I. Introduction

Good day to everyone! Today, I will continue sharing with you this series on breaking free from spiritual oppression, entitled Freedom from Oppression. The most formidable oppressor of men is wealth, for the oppression of wealth can lead to many tragedies. Therefore, it is imperative to dispel the delusion of money. Why are people deluded? Because they believe a lie, understand? Once a person believes a lie, it becomes problematic. In my ministry, hardly anyone is not oppressed by money. Thus, the oppression of wealth and the confusion it brings are profound. Therefore, today's topic is The Cares of This Life and the Deceitfulness of Riches.

I once ministered to someone quite interesting, the daughter of a pastor. She ran a small oden shop in Taiwan to make a living, and it was a tough life. Her children grew up in poverty, which was very difficult. Then she came to us. Why? Because she had colon cancer. Colon cancer is a rather cruel disease; imagine, whether or not one can defecate is a matter of life and death. As it turned out, one of our pastors ministered to her, and she miraculously recovered. Later, I realized that a miraculous recovery might not be the best; a gradual healing is preferable. She miraculously recovered and went to the hospital for a check-up, discovering that all the cancer had completely disappeared. Then something unbelievable happened. A clever person would certainly cherish this treasure. Instead, she felt that we were wasting her time by contacting her, and she became unreachable.

Why? She always felt that Jesus was delaying her from making money, as if making money was so important. So, she desperately tried to make money, but in reality, she didn't make any; instead, she accumulated a lot of debt. We only found out after her death that she owed a lot of money. Alas, she reverted to her original mindset after having colon cancer, and without a doubt, she was doomed. A month or two later, she came back to us. All the cancer had returned. Could it not return? She came back for us to pray for her, and this prayer accompanied her constantly. I spared no effort, for I truly didn't want her to die. I hoped that she could experience grace in Jesus Christ.

Every time I led her in prayer, she would sometimes lie down, unable to sit up, utterly weak. But after prayer, she could go up and down the stairs. Each prayer was indeed a miracle. However, as soon as she recovered, the first thing that came to her mind was, Oh, I'm alive again! I dreaded this, fearing that she was alive again. Why? When a person is dying, money is no longer important. But once a person wants to live, then it's over: I'm alive again! The phone needs to be recharged, and the rent needs to be paid. After death, there's no need to pay rent for the urn; even if there is, it's someone else's problem. But once alive, one needs money, which she didn't have when she was not alive.

Every time her health improved, it was about business, and the cares of this life would set in. Oh, she would be frowning constantly. I really wanted to give her some money, but I later realized that giving her money wouldn't solve the problem. Her mind was very unclean, and she would start calculating, 30 million. Taiwanese dollars are small, so if it were in Indonesia, it would be 3 to 5 billion. That's why Indonesians are good at math, constantly counting money in the billions. So, Taiwanese are also good at math because the money is small. Oh, 30 million. I asked her what she was calculating. Oh, I'm making worldly dreams. Later, I decided to destroy her worldly dreams no matter what, but I couldn't destroy them; instead, worldly dreams destroyed her.

On her last day, with only six hours to live, her body collapsed again. I prayed for her, and she revived, becoming lively again. Then she said, 30 million, 800 million. I said, Wow, that's a big number, a big dream. I see you becoming a billionaire! With only six hours left, she died. When her family videoed me, I saw her lying in bed, lifeless, with her eyes wide open. Those 800 million and 30 million were still in her eyes! How much did she owe? She didn't owe that much, but she was poor. Later, I realized that once a person wants to live, they need money, and once a person is about to die, they see through it all. Isn't that strange? Even with six hours left, she was still counting money. Oh, I was so moved.

Actually, I have ministered to many cancer patients. Cancer binds people tightly. Years ago, I ministered to a cancer patient who was quite interesting. Later, we even met and I treated him to a meal; he had fully recovered. He was happy because he finally had the chance to love the world. Oh, this loving the world, this world is so beautiful! I think there might be some brothers and sisters among us today who feel that the world is so beautiful, and they must see the eight famous scenic spots. As a result, after recovering from cancer, he told me he had a dream: to travel and visit all the 6A and 5A-level attractions; he had to visit them all. Later, I often saw him in his social media posts surrounded by women, a red dot among a sea of flowers. I later called it a lump of dung among a sea of flowers.

I was moved. The flowers were beautiful, but the person was not. What was a church gathering? No time for that! And this lump of dung among a sea of flowers ended up dying. Three months later, bam, he died. Cancer recurred, with no chance left. Oh, I was so moved. Back then, I was naive, thinking I could persevere one minute longer than the devil! But later, no matter how much I persevered, I couldn't overcome the rigid thoughts and intentions of these cancer patients. In other words, the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and the confusion brought by eating, drinking, and merrymaking are very profound. After recovering from illness, they want to live again, and then eating, drinking, merrymaking, and money become important again. That's the logic. So, money brings great confusion to people; everyone is deceived by money.

