Ought to know we are not doing the right thing

From today onwards, we will start to study the book "Proverbs" every Friday. Originally I want to find a classic book regarding learning and thinking so we can learn together. But We didn't find a good one for this. After bothering for a long time, I finally decided to take everyone to study the book of Proverbs. The theme of the first chapter is "Learn Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom!", and I will insert Critical thinking and problem solving into our studies.

The book of Proverbs was written by Solomon, a very wise man who has never been seen before or since. I have always wanted to be a wise, knowledgeable person since I was a child. Solomon was a great man, he was a man of knowledge and wisdom, and there were many things he wrote in his words that we do not quite understand. Whether you understand it or not, one very important thing is that we feel that we are not good enough. If we think we're good enough, we're in trouble. There are many great men in the Bible, Moses, king Solomon, Apostle Paul, etc. But when we read the books written by them, we can't understand. When we read them, we wonder if what they said can work. This is foolish.

Do you know what is called Critical thinking? Some people heard this and thought it was an alien language, and they didn`t know what it was. What is critical thinking? I can explain this in plain English. It is that I often feel that I am not correct, and I often challenge myself: "Am I correct? ". Later, I discovered that in this world, many people often feel that they are right, and often feel that they are number one in the world. Everyone needs to know that critical thinking means that you often feel that you are not doing the right thing, and then you go to learn.

Then whom to learn from? We should learn from others. A lot of people think they're right. A man wouldn't do it if he didn't think he was right. He never challenged himself. If the Pharisees challenge themselves by using a little bit of Critical thinking, they would not have crucified Jesus. The Pharisees just thought they were right, so they crucified Jesus and shouted from below, "The debt of this man's blood is on us and our posterity. They didn't know what they were saying.

What I want to tell you today is that everything should be investigated, everything should be studied, and everything should be demonstrated. Even if you did it right, you can still challenge yourself if you have a better way, better tool, or better system to do it. A lot of Christians and pastors said: "We are evangelical ". I did some research about this. In the early years, somebody said, "God is dead! The Bible is not the word of God, and the Bible is not the truth." As a result, there were two factions appeared. One school believes that the Bible was the word of God, while the other school believes that the Bible is not the word of God. Those who believed that the Bible is the word of God are evangelicals, and those who say that the Bible is not the word of God is called liberalism.

The saying "God is dead" came from the great philosopher Nietzsche. I would say that Nietzsche was possessed by a ghost that he would say, "God is dead. " The evangelicals believe that the Bible is the word of God, but the problem is that they can't act it out. They did a lot of explanations about the Bible. Some people think it's wonderful. But even Nietzsche had his system for his theory. Is his kind of theory called wisdom? I don't think so.

The best learning method is to learn from others

As I told you before, I would try my best to find wise men and learn from them. The book of Proverbs we are talking about was written by Solomon, which is called the wisdom book in the Bible. So, if you want to be knowledgeable, and wise, it's all in this book of Proverbs.

I think if you want to know if God exists, you have to use a kind of critical thinking. When Nietzche said "God is dead", did he know what he was saying? How to prove it? Why did he make a such conclusion? He explained: look at the tragedies in this world, how could God allow these things to happen if he was still alive? He made a wrong conclusion. Why do I think God is alive? To be honest, I used to think that this is how people live. If I read the books written by Hegel, Kant, and Nietzsche before I knew Jesus, I would think they wrote well. Those are the things that happen every day in this world.

I want to tell you I have found the treasure today. Someone asked me, "What are you going to do?" I said, "I just want to do one thing, and that is to make people smart. " What a job! Making people smarter, wiser, and knowledgeable is a very good profession. This job is better than aerospace engineering. What they study is called aerospace, which is the first layer of the sky in the Bible. But what we study is the third layer of the sky, which is called the heavens.

Today I would like to introduce to you two very interesting basic concepts, namely, indirect experience and direct experience. Learning from others is called indirect experience. If we invent something ourselves, it is called direct experience. You said, "I found out that those with wheels run faster. " You don't have to find out, people have already found out about it. You will find that many things are indirect experiences. What we learned from grade one to university is all invented/discovered by others.

