Introduction

Good morning, everyone. Today, I will be sharing the fifth part of the series on good habits for spiritual individuals: Completing Tasks, From Start to Finish. This topic may seem unrelated to spiritual people and more akin to the secular world. One of the earliest Chinese figures to discuss spiritual individuals was Ni Tuosheng, who wrote a book called The Spiritual Man, comprising nearly 450,000 words. However, the entire book makes no mention of completing tasks, which is a crucial hallmark of a spiritual person. Why am I speaking on this topic? Because it is profoundly spiritual. While being able to complete tasks does not necessarily make one a spiritual person, those who cannot complete tasks are definitely not spiritual. A spiritual person will undoubtedly handle matters and people well, and will certainly complete tasks.

The inability to complete tasks is undoubtedly a spiritual issue. If we fail to complete tasks while donning a religious façade, we are merely deceiving ourselves. To determine if someone is spiritual, do not focus on their ability to sing worship songs or the loudness of their prayers. These do not define a person's spirituality. A common phenomenon in churches is that the stage becomes a platform for people to showcase their spiritual standing, especially among young sisters who seek spiritual boyfriends. On stage, a boy leading worship songs exceptionally well, knowing when to enter the chorus and repeat sections with passionate gestures, can easily draw people into the atmosphere. However, this is not a true sign of a spiritual person. The real mark of spirituality is not how you perform on stage, but whether you can genuinely complete tasks well.

Completing tasks is, in fact, based on the Bible. In the first chapter of Genesis, it is repeated many times that things were done. We are created in God's image, and God always completes what He sets out to do. Even though you have not yet seen the new Holy City, Jerusalem, descending from Heaven, and God's kingdom has not fully arrived, I assure you, it will come to pass! Because our God is a God who completes tasks. If we are to be spiritual people, we must bear God's image and complete our tasks.

Brothers and sisters, we must change our perception and not think that completing tasks is unimportant, while loud prayers are crucial. This is a major misconception. If we carefully examine the Bible, there is ample support for this idea. For example, Jesus' last words on the cross were, It is finished! Salvation was finally accomplished. Jesus' precious blood had been shed for us, He had borne our stripes, and He had indeed carried our sorrows and taken our pains. Jesus walked the path to the cross, completing what He had to complete.

Abraham in the Bible was also a man who completed tasks. His ability to lead troops and train his household was first-rate. Isaac's skill in digging wells was also top-notch. Jacob's shepherding for his uncle Laban was excellent. Joseph, as prime minister, was unprecedented. He was an exceptionally astute prime minister, managing Egypt with remarkable order. His management skills were superb. Noah was a first-rate builder, constructing an ark in his time. Daniel, mentioned in the Bible, later served as the prime minister of Babylon, doing a great job! Our God is a God who completes tasks. Whether you are a person who completes tasks is a sign of whether you possess God's image.

Jesus was a carpenter before he began his ministry at the age of thirty. That is why Jesus often used building as a metaphor. I believe Jesus must have been a first-class carpenter; otherwise, if the houses he built collapsed or the stools he made broke upon sitting, his reputation would have been ruined. Since Jesus became flesh, He must have been an exceptional carpenter because our God is an engineer who built the universe, and God's creations are the greatest!

Upon further investigation, the Apostle Paul is the example I most like to emulate. The Apostle Paul was remarkable. His tent-making skills were first-rate. Paul supported himself and his coworkers with his own hands. Today, we are promoting a very common-sense concept, nothing lofty, yet it is a revolution. What does it mean to be spiritual? The mark of a spiritual person is the good habits of spiritual people that I have been discussing these past few days. This is a revolution, not a grand one, but it is very essential.

If you start building a building and do not finish it, it is called an unfinished building. If you build a temple and do not complete it, it is an unfinished temple. If you are a person who starts but does not finish, you are an unfinished person. If you are a Christian who starts but does not finish, you are an unfinished Christian. Today, I want to tell everyone that there are many unfinished Christians, such as the Israelites who died in the wilderness. Moses led them out of Egypt and they built God's tabernacle in the wilderness. After it was built, they were supposed to enter the Promised Land, but they refused. That generation all died in the wilderness, except for Caleb and Joshua. The rest were unfinished people.

Do not misunderstand; do not think that being good at doing things and completing them makes one a spiritual person. A spiritual person will definitely complete tasks and enter into God's promise. They will certainly not be an unfinished Christian. My introduction is discussing why I am addressing this topic. It may sound practical and not lofty, but it is all very common sense. Let us open the Bible and let the scriptures support us. Without scriptural support, we are just talking nonsense.

