Fellowship From the Brother Above – January 5, 2026 (Part Four)

To serve God according to His requirements, you need to understand God’s intentions. God has given you this commission, so what does He require of you? What should you achieve in this work? You need to be clear on these matters. God gave you a commission so that you can bring His chosen people before Him according to His requirements. So you must ask yourself, “Which truths should I understand, and which truth realities should I enter into? How should I practice the truth and act according to principles? How can I enable God’s chosen people to learn to know themselves and come to understand the truth and act according to principles?” In this way, are you not bringing God’s chosen people before Him? Is this not what God requires of those who serve Him? (It is.) But if people serve God without paying attention to His intentions or requirements, and always want to achieve their own goals, what will they think? “God intends for me to practice the truth and lead His chosen people to know themselves, but I don’t want to do that. I just want to use this opportunity to show off so that everyone looks up to and worships me, so that everyone listens to me and submits to me, and so that I have a place in their hearts.” Is this not one’s own will? (It is.) Then if people always serve God according to their own will, always have their own ambitions, and always want to satisfy their own desires, are they not walking the path of Paul? (They are.) Is serving God according to one’s own will not just serving according to one’s own ideas and corrupt dispositions? As people have corrupt dispositions, they have various desires. For example, they covet the benefits of status, they make brothers and sisters look up to and adulate them, they make people revolve around them and center on them, and they make people gauge their mood and cater to their ego when speaking and acting. Are these not all manifestations of one’s own will? The main manifestation of people serving God according to their own will is that they always want to satisfy their ambitions and desires, and that they always want to pursue status so that people worship them and listen to them. Then how should you serve God according to His intentions? You must know yourself and open up about all your revelations of corruption to let your brothers and sisters supervise you. Do not let anyone look up to, worship, or revere you. For example, if you say, “I have revealed such-and-such corruption and done such-and-such things according to my own will. Help me discern if I am walking the path of Paul in this,” what is achieved by your opening up about your corruption in this way? Your brothers and sisters will see the truth of your corruption and say, “So you have these corruptions too. You are just like us.” Then they will not look up to you or worship you. Is serving God in this way not in accordance with His intentions? (It is.) But if you always disguise yourself, saying, “I just won’t open up. You’re corrupt but I’m not. I am always positive and forward-facing, and there’s nothing negative within me. My heart is full of positivity, without any negativity”—is this not hypocritical? (Yes.) So, is it not very easy to discern what it means to serve God according to one’s own will and what it means to serve God according to His requirements? You now know how to discern this, right? (Yes.) If a person serves according to their own will, they pursue fame, gain, and status in their service to make people look up to and worship them. If everyone greets them with smiles when they see them coming, acts according to their mood, and centers on them, then this person revels in it. This feeling is exactly what this person wants, and they specifically enjoy this feeling. This is what it means to serve God according to one’s own will. Then is this kind of service according to one’s own will not shameless? Is it not the hypocrisy of the Pharisees? (Yes.) Is this kind of willfulness easy to cast off? How can a person stop serving according to their own will when serving God? You must open up. Whatever corruption you reveal, quickly open up about it and lay it bare. When your brothers and sisters see that you are corrupt just like they are, they will be able to treat you correctly and they won’t worship you. Won’t practicing in this way achieve the desired result? Is opening up and laying yourself bare a practice of humbling yourself? This word “humbling” is not quite apt here. When God descends from on high to a low place, that is humbling Himself. We are corrupt human beings and no one is above anyone else, so there is no such thing as humbling ourselves. It is merely a return to one’s original position. Is the high position people hold not just something they have made up for themselves? Is it not that you yourself want to stand in that high position? In fact, that high position you perceive does not exist at all. Therefore, simply opening up about your corruption is returning to your original position. When your brothers and sisters see that you are corrupt just like