Introduction

Having listened to everyone's testimonies, I heard a very interesting question. What is this question? It's not really interesting, it sounds quite sad. People are more miserable after believing in the Lord than before, which is a very perplexing issue. Believing is worse than not believing, and this is related to the theme I am going to discuss. I have sufficient arguments to demonstrate this. All brothers and sisters who have this question should listen carefully. The answer is interspersed throughout. I will not directly answer your question. If you drift off and miss it, it would be a pity!

Today, I am speaking on solely pleasing God. Some people are quite endearing, asking me who is this 'solely'? This theme of mine is very powerful. You can customize this theme yourself; if you don't like it, you can change it, such as Caleb pleasing God, Wang Fan pleasing God, or so-and-so pleasing God. 'Solely' means wholeheartedly pleasing God; who is 'wholeheartedly'? 'Wholeheartedly' means 'solely', to be very dedicated to pleasing God.

The Story of the Wolf Eating the Sheep

Once upon a time, there was a story of a wolf eating sheep. This is another Wang Fan version of the wolf eating sheep story. A group of sheep were very clever. They searched and searched and found a fence. It is only natural for wolves to eat sheep, and the sheep can only escape for their lives and be eaten by wolves. They wanted to solve this problem. They found a fence and hid inside. The sheep were very happy that they could finally resist the wolves. However, every now and then, one sheep would go missing. This group of sheep held a meeting: Don't we have a fence? Why do we keep losing one? If we were eaten by wolves on the street, that would be no surprise, as wolves eating sheep is a basic principle. We found a fence, so why are we still being eaten by wolves?

They discussed it intensely. Some sheep were afraid of even speaking, while others said: The wolves are more powerful now, and they can climb the walls. This group of sheep discussed fiercely: What if the wolves can climb? Then we'll put thorns on the fence. But the final result was still that sheep would go missing every now and then, dying every so often. Why do we keep dying? This won't do! The sheep were completely bewildered and couldn't find an answer.

Later, a little sheep said: I have observed that something is not quite right. Every time we lose a sheep, it is when it hasn't rained. We don't lose sheep when it rains heavily, and nothing happens when it doesn't rain. The sheep began to recall that so-and-so went missing after it rained, and the second sheep seemed to be the same. So, they searched around and found that far east of where they had built the fence, a section had been washed away. No sheep were lost when it rained, as the fence was broken. When it did not rain, sheep went missing. They discovered there was a gap under the fence, likely caused by a flood. The wolves were not climbing in but coming through the gap.

This is just a story. Later, they plugged the hole and solved the problem. In everything, you must find the key to the problem. Can fear solve the problem? No. Can random busywork solve the problem? No, that's just aimless activity. Can technology solve the problem? No. This group of sheep put thorns on the fence, but it didn't solve the problem. The problem was finding the hole, which was connected to the fate of the sheep.

We need to find the key to the problem today. Without finding that hole, these sheep would die. It's the same for people. What is the key to a person's life? It is the Bible, which is the key to a person's life, the goal and roadmap for living. This is the core of all issues. I have finally understood this after believing in the Lord for so many years. All of you brothers and sisters here today should listen carefully. Those who have not believed may not be able to understand. Those who believe must live well by solely pleasing God, as the praise song One Way sings, only the 'solely' path can save our lives.

I have recently been reading a book called Winning and Losing, which contains a great concept. Many salespeople know about uncovering customer needs, but they still can't make sales every time. Let me give you an example, also from the book. You need to carefully consider this business of needs. For example, if I sell mobile phones and a customer says, I want a large-screen phone, the salesperson gives the customer the largest screen in the store, and the customer leaves.

There are several conditions related to needs. First, it must be specific. You must ask the customer how big a screen they want, instead of just taking out the largest one. Second, besides this need, are there any other needs? Besides wanting a large screen, the customer might also want a phone that can fly or go underground. If your phone doesn't have these features, they won't want it. Third, you need to uncover the purpose of the large screen. Some customers buy it not for themselves but for their fathers, who have poor eyesight. If you don't understand this clearly and give them the largest one, they still won't buy it.

I want to make a complete argument. Just shouting slogans won't work. I want to be a priest to the nations, I want to be a blessing to the nations, I want to solely please God. Just saying it is useless; it doesn't satisfy God's needs. For Christians, God is our Lord, and satisfying God's needs is the key to living well. Just shouting slogans won't satisfy God's pleasure. Why should we please God? How do we please God? We need to understand this intellectually. First, why do Christians live worse than non-believers? Second, since we are Christians, how can we live well? We need to discuss this specifically.

