The Wisdom of Holding a Treasure

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1 Today's Topic: People with Treasures in Their Arms!

God's Faithfulness and Our Treasures

The Sunday before last, I spoke on The Faithful God. When addressing such a topic, I am particularly excited! A faithful God – how wonderful! Keeping His word, fulfilling what He has promised! It is truly wonderful to associate with a God who keeps His word. Last Sunday, Rev. Hsieh Hong-Chung spoke on Gaining the Gate of the Enemy. That was the promise God gave to Abraham! Four thousand years later, today, what we see is the faithful God, enabling Abraham, and those of us like Abraham, to fulfill this promise among us. That is truly wonderful – cancer healed with prayer, heart disease healed with prayer, mental illness healed with prayer, work, salary, life, everything transformed. How wonderful! Those possessed by demons, cast out one by one in the name of the Lord Jesus. Those held captive, released one by one. If it were you, what would you do? Full of gratitude! Thanking God for His faithfulness. No matter how many His promises, they are all faithful. He enables us to overcome all demonic enemies, to overcome all diseases, to be rich, to be strong! All the beautiful promises in the Bible are faithful! Because of God, we have all become people with treasures in our arms!

Today, I will share with you People with Treasures in Their Arms!

Who does not yearn to possess a treasure? Everyone yearns for it. We are those who have obtained treasures!

In China, we have the legend of the Treasure Basin. It is said that near Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, there is a town called Yangzhuang. It has a long history and splendid culture. In this town, there is a village called Shenjing Village. The saying of Shenjing Village's Treasure Basin has spread throughout the country. It is said that during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a wealthy man named Shen Wanshan in Shenjia Village. He was extremely rich. One year, there was a severe drought, and vegetation was about to die. At this time, the grass-cutting servant in Shen Wanshan's household cut a bundle of verdant grass every day. Over time, Shen Wanshan felt very strange and asked the grass-cutter, It is such a drought; how did you cut so much good green grass? At that time, he did not truthfully tell the master where he cut the grass. Shen Wanshan followed the grass-cutter for several days, secretly watching. He saw him sleeping under the Shenjia Bridge, one li north of Shenjia Village, every day. Only when no one was around at noon did he go to Niudan Mountain north of the village to cut grass. One day, Shen Wanshan forced the grass-cutter to lead him to the place where he cut grass. He saw a circular patch of grass on the ridge with lush green grass. So, he asked the grass-cutter to cut it. As soon as it was cut, more grew out. Cutting quickly, growing quickly, Shen Wanshan felt very strange. After thinking hard, he understood that this mountain was southwest of Phoenix Mountain. Phoenixes do not land in places without treasure. The next day, he took two people there and dug out an iron basin. Later, Shen Wanshan bought a pig and used it to feed the pig. The pig grew very quickly. After slaughtering the pig, he used the basin to wash his hands and face. Once, Shen Wanshan's daughter-in-law accidentally dropped a ring into the basin. The more she捞, the more rings came out. After Shen Wanshan found out, he believed that this basin was a good thing. After Shen Wanshan obtained the treasure, he used the wealth of the treasure basin to dig 72 wells for the villagers, paving roads and building bridges to benefit the villagers.

Several years later, the Yangtze River breached its banks. The imperial court speculated that there must be a treasure somewhere. (It is said that the Yangtze River would breach its banks whenever a treasure appeared.) The emperor issued a notice: Whoever can block the breach of the Yangtze River will be granted a high official position and generous salary. After Shen Wanshan found out, he took down the notice, brought the treasure to Nanjing, and negotiated conditions with the emperor. The emperor casually agreed, Borrow at the fourth watch, return at the fifth watch. Shen Wanshan came to the breach, took out the Treasure Basin, put a handful of soil into the basin, and immediately blocked the breach after placing it at the breach.

