Introduction

Good day to you all. Let us examine the Book of Zechariah, Chapter 7. Do not assume that the content of this chapter was intended solely for the Israelites of old; it is, in fact, directed at our generation. Are we in a better state than they were? No! Are we better off than in the days of Zechariah, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, or Jeremiah? Again, no!

The theme of this chapter is, "As I called, and they would not hear, so they shall call, and I will not hear," This speaks to the reality that people's prayers are not reaching God's ears; God is not listening to their prayers. Today, the situation where God does not hear people's prayers is exceedingly common.

When I first started building the church, I noticed a peculiar phenomenon: Christians were praying fervently, yet God was not responding. Many seemed to accept this as normal. But I did not, for I believe that God is a God who answers prayers.

Now, God not only does not hear the prayers of some, but He will not hear them in the future either! I observed this phenomenon shortly after I became a believer. If people's prayers are ineffective, why is that? You must understand that the most important trait of a wise person is recognizing when something is not done correctly and then promptly correcting it.

People must cultivate the habit of acknowledging when they have not done things right. What does doing things right look like? God has already explained it in the Bible! Yet, why does God not hear people's prayers? Because people are exceedingly selfish! They believe in a selfish state and, muddle-headed, believe in a religious form.

Some of our brothers' and sisters' parents are also preachers; they occasionally listen to my sermons. I truly do not intend to offend you, but I hope you can understand that our God is a God who answers prayers. But why does God not hear your prayers? Because you have not done things right!

"I do not intend to harm you, but to make you aware that you have not done things right!" Look, I merely said this, and some people reacted as if they were being slaughtered, arguing with me vehemently. Many of those I pastor are like this!

Our brothers and sisters must understand that Chinese Mingding Doctrine has a most important "Golden Rule": I have not done things right! What does doing things right look like? I have repeated this so many times, hoping that this phrase will enter your minds.

The People of Bethel Seek the Favour of the Lord

In the fourth year of King Darius's reign, that is, the reign of Darius, in the ninth month, the second year, the prophet was Haggai. By the fourth year, in the days of the prophet Zechariah, the situation was still not good. Everyone felt that once the foundation of the temple was laid, they could worship in the temple, which was good! Then the people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech, along with their men, to seek the favour of the Lord.

Having arrived, they asked the priests in the temple, "Should we continue to weep and fast in the fifth month, as we have done for so many years?" They asked this because for over seventy years, they had wept and fasted, abstaining from meat, for the temple of God. God's response then immediately slapped these people in the face; God had never needed it!

These people felt they had done something great for God: for over seventy years, every May, they fasted and wept, crying as if their fathers had died! But God said, "I do not need it at all!"

Our brothers and sisters must understand that if we gather and partake in the Holy Communion as if our fathers had died, crying with tears streaming down our faces, does God want this? God does not want it! Did God hear their prayers? He did not hear them at all! God said, "I do not need these things." Yet they were still putting on a show, thinking themselves great.

Chinese Mingding Doctrine has a very "great" invention. I use "great" to describe it because it is uncommon in churches. Although my language is crude, my doctrine is not. Besides the phrase "I have not done things right," there is another important saying: Serving is grace, working is grace! I do not feel that I have done something great for God; I believe that serving is grace.

A pastor met me and said, "We preachers are very tired!" What did he mean by saying he was tired? Does God need your hard work? He also said, "Look, I only get one day off a week." I thought to myself, how many days off do you want? I was particularly moved!

Chinese Mingding Doctrine has a very important concept: serving is grace. Where does this concept come from? The Bible says that some entered the vineyard to work at eight in the morning, and some entered at five in the afternoon. They all finished work at six in the evening, and everyone received one dollar.

Then those who entered to work at eight in the morning were stunned and asked, "I started working at eight in the morning, and he only came in at five in the afternoon. How is it that we all get one dollar?" The master said, "I am willing to give it to him; what is it to you?" Because working is grace, serving is grace.

