Greetings! Our activity this time is called Becoming Disciples. What I talked about earlier was a carrot, and what I will talk about later is a big stick, but in reality, they are both carrots. They are both exceedingly good choices because becoming a disciple is the best thing in heaven and on earth. This is the fourth lecture, which is a review and summary of the previous three lectures, and an explanation of the confusion about being a disciple. How much does it cost to be a disciple? Many people haven't figured it out yet. The CPU in their heads is still spinning, and the code is still calculating, even if they come up with confusion. What is this confusion? It's how to explain these things.
I. Why Forsake All, and What Does it Mean to Forsake?
Everyone, please help me answer this question. God! Why do you ask me to forsake? I can't forsake. Some people like to ask why. I'll give you an answer: This is the standard. Once the standard is set, this is what a disciple is. So the standard is a definition of a disciple. If you still have confusion about being a disciple, then don't do it, because being a disciple requires this. Why didn't the Lord Jesus explain this matter to us? Many people who set standards do not explain. This is the standard. Have you noticed? You buy a nut in the market, and then you buy a screw in another store. When you screw them together, they fit. Why? Because they meet the same standard.
The standard is the definition of this matter. A disciple must forsake. Forsaking is the standard of being a disciple. It's that simple. There is no argument. You can't ask why this standard was set? God didn't explain it to you. How can I explain it to you? I can't explain it. Jesus said long ago that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, and then you become a disciple of Jesus Christ, and authority is given to you. Isn't that what He said?
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:18)
If you forsake, then you meet God's requirements. I have a particularly good habit, which is not to ask why. But many people have a bad habit. They always like to ask why. I think what he needs most is a One Hundred Thousand Whys. Asking this why and that why, and after finishing it, they still don't know why. In the end, they are completely confused. When learning English, don't ask why. People say it this way, so we say it this way. People say it that way, so we say it that way. When foreigners learn Chinese, don't ask why. People say it this way, so we say it this way.
You can't just talk nonsense when learning a language. Otherwise, the Chinese won't understand, and the foreigners won't understand either. Wouldn't that be ruined? Those who study well don't ask so many whys. It's just like that. Don't ask why. What to do then? Learn from others. We learn many things from people. Why don't I ask why? Because asking too many whys will lead to confusion. If you ask why the verb is placed before the noun, once this question is asked, you will soon be confused. There is no why. This is the rule. If you follow the rules and speak a lot, you will get on the right track. Language is like this.
There are not many things in this world that are not like this. Therefore, God has set this standard. A disciple must forsake. If you don't forsake, you are not a disciple. What other confusion do you have? You ask: God! Why must I forsake? Then it can't be explained. If it could be explained, it would have been explained long ago. If you insist on me explaining it to you, I'll tell you: Forsaking is good! After forsaking, you become a disciple. When you become a disciple, you have authority. With authority, you can fight victorious battles in the spiritual world. With authority, you have heavenly resources, and you can build buildings that won't become unfinished projects. How simple is the reason, there is no why. Some people say: God! Is it okay if I don't forsake? What kind of question is this? You need to know that this is the standard!
The Mingding Doctrine talks about several standards: first is discipleship, second is the church, third is salvation, fourth is faith, fifth is pastoring, etc., and there are many more. We sort out the definitions of these things one by one. What God says, we implement accordingly. When we ask why we must forsake, the logical system inside us is actually problematic. What God says, do it. It's such a simple principle. If you want to understand it, then carefully keep and follow the words of God. If you do not carefully keep and follow them, then there are many stories to see. So why must we forsake? There is no why. This is the standard.
We also write programs and code in the same way. People say to write it this way. If you don't write it this way, it won't run. Has everyone written code? Have you used EXCEL? You have learned a lot of rules. The people who made EXCEL require you to write it this way, so you learn to write it this way. Those are the rules. Writing it this way will run, and not writing it this way will not run. It's such a simple principle. Don't ask why it has to be that way. Asking it will just make you foolish. Why do I study well? Because I learn other people's rules. For example, when we take our driver's license test, we answer question one this way. You ask: Why do we answer it this way? You don't have to answer it this way, but you won't pass the test. Who are you arguing with? There is no why. You go to practice the questions to pass question one. If you don't follow the rules, you won't pass.
