How is the Holy Spirit working within the church in the present day? Do you have a firm grasp of this question? What are your brothers’ and sisters’ greatest difficulties? What do they most lack? Currently, there are some people who are negative as they undergo trials, and some even complain. Other people are no longer moving forward because God has finished speaking. People have not entered the right track of belief in God. They cannot live independently, and they cannot maintain their own spiritual life. Some people follow along and pursue with energy, and are willing to practice when God speaks, but when God does not speak, they no longer move forward. People still have not understood God’s will within their hearts and they do not have spontaneous love for God; in the past they followed God because they were forced. Now there are some people who are tired of God’s work. Are such people not in danger? A lot of people exist in a state of just coping. Although they eat and drink God’s words and pray to Him, they do so half-heartedly, and they no longer have the drive that they once had. Most people are not interested in God’s work of refinement and perfection, and indeed it is as if they are constantly without any internal drive. When they are overcome by transgressions, they do not feel indebted to God, nor do they have the awareness to feel remorse. They do not pursue the truth or leave the church, and instead pursue only temporary pleasures. These people are fools, utterly stupid! When the time comes, they will all be cast out, and not a single one will be saved! Do you think that if someone has been saved once they will always be saved? This belief is pure deception! All those who do not pursue entry into life will be chastised. Most people have absolutely no interest in entering into life, in visions, or in putting the truth into practice. They do not pursue entering in, and they certainly do not pursue entering in more deeply. Are they not ruining themselves? Right now, there is a portion of people whose conditions are constantly improving. The more the Holy Spirit works, the more confidence they gain; the more they experience, the more they feel the profound mystery of God’s work. The deeper they enter in, the more they understand. They feel that God’s love is so great, and they feel steady and enlightened within themselves. They have an understanding of God’s work. These are the people in whom the Holy Spirit is working. Some people say: “Although there are no new words from God, I must still seek to go deeper into the truth, I must be earnest about everything in my actual experience and enter into the reality of God’s words.” This kind of person possesses the work of the Holy Spirit. Although God does not show His countenance and is hidden from every single person, and though He does not utter a word and there are times that people experience some internal refinement, yet God has not completely left people. If a person cannot retain the truth that they should carry out, they will not have the work of the Holy Spirit. During the period of refinement, of God not showing Himself, if you do not have confidence but instead cower away, if you do not focus on experiencing His words, then you are fleeing from God’s work. Later, you will be one of those who are cast out. Those who do not seek to enter into the word of God cannot possibly stand as a witness for Him. People who are able to bear witness for God and satisfy His will are all entirely reliant upon their drive to pursue God’s words. The work that God performs in people is primarily to allow them to gain the truth; having you pursue life is for the sake of perfecting you, and this is all to make you suitable for God’s use. All you are pursuing now is hearing mysteries, listening to God’s words, feasting your eyes, and looking around to see if there is some novelty or trend, and thereby satisfying your curiosity. If this is the intention in your heart, then there is no way for you to meet God’s requirements. Those who do not pursue the truth cannot follow until the very end. Right now, it is not that God is not doing something, but rather that people are not cooperating with Him, because they are tired of His work. They only want to hear words that He speaks to bestow blessings, and they are unwilling to hear the words of His judgment and chastisement. What is the reason for this? The reason is that people’s desires to gain blessings have not been fulfilled and they therefore have become negative and weak. It is not that God purposely does not allow people to follow Him, nor is it that He is purposely delivering blows to mankind. People are negative and weak only because their intentions are improper. God is the God that gives man life, and He cannot bring man into death. People’s negativity, weaknesses, and backsliding are all caused by their own doing.

God’s current work brings people some refinement, and only those who can stand firm as they receive this refinement will gain God’s approval. No matter how He conceals Himself, whether by not speaking or not working, you can still pursue with vigor. Even if God said that He would reject you, you would still follow Him. This is standing witness for God. If God conceals Himself from you and you stop following Him, is this standing witness for God? If people do not actually enter in, then they do not have actual stature, and when they really encounter a great trial they will stumble. When God is not speaking, or doing what is not in line with your own notions, you break down. If God were currently acting according to your own notions, if He were satisfying your will and you were able to stand up and pursue with energy, then what would be the foundation upon which you live? I say that there are many people who are living in a way that is entirely reliant upon human curiosity. They absolutely do not have it in their truest heart to pursue. All those who do not pursue entry into the truth but rely on their curiosity in life are despicable people, and they are in danger! God’s various kinds of work are all carried out to perfect mankind. However, people are always curious, they like to inquire about hearsay, they are concerned about current affairs in foreign countries—for example, they are curious about what is happening in Israel, or if there was an earthquake in Egypt—they are always looking for some new, novel things to satisfy their selfish desires. They do not pursue life, nor do they pursue being perfected. They only seek to have the day of God arrive sooner so that their beautiful dream may be realized and their extravagant desires fulfilled. This kind of person is not practical—they are someone who has an improper perspective. Only pursuit of the truth is the foundation of mankind’s belief in God, and if people do not pursue entry into life, if they do not seek to satisfy God, then they will be subject to punishment. Those who are to be punished are those who have not had the work of the Holy Spirit during God’s time of work.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Maintain Your Devotion to God