I. Introduction
Today, we have yet another paper. I will make an effort to not only address the concerns you all have but also to condense it a bit, as I have been known to speak for an hour and a half. Today's topic is The Devil's Tactics Series 2. This series is beneficial as it requires you to know your enemy. As Sun Tzu said in The Art of War: Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. You need to know what the devil is up to. This is The Devil's Tactics Series (2): The Devil Resides in Our Feelings! I can tell you that you won't find this feeling in either the electronic or paper versions of the Bible. The confusion it brings is profound.
A pastor had a dream one night and told a sister that she should marry a certain brother. She then married him, without any romantic love, simply because the pastor said so. I thought to myself, he should dream of his ideal partner, not someone else's. If dreaming is involved, the sister or the brother should dream first. Be careful; for example, if I say, I had a dream last night, and God told me you should marry me, you should simply spit and walk away. If God wants you to marry me, He will tell you, not me. I am using a metaphor, not suggesting you should marry me. If a brother wants to marry you, God will tell you, not him. There are also various situations, such as, I feel so peaceful! You hear this and feel peaceful, pray for a business deal and feel peaceful, but then you lose money. Why did I feel so peaceful then? These feelings have no biblical basis. However, today's teachings are full of such things in the church; there are many teachings of this kind.
We, in Chinese Mingding Destiny, do not teach about feelings. Today, we will teach you something: The Devil Resides in Our Feelings. Is the peace you feel from God? No. Is the peace you feel about marrying someone from God? No one knows. You feel peaceful after praying, but your child fails the college entrance exam. Then you say, God, I felt so peaceful then! Your peace proves nothing; it's just a lie, just a feeling.
Today, we will discuss this feeling, which is a very strange thing. When someone comes for deliverance, like just now when I was leading in prayer, saying, My eyes hurt, isn't that a feeling? My stomach hurts, is that a feeling? My back hurts. Someone typed that she felt peaceful when investing, not her, maybe someone else, and then she was cheated out of millions. I say, this is very common. Never trust feelings! Feelings are intangible and closely related to the spiritual realm. You don't know if the feeling is from God or the devil.
But people like to rely on feelings. When people come for deliverance, isn't it always about feelings? I feel so blocked up inside. I ask, What were you thinking about yesterday? Yesterday, I wanted to get married but couldn't find anyone, of course you feel blocked up. I tell you, there are two organs in the body with strong feelings. One is the sexual organ, which has very strong feelings, as everyone knows, unless you have a problem. The other organ is the mouth: eating good food! That's why some people travel far to buy durian. These two organs of people are powerful, with very strong feelings. The eyes and ears, wanting to see and hear, are all feelings.
I tell you, people live their whole lives for a feeling. A good feeling leads to a good life, a bad feeling to a bad life, being entangled leads to a life of entanglement, and joy leads to a life of joy. But there is a challenge: this feeling is not easily controlled! Isn't that troublesome? Today, I will teach you how to control it. How to control it? Isn't that what we are discussing today? We haven't discussed it yet, what is there to understand?
When this feeling comes, it is not easily controlled. People say, Teacher, I have a headache. Did you plan to have a headache yesterday? What kind of talk is that? I didn't plan to have a headache yesterday, but I have one today. Today, I have difficulty breathing. Did you plan to have difficulty breathing yesterday? Who would plan to have difficulty breathing? It just comes, unplanned. Depression, sadness, melancholy, insomnia, and the feeling of hunger. The strong craving is so intense that it feels like dying without eating. It's all feelings! The most deadly is the sexual urge, which is uncontrollable. So, feelings are connected to the spiritual realm, and I tell you today, the devil resides in our feelings. When you talk about feelings, it's a bit scary.
When I first started building the church, there was a brother who was quite interesting. I said, Why don't you pray for him? Someone like me would just pray for you if you have a backache, and it would be healed. This brother said, Pastor, you don't know, when I pray for people, I need to have a feeling. I said, What feeling? Look, my hair stands on end. When my hair stands on end, if I pray, they will be healed immediately. That's troublesome. If someone is sick and your hair never stands on end, how long do they have to wait? There are all kinds of things in this world.
