During each church election, both leaders and workers, as well as God’s chosen people, have the responsibility and obligation to safeguard the election work. Leaders and workers must take on the work of fellowshipping the truth and election principles; God’s chosen people should bring up any issues they have, and then the truth should be fellowshipped to resolve these issues. Only in this way can it be ensured that the election goes smoothly. For one thing, leaders and workers should strictly adhere to the election principles of God’s house and carry out the work of each election in God’s house based on these principles. For another, they must also guard against evil people and antichrists manipulating and sabotaging elections. These individuals are servants of Satan, they are Satan’s cohort. Leaders and workers must strictly guard against them and be cautious with them, remaining vigilant toward their attempts during elections to manipulate things behind the scenes and engage in some shady, furtive actions to secretly rig the process. If it turns out that the election really was manipulated by evil people, resulting in the exclusion of the rightful electee and most people being misled so that the wrong individual—one not fit for the position—was elected leader, if such a situation occurs, then there is still a solution. The true situation of the elected person should be exposed. If most people agree, a do-over election can be held. An election manipulated by Satan and evil people is not the result of an election conducted normally by the church based on the truth principles. This is not a positive thing, and sooner or later, it will be laid bare, exposed, and nullified. Believing in this, if you encounter such situations, how should you act? You should be ready anytime and anywhere to fight against Satan, not stand by idly. If you are a wimp, a muddleheaded person, or a useless coward, you might compromise with them and collude with them, or be so beaten down by them that you become negative and unable to recover. Some people simply stand by idly, saying, “I can’t become a church leader anyway. Whoever serves, it’s all the same. Whoever has the ability can go ahead and serve! If an antichrist wants to serve, it has nothing to do with me, and as long as they don’t clear me out, it’s fine.” Those who say this are nothing good. They cannot imagine what the consequences would be if an antichrist served as the leader, nor the impact it would have on their belief in God and their salvation. Only people who understand the truth can see this for what it is. They will say: “If an antichrist becomes the church leader, it is God’s chosen people who will suffer. In particular, those who pursue the truth, those who have a sense of justice, and those who readily do their duty will all be suppressed and excluded. Only those muddleheaded people and people pleasers will be in favor, and they will have been caged and brought under the control of the antichrist’s power.” But those who do not pursue the truth never consider these things. They think: “One believes in God in order to be saved. Everyone walks their own path. Even if an antichrist becomes the leader, it won’t have an impact on me. As long as I don’t do bad things, they cannot suppress me or exclude me, or clear me out of the church.” Is this the correct point of view? (No.) If none of God’s chosen people is concerned about church elections, once they allow an antichrist to take power, what will the consequences be? Will it really be as simple as people imagine? What kind of changes will church life undergo? This directly relates to God’s chosen people’s life entry. If an antichrist holds power in a church, what will happen? The truth will no longer hold power in that church, and nor will God’s words—rather, disbelievers and Satan will hold power there. Although God’s words may yet be read at gatherings, the antichrist controls the right to speak. Can the antichrist fellowship about the truth clearly? Can the antichrist allow God’s chosen people to fellowship about the truth freely and without restraint? That is impossible. Once an antichrist holds power, there will be more and more disruptions and disturbances, the results of church life will increasingly diminish, and God’s chosen people will not reap much when they gather, which will cause difficulties for the life entry of God’s chosen people. The problems of God’s chosen people will also multiply and fail to be resolved, and some who are able to practice the truth will be perturbed as well; the atmosphere of church life will be entirely changed, as though dark clouds have come to blot out the sun. Will there still be enjoyment in church life then? It will definitely be compromised, in no small way. In the church, those who pursue the truth are a minority to begin with. If this minority is suppressed and excluded, it can be said that there will be no more church life. If people cannot see through to this consequence, they will not pay attention to or care about elections. If the majority of people do not regard elections earnestly, do not adhere to principles, treat elections so negatively, and take their cues from false leaders and antichrists, once evil people or those who do not love the truth become church leaders, most of God’s chosen people will suffer losses to their life entry. Therefore, the results of church elections directly affect the life growth of God’s chosen people and the future of the church. God’s chosen people should perceive this clearly and absolutely must not adopt a negative attitude. Some muddled people cannot see through this matter; they always rely on their own imaginings, thinking, “Everyone in the church is a sincere believer, so anyone can be elected; as long as they are a brother or sister, anyone can be leader.” They view church elections too simplistically, leading to many negative, erroneous ideas and viewpoints. If false leaders and antichrists are truly elected as leaders and workers, the church’s work will be damaged, and the life entry of God’s chosen people will inevitably be harmed. At that time, people will realize how important it is to hold elections according to principles.

