Fellowship From the Brother Above – September 15, 2025 (Part Eight)

II. Questions Regarding Life Entry

Question 10: When I get good results in my duty and am praised by my brothers and sisters, I am very motivated in my duty. But when my results are poor, I worry that others will look down on me, and I become quite negative and passive in my duty. I have tried to resolve this problem, but this state keeps recurring. How can I resolve this?

Answer: Always being emotional in your duty, performing a bit better when you’re happy, and then just downing tools and quitting when you’re not—aren’t these the manifestations of a child? (Yes.) Children are quite emotional. So, if an adult still has this kind of disposition, what will the consequences be? For example, say a man has a wife and children to support, but every so often he says, “I’m not happy today, so I’m not going to work.” Is that acceptable? (No.) If you don’t go to work and earn money, your wife and children will have nothing to eat. So, to support your family, you must fulfill your responsibility. No matter how hard or difficult it is, you have to go to work. An adult must bear this burden. Then, is doing your duty more important than making a living? (It is.) When you’re making a living, you might struggle to make ends meet if you don’t earn much money. You might not eat nice food or wear nice clothes, but that doesn’t matter: It doesn’t affect your destination or outcome. But if you do your duty like a child—following your whims, doing a little when you’re happy and nothing when you’re not—then you will lose your good outcome and good destination. Your only outcome will be destruction. Isn’t that quite serious? (Yes.) There is a chapter of God’s words titled “Prepare Sufficient Good Deeds for Your Destination.” What is the meaning of this? It means that if people want to have a good destination and enter the kingdom of heaven, they must prepare sufficient good deeds. What does the phrase “sufficient good deeds” refer to? It refers to doing more duty. The more duty you do and the better the results of your duty, the more good deeds you will have prepared and the more certain you can be of attaining a good destination. If you do very little duty and your results are poor, then you will not have prepared many good deeds and having a good destination will be out of the question for you. In the end, because you will not have gained any truths or achieved any dispositional change, your outcome might be going to hell. In a situation where a person has not gained the truth, whether they can attain a good destination depends on how many good deeds they have prepared. The more good deeds a person has prepared, the greater their chance of attaining a good destination. Some people say, “I’ve only believed in God for a year or two, and I don’t understand much truth. What can I do to enter the kingdom of heaven?” They should prepare sufficient good deeds. In the church now, some people preach the gospel and testify to God, some water and support new brothers and sisters with love, some use the truth to resolve the real difficulties of God’s chosen people and lead them into the truth reality, some offer their homes to host gatherings for brothers and sisters, and still others give alms to help those brothers and sisters who expend themselves for God, so that they can do their duty without worrying about anything else. All of these are ways of preparing good deeds. If you can perform various duties or obligations, you are preparing sufficient good deeds. When you have prepared many good deeds, God will see that although you’ve only believed for one to three years and don’t understand much truth, you are sincere in your faith and you have prepared a lot of good deeds. God will then give you a good destination based on your good deeds. So tell me, is it important to prepare good deeds? (It is.) Preparing good deeds is very important. If you always follow your own whims in your duty—acting like a child, working by fits and starts, doing a little when you’re happy and nothing when you’re not—then not only are you failing to do your duty in a manner that is up to standard, you are even failing to labor in a manner that meets the criterion. Even those who labor must be devoted in order to survive. If your labor isn’t even up to standard and you lack devotion, God won’t remember it. If a disaster strikes, you could fall into it and die at any moment. When your soul arrives in the spiritual realm and the gates of the kingdom of heaven are not open to you, you will regret it. You’ll think, “I didn’t prepare any good deeds back then. If only I had known, I would have done more good things. But it’s too late!” It will be too late to regret it on the day you die; no matter what you say, it will be too late. So, you must hurry up and prepare good deeds now, while you’re still alive. Don’t wait until the day you’re about to die to think about preparing good deeds: It will be too late then.

Question 11: I am a gospel supervisor. When I check the work of my brothers and sisters and point out their problems, they feel that I am targeting them and even become unwilling to speak with me. I then feel constrained in my work. What aspect of the truth should I fellowship on so that they take the correct approach to me pointing out their problems and helping them? Also, how can I avoid being constrained by this state and fulfill my own duty?

