We will fellowship next about the interests of God, the interests of God’s house, and the interests of the church. Let’s not talk right now about whether there can be something in common between these three interests, that is, when talking about one interest, whether it can be equated to the others. Let’s talk first about God’s interests. I just mentioned that God’s interests include God’s glory, God’s testimony, God’s name, and most importantly, God’s management plan and the spread of God’s work, which are the biggest and most important things as far as God is concerned. For now, let us not mention God’s glory, God’s name, and God’s testimony, which are quite far removed from people. Let us first talk about God’s work. What work is God actually doing? What is the content of God’s work? What is the nature of God’s work? What does God’s work bring to humankind? What exactly is its impact on humankind? Let’s talk about these things first. So what exactly is God’s work? (Saving humankind.) This subject cannot change, the purpose of the work cannot change, that is, to save humankind, which is under Satan’s power and has been deeply corrupted by Satan. This work is to save one group of people who have been corrupted by Satan to the point of lacking all human semblance, one group of people who are filled with Satan’s corrupt dispositions, and filled with dispositions that resist God, in order to get them to change so that they have human likeness, and to get them to understand the truth, and understand and comprehend what is just and what is unjust, and what are positive things and what are negative things, and how people should live in order to live out the likeness of genuine people, and what position they should stand so that they are in the position that God has preordained for people to stand in. These are the basic contents of God’s work, and you all know them on a theoretical level. If you truly understand God’s intention, you should know whether God judges people in order to condemn and destroy them, or in order to purify and perfect them, and whether God judges and chastises people in order to push them into a pit of fire, or in order to save them and bring them into the light. We can all see that God expresses so many truths, exposes people’s various corrupt states, corrects people’s deviations in their faith and their notions about faith, and leads people to understand the truth and live by God’s words, and to live out the likeness of genuine human beings, and that some results have already been achieved among God’s chosen ones. God exposes people’s arrogant dispositions and prevents them from becoming superhuman or great people, allowing them to become true created beings and people with conscience and reason; God exposes the hypocritical essence of Pharisees, allowing people to see the hypocritical faces of Pharisees, and bringing people into the truth reality of God’s words; God exposes the absurdity of traditional culture and the shackles that it places on people and the harm it does them, so that people can break away from the shackles of traditional culture and be able to accept the truth and live by God’s words…. All of this can be summed up as follows: God’s work of saving people is to bring people from the trends of the wicked world back to God’s house, and then to assiduously teach them and provide them with truth and life, so that they can understand and know what the true principles of comportment are and how people should comport themselves, so as to escape from the harm that the wicked trends of Satan and the various satanic philosophies and satanic poisons do to people. From the beginning to the present, God has done all manner of work, from His work in the Age of Law, to His work in the Age of Grace, to the work of judgment that He is now doing in the last days. Now that you are clear about these three stages of God’s work, what exactly is the nature of God’s work in His 6,000-year management plan? How should it be defined? (This is the most just cause among humankind.) That’s right. God’s work of managing and saving humankind has been going on for 6,000 years, and during these 6,000 years, God has tirelessly endured, waited, and spoken, leading humankind until now. God has not given up, and this work that God does is the most just cause among humankind. Looking at it from the nature of God’s work, are God’s interests the most just and most legitimate? (Yes.) If God’s interests are safeguarded, what will happen to humankind? Humankind can continue to survive well, live out the likeness of people, live within the laws of all things that God formulated, and enjoy everything God has bestowed upon humankind, and human beings will thus become the true masters of all things. You ought to see that God’s management work is ultimately in people’s greatest interests. So then, is not God’s work of saving humankind the most just cause among humankind? This is undeniable and beyond doubt—it is the most just cause. Therefore, if someone, for their own interests, would go so far as to harm the interests of God’s house and go so far as to hinder the spread of God’s work, what person is this? This is obviously a wicked rascal and a devil. God only provides to humankind, without demanding anything in return. While God is doing the work that is of greatest benefit to humankind and undertaking the most just cause, people not only don’t appreciate or thank God and don’t think to repay God, but on the contrary, they disrupt, disturb, and impair God’s work and pursue their own personal interests. Such people have no conscience