Fellowship From the Brother Above – July 15, 2025 (Part Two)

Regarding the first question, which mentioned how to build a rapport with potential gospel recipients, there are a few principles you need to master. First, you must speak to potential gospel recipients from the heart. Don’t speak in words and doctrines, and don’t talk in empty theories. That’s the biggest mistake. Speaking from the heart is most important. Second, you must talk about topics of common concern, such as how to welcome the Lord and how to hear the Lord’s voice. Tell them that welcoming the Lord must be based on the Lord Jesus’ prophecies, and absolutely not on the words of man. There are many words of man in the Bible, and if you lack discernment, you will likely try to welcome the Lord based on the words of man, based on the words of Paul, and then you will be misguided. Think about it, did Paul know when the Lord would come? (No.) First, Paul did not know when the Lord would come, and second, he did not know in what way the Lord would come. Also, did Paul know the incarnate God? (No.) Did Paul pursue the truth? (No.) Did Paul ever contemplate the prophecies that came directly from the Lord Jesus’ own mouth? (No.) Paul wrote so many epistles, yet not a single one of them contains anything that testifies to the words of the Lord Jesus, nor anything that fellowships on the words of the Lord Jesus. Paul never spoke of these things. Therefore, on the topic of how to welcome the Lord, Paul spoke entirely based on his personal notions and imaginings, without any basis at all. If you try to welcome the Lord according to Paul’s words, you will never, ever be able to welcome the Lord. It could be said that you will never be able to welcome Him, and that your efforts will be in vain! This is what it means to be misguided by Paul. If you treat Paul’s words as God’s words, and as the truth, then you’ve been deeply poisoned and you’ve been misled by Satan. To say so is no exaggeration. Do you understand? (Yes.) If a potential gospel recipient worships Paul with blind belief, and when investigating the true way, they listen to Paul’s words instead of basing their investigation on the Lord Jesus’ prophecies, then you must fellowship with them. You should guide them like this, “Do you think Paul knew the Lord Jesus? Did he read the words of the Lord Jesus? Did he ever talk about his experiential understanding of the Lord Jesus’ words? He initially persecuted the Lord Jesus, but did he come to love Him later? Did he ever truly love the Lord Jesus in his heart? Which of his words show that he had love for the Lord Jesus in his heart?” Someone might say, “If we guide them like this, they’ll definitely turn and run, and block us immediately.” If they still block you after you’ve spoken from the heart like this, then what kind of person are they? Do they seek the truth? (No.) If they don’t, is it a pity that they ran off? (No.) If they refuse to accept the truth no matter what, then they are a devil. What good would it do even if you brought such a person into the church? Could they pursue the truth? Could they attain salvation? (No.) I’m afraid they wouldn’t even be qualified as a laborer, and they would show no devotion even in laboring. So if such a person runs off, let them. They are not one of God’s sheep, and it’s not a pity in the slightest that they’re gone. In churches around the world, some people leave after believing for a year or two, and others leave after three or four years. What’s going on here? (They are not people who pursue the truth, and they are not God’s sheep.) It can be said that most of these people weren’t misled by rumors and negative propaganda. They came into the church, read God’s words, lived the church life, and then, after believing for a period of time, left. So what is the main reason for their departure? It is that they do not love the truth and are averse to the truth. Is this correct? (Yes.) If they leave after believing for three or four years, is there still any need to fellowship the truth with them and bring them back? (They’ve already understood everything, and there’s no need to fellowship with them any further.) Take a look at mainland China—the situation there is especially dire. The CCP, this satanic regime, persecutes God’s chosen people with such madness and cruelty. It’s truly inhumane. Many have been beaten to death by it. The CCP is the most wicked satanic regime. Now, the CCP’s end has come and it will soon collapse. However, at this very time, incidents of false christs and antichrists misleading people have appeared in the churches of mainland China, and a small number of people have been misled. After hearing about this, I said, “Don’t bother with these people who have been misled. Whatever you do, don’t try to bring them back. They are not to be saved by God.” Some of them had believed for five years, others for ten. They clearly knew that God’s words are all truth, yet they still wouldn’t accept them, and instead they accepted the fallacies of false christs and antichrists. Tell me, are these people God’s sheep? (No.) For anyone who is misled and led astray by false christs and antichrists, if they have only just believed for a year or two, we can fellowship the truth with them, because they have not yet established a foundation in the true way. We must try to bring them back. But if someone can still be misled and led astray after believing for five, seven, or ten years, then they are not one of God’s sheep. Such people lack spiritual understanding and are simply the absurd sort of people. They will never be able to understand the truth. This kind of person should immediately be allowed to leave. They are not God’s sheep, and so they ought to leave. This is God’s work eliminating them. Do you understand? (Yes.) So, do you think it’s a pity that such people have left? (No.) But some people say, “Oh, these people were misled and left. If we don’t try to win them back, then are we not without love for them?” Is this a lack of love? (No. Such people lack spiritual understanding, so it’s useless to try to win them back. Besides, we supported them before they left. We’ve already done all we possibly could.) It’s enough that you can see this matter clearly. Some people simply can’t see it clearly or understand it. They say, “These people have been misled and led astray by false christs and antichrists. How can we not care about them? What you’re saying is unloving. I must go and bring them back.” In the end, such a person manages to bring back a few people. But do these few people truly have a human spirit? Can they pursue the truth and attain salvation? The truth is, a few years down the line, these people they brought back are still revealed to be muddled believers and disbelievers, and they are ultimately cleared out by the church. Showing love