What we fellowshipped on just now are the aims of God’s house in promoting and cultivating all kinds of talented people. No matter the kind of work that those who are selected for promotion and cultivation do—whether it be technical work, ordinary work, or the general affairs of the church—in short, it is all for the sake of enabling them to understand the truth principles and enter into the truth reality, and so that they can do their duty in a way that is up to standard as quickly as possible in order to satisfy God’s intentions—this is what God requires of people, and of course, it is also what is needed for the church’s work. Do you now understand the significance of God’s house promoting and cultivating all kinds of talented people? Are there still any misunderstandings? (No.) Some people say, “Now that this person has been promoted to leader, and has status, they are no longer an ordinary person.” Is it right or wrong to say this? (It’s wrong.) Others may say: “Those who become leaders have status, but it’s lonely at the top. The higher you climb, the harder you fall!” Is it right or wrong to say this? It’s clearly wrong. Which people does the saying “The higher you climb, the harder you fall” refer to? It refers to people with ambitions and desires, it refers to antichrists. When those who pursue the truth become leaders, that is not climbing high—it is God making an exception by elevating them, and it is God’s blessing that places this burden on them and allows them to do the work of a leader. “The higher you climb, the harder you fall” is a conclusion drawn by nonbelievers, and describes the consequences of nonbelievers pursuing a career in officialdom. Those disbelievers have no discernment and apply this saying to positive people, which is a grave mistake. Others may say: “He was born in a rural area, and now he has become a church leader—a high-flying phoenix from lowly beginnings.” Is it right or wrong to say this? These are the devilish words of nonbelievers and cannot be applied to God’s chosen people. In God’s house, God blesses those who pursue the truth, those who are honest, those who are kind-hearted, and those who defend the work of God’s house. Once these people understand the truth and gain some stature, they will be promoted for cultivation and practice sooner or later, to replace those who are false leaders and antichrists. In God’s house, positive people who have undergone many trials and tests and who have consistently defended the work of God’s house are people who meet with God’s approval, and it would be inappropriate for the devilish words of nonbelievers to be used to describe these people. Therefore, those who always use the devilish words of nonbelievers to describe matters in God’s house and to express their own views are people who do not understand the truth and who have preposterous views on things. Their views on things have not changed at all, and are still the views of nonbelievers, and they have believed in God for several years and yet have not gained any truth at all, and still can’t view things according to God’s words—so then, these people are disbelievers and nonbelievers. When someone is promoted to serve as a leader or worker, or they are cultivated to become the supervisor of some sort of technical work, this is nothing more than God’s house entrusting them with a burden. It is a commission, a responsibility, and of course, it is also a special duty, a special opportunity, and it is an exceptional elevation—there is nothing praiseworthy about them. When someone is promoted and cultivated by God’s house, it does not mean they have a special position or status in God’s house, so that they can enjoy special treatment and favor. Instead, after they have been exceptionally elevated by God’s house, they are given excellent conditions to receive training from God’s house, to practice doing some substantial church work, and at the same time God’s house will have higher required standards for this person, which is very beneficial for their life entry. When a person is promoted and cultivated in God’s house, it means they will be put under strict requirements and tightly supervised. God’s house will strictly inspect, supervise, and push forward the work they do, and will get to understand and give attention to their life entry. From these points of view, do the people promoted and cultivated by God’s house enjoy special treatment, special status, and special position? Absolutely not, and even less do they enjoy any special standing. For people who have been promoted and cultivated, if they feel that they have capital as a result of doing their duty somewhat effectively, and so stagnate and stop pursuing the truth, then they will be in danger when they encounter trials and tribulations. If people’s stature is too small, they will likely be incapable of standing firm. Some say, “If someone is promoted and cultivated as a leader, then they have standing. Even if they are not one of the firstborn sons, they at least have hope of becoming one of God’s people. I have never been promoted or cultivated, so do I not have hope of becoming one of God’s people?” It is wrong to think this way. To become one of God’s