During this period, we have been fellowshipping on the content of “letting go of one’s notions and imaginings about the incarnate God” within “How to Pursue the Truth.” These past few times, we have fellowshipped on the topic of having a tacit understanding with God. Under this topic, we have specifically fellowshipped on the details of the man used by the Holy Spirit in every respect—his work, his personal practice, and so on. Last time, we fellowshipped on the topic of the man used by the Holy Spirit not abandoning his work in serving God. What key points do you remember about the content regarding him not abandoning his work? (I remember God fellowshipping that, in his service to God, the man used by the Holy Spirit always carries a burden and a sense of responsibility in doing the various items of the church’s work, and that this is the norm in his life. This point really moved me. Also, when he encounters problems and difficulties, he has several paths of practice, which are also what we should emulate. The first is that, when he encounters difficulties, he secludes himself and prays, seeking a path to a solution. If there are lots of people and there isn’t a quiet environment, he will bring the brothers and sisters together to fellowship and find a path collectively. Another thing is that he seeks a path to a solution by learning about the situation of the church’s work, the problems in the work, and the states of the brothers and sisters. These are the ways by which the man used by the Holy Spirit seeks the truth and seeks God’s intentions in his work. God also exposed our erroneous view, which is that we believe the man used by the Holy Spirit is able to receive the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment and guidance and is able to grasp the principles in doing work because of God’s special and gracious treatment of him. Actually, this is not the case—he gained these things by suffering and paying a price, and by experiencing things bit by bit with his sincerity and faith. It is not that God showed signs and wonders, enabling him to gain these things. This also shattered our notions and imaginings. Finally, God had a requirement for us, which is also His hope for us: Even though we cannot achieve a tacit understanding with God right now, we can first train ourselves to have sincerity toward God and to have true faith in God; no matter what difficulties we encounter in doing our duties, we should not give up, and we can rely on God and seek the truth to resolve them. If we can keep pursuing in this way, we can absolutely attain salvation; God gave us such a promise. I feel this path is relatively clear.) Very good. It seems that fellowshipping on this aspect of the truth is very helpful to you, isn’t it? (Yes.) In terms of serving God, whether in his work or in his personal practice, the man used by the Holy Spirit has very specific paths of practice. Actually, you should be able to sense these specific paths of practice, or some actions, ways, and methods. However, most of you do not focus on these things. You all have notions and imaginings about these very practical manifestations and actions revealed in the man used by the Holy Spirit, and you have not noticed the specific paths of practice of the man used by the Holy Spirit in terms of serving God. So, you have been in contact with and interacted with the man used by the Holy Spirit for so many years without learning from him the principles regarding serving God and regarding personal practice, nor the truth reality in this regard. Have you received confirmation of this through the content I have fellowshipped, then? (Yes.) Now that you have received confirmation of this, does it also help you in learning how to serve God, or in knowing what your own practice and entry should be in the course of serving God? (Yes.) If I did not fellowship on this, you would only have a feeling and have an impression of how the man used by the Holy Spirit does work and serves God, but you would not be able to grasp the principles and paths of practice within this, right? (Yes.)

Today, let us continue our fellowship on having a tacit understanding with God. Another very crucial practice of the man used by the Holy Spirit in the course of serving God—or, to put it another way, a very important and crucial principle that he himself pays attention to and follows in the course of doing work—is that he pays great attention to the path he walks. This point is very crucial; whether for leaders and workers or for ordinary followers, it is a very crucial principle. One very crucial and very prominent aspect of the man used by the Holy Spirit, both on his personal path of believing in God and in the course of serving God, is that he pays great attention to the path he walks. What exactly does paying attention to the path he walks mean? It means that, in the course of serving God, in every area of work he does, he pays attention to whether the goals, direction, and principles of what he does actually accord with God’s intentions, whether they actually align with what God requires, or whether they actually safeguard God’s work and the interests of God’s house—this is the most basic thing. This is the manifestation of the man used by the Holy Spirit paying attention to the path he walks; it is also the principle he holds to in his heart, and it is a basic consideration in his heart regarding the path he walks. Paying attention to the path one walks is not a generalized doctrine or slogan, but is reflected in matters in every area. Some matters involve a person’s daily life, and some matters involve the work of God’s house. Let us fellowship on what specific manifestations there are that relate to the topic of the path a person walks.

As the highest leader of the church, the man used by the Holy Spirit must in his daily life first ensure that, in every respect, the brothers and sisters benefit from and are edified by what they see of him, or at the very least, he must let them see that he is a positive figure, a good person, and a person with conscience and with reason—that is, at the very least, in people’s eyes he is a dignified and upright person, and someone who is trustworthy. First, regarding matters between men and women, the man used by the Holy Spirit pays great attention to the path he walks in this regard, as well as his manifestations, actions, and practice in this regard. In matters between men and women, he pays great attention to boundaries between the sexes, trying as far as possible to avoid having one-on-one contact or close contact with anyone of the opposite sex. This is an approach he adopts in his practice. Especially when it comes to those of the opposite sex who are relatively good-looking and relatively attractive, the man used by the Holy Spirit is particularly cautious in his contact with them. Under special circumstances, there will occasionally be unavoidable work-related contact—that is, when certain special work requires someone to seek from the brother one-on-one regarding certain matters. Other than these special circumstances, the man used by the Holy Spirit tries as far as possible to avoid one-on-one contact with the opposite sex. If church work requires him to have contact with someone of the opposite sex, there must be at least two or three people present; there must be brothers and sisters present, simply to avoid unnecessary trouble. As the church’s highest leader, the man used by the Holy Spirit is someone with status in people’s eyes. Whether you are male or female, regardless of your appearance, whether you are tall or short, whether you are handsome, and regardless of your personal aptitudes or your personal knowledge and talents, in people’s eyes, as long as you have status, there will be a halo above your head, your worth multiplies, and your standing rises. Especially in the eyes of the opposite sex—as long as you have status, then regardless of your age or appearance, everything about you is good to them. Originally, you were average-looking in people’s eyes, and your work capability was also average, but once you have status, people’s views of you change; they all esteem you highly, and temptation subsequently follows. One aspect of this temptation is temptation regarding matters between men and women. As the highest leader in God’s house, the man used by the Holy Spirit also encounters this temptation. Because he has status, in the eyes of many members of the opposite sex, he is also very handsome, has a graceful bearing, is humorous and witty, has work capability, and has the air and manner of an exceptional person. I may not be putting this very appropriately, but this is also a fact. Therefore, although many members of the opposite sex do not openly throw themselves at him, in their hearts they hold the brother in special regard. There are even some who inwardly drool over the brother and always want to press close to him. Tell Me, if members of the opposite sex always want to get close and press close to him, is this temptation great? (It is.) Some members of the opposite sex do not merely get closer to him in conversation or physical proximity. Instead, they make seductive and provocative gestures, winking and making eyes, speaking in a distinctive tone, or wearing pretty clothes to show off and flaunt themselves, or they try to curry favor, making him something delicious to eat or buying him something nice. In short, they try to fawn over him. Tell Me, when these things happen, can an adult see clearly what is going on? (Yes.) Then how does the man used by the Holy Spirit approach these things when they happen? For one thing, he intentionally avoids such people. For another, he directly rejects their fawning. Furthermore, at appropriate times, he also exposes such people and alerts them to the problem. If the person doing these things is someone who can be promoted and cultivated, who only occasionally reveals a bit of corrupt disposition, and whose nature essence is not that of the aforementioned type of person, then he gives her a reminder and helps her, and prunes and exposes her. If she can repent, she is kept on and continues to be cultivated; if she does not repent, and she is precisely that type of person, then she cannot be kept on. The man used by the Holy Spirit has principles in how he approaches these matters. If a lecher encountered this type of person, he would keep her by his side, finding pleasure in looking at her every day, and being able to cling to her, feeling cheerful and particularly pleased. But when the man used by the Holy Spirit encounters this type of person, he stays away from her, sends her elsewhere to do her duty, and will not keep her by his side. In special circumstances, such as during co-worker gatherings or when work needs to be reported, the brother adopts some methods to keep away from this type of person as far as possible, having no one-on-one contact or little contact with her, giving her no opening to take advantage of, and not allowing her to feel that he has any favorable feelings toward her. In other words, the brother is fair to everyone, making her feel that he treats her just as he treats everyone else, that there is nothing special about how he treats her, and that he has no intention of having one-on-one contact with her. No matter how she fawns, and no matter how she behaves, the man used by the Holy Spirit ignores her; he keeps things strictly business.

In daily life or while doing church work, given his role as the man used by the Holy Spirit, he will inevitably often encounter situations where members of the opposite sex fawn over him. One time, the man used by the Holy Spirit was fellowshipping about work with some leaders and workers. The brother was sitting opposite them, and as he was fellowshipping, a sister stood up and said, “This room is so big, and the brother is speaking so softly, I can’t hear him.” With that, she walked over to the brother and sat right next to him. There were a dozen or so other people in the room at the time, and when they saw her walking toward the brother, they hadn’t realized what she was going to do. None of them could have imagined that she would be so thick-skinned as to sit right next to the brother in full view of everyone. Without hesitating for a second, the brother quickly stood up. Although this woman failed in her attempt to cling to him, she wasn’t embarrassed at all and didn’t blush; instead, she made the brother feel very awkward. The brother had never experienced such a situation before, and suddenly standing up like that was an instinctive act of self-defense. Everyone present at the time felt very awkward and was momentarily at a loss. The brother paced around the room while continuing his fellowship, just as if nothing had happened. Wouldn’t you say he reacted quite quickly? After standing and fellowshipping for a while, the brother said to this woman, “Go sit back over there!” With so many people looking at her, she also felt a bit awkward. What impression do you think most people had of this woman? They felt, “This is a real eye-opener; this vast world really is full of every imaginable oddity! There are plenty of thick-skinned people out there. They don’t care about anything and have no sense of shame!” Acting so provocatively in a public setting, and even finding the high-sounding excuse of not being able to hear the brother speak—if you really couldn’t hear, couldn’t you just get a stool and sit a bit closer? Why must you sit right next to him and press yourself up against him? I was young at the time and hadn’t seen this kind of thing before, so I felt astonished. From then on, My eyes were opened in this regard, and I felt that people are truly complicated! By all outward appearances she seemed to be a believer in God, and she was an adult in her forties—at that age, she was actually capable of doing such a thing, and in a public setting at that! Although she didn’t get her way and nothing happened, this scene struck people as inconceivable. Why do I say it was inconceivable? Because, if a person like this could do this kind of thing in a public setting, how would she conduct herself behind people’s backs, in private? Does she actually have any sense of shame? This type of person is too frightening! After experiencing that incident, the brother also felt awkward and surprised; he had not expected it. His eyes were also opened, and he said, “So status gives a person such immense charm! I feel I’m not very tall and don’t have much charm, so how could someone act like this toward me? It seems the temptations brought about by status are too many and too terrifying—I have to be careful! When encountering such settings in the future, most of the time I’ll have to stand while speaking, and I can’t just stand still in one place. Otherwise, if she sees me constantly standing in that spot, she’ll think about moving closer to me and coming up to me, and I’ll be put in a very passive position. I used to think that when there were other people present, members of the opposite sex generally wouldn’t dare to make a move. I never expected that even with so many people present, she would dare to make a move. This woman is really something—she’s too thick-skinned!” From then on, the man used by the Holy Spirit had his eyes opened, and when he encountered this type of person again, he adopted a method: If he saw that someone was always trying to get close to him, and he saw that she was thick-skinned, lacked any sense of shame, and would do this kind of thing in a public setting, the brother would directly tell her in front of everyone, “Stay away from me. Go sit over there!” He would use this method to resolve the issue. After this incident happened, I never saw that woman again. I later heard that this person’s consistent behavior in the church was like this: Whoever became a leader, whoever had status, she would cling to them. Back when she was in her original denomination, she exclusively clung to the people who were apostles and the ones calling the shots. This tactic of hers worked on and was well-received by most leaders and workers, but the man used by the Holy Spirit put an end to it. Later, this person was expelled from the church.

