Introduction

Good morning. I will continue with the "Seeking God" series. What did we discuss previously? We must set our hearts to seek the Lord your God. "If you seek Him, you will find Him." Isn't that a wonderful statement? If you seek Him, you will find Him. And "seek the Lord and His strength." Wonderful words! Today, we will discuss "Seeking God's face, and God will hear our prayers." Let us consider this: how many prayers go unanswered? A great many. So, where does the problem lie? The problem is not with God, but with us. Are we truly seeking Him? Today, we will discuss the relationship between seeking God and God hearing our prayers. With so many prayers unanswered, is God truly a God who hears prayers?

So many prayers seem to go unanswered, especially among God's people, who are fervently casting out demons, unaware that those demons were sent by God. They pray diligently, sing praises fervently, some even fast and pray, and others serve tirelessly. Oh my, they serve so diligently, thinking that service will earn God's favor, only to find their efforts futile. I believe we are clear about seeking God, which is why our church does not promote emotional value; we promote understanding. Everyone must seek with understanding, take notes, and reflect. Later, I discovered that many people do not know how to learn, even after attending university.

Yesterday, I was ministering to a sister, a university graduate, who was struggling immensely with her work. It was not that she was particularly busy, but she struggled greatly. Why? Because she could not grasp the key points, nor did she reflect. So, it was particularly difficult for her. Do not assume that attending university equates to truly being educated. Some people, even after university, are at an elementary school level, perhaps needing to repeat elementary school because they cannot grasp the key points. I say this not to shame anyone, but to speak the truth. They do not know how to study, nor can they establish a framework, reading word by word, becoming completely confused. If you ask them what they have read, they know nothing. This is roughly the situation, a lot of busywork, but can they truly seek God in this way?

I do not deny that she has a heart for God, just as in recent years, many patients with severe illnesses have left a deep impression on me. You know, regardless of their illness, we pray, and they experience improvement. Then, we do not show them much consideration or understanding, immediately asking them to study. Why? Because without studying and knowing God, they continue to commit offenses against God. Can they truly get better? Do not assume that illnesses are caused by demons; those demons are sent by God.

If the demons are sent by God, why cast them out? It is not God casting out demons, but you casting them out. Do you understand? It is simultaneously casting out demons and addressing the filth within you. It is Jesus Christ shedding His precious blood for you, His blood covering your transgressions. It is not that you have truly changed; you are still far from being truly reformed. In reality, this is a tragedy. People believe that if they pray and pray and pray, they will be healed, but they are not. Why? Because God does not listen to such prayers.

Many years ago, I ministered to a sister, who has since passed away, so I will speak frankly. She cannot do anything to me now; she cannot come to me in the night and say, "Why are you talking about me?" It is easier to tell stories about the dead. I once went to a city, and my colleague brought her to me. When I saw her, oh my, her legs were like wooden sticks, swollen in such a way, both feet the same. What do you think that was? I tell you, I knew in my heart that many people's misfortunes are self-inflicted. Deserved as it may be, our God still has grace and mercy.

I thought, "You people are really bad," though I did not say it out loud; I thought it in my heart. "Why bring such a complicated case? Her legs are in such a state. To what extent has her body's kidney drainage capacity deteriorated?" But I did not dare to say it, lest I lose my own confidence. Mustering my courage, I gathered my faith and held her legs in my arms, covering them with my clothes. Whether her feet smelled bad was no longer important; I just held them in my arms. After praying for twenty minutes, I opened my clothes and saw that they were still the same. I prayed for another twenty minutes and opened them again, still the same. After praying for over an hour, finally, oh my, her legs returned to normal, all the swelling gone.

You ask me where the water in her legs went? I do not know. What great grace! But asking her to study God's word was incredibly difficult. She was not afraid of praying; she knew she needed to be humble, she knew she was inadequate, and she knew how to pray, even fasting and praying. But there was one thing she could not overcome: asking her to study 101 courses, 102 courses, she would tell you, "You might as well kill me." Why would I kill you? Is it not? Why would I kill you? You were already deserving of death. Oh my, she just would not study. As things progressed, her illness worsened, and the symptoms returned, her legs swelling again. Oh, people are like that.

