God’s kingdom has come on earth; God’s person is full and rich. Who can stand still and not rejoice? Who can stand still and not dance? Oh Zion, raise your banner of victory to celebrate for God. Sing your song of victory to spread His holy name over the world. Countless people praise God with joy, countless voices exalt His name. Look at His awesome deeds; now His kingdom on earth has come.
All things on earth, make yourselves clean; come and make offerings to God. Stars, return to your nest in the sky, show God’s might in the heavens above. On earth voices rise up and sing, pouring out infinite love and boundless reverence to God. He attently listens to them. Countless people praise God with joy, countless voices exalt His name. Look at His awesome deeds; now His kingdom on earth has come.
On that day all things are revived, God in person comes to the earth. Flowers burst out in joyful bloom, birds sing and all things rejoice. See the kingdom of Satan fall as the salute of God’s kingdom sounds, trampled down, never to rise again, drowned beneath the anthem of praise. Countless people praise God with joy (with joy), countless voices exalt His name (His name). Look at His awesome deeds; now His kingdom on earth has come.
Who on earth dare rise to resist? When God stands among men, He’s brought His wrath and all disasters to earth. The world has become God’s kingdom. Clouds roll and toss in the skies, lakes and streams stir up a merry tune. Resting animals leave their caves, and man is awakened from their dreams. Now that longed-for day has arrived and all honor God with their songs, the most beautiful songs of all time. Countless people praise God with joy (with joy), countless voices exalt His name (His name). Look at His awesome deeds; now His kingdom on earth has come.
Are you done singing? Did you all sing along? “… all honor God with their songs, the most beautiful songs of all time.” What do you think about every time you sing this song? Tell Me. (We feel excited.) What else besides feeling excited? (Thrilled.) What else do you think of, besides feeling thrilled? Do you feel any kind of yearning or do you imagine anything? (I think of the beauty of the kingdom.) So have you ever thought about what man should do if they want to enter into this kind of beautiful place? Are there any among you who have sung The Kingdom Anthem and felt so moved that you cried? (Yes.) And what did you think of while you cried? (I thought how glorious it will be when the kingdom is realized, and how man and God can be together forever.) So has anyone thought of what man will become when he is together with God? How will God treat man? What must man be like in order to be together with God? Say whatever you like, let’s just have a chat about it. What do you imagine man should become? Taking all God’s requirements into consideration, what should man become in order to enjoy the final glorious life of the kingdom together with God? (Their disposition must change.) To what extent must it change? What must man become? (They must become holy.) What are the criteria for holiness? (One’s thoughts should be compatible with Christ.) How is this compatibility expressed? (Not defying God and not betraying God, but being able to obey absolutely and having a God-revering heart.) What some of you have said is near the mark. Open your hearts and say whatever it is your hearts want to say. (The criteria for being made perfect by God are: being of one mind with God, no longer defying God and being able to know oneself, practice the truth and know God so as to love Him and be compatible with Him. It’s possible once these criteria are met.) (It’s for man’s views on things to be compatible with God and for them to be able to break away from the influence of darkness. The most basic criteria are to not be used by Satan, for one’s views on things to be compatible with God, to cast off one’s corrupt disposition and to be able to obey God. I think this point is crucial. If man cannot break away from the influence of darkness or cast off the bonds of Satan, then they still have not achieved God’s salvation.) Anything else? (No.) Do you think this is an important matter? (Yes.) If it’s so important, how can you be finished talking about it after just a few words? Or do you think it’s enough to talk about it in a few general terms? Who will say more? (It’s to not be restrained by the influence of darkness and also to have discernment of people, matters and things and to not be deceived; it’s to be faithful to one’s duty and to prepare enough good deeds.) Have you yourselves specifically practiced these things and these subjects you’ve mentioned? Does every single person have their own standard of practice or scope of practice? (Those who live together with God in the kingdom should be those who do their duty, who do their duty faithfully, on the basis of their pursuit for the truth and their ability to not suffer the restraints of any man, matter or thing in any situation, who can then break away from the influence of darkness, whose hearts can be compatible with God and shun evil, and who can have a God-revering heart.)
