Introduction
I hold the view that one must have a holistic perspective; otherwise, understanding an article and grasping the author's intent becomes exceedingly difficult. Not only will one fail to grasp the key points, but one will also frequently err. If a person does not walk the straight path, a deviation will lead to a pitfall. Although the Bible has been printed billions of times, many still seem not to understand it after reading.
In fact, people start reading from elementary school, and by the sixth grade, they should have learned how to understand articles. Regrettably, many still do not understand after finishing elementary school, middle school, university, or even graduate school. How is it that people seem to understand less and less as they learn? This is quite uncanny.
The theme of Chapter 20 is: Believe that Jesus Christ is Lord! Why? The beginning of Chapter 20 speaks of the authority of Jesus Christ. In the Psalms, David himself said: The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.' If David calls him Lord, how can he be David's descendant? This touches on who is whose Lord. Thus, the theme of this chapter is that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all things. With a slight adjustment, it becomes: Believe that Jesus Christ is Lord; with a further refinement, it is: Believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord. We can carefully examine whether this chapter speaks of this.
Believe that Jesus Christ is Lord
One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up and asked him, “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things. Who gave you this authority?” (Luke 20:1-2)
The previous chapter mentioned that Jesus drove out those who were doing business in the temple, saying: “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” People do not know that the house of God is a house of prayer, and they do not know that prayer can solve people's problems. Instead, they feel that making money can solve people's problems, but has it been solved? No, not only has it not been solved, but more problems have arisen. Because the people of that generation treated the house of God as a place of business, making it a den of robbers, God allowed that place to encounter many things.
Because our God is the Lord of all things, He can do whatever He wants, and you have no right to interfere. Our God is a God who both brings disaster and blesses people. We cannot twist an arm against a thigh. Why must we live according to this worldly system of logic, suffering enough before praying to God? In the end, they still use that worldly system of logic to seek God, as if they were worshiping idols.
These chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders saw Jesus raising people from the dead, making the blind see, and cleaning leapers, which was simply beyond human imagination, unprecedented and unparalleled. But they still did not know that Jesus is Lord! At that time, although there was no New Testament Bible, only the Old Testament Bible, people should also know that this Jesus Christ who suddenly descended among us is the Lord who created all things. Otherwise, what would he use to cast out these demons?
These chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders wanted to frame Jesus and asked Jesus a very strange question: What authority do you have to do these things? You are not a chief priest, you are nothing, you are just the son of a carpenter, and you have not received any advanced education. Why do you have the right to drive those who do business in the temple out? Jesus knew that his authority came from God and that he was the Lord who created all things. Of course, he had the authority to drive those people out in his own temple.
It's just that these chief priests who specifically serve God, the teachers of the law who teach God's words, and the elders who manage the people did not understand. They were very confused. In fact, many pastors and leaders today also do not understand the Bible. Why? Because these people's minds are filled with worldly systems of logic.
Today we will not explain this question, we will only explain one thing, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all things? Some people believe it, but some people do not. The chief priests served God in the temple, the teachers of the law taught God's words, and the elders managed the people. They did these things all day long, but they forgot the fundamental thing, that is, Jesus Christ became flesh and came among us, and he is the Lord of all things. It was right for him to cleanse the temple, but those who turned the temple into a den of robbers came to ask Jesus, by what authority do you do these things? This is really uncanny.
Jesus used John the Baptist as material to answer them: Was John the Baptist's baptism from heaven or from men? If it was from heaven, my authority John the Baptist would have told you long ago, I am Jesus Christ, the God who became flesh and came among you. If they answered that John's baptism came from the earth, but the people all knew that he was a prophet. So these chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders were very confused and could not answer anything.
They actually knew that John's baptism came from heaven. Since they knew, why did these chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders still believe in it like that? To put it bluntly, they just didn't believe it. They did not know that all things under heaven belonged to God, but they believed in money, believing that money can make the ghost turn the millstone. They thought that money was very real, visible and tangible, but God was invisible and intangible.
