Introduction
Good morning, everyone. Today, I will share the last topic in our study series, which is The Key to Learning is a Gentle and Humble Heart. A person's growth and expansion are inseparable from learning. In other words, learning has become the most important thing in our lives. In the previous talks, we discussed some very strange things about Saul, old Eli, and Jeroboam. For example, when Jeroboam stretched out his hand, it immediately withered. After praying to the prophet, his hand was restored, but he went back to making golden calves.
What is the reason why people cannot learn lessons? For example, Saul said to Samuel:
Blessed are you by the Lord; I have carried out the Lord’s instructions. (1 Samuel 15:13).
Did he obey? No, he did not! There is a characteristic in these people that is a key obstacle to our learning, which is rigidity. In the Bible, there are many people with this rigid character. Saul, old Eli, and Jeroboam are all examples of rigidity. This characteristic is a fatal reason that hinders our growth and learning.
Let's talk about The Key to Learning is a Gentle and Humble Heart! A few days ago, I ministered to a sister who had many problems. She always asked her pastor's wife to minister to her. In the church, there is a strange position called pastor's wife, who is the pastor's wife.
Their church has a rule: sisters minister to sisters, and brothers minister to brothers. This rule is not found in the Bible. I have never found it in the Bible. Who invented these? These pastor's wives invented it! Why invent these? We can all speculate that when the pastor ministers to other sisters, the pastor's wife feels uncomfortable, which can easily lead to problems. So they invented this rule, but it doesn't solve the problem.
Once, when she was sick, she asked my colleague to minister to her. My colleague asked her how her pastor's wife ministered to her. She said that she and her pastor's wife only talked about buying groceries and children. Can those things solve the problem? No, they don't. Praise the Lord! This sister's heart was not so rigid. After my colleague pointed out the problems inside her, the problems were quickly resolved without much prayer.
What am I saying? She began to learn some lessons. If she were a very rigid person, it would be difficult for her to be healed of her illness. For example, not long ago, a pastor died of cancer. After a while, another pastor died of cancer. After another while, there was a pastor who, although he did not die, got cancer! This shows that the probability of pastors getting cancer is very high!
From what I understand, there is something called rigidity, willfulness, self-righteousness, and discerning good and evil. From my limited understanding and ministry, many cancer patients, or every brother and sister in my past ministry, almost all have a very deadly thing in them, which is being very rigid. Because many people, even if they get cancer, often do not learn lessons.
It is said that ten million people die from cancer every year. How many die from lung cancer? Out of ten million cancer patients, 1.8 million die from lung cancer, and 90% of people who get lung cancer cannot survive. What kind of magnitude is this compared to? Since the outbreak began, COVID has killed a total of four million people. The annual death toll from cancer is ten million. Can you imagine what kind of magnitude this is?
Compared to cancer patients, I tell you that there are many cases where a person's rigidity leads to ineffective learning, or learning disabilities! Now, learning disabilities have become a special term. In fact, many people's learning is ineffective because rigidity leads to learning disabilities.
Let me give you an example. If a person gets cancer, whether he is a pastor or a pastor's wife, he will say that he wants to pray to God and seek peace and will from God. If cancer is not a curse, then what is a curse? Some of our pastors are very eloquent when teaching others not to discern good and evil; when it comes to themselves, they have ten thousand reasons to discern good and evil. This character is called C personality, and C personality is called cancer personality. I hope everyone can truly turn to God from this rigidity, learn gentleness and humility, and walk out of this character.
So I often pray that you are not one rigid person after another. One after another is not a good thing. I learned this from my mother. Once my mother went to the hospital, and I ministered to her on the phone. Halfway through the ministry, she said, Another one! I said, What? She said, People being carried out of the hospital. After praying for a while, she said, Oh no! Another one! She saw people who had died being pushed out through the door. Since then, I have learned another one.
We must be gentle and humble in our hearts, and know that we are not more powerful than Jesus. Jesus was gentle and humble, so today, do we not have a thousand and ten thousand more reasons to be gentle and humble? We brothers and sisters must know that not learning well is not a matter of IQ, but a lack of a gentle and humble attitude in our hearts. So we must know that attitude is a very deadly issue.
Do not imitate Saul, old Eli, and Jeroboam. These are all examples of rigidity. How many lessons does a person have to learn to get out of rigidity? For example, Jeroboam, even though the man of God performed a miracle in front of him, Jeroboam still wanted to go his own way, which is really deadly!
