Introduction
Good morning, everyone. Today, I will be sharing on the topic of Approaching God's Throne of Grace with Confidence and Without Fear. This topic, along with the one I shared last week, is drawn from the Book of Hebrews. Last week, I spoke on The Word of God is Living and Active. Recently, my sermons have been primarily based on the Book of Hebrews. Hebrews speaks of striving for growth and pressing on towards complete faith. A common situation we face in Christianity today is that people do not often talk about growth. Discussions tend to revolve around personal salvation and the prospect of going to heaven after death.
During this time, we must eradicate erroneous theological concepts, as they are incredibly corrupting. Last Sunday, I clearly explained that the Word of God is powerful and effective. The efficacy of God's Word is vividly demonstrated, for instance, during our recent 24-hour prayer meeting, where many people were healed. The Word of God is not only effective but also living. It is a living Word. Today, as we discuss approaching God’s throne of grace with confidence, remember that God is our ever-present help. We receive grace and mercy, and God helps us grow. We can boldly come before God, maturing, by His grace, into the fullness of Jesus Christ.
Years ago, a pastor preached that people have openings in their lives, and once these openings exist, demons can freely enter and exit. I was puzzled at the time, wondering what to do when people are full of openings. I thank God that I am not lacking in understanding, and after carefully reading the Bible, I found no such teaching. New believers have many openings, almost like honeycomb briquettes. How terrifying it would be if demons could freely enter and exit. This pastor also said, Do not cast out demons haphazardly, or they will jump onto you.
I thought of how Jesus in the Bible trained twelve disciples, who were not particularly impressive. When Jesus was about to be crucified, they had many openings. Jesus trained them by sending them out to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. According to this pastor's explanation, wouldn't those disciples bring back many demons with them after healing and casting them out? These statements released a lot of fear, which has a profound and lasting impact. When some people in my small group raised these fears, I told them, You do not need to be afraid, the Bible does not say that. You may think that I was going against the pastor, but that is what the Word of God says.
Later, I realized that the doctrine of casting out demons has caused much confusion in the church. Pastors say, Do not lay hands on people when casting out demons, because the demons will jump onto you. However, the Bible does not say this. There is no such teaching. These views released a lot of fear. Today, we need to know that the Word of God is living and powerful. Our God is still in control. Whether demons enter us is not up to the demons, but up to God. You do not need to be afraid of hearing all kinds of strange information. I encourage you to come out of fear.
You can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence. For example, a newborn infant is very weak, but nothing bad will happen to it because its parents take good care of it. Even if new believers among us are very weak, it does not matter, for God takes very good care of them. Many newly-converted Christian brothers and sisters are very weak, but I see that the devil cannot destroy them or completely corrupt them. I often hear them testifying that they are in a honeymoon period with God. In fact, that period is infancy, and God takes very good care of them. They experience God over the smallest things. A child lying in bed, crying for its mother, will soon have a bottle and be held and cared for.
Brothers and sisters, know that a newborn infant is just an infant. But when you grow up and go to primary school, you cannot be treated this way. If you keep crying for your mother to give you milk and twisted dough sticks, you will be pinched on the face. When you are old enough to buy soy sauce, you must buy soy sauce; when it is time to go to school, you must go to school; and when it is time to do housework, you must do housework. The Word of God is living, and it uses different standards to measure you at different times. The Word of God helps us grow, and we can boldly come before God, saying what needs to be said at any time. God will always require us to grow. If a person does not grow and still asks his mother for milk when he is over twenty years old, he will be beaten up. Wouldn't that become brain damage or intellectual disability?
Our God wants us to continue to grow, maturing into the fullness of Jesus Christ. The Book of Hebrews is about growth. The Word of God is living, a living Word, and it will grow in our lives. We can grow together with the Word of God. If the faith you believe in is the faith of the dead, only hoping to go to heaven after death, then you are wrong. You have not carefully read the Bible and do not understand what it says. You must grow; if you do not grow, it will not work. God will discipline you, because you are His child. Whether you are 60, 70, 80, or even 90 years old today, you must continue to grow, being filled with the knowledge of God in your understanding, and experiencing God's help and grace every day. It is really good to have God's help every day of your life, until you leave this world. This is God's intention.