people, you must have life experience, and you must be someone who submits to God. No matter if you are a leader, worker, or an ordinary follower, anyone who possesses the truth realities is one of God’s people. Even if you are a leader or worker, if you lack the truth realities, you are still a laborer. In fact, there is nothing special about people who are promoted and cultivated. The only thing that is different from others is that they have a more favorable environment, more favorable opportunities, and better conditions to do specific work involving the truth principles. Even if most of the work they do involves a particular profession, if there are no truth principles to regulate and keep a firm grasp on it, then the duty they do will not accord with the principles, and they are just laboring, and they will definitely not receive God’s approval. What are the requirements of God’s house for the various talented people who are promoted and cultivated? In order to be promoted and cultivated by God’s house, at the very least they must be people with conscience and reason, people who can accept the truth, people who loyally do their duty, and people who can submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and at the very least they must be able to accept and submit when they face being pruned. The effect to be achieved by people undergoing cultivation and training by God’s house is not that they can become officials or bosses, or lead the pack, and it is not that they can work on people’s thoughts, and of course, much less is it that they have better professional skills or a higher level of education, or a greater reputation, or that they can be mentioned in the same breath as those renowned in the world for their professional skills or political exploits. Rather, the effect to be achieved is that they understand the truth and live out God’s words, and that they are people who fear God and shun evil. As they train, they are able to understand the truth and grasp the truth principles, and to know better exactly what faith in God is and how to follow God—this is extremely beneficial for those who pursue the truth to achieve perfection. This is the effect and standard that God’s house wishes to achieve in promoting and cultivating all kinds of talented people, and it is also the greatest harvest reaped by those who are promoted and used.

Some people do their duty relatively responsibly and are approved by God’s chosen ones, so they are cultivated by the church to become leaders or workers. After attaining status, they start to feel they stand out from the masses and think, “Why has the house of God settled on me? Isn’t it because I’m better than all of you?” Doesn’t this sound like something a child would say? It is immature, ridiculous, and naive. Actually, they are not the slightest bit better than other people. It is just that they meet the criteria to be cultivated by the house of God. Whether or not they can shoulder this responsibility, do this duty well or complete this entrustment is another matter. When someone is elected to be a leader by the brothers and sisters, or is promoted by the house of God to do a certain piece of work or perform a certain duty, this does not mean that they have a special status or position, or that the truths they understand are deeper and more numerous than those of other people—much less that this person is able to submit to God, and will not betray Him. Certainly, it does not mean, either, that they know God, and are someone who fears God. They have attained none of this, in fact. The promotion and cultivation is merely promotion and cultivation in the straightforward sense, and is not equivalent to them having been predestined and approved of by God. Their promotion and cultivation simply means they have been promoted, and await cultivation. And the ultimate outcome of this cultivation depends on whether this person pursues the truth, and on whether they are capable of choosing the path of pursuing the truth. Thus, when someone in the church is promoted and cultivated to be a leader, they are merely promoted and cultivated in the straightforward sense; it does not mean that they are already an up-to-standard leader, or a competent one, that they are already capable of undertaking the work of a leader, and can do real work—that is not the case. Most people cannot see through to these things, and based on their own imaginings they look up to those who have been promoted. This is a mistake. No matter how many years they have believed in God for, do those who are promoted really possess the truth reality? Not necessarily. Are they able to implement the work arrangements of the house of God? Not necessarily. Do they have a sense of responsibility? Are they loyal? Are they able to submit? When they encounter an issue, are they able to seek the truth? All of this is unknown. Do these people have God-fearing hearts? And just how great are their God-fearing hearts? Are they able to avoid following their own will when they do things? Are they able to seek God? During the time that they perform the work of leaders, are they able to frequently come before God to seek the intentions of God? Are they able to lead people