Hearing you all speak this way, it seems you all have some ideas about the way you should keep to, and you have some knowledge or understanding. But is everything you’ve said empty to you? Or is it very real? This question depends on what you focus on in your day-to-day practice. What we’ve just said is chit-chat. You’ve only just sat down, so it was to get your hearts ready. But hearing you speak like this, it seems that in the last few years you have reaped a harvest from all aspects of the truth, whether it be in doctrine or in the content of the truth, and this proves that people nowadays place great emphasis on striving for the truth, and that all aspects and all items of the truth have most certainly taken root in some people’s hearts. But what is it that I fear the most? It is that, though these subjects on the truth and these theories have taken root in your hearts, how much real content is there in your hearts? How much weight does it carry? When things happen to you and you face trials and choices, how much will you be able to put the reality of these truths to good use? Will they be able to help you weather the storm, emerge from trials and satisfy God’s will, and stand firm in the midst of trials and give resounding testimony for God? Have you ever concerned yourselves with these matters? I ask you: In your hearts, in all the things you think of every day, have you ever summed up which things are most important to you? Which things are most important to you? Some people say it is of course practicing the truth; some people say it is of course reading God’s words every day; some people say that it is of course coming before God every day to pray to Him; then there are some who say they of course think of doing their daily duty well; or they say they only think of being able to satisfy God in all things, they only think of being able to obey God in all things and act in harmony with God’s will. Is this the case? Is this all there is? (It’s not all, but just some among them. For example, I think only of how to do my duty well every day.) You just think of doing your duty well, but have there been times when you’ve only thought of doing your duty well but you haven’t done it well? (Yes.) So why is this? Some people say, “I think only of obeying God, with the result that, when something happens I still really can’t obey.” Some people say, “I only want to satisfy God. Even if I could satisfy Him just once, that would be fine, but I can never satisfy Him.” Then some people say, “I only want to obey God, and when trials befall I only want to submit to His orchestrations without a word of complaint, making no demands of any kind, wanting only to submit to God’s orchestrations and obey God’s sovereignty and arrangements. But no matter how I try, I can’t stay obedient and I fail almost every time.” Then there are some who say, “When I am faced with making a choice, I can never choose practicing the truth. I always choose to satisfy my flesh and satisfy my own selfish desires.” Why is this? Haven’t you challenged yourselves many times, and tried and tested yourselves many times? Before God’s test comes, test yourself and see whether or not you really can obey God, satisfy God, not betray God, not satisfy yourself, not satisfy your own selfish desires, and not make a choice for yourself—does anyone do this? Actually, though you don’t say a word, there is only one fact that has been placed before your eyes. What fact is that? It is something that every single person is most concerned about and that you most want to know, and it is something in your subconscious that you have perhaps never been aware of. The thing that every single person is most concerned about is your end, the thing you are most concerned about is your destination, and this is undeniable, isn’t it? I know that some people have read up many times on this aspect of the truth, this aspect of God’s words that concerns people’s ends, that concerns God’s promise to man and what kind of destination God will bring man into; some people go searching here and there and in the end still get nowhere, or they may perhaps get an inconclusive result and still be unable to confirm exactly what kind of end they will have. In the course of their accepting fellowship about the truth and accepting the church life, they always want to know the definitive answer to these questions: What exactly will their end be? Will they be able to reach the path’s end? And exactly what attitude does God take to man? Or some people are worried, saying, “I have done some things before, said some things before, I have rebelled against God, I have done some things that betrayed God, there have been some things where I haven’t been able to satisfy God, where I’ve hurt God’s heart and caused Him to be disappointed in me, and caused Him to hate and detest me. Perhaps my end is unknown!” It can be said that a majority of people are on tenterhooks in their hearts about their own ends. No one says, “I am one hundred percent certain that I will be someone who will remain; I am one hundred percent certain that I can satisfy God’s will, that I am someone who is after God’s heart and who is praised by God.” Particularly to those who think the truth is extremely difficult to practice, who think that God’s way is extremely difficult to follow, who think that practicing the truth is the hardest thing, they believe themselves to be beyond redemption, or they believe that there is no way they can satisfy God’s will, no way they can be someone who will remain. That is, they believe they will not have an end, and be unable to attain a good destination. No matter what people think, everyone calculates what their end will be many times over, calculating and making plans for their own futures, for what will come after, and for what they will gain when God’s work is finished. Some people pay the price; some abandon their homes and businesses; some people say they choose not to get married; some people say they choose to resign; some people choose to leave their families to do their duty; some people say they choose to endure