50. Principles of Depending on God and Looking to God in All Things

Realities of the Truth You Must Enter Into for Principled Behavior

The Church of Almighty God | Peter Obeyed God

50. Principles of Depending on God and Looking to God in All Things

1. You must have absolute confidence in God’s omnipotence and sovereignty over all things, and you must know that Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. This is a fundamental principle.

2. In your heart you must magnify God, only God must have a place in your heart, and you may not worship or follow any other. You must only depend on and look to God, and live according to God’s words.

3. You must search for God’s will in all things and look to the enlightenment, illumination, and guidance of the Holy Spirit. You must only obey the truth and perform your duty properly according to God’s words.

4. In all things, you must have true fellowship with God. During various trials, it is even more necessary to pray to God, look to God, and depend on God’s words and truths to stand firm in your testimony.

Relevant Words of God:

From the moment you come crying into this world, you begin to perform your duty. You assume your role in the plan of God and in the ordination of God. You begin the journey of life. Whatever your background and whatever the journey ahead of you, none can escape the orchestration and arrangement that Heaven has in store, and none are in control of their destiny, for only He who rules over all things is capable of such work. Since the day man came into existence, God has been steady in His work, managing this universe and directing the change and movement of all things. Like all things, man quietly and unknowingly receives the nourishment of the sweetness and rain and dew from God. Like all things, man unknowingly lives under the orchestration of God’s hand. The heart and spirit of man are held in the hand of God, and all the life of man is beheld in the eyes of God. Regardless of whether or not you believe this, any and all things, living or dead, will shift, change, renew, and disappear according to God’s thoughts. This is how God rules over all things.

from “God Is the Source of Man’s Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The way of life is not something that can be possessed by just anyone, nor is it easily obtainable by all. That is because life can only come from God, which is to say, only God Himself possesses the substance of life, there is no way of life without God Himself, and so only God is the source of life, and the ever-flowing wellspring of living water of life. From when He created the world, God has done much work involving the vitality of life, has done much work that brings life to man, and has paid a great price so that man might gain life, for God Himself is eternal life, and God Himself is the way by which man is resurrected. God is never absent from the heart of man, and lives among man at all times. He has been the driving force of man’s living, the fundament of man’s existence, and a rich deposit for man’s existence after birth. He causes man to be reborn, and enables him to tenaciously live in his every role. Thanks to His power, and His inextinguishable life force, man has lived for generation after generation, throughout which the power of God’s life has been the mainstay of man’s existence, and for which God has paid a price that no ordinary man has ever paid. God’s life force can prevail over any power; moreover, it exceeds any power. His life is eternal, His power extraordinary, and His life force not easily overwhelmed by any created being or enemy force. The life force of God exists, and shines its brilliant radiance, regardless of time or place. God’s life remains forever unchanged throughout the upheavals of heaven and earth. All things pass away, but God’s life still remains, for God is the source of the existence of all things, and the root of their existence. Man’s life originates from God, the existence of the heaven is because of God, and the existence of the earth stems from the power of God’s life. No object possessed of vitality can transcend the sovereignty of God, and no thing with vigor can break away from the ambit of God’s authority. In this way, regardless of who they are, everyone must submit under the dominion of God, everyone must live under God’s command, and no one can escape from His control.

from “Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

1. Man should not magnify himself, nor exalt himself. He should worship and exalt God.

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8. People who believe in God should obey God and worship Him. You should not exalt or look up to any person; you ought not to give first place to God, second place to the people you look up to, and third place to yourself. No person should hold a place in your heart, and you should not consider people—particularly those you venerate—to be on a par with God, to be His equal. This is intolerable to God.

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

It’s very simple now: Look to Me with your heart and your spirit will immediately become strong, you will have a path on which you can put things into practice and I will guide your every step. My word shall be revealed to you at all times and in all places. No matter where or when, or how adverse the circumstances, if you look to Me with your heart I will show you clearly and My heart shall be revealed to you, and thereby you shall run down the road ahead and never lose your way.

