Spreading the Gospel Is the Duty to Which All Believers Are Honor-Bound (Part Four)
Why do some people who have believed in God for many years walk the path of antichrists? This is determined by a person’s nature essence. All evil people, all people without conscience and reason are people who do not love the truth. This is why they naturally choose to walk the path of antichrists after they come to believe in God. Everyone believes in God, reads God’s words, and listens to sermons, so why do some people choose to take the path of pursuing the truth? Why do other people choose to take the path of pursuing fame, gain, status, and blessings? Their objective environments are similar, but the quality of their humanity and personal preferences are different, so they choose different paths. God’s sheep listen to God’s voice. God has spoken so many words in the last days, and God’s words have been expressed for nearly 30 years, but these people don’t understand them. So, are they God’s sheep? (No.) If they are not of God’s sheep, they are unworthy to be called human beings. What do those people who do not love the truth and do not pursue the truth concentrate on? What is it they pursue? It should be easy to see that their desire to pursue status and blessings is particularly strong, and that they won’t listen to the truth no matter how you fellowship on it. They not only cannot accept the truth, but stubbornly continue their pursuit of fame, gain, and status. Not only do they lack all self-knowledge, but they always compare merits and boast of their own capital everywhere. What is the nature of such conduct and practices? (It is courting death.) That is correct. It was in this way that Paul courted death. After listening to sermons for so many years, people are still capable of being like Paul without repenting. They lack any understanding of the truth and do not accept the truth at all. Is this not courting death? At first, when people don’t understand the truth, they exhibit some behaviors and practices that come from human will and are adulterated, or they may exhibit some deal-making or individual intentions and desires. God does not look at this because they don’t understand the truth. When God’s words had not yet been made so clear to man, God allowed man to have his corruption, adulteration, weakness, and deal-making. God has now spoken much and to a sufficient extent, and yet you still insist on believing that the things you hold on to and the behaviors you practice are correct. You deny these words of God, or even disdain and ignore the words of God, looking without seeing and listening without hearing. What is God’s attitude toward such people? How does God view such things? God will say that you don’t love the truth, that you don’t love positive things, and that you are a disbeliever. Such people do not believe that there is truth, that everything God has said is the truth and man’s path to salvation. They do not accept this fact. Although people like this do not deny these words of God, they do not accept them either. From their behavior and what they reveal, you can see that they are not on the path of pursuing the truth. On what path are they walking? By relying on their own capital and achievements to seek rewards from God, they are walking the path of Paul. No matter how Paul is dissected, they will not identify the same things in themselves. No matter how Paul is dissected, they will not turn themselves around, repent, or come to know themselves. They still believe that all they do is right and in line with the truth. No matter how many words God expresses, no matter how He dissects and condemns such people, they will never reflect on themselves. Their views on belief in God, their intention to gain blessings, and their practice of making deals with God remain, unwavering and unchanged. What is the reason for this? They can’t understand God’s voice and they don’t listen to God’s voice. No matter what God says, it is of little importance to them. “You say what You want, but let me go my own way. You are You, I am me. Whatever You do or whatever Your intention is, what is it to me? It has nothing to do with my life or death.” What sort of people are these? (Disbelievers.) Who do they believe in? They believe in themselves. Are such people not detestable? (They are detestable.) They are detestable and should perish. They are not the ones who will be saved by God. Therefore, among those who spread the gospel, if there are many people who always rest on their laurels, flaunt their seniority, and ask God for rewards for past merits, they will be in trouble. Because of their conduct, their outcome will be determined as courting death. So, when you meet this kind of person, is it