I. Introduction

Good day to everyone! Today, we will continue with the previous two sessions on The Devil's Schemes. I tell you, these series of sermons will give the devil a heavy blow, almost a knockout! Let us work together to knock out the devil! Do you know what KO means? It means to make him fall flat on his face. I don't know how many sessions there will be in Understanding the Devil's Schemes, but today is the third session. Session one, Man Falls into His Own Schemes, why is that? Because that's how the devil works. After he's done, he knocks you down, and you don't even know where the devil is. Where is the devil? The devil lives within the schemes that we, ourselves, have fallen into. This is very interesting; many people can't see the devil, but they see the devil's work. The devil works through us.

In the second session, we talked about The Devil Dwells in Man's Feelings. You must know that the devil is first-rate at working on people's minds. Once he's worked on your mind, he sits back and watches you ruin yourself. Look at some people who get depression, mental illness, or neurosis. They are tormenting themselves, feeling miserable. Have you experienced that? This devil is very wicked. You torment yourself, feel miserable, and your whole person is defeated. What's really happening? It's actually falling into the devil's schemes, and then people invite the devil in. That feeling becomes more and more intense until it completely destroys a person!

Today's topic is Minding the Things of Men. The previous ones were just small devils. Causing people to fall into their own schemes, those are small devils. The devil dwelling in people's feelings, for example, my knee hurts, that's a small devil. My body feels heavy, that's also a very small devil. Today, minding the things of men, this is a big devil. This devil is not small; this devil is Satan, a very powerful devil. How do you fight Satan? As soon as you see minding the things of men, you probably know that a bigger devil has arrived.

Some time ago, a young man came to us. This young man is not stupid; he's very intelligent. Many young people nowadays are only children. Recently, the one-child policy has been relaxed; before, it was all about one child per family. Ah, the way those parents care for their children, they care for them so well! Sometimes, even Christian parents do the same thing, indulging their children. As a result, after they grow up, they suffer from depression. After suffering from depression, the child is in great pain. It's not something that can be soothed with a couple of good boy, good boy pats. There is extreme pain within. Can everyone understand this kind of mental illness? If you don't understand, you'll think, what's the pain? They have food and drink. It's not that having food and drink makes them live well. Where does this depression come from? It comes from indulgence. The parents love this child very much, loving this child into mental illness.

While suffering, this child found us online and followed us. As he kept going, he got better! His mother has been a Christian for over twenty years. His father is an official, and he used his connections to arrange a job for his child. At first, his father was against his child praying and everything else. But when he saw that his child was better, healthier, and that the mental illness was gone, he thought: what kind of church is this? He really wanted to explore. If you want to explore, you really have to explore the results of our research, which is to study how this person became corrupted and how this devil ruined him. For example, why are many people's eyes bad? They made it bad themselves. How did they make it bad themselves? By falling into their own schemes. And what happens to a person when they fall into their own schemes? They feel unwell, and when they feel unwell, they feel uncomfortable. Then their eyes fail, their head fails, and their legs fail.

Sometimes I joke around, for example, when someone comes to me for prayer, I ask: what's the problem? He says: I cough and urine leaks out, I can't control my urine when I cough. I say: then wear diapers. You're quite old, you can't wear open-crotch pants, can you? When you were young, you wore open-crotch pants, but when you're old, you wear diapers. He says: that won't do. I say: then what do you want? You have to pray for me. I say: okay, I'll pray for you, but we have to know where this came from. Where did this come from? This person's mind is dirty, minding the things of men. And when I minister, I like to talk and laugh. I say: if you keep doing this, if you don't change, it's not just leaking urine, it'll be leaking poop. Leaking urine is okay, but leaking poop is troublesome. Some people leak blood, some leak urine, some leak poop, they leak everything.

After this child got better, he later told his pastor: when that uncomfortable feeling came, I listened to the teacher's sermons, and as I listened, that feeling disappeared. That's right, why? Because what I preach makes you understand how the devil works. How does the devil work? The devil does things this way, going along with your own will. But I don't go along with your will. I twist your will around. Am I harming you? No, I'm saying what benefits you. Some people say: why do you say it like that? I tell you, willfulness is a very evil thing. Willfully clinging to what you've decided will quickly be pushed to death by the devil. That's very painful.