must be principled and based on God’s words. If it violates principles, then it’s not love, but wanton wrongdoing, a practice that goes against God’s intentions, and God does not approve of it. Therefore, in matters you cannot see clearly, you should seek the truth. Never speak or act based on your notions and imaginings. Those who don’t understand the truth say all kinds of muddled and absurd things, because they don’t understand the truth. A person who doesn’t understand the truth is muddleheaded, and what they say will always be muddleheaded, absurd, and devilish. You must see this clearly. No matter which country’s church it is, what kind of people are those who still leave after believing for several years? They definitely do not love the truth, and they are definitely not God’s sheep. Is this not correct? (It is.) So, is it necessary to show love and help to these people to bring them back? (No, it’s not.) It’s just like parents raising children. Parents may raise several children, and some of their children may listen to them and study hard, and after growing up, they find a job and are able to live a normal life. Other children refuse to do proper work, and instead act wantonly and get into all sorts of evil. What do you think parents should do with these children who refuse to do proper work? (They should give up on them and not bother with them anymore.) Do the parents still feel sorry for them? (No, and even if they did, it would be useless.) The parents say, “This child is an animal! We regret ever raising him. Get out of our house, the farther away the better!” Is that the parents’ mindset? (Yes.) So, are people who leave after believing for three to five years good people? (No.) How should the church treat them? Is there still a need to show them love? (No, the church should give up on them.) So when people insist on showing love to these people, what’s the issue? The issue is a lack of principle. Their love is a foolish love. Consider the religious world today—some people pray for God’s enemies, for satanic regimes, and especially for the CCP, asking God to bless these devils. What would you say is the nature of such prayers from religious people? Is this not resisting God? (It is.) When they pray like this, are they siding with God or with Satan? (With Satan.) Can God heed such prayers? (No.) God detests such prayers. This is a grave dishonor to God, and God spurns such people. Most people in the religious world resist God. They are foolish, intransigent people, and muddled people, and they are all of Satan. Only a very small number can attain salvation. Is this statement correct? (Yes.) Why do we say that this is correct? (We see that very few people in the religious world actively seek and investigate the true way, and that very few of those to whom we preach the gospel truly accept it. Based on this fact, we can determine that very few among them can attain salvation.) God said long ago: “There are those who read the Bible in grand churches and recite it all day long, yet not one among them understands the purpose of God’s work. Not one among them is able to know God; still less can any one among them accord with God’s intentions. They are all worthless, vile people, each standing on high to lecture ‘God.’ They are people who carry God’s banner yet deliberately resist God” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. All People Who Do Not Know God Are People Who Resist God). When people first heard these words from God, few could agree. Some said, “Do God’s words align with the facts? Is this really the case? That’s impossible!” At first, you might think it’s impossible, but after you’ve believed in God for ten or twenty years, you will say, “These words from God are completely factual, absolutely true, and without the slightest error.” You will have verified that every word of God is truth, absolutely without the slightest error, and that they are all completely accurate. At that time, you will have true knowledge of God. Many new believers always have notions when they read God’s words. It seems they can’t quite verify God’s words, and they always have doubts about their accuracy. I tell you, if people doubt God and the truth, it is only themselves who will ultimately be shamed. God is the truth. Man does not have the truth and cannot measure up to it. Without the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, no one can possibly understand the truth. Do you believe these words? (We do.) Then tell me again, if a person does not pursue the truth, can they understand and gain the truth even if they believe for a lifetime? (No.) Therefore, it’s not as if you can understand the truth the moment you finish reading God’s words. This requires you to pursue the truth, to practice and experience God’s words, and you must also obtain the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit before you can understand the truth. Without this actual process, people can never understand the truth, much less gain it. This is beyond a shadow of a doubt. If you’ve believed in God for a short time and still don’t understand the truth, and you still have some misunderstandings, notions, and imaginings about God’s words, that’s perfectly understandable. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have a bad disposition, just that your experience is too shallow and that you have too little knowledge of God. After you’ve gone through another ten years of experience, you will overturn those erroneous views yourself, and you will acknowledge that every word of God is truth. After you’ve gone through twenty years of experience, you will deny all your notions and imaginings. After you’ve gone through thirty years of experience, you will acknowledge that all that man is and has is absurd and fallacious, and that none of it accords with the truth. At that point, you will have utterly denied all these human thoughts and views. You will no longer believe that you understand the truth, and you will no longer say you have any abilities or special skills. You will feel that you are nothing when you are apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. At that time, will you still be arrogant and self-righteous? (No.) You’ll become much more guileless. This is the very process I have gone through myself. As people experience God’s judgment and chastisement and the Holy Spirit’s work of salvation, they gradually gain knowledge of God and of themselves. People become much more guileless, and they also cast off many of their corrupt dispositions. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, without God’s salvation and perfection, and without God’s judgment and chastisement, people’s corrupt dispositions can never be cast off, and their arrogance and self-righteousness can never be changed. Can you see through to this matter? (We can.)