Which industry is not like this? Accountants have accounting standards. If you can thoroughly understand the accounting standards, you can do the accounting work well. Why? There is no why. Don't ask why. Asking is useless. If one day you really have the opportunity to meet Jesus, and you ask Jesus why you have to forsake, Jesus will also tell you: There is no why. If there was a reason, I would have told you long ago. The Bible says that you must carefully keep and follow God's statutes, ordinances, and all these commandments. Why? You can choose not to carefully keep and follow them, and then be cursed. Isn't that said very clearly? If you don't carefully keep and follow them, you will be cursed. If you carefully keep and follow them, you will be blessed. People like me are blessed more easily. People who like to ask why have a little difficulty. What to do then? What God says, you do. After you do it, it will be good. God! Your word is established in heaven and will never be revoked. So it is easy for people to be blessed. Only fools ask this and ask that.
I used to work in a company. One of my young employees didn't follow the rules. There is something called Standard Operating Procedure SOP. Actually, SOP is a set of operating rules that we experts have developed. If people follow the operating rules, they are less likely to make mistakes. This is what we have researched. As a result, this recent graduate said: Why should I follow it? You don't have to follow it, but you don't have to come tomorrow. People have problems with their brains; that's how they are.
There are too many benefits to forsaking because after forsaking, you meet the standard and become a disciple. When you become a disciple, you receive authority, and you can be victorious, and build buildings that won't become unfinished projects. Have I answered everyone's questions? It's actually very simple, just follow the standard. Someone asked: Teacher, do we forsake anyone who hinders us from being a disciple of Jesus Christ, and does forsaking everything mean forsaking everything in our hearts? Of course. It's not forsaking 90%, but forsaking everything. What does forsaking mean? Forsaking means not making choices. If I become a disciple, my wife will be unhappy. That's troublesome. If God is unhappy, won't the trouble be even greater? We just don't know that the trouble when God is unhappy is completely great.
What is forsaking? It means no longer being controlled by this thing. For example, some parents coerce their children to be filial to them. If you obey them, you are controlled. But if you willingly and gladly are filial to your parents, that is because you willingly and gladly do so, and not because you are being coerced by them. Let me tell you a story about me and my mother. My mother once said: I want to go to a nursing home. I let her go see one. After she came back, she said to me: I'm not going. That place is not good. Actually, what she said was not that she wanted to go to a nursing home, but that she wanted to control me. People just want to coerce people. Once they can't coerce, they can fight spiritual battles and be victorious. If it gets intense, then get a divorce, what are you afraid of? Some people say: If you get a divorce, the child won't have a mother, and there won't be a complete family. Aren't their parents still alive? There's no shortage of either. Don't think too much.
II. Aren't We Receiving Grace? Why Do We Have to Pay a Price?
Does everyone have this confusion? This grace is not given to you because you have done well enough, but it is given to you even if you have not done well enough. Even if you pay the price, do you think you have done well enough? Actually, it is still not good enough. Everything, even if you pay the price, is still grace. If a person meets the standard of a disciple, reaches the standard of Jesus, and implements according to Jesus' words, is the authority that God gives you something you deserve? No. It is God fulfilling His promise. God gives it to you according to His promise. It is not bought by the price you pay. It is not bought by you, because the price you pay is what you should do. What I am saying is a bit deep.
Even if you pay the price, it doesn't mean that you can buy the authority of Jesus Christ. That is God's promise. As long as it is God's promise, it is grace. It is not that we deserve it, but that God has established His promise. Being a disciple is actually receiving a promise. If you are not a disciple, you cannot receive a promise. So, is paying the price still receiving God's promise? God's promise is nothing else; it is grace. Don't be confused by the grace gospel: everything is grace. It is true that everything is grace, but paying the price is the rule set by God.
It is not that you are good enough after you have paid the price. Even if you have paid the price, you are not good enough. It is Jesus who accomplished all this for you. It is Jesus who opened a path through which we can reach God. That is Jesus who died on the cross and bought it with His own blood. It is given to you freely. Nothing, no price that you pay, can deserve the precious blood of Jesus. The promise is grace; it is not that you deserve it, but God has established this matter, and God gives it to you according to what He has established.
Many people say that God's love is unconditional. Actually, this statement has some problems. God's love, God's promises, and God's blessings are all conditional. What does the Bible say?
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:5-6)
So grace and blessings are all conditional. The foundation is carefully keeping and following God's words.
