After dinner, Zhou Zhongcheng came into the study as usual and then he sat down and opened his yellowed Bible which he had read for many years. He read the words of the Lord Jesus: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Zhou Zhongcheng looked at the scriptures and sighed from time to time as if he was thinking about something. At this time, his wife Yu Fenglan came in. Seeing that he was distressed, she asked with concern, “Are you still troubled by how to welcome the Lord Jesus’ return?” He raised his head and said: “The Lord Jesus’s disciples asked Him: ‘What shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?’ (Matthew 24:3). He answered: ‘For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places’ (Matthew 24:7). The Lord promised us that He would certainly come back in the last days, and He also told us the signs of His return. Now there are constant disasters in the world. Earthquakes, famines, plagues, and wars occur frequently. Judging from all the signs, now should be the time when the Lord appears to do His work, so how come we have still not welcomed Him?”

After hearing what Zhou Zhongcheng said, Yu Fenglan said: “What you just said is indeed what we should think over. The question of how to welcome the Lord’s return also puzzled me for a long time. Thank the Lord! Last time our cousin brought me to a church to listen to sermons. Through listening to their fellowship, I have found the answer.” Hearing the words of his wife, Zhou Zhongcheng was pleasantly surprised and astonished, and he asked: “Hurry up and tell me, how can we welcome the return of the Lord?”

Yu Fenglan answered calmly, “Let’s think back to how the people who followed the Lord welcomed Him during His work. Maybe this can give us some enlightenment about how to welcome the return of the Lord.”

“Mm, what you said makes sense,” agreed Zhou Zhongcheng. “Thinking back to the Age of Grace, when the Lord Jesus began to work, the people who followed the Lord Jesus, like Peter, John, and Nathanael, recognized from the Lord Jesus’ word and work that He was the Messiah. Also, the reason why the Samaritan woman recognized the Lord Jesus was Christ, the Messiah, was because she heard the Lord Jesus reveal the innermost secrets inside her.”

Yu Fenglan said: “Yes, you are right. Those who followed the Lord Jesus all perceived in His utterance the authority and power of His word. For instance, they saw one word from the Lord Jesus could calm the wind and sea and raise the dead. They saw that the Lord Jesus' word and work are full of authority and power. He speaks and it is done and what He demands is realized. Thus they recognized from His word and work that He was the Messiah, and was the appearance of God Himself. The Bible says: ‘So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God’ (Romans 10:17). Today, isn’t the reason why we believe in the Lord Jesus because we heard others preach the gospel of the Lord, and understood the work of God through reading the Bible and the words of God? Let’s think also of the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees who served God in the temple. They kept the Messiah in name only, but did not pay attention to listening to God’s words, nor did they seek the Lord Jesus’ utterance and work, thus missing the chance of following Him and losing the salvation of God. They used their conceptions and imaginations to define the Lord Jesus, thought that He was not called the Messiah so that He was not God Himself, and nailed Him to the cross. As a result, they suffered the pain of subjugation. The lesson of them calls for deep reflection!”

After listening to the fellowship of his wife, Zhou Zhongcheng said with a heavy heart, “Right. Your communication is enlightening. With regard to the Lord’s arrival, we really should pay attention to listening to the voice of God. If we remain in our church but don’t seek out the voice of God, will we miss the opportunity of welcoming the Lord’s return?”

Yu Fenglan nodded her head and said: “The Lord Jesus prophesied: ‘However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth’ (John 16:13). This shows that when the Lord comes back, He will speak and utter His words and tell us the truth that we don’t understand. The Lord Jesus also said: ‘And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him’ (Matthew 25:6). ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me’ (Revelation 3:20). In the Book of Revelation, there are also several mentions that ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Revelation 2:7). All of these prophecies tell us to be wise virgins and focus on listening to God’s voice; only in this way can we be raptured by the Lord and attend the wedding banquet with Him. If we are like what the Pharisees were—only remained in the temple, that is to say, if we only remain in our church praying and reading the Bible daily but do not pay attention to listening to God’s voice or seek where God is appearing to do His work, we will probably be abandoned by the Lord.”

Zhou Zhongcheng said: “Yes. It seems that if we want to welcome the return of the Lord, we must find His words and utterances. Only by hearing the Lord’s voice can we welcome His return.” Yu Fenglan nodded and said: “Our cousin gave me a book. Why don’t we see what exactly it says?” Zhou Zhongcheng said happily: “Ok. Let’s read it together.”

Then, Yu Fenglan stood up and quickly went into the bedroom. When she came out, there was a book in her hands. Zhou Zhongcheng took the book, quickly opened it and began to read: “God’s six-thousand-year plan of management is coming to an end, and the gate of the kingdom has already been opened to all those who seek His appearance. Dear brothers and sisters, what are you waiting for? What is it that you seek? Are you waiting for God to appear? Are you searching for His footprints? How the appearance of God is to be longed for! And how difficult it is to find God’s footprints! In an age such as this, in a world such as this, what must we do to witness the day on which God appears? What must we do to keep pace with the footsteps of God? Questions of this kind are faced by all those who are waiting for God to appear. You have all considered them on more than one occasion—but with what outcome? Where does God appear? Where are God’s footprints? Have you got the answer? Many people would reply in this way: ‘God appears among all those who follow Him and His footprints are in our midst; it’s that simple!’ Anyone can provide a formulaic answer, but do you understand what is meant by the appearance of God or His footprints? The appearance of God refers to His arrival on earth to do His work in person. With His own identity and disposition, and in the way that is innate to Him, He descends among mankind to conduct the work of initiating an age and ending an age.” “For this reason, since we are searching for the footprints of God, it behooves us to search for God’s will, 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” (“The Appearance of God Has Ushered in a New Age”).

After Zhou Zhongcheng read these words, Yu Fenglan said: “These words are so great. They clearly tell us how we can meet the Lord’s return. If we want to welcome the Lord’s appearance, we must pay attention to seek for God’s words and utterances. I remember the Lord Jesus said: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’ This book also says: ‘Wherever God appears, there the truth, the way, and the life exist.’ In studying the Lord’s appearance and work of the last days, the key is to seek where the expression of the truth is. As long as we find the expression of the truth, hear the utterances of God, and follow the footsteps of God, then we welcome the Lord’s return.”

Zhou Zhongcheng nodded his head and said: “These words are very enlightening and they also tell us the way to welcome the Lord’s return. I think these words are not something that could be spoken by an average man. Could these words be spoken by…?” At this point, Zhou Zhongcheng suddenly stood up and said to his wife: “Quickly, Call our cousin!”

His wife stood up and dialed the number …