Some people can endure hardships, work hard, pay the price, they show
good behavior on the outside and are well-respected, and others give
them the thumbs up and admire them—tell Me, what kind of behavior is
this? Can these types of outward behavior be considered as practicing
the truth? Can they be defined as satisfying God’s will? (No.) But why
do people, when they see people like this, always believe them to be
satisfying God, believe them to be walking the path of practicing the
truth and following God’s way? Why do some people believe this? There is
only one explanation; what is this explanation?
It is that many people’s hearts are still unclear about what practicing the truth is, what satisfying God is and what it is to genuinely possess the reality of the truth. Therefore, there are some who always get deceived by others who appear spiritual and noble, and who appear to be great people, and they are not discerning toward people who appear on the surface to be able to speak letters and doctrines, and who gain admiration through their outward speech and actions. They never look to see what the essence of these others’ deeds is, what principles they employ in their actions, what the aim of their deeds is, whether or not they truly obey God and whether or not they are truly people who fear God and shun evil. They are never discerning toward these people, but instead all the while they are getting acquainted with them, they gradually admire them and venerate them more and more, in the end taking them as their idols. What is the cause that brings about this kind of phenomenon? And furthermore, in their eyes some people see only these people—these people they believe to be their idols, these people they believe to have abandoned their homes and businesses and who appear to be able to pay the price—they see only them as people who truly satisfy God, who really have a good end and a good destination, and as people who are praised by God. What is the essence of this matter, when people can have this kind of belief? What is the resulting consequence of this matter? First let us say what the essence of this matter is. Concerning people’s views, the way people practice, the principles of practice that people adopt, and what every person focuses on ordinarily—whether they focus deeply or lightly, or focus on letters and doctrines or on reality—whatever aspect they focus on, what is the principle that people should keep to the most? Do you know? What is it that you should most know? Some people may say that the thing we should most know is God’s will, that the thing we should most know is how to obey God and how to satisfy God. But do you genuinely know what God’s will is? Some people say that God’s will is within His words, and that everything God says is His will. This is a rather general thing to say. People have some ignorant ways of doing things and looking at things, or they have one-sided ways of looking at things or practicing, and this has only one source; I shall tell you today what this is. Where does the reason for this lie? Although people follow God, read His words and pray to God every day, in fact they simply don’t understand His will. Is this not the case? If people understood His heart, understood what He likes, what He hates, what He wants to gain, what He casts aside, what kind of people He loves, what kind of people He doesn’t love, what kind of standards He uses to lay requirements on people, what method He uses to perfect people—if people understood all this, would they still have their own individual thoughts? Would they still arbitrarily worship someone else? Would they still regard an ordinary person as their idol? If they understood God’s will, they would get closer to rationality and have some sense about how they see others. They wouldn’t arbitrarily regard a corrupt person as their idol, and nor would they hold to some simple rules and principles on the path of practicing the truth.
Let’s get back on topic. Since everyone is concerned with their own
end, do you know how God determines people’s ends? What method does God
use to determine a person’s end? And what standards does God use to do
this? Before a person’s end has been fixed, how does God work on them in
order to finally determine their end? Does anyone know this? As I said
just now, there are some people who have researched God’s words for a
long time to see what people’s ends will be, what categories people’s
ends fall into, what the different ends for people are, how people’s
ends are determined within God’s words and what standards, what methods
are employed to determine a person’s end; in the end, however, they get
nowhere. In fact, in God’s words there is just a little said about it,
there is not much at all. Why is this? Before people’s ends are
revealed, God does not wish to tell anyone their final outcome, nor does
He wish to tell them prematurely what kind of destination awaits them,
for to do this would bring them no benefit. I now only want to tell
people what? I want to tell people what method God uses to determine
people’s ends, and what work principles He employs to determine people’s
ends and to reveal their ends; I want to tell you what standards He
employs to determine whether you will remain or not remain, or whether
you will have some other end. Isn’t this something that most concerns
you? (Yes.) It concerns you a lot, doesn’t it? So how in human
conceptions does God determine people’s ends? Many of you said some of
it just now—some people said it was to do their duty faithfully and
expend themselves; some said it was being able to obey God and satisfy
God; some said it was submitting to God’s orchestrations; and then some
said it was being able to live an unassuming life. When you are
practicing these truths, when you are practicing in accordance with the
principles that you believe in, do you know what God is thinking? Have
you ever before considered whether or not you are satisfying God’s will
by doing what you do? Do your actions cater to God’s needs? Do they
cater to God’s requirements? I think most people don’t think of these
things. They just take a section of God’s words, a portion of the
sermons, or the standards of certain spiritual people they believe in
and they apply them mechanically, just doing things this way and acting
this way, regardless of the final outcome. They believe they are correct
to do things this way, so they always keep to this kind of path and
they keep doing things in this way. And what do some people believe?
