Daily Words of God  Excerpt 444

How does one grasp the details of spirit? How does the Holy Spirit work in man? How does Satan work in man? How do evil spirits work in man? What are the manifestations? When something happens to you, does it come from the Holy Spirit, and should you submit to it or rebel against it? In people’s actual practice, much arises from human will that people invariably believe comes from the Holy Spirit. Some things come from evil spirits, yet people still always think they have come from the Holy Spirit, and sometimes the Holy Spirit guides people from within, yet people are afraid that such guidance comes from Satan and so do not dare to submit, when in reality that guidance is the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if one does not exercise discernment, they won’t be able to really experience the actual things they go through; if one doesn’t exercise discernment in their experiences, then they won’t be able to gain life. How does the Holy Spirit do work? How do evil spirits do work? What comes from the will of man? And what is born of the guidance and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit? If you grasp the patterns of the Holy Spirit’s work within man, then, in your daily life and during your real experiences, you will be able to grow your knowledge and gain discernment; you will come to know God, you will be able to comprehend and discern Satan; you will not be confused in your submission or pursuit, and you will be someone whose thoughts are clear, who submits to the work of the Holy Spirit.

The work of the Holy Spirit is to provide guidance and enlightenment on the positive side. It will not make people negative. It brings them comfort, gives them faith and resolve, and enables them to pursue being made perfect by God. When the Holy Spirit works, people are able to enter from a positive aspect; they are not passive or forced, but act of their own initiative. When the Holy Spirit works, people are glad and willing, willing to submit and happy to humble themselves. Even if they are pained and weak inside, they have the resolve to cooperate; they suffer gladly, they are able to submit, and they are untainted by human will, untainted by the thinking of man, and even more so untainted by human expectations and motivations. When people experience the work of the Holy Spirit, they are especially pure inside. Those who are possessed of the work of the Holy Spirit live out love for God and love for their brothers and sisters; they like the things that delight God and loathe the things that God loathes. People who are touched by the work of the Holy Spirit are those who have normal humanity, usually pursue the truth, and are possessed of humanity. When the Holy Spirit works within people, their condition becomes better and better, and their humanity becomes more and more normal, and though some of their cooperation may be foolish, their motivations are right, they enter from a positive aspect, they do not try to cause disruptions, and they do not harbor any bad intentions. The work of the Holy Spirit is normal and practical, the Holy Spirit works in man according to life patterns of normal people, and He enlightens and guides people within according to the actual pursuit of normal people. When the Holy Spirit works in people, He guides and enlightens them according to the needs of normal people. He provides for them according to their needs, and He guides and enlightens them according to what they lack, and according to their deficiencies, from a positive aspect. The Holy Spirit’s work is to enlighten and guide people in real life; only if they experience God’s words in their actual lives are they able to see the work of the Holy Spirit. If, in their everyday lives, people are in a positive state and have a normal spiritual life, then they are possessed of the work of the Holy Spirit. In such a state, they have faith when they eat and drink the words of God, they are inspired when they pray, and they are not negative when they come up against something—within it, they are able to see the lessons that God requires them to learn, they are not negative or weak, and although they have real difficulties, they are willing to submit to all the arrangements of God.

What effects are achieved by the work of the Holy Spirit? You may be foolish, or you may be devoid of discernment, but the Holy Spirit has but to work and there will be faith in you, you will always feel that you cannot love God enough, and you will be willing to cooperate. No matter how great the difficulties ahead, you will still be willing to cooperate. When things happen to you and it is not clear to you whether they come from God or from Satan, you will be able to wait, and you will be neither negative nor remiss. This is the normal work of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit works within you, you will still encounter real difficulties: Sometimes you will be brought to tears, and sometimes there will be things that you are incapable of overcoming—this is all just a phase of the ordinary work of the Holy Spirit. Although you will fail to overcome those things, and although at the time you will be weak and will complain, afterward you will still be able to love God, overflowing with faith. Your negativity will not prevent you from having normal experiences, and regardless of what other people say, and how others attack you, you will still be able to love God. During prayer, you will always feel that in the past you were so indebted to God, and you will resolve to satisfy God and rebel against the flesh when you encounter such things again. This drive shows that the work of the Holy Spirit is within you. This is the normal state of the work of the Holy Spirit.

What is the work that comes from Satan? In the work that comes from Satan, the visions within people are vague; people are without normal humanity, the motivations behind their actions are wrong, and although they wish to love God there are always accusations within them, and these accusations and thoughts cause constant disturbance within them, constraining the growth of their life and stopping them from being in a normal condition before God. This is to say, as soon as the work of Satan is within people, their hearts cannot be at peace before God. They do not know what to do with themselves—when they see people gathering together, they want to run away, and they are unable to close their eyes when others pray. The work of evil spirits wrecks the normal relationship between man and God, and upsets people’s previous visions or their former path of life entry; in their hearts they can never draw close to God, they are constantly disturbed and constrained by something, and their hearts cannot find peace. They are left with no strength to love God and with their spirits sinking. Such are the manifestations of the work of Satan. The manifestations of the work of Satan are: being unable to stand your ground and stand firm in your testimony, causing you to become a wrong person before God and a person who has no loyalty toward God. When Satan disturbs you, you lose the love and loyalty toward God within you, you are stripped of a normal relationship with God, you do not pursue the truth or the improvement of yourself; you retreat and become negative, you indulge yourself, you give free rein to the spread of sin and are not hateful of sin. Furthermore, it causes you to become dissolute; it causes God’s touch to disappear within you and makes you complain about God and oppose Him, leading you to question God; there is even the risk that you will leave. All of this comes from Satan.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Work of the Holy Spirit and the Work of Satan

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 445

When something happens to you in your daily life, how should you discern whether it comes from the work of the Holy Spirit or from the work of Satan? When people’s conditions are normal, their spiritual lives and their lives in the flesh are normal and their reason is normal and orderly. When they are in this condition, what they experience and come to know within themselves can generally be said to come from being touched by the Holy Spirit. (Having insights or gaining some shallow knowledge when they eat and drink the words of God, or being loyal in certain matters, or having the strength to love God in some things—this all comes from the Holy Spirit.) The Holy Spirit’s work in man is especially normal; man is incapable of feeling it, and it seems to come through man himself, although it is in fact the work of the Holy Spirit. In daily life, the Holy Spirit does work in everyone, which may be great or small, and it is just the extent of this work that varies. Some people are of good caliber, and they comprehend things quickly, and the Holy Spirit provides special enlightenment within them. Meanwhile, some people are of poor caliber, and it takes them longer to comprehend things, but the Holy Spirit touches them inside and they, too, are able to be loyal to God. The Holy Spirit works in all those who pursue God. When, in daily life, people do not oppose or rebel against God, do not do things that disrupt the management of God and do not disturb the work of God, then in each one of them the Spirit of God works to a greater or lesser extent; He touches them, enlightens them, gives them faith, gives them strength, and moves them to enter in a positive manner, not being lazy or coveting the enjoyments of the flesh, willing to practice the truth, and longing for the words of God. All of this is work that comes from the Holy Spirit.

When people’s states are not normal, they are forsaken by the Holy Spirit. The complaints within their hearts, their wrong intentions, their laziness, their indulgence of their flesh, and their desire to betray the truth—all of this comes from Satan. When people’s conditions are not normal, when they are dark inside and have lost their normal reason, have been forsaken by the Holy Spirit, and are unable to feel God within themselves, this is when Satan is working within them. If people always have strength within them and always love God, then generally, when things happen to them, those things come from the Holy Spirit, and whomever they meet, the meeting is the result of the arrangements of God. This is to say that when you are in a normal condition, when you are within the great work of the Holy Spirit, then it is impossible for Satan to make you waver. Upon this foundation it can be said that everything comes from the Holy Spirit, and although you may have incorrect thoughts, you are able to rebel against them and you do not follow them. All this comes from the work of the Holy Spirit. In what situations does Satan interfere? It is easy for Satan to work within you when your conditions are not normal, when you have not been touched by God and are without the work of God, when you are dry and barren inside, when you pray to God but grasp nothing, and when you eat and drink the words of God but are not enlightened or illuminated. In other words, when you have been forsaken by the Holy Spirit and you cannot feel God, then many things happen to you that come from the temptation of Satan. As the Holy Spirit works, Satan also is working all the while. The Holy Spirit touches man inwardly, while at the same time Satan causes disturbances within man. However, the work of the Holy Spirit takes the leading position, and people whose conditions are normal can overcome this; this is the triumph of the work of the Holy Spirit over the work of Satan. While the Holy Spirit works, corrupt dispositions still exist within people; however, during the Holy Spirit’s work, it is easy for people to discover and recognize their rebelliousness, motivations, and adulterations. Only then do people feel remorse and grow willing to repent. As such, their rebelliousness and corrupt dispositions are gradually cast off within God’s work. The work of the Holy Spirit is especially normal; as He works in people, they still have difficulties, they still weep, they still suffer, they are still weak and there is still much that is unclear to them. Yet when they are in these states, they are able to stop themselves from retreating, and they can still love God, and although they weep and are distressed, they are still able to praise God; the work of the Holy Spirit is especially normal, not the slightest bit supernatural. Most people believe that, as soon as the Holy Spirit begins to work, changes occur in people’s state, and the things that are the substance of them are cast off. Such an understanding is distorted. When the Holy Spirit works within man, the negative things of man are still there and his stature remains the same, but he gains the illumination and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and so he is in a positive state more of the time, the conditions within him become normal, and he changes faster. In people’s real experiences, they primarily experience the work of either the Holy Spirit or Satan, and if they are unable to grasp these states and have no discernment of them, then entry into practical experiences is out of the question, to say nothing of changes in disposition. Thus, the key to experiencing God’s work is being able to see through to such things; in this way, it will be easier for them to experience it.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Work of the Holy Spirit and the Work of Satan

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 446

The work of the Holy Spirit makes people positive and driven, whereas the work of Satan makes them become negative and retreat, rebel against God and oppose Him, lose faith in Him, and become weak in doing their duty. Everything that stems from the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit is quite natural; it is not forced upon you. If you submit to it, then you will have peace; if you do not, then you will afterward feel rebuked. If it is the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, you won’t be disturbed or constrained in anything you do; you will be set free, there will be a path of practice in your actions, and you will be unbound, and be able to act upon the intentions of God. The work of Satan causes you disturbance in many things; it makes you unwilling to pray, too lazy to eat and drink the words of God, and indisposed to live the life of the church, and it estranges you from the spiritual life. The work of the Holy Spirit does not interfere with your daily life and does not interfere with your normal spiritual life. You are unable to discern many things at the very moment they occur, yet, after a couple of days, your heart becomes brighter and your mind clearer. You come to have some sense about things of the spirit, and slowly you can discern whether a thought has come from God or from Satan. Some things clearly make you oppose God and rebel against God, or stop you from putting the words of God into practice; these things all come from Satan. Some things are not apparent, and you cannot discern them in the moment; afterward, you can see their manifestations and then exercise discernment. If you can clearly discern which things come from Satan and which are directed by the Holy Spirit, then you will not easily go astray in your experiences. Sometimes, your condition is not good, and you have a thought that takes you out of your negative state. This shows that even when your condition is unfavorable, some of your thoughts can still come from the Holy Spirit. It is not the case that when you are negative, all your thoughts are sent by Satan; if that were true, then when would you be able to transition into a positive state? When you have been negative for a period of time, the Holy Spirit gives you an opportunity to be made perfect; He touches you, causing you to emerge from your negative state, and you enter into a normal state.

Knowing what the work of the Holy Spirit is and what the work of Satan is, you can compare these to your own state during your experiences, and to your own experiences, and in this way there will be many more truths relating to principle in your experiences. Having understood these truths about principle, you will be able to grasp your actual state, you will be able to discern people and events, and you will not have to spend so much effort in gaining the work of the Holy Spirit. Of course, this depends on your motivations being right and on your willingness to seek and to practice. Language such as this—language which relates to principles—is something you should have in your experiences. Without it, your experiences will be full of the disturbance of Satan and foolish knowledge. If you do not understand how the Holy Spirit works, then you do not understand how to pray to God or how you ought to enter, and if you do not know how Satan acts to mislead and disturb people, then you do not know how to reject Satan and stand firm in your testimony. How the Holy Spirit works and how Satan acts are things people should understand, and they are things that must be experienced in people’s belief in God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Work of the Holy Spirit and the Work of Satan

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 447

What aspects does normal humanity include? Insight, reason, conscience, and integrity. If you can achieve normality in each of these aspects, your humanity will be up to standard. You should have the likeness of a normal human being, you should resemble a believer in God. You do not have to achieve too much, or get involved in diplomacy; you just have to be a normal human being, with a normal person’s reason, to be able to see through things, and at least look like a normal human being. That will be enough. Everything required of you today is within your capabilities; this is not a case of trying to force a fish to live on land. No useless words or useless work will be performed upon you. All the ugliness expressed or revealed in your life must be cast off. You have been corrupted by Satan and brim with Satan’s poisons. All that is asked of you is to cast off these satanic corrupt dispositions. You are not being asked to become some high-ranking figure, or a famous or great person. There is no point in that. The work that is done on you is done according to what is inherent in you. What I ask of people is defined within limits. If you practiced in the way and tone in which intellectuals speak, this would not do; you would not be able to do it. Given your caliber, you should at least be able to speak with wisdom and tact and explain things in a clear and comprehensible manner. That is all it takes to meet the requirements. If, at the very least, you gain insight and reason, then that will do. What is most important right now is casting off your satanic corrupt dispositions. You must cast off the ugliness that is manifested in you. How can you talk about supreme reason and supreme insight, if you do not cast these off? Many people, seeing that the age has changed, lack any humility or patience, and they might as well not have any love or saintly decorum, either. How absurd such people are! Do they have even an ounce of normal humanity? Do they have any testimony to speak of? They are utterly without insight or reason. Of course, some aspects of people’s practice that are distorted need to be corrected; their former rigid spiritual lives and their benumbed and imbecilic appearance, for example—all of these have to be changed. Change does not mean letting you become dissolute or indulge in the flesh, saying whatever you want. You must not talk loosely. To have the speech and comportment of a normal human being is to speak coherently, saying “yes” when you mean “yes,” and “no” when you mean “no,” sticking to the facts, speaking appropriately, not cheating, and not lying. The limits that a normal person can reach regarding a change of disposition must be understood. If not, you will not be able to enter into reality.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Raising Caliber Is for the Sake of Receiving God’s Salvation

