Introduction

Good day to all! Let us turn to 2 Samuel, Chapter 2. Finding a central theme in 2 Samuel, Chapter 2, is a bit challenging, as it records several seemingly unrelated stories. Are they truly disconnected? Not so; in fact, they all address the same matter.

The author is fundamentally discussing one matter, yet some may find it disjointed in their reading, describing it as haphazard. One cannot truly learn well with a haphazard approach, and those who do not learn well cannot retain knowledge. Man is created by God, and in His creation, God imbued a characteristic: any matter not sorted and adjusted by man remains chaotic and cannot be stored in the mind. Some might argue that they simply forgot; however, the truth is that they never fully grasped it in the first place.

2 Samuel, Chapter 2, primarily speaks of King David treating the people with loving-kindness and faithfulness. Reflect on whether this is the case. You might say: No, it is about David inquiring of God. Yet, David's inquiry of God is but a small part of what this chapter conveys. Thus, the theme of this chapter is King David, who treats his people with loving-kindness and faithfulness.

If, upon becoming king, you were to say to people, I am your king; come, let me shepherd you! they might respond, What do I have to do with you? Why should you shepherd me? Take a good look at yourself! Some among us, not yet adequately trained, often act rashly. Recently, one such individual, upon meeting a newcomer, started to say, Someone like you, how can I shepherd? The person was taken aback and retorted, When did I ask you to shepherd me?

I find that sometimes people are simply not on the right track, which is to say, they lack integrity! And a lack of integrity is essentially a lack of the Way. Therefore, I often put in the effort to train our junior pastors and district leaders, instructing them to conduct themselves in a manner befitting their office. If they are not worthy of their office, these pastors cannot function effectively! Among us, we do not have obedience to men, only admiration for men. I am not particularly fond of preaching on the concept of obedience, as it is not a practical benefit; after all, your obedience to me does not seem to gain me anything, and I don't particularly need it anyway.

We must understand why David, in the eyes of God, became a king after God's own heart, a faithful priest in God's eyes. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel both speak of God seeking a faithful priest, seeking a king after His own heart. Whether called a king, a priest, or a pastor, such titles are not of utmost importance; what truly matters is that you must become a person after God's own heart. If you value your kingly position more than God Himself, can you be after God's heart?

Seeking God's Permission to Reign

Why do I begin with this point? God once anointed David to be the king of Israel. Is this not true? It is! When Saul, the king of Israel, died, my inclination would have been to think: Since Saul, the king of Israel, has died, and I am already anointed as king, I would say to the Israelites, Listen up, everyone. I am now your king, and from now on, you must obey me in all things! The people would be stunned, wondering where this new king came from.

However, David did not act in this manner. Listen closely to his words; they are quite telling. David asked God, O God, may I go up into one of the cities of Judah? May I manage a small territory there in Judah? God saw that David was a king after His own heart. He did not possess an arrogant attitude, declaring, I am going to be king! Instead, he humbly asked God, May I? because he valued God's permission more than the throne itself. Why did God readily agree? Because the thoughts and intentions of David pleased God.

Those who are arrogant will not live out David's example. Some might say, Pastor, I am here to help you build the church. I wonder: Where did this fool come from? Do I need your help to build the church? I know that speaking to people in this way is somewhat brash. Later, I learned from David to be more gracious. Should I encounter such a situation again, I would say, Good! Good! Good!

This matter is significant: To reign, one must seek God's permission; the throne comes from God. This is our most fundamental understanding. The position is not important; the responsibility of that position is. Can everyone distinguish between these two matters? The title is not important; the responsibility beneath that title is. Why have I established a church that is a serving church? Because I deeply know that this is God's will.

Once, during a conversation with a sister, I mentioned, Pastor So-and-so retired in his sixties and passed the position to his son. Upon hearing this, the sister said to me, Wow! His son is so glorious! She did not know what I was about to say next. I said, Later, his son got cancer. Is that ending truly glorious? It is not!

I have reflected that people perceive this as glory. But what is the use of such glory? If such a person were to become the king of Israel, he would commission a table made of precious Phoebe zhennan wood, with chairs carved with dragons and phoenixes. Then he would place the chair upon a stage in the Great Hall and sit upon it, while civil and military officials bowed in submission, a sea of hats and heads before him. Then he would declare, My esteemed subjects, you may rise. In the eyes of the world, this might seem glorious, but I truly do not understand what purpose these superficialities serve.

David knew that the throne came from God. The nation of China is quite interesting. In ancient times, people referred to the emperor as the Son of Heaven, meaning that Heaven bestowed the throne upon this son, that God gave the emperor his authority; he was the Son of Heaven. We have become so accustomed to calling emperors the Son of Heaven that we have forgotten that the Son of Heaven is the son of God, a position of such great honor! Not to mention becoming the Son of Heaven, even becoming a grandson of God is something rare and unattainable.