Before encountering temptation in matters between men and women, the man used by the Holy Spirit was already frequently fellowshipping with leaders and workers on how people should act and what they should focus on with regard to matters between men and women. Moreover, he also made specific rules in the work arrangements on how leaders and workers should cooperate in service: Members of the opposite sex cannot cooperate one-on-one. In special circumstances, if there is no suitable third person to cooperate with, the cooperation must be between members of the opposite sex with a relatively large age gap. Aside from this special circumstance, basically, one-on-one cooperation between men and women is absolutely forbidden among leaders and workers in the church. This is explicitly stipulated in the work arrangements, isn’t it? (Yes.) In his work, the man used by the Holy Spirit frequently interacts with some young and middle-aged women regarding church work, and he often has to face these people. Thus, it is inevitable that some people will have favorable feelings toward the man used by the Holy Spirit arising from human desires, and will give him hints. The brother has also adopted some principles of practice in this regard. Whether it is fellowshipping about work, holding gatherings, or traveling, the brother tries as far as possible to avoid having one-on-one contact with a member of the opposite sex. In particular, certain individuals have favorable feelings toward the brother and also engage in some fawning behavior. As for such a person, if they continue to pester him after he exposes or rejects them, there is one last resort: pruning them severely. He prunes them to the point where they feel hurt, feel that the brother is cold and ruthless, lose their favorable feelings toward him, and no longer want to get close. Then the brother’s mind can be at ease. The man used by the Holy Spirit frequently fellowships that those who serve God must, first of all, not make mistakes and must not commit sins in matters between men and women—this is the principle he firmly upholds. To ensure that one does not make mistakes and does not commit sins, one must employ certain methods and approaches in how one treats members of the opposite sex. First, one must try as far as possible to avoid having one-on-one contact with members of the opposite sex. Additionally, one must not care for or show consideration toward a particular member of the opposite sex on an individual basis, or give special attention to that person—one must not provide any member of the opposite sex with an opportunity to indulge in fantasies. Even if an individual member of the opposite sex has favorable feelings toward the brother or exhibits some fawning behaviors, the brother does everything possible to reject her and expose and warn her, while staying away from her, giving her no opening to take advantage of. These are some manifestations of the man used by the Holy Spirit in his personal practice, and they are also the principles he follows regarding matters between men and women. Of course, they are also one aspect of the principles that those who serve God must abide by. Even if you are not someone who serves God, you should ensure that you do not make mistakes or commit sins in matters between men and women. This is a most basic principle for self-conduct. If you cannot even hold fast to this, and you can still make mistakes and can still commit sins, then the precious blood God shed on the cross cannot redeem you, right? In matters between men and women, “making a mistake” refers to going down the wrong path for a moment and falling into temptation, while “committing a sin” refers to engaging in illicit relationships between men and women as a consistent pattern. For anyone in the church who makes a mistake in matters between men and women, if they are a leader or worker, the brother will give them a warning and prune them. If they fail to mend their ways despite repeated admonishments and they take things further, God’s house will dismiss them and revoke their qualification to be a leader or worker. When encountering such matters, those who do not mend their ways despite repeated admonishments will fall, and will become caught up in them and abandon the church’s work—such people cannot be used. Not only are they unable to do the work, but they can also bring shame upon God; they must be dismissed. Additionally, for those who make mistakes in matters between men and women, whether they are leaders and workers or ordinary believers, the brother will warn them if he encounters such people. A warning I often hear the brother give is a reference to the Bible: If someone knowingly and deliberately sins, even the sin offering is gone. What is the original quote? (“If we sin willfully…, there remains no more sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26).) It means that if you sin willfully, the sin offering is gone. The issues regarding men and women that we are talking about here do not refer to proper dating and marriage, but to improper relationships between men and women, that is, disorder in relationships between men and women. For example, engaging in love triangles or extramarital affairs; engaging in indiscriminate hook-ups, hooking up with multiple members of the opposite sex, and having relations with multiple members of the opposite sex, and failing to mend one’s ways despite repeated admonishments; or having relations with a member of the opposite sex without a basis in dating or marriage, instead toying with that member of the opposite sex, or even toying with multiple members of the opposite sex. These are improper relationships between men and women; this is committing sins. Anything that is not proper dating or is not a proper marriage relationship is a sin. If such an improper relationship arises between members of the opposite sex in the course of preaching the gospel or in church life, the brother frequently fellowships with them, “If we sin willfully…, there remains no more sacrifice for sins.” What does this mean? It means that if you fail to mend your ways despite repeated admonishments and always commit sins, the sin offering is gone, and that sin of yours becomes a transgression that is permanently condemned; you will have to bear the consequences and have to be punished. If a person’s sins cannot be forgiven, they are unqualified to accept God’s salvation, and they are someone who will perish. Regardless of what kind of transgression you commit, including transgressions regarding matters between men and women, if the sin offering is gone, your transgression is characterized as a sin, you are an object of punishment, and you are not an object of redemption in God’s eyes. What is the consequence of not being an object of redemption? It is that you lose the basic condition for God to save you. You are then no longer a member of God’s chosen people. Since you are not one of God’s chosen people, you have already been excluded from the ranks of those God saves, and you have no part or lot in God’s house.

Occupying the highest position in God’s house, the man used by the Holy Spirit frequently encounters issues regarding temptation between men and women. For one thing, he makes his views, stance, and principles of practice regarding this matter clear to everyone. For another, when encountering such things, he will publicly emphasize to the other party even more explicitly, or let the other party explicitly know what his views and stance are regarding this matter, and what his attitude is. In his own words, when you see a member of the opposite sex showing interest in you or fawning over you, you must be stern and explicitly reject them. You must not give them any opportunity to take advantage of; leave them no opening to exploit, and they will back off. You cannot feel too embarrassed to refuse, and you cannot spare their feelings. You must be stern and strict. When you encounter this type of person, you must be all the more strict. To what extent should you be strict? To the extent that you make them feel you are a cold-blooded person, that you are impervious to all advances, and that you have no feelings. Ultimately, most members of the opposite sex see that the brother is this kind of person and that he does not like this kind of behavior, thinking, “If I were to act like this toward you, would you reprimand me too? Would you put me in an awkward spot?” When some members of the opposite sex consider this consequence, they do not dare to fawn over him. Tell Me, is this a good thing or a bad thing for the brother? (A good thing.) The brother is very happy: “It’s good you don’t dare. Not daring is exactly right.” Because the brother is so strict and stern, and in people’s eyes spares no one’s feelings, many members of the opposite sex do not dare to have designs on him; they become a bit afraid and do not dare to get close to him. Doesn’t this spare the brother a lot of trouble? (Yes.) What do you think of practicing this way? (It is good.) What is good about it? (It gives the opposite sex no opening to take advantage of, which avoids a lot of temptation.) If an average person with a bit of status doesn’t get to enjoy the adoration of the opposite sex, they feel disappointed, thinking, “I have such high status, yet not a single member of the opposite sex comes to cling to me or get close to me, to create a spark of love with me or reach out to me in love.” Generally speaking, whether you are male or female, if no one adores you, don’t you feel disappointed inside? If members of the opposite sex had favorable feelings toward you, had crushes on you, regarded you as the person of their dreams, or even loved you and pursued you, wouldn’t most of you feel wonderful and enjoy it very much in your hearts? (Yes.) Most people do not feel that this is frightening, nor do they feel it is troublesome. As a person serving God, if you’re like nonbelievers where, when you don’t have status, you desire members of the opposite sex to have crushes on you and seek to be close to you, and when you have status, if members of the opposite sex have crushes on you, are infatuated with you, admire you, pursue you, or cast flirtatious glances at you, you not only do not reject them but also enjoy it and immerse yourself in it, then you are unable to serve God. Some people say, “Why wouldn’t I be able to serve God? It’s just others having crushes on me, without any substantive development. Their crushes are their business. What do their crushes have to do with me? What’s wrong with enjoying a bit of people seeking to be close to me, adoring me, and having crushes on me? This is their freedom. Why should I reject their advances?” Tell Me, what is wrong with this? Why should you reject their advances? (If someone does not reject the opposite sex pursuing them, and their thoughts and mind are always caught up in romantic love, their heart won’t be on their duty. In this way, they won’t be able to do their duty well.) An objective and practical point is that you must protect yourself well, so that you do not commit sins before God or make God loathe you. You cannot interfere with what others think, but at the very least, you must let others know your attitude, and you yourself must know what to do when encountering such things. If a member of the opposite sex has a crush on you and seeks to be close to you, even to the point of infatuation and admiration, and you do not reject their advances but instead enjoy them, then you will live all day in a world of these tangled feelings, and you will inevitably fall into the trap of love and fall into lust. Once a person falls into the trap of love and into lust, can their heart come before God? Can they do their work? Can they do their duty well? (No.) These proper tasks will all be messed up by their romantic affections and lust, and it will be impossible for the Holy Spirit to work in them. You say, “I will know where to draw the line. When I am free and not doing work or doing my duty, I’ll think about matters of the heart and enjoy the romantic affections and love the opposite sex gives me. When it’s time to do work, I will put these things aside. I can handle these things with ease and keep them under control. I will enjoy it when it’s time to enjoy it, and I will do work when it is not the time to enjoy it, and I won’t be constrained by these things when I am doing work.” Tell Me, is this possible? (No.) For one thing, from the perspective of human instinct, people are fundamentally unable to focus on two things at once. For another—and this is the main point—from the perspective of God’s requirements for those who serve Him, to do your duty, serve God, and complete God’s commission, you must dedicate all of your body and mind. You must have sincerity and give your all in doing work and serving God, and you must not be half-hearted. If, while serving God and doing church work, you are also doing other things, thinking about other things, or even having your heart filled with other things, then God could not possibly move you. God does not dwell in a filthy temple, and God does not use such a person. Living amid temptation, being stuck in the trap of love, and enjoying lust and romantic love while serving God—this is blasphemy against God. Therefore, looking at it in terms of God’s requirements, when a person is stuck in this state, God does not work. Some people say, “I have God in my heart. I can still do church work. I haven’t hindered church work.” You are wrong; you merely feel good about yourself. In reality, God has already forsaken you, and He has long ceased to work on you, because at this time God simply cannot use you. It is only when your state returns to normal, when you are suitable to serve God, and when you can complete the work God gives you with all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your mind—when your state and your heart meet these conditions—that God can use you. Regarding matters between men and women, if you fall into temptation in this respect and fall into the trap of love while serving God, and take pleasure in it and enjoy it, God will have long since ceased to regard you as someone who serves Him, and you will no longer be qualified to serve God. Therefore, the requirement for leaders and workers is this: If you are dating someone, then do not do this kind of duty; you can do some ordinary duties, but you cannot serve God. If you want to date, and want to get married and live your life, then you should first see to these things. Afterward, if you meet the conditions to be promoted and cultivated, God’s house can use you when the time is right. If you do not meet the conditions, then you can just keep living your own life and do some duties within your capabilities. God’s house will not deprive you of your right to do your duty, but you cannot serve God. That is to say, it is impossible for you to serve God and date at the same time. If you want to date, then you cannot serve God; if you want to serve God, then do not date—this is the requirement. As someone who serves God, when you encounter temptation between men and women, if you do not have accurate principles of practice to resolve this matter and you end up falling into temptation, then your path of serving God might have come to an end. If you have a suitable path of practice to completely prevent and resolve this kind of problem, not letting yourself fall into such temptation, and if, by your subjective will, you can resolutely reject and stay away from such things, not allowing them to happen to you, then there is still hope for you to continue walking the path of serving God. Therefore, these few principles of practice and paths of practice of the man used by the Holy Spirit regarding matters between men and women are all things you should draw lessons from, and they are also what you should practice.

