What is the first priority when it comes to pursuing and obtaining the truth now? It is to first dissect the specious fallacies and sayings that you previously thought were right and that belong to traditional notions, and to cast them off once you have thoroughly understood their essence. These things are the first layer of shackles that bind people. Now, how many of these things do you still keep in your hearts? Have you completely cast them off? (Not completely.) Is it easy to cast these things off? For example, some people want to perform their duties but also feel that they must honor their parents, which involves feelings. If you just keep pruning your feelings, telling yourself not to think about your parents and family, and to only think about God and focus on the truth, but you still can’t help but think about your parents, this cannot solve the fundamental problem. To solve this problem, you need to dissect the things you thought were right, along with the sayings, knowledge, and theories that you inherited and that align with human notions. In addition, when dealing with your parents, whether you fulfill your obligations as a child to take care of them must be entirely based on your personal conditions and God’s orchestrations. Doesn’t this explain the matter perfectly? When some people leave their parents, they feel that they owe their parents a lot and that they do nothing for their parents. But then when they do live together, they are not filial to their parents at all, and they do not fulfill any of their obligations. Is this a truly filial person? This is saying empty words. No matter what you do, what you think, or what you plan, those things are not important. What is important is whether you can understand and truly believe that all created beings are in the hands of God. Some parents have that blessing and that destiny to be able to enjoy domestic bliss and the happiness of a large and prosperous family. This is God’s sovereignty, and a blessing God gives them. Some parents don’t have this destiny; God has not arranged this for them. They are not blessed to enjoy having a happy family, or to enjoy having their children stay by their side. This is God’s orchestration and people cannot force this. No matter what, ultimately when it comes to filial piety, people must at least have a mindset of submission. If the environment permits and you have the means to do so, then you can show your parents filial piety. If the environment does not permit and you lack the means, then do not try to force it—what is this called? (Submission.) This is called submission. How does this submission come about? What is the basis for submission? It is based on all of these things being arranged by God and ruled over by God. Though people may wish to choose, they cannot, they do not have the right to choose, and they should submit. When you feel that people should submit and that everything is orchestrated by God, don’t you feel calmer in your heart? (Yes.) Then will your conscience still feel rebuked? It will no longer feel constantly rebuked, and the idea of not having been filial to your parents will no longer dominate you. Occasionally, you may still think about it as these are some normal thoughts or instincts within humanity, and no one can avoid them. For example, upon seeing that their mother is sick, normal people feel distressed and wish they could suffer in her place. Some people say, “If only my mother could be cured, even if it means shortening my life by a few years!” This is the positive side of humanity; it is human instinct. So, when you see that your mother is sick and you feel distressed, is this feeling of misery a problem? No, it is not a problem, because this is something that normal humanity should possess. Feeling distressed in your heart is a good thing; it proves that you have a heart and that you have humanity. In this world, your mother is the person God has arranged for you to be closest to. If she is sick and in pain, and you are indifferent, then are you still human? If you say, “I have no feelings for her and I have no feelings about her pain, I only feel pain when God feels pain!” Is this statement true? It is not true; it is false. Your mother gave birth to you, she raised you for so many years, she is the closest person to you, and she loves you the most. When she is sick and in pain, if you feel no distress in your heart, then your heart must be very hardened! This is not normal; don’t strive to be this kind of person. Feeling distressed over this is very normal, but if you stop performing your duty because of this feeling of distress and you complain about God, is this normal? (No, it’s not normal.) Why is it not normal? Because your thinking does not align with the truth and it is not what normal humanity should have, it is not normal. People have Satan’s nature, they live by their corrupt dispositions, so they can violate the truth and lose their consciences and reason, just like suddenly becoming mentally ill. This is not normal, so how does this come about? It is caused by people’s corrupt dispositions. Once their corrupt dispositions are revealed, they can resist God anytime and anywhere, and they can produce some thoughts that are not in line with the truth and that rebel against God on a whim anytime and anywhere. That’s how it is.