The Legend of the Treasure and the Power of Faith

Then, Shen Wanshan went to the imperial court to claim a high official position and generous salary and to retrieve the Treasure Basin at the fifth watch. Who knew that it was only the fourth watch when dawn broke? It is said that this was because the emperor changed the fifth watch to the fourth watch to trick him out of the treasure. The saying fourth watch in the south, fifth watch in the north originated from this. Shen Wanshan was detained in the imperial court, and they asked him about the treasure. They said that he was guilty of death for not offering the treasure, his ancestors should be beheaded, and his descendants should be exterminated for nine generations. They dug up Shen Wanshan's family tombs into pits (the large puddle in Shenjing Village today is the original forest land of the Shen family). The people of Shenjing Village heard that Shen Wanshan had obtained a treasure but did not offer it, committing a crime of extermination. Some fled, and some changed their names. The Shen family became extinct from then on, and the wells in Shenjia Village were also filled in. Later, the people who moved here to settle down changed the name of the village to Shenjing Village to commemorate Shen Wanshan's kindness and to pass it down to future generations, never to be forgotten. But to this day, there is no family surnamed Shen in Shenjing Village. Shen Wanshan's residence at that time was in the southeast corner of Shenjing Village. During the Great Leap Forward, Wei, a villager in Shenjing Village, accidentally unearthed a mysterious well when leveling the land. The well was 12 meters deep, 1.5 meters in diameter, with a water level of 2.1 meters, and the stone structure was complete. The surface layer had weathered and turned yellow. This ancient well was the well used by Shen Wanshan back then. After the Treasure Basin blocked the breach of the Yangtze River, it became a large earthen plain. Later, construction was carried out on it. It is said that the Treasure Basin has fallen under the Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing. During the Republic of China, the Kuomintang authorities heard that Shen Wanshan's Treasure Basin was under the Zhonghua Gate, so they ordered the digging of a hole to retrieve the treasure. As a result, they dug a hole large enough to accommodate a company, but they did not find the treasure basin. It is said that the treasure basin returned to Shenjing Village and was later used as an air-raid shelter (also introduced in the People's Pictorial in 1985). To this day, there is still a small pit on the hill of Niudan Mountain north of Shenjing Village, and no grass grows in the pit even now.

For today's people, this is just a legend, a story. It does not matter whether you believe it or not. Do not argue with me about this; I have only heard about it. In any case, we are talking about this story not to take it as true but to tell everyone that people's concept of treasure is deeply rooted. Having a treasure in hand can solve many problems. Without a treasure in hand, one has to work hard. Many people yearn to possess a treasure. This Shen Wansan lost his life because of the treasure because he kept the treasure to himself. As a result, he lost his life, and the entire family was implicated. But today, we obtain treasures and share them with others without reservation, hoping that everyone can obtain this treasure! Someone asks, can the Jesus you preach be eaten for food? My answer is yes, and it is delicious! Can it cure diseases? Yes, and it cures them very well, reducing much suffering. Yes, it can do everything! Many people just do not believe it. They do not even have the mind to try.

Sharing the Treasure of Faith

When I was young, I had many feelings. Regarding this Treasure Basin, I once thought, how great it would be if I really had a treasure in hand. But at that time, I still had a deep peasant mentality. What I could think of was probably buying those three major items for my wife. Later, I came to know the Lord Jesus and discovered that the Lord Jesus is a treasure. As a result, after I was baptized, the first thing I did was go home and share this treasure with my family. Who knew that I would encounter strange looks? How could Samuel, who had studied for so many years, start talking about gods and ghosts? How unfortunate! They thought I was unfortunate, and I thought they were unfortunate too. I am sharing the treasure in my arms with you, why do you not want it? I do not want anything from you! That Shen Wansan kept the treasure to himself and did not share it with others, resulting in his own death. Am I to suffer the same fate if I have a treasure in hand and share it with others, giving it away for free? Recently, our church posted a testimony of blessed salary increase on Weibo. We only mentioned the salary blessing brought by the treasure in our arms, and it attracted many strange comments. I thought to myself, is this not a blessed testimony? Does the Bible not clearly write that we are blessed in the Lord Jesus? How strange. In fact, many of us have really had significant salary increases! The magnitude of the increases is truly shocking. This is real. In fact, what is written in the Bible is these very real things. Our God is a very real God!

Thank the Lord, as time goes by, my whole family and my wife's family have followed us in believing in the Lord one after another. How grateful I am! May they all obtain this treasure. I want to tell everyone that all the needs of a person's life are in this treasure. Those who believe in the Lord do not need to worry about their livelihood for the rest of their lives. They do not need to worry about health issues, interpersonal relationships, or whether anyone will burn fake paper money for them after they leave the world. What we need to worry about is how to let more people obtain the treasure that we have obtained and how to give an account to the God who gave us this treasure. We are not like Shen Wansan, only letting our village reap the benefits of that treasure. We want to let our nation and the land we tread on reap the benefits of this treasure!

Let's look at today's scripture.

2 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7

God's Treasure and Our Mission

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

3 Prayer – We Have This Treasure!

Lord Jesus, we thank You that You are willing to live in us! We thank You that You are willing to manifest Your power and glory through us. Lord, Your will is so that we can overcome everything in the world through You!

Lord Jesus, today, bestow Your words to become our food, nourishing us. Strengthen us to constantly share Your gospel!

Pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen!

