Some people report issues concerning false leaders and antichrists in a very circuitous way. They don’t dare to report them in their local church, and instead go to churches in other areas to do so, afraid that someone in their local area will spread the news, and the evil people will find out and torment them. These people have such little stature. You believe in God, yet you’re so afraid of evil people and devils? Do devils have such great power? Can devils take your life? Is your destiny in the hands of devils? Why are you so afraid of them? They are just evil people; what can they do to you? Even in a worst-case scenario, this country has laws—what are you afraid of? This isn’t China where devils run rampant; this is a democratic country under the rule of law. And that’s not to mention the fact that you have brothers and sisters in the church—what can those evil people do to you? Some people get this scared just reporting issues with leaders and workers. This isn’t a problem of them having little faith; these are useless cowards and wimps who don’t even deserve to live! The breath that God gave you is wasted on you; giving it to an animal would have been better. Even an animal, when pressed, can bite a person. You are alive yet lack even this bit of fortitude; you are too cowardly! Though some people don’t dare to fight evil people head-on when they encounter them, they employ wisdom to safeguard the church’s work. They report the evil people’s issues to the higher-ups and join forces with those who love the truth to remove those evil people from their posts. They have this kind of resolve: “You are an evil person, but I’m not afraid of you. I won’t let you do evil to disturb and sabotage the work of God’s house. I won’t let you get your way. I’ll risk my life to fight you—what can you do to me? At worst, you’ll take my life, but as long as I have breath in me, I will fight you to the end!” Do you have this faith? Those useless cowards do not have such faith. When they see devils disturbing the church’s work, they know in their hearts that this is wrong, that these are devils and antichrists doing evil. But they think, “I can’t expose or report them; I shouldn’t make any trouble for myself. The less trouble, the better; protecting myself is critical. If I get expelled from the church by evil people for exposing them, and I’m deprived of even the chance to believe in God and attain salvation, and I can’t even do my duty, won’t I have been completely eliminated?” They don’t dare to expose evil people, greatly fearing their retaliation. So, when the great red dragon frenziedly suppresses and persecutes God’s chosen people, they are certainly afraid too, and if arrested, they will surely become Judases and betray God. So, if you are afraid of evil people in the church, and do not dare to expose them when you see them doing evil, then isn’t this surrendering to Satan? God supplies you with the truth, gives you faith, and has protected you and kept you alive until now. You breathe the breath that God gave you, enjoy the truth He supplies to you, and enjoy His grace. You have such good conditions of church life and live quite comfortably. But when there are evil people causing disturbances in God’s house, you see this and discern this, yet you don’t dare to say even a single word, you don’t even dare to breathe heavily—what kind of creature are you? You don’t even deserve to live! You don’t report issues in your local church to the local leaders, but instead go to churches in other areas to report them. With this kind of petty, cowardly mindset, can you accomplish great things? And yet you say that you want to bear witness to God and be an overcomer—you are nothing, you are worse than a beast! Even a dog knows to protect its master. If a stranger comes, a dog barks with all its might, fearing a threat to its master’s safety. Some dogs are not big and can be knocked to the ground with a single kick, but they are not afraid and still bark with all their might—they do this to protect their masters. Some dogs even risk their lives to protect their masters. These people lack even this bit of faith and are less loyal than a guard dog is to its master—they are all useless wretches! They enjoy God’s grace and provision freely, not giving anything in return, and even take it for granted that God should love people and show people mercy. When they see the church’s work being disturbed and sabotaged, they don’t feel upset in their hearts. This means they are worse than a beast, far worse than a guard dog. What should you do when you encounter devils again in the future? If you can’t see through them, and don’t know what bad things they plan to do when they smile, or what wicked intentions are hidden in the look in their eyes, then you can first observe them. Find a reliable person to supervise them, and see what they say and do in secret, and what they plot with their accomplices. You must nip all their plots and schemes in the bud, not letting them succeed, and not allowing the interests of God’s house to suffer losses. Some people have this kind of resolve: “I must guard the gate of God’s house well, I must be a good guard dog. I don’t know how others would treat this matter, but as for me, I won’t let it slide; I will fight devils to the end!” This is called loyalty to God; this is not them trying to prove how capable they are. “I’ll rely on God to do this; there’s no chance of any devil getting their way or succeeding when I’m here! I will guard the gate for God’s house, protect the brothers and sisters, protect the interests of God’s house, and safeguard the work of God’s house. There’s no chance of anyone causing disturbances or engaging in sabotage—if I see anyone doing those things, I will not be lenient with them. If they ought to be dismissed, they will be dismissed, if they ought to be expelled, they will be expelled, and if they ought to be cleared out, they will be cleared out. I will absolutely not hold back!” Do you have this faith? (Yes.) If you are quite capable when it comes to fighting humans or animals, but when you have to fight devils, you become timid and afraid, and you retreat into your shell like a tortoise, then God says you’re finished, you’re good for nothing, you won’t be able to gain the truth, and you cannot attain salvation. Fighting devils is a true battle; it’s a battle to bear witness for God. It’s a battle that overcomers, saints, and followers of God must engage in, the stance they must take, and the determination and resolve they must possess. “Fight devils to the end! It’s either them or me! I absolutely will not be afraid, I absolutely will not shrink back, and I absolutely will not be discouraged!” Do you have this determination? (Now we do.)

