The twelfth responsibility of leaders and workers lists eleven issues regarding people, events, and things that disrupt and disturb the work of the church. Are these eleven issues important? Do they reveal people clearly? When you fellowship over each issue, you should put more effort into it so as to understand the truth clearly. This involves how people uphold justice and positive things, and how they uphold God’s testimony; it also involves how people stand up to fight Satan, expose and uncover Satan’s face, and stop and restrict Satan’s evil deeds—these are the two aspects involved. When Satan disrupts and disturbs the work of the church, do you play a role? What role do you play? Have you done what God requires of you? Have you fulfilled the obligations and responsibilities that a follower of God should fulfill? When these issues arise, do you compromise, smooth things over, and take the middle ground as a people pleaser, or do you stand up to stop and restrict Satan’s evil deeds, working in one accord with more true brothers and sisters to protect the interests of God’s house? What do you protect? Do you protect the interests of evil people, Satan’s interests, or do you protect the interests of God’s house? If anything that disrupts or disturbs the work of the church happens, and you do nothing, only acting as a people pleaser and preserving yourself, ensuring that you can handle your interpersonal relationships successfully and remain unharmed, without ever feeling concerned or anxious about the work of the church being disturbed, without having any hatred or anger toward the evil deeds of evil people, without having any burden for the interests of God’s house and all the brothers and sisters, without any sense of indebtedness toward God, and without feeling any self-reproach, then you are in danger. If, in God’s view, you are a people pleaser through and through, passively observing whatever happens with folded arms and evading it, and not fulfilling any of your responsibilities or obligations whatsoever, then you are truly in danger and liable to be eliminated by God. If God has a thought where not even the intention of letting you labor remains, and He is fed up with you, then, at this point, you’re destined to be eliminated, which is incredibly dangerous! When God says that He doesn’t want to see people like you anymore, and that He doesn’t value people like you doing any duty or laboring in God’s house, then you may be eliminated by the church one day, one moment in the not-too-distant future, which will change your fate. That is because your relationship with God is no longer normal or you’ve distanced yourself from God and betrayed Him and this has led to a result. Can you see this fact? When you realize this fact, regardless of whether you can accept it, all the beautiful hopes in your heart will vanish in an instant.

When people first believe in God, they all have a fervent heart. Although they can’t see their future destination or prospects, they always feel a kind of reliance on God. They always aspire to beautiful and positive things. Where does this strength come from? People don’t know; they can’t figure it out: “People are all the same, all living in the same air and under the same sun. So, why is it that nonbelievers lack these things in their hearts while we have them?” Isn’t this a mystery? This strength comes from God. It is an all-too precious thing; it’s not something people are born with. If everyone had it from birth, they would be the same; among humankind there would be no distinctions of high or low, noble or base, and there would be no difference between those who believe in God and those who don’t. What they don’t have, you can possess; you can have the most precious thing that exists among humanity. Why is it called the most precious thing? Precisely because of this hope and expectation, you can keep your mind set on doing your duties in God’s house. This is the most fundamental condition for a person to be able to attain salvation. It’s because of this expectation that you have an opportunity, and a little bit of a resolve of being willing to expend for God, to do your duty as a created being and to be a good person, a saved person. The benefits this brings are just so great. So, where does this thing come from? It comes from God; it’s given by God. However, when God doesn’t want someone anymore, this thing is taken away. They no longer long for or expect beautiful things; they don’t place their hopes in them anymore. Their heart darkens and begins to sink. They lose the enthusiasm to pursue anything beautiful or positive, as well as the promises of God. They’ve become just like a nonbeliever. Once this thing is lost, can they remain in God’s house and continue to believe in God and follow Him? Hasn’t their path of faith in God come to an end? When you lose this prerequisite of having the resolve to pursue, you turn into a walking corpse. What does being a “walking corpse” mean? It means you can no longer understand God’s words. When you have this prerequisite, you can understand God’s words, have hope, your faith can be inspired, and this prerequisite can give you the motivation to pursue the truth. However, when you lose this fundamental prerequisite, this motivation disappears. You have no enthusiasm or interest in listening to God’s words. Promises and expectations don’t interest or motivate you anymore. For you, God’s words have become a high-level theory. You don’t strive toward them, and God no longer enlightens you. You can’t gain any truth from God’s words. Hasn’t this path of faith in God come to an end for you? When it reaches this point, God has already spurned you; can you still make God change His mind? It won’t be easy. When God has determined that He doesn’t want a certain person anymore, this is what they feel inside. When this thing is stripped away, your attitude toward various matters such as believing in God, doing your duties, and being saved will be completely different from before. Reflecting on your once passionate pursuit, you will find it inexplicable, incomprehensible, and unbelievable. When you find it unbelievable, comparing how you are now to your previous self, your inner state will have undergone a qualitative change; you will be a completely different person, you won’t be the same person as you were before. Why will this happen? It won’t be because the environment has changed; it won’t be because you’ve grown older and become