Then, upon seeing me, she would tell me about the good deeds she had done. What good deed had she done? She had sponsored a poor, orphaned child to attend university. I said, "That's good." I thought, "She is sponsoring people to attend university all the time." Later, her small group leader asked her, "Who are you sponsoring?" She did not know. "Where do you send the money?" She did not know. "Who is that person? What is their phone number? Which university do they attend? What is their major? What are they studying?" She said, "I only know they are in Wuhan." Our sister said, "Then I can go and check, see if it's true, right?" She said she did not know, could not find out. Was she not being scammed? But she was proud of herself for doing great charity.

Later, I said, "You need to start learning about tithing." She said, "That won't work." Oh, because she was very ill, she needed to learn about giving, right? Lying down, unable to breathe; sitting, unable to sleep; and often experiencing sleep paralysis, and her legs swollen like that, oh my. If her illness worsened slightly, she would go to the hospital. If the hospital could not solve it, she would return, and if that did not work, she would go back to the hospital, going back and forth like that. In the end, she died miserably, could she not be miserable? Why did this person not know how to seek God? Not studying, not seeking.

Brothers and sisters, consider whether you are in a similar situation. That person has died, but there are still those who are alive. I tell you, my heart is anxious every day, anxious whenever I think about it. These are all people I have met. In my heart, oh, after speaking, I do not know if they will be hurt. If they are, so be it.

There was also a brother, quite coincidentally, when I went to see that deceased sister that year, I happened to be in that city. Then this brother came, his eyes were going blind. While driving, I prayed with him, ministering to him for nine months, and his eyes recovered. Actually, I do not really need him to repay my kindness, coming to see me from afar; that is meaningless. What I seek is for people to treat themselves well. His eyes fully recovered, but what then? He came to meetings, but he did not take notes.

If you do not take notes while learning, what can you learn? I know that if you do not write things down, you cannot learn anything. It goes in one ear and out the other, nothing remains. "It's good, it's good," right? He stayed for a year, stayed for two years, "It's all good." Later, his pastor had no choice but to lower the requirements, placing him in "Streams in the Desert."

In my heart, I tell you, oh, it is difficult to be a prophet. Is this not watching him walk towards ruin? I know it, but he does not. Eventually, his illness returned, deteriorating rapidly. If I could give you the best advice, it would be to seek God diligently. This person does not know the truth, does not know God, does not know how to live, only knows how to ruin himself. He had already ruined himself so much in the past, and if he continues like this, will it not be the same? Oh, in my heart, it is still very painful, wishing that people could understand that they are ruining themselves. Do you understand? Have you truly understood?

The year before last, during the Spring Festival, a brother's father could not open his mouth, unable to even insert a pill, only able to drink water through a straw for about a month, drinking milk, right? Unable to eat anything, unable to pry it open with pliers. Later, I tell you, I prayed for him and he was healed; this is definitely not bragging. After he was healed, he still said, "Oh, I know about demons, but definitely not the kind that Pastor Liu talks about." Okay, I can only remain silent, feeling helpless. Then at the airport, "bam," he fell, fainted, and was taken to the hospital, where they found a heart problem. His jaw opened, and the demon ran into his heart again. What do you think? It does not matter; they just put in a stent, right? Modern technology is so good, and it is cheap. If one stent is not enough, they put in two; if two are not enough, they put in three. It is good to put them all in, go ahead.

Let us not talk about these ordinary people, who, though they have experienced grace, do not really believe in the Lord. Even the big pastors are like this; they also get stents. What else can they do if they do not get stents? They do not know it is a demon; they do not know God. I am particularly moved, let them suffer. After people see it, after they have suffered enough, they start talking about those things of his. Is that seeking God? I tell you, Chinese Mingding Doctrine solves many perplexing problems. I tell you, there is no glory in such suffering. Even if someone is a Christian, perhaps a pastor, perhaps a big pastor, what good is it?