Scripture

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish. (Luke 14:28-30)

Prayer

God, open our ears and eyes among us, so that every brother and sister can become a person who completes what they start. May our brothers and sisters be willing to pay the price to be your disciples. On our journey of building the church, we continue to pursue until we complete the commission you have placed on us. Place this character within us today.

God, may your Holy Spirit work continuously in us, constantly molding us, so that we may become people who complete what they start, who can finish tasks, and build your temple, and build the glorious church. Let us pave the way for your return, so that when we come before you, we may receive your glorious praise and the crown of glory you have prepared for us in eternity. Let us receive what you have promised before you and reign with you forever. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!

Scriptural Background

This passage is actually about whether one can be a disciple of Jesus. It is easy to be a believer of Jesus, but it is not easy to be a disciple of Jesus.

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:25-27)

After saying this, Jesus went on to say:

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider carefully whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:28-33)

If you read this carefully, you might think, who can do this? Whether you can do it or not is your own choice. In this passage, Jesus sets a very high standard for being a disciple, even at the cost of one's own life. Why set such a high standard? Because Jesus only wants disciples. Although many people follow Him, if they are not disciples, it is useless.

Before this, Jesus also made a parable: A man prepared a great banquet and invited people when it was time. But they all made excuses. One said, I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me. Still another said, I just got married, so I can’t come. The servant told his master, and the master was furious. Then he told the servant to go out into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the blind, and the lame.

What is Jesus saying? He is talking about a very excellent banquet, but people are unwilling to come. He also tells a parable about building a tower, talking about how few disciples are willing to let go of themselves and pay the price. People value worldly things too much. People think about oxen, farming, and getting married. Jesus is talking about the cost of being a disciple. So, do you want to be a disciple, to enter God's kingdom, and to enter into the great banquet with God? Jesus uses building a tower as a metaphor, and many people ridicule Him. Those who start but cannot finish are like building an unfinished building, which is of little use. No one lives in a foundation.

If you just believe in the Lord, you have only laid a foundation, and then you give up. That is useless. If we look at it from Jesus Christ's standard, there are too many unfinished Christians. Do not be one of them. Whether one is merciful or not is not important. What is important is that you make a decision whether to become someone who builds unfinished buildings. In real estate, the worst thing is to build an unfinished building. Later, He talks about the analogy of fighting a war. Being a Christian is like building a tower and fighting a war. It is better not to build a tower that is unfinished. It is better not to fight a war that cannot be won. It is better not to be an unfinished Christian. Being a victorious Christian, that is the key.

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (Luke 14:34-35)

If being a Christian does not mean being a victorious Christian and not giving up everything, then one is an unfinished Christian. Many people say after hearing this, how can we live like this? Living like this, you become an unfinished Christian. We must understand what this means. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, which means you were originally a Christian, that is good, but being an unfinished Christian is like salt losing its saltiness; it is not even fit for the manure pile and can only be thrown out. How pitiful! He who has ears, let him hear!

We must not ruin our journey as Christians. I often see some people who hire software engineers to write a bunch of gibberish that cannot be modified, upgraded, or maintained. Even if these people who wrote the gibberish try to read it themselves, they cannot understand it. That is useless. Brothers and sisters, know that whatever you do poorly is useless. It is better not to do it. The background and theme of this passage are about being a disciple, using building a tower as a metaphor. In fact, it is about completing tasks, which is a very important spiritual sign for Christians.

If you cannot even build a tower, how can you be a successful Christian? If you cannot even build a tower, how can you build God's temple? In the end, it becomes an unfinished building, an unfinished temple, an unfinished Christian. How will you explain this to God in the future? You are not even fit to be thrown into the manure pile and can only be thrown out. We must not think that being thrown out is a good thing. Being thrown out is a matter of life and death. So, I encourage everyone to carefully consider what I am saying: Can you be a successful Christian? Can you complete tasks? This is very important.

Develop the Good Habit of Completing Tasks

We must build God's temple and the glorious church well. If we cannot even do a small project at work, how can we build God's temple? If we cannot even pay a small price at work, how can we build God's temple, which requires paying the price of our lives? How is it possible to pay the price of life? In my years of ministry, many people have come to the church who are unable to complete tasks. From a young age, they have not accomplished anything and have developed the bad habit of being unable to complete tasks. After they came among us and loved the Lord very much, I learned to see what was good and changed their bad habits.

