Introduction

In this chapter, I would like to give it the title, Overcoming Worldly Value Systems. This worldly value system, how reasonable it sounds! A worldly value system is all about reason. Reason will take you anywhere, but without reason, you can't move an inch. However, the reason everyone speaks of doesn't apply to God. God turns people's reasoning into the knowledge of good and evil. This world's system is very reasonable. I have never seen two people arguing, one of whom says, I am wrong, you are right. They all argue fiercely, to the point of life and death.

Later, I gradually discovered that this world's logic system is very interesting. It is not a logic system governed by God. People will say, I have to protect myself. Then, what state will people eventually enter? That is, I have to fight for my rights. I have to protect myself. I must not suffer any losses. As a result, a series of problems will arise.

I ministered to a sister who developed severe depression five years ago. She wrote me a very long email. That night, I ministered until two or three in the morning. I read my email and felt that it was a human tragedy. I replied to her email and continued to minister to her. She came out of her depression. Later, I even taught her how to find a job.

God is really gracious to me. Why don't I say that God is very gracious to her? Because she was blessed because of me. Five years later, her knowledge of good and evil is still very serious. I keep telling her not to discern good and evil, but people still choose to discern good and evil. After finding a job, she didn't even pass the probation period. I had to train her how to pass the probation period. God really gave me great grace, because we strive to find out God's will. So, to be honest, we not only study the Bible well, but our ministry is also practical.

Three years have passed, and this sister's depression is about to return. She contacted me again yesterday. I said, If you continue to discern good and evil and rebel, and still choose to follow this worldly value system, your depression will return. She told me, It has already returned. I said, You still know to look for me? I scolded her. I said, I will give you one last chance. If it doesn't work, we will surrender. We can't minister to you. People are so willful, always thinking they are right. They already have mental illness, but they still discern good and evil.

Later, I discovered that the worldly value system is like this. It seems very reasonable, but in reality, it is unreasonable. It is reasonable, but it harms oneself. Once people think they are right, they get angry, feel uncomfortable, feel that others are sorry for them, feel that the whole world is sorry for them, and begin to be bitter and unforgiving, eventually developing mental illness.

There is nothing more foolish in the world than the worldly value system. Things seem reasonable, but they harm oneself. Reasonableness becomes very foolish. It's really strange. Cain and Lamech in the Bible, these two people are mentally ill. If anyone glances at him on the street, and he doesn't like it, he will kill them, always feeling that others want to harm him. I ask you, is this a good way to live?

Submitting to Authority

There is an immigrant who sneaked into the United States from Mexico. This person is called Caesar. Caesar's dog training program is very popular. A few years ago, he came to Singapore to perform dog training. The things he demonstrated in the program were very interesting. The dog was nervous at home, without a stable state. Later, Caesar said that the dog at home does not regard anyone as the master. It feels that it is the biggest in this home, the master, but it cannot be the master at home, so it has no confidence and wants to protect the home and protect itself, so the dog becomes neurotic.

In fact, people are like this. If people do not believe in God, who do they believe in? They believe in themselves, but can they protect themselves? No, as a result, people live nervously like a mental patient. Some people say that people in this world are more or less mentally ill, so don't provoke them. If you accidentally provoke a mental patient, wouldn't that be troublesome?

The worldly value system is not a value system of submitting to authority, because it does not believe in authority. It feels that it is reasonable, and uses its own reason as the standard of right and wrong. This is a typical knowledge of good and evil. When Paul wrote Chapter 13, he wrote:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (Romans 13:1)

This proposition is very well stated, because all authority comes from God. Later, I read the entire Bible, and I found that this is really the case. For example, the nation of Israel is very messed up, worshiping the golden calf and so on. As a result, it was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire. Who let the Assyrian Empire destroy Israel? It was God. It turns out that God often uses the authority of unbelieving Gentiles to discipline his people.

In fact, all authority comes from God. All things exist because of God, because all things are from him and to him. Don't think that God cannot control the affairs of this world. Authority is established by God. You say why establish an authority that persecutes Christians? You think it's bad, but God thinks it's good. Isn't that God's arrangement? You may have questions. Why does God arrange it this way? How many Christians died for the sake of the gospel? In fact, being killed is a good thing, immediately receiving the crown.

Your point of view may be different from mine. For me, dying early or late is the same. For you, you may think, No, I have to live well. Because you have a worldly value system, but I have a godly value system. I can't wait to return to God sooner. You think it's good to live in this world, but I don't think it's good to live in this world. You may suspect, Are you tired of living? If I didn't feel tired, why would I want to return to Jesus?

People's views on the world are really different. Once, when I was studying the Bible, I said that God is going to destroy this world and create a new world. A sister said, This world is so beautiful, why would God destroy it? We need to know that God is in control of the affairs of this world. Since the God we believe in is an almighty God, and the gospel we believe in is an almighty gospel, through God who loves us, we will certainly not be put to shame. If God does not permit it, you cannot lose a single hair. If we trust in God and submit to the authority in charge, isn't that good?

Sometimes it is difficult to explain, because there are many things we cannot understand. For example, the government prohibits people from gathering, and the church goes to the park to gather, confronting the government. Is this in accordance with the Bible? No. You say, Does that mean we won't gather if the government persecutes us? What I mean is that if there is persecution, we first consider what God wants these people to be persecuted for. Today, our view of the church needs to be re-established. Persecution is a good thing. Once persecuted, the garbage in the church will be cleared out. Those who pretend to play with God will feel that this is not okay.

You need to know that God reigns in the kingdom of men. Yes, this world belongs to the devil, but doesn't the devil belong to God? God can also control the devil. Don't think that the Holy Spirit is opposed to evil spirits. That's not the case. Evil spirits are also servants of God, but people don't usually say that, but you will understand it if you ponder it slowly. So, whether this person has evil spirits or not, there is only one reason for all things: what God has made crooked, no one can make straight. If we look at these issues with the logic system of this life, you will be very confused.

For example, David Pawson, he is a very famous theologian. When he read Romans 13, he talked about the civic responsibility of Christians. And some famous Bible study experts, the theme of this chapter is the state and religion, and some talk about the separation of church and state, such as the state, church, rights, society, family, etc., but I hold a different view, because Paul is not talking about the civic responsibility of Christians. Paul is saying that Christians should not hold on to this worldly value system. The world's value system is to pursue fairness and justice. If you say that, who do you go to for Jesus being crucified? Should Jesus have been crucified? No.

We Christians don't talk about reason, but about trusting in God. Those who trust in God will not be put to shame. Do you think with a worldly value system or a godly value system? I tell you, you can go with a strong worldly value system, but can you endure being wronged? You can't bear it. But if you have a godly value system, you will be wronged, it doesn't matter. Tell me, which one who trusts in God has not been wronged?

Cain even killed Abel. Maybe you say, How could Abel be killed like this? If he is killed, he won't enjoy eating or drinking, then is this the end? If you think so, then I think your faith in the Lord is not enough, and you see the problem too shallowly. The godly value system is that we all have eternal life. Being killed by Cain, being crucified, or being beheaded, it doesn't matter. It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.

Why should everyone submit to the governing authorities? Submitting to authority means submitting to God first, because authority is released step by step from God. Can't God control it? Paul, who wrote Romans, was arrested and sent to prison, and later beheaded in the Roman Empire. You say, should we still submit in this way? Our Lord Jesus submitted in this way. Jesus willingly submitted to the point of death. What qualifications do we have to surpass the Lord Jesus? The Lord Jesus chose to submit. He is God, and when he came into the world and became a man, he willingly submitted to the point of death, even death on the cross.

Because the godly value system is a value system of complete dedication, the worldly value system is a human value system. According to the human value system, others cannot hurt him. Once he is hurt, he will go crazy, frantic, and kill the person who hurt him. But what about us who have a godly value system? We are willing to be bullied.

In fact, the Bible has been like this from the beginning to the end. Some people don't know their own weight, and think that Abraham is not good. If you were Abraham, what would you do? My wife was taken away, then I have to take her back! You see, this worldly value system is really deeply rooted. People don't have much knowledge, and it is still like this. If they have a lot of knowledge, wouldn't it be even more so?

Today, we need to know that if God does not permit it, you will not lose a single hair, but many people do not believe it. Why should we submit to authority? It is good to submit to authority. Then, there will be many more confusions. If the government persecutes you and does not allow you to believe in the Lord, should you submit? Of course not. But you need to know that the principle of the government is not to make those who do good fear, but to make those who do evil fear. We are not working against anyone. What are we working against? This world is not our country either.