This is actually very interesting. Yesterday, the day before yesterday, I was ministering, and there was a small episode during the ministry that was very interesting. What happened was that one of our small pastors was ministering to someone and told her story to prevent the person being ministered to from being too willful. Her mother was also among us. She told a very interesting story. I hadn't heard it before, so I said: tell it to me, it sounds very good. She said: when he was young, he insisted on going out to play with some other children, to pick wild fruits in the mountains. His mother wouldn't let him go, but he insisted on going, so his mother beat him up, and he didn't go. As a result, some children were willful and went anyway, their families didn't care. After they went, before long, their family, they were all from the same village, in that courtyard, oh my, a bunch of crows flew over, cawing. A spiritual event. Actually, when the crows were cawing, the two children hadn't died yet; the crows were bringing the news. Today, after believing in the Lord, we know that this is very spiritual. And what happened? Everyone was surprised when they saw the crows: what's going on? Later, they discovered that the children hadn't returned. The family went to look for them and found them drowned in the reservoir, their clothes were all on the shore. After picking fruits on the mountain, they went to the reservoir and drowned. Why? If our brother's mother hadn't beaten him up, and had gone along with him, letting him go, he would have drowned with them. He was very lucky!

Today, we need to know that many times, we have to correct our thinking! Our thinking may be our own will, our thinking may be the will of men, but it corrupts us and makes us very tired. So minding the things of men is very powerful. Have you seen this kind of conversation: oh my boss, this and that... complaining to your good friend. Do we have this kind of person among us? If you have this kind of person among you, you have to be careful. As a result, after they finish listening, the other person says: yeah, how can your boss treat you like this? The uncomfortable feeling inside becomes even stronger. Yeah, how can he treat me like this? That's how people are. You see that someone in their company got a raise, but they didn't get one. When they talk to their good friend, their friend is very considerate of their feelings and will definitely agree with them. If you met me, doing the kind of work you do, give you a raise? It's already good enough if they don't lower your salary. You should be grateful. You see, when I say this, you don't feel bad, right? It's already good that they didn't lower your salary, you should be grateful, so you don't feel bad anymore. It's like: how can they give him a raise? They should give you one. As a result, after going along with you, you feel bad. You thought that what the other person said was agreeing with you, and that it was a good thing, but it's actually corrupting you. We often encounter this kind of thing. Daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, husband and wife. For example, if a wife comes to us, and she tells that thing to her neighbors, the other person will definitely say: yeah, that's right! How can your husband treat you like this? It's all this kind of talk. When you come to me, it's: how can you treat your husband like this? You see, the result is different.

There was also a young brother, actually very intelligent, studying at university, even taking the postgraduate entrance exam, and then he got a mental illness. His mother's family environment was not bad, the child was very intelligent. But being intelligent can't withstand the devil. And what happened? We had his family discipline the child, and later the child slowly realized a truth, and his mental illness got a lot better. His father said: I can't deal with my child. Sometimes when the child takes a knife or something to attack people, the father says: I'd rather be cut to death by him, I won't discipline him. Oh my god! This is ruining people.

The devil's most powerful scheme is to go along with you, and then wait for you to ruin yourself. To mind the things of men. It is very corrupting for people to mind their own affairs. As long as we are people, we have a life. If you're a dog, it's called a dog's life. As long as you're a person, people naturally have this root, and they mind the things of men. And then, what happens? They fall into it without even realizing it. As long as a person has a strong interest, a strong hobby, a strong core interest, as soon as it's touched, they will definitely go crazy. So a person's core interest is the root of a problem. So what is your core interest? People don't know!

A person's core interest is to live, and an animal's core interest is also to live. If you threaten an animal's survival, it will bite you. If you threaten a person's survival, a person will also bite you. But no matter what, you have to die, but God's will is different. God wants us to give up ourselves, like slaughtering a pig. God wants you to give up yourself, not to ruin yourself, why is it so difficult? No, that won't work. If I don't ruin myself, I'll be so unfair to myself. Isn't that strange? People don't know that is the way to live well, so people choose the way of ruining themselves.

