Good morning, everyone. Let us turn to 1 Thessalonians, Chapter 5. The theme of this chapter is "May God Himself Sanctify You Completely." When a person believes in the Lord, it is actually a process of God sanctifying us completely. However, there is a significant challenge: the path to complete sanctification is not widely accepted.

What is widely accepted is still the worldly logic system, and it is quite difficult for people to completely deal with worldly logic. In other words, in the church, if you see many difficult-to-explain situations, such as severe and major illnesses, or long and lasting disasters, befalling brothers and sisters in the church, it is actually related to their underlying pursuits. Do not be surprised when a person encounters misfortune, but complete sanctification can directly solve the problem of misfortune.

Disaster Will Come Suddenly Upon the Wicked

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3)

This sounds terrifying, but I hope everyone does not misunderstand. Do not think that the disaster on the day of the Lord Jesus' return is like this. Actually, I tell you, the day of the Lord Jesus' return and the times when we encounter problems are not very different. In my understanding, this disaster is not meant for us. I will talk about how God has not destined us for wrath, but for salvation. This concept must be established.

You often read "you" and "them" in the Bible. It would be bad if you become "them." What does "them" mean? "Them" refers to those who are full of worldly logic. Think about it. For example, "Teacher, I am in great pain." Thank God, if you were not in pain, wouldn't you be ascending to heaven? God wants us to put to death our old selves and be completely sanctified. If we go down the wrong path, we will definitely suffer. Small suffering gives us a chance to repent, but great suffering leaves no chance for repentance.

So, disaster will come suddenly upon the wicked. Paul wrote this passage referring to the return of the Lord Jesus, but I want to extend this idea. Because we see disasters every day in this world, if you do not encounter disaster, would you seek God? When you encounter disaster, it is when you are acting like the wicked, you are "them." Then, when disaster falls upon you, you will realize that you are just a small ant, nothing at all.

Now I urge everyone, may God sanctify you completely. What is sanctification? It is rejecting the worldly garbage in our minds. Do not think that you are fine as you are, and that you will just repent at the last moment before death. You must calculate this clearly. Many Christians tell me, "I still need to enjoy life, I need to love this world. When I am about to die, I will quickly repent, and I can go to heaven." Do you have this idea? If you do, you are in trouble.

Disaster will come suddenly upon these people; you are "them." The "you" and "them" are not just my words. You must know that you have a responsibility to cooperate with God. If you do not want to be sanctified, God will not sanctify you. We must know that disaster will come suddenly upon the wicked.

If we observe carefully, we will find that there are too many disasters in this world. I truly thank my God. Although I still have many faults, I have a small advantage. This small advantage is that I am pursuing complete sanctification. I long to become more and more like Jesus Christ, to restore the image of God in which I was created.

I have had this concept since the day I believed in the Lord. I feel that living like God is especially good. I am especially grateful to God. I do not know if there is a way to prove with facts how many disasters God has shielded me from, but I know that without the Lord Jesus, there would be many more disasters, and there would be no hope. When people have no hope, they will be afraid of death and will long to live on this earth, preferring to live poorly than die well.

Brothers and sisters, you must know that disaster will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. Can they escape? They cannot escape. They think they are good at boasting, right? Their boasting is bigger than their brains. But when real things happen, they have no solutions. What can you control? Nothing counts.

But You Are All Children of the Light

They are children of darkness. Do you want to be children of light? God can personally sanctify you completely, but do you want to be children of darkness or children of light?

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. (1 Thessalonians 5:4)

Brothers and sisters, we are not in darkness. Of course, the Apostle Paul is referring to the time when the Lord Jesus returns. Perhaps our generation will encounter it. This has been preached for over two thousand years, and the Lord Jesus has not yet come. We do not know when He will come. But one thing is certain: living with this hope can spare you many disasters.

Among the Christians I have met, there are still too few who truly have this concept of complete sanctification. Why? Because there is a love for the world in the hearts of Christians. How can they be completely sanctified?

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8)

What is salvation? The disasters and pains that were supposed to come upon you, Jesus shielded you from. This is called salvation, and it is on the path to sanctification. You must know that you may still have many faults. Will God let disaster come upon you because of these faults? Even if there is disaster, it will be a narrow escape. It is not that it will not happen, but it will happen, to show you a little bit, that if you continue to be stubborn, it will be troublesome.

