Introduction

Good morning, everyone. I am sharing a slightly heavy topic with you today. Why a heavy topic? Because the topics I choose are usually closely related to the current problems facing the church. Do not start worrying just because I say it is a heavy topic, but this topic can solve many problems. The title is Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft!

The previous sermon was titled God Set Up Saul as King, and God Regretted It! King Saul's later end was quite tragic. I also talked about Esau before. In fact, King Saul, Esau, or Lot all brushed shoulders with God's grace and God's people. But brushing shoulders is not something that happens so easily. If you brush shoulders with God and then walk the path of rebellion, your end will become a model of a curse.

King Saul, whom we talked about, was in a very miserable state later. He got depression. Depression is an evil spirit that came down from the Lord and entered Saul's body. So he was very painful and suffered from a strange mental illness. Esau, whom we talked about, later became a model of a curse, and the Amalekites were descendants of Esau.

I hope that through today's topic, everyone can earnestly learn a lesson: never be like Esau, and never be like Saul. How sad was Saul? He thought he was really obeying the Lord's commands. In fact, he repeatedly violated God's commands. This often happens among us. From what I have seen and personally ministered to, I have found that many brothers and sisters are playing it fake. He feels that he has done everything I told him to do, but he has not.

For quite a long time, one sister had very poor livelihood skills. We very much hoped that she could overcome her current situation in terms of making a living, so we arranged for her to go to a place to study. More than a year has passed in the blink of an eye. Today I asked her if she had done what was arranged for her a year ago, and she said no. What did she do for more than a year? It just passed by aimlessly!

We see some children going to school with their schoolbags on their backs, and coming home from school with their schoolbags on their backs; and some people go to work at 8:30 in the morning and get off work at 5:30 in the evening. Whether it is going to work or getting off work, going to school or coming home from school, what exactly did they do? Some people go to school with their schoolbags and learn real skills; some people go to work with their briefcases and really create value for the company. But this sister was just playing an extra there.

I was wondering, why are so many people playing it fake? This is something that I find very difficult to understand. Isn't this harming yourself? Some children come to me to learn programming, but they don't study hard at all, wasting my time and their own time. Later, I found that for many people, it is not a problem of IQ, because everyone's IQ is about the same, so the problem of learning disabilities is actually a problem of playing it fake. The problem of playing it fake is a problem of self-deception, deceiving yourself. What do you say you are doing?

Some people just like to play extras. An extra is a background actor. Others work hard for a day, and you also work hard for a day, but you gain nothing, while others create a lot of value. So many times, people have no core competitiveness and no skills to make a living.

Some people play it fake from a few years old to a dozen years old, doing superficial work; then from a dozen years old to twenty-odd years old doing superficial work, and from twenty-odd years old to thirty-odd years old doing superficial work. These people survive, but they live very painfully. They are not good at anything. When they look at themselves, they feel like a piece of dog shit, and others see them as a piece of dog shit. You ask me to give you confidence, how can I give you confidence? The confidence I can give you is the confidence of repentance.

Today I am talking about Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft. Do not think that disobeying God's word is a fun thing. Every time I tell you how to do things, you perfunctorily deal with me and fool me. For example, today I reminded them to read some history books and some knowledgeable texts, and then they would read a little bit. But after half a month, when I called to ask again, they had done nothing and had thrown what I had arranged to do to the back of their minds.

Where did people go? They went to Douyin (TikTok). It would be strange if you could become talented by watching Douyin. It would be okay if you could become talented by playing King of Glory, but what did you get out of it? Among the crowds of technology companies, some technology companies are just assembling some parts, some are standing on the cusp of the trend, some are not, and some are just playing an extra.

There is a saying: a pig will fly if it stands on the cusp of the trend. But the problem is, what happens when the trend passes and you fall down? We do not want our brothers and sisters to be flying pigs. It is okay to fly, but what happens when you fall down? If you are on a plane called Flying Pig and fall from tens of thousands of meters in the air when something goes wrong, wouldn't you become ground meat?

Recently, I have been promoting learning. Do not think that we are doing something religious. We are doing something real. Our real goal is to train everyone to become a talent who can contribute to society. In the process of promoting learning, I deeply feel that there are many people who play it fake and do superficial work. On the surface, they are very obedient, but in their hearts, they are full of rebellion.

