The Principles of Experiencing and Obeying God’s Work

2. The Principles of Experiencing and Obeying God’s Work

1. Accept and obey all the judgment and chastisement, the pruning and dealing, and the trials and refinement of God; never try to escape them, be slipshod, or let it be in vain;

2. Accept and obey all the truths God expresses, so that God’s words and the truth may become the reality of your life;

3. Obey the leadership and shepherding of the man used by the Holy Spirit, and fulfill your duties in accordance with the principles prescribed by work arrangements;

4. Obey the enlightenment, illumination and inner guidance of the Holy Spirit, and obtain the guidance and perfection of the Holy Spirit.

Relevant Words of God:

Right now the most critical point is following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You follow whatever God says; you obey whatever He says. People cannot change their disposition themselves; they must undergo the judgment and chastisement and painful refinement of God’s words, or being dealt with, disciplined, and pruned by His words. Only after that can they achieve obedience and devotion to God, and not try to fool Him and deal with Him perfunctorily. It is under the refinement of God’s words that people have a change in disposition. Only those who undergo the exposure, judgment, disciplining, and dealing with of His words will no longer dare to do things recklessly, and will become calm and collected. The most important point is that they are able to obey God’s current words and obey God’s work, and even if it is not in line with human notions, they can put them aside and intentionally obey. When a change in disposition has been spoken of in the past, it has mainly been about forsaking oneself, allowing the flesh to suffer, disciplining one’s body, and ridding oneself of fleshly preferences—this is one type of change in disposition. People now know that the real expression of a change in disposition is obeying the current words of God as well as being able to have a genuine understanding of His new work. This way people will be able to get rid of their previous understanding of God in their notions, and achieve a true understanding of and obedience to Him. Only this is a genuine expression of a change in disposition.

from “Those Whose Disposition Has Changed Are Those Who Have Entered Into the Reality of God’s Words” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

God has now officially begun to perfect people. In order to be made complete, people must undergo the revelation, judgment, and chastisement of God’s words, and experience the trials and refinement of His words (such as the trial of service-doers). In addition, people must be able to withstand the trial of death. That is, someone who truly does God’s will can emit praise from deep in their heart in the midst of God’s judgment, chastisement, and trials, and is able to fully obey God and forsake themselves, thus loving God with a heart of sincerity, single-mindedness, and purity; such is a complete person, and it is also the work that God wants to do, and is what God wants to accomplish.

from “On the Steps of God’s Work” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

If people wish to become living beings, and to bear testimony to God, and to be approved of by God, they must accept God’s salvation, they must gladly submit to His judgment and chastisement, and must gladly accept the pruning and dealing of God. Only then will they be able to put all of the truths required by God into practice, and only then will they gain God’s salvation, and truly become living beings. The living are saved by God, they have been judged and chastised by God, they are willing to devote themselves and are happy to lay down their lives to God, and they would gladly dedicate their whole lives to God. Only when the living bear testimony to God can Satan be shamed, only the living can spread the gospel work of God, only the living are after God’s heart, and only the living are real people.

from “Have You Come Alive?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

In his belief in God, Peter sought to satisfy God in everything, and sought to obey all that came from God. Without the slightest complaint, he was able to accept chastisement and judgment, as well as refinement, tribulation and lack in his life, none of which could alter his love of God. Is this not the ultimate love of God? Is this not the fulfillment of the duty of a creature of God? Whether in chastisement, judgment, or tribulation, you are always capable of achieving obedience unto death, and this is what should be achieved by a creature of God, this is the purity of the love of God. If man can achieve this much, then he is a qualified creature of God, and there is nothing which better satisfies the desire of the Creator.

from “Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

We must not fear suffering or pain, and we particularly must not fear that God’s words will pierce our hearts. We should read more of His words regarding judgment and chastisement, and exposure of our corrupt essences. We must read it and hold ourselves up to it more. Don’t compare others to it—compare yourself to it. We present every single one of these things—we all match up to these. If you don’t believe it, go experience it yourself. …We must first know that it doesn’t matter if any of His words are easy on the ear, if they’re bitter, sweet, sour, or spicy—we must accept all of them. This should be our primary attitude. What kind of attitude is this? An attitude of godliness? Of devoutness? Or, what kind? Is it an attitude of forbearance, or of suffering? You seem a little puzzled. I’ll tell you, it’s none of those. We should see God’s words as the truth in how we treat Him. Since they are the truth, we should accept them with reason. Whether or not we are able to recognize or acknowledge it, our first attitude should be one of acceptance. We should accept God’s words without exception.

from “The Importance and the Path of Pursuing the Truth” in Records of Christ’s Talks

Those who truly expend themselves for God place their whole beings in front of Him. They genuinely obey all of His utterances, and they are able to put His words into practice. They make God’s words the foundation of their existence, and they are able to genuinely seek the portions of practice in God’s word. This is someone who truly lives in front of God. If what you do is beneficial for your life and satisfies God’s will, and through eating and drinking His words, you can meet your inner needs and inadequacies so that your life disposition is transformed, then this will satisfy God’s will. If you act according to God’s requirements, if you do not satisfy the flesh but satisfy His will, this is entering into the reality of His words. When talking about more realistically entering into the reality of God’s words, it means you can perform your duty and satisfy God’s requirements. Only these kinds of practical actions can be called entering into the reality of His words. If you are able to enter into this reality, then you have the truth. This is the beginning of entering into reality; you must first carry out this training and only after that will you be able to enter into deeper realities.