I began to analyze and contemplate how they developed such bad habits. Because they had not calculated the price they would have to pay, they did not want to do what they could afford, and they insisted on doing what they could not afford. They looked down on what they could afford, and they could not afford what they liked. As a result, they messed around from their twenties to their fifties. No matter how much time you have wasted in the past, now that you have come among us, I want to make it happen and change your bad habits into good habits.

I have a habit that as long as I want to do something, I must complete it. I had this habit when I was in school. As long as I do it, I must do it well, starting with small things. In the last lesson, we talked about not thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to. As soon as people think of themselves more highly than they ought to, they do not want to do what they can do and insist on doing what they cannot do, which is very bad. Some people cannot even manage themselves well and want to manage ten people. Is this not fatal? Can you shepherd ten people if you cannot shepherd one well? If you cannot manage one thousand dollars well, can you manage two thousand? If you cannot manage two thousand dollars well, can you manage twenty million? So, people must be reasonable in their own eyes and be down-to-earth in their work.

Among the Chinese pastors I know, one pastor forms a marked contrast with me. One characteristic of his preaching is that he speaks entirely of grandiose things. One characteristic of my preaching is that it is entirely concrete and tangible. Later, I concluded that he speaks of heavenly things, and I speak of earthly things. Should we speak of heavenly things or earthly things? I am not saying that we should focus on earthly things, but that we should do earthly things well. If we cannot do earthly things well, can we do heavenly things?

What I am saying is practical because God created people on earth and gave them a mission to manage everything on earth. God did not create people to manage heaven. Although what I am doing seems very practical and concrete, it is God's will. Why can these people not develop good habits? Because they have the problem of being ambitious and unrealistic. If we lower our sights and are able to work in a down-to-earth manner, we can solve many problems.

Some time ago, I and a fellow worker were training a sister in her forties. She had many shortcomings, but I am gratified that she has changed a lot recently. In the past, what she did was relatively impetuous and full of loopholes, but recently we have seen her improve. Later, I discovered, how can one develop a good habit of getting things done? Start with what you can do, then you will do it faster and faster, and eventually it will become a good habit. People who work slowly do not enjoy it at all, but those who do it well and quickly, and can grasp the essence of things, will definitely enjoy it.

A few days ago, because the house was being renovated, the corridor outside was full of dust from footprints. I said: There is so much dust in the corridor, people will complain. It is not moral. Clean up the floor. As a result, they flushed it with water. After the flushing, the entire corridor looked like a Chinese painting, which was worse than not flushing it. I gave them a demonstration. I did things quickly because I thought and explored, and I was able to grasp the essence of things.

First, I sprinkled water on the corridor, then swept it with a broom. As a result, the things on the ground melted into the water. I sprinkled some more water and took a water-absorbing mop to absorb all the water on the ground. After cleaning up, the floor became clean. I finished this in a few minutes, but it took them a very long time. Don't look at it as just cleaning. I did it with great enthusiasm and not at all slowly.

In this process, I discovered some basic rules:

First, separate learning and doing. Why separate them? Because if you don't know how to do it, it is easy to cause problems if you do it on a large scale. For example, if you don't know how to farm, and you plant dozens of acres of land at once, wouldn't that land be easily ruined? This ruin would be dozens of acres! You can try it on a few square meters first. This is easy; if you make a mistake, it doesn't matter much, and the loss is not that great. But if you make a mistake on dozens of acres of land, wouldn't that be fatal? You need to learn in this kind of experiment. When you expand on a large scale, then you do it on a large scale. This is separating learning and doing.

Second, separate planning and implementation. Many people don't know how to write plans or implement them, and the result is a mess. I have developed the habit since I was a child. I am relatively good at learning, and I am also good at making plans. Some people don't make plans, but they are very busy; I am also busy, but I am not blindly busy. I do things in a very organized way. If a company or enterprise hires an employee like me, it is a blessing for the company. This is separating planning and implementation.

We must make good plans and not rush into things. For example, if we are halfway through something and find that the expansion screws are missing, we go out to buy them. After buying them, we find that this thing is missing and that thing is missing. This makes the work very slow and sloppy. If you want to do this work, go through it in your mind first and prepare all the raw materials and tools. If you are not prepared, draw up a list in the plan. The first step is to prepare these things, and the second step is to start implementing. When implementing, think clearly about what to do in the first step and what to do in the second step, and arrange all these things.

