Fellowship From the Brother Above – October 1, 2025 (Part Eight)

Question 15: I am aware that knowing myself is the foundation of life entry, but my entry in this area is very slow. What is the best and fastest way to know myself?

Answer: The fastest way to know yourself is, first and foremost, to read more of God’s words. God’s words expose all the aspects of man’s corrupt disposition and corrupt essence. These corrupt dispositions are present in every one of us—myself included—except for the incarnate God. So, isn’t the best way to know ourselves to read more of God’s words, and dissect and know ourselves according to what they expose? (It is.) But people don’t always recognize the corrupt dispositions exposed in God’s words. For example, when God says that humans are descendants of Satan, you may not be able to recognize this. You might wonder, “How could I be a descendant of Satan? Are these words really directed at me?” You then think to yourself, “I’m a good person. There’s a really bad person in our church; he’s a descendant of Satan. These words are directed at him.” What do you think of this comprehension? (It’s not good.) So what does God mean when He says humans are descendants of Satan? If you don’t understand the meaning of this statement, you’ll be prone to applying it to others, saying, “Some of God’s words are directed at these people, and some are directed at those people. The words of approval, blessing, and comfort are for us, while the words of judgment, exposure, and curses are for devils, Satan, antichrists, and evil people.” If you comprehend it this way, then although you won’t feel pained, will feel much more at ease, and won’t be undergoing judgment and chastisement, you won’t be able to truly know yourself. For instance, when some people first start believing in Almighty God, they read God exposing that humans are the offspring of the great red dragon, and their hearts are pierced and pained. They say, “Reading this passage of God’s words really pierces my heart! I’ll just skip this page and read the parts of God’s words that don’t pierce my heart.” When people first start believing in God and their stature is small, they act this way. Looking at it now, what do you think of this approach? (It’s naive.) This approach is too naive. But at that point, their stature is small, and God does not remember revelations of corruption that arise from immaturity in life. When people grow in stature, they will know that every word from God that exposes mankind’s corrupt essence relates to every single person, and that everyone has the same corrupt disposition and corrupt essence. When people reach this level of understanding, they will find it easier to accept some of God’s most direct and heart-piercing words of exposure; they will no longer try to evade them. They will no longer say that these words are directed at antichrists or that those words are directed at evil people. They will no longer apply these words to others, but will be able to apply them to themselves and reflect on and know themselves. There are also those who, no matter what corrupt disposition God exposes—even when God’s words expose humans as devils or Satans—apply it to themselves. They say, “This is about me. These are words that judge me, and I must accept them.” It is correct for them to comprehend these words in this way. But after accepting them, people still need to gain knowledge and understand why God says these things. For example, what does God mean when He says humans are descendants of Satan? He means that your nature essence is that of a descendant of Satan. So what’s the difference between a descendant of Satan and Satan? There is no difference; their essence is the same. You must have knowledge of these things. Therefore, to achieve knowledge of ourselves, we must first know our own corrupt essence from God’s words. If there are some words you can’t comprehend for the time being, that’s okay, but don’t deny God’s words. Acknowledge them first. Accept the words you can comprehend and apply them to yourself to get to know yourself. This will help you know yourself faster. The fastest way to know yourself is to read God’s words, but what you can comprehend from reading God’s words is very limited. Sometimes, you reveal some corruption but don’t recognize it yourself—you may even think you’re correct. In fact, those who understand the truth have discernment, and can see that your manifestations are revelations of corrupt dispositions. So when others spot your problems and point them out to you, you’ll come to know yourself quickly if you can accept it and reflect on yourself. Accepting it when other people point out your problems is another way to know yourself. If you are unconvinced and refuse to accept it when others point things out to you, then your progress in knowing yourself will be very slow, and your life will suffer loss. What should be done in this situation? In that case, you have to be revealed by the facts that come upon you. It’s only when you fail and stumble that you can admit that other people had indeed pointed out your problems. Without failing and stumbling, you won’t be convinced or admit it, and you’ll think you have no corruption. Is it easy for people like this to know themselves? (It’s not.) Therefore, you must accept it whenever others point out your revelations of corruption. Practicing this way makes it easier to know yourself. In short, to know yourself, you must first accept the judgment and exposure of God’s words. All of God’s words that expose man’s corrupt essence are guaranteed to be correct; everyone shares these corrupt natures. If you can comprehend it this way, you’ll come to know yourself quickly. Also, you must accept it when others point out your problems and prune you. You should get closer to those who can expose your corruption and accept their pruning. In fact, many people are people pleasers. You ask them, “Have you noticed any corruption that I revealed? If you have, please point it out to me quickly. I want to know myself.” They reply, “I haven’t noticed any. You’re great. You’re much better than me in every way.” They only say things to praise you; they only say pleasant things. You can’t gain any benefit from them. Such people are not good people. In contrast, those who can expose you bluntly are the truly good people, the people with a sense of justice. Although their words may sometimes pierce your heart and cause you pain, they are helpful in getting to know yourself. You must not resist or reject them; you must accept what they say and reflect on yourself properly. This is beneficial for your life entry. Do you understand? (We do.)