We have solved many perplexing problems. For example, why does this pastor have brain cancer? Because his brain is dirty. Because they treat serving God as helping God. I said in previous lectures that you cannot help God; only God can help you. You cannot help God. How can you not help God? Look how much God needs help! It sounds like you deserve a beating, right? God needs his help? It sounds terrible. I am particularly moved, there are still many among us that I cannot let go of, my heart is heavy. People do not seek God, or if they seek God, it is just a pretense.

There is a sister among us whose neighbor is a lonely old man. The lonely old man fell ill, and she preached the gospel to him. After preaching the gospel, oh my, the old man frantically copied the Bible, copying stack after stack. Then our pastor asked him, "Are you not tired from copying so much?" He said, "I am not tired; I used to copy Buddhist scriptures like this." Oh my, he is copying the Bible as if it were Buddhist scriptures, copying it to accumulate merit. What will happen to his illness? His illness will deteriorate, becoming increasingly severe. We thought copying the Bible was seeking God, but it is completely off track, right?

Oh, my heart, watching this person's condition deteriorate, and he does not even know it. Let us not talk about them; even among us, if nothing is happening, will you seek God? If nothing is happening, you are incredibly arrogant, you cannot even say anything, you grumble at everything, right? I tell you that you need to seek God diligently. What? Am I not seeking enough? Do you not like the way I look? I think you look fine, fine. Oh my, may God have mercy.

There is another sister among us whose hands and feet are cramping. You know, she is seeking little by little. Later, her hands loosened, and she could write and type again. But has she truly sought? I tell you, the most deadly thing is the garbage in people's minds. I wish that brothers and sisters could treat themselves well, completely destroying the worldly logic system within us. It is not that I need you to destroy it; it is that you need to treat yourself well, to know not to rush headlong down the path of self-abuse.

Do you think my words are heartfelt? Sometimes when I meet some brothers and sisters, I want to say something but do not want to say it, stuck there for a long time, unable to say it. If I say it, they will not listen; if I do not say it, oh, watching brothers and sisters walk towards ruin, unable to stop them, my heart grieves. Brothers and sisters, you must know that if the heavens are shut up so that there is no rain, or if locusts devour the land, or if pestilence strikes among God's people, these are small things, just the beginning. What if the diseases of the Egyptians are also given to God's people? Then God will open a way. If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven.

Brothers and sisters, can you hear this? I will say it again: If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I am particularly grateful to God; God is a God who hears prayers, but we ourselves hinder God, hindering God from hearing our prayers. When will we truly seek God? "Teacher, I have sought." I say, are you seeking God's face or God's backside? "Teacher, I am seeking God's face." Seeking God's backside is useless, do you understand? What are you seeking? If you do not know God, how can you know Him if you do not seek Him? If you do not know God, how can God hear our prayers? Do you understand?

So this year, we must once again completely destroy the bad habits within us. I tell you, it is closely related to the illnesses you have. Whatever the illness, whatever the financial loss, this statement is suitable for you. Humbling yourself and praying are easy to do, but seeking God's face is a bit difficult. You must know what it means to do things right. I tell you, speaking nonsense, doing nonsense, working nonsense, being skilled at doing things wrong is a common phenomenon, do you know that? It is too common. Oh, I hope everyone can listen to my nagging. Nagging and nagging, you are annoyed with me, and I am annoyed with myself, why am I always nagging? Can I not nag? Like an old nanny. Oh, for the sake of brothers and sisters being able to turn from abusing themselves and live a blessed life, I will be an old nanny once.

Scripture

The Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. (2 Chronicles 7:12-16)

Prayer

Let us pray together. God, we thank you, thank you for raising up our brothers and sisters who are willing to build a temple for your name. May your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. God, may your name be there forever, may your eyes and your heart always be with us. God, today we, your people who are called by your name, humble ourselves, pray, seek your face, and turn from our wicked ways. God, you will surely grant grace and mercy once again.

