Introduction: Having a Clear Goal in Doing Things

Good day to everyone. Preparing for a sermon can be arduous, but sharing it with you all afterwards is truly exhilarating. Let me declare upfront that, being a discourse, errors are inevitable. If anyone accuses me of being presumptuous, allow me to offer a humble disclaimer: If you are inclined to believe what I share, scrutinise the Scriptures diligently. If not, still scrutinise the Scriptures to discern whether my words are true or not.

The topic for today is I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. I have spoken about this passage before, but I revisit it today with a different focus—the theme of goals.

I have been closely following the deliverance of a sister overseas. Her husband contracted COVID-19 but remained asymptomatic. It appears that several others in her household also contracted the virus. The city she resides in has very relaxed restrictions, and there are riots and other chaotic events occurring in her vicinity. She has been running a fever for days, and our pastors have been continuously leading her in prayer and spiritual warfare.

Last night, I re-entered the ministry group and found some junior pastors leading her in prayer. Upon joining, all I heard was Shalalalala prayer in tongues. The junior pastors paid little attention to me, and no one acknowledged my presence. I listened silently. After a few minutes, the fervent prayers continued without any response from the patient. They persisted in prayer, disregarding the patient's symptoms.

I wondered, When did I teach you to minister like this? When did our ministry become like this? My training has clearly failed! This 102 course requires serious re-evaluation. I called out several times before they finally stopped. I asked the junior pastors, Do you know the patient's current condition? They were all clueless. I immediately inquired about her symptoms: dizziness, headache, fever, or vomiting. We need to ask!

Whether in prayer or any other endeavor, we must know what we are doing! Often, we are clueless. For headaches, we pray Shalalalala. For leg pains, we pray Shalalalala. For stomachaches, we pray Shalalalala. Eventually, every ailment is treated with Shalalalala, turning it into a panacea. But that is not how it works. The entire ministry process is about building the faith of the one being ministered to. Ministry should be purposeful and goal-oriented.

Have you ever seen Jesus minister to people using the same method for every ailment? No! Sometimes He spat and made mud, and other times He instructed people to wash in the Jordan River. Jesus did not use one remedy for all ills. Instead, He ministered to people with different problems in different ways. This is how ministry should be. I took over and continued ministering to the sister. Soon, her fever subsided, her body aches disappeared, and she felt much better.

However, I knew that the demon would return. Why? Because I clearly sensed in my spirit that there were still many things that needed to be cleansed from this sister. Demons do not make mistakes, neither does the Almighty, nor does the COVID-19 virus target the wrong person. Later, a doctor came to draw blood for testing. Before the results came back, she texted again two hours later: another fever, feeling unwell again. I continued to minister to her, and after the service, she felt better and rested.

There is a mistake we often make: we often think that this is the fault of Old 馬 (Lao Ma, possibly referring to a person or system), this is the fault of Satan, this is the fault of weasels, this is the fault of this demon, that is the fault of that demon, but we never think that we ourselves are at fault. If a person thinks that he is not bad, then I tell you: you are far from it. Today these words are also used on myself. Today I am talking about the sermon, in fact, there is another sentence behind it:

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:26-27)

In the past years of ministry, I have truly disciplined my body, making it my slave, shedding countless tears and enduring much injustice. I often ask the brothers and sisters around me: What have you been dealing with lately? Some brothers and sisters answer me: There is nothing to deal with, I am fine recently. I remind you: The Apostle Paul still has to discipline himself and enslave his body, but you think you are fine and there is no problem? Then you are in trouble! If you don't deal with yourself, those COVID-19 viruses will deal with you, because dealing with the evil deeds of our flesh is a life-long process.

If in the past year or half a year, you have just been listening to sermons, gathering and praying, it is basically of little use. If you continue like this, you will become a sermon expert. Why do I say that? It is impossible for a person to have no problems or bad habits. Dealing with the lusts of our flesh requires a lifetime! That is to say, demons are not a big problem at all, and plagues are not a problem either. Our greatest enemies are you and me, we are ourselves. You are not my enemy, and I am not your enemy; you are your own enemy, and I am my own enemy.