There are some people pleasers in every church. These people pleasers have no discernment about evil people manipulating and sabotaging elections. Even if they do have a little discernment, they ignore it. Their attitude toward any issues that arise in church elections is “Let things drift if they do not affect one personally.” They think that it doesn’t matter who becomes the leader, that it has nothing to do with them. As long as they can happily go about their daily life, they’re fine. What do you think of people like this? Are they people who love the truth? (No.) What kind of people are they? These are people pleasers, and they can also be called disbelievers. These people do not pursue the truth; they only seek to live an easy life, coveting fleshly comfort. They are too selfish and too slick. Are there many such people in society? No matter which political party is in power, no matter who is in office, they are well liked, they can handle their social relations very successfully, and they live comfortably; no matter what political movement arises, they don’t get caught up in it. What kind of people are these? These are the most deceitful, the slickest people, known as “slippery eels” and “old snakes.” They live by Satan’s philosophies, without a shred of principle. Whoever is in power, they cater to them, flatter them, sing their merits. They do nothing but defend their superiors, and never offend them. However much evil their superiors do, they neither oppose nor support it, but keep their thoughts hidden deep inside. They are well liked no matter who is in power. Satan and the devil kings like this sort of person. Why do the devil kings like this sort of person? Because they do not spoil the devil kings’ affairs and do not pose any threat to them. This sort of person is unprincipled and has no baseline for their comportment, and lacks integrity and dignity; they just follow the trends of society and bow down before the devil kings, adapting to their tastes. Are there not also such people in the church? Can such people be overcomers? Are they good soldiers of Christ? Are they witnesses to God? When evil people and antichrists rear their heads and disturb the work of the church, can such people stand up and wage war against them, exposing, discerning, and renouncing them, putting an end to their evil deeds and bearing witness for God? They most certainly cannot. These slippery eels are not those whom God will perfect or those whom He will save. They never bear witness for God or uphold the interests of His house. As God sees them, these people are not those who follow or submit to Him, but those who blindly stir up trouble, members of Satan’s gang—it is they whom He will eliminate when His work is through. God does not treasure such wretches. They have neither the truth nor life; they are beasts and devils; they are unworthy of God’s salvation and of enjoying His love. So, God discards and eliminates such people with ease, and the church should promptly clear them out as disbelievers. They do not have a true heart for God, so will God provide them with real sustenance? Will He enlighten and help them? He will not. When disruptions and disturbances occur during church elections, and the election results are controlled and influenced by evil people, these people absolutely will not stand on God’s side to protect the interests of God’s house. They absolutely will not adhere to the truth principles to fight against evil people and antichrists, and to fight against Satan’s forces to the end. They absolutely will not do this, they lack the courage. Therefore, those who can testify for God should discern these people and should not fellowship the truths they understand or their discernment of Satan with these people. Even if you do fellowship these things with them, it will be useless; they will not stand on the side of the truth. When selecting co-workers and partners, you should exclude such people and not choose them. Why should you not choose them? Because they are slippery eels; they will not stand on God’s side, will not stand on the side of the truth, and will not unite with you in heart and mind to fight against Satan. If you confide your heartfelt words to them, you are foolish and will become a laughingstock for Satan. Do not fellowship the truth or offer exhortations to such people, and do not place any hope in them, because God does not save these people at all. They are not people who are of one heart and mind with God; they are spectators watching the battle rage from a distance; they are slippery eels. These types of people infiltrate God’s house just to watch the excitement and blindly stir up trouble. They have no sense of justice and no sense of responsibility; they don’t even have sympathy for good people harmed by evil people. Calling such people devils and Satans is most