hardships and work hard, taking on themselves the hardest, most tiring jobs and doing their duty well; some people say they choose to donate money, donating every penny; still some people say they choose to pray to God at all times and in all things, asking God to be with them. Regardless of what you choose as the method of your practice, is the method important? (No.) How do you explain this “No”? Why do you say it isn’t important? What is the cause behind this? Speak your reasons. If the method is unimportant, what is important? (Outward behaviors do not represent that someone is practicing the truth.) (How everyone thinks is unimportant. The key thing is whether or not we practice the truth, and whether or not we love God.) (Outward behaviors are not the most important, as we have seen some antichrists and false leaders fall, and on the outside they appeared to have abandoned a great deal and could practice the truth. But when in the end they were dissected, we could see that they simply didn’t have God-revering hearts, and at crucial times they always stood on the side of Satan and disturbed the work of God’s family. So the main thing is to see what side we stand on when things happen, and to see what our views on things are like.) You have all spoken very well, proving that you have some standards in your hearts when it comes to practicing the truth, and when it comes to God’s will and God’s requirements of you, and that you have in your hearts some basis for these things. Your answer at the beginning was “No” and then you explained your reasons, and I am very moved that you are able to speak this way. Although some things you say are not quite apt, your statements are already nearing an explanation worthy of the truth. This proves that you have some genuine knowledge of the people, matters and things around you, the environments God arranges and the things you see with your own eyes; you’re close to knowing the truth. Although what you’ve said doesn’t cover everything, and some things aren’t very apt, the knowledge you have in your hearts is getting very close to the reality of the truth. I feel very moved to hear you speak like this.
Some people can endure hardships, work hard, pay the price, they show good behavior on the outside and are well-respected, and others give them the thumbs up and admire them—tell Me, what kind of behavior is this? Can these types of outward behavior be considered as practicing the truth? Can they be defined as satisfying God’s will? (No.) But why do people, when they see people like this, always believe them to be satisfying God, believe them to be walking the path of practicing the truth and following God’s way? Why do some people believe this? There is only one explanation; what is this explanation? It is that many people’s hearts are still unclear about what practicing the truth is, what satisfying God is and what it is to genuinely possess the reality of the truth. Therefore, there are some who always get deceived by others who appear spiritual and noble, and who appear to be great people, and they are not discerning toward people who appear on the surface to be able to speak letters and doctrines, and who gain admiration through their outward speech and actions. They never look to see what the essence of these others’ deeds is, what principles they employ in their actions, what the aim of their deeds is, whether or not they truly obey God and whether or not they are truly people who fear God and shun evil. They are never discerning toward these people, but instead all the while they are getting acquainted with them, they gradually admire them and venerate them more and more, in the end taking them as their idols. What is the cause that brings about this kind of phenomenon? And furthermore, in their eyes some people see only these people—these people they believe to be their idols, these people they believe to have abandoned their homes and businesses and who appear to be able to pay the price—they see only them as people who truly satisfy God, who really have a good end and a good destination, and as people who are praised by God. What is the essence of this matter, when people can have this kind of belief? What is the resulting consequence of this matter? First let us say what the essence of this matter is. Concerning people’s views, the way people practice, the principles of practice that people adopt, and what every person focuses on ordinarily—whether they focus deeply or lightly, or focus on letters and doctrines or on reality—whatever aspect they focus on, what is the principle that people should keep to the most? Do you know? What is it that you should most know? Some people may say that the thing we should most know is God’s will, that the thing we should most know is how to obey God and how to satisfy God. But do you genuinely know what God’s will is? Some people say that God’s will is within His words, and that everything God says is His will. This is a rather general thing to say. People have some ignorant ways of doing things and looking at things, or they have one-sided ways of looking at things or practicing, and this has only one source; I shall tell you today what this is. Where does the reason for this lie? Although people follow God, read His words and pray to God every day, in fact they simply don’t understand His will. Is this not the case? If people understood His heart, understood what He likes, what He hates, what He wants to gain, what He casts aside, what kind of people He loves, what kind of people He doesn’t love, what kind of standards He uses to lay requirements on people, what method He uses to perfect people—if people understood all this, would they still have their own individual thoughts? Would they still arbitrarily worship someone else? Would they still regard an ordinary person as their idol? If they understood God’s will, they would get closer to rationality and have some sense about how they see others. They wouldn’t arbitrarily regard a corrupt person as their idol, and nor would they hold to some simple rules and principles on the path of practicing the truth.