You summoned the ghost yourself, and I have to help you release it, and then beat the ghost up. The ghost is also very wronged. The ghost says: He summoned me to play with him, and you come and beat me up. I am very wronged! Often some people summon ghosts, and after we beat the ghosts up, the ghosts complain to me.

Why is learning not good? It is all because of playing it fake. A few days ago, a sister told me that her brain was not working well, so I held out one finger and asked her what number it was. She said it was one. Then I held out two fingers and asked her what number it was. She said it was two. In fact, her brain works very well. She should have been playing it fake since she was a child. As she played, she realized that she had to study liberal arts, because science requires brainpower, and she simply could not study it. After studying liberal arts, she wasted four years in college and ended up learning nothing.

Let's take listening, speaking, reading, and writing as an example. She has not even fully understood the matter of writing essays. I find it strange that this person can play it fake until she is seventy or eighty years old, but the way she lives is painful for herself. So, today I once again urge everyone to never do superficial work.

Once when I was doing training, I shared the screen, but after speaking for a long time, when I asked everyone if they could see the screen, I realized that no one could see the screen, but everyone was silent and did not say anything. Wasn't I just speaking in vain? It made me angry. You should have said that you couldn't see the screen! I don't know what you can come up with by being silent there. The farts that come out of being silent are very smelly. Everyone must not be silent there. So, be careful when playing it fake. It is difficult to change once it becomes a habit.

Some pastors among us, after pastoring their sheep, find that the sheep under them are telling lies to the pastor, and then the pastor tells me about it. Later, I learned that the little sheep had been lying for two years. The pastor's heart was chilled. I said, Aren't you frozen? So God set up Saul as king, but Saul was rebellious in his bones and also played a little superficial work. He even fooled himself, saying to Samuel, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord (See 1 Samuel 15:20), but the Lord said, I have rejected you.

Today we want to deal with superficial obedience and rebellion in the bones. It would be good if you could remember this sentence. Superficial obedience and rebellion in the bones is Saul. Saul's end is summoning ghosts. Why summon ghosts? Because rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Rebellion is similar to witchcraft, and also similar to communing with demons; stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry, this is very important. So today, let us take out the most famous words received from Samuel and tell them to everyone.

Scripture

And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. (1 Samuel 15:22-23)

Prayer

God, today I come before you and call out to you. May your Spirit be in our midst and personally illuminate us. May your Spirit personally pour down and remind us, so that we can know for sure that obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. Let us be able to clearly know Saul's transgression, and clearly know how Saul forsook you.

Speak to us today, so that we can turn from this rebellious path back to you. God, speak to us today, and also add strength to us, and also illuminate us, open our spiritual eyes, so that we can recognize the power of doing superficial work. Let us learn to obey you from the bottom of our hearts, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Scripture Background

In 1 Samuel, it starts with the story of old Eli and Samuel. Later, old Eli died, and Samuel took over old Eli as judge, who was the highest leader in charge of Israel. Why was he called a judge in that situation? Because God was the king of Israel, and the role the judge played was just to sacrifice, pray, and lead the Israelites in battle, that was about it.

Samuel also played a role, which was to judge lawsuits. These tasks were quite heavy, but everything he did was done through God, or God through him. The one who really reigned was God who wanted to reign in Israel. But as they did, the Israelites did not like God to be king. So they wanted to establish a king.

And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. (1 Samuel 8:7-9)

Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; (1 Samuel 8:19)

Everyone must know that this is a battle between two systems. The generation we are in today is also a battle between two systems. I think that the Communist Party leading the new China in the past few decades, from 1949 to the present, has developed by leaps and bounds. Later, I saw a small video recorded by an American in China. The video said that he had heard that China's high-speed rail was very powerful, but someone else said that it was all fake, but when he looked at the person speaking, it was a Chinese person. I think today, facing the competition between these two systems, we also see some things that are very interesting.

