Introduction

Good day to everyone! I am very pleased to meet you all online again! Let's turn to Luke chapter 14. If you still remember Luke chapters 12 and 13, you will notice that they are both about the Kingdom of God. Chapter 13 talks about the Kingdom of God being a narrow gate. How narrow is this gate? The answer is in chapter 14.

If a person wants to enter the Kingdom of God, he must be a disciple of Jesus Christ. After reading chapter 14, we realize, who can be a disciple of Jesus Christ? The standard is too high! The theme of chapter 14 is the cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ! How narrow is this gate? It means that if a person does not forsake all that he has, he cannot be a disciple. If the cost of being a disciple is like this, does your heart beat fast? Who can do this? Many people have this dilemma!

A few days ago, I ministered to someone who mentioned the matter of knowing good and evil. He said to me, If a person does not know good and evil, can he live? Is there anyone in the world who does not know good and evil? He believes that a person cannot live without knowing good and evil, and some people believe that a person cannot live without sinning. But according to the standard that Jesus said in chapter 14, if you sweep it with one stroke, you will probably knock off everyone on the boat.

This matter has caused us a lot of confusion. Actually, it doesn't matter how confused you are. What matters is what God has said. We Christians really need to know what Jesus Christ is really saying. How narrow is this standard in the Kingdom of God? If this standard is so narrow, it will filter out many people at once! Jesus said the following in this chapter:

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:25-33)

These words are really powerful! One of the characteristics of our Chinese Mingding Destiny is that we don't like to talk nonsense. We say what the Bible says, and we implement it as it says. After reading more than a dozen chapters of Luke, is the return of God's Kingdom high? Very high! In the Kingdom of God, you can plunder the enemy. So how can you plunder the enemy? You must be an elite soldier in the Kingdom of God! Has this concept of being an elite soldier been established in your heart?

If you come among us and say, I am not here to love the Lord Jesus, I am here to love myself better. How to love yourself? That is to be healthy. If I am sick, these people will pray for me and I will be healed. So no matter how you drive me away, I will not leave the church. But if you want me to pay the price and forsake everything I have, that is not possible. I can't do it, and I don't want to do it. Are there many such people? Many! But the problem is that a person's life is like building a tower. We have to calculate the cost and see if we can complete it. If we lay the foundation but don't calculate the cost, and we can't complete it in the end, won't that become a joke? Saying that this person started to build but couldn't finish.

Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:31-33)

This is written in black and white. It uses the story of a king fighting against another country as a metaphor. If you plan before the war and can't win, then surrender quickly; if you can win, then fight well. It's like a person building a building. If you can't afford the cost, then don't build it at all.

The Cost of Being a Disciple is to Forsake Everything

There are many Christians who start doing things without calculating the cost. If we see people reacting like this, you should know that the reason why they are like this is because they are ignorant. Where is their ignorance? They don't know that a person can't live like this in this life! They don't know that a person's life is like building a house. You want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, you want to enter the Kingdom of God, you want to build a glorious church of God, you want to do healing and deliverance, you want to learn Chinese Mingding Destiny, but here comes the problem, you have to calculate your cost and price.

What is this price? This price is to forsake everything. If a person loves his own life more than he loves Jesus Christ, then he cannot be a disciple of Jesus Christ. People have to calculate, what should I use as a price? Use our own lives, forsake everything completely, even our own lives.

Someone said, if this is the case, how many people will there be in the Kingdom of God? You don't have to worry about Jesus. In fact, there are still many people in the Kingdom of God. If we take a closer look, looking at the people who have walked through history, we actually don't see too many people who can really be disciples of Jesus Christ. But in fact, the Kingdom of God is really not short of people. Let's look at it from history. In the days of Abraham, how many Abrahams were there? Not many, just one Abraham; in the days of Noah, how many Noahs were there? Just one Noah. But God said that's enough. Do you think God wants a lot of people? No, God is looking for treasures!

You might say, if you run the church like this, can you continue to run it? Actually, our Chinese Mingding Destiny started in the early days by following the teachings of Jesus Christ and gradually promoting high standards and high requirements. A pastor said to me, if you do it like this, the church should not be able to run, right? My answer is, even if no one comes, I will still do it. The miracle is that instead of the church going bankrupt, it is becoming more and more prosperous. This is the character that I have had in my bones since I was a child, and it is something that ordinary people don't have. I don't know why I was born with this character.