Answer: When it comes to doing your duty, you must adhere to the truth principles. If you don’t, you cannot practice the truth. And if you cannot practice the truth, what kind of problem is that? That means you are not a person who submits to God. If you cannot practice the truth, can you bear any testimony? You cannot bear any testimony. Your stature is too small right now. When you try to practice a little truth or adhere to a few principles, you are always constrained by pride, afraid of what others will say, and afraid of offending people. This corrupt disposition of yours is quite serious; it has tightly bound your hands and feet, stopping you from practicing the truth freely and normally. This must be resolved by seeking the truth. Also, directly exposing others’ problems can cause them to feel resentful. So, why not try a different approach? How about exposing your own problems first? For example, if you see others being perfunctory in their duty and you want to help them, then relate their problems to your own. Expose how you used to be perfunctory and lacking in devotion in your duty, and then talk about how God disciplined you, which of God’s words you read, and which truths you understood that enabled you to cast off this corruption. When they hear that you can expose yourself and know yourself so thoroughly, they will feel that they have benefited and will compare themselves to what you’ve said, thinking, “How could what you fellowshipped today be the same as my state? This is exactly my state!” You see, they gain knowledge of themselves via your knowledge of yourself. Doesn’t this achieve the desired result? (Yes.) Sometimes, to solve a problem, you don’t need to expose others directly. Just expose and dissect your own incorrect states. When they hear this, they will feel that your manifestations are the same as theirs, and they will start to ponder, “I’m really unwilling to open up and lay myself bare. I’m unwilling to accept others’ pointers and help because I feel it’s too shameful. Today, you exposed your own corruption and weren’t afraid of losing face or of us looking down on you. You’re much better than me. I need to learn from you. I need to open up.” Then they will start to open up and know themselves. Practicing this way achieves much better results than directly exposing them. Isn’t it a wise approach? (Yes.)

Question 12: When others point out my problems, I always try to justify myself and debate them even though I know I have these problems. I find it very difficult to accept and admit my mistakes. Afterward, I feel very regretful and pained. How can I resolve this corrupt disposition?

Answer: To resolve a corrupt disposition, the key is to know it. You can’t resolve it without knowing it, and you can’t resolve it by only knowing a little about it. You must know it thoroughly to find a path. Why can you find a path once you know it thoroughly? Tell me, when a person knows their corrupt disposition thoroughly, will they be disgusted with themselves? Will they loathe and detest themselves? (They will.) If a person is truly disgusted with themselves, and loathes and detests themselves, will they be willing to cast off their corrupt disposition? (They will.) Some people committed licentious acts, and then were disgusted with themselves and detested themselves afterward. To what extent did they detest themselves? To the extent where they wished they could just slap their own face. This is a certain degree of detesting oneself. So, tell me, can such a person repent? (They can.) Therefore, when a person’s self-knowledge truly reaches the point where they detest themselves, they can rebel against the flesh and begin to repent and change. This is when their turning point has arrived. How does this turning point come about? It comes from them seeing their own nature essence clearly. They see themselves as a filthy demon, a degenerate who resists God, a living devil, and so they detest themselves. But some people, upon realizing this, go to extremes, saying, “What’s the use of a devil like me living? I might as well commit suicide and stop living!” Is that the right thing to say? (No.) Why not? (That’s escapism; it can’t solve the problem.) That’s just being foolish. You should resolve your corrupt disposition, not end your life. If you end your life, you cannot attain salvation. That’s committing suicide to escape punishment for your sins, and God will condemn you even more for it. Don’t be foolish. Remember, the correct path to resolving a corrupt disposition is to know and dissect yourself. Your turning point will have arrived and you will begin to change when your self-knowledge reaches a certain point where you are disgusted with yourself, detest yourself, and no longer believe in yourself.

Question 13: Recently, nationwide protests have broken out in my country. The country has descended into chaos, leading to an increase in criminal activity. In such a chaotic and unsafe environment, how can I quiet myself to fulfill my duty?