Then the people of Bethel went to seek the favour of the Lord and asked, "Do we still need to do this?" Meaning, they felt they were great. I find this "Golden Rule" to be very "great"! Working is grace, serving is grace. I do not feel that I have given anything to God!

If I felt that I had given something to God, and then God did not give to me, oh, how hurt I would be! But would someone like me be hurt? No! I am simply invulnerable.

People often feel that they have not done things right, that working is grace, and then they will find that God hears our prayers. I tell you, where a person's heart is, there their treasure will be; where their treasure is, there their heart will be! If a person's core interest is not God, if their heart is not with God, then it is bad! Imagine, if someone feels that serving God will delay their making money, can they forgive God?

Among us, if there are preachers, or if the parents of brothers and sisters are preachers, if you hear this, do not be hurt! I am giving you the most precious "Golden Rule."

Because if there were no you and me in this world, God would still be sitting on the throne in heaven, still creating the universe through His power! We came into this world to serve God, so serving God is our Mingding Doctrine. Why are our prayers so effective? It is for this reason.

We do not rely on observing religious forms to believe! For example, observing the Holy Communion and crying profusely, as if we were hired mourners. Some people hire people to cry after someone dies, feeling that otherwise, it would be embarrassing! Once, I went to a church in a certain place, and that church was quite "prosperous." I had never seen such a scene. When observing the Holy Communion, everyone cried profusely; I thought someone's father had died.

Jesus Christ rose from the dead, so what is there to cry about? We should be happy! Observing the Holy Communion is to commemorate Jesus Christ's death for us and His death on the cross. We share in Jesus Christ's resurrection, share in Jesus Christ's victory. Why does it seem as if Jesus lost the battle? Feeling that Jesus being nailed to the cross seems pitiful, but we should all be walking the path of Jesus, shouldn't we?

What God wants from us is not just attending gatherings! Some people come to gatherings and say to the pastor, "Teacher, I came to the Sunday service, I came to the Wednesday Bible study, I came to the Friday Bible study, I also participated in the Tuesday prayer meeting. What more do you want from me?" Actually, I do not need you to participate; it is you who need it.

So what is a person's core interest? If a person's core interest is money, then if you feel that serving God affects your making money, isn't God blocking your path to wealth? People's logic is quite detestable! Feeling that God owes them. I feel that this person is quite bold, even feeling that God should say sorry to them. Can such a person's prayers be answered?

Preachers, when you hear this logic that I am speaking of, think carefully: are we facing the possibility that in the future, when we call on God, God will not hear us? Because God called us, and we did not listen, so when you call on God, God will not hear you. Like the joke I told before, you say, "God, where are you?" God says, "I'm in the holiday, I'm on a trip." God does not hear your prayers!

Why does God not hear your prayers? Because everything is done wrong! When we serve God, we must know what God wants. Just like when you work for a company, but you do not know what the boss wants, you only care about what you want. Will the boss treat you well? When there are layoffs, those who are laid off first are these people.

To use an analogy, my serving God is like working for God. My boss is God. I must serve my God. Must I not know what the boss wants? Everyone must listen carefully!

What Does God Want from Us?

Our brothers and sisters must understand what God wants from us. Should you not listen to the words that the Lord proclaimed through the prophets in the past? Actually, God has already said it. In the Bible, whether it is the major prophetic books or the minor prophetic books, whether it is the books of Moses or the books from the time of Jesus Christ, is it not clear enough? Do you still not know what God wants?

If you still do not know, I think you should be "kicked in the butt." You have forgotten everything that is said in the Bible! We must readjust. Serving God is our Mingding Doctrine, and God's will must be firmly engraved in our hearts.

What God wants from us is simply "to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." It is very simple! To walk with your God means that however God does, you do; however Jesus does, you do. Is that so difficult?

Some people say, "Teacher, if I live as you say, will I still be able to live my life?" I tell you, even if you cannot, so what? Even if I cannot, I still live better than you! Because God hears my prayers.

