Fellowship From the Brother Above – December 5, 2025 (Part Six)

How does good church life come about? (Good church life can only come about when people who understand and pursue the truth hold power in the church, and when evil people are restricted.) That’s right. Good church life is achieved by having right people and those who pursue the truth hold power in the church and by keeping evil people under control. Are there any exceptions? For example, some people say, “Good church life naturally emerges after a church is established.” Is this statement valid? (No.) Tell me, how can a pot of cold water turn into boiling water? It must be heated. Can it boil on its own, without being heated? (No.) Good church life doesn’t just come about naturally, either. It is achieved through the efforts of all God’s chosen people who love the truth; it cannot be achieved without everyone’s efforts, without the leadership of leaders and workers who are up to standard, and without the cooperation of God’s chosen people who love the truth. Some leaders and workers cannot see this clearly. They think a good church life arises naturally, so when they see that others have a good church life, they complain that God doesn’t bless their church. They fail to discover that a good church life is brought about through God’s chosen people who pursue the truth cooperating with one heart and mind. Tell me, if people who pursue the truth did not join hands to restrict evil people, would evil people step down from the stage of history of their own accord? Would they stop doing evil of their own accord? (No.) Under what circumstances, then, will evil people behave themselves, be obedient, and abide by the rules? (They will only behave themselves when people who pursue the truth restrict them.) Just ponder the state of your own church and you will see these matters clearly. For a church to have a good church life, two conditions must be met: First, it must have a few good leaders and workers; if a church does not have leaders and deacons who pursue the truth and can uphold the principles, it will not have a good church life. Second, negative individuals must be restricted; if the disbelievers and evil people in the church are not restricted, then this church will not have a good church life either. Must these two conditions be met to have a good church life? (Yes.) Then what kinds of people is the church composed of? If you cannot see this clearly, you will not be able to do church work well. Some people say, “The church is composed of people who believe in God, and everyone in the church is one of God’s chosen people.” Does this statement stand up? This is empty doctrine, and it does not stand up! Why do we say it does not stand up? If everyone in the church were one of God’s chosen people, how could antichrists and evil people still appear? How could evil spirits and disbelievers still appear? Are antichrists, evil people, evil spirits, and disbelievers really also among those predestined by God to have a share in the kingdom? Absolutely not. So how did they enter the church? After coming to believe in God, some people say, “Oh, if I’m entering the kingdom of heaven, I must also get my son to enter the kingdom of heaven!” or “If I’m entering the kingdom of heaven, I must also get my parents to enter the kingdom of heaven!” So they drag in their relatives and friends, and so these evil ones find their way into the church. Of course, they find their way into the church for various reasons and from various circumstances, and they do so through various means. Some do it just to stir things up, some out of curiosity, and some with the intention of gaining blessings. In short, they all find their way into the church with their own intentions and purposes and they are all evil ones. Then how many kinds of these evil ones who find their way into the church are there? One kind is the disbelievers; they know this is the true way but do not love the truth, and they find their way into the church just to gain blessings. Another kind is the evil people, another is the evil spirits, another is the devils that hate the truth, and yet another is the dead people without a spirit. They are all evil ones who have found their way into the church, and they do not truly belong to God’s house. So, based on this fact, how many kinds of people is the church composed of? One kind is people who sincerely believe in God—people who love the truth and are honest. Another kind is people of poor caliber who nevertheless like believing in God, and who inherently want to believe in God and walk the right path. Although such people do not have very good caliber, fall somewhat short of the truth, and cannot gain the truth, they do sincerely believe in God. Yet another kind is disbelievers, who join the church just to find a way out. They feel that there are too many bad people in society, and that, being helpless and having no one to rely on, they are always being schemed against and deceived. They also feel that believers in God are mostly good people; they are quite guileless, and they won’t scheme against them, harm them, or cheat them out of their money. So, these disbelievers think that joining the church can provide them with something of a way out, and perhaps even allow them to scrape a living. It is with this purpose that they find their way into the church. These people believe in God just to find a way out. They are not interested in the truth in the slightest; they are disbelievers. Still another kind is the evil people and antichrists, who join the church to become officials and satisfy their desire for power. These people kept wanting to become