Retrospective:

Last week, the pastor spoke about being liberated from fear. Freedom is what God desires for His people, no matter what. To set people free, our God did not hesitate to give us His only begotten Son. When I first believed in the Lord, I could not understand why they had to nail the Lord Jesus to the cross. No matter how I read the Four Gospels, I could not discern what Jesus had done wrong to deserve such hatred, to be crucified! It was not until later, when serving God, that I slowly began to understand. We diligently serve God, serving those in need. We pay the price to pray for everyone, we dedicate time to solve problems in people's lives, but the result is often people's disgust.

While preparing the manuscript, I remembered a story from my childhood. I was the king of the kids, and all the children on the street loved to follow me. I wonder how many people have played card games in their childhood. It's like I have a card in hand, and the other person has a card in hand, and whoever can knock over the other person's card with their own card can get the other person's card. I remember that one day, I played from morning till night. I won everyone, and the whole process was very interesting. Many people lost all the cards in their hands, and seeing them frustrated and unwilling to lose like that, they went to spend money to buy new cards, until they lost all their money and had no choice but to give up. That day, I won a lot. I saw many people's eyes filled with tears, and these tears were filled with many thoughts, such as, this person is so annoying, how could he win so much. Oh, I've spent all my money, how will I explain it to my parents when I get home?

After the incident, I did something very creative. Because I won so much, the cards could only be wrapped in a large plastic bag. When I turned around, I threw the whole plastic bag on the ground and said, Take your cards back! After this incident, I received a surprising message: they were no longer willing to play with me. And they hated me because I was a domineering and arrogant person.

When I thought of such a story, I found it very interesting. In fact, I enjoyed the whole process, enjoying the process of winning, and enjoying the dashing feeling of returning the cards to them. I think CW brother can often feel this feeling. But the whole process is that other children did not actually lose anything, but losing the cards was painful, and taking the cards back was also painful.

Later, I understood why many people wanted to crucify Jesus. Jesus is free, but those who want to crucify Jesus are people in bondage. Some people are slaves to politics, some people are slaves to religion, and some people are slaves to politics. A slave's mentality makes it impossible to enjoy freedom, and the pain brought by a slave's mentality has nothing to do with the environment.

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 28:47-48, Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, please let us be content in whatever situation we are in. Let us know that no matter what scenery we are in, the purpose of our lives is to serve God.

The manifestation of a slave mentality is complaining.

The complaints of the Israelites

There is one thing that I often cannot understand. That is, why did the Israelites in the wilderness often complain to God? Later, I discovered that it was because the Israelites in the wilderness at that time had a slave mentality. And the essence of a slave mentality is unbelief.

Let's look at the description in the Bible. In Exodus 3:7-10, the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me; and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

God saw the suffering of the Israelites in Egypt. God had compassion on His people and resolved to bring His people out of the land of Egypt. But it was this group of Israelites who often complained to God in the wilderness, Are there no graves for us in Egypt? This is what the Israelites often said. When there was no meat to eat, they thought that God would starve them to death; when there was no water to drink, they thought that God would make them die of thirst; when they encountered battles, they thought that God would kill them with the swords of others. But they just did not believe that God loved them, they just did not believe that God provided for them, they just did not believe that God would save them.

Can we imagine? God used 10 miracles in the land of Egypt to save the Israelites, opened the Red Sea, and provided manna. But when they encountered problems, the Israelites still did not believe.

Complaints in the church

Such complaints are also often heard in the church. Just this morning, a member of one of our pastoral districts thought that the way her group leader and district pastor served was without love, and even began to teach her group leader and district pastor how to serve. Do you know what the result was? This member was directly expelled from the pastoral district and the church's gathering group. Later, this sister repented, and we added her back. I want to ask everyone, what is love? What is giving? Do you think that saying a few nice words is love? Just last night, PL led many brothers and sisters in the entire pastoral district to serve until 4 o'clock in the morning.

It turns out that complaining is a manifestation of a slave mentality. A person with a slave mentality likes to complain in any environment. They complain in the land of Egypt, and they still complain after leaving the land of Egypt; they complain when there is meat to eat, and they still complain when there is no meat to eat; they complain when there is water to drink, and they still complain when there is no water to drink; they complain when they win battles, and they still complain when they encounter enemies they dare not fight.

A Servile Mindset Leads to Oppression

The Oppression of the Israelites

Exodus 6:6-9: Therefore say to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’

Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh labor.

It astonishes me that the Israelites could not receive such wonderful words. It is evident that a servile mindset keeps one trapped in suffering, preferring to remain in distress rather than break free.

Oppression Among Many in the Church

Later, I observed similar occurrences frequently within the church...

The Weak Faith of the Israelites

The Lord God gave the Israelites Moses, the most outstanding leader, yet they often sought to kill him. The Lord God performed the most breathtaking miracles for the Israelites, yet they failed to rely on God in times of trouble. The Lord God gave the Israelites the finest law in the world, yet this very law became a source of oppression for them, as the legalistic experts, those who exalted the law and based their faith on works, sought to crucify the Lord Jesus.

All these issues point to a single root cause: unbelief.

Those Weak in Faith in the Church

Having served God for a long time, one discovers that those weak in faith are very difficult to minister to...

God's Work of Breaking Down the Flesh in the Church

Recently, God has initiated another wave of breaking down the flesh in the church, a work that has left me astounded, even beyond my comprehension. Yesterday, Sister L娟 was suffering excruciating neck pain, and she was unable to reach her leader. She was delivering food at the time, enduring agonizing pain that made her feel as if her neck was about to break. Unable to bear it any longer, she began to pray aloud on the road. Passersby stared at her, but she paid no heed. As a result, her neck was released.

The key point I wish to emphasize is that the customer was repeatedly calling L娟, as the delivery was promised for 3 p.m., but it was already almost 5 p.m. Yet, L娟 showed no signs of complaint. She did not complain that her leader had not answered the call or prayed for her. Instead, she resolved to deliver the food to the customer, no matter if it was 5, 6, or 7 p.m.

Later that evening, L娟 joined the brothers and sisters of the pastoral district in praying for a seriously ill patient until 4 a.m. To my surprise, Sister 爱霖, whom I had always considered to be indulgent, also stayed and prayed until that hour. I used to think that if that leader