God says: “If he really has such expressions, it is enough to show that this person is arrogant and self-conceited and does not worship God at all, and what he pursues is to stand in a high position; he wants to rule over others, he wants to occupy others, and he wants to have a place in others’ heart. This is the typical satanic image. The especially salient of his disposition is being arrogant and self-conceited, worshiping not God, and letting others worship him. Isn’t this his nature? From these expressions, we can fully discern his nature.” From the disclosure of God’s words, we see that our nature and substance are the same as Paul’s. We are arrogant and self-conceited by nature and have no God in our heart and no truth in our living. What we live out is completely satan’s image, and is entirely controlled by our satanic nature. Although we hate ourselves, we have no way to free ourselves from the restriction of our corrupt nature. As God says: “Although you have not intended to take the way of Paul, your nature just directs so, and in spite of yourself you are walking forward so. Although you are willing in your heart to take the way of Peter, you are unclear about how to walk the way of Peter, and unconsciously you are still walking the way of Paul. This is the fact.” Indeed, we are all willing to take the way of Peter, but directed by our satanic nature, we have not yet stepped onto the way of Peter by now. Specifically speaking, the reason why we have not stepped onto the way of Peter but have stepped onto the way of Paul which we do not want to take, on the one hand, is that satan has corrupted us too deeply. It has planted the root of poison deeply in our heart, with the result that even in our blood and marrow flow the poisons of the great red dragon. Since childhood, we have been instructed and influenced by our parents’ words and deeds: As a human being, one has to make something of himself, do great things, manage great undertakings, and make others think highly of him; he has to know the ways of conducting himself, such as, “It is better to suffer physically than lose face,” “Face is as important to man as the bark is to the tree,” “A man leaves his reputation behind him as a wild goose leaves its sound behind it.” In school, our teachers taught us: You should from youth have ideals, learn from famous persons, great personages, scientists, and heroes, and aim to become famous at home and abroad. These poisons and the like have taken root deeply in our heart, so that our thoughts and minds have been completely confined to them. We believe that all these theories are the most proper and are blameless, and we are willingly manipulated by these things, never having the thought to transcend them, much less the courage and power to surpass ourselves. On the other hand, it is because of our satanic disposition of being arrogant, self-conceited, self-important, self-right, and disobedient to the truth. We always have our future and destiny upon our breast and always make bargains with God and have demands on God. These fleshly extravagant desires and satanic disposition have been deeply rooted in us, so that we do not thirst for the truth, and do not know the way of Peter as the only way to being perfected, even less pay attention to the specific ways to walk the path to success which God points out to people. That is to say, we are not at all clear about the natures of and the differences between the way of Peter and the way of Paul, and do not know what truths we should have to walk the way of Peter, much less master the specific ways of walking the way of Peter. Therefore, we have not yet stepped onto the way of Peter by now. As God says: “How do you say you should walk the way of Peter now? If you cannot distinguish between the way of Peter and the way of Paul or do not know them at all, no matter how you say that you walk the way of Peter, it is empty talk. You have to first discern clearly in your heart what the way of Peter is all about and what the way of Paul is all about. When you really realize that the way of Peter is the way of life and is the only way to being perfected, you will be able to know and grasp the truths essential for walking the way of Peter and the specific ways of walking it. If you do not know the way of Peter, the way you walk is definitely the way of Paul, because you have no other path to take, having no other choice.”
To truly step onto the way of Peter, first of all, we have to know that the way of Peter is a way of pursuing the truth and pursuing life, is the only way to being perfected, and is the only way to success we believers in God should walk, and even more, we have to know the specific ways of practice concerning walking the way of Peter. Then, how to walk the way of Peter? Let’s read God’s fellowship: “To walk the way of Peter, broadly speaking, is to walk the way of pursuing the truth, and is also to walk the way of truly knowing oneself and gaining the transformation of one’s disposition. Only walking the way of Peter is the way of being perfected by God. How to walk the way of Peter practically and what ways of practice there are, these one must be clear about. First of all, one must drop his intents, his improper pursuit, and even his family and all the things of his flesh, and make a wholehearted devotion, that is, throw himself into God’s word completely, concentrating on eating and drinking God’s word, concentrating on seeking the truth and seeking God’s meaning in God’s word, and touching God’s will in everything. This is the most essential and most crucial way of practice. After meeting Jesus, Peter practiced so. Only by practicing so can one achieve the best results. To put all one’s heart and strength into God’s word mainly means to seek the truth, seek God’s meaning, and pay attention to touching God’s will in God’s word, and to understand and gain more truths in God’s word. In reading God’s word, Peter did not put his focus on understanding doctrines, much less on gaining theological knowledge. Rather, he focused on understanding the truth and touching God’s will, so as to know God’s disposition and God’s loveliness. Meanwhile, he tried to know in God’s word man’s various corrupt states, man’s corrupt nature, and man’s real lacks, and tried to meet God’s requirements for man in every aspect so as to satisfy God. He had so many accurate practices in God’s word, which was most after God’s heart and was man’s best cooperation in experiencing God’s work. In his experiencing hundreds of trials from God, every word by which God