Introduction

Good morning, everyone. Let's turn to Revelation chapter 2. After man established the church, many confusions arose. When man speaks, there is much confusion. What should be done about these things? I believe we must return to the Word of God. We have studied Revelation many years ago, and if I remember correctly, this should be the third time. Genesis and Revelation, the first and last books of the Bible, are both very important.

We have long had a concept called "overcoming." Today's theme for this second chapter is "Building an Overcoming Church." The logic is simple: this is the first lecture on building an overcoming church, and next week we will have the second lecture. I had a simple concept a long time ago, and later, reading Revelation, I saw what happens to those who overcome and what happens to those who do not. Those who do not overcome do not know where they are going. The principle is very simple.

For example, if we create a company, eventually only Alibaba, JD.com, and Pinduoduo are left in the e-commerce industry. In fact, there should be tens of thousands of e-commerce businesses, but many are gone. If your investment was not successful at the time, the money is wasted. In the early days of the internet in the 1990s, many people were developing search engine companies. Well-known ones included Google and Yahoo. Who is left now? Not many. According to statistics, there were 300,000 internet search engine projects running at that time, but only a few remain. Where did the others go? They did not overcome.

Whether it is being a person, building a company, building a nation, or building a church, not overcoming is always a tragedy. How important is the word "overcoming." The history of our Chinese nation has experienced much humiliation in the past hundred years because of lost battles. Therefore, to build a church, we must build an overcoming church. This concept must be established.

I have found many things confusing. For example, in the church, some people think: this person is very good, and the pastor is also very loving, so how did they get cancer? It is truly confusing. Since I was young, I have seen many confusing phenomena in the local church. Since I believe in God, I look for answers in the Bible.

What the Spirit Says to the Churches

Do you think Revelation is only addressed to the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira? No, it is addressed to all the churches. God uses these churches as representatives to see what kind of church this is and what kind of church that is. God gives guidance on how each type of church should repent.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7)

Did you hear that? Many do not have ears. Let me give you an example. There was a pastor who was very famous in the Chinese community. Before that very famous pastor died, we both contracted COVID around the same time. I did not die. He actually recovered, and I was quite envious. After he recovered, he was lively and energetic, but he suddenly died three days later. In those three days, he wrote a letter saying how the church had disappointed him.

After reading it, I was stunned. He was a very famous pastor, and he built his own church, which should be in the United States. He was very disappointed with the church he built himself. Then what were you doing? If I make a cabinet and I am not satisfied, I will tear it down and make another one. If I am still not satisfied, I will tear it down again and make another one. I will always be able to make a good cabinet.

So, when I first built a church, and it was not right after I built it, I tore it down. I am not so compromising. I rebuilt it. You say this guy has quite the character. That is real character. So, a pastor said to me: "Little Liu, let me tell you, the church you build is an external reflection of your personality." He was older than me and called me Little Liu, meaning that whatever personality you have, you will build a church with that personality. If you have an overcoming personality, you will build an overcoming church. Being soft and weak will not work. There are still some soft and weak people among us because they will not be strong. I think building a church is the same. In fact, what you see in the church's condition is actually my personality.

I have had this personality since I was young, and this personality is truly an overcoming personality. When I first started building the church, there were no prayer meetings at all. It was terrible, terribly bad. Later, we were cursed and disciplined, and then we tore down the church and started over. This tearing down does not mean literally tearing it down, but in my heart, I felt that it was not right, so I started over. Then, with a crash, those who should leave left, and those who should stay stayed. This is a church transformation.

Later, when the church looked wrong again, we tore it down and started over. Many people do not have the courage to do this. This pastor wrote a long passage saying that he was very disappointed with the church he built because the church had no love. Actually, it is not about love or not. It is just that if your love is a love that caters to the flesh, then after that love is gone, it produces a failed church. Do you understand? This is what the Spirit says to the churches. I tell you, all confusions must be sought in the truth of the Bible.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:11)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” (Revelation 2:17)

These two verses again say: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Do not think that it is only addressed to the churches in Pergamum, Smyrna, Ephesus, and Thyatira. No, it is addressed to all the churches. If you fit the description, not overcoming is this series of problems. Look for it in the truth of the Bible.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 2:29)

Verse 29 says again: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Today, may the Spirit of God open our ears so that every brother and sister can hear what the Spirit is saying to us. Those who overcome will surely receive the promise. When studying Revelation, I discovered that overcoming is the key. If you want to receive blessings, you must overcome. If God tests you a little and you collapse, if you cannot hold on, then what are you doing? This is what the Spirit says to the churches. Can you hear it? It is overcoming, no longer being confused.