Corrupt human beings all have feelings and are often constrained by them, which makes them unable to submit to God or act according to the truth principles. To achieve submission to God, one must resolve the issue of feelings. Which kind of feelings most obstruct people from practicing the truth and must be cast off? Which kind of feelings are a part of what normal humanity should possess and not a problem? Which kind of feelings belong to a corrupt disposition? These things must be clearly discerned. For example, say that your child is bullied, and as their mother, you protect them and go look for the family that bullied your child to reason with them—is this normal? That is your child, so it is proper and normal for you to protect them. But if your child bullies other children, if they even bully well-behaved children, and you see this but don’t care, and you believe your child is pretty awesome, and you even secretly teach them to hit other people, and when others come to reason with you, you still defend your child, is this behavior right? No, it is not. What is the problem with this behavior? It is driven by feelings. Why do I say that it is driven by feelings? You think it’s unacceptable for others to bully your child, and if your child suffers a little, you immediately go to resolve the problem and ask for an explanation, so why are you blind to your child bullying other people’s children? You even encourage your child to hit others, isn’t that malicious? People who do this are malicious in terms of their disposition. How can this be explained in terms of feelings? What characterizes feelings? Certainly not anything positive. It is a focus on physical relationships and satisfying the predilections of the flesh. Favoritism, defending other people’s shortcomings, doting, pampering, and indulging all fall under feelings. Some people place great stock in feelings, they react to whatever happens to them based on their feelings; in their hearts, they know full well this is wrong, and yet are still incapable of being objective, much less of acting according to principle. When people are always constrained by feelings, are they capable of practicing the truth? This is extremely difficult! Many people’s inability to practice the truth comes down to feelings; they regard feelings as especially important, they put them in the first place. Are they people who love the truth? Certainly not. What are feelings, in essence? They are a kind of corrupt disposition. The manifestations of feelings can be described using several words: favoritism, unprincipled protection of others, maintenance of physical relationships, and partiality; these are what feelings are. What are the likely consequences of people’s having feelings and living by them? Why does God most loathe people’s feelings? Some people are always constrained by their feelings, they cannot put the truth into practice, and though they wish to submit to God, they cannot, so they feel tormented by their feelings. There are many people who understand the truth but cannot put it into practice; this, too, is because they are constrained by feelings. For example, some people leave their homes to perform their duties, but they are always thinking about their family, day and night, and they cannot perform their duties well. Is this not a problem? Some people have secret crushes, and there is only a place for that person in their hearts, which affects their performance of their duties. Is this not a problem? Some people admire and idolize others; they won’t listen to anyone except for that person, to the extent that they don’t even listen to what God says. Even if someone else fellowships the truth with them, they won’t accept it; they only listen to that person’s words, to their idol’s words. Some people have an idol in their hearts, and they do not permit other people to speak about or touch their idol. If anyone talks about their idol’s problems, they become angry and have to defend their idol and turn that person’s words around. They won’t allow their idol to suffer an injustice undefended and they do everything in their power to protect their idol’s reputation; through their words, their idol’s wrongs become right, and they do not let people speak true words or expose them. This is not justice; these are called feelings. Are feelings only directed toward one’s family? (No.) Feelings are quite broad; they are a kind of corrupt disposition, they are not just about fleshly relationships between family members, they are not limited to that scope. They can also involve your superior, or someone who has shown you favor or helped you, or someone who has the closest relationship with you or who gets along with you, or your fellow townsman or friend, or even someone you admire—this is not fixed. Then is casting off feelings merely as simple as not thinking about your parents or family? (No.) Is it so easy to cast off feelings? When most people reach their 30s and can live independently, they don’t miss home as much, and by their 40s, this becomes completely normal. When people have not yet