As a person who serves God, you must know what God giving you this status means to you and what His requirements for you are. When you have this status, and members of the opposite sex look at you with envy and admiration, and look up to you, or even pursue you and fawn over you, you must know how to handle it. If you do not handle it well, there will be consequences. If you do not have status, the temptation regarding men and women might not be great, but once you get status, this temptation will subsequently become greater, and the likelihood of you encountering such temptation will increase. If you cannot see clearly the severity of this matter and the consequences it can lead to, and when such things happen, not only are you irresolute in your attitude, neither rejecting nor staying away from them, but you also take advantage of your status to enjoy the romantic love brought to you and the emotional satisfaction brought to you by the opposite sex, then you will be in trouble. If you fall into temptation, God will loathe you and forsake you, and you will no longer be able to serve God. For someone who serves God, this consequence is very serious; you must be aware of this consequence. In the course of serving God, the man used by the Holy Spirit views the consequences of matters between men and women as very serious. For his own part, he has adopted some correct methods and approaches, as well as suitable principles of practice, to completely prevent and resolve these problems. Although people live in this world of feelings and will inevitably encounter temptation between men and women, there are still ways to resolve these problems. It just depends on how you approach them; it just depends on what your resolve and willingness to serve God and complete God’s commission are like. The man used by the Holy Spirit has perhaps fellowshipped with you on this aspect as well: Having served God for so many years, he has never touched the hand of a single member of the opposite sex, nor has he ever deliberately had any physical contact with or bumped into any member of the opposite sex—he dares to say this. Moreover, the brother has also told you that he has never used flirtatious words or sexually suggestive language to seduce any member of the opposite sex. Of course, no one can deny or rise up to accuse him in this regard; these are all facts. Having served God for so many years, the man used by the Holy Spirit has always acted in this way, and his attitude is just this resolute. He has encountered some temptation, big and small, experienced various situations, and had contact with all kinds of members of the opposite sex—those who are beautiful, those with good figures, those with gifts, and those with talents; he has had contact with all of them. In the end, he dares to say, “Having served God for so many years, I have never touched the hand of a single member of the opposite sex, nor have I had any physical contact with or bumped into any member of the opposite sex.” This is victorious testimony. If, after serving God for many years, you also have such testimony, and you dare to say this publicly yourself, and no member of the opposite sex can deny it or accuse you, then you have stood firm in your testimony in this regard, and you are approved of by God. This is a very crucial issue. Being able to hold to the principles and being able to stand firm regarding matters between men and women requires you to have true faith in God, sincerity toward God, and consideration for God; in addition, you must also possess strengths and merits in your character. Right now, you might not dare to say that you have such testimony, because some of you might have made mistakes before, and some might even have committed transgressions. But if, in ten, twenty, or thirty years’ time, every ten years you are able to say, “I have served God for so many years, and I have not made mistakes in matters between men and women, nor have I left behind any transgressions in this regard,” then you will have testimony regarding matters between men and women, and in God’s eyes, you will have passed in this regard. For a person who serves God to attain such testimony, you must first have the awareness, determination, and resolve regarding this matter, and be able to hold fast to the principles of practice in this regard. This is one of the most basic conditions for receiving the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment and leading, and receiving God’s own judgment, chastisement, and perfection. If you have not made major mistakes in matters between men and women but constantly make minor ones, this proves that your awareness and resolve regarding this matter and your willingness to satisfy God in this regard are not very strong, and that you do not have much sincerity toward God and are not considerate of God. In that case, your character must be called into question. If you do not have such testimony when you have believed in God for ten years, and you still do not have such testimony at the twenty-year mark, and at the thirty-year mark you are still constantly making minor mistakes, then your character must be crossed out—there is a problem with your character. Matters between men and women are also a kind of test for people. They test your character, test your pursuit, test what your attitude toward God’s commission is like, and test whether you can complete God’s commission in serving Him. So, do you have any difficulties in attaining testimony in this regard? (We have difficulties, but we have the resolve to cooperate.) You should start with the major aspects. First ensure you commit no transgressions, and then gradually fix your mistakes. Once you have no mistakes, transgressions will not happen. This is the path. You must frequently pray to God. If you have God in your heart, God will restrain you and discipline you, causing your heart to feel averse to these things. Moreover, God, seeing your sincerity, will set up suitable environments so that these temptations do not come upon you. This is because God knows people’s weaknesses, and God also knows people’s stature; when these temptations do not come upon you, you have received great protection. When you reach a certain stature, even if God does not protect you and you encounter some temptation, you will not fall into it because you have stature. Then you will be close to having testimony, right? (Yes.) This is all we will fellowship on matters between men and women. Basically, you should now understand the path to resolving problems in this regard, the correct thoughts and views you should have toward such matters, and the impact and harm that falling into temptation in this regard causes to people.

In the course of serving God, aside from matters between men and women, which are something people frequently have to face and also must face, another thing they must face is money and interests. Once people have status, they will frequently come into contact with some material interests, represented by money. As someone who serves God, the man used by the Holy Spirit is—on account of his status in the church—more likely than ordinary brothers and sisters to come into contact with the church’s money; that is, he can be among the first to come into contact with the church’s money. Regarding the management of the church’s money and property, the man used by the Holy Spirit formulated work arrangements and management systems, making explicit stipulations on how every church, district, and region should manage offering funds. After these management systems and relevant principles were issued to all churches, the power to manage the money and property was handed over to the churches—that is, management was to be carried out at the level of each church, with leaders and workers at all levels implementing this matter according to the Above’s work arrangements and stipulations. Judging from this, the man used by the Holy Spirit basically does not personally come into contact with the church’s offering funds; whether they are offering funds from the church or the regional level, he does not come into contact with them. Even when some church leaders or regional leaders hand offering funds over to the brother to manage, after receiving them, the brother does not keep them for himself, but rather hands them over to the church’s finance group. He has the finance group distribute them to all churches according to the principles, to cover living expenses and travel expenses for personnel doing their duties full-time and for leaders and workers, and also as the funds needed for the various items of work of God’s house. The church’s offering funds are all managed by financial personnel elected by the church. Regardless of the amount, offering funds are managed by suitable people in the various administrative regions of the church. As for the total amount of the offering funds or who offers how much in each church, the brother never cares about these matters, nor does he inquire about these matters. Instead, he only cares about whether the funds are sufficient for the church’s work, whether there is a surplus of offering funds, and how they are managed. Moreover, he has also made regulations regarding offerings during special periods; in particular, he once made the regulation that “poor people must not make offerings, while there is no limit on the offerings of the rich.” In any case, regarding offering funds, the brother has never taken any amount of offering funds as his own to provide for his own eating, drinking, or enjoyment. Even when he has personal living expenses, host families or a certain church will help handle them. The brother himself hardly ever comes into contact with the church’s offering funds; offering funds basically circulate within the administrative structure whose units are individual churches. That is the situation. Moreover, the brother is very frugal with his everyday food, clothing, and expenses. Whether it is clothes, socks, or shoes, he wears them for a very long time; even when they are worn out, he cannot bear to throw them away, but patches them up and continues wearing them. He is extremely frugal with money. However, for the tools and equipment needed for church work, the brother always has people buy ones that are of good quality and reasonably priced, not allowing them to buy inferior products just to save money. This is how he spends money for church work. As for buying things for himself, he buys cheap ones; as long as they are basically usable, it is fine. Sometimes, some loving and charitable brothers and sisters see that the brother is very busy and very tired with work, and will privately give him money to buy health supplements to nourish his body. The brother will say, “I appreciate your good intentions. I am in good health and do not need this money. If you want to make an offering, then offer it to God and give it to the church. Personally, I lack nothing, so you do not need to give me money.” The brother never accepts money given to him by others. He says, “In doing work and serving God, I am not serving any individual person, nor am I doing it to curry favor with anyone. I am simply someone who serves God.” He never accepts such money; he just has people hand it over to the church. Sometimes the brothers and sisters insist on giving him money. After receiving it, the brother will put the money in the church where he is at the time, having people safeguard it as offering funds and record it in the accounts. Regarding financial accounts, the man used by the Holy Spirit makes a conscious effort to keep them clear. For one thing, he does not accept money given to him by the brothers and sisters. For another, as a person who serves God and as the leader of God’s house, he properly manages the money—the offerings—that the brothers and sisters offer to God; he has it all used on normal church work expenses, not allowing evil people or antichrists to appropriate it, nor allowing the great red dragon to seize it. Furthermore, he arranges for suitable people to manage the offerings well and ensure that the accounts are clear. He says, “These offering funds are offered to God by the brothers and sisters; they are not offered to the church, nor are they offered to leaders or to any individual. Since they are offered to God, they are offerings and they are God’s money; those who serve God should manage them well and properly safeguard them, and spend them on carrying out the work of God’s house. They should spend what ought to be spent and not spend what ought not to be spent, spending these offering funds according to principles, ensuring that every expense is used to safeguard the work of God’s house and safeguard the interests of God’s house. In this way, my responsibility is fulfilled.” As for some people showing him some love, wanting to take care of him and give him money, he never accepts it. What is his reason for not accepting it? He says, “What God has bestowed upon me is sufficient. In terms of food, clothing, daily necessities, and housing, the grace God has given is rich and abundant. I do not need additional rewards or income, nor do I need to enjoy tributes offered by the brothers and sisters.” Such is his viewpoint. In the course of the man used by the Holy Spirit serving God, when it comes to the church’s offering funds, not once has he pocketed the church’s offering funds to buy personal possessions for himself, and he has never taken God’s offerings as his own and deposited them into his own bank account. So you can absolutely be at ease: The man used by the Holy Spirit will absolutely never take the offerings that God’s chosen people offer to God as his own; he will not turn them into his private property. As for his own daily expenses, those are all bestowed by God and are what he ought to enjoy as the man used by the Holy Spirit. What does “what he ought to enjoy” mean? It means that him enjoying these things does not constitute an extravagant desire, and everyone can understand this; these are the most ordinary forms of enjoyment. He does not have high demands regarding these things. He feels that his current standard of living is far better than it was thirty to fifty years ago. He has sufficient food and clothing, and he eats ordinary home-cooked meals, which he finds the most appetizing. In fact, his expenses for food, clothing, daily necessities, and housing in his day-to-day life are, at most, at the level of the American middle class, or do not even reach that level. For one thing, he himself does not pursue fleshly enjoyment and does not crave comfort. His daily life mainly revolves around all the work and affairs of serving God. He does not go to luxurious restaurants and does not stay in luxurious hotels, much less has he ever taken luxurious cruises, and he has not traveled to scenic spots or historic sites; he has never spent money on these things. Additionally, for his personal items, he buys, at most, clothes or daily necessities from domestic American brands. His viewpoint and principle for buying things is to never pay high prices. Even when he does wear something nice or eat something nice, it is something I have arranged for him. Or it may be that an individual brother or sister has bought him a brand-name watch, bought him a good hat, bought him a good pair of leather shoes, or bought him a good suit. When he was in mainland China, the brother bought a suit of very good quality. Except for the few coldest days, he basically wore it all year round, and after all these years, he still has that suit. Later, some brothers and sisters bought him a few brand-name suits. Feeling that he did not need that many, he gave one made of high-grade fabric to a leader. He is a particularly frugal person; no matter what aspect of his daily life it is, he is particularly principled with his expenditures and expenses. Outwardly, this person does not seem very particular about what he eats and wears, but in fact, he understands all these things. Which styles of clothing are standard and orthodox, making one look dignified and upright, and which styles are outlandish and unconventional—he knows all of this. He just does not focus on food, clothing, and enjoyment.

