Was Peter Right?

Good morning, everyone. Today, we continue with 1 Peter, Chapter 5, which is also the final chapter. After much contemplation, I am unsure of what more to add. Hence, I have titled it "Was Peter Right?" In fact, we should all adopt this attitude: after saying so much, were we right? Did we articulate clearly? This is a very good habit.

It's not just about whether Peter was right, but also whether this pastor is right. I am not afraid of this. Don't think that if you ask, "Teacher, is what you're saying correct?" I will be offended. I am not offended; my tolerance is not that small. Because I am very clear that I am not the one who possesses the truth. I am also constantly exploring to understand. I also encourage everyone to have the same determination to seek, especially with the recent sermons I've given on seeking God.

Suffering for Christ? Is There Glory in This Suffering?

Therefore, as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings, who also will share in the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: (1 Peter 5:1)

What was Peter's purpose in writing this book? 1 Peter aims to exhort those who are fellow elders with him, to encourage them to be witnesses of Christ's suffering and to share in the glory to be revealed. I will hold off on the second verse for now and address it in the next question. What kind of suffering is this? Today, I want to discuss and clarify the suffering Peter endured.

When the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, Peter initiated something called being filled with the Holy Spirit. This was a very good thing. At that time, he delivered a sermon, and several thousand people believed in the Lord. Later, he preached again, and several thousand more believed. If our church today had several thousand people believing in the Lord after a sermon, would you consider it a good thing or a bad thing? We will set aside whether Peter converting several thousand people was good or bad, but the subsequent developments provide us with an answer.

The subsequent development was that the entire Jerusalem church sold their possessions, and everyone ate together, breaking bread all day long. I wondered, did they not go to work? Did they not do any labor? Then they just ate, turning the church into a cafeteria, and everything was held in common. As a result, many conflicts arose. Why? Some people ate too much, some ate too little, some contributed more, some contributed less, and everything was in chaos. Was that a church?

Later, seven deacons were chosen, and Peter said, "I am a great apostle; it is not right for me to manage food. I should focus my time on prayer and preaching." As this matter progressed, there were also things like the lame walking, which were all good. But did he build the church correctly? Peter never asked this question; he was confident that it was absolutely right.

As a result, the church in Jerusalem encountered persecution. I ask everyone: who was persecuting them? Was it the devil, or was it God? The subsequent development of the story gives us a clear answer. In fact, God was very displeased with this. How could you turn God's church into this? Is the church a place for eating and drinking? Is the church a place for holding everything in common? Everything was in chaos. This persecution led to the dispersal of the Jerusalem church. After the dispersal, a group of people went to Antioch.

At this time, an event occurred: Peter was arrested and imprisoned, and everyone prayed for Peter. Peter was led out by an angel, and then he saw them still praying. This was the persecution of the church. But from then on, a very strange thing happened: Peter was no longer the leader, and he gave the position of church leader to James, the brother of Jesus Christ. No one knows what happened in this story. Why was he arrested? Why did he step down to second place? We are not sure why. But regardless, God chose another person named Paul. God chose Paul and raised him up to build His glorious church.

However, the church that Paul built was completely different from the one Peter built. So in this world, there is the Jerusalem church model and the Antioch church model. One is the church built by Peter, with everything held in common, eating and drinking. That is not called church revival. I think later there were many Pharisees in the Jerusalem church who went everywhere to create chaos and strife in the churches built by Paul. I ask everyone, did the persecution that Peter encountered come from God or from the devil? I tell you, it came from God. If it didn't stop, it would become increasingly corrupt. I ask everyone: what testimony is there in suffering this kind of suffering? What glory is there in this kind of suffering? There is none.

In fact, Peter later wandered around to various churches. If you read Paul's epistles, you will find that this matter is a bit strange. Explicitly and implicitly, Paul's epistles belittled Peter. The tone is very strong. For example, Peter was being a hypocrite. Anyway, in Paul's eyes, Peter was just causing trouble. The church in Corinth had those who belonged to Cephas, those who belonged to Apollos, and those who belonged to Paul, which caused this. I ask everyone: did Peter go to the Corinth church? Aren't you an apostle to the Jews? What are you doing in the Corinth church? They divided the work very well. Paul went to the Gentiles, and Peter preached the gospel to the Jews.