In fact, everyone must realize that money is not neutral. Money is a spiritual thing; it can bind people and take away their lives. Isn't it said that men die for wealth, and birds die for food? When I talk about the deceitfulness of riches, some people think that money is very important. One sister said that her mother died because she didn't have money. If she had money to send her to the hospital, she wouldn't have died. As a result, she lived with that lie until her father's death. When her father was dying, she had money and spent all her savings on him, but her father still died. That was a lie! Isn't it? Can money buy life? No amount of money can buy time. Where can you buy it? Can you go to the King of Hell and say, I'll give you money; let me live longer? There's no such thing!

I know a friend who runs a very large company, a multinational corporation listed in 39 countries, and he is the CEO. He has five brothers in the family, and his younger brother manages the operations in another country. His younger brother got cancer around the age of 40, and he loved him very much. The two brothers had a very good relationship, and I was also close to this brother. Oh my goodness, he frantically poured money in, begging the doctors to cure his younger brother. But if it could be cured, would it be called cancer? Right? In the end, his younger brother still died. From then on, he knew that money could not buy life, and that's when he walked into the church. He and I walked into the same church, and that's how we met. I was moved. Can money make people live for one more moment? No. So, what can money do? Money can confuse people, making them dizzy.

I have many examples to give; money is truly confusing! One year, I went to Hainan. A street in Haikou was full of HNA buildings. Those buildings were all bought by HNA, but actually, they weren't bought by HNA; they were bought with borrowed money. HNA was once a behemoth among China's private enterprises, far surpassing Alibaba, JD.com, and Huawei; it was very powerful. HNA is a private airline, and Hainan Airlines still exists and still sells tickets. But the founder of HNA is gone, whether he committed suicide or something; no one knows how he died. Why? In his 50s, HNA was in debt, insolvent, and failed. I was moved. Why would this happen?

Recently, there was news about a girl who jumped off a building at China International Capital Corporation (CICC). CICC is in Shanghai, and the name of the company has gold in it, and the company's plaque is plated with gold. The girl was 30 years old and did a good job. She was counting money all day long, earning a million yuan in salary. What happened? She jumped off a building because her salary was cut. It was cut from 1 million to 350,000 yuan, which is still quite a lot, but she jumped off a building. Isn't that a tragedy? Living in this world, money truly kills and truly confuses people. I am very moved! So, I have a habit: I don't buy what I can't afford; I don't eat what I can't afford; I don't use what I can't afford; and I don't carry bags that I can't lift. There's no need. Some people I know wear tens of thousands of yuan worth of Hermes clothes just to display the glory of God on their bodies. Later, I realized, can those things really display God's glory? Those things can't cover up a cheap bone inside. No matter how expensive the clothes, they can't cover up the cheap bone inside. So, I think, to be a noble person, a person is more noble than money! A person's life is more noble than money!

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)

They can't understand it. Today, I will keep talking to everyone, so that everyone's heart will be open and clear. If you are troubled by money, dispel that trouble today. In fact, there are many rich people in the world, but not many happy people, right? Not many happy and open people. Can money make people live happily? Actually, I later found that money cannot make people live happily. Money can confuse people, causing them to be bound and oppressed. There was a billionaire with hundreds of millions of assets. Later, he lost money and was left with tens of millions. Oh, he felt so bad. Later, he lost more and was left with one million US dollars, which is still a lot of money! He jumped off a building. He still had one million US dollars and jumped off a building. If an ordinary person had one million yuan and jumped off a building, wouldn't that be a joke? But the problem is that he used to have hundreds of millions and then was reduced to one million US dollars, and he couldn't bear the blow! Where can you reason with that? Confused? He was confused.

If you observe the things on this earth, there are so many puzzling things. People just don't understand how wealth corrupts people. Speaking of money, there's a skit. In our era, decades ago, in the era of ten-thousand-yuan households, someone won a prize of 60,000 yuan, won the lottery. But this 60,000 yuan brought him a lot of trouble! Today, someone comes to borrow money, and tomorrow, someone else comes to borrow money. He won 60,000 yuan, but later lent out 80,000 yuan! He lent out more than he had and forgot. The accounts weren't clear. He lent out 80,000 yuan. Where can you reason with that! I observe the things in this world, and it's very interesting. It becomes a joke! Money binds people severely! Can money prevent disasters? No. Can money make people smarter? No. You see many second-generation rich kids who are stupid, have you seen them? Many second-generation rich kids are stupid.

