Almighty God says, "Knowing the work of God is no simple matter: You should have standards and an objective in your pursuit, you should know how to seek the true way, and how to measure whether or not it is the true way, and whether or not it is the work of God. What is the most basic principle in seeking the true way? You have to look at whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit, whether or not these words are the expression of the truth, who is testified to, and what it can bring you. Distinguishing between the true way and the false way requires several aspects of basic knowledge, the most fundamental of which is to tell whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit."
Recently, my mother’s health has not been good. It is not very convenient for her to leave the house. Our church leader was afraid that this would interfere with her attending meetings. As a result, he asked me to have meetings with my mother at home. Even though I did not say anything when I heard him say this, inside, I was not very happy. In a flash, the unhappy incidences between my mother and me that occurred in the past appeared in my mind like scenes from a movie.
My mother is old now and her memory is poor. She is often forgetful when she does things. Sometimes, she forgets what I told her to do and thus, I have to repeatedly remind her. I am a very neat and tidy person, yet, I do have quite a temper. My mother is a relatively sloppy and messy person. After she finishes eating, she frequently forgets to clear the crumbs of food from the table and the floor. I find this particularly hard to bear. Since I disapprove of my mother’s habits, I frequently get peeved off and am involved in a cold war with her, and at times I even lose my temper at her, but she never changes.
Each time we eat, my mother nags a lot. If this goes on for a long time, I get a bit impatient. Sometimes, just as I am about to start eating, my mother begins to nag. When this occurs, I cannot help but become agitated. I try to repress my temper but the result is that I end up saying something quite cold: “Eat your food. Don’t talk so much.” After many of these exchanges, I started to believe that no matter how much I say, my mother will not change. In my heart, I firmly believe that my mother is someone that is just hard to get through to. Previously, I was secretly very happy that I did not need to have meetings with my mother because I no longer needed to listen to her talk endlessly. I never would have thought that this situation would change today. This was something that I really did not want to face, and it’s really hard to obey. However, I then thought, “My mother is sick and she is unable to go out by herself to attend meetings. I cannot just leave her behind and not take care of her. I have to have meetings with her.”
Question 6: We forsake everything else, spread the Lord’s gospel, and shepherd the church. This kind of labor is the way to implement the heavenly Father’s will. Is there anything wrong with our practice this way?
Answer: Spreading the Lord’s gospel and working for Him doesn’t necessarily mean you’re implementing His will. To truly implement the heavenly father’s will, you must implement the Lord’s doctrine and keep His commandments. You must do as the Lord demands. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mat 22:37-39). As far as implementing the heavenly father’s will is concerned, the most important requirement is practicing Lord Jesus’s current words. This is the most basic principle. If you do not focus on following Lord Jesus’s words and instead follow those biblical figures, you are not implementing the heavenly father’s will. To implement the heavenly father’s will is to follow God’s words. People always exalt the words of the apostles contained in the Bible instead of exalting those of Lord JesusHimself. By doing so, they are not implementing God’s will; Instead, they are resisting Him. In order to implement God’s will, you must obey Him, accept His trust and bear witness to God regardless of what He says or does. Those people, the ones that no longer rebel against God or resist Him, are the ones that He praises. Take Abraham, for example, he was able to follow God’s words. He dutifully gave his beloved only child to God. God rewarded Abraham for his loyal servitude. He blessed one of Abraham’s other children, allowing him to eventually become a great nation. Another example is Job; He revered God and stayed away from evil things. During his trials, when his wealth and children were taken away, he cursed himself instead of blaming God; he continued to bless the holy name of the Lord. Therefore, he was a perfect man in God’s eyes. Peter is yet another example. He followed Lord Jesus all his life, longing to pursue the truth. After accepting the Lord’s trust, he shepherded the church, in strict accordance with God’s requirements. Eventually he was able to serve God until death and love Him above everything else. All of these people obeyed and revered God. People like this are the ones who truly implement the heavenly father’s will. If you say that laboring for the Lord means you are implementing the heavenly father's will, then why, after the Pharisees traveled to the ends of the earth to spread the gospel and work for the Lord, were they eventually condemned and cursed by the Lord Jesus? That’s because they believed in God but did not implement His doctrines. When Lord Jesus came to do His works, not only did the Pharisees not accept it, they lead the entire Jewish faith in fanatically condemning and resisting Lord Jesus. They even beared false witness to Him in an attempt to hurt Lord Jesus. Everything they did was a betrayal of the Lord’s path; they took Lord Jesus as their enemy. Although these people looked as if they were enduring much suffering and laboring hard for the Lord, how can we say they were implementing the heavenly father’s will?
Question 5: We follow the example of Paul and we work very hard for the Lord, just like Paul said: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” Is this not following the will of God? Practicing in this way should mean that we are qualified to be raptured and to enter into the kingdom of heaven, so why must we accept God’s work of judgment and purification in the last days before we can be brought into the kingdom of heaven?
