Introduction

Hello everyone, let's study Proverbs Chapter 25. This chapter is very good. Why? This chapter directly addresses the issue of human beings, which is the lack of control over their hearts.

Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control. (Proverbs 25:28 NIV)

The human heart is very foolish. Brothers and sisters, put your hand on your chest and ask yourself what's on your heart. How people live comes from their hearts, self-destruction is very powerful.

I have served many people who are sick and even cancer patients. What is cancer? Cancer is when a person destroys themselves to a very outrageous extent. No one can change our destiny, it's ourselves who has made ourselves that way.

In the past few years, the most important thing I have done while serving others is to let people know that they are foolish. It is very difficult to let people know that they are foolish.

Why is it so difficult? It's just that people don't know they're stupid. If a person knows they're stupid, then it's easy. So I often offend them. Why? So I can solve the problem in their hearts.

If people don't control their hearts, then they will be completely corrupted. But the human heart has a big characteristic, which is that people are very self-righteous. I don't know where such confidence comes from. What have we done in our lifetime? Many people have put their lives into doing things without any return.

What we think in our hearts is called self-righteousness, but what we think is not important. What matters is what the thing is. If we think we are very reasonable, it can only be because we think we are reasonable, others think we are unreasonable.

So this chapter is very good. People need to learn to control their hearts. Let’s see what we have in our hearts. The most important thing in a person's life is to wake up in their heart. If they don't wake up, it's their fate. I don't really seek anything, but I still want to say. It doesn't matter if you want to listen or don’t want to listen.

As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.(Proverbs 25:3 NIV)

Why do people need to subdue their hearts? Because there are many things in a person's heart, the most terrifying thing is not knowing the size of heaven and earth. Because there are many things we do not know.  

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.(Proverbs 25:2 NIV)

In a small business, there's a lower-level director, then a higher-level director above the lower-level director, and a boss above a higher-level director. We don't understand what a boss is thinking. The boss is far from the king; hence the heart of the king is even more inscrutable.

In this world, there are lots of people who like to comment on the presidents and kings of various countries. The hearts of kings are in the hands of God, and you simply cannot change them. If God wants to corrupt this person and this country, you will find that the elected president will inexplicably do things that are not very clear to people.

"Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?” Ecclesiastes 7:13(NIV)

If God makes this person think like this, ruin themselves like this, and do whatever they want, nobody can stop them. Then I learned one thing from this: we know that we need to rely on God with our hearts, which is to constantly explore and understand, to eliminate bad habits that we don't know the depth of heaven and earth, and to eliminate ignorant hearts.

Remove the ignorant heart

If a person feels that what they are saying makes sense, they should carefully examine themselves. When we remove the little bad things in our hearts, then we will become glorious and honored before God.

I would like to share with you my innermost thoughts. When I serve others, the most important and foremost thing to deal with is people's self-righteousness. Because they think they can do it, but others can’t. But when I tell you that you can't do it, I want you to know that people should not be arrogant to the extreme.

The filth in a person's heart is reflected in every aspect of life. For example, some couples live their lives and over time become enemies. Why is this so? Just because the husband closes the door and produces a small gust of wind. With a loud bang, the door swings open, and then the wife says, "Why are you slamming the door?” “So what?”
Then the two of them started fighting, what kind of brain is this? It’s because there is garbage in both the mind and the heart. This world is like this.

Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among his great men; he should say to you, “Come up here,” than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.(Proverbs 25:6-7 NIV)

Some people like to be arrogant in front of the king and I don't know where this confidence comes from. People often say I want to sue you as if the court is run by his family.
People always do things without any reward.

Remove the arrogant heart

Starting today, we need to learn to control our hearts, which is to deal with the evil tendency in our hearts. People should eliminate their arrogant hearts. Without training, one cannot subdue oneself.

To put it bluntly, don't go out and compete with others, or you may end up being humiliated by them. You and your neighbor need to debate alone and should not reveal anyone's secret from the room. You may hear that person scold you, and your bad looks will be hard to escape. (Proverbs 25:8-10 NIV)

Some people like to argue with others and complain everywhere. As long as there is a strong evil spirit in people's hearts, they will become arrogant. You will find that if I am bullied or beaten, I don't care at all, and I won’t argue for myself.

If I'm bullied, then I'm bullied. If I'm beaten, then I'm beaten. Why is this happening to me? Because I have a curse on me. So we need to deal with these curses on ourselves and it's best not to encounter these things.

Remove the heart of quarrel

Some people keep petitioning when their children are stabbed to death or are wrongly accused. We still don't know if they are wrongly accused, and then they are sentenced and executed. As a result, the parents of this child have been petitioning for twenty to thirty years. During these twenty to thirty years, whenever they had some money, they would petition, and as a result, they lived a life of petitioning.

It's best not to encounter such things in one's lifetime. If encountered, it would be best to learn from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because they all ended up being the most amazing people in the world. If someone criticizes these individuals, I am not happy. Although I am not happy, I don't argue with them.

Why don't I argue with them? Because I am not foolish, there is no impulse or ignorance within me. We just need to remove this kind of stupid heart within us. A truly arrogant heart is very foolish.

Remove the heart of greed

If you find honey, eat just enough—too much of it, and you will vomit. (Proverbs 25:16 NIV)

We can't eat too much delicious food because we always have that tendency in our hearts and don't know where it comes from. That force pushed us towards destruction. Honey is delicious, but it can be easy to vomit when eaten.

Greed can harm people. Don't overdo anything, don't be greedy. Money is the same, as long as it is sufficient for life, then it is good. When you go eat something delicious, don't hurt yourself. Greed is deadly. Greed can push people into corruption, never be greedy.

