Introduction

Today, I want to share with you a very practical topic: cherish your time and understand the will of God. This passage is taken from the Book of Ephesians in the Bible. In the previous week, I shared a topic called Strive for Growth, which was very well received, with high click rates on websites and YouTube.

In fact, we humans have a characteristic: growth brings joy. Brothers and sisters, if you observe carefully, you will believe my words. True joy does not come from playing or indulging; that kind of joy is fleeting. True joy comes from growth. When a person grows, they will definitely be joyful and satisfied. When a person stays in one place for too long, they will gradually find that they have lost their joy.

There was a sister who was very enthusiastic in her service when she first came to our church. During that time, she grew rapidly and served well. Later, she joined our team and gradually remained at that stage. Eventually, she realized that she was no longer effective in her service. People are like that; they must grow. You can go out to play, take beautiful photos, enjoy food and drink, and do these things to your heart's content. So, what will happen as a result? If you observe carefully, many people are in this situation. What is the result? After playing, there is a sense of emptiness because there is no growth, no return. The reward is only the act of playing itself, so playing ends up being a waste of time.

Later, people invented a term called 玩完了 (wán wán le), which means finished or done for. If a child is born and spends all their time playing, the result will be done for. Will they really be happy? Why not? Because they are incompetent in everything. As I mentioned last week in Getting Things Done, if someone can't do anything well, how can they be happy? I have been a very disciplined person since I was young. My parents didn't control me much, although I did get beaten sometimes. But I was still a studious child. When I was in school, I enjoyed learning and became a top student. That is much happier than being a poor student. You know, it's more satisfying to be ahead than to be chasing from behind. The top student learns effortlessly, while the poor student struggles. Which is happier? Of course, being a top student is happier.

Later, when I started working, I enjoyed it very much. I enjoyed working and kept getting promoted in the workplace, and my salary kept increasing. Is it better to receive a higher or lower return for the same amount of time? Of course, it's better to receive a higher return. No one wants a low salary. In my twenties, I experienced setbacks in life and realized that I couldn't rely on my own abilities. Although I had good habits and enjoyed learning and working, life, in fact, has little to do with one's abilities. What is it related to? It is related to God. So, I sought God. After believing in the Lord, I especially loved and enjoyed serving.

Now, we are building a church. I ask you, is it more enjoyable to build a glorious church or to build a decaying church with no glory and no power? Of course, it is more enjoyable to build a church full of God's glory, with God's presence and great power. Although our service involves tears and sweat, it is truly enjoyable. Because in this circle, I know some pastors who are struggling and living very hard lives. Gradually, I have summarized a rule after several decades: growth brings joy. A person who grows every day is definitely a joyful person. When you stop growing, you stop experiencing joy.

Investing in Your Own Growth Creates the Matthew Effect

Therefore, there is something in the Bible called the Matthew Effect. God says, For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Of course, you want to be the one who has. This is the law established by God. The rule established by our God is like this: if you strive and diligently pursue growth every day, what will happen? God will give you more. But if you don't, God will take away even what you have. This is very cruel.

This is called the winner-takes-all principle. Years ago, when I was working, I met a friend who gave me a book called The Tornado Effect. This book is worth reading. The author summarizes the growth process of high-tech companies from their development and growth to their success. The entire growth process of a high-tech company is actually a tornado process. When it ignites all the factors that a tornado possesses, the entire company is pushed very, very high, like a tornado.

You know, from the beginning of its establishment, Alibaba's market value has seen a return of thousands of times the initial investment. That is incredible. If you invested 10,000 yuan back then, it would be 10 million yuan now. If you invested 100,000 yuan in shares back then, it would be 100 million yuan now. This is the Matthew Effect, also known as the Tornado Effect. What is the Tornado Effect? When we continuously cultivate various factors, a tornado will form, and the tornado will push you up. Of course, this is a rule summarized by individuals observing high-tech companies.

In the early stages of building the church, I knew about the Tornado Effect. In fact, the ministry of the Lord Jesus was a Tornado Effect. So, I pondered carefully and said, What should I do? Building a church, building a church full of God's glory, will create a tornado. We have written many books on studying the Bible. I like to listen to the sermons I deliver. On the contrary, I don't really like to listen to others' sermons. Sometimes I listen to my own sermons while driving, and they sound pretty good. I met a pastor who didn't even like to listen to his own sermons. Why do I like to listen to my own sermons? Because I work very hard on each sermon manuscript and practice in front of the mirror for a long time, spending a lot of time. Of course, later, when I became more skilled, the time spent decreased, and I could spend time on other things.

Building a glorious church is more enjoyable than building a church without glory. Brothers and sisters must know that continuously investing in your own growth brings very substantial returns. Some time ago, I was chatting with a young man, and I asked him, What do you have now? He had nothing but time. When people are born, they actually have nothing but time. Whether we invest our time in our own growth is a critical question. What I don't understand are those who don't invest in their own growth.

I have never had the habit of indulging in leisure and pleasure in my life. Why? It's not that I don't have the opportunity for leisure and pleasure, but I find it meaningless. I can play mahjong, but sitting there picking up a tile and playing it, what's the point? So, I can't understand those who spend their days indulging in leisure and pleasure because it doesn't bring any returns.

In the 1970s, my family was one of the few that owned a television. All the neighbors crowded into our house to watch it. I didn't understand wasting time watching television, gossiping, or chatting idly. People in Northeast China love to chat idly. When winter comes, they grab a bag of sunflower seeds, stroll in, sit cross-legged, gather in groups, and start chatting idly. I don't do that. These people do things that have no return at all. But you have to admit, they have developed the ability to talk. People in Northeast China are good at speaking; everyone is a skit expert and loves to perform skits. I actually like to listen too. But later I discovered that it's just fooling around. When you fool around, you eventually have to pay the price. Fooling around leads to becoming a 混帐 (hùn zhàng), which means rogue or scoundrel. What I mean is, you have to settle the account. Isn't the account the result of fooling around? Fooling around in elementary school has to be repaid in middle school, fooling around in middle school has to be repaid in university, fooling around in university has to be repaid at work, and fooling around at work has to be repaid in old age. In the end, you are left with nothing, singing Cui Jian's Nothing to My Name, and still want people to follow you. If you are a person with nothing, who would want to follow you?

You must invest your time in your own growth. It is extremely worthwhile. Investing in your own growth is better than investing in real estate or finance. If you invest in your own growth, you will become powerful. Therefore, people need to set some small goals. People are born with only time. A person's life is only seventy or eighty years. After seventy or eighty years, it is scrapped. Then, what do you leave behind? How did you spend your life? If your whole life is joyful, then it is a joyful life. If your whole life is decadent, then it is a decadent life. If your whole life is entangled, then it is an entangled life.

I have good news for you: invest well in your own growth, whether you are seventy or eighty years old, and you will be joyful! Nothing in the world is more worthwhile than investing in your own growth. Growth enables people to live brilliantly, and most importantly, it is the will of God.

Scripture

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (Ephesians 5:15-17)

Prayer

God! Today, fill our hearts with your words. May your words be engraved on our hearts, letting us deeply know your good intentions and know how wonderful your plan is for us. Let us clearly know that your will for us is a will of prosperity; you let us be above and not below, the head and not the tail, letting us live out the beautiful will of your glorious image.

May you accomplish your wonderful will in us, and may your wonderful will be accomplished in every brother and sister. Today, we are all willing to follow you, imitate your footsteps, live a brilliant life, and when we come before you, receive your praise and receive the crown you have prepared for us. Let us accomplish an eternal glory that far outweighs our present sufferings in this life, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

The Errors of the Christian Faith

Ephesians is a very important book in the New Testament of the Bible. After years of ministry, Paul makes a high-level summary of his ministry experience. I heard a long time ago that Ephesians teaches how to establish a glorious church, although I didn't quite understand it when I read it at the time.

Many years ago, I led everyone to study Ephesians and wrote a book called Building God's Glorious Church. This book is a Bible study of Ephesians. This book summarizes and removes many errors of the Christian faith. Many people have turned a powerful faith into a spiritual sustenance.

They go to church every week, but they don't rely on anything, just a spirit. In the end, even the spirit can't be sustained. Many errors in the faith think that the Christian faith is a sustenance, but what does Ephesians say? The Christian faith is a powerful faith, a transcendent faith, and a faith of revelation. Many people think that there is not much connection between eternal life and this life in the Christian faith. In fact, it is a faith for this life. We need God most when we are alive, and eternal life begins in this life.

We need God most when we are alive, and eternal life actually begins in this life. We must remove many false teachings one by one. The faith of Christ Jesus is a faith for when we are alive, not a faith for after death; the faith of Christ Jesus is the faith of the entire church community, not a faith of personal cultivation; the faith of Christ Jesus is not only a faith of love, but also a faith of warfare, that is, spiritual warfare; the faith of Christ Jesus is not a reconciliation of husband and wife, but a reconciliation of Jesus Christ and the church, that is, a faith in the complete unity of God and the church.

We must know for certain that the faith of Christ Jesus is with spirit and truth, to live realistically, not full of religious things. The faith of Christ Jesus is definitely not to do nothing. The faith of Christ Jesus is a faith of management. In Genesis, God created man and placed them on the earth to manage the Garden of Eden, to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, on earth as it is in heaven.

In fact, God first created man on earth. In the end of Revelation, God brought man back to earth. Man is to represent God in managing the whole earth, including financial management and time management. Management is God's will, and management itself is the image of God. We must emphasize once again that salvation is the restoration of God's glorious image. This concept is very, very important. If the concept is not clear, thinking that salvation is going to heaven after death is very dangerous. Salvation is definitely not going to heaven after death. I like to clarify concepts. The Chinese Mingding Destiny that I founded has clear definitions for many concepts such as salvation and faith. According to the Bible, I define salvation as the restoration of God's glorious image.

God created us with the glorious image of God, but when people ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they lost the glorious image of God. People have become what they are today. The salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ on the cross is the restoration of the glorious image of God when he created us. Brothers and sisters, clarify the concepts in everything you do. One day, we will come before God to give an account. What you spend your time on represents what you are. If everything you do manifests God's glory, then you can receive God's reward.

Therefore, concepts are very important. The concept of salvation must be restored to the concept revealed in the Bible. If salvation is described as going to heaven after death, there is no way to implement it. The concepts conveyed by the Chinese Mingding Destiny can all be implemented. God's word is for us to be able to do it, and we must give an account to God whether it is done or not. The beginning of Ecclesiastes speaks of vanity of vanities, and the last chapter speaks of fearing God in all things. God will judge all the deeds that people do in their lives, whether good or evil. There are two kinds of judgments. Some people receive rewards after judgment, and some people receive punishment after judgment.

If you have the image of God when you are alive, you will return to God after you die. If you do not have the image of God when you are alive, you will not be able to return to God when you leave this world. A long time ago, someone asked me how many people go to heaven and how many people go to hell. I haven't been there, and I can't answer. My concept is that if you are like Jesus when you are alive, you will go to Jesus when you die. If you are like the devil when you are alive, you will go to the devil when you die.

Learn to Manage Time

So, a crucial question: Have you managed your time well while you are still alive? Treasure your time, and understand the will of God. This is of utmost importance. On our website, the sermon Imitating Jesus has garnered a very high number of clicks. Subsequently, we organized a healing and deliverance seminar focusing on imitating Jesus.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. (Ephesians 5:1)

receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:9)

Imitating God and imitating Jesus are crucial concepts of salvation. The concept of salvation is not merely being alive and then dying to go to heaven. Therefore, I urge everyone to strive for growth, to pursue diligently, and to accomplish things, avoiding deception. The outcome of faith is salvation. If people's understanding of salvation is unclear, they might assume that simply believing leads to heaven. This is not the case. Rather, it is through believing that we live out the glorious image of God, like children beloved by God. Do not be deceived; do not think that life is meaningless and therefore be indifferent to everything.

In fact, Paul in the Bible lived a very hard life. As believers, we must not think that life is vanity of vanities, only to end up in emptiness. That would be problematic! It is precisely because the affairs of this world are vanity of vanities that we must treasure our time. How a person lives, whether they cherish their time, depends entirely on where their time is spent. I detest old women gossiping. Many young people also love to gather and chat idly, telling jokes and frivolous stories, doing nothing of substance, engaging in meaningless activities. Whether a person is foolish or wise depends entirely on their use of time.

Do Not Be Unwise, But Understand God's Will

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:15-17)

But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. (Ephesians 5:3-4)

Do not be deceived by people's words, or God's wrath will come upon you. If you think it is okay to waste time, that life is meaningless, you will reap what you sow. When making friends, be sure to choose wise people, not foolish ones. If you associate with fools, you will become foolish, and eventually, you will pay the price for your foolishness. What goes around comes around. Today, we must be filled with the knowledge of God in our understanding.

Treasure your time; do not be unwise. Some people tell me they are Christians, but they do not seem like Christians to me. They believe in confusion, cannot clearly explain the basic concepts of faith, and do not know God in their understanding. A muddled mind is crucial.

There are some evil spirits in this world that do not need to reside inside people. For example, the ancient serpent in Genesis did not enter Adam and Eve. The ancient serpent was outside Adam and Eve, but it could speak to them. As soon as the ancient serpent spoke, because Adam and Eve lacked understanding, a living person with a spirit was easily deceived by the ancient serpent. This was the original Adam.

The latter Adam is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is powerful. When the devil came to speak to Jesus, he sincerely said to Jesus:

“If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:1-4)

Turning stones into bread was not difficult for Jesus. Our God can create something out of nothing. But this is how masters duel. We did not even understand what happened, and the battle was over. We see that Jesus confronted the serpent with the word of God. The reason Jesus could deal with demons was that Jesus fully knew God in His understanding. Jesus knew God's will. Jesus said that what was written in the scriptures would be fulfilled.

Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—in the volume of the book it is written of Me—to do Your will, O God.’ (Hebrews 10:7)

This refers to Jesus, and it also speaks to us. We came into this world to do God's will.

Yesterday, a sister asked me: “How do you deal with the spirit of the (ancient serpent) dragon?” I know this because I have Jesus as an example. To deal with the great dragon, use the word of God. The spirit of the ancient serpent does not need to reside inside people to lead them into lies, deception, and destruction.

Today, we must know that knowing God in our understanding is crucial. If we do not know God in our understanding, then we are confused. To understand God's will, reading the entire Bible will easily lead to understanding that God's will is prosperity, health, glory, honor, power, and so on. When I say this, many people question me, saying that the gospel I believe is the gospel of grace, the prosperity gospel. I don’t think it matters whether it is the gospel of grace or the prosperity gospel. The most important thing is not to take things out of context, but to understand God's will. God's will is for us to become prosperous, healthy, glorious, honorable, and powerful. God's desire is to restore us to the glorious image of God that we originally possessed.

Recently, our music ministry coworkers wrote a song called Arise, Shine! They created this song, and that week I preached on arising and shining. God's will is for us to be above and not beneath, for us to be victorious, for us to be strong, for us to be blessed, not cursed. But many people do not understand this will. They call it the prosperity gospel, but our God's will is good. Our minds must be renewed and transformed so that we can discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Some people preach the gospel in a very interesting way. They say: Come, follow me and believe in the Lord, and we can carry the cross and follow God.
As a result, people say: My backpack is already heavy. If I carry the cross again, I will be exhausted. Why should I follow you and believe in the Lord?
Others say: Believing in the Lord can bring tribulations.
People say: I have already had enough tribulations. You can keep them. I don’t need more tribulations.

What kind of gospel is this? They do not understand God's will. This is how I preach the gospel: “Come, follow me and believe in the Lord, and you can receive the grace and promises of the Lord. Our Jesus Christ is a treasure.” Those who believe can experience miracles and wonders. We must understand that God's will is for us to arise and shine, not to be decadent.

God's Most Important Will is to Build a Victorious Church

Some people say: I also want to do things that are rewarding. I want to invest in my own growth and work hard to study and work. But is this God's will? The gospel that God reveals in the Bible has very important conditions. To understand God's most important will, the first important and the second important will, and then the smaller ones. What I just said is prosperity, health, glory, these are all good, but some people just cannot obtain them. When I studied carefully, I discovered the problem. It turned out that they were not relying on a victorious church.

Starting next week, I will share the revelation of building a victorious church. Ephesians is about building a victorious church, and Revelation is about the revelation of building God's church. Without God's presence, the church is like a club. Why does God dwell in the church? Because it is built according to God's will.

that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:26-27)

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:31-32)

God wants to cleanse the church with water through the word; water is the Holy Spirit. Christ and the church are to become one; Christ and the church are to be united. The church is to be built on the rock, filled with God's glory. God wants to cleanse the church with His word. His word is in the Bible. This is why we value Bible study so much. We have it every week. Why do we study the Bible? Because the Bible is the word of God, and God's word can cleanse the church. Building God's glorious church can solve problems, but many people do not build according to God's words, and this is indeed God's greatest will.

I ask you, where has your time been spent? Has it all been spent on work and busy with your housework? These things you busy yourself with will need to be returned. Do you have a determination to build God's glorious church? If you do not have such a determination, do you really understand God's will? We must completely dismantle the worldly system within us.

In my mother's generation, she did not know God. My mother raised five children and had to go to work every day. All five children survived. Now, five people raising one child are about to die. Today, ask yourself where your time has been spent, because this determines your future. Can we overcome these difficulties in our hearts and build God's glorious church even in difficult situations, because this is God's will and our determination before Jesus! Today, we must treasure our time, not doing this and doing that, but not building God's glorious church, not doing the things in God's heart.

Some brothers and sisters have seen God's work among us with their own eyes, but they are only concerned about their own work. Is that God's will? Isn’t it said that we should prosper? This is only a part of it, but how many demons have you cast out? How many people have you delivered? Whom have you blessed? If you cannot even bless your own mother, who can you bless? Has your family been gained for God?

Some people ask me how to turn their families around. I encourage you to start building God’s glorious church, and God will surely remember you. If you love God, keep practicing the ability to shepherd, keep practicing the ability to heal and deliver. The return on this in your family is extremely rich! Don’t wait until your family members need you and you can’t do anything for them. What are you doing among us? So, ask yourself where your time is spent? How can you account for a wasted time schedule before God? We are to worship in spirit and in truth, and to work hard, but the most important thing is to seek God's justice and mercy. As the scripture says:

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

God asks us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. How much time do we spend walking with God, and how much time do we spend walking with demons? We ask ourselves, how much time have we spent entering into God’s heart, shepherding God’s flock, and gaining God’s power?

Invest Your Whole Life in God's Kingdom

A sister I serve had a child who had an argument with his boss because of work. After resigning, he became depressed and was depressed for several weeks. This generation is very evil and full of the work of evil spirits. I taught this sister to begin to shepherd her child, teaching her how to turn things around. After we understood the child’s situation, we began to simulate the dialogue between the child and the mother. This mother quickly retorted at her son. The evil spirit is very bad, but when this evil spirit comes to me, it is retorted back because I have the word.

Do we really have the word in us? We must begin to constantly equip ourselves, because we do not know when these things will come upon us. But we know that we must constantly prepare ourselves and gain Jesus Christ as our treasure. What could be better than the heavenly blessings that Jesus Christ gives us? What could be better than being able to gain the title of Son of God? What could be better than being able to gain God’s rich grace? What could be better than being able to gain God’s power and be united with Jesus Christ?

Today we must know for sure how important it is to yearn for God’s Spirit to illuminate the eyes of our hearts! There is a passage of scripture that can encourage us even more:

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:17-23)

We must know what kind of grace it is if the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection works in us! If we build God’s glorious church, which is the church filled by Him who fills all in all, what can’t be trampled under our feet? The difficulties you face will be trampled under your feet! God will remember you and your family because of you!

Thinking of this, I want to stimulate the brothers and sisters. Ask yourself: Do you really have a pursuit? Are you really striving to grow? Or are you working hard? Or are you working hard to pursue other things? I am not against everyone working hard, but what is your priority? We must be smart and know more definitely what God's will is, invest our whole life in God's kingdom, and let us live out God's honor, dignity, and power in our lives. When our family faces demonic disturbances, we can stand up again and again to strike the devil, our enemy. What could be a better choice than this?

May God bless everyone!