The author of Hebrews faced some Christians who were not growing. They were standing still, not moving forward, unclear in their hearts, immature, and often confused. They did not walk towards the promised land, but wandered in the wilderness, which would lead to death in the wilderness. It is very troublesome for people not to move forward, being left hanging in mid-air. If you have been among us for a long time and have not grown, and are about to fall behind, then today's sermon is for you. Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence and without fear, to receive mercy and find grace, so that God may be our ever-present help.
You will indeed encounter difficulties and have weaknesses. Is that a problem? No, because the Word of God is like that. The Word of God is meant to help us, to grant us mercy and grace, and to be our ever-present help. Today, I want to encourage everyone to uphold the Word of God, approach the throne of grace with confidence, and constantly receive His help. He will help you grow. If you say, I am tired, He will be your strength. If you say, I am weak, God will be your strength. If you say, I am afraid, God will be your safety. How wonderful is that! Next, let us look at today's scripture:
Scripture
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV)
Prayer
Lord, each brother and sister here today has weaknesses. We are all weak, but You are to be our strength. Today, through Your Word, add Your strength to us, so that we may go the extra mile. Lord, let us run forward on this path of growth. Lord, You are constantly shaping us, according to Your will. Constantly mold us, so that we can live out the image of Jesus Christ. We know this is Your intention. Today, do the work of molding in us, so that we may receive grace, receive favor, and receive power. You come to be our ever-present help. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
Scripture Background
Some people seem to be falling behind on their journey of faith. Why are they falling behind? Like the Israelites in the wilderness, they do not want to enter the promised land, because halfway through they want to return to Egypt. They are tired and weary from running, complaining, Why do people have to live like this? It is too tiring. Life as a Christian is too tiring. In the previous chapter, the author of Hebrews spoke of entering into rest. Some have obtained it, and some have not. Since there is rest and we can enter into it, then let us enter quickly. The problem is that if we are stuck in mid-air, we cannot enter into rest. If we have just come out of Egypt and entered the wilderness, and cannot enter the promised land, then we cannot enjoy the beauty of the promised land.
Therefore, the concept that Chinese Mingding Destiny emphasize today is this: We must fight and overcome to inherit the promised land and receive all of God's promises. However, some people are weak, and their logic is deadly. They say, Because I am weak and cannot do it, I will fall. These problems look depressing, and I am not Jesus, so I cannot overcome them.
Therefore, when the author of Hebrews encountered this group of Christians, he wanted to express that the Word of God is living, effective, and helpful. We must hold fast to the faith we profess, just as our high priest, Jesus Christ, was once as weak as we are. He faced temptations and encountered all the problems we face today, but He did not sin. He overcame. If Jesus can do it, so can we. Relying on Him, we can overcome and become more and more like God.
Today, Chinese Mingding Destiny will not talk about salvation as simply going to heaven. Chinese Mingding Destiny speaks of salvation as becoming like Jesus, like God. God is restoring us to His image in this generation because He created us in His image, and if God has the power to create, so should we. Therefore, all that Chinese Mingding Destiny creates is to restore the glorious image in which God created us. It is not about whether you can or cannot, but that God will surely enable you, which is what the author of Hebrews wants to express.
What are we going to discuss using this passage today? We will discuss that weakness is not the problem, but attitude is the key; lack of understanding is not the problem, but seeking is the key; gifts, talents, and abilities are not the problem, but faithful perseverance is the key. Therefore, we can boldly come before the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace, and God will be our ever-present help. Because we are God's children, even if God disciplines us today, it is to help us grow. We do not need to be afraid. What we need is reverence. Today, we will not give up until we are like Jesus, growing to the full stature of Christ.
Today, we want to start a movement to think like Jesus Christ. May God enable our Chinese Mingding Destiny to be accepted, so that all churches can be strengthened and prosper. I believe this is God's intention. Next, I will discuss each point in detail.
Weakness is not the Problem, Attitude is the Key
We Christians have always thought that Jesus is different from us, that what grows inside Jesus is different from us. The author of Hebrews says that He is the same as us in every way. When He became flesh, He did not just drop something from heaven and become human. He was born from a mother's womb, placed in a manger, which was really hard and humble. Like us, He cried when He was hungry and felt pain when He was pricked. He was Jesus Christ, who became flesh and became our redeemer.
