What Is the Difference Between the Work of the 12 Apostles of Jesus and the Work of God?

By Liu Yi

　　The Appearance of the Apostles

　　Some people define apostles as people who undertook a mission and spread the Lord’s salvation. If we study the Bible carefully, we will easily find that those who served God in the Old Testament were called priests or prophets rather than apostles, and that the word “apostles” first appeared in the New Testament.

　　In the Age of Grace, when the Lord Jesus was doing the work of redemption, He selected the twelve disciples. He personally led, watered and shepherded them, and took them everywhere to spread the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. Under the Lord Jesus’ leadership, the disciples gradually had some knowledge of His work and words and became certain that He was the coming Messiah. After the Lord Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He appeared to the disciples for forty days, and commanded them to spread His gospel of redeeming mankind to the whole world so that everyone could gain His salvation. Because they accepted the Lord Jesus’ commission, they spread His salvation far and wide; these disciples were later called apostles.

Gospel Movie Clip (4) - Is the Pardoning of Our Sins Really a Ticket to the Kingdom of Heaven?

Christian film Clip (4) - Is the Pardoning of Our Sins Really a Ticket to the Kingdom of Heaven?

Many people in religion think that they have admitted their sins and repented of them after believing in the Lord, so they have been redeemed, and been saved by grace. When the Lord comes, He will lift them up directly into the kingdom of heaven, and He cannot possibly do the work of purification and salvation. Does this view tally with the reality of God's work? It is said in the Bible: "Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). God says: "You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God" (The Word Appears in the Flesh).

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Questions and Answers on the Conditions for Entering the Kingdom of Heaven (7)

Question 7: Today we believe in the Lord Jesus; we suffer and sacrifice to spread the Lord’s name, forsaking everything else. We are doing the heavenly Father’s will. This means we have already been made holy. When the Lord arrives, He will definitely rapture us into the kingdom of heaven.

　　Answer: As for how we can enter the heavenly kingdom: 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” (Mat 7:21). Although people sacrifice to spread the Lord’s name, forsaking all else, you cannot deny that they also sin quite a lot. The fact that they sin means that they belong to Satan and are still corrupt. They are still able to resist and betray God; this means they have not truly been cleansed. If they were kings, they would set up their own kingdoms in opposition to God. This is enough to prove that they haven’t truly been cleansed and made holy. How can people that resist God this way be qualified to enter the heavenly kingdom? Sacrificing for the Lord, spreading the gospel, establishing the church, supporting the faithful, etc, these are all very good behaviors. If people practice these behaviors out of love, if they truly are sacrificing for God, if they want to obey and satisfy God, if they do not seek to make a deal with God, then these behaviors are truly good; God will remember these behaviors and bless these people. If they are doing it in an attempt to make a deal with God, if they seek to satisfy their fleshly desires, if they're doing it to enter the heavenly kingdom and be rewarded, then these behaviors are just attempts to trick God; these people are resisting God! Therefore, is the fact that you practice these behaviors evidence that you are implementing the heavenly father’s will? Does it mean you’re holy? Definitely not! Their good behaviors will still be matched with their sinful natures. They are only doing those things because they want to make a deal with God. This proves that men are too adulterous. How can people like this truly love God and obey God? Men are subject to and controlled by their sinful natures. When God does and says this that are not in line with their own conceptions, they judge Him, denounce and condemn God. When God puts them through trials, they misunderstand, hate and betray God.Men can believe in God while exalting and following other men at the same time. They listen to other men before they listen to God. People who serve God can often act on their own conceptions, exalt themselves, bear witness to themselves and take God as their enemies. Men are controlled by their sinful nature. As soon as they gain power, they will establish their own kingdoms, with God as their enemy. This is just like what the rabbis, scribes and Pharisees did; when Lord Jesus came to do His works, they fanatically condemned and resisting Him in order to protect their own positions. As a result, Lord Jesus’s grace never came to the Jews. Were they not establishing their own kingdoms in opposition to God? Therefore, if their sinful nature has not been resolved, even people who look like they’re laboring and behaving well have not had their satanic natures cleansed. Therefore, how can these people really implement God’s will, regardless of how much they suffer or what works they do? Those that implement God’s will are undoubtedly also those that obey God. They are definitely of the same mind as God. They surely will not rebel against or resist God. These people are the ones who are qualified to enter the heavenly kingdom and receive God’s promise.

from the movie script of Stinging Memories

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In Your Experience, How Much Practical Understanding Do You Have of God’s Salvation?