appropriate for you to admonish them against courting death? If they still can spread the gospel, don’t say that to them. You can remind them, warn them, and guide them by indirect hints to help them as much as possible. However, if their essence and disposition are truly one and the same as Paul’s, how should we treat them? Knowing that they are courting death, but not telling them the truth and still encouraging them and allowing them to continue to render service: this is called humiliating Satan. Is it appropriate to do this? (It is appropriate.) It is God’s wisdom to take advantage of Satan’s service. If you treat your brothers and sisters in this way, it is an evil deed and God loathes it. If you take advantage of Satan’s service, this is called humiliating Satan. This is called wisdom. The great red dragon, Satan, and the devils serve God’s chosen people. Is this the work of God? (Yes, it is.) How should we view this? This is the wisdom of God. This thing cannot be condemned. This is the truth. You have to use Satan, this thing, to your advantage. If you don’t use it for the purpose of service, some work will not be done well, and it won’t be easy to achieve results. People who walk the path of pursuing the truth and of salvation also have a stage of laboring, but this is not permanent. God does not use wisdom to make you render service, but rather you must go through this stage. Because you don’t understand the truth, you do many things without principles but according to your own will. In terms of your essence, you are unwilling to labor, but in terms of objective fact, you are laboring. It is only when people labor well and gradually understand God’s intentions and the truth that they can transition, step-by-step, to the pursuit of the truth, truly perform their duties, submit to God and accord with His intentions, and step-by-step, embark on the path of salvation. However, this laboring is a completely different thing than taking advantage of Satan’s service. It is of a different nature. God only takes advantage of Satan’s service; God does not save Satan. Laborers who believe in God with a sincere heart and can pursue the truth are the recipients of God’s salvation. In the case of some laborers, their services are used when they are useful, but if they disrupt and disturb the work of the church, they must be severely warned. If they do not repent, they will be kicked out and expelled. This is how they must be treated. If they can normally labor honestly and do not disturb the work, then let them continue to labor. Maybe one day they will understand the truth and can be saved. This is a good thing, so why not do it in good spirits? You cannot condemn someone before it is time. What is the reason that some people are condemned? They are condemned because the disturbances they cause are too serious. No matter how much you fellowship on the truth with them, they will not be able to accept it and will perform their duties poorly. Their nature essences are one and the same with Paul’s. They stubbornly refuse to repent. Without a doubt, they are courting death. Such people are sure to be in the church. They are sure to be among those who spread the gospel. What do you think, is it a good thing to let such people know the real truth? Are you afraid that such people will know the real truth? (We are not afraid.) If people like that can recognize themselves in this and repent, that’s a good thing. You need to give people a chance. Don’t write them off. However, if they know the real truth, but fail to change their ways and continue to cause disturbances, then this is truly courting death. When people are not on the right path, no courtesy is afforded to them. People such as these should be cleared out and eliminated.
Basically, these are the principles concerning the practice of spreading the gospel. In spreading the gospel, people must fulfill their responsibility and deal with every potential gospel recipient earnestly. God saves man to the greatest extent possible, and people must be considerate of God’s intentions, they must not carelessly pass over anyone who is seeking and investigating the true way. What’s more, in spreading the gospel, you must grasp the principles. For every person who is investigating the true way, you must observe, understand, and get a grasp on such things as their religious background, whether their caliber is good or bad, and the quality of their humanity. If you find a person who thirsts for the truth, who can comprehend God’s words, and who can accept the truth, then that person has been predestined by God. You should try with all your might to fellowship about the truth with them and win them over. However, if they are of poor humanity and awful character, and