January 25, 2019, Sharing Recording

One Must Learn to Ponder and Summarize

I used to think that the Book of Ecclesiastes was quite decadent. Lately, upon rereading it, I realized it's not decadence, but a clear exposition of the crucial aspects of a person's life. I was once conceited, thinking I knew what Ecclesiastes was about, but didn't truly understand.

The summary in Ecclesiastes is vital. When reading, one must learn to summarize. Without summarizing, taking notes, or reviewing, you might feel good after listening, but ultimately learn nothing. Know that my jokes are not the main point; my teachings are. I encourage brothers and sisters to cultivate a habit of constant pondering and summarizing. Having lived to twenty, can you summarize the path you've walked? Summarizing is inseparable from learning, and learning from pondering. I wish all brothers and sisters would develop the good habit of summarizing. Without learning to summarize problems, you will stumble repeatedly on the same issues.

Recently, I have been training everyone on how to welcome newcomers, because I've noticed a pattern: they just sit there listening to me talk, without taking notes, and just laugh it off. The first and second times welcoming newcomers are the same—no summarizing, no learning, no pondering.

Learning and summarizing are the most important lessons in life. When I was in university, a classmate of mine enjoyed playing Go. He asked me to play with him, and he would lose every game. Why? Because I did things differently. I didn't immediately play with others, but instead, I found a book, Introduction to Go for Beginners. Finishing this book was equivalent to a fifth-level player. Above that is Dan level, and eventually, ninth Dan. I discovered an interesting phenomenon: once I understood the book, most people couldn't beat me. However, if someone read better than I did and pondered and summarized more deeply, I couldn't beat them.

Someone famous once said, A Zhuge Liang appears once every five hundred years. As it turned out, one did appear in that era. Before he emerged from the mountains, Zhuge Liang tilled the land in Nanyang, studying and pondering military strategy with notable figures. If he didn't have years of research and contemplation, Liu Bei, with his limited troops, would have been easily defeated by Cao Cao, and there would have been no opportunity. But Zhuge Liang was formidable, winning every battle and setting Cao Cao's troops on fire. Therefore, brothers and sisters, cultivate the habit of pondering.

Everything requires grasping the essence. Have you grasped the essence after reading Ecclesiastes? To grasp the essence, one must learn to ponder and summarize.

When my mother saw me using a power drill, she asked, When did you learn that? You never used one as a child. I said, By pondering. When doing something, you must ponder it repeatedly. One day, they were making dumplings, and I saw they were doing it slowly, so I took over. I rolled the dough quickly and wrapped the dumplings quickly. Why? Because I don't just practice blindly; I ponder everything I do first. Grasping the essence makes your efforts more effective, and developing this habit will make you a very capable person.

Making Complex Things Simple is a Skill

One must learn about life from the Book of Ecclesiastes. Some of our brothers and sisters are over sixty, yet they never ponder or summarize. A year goes by without them summarizing or asking me how they should summarize. We've been reading Ecclesiastes for three months, one chapter a week. If I ask you today, what do you remember? Without summarizing and pondering, you remember nothing. Pondering is an internalization process. For example, someone gives a report poorly, I ask them to make a plan, they do it poorly. I ask them to take notes, and they still do it poorly. It seems they're just doing it for show. I don't have time to look at that rubbish; I'd rather read Ecclesiastes. The key is for you to gain something for yourself. You muddle through today, muddle through tomorrow. You don't ponder, and you don't have a rigorous attitude. If it seems like you're doing it for me, that’s troublesome.

You must simplify the complex. If your summarizing makes things more complicated, that's not summarizing; that's a disaster. It's messing yourself up. Some people explain things and make them even more confusing. Have you noticed I have a strength? No matter how complex something is, I simplify it when I explain it. Last night, I looked at how to write a webpage, and I found it simple because I didn't complicate the simple. Instead, I simplified the complex—that's mastery. How can you develop this ability? By devoted seeking.

You must have an attitude of devoted seeking. Some say they have devotedly sought and tried but can't figure it out. I tell you, if you only think about yourself and not how the other person should receive it, if the other person is even more confused after listening, isn't that troublesome? So, either make it very simple or very complex. If you have not made clear what the other party needs, what is the matter? It is that you have not pondered enough, and have not abstracted the essence of the matter.

One Must Learn to Ask What One is Doing

Solomon was remarkable in writing Ecclesiastes. He observed everything under heaven. How could he observe so much? Of course, like the story of two women, one woman accused another. Why? Both had given birth to a child, but one child died. The two women both claimed the living child as theirs and the dead child as the other woman's. They went to Solomon to settle the dispute.