Many Christians believe in feelings. Have you ever experienced this? Oh, I felt so good when I sang worship songs today. Why did you feel good? Because the brother on stage is my Prince Charming, and today he is leading worship. Oh! His gestures as he leads into the chorus, the wave of his hand, repeating, starting again…I can do all that, but no one notices me, I'm not good at it. Oh, that sister, her heart is melting. Am I talking about your feelings? You feel so moved, so touched, and you cry during prayer. What is that? I tell you, it is mostly the devil. So feelings are strange.
But this week, I have decided on this topic, and I searched the Bible for a long time but couldn't find the word feeling. I thought, am I setting myself up for harm? Feelings and being moved are not the same thing, everyone must be careful. This matter, I couldn't find it. Later, I discovered that feelings and the flesh are almost equivalent. The flesh produces a series of feelings: lust of the eyes, lust of the ears, lust of the mouth, lust of the sexual organs, lust of the mind, it's all this stuff. Chinese Mingding Destiny is a very practical theology. If our practices cannot solve problems, I might as well not teach it. Today, this feeling, many people think it cannot be controlled, but I tell you today it can be controlled, it can be managed. How to manage it? Through the Holy Spirit, which is part of salvation. Never trust feelings again.
For example, someone gets cancer and undergoes various treatments and gets better. But they haven't learned their lesson, they don't know how the cancer came about, how they got it, or how they got better. They continue to run on the road to cancer and then it recurs. Throughout this process, the person's thoughts and intentions: I feel, I feel the cancer is going to recur. Why do you have to feel that? There are so many things to feel, why feel that? I think feelings bring too much confusion, it's simply unbelievable.
The year I took the college entrance exam, my mother found a tumor and went to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor said it was cancer. My mother lay in bed and couldn't go to the bathroom, she couldn't do anything, the feeling was very strong. Two days later, the doctor said, I'm sorry, that person had cancer, yours is benign. Oh, mine is benign? What kind of brain is that? If they kept treating it as cancer, it would have killed her. The doctor said, You don't have cancer, and then what? She sprang out of bed, set up the table, dumped out the mahjong tiles, and played for hours, no problem. My goodness, what kind of feeling is that? The feeling is so inaccurate.
A few days ago, a sister bought a bottle of pesticide, planning to drink it. Drinking pesticide is not a pleasant experience. The first day, her husband sprayed the pesticide in the field, not knowing it was bought to drink. He filled the pesticide bottle with water, put the cap back on, and put it back where it was. His wife drank it. Drinking water and drinking pesticide taste different. How could she not know? Not using her head. After drinking it, she began to wait for death in bed. She couldn't move, she was really not doing well. How could drinking a glass of water make her feel so bad? Because her feeling took over, the feeling of drinking poison.
When her husband came back, he saw the pesticide bottle and asked, What's wrong? She said, I drank a bottle of pesticide, I'm going to die. After I die… Her husband saw that she really couldn't move and laughed, He said, I sprayed all the pesticide in the field. That bottle had mineral water in it. Oh, mineral water? Why didn't it taste like anything? Why did it taste so bland? Boom! She got up, she was fine! This feeling thing is too weird. There are many cases like this. People fool themselves. If she really thought she had drunk pesticide, she might have really died. If her husband hadn't told her, she would have really given up. So don't trust feelings, feelings are deceiving.
The problem is that her feeling at the time was very real. I have found that many people's feelings are very real. I serve many people, and I pull them out of their delusions. I am quite capable. I would say, like the husband, telling him that it wasn't pesticide. People's feelings come from belief, and this is reflected in every aspect of our lives. Don't trust feelings. For example, I feel so depressed! Do you know how I solve the problem of feelings? I don't believe in them. Even if I am depressed, crying inside, I wipe away the tears and do not yield to that feeling.
A young man in his twenties, don't guess who it is, or I will be in trouble. Let's just say it was me. This young man had a strange disease. He had sexual dysfunction and wanted to get married. But how can you get married with sexual dysfunction? So he was stuck in a vicious cycle. The more he wanted to get married, the more dysfunctional he became. The more dysfunctional he became, the more he wanted to get married. Later, I analyzed the problem. People care too much about this thing. Caring too much about this thing can cause problems. It's just a feeling. If you think you have sexual dysfunction, you will. If you don't care so much, what dysfunction is there? Caring too much about this thing can cause problems.