Building a Church Requires Disciples

Today, my assistant received a message. A group of people saw Chinese Mingding Destiny and felt like they had found a treasure, thinking that I was speaking well. But actually, what I am talking about is nothing. Look at what Jesus said, it has long been a treasure. They asked if they could join us and become a part of us. For their question, I quoted Jesus' words as an answer, if you want to build a tower, can you first sit down and calculate the cost to see if you can complete it? I am afraid that if you lay the foundation but can't complete it in the end, it will become an unfinished building.

One of the characteristics of our church is that we don't need people very much. What can people do? What we need are disciples of Jesus Christ, people who are willing to forsake many things to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Building the church is building the body of Jesus Christ. If we put the garbage that Jesus doesn't want into the church, isn't that inviting a curse? Therefore, I do what Jesus does. Many people advise me, can you do it like this? Will there still be people in the church? Even if there is no one in the church, I will still do it like this! Some people will continue to wonder, why am I so persistent? Because that's how Jesus taught.

I have had such a character since I was a child. If the book in my hand is a classic, such as The Art of War for leading troops to fight, then I will definitely read it over and over again. Read the book a hundred times, and the meaning will become clear. For example, when reading books on marketing, I will chew through the classic books in this field, because I know that I don't know the things in this field. I am very eager to learn. It is far from enough for me to study hard. If I invent a set of ideas to replace other people's classics, wouldn't that be a mess?

Christians Who Are Not Disciples Become a Joke

But today's Christians, including many pastors, have a problem. When they read what the Bible says, if you don't forsake everything, you are not worthy to be my disciple, these people will shout, can building a church like this work? Because people can't forsake it. But if we can't even be disciples of Jesus Christ, what else can we do? Even if we are believers, it doesn't count. Moreover, this Christian who cannot complete the work will be ridiculed by everyone who sees him. It's like building an unfinished building, which will become a complete joke. The first person to make fun of him is our God; the second is the angels, which becomes a joke in heaven; the third is the devil and the fallen angels; the fourth is the unclean spirits in the world, which also becomes a joke in the spiritual world.

Why does it become a joke? Because it looks like it's about to be built, but it's not built in the end because it's unwilling to pay the price. What can a person who is unwilling to pay the price do? Nothing. If a person is unwilling to pay the price for this matter, then what else can he pay the price for? In fact, he will pay the price for many other things, and it will be a heavy price.

Building a Glorious Church Will Obtain Heavenly Blessings

Therefore, if you don't understand, if you don't know the benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven, if you don't know the benefits of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, you will not be willing to forsake. If you know the benefits of building a glorious church, if you know the benefits of forsaking everything for Jesus, won't you be able to forsake? The problem is that you don't understand. But I want to tell you that if you are a person who builds a glorious church, God will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, and you can freely dispose of the resources of Heaven. If a person does not know the reward of being a disciple, he will feel that it is a loss. But is it really a loss to act according to the words of Jesus Christ? If it is a loss, then it is strange!

But why are many people unwilling to pay the price? The paying of the price that our Chinese Mingding Destiny advocates is really not the paying of the price that many people talk about. They also pay the price, but they drop the chain at the critical moment. In fact, the reward for paying the price is extremely rich. If we resist God and oppose God, can you resist it? I have calculated an account. After the calculation, my mind became clear. A small arm cannot twist a thigh, and a person cannot break God. I will pay this price.

Why would I so readily agree to pay the price? There are several reasons: first, because I can't beat God, my destiny is in God's hands, I had better surrender first. Second, the grace in God's Kingdom is extremely rich, not the grace after our death, but the grace that we can experience while we are alive. Today, there are many people among us who have experienced God's grace. Not to mention other grace, for example, if you get a disease, you will have to spend 300,000, which is commonplace. But in our midst, healing from illness is simply commonplace. Is this return high?

Another reason is that I have seen through the fact that people live and then die. In this world, whether you buy a few cows, marry a few wives, or have a few children, what can you do in the end? It's just living. People are willing to pay the price because they have calculated the cost required in the world, calculated the return after building this building, and then squeeze into the narrow gate of God's Kingdom no matter how narrow it is. Because I want to know clearly in this empty life that I am blessed to be able to eat in God's Kingdom! I want to squeeze into the Kingdom of God, I want to gain authority in Heaven and on earth, like Jesus Christ, this is blessed!

