Introduction

Today, I want to share with you a topic titled We Have This Treasure in Earthen Vessels. Last Sunday, our topic was Bearing the Mark of Jesus Christ. If someone bears the mark of Jesus Christ, I tell you, that person will surely obtain treasure. Why will they obtain treasure? What can our Jesus Christ do? Because in this world, there is nothing He cannot do.

There was a child whose mother sent for Jesus because the child was dying. By the time Jesus arrived, the child had already died. As a result, Jesus took the child by the hand, and the child came back to life. Wouldn't you say that's obtaining treasure? It is obtaining treasure. Today, we must obtain one thing: to be free from illness and to have no lack of money. This is what the world says. If you can resolve this, then you can obtain treasure.

Dear brothers and sisters, do not ever think that illness will not befall us. If you think that way, I wish you good luck. So, if someone is like Jesus, wouldn't they obtain treasure? The power released by Jesus Christ can solve many problems. If a person has Jesus, what else does he lack?

When I was young, I was very poor. I liked to listen to the elders tell stories. My favorite story was about the Treasure Bowl. Whatever you wanted would come out of this bowl. When I was young, I thought, how wonderful it would be to have this bowl. If you are a believer in Jesus today, you have already touched this treasure, but you have not obtained the benefits of this treasure. That is called going to waste. In Singaporean Hokkien, there is a saying called 走宝 (zou bao). What does 走宝 mean? It means that you have already grasped the treasure, but it slips away and disappears.

In the days ahead, we will promote a movement like Jesus Christ. After hearing this, some will agree, and some will disagree. I find it strange. Why do some people disagree? It is in accordance with the Bible, and it is in accordance with the pursuit of beautiful promises. Therefore, the movement to be like Jesus will spread throughout the earth. I am a person who greatly desires to be like Jesus. Wherever I go, I like to bring out my Jesus Christ; He is my treasure.

Last week, I went to a city and was taken to someone's home. I met an elderly man in his sixties who had oral cancer and had been fighting it for over ten years. Oral cancer is closely related to the ears, nose, and throat, so one of his ears was deaf; he couldn't hear at all. So, I said, This is an opportunity. I have this treasure in earthen vessels. I said, Put your finger in your ear, and use your other ear to listen. Pray with me. As a result, after praying, he took his finger out, and I snapped my fingers next to his ear. He covered his other ear and could hear. It was really great. Then we continued to pray, and his hearing became clearer and clearer. This is the glory of God being manifested.

This elderly man was a Christian, but there are many Christians who go to waste, touching the treasure but not obtaining it—that is truly a tragedy. I long for every brother and sister to know that pursuing to be like Jesus is an exceedingly wonderful thing. At that time, the elderly man's friend was also present. After seeing what happened, he hoped that I could do something for him because he had had shoulder pain for a long time. After I grabbed his shoulder and prayed, the pain immediately disappeared.

Later, I returned to the hotel and met a friend. Two years prior, this friend had gone to a church. The pastor and his wife saw someone come to the church seeking service, so they quickly bought tickets and took their children on a trip abroad. After that, he single-handedly took on the responsibility of caring for the entire church. Once, while moving chairs, he fell and fractured his wrist, resulting in a steel plate still supporting his wrist. For the past two years, his wrist had been sore. He himself is a Christian and a servant. Years ago, I taught him how to pray for the sick, and he served quite well.

This time, upon hearing that I was coming, he asked me to pray for him. As soon as I prayed, the pain in his wrist immediately disappeared. At the same time, he brought a friend who also had arm pain. Actually, anyone among us who has received basic healing and deliverance training can solve such problems, but he has believed in the Lord for so many years, believing in something without power. In their church, the pastor and his wife have illnesses but still have them serve. Many churches are in such a state. After I prayed for him and he was healed, I gave him several books to read.

If I bring out my treasure wherever I go, it's just like a treasure bowl, how wonderful. Also, I once ministered to someone online whose foot was twisted and terribly swollen. But when I arrived, his foot had not completely healed. So, I said, Put your foot on the stool, and I grabbed his foot and prayed. You know what? I really don't mind if people's feet are clean or not. The point is, I have the treasure! As a result, after praying, it was healed, and then I felt how wonderful it is to have Jesus.