The kingship comes from God; this is an understanding. Although David rightfully became the king of Israel, he still sought God's will, which is to honor God. He would never follow the path of Saul. The kingship is not important; God's will and God's intentions are the most important things. This is called humility. Some people are overly eager to become king, like Hong Xiuquan, who hastily declared himself the emperor of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, only to be ultimately defeated by the Qing Dynasty. Since ancient times, during the struggles for supremacy among various lords, there was a strategist who advised his lord to delay declaring himself king, meaning to postpone the coronation. Don't rush for the title; first cultivate oneself into becoming a more virtuous person. This is the most pressing matter.

From this seeking, David became a king after God's heart, starting from a humble beginning. No matter what kind of person you become, it always starts from humility. Some time ago, I shared an interesting anecdote. When I was writing my first book, someone scorned me, saying, You think you can write a book? I smiled and said, I just want to write the worst book in the world. Later, I not only wrote one, but I also wrote a hundred of the worst books, making the sum of the two a world record.

We must understand that the position is not important, nor is the rank; the responsibility is. It is to treat the people with loving-kindness and faithfulness, to begin to learn how to manage the people of Israel, and this management must not be haphazard. It must be done with loving-kindness and faithfulness, because I deeply understand God's will. Long ago, when I read the Book of Samuel, I knew that establishing a church must be to build a serving church, because this aligns with God's heart. The wisdom you obtain from God is not for building a unicorn enterprise; the wisdom you gain is for managing the people well, for shepherding God's people well. The logical system is simple. Why are we a shepherding church? The reason lies here.

After this, David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “Which city shall I go up to?” And the Lord said, “To Hebron.” (2 Samuel 2:1)

When David arrived in Hebron, the tribal leaders of Judah, many dignitaries from each branch, and the elders anointed David and made him king. The throne was offered to him; it was not a matter of David himself declaring, I want to be your king. Upon seeing your insignificant appearance, people would say, Get lost, go far away; you are not fit to be king. Originally, David intended to manage the small city of Hebron, but God exalted him and raised him up, causing these tribal leaders and elders of Judah to come and anoint David as their king of Judah. Later, David rightfully became king, and the people came from everywhere, submitting under David's hand. Why? Because David possessed virtuous integrity.

The First Act of Reign: Rewarding the Faithful

King David was very intelligent; both his actions and his thoughts were excellent. His first act as king was to reward those who were faithful. The men of Jabesh Gilead risked their lives to bury Saul and his son Jonathan, and they also held a grand funeral for them. The men of Jabesh Gilead were a small branch of the twelve tribes of Israel. After doing this, they worried whether they might have offended David. Unexpectedly, David sent messengers to them, saying:

Then David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, “May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and buried him. And now may the Lord show you kindness and truth, and I also will repay you for this good deed, because you have done this thing.” (2 Samuel 2:5-6)

The previous chapter mentioned that David was a faithful person. This chapter mentions that David rewarded those who were faithful. The men of Jabesh Gilead were surprised to hear that David wanted to reward them. They thought to themselves, We didn't do this for any reward; we felt that it was the right thing to do. But unexpectedly, David wanted to repay them for this. The men of Jabesh Gilead inexplicably did something that earned them a reward, simply because they had faithfulness within them. Did you all know that in the history of China, although the Qing Dynasty overthrew the Ming Dynasty, the Qing government greatly honored those ministers who had been faithful to the Ming emperors, showing that faithfulness is a timeless virtue.

To be a person, one must be faithful. This is very important, especially if a person wants to please God, they must worship our God in spirit and in truth. If you feel that you cannot, God will enable you; if you feel that you are very capable, walking around with your nose in the air, catching rainwater when it rains, then you are in trouble. In the past, when we were in a physical church, when I went from this building to the toilet, there was someone who was very arrogant. When I saw him and greeted him, he pretended not to see me, acting very important.

People must be gracious. The men of Jabesh Gilead did something that they thought was very humble, which was to bury their master Saul; this pleased God. From now on, we must learn to be faithful people. It is a tragedy when people are not faithful. All we ask for before God is to become faithful and good servants. I like to tell the truth; if something is not possible, it is not possible; if it is possible, it is possible. We must learn from David, to treat those who are faithful with loving-kindness and truth.

Our church has a characteristic: you must never try to deceive me. Don't pretend to be busy, acting as if you have a heavy burden on your shoulders. When you come to me, if you haven't solved any problems, then what are you busy with? I will tell you, Hard work doesn't count; don't try to put on an act for me. Once, we went to the supermarket to buy things and came back carrying plastic bags from the supermarket. One sister was very interesting; she also came back from working outside carrying a plastic bag, looking very heavy, as if she was carrying tens of kilograms or hundreds of pounds of something, her waist almost bent over. I told the others, Quickly, go help her. But when they took it, it turned out to be a pack of tissues.

