A Dissection of Antichrists Doing Their Duty Only to Distinguish Themselves and Feed Their Own Interests and Ambitions, Never Considering the Interests of God’s House, and They Even Sell Out Those Interests, Trading Them for Personal Glory

I. What God’s Interests Are and What People’s Interests Are

This time we will fellowship on item nine of the various manifestations of antichrists—they do their duty only to distinguish themselves and feed their own interests and ambitions; they never consider the interests of God’s house, and they even sell out those interests, trading them for personal glory. In our everyday lives, we often emphasize the interests of God and of God’s house. However, some people often tend not to consider the interests of God’s house, instead placing their own interests front and center in all things. These people are particularly selfish. Furthermore, in their handling of affairs, they frequently safeguard their own interests to the detriment of the interests of God’s house, to the extent that they will even make oblique requests of God’s house in order to satisfy their own desires. What is the keyword here? What is principally being spoken about? (Interests.) What is meant by “interests”? What is included within this term? What does one consider to be the interests of people? What is encompassed by the interests of people? Status, reputation, and things that relate to material interests. For instance, when a person misleads others into admiring and worshiping them, they are pursuing their own psychological interests; there are also material interests, which people pursue by taking advantage of others, reaping benefits for themselves, or stealing the property of God’s house, to give a few examples. Antichrists always seek nothing but profit. No matter if they are pursuing psychological or material interests, antichrists are avaricious and insatiable, and they will try to take these things all for themselves. Matters concerning a person’s interests reveal them most of all. Interests are intimately linked to every person’s life, and everything a person comes into contact with every single day involves their interests. For example, when you say something or talk about a matter, what interests are involved? When two people discuss some issue, it is a matter of who is articulate and who isn’t articulate, who is highly regarded by other people and who is looked down upon by other people, and it is also a matter of the differing consequences of their different ways of speaking. Is it not a matter of interests? So, what do people do when issues of this type befall them? People try their best to show off, racking their brains to organize their words so as to explain the matter clearly, and so that the words are expressed more elegantly, and sound more agreeable, and also have a sense of structure, and leave a lasting impression on people. Using this approach, using one’s eloquence, brain and knowledge to win people’s favor and make a deep impression on them—this is a kind of interest. What other aspects do the interests that people pursue also involve? When going about their business, people constantly weigh things up, calculate, and ponder in their minds, racking their brains to think what actions are in their interest, what actions aren’t in their interest, what actions can further their interests, what actions at the very least don’t harm their interests, and what actions can earn them the most glory and the greatest material gains, and turn them into the biggest beneficiary. These are the two interests that people fight for whenever issues befall them. The interests that people pursue are focused on these two aspects and nothing more: in the one sense, that of obtaining material benefits, or at the very least not losing out, and taking advantage of others; in addition, on a psychological level, getting people to look up to and admire them, and winning people’s hearts. Sometimes, in order to gain power and status, people can even forgo material interests—that is, they would incur a small loss in order to subsequently gain a greater advantage over others. In short, these things related to people’s reputation, status, glory and material things all fall within the category of people’s interests, and are all interests that people pursue.