Sleep is the same way. Some people go to bed at nine o'clock. What are you doing in bed if you're not sleepy? To ensure sleep. In bed, they start flipping over, until eleven o'clock when they can't sleep, they start to worry, and by twelve o'clock, they are even more worried, until six o'clock in the morning. I said, Why did you go to bed? What are you doing in bed if you're not sleepy? See how good I am, I am so sleepy that as soon as I get into bed, I fall asleep and sleep soundly. She said, I have to ensure my sleep. See this thinking! Caring the flesh produces a series of feelings. That's where people's problems lie.
If you care too much about something, cater too much to something, for example, care so much about learning, thinking you have to learn well, you will not learn well. Still thinking you have to learn well, it's really troublesome. If you don't care so much, I don't mean you should just lie down, that is something else. Not caring so much, you should do what you should be doing! For example, last week, I talked about taking notes, I don't mean you don't need to take notes, is taking notes easily and taking notes nervously the same? Thinking, I have to take notes, but after working hard for half a day, you haven't made any progress by four o'clock in the morning? Why? Because you care too much, you care too much.
Brothers and sisters must know that Romans is a very good book, but most people do not read it well. Romans is not talking about justification by faith, it is talking about relying on the power of the Holy Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body. The essence of the gospel is in this. Don't believe in feelings, never use the word feeling. I feel I am good at pastoring, it's useless. My feeling is very accurate, I am good at judging people, it is useless. Relying on feelings is basically not far from being deceived by the devil. Is this clear?
Be very careful with the word feeling, because it is closely related to the spiritual realm. The devil can give you all kinds of lies, producing a series of peaceful feelings, do you believe it? How can the devil produce peaceful feelings? Why can't he? He can! Everyone must be careful from now on, no longer using feelings, but using your brain to receive God's word, knowing the Most Holy One is intelligence. You must know God, and know what kind of God He is, this is called intelligence. Not only know God, but also know the devil through God.
Do you now know the array of feelings that the devil produces? In the future, if someone says, I feel you should marry me, don't believe this kind of nonsense. Why don't I feel it? I feel I should marry you is okay, or I feel I want to marry you is okay, but not feeling you should marry me, that's troublesome, this feeling is inaccurate. Yesterday, a sister told me that someone's marriage failed because the pastor relied on feelings. The other day, I was serving a sister whose marriage was made possible by the pastor feeling too, and it failed too.
Feelings are nonsense, if you have this feeling, why don't I have it? Feelings from the flesh are closely related to the world of devils. We should use our brains more, to know that this is called caring for the feeling of the flesh, and that is called caring for the feeling of the Holy Spirit. We must know this, or it's troublesome. Actually, removing the feeling does not affect it, I call this caring for the Holy Spirit, and that caring for the flesh. We must know this! If we don't know it, it will be troublesome.
II. Scripture
The passage we are reading is from Romans Chapter 8. Christians just live by feelings, that's silly. Many years ago, I have been thinking. For some time before I have spoken of how Christians are becoming stupid, today has added a little bit this is an expansion on the previous.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:5-6)
Everyone has to think about it carefully and not misinterpret peace as a mere feeling. The sensation of feeling very peaceful is useless, as peace is not a sensation; and if you feel very peaceful and subsequently become un-peaceful, it will be especially troublesome.
III. Prayer
God! Today, allow us to recognize the power of Your Holy Spirit, and through the strength of the Holy Spirit, we can put to death the deeds of our body, and we can reclaim the control of our bodies, so that our bodies can submit to the Spirit of God. God! Today, lead me and give me strength, no matter how many times I am frustrated, I will not give up, but I will rely on the Holy Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body. Brothers and sisters, let us pray together to God: God! Help me, I can put to death the deeds of my flesh, and put to death the various feelings which come from the flesh, so that I can cherish the Holy Spirit and His affairs. Let me be a person of life, and let me be a person who pleases You before You. God! Mold me, so that I grow to the full stature of Jesus Christ, and let me be able to have this hope in You in this world, so that our bodies may be redeemed, receiving the title of son. Holy Spirit come and help me, lead me, and deal with me according to Your will, in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen!