reached adulthood, they feel very homesick and cannot leave their parents because they do not yet possess the ability to survive independently. Missing your family and missing your parents is normal. It’s not a matter of feelings. It’s when your attitude and viewpoint about doing things get adulterated with feelings that it becomes a matter of feelings. Because there is a blood tie between you and your parents on a fleshly level, and you have lived together for so many years, it is normal for you to miss your parents. Some people say they don’t miss their parents at all, but perhaps they have just recently left home, and everywhere they look is fresh and new, they have finally gotten away from their parents’ nagging, and no one is trying to control them, so they feel happy. But does feeling happy mean they have no feelings? No, it does not. Some people say, “I have believed in God for several years, and I have come to understand some truths. I perform my duty without being constrained by feelings at all and I have no feelings anymore.” Is this statement practical? These are clearly the words of someone who doesn’t understand the truth. When people listen to many sermons, understand some words and doctrines, and can talk about some spiritual theories, they think, “I have grown in stature and understood many truths. If I am arrested, I won’t be a Judas. At least I have this faith and resolve. Isn’t this stature? When I think back to my enthusiasm from when I first came to believe in God, I was willing to dedicate my whole life to God. That enthusiasm and that oath have not changed and have not faded in the slightest. Isn’t this progress?” Is this a superficial phenomenon? (Yes.) These are all superficial phenomena. If people want to make real progress, they must understand the truth. Can being able to talk about doctrines and spiritual theories achieve real change? (No, it cannot.) If you can’t even solve your own problems and you can’t put any of the truth into practice, can you be of benefit to others? Just listening to sermons and understanding doctrines is useless; you must practice and experience God’s words. When you understand the truth, you must practice it; only then will you possess reality. You can only understand the truth more deeply by practicing it, you can only gain the truth when you truly understand it, and you can only grow up by gaining the truth.

What do you understand now that I’ve fellowshipped with you and helped you to distinguish what the truth is and what correct words are? (That we have to view things based on the truth principles, and that we can’t treat usual outward good behaviors or spiritual doctrines as the truth.) Good behaviors and correct sayings cannot change a person. No matter how true they are, not only are they not the truth, but they have nothing to do with the truth. If you always cling to them and treat them as the truth, then you will never understand the truth and you will never gain the truth. This is one aspect. There is another aspect, which is: Can spiritual doctrines enable a person to understand the truth? (No, they cannot.) Why? Although spiritual doctrines can all be considered to be correct words, they cannot achieve the result of changing a person’s corrupt dispositions. So, what exactly can be relied on to change a person’s corrupt dispositions? Some people say to rely on the truth, some people say to rely on understanding and accepting the truth, and others say to rely on practicing the truth. Are these words correct? From a literal perspective, there is a correct side to all of them, but they are all the shallowest doctrines; these doctrines cannot save you or solve your difficulties. When you face a situation and people tell you that you must accept the truth, you’ll say, “How can I accept it? I have difficulties, and I can’t let go!” Can these doctrines become your path for practicing the truth? (No, they cannot.) Some people say that when you face a situation, you should eat and drink more of God’s words. You have heard this many times, but which of your difficulties has it solved? It is right to eat and drink more of God’s words, but which aspect of God’s words should you eat and drink? How should you link them to your difficulties? After you link them to your difficulties, how do you resolve them? What is the path of practice? Which aspect of the truth should you use to solve your difficulties? Aren’t these real problems? (Yes.) These are the real problems. Therefore, correct doctrines cannot solve people’s practical difficulties, let alone solve people’s corrupt dispositions. What exactly can solve people’s corrupt dispositions? Everyone knows that only the truth can resolve the problem of people’s corrupt dispositions, but if people do not understand what the truth is, or if they do not seek or accept the truth, can their corrupt dispositions be solved? (No.) Therefore, to solve one’s corrupt dispositions, one must experience God’s work. That is to say, it is only by experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement that one’s corrupt dispositions