Some time ago, a second-generation rich kid imported a bunch of wine, but he couldn't sell it. He said to his father, Look at you, old man, you don't even help me sell it! He wanted his father to help him sell the wine he imported. His father hoped to use this wine to train him, but in the end, he trained himself. Oh, money! Money can give you temporary happiness, money can give you temporary enjoyment, but on the day disaster strikes, money can't help you with anything. Understand? Today, we use money to measure a person's success. After measuring, what then? Actually, it's not successful at all. There's a saying: He's so poor that he only has money left. Everything is poor! Poor in joy. The account of joy has no joy, and the account of eternal life has no eternal life. Oh my goodness, only the money account has a little money, and a little disaster. Isn't it? So, money corrupts people immensely!

Let me tell you, the stories I've encountered are very mind-awakening. In the 1990s, when I had just believed in the Lord, I met a preacher. He came to Singapore to study theology, and he shared a story with me. I said, Oh my! Their family's story is like Yu Hua's novel To Live. Later, it was made into a play called To Live. Their family's story is a replica of the play To Live. His grandfather, during the Anti-Japanese War, married a wife, and both of them believed in the Lord. His grandfather was a wealthy man in the county town. Half of the county town belonged to his family. He didn't manage the family property and held gatherings every day. As a result, the family property was seized by the tenants and hired workers. After being seized, his grandfather and his wife were left with only a small thatched house.

The couple lived with their son, and then came the liberation. People wanted to arrest him. Someone said, He's so poor that he's penniless. He only has a dilapidated thatched house left. What are you arresting him for? His grandfather was designated as a poor peasant because he had nothing. The person who had embezzled his family's property was frugal all his life, still a poor man, unwilling to spend money. As a result, he was arrested and struggled against as a landlord and was shot “砰” . His grandfather returned home and said to his family, Oh! Thank the Mingding Destiny! If it weren't for that tenant embezzling our family's property, today, the one being shot would be me! Thank the Mingding Destiny. You say this is very interesting. Right? Later, his grandfather became a preacher; his father also became a preacher; and he himself is also a preacher, three generations of preachers.

Their family has many miracles! His father went to preach, and every day he would grab a handful of rice from the jar and cook it to eat. After grabbing it for more than half a year, he suddenly remembered, How can there still be rice in this jar? I've been eating it for half a year; how much rice have I eaten? One catty a day, half a year would be 180 catties. The jar could hold at most five catties. As a result, he moved the jar out and saw that there was no rice inside; God gave it every time he grabbed it. Let me tell you, their family has many miracles. This is truly being raised by the Mingding Destiny. So, Yu Hua's play To Live is really like that! This is very miraculous! Living is an eternal topic. Later, I discovered that people are actually raised by the Mingding Destiny. The story of living can never be fully told.

People need to study the matter of living. I love to study the matter of living. How to live? Just live like that, three full meals a day and then rest. If I lived like that, I would be so wronged, I would be stupid. No, I have to study living! After studying, I got to know the Mingding Destiny. Oh, that's how people live! What I'm telling you today are all my past research results. I studied living and recognized Abraham long ago. Actually, I'm similar to Abraham. We both studied living and both studied until we knew the Mingding Destiny. Abraham studied for a long time; he studied until he was seventy-five years old. Fortunately, I studied until I was fifty-seven. If I studied until I was seventy-five, I would be ruined, I would lose a lot! I was more than twenty years old when I got to know the Mingding Destiny, and the Mingding Destiny revealed to Abraham the key to living. A person must have meaning in living; you must have a sense of existence. After Abraham finished his research, it was all about blessing. If this person is blessed, he will live blessed; if this person is unlucky, he will live unlucky.

If there is blessing, there is blessing, and if there is a curse, there is a curse. So, blessing and curse are two big keys to a person's living. I'll say it again, curse and blessing are closely related to living. Some people think that curse is something that happens after death, but it's not; it's something that happens in living. So, the Mingding Destiny cares a lot about curse and blessing during living. Cain lived in curse, and Lamech lived in curse. Can you be good living in curse? Can Esau be good living in curse? Some people say, He has money! Even with money, it is still a curse. Many people don't understand because they are poor. After being poor for so long, they think having money is good. They don't know how powerful the curse is! So, Esau, Lamech, Cain, including Nimrod, all lived in curse.

Abraham found a blessed path. If you want to know Abraham, you must learn from him how to understand the matter of blessings and curses. Abraham was remarkable! God said, I will curse those who curse you, Abraham, and bless those who bless you. Ah, Abraham was truly something! If you can figure out what it means to live, that is quite something! Do not think that just because someone is a preacher, they understand what it means to live. In fact, many preachers have not even grasped the meaning of the word live.

Therefore, that is why my work cannot steal time from God because God is the blessing in my life. Later, I thoroughly investigated the matter of blessings and curses. If God is with you in what you do, that is called a blessing. If demons are with you in what you do, that is called a curse, do you understand? If a person lives under a curse, they will certainly be busy. Let us all consider this today. Are you busy or not? If you are very busy, something is wrong; it is almost like a curse. If you are so busy that you do not have time to attend the Lord’s Day service, the important thing is not the content of the service, but the determination of your heart. This time I set apart as holy; this time cannot be used for other purposes.