Today, among us, those with eye problems, brain problems, body problems, haven't they all lived with problems? How did they live with so many problems? It's because people don't understand the spiritual world, they don't understand the devil's schemes. Today, we need to have a very clear understanding of the devil's schemes, and then you can be victorious in the spiritual world.

II. Scripture

Let's read Matthew chapter 16. This passage is one I often use because it talks about the church.

Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:20-24)

III. Prayer

God! Give us a spiritual eye today, let us open our spiritual eyes and see the devil's schemes, and let us also be able to recognize how corrupting it is to mind the things of men. God! Let us begin to know today: if we follow you, we should deny ourselves, and we should take up our own cross and follow you. God! Open our spiritual eyes today, open our heart, let us know that this way is not difficult to walk, such a decision is not difficult to make. This is not a decision that loses out; it is a decision that gains life. God! Give us this wisdom today, give us this understanding, let us be able to choose the best blessing, willing to offer ourselves to you. Living in your good will for us, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

IV. The Background of This Scripture

This passage is very interesting. It also mentions a person named Peter. Peter is very interesting. He is a key research subject in my dissertation. But in the church industry, you can't just say anything about Peter. But Jesus dared to say this about Peter. Jesus said: I am going to Jerusalem, I will be killed. Listen to that: I will be killed by them, and then rise again on the third day. Peter didn't understand this thing. He had a very strong, very stubborn concept of living.

The background of this scripture is that Peter took Jesus and said: Lord, this must not happen to you, this must not happen to you. Lord Jesus, I can pray to the Father, this must not happen to you. Why? Because Peter thought this was a bad thing, but Jesus thought this was the goal of his coming into the world. When people listen to things, they immediately twist them. The part they don't like to hear is and be killed. They can't hear what comes after that. No, that won't do, how can that work? Once you're killed, it's over, the lights are out. That is, Peter's logic is very problematic. So he kept pulling Jesus and saying: no, no. If you die, what will we do? That's roughly the meaning.

As a result, Jesus turned around and said to Peter: Get behind me, Satan. Peter was dumbfounded. How did I become Satan? Look how much I care about you, how much I love you, how considerate I am of you. Is that what it's about? As a result, he became Satan. Lord! This must not happen to you, who is saying this? Is Peter saying it or is Satan saying it? It must be Satan saying it. How could Satan say this? Satan wants to corrupt Peter! Satan can't corrupt Jesus. Satan is inside Peter. Is Satan inside Peter or outside? Anyway, he spoke through his mouth, and then Peter spoke according to Satan's intentions.

Whether it's Satan's intention or Peter's intention, it seems to me that it's both Satan and Peter speaking because Peter's intention is not that different from Satan's intention because Peter's view of living, of minding the things of men, is almost the same as Satan's. That is, the ideological work Satan did on Peter, that man's will inside him had already taken deep root. Later, did Peter escape the clutches of Satan? That is debatable. As a result, he did not mind the things of God, but only the things of men.

Actually, at this time, Jesus gave Peter a very strong signal. You kid, don't think you're my great disciple. You often say the words of Satan, don't you know that? Because you don't mind the things of God, you only mind the things of men. That is, there is a man's logical system inside you, isn't a man's logical system Satan's logical system? That's the relationship. So Jesus said: if anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself. This sentence is very heavy. Let's talk about it. You have all come from different churches. It seems that no one preaches the doctrine of denying oneself, or they don't preach it clearly because there is too much minding the things of men. Letting go of your original, inherent system. This thing is extremely common in the world, as common as yeast. Like putting a little yeast in instant noodles, you can leaven the whole dough, and then everyone has Satan's will. If you and I don't see through this matter of living, then you become Satan's tool.

