What trials are you able to withstand today? Dare you say that you have a foundation, are you able to stand firm when faced with temptations? The temptations of being hunted and persecuted by Satan, for example, or of status and prestige, of marriage, or wealth, are you able to overcome these temptations? (We can more or less overcome some of them.) How many grades of temptations are there? And which grade are you able to overcome? For example, you might not be afraid when you hear that someone has been arrested for believing in God, and you may not be afraid when you see others being arrested and tortured—but when you are arrested, when you find yourself in this situation, are you able to stand firm? This is a great temptation, is it not? Say, for example you know someone, someone of pretty good humanity, who is passionate in their faith in God, who has given up family and career to perform their duty and has suffered much hardship: A day suddenly comes when they are arrested and sentenced to jail for their faith in God, and you hear that they were subsequently beaten to death. Is this a temptation of you? How would you react if this happened to you? How would you experience this? Would you seek the truth? How would you seek the truth? How, during such a temptation, would you make yourself stand firm, and understand God’s will, and from this gain the truth? Have you ever considered such things? Are such temptations easy to overcome? Are they something extraordinary? How should things that are exceptional and contradict human notions and imaginings be experienced? If you have no path, are you liable to complain? Are you able to seek the truth in God’s words and see the essence of problems? Are you able to use the truth to determine the right principles of practice? Is this not what should be found in those who pursue the truth? How can you know God’s work? How should you experience it in order to obtain the fruits of God’s judgment, purification, salvation, and perfection? What truths ought to be understood to solve people’s myriad notions and grievances against God? What are the most useful truths you should equip yourselves with, the truths that will allow you to stand firm amid various trials? How great is your stature right now? What degree of temptations are you able to overcome? Do you have any idea? If you don’t, then this is questionable. You just said that you could “more or less overcome some of them.” These are muddled words. You must be clear about the kind of stature you have, what truths you have already equipped yourselves with, what temptations you are able to overcome, what trials you are able to accept, and during which trials you should possess which truths, what knowledge of God’s work, and choose which path to satisfy God—you must have a good idea about all of this. When you encounter something that doesn’t fit with your notions and imaginings, how will you experience it? How, in such things, you should equip yourself with the truth—and with which aspects of the truth—in order to pass through smoothly, not just resolving your notions, but attaining true knowledge of God—is this not what you should seek? What kinds of temptations do you ordinarily experience? (Status, fame, gain, money, relations between men and women.) These, basically, are the common ones. And with regard to your stature today, in which temptations are you able to keep a hold of yourself and stand firm? Do you possess the true stature of overcoming these temptations? Can you really guarantee that you will perform your duty properly, and not do anything that violates the truth, or which is disruptive and disturbing, or defiant and rebellious, or which upsets God? (No.) So what must you do to perform your duty properly? For one, you must examine yourself in all things, to see whether or not your actions are in accordance with the truth principles, to see whether or not your actions are perfunctory, whether or not there are rebellious or resisting elements. If there are, you must seek the truth to resolve them. Additionally, if there are some things you do not know about yourself, you must seek the truth to resolve them. If you are pruned, you should accept it and submit. As long as people speak in accordance with the facts, then you absolutely cannot argue and engage in sophistry with them; only then can you come to know yourself and truly repent. People should achieve the requirements of these two aspects of things and have true entry. This way, they can achieve an understanding of the truth and enter into reality, and perform their duty to an acceptable standard.

