Introduction

Good morning, everyone. Let's turn to 1 Samuel, chapter 31. This chapter records the tragic end of Saul. If you ask me what the theme of this chapter is, I can't find a better phrase than the tragic end of Saul. It seems most fitting.

Learning a Lesson from Saul's Life

Let's briefly recap. If Saul had truly known this would be his end, would he have acted differently? But even in hindsight, many remain confused even on the brink of death, failing to grasp that they will one day die. Some, with only six hours to live, are still counting money. They are on the verge of death, yet they haggle over five sacks of wheat or squabble with their siblings over money.

Cancer patients know they will eventually die. And even we are not far from death. If a person lives a lifetime without realizing we all face death one day, it is a grave matter. Who will use your bank savings then? The house, though on a permanent lease, who will inherit it?

We must learn a lesson from Saul. How did Saul live his life? As a young man, he tended his father's donkeys. One day, the donkeys strayed, and he searched everywhere. Finding the donkeys became his primary goal. He eventually found Samuel, hoping for a divination to locate the donkeys. When Saul found Samuel, God told Samuel that Saul was the king He had chosen.

How did this windfall fall upon Saul? Being king sounds good, but how to rule requires much wisdom. Do not assume being made king is a blessing; it became Saul's snare, not a cake but a trap. We thank the author of 1 Samuel for this lesson. Saul, severely wounded in battle, sought to kill himself, but lacked the strength even to fall on his sword, and asked another to kill him. His sons and armor-bearers also died. Saul was a leader, at least his men were willing to die with him.

Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together. (1 Samuel 31:1-6)

Saul was chosen as king after finding Samuel while searching for donkeys. God was with him, and the Spirit poured upon him, enabling him to prophesy. God did what He needed to do in Saul's life. Yet the kingship became Saul's snare because he did not know it came from God, assuming it fell from the sky. Saul did not know God desires obedience to His word, not sacrifices. Seeking God ensures that all goes well.

But Saul valued the kingship more than God. He worried about losing his people during battle, not realizing God could grant victory even if only he remained. He lacked faith in God. Moreover, God wanted Saul to destroy the Amalekites, giving him an opportunity to prove himself. However, Saul feared the people and became psychologically troubled, acting erratically. He spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, against God's command, marking the beginning of a tragedy.

As a pastor, I walk on thin ice daily, constantly fearing that I might disobey God and lose His presence. I learned this from Saul's negative example. I do not spare God's enemies as Saul did, nor do I fear the people. To build a church that pleases God, I must act accordingly. God rejected Saul and raised David. If Saul had then repented and passed the kingship to David, his son-in-law, knowing David was more in line with God’s will, this tragic end could have been avoided.

Saul had many opportunities to repent, as people have many chances in life. At any moment a proper repentance and recognition of reality could have allowed room for change. Remember that one day we will completely leave this world. The throne and kingdom will remain, but we will not. Reflect often on whether you are like King Saul. Some often seek my prayers for their work and business, because they care only about these things.

I once heard an old pastor say that Saul, with the best son Jonathan, the best son-in-law David, and the best prophet Samuel, ruined a good hand because he did not know God and understand God’s importance. We are often puzzled why Saul, God’s people, could be defeated by the Philistines. But God handed them over.

Conversely, David faced great challenges under the Philistine king Achish, tasked to fight against Israel. Yet God helped David escape the predicament and return to Ziklag. There, he found his family captured by the Amalekites, and his men threatened to stone him. Still, David obtained God’s promise and reversed his situation. We can learn a lot from David, and use Saul's negative examples as a warning. Saul consulted a medium because God and the prophets ignored him. That feeling is terrible; life is unbearable without God.

When David pursued the Amalekites, some said they were too tired to fight, but David didn't care. He defeated the Amalekites, bringing back the spoils and sharing them with those who stayed behind to guard the supplies. David knew victory came from God's will and action, not his ability. So he distributed the spoils to God's people, everyone receiving a share. He wasn't worried that everyone would become lazy and unwilling to go to battle. David believed God could send His angels and heavenly host to fight for us. This is the difference between David and Saul.

Saul pursued David for thirteen years, sending soldiers to hunt him down at every report. Crucially, Saul suffered from a mental illness. Without medication at that time, his life was difficult. David had previously soothed him by playing the harp, but Saul drove David away, fearing David would usurp his throne. David had opportunities to kill Saul but spared him; Saul forgot David's kindness.

