Introduction

In recent Sundays, I have been addressing topics related to your personal growth, such as Overcoming Yourself and Seek and Ye Shall Find. However, my speaking on these matters does not guarantee your growth. In reality, it is impossible for your growth to occur simply because I have spoken. The issue is that I have seen individuals who attend six sermons in a weekend but, due to a lack of implementation, end up in confusion.

The previous weeks' topic, Overcoming Yourself, primarily involved verbs, indicating the ability to take action. Verbs imply a specific action to be performed, such as overcoming the laziness of the flesh, resisting the love of the world, and conquering oneself. To overcome illness, one must seize spiritual authority, as failure to strictly adhere to God's word is the source of all diseases. Seek and Ye Shall Find also employs a verb; seeking requires action. Initially, you may feel full of faith after listening to my sermon, but after a week, the motivation wanes. At least, a recording of my sermon remains online, but without implementation, you gain nothing and waste over an hour listening to me.

I urge you to put what I say into practice. What should you seek? This week's sermon is themed Seeking the Essence of Things. Each of us is a scientific worker, dedicated to uncovering the essence of things in our respective roles. Our brothers and sisters in the church must grow; otherwise, your pastors will spank you. You might say, Alas, I have not received an education. But, Does a lack of education preclude learning?

I have grasped an essence that promotes growth, namely education. Everything we do is aimed at enabling growth, to mature into the fullness of Jesus Christ. In the past, I greatly enjoyed each of my jobs because I grasped the essence. I encountered a pastor whose church faced significant challenges and who was deeply troubled. He came to me, and I asked, Have you listened to your own sermons? He replied, I detest it. No wonder; if you dislike listening to your own sermons, how can others enjoy them?

Recently, a pastor has enjoyed conversing with me, stating, I learn a great deal from you each time I interact with you. I responded, That is to be expected. It is not self-praise. He established his church ten years before me, but over the years, he went around in circles, studying theology and other subjects. However, after hearing me, he exclaimed, Wow, you have simplified things so much! Why can I simplify complex issues? Because I grasp the essence. I have grasped the essence of learning, which is why I have been an academic achiever since childhood.

Later, I enjoyed working. When I was an engineer, I grasped the essence of being an engineer. I solved technical problems one by one. My colleagues would say, Look, the boss has given you another impossible problem. But I grew by solving the problems. When I was a manager, I also disliked it, but I forced myself to enjoy it. As a manager, I grasped the essence of providing career planning. Some people want to be bosses all their lives but do not know how. It was the same when I was a senior administrator at the university. As a pastor, there were many times I did not want to continue, but later, I grasped the essence, and now things are getting better.

I have always wanted to grasp the essence of being a pastor. After many years of hard work, I increasingly enjoy doing this. I have summarized it briefly. Over the past few years, I have written more than 40 books. I will take this opportunity to make a small plug. Anyone who wants to grasp the essence can read them. I want everyone to grow and understand what Mingding Destiny is about, what it means to be a disciple, to build a victorious church, and to understand blessings, curses, and diseases. I have written about them in my books. Grasping the essence is crucial; it is a pity for those who cannot. Some university graduates, when asked, What do you want to do in the future? give a long list of things, such as self-media, the internet, IT, and so on. They cannot give a clear answer. Interest is deceptive; it is just a feeling. After doing it, they will say, I thought I liked it, and then keep changing industries.

Everyone must remember that it is difficult to endure anything without grasping the essence. Christians should spend more than ten hours a week growing. If you grasp the essence of being a victorious Christian, how can you not like it? In my previous church, they would come in as soon as the doors opened. So, I think brothers and sisters who have not yet grasped the essence must learn it today. I know that some of you are not highly educated, but that does not matter. The key is your attitude towards life, whether you are willing to grasp the essence of things, and whether you are concerned about face, making yourselves uncomfortable. Grasping the essence means understanding what you do not understand; do not pretend to know what you do not.