Answer: There are many believers in the Lord who follow the example of Paul. Are they really doing the will of the heavenly Father? Are they really worthy of entering the kingdom of heaven? Let’s have a look at what the Lord Jesus said: “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Mat 7:21-23). We can see from the words of the Lord Jesus that when the Lord returns, there will be many people who preach and work in the name of the Lord who will not only not gain His praise, but will instead be identified as evildoers by the Lord. This shows that making sacrifices, expending yourself and working hard in His name does not mean that you are doing the will of the heavenly Father. So then what really is doing His will? It mainly refers to being able to love God in your heart, to honor Him as great, fearing God and shunning evil, being able to put the Lord’s words into practice, obeying His commandments, frequently exalting and bearing witness to God, genuinely expending yourself for Him, remaining free of any deals or requests, being able to stand witness for God during trials, and obeying God’s sovereignty and arrangements. Only this is doing God’s will. Just as the Lord Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mat 22:37-39). So, all those who do God’s will are those who have cast off evil and achieved purification. They are all people who can put the truth into practice and genuinely obey God. They are all able to frequently put the Lord’s words into practice and keep His commandments, and they all love God in their hearts, and are able to live relying on the Lord’s words. If someone doesn’t love God in their heart, they try to make deals with God while working and preaching, they also frequently resist God and rebel against Him and are unable to put His words into practice, how can this person be called someone who does the heavenly Father’s will? And how could anyone say that they have already cast off sinfulness and achieved purification? We can all see the following fact. After believing in the Lord, many people are able to preach and work in His name, carry the cross and suffer, and even go to prison and be martyred. All this represents is that they have some faith in the Lord, some enthusiasm for Him. But it cannot be denied that while people are working hard they still frequently rebel against God, resist Him, and do things according to their own will and their own preferences. They do not focus on carrying out the Lord’s words or holding His commandments. Some even lust for fame and status; they exalt and bear witness to themselves, or even form their own faction or establish their own little kingdom. There are also a number of people who don’t work and suffer in order to love and satisfy God, but for the sake of being rewarded, being crowned. That is why after they’ve done some work and endured some suffering, they try to capitalize on their past and flaunt their seniority. They audaciously demand the blessings of the kingdom of heaven from God. This is particularly true of the pastors and elders of the religious world; when Almighty God came to express the truth and do the work of judgment in the last days, they continued to rely on their notions and imaginations to resist and condemn Him, fabricate rumors, spread lies to deceive and control believers and hinder their investigation of the true way. Their sins of resisting God are even more serious than those of the Pharisees who resisted the Lord Jesus. They have committed the heinous sin of nailing God to the cross again, and they have offended God’s disposition. What is even more deplorable is that after resisting and condemning Christ of the last days—Almighty God—they still see themselves as outstanding contributors who are utterly devoted to the Lord, and they are still waiting for the Lord Jesus to descend and rapture them into the kingdom of heaven. This is inconceivable! These facts demonstrate that there are many who are able to make sacrifices, expend themselves, and work hard in the name of the Lord, but this does not prove that they do God’s will, and it particularly does not prove that they are praised by God, or that they are worthy of entering the kingdom of heaven and receiving rewards. Since their internal satanic natures have not been resolved and they have not been able to cast off the binds of sin, even while they are working they do evil and resist God, and are even in direct opposition to God. How can they be called someone who does God’s will? And how can they be worthy of entering the kingdom of heaven? Let’s read Almighty God’s words.
After I have a busy day, I miss God's love through listening a song silently.It is very important for us to establish the normal relationship with God. Amen.
Over the next few days, although Jingru had not fallen into Satan’s temptation and she knew that she could never be with Wang Wei, her meeting with Wang Wei that evening and his sincere confession replayed in her mind over and over like a scene in a movie …
When Wang Wei called her again, Jingru’s heart was a bit shaken, and she said to herself: “The two of us cannot get together, but we can still be ordinary friends. So long as I keep my feet so that I don’t do anything that goes too far, then it’ll be fine.” She then answered the call from Wang Wei and chatted with him. As time went on, Jingru often thought about whether or not Wang Wei would call, to the point where her heart began to look forward to it. Every time he called, Jingru would comfort herself before answering the phone very naturally…. As things progressed, the calls between Wang Wei and Jingru became more frequent. But after every call, Jingru would feel uneasy and pained, and she realized that her actions were not conforming to God’s will, and that her feelings of pain and unease were precisely God reminding her and reproaching her. She then immediately went before God and prayed: “O God! I know I shouldn’t keep in touch with Wang Wei, but I can’t control my own heart. I can’t help but indulge myself and slide down toward sin. O God! I don’t want my actions in this matter to displease You. O God! Please save me!”