officials in society, but this society is unfair. They don’t have money or influence, so they cannot become officials and their official careers never go smoothly. Seeing that most people who believe in God are guileless people with no status in society, they believe that since they possess a little talent, it will be easy for them to become a leader in the church, and that if they really do become a leader, that means they have become an official. They join the church just to become officials. This kind of person believes in God just to satisfy their ambitions and desires. Once they enter the church, they do their utmost to pursue fame, gain, and status so that people will look up to and worship them. In doing so, they bring disruptions and disturbances to the church’s work and the life entry of God’s chosen people. They are the evil people and antichrists who have found their way into the church. Are these the main kinds of people who believe in God? (Yes.) Then out of these kinds of people, which does God want to save? Which will ultimately be eliminated? On whom should leaders and workers do their work? These are the principles that leaders and workers must master. Who do you focus your work on when doing church work? Who do you focus on fellowshipping the truth to? On whom will fellowshipping the truth achieve results, and on whom will fellowshipping the truth achieve no results? If you are not clear about these things in your heart, you will not be able to do church work well. Some church leaders insist on relying on love to help and support people who do not pursue the truth. They read God’s words and fellowship the truth to these people who do not pursue the truth every day, and they support them to the point of neglecting to eat and sleep. They think this is love, and that doing this is most in line with and most considerate of God’s intentions. As a result, after watering someone for a few months, that person gets fed up with them and tells them the truth: “Stop wasting your efforts on me. I do not love the truth! You are always reading God’s words to me and holding up too many of my affairs. Hurry up and go find people who pursue the truth, and do your work on them!” When they say this, a devil has shown its true colors, has it not? If the leader or worker only realizes after hearing these words, “So he doesn’t love the truth! Then wasn’t watering him, supporting him, and doing so much work on him all for nothing?” is this leader or worker muddleheaded? (Yes.) They don’t even know whether someone loves the truth or not—they are that muddleheaded. As a leader, you must water the people who love and pursue the truth, water those predestined and chosen by God, and water the people God wants to save. If you water these people well, helping them to gain the truth and attain salvation, then you will have fulfilled your primary remit. If you only water people who do not love the truth, watering the evil ones who have found their way into the church, then even if you water them for ten years, you would get no results at all. Meanwhile, you would not have watered the true chosen people of God earnestly. Without receiving good watering, they have to rely on themselves to strive upward and pursue, and so what they can enter into is very limited! So are you not holding back their lives by doing your work in this way? You cast the people who truly pursue the truth and those predestined and chosen by God to one side and ignore them, thereby holding back their lives, yet you spend all your energy and love on the evil ones who have found their way into the church. Is doing your work in this way not an exercise in futility? Where are your good deeds? You are the most muddleheaded kind of leader, and also a kind of false leader. The most obvious manifestation of a false leader is not doing real work. Although this kind of false leader does do work, they are muddleheaded and work on the wrong people. The people they work on are not the people God wants to save, but the people God wants to eliminate. Tell me, are such leaders blind? (Yes.) Are there such leaders and workers now? The less someone loves or pursues the truth, the more they insist on watering them. They think this is God’s intention, and that only by watering these people are they showing love. Are people with such thoughts not being foolish? When such people lead the church, it is like the blind leading the blind—both will fall into the pit. If leaders and workers cannot discern who God wants to save and who God wants to eliminate, then in their work they are sure to constantly do futile things and engage in thankless tasks. As a result, they misdirect their energy and hold up the church’s work. So, what work should truly insightful and smart leaders and workers do? It is to lock onto the people in the church who pursue the truth, and then water and supply them every day. After watering them for a year or two, or two or three years, these people will lay down a foundation and enter into the truth reality, and the leaders will have fulfilled their primary remit. As for those who do not love the truth and are averse to the truth, if they have difficulties and come to you, tell them to pray to God and read God’s words to resolve them themselves. Do not waste time on them. They do not love the truth, so however much you fellowship with them, it will be futile. If they also do evil, disturb the work of the church and stubbornly refuse to repent, then gather evidence and expel them. Only by treating people who do not love the truth and are averse to the truth in this way can leaders and workers be considered wise, loyal, and insightful servants.