Scripture

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has grown calloused; their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ (Matthew 13:10-15)

Prayer

Lord Jesus, let us call upon you to open our spiritual eyes and ears, that we may hear and understand with our hearts. May we know that in this generation, your word is being rebuilt, opening our minds and thoughts, so that we may know that living is a simple matter and that serving you in this generation is vanity of vanities.

Lord, let us serve you, let us become understanding people, let us become your people in your eyes, make us your victorious children in your heart, let us offer ourselves completely, Amen!

Why Does Jesus Speak to the People in Parables?

Because He does not want them to know, but He does want the disciples to know. I pondered what this meant. It turns out that our God is separating people, dividing them into you and them. Jesus speaks to the people in parables but speaks directly to the disciples. So, what kind of people should we be today? Our God does not want just anyone. If someone is them in Jesus' eyes, they will not understand even if they are brought closer to the church. Jesus will only speak to them in parables.

What is the difference between the people and the disciples? Because the disciples are seekers. Lord, why do you speak to the people in parables? What does this parable mean? What is going on? They are all seeking. If you do not have a seeking heart, your heart will be calloused, your ears hard of hearing, and your eyes closed; you will not hear or understand. I also do not understand many things. I also do not understand. Many people like to jump to conclusions based on my sermons and that is it, falling into the knowledge of good and evil. But this fulfills God's word, drawing some people into the disciples and assigning others to the people. Disciples are willing to pay the price, and those who love the world will not love God. Our God's characteristic will not bring the people into God's kingdom.

Jesus said, I can raise up children for Abraham from these stones. God is not really short of people. If you are willing to be a vessel in God's eyes, then continue to be so. God does not want to transform stinky dog ​​shit into treasure; you are what you are.

Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.” (Revelation 22:11)

We want to transform God's disciples, bringing those who belong to God into God's kingdom. The things in people's bones are wonderful, whatever is in a person's bones, that is what kind of person they are. We must know today that God chooses us, not we choose God. Those who belong to God, God will bring into the kingdom; those who do not belong to God, God will let them continue to be corrupt.

God Is in Control of the Universe, Those Who Seek Will Find

We need to understand one thing today: it is not because you fully understand that you come to church. Some people come to church and lose it, because the things people pursue inside are different. Many people in our midst seek healing and deliverance, but they have no Mingding Destiny, and then they go back to doing whatever they were doing. Many churches desperately try to pull people in, making the gospel cheap, but our gospel is very precious. Jesus' precious blood redeemed us. We are extremely noble. Do not cheapen the gospel.

When Peter came to follow Jesus, Jesus said only one sentence, Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people. Peter immediately left his nets and followed the Lord Jesus. Why is that? What if he followed the wrong person? Many people live in fear. Why did Peter follow Jesus? Because he did not have the way to eternal life and had been seeking it in his heart. What if he followed the wrong person? Our God is in control of everything, and those who seek will surely find.

We must know one thing today: God is still in control of us. If you seek with a seeking heart, you will find; if you seek with selfish motives, you will get idols, seeking things that you think are right with an idolatrous mentality, and eventually enter into idolatry. If you do not have the truth to seek the meaning of life, God is already waiting for you.

God is going to separate those who seek from those who do not seek, those who want to figure it out from those who do not figure it out; God separates you and them. Who are you? Seeking Mingding Destiny. Who are them? Seeking this life. So, by looking at what these people are seeking in their bones, you can tell whether it is treasure or garbage. Our God seeks treasure, and we will be treasure in his eyes. God makes the matter of living very clear.

God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. (Romans 2:6-10)

God will repay you according to your choices. We must grasp the most essential thing: what is living all about? Living is a very simple matter. We know why we live this way. Why should people be disciples of Jesus? Because they have seen through everything, and Jesus has the words of eternal life. Why do some people live in pain? Because they do not understand, because they do not understand what living is all about? They do not know that sovereignty and freedom are not negotiable. Anyone who is controlled has the spirit of Jezebel. Do not jump to conclusions based on the examples I give.

