The Truth is the Way to Sanctification

Today, let us summarise the Book of Titus: proclaim the truth and build a holy church.

The truth is the way to sanctification. Our God is a holy God, and we must live out a holy life. However, the truth is easily distorted. For example, relying on faith without works, people think life is meaningless, and then indulge in gratifying the flesh, eating and drinking well, thinking that since death is inevitable, why not? Isn't that destructive? It is very easy to draw a crooked line; almost any random line will be crooked. But to draw a straight line without a ruler is quite difficult. Therefore, the truth is the way to sanctification.

In today's churches, many distort the Bible. They seize upon one verse and think it is the whole truth, which is destructive. Who are we fighting against in life? Actually, we are fighting against the flesh. The flesh is destined for death; it is the key to a person living like an animal. Therefore, people must spend their entire lives overcoming the evil desires of the flesh through the Holy Spirit. Those who are carnal are certainly impure and cannot be holy.

Chinese Mingding Doctrine is the way to proclaim the truth and build a holy church. Some people ask us: Are you Charismatic or Evangelical? Evangelicals think they possess the truth. They say they know God, but in many ways, their actions are far from the example of Jesus Christ. They claim to know God, but their actions contradict His words. Isn't that fatal?

The Charismatic movement is similar. The key problem is the inability to systematically and clearly explain the truth. How can a holy church be built? Chinese Mingding Doctrine is actually a theology that resembles Jesus Christ. It proclaims the truth, builds a holy church, and belongs to the Jesus faction. However, our understanding of Jesus still has many deviations, problems, and things to practice.

The truth is the way to sanctification. Christians spend their entire lives running forward on this path of holiness. It is like refining gold and silver. When is it refined to 99.99% purity? It is relatively easy to refine 80% purity, which is called 18K gold. But 20K and 24K gold require very difficult craftsmanship.

When we look at ourselves in the mirror of God's Word, we will find that we are impure, dirty, and gratifying the flesh. Those who are carnal are enemies of God because the flesh wars against the Spirit. The Spirit is even too lazy to contend with evil spirits, which are actually under the control of God's Spirit.

The Truth is the Way to Eternal Hope

The truth is fully explained in the Book of Titus. The truth is the way to eternal hope. If you have the hope of eternal life, you will belittle the things of this world. Why can you overcome the flesh and mortify its evil deeds in your logical system? Because you have received the hope of eternal life. If you value this life too much, don't even think about it; where does the hope of eternal life come from? It is all the hope of this life. Do you understand? Therefore, the hope of eternal life is very important.

How many people in this world have the hope of eternal life? Why do people love money? They only have the hope of this life. Why can't people see through the things of this life? Because they don't have the hope of eternal life; they only see the benefits in this life and focus on the things of this life. Some people ask us: Why can't God let Christians' wealth surpass so-and-so? What do you want to surpass them for? What is your hope? This is the truth, the truth with the hope of eternal life.

The Truth is the Way to Doing Honest Work

Some people think: I must mortify the flesh, I don't love the world, and I won't do honest work. What is this logic? These two things are not connected, are they? Does holiness have anything to do with not doing honest work? How can you be holy if you don't do honest work? Having the hope of eternal life, this life is all vanity, giving yourself a bunch of excuses for laziness, isn't it? The truth is the way to doing honest work.

A sister shared with me that her former pastor sold all his property and then rented a house. I thought, if he sold everything and rented a house, he should have a lot of money in his account, right? Later, he couldn't even afford to rent the house.

This pastor doesn't do honest work. He emulates Peter. I must say, he may really have the hope of eternal life, and he may really be mortifying the evil deeds of his flesh, not loving the world, not loving money, not gratifying the flesh, and having the hope of eternal life, but he doesn't do honest work. His only hope in life is to build a large cathedral with a spire, right? A cathedral is not a church. The difference between building a cathedral and building a church is huge. Building a cathedral is a building, building a church is a group of people. Are they the same? He immediately misunderstood the truth he received.

The Apostle Paul spoke with great confidence. He said: "Charge that to my account." Isn't that written in the Book of Philemon? Because Paul was capable, he did honest work, and his words were very forceful. He said: "These hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions." That is to say, how much money did he earn doing these things? He earned a lot of money. He could have relied on the church to support him, but because he was capable. If we can be like God, can our work be poor? It cannot be poor.

Doing honest work, some people ask: Teacher, when I do honest work, I have the logic of a strongman. You do honest work in a mess and still have the logic of a strongman? I think it is still the logic of a weakling, isn't it? How can that be related? Not loving money doesn't mean not having money, and not loving the world doesn't mean not doing honest work, right? Doing honest work and loving the world are not very related either.