So it is very important to separate planning and implementation. In a while, I will give some training to some companies, specifically training on how to manage projects and product development. These things are very important. I am an engineer by training. The content I talk about is very helpful to everyone. Everyone should learn how to make plans. Plans are still very important. What to do? How to do it? When to do it? To what extent to do it? Who will do it? Why do these things? If you answer these questions clearly and your mind is very clear, you will definitely do things quickly. This first paragraph is called separating learning and doing, and the second paragraph is called separating planning and implementation.

Third, avoid unclear goals, unclear strategies, and incorrect methods. This means that people have to pay a price. For example, we have to learn when we do things, so we have to pay the price of learning. Some people think that is too slow and just want to rush up and finish it. After finishing it, it is a mess. It is better not to do it, just like building a building, and the building ends up unfinished. That is paying the wrong price. What are you anxious about? Without learning, there is no doing; without planning, there is no implementation. The three paragraphs I have talked about, sharing with you in detail, are very long, but it doesn't matter. In the future, I will chat with you carefully, and I will train you hands-on in actual operation.

Avoid Using a Spiritual Appearance to Deceive Yourself

Christians are confused about the two words spiritual to a rather outrageous degree. They think that being able to read the Bible is very spiritual, so doing things must be very worldly! For a while, I was serving a sister who was selling Suibian Guo (casual fruit). Suibian Guo is a good thing. I am not advertising for Suibian Guo, because many people have difficulty with bowel movements, and this thing can indeed solve the problem. How do I know? Because I have tried it. The people I serve have problems in this area. Prayer did not help, so I bought a few packs of Suibian Guo and sent them to them. I also tried it a few times myself, and the effect was good.

Someone told this sister who sold Suibian Guo about this, but her understanding was that posting Suibian Guo's copywriting in Moments all day long is so loving the world! How can selling Suibian Guo, such a legitimate industry, be said to be loving the world? In fact, you can love the world even if you don't sell Suibian Guo; you don't necessarily love the world if you sell Suibian Guo. There is no direct relationship. After hearing this, I was filled with emotion. How could there be such a thing? How could it be so ignorant? What's more, I have never taught this way among us. I even introduced many people to her, and they became her team and did micro-business with her. I never regard these things as belonging to God or belonging to the world, because a spiritual appearance is easy to fake.

Several years ago, a sister often posted in Moments. As a result, one day she committed suicide by cutting her wrists. She was still a teacher at a school, and her photo was even published in the newspaper. One of our sisters was her classmate, and this sister was very surprised at the time. She thought she was a very spiritual sister, but this was just a spiritual appearance. Some people said to me: I don't like doing my job. I just want to come to the church to serve. I asked: Why do you want to come to the church to serve? They said: Look at how good it is for the church to pray and preach all day long. The salary and benefits are good, and you don't have to do worldly things. We often see people with a spiritual appearance. This is killing people!

Some Christians come to me and show a very spiritual state. He said: Teacher, do you know? I saw Jesus yesterday. I said: You saw Jesus. That's great! I haven't seen him yet! But I thought to myself, what exactly did you see? How is it possible to see Jesus without doing practical things? If you really see Jesus, there will definitely be the image of God in your actions. People don't want to do practical things. They just want to walk over wearing Jesus' robe and say peace be with you. This doesn't solve the problem.

Some people tell me that they saw angels! If you saw angels, you wouldn't do things like today, doing everything badly. These are all called spiritual appearances. A spiritual appearance deceives oneself. You really think you have seen Jesus and angels, but you just can't see yourself failing to do things. Doing things successfully is called spiritual. This is a silent revolution. You are called spiritual only when you have the image of God. Our God is a God who gets things done. We must worship God in spirit and in truth. Don't think that being able to do things is loving the world. Everyone should carefully ponder this question.

In the Bible, Peter lived by praying and preaching, but the Apostle Paul supported himself and his fellow workers with his own hands. To some extent, I am more like the Apostle Paul. I do more things. Peter prayed and preached every day. In the end, he became afraid. In Galatians, Peter began to pretend when he saw people coming from James. Peter was the second-in-command of the church, and he was even afraid of people coming from James. What else was he not afraid of? As a result, it directly led to very serious problems. The church in Jerusalem became more and more declining, and finally reached a very poor state.

At that time, the Apostle Paul also raised donations and collected many offerings for the church in Jerusalem. Paul did not love money but was very rich. He managed the money very well. Peter was very poor, and the entire theological system also changed its flavor. The Apostle Paul's theological system is that angels are ministering spirits and people are very noble. People have the image of God. Paul was great at doing things. The Gentile churches he managed were very prosperous. Why did Peter become like this? Because he used to make a living by fishing, and later he couldn't do anything, not even fishing. He could only live by praying and preaching. This is what we see as a very confusing state.

