I often visit some churches to take a look around, meet the leaders, give instructions for some work, and resolve some issues. Sometimes, I have to eat lunch at these churches, which raises the question of who will prepare the meal. The leaders were so responsible that they chose someone who claimed to be a chef. I said, “Whether he is a chef is not important; what matters is that I prefer simple food. I like to taste the original flavor of the ingredients. The food shouldn’t be too salty, oily, or stimulating. In winter, I need to eat something warm. Also, the food must be cooked thoroughly, not undercooked, and easy to digest.” Didn’t I communicate these principles clearly? Were they easy to achieve? They were both easy to remember and easy to do. A housewife who had cooked for three to five years could grasp these principles and achieve them. So, there was no need to insist on finding a chef to make My meal; someone who could make home-cooked meals would be sufficient. However, these leaders were so “loving” that they insisted on finding a “chef” to prepare a meal when they hosted Me. Before the chef officially cooked for Me, the leaders had to make checks. How did they do this? They had the chef make a batch of dumplings and a gravy noodle dish, and got him to stir-fry some dishes. All the leaders and heads of various groups tasted them, and they found all the dishes to be quite good. Finally, they asked the chef to take on the job of cooking for Me. Leaving aside the results of the leaders’ taste test and the nature of the issues involved, let’s first talk about the food prepared by this chef. The first time I went, the chef stir-fried a few dishes, and everyone was quite satisfied. The second time, the chef made a batch of dumplings. After eating the first one, I sensed something was wrong—it was a bit spicy. Others around Me also said that the dumplings were a bit spicy, and felt that their tongues were beginning to swell. However, since dumplings were the only main course, I had to finish them even though they were spicy. No chili was visible in the filling, so I just ignored whatever had caused the spiciness and finished the meal. As a result, My body started having an allergic reaction that evening. Many areas all over My body started itching non-stop, and I had to keep scratching; I scratched Myself until I bled before I felt better. I was itchy for three days before the feeling gradually subsided. After this allergic reaction, I realized that pepper had definitely been added to the dumplings; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been so spicy. I had informed them not to include spicy ingredients like pepper since I couldn’t tolerate them. However, they added a considerable amount of it to satisfy their own tastes, which exceeded the normal amount; there was a spicy sensation to eating those dumplings. The chef couldn’t even get the proportions right in his cooking, he added enough pepper to give someone an allergic reaction. Later, I told him, “Don’t ever add those spicy ingredients again. I can’t tolerate them. If you truly have any humanity, don’t do that again. If you cook for yourself, I won’t intervene in what you eat. However, if you’re cooking for Me, then don’t add any. Follow My required standards.” Could he do that? Shouldn’t the leaders have handled this work? Unfortunately, no one paid it any mind, and they didn’t do any of the work they should have. On one occasion, when the chef was about to cook again, he picked up some pepper to add it to the dish, and someone nearby saw it and stopped him. Under their strict supervision, he didn’t get the opportunity to add it. The leaders couldn’t resolve a problem this small—what could they do, then? When the chef was cooking, they were quite proactive about tasting it. Several people went to have a taste. It was just a regular home-cooked meal; what was worth tasting about it? Are they all culinary experts? Did they come to understand everything after becoming leaders? Did they understand the principles of health? Did God’s house arrange for them to do this? When did I entrust or commission them with tasting food on My behalf? They are too lacking in reason, they have no shame at all! Anyone with a bit of shame wouldn’t do something so blatant, so disgusting, so lacking in reason. It shows that these individuals have no shame at all—they tasted food for Me! They didn’t follow or fulfill any of the principles that I told them. Whatever tasted good to them and suited their palates, they asked the chef to cook. Is that cooking for Me? Isn’t that cooking for themselves? Is this how they acted as leaders? They seized every opportunity to take advantage and exploit loopholes, and yet they also tried to ingratiate themselves with Me—if they wanted to do that, then they shouldn’t have done Me harm! Isn’t this lacking in virtues? Isn’t it harboring improper intentions? They’re shameless and harbor improper intentions, yet they still thought they were very loyal! Were any of these things that they did what leaders are truly supposed to do? (No.) Nothing they did had any standards. They didn’t even know what food is healthy or unhealthy, yet they thought they could come here and play the role of health and food experts for Me! Who stipulated that they must carry out checks when it comes to cooking for Me? Does the church have this stipulation? Did God’s house make this arrangement? So many loopholes appeared in various items of church work, so many people had misunderstandings about God and didn’t understand the truth at all, yet these leaders didn’t address those things. Instead, they put their effort into such a small area as the kitchen, fulfilling their “responsibility.” These are out-and-out false leaders, they’re hypocrites! These people were right in front of Me checking on things—what did they understand? Did they consult Me? Were they voicing their own idea or Mine? If they were voicing My idea, and I’d asked them to convey it, then what they were doing would be correct. It would be their responsibility. If they were voicing their own idea and not Mine, and they insisted on forcing others to listen and accept it, what is the nature of this? Do you think that I was disgusted by this? I was right there, and they didn’t spare a single word asking Me what things I eat or what My requirements are—they just made decisions without My approval, and arbitrarily gave orders behind My back. Were they trying to represent Me? This is false leaders running amok doing bad things, pretending to be spiritual, pretending to consider God’s burden, and pretending to understand the truth, and just doing hypocritical things. Isn’t this excessive enough? Isn’t it already very disgusting and loathsome? (Yes.) Have you gained any insight? Have you learned any lessons from this? Each of these matters is more disgusting than the last, and there’s another that’s even more disgusting.

