Abundance and Peace in Christ

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1 Today's Topic: My Goodness Is Not Outside of You!
Last Sunday, we talked about Illegitimate Sons and True Sons. Actually, I have never seen the Lord Jesus, nor have I been taken up to heaven to see God. But I experience God's grace and goodness every day! My reasoning is simple: if there truly is an eternal God who created the universe and loves us, and we have become His true sons, then we receive all the benefits of being sons of God! The testimony of our brother today is clear evidence of the benefits of being a son of the living God in Jesus Christ. This is the topic I want to talk about today: My Goodness Is Not Outside of You. Yes, our benefits can all be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not need to look everywhere else, because outside of Jesus Christ, we will not find them. This is not just a theological theory, but it is my own experience, and the experiences of our brothers and sisters tell us this.

Today, the testimony of Brother CW is not a fabricated story meant to deceive people; it is a true event that happened to him. Those who have experienced that kind of pain and torment, when entering into the grace of Jesus Christ and receiving the benefits within Him, never want to return to those days. Of course, I will attach his testimony to the end of my manuscript for everyone to read.

Even today, every time I think of the days before I believed in the Lord, with that pain, coupled with numbness, and that self-righteous attitude, helplessness透着骄傲, arrogance带着无知. Then I see the abundance, glory, and authority from heaven that I have gained in Jesus Christ, and I never want to go back to that kind of life again!

Originally, the world we live in seems to be one world, but it is not. Before believing in the Lord, we lived in the kingdom of the devil, enjoying the pain and torment that came from the devil. After believing in the Lord, we live in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, enjoying authority, abundance, wisdom, power, honor, and glory! Of course, this is a spiritual kingdom. In the kingdom of the devil, we find toil and trouble, while in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, we find peace and joy. In the kingdom of the devil, there is sickness and poverty, while in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, there is health and abundance! As long as you enter the kingdom of Jesus Christ, become a child of God, and enjoy all the authority and privileges of the kingdom of heaven, we will receive all the benefits that God has prepared for us!

This is not something we only know today. In fact, all who trust in the Lord who created the universe experience this wonderful change! Three thousand years ago, David, chosen by God, became the King of Israel. He experienced countless graces throughout his life. Every time he faced a life-threatening danger, he saw God's mighty salvation. He concluded: O Lord, You are my Lord; my goodness is not outside of You!

Let us read today's scripture:

2 Today's Scripture: Psalm 16:2
16:2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

3 Prayer – My heart must know that my goodness is not outside of the Lord God!
(Impromptu Prayer)! In the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen!

4 An Experience of a Pastor

God's Wonderful Protection and Grace

A pastor named Kim Sang-ho, who mainly testified to the gospel in the Chungcheong Province area, his story brings us great inspiration. During 6.25, it was very cold and snowy, and he traveled to remote areas to preach and lead revival meetings. But one day, while preaching in a mountainous area of Chungcheong Province, he got lost. He didn't have dinner, nor did he have a flashlight. The snow had reached his knees, and he was very anxious about being lost. His body was also very tired and weary. Now all he could expect was death. He was particularly tired and desperate, so he fell in the snow, but in his heart, he looked up to the cross. Lord, it is too unjust for me to be buried in the snow like this! If Jesus gives me another chance, I want to die preaching the gospel. What is it to be buried in the snow and die lost? He just vaguely remembered this sentence and fell asleep. When he fell asleep in the snow, he felt warm and good until the morning. Then, just as he was about to open his eyes, someone was washing his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw a large tiger hugging him all night, and in the morning, it was washing his face. But that Pastor Kim Sang-ho said that he would have been scared at any other time, but at that time, he was not afraid at all. His heart was particularly warm, and then he prayed, Father God! I asked God to protect me while I slept at night, and God sent a live tiger to hug me so that I could sleep peacefully. Thank you, and I also enjoyed additional blessings. The tiger even washed my face. How thankful I am to God! Then he said, Tiger, thank you so much. I wish I could give you some scorched rice, but I have nothing. Then he got up, and the tiger, afraid of scaring him, slowly backed away, toe by toe.

Do not jump to conclusions and make irresponsible remarks. This is the testimony of the pastor himself. Just like Brother CW's testimony of the healing of his lumbar disc displacement, you have no right to say whether it is true or false. You either believe it or you do not. Only this pastor knows what he has experienced. Regardless of whether you believe it or not, Brother CW, myself, and those who have experienced God's wonderful grace, as well as this pastor, all know that we used to be in the kingdom of the devil, relying on science, without hope, but through faith, relying on Jesus, we have experienced countless wonderful graces. The conclusion is: Lord Jesus, you are my Lord; my goodness is not outside of you!

New friends, those who gather with me online, who have not yet received this grace, may you open your hearts to experience what we have experienced, and may you also come to the same conclusion that King David of Israel said 3,000 years ago in Psalm 16:2 in the Bible.