their thirst is a pretense, and they keep arguing, and cling to their notions, you should set them aside and give up on them. Some people who are investigating the true way have comprehension ability and are of great caliber, but are arrogant and self-righteous. They adhere tightly to religious notions, so you should fellowship about the truth to them with love and patience to help solve this. You should only give up if they do not accept the truth no matter how you fellowship with them—then you will have done everything you can. In brief, do not give up on anyone who can acknowledge and accept the truth lightly. As long as they are willing to investigate the true way and able to seek the truth, you should do all you can to read more of God’s words to them and fellowship more of the truth to them, and to testify to God’s work and resolve their notions and questions, so that you may win them over and bring them before God. This is in line with the principles of spreading the gospel. So, how can they be won over? If, in the process of engaging with them, you ascertain that this person is of good caliber and good humanity, you must do everything you can to fulfill your responsibility; you must pay a certain price, and use certain ways and means, and it doesn’t matter what ways and means you employ as long as you use them to win that person over. In sum, in order to win them over, you must fulfill your responsibility, and use love, and do everything within your power. You must fellowship on all the truths that you understand and do all the things you should do. Even if this person is not won over, you will be left with a clear conscience. You will have done all that you can. If you do not fellowship the truth clearly, and the person keeps clinging to their notions, and if you lose your patience, and give up on them of your own accord, this is being negligent in your duty, and for you, this will be a transgression and a stain. Some people say, “Does having this stain mean that I have been condemned by God?” Such matters depend on whether people do these things intentionally and habitually. God does not condemn people for occasional transgressions; they need only repent. But when they knowingly do wrong and refuse to repent, they are condemned by God. How could God not condemn them when they are clearly aware of the true way and yet deliberately sin? Viewed according to the truth principles, this is being irresponsible and perfunctory, and at the very least, these people have not fulfilled their responsibility; this is how God judges their mistakes. If they refuse to repent, they shall be condemned. And so, to reduce or avoid such mistakes, people should do all they can to fulfill their responsibilities, actively trying to address all the questions that people investigating the true way have, and definitely not putting off or delaying crucial questions. If a person investigating the true way repeatedly asks a question, how should you respond? You should not mind taking the time and trouble to answer them, and should find a way to fellowship clearly about their question, until they understand and do not ask it again. You will then have fulfilled your responsibility, and your heart will be free of guilt. Most importantly, you will be free of guilt toward God in this matter, because this duty, this responsibility, was entrusted to you by God. When everything you do is done before God, done facing God, when everything is held up against God’s word, and done according to the truth principles, then your practice will be entirely in accord with the truth and God’s requirements. In this way, all that you do and say will be of benefit to people, and they will approve of and easily accept it. If the words you speak are illuminating, practical and clear, then you will be able to avoid contention and confrontation, enable people to understand the truth, and edify them. If the words you speak are muddled and ambiguous, and your fellowship on the truth is opaque, unilluminating, and impractical, you will not be able to resolve people’s notions and problems, and they will be liable to seize on your faults, to pass judgment on you, and to condemn you. These problems will be even less easy for you to resolve; you may have to fellowship on several more passages of God’s words before people can understand the truth and accept it. So, one must be wise in speech when spreading the gospel, and one must fellowship transparently about the truth, in a way that can resolve people’s notions and imaginings, winning their admiration and sincerely convincing them. It is easy to achieve results by doing this; it enables people to accept God’s work in a seamless manner, which is of benefit to the expansion of the gospel.
