Fellowship From the Brother Above – August 1, 2025 (Part Six)

Question 12: I want to do my duty according to the truth principles, but when I need to state my position and make a decision, I usually follow the opinions of the majority. Sometimes I feel confused and do not know if what I am doing is in line with the principles. How can I discern whether I am doing my duty according to the truth principles or acting based on my imaginings and on my own will?

Answer: Whatever a person does, they do not do it without thinking or in a muddled way. They are always dominated by a certain view. So when you do things, you must have discernment. You must be clear about what thoughts are dominating your actions, and whether these are your notions and imaginings or the truth principles. In fact, you yourself should be very clear about what thoughts and views you are acting on. It will not be in a muddled way. Is that not the case? (It is.) Let’s look at an example. You see a person who believes in God and can attend gatherings and do their duty, and you say they are a brother or sister. Does this conform to the truth principles? Does the fact that they can attend gatherings and do their duty prove that they truly believe? Not necessarily. They must be able to pray to God, eat and drink God’s words, and they must be able to seek the truth when they encounter things. Only then are they a brother or sister. To be a little more strict, this person must be able to accept the truth and submit to the truth to be a brother or sister. If the requirement is even higher, then this person must have the truth reality, be able to follow God’s will, and be able to submit to God absolutely. Only then are they a brother or sister. If a person seems to attend gatherings and do their duty, and they can also speak some correct words and doctrines, but they do not have the slightest bit of the truth reality, and what they pursue is fame, gain, and status, and they always want to constrain and control people and make people listen to them, and they never reflect on the corrupt dispositions they reveal, and they think that whatever they do is right, then tell me, can such a person still be a brother or sister? (No.) They are walking the path of an antichrist. Although they also attend gatherings and do their duty, they do not sincerely believe in God and they do not accept the truth. They are just a service-doer, and not a true brother or sister. But some people cannot discern this. They think that anyone who believes in God, attends gatherings, and does their duty is a brother or sister. This is speaking based on notions and imaginings. Am I correct in saying this? (Yes.)

So how does one discern whether a person is doing their duty according to the truth principles? One must look at whether they are perfunctory in their duty, whether they are just going through the motions and being formalistic, and whether they can achieve real results. For example, in doing the same duty of preaching the gospel, some people seek the truth when they encounter difficulties, and in the end, they use the truth to solve all the difficulties they encounter and also convert a few people. Some people give up and stop preaching when they encounter difficulties, and as a result, they do not gain a single person. Tell me, of these two kinds of people, which one is truly doing their duty, and which one is being perfunctory and going through the motions? Is this not very easy to discern? (Yes.) If, in their duty, a person can do the things that are easy to do, but when they encounter things that are not so easy to do, things that involve difficulties, they do not seek the truth and just give up and wash their hands of it, and in the end, they achieve no results at all in their duty, is such a person still doing their duty? (No.) If one cannot solve a single problem in their duty and does not achieve any real results, then this is not doing one’s duty. This is called being perfunctory and going through the motions. In doing so, a person is attempting to deceive God. They are using the guise of doing their duty to try and cheat their way into the blessing of being saved, and as a result, their labor is not even up to standard, and they are eliminated by God. You must sincerely expend yourself for God, be able to do your duty according to principles, be able to seek the truth to solve difficulties when you encounter them, and be able to spare no effort to achieve results. Finally, when you can truly solve real problems and achieve real results, this is doing your duty. Tell me, what is the difference between a person who is truly doing their duty and a laborer? One is sincere, and the other is fake. One seeks the truth and acts according to principles and can achieve some results in their duty. The other does not seek the truth at all and is perfunctory and goes through the motions in their duty, without achieving any real results at all. This is how one discerns whether a person is doing their duty or is laboring. For example, in preaching the gospel, they both encounter a potential gospel recipient with good caliber. This potential gospel recipient raises some piercing questions that are very difficult to answer. When some people encounter this, they think, “This person has good caliber and is of substance. No matter how much I suffer or how much effort I have to put in, I must gain him.” In the end, they finally gain this person of substance. Tell me, is this person sincerely expending themselves for God? (They are.) Then is the duty they are doing up to standard? (It is.) But when some people encounter this kind of situation, they think, “The questions this person has raised are too piercing, and I can’t answer them. I won’t preach to him.” They give up on this person with good caliber and substance, and instead go and preach the gospel to people who are muddleheaded, because muddleheaded people are easier to convert, and they accept it after hearing a little fellowship on simple truths. But muddleheaded people do not love the truth, and they do not have caliber or comprehension ability. Is it of any value for them to convert such people? Then tell me, are they sincerely doing their duty? (No.) Then how does one discern whether a person is sincerely doing their duty? One must look at whether they are using their whole heart and exerting all their strength in their duty, whether they are practicing the truth with all their heart, soul, and mind, and whether they have achieved true and real results. If you discern based on these few points, your discernment will be accurate. Is that understood? (Yes.)