I once gave a special lecture on Matthew chapter 16. You can go and see this chapter's Bible study. The Pharisees and Sadducees all came to tempt Jesus, asking Jesus to show them a sign from heaven. Do you understand? Haven't you seen enough of the signs on earth? As a result, Jesus said: except for the sign of Jonah, no other sign will be given to you. Why? Because these people are very interesting. They just come to test. Actually, aren't the miracles Jesus performed enough for them to see? Absolutely beyond what they should see. As a result, they didn't see it even after they saw it, so they asked Jesus to show them another sign. After Jesus finished speaking, he stopped paying attention to them and said to his disciples:

Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.” (Matthew 16:11)

Why? Because the Pharisees and Sadducees are all people. They are not Pharisee dogs or Sadducee dogs. If they were dogs, they might be purebred dogs. But the Pharisees and Sadducees are indeed people. If you are a person, you have a man's logical system, just like you and me. They often say some things that are not right. Why is it not right? Actually, he asked Jesus to show them a sign in the sky. It's not really that big of a deal. Why do they want to see this heavenly sign? No one knows, they just want to watch it for fun. Many people come to ask me questions, basically just asking for fun. I ask him back, what are you going to do with the answer? These people are very interesting. So Jesus said: Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. As a result, the reaction of these disciples after listening was: we didn't bring bread! Can you connect these two? There is no connection at all. How can being wary of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees be connected with us not bringing bread? Just like I criticize a sister, how can you spend so much time cooking?

Sometimes I criticize a sister, saying: look, you cook, why can it take so long? She said to me: I got up at eight o'clock in the morning! Does getting up at eight o'clock in the morning have anything to do with my cooking being slow? Not at all. Why did she say that? She felt like she got up at eight o'clock in the morning and was a little wronged. These are completely irrelevant! Then Jesus said:

But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? (Matthew 16:8)

They still thought they were talking about bread, you say. How did they talk about bread? I don't know. Jesus followed the bread, five loaves and two fish fed five thousand people, seven loaves fed four thousand people. Don't you know about this? Why did the disciples discuss bread? Because people, to live, have to eat. It can be said that as long as it is a living thing, as long as it lives one day, it has to consume one day, spend one day. Without bread to eat, how can we live? But, can't God feed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish? Jesus just performed a miracle for them, but he still can't destroy the will inside people. The will inside people is deeply rooted!

The kind of logic inside people is deeply rooted. Jesus can't fix it, how can we fix it? Sometimes it's very helpless. Think about it, five loaves and two fish fed five thousand people, and what was left was not five loaves, two fish. What was left was collected in many baskets! How did it change so much? Can't God solve people's eating problems? Do you need to be so afraid of your boss, afraid of this and that, to get a meal? To live, you need to know that living in God is not a big deal, it's not a very serious problem!

So the logical system inside people is very deeply rooted. It's the same among us today: you pay the water bill? You pay the electricity bill? You have to pay the phone bill, you have to pay the rent, you have to pay the mortgage! To buy a house in Beijing, not to mention the third ring road, the fourth or fifth ring road will be enough to give you trouble! You have to pay several tens of thousands a month. Is this a real problem? This is a real problem. People are tightly trapped. What are they tightly trapped by? They are tightly trapped by a man's logical system. So Jesus said:

Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6)

The leaven is not talking about bread, it's talking about their disbelief that God can feed people! Today, brothers and sisters, can you believe my words that Jesus can keep you alive, and not only can he keep you alive, he can keep all of us alive! You don't believe it, think about it slowly. I believe it! Isn't it very simple for God to keep people alive? Isn't it very simple for God to feed people? Do you need to be so nervous? No need.

I am talking about the background of this passage, and as a result, people can't let go of the matter of living. So the logic of living has always been in Peter's mind. He has even experienced some very miraculous things. Today, brothers and sisters, you need to know for sure that even if you have experienced miraculous revelations, even if you have experienced rebirth, your hair has stood on end, you have had a cold wind on your back, you can even pray in tongues, you have even been filled with the Holy Spirit, and you can even pray and perform miracles, it's useless! There is only one thing that can completely destroy the logical system inside you!

Just before Jesus said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan, there was a dialogue:

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

What can it achieve when the Son of Man comes into His kingdom? **Can it dismantle the inherent logical frameworks within us? Can it utterly destroy our understanding of what it means to live?** I tell you, Chinese Mingding Destiny disregards mere living. **Chinese Mingding Destiny is a theological system that sees through life and death, with living for God and dying for God as our creed.** It’s not about living a better life, not using human eyes, but seeing through God’s eyes.