Some time ago, a classmate of one of our co-workers came to Chinese Mingding Destiny to seek healing and deliverance. She had enteritis, and her stomach cramped at night, which was very fatal. Our sisters were busy serving her day and night. We asked her why she didn't ask the pastor or group leader of her church to pray? She said they had also prayed for her, but it didn't work.
Later, the group leader of this church recommended health products to her. Many health products are MLM products, and even if health products are effective, they are not as good as our God. This sister is just an ordinary Christian. Although she believes in the Lord, she is cursed because she does not know that God is the Lord of all things.
God is a God who sends both blessings and disasters. All disasters come from God, not from the devil. The devil is only fulfilling God's will. From the beginning of my belief in the Lord, I understood that God is the Lord of all things! The goal I have pursued in my life is to please God. I do not go against God. I do whatever God says. Although I am not very willing to serve God full-time, since I have chosen this path, I will continue to walk on it. Everyone must know that everything on earth belongs to our Lord, and we must really love God well.
Another sister's son had epilepsy. Over the past period of time, we have asked this sister to change many bad habits, and her son's epilepsy has improved greatly, but her mind is still filled with her own worldly logic system. Fortunately, she is not a chief priest, nor an elder or scribe. If she were, she would be a typical person who is against God. How can people not know that our God is the Lord of all things?
Jesus has been resurrected from the dead for nearly two thousand years. In these two thousand years, do we still not know that he is the Lord of all things? Even if you don't know, it is tragic if you still don't understand when you see the miracles God is doing among us! The end of people who do not believe will be miserable! If you can't see the Lord and are afraid of your landlord and boss all day long, aren't you stupid? If we do not believe that our Lord is the Lord of all things, we will be afraid of people.
He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. (Luke 20:9-10)
We humans think that the land deed does not belong to God, and think that the house can have forty, fifty, or seventy years. In fact, whether it is the government or anyone else, they only live for a few decades on earth and then expire, but our God is still the Lord of all things.
People must have the concept of eternal life
He sent another servant, but they also beat him, insulted him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!” Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” (Luke 20:11-18)
What will the Lord do to these tenants? He will come and destroy these tenants and give the vineyard to others. The people who heard this said, God forbid, and thanked God that this would not happen.
Jesus was very upset after hearing this, so he quoted the words of the scripture: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. What does this mean? That is, whoever falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; whoever that stone falls on will be crushed. Whether you like it or not, our God is still the Lord of the whole earth. If people choose to fall, they will fall, and they will be shattered. If people do not fall and stand, but this stone specifically looks for people and happens to hit them, they will be crushed.
Fortunately, you are not a chief priest or teacher of the law, because they have not fallen, but the stone fell and crushed them. It was very miserable. But what people see is that the chief priest was not crushed and lived longer than Jesus. Jesus only lived to be 30 years old, and the chief priest was still directing people to crucify Jesus.
People do not live long enough. If they live long enough, they will see that Jesus is still the Lord today, but the chief priest has become rotten, and his soul has also been thrown into hell. Soif people do not have the concept of eternal life, but only the concept of this life, they are directly enemies of God and will definitely be shattered.
Today I heard a sister serving her cousin. Her cousin said to her: Sister, quickly pray for my father! My father is bleeding! Pooping and bleeding are two different things. Bleeding is going to kill people! Her cousin came to us a few years ago. We prayed for her and all her illnesses were healed. But her parents prevented her from following us to believe in the Lord. This child is a mama's boy, listening to her mother's words, but not listening to the Lord's words. Later, it was very miserable. The house caught fire and burned down, and there were other things like this.
Now this cousin came to her cousin and asked if she could pray for her? This is the stone of Jesus falling on them. What's the use of our prayer? It would be better not to pray. If we pray, more stones will fall! Don't think that our God is Santa Claus. Our God is very ruthless. To God, it doesn't matter if one more dies or one less dies.
