Many people have notions about the Jewish exile from Judea, but people who seek the truth can gain enlightenment from this event. If a person has the comprehension ability, then this event will make them see that God’s righteous disposition does not tolerate offense. But some people do not have the comprehension ability. If they feel that what God did does not match their notions, they should first agree that God is righteous, and that His disposition does not tolerate offense; this is for certain. Then, they should pray and seek the truth, and look at what the Jews did to offend God’s disposition and incur His wrath. Only in this way can people thoroughly resolve their notions, come to understand God’s disposition through this event, and submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements. It is no easy task for people to understand the truth. No matter whether you have previously enjoyed God’s grace and blessings, or have done work through accepting His guidance and commission, or whether you have offered things up, or given something up—even if people view you as having made some sort of contribution, under no circumstances should you view these things as capital. That is the first thing. The second thing, is that you should never view these things as chips that you can hold over God and use to dictate how He treats you. The most important thing, is that when God’s words and attitude toward you do not match up with your notions, or seem insensitive toward you, you must not resist or oppose Him. This is the third thing. Can you accomplish these three things? These three things pertain to reality. Is it easy for these states to occur in people? (Yes, it is.) Why do these states occur in people? Why do they manifest themselves in this way? God manages the entire human race, and reigns sovereign over all things, but does God view these things as capital? Does God take credit for it? Does God have such revelations, saying, “I’ve done all these great things for you. Why don’t you thank Me?” (No, He does not.) God does not have these things in His mind. So why does man expect credit from God for every little thing he gives up or expends, or every little contribution he makes? Why does man manifest and reveal himself in this way? The answer is simple. It is because man’s disposition is corrupt. Why does God not manifest or reveal Himself in this way? It is because God’s essence is truth, and truth is holy. This is the answer. People manifest and reveal themselves this way because they have corrupt dispositions. Can this problem be resolved? Can the three things I just mentioned resolve this problem? (Yes, they can.) None of the three things I mentioned are easy to put into practice, but there is a solution. After hearing these three things, people might think, “We’re not allowed to do this, and we’re not allowed to do that. We’re just supposed to be an empty-headed puppet.” Is this how it is? (No, it is not.) Then what is it? Let Me tell you, God does not let you do these things because it is for your own protection. This is the first thing. Your method of pursuit is not in line with the truth, and is not the correct path. Do not repeat the mistakes of people who came before you. If you treat the things you give up and expend as capital and chips that you can cash in, and then when God’s attitude toward you seems inconsiderate you oppose Him, then your attitude is not in line with the truth, there is no humanity in it, and it is not right. Even if you have a thousand reasons, your attitude is still wrong; it is not compatible with the truth in any way, and amounts to resisting God. It is not the attitude a person should have. This is the second thing. The third thing is that if you cling to this attitude, you will never understand or gain the truth. Not only will you not gain the truth, but you cause yourself to lose out; you will lose the dignity and duty that a created being should have. If you think, “I’m sticking to my attitude, and no one can do anything about it! I believe that I’m right, so I will stand by my thinking. My ideas are reasonable, so I will stand by them to the end!” sticking to something so unswervingly will not benefit you in any way. God will not change His attitude on account of your resolve or because you hold fast to something. In other words, God will never change His attitude just because you stick to yours. On the contrary, God will assume an attitude toward you that is commensurate with your rebelliousness and unswerving resistance. This is the fourth, and most important, thing. Is there anything you do not understand about these four things? Are any of the things I mentioned just empty words which do not fit with man’s real state, and which are of no help to the practical side of man’s life? (No, all of them are helpful.) Are any of the things just empty theories, rather than paths to practice? (No.) Are these four things helpful with regard to how people should enter into truth realities in their everyday lives? (Yes, they are.) If you are clear in your understanding of these four things, put them into practice, and experience them, your relationship with God will remain normal. These four things will protect you during various temptations, or when faced with all sorts of people, events, and things. When you are in a rebellious state, think of these aspects of the truth, compare yourself to them, and practice accordingly. If, at first, you are unable to put them into practice, you should pray, and at the same time recognize why God acted as He did. You should also reflect on and recognize what corrupt states and revelations of corruption you have which are making you unable to practice or submit. If you are able to seek the truth in this way, your state will remain normal, and you will naturally enter into these truth realities.