In the years of Israel, this was also a political struggle between two systems. As a result, Samuel gave the power to this king. Everyone must know the identities of this king and priest. In God's kingdom, the priest is greater than the king. Do not think that the king is greater than the priest. An old system entered a new system. Saul was established as king. Who established him? Samuel established him. But after Samuel established King Saul, King Saul repeatedly violated God. As a result, Samuel spoke these words to King Saul at the risk of his life: Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

In fact, Samuel said this at the risk of his life, because Saul was about to kill him, but he still needed Samuel to support him. So later, after Samuel killed Agag, he left Saul. From that time on, until Samuel's death, he did not see Saul. How do I know that Saul wanted to kill Samuel? Samuel left Saul and mourned for Saul every day. Why was he mourning? Because Saul had ruined a good hand of cards. It was just willfulness. It is difficult to deal with a willful person.

And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. (1 Samuel 16:1-2)

Any political action by Samuel would lead to death, but God told Samuel to pretend to sacrifice, and he escaped Saul's eyes. Later, David was anointed, who is the David we are talking about, and became the king of Israel. He was anointed, but there were still many years to go before he succeeded Saul as king. Later, the Spirit of God left Saul. The Spirit of God dwelt on Saul, and Saul still rebelled against God. Don't you think it is interesting?

The Spirit of God dwells in you and me, but it cannot replace the choices you and I make. Although the Spirit of God dwells in us, He does not control or dominate us. If the Spirit of God dwells in us, what will happen today if the Spirit of God leaves us? Evil spirits will enter us, which is very deadly. So, God's Spirit rejected Saul, and when God's Spirit left, an evil spirit came down from the Lord to Saul and troubled him.

What is the reason for this? Because rebellion is like witchcraft. Witchcraft and idolatry both summon ghosts. But if you are rebellious and stubborn, the ghosts you summon are bigger than those summoned by idolaters. That is why I often say that Christians summon ghosts. Christians play it fake, superficially obedient, but rebellious in their bones, and the result is King Saul.

I once knew a pastor who suffered from severe depression. One of his colleagues mentioned to me over tea that his depression was quite severe and that building the church was very hard. I said that my prayers for depression are very effective. I specialize in driving out depression or other diseases. If you want, you can tell him. If he is willing to let me minister, I don't mind paying the price to minister to him. As a result, this person told me: That won't work, that would be terrible. I asked him why, and he said that he did not dare to stir up a hornet's nest.

So people like Saul cannot be touched by ordinary people. David came to him to drive out the demons, because the Spirit of God dwelled in David. Everyone must not think that the ghosts went out because David played the harp. No, it was because David had the Spirit of God in him that the ghosts went out when he played the harp. In fact, David drove out the demons for Saul several times, but the problem was that the ghost wanted to kill David through Saul. Isn't that very strange? So everyone must know that the ghosts brought by rebellion and stubbornness are unimaginable.

I believe that after listening to what I have said, everyone's faith will not be corrupted, but it will indeed corrupt the false faith in you. If the faith in you is a false faith, such as that of Saul, who did rebel, but said: I have indeed obeyed, this faith is not of much use. Stubborn faith and rebellious faith are of no use, except to summon ghosts. So today we must know that your rebellion and stubbornness, plus the faith in you - because your faith is of no use, I must remove this false faith in you.

Today I want to talk about rebellion and stubbornness. No matter what, you must come out of rebellion and stubbornness, otherwise it will be fatal. Today, a sister reminded me to release faith when preaching. I will definitely release faith, but definitely not a rebellious faith. Faith must be built on the foundation of obeying and submitting to God's word. A faith that does not have God's word as its foundation cannot be called faith at all. For example, if I want to rob a bank, and then pray desperately, I have great faith, and I will definitely not be caught. It would be better not to pray. After praying and going there, I see the police waiting for me!

To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice, and to Hearken Than the Fat of Rams

The background of this passage of scripture talks about rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Saul's life perfectly interprets these words, so today we need to repent, we need to understand that to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. Do you think God needs you to sacrifice? Does God need you to sacrifice the fat of rams? Don't be mistaken, that stuff is not important.

I often see some people saying that they love God very much. I ask them how they love God, and they say that they come to every meeting and pray very loudly. Is that loving God? Don't be mistaken, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. Superficial obedience and superficial work are useless. If you are rebellious in your bones, no matter how many sacrifices you offer, you cannot remove the sin of rebellion.