Some individuals are too small in stature. When they encounter people with power and status, especially those who are fierce-looking, seasoned and extremely cunning, as well as insidious and crafty, they feel fear in their hearts. Despite knowing full well that these people are devils, they still insist on flattering, coaxing, and accommodating them, and do not dare to offend them in the slightest, let alone expose them. When they see devils and Satans, they do not dare to uphold any principles, nor do they have any of the decorum of a saint. Some even say, “We must fit in with these people and build good relationships with them, otherwise the church’s work cannot progress.” Clearly, these people serve no good purpose in God’s house, and clearly, they are those who are characterized as devils and antichrists, and those who should be expelled or cleared out, yet some individuals tolerate them. These individuals feel that they cannot beat those people; they are fearful and terrified in their hearts, worried about their own situation, and worried about being isolated or picked on by them. They lack the wisdom to deal with them, they lack sufficient stature to fight them, and they repeatedly shrink back, and repeatedly give in and compromise. As a result, three months pass, then six months, and the church’s work ends up in a state of paralysis, and church life ends up in disarray. They clearly see these evil people and devils causing disturbances, they see these local bullies running rampant in the church, yet they dare not expose or handle them, afraid of implicating their own safety, status, reputation, and interests. How can your status, reputation, and personal safety be so important? Isn’t any item of work in God’s house more important than that little life of yours? Even if, in a worst-case scenario, you take some risks out of loyalty to God, won’t God protect you? If you use wisdom and act according to the principles to safeguard the interests of God’s house, will God hand you over to Satans for them to abuse and grievously harm you at will? (No.) God cherishes this kind of person dearly, He can’t cherish them enough; how could He hand you over to Satans? Your faith is too small. You are just like Peter back then—the Lord Jesus called to him from the sea, saying, “Come,” meaning that Peter should walk on the sea as if it were flat ground, but the more Peter walked, the more afraid he became, and he lost faith in God. If God asks you to come, He has made a promise to you and can definitely protect you; He won’t let you encounter danger. Even if your life is in danger, how should you approach this? Shouldn’t you just willingly entrust your life to God? What’s the big deal? Are devils really that terrifying? The great red dragon suppresses and arrests believers, and yet you are able to persist in your faith; such a harsh environment does not daunt you. However, when a few small devils appear in the church, you become so scared you shrink right back into your shell, and feel compelled to follow them in doing evil. Isn’t this losing your testimony? (Yes.) It can be said that devils getting their way in some churches and certain work environments, throwing the church’s work into such chaos and leaving it in shambles just as they wished to, leading to brothers and sisters lacking a suitable environment for doing their duties, is related to some people seeing through these devils yet not standing up to fight them, and instead compromising with these devils and Satans to protect themselves. It can be said that these people deliberately allow devils to do evil and disturb the church’s work. If you see through to devils disturbing the church’s work yet do not fight them or expose them, isn’t this allowing devils to do evil? If, upon discovering devils doing evil, you promptly expose, handle, and stop them, then the losses can be reduced and the chaos mitigated to a certain extent. Isn’t this beneficial to both the work of God’s house and the life entry of the brothers and sisters? So why don’t you do it? If you don’t, you have no loyalty to God. Regardless of whether you are a leader or worker at any level, or an ordinary follower, as long as you see through to devils doing evil and disturbing the church’s work but do not expose them to safeguard the interests of God’s house, then you have not stood firm in your testimony, you are a muddleheaded person, and you do not deserve to live! You have not fulfilled the responsibility of a human being, so you do not deserve to breathe the breath that God has given you. Do you understand? (We understand.) What should people do in this matter? Regardless of what kind of devil you face—whether deviant, evil, insidious, ruthless, or cunning—and regardless of their purpose, as long as you see them disturbing the church’s work and you discern it, then you should stand up to expose and stop them. This is where your responsibility lies. Some say, “I don’t know what to say to stop them.” Then pray to God and treat them using wise methods. For now, do not provoke them; do not provoke them by directly exposing them. Instead, try every means to stop them from succeeding in their schemes and