What is the nature of people’s pursuit of these interests? Why do people pursue these things? Is it legitimate to pursue them? Is it reasonable? Does it accord with God’s requirements for people? Is this the standard that God demands of created beings? In God’s words, does He mention that “you should pursue your own interests and maximize your own interests. Do not sacrifice your own interests just because you believe in God and do a duty. You should treasure your status, reputation, and power, and protect these things at all costs. If God gives you status, you should treasure it and turn it into your glory rather than your shame. This is God’s commission to you”—has God ever said this? (No.) Since there is nothing of the sort in God’s words, what then does God require of created beings in His heart? How does God require people to regard interests? In one sense, God wants people to forgo their interests—this is putting it in general terms; in addition, God gives people appropriate paths of practice in even more aspects, telling people how to comport themselves so that they follow the path they ought to take, how to practice as a created being should do, what views and attitudes people should have toward material things, fame and gain, and how they should choose. It goes without saying that although God’s words do not directly tell people how to regard interests, between the lines His words also express exactly what God’s views are on the interests of corrupted humankind, and make it very clear that people should put aside their own views, act in accordance with the truth principles, comport themselves according to their station as created beings, and keep to their own place. In God’s heart, is He intentionally depriving people of their interests by requiring them to act this way? Absolutely not. Some people say, “In the church, there is always talk about the interests of god’s house and the interests of the church, but how come no one talks about the interests of us people? Who is looking after our interests? Shouldn’t we also have some human rights? We must be given some small gains too. Why aren’t we given a little something? How come all interests belong to god? Is god not selfish too?” To say this is rebellious and treacherous in the extreme. This is obviously the wrong thing to say. A person with humanity certainly cannot say this, only devils dare to say all manner of rebellious things. Others say: “God always tells people not to consider their personal interests. He always says not to scheme for one’s own sake. People want to stand out by doing something or achieving something that makes everyone worship them. God says this is an ambition. People want to fight for their own interests, eat nice food, enjoy life, covet the comforts of the flesh, and live respectably among humankind. God says that people are only feeding their own interests this way, and must put them aside. If we put all these interests aside, how can we live better?” If people do not understand God’s intentions, they will always be in conflict with God’s requirements, and they will always be in dispute with God on these matters. It’s just like some parents who have worked hard for half their life to raise their children and are so tired that they have all manner of ailments. The parents are worried that their bodies will fail them and that their children will then have no one to support them, so they buy some healthcare products. The children don’t know any better and on seeing these products they say: “I haven’t even bought any new clothes for several years, how come you can still buy healthcare products? You should be saving that money for me to go to college.” Does this remark hurt the parents’ feelings? Parents do all this not for their own interests, and not because they want to enjoy the comforts of the flesh, or because they want to live a bit longer and in a bit more comfort and share in their children’s good fortune in the future. It isn’t for these reasons. What are they doing it for? They are doing it for the sake of their children. The children don’t understand this and even blame their parents—is this not treacherous? (Yes.) If the children don’t understand their parents’ intentions, they may come into conflict with their parents, even to the point of causing disputes, and hurting their parents’ feelings. So, do you understand God’s heart? This is a matter of understanding the truth. Why are people’s practices of feeding their own interests and ambitions condemned by God? Is it that God is selfish? Is it that God tells people not to pursue personal interests to make them poor and pitiful? (No.) It’s certainly not that. God wants people to be good, and God comes to do His work of saving people in order to bestow blessings on humankind and bring people to a beautiful destination. Everything that God does is for people to gain the truth and to gain life, so that they can be qualified to receive God’s promise and blessings. However, people have been deeply corrupted by Satan and have corrupt dispositions, and must suffer a great deal in order to gain the truth and life. If everyone pursues personal interests and wants to live a good life to satisfy the extravagant desires of the flesh, but doesn’t put effort into pursuing the truth, what will be the consequences? They will be unable to obtain the truth, and unable to be purified and saved. What are the consequences of them not being saved? They must all die in the disasters. Is this the time