Some people say, “Most of the time when something happens to me I do not know how to seek the truth and even when I do, I find no answer. I have prayed, searched, and waited but to no effect. I don’t know what to do. I wish to find the words of God to solve this, but there are so many of them, I don’t know reading which section of God’s words would be applicable, and could solve this problem.” What should they do then? There is a minimum standard for this: When something happens to you and you don’t know what to do, the most fundamental thing that you should do is to follow your conscience; this is a lifeline, it is a baseline that should be adhered to above all else, and it is also a principle of practice. So how much of a commanding position does conscience have in each person? When a person does not understand the truth, how great a role their conscience can play depends on what their humanity is like. If this person does not understand the truth and does not act according to their conscience, and you can neither see any aspect of their actions that shows any consideration for God’s intentions nor can you see any God-fearing heart in them—if you cannot see any of this, then can this person be counted as possessing a conscience and humanity? (No.) What kind of person is this? This sort of person is precisely defined as someone without humanity. He does things neither based in reason nor according to conscience, exceeding the baseline for human conduct. Some people do not understand many truths. They do not understand the principles in anything they do, and when they encounter problems, they do not know the proper way to handle them. How should they practice in this situation? The lowest standard is to act according to conscience—this is the baseline. How should you act according to conscience? Act from sincerity, and be worthy of God’s kindness, of God having given you this life, and of this God-given opportunity to attain salvation. Is that the effect of your conscience? Once you have met this bare minimum of standards, you will have obtained protection and you will not commit grievous errors. You will not then so easily do things to rebel against God or shirk your responsibilities, nor will you be so liable to act in a perfunctory manner. You will also not be so prone to scheming for your own status, fame, gain, and future. This is the role that conscience plays. Conscience and reason should both be components of a person’s humanity. These are both the most fundamental and most important. What kind of person is one who lacks conscience and does not have the reason of normal humanity? Generally speaking, they are a person who lacks humanity, a person of extremely poor humanity. Going into more detail, what manifestations of lost humanity does this person exhibit? Have a go at analyzing what characteristics are found in such people and what specific manifestations they present. (They are selfish and base.) Selfish and base people are perfunctory in their actions and stand aloof from anything that does not concern them personally. They do not consider the interests of God’s house, nor do they show consideration for God’s will. They take on no burden of performing their duties or testifying for God, and they have no sense of responsibility. What is it that they think about whenever they do something? Their first consideration is, “Will God know if I do this? Is it visible to other people? If other people don’t see that I expend all this effort and work industriously, and if God doesn’t see it either, then there is no use for my expending such effort or suffering for this.” Is this not extremely selfish? It is also a base sort of intent. When they think and act in this way, is their conscience playing any role? Is their conscience accused in this? No, their conscience is not playing any role, and it is not accused. There are some people who do not take any responsibility regardless of the duty they are performing. They don’t promptly report problems they discover to their superiors, either. When they see people being disruptive and disturbing, they turn a blind eye. When they see evil people committing evil, they don’t try to stop them. They don’t protect the interests of the house of God, or consider what their duty and responsibility is. When they perform their duty, people like this don’t do any real work; they are people pleasers who are greedy for comfort; they speak and act only for their own vanity, face, status, and interests, and are only willing to devote their time and effort to things that benefit them. The actions and intents of someone like that are clear to everyone: They pop out whenever there is an opportunity to show their face or to enjoy some blessing. But, when there is not an opportunity to show their face, or as soon as there is a time of suffering, they vanish from sight like a tortoise retracting its head. Does this kind of person have conscience and reason? (No.) Does a person without conscience and reason who behaves in this way feel self-reproach? Such people have no sense of self-reproach; the conscience of this kind of person serves no purpose. They have never felt reproach from their conscience, so can they feel the reproach or discipline of the Holy Spirit? No, they cannot.

The work of the Holy Spirit is principled, and it has prerequisites. On which kind of person does the Holy Spirit usually do His work? What prerequisites must a person fulfill in order to receive the work of the Holy Spirit? Those who believe in God must understand the very least they must possess in order to receive the work of the Holy Spirit. At the very least, they must possess a conscience and an honest heart, and their conscience must have an element of honesty. Your heart must be honest and accept God’s scrutiny. Those who dare not accept God’s scrutiny are not honest people, and they do not sincerely believe in God. People always say that God scrutinizes people’s innermost heart, that He observes all, and that man sees the outside, while God sees the heart, but why can they not accept God’s scrutiny? Why can they not listen to God’s words and submit to Him? The explanation is that people only understand the words and doctrines, but do not love the truth. Why are some people never able to receive the work of the Holy Spirit, always in a negative, depressed state, without any joy or peace? If you carefully examine their states, they are generally without awareness of their conscience, without an honest heart, of a low caliber, and they do not put forth effort toward the truth, so their states are very seldom