into the truth reality? They are certainly incapable of such things. They haven’t received training and they haven’t had enough experiences, so they are incapable of these things. This is why promoting and cultivating someone doesn’t mean they already understand the truth, nor is it saying that they are already capable of doing their duty in a way that is up to standard. So what is the aim and significance of promoting and cultivating someone? It is that this person is promoted, as an individual, in order for them to practice, and in order for them to be specially watered and trained, thus enabling them to understand the truth principles, and the principles, means, and methods of doing different things and solving various problems, as well as how to handle and deal with the various types of environments and people they encounter in accordance with God’s intentions, and in a way that protects the interests of the house of God. Judging based on these points, are the talented people promoted and cultivated by the house of God adequately capable of undertaking their work and doing their duty well during the promotion and cultivation period or prior to promotion and cultivation? Of course not. Thus, it is unavoidable that, during the cultivation period, these people will experience pruning, judgment and chastisement, exposure and even dismissal; this is normal, this is training and cultivation. People must not have any high expectations or unrealistic demands of those who are promoted and cultivated; that would be unreasonable, and unfair to them. You can supervise their work. If you discover problems or things that violate principles in the course of their work, you can raise the issue and seek the truth to resolve these matters. What you should not do is judge, condemn, attack, or exclude them, because they are just in the cultivation period, and should not be viewed as people who have been made perfect, much less as people who are blameless, or as people who are possessed of the truth reality. Like you, they are merely in a period of training. The difference is that they undertake more work and responsibilities than ordinary people. They have a responsibility and an obligation to do more work; they must pay a greater price, suffer more hardship, exert more mental effort, solve more problems, tolerate more censure from people, and of course they must also make a greater effort, and—compared with ordinary people doing their duties—they must have a bit less sleep, enjoy a bit less fine food, and not engage in so much gossip. This is what’s special about them; apart from this, they are the same as anyone else. What is the point of Me saying this? It is to let everyone know that they must correctly approach the various types of talented people promoted and cultivated in God’s house, that they must not be harsh in their demands of these people, and, of course, that they must not be unrealistic in their opinion of them either. It is foolish to excessively admire and look up to them; it is inhumane and unrealistic to make overly harsh demands of them. So what is the most reasonable way to treat them? To regard them as ordinary people and, when you need to seek someone out regarding a problem, to fellowship with them and learn from each other’s strengths and complement each other. In addition, it is everyone’s responsibility to keep an eye on whether leaders and workers are doing real work, whether they can use the truth to solve problems; these are the standards and principles for measuring whether a leader or worker is up to standard. If a leader or worker is capable of dealing with and solving general problems, then they are competent. But if they can’t even handle and fix ordinary problems, they are not fit to be a leader or worker, and must be quickly removed from their position. Someone else must be chosen, and the work of the house of God must not be delayed. Delaying the work of the house of God is hurting oneself and others, it is good for no one.

Some people are promoted and cultivated by the church, receiving a good chance to train. This is something good. It can be said they have been elevated and graced by God. So how, then, should they do their duty? The first principle they should abide by is to understand the truth—when they do not understand the truth, they must seek the truth, and if they still don’t understand after seeking on their own, they can find someone who does understand the truth to fellowship and seek with, which will make solving the problem faster and more timely. If you focus only on spending more time reading God’s words by yourself, and on spending more time pondering these words, in order to achieve understanding of the truth and solve the problem, this is too slow; as the saying goes, “Slow remedies can’t address urgent needs.” If, when it comes to the truth, you wish to make quick progress, then you must learn how to work in harmony with others, and to ask more questions and seek more. Only then will your life grow quickly, and will you be able to solve problems promptly, without any delay in either. Because you have only just been promoted and are still on probation, and do not truly understand the truth or possess the