When God deals with you, you quickly realize, "Oh, this is darkness, I must enter into the light." That is to say, the dark places in us become fewer and fewer, and the light places become more and more. This is the Lord Jesus, and it is also the process by which God sanctifies us completely.

As long as there is still darkness in you, if you are willing to walk towards the light, God will spare you. But if you are not willing to walk towards the light, God will have to show you some color. That disaster may be a small sign, a small warning to you.

Now you can understand that many brothers and sisters in the church experience disaster, and it is not sudden. Let me explain it to you. The Galatians walked the path of believing in the Lord, and then a group of people came to preach, preaching what? Preaching another gospel. The Galatians, who had problems in their minds, followed them and believed in a false gospel. Then what happened? Many problems arose.

If you want to drill into darkness, you deserve it. If you want to walk towards the light, God will sanctify you completely. So brothers and sisters, you must know that we are children of light. Those things do not come upon us like a thief. For the people of this world, it is like a thief. A few days ago, they were still gloating, and a few days later they found out they were bankrupt.

Recently, there was news about a real estate company. A few brothers started a real estate company. My goodness! They built a large manor, probably hundreds of acres, very luxurious, but the land was not the place where they should have built this thing. But they had connections, right? But yesterday it was all bulldozed overnight, and the whole family went bankrupt. Those who should go to jail went to jail.

I tell you, this world is experiencing wave after wave of sudden disasters. A while ago, someone was still a great entrepreneur, and after a while, they became a great spendthrift, also quite great.

So why should we be children of light? Because children of light walk in the true way of God. I know you are not there yet, but you must pursue it. Just that attitude can solve many problems. Do you understand now? So today we must be children of light, and walk with God on a path of complete sanctification.

If you think, "Oh, can that be eaten?" then you can eat disaster. A few days ago, someone who used to believe in the Lord among us, and then left, sent me a message yesterday. I will read it to you: "Teacher, good afternoon. I listened to Sunday's prayer yesterday, and I am not free at all. I cannot control my sleep and emotions. It feels so hard, so hard. I do not want to take medicine anymore. The depression medicine makes me feel muddled every day. But if I do not take it, I cannot sleep. The next day I am also very listless."

I said, "That is how it is. The people of the world are like this. A few days ago, they were fine, and today they are not. What were you doing before?" So I wonder if our brothers and sisters can make up their minds to be children of light? Can they make up their minds to walk in the true way of God? Can they have this hope and pursuit? Many things in the world will be easily solved.

For God Did Not Appoint Us to Suffer Wrath but to Receive Salvation

For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Do you understand? Are we willing to live together with God? He died for us and rose again for us, opening up a glorious path for us. I tell you, God really does not want the people of this world to experience disaster. But He cannot stop them from walking into disaster. If they do not take sleeping pills, can they solve depression? Can that solve the problem?

I just sigh, it is not easy for people. They spray each other, two, three, a bunch of entrepreneurs are spraying each other. They use the art of language to the fullest. They spray this and spray that, using Mo Yan's words. Do you know? Mo Yan's words are also quite good, "Slander is a kind of looking up." You want to splash dirty water. Why? Because he has already risen and become your very strong competitor. What to do? Start spraying each other.

This is not just two people fighting. It is simply like a pot of porridge. As long as they are competitors, they are called friendly merchants, but if friendly merchants do not fight each other, do not kill each other, can they make money? Sometimes I am very emotional. In the political environment, they desperately climb, climb to the presidency of South Korea, and then go to jail. They desperately climb, and then they are taken down by political struggles and go to jail. I am wondering what is going on? What are they doing?

As entrepreneurs, they think they have to grow bigger and stronger. But when you grow bigger and stronger, there will be even bigger and stronger competitors. Even if you are small, there are many competitors. It looks tiring. This game is simply one business war after another. The business world is like a battlefield, where you are strangled to death.

Sometimes I watch boxing matches, where a yellow-haired guy puts a yellow-skinned guy in a chokehold! After the chokehold, the guy runs out of breath, right? But he survives and explodes, knocking out the opponent. Oh my goodness, it is really a matter of life and death. Is there any hope in the human world?

