30. The Principles of Upholding God’s Work in One’s Duties

30. The Principles of Upholding God’s Work in One’s Duties 

1. Uphold the church life without reserve, enable God’s chosen people to eat and drink the words of God and fellowship the truth normally, do their duties normally, and enable them to not be disturbed or restrained by evil people;

2. False leaders and workers who are without the work of the Holy Spirit must be dismissed. You must elect as leaders and workers those who pursue the truth and who have the work of the Holy Spirit;

3. You must use the truth to expose and refute all heresies and fallacies so that Satan is shamed, and allow the truth of God’s words to hold sway in the church, and bring the glory to God;

4. You absolutely must fulfill the church’s work in accordance with the work arrangements of the above; beware of antichrists and evil people doing whatever suits themselves, and taking control of God’s chosen people.

Relevant Words of God:

2. You should do anything that is beneficial to God’s work, and nothing that is detrimental to the interests of God’s work. You should defend God’s name, God’s testimony, and God’s work.

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

What does it mean to interrupt the management of God? What does it mean to demolish the building of the church? What does it mean to interrupt the work of the Holy Spirit? What is a lackey of Satan? These truths must be clearly understood and not just vaguely glossed over. … all have said that they would be considerate of God’s burden and defend the testimony of the church. Yet, who has really been considerate of God’s burden? Ask yourself: Are you someone who has shown consideration for God’s burden? Can you be righteous for God? Can you stand up and speak for Me? Can you steadfastly put the truth into practice? Are you bold enough to fight against all of Satan’s deeds? Would you be able to put your emotions aside and expose Satan for the sake of My truth? Can you allow My will to be fulfilled in you? Have you offered up your heart when the crucial time comes? Are you someone who carries out My will? Ask yourself and think about it often. Satan’s gifts are inside of you and you are to blame for that as you do not understand people and fail to recognize Satan’s poison; you are leading yourself to death. Satan has thoroughly confused you to the point where you are completely puzzled; you are drunk on the wine of promiscuity and you sway back and forth unable to hold a firm viewpoint and with no path of practice. You do not eat and drink properly, you fight and quarrel wildly, you do not know right from wrong and follow whoever leads—do you have any truth? … Ordinarily you do well in yelling out catchphrases, but when things happen in reality you are equivocal about them. Some people understand but only murmur quietly while others speak up what they understand but no one else says a word. They do not know what comes from God and what the work of Satan is.

from “The Thirteenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Those in the church who vent their venomous talk, those amongst brothers and sisters who spread rumors, foment disharmony and form cliques … All they do is interrupt and disturb God’s work, disturb the life entry of brothers and sisters, and destroy the normal life of the church. These wolves in sheep’s clothing must sooner or later be cleared out, and one must adopt an attitude toward these lackeys of Satan that is in no way polite; one must adopt an attitude of abandonment toward them. Only by doing this can one stand at God’s side and those who cannot do so are in collusion with Satan. …

... Those who practice the truth within the church are abandoned and are unable to achieve their potential, while those who disturb the church and spread death run wild within the church. What is more, the majority of people follow them. This kind of church is simply under Satan’s control and the devil is their king. If the people of the church do not rise up and cast out those head demons, then they will also come to ruin sooner or later. From now on measures must be taken against this kind of church. If those who are capable of practicing a little truth are not engaging in seeking, then that church will be banned. If there is no one in a church who is willing to practice the truth, no one who can stand witness for God, then that church should be completely ostracized, and their connections with other churches must be severed. This is called burying death, and casting Satan out.

from “A Warning to Those Who Do Not Practice the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The church is being built and Satan is trying its utmost to demolish it. It wants to demolish My construction by any means possible, therefore the church must quickly be purified. There must be no dregs or any evils leftover; it must be purified so that it becomes flawless and remains as pure as it was before. You must be awake and waiting at every moment, and you must come before Me more. You must recognize the various plots and cunning schemes of Satan, know the spirit, know people and be able to discern all kinds of people, matters and things; you must eat and drink more of My words and, more importantly, you must be able to eat and drink them by yourselves. Equip yourselves with all the truth, come before Me so that I may open your spiritual eyes and allow you to see all the mysteries that lie within the spirit.... When the church enters its construction phase, a battle of the saints against Satan[a] ensues. Satan’s various hideous features are set before you; do you stop and backslide, or do you stand up and walk onward, relying on Me? Thoroughly expose Satan’s corrupt and ugly features, spare no feelings and show no mercy! Fight Satan to the death! I am your backup and you must have the spirit of the male child! Satan is lashing out in its final death throes but it will still be unable to escape My judgment. Satan is beneath My feet and it is also trodden underneath your feet—it’s true!

All those religious interrupters and those who demolish the building of the church must not be tolerated in the slightest and I will judge them immediately. Expose Satan, trample it underfoot, destroy it utterly and leave it nowhere to hide. All manner of demons and ghosts will surely reveal their true forms before Me and I will cast them all into the bottomless pit from which they will never be free; they are all beneath our feet. If you want to fight the good fight for the truth, then first of all, don’t give Satan any chance to work, and to do this you will need to be of one mind and be able to serve in coordination, relinquish all your own conceptions, opinions, views and ways of doing things, quiet your heart within Me, focus on the voice of the Holy Spirit, be attentive to the work of the Holy Spirit and experience God’s words in detail. You must have only one intention, which is that My will can be carried out. You should have no other intention. You must look to Me with all your heart, watch My actions and the way I do things closely, and do not be negligent at all. Your spirit must be sharp, your eyes open. Ordinarily, those whose intentions and objectives are not right, those who love to be seen by others, who are eager to do things, who are prone to interrupting, who are strong in religious doctrine, Satan’s lackeys, etc., when these people stand up they become difficulties for the church and the eating and drinking of brothers and sisters comes to nothing; when you find this kind of person play acting then ban them immediately. If time after time they do not change then they will suffer greatly. If those who stubbornly persist in their ways come to their own defense and try to cover up their sins, the church should cut them out immediately and leave them no room to maneuver. Do not lose a lot by trying to save a little, and keep your eye on the big picture.