Some people say: What you said is wrong. Our God is a God full of mercy and grace. This is taking it out of context. The Bible says: He will keep his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him; he will punish the sins of those who hate him to three or four generations. It's so miserable! If God punishes your sins, can you afford it?
One of the goals that people pursue in this world is to live. When they see that their lives are threatened, they quickly come to pray. Prayer is useless. It is better not to pray. If they pray, they will die faster, because whoever God's stone falls on will be crushed. What is God forbid? Even if you call out God forbid, it is useless.
How do people fall on the rock? It's because they don't know that God is the Lord of all things. Who can lift you up if you fall on this rock? In the process of serving, I have to see if this is God sending disaster on people? If so, can I pray to break God's leg? So the most important thing for people is to repent.
What kind of parents are these? They watched their children's illnesses being healed by prayer, but they still blocked the children at all costs. It is a tragedy that people do not know that God is the master of the world. Generation after generation passes in this world, and in the blink of an eye, one generation becomes the ancients. You can't stop yourself from becoming the ancients.
Our house of God was originally a house of prayer, but people have turned it into a den of robbers. This is because they don't know how powerful God is. Building a church without knowing how powerful God is is just messing around. The chief priests and teachers of the law nailed Jesus to the cross and explained to those people: This is a sinner who casts out demons by the prince of demons. This is a heresy. This person should be killed! Isn't this asking for death!
Today's pastors and Christians mess around and talk nonsense, which is similar to these chief priests and teachers of the law. But I don't have the guts. It is exactly what Paul said: For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! So to preach the gospel, we should preach it well and make it right.
There are many people who study in theological seminaries, not for God, but for money! Do they really know that Jesus Christ is Lord? They don't know! Why do they do MLM in the church? It's great to do MLM in the church. The people you pastor have become your downline. You have made money, but you have offended God, and you will be cursed! If you continue to do this, you will not have a good death in the future. You may think that this will never happen. Whether it happens or not, may God have mercy on you, but we must know that God is the Lord of all things.
Later, the teachers of the law and chief priests came again. They had the authority to arrest Jesus, but they were worried that the people would riot if they arrested Jesus, so they did not dare to arrest him. So they sent people to find fault with Jesus. Who is the best to use? Caesar is the best to use, because this chief priest thought that the emperor was great and the president was great, but even if he was great, he could not handle God! So they used Caesar to pressure Jesus, pretending to ask Jesus: Should we who believe in God pay taxes to Caesar?
During the Q&A session after each Bible study, everyone asked many questions, and a considerable number of them were because they had a worldly logic system in their hearts, otherwise they would not have asked such questions. Those teachers of the law and chief priests thought that Jesus was silly, but Jesus is the Lord of all things, the source of wisdom. The little tricks that those people played were useless.
The person they were facing could bring Lazarus back from the dead, make the blind see, make the lame walk, cleanse lepers, and raise people from the dead. They were at odds with such a person and brought out Caesar, thinking that Jesus would no longer be the Lord? This idea is stupid. They thought that this would stump Jesus. How did Jesus answer them?
He saw through their duplicity and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent. (Luke 20:23-26)
Some people die more heroically and enter the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery; some people die more humbly and enter the public cemetery. No matter how you prepare for yourself, your days in this world will come to an end one day, but our God is eternal.
I have a unique way of casting out demons. I look at which part of the person the demon lives in. If I find it in that part, I will pinch it there, pinching the person so hard that they scream, and the demon also screams. You say this is mistreating people? Mistreat them if you want, but the problem is that this person will get better, so a pastor learned to cast out demons like me with doubt.