Scripture

Finally, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God. (1 Thessalonians 4:1)

Prayer

Lord, open our eyes; in the name of the Lord Jesus, we listen carefully to your teachings, abide by and follow your will, and solely do what pleases you. Lord Jesus, may all our decisions, hopes, and matters please you. Teach us how to please you. On the path of pleasing you, as we have trusted you in the past, may we continue to trust you today to please you. Remove the veils from our eyes, open our hearts to you, and make us people who please you.

Pleasing God Is Related to Faith

Firstly, pleasing God is related to faith. How so?

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Whenever you lack faith, you cannot please God. Even when you have faith, you are not assured to please God, because besides faith, there are other things required. Overall, without faith, you cannot receive God's pleasure. Unbelief is the root of humanity's problems. When we read Genesis chapter 3 about the issue of knowing good and evil, and we take a step further in reasoning, what is the key issue? It is because Eve and Adam did not listen to God's word, which angered God, and they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Not listening to God's word comes first. The root of all human problems begins with unbelief, with provoking God's anger, with God not being pleased with people.

Later, I discovered that if God had said not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, nor to eat from the tree of life, then Eve would have been cursed for eating from the tree of life, because God forbade it. The problem is not diligently keeping and following God's word, which is unbelief. The first Bible study material from our church, Genesis, is themed Unbelief is the Root of All Problems. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. God created all things. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was created by God in six days, and so were Eve and the serpent. All of these were created in six days. When God finished creating each day, He saw that it was good.

Why did all these good things have problems after chapter 3? The serpent, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam, and Eve all had problems. Adam and Eve were not afraid of God originally, but they even became afraid of God. Eventually, even the beautiful God became not beautiful. The problem is that they were originally pleasing God. God created them to serve Him. But then Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and stopped pleasing God. Adam did not please God and listened to Eve. The serpent did something that did not please God and deceived Eve. As a result, the originally good serpent, tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam, and Eve all became not good.

Today, if you feel that you are not living well, whether it is in regards to finances or health, consider this. Adam and Eve should have been decent Christians; they were living beings with spirits. They became not good, so what more can be said of you and me? The problem began with not pleasing God, not listening to God's word, violating God's word, and then falling into a curse. This is the root of the problem. Do we want to repeatedly fail at this root? If we repeatedly fail at the root, isn't it normal for a Christian to not live well? If you are not solely pleasing God, who can you blame for not living well? Adam and Eve could not escape it, so what more can be said of you and me? Today, we are still far from God's standards. This is why a person must solely please God.

Living a God-Centered Life

Today, we look at Lot and Abraham. Living a God-centered life is closely related to our lives. I did not say living a God-centered religious life, because our roadmap for living is built up of one judgment and choice after another. For example, at ten o'clock, I chose to share God's word with everyone until eleven o'clock. That period from ten to eleven o'clock will never appear again in my life. If I chose to do something else during that time, my life's roadmap would be rewritten.

All the roadmaps in our lives are determined by judgments and choices. In other words, once a person makes a choice, that's how their time will be. We look at Lot and Abraham, one making choices centered on God, and the other making choices centered on something else. These two choices will become the roadmaps of their lives. In the end, these two people will reach their respective destinations and become their respective destinies. It is the same for you and me today.

We start with Lot and Abraham leaving their kindred and their father's house. Although the Bible doesn't write why Lot followed Abraham, I make a bold guess based on Lot's actions. Abraham was already somewhat well-known in his kindred and his father's house at that time. Lot was following Abraham to get by, because Lot's father was gone and he needed this uncle. Abraham left his kindred and his father's house because he made God the center of his life, because God called him, so he left. I guess Lot was probably not like that. I boldly guess that it would have been very difficult for Lot to leave Abraham. Lot only had one uncle. When Abraham left, he took the whole family with him. Abraham left that place because of God's call, while Lot probably left that place to get by.

Lot followed because he wanted to get by with Abraham, while Abraham went because of God's calling. This is the first round of choices. The second round of choices is Lot choosing to separate from Abraham. Lot had been doing well following Abraham. Why did he want to separate from Abraham? Because Lot felt that he had gotten enough from Abraham, and he had a lot of gold, silver, and livestock. He was following Abraham, but he didn't have the final say. The sheep seemed to be his, but they weren't. They how must be as Abraham said. Lot wanted to contend for a state of ownership, so Lot chose to leave. This is the first choice.