can be purified. This requires people to pursue the truth and cooperate with God’s work in order to achieve results. If you do not pursue the truth and only focus on understanding spiritual doctrines, not even knowing whether they are the truth or not, but accepting them as the truth, can this solve your corrupt dispositions? Additionally, if you do not understand the truth, when you reveal a corrupt disposition, can you discern this? Can you check it against God’s words for comparison? You one hundred percent cannot. You might blindly apply regulations, which is even less capable of solving your corrupt dispositions. What is the most important thing in solving corrupt dispositions? The most important thing is that people must understand the truth. Right now, most people regard doctrines as the truth and do not understand what the truth is. Just like the example of feelings I just mentioned, the first approach of the mother was to protect her child from being bullied, which is justified. From your point of view, “These are feelings; you cannot do that. This kind of behavior must be criticized and condemned.” You define things that do not involve the truth, that are unrelated to the truth, and, in fact, some things that people should do instinctively, as things that violate the truth, and then you reject those things. You think that adhering to this principle is practicing the truth. And as for the second approach of the mother condoning her child’s bullying of other people’s children, when it really involves the revealing of a corrupt disposition and practicing the truth, you think, “As long as it is not doing evil, it is not such a big problem.” Why do you have such thoughts and understanding? (Because we do not understand the truth.) The problem lies here! So, because they do not understand the truth, a lot of the time people choose an approach that they regard as right, and think that they are practicing the truth. Many times, because they do not understand the truth, people can only apply and abide by regulations, and when faced with matters, they do not know how to handle them, so they treat abiding by regulations as practicing the truth. Can people who believe in God like this achieve progress in life? Can they achieve an understanding of the truth and enter into reality? Many people believe that being able to talk about words and doctrines is understanding the truth and being an adequate believer in God. So, why do they still reveal corrupt dispositions in many matters? Why can’t they solve the practical problems they encounter? This proves that being able to talk about words and doctrines is not understanding the truth at all. No matter how many doctrines you can speak about, it does not prove that you have obtained the truth. You must be able to solve practical problems and find the principles of practice, only that is truly understanding the truth. Many people think that as long as they can perform their duties, suffer, and pay the price, no matter what corrupt dispositions they reveal, it is not a big problem. They think that, as long as they perform their duties, as long as they can suffer, and not complain about God, they are loving God and showing loyalty. There are many times where, because people do not understand the truth, they show some good intentions, but in fact they are disrupting and disturbing the work of the church, and yet they think that they are safeguarding the interests of God and God’s house. What is going on? This happens because people do not understand the truth and do not have practical knowledge of the truth, which leads them to constantly do things that are contrary to the truth. Meanwhile, they think that they are doing the right thing, that they have practiced the truth, and that they have satisfied God’s will. This is their greatest difficulty. Although it is a difficulty, there is always a way to solve it. The only way is that whenever you encounter a problem and reveal a corrupt disposition, you must reflect on yourself and seek the truth to understand it. As long as there are corrupt dispositions within you, then many kinds of states will arise in you. When people live in different environments and states, they will reveal some thoughts, perspectives, and intentions—these are their true inner states. By observing people’s thoughts, perspectives, and intentions, you can see their dispositions and know what their natures are. By reflecting on yourself and discerning others in this way, it is easy to achieve results. It is only by knowing your own corrupt dispositions and thoroughly understanding their essence that you can fully achieve results in knowing yourself. Then you will naturally have a path for how you should seek the truth to resolve your corrupt dispositions. As long as people can accept the truth, their corrupt dispositions can be purified, and the problem of their corruption can be easily solved. If people cannot accept the truth, then they will never achieve a change in their life dispositions. Now, you are all willing to pursue the truth, so you must focus on the truth.

