Introduction

Good morning, everyone. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to share with you on a very crucial topic: Becoming Disciples. Becoming disciples – this is a perplexing topic because in this generation, there are more who are muddled than who are disciples. Looking around, there are few who are true disciples. It is still alright to be a disciple among us, but in many of the churches led by pastors I know, it is a bit of a headache. Some brothers and sisters could not thrive among us, so they went to my friend's church. This is because they received much grace from me, and many serious illnesses were healed, but it was difficult for them to pay the price.

He said to me, Teacher, I want to go to another church. I said, Okay, go ahead! Then I asked him, Which church did you go to? At first, he wanted to keep me as a backup. He said, I'll go out and see, and if it's not good, I'll come back. I said, This place is not somewhere you can come and go as you please. I will lose face if you treat me as a backup! If I were your boyfriend or girlfriend, it would be very upsetting! I don't want that. If you leave and want to come back, I may not even want you back! After a while, he came back and said to me, Teacher, the church I went to is very good. I asked, Which one? He said, That one. I said, Of course it's good, because I know the pastor of that church very well. A disciple who indulges the flesh enters a church that indulges the flesh – it is a perfect fit.

After listening to this, some people said, Your words are too harsh. What I am saying is that becoming a disciple is a bit of a challenge. I think that this event we are having is called Becoming Disciples. I am not trying to fool you. What many local churches lack today is God's promise; what many Christians lack is God's grace and blessings. If there are many curses but no blessings, that's a problem! Therefore, one must become a disciple. Today, if you have come, you must have been drawn by this word. I like to bring what is precious in God's eyes to our midst. God sees you as precious, and I also see you as precious. This is a fundamental principle of Chinese Mingding Doctrine.

Some brothers and sisters, you may be attending our event for the first time, but you need to know that there is God's blessing in this place because this place brings people to a church that helps them become disciples. I once went to a place where the pastor said, Our church attracts many Chinese people. I thought, You are quite impressive! I asked him, How many people have you attracted? He said, Many, over a hundred. Actually, it is not easy for Chinese people to believe in the Lord! I said, How many people tithe? He said, Two. I was very puzzled. Over a hundred people believe in the Lord, but only two tithe?

I asked, When do you get over a hundred people at once? He said, Every year when we make dumplings, over a hundred people come. Oh! These are foodies! No, dumpling buckets. I said, How many people usually attend the service? He said, About ten or so. Oh my goodness! I said, I won't do this. If I do it this way, I might as well do something else. Because the standard of discipleship has been ruined by today's churches. Therefore, my first lecture is called The Standard of Discipleship. We have a total of six lectures. Today's first lecture is on The Standard of Discipleship; the second lecture is on The Rewards of Discipleship. These two lectures are good! I am not trying to fool you – this is the result I have achieved.

Therefore, I encourage everyone to explore this event. Do not think that God is a liar. God absolutely does not lie. Otherwise, try it. If you don't try, how will you know? For example, what is the standard of being a disciple? Next, let's talk about the standard of discipleship. There was a man named Avanti who said, You can see the stars in the daytime. Why don't you try it? People said, How do you know you can see the stars in the daytime? He said, You can try it. I have tried it. That person said, How can you see the stars in the daytime? Avanti said, You can definitely see the stars if you don't eat for twenty days. As a result, he saw them after three days. Some things you won't know until you try them. You can't figure it out by just thinking about it. Even seeing the stars requires a try. Therefore, today we talk about The Standard of Discipleship.

I. God Wants Disciples

Jesus came and told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me! This is incredible! All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to the Lord Jesus because the Lord Jesus has risen from the dead and ascended to heaven.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19)

Do you understand? Jesus said, Make disciples of all nations, not believers. Believers don't count. However, there are more muddled people in the church today. What did Jesus say next?

Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

Remember, believers don't count. When do believers become disciples? I don't know. But in this era, there are two characteristics of the gospel in the church: the first is that it does not follow the Bible; the second is that it is ineffective. You happily go to the pastor with a problem and say, Pastor, I have this problem. The pastor says, I don't even know who to go to when I have a problem! Do you understand? A pastor's disciples are not Jesus' disciples. You say, Pastor, I have cancer. The pastor says, Me too. Oh! They have become cancer buddies. What a mess! Don't think that I am criticizing others. I like to tell jokes, but it is really ineffective. If it were effective, we wouldn't be so confused.

Therefore, many Christians are very confused, pastors are also confused, and the pastor's disciples are also confused. They feel that the gospel is not effective. They say, God, why is this happening? God wants to say, I want to ask you! You have ruined the word 'disciple'. Can it be ruined like this? A disciple is someone who forsakes everything to follow God. Otherwise, try reading the Bible. God wants disciples. Can you forsake everything? Some people say, No way, that would cost me my life! God, can we talk about it? Can you change the standard? But you can't talk about it! The standard cannot be changed, and as a result, the goods don't match the description.

You happily come to Jesus and say, Jesus, I have arrived. Jesus says, What are you? You say, I am a believer. Jesus says, I don't want believers. I want disciples. You say, The standard for disciples is too high. I am just like this. Please accept me. How can Jesus accept this? God's words are established in heaven. Can they be changed casually? Only people today change them casually. The word disciple came from Jesus' mouth, including Jesus' definition of disciples, which is made clear and distinct.

However, later the word disciple was abused. Because I read the Bible a lot, and in detail. After the word disciple was abused, it could no longer be used in the epistles of Apostle Paul. The word disciple is no longer there. Why? Because the word disciple was completely ruined by Peter and the church in Jerusalem at that time. If you read the Bible carefully, you will find that the church in Jerusalem led by Peter made a lot of believers. During the time of the church in Jerusalem, everyone was called a disciple. Isn't this disastrous?

II. The Word Disciple is Abused

This did not just start today. It started in the early church. In the early church, the word disciple was abused. Let me give you an example. If I meet a girl, in Northeast China, I can call her big sister. Even if I am an old man, I can call a middle-aged woman big sister, but I cannot call her miss. Do you all know that? Now the word miss cannot be used! Originally, the word miss was used to address women. People often say ladies and gentlemen. But now miss has become a prostitute. Maybe after a while, the word beauty cannot be used either.

Chinese words are a bit complicated. You can call her little sister. If you add sister, it solves the problem. Maybe after a while, little sister cannot be used either. Maybe even big sister cannot be used. I'm afraid that the word will be abused. Where is the abuse? The abuse is that its original meaning is gone. The disciple that Jesus spoke of, God has already defined it. But the church in Jerusalem likes to mess around. This is a disciple, that is a disciple, everyone is a disciple. If you have an electronic version of the Bible, you can check it. The epistles of Apostle Paul no longer contain the word disciple, just like the word miss cannot be used.

To what extent has it been abused? It has continued for two thousand years. The word disciple is a bit crucial. But today we still have to use the word disciple because Jesus spoke of it. Since Jesus spoke of it, we have to follow what Jesus said and restore the standard of discipleship. A long time ago, I went to a church. This church was quite interesting. It trained disciples in this way: you become my disciple, and others become your disciples. After I went there for a while, I found that this church advocated that your pastor should become your spiritual father. You don't see this among us. After becoming spiritual fathers, one calls the other dad; the other calls this one dad, many dads. What is the point of having so many dads?

We have a sister among us who was abandoned by her biological parents because they preferred sons over daughters. Her adoptive father picked her up and raised her. Then her biological parents came to recognize her as their daughter. She asked me what to do. I said, What is the point of having so many parents? What I mean is, what is the point of having so many dads? Whether you are my dad or I am your dad, it doesn't matter; whether you are my disciple or I am your disciple, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you are a disciple of Jesus.