5 Why did King David, the author of Psalm 16, say: My goodness is not outside of the Lord Jehovah God?
Brothers and sisters, what a person living in suffering needs is not science, nor philosophy, nor preaching and doctrines, nor doing good deeds, accumulating merit, or doing good works, but a wonderful transformation of life and a solution to problems! A person facing death, who is about to lose his life, needs not science, nor philosophy, nor preaching and doctrines, nor doing good deeds, accumulating merit, or doing good works, but the ability to live! A person facing hunger needs not those things that are just talk, but the ability to have food to eat! A person who is suffering needs not those things that are just talk, but the power to release him from suffering! A person in pain needs not those comforting words that are empty, but healing!

The Highest Blessings in Christ

Brothers and sisters, the author experienced countless sufferings in his life, experienced hunger, experienced facing death, experienced facing giants, experienced difficulties that he could not solve on his own. He experienced everything that one should experience in life, but every time he prayed to his God, saw God's wonderful work, and overcame these crises, the conclusion he came to was the same as the conclusion we come to today: Lord, you are our Lord; my goodness is not outside of you!

What benefits did David receive? Did he get a branded car, a branded bag, or something else? No, that was nothing for an Israeli king. Those things can be obtained without being in the Lord Jesus. But what David received far exceeded this vulgar level. What he got was authority, abundance, wisdom, power, honor, and glory! Of course, David, who sat on the throne of King of Israel, had hundreds of tons of gold and silver in his hands, so the benefits he spoke of were certainly benefits on a higher level!

These are all within the essence of life! The essence of life lies in: authority, abundance, wisdom, power, honor, glory, and praise! This is the goodness that David spoke of. This level is a bit like a fairy tale for unbelievers, but for us, it is all very real and very important. This is the goodness we are to receive!

6 All the Benefits in Jesus Christ – Authority, Abundance, Wisdom, Power, Honor, Glory, and Praise!
Some people say, Pastor Liu, I don't come to church to get any benefits; that's too utilitarian. I come to your church to help you build the church. To such people, I would say, There is a church over there; go help them! I don't need people to help me. In our church's early days, there was a brother who gathered in another church and helped us at the same time. Later, I sent him away. What do we come to church for? We are here to get benefits. But these benefits are not from people, but from God. If you think that God needs you, that without you, God would lack something, then that is too arrogant。An important part of our humility is that we come before God to receive benefits! What benefits do we receive? We receive the best blessings that God has prepared for us. Brothers and sisters, when you come before God, do not come before God and say, Lord, please give me a million dollars; I want to be a millionaire. Lord, I ask you for a car. Lord, I want a detached house. Because that is not the best. What God has prepared for us is the best. That is authority, abundance, wisdom, power, honor, glory, and praise!

Let us read Revelation Chapter 5.

Authority and Glory in Christ

Revelation 5 says: Rev 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. Rev 5:2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” Rev 5:3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. Rev 5:4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Rev 5:5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Rev 5:6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Rev 5:7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. Rev 5:8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. Rev 5:10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Rev 5:11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They were around the throne and the living creatures and the elders. Rev 5:12 In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Rev 5:13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” Rev 5:14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Brothers and sisters, this passage of scripture was written by the Apostle John on the island of Patmos, revealing the end of the world. The passage we read is the fifth chapter of Revelation. The previous chapters are about God's letters to the seven churches. This mentions several very important factors: characteristics authority, abundance, wisdom, power, honor, glory, praise. This is the goodness that David spoke of! The goodness we experience is by no means a vulgar goodness. Of course, if you get these authority, abundance, wisdom, power, honor, glory, and praise, are food, clothing, housing, and transportation still a problem? It's not a problem at all! That is why the New Testament does not record the problem of Christians facing food, clothing, housing, and transportation! That is not our problem as Christians at all. Our problem is how to live out authority, abundance, wisdom, power, honor, glory, and praise! Amen!

First, let's look at authority.

Manifestation of Faith and Authority

Luk 7:2 A centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. Luk 7:3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. Luk 7:4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, saying, This man deserves to have you do this, Luk 7:5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue. Luk 7:6 So Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him: Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. Luk 7:7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. Luk 7:8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it. Luk 7:9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel. Luk 7:10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

If asked whether you desire such authority, would you say yes? Some, in their arrogance, might say, If Pastor Liu possesses the authority to heal my grandmother's leg, I would purchase a plane ticket for him to fly over for free. They might perceive me, the pastor, as impoverished and in need of their financial support for the airfare. Through remote prayer, we witness God's bestowed authority transcending space and time, bringing healing to many. Just last Monday and Tuesday, we prayed over the phone for a cancer patient, whom doctors had already given up on. Her heart, stomach, swollen legs and feet, and platelet count have returned to normal! If she were to honour us, the priests of the living God, as the centurion did, perhaps she too would experience the grace of healing for her servant!

Alas, the unbelieving are unaware of the benefits in the Lord Jesus Christ. How can they not know that we, the priests of the living God, are people of authority? Can prayer over the phone not resolve their issues?

I have observed that our countrymen seem to be afflicted with a disease of arrogance. The wealthy are arrogant, and the impoverished are arrogant too! The healthy are arrogant, and the sick are arrogant too! They forfeit the benefits in the Lord Jesus Christ for nothing! Authority is gained through humility before God!