God, save us, save our brothers and sisters from sickness, from poverty, and deliver us from curses. Release us from this oppressed state and lead us onto the path of blessing. God, hear our prayers, may you be among us. May this church become the dwelling place of your name, may your name be exalted, may your name manifest its due power and glory. Let our brothers and sisters know you more. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Scripture Background

You know that Solomon, as a young man, began to build the temple of God. How did the building of God's temple come about? David, before his death, kept reminding him, like a nagging old woman: "You must seek God, seek God, seek God, seek God!" He spoke of it again and again. What is written in the Bible is just a few passages, but at home, David must have repeated it every day, didn't he? What is written in the Bible is just a few sentences, repeated so many times. "Solomon, come, call your mother, let's have dinner together as a family," and then he would say to him: "You must seek God!" Do you understand? This sentence was already imprinted in Solomon's mind.

As a result, Solomon really sought God, and all the difficulties, big and small, were resolved through seeking God. Let me correct something slightly. Actually, Solomon built the temple first, then his palace, seven years for the former and thirteen years for the latter. I might have said it wrong before. But before that, he had also renovated his own house, just not on such a large scale. This matter took root in Solomon's heart. And I tell you, why was Solomon so wise? Because he sought God. Unlike many of our brothers and sisters, who are extremely self-righteous and pay a heavy price for their self-righteousness.

Preferring to be self-righteous, preferring to suffer, I must insist that I am right. With this kind of attitude, how much suffering will you endure? Suffer slowly. This is the most poignant thing in my heart: if I speak too harshly, they won't listen and will rebel; if I speak too lightly, it's useless. If we do not have the logic of seeking God, we will become completely foolish and make ourselves miserable. Solomon was really wise. He deeply and firmly remembered what his father David told him about seeking God. David had a few times in his life when he didn't seek God and fell into a pit, resulting in heavy losses.

Once, in his later years, David counted the soldiers of Israel, and Solomon was there at the time. At that time, the Israelites had begun to become very arrogant, feeling how great the country was, looking at how many warriors, how many soldiers, how many missiles, and even eggs and duck eggs we had, so arrogant that God was about to be angry with the Israelites. Because people had forgotten God and stolen God's glory, thinking that the Davidic kingdom was so strong, the world's number one, the navy, army, and air force were the world's number one, and they could bully whoever they wanted. The Israelites were arrogant, which provoked David to count them. After the counting was done and the sin was committed, God struck down many people. Serves them right.

Just that one time of not seeking God left a very deep impression on David, and Solomon was also deeply impressed. Later, when building God's temple, Solomon would quickly ask God about everything he didn't understand. This part is not clear, how does this part not match up? God, God said this part of the craftsmanship is wrong, you have to do it that way, and that's how he came through. As a result, after this matter was completed, when Solomon dedicated the temple to God, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices that Solomon had offered, and then the glory of the Lord filled the temple. It was a visible light. Solomon, with the people of Israel, saw the glory of the Lord filling the temple and declared: The Lord is good; his love endures forever. Do you know how this glory came about? Solomon was a seeker.

Today, our brothers and sisters must adjust and get rid of that self-righteousness. I want to pour a bucket of cold water on your self-righteousness. Go back and write down what you have grown in the past year. If you are not self-righteous, but overcome your problems as soon as you see them, how is it possible not to grow? If you can't find any areas of growth, do you just think you are good? Day after day, year after year, three full meals and two naps, how is it possible to grow?

So our brothers and sisters must know, don't wait until God kicks you before you think of taking a step forward, that is foolish. We must imitate Solomon's seeking. Do you know how many sacrifices were offered that day? Twenty-two thousand cattle. Think about it, twenty-two thousand cattle, if one cow occupies one square meter, that's more than twenty thousand square meters, as big as a football field, completely filled. There were one hundred and twenty thousand sheep, a real mountain of cattle and a sea of sheep. My goodness, that scene was so shocking to the Israelites that everyone didn't want to leave, just wanting to enjoy being in the glory of God. I tell you, this is my dream, to build a church full of God's glory is what I seek in my life. We must seek God well. Many people think that my leading you in Bible study and preaching comes out of thin air, but I put in a lot of effort. Every Sunday, every Bible study, is a research achievement.

After the Israelites kept the festival and the hustle and bustle passed, Solomon let the people go home. Go home to do what? To read the Bible well. I tell you, that kind of hustle and bustle is useless. What I dislike the most is these kinds of activities. A long time ago, I felt that activities were useless. Some churches organize retirement meetings, gathering in hotels with their children to eat, drink, and have fun, with only a short period of time in the middle to talk about something. I never do these things, and I didn't like to go in those years. The pastor asked me if I wanted to attend the retirement meeting. I said I didn't have time, and even if I had time, I wouldn't go. Because I didn't know what to do there, I didn't like to play, and I didn't like to eat much. I thought it was very boring. I like to calm down and seek and understand God well.

I feel a little comforted that those who are seriously ill and whose conditions are deteriorating, although I cannot minister to you one-on-one, my heart is still very satisfied. I have found the answer, and that answer is: humble yourselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn from your wicked ways, and God will surely hear from heaven. That is so good. When everything is quiet, God did not speak to Solomon during that hustle and bustle. Only when everyone was quiet did God appear to Solomon in the night.

I was thinking, God, when glory fills the temple, and then you speak in the air, not just appearing to Solomon, but appearing to all the people of Israel, how good would that be. And there are twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep, the cattle listen, the sheep listen, and the people listen. No, God appeared to Solomon in the night. Why? I ask you, how many people in Israel truly seek God? There are plenty of people who like activities. If all the Israelites were seekers of God, not just extras under Solomon's management, would God say these words to these people in the temple? Yes, He would. That is why seeking finds.

I long for God to reveal Himself to each of our brothers and sisters. God appears to those who seek Him, to those who love Him. I thank God, God is truly a real and living God. God said, "I have heard your prayer." Why did He hear his prayer? Because he sought God. "I have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice," because of Solomon's prayer, this temple became a place where God hears prayers.

And then what does it say? "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain," can you understand these words? "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people." These words sound a bit off, don't they? Shouldn't it say what happens during gatherings, what happens during sacrifices? God doesn't mention these things. What about the one hundred and twenty thousand sheep and the twenty-two thousand cattle? God doesn't care about these things. What God cares about is whether His people seek Him. The result of not seeking is simple: the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, and you can't eat if you rely on the heavens; locusts come to devour the produce of the land; plagues spread among the people.

Let me summarize for you, the end of not seeking God is financial ill-health and physical ill-health. And then what does the scripture say? If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. So I tell you, our God is very specific, He is not a God who shouts slogans. He is not just letting you shout "Hallelujah," "Amen," or shout something like "Make the Davidic kingdom great again," "Make the Solomonic kingdom great again." These are all nonsense, God doesn't care about these things at all.

What God cares about is whether God's people seek Him. If they don't seek Him, two things will go wrong: there will be financial problems and health problems. Brothers and sisters who have financial and health problems, listen carefully to what I say, develop the habit of seeking, don't develop the habit of being self-righteous. Don't be hurt by these words, I hope you suffer less. Financial problems and health problems are all closely related to God. What nonsense about ghosts, it doesn't have much to do with ghosts.

Then why do we still cast out demons? Because people are cursed, and God sends demons to mess with you. Where do you think the spirit of plague comes from? The spirit of plague comes from God. Isn't the spirit of plague the spirit of death? Isn't that the spirit of death? Don't put God and the spirit of death in opposition. God is opposed to Satan, it's never been that way. It's people who are aligned with Satan. Humble yourselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn from your wicked ways. Do you know how heavy these words are? Very heavy! Later I discovered that when God sits on His throne and looks down, oh my goodness, it's all a bunch of people inviting ghosts! The ghosts they invite ruin their finances, and the ghosts they invite ruin their health.

The most crucial part is the last part, what does it say? But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, “Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?” Then people will answer, “Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he has brought this great disaster on them.”