4 We Are Earthen Vessels

Treasure in Earthen Vessels and the Fragility of Life

The Bible says that we are earthen vessels. Earthen vessels are very fragile. They break when dropped. Our life is like this. There is really nothing for people to be proud of. Any disaster is the end. Recently, one explosion after another, one plane crash after another, and the Ebola virus in Africa, natural and man-made disasters are constantly occurring. One cancer is enough to make people suffer to the point of death. One life does not need too much; one time is enough. How fragile! Even if none of these are encountered, being involved in political struggles, standing on the wrong side, following the wrong person, or embezzling the wrong money, once things are exposed, one's life is over. Historical figures are like this.

Li Si, the prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, although he discovered the mouse law of residing above instead of below (do you know this law?) and invented the Lishu script, was very intelligent. However, he stood on the wrong side after the death of Qin Shi Huang and died at the hands of Qin Er Shi. Lu Buwei, who helped Qin Shi Huang conquer the world, was a highly respected prime minister with three thousand retainers at home, wrote books, and wrote Lu Shi Chun Qiu, which was famous all over the world. Like Li Si, he also discovered a business that made huge profits, but what happened? He died at the hands of Qin Shi Huang. The current era is also like this. Zhou Yongkang, who was overthrown, was also in a high position, a highly respected minister, and had great power, but when he collapsed, nothing could save him. Even repairing ancestral graves, looking at feng shui, and worshiping masters could not make him understand that he was an earthen vessel. Too fragile.

Where is the problem? The problem is that these people do not know that they are earthen vessels. Perhaps they know it, but they have not found the treasure. Without a treasure in hand, even if you have power, money, or connections, you cannot protect yourself.

Recently, I penned a Weibo post: The end of a matter is better than its beginning and process. If the ending is not good, all is vanity! We Chinese know this as 'not ending well,' which is a tragic thing.

Why do I say these things? It is to awaken everyone, to know that our lives are short, that we are merely earthen vessels, to know our limitations, to know that we need God, need God's power! We humans are just humans, all very fragile. The things that humans invent themselves cannot solve our problems. If people know that they lack treasure, they will seek and explore. It is lamentable if they know they lack it, yet mock those of us who have treasure, saying things they do not even know they are saying.

The Bible speaks truly. Isaiah 40:6-8: A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. Isa 40:7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. Isa 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

We must cry out, proclaim that man is but an earthen vessel, but grass. We do not just cry out and be done with it; we want people to know that we have treasure in our hearts! We want them to know that they, like us, need treasure.

Before my father-in-law passed away from cancer, the most painful thing was for us. Seeing our loved one in pain. If we, like those doctors, could only helplessly wait for death to arrive, then so be it. But we clearly knew that we had treasure in our hearts, we clearly knew that if he only accepted the healing of Jesus Christ, he could live, but he refused to choose this treasure. It was truly painful in our hearts!

Brothers and sisters, do not continue to be foolish people! Know that you are earthen vessels, know that you need God, need God to dwell within us, need this treasure!

5 But We Have Treasure Within

Treasure in Earthen Vessels and the Price to Pay

The porcelain bowls I used when I was young were very fragile, just porcelain. They often broke when dropped on the ground. Later, someone researched a secret formula, adding some rare metals to the porcelain. These porcelain bowls generally did not break when dropped. Because these rare metals were added to the porcelain, to the earthen vessel! That rare metal became the treasure of this porcelain, of this earthen vessel. It could greatly increase the strength of this earthen vessel, this porcelain. We humans are the same. We are originally earthen vessels, very cheap earthen vessels, worthless. But if we have treasure within us, this earthen vessel has power!

Brothers and sisters, you and I are no different from the people on the street. We are all people of flesh and blood. A needle prick will hurt and draw blood. A knife cut is the same. We are still weak when we encounter difficulties, and sometimes we are afraid. But if we have this treasure within us, we are different from the people on the street!

I was thinking, if I did not know God, did not have this treasure, what would I feel when encountering so many people in need of ministry? A cancer patient comes, helpless! Someone with a herniated disc, in excruciating pain, comes, helpless! Someone with mental illness, depression, comes, helpless!

I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to know the Lord Jesus. I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to serve the Lord Jesus. I know that I have received treasure within me. Facing any kind of problem, I am no longer afraid. I know that in my Lord Jesus, all things can be overcome! In my practice of the faith of Jesus Christ, in His promises, what I see is the faithful God! His promises are all true, all faithful!