In other words, there are two selves in our body: the spiritual self and the fleshly self. The fleshly always wants to suppress the spiritual, and the spiritual also wants to suppress the fleshly. But sometimes this spiritual self may not be able to suppress the fleshly self. Because the fleshly self is too powerful.

Why am I talking about this topic? Because this topic is related to a feeling I received some time ago, that is, we must all enter into prosperity, and to enter into prosperity, we must fight. Who are we fighting with? Are you fighting with Old 馬 (Lao Ma, possibly referring to a person or system)? No; are you fighting with Satan? No! It is fighting with our own flesh. Many times we keep shouting, Fight Old 馬 (Lao Ma, possibly referring to a person or system), fight Old 馬 (Lao Ma, possibly referring to a person or system), but it is best to fight ourselves, fight our own flesh, because we rarely discipline ourselves and make our bodies obey us.

We often don't do this very well, why? Because it is hard and difficult to deal with our own flesh. Just like a brother always said to me: I just can't overcome it, my heart is willing, but my flesh just can't overcome it! This is quite common. Many people don't want to overcome the flesh, they don't want to kill the evil deeds of the flesh, they want to in their hearts, but they can't do it!

Our greatest enemy is ourselves. Some Christians are desperately spreading the gospel. They have a concept: Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. The scripture I chose today happens to be Chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians, and there really is this sentence in front: Woe to those who do not preach the gospel. But here comes the problem: if you preach the gospel, but you don't conquer yourself, isn't your problem even bigger? Moreover, if you preach the wrong gospel, it is not just woe, but a big woe.

There is a very important element in the gospel we preach today, which is to discipline ourselves and make our bodies obey us. Isn't it evil for a person to not kill his own flesh, but always kill the flesh of others? Today we deal with this person's flesh, tomorrow we deal with that person's flesh, but we don't deal with our own flesh. What does the Scripture say? I am afraid that after preaching the gospel to others, I myself will be rejected.

Brothers and sisters, you must know what our goal is, our goal is for the crown of glory in eternity. Why is this the goal? With this goal in mind, we will have strength in our hearts! Don't play tricks with God, otherwise when others touch your money, your job, etc., you will be like a mad dog. Where is the crown of glory? Before others sold you to Egypt or nailed you to the cross, you were picky about this and that, with so many problems!

According to my own preferences, I hate serving stupid people the most. I like to make friends with smart people, and of course smart people don’t need our service. Whenever I encounter stupid people, my words reveal impatience during service. I also have a bad habit, that is, I don’t have a good impression of Chinese people. Abroad, everyone knows that Chinese people only deceive Chinese people, and not many locals deceive us. There are also friends who deceive friends, and not many people deceive strangers.

Besides, I really don’t like serving Chinese people. I used to serve in the local church and just wanted to be an ordinary Christian. However, this idea was my own preference, not what God gave me. Later, God completely shattered my own preferences and insisted that I serve Chinese people. If you serve, serve. Don’t think that I always enjoy the entire service process. I forcibly turned myself around. I knew many years ago that I had to conquer myself and make my body obey me. I should not act according to my own preferences, even though the feeling inside is sometimes terrible.

For example, a young man studied very poorly. After graduation, he couldn’t find a job and suffered from insomnia so severely that he couldn’t sleep for twenty-four hours a day. He became angry at his mother, and his mother had no choice. Later, his mother somehow got a flyer from our church and brought her child to me. I spent a long time writing his resume, training him for interviews, career planning, etc., and put in a lot of effort. Later, the young man found a job and got married, and finally kicked me away.

There are many ungrateful people like this. More than ten years ago, the people I served basically all failed, with only a few left. The other day I looked at the resumes I wrote for people. They all found jobs and got good salaries, but most of them are no longer with us. If it weren't for the crown of glory in eternity, I would be really hurt. But my goal inside is very clear, that is: people should not run like they are aimless, and boxing should not be like hitting the air. I am a goal-oriented person and am very sensitive and clear about goals. Once I have a goal, there is no difficulty that I cannot overcome, and all problems are related to the goal.

Scripture

Let us turn to the scripture in 1 Corinthians Chapter 9, verses 26-27:

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:26-27)

Prayer

Lord Jesus, may you bestow your grace upon us today, that each of our brothers and sisters may begin to anticipate the glorious crown that you have prepared for us in eternity. Lord, let us know that we have a clear goal in our lives. Lord, help us, add strength to us, let us gain power from you when we pursue the goal in eternity, and let us become more resistant in this world.