So, can you work in this way? Can you discern who in the church can be saved and who is destined to be eliminated? (We can discern this to some extent.) There are some further details to this; let’s fellowship about them. How do you discern whether a person is someone God wants to save? You must be able to discern whether they are someone who accepts the truth. What dispositions enable someone to accept the truth, and what dispositions make them unable to accept the truth? What dispositions make them not practice the truth even when they understand it, and what dispositions make them strive toward the truth even when they do not understand it? Also, what kind of person is most likely to become a false leader, and what kind of person is most likely to become an antichrist? You must be able to discern all these things. Only when you have thoroughly pondered these questions can you see clearly who in the church can be saved and who is destined to be eliminated, and then you will know how to do church work. Leaders and workers must first master these matters, and know how to view and discern people. If leaders and workers lack caliber and cannot see various kinds of people clearly, then they are sure to do their work in a befuddled way and will not achieve good results. It is just like looking for a partner. If you cannot see people clearly, what mistake will you make? You are guaranteed to choose the wrong person. If you happen to choose an evil person, you will be in trouble, and your whole life might even be ruined. You see, if you cannot see people clearly when looking for a partner, the consequences don’t bear thinking about. Likewise, if a church leader does not know how to view and discern people, the consequences also don’t bear thinking about. Can we say this? (Yes.) You who are leaders and workers must often fellowship on the topics of viewing and discerning people. For example, what kind of people does God save? You should take a few people as specific examples and ponder which of them can be saved. If you truly discover that someone is an honest person, and that they put the truth into practice when they understand it, then they are guaranteed to be able to attain salvation. For another example, how do you practice being an honest person? What are the principles? To be an honest person, first of all, you cannot tell lies; you must tell the truth. So what does it mean to tell the truth? The Lord Jesus said: “But let your communication be, Yes, yes; No, no: for whatever is more than these comes of evil” (Matthew 5:37). What is meant by “more than these” here? It means your words are adulterated and you are acting deceitfully. It would obviously suffice to just say “yes” or “no” according to the facts, but instead you say a lot more. The extra things you say are spoken for yourself, and they are spoken to achieve your own goals. Only those who speak according to the facts are honest people. If you add a few extra words beyond the facts, then these words will be adulterated with lies, selfish motives, petty schemes, and cunning methods, and a satanic deceitful disposition is thereby revealed. Previously, after I finished fellowshipping the truth of being an honest person, someone said to me, “Brother, the words I just said to you were a lie. I felt something was off after I said them, and I must correct them now. What actually happened was….” What kind of person can say such things? The kind of person who puts the truth into practice when they understand it. After you finish fellowshipping the truth of being an honest person, they immediately begin to reflect on themselves, “Were there any lies in what I said? If so, I must quickly admit and correct them.” People like this put the truth into practice when they understand it. They are simple and honest, and they are exactly the kind of people God saves. Then what kind of people does God not save? The kind who, after you finish fellowshipping the truth of being an honest person to them, think to themselves, “Only a fool would be an honest person. You want me to be a fool, but I’m not going to listen to you!” They do not say this out loud, but based on what they think in their heart, do they accept the truth? (They do not accept the truth.) Then what is their attitude toward the truth? Their attitude toward the truth is one of belittling, looking down on, despising, and blaspheming it. With such an attitude toward the truth, can they still gain the truth? Are they someone God wants to save? (No.) On what basis do you determine that they are not someone God wants to save? (Based on their attitude toward the truth.) So do you still need to focus on watering them? Are they still a primary focus of your work? (No.) This is how you must view people. You must observe their attitude toward the truth based on specific matters. For example, when you are fellowshipping and preaching in usual gatherings, or when others are sharing experiential testimonies that are quite good and practical, you should observe the attitudes everyone has in response. If you always observe in this way, you will gradually come to see everyone’s attitudes toward the truth clearly. Over time, you will be able to observe whether they truly love and accept the truth, or whether they are averse to it and hate it. Once you have observed this, you can determine whether they are someone God will save and whether they can attain salvation based on their attitude toward the truth. Is this not something that leaders and workers should grasp? (It is.) Leaders and workers must see everyone in the church clearly. If, in your heart, you don’t grasp or have an accurate view of everyone’s attitude toward the truth and toward God, then you are sure to do your work in a befuddled, aimless way. Look at how I do my work. People who pursue the truth, leaders and workers, people who do their duty full-time, and those who do important duties are all the focus of my work. However, I don’t really water those who do not do a duty and those who used to do their duties full-time but were eliminated. I’ve handed the leadership of those people over to the leaders and workers. The principal objective of my work is to properly lead, supply, and water those people who sincerely follow God and do their duty full-time. This is my primary remit and my responsibility. So, as a leader or worker, you must also be clear on what your primary remit is and what your most crucial work is. You must learn to set clear priorities. Which people are the focus of your work? Out of these people, which come first, second, and third? You must accurately identify this scope and absolutely never deviate from it. Then, you should target your work specifically on these people. As for those outside this scope, they are not people who God will save, so you do not need to pay them any mind. However, if they do evil and disturb the work of the church, God’s house has administrative decrees; those who should be cleared out or expelled must be cleared out or expelled, and those who should be dismissed must be dismissed. From now on, you should constantly water and supply those who pursue the truth. As for those who do not pursue the truth, you do not need to pay them any mind. Save your energy for those who pursue the truth, okay? (Okay.) Doing this makes you a wise and insightful servant. We should pursue being wise and insightful servants. We must have principles in our work. We must know who the focus of our work is, who the people God eliminates are, who is beyond saving, who is set aside by God, who God wants to perfect, who God wants to save, and who the laborers are. You must be clear about all of this. In addition, you must master the details of what truths you should fellowship to people who pursue the truth, what truths you should fellowship to laborers, and what different requirements apply to different people. Once you master these details, you will have principles for dealing with every kind of person in the church. Knowing who belongs to which category and how they should be dealt with means you will work in a principled way, and in line with God’s intentions.

