Once the matter of the antichrist in the Canadian church was handled, some people thought, “These people have done their duty for many years, and yet because an antichrist emerged and caused disturbance, they’ve been isolated.” They have a sense of crisis, thinking, “Oh, this is the first time I’ve seen God get angry and curse people. Even the antichrist’s associates, accomplices, and followers weren’t spared. God really has no consideration for anyone’s feelings! Ordinarily, it’s often said that God loves and takes mercy on man, but His anger this time is really unbearable!” They start feeling uneasy in their hearts. Tell Me, is it right for people to think this way? (No.) Why not? How should people approach this matter? How many years have you been listening to sermons? Hasn’t it been at least five years? And shouldn’t we be able to reach a consensus in many matters, particularly in certain matters where the principles are relatively clear? (Yes.) What does “consensus” mean? It means a kind of tacit understanding. I do something without telling you the reason why, and you know full well why, you are able to understand it, accept it, and comprehend it from a positive angle—this is what it means to have a tacit understanding. How does this tacit understanding come about? Say that you’ve listened to many sermons, achieved a certain level of understanding of the truth, and we’ve gotten to know each other more. I’ve explained many things to you, and told you My views, My ideas, My principles for action, as well as the things you need to understand and do. I’ve told you all these things and what My views are, and you’ve then accepted My views, and approached things, your duty, faith, life, and other people in accordance with My views. Won’t the tacit understanding between us have grown and grown then? (Yes.) So, have we reached this kind of tacit understanding with regard to the handling of the Canadian church? If I didn’t explain the matter as I am, what would our tacit understanding amount to? “Severely punishing people to set an example for others,” and “Making of people a warning to others”—is this our tacit understanding? (No.) These people listened to sermons for many years, so how could My taking this action provoke such a response from them? Tell Me, how did I feel hearing them voice such views? It made Me feel how tragic this is, that people could say such things! I ask you, should I have felt that way? (Yes.) Why do you say that? It is that this kind of statement, this kind of perspective, this kind of understanding, and this kind of comprehension should not have existed or emerged. Now they have emerged and they have gone beyond My expectations. They are so far removed from My assessment and expectations that I feel ashamed of this matter! Someone will say, “Is it that serious? Aren’t You just making a big deal out of nothing?” Let Me tell you, this isn’t a huge deal, but neither is it a minor matter. From when you start believing in God, when you acknowledge that God is your God and your Lord, when you want to eat and drink God’s words, follow God, accept His orchestrations and arrangements, and submit to everything God asks of you, from that day on, you have established a relationship with God. Once you have established this relationship, there is a most crucial problem that exists between you and God. What problem is that? It is that if you can’t accept the things God does and the ways God behaves, if you can’t understand these things, and you can’t take the initiative to seek and comprehend them, then your relationship with God will be in a state of crisis at every moment. And what does this state of crisis signify? No matter how many of God’s words you eat and drink, no matter how you plan to submit to God, as long as this state of crisis is present even for one day, then the fact of your wanting to follow God and your desire to accept God’s salvation may be destroyed, may become untenable, and may become just a fantasy. Why do I say this? As long as your relationship with God is not a normal one and as long as this state of crisis exists, will you be able to maintain a normal relationship with God? Then what kind of relationship will you have with God? Will it be a relationship of compatibility? A familial relationship, or a relationship between colleagues? Exactly what kind of relationship will it be? So long as your relationship with God is in a state of crisis, then you will be capable of judging and misunderstanding God’s deeds and behavior at any time and place, and you will even be capable of opposing and refusing to accept the things God does. Wouldn’t you then be in danger? How does this danger come about? It comes about because you don’t know God. We won’t speak from the positive side, but rather from the negative side. For instance, you always see God in a certain way, and you think that God is a king on earth, a most important official, a supreme person who wields power on earth. In your mind’s eye, you always think that God is someone in this kind of position and so, on this basis, what perspective will you take on the things God does and says? Let Me give you a few examples and then you might understand what perspective I mean. There is this saying in the world: “Kings and bears often worry their keepers.” So, are there any people who apply this saying to their relationship with God? (Yes.) There are such people, and many people take this perspective on God. Then there is the saying we mentioned earlier, “Making of people a warning to others.” Doesn’t this also make God out to be a king on earth or someone with influence and status? (It does, yes.) They have this understanding of God because they have this view of God, and it’s because they have this kind of relationship with God, because they see Him in this way, because this is how they understand His identity and status, that they regard God in the same way as they would someone with status in the world—this is natural. There