Regarding the principles to be followed in the practice of spreading the gospel, in another respect, those who spread the gospel must be dignified and upright in their conduct, speak and behave in the manner of saints, exercise proper restraint in all they do in the process of spreading the gospel, and behave in a disciplined manner. Some potential gospel recipients do not appreciate being disturbed by strangers, so how should you preach to them? Some people preach the gospel by calling on the phone three times a day, running over to people’s homes after they come home from work, and reading God’s words to potential recipients as soon as they see them no matter how busy these recipients are. These people never choose the right times, so they are liable to become annoyances. Some people are so stupid that they even speak this way to those investigating the true way: “This world is so evil, so drop what you are doing, don’t go in to work. Do you know what time it is? The great catastrophe is imminent. It is urgent that you believe in God!” Is spreading the gospel in this way appropriate? What consequences will this bring? They are nonbelievers who have not yet accepted the work of God. Is it necessary to speak to them in this way? In addition, do not meddle in the private life or personal views of potential gospel recipients. For example, some people say the following to those they are trying to win over, “Look, do you still believe in God? We believers don’t wear these clothes of nonbelievers.” “People who believe in God don’t eat this sort of food, you have to eat such and such.” Isn’t this poking your nose into other people’s affairs? This is called foolishness. If your words and actions at a certain moment are not apt, they may cause the price you paid spreading the gospel to go to waste. For this reason, you must act cautiously at every turn, restrain and regulate your conduct, and behave in a disciplined manner. What is it we call discipline? It means to do things in accordance with the rules, to think of what sort of words would be apt for the duty that you are performing, and what kind of words the recipients of the gospel would be willing to hear. Do not do or say things that they will hate or be annoyed with, do not ask invasive questions, and never interfere in their private affairs. Say someone has two sons and you say to them, “It’s good to have two sons, but wouldn’t it be better to have a daughter as well?” What does this matter to you? When some potential gospel recipients know English, you say, “Your English is really excellent. It would be great if you would come to believe in God and perform your duty in God’s house. The house of God lacks people like you.” Is it appropriate to speak this way? No two people are alike. After these people come to believe, they may be more active and enthusiastic than you, but they do not yet believe nor accept, so do not force things before the proper time, and never meddle in other people’s lives. Do you understand?
There is another situation that can occur. In the process of spreading the gospel, some people accept God’s work of the last days and understand some truths. Then, they think themselves to be far above the average, everyday people. They despise all nonbelievers and even despise and look down on anyone they meet that is investigating the true way. They think, “You people, if you don’t accept God’s work of the last days, you are blind, foolish and ignorant, a thing fit for nothing but death, and completely worthless. Today, it is my duty to preach the gospel to you, but otherwise I would ignore you!” What kind of attitude is this? You have done nothing more than accept God’s work of the last days. You stand no higher than anyone else. Even if you were a king, would you not still be just one of the corrupt human race? In what way are you greater than others? Do not despise people who are investigating the true way. Even if you preach the gospel to them, you are no greater or better than them. Do not forget that, just like them, you are a corrupt human being. You must be clear about this matter in your heart. Do not always look at others as if you were doing some great service to the world or guiding all sentient beings to their deliverance. You always think, “You people who have not accepted the gospel are pitiful. Every day, I burn with anxiety for you.” What is this fire you burn with? You haven’t yet solved your own problems, but you burn with anxiety over the affairs of others. Is that not hypocritical? Are you not deceiving others? Don’t hide behind a mask of virtue. In fact, you are nothing at all. Even if you have accepted God’s new work for 20 or 30 years, you are still a nobody. Even if you live with God every day and talk to God face to face, you are still an ordinary person. Your essence remains unchanged. To spread the gospel to others is to perform your duty. This is your obligation, your responsibility. You should understand that no matter how many people you win over, you remain you. You have not become another person, you are still a corrupt human being. Though you have won over many people, you should not be proud, much less arrogant. Do not boastingly wave around your achievements, saying, “I have spread the gospel for many years, and I have summed up a great deal of experience and many lessons. Whoever I preach to, I can tell at a glance whether they are good or bad people and I know when to preach and when to abstain. When it is proper to spread the gospel, I know whether it will be easy or possible. I can always find a way to bring the gospel to those it is possible to spread it to.” Although you have experience in spreading the gospel, your life entry is still very shallow. Although you have some experience of life and have changed somewhat, you sometimes brag to show off. Is this not a problem? People who