However, the later Jewish churches basically all failed. Peter had nowhere to go, no income, and life was not good. So what to do? In fact, Peter's habit is still preserved in the current church. He goes to other people's churches to give a sermon, and the church gives him some love offerings. That's how it is, making a living this way. Does he suffer? Yes, he suffers. Is it hard? Yes, it is hard. Why? He does this all day long. Paul built the church, and he went there to be invited to give a sermon. The church has pastoral care. Is the church just about giving a sermon?

What kind of suffering is this? Did Peter suffer later? Yes, he suffered, but is this a testimony of suffering for Christ? I don't think so. Sharing in the glory to be revealed later, is it the glory revealed later? Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that through studying the epistles of the Apostle Paul, through studying the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and through my own view of this salvation, it is not seeing God's glory after death, but living out God's glory while alive.

So sometimes, I also belittle Peter quite a bit. Does he have a pursuit of eternal life? He has a pursuit of eternal life, but is he doing it right? He never asks himself. Many of our brothers and sisters are like Peter, with Peter's nature flowing in them, never thinking that they have a problem. Then I ask again, what have you grown in this past year? The same as last year. What about the year before? What have you grown in these past two years? Are you doing everything right? If you feel that you are not doing it right, haven't you found a point of growth? Isn't that right? This year is the same as last year, last year is the same as the year before, the year before is the same as the year before that, and the year before that is the same as the year before that. How can you grow? How many wrong things have you done?

So I tell everyone that Peter is not a person with a concept of growth. He is not the kind of logic that lives out God's glory while alive. It was later, and we don't know how long that later was, whether it was after death, we don't know. What glory to be revealed later does Peter enjoy? The church is failing, and the pastoral care is not successful. He pastors very poorly. Why? The reason is also very simple. He only has a few tricks. Is there any glory in this? I tell you, there is no glory in it. He failed the church, and Jesus did not hold him accountable. Jesus gave a persecution, so the Jerusalem church failed. Everyone doesn't do anything, everything is held in common, eating and drinking together. It would be strange if it didn't fail. Is that God's teaching? When did anyone teach you to build a church like this?

To put it bluntly, it's a bit silly, with no knowledge in the brain. Later, someone learned it and invented communism, with everything held in common. That era failed. I ask you: will holding everything in common fail? It will also fail. If you continue to do it, it will fail. So if you do it wrong, can there be glory? I am very surprised. It would be good if God didn't hold you accountable. Has everyone learned? So you must often ask yourself: am I doing this right? If you always think that you are doing everything perfectly right, who are you if not Peter? You have become Peter.

What is Pastoring?

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (1 Peter 5:2-4)

What was Peter's pastoral care like? I didn't see Peter pastoring anything. I really don't know what Peter's pastoral care was like. How could it be good? There are many stories later. Mark, whom Peter called my son, followed for a while and then stopped following Peter. Following was actually running on both sides. If you don't give Peter some face, you feel bad. If you give Peter some face, he really can't stand that stuff. Mark was a cultured person. You can imagine that Mark was educated, a wealthy young man, who went to good schools. Then he became Peter's secretary. So how did the Gospel of Mark come about? It was Peter's preaching that was organized and written by Mark's hand, resulting in the Gospel of Mark.

Peter's pastoral care was very poor. He didn't have the concept of pastoral care in him. He didn't pastor much at all and didn't know how. So where did Mark go? He went to Barnabas and later to Paul. So Paul retrained Mark, dealing with the absurd logic in him one by one. It's not easy. Imagine that a person taught by Peter goes to Paul to be taught again. How much effort does that take? That's why he first went out with Paul, and Paul never took him again. Why? He had a lot of problems, a bunch of Peter's stuff. It's very difficult. Later, Mark deeply repented, and Paul took him in again. That's the relationship.

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. (1 Peter 5:2-3)

When I read what Peter said, I kept thinking, what kind of example is this? An example of suffering. Isn't that how the theology of suffering in the previous chapter came about? An example of suffering, that doesn't mean that the matter of pastoring is done right. In fact, there is a bit of a flavor in this teaching, this mentality. If you read carefully, it's like wanting to make a great contribution to God.