Scripture
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Prayer
God, give us just a little bit of wisdom and intelligence today, so that we may know that in this life we should follow your example. I should learn from you, learn your gentle and humble attitude. God, since you became flesh and came to this world as a human being, you are gentle and humble in heart.
God, you are God! You were gentle and humble when you came to the world, let alone us? Today, let our hearts soften before you, so that we can imitate you and imitate your gentleness and humility. God, when we have burdens pressing on us, please release us. Today we turn back to you, and you will release us, so that we may once again find rest in you, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
Scripture Background
The background of this passage is very interesting, to what extent? There was once a man named John the Baptist, who once pointed to Jesus and said:
And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.” (Mark 1:7)
Later, this John the Baptist was arrested. Don't think that a prophet cannot die outside of Jerusalem, it must be within Jerusalem, and even Jesus was the same. As a result, he was arrested. Why was John arrested? Because he was nosy. What did it have to do with him who the king was going to marry? Others wanted to marry, but he had to interfere. So he offended the king. Can that king let you go? Regardless of whether that king looks like Saul or not, he will arrest you first.
As a result, this John the Baptist was puzzled as he sat in prison. He said, Jesus! Why don't you come and save me? Blow a breath of immortality on me, and this breath can blow me out of prison. Could Jesus do this? Yes, it is easy for Jesus. But since Jesus didn't do it, he naturally has his reasons for not doing it, but John the Baptist was puzzled.
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3)
These words have a strong flavor. Are you the one who is to come? This is like the questions that our brothers and sisters sometimes ask. Just listen to it and you will probably know what they are thinking. I might misunderstand, but Jesus will not misunderstand. You can hear the attitude in the question. As a result, Jesus did not answer him directly.
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” (Matthew 11:4-6)
Jesus' words are powerful! Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me! What does it mean? It means don't discern good and evil with me. John, sit in prison well! Generally, sitting in prison is really unbearable. In fact, John the Baptist did discern good and evil with Jesus. Why don't you come and save me? He was puzzled. But Jesus said, Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me! This led to a series of arguments by Jesus. Why are people so rigid? He talked about the following paragraph.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Who is Jesus saying this to? He is saying it to us. Of course, whether John the Baptist can hear it depends on his fortune. In fact, these words are referring to John the Baptist. Why is it referring to John the Baptist? John did not find rest in prison. He did not find rest not because he was in prison, but because he was rigid in his heart.
Hadn't John the Baptist heard of Jesus causing the blind to see, the lame to walk, those with leprosy to be cleansed, the deaf to hear, and the dead to be raised? How could he not have heard of it? Be aware that Jesus was the most popular influencer of that generation. Everyone knew him. Wherever he went, it was like a whirlwind. There were too many people who were healed through Jesus' hands. Did John the Baptist know? He knew! Did he learn the lesson? He couldn't learn it. Why? Because he was still in prison. Why don't you come and save me? Later, John's disciples left.
After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? (Luke 7:24)
In fact, they wanted to see John the Baptist. Then Jesus continued:
I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (Luke 7:28)
Do you understand what this means? The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than him because there is no discerning of good and evil in the kingdom of heaven, there are no stumbling people in the kingdom of heaven, and everyone in the kingdom of heaven strives to be gentle and humble and imitate Jesus. So to this day, the kingdom of heaven is entered by force.
Don't be confused. In our lives, we often encounter things that don't suit our will. In fact, whether it suits your will or not is not up to your will. For example, you think that as soon as you believe in the Lord, your debts will be cleared, but it doesn't seem like it; as soon as you believe in the Lord, you will find the boyfriend you want, but it doesn't seem like it; as soon as you believe in the Lord, the outcome of things is not what we imagine most of the time.
Even if you are John the Baptist, among those born of women, no one is greater than John the Baptist, which means you cannot be greater than John the Baptist. The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist.
There is no way to compare this, which means that brothers and sisters today must begin to see what Jesus is doing in this generation. Today, what God is doing among us is exactly what the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised. But many people, after seeing it, even after experiencing it personally, say things that are incredible. If you can't learn the lesson, that's your fortune.