or reason at all. Do they still deserve to be called people? These are very much devils and Satans! Even if, despite doing all this, God cannot move people, do they still have hearts? No, they don’t. Having no heart means having no conscience. Such people have no sense of conscience. When one’s humanity lacks conscience, one is no longer human, but an animal, a devil, and Satan. This is very obvious. In order for people to be saved, God is determined to pay any price and works tirelessly. No matter how people misunderstand or doubt, God has always been patient and continues to provide for people, telling them various aspects of truth over and over again, making them understand bit by bit, making them reflect and examine, and enabling them to understand God’s heart and comprehend God’s heart. And when people hear these words of God, they are moved and shed a few tears. But when they turn around, not only are they not considerate of God’s intentions, but they still pursue their own interests and still pursue blessings. Tell Me, do such people have no conscience and reason? What do such people lack most? They most lack conscience and reason, they most lack humanity. God endures all kinds of pain with the utmost patience to work and save people, but people still misunderstand God, constantly pit themselves against Him, constantly protect their own interests with no concern for the interests of God’s house, and always want to live a grand life, but do not want to contribute to the glory of God—in all this, is there any humanity to speak of? Although people proclaim testimony to God out loud, in their hearts they say: “This is the work I have done, which has achieved results. I too have exerted myself, I too have paid a price. Why not testify to me?” They always want to have a share in God’s glory and testimony. Are people worthy of these things? The word “glory” does not belong to humans. It can only belong to God, to the Creator, and has nothing to do with created human beings. Even if people exert themselves and cooperate, they are still under the leadership of the Holy Spirit’s work. If there is no work of the Holy Spirit, what can people do? The word “testimony” does not belong to humans either. Whether it be the noun “testimony” or the verb “testify,” both these words themselves have nothing to do with created human beings. Only the Creator is worthy of being testified to and worthy of people’s testimony. This is determined by God’s identity, status, and essence, and it is also because everything God does comes from God’s efforts, and God is worthy of having it. What people can do is decidedly limited, and is all the result of the enlightenment, leadership, and guidance of the Holy Spirit. As for human nature, people become arrogant once they understand some truths and can do a little bit of work. If they have no judgment and chastisement from God to accompany them, no one can achieve submission to God and testify to Him. As a result of God’s preordination, people may have some gifts or special talents, have learned some profession or skills, or have a bit of cleverness, and so they become insufferably arrogant, and constantly want God to share His glory and His testimony with them. Is this not unreasonable? This is unreasonable in the extreme. This shows they are standing in the wrong position. They regard themselves not as human beings, but as a breed apart, as superhumans. People who don’t know their own identity, essence, and what position they should stand in have no self-awareness. The humility of people is not something that comes from abasement—people are humble and lowly to start with. God’s humility is something that comes from abasement. To say that people are humble is to exalt them—in fact they are lowly. People always want to compete for fame, gain, and status, and compete with God for His chosen ones. In this way, they play the role of Satan, and this is the nature of Satan. They truly are descendants of Satan, without the slightest bit of difference. Supposing God gives people a little bit of authority and power, and supposing they can display signs and wonders and do some extraordinary things, and let’s assume that they do everything according to God’s requirements and do it to the letter. But can they surpass God? No, never. Are the abilities of Satan, the archangel, not greater than those of humans? It always wants to surpass God, but what is the end result? In the end, it must descend into the bottomless pit. God will forever be the embodiment of justice, whereas Satan, the devil, and the archangel, will forever be the embodiment of wickedness, and the representative of the forces of wickedness. God will forever be just, and this fact cannot be changed. This is the exceptional and extraordinary side of God. Even if human beings gain all of God’s truths from Him, they are only tiny created beings and cannot surpass God. This is the difference between humankind and God. People can only exist in an orderly manner within all the rules and laws formulated by God, and can only manage everything created by God within these rules and laws. People cannot create any living things, nor can they change the fate of humankind—this is a fact. What does this fact indicate? It is that no matter how much authority and ability God gives to humankind, in the end no one can transcend God’s authority. However many years, or however many generations, or however many humans there are, humans can only ever exist under God’s authority and sovereignty. This is a fact that is forever immutable, one that will never, ever change!

What do you feel after hearing these things? Some people say: “I used to think about these things in my consciousness, but unwittingly I came to feel that my abilities were growing. As I grew older, my thoughts also matured, and I could think about lots of issues more comprehensively, and as I listened to more of God’s words, I could understand some of His intentions, so I felt that I was strong and didn’t need God to hold sovereignty over me. Unconsciously, I came to feel that I was capable, and that I had gained God.” Is this a good feeling? (No.) How isn’t it good? This is not a good sign. So what is a good sign? The longer people live, the more they feel, “Human beings are like dust, and inferior to ants. No matter how strong or dignified people are, or how much doctrine they understand, or how mature their thoughts are, they cannot transcend God’s sovereignty.” The longer people live, the more they feel the greatness of God’s authority and the almightiness of God’s authority. The longer people live, the more they feel the insignificance of people. The longer they live, the more they feel the unfathomableness of God. Such a state of mind is normal. Do you have this kind of state now? Not yet, right? You are still often in the midst of a struggle, teetering on the edge of interests, and sometimes even sending out some tiny signals, saying, “How come God doesn’t share a little of His interests with me? Why doesn’t God pay me compliments? Why doesn’t God make people around me think highly of me? Why doesn’t God make people bear testimony to me? I’ve paid a price and made contributions. How will God reward me?” You still often wallow in a smug, self-satisfied mindset. You often don’t know who you are, and you often feel that you are capable. This situation is abnormal. This is not progress in life. What is this called? Corrupt dispositions inflating yet again. Some people are a bit more unassuming and low-key when they haven’t made any contributions. Once they do something important and make some contributions, and feel that they have capital, when they see the people around them, they wonder: “Why don’t you report on my contributions? You all bear testimony to God’s name and to God’s essence, so why not give a presentation about me? Even if you don’t bear testimony to me, you can just give a presentation about me. I, Sister So-and-so, have believed in God for 25 years. I am now 45 years old, still unmarried and single, and have pursued devoutly and enthusiastically to this day. Because I am a mainstay of the church, many times I have been placed on the Chinese Communist government’s wanted list, hunted down, and have gone into hiding in all sorts of places, drifting between more than ten provinces before moving overseas. After all that, I have continued to serve as a person in charge of important work of God’s house, during which time I have put forward many constructive suggestions, ideas and concepts for certain jobs of God’s house, making an indelible contribution to advancing the church’s work and spreading the kingdom gospel of God. Why don’t you present me like that? Why doesn’t God give me some environments and occasions to display my talents so that everyone can learn about me and know about me? Why does God always stifle us? In God’s house we aren’t that free, nor are we that relaxed, liberated, or happy!” She even wants to be relaxed, liberated, and happy. How can we make you relaxed, liberated, and happy? By putting you at the top of the ranking? Then, after putting you at the top of the pile, by giving a presentation on you: Out in the world this person was a famous doctor, who won the first prize for famous doctors of the nation, and her name was subsequently included in the “Encyclopedia of World-Famous Doctors.” She has completed many papers, and after coming into God’s house, she has continued to be a mainstay and a person of talent, and she has now become a senior leader. Will she not then be happy? She will think, “I am a person of talent. I was a celebrity before, and after coming into God’s house I’m still a celebrity. I am like gold that shines wherever you put it, and no one can contain its glow. These abilities of mine are there for all to see! Although God doesn’t bear testimony, these facts bear resounding testimony to me.” What do you think about this opinion? If you can’t let go of your pursuit of fame and gain for one day, then you are still bound by fame, gain, and status, and you cannot truly be relaxed and happy. As long as you are bound, restricted and yoked by the shackles of fame and gain, you will not move forward in your pursuit of the truth, but can only remain stuck where you are. Some people may ask: “Will I backslide?” The fact is that as long as you don’t move forward, you are stuck on the spot or backsliding. This shows that your nature essence is this thing, and no matter how many years you believe in God for, you will never make any progress, and even to the end you may still do a great deal of evil. It can be said with all certainty that you will be revealed. Once such a person has the right environment, once they have gained status, their ambition will be exposed. In fact, without this environment and status, would they have no ambition? They still would have it. They just are this thing and this essence, and their ambition cannot be contained. Once they have the right environment, they will “explode” all of a sudden, and no restraints will be able to hold them back, and they will start doing evil, and their ugly face of a devil will be completely exposed. This is a case of being revealed. You should understand the word “reveal” in this way: God didn’t intend to reveal you, God meant to give you an opportunity to practice. But you didn’t know a good thing when you saw one, and even made a real show of yourself. Doesn’t being revealed serve you right? This is your own choice. It is not that God deliberately intended to reveal you and eliminate you. It was your motives and ambitions that revealed you. Who else can you put the blame on?

