Introduction:
Today, I will continue with the Mingding Destiny series. It is crucial for everyone to understand that this is Chinese Mingding Destiny. The words Mingding Destiny must be deeply etched into our bones. Many people do not know why they are alive, genuinely unaware of what they are doing. Whether you like it or not, people live for certain things.
Today, the Mingding Destiny we are discussing is the one obtained in the Lord Jesus Christ. We previously knew that God's plan is for all things to be united in Jesus Christ, and we also talked about escaping all future calamities. Last Sunday, we discussed God's election. I feel that I have explained God's election very clearly. God has chosen the foolish of this world. If you are cunning and shrewd in this world, you are probably not chosen by God. Now the question is, what should we do after we are chosen? Serving as priests of the living God is such a glorious service, such an election! It only has benefits and no drawbacks. Having obtained this, what should we do?
I often encounter pastors with bitter faces. Have you seen pastors' wives with bitter faces? They seem to be serving with great difficulty and pain, as if they have suffered great grievances. Today, we are working for God, and our boss is God. If we work with a bitter face, how can we please God? Brothers and sisters, you should know that employees in many companies often gather in groups to discuss their boss, saying that their boss has this problem or that problem. If the boss hears it, their heart will be broken. If a company is like this, can it be good? It definitely cannot be good. The church is the same. A group of people work for God, and God is our boss, but we seem to be doing drudgery. The church cannot be good either.
Among many pastors, and I am not lying, those who are close to me can testify that I am a happy pastor, definitely someone who enjoys serving very much. If I boast, I will boast in God, maintaining a clear conscience before Him. I believe God will testify for me. Why? Because I pursue a concept called: being a faithful and good servant. Today's topic is the fourth in the Mingding Destiny series: The Faithful and Good Servant.
Some people do not understand why you serve so tirelessly. To be honest, in my own opinion, my service is unmatched by most people, and my workload is also unmatched. I have practical proof. Why is this? Because I want to be a faithful and good servant before God. Many people do not understand: why are you like this? Aren't you tired? Aren't you living a hard life? This is not a hard life; this is a glorious Mingding Destiny. Why are you torturing yourself so much? I am treating myself well; do not misunderstand. I have a deep hope that when I come before the Lord Jesus in the future, if the Lord Jesus says, I do not know you, how can I account for it? I hope the Lord Jesus will give me a word of praise:
“‘Well done, good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’” (Luke 19:17)
Managing ten cities, that is incredible! I can manage ten cities! How wealthy! You come and massage my back, rub my legs, make me a cup of tea, how glorious! One city feeding me one meal is enough. Oh, my! If that is the idea, I doubt it. It is not giving you ten cities to manage; you are emptying ten cities. That is not management.
Serving God as a priest is a profession with extremely high returns and extremely high risks. Be careful when working for God as a Christian! Our God is a consuming fire, that is not something to take lightly! Sometimes I think about these years of service, and I wonder why there were tears, why there was sweat, why it was like that. After thinking about it, it is all gratitude and hope! I know that in the end, I will stand before God and receive His reward. Do you know what that reward is? It is to let me manage ten cities!
I know what I am doing, and I also know why I am doing it. Brothers and sisters, be a smart person. Since you are chosen, do not ignore such a great grace, do not ignore this title. Whether you like it or not, you are already on this ship, and the responsibility has been entrusted to us. There will be woe if you do not do it well. When we read the Bible, we see that the Apostle Paul said very frankly: whether you like it or not, the responsibility has been entrusted to you. There will be woe if you do not do it well, and there will be rewards if you do it well. Do you think I am stupid? I am not stupid. I will do it well if I do it, and I will be a faithful and good servant. This is my concept all along. I have made a smart decision: to serve anyone as if serving God.