IV. The Background of This Passage
The scripture we mentioned is one of the most important in Romans, it is of course Chapter 8, whose verses elucidate the Gospel of Christ in a lucid and forthright manner. Everyone should know, the misunderstandings about Jesus Christ are too many at present. Putting to death the evil deeds of the flesh is what really gets the point across and there is not very much that comes close.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)
This section of the text is exploring the notion of sin and no condemnation solves the matter of us being bound. Then, brothers and sisters, if you are now in the person of Jesus Christ you will not be judged. What does it mean to be found in Jesus Christ? It means that in the church of God, where God dwells, which is in the body of Jesus Christ where there is no judgement. You must be a person with a Mingding Destiny, as you must be in Jesus Christ. This is God's wisdom, this is God's method. What happened next?
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
The array of those irresistible series of feelings wrought by sin and death were solved by Jesus Christ. How did Jesus manage to dissolve such things and solve this riddle? He did this by releasing you from the laws of sin and death, which allows you to now have a choice. Brothers and sisters, each and every one of you must believe that you can always have a choice.
For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)
Listen carefully, do not follow the flesh, only follow the Spirit, that is to say, you cannot follow your own feelings. People in the past could not help but follow their own feelings, there was no way to resist the feeling inside. That is why David wrote those poems, the front of which are irresistible feelings. Tears soak the bed, which all sounds quite exaggerated, but in reality it is so difficult. But when he relies on God, that feeling is controlled. By the time you get to the New Testament, everyone knows who you are following? Everyone must never mistakenly think Ah! I am following again. You are following far less the desire of your flesh than you were earlier, are you not? The Holy Spirit is gradually building up more and the flesh is becoming more reduced.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Romans 8:5)
Is it easy to understand? Quite clear, what are you so mindful of? This is the key. What you are mindful of depends on understanding things, hence why that is what Paul wrote: human choice. That is what God instituted as a method: and after goes to see what you have adhered to, which is the choice of men. On top of completing the choice, you can then carry on speaking:
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. (Romans 8:11-12)
We have no further debt, as therefore, brothers and sisters, when you and I had faith in Christ Jesus, we were released from the debt of sin and no longer have to pay our dues to the debt master, who is the devil. If we keep living life by only listening to the flesh then it will all be in vain. It depends on you, in regard to what actions that you will partake in. Be it the Church of Corinth, the Church of Rome, the Chruch of Ephesus, the Church of Galatia, it all boils down to the unchanged truth and divine justice, of what choice that you can count upon in order to sustain this life? When we have come to be blessed to receive the grace of Jesus, you and I are allowed to choose whom to devote our life to.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)
Paul's complete correspondence has had such an effect on the notion of taking each step in it's own right through which step by step you get to cure and prevent certain things. Moving forward to the next step you get to take another step up on the ladder. It all culminates from taking each step and not all at once which is why you do not need to fear.
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)
When we are on this path, the misdeeds of killing the acts of the flesh one step at a time results in an actual dismantling of our sensations and the illusions and lies that encompass them. This process is actually the works of the Holy Spirit, and all we must do is trust rather than fear that: Ah! I am committing the act of sin again! Such is not one to speak. Who can accuse the people of God? Just what have you been charged with? Rely on to the Holy Spirit once more, as the Holy Spirit in each step of our great ascent!
the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Therefore, the extent of which you are liberated is directly proportional to your ability to resist the urges of the flesh. Diligently pursuing the temptations of the flesh will only reduce our pursuit to connect with the intentions of the spirit. Gaining in freedom comes from the further freedom to gain the more and more knowledge of such things. Everyone will certainly realise such gains to be one among this fellowship for a greater degree of freedom.
We need not fear our weaknesses, for the Holy Spirit helps us! Therefore:
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26, ESV)
This is praying in tongues, the Holy Spirit interceding for us. Praying in tongues is not a grand gift, but a very important one, gradually leading everyone to be mindful of the things of the Spirit. Some might say, Pastor, my child has exams, and my prayers for them seem ineffective; they don't do well even after I pray. Do you think you are worshipping an idol? Is that something the Holy Spirit is mindful of? The Holy Spirit does not concern Himself with that; it is you who are concerned, why? Because you think that thing has a profound impact on your child. What truly impacts your child deeply? The deepest things are indeed the deeds of the flesh! The entire context of this passage speaks of this.