have gifts are most prone to pompous and empty talk. They always think themselves better than others, they always like to lecture potential gospel recipients, and always want people to look up to and worship them. Is this not a problem of disposition? Can one bear witness for God after only changing their behavior, and not their disposition? If you can offer no testimony of dispositional change, if you can only talk about the truth of the gospel and testify for God, are you fit for God’s use? After people accept the true way, they need to understand the truth of life entry and the truth of practice. If you don’t have real experience, and you don’t know how to talk about your experiential testimony, are these not deficiencies? If you always focus on talking about doctrines so that people look up to you and think highly of you, if you always want to stand in a high position, is this testifying for God? Absolutely not. This is testifying for oneself. This is having a corrupt disposition. If you don’t undergo judgment and chastisement, how can you achieve a change in your disposition? Some of those who spread the gospel speak of some experiential testimonies, and their listeners benefit much from this, they are moved, and they admire these speakers from the bottom of their hearts. And yet, these gospel spreaders still have God-fearing hearts. They do not despise any potential gospel recipient. They are able to talk to people from the heart, get along with people and make friends normally, and they indeed possess a bit of the reason of normal humanity. How do they accomplish this? This proves that they have gained something in their belief in God. At the very least, they understand some truths, have some knowledge of themselves, and their life dispositions have changed somewhat, so they no longer become arrogant. When they see people who have not accepted the gospel, they think, “I was the same back then, so I should not belittle them. I’m not that great myself.” Their mentality is no longer as it was. Once people recognize their own nature, they will think it only natural when they see potential gospel recipients reveal a bit of ignorance, foolishness, or weakness. Do not ridicule others, and do not embrace the feeling or attitude that everyone else is part of the masses of common, ordinary people. If you hold this attitude, it will hinder and compromise your work of spreading the gospel. However, sometimes these sorts of corrupt states will arise in your heart when you see many people who have only just come to believe in God. For example, say you have accepted God’s work of the last days for 20 years and you have been spreading the gospel for 10 years. When you are among potential gospel recipients, they will always feel that you are superior to them, saying, “You have believed in God for 20 years, while we have only just accepted Him. Our stature is still very small and, by comparison, we are certainly far below you. You are an adult, and we are just newly born babes.” What should you think when they make such comparisons? “Although I accepted God earlier than them and have believed longer than they have, I am still far behind in terms of life entry and the truth. I have not yet accepted God’s real judgment and chastisement, and I am still a long way off from being saved and made perfect.” You know how you truly are in your heart. No matter how people look up to you or how highly they regard you, how do you feel? “I’m just an ordinary person, do not look up to me.” You will be disgusted and will feel no enjoyment because, in your heart, you clearly see that you are nothing at all, that you do not understand any truths, and that you can only say some words and doctrines. People are foolish and prone to look up to others. If you gladly enjoy the feeling of being looked up to and take pleasure in it, you are in trouble. If you are annoyed with it and want to leave this kind of situation, if you don’t like others treating you in this way, that proves that you have some knowledge of yourself. This is the correct state, and in it, you will not be likely to commit errors or do wrong things.
The situations I am talking about are basically ones that people commonly encounter in the process of spreading the gospel. On the negative side of things, you need to avoid some inappropriate ways of speaking, practices, and behaviors and make sure that your disposition does not reveal inappropriate things that do not conform to the truth. On the positive side, while performing this duty, you should have an attitude toward your duty of loyalty and of taking responsibility to the very end. In this way, you can adequately perform your duty. In this process, you should gradually seek the truth and the principles so as to satisfy God’s intentions, and strive to persevere and remain loyal to the end in the performance of every duty you have. No matter what sort of duty you perform, you should be able to satisfy God and be remembered by Him for those things you did adequately and commendably. During the period of spreading the gospel, you must strive to commit fewer and fewer transgressions and to make fewer and fewer mistakes. There must be fewer and fewer times when you engage in deal-making or seeking rewards, or have the ambition and desire to do so, while performing your duty. At the same time, you must actively seek to fulfill your responsibilities, fulfill them absolutely, and regard your duty as a thing that falls to you. Also, strive to do your duty so that, when you think back on it after many years, your conscience will be clear. This means that you must gradually reduce the number of things that make you feel that you owe a debt. You cannot continue on without changing at all. Suppose that you didn’t do your duty well when spreading the gospel to a potential recipient, and this made you uncomfortable, as