You become my disciple, I become your disciple – what are these murky things? It's better to be disciples of Jesus. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not something that can be solved by calling someone dad. What is the use of calling someone dad? When I build a church, I don't like to make it greasy. I like it clean. Don't create dads. This dad, that dad, many dads. Just because someone's hair turns white, they become someone's dad? That won't do! Don't create so many dads, and don't create so many sons either. It's deadly! Therefore, the words disciple and dad have been abused.

What is the original definition of a disciple? We have to go back to the Bible. Today, I still have to emphasize that our church does not have these greasy things, and I don't create these superficial things either. Let's go back to the Bible and see what a disciple really is. I have the conscientiousness of an intellectual. I have always been good at studying. I am also a professional in my work. I don't particularly like creating things that seem a bit strange. Not only with discipleship, but I am also not used to many other things in the church. For example, churches in Taiwan and Singapore like to play icebreaker games. I think they are quite broken, like childish things for kindergarten children. Is that breaking the ice? That's just breaking, but there is no ice. I don't particularly like it. Someone typed that it's ice for collecting trash. Actually, the English meaning of breaking the ice is okay. It's called warm up. Let's go back to the Bible, okay?

III. The Original Definition of a Disciple

Let's open the Bible. If you come to me and say, Teacher, this is what the Bible says, then I will definitely listen to you. If you say, This is what so-and-so teacher or so-and-so book says, then forget it. Let's look at the Bible.

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

This immediately cuts off many people. They cannot be disciples of Jesus Christ. When I read the Bible, not just today, but when I first believed in the Lord, I started to read it desperately and have continued to read it to this day. When I first read this passage, I felt that these words were a bit deep. As time went on, I found that many people did not like to talk about these words because they could not be explained clearly once they were spoken. Let’s look at verse 33 again.

Thus, any of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33)

Good heavens, are you all frightened? If you are, I need to offer some comfort. This is supremely good! What is more precious than being a disciple of Jesus Christ? Nothing. You are not frightened, thank God! Are there any among us participating in this event who are frightened? I don’t know. I need to reassure you first; don’t be afraid. If you are dealing with Jesus and are fearful, speak up, and I will explain it to you slowly. Jesus is very wealthy; what are you afraid of? He has everything; all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Him, and He has given that authority to us. Isn’t that incredible? It is. What a blessing this is!

The original definition of a disciple is explained this way, but later, when I searched online, there were many fancy explanations. They explain that renounce doesn't mean that, it means this. But you need to know, do you regard Jesus Christ as the most precious treasure? If you truly regard Jesus Christ as the most precious treasure, those things are just trinkets. How can they compare to all the authority in heaven and on earth? You need to know that what people need most in life is all the authority in heaven and on earth. If you become a disciple of Jesus Christ, you will discover that you have authority, and your authority is extraordinary! This authority is effective; it is a supreme sword, received from God. People just don't know this and still think those things are very important, but in fact, they have it exactly backwards.

Any of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. You say, can elementary school students understand what Jesus is saying? What else can it be interpreted as? This original definition is incompatible with the things they do; or rather, it can be compatible, because without all authority in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, the church will be bullied. Bullied by whom? Bullied by demons. Not renouncing means being entangled. People who are entangled cannot obtain this treasure, cannot obtain all authority in heaven and on earth; what is the result of not obtaining this authority? As you can imagine, it is not being victorious. Therefore, we should carefully listen to whatever Jesus tells us. It’s like what Afanti said: even if you can see stars in the daytime, you should try it; in fact, you will see stars if you don't eat for twenty days. Now, Jesus tells you that after you renounce, you won't see stars in the daytime, but you will see victory, you will see that you have authority from heaven in your hands. Therefore, the problem lies in people not believing.

Jesus said: If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. This doesn't need much explanation; it is clear upon hearing it. Why did Jesus say this? Because many people come and walk with Jesus, and Jesus sees that He doesn't need so many. Looking out, seeing with spiritual eyes, how many disciples are there? They are all people who want to gain benefits from Jesus; who wants to renounce everything? Does anyone want to renounce everything? No. Then what do they all want to do? They all want to come and gain benefits. As a result, Jesus' words are too harsh, instantly stunning many people! This is not called being a disciple, but being confused, disoriented, and unable to find the door; without a door, they are not called disciples, and then they suffer.

