1. Topic: Breaking the Chains of the Religious Spirit

In this life, the most important thing is freedom. The moment you put God first in your life, you are certain to enter into blessings. The most important thing in a person's life is freedom.

People lose freedom in the very areas they fear. Therefore, what God detests most is control, whether it's the control of sickness, poverty, interpersonal relationships, or even religion. I sincerely hope that brothers and sisters can break free from the constraints of religion. The subtlety of religious control makes it very difficult to remove. Theft and robbery are obvious forms of control, but even doing good deeds can be a form of control, so brothers and sisters must break free from religious control today.

Recently, I've noticed that some brothers and sisters, when shepherding new believers, sometimes release a kind of religious constraint. For example, when assigning tasks, they insist that new believers complete one task every day. Originally, this person was controlled by idols, but now they are controlled by fear. The key to shepherding new believers is to give them confidence and help them grow. If your pastor releases words that deprive you of freedom, you must learn to break free from these constraints.

A person breaking free from constraints is the freedom of faith in Jesus Christ. Today, no matter who it is, they cannot deprive you of your freedom. For example, with homework, do as much as you can. We do things out of love for God, and there should be no constraint in doing what we love for God. There is no fear or control in love. We never hear of someone being controlled by the Holy Spirit or by Jesus. In fact, I myself am against the idea that the Holy Spirit controls your mouth to speak. Wrong. God's Holy Spirit never controls people; where the Spirit of God is, there is freedom.

God created Adam and Eve, and saw that it was very good. Compared to current marital relationships where both parties control each other, doing things according to the other's requirements, the relationship at the beginning of creation was that everything was seen as good. I am willing to do this, and I take responsibility for my choices. Brothers and sisters must live out freedom, but they must take responsibility for their freedom.

Some time ago, a mother came with her child. The child said that their mother and sister control them, making them do this and that. Can this child choose what to do themselves? Yes, they can. The faith of Jesus Christ is a faith of freedom. We are graced to be free.

There was a story among us before about a brother who read a spiritual book that said you shouldn't spend money on the Lord's Day and should keep the Sabbath. So, on the weekend, he only bought a sausage and didn't dare to spend any more money. That's the spirit of religion. It's problematic when eating a sausage becomes unfree. God's intention is to let people live long, not to be controlled and without freedom. Back then, many people were fearful. One child had homework due the next day and started doing it at 12:01 a.m. That's being controlled and losing freedom.

I thank God that I am a free person. Nothing can control me, and I won't misuse my freedom. I fear God not for any other reason, but because those whom God loves, He disciplines. Brothers and sisters must come out of constraint.

2. Scripture: Matthew 23:25-26

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. (Matthew 23:25-26)

4. The Origin of the Pharisees

The Pharisees represent the religious spirit. This is a powerful spirit. You can't find anything obviously wrong with them. They are very good on the outside, but inside they are full of filth. I have done a lot of research on the Pharisees. How does the religious spirit control people? How did the Pharisees come about? Once we explain this clearly, everyone will understand that our core value system is to resist the Pharisees, preventing everyone from going down the path of the Pharisees. In Nehemiah and Ezra, Ezra taught the Israelites to carefully observe and follow the law. So, how did these Pharisees come about? They were all people who read the Bible, and they read it very well.

If you read the Bible in a religious way, it becomes based on works. Today, there are still people called new Pharisees. They read the Bible in the same way as the Pharisees of the Old Testament. What is the Pharisees' mode of reading the Bible? One of the Ten Commandments is to keep the Sabbath. Actually, the event of the Sabbath is described in detail in the Bible, but the Pharisees felt it wasn't clear enough. They wanted to do some things, but not too much, so they made a rule: they adapted God's words. For example, walking one mile doesn't violate the Sabbath, but walking two miles does.

During the years of Jesus, when He became flesh and took on human form, the Pharisees read the Bible but failed to recognize God. This is speculation, and we must be careful. A pastor was heavily criticized. He said, If this Bible controls me, I don't want it. Actually, his approach was just to show that he didn't want to be controlled by the religious spirit and wanted to read out God's intentions. The Bible cannot represent God; the religious spirit can make people rigid. The Pharisees watched people die on the Sabbath but wouldn't save them. The establishment of the Sabbath was originally to allow people to gain life, but the Pharisees forgot the foundation of allowing people to gain life. The passage we are talking about today, the inside and outside of the cup and dish, is actually talking about the inside and outside of people's hearts. If a person pursues external things and the internal things are not decent, this is called religion.

Religion often goes hand in hand with the term religious ritual. They make people wear large robes, do certain things, and say certain words. Actually, this can be learned in ten minutes, but it doesn't solve the problem. Our church is the church that least emphasizes religious rituals; there are no religious rituals. Religious forms are meaningless once they lose their content. What we share is entering into the essence of life. Don't care about external forms. Did you really see in the Bible that you must sing on the Lord's Day, have a choir? We don't have crosses, and the church has still existed for hundreds of years, until the Roman Empire recognized Christianity.

You must grasp the essence. The concept of Bible study in our church is to grasp the essence.

5. The Pharisees' Way of Thinking

The Pharisees' way of thinking represents people's way of thinking. The Bible uses spiritual words to explain spiritual things. It is God's words that tell us how we should live. It is very dangerous to speak乱说乱加 things that God has not said; you cannot乱删乱加. The essence of the Pharisees' thinking represents being based on works, which is expressed in actions. In traditional churches, they would say, This brother's life is good. Life is good actually means his actions are good: outwardly well-dressed, very formally polite, actions are good.

We must move from judging the external to seeing the internal, to see how a person's faith is. How the faith is represents how their inner condition is. We boast, we boast in God's faith. Not grasping the essence but only grasping the external is the Pharisees' way of thinking. Our church grasps God's intentions. Wanting to take shortcuts without grasping the essence is something people like very much. I am very clear about what unbelievers are thinking inside.

They like, You help me fix my soul, and I will believe. Worshipping idols solves problems quickly, but they haven't grasped the essence of living. Many people don't know the essence of living. Our 101, 201 courses are constantly grasping the essence of living. Grasping the essence of things and not grasping the essence will have different effects.

Many prayers, thousands upon thousands of prayers, are not answered, and they think it's normal. I think it's not normal for prayers not to be answered. Whether it solves the problem or not is not important; they emphasize form. I am an engineer; I emphasize effectiveness in what I do. I do something, then it can run, and what procedures have what effects. This is a闭环 control. We must look at the effects. They don't ask for results if prayers are not effective. I never do things that are not effective. If prayer is not answered, I don't give up.

Playing mahjong is something that has no return; at most, it's killing time. I often see if I hit the bullseye when I do things. If I don't hit the bullseye, I adjust, and then I hit again, until I hit the bullseye.

The Pharisees' way of thinking represents people's way of thinking. It is foolish not to care what the effect is; you must pay attention to the effect. There are many people in life who don't pay attention to the effect. I am someone who pays a lot of attention to the effect. It is important to know for sure that the Pharisees don't pay attention to the essence and don't pay attention to the effect. They pay attention to external things, so Jesus criticized their religion.

6. Jesus Criticized the Pharisees' Religion

The inside and the outside, the essence and the surface, the religious form and the substance of faith form a clear contrast. The control of religion is being controlled by a form. What I do is figure out how to break the chains of religious control. I don't care if a person comes to the meeting or not; I care that if they don't come, they will listen to the recording, integrate the content of the faith, turn it into their own, and whether it can make them grow and be free.

The behavioral characteristics of the Pharisees: being based on works, emphasizing form, and being outwardly well-dressed are all external. Now we must see how a person's faith is. Thousands upon thousands of prayers, few are answered. See if you can hit the bullseye when you do things. We must pay attention to the effect now. Jesus criticized that the essence of their religious control is being controlled by a form. Solve practical problems and enable brothers and sisters to grow.

Those who love God gain life. Those who love God gain life, and those who love God are not easily controlled. If we love God, we will grasp the essence of things. To come out of the chains of religion is to be free. We must now know what God's will is. We don't just look at the surface. God's will is for us to live long and be blessed. Loving God is the motivation for us to come to Sunday gatherings, not a law.

7. Going Out of Religion and Into Faith

We must read that God is a good God. We must now be people of faith. We must now believe that God is a God who loves us, a good God. We must go from the chains of religion into faith. The righteous shall live by faith. Our God is a God who causes people to grow, be blessed, and gain life.

Our God is a good God! God causes people to gain life. Religion likes to use rules and make trade with God. Being based on works is a transactional relationship with God. Being based on faith is building a loving relationship with God. Enter into faith, believe that God loves us. Our God is a God who loves us. There is no fear in love, and God wants us to grow.

God is a good God. God causes people to grow, be blessed, and gain life. Religion likes to use rules and make trades with God. Because of tithing, I am blessed. Because I believe in God, I tithe. If I don't believe inside that I tithe, it's hard for you to be blessed. If you form a transaction with God, you're in trouble. We enter into faith because we believe that God loves us, and we build a loving relationship with God. We build an unconditional relationship with God, which is love. Our God loves us. There is no fear in love, and God wants us to grow. When we encounter difficulties, you will think that God loves us and that God will surely lead us out.

8. Everything That Is Not From Faith Is Sin

It's easy to enter into faith. My pastor requires assignments for my growth. If I can't do it, I tell my pastor because we are also a loving relationship, rejecting superficial relationships. I shepherd, hoping he will be blessed and overcome difficulties through the pastor. Your pastor is training your character to make you grow. In the past education system, it was quite ruthless; an exam would eliminate you. This is a negative effect. Everyone is different and should be required according to the situation. In the new era, we want personalized education and personalized shepherding. Shepherding should shape people's faith and make them grow. People with faith are difficult to be controlled by religion.

In any case, don't use a one-size-fits-all approach. It is cruel to measure everyone with one standard; everyone's standards are different. If a person doesn't have much education, can they still do their best to love God? Yes! God is not out to harm us; He loves us. Don't focus on the outside of the cup but on the inside of the cup. The outside is all form; the inside is the essence. Don't think that if you do something, or don't do something, God is going to kill you.

We must be free inside. Servants rely on commands, and so do children, but when we become sons of God, we understand God's intentions and are completely free.

9. Conclusion: Choose to Live Out Freedom and Blessing

We must be free inside. We need to make a choice inside. Every mature person must learn to make choices. Servants and children cannot choose independently, but a mature person, a child of God, must learn to make choices. I hope everyone can be completely free!