I am very saddened that many people live in this kind of ignorance. To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. To obey, obey what? Obey the commands of the Lord God. To hearken, hearken to what? Hearken to the words of the Lord God. A sister had a very bad relationship with her mother-in-law. She wanted to strangle her mother-in-law to death. She came among us and said to her pastor: Do you know? Pastor, I serve so-and-so, and I serve them wholeheartedly. They admire me so much. Is that serving? You must get rid of this kind of bad habit in your heart.

Everyone must know that if you have this kind of thing in your heart, is that serving called obedience? Is it called hearkening? It is not. This kind of example is everywhere. They pray very loudly and fluently. I can't even compare to them because they can pray for an hour without repeating themselves. But have they really obeyed God's commands? Have they really hearkened to God's words? I don't think so.

Today everyone must know that praying loudly is nothing, and offering the fat of rams is nothing. Some people say that they love God very much. I say, How do you love God? They say, Look, I never miss a meeting. That proves nothing. In fact, Saul liked to engage in religious rituals, such as offering sacrifices, but what he sacrificed was deadly. It would have been better not to sacrifice. Once he sacrificed, Samuel appeared. Saul was really confused, because God arranged for him to wait for Samuel to sacrifice, not to sacrifice himself.

Why did God arrange for Saul to wait for Samuel to sacrifice? In fact, God wanted to tell Saul: Saul, you have to be careful. Although you are the king of Israel, don't think that you are great. You are not greater than my servant Samuel, so the sacrifice must be done by Samuel. So Saul was too far away from dealing with God. As a result, Samuel had not arrived yet, and Saul began to sacrifice. Why did Saul sacrifice before Samuel returned? Because he saw that the people were about to disperse. Everyone waited for Samuel day after day. As a result, Saul could not contain himself. Seeing that the people were about to leave and that the enemy troops were gathering, he felt that he had to sacrifice, otherwise how could he fight the war? Everyone must know that this kind of sacrifice is called disobeying God, rebelling against God.

As a result, just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. In fact, Samuel was not late, because Saul's heart did not rely on God. If Saul had faith in God, what could the gathering of the enemy soldiers do? What could the scattering of the people do? Nothing would happen, absolutely nothing! Everyone must understand that looking at this matter with human eyes is critical; but looking at it with God's eyes, what is so great about it? Can't God control this matter? God absolutely can control it. But Saul felt that this matter was a bit uncertain, and then quickly offered the burnt offering.

Samuel said, Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22-23)

Do not think that praying loudly can erase the sin of disobeying God's word. You must know how to obey God's word and how to heed God's teachings. The entire Bible is written very clearly in black and white, do I still need to tell you? No need. If you listen to my sermons every day, you will find that they constantly repeat carefully observe and follow.

But some people started asking me, Aren't you against works-based righteousness? This question is absurd, because it is what stubborn and rebellious people like to ask. They have violated God and rebelled against God, and have received what they deserve. They equate not being based on works with having no works. But not being based on works does not mean not carefully observing and following God's word. If you are troubled by this, I will not explain it today.

There is no room for negotiation in carefully observing and following God's word. Whether you can carefully observe and follow completely depends on your faith in God. If you have no faith in God, you will have no way to carefully observe and follow. Because as soon as you encounter difficulties, you immediately don't know what to do. I know many pastors like this who have bought large properties and need to repay loans every month.

But when he sees that he can't afford to repay the money, he feels that he can only have money to repay if people come to the meeting. Because if people come to the meeting, they will give offerings, and if someone is willing to give offerings voluntarily, what kind of person is the person giving the offering! In the end, they have to stay in the church. Can this work? This simply won't work. They feel that if there is no one, there is no way to build the church, but this is not the word of God.

Everyone needs to know that there are many Saul-like pastors, and very few David and Samuel-like pastors. Our God can control the entire universe, can't He control a small solar system and the earth? Moreover, you are only a speck of dust on the earth, God can absolutely manage your little things. Today I once again advise everyone that to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. Are you regarding sacrifice as more important than obedience? If so, you need to repent. Because the sin of rebellion attracts demons, rebellion is followed by stubbornness, and then you find a lot of excuses for yourself, I am very emotional.