normal. Those who love the truth are different. They always put forth effort toward the truth, their state improves as they understand parts of the truth, and they are able to resolve some real problems as they understand parts of the truth, so their states continually improve and become increasingly normal. No matter what happens to them, they are rarely negative, and they are able to live in the presence of God. Over any period of time, they always have gains and knowledge, and they always have achievements in doing their duty. They are able to win people over in spreading the gospel, and whatever their duty is, they do it in a principled way. Where do these gains come from? These are results achieved by often reading God’s words and obtaining enlightenment, illumination, and an understanding of the truth, results achieved through the work of the Holy Spirit. Only when you possess an honest heart, the conscience and reason that humanity ought to possess, can the Holy Spirit perform His work upon you. Do you all have a sense of the rules about the work of the Holy Spirit? On what kind of person does the Holy Spirit do His work? The Holy Spirit usually does His work upon those who are honest in heart. He works upon those who have difficulties and seek the truth. God does not acknowledge those who do not have any humanity, who do not have any conscience or reason at all. If someone is honest, but their heart temporarily departs from God, not wanting to try to be better, stuck in a negative state, neither praying nor seeking the truth to resolve all this, unwilling to cooperate—in this state of temporary darkness, temporary degradation, the Holy Spirit does not do His work. How much less will He do it for someone who fundamentally has no awareness of humanity? He certainly will not do it. What does God do about this kind of person who has neither conscience nor reason, who does not love the truth at all? He does not acknowledge them. Is there any hope for these people? There is a single thread of hope. The only way out for them is to truly repent, to become honest people, and only then can they receive the work of the Holy Spirit. How does one become an honest person? First of all, you must open your heart to God and seek the truth from Him, and when you understand the truth you must be able to put it into practice and submit to God’s arrangements, which all amounts to giving your heart to God. Only then can you be accepted by God. You must first rebel against your flesh, give up your own vanity and pride, give up your own interests, throw yourself into your duty, both body and mind, do your duty with a submissive heart, and believe in your heart that as long as you satisfy God, it does not matter what you suffer. If you encounter difficulties, and you pray to God and seek the truth, see how God leads you, and whether or not you have peace and joy in your heart, whether or not you have this evidence. If you want to receive the work of the Holy Spirit, first, you must truly repent, give yourself over to God, open your heart in His presence, and give up on the rubbish you so treasure, like fame, gain, and status. If you continue to pursue these things, but still want to demand great blessings from God, will He acknowledge you? The work of the Holy Spirit has prerequisites. God is a jealous God, a holy God. If people always pursue fame, gain, and status, and from beginning to end, they cannot give these things up, if their hearts are closed to God, if they do not dare open up to Him, if they always reject His work and guidance, then He does nothing. God does not have to perform His work upon every person, compelling you to do this or that. God does not compel you. Only evil spirits compel people to do this or that, even forcibly possessing a person to control them. The work of the Holy Spirit is especially gentle, such that when He moves you, you do not even feel it. You would think as if you had unconsciously understood and awakened. This is how the Holy Spirit moves people. So if someone wants to receive the work of the Holy Spirit, they must truly repent and truly cooperate.

How do you go about giving your heart to God? When things happen to you, you should declare to God that you will not rely on yourself. Giving your heart to God means allowing God to be the Master of your house. Additionally, you must give up on the things that obstruct you from practicing the truth, like reputation, status, vanity, and pride, allow God to lead you, allow your heart to submit to Him, allow Him to rule over your heart, and act according to His words. Once you are able to give up the things the flesh enjoys, and God sees that you are no longer carrying burdens, but instead come before Him with a submissive heart, willing to listen to His words and submit to His arrangements and plans, allowing Him to act, allowing Him to lead—once God sees that you are thus sincere, then the Holy Spirit will do His work. First, you must truly repent, turn your heart to God, give thought to His will, and put forth effort toward the truth. You cannot be negative or lazy, much less headstrong. If you always want to be in charge, to be the master of your own house, and to act according to your own preferences, what kind of attitude is this? What kind of state is it? This is rebellion and resistance. Do you think that God has to save you, that He cannot be without you? Is this the case? Why has the work of God in the last days turned to the Gentiles? Why does He not do it in Israel? Why does He not do it in the religious world? It is because they are too rebellious and resistant to God that He has turned this work to the Gentiles. How does God view this matter? God saves those who accept the truth. It does not matter whether they are converted from within religion or they are unbelievers who accept this work—God is gracious to and saves those who accept the truth. Are you all clear on these matters? Every single thing God does is most meaningful, and has the disposition and wisdom of God within. Of course, people have nothing to brag about when they understand the will of God or submit to His arrangements. Do not think that you are smart, or that you love the truth, or that you are much stronger than other people. Just because you are smart in one matter does not mean you will necessarily be smart in another, so you must often pray and seek the truth in all things. You must examine all your actions to see whether or not you have a God-fearing heart, whether or not they are in accordance with the truth, and whether or not they are able to satisfy God’s will.