If I were Saul, I would have immediately sent for David, making him king of Israel. I mean that it's never too late to change one's mind. Unfortunately, Saul went to pursue David a second time, and David still did not kill him. If Saul had recognized that David was his son-in-law and that Jehovah God had anointed David king of Israel, it would have been timely to bring David back. He could then have retired at home, perhaps forming an advisory committee and becoming its chairman. Since David could kill tens of thousands, he should be allowed to fight on the battlefield, while Saul, who could only kill thousands, should relinquish this hard task and stay home to enjoy his twilight years!

China has many stories of abdication, suggesting it is never too late to repent. But Saul insisted on his course, believing he could live forever and pass his throne to his son. Saul thought the throne was valuable; in fact, it was a snare, worthless. I often do this when ministering to and sending off people: I pray for them, commanding the spirit of death to leave, and then, turning away so they can't hear, I say, God, take them home.

Don't think I wouldn't do that; I do it for myself too. God, take me away quickly. I treat myself as I treat you. You must understand. I treat others as I want to be treated. You can't argue with my reasoning because I teach according to God’s word.

Never Lose the Presence of God

Never lose the presence of God; losing God's presence is life's greatest tragedy. If you have experienced God and then lost Him, it is truly a tragedy of tragedies. Especially when God's anointing and Spirit have descended upon you, urging you to obey Him and revealing God's great power, yet you insist on losing His presence. Know that nothing surpasses God. People like David seek only the presence of God. His situation, navigating between the Philistines and Israelites, was precarious.

David became a traitor by going to the Philistine king Achish. Being a traitor or puppet is difficult, but God repeatedly turned dangerous situations into safe ones. Brothers and sisters, know that God’s presence is infinitely precious. Never lose it. I often worry about believers. Some are skilled at discerning good and evil, being critical, and quibbling over petty matters, but become insignificant when prioritizing God's presence.

If Saul had known that God was the God who gives him victory, he would not need to fear the people. When fighting a battle, he would have no need to carry around the Arc of Covenant, or decide under which circumstances one can or can not eat. All these are complete nonsense. Possessing the appearance of godliness but lacking its true essence, being full of empty religious rituals is useless. Saul also decreed that no one could consult mediums; anyone doing so would be killed. He seemed zealous, catching this heretic and that heretic, not realizing he had lost God's presence.

This generation is the same. If God were truly with these people, how could their prayers go unanswered? 1 Samuel shows us the preciousness of God's presence, the importance of being God’s faithful servant, and a focus on God’s presence in all one does. Religiosity is useless. In fact, God gives everyone the same things. The anointing that is poured out on you and me is the same, but whether or not we each make the same decision is up to us. Who knows if I will make the same decision as Saul, noone knows if your choice will be similar to David's. So I constantly remind myself not to be Saul. I would rather be Lao Tzu then Saul, and if god's presence is lost, I would might as well be Lao Tzu and at least be refining some pills do eat.

God pours out on everyone the same, and His commands, written in plain words in the Bible, are available for all to read in the same holy book. Have you noticed that those educated in Chinese Mingding Destiny theology always want to read God’s mind when reading His Word? Whereas others online, if they want to nitpick and find fault when reading and researching the Bible, they can find a lot to pick on. I'm not exaggerating, even at your current level you can find many problems.

We must know that God gives everyone the same, whether you read the Chinese Union Version or NIV, it is the same as what I read. But after it enters people’s minds, each person’s understanding is different, which is strange. Until today, the corruption in Christianity keeps spreading, but the problems I mention are only the tip of the iceberg. Although they occasionally win battles and drive out the Philistines, they ultimately do not prevail. Like King Saul, who spent his life in battle, conquering east and west, who worked very hard, but in the end could not escape God’s judgment and met a tragic end, the reason being that he didn’t diligently follow the word of God.

Those who habitually criticised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph felt themselves to be more pleasing to God than them. Who knows if such self-righteousness is not a prelude to tragedy? Do not think that attending prayer meetings, or even becoming a pastor, amounts to much. It is of no use. Saul was, in the eyes of men, still the king appointed by God, yet it availed him naught. Everyone must be careful not to lose God's presence, and not to pity God's enemies. God's enemies are not merely named Amalek. The Amalekites were descendants of Esau. Esau was Jacob's own brother. Originally, they were relatives, so how then did the Amalekites become God's enemies, and why did God want to utterly destroy them? It was because they indulged in the flesh! To be carnally minded is inherently to be at enmity with God.