III. Is Paying the Price an Act or Faith?
Today, we are very confused about faith and action, especially after people read the Book of James, they are even more confused, because the Book of James does not explain these things clearly. But is paying the price an act or faith? For example, was Abraham offering Isaac an act or faith? It was faith. Why was it faith? Actually, Abraham believed in God, and that's why he did these things next. If there is no faith as the foundation, everything else is religious behavior. For example, we burn incense sticks and burn a basket of paper for the dead. Does he have faith in doing this? What can he believe in? He can't even explain it clearly. Anyway, he just does it. Doing it is based on action. What does he believe in? He doesn't know.
But what does a Christian believe in? He believes in the words of God. The words of God say: You forsake, so we forsake. It's such a simple principle. What is faith to believe in? Faith is not self-confidence, but faith in the words of God. So people live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Abraham offered Isaac because he believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead. How much faith is that! Everyone must return to the foundation of faith. Action is not the foundation. It is not that faith and action go hand in hand. Action will never enter into the foundation. If action is the foundation, then it will be destroyed in the end.
IV. Has God's Promise Failed?
Why did I mention this question? Many people do not pay the price, lack faith, and do not believe in the words of God. Although they talk about this grace and that grace, God's promise has still failed in these people. Has it failed in the Israelites? It has failed. If you know something about the history of the Israelites, you will know that they left Egypt and entered the promised land. After entering the promised land, the judges ruled the Israelites for more than four hundred years, and then Saul became king, followed by David. As a result, after not many years, Israel was destroyed. After the destruction of the country, the Israelites were taken captive to Babylon. Later, they went back to build God's temple and did this and that. In the years of Jesus, the Jews crucified Jesus.
So Paul, facing this situation, had to answer the bewilderment of the Roman Christians: Has God's promise failed? Is not God's promise established in Heaven? If God's promise is established in Heaven, why are prayers not effective? Why do some fail and some succeed? This matter greatly troubled Paul. Wherein lies Paul's strength? He said: Not all who are born of Abraham are Abraham's descendants. Only those who have the same faith as Abraham are Abraham's descendants. Therefore, it is normal for the promise to fail in their lives. It is not that God's promise has failed, but that people have not obtained it. Why have they not obtained it? Because they do not have the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; they are merely people of this world.
The 《Bible》 has long revealed to us that some people in this world emulate Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and as a result, they obtain God's promise; others do not emulate Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They emulate another kind of person, and as a result, they do not obtain it. This matter is obvious. Abraham had a son named Ishmael, and another son named Isaac. Isaac was born from God's promise, and only those born of Isaac are Abraham's descendants. This promise was given to Abraham and Isaac. Isaac had two sons, one named Esau and one named Jacob. Esau was Abraham's grandson, Isaac's son, but Esau did not obtain it, while Jacob did. Where can you find reason in this? But that is how it is. God's promise has not failed; it is people who have failed. The Israelites who came out of Egypt and died in the wilderness deserved it.
Today, what I am preaching about becoming disciples is hoping that everyone will not go astray. God's promise failed because these people did not believe. But in us who emulate Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all will obtain it, and not a single one will fail. Do you all understand this now? God's promise will never fail; it is just that people do not obtain it. God's plan for the Israelites was to enter the Promised Land, but they chose to fall in the wilderness. God's plan is good, but people disobeyed God's word and God's plan. All who walk according to God's word, not a single one of God's promises will fail. What if some fail? Seeing that God's promise has not been obtained, but the curses have been obtained, what should be done? Quickly repent and then look for your own problems in yourself. Therefore, not all who are born of Abraham are Abraham's descendants. This statement is obvious. Only those who emulate Abraham are Abraham's descendants. Can you understand this now?
God's promise to Abraham is for those who have the same faith as Abraham. It is that simple. It is people who have gone their own way, and God's plan has been abandoned in their lives. When Jesus spoke to His disciples, He spoke plainly. When He spoke to outsiders, He spoke in parables, and as a result, the disciples were a little confused: Lord, why is this so? Jesus said: This is given for you to know, but not to them. What kind of talk is this from Jesus? But that is what Jesus did. God speaks plainly to His disciples, but does not let them know, because they are not disciples, and He lets them hear it in a daze. Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must know that not a single one of God's promises will fail. I will give you an example. I read the 《Bible》in great detail, to the point where? To the point where all were healed. The 《Bible》says: All who came to Jesus were healed, and all who came to the church seeking Jesus were healed.