purposes. First safeguard the church’s work to the greatest extent possible and ensure the interests of God’s house are protected. Then, find an opportunity to consult with those who understand the truth, or with leaders and workers, about the most appropriate way to handle the devil. This work must be done with wisdom. On the one hand, you must fight against Satan, stop the evil deeds of Satans and devils, help the brothers and sisters gain discernment, and protect the brothers and sisters as well as the work of God’s house. On the other hand, you must also protect yourself to the greatest extent possible. If it is truly necessary for you to face danger or adversity, then you should do so as your bounden duty, not considering your own way out or safety. This is due to the needs of the church’s work and it is where your responsibility lies. You must do it, and you should do it; otherwise, you will be unworthy of the life God has given you, and the provision He has supplied you with for so many years. Isn’t that so? (Yes.) Everyone should have such a stance when it comes to the treatment of devils. You are a created being made by God’s hand. Regardless of whether you belong to the category of humans or another category of living creatures, as long as your current identity is human, a created human being, then you should shoulder the responsibilities of a created human being, you cannot shirk them. Suppose that you know someone is stealing offerings but you neither care nor ask about it, saying, “I’m afraid of offending them. If I expose them and offend them, not only will they make things difficult for me behind my back, but they’ll also never let it go. They’re an evil person! I don’t dare to expose or report them!” In that case, you’re finished, you are a useless coward, and you have failed to fulfill your responsibility. So, what should you do if you want to fulfill your responsibility? Find an opportunity to write a note to your leader, don’t sign your name, and clearly state the facts so the leader knows and can promptly handle and stop this, thus protecting the offerings from losses. The leader doesn’t need to know who reported it; it’s enough that God knows. So, what is the principle that should be upheld in the matter of protecting offerings? What is the correct mentality? It is to protect the offerings from losses and not let evil people succeed. This is your responsibility. God’s house isn’t asking everyone to take risks to protect its interests, to protect the brothers and sisters, to safeguard its work, and to protect God’s offerings; it isn’t asking you all to offend other people or put yourselves in difficult situations for the sake of this. That’s not what God’s house means. If you are afraid of evil people or of offending people, you can report issues anonymously; you can also expose evil people and devils anonymously. That way, although you haven’t signed your name, you have still fulfilled your responsibility and obligation, and you have not shirked your responsibility. If you can do this, then you have not been derelict in your responsibility. This is because you have this heart, feeling that this is where your responsibility lies, and that you should fulfill this responsibility, safeguarding the work of God’s house and protecting its interests. This is a good deed, and God will remember it. Here’s the plain truth for you: There is no set form for fighting against devils; being able to defeat devils, safeguard the interests of God’s house, protect the various items of church work, protect church life, and safeguard the life entry of the brothers and sisters—this is the highest principle. Do you understand? (We understand.) There is no set form for fighting against devils; you can use the method of pruning them, you can use the method of exposing them, and of course, you can also use the method of dismissing them and reassigning their duties, as well as the method of talking things over with them and comforting them in order to hold them off—using various wise methods to restrict devils while at the same time safeguarding the different items of church work. This is being wise. You know in your heart that these people are devils, and that no matter how you treat them, it is not wrong, because they are not true brothers or sisters, they are not true human beings, and they have not been selected by God. They have come to God’s house as servants of Satan to disturb the church. You should have this attitude toward devils: “If you have come here to cause disturbances, I will not be lenient with you. If you have come here to engage in sabotage, that is absolutely not allowed! If you don’t cause disturbances or engage in sabotage, and you quietly keep to yourself in the church, I will ignore you. But once you make a move or say something, intending to do evil, I will not be lenient with you! Whatever bad things you want to do, whatever fallacies you want to spread, you’ll have to get past me first—see if I spare you or not. Otherwise, don’t even think about disturbing the church’s work!” This is the attitude and principle people should have in how they treat devils, and it is also the testimony people should bear.