truth reality—because you still lack this stature—do not think that your promotion means you possess the truth reality; this is not the case. It is merely because you have a sense of burden toward the work and possess the caliber of a leader that you are selected for promotion and cultivation. You should have this reason. If, after being promoted and becoming a leader or worker, you start to assert your status, and believe that you are someone who pursues the truth and that you possess the truth reality—and if, regardless of what problems the brothers and sisters have, you pretend that you understand, and that you are spiritual—then this is a foolish way to be, and it is the same way as the hypocritical Pharisees. You must speak and act truthfully. When you don’t understand, you can ask others or seek fellowship from the Above—there is nothing shameful about any of this. Even if you don’t ask, the Above will still know your true stature, and will know that the truth reality is absent in you. Seeking and fellowshipping are what you ought to be doing; this is the reason that should be found in normal humanity, and the principle that should be adhered to by leaders and workers. It is not something to be embarrassed about. If you think that once you are a leader it is embarrassing to not understand the principles, or to constantly be asking other people or the Above questions, and you’re afraid that others will look down on you, and then you put on an act as a result, pretending that you understand everything, that you know everything, that you have work capability, that you can do any church work, and do not need anyone to remind you or fellowship with you, or anyone to provide for you or support you, then this is dangerous, and you are too arrogant and self-righteous, too lacking in reason. You don’t even know your own measure—does this not make you a muddleheaded person? Such people do not actually meet the criteria for being promoted and cultivated by the house of God, and sooner or later they will be dismissed and eliminated. And so, every leader or worker that has just been promoted should be clear that they do not have the truth reality, they should have this self-awareness. You are now a leader or worker not because you were appointed by God, but because you were promoted to be one by other leaders and workers, or were elected by God’s chosen people; this does not mean that you have the truth reality and true stature. When you understand this, you will have a little reason, which is the reason that leaders and workers must possess. Do you understand now? (Yes.) So, how exactly should you do work? How should you put harmonious cooperation into practice? How should you seek the truth to resolve problems whenever you encounter them? These things must be understood. If corrupt dispositions are revealed, seek the truth and resolve them as soon as possible. If they are not resolved in time and impact on your work, this is a problem. If you are not familiar with a profession, you should also get learning without delay. Because some duties involve professional knowledge, if you only understand the truth without grasping any professional knowledge, it will also affect your work results. At the very least, you must grasp and understand some basic professional knowledge, so that you can be effective in following up on and guiding people’s work. If you are only proficient in a profession but do not understand the truth, there will likewise be deficiencies in your work, so you will also need to pursue the truth and cooperate with people who understand the truth in order to do your duty properly. Just because you have proficiency in professional skills or a certain field of knowledge, it doesn’t mean that you are able to do things according to the principles, so it is essential to seek fellowship with people who understand the truth—this is a principle you should abide by. Whatever you do, you must not pretend. You are in the training and cultivation period, and you have a corrupt disposition, and you do not understand the truth at all. Tell Me, does God know about these things? (Yes.) So wouldn’t you look foolish if you pretended? Do you want to be foolish people? (No, we don’t.) If you don’t want to be foolish people, what kind of people should you be? Be people with reason, people who can humbly seek the truth and can accept the truth. Don’t pretend, don’t be hypocritical Pharisees. What you know is just some professional knowledge, it is not the truth principles. You must find a way to appropriately leverage your professional strengths and put your acquired knowledge and learning to use on the basis of understanding the truth principles. Is this not a principle? Is this not a path of practice? Once you learn to do this, you will have a path to follow and you will be able to enter into the truth reality. Whatever you do, don’t be stubborn, and don’t pretend. Being stubborn and pretending is not a rational way of doing things. Rather, it is the most foolish way of doing things. People who live by their corrupt dispositions are the most foolish people. Only those who seek the truth and handle matters according to the truth principles are the smartest people.