Surface Work Does Not Count

What is surface work? For example, the situation Saul faced at that time: the people left one by one, becoming fewer and fewer, but the enemies became more and more, and then he thought that sacrifice could solve the problem. Sacrifice does not solve the problem at all, Saul is confused! This is purely surface work. Saul led everyone to fight east and west every day and fought many battles, but it does not count. You have done a lot of work, risking your life to fight east and west, becoming a national hero, but God rejected Saul from being king, because everything Saul did was surface work.

For example, God said to kill all the Amalekites and their livestock, but Saul saw that the cattle and sheep, property, and Amalekites were all pretty good, so they left the strong ones, because they wanted to create productivity. Because in that era, people had productivity, so Saul left King Agag and a series of people.

In fact, as long as King Agag could survive, he would have a chance to turn the tables. God told Saul to kill him, but Saul felt that Agag could raise livestock, was a contemporary scientist, was a talent, and did not kill him. If Saul did not kill those strong ones, but killed all the weak ones, is this surface work? This is all surface work. Are some of our brothers and sisters playing surface work? Are some of our pastors playing surface work? If you can do it, then do it; if you can't do it, I won't blame you, but you must move forward in a down-to-earth manner, and never play surface work.

If you play surface work with me, what do I want this thing for? You are working hard for the church, risking your life like Saul, fighting and praying, healing the sick and casting out demons, but can those things cover up your rebellion and stubbornness? Rebellion and stubbornness are quite hateful. For example, Saul and Saul's son went to attack the Philistines, and they did a good job. But when they were halfway through, everyone was very tired, so Saul said to continue the pursuit after offering the sacrifice, and not to eat. Wouldn't it be better for everyone to replenish their strength? They had to do some religious rituals, and even put a curse on everyone: the person who eats anything will die.

In fact, it doesn't matter if a curse is put on them, what is important is that the curse was fulfilled on Jonathan, because Jonathan ate something. Why did Saul have to put a curse that whoever eats anything will die? This is all surface work. In fact, whether it is governing subordinates or doing anything, many things are just to show yourself, forgetting that it is God who makes people victorious, and forgetting that obeying God's word is key.

Surface work does not count, praying loudly in the church does not solve the problem, rebellion and stubbornness will still attract demons. In fact, Saul still feels quite wronged, maybe you among us also have this feeling of being wronged. But I don't appreciate it, and God doesn't appreciate it, because what God wants is not fighting east and west and putting in effort.

It is God who makes people victorious, not you tossing back and forth. If you attract demons, you will feel uncomfortable inside, and it will be very hard. An evil spirit from the Lord tormented you, isn't this painful? So surface work does not count. I hate people who play surface work the most, so I often discipline the people I directly manage. Don't play surface work, surface work harms others and harms yourself, especially harms yourself.

Stubbornness and Rebellion Are Because of Our Core Interests and Value System

Everyone often hears me say it, but have you truly changed our core interests and value system? No! True stubbornness and rebellion are because of our core interests and value system. For example, Saul takes the throne very seriously, he thinks that the throne was earned by himself, but in fact, the throne was anointed by Samuel, and was given to him by God.

God says he is king, and he is king; God says he is not king, and he is finished. But he forgot, he used his own strength to guard his throne, feeling that he was the king of Israel. As a result, the women of Israel beat drums and gongs and said: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands (cf. 1 Samuel 18:7), because David fights better than Saul. Why is David shorter than Saul, lighter in body weight than Saul, but fights better than Saul? Because David has the Spirit of God, so David can defeat Goliath.

Goliath is very big, and the generals in Israel, including Saul, would die if they went up to fight Goliath. So later David was invited to kill Goliath, and later David was very good at killing enemies. Because the women of Israel did not know the dangers of politics, they wrote a song: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands (cf. 1 Samuel 18:7). This is terrible, they can't sing like this. They should say that David slew thousands while Saul slew tens of thousands. Even if Saul didn't slay tens of thousands, they should not say that Saul is not as good as David. As a result Saul sought to pierce David through with the spear. Saul gave his daughter Michal to David, and David became Saul's son-in-law. Saul has the best son-in-law.

