Pressure stems from the spiritual realm; tackling spiritual problems with spiritual solutions makes it far easier.

Pressure Management is Managing Feelings

Pressure management is a crucial topic. In Singapore, most complaints revolve around pressure. However, upon reflection, pressure seems both real and unreal. Humans are complex, particularly in their feelings. Pressure management is about managing feelings. The feeling of immense pressure may be real, but it could also be deceptive. Humans have feelings that are often complex – frustration, entanglement, negativity, discomfort. But never treat pressure as a technical issue; that makes addressing the underlying mindset very difficult.

People often feel pressured, fearing things will fall apart. Even if adjusting the mindset doesn't prevent a collapse, encountering similar situations later might still lead to avoidance of mindset readjustment, deeming it futile. In fact, feelings are unreliable. Human feelings often diverge from reality. Managing feelings is a lifelong task; the sensation of pressure needs to be managed.

In the church, pressure management directly enters a spiritual dimension, addressing issues from a spiritual perspective. We have found that dealing with these problems from the spiritual realm has a clear effect. The true root of pressure is not the mentality, but spiritual reasons. In the church, we address this through prayer and spiritual warfare, adjusting the mindset and discovering that things do not collapse. Then, the method is deemed useful. When encountering pressure again, the same method of prayer is applied, and surprisingly, things still do not collapse. It becomes clear that God is powerful. Understanding that God is in control of everything reduces and eventually eliminates the pressures of daily life. But without knowing God, adjusting the mindset is useless.

The Bible says, Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Some may be meek, allowing themselves to be bullied and beaten. But if they discover that they have not inherited the earth, they might think that meekness is not blessed, but leads to being bullied. Those without God in the world would think this way.

However, for Christians, if someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other as well. Don't worry about being taken advantage of. Our God will deal with the one who strikes you. The striker will sense that this person cannot be bullied, and your problem will be resolved. Those with God can be meek, and meekness leads to blessings. Having God mediates pressure, solving the mentality solves the pressure, and then nothing collapses. Without God, nothing works.

Pressure stems from the spiritual realm; tackling spiritual problems with spiritual solutions makes it far easier. You and I are children of the eternal God. Who can bully you? God's promise to Abraham was, Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed. If you are such a person, you will be remarkable. Abraham defeated four kings, rescued Lot, and won with only 318 soldiers. Afterward, he was afraid, so he prayed, and God said, Do not fear; I am your shield. Then those around him dared not attack him. Therefore, those with and without God have different methods of resolving pressure. So solving pressure management involves adjusting to a foundation of faith. Without faith, it is useless.

I say these things because our God is real, alive, and able to manage things. If you trust in Him, adjusting your mindset will be effective. I have tried it many times; if someone strikes my left cheek, I offer the right. If someone takes my coat, I give him my cloak as well. Those who bully God's children will suffer. The issue is not about anything else but being a child of the eternal God. On this foundation, one must learn to manage feelings. If one is a child of God but has an unbelieving heart, it is over. Jesus came into the world and constantly criticized His disciples for being unbelieving and having little faith. Faith plus identity can manage pressure.

Faith can produce a feeling of peace and security. If you believe that something will not collapse, you will not feel pressured. Although you are always walking on a tightrope, you always make it through. Then your faith becomes stronger. This is what the Bible calls from faith to faith. In trusting in the Lord and managing pressure, I often walk on a tightrope but have never fallen. Once, I fell and had a mid-life crisis. Halfway down, God caught me again and began to build the church. Building the church is more enjoyable than doing anything else. With hope and faith, the future will be better; nothing will collapse; God can take control; pressure immediately disappears. Having pressure means having no faith and no hope. Shepherding is building faith. Faith can produce good feelings. Those without faith have painful feelings inside. Even if you give them advice, they still have no faith. Your advice seems to work, but also seems not to work. Because everything is solved on a technical level, but the pressure is still great. With faith, the problem is solved.

Many people have become my followers because I have truly solved their problems. The highest level of pressure management is faith, either building your own faith or receiving faith from others. Worldly knowledge solves pressure problems from a technical level. You must believe that our God is the God who controls the universe. Our little thing is nothing. Faith operates in the spiritual world. Pressure comes from the lies of the devil, and overcoming the devil with faith overcomes the feelings inside.