Among us, some accountants mess up the accounts as soon as they start working. Do you think they are holy? Do you think they don't love the world? Then they get scolded by the boss. After being scolded, what happens? They still feel wronged: Teacher, you see, I even paid the salaries to those who have left the company. Those who are no longer in the company, you paid their salaries, how do you get it back? I ask you, isn't that a mess? He said: Teacher, actually, I don't love money at all. I even paid the company's money to those who have left the company. He didn't say he wanted to do that; he just kept making mistakes. Isn't that fatal? Doing honest work, but messing it up.

You must thank God that you have a pastor who does honest work. Not only does he do honest work, but he does it very well. Why do I want to do honest work? I want to live out the image of God, which includes being able to accomplish things.

Stay Away From Vain Things

Paul wrote to Titus in Crete. Cretans are lazy and gluttonous. Do you know that some provinces in China are very diligent, but also love money very much? And some provinces are not diligent at all, very lazy.

When I first arrived in Singapore, Chinese bosses hired some natives to work as laborers. You can't give them too much money. If they receive a month's salary, they won't come to work the next month. They spend half a month, and then they come back to work. Some people receive their salary today and don't come to work tomorrow. When the money is spent, they remember to come back to work. It sounds like a joke, but that is their normal state. I thought, how can the economy of this place be good?
You see, some countries have a lot of fat people, with a large cup of Coke in their left hand and a large bag of popcorn in their right hand, weighing over 300 pounds. How can they work?

People like to engage in vanity and talk about genealogy, such as claiming to be descendants of Zhu Yuanzhang. But other than having a face that looks a bit like Zhu Yuanzhang, they don't have any of his abilities. What's the use? They just like to talk about vain things. Brothers and sisters, be sure to cherish your time and don't waste it on these things.

The other night, someone called me. I was ministering, so I rejected the call. The next day, he sent me a message saying that he had found his pastor to minister to him. He was chatting with another old woman, who was talking about how her father had let her down and didn't give her money. As a result, he related to her and felt that his father also owed him something, similar to the old woman's situation.

When we face our Heavenly Father, we often feel like this son, thinking that He owes us. We pray: Lord, why haven't you fulfilled what I want? Didn't you say you love me? Didn't you say you are my Heavenly Father? Why haven't you responded after I have prayed for so long? Actually, the Heavenly Father is always there. He loves us, He cares for us, but sometimes His arrangements are different from our expectations. But we must believe that His will is good, and He will fulfill what He has promised, but the time has not yet come. Therefore, we must learn to wait and continue to pray in faith, believing that our Heavenly Father knows what is best for us better than we do ourselves.

After he told me about it the next day, I said that this is called idle talk. Idle talk corrupts people and corrupts oneself. Don't fall into this idle talk. So we must stay away from vain things and stay away from those contentious things. Because it cannot edify people, it distorts the truth. How is it distorted? It is distorted by arguing and talking about vain things. As they talk, people become confused.

You must stay away from vain things, genealogies, and arguments. These have no meaning. Building a church must be built on the Word of God, the Word of Jesus Christ, which is the rock we are talking about. The church must be built on the rock of Jesus Christ, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. If the church doesn't even have the truth, what kind of church are you building? So you must preach well and make the truth clear.

The devil is very good at using double agents, planting people in the church to corrupt it. They will also build God's glorious church with you. Do you want them or not? If you want them, they will cause corruption in the church.

Reject Those Who Are Deviant and Rebellious

With the truth and the scriptures, you will know those who are deviant. With the way, you will know those who are rebellious. What does it mean to abandon God's Word? They say they know God, but their actions contradict His Word. What are these people doing in the church? They are there to cause trouble.

I am very serious about the Word of God, very, very serious. I have learned a deep lesson from the mistakes of others. So many times, when these same people come to the church, I just let them play, right? Some pastors don't have the Word of God. For example, if someone comes who has power and influence in their family and connections everywhere, they say: Pastor, I will protect you. I have connections, I can help you smooth things over. Pastor, I want to make you a world-famous pastor. Then the pastor is so happy, are they coming to build the church?

When I see this, I think, oh my gosh, isn't this fatal? The problem is that people don't have the way, they don't have wisdom, and they just want to become world-famous pastors. If they come to me, what do I want that for? Someone says: Pastor, I'm here to help you build the church. Let's make it big and strong. I say: You want to go to jail, right? What do I want to make it big and strong for? Am I stupid? Make it big and strong? Someone says: Pastor, let's build the church into a ten-thousand-member church. Go ahead, what do I want a bunch of garbage for?