As recorded in the Bible, Solomon encountered this issue. Because Solomon pondered deeply, he was able to resolve this seemingly complex problem. Solomon said, Cut the child in half, one half for each family. This seemingly absurd judgment captured the essence of the problem. The woman who was not the child's mother said, Cut it. The mother of the child said, Don't! Let the other woman take the child rather than let it die. Solomon smiled and immediately knew which was the mother and which was not. Hence, Solomon was remarkable—this is wisdom.

Solomon judged many cases. He saw all kinds of people and all kinds of situations. King Solomon had a thousand concubines, lived in the best palace, and drank the best wine. Solomon tried everything a person could experience and then wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes. I used to think Solomon was deceiving people because he said everything was vanity, vanity, all is vanity. But actually, he wasn't deceiving anyone because those things are similar to what I've experienced, though I am a small case compared to him. If I tell brothers and sisters not to get a degree, they would ask, Do you have one? Then it becomes unclear and I can't explain clearly. But because I have one, I know it's not that useful. If I didn't have one and told you it was no good, that would be deceiving you.

Later, I understood that what Solomon said was really interesting. He observed, watching the sun rise and set. Will it rise the next day? Of course, it will rise and set. After watching, he said, What is this doing? This is worth pondering. For example, one of our teachers was assigned to manage the worst class in the school, which turned out to produce a philosopher. One child who had poor grades, a bit of a hooligan, walked in sideways with five followers. As he swaggered in, that teacher, our sister, was in class. The child came in and said to the teacher, What are you doing? I thought that was a good question to ask. Yes, what am I doing? Have you asked yourself this question?

Today, everyone should ask themselves, What am I doing? Living day after day, the sun rises and sets, cycling repeatedly, and then people die. After death, no one remembers. No one remembers when they're alive, who will remember them after they die? People are busy every day and don't think to ask themselves, What am I doing? If you ask me, If I ask, will I get an answer? I tell you, you will become an Ecclesiastes person, similar to Solomon. Therefore, brothers and sisters, cultivate a habit of exploring and seeking. Ask yourself, What am I doing?

Years pass by quickly. Twenty or thirty years ago, I was a young man. In the blink of an eye, I'm now an old man. Even if you live to be a hundred, that's only thirty-six thousand five hundred days. Some say, How have I been in Singapore for over a decade? It feels like the years haven't been long, and the days have passed quickly. Every day you live, you have one less day. What are you doing?

Solomon didn't live too long. He became king at a young age. For example, if he became king at ten and reigned for forty years, he would have lived to fifty. Why was his life so short? He had hundreds and thousands of concubines, so he couldn't have lived long. So, he wasn't very old. Calculating, he wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes around my age. After writing it, he summarized what life is really about. He started by writing, Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. This raises a crucial concept: what exactly is this vanity that Solomon speaks of?

Life is Vanity of Vanities

The concept of vanity must be clarified. If this concept is not clear, you won't know what vanity is. To clarify this matter of vanity, we must start from the beginning. That is, if you don't understand that living is vanity of vanities, you will live very seriously every day.

A news report told a story of someone pushing a stroller in a parking space when another person drove up, honked, and wanted the stroller to move. The woman pushing the stroller was stubborn and refused to move! The driver got angry, got out of the car, grabbed the baby, and killed it. It's tragic. Later, the driver was sentenced to death. What was that for? Why so much anger? If his temper hadn't been so bad and he had known that parking is vanity of vanities, if he hadn't been so concerned, wouldn't it have been fine to find another parking spot? And couldn't the mother of the child have just moved aside? Right? It's not a big deal. Why did she have to stand there?

People just don't understand the concept of living. It's terrible when the concept of anything is unclear. So, the Book of Ecclesiastes discusses what is vanity and what is real. The word vanity appears most frequently in this book. If you still haven't figured out that everything in life is vanity, you're in trouble! Today, my brothers and sisters, I must tell you something and I must make sure that you listen. If you can't hear it this moment, I cannot force. The truth cannot be forced. Right? The truth must be from the heart. If you think that something is very solid, that is right. Like the woman pushing the stroller and the driver fighting over the parking space, one died and the other was sentenced to death. Wouldn't it be troublesome to be so serious? How can you live well? You can't live well!