## V. Satan's Utmost Consideration for Human Desires
Satan is most considerate of human desires, but Satan can be so considerate that it leads you to death, believe it or not? So thoughtful that it kills you! What problems can catering to human desires solve? **On the surface, it's consideration, but in reality, it's a complete destruction. On the surface, it's to make you live better, but behind the scenes, it leads to the Cain-like psychosis and the Lamech-like fear-induced mental state. Those are all the devil's tricks!** How can people be so foolish? They are so foolish, why? Because people have their own set of ideas.

Think carefully, **human willfulness and a strong sense of self are the root of corruption!** Today, we must know that the devil's schemes are very clever, very considerate of your desires. Look, if I lose my job, how will I live? This is your desire. The devil will definitely say: Yes, how will you live without a job? That's troublesome! So brothers and sisters, you need to know, what is human desire? Let's ponder, on what day are people not speaking human words? **If you are speaking human words, that's human desire; if you are speaking God's words, that's God's desire.**

But today, people cannot understand God's words, why? Because they are listening to human desires. Even if Jesus is by your side, you still don't understand after He finishes a sentence, because you are too serious about living! Peter didn't really understand the matter of living until later. It's quite interesting; Jesus created a Peter, this very interesting character, as a very good case study, allowing us to learn the devil's schemes from Peter.

So Jesus said in later chapters:

>The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. (Luke 22:31)

I find it very interesting. We will surely write a Biography of Peter in the future. Where has the corruption in the church come from in recent years? There are rarely any demons seen in the church, only struggles between people. All that is seen in the church is human willfulness and catering human desires. If catering to human desires is not Satan, what is it? Today, recognize the devil's schemes.

A pastor once wrote a short passage before his death, expressing strong emotions. Because he had built a church, and there were often internal conflicts, he wrote this passage while suffering from COVID. After recovering from COVID, he died suddenly, and the passage remained. In it, he expressed strong emotions about the church. I found it strange. Wasn't the church built by you? If so, why did you build it into a battleground? I won't go into detailed descriptions of the problems in the church today. Fighting in church, building the church according to human desires, what else could it be? Satan is surely in it.

Today, what Satan is most considerate of is human desire; Satan has never cater to his own desires; what he caters to most is human desires. As long as it goes along with what you say, what you do, carrying human logical frameworks within, the political struggle is very obvious, and the church is completely corrupted.

## VI. Catering to Human Desires is the Root of Church Corruption
Some time ago, I prayed with a brother who had cancer. You know, whenever someone has cancer, I say directly: This is a curse. But Christians who have cancer cannot hear the word curse. They can live in the curse but cannot hear the word curse. They can only hear words of comfort. But our church is a pastoral church; we must nurture and edify people, so we must speak the truth.

As soon as I spoke the truth, he got angry with me. He would rather have cancer than hear the word curse. As a result, he quoted Proverbs 26. He thought I didn't understand Proverbs, but in reality, he didn't understand it. He brought Proverbs 26 to me to explain that it wasn't a curse. But what was the problem? He didn't understand Proverbs. He thought it was talking about something else. Foolish people are like this. What does the Bible say?

>Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest. (Proverbs 26:2)

Today, there must be a reason for getting cancer; it's not without a reason. What was he quoting this verse for? His cancer wasn't a curse. I found it strange. If he continued reading,

>A whip for the horse, a halter for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools. (Proverbs 26:3)

Why didn't he read that?

>Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:4-5)

He didn't understand Proverbs. If he understood it, he would know that the curse doesn't come without a cause. If it's not without a cause, then where did I go wrong? I can change it.

But today, what churches like to talk about most is: This is a blessing in disguise. Anyway, they talk a lot of comforting words. But we are a pastoral church; we don't indulge human desires; we only indulge God's desires. My intention is to lead him out of the curse, but if he doesn't want to leave, how can I minister? He already thinks he is wise. Then I must answer him according to his folly, lest he becomes wise in his own eyes. So I answered him with foolish words. Tragedy! How many self-righteous people are there among us? If so, repent quickly.
If you meet someone who is very considerate of your desires, and then tells you a lot of comforting words, stay away from him.

>Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest. (Proverbs 26:2)

Curses come for a reason, even including me. So later, in ministry, I have to deal with people's logical frameworks. I don't care how stubborn you are; you can't be more stubborn than me. If you insist on being a fool, I will respond with foolish words. And then I tell you: You must tear down the human logical framework. Because the human logical framework cannot control death. If can’t control die, it's useless even if it can control other things. Brothers and sisters, if you don't see through life and death, whether or not you believe in Jesus ultimately becomes meaningless.

Therefore, **if people know that they are limited, seeing through it means denying themselves, means laying down themselves. Knowing that they are corruptible, knowing that they can’t resolve too many problems, knowing that they are limited, knowing that they need to rely on God. So people live by every word that comes from the mouth of God, by the power of God.** If you can't solve death, what can you solve? I am saying this very directly. Because since the inception of Chinese Mingding Destiny, where did we start? By seeing through life and death. You think seeing through life and death is today's matter? No. I saw that there was no great meaning in living when I was very young. It's easy to see that there is no great meaning. So I looked for something meaningful, and finally found it. What did I find? I found the way of Jesus Christ.

**Catering to human desires is the root of church corruption. It would be a problem if the church only tells positive stories. Therefore, the church must lead people to the path of laying down themselves. If you want to follow Jesus, you must lay down yourself.** What does the Bible tell us to lay down? You must leave your parents, wives, children, houses, and fields, right? If you lay down will you develop any mental illness? If you lay down will you suffer? If you lay down, you will surely rejoice, laying down and you will start running a glorious path!

Once, I had a dialogue with Lao Ma. You say, how do I have a dialogue with Lao Ma? Ghosts speak through people's mouths. Satan speaks through Peter's mouth. The mouths of the people I minister to also speak. I was sitting at the table, and the person I minister to was sitting next to me. Before I said anything, it started speaking: Oh, my seat in the Dragon Palace is empty. When I heard this, I thought it was nonsense. I thought whatever it says, it's only saying a few words. It said: My seat in the Dragon Palace is empty. So it's a dragon! I said, what do you do? It said I walk back and forth on the earth, and haven't lost in any battles throughout the ages, but I've been defeated in your hands. It has indeed been defeated in my hands. But that doesn't mean I have to live by human desires. People have no right to live by their own desires. The reason why I defeated it is because I discarded my entire set of desires. The desires inside people are meaningless.

I want to tell everyone that I don't care even when I minister to my mother. I often say: I don't even care if I die, would I care about your death? My mother said that’s right. I said, do you know why I can minister to you? Lao Ma spoke from the heart: It said that it has never lost in any battles throughout history, but it has been defeated in your hands today. Today, I also hope that demons will say this to you. I don't want you to be defeated by the devil; I want you to be defeated by Jesus. Once you lay down yourself and follow Jesus, you can easily defeat the devil.

Once people have a desire to live, they need money. Once people have a desire to live, they need food. Once people have a desire to live, they need housing. Once people have a desire to live, they need to spend money when they go out. So what good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Can you understand? Therefore, **the history of the church is a struggle between two ways of catering humans and catering God. All those who cater to human desires have taken the path of Peter that they are wanted to say comforting words**. They like to do that. Peter is a hypocrite.

## VII. Work Out Your Salvation with Fear and Trembling

**People can easily fall for the devil's schemes, and people can easily die miserably. Peter has this root, and you and I also have this root. All those who covet living will surely fail.** I'll give you an example: If a person has cancer and has a strong desire to live. In fact, even before you got cancer, you had a strong desire to live. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Be careful not to cater to human desires. People can easily cater to human desires!

If you get sick, looking at your daughter, looking at your son, oh what will they do if I die? They will still live even if you die, do you believe it? And want to get something for the children, leave them something, and then want to make some money while you are alive. As a result, you didn't earn money and spent more. The more people cater to their own desires, the more severe their illness becomes. I have ministered to many cancer patients, and how did it become severe again while ministering? They cater to human desires again. Where does the destiny of catering to human desires come from? There is no destiny, only human desires.