is another saying that goes: “How can one tolerate someone encroaching on their sphere of influence?” This is a way to describe worldly kings and people with status and influence. Some of you may know or have previously associated with people like this, and perhaps you also apply this saying to God. That is, when God does or says something, you may link those sayings with Him and regard God in that way. If you regard God in that way and have that perspective on Him, then what exactly will your relationship with God be like? It will be oppositional. No matter how much you admire and dread the god in your mind’s eye, how obedient you can be and how much you can surrender to him, and no matter what your attitude is to him, your relationship with God will still be oppositional. You may think that by speaking in this way, My words sound a little abstract, but if you ponder them carefully, don’t you then see that this is how things are? Once I’d handled the matter of the antichrist in the Canadian church, I didn’t explain things carefully and in detail to you, and I didn’t tell you the reasons why I handled those people, and so many people became worried about their prospects and destiny. Where did this worry come from? It came from people misunderstanding God and not knowing God—this was the root cause! If your understanding of God conforms with God’s essence—for example, if your understanding of God’s righteousness, authority, and wisdom is in line with the truth—then no matter what God does, even if you don’t understand the reasons and don’t understand God’s intentions, will you misunderstand God? No, absolutely not. Once I’d handled the issue with the Canadian church, some people said, “This was done to make a warning of them and to frighten us.” What’s their problem? Is what they said in line with the truth? Does it show a correct understanding? (No.) Why not? Let Me tell you something extremely simple: Their understanding was at odds with the true situation, the facts were not like that, and they misunderstood. Isn’t that a simple thing to say? (Yes.) So why do you make such a strenuous effort to explain this issue? I never thought that, and I never wanted to frighten anybody. Most people have been continuously improving in effectiveness in their duty over the years, so do they now do their duty up to standard? No, they don’t, yet these people are in the process of being up to standard in their duty, and if there are any minor issues then I let them pass. During this process, some people may cause disturbances, some may procrastinate, or some minor issues may appear among certain people, but overall, they’re pretty good. However, there is one thing you should not forget: You came to do your duty. No matter how hard you work, or how much you suffer, or how much you are pruned, you should thank God. God gave you this opportunity so that you could experience all manner of different situations and come to have all kinds of personal experiences and encounters. This is a good thing, and it is all done so you can understand the truth. So, what are you worried about? Who are you guarding against? There’s no need to be like that. Just pursue the truth normally, find your correct place, and do your duty and the work that falls to you well, and that’s enough. This is not much to ask of you.

From the moment that antichrist appeared in the Canadian church and started causing disturbances, until those people reached the stage where they’re at today, how long have I put up with them for? I wasn’t totally unaware of what was going on with them, I put up with it for a long time. How much did I put up with? For a long time, they were unable to produce finished works, they made no progress in their work, and none of them attended to their proper affairs; they were all arbitrary and reckless, debauched and unrestrained, and should have been handled long ago. If you are also capable of being arbitrary, reckless, and not attending to your proper affairs, then don’t wait for Me to handle you. Instead, take the initiative and quit; that would be more dignified. Would that be the right thing to do? No, that wouldn’t be the right thing to do, either. Don’t keep thinking about leaving, you need to single-mindedly put down roots here and do your duty well. No matter whether you can do your duty well or not, at least put your heart into it, and make sure that you’ve completed all of your tasks in the end. Don’t be a deserter. Some people say, “My caliber is poor, I’m not very educated and I have no talent. I have faults in my personality and I always encounter difficulties in my duty. What will I do if I can’t do my duty well and get replaced?” What are you afraid of? Can this work be completed by you alone? You’ve just taken on a role, you’re not being asked to take on the whole thing. Just take on the things you ought to do, that’s enough. Won’t you then have fulfilled your responsibilities? It’s so simple; why are you always so wary? You’re afraid that falling leaves will hit your head and crack it open, and you think about your own contingency plans first and foremost—isn’t this good for nothing? What does “good for nothing” mean? It means not trying to make progress, not being willing to give it your all, always wanting to get a free meal ticket and enjoy good things—people like this are trash. Some people are too small-minded. How can we describe such people? (They are extremely petty.) An extremely petty person is a vile person, and any vile person can measure the character of a gentleman by their own vile standards and regard others to be just as selfish and despicable as themselves. These people are good-for-nothings, and even if they believe in God, it won’t be easy for them to accept the truth. What causes a person to have too little faith? It is caused by them not understanding the truth. If you understand too few truths and your understanding of them is too shallow, and you consequently cannot understand every