If at times we are weak and have not trusted well, what should we do? Paul says:
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31, ESV)
This is the gospel of God's predestined victory! God predestines us to victory, provided you obey the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to obey the Holy Spirit? To be mindful of the things of the Spirit. The things of the Spirit, that is what we call Mingding Destiny, why I live. As Apostle Paul concludes in Romans 8, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ! You can confidently trust in God and run this race.
But here's the problem: If you are mindful of the flesh, how can you be mindful of the Spirit? If you are mindful of the Spirit, God's Spirit becomes the strength in your heart. You need not fear weakness at all; what is to be feared is being too strong! So strong that you think you are stronger than the Holy Spirit, and then you set up your own way of being mindful of the flesh, thinking those things are important, even thinking: Can the Holy Spirit help us? If the child cannot get into university, how will they live? We are filled with a series of such things, leading to a series of such illusions. Today, brothers and sisters, let us begin to gain this hope; we know that God will surely predestine us to victory.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18, ESV)
Many things are not worth considering, and then that feeling will also disappear. Is it hard work? It is. Walking this path is hard work, and walking that path is also hard work. Thus, Apostle Paul's gospel is the gospel of putting to death the deeds of the body, and you will be able to control your feelings. As we continuously scale this spiritual peak, constantly recognizing the truth of God:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20, ESV)
If you climb to this level, the feeling in your heart is also good! But that feeling is not an illusion; it is because you know God, know the truth, and you have climbed a spiritual peak. At that level, you make such decisions, and you feel it is only right, while some people think such decisions are foolish and unbelievable.
Today, the song I am leading you to sing is called Already Let Go. How good it is to let go! What is the point of holding on to those things? Making yourself so miserable, either getting cancer, or spinal inflammation, or arthritis, rheumatism, or eye discomfort, headache, a series of discomforts. So, I encourage everyone to know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has released us to freedom, and you can make choices! This is the context of this passage.
V. Whose Obedience Is Our Choice
Everyone must know that whose obedience is our choice. Have you seen ghosts? Many people have not seen them. Have you seen them? You have not seen them either, nor have I; where do ghosts come from? But ghosts do exist. Where do ghosts live? Ghosts manipulate the feelings within us. Where does the manipulation of our feelings come from? It comes from our choices. What do we choose every day? Though the devil is invisible, the schemes of the devil are very obvious, which is to manipulate the choices within us, choosing a feeling. Why are Paul's letters difficult to read? Because they speak of very deep and hard-core truths.
Speaking of feelings is without foundation. But today, we must know that people like to find feelings. We make choices every day, which is a daily election! We are filled with all kinds of voices, and all kinds of things are in the election, two forces, one of the flesh and one of the Spirit, choosing every day, seeing who you obey. What exactly is our choice? That is the key. Why do people choose that way? There is no theoretical basis. Why do people choose that way? They collapse when asked.
Among us is a sister: Look at my husband, the look on his face towards me, is the expression on your husband's face real? I asked, Does your husband work? Yes, he does. My husband is not greedy, nor does he indulge in prostitution or gambling. I said, Isn't that good? Is the family business doing alright? The family business is doing alright. Isn't that good? What is wrong with your husband? Your husband is working, and you still have this illusion. What are you concerned about inside? What exactly are we concerned about inside? If we are concerned about something that caters to the flesh, the most obvious thing about the flesh is selfishness. Selfishness is fully expressed in the flesh of man! Why don't you say: I will help more with the housework. Why not pick on your own faults, that I am not doing enough work? Isn't it?
As a result, these things are caused by foolishness. Whether it is selfishness or catering to the flesh, it is a choice within people. You can choose not to cater to these things, and you can choose to cater to these things, resulting in your eyes almost going blind. You can choose to cater to these things, entangled in these things, even going to the point of getting cancer. You can choose to cater to these things, entangled in these things, resulting in ankylosing spondylitis. In the end, there are cancers and a lot of other messy things happening. Then today, shouldn’t we Christians choose the Holy Spirit to our throne in our election? Isn't it?
Can we make a correct choice within us? Make a smart choice? No longer obey the feeling within us, that feeling that comes from the devil? The devil lives here. Sometimes we are greedy for life, wanting to live in this world. Why do we cater to the flesh? It is because we feel we must live well, resulting in living ourselves to death. Very eager to get married, resulting in sexual dysfunction; very eager to have this and that, resulting in not even being qualified. In the end, not even being qualified to cater to the flesh.