Faith can be passed on forever. Faith concerns things that will happen a long time from now. If you live a difficult life, I say, I will take you out of the room, find a dark place, look up at the sky, see the stars, and start thinking about tens of thousands of years later, seeing into eternity. Then your problem will become smaller. Our eyes only see the present. If failing the university entrance exam leads to suicide, the vision is short. Seeing into eternity is remarkable.

Faith Can Solve Pressure Problems

If a person encounters a three-year problem, what is the size of the three-year problem divided by one million years? A tiny bit, 0.001%. If you see ten thousand years, thousands of years are small, even decades are small. So you will flatten the problem. If you flatten it, your pressure will disappear. But if you pull the problem back to this life, and you look at this problem: How will I live this life? Then you will have great pressure. If you bring this problem into eternity, it will become smaller. In the end, nothing collapsed. Everything is fine. Until today, everyone is living well, so faith is the highest level of pressure management.

The size of things is related to the size of the space they occupy. If you are in an infinitely large space, anything is extremely small. If the denominator is infinitely large, no matter how large the numerator is, thousands or tens of thousands are trivial. So faith is the highest level of pressure management. So brothers and sisters must learn to impart faith. If you can't impart faith, it will be difficult for you. Why do those who come to our church's website and are fed have their problems become smaller? Because they gain faith.

Let's say another thing: If a person's hope produces positive good feelings, despair will produce negative feelings. If faith produces a positive feeling, disbelief will produce a negative feeling. What is disbelief? Believing that things will collapse, that is a negative faith, it will be miserable.

Those with Hope and Faith Can Achieve the Future

So today we begin to learn to have faith and hope. This faith and hope do not cost money. Why not have it? I believe that I will be better in the future. I believe that God will supply me with everything in the future. I believe that I will not have to lie in the hospital in the future. Believing is a choice. I have hope and faith, then impossible things will become possible. I believe that if I get sick, God will heal me. This is a future thing, and you will have no pressure about future things.

One of our brothers told me that his father had a hundred and ten thousand, but now a hundred and ten thousand is really not a lot of money. Then he said: If I get diabetes, it will cost two hundred thousand. If I get heart disease, it will cost two hundred thousand. If I get some other disease, it will cost tens of thousands. One million is not enough. It is really a huge pressure because his judgment of the future is such a judgment. So his pressure is huge.

I feel that many things and much pressure are fabricated by ourselves, which is a matter of mentality. Some time ago, a sister was very serious about her work, and then she would feel stressed because she believed that if I did not do so seriously, something would happen. In fact, I tell you that she doesn't have to do so seriously, and nothing will happen. I know that you are serious is a good habit, but you cannot turn seriousness into pressure! So seriousness is seriousness, but you can still be serious without pressure. So in the whole faith, impossible things will become possible.

Miracles are the Key to Solving Problems

I will give you a few examples: Moses led three million Israelites, with the Red Sea in front and Egyptian pursuers behind. I ask you if the pressure is high. If you look at it from a human perspective: there is no bridge in the Red Sea, and there are no ships in the Red Sea. Let's calculate three million. Using today's Airbus, one plane can seat eight hundred people. Ten planes are eight thousand people, one hundred planes are eighty thousand people. One thousand planes are eight hundred thousand people. A total of four thousand planes are needed. The plane must return and run four thousand times to transport them. That is a huge logistics project. This project is huge. Noah brought all these species to enter the Ark. That is an extremely large project. Try it with human ability? But if God separates the Red Sea, and the Israelites cross the Red Sea as if walking on dry ground, is the problem solved? Resolved. Miracles are a key to solving problems. If miracles often happen in our lives, impossible things become possible, and pressure will really disappear. That is why I like to talk about miracles in the church, and I also like to hear testimonies of miracles, because miracles released through your faith will solve problems.

Later, Moses died, and Joshua led three million Israelites across the Jordan River. That was also a huge project. Three million people crossed the Red Sea, and three million people also crossed the Jordan River. The water of the Jordan River stopped flowing, and then the water on both sides became strong rings. As a result, the water of the Jordan River cut off and became dry land, and Joshua led the Israelites across. Is there still pressure? But if the river does not open, it is not easy for three million people to move to the land of Canaan, and three million people to cross the Jordan River. One ship can hold eight hundred people, and it will be transported four thousand times.

Therefore, brothers and sisters must know that our God is a God who performs miracles. If our God is a God who performs miracles, there is no pressure. Joshua was very afraid when facing the matter of leading the Israelites into the land of Canaan. God said: Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, because God will be with you, and no one will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Solving pressure is to operate at the spiritual level through faith. This is the best solution. I really don’t know how to live without God. Without God, there are no miracles, it is all man-made. If you really want to lead three million Israelites across the Red Sea and across the Jordan River, it is really hard to imagine. I began to know that pressure management is a spiritual thing.