People have a great deal of entanglement. Jesus says: Come, be my disciples. Someone says: No, I just bought a piece of land and must go and see it. Someone says: No, I just bought five pairs of oxen and need to try them out. Someone says: No, I just got married. People lose a treasure because of these things, which is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. A great many people followed Jesus, and as a result, Jesus said these words. I have a similar characteristic in building the church. When there are too many people, I say such things. Some people will say: How can we live following his way of believing in the Lord? Not only do Christians say this, but many pastors say this too. When they come to me, I arrange for them to stay, entertain them, and take them to eat. In the evening, I tell them about the things God is doing among us. As I speak, they will say: That’s really good! Is it good? Can it be good if the concept is unclear? It can't be good.

Among them, a pastor said to me: My wife's ear has been hurting for many days; can you pray for her? I said: That's no problem. I led his wife in prayer over the phone, and then her ear was healed. Why was it healed when I led in prayer? Because I have all authority in heaven and on earth. Why do I have this authority? Because I have renounced everything for Jesus. No one can stop me from loving God. If someone asks me to do this or do that, even asks me to clean the toilet, that's no problem; but if someone wants me to give up Jesus, no matter who you are, I will surely renounce you. Because I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, I must do according to God's word. I encourage this pastor to do as I do, to do according to God's word, to love God.

Later, this pastor invited me to attend a special meeting where they gathered several hundred people together. Originally, I wasn't planning to preach because my preaching offends many people, but they insisted on me preaching, so I preached on a topic called Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. My preaching always includes stories. They were training disciples, but the message I preached offended them. Because they were signaling me from below not to continue, I thought that since I was on the platform, I had to speak freely. I said: If you want to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, but your wife, your parents, hinder you, what do you do? And what if other people and your family's five oxen also hinder you? In fact, there are many things that hinder people from loving God!

After I finished speaking, they said to me: You can't do it this way. How can you fit in this circle if you do it this way? I said: I didn't want to fit into your circle. What's the point of your circle? I only want to fit into Jesus' circle. If we're going to fit into a circle, let's not fit into such a rotten circle. Let's only fit into a good circle, holding all authority in heaven and on earth, fitting into a circle with authority. That's powerful! The original definition of a disciple is: love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Some people do not listen to this word, but I listen to Jesus' word. I have renounced everything to follow Jesus.

I always feel that I am tired of living in this world. I don’t think much about living this life, but I’m living quite well. Why? Living for Jesus has high returns; I have obtained all authority in heaven and on earth, how good! In the past, when I cast out demons, the demons knew me. They would usually shout my name and say they hated me; they wanted to control me, but they couldn't. The definition of a disciple cannot be changed; if you want to be a disciple, you must clarify the concept, otherwise, you are finished! Those who clarify the concept are academic masters.

The church built by academic masters and academic underachievers is different; the things done by roughnecks and professional intellectuals are also not the same style. The church I have built has a clear style. What does this mean? It means that we who are disciples must soar like eagles, flying with God in the spiritual world. What is that if not aerospace? Whoosh! It flies up, runs out of power, falls down, and shatters into pieces; later it flies up again, but if even one screw is wrong, people will die. Therefore, clear concepts and meticulous work are the characteristics of our church.

The church we have built has a clear characteristic: it has authority from God. My teacher said to me: If you went into aerospace, you would be a talent; why did you go into the church? I said: Doing this is the real aerospace, I really go to heaven! The teacher looked at me and said: That’s true, what you are doing is indeed aerospace. Because we have obtained authority in heaven and on earth, this authority is very effective.