work God undertakes, everything God does, and every requirement God has of you, if you cannot attain this understanding, then all kinds of suspicions, imaginings, misunderstandings, and notions will arise in you regarding God. If your heart is filled with nothing but these things, can you have true faith in God? You have no true faith in God, and that’s why you always feel uneasy, and worry about not knowing when you might be replaced. You feel afraid and think, “God could come here at any time to carry out an inspection.” Just relax. As long as you do the work God’s house entrusts to you well, then even if you’re somewhat lacking in your pursuit of the truth and life entry, I’ll let it slide. As for how your attending of gatherings and listening to sermons, your church life, and your eating and drinking of God’s words are going, I’m not going to monitor those things, and I won’t bother you when it comes to your work. Why won’t I bother you? There are several reasons. One is that you are more familiar than I with various professional skills. In the process of the past few years of work, you should have improved in terms of your experience or professional skills and come up with a program for your work. Whether written or verbal, you should have summarized some rules and regulations. I don’t know what mode of work you employ, and I have no wish to upset your work plans and methods of working. You can follow your own styles or patterns, or rules and regulations, and do the work in whatever way is easy and convenient, makes everyone feel free and liberated, and results in a high level of efficiency. That is, I give you full freedom in your work. Though I sometimes walk around the churches, I keep out of the way, so that you don’t see Me—I try My best to make you feel free and liberated. Why do I do this? None of you are very familiar with the professional skills; you need to gradually feel your way around as part of the learning process. Whether people are learning professional skills or entering into the truth, they all have their own rate of progress and level of efficiency. You cannot push people to do things that are beyond their abilities. People must go through a process, experience failures, setbacks, or learn some lessons from their mistakes and then gradually summarize a way forward and master certain principles in all areas. Then they will be making progress. You have your own styles of working and your own methods—it would be inappropriate for Me to bother you in these regards. That’s why I very seldom join in discussions concerning these matters to do with your work. This is the reason that relates to you. There is also a primary reason that relates to Me. I’ll be honest with you, what you are capable of seeing and thinking, whether in terms of professional skills or art, or even more so in terms of the truth, all looks very shallow to Me. Would you be able to bear it if I tried to force you to make faster progress? No, you would not. If I acted among you as I desired, then My demands of you would surpass your current real level of professional skills and your real stature regarding life entry. I don’t wish to do that, because it would be very tiring for Me, and it would be very strenuous for you. We would both get into an awkward situation, and that wouldn’t be good; this is not what I wish to see. These are My thoughts on the matter, and this is how things are. Due to two reasons: one that relates to you, and one which is that I have My thoughts on this matter, I’ve handled things in this way. Handling things in this way is suitable for your gradual growth. In terms of life entry, you have books of God’s words, there are all manner of gatherings and sermons, and there are also leaders and workers who water you and support you; there are so many things which you can eat, drink, and receive provision from. Another aspect is that the process of people’s life growth is akin to a seed being sown in the soil, getting watered and fertilized, and then gradually sprouting and growing until it finally bears fruit. It is a very slow process. Of course, the slow process you go through may be even slower than a seed growing from germination to fruition. Why is that? There are many practical and objective reasons for this contained within people. One is that people have corrupt dispositions, but we won’t talk about that. Another is that people are inert and often become negative. They are lazy, and they are numb and slow when it comes to the truth and positive things. Furthermore, people don’t love positive things. Therefore, when people try to enter the truth and attain life entry, they have an uphill struggle on their hands, and they are sailing against the tides. For people, going with the flow, freeloading, pursuing the secular world, and following the trends, is drifting with the current, which is easy, and from a subjective perspective, people really want to act this way. However, pursuing the truth, doing that which is just, and being people with a sense of justice who can attend to their proper tasks, is very strenuous for them. They have to rebel against their subjective desires, their own feelings, their own notions, and they also have to rebel against their laziness and other such adverse and negative things. When they face people, work partners, or environments that aren’t as they imagined, or even when they hear upsetting or unpleasant things, they must rely on prayer to overcome this, and so they encounter tremendous resistance on the path of pursuing the truth in their belief in God. If they are exceptionally resolute and pursue the truth with incredible energy, they’ll see some progress after a year or two of experience. Otherwise, if they act as they please and just let things take their natural course, then they’ll progress very slowly. Perhaps after some time they’ll encounter a special event, one which has extraordinary significance to them, and they’ll learn a lesson, be pruned, and