I have many plans. One of them is to write a book called The Organizational Structure of Demons. Having fought so many battles with demons, I have gained many insights. Do you know that the demon of cancer is a very small demon? But even this small demon can torment people to the brink of death. It is quite a struggle. The demon behind the problem of herniated discs is also a small demon, and easy to deal with. Computer games, mental illness, depression, pain, are all easy to deal with. Because I have treasure within me, the treasure of casting out demons. I am beginning to understand some of the organizational structure of demons. Some demons are more difficult to deal with. It is very interesting that those problems that seem hopeless to people, the demons behind them are not large. But those demons behind problems that seem not very big to people are difficult to deal with. Such as the spirit of deception, the spirit of atheism, the spirit of religion, and the like. These require much warfare.

In any case, we are people who have treasure in our hearts! Everyone must make good use of this treasure! We are originally earthen vessels, but because we have treasure, we have become glorious vessels, powerful channels that can bless people! We have become people who bring hope, who bring expectation, who bring blessings to people!

Some Christians, although they are Christians, do not know that they have treasure in their hearts. The gospel they have heard is not the powerful gospel that Paul preached. What they have received is religion, not life! Anyone who preaches a gospel different from what Paul preached, anyone who preaches a gospel without power, is accursed, even if they are good people!

Did you know that even the Chinese legend of the Treasure Basin reflects the key to using treasure – first pay the price! When Shen Wan-san's daughter-in-law washed her face, a gold ring fell into the Treasure Basin, and as a result, many gold rings were scooped out. If nothing is put in, even if it is a treasure basin, nothing will come out. Today, I want to teach everyone to start paying the price. Last Sunday, Dean Xie Hongzhong shared Gaining the Gates of the Enemy. Abraham offered his only son Isaac, and regained his son, and also gained the gates of the enemy. Some people say, what is gaining the gates of the enemy? It is being able to overcome the enemy, to gain the enemy's territory! Are you willing to offer your most precious thing? If you are willing, say a prayer with me.

Offer the Most Precious, Gain the Treasure of Life

Lord Jesus, I thank you that you have given me the treasure of life. I want to emulate Abraham, and offer you my most precious things, so that I may gain a wise heart, know how to use this treasure, and also know that I have treasure within me! Amen!

6 Through This Earthen Vessel, God's Great Power Will Be Manifest, This Is From God, Not From Us!

Treasure Tried by God and the Ability to Serve

What is this treasure? This is the treasure that manifests God's power!

In fact, brothers and sisters, it is not a problem for God to overcome the devil. But for weak people to overcome the devil, that is God's wisdom!

We were originally weak, but because Jesus Christ became flesh, died for us, and died on the cross for us, paying the price for our sins, and rose again from the dead on the third day, representing us humans, overcoming the power of the devil, and also giving us this overcoming power!

Brothers and sisters, why is there such a strong presence of God in our ministry today? It is because God has tried us and approved us. This power is from God! It is God who examines our motives, examines our thoughts and intentions. It is that we have obtained God's seal of approval before God! If I emulate Paul's ministry, God will bestow treasure, bestow power, bestow grace. Even if some people say good or bad, what does it matter! Because God has approved us. Brothers and sisters, I wish that you would all offer yourselves in this way, offering your lives as a living sacrifice to God, as Paul did, and God will surely cause the treasure within you to radiate the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead! Amen!

Why did Paul's ministry have such great power? In 1 Thessalonians 2:3-8, the secret of this power is revealed!

1Th 2:3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive. 1Th 2:4 But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 1Th 2:5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 1Th 2:6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 1Th 2:7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 1Th 2:8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

First: Our motive is to please God! Second, our ministry is like a nursing mother caring for her own children. Third, we are willing to lay down our lives!

Then this treasure will surely radiate God's glorious power! Amen!

Paul, in the face of a group of people criticizing him, vehemently defended himself. What was he defending? It was that the power of my ministry comes from God! It is because God has tried us and approved us! Today, I also tell everyone, God has also tried us and approved us!

Tell the person next to you, God has already tried you and approved you!

7 Conclusion: Knowing That We Have Treasure, We Are Bold and Fearless!

Manifesting God's Power in Difficulties

2Co 4:5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 2Co 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 2Co 4:8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 2Co 4:9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 2Co 4:10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 2Co 4:11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Have you encountered a situation that makes you despair? I want to tell you that you have treasure within you! Have you encountered a situation where you are afflicted in every way? You will certainly not be crushed! Are you being persecuted? God will certainly not forsake you. Are you struck down? But not destroyed! Since we carry in our body the death of Jesus, the life of Jesus will also be manifested in our bodies! Be strong, be men! In order that the power that raised Jesus from the dead may also be manifested in your bodies, carry the marks of the death of Jesus! This is our ministry, Amen!