Whether or not your humanity is up to an acceptable standard, or is up to the standard of normal conscience and reason, God is only pleased with those people who pursue the truth. The pursuit of truth and life entry is unending. If someone only possesses a conscience, and acts according to their conscience, this principle is not up to the standard of the truth. They must also pay the price to put forth effort toward the truth, behave according to God’s requirements, and do their duty well according to His requirements. Only by pursuing in this way can they achieve life entry, understand and obtain the truth, and satisfy God’s will. There are people who have some humanity, who possess some conscience and reason, and so they think: “Doing my duty according to my conscience will be worthy of God.” Is this correct? Can the standard of conscience replace the truth? Can you submit to God by acting according to your conscience? Can you follow the will of God? Can you hate and rebel against Satan? Can you truly love God? Can you shame Satan? Is acting according to your conscience a true testimony? None of this is achievable. What constitutes the standard of conscience? A conscience is a feeling in someone’s heart, a judgment of the heart, and it represents the preferences of normal humanity. Oftentimes, many articles of the law and notions of morality are founded on feelings of the conscience, and thus the feelings of the conscience easily use the articles of the law and notions of morality as a standard. So, the feelings of the conscience fall far short of the standard of the truth, and moreover are subject to emotional constraints, or they are deceived and misguided by nice-sounding words, which gives rise to many errors. If people do not understand the truth, then they are subject to devils’ deceptions, and they allow Satan to exploit an advantage over them. So, acting according to your conscience falls far short of God’s requirements. You must also put forth effort toward the truth. Only when you understand the truth and do your duty according to principles can you fulfill God’s requirements. The standard of the truth far exceeds the standard of the conscience. If you merely do your duty according to your conscience, then can you receive God’s approval? You cannot. Because the conscience cannot replace the truth, much less God’s requirements, you cannot be satisfied with doing your duty according to your conscience. This cannot earn you God’s approval.

In order to pursue the truth, you must examine yourself in everything, to see which truths you are lacking, preventing you from completely submitting to God, from fearing Him and shunning evil, and from loyally doing your duty. Then you must quickly equip yourself with those truths you lack, so that not only will you behave to an acceptable standard, you will also do your duty to an acceptable standard at the same time. Some people are people pleasers, who do not report or expose others when they see them do bad things. They are obliging and easily swayed. They obey false leaders and antichrists who disturb the work of the church, do not offend anyone, and always compromise, leaning neither to the right nor left. On the surface, they seem as though they have humanity—they do not go too far, and they have a little conscience and reason—but the majority of the time, they keep quiet and do not express their ideas. What do you make of such people? Are they not smooth and deceitful? This is just how deceitful people are. When something happens, they may not speak up or express any view lightly, but always stay silent. This does not mean that they are reasonable; on the contrary, it shows that they are quite well disguised, that they have things hidden, that their shrewdness runs deep. If you do not open up to anyone else, can you open up to God? And if you are not genuine, even with God, and cannot open up to Him, can you then give your heart over to Him? Certainly not. You cannot be one at heart with God, but are keeping your heart apart from His! Are you able to open up and say what’s really in your heart when fellowshipping with others? If someone always says what’s truly in their heart, if they speak honestly, if they speak plainly, if they are sincere, and not at all perfunctory while performing their duty, and if they can practice the truth they understand, then this person has a hope of gaining the truth. If a person always covers themselves up and conceals their heart so that no one can see them clearly, if they give a false impression to deceive others, then they are in grave danger, they are in great trouble, it will be very difficult for them to gain the truth. You can see from someone’s daily life and their words and actions what their prospects are. If this person is always pretending, always putting on airs, then this person is not someone who accepts the truth, and they will be revealed and cast out sooner or later. Which path are you all walking on? It is never a mistake to walk the path of an honest person! Some people might say: “When you fellowship with the brothers and sisters about the truth, why do you tell them the thoughts of your heart? Isn’t that stupid?” or, “By exposing evil people and nonbelievers, aren’t you offending people? Believers in God can’t be so stupid!” How do you feel after hearing these words? You should say: “To be an honest person, speak the truth, and adhere to principles is smart, absolutely not stupid. This is the truth that those who come unto God ought to practice. Believers in God must submit to and satisfy God in all things. It is right to fellowship about the truth and open your heart. When fellowshipping about the truth, you must speak about your true state. That will be constructive to others and beneficial to you. Exposing evil people and nonbelievers is the responsibility of God’s chosen people. Can you do your duty well if you are afraid to offend others? God’s chosen people should adhere to the truth principle, expose evil people, and expose nonbelievers. To be an honest person is to practice the truth and adhere to principles. Those who do not practice the truth are not honest people, nor are those who do not adhere to principles.” What do you think of this rebuttal? No matter what other people think, believers in God cannot change from being an honest person or the path of pursuing the truth. They cannot be influenced or constrained by false leaders, antichrists, or nonbelievers. At all times, they must follow God and listen to His words, and be an honest person according to God’s requirements. This is correct. How should one practice to become an honest person? They must often self-reflect, to see in which matters they might still reveal their lying, cheating, deceitful disposition. Only by knowing themselves, their lying intents, and their deceitful, corrupt disposition can they rebel against the flesh and gradually become an honest person. People who never open their hearts, who always try to hide and conceal things, who pretend that they are respectable, who want people to think highly of them, who don’t allow others to get a full measure of them, who want people to admire them—are these people not foolish? These people are the most foolish! That’s because the truth about people will be exposed sooner or later. What path do they walk with this kind of comportment? This is the path of the Pharisees. Are hypocrites in danger or not? These are the people God detests the most, so do you think they are in danger or not? All those who are Pharisees walk the road to destruction!