Still, he serves as a suffering example. It is crucial to understand that one thing I dislike most is acting as if I am helping God, as if making a grand contribution to Him.

"And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." (1 Peter 5:4)

If you revisit the teachings of the Apostle Paul, he states: "This is your reasonable service." My perspective? Service is a grace. Yet, with Peter, it seems like a great sacrifice. This notion is problematic; God truly needs no help. What does God require? That you co-labor with Him in shepherding, which is not a苦差 (bitter chore).

Peter operates with a logic that suggests, "I may not have merit, but I have toiled diligently." However, I impart a concept: at least in my view, and regardless of God's perspective, I do not recognize苦劳 (toil without merit). If you toil in vain, I might even hold you accountable, isn't it so? You err in your actions, and you err proficiently. That is arduous, and I must rectify your errors, making my task even more arduous. What deeds have you, Peter, accomplished, and yet you claim to have toiled diligently?

Brothers and sisters, be cautious. Is it a sacrifice? It is not. Many among us shepherd small groups in local churches, and our content is widely used by many smaller congregations. If this concept is not rectified, you will suffer. Why suffer? Can you avoid suffering when you are helping God? God will make your life bitter. Therefore, shepherding is not a sacrifice; it is a gain. Over the years, our church's small group leaders have rarely changed. However, I have seen some churches where their small group leaders are all helping God, and within a few years, they burn out, becoming spiritually barren.

Can shepherding lead to spiritual barrenness? If you perceive it as helping God, you will be weary within. Some fervently pray for God to change their pastors, while others fervently pray for God to change their churches. What are they doing? Are they contending with God? Are you instructing God on how to act? Are you telling God to act according to your will? We often act without questioning ourselves: "Am I doing this correctly?" Peter, too, did not question himself: "Am I shepherding correctly?" 1 Peter, in its entirety, I tell you, work is a grace!

I am often struck by how some perform in their workplaces. A young high school principal, whom our pastors mentioned, speaks similarly to me. The worst is when those who cannot teach are diligent, working from seven in the morning until eleven at night. Is that right? There is not that much work to be done. I truly cannot bear it. Why? Because they are doing it wrong. If children learn from such individuals, they will be ruined.

If you study diligently and approach learning correctly, you can complete your studies in a short amount of time. If you believe in "天道酬勤 (Heaven rewards diligence)" and become proficient in doing things incorrectly, never questioning yourself, you will become foolish. The principal said, "Please, those of you who cannot teach, do not be so diligent." They believe that by being diligent, they can compensate for their mistakes. If you are both foolish and diligent, it is troublesome. It is not that they are foolish, but that they do not reflect.

Shepherding is a grace. Consider a pastor who contracted brain cancer. I asked him, "Why did you contract this illness?" He replied, "Look how hard I work as a pastor." Remember, if you work until you are weary and contract brain cancer, you are doing it wrong. Therefore, my co-workers generally cannot outargue me. If someone says, "Teacher, look how hard I work," I reply, "You are doing it wrong, and I have not even held you accountable. You think you have made a great contribution, but you have made a great mess, and I have not even held you accountable."

Therefore, our small group leaders and pastoral co-workers, under my leadership, do not work themselves to exhaustion. If you are working yourself to exhaustion without my knowledge, I am unaware. However, I must tell you, I do not admire or appreciate those who work themselves to exhaustion. Can we not be composed and do things correctly? There is not that much work to be done.

I often think that the thing I enjoy doing most is asking myself, "Am I doing this correctly?" If you do, you will surely become wiser. If you ask, "Teacher, am I doing this correctly?" I will likely tell you that you are doing it wrong. If you say, "Teacher, how am I doing?" and you think you are doing well and come to me to boast, I will find many flaws. You may think you are doing well, but I see many things going awry. Perhaps you are doing what I did three years ago, but what I did three years ago was wrong because my perspective was limited. However, I have grown.

