The correlation between one's EQ and wisdom is direct; cultivate a thick skin, and wisdom will manifest.

The Thicker the Skin, the Greater the Wisdom

A thick skin comes with many advantages; one cannot be a mighty warrior for God with a thin skin. In the last session, we discussed how a salesperson needs to have a thick skin. If a salesperson cannot even make sales, they cannot work. Thus, with a thin skin, one can accomplish nothing. Those with thin skins are easily embarrassed, leading to a loss of wisdom.

I previously shared an example of imparting vision. Sister YX was somewhat hesitant to speak, but Brother HF spoke boldly. Therefore, having wisdom is crucial! Today, we must understand that the correlation between one's EQ and wisdom is direct; cultivate a thick skin, and wisdom will manifest.

Do not be shy within the church. In the Bible, David was the boldest, disregarding many things, such as praising God half-naked or feigning madness when he fled to the Philistines. Those with thin skins and concerned about face cannot do well. Someone concerned about face would feel ashamed. However, David dared to do all sorts of shameful things.

If you wish to cultivate a thick skin, I recommend a book about David, the best I have ever read because I wrote it! Here, you can tell how thick-skinned the pastor is. Some sentences in the book may not be perfect, but you can still read it because I am bold enough. Even if you find some typos, it does not matter much. Without boldness, building a glorious church for God is truly impossible.

Once, when I was in Taiwan, I saw a pastor's book titled A Blessed Life and A Blessed Church. I thought I would write two books in the future. Later, when preparing the 201 Course, I discovered that blessing is related to Mingding Doctrine, and when I returned to his book, I found that he did not mention Mingding Doctrine at all. Therefore, I will write better than him; I will write a book called A Blessed Church!

The book raised a question: Why are many churches always small? He said that a pastor of a small church asked him how to build a thriving church. He replied, Do you listen to your own sermons? The small church pastor was embarrassed, with a very thin skin, and said, I hate my own sermons. If one hates their own sermons, their congregation will hate them too. What will become of this church? How can such a person expect others to enjoy listening to their sermons? If you do not like what you cook, how can you expect others to like it? Later, he gave the small church pastor a suggestion: you must start listening to your own sermons. The small church pastor said, I cannot listen; I cannot bear it. This is about saving face, because not listening prevents progress, keeping one stuck in the same state.

I enjoy listening to my own sermons; I relish listening to them. Every time I finish preaching, I listen to myself. Therefore, all our district pastors, when doing the 201 Course, must listen to their own preaching, correct the parts they do not like, continue listening, and correct again, repeatedly. Doing so will lead to gradual improvement, as face is worthless; boldness is valuable. Therefore, I can say that the book I wrote is the best, the church I built is the best, my preaching is the best, and I do everything to the best of my ability. I am a person who pursues excellence. You may not be used to it at first, but you will get used to it after being with me for a long time. I hope all of you become such people. God seeks those with thick skin. Many brothers and sisters among us have thick skins.

Sister HW said, My family often teaches things like, 'A thick skin does not suffer losses; a thick skin gets to eat meat.' In learning, students with a thick skin will ask questions and learn more.

Actually, Sister HW is very interesting. She is a district pastor in our church. When she leads her pastoral district in studying the Bible, she speaks boldly, regardless of whether she speaks well or not; she does not care. A thin skin gets nothing; dying for face is a living hell. How do we practice having a thick skin?

In fact, Sister HW used to have a thin skin. Later, perhaps due to her job, she came into contact with all sorts of people. If one has a thin skin, one cannot adapt to the job and environment, and many things cannot be done well. One must practice, and she discovered that practicing is not a disadvantage but a victory. The method of practice is simple: force yourself.

Some say that those with the thinnest skins and most concerned about face are people from northeastern China or Shandong. In fact, people from Shaanxi also care about face, as do people from Henan. People from Shanghai and the coastal areas of Guangdong are better; they are straightforward in business and do not have a strong concept of face.
The degree to which one does not care about face is the same as one's degree of wisdom. How do we transition from caring about face to not caring about face?