Today's scripture explains why I do this, just like venture capital. Some brothers and sisters say: look, you served this person, and they left, didn't they? You served that person, and they left, didn't they? You even served that person, and they are finished, aren't they? You even helped them create a resume, trained them, got them a job, did a lot, and this one left, and that one left. I looked at them: didn't you stay? Actually, it doesn't matter if they leave. Today, I am doing this work like venture capital. Everyone should know that you are all very precious in my eyes today! Why? Because I am making a venture capital investment. If I invest in one hundred people, and only five of them have a hundredfold return, that is five hundred, which is five times one hundred. If it is a thousandfold, that is fifty times. That is how venture capital works. If you invest in a company and it fails, and you invest in another company and it fails, and then you invest in a company and it has a thousandfold return, that is incredible! I do not know which one will have a return! So I serve you as if serving God. Why? Because I am after the comment that I am a faithful and good servant of God.
In fact, I have grown a lot in the process of serving, and I myself am the return. As long as I do the work, I will definitely do it well. If one day I am reduced to cleaning toilets, I will definitely clean them well. As I clean, I will become an expert in cleaning toilets. As I clean, I will become the head of the toilet cleaning team. After training, I will train all these people to be the heads of toilet cleaning. Then we will register a toilet cleaning company, and then we will do cleaning and expand our business, and then we will develop toilet cleaning robots, and then we will do research. You say, how can cleaning toilets become a treasure in your hands? Because I am a treasure! What a wonderful dream!
But today we must know that you must have the mentality of a faithful and good servant. If you have the mentality of a faithful and good servant, it will definitely be different. Do we have people among us who do cleaning? Do you think my trick of doing cleaning is good? Do not say that, I really have a friend who started a cleaning company many years ago when he was in his twenties. As a result, this cleaning company was so powerful that it earned tens of millions, and then bought real estate, and the real estate prices rose again, earning a lot of money. It all started from running a cleaning company.
So do we have people among us who do cleaning? How many years have you been doing it? Are you doing faithful and good things? How are you doing? I give you a suggestion: go big! Go strong! Are you familiar with this phrase? You say cleaning toilets can go big and go strong? Why can't it? It definitely can. You must be a faithful and good servant. Have you noticed among us that whatever I do, as long as I do it, I will definitely implement it with a faithful and good attitude. It must be like this.
Many people built churches before me, but I was many years later. Why? Because I had to work and go to work. After building the church, I followed behind them and learned from them. As I learned, these years passed, and look at the work we have done, it is getting better and better. So do we have people among us who do cleaning? I give you a suggestion, go big and go strong, like I do this work; do we have people among us who are accountants? I give you a suggestion, everyone knows, go big and go strong; engineers, lawyers, even masseurs, entrepreneurs, go big and go strong!
Growth is growing in doing things, and doing things is growth. For example, cleaning toilets, can you clean them well? If you can't even manage the toilet, what can you manage? It will be troublesome if you manage that. So no matter what you manage, can you manage it well when it is in your hands? This is the quality of a faithful and good servant. In fact, I have a dream that when you come among us, you will become more valuable. I really do not want to train you to be: Oh, hallelujah, oh, shalom! And then what? I do not know what to do. I often see Christians like this, have you seen it? And after a while, they do not understand what they are thinking, and they do not want to do things well. I feel that shouting slogans all day long, shouting and shouting, they take to the streets, and after taking to the streets, they shout and shout and get arrested. What value can this create?
You must know that when you come among us, I only have one dream. Whether it can be achieved depends on your creation and my creation. I hope you will become more valuable. You know, I am really grateful that those who have been trained by me have had a big increase in their salaries. Do you want that? Oh, I am very concerned about this. Are you concerned? You are concerned, and I am concerned. We are all concerned about this. So you must know that I can come up with several examples easily:
Before the pandemic, there was a sister who had a salary of seven thousand yuan a month, and now it is twenty-six thousand. How do you know? She told me. Where would I know if she didn't tell me? Before the pandemic, in just a few years, it has increased from seven thousand to twenty-six thousand, which is definitely related to my training. And there are many other people. Even your boss will like me. Why? Because I have done the work that their human resources department should do. I have made everyone's thinking clear. It is important to be a faithful and good person. If you are not faithful and good in these things, how can you become a faithful and good person when you come before the Lord Jesus in the future? The boss says: go, wipe this floor, wipe that floor. You immediately turn green: that is not possible! That is why you have been cleaning for so many years, and you are still cleaning, and you have not gone up, and you have not gone big and gone strong. What you lack is the basic quality of being faithful and good.
