What does being an honest person have to do with practicing the truth? We all have had some entry in eating and drinking and experiencing God’s words in the past but have had no evident accomplishments in practicing the truth. Because we have not thoroughly understood the truth, we have made many deviations in practicing God’s words. Most people are only abiding by the rules and regulations and only know how to do so, thinking that doing so is practicing the truth. Man’s treating abiding by the rules and regulations as practicing the truth proves that he does not understand the truth, and neither does he understand the essence of God’s word, God’s will in His word and what He actually requires of man. Man thus takes God’s word and requirements as a set of rules and regulations to abide by, thinking that doing so is practicing the truth. Thus, man would remain unable to gain the truth and unable to truly live by God’s word no matter how many years he has believed in God. What is the problem that causes man not to be able to understand the truth? It is that man does not pursue the truth. Some, on the other hand, say, “I would like to understand and gain the truth, but I just can’t understand it.” What does this show? It shows that they do not know how to pursue the truth and gain it. Man’s prayers in the course of his fellowshiping with God are all for his own flesh. He asks many things of God, but has never asked God to work the truth into his heart and has never asked the Holy Spirit to enlighten and illuminate him and to reveal God’s word and the truth in his heart. Man’s pursuit is therefore not for gaining the truth but for receiving God’s grace. This way, man is destined not to have the truth or to enter into reality even after having believed in God for many years. Why is it that people are not able to understand the truth after they have listened to sermons for years? Because they have neglected the biggest issue, which is that they have not truly fellowshiped with God and are not honest people before God. This is the root and the key of the problem. That people do not have a true fellowship with God when they are before Him proves that they are too deceitful and they neither love the truth nor are willing to fellowship with God. As a result, most people simply go into religious rituals in fellowship with God. They only talk to themselves when they pray. They pray not to God but for man to hear. When you tell them to pray from their heart, they seem to understand, “I know how to pray this time. Praying means to tell God what is in our heart rather than to conduct a religious ritual.” Though they say that they understand, their practice still looks like a religious ritual. Such people pray for as long a time as religious people do. Religious people can pray for ten, twenty or even thirty minutes, and nowadays some preachers and church workers can pray for just as long. What is the problem here? Why do they still engage in religious rituals even after having listened to sermons for such a long time? What does this show? This shows that they are not honest and upright. They are not honest people and only say words that deceive God. They say that they understand God’s will and know how to live before Him and pray, but what they practice is still religious rituals. This is even more serious. Some people even compete with one another. “I will pray for fifteen minutes if you do so for ten. I will pray more eloquently than you do. I’ll see whose prayer is more eloquent.” Can these people actually understand the truth? It is hard to say, and it is troublesome. Now I have my doubts about such people. Where does this kind of person’s problem lie? Why can’t they understand the truth? Finally I am certain about this: They are not honest before God, and they are too crafty and full of deceit. As they are not honest people, they cannot gain the truth. As they are not honest people, they do not truly love the truth. This is the root of the problem. When a person who truly loves the truth prays to and fellowships with God, he speaks and expends effort in order to pursue and seek the truth. His thoughts are on seeking the truth. When a person who does not love the truth prays to God, he only speaks things for show and goes through the motions. He practices deceit and fraud to show people and seek their approval. Such people are dishonest and too deceitful. Therefore, only by being an honest person can one pursue the truth, have true fellowship with God, be enlightened and illuminated by the Holy Spirit and receive the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the most basic. If a person has no entry into the truth and does not have the reality of God’s word after he has believed in God and listened to sermons for a few years, it shows that he is not honest and is not one who pursues and truly loves the truth. Is this not the case? It is absolutely so. … Honest people pursue the truth because they love the truth. What about dishonest people? They do not love the truth. They like doctrines. They like to explain things to people and do things for people. They like to show off. So, they focus on speaking. Isn’t this being a phony person? Isn’t this being a deceitful person? Deceitful people are concerned