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 448

Man’s performance of his duty is, in actuality, the accomplishment of all that is inherent within man, which is to say, that which is inherently possible for man. It is then that his duty is fulfilled. As for the shortcomings in man’s service, these are gradually reduced through progressive experience and the process of his undergoing judgment; they do not hinder or affect man’s duty. Those who cease to serve or yield and fall back for fear that there may be shortcomings in their service are the most cowardly of all. If people cannot express what they ought to express during service or achieve what is inherently possible for them, and instead act perfunctorily, they have lost the function that a created being should have. Such people are what are known as “mediocrities”; they are useless trash. How can such people be called created beings in the true sense? Are they not rotten things that shine on the outside but are decayed within? If a person calls themselves God yet is unable to express the being of divinity, do the work of God Himself, or represent God, they are undoubtedly not God, for they have not the substance of God, and that which God can inherently achieve does not exist within them. If man loses what is inherently attainable by him, he can no longer be considered man, and he is not worthy to stand as a created being or come before God and serve Him, much less is he worthy of receiving the grace of God or of being watched over, protected, and made perfect by God. Many who have lost the trust of God go on to lose the grace of God. Not only do they not hate their evil deeds, but they brazenly propagate the idea that the way of God is incorrect, and the rebellious ones even deny the existence of God. How can such people, who are possessed of such rebelliousness, be entitled to enjoy the grace of God? Those who do not fulfill their duty are very rebellious against God, and owe much to Him, yet they turn around and lambaste God as being wrong. How could such a person be fit to be made perfect? Is this not the precursor to being eliminated and punished? People who do not do their duty before God are already guilty of the most heinous of crimes, for which even death is an insufficient punishment, yet they have the gall to argue with God and try to contend with Him. What is the worth of perfecting such people? When people fail to fulfill their duty, they should feel guilt and indebtedness; they ought to hate their weakness and uselessness, their rebelliousness and corruption, and even more so, they ought to offer up everything to God, even their lives. Only then are they created beings who truly love God, and only such people are fit to enjoy the blessings and promises of God, and be made perfect by Him. And what of the majority of you? How do you treat the God who lives among you? How have you performed your duty before Him? Have you done all that you possibly can, even at the expense of your own life? What have you sacrificed? Have you not received much from Me? Can you discern? How loyal are you to Me? How have you served Me? And what of all that I have bestowed upon you and have done for you? Have you taken measure of it all? Have you all judged and compared this with what little conscience you have within you? Whom could your words and actions be worthy of? Could it be that such minuscule sacrifice of yours is worthy of all I have bestowed upon you? I have been wholeheartedly devoted to you, without the slightest reservation, yet you harbor wicked intentions and are half-hearted toward Me. That is the duty you’ve performed, the meager function you’ve served. Is this not so? Do you not know that you have utterly failed to perform the duty of a created being? How can you be considered created beings? Is it not clear to you what it is you are expressing and living out? You have failed to fulfill your duty, but you seek to gain the tolerance and bountiful grace of God. Such grace has not been prepared for ones as worthless and base as you, but for those who ask for nothing and gladly sacrifice. People such as you, such mediocrities, are utterly unworthy of enjoying the grace of heaven. Only hardship and interminable punishment shall accompany your days! If you cannot be devoted to Me, your fate shall be one of suffering. If you cannot be accountable to My words and My work, your outcome will be one of punishment. All grace, blessings, and the wonderful life of the kingdom shall have nothing to do with you. This is the end you deserve to meet and a consequence of your own making!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Difference Between the Ministry of God Incarnate and the Duty of Man

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 449

Not only do those unwise arrogant ones not try their best or perform their duty, but they even hold out their hands for grace, as if what they ask for is deserved. And if they fail to gain what they ask for, they become even more treacherous. How can such people be considered to possess reason? You are of poor caliber and devoid of reason, completely incapable of fulfilling the duty you ought to fulfill during the work of management. Your worth has already plummeted. Your failure to repay Me for showing you such grace is already an act of extreme rebelliousness, sufficient to condemn you and demonstrate your cowardice, incompetence, baseness, and sordidness. What entitles you to keep your hands outstretched? That you are unable to be of the slightest assistance to My work, unable to be devoted, and unable to stand firm in your testimony for Me are your misdeeds and failings, yet you instead attack Me, falsely claim I do wrong, and complain that I am unrighteous. Is this what constitutes your loyalty? Is this what constitutes your love? What other work can you do beyond this? How have you contributed to all the work that has been done? How much have you expended? I have already shown great tolerance by not blaming you, yet still you shamelessly make excuses to Me and complain about Me in private. Do you have even the slightest trace of humanity? Though the duty of man is adulterated with many human thoughts and notions, you must perform your duty and be devoted. The impurities in the work of man are an issue of his caliber, whereas, if man does not perform his duty, it shows his rebelliousness. There is no correlation between the duty of man and whether he receives blessings or meets with woe. Duty is what man ought to fulfill; it is his heaven-sent vocation, and he should perform it without seeking recompense, and without conditions or excuses. Only this can be called performing one’s duty. Receiving blessings refers to the blessings a person enjoys when they are made perfect after experiencing judgment. Meeting with woe refers to the punishment a person receives when their disposition does not change after they have passed through chastisement and judgment—that is, when they are not made perfect. But regardless of whether they receive blessings or meet with woe, created beings should fulfill their duty, doing what they ought to do, and doing what they are able to do; this is the least that a person, a person who pursues God, should do. You should not perform your duty for the sake of receiving blessings, and you should not refuse to perform your duty for fear of meeting with woe. Let Me tell you this one thing: Man’s performance of his duty is what he ought to do, and if he does not perform his duty, then this is his rebelliousness. It is through the process of performing his duty that man is gradually changed, and it is through this process that he demonstrates his loyalty. As such, the more you perform your duty, the more truths you will be able to gain, and the more practical your expression shall become. Those who merely go through the motions in performing their duty and do not seek the truth shall be eliminated in the end, for such people do not perform their duty in the practice of the truth, and do not practice the truth in the performance of their duty. They are those who remain unchanged and will meet with woe. Not only are their expressions impure, but everything they express is evil.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Difference Between the Ministry of God Incarnate and the Duty of Man

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 450

If you have no knowledge of God’s work, you will not know how to cooperate with God. If you do not know the principles of God’s work, and are unaware of how Satan works on man, you will have no path to practice. Zealous pursuit alone will not allow you to achieve the results demanded by God. Such a means of experiencing is akin to that of Lawrence: having no discernment whatsoever and only focusing on experience, utterly unaware of what Satan’s work is, of what the work of the Holy Spirit is, of what state man is in without the presence of God, and what kind of people God wants to perfect. What principles should be adopted when dealing with different types of people, how to grasp God’s intentions in the present, how to know God’s disposition, and at which people, circumstances, and age God’s mercy, majesty, and righteousness are directed—he has no discernment in any of these. If people do not have multiple visions as a foundation for their experiences, then life is out of the question, and experience even more so; they just foolishly continue submitting to and enduring everything. Such people are very difficult to make perfect. It can be said that if you have nothing of the visions spoken of above, this is ample proof that you are a muddlehead, you are like a pillar of salt always standing in Israel. Such people are useless, good for nothing! Some people only ever submit blindly, they always know themselves and always use their own ways of dealing with the world when handling new matters, or they use “wisdom” to deal with trivial matters unworthy of mention. Such people are devoid of discernment, and it is as if their nature is to resign themselves to being picked on, and they are always the same; they never change. People like this are muddleheads who lack even the slightest discernment. They do not know how to take measures appropriate to the circumstances or to different people. Such people do not have experience. I have seen some people who come to know themselves to such an extent that when they see those in whom evil spirits are at work, they still lower their heads and take the blame, not daring to stand up and condemn them. And when faced with the obvious work of the Holy Spirit, they do not dare to submit. They believe that evil spirits are also in the hands of God, and have not the slightest courage to stand up and resist them. Such people bring shame to God, and are utterly incapable of bearing a heavy burden for Him. Such muddleheaded people do not exercise even the slightest bit of discernment. Such a means of experiencing, therefore, should be purged, for it is untenable in the eyes of God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. On Experience

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 451

In the current stream, all those who truly love God have the opportunity to be perfected by Him. Whether they are young or old, as long as they have a heart that submits to Him and fears Him, they can be perfected by Him. God perfects people according to their different functions. So long as you exert all of your strength, and submit to the work of God, you can be perfected by Him. At present, none of you is perfect. Sometimes you are capable of performing one type of function, and other times you can perform two. Just as long as you do your utmost to expend yourself for God, you will ultimately be perfected by Him.

Young people have few philosophies for worldly dealings, and they lack wisdom and insight. God is here to perfect man’s wisdom and insight. His word makes up for their deficiencies. However, the dispositions of young people are unstable, and must be transformed by God. Young people have few religious notions and few philosophies for worldly dealings; they think about everything in simple terms, and their reflections are not complex. This is the part of their humanity that has not yet taken shape, and it is a desirable part; however, young people are ignorant and lack wisdom. This is something that needs to be perfected by God. Being perfected by God will enable you to develop discernment. You will be able to see many spiritual matters clearly, and gradually turn into someone who is fit for God to use. Older brothers and sisters also have their functions to perform, and they are not abandoned by God. Older brothers and sisters, too, have both desirable and undesirable aspects. They have lots of philosophies for worldly dealings and lots of religious notions. In their actions, they adhere to many rigid conventions, and they are always prone to applying regulations—mechanically copying and rigidly applying them, and lacking flexibility. This is an undesirable aspect. However, these older brothers and sisters remain calm and steadfast no matter what comes up; their dispositions are stable, and they don’t blow hot and then cold all of a sudden. They may be slower at understanding things, yet this is not a major fault. As long as you can submit; as long as you can accept the current words of God and not scrutinize God’s words; as long as you are concerned only with submission and following, and do not ever pass judgment on the words of God or harbor other ill thoughts about them; as long as you accept His words and put them into practice—then, having met these conditions, you can be perfected.

Whether you are a younger or an older brother or sister, you must know the function you ought to perform. Those in their youth must not be insolent; those who are older must not be negative or shrink back. Moreover, they must be able to use each other’s strengths to make up for their weaknesses, and they must serve one another, without any prejudice. A bridge of friendship will be built between younger and older brothers and sisters, and because of God’s love, you will be able to better understand one another. Younger brothers and sisters will not look down on older brothers and sisters, and the older brothers and sisters will not be self-righteous: Is this not harmonious cooperation? If you all have such resolve, then the will of God will certainly be fulfilled in your generation.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. On Everyone Performing Their Function

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 452

In the future, whether you are blessed or meet with woe will be decided based upon your actions and behavior today. If you are to be perfected by God, it must be in this present age; there will not be another opportunity in the future. God truly wants to perfect you now, and this is not a manner of speaking. In the future, regardless of what trials come to you, what events take place, or what disasters you encounter, God wishes to perfect you; this is a definite and indisputable fact. Where can this be seen? It can be seen in the fact that the word of God, through the ages and generations, has never attained such a great height and entered the highest realm as it has today. The work of the Holy Spirit on all people today is without precedent. Hardly anyone from generations past had such an experience; even in the age of Jesus, the revelations of today did not exist. The words spoken to you, what you understand, and your experience have all reached their zenith. Even in the midst of trials and chastisements, you people do not leave, and this is sufficient proof that the work of God has attained an unprecedented splendor. This is not something that man is able to do. It is not something that man maintains; rather, it is the work of God Himself. Thus, from many of the facts of the work of God, it can be seen that God intends to perfect man, and He is certainly able to make you complete. If you have this insight, and make this new discovery, then you will not wait for the second coming of Jesus; instead, you will allow God to make you complete in the present age. Therefore, you should each do your utmost, sparing no effort, so that you may be perfected by God.

Now, you must pay no mind to negative things. For the time being, put aside and disregard anything that makes you feel negative. When you act, do so with a heart that seeks and that feels its way forward, and a heart of submission to God. When you discover a weakness within you but do not let it constrain you, and you perform the functions that you ought to, this is striving positively. For example, you older brothers and sisters have religious notions, yet you are able to pray, submit, eat and drink the word of God, and sing hymns…. In short, you should devote yourselves with all the strength you can muster to whatever you are able to do, whatever functions you are able to perform. Do not wait passively. Being able to satisfy God in your performance of your duty is the first step. Then, once you are able to understand the truth and attain entry into the reality of God’s words, you will have been perfected by Him.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. On Everyone Performing Their Function

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 453

Everyone who has resolve can serve God—but only those who show consideration for and understand God’s intentions are qualified and entitled to serve God. I have discovered this among you: Most people believe that as long as they fervently preach the way for God, go on the road for God, expend themselves and give things up for God, and so on, then this is serving God. The majority of religious people believe that serving God means running around with a Bible in their hands, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of heaven and saving people by making them repent and confess. There are also many religious officials who think that serving God consists of preaching in chapels after pursuing advanced studies and training in the seminary, and teaching people through readings of Bible verses. Moreover, there are people in impoverished regions who believe that serving God means healing the sick and casting out demons among their brothers and sisters, praying for them, and serving them. Among you, there are many who believe that serving God means eating and drinking the words of God and praying to God every day, as well as visiting and doing work in churches everywhere. There are other brothers and sisters who believe that serving God means never getting married or starting a family and dedicating their entire being to God. Yet few people know what it actually means to serve God. Although there are as many people who serve God as there are stars in the sky, the number of those who can serve directly, and who are able to serve in accordance with God’s intentions, is paltry—pifflingly small. Why do I say this? I say this because you do not understand the essence of the phrase “serving God,” and you understand so little of how to serve in accordance with God’s intentions. There is an urgent need for people to understand exactly what sort of service to God is in accordance with His intentions.

If you wish to serve in accordance with God’s intentions, you must first understand what kind of people are pleasing to God, what kind of people are hated by God, what kind of people are made perfect by God, and what kind of people are qualified to serve God. At the very least, you should be equipped with this knowledge. More importantly, you should know the purpose of God’s work, and the work that God shall do in the present. After understanding this, and through the guidance of God’s words, you should first have entry, and first accept God’s commission. Once you have had practical experience of God’s words, and when you truly know God’s work, you will be qualified to serve God. And God will open your spiritual eyes when you serve Him and allow you to have a greater understanding of His work and to see it more clearly. When you enter this reality, your experiences will be more profound and practical, and all those of you who have had such experiences will be able to walk among the churches and offer provision to your brothers and sisters, so that you can each draw on each other’s strengths to make up for your own shortcomings, and gain richer knowledge in your spirits. Only after achieving this effect will you be able to serve in accordance with God’s intentions and be made perfect by God in the course of your service.

Those who serve God should be God’s intimates, they should be pleasing to God, and capable of undivided loyalty to God. Whether it’s in private or in public, in the presence of God your actions should be able to please Him, and they should all be able to stand firm before Him; regardless of how other people treat you, you should always walk the path you ought to walk to show consideration for God’s burden. Only people like this are intimates of God. That God’s intimates are able to serve Him directly is because they have been given God’s great commission and God’s burden, they are able to make God’s heart their own, and take God’s burden as their own, and they give no consideration to the gain or loss of their future prospects—even when their prospects are that they will have nothing, and they stand to gain nothing, they will always believe in God with a God-loving heart. And so, this kind of person is God’s intimate. God’s intimates are also His confidants; only God’s confidants could share His urgency, and His thoughts, and although their flesh is painful and weak, they are able to endure pain and forsake that which they love to satisfy God. God gives more burdens to such people, and that which God desires to do is borne out in such people’s testimony. Thus, these people are pleasing to God, they are people who serve God and accord with His intentions, and only people such as this can wield power as kings together with God. When you have truly become God’s intimate is precisely when you will wield power as a king together with God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How to Serve in Accordance With God’s Intentions

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 454

Jesus was able to complete God’s commission—the work of all mankind’s redemption—precisely because He was able to show consideration for God’s intentions, without making any plans or arrangements for Himself. He was the intimate of God—God Himself—which is something you all understand very well. (Actually, He was the God Himself who was testified to by God. I mention this here to use the fact of Jesus to illustrate the issue.) He was able to place God’s management plan at the very center, and always prayed to the heavenly Father and sought the will of the heavenly Father. He prayed and said, “God the Father! Fulfill that which is Your will, and act not according to My desires but according to Your plan. Man may be weak, but why should You care for him? How could man be worthy of Your concern, man who is like an ant in Your hand? In My heart, I wish only to fulfill Your will, and I would that You accomplish what You would do in Me according to Your own desires.” On the road to Jerusalem, Jesus was in agony, as if a knife were being twisted in His heart, yet He had not the slightest intention of backing out; always there was a powerful force compelling Him onward to where He would be crucified. Ultimately, He was nailed to the cross and became the likeness of sinful flesh, completing the work of the redemption of mankind. He transcended all the constraints of death and Hades. Before Him, death, hell, and Hades lost their power, and were vanquished by Him. He lived for thirty-three years, throughout which He always did His utmost to satisfy God’s intentions according to God’s work at the time, never considering His own personal gain or loss, and always making plans for the sake of the intentions of God the Father. Thus, after He was baptized, God said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Because of His service before God that was in accordance with God’s intentions, God placed the heavy burden of redeeming all mankind upon His shoulders and made Him accomplish it, and He was qualified and entitled to complete this important task. Throughout His life, He endured immeasurable suffering for God, and He was tempted by Satan countless times, but He was never disheartened. God gave Him such an important task because He trusted Him, and loved Him, and thus God personally said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” At that time, only Jesus could accomplish this commission, and this was one aspect of the actual circumstances of God’s completion of His work of redeeming all mankind in the Age of Grace.