What is shepherding? Remember, the most crucial key to shepherding is that you must be someone who practices the Word of God. After you have practiced it and know that it works, then you tell others, and do not be like Peter. Peter ruined the church, and those he shepherded all went to Paul. Then he wrote everywhere, "Shepherd the flock of God." I tell you, thankfully, I did not learn from Peter. I tell you that shepherding is to make people more valuable and more in the image of God. Why valuable? Valuable does not necessarily mean money; they must create value. Jesus said:

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'" (Matthew 25:21)

Do you understand? You are my talents! If you are my talents, given to me by God, what should I do? If you live in abject poverty, and I do nothing, and your house leaks, there must be a problem.

I ask you, why are people poor? Because you are worthless. Perhaps you are not a talent but a stone. You must give me that stone, and I will turn it into a talent. And I must turn that talent into a gold talent. The value is entirely different. Therefore, I especially enjoy hearing the testimonies of growth from our brothers and sisters. After hearing them, you do not need to buy me Din Tai Fung dumplings or bring me gifts. Your growth is my greatest comfort.

If someone used to have depression and is now joyful and able to create value, and has emerged from poverty, not just surviving day to day on welfare, I must help them escape poverty. I can help people escape poverty; I can help people escape foolishness; I must help people escape self-righteousness. I tell you, making people more valuable is incredibly satisfying and joyful. Can someone like me burn out from shepherding like this? What would I burn out from? I am happy every day. If our small group leaders are serving themselves to exhaustion, I will first address their exhaustion.

If I do not address their exhaustion and they still think they are making a great contribution, everything is wrong. Then I, too, will work myself to exhaustion and end up with brain cancer. What glory is there in such suffering? This chapter, verse four, mentions: "And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." This is perplexing.

What is Submission? What is Humility?

"In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." (1 Peter 5:5-6)

This is strange. Why should the younger submit to the older? Because the older have eaten more salt? If we follow this teaching, what should Timothy do? Peter just said that the younger should submit to the older. "Look, I am seventy, and you are seventeen. You must submit to me." "You are seventy, you have eaten more salt, but how many words do you know? How much truth do you know?" Timothy would be dumbfounded.

Is there a flavor to this statement? There is. Why? Because it is not about being younger or older, do you understand? It is about those with lower spiritual maturity submitting to those with higher spiritual maturity. Would that not create chaos? If you are older, with a full beard, looking like Marx, should we submit? Would we ruin the church together?

Then you must submit to one another. Oh my goodness! Should mothers submit to daughters, and daughters submit to mothers? Should daughters demand that mothers submit? What kind of teaching is this? Does he know what he is teaching? Mothers discipline their daughters' flesh because daughters are ignorant and need to be spanked. But the daughter reads 1 Peter and says, "You are not humble enough. You should submit to me. You are a proud mother, and God opposes proud mothers. Can you be more humble?" Oh my goodness! How can this teaching be applied?

Brothers and sisters, you must understand that relationships cannot be reversed, and authority cannot be negotiated. She is a child, and you are a mother. Mothers must act like mothers, and children must act like children. "Why are you hitting me?" "I can hit you if I want to!" Many mothers like to reason with their children, but they end up losing the argument. The child reads 1 Peter, makes a demand, and you are certainly not a humble person. "Can you humble yourself under God's mighty hand? Why are you hitting me?" Everything is chaotic.

How did Peter ruin the church? With this kind of logic. He never asked himself, "Am I saying this correctly?" God told him to build the church, saying, "My church will be built on this rock, and you are Peter, and I will build my church on this rock." How did Peter build it? He built it into chaos. Humility and submission were all done wrong.

Many people do things wrong and still think they are humble because they believe they must submit to one another. Even now, many churches have chaotic relationships. I knew of a rogue member who went into the senior pastor's office and berated him. But the senior pastor was wise. Some wanted to have security remove him, but the senior pastor said, "No, no. Since he is here, we must resolve this peacefully. Removing him would only create more trouble." The senior pastor knelt before the member, confessing and repenting, resolving the chaos. Thankfully, I have never encountered such a situation. What is this called humility?