Regardless of the issue, if you do not understand the truth, you will either be acting on notions and imaginings, or else acting rebelliously and resisting. This is one-hundred percent certain. Sometimes, from the outside, it may not look like you are resisting God, doing bad things, or causing a disruption or disturbance, but that does not necessarily mean that your actions are in line with the truth. Sometimes, you may act based on notions and imaginings, and while it may not constitute a disturbance or cause damage, so long as it is not in line with the truth, your actions are at odds with God’s intentions. There are other times where you may have notions about God in your mind. Even if you never put them into words, you are holding on to these notions and imaginings inside, thinking that God should do this or that, and dictating how He should be. You have done nothing wrong on the outside, but inside, you are in a state of continual rebelliousness and resistance to God. For example, I just talked about having notions and limiting definitions about God’s love. Even if your notions and imaginings have not caused you to create any disturbances or disruptions to God’s work, your state proves that your heart is constantly limiting and misunderstanding God. What can we conclude from this? That you are continually resisting God. Do I not speak the truth? (Yes, You do.) If there comes a day when something similar to the Jewish exile from Judea happens, your notions will make you unable to say “Amen” to God’s actions, or have praise, fear, or submission as a response to God’s actions. Instead, you will misunderstand, complain, and even be slightly antagonistic toward God in your heart. Deep down inside, you will say to Him, “God, You shouldn’t have done that. It was so inconsiderate! How can You treat Your creations this way? How can You treat Your chosen people this way? I can’t sing Your praises or applaud Your actions after seeing what You’ve done. I am suffering inside and feel forlorn, like I can’t rely on the God I worship without bounds. The God I believe in is not like this. The God I believe in should not treat His created beings this way. The God I believe in is not this cold-blooded or cruel. The God I believe in treats humans gently and attentively, like babies, making them feel abundantly blessed and full of warmth, not icy cold or indifferent like now.” When these laments come up deep inside, you do not view the facts taking place in front of you as being the work of God. You do not admit it or say “Amen,” let alone praise it. As such, are your emotions and state that of submission to God, or opposition? (Opposition.) It is obvious that it is not true submission. There is no submission here, only complaint, opposition, disobedience, and even anger. Is this the attitude a created being should have toward its Creator? No, it is not. Your heart is a contradiction; you think, “If God did this, why does my heart not approve? Why do the majority of people not accept it? Why are His actions so inconsiderate toward man, and why are they full of blood and slaughter?” At that moment, the God in your heart and the Creator that actually exists in real life are in contradiction, and at odds with each other, are they not? (Yes, they are.) So in which God should you believe? At this moment, should you choose to believe in the God of the notions deep in your heart, or the God who is performing real actions right in front of you? (The God who is performing real actions right in front of us.) In terms of their subjective wishes, people are very willing to believe in the God who is performing real actions right in front of them, but because of man’s notions, selfish desires, and feelings, they choose to cover up the God in their hearts, and force themselves to accept the God who is performing real actions right in front of them. However, deep down inside, they still are unable to accept all the facts of what the Creator is doing; they still keep themselves hidden and live in their own little world, talking to and interacting with the God of their imagination tirelessly, while the real God always seems vague. There are even people who think, “I wish the real God didn’t exist. My God is the God I imagine in my heart, who is full of love and makes people feel His warmth. He is the real God. The practical God is not the one I imagined, because the things He does let me down and I can’t feel any warmth from Him. In particular, I can’t look past how so many people are condemned and eliminated by His judgment and chastisement.” What kind of person says this? It is what disbelievers say, and those who do not accept the truth. These are all the various states that occur in people when they do not understand God’s works, and when there is a contradiction between their imaginings and the practical work of God. So, how do these states occur? For one thing, people have corrupt dispositions; and for another, when something happens and the facts do not match people’s notions and imaginings, bursting their bubble, shattering their dream, and making them feel that their intent and desire for blessings cannot be satisfied, what do they finally decide to do? Run away, compromise, or dig in their heels. Some people even sit on the fence, saying, “I will accept both sides. The God that was in my heart originally is God and is love. And the One who is doing great deeds and wielding authority in front of my eyes is also God. I will accept both, and give up neither.” People often live in this sort of state, keeping a foot in both camps. People often get caught up in the idea of God in their minds. They run around, expend themselves, make offerings, and work for this vague God. They will pay any price to perform their duties, even giving up their own life and sacrificing everything they have. No matter how people act, or what states arise in them, are people’s actions good or evil in the eyes of the real Creator when a God like this