Bible Verses for Reference:

“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go you rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:6–10).

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears My voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

“He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7).

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27).

“These are they which follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (Revelation 14:4).

Relevant Words of God:

Since man believes in God, he must closely follow the footsteps of God, step-by-step; he should “follow the Lamb wherever He goes.” Only these are the people who seek the true way, only they are the ones who know the work of the Holy Spirit. People who slavishly follow words and doctrines are those who have been eliminated by the work of the Holy Spirit. In each period of time, God will begin new work, and in each period, there will be a new beginning among man. If man only abides by the truths that “Jehovah is God” and “Jesus is Christ,” which are truths that only apply to their respective ages, then man will never keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit, and will forever be incapable of gaining the work of the Holy Spirit. Regardless of how God works, man follows without the slightest doubt, and he follows closely. In this way, how could man be eliminated by the Holy Spirit? Regardless of what God does, as long as man is certain that it is the work of the Holy Spirit, and cooperates in the work of the Holy Spirit without any misgivings, and tries to meet the requirements of God, then how could he be punished? The work of God has never ceased, His footsteps have never halted, and prior to the completion of His management work, He has always been busy, and never stops.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Work and Man’s Practice

Since we are searching for the footprints of God, it behooves us to search for God’s intentions, for the words of God, for His utterances—because wherever there are new words spoken by God, the voice of God is there, and wherever there are the footsteps of God, God’s deeds are there. Wherever there is the expression of God, there God appears, and wherever God appears, there the truth, the way, and the life exist. In seeking God’s footprints, you have ignored the words “God is the truth, the way, and the life.” And so, many people, even when they receive the truth, do not believe that they have found God’s footprints, and still less do they acknowledge the appearance of God. What a grave mistake! The appearance of God cannot be reconciled with man’s notions, still less can God appear at the behest of man. God makes His own choices and His own plans when He does His work; moreover, He has His own objectives and His own methods. Whatever work He does, He has no need to discuss it with man or seek his advice, much less to notify each and every person of His work. This is the disposition of God, and it should, moreover, be recognized by everyone. If you desire to witness the appearance of God, to follow God’s footsteps, then you must first walk away from your own notions. You must not demand that God do this or that, much less should you place Him within your own confines and limit Him to your own notions. Instead, you should demand of yourselves how you ought to seek God’s footprints, how you ought to accept God’s appearance, and how you ought to submit to the new work of God: This is what man should do. Since man is not the truth, and is not possessed of the truth, he should seek, accept, and submit.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 1: The Appearance of God Has Ushered in a New Age

Sermon and Fellowship Excerpts for Reference:

The wise virgins’ welcoming of the Lord shows that their wisdom lay chiefly in recognizing the voice of the Lord, which was a wisdom not possessed by the foolish virgins. Is recognizing the voice of the Lord a simple matter? If people are swollen with notions and imaginings, they will be fettered and constrained when they hear the voice of the Lord, and will be likely to doubt the voice of the Lord. When wise virgins hear the voice of the Lord, they are able to put aside their notions and imaginings; they have no doubt that this is the Lord speaking, and thus they welcome the Lord. And so, those who can recognize the voice of the Lord understand spiritual things: The source of this voice is clear to them, and they can see that it is the Spirit of God talking. That is enough, and their notions and imaginings are no longer a great problem. Foolish virgins, meanwhile, regard their notions and imaginings as a basis for their decisions, and they regard them as the truth. Even though they hear the voice of the Lord, they deny it, they reject it, and so they miss the opportunity to welcome the Lord. This is where the foolish virgins fail. So what does the wise virgins’ preparing the oil refer to? It primarily refers to attentively listening to the voice of the Lord, not being constrained by notions and imaginings, and welcoming and accepting the Lord without any doubts upon ascertaining that this is the voice of the Lord—this is most important. In welcoming the Lord, many people are constrained by religious notions. It is as if they have already established and ascertained a model for the return of the Lord, and they give no consideration to anything that is at odds with their own notions and imaginings. How foolish such people are! There are many who have investigated the true way, who have read the words of Almighty God and acknowledge that they are the truth, but who do not accept that this person is the incarnation. They act exactly how the Pharisees did toward the Lord Jesus—they are the most foolish people of all. Those who, after reading the words of Almighty God, acknowledge that these words are the truth, who are certain that this is the appearance and work of God, and who accept that Almighty God is the Savior, are the wisest of all. What makes them wise? Firstly, they are able to discern all of God’s words to be the truth and the voice of God. Secondly, having determined that the words of God are the truth and the voice of God, they are able to identify what Satan says as rumors and devilish words which condemn and oppose God, and deny, in totality, all of the words that come from Satan, and trust that only God is the truth. These are the wisest things about the wise virgins. After they have welcomed the Lord, none of the lies and fabrications of Satan can deceive them; they trust only in God, and willingly put aside everything to follow God, thus entirely fulfilling the words of the Lord Jesus: The wise virgins have welcomed the Lord, that is, they have been raised before the throne of God.

—The Fellowship from the Above