In the church, some loving brothers and sisters often buy some nice things for the man used by the Holy Spirit. Most of the time, he gives these things to the brothers and sisters and leaders and workers around him who are in need of them and who sincerely expend themselves. If there is some food, he gives it to the host families for everyone to eat together; if there are clothes, he gives them directly to the brothers around him who lack clothing. He personally enjoys very little. In terms of money, interests, and material enjoyment, he is very cautious. During the time he did work in mainland China, sometimes, after a gathering, he had to quickly take a vehicle to another place. Because it would already be past mealtime when he arrived, he would just have some noodles, rice noodles, or fried noodles at a food stall near the bus station, and this would be considered a good meal. Some people turned their noses up at dishes without meat and refused to eat them, and wanted to eat stir-fried dishes as well, while some people even drank beer, but the brother felt that eating street food was very good. You see, he never focuses on eating well-known dishes or delicacies, and he never believes that he is some high-class person and that he must eat things which match his status. He never thinks this way; he feels that he is just a person who serves God, just an ordinary person. He says, “If God had not exalted me, I would just be someone doing manual labor, and no one would think much of me. In the church, it is only because God has exalted me that I have the opportunity to serve Him and accept His commission to lead the church and lead the brothers and sisters. My status is high in God’s house; everyone listens to my words and holds me in high regard. It appears as though I am valuable and have worth, but actually, I am just an ordinary person; I am nothing, and I have nothing to boast about.” He frequently says this. Moreover, twenty years ago he was always pondering, “Why would God use a person like me? I am just an ordinary person.” The more he feels he is ordinary, the more he feels it is God exalting him, and that only thus can he have this opportunity to accept God’s commission and serve God. The more he thinks this way, the more grateful he is, the more thankful he is to God, and the more he feels it is God exalting him in an exceptional way. Therefore, he frequently tells the brothers and sisters, “I’m just a corrupt person, just an ordinary person. It’s only God’s exaltation of me that enables me to serve Him.” What is the implication of this? People must know their own measure; what they ought to enjoy and what they ought not to enjoy—as people who serve God, they should be clear in their hearts about this. When it comes to money, interests, and material enjoyment, he makes conscious choices and has conscious practices. I have been in contact with and interacted with him for so many years, and looking at his humanity, I can see that he does not have high demands regarding all these material and financial matters, such as fleshly enjoyment, living expenses, food, clothing, housing, and transportation. For example, if someone says how delicious or how tasty something is, he will say, “What’s the point? No matter how delicious something is, it is all the same once it is in your stomach. No matter how well you eat, it is all empty.” You see, he is just this kind of person. Actually, he also knows what tastes good. His not being particular about food, clothing, and enjoyment does not mean he does not understand these things, much less does it mean he is foolish—you absolutely must not think he is foolish. Some people say, “He is just foolish, unsophisticated, and has seen little of the world.” You may have seen much of the world, but if you had status, you would be particular about food, clothing, and enjoyment, and you would eat exotic delicacies and wear high-end clothes; you would exceed the scope of what you ought to enjoy, enjoying things in a senseless, unmeasured, and unprincipled way, and without your conscience accusing you. You see, aren’t people different from each other? (Yes.) Once some people have status, they exclusively go to high-class restaurants, and frequently inquire about which restaurants have exotic delicacies and which famous chefs cook well; and when they go shopping, they always go to famous eateries and pastry shops. The brother basically does not eat pastries; in special circumstances when he is hungry, he might eat a little to tide himself over. He never buys pastries, nor does he ever inquire about what foods are well-known dishes. Once many leaders and workers have status, the first thing they do is set themselves up with a complete set of things. What they eat, what they wear, where they live, and what they use must all match their identity and status, and must all be high-class and of the highest grade. They always inquire about what things are the best to use, what food tastes the best, and what things are the most expensive, and once they find out, they think of ways to get those things. They take the offerings that God’s chosen people offer to God as their own, using them however they please and spending them however they please. After they have status, they feel, “God’s money is mine, and mine is also God’s. I myself belong to God, so I can just take God’s money and spend it however I please. If God cannot spend it, I will spend it for Him.” They take it upon themselves to decide. Aren’t such people in great danger? (Yes.) Once they gain status while serving God, the first thing they do is set their sights on the offerings, pondering, “How much money does our church have? Who is safeguarding the money? Does the person safeguarding the money listen to me? I must first take a portion of the money and keep it with me; that way it will be convenient for me to spend it—I have to do work! I have status now, and I am someone who serves God. None of my clothes, belts, or leather shoes are brand-name, both my computer and my cell phone are old, none of the furniture in my room is rosewood, and none of the quilts I use are real silk. Don’t all these things need to be replaced? Don’t these things need a complete makeover?” They become particular about food, clothing, and enjoyment. Tell Me, can such people serve God? Aren’t they just loafers trying to get a free meal? In the US, when nonbelievers run a business, it is the boss’s office that tends to be smaller and more inconspicuous. However, when Chinese people run a business, even before it opens, the first thing they do is decorate the boss’s office, decorating it to look like a palace; there are also beautiful women serving tea, and special staff waiting on them—they become particular about putting on a grand show. Some false leaders and false workers in the church also behave in this sorry way. Some people are not even leaders or workers, but are merely responsible for one aspect of the work, yet they want to enjoy special treatment. When they go out, they demand that a car be sent for their exclusive use, saying, “If you want me to do work, you must send a car for my exclusive use. I cannot go out without a car. Without a car, how can I do the work?” They even look down on used cars, thinking, “Do you know how much I’m worth? Do you know how important the matters I handle are? You must provide me with a nice sedan; it must have navigation and have air conditioning.” Their requirements are quite high. They have many extravagant desires, and they dare to make any demand. The man used by the Holy Spirit is particularly cautious regarding money and material enjoyment. He strictly regulates his daily life and also strictly requires several things of himself. First, he must keep things clear when it comes to money. He will absolutely not treat God’s offerings as his own salary to squander however he pleases and use however he pleases, spending extravagantly—he will absolutely not do this. Furthermore, he is also exceptionally strict regarding the management and use of offerings. The brother has stipulated that suitable people must be arranged to manage the offerings in all administrative regions of the church. In particular, within the scope that he can access, he personally arranges people to manage the offerings. What does he always say? “Offering funds are God’s offerings. If we do not manage them well and they are seized by the great red dragon, this is us, as human beings, being derelict in our duty, and it is our failure to fulfill our responsibility; this is the greatest transgression. Furthermore, if we cannot manage the offerings according to principles and do not use the offerings on church work, or if our negligence and improper management cause losses to God’s offerings and affect the work, then this is our responsibility, and we are indebted to God.” Have you ever heard the brother say these words? (We have.) Most ordinary brothers and sisters have probably not heard them, but leaders and workers should have heard these words. For one thing, he does this himself; for another, he teaches you and guides you to do work in this way. The brother saying these things is helpful to you. Perhaps you have the resolve to manage the offerings well and feel that these words said by the brother are a bit superfluous for you, but the brother gives you a reminder and helps you carry out vetting, and you can thus make fewer mistakes. It is also possible that you simply do not understand how to manage the offerings well, and that, in your service to God, you simply do not have the slightest awareness of issues regarding the management of offerings. In that case, when the brother fellowships with you on issues in this regard, you should listen carefully and put your heart into learning; you should not treat his words as wind passing by your ears.

Managing offerings is one very important item of work in serving God, safeguarding the work of God’s house, and safeguarding God’s interests. Although it is an item of administrative work, as a person who serves God, you must understand the importance of this item of work and must take it seriously. Suppose that you always feel, “Those are God’s offerings—what do they have to do with us? They are used for doing church work; they are not given to us, and this money won’t end up in our pockets, nor will a single cent be given to us to spend. Therefore, who uses this money, who doesn’t use it, how it is used, whether it is used appropriately, whether there have been any losses, and how much has been lost—none of these things have anything to do with us. We aren’t concerned with those things. We will just water the church well and do our own work well, and that’s it.” As for how to manage the offerings, whether they are managed properly, whether there have been any losses, and whether the people managing them are suitable, you are not concerned with any of these things, and don’t inquire into, supervise, or follow up on any one of them. How, then, will your service be characterized in God’s eyes? To you, God’s interests and the interests of God’s house have absolutely nothing to do with you; you have no sincerity toward and no consideration for God, and there is no place for God in your heart—God dislikes you. You are not at all concerned with and have no sincerity toward matters involving God’s interests and involving the interests of God’s house. You never do the work of safeguarding the interests of God’s house, you do not fulfill your responsibilities or obligations, and you have not taken the management of offerings and treated it as an item of work within the mission given to you by God. So, God greatly dislikes you. God disliking you does not mean He will not use you; He can still use you, but He does not have much of a favorable impression of you. You have no sincerity toward God. God’s interests somehow carry no weight with you and you do not take them to heart at all. You even regard God’s interests as someone else’s interests. Your viewpoint is that it’s none of your business and you can just stand on the sidelines; no matter how great a loss God’s interests suffer, you do not become anxious or get worked up. You never safeguard God’s interests. Then how does God view you? You say, “I am sincere toward God,” but God says you are being deceitful and you are lying. What you offer on God’s altar are lies; you have not fulfilled your responsibility toward God’s offerings, and you have no testimony in this regard, so your sincerity toward God must be called into question. You are not dedicating all your body and mind to God’s commission. Isn’t this the case? (Yes.) You see, are God’s requirements for people high? God tests your sincerity in all aspects. God tests your sincerity through your thoughts, views, and attitude toward Him and toward the interests of God’s house, as well as through your actual actions. He uses these to measure whether you are up to standard as someone who serves Him, and also to measure whether you can ultimately attain salvation, whether you are the kind of person He is looking for who accords with His intentions and is considerate of His intentions, and whether you are the kind of person He intends to perfect. God does not listen to your slogans, and He does not listen to the resolutions you express; God wants to look at your actual actions.

Previously in mainland China, while doing church work, some leaders and workers squandered offerings as they pleased, and even used God’s offerings without permission to buy motorcycles; they were quite brazen riding around on them. The man used by the Holy Spirit has never bought a motorcycle or a car; he’s only ever bought some bicycles and tricycles. In all his years of doing church work, the brother has never bought any luxury goods for himself, nor has he bought any high-end communication devices. When the average person has a bit of status, they will first seek benefits for themselves, enjoying the benefits of status—eating nice food, wearing good clothes, and using nice things. The brother has never done this. A few times, I saw church leaders and workers bring offering funds to the brother, and he always told them to hand the offering funds over to the people responsible for managing them. The brother never personally manages the money, but he frequently fellowships with the leaders and workers about the principles for managing the offerings, such as where it is most appropriate to use them, and how if any instances of misuse or misappropriation are discovered, they must be reported and dealt with. Regarding the principles for selecting people to manage offerings, the brother often says that those brothers and sisters who make a lot of offerings or who are fond of helping and giving to others should be chosen, as these people are relatively reliable. Other than the brother, I have never seen anyone else who manages the offerings so strictly. Most people think, “God’s house has vast assets. All this money comes for free; no one has to work hard to earn it. Once you become a leader or worker, you can spend it however you please. This money was offered by everyone, so it belongs to everyone.” Very few people think, “This money is God’s offerings. Its nature is different from that of other kinds of money. People must manage it well. This money is to be used on church work and is to be used on the work of preaching the gospel; it is not for any individual to use.” Very few people possess such a concept. You see, this is how carefully and cautiously the brother treats the offering funds, and how strictly he manages them. If he hears of anyone embezzling or squandering offerings, he becomes very indignant; he will prune them during gatherings, and dissect the nature of this type of thing and its consequences. Some people become afraid and do not dare to embezzle or squander offerings, but they still fail to manage the offerings in a positive and proactive way. When it comes to how you treat God’s offerings, if the status you possess is average and the amount of money you can access is very small, when you feel it is inconsiderable or of little use, it might not be a temptation for you, but that does not mean this temptation will not come upon you. If your humanity is not very good, you don’t have conscience and reason, and, in particular, your attitude toward the offerings is incorrect and irresponsible—proving that you do not have a God-fearing heart—then you will easily be lured by money and will also easily fall into this temptation. For example, say that you are a leader or worker and you come into contact with offering funds while visiting churches. If a church only has one or two thousand yuan in offering funds, you might not feel enticed, and say, “These are God’s offerings. They must be managed well, and they must be used for church work.” You may be able to think this way, and you may also be able to act this way. But if a church has a large amount of offering funds, if it has as much as tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of yuan, will you feel enticed? Will you be able to rein in your heart and refrain from embezzling or misappropriating the offerings? That is hard to say. Most leaders and workers do not feel enticed when they come into contact with offerings of small amounts, but they feel enticed when the amount is large. Especially under certain special circumstances, they may set their sights on the offerings—isn’t that exactly when temptation comes upon them? Thirty years ago, there was someone doing church leadership work in a region of Henan. The church handed over ten thousand yuan in offering funds for him to pass on to the man used by the Holy Spirit. This amount was considered a huge sum at that time. After getting the money, that guy pondered, “If I take this ten thousand yuan back to my hometown to do business, ten thousand will turn into twenty thousand, twenty thousand into forty thousand, and forty thousand into eighty thousand. When that time comes, I’ll return the ten thousand yuan to God’s house. This would be like using this ten thousand as capital. I’m not appropriating it for myself; I’m borrowing it.” You see, it was just such active thoughts that led him to abscond with the offerings. Upon hearing this, the brother became furious, saying that ten thousand yuan was no small amount and that a way had to be found to recover it. There was so much church work, and the expenses for printing books of God’s words were so great; money was needed in many places. Ten thousand yuan was absolutely crucial for the church at that time, and just when the money was needed, that guy absconded with it. What a huge loss! The brother tried to think of a way to recover this money. Later, the brother found a suitable person to fellowship and discuss the matter with that guy, talking to him about the severity and consequences of embezzling and misappropriating offerings. Finally, he agreed to return the unspent money. You see, when an average person encounters this situation and sees ten thousand yuan, they could feel enticed and would dare to embezzle and misappropriate it. And how many times has ten thousand yuan passed through the hands of the man used by the Holy Spirit during his time doing church work? Regardless of how much money has passed through his hands, he has never said, “Let me leave myself a way out. I’ll keep some money to support myself in old age, some money for taking care of my health, and buy some luxury items. Last time I saw something I liked, but I didn’t have enough money to buy it. Now that I have enough money, I’ll keep it to buy things.” He has never done this. As for you people now, given the years you have believed in God and your age, perhaps you do not know about many things that happened thirty years ago, but you all know about things happening now. Regardless of how much of God’s offerings has passed through his hands, he has not kept a single cent to support himself in old age, to take care of his health, or to spend on his own eating, drinking, and entertainment. The brother dares to guarantee this to you. If you were leaders serving God, would you be able to achieve this? Would you dare to make this guarantee? (No.) You cannot achieve it, but the man used by the Holy Spirit has achieved it. Not only that, but he has never used the offerings to buy luxury cars, brand-name watches, or high-end devices for himself. Not only has he never used the offerings this way, but he has also made specific regulations on how God’s offerings should be used and how they should be spent. He manages the offerings exceptionally well, making the greatest possible human effort—that is, within the scope of what he can achieve and what is within his reach, he gives his all to safeguard the offerings, ensuring that God’s offerings are all used on the work of God’s house and are all used according to principles. Ordinary believers might not know about these things, but a portion of the upper-level leaders and workers of the church should know about them. As for those brothers and sisters who make lots of offerings, God’s house also treats them according to the principles: These brothers and sisters are used when they ought to be used, and whatever duty they are suited to do is the duty they do. The brother wouldn’t possibly make an exception and promote someone just because they had made lots of offerings. The brother has never done such a thing. At most, those who make lots of offerings have an advantage in doing a certain aspect of duty: Their families are relatively well off, and they have also offered a lot—if there are no families suitable for safeguarding offerings in the area around the church, then they have priority in doing the duty of safeguarding the church’s money and property. Such an arrangement is also based on principles, because such people are relatively more reliable.