Do you all feel that the current church is indulging the flesh quite a lot? They still self-righteously believe that this is evangelism to save the world. Does the Bible say so? If only these people would read the Bible properly, I think even those with only a primary school education would not misread the Bible like this. To indulge in the flesh in the church is to be God's enemy, to be an Amalekite, to be an Esau. Happy Cell Groups cannot create happiness; without God's presence, happiness is impossible. And then there are Mother's Day, Father's Day, Parents' Day, and a whole host of festivals, which only serve to draw people into the church and turn them into children of hell.

My words are rather strong, and I am not afraid of being criticised, though people cannot really touch me. Whether these things are in accordance with the Bible is really worth our consideration. Chinese Mingding Destiny does not condone any indulgence of the flesh. In the future, we will engage in a series of projects and training specifically to deal with the flesh. If we were a physical church, I would want to change the time of the second day's meeting to 3 a.m., to accommodate the brothers and sisters in Europe and America, so that everyone can deal with their own flesh. What do you think? At the sound of the trumpet, everyone gets up, and even those who have to go to work tomorrow must deal with it.

Soldiers in the army must get up when they hear the reveille. If they don't, they will be punished. Of course, we are just talking about it now. To pity God's enemies is to lose God's presence. The reason why eight or nine out of ten prayers in the church are ineffective is because they have lost God's presence. Everyone must not think that you are God's people. You can think that you are God's people or descendants of Abraham, but some people are children of the devil in Jesus' eyes. If your father is the devil, it is a tragedy. If God does not deliver His people into the hands of the enemy, no one can overcome God's people, so be careful not to lose God's presence.

I don't manage too much, but I can't not manage at all, because I also hope that every brother and sister can become someone who will not lose God's presence. God gives everyone a fair chance, but whether you can grasp God's presence depends on your own creation. As long as a person does not lose God's presence in this life, no enemy can stand before us. This is the most important lesson, and we must walk according to God's word. There are too many churches in this world that indulge the flesh, are at enmity with God, are full of religious flavour, and are afraid of their members, and very few are willing to carefully keep and follow God's word. Do not think that I am boasting about myself, as if only I am capable. In fact, I am not capable, so I walk on thin ice every day, because I do not want to lose God's presence.

Do Not Take the Throne Too Seriously

You must not be like Saul and lose God's presence. That is the first lesson. The second lesson is not to take the throne too seriously. That is a tragic ending. There was once a pastor who took the position of pastor very seriously and handed over the position of senior pastor to his son. If it were me, I would never do such a thing, because his son cannot do it. His capacity is really not up to it. He passed it on to his son because he thought that he had built the empire. In fact, it was a pie that fell from the sky and hit you on the head. The empire was not built by you, but by God.

Many brothers and sisters among us have such thoughts. Those churches are especially large. The annual giving income of a church with 100,000 people and a church with 50,000 people is a huge amount, even reaching several hundred million. The offerings received by the church should be more than the taxes collected by the government. The government does not collect taxes from low-income people. In Singapore, you don't have to pay taxes to the government if you earn 3,000 Singapore dollars a month, which is considered low income. When I shared this with people, many brothers and sisters thought it was great to be his son, how glamorous. That is not a glamorous thing. Later, he got cancer. He could not sit in that position. His father put together a team for his son to manage, but no one was convinced. Moreover, the church may not have God's presence.

Later, I developed a habit, and slowly realised that I cannot take the position of pastor in the church too seriously. Once I was sick and about to die, a brother said: The pastor will definitely not die, because there is no one who can replace me yet. I am really not that important. If I die, there is God, so there is no need to worry about those things. Some people often say to me: If the pastor dies, these people will all be finished. I want to say: No! Do not take this position too seriously. This position is a pie that fell from the sky and hit me on the head, because I value God's presence, so God has favoured me, chosen me, and allowed me to complete His Mingding Destiny on me in this world.

So do not be controlled. Some people just become zone pastors, and they take that position very seriously. If another zone pastor says something to them, they get angry. Such people are still like Saul. People who take their ministry too seriously are ultimately Sauls, and they will eventually lose God's presence, and in the end, it will be a tragic ending. I am reminding everyone, no matter what position you stand in the church, whether in the church or outside, do not take that thing too seriously. That thing is not our life or our Mingding Destiny, but it is very likely to become your snare.

If the pastor of the church takes the position of pastor too seriously, the leader of the ministry takes the ministry too seriously, and the zone pastor takes the position of zone pastor too seriously, then there will be a reenactment of Saul's tragedy. If you take your business too seriously, as seriously as your life, your business will push you to a tragic ending; if your work is your life's pursuit, your work will become your snare; if you take your family too seriously, your family will become the reason for your tragic ending. I am actually quite Buddhist. Some people question why I, a Christian, am still related to Buddhism. In fact, it means that I am open-minded and see things clearly, and I will never let anything become my control.