exists in their minds? Is it submission or resistance? Clearly, they are not good deeds and not worth commemorating. It also reveals that people have not truly submitted or offered themselves up; rather, they are full of resistance, rebelliousness, and opposition. It is precisely because people have these states, and often live within these states, that when people awake from their dream and live in the real world, they realize that the actions of the God in real life are unable to satisfy their psychological and spiritual needs. Rather, His actions cause people to be hurt in various ways, make them feel He is indifferent in various ways, and inconsiderate toward man in various ways. There are even some people who doubt, saying, “Is God love? Does He still love people? It says God is concerned for man and loves him as Himself. Where do you see that? Why have I never seen it?” This is a problem! People often live in these states, causing the contradiction between man and God to become ever more extreme, and the distance between them increasingly wide. When people see God do something that fits with their notions, they think, “My God has done something earth-shattering. He is the God I truly want to believe in. Only He is my God. I am willing to be His created being. Only He is my Creator.” However, when difficulties, negativity, or weaknesses arise in their everyday lives, and the God they imagine is not able to help them or fulfill their needs all the time, their faith in God weakens or even disappears. What causes all of these states that people have, and all of the ways in which they act and reveal themselves? It is because people do not understand the Creator at all. You do not understand Him; that is the only reason. This is the root of all of the contradictions, distance, and misunderstandings between man and God. So, how do people solve this problem? First, they must resolve their notions. Second, people must experience, undergo, seek, and ponder every item of work that God does in them, and get to the point where they are able to completely submit to every arrangement God lays out for them, and to all of the people, events, and things that God orchestrates for them. What is the purpose of submitting? To recognize and understand all of these truths.

Do you find the subject matter that we have just fellowshipped on deep? Can you understand it? Are you able to grasp it? (Yes, we can.) You should be able to understand it in theory, but does understanding it in theory amount to understanding and accepting the truth? (No, it does not.) So what does amount to understanding and accepting the truth? You must frequently examine yourself in your daily lives, but what should you examine? (Examine whether we have the states, or display ourselves in the ways, that God speaks of, and what notions and misunderstandings people have about God.) Exactly. You must examine these things; examine what corruption you reveal, and what notions and imaginings you have. Some people say that they are unable to examine themselves. That is easily remedied by looking at others first. Other people are a mirror for yourself. When you see people revealing certain dispositions or states, flip it around, examine yourself, and compare yourself; see if you have these same notions and imaginings, and if you are in the same state. If you are, then what should you do about it? Should you lay yourself bare and dissect these things, or cling to them and wait for them to “blossom and bear fruit”? (We should lay ourselves bare and dissect them.) You must lay these things out and dissect them so that everyone can benefit, so that through it, everyone can accurately recognize corrupt states, understand the truth, find a way out, and resolve these sorts of problems together. What is the point of dissecting notions and passive, negative states? (So that people can find a way out of their notions and passive states.) And what is the point of finding a way out? To gain the truth. The point of fixing your notions is to make you recognize that they are wrong, and that they are not something you should possess. You should let them go, not cling to them. Then, actively seek what is right, what positive things actually are, and what the truth actually is. When you accept positive things and the truth, and treat them as the principles of practice, thinking, and perspectives that you should possess, then there is change, and you will have gained the truth. So, how should people view the Jewish exile from Judea in light of these truths? What common notion do people have about this event? (That God should not have kicked the Jews out of Judea, and that He should have protected the Jews. That no matter how they resisted Him, and despite the fact that they nailed Him to a cross, He should have pardoned them of their sins forever, and that only this is God’s love.) These are the notions of man. Are they not absurd? If God acted according to man’s notions, would He still have a righteous disposition? Although people were upset about being exiled, their resistance and condemnation of God crossed the line for God; their actions were no different than Satan’s, so how could God not be angry about it? Some people cannot accept the truth, and think, “How can God treat people this way? People can’t accept this sort of love, it is so inconsiderate toward them! It does not look like love. God has no love if this is how He treats the Jews.” This denies God’s love, and it is man’s notion. What is man’s notion? (Man limits his definition of God’s love.) Yes, when people limit their definition of something, it is a notion, and it is not in accordance with the truth, nor is it a truth. What have people limited their definition of? They have limited their definition of how God works; they think that God must work in certain ways in order for it to be the work of God, and that these are the ways in which He should work. People have a limited definition of how God works, and this