For example, a sister bought a meal for her husband and happily went home, but the door was locked. She ate her noodles outside the door and carried her husband's noodles. After a while, the door opened, and her husband came out with another woman. Oh, her anger flared up and she was blinded by rage. What are you doing? If you weren't so serious, wouldn't it have been fine?

I find many things in this world strange. Some are afraid of their wives, some are afraid of their husbands—there's everything. What are people afraid of when they live? If you clarify that life is vanity of vanities, and then grasp what is real, then that's remarkable.

Grasp the Spiritual Essence

You might say, Stop beating around the bush! Can you give the answer quickly? Then I will tell you the answer: vanity is all appearances. I've been talking about grasping the essence. These appearances in the vast world are really confusing. Next month is coming soon, and I have to pay the rent. Paying the rent is very real. If I don't pay the rent, I'll be kicked out. That's indeed true, but you only see paying the rent, and that's just the appearance. You haven't figured out what living is about. If you figure it out, it will be useful!

These are all appearances. What is real? I'll tell you: the spiritual realm is real. For example, someone makes a muddled decision and gets married. They buy a house in a muddle and it rots in their hands. They invest in a muddle and their money is swindled away. They're pulled into a company in a muddle and become a shareholder, but the others run away, leaving them with 2 million in debt. What's going on? If we look at the surface, it's like reading and not grasping the essence. Behind it all, evil spirits are directing the course!

If these evil spirits direct your life, it's tragedy upon tragedy. In this world, when we look with spiritual eyes, wow, the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai is manipulated by the spiritual realm. This isn't just in mainland China; it's also in foreign countries. It's just a different name: Romeo and Juliet. So, the spiritual realm in our world is very real. Some people say, Why do I have cancer? Because you smoke, drink, and don't take care of your body. They say, I take care of my body. I don't smoke or drink! Then how can he have cancer? But those who smoke and drink don't get cancer? Today, I give you a concept: it’s all devils! The spirit of cancer is attached to you.

Actually, I tell you, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is very powerful. What does TCM say? TCM says the heart governs the mind. The heart governs the mind because the spirit lives in our hearts. This is quite similar to what the Bible says. I am not using the Yellow Emperor's Classic to say that the Bible is right. I am just saying there are similarities. I say, the outcome of a person's life comes from the heart! The garbage produced by the heart is very powerful.

The spiritual realm is real. If you want me to give examples, there are countless. Last week, a young sister sent me a photo. She received four medals after working for a year. All were first place awards. I wondered, how can such a poor child win first place? Because she is blessed! Being blessed is a spiritual matter.

Brothers and sisters, know that why does God give Canaan to the Israelis? The Bible says it’s not because you Israelis are good, but because the people in that place are bad. So, I gave that place to you, and kill them all. This is very interesting. Today, I also borrow this idea. Don't think you are incredible, it’s just that the others are inferior than you. In spiritual matters, if people don't grasp the essence of life, they live aimlessly.

Ecclesiastes is of paramount importance. If you grasp its spiritual essence, you will be formidable. Following the author of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, he posed a question: What profit is there in this? This is a good question. If there is no profit, what are you doing? We must begin to discern what is profitable while we are alive! We observe phenomena and essence. Phenomena are the myriad wonders of the world, but the essence is the manipulation in the spiritual realm. How can one not win despite running so fast? How can one not prevail despite being so strong? You see, it's not calculated that way. Essentially, things in the spiritual realm determine everything.

What is the connection between the spiritual realm and us? It is directly related to our thoughts and intentions. Therefore, when we carefully read about this vast world, we see that there is a time to be born and a time to die. There is a time for everything. What does this mean? It means that everything is prearranged. If everything is prearranged, who arranged it? God arranged it. If everything is arranged, what are we doing here? We must ask God! God will choose a group of people to be His treasures. What one thinks in their heart determines whether they are a treasure or rubbish.

Man Cannot Conquer Heaven

Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, said: What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. As a result, a company started with the name Crooked to Straight. Would you say this name is against God? Interestingly, what is wrong with turning something crooked into something straight? Isn't that a good thing? As a result, the government actually did not approve this company name. What kind of name is this? Straight to Crooked also cannot be approved. Why can't it be approved? What God hates most is self-righteousness. Can you straighten what God has determined to be crooked?

If you can straighten what God has made crooked, wouldn't that be strange? What God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. God does this so that people will fear Him. In fact, many people in this world want to accomplish a great career. After they finish, they realize that something seems not quite right. To what extent? In the end, they think they are liberating the whole world. Did they liberate it? No, they themselves are miserable. We didn't know it before. To be honest, the media cannot be blindly trusted, but you can infer interesting things from it.