To solve people’s nature, we must excavate it from its root, and from people’s dispositions, rather than from people’s ways of doing things. We also should not emphasize objective reasons and conditions, instead we must compare it against the truth. The truth expressed in God’s words is targeted at people’s corrupt dispositions. Take the example of feelings mentioned earlier: People think that sometimes missing one’s parents or feeling homesick are feelings. Are these the same as what God refers to as feelings? (No.) Then the feelings you comprehend cannot be spoken of in the same breath as the feelings God talks about. The feelings you talk about belong to normal human states, they do not belong to a corrupt disposition. If you treat your fleshly kin as idols, and this causes you to not follow or submit to God, then your feelings are too strong, and this belongs to a corrupt disposition. Therefore, this involves the issue of whether you have a pure comprehension of the truth. When you treat what you believe to be homesickness or being a bit kinder to one’s parents as feelings, isn’t this a distorted comprehension of the truth? In fact, what you comprehend is not the truth, and it does not align with the truth; it is merely an external phenomenon. What are the feelings that God speaks of? They are the second approach of how the mother treated her child that was mentioned earlier, which is a state of favoritism and giving unprincipled protection to someone. These are the feelings God exposes—the mother’s revelation of a corrupt disposition in this matter. Aren’t those two approaches radically different? The first approach is a normal phenomenon, and there is no need to prune it, nor to dig deep into it, dissect it, and even less so to hold it up against the truth for comparison, or to practice a certain aspect of the truth or let go of something. Then, is this approach proper? Is it necessary to act in this way? It is not necessary; there is no right or wrong in this approach. The second approach involves a disposition. What kind of manifestations of feelings involve corrupt dispositions? (Favoritism, unprincipled protection of others, maintaining relationships of the flesh, and a lack of justice.) These are the things embodied by the word “feelings” that God speaks of. If you can understand this much and truly link these things to yourself, then you should put effort into resolving these corrupt dispositions. It is only when you are no longer constrained by these feelings, that your actions will all be the practice of the truth. Then the states that you understand feelings to encompass will completely correspond with the word “feelings” as spoken by God. This is the truth that you will understand. If you were asked to fellowship on what feelings are, and you speak about the first approach of the mother, this is a manifestation of not understanding the truth. If you fellowship about the second approach of the mother and dissect her corrupt disposition, then you understand the truth. If the things you fellowship about, experience, and understand are in line with the truth of God’s words, and there are no contradictions or inconsistencies, this proves that you understand God’s words, that you have grasped their meaning, that you have understood them, and that you can practice and apply them. Then you will have gained the truth and the life, and the implication of this is that you will have already entered into the truth reality. At that time, when you see this kind of thing again, you will be able to discern it, and you will know what kind of revelations are normal, and what kind of revelations are those of a corrupt disposition, and you will be completely clear about this in your heart. In this way, won’t your actions be accurate? Won’t your actions conform to the truth? Won’t you have the truth reality? If you act accurately and understand the truth, then won’t the understanding and experiences you fellowship on be able to help others and solve their difficulties? (Yes.) This is the practical side of the truth.

Some people do not perform their duties well because of their poor caliber, but they always claim it’s because they lack conscience. Which explanation is accurate? (That they have poor caliber.) Sometimes, when a person performs a duty, they may grasp the basics of that professional knowledge, but not understand more advanced aspects of it, because they never learned them before. Their leader labels them as perfunctory, slippery, and work-shy, but actually, they just lack professional knowledge, and have not learned those things yet, but they are already trying their best. Yet their leader says that they are perfunctory—this is not in line with the facts. This is an indiscriminate use of terminology and indiscriminate labeling. Why do people use terminology and label others indiscriminately? Isn’t it because they do not understand the truth? Some people will definitely say yes, some people will say that it is because they have poor caliber and are too muddled, and some other people will say that it is because their humanity is too evil and they have the wrong intentions. Which explanation is correct? In fact, all three of these states exist, and a judgment must be made according to the specific case. If it is caused by them not understanding the truth, but someone says that it is because they have poor caliber and are too muddled, then these words are not accurate. If it is clearly caused by their evil humanity and ulterior motives, but someone says that it is because they have poor caliber and are too muddled, this is distorting the facts, and it is likely to enable evil people to slip through the cracks. There are other cases that are caused by people not understanding the truth, but others say that they’re caused by those people’s evil humanity. This way of looking at things is not accurate, and it is