If, like Jesus, you are able to be considerate of God’s burden, and rebel against your flesh, God will entrust His heavy responsibility to you, so that you will meet the conditions required to serve God. Only under such circumstances will you dare to say that you are a person who follows God’s will, a person who completes God’s commission, and a person who truly serves God. Compared to Jesus’ example, do you dare to say you are God’s intimate? Do you dare to say that you are a person who follows God’s will? Do you dare to say that you are a person who truly serves God? Today, you do not understand how to serve God, do you dare to say you are God’s intimate? If you say that you are a person who serves God, do you not blaspheme against Him? Think about it: Are you serving God, or yourself? You serve Satan, yet you stubbornly say you are serving God—in this, do you not blaspheme against God? Many people—behind My back—revel in the benefits of status; they indulge in food, they love to sleep, and they give every care to the flesh, always afraid that there is no way out for the flesh. They do not fulfill their function properly in the church, but freeload off the church, or else they lecture their brothers and sisters with My words, constraining others from on high. These people keep saying they are people who follow God’s will and always say they are God’s intimates—is this not absurd? If you have the right motivation, but are unable to serve in accordance with God’s intentions, then you are being foolish; but if your motivation is not right, and you still say you are a person who serves God, then you are someone who opposes God, and you ought to be punished by God! I have no sympathy for such people! In the house of God, they freeload, always indulge in the comforts of the flesh, and give no consideration to the interests of God. They always seek personal benefit, and they pay no heed to God’s intentions. They cannot accept the scrutiny of God’s Spirit in anything they do. They are always cheating their brothers and sisters by being crooked and deceitful, and they are two-faced. They are much like a fox in a vineyard, always stealing grapes and ruining the vineyard. Could such people be God’s intimates? Are you fit to inherit God’s blessings? You take no burden for your life and the church, are you fit to receive God’s commission? Who would dare trust someone like you? When you serve like this, could God entrust you with a greater task? Would this not cause delays to the work?

I say this so that you might know what conditions must be fulfilled in order to serve in accordance with God’s intentions. If you do not give your hearts to God, if you do not show consideration for God’s intentions like Jesus, then it will be difficult for you to gain God’s trust, and you will end up being judged by God. Perhaps today, in your service to God, you always harbor the intention of deceiving God and always deal with Him in a perfunctory manner. In short, no matter what, if you cheat God, ruthless judgment will come upon you. Right now, while you have just entered onto the right track of serving God, first give your hearts to God; you cannot have a divided heart. Regardless of whether you are before God, or before other people, your heart should always be turned toward God, and you should have the resolve to love God like Jesus did. In this way, God will make you perfect, so that you become a person who serves God and accords with His intentions. If you truly wish to be made perfect by God, and for your service to be in accordance with His intentions, then you should change your previous views about faith in God, and change your old practices of serving God, so that more within you is made perfect by God. In this way, God will not abandon you, and, like Peter, you will be at the vanguard of those who love God. If you remain unrepentant, then you will meet with the same outcome as Judas. This should be understood by all who believe in God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How to Serve in Accordance With God’s Intentions

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 455

Since God initiated His work in the universe, He has predestined many people to serve Him, including those from every walk of life, with the aim that His intentions would be satisfied and His work on earth would be brought to smooth completion—this is God’s aim in choosing people to serve Him. Every person who serves God should understand this intention of His. Through this work of God, people see with greater clarity His wisdom and almightiness, and the principles of His work on earth. In a practical manner, God has come to earth to do His work and engage with people, so that they may know His deeds more clearly. Today, you—this group of people—are fortunate to serve the practical God. This is an incalculable blessing for you—it is truly God’s exaltation of you. In selecting a person to serve Him, God always has His own principles. It is absolutely not the case, as people imagine it to be, that a person can serve God as long as they have enthusiasm. Today, you see that all who serve before God do so because of the guidance of God, and that they have the work of the Holy Spirit, and are people who pursue the truth. These are the minimum conditions for all those who serve God.

Serving God is no simple task. Those whose corrupt disposition remains unchanged can never serve God. If your disposition has not been judged and chastised by God’s words, then your disposition still represents Satan, which proves that your service to God is just you offering up your own good intentions, that your service is based on your satanic nature. You serve God with your natural character, and according to your personal preferences. What’s more, you always think that the things you are willing to do are what are delightful to God, and that the things you do not wish to do are what are loathsome to God; you work entirely according to your own preferences. Can this be called serving God? Ultimately, there will not be the slightest change in your life disposition; instead, your service will make it even more stubborn, thus deeply ingraining your corrupt disposition, and as such, there will be formed within you rules about service to God that are primarily based on your own character, and experience derived from your service according to your own disposition. These are the experience and lessons of man. It is man’s philosophy for worldly dealings. People like this are Pharisees and religious officials. If they don’t wake up and repent now, then they will surely turn into the false christs and the antichrists who mislead people in the last days. The false christs and the antichrists that were spoken of will arise from among such people. If those who serve God follow their own character and act according to their own will, they run the risk of being eliminated at any time. Those who rely on their many years of experience to serve God in order to win over the hearts of others, to lecture them and constrain them, and to stand on high—and who never repent, never confess their sins, never relinquish the benefits of status—these people shall fall before God. They are of the same kind as Paul, presuming upon their seniority and lording their credentials over others. God does not perfect people like this. Such service constitutes disrupting the work of God. People always cling to the old. They cling to the notions of the past, to everything from times gone by. This is a great obstacle to their service. If you do not throw them off, these things will ruin your whole life. Even if you break your legs running about, break your back with labor, or are even martyred for the sake of “serving” God, God will not approve of you in the slightest. Quite the contrary: He will say that you are an evildoer.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Religious Service Must Be Purged

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 456

Starting from today, God will formally perfect those who have no religious notions, who are willing to let go of their old selves, and who submit to God in a simple-hearted way. He shall perfect those who long for the words of God. These people should stand up and serve God. In God there is endless abundance and boundless wisdom. His amazing work and precious words await enjoyment by greater numbers of people. As it stands, those with religious notions, those who assume seniority, and those who cannot let go of themselves find it hard to accept these new things. The Holy Spirit has no opportunity to perfect these people. If a person does not have the resolve to submit, and does not thirst for the words of God, then they have no means of accepting these new things; they will simply become more and more rebellious, more and more crafty, and will thus end up on the wrong track. In doing His work now, God will raise up more people who truly love Him and can accept the new light, and He will completely cut down the religious officials who presume upon their seniority; He does not want a single one of such people who stubbornly resist change. Do you want to be one of these people? Do you perform your service according to your own preferences or what God requires? This is something you must know for yourself. Are you a religious official, or are you a newborn babe whom God perfects? How much of your service is approved of by the Holy Spirit? How much of it will absolutely not be remembered by God? How great a change in your life has there been as a result of all your years of service? Are you clear about all this? If you are truly of faith, you will cast aside your old religious notions from before, and will serve God better in a new way. It is not too late to stand up now. Old religious notions can forfeit a person’s entire life. The experience a person acquires can cause them to stray from God and rely on themselves to do things. If you do not put such things aside, they will become stumbling blocks to the growth of your life. God always perfects those who serve Him, and does not eliminate them lightly. If you truly accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, if you can put aside your past religious practices and regulations, and cease to use your previous religious notions as the measure of God’s words of today, only then will you have any prospects to speak of. But if you cling to the old things from before, if you still treasure them, then there is no way you can be saved. God takes no notice of such people. If you really are willing to be made perfect, then you must resolve to completely relinquish everything from before. Even if what was done before was right, even if it was done by God, you must still be able to put it aside and not cling to it. Even if it was clearly the work of the Holy Spirit, done directly by the Holy Spirit, today you must put it aside. You must not hold onto it. This is what God requires. Everything must be renewed. In God’s work and God’s words, He uniformly makes no reference to the old things that went before, He does not refer to the old almanac; God is a God who is always new and never old, and does not cling even to His own words from the past—which shows that God does not follow any regulations. So if you, as a human being, always cling to the things of the past and refuse to let them go, and rigidly apply them in a formulaic manner, but God doesn’t work using the means that He did before, then are your words and actions not disruptive? Are they not antagonistic to God? Are you willing to let your entire life go to wrack and ruin over these old things? These old things will make you into someone who disrupts God’s work—is that the kind of person you want to be? If you truly do not want that, then quickly stop what you are doing and turn around; start all over again. God will not remember your past service.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Religious Service Must Be Purged

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 457

Regarding work, man believes that work is to run around for God, preach everywhere, and expend himself for His sake. Though this belief is correct, it is too one-sided; what God asks of man is not solely to run around for Him, rather, it is more ministry and provision within the spirit. Many brothers and sisters, even after all these years of experience, have never thought about working for God, because work as conceived by man is incongruous with what God asks. Therefore, man has no interest whatsoever in the matter of work, and this is precisely the reason why the entry of man is also quite one-sided. All of you should begin your entry with working for God, so that you may better undergo every aspect of experience. This is what you should enter into. Work refers not to running around for God, but to whether the life of man and what man lives out are able to give God enjoyment. Work refers to people using their loyalty to God and their knowledge of God to bear witness to God, and to minister to man. This is man’s responsibility and this is what all people should understand. One could say that your entry is your work, and that you are seeking to enter during the course of working for God. Experiencing God’s work does not merely mean that you know how to eat and drink His word; more importantly, you must know how to bear witness to God and be able to serve God and be able to minister to and provide for man. This is work, and it is also your entry; this is what every person should accomplish. There are many who only focus on running around for God and preaching everywhere, yet overlook their individual experience and neglect their entry into the spiritual life. This is what has led those who serve God to become those who resist God. These people, who have been serving God and ministering to man all these years, have simply regarded working and preaching as entry, and none have taken their individual spiritual experience as an important entry. Instead, they have taken the enlightenment they derive from the Holy Spirit’s work as capital from which to teach others. When preaching, they are much burdened and receive the work of the Holy Spirit, and by means of this they are releasing the voice of the Holy Spirit. At this time, those who work are filled with complacency, as if the work of the Holy Spirit has become their individual spiritual experience; they feel that all the words they are speaking are their own being, but then again as if their own experience is not as clear as they have described. What is more, prior to speaking they have no inkling what they will say, but when the Holy Spirit works in them, their words come flooding out in an unending stream. After you have preached once in such a way, you feel that your actual stature is not as small as you believed, and when there have been several instances such as this of the Holy Spirit working on you, you then determine that you already have stature and mistakenly believe that the work of the Holy Spirit is your own entry and your own being. When you constantly experience in this way, you will become lax about your own entry, slip into laziness without noticing, and cease to place any importance on your individual entry. For this reason, when you are ministering to others you must clearly distinguish between your stature and the work of the Holy Spirit. This can better facilitate your entry and bring more benefit to your experience. When man takes the work of the Holy Spirit to be his individual experience, this becomes a source of depravity. This is why I say, whatever duty you do, you ought to regard your entry as a vital lesson.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Work and Entry (2)

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 458

One works in order to satisfy the intentions of God, to bring all those who are in accordance with God’s intentions before Him, to bring man to God, and to introduce the Holy Spirit’s work and God’s guidance to man, thereby perfecting the fruits of God’s work. Therefore, it is imperative that you are thoroughly clear on the essence of work. Every person who is used by God is worthy of working for God, that is, everyone has the opportunity to be used by the Holy Spirit. However, there is one point that you must realize: When man does the work commissioned by God, man has been given the opportunity to be used by God, but what is said and known by man are not entirely the stature of man. All you can do is to better know your own deficiencies during the course of your work, and gain more enlightenment from the Holy Spirit. In this way, you will be enabled to gain better entry in the course of your work. If man regards the guidance that comes from God as his own entry and as something that is inherent within himself, then there is no potential for man’s stature to grow. The Holy Spirit’s enlightenment of people takes place when they are in a normal condition; at such times, people often mistake the enlightenment they receive as their own actual stature, because the way in which the Holy Spirit enlightens is exceptionally normal, and He makes use of what is inherent within man. When people work and speak, or when they are praying and making their spiritual devotions, a truth will suddenly become clear to them. In reality, however, what man sees is only enlightenment by the Holy Spirit (naturally, this enlightenment is connected to man’s cooperation) and does not represent man’s true stature. After a period of experience in which man encounters some difficulties and trials, the true stature of man is revealed under such circumstances. Only then will man discover that his stature is not so great, and his selfish desires, personal considerations, greed, and other such things will all emerge. Only after several cycles of experiences like this will the many people who are awake within their spirits realize that what they had experienced in the past was not their own individual reality, but a momentary illumination from the Holy Spirit, and that man had but received this light. When the Holy Spirit enlightens man to understand the truth, it is often in a clear and distinct manner, without explaining how things came about or where they are going. That is, rather than incorporating the difficulties of man into this revelation, He directly reveals the truth. When man encounters difficulties in the process of entering, and then incorporates the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, this becomes the practical experience of man. … Therefore, at the same time that you receive the work of the Holy Spirit, you ought to place even more importance on your entry, seeing exactly what is the work of the Holy Spirit and what is your entry, as well as incorporating the work of the Holy Spirit into your entry, so that you may receive the Holy Spirit’s perfection more and so that the essence of the Holy Spirit’s work may be wrought in you. In the course of your experience of the Holy Spirit’s work, you will come to know the Holy Spirit, as well as yourselves, and moreover, in the midst of who knows how many bouts of intense suffering, you will develop a normal relationship with God, and the relationship between you and God will grow closer by the day. After countless instances of pruning and refinement, you will develop a true love for God. That is why you must realize that suffering, smiting, and tribulations are not to be feared; what is frightening is having only the work of the Holy Spirit but not your entry. When the day comes that the work of God is finished, you will have worked for nothing; even though you experienced the work of God, you will not have come to know the Holy Spirit or have had your own entry. The enlightenment that the Holy Spirit works in man is not to sustain the passion of man, but to open a path for the entry of man, as well as to allow man to come to know the Holy Spirit, and thus develop a heart of fear and adoration for God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Work and Entry (2)

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 459

The deviations in the work of those who have undergone pruning, judgment and chastisement are much smaller, and the expression of their work is much more accurate. Those who rely on their naturalness to work have quite major deviations. The work of unperfected people expresses too much of their own naturalness, which poses a tremendous obstacle to the work of the Holy Spirit. However good a person’s caliber, they must also undergo pruning and judgment before they can do the work of God’s commission. If they have not undergone such judgment, their work, no matter how well done, cannot align with the principles of the truth and is always a product of their own naturalness and human goodness. The work of those who have undergone pruning and judgment is much more accurate than the work of those who have not been pruned and judged. Those who have not undergone judgment express nothing but human flesh and thoughts, mingled with much human intelligence and innate talent. This is not man’s accurate expression of God’s work. Those who follow such people are brought before them by their innate caliber. Because they express too much of the insight and experience of man, which are almost disconnected from God’s original intention and deviate too far from it, the work of this type of person cannot bring people before God, but brings them rather before man. So, those who have not undergone judgment and chastisement are unqualified to carry out the work of God’s commission. The work of an up-to-standard worker can bring people to the right way and help them enter more deeply into the truth. Their work can bring people before God. In addition, the work they do can vary from individual to individual and is not bound by regulations, allowing people liberation and freedom, gradual growth in life, and to progressively have more profound entry into the truth. The work of a worker who is not up to standard falls far short. Their work is foolish. They can only bring people into regulations, and what they demand of people does not vary from individual to individual; they do not work according to people’s actual needs. In this type of work, there are too many regulations and too many doctrines, and it cannot bring people into reality, nor into normal practice of growth in life. It can only enable people to adhere to a few worthless regulations. Such guidance leads people astray. They lead you to become like them, bringing you into what they have and are. For followers to discern whether leaders are up to standard, the key is to look at the path they lead others onto and the results of their work, and to see whether followers receive principles in accordance with the truth, and whether they receive ways of practice suitable for their transformation. You should have discernment toward the different work of different types of people; you should not be a muddled follower. This bears on the matter of people’s entry. If you are unable to discern which person’s leadership has a path and which does not, you will easily be misled. All of this has a direct bearing on your own life. There is too much naturalness in the work of unperfected people; it is mixed with too much of human will. Their being is naturalness—what they are born with. It is not life after having been pruned or reality after having been transformed. How can such a person support those who are pursuing life? The life that man originally has is his innate intelligence or talent. This kind of intelligence or talent is quite far from God’s exact demands for man. If a person has not been perfected and their corrupt dispositions have not been pruned, there will be a wide gap between what they express and the truth; what they express will be mixed with nebulous things, such as their imaginings and one-sided experience. Moreover, no matter what they do, people feel there is no overall goal and no truth that’s suitable for all people to enter into. Most of what is demanded of people is beyond their ability, as if they were fish being forced to live on land. This is the work of human will. Man’s corrupt dispositions, his thoughts, and his notions pervade all parts of his body. Man is not born with the instinct to practice the truth, nor does he have the instinct to understand the truth directly. Add to that man’s corrupt dispositions—when this kind of natural person works, does it not cause disruptions? But a person who has been perfected has experience of the truth that people should understand, and knowledge of their corrupt dispositions. The nebulous and impractical things in their work gradually diminish, the human adulterations become fewer, and their work and service come ever closer to the standards required by God. Thus, their work has entered the truth reality and it has also become realistic. The thoughts in man’s mind in particular block the work of the Holy Spirit. Man has a rich imagination and reasonable logic, and he has had long experience handling affairs. If these aspects of man do not undergo pruning and correction, they are all obstacles to work. Therefore, man’s work cannot achieve the greatest degree of accuracy, especially the work of unperfected people.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Work and Man’s Work