But I tell you, that is how things are in this world. As you work, a sudden accident becomes the focus of public opinion. But God wants us to have hope in eternity. God wants us to be completely sanctified in this world. God wants to sanctify us completely. So God did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation. These words are so well said. That is why a Christian who believes in the Lord lives in this world, freed from the entanglements of this world.

I ask you, in Abraham's time, did he have to strangle each other to death? Actually, it was the same. Wherever there are people, it is like this. But did Abraham need to strangle each other to death with you? No. Why? God helped him. Remember, if you want to rely on your own hands, your own wisdom, your own talents, you will find that there are always people who are more talented than you.

As you work, you finally make new energy vehicles very powerful! They can go abroad, right? They sell millions of vehicles a year. Oh, self-driving has come out again. If you do not do self-driving, you are dead. Now if your car does not have self-driving, do you feel like something is missing? This competition is very hard. Do our brothers and sisters want to walk this path? I tell you, be careful.

I thank God. If we do not walk this path, but we are working in the workplace and competing in the business world, I ask you, what will happen? Walking Abraham's path is not bad. So brothers and sisters, do not think that when you encounter something, that the disaster is God's will for us.

We quickly repent, preparing us for salvation. God has destined us for salvation. Every time we encounter huge challenges, huge obstacles, wave after wave. Thank God, we are still continuing to move forward today. God will surely preserve His church.

Think about it, in this generation, are there many people who use worldly logic to believe in the Lord? They encounter a problem, and then they encounter many problems, but people do not wake up and repent. That is a very deadly thing. But even for them, God has abundant grace and mercy.

For example, like a piece of firewood pulled out of the fire. Do you say he does not love God? He loves God, but what is in him? What is in him is an idol. There is both Mammon and Jesus Christ. Is this not spiritual adultery?

So God did not appoint us to suffer wrath. This disaster is not for us, it is for them. But what if we experience a little bit? If we experience a little bit, we quickly repent. So Chinese Mingding Doctrine has a golden rule: this thing is not done right. Do you understand?

The Chinese Mingding Doctrine takes Bible study very seriously. Even today, there are many Christians who call themselves evangelicals, but have little understanding of the Bible. Many charismatic Christians also do not study the Bible.

I won't mention these examples, as they can be quite sensitive. If they are mistaken, they stubbornly insist they are right. I have forgiven them, who do you forgive? As if someone has wronged you.

Our brothers and sisters must come out of this, stop saying "I have forgiven him, I won't stoop to his level." That is a subtle form of knowing good and evil. If you feel, "Oh, I have forgiven him," but your words reveal a sense of knowing good and evil, feeling that you are right and they are wrong, so you forgive them, isn't it? In fact, this kind of language is very low.

If we haven't understood what the Chinese Mingding Doctrine is about, who are you forgiving? If we are fully sanctified, who needs forgiveness? That statement would not exist. Do you understand that I mean that statement would not exist? Because it is normal for people to offend us, there is no need to forgive, it is not an issue.

If we haven't done this right, or that right, we need a heart that is constantly adjusting itself to align with God's will, so that God can fully sanctify us. Isn't it? Then you will suffer much less. I really don't like to talk about it, but I have to. I think, brothers and sisters, if you see a preacher suffering a lot, especially suffering that brings no glory to God, don't think he is paying a price for God, he is paying a price for his own foolishness.

Even if these things happen to me, it is the same. Brothers and sisters, don't think I am a saint, I am also a sinner, and often I don't get things right. If I don't get things right, will I lead you into a pit? But I am trying very hard to get it right, isn't it? If I think I am doing everything wrong but still think I am right, then I am completely finished.

The Path to Full Sanctification

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you; and to hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. (1 Thessalonians 5:11-13)

Rejoice always, pray continually, (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17)

There is no "I have forgiven him," or "I won't stoop to his level" here. This is God's will for you in Christ Jesus, the path to full sanctification. It is not about being assigned a small pastor and then fighting with the small pastor, or being assigned a small group leader and fighting with the small group leader. Everything is turned upside down.