likely that they’ll treat good people as evil people, which will have bad consequences. There are many people who can’t discern these things and can’t thoroughly understand the essence of the problem. They blindly apply regulations and draw conclusions based on their own ideas, and then feel that they have discernment and that they can see things clearly. Isn’t this arrogance and self-righteousness? If someone has bad humanity, and labels and condemns people indiscriminately based on their own ulterior motives, this is the nature of an evil person. Such people are a minority; most people do this kind of thing because they do not understand the truth. Those who do not understand the truth indiscriminately apply regulations and indiscriminately use spiritual terms. For example, some people clearly have a problem with their humanity, they always look for ways to slack off and do not put in effort while performing their duties, but those without discernment say this is poor caliber. Some people clearly have a sense of justice, and when they see something that violates the principles, they will bring it up and safeguard the interests of the church, but they are often labeled as arrogant and self-righteous by people who do not understand the truth, and are even treated as evil people, which is truly being unjust to good people. Some people are clearly small in stature, and they momentarily become weak while constrained by their feelings, and people who do not understand the truth will characterize them as having too strong feelings and lacking a sincere heart for God. This is how people who lack the truth are—without considering the background or the actual situation, they keep indiscriminately applying regulations, saying one thing at one moment, and another thing the next. Can such people use the truth to solve problems? (They cannot.) When people who don’t understand the truth try to solve problems, they can’t prescribe the right medicine. It’s like they’re trying to treat a person with stomach pain by treating their head; they can’t find the root of the problem. They don’t understand where the root of the problem is or what God’s words say and refer to. This is not understanding the truth. Do you understand a lot or a little of the truth now? (A little.) For example, say that someone asks, “Why can’t you submit when this matter befalls you?” People often say, “Because I don’t know God!” Is this explanation right? Sometimes it’s right and sometimes it’s not. Most of the time it is not right, and this is just indiscriminate labeling. People grasp a bit of spiritual terminology and then apply it and use it indiscriminately, and as a result, many problems arise. Some are misinterpretations and some are judgments, and this creates harmful results, and even causes chaos. When those who do not have spiritual understanding learn something, they apply it and use it indiscriminately. They are the most likely to make mistakes and prone to make mistakes of principle. Whereas, people who have comprehension ability may make a few mistakes, but these mistakes are not issues of principle and they can learn lessons from those mistakes. If people have absurd comprehension, if they misinterpret God’s words when they read them, if they have deviations in their comprehension when they listen to sermons, and if they’re liable to find fault and nitpick, this is very troublesome. Not only is it impossible for them to enter into the truth reality, but over time they will start to act recklessly and cause disturbances to the work of the church. This is a serious outcome.

Now, you should ponder: Are the words, doctrines, and spiritual theories you often talk about the truth? Do you understand the truth, or do you only understand doctrines? How many truth realities are there within your understanding? Once you understand these things you will truly have self-knowledge and you will know your own measure. For example, you have fellowshipped a lot on the truths of how to be an honest person, but have you truly understood them? Maybe you can fellowship some words and talk about some understanding, but how many of these realities have you entered into? Are you truly an honest person now? Can you speak clearly about this? Some people say, “Being an honest person means not telling lies, saying whatever is in your heart, not hiding anything, and not evading anything. This is the standard of being an honest person.” What do you think of this statement? Does it conform to the truth? (No.) You can speak about words and doctrines, but when it comes to details of practice or specific problems, you are at a loss for words. This is not understanding the truth. People don’t understand the truth, but they always think, “I already understand a lot, but God doesn’t use me. If God were to use me, and I became a church leader, I could ensure that every brother and sister came to understand the truth.” Isn’t this very big talk? Do you really have that ability? Are people who can boast and brag honest people? These people don’t understand the truth, yet they boast and brag—aren’t they pitiful? (Yes, they’re pitiful.) You are listening to many sermons now but if you never understand the truth, sooner or later you will walk the same path as the Pharisees, and then you will be a modern-day Pharisee. Isn’t this a possibility? (Yes.) It is all too likely. People’s satanic natures are deeply ingrained. If they acquire some knowledge or education, and can preach some correct theories and lofty sermons, it is very likely that they will become Pharisees. If you do not want to become a Pharisee or walk the path of a Pharisee, the only way to avoid this is to endeavor to understand the truth and enter into reality, and to turn the doctrines you understand into the reality of the truth. So what is considered as truly understanding the truth of being an honest person? You