if you owed a debt, and you felt that you hadn’t done enough prep work. However, when you spread the gospel afterward, your state was the same and you made no changes. This means that you did not grow at all during this period. What does this lack of growth represent? It means you have not practiced or gained this aspect of the truth; it means that these things that I am fellowshipping about were never anything but doctrines to you. If you commit fewer and fewer transgressions, make fewer and fewer mistakes, feel less indebted and fewer pangs of conscience, what does this represent? It means that you are performing your duty with greater and greater purity, and that your sense of responsibility is growing stronger and stronger. In other words, you are becoming more and more loyal in performing this duty. To give an example, in the past, spreading the gospel relied on human methods, rather than on fellowshipping the truth or interpreting Bible verses. Now it seems that such an approach is not appropriate, that it is not what a person who accepts God’s commission should do, and that it is something of a dishonor to God. Have you had this feeling? Maybe you don’t feel this way now, but one day, after you have equipped yourself with more and more truths of various types and have gained a certain stature, you will adopt a more accurate and practical attitude and perspective when looking at your past practices. This proves that your internal state has become normal. Right now, you don’t feel anything about your previous practices, you don’t hold them in contempt, and you don’t have a correct view or evaluation of them. Instead, you are indifferent. Isn’t this very troubling? This proves that you possess none of the truths relevant to such things. You even adopt a numb attitude to the various evil deeds and tricks of man and those practices of his that are not in keeping with the truth, accepting, sympathizing with, and even going along with these dirty things. Then what is your internal state? You love unrighteous things, you love things related to sin, and you love things that are not in keeping with but contrary to the truth. This is very troubling. If you continue to act in accordance with these practices, you will face a very serious consequence. What is this consequence? You are constantly accumulating evil deeds and straying farther and farther away from the path of salvation. Why do I say that you are straying farther and farther? It is because, in the process of performing this duty, you fail to seek the truth and do not abide by the principles in the things that you do. You just follow your own will and preferences. So how can you perform your duty adequately? The purpose for which you perform your duty is not to enter into the truth, but to complete a task and then give an account of yourself. What you follow is not the will of God, and what you accept is not the commission of God. The natures of these things are different. Therefore, as you go about spreading the gospel, you are not walking the path that leads to salvation, but the path of laboring, the path of Paul who made deals with God. Sooner or later, based on all that you do, God will determine for you the same outcome as Paul. Won’t this be the result? It will, with absolute certainty. Conversely, if in the process of spreading the gospel, your methods and means are all practical, your point of departure and intention are to satisfy God and repay God’s love, and the principles you act on and the path you walk are in accordance with God’s requirements and in complete keeping with the truth, what result will be attained by such practice? Your understanding of the truth will become deeper and deeper, you will handle affairs more and more in line with the principles, your life will grow more and more, and your faith, love, and loyalty to God will gradually increase. In this way, you will embark on the path of salvation. At the same time, in the process of performing your duty, you will gradually examine your own rebelliousness and corruption and examine your various corrupt dispositions. Then, in the process of performing this duty, you will be able to restrain yourself more and more and possess a God-fearing heart and submission. Afterward, your sense of responsibility will grow stronger and stronger and the purity of your loyalty will increase more and more. Your fear of God will also deepen. At the same time, you will gain more and more experience and knowledge of the reality of various truths. In this way, the path you walk will be completely opposite to the path taken by Paul. This is Peter’s path of the pursuit of the truth. This path is the path of salvation. As for the final result, you will experience it yourself. God will approve of you, and your heart will know more and more peace and joy. In God’s eyes, it does not matter how many twists and turns your path has taken, how many detours you have gone down, or what negativity, weakness, or even failures and falls you have had. When what you have done, what you have revealed, and what you have manifested are viewed as whole, the path you walk will be the path of salvation. So then, how will God determine your outcome? God will not rush to determine your outcome. Methodically and with gentle patience, God will support you, help you, and lead you on the path of salvation. He will allow you to accept His judgment and chastisement, trials and refinements, and will finally perfect you. In this way, you will be saved, thoroughly and completely. From this perspective, therefore, by performing the duty of spreading the gospel, do people not have the opportunity and the possibility to embark upon the path of salvation? (Yes.) They have this opportunity and it is entirely possible. It just depends on whether they can pursue the truth and take the path of pursuing the truth.