When the Holy Spirit works to enlighten you so that you can understand something, sometimes it happens very quickly, while at other times, the Holy Spirit makes you go through an experience for a time before gradually allowing you to comprehend it. It is not that nothing requires you to experience it, or that He is finished after allowing you to understand the words and doctrines. By what principles does the Holy Spirit work? The Holy Spirit works by arranging your environment and arranging people, events, and things, allowing you to mature through these people, events, and things and to gradually understand the truth through them and through these experiences. When He gives you a few simple words to inspire or enlighten you, or provides you with a little light, He is not finished. Rather, He allows you to learn lessons, and to gradually grow through experiencing every matter, different environments, and different people, events, and things, so that you can achieve a gradual understanding of the truth, and entry into reality. Therefore, the Holy Spirit works by a very natural principle; He works in complete accordance with the natural pattern of human development, without employing any compulsion whatsoever. According to the principle and scope of the Holy Spirit’s work, if a person does not have the bare minimum amount of human reason and conscience that they should, then can they obtain the work of the Holy Spirit? Can they obtain God’s guidance and enlightenment? Absolutely not. What do I mean by this? People always say that they pursue the truth, that they must understand the truth better, but they have overlooked something, which is that they must give their hearts to God. They think: “No matter what my humanity is like, whether or not I have conscience, whether or not I surrender my heart to God, I’ll just seek after truth more, listen more to sermons, read more of God’s words, and often fellowship about the truth. Then as I do my duty I will exert more effort and suffer more, and it will be all right.” But such a person has not realized and does not know the most basic of basics. Now do you understand what the bare minimum is that a person should possess if they want to understand and obtain the truth? (Conscience and reason.) Simply put, it is that at the very minimum, a person must possess an honest heart. Only those who possess an honest heart can accept the truth, submit to God’s plans, and do their duty in accordance with God’s requirements. If you do not have an honest heart, then you cannot fulfill God’s requirements, nor can you do the duty of a created being well. If you don’t have an honest heart, what sort of thing are you? It means you do not have humanity—you are a devil. What are the manifestations of having an honest heart? At the bare minimum, a person must have a good humanity. When a person has a good humanity, a true heart, conscience, and reason, these are not empty or vague things that cannot be seen or touched, but rather they are things that can be discovered anywhere in daily life; they are all things of reality. Say a person is great and perfect: Is that something you can see? You cannot see, touch, or even imagine what it is to be perfect or great. But if you say someone is selfish, can you see that person’s acts—and does he correspond to the description? If someone is said to be honest with a true heart, can you see this behavior? If someone is said to be deceitful, crooked, and base, can you see those things? Even if you close your eyes, you can sense whether the person’s humanity is normal or despicable through what they say and how they act. Therefore, “good or bad humanity” is not an empty phrase. For example, selfishness and baseness, crookedness and deceitfulness, arrogance and self-righteousness are all things that you can grasp in life when you come into contact with a person; these are the negative elements of humanity. Thus, can the positive elements of humanity that people should possess—such as honesty and a love of the truth—be perceived in everyday life? Whether someone has the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit; whether they can receive God’s guidance; whether they have the work of the Holy Spirit—can you see all these things? Can you discern them all? What are the conditions that a person must be possessed of to gain the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment, receive God’s guidance, and act in accordance with the truth principles in all things? They must have an honest heart, love the truth, seek the truth in all things, and be able to practice the truth once they understand it. Having these conditions means having the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment, being able to understand God’s words, and being able to easily put the truth into practice. If someone isn’t an honest person and doesn’t love the truth in their heart, they will struggle to gain the Holy Spirit’s work, and even if you fellowship the truth with them, nothing will come of it. How can you tell if someone is an honest person? You must not only look at whether they lie and cheat, but most important is to look at whether they are able to accept the truth and put it into practice. That is what’s most key. God’s house has always been casting out people, and at this point, many have already been cast out. They were not honest people, they were all deceitful people. They loved unrighteous things, they didn’t love the truth at all. No matter how many years they believed in God, they couldn’t understand the truth or enter into reality. Even less were such people capable of genuine change. Therefore, their being cast out was an inevitability. When you come into contact with a person, what do you look at first? Look at their words and deeds to see if they are honest, if they love the truth, and if they can accept the truth. These are crucial. You can basically see a person’s essence as long as you can determine whether they are an honest person, whether they are able to accept the truth and put it into practice. If a person’s mouth is full of sweet-sounding words, but they do nothing real—when it comes time to do something real, they only think of themselves and never of others—then what kind of humanity is this? (Selfishness and baseness. He has no humanity.) Is it easy for a person without humanity to gain the truth? It is difficult for them. When they encounter a period of suffering or have to pay some price, they think, “You guys go ahead first with all this suffering and paying the price, and after the results have pretty much been achieved, I’ll be along.” What sort of humanity is this? Such behaviors are known collectively as “not possessing humanity.” Everyone has a corrupt disposition, but upon encountering an issue, some people’s consciences come into play and they feel self-reproach, so they are able to act according to their conscience. Even though they do not say, “I am pursuing the