Having Jesus as this treasure, and this treasure dwelling in our earthen vessels, showing that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. But in past ministries, I liked to talk about myself. Why? Because I was a top student since I was young. At the same time, I wrote many books and studied the Bible very thoroughly, which brought about a lot of confusion. What kind of confusion? Some people think I am a top student, but they themselves are not good at studying. Actually, these things don't matter. As long as you are an earthen vessel, it has nothing to do with being a top student or not. The reason I say I am good at studying is to make you have a little confidence in me so that I can serve you well. Actually, any of us can have such a treasure. Today, I will share with you about We Have This Treasure in Earthen Vessels.

Scripture

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. (2 Corinthians 4:7-11)

Prayer

Lord, open the hearts of each of our brothers and sisters today, and invite You into our inner being. May You become our treasure! May You manifest Your power and glory through our lives! Let us experience You more personally, and let us release more of Your power and glory on the road to experiencing You! Lord, we thank You, may glory be to You! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Scripture Background

This passage was written against the background of the Corinthian church being deceived by a group of false apostles, and the Apostle Paul arguing with them. After a series of actions by Paul, the people of the Corinthian church were persuaded back. These people began to realize that Paul was the true apostle. How did those false apostles deceive the people of the Corinthian church?

They said that Paul's speech was crude, his appearance was unremarkable, he always boasted about himself, and he didn't look like a disciple of Jesus. They believed that if the Apostle Paul was a servant of God, he should not experience so many difficulties; everything should go smoothly. They saw that Satan's servants often attacked Paul, so if Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ, he should not be attacked. They also said that Paul was swindling money, but in fact, Paul did not take a penny from them. They pinned many labels on Paul. The people of the Corinthian church inexplicably listened to the deception of the false apostles.

When we read 2 Corinthians, we must be very clear about this background; Paul had to defend his office. The points that Paul argued were very simple, which I will talk about below. Paul had treasure inside him; he was different from those people. Although those people could say things with their mouths, they did not have treasure inside, so they could not manifest this surpassing power. Those people made excuses, saying that Paul was also a magician, and so on.

But Paul said this:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

At the same time, he responded:

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. (2 Corinthians 4:8-11)

It is not difficult to understand that if Jesus had not been crucified, there would be no such thing as resurrection from the dead. We can think about it. If you are living well, and then you are resurrected, wouldn't that be ridiculous? That is to say, you must first die in order to be resurrected from the dead. If there is no death, how can there be resurrection from the dead? The Apostle Paul often experienced some amazing things, but every time he saw the surpassing power of God.

This is very confusing for many people. They have a very superficial understanding, thinking that people like the Apostle Paul have treasure inside them, and they should be as they imagined. However, the way they describe it is not really the way God said it is. Today, we must gradually understand that Paul did it right! If you have treasure inside you, take it out for a walk! Once you take it out for a walk, it will instantly silence people. The Apostle Paul has the mark of Jesus Christ on his body. Nothing can stop him from being victorious, and nothing can stop him from fulfilling the office that God has given him! This is the background of the Scripture.

We Are Only Earthen Vessels

The word earthen vessel is well used! An earthen vessel is a worthless thing. But having Jesus Christ dwelling in us makes it valuable. We are only a package, an outer shell; the treasure inside is the real thing.

A few days ago, a pastor came to me, saying that he was very tired. I learned that he had suffered great setbacks when he was building his church. I shared with him the whole process of how I built my church. When I was sharing with him, I said that I have a little problem—I like to boast. Actually, it's not boasting; it's just the way things are. As a result, when the pastor compared it to his own background, he was misled by me, and he felt that he could not do it. When he called me, he said that his whole body was tired. I said, Are your hands tired? He said no. I said, Move your legs to see if your legs are tired. At that time, his legs were not tired, and his waist was not tired either. So, I said, Where are you tired? He said he was just a little sleepy and wanted to rest.

I asked, Do you sleep a lot? He said, Not much. I occasionally take a nap. After the nap, I feel quite refreshed, and there's nothing wrong. I thought to myself, Oh, he was misled by my background. Actually, I am just like him—an earthen vessel. My background does not help much in obtaining God's grace and treasure. Actually, what allows a person to obtain treasure is character, and the core of character is faith.

I must say that I am a person with character. Seeing this situation, I began to impart faith to him. I have many methods. I said, Pastor, in these days of being with you, I have a strong feeling that God is going to use you greatly. Actually, God really is going to use him greatly. This is not fooling people; it is not deceiving people. It really is like this. This pastor is very capable of recognizing goods. I stumbled and bumbled to get this treasure into my earthen vessel. Now, after I share it with him a little bit, he quickly obtains it; he doesn't have to go through the same troubles as I did.