The government is God's servant. Since ancient times, the emperor has been called the Son of Heaven. In fact, this is quite right. Where does their authority come from? They are established by God. Those established by God are called the Son of Heaven. They are God's servants and are beneficial to us. If we do evil, we should fear. They are God's servants, who carry out justice and punish those who do evil.

Maybe you will say, No, they also punish those who do good. But you need to know that many things in this world, God makes them crooked, you don't think about straightening them. These things are explained very clearly in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Our country is not in this world, so we should not seek revenge for our own selfish interests, desires, and the grievances we have suffered.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

This is true faith in God. What we think is reasonable may not always be reasonable. We must not work against the government. Under no circumstances should we do things like protesting and petitioning.

If a person has spiritual insight, for example, if there is an accident in his family and his child is killed, he will go to petition every day. The child being killed is a spiritual matter. Why did this happen to your family and not to others? It is because the curse in this family is too deep. There is nothing in this world that is not permitted by God. God reigns in the kingdom of men, so when these things happen, we should examine ourselves carefully, and then we seek God's will and respect authority.

Think about it, if you see through all the things in the world, see through money, including our interests, and only regard winning Jesus Christ as the most precious, regarding everything else as rubbish, would you still be entangled in these things? If you need to pay taxes, pay taxes. If you need to pay grain, pay grain. If you need to give respect, give respect. This is Paul's teaching.

Although Paul was beheaded by the Roman Empire, he never opposed the Roman Empire. You cannot find it in his letters. Today, we must learn to respect those in authority. Not only does the earthly authority come from God, but also those in authority in the church, that is, your pastors, also come from God.

Don't be rebellious. The sister in the example I mentioned earlier still needs to deal with the problems in herself. Worldly value systems attract demons. After attracting demons, how can people not feel uncomfortable? A few days ago, a brother with a mental illness looked everywhere and tossed around, and finally found us. One of our least capable sisters prayed with him, and he was quickly healed. See how divine this is! Why do people get these diseases? Because there is a strong worldly value system inside.

A few days ago, a sister shared with me about her grandfather. Her grandfather was confused for a while. He had a small box, and the box contained all the medals he had won over the years. He was completely confused. In the hospital, no matter who passed by his ward, he would show them his medals, but he was already confused. You say what is this? This is the pride of this life. He is already suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and he still wants to show off these things to others.

People must not love the world. These worldly value systems seem very reasonable, but they are very harmful. If you have this worldly value system, even if the demons don't come looking for you, God will send a demon to look for you. Worldly value systems attract demons. If demons come looking for you, how can you possibly live well?

The tragedies of this world come one after another. Many years ago, I led a person to believe in the Lord. His worldly value system was too strong. Later, he left the church, divorced after returning home, and then tossed around. Finally, he got married again, and had a child, more than ten months old, with Down syndrome. What do you say? People just don't know that this worldly value system harms themselves and others. Isn't this the most foolish thing?

On Sunday, I am going to talk to you about how to become smart. I used to think that people can become smart as long as they can speak and do things. Later, I pondered and found that this height is not enough. If we establish a set of godly value systems inside, that is the smartest thing. If you really trust in God, you really know that God reigns in the world, know that our God is very powerful, and has given us not only the benefits of this life, but also the life to come, and even eternal life, giving us spiritual insight, what else are we afraid of? It is no problem to submit to authority, knowing that the authority in this world is also given by God.

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## Seeing Through Material Wealth

We must see through material wealth. What does the Bible say? These are unrighteous riches. You will find that people care a great deal about these things, and when they care, they will be bound by these things, and because they care, they will often get hurt.

We must begin to understand one thing: the divine value system is an eternal value system. We really do not care too much about the few decades in this world. In these few decades, we must live out the image of God no matter what, that is, to dedicate our lives completely and completely let go of our selfishness and desires. You say this is a big loss. If you think it is a loss, that is a worldly value system, but I think it is a bargain, because I think this is the word of God, the teaching of God. If God is in control, will I suffer a loss by doing this? No, I won't suffer a loss.

## Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

**Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8)**

Yesterday I asked a sister I was ministering to, Do I owe you anything? You don't owe me anything.” Then why are you discerning good and evil with me? In fact, this is a very deadly thing. Until today, including the pastors among us, I often feel that I owe everyone something. I feel that I can serve everyone better. Some of the brothers and sisters among us have families that are deeply controlled. I feel very sorry for everyone. Whether it's meeting in person or online, I often ask, How is your family?

Love God and love people, and you will fulfill the law. If we don’t think people owe us anything, how can we be angry? If we all think people owe us, how can we live well? So the worldly value system always thinks that people owe them, while the divine value system always thinks that I owe others. Even if we don’t owe anything, we still feel like we owe something in our hearts. What do we owe? We owe people a gospel debt.

**For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Romans 13:9)**

Have you ever loved someone? If you were selfish yesterday and got mental illness, and you are still selfish today, will your mental illness not come back? Can you live out the image of Jesus Christ and completely dedicate yourself to God to become a vessel of God? Isn't the power of Jesus Christ's resurrection coming upon us?

God has already given us a clear proof. Many years ago, when facing a mental patient, we might have had to work hard to minister for three months, but now even the most inconspicuous brother or sister among us ministers, and they are healed all of a sudden. How great is that. What else is better than God? What else is better than the Holy Spirit? Or what is better than this powerful gospel? If we know that we have treasures inside, then what else do we need? Do we still have to cling to the things of this world?

I was very angry a few days ago. What was I angry about? I was not angry about what I gained or lost for myself. I ministered to a sister for five years, and she said that she could not be promoted because she could not work overtime due to meetings. I said, You have to work overtime? Won't the mental illness return? In fact, promotion or not is not a big deal. Attributing the reason for not being promoted to believing in the Lord, if you did not believe in the Lord, wouldn't you still be mentally ill? You can't even go to work, and you still want to work overtime? So I am very surprised at how deep the worldly value system is in people.

If we have a heart to love our neighbor as ourselves and always feel indebted, how can we have bitterness towards our parents? If some of us are discerning good and evil from our parents and holding grudges against our own parents, then it is really heinous. If he doesn't even love his own parents, who else does he love? So we must completely transform ourselves. If you only love yourself, then you are a Cain, a Lamech, a mentally ill person.

If we love our neighbor as ourselves today, love God and love people, dedicate ourselves completely, and carry the divine value system, God will surely reserve a crown of victory for you in heaven. That glorious crown is the pursuit of our entire life. Love does no harm to others, and love fulfills the law. You don't need to keep any rules, but if you don't have love inside, can you keep the rules? How can selfishness be kept?

## Live in the Light

We must live in the light. Do you know why people like to hide things? Because they feel ashamed to tell them. If people know the reality of the spiritual world, know that there is a God in the spiritual world, know that Jesus Christ was crucified for us, know that God can help us overcome this worldly value system, reserve crowns in eternity for us, and know that our God can satisfy all our needs, what else do we have to hide?

**Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:12-14)**

The flesh is of no benefit. If we feel that these things are ugly on the table, then don't do them. Don't tell big lies to cover up small lies after you're done. This is not sustainable. We do things not to please God with our behavior, but because we have faith inside.

## Summary

So we walk in the light. If we walk in the light, we no longer indulge in the desires of the flesh, because it is embarrassing to talk about these things. We do not engage in orgies and drunkenness, nor in sexual immorality and sensuality, nor in quarreling and jealousy. Not only that, we must also do one thing, that is, to always put on Jesus Christ. What is putting on Jesus Christ? It means that we must become more and more like Jesus Christ. Don't treat Jesus Christ as sheepskin and be a wolf in sheep's clothing. Do you think that if you wear sheepskin, God will not recognize you?

How much of the worldly value system do you have inside? If you think this is smart, then continue to walk this way. If you think this is stupid, then start to build up a divine value system. How wonderful is the divine value system. If we stand in eternity, stand on the throne of God and look down, looking at the multitude of beings in this world, you will feel, what are they doing?

I am very emotional. I have ministered to so many people and found that many people don’t know what they are doing. Many Christians are very selfish and have no likeness of Jesus Christ on them, just a wolf in sheep's clothing. Today we must perform circumcision in our hearts, cutting away the passions and desires of our flesh, cutting away our worldly value system, and let us begin to pursue one thing, that is, to single-mindedly pursue pleasing our God.