This winter, a kind-hearted person bought Me a “beautiful” goose down coat. The beauty of it wasn’t in the color or the style of the coat but in its high price and upscale quality; it was a valuable item. There’s a saying among nonbelievers, “A goose feather sent from a thousand miles away: the gift may be small, but the sentiment is deep.” Not only did this coat carry sentiment with it, but it was indeed very expensive. Before seeing the coat, I had already heard that it was good-looking and red, with a nice design, and a substantial feel to it. I’d heard about it, so inevitably some people had already seen the actual item—that is, quite a few people had already seen it, roughly measured it, and closely examined it, saying things like, “I know this brand,” “The color is nice, it’s quite beautiful!” “After you’ve looked at it, bring it over for me to have a look,” and just like that the news had spread. I don’t know how long it took for this news to reach My ears, and for Me to learn a little bit about it. Can you see the problem here? Without Me having seen the coat, it had already been seen, passed around, and displayed by many other people. Isn’t this a problem? Can people casually look at, touch, and display My belongings? (No.) Whose belongings can people casually touch and look at? (No one would want this to happen, and no one should do this.) Then, shouldn’t Mine be even more off limits? Some people say, “Why should they be off limits? You’re a public figure. Don’t the private lives of celebrities and stars always get exposed? Where they play sports, where they get beauty treatments, who they associate with, what brands they wear—don’t these things all get exposed? Why shouldn’t Yours be exposed?” Am I a celebrity? I am not a celebrity, and those people are not My fans. Who are they? They are ordinary people, created beings, and corrupt humans. Who am I? (God.) I am not a public figure; I am not obligated to expose everything to people, to report everything to them, or to inform them about everything. So, why were they touching something that belonged to Me? Isn’t doing that disgusting? Did I commission people to look at and carry out checks on this belonging of Mine? No. Yet some people dared to take it and casually look at it in this brazen manner, and even pass it around. Who gave those people the right to pass it around? Was this their obligation? If they didn’t believe in God, then we would be strangers to each other. It is because they believe in God that I know who they are, but I don’t know what their family, daily life, or financial situations are like, and I don’t care to know. Are we close? I am not their close friend, buddy, or comrade. We are not familiar, and we haven’t reached the point where everything of Mine should be open for them to look through. Would those people let Me browse through all of their belongings, and display them for everyone to see and touch? Even when people bring something home from the market, it needs to be washed several times to be disinfected! Aren’t things which other people have casually touched disgusting? Haven’t those people failed to treat themselves like outsiders? Who commissioned them to inspect My coat? Did I trust them? Did they wash their hands clean before recklessly touching My coat? Won’t I be disgusted by them? Are they clear on this? Why are they so shameless? They’re so lacking in reason! They’ve believed in God for several years and heard so many sermons; how come they lack even a bit of reason? Casually opening offerings belonging to God, casually touching His clothes, things that belonged to Him—what kind of problem is this? When I see that the packaging of these items has been opened and discarded, how can I not feel angry? I am disgusted by these things, and I detest these people. I don’t want to see them again, and I certainly don’t want to associate with these people who are worse than pigs and dogs! Remember, every person has their dignity, and I have even more. Don’t get involved with things that belong to Me; otherwise, I will detest and abhor you!

On the surface, false leaders may not commit major evils or be outright treacherous villains. However, the most detestable thing about them is that they can see there’s real work to be done but don’t do it, they know very well that they can’t resolve issues but they don’t seek the truth, they see evil people causing disturbances but they don’t handle them, and instead they just take care of the external general affairs. They keep a close eye and tight handle on side issues and trivial matters, but they don’t do any of the work related to the life entry of God’s chosen people, or care about various matters that go against the truth principles. Instead, they just do work that’s unrelated to the truth. These are out-and-out false leaders. False leaders are completely ignorant of the truth principles that are involved in the various items of church work. If measured against the principles and standards of leaders and workers, false leaders are fools and idiots. No matter how serious the problems that arise in the work of the church are, false leaders can’t see or resolve them even if they happen right under their noses, and the Above has to come and solve those problems themselves. Aren’t these people false leaders? (Yes.) They are indeed false leaders. For example, in the church’s text-based work, which books ought to be proofread and which ones should be translated—these are crucial tasks for the church. Are there any principles regarding how to proofread and translate books? This work absolutely does have principles, it is so principle-based, and it really needs to be specifically fellowshipped and guided; but false leaders can’t do this work. When they see the brothers and sisters busy with their duties, they say phonily, “Text-based work and translation work are particularly important. You should put your hearts into doing this work well, and I will resolve any issues you have.” When someone actually raises an issue, these false leaders say, “I don’t understand this matter. I’m a layman at translating foreign languages. Pray to God and seek from Him.” When someone raises another issue, asking, “We can’t find suitable people to translate certain languages, what should we do about it?” false leaders respond, “I’m a layman in this matter. You handle it yourselves.” Can saying this solve the problem? They find an excuse and cover up the fact that they aren’t doing their work, saying, “I’m a layman; I don’t understand this profession,” and thus shirk the problem they’re supposed to solve. This is how false leaders work. When someone raises a question, false leaders say, “Pray to God and seek from Him; I don’t understand this profession, but you do.” This may seem humble, as they’re admitting that they are incapable and don’t understand the profession, but in reality, they cannot perform the work of a leader at all. Of course, being a leader doesn’t necessarily mean they need to understand every kind of profession, but they should clearly fellowship the truth principles necessary to solve problems, regardless of what kind of profession those problems relate to. As long as people understand the truth principles, problems can be resolved accordingly. False leaders use “I’m a layman at this; I don’t understand this profession” as a reason to avoid fellowshipping the truth principles for solving problems. This is not doing real work. If false leaders consistently use “I’m a layman at this; I don’t understand this profession” as a reason to avoid solving problems, then they are not fit for the work of leadership. The best thing they should do is to resign and let someone else take their place. But do false leaders possess this kind of reason? Will they be able to resign? They won’t. They even think, “Why do they say I’m not doing any work? I hold gatherings every day, and I’m so busy that I can’t even have meals on time, and I’m getting less sleep. Who says problems aren’t being solved? I hold gatherings and fellowship with them, and I find passages of God’s words for them.” Suppose that you ask them, “Someone said they can’t find suitable translators for some languages. How did you resolve this specific problem?” They will say, “I told them that I don’t understand the profession, and got them to discuss it and handle it themselves.” You then ask them, “This problem involves the expenditure of offerings and the progress of church work. They cannot make decisions on their own, they need you to call the shots and find the truth principles to resolve it. Did you do this?” They will respond: “How did I not? I haven’t delayed any work. If there’s no one to translate that language, then they should just translate another language!” You see, false leaders can’t do real work and yet they still provide a bunch of excuses. They’re truly shameless and disgusting! Their caliber is so poor, they don’t understand any professions, and they lack comprehension of the truth principles involved in every item of professional work—what’s the use of having them as leaders? They’re simply fools and good-for-nothings! Since they can’t do any real work, why are they still serving as church leaders? They’re simply devoid of reason. Since they lack self-awareness, they should listen to the feedback from God’s chosen people and assess whether they meet the standards for being a leader. And yet, false leaders never consider these things. Regardless of how much of the church’s work has been delayed, and how much loss has been inflicted on the life entry of God’s chosen people during their many years of serving as leaders, they don’t care. This is the ugly countenance of out-and-out false leaders.

Think about how leaders and workers handle their work—does it match up with what I’ve just told you? Are there any who don’t do real work, and can you discern them as being false leaders? If you discern them as being false leaders, from today on you should no longer treat them as leaders; you should treat them like any other person. This is the accurate principle of practice. Some might wonder, “Does this mean discriminating against, belittling, or excluding them because they are false leaders?” No, it doesn’t. They can’t do real work, and they can only speak some words and doctrines and some empty words to prevaricate and fob you off. This tells you one fact, which is that they are not your leaders. You don’t need to ask for their instructions for whatever problem or difficulty you encounter in your work. If necessary, you can leapfrog them by reporting it to the Above and consulting the Above on how to handle and resolve it. I’ve taught you all the path of practice, but how you act is up to you. I never said that all leaders are preordained by God, that you must listen and obey them, and that you must listen to them even if you discern them to be false leaders. I never told you that. What I’m fellowshipping now is how to discern false leaders. When you discern someone to be a false leader, you can accept and obey what they say if it is right and aligns with the truth. However, if they can’t resolve a problem, and they prevaricate and fob you off, affecting the progress of the work, then you don’t have to accept their leadership. If you can get a grasp on the principles yourselves, then you should act according to them. If you can’t grasp, are uncertain, or aren’t sure of the principles, then you should seek the truth and discuss with each other to handle the problem. If you still can’t make a decision after discussing it, report the problem to the Above and consult them about it. These are all good ways to address problems—there are no difficulties that cannot be resolved.

Let’s end our fellowship here today. Goodbye!

January 16, 2021