Why is He the same as us? Because His weakness is also our weakness, and our weakness is also His weakness. Jesus had His weaknesses. Fortunately, He was weak, so we weak people have hope. Because Jesus has opened this path for us, so that we can be like Him. The Apostle Paul also had his weaknesses. The Bible does not say that he was not weak, but that he was weak, which gives hope to us weak people.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all had their weaknesses, so I will not criticize them. Because fortunately they were weak, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, and Jesus Christ were all weak, but they all overcame. Through trusting in God, they were all born, so we weak people enter into victory through faith. I also thank God that the problem of weakness is very obvious in me. Don't think that I am different from everyone else. Jesus Christ did not have horns on His head or hair on His body, nor did He suddenly travel to America. There is no such thing. Jesus Christ did not transform into anything either. This did not happen. Like us, He grew up from childhood, and He would be hungry if He did not eat.
We must thank God, because the Lord Jesus has overcome for us, letting us see the hope of victory. The hope of victory comes from God's Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps our weaknesses, interceding for us with groanings too deep for words. In fact, if we look closely, there are many weak pastors in this generation, but God has not crushed them because of their weaknesses.
Until today, I am very grateful. When I started serving God, I used a very shameful way to serve Him. I thought, who could Jesus attract? I had to use other methods to attract people first. Thank God, God did not crush me. Later, because of God's discipline, I began to repent. God will not crush us because of our transgressions. At that time, I had an attitude of serving God. I really wanted to serve God, but my methods of serving were wrong.
The original intention of salvation is to save those who are weak. Today, some brothers and sisters have corrected their ways, thank God. If they serve wrongly, they will grow and experience God's guidance, and I am not anxious. Because God's original intention is to let the weak among us grow little by little, overcoming their weaknesses. The original intention of salvation is to save those who are weak, not to save those who seem to have wisdom, honor, and ability. We do not have many capable and honorable people, but God wants to save us.
We must know that weakness is not the problem, but attitude is the key. Some people recorded in the Bible, such as Joshua, were filled with fear when he led the Israelites into the land of Canaan. God said to him, Do not be afraid; have I not commanded you? Do not be afraid! Is fear a person's weakness? Yes! Joshua came before God and actually admitted his weakness. What we fear most is people who love face, who have weaknesses and pretend to be strong. Pretending to be strong is useless!
David's weakness was very outrageous. He committed adultery and wrote the Psalms, Create in me a clean heart, O God. The entire nation of Israel was reading Psalm 51. David's greatness lies in this: he does not love face. He exposes his scandals to the public and is willing to tell God his weaknesses. David knew that God would surely forgive his sins and create a clean heart for him again. If you love face, you cannot come out of your weaknesses. People must openly admit their weaknesses and come before God to receive mercy and grace, and to receive help in time of need. Fortunately, they were weak people who sinned and fell and got up again, so that God could be our ever-present help.
Today you can fall, do not be afraid, because there is God to help you. If you are weak, do not be afraid, because God will help you. We are determined to completely remove what hinders us from knowing God's love of face. Some of our brothers and sisters especially like to put on a facade. How can we move forward? We need to know that God is the God who helps us. We ourselves need help, and we need to know that coming before God is to come boldly and fearlessly before the Throne of Grace. Today, we have weaknesses and we will overcome our weaknesses step by step.
I took many people to pray, and asked him if it still hurts? He said it still hurts; asked if it got better? He said no; I asked him if it got better? He said it got a little better. Then why didn't he say it earlier? Because he didn't see the trend, we need to know that everything depends on the trend, the trend is that today is a little better than yesterday, and yesterday is a little better than the day before yesterday, let this trend continue to develop until the bull market, that's amazing! Many Israelites died in the wilderness. If they all learned from Joshua, weakness could become strong by relying on God. Even if weak and afraid, relying on God, God becomes our Rock, refuge, and banner of victory. The logic of the Israelites is very strange and not transparent at all.
We need to know that the key lies in attitude. If the attitude is unbelief, we can find a thousand reasons for unbelief. If our attitude is that we need God's help, I don't care about my face, I only care about God's help, because our God is like this, you will see God's help. Our weakness, God really doesn't care much about, God cares about our attitude. We need to learn a lesson, what is gentleness and humility in heart, what is not being hardened.
In the Book of Hebrews, hardness of heart is mentioned twice in a row:
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness. (Hebrews 3:7-8 ESV)
Again he appointed a certain day, Today, saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. (Hebrews 4:7 ESV)
Our weakness is helped by the Holy Spirit. As long as we learn how to obey the Holy Spirit and not obey the flesh, we will overcome. Our Jesus Christ was not tempted once or twice. He was also tempted many times in front of the Pharisees. Today we admit our weaknesses and come out of loving face. Our pastors also need to have a correct service motivation, not to kill them because they are weak, but because they need help, we become their help.