appropriate. If someone with a sense of justice exposes evil people, they won’t even cheer or support them. So, never trust these people; they are slippery eels, chameleons, old snakes. They are not sincere believers in God but are servants of Satan. These people can never be saved, and God does not want them; this is God’s clear desire. Most churches probably have such people. Look around in your church to see who they are. When things happen, never fellowship the truth with them, and don’t let them know what’s really going on with you. Be wary of such people and don’t engage with them. Look for those who truly believe in God and have a sense of justice—when they see the interests of God’s house being harmed, the work of the church and the order of church life being disturbed or manipulated, they become anxious and angry; they deeply hate these evil people who disturb the church; they want to stand up and expose the evil people and are eager to find people who understand the truth to unite and fight against the evil demons. Fellowship with such people and join hands with them to fight against Satan. These people are the overcomers, the good soldiers of Christ; only these people have a share in Christ’s kingdom. Those people pleasers, old snakes, chameleons, and those who are numb and dull-witted have all been revealed; they are objects to be eliminated. They are not brothers and sisters, not people of God’s house, but disbelievers and opportunists unworthy of trust. This is the way to deal with these people: If they can do evil, cleanse them away; if they are not evil people and do not follow evil people to disturb the church, they can provisionally stay in the church while you await their repentance. For one thing, observe and grasp these people’s dispositions, humanity, and their views and attitudes toward various matters, and exercise discernment, figuring out the essence of such people. At the same time, when evil people manipulate and sabotage elections, be vigilant of these people pleasers standing on the side of evil people, acting as their lackeys and accomplices. In short, for all improper behaviors of evil people manipulating and sabotaging elections, it is necessary to exercise discernment according to God’s words; when you see their essence clearly, you will know how to handle them appropriately according to principles.

Just now, we fellowshipped about some phenomena of manipulating and sabotaging elections and some people’s actions. Although not every aspect was covered, the principles for solving these issues were basically fellowshipped. Once you discover people manipulating and sabotaging elections within the church, you should stand up and restrict them. Do not be compliant or act like people pleasers. If anyone always tries to manipulate and sabotage elections, as soon as this tendency appears, the brothers and sisters should collectively stand up to stop and expose them. If they are doing it in confusion, not knowing this counts as manipulating and sabotaging elections, you can explain to them: “What you are doing is manipulating and sabotaging elections. Do not play the role of Satan’s servant. This is an election of church leaders, not an election of mayors or township chiefs. God’s house has its own regulations and has its principles for doing this work. Human intentions should not be mixed in; we should strictly follow the truth principles for this work. If your caliber is poor and you cannot understand the truth principles, or if you are old and muddled, lacking the intelligence required to participate in elections, then you can abstain and simply wait for the result, but by no means should you manipulate or sabotage the election, or cause disruptions and disturbances; these are evil deeds, and God detests it. Such evil deeds are forever condemned; never be such a person or follow this path. If you are indeed human, do not engage in manipulating and sabotaging elections, because once it becomes a fact, you will be labeled a servant of Satan and will be cleared out of the church.” If people who manipulate and sabotage elections are discovered, those among them with poor caliber who do not understand what has actually happened can be fellowshipped with love, supported, provided for, and helped. But what about those who, despite being fully aware of the truth principles, still knowingly manipulated and sabotaged the election, even ignoring admonitions against this? There is a solution for them too: They are not allowed to participate in elections anymore; strip them of their election rights. In short, all acts of manipulating and sabotaging elections must be uniformly discerned, stopped, and restricted to reverse the situation. Such behaviors and actions must not be allowed to exist in the church, to prevent wrong election results and the work of the church being disturbed and damaged.