more scheming; it won’t be because you’ve gained more experiences and life insights, altering your thoughts and viewpoints. Instead, it will be because God has changed His mind, His thoughts have changed, and His attitude and expectations toward you have changed. So, you’ve become a different person in spite of yourself. Looking at it now, if a person loses what God gives to them but which they consider to be the tiniest, most insignificant thing, at this point, that person will be trapped in suffering with no happiness to speak of. So, don’t ever get to that point. If you do, you might feel as if a weight has been lifted from your shoulders, set free, relaxed, that you don’t have to believe in God or do your duties anymore, and that you can live freely and dissolutely like nonbelievers, like a bird out of its cage. But that is just temporary comfort, joy, and self-indulgence. As you continue forward, look at the road ahead—will you still be this happy? No, you won’t be. Tough times await you ahead! When you live under the Creator’s dominion, regardless of how the Creator orchestrates things for you, what He does to you and how He does it, how many trials and tribulations He brings, how much suffering you endure, or even if incomprehension, misunderstandings, and other things arise, at the very least, you’ll feel you are in God’s hands, God is your reliance, and your heart is at peace. But when God doesn’t want you anymore, and you aren’t able to perceive how God treats you anymore, and you lose this reliance, it’s like the whole world comes crashing down around you. It’s like when you were a child, and you only thought, “Mom is the most lovable, Mom cares for me and loves me the most, Mom can’t die.” You couldn’t bear it when you heard that your mother was sick. You thought that if your mother really died, the sky would collapse, and you would have no way to go on living. The same reasoning applies to believing in God. The greatest peace and joy in a person’s belief in God come from relying on God, believing that one’s destiny is in the hands of the Creator. A person’s sense of steadiness comes from having this genuine trust and reliance. When you feel that this trust and reliance is gone, and your heart feels empty, like a freshly-dug hole, hasn’t your sky collapsed? Do you have the strength to go on living when you lose your reliance? Such people are like walking corpses, just stuffing their faces while they wait for their end.

Now, some people consistently exhibit poor behavior, and continuously do evil and disrupt, disturb, and damage the work of the church while doing their duties, even to the point of causing great losses to the interests of God’s house. They have never shown sincerity or loyalty to God, let alone any submission. Thus, God has never acknowledged them. They are evil people who have infiltrated God’s house with the intention of gaining blessings. God allows them to enter so that God’s chosen people can learn lessons and grow in discernment. Although they also belong to those who are called, they have not been chosen because of the behavior they consistently show. What is their condition like? You can inquire; none of their lives are going well. The quality of life for those who rely on God and receive His provision anytime, anywhere is radically different from those who don’t receive God’s provision and help and always fall into the bottomless pit when they face situations. Those who do not receive God’s provision have no peace or joy, all day they experience fear, unease, restlessness, and worry. What kind of days do they spend? Is it easy spending one’s days in the bottomless pit? No, it isn’t easy. Setting this bottomless pit aside, even if you spend a few days in a row of negativity, you’ll suffer immensely. Therefore, cherish the present time, and don’t miss this great opportunity. It’s an honor to do your duty in God’s six-thousand-year management work. This is an honor for every person. It is not a matter of humiliation; the key is how you treat and repay this honor you received from God. God has elevated you; don’t fail to appreciate His kindness. You should know to repay God’s grace. How should you repay it? God doesn’t want your money or your life, and He doesn’t desire any inherited treasures passed down through your family. What does God want? God desires your sincerity and loyalty. How does this sincerity and loyalty manifest? It’s in your commitment to doing your utmost to bring forth a sincere heart and act according to God’s words, no matter what He says. What are God’s words? They are the truth. Once you acknowledge and accept the truth, how should you apply it? You should practice according to the truth principles. Do exactly as God says. Don’t just pay lip service to practicing the truth and then act according to your own will when faced with situations, later making excuses and speaking disguised and duplicitous words, lacking sincerity and loyalty—God is not willing to see this. The most precious thing in a person is sincerity. How should a sincere person behave? They should do exactly as God requires, persistently following God’s words. Even if they overdo it as if they were following regulations, so that others may consider them somewhat foolish, they shouldn’t care. They should still adhere to God’s words. What God wants is this sincerity from people. If you’re always scheming and slippery, and are never willing to appear foolish in the eyes of others, to suffer even the slightest loss to your own interests, then you are unable to practice the truth because you lack sincerity. People who lack sincerity and still try to be deceitful are overly shrewd, and God does not like them. When they practice God’s words, they pick and choose, practicing only what benefits them and avoiding what doesn’t. They usually speak pleasantly, spouting nothing but grand-sounding ideas, but when problems arise, they hide, vanishing without a trace, and only reappear after others have solved the problems. What sort of wretch is such a person? When something is profitable to them, they take initiative and step forward, they are more proactive than anyone else. However, when their personal interests are at stake, they step back and become negative. They lose all their pleasant-sounding words, their stance, and their viewpoints. God does not like this type of person. He would rather have someone who appears foolish in the eyes of others than someone who is cunning like this.

