Fellowship From the Brother Above – April 15, 2025 (Part Seven)

Question 14: When dealing with Catholic and Eastern Orthodox potential gospel recipients, we fellowship with them on the differences between the churches of the Age of Grace and The Church of Almighty God in the Age of Kingdom. They are able to understand at the time, but not long after joining the Church, they still have thoughts and stop coming to gatherings. How should we fellowship on this aspect more clearly so that we can truly resolve the problems of these potential gospel recipients?

Answer: There is a problem here that you must be able to discern. Some people lack spiritual understanding. If someone lacks spiritual understanding, they will not be able to understand no matter how clearly you fellowship with them. However, if a person has spiritual understanding, they will be able to understand even if your fellowship is very simple. Is this not the case? (It is.) So if we fellowship with someone who lacks spiritual understanding for a few days, can we make them understand the truth? (No.) People of good caliber can basically accept after listening to sermons for a few days, and they will not have any notions or problems. People of poor caliber might also be able to accept after listening to sermons for a few days, but they will constantly have misgivings, thinking, “Is this way true or false? The words of Almighty God are all correct, and I don’t hear anything wrong with them, but why does He look just like an ordinary person? How can they say an ordinary person is God?” You see, they still can’t wrap their minds around some issues. Some people might understand after listening to a sermon, but after going home and sleeping for a night, they change their minds, thinking, “Oh, have I been misled?” What is the problem here? This is lacking spiritual understanding. During the testifying session, they might be surrounded by the atmosphere of the Holy Spirit working, and what they hear seems right to them. However, after they sleep for a night and they are no longer surrounded by the atmosphere of the Holy Spirit working, they change their minds and start judging things according to their own notions and imaginings again. These people do not have spiritual understanding. Tell me, how much must be said to a person who does not have spiritual understanding to make them have spiritual understanding? (No amount of words will be of any use; they will never understand.) If there are some people like this around us, we can fellowship with them when we have time, and perhaps over time, they will understand and be able to accept, but this still requires them to have at least a little spiritual understanding. If they do not have spiritual understanding and do not love the truth, then even if they understand, they will not accept. Tell me, why is it that no matter how some brothers and sisters preach the gospel to their parents, spouses, or children, they absolutely refuse to believe? Is it not because they do not have spiritual understanding? Is it not because they do not love the truth and only love the world? In the end, they say, “Stop talking to me. No matter how much you say, I won’t believe. I have to make money.” You see, the conclusion is clear. They do not love the truth; they love money. When you encounter such people while preaching the gospel, isn’t it the case that you’ve fellowshipped with them quite a lot? Isn’t it true that you’ve fellowshipped with them over several sessions and for several days? But in the end, they still do not accept. These are people who do not have spiritual understanding. There are very few people with spiritual understanding in all of mankind. Ninety percent of people do not have spiritual understanding, while those with spiritual understanding do not even account for ten percent, perhaps only a few percent. Do you understand? (Yes.) Now, some leaders and workers do not have much spiritual understanding; they only understand some doctrines. So how can you tell if a leader or worker has spiritual understanding or not? Remember this: If you fellowship a truth principle with them, and they seem to understand when you are fellowshipping it, but they still practice regulations and cling to regulations when they act, then have they truly understood the truth? They haven’t understood the truth. To them, the truth principles they comprehend are merely regulations and doctrines. They do not know how to be flexible, they do not know how to use principles as a basis, and they cannot understand the principles. So what have they understood? They have only understood doctrines. Such people can believe in God for over ten years and still not understand the truth. They do not have spiritual understanding. So tell me, if they believed for another ten or twenty years, would they have spiritual understanding? (No.) Therefore, there are all kinds of people in God’s house: There are those who have no spiritual understanding, there are those who observe regulations, and there are even more who understand the truth but do not practice it. There are also some people who, no matter how they listen to sermons, cannot understand the truth. They can only understand doctrines, yet they believe themselves to have the truth reality, and are extremely arrogant and self-righteous, yielding to no one. What is the problem here? They do not have spiritual understanding. They are only this arrogant because they have not gained the truth. If they had truly gained the truth, they would see their true stature clearly, and they would be well-behaved and keep a low profile. Therefore, the more arrogant a person is, the less spiritual understanding they have, and the more arrogant a person is, the less they can comprehend the truth. They will never gain the truth in their lifetime.