In terms of people’s interests and God’s interests, have we more or less fellowshipped enough about the truth in this regard? What are people’s personal interests? They are the things that people pursue, including fame, gain and status, the ambition and desire to receive blessings, as well as people’s vanity and pride, family, relatives, material interests, and so on. The essence of people’s interests is selfish and despicable, it is wicked and satanic, it is contrary to the truth, and it disrupts, disturbs, and destroys the work of God’s house, whereas God’s interests are the most just cause of saving humankind, and represent God’s love, God’s work, and God’s holiness and righteousness. Therefore, God is justified in defending His interests. He is defending a just cause. This is not because God is selfish and wants to defend His own dignity. This is just and legitimate, and it is of immeasurable benefit to the human race that God saves. Only when God defends His interests can humankind be saved as a result, and gain greater benefits as a result, obtain the truth, the way, and the life, and only then can people finally become true created beings, and live within all the laws and rules established by God, and live among all the things God has created for them, and only then can humankind obtain joyfulness and a truly beautiful life. Is all this which God does a just cause? It is just in the extreme! This work and this management by God, as well as all the jobs in the church that involve God’s salvation of mankind—such as spreading the gospel, shooting movies, writing testimony articles, making videos, translating God’s words, and maintaining the normal order of church life—these jobs are important and must be guaranteed. There is also the aspect of guaranteeing the life of all God’s chosen people who do their duties. Although this is a most basic job, similar to support services, and doesn’t seem to have much to do with the main work of God’s house, it is also very important, and it is necessary to mention it here. Normal things like food, clothing, accommodation, and transport—this is what God furnishes for people, and they are also the most legitimate physical needs that people with normal humanity should possess. God will not deprive people of these needs, but rather, He must defend them. If you always disturb, disrupt, and undermine things that God wants to defend, if you always show contempt toward such things, and always have notions and opinions about them, then you are naysaying God and standing against Him. If you don’t regard the work of God’s house and the interests of God’s house as important, and always want to undermine them, and always want to cause destruction, or always want to profit from them, cheat, or embezzle, then will God be angry with you? (Yes.) What are the consequences of God’s anger? (We will be punished.) This is for certain. God will not forgive you, absolutely not! Because what you are doing is tearing down and destroying the church’s work, and this is in conflict with the work and interests of God’s house. This is a great evil, it is entering into a rivalry with God, and it is something that directly offends God’s disposition. How can God not be angry with you? If some people, because they are of poor caliber, aren’t competent in their work and unintentionally do things that cause disruption and disturbance, this is excusable. However, if due to your own personal interests you engage in jealousy and strife and intentionally do things that disrupt, disturb, and destroy the work of God’s house, this counts as deliberate violation, and this is a matter of offending God’s disposition. Will God forgive you? God is doing the work of His 6,000-year management plan, and all of His painstaking effort goes into it. If someone opposes God, deliberately harms the interests of God’s house, and deliberately pursues their personal interests and their personal prestige and status at the expense of harming the interests of God’s house, and doesn’t hesitate to tear down the church’s work, causing the work of God’s house to be obstructed and destroyed, and even doing tremendous material and financial damage to God’s house, do you think that such people should be forgiven? (No, they shouldn’t.) You all say that they cannot be forgiven, so is God angry with such people? For sure, He is. God has done such a great job of expressing the truth and saving people, and put all His painstaking effort into it. God takes this most just cause so seriously; all His painstaking effort has been exerted for these people whom He wants to save, all of His expectations are also placed on these people, and the final results and glory that He wants to obtain from His 6,000-year management plan will all be realized on these people. If someone enters into rivalry against God, opposes, disturbs, or destroys the result of this cause, will God forgive them? (No.) Does this offend God’s disposition? If you keep saying that you follow God, pursue salvation, accept God’s scrutiny and guidance, and accept and submit to God’s judgment and chastisement, but all the while you are saying these words, you are nevertheless disrupting, disturbing, and destroying the church’s various work, and because of your disturbance, disruption, and destruction, because of your negligence or dereliction of duty, or because of your selfish desires and for the sake of pursuing your own interests, the interests of God’s house, the church’s interests, and a multitude of other aspects have been harmed, even to the point that the work of God’s house has been seriously disturbed and destroyed, how, then, should God weigh up your outcome in your book of life? How should you be labeled? In all fairness, you should be punished. This is called getting your just deserts. What do you understand now? What are people’s interests? (They are wicked.) People’s interests are actually all their extravagant desires. To put it bluntly, they are all temptations, they are all falsehoods, and they are all bait used by Satan to tempt people. Pursuing fame, gain, and status, and pursuing one’s own interests—this is cooperating with Satan in doing evil, and it is opposing God. In order to hinder God’s work, Satan raises up various environments to tempt, disturb, and mislead people, and to prevent people from following God, and to prevent them from being able to submit to God. Instead, they cooperate with Satan and follow it, deliberately rising up to disturb and destroy God’s work. No matter how much God fellowships on the truth, they still don’t come to their senses. No matter how much God’s house prunes them, they still don’t accept the truth. They don’t submit to God at all, instead they insist on having things their own way and doing as they please. As a result, they disturb and destroy the church’s work, seriously affect the progress of the church’s various work, and cause enormous harm to the life entry of God’s chosen people. This sin is too great, and such people will certainly be punished by God.