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

If I am a lackadaisical pastor, how can I shepherd well? Am I, in my weakness, to simply hand over my responsibilities to God? This sounds familiar, doesn't it? If you come from different churches, you will find this very familiar. God gives you a task, and you hand it over to God; God gives you another task, and you hand it over again. What exactly is your role then? What are you supposed to be doing? I am to humble myself, to submit under the mighty hand of God, and even my responsibilities are to be handed over? Isn't that just like old Eli? Ignoring his sons' misdeeds, isn't that the responsibility you should bear? Samuel's sons also misbehaved, but Samuel managed them. Some might ask: How do you know he managed them? How could Samuel not manage them?

This is the crux of the matter. What is obedience? Obedience is obedience to the Word of God. Please write this down. You can challenge me; you don't need to obey me, but you need to obey the Word of God. What is humility? Humility is not believing in people, nor believing in the words of people, but believing in the Word of God. That which is impossible with man is not impossible with God; that is not humility. That which is impossible with man is possible with God; that is humility.

Some say: "Hey! This is impossible." Is that humility? That is not humility. Some say: "Building a church according to the Word of God is impossible." What kind of talk is that? And some say: "Building a church according to the Apostle Paul's model, how is that possible? Following Jesus' words to be a disciple, how is that possible? Who can forsake their wife? Who can forsake their children? Who can forsake themselves?" Oh my goodness, why is that impossible? Because these people have not understood the Bible.

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:29)

Is this forsaking or gaining? It is gaining. So Peter's confusion did not begin with writing this 1 Peter; he was a confused fellow even during Jesus' time, not pursuing holiness. So when you see those who do not pursue holiness, and speak and act recklessly, that is probably Peter. What is obedience? Obedience to the Word of God. What is humility? It is believing in the Word of God. Do you understand? It is not saying: "Oh, sister, I am wrong, you are right." That is feigned humility, useless.

Is the Devil Really That Powerful?

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (1 Peter 5:8-10)

I tell you all, what is the problem with this statement? In Peter's theological system, angels are very powerful, and devils are also very powerful. Is that really the case? And between the lines, suffering comes from the devil. But from my analysis, from my sorting out process, I have found that Peter's suffering does not come from the devil, but from God. If God wants to create some suffering in Job's life, what happens? The devil goes to God and says: "God, can I go and mess with him a little?" God says: "Go ahead." Only then does the devil go. If God says no, the devil cannot mess with him.

The problem arises here. Everyone must know that the devil is not really that powerful. Exaggerating the devil as "seeking whom he may devour, like a roaring lion" is problematic. Today I must tell you that in the Old Testament, you can trample on the great serpent and the lion. Do you understand? Is the lion more powerful or is man more powerful? God's people should be able to trample on the great serpent and the lion. Peter's understanding of God is flawed, and his understanding of the devil is also flawed.

In fact, the earliest devil was not a roaring lion, saying: "Adam, I will bite you to death; Eve, I will bite you to death." It was not like that. In fact, even now, ghosts are not like that. If you are walking on the street and suddenly see a headless, floating white robe, you don't need to be afraid. What is there to be afraid of? We should be afraid of people. I am not afraid of ghosts. Why should I be afraid of ghosts? Ghosts could not do anything to me when I was alive; how can they do anything to me when I am dead? That is not scary. Even today, people still live in that absurd understanding of ghosts. In reality, someone is holding a bamboo pole and running underneath, wearing only black clothes so you can't see them. We should be afraid of people, especially robbers, people with knives. If you run into that, it is quite scary.

What is there to be afraid of zombies? So the devil's first lie is "the devil is like a roaring lion." The devil's power lies in the lies it releases. Among all the animals created by God, the serpent is the most cunning. So the first time, it encouraged Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was not a poisonous snake that bit Adam and Eve to death; it simply told Adam and Eve: "Go ahead and eat a little, it's good. After eating, you will be like God." As a result, after eating, they became like ghosts. So what is the problem? Suffering does not come from the devil; suffering comes from the flesh. The more carnal a person is, the more they love this world, the more pain the devil will cause you. That is the logic.