to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh? No. Whoever doesn’t obtain the truth must die. Therefore, God requires people to forgo their fleshly interests and pursue the truth. This is for the sake of people, this is for the sake of their lives, and for the sake of their salvation. Once people obtain the truth and are saved, God’s promise and blessings will come at any time. The blessings that God bestows on people are who knows how many hundreds or thousands of times greater than the pleasures of the flesh that people imagine. How come people can’t see them? Are people all blind to them? Why, then, does God always require people to put aside their own interests and defend God’s interests and the interests of God’s house? Who can explain this matter? (God requires people to forgo personal interests because people have been corrupted by Satan, and their interests are not in line with the truth. In requiring people to defend the interests of God’s house, God is teaching people how to comport themselves. It is also because all the work that God does is in order to save people, and if someone doesn’t know to defend the interests of God’s house, they are not worthy of being called human.) There are some practical points in what you say. (I would like to add something. I was obsessed with fame, gain, and status. I felt that I had some gifts and should be promoted to supervisor. However, every time an election came along, I lost it, and in my heart I blamed God—why didn’t God grant me this one little wish? Later, having experienced some failures, I then read God’s words and reflected on myself, and recognized that I often engaged in envy and strife because of my pursuit of fame, gain, and status, and didn’t cooperate in harmony with my brothers and sisters. Not only had I not made any progress in my life, but I had also caused some losses to the work of God’s house. I came to realize that pursuing fame, gain, and personal interests is not a correct outlook on life or a correct goal to pursue, it’s a mistaken view that Satan instills into people in order to mislead them, and such a pursuit is very dangerous. God tells people not to pursue fame, gain, and status not because He wants to make trouble for them, nor because He wants to be hard on them, but because this is a very dangerous path, and such pursuits can only lead one to ultimately end up empty-handed.) By “empty-handed” and “very dangerous,” what do you think is the danger he speaks of? Is it really just a matter of ending up empty-handed and nothing more? What sort of path is this? (The path to destruction.) This pursuit is a path of resisting God. It is not pursuing the truth, but rather pursuing status and prestige. It is walking the path of antichrists. No matter how legitimate you think your wishes and aspirations are, what God wants isn’t this, it’s not this kind of pursuit. God doesn’t want you to pursue this way. If you insist on sticking to your own course, then your final outcome will not only be that you end up empty-handed, but that you will embark upon a path of resisting God. What is the danger in this? You will resist God, lash out at God and oppose Him, and stand in opposition to Him, and the outcome will be destruction. Is there anything to add? (God, I would like to add something. Just now God asked, why doesn’t God want people to defend their own interests, but rather to defend the interests of God’s house? As I understand it, God created everything, and everything comes from God. Every single thing that God created is for people. Whatever God does—including Him becoming flesh twice in order to do all this work, and including all this work now of establishing the church—it is actually all for the sake of saving people. Once people believe in God, start living the church life, and can do their duties, they have a path of salvation. Therefore, God asking us to put aside our personal interests is not deprivation, because it is we ourselves who ultimately benefit from defending God’s interests and the interests of God’s house.) Really good. The general meaning of what you have fellowshipped is basically correct. Some people talk about their own personal experiences, and others talk about it from a theoretical perspective. Basically what you understand is along the lines that God’s interests are legitimate and people’s interests are not legitimate. Only God’s interests can be called interests, whereas people’s interests should not exist. In particular, “people’s interests”—this phrase, this expression, this fact—are not something that people should enjoy. God’s interests come before all else and should be defended. This is basically what you understand. That is to say, people should have the responsibility to defend God’s interests and should regard God’s interests correctly, whereas people’s interests should be regarded with contempt and stripped away, because people’s interests are not so glorious. From a human viewpoint—because at root people have corrupt dispositions, and inside they are adulterated with corrupt dispositions—all of people’s interests, whichever way you look at them, and whether they are perceptible or imperceptible, fall within the category of illegitimate. Therefore, whether people can put them aside or not, they have already subjectively realized that people’s interests should be put aside, and that it is God’s interests that should be fought for and defended. There is a consensus on this point. Now that we have reached a consensus, let’s fellowship on what exactly God’s interests are.

