First, let’s sing a hymn: The Kingdom Anthem (I) The Kingdom Has Descended on the World
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 attentively 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.
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 attentively 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. To be continued...
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. To be continued...
from The Word Appears in the Flesh
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