Nothing can stop us: we can endure all the grievances, all the wrongs and hard work. Today, we willingly and happily serve you, just for the crown of glory in eternity. Lord, today commemorate the service of our brothers and sisters, may you personally add strength to us, so that in the days on earth, we can be a person with a clear goal, striving to run for the goal in eternity, so that we can glorify your holy name, We pray for the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Background of the Scripture

The Corinthian church was a church painstakingly built by Paul. Paul did not rely on the church to give him money to support his life. He supported tents and served, which was quite hard, but the church developed quite well. It’s like burning candles at both ends, similar to my life, which is very tiring.

Although Paul served hard and did not take a penny from them, a very strange phenomenon occurred. Some people in the Corinthian church questioned the Apostle Paul: Are you an apostle? Paul worked hard to build the church, but those people did not recognize him. This sounded very sad.

I have personally experienced this kind of sad feeling, and it is very painful. Paul worked hard to serve them and solve their problems, whether it was healing and deliverance, psychological counseling, or career planning, training their survival skills, they were very active and effective. Paul never took advantage of them, but those people turned around and asked Paul: Have you seen the Lord Jesus? There is more to this than meets the eye.

Why would people ask this? Because there was a group of people who had seen Jesus Christ, including the apostle Peter and Jesus Christ’s physical brothers James and Jude. We don’t know if these people came to the Corinthian church, but we learned from the Apostle Paul’s letter:

This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and brothers of the Lord and Cephas? (1 Corinthians 9:3-5)

Cephas is Peter. When we see this, we can guess that there is more to this passage than meets the eye. When people question Paul's apostolic status, who do they compare him with? They compare him with James, Jude, and Peter, thinking that Paul has not seen Jesus and what he says does not count.

I have also experienced things like this. A young couple once came to us and hooked up with the director of academic affairs of a certain seminary. The director of academic affairs of this seminary wanted to increase the number of people in their church, so because of baptism, the young couple was poached into their church.

In fact, baptism doesn’t matter. Whose baptism is not baptized in the name of Jesus Christ? The jobs of this couple were all introduced by me, and I put a lot of effort into serving and training their skills. I thank God for letting them leave me early. When they went to another church, that church was almost ruined by them, and the pastor who poached them got depression.

The people the Apostle Paul met were probably similar to what I said. A group of people said to the Corinthians: Paul's baptism does not count, and his sermons do not count. You see, he only wants to take advantage of you to build a church. Paul said something wrong, he has never seen Jesus. And the people in the Corinthian church really thought so, so Paul was so sad that he shed tears and wrote 1 Corinthians.

When we first read this letter, we couldn’t understand it. We only saw him arguing about whether he was an apostle or not, and we didn’t know what he was talking about. In fact, this is very important. Paul is not very interested in his title, but he is full of sympathy for the corruption of the Corinthians. Therefore, Paul defended himself, hoping that the Corinthian church could understand his intentions and hard work.

Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16)

Paul said that he was compelled to preach the gospel. When we hear this, we wonder, why did Paul preach the gospel as a last resort? In fact, according to preferences, who would be willing to deal with some very bad people? If Paul does not preach the gospel, will there be any benefits? The Lord Jesus asked him to build a church. If he doesn't do it, isn't he going against the Lord? Just like I didn’t want to build a church at first, but I couldn’t. While I was working, I was building a church, and I also said to the brothers and sisters in the church: I will never eat the bowl of full-time colleagues. Isn’t this going against God? But God has God's plan.

If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may offer the gospel free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:17-18)

If you are willing to do it, you will be rewarded; if you are unwilling to do it, you will be beaten. Smart people will make smart choices. Today, our church's healing and deliverance is really second to none, and there are not many churches that do better than us. The foundation of healing and deliverance is the victorious church. After winning the battle, healing and deliverance is like bamboo shoots after a rain. Dealing with COVID-19 and other diseases is easy.