Weakness is not the problem, attitude is the key. When we serve a person, I am most afraid of serving a stupid person who cannot distinguish between good and bad. Because I help him, and he thinks I want to hurt him; someone harms him, but he says that person is a good person, I really can't fix it. If they are like the Israelites who failed in the wilderness, and God wants to help them, but they think God wants to harm them, I really can't fix this kind of person, and I will entrust them to God.
There are many weak, not strong, and not honorable people among us, that's not a problem, so we need to adjust our service motivation. Our weaknesses will be helped by the Holy Spirit. We admit our weaknesses and no longer love face. I believe that not only will God help you, but God will also raise us up to help you, so weakness is not the problem, attitude is key.
Lack of Understanding is Not the Problem, Seeking Is the Key
Do you know why Adam and Eve were deceived by the devil? I once made an unprovable assumption that if Adam and Eve had asked God after being fooled by the devil, everything would have been fine, and God would have told Adam and Eve that the devil was lying to them. If we know what we don't know and know that we are not clear, we can find the answer by exploring, seeking, and understanding. Therefore, lack of understanding is not a problem at all, the problem is not seeking. It is embarrassing to ask others, thinking that one is pretentious and high-level, then there is trouble, and the devil will not deceive you is strange.
Let us make another assumption. Supposing Adam and Eve asked God if they could eat from the tree, and God had already told them not to, yet they repeatedly asked God if they really could eat from it, thinking it looked delicious. God would then allow them to eat. This is because once people have their own notions, they always feel that God is deceiving them.
In the Bible, there was a greedy prophet named Balaam who later died by the sword. Actually, being insightful does not mean being good at mathematics, English, or physics. It means knowing God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowing God is understanding. The biggest problem people have is being self-righteous, which is very troublesome.
What I do not understand the most are the Israelites who died in the wilderness. What good did dying in the wilderness do? I cannot figure it out no matter how I try. When they left Egypt, God used His mighty arm to deliver them. As a result, the Egyptians gave the Israelites their gold and silver treasures. The Israelites suddenly became wealthy when they came out of Egypt, and they knew it was God who blessed them. But when they got to the wilderness, not to mention anything else, just the fact that there was no water to drink made them immediately think that God wanted to harm them. What kind of thinking is that?
Did God need to go to such great lengths to send a Moses to bring you out and lead you here? Didn't God tell you long ago that He would bring you to the promised land? How could you forget it so quickly? If you believed that this was an experiment, God would definitely provide for you. How could there be no water? Later, water did come, but it still incurred God's wrath because they did not have insight. It would be one thing if they did not have insight, but they did not even seek God. Instead, they were self-righteous. If we take what they said and put it on the table, there is no justifying it.
Some of the brothers and sisters I have ministered to are also outrageous. They have experienced great grace. For example, when a child was about to be miscarried, I prayed and it was healed. Then she had more and more problems, one after another, all healed. In the end, she seemed to treat me like an enemy. I do not know what advantage I took of her. I just feel that this is a very strange thing. This is what happens when people do not have insight and do not seek God.
Recently, as we have been promoting being filled with the knowledge of God in understanding, we have struck at the spirit of the second-ranking religion in the spiritual world. Some time ago, I was ministering to people who were controlled by Lao Ma, which are the four horses in Revelation. Lao Ma always told me that he was the third horse. I thought he was the third in the Lao Ma ranking. The third horse in the Lao Ma ranking is a black horse, so I thought he was the third horse, but he said he was the white horse. Later, the third horse spoke to me through my mother's mouth. He said, I walk around in the Dragon Palace, and my seat is empty. I asked him, Who are you? He said he was the third dragon. Later, I realized that it was Lao Ma. In the spiritual world, Satan ranks first, Lao Ma ranks third, so who is number two?
Some time ago, every time I encountered the spirit of the weasel, I felt that this spirit of the weasel was very difficult to deal with. When I fought the weasel, the weasel even deceived me, saying that it was under Lao Ma's command. I looked at the spirit of the weasel and it seemed bigger than Lao Ma. It was only recently, as we have been promoting being filled with the knowledge of God in understanding, that we realized that this weasel is the spirit of witchcraft, the spirit of religion, and is the second largest in the spiritual world, bigger than Lao Ma. The boss is Satan, the second is this one, and the third is Lao Ma. Understanding the spiritual world helps us greatly.