For with shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. (《Acts》8:7)
Have you all noticed this sentence? At the time, I thought, how could all be healed? But later, I chose to believe, and I began to preach that all were healed. Were all healed at that time? Not all were healed. But I began to preach that all were healed, and some people would come and say: Pastor Liu, didn't you say that all were healed? I said: Oh, there is one who has not been healed. He said: Who is it? I said: It is you. He was very embarrassed at the time. If there is sickness in a person, it is not that God's promise has failed, but that the person is outside the promise. But later, a very miraculous thing happened, which is that more and more people were healed, and eventually all were healed.
Once, I met a person whose eyes were about to go blind, and the whole person was very confused. One day, he was sitting next to me eating breakfast, and he said to me: Pastor Liu, my eyes are about to go blind. The doctor said that my eyes will last for a maximum of one year before they go completely blind. I looked at him, and I felt very sad myself. How can a person live with blind eyes? He was an English-speaking brother, and I said: Brother, all who have eye diseases, I pray for them to be healed. At this time, he suddenly discovered hope and had faith in my words, and then he said: Really? I said: Really. I led him in prayer. After one round of prayer, I asked him: Do you see things more clearly? He said: No, it's still the same. I led him in prayer again, and it was still the same, and I continued to pray. After repeating it five or six times, his eyes could see everything clearly, and the hazy things in his eyes were gone. Three months later, he sent me a message saying that the doctor said his eyes were completely healed. Isn't it amazing? God!
Therefore, disciples live by promise. If all the promises are fulfilled in you, will you receive a hundredfold in this life and eternal life in the age to come? Certainly, you will. What God wants are disciples. Therefore, if you become a Disciple of Jesus Christ, all the promises will be fulfilled in us. Then God's promise has not failed, and it will never fail. Some people ask: Teacher, is it because the Israelites came out of Egypt and died in the wilderness to satisfy their bellies that they yearned for the life in Egypt? In fact, there is only one reason, which is that they did not believe in God, and not that they yearned for Egypt. When they were slaves in Egypt, they cried out to God to bring them out of Egypt. After He led them out, they did not believe in God and said: God, why did you let us die in the wilderness? If you believe that God will let you die in the wilderness, you will die in the wilderness. Therefore, these Israelites are people who displeased God, watched God's works for forty years, but did not know God's works! This is a lifelong tragedy.
How many Christians today are Christians who died in the wilderness? Too many! I am very emotional. They just refuse to pay the price, are greedy, and do not believe in God; they missed God's great grace and promise in their lives, and they did not emulate Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do you know why they are called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Do you know why you do not emulate Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? What is Abraham's strength? He offered the best to God. Isaac was also very powerful. When Abraham offered him up, he also thought that offering him up was the best. Can you understand these two? Jacob and Joseph were even more powerful! Joseph's faith surpassed Jacob's, Jacob's faith surpassed Isaac's, and Isaac's faith surpassed Abraham's. Therefore, brothers and sisters, begin to draw on God's promise in faith.
V. Tragic Endings of Unfinished Projects and Defeats
I once calculated that if I die in the wilderness, I will die anyway, so why not die in the Promised Land? Later, I developed a habit, which is to die in the Promised Land even if I die. When we see Christians today, you will have huge confusion, for example: if you get cancer, do you know how painful cancer is? Cancer is very painful. Do you all know that going to chemotherapy and radiotherapy for cancer, tossing and turning back and forth, and finally dying skinny and miserably, this is definitely a complete curse. In this era, we should not be confused by these things. In this generation, we should observe that this is the end of unfinished projects and the end of defeats. Therefore, I finally made a very smart choice. Let me die! I will die to enter the Promised Land, and I will no longer begrudge anything until today.
I thank God that I have the opportunity to participate in God's great plan in this generation. God has chosen me so that I can have the opportunity to restore the pure gospel of God once again. Everyone must know that the church only had the pure gospel from the time of Paul, and then generation after generation it became more and more impure. Until recently, there were too many absurd things in the gospel, mainly because there were too many disciples who led to unfinished buildings and defeats. Then, seeing the tragic ending of this world, we know that believing in the wrong gospel is fatal. The church has made the concept of discipleship so chaotic that anything can be a disciple, which is a mess. Therefore, the Chinese Mingding Doctrine in this generation is to restore the pure gospel. God's promise will never be abolished, so we are preaching the gospel of obtaining the promise, which is truly blessed!
