Almighty God Led Me Onto the Path of Obtaining Cleansing

Almighty God Led Me Onto the Path of Obtaining Cleansing

Ever since I accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days, I read much of the word of God, and gradually understood something about the three stages of God’s work, the mystery of the incarnation, the meaning of God’ names, the inside story of the Bible, and other aspects, and I also had better faith in God. When I had just begun, I was cut to my heart and pained when I read the words about God judging people’s satanic nature. I still had some notions inside me, and thought that God spoke too sternly. Later, I read in the word of God: “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, reveal the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and disposition of God, and so on.

These words are all focused on the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that reveal how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. When God does the work of judgment, He does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words, but carries out revelation, dealing, and pruning over the long term. Such manner of revelation, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only such manner of work is deemed judgment; only through such judgment can man be persuaded, be thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and gain true knowledge of God” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I understood from the word of God that God’s work of judgment in the last days uses the truth that man does not possess at all to show people’s rebelliousness and corruption and to analyze people’s speech and behavior. Only through God’s long-term exposing, dealing and pruning can they be able to know their corrupt disposition and essential nature little by little, and to see clearly their own corrupt, ugly manners, and reach a state of hating themselves and then transforming themselves. If God did not work in this way, I would not know my own corrupt disposition, so how could I break free of my sinful nature and obtain cleansing? The more I read the word of God, the more I felt that God’s work of judgment was very good! The word of God can indeed cleanse, transform, and save people.

Once, in a meeting, when I was sharing my own experiences where I always would say phrases like “I think,” and “here’s what I think,” a brother pointed out that this habit in my speech was an indication of arrogance. If anyone else had exposed me like this before, I would have argued with and quickly refuted him. But at the time, I chose to be silent without arguing and justifying myself, because I thought of the words of “Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life”: “If you always say ‘I think’ when it comes to any subject you encounter, well, it is best that you let go of your opinions. I urge you to let go of your opinions and seek the truth. Examine the words of God. Your ‘opinion’ is not the truth! … You are too arrogant and self-righteous! In the face of the truth, you cannot even let go of and deny your own conceptions and illusions. You do not want to obey God in the slightest! Of those that truly seek the truth and truly have a heart that reveres God, who still says ‘I think’? This saying has already been eliminated. This is the revealing of the satanic disposition.” So I felt that what the brother had just said was right, and I had no grounds on which to refute him. What man thinks is true can’t substitute for the truth. Whatever man thinks comes from Satan. If someone always uses the word “I” at the beginning of what they say, this is a state of not having God in one’s heart, and is a mark of not revering God. How arrogant was it of me to always talk like that!

Almighty God Led Me Onto the Path of Obtaining Cleansing

Later, I also read a passage in the book “Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life” that said: “People become arrogant after they’ve owned some assets. If someone is of good caliber and has a certain level of capability, he will think, ‘I’m better than other people.’ In so doing they reveal their arrogant disposition, and they have no regard for anyone else. This is normal, because they are skilled and capable. If they truly knew themselves, they would think they weren’t even worth a penny. What would they have to be arrogant about then? He thinks it’s not worth being arrogant about, and had no assets to be arrogant about, then he wouldn’t become arrogant. Isn’t this the case? There are some people who think themselves better than anyone else, and that they can understand any matter clearly, so what is bound to happen one day? When they suffer a big setback, and are humiliated in failure, will they still be able to be arrogant? They’ll feel like they can’t raise their head, don’t dare to see anyone. So when those people with arrogant and conceited disposition experience failure or are humiliated several times, or are dealt with and pruned in a big way several times, their arrogant disposition will naturally be resolved. All people come around like this. By experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement, by being pruned and dealt with, by being disciplined by the Holy Spirit, and by suffering some failures and setbacks, people will become much more honest. Their arrogance will become less and less, and they won’t be as self-righteous. Even if they understand something thoroughly, they will still seek the truth about it, seek other people’s ideas, to take precautions against the possibility of making a mistake. This is all the result reached through God’s judgment and chastisement. So no matter how arrogant and self-righteous you are, don’t be afraid, and don’t worry. As long as you experience God’s judgment and chastisement, and accept more of pruning and dealing, especially the discipline of the Holy Spirit, gradually you’ll start to change. No one can help you with this, so you have to rely on praying to God, and seeking the truth, and gaining the work of the Holy Spirit, because once the Holy Spirit works upon you all your problems will be resolved.” This passage was fellowshiped quite penetratingly, and really got the job done! I realized that previously on the job site, or at home, I was always in a high position lecturing others, and this was all because of the control by the arrogant nature of Satan. Thinking myself to have ability, to be able to make money, I showed off my seniority, and looked down on everyone besides myself, and thought that no one was as good as me, and always put myself on a pedestal. After accepting God’s work in the last days, I read many words with respect to God judging and revealing people’s arrogant nature, and also through what brothers and sisters fellowshiped at gatherings I began to have a shallow understanding of my own arrogant nature. I saw that I was not in fact better than anyone else, and that my ability and wealth were all bestowed by God, so I had nothing to boast about. At the same time, I also found the way to transform my arrogant nature in the word of God, which is accepting being dealt with and pruned by brothers and sisters even more, comparing myself to the word of God and reflecting on myself more, gaining true knowledge of myself and hatred for myself, and no longer relying on satanic disposition in what I do but acting according to God’s word. Through the course of having experienced being pruned and dealt with like this many times, and what I came to know through self-reflection, my arrogant nature began to gradually gain some transformations.

Along with reading more of the word of God, and constantly living the life of the church, I came to feel more and more how fortunate I was that I could accept God’s work in the last days. In the Church of Almighty God, all the brothers and sisters are very passionate, treat each other with sincerity. They are all pure and simple, and fellowship their own experiences to each other, and even if their corrupt dispositions are revealed, they are able to reflect on and know themselves on the basis of the word of God. I have seen that the word of Almighty God is genuinely able to cleanse and transform people. God expressed the word Himself to lead us to break free of sin and attain salvation, so we are truly blessed! Thinking of how many people there still are who believe in God sincerely and are anxiously waiting for the Lord Jesus to return, and yearning to break free of the chains of sin and to obtain cleansing, I made a resolution in praying to God: I am willing to spread the gospel of the kingdom to even more people, and to get them to be like me, to follow the footsteps of God, and to obtain God’s salvation of the last days.