Through this fellowship, do you now have the correct understanding and view regarding the promotion and cultivation of all kinds of talented people by God’s house? (Yes.) Now that you have the correct view on this, can you take the correct approach toward these people? You must take the correct approach toward their strengths, as well as toward the shortcomings and deficiencies they have in terms of their humanity, work, profession, and various other aspects—all these things must be approached correctly. Furthermore, regardless of whether you are promoted and cultivated into leaders or workers, or whether you are talented individuals in various professions, you are all ordinary, you have all been corrupted by Satan, and none of you understand the truth. So, none of you should disguise or conceal yourselves; instead you should learn to open yourselves up in fellowship. If you don’t understand, then admit that you don’t understand. If you don’t know how to do something, then admit that you don’t know how to do it. No matter what problems or difficulties arise, everyone should fellowship and seek the truth together to find a solution. Before the truth every person is like an infant, every person is impoverished and pitiful and utterly lacking. What people need to do is be submissive before the truth, have a humble and yearning heart and seek and accept the truth, and then practice the truth and achieve submission to God. By doing this people can enter the reality of the truth of God’s words while performing their duties and in their real lives. Everyone is equal before the truth. Those who are promoted and cultivated are not very much better than others. Everyone has experienced God’s work for around the same time. Those who have not been promoted or cultivated should also pursue the truth while doing their duties. No one may deprive others of the right to pursue the truth. Some people are more eager in their pursuit of the truth and have some caliber, so they are promoted and cultivated. This is due to the needs of the work of God’s house. So why does God’s house have such principles for promoting and using people? Because there are differences in people’s caliber and character, and each person chooses a different path, this leads to different outcomes in people’s faith in God. Those who pursue the truth are saved and become people of the kingdom, while those who do not accept the truth at all, who are not loyal in doing their duty, are eliminated. God’s house cultivates and uses people based on whether they pursue the truth, and on whether they are loyal in doing their duty. Is there a distinction in the hierarchy of various people in God’s house? For the time being, there is no hierarchy in terms of various people’s positions, worth, status, or standing. At least during the period when God works to save and guide people, there is no difference between various people’s ranks, positions, worth, or status. The only things that are different are in the division of work and in the duty roles performed. Of course, during this period, some people, on exception, are promoted and cultivated to do some special jobs, while some people do not receive such opportunities due to various reasons such as problems with their caliber or family environment. But does God not save those who have not received such opportunities? This is not the case. Is their worth and position lower than others’? No. Everyone is equal before the truth, everyone has the opportunity to pursue and gain the truth, and God treats everyone fairly and reasonably. At what point are there noticeable distinctions in people’s positions, worth, and status? It is when people come to the end of their path, and God’s work is over, and a conclusion is finally formed on the attitudes and views that each person displayed in the process of pursuing salvation and while doing their duty, as well as on their various manifestations and attitudes toward God—that is, when there is a complete record in God’s notebook—at that time, because people’s outcomes and destinations will be different, there will also be distinctions in their worth, positions, and status. Only then can all these things be glimpsed and approximately ascertained, whereas now everyone is the same. Have you understood? Are you looking forward to that day? Are you looking forward to it and fearing it at the same time? What you look forward to is that on that day there will finally be a result, and you will have finally reached that day despite all the difficulty; and what you fear is that you won’t have walked the path properly, and that you will have fallen along the way and failed, and that the final outcome will be unsatisfactory, worse than you imagine and expect—how sad, how painful and how disappointing that would be! Don’t think so far ahead, it’s impractical to think so far ahead. First look at what is before your eyes, properly walk the path under your feet, do the work in hand well, and fulfill the duties and responsibilities that God has entrusted to you. This is what is most critical and most important. Understand the truth and the principles for doing your duty that ought to be understood right now, and fellowship on them until they are crystal-clear—so that you have them worked out in your mind, and you know clearly and accurately what the principles are in everything you do—and ensure that you do not violate the principles, or deviate from them, or cause disruptions or disturbances, or do anything that harms the interests of God’s house—all of this is what you should enter into right now. There is no need for us to talk about anything further ahead, and neither is there any need for you to ask or think about it. It is useless to think so far ahead—that is not what you should be thinking about. Some may ask: “Why shouldn’t we think about it? The state of disaster has gotten so great now, isn’t it time we thought about such things?” Is it time? Does the fact that the disaster is great influence your entry into the truth? (No, it doesn’t.) The state of disaster has gotten so great, yet when do I ever hold gatherings or preach sermons specifically with regard to disaster? I never focus on the matter of disaster, I always just talk about the truth, so that you can understand the truth and understand God’s intentions, and so that you understand how to do your duty well and how to enter into the truth reality. Nowadays, some people don’t even understand what the truth reality is and what doctrines are. They just spout the same few words and doctrines and empty talk every day and yet they feel that they have entered into the truth reality. I am worried for them, but they don’t worry about themselves. They still think about those distant things in the future—thinking about those things isn’t practical.