The second choice was whether to go to a prosperous place or a barren one. Once a person starts living a life that is not centered on God, their accounts become very messy. Many people have not cleared this account. Later, I calculated an account for Abraham and Lot. It is very foolish for a person not to make God the center. Why did Lot choose the prosperous place? Because prosperous land has more resources and more livestock. Prosperous places have more resources, but they also have more competitors!

How did I discover this? Later, two angels went to Lot's house. As soon as they entered Lot's house, a group of people entered Lot's house with a whoosh, wanting to ransack his house and take the two angels away. As soon as two outsiders entered Lot's house, the group swarmed up. Would Lot's daughters experience the same thing when he took them to that place? But Lot's two daughters were always virgins, which shows that Lot paid an extremely heavy price. We imagine that in a prosperous place, you have to work hard, compete with that group, and struggle, so how much of a price do you have to pay? Lot only thought about the abundant resources. He didn't think about the abundance of competitors in that place, with a thousand pieces of money being divided among a thousand people!

Abraham chose the barren place, but a hundred pieces of resources might be divided among a few people, and Abraham was very good at training the people below him. Lot certainly didn't grow as quickly as Abraham. People are foolish in this. A person who lives a God-centered life solely values God. God is the God who created all things in the universe. Would He not consider all the possible factors in place and arrange them for you? A person who lives a life apart from God only values wealth and status, and they often end up miserable, because they only value wealth and status and ignore many factors. Lot was such a person. Lot lived a difficult life. He did not imitate Abraham. He did not live a God-centered life. What he cared about was money and status, and he paid a very heavy price for it. Just maintaining the virginity of his daughters must have involved so many connections and so much effort. Moreover, Lot was not like Abraham, who knew how to train people. Abraham had 318 trained men, while Lot had nothing.

If you are a God-centered person, and you solely please God, God will arrange everything for you. But if you are a person who only cares about yourself, like Lot, and God is not his center, but his livestock, finances, and status are his center, then such a person's perspective will definitely not be comprehensive, and as a result, Lot became very miserable. Lot's later decision was even more hilarious. The kings of Sodom, where Lot was located, were all captured, and Abraham rescued them all. As a result, Lot returned to Sodom again.

I know what Lot was thinking. All of Lot's things were taken away by the four kings, and Abraham brought all his things back. Why couldn't Lot continue to follow Abraham? Lot calculated the account this way: my things were taken away by the four kings, and my family was under their jurisdiction. Although Abraham saved me, if I continue to follow him, I will still be under Abraham's jurisdiction. Lot was still concerned about his ownership issue. His ownership superseded everything. Finally, Lot returned to Sodom. This was a fatal choice for Lot.

After Lot's fatal choice, Lot even developed some mental problems. Lot said this:

So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. (Genesis 19:14)

And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. (Genesis 19:16)

Lot had become abnormal. He told others to leave, but he himself chose not to leave. Today, in our generation, many Christians live worse after believing in the Lord, because many people have added another religious rule after believing. Lot thought about the many riches in his hands, wanted to protect his daughters' chastity, and was half-believing and half-doubting the prophecy that God was going to destroy Sodom, so he became mentally ill. All who do not live solely God-centered lives are mentally ill. If a person focuses on God, they will not be mentally ill, but if they love God on one hand and love the world on the other, maintaining this balance will be very deadly. Someone who solely pleases God will not become mentally ill. Abraham was such a person. He left his kindred and his father's house according to God's will. When his wife was captured, he still chose to rely on God and please God.

Abraham took three hundred and eighteen people to save Lot, and he was accompanied by a group of good brothers. He had enough strength and ability to save Lot at that time. Abraham then assessed that he had the ability to save Lot. Later, when Abraham offered Isaac to God, everything he did was to please God, and he became the richest man in that generation. What about this Lot? The ending was very tragic. He made a fatal decision before his death, running to the mountains and committing incest with his daughters. If he had gone to Abraham, his life would have been turned around, but in the end, he still did not choose to trust God. This is Lot's life. He made money, family, and status the core of his interests, and became a serious mental patient, including his descendants. Where did these curses come from? They came from Lot's choices. If a person lives God-centered, they are like Abraham.