Today, we have primarily fellowshipped on various truths concerning performing the duty of spreading the gospel. Let us return to the topic that we started our fellowship with. What should we call those who perform the duty of spreading the gospel? (People who perform the duty of spreading the gospel.) That is correct. They cannot be called witnesses, preachers, and certainly not messengers of the gospel. In the final analysis, they are people who spread the gospel. Never call yourself a witness. People cannot witness anything, and it is enough if they bring no shame to God. Calling yourself a preacher is even worse. You are ever further from this. What you preach is not the “way” and the things you preach about are far distant from the “way.” Therefore, if we settle on the name “people who spread the gospel,” everyone will have an accurate definition of this duty, which is that they are just people who perform this duty. They are not witnesses or preachers at all. They are far removed from those things. If you call them witnesses or preachers, won’t they feel themselves to be superior to others? It doesn’t take much for people to show off and puff themselves up. Is showing off and puffing oneself up in this way a good thing or a bad thing? (A bad thing.) If you don’t exalt and raise up people, they always want to puff themselves up. If you do exalt them, calling them witnesses, preachers, or messengers of the gospel, can you imagine what they would be like after receiving such praise? They would puff themselves up so much that they would float away. Now, do you have a basic understanding of the various truths involved in the duty of spreading the gospel? (Yes.) To perform the duty of spreading the gospel well, you must be equipped with many truths. Some people say, “I don’t spread the gospel, so do I need to equip myself with the truth?” Other people say, “I don’t know when I will be able to spread the gospel. I have never spread the gospel and I am a poor speaker, so how can I spread the gospel?” You may not be able to spread the gospel, but can’t you equip yourself with the truths concerning spreading the gospel? Can’t you practice speaking and meeting people? If you have a sense of mission and a sense of responsibility, if you want to perform this duty well and cooperate with God, then you should equip yourself with the truths concerning spreading the gospel. You must equip yourself with the truths of the vision and of practice. It is imperative for God’s chosen people to be equipped with truths regarding these two aspects because it is never superfluous to equip yourself with these truths. They pertain not only to spreading the gospel, but are truths that must be understood by mankind. How do people benefit from understanding these truths? What blessings can it bring to them? Maybe everyone can understand the general idea, but as God’s work continues to progress and deepen, people will continue to experience God’s work and their understanding of the truth will likewise continue to progress and deepen. Their relationships with God will grow closer and closer and their associations with Him more and more frequent. People will, step-by-step, hold up the truths pertaining to the vision and to God’s work for comparison against God’s deeds and God’s attitude toward every individual. This step-by-step process of comparison is the process of knowing God. As a created being, you have believed in God for a long time, but you don’t know who God is or how He appears and works. Isn’t such belief too muddled and confused? You have performed your duty for so many years. But if, in the end, you still know nothing of God, then your belief in God has been pointless. If you hear devils spreading some rumors about God, would you believe them? (We would not.) You say that you would not believe such things now, but if you truly do not understand God, come the day you hear these rumors, you will have doubts and ponder the words in your heart, thinking, “Could it be true? Could God do such a thing?” Feeling uncomfortable, you will be unwilling to do your duty. Having fallen under the influence of rumors, you will feel that the road ahead is bleak and gloomy, so you will become lost and confused. People are always lost and confused, why is that? They don’t know where God is, or whether there even is a God, so they are always lost and confused. In what conditions does this confusion arise? It arises when many seemingly contradictory things perplex people so they cannot see the direction to take clearly and do not know which way to go. Thus, they become lost and confused. Can you see clearly and discern the many things before your eyes and follow the correct path? This involves your understanding of God, your comprehension of the truth, and the degree to which you are equipped with the truth. What does it mean when people are always lost and confused? Do they in fact really not see the road ahead? Are the lost and confused really blind? No, it is a blindness of the