Those without understanding of God can never completely obey God. People like this are sons of disobedience. They are too ambitious, and there is too much rebellion in them, so they distance themselves from God and are unwilling to accept His scrutiny. People like this cannot easily be perfected. Some people are selective in how they eat and drink of God’s words and in their acceptance of them. They accept certain portions of God’s words which accord with their notions while rejecting those which do not. Is this not the most blatant rebellion and resistance against God? If someone believes in God for years without gaining even a little understanding of Him, then they are a nonbeliever. Those who are willing to accept God’s scrutiny are those who pursue an understanding of Him, who are willing to accept His words. They are the ones who will receive God’s inheritance and blessings, and they are the most blessed. God curses those who have no place for Him in their hearts, and He chastises and forsakes such people. If you do not love God then He will forsake you, and if you do not listen to what I say, then I promise that God’s Spirit will forsake you. Try it if you do not believe it! Today I clarify for you a path of practice, but whether you put it into practice is up to you. If you do not believe it, if you do not put it into practice, you will see for yourself whether or not the Holy Spirit works in you! If you do not pursue understanding of God, then the Holy Spirit will not work in you. God works in those who pursue and treasure His words. The more you treasure God’s words, the more His Spirit will work in you. The more a person treasures God’s words, the greater their chance of being perfected by God. God perfects those who truly love Him, and He perfects those whose hearts are at peace before Him. To treasure all of God’s work, to treasure God’s enlightenment, to treasure God’s presence, to treasure God’s care and protection, to treasure how God’s words become your reality and provide for your life—all this accords best with God’s heart. If you treasure God’s work, that is, if you treasure all the work that He has done upon you, then He will bless you and cause all that is yours to multiply. If you do not treasure God’s words, He will not work in you, but He will only grant you paltry grace for your faith, or bless you with scant wealth and your family with scant safety. You should strive to make God’s words your reality, and be able to satisfy Him and be after His own heart; you should not merely strive to enjoy His grace. Nothing is more important for believers than to receive God’s work, gain perfection, and become those who do God’s will. This is the goal you should pursue.

All that man pursued in the Age of Grace is now obsolete, because there is currently a higher standard of pursuit; what is pursued is both loftier and more practical, what is pursued can better satisfy what man requires inside. In ages past, God did not work upon people as He does today; He did not speak to them as much as He does today, and nor were His requirements of them as high as His requirements today. That God speaks of these things to you now shows that God’s ultimate intention is focused on you, on this group of people. If you truly wish to be perfected by God, then pursue it as your central goal. No matter whether you are running around, expending yourself, serving a function, or whether you have received God’s commission, the aim is always to be perfected and to satisfy God’s will, to achieve these goals. If someone says they do not pursue perfection by God or entry into life, but only pursue fleshly peace and joy, then they are the blindest of men. Those who do not pursue the reality of life, but only pursue eternal life in the world to come and safety in this world, are the blindest of men. So, all that you do should be done for the purpose of being perfected and gained by God.

The work God does in people is to provide for them based on their different requirements. The larger a person’s life, the more they require and the more they pursue. If at this phase you have no pursuit, this proves the Holy Spirit has forsaken you. All those who pursue life will never be forsaken by the Holy Spirit; such people always pursue, and always have yearning in their hearts. Such people are never content with things as they are at present. Each phase of the Holy Spirit’s work aims to achieve an effect in you, but if you grow complacent, if you no longer have needs, if you no longer accept the work of the Holy Spirit, then He will forsake you. People require God’s scrutiny every day; they require abundant provision from God every day. Can people cope without eating and drinking of God’s word every day? If someone always feels like they cannot eat or drink enough of God’s word, if they always seek it and hunger and thirst for it, the Holy Spirit will always work in them. The more someone yearns, the more practical things can come out of their fellowship. The more intensely someone seeks the truth, the more quickly they achieve growth in their life, making them rich in experience and wealthy denizens of the house of God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God Perfects Those Who Are After His Own Heart