Shedding the Façade of Saving Face

Sister HM shared a personal experience: When she first came to the church, her small group leader was Sister ZX. Before even talking to Sister ZX, Sister HM first checked her information and saw that Sister ZX was younger than her, with less work experience and had believed for less time. Sister HM felt uncomfortable, thinking, Why did they assign me such a young small group leader? Later, she learned that her group leader, Sister YL, was even younger. At this point, Sister HM made a choice: to humbly seek guidance from them, to completely discard face.

When facing a pastor who was young and had far less social experience than herself, Sister HM spent a week adjusting her mindset, resetting herself to zero. I was in a state of spiritual desperation. Since I came to this church, I broke all my thinking patterns, put everything down, and did not care about face at all, completely resetting myself to zero, regardless of time of belief or age. As long as I can be edified here, as long as my small group leader and group leader can give me enough spiritual knowledge, I feel it is truly worth it. So, later, my interaction with Sister ZX was very pleasant; I also cooperated with Sister YL, completing reports and tasks assigned to me on time, Sister HM said.

Pastor: Yes, if she gives you some teachings that are different from what you have received, that would be quite difficult. Because people like ZL and HM have extremely rich social experience, while YL's social experience was far less before. This is indeed a big challenge for them.

When some older brothers and sisters are assigned to our younger groups, their reaction is, These pastoral leaders are so wise and amazing. I often secretly praise our church's pastoral district leaders; they are all wonderful brothers and sisters. Wisdom is directly linked to the thickness of one's skin.

If a person has a thin skin, they will basically have no progress. Another person who came to the church with Sister HM was named XJ, a preacher. I put her in Sister YL's group. Why? Because XJ was particularly concerned about face, and Sister YL was capable of tearing down people's facades.

One day, XJ came to teach me that I should train my group leaders in this way, referring to her group leader, Sister YL. Do I not know how to train my group leaders? I know better than XJ. I asked her if she had ever trained anyone, and she said no. I asked her if she had ever built a church, and she said no. Then I told her to forget about it. People who speak about things they do not know, only according to their feelings, are very foolish. I almost told XJ that she was being very foolish. Therefore, the foolishness in her bones was completely exposed in front of me.

So, everyone must start to understand whether those who interact with you think you are wise. Do not think that you only care about yourself and do not care if others think you are foolish or smart. How will you navigate society in the future? So, face is really worthless.

Sister KX also shared an experience of transitioning from caring about face to not caring about face: Actually, when she was young, everyone said that KX was a particularly thick-skinned person; teachers often said she was a slippery old hand, with a skin thicker than the city wall. However, unknowingly, the older she got, the more she cared about face. Sister KX is now the worship leader in the church and the lead singer of Abundance Music. She discovered a bad habit in herself: whenever her voice was slightly off, and she felt that the sound was not good, she was unwilling to sing anymore. The most serious was a few months ago when she listened to her own voice and felt it was getting worse, while others' voices sounded better. She thought she might as well stop singing altogether. Later, when she led worship on Sunday, she made a decision: I do not care! I will sing! When she did not care about anything, the feeling of singing was actually quite good. Thank God!

That day, Sister KX told Sister YX, who was in charge of Sunday worship, that she had a slight sore throat, just being a little temperamental. YX said, You do not have to lead; forget about it. I wondered if KX would be hurt by YX's actions. I waited to see, and the result was that KX's skin really got thicker. So, everyone must learn wisdom. People with wisdom can easily break free from oppression. Casting out demons is very easy, but being deceived by the devil is very difficult. Sister KX, in singing, cannot sing without a thick skin. If a person does not care about anything and just picks up the microphone and sings, even someone like me who is off-key would not be off-key. If a person cares about face even when singing, how can you manage them? Can someone who cares about face do management? Can someone who cares about face be a small group leader? Can someone who cares about face be a district pastor? If you care about face, you cannot do these things. Even if you are just a member of a small group, you must break free from caring about face.