Question 13: I was dismissed for preaching words and doctrines and not doing real work. After my dismissal, my state has become very negative, and I’ve lost my motivation to do my duty. How can I break free from this negative state and find the strength to do my duty?

Answer: First of all, you must know this: Does the fact that you were dismissed for preaching words and doctrines and not doing real work mean that you have been eliminated by God? Does it prove that God has given up on you and is not saving you? (No.) Then when you are revealed like this, you must see clearly that this is not God wanting to eliminate you. God wants to use this kind of revelation to get you to know yourself, to have you see that you do not have the truth reality. God is doing this to save you, and you must understand God’s intention. If you become negative because of this, what mistake have you made? (We have misunderstood God’s intention.) That’s right. You think that God is not saving you, but in fact, that is not God’s intent. Some people say, “How do you know that is not God’s intent?” What I say is based on God’s words. God says: “God works in every single person, and no matter what His method is, what kind of people, events, and things He makes use of in His service, or what kind of tone His words have, He only has one end goal: saving you” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. To Gain the Truth, One Must Learn From the People, Events, and Things Nearby). No matter how God reveals people, or how He prunes people, it is all for the sake of salvation. This is God’s intention. Has God said, “Those who are dismissed for preaching words and doctrines are eliminated”? (No.) He has not. No matter what mistakes a person has made or what transgressions they have committed, God always gives them a chance to repent. He gives them chance after chance to repent and change, and to enter the truth reality. So long as you have true understanding and true repentance, God will forgive you. God spares no effort to save people. This is saving people to the greatest extent. What is meant by “to the greatest extent”? It means that when you give up the opportunity to be saved, and you no longer accept the chances that God gives you, and you determine that you cannot go through any further experience, and you say, “I will not pursue the truth anymore, I will not experience God’s work anymore, and I will not believe anymore,” then you are completely done for. But if you have not given up on pursuing the truth, then as long as God’s work has not ended and as long as the great catastrophes have not come, God will always be working to save you, until the very last moment of your life. This is what is meant by God saving people to the greatest extent. Is that understood? (Yes.) If you commit a great sin but do not die immediately, and you are still alive, then these days that you are living are God still giving you a chance. If, during these days, you confess your sin to God and achieve true repentance, then you can still be saved. If you pass verdict on yourself, “My sin is too great. God will surely not forgive me. I am doomed!” and you thus give up on pursuing the truth, then you will surely not be saved, because you have given up on yourself. Who is to blame for such a person not being saved? Is the blame to be placed upon God for not saving him, or is it to be placed upon the person themselves? (Upon the person themselves.) So do you now understand what is meant by God saving people to the greatest extent? (Yes.) If you do not understand this, then when you transgress, you will become negative and misunderstand God, and you will think that God is not saving you and has eliminated you. If you are always so negative, you will be in great danger and will be likely to miss out on the opportunity to be saved. If you truly understand this aspect of the truth, then no matter what transgression you commit, you will not be negative or give up. So long as you have even a single day left to live, so long as you have even one breath left, you must not give up on the truth. You must keep pursuing the truth and you must keep seeking to repent and change. This is a positive attitude. This is possessing an indomitable spirit. This is completely in line with God’s intentions. Such a person is the best and the most unwavering. If a person wants to submit to God’s work and achieve submission unto death, they must also possess an indomitable spirit. That is, a person must always be able to accept God’s judgment and chastisement, and even if they have but a single moment of life left, they will not leave God. Even if they are about to face death in the next moment, they will still submit to God. Whatever God says, they can accept it unconditionally. They still pursue the truth as they should, and even if they cannot read God’s words themselves, they will listen to God’s words and to others fellowshipping the truth. They also will ponder the truth in their hearts, to achieve understanding of God’s intentions, and to be able to worship and praise God. This is achieving submission unto death. Even if such a person eventually dies, they will still have joy in their heart, and they will still be filled with peace and happiness. So, is it not good for us all to pursue in this way? (It is.)

Question 14: My scummy nature is very serious, which often leads to me not having any results in doing my duty. How can I resolve my scummy nature and continuously achieve results in doing my duty?

Answer: To resolve a scummy nature, some strict measures must be taken, namely, giving yourself to God and letting God discipline you. These are strict measures. For example, if you acted based on your scummy nature today, and you were perfunctory and slacked off, you should pray to God, curse yourself, and ask God to discipline you severely. If you say, “Oh God, if I act perfunctorily based on my scummy nature again, please punish and curse me severely.” Is it good to practice this way? (It is.) If you loathe your flesh, loathe your corruption, and loathe your scummy nature, and you want to resolve this nature of yours, then you must treat yourself this strictly. For example, when some people see a member of the opposite sex, they want to get close to them and commit licentious acts. If you find yourself like this, you should pray and curse yourself, “Oh God, if I think of committing licentious acts again, punish me severely. Cover my face with festering sores, so that others may be disgusted at the sight of me, and so that I will be unable to get close to others in an inappropriate way and commit licentious acts.” Do you dare to curse yourself in this way? If you have this resolve, and God scrutinizes and sees it, God will say, “This person loathes sin and loathes the flesh. This person can change. I must enlighten him and have him understand the truth.” Then you will have a chance to change. If you want to resolve your scummy nature, you must have this resolve. Without this resolve, you cannot solve this problem. Can this question be answered in this way? (It can.)

Question 15: I want to discern the hypocritical essence of the Pharisees. If we have walked the path of the Pharisees, how can we turn back?

Answer: It is actually easy to discern the Pharisees. Tell me, when it comes to the evil deeds that the Pharisees did, can we, by measuring with our conscience, know their falsehood, deception, and disguise? (No.) Wrong. People with caliber can generally know these things, because the evil deeds they did were very obvious, and even they themselves were aware of them. They tended not to speak from their hearts, and when they explained the Scriptures to people, they themselves were unable to practice what they preached. How could they have no awareness of these things? They certainly had awareness. The Lord Jesus spoke so many words exposing the Pharisees, so how could they have had no awareness? In their hearts, the immoral things they did in secret were as clear to them as their own reflections in a mirror. It wasn’t that the Pharisees didn’t know that they were sinning, nor that they didn’t know they were being hypocritical and disguising themselves to make people worship and submit to them. They were very clear about these things in their hearts. Then why did they not repent? They didn’t repent because they did not love the truth. They felt that it was only right and proper for them to have believers worship and follow them for the sake of their status and livelihood, and for believers to offer money to support them. They did not feel that this was a big problem, much less that God would condemn them. Therefore, they remained stiff-necked in doing these things, and they absolutely refused to repent. Tell me, if a person with a conscience did the things that the Pharisees did, what would they feel in their hearts? If such a person spent the offerings that the brothers and sisters gave to God but did not solve any of their problems, could their conscience be at peace? (No.) If such a person enjoyed God’s offerings for a long time, but they didn’t live out any truth reality, nor bring people before God to have them gain benefits, would they not feel indebted to God and to their brothers and sisters? A person with normal humanity has reason and a conscience. As soon as such a person does something bad, they feel guilty in their heart. If you do not feel guilty, then you are not a human. You are a devil. Devils and Satans have no conscience or reason. They can drink people’s blood and eat people’s flesh their whole lives and not feel any kind of sense of indebtedness to others. Is that not so? (It is.) Therefore, conscience is absolutely crucial. If a person has a conscience, it can prevent them from walking the wrong path. When I first accepted God’s commission, I thought, “I’m not particularly educated, nor have I received much schooling. Can I do this work well? I must do my best. I must fellowship clearly with the brothers and sisters all that the Holy Spirit has enlightened me to understand, and all the truths and the gains I have attained from believing in God without any reservation, so that the brothers and sisters can benefit from me. In addition, I must also not become indebted to anyone. I will not torment or handle any person based on my personal feelings or preferences. For anyone in the church who is to be expelled or cleared out, this must be done in accordance with the truth principles, and these things must not be based on my personal feelings or preferences. Only if I work in this way will my conscience not be reproached and be at ease.” See, when I accepted God’s commission, I had to have such a conscience, or else I’d be unable to do such a great work. Today, when I reflect on the work I have done over the years, have there been any enlightenments from the Holy Spirit that I have not spoken of to the brothers and sisters? Has there ever been a leader or worker whom I did not help, prune, or show the way forward when I discovered their problems? Is there any person I have cleared out or expelled by mistake? No, there is not. And I have also unweariedly and repeatedly fellowshipped with God’s chosen people all that I have attained and gained. Just as now, when I gather with you, God’s chosen people from various countries, each gathering lasts at least four hours. I let you gain a full harvest, and I allow you to gain the harvest of two or three gatherings in just one gathering. This is how I plan gatherings. Therefore, when I fellowship with you, I often say, “Is it suitable for me to fellowship in this way? Do you understand what I mean? If what I fellowship is not suitable, you can make suggestions, and I will fellowship according to your suggestions. If you tell me that what I say is too vague, I will explain the topic at hand in more detail. If you feel that speaking in too much detail will delay fellowship on further topics, and that it is fine to speak more simply, then I will speak thus.” In short, I will speak in whatever way can achieve results. My intention is to have all of you benefit, and not to have you spend time listening to sermons in vain. Look, is my attitude in doing this work not the product of my conscience? (It is.) When a person does their duty, at the very least, they must not go below the standard of their conscience. If you have understood the relevant truth principles in some matters, then it is best to practice according to the truth. But in some matters, we may not understand the relevant principles too well. In this situation, you must at the very least not go below the standard of your conscience. Do what is appropriate according to the standard of your conscience. What do you think of this principle? (It is good.) If you can practice in this way, then even if you don’t do your duty with particularly great accuracy, at the very least you will not go below the standard of your conscience. This is passable in terms of humanity, and it can benefit people. In short, when you do not understand the truth, do not let your duty fall below the standard of your conscience. This is the minimum standard, and it is also a principle of practicing the truth, a principle that a person should choose in their conduct, and a path that they should walk. What do you think of fellowshipping on this problem in this way? (It is suitable.)

Question 16: Some new believers in some places have believed in God for a while, but their life entry is still very shallow, and they still don’t know how to experience God’s work. Most of the time, when they are asked to share their experiential understanding, they just talk about events or some very superficial understanding. How are we to guide the brothers and sisters to learn to experience God’s work and to know their corrupt dispositions?

Answer: New believers do not know how to experience God’s work. They think that experiencing God’s work just consists of eating and drinking God’s words, listening to sermons, and attending gatherings. They do not know how to seek the truth. Such a person’s understanding is very shallow, and they do not have the slightest bit of truth reality. Thus, you must fellowship with them on what it means to believe in God, and have them understand that believing in God is not just acknowledging God, and that one must also know how to experience God’s work. Some people say, “I did not believe in God before, but now I do. I deeply believe in the existence of God in my heart, and no matter who else denies God, I will not deny God. Isn’t this believing in God?” Is this view correct? Is this true belief in God? (No.) This is how religious people believe in God. Is this not absurd? No matter how much you acknowledge the existence of God, it does not mean that you know God’s sovereignty or disposition, much less that you know God’s work. Do you know why God became incarnate as the Son of man to express His words to do the work of judgment before the great catastrophes come? God wants to destroy this wicked world, this wicked age, and before destroying this world, God wants to make a group of people complete. No matter how many people are in this group, as long as they are gained by God, God’s work of salvation will be finished, and God will begin to send down disasters to destroy this world. Then to what point must this group of people reach to be saved? These people must be able to submit to God, know God, and truly worship God to be saved. Therefore, if in your faith you only acknowledge the existence of God but don’t experience God’s work and cannot achieve salvation, then you are fooling yourself and you do not understand what it means to believe in God. Believing in God means that you must experience judgment and chastisement, have your corrupt disposition cleansed, come to know God, and be able to submit to and worship God. If you do not accept God’s judgment and chastisement, then no matter how much you acknowledge the existence of God, it is of no use. No matter the degree to which you acknowledge the existence of God, it doesn’t mean that you truly believe in God. Is that not so? (It is.) Therefore, the reason why these people have shallow life entry is that they do not understand the truth. Thus you must fellowship with them on what it means to believe in God, what it means to experience God’s work, and how to experience God’s work to cast off one’s corrupt disposition and be saved. In addition, you must also fellowship on why God does the work of judgment, to have them understand that mankind is very deeply corrupted, that Satan’s poisons have already become man’s nature, and that people have all become people who resist God, and become devils. For corrupt mankind, as deeply corrupted as it is, God can only use judgment and chastisement to cleanse and save them. Otherwise, results cannot be achieved. Man’s corrupt disposition must be resolved through judgment and chastisement. A person cannot change their disposition by themselves. If you do not accept judgment and chastisement, you will not achieve dispositional change even if you believe in God your whole life. If you explain these truths thoroughly, will they still believe in God as they did before? Will they not have to reconsider how they believe in God? Will they not have to treat the matter of believing in God seriously? Will they not have to change the way in which they believe in God? Therefore, if these truths are not fellowshipped thoroughly, then no results can be achieved. No matter what aspect of the truth the chosen people of God in the church are lacking, leaders and workers are responsible for fellowshipping the truth thoroughly to support the brothers and sisters, so that they will know how to experience God’s work, be able to accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, and be able to know themselves and cast off their corrupt dispositions and completely submit to God. In this way, they will have testimonies of life experience, you will have brought people before God, and thus you will have done your work as a leader or worker well. With the new believers here still not understanding the truth, is this directly related to the leaders and workers? (It is.) The leaders and workers here have not done their work well and have not fulfilled their responsibilities, and this has led to the new believers not understanding any truths even after believing in God for several years. Perhaps some people will say, “This is also because the new believers themselves do not pursue.” So are there people in the church who do pursue? Those who do not pursue do not gain the truth because they do not pursue, but there are also those who do pursue but who do not gain the truth, and this is related to the leaders and workers. This proves that the leaders and workers have not done their work well. If the leaders and workers had truly done their work well, at least some people in the church would have become able to understand some truths and able to forsake everything to expend themselves for God or share some experiential testimonies. If even these minimum results cannot be achieved, what evidence is there that you have done your work well? There is none. You have failed in your duty and have not fulfilled the responsibilities of a leader or worker. Is that not so? (It is.)