them, they will be able to treat you correctly. Then, you can talk about how you practice the truth to achieve dispositional change. When they see that you can practice the truth and adhere to principles, and that you do not seek to please people but to satisfy God, they will admire you and think, “Although we are all corrupt human beings, you practice more of the truth than I do, and you submit to God more than I do. You have really changed. I must learn from you.” They admire that you have entered into the truth reality. In this they are not worshiping you, but are instead able to treat you correctly. So do you worship me? (Brother, we admire and envy you, but we do not worship you.) What do you envy about me? (We envy your good humanity, your ability to consider God’s intentions, and also your entry into the truth reality.) It is good that you are able to refrain from worshiping me now. In fact, there is no need to envy me, either. It is enough if you can accept what I say when it is correct, because I am also a corrupt human being. I was deeply corrupted by Satan and then attained God’s salvation. I was only able to be made perfect after experiencing much of God’s judgment, chastisement, and pruning. Although God said to me, “I now believe that your amount of experience has reached an acceptable level. There are no more problems,” there are still areas in which I am dissatisfied with myself. There are some truths that I do not practice with enough depth, and I must still strive to pursue them. I want to achieve submission unto death and love for God to the utmost like Peter, and to reach the point where, no matter where God places me or how He has me die, I can thank and praise God—a point where even if one day God sends me to hell, I will still thank and praise Him. Some people may not understand this, and say, “Why would you still thank and praise God if you went to hell?” I would do so because I have not lived in vain by following God for so many years, I have understood some truths and gained some knowledge of God, I have enjoyed so much of God’s grace, and I also began doing the duty of a created being from an early age. I will thank and praise God for these things for eternity. Even if I end up in hell, I am still much more blessed than those devils who rebel against and resist God. Therefore, even if one day I go to hell, I must still glorify and praise God. Some people say, “If God allows me to go to heaven, I will praise Him, but if He sends me to hell, I don’t know if I’ll be able to praise Him.” Are such people in danger of being eliminated? If you do not even know whether you’ll be able to praise God if you go to hell, can you submit to all of God’s orchestrations and arrangements? (No.) Does such a person submit to God? (No.) If one day you really do go to hell and you are capable of complaining about God and voicing bitter resentment, then you will have been thoroughly revealed. You will still be a devil and a Satan, untouched and unchanged, and you won’t have attained salvation. Given the extent of your corruption, if you claim to be saved, would this not be bringing shame upon God? Therefore, people who cannot submit to God are in great danger!

What can be achieved by experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement? The more you experience God’s judgment and chastisement, the deeper your knowledge of yourself becomes. The more you experience these things, the more you practice the truth. The more you experience these things, the more truth realities you enter into. The more you experience these things, the more you feel that God’s work is so meaningful. The final result achieved is that you know what a true human is and can live out the likeness of a true human. So, are the blessings gained after experiencing judgment and chastisement immense? (They are.) If you do not experience judgment and chastisement, can you know what a true human is? Can you know what a devil is? You will never see these things clearly. Without experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement, you cannot see through anything, and you will remain muddleheaded. Then tell me, is God’s work of judgment and chastisement not the greatest and most thorough salvation for man? (It is.) Some people say, “I’m quite a good person. What will happen if I don’t experience judgment? Will I really offend God and be punished?” Are these not muddleheaded words? (They are.) If you do not experience judgment and chastisement, you simply won’t know what a human is or what a devil is. When you experience judgment and chastisement and know yourself to a certain extent, if someone asks you, “Who are devils?” you will say, “Corrupt human beings who do not know God are all devils, and I am a devil too. I always act according to my own will in my duty and in doing so I break God’s heart. I am a living Satan, I deserve to be cursed, and I don’t deserve to live. Even in living, I am rebelling against God.” But if you can listen to God’s words and accept God’s judgment to cast off your corrupt disposition, you will be able to live out a human likeness. If you