I met a pastor the other day, and his wife came to me with a very nasty look on her face. The pastor was shivering with fear. Can a pastor who is afraid of his wife be successful? Some entrepreneurs are also afraid of their wives. Do not blame me for saying this. There is an entrepreneur who loves the Lord very much and even trains other entrepreneurs. When his wife comes in and says something is not right, he changes his mind. Why do you do what your wife says? You are not listening to God. There are many pastors who are controlled in this way.

The sister who shared her testimony today said, I want to build God's church in this place. But what happened? She is scared to death of her husband. We are blessed to have freedom. I often tell some pastors, do not be controlled. Try to control me, and see what happens. Would I allow you to control me? Serving God is my purpose, and I do not live for anyone. I am seeking incorruptible blessings, and there is no one and nothing that will make me give up God. Some Taiwanese preachers serve Chinese preachers, but they get drawn into a small life, putting their families before God, which is not God's will. They still think they are serving God. We must be you people of Jesus Christ, that is, be disciples.

Brothers and sisters, if you want to serve God today, you must put things aside in your heart. If your husband stops you, you are better off without him; if your wife stops you, you are better off without her. This kind of control within couples and families causes everyone to live in pain. I once saw a wife controlling her husband, and the wife was also unhappy. But is not living a simple matter for God? Why make it so complicated? There were two couples, and it was very funny, but they were made to re-take their vows. Do you think you can have a good life by re-taking your vows? So, we must see clearly the essence of living, and live for God for the rest of our lives.

Seek glory, honor and immortality, so our brothers and sisters must come out of bondage little by little. Freedom is the essence of believing in the Lord. We must see clearly the essence of fear and the evil spirits behind fear. Freedom cannot be controlled. I saw an old preacher who could not walk with his legs and was often given healing and deliverance by others. When I led him in deliverance, I saw a large number of bats in the air, pitch black and completely unable to see the light. I saw the control behind the family. When controlled, it will corrupt our lives and cause us to live in sickness.

Know that we seek honor, glory and incorruptible blessings, and clear away everything that hinders us. We do not live for our wives, parents or children, but for God. So, we must develop the habit of grasping the essence. Why do we seek? Because we know we do not know. Pretending to know is useless; it is not seeking. If you seek, you will surely seek the essence of things. If you think about what living is all about, you will surely find it. In the past, I kept seeking, and God kept revealing. I like that I have developed the habit of grasping the essence of things. If everyone is willing to seek, they can grasp the essence.

Do Not Be Concerned About Face-Saving

Recently, I started having the co-workers in the church shepherd their own families. What good is it for one's family to be shepherded by others? It's just pretense. Later, having one's own family serve each other is very effective, as it immediately exposes pretense.

Some time ago, one of my disciples was renovating his house and installing the light switches. He got many of them right, but he didn't know how he did it. When he came to my room, he couldn't get it right no matter what he did. He stood there looking perplexed. Actually, he didn't understand. After studying engineering for so many years, such a small matter of electrical circuits, something learned in junior and senior high school, why didn't he understand after graduating from university? It's because he didn't really grasp it. He passed the exams, but he didn't understand how to do it in practice.

We must understand one thing: do not pretend to know. Grasp the essence of things. Our light switch controls the current. You studied it, but you can't apply it. You must understand in your heart and see clearly. It's the same with our faith in the Lord. Why do people lie? Because people are afraid. Why do people feel so miserable? Because they haven't grasped the essence. But there are also some religious views on lying. Don't assume that lying is always wrong; don't judge according to moral standards.

Some time ago, I attended a gathering where one of the leaders was discussing the issue of lying. They all believed that one should not lie. But I stumped them with one question: Abraham and Jacob both told obvious lies. How do you explain that? It's because they have a moral judgment on the matter of lying. But everyone forgot a crucial judgment: What is the motive for lying? Jacob's motive was Mingding Destiny. Many people forget their purpose, forget the essence of what they are saying, leading to many confused views. Many religious views cannot tolerate the actions of Jacob and Rahab. Those who are always determined not to lie are influenced by a religious spirit.