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

It is not that your faith is good or pure, but rather, My work is wondrous! Everything is due to My mercy! You must not have the slightest corrupt disposition of selfishness or arrogance, otherwise My work on you will not progress. You must understand clearly that whether men fall or stand strong is not because of them, it is because of Me. Today, if you do not clearly understand this step, you will fall short of entering the kingdom! You must understand that what is being done[a] today is the wondrous work of God; it has nothing to do with man. What do the actions of man count for? When they aren’t being selfish, arrogant, and prideful, they are interrupting God’s management and destroying His plans. Oh, the corrupt ones! You must come to rely on Me today; if you do not, today I shall tell you that you will never achieve anything! All shall be in vain and your undertakings shall be worthless!

from “The Thirty-eighth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You must be proactive in cooperating with Me, you must be diligent and never lazy. Always be in fellowship with Me and grow closer with Me. For that which you do not understand, do not be impatient for quick results. It’s not as if I don’t tell you. I want to see whether you are in My presence relying on Me, to see if you depend on Me with confidence. You must always remain close to Me and place all matters in My hands. Do not go back in vain. If you have unknowingly been close to Me for a period of time, My intentions will be revealed to you. If you grasp them, you will truly be with Me face to face, and you will have truly found My face, you will be quite clear and steady within. You will have something to rely on, you will have power, you will have confidence, and you will have a path forward. Everything will come easy to you.

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

During the process of seeking to enter, every matter must be investigated and compared against God’s word and compared against the truth; they must be thoroughly mulled over to know how to do them in a way that is entirely in conformity with God’s will. Things that arise from your self-will can then be abandoned. You will know how to do things in conformity with God’s will and will then go and do them, as though everything is taking its natural course, and it will feel exceedingly easy. People who have the truth do things in this way. You can then really show others that you have genuinely changed your disposition, others will see that you surely possess some good deeds, and that you do things in a principled way, and do everything right. They will see that this is someone who understands the truth, who certainly has some human likeness and, sure enough, the word of God has reaped results with them.

from “Only by Seeking the Truth Can You Obtain Changes in Your Disposition” in Records of Christ’s Talks

No matter what you do, you should first understand why you are actually doing this and what the nature of the matter is. If it is categorized as fulfilling your duty, then you should ponder: How should I do this? How should I fulfill my duty well so that I am not doing it perfunctorily? This is a matter in which you should draw close to God. Drawing close to God is seeking the truth in this matter, it is seeking the way to practice, it is seeking the will of God, and it is seeking how to satisfy God. These are the methods for drawing close to God while doing things; it is not performing a religious ceremony or an outward action; it is done for the purpose of practicing in accordance with the truth after seeking God’s will. If you always say “Thank God, thank God” when you are not doing anything, but when you are doing something, you still do it according to your own will, this type of thanks is an outward action. When fulfilling your duty or working on something, you should always think: How should I fulfill this duty? What is God’s intention? Through matters, you draw close to God, and through drawing close to God, you seek the principles and truths to do things, you seek God’s will from within and do not leave God in all that you do. This is a person who truly believes in God.

from “Seeking God’s Will and Putting Truth Into Practice to the Greatest Extent Possible” in Records of Christ’s Talks

How should man love God during refinement? By using the resolve to love God to accept His refinement: During refinement you are tormented inside, as if a knife were being twisted in your heart, yet you are willing to satisfy God using your heart, which loves Him, and you are unwilling to care for the flesh. This is what is meant by practicing the love of God. You hurt inside, and your suffering has reached a certain point, yet you are still willing to come before God and pray, saying: “O God! I cannot leave You. Although there is darkness within me, I wish to satisfy You; You know my heart, and I would that You invest more of Your love within me.” This is practice during refinement. If you use the love of God as the foundation, refinement can bring you closer to God and make you more intimate with God. Since you believe in God, you must hand over your heart before God. If you offer up and lay your heart before God, then during refinement it will be impossible for you to deny God, or leave God. In this way your relationship with God will become ever closer, and ever more normal, and your communion with God will become ever more frequent. If you always practice in this way, then you will spend more time in God’s light, and more time under the guidance of His words, there will also be more and more changes in your disposition, and your knowledge will increase day by day. When the day comes and God’s trials suddenly befall you, you will not only be able to stand by God’s side, but will also be able to bear testimony to God. At that time, you will be like Job, and Peter. Having borne testimony to God you will truly love Him, and will gladly lay down your life for Him; you will be God’s witness, and one who is beloved by God. Love that has experienced refinement is strong, and not weak. Regardless of when or how God subjects you to His trials, you are able to care not whether you live or die, to gladly cast aside everything for God, and to happily endure anything for God—and thus your love will be pure, and your faith real. Only then will you be someone who is truly loved by God, and who has truly been made perfect by God.

