1. Introduction

Last week, I spoke on Your Altitude Determines Your Perspective. What you see from different heights is entirely different. If you stand at a low position, thinking that what you see is the complete truth of the matter, you are being foolish. I hope such people can wake up and not be presumptuous, because this is foolishness and easily exploited by the devil.

The Bible records that mankind ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which began with self-righteousness. In the conversation between the devil and Eve before Adam and Eve ate the fruit, Eve was self-righteous. She forgot the words of God and believed the serpent's lies.

Either live according to the word of God or live according to your logic. If you live by the word of God, you will surely be blessed. On Friday, I led a Bible study with a scientist from North America. But when I spoke of God's word, If you diligently obey the statutes and ordinances of God, God will surely set you high above all nations, this person said, Not necessarily. I was very confused, what does this illustrate?

Is there any record in the Bible that God will bless you with cancer? No! What I read is, If you do not diligently obey, you will suffer severe and lasting illnesses (Deuteronomy). Pastor John Sung was a very influential Chinese pastor, but he died from hemorrhoidal bleeding. Even if a pastor like John Sung died in this way, it cannot negate the word of God. It does not mean that the word of God is not faithful.

If we do not have enough height in the word of God, we will not be able to know God. If we stand at the height of the throne of God, recognize the truth of God, and the Holy Spirit reveals it to us, forming a system of faith within us, who can deceive us?

What do we live by? Even if these things happen, they cannot deny the word of God. How can people live well? It must start from the word of God. To resist the devil's schemes, you must know the word of God. Today, no matter what the problem, it cannot prevent us from knowing the word of God.

2. Scripture

But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)
Jesus said this famous statement, and as a Christian, you cannot not know this statement.

3. Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank you! You have set an example for us, showing us how to resist the devil, that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Today, we also use every word that comes from the mouth of God to resist the devil. We ask your Holy Spirit to work, to make us wise, to enable us to know the Holy Spirit. May God's reward be given to us, to completely enter the promised land of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

4. Self-Righteousness is the Corruption of Man

I saw an army of evil spirits so large that it stretched as far as I could see. It was made up of legions, and each legion carried a different banner. The leading legion marched under the banners of pride, self-righteousness, concern for reputation, selfish ambition, unjust judgment, and jealousy. There were many more legions of evil beyond my sight, but the vanguard of this terrible hellish army seemed to be the most powerful—and leading it was the accuser of the brethren (Rick Joyner - Final Quest).

When I read this, I did not pay attention that the leading army of evil spirits was pride, self-righteousness, concern for reputation, selfish ambition, unjust judgment, and jealousy. The self-righteousness mentioned here is not easy to translate. What is self-righteousness? Later, I discovered it is self-importance.

Today, I will speak on how the devil corrupts people through self-importance. The devil's favorite thing to do is to corrupt people. I had a conversation with a sister who was very self-important. During our conversation, she said to me: I used to be very self-important, so I kept going around in circles and always returned to the starting point. I was very self-important. Today, I want to come out of self-importance. Pastor, if you see anything wrong with me, I hope you can point it out to me.

5. Reading God's Word is the Only Way to Resist the Devil's Schemes

Self-importance is thinking that you know, which is quite deadly. Moreover, pride and self-righteousness are the most powerful of the devil's schemes. Today, we want to know the devil's schemes. What do we use to resist them? It is the word of God. If you do not know the word of God, you are easily deceived. If you cannot read, you must learn to read, God will help you. Today, we must have a clear understanding of the word of God, as the scripture says:

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 11:18-19)

We must read the word of God daily and daily. If we are not familiar with the word of God, we will easily be deceived by the devil. One person's mother went to a local, medium-sized hospital to check for cancer. The doctor told her not to worry. As a result, she went to a larger hospital in a bigger city for examination. The examining doctor said: You have no problem, it's not cancer, don't worry. But she still didn't believe it, so she went to a bigger hospital to check again, always thinking, what if it's cancer? In the end, she went to the most expensive hospital in China. The doctor asked her: What's wrong with you? I went to this hospital and that hospital for examinations, and they all said it's not cancer. The doctor said: You have cancer, the examination shows that you have cancer, come for treatment.