What exactly are God’s interests? Can the interests of God, the interests of God’s house, and the interests of the church all be equated? It can be said that “God” is a title, and also a synonym for God’s essence. What about “God’s house” and “the church”? God’s house is rather broad in scope, whereas the church is more specific. Can the interests of God, the interests of God’s house, and the interests of the church be equated? (No, they can’t.) Some people say that they can’t, but actually can they? Are the administrative decrees of God’s house, the administrative decrees of the church, and the administrative decrees promulgated by God the same thing? (Yes.) They are the same thing. Speaking from this perspective, the interests of all three can be equated. God’s house only comes into being with God and His chosen people, and the church only comes into being with these chosen people of God’s house. The church is a more specific “subordinate unit” of God’s house. God’s house is a broader term, whereas the church is more specific. Can the interests of God, the interests of God’s house, and the interests of the church be equated? Do you think they should be equated? You don’t know? Then let’s first try equating them in order to analyze them. For example, the glory of God is God’s interest. Would it be okay to say that it’s the glory of God’s house? (No.) That wouldn’t be okay. God’s house is a name, it doesn’t represent the essence of God. Would it be okay to say that the glory of God is the glory of the church? (No.) Obviously that wouldn’t be okay either. The glory of the church is the glory of all brothers and sisters. Equating it with the glory of God would be outrageous. People cannot shoulder this glory, and neither can God’s house nor the church. Speaking from this perspective, can the interests of God, the interests of God’s house, and the interests of the church be equated? (No, they can’t.) No, they can’t. From another perspective, can part of the work that God does, part of the work of God’s house, and part of the church’s work be equated? For example, God tells people to preach the gospel and to spread God’s words. This is God’s intention, and it is also what God commissions to people. When this commission is issued to God’s house, can this work be equated with the work that God plans to do? What God commissions is also a part of His work, and this specific part can be equated with the work that God plans to do. When this commission is then issued to the church, can it be equated with the work of God? (Yes.) Yes, it can. One of these two examples involves something of God’s essence, in which case God, God’s house, and the church cannot be equated. The other example involves the work that God does, God’s commission, and more specifically God’s requirements for everyone—these things can be equated. When it comes to things that involve God’s glory, God’s identity, God’s essence, and God’s testimony, can God, God’s house, and the church be equated? (No.) God’s house and the church cannot possess this testimony and glory, and cannot be equated with God, but when it’s a matter of a specific job or a certain commission, they can be equated. We previously fellowshipped on the interests of God’s house and the church, which we talked a great deal about. Today we will focus on fellowshipping about what exactly God’s interests are, and what exactly are the things that are unknown to people, that people have never thought of, and that are closely associated with God and count as God’s interests. Whether it be a noun, a saying, or something associated with God’s essence and identity, which things are God’s interests? (The glory of God.) The glory of God definitely is, the testimony that God obtains from people. What else is there? God’s work, God’s management plan, God’s name, God’s testimony, God’s identity, and God’s status—these are all His interests. As far as God is concerned, what is the most precious thing that He wants to protect? Is it God’s name, God’s glory, God’s testimony, or God’s identity and status? What is it exactly? God’s management plan to save humankind is the most precious thing that God wants to protect. God’s 6,000-year management plan is all the work that God plans to do within this 6,000-year period. To God, this is the most important thing. It can be said that this should be the interest of God that can be seen in the eyes of created human beings. What people can more or less understand about God’s interests, and what people should understand, can basically stop at that. Next, let’s talk about the interests of God’s house. When it comes to the interests of God’s house, in addition to defending God’s name, God’s glory, and God’s testimony, what else has God commissioned to humankind that people should defend? (God’s management plan.) That’s right, God’s greatest commission to humankind is the greatest interest of God’s house. So what is this interest? It is for God’s 6,000-year management plan to be carried out among humankind, and this of course includes all sorts of aspects. So what does it include? It includes for the church to be established and formed, and for leaders and workers at all levels of the church to be produced, so that the various tasks of the church and the work of spreading the gospel can proceed unhindered—all of this involves the interests of the church. These are the most important things in the interests of God, God’s house, and the church, which we often speak of. For God’s work to spread, for God’s management plan to proceed without impediment, for God’s intention and God’s will to be done without impediment among humankind, and for God’s words to be spread, disseminated, and proclaimed more widely among people, so that more people come before God—these are the objectives and the core of all God’s work. As such, whatever involves the interests of God’s house and the interests of the church must certainly involve God’s will and God’s management plan. Specifically, it is a matter of whether, in every age and at every stage, God’s work is able to proceed without impediment and able to spread, and whether it is being smoothly carried out and smoothly progressing among humankind. If all of this is proceeding normally, then the interests of God’s house and the church will be protected, and God’s glory and God’s testimony will be protected. If God’s work in God’s house and in the church is obstructed and cannot proceed without impediment, and God’s intention and the work that God plans to do are impeded, then the interests of God’s house and of the church are certain to be greatly harmed—these things are connected. That is to say, when the interests of God’s house and of the church are greatly harmed or impeded, then God’s management plan is certain to be seriously thwarted, and God’s interests will also be greatly harmed.