I ask you, doesn't disaster come from God? Oh, my heart is thinking, the attraction of this world is too great. To what extent is it attractive? People are naturally walking according to the logic of the world. Later, you will slowly discover that, upon closer inspection, there are too few people in this world who seek God, aren't there? I hope that after listening to what I have said, brothers and sisters will make up their minds: I want to be a seeker of God. There are too many who seek themselves, revolving in their own logical system, thinking that everything is reasonable, and feeling that they are very reasonable no matter how they speak, and looking at others as unreasonable. Can we look at ourselves more? The faults in ourselves are what we need to humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn away from our own wicked ways.

Never think that you are doing well enough. If you think you are doing well enough, you are definitely finished. When you think you are good enough, problems will come knocking on your door. Never wait until the Lord brings all these disasters before you remember. Today, measure Christians by the standards of Jesus Christ, and it's ruined, isn't it? I ask you, is God really satisfied? Is God satisfied with the current church? No, He is not! If He were satisfied, and God heard our prayers, how could there be so many things, so many problems? There wouldn't be.

It is still the case that many amongst us have been healed, but in many places, there is no healing at all. I seek God, and I thank God for allowing calamities to befall us. Just this morning, one from our pastoral district was conversing with her small group leader, "My husband's company is in trouble and has to pay a fine." How much? The company's boss asked her husband to bear a portion of the fine. How much money? Tens or hundreds of thousands, something like that. The locusts have come, haven't they? Is she a Christian? Yes, she is. Is she a Christian who does not seek God? Yes, she is a Christian who does not seek God.

On the contrary, this sister who came to us not long ago, took on a job, and after working for a while, found an exceptionally good one. Only after going there did she realize that the company was even better than she had imagined. Was it due to her ability? No. It is because this sister, though starting humbly, began to seek God. It is not that she was blessed only after seeking, but that she was blessed from the very beginning of seeking. She is also quite diligent in her studies, and I encourage you not to drop the ball.

You must know that God is in control of everything. This is the background of this passage. Solomon heard a passage of God speaking to him. I ask you, would Solomon understand what God said? Yes, he would understand it in his heart and mind. Solomon looked around, and I ask you, according to this standard, how many are seeking? Don't even talk about Solomon; Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, and Ezra, who led the exiles back, were just as pathetic. Do you understand? That's how people are; their hearts are easily captured by this world. When people's hearts are captured by this world, God will cause calamities to befall them. Would you say that solving the problem depends on one key point? It is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

Financial and Physical Health Are Both Related to God

Some people inexplicably lose money all the time. Is there such a thing? If any of us frequently experience financial losses, you need to be careful. Why? It is because God sends locusts to devour your produce, and God sends plagues upon your body. Why? Do you truly know God? You do not know God, do you? So, these things all depend on God. Do not blame the devil anymore. Financial and physical matters are both spiritual matters. The key is not the devil, but God. If you want to cast out demons, what do you rely on? Don't you still rely on God's power? If a person sins and does not feel remorse, does not pray, does not seek God, and does not turn from his wicked ways, what is the use of praying? It is useless.

So later, I often tell some small group leaders that such a situation is no longer something that prayer can solve. For example, if he is a non-believer, it is still effective for us to lead him in prayer. But if a believer does not turn back, prayer is difficult, still a bit difficult. Do you understand? Now everyone must know that it is better to live a blessed life than to live a cursed life, isn't it? Which is better, living with blessings or living with disasters? You must understand in your heart. Do not think that you can just go on like this; if disaster suddenly befalls you one day, you will be powerless to reverse it.

Seeking God's Face Is Key to God Hearing Prayers

The reason we love the world is because we are foolish; the reason we love money is because we are foolish; the reason we end up in such dire straits is because we are foolish. Why? Because we do not know God and do not know where wisdom lies. When we have financial problems or health problems, we are already foolish, aren't we? So what do we do? It is easy to be humble, to admit that we are not capable. If your body is already in such a state and you still think you are capable, then it is even more troublesome. This humility is not difficult to do; we know we are not capable. But this humility is not the same as your humility. Humility means that I am not capable, but my God is absolutely capable. That is called humility. It is not like we think, "Ah, even if God comes, He cannot solve my problem." It is not like that; it is not difficult for God to solve your problem.