It is not because you are right that you fight with others, or because they are wrong that you fight with them. The matter may not be that important, what is important is what we should do. Once he is wrong and I am right, it will eventually lead to foolishness. You may not be able to receive this word. "I am right, he is wrong, so I must act." This attitude cannot lead to sanctification. What happens when disaster suddenly strikes if you are not sanctified? Therefore, the knots in our hearts must be removed, truly removed. This is the path to full sanctification. On this path to full sanctification, be cautious and examine yourselves.

Be Cautious and Examine Yourselves

And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

Think about it, when you start walking on the path to full sanctification, God makes you a leader and you can start shepherding. What do you do then? You must admonish the brothers and sisters, and warn those who are unruly, very strictly. I tell you, a serious problem in the church today is that it is too soft and dare not warn.

Don't think that we really want to drive brothers and sisters out, but we use this to warn those who are unruly. We don't care much about offerings, we care about whether brothers and sisters can be fully sanctified. If you are a leader and you think offerings are more important, you don't dare to correct people when they have problems, and you don't want to deal with them. Of course, it is a bit difficult to muster the courage to deal with them. But this is a path to full sanctification. If you want to continue to move forward, you must take on the responsibility of shepherding, warning those who are unruly, encouraging the disheartened, helping the weak, and being patient with everyone.

It is not that you are impatient with people because they have a problem, you must be patient. It is very hard, you teach them and they don't understand, you teach them again and they still don't understand. Then they act according to their own ideas, and sometimes you really have to be a bit harsh.

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

Retaliating evil for evil is very common in the church. Don't think that brothers and sisters in the church don't bite and fight each other. Wherever there are people, there will definitely be this problem. But once you have this problem, you see that you are a dirty and filthy person, so you must be fully sanctified. Do you know how God personally makes us fully sanctified? If you don't follow the rules, God will really discipline you.

Don't think that there is any glory in discipline. We got it wrong. If we don't repent after being disciplined, then we will be disciplined even more severely. Can that lead to full sanctification? That is called being hard-headed, developing an indestructible body, absolutely rigid. So we really need to adjust. No one should repay evil for evil.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22)

You say, teacher, isn't this all about behavior? Do you think that if you don't base it on behavior, there is no behavior? If you don't base it on behavior, the behavior cannot go into the foundation, but that behavior is still a bit important. Can you understand this logic? If you base it on faith, it doesn't mean that you will eventually live a corrupt life.

When we base it on faith, God does the work of carving on us, and then personally makes us fully sanctified, bearing the fruit of the Spirit, not you bearing it, but the Spirit bearing it. Do you understand? It is the Spirit bearing it, it is God making us fully sanctified.

There is one place here that you need to be careful about. Where do you need to be careful? Be careful not to quench the Spirit. But what is the problem? Test everything, hold on to what is good. Once I was in a church, sitting in the audience of a local church, waiting to listen to the sermon. The pastor said that everything spoken on this platform is the word of God.

I didn't dare to speak loudly in the audience, but I said in my heart, "Stop it, everything you say comes from God?" I simply don't listen to anything that doesn't conform to the Bible. That is the correct attitude. If you treat me with this attitude, I thank God, you are smart! I will definitely give you a thumbs up.

If you say, "Is what you are saying correct? Can you use the Bible to discuss this?" That is a smart person. But it is also troublesome to doubt everything. We must test everything, hold on to what is good, and conform to the Bible and the word of God.

Of course, we are still constantly adjusting today. There are many things that we may not fully understand. You must also continue to actively receive the word of God and constantly examine yourselves. I still want to say this, our church must train brothers and sisters to be smart people, not to be trained to believe whatever I say. That would be troublesome.

If I don't outlive you, you still have to run forward. I may not outlive everyone. People are in their twenties and thirties, can I outlive them? I definitely can't outlive them. So, test everything and read the original text of the Bible carefully. We hope that brothers and sisters can develop a habit of finding the key points, grasping the themes, and understanding God's will. This is very important.

Some time ago, I developed a 103 ministry courseware, and the theme was how to study the Bible. Then, our 103 ministry will use this courseware to teach everyone again, establishing a logical system of Bible study, so that everyone can study the Bible.

Be cautious, examine yourselves, don't be blind. I am working hard to make everyone smarter, so that everyone can understand God's will. Don't entrust yourself to me, you should entrust yourself to God. Because Jesus died for you, not me, I didn't do anything.