“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to their peers: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ (Matthew 11:16-17)
So Jesus said, To what can I compare this generation? Today is the same. Even if children are playing house, they have to act like it! The reaction is very numb! So no matter what, people always have excuses. John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said he was demon-possessed. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they said, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”
There is a song called A Thousand and Ten Thousand Reasons to Worship God. People can have a thousand and ten thousand reasons to pick out Jesus' faults. So what does Jesus sigh with emotion? Jesus performed so many miracles in the cities, but the people in these cities did not repent! After performing miracles and wonders, people still did not repent. Why? Because they could find faults in Jesus. With this fault-finding mentality, what lessons can you learn? You can't learn any lessons!
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! (Matthew 11:21)
Do you understand? Today, many people are in trouble. Why? Because if these miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. If they had been performed in Sodom, they could have remained to this day! If Jesus had performed these miracles in Sodom, the people of Sodom would have repented, Jesus said. However, today everyone sees what Jesus is doing, and Jesus says:
“Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” (Matthew 10:15)
What a sigh! Today, do people need to see the essence through some phenomena? What we call Mingding Destiny, I dare say, is restoring the original appearance of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but this road is only a small step. The road ahead is still very long, and we must continue to imitate our Lord Jesus. So Jesus sighed:
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. (Matthew 11:25-26)
It is difficult for people with rigid hearts to receive it. People with rigid hearts have their own set of things in their hearts. How can they learn if they have their own set of things in their hearts? In the past, they didn't know where they received that set of things from, but they believed in it in their hearts. If what they received was the set of things from the Pharisees, then continue to hold on to it. Do you think you can hold on to it until the kingdom of heaven? You can't hold on to it, and you can't learn it!
A person must learn to be gentle and humble. What is gentleness and humility? We often don't get it right. I once gave a sermon called Often Think You Are Not Right, which is the background of this passage. As a result, Jesus said:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)
Have you really learned the appearance of Jesus? Far from it! I also sigh with emotion: Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank you! Because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. It is difficult for self-righteous people to receive the grace of God!
The Root of Labor and Burden: Ignorance
If you carry fifty pounds of rice every day, can you not be tired? A xiangsheng actor told such a story. A person bought fifty pounds of rice from a grain store. Unlike today, when there is Shunfeng Express and other logistics that can deliver it to your home, in that era, you could only carry it home yourself. As a result, he passed by people playing chess, and he carried the rice to watch them play chess. Others said, Put down the rice and then watch them play chess! But he refused. He had to carry the rice to watch them play chess. As a result, he tired himself out. Isn't this ignorance?
There is a story that tells it well. A person was carrying fifty pounds of rice on the road. As a result, a donkey cart came over. The cart owner saw this person carrying fifty pounds of rice and said, Get in the cart quickly. This is so tiring. As a result, he got in the donkey cart, but he still continued to carry his rice. The cart owner said, Put down the rice quickly! As a result, he said, It's already hard enough for this donkey to pull the two of us. If I put this fifty pounds of rice on the cart again, I would be so sorry for this donkey! He thought that if he carried it on his shoulder, the donkey would be lighter. This is pure nonsense! Ignorance! Wasn't this a waste of carrying it?
Today, many of us are still working hard and burdened after believing in the Lord. This is all called foolishness! Today, do our brothers and sisters say, We are so busy! It's all blind busyness! So tired! That's what you deserve! You are working hard and burdened! Working hard and burdened is a kind of ignorance. Because the root of working hard and burdened is ignorance! Where does the root of ignorance come from? It comes from not learning. Why don't you learn? It comes from rigidity in the heart. The person who carries fifty pounds of rice sounds like a joke, but in fact, how many of us have taken Jesus Christ's ride and are still carrying fifty pounds of rice on our shoulders? Then just carry it. You are tired, you deserve it!
Our brothers and sisters must know that we must constantly learn to know God. Today, have you seen few miracles and wonders among us? If you have seen few miracles and wonders, I tell you, God will continue to let you see miracles and wonders. After seeing them, what are you thinking in your heart?
I tell you, being busy is definitely not a good thing. Today, everyone should carefully consider whether they are a busy person. If you are a busy person, then you must be a very inefficient person. You are inefficient because you are a person who doesn't know how to learn! You say it's not like this, it's because of that. Even if you have ten thousand reasons, even if your reasons are more than the oil in a gas station, you have worked hard for a long time, but you still have no effect.