So, I think, brothers and sisters, it is not because we are weak that we cannot choose. It is because weakness needs God. Isn't this a very simple thing? It is because you think you are very strong, so you choose yourself. We are inherently weak, so there is no need to obey that feeling. Ghosts and feelings are closely linked. Where is that feeling? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. The choice is very straightforward. Today, you hear me speak, you should always make a correct choice; the things you have experienced in the past are enough for you to see clearly and make a correct choice. Choosing is very easy.
Then once you make a choice, you will find that the Spirit of God will help you. The Spirit of God will predestine you to victory! The Spirit of God predestines you to victory. God will surely help you fight. There is no need to accuse if you have not chosen well; accusation is useless. You know, yesterday some brothers and sisters among us shared with me: they were walking along, doing quite well, and suddenly they were weakened, unable to find anyone anywhere. Why? They went to cater to the flesh. Catering to the flesh for a few days is extremely hard work. If you bring the ghost back, how can you not feel uncomfortable? As a result, they came back to find him, and found their pastor, saying: Look, I am weak again.
Let me explain to everyone so that you know what exactly happened? When we have this feeling on us: We must be victorious! We must be victorious! We must overcome. Smaller ghosts have already been knocked down on us. You have just climbed a step. As a result, a bigger ghost comes. Then comes another wave. It is not that you have lost a battle, but because you have won a battle, that thing comes with an even bigger spirit. If you don't overcome at this time, if you compete with it, you will definitely be defeated. When you start to win layer by layer, and this time you knock this ghost down again, you have won another step, and then an even bigger one comes again, you don't need to worry, why? Because the original arrangement was like this. This is called climbing the spiritual peak. Overcoming one level after another.
For example, a very small ghost of laziness is killed by you, and then a little more comes out, and then an even greater ghost of laziness comes, and everyone now understands what this feeling is all about? I am very sure you want to win very much. But I want to tell you that once you make a choice, God will surely make you win! Want to win very much, Want to win very much, isn't that how it is sung in the song: Just caught a few demons and a few more monsters came, How come there are so many of them? And each one is bigger than the last. Each one is more difficult to deal with, that’s very normal. it is like that, But that’s not a difficult thing.
As long as you can overcome every time you face it, there is no overcoming it. So, brothers and sisters, don't be discouraged. Did you think it would be done all at once? There is no such thing as doing it all at once. What is the basis of this choice?
VI. What We Are Mindful Of Is Our Cognition
Is everyone starting to understand? I often see some pastors, especially those who cast out demons, say: Casting out demons is useless. They come back after being cast out. They don't understand, come back after being cast out, then cast them out again. What do you think of repeated defeats is one way of saying it; repeated defeats and repeated battles is another way of saying it. What do you all think? When Zeng Guofan went to quell the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom he wrote a memorial, and the people below changed it: Repeated defeats. As a result, Zeng Guofan slap! he hooked it, and changed it to: Repeated defeats and repeated battles. What do you all think? That flavor is completely different. The emperor looked at it with great joy.
What am I saying? What we are mindful of is our cognition. That is, you must have a very clear understanding of spiritual warfare. If you do not have a very clear understanding of spiritual warfare, you will have trouble if you are mindful of this matter. For example, being weak again and then becoming strong again, being strong and then being defeated again. Then rushing over again, why? Because people have deviations in cognition. Among our brothers and sisters, every single one of you, it is not that you do not want to learn, you want to learn very much; it is not that you do not want to grow, you want to grow very much, and I think what I am saying should bring great encouragement to everyone.
I think God has predestined us to victory. The church in Rome must have encountered the same situation as us. Do not be afraid, God has already predestined us to have the position of sons/daughters, God has already predestined us to become His sons/daughters, and since He has chosen us, He will surely accomplish His will in us. Repeated defeats and repeated battles, after the battle, one small thing is overcome and a big thing comes. Catch a demon and catch a monster, catch a demon and catch a monster, that's how it goes, that's how our days go. No end, no need for an end. Someday we can stand before God, someday we can receive this glorious crown.
Tell God: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith: whenever weak, we are strong, whenever we are not good, we can overcome. What is that called? That's what it is. Whenever we surrender before God, the power of God is shown completely on us, whenever we rely on ourselves, you will see trouble.
