III. Gospel Work

Item three, gospel work. Gospel work is the first big item of specific professional work after the administrative work and personnel work in God’s house. God’s house has made many work arrangements in succession for this item of work, making specific work arrangements regarding potential gospel recipients, the geographical scope for preaching the gospel, and ways and means in which the gospel is to be preached. At the same time, God’s house also has specific statements in the work arrangements concerning all the different books of God’s words, films and videos, and variety shows required for preaching the gospel, and even statements concerning the various kinds of common notions and frequently asked questions of potential gospel recipients. Some statements may not be presented specifically in writing, but there are many of them present in verbal and oral fellowship. The gospel work is always progressing and continuing, and as this work progresses, God’s house has created specific work arrangements and stipulations concerning issues that continually arise and that are continually being faced, and it has also issued certain specific requirements and tasks to gospel workers, gospel deacons, and gospel work supervisors. Although in this later stage God’s house doesn’t say much about the arrangements for the gospel work, this aspect of the truth is fellowshipped on very frequently in the church. In particular, after the gospel began to spread overseas, God’s house made specific work arrangements for translation work in different languages. Translators and gospel workers who are familiar with various foreign languages give their all to cooperate with this kind of work, and God’s house has invested many of these kinds of human resources to cooperate with the gospel work, and this accords with the work arrangements of God’s house. In short, the Above is always personally guiding, asking about, following up on, and supervising the work of spreading the gospel. So, what are the responsibilities that leaders and workers should fulfill when it comes to this item of work? Having a supervisor for gospel work doesn’t mean that leaders and workers can be completely laissez-faire, not pay the work any mind, not inquire about it, and just ignore it, thinking, “Let the work develop however it will. It has nothing to do with me, anyway. I’m responsible for the church life and the various kinds of professional work. It’s not my concern if there are problems with the gospel work.” Is this okay? (No.) This is being derelict in your duty. The most important item of work that leaders and workers should focus on, out of all the work of God’s house, is gospel work. You may not have been made directly responsible for this item of work, but you must inquire about how much it’s developing and what the status of its progress is—you must follow up on, know about, and have a handle on these things. Especially with regard to certain important personnel, such as gospel preachers and waterers in gospel teams, as well as the supervisors of gospel work, leaders and workers must always have a timely handle on their situations, and if problems arise with these personnel, they must solve them promptly—they should not wash their hands of this work after it has been assigned. Moreover, leaders and workers must regularly inspect and direct all gospel preachers involved in the work of spreading the gospel, including those in churches and first-line online gospel preachers, as well as the waterers in each team. It has long been required by the work arrangements of God’s house that all gospel preachers and waterers must undergo special training. What does special training mean? It means that it must be ensured that gospel preachers and waterers have a clear understanding of the truths of visions and that they can explain these things clearly. If there is any aspect of the truths of visions that they’re not entirely clear on, then frequent fellowship must be given on it, and the more detailed the gospel preachers’ and waterers’ understanding, the better. God’s house has work arrangements for this, right? (Right.) The work of spreading the gospel is a specific and complicated item of work that includes many separate tasks. It must be ensured that each task is done well and followed up on closely; this is God’s commission. Each task must be done well, and it must be ensured that the results of each task improve continuously—only this accords with God’s intentions. All other kinds of professional work, such as film production, text-based work, music, art, and translation, exist to support and back up the gospel work, and gospel work is the frontline work of all the work. Therefore, those who do the various duties must do their own work well and achieve the results required by God. In this way, they will have a share in the work of spreading the gospel. This is because all of these other kinds of professional work exist in service of spreading the gospel, and all this work must be centered on the work of spreading the gospel and provide a never-ending supply for it. Today, all of the materials, films, and various videos needed for preaching the gospel are created through the effort of many of God’s chosen people behind the scenes. Everything these people do behind the scenes provides powerful support for the work of spreading the gospel. In the past, God’s house didn’t have different kinds