As a result, his mother said that this hospital is so good, finally saying that it is cancer. What kind of person is this? I think the doctor should be laughing behind her back. I think many people are operating under the lies of self-importance. If people know the word of God and live by the word of God, they must thoroughly understand the word of God. If you do not thoroughly understand it, when your work does not go well, the pressure will be great, and this and that illness will come.

Some people want to invest, but do not know what investment is. They follow a master and become very self-important. As a result, 50,000 becomes 30,000, 30,000 becomes 20,000, and 20,000 later disappears. The initial 50,000 was borrowed. It is very dangerous for people to lack self-awareness. Therefore, Paul said in the Bible that we must see ourselves with sober judgment. We must see spiritual matters clearly. Even if you do well on a technical level, you can still knock the devil down with one blow, because the spiritual world determines earthly matters.

Some people love money to death and are self-important. How is it possible to be blessed? The Bible clearly says that you cannot serve God and serve mammon at the same time. We must all know the devil's schemes.

Why do some people keep tossing and turning and then return to the starting point? Because the decisions they make are based on self-importance. What do people live by today? Not by work, not by the boss, not by your skills, but by God. We must diligently obey the word of God. When we build up our belief system, everything becomes easier.

Actually, self-importance and pride are very difficult problems to solve. If a person is both proud and self-important, it is very difficult to deal with.

6. Establishing a Complete System of Faith is Key

Some years ago, I procured a book penned by a pastor of considerable renown. Yet, upon opening its pages, I was struck by its insidious nature. How dare you contend with the devil? The devil is the most beautiful angel in God's creation. What sort of teaching is this? To contend with the devil is a command from God! Today, doctrines devoid of scriptural basis pervade the world.

Yesterday, a colleague presented a sermon from the internet, which propounded, Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. However, this sermon omitted the crucial follow-up from Paul: Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid! One must diligently read the scriptures, establish a system of faith, and contemplate whether the words spoken are grounded in the Bible.

Pastor Song Shangjie suffered from hemorrhoids, bleeding profusely, yet he persisted in preaching and ministering. Song Shangjie possessed a fiery temperament; he would reject food bought for him if it displeased him, and he would dismiss translators from the pulpit if their interpretation was subpar. Suddenly, I understood why he suffered from hemorrhoids.

7. Dispelling Myths, Seeking Basis in Scripture

In all matters, we must seek our foundation in the scriptures. Man shall not live by presumption, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. The most perilous state is when one is ignorant of one's own ignorance. To not know that one does not know is most dangerous. By all means, establish a complete system of faith, live out the word of God, and thus know the word of God. If you practice the word, you will know the word.

The other day, a brother from North America remarked that this was a mystery, that there were too many things beyond our comprehension. I retorted, the scriptures are replete with written words, instructing us to diligently observe and obey. If we do not know, we must continually seek; to not know yet assume knowledge is presumption. Do not use the concept of mystery as an excuse to avoid pursuing the word of God. Once one receives the scriptures, read them assiduously, neither adding nor subtracting. We must construct a cohesive logical framework. If you build your church according to the word of God, you will surely establish a glorious church of God.

Let me illustrate with a simple example. Many of our confusions are not significantly related to the word of God, and even in the face of contrary examples, we need not be perplexed. One plus one equals two, but that which equals two is not necessarily one plus one, and that which does not equal two is certainly not one plus one. The death of Song Shangjie from hemorrhoids proves nothing. There is no scriptural basis to suggest that adhering to the word of God leads to hemorrhoids. One example of Song Shangjie cannot overturn the word of God. Diligent adherence will invariably yield the results of diligent adherence.

8. Conclusion

If we diligently observe and obey, we will attain the outcomes described in the scriptures, knowing God in truth, continually ascending spiritual heights, persistently climbing in the knowledge of spiritual truth. He who seeks will find, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Today, we must emerge from self-righteousness. We see that the foremost legions of the devil are spirits of pride and self-conceit. How to gauge whether one is presumptuous? By observing whether one resembles Jesus.

May God bless you all!