Why does God express the truth and supply people with the truth? It is so that believers in God can gain the truth as their life, and so that people can discern devils, get rid of devils, and thoroughly rebel against Satan, the evil devil. People have heard so many truths and received so much provision of the truth, yet ultimately, when they encounter devils doing evil and causing disturbances, they fail to discern them. Some people have some discernment of devils but do not dare to expose them, and even more so do not dare to handle them—people of this sort are good-for-nothings. You have no testimony, and you have not stood on God’s side—you have broken God’s heart. The purpose of people pursuing and understanding the truth is for them to shun devils, reject devils, and be able to achieve true submission to God, stand on God’s side, and fulfill God’s commission. When it comes to devils, whenever one is discovered, clear that one out, and whenever two are discovered, clear the pair of them out, so that the church remains pure. In this way, Satan and devils will be thoroughly shamed and will no longer be able to disturb the church’s work. How they cause disturbances in the secular world is none of our concern; what illegal acts they commit, what bad things they do, and whom they fight with in the secular world has nothing to do with us. We neither interfere with this nor inquire about it, and we don’t care about it either. But there is just one thing: Their causing such disturbances in God’s house is not permissible, and they must be handled, stopped, and cleared out. Firstly, leaders and workers should take the lead in doing this work; they should take this as their unshirkable responsibility. Secondly, all supervisors, team leaders, and ordinary brothers and sisters should possess this stature and also have this testimony. Some people say, “Is God’s house launching some kind of movement? Is this tormenting people?” This is not tormenting people; this is tormenting devils. Tormenting devils is what should be done; we do not torment people. Brothers and sisters have revelations of corruption, but they are normal people, and they have conscience and reason, as well as minimum standards in their actions and self-conduct. Even if their pursuit of the truth and life entry are somewhat poor, and they are small in stature and do not possess much of the truth reality, we should be tolerant and patient with them, treat them correctly, and handle them according to the principles. But the principle for how to treat devils is different. If they are willing to render service, then we can use them to render service. If they are unwilling to render service, then we should handle them by clearing them out; we should not be lenient with them at all! This is the principle for the treatment of devils. When brothers and sisters have weaknesses or revelations of corrupt dispositions, they can be forgiven and pardoned, and treated with tolerance and understanding. But devils are not brothers and sisters. If they only say some negative or irresponsible things, but they are not spreading heresies or fallacies to mislead people, and they have not caused any disruptions or disturbances, then they can be spared, and you can turn a blind eye to them. If you see they are about to cause some problems and do evil, and it is reaching a certain scale, then they must be exposed and restricted. If they cannot be restricted, clear them out directly. Devils think the church is an easy place to muddle along; they think that anyone can whip up a storm in the church, just like in society. They are wrong to think this way. The church is a place for God’s chosen people to pursue the truth and attain salvation, not a place for devils to whip up a storm, nor a place for devils to engage in their own undertakings or realize their own dreams, and neither is it a place for devils to satisfy their ambitions and desires. Once devils give themselves away and are about to carry out their own enterprises, establish their own independent kingdoms, and disturb and sabotage the church’s work—once their cloven feet are revealed—what should you do at this time? Act according to the principles; the brothers and sisters must stand up and fight against these devils, and they absolutely must not show mercy or be lenient. If you are always lenient with devils, then you are being cruel to yourself. They are always misleading and disturbing people in the church, and sabotaging the church’s work. Under such circumstances the faith and knowledge of God you have gained over many years of belief will be depleted in just a few days through the misleading and disturbance of these devils. Therefore, if you want to gain the truth, you must proactively stand up to fight and contend with devils. When you see their cloven feet fully exposed and their hideous countenance revealed, you should expose them and characterize their essence, and then cleanse them away. Is this not what God’s chosen people should do and the responsibility they should fulfill? (Yes.) This is precisely the testimony that overcomers should have. Everyone should understand this and never forget it. Not fearing Satans and devils doesn’t mean disassociating from them as a formality, instead it means standing up to fight against devils in the face of major issues of right and wrong, in the face of matters of principle, in the matter of choosing one’s path, and in matters involving the interests of God’s house, stopping their evil deeds, protecting the interests of God’s house, and safeguarding the normal environment for the brothers and sisters to do their duties. This is the obligation of every one of God’s chosen people.

Haven’t we more or less finished our fellowship on these two manifestations—inveterate lying and deviance—of those with the essence of a devil? The viewpoint and stance people should hold toward this kind of person are clear, and the responsibilities people should fulfill are also clear. So, what issue do you face next? It is how to take the manifestations and revelations that we’ve fellowshipped on and match them up to these people, and then discern them, and see through to the essence of this kind of person. Once you have discernment, you will be clear in your heart about what the attributes of various kinds of people truly are, your principles for how to treat people will be more accurate, and you will not do foolish or stupid things, or you won’t do them as much. That’s all for our fellowship today. Goodbye.

January 27, 2024