One day, a person with depression came. One of his relatives specialized in healing and deliverance, but could not deliver him. In fact, the demon of depression is not very big. This pastor was talking everywhere about how he was doing healing and deliverance, so when this depressed patient came to him, he pinched him and the person was healed. Who knew that after this, many people became unhappy, because they were pinched by the demon. The church leader questioned the pastor: How can you mistreat people? How can you torture people?
They haven't met me. If they met me, I would make them eat dirt. The person has been healed. Is there something wrong with me pinching the demons? Every time I cast out demons, there are always opposing voices. Why? Because the demon is attached to these people. This pastor could not resist it, so he softened. Why did he soften? Because these people had offerings. It turned out that everything was for money. Do we really know that our God is the Lord of all things? If we believe that God is the Lord of all things, we will not be afraid no matter how people torture me.
Building a Church Requires God, Not Money
So today, I want to start pondering something: do we truly believe that God is the Lord of all creation? You must believe that all authority belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ. Belief is a choice. If you believe, you will be fearless like me, only revering God. No one can do anything to me. Even if the church is ruined by these people, so be it. I still acknowledge that my God is the Lord of all creation, and my God will surely accept me. So, do we have such determination and faith to believe that our God is the Lord of all creation?
What are the contributions of those church deacons worth? Some people think the church needs money, and these deacons are devoted contributors, so we must not drive them away. But I made a very smart decision back then, which was that these contributors could not stop me from believing that our God is the Lord of all creation. Building a church does not require money, nor does it require people. Building a church only requires the Lord of all creation.
If we have the Lord of all creation, money is not a problem, and people are not a problem. The only problem is whether we acknowledge Him as the Lord of all creation. If He is the Lord of all creation, no one can stop us from acting according to His words, and no one can stop us from fulfilling God's will in our own lives. What a wonderful grace this is!
What a grace it is for a person to know the Lord of all creation! A person who knows the Lord of all creation lacks no good thing in this life! Do we lack those few people? Do we lack those few deacons? Do we lack those few contributors? We lack none of them.
We have come this far, gradually restoring the gospel of God, restoring this polluted gospel according to what is written in the Bible, all related to one thing: I acknowledge that my God, my Lord, is the Lord of all creation. I have no choice but to revere Him and act according to His word.
No one can threaten me, and no one can deprive me of my authority to serve God. This is everything I came for, was born for, live for, and die for. Some people say this is absolutely impossible! I tell you, whether it is absolutely possible or absolutely impossible, it does not matter. What matters is that our God still reigns supreme in the world. As for you, accept it or not.
The Sadducees Live in the Logic of This Life
When Jesus said, Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's, people were speechless. Then the Sadducees, who do not believe in the spiritual realm or the resurrection of the dead, gave an example for Jesus to answer. People can be so bad, asking only these kinds of questions. People do this because they do not believe that God is the Lord of all creation, and they think entirely with the logic of this life.
The Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question: “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. The second and third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. Finally, the woman died too. Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since all seven were married to her?” Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” (Luke 20:27-38)
The Sadducees often say there is no resurrection, and the things these people care about are only the things of the living, such as marrying and having children. We forget one thing: after the resurrection of the dead, there is a glorious body. Only those who are considered worthy of that world and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Do you think everyone will be resurrected from the dead and experience a second death? You may not even have the资格!
The Sadducees will be miserable in the future because they do not know that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all things! Have the Sadducees ever heard of Jesus? They have heard that the blind can see, the lame can walk, the lepers are cleansed, and people are raised from the dead. The Sadducees even sought Jesus when they had some bad things happen to them at home, and Jesus healed them. Yet they still asked such tricky questions to embarrass Jesus, thinking that Jesus would not be able to answer. But it is useless to bring up the issue of the resurrection of the dead; our Jesus is still the Lord of all things.
People not knowing that Jesus is the Lord of all things is a致命问题, not only those who do not believe in God do not know, but also those who are chief priests, pastors, and scribes do not know. Is that not a tragedy? So, everyone must know that whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; that stone will fall on a person, and the person will be crushed to pieces! Do you think God is Santa Claus? God is not Santa Claus.