from “The Seventeenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You must enter in positively, be active and not passive. You shall be unshaken by anyone and anything in any situation, and you cannot be influenced by anyone’s words. You must have a stable disposition, and whatever people might say, you shall practice what you know to be truth at once. You must always have My words at work inside you, regardless of who you are facing; you must be able to stand firm in your testimony to Me and show consideration to My burdens. You cannot be confused, agreeing blindly with people without having your own ideas, but instead you must have the courage to stand up and object to things that do not come from Me. If you know clearly that something is wrong, yet do not voice your concerns, then you are not someone who practices the truth. If you know that something is wrong and then twist the topic, but then Satan blocks your path and so you speak without any effect and are unable to persevere until the end, then you are still carrying fear in your heart, and isn’t your heart still filled with thoughts from Satan?

from “The Twelfth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

In the church, you shall stand firm in your testimony to Me, uphold truth—right is right and wrong is wrong—and do not confuse black and white. You shall be at war with Satan and must completely vanquish it so that it never rises. You must sacrifice everything to protect My testimony. This shall be the goal of your actions, do not forget this.

from “The Forty-first Utterance” 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.

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

Footnotes:

a. The original text omits “against Satan.”

The Man’s Fellowship:

If someone is truly maintaining God’s work, he should be able to maintain God’s chosen people in every way to eat and drink God’s word, communicate the truth, lead proper church life, and be able to defend God’s chosen people in every way to understand the truth and enter reality. Regardless of the difficulties he encounters, he should be able to use the truth to support, water and supply people, so that people will not be negative or weak, and gradually develop knowledge of God. In addition, he should be able to expose the false leaders and wicked people, restrict and sanction wicked people. If he can produce results and serve God’s will in doing all of these things, this is called maintaining God’s work.

from the fellowship from the above

What kinds of things you do can be considered as upholding the work of God? There are several paths of practice. First, maintain the church life well, so that God’s chosen people can eat and drink God’s word, communicate the truth, and do their duties normally. How should you maintain it well? Segregate the wicked people who cause disturbance and disruption in group B, away from those in group A, so the wicked people cannot cause disturbance. Let the wicked people harass each other. When those who truly believe in God and pursue the truth are not disturbed by the wicked people, this way the church life is completely normal. When someone can keep the church life always normal like this by restricting and segregating the wicked people to congregate in group B, this is the performance of upholding God’s work. This is what should be practiced first in upholding God’s work. … The second performance of upholding God’s work is to supervise the leaders and workers at all levels. If it is found that there is someone bad in humanity, or a wicked person who has become a leader or worker, he must be reported and exposed. He must be thoroughly exposed and finally dismissed. Third, do not allow all kinds of heresies and absurdities to exist and go rampant in the church. If it is found that there are heresies and absurdities being spread in the church, that some leaders and workers are spreading absurdities, they must be exposed and refuted, so that Satan will be humiliated, and the absurdities banned finally. This is the third performance of upholding God’s work. Fourth, one must do the work of the church well in absolute accordance with the work arrangements, sermons and fellowship of the above in doing his duty. If there are places where the church work violates the work arrangements, sermons and fellowship of the above, it must be exposed and restricted. If it is found that the work of certain leaders or workers is always not according to the work arrangements, they must be thoroughly exposed and dismissed. … What is the fifth practice of upholding God’s work? It is to choose the people who truly understand the truth, who can communicate the reality of the truth, who can lead God’s chosen people to enter the reality of the truth, to become leaders and workers. They will make the effects of the church life better and let God’s chosen people understand the truth and enter the reality sooner. This is also the best performance and practice for upholding God’s work.

from the fellowship from the above

Those who are without the work of the Holy Spirit cannot be leaders or workers; they can only preach letters and doctrines, and are utterly unable to help or lead others. No change in the life disposition of this type of person can be seen at all, nor can one see a God-fearing heart or any expression of seeking the truth, and nor can one see the piety a believer should have or any loving heart toward brothers and sisters. No matter who has gotten along with people like this over the years, they will be unable to gain any life supply or the slightest benefit from them. It can therefore be said with certainty, that those who are without the work of the Holy Spirit do not possess the truth, and that they are the genuine articles of false leaders and workers. They can only disturb and interrupt God’s work, and interfere with, harm and ruin God’s chosen people, and they must be replaced.

from “How to Discern False Leaders and Workers Who Are Without the Work of the Holy Spirit” in Selected Annals of the Work Arrangements of The Church of Almighty God

No matter who it is that is spreading notions around, voicing absurd opinions, creating a deadly atmosphere, they should all be corrected by means of communicating the truth. God should take up the sovereign power in God’s home and God’s word should have sovereignty. Now righteousness wields power, and we will later see the magnificence of Christ wielding power. With the truth you’ll walk the entire world; without the truth, you’ll get nowhere. Those in the church who are unable to defend the work of God are certainly people who do not have the truth, and without doubt they do not have the life. It is only those who are able to practice the truth and to uphold the principles of the truth who have the truth. All those who act in the role of Satan are dangerous figures. We should keep them at a distance to avoid suffering harm, and wait to see their fate as they suffer retribution and receive punishment.

from “Practicing the Truth and the Duties One Should Do” in Collection of Sermons—Supply for Life

from: Practice and Exercises for Principled Behavior

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