Whether you think I am bragging or think I am boasting, I hope that brothers and sisters can listen to what I say, to "act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

For example, if a sister has depression, if praying for one day does not work, then pray for two days; if two days do not work, then pray for three days. Sometimes I even lead her in prayer at night. When a blind person comes to me, I lead him in prayer for one day, two days, three days. Some are healed after praying for nine months, some are healed after praying for three months.

Why does it take so long to pray for healing? Because God is testing me. God first gives you a sheep to see if you can raise it well. Then He gives you another sheep to see if you can also shepherd this sheep well. It is to see if you have empathy.

I tell you, the disciples I have trained, the brothers and sisters I have trained, when they serve with me, they can serve the same way. But when they serve on their own, they also have this bad habit in their hearts. As soon as they do things, they fall into the pit, feeling that they have done something great for God, and then I pull them back.

Some people just adhere to a religious ritual, which is detestable! The Israelites had a very bad habit. They all had the disease of King Saul, which is a very strange disease! That is, from the beginning to the end, King Saul did not know which part of him had offended God.

Samuel said, "You have disobeyed the word of God." Saul said, "I have indeed carefully obeyed the word of God." This is very similar to the pastors in the church today, who all have the same disease as Saul. Why did Saul get this disease? Why did the Israelites get these diseases?

It is from those who came from Bethel, the Israelites who sought the favour of the Lord. They had the same disease as Saul, all thinking that they carefully obeyed the word of God. But whether comparing the prophetic books or looking at the effectiveness of their prayers, there were few that were answered, so we know that there must be a problem.

This problem is called self-righteousness. They all thought that they carefully obeyed the word of God, but in fact, their core interests could not be touched. Their core interest was still their own affairs. What was Saul's disease due to? Because he had not heard the "Golden Rule" of Chinese Mingding Doctrine at that time, which is "I have not done things right."

If Samuel said to me, "You have not carefully obeyed the word of God," I would definitely say, "I have not. Can you tell me where I have not? Then I will change." Would I still end up like Saul? No! So what God wants from us is "to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Come, let me read to you:

"Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.’ But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 7:9-12)

The Israelites, in their constant meddling, ultimately provoked God's wrath. I tell you, the experience of Christians receiving God's anger is universal. You might ask, "Teacher, has God never been angry with you?" In truth, God has been angry with me many times; I was corrected by God, but after being corrected, I am not stubborn, I change!

Everyone must understand that if I have ministered to you, then how I minister to you is how you should minister to others in the future! Can you take this to heart? But I tell you, there are too few people who minister like I do. Sometimes when I think about it, I feel sad, and I even think: I will never do this again.

But then I thought: How can I stop doing this because of one person's actions? If this is God's will, even if only one person out of a hundred is willing to serve God as I do, then I must do it this way! Because this is God's will.

So, brothers and sisters, you must know that this chapter speaks of the past and speaks of today; it speaks of others and speaks of us! Can everyone take this to heart? This is not Zechariah speaking to the Israelites; it is speaking to us.

How many of us have contracted Saul's disease? How many live like the Pharisees, idly weeping and fasting? Brothers and sisters, know for certain that religious rituals are of no use whatsoever! It is merely a superficial performance.

If you come to the gathering but your heart is not in it, then what are you coming to the gathering for? It's unnecessary! Thank God, we are not a physical church. Physical churches feel immense pressure if there are few people. If there are no people in the chairs of a physical church, newcomers will see that the church is empty and turn around and leave.

I must tell you that even in the state of a physical church, I still have a conviction: Even if people come and go in the church! I will still build a church that pleases God! This is not boasting; truly, I don't need people to help me much. I had already driven away those who thought they were coming to help. If we align with God's heart, the church cannot but prosper.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, if our prayers are not answered, examine the core interests within ourselves. God once called us, and we "took a vacation." Now that we call on God, God also "takes a vacation."

Now, if God calls us, we immediately say, "Lord, I am here." God says, "You should do this." You say, "Lord, I will do this." Then when you call on God, He will not "go on vacation" either, and will respond to you quickly.