Let’s get back on topic. Since everyone is concerned with their own end, do you know how God determines people’s ends? What method does God use to determine a person’s end? And what standards does God use to do this? Before a person’s end has been fixed, how does God work on them in order to finally determine their end? Does anyone know this? As I said just now, there are some people who have researched God’s words for a long time to see what people’s ends will be, what categories people’s ends fall into, what the different ends for people are, how people’s ends are determined within God’s words and what standards, what methods are employed to determine a person’s end; in the end, however, they get nowhere. In fact, in God’s words there is just a little said about it, there is not much at all. Why is this? Before people’s ends are revealed, God does not wish to tell anyone their final outcome, nor does He wish to tell them prematurely what kind of destination awaits them, for to do this would bring them no benefit. I now only want to tell people what? I want to tell people what method God uses to determine people’s ends, and what work principles He employs to determine people’s ends and to reveal their ends; I want to tell you what standards He employs to determine whether you will remain or not remain, or whether you will have some other end. Isn’t this something that most concerns you? (Yes.) It concerns you a lot, doesn’t it? So how in human conceptions does God determine people’s ends? Many of you said some of it just now—some people said it was to do their duty faithfully and expend themselves; some said it was being able to obey God and satisfy God; some said it was submitting to God’s orchestrations; and then some said it was being able to live an unassuming life. When you are practicing these truths, when you are practicing in accordance with the principles that you believe in, do you know what God is thinking? Have you ever before considered whether or not you are satisfying God’s will by doing what you do? Do your actions cater to God’s needs? Do they cater to God’s requirements? I think most people don’t think of these things. They just take a section of God’s words, a portion of the sermons, or the standards of certain spiritual people they believe in and they apply them mechanically, just doing things this way and acting this way, regardless of the final outcome. They believe they are correct to do things this way, so they always keep to this kind of path and they keep doing things in this way. And what do some people believe? “I’ve believed for so many years and I have always practiced in this way. I feel I have satisfied God a great deal and have gained a lot, because during this time I have understood many truths and have understood many things I did not understand before. In particular, my thoughts and views have been greatly transformed, and I have come to know a great deal about the value of life and about this world.” They think this is the harvest, and that this is the result God wants to achieve with people. Taken together with what each of you practices, do these standards satisfy God’s will? Some people say: “Of course they do! Because we practice on the basis of God’s words, because we practice in accordance with the sermons and fellowship of the brother, and because we are always doing our duty, always following God and we have never once left God, we can be confident and say boldly that we are satisfying God. No matter how much we comprehend God’s will, no matter how much we understand God’s will, we are now on the way of seeking to become compatible with God. If we do right, if we act correctly, then the outcome will certainly be right.” What do you think of this viewpoint? Is it correct? Maybe some people will say: “I’ve never thought about these things before. I only think that I always do my duty like this, I always act in accordance with the requirements of God’s words, so that I will be able to remain. I’ve never considered whether or not I’m able to satisfy God’s heart, nor have I ever considered whether or not I have met God’s required standards, as God has never told me, nor has He ever pointed it out to me clearly. So I’ve always done it this way, and when I am doing it I believe that God is with me. Doing it this way, practicing this way, I believe that I am satisfying God, that God should be satisfied, and that He shouldn’t require anything further.” Are these thoughts correct? It seems to Me that you are being a little blind by practicing in this way and having this kind of view. I say this and some of you may well feel downhearted: “Blind? If we are being blind, then doesn’t our hope for being saved and our hope to remain become very slim and vague? Aren’t You pouring cold water on us by saying this?” No matter what you may think, that which I say and do is not meant to pour cold water on you, but rather to make you better understand God’s will, better comprehend what God is thinking, what He means to do, what kind of people He likes, what He hates, what He loathes, what kind of people He wants to gain, and what kind of people He doesn’t want to gain but detests and rejects. I only want you to know these things, to know absolutely clearly and plainly exactly how far your actions and thoughts have strayed from God’s required standards. Isn’t it necessary to talk about these topics? (Yes.) Because I know that, having believed for such a long time, and listened to so many sermons, these are the things you most lack. You have recorded all the truths in your notebooks, and kept some essential truths and some things you believe to be very important in both your minds and in your hearts, and you plan to take these things and use them to satisfy God when you are to practice, use them when rainy days come, or you use them to help you get through each difficulty you face, or you let them be your companions through life. But as far as I’m concerned, regardless of how you do it, if you are just doing it, this is not so important. What is important? What’s important is that when you are practicing you should know clearly in your heart whether or not what you do and how you behave is what God wants, and whether or not what you do, what you think, what you aim for and the result you mean to achieve in your heart satisfy God’s will and cater to God’s requirements, and you should know clearly whether or not God approves them. This comes down to an issue, and you should all take note of one saying. I Myself believe this saying to be very important, as it comes to My mind countless times every day. Why do I say this? Because every time I encounter someone’s deeds, every time I listen to someone’s story, every time I listen to someone’s experiences or their testimony, I measure in My heart whether or not this person is someone whom God has said He wants and likes. So what exactly is this saying? You all have a wait-and-see attitude, all waiting. But when this saying is spoken aloud you may perhaps feel disappointed, for there are certain people who have paid it lip service for many years. But I haven’t ever paid it lip service; where do I keep this saying? I keep it in My heart. To make it easier for you to remember this saying clearly, I have added punctuation to it. And what is this saying? The saying is “Follow the way of God: Fear God and shun evil.” It’s a very simple saying, isn’t it? Although it is simple, those who genuinely have a deep understanding of it will feel that it carries much weight and that it is of great value to their practice, and they will feel that it is the language of life and that it is also highly practical. So do you think this saying is the truth? Some people will be thinking about it, yet some will have their doubts about this saying and will say, “Is this saying very important? Is it really necessary to emphasize this saying so much?” And perhaps some people won’t like this saying, because they believe that to regard the way of God as being just this one saying is far too simple. By taking everything God has said and boiling it all down to just this one saying, they believe this is seeing God as too insignificant. Is this the case? The majority of you will perhaps not entirely understand the profound meaning of this saying. Although you have taken note of it, you don’t plan on keeping it in your hearts; you just jot it down in your notebooks, take it out to read through in your free time and just mull it over for a while, and some people are not even planning on applying it at all. But why do I say this saying? Regardless of your views and regardless of what you think about it, this saying is of great relevance to God’s determination of people’s ends, so I must needs say it to you. No matter what your current understanding of this saying is or how you approach it, I will still tell you that if you can practice this saying well and achieve the standard of fearing God and shunning evil, you will then have a very good end and will surely be someone who will remain, someone who will have a good end. If you cannot live up to this saying, then I can say that your end will be unknown. Therefore, first of all I tell you this saying for your own mental preparation and so that you know what kind of standards God uses to measure you. This saying is right here and you have all taken note of it. But as I said just now, this saying is extremely relevant to God saving mankind and to how He determines people’s ends. How is it relevant? You really want to know this too. Let’s talk about how this is relevant today.
From Records of Christ’s Talks
Eastern Lightning, the Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.
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