Actually, the ability of this earthen vessel to manifest power comes from God, not from us. If it comes from us, this thing cannot be replicated. But this thing comes from God. It is not so important what kind of earthen vessel it is. What is important is that this earthen vessel has treasure. After having treasure, what kind of phenomenon will occur?

I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles. (2 Corinthians 12:12)

If you are a person sent by God, you must know that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. If we are going to build God's glorious church, we must have perseverance, signs, and wonders. These are the marks. Why do we say that we have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that the surpassing power, is the perseverance, signs, and wonders. Maybe you agree with what I say, but some people think that God's surpassing power is what changes people's lives. The matter of changing people's lives can be achieved without God's great power, but perseverance, signs, and wonders are the marks.

Today, our generation must restore the gospel of great power. It is not because I went to university and was a senior executive. This has to do with one thing: this treasure comes from God and not from us. In the days when the Apostle Paul built the church, there were not many who were powerful, not many who were noble, but God used them to manifest God's power. I think this is not difficult to understand. Today, those of us who are capable and those who are not capable can all be earthen vessels. God can dwell inside. It doesn't matter whether you are noble or ignoble, whether your birth is good or bad. God can still manifest His power through you. It is precisely because your ability is not that great that God wants to manifest His nobility and glory through you. This is called the mark of Jesus Christ. Today, we must begin to thirst, to thirst to obtain such treasure so that we can release God's power through our faith.

In the Old Testament, there was a David who gathered a group of rabble when he was on the run. They were all debtors, fugitives, and all kinds of messy things. As a result, he took them in, and many of them became mighty warriors. That is to say, we must know today that if God wants to help us, who can resist us? The topic spoken about today is very good. We are all earthen vessels, not jade vessels. What is an earthen vessel? It is a broken pottery jar. No matter whether it’s blue and white porcelain, Tang porcelain, or ceramic, as long as it is an earthen vessel, you can put the treasure inside. This earthen vessel may be worthless, but if this treasure is placed inside, this earthen vessel becomes valuable.

I often share testimonies because I do such things everywhere, and they are all manifestations of God's power. Many people call this being charismatic, but whether or not it is charismatic is not important. The key is whether or not it is like Jesus, and that is the most important thing. Today, we know that what the Apostle Paul did was similar to what Jesus did. Isn't it good if we thirst to be like the Apostle Paul? If you put on a charismatic hat, you will also put one on the Apostle Paul. What kind of person are you to do this? No matter what, we must read God's Word well. You are an earthen vessel, and it is good that you have treasure inside. You must have a rational understanding of God's Word.

Today we are to know how critical it is to manifest God's power. It is a tragedy when we see a church without God's power and without treasure. If there is power, then a sore arm with a metal plate can be healed through prayer. I will give everyone encouragement, and everyone must surely believe that you and I are similar earthen vessels. We must put the treasure inside. Next, I will tell you how to put the treasure inside.

Faith is Key

Today, let us ponder carefully, when do we need faith? We need faith in the most difficult times. If everything is going well, it is not faith that is needed; you do not need faith then. In earlier years, our church was very desolate. Some brothers and sisters received grace under my ministry, but the church was not yet victorious then. As a result, when these brothers and sisters went out, and people asked them which church they attended, they would say they were in a small church. I was very hurt when I heard this because they felt it was embarrassing to say it.

I believe many pastors lead churches that are stronger than mine was then, but at that time, as soon as I heard that many brothers and sisters had visitors, they would take them to large churches, which were magnificent, and the meetings were like concerts. As soon as I heard that they had gone there, I felt a chill in my heart because I saw that the church I led was too humble, and people felt embarrassed; I myself also felt embarrassed.

However, I had faith in my heart. I knew that no matter how big a church is, it all starts from a very humble beginning. At that time, I hardened my heart, strengthened my faith, and moved forward step by step. Every step was very difficult at that time; how much faith was needed then! Today, our church has come to this point. The website, writing books, and various ministries of healing and deliverance are becoming more and more complete, all starting from a very humble beginning. The current state of the church was depicted in my faith at that time. What God needs are people with faith! God does not need the entire church to be magnificent and then feel there is faith; that is not called faith.

What God wants is to create a future through faith in desolate times. At that time, I received a vision of a glorious church. I said, A glorious church should be like Jesus. Whatever Jesus did, let us do it with all our strength! As a result, wherever we go today, we are like Jesus going around doing good deeds and healing all kinds of diseases.

Therefore, faith is key. In fact, we all have treasures inside, but some people use them, and some people do not. Actually, the treasure is already there; the question is whether you have the faith to release God's power. If you have a treasure but do not know how to use it, it is useless. For example, the cornucopia has a method of use; if you do not know the method, it will not work. The treasure that God has placed within us is the gospel of Jesus Christ. He releases power through faith. The fruit of faith is miracles, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit is life!