David is actually loyal to Saul, and David is a capable general in front of Saul. Jonathan is a fierce general, he could be one of the five tiger generals, passing five passes and beheading six generals, charging into battle, absolutely better than Zhao Zilong in China. But what is Saul jealous of? Because he loves face, he wants to kill David. This kind of rebellion and stubbornness, strife, and jealousy brings a kind of thing, that thing is a surge of energy, which is very strong when it comes. Many people say, I can't control that surge of energy when it comes, what can't you control? Don't fool me.

The key to the source of that surge of energy is in people's core interests and value system. Whoever touches what you identify as your core interests and value system, that surge of energy will come up. If that surge of energy always comes, you can ask God if you are a bit like Saul? Why does that surge of energy always come? What to do? To deal with our core interests inside.

When I first started building the church, I immediately encountered a service problem. There was a student, I was guiding her to do her graduation design, but she liked a boy very much, but this boy didn't like her. As a result, unrequited love caused her to be sent to a mental hospital. Why do this? That surge of energy, however, can touch everything, this can't be touched, as soon as it's touched, mental illness.

Everyone must know that the most important thing for people is to solve the problem of our understanding. If understanding is not clear, it is very troublesome. Some people say that they have that stubborn and rebellious energy inside, when that energy comes up, they can't listen to anything. Later I thought, it doesn't seem to be. I ask him to jump off the stool, and he jumps off; I say you jump from the tenth floor, but he doesn't jump, because if he jumps down, he will become a meat pie, and all the entanglements will be digested in the blue sky.

Everyone understands, but when that muddled energy comes up, it is Saul's kind of energy. Today, playing surface work, packaging our core interests inside religious behavior, this is called Saul. Stubbornness and rebellion attract demons. No way to cast out the demons that are attracted. Why did Saul fall into his core interests? Because he was anointed as the king of Israel, he felt that he had become the king of Israel, and his throne must never be moved, so Saul was also qualified to start loving the world.

If Saul continued to put donkeys at home and be a donkey boy, nothing would happen. Why was it okay when he was a donkey boy, but now that he became a king, he became mentally ill? Because he didn't have the qualifications to love the world before, and now he has the qualifications to love the world. Later I found that some of our brothers and sisters are also the same. In the past, they had no ability, a pure loser, knowing that even if they loved the world, they would not be able to love it. Then they said that they do not love the world, and regard everything in the world as dung. Later, they found that they had grown a little bit in the church and began to lament that they have the qualifications to love the world. Before they became King Saul, they had already become Saul.

Today I have to give you a blow, today you may really not have the qualifications to love the world. If you have the qualifications to love the world today, will you regard the world as your core interest? If you have the qualifications to love money, will you regard money as your core interest? You have the qualifications to call the wind and summon the rain, to issue orders, do you regard this kind of thing as your core interest?

Everyone must begin to know that stubbornness and rebellion are all because of our core interests. If our core interest is the kingdom of our God, we will not be sad about anything else, because you will be sad if the kingdom of God is damaged, you will definitely not be stubborn and rebellious, and you will not enter Saul's situation. If someone touches your core worldly interests, you will not become Saul.

Throughout the entire service, I am extremely sad in my heart, and tears flow into my stomach, because I watched these people stubbornly rebellious with my own eyes, and these people are all within the scope of my service. They have to walk on the road to death, just like Saul's road. He may be working very hard, serving very hard, but he is a Saul.

Everyone must know that stubbornness and rebellion attract demons. Even if you serve very hard, fighting east and west like Saul, it is useless; like Saul, enacting laws and regulations not to practice necromancy, but you are a practitioner of witchcraft. I call upon everyone to engrave this sentence in your hearts, otherwise, who can cast out the demons that are attracted? Only you can.

How to Solve This Problem

I not only raise the problem, but also give a solution. I mentioned earlier that we need to change our value system, but today I will give you a way, be gentle and humble in heart, and imitate Jesus. Our Lord Jesus said:

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30)

If everyone is exhausted from serving, and exhausted from work, it is because you take these things too seriously. God does not need you to work so hard. Actually, God can finish it all at once. Why does He need you to do it? Because He needs you to work with God. If you work until you shit and piss, and still feel that you need to continue to work hard, if you put it down, nothing will happen. Some people will worry, but if everyone tries it, and everyone starts to let go, nothing will happen.

