What Do You Know of Faith?
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| The Word Appears in the Flesh |
In man exists only the uncertain word of faith, yet man knows not what constitutes faith, much less why he has faith. Man understands too little and man himself is too lacking; he merely has faith in Me mindlessly and ignorantly. Though he knows not what faith is nor why he has faith in Me, he continues to do so obsessively. What I ask of man is not merely for him to obsessively call upon Me in this way or to believe in Me in a desultory fashion. For the work I do is for man to see Me and come to know Me, not for man to be impressed and look at Me in a new light because of My work. I previously manifested many signs and wonders and performed many miracles. The Israelites at the time showed Me great admiration and greatly revered My exceptional ability to heal the sick and exorcise demons. At the time, the Jews thought My healing powers to be masterly and extraordinary. For My many such deeds, they all regarded Me with respect; they felt great admiration for all of My powers. So any who saw Me perform miracles followed Me closely, such that thousands surrounded Me to watch Me heal the sick. I manifested so many signs and wonders, yet man merely regarded Me as a masterly physician; I also spoke many words of teaching to those people at the time, yet they merely regarded Me as a teacher superior to his disciples! Even to this day, after men have seen the historical records of My work, their interpretation continues to be that I am a great physician who heals the sick and a teacher to the ignorant. And they have determined Me to be the merciful Lord Jesus Christ. Those who interpret scripture may have surpassed My skills in healing, or may even be disciples who have now surpassed their teacher, yet such men of great renown, whose names are known around the world, regard Me so lowly as a mere physician! My deeds are greater in number than the grains of sand on the beaches, and My wisdom greater than that of all those sons of Solomon, yet men merely think of Me as a physician of little account and an unknown teacher of man! How many believe in Me only so I would heal them? How many believe in Me only so I would use My powers to drive unclean spirits out of their bodies? And how many believe in Me simply to receive peace and joy from Me? How many believe in Me only to demand from Me more material wealth, and how many believe in Me just to spend this life in safety and to be safe and sound in the world to come? How many believe in Me only to avoid the suffering of hell and to receive the blessings of heaven? How many believe in Me only for temporary comfort but do not seek to gain anything in the world to come? When I brought down My fury upon man and seized all the joy and peace he originally possessed, man became doubtful. When I gave unto man the suffering of hell and reclaimed the blessings of heaven, man’s shame turned into anger. When man asked Me to heal him, yet I acknowledged him not and felt abhorrence for him, man went far away from Me and sought the way of witch doctors and sorcery. When I took away all that man had demanded from Me, then all disappeared without a trace. Therefore, I say that man has faith in Me because I give too much grace, and there is far too much to gain. The Jews believed in Me for My grace, and followed Me wherever I went. These ignorant men of limited knowledge and experience only sought to see the signs and wonders I manifested. They regarded Me as the head of the house of the Jews who could perform the greatest miracles. Therefore, when I exorcised demons from men, they talked amongst themselves in great confusion, saying that I am Elijah, that I am Moses, that I am the most ancient of all prophets, that I am the greatest of all physicians. Apart from Myself saying that I am the life, the way, and the truth, none could know My being or My identity. Apart from Myself saying that heaven is the place where My Father lives, none knew that I am the Son of God, and God Himself. Apart from Myself saying that I shall bring redemption to all mankind and ransom mankind, none knew that I am the Redeemer of mankind; men only knew Me as a benevolent and compassionate man. And apart from Myself being able to explain all there is of Me, none knew Me, and none believed that I am the Son of the living God. Man only has such manner of faith in Me, and fools Me in this way. How can man bear Me witness when he holds such views of Me?