You’re encountering many difficulties in preaching the gospel. There are a lot of things you can’t see clearly and in which you don’t have a path of practice. What’s going on here? Why are you having so many difficulties in your duty? Some people pray, “Oh God, please remove these difficulties for me and these potential gospel recipients I don’t like to interact with. Let every potential gospel recipient I encounter be someone You want to save, one of Your sheep.” Is it right to pray this way? (No, it isn’t.) What’s not right about it? (All the situations, people, events, and things that God sets up for us are to get us to develop discernment. Also, among corrupt mankind, very few people truly love and can accept the truth. God’s words have also exposed this. So, this desire for every potential gospel recipient to be someone that God wants to save is unrealistic and not in line with God’s words.) So how should we face these situations, people, events, and things? If you truly know God’s work, you should see that all the people, events, things, and difficulties we encounter are a feast God has set up for us, and that they are lessons for us to learn. God uses these very people, events, and things to guide us, train us, and make us perfect, so that we may understand the truth, see things clearly, and know how to submit to God and bear testimony for Him. Some people say, “There are things from which I’m willing to learn lessons, but some things are unnecessary to experience. It’s best not to experience things like encountering absurd people and evil spirits.” That’s what it means to not know God’s work. Tell me, is encountering absurd people arranged by God? (Yes.) Is encountering evil spirits arranged by God? (Yes.) Is encountering evil people and antichrists arranged by God? (Yes.) So why does God arrange things this way? (God wants us to develop discernment and gain insight.) God just wants people to learn discernment and, through it, come to know all kinds of people. Knowing all kinds of people is of great benefit to us. If we didn’t have actual situations in which to interact with all kinds of people, could we have discernment and knowledge of them? (No.) Some people say, “There are disbelievers and people who don’t love the truth in the church, and it’s annoying enough for me to have to interact with them. Why do I also have to interact with absurd people, evil people, and antichrists? What’s the use of interacting with them?” Is it right of them to say this? (No, it isn’t.) If you don’t actually interact with all kinds of people, can you have true discernment of them? If someone were to ask you, “Can you discern antichrists?” you might say, “An antichrist is someone who resists God.” But what you’re saying is just doctrine. If an antichrist really appeared in the church, could you discern them? What’s more, if this antichrist speaks as eloquently as a Pharisee, and the words and doctrines they preach also sound very lofty and correct, would you dare to call them an antichrist? You wouldn’t. Furthermore, if you were to bring those Pharisees who resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus two thousand years ago into our society today, you would see that they explain the scriptures with great accuracy—they understand them better than we do, and they appear more pious than us. Would you dare call them antichrists? You still wouldn’t. What does this show? It shows that the things you say are just doctrines, that you are fundamentally unable to discern antichrists, and that you don’t understand what an antichrist is. So, is it right for you to ask God not to let you interact with antichrists, evil people, evil spirits, absurd people, or devils, just because you don’t like doing so? If you don’t interact with these negative individuals, how can you come to know them? Without actually interacting with them, your knowledge of them will just be doctrine, and you’ll just be parroting what others have said. Is this not the case? (It is.) Therefore, no matter what kind of person God arranges for us to interact with, we must earnestly learn lessons. As we interact and spend time with various types of people, we learn to see through to their essence. In this way, our discernment grows, and we bring the truth of discerning all kinds of people into real life, instead of allowing our discernment to remain as mere words and doctrines. God’s house has eliminated antichrists, false leaders, and disbelievers. I would fellowship with God’s chosen people about discernment, saying that such-and-such a person was a typical antichrist, that such-and-such was a typical false leader, and that such-and-such was a typical disbeliever. I openly fellowshipped about and dissected these people. Why did I fellowship in this way? It was to have God’s chosen people learn to discern these people. Some people say, “I can discern these people.” In that case, why don’t you fellowship about the manifestations of a typical antichrist? Can you explain them clearly? I’m afraid you couldn’t clearly state even one manifestation of an antichrist. So, just understanding doctrine is useless. If you only know in doctrine how to discern various types of people, but you can’t discern the antichrists, false leaders, and disbelievers you encounter in the church, and you also can’t discern