Saying this offends people again. Why does it offend people? Because a very common belief system is that Jesus is the only holy one, both God and man! But here comes the problem, what can you do after you finish talking about it? After you finish talking about it, you find a lot of excuses for yourself, thinking that people can't do it, people are still people, and you find a lot of excuses for yourself. The motivation for them to say these things is understandable. They often let people follow God, not people. But how to follow God? It sounds like there is no clue. What I mean is that I want to be one with Jesus Christ. This is the greatest reward I have received and the most wonderful grace of God. I am one with God, and God is one with me. This is our pursuit.

Have a Character That Pays the Price

People need to have this character that pays the price. Today, I have slightly tapped on the people who are unwilling to pay the price among us, and they take the things of the world so seriously. If they don't get a job, they can cry; but if they don't get the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, they don't take it seriously. Therefore, the blessings we lose today are everywhere. People can be sad for half a day if they lose an order, but people don't feel it matters if they lose the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.

This situation is very common. Do you and I decide, no matter what, if we don't forsake everything we have, we cannot be disciples of Jesus! Today, I want to decide to be a disciple of Jesus Christ! If building a house becomes an unfinished building, then all the investment will be wasted; if you go out to fight a war and you can't win, but you still want to fight, and you are defeated in the end, all your things will be plundered. Have you not calculated this account? If you have calculated this account, you will know that the paying of the price that Chinese Mingding Destiny talks about is worthwhile. If it is beneficial to you, why don't you believe it, why don't you accept it?

Once I met an old man in his eighties, who had been an atheist all his life. He had been an officer in the army when he was young. He came to my place for tourism, and I drove him out to play. While driving and chatting, he suddenly turned his head and said to me, this is very strange! Why do I need you to persuade me and convince me of things that are good for me? I said, yes! Why do I need to persuade you of things that are good for you? This is so strange.

All of you sitting here, think carefully about it. There are many things in this world that require people to pay the price! If you get cancer, electrotherapy, chemotherapy... will be enough to toss you! Not to mention that all the parts of your body are broken, just a few broken parts will be enough for you to drink a pot. Some people have stomach aches, some people have stomach pains, and they are not really broken, but the pain alone is enough for you to suffer.

====输出开始
I am struck by the realisation that there are no definitive answers in this life. You might have purchased houses, cars, livestock, and land, but what calamities can these things truly prevent? The answer is none. However, if you possess the authority and power of God's Kingdom today, and you cast out demons in the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God will descend wherever you are. Ponder this statement carefully, it is profoundly meaningful. Therefore, through the great power of Jesus Christ, we are constantly expanding our territories in the spiritual realm, seizing strongholds, and obtaining the Promised Land for Jesus Christ. This is such a wonderful Gospel, yet many reject it.

Today, we must understand that in this life, whether you are willing to pay the price or not, you will have to pay. The only difference is who you pay the price to. Is it for Jesus, or for this world? If you pay the price for this world, and contract cancer or other diseases, a coffin will be reserved for you and me in the future. But what glory is there in the price you've paid? Some might think it's alright, as there is Chinese Mingding Destiny to pray for me, and I will be healed. But is that truly the case? If you start a project but cannot finish it, wouldn't you become a laughing stock?

## Laying Down Everything for the Sake of Jesus Christ

Today, I urge everyone here to lay down all things temporary and insignificant in this world for the sake of Jesus Christ. If you become a disciple of Jesus Christ, no problem will be insurmountable! When will we receive our reward? We will be recompensed at the resurrection of the righteous. We will all have a coffin reserved for us in this world, whether we like it or not. In the end, we cannot take anything with us anyway, so why not lay it all down? This logic is actually sound. If you agree, then let's do it!

If we do this, we will become the salt of the earth, the light of the world. We will become a group of people with character. Character is a very important part of a person's life. Whatever kind of character you have when you are young, that is the kind of outcome you will have when you are old.

When I was little, my house was quite small. During the cold winter months, my elders liked to play mahjong and smoke at home, making the house smoky and polluted. But I couldn't go out to study, so I found a small stool and sat there to study. Our neighbour saw me and pointed at me, saying, Don't think this kid is quiet, he knows what's going on! I looked up at him and thought, Did I need you to tell me?

Now that I think about it, I am a little surprised by my own character. At the time, not many children in our neighbourhood liked to study, but I was one of the few. My grades were also particularly good. My parents especially loved to attend my parent-teacher conferences. When others said, These are so and so's parents, my parents felt particularly honoured. These people would ask, How did you teach your child to be so outstanding? Teach? My parents were mostly illiterate.

So, a person's character is incredible. In fact, we didn't have many books to read at home at that time. There was only one tattered book, which was still pressed at the bottom of a box. This book was called Tui Bei Tu, written by Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng. It was a book about predicting the future. I also thank God that I grew up in an atmosphere full of interest in the spiritual realm.