We’ve finished fellowshipping about the eleven issues contained within the twelfth responsibility of leaders and workers. In addition to the eleven issues, let’s add one more. Even though it’s not commonly seen in church life, it needs to be brought up here, making it the twelfth issue—discussing politics. Is discussing political topics appropriate in church life? (No.) Church life is for reading God’s word, worshiping God, and sharing one’s understanding of God and experiential knowledge of God’s words. During this time, however, some people talk at length about politics, such as political situations, political figures, the political landscape, political viewpoints, and political stances. Is this appropriate? When discussing topics about God holding sovereignty over all things and humankind, some people mechanically apply the idea that political figures are also in God’s hands, saying that certain political figures also believe in and follow God, and even write spiritual notes and whatnot. Isn’t this confusing others? There are even some people who say, “We Christians should support this politician because they are not only a believer, but also protect the interests of us believers. They are on the same page as us, and we should support and elect them.” In church life, they even promote this political figure extensively. Is this appropriate? Do Christians participate in politics? (No.) What can you do in order to avoid participating? First, regardless of which party you support, or what your political views are, don’t bring them into church life for discussion. Of course, it is even more crucial that debates between people holding different political views shouldn’t appear in church life either. For example, if you and someone else have different views and support different political figures, you may wish to discuss it when you see each other; this is permissible, but you absolutely may not do so in gatherings. You two can send private messages, you can meet up and talk, or you can even argue until your faces turn red, and no one will interfere; this is the right of a citizen under a democratic system. But during church life, you’re not just a citizen of a country; more importantly, you’re a member of The Church of Almighty God. In this setting, that’s your identity. Don’t bring political topics or topics concerning political figures into the church. What you discuss only represents your personal stance and viewpoints, not the church’s. The church is not interested in politics, nor in any political systems, figures, leaders, or groups, because these matters do not involve the truth and are irrelevant to believing in God. Any topics concerning politics should not be brought up in church life. Some say, “So is it okay for everyone to meet up and discuss this outside of church life?” It’s best not to. If you want to join a discussion among nonbelievers with differing political views, that’s up to you; that’s your freedom, and God’s house won’t interfere. But as long as church members come together, or during formal gathering times, don’t bring up these political views or arguments as main topics, and don’t falsely pretend your political views have anything to do with God’s words, the truth, or God’s sovereignty. Your political views are wholly unrelated to the truth, there is not even the remotest connection between them, so don’t pretend otherwise!