about their outward appearance. Just like the Pharisees, they prayed for show. They prayed in intersections so that everyone could see them pray, so that people from everywhere could see them pray. They appeared to be so devout on the outside! But what were they actually doing? They were being total cheats and total phonies. Honest people love the truth. When in the presence of God, they do not have the heart to do any other things except for pursuing the truth, trying to grasp God’s will, and having a willingness to satisfy God. They don’t harbor so many cunning plots, they do not have so many selfish and despicable ideas. They have pure hearts. In everything, they just ponder over this one thought: “How can I satisfy God? What exactly is God’s will?” If they don’t understand, they pray continuously and ponder over it continuously until they have figured it out. Aren’t people like this honest people? Therefore, honest people love the truth, so they will surely pursue the truth. In their prayers before God, they do not ask for anything besides pursuing and seeking the truth. If you ask them to not seek the truth or to not grasp God’s will in their prayers, they will feel they have nothing to say, for they feel that these are the only things that they can do before God, they feel that it is pointless and hollow to do anything else besides these things. They are not willing to do false things. Those deceitful people are not like this. They are always boasting and showing off before God, speaking of their own reasoning, telling their abilities, and showing off their achievements. In fact, everything they do is for others to see, they want others to approve them, praise them and listen to them. All those who do not pursue the truth, do not seek and try to grasp God’s will, and do not thirst for the truth before God are deceitful people, phony people, hypocritical people. Therefore, such people show no progress after having listened to sermons for a few years. Are you clear what the root of the problem is now? Some people say, “They are rather fervent in pursuing the truth.” There are some of you who say that, aren’t there? Let me ask you then: Why don’t we find any progress in them if they did? Does God practice favoritism? Is He unfair in treating people? What kind of people pursues the truth then? Is it the one who prays for a long time? No, the key lies in whether he is an honest person. An honest person may speak but a few words when he prays before God, but he speaks from his heart. A deceitful person speaks a hundred or a thousand sentences but not one sentence is from the heart. All that he speaks are falsehoods, deceits and lies, aren’t they? Now we are certain that if one is an honest person, he can surely open his heart to God and seek the truth before Him, and he is a person who pursues the truth. So only a truly honest person is one who loves the truth and pursues it and one who is willing to practice the truth. If we can neither see how someone practices the truth nor any testimony of doing so in him although he promises to do so and speaks nice words during prayers, what is the problem here? This proves that he is not one who practices the truth. … By being an honest person one is able to have true fellowship with God. Only by being an honest person is one able to truly receive the work and the leading of the Holy Spirit. If he possesses the truth, he shall be used by the Holy Spirit. Only if someone is an honest person is he one who truly loves and practices the truth. Does a deceitful person love the truth? What deceitful person do you see loves the truth? Find me one. A deceitful person does not love the truth. The truth seems to be the preserve of an honest person. A deceitful person would not be able to get possession of or obtain it even if he tried to, because his way does not conform with or match the truth. A deceitful person’s actions resist and oppose the truth, and so his actions surely contravene the truth. Let us observe some other people. Look at all those who have been a leader or worker in God’s family but who do not have the truth and the testimony of practicing the truth and are dishonest people. Do their actions not contravene the truth? Do their actions not oppose the truth? They very well do. They all contravene and oppose the truth. We often had this saying in the past, “All those who do not bear witness for God and exalt God are antichrists.” Why is this so? It is because if they do not bear witness for God and exalt God, they would surely show off themselves, work for their own status, and speak for their own status, for their own reputation and for the protection of their own interests. Is this not being hostile to God? Therefore, it is appropriate and totally fitting to say that they are antichrists. Now we can say that all deceitful people are antichrists. Even if they have not done too many things that antichrists do right now, we will eventually see clearly that the path that they are on is the path of antichrists. Can you see clearly now? Only by being an honest person can you love the truth and practice it. A deceitful person does not love the truth, much less can he practice it. This is the relationship between being an honest person and practicing the truth.