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 460

You need to have an understanding of the many states that people will be in when the Holy Spirit performs work on them. In particular, those who cooperate in service to God must even more so have a grasp of these states. If you only talk about a lot of experiences or ways of attaining entry, it shows that your experience is overly one-sided. Without knowing your true state and grasping the truth principles, it is not possible to achieve a change in disposition. Without knowing the principles of the Holy Spirit’s work or understanding the fruit it bears, it will be difficult for you to discern the work of evil spirits. You must expose the work of evil spirits, as well as the notions of man, and penetrate straight to the heart of the issue; you must also point out many deviations in people’s practice and difficulties they might have in their faith in God, so that they may recognize them. At the very least, you must not make them become negative or passive. However, you must understand the difficulties that objectively exist for most people, you must not be unreasonable or try to force a fish to live on land; that is foolish behavior. To resolve many difficulties people experience, you must understand the dynamics of the work of the Holy Spirit; you must understand how the Holy Spirit performs work on different people, you must have an understanding of the difficulties people face and of their deficiencies, and you must see through to the crux of the problem and get to its source, without deviating or making any errors. Only then are you a person who is up to standard in regard to cooperating in service to God.

Whether or not you are able to grasp the key issues and see many things clearly depends on your individual experiences. The manner in which you experience is also the manner in which you lead others. If you understand words and doctrines, then you will lead others to understand words and doctrines. The way that you experience the reality of God’s words is the way in which you will lead others to attain entry to the reality of God’s words. If you are able to understand many truths and clearly gain insight into many things from God’s words, then you are capable of leading others to understand many truths, too, and those whom you lead will gain a clear understanding of the visions. If you focus on grasping supernatural feelings, then those whom you lead will do the same. If you neglect practice, instead placing emphasis on discussion, then those whom you lead will also focus on discussion, without practicing at all or attaining any transformation in their dispositions; they will only be enthusiastic superficially, without having put any truths into practice. All people supply others with what they themselves possess. The type of person someone is determines the path onto which they guide others, as well as the type of people that they lead. To be truly fit for God’s use, you not only must have resolve, but you also need a great deal of enlightenment from God, guidance from His words, the experience of being pruned by Him, and the refinement of His words. With this as a foundation, in ordinary times, you should pay attention to observing, thinking, pondering, and summarizing, and engage in absorption or elimination accordingly. These are all paths for your entry to reality, and each one of them is indispensable. This is how God works. If you enter into this method by which God works, you can have opportunities every day to be perfected by Him. And at any time, regardless of whether your environment is harsh or favorable, whether you are being tried or tempted, whether you are working or not, and whether you are living life as an individual or as part of a collective, you will always find opportunities to be perfected by God, without ever missing a single one of them. You will be able to discover them all—and in this way, you will have found the secret to experiencing God’s words.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. What a Shepherd That Is Fit for Use Should Possess

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 461

These days, many people do not pay attention to what lessons should be learned while cooperating with others. I have discovered that many of you cannot learn lessons at all while cooperating with others; most of you stick to your own views. When working in the church, you say your piece and someone else says theirs, and the one has no relation to the other; you do not actually cooperate at all. You are all only concerned with fellowshipping your own insights and only concerned with releasing the “burdens” you bear inside you, without pursuing life in even the smallest way. All this is as though you are merely going through the motions in your work, always believing that regardless of what others are like, you should walk the path you ought to walk, and that regardless of what others are like, you should fellowship as the Holy Spirit guides you. You are not able to discover the strengths of others, and nor are you capable of examining yourselves. Your understanding of things is really distorted. It can be said that even now you still often remain in states of self-righteousness, as if you have relapsed into that old illness. You do not fellowship with each other in a way that achieves complete openness, for example, about what kind of outcome you have attained from work in certain churches, or about what your inner condition has been like recently, and so on; you simply never fellowship about such things. You have absolutely no engagement in practices such as letting go of your own notions or rebelling against yourselves. Leaders and workers think only of how to keep their brothers and sisters from being negative and how to enable them to follow vigorously. However, all of you think following vigorously by itself is enough, and fundamentally, you have no understanding of what it means to know yourself and rebel against yourself, much less do you understand what it means to serve in cooperation with others. You think only of having the resolve yourselves to repay God for His love, of having the resolve yourselves to live out the style of Peter. Apart from these things, you think of nothing else. You even say that, no matter what others are like, you will not obey foolishly, and that no matter what other people are like, you yourself will seek to be perfected by God, and that will be sufficient. The fact is, however, that your resolve has not in any way found a concrete expression in reality. Is all of this not the sort of behavior you exhibit nowadays? Each of you holds fast to your own insight, and you all desire to be perfected. I see that you have served for such a long time without having made much progress; in particular, in this lesson of harmonious cooperation, you have achieved absolutely nothing! When going down into the churches, you fellowship in your way, and others fellowship in theirs. Seldom does harmonious cooperation occur, and this is even more true of the followers who are below you. That is to say, rarely do any among you understand what serving God is, or how one should serve God. You are muddled and treat lessons of this sort as trifling matters. There are even many people who not only fail to practice this aspect of the truth, but who also knowingly do wrong. Even those who have served for many years fight and scheme against each other and are jealous and competitive; everyone does their own thing, and they do not cooperate at all. Do all these things not represent your actual stature? You people serve together every day, just as the Israelites directly served God Himself every day in the temple. How can it be that you people, who serve God, have no idea how to cooperate or how to serve?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Serve As the Israelites Did

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 462

What is required of you today—that you cooperate harmoniously—is just like what Jehovah required of the Israelites in their service to Him; otherwise, just stop doing service. Because you are people who serve God directly, at the very minimum you must be capable of loyalty and submission in your service, and must also be able to learn lessons in a practical way. For those of you working in the church especially, would any of the brothers and sisters below you dare to prune you? Would anyone dare to tell you of your mistakes to your face? You stand high above everyone else; you do wield power like kings! You do not even learn or enter into these sorts of practical lessons, yet you still talk of serving God! At present, you are asked to lead a number of churches, but not only do you not give up yourself, but you even cling to your own notions and opinions, saying things like, “I think this thing should be done this way. God has said that we should not be constrained by others and that nowadays we should not obey blindly.” Therefore, each of you holds to your own opinion, and no one obeys each other. Though you clearly know that your service is at an impasse, you still say, “As I see it, my way is not far off the mark. In any case, we each have a side: You fellowship on yours, and I will fellowship on mine; you fellowship about your visions, and I will fellowship about my entry.” You never take responsibility for the many things that should be dealt with, or you handle them perfunctorily, each of you expressing your own opinions and prudently protecting your own status, reputation, and face. None of you is willing to humble yourself, and neither side will take the initiative to give yourself up and make up for each other’s deficiencies so that life may progress more rapidly. When you are cooperating with one another, you should learn to seek the truth. You may say, “I do not have a clear understanding of this aspect of truth. What experience do you have with it?” Or, you may say, “You have more experiences than I with regard to this aspect; could you please give me some guidance?” Would that not be a good way of going about it? You have listened to a lot of sermons, and have some experiences with doing service. If you do not learn from each other, help each other, and make up for each other’s shortcomings when doing work in the churches, then how can you learn any lessons? Whenever you encounter anything, you should fellowship with each other so that your lives can benefit. You should carefully fellowship about things of any sort before making any decisions. Only by doing so are you taking responsibility for the church rather than simply acting perfunctorily. After you visit all the churches, you should gather together and fellowship about all the issues you discover and any problems encountered in your work, and you should also fellowship about the enlightenment and illumination that you have received—this is an indispensable practice of service. You must achieve harmonious cooperation for the purpose of the work of God, for the benefit of the church, and so as to spur your brothers and sisters onward. You should cooperate with one another, making up for each other’s shortcomings and achieving better results in the work, so as to show consideration for God’s intentions. This is what true cooperation is, and only those who engage in it have true entry. While cooperating, some of the words you speak may be unsuitable, but that does not matter. Fellowship about it later, and gain a clear understanding of it; do not neglect it. After this sort of fellowship, you can go and make up for your brothers’ or sisters’ deficiencies. Only by moving ever deeper in your work like this can you achieve better results. Each of you, as people who serve God, must be able to protect the interests of the church in everything, instead of considering your own interests. You can’t just do your own thing and undermine each other. People who behave like that are not worthy of serving God! Such people have a terrible disposition; not an ounce of humanity remains in them. They are one hundred percent Satan! They are beasts! Even now, such things still occur among you; you even go so far as to attack one another during fellowship, intentionally seeking pretexts and becoming all red in the face while arguing over some trivial matter, neither person willing to let go of themselves, each person harboring their own intentions, watching the other party intently and being on guard. Does this sort of disposition befit service to God? Can such work as yours supply your brothers and sisters with anything? Not only are you unable to guide people onto the right path of life, but you actually inject your corrupt dispositions into your brothers and sisters. Are you not harming others? Your conscience is horrible, and it is rotten to the core! You do not enter reality, nor do you put the truth into practice. In addition, you shamelessly expose your devilish nature to others. You simply know no shame! These brothers and sisters have been entrusted to you, yet you are taking them to hell. Are you not someone whose conscience has become rotten? You have absolutely no shame!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Serve As the Israelites Did

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 463

Are you able to communicate the disposition expressed by God in each age in a concrete way, with language that is appropriate and carries the significance of that age? Are you, who experience God’s work of the last days, able to describe God’s righteous disposition in detail? Can you testify to God’s disposition clearly and accurately? How will you tell of what you have seen and experienced to those pitiable, poor, and devout religious believers who hunger and thirst for righteousness and are waiting for you to shepherd them? What kind of people are waiting for you to shepherd them? Can you imagine? Are you aware of the burden on your shoulders, your commission, and your responsibility? Where is your sense of historic mission? How will you serve properly as a master of the next age? Do you have a strong sense of being a master? How should the master of all things be explained? Is it really the master of all living creatures and of all physical things in the world? What plans do you have for the progress of the next phase of the work? How many people are waiting for you to shepherd them? Is your task a heavy one? They are poor, pitiable, blind, and at a loss, wailing in the darkness—where is the way? How they yearn for the light, like a shooting star, to suddenly descend and dispel the forces of darkness that have oppressed man for so many years. They anxiously hope, and pine, day and night, for it—who can know this completely? Even on the day when the light flashes past, these deeply suffering people remain imprisoned in a dark dungeon without hope of release; when will they weep no longer? Terrible is the misfortune of these fragile spirits who have never been granted rest, and long have they been kept bound by merciless bonds and frozen history. And who has heard the sound of their wailing? Who has seen their miserable state? Has it ever occurred to you how grieved and anxious God’s heart is? How can He bear to see innocent mankind, whom He created with His own hands, suffering such torment? Human beings, after all, are the victims who have been poisoned. And although man has survived to this day, who would have known that mankind has long been poisoned by the evil one? Have you forgotten that you are one of the victims? Are you not willing to strive, out of your love for God, to save all these survivors? Are you not willing to devote all of your strength to repaying God, who loves mankind like His own flesh and blood? How exactly do you comprehend being used by God to live your extraordinary life? Do you really have the resolve and faith to live the meaningful life of a pious, God-serving person?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How Should You Attend to Your Future Mission?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 464

People believe in Me, but they are incapable of bearing witness for Me, nor can they bear witness to Me before I have revealed Myself. People see only that I surpass created beings and all holy people, and see that the work I do cannot be done by man. Thus, from the Jews to the people of the present day, all who behold My glorious deeds have been filled with nothing more than curiosity toward Me, yet not a single created being’s mouth has been able to bear witness to Me. Only My Father testified to Me, and made a path for Me among all created beings; if He had not, no matter how I worked, man would never have known that I am the Creator, for man knows only to take from Me and does not have faith in Me as a result of My work. Man knows Me only because I am innocent and in no part a sinner, because I can explain numerous mysteries, because I am above the multitude, or because man has benefited from Me, yet few believe I am the Creator. This is why I say that man knows not why he should have faith in Me; he knows not the purpose or significance of having faith in Me. The reality of man is too lacking, such that he is barely fit to bear witness for Me. You have too little true faith, and have gained too little, so you have too little testimony. Moreover, you understand too little and lack too much, such that you fall short of what’s needed to be able to bear witness to My deeds. Your resolve is indeed considerable, but can you really be certain that you will be able to bear witness to the essence of God? What you have experienced and seen surpasses that of the saints and prophets from all ages, but are you able to provide testimony to Me greater than the words of these saints and prophets of times past? What I now bestow upon you surpasses what I bestowed upon Moses and David, so likewise I ask that your testimony surpass that of Moses and that your words surpass those of David. I give you a hundredfold—so I likewise ask you to repay Me a hundredfold. You must know I am the One who bestows life upon mankind, and it is you who receive life from Me and must bear witness for Me. This is your duty which I send down upon you and which you ought to do for Me. I have bestowed all My glory upon you, I have bestowed upon you the life that the chosen people of Israel never received. You ought to bear witness for Me and devote to Me your youth and lay down your life. Whomsoever I bestow My glory upon shall bear witness and give their life for Me—this has long been preordained by Me. It is a blessing that I bestow My glory upon you, and it is your duty to bear witness to My glory. If you were to believe in Me only for the sake of blessings, then My work would bear little significance, and you would not be doing your duty. The Israelites saw only My mercy, lovingkindness, and greatness, and the Jews witnessed only My patience and redemption. They saw very, very little of the work of My Spirit, and it was even the case that what they understood was but one-ten-thousandth of what you have heard and seen. What you have seen exceeds even what the chief priests among them have seen. The truths you understand today surpass theirs; what you have seen today exceeds what was seen in the Age of Law, as well as the Age of Grace, and what you have experienced surpasses even what Moses and Elijah experienced. For what the Israelites understood was only the law of Jehovah, and what they saw was only the sight of Jehovah’s back; what the Jews understood was only the redemption of Jesus, what they received was only the grace bestowed by Jesus, and what they saw was only the image of Jesus within the house of the Jews. What you see today is the glory of Jehovah, the redemption of Jesus, and all the deeds I now perform. You also hear with your own ears the words of My Spirit, and have gained an appreciation of My wisdom, come to know My wonder, and learned of My disposition. I have also told you all of My management plan. What you have seen is not merely a loving and merciful God, but a God filled with righteousness. You have seen the wondrousness of My work and come to know that I brim with majesty and wrath; all the more are you aware that I once brought down My fury upon the house of Israel, and that it has now come upon you. You understand more of My mysteries in heaven than Isaiah and John; you know more of My loveliness and venerableness than all the saints of ages past. What you have received is not merely My truth, My way, and My life, but visions and revelations greater than those received by John. You understand many more mysteries, and have also looked upon My true countenance; you have accepted more of My judgment and know more of My righteous disposition. And so, though you were born in the last days, you understand the things that came before and the things of the past, and you have also experienced the things of today, which were personally done by Me. What I ask of you is not excessive, for I have given you so much, and you have seen so much in Me. Thus, I ask you to bear witness for Me to the saints of ages past, and this is My heart’s only desire.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. What Do You Know of Faith?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 465