Let’s continue fellowshipping on the previous question. Potential gospel recipients are leaving not long after entering the church. What is going on here? It could be that they have heard negative propaganda. When you were fellowshipping the truth, you were surrounded by the atmosphere of the Holy Spirit working. They felt your fellowship was right and accepted it. After going home and sleeping a few times, the atmosphere of the Holy Spirit working isn’t there anymore, and their notions emerge again. Once their notions emerge, they can’t resolve them no matter how much they ponder, or they hear negative propaganda and completely fall for it, and so do not accept anymore. This is failing to lay a foundation and being carried off by Satan. Is this not the case? (It is.) This matter must be viewed according to the parable of the sower told by the Lord Jesus. If these people are seeds, what kind of ground have they been sown on? They are not the seeds sown on good ground, but the seeds sown on stony places and among thorns. They die before they can take root. That is how it is. Therefore, anyone who is still capable of leaving after believing in God for a period of time cannot comprehend the truth. These people do not love the truth, nor do they hunger and thirst for righteousness. Anyone who loves the truth and hungers and thirsts for righteousness can quickly lay a foundation after accepting the true way. Some people lay a foundation after attending gatherings for three to six months, and no negative propaganda can shake them. For some people, it takes a little longer, but at the longest they can lay a foundation after believing for a year or two. This is not bad either, and they can also stand firm. But if they do not love the truth, they will ultimately end up not believing, even if they feel that everything is right while they listen to sermons. They acknowledge that it is the true way but still do not accept it. This is what it means to not love the truth. Look at those who have been cleared out or expelled after believing in God’s house for eight to ten years. They would rather die than go to the religious world to believe. Why is this? They know that there is nothing in the religious world—none of the work of the Holy Spirit, and none of the work or words of God in the last days—and that they will gain nothing by going there. Although such people do not love or pursue the truth, have not walked the correct path of believing in God, and were ultimately cleared out or expelled, they know that Almighty God is the true way. Their greatest gain in their ten or so years in the Church is knowing that Almighty God is God in the flesh—this is real; and that The Church of Almighty God is the true church—this is real! They have these insights. But why did they not believe in God and pursue the truth properly? They say, “I just like making money. I can’t live a good life without money.” What they pursue is money and wealth, but they acknowledge that Almighty God is God in the flesh and that this is the true way. They do not deny this. That’s why basically none of those who have been cleared out or expelled by God’s house go and believe in the religious world. Having listened to sermons in The Church of Almighty God for ten or so years, they understand far more doctrines than religious people do. If you tell them to go back to the religious world to listen to pastors preach their garbage, they wouldn’t be able to listen to it; they would feel averse to it in their hearts when they hear it.

Question 15: Some potential gospel recipients have previously heard some negative propaganda, and they are very guarded. When we first testify to them about the work of judgment in the last days, and they hear that it differs from what is preached in their churches, they become doubtful and guarded. Later on, they become less willing to continue investigating. With potential gospel recipients like this, what topics should we fellowship on first to keep them engaged?

Answer: It is perfectly normal for potential gospel recipients to be doubtful and guarded when they hear that what you say differs from what is preached in their churches. Most religious people are like this. However, people with comprehension ability are not guarded in their hearts. They always want to figure things out, thinking, “I haven’t experienced this and I don’t understand it. I must explore what is actually going on.” Scientists all have this kind of mindset; this is what it means to explore. In particular, the more that those who yearn for the truth hear that what you are saying differs from what is preached in their churches, the more carefully they want to listen. They feel, “This most likely comes from God.” You see, their mindsets are different, are they not? A person who yearns for the truth does not have so much guardedness in their heart. They just want to seek out the newest and loftiest sermons. They also want to see whether it comes from the work of the Holy Spirit and whether it is from God. They are particularly serious about investigating the true way. If you don’t believe this, try saying this to a few people investigating the true way, “Let me make it clear to you in advance: The sermons I preach are different from what is preached in your churches. Do you want to hear them?” Some people will say, “What you preach is different from what our pastors preach in church, so I don’t want to hear it.” Others will say, “The more it differs from what our pastors preach, the more I want to listen—I want to see if it comes from the Holy Spirit.” Tell me, which of these two kinds of people is it easier to preach the gospel to? (The second kind.) Anyone who refuses to listen once they hear that what we testify to differs from what their pastors preach is not someone who yearns for the truth. They keep to tradition; they are traditionalists. In their belief in God, they just cling to regulations and old practices. Such people generally lack comprehension ability. People with comprehension ability like to hear new expressions, and fresh things they have never heard before. The newer these things are, the more they want to hear them, and the more they feel these things are lofty and engaging. Such people have a yearning heart; they have good caliber and they have comprehension ability. Do you understand? (Yes.) When I first came to believe in the Lord, I read a publication from the Three-Self Church which said that the house churches of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee were heretical. At that time, I had only one thought in my mind: “The Three-Self Church was established by the Communist Party. The Communist Party is atheistic and does not walk the right path. The church it established is definitely false; it is not a church. Therefore, what it supports and promotes must be false, and what it opposes and condemns must be true.” Thus, I questioned what that book said about Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and I specifically looked through it to find out what views they held. Seeing that what they said was right, and that they had the work of the Holy Spirit, I wanted to find the local churches they had established. After a few years, I found them. I was only about thirty at the time, but I already knew that the Communist Party was wicked, that it was Satan, the devil, and that the Three-Self Church it promoted and supported was definitely false. So, I refused to join the Three-Self Church, and no matter how they urged me to join, I would not accept. I was absolutely certain that in believing in God it is necessary to walk the path of the house churches. Very few people in the Three-Self Church can comprehend the truth, and some do not accept the truth even though they acknowledge it. Acknowledging the truth and accepting the truth are two different things. Can you see this clearly? People who can accept the truth are precisely those who will be saved by God. Those who absolutely refuse to accept the truth, and especially those who acknowledge the truth but still do not accept it, are devils. It is no exaggeration at all to say this. In God’s eyes, those who absolutely refuse to accept the truth are devils. Once you see this matter clearly, you will look for those who accept the truth when you preach the gospel. Say that no matter how you guide them to strive toward the truth, they do not disrupt you, do not stubbornly oppose you, and are not resistant; the more you speak words that accord with the truth, the more they accept them; and they do not try to refute you with fallacies. In that case, you should preach to them. If they absolutely refuse to accept the truth, yet you are always trying to figure out how to persuade them to accept it, this will not work—nothing good comes from forcing them. If they only accept after you forcefully refute them, and they only accept after you forcefully win them over, there will be a consequence to this. Will they be able to accept the truth in the future? Will it be easy for them to accept the truth? (No.) If they cannot accept the truth after coming to believe, what is the use of bringing them in? One day, they will still be eliminated. Is this not the case? (It is.)