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:17-18)

Therefore, faith must be constantly practiced. The Apostle Paul, when surrounded on all sides, was not trapped because he had faith inside to release God's power. It was not that the Apostle Paul was so powerful that he could deal with those situations, but because the ability given by God could enable him to overcome that situation. He was perplexed, but not in despair. No matter how desolate your church is today, no matter how desolate your cell group or pastoral district is, it does not matter; you cannot lose faith. It is in that situation that faith is needed; God gives you such a situation to train your faith.

Tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character. If you want to become a person of proven character, you cannot live a mediocre life with no challenges. If we want to become a person of proven character today, we must go through all kinds of hardships, overcoming many obstacles, perplexed, but not in despair, because there is faith inside! Persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. The Apostle Paul was very powerful. Those people took stones and beat him to death. Later, they threw him out of the city into the trash, but he came back to life and walked again not long after. That is, struck down, but not destroyed! How powerful this treasure is within us.

That is, always carrying the death of Jesus on our body, so that the power of Jesus' resurrection from the dead can be revealed in our body. This is a very important matter. Today, we do not care much about death. A few days ago, I prayed with a person, and he died. His family comforted me. I said, You do not need to comfort me. Actually, for me, departing from this world to be with the Lord is incomparably good. I myself do not care much about my own death, so I do not think it matters much when others die. The Apostle Paul was beaten half to death; in fact, he did not care at all. If he cared so much, he would not have been an apostle of Jesus Christ, so he always carried the death of Jesus Christ on his body; what great faith that is.

Today, brothers and sisters must know that we must practice faith in any desolate situation. When God created all things in the universe, the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. God created all things in the universe in that situation; that is faith. Faith can create the future. No matter how desolate your situation is today, your faith can create a beautiful future. Today, if you are a pastor and you experience great setbacks in the process of building a church, what you need most today is faith.

Abraham, an old man in his seventies, took his family and went to the land of Canaan. When he arrived at a place, God said, This is the promised land that I have given you. No sooner had he finished speaking than a famine came, with drought and floods, encountering a very bad situation. But Abraham was amazing. Ordinary people might have such thoughts: God, is this the promised land? It does not look like it to me. God, did you make a mistake? Say something! But Abraham did not think like that.

Jacob went to his uncle's house with a staff, and the comfortable life was gone. God, is this a blessing? But Jacob did not ask that. Jacob just believed, and only belief can create the future. A person without faith, no matter how good a treasure is, is useless. Faith itself is a treasure. God has long placed the power of Jesus Christ within us. Start today to draw upon it through your faith. Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt, but he could create a future through faith and become the prime minister of Egypt. He did not say, It's over, it's over; this life is over. He had faith inside. Although being sold into slavery in Egypt was painful, when the feeling came, if there was no faith, it was misery upon misery, but when the feeling came, after the faith inside was pushed up, he believed that this was God's advance dispatch for him to come to Egypt to become the salvation of his family.

When we have faith, although we are earthen vessels, we become very honorable vessels because God lives within us; we have a treasure inside. Today, God wants to raise up a large group of earthen vessels, which will contain the treasure of Jesus Christ. No longer relying on our own abilities, because relying on our own abilities is a trap. We must, through faith in God, regardless of whether you have been educated or can do this or cannot do that, it does not matter; you can still become a vessel of miracles. Nothing and no one can hinder your faith from entering into God's Mingding Destiny, into God's good plan for you.

To Obtain Mingding Destiny

Why did the Apostle Paul obtain this treasure? He had faith inside. He was an earthen vessel and needed one more thing, that is, Mingding Destiny. The original text of Mingding Destiny in the Bible is:

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:1-2)

The main thing the Apostle Paul wrote these for was to argue about one thing: this is the ministry God gave him. The ministry God gave him is called Mingding Destiny. I came into this world to make the truth known. If we want to be like Paul today, we must see through many things in our understanding. If you cannot see through in your understanding, it is difficult for you to be like Paul, a person with treasure in an earthen vessel.

If we cannot see through life and death, do not want to build God's glorious church, and do not want to obtain an eternal house in heaven after our earthly body dies, thinking that everything we live for on earth is to enjoy in the flesh, you have no way to obtain this treasure. If you want to obtain this treasure, you must see through all things in the world. People mix around in the world; if you mix well, you can get a better urn; if you don't mix well, you get a not-so-good urn. We must understand these things clearly, and after understanding them clearly, we pursue a glory that is extremely heavy and eternal.