We preach the gospel and do healing and deliverance free of charge and do not charge a penny. I once served a cancer patient, and my colleagues and I even bought plane tickets to go there to serve him, but unfortunately he died before we came. His aunt received us. She was very touched because I bought the plane tickets myself to serve. She had never seen a church serve like us, so she donated some money to us. His aunt's brother was also a pastor in the local area and needed money very much because he was in debt, and our church was very rich and did not care about money.

It's great to be rich and not care about money! I donated the money to his brother. I don’t charge anyone I serve. Those who donate are willing to donate, and I don’t accept those who are unwilling to donate. If they force it on me, I will give the money to the church and never put it in my pocket. I have a lot of skills to make money and I am not short of money.

The Apostle Paul was the same. He only wanted to not use our right to preach the gospel. Like Paul, we hope that everyone can get the benefits of the gospel. However, many people today care a lot about money. Many people come to me, but they don't directly talk about healing and deliverance, but ask about this money and that money. They sound like money-loving guys, poor ghosts, and no amount of money is enough to be deceived. After understanding, I found that they had indeed been deceived. All three investments were lost and they were still in litigation.

Brothers and sisters, if you want to be smart people, you must be goal-oriented. What do we want to do? We live and die in this world. Whether you love it or hate it, it will be digested in a small coffin. Be sure to know what our goal in life is. If we set a goal, we must be effective so that we can live in prosperity in this world.

This is very important, because if the goal is set wrong, it will affect how a person lives. If the goal of doing business is to lose money, how much money can you lose? A young man does business to lose money. He lost ten million in one year. How does he pay off the debt? Isn't this stupid! He said: I am preaching the gospel! The gospel is not preached by burning money. Preaching the gospel with money is as useless as paper money.

We must clarify our goal, which is to obtain the crown of glory in eternity. I don't know if the crown of glory is real or fake? But I know for sure that the crown of glory can make me live out glory and honor in this world and live out the power of resurrection in Jesus Christ. If you ask me, why our church's healing and deliverance is so powerful? The most powerful person in our church in healing and deliverance is me, because I serve the Almighty with my life.

When I first believed in the Lord, I set a goal: to strive to run for God my whole life. God can bear witness to this. I read God's words very seriously. Few people put in as much effort as I did. For the past two or three decades, I rarely went to bed before 2 a.m. Most of the time, I was reading the Bible, and of course, I also studied other things. If it were not for the glorious crown, I would have lived in vain in this world; I say this with great emphasis. If people live according to the logic of the flesh, they are no different from animals. Animals are born in the same way humans are born; animals die in the same way humans die; it is merely the completion of a biological process.

Today, I want to introduce an important concept to everyone: Clear goals, well-defined strategies, and the right methods are key to achieving success. When a person does not do well in anything, it is because of unclear goals, undefined strategies, and incorrect methods. If your goal is merely to become the richest person in the city, then you can see if you have that Mingding Destiny. Even if you become the richest person, what can you do with it? It is better not to become the one with biggest debt instead.

The background of this passage is a church established by Paul, but Paul is not arguing about whether he is an apostle. Instead, he is talking about whether a person has made the glorious crown in eternity their goal. If it were for money, would Paul need to do this? Paul could have been a chief justice, with all the skills to make money; he did not need to rely on building churches to support himself. He preached the gospel and diligently built churches, establishing so many churches and writing so many books, all while supporting himself by earning his own money. If you can understand this, you will know how good people like Paul are! Everyone can try it and see the benefits of having a goal.

Brothers and sisters, you must know today that we must run in such a way as not without aim; we box in such a way as not beating the air; we must discipline our bodies and make them our slaves. Every time I lead in prayer, many people are healed, saying that their hearts are clear, open, and comfortable. But I am very clear that in less than a day, or even half a day or a few hours, they will completely revert to their original state. When I pray, I draw a glorious crown for you in eternity, and you accept it and feel comfortable. But once you return to reality, you lose faith, and everything reverts to its original state.

Why do those problems come back? Because we have not repented in our bones. Today, I tell you that our goal is the imperishable, glorious crown in eternity, but to be victorious, we must discipline our bodies and make them our slaves. If we cannot discipline our bodies, it is because the eternal goal is not clear. We deceive ourselves and fool ourselves, and then, when we come back to our senses, we discard the eternal goal, because we cannot accept it in our bones and still live in the flesh.