So, being humble and praying are not difficult, and fasting and praying are not difficult either. The sister who died that I mentioned in the introduction fasted and prayed for five days, but it was of no use. Some people do what? "I worship and praise, I desperately praise, praise, praise," but it is useless, of no use at all. That is not the key. What can be solved by using praise? Isn't it? The Israelites were shouting, "The Lord is good; His love endures forever," creating emotional value, but it was of no use. God was too lazy to pay attention to them; God spoke to Solomon, who sought God. So, being humble and praying are easy, but seeking God's face is no joke.

How do you seek God's face? If you want to build God's temple, don't you have to seek? When you encounter difficulties, don't you know that you have to seek God? Doesn't God have to give you wisdom? Solving a series of problems requires seeking God. We even find that when a plague comes, once we seek God, we realize that it was sent by God. You are binding the spirit of the plague, but you cannot bind it. What are you binding? You bind in the name of Jesus, but it was sent by Jesus, so how can you bind it? Therefore, seeking God's face and understanding God's will are the keys to having your prayers heard. If our prayers are not heard, quickly repent and solve a few problems: be humble, pray, seek God's face, and turn from our wicked ways, and God will surely hear. If you read the Bible carefully, God will surely hear. How good that is.

Seeking God's Face Is Seeking to Know God

You know God, but what do you know? For example, if I know a good friend, how do you know he is your good friend? By looking at his face, isn't it? If you don't look at the face and only look at the backside, it is useless. Wearing jeans, tight high heels, and similar figures, they all look the same from the back. Only by looking at the face can you tell. It's like some scenarios where you identify people. A girl is separated by a glass, and there is a row of people standing on the other side, all with criminal records. You look and ask, which one is it? Which one is the rapist? If everyone is facing away, can you tell? If everyone is showing their backside, you can't distinguish them. Can you distinguish them by looking at their necks? You can't distinguish them; you look at the face and identify them.

So, to know God is to know His face. What kind of God is He? This is seeking God's face. Moses sought God's face, but did he see it? No, he didn't. What kind of logic is this? You want us to seek His face, but when Moses sought it, he didn't see it. God shielded His face as He passed by, only letting him see God's glory. In fact, seeking to know God, being fully knowledgeable of God in your understanding, and having ample faith in your understanding are all results of seeking. Climbing the mountain of truth is all a result of seeking. I am also very moved; there are really not many who are truly willing to seek. When they see something, can they tell that it is God's work? They can't tell. If you can tell, then you know God; you must seek to know God.

Seeking God's Face Is Watching God's Expression

I ask you, if you do something that someone is unhappy about, like your father, you need to know, right? Some time ago, a foolish son was sitting with a smart father. The smart father had an impatient look on his face, just watching the foolish son talking nonsense. We all saw the expression, but his son couldn't see it. After looking, he was still muttering in his heart, "What's that expression? What's wrong? Am I not saying it right?" I tell you, God sits in heaven, and we are on earth. We must live by watching God's expression, do you understand? When we do something and see that God's expression is not right, we quickly change. God is not pleased with this matter, and His face is full of impatience, so we quickly change, living by watching God's expression.

When we see that God is pleased with what we are doing, God's good expression is completely different from what displeases Him. So, there are two kinds of people in this world: those who displease God, and God destroys them all in the wilderness; and those who please God, and that makes a big difference. What do you want to do? You don't care whether God's expression changes or not, and when you see God's frown, you keep doing it. Isn't that inviting disaster? Brothers and sisters, do you know what God hates? Do you know what God likes? Learn slowly. For example, King Saul was displeasing to God, while King David was pleasing to God. Even if he messed up a few times, he was still pleasing to God. Seeking God's face is watching God's expression.