No matter if you are fifty years old, fifty is still very young, sixty is also very young, even seventy is very young. There is a brother among us whose mother said: ah, your teacher, he is full of energy! She is speaking in the accent of northern Jiangsu. At my age, I am thirty years old. Oh, I have forgotten my age. Once I learned a song: ah... not give me a cup of forget-love water, but give me a cup of forget-age water. Being a faithful and good servant does not depend on age, you can do it any year! Do more practical things, create more value, and be a valuable person! Some people say: teacher, I can't do it. Do not be afraid with teacher here, I will teach you! I have trained so many people to teach you. Chinese Mingding Destiny is definitely not a theology floating in mid-air, it is very grounded, specializing in doing practical things, doing things that make people valuable.
A few days ago, there was a sister among us who said: teacher, I really want to learn speed reading. Then her leader of the ministry taught her, and after teaching her, people will grow. Who does not long to grow? Everyone longs to grow. There are also accountants among us, and her pastor teaches her how to do accounting, how to study; some people are tax collectors, and her pastor teaches her how to do tax collection. You say: you can teach this too? All problems come down to one problem, which is the problem of learning. It is very troublesome if people do not know how to learn, so next you will find that the church will push everyone to get the learning methods right. I definitely do not doubt your learning attitude, that is, you must be very eager to grow, but today you hit a wall one time and you hit a wall tomorrow, and as a result, you hit yourself dizzy, and finally you hit yourself without confidence.
Do some people feel: Old Sun is here! Not eat my stick, then I also have a stick in my hand, what hinders your growth is your flesh! So when you start to want to work hard to grow, you will find that there is a force dragging you from behind, that is, you need to be released, you need to be released from this kind of bondage! But if you do not study, it is difficult to see the symptoms of release. So our task is very arduous, but this is our service, this is the meaning of our life. Some people say: teacher, is this in accordance with the Bible? Of course, does what I say accord with the Bible? Today I will tell you why it accords with the Bible.
Scripture:
“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold; see, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:19-23)
Prayer:
God! I long to be a faithful and good servant before You. God! I long to be a faithful and good servant in Your eyes. Please teach me, guide me, and may Your Spirit give me wisdom, give me intelligence, so that what I do in this world is in accordance with Your will. God! Help me today, lead me, and let me be a person who creates value. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
The Background of This Passage
The background of this passage is very interesting. The Lord Jesus was about to be crucified, and he called his disciples to his side and told several parables. The first parable in Matthew chapter 25 is the ten virgins, five wise ones whose lamps had oil, and the other five were lazier and did not have oil in their lamps. Later, the Lord Jesus came, and the five who had oil went in, and the other five went to get oil. Where did they go to get it? As a result, the door was closed, and they knocked on the door, shouting: Lord, Lord! They also knew the Lord Jesus. But the Lord Jesus said: I do not know you.
Today, we must know that these three parables are closely linked. The second parable is that the master gave different servants five thousand, two thousand, and one thousand bags of gold respectively. When the master returned, the one with five thousand earned five thousand, the one with two thousand earned two thousand, and the one with one thousand earned nothing. As a result, this one with one thousand became a lazy and wicked servant. Earning money is a very interesting thing, which is what we are going to talk about today, why must we use the parable of earning money? Earning money is certainly good, do you want to live a poor life? Earning money has a great relationship with being faithful and good. It will be troublesome if you are not faithful and good.