Man has faith in Me but cannot bear witness for Me, and before I have made Myself known, man cannot testify for Me. Man sees only that I surpass creatures and all holy men, and sees that the work I do cannot be done by men. Therefore, from the Jews to the men of present day, any who has seen My glorious deeds is simply filled with a curiosity toward Me, yet not the mouth of a single creature could bear Me witness. Only My Father bore witness for Me; He made a path for Me among all creatures. Otherwise, no matter how I worked, man would never know that I am the Lord of creation, for man knows only to take, and does not have faith in Me because of My work. Man knows Me only because I am innocent and in no part a sinner, because I can explain numerous mysteries, because I am above the multitude, or because man has profited much from Me. Yet few are those who believe I am the Lord of creation. This is why I say that man knows not why he has faith in Me; he knows not the purpose or significance of having faith in Me. The reality of man is lacking, such that he is very nearly unworthy to bear Me witness. You have too little true faith and have gained too little, so you have too little testimony. Moreover, you understand too little and lack too much, such that you are almost not fit to bear witness to My deeds. Your resolution is indeed considerable, but are you certain that you will be able to successfully testify to the substance of God? What you have experienced and seen surpasses that of the former saints and prophets, but are you able to provide testimony greater than the words of these former saints and prophets? That which I bestow upon you now surpasses Moses and is greater than David, so likewise I ask that your testimony surpass that of Moses and that your words be greater than that of David. I give you a hundredfold, so likewise I ask you to repay Me the same. You must know I am the One who bestows life unto mankind, and it is you who receive life from Me and must bear witness for Me. This is your duty, which I send down upon you and which you ought to do for Me. I have bestowed all My glory unto you, and bestowed unto you the life that the chosen people, the Israelites, never received. By right, you ought to bear witness for Me, and devote to Me your youth and lay down your life. Whomsoever I bestow My glory unto shall bear Me witness and give his life for Me. This has long been predestined. It is your good fortune that I bestow My glory upon you, and your duty is to testify to My glory. If you believe in Me only to gain fortune, then My work would not have much significance, and you would not be fulfilling your duty. The Israelites saw only My mercy, love, and greatness, and the Jews witnessed only My patience and redemption. They saw only very little of the work of My Spirit; it may be such that their level of understanding was merely one ten thousandth of that which you have heard and seen. What you have seen exceeds even that of the chief priests among them. This day, the truth you have understood surpasses theirs; what you have seen this day exceeds that seen in the Age of Law, as well as the Age of Grace, and what you have experienced surpasses even that of Moses and Elijah. For what the Israelites understood was only the law of Jehovah and what they saw was only the sight of Jehovah’s back; what the Jews understood was only the redemption of Jesus, what they received was only the grace bestowed by Jesus, and what they saw was only the image of Jesus within the house of the Jews. What you see this day is the glory of Jehovah, the redemption of Jesus and all My deeds of this day. You have also heard the words of My Spirit, appreciated My wisdom, come to know My wonder, and learned of My disposition. I have also told you all of My management plan. What you have seen is not merely a loving and merciful God, but One that is filled with righteousness. You have seen My wondrous work and known that I am filled with fierce anger and majesty. Furthermore, you have known that I once brought down My raging fury upon the house of Israel, and this day, it has come to you. You have understood more of My mysteries in heaven than Isaiah as well as John; you know more of My loveliness and venerableness than all the saints of previous generations. What you have received is not merely My truth, My way, My life, but the vision and revelation greater than that of John. You have understood many more mysteries and have also seen My true countenance; you have accepted more of My judgment and known more of My righteous disposition. So, though you were born in the last days, your understanding is that of the former and the past; you have also experienced what is of this day, and such was accomplished by My hand. What I ask of you is not unreasonable, for I have given you too much and much have you seen from Me. Therefore, I ask you to bear witness for Me as former saints have done, and this is My heart’s only desire.