Some of our pastors are blindly pastoring in order to prove their abilities. It would be better not to serve. The service is more terrible than after The result is that this is what happens. One sister said something very muddled, the general meaning being: although you don't serve very well, I won't look down on you. These words were like eating a dung beetle for her pastor. As a result, this pastor used all his strength to serve her, and finally served her until she left the church. Why? Because this kind of pastor's service does not believe in God's sovereignty, but believes that he has to do something, and believes in his own ability.

Why do I often say that it doesn't matter, do a little if you can, and let it go if you can't, because if you let go, God will still reign. If you don't believe it, you can try it. No need to defend yourself, no need to prove your strength, let alone show me that I need to appreciate you. What do you need to do the most? What you need to do is to repent often.

Come out from doing surface work, doing it for people to see, and pleasing people. I am not afraid of you making mistakes when you serve, I am afraid that you will be stiff and unrepentant, I am afraid that you will do surface work, learning Saul's appearance. I often hope that everyone's heart can soften, to think about whether they may not have done it right, to think about which aspects they should adjust, to think about whether their motives are for their pastors to see, to think about whether they are doing surface work, to think about whether they can figure things out and implement them well.

We who work with God must not do surface work. If we do surface work, God's Spirit will leave you, your service will be ineffective, you will attract demons, and you will be very uncomfortable. Some brothers and sisters, especially when serving in the workplace, their core interests are not God at all, nor the kingdom of God.

If the sales performance is not very good these days, he will feel that he has to drive out more demons, because the teacher said that driving out more demons will bring orders. Can this kind of thinking please God? His core interest is not driving out demons, not the kingdom of God, not relying on God, relying on God's mighty power to be strong on the earth, but using these things to exchange for orders, isn't this very deadly?

There are some people who are like the older son and the younger son that Jesus talked about. A father tells the older son to go to work in the field, and the older son does not go. Then he tells the younger son to go to work in the field, and the younger son agrees. As a result, the younger son did not go to work, and the older son thought about it and went to work in the field. Which one is more pleasing to God? Of course, the older son is more pleasing to God.

So obeying God's word counts, we must often reflect on where we are stubborn and rebellious, whether we are treating our work, service, family, and business as our God, as our core interests. There are too many things to tear down. Today, brothers and sisters must know for sure, be gentle and humble in heart, and always know that God reigns. Maybe we have made mistakes in the past, today I will give you faith to start making a summary.

Summary

Why did God let Saul be king for forty years? Although God rejected Saul and anointed David to be the king of Israel, Saul was still the king of Israel at that time. If we give everyone a hypothesis, suddenly Saul repents and says, God, I was wrong, I ask you, will God have mercy on Saul again? God will have mercy on Saul again, God has abundant grace and mercy. The problem is that we must know how to repent. Rebellion is a very serious problem, and stubbornness is an even more serious problem. Today, do not despise God's abundant grace and mercy. If we have core interests in us, if we often play fake and false with God, and still think that we are people who love God, we must wake up today. Know that what God needs is not sacrifice, what God needs is not only prayer, nor burnt offerings and peace offerings, what God needs is to obey His word.

To obey is better than sacrifice, sacrifice is our prayer today; to heed is better than the fat of rams, which is our offerings, our money. God has abundant grace and mercy, and today is a day of repentance. Today we completely destroy again, the throne that God has given us we do not need to value, because the throne comes from God, with God there is everything, with God there is service, with God there is the effect of our service, no need to prove ourselves anything. Today, let go of the burden, imitate Jesus Christ, be gentle and humble in heart, look to God, rely on God's mighty power, be a strong person, God's grace and mercy will come to us again.

Let us come out of surface work and start doing things in a down-to-earth manner. Our IQs are about the same, we don't lack noses and eyes, whatever we do, as long as there is the Spirit of God, we can do it very well. No need to prove it to anyone, just need to obey and heed, look to God's grace and mercy, may God bless everyone!