Remove the heart of idleness

Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—too much of you, and they will hate you. (Proverbs 25:17 NIV)

A very deadly thing about people is idleness. A lazy person sitting there doesn't even know what they're doing, which is very annoying, so it's important to deal with a lazy heart. What I hate the most is idle people. When they have nothing to do, they just eat and talk nonsense. It is very annoying for people to idle and not do anything, and in the end, they will ruin themselves.

Everyone should stay away from this environment because evil spirits are running in it.

Remove the heart that relies on others

Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble. (Proverbs 25:19 NIV)

Some people like to rely on others and always want to get something from others. After having protection it is easy for people to deteriorate. However, in times of trouble, no protection is useful.

Christians should never lean against walls and trees, because walls collapse and trees fall. In times of trouble, besides relying on God, we cannot rely on anything. We should learn to subdue our inner hearts. My heart relies on God, not on people.

We never want to take something from someone else, and we have never taken anything from them. We are not afraid to give it to others, but we are afraid of lacking generosity. So whether in our daily life or in times of trouble we should not rely on people, but only on God.

Have a kind heart

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; If he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” (Proverbs 25:21-22 NIV)

God is to sift out the impurities and filth in our hearts through the environment and test. So God deliberately placed the enemy before us. When our enemy is hungry, we cannot say thank God that you have avenged me. Don't gloat over others because God doesn't like us like this. God tried us but we ended up falling into a trap.

We must develop a habit of not seeking our benefits. Everyone will find that my serving is very effective because it is based on the same foundation, without seeking personal gain. It doesn't matter whether someone hurts me or offends me. I won’t pay off their gambling debts for them. But if they are hungry or thirsty, I can still buy something for them to eat, even if I have to buy a bowl of noodles for them every day. Because that is God testing us, we need to know within ourselves that we have to have a flawless heart in front of God.

This is why all my serving is very effective. Once you ask for your gain, it becomes troublesome. Not seeking personal gain is having a kind heart. We don’t want to seek our own benefits and we can be very harsh when pointing out the problems those being served.

Many people must be disciplined because the dirt in their hearts is hard and stubborn. Love is patient. We need a heart of kindness and patience.

Have a patient heart

Through patience, a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. (Proverbs 25:15 NIV)

Some people I have served take years to change. Fortunately, it's quite difficult for them to hurt me. People who have a patient heart need to endure it for a long time. A gentle tongue is not just about the benefits, because the logic within us is not seeking our benefits. Therefore, the words spoken can break bones and clear away the stubbornness within people.

It's not easy for you to persuade the king, once you get angry with him, he might lose his temper and you might lose your head. Although it is very difficult to do, you can persuade the king's heart through patience.

Have a brave heart

It is necessary to deal with if there is fear and a lack of patience in people's hearts. If there is a lack of patience, then a bit of patience should be given. If there is a lack of courage, then a little courage should be given.

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked. (Proverbs 25:26 NIV)

Those who trust people are not called righteous, but those who trust God are righteous.
As for the wicked, they either rely on others or on themselves. So the righteous cannot retreat in front of evil people, we must have a brave heart to deal with the fears within us.

I am not afraid of people. I tell you a story about one of our sisters' grandmothers. Her feet and legs were badly swollen while sitting in a wheelchair. Just as I was serving, I certainly couldn't let her leave empty-handed. I had to ensure she received a blessing.

The people you serve are in a state where their hearts can't be subdued, and no one has ever helped them subdue them. They themselves are also unable to subdue it.

She was sitting in the wheelchair, and I was very forceful in my approach. When I was halfway through, my sister said to me, "Don't do it". What did she worry about? She worried about her grandmother's injury. But can this cause harm? Healing and deliverance can only bring blessings, not injury.

This is equivalent to undergoing a spiritual surgery, which looks bloody. After the surgery, it slowly grows and bandages up. The sister said that no one treated her grandmother like this, but I wanted to bless her and heal her like this because no one had taken her like this before. The next day, I went to serve her again, and in the end, her legs healed.

Today, everyone needs to have confidence, patience, courage, and kindness. The more you improve, the better. Don't be afraid to do it or give up. These are all spiritual surgeries.

Summary

Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a ruling rightly given. (Proverbs 25:11 NIV)

You need to have a kind heart that wishes to bless others, a patient heart within you that can endure for a long time, and a brave heart within you. Never back down, speak up, and speak normally, just like a golden apple in a silver bowl, very precious. Never seek your benefits.

A person I once served had a very stubborn personality. We were all writing plans along with that person. When I saw what she wrote, I said, "What you wrote is useless." As a result, she didn't eat or drink and became angry, hiding it day after day, until she finally let it go. She told me that when she had anger it felt like she was reasonable. She felt like I should say sorry to her. But when I came over and said something to her later, she felt like she was becoming more and more unreasonable.

Later on, this person's personality gradually changed, and after the change, she became happy. I didn't pursue my own interests, I pursued the benefits of this person. As long as we speak together appropriately, that person will know that we are doing it for her benefit.

You should know that people often take pride in their hearts. There is also something very evil inside me. Once, halfway through serving, the evil spirit began to say, "Don't look at how you are serving me today. You hate me in your heart."

I replied, "According to my flesh, I really dislike you. But I do not live according to my body, I live according to God's word. I have taken control of this matter today, and as long as it falls into my hands, I must persist until I drive this demon out. As a result, the ghost listened to me and left.

We have to control our hearts, we need to subdue the evil in our hearts.

Some people say, "Teacher, I can't control it." What you said is true, you can't control it by going along with it. If you don't go along with it, then you can control it. Today, learn to subdue your own heart.  

A person who does not subdue his own heart is like a broken city without walls. Evil spirits come and go, entering and leaving freely as if it were an unguarded place, and they will destroy you.

May God bless everyone.