The third parable is that many people came before the Lord Jesus. Jesus separated these people. Those people were very puzzled: Lord, didn't we cast out demons in your name, and do this and that? The Lord Jesus said a passage, which is very interesting and very deep. Everyone should read it carefully, there is a lot of flavor in it. Later, they were still confused, and as a result, the Lord Jesus used a parable to them.
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41-46)
I gave a rough explanation of the three parables in this chapter. These three parables must be read together. People, you must know that the Lord Jesus will settle accounts with us in the future! If you follow the words of the Lord Jesus, you will definitely have a hundredfold harvest; some people do not follow the instructions of the Lord, but follow their own set of rules. But what will you use to settle the accounts in the future? Some people say, what accounts to settle? Some people even took away the original one thousand bags of gold, and some people took five thousand and earned another five thousand, and ran away with them. But today we are not talking about this. You still have to settle the accounts in the future.
The mentality of being faithful and good is a person's quality. Being faithful means implementing according to the Lord's instructions, because when he gave them these bags of gold, he instructed them to do things that would increase their value; being good means not embezzling the money. In fact, God did not want to take it back. What is five thousand and two thousand? It is nothing, all given to you. As a result, the most amazing thing is that the one with five thousand earned another five thousand, and did not take back the ten thousand bags of gold, but added the one thousand bags of gold to the one who had ten thousand, ten thousand plus one thousand, eleven thousand. This is a very amazing thing. Later, I went to the Gospel of Luke to check, and the Gospel of Luke has a similar record, giving people ten cities and five cities to manage. After people become faithful and good, they do not earn the money and return it to God, but God lets you continue to hold it, all given to you.
Why did the Lord Jesus use money as a parable when he was leaving his disciples? It seems that the Lord Jesus loves money very much, but it is not. It is the value that God speaks of. Everyone must know that value is still value. If you explain these three parables together, you will find that why must there be oil in the lamp: if there is oil in the lamp, you are a clever virgin. Oil represents the Spirit of God, and if there is oil in the lamp, your spirit will have the Spirit of God, and you will be vigilant and smart, and God will lead you.
Next, it talks about five thousand taels of silver, two thousand taels, and one thousand taels of silver. After talking about this, the third parable is about doing it on the least of the Lord's brothers. Ah, what does this mean? This meaning is very interesting. If you want to be kind and faithful, that is, you have to raise the value of the smallest brother in the brothers and sisters and make him a more valuable person. In that case, wouldn't you be more valuable? You can turn one dollar into two dollars, you can make one thousand worth two thousand, and you can make seven thousand worth two thousand six! Isn't that very valuable? Doing this thing, five thousand becomes five thousand, actually makes people more valuable. Today, this passage reminds us of one thing: people must have a long-term plan. In the future, you will have to account to the Lord Jesus. The account you will account for is, who have you made more valuable? What have you done?
Many people do not interpret this scripture well. For example, there is a sentence that says: throw those people into the darkness and gnash their teeth. I do not think it is right to interpret this thing. Why? They desperately explain what kind of place it is, as if they really want to go to this darkness very much. Many people think, it is okay, we cannot squeeze in the front, so let's go to the darkness behind. I do not interpret this stuff, I do not want to go to the darkness, why do I interpret that thing, we do not know what the darkness is, anyway, it is not a good thing, it is definitely not a good thing to be thrown into eternal punishment.
Accounting is not a trivial matter, we have to figure out this account now. What are we doing to calculate the darkness and eternal punishment? Can we calculate an account? This is not a joke, I will definitely be the faithful and good servant, so as to inherit the glory prepared for us since the creation of the world, the kingdom prepared for us, and the city prepared for us, so that we can manage it well. The truth is very simple, today we have to know what the background of this scripture is. But looking back on the two thousand years of church history, it is sad. Have we managed it well? We have not managed it well.