Question 16: As a leader, how should I lead my brothers and sisters so that they learn to rely on God and seek the truth to resolve their own problems, instead of relying on me?

Answer: This requires you to bring the brothers and sisters before God and teach them to rely on God. You should regularly fellowship on the truth of relying on God, your own experiences of relying on God, and others’ experiences of relying on God, so they understand that those who rely on God will never be put to shame, while those who always rely on themselves, or rely on and look up to any other person, are liable to suffer shame and failure. If you consistently fellowship with the brothers and sisters on this truth and these experiential testimonies, they will gradually understand. Then, when they encounter issues, they will consciously pray, rely on God, and seek the truth to resolve them. If you don’t fellowship or bear witness to God in this way, and instead always try to show yourself off, the brothers and sisters will always rely on you. The more you show yourself off, the greater they will think you are, and the more they will worship you. When they encounter issues, they will always rely on you and not know to rely on God. In this way, you bring people before yourself, which is a problem. This is loathsome and hateful to God, and it will be cursed by God. You must never do such a thing. You should frequently fellowship on some of your own experiences of failure. These could include how you looked up to and followed people, listened to people in everything, and how you ultimately ended up in shame and failure. After hearing this, they will think, “Oh, so you have these experiences of failure too. It seems we are all the same; we all have weaknesses and are all capable of failure. I won’t look up to you or rely on you anymore. I must rely on and look to God instead.” You see, fellowshipping this kind of experience is very effective. The brothers and sisters will then be able to view you correctly and will know to rely on God.

Question 17: I’ve come to understand from God’s words that people of poor caliber are not suited to do the duty of a leader or worker. I feel that I am a person of poor caliber and am not suited to continue as a leader or worker. Because of this, I feel negative and weak, and I’ve become slack in my duty. How can I resolve this state?

Answer: You feel your caliber is poor, but to what extent is it poor? Can you comprehend the truth? When others fellowship on the truth, can you understand? If your own comprehension of the truth is a bit lacking, but you can understand when others fellowship on the truth or talk about their experiences, then your caliber is average. Someone with good caliber has good comprehension ability; they can directly comprehend the truth from God’s words, and they can also pray to God and seek the truth to resolve their problems in all the matters they encounter. These are the people with the best caliber. Although someone with average caliber may not have such good comprehension ability, they can still understand some truths when they read God’s words, and they can keep up when they listen to others fellowship on the truth. This is considered average caliber. Someone with truly poor caliber understands nothing after reading God’s words and gains no light. They can’t understand when others fellowship on the truth, can’t find a path, and don’t know how to experience. They are unable to grasp the truth, let alone practice it. These are people of poor caliber. If your caliber is really that poor, then you are not suited to be a leader or worker. If your own comprehension of the truth is a bit lacking, but you can still understand and keep up when others fellowship on the truth, then this doesn’t count as poor caliber. You can continue to be a leader or worker. As long as you strive hard toward the truth, you can be competent. There’s a Chinese saying, “A slow bird has to start flying early,” which in this context means: Your caliber may not match that of people with good caliber, but as long as you pray to and rely on God more, work a bit more, suffer a bit more, and pay a greater price, the results of your work can still catch up to those of people with good caliber. Also, if your caliber is poor and your work results are not good, there’s another problem you need to resolve. Identify the areas of your work in which you get poor results and which truths you need to equip yourself with to shoulder that work. Then, you must quickly equip yourself with those truths. Once you are equipped with the truth, the efficiency of your work will naturally improve, and you will do your duty well. This means you’ll have to work harder, suffer a bit more, and pay a greater price to achieve results.

Question 18: I am a church leader, and I’m always busy handling general affairs work in the church. I rarely spend time seeking the truth to resolve my brothers’ and sisters’ difficulties and problems. Gradually, I’ve felt their faith growing colder and colder, and I can no longer feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. How can I adjust my state to do church work well?