do not accept God’s judgment and always rebel against and resist God, then you must be cursed and punished, and you don’t deserve to live. Tell me, is the significance of God’s work of judgment in the last days not immense? (It is.) The significance of God’s work of judgment is immense. Even if we humans experience it for a lifetime, what we understand is very limited. Although I have achieved some results after all these years of experiencing it, I always feel that my understanding of the significance of judgment is still a bit shallow and lacking in depth. My understanding of the truths of submitting to God and worshiping God is also shallow, as is my understanding of the truth of loving God. I have not yet reached the point of loving God to the utmost. Therefore, I must continue to experience God’s judgment, and I must experience deeper and heavier judgment, so that I can achieve better results. The significance of experiencing the work of judgment is truly deep and vast. Knowledge of oneself is achieved through experiencing God’s judgment, life entry is also achieved by experiencing God’s judgment, dispositional change is also achieved by experiencing God’s judgment, and worship of God, submission to God, love for God, and so on are all achieved by experiencing God’s judgment. Therefore, without experiencing God’s judgment, people accomplish nothing. Without God’s judgment, people cannot gain any truth. Without God’s judgment, everything about people is of Satan, is corrupt and filthy, and deserves to be destroyed and to disappear. It is God’s judgment that cleanses and perfects people. But sometimes when people read God’s words of judgment, they feel pierced to the heart and stop reading, wanting instead to find some passages where God blesses people and promises things to people and to read those a couple more times. They feel that believing in God that way brings joy to their hearts. In the New Year’s variety showcase, God’s chosen people in France read some of God’s words. When they read that once the Millennial Kingdom is realized, there will be no more war or slaughter between people, no more war between nations, that there will be no more pain or tears on earth, and that people will be truly liberated and free, everyone felt so much joy in their hearts. They all said they looked forward to the arrival of that day, and happily sang and danced in praise of God. When praising God, they were dancing with joy, feeling truly liberated and joyful. People are so happy when they see God’s promises and blessings—that feeling is indescribable! But for people to become worthy of God’s promises and blessings, there is still a path to be walked. How must people walk this path to bring about results? (People must experience God’s judgment and chastisement to achieve dispositional change.) People can only obtain God’s promises and blessings by pursuing the truth and experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement, and by being cleansed and made perfect by God. If people do not pursue the truth or experience God’s judgment and chastisement, can they become worthy of enjoying God’s blessings? If people do not complete God’s commission, are they qualified to enjoy God’s blessings? If people do not accept the truth or pruning, are they worthy of enjoying God’s blessings? (No.) After I prune some people, they say the words “I submit to God.” Is there submission in these words? (No.) What do they mean by saying this? (They mean they only submit to God and listen to God, and do not submit to people.) But doesn’t God sometimes work through people? Most of the time He works through the man used by the Holy Spirit, and sometimes He also works through leaders and workers or brothers and sisters. You must be able to see that this comes from God. We must submit to everything that comes from God—only then have we achieved true submission to God. Some people say, “Submitting to God means only submitting to God’s words.” This view is also correct, but if God raises up people, events, and things to prune and discipline you, will you accept it? If you do not accept it, and instead you say, “I only submit to God’s words. I only submit to the words God speaks to me personally. Anything else comes from either man or Satan, and I will not submit to it,” is this correct? (No.) So if they practice according to this logic and this so-called principle, can they achieve true submission to God? (No.) If they cannot achieve true submission to God, are they not in many ways resisting God? (Yes.) Why in their words do they say that they submit to God’s words, yet in many areas they unknowingly resist God? Because their understanding of God’s words is distorted, leading to their submission also being distorted, impure, and incomplete. They can only submit to part of God’s work—they submit to the words God speaks directly, but they reject all the situations God orchestrates. This is because their comprehension is impure, and so they reject much of the work that comes from God. Such people do not truly submit to God. So, can they obtain God’s promises and blessings? (No.)

