and only talk about the paths of practice, this is a huge defect. I have discovered that many of you do not emphasize this aspect, and when you listen to this aspect of truth it’s just like listening to doctrinal words. One day you will stand to lose. There are some words now that you do not understand and have not assimilated; in this case you should seek patiently, and the day will come when you understand. Become equipped little by little. Even if you understand only a few spiritual doctrines, it is better than paying no attention to them. It is better than understanding none at all. This is all helpful to your entry, and will clear away those doubts of yours. It is better than your being filled with notions. It is much better to have these visions as a foundation. With no misgivings whatsoever, it is possible to enter in with a strut and a swagger. Why bother always confusedly following in a doubtful way?

from “You Must Understand the Work; Don’t Follow Confusedly!” in 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!

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

Sermon and Fellowship Excerpts for Reference:

Watering new believers so they can quickly establish a firm foundation on the true way and enter the right track in their faith is the most fundamental and core work of God’s house. The truths that new believers must be watered with include: the truth of the three stages of God’s work; the truth of God’s incarnation; the truth of God’s names; the truth of the differences between God’s work and man’s work; the truth of discerning the true Christ from false Christs; the truth of knowing the work of the Holy Spirit and discerning the work of the evil spirits; the truth of bringing God’s words into real life; and the truth of being an honest person, etc. Water these truths deep into the hearts of all those who have just accepted God’s work so they can lay good foundations. This can ensure that they will be able to stand firm on the true way and not betray or deny God no matter what disturbances, deception, or attacks they may encounter from satanic demons. Only when one’s work achieves this result does he serve God in accordance with His will and genuinely do God’s will.

from “Nurturing and Providing for New Believers Is the Top Priority of the Church’s Work” in Selected Annals of the Work Arrangements of The Church of Almighty God

Isn’t it very easy for people to have conceptions on and opinions about God when Satan spreads rumors? If so, how do we solve it? First, we must read God’s words more. The consequences of negative propaganda are doubt in God, the truth and God’s words. Therefore, you must read God’s words more, communicate the truth more, and listen to more sermons. That way you can fight off the influence and harm of Satan’s heresies and fallacies. For example, people that want to be healthy should eat more and exercise more. Diseases will continually attack and torture you. If you eat more, that is, eat things that help your immune system, you will be healthy. Moreover, when you do physical exercise, the diseases will run away. At first, people have no truth and have no power to resist. Therefore, they are vulnerable to negative propaganda. Even if they want to push it away or rid themselves of it, they can’t. If you communicate more, read more of God’s words, ponder over the words of God more, listen to more sermons, you will understand more truths. Satan’s lies and rumors will fall apart on their own and will not affect you. It is so important to read the words of God more and ponder over His words more. Do not doubt God’s words or the truth. If you do not doubt them, Satan’s lies and negative propaganda will not shake your confidence. If you ever start to doubt the voice of God or the truths expressed by Christ, your confidence will completely collapse, and you’ll be broken down by Satan. Therefore, when you start building the foundation you must read the words of God more and ponder over all the truths He has issued during His work of judgment. If you ponder over and understand some truths from God’s words, Satan’s rumors will not shake you. How many of the truths that God issued during His work of judgment in the last days have you understood? How many have you obtained? Can you sum up 50 or 100 of them? You shouldn’t just summarize the main aspects. There are too many details contained within each one. If you can summarize 50 or 100 pieces of truths, then you’ll be completely certain about and obedient to Christ. If you don’t understand enough truths, that won’t do.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, Volume 138

God sets this kind of environment up for us: The great red dragon spreads all kinds of rumors, persecutes us and brings harm to us. All kinds of fallacies and deceptions fly about in the religious communities. How should you pursue the truth so that you are compatible with Christ? If you’re not advancing down this path, you’re retreating. There’s no other choice. If you pursue the truth and break free from Satan’s influence, Satan won’t be able to hurt you anymore. If you do not pursue the truth, you will be handed over to Satan in the end. If you do not gain the truth, you will die in the end, and you will die in the same way non-believers do. When people experience God’s work, they must have several principles. First, when you have your own conceptions, you must remain sure that God’s words are the truth and that the incarnation is the manifestation of God. You must know that no matter what God does, He is always the truth; He is always righteous! You must be certain about this first. If you are certain about this fact, then conceptions will not be able to beat you. You have your own protection. Second, do not talk about your own reasons or trust your own feelings. You must be clear about this fact: You cannot trust your notions and imaginings, and you are nothing. Everything you think is wrong! Everything you feel is wrong! All your own reasons are ridiculous! By doing so, you can completely deny and forsake yourself. This is the second principle. Third, do not believe man’s nonsense. Anyone who has not been made perfect by God does not have the truth, and many of the things they say are specious, are their own conceptions, imaginings, or doctrines. Do not listen to them; do not be deceived by them. Only believe in God’s words. That is correct. This is the third principle. Fourth, the more conceptions one has, and the more he tries to reason with God, the more it proves that he is arrogant and conceited, self-righteous and self-important. The more arrogant and conceited he is, having conceptions against God and reasoning with God, the more it proves that he is of Satan, the devil. You must remember this principle. Whenever you start to have your own conceptions, you should think, “Now I’m being too arrogant and conceited!” When you start talking about your own excuses, you should tell yourself, “I am the devil Satan because I can’t obey God! Only devils and Satan always find excuses for themselves.” At this time, you’ll hate yourself. If you hate yourself, you’ll be able to forsake yourself and stand on the side of God. What do you think of these four principles? Are they useful? Every person can be helped by practically applying these principles. It’s only beneficial; there’s no harm in it. If you do not have these four principles, the very minute you start having conceptions, you’re vulnerable to collapse and being knocked down, unable to stand up. Sometimes, you will need some days to recover. There is danger in this, the danger of betrayal. … There are some more detailed things which you also need some principles to solve. First, sometimes when you have conceptions in your heart, you should select a few paragraphs of God’s words to read and ponder. Then your heart will definitely be enlightened and you will no longer be attacked by your own conceptions. This is a little tip. Second, when a problem happens and you’re perplexed and don’t know what to do, what should you do? Pray more. Pray to God a few times, seeking the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. When you come before God and say something sincerely, you will feel like your problem has eased quite a bit. An inner light will shine, and you’ll feel like it’s not that big of a problem after all. If you go before God and say a few words, it will be very different than not saying anything at all. If you don’t pray, your insides will be like dead water. If you pray, this water will start to stir. It will be different, and things will change. Third, when you have no other way to turn, seek the truth. Talk with others that understand the truth. Don’t suffer in silence. Do not allow yourself to stay trapped in a dark corner. Open your heart and talk to the brothers and sisters that understand the truth. Communicate your experiences with each other. This will give you a lot of enlightenment and make you feel like you have a way forward. Perhaps some of the brothers and sisters have experienced this issue before and can help you solve your problems immediately. This is the third principle, and is a little tip on spiritual experience which never fails. Fourth, when you encounter major problems which are hard to solve, do not worry or make any decision in haste. Wait for God’s time. If you pray a few times, perhaps after praying for a while you’ll gain some enlightenment. You’ll seem to get a grasp of the situation and understand the way forward. So wait for God, and do not make any decision in haste! If you become nervous, make blind decisions or jump to a conclusion, when you understand God’s intention, it will be too late to regret. The toothpaste is already out of the tube.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, Volume 138

Source The Interne