Answer: The primary duty of a church leader is to fellowship on the truth and lead people into the truth reality, not to resolve external, general affairs-related issues. Leading the brothers and sisters into the truth reality is the primary duty of a leader or worker, and it is also the most crucial principle in doing the work of the church well. Remember, a church leader’s main job is to lead people into the truth reality; they do not need to do any work that is unrelated to entry into the truth reality. If you always do work related to the truth, if you always fellowship on the truth to resolve people’s corrupt dispositions, people’s notions and imaginings, and people’s fallacious views and understandings—if you frequently fellowship on the truth to resolve problems in these three main areas and can achieve results, won’t the brothers and sisters be energized? (Yes.) As for general affairs, like someone’s family having financial difficulties, you as a leader or worker don’t need to handle such things; you can just hand them over to the general affairs staff to resolve. The primary duty of a leader is to guide people in eating and drinking God’s words and to fellowship on the truth, using the truth to help the brothers and sisters resolve their problems. If you grasp this crucial aspect of fellowshipping on the truth to resolve problems, then the more work you do, the better your results will be, and the more energized the brothers and sisters will become. Let me give you an example. In the past, I often went to churches all over mainland China for gatherings. At each church, I would hold gatherings for two or three days. Before I arrived, every church had many problems, and some people had no energy for their duties. But after I fellowshipped with them for two or three days, they would say they had no problems anymore. In fact, I didn’t specifically fellowship on their problems; I just held normal gatherings and fellowshipped on the truth. After listening, all their problems were gone. What was going on? When you fellowship on the truth with clarity, even if you don’t directly resolve their problems, they will understand the truth after hearing the sermon, their problems will disappear, and they will be energized. Isn’t that so? (It is.) I often fellowshipped on the truth in this way. Afterward, the brothers and sisters in the churches I led were all very energized, no one was negative, and they were all full of energy as soon as duty was mentioned—even those who used to have the least energy for believing in God. There were even some antichrists and evil people who, upon learning the church was going to clear them out, refused to leave no matter what. They even said, “As long as you don’t expel me, I’m willing to just be an observer. If you really expel me, I don’t want to go on living.” They simply would not leave Almighty God. That’s the kind of result achieved by constantly fellowshipping on the truth. If a church has no one who can fellowship on the truth, then the faith of the brothers and sisters in that church will certainly grow colder and colder, and they will become increasingly negative and slack. If someone frequently fellowships on the truth, the atmosphere in the church will be different. Everyone will be positive and enthusiastic, and they will have energy for their duties. It’s like the saying, “When everyone contributes, the flame of enthusiasm burns high.” Therefore, if a church has a few people who pursue the truth and bear a burden in doing the work of the church, then the Holy Spirit will work in that church. The work of the church will get better and better, flourish more and more, and the faith and enthusiasm of the brothers and sisters will grow ever stronger. To what extent will their enthusiasm grow? Even the unhurried ones will become anxious—so anxious to pursue life and the truth that they get blisters on their mouths. How great must the work of the Holy Spirit be to achieve this? This requires people who pursue the truth to work continuously. Once their work reaches a certain point, the Holy Spirit will begin to work in a great way. Some people might say, “Our church is cold and cheerless, and no one is very enthusiastic. What’s the problem?” The problem is that the leaders and workers are not effective in their work or fellowshipping on the truth. If you fellowship on the truth with people for a few days, and after listening to you, they all become like a blazing fire, all fired up with enthusiasm, all energized to pursue the truth, and all able to do their duties with one heart and mind, thinking as one and directing their effort toward the same goal, then the church’s atmosphere will be different. This is what it is like when gatherings and fellowship on the truth yield results, and this is what a leader or worker who can fellowship on the truth is like. If a leader can’t fellowship on the truth, the church life will be cold and cheerless, the brothers and sisters will become increasingly negative, and their faith will grow colder. If a leader can fellowship on the truth, they can resolve all problems, the church life will get better and better, and the brothers and sisters will become more and more energized. Therefore, the primary duty of a leader or worker is to fellowship on the truth and lead the brothers and sisters into the truth reality. This is the most important work of a leader or worker.

Question 19: When following up on the work of the decision-making group, I see that they are quite passive and slow in their work. Sometimes, fearing that the progress of the work will be delayed, I go and follow up on the grassroots work myself. But when I do this, they bear even less of a burden. How can this problem be resolved?

Answer: You have to learn to cooperate with the decision-making group in their work. When you find that they are passive in their work, you should lead them in it. Cooperate with one person for a period of time, then with another for a period of time. In this way, you will gradually get them on their feet, and the work will be done well. You must cooperate with them; don’t work alone. When you see someone who is somewhat passive and not proactive in their duty, you should take the initiative to cooperate with them. Fellowship on the truth to help them resolve their incorrect states and difficulties. If there is any work they don’t know how to do, you should fellowship on the principles with them. After you’ve cooperated with them for a period of time, their difficulties will be resolved, and they will have the confidence and energy to do the work of the church. Then, you can cooperate with another person for a while, and they too will learn how to do the work of the church. In this way, you will have raised them up, and gradually, the results of the work will get better and better. Isn’t that so? (It is.)