So our church has a very special characteristic: rejecting those who are deviant and rebellious. Don't listen to what they say. Take the way of God, take the Word of God, and use spiritual eyes like a demon-revealing mirror to shine on them. Oh, it turns out to be a celestial dog, right? When you shine on them, wow, it's a skeleton spirit. When you shine on them, wow, it turns out to be a spider spirit, a fox spirit. Isn't that fatal? Oh, I just think the church needs to be cleansed. If you don't have the ability to judge, if you don't have the truth, how can you judge? Right? Judging is not condemning.

I tell our small group leaders: "Be careful, be careful." The small group leaders say: "Aren't we serving with all our heart, soul, and strength?" I say: "You have to be careful. What are they here for?" The small group leaders say: "They are here to seek God, right?" I say: "I don't see that." They recently broke up and are looking for someone to chat with. Our small group leaders, do you want to chat with them with all your heart, soul, and strength? We don't want to, we don't have that time. I often say, don't be afraid of making mistakes, but we are not condemning, we have to judge.

Some people, when they come into the church, they are already deviant and rebellious. They come to sell things. Someone says: Teacher, you see, I sell insurance. You are always saying that you can't sell insurance in the church. Where am I supposed to sell it? Can't you sell it to those who need insurance? Can't God bless you with a group of customers who really need insurance? Do you have to sell it in the church? Right?

Someone says: Teacher, you see, I do direct sales. I rely on this stuff to maintain my health and make a living. I say: Yes, I don't object to you doing direct sales, but don't come to the church to do direct sales. If you come to the church to do direct sales, isn't that rejectable? Isn't that hateful? Coming to the church to do direct sales, coming to the church to do P2P.

If people sneak into the church like this, even if I don't deal with them, God will deal with them. Aren't you afraid of God? You can make a living, but you have to make a living by doing honest work. If you don't do honest work, how can you make a living? Right? Of course, you say, is selling insurance an honest job? Of course it is an honest job. I really hope you sell insurance very well, right? But you are here to build the church. God wants to bless you, so your insurance sells better than others. You can be the top salesperson, right? It's great to be the top salesperson outside. There are many people in the world who need insurance.

Use the Truth to Build a Holy Church

Even at the moment of his departure, Paul's heart was concerned about the church. I can deeply feel Paul's feelings. It's not good, really not good. How much time did Timothy and Titus spend with those who spoke vain words? They spent a lot of time. Otherwise, Paul wouldn't have written these words. Why did he spend so much time? Because they didn't know.

The things that Paul was worried about all happened after Paul left the world, so the church has become what it is today. Therefore, what is most lacking in this world are preachers who receive the truth, obtain their destiny, and build holy churches. If God really finds one, isn't this Abraham? Isn't this Isaac? Isn't this Jacob? Jacob's faith surpassed Isaac's faith, and Isaac's faith surpassed Abraham's faith. That's amazing. If you can be like Joseph, that would be even more incredible. So when God sees such a person, He blesses them, and God is with you.

Does the devil know that God is with you? The devil knows. Do you know that God is with you? You know. If this generation can raise up batch after batch of people who love God and build holy churches with the truth, God will bless you. If you are really such a person, receive the truth well. God is not short of money. God just pinches a little bit of blessing from heaven, boom! We say it's like a booger-sized blessing flicked from heaven onto your head, and you won't lack anything in this life.

Brothers and sisters, you really need to know what Jesus Christ exchanged with His precious blood and life. It is a priceless treasure. There are not many people who really treat this as a priceless treasure. If you treat this as a treasure, then you are amazing. God and the angels in heaven will rejoice, and another one has been found.

Brothers and sisters, if you are a preacher leading a group of people here listening to my summary of the Book of Titus, I will give you the best advice: use the truth to build a holy church. I have drawn a circle around the church. Some churches are outside the circle. They are not part of the church, but people the church should serve. Building a church is building people to serve. Building a church is not building a group of consumers, but building a group of people who serve, building a group of Abrahams, Isaacs, and Jacobs of this generation, using the truth to build a holy church.

When Paul sees us in heaven, such a group of people who can seriously treat his writings of 1 Timothy, Titus, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and Romans, when we understand what Paul meant, Paul in heaven will also feel: Yes, yes, that's what I meant, that's what I meant. We are also very comforted, and Paul is also very excited in heaven.

Throughout the ages, in our generation, we have created Chinese Mingding Doctrine, which is a theological system that is consistent with the words of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul in building a church. Not only that, I think God has also given us a mission to deeply explore in this generation how to do pastoral care, how to build a holy church, and how to enable people to live out a holy life, because the church is composed of a group of people.

If you are a preacher and you hear me say this, don't think I'm bragging. If you are really willing, carefully examine the Bible and see if what I am saying is true or not. The Book of Titus is too condensed. Although it sounds a bit verbose, its key points are firmly nailed to the wall like nails, which are very critical. These are all key points. The summary of the Book of Titus ends here.

May God bless everyone!

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