of film works, it didn’t have many songs, nor did it have very many experiential testimony videos. It just relied on gospel workers continually providing fellowship. Gospel workers would talk until their mouths went dry, and not necessarily see any significant results, and it was difficult to gain any one person. After the church produced all kinds of videos, the work of gospel teams became relatively light, and much easier than before, and work efficiency increased. Some people are stubborn and conservative in their thinking, and when you preach the gospel to them, no matter how you fellowship on the truth, it doesn’t work, and they retain their notions and refuse to accept it—what do you do then? You get them to watch one or two gospel testimony movies, and their notions undergo a transformation, and they begin to get a good feeling about the true way. When they come to seek again, there are no longer any great barriers or obstacles in their hearts, and when you fellowship on the truth with them again, they can easily accept it. That’s why the results are really apparent when you show the movies produced by God’s house to potential gospel recipients, or read God’s words to them, or show them experiential testimony videos—doing this is more effective than you saying any number of words to them. No matter who is seeking and investigating the true way, first get them to watch some movies, and then get them to read more of God’s words, thereby paving the way for them. After this, fellowship on the truth with them to resolve their notions. This makes things go much more smoothly. Nowadays, those who are investigating the true way have already watched many movies and testimony videos produced by God’s house on the internet, and in particular, they have read many of God’s words; before they come to seek and investigate they already have a good feeling about the true way, and they have basically already recognized that it is the true way. Have you discovered anything in this? These movies, these videos of recitals of God’s words, these experiential testimony videos, hymn videos, and so on that God’s house produces are so effective at bearing testimony to God! There’s no need to waste so much breath fellowshipping and debating with potential gospel recipients; once they’ve watched these videos, they’re able to accept the true way. This saves those who are preaching the gospel a lot of time and it shows that all the back-up support for preaching the gospel is so powerful! There is such an abundance of various kinds of resources for preaching the gospel! Many potential gospel recipients are astonished when they go online to investigate God’s work, as there is so much on the website of God’s house and such an abundance of content! God’s words are abundant, there is an abundance of all manner of movies and videos, and there is an abundance and everything you’d need when it comes to experiential testimonies. This is truly the result of the Holy Spirit’s work and guidance! This really has all come out of God’s work. No matter how the great red dragon and the religious world spread rumors and smear it, it’s all to no avail. In any case, the results achieved, and the fruits reaped, by all the items of work of God’s house are clear for all to see, and they are facts accomplished by God’s words.

In the work of spreading the gospel of the kingdom, all the items of work of God’s house are organized in a very methodical fashion and proceed in an orderly manner. The work of spreading the gospel is a critical, long-term, and arduous item of work. Therefore, those who take on the gospel work, no matter whether they are supervisors or ordinary gospel workers, should confirm the importance of this work in their hearts. Although you are working on the front line of the gospel and doing your duties, in your rear, which is to say, behind the scenes, there are many brothers and sisters doing various kinds of back-up work, and they are the force that supports the work of spreading the gospel. What do I mean by this? All of the work of God’s house is centered on spreading the gospel, and the duties performed by all of God’s chosen people are in service of spreading the gospel. Every brother and sister who does a duty has a share in gospel work, and every item of work is closely and intimately related to gospel work. In short, every item of work, including gospel work itself, is a duty that should be done well to testify for God’s work, any item of work is closely related to the most important work, which is testifying about God. This is completely accurate. Therefore, God’s house places the work of spreading the gospel at the top of the list of all the items of work, and it is number one out of all the various items of work of God’s house—this is entirely appropriate. It is a major, arduous, and long-term item of work, and every single one of God’s chosen people, every single person who follows God, must have stamina, patience, and sufficient faith to prepare to do this work well, and to fight this long battle. Whether you persevere for 10 years, 20 years, or 30 years, you must always be loyal to God, dedicate your life and your lifetime to the work of spreading the gospel, and be loyal to God till the end. This is an important responsibility that every person who follows God is duty-bound to shoulder, it is everyone’s duty, and it is also the commission that God entrusts to everyone.

Through this fellowship of Mine, do you all have enthusiasm in your hearts, and have you begun to regard gospel work as important? Some people have said previously, “I don’t understand any technical professions, I don’t know how to act and can’t be an actor, I don’t have a solid foundation when it comes to the use of words, so I don’t know how to write articles, I don’t understand music and I know even less about art. It’s because I’m not good at anything that I was assigned to a gospel team. Aren’t gospel teams the equivalent of a forgotten back shelf in God’s house? And since I’ve been sent to a forgotten back shelf, do I still have any hope of attaining salvation?” Is this how it is? If that’s really how you understand this situation, then you have misunderstood God: Preaching the gospel is the bounden responsibility of every single person. If you are not good at anything and don’t understand any technical profession, and all you can do is preach the gospel, then you will be arranged to do your duty in a gospel team. This is your last chance, and it is done to ensure that you are not wasted as a piece of material, and can be made use of as much as possible, so that you perform your function as a human being to the greatest extent. You are not good at anything and you are slow-witted in everything you do, but you are able to do the duty of preaching the gospel well, and even if you are asked to do gospel-recipient scouting, you can do this in a down-to-earth manner, and pass the potential gospel recipients you find to the gospel preachers. At the same time you can gradually learn how to preach about God’s words, God’s work, and God’s intentions, and bring people before God. Isn’t this your duty? Other people produce some results through engaging in text-based work, film production work, and other kinds of work, but you don’t know how to do these things, and you have no special talents or gifts, yet you dedicate your strength to the gospel work, you give your all and fulfill your duty, and you shoulder your God-given commission, aren’t these good deeds? These are also good deeds, and God will remember them. This fulfills these words: There are no distinctions of nobleness or lowliness in the duties people do; all that matters is whether you are loyal in your duty and whether you do it in an up-to-standard manner. God treats everyone fairly and equally; since you can’t do anything, you are asked to preach the gospel—this is done to enable you to perform your last possible function, under circumstances where you’re not able to take on any other duty. Through this, you are being given an opportunity and a glimmer of hope; you are not being deprived of the right to do your duty. God still has a commission for you and He is not biased against you. Therefore, those who are assigned to gospel teams are not being sent to a forgotten back shelf, nor are they being abandoned, but rather they are doing their duty in a different place. By fellowshipping on the work arrangements for gospel work, do you now look well upon gospel work and no longer have any misunderstandings about it? (Yes.) So are you going to feel smug about it? No matter what duty people do, God’s requirements of them do not change: God wants their loyalty and sincerity. If you say, “I keep a low profile, I won’t feel smug, I just do what God asks me to do,” but you have no loyalty, no sincerity, then that won’t do. Regardless of how you comprehend gospel work, in any case, if you come to possess loyalty and sincerity, then your performance of your duty will be up to standard. No matter how well you regard the duty of preaching the gospel or how positive your attitude toward it is, if you can’t endure hardship, and you have no stamina and no loyalty, then that won’t do, either. Therefore, it doesn’t matter where you are placed, what time or location you are in, what people you come into contact with and what duty you do. God will always see you and scrutinize your innermost heart. Don’t think that because you are a member of a gospel team that God pays no attention to you or that God can’t see you, and so you can do whatever you want. And don’t think that if you are assigned to a gospel team, you no longer have any hope of being saved, and then approach it negatively. These ways of thinking are both wrong. No matter where you are placed or what duty you are arranged to do, it is what you should do, and you should do it diligently and responsibly. God’s requirements of you do not change, and so your submission to God’s arrangements should not change, either. The status of gospel workers is the same as that of those who do other duties; a person’s worth is not measured by the duty they do, but rather by whether they pursue the truth and possess the truth reality. This is all that I’ll fellowship on regarding gospel work, this big and specific item of work.

IV. Various Kinds of Professional Work

Item four, various kinds of professional work. This includes film production, text-based work, music, art, translation, and so on. Some people say, “We costume-makers are also involved in film production work. Is making costumes considered a kind of work?” Making costumes is included within the kinds of work of film production and music; it is a kind of support work that collaborates with these kinds of work. At every stage, God’s house has specific work arrangements concerning the specific requirements for these kinds of professional work. Some are communicated in writing, and some are communicated verbally through fellowship at gatherings. However they are communicated, leaders and workers should shoulder the responsibility for them, record the specific requirements issued by God’s house for this item of work and tidy up these notes, and then provide concrete fellowship on them and engage in their specific implementation. This is also a large item of work, and it is the second specific item of work that comes after gospel work. In terms of this specific item of work, God’s house requires all personnel engaged in various professions to continually study professional knowledge related to their duties, as well as search for information to ascertain what things are useful for the work of God’s house. At the same time, God’s house is continually fellowshipping on the truth principles and providing concrete plans for the various kinds of professional work. Sometimes these kinds of work are fellowshipped about to supervisors and team members together, and sometimes they are fellowshipped about solely to the leaders, workers, and supervisors responsible for the item of work in question. Regardless of whether they are communicated and fellowshipped in writing or through gatherings, in any case these kinds of work are constantly being improved and standardized, and specific arrangements are constantly being made according to the needs of the gospel work. For example, say that God’s house produces a movie with a relatively new theme, and the movie is shot quite professionally. After the movie is uploaded online, it receives quite a high click rate. In such a situation as this, God’s house creates specific requirements for this type of work based on the feedback and the needs of the gospel work. In short, this item of work is constantly being summarized and improved, and it is also constantly growing.

For the various kinds of professional work, the arrangements of God’s house require people to study more, and find teachers and various kinds of resources and teaching materials to learn from. Take singing for example; finding a teacher to learn from and having them provide vocal coaching is also a specific work arrangement. After hearing this arrangement, leaders and workers should find a teacher suited to this work in accordance with the Above’s requirements and get them to tutor our singers, by helping the singers to study the correct vocal music knowledge and correct way to sing, and of course classic works must be found to learn from. Professional knowledge must always be studied regarding music composition and choir singing, and the work arrangements of God’s house always require people to continually study professional knowledge related to their duties, and learn how to use certain advanced and practical methods, and so on. These work arrangements and requirements aren’t just issued once and that’s the end of the matter, but rather leaders and workers are required to frequently fellowship on these work arrangements, guide those engaged in professional work, enabling them to continue studying, and striving to get all the kinds of professional work to develop and deepen continually and effectively, and to not stay put. Some people think, “The work arrangements have been issued to us today, so we just need to practice them this month and that’s the end of the matter. If the Above doesn’t say anything about it in the future, then we perhaps don’t need to keep practicing them.” Is this really the case? (No.) Leaders and workers must absolutely not think this way, but should keep making inquiries from time to time and ask, “How are your studies of this profession going? Are you faced with any difficulties? Is there anything that conflicts with or goes against the principles? Who has performed the best in their studies, who is the most skilled, and who has gotten the hang of it the fastest? After studying these theories, which of the things you’ve learned do you think are suited to being used for the work of God’s house?” Moreover, leaders and workers must ask those people in gospel teams who are studying foreign languages questions such as, “How many years have you been learning this foreign language? How has your studying been going recently? How many daily conversations are you able to engage in? Can you translate general spiritual terms? Can you use this foreign language to communicate these truths related to preaching the gospel? Are you currently better at speaking or writing? Do you need a teacher to help you learn? Is there anyone else who is more suited to and skilled at studying foreign languages? Has the number of these kinds of personnel increased? Does anyone feel that learning a language is too troublesome and difficult, so they don’t want to learn it anymore, and give up halfway, and want to switch to another duty?” These specific matters related to this kind of work need to be inquired about and supervised from time to time. Since the Above has made specific work arrangements, supervisors should take responsibility for these specific tasks to the very end. Don’t wait passively for the Above to make inquiries; if the Above doesn’t make any inquiries for six months or a year, you should still do all the work well, to the best of your ability, and be ready to accept the Above’s inspection and direction at all times—this is the correct mindset. This is because work arrangements have been issued and communicated, and you are responsible for following up on the work as its supervisor, and you should therefore fulfill your responsibilities. However, if you aren’t able to fulfill your responsibilities, then you’re a good-for-nothing and you should be dismissed and eliminated. So, leaders and workers should often contemplate and fellowship on these specific work arrangements or fellowships from the Above, and then implement them and follow up on the work according to the situation. They should see which kinds of work they have overlooked recently, and haven’t checked on for a long time, and which ones they’re personally not very good at and haven’t asked about lately, and whose recent status they are consequently ignorant of, and then go take a look at them. Furthermore, in terms of the various kinds of professional work, God’s house has another specific arrangement: It requires that relevant talented individuals must be continually discovered, cultivated, and promoted. So, what should leaders and workers do when they receive this work arrangement? They must pay attention to whether there is anyone suited to doing this kind of work. If some people are suited to doing this kind of work but don’t have much of a grasp on the technical profession, then they must be quickly cultivated and arranged to study and train in it. In short, the various kinds of professional work are an important item of work, too. There are a great many items included in this work, and its scope is vast as well, and God’s house has made many specific work arrangements for it. What is required for this item of work is constant studying, summarizing, and deepening, and appropriate principles must also be found to carry out continual standardization. Besides this, talented individuals who are suited to doing these duties must be constantly cultivated. This is the work arrangement for this large item of various kinds of professional work, and it is easy to understand, too.

