Fellowship From the Brother Above – November 17, 2025 (Part Five)

Question 6: I’m responsible for gospel work in the church, and although I’ve fellowshipped with the gospel workers many times about how to preach the gospel, there are still some who don’t know how to approach potential gospel recipients and invite them to listen to sermons. I feel that there are difficulties in doing this work, and I don’t know how to resolve them. I’d like to seek fellowship on this: Why is it that even after I’ve fellowshipped so much, some people still don’t know how to preach the gospel? How can I avoid getting disheartened when I encounter difficulties, and continue to do my duty well? And at the same time, how can I do the work of the church well and resolve the actual problems of my brothers and sisters?

Answer: You will always encounter all sorts of problems when doing your duty. But if people don’t understand the truth, they can’t see things clearly and can’t resolve problems, and so they feel there are difficulties everywhere in their duty. Preaching the gospel is difficult, being a supervisor is difficult, and being a leader or worker is difficult—every duty is difficult. People who don’t understand the truth find it impossible to make any headway, while people who understand the truth know how to fellowship and resolve any problems others have. For example, say you’re a leader or worker, but you do things without principle. They can see you have this problem right away, and once they see the matter clearly, they’ll naturally know how to fellowship with you. They’ll say, “Although you’re a leader or worker, you’ve handled this matter without principle. If you do your duty without following principles, won’t you be at risk of disrupting and disturbing the church’s work?” When you hear this, you’ll think, “That’s right. I did handle that matter without principle. What you’ve said is quite crucial.” This is what it means to get to the heart of the matter. People who understand the truth can get directly to the heart of the matter, and such people can also achieve good results when they preach the gospel.

So, how should we speak when we approach potential gospel recipients? We should zero in on some key, crucial questions about believing in the Lord and welcoming the Lord, and ask for their input on them. Some religious people have believed in the Lord for a long time; they may know a bit about the Bible, and they might be eloquent and gifted. If you preach to such people directly, it won’t be easy for you to convince them; they’ll think they’re better than you, so they won’t accept what you say. Therefore, you should first ask for their input on some key questions. If they can’t answer, and you then share your views, won’t they accept them more readily? (Yes.) For example, when you meet someone who believes in the Lord, you can start by simply asking them, “The Lord Jesus said: ‘I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth’ (John 16:12–13). I don’t quite understand the meaning of these verses. Could I ask how you understand them?” When you ask them this question, they won’t really know the answer, but they’ll have to ponder it in order to fellowship with you. They’ll think, “This statement from the Lord Jesus touches on a key issue, which is, ‘When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.’ So who is this ‘Spirit of truth’? Is He the Holy Spirit that descended at Pentecost in the Age of Grace? It doesn’t appear to be. The Holy Spirit that descended at Pentecost has been working for two thousand years, but has not guided people into all truth. So who exactly is this Spirit of truth? Could it be the returned Lord?” You see, when you ask for their input, they’ll start to ponder, and as they ponder, they might gain some light. Perhaps the Holy Spirit will enlighten them and show them that this is a crucial statement that is directly related to welcoming the Lord. So, isn’t that a good question to ask? (It is.) But even if they gain some light from pondering it, they still won’t be able to answer the question. At this point, you can share your own views. You can say, “Don’t these words spoken by the Lord Jesus have to do with His appearance and work upon His return? If the Lord is to guide people into all truth upon His return, then He will certainly have to express the truth. If the Lord is to do the work of expressing the truth when He returns in the last days, then it won’t be the work of being crucified to redeem man as in the Age of Grace, but rather a stage of work that thoroughly cleanses and saves man.” After you’ve said this, ask them if this comprehension is correct. If they say it is, you can continue to ask, “How should we welcome the Lord’s return? How should we investigate the true way? What Bible verses do believers in the Lord today base their welcome of the Lord on?” Then you can fellowship with them, “Many people welcome the Lord based on the verse in Revelation 1:7 that says: ‘Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him.’ But what is the context for the scene described in this verse? The Lord Jesus also made a prophecy. The Lord said: ‘In those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light’ (Mark 13:24). So, we can see that the Lord’s descent with the clouds will happen after the great catastrophes. But the Lord returns in the last days to do the work of expressing the truth to save man. So, would the Lord come after the great catastrophes to do the work of salvation? Once the great catastrophes are over, what work would God still have to do? How would He save man and perfect a group of people into overcomers? The Lord will make a group of overcomers before and during the catastrophes. After the catastrophes, God’s work of saving man will come to an end. So, it wouldn’t be right for God to come and express the truth after the great catastrophes have ended. The nations of the world will have been destroyed by the great catastrophes, and God wouldn’t be able to do the work of salvation then.” If they think what you’ve said is right, they’ll start to investigate. If you preach the gospel to them this way, you’ll achieve results.

Actually, there are so many topics we can talk about when we approach religious people, and so much we can say. As long as you fellowship on topics they are concerned about, you can achieve some results no matter what angle you take. Suppose you meet a believer in the Lord who hasn’t yet welcomed the Lord. How would you fellowship with them? You could say, “The disasters are growing ever greater. We’re already in the midst of the great catastrophes, and all of us are at risk of being destroyed. We still haven’t welcomed the Lord—what do you think the consequences of that will be? Can we still enter the kingdom of heaven? Have you ever thought about this question?” You see, aren’t these few sentences quite crucial? After you fellowship with them on this matter, they’ll have to ponder it. They'll think, “We haven’t welcomed the Lord yet. If we wait until we see the Lord descending with the clouds to welcome Him, will we still be able to gain His approval? By then, the great catastrophes will be over, and the scene of all peoples wailing will appear. Is the appearance of this scene a portent of receiving blessings or a portent of going to hell and suffering destruction? Why doesn’t it look like a good omen to me?” Your words will serve to guide them, and they might say, “What you’re saying is actually absolutely correct, but our pastor told us to wait until after the great catastrophes are over to welcome the Lord Jesus, who will descend with the clouds. Could what the pastor said be wrong?” Then you can say to them, “What will the consequences be if you really wait until the Lord Jesus descends with the clouds to welcome Him? Do you dare say you’ll be able to enter the kingdom of heaven? Do you dare say your hope of receiving blessings can be realized at that time? You don’t dare say these things. So, while there’s still a little time left, we must hurry to seek and investigate where the Lord has appeared and is working now. If we don’t hurry to seek and investigate the Lord’s return, the consequences would be too grave to contemplate.” How does this reply sound? (Good.) Speaking this way shows wisdom. A thoughtful person speaks with wisdom. They don’t just have one way of speaking, but many, and they can achieve results no matter how they speak. After chatting with a potential gospel recipient for a little while, they become familiar with them. After chatting a bit more, they can see what this person’s caliber is like, whether they can comprehend the truth, and whether they can understand the truth. Then, they know how to preach the gospel and testify about God to them. The things they say can also hit home, and so the other person will be willing to listen to their fellowship—unless, that is, the potential gospel recipient doesn’t love the truth and isn’t a true believer in God, in which case they won’t be willing to listen no matter how you fellowship with them. But as long as the potential gospel recipient is thoughtful and loves the truth, they will be willing to listen to you on any crucial topic you bring up. Can we put it this way? (We can.) So, what are the most crucial topics to discuss when approaching religious people? Discussing how to welcome the Lord’s return and which Bible verses are the most accurate basis for this—these are crucial topics. Also, how to enter the kingdom of heaven, who can enter the kingdom of heaven and who cannot, and how you must believe in the Lord to enter the kingdom of heaven—these are also crucial topics. So how can you talk about these things in a way that achieves results? You can find some biblical evidence to serve as a basis for what you say. For example, you could say, “We pray and confess our sins every day, but then we sin again as soon as we finish confessing. Can people like us who live in sin really enter the kingdom of heaven? Why do I feel unsure about this in my heart? The Lord Jesus said: ‘Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and in Your name have cast out devils, and in Your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity’ (Matthew 7:22–23). Why would the Lord say that these people who prophesied and worked in His name are workers of iniquity? How do we explain this?” If you fellowship with them this way, they’ll be left scratching their head. Perhaps at first they thought they understood the Bible, but when you discuss some biblical evidence with them and ask them a few crucial questions, they won’t know how to answer. In their heart, they’ll be convinced, and they will be ready to listen to your viewpoints. So, there are many topics you can talk about when preaching the gospel to religious people, and many methods you can use. The reason some people don’t know what to say when they meet religious people is simply that they understand too little about belief in God. In fact, there are so many things relating to belief in God you can talk about. If you hit it off with a potential gospel recipient, you could talk for days and nights on end without running out of things to say. Although religious people understand some words of the Bible, they don’t understand the truth—so aren’t there just so many things you can talk about with them? As long as you talk about topics they are currently concerned about, they will be willing to talk with you. What if a religious person asks a question you can’t answer? You can answer them with words from the Bible. You could say, “The question you’ve raised is quite crucial, and I’m reminded of a passage in the Bible that touches on this very issue….” If the passage you find in the Bible happens to answer their question, they’ll feel that you really understand the Bible and won’t dare to ask you questions so casually anymore. A thoughtful person, a person who understands the truth, can answer any question they encounter. Therefore, the greatest deficiencies of anyone who can’t answer the questions raised by religious people are that they lack thoughtfulness and understanding of the truth. When people who don’t understand the truth encounter topics that require fellowshipping about the truth, they have very little to say. Not only are they unable to resolve problems, but they don’t even know how to speak in a way that achieves results when interacting with others. This is how pitiful and impoverished people who don’t understand the truth are.

Tell me, can someone who doesn’t understand the truth do church work? (No.) They don’t know how to do church work. People who don’t understand the truth don’t know the answers to questions like “What are the main tasks that need to be done in church work? Don’t God’s chosen people lack the truth reality? Shouldn’t we first lead God’s chosen people to understand the truth? So how do we lead them to understand the truth and enter into reality? Do you know how to prioritize what’s most important and urgent?” People who don’t understand the truth can’t resolve any problems or do any work well. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in the church right now, and many problems that need to be resolved. So how should leaders and workers sort out their priorities when fellowshipping about the truth to resolve problems? First, newcomers urgently need to be watered and shepherded, otherwise they can easily be taken captive by Satan. How to fellowship about the truth to help new believers stand firm, keeping them from being misled and disturbed by Satan and leaving as a result—this is a problem that urgently needs to be resolved. New believers who aren’t clear on the truths regarding visions may leave at any time. If a religious person spouts some fallacy, they might be misled and leave. If they see some negative propaganda online, they might also leave. And if a nonbelieving relative says something to disturb them, they are even more likely to leave. Tell me, isn’t this as urgent as a child falling into a well or a house catching fire? Isn’t it the problem that needs resolving the most? (It is.) Therefore, watering newcomers well so that they can establish roots in the true way is the most important and most urgent work. Second, people doing their duty without understanding the truth, meaning they achieve no results in their duty—isn’t this also a problem that urgently needs to be fellowshipped on and resolved? (It is.) Third, leaders and workers not knowing how to do the work and being unable to resolve actual problems—this is also a problem that urgently needs to be fellowshipped on and resolved. Fourth, gospel preachers not understanding the truths of gospel preaching, leading to the gospel work being ineffective—this is also a problem that urgently needs to be resolved. All of these are problems that urgently need to be resolved. This is how it is in the early days of the establishment of a church; there will be more difficulties and problems. So, if these things all happen at the same time, how should you resolve them? Let me give you an example. If a wolf has carried off your pig, and at the same time your child has fallen into a well, which problem do you resolve first? (Save the child first.) If you save the child first, the pig will be eaten by the wolf. Is there any way for you to resolve both problems at the same time? (Get someone to help.) Then, while you’re quickly thinking of a way to save the child, you find someone to go and save the pig. Won’t both problems get resolved by doing this? (Yes.) So, when doing church work, if you’re limited in the problems you can solve, then you should quickly find people who have the truth reality to cooperate with you to resolve them. This way, all the problems can be resolved. That’s one way. Or, several leaders and workers can divide up the work according to their respective strengths and resolve different problems. Whoever is most suited to resolving a particular problem should resolve it. That’s another way. In short, resolving all these actual problems as quickly as possible is what accords with God’s intentions, no matter what method you use. If you can’t resolve the problems and don’t find people to cooperate with you, then you’re likely to delay the work. If you can’t resolve actual problems, then you’re a false leader, and you can’t do church work. Therefore, when you encounter a problem you can’t resolve on your own, you should quickly pray to God to think of a way, and at the same time, find other leaders and workers to cooperate with you. Whoever can resolve a particular problem should go and resolve it. Everyone should divide up the work and cooperate harmoniously. If a problem isn’t completely resolved, then get someone else to have a go at resolving it. The results will be better if everyone cooperates to resolve problems. Leaders and workers must divide up the work and cooperate harmoniously, doing their best to resolve all the problems and difficulties of God’s chosen people in a short period of time. Only then are you doing real work. But sometimes, after you’ve resolved these problems, new ones emerge a few days later. What’s going on? This is how it is with church work; all kinds of problems are constantly cropping up. So, is it a good thing for problems to always be cropping up? (Yes.) Through these problems constantly cropping up, we must constantly pray to and rely on God, and constantly seek the truth to resolve them. In this way, every time we resolve a problem, we understand a little more of the truth, and our stature grows somewhat. Then we resolve another problem and understand another truth, and our life grows a little more. By constantly resolving problems in this way, our life gradually grows and matures. Therefore, we pursue the truth and obtain growth in life through constantly resolving actual problems. Is that not so? (It is.)

Tell me, when I do church work, do I mainly focus on resolving actual problems? (Yes.) From the time God began to use me to lead the church, I’ve had a feeling in my heart that my aim in holding gatherings is to resolve actual problems, not just to preach sermons. Just preaching sermons without resolving problems is speaking empty doctrines—it’s useless. Every time I hold a gathering of co-workers, I have to speak for four or five days in a row, from morning to night, just to resolve the various problems raised by the brothers and sisters. God’s chosen people often ask how to solve this problem or that problem, and I have to fellowship on the truth to resolve these problems. So, when I hold gatherings, I focus on resolving problems. Now, when I hold gatherings for you, God’s chosen people from around the world, my aim is also to resolve your problems. For simple problems, I’ll say a little less, and for complex problems, I’ll say a little more. By resolving your problems, I help you gradually understand the truth, so that you can grow in life and bear witness for God. So what do you think of this way of holding gatherings? (It’s good.) You too must focus on fellowshipping on the truth to resolve problems in your gatherings. Remember this sentence: Fellowship on the truth to resolve problems. If a gathering doesn’t resolve any actual problems and is just filled with empty talk about doctrines, then it’s meaningless, and God does not approve of it. Therefore, after every gathering, I reflect on what problems I resolved, which problems I fellowshipped on clearly, and which ones I didn’t fellowship on as clearly. After I have reflected, in the next gathering, I continue to fellowship on any problems I didn’t fellowship on clearly. If a problem still isn’t completely clear after I have fellowshipped on it again, then I’ll keep that problem in mind. In the next gathering, after resolving other problems, I’ll have to fellowship on it again until I’ve fellowshipped on it so clearly that everyone can understand. I won’t rest until the problem is completely resolved. This is how I do church work. I don’t focus on preaching lofty sermons or abstruse spiritual theories; I don’t say a single word of that kind. I only resolve the actual problems of God’s chosen people. I believe that once their actual problems are resolved, and I have helped God’s chosen people understand the truth, act with principle, do their duty in a way that is up to standard, and bear testimony for God, then my work is complete and my responsibility is fulfilled. This is the only goal I seek to achieve when doing church work. So, before every gathering, I pray, “Oh Almighty God, I place this gathering in Your hands. May You enlighten and illuminate me so that I can fellowship on the truth clearly, so that God’s chosen people can fully understand, and their problems can be resolved. May all this glory be God’s!” I’ve prayed this prayer no less than ten thousand times, because I pray this way before every gathering. After the gathering is over, I still pray to and seek with God, reflecting on which truths I didn’t fellowship on clearly enough in that gathering. I also sometimes ask the brothers and sisters which problems they didn’t understand, and I continue to fellowship on them next time. In addition, I often ponder, “What problems still exist in the church? What problems still haven’t been resolved?” As a leader or worker, you must always be pondering how to do church work well. Why must you always ponder this? God has entrusted this work to us, so we must do our utmost to do it well. Only in this way can we be worthy of God and of our brothers and sisters. We cannot let people down, and we certainly cannot let God down. This is the functioning of conscience. My conscience is constantly urging me on and driving me forward, which benefits me in doing the work of the church. A person is no good without a functioning conscience; someone without a functioning conscience is not human. The minimum standard of self-conduct is to act according to your conscience. A higher standard is to act and conduct yourself according to the truth and God’s requirements. People must be practical in their actions; always speaking in theories and making grandiose claims is useless. I don’t speak a single word of theory; I only speak practical words, everyday language. This way, it’s easier for God’s chosen people to understand the truth and also gain benefits. What do you think—isn’t my way of fellowshipping on the truth and resolving problems practical? (Yes.) So why do I speak this way? What are my intentions and motivations when I speak? Can you see them? (Brother, you speak to resolve our difficulties and problems in doing our duty and in our life entry, so that we can understand the truth better.) I have no other intentions when I speak. I just want you to understand the truth more, to be able to act according to principles in your duty, and ultimately, to complete the work God has entrusted to you and be able to bear a resounding testimony for God. With this, I feel that I have fulfilled my responsibility, and that I have not let you or God down. Therefore, I will answer any questions you have in your duty; I will do my utmost to answer them, expressing the truths I understand in the most concise everyday language to make it easy for you to understand and remember. This is my principle in doing the work.

Do you think the words Paul spoke in his sermons were practical? Paul never spoke in everyday language. Many of the things he said were very empty; they were not practical at all, and they weren’t crucial either. Tell me—there are so many crucial issues, but why didn’t he fellowship on a single one of them? There are so many actual issues concerning life entry, but why didn’t he mention a single one of them? Paul’s words were all empty theories. Paul never said a word about how to achieve fear of God, never said a word about how to achieve true submission to God, certainly never said a word about how to practice and experience the words of the Lord Jesus to achieve life entry, and never said a word about how to understand the Lord Jesus’ exposure of the Pharisees’ hypocrisy. The more crucial an issue, the less Paul said about it. Most of what he said was not crucial or important. Most of it was vague, impractical notions and imaginings—it did not concern the Lord’s requirements for man, and was not in line with the Lord’s intentions. So how did those words of Paul still come to be recorded in the Bible? Just because they are recorded in the Bible, does that mean they are God’s words? Does it mean they are in line with the truth? Not in the slightest. But religious people can’t see this clearly. Most of them worship Paul and have blind faith in him, and they treat his words as if they were the truth. They don’t understand the truth at all. Tell me, why am I able to understand this matter? I came to understand it after experiencing God’s work for many years. You may not be able to see it very clearly now, but don’t worry. After you’ve experienced God’s work for a few more years, you will surely be able to see it clearly too. When you have life entry, have the truth reality, and can discern people, pick up Paul’s words and read them again. You will see clearly that none of the things he said were practical or crucial. He failed to grasp the most crucial and vital things that a believer in the Lord should understand. He didn’t understand what God’s requirements for man are. For example, Paul said, “For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:10). Is this statement of his correct? (No.) It is not. A person may believe in their heart and confess with their mouth, but do they show any actual manifestations of repentance? If they don’t show any actual manifestations of repentance and are still capable of sinning and resisting God, can they be saved? No. They must show actual manifestations of repentance. Only then can it be considered true repentance, and only then are they qualified to be saved. Also, what exactly does being saved mean? Did Paul explain what being saved means? He didn’t explain it at all. So, Paul’s words are all empty theories, are they not? (They are.) Then is Paul’s statement that one can believe to righteousness correct? If you don’t accept or practice the truth, can God call you righteous? People who don’t accept or practice the truth are disbelievers. They simply don’t meet the conditions to be called righteous by God. Such people cannot gain God’s approval. So, what kind of person does God call righteous? They must be able to bear a resounding testimony. For example, some people are arrested by the great red dragon and subjected to brutal torture, but they would rather die—rather be martyred—than deny God. In the end, they bear a resounding testimony for God. These are the people who God calls righteous. This is true believing to righteousness. If you don’t bear such a testimony, on what basis can you ask God to call you righteous? If you don’t bear a resounding testimony, God cannot possibly call you righteous. Even in the Age of Law and the Age of Grace, people had to bear a resounding testimony before they could be called righteous by God. Why did God approve of and bless Abraham? It was because he was able to offer up his only son to God. This is a testimony that most people could not bear, but Abraham bore this testimony and gained God’s approval. And why did God say that Lot was a righteous man? He said this because Lot was willing to give up his two daughters to protect the angels. His righteous deeds and his testimony gained God’s approval. Without righteous deeds and testimony of this sort, God will not call you righteous. Therefore, Paul’s explanation of “believing to righteousness” is too shallow and distorted. Can you discern this? (We can discern it a bit now.) After a few more years of pursuit, you will all be able to discern distorted words. Then you will have stature. Religious people have no discernment of these things at all because they haven’t accepted the truths expressed by God in the last days. They are impoverished, pitiful, and blind, and they don’t understand any truth at all. Therefore, there are so many topics you can fellowship with them about in your interactions with religious people, and you can achieve results no matter how you fellowship on the truth.