For example, the government gives you money for a specific purpose. If you divert it, is that not a crime? It is a crime! Right? That time is fixed; it is for that specific time, and then you divert it. Is that not being cursed? It will not end well. So, for the brothers and sisters among us today, if you do not like what I am saying, that is fine. I will still bless you; just go find a place that sounds more pleasing to you. Because what have I determined? It is that I cannot let anything steal time from the God I believe in.

If you do not observe the Passover when it is time, and then you observe it after it has passed, is that truly observing the Passover? Right? If you do not celebrate the Lunar New Year when it arrives, and then you celebrate the New Year on the Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day), are you celebrating a New Year for the dead? If you say Happy New Year! on Qingming Festival, will people not beat you? Right? So, with this matter, it is essential to understand the key to living, so you must know why you need to set things apart as holy. From the day I believed in the Lord, I have been like this: I said, God, I set this time apart as holy for You; no one can touch it. Then some people say to me, I have recently arranged this and arranged that; I must go!

I say, I arranged this long ago! I arranged this before the creation of the world, did you not know? When heaven and earth were still formless and void, I had already arranged it. Do not try to take this from me. There must be a first come, first served basis, right? Right? So, it is strange to compete for time with work. Our brothers and sisters here, your family will forgive you for working overtime. But if you work overtime to believe in the Lord, work overtime to study what it means to live, to know God, that is not acceptable. Do you not find that strange? How can you be so rigid? Later, I taught our brothers and sisters to answer with three words: I am willing; I like it. Can you control what I like? Just like you cannot control whether I like to eat durian. Just answer like that, and it will shut them up immediately.

You must understand the key to living; how wonderful it is to enter into blessing! Some people have many opinions about walking on the path of blessing. I have done an experiment: setting time apart as holy for God, you will absolutely not lose out. Do you believe it? It is up to you whether you believe it or not. Setting time apart as holy for God, it is absolutely worth it. It is just that people, in living, have concerns for this life. For example, going to school to get a degree; are you not concerned about whether you will pass or not? I did a very interesting experiment. At that time, I was promoting prayer meetings. You know that our church was not a praying church at first, but later it became a praying church. Once the prayer meetings were promoted, the Lord’s Day truly became the Lord’s Day! After the Lord’s Day service, there would be a prayer meeting, and then Bible study. Oh my goodness, the whole day would be eaten up completely, cleaned out.

As a result, some people really could not take it. On the Lord’s Day, as soon as I sang Amen? they would slip away. There was not even a chance to say hello to them. They did not want me to ask them if they were coming to the prayer meeting, they did not want to hear that; it made them uncomfortable. After a month, suddenly they stayed for prayer. I said, Why did you stay to pray? He said, Pastor, you must pray for me. I said, What is wrong? Why are you crying and distressed? He said, I failed my exam, he was a student. Could he really not have failed? If demons are with you, how can you do well on an exam? I said, Come, let us pray. Thank God! God heard my prayer, and although he failed, he passed again. After some time, another sister, who also used to slip away after the Lord’s Day service, also stayed to pray. I said, What are you doing? She said, Pastor, pray for me. I said, What failed this time? Something else failed. Oh my goodness, everything failed; everything that failed came to the prayer meeting!

Our church’s prayer meeting has a 100% attendance rate. One pastor said to me, Pastor Liu, if 20% of the church attends the prayer meeting, that means revival is coming. I said, Come on, even with 100% attendance, our church has not had revival! Oh, at that time, our understanding of revival was that many people meant it was good. So, I did research on this matter, and nothing was delayed. We prayed, the time was gone, but was anything delayed? Nothing was delayed! Later we had Bible study on Fridays, Bible study on Wednesdays, and everyone came! Later we had prayer meetings on Tuesdays, and everyone came as well! You know, a physical church is no joke; people come from far away by bus. One hour to get there, one hour back! I was worried, I said, Brothers and sisters, do not let this delay your work! Do not let this delay your studies! You still have to study part-time to get a degree! Do not fail in the end!

The brothers and sisters said, Pastor, it is not delayed. I said, This time has been eaten up, how could it not be delayed? I said, This time has been eaten up, how could it not be delayed? They said, It is not delayed. In fact, with God with you, what could be delayed? Nothing was delayed. So, if you give the concerns of this life to God, if you break the deception of wealth, and trust in God, you will lack no good thing. Today you must think carefully, especially if you are in sales; do your deals not come from God? If you are constantly worried and do not believe that God will help you, then how can you obtain it? So today we are talking about the worries of wealth, the deception of wealth, the concerns of this life, the anxieties of this life. It is the path that we, in the past, have tried, experimented with, and walked out in Chinese Mingding Destiny. You say that the business is not big enough; the big ones are the same; with big businesses, it is even harder to control. Ah, I am very emotional; many people do not know this law, do not know this blessed path; just walk slowly.