Pressure is a state leading to low efficiency

What symptoms will a person have when he feels pressure? You can see for yourself: When pressure comes, your efficiency is very low. When pressure comes, it is basically impossible to resist, and there is no work efficiency. What do I compare this to? Compare it to traffic jams. When I drive, I often see a phenomenon, which is the phenomenon of congestion. It is very hard to have traffic jams. Everyone tries to squeeze as hard as they can, and as a result, they are squeezed in water. When the intersection is reached, it is found that nothing happened in front of you, that is, everyone squeezed there. Then that place is squeezed so it is slow. That is to say, there is a mathematical model calculation for traffic congestion, and its efficiency drops to 10%. That is to say, only one-tenth of the traffic flow. So today I tell you that when the New York building was hit, no one could get through the phone. Everyone was calling, so no one could get through. The efficiency of electronic equipment was greatly reduced. I am engaged in networking and I know this. That is to say, when a network is congested, its efficiency is very low.

Managing pressure is the key to improving efficiency

Today when you are under pressure, you are actually in a state of low work efficiency. And the lower the work efficiency, the greater the pressure. The greater the pressure, the lower the efficiency. The lower the efficiency, the greater the pressure, so people go into collapse. So it is said that: Managing pressure is the key to improving efficiency. Last week we talked about improving work efficiency. This week I am talking about managing pressure. Why? Because high pressure leads to very low efficiency. So when you have faith, your efficiency will come up. The same problem can be solved quickly. The first thing to solve the problem of pressure is to remove the feeling of pressure. The second is to start doing things that improve efficiency, and get out of that dead cycle. People have to read the Bible well, and they can have wisdom for a lifetime. Salvation is in returning to rest, and strength is in calmness. If everyone in a society is fighting there, and everyone is fighting to seize resources, resulting in congestion, then the utilization rate of the resource will be reduced, greatly reduced, so the social cost will increase sharply.

Have you all studied sociology? Does anyone know what social cost is? I will tell you a concept of social cost. If one person sues another person, I ask you if you create any value? Then fight to the death. It also consumes the resources of judges and consumes the resources of lawyers. All these people do not create any value. If there are many lawsuits to be fought in this society, and many lawyers have to be hired, and after it is done, there will be more problems, and more people will have to file lawsuits, and finally even the judges will be sued. This social cost is very high. If a society has no crime and no disputes, the social cost will be reduced to a very low level all of a sudden. Then when allocating these social costs can allocate resources, this society will become very rich. That is to say, today we must know what God's design is. If you compare a church with constant internal strife, you pinch me and pinch each other, will this church still be able to serve people? Someone doesn't enter yet, those who enter are pinched, so today we must begin to understand this concept, this concept is amazing, that is to say, salvation lies in returning to rest, if you rest well, there will be fewer problems.

To be a human being and do things, you must be calm and not be rash. There was a person upstairs, several floors high. As a result, when there was an earthquake, he ran downstairs. He would not have any pressure, he was under pressure. What are you doing by running to the basement? I tell you that in any chaotic era, any war, disaster, or man-made disaster, calm people get strength, and calm people are hard to die. Don't panic, and then start looking left and right, how should I go, I am on the fourth floor, I ran down three floors, I will go to the first floor, the door is there, I will go out, don't panic, some people jump from the third floor during an earthquake, and as a result, they are also killed by the fall. In fact, it was later discovered that the building did not collapse, and the people also died.

When there are natural disasters and man-made disasters, you must know that salvation lies in returning to rest, and strength lies in calmness and stability. That creates no value? There is no value at all, but it exhausts my parents, that’s for sure! But if this incident did not happen, wouldn't life be fine?

Living a Peaceful and Stable Life

Some of my classmates appear to be in their fifties or sixties, with the vicissitudes of life etched on their faces. Confidence is a natural form of healthcare and beauty. A person of faith is peaceful and stable, free from daily worries. However, those who dance in the public square often return home with furrowed brows. Over time, this manifests as an unattractive countenance.

But everyone must realise that after gaining faith, you still need to address technical issues. This is my view. For example, if you are peaceful and stable but spend your days playing mahjong, you will certainly not excel in mathematics. Similarly, if Sister JY believes in the Lord and is peaceful and stable, but spends her time reading romance novels, she will certainly not get into university. So, what is the issue today? It lies in the fact that you still need to do your work conscientiously. Doing things diligently is our Christian concept in the Church.