When we finished reading Saul's life, it was like a bucket of cold water poured over our heads, very sobering. I know that one day each of us will leave this world. Maybe the church in this world will still be there, and Chinese Mingding Destiny will also be there, but I will not be there. But I will surely see the effect of my service, and I will surely enter eternity with the effect of my service. The thing that people are entangled in is their core interests. If you are entangled in these things, it means that you take these things too seriously, and that will become your snare.

What you want is not God's presence, and what awaits you is only a miserable ending. Of course, I don't really care, because if I die, there is God, so I can only wish you brothers and sisters good luck. All I can do is to guide everyone to walk on the road to pleasing God and valuing God's presence. A person must never lose God's presence in his life, nor can he take anything too seriously. Even the Chinese Mingding Destiny that I founded has nothing to do with me. I don't want to turn these things into my snare.

We Must Know That Death Is the End of Everyone

And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people. And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan. (1 Samuel 31:8-10)

Do not take living too seriously. Even if Saul was king of Israel for forty years, he would still die in the end. The Philistines killed Saul, then put his armour in the temple of Ashtaroth. They also nailed his body to the wall of Bethshan and cut off his head, which was very bloody. They felt very confused in their hearts, thinking that the God of Israel was not good, but their Ashtaroth idol looked pretty good. People who worship idols take living too seriously, and it is the same with communicating with ghosts.

In fact, taking living too seriously is a problem. A sister told me that she would not buy a house, because she would not have children to inherit it after she died. After hearing her words, I felt that something was wrong. In fact, people don't need to care too much about these things. Everyone should know that death is the end of everyone. We all come naked and leave empty-handed. If people can understand this, they will definitely value God's presence and will not take their work and throne too seriously, let alone that we do not have that throne. People become corrupt officials or profiteers, simply because they want to live a better life, but they end up living a bad life.

People must understand death and know that death is the end of everyone. Do not think that you will live a long time and make such and such arrangements for this life. Those are meaningless. Although I teach everyone to clean up their homes and develop good habits, in the end, they must know that death is the end of everyone. If people understand this, you will definitely value God's presence, because only God's presence lasts forever; you will definitely gain Mingding Destiny, because you know why you live; you will definitely work hard in this world but pay the price and serve God happily, because that is our Mingding Destiny. Although we die, we live forever. Everyone who lives and believes in Jesus will never die. This is what Jesus said.

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25-26)

If people do not know that death is the end of everyone, then there will be trouble. For example, some people are now seventy years old, and they can now count how many days they can live. In fact, many older people I have come into contact with see life and death more clearly than we Christians do. People only serve God with joy and understand why they live and why they die. That is our Mingding Destiny. We live for God and die for God. That is the Mingding Destiny mentioned by Chinese Mingding Destiny, so service is our life. People must know that their time is not long, so they will not be entangled in those boring things, nor will they be trapped in quarrels, entanglements, and explanations all day long, unable to extricate themselves.

This is the lesson learned from King Saul. Do not think that you are a king and can live forever. Do not think that people call you Long Live and think that you are a Long Live Lord. You may not really be able to bear it. Many emperors in ancient times had short lives, because they did not have the capacity to bear the words Long Live Lord. The average lifespan of emperors was shorter than that of ordinary people, did you know that? So I encourage everyone, once you understand these things about living, it seems a little unreasonable if you do not pursue a Mingding Destiny.

We will study the Bible here. At the end of the summary, I would like to tell everyone that if you observe and see more in the world, you can learn a lot of lessons. When I am working, I find that a person is not doing things right. I will not tell him that it is wrong to do it this way. I only think about which part he has not done right, and how I should do it right. What should it be like if it is done right?

We will learn better lessons from Saul than from David, because learning lessons from negative characters is more sobering than learning lessons from positive characters. In the past few years, I have seen many tragic stories. No matter who they are, even Christians or even church leaders, they have not escaped a tragic ending. These people are all people I know and are more familiar with. When I saw them encounter tragic endings, it was very sobering for me.

I often sighed for this: God, may you have mercy on me and let me live for you in the days of my life. Love you all my life, keep your way all my life, until I see your face. I am grateful for God's guidance all the way, which allows me to clearly see God's presence, which is a good thing that is incomparable in a person's life! I hope that brothers and sisters can learn these lessons, and can wake up from this and know how Saul played such a good hand so badly. If God puts these good cards in your hands, what would you do?

May God bless everyone!