Just now, I answered some questions. How distorted and absurd the ideas of the people who asked those questions were! Even if you fellowshipped with such people for ten days and persuaded them, and they accepted Almighty God, would they be able to accept the truth afterward? They cannot accept the truth; they do not have comprehension ability. You have to fellowship with them for ten or twenty days just to persuade them on even these simplest of questions. The truth is so profound—can someone who does not possess the caliber to accept and understand the truth gain the truth and attain salvation? (No.) The people who do not accept the truth are not the ones God has predestined and chosen. If you put so much effort into fellowshipping the truth with these kinds of people—fellowshipping for a month, and if that doesn’t work, for three months, and if that doesn’t work, for six months—forcefully winning them over, yet in the end they still do not accept the truth and remain a corpse, incapable of attaining salvation, then are you being wise or foolish? (Foolish.) You are doing many things that are unrelated to the truth. You are preaching the gospel without principle. What is the use of exclusively preaching to muddleheaded people who lack spiritual understanding and do not accept the truth? In God’s house, such people are all considered trash. They achieve no results when they do their duty, and they are freeloaders. God’s house does not use such people to do duties, and ultimately these people will all be eliminated. Therefore, you must not preach the gospel to such people. Is that clear? (It is.) When preaching the gospel, if you encounter someone whose comprehension is too fallacious and absurd, and whose views do not accord with the Bible in the slightest, would you still have the desire to preach the gospel to them? (No.) Say there are truly some people who hunger and thirst for righteousness and are investigating the true way—just waiting for us to testify to them—yet you cast them aside and do not testify to them, instead going to preach the gospel to these absurd people, this is acting without principle. Is this not the case? (It is.) Let me ask another question. Let’s say there are three kinds of people in the church: One kind does not love the truth, one kind has caliber that is too poor and cannot grasp the truth, and one kind loves the truth and can accept it. Which of these three kinds of people should you focus on watering? Which kind of people should you put more effort into? (We should put more effort into those who love the truth.) If you practice in this way, and those who are foolish and ignorant and cannot grasp the truth say that you lack love and are unfair to people, what should you do? If those who do not love the truth say you never fellowship the truth with them, and claim that their failure to gain the truth is your fault because you are biased and did not water and supply them, and that you have ruined them, what should you do? (Ignore them.) You must see these matters clearly and not be constrained by them. I do things simply. Who do I preach sermons to? I preach to whoever yearns for the truth and is willing to listen to sermons. If someone says they do not welcome me and are not willing to listen to my fellowship, I will not preach to them. Is it good that I do this? (It is.) There is a saying: “Give food to the hungry and words to those who understand.” There is also a saying in the Bible: “Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matthew 7:6). Therefore, you must have wisdom and principles in your actions. Doing things with principle means that you must adhere to principles; it will not do to not adhere to principles. Should you adhere to principles when making friends? (Yes.) Then what kind of friends should you make if you adhere to principles? You should make friends with people who are reasonable and who know good from bad. If you make friends with people who do not know good from bad, you will be in trouble. You’ll do something good for them, but they’ll misunderstand you, claim you are harming them, and even condemn you. Then you will be in trouble. Therefore, you must have principles in your work. People nowadays are of all stripes; there are all kinds of people. Do not assume that people necessarily love the truth just because they have come to believe in Almighty God. Some pursue status, fame, gain, or blessings. Seeing that this is the true way, and that by believing in God in The Church of Almighty God they can enter the kingdom of heaven and survive, they do not leave the church. However, they simply do not pursue the truth. So, can they enter the kingdom of heaven? Can they survive if they do not pursue the truth? Can they survive just by staying in the church and not leaving? If you do not pursue the truth in the church, then you will inevitably still be eliminated in the end. Is that not the case? (It is.)