Therefore, indirect experience and direct experience are two basic concepts. That is to say, we should always learn from others, such as playing the piano. We need to know that there are many things to learn. We will not become wise if we don't learn. I have a neighbor, old lady Wang. When she meets people, she just talks about eating or playing. Occasionally she listens to the radio or watches a little TV. Can she become wise? Absolutely no!

Love teaching and discipline

Everyone must know that education is to give people knowledge. Moses wrote the earliest teaching of the law to the Israelites, teaching the Israelites to do things and to behave according to the rules. Today we are studying the book of Proverbs.

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline, for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young, let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. (Proverbs 1:1-6)

Solomon wrote this to make people wise. I am going to explain this with this one sentence: if you want people to be human, you must learn. We are not born to be human. With two eyes, one nose, and one mouth doesn't mean you are a human. I later found out that many animals looked like that. To be a human being, you must know how to interact with other people and do things. This is what the book of Proverbs in the Bible tells us.

King Solomon was the king of Isreal for many years. He built the temple of God and God gave him wisdom. When he wrote the book "Proverbs", he summed up the results of his observation and investigation of his life. He said:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (Proverbs 1:7, NIV)

This sounds harsh, especially when I use this in shepherding. If you just like to hear good words, then you are a fool. If somebody rebukes you, he cares about you. In the course of my service, I have found this to be particularly difficult, that fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The day before yesterday, a person I served withdrew from the group. I didn't know what happened. Then I called her and asked, "Sister, have you made a mistake?" She said, "No." I said, "Why did you do this? Then look, I haven't taken advantage of you, have I? I serve you for free. Right? I'm serving you all for you, okay?" And she said, "No." Then she started arguing with me. I was thinking what kind of logic is in her mind? Her brother is also a pastor whom I met before. The ways her brother used to build the church didn't work. I said to her, "That's your brother, you and he are siblings. We can help him". What I thought is to influence her brother. I also gave her brother money. I would like to be able to help him build a church. But people don't take our path, because we have to put effort into this path. I was trying to help her and it looked like I was trying to hurt her. In the end, she hung up the phone.

Fools despise wisdom and teachings. I just want to help her not to go astray and pay price for it later. I just want to put God first, this is what the Bible teaches us. But in her mind, there are a lot of reasons to do this or ao that. It looks as if I want to plot something for her. After saying a few words to her, she still felt that I had hurt her self-esteem. Because I don't want to say sweet words to make you happy. But in the end, it will just hurt you and you will hate me.

Today we need to know the word "discipline", which must have the flavor of "rebuke". The Bible says that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, and fools despise wisdom and instruction. I am always grateful when others lecture me. If we search for "self-righteousness" on the Internet, it always links to stupidity. Some people have recorded a lot of videos, also on Tik Tok to tell us about the stupid things they did.

Being able to stand ups and downs is a good character. This is also my character when I serve God. But today many people can`t do it. First of all, she lacks critical thinking and doesn't care whether she is right or not. She should think about why I said that and what was my purpose.

for attaining wisdom and discipline, for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young, let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. (Proverbs 1:2-6)

No Covetousness

The most important thing in one's life is in the first chapter of the book Proverbs. The most important thing in one's life is here. Let's see verse 19:

Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it. (Proverbs 1:19)

Do you agree with this? A lot of people do the same thing. They are very greedy for money. But greed takes away the life of the rich man. When you do an investment, you are thinking about the good things: making money. But did you think about losing money? The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. If you are a businessman but love money, you will become a profiteer. If you are a government official, you will become a corrupt official.

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Matthew16:26)

There was a big corrupt official in Qin Dynasty. His name was He Shen. His house was so big that can cover several communities today. But in the end, he made himself miserable. A man is greedy for money, and he loses his life in the end. What good is a man who is greedy for the whole world and loses his own life in the end? There is no benefit, and one can't use that much money in one's life. So, when I make friends, I will see if this person loves money or not. If this person loves money like life, then I will be careful. Because as long as he thinks about money, he will ignore everything. If he can't get money, he will cheat people.

In our church, whenever we collect offerings after the meeting, I will always say this: "If you don't understand the meaning of offering, please don't give. " Usually when I serve someone, I will tell them in advance: "Don't be afraid. We do not charge you any money for this". We serve people because we love God. We want to let everyone be blessed, and then take the road of consecration. I often say to people, "If I ask you for money and talk about money, you have to know that I am a liar." Do we teach brothers and sisters to offer? Yes, we do. That is the doctrine in Bible. If you invest in God's kingdom, then you will have a return. And the return from the heavens is very high.