It had been My Father who bore witness for Me, but I seek to receive greater glory and for words of testimony to come from the mouths of creation. So I give My all to you for the purpose of having you fulfill your duty and bringing to a conclusion My work among man. You ought to understand why you have faith in Me. If you follow Me merely to be My apprentice or My patient, or to become one of My saints in heaven, then your efforts will be for naught. To follow Me in such a manner is simply a waste of effort; to have such manner of faith in Me is merely whiling away your days and squandering your youth. And in the end, you will receive nothing. Is this not a labor in vain? I have long departed from among the Jews and am no longer a physician of man or the medicine for man. I am no longer a beast of burden for man to drive or butcher at will; rather I have come among men to judge and chastise man, and for man to know Me. You should know that I once did the work of redemption; I was once Jesus, but I could not remain Jesus forever, much as I was once Jehovah but later became Jesus. I am the God of mankind, the Lord of creation, but I cannot forever remain Jesus or forever remain Jehovah. I have been what man considered a physician, but it cannot be said that God is merely a physician for mankind. So if you hold views of old in your faith in Me, then you will attain nothing. No matter how you praise Me this day: “How loving God is of man; He heals me and gives me blessings, peace, and joy. How good God is to man; if we just have faith in Him, then we need not worry for money and wealth…,” I still cannot interrupt My original work. If you believe in Me this day, you will receive only My glory and be worthy to bear Me witness, and everything else will be secondary. This you must clearly know.
Now do you truly know why you believe in Me? Do you truly know the purpose and significance of My work? Do you truly know your duty? Do you truly know My testimony? If you merely believe in Me, yet neither My glory nor My testimony can be seen in you, then I have long ago cast you away. As for those who know it all, they are even more thorns in My eye, and in My house, they are merely stumbling blocks. They are tares to be completely winnowed out in My work, without the slightest function and without any weight; I have long abhorred them. As for those without testimony, My anger is perpetually upon them, and My rod never strays from them. I have long ago turned them over to the hands of the evil one, and they have not any of My blessings. Upon that day, their punishment will be far sorer than that of foolish women. Now I am only doing the work that is My duty to do; I will bind all the wheat in bundles, together along with those tares. This is My work now. These tares shall all be winnowed out in the time of My winnowing, then the grains of wheat shall be gathered into the storehouse, and those tares that have been winnowed out shall be placed in the fire to be burned to dust. My work now is merely to bind all men into bundles, that is, to completely conquer them. Then shall I begin winnowing to reveal the end of all men. So you ought to know how you should satisfy Me now and how you ought to set upon the right track in your faith in Me. What I seek is your loyalty and obedience now, your love and testimony now. Even if you do not know at this moment what testimony is or what love is, you should bring to Me your all, and turn over to Me the only treasures you have: your loyalty and obedience. You should know, the testament to My defeat of Satan lies within the loyalty and obedience of man, as does the testament to My complete conquest of man. The duty of your faith in Me is to bear witness for Me, to be loyal to Me and none other, and to be obedient to the end. Before I begin the next step of My work, how will you bear witness for Me? How will you be loyal and obedient to Me? Do you devote all your loyalty to your function or will you simply give up? Would you rather submit to My every arrangement (be it death or destruction) or flee midway to avoid My chastisement? I chastise you so that you will bear Me witness, and be loyal and obedient to Me. Also, the chastisement at present is to unfold the next step of My work and to allow the work to come to progress unimpeded. Hence I exhort you to be wise and treat not your life or the significance of your existence as worthless sand. Can you know exactly what My work to come will be? Do you know how I will work in days to come and how My work will unfold? You should know the significance of your experience of My work, and furthermore, the significance of your faith in Me. I have done so much; how could I give up halfway as you imagine? I have done such extensive work; how could I destroy it? Indeed, I have come to bring this age to an end. This is true, but moreover you must know that I am to begin a new age, to begin new work, and, most of all, to spread the gospel of the kingdom. So you should know that the work now is only to begin an age, and to lay the foundation for spreading the gospel and bringing the age to an end in time to come. My work is not so simple as you think, nor is it as worthless or meaningless as you may believe. Therefore, I tell you as before: You ought to give your life to My work, and moreover, you ought to devote yourself to My glory. Further, your bearing Me witness is that which I have long awaited, and even more so have I yearned for you to spread My gospel. You ought to understand what is in My heart.
From The Word Appears in the Flesh
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