truth and must be a good person,” they start by having a working conscience, and are able to say, relying on their conscience, “I must be worthy of God’s grace and selection.” So when their conscience has an effect, are they then able to practice the truth? Not necessarily, but if they at least have this willingness, it becomes easy for them to practice the truth, which is the most basic foundation for people to gain the truth. When faced with danger, some people only care about hiding. Some protect others and don’t care about themselves. When something happens to them, some people endure, and some fight. These are differences in humanity. So which kind of person is likely to gain the truth? Many people have made firm resolutions before God, and have sworn oaths to hand their entire lives over to Him, to expend themselves for Him, and to seek nothing in return. However, people with bad humanity are always fighting for profit, never yielding or forbearing, and never acting according to conscience. Is it easy for someone like this to gain the truth? Is it easy for them to be perfected by God? (No.) For what type of person is it easy to be made perfect by God and to obtain truth? (People with good humanity.) There must be a standard for having good humanity. It does not involve taking the path of moderation, not sticking to principles, endeavoring not to offend anyone, currying favor everywhere you go, being smooth and slick with everyone you meet, and making everyone speak well of you. This is not the standard. So, what is the standard? It is being able to submit to God and the truth. It is approaching one’s duty and all manner of people, events, and things with principles and a sense of responsibility. This is plain for all to see; everyone is clear about this in their heart. Moreover, God scrutinizes people’s hearts and knows their situation, each and every one; no matter who they are, no one can fool God. Some people always boast that they possess good humanity, that they never speak ill of others, never harm anyone else’s interests, and they claim never to have coveted other people’s property. When there is a dispute over interests, they even prefer to suffer loss than take advantage of others, and everyone else thinks they are good people. However, when performing their duties in God’s house, they are wily and slippery, always scheming for themselves. Never do they think of the interests of God’s house, never do they treat as urgent the things God treats as urgent or think as God thinks, and never can they set aside their own interests so as to perform their duties. They never forsake their own interests. Even when they see evil people committing evil, they do not expose them; they have no principles whatsoever. What kind of humanity is this? It is not good humanity. Pay no attention to what such people say; you must see what they live out, what they reveal, and what their attitude is when they perform their duties, as well as what their internal state is and what they love. If their love of their own fame and gain exceeds their loyalty to God, if their love of their own fame and gain exceeds the interests of God’s house, or if their love of their own fame and gain exceeds the consideration they show for God, then are such people possessed of humanity? They are not people with humanity. Their behavior can be seen by others and by God. It is very difficult for such people to gain the truth.

Right now, do you all understand what kind of people are able to obtain the truth? Everyone is willing to pursue the truth, they all believe in God, gather and listen to sermons, do their duties, and fellowship about the truth, but why is it that after a few years, some people are able to speak about their experiential testimonies and testify of God, while some people have no experiential testimonies at all, nor can they do any duty well? What is the difference? Actually, the difference is in the distinction between their humanity. Some people have a conscience and reason, while others do not; some people love the truth, while others do not. So what kind of person can easily obtain the truth? (People who are sincere toward God, who are honest, who have humanity, and who have conscience and reason.) This is very important. Now that you understand that, you should consider this: Is understanding and obtaining the truth related to people’s looks, caliber, level of education, the background of their birth, age, family environment, talents, or the professional skills they have mastered? You could say they are basically unrelated. Some people are of low caliber, but they themselves are very dependable. They use as much energy as they have, not being slippery and deceptive, and they are conscientious and take responsibility for things. If they make mistakes, they are able to accept the truth and practice according to principles; when they have difficulties, they are able to seek the truth. The results of doing their duty are increasingly good, and although gifted people look down on them, God likes this kind of person. When God gives grace to people and allows them to understand the truth, He does not look at their appearance, their level of education, the quality of their caliber, or their eloquence—God does not look at any of this. Some people say: “I am slow of speech and tongue, but I see people who are so skillful in their speech. I am not tall, nor do I look very out of the ordinary. I am uneducated, nor is my caliber very good. Doesn’t that mean I’m done for?” What kind of thought is this? Is it not a misunderstanding of God? Does it not mean that you do not understand God’s will? (It does.) Are people who possess this perspective not rebellious? They do not understand God’s will at all. They think that all those who are saved and perfected by God, or who are enlightened and led by Him, are gifted, that they can talk very well, that they have great education and knowledge, that they are all geniuses, and that God likes them. Is this not slander against God? They do not comprehend the mind of God at all! People always say that God is righteous and that He observes the innermost hearts of men, but when things happen to them, people misunderstand God. Do you understand a little better now? What does God see when He looks at people? He sees their hearts. Everything that people say and do is controlled by their hearts. If your heart is honest, then you will have good humanity. You will be able to gradually understand the truth, you will be able to satisfy God’s requirements to a certain degree, and you will be able to take God’s will into consideration. If your heart is too deceitful, closed off, and intransigent, if you are selfish, do not have good humanity, and are always stuck in notions, imagining how God should act, if when you encounter something that does not fit your notions, you misunderstand God and never comprehend His will, then will you be able to obtain the