Now do you truly know why you should believe in Me? Do you truly know the purpose and significance of My work? Do you truly know your duty? Do you truly know what My testimony is? If you merely believe in Me, yet there is no sign of My glory or testimony in you, then I have long ago eliminated you. As for those who understand everything, they are even more thorns in My eye, and in My house, they are nothing more than obstacles in My way, they are tares to be completely winnowed out in My work, they have no use whatsoever, hold no weight at all, and I have long detested them. Often does My anger befall all who are bereft of testimony, and never does My rod stray from them. I have long since turned them over to the hands of the evil one; they are utterly bereft of My blessings. When the day comes, their chastisement will be more grievous even than that of foolish, obstinate women. Today, I only do the work that is My duty to do, binding all the wheat into bundles, together along with those tares. This is My work today. Those tares shall all be winnowed out in the time of My winnowing, then the grains of wheat shall be gathered into the storehouse, and those tares that have been winnowed out shall be placed in the fire to be burned to ashes. My work now is merely to bind all people into bundles; that is, to utterly conquer them. Then shall I begin winnowing to reveal the outcomes of all people. And so you ought to know how you should satisfy Me now, and how you ought to set upon the right track in your faith in Me. What I desire is your loyalty and submission now, your love and testimony now. Even if you do not know at this moment what testimony is or what love is, you should bring to Me your all, and turn over to Me the only treasures you have: your loyalty and submission. You should know that the testimony to My defeat of Satan lies within the loyalty and submission of man, as does the testimony to My complete conquest of man. The duty of your faith in Me is to bear witness for Me, to be loyal to Me and none other, and to be submissive to the end. Before I begin the next step of My work, how should you bear witness for Me? How should you be loyal and submissive to Me? Will you show devotion to your function, or will you simply give up? Would you rather submit to everything I arrange for you (even if it is for you to die or perish), or flee midway to avoid My chastisement? I chastise you so that you will bear witness for Me, and be loyal and submissive to Me. It can also be said that the current chastisement is for the sake of carrying out the next step of My work, and of the unimpeded progress of the future work. Hence, I exhort you to be wise and treat neither your life nor the significance of your existence as worthless sand. Can you know exactly what My work to come will be? Do you know how I will work and how My work will be carried out in the days to come? You should know the significance of experiencing My work, and even more so the significance of believing in Me. I have done so much work—how could I give up halfway, as you imagine? I have initiated such a great project—how could I dismantle it? It’s true that I have come to bring this age to an end, but more importantly you must know that I am to begin a new age, to carry out new work, and even more so, to spread the gospel of the kingdom. So you should know that the present work is only to begin an age and to lay the foundation for spreading the gospel in the time to come and bringing the age to an end in the future. My work is not so simple as you imagine, nor is it as worthless or meaningless as you may believe. Therefore, I still must say to you: You ought to offer yourself to My work, and even more so devote yourself for the sake of My glory. What I have all the more long since yearned for is for you to bear witness for Me; and even more so I have waited very long to see you spread My gospel. You ought to understand what is in My heart.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. What Do You Know of Faith?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 466

Although your faith is very sincere, none among you can fully explain Me, none can give testimony to all of the facts you see. Think about it: Today, most of you do not attend to proper tasks, instead pursuing the flesh, satiating the flesh, and indulging in the flesh. You possess little truth. How, then, can you bear testimony to all that you have seen? Are you really confident that you can be My witnesses? If a day comes when you are unable to bear testimony to all that you have seen today, then you will have lost the function of a created being, and there will be no meaning whatsoever to your existence. You will be unworthy of being human. It could even be said that you will not be human! I have done immeasurable work on you, but because you currently never try to learn anything and remain ignorant of everything, and you labor in vain, when it is time for My work to be spread, you will just stare blankly, tongue-tied and utterly useless. Will you not then go down in history as a sinner? When that time comes, will you not feel the deepest regret? Will you not sink into dejection? All of My work today is not done out of idleness and boredom, but to lay a foundation for My future work. It is not that I am at an impasse and need to come up with something new. You should understand the work I do; it is not something done by a child playing in the street, but is a work done in representation of My Father. You should know that it is not Me doing all this Myself; rather, I represent My Father. Your role, meanwhile, is simply to follow, submit, change, and bear testimony. What you should understand is why you should believe in Me; this is the most important question for each of you to understand. My Father, for the sake of His glory, predestined all of you for Me from the moment He created the world. It was for the sake of My work, and for the sake of His glory, that He predestined you. It is because of My Father that you believe in Me; it is because of My Father’s predestination that you follow Me. None of this is of your own choosing. Even more important is that you understand that you are the ones My Father bestowed upon Me for the purpose of bearing testimony for Me. Because He bestowed you upon Me, you should abide by the way I bestow upon you, as well as the way and the words I teach you, for it is your duty to abide by My way, and this is the original purpose of your faith in Me. Therefore, I say to you this: You are merely people that My Father bestowed upon Me to abide by My way. However, you only believe in Me, but you do not belong to Me, because you are not of the Israelite family, and are instead ilk of the ancient serpent. All I am asking you to do is to bear testimony for Me, but today you must follow My way. All of this is for the sake of future testimony. If you only listen to My way, that is worthless, and the significance of My Father’s having bestowed you upon Me will be lost. What I still wish to tell you is this: You should follow My way.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. What Is Your Understanding of God?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 467

How is the Holy Spirit working within the church in the present day? Have you grasped this? What are your brothers’ and sisters’ greatest difficulties? What do they most lack? Currently, there are some people who are negative as they undergo trials, and some even complain. Other people are no longer moving forward because God has finished speaking. People have not entered the right track of belief in God. They cannot live independently, and they cannot maintain their own spiritual life. Some people follow along and have the drive to pursue, and are willing to practice when God speaks, but when God does not speak, they no longer move forward. People still have not understood God’s intentions within their hearts and they do not have spontaneous love for God; in the past they followed God because they were forced. Now there are some people who are tired of God’s work. Are such people not in danger? A lot of people exist in a state of just going through the motions. Although they eat and drink God’s words and pray to Him, they do so half-heartedly, and they no longer have the drive that they once had. Most people are not interested in God’s work of refinement and perfection, and it is as if they are constantly without inner drive. When they are overcome by transgressions, they do not feel indebted to God, nor do they have the awareness to feel remorse. They do not pursue the truth or leave the church, and instead pursue only temporary pleasures. These people are the dumbest fools! When the time comes, they will all be abandoned! Not a single one will be saved! Do you think that if someone has been saved once they will always be saved? This belief is pure deception! All those who do not pursue life entry will be chastised. Most people have absolutely no interest in life entry, in visions, or in putting the truth into practice. They do not pursue entry, much less deeper progress. Are they not ruining themselves? Right now, there is a portion of people whose conditions are constantly improving. The more the Holy Spirit works, the more faith they gain; the more they experience, the more they feel that God’s work is so mysterious. The deeper they enter in, the more they understand. They feel that God’s love is so great, and they feel inner steadiness and clarity. They have an understanding of God’s work. These are the people in whom the Holy Spirit is working. Some people say, “Although there are no new words from God, I must still seek to go deeper into the truth, I must be earnest about everything in my actual experience and enter into the reality of God’s words.” This kind of person possesses the work of the Holy Spirit. Although God hides His face and conceals Himself from every single person, and though He does not speak or utter His voice and there are times when people experience some internal refinement, God has not completely left people. If a person cannot retain the truth that they should practice, they will not have the work of the Holy Spirit. During the period of refinement, of God hiding His face, if you do not have faith but instead withdraw, if you do not focus on experiencing His words, then you are fleeing from God’s work. Later, you will be one of those who are abandoned. Those who do not seek to enter into the word of God cannot possibly stand firm in their testimony to Him. People being able to bear witness for God and satisfy His intentions is entirely governed by their drive to pursue God’s words. The work that God performs on people is primarily to allow them to gain the truth; having you pursue life is all for the sake of perfecting you and making you fit for God’s use. All you are pursuing now is hearing mysteries, listening to God’s words, feasting your eyes, and looking around to see what’s new or what’s going on, and thereby satisfying your curiosity. If this is the intention in your heart, then there is no way for you to meet God’s requirements. Those who do not pursue the truth cannot follow until the very end. Right now, it is not that God is not doing something, but rather that people are not cooperating with Him. This is because they are averse to His work, and only ever want to hear His words of blessings, while being unwilling to hear His words of judgment and chastisement. What is the reason for this? The reason is that people’s desires to gain blessings have not been fulfilled and they therefore have become negative and weak. It is not that God purposely does not allow people to follow Him, nor is it that He is purposely delivering blows to them. People are negative and weak only because their intentions are improper. God is the God that gives man life, and He cannot bring man into death. People’s negativity, weaknesses, and backsliding are all caused by their own doing.

God’s current work brings people some refinement, and only those who can stand firm amid refinement will gain God’s approval. No matter how He hides His face, whether by not speaking or not working, if you can still keep pursuing, and if you can still follow Him even if He says that He doesn’t want you, then this is standing firm in your testimony to God. If God hides His face from you and you stop following Him, is this standing firm in your testimony to God? If people do not have real entry, then they do not have actual stature, and when they really encounter a great trial they will stumble. Now that God is not speaking, or God is not acting in line with your notions, you break down; if God were currently acting according to your own notions, and satisfying your will, you would be able to stand up and have the drive to pursue. What, exactly, is the foundation upon which you live then? I say that there are many people who are living in a way that is entirely reliant upon human curiosity. They absolutely do not have the desire to truly pursue. All those who do not pursue entry into the truth but rely on their curiosity in life are despicable people, and they are in danger! God’s various kinds of work are all carried out to perfect mankind. However, people are always curious; they always like to inquire about hearsay; they are always concerned about current affairs in foreign countries—for example, what is happening in Israel, or whether there has been an earthquake in Egypt. They are always looking for some new, novel things to satisfy their selfish desires. They do not pursue life, nor do they pursue being perfected. They only seek to have the day of God arrive sooner so that their beautiful dream may be realized and their extravagant desires fulfilled. This kind of person is not practical—they are someone who has an improper perspective. Only the pursuit of the truth is the foundation of mankind’s belief in God, and if people do not pursue life entry, if they do not seek to satisfy God, then they will be subject to punishment. Those who are to be punished are those who have not had the work of the Holy Spirit during the period of God’s work.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Maintain Your Loyalty to God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 468

How should people cooperate with God during this stage of His work? God is currently trying people. He is not uttering a word; He is hiding His face and making no direct contact with people. From the outside, it looks like He is not doing any work, but the truth is that He is still working within man. Anyone who is pursuing life entry has a vision for their pursuit of life, and does not have doubts even if they do not fully understand God’s work. While undergoing trials, even when you do not know what God wants to do and what work He wants to accomplish, you should know that God’s thoughts for mankind are always good. If you pursue Him with a true heart then He will never leave you, and in the end He will surely perfect you, and bring people to an appropriate destination. Regardless of how God is currently trying people, there will come a day when He will provide people with an appropriate outcome and give them the appropriate retribution based on what they have done. God will not lead people to a certain point and then just cast them aside and ignore them. This is because God is faithful. At this stage, the Holy Spirit is doing the work of refinement. He is refining every single person. In the steps of work that were constituted by the trial of death and the trial of chastisement, refinement was carried out through words. For people to experience God’s work, they must first understand His current work and how people should cooperate. This is something that everyone should understand. No matter what God does, whether He is refining people or not speaking, not a single step of God’s work falls in line with mankind’s notions. Each step of His work shatters and breaks through people’s notions. This is His work. But you must believe that, now God’s work has reached a certain stage, He will not put all mankind to death no matter what. He gives both promises and blessings to mankind, and all those who pursue Him will be able to gain His blessings, but those who do not will be eliminated by God. This depends on your pursuit. Regardless of anything else, you must believe that when God’s work is concluded, every single person will have a suitable destination. God has given mankind beautiful hopes, but without pursuit they are unattainable. You should be able to see this now—God’s refinement and His chastisement of people is His work, but people, for their part, must pursue a change in disposition at all times. In your real experiences, you must first know how to eat and drink God’s words; you must find within His words what you should enter into and your own shortcomings; you should make entry while taking your real experiences into account, and take the portion of God’s words that should be put into practice and try to do so. Eating and drinking God’s words is one aspect. In addition, the life of the church must be maintained, you must have a normal spiritual life, and you must be able to hand over all of your current states to God. No matter how His work changes, your spiritual life should remain normal. A spiritual life can maintain your normal entry. No matter what God does, you ought to continue your spiritual life uninterrupted and fulfill your duty. This is what people should do. It is all the work of the Holy Spirit, but for those with a normal condition this is perfection, while for those with an abnormal condition it is a trial. At the current stage of the Holy Spirit’s refinement work, some people say that God’s work is so great and that people absolutely need refinement, otherwise their stature will be too small and they will have no way of attaining God’s intentions. However, for those whose condition is not good, it becomes a reason to not pursue God, and a reason to not attend gatherings or eat and drink God’s word. In God’s work, no matter what He does or what changes He effects, people must at the very least maintain a normal spiritual life. Perhaps you have not been lax in this current stage of your spiritual life, but you still have not gained much, and have not reaped a great harvest. Under these kinds of circumstances, even if you hold to your spiritual life like you’re abiding by a regulation, you must still hold to it; you must keep to this regulation so that you do not suffer losses in your life and so that you satisfy God’s intentions. If your spiritual life is abnormal, you cannot see God’s current work clearly, and instead always feel that it is completely incompatible with your own notions, and though you are willing to follow Him, you lack internal drive. So, no matter what God is currently doing, people must cooperate. If people do not cooperate, then the Holy Spirit cannot do His work, and if people do not have a heart to cooperate, then they can hardly gain the work of the Holy Spirit. If you want to have the work of the Holy Spirit inside of you, and if you want to gain God’s approval, then you must maintain your loyalty before God. Now, it is not necessary for you to have a deeper understanding, a higher theory, or other such things—all that is required is that you uphold God’s word on the original foundation. If people do not cooperate with God and do not pursue deeper entry, then God will take away all the things that were originally theirs. On the inside, people always covet ease and would rather enjoy what is already available. They want to gain God’s promises without paying any price at all. These are the extravagant thoughts that mankind entertains. Gaining life itself without paying a price—but has anything ever been this easy? When someone believes in God and pursues life entry and pursues a change in their disposition, they must pay a price and achieve a state in which they will always follow God, no matter what He does. This is something that people must do. Even if you follow all of this as a regulation, you must always uphold it, and no matter how great the trials, you cannot let go of your normal relationship with God. You should pray, maintain your church life, and never leave your brothers and sisters. When God tries you, you should still seek the truth. This is the minimum requirement for a spiritual life. Always having the desire to seek, and striving to cooperate, applying all of your energy—can you do this? If you take this as a foundation, you will easily achieve discernment and entry into reality. It is easy to accept God’s word when your own state is normal; in these circumstances it does not feel difficult to practice the truth, and you feel that God’s work is great. But if your condition is poor, no matter how great God’s work is and no matter how beautifully someone speaks, you will pay no mind. When a person’s condition is abnormal, God cannot work in them, and they cannot achieve changes in their disposition.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Maintain Your Loyalty to God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 469

