Words on Serving God (Excerpt 75)
In their work, church leaders and workers must pay attention to two principles: One is to do their work exactly according to the principles stipulated by the work arrangements, never violating those principles and not basing their work on anything that they might imagine or on any of their own ideas. In everything they do, they should show concern for the work of the church, and always put the interests of God’s house first. Another thing—and this is most crucial—is that in all things, they must focus on following the Holy Spirit’s guidance and do everything in strict keeping with God’s words. If they are still capable of going against the Holy Spirit’s guidance, or if they stubbornly follow their own ideas and do things according to their own imagination, then their actions will constitute a most serious resistance against God. Frequently turning their back on the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit will only lead to a dead end. If they lose the work of the Holy Spirit, then they will not be able to work; and even if they do somehow manage to work, they will accomplish nothing. These are the two main principles that leaders and workers must abide by while working: One is to perform their work in exact accordance with the work arrangements from the Above, as well as to act according to the principles that have been set forth by the Above; and the other is to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit within them. Once these two principles are grasped, they will not be so liable to make mistakes in their work. Your experience in doing church work is still limited, and when you work, it is highly adulterated by your own ideas. At times, you may not understand the enlightenment or guidance within you that comes from the Holy Spirit; at other times, you appear to understand it, but you are likely to ignore it. You always imagine or deduce in a human manner, acting as you think appropriate, with no concern at all for the Holy Spirit’s intentions. You go about your work solely according to your own ideas, setting aside any enlightenment from the Holy Spirit. Such situations occur frequently. Inner guidance from the Holy Spirit is not transcendental; it is, in fact, very normal. That is, in the depths of your heart, you feel this is an appropriate way to act, and that it is the best way. This thought is actually quite clear; it did not come of pondering, and sometimes you do not fully understand why you should act this way. This is often none other than enlightenment from the Holy Spirit. This happens most often to people with experience. The Holy Spirit guides you to do what is most appropriate. It is not something you think about, rather it is a feeling in your heart that makes you realize that this is the best way to do it, and you like to do it that way without knowing why. This may come from the Holy Spirit. One’s own ideas often come from thinking and considering, and are all adulterated by self-will; they always think of what benefit and advantage it is to them; every act that humans decide to do has these things in it. Guidance from the Holy Spirit, however, in no way contains such adulterations. It is necessary to pay careful attention to the guidance or enlightenment from the Holy Spirit; particularly in key issues, you must be careful in order to grasp it. People who like to use their brains, and who like to act on their own ideas, are the most liable to miss such guidance or enlightenment. Adequate leaders and workers are people who possess the work of the Holy Spirit, who are attentive to the work of the Holy Spirit at every moment, who submit to the Holy Spirit, have a God-fearing heart, are mindful of God’s will, and tirelessly pursue the truth. To satisfy God and bear witness for Him properly, you should often reflect on your motives and adulterations in the performance of your duty, and then try to observe how much of the work is motivated by human ideas, how much is born of enlightenment by the Holy Spirit, and how much is in keeping with God’s words. You must constantly, and in all circumstances, reflect on whether your words and deeds are in line with the truth. To practice frequently in this manner will put you on the right track of serving God. It is necessary to possess the truth realities to achieve service to God in a way that is in line with His will. Only after they have understood the truth can people have the ability to discern and recognize what emerges from their own ideas and what emerges from human motives. They are able to recognize human impurities, as well as what it means to act according to the truth. Only after they can discern can it be ensured that they can put the truth into practice and be fully in line with God’s will. Without understanding the truth, it is impossible for people to practice discernment. A muddleheaded person might believe in God his entire life without knowing what it means to have his own corruption revealed or what it means to resist God, because he does not understand the truth; that thought does not even exist in his mind. The truth is beyond reach for people of overly low caliber; no matter how you fellowship on it with them, they still do not understand. Such people are muddleheaded. In their faith, muddleheaded people cannot testify to God; they can merely render a bit of service. If leaders and workers are to perform their duties well, then their caliber cannot be too bad. At the very least, they must have spiritual understanding and comprehend things purely, so that they can easily understand the truth and practice the truth. Some people’s experience is too shallow, so sometimes they have distortions in their understanding of the truth, and then they are prone to make mistakes. When they have distortions in their understanding, they are not up to the task of practicing the truth. When there are distortions in people’s understanding, they are likely to follow regulations, and when they follow regulations, it is easy to make mistakes, and they aren’t up to the task of practicing the truth. When there are distortions in understanding, it is also easy to be misled and used by antichrists. Therefore, distortions in understanding can lead to many mistakes. As a result, not only will they fail to perform their duties well, they can also easily go astray, which harms the life entry of God’s chosen people. What is the value of someone doing their duty like this? They have simply become someone who disrupts and disturbs the work of the church. Moreover, lessons must be learned from these failures. In order to fulfill the work that God entrusts, it is necessary for leaders and workers to grasp these two principles: One must strictly adhere to the work arrangements from the Above in performing duty, and must pay attention to and submit to any guidance from the Holy Spirit in accordance with the word of God. Only when these two principles are grasped can one’s work be effective and God’s will be satisfied.
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