A few days ago, someone came to ask me, Do I need to cast out demons to solve the problems on my body? I think the problem you need to solve is ignorance! What demons are you casting out! Don't put the blame for all the problems on your body on the demons. I said, Were Adam and Eve tied up by demons, who forced the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil into their mouths? Demons can't do that. Since the creation of the world, God has set a rule that demons can't do that. If they could do that, demons wouldn't have to work so hard. They could just tie them up and feed the fruit into their mouths, which would save a lot of time. But the fact is not like that. Eve ate it voluntarily. The demons only did one thing, which was to deceive Eve, and Eve ate it herself.
Everyone, don't put a label on me for this event. I don't have any opinions on women. I only have opinions on Eve, this woman. Eve was the first woman. If she hadn't eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, wouldn't we all have been spared this curse? So I have opinions on Eve, this woman. How uncomfortable would it be for a woman not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Even if she puts the blame on the demons, she is still discerning good and evil.
Today, everyone must know that demons specialize in suppressing ignorant people. Know that Adam and Eve are not being suppressed today because of anything else, but because of ignorance. If Eve had studied hard, was a learning person, and worked hard to understand God's words, would she have suffered the pain of childbirth? No, she wouldn't have. As for those pastor's wives I mentioned, would they have made up a series of ministry doctrines that did not conform to the Bible and been suppressed by demons? Today, we must know that we humans have invented many things that do not conform to the Bible. Why? To protect our husbands. Can't God protect her husband? Yes! But she just has to do these things, which make her sick all over. So what is the problem? The problem is ignorance. Not learning is ignorance! Ignorance will be deceived, and being deceived is very miserable.
A few days ago, I ministered to a sister who was deeply in debt. How did she incur it? She got a boyfriend and started a business with him, swiping her cards and taking out loans to help him. In the end, the boyfriend ran off, leaving her with a mountain of debt. What is this? Ignorance! What is ignorance? It is when lust stirs within a person, they become ignorant. Why do people become ignorant? Because they do not learn. Why don't they learn? Because learning is too tiring and strenuous.
I've noticed a pattern: lazy people are often foolish, and foolish people are often lazy. Which comes first, laziness or foolishness? I think it's a vicious cycle. Once a person becomes lazy, even a small task feels overwhelming. They don't want to solve problems, so the problems pile up, and they become even more foolish. This continues from the age of ten to twenty, and from twenty to thirty. So, not learning is deadly!
I once heard a sister say, What's the point of sweeping the floor? What's the point of cleaning the toilet? Never mind, the Lord Jesus is coming tomorrow. Using the Lord Jesus' return as an excuse for laziness is useless, even with a thousand reasons to justify it. Does she think lazy people can enter the Kingdom of Heaven? No, only those who strive will obtain it. So, people must solve the problem of laziness. If people deceive you, demons harass you, and you deceive yourself, how miserable would your life be! Yet, people do just that, and I am amazed.
Sometimes, ministering to such people is a struggle. Giving up is not an option, but not giving up is also difficult. Those who labor and bear heavy burdens do so because of ignorance. Later, I realized that none of the Israelites enslaved in Egypt were lazy, depressed, or failed to do their work well. I wondered why they started acting foolishly in the wilderness. It was because in Egypt, there were taskmasters with whips. One crack of the whip and all their problems disappeared. People's bad habits are often indulged.
Sometimes, we blame our problems on our family of origin or ancestral curses. But no family of origin or ancestral curse is more effective than the whip of an Egyptian taskmaster. That's a slave; you have to whip them to get them to work. If you want me to manage you like an Egyptian slave, that would be a great blessing for you!
I've noticed that in good armies, everyone makes their bed neatly, wakes up on time, and can run twenty kilometers carrying their gear. Whether male or female, they act like men. Nothing is impossible to learn because if you don't, military law will punish you.
Why can't we break free from laziness today? Do we need a whip? Today, I empathize with Jesus, though I am not worthy. Please consider Jesus' words:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
After all this, can things change? Today, I ask the brothers and sisters among us: can you find a whip yourself and give it to your pastor, so they can manage you and save you from a slave mentality and from being both lazy and foolish?
The root of labor and heavy burdens is ignorance. What family of origin or curse can compare to the whip in the hand of an Egyptian? But today, God doesn't like to manage us that way. He wants to give you freedom, but when He does, you become like the Israelites who died in the wilderness, impossible to bring in. Today, I am speaking to those who do not want to be like that, those who are willing to learn from Jesus.