Why Jesus Used Money as a Metaphor
When people hear about money, they immediately think, Oh, I have to go into business, that's troublesome. The reason money is used as a metaphor is because it is a measure of value: how much something is worth, how much someone is worth. Why measure in terms of value? Let's put it this way, why did the Lord Jesus use money as a measure? Wouldn't it be better to measure by how many times we say Hallelujah, Shalom! in our lifetime? You've heard that, right? But the Lord Jesus didn't use that.
The Lord Jesus didn't use the decibels of Hallelujah, nor did he use money for no reason. That person needs to have value. Everyone, please don't think that private ownership is bad. Although private ownership can bring about a series of capital operations, like picking chives or fleecing the flock. Why have private ownership? Because humans are no longer slaves, they are free people. They can have an ID card and own property. Your property is yours, and their property is theirs. It can't be mixed together. If yours isn't yours and theirs isn't theirs, that's called the communal pot.
Therefore, how much value you create and how much value they create becomes clear at a glance. Can you understand measuring faithfulness and goodness by the value created? Why measure faithfulness and goodness by value creation? Because our God values this greatly. So, there was a servant with one thousand taels of silver who buried it in the ground, and God called him a lazy and wicked servant.
So, everyone must know that God measures our faithfulness and goodness by the value we create. Don't come to me saying, Oh, I don't love money, and I don't love the world. Loving money and loving the world is one thing; being able to create value is another. Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think you can fool me by saying you don't love money or the world? You can't. I don't love money, and I don't love the world, but I really hope to create value. What's the point of just sitting around waiting to die? Don't lump these things together.
Therefore, not creating value is being a lazy and wicked servant, which is troublesome, isn't it? Whether you're thrown into darkness or into eternal punishment, it's all very troublesome. Why did Jesus use money as a metaphor? Because money is a measure of value! When God established private ownership: what is yours is yours, and what is theirs is theirs. You can't say that the value you create is yours, and the value I create is also yours. Let's all be one. Then why not put the two thousand and five thousand together? Wouldn't it be great if everyone brought their previous earnings together?
Look, if the one with five thousand earns another five thousand, that's ten thousand. And if the one with two thousand earns two thousand, and the one with one thousand stays at one thousand, wouldn't it be great if we three divided it equally? Lord, look at what we've done together. But after partnering, it becomes problematic. Why? Because everyone has 30% unfaithfulness, isn't that troubling? Faithfulness and unfaithfulness cannot be divided. If you are unfaithful, you are unfaithful. If I am faithful, I am faithful. My faithfulness cannot be given to you; it's not transferable!
Regarding the five virgins mentioned earlier, those with oil couldn't share it. Why are you so selfish? It's not about selfishness; if you haven't created value, don't be a mere pretender. Today, for our brothers and sisters who haven't retired yet, even if you're retiring in a few years, we still need to create value. Why? Because you will serve others in the future. If you're just a rotten person, who can you edify? Can you, in your job or in your life, mold yourself into a valuable person? You can serve those who are weak. Many problems people have are due to the inability to learn.
Therefore, we need to train people to become valuable individuals. There's a huge amount of work to do. What can you train someone in? It would be good enough if you didn't hinder others from being trained, let alone train them! That's the value. So, when we put these three parables together, you will find that serving people is crucial!
What is the Value God Speaks Of?
The fourth point is: the background of this passage tells three parables. The fifth point is: why did Jesus use money as a metaphor? The sixth point: what is the value God speaks of? These are all interconnected. Jesus told Peter: in the future, you will catch people like catching fish. Did Peter later catch people like catching fish? We don't know; later he wasn't so successful. What God wants is not fish, but people. To catch people is to catch valuable people. God wants to turn these people into disciples. After becoming disciples, these disciples take one thousand, two thousand, or five thousand taels of silver. After receiving this talent, what do they do? They catch people like catching fish again. Catching people like catching fish again doesn't mean draining them dry, but shaping them into valuable individuals!