Four. Not Renouncing Means Not Obtaining the Benefits of Being a Disciple

Jesus said very clearly: Any of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. You say to Jesus, let's talk about it, okay? I can't renounce all my possessions, but I really want to be your disciple. Then Jesus still has to have you read this passage, Jesus said this very straightforwardly: Anyone who does not renounce all to follow me cannot be my disciple.

Thus, any of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.
(Luke 14:33)

At that time, someone must have talked to Jesus: Jesus, your conditions are a bit difficult; I can't do it. Because the woman in my house is like a tigress; if I become your disciple, I won't be able to live my life anymore. Another one said: The man in our house is a male tiger; if I become your disciple, that will be enough to kill me, how can I live life after renouncing like that? You can only disown your relatives.

How much weight does Jesus' words carry in a Christian's life? You always want to fix your family first and then become a disciple of Jesus Christ. How can you fix it? Many people don't understand me because I strictly follow Jesus' instructions. This matter cannot be compromised; anything can be discussed, but this matter can never be compromised. If you cut a piece of flesh from my leg and stir-fry it in a pot, that's no problem, but if you don't let me be a disciple of Jesus Christ, this matter cannot be discussed. If someone asks me: Do you love Jesus or something else? I say: Of course, I only love Jesus; nothing can compare to Jesus. What Jesus can give me, you can't give me. What if you can't renounce? Then don't be a disciple. If you want to love something else and still want to be a disciple, you can't do it. I sometimes speak harshly to such people: What kind of people are these? They want to erect a monument and also want to be a prostitute. If you want to do that, you can't do it.

Everyone should gradually understand that the world can still operate without anyone; without you, people will still live their lives. Don't think that you are very important to those people; you are not that important. Some time ago, one of our sisters was very interesting. She took her child to work, and the leader said to her: You can't bring your child to work. She said: You see, I only make 3,000 yuan a month, and I can't afford a nanny with that salary. My mother-in-law doesn't have time to help me take care of the child because she went to be a disciple of Jesus; the child's maternal grandmother also doesn't have time to take care of the child. What do you want me to do? Later, the leader said: Then bring him along. Fortunately, it's a government job, so let it be. She came through like that, and now the child has grown up.

You say: I can't renounce, what can I do? It's easy to handle if you can't renounce, just don't be a disciple. What about the authority in heaven and on earth? It won't work. Only disciples have authority; where does authority come from if you're not a disciple? There is none if you don't do it. Why don't people believe? Because he always thinks: I want to fix this matter like this, and I want to fix that matter like that; the five oxen need to be taken care of, and my grandson also needs to be taken care of. What to do? In fact, even if you take care of everything, you can still be a disciple of Jesus Christ, life goes on, and you can also do a little more work. Working cannot stop you from being a disciple; the key is not to be controlled by these things. If you don't renounce, you won't get the benefits of being a disciple, so good luck to you!

V. The Best Choice in This World

There is one thing I must tell you; if I don't tell you, I feel sorry for you, which is that there is nothing in this world that is worth us renouncing everything for, only being a disciple of Jesus Christ is worth us renouncing everything for. I came into this world with great difficulty, and I have no interest in doing anything else; I don't find things like playing mahjong or traveling interesting, and I don't find earning money meaningful. Living, it's meaningless; dying, I don't know how to die? After thinking it over, I just want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ; this is the best choice in the world. There are two things that people care about the most: one is family affection, and the other is money. If a person can overcome family affection and all other things, then you have overcome!

If you don't love God for the sake of money, then you are worshiping Mammon, but what Mammon promises to give you cannot be fulfilled; what Jesus promises to give you will all be fulfilled. How can so many people not know this? Today I will give Jesus an advertisement, loving God is an infinitely good choice! What do you still need to worry about if you are letting you renounce everything for Jesus? Being a disciple of the Lord Jesus, He is so rich, powerful, capable, and everything in heaven and on earth listens to His arrangements, what else do you need? You don’t need much else. If I have God, what else do I need? For Jesus, I am willing to renounce everything, and now He is my only pursuit, He is all I have!