Tell me, why do the people of the religious world not accept Almighty God? Is it not because Almighty God is incarnate and not a spiritual body? Furthermore, Almighty God’s words are expressed in normal humanity, rather than being spoken by God’s Spirit thundering from heaven as people imagine. Thus, these people do not accept Almighty God, and even condemn and resist His work of the last days. Should such people not be eliminated? They do not know God and yet they condemn and resist His present work, so they should be eliminated and punished. Therefore, God working by means of incarnation is truly God’s wisdom; it reveals and eliminates all those who do not love the truth and resist God. No matter how you preach the gospel to these people, and no matter how much you read God’s words and fellowship on the truth with them, they just will not accept it. They are truly deceitful and hard to save. All we can do is give up on such people. If they do not accept the truth, all that is left for them is to go to hell and be punished. As of now, there may only be a year or two left before God’s work ends. Looking to the future, the disasters will become greater and greater, and perhaps there will be many places where people cannot access the internet, making it impossible to preach the gospel online. So, in this limited time, how many people can we save by preaching the gospel? The number of people we can save is very limited, so we must make the most of the time we have! Furthermore, preaching the gospel is not a simple matter. People in the religious world are now extremely guarded. As soon as they hear you mention “Eastern Lightning” or “The Church of Almighty God,” they immediately stop looking into what you are telling them and block you. How much must you say and how much of a price must you pay to awaken them and make them change their minds and come to seek and investigate God’s work of the last days? The work of preaching the gospel is not easy. Will it do for us not to suffer more or pay more of a price in the gospel work? (No.) But in this critical moment, some people’s thoughts still linger on how to indulge in the flesh and find a partner to settle down with. They have not a shred of devotion to God’s commission. Tell me, is this not rebelling against God? (Yes.) God has forsaken everything and given His all to save man, yet man cannot forsake things and expend himself for God, and cannot even give up a little fleshly enjoyment. This is utterly pathetic! Such people’s hearts rebel too greatly against God. They hold no place for God in their hearts and their hearts do not fear God at all. They cannot attain salvation. What must a person have at the very least to be saved? A God-fearing heart. Those who have a God-fearing heart can be saved, while those who do not wallow in evil and in carnal lust. They cannot follow God’s will, so they are in danger and could be punished at any time. Those who can ultimately survive the disasters are those who have a God-fearing heart and can forsake everything to sincerely expend themselves for God. If you want to survive but do not want to suffer or pay a price, you are dreaming! Tell me, what did Noah experience during the 120 years in which he built the ark? Did he enjoy the glory, wealth, and splendor of the world? Did he enjoy the family happiness of having children? (No.) He forsook all these things. He said his mission in life was to build the ark, and so he spent his days pondering how to build it, what work needed to be done each day, what tools he was short of, and where he could go to forge these tools. He pondered these matters related to building the ark one by one. He gave up all fleshly pleasures in life as well as all of his plans for himself. In the end, he completed God’s commission and gained God’s approval. Now, in serving God, we must also discard our petty personal plans. Things like family, the flesh, glory, wealth, splendor, fame, gain, and status should all be given up. Hurry up and choose to expend yourself for God, choose to live your life to follow God’s will, and dedicate the rest of your days to God and live for Him. If you have such a heart, it is certain that you will be blessed by God. As long as your intentions are right and you can expend yourself for God, even if you reveal corruption or transgress, God will forgive you. If you do not have correct intentions and you cannot expend yourself for God, then even if you do not transgress, you will not gain the truth and you will ultimately be eliminated. In fact, in this last limited stretch of time, no matter how much you can forsake and suffer in preaching the gospel, the number of people you can save is still limited. However, as long as you wholeheartedly expend yourself for God, and you give all your heart and strength, then even if you commit some transgressions, they will be written off, because this heart of yours to expend yourself for God is rare. This heart is exactly what God wants. If you give your heart to God, you have hope of being saved. If you expend yourself for the God of today and follow the will of the God of today, then God will forgive all of your transgressions. But if you rebel against and resist God and do not expend yourself for God, then even if your sins were forgiven when you believed in the Lord Jesus, that sin offering will now be useless. God will count both the sins of your past and your current sins together, and you will be utterly destroyed. If you are well aware that this is the true way but deliberately resist it, then your belief in the Lord Jesus will have been