limited definition is their notion. So, what sort of definition do people have of the way God does things? What about their definition makes them feel distaste for how God acted in this situation, and makes them misunderstand and oppose Him? (People think that God should have bestowed an abundance of grace and blessings upon the Jews, but instead, He acted outside of these notions and imaginings, and outside of their expectations; He drove the Jews out and made them wander the earth. People do not understand this, and it gave rise to substantial notions.) Many people have notions and misunderstandings about the actions God took toward the Jews. In other words, people are uncomfortable with God’s actions and think He should not have acted that way. Is this a notion? (Yes, it is.) Then, when people think God “should not” have done what He did, is that not limiting their definition of God’s actions? How do you know that God should not have acted this way? What is your basis for saying God should not have acted this way? If you think He should not have, but He did, then does that mean God is not God? Does that mean what God did was wrong, and not in line with the truth? Is man not foolish in this respect? Man is exceedingly foolish and ignorant, arrogant and self-righteous; it is the easiest thing for him to form notions about God, and limit his definition of God. If people like this cannot accept the truth it is very dangerous, and they will most likely be eliminated.

Many people have notions and opinions about the Jewish exile from Judea, and they do not understand God’s intentions, but this is a very easy problem to fix. I will tell you a simple way to do it. Listen, and see if it can address these difficulties of yours. The simplest way, first off, is for people to know that they are created beings, and that it is perfectly natural and justified for created beings to submit to their Creator. If created beings constantly have notions about their Creator and cannot submit to Him, then that would be a great rebellion. People must understand that there is a fundamental principle of the Creator’s treatment of created beings, which is also the highest principle. How the Creator treats created beings is completely based on His management plan and on His work requirements; He does not need to consult any single person, nor does He need to get any single person to agree with Him. Whatever He ought to do and however He ought to treat people, He does, and, no matter what He does or how He treats people, it all accords with the truth principles, and the principles by which the Creator works. As a created being, the only thing to do is to submit to the Creator; one should not make any choice of one’s own. This is reason that created beings ought to have, and if a person does not have it, then they are not fit to be called a person. People must understand that the Creator will always be the Creator; He has the power and the qualifications to orchestrate and hold sovereignty over any created being as He pleases, and does not need a reason to do so. This is His authority. There is not one among the created beings who has the right or is qualified to pass judgment on whether what the Creator does is right or wrong, or how He should act. No created being is entitled to choose whether to accept the sovereignty and arrangements of the Creator; and no created being is entitled to make demands of how the Creator holds sovereignty over and arranges their fate. This is the highest truth. No matter what the Creator has done to His created beings, and no matter how He has done it, the humans He created should do only one thing: seek, submit, know, and accept everything put in place by the Creator. The final result will be that the Creator will have accomplished His management plan and completed His work, having caused His management plan to progress without any obstructions; meanwhile, because the created beings have accepted the Creator’s sovereignty and arrangements, and submitted to His sovereignty and arrangements, they will have gained the truth, understood the Creator’s intentions, and come to know His disposition. There is yet another principle I must tell you: No matter what the Creator does, no matter how He manifests, and no matter whether what He does is a great deed or a small one, He is still the Creator; whereas all mankind, which He created, regardless of what they have done, and regardless of how talented or gifted they might be, remain created beings. As for created humanity, no matter how much grace and how many blessings they have received from the Creator, or how much mercy, lovingkindness, or benevolence, they should not believe themselves to stand apart from the masses, or think they can be on equal footing with God and that they have become highly ranked among created beings. Regardless of how many gifts God has bestowed on you, or how much grace He has given you, or how kindly He has treated you, or whether He has given you a few special talents, none of these are your assets. You are a created being, and you will thus forever be a created being. You must never think, “I am a little darling in the hands of God. God will not ever abandon me, God’s attitude toward me will always be one of love, care and gentle caresses, with warm whispers of comfort and exhortation.” To the contrary, in the eyes of the Creator, you are the same as all other created beings; God can use you as He wishes, and can also orchestrate you as He wishes, and He can arrange as He wishes for you to play any role among all sorts of people, events, and things. This is the knowledge people should have, and the reason that they should possess. If one can understand and accept these words, their relationship with God will grow more normal, and they will establish a most legitimate relationship with Him; if one can understand and accept these words, they will orient their station properly, assume their place there, and uphold their duty.