A few days ago, a sister we ministered to told me that she saw a dragon, like watching a movie. It should be the second dragon, the second-ranking one in the spiritual world, which is the spirit of religion. The spirit of religion is a dragon. The spirit of religion is a dragon. On land it is a weasel. Their attributes are the same. This dragon was angry and stirred up the seawater like a tsunami, sweeping across the land with its tail, flattening many small churches. Then they had a meeting on the beach to discuss things. Why did this sister come to me for prayer? She was hit by this dragon, and as a result, her eyes and head were all bruised, swollen, and painful. I prayed with her for a while and she was fine. Then something very miraculous happened. This sister's mind was not very sharp. If you were nice to her, she would think you wanted to harm her. If you wanted to harm her, she would think you were a good friend. Her thoughts were very strange. We grew up together, so I knew her very well. After she was delivered, her mind suddenly became clear.
Later, we learned that this spirit of religion can control people's thoughts. People with learning disabilities, who are not very insightful, who have dementia, who are confused, who cannot distinguish between good and bad, are usually influenced by the spirit of the weasel. This spirit in people makes them very foolish. Some people appear to be very loving of the Lord, but are actually full of religious flavor. This spirit is very powerful because it can control people's thoughts.
Some of us often have strange voices in our heads. For example, when some people invest, the spirit deceives them, and they follow the deceptive lies, and as a result, they lose tens or hundreds of thousands. I have heard several such cases before. It seems that as soon as they pray, they hear God's voice, and then they invest, and after the investment, they lose everything. Then they ask God why this is so. It turns out that the evil spirit behind it is the religious weasel spirit.
Jesus being crucified on the cross was the manipulation of the spirit of religion. It was Caiaphas the high priest and the scribes and Pharisees who crucified Jesus. They were carrying the spirit of religion. This is what Jesus said: “It cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.” Why? Jerusalem represents the center of religion. So today we must know why Jesus was not fooled, because He knew God in understanding. Actually, knowing God in understanding is not a difficult thing. You just need to read the Bible carefully. If we are not insightful, we seek. Jesus said: “I see what the Father does, and I do it.” Jesus' insight comes from obeying the Father's instructions. I think not being insightful is not a problem, seeking is the key. Seek diligently, and God will definitely tell you, because the Bible says: The Holy Spirit will lead us into truth. The Holy Spirit will lead us to know truth, lead us to know God. The Holy Spirit is our best teacher! As long as we are willing to seek, God has been waiting for us there for a long time.
Do not doubt God. The reason people are deceived by ghosts is because of disbelief. The Bible is written very clearly in black and white. Anyone with an elementary school education can read it. It is not that high-level. If you cannot read it, it is because you do not have a heart to seek. If you really have a heart to seek, read it again if you do not understand it, pray and read it again, and you will definitely understand it.
Jesus has a characteristic: He will not try to prove things based on the devil's lies. For example, Satan deceived Jesus and said, “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.” Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God!” This immediately blocked the devil. Jesus does not need to prove this matter to the devil. Today, if we want to prove it, we are finished. We will be deceived by the devil, which is called tempting God. We do not need to prove it. We already are!
Jesus Christ said, “I am gentle and humble in heart.” If I do not know something, I say, “I do not know.” Gentleness and humility allow us to obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit! Gentleness and humility are very important qualities. The opposite is self-righteousness. Anyone who is self-righteous will definitely be deceived by the devil! The Holy Spirit will lead us into a new field of knowing God. I believe that in the days to come, we will enter into a new spiritual realm more and more, and know God more and more. There is no end to knowing God. The knowledge of God is like the sea filling the ocean. Today we need to come to the throne of grace, and God will be our timely help. If God helps us, who can resist us?
So today, brothers and sisters, you must know that not being insightful is not a problem, seeking is the key. We need to know the way of thinking of the Israelites who died in the wilderness, and also understand the way of thinking of those who please God, such as Caleb, Joshua, Moses, David, and Samuel. We must take this as a warning. Do not be hard-hearted. Being hard-hearted means not knowing and still insisting on what you believe. Is that not a very foolish thing? That is called not being insightful. So today, brothers and sisters, we can come boldly to the throne of grace and receive timely help.