Learn from Jesus
Learn from me, didn't Jesus say that? We cannot say learn from me today, that would be too arrogant! We will say, learn from Jesus. Do you know what Jesus is like? Any Christian who reads a bit of the Gospels of Matthew and Mark will clearly know what Jesus is like.
Jesus has several aspects. First: weakness. When He was weak, He drew strength from the Father in Heaven, who sent angels to strengthen Him. Jesus, in the flesh, needed to draw strength from the Father, so how much more do we? What do we do with the strength we draw from the Father? We offer ourselves.
Jesus had no slave mentality, only the demeanor of a son. Jesus was willing to offer Himself, to be nailed to the cross. Jesus could have escaped, but He didn't. He wasn't driven in with a whip; He walked in on His own. He needed God's strength to walk this path.
Why did He have such wisdom and strength? Because He was filled with God's Word. He clearly understood God's will, and He knew what He was here to do. With God's Word in Him, He knew that man is weak in the flesh, but He purposed to walk the path He should walk on this earth, in the flesh, relying on the strength from God in Heaven, setting an example for us and triumphing for us. He had a clear goal: to accomplish God's plan.
If a person's goal is to find a boyfriend or a husband, they're in trouble. They will soon be deceived. Is our goal today to learn from Jesus? Are we drawing strength from God in Heaven to learn from Jesus? Are we offering ourselves to learn from Jesus? Offering ourselves is not being driven in with a whip, but being willing, like a son, making a free choice. Shouldn't we emulate that? Shouldn't we learn from Jesus? We should know that these high-sounding words are easy to understand. Healing the sick and casting out demons, isn't that what Jesus did most on earth? Shouldn't we emulate that? We should emulate that! Learn from Jesus. I ask you, after learning these things, will you still have labor and heavy burdens? No!
I once ministered to a pastor with hydrocephalus. I asked him why he got hydrocephalus. His answer matched Jesus Christ's words. He said, Look at us pastors, ministering every day, resting only one day a week, how hard we work! Isn't that labor and heavy burdens? Labor and heavy burdens led to hydrocephalus. Why labor and heavy burdens? Because he didn't emulate Jesus!
Today, brothers and sisters, you must know that I dare not boast. For nearly thirty years, I have hardly rested. Why almost no rest? It's simple! Going to church on Sunday takes up most of the day, with small group Bible studies in between, plus work, and learning on weekends.
I had just become an effective engineer when I was promoted to group leader; just an effective group leader when I was promoted to manager; just an effective manager when I was promoted again. I have been constantly learning, always learning intensively. But that's not labor and heavy burdens; that's what I wanted!
So, is learning from Jesus something you want today? The most important thing is to learn a humble attitude—gentle and humble. Because that is God's will for us, and we are willing to walk in His will. Don't think that serving to the point of labor and heavy burdens is God's will. Serving to the point of labor and heavy burdens is not God's will! Because that's not how Jesus served. Jesus wouldn't serve to the point of hydrocephalus or cancer. Jesus willingly went to the cross and enjoyed His service.
So, sometimes I have to force myself to enjoy serving. I have to enjoy it! Otherwise, where is the likeness of Jesus? So, brothers and sisters, if we cast out demons and heal the sick, I tell you, demons can see our thoughts and intentions clearly. When you fight demons, do you think they don't know your dirty and filthy thoughts? They know! So, how powerful you are in casting out demons represents your spiritual height. It's easy to cast out demons that cause headaches and minor ailments. Everyone is quite capable when it comes to casting out such things. Everyone should be high enough to deal with a small, filthy demon. However, dealing with Satan – the ancient serpent who deceived Adam and Eve – truly requires spiritual height.
So, as you cast out demons, you will encounter experts. When you encounter an expert, you realize you can't defeat it, then will it defeat you? So, you have to learn. When you find you can't cast out that kind of demon, you have to study hard. God gives you enough time to learn and grow, and then come back and defeat the devil. Later, you encounter a worthy opponent, like in a martial arts novel, a hundred rounds without a winner; two hundred rounds without a winner; three hundred rounds without a winner; fighting from morning to dusk, continuing into the night, still no winner. You can't do that! Quickly retreat, go back and practice, sharpen your skills for ten years, and then come back to conquer all.