We are fighting on the front lines, and God sends His angels and heavenly hosts to be with us, fighting for us in the front, how wonderful! If the angels and heavenly hosts run to the back and we rush to the front ourselves, that would be troublesome.

God Called Them, and They Did Not Listen; in the Future, They Will Call on Me, and I Will Not Listen

Brothers and sisters, God sends a poor person, sends a sick person; are you willing to pay the price to serve them? I tell you, this is all God calling us.

If you encounter those who are orphans, sojourners, poor, sick, or suffering, what should you do? Serve them according to God's heart. But never offer a warm face to a cold backside. If people don't need your service, don't force yourself on them; that is also terrible.

How did God call us in the past? Jesus said, "I was sick, and you did not care for me; I was naked, and you did not clothe me; I was hungry and thirsty, and you did not give me food or water; I was in prison, and you did not visit me." They will say, "Lord, when were we like this?" Jesus said, "There was such a little one, and you did not care for him!" These words should always be in our ears!

Brothers and sisters, I will tell you a key point that everyone must remember: God brings some people to your side, right into your group, but you don't care for them! Instead, you want to find someone on the street, and then this person says their wallet was stolen, and you give them money, but later you find out they are a scammer.

You don't want to help someone you know, someone whose background is clear to you, but you run to the street to help someone who scams you! I don't do that kind of thing, and I don't want to donate money to charities because I don't know what they do with the money. I don't want to run to the train station to help those scammers; I just want to help those who come to our church and have many needs. This is what I do.

There are still many among us who live on the edge of poverty and struggle. We must help them and train them, so we still have a lot of work to do. The work before us is like many great mountains! We have also overcome some rare difficulties in healing and deliverance!

Do you know why? Because we serve God in this way, aligning with His heart, so God hears our prayers. Many people come among us and are healed of their illnesses. This is not because of how you are; indeed, you also have faith, but because this is God's church, this is the body of Jesus Christ. You have touched the body of Jesus Christ, so you are healed!

Why is our church the body of Jesus Christ? Because God calls us, and we listen to His words. We have kept all the words that God has reminded us through the prophets. Brothers and sisters, be someone whose prayers God hears; that is infinitely good!

If we have God while living in this world, who can stand against us? Let us build God's glorious church together in Jesus Christ, build the body of Jesus Christ, and then God will hear our prayers. This is infinitely good!

There are reasons why people's prayers are not answered. We should not care about rituals, only about God's heart, so we must walk in God's heart. How can we walk in God's heart? Make God our core interest. This is called Mingding! What is Mingding Doctrine? God's heart is our core interest. I tell you, God will surely hear our prayers!

God warns us, God also called them, and they did not listen; in the future, they will call on God, and God will not listen. But we keep these words in our hearts. We will not be "them"; we will be people who please God, Amen!

Everyone must not keep a religious ritual; it is useless! Shedding tears every time you observe Holy Communion, crying as if your father died, is all without benefit. Everyone should have the mind of Jesus Christ. Never say, "Teacher, according to what you say, how can we live? Do we not need to harvest the wheat in our fields?"

Ah, you feel that the wheat in your fields is more important than God, that the wheat in your fields is "God"! Brothers and sisters, readjust. God does not need rituals; God needs people's hearts to turn to Him.

God Will Scatter These Israelites Among All Nations

The people of Bethel went to plead for the favor of Jehovah, but God's response to them was: I will scatter you among all the nations, tossing you back and forth. This is what Zechariah said. I tell you, the Israelites' hearts were never with God; their hearts always had their own little lives, always had their own core interests.

Although God raised up Zerubbabel to build His temple, what was exchanged was nothing more than a religious ritual. A hundred years later, it was the same in the days of Nehemiah! Nehemiah stayed in Jerusalem for twelve years, and then the emperor transferred him back to the court. He left Jerusalem, and when he returned, the Israelites were in chaos again.