Some people want to talk politics but have no one to discuss this topic with at home, so the conversation can never happen. Seeing that the brothers and sisters are all adults, they believe they’ve found an outlet to discuss politics and vent their political views. They are excited about having found this good opportunity, wanting to talk about political views, current events, and the international situation. When discussing these, they start with, “All these are under God’s sovereignty. Humankind’s politics and these politicians are also under God’s sovereignty. They are ordained by God.” After this preamble, they begin to discuss politics and current events at length, and conclude with, “Politics can’t escape God’s sovereignty; it all has God’s goodwill.” If people can’t see through these matters, they shouldn’t speak carelessly on them. To fellowship the truth is to fellowship the truth; don’t discuss politics or political figures. Discussing politics isn’t fellowshipping the truth, it is misleading people. If you want to talk politics, find a group of people who love politics and go talk with them yourself; you’ll be able to talk to your heart’s content. What are you aiming at by always talking about these topics in the church? Are you intentionally trying to make people admire you and choose you as a leader? This is having ulterior motives! People who love to talk politics are people who aren’t engaging in their proper tasks and certainly aren’t pursuing the truth. Never discuss political topics in church gatherings. Some people say, “If we can’t talk about the democratic elections, political systems, and policies of free countries, then what about the politics and scandals of upper officials in the country of the great red dragon, such as how much gold a corrupt official has taken, and how many mistresses he keeps? Can we discuss these things?” Don’t these topics disgust you? Why do you care so much about these disgusting things? Why is it that I feel caring and reading about these matters is disgusting? Some people are especially interested in these things, not finding them disgusting at all. They are willing to read about these things online, doing so whenever they have the time. Their hearts feel comfortable, secure, and full when they read about these things. How come they don’t feel this full reading God’s word? Isn’t this a bit vile? Isn’t this neglecting proper tasks? During such great times, even taking a stroll in the yard, breathing some fresh air, and admiring the view would brighten your mood. But some refuse to do these things; instead, whenever they have some free time they just stare at the computer, checking for news, gathering gossip—which corrupt official was found to keep how many mistresses, how much of which corrupt official’s assets were seized from their home, which higher-up of the great red dragon took down whom, or who assassinated whom. These are the things they typically concern themselves with. They feel full of knowledge after collecting this information, which they then unload on everyone at gatherings. Isn’t this spreading poison? Isn’t it all too normal for those devils to commit misdeeds? Some people say, “It is normal for them to commit misdeeds, but you couldn’t even imagine some of the terrible things they do.” What’s the use of imagining them? Were you given a brain so that you can imagine what wicked things they do? Isn’t this neglecting your proper tasks? Do you think knowing some unimaginable wickedness makes you superior? What can you gain from this? Won’t it just make you feel even more disgusted? These people who neglect their proper tasks always care about these lewd, vile matters of the political scene. Aren’t they simple-minded? Why always worry about their matters instead of just living your own life? Isn’t this foolish? Isn’t this having nothing better to do? Some people say, “Believers are persecuted by the great red dragon. They must hate the great red dragon. Surely believers would be interested in the scandals, corruption, abuse, and promiscuity of the great red dragon’s upper officials, as well as the shady things they get up to. Shouldn’t believers clap their hands in joy when these scandals are exposed?” Do you believe in and follow God to obtain these things? Talking about political matters in the church, especially the exposed scandals of upper officials of the great red dragon, is most disgusting. You absolutely mustn’t discuss it! And don’t talk to Me about it either; it disgusts Me! I’m telling you, don’t talk about it and don’t even read about it, or else sooner or later there will come a day when you’ll regret having read those things. When you regret it, you’ll know how it feels; there’s no end to how disgusting these things can get. Hearing and reading about these things too much brings no benefit. Why do I say it brings no benefit? Because inundating your mind with these disgusting matters will leave you with no desire to hear God’s words. Although these topics involve politics, those matters are even more disgusting. If you want to talk about these things, go talk your heart out to some nonbelievers, say whatever you want to them, but no matter what don’t talk about them in church life or among the brothers and sisters. Some people say, “Talking about the sordid and wicked deeds of the upper officials of the great red dragon helps the brothers and sisters grow in discernment and lets them vent their anger.” What’s the use of venting? Is venting bearing witness? Is it your obligation or duty? Talking about those things is useless, with no value at all. No matter how much you expose the great red dragon’s wicked deeds, God won’t remember it. In contrast, if you talk about how you experienced the great red dragon’s persecution, how you broke free from and overcame its intimidation and threats, and how you relied on God and stood firm in your witness in such an environment, God accepts this. But talking about politics has nothing to do with life entry, and God doesn’t accept it. Some people say, “I expose the corruption of the officials of the great red dragon, how they spend tens of thousands of yuan on a single meal, or how much they spend on luxury hotels; is this okay?” What does any of that possibly have to do with you? Isn’t that just how this world and this society are? Who are you standing up for? This isn’t bearing witness for God, nor is it exposing the great red dragon’s substance, nor is it a manifestation of rebelling against the great red dragon. Don’t confuse people or be hypocritical; none of this is practicing the truth. The graft of corrupt officials and politicians doesn’t concern us, nor is it something we need to expose. Don’t concern yourself with these matters. These things have existed in Satan’s regime throughout history, and what they do has nothing to do whatsoever with our experiencing God’s work or bearing witness for God. So, no matter what, don’t mix those topics into the topic of “rebelling against the great red dragon and exposing it to bear witness for God,” and don’t bring these strange, disgusting, and wicked matters into church life or among the brothers and sisters for discussion. If you really want to discuss politics, do so with nonbelievers. However you discuss it privately with those who have such hobbies and interests is fine. That’s your personal hobby and interest; it’s your freedom and right, and no one interferes. But during gathering times and before the brothers and sisters, don’t discuss these matters. Even if someone is willing to listen, don’t talk about them, as it affects church life and affects God’s chosen people’s understanding of the truth.