If people fall under the influence of Satan, then they have no love for God within them, and their previous visions, love, and resolution have disappeared. People used to feel that they were supposed to suffer for God, but today they think it is shameful and have no shortage of complaints. This is the work of Satan; it shows that man has fallen under the domain of Satan. If you encounter this state you must pray, and turn the other way as soon as you can—this will protect you against Satan’s attacks. It is during bitter refinement that man can most easily fall under the influence of Satan—so how should you love God during such refinement? You should summon your will, laying your heart before God and devoting the last of your time to Him. No matter how God refines you, you should be able to put the truth into practice to fulfill God’s will, and you should take it upon yourself to seek God and seek communion with God.

from “Only by Experiencing Refinement Can Man Truly Love God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

When you encounter difficulties, hurry up and pray to God: O God! I wish to satisfy You, I wish to endure the final hardship to satisfy Your heart, and regardless of how great the setbacks I encounter, still I must satisfy You. Even if I have to give up my whole life, still I must satisfy You! With this resolve, when you pray thus you will be able to stand firm in your testimony. Each time they put the truth into practice, each time they undergo trials, each time they are tried, and each time God’s work comes upon them, people endure extreme pain. All of this is a test for people, and so within all of them there is a battle. This is the actual price that they pay. … If, on the road to loving God, you are able to stand on the side of God when He does battle with Satan, and you do not turn back to Satan, then you will have achieved the love of God, and you will have stood firm in your testimony.

from “Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Man’s Fellowship:

When you believe in and rely on God, you should fulfill the following: Number one, in your hearts you must magnify Christ; number two, you must have faith in God’s omnipotence in all things; number three, you must not look up to any other, or worship any other, only sanctifying and obeying Christ in your hearts; number four, you must act according to God’s words and rely upon God in all things, regardless of what they are. When you have fulfilled these four points, you have the reality of belief in God, which shows that you have true faith in God, and true reliance, and that you are one of those who follows God. Let us commune “In the belief in God, trust only in God.” What does “trust only in God” refer to? It means believing only that God is almighty, that God is everything, that God can save man, that God is omnipotent and omniscient, that in God there is nothing that cannot be accomplished. It means believing only in God, and not doubting or distrusting that God is omnipotent and omniscient, or that He is able to accomplish everything. People such as this are able to pray before God no matter what happens to them, and able to depend on God regardless of what troubles befall them. Christ holds pride of place in their hearts, they do not look up to or worship people, they believe only in God, they follow only the practical God, they depend on and look up to none but God, they do not give blind credence to any man, and only God, and no one else, has a place in their hearts. If they have reached that point, then they are possessed of the reality of following and relying on God in their faith. Some people’s belief in God is too meager: They never imagine God as almighty, and thus when something happens to them, it is easy for them to lose their faith. In addition, it is also easy for them to worship and look up to people, and it is as if they use this to make up for the parts of God that aren’t enough for them. Because they are always looking up to and worshiping people, unbeknownst to them God’s place in their hearts becomes ever smaller, and the place of the people they worship becomes ever greater. Ultimately, they unwittingly become those who believe in God in name only, who in reality believe in people, follow people, worship people, and look up to people. … Only once you have gained many truths from God’s words will Christ truly have a place within you, and truly rule within you. Some people say: “Although I have never met Christ, I believe that all of Christ’s words are the truth—this is totally correct. The more I read them, the more I love God’s words. God’s words can truly be people’s life, they can truly be everything to people.” There are also those who say: “I don’t know what Christ looks like, but in my heart, His place is high. Christ is my all, He is my Lord, and each time I pray I look up to Him thus.” Christ has a place in such people’s hearts. And so, to be fruitful in magnifying Christ, above all you must often ponder the words of God, eat and drink the words of God, and know the words of God. If you gain a thorough understanding of Christ’s words when you eat and drink them, and learn many truths from them, then you will be truly changed and saved, and in this way Christ will become your Savior, He will become the practical God who saves you. If you have not achieved understanding and entering the truth in any of Christ’s words, then it can be said that Christ has no place in your heart. Do you wish to magnify Christ in your heart? Do you wish to allow Christ to rule your heart? Now you are clear about how this is achieved, yes? You must first eat and drink His words, and accept all of the truths He has expressed; this is what’s most crucial, and what’s most fundamental.

from “The Ten Realities of God’s Words That Must Be Entered in Order to Be Saved and Made Perfect” in Fellowship and Preaching About Life Entry (IV)

Footnotes:

a. The original text omits “what is being done.”

Eastern Lightning | The Church of Almighty God came into being because of the work of the returned Lord Jesus—Almighty God, Christ of the last days in China, and it isn't established by any person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. After reading God’s word, you will see that God has appeared.