If people are greedy for money, they don't understand the path of blessing. We also need to know that a person who is greedy for money is wicked. He will even kill people to get money.

My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. If they say, "Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul; let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse", my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds! These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!" (Proverbs 1:10-18, NIV)

People really don't need much money in their life. The most important thing in one's life is to have wisdom and intelligence. You need to know what you are doing. If you don't know, you should learn, seek and observe. Don't be foolish, and finally, make yourself miserable. If you go to Qincheng Prison and ask those people: if you get another chance to do it, will you do that again? They would say "no". The "Bible" says not to be greedy for money, but not many people listen to it. We should listen to other people's rebukes and admonitions, and don't be fooled by money anymore.

Recognize the calamity from God

Wisdom cries out in the marketplace, in the open, cries out in the bustling streets, at the gates of the city, and speaks in the city, saying: How long will you fools love foolishness, scorners love blasphemies, fools hate knowledge, how long will it be? ? Turn ye from my reproof; I will pour out my Spirit on you, and I will show you my words. When I called, you would not listen; when I stretched out my hand, no one paid attention; but they despised all my admonitions and refused to accept my rebuke. I will laugh when you suffer calamity; I will laugh when terror comes to you. Fear comes upon you like a hurricane; calamity comes like a storm; distress and pain come upon you. (Proverbs 1:20-27)

It says that calamity, terror, calamity, distress, and pain will come like a storm upon man. A person's fate is definitely not decided by three meals a day, but by sudden disasters. If you don't know this, you will be in trouble. You work hard to make money. But when a sudden disaster strikes, it is too late to turn around.

But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm. (Proverbs 1:33, NIV)

There are some youths among us. Although they have little life experience, they can see through other people's disasters and what happened. Then they can realize that those who trusted in God will be preserved. Because the calamity comes from God, a man who loves God will surely save him from disaster.

It will be a tragedy if people put their work and businesses above God. When disasters come, people go to call on God again, and they will find that they cannot find him. Because people hate knowledge, do not love to fear the Lord, refuse to listen to God's advice, and despise all God`s reproof, they will eat and kill themselves.

when clamity overtaks you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm. (Proverbs 1:27-33, NIV)

If somebody teaches him a lesson or rebukes him, but he refuses to listen. When disaster strikes, there is no chance for him at all. Reap what you plant. Many people try their best to sow, but in the end, what comes out is a bitter gourd, then you eat bitter gourd. Why don't people know this when they are planting? Because they are foolish when they plant. Why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of knowledge? Because if they have the fear of the LORD, then they know that God is in control of disasters and everything.

We are talking about the doctrine of destiny, called Mingding in Chinese. We should give our lives to God. If you give your life to your work, to your business, to your wife/husband, will they solve your problem and save your life? Brothers and sisters, do you despise God's repentance, refuse to accept God's reproof, despise God's admonition, and despise God's knowledge? You must know that when a person dies, he dies of his own ignorance. You should constantly think, constantly speculate, constantly investigating, constantly explore and seek, this is called knowledge.

Knowledge is the understanding of all these things. I should tell you that God is in charge of everything. God is not dead. God is the same yesterday and today and forever. If we carefully observe, we see that many people in this world disobey God`s words. And as a result, they receive the fruit of the curse, then they have to eat it themselves! You may not see him planting, but you can see him eating!

Summary

Today we need to know that critical thinking is not critical thinking, but grasping the main point and grasping the most important thing. That is, we need to know what we do not know. When people give us a lesson, we thank God. As a human beings, we tend to find a lot of excuses for ourselves to prove that we are right, or we will blame others. You can blame the moon and stars, but in the end, you still need to swallow the fruit of the curse yourself! Today, I wish that our brothers and sisters would all become wise people and would never encounter such disasters in our lives.

If we don`t know, we should ask God. If we implement what the Bible says, we will surely gain great benefits. Today we just have a start, and I will give you an introduction. We must not despise God's knowledge and teachings and not be ignorant. Turn back to God today, don't hate knowledge, don't love slander, don't love folly. What this generation needs most is such people.

May God bless you all!