Therefore, **today you and I must be especially careful, because you and I are human. People naturally have human desires. Shouting slogans is useless. It's useless that God once spoke through you; it's useless that God once revealed to you that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus is the Son of God; it's useless that you were once born again, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues, and performed miracles by the power of God.** It's this Peter, who started to be fake in his later years. Being fake is being a Pharisee, a hypocrite. How could a famous apostle Peter, who followed Jesus, whom Jesus once reminded: Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.

Later, although God once used him, God once had a plan to make him an apostle to the Gentiles, and let him begin to minister to the Gentiles, he lost his destiny. All those who lose their destiny will show signs of losing their destiny in their words. Because Lot was a man who lost his destiny. Lot left Abraham and ran to Sodom. Later, God saved Lot for Abraham's sake. Jesus never said that Lot was a righteous man, nor did Paul, but in Peter's mouth he became Righteous Lot. Peter actually lost his ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles, and God had to choose a Paul. Peter is very similar to Lot's system.

You know how hateful it is to be fake and hypocritical! God hates hypocrisy so much! Peter actually became a hypocrite. Does he have to be a hypocrite? Because he still lives to live. Some people say no, he was later arrested and crucified for Jesus, and crucified upside down. That's he had to be nailed. What Jesus wanted was to willingly offer himself, but he was arrested and had to do this. So God had to choose an apostle Paul.

**The corruption of the church begins with catering to human desires. Today we must all fear and tremble. Lest we lose God's grace. Nothing works, only one thing works, which is to lay down yourself, come and forsake yourself to follow God.** If you carry your own logic halfway, God's logic halfway, you often tell Satan's words: sometimes you say you are Christ, sometimes you say this will never happen to you. Sometimes it's Satan, sometimes it's Jesus, that's troublesome. From now on, no more comforting words, no more comfort words catering to human desires. I have to make things clear. If the church tells a lot of comforting words catering to human desires, Satan will definitely be working there, and curses will definitely form there. Undeserved curses will never come upon them; curses come upon them for a reason. Cancer gets worse, cancer gets better, it’s all for a reason. If i bring you pray and you have this disease and that, I still have to tell you: If you have a strong desire to live, what if it gets better? Nothing much.

## VIII. The Lord Jesus Has Opened a Way for Us to Live

**The Lord Jesus has opened a way for us to live, that is, deny yourself.** If you want to overcome Satan, overcome Old Horse, overcome the devil and enemies, there is only one way to deny yourself. If you want to follow Jesus Christ, you must deny yourself. Has everyone gotten confused? Let me sort it out for you again. **Satan is most considerate of human desires, and catering to human desires is the root of church corruption. Today we must all fear and tremendous work out this salvation** . It's not denying yourself today and not tomorrow, or laying down today and taking it back tomorrow, or laying down tomorrow and not laying down the day after tomorrow, that’s troublesome. If everyone sees through living which is a good thing if you can see through it. Now you must follow Jesus, forsake yourself. God's requirements are not high at all. The most high is a blessing. What's so high about it? This is not a loss; this is a gain. This is to gain life.

>For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:25)

One of our sisters’ cancer has recurred, and she has the person I service. Do you know why the cancer recurred? Once, when she was ministering to others, she had a fear in her heart that the other person's demons would run onto her. We still don't know where the logical framework that someone else's demons would run onto her comes from to this day. Because it affects her living, she stopped ministering with this fear. As a result, she fell for a trick. After falling for the trick, the cancer recurred. If she hadn't done that in the first place, if she had forsaken herself, so be it if she died! Nothing would have recurred! If you are greedy for life and afraid of death, afraid that these things will happen, then this what would happen. So people are selfish, just to live for themselves.

 > For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:25)

People cater to their own desires, cater to human desires. What is human desire? It is living for oneself, people who are greedy for life and afraid of death. Doesn't that mean they don’t want living? Today, let’s take a closer look, Peter is the same, he is also a greedy for life and afraid of death people. As soon as I say this, many people may object, but you can read the Bible and study it. Peter said a lot of truths, revealing catering to human desires. Jesus gave him this reminder that is a reminder that Peter has this root. If you and I have this kind of root, shouldn't we all be careful? You’ve live and become big and small Peters. Today, are there more people building churches according to Peter's desires, or according to Paul's desires? Of course, there are more people building churches according to Peter's desires. In the end, there more people that are catering to human desires the churches is full of happy groups and all sorts of things . What is running in the church? Then ask yourself! If Jesus comes today, what will Jesus say? Wouldn't Jesus still say.

>Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16:23)

**To gain the way of life, we can no longer cater to human desires**. The most important pastoral system in our church is: Dealing with your flesh and dealing with your human system will lead you to the path of life. Today, I don’t need to persuade you to offer yourself to God. This is the most highest favor! The is Chinese Mingding Destiny. This a road of resurrection from the dead which is a glorious road. we will surely see that after are still alive until after our death within the God Glory.

## IX. Summary

This is the destined path. Those who are destined can trample the devil under their feet. Those who are destined live for Jesus and die for Jesus from being alive in this road which is glorifying the way. I came into this world to live for Jesus, and I am willing to die for Jesus. **It is to deny yourself, it is to see through this matter of living. This is a glorious path.** Although Jesus was killed at the hands of the chief priests and scribes, He rose gloriously from the dead and ascended to heaven. Today, the Jesus Christ we serve has opened a destined path for us. It is a path to overcome Satan. No matter how many schemes the devil and the enemy has, once we figure out this matter of living, all problems will be solved. If this matter is not figured out, the more complicated it becomes, and you won't even know how you die.

Today, everyone ponder carefully, what Jesus said is very important. People value their families very much in order to live; people value this matter of themselves very much in order to live. As a result, for your family, you put aside the kingdom of God; for your work, you put aside the kingdom of God; for all your living, you put aside God. This is catering to human desires. In the end, the devil will take your life!

Do you want to live? Do you want to live in eternity? Do you want to obtain this eternal crown of glory? Then deny yourself and follow Jesus, without forsaking yourself you can not follow Jesus. Today's topic is a bit heavy, but it's not really heavy, as not as you need to forsake yourself. The requests seem a bit high, but they're not actually high. Because this is natural, this is better by far, and I don't need anyone to persuade me. It's just whether my inner choice has this vision to make a smart choice.

I will share to you our church with the word from God.Let’s sing a Hymn for the offertory. What you will learn is about Many people will receive grace because of the powerful gospel you preach. After receiving grace, it's not about morally binding them, but about letting people choose whether they are willing to walk this glorious path. Perhaps, among us, there are many who are like me. As for me and my brothers and sisters, we have already chosen this best path, and we have already laid down all.

Offering is not the basis. If you don't understand the meaning of offering, please don't offer. If we choose this best path, lay down ourselves and follow God, tithing is not a problem at all, because we are offering our lives. We live for this, we came into this world for this, we die for this, it is make a blessing for we must!
It is the resurrection power of Jesus Christ that is revealed in us, a wonderfully good way to live. Would you still care about those trivial matters? Your husband, your children, your family, all these grievances, whether love or hate, all become meaningless, in the glory of Jesus Christ, they become meaningless and the hate that you receive! Would you still be so angry? Would you still be so hot-tempered? Would you still be so concerned about your own gains and losses? Would you still discern between good and evil? Today, let's start learning: Lay down, and follow Jesus.

Of course, some people will have a lot of confusion. I will answer questions tonight to resolve these confusions for everyone. Living is a very simple thing because we lay down and follow Jesus. When you come among us, your illness will surely be healed, not because of you, but because there is a group of people here who are willing to lay down themselves to follow Jesus. **The way I preach today is to encourage everyone. I hope everyone can recognize the devil's schemes, stop rushing madly on this path of death, and start grasping Jesus Christ tightly on this path of eternal life, with a fear and trembling hearts, fearing that they will be deceived by the devil, fearing that they will cater to human desires**.

Raise your hands and pray with me: Lord Jesus, I will follow you according to your words. I will lay down myself and become your disciple. God, allow me to enter into your kingdom, allow me to receive all the benefits of God's kingdom. In the name of Jesus Christ, I will forsake and lay down those human desires; I will no longer cater to human desires. You are my only pursuit. I entrust my job to make profit for this life to be under your decision! In the name of Jesus Christ, I break the bondage of poverty on me, and I break the bondage of disease on me! In the name of Jesus Christ, I once again…