Knowing God's Will Spiritually and Intellectually

Both the spiritual and intellectual aspects are indispensable. The spiritual growth of brothers and sisters is closely related to both. Through my ministry, I have gained some experience. Recently, I ministered to a sister. I was talking to her about the Word of God. As soon as I sat down, my back started to hurt. I had to bear it. Later, I couldn't bear it anymore, so I asked if anyone among us had back pain, and indeed there was. I was helping this sister with her financial problems. I said, Your problem is related to your waist. As soon as I said that, my back immediately felt better. I told this sister’s pastor to help her with her waist problem. Then, the sister started getting a lot of interview opportunities and will be able to work this Monday, no longer in a situation where she has no savings.

The spirit is a very important part. We must constantly train our understanding. When God trained Adam and Eve, He let them rule the whole earth. If a person's understanding is not good, they will not be able to receive God's will. It's like a car that has a spirit: fuel and an engine, but if you don't give it a clear direction, it's useless. People are the same. In the spiritual direction, you need to know God's will, and you also need God's revelation to go in the right direction.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:16)

God's Spirit is with our hearts. We must understand in our intellect what God's will is. You need to understand what God needs. Running in the wrong direction is not pleasing to God. You can't just have intellect without spirit, nor can you just have spirit without intellect. So, spirit and intellect are key. Later, I understood these things. We must have spirituality while also training our intellect. Why do people work? It is to train their intellect. Then come back and read God's Word, and you can understand it. So, spirit and intellect are indispensable.

Why do some people start to be released when they start to work with their hands? That's because there has been enough prayer, but not enough understanding. Working with their hands is to exercise their understanding. Then when they come back and read God's Word, their state starts to become better and better. Don't give up any opportunity to train your intellect, such as doing handicrafts. As long as it can train your intellect, you can do it. You must start to improve constantly. We have gradually changed from the ministry of spiritual warfare in the past to the ministry of the mind. What our church is doing now is the ministry of spiritual warfare and the ministry of the mind, releasing people from bondage. Spiritual problems should be solved with spiritual methods, and intellectual problems should be solved by training the intellect. We need to train properly in these two areas. We need to train each of our brothers and sisters to be like Abraham.

Conclusion

No matter what, you must be someone who pleases God alone. Let's go back to the story at the beginning. The key to the sheep finding the problem was that it was being persecuted by the wolf. Aren't we the same? Brothers and sisters, isn't it? When you and I, when we all first came to know God, wasn't our pleasing God forced? Wasn't it that the devil forced us to find a way out? So we were forced to please God. Even if we are forced to please God, God's grace is still sufficient for us when we do such things. We were forced to that point in the past, and then we decided to be someone who pleases God. Today, that situation is gone, the wolf is gone, the devil is gone. Have we become slack instead?

Recently, I have been ministering to some brothers and sisters. We have been discussing some very heavy and old topics. Although the things are old, they are simple and also the key to the problem. It is that initial love, that initial faith. Our past love and faith were forced by the devil. We had to have such faith and had to have such love, and then please God. Today, our lives are better, we have become richer, we also have some skills to cast out demons, and we also know the Word of God. We also have knowledge of the Word of God, but in our minds of pleasing God, it has become less and less single-minded, from simply pleasing God to complexly pleasing God. Pleasing God no longer becomes the main axis of our lives. Pleasing God has become a part of our lives. Shouldn't we repent today?

In the past, we really had to thank the devil for forcing us to single-mindedly please God. Today, there is no such thing. Don't we need to single-mindedly please God anymore? I used to minister to a child with depression. I am really very grateful that he can now study and go to school normally. I think I need to challenge him. I need to challenge this child and the child's mother. You came to know God because of your child, and your child was healed because of God. Has that singleness of purpose become something else after your child was healed?

That child has started studying. I have said that studying is not that important. You couldn't study when you were depressed in the past. Now that you are studying, is it necessary to study every day? As a result, they said that wouldn't do, and they were always in the evening self-study classes, and all the meeting time was lost. The mother is the same. You have time to go to Guangxi to buy a house, but don't you have time to serve God? The house is ranked first, the daughter is ranked second, and I don't know if God can be ranked third. What do you think God thinks of people like you?

I will speak more bluntly today. I am not only reminding the brothers and sisters among us, but I am also talking to myself. As Christians, it is not only me who has this experience. I believe that all of our brothers and sisters besides me have the same experience. Whenever we single-mindedly please God without hesitation, we live joyfully and healthily. Whenever we have a different mindset in this mindset, we live in entanglement and pain, with a bit of mental illness. So, the question today is, do we want to make a choice from this situation? I encourage our brothers and sisters who are listening to me to start transforming from today. It is still not too late to make a choice again on the foundation and be someone who single-mindedly pleases God!