A Practical Question Brings About All Kinds of Embarrassments in People
There is another type of person who has the most tragic outcome of all. These are the ones that I like mentioning the least. It’s not tragic because this person receives God’s punishment, or that God’s demands on them are harsh and they have a tragic outcome. Rather, it’s tragic because they do it to themselves, as it’s often said: They dig their own grave. What type of person is this? This person does not walk the correct path, and their outcome is revealed in advance. God views this type of person as the utmost target of His loathing.
As people put it, these ones are the most tragic of all. This type of person is very enthusiastic at the outset of following God; they pay many prices; they have a good opinion on the outlook of God’s work; they are full of imagination about their own future; they are particularly confident in God, believing that God can make man complete, and bring man a glorious destination. Yet for whatever reason, this person then runs away in the course of God’s work. What does it mean that this person runs away? It means that they disappear without a goodbye, without a sound. They leave without a word. Although this kind of person claims to believe in God, they never really put down any roots on the path of believing in God. Thus, no matter how long they have believed for, they can still turn away from God. Some people leave to go into business, some people leave to live their life, some people leave to get rich, some people leave to get married, have a child…. Among those who leave, there are some who have an attack of conscience and want to come back, and others who are getting by very poorly, drifting in the world for years and years. These drifters have experienced a lot of suffering, and they believe that being in the world is too painful, and that they cannot be separated from God. They want to return to God’s house to receive comfort, peace, joy, and continue believing in God in order to escape disaster, or to be saved and obtain a beautiful destination. That’s because these people believe that God’s love is boundless, that God’s grace is inexhaustible and that it cannot be used up. They believe that no matter what someone has done, God should forgive them and be tolerant of their past. These people say they want to come back and do their duty. There are those who even donate some of their belongings to the church, hoping that this is their way back to God’s house. What is God’s attitude toward this type of person? How should God establish their outcome? Feel free to speak up. (Thought that God would admit this type of person, but after hearing that just now, maybe they won’t be admitted again.) And what’s your reasoning? (This type of person comes before God so that their outcome won’t be one of death. They don’t come out of genuine sincerity. Rather, out of knowledge that God’s work will soon be finished, they come under the delusion of receiving blessings.) You’re saying that this person doesn’t sincerely believe in God, so God can’t admit them? Is that it? (Yes.) (My understanding is that this kind of person is an opportunist, and they don’t sincerely believe in God.) They have not come to believe in God; they’re an opportunist. Well said! These opportunists are the type of person that everyone hates. They just go with the flow, and can’t be bothered to do anything unless they get something out of it. Of course they’re despicable! Do any other brothers or sisters have a viewpoint? (God will not admit them anymore because God’s work is about to be complete and now is when people’s outcomes are being set. It’s at this time that these people want to come back. It’s not because they really want to pursue the truth; they want to come back because they see disasters descending, or they’re being influenced by external factors. If they really had a heart which was seeking after the truth, they would have never run away in the middle of the course.) Are there any other opinions? (They won’t be admitted. God really gave them opportunities, but their attitude toward God was to always pay Him no heed. No matter what this person’s intentions are, and even if they really do repent, God still won’t admit them. This is because God already gave them lots of opportunities, yet they already demonstrated their attitude: They wanted to leave God. Therefore, when they come back now, God won’t admit them.) (I also accept that God won’t admit this type of person, because if a person has seen the true way, experienced God’s work for such a long period of time, and can still return to the world, return to Satan’s embrace, then this is a big betrayal of God. Despite the fact that the essence of God is mercy, is love, it depends what kind of person it’s being directed at. If this person comes before God looking for comfort, looking for something to put their hope in, then this kind of person simply is not the type who sincerely believes in God, and God’s mercy toward them only goes this far.) God’s essence is mercy, so why does He not give this kind of person a little more mercy? With a little mercy, do they not then get an opportunity? Before, it would often be said: God wants every person to be saved, and does not want anyone to perish. If one among a hundred sheep is lost, God will leave the ninety-nine and search for the missing one. Nowadays, with regard to this type of person, if it’s for the sake of their true belief in God, should God admit them and give them a second chance? It’s actually not a difficult question; it’s very simple! If you truly comprehend God and have a real understanding of God, then not much explanation is needed; not much speculation is needed either, right? Your answers are on the right track, but there’s still some distance between them and God’s attitude.
Just now there were some of you who were certain that God couldn’t admit this type of person. Others weren’t too clear, believing that God might admit them, and might not admit them—this attitude is the more moderate one; and then there were those whose viewpoint was that they hope God admits this kind of person—this is the ambiguous attitude. The ones with the certain attitude believe that God has worked until now and His work is complete, so God doesn’t need to be tolerant of these people, and He won’t admit them again. The moderate people believe that these matters should be handled according to their circumstances: If this person’s heart is inseparable from God, and they’re still a person who truly believes in God, a person who seeks after the truth, then God shouldn’t remember their previous weaknesses and faults; He should forgive them, give them another chance, let them return to God’s house, and accept God’s salvation. However, if this person runs away once again, that’s when God can no longer want this person and it cannot be considered doing them an injustice. There’s another group who hope that God can admit this person. This group doesn’t clearly know if God is admitting them or not. If they believe that God should admit them, but God doesn’t admit them, then it seems that they are a little bit out of conformity with God’s viewpoint. If they believe that God shouldn’t admit them, and God happens to say that His love toward man is indefinite and that He’s willing to give this person another chance, then is this not an example of human ignorance being laid bare? In any case, you all have your own viewpoints. These viewpoints are a knowledge in your own thoughts; they’re also a reflection of the depth of your understanding of the truth and your understanding of God’s intentions. Well put, no? It’s wonderful that you have opinions on this matter! But as to whether your opinions are correct or not, there is still a question mark. Aren’t you all a little bit worried? “What is correct then? I can’t see clearly, and don’t know exactly what God is thinking. God didn’t tell me anything. How can I know what God is thinking? God’s attitude toward man is love. According to God’s past attitude, He should admit this person. But I’m not too clear on God’s present attitude—I can only say that maybe He will admit this person, and maybe He won’t.” Isn’t this ridiculous? This has really stumped you. If you don’t have a proper view on this matter, then what will you do when your church is truly faced with this kind of person? If you don’t deal with it properly, then maybe you’ll offend God. Is this not a dangerous issue?
Why do I want to ask about your views on what I was just discussing? I want to test your viewpoints, test how much knowledge of God you have, how much understanding you have of God’s intentions and God’s attitude. What’s the answer? The answer lies within your viewpoints. Some of you are very conservative, and some of you are using their imaginations to guess. What is “guessing”? It’s when you have no idea how God thinks, so you come up with groundless ideas on how God should think this way or that. You don’t actually know if your guess is right or wrong, so you voice an ambiguous viewpoint. Faced with this fact, what do you see? When following God, people seldom pay attention to God’s intentions, and seldom take heed of God’s thoughts and God’s attitude toward man. You don’t understand God’s thoughts, so when asked questions involving God’s intentions, involving God’s disposition, you get into a muddle; you are deeply uncertain, and you either guess or gamble. What is this attitude? It proves this fact: Most people who believe in God regard Him as empty air, as indistinct. Why do I put it like that? Because every time you are faced with a matter, you don’t know God’s intentions. Why don’t you know? It’s not that you just don’t know right now. Rather, from the beginning to the end you don’t know what God’s attitude is toward this matter. In those times that you cannot see and you don’t know God’s attitude, have you pondered it over? Have you sought it? Have you communicated it? No! This confirms a fact: The God of your belief and the true God are not connected. You, who believe in God, only ponder your own will, only ponder your leaders’ will, and only ponder the superficial and doctrinal meaning of God’s word, but do not truly try to know and seek God’s will at all. Isn’t that how it is? The essence of this matter is awful! Over many years, I have seen lots of people who believe in God. What form does this belief take on? Some people believe in God as if He were empty air. These people have no answer to questions of God’s existence because they can’t feel or be aware of God’s presence or absence, let alone clearly see or understand it. Subconsciously, these people think that God doesn’t exist. Some others believe in God as if He were a man. These people believe that God is unable to do all of the things that they are unable to do, and that God should think however they think. This person’s definition of God is “an invisible and untouchable person.” There’s also a group of people who believe in God as if He were a puppet. These people believe that God has no emotions, that God is a statue. When faced with a matter, God has no attitude, no viewpoint, no ideas; He’s at the mercy of man. People just believe however they want to believe. If they make Him great, He’s great; if they make Him small, He’s small. When people sin and need God’s mercy, need God’s tolerance, need God’s love, then God should extend His mercy. These people think up a God in their own minds, and make this God fulfill their demands and satisfy all of their desires. No matter when or where, and no matter what this person does, they will adopt this fancy in their treatment of God, and their belief in God. There are even those who believe that God can save them after they have aggravated God’s disposition. This is because they believe that God’s love is boundless, God’s disposition is righteous, and that no matter how people offend God, God won’t remember any of it. Since man’s faults, man’s trespasses, and man’s disobedience are momentary expressions of that person’s disposition, God will give people chances, and be tolerant and patient with them. God will still love them as before. So the hope of their salvation is still great. In fact, no matter how someone believes in God, so long as they are not seeking after the truth, then God holds a negative attitude toward them. This is because while you’re believing in God, maybe you treasure that book of God’s word, you study it every day, you read it every day, but you set aside the real God, you regard Him as empty air, regard Him as a person, and some of you simply regard Him as a puppet. Why do I put it this way? Because from how I see it, regardless of whether you’re faced with a matter or encounter a circumstance, those things that exist in your subconscious, those things that are developed within—none of them have any connection with God’s word or seeking after the truth. You only know what you yourself are thinking, what your own viewpoints are, and then your own ideas, your own viewpoints are forced onto God. They become God’s viewpoints, which are used as standards to be unwaveringly adhered to. Over time, proceeding like this puts you further and further away from God.
Understand God’s Attitude and Drop All Misconceptions of God
This God that you currently believe in, have you ever thought about what kind of God He is? When He sees an evil person doing evil things, does He despise it? (He despises it.) When He sees the mistakes of ignorant people, what is His attitude? (Sadness.) When He sees people stealing His offerings, what is His attitude? (He despises them.) This is all very clear, right? When He sees someone being careless in their belief in God, and in no way seeking after the truth, what is God’s attitude? You’re not totally clear on this one, right? Carelessness is an attitude that isn’t a sin, and it isn’t offending God. People believe that it shouldn’t be considered a blunder. Then what do you think God’s attitude is? (He’s unwilling to respond to it.) Unwilling to respond to it—what attitude is this? It’s that God looks down on these people, scorns these people! God deals with these people by giving them the cold shoulder. His approach is to set them aside, not engaging in any work on them, including enlightenment, illumination, chastening, or discipline. This type of person just does not count in God’s work. What is God’s attitude toward people who aggravate His disposition, and offend His administrative decrees? Extreme loathing! God is extremely enraged by people who are unrepentant about aggravating His disposition! “Enraged” is just a feeling, a mood; it can’t represent a clear attitude. But this feeling, this mood, will bring about an outcome for this person: It will fill God with extreme loathing! What is the consequence of this extreme loathing? It’s that God will set this person aside, and not respond to them for the time being. He will wait for them to be sorted out during the retribution. What does this imply? Does this person still have an outcome? God never intended to give this type of person an outcome! So is it not then normal that God currently doesn’t respond to this type of person? (Yes.) How should this type of person prepare now? They should prepare to take on the negative consequences caused by their behavior, and the evil they’ve done. This is God’s response to this kind of person. So I now clearly say to this type of person: Do not hold on to delusions anymore, and don’t engage in wishful thinking anymore. God will not be tolerant of people indefinitely; He will not endure their trespasses or disobedience indefinitely. Some people will say: “I’ve also seen a few people like this. When they pray they are especially touched by God, and they weep bitterly. Usually they’re also very happy; they seem to have God’s presence, and God’s guidance.” Don’t say that nonsense! Weeping bitterly is not necessarily being touched by God or having God’s presence, let alone God’s guidance. If people anger God, will God still guide them? Generally speaking, when God has determined to eliminate someone, to abandon them, that person already doesn’t have an outcome. It doesn’t matter how complacent they feel about themselves when they pray, and how much confidence they have in God in their heart; this is already unimportant. The important thing is that God doesn’t need this kind of confidence, that God has already spurned this person. How to deal with them afterward is also unimportant. What is important is that in the moment this person angers God, their outcome is already established. If God has determined to not save this type of person, then they will be left behind to be punished. This is God’s attitude.
Though part of God’s essence is love, and He extends mercy toward everyone, people overlook and forget the point that His essence is dignity as well. That He has love doesn’t mean that people can freely offend Him and He doesn’t have any feelings, or any reactions. That He has mercy doesn’t mean that He doesn’t have any principles in how He treats people. God is living; He really exists. He is not an imagined puppet or something else. Since He exists, we should carefully listen to His heart’s voice at all times, pay attention to His attitude, and understand His feelings. We shouldn’t use people’s imaginings to define God, and we shouldn’t impose the thoughts and wishes of people onto God, making God employ man’s style and thinking in how He treats mankind. If you do so, then you’re angering God, you’re tempting God’s wrath, and you’re challenging God’s dignity! Thus, after you’ve understood the severity of this matter, I urge each and every one of you here to be cautious and prudent in your actions. Be cautious and prudent in your speaking. And regarding how you treat God, the more cautious and prudent you are, the better! When you don’t understand what God’s attitude is, don’t speak carelessly, don’t be careless in your actions, and don’t carelessly apply labels. Even more, don’t arbitrarily come to conclusions. Instead, you should wait and seek; this is also a manifestation of fearing God and shunning evil. If you can achieve this point above all, and possess this attitude above all, then God will not blame you for your stupidity, your ignorance, and your unreasonableness. Instead, owing to your fear of offending God, your respect for God’s intentions, and your attitude of willingness to obey Him, God will remember you, guide and enlighten you, or tolerate your immaturity and ignorance. Conversely, should your attitude toward Him be irreverent—arbitrarily judging God, arbitrarily guessing and defining God’s meaning—God will give you a conviction, discipline, even punishment; or He will give you a statement. Perhaps this statement involves your outcome. Therefore, I still want to emphasize this once more, and inform everyone present to be cautious and prudent toward everything that comes from God. Don’t speak carelessly, and don’t be careless in your actions. Before you say anything, you should think: Would doing this anger God? Is doing this fearing God? Even for simple matters, you should still really try to figure these questions out, really consider them. If you can truly practice according to these principles everywhere, in all things, and all of the time, especially with regard to the matters you don’t understand, then God will always guide you, and will always give you a path to follow. No matter what people are displaying, God sees it all clearly, plainly, and He will provide you with an accurate and suitable evaluation of these displays. After you’ve experienced the final trial, God will take all of your behavior and sum it up completely to establish your outcome. This result will convince everyone beyond the shadow of a doubt. What I’d like to tell you is that your every deed, your every action, and your every thought will decide your fate.
from The Word Appears in the Flesh
No comments:
Post a Comment