The aim of promoting and cultivating all kinds of talented people is not to turn them into active people, nor to plan for them to become some kind of mainstay in future, but to give some people who, relatively speaking, pursue the truth more and who meet the criteria for promotion and cultivation the opportunity to train in suitable environments and under more favorable conditions. The most important thing is that they are able to understand God’s words, understand the truth and enter into the truth reality. Isn’t this what people should achieve by believing in God? Isn’t this what people should gain by believing in God? In order to enter into the truth reality, what is the main thing you should pursue right now? Do you have any plans or steps for doing it? I’ll tell you a trick that is simple, easy and quick. In simple terms, entering into the truth reality is actually practicing the truth. In order to practice the truth, it is necessary to first deal with one’s corrupt dispositions. What is the quickest starting point for resolving one’s corrupt dispositions? For you, the simplest, quickest and most trouble-free way is to first resolve the problem of being perfunctory in doing your duty, resolving your corrupt dispositions step by step. How long might it take for you to resolve it? Do you have a plan? Most people don’t have a plan, they just keep working it out in their minds, without knowing when to officially make a start on it. Although they know that they are perfunctory, they just don’t set about resolving it and don’t have any specific solution. Being lazy in doing one’s duty, and not meticulous, and irresponsible, and not taking it seriously—these are all manifestations of being perfunctory. The first step is to resolve the problem of being perfunctory. The second step is to resolve the problem of acting according to one’s own will. As for other things such as occasionally speaking dishonestly, or revealing deceitful or arrogant dispositions, do not concern yourselves with those things for now. Is it not more practical and effective to first deal with being perfunctory and acting according to one’s own will? Are these two issues not the easiest ones to spot? Are they not easy to resolve? (Yes.) Are you aware when you are being perfunctory? Do you realize when you are thinking about being lazy? Do you realize when you are thinking about playing tricks or being conniving and serving yourself through trickery? (Yes.) If you do realize, then it’s easy to resolve. Start by resolving the problems that you can easily detect and that you inwardly are aware of. Being perfunctory in one’s duty is a very obvious and common problem, but it is also a stubborn one that is really hard to resolve. When doing a duty, one must learn to be conscientious, rigorous, meticulous, and responsible, and to do it in a firmly grounded manner, that is, by planting one foot ahead of the other. One must exert all their strength to do that duty well, until they are satisfied with how they have performed it. If one does not understand the truth, they should seek the principles, and act according to them and to God’s requirements; they should willingly exert more effort to do their duty well, and never do it in a perfunctory manner. Only by practicing this way can one feel peace in their heart, without their conscience reproaching them. Is perfunctoriness easy to resolve? So long as you have conscience and reason, you can resolve it. First, you must pray to God: “God, I am beginning my duty. If I am perfunctory, I ask that You discipline me and rebuke me in my heart. I ask also that You lead me to do my duty well and to not be perfunctory.” Practice in this way each day and see how long it takes for the problem of your perfunctoriness to be resolved, for your perfunctory states to diminish, for the adulterations in your duty to grow fewer, and for your real results to improve and for your efficiency to increase in your performance of your duty. Performing your duty without being perfunctory—is this something you can achieve by relying on yourself? When you are being perfunctory, can you control it? (It isn’t easy.) That’s tricky, then. If it’s truly hard for you to control this, then you have a big problem on your hands! Which things, then, are you able to do without being perfunctory? Some people are very particular about what they eat; if a meal is not to their liking, they will not be in a good mood for the whole day. Some women love dressing up and doing their makeup; not a single strand of hair escapes their notice. Some people are good at doing business; they calculate carefully over every single cent. If you act with this kind of conscientious attitude, you can avoid being perfunctory. First, resolve the problem of being perfunctory, then resolve the problem of acting according to your own will. Acting according to one’s own will is a common problem, and it is another one that people can easily detect in themselves. With a bit of self-reflection, one can recognize that they act according to their own will, which is not in accordance with the truth principles. Problems that people can recognize are easy to resolve. Set yourselves first to resolving these two issues, one being the problem of perfunctoriness and the other of acting according to your own will. Strive, within a year or two to achieve results, to not be perfunctory, or act according to your own will or with the adulterations of your will in anything you do. Once these two problems are resolved, you will not be far from performing your duty in an up-to-standard manner. And if you cannot even resolve them, then you are still far from submitting to God or being considerate of His intentions—you have absolutely not scratched the surface of this.