A person who lives in the flesh, lives in the flesh, he cannot obtain the treasure. Because our God does not live in a fleshly person, our God lives in a person who has obtained Mingding Destiny, because that treasure is a very precious treasure. Placed in our earthen vessel, he must have Mingding Destiny. When we have Mingding Destiny, no matter how humble an earthen vessel you are, God will live in you; this has nothing to do with our ability. The question is, what do we live for? We want to make the truth known so that we can manifest God's glory and enable people to obtain the benefits of the gospel. The treasure will surely live in you and will also show great power, which is from God and not from us.

We live to live for God; we are a person who lives to serve God. Chinese Mingding Destiny is a theology of service. We live to serve God, and we live to be a blessing to many people. I need to explain this matter. I will give you an analogy, just like Alipay. Alibaba's Alipay is a large company. What does Alipay do? Your money is returned to the merchant through Alipay. How much money does Alipay earn? Just passing through one hand. When you buy something for one hundred, we don't know if Alipay gives the merchant one hundred; it probably also scraped a bit at a small percentage, and then Alipay became a very large company.

If God gives a person a blessing, passing through your hand, you become a blessing treasure, and you have many blessings. I will take this as an analogy. If our ministry, our Mingding Destiny is to distribute blessings, can you not have blessings? Today, our brothers and sisters must obtain Mingding Destiny in this desolate generation to manifest God's glory and make God's truth known. Today, God wants to restore His truth and restore the pure gospel in this generation. You ask me if I have obtained this pure gospel; I am still striving to pursue it. Today, the truth that we have obtained that God has revealed is more than that of ordinary people.

Today, we need to obtain a Mingding Destiny. If you stand in the place where you stand and look around, you will see that the gospel that the church believes in has many absurd things. Then, are we willing today to bear the Mingding Destiny, remove these absurd things, and make the pure gospel known again? If you have such a ministry and such a Mingding Destiny inside, this treasure will surely live in your inside!

No Matter How Many Promises God Has Made, They Are “Yes” in Christ

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 1:20-22)

Do you know how many promises God has made in the Bible? If you know how many promises God has made in the Bible, you will know how precious this treasure is! The promises of God are mentioned in the Bible so many times that it is unimaginable. All the things we live for are in God's promises, so no matter how many there are, they are all true in Jesus Christ. If we take on this ministry today and cash in God's promises to become a blessing to this generation, what a wonderful thing that is!

Start today, standing in the place where you stand, and look to the southeast, northwest, and you will see that this generation is very much in need of God's power, God's promises, and God's glory! What we have accomplished through faith in the past no longer needs to be accomplished today. Today, we need a new dream, we need to re-challenge the faith inside us, to continue to do new things for God, to continue to expand His kingdom for God. Today, we have begun to have a complete theological system. Are we willing to completely give ourselves to become a blessing to the whole earth? Brothers and sisters, start striving to pursue, constantly improving yourselves, constantly expanding your boundaries, hoping to be able to serve the Americas, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and even Africa and South America; we must begin to see that this generation is very much in need of the gospel that is full of God's power.

Some time ago, one of our sisters was ministering to a British person. This British person was very interesting. After she got depression, she was ministered to by one of our sisters who did not know English. A Chinese friend next to her translated for her. As a result, her depression got much better. Sometimes, when her depression was not quite right, she would directly call the sister who ministered to her. Sometimes, there was no one next to her to translate for her, but she could still lead her in prayer and deliverance. I think this is a very miraculous thing because God is doing very miraculous things among us.

Conclusion

In the days to come, we must begin to take on the Mingding Destiny that God has on us, take on God's good will for the Chinese in this generation, and become a group of people who build God's glorious church in this generation! In this generation, let the treasure inside us constantly manifest His glory. In fact, we owe the Americans and Europeans a gospel debt because in the past few hundred years, they shed their blood for us Chinese to be able to obtain the benefits of the gospel, paying an extremely painful price. Today, it is our turn to become a blessed generation to them, to begin to desire to be raised up, to become a person with Mingding Destiny, to hope to serve those who speak different languages. At that time, they all came to our Chinese land without speaking Chinese and shared the benefits of the gospel with us Chinese.

Today, God is raising up us Chinese in this generation. There are many bilingual speakers among us. Do we not need to serve people of different languages even more? We have no excuse; we only have to set our goals and run forward, accomplishing God's good will for the Chinese in this generation. May God bless everyone!