Today, we, brothers and sisters, need to start to recognize the logic of this spiritual battle, start to know why we are mindful of the Spirit? Why we are not mindful of the flesh? Why don't we agree with lies? Why don't we follow feelings? Because wrong cognition leads to the deception of lies, leading to these wrong feelings. These feelings are not good feelings when they come in, and after a long time they will become a disease, and becoming a disease makes you even more mindful of this matter.
Brothers and sisters, tidy up our faith, re-cognize these things, feelings can no longer control me, I am going to start managing the feelings within me. Even if the feeling inside me soaks my bed with tears and floats my bed, my God is still my God. My God is still the God who makes me victorious, and someday I can stand before God, and this momentary and slight suffering will accomplish an eternal glory beyond comparison! This is our cognition.
Chinese Mingding Destiny is a theology of victory, Chinese Mingding Destiny is a system of warring theology. Chinese Mingding Destiny is a system of theology that strives for pursuit, Chinese Mingding Destiny is a system of theology mindful of the Spirit. Constantly know God, constantly climb on this spiritual peak by the Spirit. Whenever you do not rely on the Spirit, you are in danger of falling.
Constantly climb the spiritual peak, and you will become more and more familiar with the spiritual world. The more you know the spiritual world, the more you know the demons, the monsters, and the clearer you are about our flesh. We no longer live in this system of flesh and the world for seventy or eighty years, these things are no longer what we care about. What we care about are the things God cares about.
In this age, God wants to raise up a group of people like the Apostle Paul, like Jesus Christ. Do you want to be such a person? If you want to be such a person, let's climb this spiritual peak together and know God. Don’t stay there after climbing one layer, there is an even higher layer ahead. Every climb can defeat the ghosts below. But the ghosts above are coming again. Climbing another higher level, the ghosts below are all knocked down, and the ghosts above are coming again. What a good sparring partner! What a great arrangement! This is the marvelous arrangement God has made for us in eternity!
We must thank God for arranging ghosts to train us and do exercises every day. God has predestined us to victory. No need to be afraid, no need to accuse, when we are once weaken, we trust God again. Whenever we trust God, we are strong, whenever we rely on ourselves, we are weak. Whenever we admit our weakness, we become strong.
VII. By the Spirit, Put to Death the Misdeeds of the Body
What does this sentence mean? It is to put to death the illusions and feelings within us by the Spirit, and recognize that God is the God who helps us, and this is a lifelong lesson. The Holy Spirit is our Helper, and no matter how many times this feeling is repeated, it is normal to put to death the evil habits of the flesh by the Holy Spirit.
How did the Apostle Paul allow the Holy Spirit to put to death the evil habits of our flesh? It is in the process of building the church. I know that some of our brothers and sisters have risen bit by bit through the pastoral care of the church, so when that feeling comes, what are you going to do? I once gave a sermon called When Ghosts Come, Find the Shepherd!, Some of the brothers and sisters I personally ministered, every time I ministered, the ghosts on them would start to speak, he said: I always want to kill him, but you are watching too closely. Yes, I am watching absolutely close enough, and it is impossible to snatch from my hands.
Brothers and sisters, I tell you, without the church, how can the will of God be manifested? Do not drum up your own ideas there, and when ghosts come and feelings come, drum them on your own for a few days and disappear for a few days, making yourself feel very uncomfortable, and you do nothing for a few days. When ghosts come, quickly find the shepherd, this is the wisdom of God. You say: My shepherd is not good! If your shepherd isn't good, that's also the power of God. Have you ever found that your shepherd's prayers for you are particularly effective? It's not effective to drum on your own.
Some of our sisters, when her child is sick, she drums up her own ideas there and finds that it is ineffective, and then finds her shepherd, and it is healed after one prayer. It's strange; don't be surprised, because God wants to do this. Why does God want to do this? It is not because your shepherd is more spiritual than you, or your shepherd is better than you, it is because God wants to do this. God wants to manifest His wisdom and His victorious power through the church.