Building a Church with God's Presence
Jesus later added:
Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “'The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”' David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” (Luke 20:41-44)
David calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son? This immediately stumped these people, because people's understanding of God is too superficial. Our God became flesh and came into this world. Is He not David's Lord? How did He come into this world? He came into this world through the descendant of David, Jesus Christ, incarnate in the flesh. Many people read the Bible as if they have not read it at all, not understanding what is going on, all because they do not understand that our God is the Lord of all creation.
How did God send his Son into this world? He sent Him born of the Virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ came into this world as a human being, incarnate in the flesh. He is the Lord of all things, so He did things in this world that were unprecedented and will not be repeated. According to God's will, after Jesus resurrected and ascended to heaven, He caused His church to exercise royal authority on this earth and in the spiritual realm. That is to say, all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to my Lord Jesus Christ, and my Lord Jesus Christ became the head of the church.
But today's church has both dens of thieves and churches with God's presence. If it is a church filled with God, it will be united with God on earth, exercising royal authority with Jesus Christ, and doing the things that Jesus Christ once did. This is what we pursue. Building a church means building a church with God's presence, building a church according to God's word, building a church into a victorious church that can trample the enemy in the spiritual world and overcome the devil and the power of darkness controlled by the devil.
We are truly grateful for God's miraculous presence in our church. God has given us the opportunity to keep and follow His word, and God has given us the opportunity to serve Him in this way, allowing Him to reign supreme among us. All of this is because we, this group of people, acknowledge that He is the Lord, not only the Lord of this life, but also the Lord of eternal life. Our God is the God of the living, who allows us to see with our own eyes that He reigns supreme among us while we are alive.
A few days ago, the family member of someone served by a brother was about to die, and he hoped that I could serve this dying person with him. He said something quite interesting to me; he said, Pastor, can we pray hard and send him to the Kingdom of Heaven? I said, We don't do work to send people to heaven, this thing we are not master of!
Today, the Christian faith is full of mysteries, still thinking that if we pray, we can send people to heaven or to the Kingdom of Heaven. If I told you in private, I am going to send you to the Western Paradise! or I am going to send you to the Eastern Paradise! That is an insult, do you understand?
This strange idea is actually very common because many traditional churches do this! We do not know that God is the Lord of all creation and that sovereignty is in His hands. We think that as long as we pray, the stone will not fall on that person; or we think that as long as we pray, that person will not fall on this rock and be crushed to pieces. This is not what we do; we are building God's glorious church, and to build a church, we must read God's word carefully.
Our God is the God of the living. While we are alive, we must know that He is not only the Lord of David but also our Lord. He has made His enemies a footstool for His feet and has also made His enemies a footstool for our feet, trampled under our feet. Recently, we did the 102 course, which talked about establishing a victorious church as the key.
When we finished the fourth lesson of the 102 course, this healing and deliverance belief system or theoretical foundation was built almost completely. Then we started a healing and deliverance activity to practice the authority that God has given us, so that many people with various diseases could see the glory of God manifested and see God's authority and power!
While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” (Luke 20:45-47)
People who do not believe that God is the Lord of all creation always think that they are capable. Do these teachers of the law really know that God is the Lord? They do not know; they think that they themselves are the masters, they think that they themselves have the final say. But they do not know that what they say does not count, and they will be severely punished before God. This punishment is that the stone of Jesus Christ will fall on them and crush them to pieces. Whether they like it or not, God's word will be fulfilled in this way.
Conclusion
So, what do we believe in today? Whether we choose to believe or not, we must know that our God is indeed the Lord of all things. If we choose to believe that He is the Lord of all things, we are willing to submit to His name, act according to His word, and then build His glorious church, so that His glory will fill us and enable those who see it to give glory to the Lord. Know that God is truly the Lord, reigning over us while we are alive, until we see the Lord's face. May God bless everyone!