I said to this sister, You're just carrying a box of tissues, is it really that heavy? You really deceived me. I told her, You can do this at your workplace, but if your boss is like me, don't do it; if he's not like me, then continue. But don't do it here; why are you trying to deceive me? You must know that I am the host of the anti-fraud hotline.

We must manage our reputation well, treating our people with loving-kindness and integrity. If you are a loyal individual, I know it. In fact, some people are not very capable, but I treat them very well because they are truly loyal. Even if they handle tissues as if they weighed dozens or hundreds of pounds, it doesn't matter because they are still loyal. They may just forget the setting, thinking they are still in their own unit. Being a king requires intelligence! You must know what kind of person to reward. Rewards are for those who are loyal. If loyal people do not perform well, they should still be corrected.

Don't exhaust yourselves all day long, appearing busy and tired. That would be troublesome. I like to discourage those who seem busy and tired. I don't understand why they are so busy, rushing around all day. Is it necessary? Are there so many tasks? David's first act as king was to reward those who were loyal and kind. To manage a group, a pastoral district, a country, or a business, you must know whom to reward. If you reward those who deceive you, you will be ruined.

Regardless of your leadership level, always rack your brains to consider whether you are being deceived. People cannot deceive me. Why has our church reached where it is today? Because I trained those under me to treat others with loving-kindness and integrity. Therefore, I myself must be a loyal person, serving God with loving-kindness and integrity.

Not Rushing to Be King of All Israel

In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months. (2 Samuel 2:11)

David reigned as king of Judah in Hebron for seven and a half years. Why didn't he go to war during this time? This is called peaceful reunification because war causes deaths. Our Chinese government also adopted the policy of one country, two systems for the peaceful reunification of Hong Kong. After all, war is not the best option. After the war, what do you do with so many deaths? Not rushing to be king of Israel was David's established policy. Why wasn't David in a hurry to be king? To subdue the enemy without fighting, David wanted to wait for the other tribes to willingly submit to him. Therefore, it is not right to be king without kindness.

In our Chinese history, there are many vivid examples. Take Qin Shi Huang, for instance. He recovered the Central Plains and unified China, which was a vast and resource-rich land! In that era, there were no tanks, cannons, Hummers, or BMWs. They relied on people's feet and horses. Qin Shi Huang finally unified China, but his people said that they had suffered for too long.

Qin Shi Huang thought that by becoming the first emperor of China, he could unify the country and pass the throne down for generations. However, his dream was shattered, and the Qin dynasty was destroyed in the second generation. Why? Because he was not kind. Governing a country with cruel punishments is completely different from governing with loving-kindness and integrity. As the saying goes, water can both carry and overturn a boat. Therefore, David had his reasons for not rushing to become king of Israel.

Joab said, As God lives, unless you had spoken, surely then by morning the people would have given up pursuing their brothers. So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people stood still and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore. (2 Samuel 2:27-28)

Joab, the commander of Judah, said: If you had not provoked us, the people would have returned in the morning and not pursued you. In other words, if others do not harass us, we should not fight them. David could not rush to become king of Israel, and we cannot rush to become other people's pastors. If they are willing to submit, they will. If not, that's fine. We cannot conquer by force. Joab was David's commander, and Abner was Saul's commander. Later, Abner assisted Saul's son in becoming the king of Israel.

When Abner heard that David was king in Hebron, he wanted to attack David and rely on military force. As a result, they failed. If Abner had not provoked him, David would have waited for a day when he could peacefully unify and bring the twelve tribes of Israel under his rule. This situation is similar to our country's use of the one country, two systems policy for peaceful reunification, which is quite good. After waiting for seven and a half years, they all came to submit to David. It sounds like David's ascension to the throne of Israel was too smooth. You should know that Joab, Abishai, and Asahel were all David's commanders. After Abner led his men to defeat, Asahel went after Abner. Abner was quite sensible and said:

Abner said to him, Turn aside to your right or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his armor. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. Then Abner said to Asahel again, Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I face your brother Joab? But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out of his back. And he fell down there and died. So all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died stood still. (2 Samuel 2:21-23)

David was not in a hurry to kill these people. Because he understood the principle that: one must be kind and not always want to put people to death. I want to tell everyone from the bottom of my heart that as a pastor, you should never expect to gain any benefits from those you shepherd. What I hate most is pastors doing business through the people they shepherd, making money from them. After making money, people will look down on you.