After Stalin died, Khrushchev came to power. After Khrushchev came to power, he thoroughly criticized Stalin. Later, Khrushchev was overthrown by Brezhnev and criticized. Did he liberate the world? No, and eventually the Soviet Union dissolved. I say this matter is that what is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. You think you are very capable, but you are not that capable. At best, you are just a person. You must know that you are not God.

Looking at this world, don't we have a saying: Man will conquer nature? Later, we found that we could not conquer nature. How can we conquer it? One of our friends raised several hundred thousand oysters. In the 1990s, it cost several hundred thousand to raise oysters. As a result, when the typhoon came, all the oysters died, and he lost several hundred thousand and went bankrupt. Can man conquer nature? Even today, you cannot overcome it. Can you overcome it? Farmers rely on the heavens for their livelihood. Can you overcome the heavens? Let's not talk about the current level of technological development. When a tsunami comes, no one can stop it. Try stopping one?

You are just a man, don't argue there. How arrogant was Khrushchev back then? He sent people into space. What is space? At most, it is two or three hundred kilometers from Earth. That is the Earth's orbit. As a result, Khrushchev said: We sent people into space, and when they came out of the spacecraft, they did not see God, so there is no God. As a result, the American president at the time said something: In Venezuela, there is a small village with a well. There is a frog in the well. One day, it finally jumped out of the well and saw that there was no Khrushchev in the world. This is a joke.

People must realize that they are human. Even if you reach Earth, it is still far away. Today, the light from that planet takes hundreds of millions of light-years to reach us. How far is it if light travels for hundreds of millions of years? Even if we travel in a spacecraft at a very, very fast speed, you will not be able to leave the solar system before you die. What can you do before you die?

God Is Choosing His Treasures

People must realize that they are human. What I am saying is the truth. What does this mean? Then we must ask a question: What exactly is God doing? We also need to ask what I am doing? There is a time for everything. The strong do not always win, the fast do not always win. Injustice is everywhere. People are born and die, the sun rises and sets. What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

One generation comes and another goes, so what are you doing, God? Originally, our God was picking gold in this world. God takes those He considers treasures, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, into His kingdom. Those who are not treasures are discarded as rubbish and thrown into a place called the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.

God is creating an environment. This environment allows us to complete a test in these seventy or eighty years. Compared to that, we humans seem very real in this world, but in reality, we are all vanity. Why is it all vanity? Because it is not real. You say it is very real. You see, two brothers fought to the death over a house. Anything can happen. Is that real? What is it then? It is vanity of vanities. If you ask me, I am just saying what Solomon said. What is real? What is real is to fear God. People cannot fathom God's actions from beginning to end.

Since people cannot fathom it, what should they do? Then they need to fear God. You say that in this world, wealthy people are very spiritual sometimes, and wealthy people are not spiritual at other times. Wealth has nothing to do with being spiritual or not. What can you conclude? You can't conclude anything. People live in this world and then die. They toil, struggle, work desperately, and agonize in this world, but in the end, they cannot grasp it. In the end, it is just chasing after the wind, it is just vanity. If people do not know these things, how can they have wisdom?

Therefore, the summary of Ecclesiastes that we are reading today is to know what vanity is. Vanity is a very real thing, but it is not the true nature of reality. The true nature of reality is that God is choosing people. You say, so that's what God is doing. God is too bad, how can He do this? Actually, it is not that God is so bad. God made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. If it is placed in the human heart, some people do not have this in their heart, and they live like beasts. Some people have this in their heart and find that they live like God. Can you understand the wisdom of God and the wisdom of man, the foolishness of man and the foolishness in God's eyes? This is the second theme explored in Ecclesiastes. The first theme is called vanity, and the second theme is called wisdom and foolishness.

Seeing Through Vanity Is True Wisdom

How can people have wisdom? Grasp the essence of this spiritual world. It is so good that you said to grasp the essence of this spiritual world. Because everything we do is related to the spiritual realm. If we do things right in the spiritual realm, today Jesus Christ was crucified for us, died for us, was buried, and was resurrected for us, ascended for us, and gave us the Holy Spirit so that we can live out the glorious image of God. What a wonderful grace this is! As a result, people mess things up and lose this grace.