Yesterday, someone online wanted to join our remote group. I contacted her privately. She was about to pray for a heart patient. I asked her if her prayer went along the lines of: Lord, I beseech you, heal sister so-and-so. Indeed. I have found that many Christians are unaware of their authority and do not know how to wield it. It is as if the Lord Jesus is unwilling to heal, and they keep pleading endlessly for healing! Later, I taught her how to declare the promise of healing through Jesus' stripes! May God manifest the power of authority through her faith!

We cannot explore all the benefits today. Let us pause here for now. But everyone must know: we possess authority, abundance, wisdom, power, honour, glory, and praise! These benefits are all prepared for us by God in Jesus Christ.

Some theologians might argue that these belong to the Lord Jesus, not to you. Alas, ignorant theologians, do you not know that we are in Jesus Christ? In Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ in me, I and the Lord Jesus are one. Is what belongs to the Lord Jesus not mine as well?

7 Why do many Christians not receive these benefits?

Drawing on God's Prepared Benefits

Brothers and sisters, have you noticed that many Christians do not receive these benefits? I will also say, without hesitation, yes! Every time I recall the benefits I have lost, I lament my past ignorance on how to draw on these benefits. My father passed away in 2010. It was not a serious illness; just a common cold with fever. He walked into the hospital, and two months later, he was carried out, and soon after, he passed away! At that time, I was not a man of prayer, nor did I seem to possess authority, and I helplessly watched my loved one pass away. If it were today, I believe the outcome would be different.

It is not that God had not prepared authority for me, but that I did not know how to use and draw on this authority.

Note the words of Revelation 5:8. The golden bowls are filled with the prayers of the saints. It turns out that prayer, establishing a fiery altar, can draw on the benefits God has prepared for us! It was precisely this that reminded me to be a person of prayer. Praise the Lord, the brothers and sisters in our church have all become people of prayer! They have all become people who draw on the benefits God has prepared for us in the Lord Jesus Christ! This is not a perfunctory prayer, but like the Apostle Paul, prolonged prayer in tongues and prayer with understanding!

Praise the Lord, we have all witnessed the authority, honour, abundance, and glory of the Lord Jesus on the brothers and sisters!

I have seen the transformation in a sister who has only been with us for two months, and I thank my God for this! When she first came, she was conflicted and tearful. Yesterday, when I saw her, her face was filled with joy. She told me that her job had been settled and the house she wanted to rent had been found. All thanks to the benefits in the Lord Jesus Christ! I would still encourage her to continue to come to church to pray often.

8 The most needed thing in this generation we are in is to obtain the benefits in Jesus Christ.
The present generation is filled with tragedy. The most needed thing in this generation we are in is to obtain the benefits in Jesus Christ.

In the past week, it seems the whole world has been afflicted with a disease of cutting people. A man in the USA randomly stabbed many people to death, a man in Japan injured several female singers from the AKB48 band, a woman in Guilin bus station attacked people with a knife, a man in Ziyang, Sichuan attacked people with a knife, and even more heinous, a woman was beaten to death in broad daylight in a McDonald's in Shandong by some cult. On May 22, there was also a violent terrorist incident in Xinjiang. This world is truly mad!

I cannot comprehend what is on these people's minds. But one thing is certain, their hearts are filled with hatred! Why are they filled with hatred? Because they cannot obtain the benefits they desire in this world!

It turns out that the world we live in seems to be one world, but it is not. Before believing in the Lord, we lived in the kingdom of the devil, enjoying the pain and torment from the devil. After believing in the Lord, we live in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, enjoying authority, abundance, wisdom, power, honour, and glory! Of course, this is a spiritual kingdom. In the kingdom of the devil, we find toil and sorrow; in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, we find peace and joy. In the kingdom of the devil, there is sickness and poverty; in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, there is health and abundance! As long as you enter the kingdom of Jesus Christ, becoming a child of God, enjoying all the authority and privileges of the kingdom of heaven, we will obtain all the benefits God has prepared for us! One who obtains these benefits, with authority, abundance, wisdom, power, honour, and glory, how could he go and stab people? I long for the families of our brothers and sisters in the church to obtain the benefits in Jesus Christ with us. I am surprised that after our brothers and sisters have obtained all the benefits in Jesus Christ, sharing them with their families, allowing their parents and relatives to obtain this grace, has become extremely difficult!

Obtaining life transformation and solutions in Christ

I believe that if the family members of our brothers and sisters are listening to my sharing, I want you to know clearly: a person living in suffering does not need science, does not need philosophy, does not need preaching and doctrines, does not need to do good deeds, accumulate merit, or do good, but needs a miraculous transformation of life and solutions to problems! A person facing death, about to lose his life, does not need science, does not need philosophy, does not need preaching and doctrines, does not need to do good deeds, accumulate merit, or do good, but needs to be able to live! A person facing hunger does not need things that are just talk, but needs to have food to eat! A person suffering in spirit does not need things that are just talk, but needs the power that can free him from suffering! A person in pain needs not comforting words that are empty, but needs healing! I hope you will put down your fixed ideas and obtain the benefits in Jesus Christ with us!

9 Conclusion: Our benefits are all in Jesus Christ!