should contemplate this on your own and fellowship on this when you have some free time. What exactly is an honest person? What are the standards required in God’s words for the honest people that He speaks of? Which of these standards that God requires can people practice? What is the honest person that God speaks of like? Which aspect of people’s corrupt dispositions does being an honest person target? Aren’t these questions worth delving deeply into? The words and truths that God requires people to practice are not aimed at people’s ways of doing things or behavior. They are aimed at people’s satanic natures and dispositions. That is why these words are said to be the truth. If their only purpose was to change people’s behavior and teach people how to think, then they wouldn’t be the truth, they would just be a kind of theory. It may be said that any educator can have a bit of influence on people and change their behavior a little, and by putting these teachings into practice and summarizing them, people’s behavior can gradually be regulated. There’s a lot of this kind of knowledge, but these things are not the truth because they cannot resolve people’s corrupt dispositions, nor can they solve the problem of the root of their sins. Only God’s words can purify and solve people’s corruption, only God’s words can thoroughly solve people’s satanic natures, and therefore, only God’s words are the truth. What is the true significance of the truth of God’s words? This is worth contemplating, thinking about, and fellowshipping on often together. Never forget this: Things that can only change people’s behavior are not the truth; they are merely knowledge and laws. The truth can not only change people’s behavior but also change their corrupt dispositions. Moreover, it can change their ideas and notions, and become a person’s life. That is the truth. Now, there are too few people who can see this matter clearly. Many people never realize that those things which regulate behavior and enable people to live outwardly decent lives are not the truth, and that they are all knowledge, doctrines, and satanic philosophies. When people accept those things, although their outward behavior becomes increasingly noble, dignified, and refined, their hearts are filled with insidiousness and wickedness, and become darker and darker. These things are the poisons and theories of Satan, things that Satan uses to mislead and corrupt people. They are not the truth at all, and they do not come from God. Only things that enable people to become honest, liberated, and free, that enable them to know the Creator, have God-fearing hearts, and submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, are the truth. No matter what point of view you accept and no matter what path you follow, if your behavior improves and you gain popularity, but you have too little of a God-fearing heart, and too little true faith in God, and your relationship with God is very poor, and your heart drifts further from God, then the things you cling to are not positive things and they are definitely not the truth. If you choose a path or a way of life, and you accept some things, and these things make you become real and honest, and make you love positive things and hate wicked and negative things, and make you have a God-fearing heart and willingly accept the sovereignty and arrangements of the Creator, then these things are the truth, and they truly come from God. You can measure things according to these standards. There are some doctrines that many people are able to say and have said for many years. However, after saying these things many times, people’s inner dispositions have not changed, their states have not transformed in the slightest, and people’s viewpoints, ways of thinking, and the starting point and intentions behind their actions haven’t changed in any way. So you should hurry to give those things up and stop clinging to them; they are definitely not the truth. When people first start practicing some words, doing so seems arduous and difficult, and they cannot grasp the principles. However, after they experience and practice them for a period of time, they feel that their inner states have improved, that their hearts have drawn closer to God, that they have God-fearing and God-dreading hearts, that they aren’t so intransigent or rebellious when things befall them, that their personal intentions and desires aren’t as strong, and that they can submit to God. This state is positive; these words are the truth, and they are the right path. You can discern things based on these principles. It won’t be easy to define the truth in a single sentence. If I defined it in a sentence, and you could understand the truth after hearing it, then that would be good. But if you treated it as a regulation and a doctrine to follow, then that would be troublesome—that is not having spiritual understanding. So, I have given you these principles, and you should go draw comparisons, experience, practice, and gain experiential knowledge according to these principles. Do not just act and comport yourself according to these principles, you should also view people and things, and evaluate people according to these principles. By experiencing and practicing in this way, you will know what the truth is. If people don’t understand what the truth is, and if they don’t know that God’s words are the truth, then can they gain life? Can they obtain a change in life disposition? Though the requirements that God puts forward for people in His words are not such high standards, and they are quite simple, if you don’t understand what the implied meaning of the truth is, or how much practical content the truth includes, and you only understand the truth in terms of words and doctrines, you will never be able to enter into the truth realities that God requires people to enter into.

May 26, 2017