Last year, an incident of a false christ trying to mislead people occurred in a church in mainland China—some people were indeed misled into leaving by this false christ. I said this was a good thing; the church was being cleansed through this false christ, so I didn’t talk about how to handle or stop them. Why didn’t I say anything? Because God’s work is coming to an end, and all kinds of people have been revealed. Can people who sincerely love the truth be misled into leaving by a false christ? No! So what kind of people can be misled into leaving? Muddled people who have believed in God for many years yet do not understand the truth in the slightest. Even if these people hadn’t been misled into leaving by false christs and antichrists, could they have pursued the truth if they had remained in the church? Can they preach the gospel? Can they labor? They can neither preach the gospel nor labor well, so what role can they play in the church? They can play no role at all. Then is it not a good thing when such people are misled into leaving? (It is.) Therefore, I just ignored this matter. Over a decade ago, when false christs and antichrists appeared in the church and misled people, I issued a work arrangement: If people who have just believed in God for a year or two are misled, leaders and workers can try to rescue them. But for anyone who has believed in God for five years or more and is misled into leaving, leaders and workers must give up on them, and no one is allowed to try to rescue them. This is because these people do not have spiritual understanding, and their belief in God is muddled. It is a good thing for such people to leave the church. In God’s house, we don’t need people who are just here to make up the numbers. What do you think of this work arrangement? (It’s good; it’s in line with God’s intentions.) Why is it in line with God’s intentions? (Brother, you made the arrangement based on what kind of people God saves and what kind of people He eliminates; it accords with the truth principles.) It is normal for people who have believed in God for a year or two to not understand the truth and be misled. Perhaps they sincerely believe in God, and it is only because their stature is too small and they do not understand the truth that they are misled. It is right and proper for us to try to rescue them—this is a responsibility we ought to fulfill. But if someone who has believed in God for five years truly had spiritual understanding, they ought to have understood some truths, and it would be absolutely impossible for false christs and antichrists to mislead them into leaving. Therefore, if people who have believed in God for five years or more can still be misled into leaving by false christs and antichrists, there is no need to try to rescue them. Why do I say there is no need to try to rescue them? It’s because this kind of person is to be eliminated. They have believed in God for several years but have gained nothing and do not understand any truths. They are devils and Satans, and that is why they can be misled into leaving by false christs and antichrists. If such people want to leave the church, do not stop them; we should even gladly see them off. What do you think of this attitude toward such people? (It’s good.) But would you do this? You wouldn’t. Some people even judged me, saying, “The work arrangement says that there is no need to rescue those who have believed in God for five years or more and have been misled into leaving by false christs and antichrists. This is lacking in love!” After believing in God for five years, people should have already established a foundation in the true way. If they have established a foundation and can still be misled into leaving, what is the problem? They say that not trying to rescue such people is a lack of love. Is this statement correct? (No.) Why is it not correct? (Loving devils is not true love; it is blind love, a foolish love.) Tell me, would it be possible for me to make this decision without anyone judging me? Someone was bound to judge me. But because I saw clearly that handling this matter in this way accorded with the principles and was in line with God’s intentions, I dared to do it, and I was not afraid of others judging me. Therefore, no matter what you do, you must see clearly how to act in a way that accords with the principles and is in line with God’s intentions. If you can see clearly that doing so accords with the principles, you will not be afraid of others judging you when you act; if you cannot see clearly and just act blindly however you want, you won’t be able to hold your ground when others judge you. You will have no standpoint and won’t know what to do, and that will be very troublesome. Therefore, to believe in and serve God, you must understand enough truths and be able to see things clearly. If you cannot see things clearly, it will not be easy to act with principle and in a way that is in line with God’s intentions—you will not be able to achieve it. A while ago, a false christ appeared in the church of a certain country and misled people. I said to the Chinese people who were supervising the work, “No one should get involved in this. Let’s just wait and see, and see how much this false christ can mislead people and what the leaders and workers in the local church will do. This will show us the stature of the leaders and workers in the local church.” A few months later, when I checked on this matter again, this false christ had faded away on their own, and some of the few people who had been misled into leaving were quite regretful. You see, with some things, just let nature take its course and wait and see, and learn lessons from them. That’s a really good thing. Think about it again: What kind of people can be misled into leaving? Those who do not pursue the truth and believe in a muddled way can be misled into leaving. So does God permit them to be misled into leaving? (Yes.) God permits them to be misled into leaving, so is it not a good thing that they leave the church? It is a good thing when devils leave the church—it is something worth celebrating. What do you think—do I view things the same way you do? (No.) Sometimes the way I do things doesn’t conform to people’s notions. What’s going on here? (Brother, you understand the truth and can see things clearly. We view things based on our own notions and imaginings; that’s why we think the way you do things doesn’t conform to our notions.) When I do things, I just do them in whatever way accords with the principles and is in line with God’s intentions. I never abide by regulations.