The twelfth responsibility of leaders and workers involves the various people, events, and things that disrupt and disturb God’s work and the normal order of the church. We have divided these into eleven issues for fellowship. Problems or incidents of disruptions and disturbances listed in each issue involve people’s performance of duty and their genuine faith in God. Why are they divided so meticulously? Why do I bring each issue up for fellowship and dissection? Judging from each issue’s title, the humanity of the people doing these things is not good. Except for the first issue—often going off-topic when fellowshipping the truth, which is not considered severe—all the others are quite severe in nature. These manifestations all have a nature of causing disruptions and disturbances to them, and they all constitute disruptions and disturbances to the church’s work, which is why we bring them up for fellowship and dissection one by one. When these issues arise in church life or in the process of doing one’s duty, people should be particularly alert and discern them and see through them. When people see such events occur that cause disruption and disturbance, they should stand up to stop and restrict them. Regarding the first issue, “often going off-topic when fellowshipping the truth,” people sometimes do this unintentionally, and the circumstances involved and the nature of it are not too serious; but if they frequently go off-topic and speak incoherently, causing annoyance to their listeners, and thus no good results are achieved in church life, then this leads to consequences of disrupting and disturbing the church’s work. The remaining issues don’t even need to be mentioned; any one of them is enough to constitute disruptions and disturbances to the church’s work and the order of church life. Therefore, it is necessary to fellowship, analyze, and dissect each of these issues in detail. When malicious incidents occur, if you have discernment and knowledge of the evil deeds that disturb the church, you should stand up to stop and restrict them. In a broader sense, this is doing the duty of a created being; in a narrower sense, at the very least, it is fulfilling the duty and responsibility of a member of the church. Isn’t this what you should be able to do? (Yes.) What are the consequences if you can’t do this? How should we define not being able to do it? At the very least, it means you are a muddler; furthermore, you are a useless coward, afraid of Satan. Additionally, when Satans and devils appear to disturb God’s work and the normal order of the church, you remain indifferent and powerless, showing no response, and lacking the faith and courage to stand up to battle against Satan and bear testimony for God. In that case, you are a useless person, unworthy of being a follower of God.

The twelfth responsibility of leaders and workers lists various kinds of incidents in the church that disrupt and disturb God’s work. Each incident involves the attitudes of leaders and workers, as well as ordinary brothers and sisters, toward God. It also involves each person’s attitude toward their duty and responsibilities, as well as their stance and view toward these negative events and things that disturb the work of God’s house. Of course, it also involves whether a person who has believed in God and heard sermons for many years has enough stature and faith to battle against Satan and bear testimony for God when these negative events and things crop up. Does this touch upon key issues? It touches upon a person’s stance and the path they walk, as well as their attitude toward God, toward the truth, and toward their duty. Therefore, after hearing these words, you should understand that these are God’s requirements for people. Do not treat them as doctrines, rules, or regulations to execute and implement, but rather ponder them more so as to understand the truth, and then practice and enter into them, thus meeting God’s requirements. When evil people disrupt and disturb the church’s work, do not stand by idly, do not shirk your responsibilities with various excuses, saying that you have believed in God for only a short time, have a small stature, or are still young, etc. When God examines the work, when He orchestrates environments to see your attitude, He does not look at your age, how many years you have believed in Him, or what price you once paid and what merits you have achieved; God wants your attitude in the moment. If you have usually never pondered or sought about these matters, and you pass through every matter in a muddled state without retaining anything, without seeking the truth, without learning your lesson, or taking seriously the various environments God has orchestrated, if you flee when you see evil people causing disturbances and disruptions, and never report this to God’s house or show your attitude, then although you did not participate in the evildoing, your behavior in this matter has already revealed your stance and viewpoint—you are a bystander, standing up for Satan. God scrutinizes everything, and you cannot deceive Him. Therefore, when these negative matters take place, when you discover various people, events, and things that disrupt and disturb the church’s work and the normal order of church life, it clearly reveals your attitude toward God. It may be that you’ve believed in God for only a short time, you’re rather young, and your stature is small, but if when these things happen you act according to principles, and you try to stop, restrict, or even expose the evil people, taking risks and disregarding your own safety to stand up and protect the interests of God’s house—if you have this heart, then your attitude toward God, as well as your determination to bear witness to God and fight against Satan, will become a testimony seen by people and God. People’s evil deeds, their fooling and concealment from God, their shirking of responsibilities, their yielding and compromise to Satan when it does evil—God will see all of these, and these evil deeds will one day be settled and receive a verdict. But likewise, when people stand up against Satan’s disruptions and disturbances to speak for God’s house and for the brothers and sisters, and fight against Satan to protect the interests of God’s house, seeking the truth with the aspiration of bearing witness to God, even if they sometimes feel powerless and alone, lacking wisdom, having only a shallow understanding of the truth, or want to fellowship about the truth but can’t express themselves clearly, leading some to ridicule and look down upon them, in God’s eyes He sees their sincerity, and He considers these actions and behaviors as good deeds. Evil deeds will one day receive a verdict and have their conclusion before God, and so will good deeds—but the final conclusion for each of these two kinds of behavior will be completely different. Evil deeds will receive their due retribution, and good deeds will be repaid with good treatments. God has long since determined this for every person, just waiting for the various manifestations of people during the period of God’s work to become established facts before rewarding good and punishing evil.