Today, we have done a very great thing, which is that we have restored the power of the gospel, this grace that God has given us. It is not that we have restored the power of God, but that we have restored the power of God in us. Among us, you say what a great grace this is. Today, I will give you an accounting. Let's not talk about all the diseases that are healed by prayer. If only half of the diseases are healed by prayer, how much money will you save? Right? What's more, if all the diseases are healed by prayer, it is simply a treasure.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.(Romans 1:16)

Brothers and sisters, you must know that we are not preaching a helpless gospel. We must preach a powerful gospel. Two days ago, a sister went to a company to make clothes. The clothes made by the company were very beautiful, but the tailor suffered from mental illness. How did he go crazy for no reason? As a result, the boss of this store is a devout Christian, but he believes that the powerful gospel of God is a powerless gospel. If you believe that the powerful gospel is a powerless gospel, isn't that a curse? From now on, we must know that we have grasped some essential things. The essential thing is that God has given us His power, so that the power that resurrected Jesus from the dead can be manifested in us. What a wonderful thing this is.

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.(1 Corinthians 2:4-5)

Do you understand? Today, we must possess godly wisdom, heavenly wisdom, and the wisdom of the power of the Holy Spirit. Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes, did not talk about this. Solomon was talking about things three thousand years ago. Jesus Christ was two thousand years ago. If we don't even understand Ecclesiastes, what kind of preaching are we going to do? You must know that Jesus has died for us, Jesus has risen for us, and Jesus has given us heavenly authority so that we can have spiritual power to strike down all demonic enemies and release captive souls. Solomon mentioned wealth and poverty. Many wealthy people are not smart, and smart people cannot make money. I have found that the relationship between wealth and poverty, intelligence and foolishness does not seem to be very large, which is very confusing. Originally, Solomon talked for a long time, and wealth and poverty are not an essence. For example, wealthy people often have many troubles.

Moreover, he eats all his days in darkness, with great frustration, sickness and anger.(Ecclesiastes 5:17)

Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, and to accept their lot in life and enjoy their toil—this is a gift of God.(Ecclesiastes 5:19)

Enjoy the Fruits of Labor

Wealth and poverty are not the key. Joy and sorrow are the key.

The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.(Ecclesiastes 5:12)

If the sound insulation in my house is not very good, or if your house is not very good, please don't invite me to your house. I snore so loudly and sleep so well. My sleeping efficiency is very high, and sleeping soundly is very pleasant. Moreover, I am joyful in my work, whether I eat little or much, just as Solomon saw:

I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit. People come naked from their mother’s womb, and as they come, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. This too is a grievous evil: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain from toiling for the wind? All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, sickness and anger.(Ecclesiastes 6:1-6)

Whether you are rich or poor, you must be careful. Ecclesiastes is written very well. What does it say? It is just a sight to behold. What is the point of making so much money?

As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?(Ecclesiastes 5:11)

Our brothers and sisters must not be foolish people. Our brothers and sisters are very interesting. She said that she used to live in emptiness. She had to go out to travel every year, gather a bunch of friends to drink and sing KTV. When she returned home and lay in bed, she stared blankly at the ceiling and was very upset. A great sense of emptiness came upon her. These sisters no longer go out to play now. But there is another sister who went out again this time. As a result, she came back this time and said: Why isn't it interesting to play this time? It used to be very interesting. This is a very strange phenomenon. If people want to live well, they must have a destiny in life. People must have a meaning in life. What is the meaning of playing? Apart from waiting to die, there is no meaning at all.

People are created by God. God knows that people must have a destiny in life, and people need a meaning in life. If people always do meaningless things, it is vanity of vanities. People must know that eternal life is the key. Therefore, it is sad if people do not obtain eternal life! How can we know how to obtain eternal life today? Then we live in eternal life today. We cannot wait to die. We must continue to enter eternal life. We must be very clear in youth and old age.

Banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.(Ecclesiastes 11:10)

If you don't remember God when you are young, what will you do when you are old? It is also vanity when you are young. Therefore, you must know God when you are young.

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”—(Ecclesiastes 12:1)

Summary

You must know that dust returns to dust, and the spirit returns to the God who gave it. Originally, everything is under God's control. I give you a suggestion, don't go against anyone, and don't go against God, because God reigns, and God will judge, and God will judge all hidden things.

Whether you are joyful or not, sad or not, rich or not, poor or not, wise or foolish, in the end, there must still be the Tao, and the preacher preaches the Tao. People say I want to run the heavenly road with you, but later I found out that he is very lazy. How can we go on together without the Tao? I am a preacher with the Tao. I see through the spiritual essence of a person's life, see through life, and constantly deal with the evil desires of our flesh, so that we can live out God's glory in the world!

Ecclesiastes List