I Developed Discernment After Two Particular Conversations With My Pastor
By Fang Ci’en, Taiwan She used to really idolize her pastor, because her pastor was good at expounding the Bible and he had much theological knowledge. After she accepted God’s work of the last days and experienced two attempts by the pastor to disrupt her, however, she finally saw the pastor’s true colors, and she came to understand that, just because someone is good at expounding on the Bible, it doesn’t mean they know God. Not long after I started believing in the Lord, I was made a co-worker in my church. Seeing my pastor expound on the Bible so well and have such theological knowledge, I idolized him a lot, and I hoped to one day be as well-versed in the Bible as him. After several years, however, the pastor was just preaching the same old things, co-workers were scheming against each other, brothers and sisters were splitting into different offshoot groups and the church was in a total state of chaos. My spirit was also not being provided for, and so I left the church. I floundered around for a while and found two churches which were basically exactly the same, and I became very disheartened; all I could do was beseech the Lord Jesus to return as soon as possible. In September 2018, I met Sister Zhang online and she showed me some movies and videos produced by The Church of Almighty God. Through our meetings and by fellowshiping the words of Almighty God, I recognized that Almighty God was the Lord Jesus returned, and I very quickly accepted God’s work of the last days. When Preacher Liu found out that I had begun to believe in Almighty God, he sent me a message warning me to leave my church immediately and telling me that I was not permitted to have any contact with brothers and sisters from my church again, and he stated that I was expelled from the church. In the wake of that message, my pastor began to harass me … My Pastor Purposefully Comes to Talk With Me Because I Have Accepted the True Way One day, Sister Zhao called me out of the blue and said, “The pastor wants a word with you.” I was very surprised by this, and I thought to myself: “You lot expelled me from your church and were so unfeeling toward me. What do you want to talk to me now for? Do you want to stop me from believing in Almighty God?” Just then, I thought of two movies I’d watched before, “Deadly Ignorance” and “Break Through the Snare.” These movies talked about pastors and elders disrupting the faithful from accepting the work of Almighty God. At that time, I had still had my doubts, and I’d believed that, because the pastor was well-versed in the Bible and had a lot of theological knowledge, he surely wouldn’t do anything that would defy God, much less obstruct anyone from accepting the true way. Now, however, because I had accepted the work of the returned Lord, I had not only been expelled from the church, but the pastor also wanted to have a word with me, and I couldn’t help but begin to feel a little worried. I thought to myself: “My stature is so small, and I understand too few truths. If I’m without discernment and I end up deceived, then I’ll be in great danger.” I immediately refused to speak with the pastor, but Sister Zhao kept on trying to get me to meet with him. If I didn’t go, I would lose face, and if I did go, I’d be worried that I wouldn’t be able to cope with his questions—what was I to do? In my helpless state, all I could do was pray to God. After praying, I thought of when, in the movie “Break Through the Snare,” the brothers and sisters were faced with the deception and harassment of the Chinese government and the religious world. Not only did they not cower down but, on the contrary, they relied on God to face their situation and, under the guidance of God’s words, they stood firm in their testimony. Now, all I had to deal with was that the pastor wanted to talk with me, so I should be much more able to rely on God to face this situation and I should believe that God would guide me. Just then, I found my confidence and I decided to go meet the pastor so that I could make my position clear. The First Conversation: The Pastor Tries to Use the Views of the CCP and the Religious World to Make Me Give Up the True Way The next day, I went to a church meeting. As soon as I walked in, I saw the pastor sitting straight-backed on a chair looking very imposing. I couldn’t help feeling nervous as I tried to guess what he might say. The pastor then cordially poured me a glass of water and, smiling, he said in a soft voice, “Sister Fang, how have you been lately? How are you coping with being expelled from the church?” I thought to myself: “He’s being so considerate toward me—what’s he up to?” Because I couldn’t figure out his intent, I didn’t want to answer him. Seeing that I stayed silent, he went on. “Actually, Preacher Liu expelled you from the church so that you would come back to us, and it was done with your best interests in mind. You were a co-worker in our church, chosen by the deaconry. You are highly respected, and the church has been intentionally training you. But you’ve disappointed us so much, now that you’ve gone off to believe in Almighty God.” I listened to him but didn’t respond. Just then, Sister Zhao, who was standing to one side, said to me with a sad look on her face, “See how good the pastor is being to you. He’s so concerned about you…