May God Himself, the God of Peace, Sanctify You Through and Through

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Can it be achieved? It seems a bit uncertain. I tell you, God is too powerful in what He does. It is God who makes you completely blameless. You know that God will build a church in the last days, holy and without blemish. This is what we should pursue. Once we compromise on this, it will be ruined.

Once we don't pursue being completely blameless, it's okay. It's okay to just sweep the floor in heaven in the future. "Oh, there are not so many requirements." "Who can achieve that?" Then it's bad. Once you compromise on the standard here, what will happen in the end? You won't even have the qualifications to sweep the floor. Think about it slowly.

Whether it is a company or a church, your standards must be set high enough. It is normal if you can't reach them. But you must have an attitude, you are trying to reach them. In fact, what God wants from us is this attitude. We must have an attitude. What are we pursuing? Pursuing full sanctification, being completely blameless at the coming of Christ. Only by establishing such a standard can you run with all your might.

Therefore, the Chinese Mingding Doctrine is not a grace theology. The Chinese Mingding Doctrine really requires paying a small price. The price that our Lord Jesus paid was even greater. He wants to sanctify us and make us blameless. Remember, those who live according to the Spirit will reap eternal life, those who live according to the flesh will reap destruction. To set the mind on the flesh is death, it is being hostile to God. You don't even have to think about it, disaster will really come to a person who sets his mind on the flesh.

If you are fifty percent fleshly and fifty percent spiritual, pursuing full sanctification, then the fleshly part will bring many problems. Among us, some people get sick after believing in Jesus because they are very fleshly. Can not dealing with your flesh solve the problem?

Like some of us who had cancer and were later healed, really healed. How were they healed? By constantly dealing with their fleshly lusts and desires, constantly dealing with their ignorance, and their love of money and the world. So, do you know? As long as you listen to my prayers, you can definitely change your values.

Therefore, may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless. In fact, many people extend this soul, spirit, and body into a trichotomy or a few elements. I don't like this logic very much. Because the soul, spirit, and body are not explored as a theme in the Bible. We need to know that our thoughts, ideas, value systems, and our bodies all belong to God. God wants to fully sanctify our soul, spirit, and body.

Why do you start studying the spirit of man, the soul of man, and the body of man here? You can't be sanctified after studying that stuff. What's the point of studying that? If you haven't heard of the trichotomy, don't study it anymore. It's not very useful, because the theme of the Bible is not these things at all.

God wants us to know that we are a complete person. If the flesh commits adultery, it certainly cannot be holy. If the house is so dirty, can you talk about holiness? You can't even talk about cleanliness, let alone holiness. We are a complete person, don't engage in this or that theory, they are all invented by themselves, the Bible does not study this.

Therefore, I hope that brothers and sisters can know that it is God who is working in us, working with God. When God deals with you, God kicks you, "Oh, thank God!" God whips you, "Oh, thank God!" Only in this way can you be fully sanctified. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

I thank God for the last chapter of 1 Thessalonians. After reading it this time, it is much clearer than before. This shows that when I read 1 Thessalonians last time, I found that many things were still unclear. If we read 1 Thessalonians again in five years, it may be clearer and clearer.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, don't pursue full sanctification all at once. That is almost like idolatry. Don't pursue a certain master, and you will receive the anointing with one touch. Start slowly dealing with the problems on your body. It is difficult to deal with one problem, especially the ignorance in people, which is very difficult to deal with.

Some brothers and sisters, I think they are quite smart. They have done a lot of things that I admire. Then, I personally took them to do something. What they did before was all muddled. You don't know until you do it, and you get a shock when you do it.

I think our brothers and sisters should continue to grow in understanding. Then, continue to understand God's will for us. You will get rid of many disasters and have fewer cares. I really thank God that those who come to us with depression or cancer, who are willing to change, have been healed.

Brothers and sisters, develop a habit of learning, and you will often hear me talk about learning, learning, learning. If you take the renovation of your house as a project, you can practice it well, because you will know immediately whether what you are doing is right or wrong. If you take your profession as a case for adjustment and learning, it is also very clear. Train our brains to be smart, so that we can live out the glorious image of God. Amen!

May God bless everyone!

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