So today, brothers and sisters, casting out demons and healing the sick is about learning from Jesus. Remember! If you don't cast out demons and heal the sick, your abilities won't show. It's useless to just talk about it. Once you start casting out demons, you will find many people running away in fear. Can people who are constantly chased by demons not be burdened and weary? Of course, they are burdened and weary. So, you must learn! The devil is just a sparring partner. What's the point of being happy about defeating a small demon? When you encounter a bigger demon and realize you can't beat it, you have to learn! Constant growth is the key!
So, finally, after walking the path in this world, completing God's plan for us, and finishing the path God wants us to walk on earth, learning must continue throughout our lives! Learning from Jesus is so straightforward! How difficult is it to learn from Jesus? That's just how Jesus is. So, you often hear me describe what something looks like because you must know what it looks like to learn it! Right? He looks like this, Jesus looks like that, so we have to learn everything we do.
Learn Jesus' Attitude: Gentle and Humble
I have laid enough groundwork. What kind of groundwork? A hard one. Are you a stubborn person? I tell you, many people have a million reasons, thousands of reasons, more reasons than there is gasoline at a gas station. They are just stubborn. People need to know what the problem is, what our own problems are, what we need to solve now, and what we need to learn. Last time, I explained to everyone what we know, what we don't know, and what we need to know. We are learning throughout our lives. How can a person learn without gentleness and humility?
With a thousand or a million reasons in front of you, you lack only one reason—to solve the problem. Do you know what Jesus' attitude is? Jesus became flesh and knew He was a man. This is a heavy statement. If we have a puppy at home, it must know that it is a dog and that I am its master. If it doesn't even know that, then there's trouble. So, living in this world, we must know that we are human. Does that sound strange? Do you think I don't know that I am human? If you know that you are human, do you see wings on your back? No! Do you see that you are on the ground? No, we are already at the space station. What are we doing at the space station? Only a few hundred kilometers from Earth.
I think, knowing that you are a man, what does it mean? You will probably live for seventy or eighty years and then you will die. Say no, some people can live to be over 120 years old. Suppose you're lucky and can live to be over 120 years old, then you still have to die! You are a man is a heavy statement, and then you are on Earth and God is in Heaven, a very long way apart.
So, the Chinese often say, you have to know the immensity of the universe! Actually, the Earth is not very thick, just over six thousand kilometers. It's troublesome when people don't know they are human and don't know the immensity of the universe. If you know that you are human, you must be gentle and humble, because although Jesus is a God, He became flesh and came into this world, took on the flesh and blood of human beings, and He was gentle and humble. Why? Because He knew He was in the flesh. In the flesh means you can't pass through walls, you can't burrow underground, going down here and popping up there, you can't do that in the flesh.
Therefore, you must know that you need strength from God, know that you are weak, and know that God can do all things. What does humility mean? What does gentleness mean? Gentleness means being willing to let God mold us according to His will, not doing whatever we want and working ourselves to death according to our own desires. Understand what humility means? Knowing that you are a man, knowing that although we cannot, God can do all things, that is humility! Humility is explained very simply.
When we see what Jesus did, making the blind see, the lame walk, cleansing the lepers, and raising the dead from the dead, how amazing is that! We must say that God can do this! Do we not have to humble ourselves? This is God! If people can rise from the dead, I ask you, what problem can we not solve by relying on God? Any problem can be solved. The only thing missing is how we deal with our own bad habits.
God never treats us like slaves. From the time the Israelites left Egypt, God had a expectation that they would be a free people, not treated as slaves. Since God saved us, He wants us to be free people, willing to learn from Jesus, learning Jesus Christ's attitude of gentleness and humility. God never forces us. But the question is, do we have this awareness?
So, brothers and sisters, be gentle and humble in your hearts. If you are not gentle and humble and have your own way of doing things, like some of our pastors who have been pastoring with me for so many years and are still the same, pastoring has no effect. When you speak, he has more reasons than there is gasoline in a tanker truck.