Now that we’ve finished answering the questions, let’s end by fellowshipping on the topic of preaching the gospel. Preaching the gospel is propagating God’s words. Our purpose in preaching the gospel to people is to let them hear the voice of Almighty God. That is, through preaching the gospel, we propagate God’s words, allowing people to hear God’s voice in the words of Almighty God, to recognize from His words that all that Almighty God expresses is the truth, and to recognize from His words that Almighty God is doing the work of judgment in the last days, and that God is purifying and saving man. Once they understand these things, they will have far fewer difficulties in investigating the true way, and they will also have far fewer doubts. If they cannot see that Almighty God’s words are the truth, they will raise a pile of questions. If you get bogged down by the notions and fallacies they raise, and you can’t answer their questions and don’t know to read Almighty God’s words to them, then you will not be effective in preaching the gospel. Isn’t that so? (It is.) If you are constrained by the notions and questions of religious people, and lose the opportunity to propagate and testify to God’s words, you will end up on the back foot in preaching the gospel. Then you will have failed. If a potential gospel recipient raises a question you can’t answer, just read a few passages of Almighty God’s words to them. It could be that they will recognize that a certain passage you read is the truth, and they will become willing to investigate in earnest. You see, you’ve captured their interest with God’s words. This is the best and most effective way to preach the gospel. If you look to Bible verses to answer their questions and resolve their religious notions, then even if they are quite satisfied with your answers, will they know that the words expressed by Almighty God are the truth? (No.) Therefore, no matter how well you use Bible verses to answer their questions, they may not necessarily investigate Almighty God’s work of the last days. On the other hand, suppose you cannot interpret the scriptures, but you can find in Almighty God’s words the words they need most right now—the words that are most crucial in resolving their notions, and the words that religious people lack most and should understand most—and you find and read these words to them. If they listen to them and can understand them, their notions and questions will be resolved on their own, and you won’t need to answer them. The words of Almighty God will have taken root in their hearts, and they will say, “The words expressed by Almighty God are all truth! They’ve resolved all my notions and questions. It’s very likely that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned.” Then, you will have planted a seed in their heart by preaching the gospel to them on this occasion. They will feel that Almighty God’s words seem to be the truth, that Almighty God seems to be the Lord Jesus returned, and that this way is well worth investigating. In that case, will you not have gained results from preaching the gospel? (Yes.) So, no matter what questions religious people raise, and regardless of whether your answers are good or not, never forget that our duty is to propagate the words of Almighty God. You must find the words of God that the religious world ought to hear and understand the most—that is, the words that precisely counter their notions—and have them listen to them more. If they can accept God’s words after listening to them, that’s great. If they don’t understand, or can’t recognize that His words are the truth and don’t accept them, that’s not a pity either, because you have fulfilled your responsibility. You have fellowshipped all the truth you should have. What do you think of this principle for preaching the gospel? (It’s good.) So, if you can’t answer a potential gospel recipient’s questions, you can say this: “I can see you’re a person of good caliber, so your comprehension must be very good. I’ve come across some words that are quite valuable, and I’m sure you’ve never read them. How about I read them to you?” You read one or two passages of Almighty God’s words, and if they think they’re good, you can read a few more. As they listen, they’ll eventually ask, “These words you’re reading are very good. Where do they come from?” When you see they’ve become interested in God’s words and you preach the gospel to them again, they will want to seek, and they won’t resist, be guarded, judge, or condemn. You see, reading God’s words can open people’s hearts. Some people say, “I don’t understand the Bible, so I’m afraid of people asking me questions about it. It would be too embarrassing if I couldn’t answer.” I’m telling you now, if you’ve never studied the Bible, just read Almighty God’s words to them. If they keep discussing the Bible with you, just say, “I’m sorry, I’ve never studied the Bible, but I have a few passages of God’s words here that can resolve your questions. How about I read them to you?” After you’ve read God’s words, if they are someone with comprehension ability, they will start to ponder, “These passages are more crucial than the questions about the Bible verses that I brought up. After hearing these words, those issues have become simple and easy to understand. These passages are key. Where do these words come from?” After listening to God’s words, their problems will be resolved automatically, and they will want to investigate.

Also, if you want a potential gospel recipient to investigate God’s new work, you have to seize upon the most crucial issue in the religious world as your starting point to open up the topic. You should say this: “What is the most crucial thing for us in welcoming the Lord?” If they say, “The most crucial thing is to watch and wait for the Lord to descend on a cloud,” then you should say, “If the Lord descends on a cloud, would we still need to watch and wait? We’d just see Him descending on a cloud, wouldn’t we? When the Lord descends on a cloud, heaven and earth will tremble, and even those who are sleeping will be shaken awake. We wouldn’t need to be watchful, right? Actually, when it comes to welcoming the Lord, the manner of His coming in the last days—whether in secret or openly, whether like a thief or on a cloud—is not the most crucial thing. The most crucial thing is a statement from the Lord Jesus: ‘When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth’ (John 16:13). This statement is very important. The Spirit of truth is the God who expresses the truth. If you miss the coming of the God who expresses the truth to guide you into all truth, what will the consequences be? You will have no share in the kingdom of heaven, and your hopes in your belief in the Lord and your desires for blessings will all come to nothing. If you welcome the God who expresses the truth, He can lead you into all truth. Once you have entered into all truth, you will have received blessings, and you will have hope of entering the kingdom of heaven. But the most dangerous thing is if you do not welcome the God who expresses the truth, and only wait to welcome the Lord who descends on a cloud after the great catastrophes, because the day the Lord descends on a cloud will be the day when all peoples wail and are punished. At that time, you will not be blessed to enter the kingdom of heaven. This will fulfill what the Lord Jesus said to Thomas: ‘Because you have seen Me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed’ (John 20:29). What does this statement refer to? It means that if you only believe when you see Him descending on a cloud, you will not be blessed. God does not approve of this kind of belief. Those who do not wait to see the Lord descending on a cloud, but who believe in and follow God when He became flesh as the Son of man and came in secret—that is, when God expresses the truth and works in normal humanity—are those who are truly blessed.” If you fellowship this way, people will see clearly what is key in welcoming the Lord. You can also talk about the topic in this way: “If you really wait until the Lord descends on a cloud and the great catastrophes have all come before you welcome the Lord, then your chance to enter the kingdom of heaven will be completely gone. When the great catastrophes come, God’s work of salvation will be over, and it will be too late for regrets. Think about it, when did believers start following the Lord when He appeared and worked? Some accepted and followed the Lord before He was crucified, while others only accepted and followed Him after He was crucified, resurrected, and appeared to people. So tell me, who was more blessed: those who accepted the Lord when He appeared and worked as the Son of man, or those who only accepted Him after He was resurrected and ascended to heaven? Of course, those who accepted Him when He appeared and worked as the Son of man were more blessed. Look at what the Lord Jesus said to Thomas: ‘Because you have seen Me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.’ What the Lord Jesus was telling people is this: ‘You only acknowledge that I am God because you saw Me appear in My spiritual body after My resurrection. But blessed are those who did not see My resurrected spiritual body, who believed in Me when I had merely become flesh as an ordinary person.’” You must focus on fellowshipping this statement that the Lord Jesus made to Thomas. Regardless of whether they accept it or not, you should fellowship it with them over and over, explain God’s intention thoroughly, and make sure they understand it. If they are people who yearn for the truth and they gain some insights from this, they will come to investigate. Even if they don’t express their position or start investigating at that very moment, their hearts will be in turmoil when they go back. They will keep pondering these words, and some may even be so preoccupied that they can’t sleep. They may well come to investigate a few days later. Tell me, are these words crucial? (They are.) If you say these words to ten people, you might encounter one who yearns for the truth, and that one person will come to investigate. You will also have spoken them to people who do not love the truth and don’t come to investigate, but at the very least, you will have fulfilled your responsibility and have no guilt in your heart. Isn’t that so? (Yes.) If you see that someone has evil humanity and does not love the truth, then don’t say these things to them. But if they love the truth and are a good person, you don’t need to debate with them. Just repeat these words to them. Once they have taken these words in and understood them, they will quickly come to investigate. This is because they will have thought it through and will know that if they don’t seek and investigate now, it will be too late for them once the great catastrophes come and the gate of grace closes. The great catastrophes are about to come. For one thing, the wars are about to escalate in every way. In addition, more severe earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, famines, plagues, and other such disasters are all about to happen. These disasters will be immense; they will be cataclysmic! The great catastrophes have not yet arrived, which means God is still giving us a chance—a chance for us to hurry up and pursue the truth, to hurry up and do our duty to prepare good deeds. If we miss this chance, we will have lifelong regrets. So, we must seize every moment to pursue the truth! Do you understand? (We understand.)

Let’s end our fellowship here for today. How does that sound? (Good.) Goodbye!