If people do not have any faith, it is not easy for them to continue down this path. Everyone can now see that God’s work does not conform in the slightest with people’s notions and imaginings. God has done so much work and spoken so many words, and though people may acknowledge that they are the truth, notions about God are still liable to arise in them. If people wish to understand the truth and gain it, they must have faith and willpower, and be able to stand by what they have already seen and what they have gained from their experiences. No matter what God does to people, they must uphold what they themselves possess, be sincere in front of God, and remain loyal to Him to the very end. This is mankind’s duty. People must uphold that which they should do. Belief in God requires submission to Him and experience of His work. God has done so much work—it could be said that for people it is all perfection, refinement, and even more, chastisement. There has not been a single step of God’s work that has been in line with human notions; what people have enjoyed is God’s stern words. When God comes, people must enjoy His majesty and His wrath. However, no matter how stern His words may be, He comes to save and perfect man. As created beings, people should fulfill the duties that they ought to, and stand firm in their testimony to God in the midst of refinement. In every trial they should uphold the witness that they should bear, and bear resounding witness for God. A person who does this is an overcomer. No matter how God refines you, you should remain full of faith and never lose faith in Him, and you should also do what man should do. This is all that God requires of man—He requires that man’s heart be able to fully return to Him and turn toward Him at every moment. Such a person is an overcomer. Those whom God refers to as “overcomers” are people who can still stand firm in their testimony, maintain their faith and their loyalty to God, and no matter what, keep a pure heart before God and maintain their genuine love for God, while under the influence of Satan and while being laid siege to by Satan—that is, while they are amid the forces of darkness. In this way, they have stood firm in their testimony before God. Such people are those whom God refers to as “overcomers.” If your pursuit is excellent when God blesses you, but you retreat without His blessings, is this purity? Since you are certain that this way is true, you must follow it until the end; you must maintain your loyalty to God. Since you have seen that God has come to the earth to personally perfect you, you should give your heart entirely to Him. If, no matter what God does—perhaps giving you an unfavorable outcome at the very end—you can still follow Him, this means you’ve maintained your purity before God. The offering of a holy spiritual body and a pure virgin to God, which has been spoken of, means keeping a sincere heart before God. Man’s sincerity is purity, and those who can be sincere toward God have maintained purity. This is what you should put into practice. When you ought to pray, you pray; when you ought to gather together in fellowship, you do so; when you ought to sing hymns, you sing hymns; and when you ought to rebel against the flesh, you rebel against the flesh. When you do your duty, you are not perfunctory; when you are faced with trials you stand firm. This is loyalty to God. If you do not uphold what people should do, then all of your previous suffering and resolutions have been futile.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Maintain Your Loyalty to God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 470

For every step of God’s work, there is a way that people should cooperate. God refines people so that they have faith as they undergo refinements. God perfects people so that they have faith to be perfected by God and are willing to accept His refinements and to be pruned by God. The Spirit of God works within people to bring them enlightenment and illumination, and to have them cooperate with Him and practice. God does not speak or utter His voice during refinement, but still, there is work that people should do. You should uphold what you already have, and you should still be able to pray to God, be close to God, and stand firm in your testimony before God; in this way you will fulfill your own duty. You have all seen clearly from God’s work that His trials of people’s faith and love require that they pray more to God, and that they more often savor God’s words before Him. If God enlightens you and has you understand His intentions, and yet you do not practice at all, you will gain nothing. You should still be able to pray to God when you put His words into practice, you should always seek before God when you savor His words, and you should be full of faith in Him, not disheartened or cold. Those who do not put God’s words into practice are full of energy during gatherings, but fall into darkness when they return home. There are some who do not even want to gather together. So, you must clearly see what duty it is that people should do. You may not know what God’s intentions actually are, but you should fulfill your duty, you should pray when you ought to, and you should put the truth into practice when you ought to. If you do all that people ought to do, and uphold your original vision, then you will be more able to accept God’s next step of work. When God works in a hidden way, it is a problem if you do not pursue. When He speaks and preaches during assemblies, you listen with enthusiasm, but when He does not speak you lack energy and draw back. What kind of person acts in this way? This is someone who just follows wherever the herd goes. They have no stance, no testimony, and no vision! Most people are like this. If you continue on that way, one day when you come upon a great trial, you will fall into punishment. Having a stance is most important in God’s process of perfecting people. If you do not doubt a single step of God’s work, if you fulfill man’s duty, if you sincerely uphold what God has you put into practice—that is, if you remember God’s exhortations, and no matter what He does in the present day, you do not forget His exhortations, have no doubt about His work, maintain your stance, uphold your testimony, and are victorious every step of the way—then in the end you will be perfected by God and be made into an overcomer. If you are able to stand firm through every step of God’s trials, and if you can still stand firm at the very end, then you are an overcomer, and you are someone who has been perfected by God. If you cannot stand firm in your current trials, then in the future it will become even more difficult. If you only undergo an insignificant amount of suffering and you do not pursue the truth, then ultimately you will gain nothing. You will be left empty-handed. There are some people who give up their pursuit when they see that God is not speaking, and their heart becomes scattered. Is such a person not a fool? These kinds of people have no reality. When God is speaking, they are always running around, appearing busy and enthusiastic on the outside, but now that He is not speaking, they stop pursuing. This kind of person has no future. During refinements, you must enter in from a positive perspective and learn the lessons that you should learn; when you pray to God and read His word, you should measure your own state against it, discover your shortcomings, and find that you still have many lessons to learn. The more sincerely you pursue as you undergo refinements, the more you will find yourself inadequate. This is because you encounter many issues while being refined that you cannot see clearly, and you may complain, and reveal your own flesh. Only then can you discover you have far too many corrupt dispositions within you.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Maintain Your Loyalty to God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 471

God’s work in the last days requires enormous faith, faith even greater than that of Job. Without faith, people will not be able to continue to gain experience, so they will be unable to be perfected by God. When the day of great trials comes, there will be people leaving the churches—some here, some there. There will be some who had been doing quite well in their pursuit in the previous days and it will be unclear why they no longer believe. Many things will happen that you will not understand, and God will not show any signs or wonders, nor do anything supernatural. This is to see if you can stand firm—God uses facts to refine people. You have not yet suffered much. In the future when great trials come, in some places every single person in the church will leave, and those whom you have had a good relationship with will leave and abandon their faith. Will you be able to stand firm then? Up to now, the trials you have faced have been minor, and you probably have been barely able to withstand them. This step includes refinements and perfecting through words only. In the next step, the facts will come upon you to refine you, and then you will be in the midst of danger. Once it becomes really serious, even God will advise you to hurry up and leave, and religious people will try to draw you into going with them. This is to see if you can continue on the path, and all of these things are trials. The current trials are minor, but the day will come when there will be some homes where the parents no longer believe, and some where the children no longer believe. Will you be able to continue? The further forward you go, the greater your trials will become. God carries out His work of refining people according to their needs and their stature. During the stage of God perfecting people, it is impossible that the number of people will continue to grow—it will only shrink. It is only through these refinements that people can be perfected. Being pruned, disciplined, tried, chastised, cursed—can you withstand all of this? When you see a church with a particularly good situation, where the sisters and brothers are all pursuing with great energy, you yourself feel encouraged. When the day comes that they have all left, some of them no longer believe, some have left to do business or get married, and some have joined the religion; will you be able to stand firm then? Will you be able to remain undisturbed within? God’s perfection of man is not such a simple thing! He utilizes many things to refine people. People see these as methods, but in God’s original intention these are not methods at all, but facts. In the end, when He has refined people to a certain point and they no longer have any complaints, this stage of His work will be complete. The great work of the Holy Spirit is to perfect you, and when He does not work and hides Himself, it is even more for the purpose of perfecting you, and this makes it even easier to see whether people have love for God, whether they have true faith in Him. When God speaks plainly, there is no need for you to seek; it is only when He is concealed that you need to seek and feel your way through. You should be able to fulfill the duty of a created being, and no matter what your future outcome and your destination may be, you should be able to pursue knowledge of and love for God during the years you are alive, and no matter how God treats you, you should be able to avoid complaining. There is one condition for the Holy Spirit to work within people. They must thirst and seek and not be half-hearted or doubtful about God’s actions, and they must be able to uphold their duty at all times; only in this way can they gain the work of the Holy Spirit. In each step of God’s work, what is required of people is enormous faith and coming before God to seek—only through experience can people discover how lovable God is and how the Holy Spirit works in people. If you do not experience, if you do not feel your way, if you do not seek, then you will gain nothing. You must feel your way through your experiences, and only through your experiences can you see God’s actions and recognize His wondrousness and unfathomableness.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Maintain Your Loyalty to God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 472

God makes you experience all kinds of adversity, hardships, and tribulations, as well as many failures and setbacks. In the end, God makes you realize—as you experience these things—that all He has said is correct and the truth. At the same time, He makes you realize that what you think and imagine, as well as your notions, knowledge, philosophical theories, philosophies, the things you learned in the world, and the things taught to you by your parents are all wrong, and that these things cannot guide you onto the right path in life, and cannot lead you to understand the truth and come before God. If you still live by these things, then you are walking the path of failure, as well as the path of resisting and betraying God. In the end, God will make you see this clearly. This process is something you must experience, and it is only in this way that results can be achieved, but it is also a painful thing for God to see. People are rebellious and have corrupt dispositions, so they must undergo some suffering and experience these setbacks. Without this suffering, they would have no way of being purified. If a person truly has a heart which loves the truth, and is truly willing to accept God’s various methods of salvation and to pay the price, then there is no need for them to suffer so much from trials and refinement. God does not actually want to make people suffer so much, and does not want to make them experience so many setbacks and failures. However, people are too rebellious; they are unwilling to do as they are told, unwilling to submit, and unable to walk the right path or take shortcuts; they only go astray following their own course, and rebel against God and resist Him. People are corrupt. All God can do is hand them over to Satan and put them in various situations to constantly temper them, thereby allowing them to gain all kinds of experience and learn all kinds of lessons, and to come to understand the essence of all kinds of wicked things. After that, when people look back, they will realize that God’s words are the truth, admit that God’s words are the truth, and admit that only God is the reality of all positive things, and the One who truly loves, feels concern for, and can save people. God does not want people to suffer so much, but humans are too rebellious, are willing to take tortuous paths, and are willing to go through this suffering. God has no choice but to put people in various situations to constantly temper them. To what extent are people ultimately tempered? To the extent that you say, “I have experienced every kind of situation, and now I finally understand that apart from God, there is no person, event or thing that can make me understand the truth, that can make me enjoy the truth, or that can make me enter the truth realities. If I obediently practice according to God’s words, obediently stay in man’s place, uphold my status and duty as a created being, obediently accept God’s sovereignty and arrangements, have no further complaints nor desire extravagant things from God, and can truly submit before the Creator, only then will I be someone who truly submits to God.” When people reach this level, they truly bow down before God, and God need not set up any more situations for them to experience. So, which path do you wish to take? No one, in their subjective desires, wants to suffer, and no one wants to experience setbacks, failure, difficulties, frustrations, or adversity, but there is no other way. People have satanic natures; they are too rebellious, and their thoughts and views are too complicated. Every day, your heart is in constant contradiction, strife, and turmoil. You understand few truths, your life entry is shallow, and you lack the power to overcome the notions, imaginings, and corrupt dispositions of the flesh. All you can do is take man’s usual approach: constantly experiencing failure and frustration, constantly falling down, being buffeted by hardship, and rolling around in the muck, until a day comes when you say, “I’m tired. I’m fed up. I don’t want to live like this. I don’t want to experience these failures. I am willing to come before the Creator in obedience; I shall listen to what God says, and do what He says. Only this is the right path in life.” Only on the day you are fully convinced and admit defeat will you be able to come before God. Have you come to understand something of God’s disposition from this? What is God’s attitude toward people? No matter what God does, He wants the best for people. No matter what situations He sets up or what He asks you to do, He always wishes to see the best outcome. Say you go through something and encounter setbacks and failure. God does not wish to see you discouraged when you fail, think you are finished and have been snatched by Satan, then give up on yourself, never find your feet again, and plunge into despondency—God does not wish to see this outcome. What does God wish to see? That while you may have failed in this matter, you are able to seek the truth and reflect on yourself, find the reason for your failure, accept the lesson this failure has taught you, remember it in the future, know that it is wrong to act this way and that only practicing according to God’s words is right, and realize, “I am a bad person. I have a corrupt satanic disposition. There is rebelliousness in me. I am far from the righteous people of whom God speaks, and I do not have a God-fearing heart.” You have seen this fact clearly; you have come to recognize the truth of the matter, and through this setback, this failure, you have gained some sense and matured. This is what God wants to see. What does maturing mean? It means that God can gain you, that you can be saved, that you can enter into the truth realities, and that you have embarked on the path of fearing God and shunning evil. God hopes to see people take the right path. God does things with painstaking intentions, and all of this is His hidden love, but people often can’t sense this. People are narrow-minded and extremely petty. The moment they can’t enjoy God’s grace and blessings, they complain about God, become negative, and act petulantly, but God doesn’t hold it against them. He just treats them like ignorant children and does not nitpick them. He sets up circumstances for people that let them know how grace and blessings are obtained, let them understand what grace means to man, and what man can draw from it. Say you like to eat something that God says is bad for your health when eaten in excess. You do not listen, and insist on eating it, and God allows you to make that choice freely. As a result, you get sick. After experiencing this several times, you realize that the words God speaks are actually right, that what He says is true, that you must practice according to His words, and that this is the correct path. So, what comes from the setbacks, failures and suffering that you experience? For one thing, you can come to appreciate God’s painstaking intentions. For another, it makes you believe and feel sure that God’s words are right and that they are all practical, and your faith in God grows. On top of that, by experiencing this period of failure, you come to recognize the veracity and accuracy of God’s words, you see that God’s words are the truth, and you understand the principle of practicing the truth. And so, experiencing failure is good for people, but at the same time it also makes them suffer—it is a kind of tempering. But if being tempered thus ultimately makes you return before God, makes you understand His words and accept them into your heart as the truth, and makes you come to know God, then the tempering, setbacks and failures you experienced will not have been in vain. This is the result that God wishes to see.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Discern the Nature Essence of Paul

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 473

You must remember that these words have now been spoken: Later on, you will experience greater tribulation and greater suffering! To be perfected is not a simple or easy thing. At the very least you must possess the faith of Job, or even greater faith than his. You should know that the trials in the future will be greater than the trials of Job, and that you must undergo long-term chastisement. Is this a simple thing? If your caliber cannot be improved, if your comprehension ability is lacking, and if you know too little, then at that time you will not have any testimony, but will instead become a joke, a plaything for Satan. If you cannot hold on to the visions now, then you have no foundation at all, and in the future you will be written off! No stretch of the path is easy to walk, so do not take this lightly. Carefully weigh up and make preparations for how to walk the final stretch of this path properly. This is the path that must be walked in the future, the path that all people must walk. You must not let this knowledge go unheeded; do not think that what I say to you is all a waste of breath. The day will come when you will put it all to good use—My words cannot be spoken in vain. This is the time to equip yourself, the time to pave the way for the future. You should prepare the path that you will walk in the future; you should be worried and anxious about how you will be able to stand firm in the future, and prepare well for your future path. Do not be gluttonous and lazy! You must do absolutely everything you can to make the best use of your time, so that you may gain everything that you need. I am giving you everything so that you can understand. You have seen with your own eyes that in less than three years, I have said so many things and done so much work. One reason that I have been working in this way is because people are lacking so much, and another reason is because time is too short; there cannot be any further delays. You imagine that people must first achieve perfect internal clarity before they can bear witness and be used—but would that not be too slow? So, for how long will I have to accompany you? If you would have Me accompany you until you are old and gray, that would be impossible! By undergoing greater tribulation, genuine understanding within all people will be achieved. These are the steps of the work. Once you thoroughly understand the visions fellowshipped today and you attain genuine stature, then whatever suffering you undergo in the future will not overwhelm you, and you will be able to stand firm. When I have completed this last step of work and finished uttering the last words, in the future people will need to walk their own path. This will fulfill the words spoken before: The Holy Spirit has a commission for every single person, and work to do on every single person. In the future, everyone will walk the path that they should walk, led by the Holy Spirit. Who will be able to care for others when undergoing tribulation? Each individual has their own suffering, and each has their own stature. No one’s stature is the same as anyone else’s. Husbands will not be able to care for their wives, or parents for their children; no one will be able to care for anyone else. It will not be like now, when mutual care and support are still possible. That will be a time when every type of person is revealed. That is, when God smites the shepherds, then the sheep of the flock will be scattered, and at that time you will not have any true leader. The people will be divided—it will not be like now, when you can have gatherings together. In the future, those who do not have the work of the Holy Spirit will show their true colors. Husbands will sell out their wives, wives will sell out their husbands, children will sell out their parents, and parents will persecute their children—the human heart is beyond fathoming! All that can be done is for one to hold on to what one has, and to properly walk the final stretch of the path. Right now, you do not see this clearly; you are all short-sighted. It is no easy thing to successfully experience this step of work.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How You Should Walk the Final Stretch of the Path