religious Pharisees or see through their hypocrisy, what they use for pretense and disguise, or how they deceive and delude people—if you can’t see through any of this, it shows you don’t understand the truth. You’re still far too lacking when it comes to discerning people. You only understand theory but you don’t know how to discern various people, events, and things in real life. Thus, every situation, person, event, and thing that God sets up for people is to train us to learn our lessons, to have us learn to discern various people and events, and to see clearly what the essence of various people is and what the nature of various things is. After we learn discernment, we will be able to recognize that God’s sovereignty and God’s arrangements are all meaningful. God does not do meaningless things. If you do not know God’s sovereignty or arrangements, there will be many things you don’t understand. For instance, you won’t be able to see clearly things like why Satan’s regime is so rampant and resists God so fiercely, and why those devil kings are so knowledgeable and eloquent. You won’t know that this is God’s arrangement. If you don’t know God’s sovereignty or arrangements, how can you submit to God? If when you encounter things that go against your own notions, you just want to reject, distance yourself from, avoid, and escape them, are you a person who submits to God? (No.) How should a wise person face these kinds of things? They should learn lessons. They should practice viewing people and events according to God’s words, and seeing through to the essence of all kinds of people according to God’s words. Then, the conclusions they draw in this way will be correct and will never be wrong. So tell me, is it important to learn a lesson from every single event that befalls you? (It is.) It is truly important! There was once a sister whose husband was a nonbeliever. Whenever she did her duty, her husband would persecute her. She couldn’t understand it, asking herself, “Why did I marry a man like this? Why did God allow me to marry this man?” Is there a lesson for her to learn here? (Yes.) So what lesson is there to learn? (Several lessons can be learned. One is to learn discernment, that is, to discern the essence of the devils’ resistance to God through her husband, and also to see clearly what kind of person loves the truth and what kind of person does not. Another is that one learns to see through to the essence of affection. There is no true love among corrupt mankind, not even between husband and wife.) That’s right. You are able to see this matter clearly to some extent. So tell me, for someone who lives with a nonbelieving husband for twenty or thirty years and finally comes to know what a devil is and can discern it—what do you think of that gain? (It’s good.) After ten years of this experience, this sister didn’t see that her husband was a devil and persisted in showing him love. But after twenty or thirty years, she discovered, “This man is a devil! He doesn’t accept the truth in the slightest! I’ve read God’s words to him and fellowshipped the truth with him so many times, but he never accepts them, and he even hinders me from believing in and following God. Now I finally know what a devil is!” You see, her greatest gain was seeing clearly what a devil is. This gain was confirmed entirely through her own personal experience and what she saw with her own eyes. There was not the slightest bit of vagueness, nor a trace of empty theory. If she hadn’t married this man, would she have come to know what a devil is? (No.) So did she gain anything from experiencing this marriage? (She did.) Someone once said to me, “My husband opposes my belief in God. He uses all sorts of methods to persecute me and hinder me from believing in God and doing my duty. He’s a devil. What should I do?” I said, “Since you know he’s a devil, won’t you be ruining yourself if you continue to live with a devil? Why don’t you divorce him?” As soon as she heard this, she turned and left. She was unwilling to listen to what I’d said. She wanted me to fellowship with her according to the notions of religious people, saying to her, “We must pray for him and treat him with love. You must be like a religious person and wash his feet, humbly serve him, and win him over with love.” That’s what she’d have liked to hear. But I couldn’t say anything of the sort, because these would have been lies. To say such things is hypocritical. I find such words detestable and disgusting. I just spoke truthful words, but she wouldn’t listen to them, so she turned and left, and she never sought fellowship from me again. So tell me, was this person seeking the truth when she came to fellowship with me? She was not. She does not accept the truth and she will never be able to learn her lesson in the situation God has set up for her. Remember, no matter what situation, person, event, or thing we encounter, it is a lesson we must learn and it is a necessity for our lives. This is all arranged by God. Can we say this? (Yes.) So, what are God’s painstaking intentions in arranging these situations, people, events, and things? (It is to make us seek the truth and learn lessons.) (God wants us to experience His words in such situations, and ultimately to confirm His words and achieve true belief in them.)