“I’ve believed for so many years and I have always practiced in this
way. I feel I have satisfied God a great deal and have gained a lot,
because during this time I have understood many truths and have
understood many things I did not understand before. In particular, my
thoughts and views have been greatly transformed, and I have come to
know a great deal about the value of life and about this world.” They
think this is the harvest, and that this is the result God wants to
achieve with people. Taken together with what each of you practices, do
these standards satisfy God’s will? Some people say: “Of course they do!
Because we practice on the basis of God’s words, because we practice in
accordance with the sermons and fellowship of the brother, and because
we are always doing our duty, always following God and we have never
once left God, we can be confident and say boldly that we are satisfying
God. No matter how much we comprehend God’s will, no matter how much we
understand God’s will, we are now on the way of seeking to become
compatible with God. If we do right, if we act correctly, then the
outcome will certainly be right.” What do you think of this viewpoint?
Is it correct? Maybe some people will say: “I’ve never thought about
these things before. I only think that I always do my duty like this, I
always act in accordance with the requirements of God’s words, so that I
will be able to remain. I’ve never considered whether or not I’m able
to satisfy God’s heart, nor have I ever considered whether or not I have
met God’s required standards, as God has never told me, nor has He ever
pointed it out to me clearly. So I’ve always done it this way, and when
I am doing it I believe that God is with me. Doing it this way,
practicing this way, I believe that I am satisfying God, that God should
be satisfied, and that He shouldn’t require anything further.” Are
these thoughts correct? It seems to Me that you are being a little blind
by practicing in this way and having this kind of view. I say this and
some of you may well feel downhearted: “Blind? If we are being blind,
then doesn’t our hope for being saved and our hope to remain become very
slim and vague? Aren’t You pouring cold water on us by saying this?” No
matter what you may think, that which I say and do is not meant to pour
cold water on you, but rather to make you better understand God’s will,
better comprehend what God is thinking, what He means to do, what kind
of people He likes, what He hates, what He loathes, what kind of people
He wants to gain, and what kind of people He doesn’t want to gain but
detests and rejects. I only want you to know these things, to know
absolutely clearly and plainly exactly how far your actions and thoughts
have strayed from God’s required standards. Isn’t it necessary to talk
about these topics? (Yes.) Because I know that, having believed for such
a long time, and listened to so many sermons, these are the things you
most lack. You have recorded all the truths in your notebooks, and kept
some essential truths and some things you believe to be very important
in both your minds and in your hearts, and you plan to take these things
and use them to satisfy God when you are to practice, use them when
rainy days come, or you use them to help you get through each difficulty
you face, or you let them be your companions through life. But as far
as I’m concerned, regardless of how you do it, if you are just doing it,
this is not so important. What is important? What’s important is that
when you are practicing you should know clearly in your heart whether or
not what you do and how you behave is what God wants, and whether or
not what you do, what you think, what you aim for and the result you
mean to achieve in your heart satisfy God’s will and cater to God’s
requirements, and you should know clearly whether or not God approves
them. This comes down to an issue, and you should all take note of one
saying. I Myself believe this saying to be very important, as it comes
to My mind countless times every day. Why do I say this? Because every
time I encounter someone’s deeds, every time I listen to someone’s
story, every time I listen to someone’s experiences or their testimony, I
measure in My heart whether or not this person is someone whom God has
said He wants and likes. So what exactly is this saying? You all have a
wait-and-see attitude, all waiting. But when this saying is spoken aloud
you may perhaps feel disappointed, for there are certain people who
have paid it lip service for many years. But I haven’t ever paid it lip
service; where do I keep this saying? I keep it in My heart. To make it
easier for you to remember this saying clearly, I have added punctuation
to it. And what is this saying? The saying is “Follow the way of God:
Fear God and shun evil.” It’s a very simple saying, isn’t it? Although
it is simple, those who genuinely have a deep understanding of it will
feel that it carries much weight and that it is of great value to their
practice, and they will feel that it is the language of life and that it
is also highly practical. So do you think this saying is the truth?
Some people will be thinking about it, yet some will have their doubts
about this saying and will say, “Is this saying very important? Is it
really necessary to emphasize this saying so much?” And perhaps some
people won’t like this saying, because they believe that to regard the
way of God as being just this one saying is far too simple. By taking
everything God has said and boiling it all down to just this one saying,
they believe this is seeing God as too insignificant. Is this the case?
The majority of you will perhaps not entirely understand the profound
meaning of this saying. Although you have taken note of it, you don’t
plan on keeping it in your hearts; you just jot it down in your
notebooks, take it out to read through in your free time and just mull
it over for a while, and some people are not even planning on applying
it at all. But why do I say this saying? Regardless of your views and
regardless of what you think about it, this saying is of great relevance
to God’s determination of people’s ends, so I must needs say it to you.
No matter what your current understanding of this saying is or how you
approach it, I will still tell you that if you can practice this saying
well and achieve the standard of fearing God and shunning evil, you will
then have a very good end and will surely be someone who will remain,
someone who will have a good end. If you cannot live up to this saying,
then I can say that your end will be unknown. Therefore, first of all I
tell you this saying for your own mental preparation and so that you
know what kind of standards God uses to measure you. This saying is
right here and you have all taken note of it. But as I said just now,
this saying is extremely relevant to God saving mankind and to how He
determines people’s ends. How is it relevant? You really want to know
this too. Let’s talk about how this is relevant today.
In every age of God’s work amongst man, God bestows on people some
words and tells them some truths, and these truths are the way people
should hold to, and are that which people should practice and hold to as
they live, and throughout the course of their lives; this is God’s aim
in telling these truths to man. These words come from God and people
should hold to them; when people hold to them they then gain life. If
people do not hold to them and do not practice them, and they do not
have these words of God in their lives, then they are not practicing the
truth; when people do not practice the truth they are then not capable
of satisfying God; when people are not capable of satisfying God they
are then not able to be praised by God, and thus they will have no end.
So how does God determine people’s ends within His work? What method
does He employ to determine people’s ends? If I don’t talk about this
then you are perhaps unclear about it. But once I talk about this
process you may gain some clarity, for many people have already
experienced this matter before. Over the course of God’s work, from when
He began His work up until the present day, to each and every person—it
could be said to each and every person who follows Him—He gives trials
of varying degrees. Some people undergo trials whereby their families
abandon them, some undergo trials of environments, some undergo trials
whereby they face choices, and some face trials to do with their status
or wealth. In short, all manner of trials befall each and every person.
So why does God want to do this? Why does He want to treat each and
every person this way? What is the outcome God wants to see? It is as I
said just now, God looks to see whether or not someone is a person who
fears God and shuns evil. This means that when God gives you a trial,
when He causes you to encounter some environment, He then tests you to
see whether or not you are fearing God and whether or not you are
shunning evil. Suppose something happened to someone and this event
caused them to come into contact with offerings. Tell Me, is this event
arranged by God? There is no need to query this; everything you
encounter is all God’s arrangements. When this event happens to you,
what do you choose? God is watching how you choose, how you practice,
and what you think in your heart, and this is the outcome God wants to
see and that He is most concerned with. But when events happen to
people, they frequently don’t think this way; most people don’t think
this way. As soon as something happens to them, they say, “This has
happened to me and no matter what, it is God’s offering and I must not
touch it.” They think in such a simple way. They don’t go to touch God’s
offerings, nor do they think about it too deeply; they just think about
it in this simple way and then they’re done with it. Is the outcome of
this trial that they stand firm, or that they don’t stand firm? Tell Me.
(If someone has a God-fearing heart, then when something happens to
them whereby they come into contact with God’s offerings, they will
think it is something in which they can easily offend God’s disposition,
so they will certainly err on the side of caution.) You are kind of on
the right track, but you’re not quite there. How to explain this?
Following the way of God is not outwardly keeping some rule, but rather
it is when this event happens to you, you first of all see it as an
environment orchestrated by God, a responsibility given to you by God,
or something God has entrusted to you and, when it happens to you, you
even see it as God’s trial, and these thoughts come clearly to you. When
this thing happens to you, there must be a standard in your heart and
you must think that this event has come from God, and you must think how
you should handle it to not aggravate God and to not offend His
disposition. We spoke just now about the matter concerning offerings. It
is your duty to take good care of these offerings and it is your
responsibility; you are duty-bound to this responsibility, but is there
any temptation when this matter befalls you? (Yes.) Where does this
temptation come from? This temptation comes from Satan, and it also
comes from man’s corrupt disposition, from man’s evil, corrupt
disposition. But as far as God is concerned, what does it mean to you
when this matter befalls you? God wants to do this thing, and when it
befalls you it becomes a trial for you—it is a trial which has befallen
you. Some people ask, “This is such a tiny matter. Is it necessary to
make a mountain out of a molehill?” Yes, it is necessary. Because if we
want to follow the way of God, then we cannot see any tiny, minor matter
as being a small matter that can be ignored or paid no heed. But rather
regardless of whether a matter is big or small, regardless of whether
we see it as something we need to take heed of or not, so long as it is
something that happens to us we cannot let it slide, and we must see it
as God testing us. So what kind of attitude is this? This attitude
verifies a fact, and having this attitude proves that your heart fears
God and wishes to shun evil. When you have this desire to satisfy God,
then your practice will not be far from the standard of fearing God and
shunning evil. Is this not the case?
from The Word Appears in the Flesh
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