judged man, every word by which God exposed man, and every word by which God made requirements of man, he strictly checked himself with to examine himself and touch the meaning of them. All the words Jesus said to him, he pondered over seriously and bore them in mind, and he got very good results. By practicing so, he got to know himself in God’s word, not only knowing man’s various corrupt states, but also knowing man’s substance and nature and man’s various deficiencies. This meant that he had truly known himself. In God’s word, on the one hand, he got to truly know himself, and on the other hand, as God in his words expressed God’s righteous disposition, expressed what God has and is, expressed God’s intention in working, and expressed God’s requirements for mankind, from these words he completely knew God, knowing God’s disposition and God’s substance and also having some knowledge and understanding of what God has and is, God’s loveliness, and God’s requirements for man. Although at that time there were not as many God’s words as today, yet in Peter these aspects of results were achieved. This was rare and commendable. In experiencing hundreds of trials, Peter did not suffer in vain. In God’s word and God’s work, Peter not only had known himself but also had known God. Besides, in God’s word, he also paid special attention to God’s requirements for man and the respects in which man should satisfy God and be after God’s heart. In this aspect, he could spend great effort to become fully clear about them. This was of great benefit to his entering in. Whatever God’s words were about, so long as they could be his life and were the truth, he engraved them in his heart and often pondered and digested them. When he heard the words Jesus spoke, he could take them to heart, which showed that he paid special attention to God’s word. Eventually, he did achieve the results, that is, he was able to practice God’s word freely, practice the truth accurately, and act exactly as God desired, and was able to act completely according to God’s mind, giving up his own opinions and imaginations. Thus, he had entered into the reality of God’s word. Peter’s service was after God’s heart mainly because he had done this.”
From God’s words, we can see that to step onto the way of Peter, we have to pay some price. Firstly, we must correct our wrong viewpoint of pursuing, forsake our intent of receiving blessings, our extravagant desires, and even our family and all the things of our flesh, and put all our heart and strength into the word of Almighty God, consciously seeking to understand the truth and touching God’s will in God’s word, and trying to understand the true meaning of God’s word. For example, during Peter’s following Jesus, the Lord Jesus once asked him: Have you ever loved me? After hearing this word, Peter began to ponder it. Finally, he understood that, he loved only the Father in heaven and not the Lord on earth, which was not right. The God on earth was the God in heaven; it was unrealistic to love the God in heaven alone, and only loving the God on earth was realistic. He gained the truth from Jesus’ word. Thereafter, he began to pursue to love the God on earth and finally became a pioneer in loving God. Secondly, we must strictly relate to ourselves the words by which God discloses man’s nature, and know our real lacks, our corrupt disposition, and our corrupt substance in God’s work and God’s revealing. Meanwhile, we must also, in God’s word and work, pursue to know God’s substance, understand God’s disposition, know God’s almightiness and wisdom and God’s righteousness and holiness, and know God’s lovely aspects, God’s salvation for man, and so forth. For example, from the steps of the work such as the trial of the service-doer, the trial of the times of chastisement, and the trial of death, we see that God’s working is based on satan’s schemes. God cut off all of people’s ways of escape by making use of their intent of receiving blessings, and then announced that in China there were no sons of God and that all were service-doers and would be kicked out when finishing their services…. Through this way, God revealed the mixture people had within in their years of believing in God—the intent of receiving blessings and the mind of making bargains, and revealed God’s unfathomableness as well as God’s wisdom and wonder in working. In that trial, before people realized anything, God’s work had achieved the results, and satan had thus been shamed and defeated. After experiencing such work of God, we knew God’s wonder and unfathomableness and at the same time realized that we were too small and lacked too much and our bargaining viewpoint was deeply rooted. Thirdly, we must also pay attention to seeking God’s intention for man in God’s word and do our utmost to pursue to satisfy God in God’s requirements. Through practicing the words by which God makes requirements of man, we can also know our lacks and know our corrupt substance and corrupt disposition, and at the same time can gain some substantive knowledge of God’s word. For example, God requires us to be an honest person. Before we practiced this truth, we felt that we were not very crafty. When we practiced it, we discovered that we had been corrupted by satan so deeply that we were full of lies and even could not speak a true word in our prayers to God. Many times we spoke for our intents, spoke for our face, and even would rather go to hell than speak a true word. Only then did we see that it was so difficult for us to speak an honest word, and that we had really been corrupted by satan too deeply and satan’s nature had become our life. And only then did we deeply realize that to be an honest person was not as simple as we had imagined.
The above several aspects of practice are the most essential and crucial ways of practice concerning walking the way of Peter.
Today, we should all imitate Peter, walk the way that Peter walked, and change our previous wrong viewpoint of pursuing; should truly pursue the truth; should spend more effort on God’s word, pondering it carefully and digesting it seriously, and know ourselves and know God from it; should in God’s word understand God’s requirements and find ways of practice so as to practice the truth accurately in everything; and should in our experience seek to know what God is and has and know God’s almightiness and wisdom. Only thus will we truly step onto the way of Peter and can we gain the transformation in our disposition and become new persons.
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