If the concepts inside a person are not changed, they cannot be changed. Regarding suffering, first, the devil is not scary. It is not like a roaring lion that you can recognize at a glance. What is scary is the devil's lies. Second, pain and suffering do not come from the devil. Remember, suffering comes from the carnality of man. In fact, the most critical process in a person's belief in the Lord is mortifying the deeds of the flesh.

The more carnal a person is, the more pain they will experience. This kind of pain has no glory. The more a person loves the world, the more pain they will experience. This kind of pain has no glory. Don't pass the buck to the devil. Passing the buck to the devil might give everyone some comfort, to give you some confidence, but we must slowly mortify the flesh. The flesh and attracting ghosts are the same thing.

Peter's suffering did not come from the roaring lion. Where did it come from? It came from not building the church properly according to the Word of God, from not growing and shepherding properly. And he had a set of wrong logic inside, thinking that he had done his best. Peter thought this way: "Although I messed up the church, I still have hard work, even if I have no merit." He thought that hard work has God's glory. There is no such thing! In the end, Peter was like a piece of firewood pulled out of the fire, almost burned up, very painful. So all the curses of man come from disobeying the Word of God, not from the devil. A carnal person is an enemy of God. Think about it, is that fatal? A person who mortifies the flesh, even in prison, is joyful. That is not called suffering.

Peter used to think that believing in the Lord was very painful. Even now, many Christians also believe in a very painful way, and still think they have glory. In fact, they are missing a screw in their heads. They have not thought: "Am I doing this right?" Pain does not come from the devil; it comes from God. Let me explain another one to you. Was Saul in pain? Saul was very painful. Why? Because the Spirit of God had left him, and then an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Was that devil powerful, or was God powerful? In fact, it was sent by God. If you read the Bible carefully, it is all like this. God transcends the devil; the devil is not more powerful than God. This logic may not have been corrected even today.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

Be vigilant about what? In fact, sometimes we exaggerate the devil too much. As long as we do our best to break our carnal and worldly logical system, the devil will collapse without being attacked.

Has This Grace Been Proven?

With Silas, a faithful brother as I consider him, I have written briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. (1 Peter 5:12)

What do I think Peter wrote this letter for? Were contemporary Christians being persecuted? Yes, they were being persecuted. His tone is completely different from the tone Paul wrote. And what is he doing here? Exhorting you, and testifying that this is the true grace of God. What is true grace? What Peter wrote is the grace of suffering. Even today, the theology of suffering is very prevalent in this church, but much suffering is not God's will. This kind of suffering has no glory of God. Peter does not have Joseph's stature; he is not Joseph. Even Joseph was sold into Egypt, but what happened to him? He did not say that he was suffering to death there. What exactly is it that Christians are suffering to death for? I think this matter is worth pondering.

Some say: "Teacher, I am very tired." I say: "Why are you tired?" He says: "Oh, they are all fighting with me for the family property. I got so little, and they got so much. Well, I forgive them." How strange does that sound to me? Can everyone hear this flavor? Very painful, why? It is painful because what should have been obtained was not obtained, and what should not have been obtained was also not obtained, so it is also painful. Some say: "Teacher, I am very upset recently." I say: "What's wrong?" He says: "The big brother who gave me money is ignoring me." It's all these things. Exhorting you, and testifying that this is the true grace of God. What kind of grace is this? The grace of suffering. In fact, much of our suffering has no glory.

It is that we have not stood firm in the grace of mortifying the flesh. In fact, relying on the Holy Spirit to mortify the passions and desires of the flesh is our salvation. We can live out the glorious image of God while we are alive. I am very emotional. What Peter wrote, I did not dare to say that he was wrong. I only said: "Is what he said right?" Everyone, please don't argue with me. I left a small hand, which is that I don't want to say directly that what he said is wrong, but I say that there is obviously something wrong with him. Thank God! We will not be confused by these things.

I must tell everyone, if you are suffering, what exactly is it? Are you doing it right? You messed up the work, and then you still feel very tired. I have no merit, but I have hard work. Hard work doesn't count! Then you say: "Hard work doesn't count. I am very condemned and very hit when I hear what you say. You have ruined my faith." No, I have ruined the false faith in you.

May God bless everyone!