For leaders and workers, in the course of serving God and while doing work, matters involving money are something they frequently have to come into contact with and have to face, and they are also something they cannot avoid. When you encounter matters involving money, if the viewpoints and the approaches you adhere to do not align with God’s intentions, and arouse disgust and loathing in God, then, God’s estimation of you as a person who serves God in terms of your character, and of your attitude toward Him, will fall sharply. In particular, some women focus especially on food, clothing, and enjoyment, and like high-end clothes and high-end cosmetics. If they go to a wealthy host family where they eat well, enjoy themselves, and are given money to spend, they will stay there and not leave. They frequently drink chicken soup and eat nutritional supplements, and at mealtimes, someone brings the food straight to them, waiting on them as if they were imperial consorts. They just like to enjoy these things. Some women even enjoy high-end luxury goods after becoming leaders and workers; the higher their status, the higher the grade of the things they enjoy, and the higher their status, the higher their expenditures and expenses. Some people managing offerings in the church do not have discernment regarding these leaders and workers who indulge in the benefits of status. They think that God’s house is the same as the world; they treat and offer tribute to the people serving God in God’s house as if they were their superiors or worldly leaders. They give the leaders and workers however much money they ask for, and they do not refuse even when asked for money to buy luxury goods. They give whatever amount is asked for, not daring to give a cent less, and they never investigate their intentions and aims in spending the offerings. The personnel responsible for managing offerings have the right to supervise and investigate how leaders and workers spend offerings, and they also have the obligation and have the responsibility to ask about the purpose of every sum of offerings. For example, if a leader or worker wants to use offerings, you should ask them, “What are you going to use this money for? Why do you want so much money?” If they do not accept your supervision and do not let you inquire about it, you cannot compromise; you must stick to the principles and say, “I manage the offerings, so I must be a good steward of God’s offerings. I must vet things. It won’t do if you don’t explain it clearly.” The cosmetics some leaders and workers use cost several hundred or a thousand yuan or more; some even cost several thousand or ten thousand yuan or more. When they go to the mall to buy clothes, they never ask about the price; they just buy whichever one they want, and there are people who specifically pay for them, spending over ten thousand yuan at a time. They squander offerings like this without batting an eye or feeling the slightest unease in their hearts, and the people paying follow them around and tag along after them like slaves. Are they not a pack of beasts, a pack of devils? How can you feel so justified and at ease when spending offerings? Are those offerings for you to spend? And to even use such high-end cosmetics—are you worthy? You serve God to complete a mission and to complete a commission; you are not here to seek pleasure and make merry, nor are you here to be an empress or a retired emperor. In doing church work, you must suffer and pay a price; you must pay a price several times greater than that of ordinary people to serve God. You must offer up your sincerity, rather than coming here to enjoy the flesh. God requires those who serve Him to show consideration for His burden and do church work well, not to enjoy the flesh and enjoy the benefits of status. God did not give you this task so that you could enjoy yourself. For you to enjoy yourself is shameless; it is devoid of reason and devoid of humanity—that is what a devil would do. You eat the food of God’s house for free, and God also provides you with the truth and provides you with life—you have gained quite enough already. Yet you still want to secretly spend offerings. Do you think that serving God is like working a secular job and drawing a salary? Even if you were working a job and drawing a salary, you wouldn’t be able to earn that much money. In serving God there are no salaries and no dividends. When you offer yourself up and offer your sincerity to God to serve Him, what you gain is the truth, what you gain is life, and what you gain is salvation—not luxury goods, and not fleshly enjoyment. Besides, can that little bit of sincerity you have be exchanged for those luxury goods? How much suffering would you have to endure and how much of a price would you have to pay working in the world to earn those things? At best, you would just be able to keep yourself fed and clothed, yet you still want to enjoy good things. People who serve God should not focus on enjoyment, nor should they focus on fleshly comfort. They should focus on suffering, paying a price, and doing their duty well, and on accepting God’s chastisement and judgment to gain the truth, rather than enjoying the flesh. Enjoying the flesh, enjoying feasting and revelry, and enjoying eating, drinking, and merrymaking—that is the life of nonbelievers; it is their outlook on life and their pursuit. You see, over the years, as the man used by the Holy Spirit has carried out his work, he has gotten busier with every passing year, his workload has increased with every passing year, he has grown more exhausted with every passing year, and he has grown older with every passing year. Despite this, he has never focused on enjoying any grooming products to make himself look younger so that the brothers and sisters will have a better impression of him; he has never focused on these things. Regarding his approach to fleshly enjoyment, the man used by the Holy Spirit never says, “Since I am someone who serves God, since I am the man used by the Holy Spirit, I am qualified to enjoy these offerings. Whatever I buy, I must buy something good, I must buy something of the highest grade.” He does not have this extravagant desire. He is so exhausted from his work, yet sometimes when God’s house is in a position to let him eat something nice to get some extra nutrition, he even feels that it is unnecessary, and that enjoying this is an extravagant desire. You see, he is quite strict with himself when it comes to money, material things, and fleshly enjoyment, isn’t he? (Yes.) If you had status, would you feel that this is an extravagant desire? (If the conditions could be met, we wouldn’t feel it is an extravagant desire.) Whether or not this is an extravagant desire depends on the situation: For one thing, it depends on the person’s physical condition. For another, it depends on their contributions to the work of God’s house. Most of you have hardly made any contributions to the work of God’s house, that is, you have not played a concrete role in moving forward any item of work in God’s house—you merely give your labor; it cannot be said that you provide for the church, and it cannot be said that you provide for the life of God’s chosen people, much less can it be said that you are devoted to the church’s work. If you have such requirements, that is an extravagant desire. Furthermore, most of you are still young and your physical condition is decent. The nutrition from your everyday home-cooked meals in daily life is sufficient. If you also exercise more on a regular basis, you do not need special nourishment. Even if a few individuals are physically weak and need recuperation, taking some nutritional supplements is enough. But the man used by the Holy Spirit is different from you. For one thing, the brother has made contributions to the church’s work and to God’s house; this is obvious to all and is an indisputable fact. For another, the brother has expended so much energy and heart’s blood and paid such a price for the work of God’s house. Now that God’s house has the means, even if he eats something nice to get some extra nutrition, that doesn’t count as an extravagant desire, right? (Yes.) For most people, having such requirements is an extravagant desire, because they do not have good humanity, they have not made much of a contribution to the work of God’s house, and they are simply not qualified to enjoy this kind of treatment, right? (Yes.) Tell Me, if a person serving God always has their sights fixed on the offerings, always has designs on the offerings, and enjoys the offerings and enjoys the flesh, or if they never treat the offerings seriously and do not manage them, and when the offerings suffer a loss, they do not think of ways to make up for it, completely failing to fulfill their responsibility—would God be satisfied with a person who serves Him like this? (No.) The offerings that God’s chosen people offer to God are used for doing church work. Suppose you think, “In any case, this money is not for me to spend, nor is it for me to distribute or manage; I do not even have the right to use it. Therefore, who spends this money, where it is spent, and whether they spend a lot or a little has nothing to do with me. These matters might all be secrets, so I won’t care or inquire about them. Even if I truly discover any problems, I don’t need to intervene; this is not within the scope of my responsibilities.” Is this attitude right? (No.) Say the person managing the offerings is unsuitable, there are instances of stealing offerings or misappropriating offerings, and there are also many instances of using offerings in violation of principles—if you discover these things but do not stop them or deal with them, is this the attitude a person serving God should have? (No.) Using and managing offerings correctly is a principle that a person serving God should have, isn’t it? (Yes.) This is the second issue that must be faced in serving God—the issue of money, material enjoyment, and fleshly enjoyment.

There is another aspect that a person must face in serving God, and that is status. Although the man used by the Holy Spirit does work in this position, he never uses status to suppress people or control people. Instead, in this position, he fulfills his responsibilities and does his own work well, and he never enjoys the benefits of status. In his daily life, the brother rarely enjoys special care and treatment. In his daily diet, he has never enjoyed meals specially prepared for him; at most, when there is a large gathering, someone might make an extra dish with meat for the brother, and that is already quite good. Occasionally, they may make some steamed stuffed buns or dumplings, and this is considered special treatment. Even when he goes to some host families and does not receive such treatment, the brother feels that this is quite normal and does not ask to be treated in any particular way. While doing work in God’s house, whether he goes to a wealthy area or a poor area, regardless of the living conditions or whether the food and lodging are good or not, he can approach it correctly. He does not complain about places with poor conditions, nor does he become so attached to the comforts of places with good conditions that he stays and will not leave. He has never demanded any particular standard of treatment just because he is the man used by the Holy Spirit. He never focuses on these things; he basically eats the same communal meals as the brothers and sisters. Even when some host families do not have very good humanity and are relatively selfish, keeping good food for their own family members and being reluctant to give it to the brother, the brother is not constrained by this matter and can still approach it correctly. He says, “I am just an ordinary person. I cannot demand that others treat me particularly well. The One I serve is God. I cannot demand that the brothers and sisters be extremely deferential and respectful toward me or give me special care because I have status. The brothers and sisters are free to treat me as they choose. I cannot let these things affect my service to God.” He does not make high demands of people, right? (Yes.) Moreover, the man used by the Holy Spirit does not perform work from a position of status. When encountering some unexpected incidents or things he has not come into contact with before in the church, the brother will convene a gathering with leaders and workers to fellowship about the matter. During the fellowship, he merely presides over it; he does not rely on his own will to make his own assumptions about what should be done. Instead, while seeking, he fellowships with the leaders and workers about better ways to handle things. He resolves the issues that have arisen in the church with an attitude of fellowship and an attitude of seeking, rather than making his own assumptions and asserting his status to direct leaders and workers to act according to his own will. When he convenes the leaders and workers to discuss and fellowship about the matter, he is also seeking how to act in a way that can safeguard the interests of God’s house, and how to act in a way that is able to avoid subsequent negative impacts and is able to reduce hidden dangers. With an attitude of seeking, and with the principle of safeguarding the interests of God’s house and the work of God’s house, and properly safeguarding all the conditions that should be in place for brothers and sisters to do their duties normally, he convenes a gathering with the leaders and workers to fellowship about the matter. Although he has status, as well as his own subjective intentions and ideas, he still maintains a careful and cautious heart, seeking out brothers and sisters or leaders and workers with relevant professional expertise to discuss the matter and seek together. Why does he do this? His motive in doing this is the belief that, since people are born in this dark and evil society, there are always many things they cannot see clearly; that no matter how old a person is, there are always many things they have neither experienced nor seen; and that no one is perfect—that everyone has areas they do not excel in or understand, and when encountering matters, even if a person has some ideas, they cannot be certain if those ideas are correct, so they need to fellowship and seek. When he fellowships, he does so from two aspects. On the positive side, he fellowships on what will happen if things are done this way and what will happen if things are done that way; on the negative side, he fellowships on what will happen if things are not done this way. He fellowships from every angle so as to better handle the problems that need to be resolved in God’s house, to properly protect the interests of God’s house, and to properly protect the rights and interests of the brothers and sisters, so that their life entry and the environment and conditions for their performance of their duties are not affected or harmed. Of course, this also better protects the work of God’s house so that it progresses in an orderly way, and he is ultimately able to fulfill the obligations and responsibilities that a person serving God ought to fulfill, render an account to God, and satisfy God. You see, do this motive and this principle accord with God’s intentions? (They do.) Although he has status, and through doing work for many years he has both work experience and firsthand experience regarding many incidents that occur or many problems that exist in the church, and he also understands many truths and has real entry, when encountering some matters that arise suddenly and that he has never dealt with before, he will still convene the leaders and workers to fellowship, seeking out suitable principles and suitable handling plans, to protect the interests of God’s house to the greatest extent. Although he has status and can call the shots and can issue orders, the more a matter involves status and the more it involves making final decisions, the more cautious he is and the less he acts recklessly. Although, given his rank and his status, and given his years of work experience, he has the power and has the advantage to make the final decision and have the final say on his own, and then have you implement it, he has not done this, nor has he enjoyed the prerogative of status. The more important a matter is, or the more complicated a matter is—the more it involves God’s name or involves the work of God’s house—the more cautious he is in handling it. He does not casually draw conclusions or make decisions, but instead seeks and fellowships with a God-fearing heart, only taking action after determining the principles and plans for practice. This is one manifestation of the man used by the Holy Spirit in his approach to status.

The man used by the Holy Spirit has another manifestation in his approach to status: Whether he prunes people, adjusts their duty assignments, or dismisses them, he always acts according to the truth principles; he does not lecture people or suppress them from a position of status. Sometimes when the brother prunes people, some will say, “I believe in God, not in you. You are not God, so why should I listen to you?” Has the brother made an issue of it with such people? Has he dealt with them, made things difficult for them, or expelled them because of that statement? (No.) As far as I know, the brother has never done such a thing. Over the years that the brother has been doing church work, in doing personnel and administrative work, he has dismissed many false leaders, and the church has also done a lot of cleansing work. Many people have been transferred from full-time duty churches to part-time duty churches, ordinary churches, or B groups. There are always some people who are defiant toward the brother and harbor resentment, saying, “So what if you are the man used by the Holy Spirit? It’s not you I believe in, it’s God I believe in!” The brother also treats such people according to the truth principles, saying, “Of course you do not believe in me, and I have not asked you to believe in me. My pruning you, dealing with you, and dismissing you is based on the truth principles and is for the sake of safeguarding the work of God’s house.” He says this, and of course, he acts according to this principle as well. He has not asked you to believe in him, and besides, if you were to believe in him, the path you walk would be wrong. Just look at whether the principles by which the brother handles various matters, resolves various problems, and dismisses these false leaders and false workers accord with God’s intentions, and see whether his pruning you accords with the truth principles. If it accords with the truth principles and accords with God’s intentions, then you should submit. You are not submitting to this person, nor should you submit to this person. You are submitting to the truth, to God. If the brother’s pruning you and dismissing you accords with the truth principles yet you remain defiant, then that’s you not accepting the truth—it is your problem, not the brother’s problem; he has no problem. He does not reprimand you, constrain you, or control you from a position of status. He acts according to principles and deals with you according to principles. His pruning you is based on safeguarding the interests of God’s house and safeguarding the work of God’s house, and on fulfilling his responsibilities well, completing the commission God has given him, and offering his devotion to God. His fellowship on the truth targets problems, not people. Yet you’re always shouting, “It’s not you I believe in, it’s God I believe in,” constantly using these words to argue with the brother. Search your own heart: Is it that you are not practicing the truth, or is it that the brother has done something wrong? Did the brother ask you to believe in him? The brother’s status is that of the man used by the Holy Spirit, and the identity and status of the man used by the Holy Spirit is that of someone who serves God; his status is not God’s status, his life is not God’s life, and God has never testified that he is God Himself. From beginning to end, God has only ever told you that he is a person used by God, that he is a member of corrupt humankind, and that he is someone God has promoted, who serves God and whom God can use. God has never testified that you should believe in him. Yet you’re always shouting, “It’s not you I believe in,” and you always insist on arguing this matter out and having it explained clearly. This is your problem; it is you not accepting the truth. Why do you not examine yourself to see where you have gone wrong? Why did the brother prune you? What was the brother’s reason for pruning you? If it was a matter of venting personal anger out of human will, then he is in the wrong. But if it was because you did not do your work according to principles and recklessly committed misdeeds, causing disruptions and disturbances; or if your perfunctoriness hindered the church’s work and brought damage to the church’s work, then the brother’s pruning you completely accords with God’s intentions and is beyond reproach. The brother’s dealing with you also accords with principles and is not wrong; it completely accords with God’s intentions, God does not condemn it, and what is more, God remembers it and God approves of it. You always feel resistant toward the person God approves of and the actions God approves of and always condemn them, and you keep shouting, “It’s not you I believe in.” Is this not being vexatious and unreasonable? (It is.) This is being vexatious and unreasonable. You are always antagonistic toward the person God uses, a person who serves God and accords with His intentions, and you always regard him with hostility. Then take a look: Who is the One behind him that is using him? It is God. What he does accords with God’s intentions; God uses him, and God approves of his service. If you rise up to oppose him, it is equivalent to opposing God. It is of the same nature as the two hundred and fifty leaders rising up to oppose Moses when God used him. You say that it is not the man used by the Holy Spirit you believe in. Well, God has not asked you to believe in him. Surely, you didn’t believe in him before he pruned you? The brother prunes you so that you do your duty well, so that you act according to the truth principles, and so that you fulfill your responsibilities and refrain from acting perfunctorily or causing disruptions and disturbances. His dismissing you is also to safeguard the work of God’s house, because if he did not dismiss you, the work of God’s house would suffer damage; he dismisses you to safeguard the interests of God’s house. But after you are dismissed, you become unhappy and unconvinced; you even spout contorted arguments, being vexatious and unreasonable, and even want him to relent and let you off the hook. Are these not Satan’s thoughts? Aren’t such people devils? (Yes.) What principles does the man used by the Holy Spirit base his work on? He bases it on these two major principles: safeguarding the interests of God’s house and being responsible for the life of God’s chosen people, rather than threatening you, intimidating you, or exploiting you from a position of status. He occasionally scolds you, which, from a human perspective, appears to arise from his blood-nature, but why does he scold you? If everything you did accorded with the principles, and you could hold to the principles you ought to abide by, could consult and could seek the truth regarding matters you cannot see clearly, and could implement the work you ought to implement in a timely manner according to principles, would you still be pruned and scolded? (No.) He prunes you and scolds you, and even though he occasionally gets a bit angry and his blood-nature flares up a little, I see no wrong in it, because the things you do are nothing but disruptions and disturbances, which is too infuriating. No matter how good and no matter how mild a person’s personality is, they would still get angry. Normal people all have happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy; when seeing someone do things that are too exasperating, it is impossible not to feel angry—not expressing anger would be abnormal. Some people are always claiming that they have a sense of justice and are good people, but when the interests of God’s house are damaged and God’s offerings are squandered by others, they do not feel the slightest bit upset or indignant after finding out. When they see someone causing disruptions and disturbances or doing their work perfunctorily, they never rebuke them, and never fellowship to help them, much less do they deal with them according to principles. Is this having a sense of justice? Is this normal humanity? (No.) Acting this way not only brings no edification to people, but also leaves you with no way to answer to God. You are irresponsible toward others and offer them no genuine love or help, much less do you have any sincerity toward God. You do not safeguard the interests of God’s house in the slightest, yet you say you have a sense of justice. What sense of justice do you have? You are just a people pleaser, a slick operator; you are just a living Satan! If you truly did have a sense of justice, why don’t you feel upset when the interests of God’s house are damaged? If someone curses at you or says something bad about you, you feel so upset that you cannot sleep for several days and nights, and you might even hate them for a lifetime and never forget that one sentence for a lifetime. Yet you do not care in the slightest about the damage the interests of God’s house suffer, no matter how great it is. What sense of justice do you have? You are just a selfish and despicable type; you are not a person with a sense of justice at all. The brother does have the status of the man used by the Holy Spirit, but even if he did not have this status, and did his work as an ordinary leader or worker, if he saw someone squandering God’s offerings or evil people causing disruptions and disturbances, would he intervene? Would he fulfill his responsibilities? He would fulfill his responsibilities just the same, and intervene just the same, intervening across as wide a scope as he could, speaking as much as he could, and exerting his utmost effort to do work and safeguard the interests of God’s house. Therefore, looking at the attitude of the man used by the Holy Spirit in doing work and serving God, as well as his attitude toward you and the ways and methods by which he treats you, one can see that he does not do work from a position of status. To him, this status is a responsibility and a mission; it is a mission God has placed on him, a responsibility God has placed on him, and especially when you call him “brother,” he feels all the more that his responsibility is great. The church life, the church’s administrative work, personnel work, and other aspects of the work, as well as whether there are suitable leaders and workers in churches everywhere, whether there are suitable people responsible for gospel work, whether there are suitable people doing general affairs work, what the progress of the spreading of the gospel work is in churches everywhere, what proportion of the people gained remain, whether there are suitable people to water those who have joined the church, and whether there are suitable people to manage them and follow up on them—these are all things he cares about and pays attention to, and they are the highest priority in his work. Every day, these are all the things he speaks of, thinks about in his heart, is concerned about, and cares about. He has never enjoyed the honors that status brings him, nor has he enjoyed the superior conditions that status brings him. In his heart, he does not focus on these things; what he focuses on is exerting his utmost effort to fulfill his responsibilities and complete the commission and mission God has given him.

Once some leaders and workers have status, they convene the brothers and sisters for gatherings to preach sermons to them at the drop of a hat, preaching for two to three hours in the morning and two to three hours in the afternoon. When they preach sermons, the brothers and sisters eagerly hope to hear something practical, but they are just there speaking words and doctrines, spouting high-sounding words and stirring up emotions, without resolving any actual problems. They do not care whether the brothers and sisters are busy; they convene them to preach sermons at the drop of a hat, and just do not do actual work. Like the Pharisees, they only know how to speak doctrines and shout slogans. They cannot resolve any actual problems—they cannot resolve problems regarding life entry, and whether it be gospel work, watering work, the church’s administrative work, general affairs work, and personnel work, or work in various specialized fields, they cannot do any aspect of work or shoulder it. Moreover, they do not learn professional knowledge, do not eat and drink God’s words, do not put effort into the truth, and just go through the motions in their work. They preach sermons at the drop of a hat and feel that they have done their work well and earned their meal money for the day, and so they enjoy the benefits of status as if this were only right and proper, feeling justified and at ease in doing so. When it is time to eat, they always want to eat well, saying, “Why didn’t you make some dumplings or braised pork? How exhausting my work has been all day! Gathering for three or four hours in the morning, and three or four hours in the afternoon. I’ve talked so much my mouth’s gone dry! I need something good to eat to nourish my body!” In fact, they only preach doctrines and shout slogans, without resolving any problems at all. They do not do any actual work but still want to enjoy the benefits of status, and when they are dismissed, they feel so wronged that they just keep crying, for days on end. They just do not examine themselves to see what exactly they did wrong, and they do not know themselves in the slightest. Are such people worthy of serving God? Look at the man used by the Holy Spirit: In doing his work, he always resolves actual problems. At every stage, he is constantly doing the basic administrative task of adjusting the positions of leaders and workers. Furthermore, he follows up daily on the various areas of specialized work, and handles whatever problems there are in the church’s general affairs work. He is constantly doing the two most important items of work—gospel work and the work of watering leaders and workers. He has never thought, “I am getting old. Is it time for me to take a back seat? Is it time for me to rest and enjoy my twilight years?” He still has a lot of drive now, saying, “I must complete the mission God has given me well. The more I understand the truth, the more I must do the work of watering leaders and workers and watering the brothers and sisters in detail and do it well, allowing all leaders and workers to do church work well according to the truth principles, and allowing all the brothers and sisters to live a good church life and all to enter the truth reality.” You see, he keeps adding tasks for himself and finding things for himself to do; he always has a burden in his heart. After being leaders and workers for a year or two, some people start resting on their laurels, thinking, “Doing church work these past few years has been quite busy and tiring. It is time to rest and enjoy myself. Besides, I am getting older; I need to take a back seat!” They even give it the nice-sounding name of “taking a back seat.” What does “taking a back seat” mean? It means they consider themselves veteran cadres, that it is time to collect their pensions, time to enjoy their golden years, and that they are qualified to rest on their laurels. What qualifications do you have? What actual work have you done? The man used by the Holy Spirit has done work for so many years and has never talked about resting on his laurels and has never talked about taking a back seat. Given the little work you have done, what qualifications do you have to rest on your laurels? Some people even imitate the ways of the world: “I must take a back seat. Let the young people do the work from now on!” What kind of viewpoint is this? Why does it sound so disgusting to Me? People who serve God actually retiring? Then do you also want to collect a pension, and also want people to call you a “veteran cadre”? How can you be so shameless? Retiring from serving God—aren’t you afraid of retiring into hell? Are you willing to retire into hell? How can you be so good at painting yourself in a favorable light? You even want to take a back seat and be a veteran cadre! I think you just want to be an absentee boss, you just want to live off the church, and you just want to rest on your laurels! Are you qualified to rest on your laurels? What viewpoint does the man used by the Holy Spirit have as he serves God? He says, “God has given me this mission, so I will hand my whole life over to God. I must live to complete God’s commission; this goal cannot change, and the work God has entrusted to me cannot stop. If I flee midway and abandon my mission, this is betraying God and I deserve to be cursed! I can only stop doing the work if God no longer uses me. As long as God uses me, entrusts the church to me, and entrusts church work to me, I must persist to the very end and complete the commission God has given me.” The man used by the Holy Spirit has never thought about when to retire; he just always does the work like this. He has this burden. He always feels in his heart that there is a lot of work to do, and he has his hands full with all the work that ought to be done. So he prioritizes things by their importance and urgency, focusing on doing crucial work, and focusing on continuously doing core work. He has no Sundays off and no rest days; year after year, he keeps busy without a break. He never thinks about resting on his laurels, nor does he think about retiring to enjoy the benefits of status. He simply doesn’t feel that status is all that important to him; he does not feel that he has status. He feels that this is the work commissioned by God, and that it is an honor to do this work; he feels that serving God is very glorious work. How should serving God be understood? It means that God gives you a mission, and He needs you to cooperate when He does an aspect of work; what requirements God has, what God’s intentions are, what God’s wishes are, what God wants to accomplish and what results He intends to achieve, and what God’s will is—God entrusts them to you and asks you to cooperate so that His will may be carried out, and you take on this burden and begin doing this work. This is called serving God. Looking at the scope of the work of serving God, is serving God the same as working a job, running a business, or engaging in one’s own enterprise in society? (No, it is not.) How is it different? (Working a job in society is for one’s own interests. Serving God is for safeguarding the interests of God’s house and showing consideration for God’s intentions.) Serving God is not earning a salary for yourself, it is not engaging in your own enterprise, and it is not running your own business; rather, it is cooperating with God’s management, fulfilling the responsibilities of man and completing the mission of man, and it is doing the things God entrusts to you, doing the work God entrusts to you. What you do must be done according to God’s requirements, God’s commission to you, God’s will, and God’s intentions. It must not be mixed with human will, without saying things like, “I want to do it this way, I plan to do it this way, I can do it this way, I am willing to do it this way.” Instead, in all respects and in all things, you must seek: “What has God asked me to do? What has God instructed? What has God required? Am I acting according to God’s requirements? Is God satisfied?” Because you are serving God, you must always seek whether God is satisfied with you doing it this way, and you must always examine yourself: “Is my doing it this way causing a disruption? Is any human will mixed in? Am I doing it based on my own will? Does doing it this way accord with God’s intentions? Does God accept it? Is it a good deed?” You must always seek and examine yourself in this way; only practicing in this way is serving God. In this way, what you receive from God is not status, but a responsibility. Fulfilling your responsibility is merely doing the work you ought to do, saying the words you ought to say, and offering the portion you ought to offer, rather than engaging in your own enterprise. The viewpoint with which the man used by the Holy Spirit regards status is: “If I bring people before me, and they only listen to me, and do not listen to God despite believing in Him, and I render God a mere figurehead, then my sins will be great indeed, and I will be condemned as a sinner through the ages. If the ultimate results of what I fellowship with people and the work I lead them to do are that they can come before God, know how to seek God, have a normal relationship with God, and know to seek God’s intentions and to seek the truth principles when doing things, and God is satisfied when He sees this, then my serving God in this way has brought people before God, my service accords with God’s intentions, and it is a success. If I bring people before me, and everyone listens to me and looks to me, but they do not know to look to God or to seek God, and when they encounter matters, they do not understand God’s intentions and do not know to act according to the truth principles, then I have failed in my service to God, and I have become a sinner.” You see, he possesses this awareness. Therefore, many times, whether fellowshipping with leaders and workers or fellowshipping with ordinary brothers and sisters, the man used by the Holy Spirit tells them the truth principles, asking them to seek God’s words and pray to God whenever they encounter issues in their daily lives or in the course of doing their duties, and asking them, when they reveal corrupt dispositions or violate principles while doing their duties, to reflect on and know themselves based on God’s words, ask God to discipline them, and accept God’s chastisement and judgment. Moreover, in doing many aspects of work, he is bearing witness to God’s words and bearing witness to the truth. Sometimes he asks you to listen to him, but in what context is that? It is when he is one hundred percent certain that what he says absolutely accords with God’s intentions, and that it won’t be wrong if you do as he says. Because you are of such small stature, do not know how to seek the truth yourself, and do not know what God’s requirements are, he tells you what to do directly; do as he says, and it will surely accord with God’s intentions. This requirement that he makes of you certainly does not run counter to God’s requirements and does not contradict them, it certainly is not betraying God, it certainly is not condemned by God, it certainly accords with God’s intentions, and it certainly safeguards the interests of God’s house. Therefore, you listening to him is certainly not wrong. You listening to him is not you submitting to this person, but rather submitting to the truth and submitting to God, right? (Yes.)

For corrupt humankind, status is actually a greater temptation to people than relationships between men and women, money, or fleshly interests, and it is more able to reveal the path a person is walking. Especially for a person who serves God, when they do not have status, they appear able to pursue the truth, and able to expend themselves zealously; they act quite cautiously, have a humble heart, and can seek the truth principles. However, whether they can still adhere to these truth principles and these paths of practice when they have status depends on what path this person is walking. When a person who pursues the truth is qualified or is in the position to serve God, they pay attention to whether the path they walk is correct. When a person who does not pursue the truth gains status, their true colors are revealed. Therefore, when some people have no status, they merely appear to have antichrist dispositions, and some aspects of their corrupt dispositions are somewhat obvious, but when they have status, they can hold power and call the shots, and they can establish independent kingdoms. This means that they do not merely have antichrist dispositions, but rather that they are antichrists. Thus, when many people have no status, they can walk the path of antichrists, and as soon as they have status, they become antichrists—as soon as they have status, their true colors are revealed. When this type of person has no status, they never come to know themselves and do not open up to fellowship about their corrupt dispositions—this is one major characteristic. Another characteristic is not accepting the truth and not practicing the truth. When someone makes demands of them or prunes them and points out a problem they have in a certain area, they have to look at whether the other person has status. If it is Me, the brother, or their upper-level leader who says this, they will say, “What you said is correct, I accept it and submit to it.” If a person without status points out the same problems to them, they will not accept it in the slightest. Whether they accept pruning depends on whether the person pruning them has high or low status. When they have status, they work and do things from a position of status; they never dissect themselves or come to know themselves, and they never accept the truth or accept pruning—even if they do accept it, it is only superficial acceptance. After hearing words of pruning, not only do they not examine or reflect on themselves, but they also say in their hearts, “You have status, so everything you say is right. If you didn’t have status, I wouldn’t pay you any mind at all, and I wouldn’t take your words to heart at all!” Not only do they not accept the truth, but they also act according to their own will; they are willful, arbitrary, and headstrong in their actions, and they can even establish independent kingdoms and engage in their own enterprise. They think, “Now that I have status, however big the scope of my authority is, I will establish my personal prestige and secure my personal status within that scope. No one else has the right to interfere, and I have the final say on how the work is done. God must step aside, the truth must step aside; the man used by the Holy Spirit, the work arrangements of God’s house, and the truth principles must all step aside. I will do whatever I want, and I will do it however I want. I am the highest principle, and my words are the criterion!” They never seek whether saying this and doing this accords with God’s intentions and accords with the truth principles, or whether this is what God has fellowshipped. When they do administrative and personnel work, they never seek the work arrangements, nor do they act according to the work arrangements; instead, they do the work however they want, acting as local tyrants and as bandit leaders, and holding power like kings and calling the shots in the church. Are these antichrists? (Yes.) Are such people serving God? (No.) After suffering a little and paying a bit of a price, they want to rest on their laurels, and they always exalt themselves, always form small personal groups, and always form cliques for their own interests—these are antichrists. If you walk this path in your service to God, then you are completely done for, and you are destined to be eliminated. Status, in the words of nonbelievers, is a double-edged sword. You can treat it as a responsibility, and of course, you can also treat it as a means and medium to realize your desires and ambitions; it can become a shortcut for you to serve God and attain salvation, and it can also lead you to perish. It depends on what path you walk, and it depends on how you treat this status.

After the man used by the Holy Spirit gained this status, the principles he has observed in handling every matter and every person—whether handling upper-level leaders and workers, handling the supervisor of any group, or handling ordinary believers who cause disruptions and disturbances—are all ones that he has sought and considered from multiple angles. Especially when he first began doing church work, he was particularly careful and cautious when handling leaders and workers or ordinary believers. At the very least, he observed one principle: “When I handle someone, it is not according to my own will, nor is it because they have offended me that I handle them. It may be that this person has no personal grudge against me, treats me quite well, has quite a close relationship with me, and even greatly admires me. But if they have caused disruptions and disturbances to the work of God’s house and are not suitable to be cultivated, then based on the principle of safeguarding the work of God’s house, I should handle them when they ought to be handled.” In the very beginning, whether the man used by the Holy Spirit was handling false leaders and antichrists, or handling false believers, disbelievers, and evil people, he actually allowed considerable latitude. Why did he allow considerable latitude? It was because in the very beginning, when the man used by the Holy Spirit came into contact with people and came into contact with church work, he had not yet seen with full clarity God’s intentions, the nature essence of various types of people and the principles for handling them, or what kind of impact the actions and behavior of various types of people would have on church work and church life, and he had no experience in handling these matters. Therefore, he always showed people leniency and gave them opportunities to the greatest extent possible, striving not to wrong anyone who sincerely believed in God. Outwardly, some people seemed to be sincere believers in God and they forsook things and expended themselves, but sometimes they also did things that caused disruptions and disturbances, and he still gave them opportunities to repent. This is because people are all corrupt human beings, none of them understand the truth, nor do they understand God’s intentions, and they all live by their corrupt dispositions. Therefore, in the beginning, when the man used by the Holy Spirit did not have much of a grasp of the principles regarding the church’s administrative work, personnel work, general affairs work, and other items of work, he approached the various items of church work with caution and tolerance, and he treated the various types of people in the church in this way too. For an initial period of time, among the leaders in churches everywhere, there were some people occupying status who had bad humanity or could not do actual work. It was only after the various aspects of the truth—God’s exposure of people’s corrupt dispositions and nature essence, God’s characterizations of various types of people, and so on—were gradually revealed and expressed that the man used by the Holy Spirit, for one thing, accumulated a lot of work experience, becoming increasingly accurate in viewing people and viewing things, and coming to see the essence of various types of people accurately. In addition, as God expressed more and more truths, he also understood more and more truths. When these two aspects were combined, his performance of the church’s administrative work, personnel work, general affairs work, and other items of work, became increasingly accurate, increasingly aligned with principles, increasingly accorded with God’s intentions, and increasingly safeguarded the work of God’s house. In this way, he gradually transitioned from the initial stage of showing tolerance toward most people, being patient with them, and giving them opportunities, to the stage of also cleansing the church—cleansing away various types of evil people, antichrists, and disbelievers, and cleansing away various types of people who cause disruptions and disturbances; and then he transitioned to the stage of also classifying personnel doing duties in the church and dividing them into churches, continually cleansing away from the full-time duty churches various types of people who do not meet the standards for doing their duties full-time. The man used by the Holy Spirit has been doing this work all along. As God led the way, and as God gradually expressed various truths, he also gradually understood more truths, gradually grasped the principles of carrying out the various aspects of church work, and did the work better and better. There is nothing supernatural about this at all, right? (Yes.)

Judging from the attitude toward the various items of work and the principles adhered to by the man used by the Holy Spirit—as exhibited when he does his work—it can be seen that this person pays great attention to the path he walks in the course of serving God. He does not attach importance to status and renown, nor does he attach importance to his prestige among people and his personal reputation; rather, he pays attention to what path he is walking on this journey of serving God. He approaches this matter very cautiously, carefully guarding himself against walking the path of an antichrist, against engaging in his own enterprise, against forming groups and factions, or against establishing an independent kingdom. Every item of work he does safeguards the interests of God’s house, safeguards God’s work, and safeguards the spread and progress of the kingdom gospel to the greatest extent. In the course of serving God, he is not playing it by ear and doing work however he pleases; rather, deep in his heart, he gives things consideration and has his own thoughts and viewpoints. A very crucial point that he constantly considers—which is also a very important point for you—is that at all times he considers, “Is the path I am walking correct? In what I say and do, am I following God’s will? Am I safeguarding the work of God’s house? Am I treating everyone justly? Am I treating people according to principles? For those who have committed transgressions, have I given them an opportunity to repent? Have I helped and supported them? If it is certain that this type of person is an antichrist, and in order to safeguard my personal safety, I do not offend them and do not cleanse them away, will this cause harm to the church? Then will my service before God fail? Will it not be approved of by God? Will it be condemned by God?” No matter what item of work he does, he first considers the church’s work, and considers the interests of God’s house, and also considers whether what he does accords with God’s intentions. What he considers is not his own status, reputation, worth, prestige, or the extent of his power; rather, he considers whether the path he takes in doing every single thing is right, and whether the principles and criteria he follows align with the truth. For example, say that the supervisor or group leader of an item of specialized work is capable of shouldering this work, but this person does not pursue the truth very much, their life entry is poor, they frequently act based on corrupt dispositions, and they have many deficiencies and flaws—but apart from them, there is no one more suitable to shoulder this work. What does the brother do when encountering this kind of problem? He has to be tolerant and patient, and also frequently support and help them and give them hands-on guidance. For one thing, his doing this is fulfilling his responsibility and doing what he ought to do; for another, speaking from a broader perspective, it is also an item of work he ought to do and a responsibility he ought to fulfill in serving God. Specifically, it is also to safeguard the progress and existence of this item of work; that is, it is safeguarding the forward development and existence of this item of work in God’s house from a very specific and very minute aspect. Therefore, in his treatment of such a group leader or supervisor, he must fellowship with and help them more. If they still do not turn around, then he has to carry out pruning and exposing, which sometimes entails speaking some stern words, and sometimes entails speaking some words that pierce the heart and provoke. Regardless of the method used, his ultimate goal is for this item of work to exist rather than be abolished. No matter what he does, the brother tries every possible means to safeguard the interests of God’s house and safeguard the work of God’s house, rather than undermining it, causing disturbances, or establishing himself. Some people who do not have spiritual understanding do not understand the principles, nor do they know how to serve God in a way that safeguards the work of God’s house. When they see the brother prune someone, they assume the brother must dislike that person, and that he wants to dismiss that person. So they go whichever way the wind blows; whomever the brother prunes, they prune too, and they even prune more harshly. They think to themselves, “I’ll make an even more drastic move—I’ll dismiss you! I won’t consider the impact on this work. When I’m angry, I’ll lose my temper, slam the table, dismiss you, dispatch you to a B group, and suspend you from doing your duty! I’ll disband your group, and I’ll make sure your group no longer exists!” What do you think of this approach? Is this acting promptly and decisively? Do they know how to do work? (No.) They think that by doing this, they have safeguarded the brother’s renown, thinking to themselves, “Brother, you are so angry, yet you feel too embarrassed to dismiss him. You feel too embarrassed to offend people, so I’ll dismiss him for you.” They do not know what principles the brother follows below the surface of his tolerance and patience and his pruning. In fact, pruning is the method, and the ultimate goal is to enable people to do their duties better and to properly safeguard the continuation and existence of this item of work in God’s house. They think the brother feels too embarrassed to dismiss that group leader, so they just directly suppress him, disband the group, and stop people from doing their duties. If they bring the church’s work to ruin, they are happy and even feel particularly righteous. Tell Me, does what they do accord with God’s intentions? (It does not accord with God’s intentions.) Let’s set aside for now whether the person handling the problem has personal intentions and motives; if such a person were truly allowed to serve God, wouldn’t they do nothing but cause disruptions and disturbances? Can such a person serve God? (No.) You merely understand some doctrines but do not know the principles; when encountering issues, you do not know how to resolve them, and you do not know how to safeguard the interests of God’s house. You want to do church work well but you do not know how to do it. What is the problem here? You say out loud, “I really want to safeguard the interests of God’s house. I’m terrified of causing disruptions and disturbances to the church’s work, and I’m terrified of messing up the church’s work. I’m also afraid of making God sad; I don’t want God to worry, and I want to give God a satisfactory answer.” But in reality, your actions and behavior are causing disruptions and disturbances, and are undermining things. Tell Me, what is the problem here? For My part, I will not blow things out of proportion with you; I won’t say what your humanity is like, nor will I say whether you are venting personal anger. Regardless of what aspect your problem lies in, overall, your stature is too small. How should your stature being too small be explained specifically? It means that you truly do not understand the truth principles; if no one leads you, you can all recklessly commit misdeeds, and even take the church’s work and make a total mess of it, leaving it beyond recognition. People in the church would be in a state of panic, and all aspects of the work would yield no results—it would basically be paralyzed. You do not understand the principles, your stature is too small, you understand too few truth principles, you do not understand God’s intentions, and you do not know what God’s requirements are—this is not understanding the truth. Do not think that doing your duty in God’s house for eight or ten years gives you capital, that you can casually make decisions about church matters, and that you can serve God. You are still far from it. Your stature is too small; you only understand some doctrines but have not reached the level of understanding the truth, so your speech and actions fall short of the truth principles. That is to say, you do not know how to handle the various problems that arise in the church according to the truth principles. More importantly, you cannot resolve problems by fellowshipping on the truth. The doctrines you can preach are of no use at all. Consequently, the words you speak and the things you do cannot accord with God’s intentions. No matter how long you have been doing your duty, you still fall short of following God’s will. Therefore, your stature is too small, and you have not yet reached the level of understanding the truth. This is a manifestation of your small stature. You have aspirations, have wishes, and have the resolve to do your duty well, and some of you even frequently swear oaths, but it is an undeniable fact that your stature is still too small, and there’s nothing about you worth praising. The few words and doctrines you understand are fundamentally insufficient to take on the work of serving God, insufficient to shoulder the heavy responsibility of serving God. Regardless of whether you have sincerity in expending yourself for God, even if your intentions are good and you mean well, you can still cause disruptions, cause disturbances, and undermine things. This shows that your stature falls far short, and you still have many truths to equip yourselves with. Do you understand? Based on your current stature, even if you were given status, you would not be able to do the work. I have fellowshipped with you these days about the actions and practices of the man used by the Holy Spirit in serving God, his personal manifestations and the principles he follows, his thoughts, his viewpoints, and his motive in doing every single thing—this is teaching you how to serve God and how to walk the right path. Do not think that once you become a leader or worker, you have status and you have a halo over your head. Actually, there is no halo; that status is merely a responsibility. Look at the man used by the Holy Spirit: When has he ever enjoyed being venerated, praised, exalted, lauded, and flattered by people? He does not enjoy these things. When he sees you do foolish things, he gets anxious and worked up and talks to Me about these matters, and I also get very worked up hearing about them. Why do I get worked up? You have listened to sermons for so many years, yet your stature is still very small. If you could realize that your stature is small, know what you amount to, no longer pursue status, and no longer feel you are good, then that would count as having some self-awareness. However, most people do not have self-awareness yet. With such small stature, you cannot do any work, you cannot shoulder any task, and you cannot complete any work independently. On top of that, you are always doing stupid things and absurd things, and you cause disruptions and disturbances, yet you remain unaware of it and still feel quite good about yourselves. Tell Me, how could I not get anxious and worked up? I try to find ways to make you focus on the truth, rather than focusing on such useless things as status, empty fame, and treatment; focusing on those things is meaningless. I observe you when you are singing the hymn “God Wishes Man Will Pursue the Truth and Survive” to see who sings it sincerely, who sings it in a way that can move people, and which people do not know how to sing or do not like to sing this hymn. Is it right for Me to observe like this? Am I spying on you behind your backs? Actually, it is not spying on you; it is having a burden for you, having hopes for you, and having expectations for you. I hope to hear very little about you doing stupid things and absurd things in the days to come; I hope that your life will grow faster, that you will be able to experience various matters and experience various environments, and will learn to discern various people, events, and things, and that no matter what aspect of duty you are doing, you will strive for the truth and be able to act according to principles. What does it mean to strive for the truth? It means seeking the truth in all things, practicing in strict accordance with the truth principles, and being able to promptly seek the truth to resolve any problems you discover—this is consciously pursuing the truth and coming to act according to the principles. In everything you encounter, you should reflect on yourself, asking yourself how to practice in accordance with the truth, and whether you still have any problems that need resolving, and you should be able to frequently realize what you lack, what you need to equip yourselves with, and how you should make up for what you lack. In addition, you should be able to know which truth principles you have understood in the duty you do, and which truth principles you still do not understand, need to seek, and need God’s enlightenment and guidance on. Especially in the course of serving God, you should be able to realize what principles you should focus on in serving God, and be able to act according to principles. You must also pay attention to whether the path you walk is right, and whether it is the path of pursuing the truth to attain salvation.

Doing church work is not like working a job in the nonbelieving world. The One you are serving is God. This is a serious matter; it is not a game. Treating it like a game is equivalent to treating your own destination as a joke. If you still do not know what path you are walking, then you should focus on examining yourself. If you already know that the path you are walking is not the path of pursuing the truth, but is the path of the Pharisees, is the path of false leaders, is the path of antichrists, then what should you do? Isn’t this also a direction in which to seek? (Yes.) If you are unsure whether the path you are walking is right, then look at what we fellowshipped about today concerning the man used by the Holy Spirit in his service to God: how he behaves, what he practices, what he attaches importance to, and what thoughts and viewpoints he holds, as well as the areas that he approaches with particular caution and particular earnestness and seriousness. Start with these aspects, put effort into these aspects, and watch your step. Do not think that because you have status and serve God, you can stand in a high position and issue orders, and preach words and doctrines and shout slogans without feeling ashamed. This is an irresponsible attitude toward your own destination, toward God’s work, and toward the mission God has given to you. If you have such an attitude, you are in great danger; it will be easy for you to stumble, easy for you to fall, easy for you to go astray, easy for you to walk onto the path of antichrists, and easy for you to act contrarily to God’s requirements. To avoid this consequence, what should you do? At the very least, you should examine what transgressions you have committed or what detours you have taken in the course of serving God. You should learn lessons and derive experience, striving to ensure that the path you walk in the course of serving God in the future is not the path of the Pharisees, and is not the path of antichrists, but is the path of pursuing the truth. Can you understand when I fellowship like this? (We can understand.) Then let us conclude our fellowship here for today. Goodbye!

March 1, 2025