from “People Who Can Be Absolutely Obedient Toward God’s Practicality Are Those Who Truly Love God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Eating and drinking the word of God is in order to know God and in order to satisfy God. Eating and drinking the word of God gives you a greater knowledge of God, only after which can you obey God. Only if you know God can you love Him, and the attainment of this aim is the only aim man should have in his belief in God. If, in your belief in God, you always try to behold signs and wonders, then the viewpoint of this belief in God is wrong. Belief in God is principally the acceptance of the word of God as the reality of life. Only putting into practice the words of God from His mouth and carrying them out within yourself is the attainment of the aim of God. In believing in God, man should pursue being made perfect by God, being able to submit to God, and the complete obedience to God. If you can obey God without complaint, be mindful of God’s desires, achieve the stature of Peter, and possess the style of Peter spoken of by God, then that will be when you have achieved success in belief in God, and it will signify that you have been gained by God.

from “All Is Achieved by the Word of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

So long as you are able to submit yourselves and accept the current words of God, if you do not hesitate to submit yourselves and follow along, if by all means you do not pass judgment or have other bad thoughts, if you accept His words and put them into practice, and if you do not scrutinize God’s words and you submit yourselves—if you meet these conditions—you will be able to be perfected.

from “On Everyone Performing Their Function” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

7. In work and matters of the church, apart from obeying God, in everything you should follow the instructions of the man who is used by the Holy Spirit. Even the slightest infraction is unacceptable. You must be absolute in your compliance, and must not analyze right or wrong; what’s right or wrong has nothing to do with you. You must only concern yourself with total obedience.

from “The Ten Administrative Decrees That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of Kingdom” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

In their work, workers must pay attention to two points: One is to do the work exactly according to the principles stipulated by the work arrangements. Workers must not violate these principles, not work according to their own imaginations, and not according to their own will. They should show concern for the work of God’s family, and put the interests of the family of God first in everything they do. The other point is also key, and that is, in everything they do, to pay attention to following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and to do everything strictly in keeping with the word of God. If you disobey the guidance of the Holy Spirit or if you stubbornly follow your own mind and do things according to your own imagination, this constitutes a most serious opposition to God. Frequently disobeying the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit leads to a dead end. There is no way to go on with work if one has lost the work of the Holy Spirit, and though one does work, nothing is accomplished. It is these two main principles to abide by while at work: One is to perform the work exactly according to the arrangements from the above, and to perform tasks with the principles that have been set forth by the above. The other point is to follow guidance from the Holy Spirit within. Once these two points are grasped, work is very unlikely to miss its mark. … It is necessary to pay careful attention to the guidance or enlightenment from the Holy Spirit; particularly in key issues you must be careful in order to grasp it. People who think too much, who like to act on their own ideas are most likely to miss it. Good workers, promising workers, pay attention to the work of the Holy Spirit. People who obey the Holy Spirit fear God and seek truth tirelessly. To satisfy God and bear witness for Him, one should investigate one’s own work for elements of adulteration and intentions, and try to see how much is motivated by personal wishes, how much is born of enlightenment by the Holy Spirit, and how much is in keeping with the word of God. You must constantly and in all circumstances examine your words and deeds. To practice often in this way will put you on the right track of serving God.

from “The Main Principles of How Workers Work” in Records of Christ’s Talks

What is discipline by the Holy Spirit, what is blame born of human intent, what is guidance from the Holy Spirit, what is arrangement of an environment, what is God’s words enlightening within, if you are not clear about these things, you will have no discernment. You should know what comes from the Holy Spirit, what is rebellious disposition, how to obey God’s word, and how to throw off one’s own rebelliousness; you should understand the details of all of these truths, so that when something happens, you have an appropriate truth with which to compare it, have suitable visions as the foundation, have principles in every matter and are able to act according to the truth. Then your life will be full of God’s enlightenment, full of God’s blessings. God will not mistreat any person who sincerely seeks Him. He will not mistreat any person who lives Him out and bears witness for Him, and He will not curse any person who is able to sincerely thirst for truth. If, while you are eating and drinking the words of God, you can pay attention to your own true condition, pay attention to your own practice, and pay attention to your own understanding, then, when you meet a problem, you will receive enlightenment and will gain practical understanding. Then you will have a path of practice and will have discernment for everything. A person who has truth is unlikely to be deceived, and is unlikely to behave disruptively or act excessively. Because of truth he is protected, and also because of truth he obtains more understanding. Because of truth he has more paths to practice, gets more opportunities for the Holy Spirit to work in him, and more opportunities to be perfected.

from “Only Those Who Focus on Practice Can Be Perfected” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The path to being made perfect is reached through your obedience to the work of the Holy Spirit. You do not know through what kind of person God will work to perfect you, nor through what person, occurrence, or thing He will enable you to enter into possession and to gain some insight. If you are able to walk onto this right track, it shows that there is great hope for you to be perfected by God. If you are unable to do so, it shows that your future is bleak and devoid of light. Once you get on the right track, you will gain revelation in all things. No matter what the Holy Spirit may reveal to others, if you proceed on the basis of their knowledge to experience things on your own, then this experience will become a part of your life, and you will be able to supply others out of this experience. Those who supply others by parroting words are people who have not had any experiences; you must learn to find, through the enlightenment and illumination of others, a way of practice before you can begin to speak of your own actual experience and knowledge. This will be of greater benefit to your own life. You should experience in this way, obeying all that comes from God. You should seek the will of God in all things and study the lessons in all things, that your life may mature and grow. This kind of practice affords the fastest progress.

from “Those Who Obey God With a True Heart Shall Surely Be Gained by God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh