Let us now read from the word of God, “Why do you believe in God? Most people are confounded by this question. They always have two entirely different viewpoints about the practical God and the God in heaven, which shows that they believe in God not in order to obey, but to receive certain benefits, or to escape the suffering of disaster. Only then are they somewhat obedient, but their obedience is conditional, it is for the sake of their own personal prospects, and forced upon them. So: why do you believe in God? If it is solely for the sake of your prospects, and your fate, then you’d best not believe. Belief such as this is self-deception, self-reassurance, and self-appreciation.” What kind of believer does God not praise? Isn’t it clear from the word of God? One kind are those who believe for the purpose of their prospects, their fate, and to be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Another type are those who believe for the purpose of escaping the suffering of disaster, so that they will not die during disasters. These two types of viewpoints are not praised by God. According to the word of God, this is not truly believing in God, these beliefs are “self-deception, self-reassurance, and self-appreciation.” Are these words of God correct? They are completely accurate. God speaks very clearly. Can we see what will be the ultimate outcome of those people who believe in God with the incorrect motivations and intentions? The ultimate outcome will be that each and every one of them will be eliminated. How can we explain these words “each and every one of them will be eliminated”? Their faith is in vain, and they will not achieve their purpose in the end. Some believe in order to escape the suffering of disaster, but disasters will befall them, and they will perish just the same. Some believe for their prospects and their fate, so that they will not descend to hell but rather ascend to heaven, but they will descend to hell just the same. So, for each and every one who believes in God with such wrong intentions, they must hurry to repent and make amends, and in their belief in God they must come to a clear understanding of God’s will. Do you not think that within religion there are many who believe in God for their prospects and their fate, in order to not descend to hell but rather ascend to heaven, in order to escape the suffering of disaster, in order to not die and continue existing whenever disasters befall them? There are many such people. This is something that we have spoken about. These people believe in the Lord to be able to eat their fill of loaves, but such belief is not approved by the Lord Jesus. There are many people who believe in the Lord in this way within religion, so the majority of people within religion will all be exterminated. Now you can see this clearly! It’s just as the Lord Jesus says, “for you compass sea a nd land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves” (Matthew 23:15). How does one enter religion to only become a son of hell? God does not approve those people’s faith, their faith is in vain! They believe in God within religion, and there are religious pastors, elders and Pharisees that control the church and do not allow them to seek the true way. So, for people that believe in God within religion, if they are unable to break away from the control and constraint of the religious Pharisees, they will undoubtedly meet their demise! Now can you see this clearly? So nowadays, are there such people in the house of God who believe in God and act the same as those in religion, who in their hearts sincerely want blessings for their prospects and for their fate, and who long to enter the kingdom of heaven? Of course there are. What is the meaning of those people who do not pursue the truth even a bit but do not leave God’s house? Some antichrists are expelled but still practice their faith in secrecy, they do not leave God. Why is this? Some say that these are people who want to be blessed. Now you understand! There are many who have been expelled but still believe, so what are they thinking? “The church has expelled me, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that God has expelled me, so I will go on believing in God just like before. No one has the power to strip me of my belief in God.” When you hear this person’s thoughts, it seems as though they still really have some faith, but what kind of faith is it? It is a recognition, a recognition that God has become flesh, a recognition that what God expresses is the truth. However, in their faith in God, for so many years, they haven’t accepted truth in the slightest, nor have they pursued the truth in the slightest, which is why, there hasn’t been the slightest change to their life disposition—they are those of empty faith!
Let’s go back and read more from the word of God, “If your faith is not built upon the foundation of obedience to God, then you will ultimately be punished as a result of opposing God.” The meaning of these words is very clear, they say if someone’s faith is not built on a foundation of obedience to God, then he will ultimately be punished because of his resistance to God. From these words, what kind of disposition can we discern in God? One that is intolerant of offense! Regardless of who you are, so long as you resist God, what will be your outcome? You will inevitably be punished! Unbelievers that deny God will be destroyed by God; religious people that oppose God will be punished by God, and if they do not repent, if they stubbornly refuse to the last, they too shall be destroyed by God. From this we can see that for each and every member of the human race, for all people on earth, if they are not able to obey God, then ultimately they will be destroyed by God. Isn’t this the truth? These words make known the truth that “The disposition of God is intolerant of offense, and each and every one that opposes God will ultimately be destroyed.” Some say, “All of the words of God are the truth, so how can you say that?” Look at these lines, each of them is the truth. Some say, “I cannot tell that they are the truth. The words that are spoken are correct, but I do not know whether or not they are the truth.” How can we solve this? Think about whether or not these words will come true, whether or not they will be honored. If the word of God has come true, if it has been honored, it proves that all lines from the word of God are the truth. When looking at whether or not the word of God is the truth, what do you base it on? Are you clear now?
In the word of God it is said, “All those who do not seek obedience to God in their faith oppose God.” These words are very true. “All those who do not seek obedience to God in their faith oppose God.” What does it mean to seek obedience to God? It is to learn to seek the truth in all things. What is the purpose of seeking the truth? To become obedient to God. If people do not seek the truth in all things, they will not understand the truth, so will they be able to become obedient to God? Some people say no. Why can’t they become obedient to God? Because they do not understand the truth, there is no way for them to be obedient to God. We see many perform their duties, and even serve as leaders and workers. What are their principles? These people believe that whatever they think is right is the proper and correct way to act. Are these kinds of people obedient to God? They act however they please, in the way that they feel is proper. These are people that act according to their own notions, they are not people who are obedient to God. I have heard that in many church gatherings abroad there are places where only a handful of people gather together, maybe 2 or 3 or 4 people. As soon as I heard this I felt like something was wrong. I had previously arranged there should be at the very least around 10 people in gatherings abroad, because overseas they are not ruled by the Chinese Communist Party. Many countries abroad have freedom of religion. They have freedom of religion, so regardless of how many people gather together, it is always lawful. But mainland China is under the control of the CCP. Atheists hold the power. They do not allow you to believe in God, and if you practice your faith in God they will arrest you. They will capture you and persecute you. Because of this, it is stipulated by the house of God that only 2 or 3 or at the most a handful of people gather together. This is to guarantee their safety. Some people follow these rules and when they go abroad they still gather together in small groups like this. Are these people that understand the truth? What kind of people are these? They are people that follow the rules, they do not understand the spirit, they do not know what it means to handle things in a principled way. I said that in gatherings abroad there should be at least ten people or so, at the very bare minimum 7 or 8, because if 7 or 8 people gather together in one place to fellowship over the word of God, that is just right, and the fellowship will be quite enthusiastic. That’s because within a group of 7 or 8 people there will be at least 2 or 3 who understand the spirit and have experience. Let us assume for the moment that roughly half will understand the spirit, have experience, and love the truth, and roughly half will not love the truth. Among a group of believers, roughly half love the truth and are able to accept the truth, and roughly half do not. This way, in a group of 7 or 8 people, there should be at least 3 or 4 that understand the spirit and love the truth. So among those gathered, whenever these 3 or 4 people fellowship about the truth, they have much to say. It’s not a single person trapped in isolation trying to fellowship about the truth. At the very least, 2, 3 or 4 people will be able to fellowship about the truth, so the majority of people will be able to gain. If 2, 3 or 4 people gather together, at best there will be 1 or 2 that understand the spirit, but if they don’t have any experience, what will they be able to say during fellowship? Will people enjoy listening to them? If they are unable to talk about anything related to the spirit, if they are not able to shed any light on the word of God, will the gathering be enjoyable? There would be nothing to enjoy. So in gatherings abroad, it is best to have at least 7 or 8 people come together. A dozen would be even better, and twenty-something would also be allowable. Even if you get tens or hundreds of people together in large gatherings, it would be fine. Some leaders say, “I do not accept these words, I will not obey them.” What’s wrong with this? You cannot obey them? Do you want to control the church? Do you want to control God’s chosen people? Do you want God’s chosen people to gather only in the way you see fit? Do you want them all to hear the nonsense coming out of your mouth? Is this acceptable? What kind of leader is that? Is this a person that obeys God? This is the arrangement of God’s house, yet they dare to publicly resist, publicly oppose, and refuse to practice. Is this being obedient to God? These kinds of false leaders are scattered everywhere. God’s chosen people can unmask these false leaders and deal with them. What is it to believe in God but to not be able to obey God? This is to belong to Satan and devils, it is the same as being an unbeliever. God’s house does not allow the satanic to wield power. Believers must choose someone that obeys God as their leader, they cannot choose one who resists God. This you must understand!
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