It is normal for your feelings to be repeated, and it is normal for the ghosts to go from small to large and keep fighting. The church is the army of God, and pastoral care is the basic work of the church, and it is the place where the wisdom of God is manifested. How to put to death the evil deeds of the flesh by the Holy Spirit? It is like this, it is relying on the mutual service of the church. Many churches have spiritual partners, but that thing is not effective, and don't believe in that thing anymore, it has never been effective. If you don't believe it, then you can do it, but I found that building a church is not done like that; it is not about having a large group of spiritual partners, you can't talk nonsense about me, and I can't talk nonsense about you, that is is without pastoral relationship. Without pastoral relation, ghosts are not afraid at all, and that feeling cannot be dealt with.
So, we must begin to know that this is our Mingding Destiny, as long as the flesh is still alive, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to constantly put to death the evil deeds of the flesh. Rely on what? Rely on Mingding Destiny, rely on building the church. Because in the church, interaction between people fully reflects the evil habits of your flesh. There is a sister who recognizes good and evil to her pastor, because her pastor trained her, she shouted: I want to change pastor. It doesn't matter, I can meet your needs, you can change your pastor, but the evil of your flesh still needs to be dealt with, and our evil habit of identifying good and evil must still be dealt with.
In our spiritual battle, the church has never lost a battle to this day. No matter how weak your pastor is, they can always lead you out, have you ever found that it is not relying on her at all, it is relying on the Spirit.
VIII. Full of Hope
Everyone, read carefully, Chapter 8 of Romans gives people extremely deep hope:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39, NIV)
In other words,
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:24-25, NIV)
Start to hope, as long as you haven't got it yet, start to hope to get it. Hope in the past, got it today; hope today, will get it tomorrow; tomorrow there will be new hope, and will continue to get it, we will constantly draw on God's grace, and you will find that Building God's glorious church is full of hope, and the Spirit of God is in our midst. God is the God who saves us, and later you will find that the feeling has completely changed, and the best feeling in a person's life comes from God.
Evil spirit will produce evil spirit feelings, for example: the spirit of entanglement will produce the feeling of entanglement, what hope can entanglement have? What can entanglement bring? Entanglement can’t bring anything, only brings disease and pain. What can laziness bring? Laziness can bring disease and pain. But today, the Holy Spirit is going to live in us, and we will start with Mingding Destiny, not lying flat, but striving for pursuit. Through building God's glorious church, manifesting God's wisdom, and seeing God place all things under the feet of the church. But today we may not have seen it yet, but we have already seen many things under our feet, haven't we?
God is the God who makes us victorious. Does everyone know how to control feelings? Let me summarize. You may have heard too much and become confused.
IX. Summary
How to control feelings? Feelings are controlled by the Holy Spirit; how to rely on the Holy Spirit? Be mindful of the things of the Spirit; how to be mindful of the Spirit? How to continue to be mindful of the Spirit while still being weak? Because of war, we must constantly rely on the Holy Spirit, constantly rely on the Holy Spirit, constantly repeat, it's normal, we are still full of hope, this is the church, the church is the body of Jesus Christ, because in the church, the evil deeds of people are fully reflected. When the evil deeds of our flesh are manifested one by one, and one by one are put to death by the Holy Spirit, we become more and more like the son of Jesus Christ, more and more like the son of God, and more and more like Jesus Christ.
Originally, God is the God who makes us victorious, and it is in this place that your feelings follow the victory of war, and the evil spirits are put to death, and your feelings become more and more like the feelings of the Holy Spirit. Although the Bible does not talk about feelings, there is indeed the peace and joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. Our lives are no longer a life of entanglement, toil, and worry, our lives will be full of hope and joy. My summary just makes things simple**. Never lose faith, trust in God, because God is the God who makes us victorious!**
Let us sing a song together to receive today's offering, if you do not understand the meaning of offering, please do not offer. Offering is not for others, the church is not a place to accumulate wealth, the church is a place to kill the evil deeds of the flesh, the church is a place to make people happy and bless people. What we offer today is not money, but our own bodies, may the Holy Spirit reign on us, may the Holy Spirit reign on us, may the Holy Spirit put to death the evil deeds on us, may the Holy Spirit lead us into all the truth, let us know Him more.
This song was written for me by our brothers and sisters, and of course it was also written for the brothers and sisters. I earnestly hope that all our brothers and sisters can imitate Jesus Christ and imitate the Apostle Paul, dedicating themselves and letting go of everything. You say: Can you still live if you let go of everything? I tell you: you will live extremely prosperous! This is the best choice for a person's life, start to tidy yourself up, strive to pursue, and be full of hope.