truth? No, you will not. In the end, when you cannot obtain the truth, will you blame yourself, blame others, or complain about God, saying that God is not fair? (We will blame ourselves.) That’s right, you will blame yourself. So what should someone like this do in order to obtain the truth? They must seek the truth and put it into practice, and they must behave and practice in specific ways. If they understand without practicing, they still cannot obtain the truth. When selfishness and schemes for your own profit appear in you, and you realize it, you should pray to God and seek the truth in order to address this. The first thing you should be aware of is that in essence, acting in this way is a violation of the truth principles, it is harmful to the work of the church, it is selfish and despicable behavior, it is not what people of conscience and reason ought to be doing. You should put aside your own interests and selfishness, and should think of the work of the church—that is what God wills. After praying and reflecting on yourself, if you truly realize that acting thus is selfish and despicable, putting aside your own selfishness will be easy. When you put aside your selfishness and schemes for profit, you will feel grounded, you will be at peace, joyous, and will feel that a person of conscience and reason should think of the church’s work, that they should not fixate on their personal interests, which would be so selfish, despicable, and devoid of conscience or reason. Acting selflessly, thinking of the work of the church, and doing things exclusively to satisfy God is just and honorable, and will bring value to your existence. Living this way on earth, you are being open and honest, you are living out normal humanity, and the true image of man, and not only do you have a clear conscience, but are also worthy of all the things bestowed upon you by God. The more you live like this, the more grounded you will feel, the more peaceful and joyous you will be, and the brighter you will feel. As such, will you not have set foot upon the right track of faith in God?

Whether or not people’s corrupt dispositions of selfishness, despicableness, deceitfulness, and lies can be resolved depends on whether or not they are able to accept the truth. Those who are able to accept the truth all hate their corrupt dispositions, they hate selfishness and despicableness, and their deceitfulness and lies. They are unwilling to let these things contaminate or constrain them. As long as those who love the truth come to know their own corrupt dispositions, then it is easy for them to cast aside this negative garbage and rubbish. Those who do not love the truth treat these negative things as treasures. They love their own profit too much, they are unwilling to rebel against the flesh, and they are too intransigent. As a result, they are never able to understand what God’s will is, nor are they able to submit to Him. It is because people do not love or accept the truth that they believe in God for so many years in such a muddleheaded way. When the time comes for them to bear testimony, their tongues are tied, and they are not able to say anything. People have listened to sermons about the truth for many years, and God’s disposition is always made known to them, so those who pursue the truth should already understand it, but those who do not love the truth are not willing to open themselves up before God. Their hearts are unwilling to give up on the preferences of the flesh, so they dare not practice simply opening themselves up to God. They just want to freely enjoy the grace God gives men, but they do not want to practice the truth to satisfy God. God says: “If you want to obtain My grace, if you want to obtain these truths, there is only one condition—you must give up your own profit, and give Me your true heart.” People are unable to meet even this one condition, and yet they still want to demand God’s grace, to demand peace and joy, and they want to obtain the truth; but they do not want to give their true hearts to God, so what kind of people are they? Are they not of Satan’s kind? Can they do both at the same time? In truth, they cannot. Whether or not you understand God’s will, His disposition is always openly made known to people. If a person never accepts the truth, or if they understand the truth without putting it into practice, then it is because they are too intransigent and they have not given their heart to God. Thus, they are never able to obtain the truth, nor are they able to come to know God’s disposition. This is not because God treats people unfairly. People often quote God as saying: “God treats who He will with grace,” but they do not understand the meaning of this phrase. On the contrary, they misunderstand God. They think that grace comes from God, that He gives it to who He will, and that He is good to who He will. Is this the case? Is this not human notions and imaginings? God treats people based on their essence. When people are able to be mindful of God’s will and accept the truth, then they are blessed by God. If people do not accept the truth and resist God, then the result is different. In reality, God is fair to everyone and treats them according to principles, it is just that there is a portion of mankind whose hearts are too hard, so God must treat them differently. The things God does to each person are different, which explains that He does things according to principles. God is righteous to every person. For example, there are many people who do not come before God to seek the truth. They only want to rely on their own two hands to build a good life and future for themselves. They want to master their own destiny and future, and they think that the mastery of their destiny is in their own hands. They do not accept God’s sovereignty or plans, nor do they submit to Him, and they want God to satisfy them. When they stumble and fail, they complain that God is unfair. Is this reasonable? They are too ignorant and stubborn. But they always think they are smart. They think: “Some people give up their families, and they don’t want anything. They spend all their time doing their duty, giving their true heart to God, and what do they get in return? They don’t know what God is going to do in the future, but they offer everything up, leaving themselves no way out. These people are so stupid! See how smart I am, I follow this way: I have one foot in each camp. I don’t have to give anything up, nor do I have to delay anything, and in the end I will also be saved.” Is this person smart, or are they an idiot? (They are an idiot.) They are definitely an idiot. When compared with one another, smart people and ignorant, stubborn people are different in their humanity. Smart people have good humanity, while ignorant, stubborn people have bad humanity. Smart people accept the truth, while ignorant, stubborn people do not, and their final outcomes will be different.