I only have one confusion, which is where did I not do right? I feel that God will not make mistakes, and only I myself make mistakes. I am not as rigid as some people. My personality is more flexible. When God disciplines me, I change immediately. When my parents were about to beat me when I was young, I would say: I was wrong, I will change. As for whether I really understood where I was wrong, it actually took a long time to realize. After realizing it, I understood that it was this part that I did not do right.

Everyone should become flexible, not weak, but flexible: Ah, this was not done right. Do not be rigid. Some people are still confused until they die: God, why is this happening? Who are you asking? You have lived for over fifty years. Did you not walk that path yourself? Stop asking God why. Today at noon, I just ministered to a believer who kept asking: God, why did you make me like this? With your weak appearance, you will definitely be beaten down by demons. Someone asked: God, why am I being rubbed on the ground by demons? There is no why. It is just because you do not overcome. If people do not overcome, churches do not overcome, and businesses and countries do not overcome, the result is very tragic. You must learn to overcome. God's will is to build an overcoming church.

God's Will is to Build an Overcoming Church

Overcoming is not difficult at all. I often minister to weak people. For example, some sisters earn the money in the family, but they are afraid of their husbands. This confuses me. No matter who earns the money or who depends on whom, the problem is not there. I think our brothers and sisters must establish this concept of overcoming, be a resounding Christian, be a resounding pastor, is that okay? Why must you be controlled by others? Being controlled by others is too miserable. I hope you can all imitate me and not be controlled.

I do not control people, and no one can control me. If you want to control me, then forget it. It is not easy to come into this world and live a lifetime, living miserably and feeling wronged, and then die. Are you going to carve "A Life of Grievances" on your tombstone? To compromise and please everyone, but only you are not satisfied, is that not ridiculous? If you are not satisfied, God is not satisfied either. Then what do you say should be done? Therefore, God's will is to build an overcoming church. Today, brothers and sisters, please listen to another sentence from me: It is not to shame anyone, but to please God.

God's will is an overcoming church, and an overcoming heart pleases God. Those who are willing to build an overcoming church with me, let us run hand in hand together. Those who are not willing, if you do not want to leave, I will leave. Is that not the logic? If you do not want to overcome together, why compromise? So, that is how our church has come to this day. Brothers and sisters who leave, if they want to leave, they can leave. I will not ask them to come back. But I also do not want them to have accidents after they leave. As long as they leave happily, that is fine.

God is the God who makes us overcome. At that time, there was a sister who followed me to believe in the Lord, and her husband's persecution was very great. Her husband sent me a long string of bloody knife emojis. In my heart, I said: What is this? So cowardly. If you have the ability, really come with a knife. If you come with a knife, the police will naturally help me block it. Do I care about that? What is the use of sending a long string of emojis?

At that time, I did not want to ruin other people's families, so I advised this sister to live well with her husband. As a result, this sister slowly listened on the website for many years. Later, when she came back, I was very moved. This is called an overcoming personality. Later, her husband also became well-behaved. This sister of ours has a very overcoming personality.

I hope that brothers and sisters can all be strong, whether they are brothers or sisters. Living there feeling wronged is too uncomfortable. Did you marry a wife or marry a husband to control you? What is the point? We were originally called to freedom. Do you understand? I tell you, once you are strong, nothing will collapse. I have not seen anything collapse either. This sister's income continues to rise. God blesses her, and her income is much higher than her husband's. When she shouts at home, what she says counts. People are so strange. Even if you do not give the money to the other person, your status at home is high when you have more money.

But I still want to say it again, God's will is to build an overcoming church, and an overcoming church is a group of overcoming disciples. What does an overcoming disciple mean? It means being willing to give up for the sake of God. As Jesus said, give up this and give up that for the sake of Jesus Christ. How many people can accept this sentence? Many people cannot accept it. If the Pharisees heard this sentence, they would definitely say that Jesus is a heresy, a cult. But the Bible does say so. God's will is to build an overcoming church.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:11)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” (Revelation 2:17)

To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. (Revelation 2:26-28)

This person lives with such clarity, doesn't he? So, brothers and sisters, I tell you, the idea of dominating and being dominated is utterly detestable. This afternoon, I ministered to a sister over the phone, and she burst into tears as soon as she started speaking. What's the point of crying to me? No need for such weakness. I encourage everyone to see through the trivialities of life; it's really not that difficult. But some people are afraid of these things, resorting to crying,闹ing, and threatening suicide, and thus they are dominated. In reality, those people love themselves so much; they are just trying to scare you. Can't you have some backbone? This is what the Holy Spirit says to the churches; God's will is to build a victorious church.

The Loveless Church in Ephesus

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:1-7)

This church in Ephesus is excellent, with its deeds, hard work, perseverance, intolerance of wicked people, and expulsion of false apostles. It is a clean church. But this clean church spends its time discerning false apostles, forgetting about love in the process, and constantly labeling this as heresy and that as heresy. The church's ministry is not about catching heresies but about pulling brothers and sisters out of such states and into blessed ones.

If the church is constantly engaged in hard work, deeds, and perseverance but forsakes its first love, God will call you to repent. God knows what you do, but these things cannot replace the love within you. I often remind myself of this. Don't get so caught up in establishing church systems that you lose love; that would be a problem. That's why I still have one-on-one ministry. Those brothers and sisters I minister to one-on-one are truly blessed.

My past years have been a training ground by the brothers and sisters. How were they trained? I had a bad habit, which they later termed "idiot aversion." I didn't even know there was such a term before. I would teach once, and they wouldn't get it; I would teach again, and they still wouldn't get it; I would teach again, and they still wouldn't get it. I really wanted to beat them up. Later, I taught ten times, and it still didn't work, so I taught twenty times. I thank God that it ultimately trained me. You have to control yourself; if you don't, you'll explode, right? The louder you speak, the more you have to control yourself. It's hard work, but it's really good training.

One day, I happened to pass by and heard someone say, "Look, I've taught you three times, and you still don't get it?" I said, "Wait a minute. I taught you ten times, and you didn't learn, and now you're getting angry after teaching someone three times?" This love is patient and kind. I am truly grateful that the brothers and sisters trained me so well. Actually, my temper is particularly bad, but thank God, you all trained me because I know God wants us to be victorious. If I lack this patience, this tolerance, I actually lack love.

If you don't have love, do you understand? Those who have raised children know this; those who haven't don't. So many mothers say, "You'll understand when you raise children." When a child is very young and soils their diaper, the parents clean it up. I ask, "Does it stink?" They say, "No." Why? They love their own child; how could it stink? People nearby are covering their noses because of the smell. Like in the Northeast in winter, when the doors and windows are closed tightly, can anyone stay in the room when a child has just pooped? But the parents don't mind the smell; only those without love mind the smell.

God knows your deeds, your hard work, your perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate wicked people. You're doing pretty well, driving out false apostles, and laboring for God's name without growing weary, but you have forsaken your first love. Today you discern this, tomorrow you discern that, and you forget along the way. If you suspect everyone you see, it becomes an occupational hazard. Today you catch heresy, tomorrow you catch heresy, and you lose love in the process; this is very normal. Because you think everyone is bad, you are very vigilant, afraid of being deceived, and you lose love.

Everyone should know that of the people I have ministered to, about 5% walk this path with me. One person stays out of every twenty ministered to, which means giving out twenty loves to get one return. That's fine too; building a church must mean building a church full of love. This love is not just saying, "Jesus loves you, and I love you." This kind of thing is not very useful. This love is: your problem is my problem, your pain is my pain, but of course, your money is not my money. But when I don't have the ability to solve it, it's really hard, so may God have mercy.

Victory is building a church according to Ephesians, but losing love is meaningless. What is love? Actually, our church is starting to break through. The things of life are all spiritual things. Everyone must not think that working is a worldly thing; all things that people do in life are spiritual things. So our church must gradually train in the ability to make a living, and for those with illnesses, we bring them to prayer and release them from the bondage of illness. Our healing and deliverance are because God's love motivates us.

Sometimes the brothers and sisters are very tired. Like this afternoon, when I was ministering, I spent an hour and a half on the phone. A sister has a very low status in her family, dominated by her son, dominated by her husband, and doesn't even have the right to pray at home. Her parents are also Christians, and they persecute her because of speaking in tongues, because they think speaking in tongues is bad and not in accordance with the Bible. But no one cares about the sister's distress, because she can relax a little when she prays silently. But her parents still think she has entered heresy and cults. Actually, she is not even among us; we just really can't stand it anymore and are helping her. This sister loves her son too much; her son threatens her all the time, saying he will commit suicide if things don't go his way. Actually, he won't die; he's just scaring her, and he can only scare this sister.

The Church in Smyrna Enduring Tribulation for Believing

“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. (Revelation 2:8-11)

This church in Smyrna is too good! This is not a grace that everyone has. If our church experiences persecution and tribulation, those who can truly believe are truly believing. This is the only church that is not rebuked; God does not rebuke the church in Smyrna; they are all truly believing. How could someone who is willing to die for the Lord love the world?

Being willing to die for the Lord is a kind of victory. After victory, one will not suffer the second death. The second death is being thrown into the lake of fire, which is no joke; it is eternal death. Our God is in the church in tribulation, and He tells us that He is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. Our God is definitely before us. If we have such qualifications and such blessings to be a church like Smyrna, but we don't have it today, let's just take it literally.

I tell everyone, if a person once sees the end of the world, sees that our Lord Jesus is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again, and holds the keys to Hades, then life and death and suffering a little tribulation are nothing. It may be a little uncomfortable, but one can be victorious.

Some people say, "Teacher, I can't control myself; oh, I'm just like this, I'm always like this." I say, "If the Japanese devils come, you won't be like this. I think what you need most is the Japanese devils. If the Japanese devils catch you and put you in a concentration camp, making you build railroads, I don't think there will be any problems. After finishing work, your legs and arms will hurt, but you won't complain." Why? Because the Japanese devils really beat you.

Someone says, "My legs hurt." A whip will fix it. Then you will say, "I don't hurt anymore, I don't hurt anymore." People are like this. So in experiencing tribulation for the Lord, if you are qualified to be martyred for the Lord, I tell you, that is a great grace. Anyway, death is death. If you get cancer and go through radiation and chemotherapy, suffering a lot, and then die, there is no glory in that. That is not experiencing tribulation for the Lord; that is the result of people loving the world and discerning good and evil.

Before we have experienced such things, we must know in our hearts that our God is the First and the Last. He created humanity, and He will also harvest humanity at the end. People in the world see through it, knowing that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and holds the keys to death and Hades; how wonderful this is. The Holy Spirit speaks to the churches, and some churches are experiencing these things. Although their theological system may not be so perfect, it is enough that they have such a heart.

The Church in Pergamum, Immoral and Money-Loving

“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know that you live where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed in your city, where Satan lives. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. (Revelation 2:12-17)

Where was this church built? Built where Satan has his throne, and then the preacher was killed by Satan. Actually, in the early church, according to the era of old John, some of Jesus' twelve apostles went to India and many idolatrous and evil places. Many people were killed. You go to where Satan has his throne and then get killed; of course, this person has grace. Being killed means you don't have to face worldly disturbances, and it explains everything at once.

They established a church in that place, and some people there followed the teaching of Balaam. Balaam gave Balak an idea to have the Midianite women seduce the Israelite men, and then a series of things happened. Balaam did this to get gold and rewards from Balak.

In that place, some people succumbed to the teachings of Balaam, which, simply put, is the love of money and idolatry. Idolatry is spiritual adultery, and then they pursued something called the Nicolaitan party. What is the Nicolaitan party? It is the idea that life is vanity of vanities, so they began to indulge themselves. They did whatever made them happy and played however they pleased. The Nicolaitan party pursued freedom and indulged the flesh because they felt that the flesh was of no benefit, so they indulged their flesh. This logic sounds quite logical and consistent, and these things have all entered the church.

The church says that life is vanity of vanities, so let's play. This is called the Nicolaitan party, and then a series of problems arise in the church. God attacks them with the sword of His mouth. In fact, this prosperity theology is not inherently problematic, but it is easy to fall into this trap because having money and success is so good. As they talk, they go astray.

Of course, failure theology is definitely not good. It is certainly good for us to be blessed by God. But if a person walks the path of Balaam's love of money in order to be blessed, it is bad. When people love money, they worship idols, worship idols in their hearts, and then begin to indulge the flesh and pursue freedom, a series of things. Some people in the church do this. Some people hold fast to God's name and adhere to God's word; others engage in Balaam's love of money.

Now the question arises, I ask you, is such a church a good church? No. God will attack such a church with the sword of His mouth. So in fact, many churches have problems because of this. Some time ago, someone made a video, whether it is true or false we do not know, but with names and surnames. He said that five large churches in the United States have gone bankrupt.

Everyone must not think that only real estate companies are insolvent. In fact, churches can also be insolvent. The church loves money and builds that magnificent church, but the members are getting fewer and fewer, and they cannot afford the maintenance costs of the church building, so the church goes bankrupt. Before the pandemic, one of our sisters shared with me that in a certain place, a pastor took out a loan of 300 million to build a landmark cathedral, and then the pandemic came, and he was insolvent and could not repay the loan, so the pastor ran away because his goal was not to bring people into God's blessing, but to build a magnificent cathedral.

I thank God for giving me such wisdom, we do not do this. We put all the resources that the church can mobilize into pastoral care, which is the key. Because in the end, we still have to edify people, do not edify a building. The glass of the church is polished brightly, but the hearts of the people are dark, that is fatal. So this place produced extreme confusion, some people were willing to be killed for God, and some people loved the world and loved money.

What do you say about this church? Whose responsibility is it? I tell you, it is the responsibility of the leader. The reason is very simple, his goal is not in pastoral care, his goal is in collecting offerings. So I repeatedly emphasize that the church is not a place to collect money, the church is a place to bless brothers and sisters, the church is really not an investment institution, the church does not invest. An old pastor once told me, he said: "Xiao Liu, the church cannot save money." This sentence has had a profound impact on me. The church is not a financial institution, so our church does not invest in stocks, nor does it invest in funds, nor does it invest in bonds, we only do one thing: to shepherd the flock of God well.

Finally, the two-edged sword in God's mouth will appear. You will be very surprised, some churches have God's grace, some churches have God's sword, God is doing the work of attack there, God is doing the work of demolition there. I tell you, God will personally demolish many churches. The church business must be careful. Of course, you do not have to believe me, you slowly ponder, slowly watch.

The one who overcomes, overcomes Balaam's logic of loving money; overcomes the Nicolaitan party's things of indulging the flesh. In this kind of church, there are also those who overcome, God will give him the hidden manna, and give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone, which no one knows except the one who receives it. What is manna? It is our needs for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.

All our needs are met in Jesus Christ, God opens this hidden manna to us, and we do not need to worry about our lives at all. So we brothers and sisters who are still worried about our livelihood need to readjust. If we do not overcome, how can this hidden manna be given to you? It is to overcome. Remember, loving money is a tragedy, if a person loves money, he cannot love God, and if he loves God, he cannot love money. Someone typed: "It is very easy for the church to amass wealth." You are wrong. The church amasses wealth to the point of swords, and God will demolish it with swords.

Thank the Lord. To build a victorious church, first, we must not abandon love. Second, we are willing to suffer for God. Third, we must overcome the love of money. I tell you, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. This is what the old John who wrote Revelation summed up. These three things, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, are worldly. Overcome them! If you build a church at Satan's throne, what does Satan say? Satan kills people through their love of money and love of the world.

The Church of Thyatira Controlled by Jezebel

"And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, 'These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; He shall dash them to pieces like the potter’s vessels’— as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’" (Revelation 2:18-29)

Remember this passage, in the church you will see a church controlled by Jezebel, it still has many works, love, faith, service, and patience. But this explains nothing. You have these things, are very diligent, very patient, and have done many good deeds. But inside the church there is a woman named Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess. You say how clever Jezebel is, she is very good at playing manipulation. She is simply a master of palace intrigue, very good at conspiracy and manipulation, she is also a very clever woman.

Of course, if you marry a Jezebel, maybe you can eat soft rice all the way down. If people plan to live like this, it is good to eat it. But it is not okay in the church, in the church, I tell you, you cannot allow the teachings of Jezebel.

What exactly are Jezebel's teachings? We will dig this open. Jezebel's teachings are often one thing on the surface, but in essence, they are manipulation. Remember, the gospel we believe in is to set people free, and anything that controls others or is controlled is hated by God. This is very fatal. Jezebel has a very large influence in the church, to what extent? On the surface, the pastor is managing, but behind the scenes, there is a Empress Dowager Cixi listening to the government from behind a curtain.

I will tell you a story, a pastor arranged work for the employees, and everyone was doing it. The pastor's wife came and said: "Hey, who told you to do it? Stop, stop, stop!" The employees said: "The pastor told us to do it." She said: "Stop!" The people below were dumbfounded, they turned around and went to the pastor and said: "Pastor, the pastor's wife said it should be like this and that, who should we listen to?" The pastor said: "Listen to her." The employees thought: "Listen to her, then you should have said it earlier! You should consult her about everything first, and then arrange for us to do it, okay? We have done half of it, and you call to stop?" This kind of thing is quite common, I have heard many versions of this story.

There is also a person who is very famous in the Chinese church, he loves the Lord very much, and he gathered a group of people who are all well-known, and everyone discussed how to promote this ministry, they discussed for three days, and then this brother's wife came and said: "Who told you to do it like this?" Everyone was wiped out and started over. Three days of discussion were wasted, can that work? So many times I feel very strange, including the pastor's wife's arrangements, sisters cannot find the pastor to serve. I really have not found such teachings in the Bible.

I ask you, where did Paul go to find a pastor's wife? People come to find Paul to serve, whether they are sisters or brothers. Or when Mary and Martha found Jesus to serve, why was that not okay? Because they want to control. So these things are actually very evil. The pastor's wife serves the sisters, and there are many sisters in the church, and the pastor's wife cannot solve these people's problems, nor does she have that wisdom. Then what do you say to do? It is stuck there.

God's eyes are like a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass. One look at Jezebel, and the fine brass foot kicks over. God examines the hearts and minds of people, and rewards each person according to their deeds. Of course, people are very tired in such a church, but God has requirements for people.

"But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—" (Revelation 2:25-26)

You are very tired in such a church, try to offend Jezebel, if you offend Jezebel, then you will become the owner of the vineyard who was robbed by Jezebel, and you will not know how you died. So I tell you, when the church gets bigger, it likes to manipulate, and likes to use this set of things to control the congregation of the church. The rest of the people do not obey these teachings because they understand the word of God and are willing to hold fast. Thank God, God gives him the morning star. In such an environment, you will feel very desperate, but when you see the morning star, you immediately have hope.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. After Jezebel heard it, she had no ears and could not hear it, she did not know. This kind of thing is too common in the church. You must observe carefully. So our brothers and sisters begin to work with me to see through these schemes of the devil to corrupt the church behind the scenes. If you want to build, build a victorious church, if you want to build, build a church where God reigns. God will surely do His wonderful work among us.

In fact, why do people want to control? Because they do not believe in God, in fact, God manages best. So God examines people's hearts and then rewards each person. Everyone must not think it is strange when disasters come upon some people. Do not be surprised, God examines the hearts and minds of people. Today we begin to develop ears, he who has an ear, let him hear. We will share this here, and next week we will share the other three churches.

May God bless everyone!