Many church pastors do MLM (Multi-Level Marketing). What I hate most is MLM, and the second thing I hate most is doing MLM in the church. As a pastor, if you don't properly shepherd in the church, and they call the brothers and sisters they shepherd, the first thing they promote is not Jesus, but health products. How can this not provoke God's anger? For that bit of money, they ruin their reputation with God and with me.

Some time ago, I visited a pastor who immediately introduced me to his MLM products and excitedly told me that he had sold hundreds of them, which showed that he had developed quite a network! If he makes at least one or two thousand per unit, then hundreds of units would make him hundreds of thousands. That's what I hate the most. Are there people like this among us? If so, correct it.

Because we live not by relying on people, but by God's grace, if David thought every day about how to benefit from the Israelites after becoming king of Israel, he would have rushed to do so. If David thought about giving all that he had received from God to the people of Israel, why rush? Our church does not care much about the number of people, only whether people keep and follow God's word.

A few days ago, I rebuked a young pastor. Why? He was eager for people to give offerings and told me who was someone he shepherded and how much money they would offer. When I heard this, I felt that something was wrong and rebuked him. I said, how can you consider this your achievement? Is that your purpose in shepherding people?

Everyone must not regard this as your achievement. What is your achievement? It is what problems you have solved for people. Because you led him to pray, his illness was healed, and because of your training, his salary increased, and his character changed. It would be great if you told me this, and I would appreciate you from the bottom of my heart because you are a kind pastor.

You should know why David could wait. In fact, David did not need them to be his people. He wanted to share the benefits he had received from God with these people. Whoever is willing to come will receive them; those who are not willing will follow Saul's son, Ish-bosheth. He was a very bad king who didn't know how to be a king, didn't learn, and messed things up, so how could he not be tired?

People should never be anxious. First, you must grow well yourself and become a knowledgeable person. We have plenty of time. You can earn many degrees from the age of thirty to forty, and from forty to fifty. Even if you earn a degree in three years, you can earn seven! We slowly learn one project at a time. What I fear most is people who are anxious when they study, and as a result, they achieve nothing even in their forties or fifties. Wouldn't such people be ruined?

Don't rush to be a pastor, don't rush to be a king. Mold yourself into a person after God's own heart. If you become a person after God's own heart, how can God not lift you up? God is seated on his throne seeking such people, seeking faithful and good servants. In the future, he will give them one city, ten cities, or a hundred cities for them to manage. God needs a king like David, who is kind and treats his people with loving-kindness and integrity. I am very grateful that our church can get to where it is today. Don't think that I want to get something from you. No matter how rich you are, the first thing I think about is what I can give you. This is also the purpose of my building the church, because the church is a place to distribute blessings, not a place to plunder wealth.

Being a King Who Treats His People Well

Can a king who unifies by force treat his people well? If a king relies on military unification without considering what to do with the deaths, how long can the unification last? If there are these problems, it is difficult to be a good king! To be a king, you must have Tao (the Way), not seek your own benefit, and not seek your own throne. If a person values his throne and feels that the throne is very important, then he is completely ruined. If a pastor feels that the position of pastor is very glorious, then he is also ruined.

I hope everyone can remember what I said after I die, to manage the people of Israel, you must not seek your own benefit, but seek responsibility and service. Why can many people who cannot be shepherded in other churches grow healthily among us? Because I build the church and manage God's people according to God's will, and I also ask God to give us heavenly wisdom.

Obedience does not come from compulsion or intimidation. Some church testimonies are laughable. Their pastors often say to church members, If you don't obey, you will be cursed. This sentence scares the brothers and sisters in their church, and they have to obey all the time. Isn't this scary? They also say that people will not die well in the future. Isn't this a cult?

If someone asks me, Teacher, what will happen if you are not faithful and do not treat your people with God's loving-kindness? I will say, I will have a bad death! Because we must all demand ourselves according to God's will, not demand others. If you say the opposite, If you don't obey, you will have a bad death, no one will feel comfortable listening to it. Later, I found that they didn't suffer any curses and were still living well. As a result, some people ran to the Chinese Mingding Destiny Church. These people were all scared by their pastors.

Chinese Mingding Destiny never asks others to obey. Instead, people are willing to obey themselves because the pastor asks you to do it for your own benefit. You are also doing it for your own benefit. In the future, perhaps you will also seek the benefit of others. This is in line with God's will, and God is with us. God's Spirit is among us, satisfying his will.

Building a church after God's own heart is our lifelong pursuit! We have God's presence, which saves us a lifetime of medical expenses. We take the time we would have spent in hospital beds and use it to worship God. Isn't this worth it? I really hope that all the brothers and sisters can hold on to God tightly because you can never find such good grace on earth again. I hope that all the brothers and sisters among us can imitate David to be a king and priest after God's own heart and be a faithful and good servant. How wonderful this is!

May God bless everyone!