Peter's letters in the Bible have a characteristic. He said:

Whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. (2 Peter 2:11)

Some of what Peter said is correct, but some of it is not in line with what Hebrews says. How can angels be greater than people? People are made in the image of God. People have the noble and glorious image of God, so this has a bit of worshiping angels. The Apostle Paul was very powerful. He was a person who got things done. He could do fundraising and tent-making. He supported himself and his fellow workers with his own hands. He could do things and make money. This is worth pondering and thinking about.

If you let me imitate, I would imitate the Apostle Paul and choose the Apostle Paul's teachings, because he built a glorious church and the churches he built were prosperous. We will not talk about Peter's character for the time being. At least Paul's way is to build God's glorious church, which can fill the apostles in the church with God's glory and power.

Building God's Temple Requires a Personality That Gets Things Done

I know that our brothers and sisters have a great burden, because many people tell me that they want to build a glorious church with me. But the problem is, have you calculated the price you have to pay? Do you have a habit of getting things done? If you can't do worldly work well, do you want to do heavenly work? If you can't do human work well, do you want to do spiritual work? If you can't calculate the cost of building a building well, can you build a temple? In worldly battles, you also have to look at the number of soldiers and whether you can win. You will still encounter difficulties. In spiritual battles, you have chosen the strongest enemy in the world. If you don't have a personality that gets things done, can you win heavenly battles?

You have to calculate the cost. If we need to build a temple and fight against the devil and the enemy, don't you need to pay the price with your life? Many of our brothers and sisters tell their husbands that they will work overtime and go home later. Their husbands will agree to their overtime. They tell their parents that they will work overtime and go home later. Their parents will agree. They tell their families that they want to do business and make money and go home later. Their families will also agree. When you build a church and serve, and go home later, your family will definitely disagree and think that your belief in the Lord will delay your life. People are like this. The obstacles to building a church all come from your family.

If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26-27)

You may find these words difficult to accept. If the cost of building God's glorious temple is like this, do you still want to build this temple? If you still want to, you are the people chosen by God!

Building God's glorious church requires us to pay the price with our lives. Our Chinese Mingding Destiny is a system that gets things done. Our training starts from small things, even including training like sweeping the corridor. These simple things can train people to develop the habit of getting things done. With good spiritual habits and a personality that gets things done, we will also pay the price for building a glorious church. We will pay all the prices that should be paid. We pay the price for going to middle school and the price for going to college. We also have to pay the price for building a church until we can complete what God has entrusted to us, just like Jesus Christ said on the cross: It is done!

We have left everything we have to follow Jesus. We will do our best to train people, build churches, and build God's people into a dwelling place for God's Holy Spirit. According to God's way, we will build people up and train them to become people with the glorious image of God. Today, what God has entrusted to us needs to be completed with personality. Don't build what God has entrusted to us into an unfinished temple.

Conclusion

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

The day has come when the Apostle Paul will be beheaded. You may find it difficult to understand how such a loving Lord could be beheaded? Today, if we build God's glorious temple, are we also willing to pay the price with our lives? In fact, this is an extremely precious grace that God has given to Paul. You may not understand it, but I want to tell you that this is an extremely precious grace. I also look forward to receiving such grace, because there will be a glorious crown reserved for us.

We are not just talking about it, but really paying the price with our lives. We are going to leave everything we have to become disciples of Jesus Christ, build God's glorious temple, use our lives as a price to restore the truth, and bring God's people into God's kingdom. May our brothers and sisters all tell God: God, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. From now on, there will be a glorious crown reserved for me.

Today we must know that people live and die in this world. Without the hope of glory in eternity, living is meaningless. If we are willing to offer our lives as a living sacrifice to God, then what does it matter if we develop the habit of getting things done and doing things well in this world? Develop the habit of paying the price and getting things done in small things. No matter how small things are, we must do one thing and accomplish one thing.

God is a God who gets things done. God will surely add strength to us and constantly restore the glorious image of God in us. This is God's salvation. May the salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ on the cross become the strength in our hearts, so that we can be strengthened again. No matter what difficulties we encounter, no matter what happens, whether it is service or work, we will get it done, and the price to be paid is nothing. When we pay the price with our lives, what difficulties can stand before us? May God bless you all!