Nannan

　　Since I was small, I had always had a strong desire to be better than others. No matter what group of people I was in, I always sought to be the best. While I was still at school, though I had an average mind and my grades weren’t outstanding, I studied very hard so that I wouldn’t fall behind the other students. Teachers praised me for my desire to make progress, and relatives also praised me for being such a diligent student and taking my studies so seriously. I would often feel proud of myself for receiving their praise and getting favorable comments from them, and I considered myself top of my age group. After I’d accepted God’s work in the last days, I came to understand some truths by reading God’s words and living the church life, and I saw that, no matter what disposition God expresses, whether it be mercy, lovingkindness or righteous judgment and chastisement, they are all God’s true love for man. My heart was moved and inspired by God’s love, and I felt that the only right path in life was to believe in God and seek to be perfected by God. I therefore made a resolution to pursue the truth in earnest, to give up everything and expend myself for God to repay His love. But because my deeply-rooted corrupt disposition and satanic nature had not yet been resolved, I still sought to distinguish myself and to make others look highly upon me when performing my duties. I remember one time when I was given the choice of two duties, and without any hesitation whatsoever I chose the duty that I thought would cause others to look highly upon me. Once I’d started this duty, a sense of superiority arose in my heart, so much so that I looked down on other brothers and sisters, thinking that they were only doing common duties, whereas I was performing an important duty, and that I was a person of talent in God’s family.

　　

　　In June 2016, I started performing a duty that required me to use English. This was something I’d never dared to even dream of, and my heart was totally elated. I hadn’t expected to see a day when I could distinguish myself, and I had always used to feel distressed about not being smart enough, thinking that I’d be like this the rest of my life and that I had no great future prospects. Little did I realize that even lilies of the field have a spring too, and my spring had come at last. This was a turning point in my life and it was the beginning of the realization of my dreams—I would show my skills to the best of my ability. Thinking this, I felt so elated. How I wished I could immediately tell this news to my brothers and sisters in the church at home, letting them know what duty I was doing. I was even beginning to imagine how envious my brothers and sisters would feel once they came to know that I was doing this duty…. While I was so immersed in happiness and joy that I had forgotten myself completely, God’s judgment and chastisement came upon me again and again …

New Gospel Song "The Great Red Dragon Collapses as God's People Grow" | Praise God's Actions

When the people have all been made complete,

and all nations are Christ’s kingdom, the seven thunders will peal.

Today’s a stride towards that stage. The charge has been unleashed.

This is God’s plan. It will soon be realized.

To carry out God’s plan successfully,

heaven’s angels have descended on earth.

God in flesh is also on the battlefield, waging war against the enemy.

What God’s said is what He’s done.

Thus, nations are just castles in the sand, trembling as the high tide nears.

The last day’s imminent. 

The great red dragon will topple under God’s word.

Wherever the incarnation appears, the enemy is destroyed.

China’s annihilation will be the first.

It will be laid waste by the hand of God.

Proof of the great red dragon’s collapse

is seen in the maturation of the people.

It’s a sign of the enemy’s demise.

This is what it means to “do battle,” to do battle.

English Christian Music | "The Purpose of God's Management Work Is to Save Mankind"

Top Gospel Songs | "The Purpose of God's Management Work Is to Save Mankind"

God's love and mercy

permeates His work of management

from the first to the last detail.

I

Whether man feels His kind will or not,

He is tireless in pursuing the work He needs to do.

Whether man comprehends His management or not,

God’s work brings help and supply that can be felt by all.

God’s love and mercy

permeates His work of management

from the first to the last detail.

Why Are There So Many Denominations in Christianity?

　　When the Lord Jesus came to earth to do His work in person, all those who believed in Him came under His name. The apostles spread the gospel everywhere, and joined all the brothers and sisters who had accepted the salvation of the Lord Jesus and come under His name together, uniting them into one in Christ. The believers then only followed Jesus Christ. Just as the scriptures read, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:5-6). Therefore, there didn’t appear different denominations in the age of apostles.

　　The last days have arrived. The followers of the Lord all have faith in the same God, read the same Bible, and all speak of the Lord’s teachings. However, more than two thousand different denominations have come into being among the believers in the Lord. What’s more, each of them holds onto the tenet: Our denomination is the most orthodox among the world. So there appears a situation where they each want to become the “king of the castle,” form cliques and stick to their own views. This makes lots of devout believers in the Lord confused: All those who are in the name of the Lord Jesus look up to His salvation of the cross, practice baptism, breaking bread, humility, patience, forbearance and love, and walk the way opened up by Him. Why do so many denominations arise? What is the cause?

Christian Film "The Gospel Messenger" (3) - How Pastors and Elders Treat the Return of the Lord

Gospel Movie Clip "The Gospel Messenger" (3) - How Pastors and Elders Treat the Return of the Lord

The Lord has returned in the last days, uttering many truths and doing the work of judgment. It should stand to reason that since pastors and elders serve the Lord, are so well-versed in the Bible, and frequently interpret it for others, they should be able to recognize the coming of the Lord and be able to lead believers to welcome Him. But how do these pastors and elders actually treat the return of the Lord?

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