Gifts, Talents, and Abilities Are Not the Problem; Faithful Perseverance Is the Key
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matthew 25:14-30)
Do you know what these three people were thinking? The first two, the one with five talents and the one with two talents, were thinking: “Wow, my master will definitely come back to settle accounts with me. If I bury these talents in the ground, I believe all three of them discussed it and knew what each other was doing. My master is looking for a return. My master gave me five talents to manage so that I could earn five more talents back.” The one with two talents thought the same way.
But the one with one talent had a strange idea: “Oh no, what if I lose it?” He was afraid. Anyway, I cannot manage it well, so I might as well bury the talent. This way, it will not be lost, and I can return it to the master intact. This person does not understand management very well. When our God calls us to manage things, He is actually looking at whether we have faithfulness in our hearts.
What is faithfulness? What is a good and faithful servant? Being good and faithful is not about how much talent or ability you have. It is about knowing the master's will and doing according to the master's will. Some people will say, “What if I lose money on the investment?” The Bible does not discuss this matter because Jesus is just making a parable. The meaning of this parable is that if he is given five talents, as long as he dares to do it, he will definitely earn five talents. If the master wants to help you, if God wants to help you, who can stop it? But this is just a parable. It has to do with money, and it has to do with returns. But God says: The kingdom of heaven is like money. Five talents earn five talents. This is a principle of the kingdom of God. So today I tell you, the principle of the kingdom of God must be growth, the principle of multiplication.
The principle of God's kingdom must be growth. How do we know it is growing? Does five talents become five talents? If five talents become five talents, then even the one talent is given to him, and he will have eleven talents in his hand. But what does God want the money for? Actually, God does not want the money for anything. He is just testing whether His servants are faithful, so he sends him to manage more things. If you are faithful in little things, money is just a test. It is for you to manage more things. If you are faithful in little things, He will send you to manage things. That is not just money, but also letting you manage people. Jesus Christ once commanded Peter, “You will catch men.” If fish can be sold in the market for money, then fish is money.
Are people money? People are more valuable than money! What are we doing, the things that God has entrusted to us, to build the church on earth? What should we do? Today, the brothers and sisters among us with five talents should also learn to earn five talents, those with two talents should earn two talents, and those with one talent should earn one talent. What does this mean? It means that when you come among us, you must grow! Catching men is like catching fish. After catching them, you do not lead them to become children of hell, but lead them into restoring the glory of God's creation, lead them to overcome their weaknesses, increase our value, and become more insightful, and suddenly grow again.
We will become strong in weak places, and become insightful where we are not insightful. You will become more and more valuable. Not only in the kingdom of God will you be independent and valuable, but in this world you will also clearly see your rewards. Building the church is a business of turning stones into gold. This is letting the kingdom of God come among us, the weak become strong, the poor become rich, the sick become healthy, the foolish become wise, and the uninsightful become insightful. This is a long-term development direction for our church. This long-term development direction is to fulfill the Mingding Destiny entrusted to us by God and become a blessing to many people. This blessing is not something else, it is very real.
All of our brothers and sisters who have pastoral work, one day when they come before God, God will say: “Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master, enjoy the glory of God’s kingdom.” So brothers and sisters, if one day we come before God and say, “God, look at the flock of sheep I have taken care of, their value has doubled.” Will God not ask us to manage more things? Management is originally the responsibility that God entrusted to us. When God created Adam and Eve, he let them manage the whole earth.
Summary
We are children of God and must continue to grow like Jesus. When Jesus came, the Bible says this in Isaiah 53:
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:1-12)
I read this chapter and verse in one breath. Our God truly took up our pain and bore our suffering. He took up our curse. By His wounds we are healed. What could be better than this? What grace could be better than this? Today, let us be able to receive such grace, so that we can come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. If God helps us, who can resist us?
Today, let us begin to walk in the will of God. God's will is to build a victorious church on earth. God's Spirit will live among us. This is Emmanuel God. God's Spirit lives among us, and God's glory will be manifested among us. God's light will be found and shine upon us. God will be among us, causing us to rise up and shine, and become a blessing to this generation.
Today, if you are weak, if you are not very insightful, if you feel that your talents and abilities are not good, let us begin to know for sure that we do not live by chariots or horses, but by the Spirit of the Lord. That is how things can be accomplished. Let us come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need, to fulfill the mission that God has entrusted to us on earth, and let us joyfully look forward to the coming of His glorious day, which is our Mingding Destiny.
May God bless you all!