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 474

Most people believe in God for the sake of their future destination, or for temporary enjoyment. For those who have not undergone any pruning, they believe in God in order to enter into heaven, in order to gain rewards. They do not believe in God in order to be made perfect, or to fulfill the duty of a created being. Which is to say that most people do not believe in God in order to fulfill their responsibilities, or to complete their duty. Rarely do people believe in God in order to live out meaningful lives, nor are there those who believe that, since man is alive, he should love God because it is perfectly natural and justified to do so, and is the natural vocation of man. Thus, although different people each pursue their own goals, the aim of their pursuit and the motivation behind it are all alike, and, what is more, for most of them the objects of their worship are much the same. Over the last several thousand years, many believers have died, and many have died and been born again. It is not just one or two people who pursue God, nor even one or two thousand, yet most of these people pursue for the sake of their own prospects or their wonderful hopes for the future. Those who are devoted to Christ are few and far between. Many devout believers have still died ensnared in their own nets, and the number of people who have been victorious, moreover, is pifflingly small. To this day, the reasons why people fail, or the secrets of their victory, are still unknown to them. Those who are obsessed with pursuing Christ have still not woken up, and they have not gotten to the bottom of these mysteries, because they simply do not know. Though they make painstaking efforts in their pursuit, the path they walk is the path of failure once walked by their predecessors, and not the path of success walked by others who came before. In this way, regardless of how they pursue, do they not walk the path that leads to darkness? Is what they gain not bitter fruit? It is hard enough to predict whether the people who emulate those who succeeded in times past will ultimately receive blessings or woe. How much worse are the odds, then, for the people who pursue by following in the footsteps of those who failed? Do they not stand an even greater chance of failure? What value is there to the path they walk? Are they not wasting their efforts? Irrespective of whether people succeed or fail in their pursuit, there is, in short, a reason why they do so, and it is not the case that their gain or loss is determined by pursuing however they please.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 475

The most fundamental requirement of man’s belief in God is that he have an honest heart, and that he can fully devote himself, and can truly submit. What is hardest for man is to provide his whole life in exchange for true belief, through which he can gain the entire truth, and fulfill his duty as a created being. This is what is unattainable by those who fail, and it is even more unattainable by those who cannot find Christ. It is precisely because man is not good at wholly devoting himself to God, because man is not willing to perform his duty for the Creator, because man has seen the truth but avoids it and walks his own path, because man always pursues by following the path of those who have failed, because man always rebels against Heaven, that man always fails, is always ensnared by Satan’s scheme and by his own net. Because man does not know Christ, because man is not adept at understanding and experiencing the truth, because man is too worshipful of Paul and has too strong a desire to go to heaven, because man is always demanding that Christ obey him and ordering God about, all those lofty great figures and those who have experienced the vicissitudes of the world are still unable to escape death, and die amid God’s chastisement. All I can say of such people is that they die unnatural deaths. The consequence they meet with—their deaths—is not without justification, and apart from that, isn’t their failure even more intolerable to the law of Heaven? The truth comes from the world of man, yet the truth among man is passed on by Christ. It originates from Christ, that is, from God Himself, and this is not something man is capable of. Yet Christ is just providing the truth; He has not come here to decide whether man will be successful in his pursuit of the truth. Therefore, whether or not man is successful in terms of the truth depends entirely on his own pursuit. This is a matter that has never had anything to do with Christ, but is instead determined by man’s pursuit. Man’s destination and his success or failure cannot be all heaped upon the head of God, so that God Himself is made to bear it, because this is not a matter for God Himself, but is directly related to the duty that created beings should perform. Most people do have a little knowledge of the pursuit and destination of Paul and Peter, yet people know nothing more than the outcomes of Peter and Paul, and are ignorant of the secret behind Peter’s success, or the deficiencies that led to Paul’s failure. And so, if you are completely incapable of seeing through to the essence of their pursuit, then the pursuit of most of you will still fail, and even if a small number of you will be successful, still they will not be the equal of Peter. If the path of your pursuit is the right one, then you have a hope of success; if the path you tread in pursuit of the truth is the wrong one, then you will forever be incapable of success, and will meet with the same outcome as Paul.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 476

Peter was a man who was made perfect. Only after experiencing chastisement and judgment, and thus gaining a pure God-loving heart, was he fully made perfect; the path he walked was the path of being made perfect. Which is to say that, from the very beginning, the path that Peter walked was the right one, and his motivation for believing in God was the right one, and so he became someone who was made perfect; he trod a new path that man had never walked upon before. However, the path that Paul had walked upon since the beginning was the path of opposition to Christ, and it was only because the Holy Spirit wished to use him, and to take advantage of his gifts and all his merits for His work, that he worked for Christ for several decades. He was merely someone who was used by the Holy Spirit, and he was not used because Jesus looked favorably upon his humanity, but because of his gifts. He was able to work for Jesus because he was struck down, not because he was happy to do so. He was able to do such work because of the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the work he did by no means represented his pursuit, or his humanity. The work of Paul represented the work of a servant, which is to say that he did the work of an apostle. Peter, though, was different: He also did some work; it was not as great as the work of Paul, but he worked while pursuing his own entry, and his work was different from the work of Paul. Peter’s work was the performance of the duty of a created being. He did not work in the role of an apostle, but worked while pursuing the love for God. The course of Paul’s work also contained his personal pursuit: His pursuit was for the sake of nothing more than his hopes for the future, and his desire for a good destination. He did not accept refinement during his work, nor did he accept pruning. He believed that as long as the work he did satisfied God’s intentions, and all that he did was pleasing to God, then a reward ultimately awaited him. There were no personal experiences in his work—it was all for its own sake, and not carried out amid the pursuit of change. Everything in his work was a transaction, it contained none of the duty or submission of a created being. During the course of his work, there occurred no change in Paul’s old disposition. His work was merely of service to others, and was incapable of bringing about changes in his disposition. Paul carried out his work directly, without having been made perfect or pruned, and he was motivated by reward. Peter was different: He was someone who had undergone pruning and refinement. The aim and motivation of the work of Peter were fundamentally different from those of Paul. Although Peter did not do a large amount of work, his disposition underwent many changes, and what he pursued was the truth, and real change. His work was not carried out simply for the sake of the work itself. Although Paul did much work, it was all the work of the Holy Spirit, and even though Paul cooperated in this work, it did not come about as a result of his experience. That Peter did less work was only because the Holy Spirit did not do that much work on him. The quantity of their work did not determine whether they were made perfect; the pursuit of one was in order to receive rewards, and that of the other was in order to achieve an ultimate love for God, and fulfill his duty as a created being, so that he could live out a lovable image in order to satisfy God’s intentions. Externally they were different, and so too were their essences different. You cannot determine which of them was made perfect based on how much work they did. Peter sought to live out the image of one who loves God, to be someone who submitted to God, to be someone who accepted pruning, and to be someone who fulfilled their duty as a created being. He was able to devote himself to God, to put the entirety of himself in the hands of God, and submit to Him until death. He had this kind of resolution, and he also accomplished it. This is the root of why his outcome was ultimately different from that of Paul. The work that the Holy Spirit did on Peter was to make him perfect, and the work that the Holy Spirit did on Paul was to use him. That is because their natures and the perspectives behind their pursuits were not the same. Both had the work of the Holy Spirit. Peter applied this work to himself, and also provided it to others; Paul, meanwhile, only provided the entirety of the work of the Holy Spirit to others, and gained nothing from it himself. In this way, after he had experienced the work of the Holy Spirit for so many years, the changes in Paul were close to non-existent. He still remained almost in his natural state, and he was still the Paul of before. It was merely that after enduring the hardship of many years of work, he had learned how to “work,” and had learned endurance, but his old nature—his highly competitive and mercenary nature—still remained. After working for so many years, he did not know his corrupt disposition, nor had he cast off his old disposition, which was still clearly visible in his work. He merely had more work experience, but such little experience alone was incapable of changing him and could not alter his outlook on existence or the significance of his pursuit. Though he worked many years for Christ, and never again persecuted the Lord Jesus, in his heart there was no change in his knowledge of God. This means that he did not work in order to devote himself to God, but rather he was compelled to work for the sake of his future destination. For, in the beginning, he persecuted Christ, and did not submit to Christ; he was inherently a rebel who deliberately opposed Christ, and someone who had no knowledge of the work of the Holy Spirit. When his work was almost concluded, still he did not know the work of the Holy Spirit, and merely acted of his own accord pursuant to his own character, without paying the slightest attention to the intentions of the Holy Spirit. And so his nature was in enmity to Christ and did not submit to the truth. Someone like this, who had been forsaken by the work of the Holy Spirit, who did not know the work of the Holy Spirit, and who also opposed Christ—how could such a person be saved? Whether or not man can be saved does not depend on how much work he does, or how much he dedicates, but is instead determined by whether or not he knows the work of the Holy Spirit, whether or not he can put the truth into practice, and whether or not the perspective behind his pursuit is in accordance with the truth.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 477

Although Peter did have natural revelations while following Jesus, in nature he was, from the very beginning, someone who was willing to submit to the Holy Spirit and pursue Christ. His submission to the Holy Spirit was pure: He did not pursue fame and gain, but purposefully submitted to the truth. Though there were three times when Peter denied knowing Christ, and though he tested the Lord Jesus, such slight human weakness bore no relation to his nature, it did not affect his future pursuit, and it cannot sufficiently prove that his testing was the act of an antichrist. Normal human weakness is something shared by all people in the world—do you expect Peter to be any different? Do people not hold certain views about Peter because he did several foolish things? And do people not so worship Paul because of the amount of work he did, and the number of epistles he wrote? How could man be capable of seeing through to the substance of man? Surely those who truly have reason can see through something of such insignificance? Though the many years of painful experiences of Peter are not recorded in the Bible, this does not prove that Peter did not have real experiences, or that Peter was not made perfect. How can the work of God be fully fathomed by man? The records in the Bible were not personally selected by Jesus, but compiled by later generations. That being so, was all that was recorded in the Bible not chosen according to the ideas of man? Moreover, the outcomes of Peter and Paul are not expressly stated in the epistles, so man judges Peter and Paul according to his own perceptions, and according to his own preferences. And because Paul did so much work, because his “contributions” were so great, he won the trust of the masses. Does man not concentrate only on externalities? How could man be capable of seeing through to the substance of man? Not to mention, given that Paul has been an object of worship for thousands of years, who would dare casually deny his work? Peter was just a fisherman, so how could his contribution be as great as that of Paul? In terms of the contributions they made, Paul should have been rewarded before Peter, and he should have been the one who could better gain God’s approval. Who could have imagined that, in His treatment of Paul, God merely availed of his gifts to have him do work, whereas God made Peter perfect. It is by no means the case that the Lord Jesus had made plans for Peter and Paul from the very beginning: They were, rather, made perfect or put to work according to their inherent natures. And so, what people see are merely the outward contributions of man, whereas what God sees is man’s substance, as well as the path that man pursues from the beginning, and the motivation behind man’s pursuit. People measure a person according to their own notions, and according to their own perceptions, yet one’s final outcome is not determined according to that person’s externalities. And so I say that if the path that you take from the beginning is the path of success, and the perspective behind your pursuit is the right one from the beginning, then you are like Peter; if the path that you tread is the path of failure, then whatever the price you pay, your outcome will still be the same as that of Paul. Whatever the case, your destination, and whether you succeed or fail, are both determined by whether the path you pursue is the right one or not, rather than your dedication, or the price that you pay. Peter’s and Paul’s essences, and the goals that they pursued, were different; man is incapable of discovering these things, and only God can know them in their entirety. For what God sees is the substance of man, whereas man knows nothing of his own essence. Man is incapable of beholding the essence within man or his actual stature, and thus is incapable of identifying the reasons for the failure and success of Paul and Peter. The reason why most people worship Paul and not Peter is that Paul was used for public work, and man is able to perceive this work, and so people acknowledge the “accomplishments” of Paul. The experiences of Peter, meanwhile, are invisible to man, and that which he pursued is unattainable by man, and so man has no interest in Peter.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 478

Peter was made perfect through experiencing pruning and refinement. He said, “I must satisfy God’s intentions at all times. In all that I do I only seek to satisfy God’s intentions, and even if I am chastised or judged, still I am happy to do so.” Peter gave his all to God, and his work, words, and entire life were all for the sake of loving God. He was someone who pursued sanctification, and the more he experienced, the greater was his love for God deep within his heart. Paul, meanwhile, did only outward work, and though he also worked hard, his labors were for the sake of doing his work properly and thus gaining a reward. Had he known that he would receive no reward, he would have given up his work. What Peter cared about was the true love within his heart, and that which was practical and could be achieved. He did not care about whether he would receive a reward, but about whether his disposition could be changed. Paul cared about putting more effort into his work, he cared about outward work and his dedication, and about the doctrines outside the scope of what normal people experience. He cared nothing for changes deep within him nor for the true love for God. The experiences of Peter were in order to achieve true love and true knowledge of God. His experiences were in order to gain a closer relationship with God, and to have a practical living out. The work of Paul was done because Jesus entrusted it to him; he did it in order to obtain the things that he longed for, yet these were unrelated to his knowledge of himself and God. His work was solely for the sake of escaping chastisement and judgment. What Peter pursued was pure love, and what Paul pursued was the crown of righteousness. Peter experienced many years of the work of the Holy Spirit, and had a practical knowledge of Christ, as well as a profound knowledge of himself. And so, his love of God was pure. Many years of refinement had elevated his knowledge of Jesus and life, and his love was an unconditional love, it was a proactive love, and he asked for nothing in return, nor did he hope for any benefits. Paul worked for many years, yet he did not possess a great knowledge of Christ, and his knowledge of himself was also pitifully small. He simply had no love for Christ, and his work and the course that he ran were in order to obtain the final laurel. What he pursued was the finest crown, not the purest love. He did not pursue actively, but passively; he was not performing his duty, but was compelled in his pursuit after having been seized by the work of the Holy Spirit. And so, his pursuit does not prove that he was a created being who was up to standard—Peter was the created being who was up to standard and performed his duty. Man thinks that all those who make a contribution to God should receive a reward, and that the greater the contribution, the more natural and right it is that they be pleasing to God. The essence of man’s viewpoint is transactional, and he does not actively seek to fulfill his duty as a created being. For God, the more that people pursue true love for God and complete submission to God, which means seeking to perform their duty as a created being, the more they are able to gain God’s approval. God’s viewpoint is to demand that man recover his original duty and status. Man is a created being, and so man should not overstep himself by making any demands of God, and should do nothing more than perform his duty as a created being. The destinations of Paul and Peter were measured according to whether they could fulfill their duty as created beings, and not according to the greatness of their contribution; their destinations were determined according to that which they pursued from the beginning, not according to how much work they did, or other people’s estimation of them. And so, seeking to actively perform one’s duty as a created being is the path of success; the path of pursuing true love for God is the most correct path; pursuing changes in one’s old disposition and pure love for God is the path of success. Such a path of success is the path of the recovery of the original duty as well as the original appearance of a created being. It is the path of recovery, and it is also the purpose of all of God’s work from beginning to end. If the pursuit of man is tainted with personal extravagant demands and unreasonable longings, and the effect that it achieves is not changes in man’s disposition, then this is at odds with the work of recovery. It is undoubtedly not work done by the Holy Spirit, and so this proves that the pursuit of this kind is not approved of by God. What significance has a pursuit that is not approved of by God?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 479

The work done by Paul was exhibited before man, but as for how pure his love for God was and how much he loved God deep down in his heart—these things man cannot see. Man can only behold the work that he did, from which man knows that he was surely used by the Holy Spirit, and so man thinks that Paul was better than Peter, that his work was greater, for he was able to provide to the churches. Peter only looked to his personal experiences and gained but a few people during his occasional work, and from him there are but a few little-known epistles. But who knows how great was his love for God deep within his heart? Day in, day out, Paul worked for God: As long as there was work to be done, he did it. He felt that in this way he would be able to gain the crown, and could satisfy God, yet as he did his work he did not pursue ways to change himself. Anything in Peter’s life that did not satisfy God’s intentions made him feel uneasy. If he did not satisfy God’s intentions, then he would feel remorseful, and would look for a suitable way by which he could strive to satisfy God’s heart. In even the small, unremarkable matters of daily life, still he required himself to satisfy God’s intentions. He was no less exacting when it came to his old disposition, ever rigorous in his requirements of himself to progress deeper into the truth. Paul pursued only superficial reputation and status. He sought to show himself off before man, and did not seek to make any deeper progress in life entry. What he cared about was doctrine, not reality. Some people say, “Paul did so much work for God, why was he not remembered by God? Peter carried out but a little work for God, and did not make a great contribution to the churches, so why was he made perfect?” Peter loved God to a certain point, which was what God wanted; only such people as this have testimony. And what of Paul? To what degree did Paul love God? Do you know? What was Paul’s work done for? And what was Peter’s work done for? Peter did not do much work, but do you know what was deep within his heart? The work of Paul pertained to the provision to the churches, and the support of the churches. What Peter experienced were changes in his life disposition; he experienced love for God. Now that you know the differences in their essences, you can see who, ultimately, truly believed in God, and who did not truly believe in God. One of them truly loved God, and the other did not truly love God; one underwent changes in his disposition, and the other did not; one served humbly, and was not easily noticed by people, and the other was worshiped by people, and was of great image; one pursued sanctification, and the other did not, and though he was not filthy, he was not possessed of a pure love; one was possessed of true humanity, and the other was not; one was possessed of the reason of a created being, and the other was not. Such are the differences in the essences of Paul and Peter. The path that Peter walked was the path of success, which was the path of achieving the recovery of normal humanity and the recovery of the duty of a created being. Peter represents all those who are successful. The path walked by Paul was the path of failure, and he represents all those who only submit and expend themselves superficially, and do not have a genuine God-loving heart. Paul represents all those who do not possess the truth. In his belief in God, Peter sought to satisfy God in everything, and sought to submit to all that came from God. He was able to accept chastisement and judgment, as well as refinement, tribulation, and going without in his life, not uttering a single complaint. None of this could alter his God-loving heart. Was this not the ultimate love for God? Was this not the fulfillment of the duty of a created being? Whether it be in chastisement, judgment, or tribulation, you are capable of achieving submission unto death, and this is what should be achieved by a created being, this is the purity of the love for God. If man can achieve this much, then he is a created being who is up to standard, and there is nothing which better satisfies the intentions of the Creator. Imagine that you are able to work for God, yet you do not submit to God, and are incapable of truly loving God. In this way, not only will you not have fulfilled the duty of a created being, but you will also be condemned by God, for you are someone who does not possess the truth, who is incapable of submitting to God, and who rebels against God. You care only about working for God, and not about putting the truth into practice or knowing yourself; you do not understand or know the Creator, you do not submit to or love the Creator, and you are someone who is innately rebellious against God. It is for these reasons that such people are not liked by the Creator.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 480

Some people say, “Paul did a tremendous amount of work, and he shouldered great burdens for the churches and benefited them so much. The thirteen epistles of Paul sustained 2,000 years of the Age of Grace, and are second only to the Four Gospels. Who can compare with him? No one can decipher the Revelation of John, whereas Paul’s epistles provide life, and the work that he did was of benefit to the churches. Who else could have achieved such things? And what work did Peter do?” When man measures others, he does so according to their contribution. When God measures man, He does so according to man’s nature. Among those who pursue life, Paul was someone who did not know his own substance. He was by no means humble or submissive, and had no knowledge whatsoever of his essence, which was in opposition to God. And so, he was someone who had not undergone detailed experiences, and was someone who did not put the truth into practice. Peter was different. He had knowledge of his deficiencies, weaknesses, and his corrupt disposition as a created being, and so he had a path of practice through which to change his disposition; he was not one of those who only had doctrine but possessed no reality. Those who change are new people who have been saved, they are those who are up to standard and pursue the truth. People who do not change are those who stay in their natural state and remain the same old people; they are those who have not been saved, that is, those who are spurned by God. They will not be remembered by God no matter how great their work. When you compare this with your own pursuit, whether you are ultimately the same kind of person as Peter or Paul should be self-evident. If there is still no truth in your pursuit, and if even today you are still as arrogant and insolent as Paul, and are still as bombastic as him, then you are without doubt a degenerate who fails. If you pursue the same way that Peter did, pursuing practices and true changes, not being arrogant or willful, and instead seeking to perform your duty, then you will be a created being who can achieve victory. Paul did not know his own essence or corruption, much less did he know his own rebelliousness. He never mentioned his despicable opposition to Christ, nor was he overly remorseful. He only offered a brief explanation and, deep down in his heart, he did not completely yield to God. Though he fell to the ground on the road to Damascus, he did not examine himself from the depths of his heart. He was content merely to keep working, and he did not consider knowing himself and changing his old disposition to be the most crucial of issues. He was satisfied with merely saying truths, with providing to others as a salve for his own conscience, and with no longer persecuting Jesus’ disciples to console himself and forgive himself for his past sins. The goal that he pursued was nothing more than a future crown and transitory work, the goal he pursued was abundant grace. He did not pursue sufficient truth, nor did he pursue progressing deeper into the truth which he had previously not understood. His knowledge of himself can therefore be said to be counterfeit, and he did not accept chastisement or judgment. That he was able to work does not mean he possessed a knowledge of his own nature or essence; his focus was on outward practices only. What he strived for, moreover, was not change, but knowledge. His work was completely the result of the appearance of Jesus on the road to Damascus. It was not something he had resolved to do originally, nor was he performing work after accepting the pruning of his old disposition. No matter how he worked, his old disposition did not change, and so his work did not atone for his past sins but merely played a certain role among the churches of the time. For someone such as this, whose old disposition did not change—that is to say, who did not receive saving grace, and was even more without the truth—he was absolutely incapable of becoming one of those accepted by the Lord Jesus. He was not someone who was filled with love and fear for Jesus Christ, nor was he someone who was adept at seeking the truth, much less was he someone who sought the mystery of the incarnation. He was merely someone who was skilled in sophistry, and who would not yield to any who were higher than him or who were possessed of the truth. He envied people or truths that were contrary to him, or in enmity with him, preferring those erudite people who presented a great image and possessed profound knowledge. He did not like interacting with poor people who sought the true way and loved nothing but the truth, preferring instead senior figures from religious organizations who only spoke of doctrines, and who were possessed of abundant knowledge. He had no love of the new work of the Holy Spirit and cared not for the movement of the new work of the Holy Spirit. Instead, he favored those regulations and doctrines that were higher than general truths. In his innate substance and the entirety of what he pursued, he does not deserve to be called a Christian who pursued the truth, much less a faithful servant in the house of God, for his hypocrisy was too much, and his rebelliousness too great. Though he is known as a servant of the Lord Jesus, he was not at all fit to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for his actions from beginning to end cannot be called righteous. He can merely be seen as one who was hypocritical, and did unrighteousness, yet who also worked for Christ. Though he cannot be called evil, he can suitably be called a man who did unrighteousness. He did much work, yet he must not be judged on the quantity of work he did, but only on its quality and essence. Only in this way is it possible to get to the bottom of this matter. He always believed, “I am capable of working, I am better than most people; I am considerate of the lord’s burden as no one else, and no one repents as deeply as I, for the great light shone upon me, and I have seen the great light, and so my repentance is deeper than any other.” At the time, this is what he thought within his heart. At the end of his work, Paul said, “I have fought the fight, I have finished my course, and there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” His fight, work, and course were entirely for the sake of the crown of righteousness, and he did not actively forge ahead. Though he was not perfunctory in his work, it can be said that his work was done merely in order to make up for his mistakes, to make up for the accusations of his conscience. He only hoped to complete his work, finish his course, and finish his fight as soon as possible, so that he could gain his longed-for crown of righteousness all the sooner. What he longed for was not to meet the Lord Jesus with his experiences and true knowledge, but to finish his work as soon as possible, in order that he would receive the rewards that his work had earned him when he met the Lord Jesus. He used his work to comfort himself, and as a kind of transaction, hoping to exchange it for a crown in the future. What he pursued was not the truth or God, but only the crown. How can such a pursuit be up to standard? His motivation, his work, the price he paid, and all he sacrificed—his wonderful fantasies pervaded them all, and he worked wholly according to his own desires. In the entirety of his work, there was not the slightest willingness in the price he paid; he was merely doing it transactionally. His sacrifices were not made willingly for the sake of his duty, but were made willingly to achieve his aim of making a transaction. Are such sacrifices worth anything? Who would approve of his impure sacrifices? Who has any interest in such sacrifices? His work was full of dreams for the future, full of wonderful plans, and contained no path by which to change the human disposition. He was teeming with false benevolence; his work did not provide life, but was an affected refinement; it was transactional. How can work such as this lead man to the path of recovering his original duty?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 481

All that Peter pursued was in accordance with God’s intentions. He pursued the satisfaction of God’s intentions, and even if he had to suffer hardship and adversity, he was still willing to satisfy God’s intentions. There is no greater pursuit by a believer in God. What Paul pursued was tainted by his own flesh, by his own notions, and by his own plans and schemes. He was by no means a created being that was up to standard; he was not someone who sought to satisfy God’s intentions. Peter pursued putting himself at the mercy of God’s orchestrations, and although the work he did was not great, the motivation behind his pursuit and the path that he walked were right; that is, though he was not able to gain many people, he was able to pursue the way of truth. Because of this it can be said that he was a created being that was up to standard. Today, even if you are not a worker, you should be able to fulfill the duty of a created being and pursue putting everything at the mercy of God’s orchestrations. You should be able to submit to whatever God says, and experience all manner of tribulations and refinement, and though you are weak, in your heart you should still be able to love God. Those who take responsibility for their own life are willing to fulfill the duty of a created being, and the perspective behind such people’s pursuit is the right one. These are the people that God needs. If you did much work, and others received guidance from you, but you yourself did not change, and did not bear any testimony, or have any true experience, such that at the end of your life, still none of what you have done bears testimony, then are you someone who has undergone change? Are you someone who pursues the truth? At the time, the Holy Spirit used you, but when He used you, He used the part of you that could be used to work, and He did not use the part of you that could not be used. If you pursued changes, then you would gradually be made perfect during the process of being used. Yet the Holy Spirit is not fully responsible for whether or not you are ultimately gained—this depends on how exactly your pursuit goes. If there are no changes in your personal disposition, then that is because the perspective behind your pursuit is wrong. If you are granted no reward, then that is your own problem, for you yourself have not put the truth into practice and are unable to satisfy God’s intentions. And so, nothing is of greater importance than your personal experiences, and nothing is more critical than your personal entry! Some people will end up saying, “I’ve done so much work for You, and even if I haven’t achieved anything, I have endured hardship. Can’t You just let me into heaven to eat the fruit of life?” You must know what kind of people I desire; those who are filthy are not permitted to enter into the kingdom, those who are filthy are not permitted to defile the holy ground. Though you may have done much work, and worked for many years, in the end you are still deplorably filthy, and it is intolerable to the law of Heaven that you wish to enter My kingdom! From the creation of the world until today, never have I offered such easy access to My kingdom to those who curry favor with Me. This is a heavenly rule, and no one can break it! You must pursue life. Today, those who will be made perfect are the same kind as Peter: They are those who pursue changes in their own disposition, and who are willing to bear witness to God and fulfill their duty as a created being. Only people such as this will be made perfect. If you only look to rewards, and do not pursue changing your own life disposition, then all your efforts will be in vain—this is an unalterable truth!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 482

From the difference in the essences of Peter and Paul you should understand that all those who do not pursue life toil in vain! In believing in God and following God, you must have a God-loving heart, you must cast off your corrupt disposition, you must pursue the satisfaction of God’s intentions, and you must fulfill the duty of a created being. Since you believe in and follow God, you should offer everything to Him, and should not make personal choices or demands, and you should achieve the satisfaction of God’s intentions. Since you are a created human being, you should submit to the Lord who created you, for you are inherently unable to control yourself, and have no inherent ability to control your own destiny. Since you are a person who believes in God, you should pursue sanctification and change. Since you are a created being, you should adhere to your duty, and keep your place, and you must not overstep your duty. This is not to constrain you, or to suppress you through doctrine, but is instead the path through which you can perform your duty, and it can be achieved—and should be achieved—by all those who do righteousness. If you compare the essences of Peter and Paul, then you will know how you should pursue. Of the paths walked by Peter and Paul, one is the path of being made perfect, and one is the path of being eliminated; Peter and Paul represent two different paths. Though each received the work of the Holy Spirit, and each gained the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit, and each accepted that which had been entrusted to them by the Lord Jesus, the fruit borne in each was not the same: One truly bore fruit, and the other did not. From their essences, the work that they did, that which was outwardly expressed by them, and their final outcomes, you should understand which path you should take, which path you should choose to walk upon. They walked two clearly different paths. Paul and Peter, they were the quintessence of each path, and so from the very start they were held up as examples. What are the key points of Paul’s experiences, and why did he not make it? What are the key points of Peter’s experiences, and how did he experience being made perfect? If you compare what they each cared about, then you will know what exact kind of person God wants, what the intentions of God are, what the disposition of God is, what kind of person will ultimately be made perfect, and also what kind of person will not be made perfect; you will know what the disposition is of those who will be made perfect, and what the disposition is of those who will not be made perfect—these issues of essence can be seen in the experiences of Peter and Paul. God created all things, and so He makes all creation come under His dominion and submit to His dominion; He will rule over all things, so that all things are in His hands. All of God’s creation, including animals, plants, mankind, the mountains and rivers, and the lakes—all must come under His dominion. All things in the skies and on the ground must come under His dominion. They cannot have any choice and must all submit to His orchestrations. This was decreed by God, and it is the authority of God. God rules over everything, and makes it so all things are ordered and ranked, with each sorted according to their kind, and each in the place where they belong, according to God’s desires. No matter how great it is, no thing can surpass God, all things serve the mankind created by God, and no thing dares to rebel against God or make any demands of God. Therefore man, as a created being, must also fulfill the duty of man. Regardless of whether he is the master or steward of all things, no matter how high man’s status among all things, he is still a minuscule human being under the dominion of God; he is no more than a minuscule human being, a created being, and he will never be above God. As a created being, man should seek to know the Creator and fulfill the duty of a created being, and, most importantly, seek to love God without making other choices at all, for God is worthy of man’s love. Those who pursue loving God should not pursue any personal benefits or personal hopes; this is the most correct way to pursue. If what you pursue is the truth, if what you put into practice is the truth, and if what you attain is a change in your disposition, then the path that you tread is the right one. If what you pursue is the blessings of the flesh, and what you put into practice is the truth of your own notions, and if there is no change at all in your disposition, and you are not at all submissive to God in the flesh, and you still live in nebulousness, then what you pursue will surely take you to hell, for the path that you walk is the path of failure. Whether you will be made perfect or eliminated depends on your own pursuit, which is also to say that success or failure depends on the path one walks.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks