The Mingding Destiny of a good shepherd is the Lord Jesus. Each of us comes into this world, but what are we to do in this world? If it is not clear, one’s life will be very chaotic. When reading the Bible, one must relate it to oneself. If after reading it, you know that the Lord Jesus is the good shepherd, and Jesus laid down His life for the sheep, but what does it have to do with you? Originally, the Bible is written for you and me.

Questions for Reflection

• As a Christian, do you know what Mingding Destiny is?

• If someone you shepherd encounters a problem and finds you in the middle of the night, is your phone turned off? What would you do?

• Do you agree that a good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep? How would you do it?

• What are the three categories of Christian life? Which one do you aspire to be? How do you go about it?

The Mingding Destiny of Jesus is Your Mingding Destiny and Mine

The Lord Jesus is a good shepherd, and you must also be a good shepherd. That is the Mingding Destiny of the Lord Jesus, and it is also your Mingding Destiny. A good shepherd is a common Mingding Destiny for you and me. Therefore, in shepherding work, we must emulate the Lord Jesus, and then your sheep will follow you. If you are a hired hand, your sheep will certainly not follow you. The Mingding Destiny of the Lord Jesus is to be a good shepherd; a good shepherd comes into the world to do one thing: to give the sheep life, and to give it more abundantly. The Lord Jesus came to give Himself, to lay down His life; He has set an example for us.

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:24)

The Bible is consistent. From Abraham, who pioneered a life of Mingding Destiny, to Isaac and Jacob, it has been passed down continuously, all the way to Jesus. They all knew what they came into the world to do. In Genesis 38, Tamar dressed as a prostitute and made Judah sleep with her, and then gave birth to a son, Perez—an ancestor of Jesus. Even so, the Mingding Destiny had to be fulfilled.

Therefore, in the genealogy in Matthew chapter 1, it is recorded that Judah fathered Perez by Tamar. Why is Tamar recorded? Because she had faith and Mingding Destiny. So brothers and sisters, we do not need to invent any Mingding Destiny. The Mingding Destiny of Jesus Christ is our Mingding Destiny, and the Mingding Destiny of Abraham is our Mingding Destiny.

Mingding Destiny and Blessing

I have discovered why some people are willing to emulate me and pay the price with me to shepherd the sheep that God has given them, and their shepherding is also very effective, because they have Mingding Destiny within them. I was born for this, I came into this world for this. I came so that my life would be a blessing to all nations and peoples. This is the purpose of my life, so they will not see paying the price as a difficulty. But some people can only pay the price to a certain extent and are unwilling to do more, because they have no Mingding Destiny. Such people ultimately fall into hell.

God has written the paths of blessing and cursing in the Bible . If you have Mingding Destiny, you will certainly enter into blessing. If you are living a small life, you will directly enter into cursing. Esau is a representative of living a small life, while Jacob is a person with Mingding Destiny. If you are Jacob, God will give you the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth.

But if you live a small life, what awaits you is that the dew of heaven will not be yours, and the fatness of the earth will not be your dwelling place. Why do people who live small lives not choose life? Why choose destruction? Why be enemies with God? Why not emulate the Lord Jesus and be a good shepherd? Today I challenge you, can you be like Jesus?

You may say that it is Jesus. No! The Bible is not written about Jesus, but it is written about a template for us to emulate the Lord Jesus. This is a blessed path, an extremely abundant path. If I can heal depression, heal schizophrenia, make the blind see, and the lame walk, if I can perform these miracles, what is inside me? There must be treasure. This treasure is emulating Jesus, taking on the Mingding Destiny of this era, and God is with such people.

The One Who Enters Through the Gate is the Good Shepherd

Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. (John 10:1-3)

This passage speaks of the one who enters through the gate as the shepherd of the sheep. The Lord Jesus never acted secretly, but openly did things that blessed people. We also act openly and become a blessing to all nations and peoples.

The Good Shepherd Always Goes Ahead

When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. (John 10:4)

To be a good shepherd, one must go ahead. In our church, I will never say that I have a prayer team; we don't have one. The word intercession is very bad, and I rarely preach messages on intercession. I don't need to pray for you; you must become a person of prayer. I don't need you to pray for me either; I must become a person of prayer.

If there is danger ahead, shouldn't the shepherd go ahead instead of letting the sheep go ahead? If the pastor you are following is going ahead, you are following the right one. He emulates Jesus, and you emulate him. In our church, district pastors emulate me, and group leaders emulate district pastors, and small family leaders emulate group leaders. Our brothers and sisters follow up layer by layer like this. After following up, you will find that a life of Mingding Destiny is extremely abundant, and every brother and sister receives blessing and release.

Mingding Destiny Enables Sheep to Have Abundant Life

Mingding Destiny enables sheep to have abundant life. This began with Abraham, who was to be a blessing to all nations and peoples on earth. Our Lord Jesus came into the world, and God destined this to be accomplished from ages ago, to pioneer a life of Mingding Destiny. Then He chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Why were these people chosen and not Ishmael and Esau? Because Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all had Mingding Destiny, they longed to be a blessing to all people, not to just have their bellies full.

In our lives, we must possess one thing, which is to please God. This is Mingding Destiny. If you don't have it, you can't possibly live well because you don't have God's presence, and you don't have Mingding Destiny on you. God rejects such people. Why do some people come to church? To get a raise, to be healed, to be blessed, to get benefits, etc. Then what? How do you make your life meaningful?

If you can't see through life, I'll tell you. I explored this when I was 18 years old. Although I studied very well and got into a famous university, so what? I found that what I got didn't feel good to me until I got Mingding Destiny, and then it was completely different. Originally, my life could be a blessing to many people, which is the meaning of life. When I can live for the Lord Jesus, I find that my good is not apart from God.

The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for the Sheep

When you have Mingding Destiny, serving, even at the cost of your life, is worthwhile. This is the good shepherd laying down his life for the sheep! If you are a good shepherd, your life will be fulfilling and meaningful! Why do people listen to God's words? Because listening to God is key to a person's life.

We originally did not know how to live, but God tells us how to live. God also tells us that you must know why you live in order to live well.

When we, as good shepherds, lay down our lives for the sheep, many people do not understand. They wonder why we do this and find it tiring! But I do not find it tiring. I am not tired when doing what I love. Some people play video games or mahjong all night long. Are they tired? No, because they live for it.

The purpose for which a person lives is what they will pay the price for! If we live to be a blessing to all nations, we will pay the price to serve, and naturally have God's image and presence! We will become someone through whom God works miracles!

Among us, those who voluntarily offer their time and lay down their lives to serve—what is this? This is Mingding Destiny! Why can some get up before dawn to prepare for college exams, but not to serve God? Because they think taking college entrance exams is essential. They think college is their Mingding Destiny. But I believe serving God is essential! Being a blessing to this generation is essential! This is my Mingding Destiny!

When we read the Old Testament and see Isaac bound on the firewood, about to be burned as a sacrifice, was Isaac willing? How could the elderly Abraham overpower a young man? Isaac himself carried the wood to the mountain and bound himself to the wood. He voluntarily gave himself up.

You know that is Mingding Destiny! Isaac was a man of Mingding Destiny, willing to offer himself to God, so God greatly blessed Isaac. God was with Isaac throughout his life, and everything he did prospered. So you must become a person of Mingding Destiny! If you live just to live, without a Mingding Destiny, you cannot prosper. God hates such people and places a curse on them.

If people preach the wrong gospel, they will be cursed. If people believe the wrong gospel, they will also be cursed! The Bible says to offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God. Whatever you withhold from God belongs to the world and will be corrupted. So, brothers and sisters, willingly and completely dedicate yourselves to God, like Isaac. Then your life cannot but be abundant!

If we are His sheep, we will hear His voice. If we hear His voice, we will live according to His commands. This is a very abundant path. Although it looks crazy in the eyes of others and is not understood by family members, it will never affect our love for God, because they do not understand that we have a Mingding Destiny value system within us.

There are two kinds of value systems: one is to protect one's own life in order to preserve it; the other is to lay down one's own life in order to preserve it. Which is more effective? Our value system, even if it does not conform to human logic, even if it is slandered, will never retreat.

Our Relationship with God

Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. (John 10:25-26)

What miracles Jesus performed! So brothers and sisters must know that these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on the sick, and they will get well. (Mark 16:17)

I am deeply moved. Although I cannot see God, I feel that wherever I go, God's blessing is with me. It is truly wonderful. Outwardly, I may seem unremarkable, but inside I carry God's treasure. If the Heavenly Father is with us, what could be better? God's Spirit dwells in us, and we dwell in God's Spirit. We become sons of God and understand the Father's will.

There are three categories of Christian life. The first and most basic is the servant, where the relationship with the Heavenly Father is that of master and servant. The second is friend, where we become friends with God, and God constantly reveals to us what He is doing and does it with us. The third and most beautiful is to be elevated to the status of a son of God, where the Heavenly Father's will is completely in our hearts, and we are completely one with God.

This is the heart of our Lord Jesus, the heart of a son, not a servant. He clearly knew the Heavenly Father's will to be a good shepherd, and He came into the world to be a good shepherd for us. Therefore, today, if you want to be a son of God, follow Jesus' example, because this era desperately needs good shepherds! God does not need hired hands; God needs you to have that heart, to be willing to offer yourself to serve God. Having this heart determines whether you will imitate Jesus or imitate the world.