Fellowship From the Brother Above – September 1, 2025 (Part Seven)

Question 15: When I encounter difficulties in doing my duty, I am often unwilling to report them to the leaders, nor am I willing to seek help from others, constantly feeling that doing this would be a sign of weakness and incompetence. I know that acting like this will affect the work, and I want to be an honest person, open up about my true state, seek help, and cooperate harmoniously with my brothers and sisters to do the work well. What truths do I need to practice and enter into?

Answer: You want to open up about your real state to your brothers and sisters, and you want to cooperate harmoniously with them. So how do you view harmonious cooperation? If you see it as a burden, as an unnecessary process, a manifestation of weakness and incompetence, and even a regulation and a shackle, then it will be troublesome, and you will never be able to practice harmonious cooperation. So why does God require people to learn to cooperate harmoniously? What are God’s intentions? People must understand this aspect of the truth; this is crucial. Let me give you an example. God does not allow one man and one woman to cooperate without others present. How do you view this matter? Some people say, “What’s wrong with men and women cooperating? When men and women cooperate to do the work, it’s good, it’s convenient, it’s easy to achieve results, and it lifts both people’s mood. Besides, we would never do anything disgraceful when we cooperate.” So, do you know why God does not allow one man and one woman to cooperate without others present? Is it not to protect you? (It is.) If only one man and one woman cooperate without others present, then when things get to a certain extent, consequences are prone to happening. Once two people fall in love and secretly get married, what will happen? (Their minds will not be on doing their duty.) It will not do if you cannot see through this matter. God is holy, and God’s disposition brooks no offense. If you really did offend it, you would not be able to bear the consequences, and it would be too late for regrets. In the nonbelieving world, two people can casually fornicate as soon as they get a good feeling from each other, but in God’s kingdom, you absolutely cannot do this. Therefore, God does not allow one man and one woman to cooperate without others present in order to protect you: to protect you from offending God’s disposition, and to protect you from being taken captive by Satan. Otherwise, your blessings will be gone. Therefore, in all things, people must seek God’s intentions and understand God’s painstaking thoughts. In this way, you will have the motivation to practice the truth and will be able to strive toward God’s requirements.

So what are God’s intentions in letting people cooperate harmoniously? Harmonious cooperation can prevent you from walking the path of an antichrist and can prevent you from recklessly committing misdeeds. If you cooperate harmoniously, your corrupt disposition will not prevail easily, and you will not be prone to violating God’s intentions and doing evil. Therefore, harmonious cooperation is beneficial in doing your duty and practicing the truth, it is beneficial to your life entry, and it is even more beneficial in the transformation of your disposition. In short, it is beneficial to you in all aspects. Do not underestimate this matter of harmonious cooperation. If you can practice this simple truth, it proves that you are practicing the truth. If you can uphold this truth principle, it proves that you have kept God’s commandments, and it proves that you have a God-fearing heart. The significance of harmonious cooperation is so deep, and the scope it involves is so broad. If you see it as simple, then it will be troublesome. At the very least, you must recognize that God letting people cooperate harmoniously is God’s protection of people. Some people, after cooperating with others for a short time, say, “I am not willing to cooperate with them. Their caliber is not good, and they cannot grasp the key points when they speak. If I discuss work with them, it will delay things. If I do not discuss it with them and do things directly, the results will be better.” It is very dangerous for people to have this kind of thought. It shows that you are too arrogant and self-righteous. In that case, you really need to cooperate with people. If there is no one to cooperate with you, you will be in great trouble. You will be arbitrary and reckless and will do great evil, which will be terrible. Therefore, people with a severe arrogant disposition have a huge need for harmonious cooperation. Without harmonious cooperation, they may do many bad things. Now do you understand the significance of harmonious cooperation? A person’s view and attitude toward harmonious cooperation are extremely revealing of them. Now that we have understood the significance of harmonious cooperation, we must train to practice it, and by praying and by the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we must be able to practice the truth of harmonious cooperation. When you have true harmonious cooperation with people, you will feel, “Harmonious cooperation is so good! After cooperating harmoniously with people, my corrupt disposition is restrained, my arrogance and self-righteousness are resolved, and I have principles in my actions. I can respect people, I no longer see everyone as inferior to me, I can maintain normal interpersonal relationships with people, and I can stand on an equal footing with them.” This is possessing a certain aspect of the truth reality. Is this not a good thing? This is a good thing. When you can cooperate harmoniously with people, you will have life entry and a change in your disposition.

Question 16: I am a member of a district decision-making group. When following up on the work of the church leaders, I have found that some leaders are not very willing to accept our supervision. They only accept Chinese brothers and sisters coming to follow up on the work. How should we handle this situation to avoid making them more resistant, while also making them understand that supervision of the work is something done out of responsibility toward one’s duty and is not targeted at any individual?

Answer: Some leaders and workers are not very willing to accept supervision. They only accept supervision from Chinese brothers and sisters, and not from non-Chinese brothers and sisters. What is the problem here? Are such people submissive? In cooperating in service, there is a key principle: No matter who says something, as long as it conforms to the truth, we should accept and submit. If what someone says does not conform to the truth, we should not accept and submit. So if a Chinese brother or sister says something that does not conform to the truth, should you accept it? (No.) If the brothers and sisters in your local church say something that conforms to the truth, should you accept it? (Yes.) Is this not a principle? (It is.) I often say to you, “If what I say conforms to the truth, you should accept it. But if something I say does not align with the truth, should you accept it?” Some people say, “You are the man used by the Holy Spirit. We believe in you. Whatever you say is right, and we are willing to accept it all. No matter how you arrange things, we are willing to submit.” Is this statement correct? (No.) Tell me, are these people who truly submit to God? (No.) What they submit to is status and power, not the truth. No matter how far the words of a person with high status are from conforming to the truth, they will submit. No matter how well the words of a person with low status conform to the truth, they will not accept them. They are not people who truly submit to God and the truth. Remember, you must accept and submit to the truth in every situation. If you can accept and submit to the truth, then you are a person who submits to God. So if what I say contradicts what God says, whom should you submit to? (God.) That’s right. Submitting to God’s words and submitting to the truth is the reality of submitting to God. Only those who can truly submit to the truth are people who submit to God. Since God will not speak to you directly regarding many matters, how can you tell if you can submit to God? It depends on whether you can normally submit to the truth. I, at all times and in all circumstances, choose to submit to the truth. If anyone says anything that conforms to the truth, I will submit. Even if the other person’s status is very high, if what they say does not conform to the truth, I will never submit. If anyone upholds this principle in their actions, then they can submit to God, and their submission to God is real. Now, some people accept whatever their Chinese brothers and sisters say, but they do not accept the words of their local brothers and sisters even if they conform to the truth. Is this a problem? (Yes.) This is not submitting to the truth: It is an incorrect notion; it is incorrect behavior. They are not people who submit to the truth; they submit to power. They will submit to whoever has great power, and will never submit to anyone with no power, no matter how right what they say is or how much it conforms to the truth. The religious world treats the incarnate God in this way. When they see that the One who has come is an ordinary Son of man, they look down on Him. Even if this Son of man expresses so many truths, they still do not accept or submit. If the spiritual body of the Lord Jesus came and said these words, they would be able to believe and submit, or if this Son of man were a president or an official, they could also submit. So what is the problem here? Are such people those who submit to God? (No.) This one manifestation has revealed them and exposed their nature. What they worship and submit to is status. They cannot accept the truth and thus are destined not to be saved. Therefore, in doing our duty, we must practice submitting to God. The principle of submitting to God is: No matter whether our brothers and sisters have status or not, if anyone says something that conforms to the truth, we should accept and submit. If a person with high status says something that does not conform to the truth, we must also reject it. How should we reject it? If your leader says something that does not conform to the truth, how should you reject it? You should say, “What you said doesn’t seem to conform to the truth. I cannot follow it.” After you say this, see what they say. If they say, “What I said indeed contradicts the truth. I take back those words; you do not need to follow them. I thank you for pointing this out to me today. You have helped me avoid a big mistake,” then this leader can accept the truth; they are a good leader. If they say, “Why do you not listen to what I say? If you do not listen to my words, you are not submitting to God!” If they are capable of saying such words, what is the problem here? (They have put themselves in God’s place.) They are an antichrist! Who of mankind can represent God? No one is qualified to represent God. Even I cannot represent God. Only Christ, the incarnate God, can represent God. So that’s why I often say, “If what I say contradicts what God says, you should reject it and not listen to my words. You should simply submit to the truth and listen to God’s words. If you grasp this principle, you will be correct, and God will approve of you.” If I fellowship like this, can you understand? (Yes.) Is this fellowship also beneficial in solving this problem? (It is.) People must learn to submit to the truth. In addition, although the Chinese brothers and sisters can do some work and have some strengths, it is inevitable that they will occasionally reveal some corruption and be somewhat tainted. This is very normal. Therefore, the brothers and sisters from other countries must learn to treat their Chinese brothers and sisters correctly. If what they say is right, you should accept it. If what they say is not right, you should fellowship on the truth with them so that they may understand and reflect. Is it good to do this? (It is.) Also, in the churches around the world right now, there are many people whose stature is relatively small. It is completely necessary for them to accept the leadership of the Chinese. But if in some countries, some people have believed in God for eight or ten years and have understood some truths, can the churches in these countries not become independent? Can they not do without Chinese leadership? (Yes.) Remember, no matter which country the church is in, as long as some people have believed in God for eight or ten years and genuinely understand some truths, then that church can become independent and the Chinese can focus on watering the churches in those countries where the gospel has just been spread. One day, when the members of the churches in your respective countries have grown in stature, and you find that your stature is about the same as that of the Chinese, then you will not need Chinese leadership and you can directly lead the church yourselves. If some people say, “Although we have experienced God’s work for a period of time, our stature is indeed still a bit lacking. The Chinese brothers and sisters still need to lead us for another year or two,” then they will lead you for another year or two. After those one or two years, you will still have to be independent. When it is time to be independent, you shouldn’t reject being independent. When it is time to be independent, you must be independent.

Question 17: I am a member of a decision-making group. I often fellowship with my brothers and sisters about the trends in God’s work and encourage everyone to seize the hour to preach the gospel. In every gathering, everyone says they are willing to preach the gospel, but afterward, they are still relatively passive, and the gospel work does not progress. Some people cannot believe in the trends in God’s work. They feel that there are no disasters in their country or region yet, and they do not believe that God’s work is about to end, nor do they seize the hour to preach the gospel. How can I fellowship to make them bear a true burden in their hearts and do their duty well?

Answer: Most people who believe in God are adults, and adults all have thoughts. Tell me, if a person cannot see the current situation or the circumstances of the catastrophes clearly, do they have thoughts? Is their caliber not very poor? Their thoughts are very naive, and their caliber is very poor. The great catastrophes have come, and they cannot even see it. Can they then grasp the truth? (No.) If such a person is a leader or worker, can they still lead God’s chosen people? (No.) If a person cannot see the trends in God’s work, and they do not accept it when others fellowship with them, then will they not ruin the lives of their brothers and sisters if they are a leader? (They will.) Right now, the work of Almighty God in the last days has reached this stage. The gospel has spread to all countries in the world, and the words of Almighty God have spread to thousands of households. But the pastors in the religious world still cannot see that the Lord Jesus has long since returned, and they still cannot see that the work of judgment done by Almighty God is the work of the returned Lord. This is how blind these pastors are. Have they not obstructed and ruined their brothers and sisters in the churches? (They have.) So are these people, as pastors, leading others astray? (They are.) They have harmed people so deeply! If such a muddleheaded person is a leader or worker in God’s house, but they cannot see all the overall situation of the catastrophes clearly, and still think, “Now the outside world is calm and peaceful, and everything here is quite comfortable and easy. Let’s just enjoy the life of the flesh,” does this not mean that a disbeliever has taken power? If you fellowship on the truth with them and they still never accept it, then they must be dismissed, and people who have thoughts, who can see the situation clearly, and yearn for the truth should be chosen to be leaders or workers, so as not to ruin God’s chosen people in that location.

Question 18: Some leaders and workers must be dismissed according to the principles, but the church has no suitable candidates for the time being. How can we better discover and cultivate talented people who are worthy of cultivation?

Answer: If in a certain church there is not a single person who pursues the truth, and no one suitable to be a leader or worker can be found, then this church must be merged with other churches. If in the other churches there are one or two people who pursue the truth and can be leaders and workers, then they should be made responsible for more work. As the saying goes, “The able should do more work.” If no suitable candidates for leaders and workers can be found, and there are a few people who have the caliber to be leaders and workers, but it’s just that they have small stature and cannot shoulder the work straight away, then you have to look at just how small their stature is. If their stature is only a little small, then you should water them more with the truth so their stature can grow quickly and they’ll thus be able to shoulder the work. If their stature is too small, and you’ll have to spend several years watering them before they can grow, then by the time they have grown, the work will have been delayed. In that case, it is better to just go ahead and merge the churches. This is the best way.

Question 19: In our country, many newcomers have been joining the church every month. We have set up a church of newcomers, but most of the leaders and workers who were chosen have no foundation. They feel a lot of pressure when they are assigned work, but if we don’t arrange things this way, there will be nobody to follow up on the newcomers in the church. How can we better train the leaders and workers of the church of newcomers? How can we better cooperate with these leaders and workers and do the work?

Answer: If a district leader or worker sees that a certain church has no suitable leaders, then you must take on the work of that church. Then you’ll be both the district leader and the leader of that church. This is known as holding concurrent posts. Leaders and workers must all learn to hold concurrent posts. District leaders and workers are not pen-pushing officials who get an exemption from regular work. If you say, “I only manage the work of the district. I don’t manage other work,” this is wrong. A district leader can be the leader of a church, and can also be the watering deacon or gospel deacon of a church. Everyone can hold two, three, or four posts concurrently. Tell me, how many posts do I hold? I have to manage the gospel work, church work, text-based work, and also the film production work. I have to manage every aspect of the work. Whatever new project God’s house embarks on, I have to be personally responsible for the work it involves. Therefore, every leader and worker must be multi-talented. What does it mean to be multi-talented? It means being able to do several aspects of work well—for example, doing gospel work and also church work. It means you can be a church leader and also the supervisor of a gospel team. It means you can handle multiple tasks all by yourself. This is what it means to be multi-talented. So tell me, do multi-talented people not prepare many good deeds? (They do.) Some people do hymn work, dance work, and also gospel work. They’re busy from morning to night. They prepare many more good deeds than people who only do one piece of work. It’s like nonbelievers working to earn money. Some people work three jobs a day; they are busy for more than ten hours and earn three salaries. Because of that, they earn more money. Now, if you can take on three jobs in the church, you will be among those most blessed by God. So why do people need to take on additional jobs? Because there aren’t many leaders and workers who can be chosen at the moment. If your caliber is a little better, then you must be able to do more work and learn to be considerate of God’s intentions. If you alone can do several aspects of the work well, then you will be a pillar of the temple. If this church relies entirely on you to support it, and you alone do several aspects of the work and you do all aspects of the work of this church quite well, then your good deeds will be magnificent and you will be firmly remembered by God; you will be a pillar of the temple, and the rewards you receive will also be great. The pillars of the temple grow and stand up in this kind of situation. When the work of the church needs people to cooperate, if you can rise up and take on the work, then gradually, you will be trained to the point where you become a pillar. If that area has many people with good caliber who can be leaders and workers, then it will not be your turn to be a pillar. Is that not the case? (It is.) Therefore, if a person is responsible for a church and cannot find a suitable leader or worker, then they must hold multiple posts, and work non-stop. They go to this church for a few days of gatherings, and then have to go to that church for a few more days of gatherings. After solving problems here, they have to go there to solve more problems. Such a person is a pillar. They alone can support two or three churches. Their good deeds are truly magnificent. This is what it means to work hard and pay a price for God, and bear a heavy burden. The blessings God bestows upon such a person are double, just as God’s words say: “Those of you who sincerely expend for Me, I shall surely bless you greatly” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 57). Tell me, if a person is responsible for several churches, will they die of exhaustion? (No.) Are there any people who are afraid and think, “What if I die from the exhaustion of doing all this work? Will God remember me? If God doesn’t remember me, will I not have wasted my efforts?” Some people may have such misgivings. So in your heart, do you believe that God is not righteous? Do you believe that God is completely unaware that you are working hard and bearing a heavy burden? Is this what your understanding is? If this is what your understanding is, then you are utterly foolish and completely ignorant of God! Look, have I collapsed from the exhaustion of shouldering so much work? Every time I hold a gathering and fellowship with you, it goes on for five or six hours. Do you see me collapsing from exhaustion? (No.) So how many hours a day do you spend holding gatherings and fellowshipping? Is your body likely to become worn out from exhaustion? It won’t. If you suffer and pay a price to complete God’s commission, then God will approve of you, protect you, and bless you. Then you will never collapse from exhaustion. Do you understand? (Yes.) Will these problems be easy to solve if you encounter them again? (Yes.)

Question 20: Some leaders have not been doing real work. I have fellowshipped with them, but they still have not changed. I don’t know if such leaders should be dismissed. I am afraid of weighing things up inaccurately and dismissing people in error. How can I determine if a person needs to be dismissed? What are the principles for dismissing people?

Answer: When you dismiss someone, you must see through to their state. Why exactly have they not done real work? You must be clear about this. Some people do not do real work because they are negative and weak, and so they give up on the work. In this situation, if you fellowship on the truth and solve their negativity and weakness, and they have faith, they will be able to do the work well. Then you must give them some time, and fellowship more on the truth to help them. Do not be in a hurry to dismiss them. There are also some people who do not do real work because their caliber is insufficient and they are not up to the work. In this situation, they must be reassigned and dismissed, and a different duty must be arranged for them. There are also some people who have good caliber and are competent at the work, but they do not want to do their duty. They think that doing their duty gets in the way of them earning money. When they go to work in the world and earn money, they have energy and spirit, but in God’s house, doing their duty does not earn them money, so they have no energy. Should such a person be dismissed? (They should.) This kind of person should be dismissed. Therefore, one kind of person who should be dismissed is those who are unwilling and unhappy to do their duty. They think, “No matter how exhausting a job is, I’m fine with it as long as it earns me money, but I don’t want to do a job that doesn’t earn money.” If you discover such a person, dismiss them quickly. They are not sincerely expending themselves for God. Another kind of person is those who have very poor caliber and cannot do the work. Whenever a problem arises in their work, they do not know how to solve it, and they cannot fellowship on the truth. They cannot even choose a suitable passage of God’s words for people. These people cannot do the work, and they must be dismissed quickly. There is another situation. Some people walk the path of antichrists and do not do substantive, crucial work. They only do noncritical work, and only show themselves off and flaunt themselves. Even if such a person is willing to do the work, they must be dismissed quickly. If they are not dismissed promptly, they will ruin God’s chosen people. If you do not dismiss a false leader or an antichrist, you are being irresponsible to God’s chosen people, you are in dereliction of your own basic duties, and you are rebelling against and resisting God. That makes you a degenerate who sympathizes with the devils and Satan and with antichrists. These three kinds of leaders and workers must be dismissed. Now do you know how to handle them? (Yes.)

Any other questions? (No.) If there are no other questions, today’s gathering will end here. Goodbye! (Goodbye, brother!)