II. Scripture

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:18-23)

III. Prayer

God! Today, let Your word enter our hearts. God! Today, cast out the concerns of this life, the deception of wealth, so that we can become the good soil in Your eyes, so that Your word can bear fruit in us. God! Today, give us such fullness and wisdom, knowing that in You, all our needs are met. Today, we cast off all the worldly worries, the worldly anxieties, breaking the deception of wealth, so that we can bear fruit on this path of life. Let us live more and more like You, let us begin to build the foundation of our faith on the faith of Abraham, on the foundation of Jesus Christ, so that we can see that everything in this world is illusory, and only the glory in eternity is faithful. Open our minds, help us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

IV. Scripture Background

This passage in Matthew is particularly good. If you asked me, what project or task should this sister shepherd be given? It would be Matthew. Why Matthew? Because Matthew talks about two kingdoms, two sets of values, two logical systems. The most detestable thing is that people believe in the Lord, but they have not established a godly worldview. As a result, they hear the word of God, but they do not understand it. Instead, their minds are filled with the concerns of this life, worldly anxieties. Ah, this job, that boss; ah, this, that, and the other thing; troublesome! Why is it troublesome? Because these things lead to many problems.

Today, the illnesses of our brothers and sisters are closely related to these things. Even my own illnesses are closely related to these things. How many people think that living requires money? Almost everyone thinks that living requires money. But how many people think that living requires God, that God sustains you? It seems not many. I am very emotional. Why is it that when people work on a project, they become so neurotic? It is because they do not know the power of God; they do not know! Two systems. Jesus told a parable, and the background of this passage is very interesting. Earlier, the disciples asked, Teacher, why do you always speak in parables? Jesus’s response was very harsh. What did He say? He said, Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given to you to know, but not to them. If an ordinary person said that, would it not be bad? No, it is not bad. Those who seek will find.

Jesus told the parable of the sower earlier, and in chapter 13, verse 18, He comes to explain this parable. Why explain this parable? Because many disciples asked, Lord, what does this mean? Jesus explained some parables, but not others. So, it has been given to you to know, but not to them. Why do it this way? Because whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. What exactly is Jesus doing? Jesus is looking for treasure. Everyone must know what Jesus is doing. Jesus is not trying to force the gospel into your hands. If you do not understand a parable, if you do not understand, then forget it; get lost! Right? Get lost, just like that. Because this gospel is not cheap; it is priceless. Do not make this gospel so cheap that you have to force it on people. After you force it on them, they still hate you. If you want it, take it; if you do not want it, then forget it.

I tell you, we will also use some parables today. Those who can understand, listen. Those who do not understand, then forget it. Those who do not understand do not have that connection with Jesus. If you have a connection with people, but not with Jesus, it is useless. So, in this passage there is a sentence about the worries of this life, the deception of wealth, that is, people hear the word, and then they are choked by the worries of this life, the deception of wealth. Once it is choked there, the head is not big, it is like a walnut. They cannot figure it out, the head is like a 486 CPU, 386, 486, such an old CPU cannot load it. After calculating and calculating, they calculate Jesus out. Right? While calculating, they calculate the word of the kingdom of heaven into the hot pot. How can it be as good as eating mutton in a hot pot? It is not good. So it is troublesome, and as a result, they cannot bear fruit.

Everyone must know what happens if you cannot bear fruit. If you cannot bear fruit, you will be cut down and burned in the fire. In contrast, the seed sown on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Do you all understand these things? The disciples said, We understand. I am very emotional. Today, the worries of this life, the deception of wealth, these things are deep. You say, is it unjust that I serve those people, and they die? It is not unjust at all. Are they ignorant? They are the epitome of ignorance. They do not understand until death what money is for.

I am emotional. What I fear most are those critically ill patients; once I pray for them, they get better. Once they get better, something is wrong. Why? Because before, they were about to die, and money was useless. Why can money deceive people? Because they have to live. When they are about to die, the money is gone. When they live again, they have to make money again. So I often feel that it is better to be slow, do not rush, it is better to be slow. I say, Once they get better, they finally have the opportunity to love the world. So this matter is very interesting; I have proven one thing: as long as a person still wants to live, money is very important to them. As long as a person does not want to live, money is not important.

In Hong Kong, there is a person, one of the four great talents, named Chua Lam. Chua Lam is a very famous talent, very powerful. He dabbled in all sorts of pleasures, and was a playboy his whole life, without children. As a result, in his old age, a recent report said that he spent all his wealth. Why did he not spend all his wealth when he was young? When he was young, he managed his finances so carefully, but now he spends all his wealth. Why? Because he is about to die. There is no use for it, what is the point of keeping it? If you ask me, if I have money and I am about to die, who will I give it to? In fact, you are the same; who will you give it to? As soon as a person thinks about living, the deception of wealth comes. When they are about to die, the deception of wealth disappears. Do you have this feeling? So I want to say that Jesus’s parable is about the worries of this world, the deception of wealth. As long as a person values living too much, something is wrong! In fact, it is better for people to live a little easier.

As soon as a person wants to live, the worries of this world become heavy: what to eat, what to drink. But can money solve people’s problems? People who have no money do not know. If you have never had money, you do not know. Do people who have had money know? Some people who have had money know, but some do not know. So sometimes those billionaires say something, and we still nitpick, feeling that they are talking idly. In fact, it is not; they are telling the truth. After having money, they realize that some things cannot be done, right? First of all, it cannot buy happiness, and secondly, it cannot solve cancer. Furthermore, many problems cannot be solved, and many problems are created, so isn’t it very difficult?

Today I tell you, who can? God can! That is what I think; God can solve all my problems. The path I am walking today is not nonsense; it is really like this. You must try it; how can you know if you do not experiment? It also proves that God is effective. How is it proven? He is our provider, so we will not lack in life. He is our healer, so we will not be tormented by disease in life. He is our strength, so we will have strength in life. He is our wisdom, so we will have wisdom in life, how wonderful! He is all that we need! Do you understand?

What did Jesus say? He said, Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. This is the logic of the kingdom of God. There are two logical systems in this world, one is the logic of this life, and the other is the logic of eternal life; one is the logic of the kingdom of God, and the other is the logic of the earthly kingdom.

So, some people tell me they don't believe in eternal life. What are you here for then? I pray God has mercy on you, lets you experience something, so you know about eternal life. Actually, this life is vanity of vanities. If you come seeking things of this life, aren't you just making trouble for yourself? God doesn't like that. So, I want to tell everyone that worrying about this life is unnecessary. If you owe money, God can still provide for you. It's a hole you dug yourself, anyway you cannot manage it. You can't control when you are born or when you die. Like one of our brothers before, his wife was pregnant and cried for three days. I said, Why are you crying? Like your mother died. He said, It's not my mother or father who died, it's that my wife is pregnant. I said, Why are you crying if she's pregnant? No money to raise the child. I said, Hey, God will provide! He was comforted. Now the child is already in school.

So, I say God provides for you, what are you worried about? Is it work that provides for you, or God? You must know. If you think you live by work, you are ruined, that's definitely a curse. If you live by God, then you must please God, and we must make decisions that please God. Many of our co-workers back then would come to serve the church after work. They served so diligently, and their work wasn't delayed at all, nothing happened. Can't God handle this little thing? The things in people, if they are not of God, it's useless to hear the word.

V. The Word of God is Like a Seed

The Word of God is like a seed, why not like a grain of rice? Because a grain of rice is dead, but this seed will grow. It will bear fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold, thirtyfold. Right? The Word of God is like a seed, it is alive, it can give people life. That is the way of life, that is the way of eternal life. You bear the fruit of life, the meaning of life is not about worrying, anxiety, concern, or even panic. Just give yourself the name Little Worry, and you'll have all the worries for a lifetime. People bear the fruit of life like the appearance of life, like the appearance of God. Full of creativity, full of wisdom, full of ability, how great is that! But not everyone who hears it bears fruit, some bear fruit, some do not.

I say this is the way of blessing, Hey, my work is more real, then just work hard. Blessings sometimes work, sometimes don't; it works for some people, doesn't work for others. But it always works for those it works for, and it never works for those it doesn't. Why? Because of what we believe in our hearts, we have many worries of this life in our hearts, for example, worrying about your work, then work gives you a lot of pressure, but can you really solve the pressure by pouring time into it? It's really useless. So Chinese Mingding Destiny has a great discovery, this great discovery is: once you trust in God well, you will lack no good thing. This is the experiment we have done before, actually you know it.

You pour time into it, love God well, what is that? What you pour is life. Life is time, time is life. Right? You dedicate your life to God, what time can't you dedicate? So sometimes people just don't believe. So people, sometimes, just don't believe. So what to do if they don't believe? If they don't believe, they won't bear fruit. They believe in the worries of this age, of this life, they believe in the deceitfulness of wealth. Understand? God is so gracious to you. How is God gracious to you? Once God is gracious to you, the first thing you put down is God. Isn't that fatal? Similar to the Israelites. So, this great discovery of Chinese Mingding Destiny is actually not accepted by many people, not believed by many people. These things we say, such ironclad truths, but many people don't believe. Actually, that is the word of God. If people don't believe, they believe in the worries of the world, then good luck to you.

VI. That Which Was Sown on the Good Ground Bears Fruit, a Hundredfold, Sixtyfold, Thirtyfold

Do you know why it works? If people believe, how could they not have fruit? How could there not be a thirtyfold, sixtyfold, hundredfold return? I tell you, investing in anything is not as good as investing in the kingdom of God. I am sure of this, not because I am a preacher, that's why I am sure. I was sure when I was an ordinary member. So be thirsty, thirst for the word of God, thirst to know God. Put God first, serve Him alone. I tell you, no matter how busy you are. When cancer comes, you are not busy anymore. Why is it not busy anymore when cancer comes? Because cancer wants your life. Is cancer more important or work more important? Neither is too important, loving God is most important, serving Him alone. So, what does it mean that work cannot be put down? It's all lies, all lies. You can put it down, it's just that you don't want to put it down.

So today we must begin to recognize the truth of the kingdom of God, recognize that the word of God is the way of life. Who else shall we follow besides the way of life? This is nothing else, this is the word of God, this cannot be compromised. You will not lack in your life, do you believe? Believe in the Lord well, you will not lack in your life. Will you lack if you invest in the kingdom of God? You will not lack in your life. You will have satisfying joy in your life; you will have wisdom from heaven in your life; you will live out the glorious image of God in your life; you will have health in your life, you will be full of grace from heaven in your life. Right? The word of God, the word of God is the key to solving problems.

Until today, I tell you, if you rely on work, God can give you what work cannot give you. God can also give you what work can give you, God can also give you what business can give you, God can also give you what business cannot give you. It depends on whether you have the destiny to make this smart choice. Birth, old age, sickness, and death are all controlled by God, not only this life, but also the afterlife is transcended. This is our God. Some people say, you are too absolute. Truth cannot be compromised, truth is absolute. One plus one cannot equal two, it also equals three, also equals four, also equals five. Did you hear? When does one plus one equal three? Some people say it never equals three. Wrong, one plus one equals three when you calculate wrong. Understand? When does one plus one not equal two? It doesn't equal two when you calculate wrong, it definitely equals two when it's correct. It won't equal two point five for a while, and one point five for a while.

So this is God's truth, truth cannot be compromised, truth is exclusive. So today we sow on good soil, we mix that faith with the word of God, you will definitely bear fruit. You got what you believed in the past, can't you believe a little more? Is there a problem with believing a little more? No problem. It's just that we are deceived when we see the difficulties before our eyes. But after being deceived, how can it get better? How can the deceived get better? How can you get better if you are deceived by a ghost?

VII. That Which Was Sown Among Thorns Cannot Bear Fruit

He heard the word of God, sown among thorns. Why? As soon as he sees the worries of the world, the anxieties of the world. Alas, my work, my children, my business, my what, my this, that, it's over, then it's over. And then add the deceitfulness of wealth, because doing this makes money, doing that makes money. Can believing in the Lord be eaten? Look at what he said. As a result, after hearing the word of God, he grazed by the word of God, grazed by the treasure of God. Isn't this the girl in Shanghai, from CICC, a thirty-year-old child. An annual salary of one million cuts the salary to 350,000 and jumps off the building to commit suicide. Can money change life? Money cannot change life, but she lives for money. She lives for money, so if the money is gone, it's over.

Actually, I tell you, don't put a noose around your neck. These are two sets of logical systems, are you in the logical system of this life or the logical system of eternal life? If you bring the logical system of this life, you will definitely be firmly trapped by this thing of money. So people's lives are squeezed by these things. This brain shell is like a peanut, like a walnut kernel. It can't hold so many things, it's all filled with the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. What about the way of eternal life? He threw the way of eternal life into the trash can. He threw the treasure into the trash can, but took in those trash. Because the head is like a walnut kernel, so the problem is here.

Sometimes I ask, I said, is Esau living well? Teacher, I don't know. You really don't know? Can you live well in a curse? He doesn't believe it, he thinks, look how rich Esau is. Is it good to be rich? Was Cao Cao living well? I don't know, I don't know him. He retorted me, he also used my trick, I don't know him. He didn't live well. A lot of money? Believing in money, relying on money but not being able to solve problems, just a deception. How can that be good?

I know a friend, a businessman. Very rich, but he can't solve his silly son. Right, how do you deal with a silly son? It looks hopeless, eating a few hundred pounds of fat man. Isn't that hopeless? So you have to use other things to fill it, a deception. Isn't there a person who originally wanted to work hard to acquire Apple, but lost 600 million. He began to desperately make money to pay back these 600 million, and now he has paid back 400 million. He desperately works, and he takes any order. He also accepts funerals, and tells stand-up comedy at funerals. It's so miserable, he is tightly bound by money, and he is busy enough. It is not certain that the remaining 200 million can be paid back, because it is not certain whether the person is still there. His creditors often send messages, are you still there? One day he had diarrhea and was hospitalized, which scared the creditors. The creditor said, are you still there? He said I am still there. Just afraid that he will die. In fact, money can't stop it. Still there, but still bound by money. I tell you, it is difficult for this person to listen to the word of God after being squeezed to death by thorns, very difficult. How is it possible to bear the fruit of life, can only bear 600 million debts.

VIII. Learn from the Israelites

The most famous thing about the Israelites is living a small life. Because of living a life, they were deceived by the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. It's so much trouble to serve God. Offering sacrifices, offering the lame and sick to God. Keeping the good ones, why? Save money, and as a result, the curse is very deep. The money is collected in a leaking money bag, originally very good, collected over. Seeing that the land can produce ten dou of wheat, but only five dou are actually harvested. After being collected at home, only two dou are left in the granary. Blown away by God, isn't it easy for God to blow it away? Right? God became an extra burden to them, so how troublesome it is to serve God, how annoying it is. Because what? God affects their money-making, this is the deceitfulness of wealth.

Cutting off people's wealth is like killing their parents! Did God cut off their wealth? No. So people will struggle between money and the kingdom of God, bitter. Then when they get busy, they put God aside, and when they get busy, they put serving in third place. Today, look at it from a distance, learn from history. Knowing that it is the road to national destruction and ruin. In the face of money and God, money can never be compared with God. Some people think money is so important that they come to church and hope that God can help them make money. God doesn't care about this, what God cares about is gaining people more than gaining money. Understand? So these are life-threatening things.

IX. Know That God Feeds Us

Why is it not easy for people to be deceived by wealth, because they know that God feeds us. You have experienced a lot, have you experienced it? Experienced. But after people experience it, they think it is the result of their own efforts. Today, I tell you, if you are a businessman, thinking that every penny you earn is earned by your hard work, it is not. Every penny of yours depends on the government's policies, and we Christians depend on the policies of the kingdom of God. We must know this, if you don't know, won't you burp your fart? Many people think that every penny is earned by my hard work. If the government wants you to burp your fart, you will definitely burp your fart. Right?

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26)

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (Matthew 6:30)

Make a smart choice between the two systems. Why do people have the deceitfulness of wealth and the worries of the world? Because people rely on money, rely on their own hands. People are not raised by money, but by God. This is a narrow road, this is a narrow gate. Believing that God can solve all our problems, that is life-threatening. The birds of the sky neither sow nor reap, yet God feeds them, let alone us. The flowers of the field, which will be thrown into the fire tomorrow, God still gives them such beautiful clothes. God feeds you, have you established this concept today? Establish such a relationship of trust with God, I tell you, God will surely feed you, until you see God's face. God will surely feed you, not by your own hands, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

So this word is so well said, aren't you more valuable than the birds? Can't God feed you? I tell you, this sentence gives me great encouragement. Once I encountered a mid-life crisis, many worries, many mortgages. In fact, my financial management is very conservative, but paying off those three mortgages is also life-threatening, because I was unemployed. Thank God, God fed us, and we lacked nothing. Did you lack? Not lacking. Today, if you lack, it is because you lack in your heart, you lack in faith. Is there a lack of happy things? Not lacking. Satisfied? Satisfied. Joyful? Joyful. Healthy? Healthy. God is my supply; God is my eternal life; God is my glory; God is my only one; God is my everything. Today, if you recognize this, come with me to walk this road of eternal life. It is full of God's glory, what a wonderful choice!

Let's sing a hymn and prepare to collect today's offering. If you don't understand the meaning of offering, please don't offer. If you feel bad after offering, I feel uncomfortable looking at you, and God feels uncomfortable looking at you. Because the things you offer are like ghost money, don't defile God's money bag, don't defile God's temple. You must understand the meaning of offering before offering, today it is not offering money, not offering a tenth, but offering life. Offer all of yourself, because God doesn't need your money too much, God wants to bless you. If you don't recognize Jesus Christ as your life, don't recognize God as your everything, what is the meaning of offering? It's like money is real gold and silver, no! God is! All those who offer have no regrets, because they have all received grace. If people don't believe in God, what are you offering for? Actually, I am very stingy to give you the qualifications to offer.

Shall we raise our hands together to pray today: God, I am willing to offer myself as a living sacrifice to you. God, may you have mercy on me and be gracious to me; let me not be deceived by the wealth of the world; let me come out of the worries of this world; let me trust you until I know for sure that you feed us. You give us the breath of life, let us lack nothing in our lives. God, let us run forward in this life with such faith. Until we see your glorious face and receive your praise. God, see, I am willing to offer my life as a living sacrifice, may you accept me. This is holy, it is pleasing to you, my offering is a matter of course, Amen!

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen!