Introduction

Today, I would like to share on a new topic, Seeking Not One's Own Benefit. This is somewhat difficult; who can achieve it? Actually, do it if you can, and if not, I wish you good luck. Among us, many brothers and sisters find it difficult to be delivered because, during our nightly prayer sessions, we often hear requests like, Pastor, I have pain in my hands, feet, and stomach; I have visual and auditory hallucinations. It's always the same people asking for prayer. I asked God, God, why is it so difficult for them to be delivered? Later, God gave me an answer.

Not long ago, a passage inexplicably came to my mind:

Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. (1 Samuel 16:14)

As a result, Saul developed a strange illness. This is perplexing: if the evil spirit came from God to torment Saul, how can we be delivered? Today, I had originally planned to speak on the topic Selfishness Invites Demons, but I thought it was a bit negative, so I changed it to a more positive one: Seeking Not One's Own Benefit.

Whether it's an individual's inability to be delivered, or a church's unhealthiness and inability to grow, these are all related to selfishness. Selfish people find it difficult to be delivered; selfish people invite demons; prolonged selfishness causes a person to possess the essence of a demon. Do not assume that church pastors would not seek their own benefit—for instance, being concerned about the number of congregants or the church's offerings. Are those what the church should be concerned about? In reality, what the church is concerned about will attract a certain type of people, and attracting a certain type of people attracts a certain type of spirit.

Therefore, what kind of church attracts what kind of members, and what kind of members attract what kind of spirit. We have become the church we are today because we have a goal: to seek not our own benefit. When we first started the church, we attracted people with braised beef, roasted chicken, roasted duck and ham sausages. We paid a price, a heavy price. But here is the rub: what kind of bait attracts what kind of people? It attracted a group of selfish people unwilling to pay the price, only wanting to reap the benefits.

Later, when we got rid of those things and led everyone to learn to pay the price, because the church is a place to train people to give, a place to train people to seek not their own benefit, the church began to assume its victorious look. Each of our co-workers pays the price to serve these people. Those who are in bondage should consider why they are not delivered. I encourage you to reflect on whether you want to continue down that road. I do not see good outcomes. You either need to repent, and come out of the bondage of selfishness, and come out of the situation of self-interest.

Selfish people find it very difficult to be delivered because demons do not make mistakes, nor does God. It's not that demons just want to mess with you, but they are very clear about what kind of person you are. Demons are actually quite wronged: you invited them, and now you want me to deal with the demons behind you. After I release you from bondage, you are delivered, but the things in your bones refuse to change, and you invite the demons again.

In my ministry, I have found that selfish people do not think they are selfish. We need to develop a habit of seeing ourselves for who we are. I have a suggestion that can truly solve your problem: come out of selfishness and become someone who seeks not their own benefit. If you become that kind of person, you will definitely be delivered easily.

Do you know why I know this? Because I serve my mother. Her condition has been improving, becoming fully conscious. Her dementia is basically cured, and she is no longer confused. Why is she no longer confused? Because when she was confused, she began to discern good and evil, and to engage in competition and jealousy, and she began to feel uncomfortable. Continuing down that path of discomfort, she became more confused. A few days ago, she suddenly felt uncomfortable and said, I must pull myself out of this situation. As a result, she dealt with those selfish habits, and the evil spirit said it would no longer come here.

Today, I believe there is only one way to truly solve your problem: your own choice. You might say, Aren't you shirking responsibility? If your church doesn't have the ability, you can say so. I would answer, We do not have the ability. Whatever you want to hear, I will tell you. But you need to know one thing clearly: demons do not make mistakes. Indeed, some people have resolved their issues after leaving the church because they no longer needed to fight. It should be better. If you come out of the kingdom of darkness and do not want to fight and choose to be a slave, you can sustain a brief, peaceful life. Next, let's talk about today's scripture:

Scripture

“'All things are lawful,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. (1 Corinthians 10:23-24)

Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. (1 Corinthians 10:32-33)

Prayer

Lord, today, let your words be engraved in our hearts, let your words be like a mirror revealing our own dirtiness. Let us be able to come out of this dirtiness. Today, we ask you to speak to us personally, open our ears, open our minds, let us know what kind of promises you have in us. Today, let us enter into your grace, come out of selfishness, and begin to live out your glorious image, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Today, let us enter into your grace, come out of all this selfishness, let us begin to seek not our own benefit, and begin to live out your glorious image, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Selfishness is the Root of Many Problems

Selfishness is the root of many problems, and many demons are invited by human selfishness; they all come from God. The demons you invite come from God, because if a person discerns good and evil, it is actually God's word cursing him. What does cursing mean? It means God allows demons to come to torment you. Do you know it, brothers and sisters? Many people only think about their own interests, their own benefits, and think their interests are paramount. If their interests conflict with God's interests, they choose their own interests first. That is selfishness. There is a saying in the world, If a man does not seek his own interests, heaven and earth will destroy him. But people do not know what the result of making such a choice is. If people knew that the result of this choice was inviting demons, they would not do it. The problem is that people are not that smart.

In the process of our ministry today, we have found many people, including a large number of patients with depression. I summarize a pattern for these patients with depression (if you are among us with depression and have not been healed, these words are for you). I do not say that everyone is like this, but the vast majority are very loving of themselves, very concerned about themselves, and very considerate of their own flesh. They have a sense of distinguishing between good and evil, and love the world and money. These people end up with depression. Depression is a very painful psychological illness, but aren't these problems invited by themselves?

Why does the spirit of depression not come to me, but has to find you? Why do others not get depression, but you do? It is because the selfishness in us invites demons. Not only does it invite demons, it also offends God and incurs God's wrath. When we begin to have competition, jealousy, discernment of good and evil, love of self, and become very concerned about ourselves, what is the end result? The end result is a painful illness. This painful illness is a demon. When a demon descends on a person, is the person not uncomfortable?

Today, I would like to bring everyone to look at a man named Saul. Saul was the King of Israel. After he became the King of Israel, he developed a mental illness for a period of time. How did he get mental illness? Because of a very interesting thing:

Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. And Saul's servants said to him, 'Behold now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.' (1 Samuel 16:14-16)

Saul's servants spoke very clearly, and Saul should have begun to know why there was an evil spirit from God tormenting him. Saul later asked them to find a young man who was handsome in appearance and eloquent, and that young man was David. When David played the lyre, the evil spirit left Saul. You might say, Ah, isn't that deliverance? Yes, it was deliverance, but later, the problem became more serious. Why did the Spirit of the Lord leave Saul again? Because Saul was extremely selfish, very fond of money, and not only fond of money, but also liked to push responsibility onto others.

Saul's story is a great revelation to us. When Saul first offended God, Samuel said, Wait for me there for seven days, and I will definitely come back to see you, and then I will offer sacrifices. As a result, Saul waited and waited, and on the sixth day, just before the seventh day, the people left. Saul was afraid that the people would leave, so he offered sacrifices himself. As soon as he finished the sacrifice, Samuel arrived. Samuel said to Saul, You have done a foolish thing. Why? Because he disobeyed God's command.

As a result, from that time on, Saul sowed the seed of disobedience to God's command. But God still gave Saul a chance. Why was he concerned about people leaving? Because he felt that his throne was related to these people, and he forgot that his throne was given to him by God. Saul cared very much about his throne, very much about these people, but not about God's words. God later gave Saul another chance.

And Samuel said to Saul, 'The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.' (1 Samuel 15:1-3)

This was a command given to Saul. God wanted to test through this matter whether Saul truly kept and followed God's commands. These words are clear enough. As a result, Saul gathered the people to attack the Amalekites and defeat them. But a problem arose. After Samuel arrived at this place, he heard the bleating of sheep and the lowing of cattle:

And Samuel said, 'What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?' Saul said, 'They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.' (1 Samuel 15:14-15)

This is strange. God said very clearly, Kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. As a result, Saul not only left part of these things behind, but also left the king of the Amalekites, Agag, behind, which was a fatal mistake!

Then Samuel said to Saul, 'Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.' And he said to him, 'Speak.' And Samuel said, 'Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?' And Saul said to Samuel, 'I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.' (1 Samuel 15:16-21)

And Samuel said to Saul, 'I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.' As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, 'The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.' (1 Samuel 15:26-29)

As a result, Saul said:

'I have sinned, yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.' (1 Samuel 15:30)

He still cares about his own affairs. I think Agag was still alive later.

Then Samuel said, 'Bring me Agag the king of the Amalekites.' And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, 'Surely the bitterness of death is past.' (1 Samuel 15:32)

Agag thought that the bitterness of death was over, because Saul had already promised him. I think this is too confusing.

Samuel said:

As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.' And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. (1 Samuel 15:33-35)

This passage tells that if a person receives a Mingding Destiny from God to be the King of Israel, no matter how big the Mingding Destiny is. Whether it is receiving the role of King of Israel, receiving the task of building a church, or receiving a Mingding Destiny to be a small group leader in a church, or just being a simple servant. If he violates God's words, God will give him one, two, or three chances, but we cannot grasp these chances, hold onto God tightly, and keep and follow His commandments, statutes, and regulations, and obey not seeking our own benefit. This is essentially Chinese Mingding Destiny.

A person who seeks his own benefit and is selfish will definitely be brought under the dark power of the devil. And then, unable to keep and follow, one after another, the result will be that an evil spirit from the Lord will torment him. Today, you may or may not be a Christian, but you should know that evil spirits must come from God. Today, as we build churches, the devil has helped us a lot, because it removes the trash one by one. Why does the devil torment Saul so much? Because the Spirit of God leaves Saul, the evil spirit will come here. If we receive a Mingding Destiny from God, and then lose this Mingding Destiny, things like what happened to Saul may occur. If you feel like this has not happened, I will thank God for you. The result is a very sad thing, because David played the lyre and the evil spirit left Saul, and Saul felt comfortable inside. But his selfish, self-centered mentality did not change. If you do not know what it feels like, you can try it. If you feel bad, you will know what happened, because an evil spirit comes from the Lord God.

As a result, after David killed Goliath, he killed many Philistines.

And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, 'Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.' And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, 'They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?' And Saul eyed David from that day on. (1 Samuel 18:7-9)

So it is easy for people to invite demons; they can invite demons just like that. So today, if you do not seek the benefit of others, but only seek your own benefit, that is the best choice to invite demons. If you want to be uncomfortable and want to invite demons, you just need to do what Saul did, putting your own interests first. In fact, David was his best servant, and David could help him charge into battle and strike down enemies. But as soon as it was said: Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands, Saul began to get sick.

The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house. David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, 'I will pin David to the wall.' But David evaded him twice. Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul and made him a commander of thousands. And he went out and came in before the people. (1 Samuel 18:10-13)

David wanted Saul to be delivered, but Saul did not want to be delivered, but wanted to kill David because his reputation was not as strong as David's. Think about how much a person cares about himself, and he will develop a mental illness. If today we put our own interests first, if we make this matter very serious, a person will reach an outrageous level, and that is mental illness, so we must often examine ourselves. Actually, Saul did not know at all that he had not obeyed God's words, nor did he know that he was a selfish person, nor did he know that he was doing badly, but thought he was doing well. But the result was that an evil spirit descended on him, and the ending was terrible. Building churches is like God sending many people to build churches, but many people imitate Saul, not Paul.

God sent many people to build churches, but today many people imitate Saul instead of Paul. If you build a church by imitating Saul, an evil spirit from the Lord will descend upon you, because you will care very much about yourself.

A pastor developed depression. Many of our brothers and sisters serve patients with depression very well, and they are well in no time. Only those who are selfish never get well, so we cannot serve selfish people who stay with us! A colleague of this pastor with depression, who was also a pastor in the same church, mentioned his misery to me over tea. Then I told him that those who come to us with depression are basically delivered. This pastor stared at me and said, Oh! That’s too sensitive! I wondered, is there a problem with me wanting to help him get delivered? He said, I wouldn't dare to say that; if I said it, I'd be stirring up a hornet's nest!

Can you understand? This pastor with depression really deserves to have depression. He cares so much about his own image. If he doesn't get depression, who will? He is not only very concerned about his own image, but also very stingy and selfish, only caring about himself.

Actually, I also know this person. Pastors who build churches by imitating Saul will have a terrible ending! If Christians imitate Saul, they will also have a terrible ending! Therefore, we brothers and sisters must know that what kind of person a person wants to be is their own choice, and selfishness is the root of many problems! So today, regarding the sins you are suffering, I can only say, may God have mercy! Actually, the meaning of the words is, isn’t this deserved?

No matter who you are, if you go down this path, you probably do not have many choices. Today, brothers and sisters must know how evil selfish people are. Later, I discovered that selfish people have a characteristic: they are also very calculative with their families in terms of money.

The Attitude Towards Money: A Good Yardstick for Selfishness

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-7)

Brothers and sisters, it is crucial to understand today that the devil never makes mistakes in identifying his targets. I know of a brother whose uncle was excessively fond of money. To what extent? His uncle’s sister brought his mother from the countryside to live in her house. When the house was slated for demolition, he felt it should belong to him. This was utterly preposterous! He tried to seize the house by renovating it, thinking that the renovations would make it his. However, the property title was in someone else’s name. Imagine renovating someone else's house and thinking it would become yours! He was driven mad by his love of money. Not long after, he died of cancer.

Similarly, another sister's uncle barged into his mother-in-law's house, demanding to see her savings account. These people are so obsessed with money that they disregard family ties. I believe calamity is imminent for this generation. You will find that the devil does not misjudge people. There are many selfish individuals, and today, sorrow will pierce them. The money isn't really theirs, yet they feel entitled to it. When they can’t get it, they become distressed and are pierced by sorrow.

Therefore, if we deliver a selfish person, it is like giving someone an antidote. The next day, they drink poison again, and I must provide another antidote. It becomes a never-ending cycle. So, brothers and sisters, we must be careful. Those who love money cannot love God; you cannot love both Mammon and God. This is the truth! We must carefully examine ourselves before God. If you remain undelivered for a long time, with the same issues recurring, you must scrutinize yourself. Either continue on this path and be tormented by the devil to death, or repent, turn away from selfish desires, and become someone who does not seek their own benefit.

You might ask, “If I don’t seek my own benefit, who will help me?” If you do not seek your own benefit, God will help you! Isn’t God our greatest reliance? So, brothers and sisters, we need to gradually repent and cultivate the habit of not seeking our own advantage. I genuinely hope that all of you understand one thing:

Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. (1 Corinthians 10:32-33)

Brothers and sisters, I put my full effort into serving you. No matter how busy I am, if a matter falls under my responsibility, I will do my best to serve. Those I have ministered to can testify to this. If you are someone who does not seek your own benefit, be cautious when serving someone who is extremely selfish and loves money, even if they are unaware of it. Why? Because you may never be able to deliver them. To deliver them, you must replace the demonic thoughts within them with the word of God.

Today, when we feel troubled and blame it on others, we are like Saul, driven to madness by an evil spirit, trying to kill David with a spear. Isn't this strange? I often hear selfish remarks, such as, Married couples are like birds in the same forest; in times of trouble, they fly away separately. People only think of their own affairs, even when married, clinging tightly to their wealth. Is a marriage merely a financial arrangement? This is a tragedy! If someone loves money so much that they disregard the relationship with their mother or spouse, it is a critical problem!

My mother is a dutiful daughter-in-law. She is over 80 years old and is enjoying a blessed life with me. I thank God for such a mother! In her youth, she diligently and patiently cared for my grandfather, one of the most filial people I know. Did my mother suffer a loss? No! God gave her a good son who can take good care of her in her old age. Therefore, can we resolve to not seek our own benefit today?

Resolve to Not Seek Your Own Benefit

Some might say, If I don’t seek my own benefit, will you help me? If I don’t solve my problems, will you solve them for me? Will you give me money? They still ask these questions, but what matters most is whether you bear the image of God or the image of the devil. If we bear the image of God, and God is with us, will we lack anything? Our God never makes mistakes! I not only believe in my God, but I also believe that my God controls the universe!

As long as I bear the image of God, and God is with me in this world, is money a problem? Money is not an issue! Nothing is an issue! The problem is that if I only seek my own benefit, I invite the devil; but if I do not seek my own benefit, I invite our God. Our God is inherently a God who does not seek His own benefit, a God who gives freely.

I want to share something from the bottom of my heart. No matter how far our church goes, I hope it will always focus on fostering growth and edifying people, regardless of the number of attendees or their contributions. Your presence and your offerings are not what I prioritize. What I care about is that you can benefit and be edified among us. When we act accordingly, resolving not to seek our own benefit, and focusing on edifying people and fostering growth, as the Apostle Paul said:

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. (1 Corinthians 10:23-24)

This is what the Bible tells us. When we do this, do we lack money? We do not lack money! Do we lack people? We do not lack people. We only lack the ability to edify people and foster their growth. To this day, we still have much to improve. At all times, do not seek your own benefit, but seek the benefit of others; this is called having the Way. The depth and breadth of our church's ministry far exceeds what I know in other churches. This is how the church should be. The church is the body of Jesus Christ, who died for us while we were still sinners, so that we would not perish but have eternal life. This is the love of God, and God's love is manifested in this way!

Last week, I spoke about how the love of the Father is a powerful weapon for casting out demons. Today, we build a church that does not seek its own benefit, giving freely to others; that is the church where God dwells. If a church is concerned with your attendance, your offerings, and not your benefit, how can it have God's presence? It is merely a place with a church sign.

Recently, a pastor, instead of properly shepherding, engaged in a pyramid scheme, turning the church into a place for such activities. He spread many lies, making the brothers and sisters in the church fear him, and everyone learned a false obedience. Everyone listened, but isn't this a form of control? You must understand that we do not control anyone. We simply hope that you can grow healthily among us. If you cannot grow healthily among us, we absolutely will not force you to stay. We hope you can find a place where you can grow. We do not care about numbers.

Some time ago, a small group in a church encountered some problems. One of our sisters visited them. They often listened to my sharing on our website, surviving on our recordings. They did not discuss their problems with their own pastor, nor did their pastor care for them. They also didn't dare to tell their pastor that they were listening to my sharing on our website, fearing trouble! I wonder if today's pastors are very concerned about themselves. If you tell me you want to listen to this or that, I won't really care.

Recently, I told our co-workers that if they wanted to start their own ministry, I would bless them from the bottom of my heart! Why would I stop you? Because stopping you would not benefit me or you. I hope we all share the same vision, goal, and destiny: to serve our God and be a blessing to many people. If there is a better place that can help our brothers and sisters grow, I hope you will go there. We should not cause anyone to stumble; we want them to be saved.

What I am saying today is not to drive you away; I hope you can grow and be saved among us! To free you from the control of the devil!

If you want to tell me that you want to listen to this or that, I really don’t care. Some time ago, I told my co-workers that if you want to pull away and start your own ministry, I will bless you from the bottom of my heart. Why would I stop you? Because stopping you, because stopping you is of no benefit to me or to you. I hope that we all have the same vision; have the same destiny; have the same goal, that is to serve our God; to be a blessing to many people in this generation!

In fact, not only our co-workers, but even any sister among us, if there is a better place to grow, I hope you can go, so that you will not stumble. Therefore, no matter who it is, we must not cause her to stumble, we want to save them. What I am saying to you today is not another meaning, we are not driving out, we will not drive you out. However, I hope that you can be edified and grow among us, and be saved, and salvation is to release you from the control of the devil.

If I release you from the control of the devil and call you to be saved, the best advice I can give you is not to seek your own benefit. What do we seek when we seek our own benefit? What we seek is the devil, what we seek is the evil demon. Brothers and sisters, begin to walk out of the control of the devil, because selfishness and lust cause us to fall into harmful destruction. I don’t know if I’ve hit the point, but everyone must know that not seeking one's own benefit is the glorious image of God.

You ask me if serving is tiring, in fact, I am very tired, often serving with tears, very hard, but I am very happy. Because I began to have the glorious image of God on my body, this is my life; this is my destiny; this is the meaning of my life. Therefore, today, I have not hesitated to say what is beneficial to you, but whether you can listen to it or not, may God have mercy.

I Have Not Hesitated to Say What Is Beneficial To You, These Are The Words Of The Apostle Paul

The Apostle Paul said this in the twentieth chapter of the Book of Acts:

17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ 36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship. (Acts 20:17-38)

Why did the Apostle Paul say this? Because he was going to Jerusalem, and he knew that bad things would befall him in Jerusalem. Brothers and sisters, do you know how the Apostle Paul served? I did not hesitate to say anything that was beneficial to you. Today, I hope that all our brothers and sisters can be saved; are able to be freed from the control of the devil; are able not to seek their own benefit, although this is not pleasant to say, but it can enable everyone to receive grace.

I had a very surprising experience. One of our sisters suffered from depression two years ago. We actually ministered to her for a long time two years ago. We ministered to her, and she got better two years ago, but we still miss her. Because she has not received a normal higher education, we hope to be able to train her so that she can have a normal job. We trained her to write programs, but she was very uncomfortable during that time. She was extremely collapsed and uncomfortable, so I prayed for her. In fact, she had very strange things in her heart. Later, she told me the truth, saying that I did not give her subsidies.

I have already trained her for free, do I still have to give her subsidies? I don’t really need it, why should I give her subsidies? And her family’s financial situation is not bad. Then she was very concerned about some trivial things, which made her very collapsed and uncomfortable, and then the whole person began to release, and we all desperately prayed for her. How did she know that the result of her discomfort came from her extremely selfish motives? If a person does not seek his own benefit in his heart, but seeks the benefit of others, he should not be uncomfortable, because we will continue to move forward whether we gain or not.

Then this sister was very uncomfortable during the release process, but she didn’t tell us the truth. It wasn’t until one day that I pointed out the matter before she told me the truth. Later, she got better, but there was a very surprising thing. She returned to her hometown, and as soon as she returned home, all the problems were gone, and all the uncomfortable symptoms completely disappeared. So what does this surprising experience I talked about explain? In fact, if we are selfish people, it is OK to live in this world. Don’t pretend to be a Christian, and then be a selfish Christian, and then the evil spirit will come and mess with you. If you insist on being a selfish person, you can actually go to those churches that don’t fight. You will live a good life.

So please don’t play fake. In fact, we don’t need to keep anyone, we only need to keep those who are willing to be for Jesus, and become the benefit of many people and a blessing to many people, and are willing to completely give themselves up. If you have received a lot of benefits in our midst, and have not received them yet, you can find a place, in fact, we really don’t care about the number of people. You don’t need to be embarrassed, but don’t play fake. You don’t need to play fake at all, because none of us have sought our own benefit. Today's preachers, like the Apostle Paul, do not seek their own benefit, and I have not hesitated to say anything that is beneficial to you, because not seeking their own benefit is the ability to drive out demons.

Why can’t these demons be driven out? Because these demons are self-inflicted. We have driven them out ourselves, so what do we do? So brothers and sisters, I am eager for everyone to understand that Esau and Jacob in the Bible fought for blessings. Esau did not fight for that blessing, but Jacob fought for the blessing, but Jacob fought for many sins, and Esau lived a good life instead. That’s great, you can live a very good life, but it depends on what we are pursuing. If we have the same vision and destiny, we will run the same road, for the sake of Jesus Christ, for the sake of God’s kingdom, we would rather suffer than our own benefit, this is our destiny.

What we are pursuing is to live out the glorious image of God. We have never taken ourselves seriously. We do not take our lives as a matter. We do not value our lives. We just want to finish the journey in this world. When we are sharing with you, we really don’t seek anything else. What we most want to seek is to leave this world and be with the Lord. It’s so great, because living out God’s glorious image in this world, we long for the day when we can return to God and receive His glorious crown and reward. It turns out that everything we have experienced in this world is not worth mentioning. The momentary and light suffering will achieve eternal and incomparable glory. When we are alive, we must live out God’s glorious image. What is our own benefit?

Conclusion

I want to make a summary: Not seeking your own benefit is the image of God. If you want to live out the image of God, you desire to live out the image of God, if you desire to, let us run this road together, your pursuit is my pursuit, and my pursuit is also your pursuit, your God is my God, and my God is also your God, where you are, I will also be there. Today I want to run this road. I have never pursued comfort. I have never pursued feeling good, because those of us are people that the world is not worthy of, and we are determined to be a blessing to many.