In doing one’s duty, there are two main types of people. One is the kind who sincerely expend themselves for God, while the other is the kind who always leave themselves a way out. Which kind of person do you think God will approve of and save? (Those who sincerely expend themselves for God.) God wants to obtain those people who sincerely expend themselves for Him. Actually, God does not have many requirements of people. He only requires that people are sincere as they do their duty; He does not want to take away your personal profit. God has given you opportunities to train in doing your duty and to develop all kinds of talents, and what He wants is people’s sincerity. No matter where you do your duty or what your duty is, God has given you the greatest possible space in which to develop your talents and skills, and in the end, God wants to allow you to obtain the truth in all kinds of environments and duties, to understand His will, and live out the semblance of a human. This is God’s will. God does not want to take everything away from you, rather, He wants to complete everything for you—He wants to give you everything. Some people are always narrow-minded; while they have studied some professional knowledge in the secular world, they think that if they do their duty, they will have neglected all their professional knowledge. Even if it did fall into disuse, would that really amount to a loss? By doing your duty now, you will obtain truth and life. By comparison, which is more precious: a little bit of useless, neglected knowledge, or truth and life? Not to mention, the truly useful things you have learned can be developed and utilized as you do your duty. Will your memory of these things not be more robust if you have used them to do your duty? Remembering things you do not use is a nuisance and an inconvenience, so letting them fall into disuse is hardly unfortunate. Right now, your hobbies and skills are developed as you do your duty. Also, during this time, you do your duty as a created being, you are able to understand the truth, and enter onto life’s right road. What a happy event, what good fortune! However you look at it, it is not a loss. As you follow God, distance yourselves from places of sin, and distance yourselves from groups of wicked people, at the very least your thoughts and hearts will not continue to suffer the corruption and trampling of Satan. You have come to a piece of pure land, come before God. Is this not tremendous good fortune? People are reincarnated generation after generation, up to the present, and how many such chances do they have? Is it not only the people who are born in the last days who have this opportunity? What a great thing this is! This is not a matter of loss, it is the greatest of good fortune. You should be so happy! As created beings, among all creation, among the few billion people on the earth, how many people are there that have the opportunity to testify of the deeds of the Creator in their identities as created beings, to do their duty and responsibility among the work of God? Who has such an opportunity? Are there many such people? There are too few! What is the ratio? One in ten thousand? No, there are even fewer! Especially you who can use your skills and the knowledge you have studied to do your duty, are you not extremely blessed? You do not testify of a man, and what you do is not a career—the One you serve is the Creator. This is the most beautiful and valuable thing! Should you not feel proud? (We should.) As you do your duty, you obtain God’s watering and provision. With such a good environment and opportunity, if you do not obtain anything substantial, if you do not obtain the truth, then will you not feel regret for the rest of your life? So, you must seize the opportunity to do your duty, and do not let it pass you by; pursue the truth in earnest as you do your duty, and obtain it. This is the most valuable thing you can do, the most meaningful life! There is no person or group of people among all created beings who are more blessed than you all. What do the unbelievers live for? They live to be reincarnated, and for the excitement of the world. What do you all live for? You live to do the duty of a created being. The value of such a life is so great! So, you should not look down on the duty you do, much less abandon that duty. Doing your duty well and completing God’s commission—that alone is the most valuable and meaningful matter.

June 29, 2015