So, today, brothers and sisters, see, see clearly, hear, hear clearly, don't be blinded by oil, your heart will be hardened, not following obediently, but saying that you are following obediently. So, today, many things require prayer, learning, and dealing with. In Acts chapter 28, verses 23 to 31, Paul tells how he constantly reasoned about the kingdom of God and worked miracles in that place, reasoning about the way of God as never before. But many people did not believe, so Paul said:
After Paul said this, the Jews left, arguing vigorously among themselves. Paul had added this final word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your forefathers through Isaiah the prophet: ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ (Acts 28:25-27)
You may hear these words and not quite understand. It means that when people turn around, God will heal them. Today, what do many Christians who are sick need? They need to turn around, to understand in their hearts that they are human beings, they need to know that they haven't done the right thing, and we need to learn how to correct it, and then God will heal us! In fact, God does not want to see us perish; God wants us to be healed.
So today, if you have a recurring illness, you must repent, be gentle and humble in your heart, and don't be stubborn and give yourself a thousand or a million reasons. If you leak urine, find a million reasons and continue to leak; if you leak stool, find a million reasons; if you leak blood, find a million reasons and continue to leak. If you leak everything, wouldn't that be troublesome?
Today, there is only one choice, and only one reason. The reason is that we want to be healed! Today, we must turn around, be gentle and humble, and stop giving ourselves a thousand or a million reasons. I earnestly hope that our brothers and sisters can turn to God.
The Hardworking Will Obtain
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. (Matthew 11:12)
What will the hardworking obtain? They will obtain strength from the Kingdom of Heaven! Obtain resources from the Kingdom of Heaven! Obtain the keys from the Kingdom of Heaven! Obtain intelligence. Your mind must be opened, and your mind must be understood! Everything is learned, and everything is trained! Can you listen?
Some time ago, one of our sisters contracted tuberculosis. This sister is very lazy, very indulgent of her body, and doesn't work effectively, just playing a supporting role in the church. I constantly trained and instructed her to help her to find a meaningful role, but it was still worrying. She was coasting along, coasting every day. Why did she get sick? Because she was lazy! Why was she lazy? Because she was foolish! Why was she foolish? Because she was lazy!
Some time ago, I sent her a book written by a US Navy SEAL and asked her to read it. I wanted her to turn around from her chaotic situation. The results of my serving her these past two or three months have been very obvious. Before, she would cough constantly, coughing terribly, so I ignored it and continued training. Later, she stopped coughing, and her body recovered significantly. Now, I continue to train her until she is completely recovered. Why? Because I have to encourage her to allow us to deal with her. With God helping us, who can stop us?
Can we be like Navy SEALs and be Navy SEALs in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ? One of the Navy SEALs, after retiring, wrote a book called Extreme Ownership. It talks about a person's self-discipline, a person's self-control, being able to manage oneself, which is the most basic requirement of being a son of God!
The book says: No blame! No excuses! Only solve problem! What does it mean? No complaints! No excuses! No discerning good and evil! Put yourself down, there is only one team, only solving problems, charging into battle to solve problems. Is it hard? It's hard! Training is very hard. But it is because of this hard training that you can become a Navy SEAL. Every Navy SEAL is proud to have the honor of the Navy SEAL badge on his shoulder. Walking down the street, Navy SEALs, top-notch! Because they have completed countless special missions.
So today, brothers and sisters, the Kingdom of God needs people like the Navy SEALs. Do we want to accept this training, to obtain the resources of the Kingdom of Heaven, to obtain the power of God, and to completely strike the devil, the enemy, on earth? Not just to not be oppressed by the devil, but to completely trample the devil and release others from the hands of the devil.
Today, you have experienced God enough, but the Bible says that those who strive will obtain! Strive to do what? Strive to imitate Jesus, strive to learn Jesus Christ's attitude of gentleness and humility, strive to learn Jesus Christ's appearance, and be a blessing to many people! Brothers and sisters, you who have experienced miracles, you have experienced a lot and seen a lot, are you still going to be stubborn? Are you going to be confused like John the Baptist?
Remember! Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Jesus Christ! Today, no more laboring under heavy burdens! You say that hard training is not a burden? Hard training is my willingness. I am willing to accept Jesus Christ's training. I am willing to be a Navy SEAL in the Kingdom of God. I enjoy this training.
Because being a Navy SEAL in the Kingdom of God has no excuses, no complaints, no shirking responsibility, only one goal: to enjoy this training and to enjoy this supreme honor! One day in the future, like the Apostle Paul, we can come before God and receive the eternal crown in the Kingdom of God, so that every day in this world will be a day of victory! Amen!
May God bless you all!