Later, I borrowed a book from a classmate. When I got home, I was afraid that he would ask for it back soon, so I simply copied the book onto paper. I copied two-thirds of it in one go. Nowadays, many people are unwilling to copy books by hand, even using a photocopying machine one page at a time. I am a person with character. This kind of character makes people become people with flavour. Salt is a person with flavour, a person with character.

**Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? (Luke 14:34)**

If salt loses its flavour, it becomes stone. We as Christians also need to be Christians with flavour. If you only interact with me online, you may not be able to feel it. But everyone who comes into close contact with me thinks I have quite a personality. To be a person, you must have flavour and character. People with flavour and character are treasures in God's eyes. How can we be people with flavour in God's eyes? It is when we give up everything for Jesus, then Jesus gives us everything. I don't like to bluff, I am serious. When I give, I give for real.

## Giving for Real is the Character of the Kingdom of God

I have a very close friend who came to visit me some time ago and stayed with me for a period of time. He used to think that my building a church was probably the same as doing business. But during his stay at my house, he saw wave after wave of brothers and sisters coming to seek help. He saw me serving these people with enthusiasm and passion. Many things happened, such as the sick being healed and the blind seeing. When he left, he said to me, My feelings have changed during this period. I used to think that your serving was just doing business, but now I find that you are a real person. I said, That's right. Serving like I do, paying the price like I do, that's a character.

**What do I expect to get in return for this kind of service that pays the price? I expect nothing. I do not expect to receive any return, only that the people I serve can benefit, because I do not seek anything from them.** If I wanted something, not to mention you, even the dogs on the road would know. This is the character of the Kingdom of God. This is the character of the disciples of Jesus Christ. This is called salt. It is a person with flavour and character.

Christians should not become extremely selfish people who only seek their own benefit. What can such people get? Only curses. If Christians lose their flavour, have no personality, are unwilling to lay down, and only have selfishness in their hearts, such people will be thrown into the wilderness or into the dung. In fact, Jesus originally said that it is not even suitable to be thrown into the dung! But now there are many Christians who are entangled and worried about things in the world. There are too many Christians who love the world. I am always struck by the fact that when I tell them to pay the price, they say, I have also paid the price, but when you ask them what price they have paid, they can't say anything.

## Forsaking the Kingdom of God for the Sake of Living is Very Foolish

Today, brothers and sisters, you must know that this is given to us freely by God. It is to test whether we are really willing to give up everything and follow Jesus. In fact, when I think about it, it seems that I have not given up everything yet. Of course, if I really need to give up everything, then I really have no attachments. In fact, we lose nothing after giving up everything. What we gain is the joy in the Kingdom of Heaven! What kind of God is our God? He wishes that everyone would come into God's Kingdom and eat at the banquet in God's Kingdom! The grace God gives us is simply amazing! It may be something you have never eaten in your life, better than a Manchu Han Imperial Feast! But the reaction of people is:

**But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ (Luke 14:18-20)**

Alas, God gave them the glad eye, but they gave him a cold shoulder! What does God feel? I freely give you the benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven, and you forsake the goodness of the Kingdom of Heaven for five yoke of oxen, a piece of land, and a newly married wife? How can God not be angry? Note that these people are not doing murders and arson, but doing some very normal things. This is called living life. This is called living a small life. Why are Christians unwilling to pay the price for the Kingdom of God today? It is because they want to live a small life. If you cannot give up these things for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, but instead forsake the Kingdom of God for the sake of living this little life, would you say this is foolish or clever?

I testify to everyone with a cry to heaven and earth, but you may not be able to listen. Tomorrow when you go to work, you will forget everything and treat going to work as the most important thing, forgetting all the words of God you heard last night. Are the benefits of God's Kingdom not as good as five yoke of oxen, a piece of land? Are they not as good as the orders you receive and the projects you do in the company? Are they not as good as your wife and children on a warm bed? People are just foolish.

What disasters can people use these things to block? The devil is secretly laughing, I'll let you buy a piece of land, I'll let you buy five yoke of oxen, I'll let you just get married, and then I'll make you live extremely painfully. You say, I don't live painfully, I live very well. Then you continue to live like this, and you will know after you have finished living. This is like not shedding tears until you see the coffin. People must know for sure that when people live in this world, they will only earn a coffin in the end, and nothing more. I really have to pour some cold water on everyone.