Brother XF, who is in charge of the worship ministry in our church, will talk about the issue of caring about face in worship, which actually happens to every brother and sister who joins the worship team. We have an unwritten rule that brothers and sisters must sing a solo segment the first time they are on stage. There is often a dialogue like this: I cannot do it; I am tone-deaf. - Then what will you do? Will you not sing, or will you practice singing well? I get nervous on stage, and I cannot sing when I am nervous. - Sing boldly in front of everyone, and then you will not be nervous anymore, and you will sing better and better. WJ was like this; at first, he repeatedly said that he was tone-deaf. As a result, after being forced to sing on stage once, he would pick up the microphone and sing whenever asked to sing again. Sister YY was also like this. At first, she procrastinated for a long time, saying that she could not do it. As a result, after forcing herself to sing once, she discovered that she could do it. Actually, whether you can do it or not is all about practice. If you want to do it, you must start doing it.

Dreams and Visions are Key to Solving Problems

We must return to the topic of church pastoral care. The most important thing in pastoral care is to share vision. Sharing vision is sharing your judgment and view of the future. If you are too shy to share vision, you cannot do anything. Today I want to share a concept with everyone, and this concept is very important. When you face a very conflicted person who comes to you, how do you solve their problem? There are many levels to solving problems. The lowest level is solving their problem, but you can never solve it.

Why can you not solve it Because that level is too low to solve it. Solving the problem itself is not the fundamental method of solving the problem, because the root of the problem is not there.

Therefore, brothers and sisters must ponder this sentence of mine: The root of the problem lies in faith and vision. People must learn a few things: The first thing is faith. Faith is about the future, not about the past or the present. The second thing is language. Use language to declare your faith. Language is spiritual. The third thing is vision and dreams. If a person has vision and dreams, has faith, and then has declaration, solving problems is particularly fast, because the root of almost all problems lies in this.

When doing pastoral work, if a person comes with a problem, the first thing is to build their faith; the second thing is to use your language to let them receive faith, to let them have a good judgment about the future; the third, give them vision and dreams. Why do people have problems and are conflicted Because they have a negative view of the future. I am not good. I have no future. I have no way out in the future. How can I live my life like this All these thoughts are negative. If you want to solve this problem, you must give them faith, using your language, words of declaration.

The lowest level is to solve the problem with the problem, the second level is to solve the problem for him through faith, and the highest level is to give him vision and dreams, which can solve the problem. The reason why Jack Ma is so amazing is that he operates at the level of vision and dreams, so he often draws a big pie for people. The vision and dreams solve people's problems particularly quickly. A very conflicted child comes to me. He does not study well, his classmates are not good to him, and he has many problems. Should I solve it at his problem level Actually, I should, but that is not the most fundamental. The most fundamental is that he has no dreams and no vision for the future. Therefore, first I give him a vision and dreams.

In fact, sharing vision I change a word called bragging. You have to be good at bragging. People with thin skin will not brag, or dare not brag, and it is difficult to have a future. So how do you brag What you brag about is what will happen in the future, which is called Vision. Therefore, People with thick skin have a correct judgment of the future; people with thin skin have a negative judgment of the future. Jack Ma brags, and others say that he is just fooling around. And he said, You can call it fooling around, or you can not call it fooling around.

People who used to work with me followed me for eighteen years. These eighteen years they were by my side. You are with me, which is this two-hour class. You say I am fooling around. Can I fool those people for eighteen years Of course not. That is, those people know that Jack Ma is not fooling around, it is Jack Ma's declaration in faith. In fact, he believes, and then shares, which is called sharing vision and dreams. Jack Ma said, If you don't believe it yourself and let others believe it, that's called fooling around. If you believe it yourself and then share your dreams, that's called sharing vision. This is also called bragging, but this bragging is very professional.

Today I want to tell you that our church will enter a stage of accelerated growth in the next five years, and the church will be in a stage of rapid growth in five to ten years. If Jack Ma's ten employees became 30,000 employees in fifteen years, then I am telling you that our church will become 30,000 employees in the next fifteen years. What would you think You would definitely say, Oh! This boasting is big enough! In fact, whether it is 30,000 or not does not matter. That is not the most important thing. The most important thing is Our vision and dreams are to become a blessing to all nations and peoples on earth. That is not because I can do something, but because I have vision and dreams in me.

Those with Thin Skin Cannot Accomplish Great Things

If you want to shepherd, you must bring people into vision and dreams. This vision and dream actually cannot be accomplished by those with thin skin. Have you read this in the Bible? God said, Isaiah, take off your clothes and run in the street for three years (Isaiah 20:3). Can those with thin skin do this? Those with thin skin cannot be prophets, but Isaiah really did it; he really didn't care. Most people would say Isaiah had misheard or was crazy, but he didn't care. Because face is really worthless. Therefore, sharing vision is the key for a pastor to solve people's problems.

If those with thin skin really cannot accomplish great things, why talk about the issue of face? Because behind loving face is the spirit of the dragon. People who love face need to cast out the spirit of the dragon. You might think many things are related to the spirit of the dragon, but it's really true. Having thin skin and loving face is a kind of bondage. If you don't want to love face but cannot overcome it, then you need deliverance.

Facing high-pressure salespeople, those who love face will fall for it because salespeople basically seize on your mentality of loving face. For example, one day you're walking along and see a nice place, so you go in for a look. I just went in and sat down. They were doing that kind of chain marketing, which Singapore also has. The people there even gave me tea. I drank it; I'm not afraid. I'm not even afraid of drugs; I can hold on even when confused, and I won't sign anything. After drinking, he talked and talked, then asked if I wanted to buy. I said I didn't. He asked me why. I said, I play this game too, and I play it better than you. You're far behind playing with me! As a result, he couldn't do anything to me because their method was to make you feel embarrassed.

But I won't be embarrassed; I'm never embarrassed. So why are people deceived? Because they love face. Because people love face, they are bound, accept high-pressure sales, and regret it later. This is because of loving face. As soon as you say something, they can't stand it, and then they will buy from others. So everyone must know that loving face causes significant losses; behind it is the operation of the spirit of the dragon, so be especially careful.

So, are there people among us who love face? Those with particularly thin skin, who have to tell the truth when they speak, and dare not say anything that isn't true. But past truths are not good truths; they talk very impressively about small things, but they can't talk about the future. Talking about bragging is a shameful thing. I can't brag like that; I can't do it. Do you want to emulate Jesus? Jesus was like that. Do you want to emulate Paul? Do you want to emulate Moses?

Sharing vision is a judgment about the future, a response of faith, a description of your own future. When you have such a description, the future will develop in that direction, constantly moving towards that direction. If a person has no vision or dreams, their life is chaotic. If you want to live an orderly life, a life with rules, then life will constantly move towards your vision and dreams. You can share your vision and dreams. Today you ask me why the church can get to where it is today, from an extremely desolate stage to this state. It's because I am a person with vision and dreams who can share vision and dreams.

Thank God! The brothers and sisters of the church have entered full-time ministry because of my sharing of vision and dreams. If you are a district pastor or full-time co-worker, you must share vision and dreams. Today I entered the office and saw Sister KR and Sister WS coming in from outside, and then I had breakfast with them. Even while eating breakfast, I didn't forget to share vision and dreams. I said: KR, after you go to high school, you will become a student leader in the school. Develop your potential well.

This is called sharing vision and dreams. I believe your future will definitely be like this. Even if the books I write are not the best, they will become the best in the future. Even if the sermons I preach are not the best, they will become the best in the future. Even if the church I build is not the most glorious church, in my heart, it will become the most glorious church for God in the future.

Some people love face very much and have no vision or dreams for themselves; no dreams or vision for the church; no dreams or vision for the Kingdom of God. But God says: Afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions (Joel 2:28). Vision and dreams are the most important things in life. Everyone, start to break the love of face. How to break it? Start from within to restore vision and dreams. Even if I can't do it today, I know I will definitely be able to do it in the future; that is the key.

For example, let Sister YL share vision and dreams with HM and ZL, who have rich social experience. You don't need rich social experience, just be a little thicker-skinned, be able to brag, and tell them your judgment of the future. But if they have no vision or dreams inside, you are already standing at a very high level. Although I am young, I have vision and dreams. I can't do it now, but I will definitely become such a person in the future. So everyone should start to restore the dreams and visions inside you, and you will immediately be much higher in the spirit.

When Jack Ma was going door-to-door to promote his business in the early days, if he had no dreams or vision, could he have promoted it successfully? He carried a bag around all day promoting the Internet, and when people asked what the Internet was, he couldn't explain it clearly. A person who doesn't love face will get better and better and improve every day. A person who loves face will always be stuck in the same position. So, how can you do it if you don't break the love of face? In the past six months, Sister LL has grown a lot, and she is very excited herself. Sister CX has grown a lot in the four months she has been with us.

So today, we need to consciously start dealing with the love of face. Are there any brothers and sisters among us who don't know how to speak when facing the camera? But I find that as long as I face the camera, wow! The feeling comes! Loving to show one's face is an advantage. One day I saw Sister KR recording short videos here. She didn't care about others walking around, and she kept talking to the camera because she has dreams and visions inside. She is constantly climbing on the road of chasing vision and dreams, but people who love face have no way to climb.

Breaking Out of the Predicament of Loving Face

Some people say: I am extremely humble. Others say: All who say they are humble are not humble. Do you agree with this statement? I believe some of us are still troubled by these two statements. Later, I studied the Bible. Jesus said: I am extremely humble. Moses also said: I am extremely humble. In the New Testament, Paul also said: I am extremely humble, serving you with tears for three years.

Jesus, Moses, and Paul were all stating a fact: knowing that they were humble, they stated the fact of their humility. But some people dare not say things as they are; they dare not say what the future will be like; they dare not say what it is like now, because saying it makes them feel unhumble. Such people live under the control of the spirit of the dragon.

In the process of shepherding, you can tell the people you are shepherding, such as HM and ZL, that I am an extremely humble person. Today, I have a strong feeling inside, that I will become a very remarkable person in the future. But you are being shepherded in my group, and I hope you can inherit what I have received. You will also become very remarkable people in the future. So today, we must learn to share vision and dreams. Don't let false humility and loving face hinder you from becoming a servant greatly used by God.

If a person has too thin a skin, they will be hurt, and being hurt will be very painful. Loving face is a very foolish behavior. Loving face cannot be found at all in Paul, Moses, or Jesus. Paul doesn't need to protect his face; he just tells the truth; he is extremely humble, serving with tears. We want to build God's glorious church, so why not share it and wait for others to say it? Today we must begin to change a concept, a concept that seems to be inconsistent with human logic, but it is consistent with God's.

In the process of shepherding, constantly push yourself to a higher level. When you do this, Jesus, Paul, and Moses all exude a very real flavor, with flesh and blood, which is an attraction. In evangelism, shepherding, teaching, and training, you must break the love of face. Your speech and behavior should be more direct, more intelligent, and more daring to talk about your own affairs.

So today, we must come out of the love of face, which will be a very good edification. When I said this, I laid the groundwork for everyone. In the future, you should all be like me, a little thicker-skinned, a little bolder, a little faster-paced, more innovative in doing things, and break those rules and regulations. Later, I carefully studied the difference between Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees loved face, so they became a brood of vipers. Jesus didn't love face at all, and He didn't care, so He became the Son of God. Therefore, if you love face, you will become a brood of vipers; if you don't love face and act according to God's Word, you will become children of God. The children of God have the glory of God on them.

In the process of striking at the spirit of the dragon, you need to break the problem of loving face. When we break these, we will be amazing. For example, when YX, HF, XY, and CW come to the church to work, when they go home, their parents ask them, what did you do today? You say I joined a high-tech company. Your parents ask what company? What is the annual output value? You can't say! Because it is the Kingdom of God, it cannot be counted. The problem is that we love face, so tear it off and replace it with vision and dreams.

Microsoft in those years was run in a garage; Alibaba in those years was run on a construction site; today, our starting point is higher than theirs. Today, everyone must know one thing: all those who have grown up once had a humble beginning. The church should not stay at the low level of innovation, but should enter the very top of innovation. Without faith, all foundations are on the sand. What God wants is a church with dreams and visions, and He also needs such people. Facing people's problems, start sharing dreams and visions, and you will enter a higher level.