No matter if they concern politics or the scandals of politicians’ private lives, don’t bring these topics into church life for discussion. If someone isn’t interested in the content of gatherings in church life and always likes to discuss these matters, speaking about them at every gathering, what should the brothers and sisters do? They should restrict such people, saying, “This is gathering time, don’t talk about those trashy things. If you want to talk about them, go home and do it there!” What if they can’t be restricted and still speak about them? Throw them out, and tell them to come back when they stop. There’s also another way that’s even more effective: As soon as they open their mouths to talk politics, the brothers and sisters stand up and go to another room, leaving them to talk alone. In short, people who love to talk politics certainly do exist. Such people neglect proper tasks, don’t pursue the truth, don’t contemplate how to do their duties well, don’t contemplate what difficulties are present in the church’s work or faced by the brothers and sisters, and don’t contemplate what real problems of their own need resolution—they don’t contemplate these proper matters. Instead, they only contemplate those vile, crooked matters, and are particularly enthusiastic about them. Especially now, with information being widespread and accessible from all sorts of channels—this allows these people to satisfy their hobbies and interests. We don’t interfere with their hobbies and interests, but God’s house has a regulation that discussing political topics at gatherings is catalogued under the problem of disrupting and disturbing the work of the church. Thus, these topics are strictly forbidden during church life and when brothers and sisters come together. Some people say, “These topics are forbidden, but what about our various political views, which party we like or dislike, who we vote or don’t vote for—does the church interfere with these?” Let’s make it clear: Vote for whoever you want, like whoever you want—the church doesn’t interfere with these matters, it’s your freedom. Isn’t this non-interference quite lenient already? You’ve fully enjoyed your obligations and human rights as a citizen; isn’t that respect enough? This is already fine enough; and yet you still want to speak freely and to your heart’s content in the church? That goes against the rules. If you encounter such people, find a way to restrict them. First, fellowship clearly with them, saying, “Are you new to the faith? Is this your first time at a gathering, and you don’t know the rules of God’s house? Then I must tell you: This place is a gathering place, and this time is a time for gathering. Whatever political views or ideas you have, you absolutely must not spread them in the church, and don’t discuss them at gatherings. We don’t want to hear it, nor are we obligated to listen to you speak about these things. You chose the wrong place. After the gathering, when you leave this place, you can say whatever you want; no one interferes. That’s your freedom.” If they understand and remember what you said, and don’t talk about it next time, then that’s okay, and they’ve shown themselves to have some reason. But if after fellowshipping they continue to speak like this, always sharing political views at every gathering, should they be restricted from speaking? (Yes.) Whether or not they’re involved in politics, as long as someone talks about political topics, this should be categorized along with forming cliques, vying for status, releasing negativity, and other such behaviors as the various people, events, and things that disrupt and disturb the work of God’s house. Such people cannot be shown any courtesy; they must be stopped and restricted. Of course, people who talk politics aren’t necessarily evil or good; they may simply like these issues and topics. But we can be sure that these people don’t really pursue the truth. In short, the principle for dealing with these people has already been clearly fellowshipped: Tell them the regulations of God’s house. If after explaining them clearly they continue to talk about political topics and don’t heed warnings, then isolate them. They can continue living church life only after repenting. If they never repent, then don’t let them come to gatherings. Dealing with this matter should be that simple. Don’t make a simple matter complex, this benefits no one.

July 24, 2021