Answer: When disasters strike, it is even more necessary for you to do your duty well. Watch your step carefully: Do not get involved in political activities, do not participate in riots, and stay away from crowds of wicked people. Keep to your place and do your duty in the church, or preach the gospel in nearby places where the environment permits. For now, don’t go to distant or unfamiliar places, and ensure your safety to the greatest extent possible. Some countries are starting to fall into chaos now, and this is just the beginning. In the future, most countries will be in chaos; every nation will be fragmented and utterly leaderless. This is where the general trend is headed. The disasters will become greater and greater in the future. The greater the disasters, the more we must seize the opportunity to pursue the truth, and pursue being made perfect. If you focus only on fleeing for your life and seeking safety and do not pursue the truth, you will miss your opportunity to gain the truth and be made perfect. Therefore, the greater the chaos, the more we must pursue the truth; the greater the chaos, the more necessary it is to do our duty well to bear testimony for God. This is what God approves of. If your country is so chaotic that there is no environment in which you can do your duty, you must still read God’s words earnestly to understand yourself and equip yourself with the truth. Do this as you wait for an opportunity to do your duty: This is what a smart person would do.

Question 14: After I preached the gospel to my neighbors, they didn’t accept it and became somewhat unwilling to speak with me. When I think about preaching the gospel to them again, I have concerns. I’m always worried that others will reject me or even gossip about me. I realize that I care a lot about my pride. How should I practice and enter into this?

Answer: When preaching the gospel to your neighbors, you must first be well-prepared. If you are almost certain you can gain them, then you can preach to them. If you’re not prepared and not confident you can gain them, then don’t preach to them for the time being. How does that sound? (Good.) This is what is meant by not fighting battles you’re not sure of winning or not prepared for. So, what preparations should you make first? First, understand their attitude toward faith and the truth, and whether they have sufficient caliber and comprehension ability to grasp the truth. Understand these things first, and then, step by step, guide them to a point where you can preach the gospel to them. This is like feeling your way across a river by touching the stones. You can ask them, “What are your thoughts on faith? It’s the last days now, and everyone feels the need to have faith. If you don’t have faith, it’s like you’ve lost your soul.” They might say, “That’s right. Without faith, aren’t we just walking corpses? I’m a believer in the Lord.” Then you can continue, “So how many years have you believed in the Lord? Do you understand the Bible? Do you know how to welcome the Lord?” Once you see they can’t answer, you can continue to fellowship with them on this issue. Although you haven’t yet testified to Almighty God, you’ve gained some understanding of them, and they’ve become familiar with you. At this point, what will they think of you? They’ll say, “My neighbor is pretty nice. He’s also a believer in the Lord. He can help me as a fellow believer in the Lord. He’s a good person.” You see, what do you think of chatting with them like this? Have they complained about you or rejected you? (No.) They feel you are beneficial to them, so they are willing to interact with you more. First, you should engage and chat with them in this way, without blindly testifying to Almighty God. This way, you won’t offend them, you won’t damage the relationship, and you can still maintain normal interactions with them. Right? (Yes.) After engaging with them for a while and getting to know them better, you’ll know whether you can preach to them. If you find that this person comprehends things in an absurd manner and you can’t preach to them, then stop there. There’s no need to fellowship with them any further; just maintain a normal interpersonal relationship with them. If you find they can comprehend the truth, then you can guide them step by step and testify to them about Almighty God. Alternatively, you can give them a book of God’s words and see how they react. If they read it and ask you, “Where did you get this book? The words in it are the truth. These words sound like the Lord’s voice, as if the Lord has appeared. Do you know what’s going on?” you can then talk to them about some of the truths regarding visions, and testify that God has become incarnate and uttered His words. See if they accept that God has become incarnate. If they don’t, and they are just waiting for the Lord to descend on a cloud, and they don’t accept it even after you fellowship with them using relevant Bible verses, then don’t talk about it anymore. Stop there. If they can accept that God has become incarnate and come as the Son of man, and they want to seek the Son of man and God’s words, then give them a few more books of God’s words and continue to fellowship and testify to them. Finally, when they are certain that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned and they accept the true way, you can then open up to them that you too have accepted Almighty God. Then you can live a church life and fellowship on God’s words together. You see? Not only did you maintain your relationship, but you also gained them. How wise and wonderful is that! Just take a cautious, step-by-step approach in your interactions with them. If you see they can accept the truth, testify to them about God. If they don’t accept the truth and cling to their notions, then there’s no need to testify. Just maintain your original relationship with them. Isn’t this a good way to practice? Isn’t this the wisdom one should have in preaching the gospel? (Yes.)