Seeking God's Face Is Turning from Evil

Do you understand? Only by seeking God's face can we turn from our wicked ways. Why don't people turn from their wicked ways? Because they think it's worth it. Do you all understand? Teacher, why can't I control myself? Because you think it's worth it. Look at people who have cancer; they still lose their temper, and their temper is still huge. As a result, they are so angry that they can't get out of bed, can't walk, and things get worse and worse. Why? Because they think they are right. Why are they angry? Let me remind everyone again, repeating the same old tune: you will get angry whenever you think you are right. Have you noticed?

You see, this matter should be like this, but it is like that, and I am really angry. Why doesn't it go according to my will? Because he thinks he is right. Some people get sick, but why do they get sick? They never think they have made a mistake. This is the tragedy of a person's life. Why do people seek God's face? Because they know that the right way is like this. You are wrong about this and wrong about that, and you can see others very clearly, but you can't see anything about yourself. Only by seeking God's face can you know that this thing is a loss.

Some time ago, I met a couple, the brother's mother's brother, who is his uncle. I was talking to him, and I knew his family's story. His brother coveted his sister's house and died of lung cancer as a result. If he knew that these two things were related, would he still covet it if he sought God's face? He wouldn't, would he? Can you all understand what I am saying? If a person knows that this thing is a loss, would you still do it? Don't tell me you can't control yourself anymore. You can't control yourself not because you can't control yourself, but because you think you are taking advantage of it. If you think this thing is a loss, you definitely won't do it.

For example, if I say, "Then give me 100,000 yuan in my account," you definitely won't do it. Why not? Actually, I don't want that 100,000 yuan; I'm just testing you. Isn't that controlled pretty well? Why? If he loses 100,000 yuan in his account, what can he do? If I spend that 100,000 yuan on food, how great would it be to go to Haidilao a few more times? You can't spend that much money even if you go to Haidilao for a lifetime.

What if I give you 100,000 yuan? You would definitely want it. It's all about whether it's worth it or not. But if you don't know God's will and don't know God's expression, you will do something that is a loss and still think you are taking advantage of it. Many people die miserably, and they won't do what they think is wrong. Why do they think they are right? Because they don't seek God, they don't seek God's face, they don't know that this thing is wrong, they don't know that this thing is a loss, and they think they are taking advantage of it. Everything is messed up. If a person turns the matters of loss and gain upside down in this life, how can he live? Anyway, I often see how some people are so foolishly and desperately walking into being scammed. When they are being scammed, they don't want to be scammed; they only see the money they can make and don't see the money they can lose; they only see the benefits.

Ah, people are foolish here, not seeking God's face. If we all do this, turn from our wicked ways, know that this thing is a loss, know to be humble, pray, seek God's face, and turn from our wicked ways, God will surely hear your prayers. No matter how sick you are, God will heal you. No matter how poor you are, God can turn you around because you have turned from sin. Now everyone can understand, right? Why are mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships bad? It's about interests, not because of the relationship, but because of money. So, would you say this matter is about life or death? People forget to be filial to their parents and only care about being selfish. Is that a loss or a gain? I tell you, the foolishness lies here. On the surface, it is a gain, but in reality, it is a loss.

God Will Surely Hear Our Prayers Offered in This Temple

This temple is established as a dwelling place for God's name, and here God will hear your prayers. Do not become a laughingstock, and do not become a mockery. Christians have a lot of problems and only know how to pray before meals. I tell you, even unbelievers find it annoying. Praying before eating, can that kind of thing be heard? What can be heard? Do not become a laughingstock, and do not become a mockery. Our God is a God who hears prayers. Do not learn to be foolish; learn to be smart. I tell you, Christians sometimes love to listen to rumors and talk about a bunch of things that are completely unreasonable. It's not that they are unreasonable from a human perspective, but from God's perspective, they are completely messed up.

Do you want God to hear our prayers? Let us be humble, pray, seek God's face, and turn from all our wicked ways. This is the key. Do not say that this is a victorious church, that Chinese Mingding Doctrine is so good, and that prayers are heard in this place. If we continue with this unseeking heart, I think any theology will become a laughingstock and a mockery. We must come before God with a trembling heart. Amen.

May God bless everyone!