heart and a numbness to the truth, to God, and to judgments on all people, events, and things. Why are they numb? It is because they do not understand the truth, do not know of God’s deeds, do not know of God’s disposition, and have no basis upon which to make accurate judgments about all things. Therefore, they have no standard for judging and characterizing anything. They are fuzzy, they see everything without clarity or understanding, and cannot make judgments. Neither can they define or see through to the bottom of things. This is called numbness. Numbness leads to blindness, and blindness leads people to feel lost and confused. That’s how it works. So why is it that people who have listened to sermons for so many years still cannot discern things? It is because such people do not understand the truth. They cannot see through anything, but instead blindly follow regulations and jump to conclusions. Can this be considered blindness? Even though it cannot be said that they are completely blind, they are partially blind. In fact, if you don’t understand the truth, you can’t see through to the bottom of anything. No matter how long someone has believed in God or how many sermons they have listened to, if they are never able to understand the truth, this means that the problem is their caliber. This is directly correlated with whether or not they have spiritual understanding. Most people who have listened to sermons for many years can understand something of the truth, and maybe you actually understand quite a bit, but just lacked a suitable environment, so you have not put some truths to use and still feel that you don’t understand them. When you truly experience it yourself, when you have to make a choice or need to consider things seriously, maybe the relevant aspect of the truth will gradually become clear to you. Right now, your impressions are full of rough, empty outlines and doctrinal things. As you gradually grow in experience and age, many truths will gradually become more practical and realistic in you. More and more, this will allow you to see the essence of the truth. In this way, you can truly attain an understanding of the truth and view problems with sensitivity. No matter how many sermons people who don’t understand the truth listen to, they will not be able to see through the manifestations of humanity, of corrupt dispositions, of various human states, and of the essences of various types of people, even with both of their eyes wide open. They are blind. However, from the outside, a person who pursues the truth does not seem to be paying attention, but they will have a reaction to others’ behavior and demeanor in their heart and unconsciously form an impression of the matter. Where does this impression, this feeling, come from? The truths that people understand give them the ability of discernment. This gives such people a definition for the essence of that sort of behavior, practice, or manifestation. Where does this definition come from? It is the truth that brings people to understand, and it is the truth that gives people discernment and judgment. Right now, you understand some truths and have a bit of discernment about certain things. However, your discernment is not very accurate, so you still do not feel something like a sense of reassurance, and you are still in the process of groping your way forward. Some people say, “In that case, You should fellowship with us on every single thing.” This is not necessary. Humans have human responsibilities, and God has His own scope of work. I have told you each aspect of the truth, what is left is for you to experience all kinds of people, events, and things in your daily life. The Holy Spirit will act and orchestrate. People are required to do one thing: to engage in human cooperation and human pursuit. If you don’t engage in this pursuit, no matter how clearly I explain it, you won’t get it. I will not forcibly indoctrinate you, force you to know, understand, and gain entry. I will not do that, and neither will the Holy Spirit. It is only with your willing, voluntary, and active practice and entry into the truth that the truth will unconsciously bear fruit within you. When the truth bears fruit, your heart will be filled with light. This is understanding the truth. But if you do not understand the truth, then you will be numb to everything, slow to respond, and unable to see to the bottom of anything. For example, when someone does something, and someone else says it is an evil deed and of such-and-such a nature, you will not know and be unable to see for yourself. When someone tells you the answer, you might accept and admit it based on doctrines, but in terms of essence, you will still be unable to give your assent. If you can’t give your assent, do you really understand? You do not understand, so you can only follow regulations to deal with the things you encounter. This comes about because you do not understand the truth.
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