Eternal Goals Are Our Strength for Victory

Let us no longer deceive ourselves, but know for sure that all of this is vanity of vanities. Some may wonder how living can be a vain thing? Some people will not turn back until they hit a brick wall. I hope you can understand before you enter the coffin, otherwise, if you understand after you go in, it is too late.

Genesis and Ecclesiastes are the foundation of Christian faith. If Christians care too much about living and try to survive at all costs, without believing that this life is vanity of vanities, they will not be able to yearn to obtain the crown in eternity. I have shared before about a sister who broke her arm and was healed when I prayed for her. She was indeed very impressed with my healing and deliverance abilities, but she was not very interested in the Chinese Mingding Destiny that I preached. She did not know that my ability comes from my inner longing, from my heart's desire to obtain the glorious crown in eternity, and from my clear understanding that human life is vanity of vanities.

This sister once wrote a post on her social media: Thank God for keeping us alive in the midst of the pandemic. In fact, this attracts demons. Once people feel that living is very good, they will definitely attract demons. But when people feel that pursuing the glorious crown in eternity is a very good thing, demons will worry when they see you, and you will become a brave warrior who drives out demons. Eternal goals are our strength for victory. What causes a person to often lack the strength to strive for things? It is because all his foundations are built on this earth, and his goals are also built on this earth. If a person's heart is so poor that spending fifty dollars on takeout is the greatest enjoyment in his life, isn't this the logic system of Old Marx?

So today, you must know that longing to obtain the glorious crown in eternity is our strength for victory. If a person's goal is very clear and he runs towards this goal, even if he sometimes feels discouraged and wants to give up, a person who has truly set a goal and is running towards it will get up again even if he falls, and will never give up! Such a person is remarkable.

Some people will worry, worrying that they are not this kind of person, what should they do? I tell you, your strength comes from God! Don't we often sing this hymn? The Lord is my strength, my refuge, my shield, in whom I trust. People cannot run on their own at all. If people rely on their own abilities and cling tightly to everything on earth, God sees you as a beast. God will not put beasts in His house; God wants children, those who have seen through life in this world and pursue the glorious crown in eternity.

Nehemiah originally worked as a cupbearer for the emperor, receiving a high salary, which was a very high position, equivalent to the emperor's chief secretary. Later, he voluntarily became the governor of the province of Judah and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. He fought while risking his life, and he got up early and worked late to build the temple and restore worship in the church, which was very hard. Why did Nehemiah do this? It was to allow that generation to see the glory of God. Many people in the Bible, such as Isaac, Jacob, David, and Moses, pursued the goal of letting that generation see the glory of God descend.

If a person has no eternal pursuit, he cannot live in this world. Jacob walked with a crutch to his uncle Laban's house and lived a poor life for twenty years, with his salary reduced ten times by his uncle. If a person has no eternal hope, he will be so bitter that he wants to gnash his teeth at someone who earns ten thousand dollars from you or takes advantage of you. If someone steals your money, you will have to think about it every day until you suffer enough to let it go. Once we have hope for the glorious crown in eternity, these things will become very small, and we will not compete for these things.

The most important thing for us today is to please God. If we want to please God, God will surely add strength to us. We make choices according to God's will, and we set goals according to God's will, because the high place where God stands is very high. In my previous sermons, I mentioned that I need experts. I have been looking for experts all my life. If I lived in the era of Guiguzi, I would definitely sell everything to find him; if I lived in the Three Kingdoms period, I would probably go to Zhuge Liang, or find someone more powerful than Zhuge Liang, because I am a person who strives for excellence.

Some people will ask me: I am not this kind of person, what should I do? Then you should pursue being an excellent person! Because it is very painful to be a loser for a lifetime, but it is definitely enjoyable to pursue being an excellent person. A person who pursues the glorious crown in eternity will please God and will not suffer too much harm in his life. Any harm is minor to us, betrayal, injustice, grievance, being taken advantage of... these do not matter. Jesus said that if someone takes your tunic, give him your cloak as well; if someone strikes you on the left cheek, turn the other cheek to him as well. These people are not worthy of this world.