Our church will need many full-time co-workers. Working full-time in the church, your salary will be good. I will not mistreat you, and God will not mistreat you. But the problem is this: if you cannot do your worldly work well, I will not want you either. If you cannot even do your worldly work well, what are you doing coming to the church? The pressure in the church is immense. If you do your worldly work well, and you can manage your stress in the world, you may not even be able to handle the pressure in the church. However, the pressure in the church can still enable us to be peaceful and stable.

Sorting into Categories is Key to Solving Problems

The technical issue is sorting into categories! Why does the Bible constantly talk about sorting into categories? In Genesis Chapter 1, before Adam and Eve were created, things were sorted into categories; in Noah's time, things were also sorted into categories. God loves to write about sorting into categories, because sorting into categories is our most important concept! In the future, I will tell everyone: How to make plans? How to learn? How to prioritise? Start learning to solve the most effective problems. You must prioritise. When you are under immense pressure, what do you do? Do what yields the greatest return.

For example, when I used to work at the polytechnic, the students there were studying engineering, but they went to study accounting. Later, they found that they did not go into accounting. So, they took another engineering course in university. He said that one day, he would use his accounting expertise. But it is not too late to learn it then. He himself would not know if he would use it. So, his problem was that he did not know the priority. So today I tell everyone that you must have a concept: you learn what you need to learn most now. If you learn this matter well, your stress will be resolved, and your work will enter a state of peace and stability. Then learn about the things you need to do in three months, then learn about the things you need to do in six months, and then learn about the things you need to learn in a year... If a person often does this, then he will not have stress in his life.

Although I have pressure in the process of leading the entire church forward, this pressure cannot overwhelm me, because I had anticipated that such a thing would happen in the future, and I made preparations early. Why do we write so much Bible study material? Because it is to prepare for the future. Now our shepherding is very simple. When a person comes in, he studies the entire chapter of Genesis, the 101 course, and the 201 course. So, it is easy for us to do things. When a person comes, instead of me teaching him Genesis and having him take notes and show them to me, the efficiency will increase tenfold, twentyfold, thirtyfold... What is this? This is the preparation I made early on. The preparation I made in the past is effective today. I am now preparing for three years later, and the pressure in the future will disappear. I am re-planning with Brother WC to make an automatic shepherding machine, recording a short video: In the name of Jesus Christ, command the spirit of the devil to retreat! Repeated playback will greatly enhance prayer. This is our research project, and our efficiency will be doubled.

Solving Weaknesses, Reducing Pressure

So today, our era is an era of unlimited possibilities. Today, you are facing pressure. Share what weaknesses are causing your pressure, and then block those weaknesses, and you will change. When you are very comfortable, what should you do? Many of us are in a very comfortable work situation. If you are in a very comfortable work situation, I will give you an idea: create pressure. What does this pressure do? For example, after you solve a problem with a weakness, start preparing for the next step so that you will not be too stressed. Create what kind of pressure for yourself? A learning pressure. Start learning the things you will use in three months. When you face a problem at that time, it will be something you have learned before. Will you still have pressure? You will not have pressure. If you learn about the things you will do in six months, you will not have pressure at that time. Then if you often do this, you will not have pressure.

I will tell you about my testimony. For a while, I often did this, so I kept putting pressure on myself, but I did not have any particularly great pressure. Why not? Because I often prepared for the things I would do in three or six months. Once when I was praying, God told me to do IT outsourcing. How to manage outsourcing? This had very little to do with what I had learned before. But in my prayer, I had the same feeling again. And because I am a very spiritual person, I took all the books on IT outsourcing from the library, and I started reading frantically. I wrote a research report, and I learned IT outsourcing very thoroughly.

Two years later, I was demoted. After being demoted, I went to a company for an interview and found a higher position. Truly, all things work together for good to those who love God. When I went to the interview, the question they asked me was: IT outsourcing. This was exactly what I had learned, my forte. I explained it to him from beginning to end very clearly. There were many applicants, but I got that job. I enjoyed a lot of time in that job, but at the same time, you embarked on a new job, a higher position that I had not done before, which was also a kind of pressure, but because of the previous preparation, that pressure was not enormous.