Everyone should see that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David were all shrewd people. Do not tell lies for selfish motives. Everyone must see through the essence of living, then they will know that these prophets were right. The process of believing in the Lord is about grasping the essence. The Pharisees grasp the superficial. Jesus healed the sick on the Sabbath, and they accused Jesus of not keeping the Sabbath, but they did not know that the Sabbath was made for man. We must reject the religious spirit. We must worship our God in spirit and in truth, and cultivate the habit of grasping the essence.

Being concerned about face-saving is a very evil thing. One of our brothers didn't receive much education growing up, and he did terribly in the 101 course, unable to grasp the basic concepts at all. If he sincerely sought knowledge, knowing what he knew and not pretending to know what he didn't, he could do well. But he listened to many sermons online. He hadn't read much himself, so he really didn't understand. We only found out about this later. I really hoped he would grow quickly in the group, but because of face-saving, a lot of confusion arose that we saw. Our purpose is to help him grow, but if a person lacks a seeking heart, it's troublesome. It's not that he doesn't seek, but he seeks in a way that is concerned with face-saving. We must cultivate the habit of grasping the essence.

Recently, I have been training my disciples. I want to break their bad habits. Know what you know, and never pretend to know. I asked a very simple question: What is one plus one? It equals three. What is this? Why is it three? I looked at him again, and he told me it was four. They don't grasp the specific essence. Their minds are full of what they think you want to hear.

See Through Life and Death, Constantly Seek God

Whatever you do, be clear about what you are doing. Do not be the 'they' that Jesus speaks of; be the 'you' that He speaks of. Jesus would use parables to speak to 'them,' but Jesus would tell the direct words to 'you.' God reveals the doctrines and truths from the beginning of creation to you. We have Mingding Destiny. Abraham saw through the essence of man, grasping anything in the world is vanity. Isaac also constantly sought God, seeing through life and death from a young age. Jacob and Joseph were the same. But many of us do not understand.

They all pay a heavy price for their own Mingding Destiny. Abraham's entry into Canaan was very difficult. Living is dying, it is better to seek. God said, Go to the place I will show you. If you don't see through it, you won't bother. If you haven't seen that living is vanity of vanities, you won't understand even if you hear it. That is why our diseases are difficult to heal. If you take many things too seriously, you will live a very tiring life. Some of us are very old, living in a muddle. If we saw through the essence of living, that would be so good. For example, my father, before he died, arranged who should get this house and who should get that, making people think about it all day long. I often tell my parents, is it really necessary to live so hard? Because we have clarified the essence, we are building God's glorious church, and we are starting to shepherd God's flock.

In the past few years, I have been very clear about shepherding. I constantly grasp the essence. After I grasp it, through practice, some children have also been liberated. Now there are many churches that value leading people to sing on stage. Shepherding is about perfecting people's Mingding Destiny, spiritual growth, breaking the bondage of the flesh, and leading them into worshiping in spirit and in truth.

Some time ago, an entrepreneur's child did not like to study. I told him, This child needs shepherding, constantly building confidence, and constantly growing in spiritual matters. He still has many bondages. Later, he hoped that we would take on the work of shepherding. But their church does not value it at all. When I saw their conversation, I really couldn't stand it. They value the money in their hands. Shepherding must break the child's carnal habits. Our children use what we teach to break carnal habits, and their academic performance improves quickly. This is grasping the essence.

Conclusion

There is much more that we have grasped. If I were to talk about it, I really wouldn't be able to finish. Today, I put this concept in everyone's heart. Everything related to living is a spiritual matter. If you don't live well, it's because you haven't grasped the spiritual essence. You don't understand even if you hear it. You have your own set of things in your heart. You think living is good, but in the end, you can't enjoy it, and it's not enjoyable at all.

We must be the disciples in Jesus' eyes, completely removing the attitude of living a small life. Do not become people who anger God. If you are careful to observe and follow God's words, you will be blessed. If you are not careful to observe and follow God's words, you will be cursed. The essence of our living is to live according to Mingding Destiny, because outside of Mingding Destiny, there is no blessing.

May God bless everyone!