V. Church Life

Item five, church life. God’s house has made specific arrangements and stipulations concerning the content that is eaten and drunk during the church life, the format of the church life, and the number of people who live the church life. God’s house also has corresponding work arrangements concerning the format of gatherings and the content of the church life under special circumstances and situations. These kinds of work arrangements are predominantly issued in written form. The work arrangements for the church life of newcomers in different countries—the format and frequency of their gatherings, and the content that they eat and drink during gatherings, and so on—are basically identical to the work arrangements for the church life of ethnic Chinese, aside from some special circumstances. I’ve just given you an overview of the scope of work arrangements related to the church life—it includes the content of God’s words that are eaten and drunk, and the content for fellowshipping on the truth at gatherings as they stand in recent times, and the format of fellowship at gatherings. For example, a single person not being permitted to dominate in fellowshipping at gatherings, the maximum time each person is allowed to fellowship for, how to treat and handle people who speak in a long-winded manner and express themselves unclearly, and so on—there are specific statements on all of these specific things related to the church life and gatherings in the work arrangements. Leaders and workers are, in one respect, responsible for issuing and communicating these work arrangements, and, in another respect, they are responsible for fellowshipping on them clearly with brothers and sisters, enabling all the members of the church to understand them and accept them, after which they just need to strictly execute and adhere to them. In particular, those who frequently go off topic, cause disruptions, speak words and doctrines, and shout slogans when speaking at gatherings must be restricted, and there are specific stipulations regarding these kinds of special circumstances in the work arrangements. Work arrangements concerning the church life mainly relate to all the various things to do with gatherings, they are not complicated, they are very simple, and no matter what duty a person does, they just need to adhere to the principles in these work arrangements. For instance, at gatherings, gospel teams just need to adhere to the principles in the work arrangements regarding the church life—there’s nothing special to them. Other teams just perform different work from other people, everything is the same when it comes to things such as gatherings, fellowshipping on the truth, pray-reading God’s words, and fellowshipping on personal experiences—this scope is not exceeded. They just need to practice in accordance with the current stipulations of God’s house regarding the content that is eaten and drunk during the church life, the form that fellowship takes, and the format of gatherings. If conditions allow, people can gather together in person, otherwise they can have gatherings online. This should be a very simple, clearly delineated matter. Some church members are spread across different continents and countries, with some in Europe and some in the Middle East; in this kind of situation, online gatherings are necessary. It’s up to local churches to decide the time they hold gatherings and their frequency; God’s house does not make specific stipulations concerning this matter, nor does it interfere in it. Why doesn’t God’s house interfere in this matter? Some people in the church do not perform their duties full time; they have jobs and families, their individual circumstances are different, plus the time zones in different countries are different, so they must be allowed to decide for themselves how many times a week they gather and what time each gathering takes place. God’s house does not make specific stipulations regarding this, but rather just provides a principle. God’s house has stipulated the scope for how often new believers gather together per week, and there is a difference between how many times a week those who do their duty and those who do not gather together. Is there a work arrangement that requires new believers to gather together seven times a week? (No.) So, what is the number of times that new believers are to gather together per week based on? (It’s based on the time new believers have.) Gathering together two or three times a week at most, and at least once, is entirely appropriate. Some people say, “The people in our area are very idle during the slack farming season, so everyone wants to gather every day—we’d even be fine with gathering twice a day. We really want to gather.” The hearts of new believers are filled with enthusiasm and they always want to understand more truths. If their family circumstances allow, then it’s a good thing if they ask to attend more gatherings, so long as it doesn’t impact their daily lives. The specific number of times people should gather together every week should be determined according to the family and work situations of God’s chosen people in each area—God’s house does not make specific stipulations regarding this matter. Those of God’s chosen people who have the conditions to do so may gather more, and they will then understand more truths and achieve life growth faster. This is a good thing. However, those without the appropriate conditions will not be suited to gathering in this way, and it is fine for them to attend at least one or two gatherings per week. The number of times churches in different areas hold gatherings every week is up to God’s chosen people to decide, and no one should interfere with this. The most important thing is that gatherings are held so that people can understand the truth, and not for any other reason. Therefore, the number of times each church holds gatherings is decided according to its specific circumstances. If God’s chosen people can attend an extra gathering per week, then that is more beneficial for their life growth. If there are people who don’t pursue the truth and don’t want to attend more gatherings, then this should not be imposed upon them. Especially for salaried workers who are a bit busier and don’t have the time to attend more gatherings, they should not be required to do this. Regardless of whether people are in the position to attend gatherings or how many times they gather, God’s house does not interfere or impose any restrictions. This is because the circumstances and backgrounds of individual believers are all different, and so they must not be put under any duress. Regarding the content that is eaten and drunk during the church life, God’s house has corresponding stipulations in its work arrangements, and leaders at all levels in the church and brothers and sisters are required to have a clear understanding of them. Leaders and workers must understand exactly what specific tasks and matters are required to be carried out by the Above’s work arrangements, and brothers and sisters must also supervise leaders and workers to see if they are performing this work. When it comes to the content that is eaten and drunk during the church life, and the work arrangements related to gatherings that must be understood and followed, leaders and workers must reach a consensus with God’s chosen people—variations are absolutely not permitted. The work arrangements concerning the church life work are very simple, easy for people to understand, and not abstract.