I tell you, God is too powerful. He will scatter the Israelites among all the nations. Why? Let me read it to you:

"I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they have not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate." (Zechariah 7:14)

Originally, God wanted to bring people into the promised land, but in the promised land that God gave them, people were not willing to serve Jehovah their God. When they were rich, they were not willing to serve Jehovah their God, so God made them serve the enemies He sent to attack them.

Are our brothers and sisters all clear in your hearts? I think when Zechariah said these words, those who came from Bethel, Sharezer, Regem-Melech, and those who followed them, were all dumbfounded! They thought: We came happily to seek the favor of Jehovah, how could He say such unpleasant words?

It is not easy to be a prophet! Brothers and sisters rarely have close contact with me, otherwise it would be bad, because I find this displeasing and that displeasing about you, and I tell you every day. This is what those around me experience. Fortunately, you have not experienced these things! That's how prophets are, always saying this is wrong! That is wrong! Some people think: Do you think you are doing everything right?

May God raise up more prophets like Zechariah among us, because there are too many things you need to correct. People like to play a superficial game! Although this is human nature, the most normal state of people, if you play a superficial game with God, play a superficial game with Zechariah, won't you kick a steel plate? Now if you play a superficial game with me, you are also kicking a steel plate.

We must readjust our mindset of serving God in our bones. If God is not our core interest, it is difficult for us to serve God. If we are serving for face, many pimples will grow on our face! The best skin on a person's body is the buttocks, because people care the least about the buttocks! Who would put a mask on their buttocks?

People put masks on their faces, go out with a beautiful face, and feel so proud! Look at whether there are many masks in your drawers? And all kinds of them, so good! But no one puts a mask on their buttocks, but the skin on the buttocks is the best.

So, if you want the best face, stop caring about your face, and then your skin will be good! Like me, I wash my face with soap every day, and I don't put on masks, my face is smooth, very good.

I just gave an example, which is not to care about your face, don't tell me a bunch of great principles. Some people want to show their best side in front of me, but I see the worst side, and I am also very uncomfortable, but that is the work that prophets do.

We must remember not to make the pleasant land desolate. When I was building the church, to speak from the heart, I felt very sad! Because those churches made God's kingdom very desolate. Although there were many people in the church who were very poor, living a miserable life, and many sick people, no one cared about them.

Everyone must not think that a church is great just because it is big. One sister's mother was dying, but she couldn't swallow that breath. Everyone surrounded her, one day passed, two days passed, half a month passed, her mother just held on like this, saying she had no breath, but she had breath, saying she had breath, but she had no breath, and then they went to ask a pastor from a large church to minister, but the person didn't come. Those who haven't encountered such things still go to such churches.

When I was ministering to her, she told me that she looked for the pastor of her own church, but the pastor didn't go. She looked for pastors from other churches, but those pastors didn't go either. They even blamed this sister, and I thought: What kind of brain is this? Their brains were caught in the door.

There are also people who get depression, but no one in the local church ministers to her, so they let her go to a mental hospital, and then she came to me. After I ministered to her well, she actually went back to the local church.

What a desolate generation this is! If you listen to my early sermons, you will hear such things. The churches of that generation were desolate because they made the pleasant land desolate, so they let you live in desolation.

So, it's still that sentence, if we don't get it right, God is always faithful, but we are just pretending. Now God's kingdom is no longer desolate, God's heart will be satisfied in us, we must walk in God's will.

We tell God, "God, no matter how desolate this generation is, I will still follow you closely." As for me, even if no one follows me, I will still follow my Lord closely. My core interest is the church, is your heart, God." If we have such ambition, such thoughts, we will not care much about religious rituals.

People's prayers not being answered is a common phenomenon, precisely because they have made the church desolate. The church is full of people selling insurance, doing direct sales, and selling health products, but no one is passing on God's power.

Chinese Mingding Doctrine must proclaim the pure gospel, God is a God who hears prayers. Now offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God until you see God's face and receive God's praise, Amen!

We will share this much this time. Remember, God called them, and they did not listen; in the future, they will call on God, and God will not listen. This is also the theme of this chapter. Thank God, Zechariah spoke a resounding prophecy. May God bless everyone!

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