Having finished fellowshipping about what God’s interests are, next let’s talk about what people’s interests are. We just talked a little about people’s interests, now let’s talk about the nature of people’s interests in terms of their definition, and determine their nature. Why does God require people to put aside their interests? Don’t people have this right? Doesn’t God give people this right? Don’t people deserve such rights? Is it not so? Looking at it from those several aspects of people’s interests that we just talked about, what do people pursue interests for? (Themselves.) “For themselves” is a generalization. Who is themselves? (Satan.) If people understand the truth and can live by the truth, and they achieve a change in disposition and are saved, and they pursue what they want, won’t this pursuit be compatible with God? But prior to changing and being saved, the only things people pursue are fame and gain, the myriad aspects related to the flesh; these are utterly hostile and contradictory to the truth, a very violation of the truth, they are the very opposite of the truth. If someone says they love the truth and that they pursue the truth, but in essence, the goal they pursue is to distinguish themselves, to show off, to make people think highly of them, to achieve their own interests, and the performing of their duty is not to submit to or satisfy God, and instead is to achieve fame, gain, and status, then their pursuit is illegitimate. That being the case, when it comes to the work of the church, are their actions an obstacle, or do they help move it forward? They are clearly an obstacle; they do not move it forward. Some people wave the banner of doing the work of the church yet pursue their own personal fame, gain, and status, run their own operation, create their own little group, their own little kingdom—is this kind of person doing their duty? All the work they do essentially disrupts, disturbs, and impairs the work of the church. What is the consequence of their pursuit of fame, gain, and status? First, this affects how God’s chosen people eat and drink God’s word normally and understand the truth, it hinders their life entry, stops them from entering the right track of faith in God, and leads them onto the wrong path—which harms the chosen ones, and brings them to ruin. And what does it ultimately do to the work of the church? It is disturbance, impairment, and dismantlement. This is the consequence brought about by people’s pursuit of fame, gain, and status. When they do their duty in this way, can this not be defined as walking the path of an antichrist? When God asks that people put aside fame, gain, and status, it is not that He is depriving people of the right to choose; rather, it is because, while pursuing fame, gain, and status, people disrupt and disturb the work of the church and the life entry of God’s chosen people, and can even have an influence on more people’s eating and drinking God’s words, understanding the truth, and thus achieving God’s salvation. This is an indisputable fact. When people pursue their own fame, gain, and status, it is certain that they will not pursue the truth and that they will not faithfully fulfill their duty. They will only speak and act for the sake of fame, gain, and status, and all the work they do, without the least exception, is for those things’ sake. To behave and act in such a way is, without question, to walk the path of antichrists; it is a disruption and disturbance of God’s work, and all its various consequences are hindering the spread of the kingdom gospel and the carrying out of God’s will within the church. So, one may say with certainty that the path walked by those who pursue fame, gain, and status is the path of resistance against God. It is intentional resistance against Him, naysaying Him—it is to cooperate with Satan in resisting God and standing in opposition to Him. This is the nature of people’s pursuit of fame, gain, and status. The problem with people pursuing their own interests is that the goals they pursue are the goals of Satan—they are goals that are wicked and unjust. When people pursue personal interests such as fame, gain, and status, they unwittingly become a tool of Satan, they become an outlet for Satan, and, moreover, they become an embodiment of Satan. They play a negative role in the church; toward the work of the church, and toward the normal church life and normal pursuit of God’s chosen people, the effect they have is to disturb and impair; they have an adverse and negative effect. When someone pursues the truth, they are able to be considerate of God’s intentions and His burden. When they do their duty, they uphold the work of the church in every regard. They are able to exalt God and testify to God, they bring benefit to the brothers and sisters, and support them, and provide for them, and God gains glory and testimony, which brings shame upon Satan. As a result of their pursuit, God gains a created being that is truly capable of fearing God and shunning evil, that is able to worship God. As a result of their pursuit, too, God’s will is carried out, and the work of God is able to progress. In the eyes of God, such pursuit is positive, it is aboveboard. Such pursuit is of tremendous benefit to God’s chosen ones, as well as being wholly beneficial to the work of the church, it helps push things forward, and is approved by God.