in their innermost hearts they’ll suffer tremendous hurt and be greatly affected, and only after that will they be able to make a bit of a turn for the better in terms of their life entry. Can this turn for the better enable them to make progress? No, it can’t. Their progress depends on how they seek the truth during this period. If they are people who can only make excuses, who indulge in fleshly comfort, and who don’t really love the truth, then all they’d get from this event would be nothing more than a superficial lesson, and they would not achieve an understanding of the truth. According to this slow pace of life progress you are making, I maintain this distance in My association with you and I adopt this method. Do you think this is appropriate? (Yes.) This is highly beneficial for you; at the very least you feel relaxed. I won’t give you any additional burdens to bear, watching you and keeping an eye on you all day long, not letting you relax for all 24 hours of the day, making you work assiduously and tirelessly. I won’t contrive to do that, but instead allow things to take their natural course with you. Does that mean you can sink into self-indulgence? (No.) So how can I confidently make this choice to not watch you? Because there is the Holy Spirit’s scrutiny. Moreover, if someone pursues the truth, has this need, and is willing to pursue the truth in their innermost heart, then even when you’re not watching them, they’ll still be pursuing the truth—they are a decent person who attends to their proper affairs. If they aren’t a decent person, then it won’t be any use even if you do watch them. When you’re watching them, they just act in a certain way on the surface to treat you perfunctorily, and when you’re not watching for a moment, they just act the way they normally do and fall back into how they were before. The pursuit of the truth is not something that people can monitor. This is something I understand thoroughly, and that’s why I adopt this method to associate and interact with you. It is entirely appropriate for Me to do this.

Hasn’t the matter of the Canadian church been explained clearly now? And have you understood some truths from this matter? If you encounter such a matter again in the future, will you still say that it is a case of punishing people severely to set an example for others and making of them a warning to others? Before this happened, you felt that no one could break apart your relationship with God and that you were already compatible with God. However, when you encountered this matter, that bit of small stature you possess was revealed. What stature? You thought you could bear heavy burdens and suffer, that your resolve and faith were greater than before, and that you would soon be perfected; this was the mistaken perception you harbored in your heart. And what do you think now? Your thinking was a bit premature! Look at Me: I look like this on the outside, I can be touched and seen—can My personality be considered open and clear? Judging from My personality, I’m not someone who goes behind your back when an issue crops up and doesn’t tell you anything, secretly taking action and then making you guess what My intentions are. I’m not that kind of person. No matter what issue crops up, I always explain it clearly to you, and yet, you’re still able to summarize such a set of theories and say, “This is my highest understanding of God.” What do you think of this understanding? You’ve learned a lesson now, haven’t you? Can’t it be said that this has been your greatest failure in your understanding of God? You can hear the words I speak and see My appearance, and I am a person of flesh and blood that can be touched and seen. I took that course of action and none of you were able to fathom it, and we weren’t able to reach a consensus—we didn’t even have this smattering of a tacit understanding. You are so very far from God! You are still a way off from understanding God! These are true words; this is the true situation. Don’t think that just because you can do a bit of your duty, have believed in God for many years, and can talk about some doctrines, that you understand God. Let Me tell you, your thinking is premature! Don’t think that you really know a thing or two. Actually, you’re still far from understanding God; you haven’t even touched the edges of this understanding. People can be revealed in any matter, and some people have been revealed by this matter of the handling of the Canadian church. People must continually grow, and continually come to understand themselves and God through these different situations and events in order to learn about God’s deeds and disposition, understand their rebelliousness, understand exactly what their relationship with God is, and see clearly exactly what level their understanding and knowledge of the truth and their understanding of God are at. Through these matters, your true stature and true state will be measured. Have you learned a lesson this time? Strive to not have this kind of understanding next time. It’s so hurtful, it’s all so unbelievable! Do you think this matter was worth taking such a long time to explain? It shouldn’t have been necessary. Why do I say it shouldn’t have been necessary? According to the words and doctrines you’ve grasped, you should have been able to pass the hurdle of this matter; by contemplating on it yourselves, and everyone fellowshipping on it together, you should have been able to understand it in a relatively pure way, without your understanding becoming so extreme. But, as it turns out, extreme understandings have emerged, and it has become necessary for Me to fellowship on certain details. Aren’t your hearts brightened now after listening to this fellowship? You shouldn’t now have any further ideas about this matter, right? So, do you consider the way I handled those people to be excessive? (No.) Let’s end the discussion on this matter here, and I’ll begin to fellowship on the main topic.