So, people must know that oil in the lamp means being spiritually wise. Being spiritually wise will create value. Creating value starts from the smallest disciple, do you understand? Because they are the smallest and least valuable. If you can make the smallest and least valuable person valuable, that's incredible! Our concept of service is very simple. I really don't want to train you to be professional at shouting Hallelujah; I really don't know what value that has! I am a person who does practical things; I really don't like these flashy, empty things. So, this is very interesting. For example, if I arrange for someone to do a service task, it's a concept of service. Can they make the person being served become a valuable person by any means possible?
Recently, one of our service ministry leaders, his subordinate said: Teacher, I really want to learn speed reading. Yesterday, his leader led and taught him how to read quickly. He came back and shared with me: Teacher, you know what? Before I taught him, I researched how to read quickly, and suddenly I realized my mind became clear. My brain suddenly understood what精读 (jingdu, intensive reading), 泛读 (fan du, extensive reading), and speed reading are all about. Oh, my goodness!
Everyone must know that service is a blessing. Why? Because after serving, you become clear. Being served may not make you so clear. As I talk to you, I become clear. Service is a blessing: any platform or opportunity I create for you to serve others is what you should do. Everyone needs to gradually understand this! Like me, people give me a job. If they don't give me a job, what problems can I solve by myself at home? People give me a job, so I can use that platform to do this and that, and solve many problems. So, brothers and sisters, if you squander the opportunities after serving, shouldn't you be beaten? But I won't beat you; I will patiently teach you, explaining it this way and that way.
So, the talents and opportunities God gives us are for turning them into something that can create value! Service not only makes others grow, but it makes us grow the most! A faithful and good servant puts effort into serving others. If you don't put in effort, what are you doing? What will you have to account for in the future? Everyone must know that shepherding is not for those being shepherded, but for those doing the shepherding. Don't misunderstand. Ministry is for those doing the ministry, not for those being ministered to. So, today we need to know that being a faithful and good servant is a grace! Service is a grace! If you want to do these things, you must learn to manage.
Management is Enhancing the Value of Those Being Managed
Enhancing the value of those being managed means turning ten talents into twenty; turning five talents into ten. Enhancing their value. People are the most valuable; we need to catch people like catching fish. When it comes to management, leadership is key. John Maxwell's leadership lessons are very clear. So, brothers and sisters, you need to start knowing that if you are above, you have to take responsibility. If you are above and still push the blame to those below, saying their attitude is bad or their ability is poor, isn't it your job to manage their bad attitude? Isn't it your job to train their poor ability? As soon as something happens, you say they are not good enough, they are not eager to learn.
I find it strange how well you can push the blame. Teacher, didn't you say to serve according to people's desires? Management is enhancing the value of those being managed; this is very important. Don't push the blame. We need to manage our affairs well, manage people well. What are we managing people for? To train them to do what you used to do. That's my management philosophy. You will find that my management philosophy doesn't say, Ah, you do this, you do that, why didn't you manage it well? My management philosophy doesn't have that. So, the people who work under me like it, this is me boasting, maybe it's just my perspective. However, a characteristic of working with me is that I spend a lot of time training. I train people in a very interesting way; usually, I teach ten or twenty times.
Yesterday, a sister told me: Teacher, thank you for your training. I was exhausted from training her, I trained her countless times, again and again until she finally understood. She said thank you for my service. Some of us, when serving, say to those below, I've taught you three times, why don't you still understand? When I hear that, I feel strange. I could teach you twenty times and you still might not understand. Given your teaching method, how can you expect others to understand after only three times? Is the problem that you haven't taught them well enough?
My management philosophy is that training replaces management. This is how we can make people more valuable. In the future, I'll use this in business management as well. Why? Because people can grow here, they are less willing to leave. If they go outside, they will be drained dry, how can that be good? It's so much better here!
Besides my management philosophy, I also have a work philosophy. When people give me a platform, I seize the opportunity to hone my skills. Solving one problem gives me one experience; solving two problems gives me two experiences. My work philosophy is that I enjoy doing these things. I enjoy being a pastor, and I enjoy doing everything. It's not an exaggeration; what kind of person am I? Isn't this what I'm teaching you to become? This is a good person! This is a person who is both faithful and good. If you don't want to be a faithful and good person, that's okay! You'll be thrown into darkness, locked in a small dark room. Children who don't listen are put in a small dark room, and there's also a small dark room with the Lord Jesus. So, my work philosophy is this logic. I want to solve problems, and in the end, I hone a whole set of skills.
I was faithful in my teens, in my twenties, in my thirties. If I were to tell you stories of all the problems I've solved in my life, it would take a long time. When I started building the church, none of my skills went to waste! So, in solving problems, in managing those things, you will grasp the essence of things.
Chinese Mingding Destiny system is management, and management is God's will! You need to know how to manage. Don't end up managing nothing, creating chaos, unable to manage anything well, just liking to point fingers. That's troublesome. I've seen many people, including those I've served. I don't know if it's my problem or their problem, but I haven't grasped the essence of it. There's a type of person whose job scope gets smaller and smaller. I give them ten talents, and they return five; I give them five talents, and they return two; I give them one talent, and it disappears. Their scope of responsibility gets smaller and smaller, and I find it strange. They also have a pile of reasons, more reasons than there is gasoline at a gas station! I think, aren't these lazy and wicked servants?
Today, we need to ask ourselves, how have we managed? What value have we created? Who have we helped to grow? Are we lazy and wicked servants? Carefully ask ourselves, what have we done? Some people say all day long: Teacher, my tooth hurts today! Teacher, my leg hurts today! Teacher, my head hurts today! Teacher, my eyes hurt! Teacher, my butt hurts! Their whole life is nothing but pain from head to toe! What is that all about? I'm also convinced. I tell you, lazy people are prone to illness; they never manage anything, they never create value. They just live like this their whole life. You can slowly enjoy what Jesus has prepared for you in the future.
In any case, no matter how small or how big the task given to you, manage it well! Strengthen it! Enlarge it! Do it well. You need to know one thing: the one with five thousand earned another five thousand, and then the one thousand was also given to him. Those who have will be given more, and those who do not have, even what they have will be taken away. This is called the Matthew effect. You will find that I am this kind of person. I want to be both faithful and good, and as a result, more is added to me. God keeps adding to me! All the sheep that come to us are always fed plump and satisfied, because I provide food at the proper time.
The entire theological system needs to be completely transformed. God is a God of management. He created us to manage. Don't always say, Die and go to heaven, as if heaven is full of dead people. How can that work? Today we need to know what God's will is. Management is enhancing the value of those being managed. Otherwise, what is the point of using money as a metaphor? The value I create is not yours; what you create is yours, and what I create is mine. Even if I want to be one with you, God will see us separately. I really want to be one with you and be fooled by you, but the problem is that you can't fool God! Don't be a lazy and wicked servant.
God's Will is Management
Everyone must know that faithfulness and goodness are all reflected in management, whether it's managing people or managing things. God's will is management, and when people manage, they prosper. I have a biblical basis for this. The die and go to heaven gospel system has no theological basis; it's not systematic. What I speak of definitely has a theological foundation. When God created Adam, He had Adam do one thing: manage the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, and the fish of the sea. God's creation was so perfect, why did Adam still need to manage it? Because after managing, they would be fruitful and multiply. Why? Because God blessed the work of Adam's hands. Do you see that? It's all connected.
Later, in the days of Noah, God used a flood to wash away the earth. After washing away the earth, what did God say to Noah? To manage, to be fruitful and multiply, to create value. God created a platform for people, which is the earth. God let people practice management on this platform. Management is the image of God. Everyone must know that our God is a God of management. So, building a church, managing and pastoring God's flock is a very interesting thing. Being fruitful and multiplying doesn't mean giving birth to just anything, but giving birth to the people God wants. We pastor God's flock, feeding them plump and satisfied. You gradually understand that pastoring is God's will. God wants us to manage, and what you manage may be very small. You say, I'm not a pastor, what can I manage? But isn't there always someone smaller?
‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ (Matthew 25:45)
You probably aren't the smallest. If you are the smallest, it doesn't matter; tomorrow someone smaller will come, and you can do it for the smallest. You won't be the smallest, you'll be the second smallest, and then you'll become the third smallest, the fourth smallest, and you can do it for the smallest. Think about it, when raising a child to the age of three, if he can buy soy sauce, let him buy soy sauce. When educating children, if they can wash dishes, let them wash dishes. Whatever they can do, let them do it. Don't let them just sit there being supported. This is what the church needs to do: to pastor people into becoming more valuable individuals. Therefore, we have a lot of work to do.
No matter who you are, you grow in the process of serving. As long as you're not the smallest, even if you are the smallest, you need to do something. We will definitely prosper, because no matter who you are, when you come among us, your value will definitely be manifested, and you will definitely grow. We will not look down on anyone; no one is qualified to be a lazy and wicked servant among us. Among us, there are only faithful and good servants, and then we will definitely prosper.
The church is currently transitioning. The church is moving away from just shouting Hallelujah loudly and beginning to more practically pastor, more practically train, and more practically create value. Our leaders and pastors need to pay attention. Those below may ask you why you haven't created value. It doesn't matter; if they ask, they ask. Even if they don't ask, we need to ask ourselves. Our pastors need to pay attention. The church is transitioning. Don't use empty slogans anymore; don't push the blame.
The other day, a leader came to me and said, Look at what they write, this and that, how this and that. I said, What have you done? If you haven't done anything, what are you doing? Just complaining? That won't do. Today you must become a person of management. What have you managed? What problems have you solved? How did you solve them? Have you figured it out? Are you a faithful and good servant? I wish that all brothers and sisters would long to be a servant who is faithful and good in God's eyes. If you say you don't know how, it doesn't matter; I'll teach you. Do you have any more excuses?
Don't look down on anyone. Know that if you look down on anyone, you are taking a great risk. You need to think more practically: what problems do they have? What should I do? No matter what their situation is, if they can't afford to eat, it doesn't matter; being able to afford to eat is a simple thing. However, in the future, we want to shape them into someone who can not only afford to eat themselves, but also enable others to afford to eat.
Brothers and sisters, all who hear this sermon, whether you are seventy, eighty, ninety years old, or twenty, thirty, forty years old, not to mention teenagers, whatever you do, know that God's will is prosperity, God's will is for you to manage. Start managing. Brothers and sisters, do you know what I've been managing recently? Recently, I've been managing one thing: helping everyone learn how to learn. Whatever you do, learn how to learn. Only a person who learns can grow! This is my recent conclusion.
Conclusion: Be a Faithful and Good Servant
A faithful and good servant is definitely a practical person. We must be practical and do real things. Real gold and silver are so real! When the Lord Jesus comes again, what will you account for? You can't live so casually anymore. God has given you His Spirit, which can give you wisdom and intelligence. Now you just need to have a faithful and good attitude and then serve the least of these. There is always someone smaller than you; don't say you are the smallest. You will gain the most and grow the fastest in serving.
This is a place of service. In the place of service, you can grow in the process of serving. Don't expect people to feed you with a spoon every day. This is a place of growth; this is a place of creating value; this is a place of training people to learn management; this is turning people into faithful and good servants. Whether it's in your job or at home, in any place, it's like this. Start being trained from a young age; start being faithful in small things. Throw away our excuses, our reasons, all those murky things, and just long to be faithful and good servants, Amen?
No more excuses, because God prepares darkness and eternal punishment for those who are lazy and wicked, and prepares eternal destruction for those who are hypocritical. Whatever you do, don't fall into that circle. Make up your mind to be a faithful and good servant. So, I encourage brothers and sisters to imitate me. Serve as I serve, because I imitate God, I imitate the Apostle Paul. May God bless everyone!