in vain, the sin offering will be invalid for you, and you will be condemned by God. Being condemned by God is a terrible thing; you will completely lose the chance to be saved. So, isn’t it true that there’s not much time left to expend oneself for God? (Yes.) There’s barely any time left. Then tell me, what can people achieve by expending themselves for God in this space of just one or two years? If you can achieve devotion and true submission in your duty, and you have such testimony as this, then this is very good, and you can be saved by God. If you do not bear testimony, then no matter what nice-sounding words you say, it will all be useless. God does not focus on how well you speak; what’s key is whether or not you have true testimony. Without testimony, there is absolutely no way for you to be saved. God once said: “God determines people’s outcomes mainly based on whether they have the truth” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). Then how is it measured whether a person has the truth? (This is based on whether they have true and resounding testimony and submission.) This understanding is correct. If you achieve basic submission and basic devotion in your duty, your duty yields results, and you can bear resounding testimony for God, then you have the truth reality, and in this way you can attain salvation and be made perfect. If your performance of your duty is entirely perfunctory, entirely adulterated with personal intentions, entirely for the sake of personal goals, done entirely to satisfy personal ambitions and desires, and it doesn’t yield much in the way of positive results, then you have no testimony, you have failed in your duty, and you have no truth reality. People who have truth reality will certainly undergo some changes throughout the course of their duty. Perhaps at the beginning, they may be negative more and complain more when doing their duty, but after being pruned, and after seeking and understanding the truth, they change. They stop being negative and complaining in their duty, and furthermore, they become able to endure great suffering, pay a great price, and achieve results. In the end, they become able to submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and they become able to fulfill their duty with all their heart, mind, and soul. This is how they can come to have testimony. If in doing your duty your state never changes, and you remain totally perfunctory and full of corrupt dispositions, living entirely by satanic philosophies without a shred of truth reality, then your duty will not achieve results. Such people are not even qualified to labor; they have no devotion or testimony, and they will ultimately be eliminated. So, how does God determine people’s outcomes based on whether they have the truth? This is mainly based on their performance of their duty. In one respect, it is based on whether you can achieve basic results in your duty, whether there is testimony of practicing the truth and submitting to God, and whether there is testimony of a true change in life disposition. In another respect, it is based on whether you have negative manifestations in your duty, whether you voice complaints against God, and whether you betray God and abandon your duty. If you have no negative manifestations and only positive ones, and your duty yields results, then you have testimony and can be saved. God looks at whether you gain the truth reality and a change in life disposition from your performance of your duty. He looks at whether you have true submission to Him from your performance of your duty, and then He finally decides your outcome and destination based on these things. Tell me, is it not crucial to do one’s duty? (It is.) Then should you seek the truth in your duty to come to practice the truth and act according to principles? (Yes.) Whatever difficulties you encounter, you must seek the truth, rely on God, and look to God to resolve them. In this way, the results of your duty will improve day by day, and people will be able to see from the duty you do that you have truly changed. This is because you do everything according to the truth principles in your duty, are particularly earnest and meticulous, and you are devoted and can suffer and pay a price in your duty, and you can give up personal fleshly enjoyments to satisfy God. This is having truth reality. Now, some brothers and sisters in churches in various countries are somewhat devoted to their duty and can give up fleshly pleasures to satisfy God. They even can keep on preaching the gospel as usual during Christmas, thinking, “Preaching the gospel to save people, testifying to God, and doing my duty well are the most urgent things right now. Things like holidays are not important. Doing my duty well is what accords with God’s intentions.” This is what it means to be somewhat devoted. Such people have hope of gaining the truth and God’s blessings. However, some people cannot hold to their duty. They say, “Celebrating Christmas is important, it’s only once a year. No matter how crucial my duty is, I have to put it aside to celebrate the holiday properly.” People regard celebrating various holidays, family, and fleshly matters above all else, and their duty ranks second, third, fourth, or fifth against these other things. This is troublesome. Such people have no devotion or testimony, so their service is not up to standard, and they cannot gain God’s approval. These two different types of thoughts and views bring about different results. Therefore, choosing which path to walk in serving God is truly important!