What do you think after listening to these words? Will you still misunderstand God? Some people say, “Given that God treats people this way, when God said that men are like ants, and less than maggots in His eyes, it looks like this was not just theoretical, but reality! Man is not as dear to God, and God is not as close to man as people imagined.” People’s hearts turn cold, as though water has been thrown on a flame, and their fervor lessens. Would you say it is better for their hearts to turn cold, or for them to constantly have misunderstandings about God? (It is better for their hearts to turn cold.) Only by cooling off for a while can they understand God’s disposition. The reason that created beings should possess, is to use the truth as their principle for everything; they should use the truth as their basis for how they view everything, and they should use the truth as their principle and foundation for everything they do. This is the correct way to be. But on the contrary, people always feel in their hearts that their relationship with God is like their relationship with another person, and that their interactions should be on equal footing. Is this a good situation? (No, it is not.) How is it not? People have put themselves in the wrong position; they do not treat God like God. This is because people have too many misunderstandings about God, but God will not change His attitude as a result of people’s misunderstandings or hang-ups. On the contrary, not only will He not change His attitude, but He will continue to work in people according to the principles, just as before, and arrange and reign sovereign over the lives of all humankind. However, man is prone to forming notions about God, and resisting and rebelling against Him, so man must suffer greatly. People want to sidle up to God and pad their connection with Him, and they talk about their feelings, capital, talents, capabilities, how much they have given, their past accomplishments, and every other sort of reason. Can people gain the truth when they always live in these states? No, they cannot. If you do not have a heart of submission to God, always have fallacious views, are unable to assume the position of a created being, have unbridled ambitions, and always crave a higher position, it will ultimately make you unable to approach your duty properly, or correctly understand God’s demands and attitudes toward you. Even though you are constantly being refined and constantly suffering, you are unable to let go of your notions and imaginings, and even think that you are the one God loves the most and is most attached to. As a result, when something real happens to you, and you see that God does not act that way, and that it is just wishful thinking on your part, you experience a setback and suffer a blow; you complain and feel like you have been wronged. Your feelings take a hit, too. Is this suffering worth it? (No, it is not.) People have brought suffering upon themselves because of their wishful thinking, notions, and imaginings. This is the most problematic thing for them, and they need to turn themselves around! How should they go about doing this? By recognizing that God is righteous toward everyone, and that all the works God performs are to save the human race—He has no other agenda. What people should do, is assume the position of a created being, submit to the Creator’s sovereignty, orchestrations and arrangements, accept and submit to everything the Creator does, seek the truth and God’s intentions in these things, and recognize God’s conduct. If people always use their own notions to appraise and define God’s actions, always make unreasonable demands of God, and insist that God do things their way, then they are rebelling against God, and not only are they unable to understand the truth, but ultimately, there will be nothing left but for them to be spurned and eliminated by God. If people want to be blessed by God, the only thing they need do is seek, submit to, recognize, and accept everything the Creator does. This is the only way for people to understand the truth, know God, achieve true submission to God, and be saved.

May 18, 2018