However, if you often prepare like this, you will be very good! I never thought of becoming a full-time pastor, but because over the past few years, I have read the Bible very carefully, so when I lead Bible studies, I believe everyone still likes it. When I lead a few Singaporeans in Bible study every Saturday, they told me some time ago: Since studying Genesis with you, I have gained a lot, and all the thinking patterns inside me have changed.

Preparing for the Future

So, because of the continuous accumulation of doing things in the past, you will not suddenly have a state of pressure crushing you, because you are always doing things with foresight. So, sorting into categories is planning and understanding, and then you do things reliably, and you will find that the pressure will become less and less, and you will grow healthily. Under the pressure you create for yourself, take 30% of your time every day to do what you will do in the future. Suddenly something happens, and when you cannot accommodate it, then you temporarily move out the 30% of things and solve the current difficulty. Will you have pressure? You will not have pressure. This is stress management. So, sorting into categories is analysing and understanding the law, and then starting to learn and inherit. Never be a headless fly, flying around everywhere, so people must start to have plans!

God gave you your brain to let you think. Why do you need faith in that thinking process? It is to let us learn, analyse, understand and inherit. So, planning can solve many problems. A person without a plan will be under great pressure. Last time we talked about what you should plan to do? Then how to do it, and to what extent? When you sort out such learning patterns, the pressure will disappear immediately in the same environment and the same problem. This is called sorting into categories! The word sorting into categories must enter into you.

Staying Away from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

There are several words in our church that must enter into you. The first word is: sorting into categories. The second word is: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil will create many ideas for you, directly corrupting your faith, because the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is talking about the facts. The problems you face are facts, but your faith must be greater than the facts! Recognise the spiritual nature of pressure. Basically, a person in pressure is all lies. In fact, pressure is also good. If you think pressure is bad, you must come out of that lie. Pressure cannot grow. Pressure is a lie and deception, the work of evil spirits. After pressure is generated, the spirit of chaos will come in. When the spirit of chaos comes in, you will be even more chaotic, doing things like a headless fly.

Manifestation of the Spirit of the Dragon

The spirit of the dragon will make people very clumsy. Recently, I discovered one thing: When a person drives away the spirit of the dragon from his body, he will become smart, really obvious. Recently, I also discovered something: There was a child who said to me: Pastor, my money disappeared for no reason. It was in my wallet. The last time I opened my wallet, it was still there, but this time I opened my wallet and it was gone. It was very strange. That is the spirit of the dragon. I chose to believe this child. I do not think he is lying. What he said is true, but we do not know that the operation of the spiritual world can be beyond our imagination. This spirit of the dragon will make people become very stupid, inexplicably lose money, lose time, and become very confused. Even, he does things and does not know that he has done them. That is the spiritual nature of pressure.

Later, I discovered that both pressure and ability are spiritual problems. Hitting the spirit of the dragon and releasing people from the spiritual bondage can greatly improve people's learning ability, and their spirit will become enlightened. So, why do we start to carefully examine this problem from a spiritual perspective under this state of pressure? If it is a spiritual problem, solve the spiritual problem. If it is a technical problem, solve the technical problem. Do not rely on your own intelligence, learn to rely on God. The most important thing to solve people's problems is the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:1)

Releasing God's Power and Wisdom

So today, pray a lot, release God's power, God's wisdom, and God's ability! God's wisdom is what we people need most in our life. If you have God's ability and wisdom, miracles and wonders will often follow you, often giving you revelation and feeling, and you will live in a state of foresight. Many of us are doing finance. What finance needs most is foresight. If you can predict the rise and fall of stocks, you will be very powerful. So start to pray a lot, do not give up serving, because God is the key to solving our problems.

Maybe when I am saying these words, you may think that I am encouraging you to serve. When some people encounter problems, they say: Pastor, I cannot serve recently. I said: I respect you. In fact, I do not agree with your own choice in my heart, because serving is a manifestation of trusting God. What will you get if you give it up? Your prayer will decrease, the inspiration of God's Spirit will decrease, the ability of foresight will decrease, God's ability will also decrease, and God's wisdom will also decrease. So what are you doing? You will become a headless fly flying around, start to believe in God, you will definitely come out, do not give up, because that is the key to our living.

In the last stage of my worldly work, I was in a state of being overwhelmed. What I regretted most at that time was not praying a lot. I thought I could solve it with my own ability. In fact, I found that people cannot rely on their own intelligence, they must seek to trust God, because pressure has a spiritual aspect and a technical aspect. When you solve both, you will completely solve the problem of pressure!