What is the result? The result is that none of these people can taste God's banquet? We must all remember one thing for sure. Do we have a heart to pay the price for God? You may not understand what it means to pay the price. I will explain it to you later. Have we given up everything and regarded Jesus Christ as the treasure of our lives, and a treasure of eternal life? Do we value the crown of glory that God has prepared for us in eternity? Do we want to gain the reward in eternity? Do we want to gain a better resurrection?

Death has nothing to do with us anymore. Because of Jesus Christ, we are already living in eternity today, so things in the world are no longer our concern. You say, Who can do it? Hasn't Jesus already done it for us so that we can imitate him?

## The Characteristics of the Kingdom of God: Freely Giving, Not Pursuing High Positions and Glory in the World

What are the disciples of Jesus Christ paying the price for? What are verses 1-6 and 7-14 talking about? They are talking about our God, who is a God who freely gives. Is it okay to heal people on the Sabbath? If it is Jesus who heals them, it is because Jesus does not seek reward, and it is not to make money. But doctors heal people on the Sabbath to make money. And Jesus is freely giving them grace to release them. This is the characteristic of the Kingdom of God.

**The first characteristic of the Kingdom of God is to freely give.** Actually, what's wrong with giving? Not to mention the Sabbath, even the Sabbath month and the Sabbath year, God's characteristics are to give. The Sabbath cannot stop us from giving God's grace. Of course, if you are on the Sabbath, you are living your life and making money, then you are violating the Sabbath. Of course, don't tell me that I have to go to work on the Sabbath. If you are someone who can give up everything for the Kingdom of God, would you talk like this? You wouldn't talk like this.

**What is the second characteristic of the Kingdom of God? It is that people do not pursue high positions and glory in the world.** We want to pursue the reward before the Father in Heaven. If you pursue these worldly fame, fortune, high positions, and honour, what you will get in the end is shame. Those who exalt themselves in the world will be humbled, and those who humble themselves in the Kingdom of God will be exalted. So today we do not seek reward.

**Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. (Luke 14:12)**

If you do this, you are hoping to get a reward. But the Kingdom of God does not hope to get a reward, but to be rewarded at the resurrection of the righteous. **So if we do not seek rewards in the world, and we only seek to give, this is the character of Jesus Christ, and it is also the character of the disciples of Jesus Christ.** People in the world are in a worldly logical system, which is all to gain this and gain that, but what they gain in the end is just a coffin?

I tell everyone again that if a person lives selfishly, he will definitely be extremely miserable. He will not be able to get what he wants, and he will not be able to get what he should not get. It is very painful. All the things he cannot get make him miserable. So people have food and drink, but they still have a lot of pain. Why? Because of selfishness. So a person's degree of selfishness is directly proportional to the degree of pain in his heart. If a person is in pain every day for no reason, then the extreme is depression and mental illness.

## Summary: Be Light and Salt in the World, Constantly Give, and Become More and More Like Jesus

So I want to train everyone, including myself, to be light and salt in the world, to be a person with character, to be like Jesus Christ, to constantly give without wanting any return. You know, pastors, sometimes the rewards they seek do not seem to be able to reach the height of elegance. What they seek is the number of people in the church and the offerings. But in our church, I urge everyone again, we only seek to solve people's problems. You say, will we be poor if we do this? What poor? Not poor at all!

There is an old sister who is over 70 years old. I once personally served her. She had some concerns. Our church is online. In the future, when I am old, if I have any physical needs, how will the church help me? I told the pastor of this old sister to convey what I said, that not only can we pray online so that she can get well, but we also hope that she can walk freely every day in this world. Not only to this old sister, but also to all those among us who are willing to be disciples of Jesus Christ, even if they have not yet reached the level of disciples of Jesus Christ, when there is a real need, even if we send someone to serve, we will still do so!

**Why? Because the Kingdom of God is to freely give and let people benefit. When we do this, it is not the people who are being served who are blessed, but we who are serving are blessed!** Because our reward in Heaven is great. We do not seek worldly returns and rewards. What we seek is the reward in the Kingdom of God! Do you say it is good to be such a person? It is so good to be such a person!

So I once again testify to everyone with a cry to heaven and earth that there is a treasure here, and that is Jesus Christ. When we are alive, we can walk with God. We participate in building the Body of Jesus Christ and building God's glorious church. We can plunder the enemy and trample on the devil in this world. Let us live out the image of Jesus and the character of Jesus every day in this world, and be the light of the world and the salt of the world!

May God bless everyone!