We begin to set eternal goals and then strive for them, and we will gain strength in eternity. Listen to my advice: No matter what, you must see through the things of this world, and you will set an eternal goal. Even if we strive like this, we still fear that after we preach the gospel to others, we ourselves will be rejected. If we are not even willing to grasp the glory in eternity, we are almost perishing.

Discipline Your Body and Make It Your Slave

We gain strength from God, what can God's salvation do? It can help us discipline our bodies and make them our slaves. We each have our own preferences, and if we want to deal with the innate problems that each of us has, it will take a lifetime. A couple drove my car out to do something, and I waited until late at night but did not wait for them to return. As a result, I called them, and they had been arguing on the street for two hours. I thought to myself: This really requires disciplining the body! When two people argue, each thinks they are right. The problem is that they have not learned to discipline their bodies and make them their slaves!

There is something in people called self-righteousness, and they think they are doing everything right and that the other person must be wrong. One thinks: Look how good I am to you, how can you not appreciate it? The other thinks, Look, I haven't lost my temper, I haven't gotten angry, I've controlled myself very well. What controlled very well? It's all revealed. When people are constantly angry, it's like a Michelin tire fully inflated. To give another analogy, do you know the pufferfish that Japanese people love to eat? The colorful little fish get so round when they are angry, like a ball. What is this doing? Our destiny is not to be tires, is it? If our destiny is to be tires, then we will inflate them fully.

Today, do you and I want to be honorable people? If so, our face is no longer important, so we discipline our bodies and make them our slaves! Carnal reactions often bring corruption. A carnal person will be like this, getting angry for no reason, creating tires for no reason. You can see a big fat man at the entrance of the tire shop, painted with circles, looking just like that. If you get sick from anger, you go to the doctor. If you are narrow-minded and contract COVID-19, you become a certain doctor. Therefore, disciplining our bodies and making them our slaves is the mystery of the gospel.

What hinders us from setting the eternal crown as our goal? It is not your wife, husband, or boss, it is yourself! Do not pass the buck to others, keep this pot for yourself. What is this pot? It is our own flesh. If you want to become a mighty warrior who drives out demons, you must discipline your body and make it your slave.

What are we to do when we are filled with the Holy Spirit? We are to be filled with the Holy Spirit to receive power to put to death the deeds of the body. What is the ability to heal and deliver related to today? It is related to your spiritual height. What is your spiritual height related to? It is related to putting to death the evil deeds of your body.

The one who directly opposes the truth is ourselves, not demons; demons can never stand before God. We must all know that driving out demons, or being driven out by demons, is closely related to this indulgence of the flesh. Therefore, our pastoral system is one of healing and deliverance and putting to death the flesh. The flesh and being dominated by demons are two sides of the same coin, almost inseparable. We must set our goals well, and then how do we achieve this goal? It is by putting to death the evil deeds of the flesh through the Holy Spirit.

This is how the Apostle Paul was, and even Jesus was like this. Jesus went to the cross, in fact, to nail the flesh to the cross, so that the flesh could be crucified, and then a glorious Jesus Christ could be lived out. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, the glory of God could be manifested. This glory is so powerful, passing through walls, without even needing a door, the whole person becomes a glorious Jesus Christ.

Today, if you want to be like Jesus Christ, you must be a person who puts to death the flesh. When people wrong us, the stronger the reaction within you, the stronger your flesh is. That is to say, your ability to endure grievances in the church is directly proportional to your spiritual height in the church.

Those who are pastored by me, their flesh must be tested, and they will definitely be given some small grievances. Yesterday, when I was ministering, I disciplined two co-workers a little, and then they came back and told their pastor: Oh, this is what the teacher calls a little discipline! In fact, it was just a slight discipline, not even a small discipline.

Willingly Become Servants of All

What is the purpose of putting to death the evil deeds of the flesh? It is to willingly become servants of all. Why willingly become servants of all? Because there is a reward in eternity! For example, one day we come before Jesus, but Jesus says: Oh, I have not prepared a glorious crown for you! Why not?

Jesus says: Why should I give you a glorious crown? Come, tell me what you have done. As a result, it's over when we tell him, because we have not done anything, because we have not disciplined our bodies; why have we not disciplined our bodies? Because we have no hope for the glorious crown in eternity, we don't have this goal at all.