[Question] 1: Teacher, my friend's mother-in-law believes in God, and her sisters and her husband also believe in God. Why did her 20-year-old son drown? It only took half a month.
Answer: Wasn't I just talking about them? I was referring to them. Some time ago, there was a brother who was baptized by two very famous pastors, and he believed in the Lord. What happened after he believed in the Lord? Actually, this question is quite sensitive. This brother was arrested and imprisoned after being baptized. He has been unable to resolve this knot. He asked me: Teacher Liu, I want to ask you a question. Do you know how I answered? I told him that they preached the wrong gospel and you believed in the wrong gospel.
What did they say? In fact, they know it themselves. Because although these two pastors are very famous, what they say cannot be justified, it is all piecemeal and unsystematic. Let me boast a little: in this generation, Mingding Doctrine really explains the truth of the gospel clearly, not only clearly, but also able to deliver on God's promise. Those who preach the wrong gospel are cursed, and those who believe in the wrong gospel are also cursed. What you just said is that your friend's mother-in-law also believes in God, what does she believe in? Is it an unfinished project? Is it a defeat? Then this sister and her husband also believe in God, and their twenty-four-year-old son drowned. As a result, we need to know if they believed in the right gospel?
[Question] 2: Teacher, sometimes I can't grasp this sense of boundaries well, for example: how to grasp the sense of boundaries between forsaking parents and loving parents? That is, how to grasp the sense of proportion of loving parents but not more than loving God?
Answer: Grasp what? There is no need to grasp it. We love God and keep His commandments. If you love God, you will definitely not be a corrupt official if you are a good official. If you are a businessman, you will definitely not be a treacherous merchant. If you love God, you will definitely honor your parents. This is the fifth commandment in the Ten Commandments, which is a commandment with a promise. I don't know what you need to grasp? If you have very specific things, you can describe the specific things and share with me how to love your parents, and I will specifically tell you how to grasp it.
Many people say that they need to grasp it, but they don't really need to. Love God well and implement what God says, and there will be no problem. Did I create confusion for you? Some people say: Teacher, how do I balance between loving God and being a disciple of the Lord, how do I balance between family and work? Do you all have this confusion? Why did their son drown at the age of twenty? Today, let's go back and investigate, brothers and sisters. A lot of the gospels that are preached are really evil, and they are not the gospel at all. If you read what is said in 《Galatians》, it is very interesting. I will read it to you:
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? (《Galatians》3:1-4)
Do you all understand what this means? It means that the Galatians deviated from the truth of the Gospel, and as a result, suffered greatly and fell ill frequently. In reality, they were not paying the price for God, but paying a heavy price for believing in the wrong Gospel. So, the question this sister asked earlier is not difficult to understand, because our Chinese Mingding Doctrine aims to solve this problem. In fact, not only are they confused, but in the church I attended before I established my own, I also saw these problems. At that time, I was also confused, but later I became increasingly clear that God would not make mistakes, nor would demons, only people would.
## 【Question】3: Teacher, is depression demon possession? How do you pray to cast out demons?
Answer: Lead them to believe in God. You must understand that depression is a typical manifestation of indulging the flesh, selfishness, and love of the world, with selfishness and indulgence of the flesh being the most serious. If these roots are not changed, the curse will not go away, so depression is definitely a curse. A curse is almost the same as a demon, because the person violates God's word and is cursed, and then the demon legally does corrupting work in that person. The key is that the truth can set people free, so teaching them while casting out demons makes it easier to deal with. A lot of depression has very dirty roots, which then produce a lot of sins. Suffering these sins is not in vain for God, but a price paid without glory.
## 【Question】4: Teacher, what does it mean to bear the cross?
Answer: Bearing the cross means dealing with your own flesh, crucifying the passions and desires of your flesh on the cross.
## 【Question】5: Teacher, in traditional churches, there are indeed many sick people, but there are also many who live long and are blessed. How do you explain this?
Answer: Actually, there is no need to explain. What is the point of explaining this? There are many people in temples who live long and are blessed! What does this prove? It proves nothing. There are many non-believers in the world who live long and are blessed. How are you going to explain that to me? But today I have to tell you that this world produces many confusing things: some people are very stupid, but have a lot of money; some people are very smart, but are desperately poor. How do you explain this? You cannot explain it. Some people are quite bad, but live a long time. How do you explain that? Some people do not do anything right, but earn a lot of money. Is that strange or not? Precisely because there are so many strange things, many people say: Look, this person does not understand the business very well, and is not very clear about doing things, but the company is doing well, so I also follow along in a muddle-headed way, and as a result, I fall into a pit and end up heavily in debt. Everyone needs to start re-understanding, do not try to solve these things, solving these things is useless.
Someone typed: My grandmother was bitter and complained her whole life, living to ninety-six. This proves nothing. This thing is to confuse people, and God also uses these things to confuse people. You say: God also confuses people? Our God is a stumbling block, now you know? Someone just said: Serving full-time in the church for more than thirty years. Actually, it would have been better if you had not served. Are those who serve full-time really serving God? Are they preaching the truth? If so, then God will preserve them. Do not think that serving in the church for more than thirty years proves anything. It proves nothing, and yet they are still plagued by illnesses.
When I hear of being plagued by illnesses and poverty, if you look at Deuteronomy chapter 28, there are a lot of curses and a lot of blessings. So I tell you that illness is definitely not a good thing, it is definitely a curse. If someone does not believe it, let us not argue with them about these things. Sickness and poverty are definitely not good things, so everyone needs to slowly ponder this. If a person is full of illnesses, it is almost a body full of curses. So serving for more than thirty years proves nothing, it is almost the same as the service of old Eli and his sons. You know that the sons of Aaron the priest offered strange fire and were killed by God on the spot. You ask me why? There is no why, it is just not doing things properly. Do not think that being a pastor makes you holy, there is no such thing. So preaching the wrong Gospel is cursed, and believing in the wrong Gospel is the same.
## 【Question】6: If I need to take care of my sick father, and my father has a problem while I am attending a gathering that requires immediate attention, should I stop the gathering to take care of him? Would that be considered not forsaking all?
Answer: That is a very interesting question. I ask you, is believing in the Lord just attending gatherings? I will tell you all, sometimes as soon as you want to learn God's word, something happens. Do you think that is strange or not? They start making a racket at this time. So where is the problem? The problem is that there is an evil spirit behind this, so I encourage everyone to start looking at problems with spiritual eyes. If you take care of your sick father, can you deal with his illness? If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ and do not even have this authority, then I think it makes little difference whether you attend gatherings or not.
Why do some people have problems happening around them as soon as they want to learn God's word? Has anyone noticed this situation? Because this is definitely the work of evil spirits. If it is the work of evil spirits, are you going to fight a spiritual battle or take care of your father? So I give you a suggestion: use spiritual eyes to see problems more often. If there is really a need, it does not matter if we take care of him for a while. Moreover, listening to the Word is done with the ears, and taking care of your sick father is done with the hands, neither affects the other, nor does it require you to preach.
## 【Question】7: Feeling weak all over, not in good spirits, and prone to palpitations, is that mental illness?
Answer: That may not necessarily be mental illness, it could also be a nervous disorder. Nervous disorder and mental illness are the same kind of illness.
## 【Question】8: Teacher, I have a question about healing the sick and casting out demons: I have noticed that the Bible does not seem to record that a cleansing prayer should be done after the prayer is over, but in practice, some people with charismatic backgrounds do a cleansing prayer after casting out demons. It seems that many times the cleansing prayer is not done properly, and as a result, family members and themselves have problems. What is the reason for this? I have not heard the teacher teach us to do a cleansing prayer.
Answer: There is no cleansing prayer in the Bible. Why do people do a cleansing prayer? I do not know, it is their invention. Since there is no biblical basis for it, throw it away. This thing is useless. Many people do cleansing prayers, but are they cleansed? No, they are not cleansed. As a result, many people do not do cleansing prayers and bring a lot of fear because they forget to do the cleansing prayer. When we attend a funeral, some people give you a red string, some people give you this and that, which is just to give you some comfort. So I tell you that these things are all very strange things. I encourage everyone to read the Bible carefully. Let us do what is in it well, and forget about what is not in it. These people just do not do discipleship well, they do not have authority in their hands, and after doing these things, they do a lot of cleansing prayers and things like that. I do not know where they got them from.
## 【Question】9: Teacher, comparing the standards of the Bible with the standards of our church, I find that the outside churches do not meet them. Many people have not heard the pure Gospel. So many people believe in and preach the wrong Gospel, what should we do? Should God be responsible and have mercy?
Answer: Should God be responsible? Did God have to be responsible for the Israelites who died in the wilderness? In fact, people messed up themselves and do not even know it, and that is my biggest confusion. If you cannot see God's promises in the church, then you say: that is it. Some pastors are even more hateful, when the brothers and sisters in the church have questions and ask them, they actually tell them not to ask, saying where do so many questions come from? They shut people up. So what is the problem? That disciples forsake these things is God's standard, so do not get entangled in this matter, and do not doubt this matter. This is God's word, which Jesus said. But some people just want to understand God's truth, and they cannot even ask because he cannot explain it. So I tell you that people know when they have made a mistake, but they deliberately do not change. So those who died in the wilderness deserved it, but we must know when we have made a mistake.
## 【Question】10: Teacher, are those who are not on the same path rejected?
Answer: Of course. If two people, one loves the world and the other loves God, how can you put them together? You cannot do it.
## 【Question】11: Teacher, a child has had epilepsy since he was four months old, and is now fourteen years old. His parents and maternal grandmother have all believed in the Lord and gather in the Three-Self Church. They have prayed for so many years but it has not gotten better. We prayed online with them, but it did not get better either. I do not know how to pray and minister.
Answer: The demon behind the epilepsy may need to be dealt with more harshly. The child has had epilepsy since he was four months old, which must be related to his parents. What does the Bible say? If you diligently obey the word of God, your offspring and the offspring of your livestock will be blessed. It is because the offspring are not blessed that it is like this. For this kind of situation, you need to lead the parents to believe in the Lord well, and start to thirst and pursue according to the words in the Bible.
## 【Question】12: Teacher, after several of our sisters removed idols, my husband cut his toe with a saw the next day.
Answer: Cutting his toe with a saw is very normal. Because these things are to let us know about spiritual warfare, there is nothing strange about it. Spiritual warfare is like this. Whoever does not overcome will have this kind of ending. So I encourage everyone to really return to the Bible and understand God's word. After removing idols, it can really bring some problems. Fighting this spiritual battle really requires authority and power from God.
## 【Question】13: A sister is doing business, and as soon as she sits down to study the Bible, people come to buy things, affecting her study. Is this an evil spirit?
Answer: It is definitely an evil spirit, because the spiritual realm is arranged like this. I will tell you a testimony: Not long after I believed in the Lord, I was in charge of computer equipment. On the Lord's Day, the server broke down and the network went down. Should I take care of it or not? I did not take care of it! I called someone else to take care of it. Is there a problem if it is down for two hours? There is no problem. What happened later? As long as it was under my control, it would not break down on the Lord's Day. Not only would it not break down on the Lord's Day, but it would not break down easily at other times. In fact, the evil spirits behind these things operate like this, it just depends on how you choose. If you really take care of it, they will come again next time, and you will be controlled like this. Anything that does not kill people is a small matter, and things that can kill people are not even a matter. If people's hearts are not mature and they do not use spiritual eyes to judge, serious problems will arise.
## 【Question】14: A seven-year-old child cannot speak, and has many hand gestures. His mother has vitiligo on her face, and it seems that his older brother and aunt also have illnesses. Is this a family problem or his own problem?
Answer: It is all his own problem. Family problems are easy to solve. A child who cannot speak is definitely closely related to the things in his parents' bones. God does not make mistakes, and demons do not make mistakes, but God has abundant grace and mercy.
## 【Question】15: Teacher, a question for someone else, is obsessive-compulsive disorder an evil spirit?
Answer: Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an evil spirit. Today's time is too long, so let us stop here. Tomorrow I will talk about lessons five and six: Victorious Disciples and Glorious Hope. There are some questions today that were not answered very well, please bear with me. If you have questions or need healing, you can contact our customer service, and we can arrange for pastors to pray for you and minister to you. But the truth can set people free, and loving God is the key to solving all problems. Prayer may be effective at the beginning, but it cannot last. Ultimately, the fundamental problem, the problem of loving God, must be solved. Goodbye brothers and sisters, may God bless everyone!