I

Man’s flesh is like the snake: Its substance is to harm his life—and when it completely gets its own way, your life becomes forfeit. The flesh is of Satan. There are always extravagant desires within it; it always thinks for itself, and it always desires ease and wants to indulge in comfort, lacking in anxiety and a sense of urgency, wallowing in idleness, and if you satisfy it to a certain point, it will ultimately devour you. Whether you can gain life before God and what your ultimate outcome will be, depend on how you practice your rebellion against the flesh.

II

God has saved you and chosen you and predestined you, yet if today you are unwilling to satisfy Him, you’re unwilling to put the truth into practice, you’re unwilling to rebel against your own flesh with a genuine God-loving heart, ultimately you’ll ruin yourself, and will thus endure extreme pain. If you always pander to the flesh, Satan will gradually swallow you up, and leave you without life, or the touch of the Spirit, until the day comes when you’re completely dark inside. When you live in darkness, you will have been taken captive by Satan, you’ll no longer have God in your heart, and at that time you’ll deny God’s existence and leave Him. Thus, if people wish to love God, they must pay the price of pain and endure hardship. There is no need for external fervency and hardship, or reading more and running about more; instead, they should put aside the things within them: the extravagant thoughts, personal interests, and their own plans, notions, and intents. This is the intention of God.

from The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God