We must know that we do not box as if beating the air, we do not run as if without aim, like a ship swaying back and forth in the sea. Ten years have passed, and when we open our eyes, we are still in the same place, because we have no direction. Many people live like this, messing around from twenty to thirty years old, without direction, returning to the starting point; messing around from thirty to forty years old, again returning to the starting point; messing around from fifty to sixty years old, again returning to the starting point. Even worse, returning to the negative, owing hundreds of thousands.

Willingly becoming servants of all is not what we ourselves like. The people we serve are various, some with a serious discernment of good and evil, some with a serious indulgence of the flesh. In front of these weak people, we are like weak people, in order to be able to save them from weakness. We become such or such people in order to bring them out of all kinds of weaknesses.

If you are not flexible, you really cannot be a pastor. So brothers and sisters, willingly becoming servants of all is for the purpose of sharing in the benefits of the gospel with these people. What is this benefit? It is that when we come before God one day, we can receive the glorious crown. Brothers and sisters, do not be ashamed at that time.

Let us never forget: the end of anything should be better than its beginning. If brothers and sisters can share in the benefits of the gospel with me, which is the glorious crown in eternity, I am willing to become a servant of all at all costs. The Apostle Paul's service was not easy, and our service is not easy. But for the glorious crown, God will add strength to us, so that we run in this world not without aim, and we box not as if beating the air. I discipline my body and make it my slave. Whether we are doing healing and deliverance, or serving in pastoral care, we must have clear goals, clear strategies, and clear methods in everything we do.

To Be Victorious, You Must Undergo Rigorous Training

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9:25)

We must understand this sentence about being temperate in all things correctly. The translation of this sentence is actually a bit inaccurate. From the literal understanding, it seems that if we want to win, we cannot strive to run, but need to control ourselves a bit. In fact, we cannot win even if we do not control ourselves. If we restrain ourselves even more, how can we possibly win? In fact, this sentence means that for the sake of the glorious crown, we have restrained other things and given up many carnal pleasures.

If you come to Chinese Mingding Destiny, you will undergo very strict training. Recently, a sister who is illiterate participated in the 102 ministry. She shared her thoughts through voice messages one by one, and her teacher listened to each message one by one and replied to each message one by one. I was very moved to see my co-worker serving in this way. Brothers and sisters, why do we need to undergo strict training today? Because we will put down many comfortable things and give up many things.

There is also an elderly person in their seventies who does their homework and does it for more than ten hours at a time. They have never written so many words in their life. After coming among us, they have undergone strict training, given up many carnal pleasures, and copied word by word. When they finished, their hearts were filled with satisfaction and joy, because they had finally accomplished something.

Only in this kind of training can brothers and sisters put to death the evil habits of their flesh, continue to grow into adulthood, and become brave warriors who can trample on the devil and the enemy. All who want to fight and be victorious begin to learn to be temperate in all things. Not that there is temperance in fighting and disciplining the body, but that all the strength is used in these things, and we can put down other things.

We should start to try today to see if your ability to heal and deliver is closely related to your ability to put to death the flesh. Some brothers and sisters want to be as fast as me when they do healing and deliverance, but in fact, I have endured it. How did I endure it? I endured it by praying continuously for days and nights, which was very hard. At that time, I longed to be like Jesus so much, longing to the extreme, just because I hoped to be able to go through this rigorous training and still not give up. One day, I can become more and more like Jesus, and healing and deliverance will become more and more powerful.

Your spiritual height is closely related to the degree to which you put to death the flesh; your spiritual height is closely related to the power of your healing and deliverance. Fighting with the devil is not about anything else, but about disciplining your body and making it your slave. Since the creation of the world, there have not been many people who have overcome Old Marx. But today, among us, many people have overcome Old Marx. Overcoming Old Marx is letting us discipline our bodies and make them our slaves. Indulging the flesh is definitely not a state of victory.

Conclusion: Hold Fast to Eternal Goals and Strive to Run

Fighting with the devil requires clear goals. When we strike the devil, we cannot hit him here and there, but we must set our goals well and strive to run towards them. When we come before the Lord Jesus, we can say: I have finished the race I should have run in this life, I have kept the faith I should have kept, I have fought the battle I should have fought. From now on, there is a glorious crown reserved for me. This is my lifelong hope.

May God bless everyone!