Introduction

Good morning, everyone. I am very happy to meet you all again. Some time ago, we talked about the series on loving God, a total of six lectures. Now we continue with the seventh lecture in the series on loving God, called Do Not Love the World! If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. People have different pursuits in life and therefore different outcomes. It's like walking north, and as you walk, you arrive in Beijing. If you walk south, you eventually reach Hainan Island. In other words, if your direction is different, your destination will be different. The way you see things, even the way you see everything, changes. This sounds a bit abstract, like something a philosopher would say.

My message on Do Not Love the World has had a profound impact on me, so profound that it is etched in my memory! Why is it so deeply ingrained? Because it can lead to death! In the process of believing in the Lord, I have personally witnessed one tragedy after another. These tragedies are so deeply etched in my mind that I often tell people that when I first became a pastor, I thought it was a very noble and lofty calling. But after a while, after having some contact and understanding with them, I realized that pastors are also human. But in the beginning, I thought they were almost like divine beings. In their words and actions, however, their preferences were revealed.

For example, one pastor was particularly fond of cars, and later he had a car accident, resulting in the destruction of the car and his death. There was a couple next to me who also loved cars, and they also had a car accident, resulting in the destruction of the car and their deaths. I attended both funerals, and seeing their faces through the coffin was like looking at a car crash scene! It was terrifying! So this event is etched in my memory! Do not love the world, do not love houses, do not love cars, do not love too much that you should not love, because loving those things can lead to death! If you ask me if there is any scientific basis for this, I would say absolutely not. That's just what I thought at the time. If you ask me why I thought that way, I couldn't answer because I was a new believer. The First Epistle of John says, Do not love the world or the things in the world, and that's where the title of my message comes from.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15 NKJV)

This sounds quite shocking! I believe that among us, there are many brothers and sisters who love the world ten percent and love God ninety percent; or love the world twenty percent and love God eighty percent. As long as there is love for the world and the things in the world, it does not belong to God. In my ministry, my mother was a person who loved the world, and so she developed dementia in her old age. Later, I figured out what dementia was all about. How did I figure it out? I came to believe that dementia is caused by a demon. Because she often said nonsensical things, although they weren't coherent, I knew that it wasn't my mother speaking, but something else. Because I have a relatively deep understanding of the spiritual world, I knew at a glance that it was a demon.

Later, in the process of casting out demons, I solved the problem of dementia. In other words, the reason my mother can live normally is because the demon of dementia was cast out. When the demon came, my mother became demented, and when I cast the demon out, my mother became normal, which is very interesting. The final conclusion is that it is the Spirit who gives life! Loving the world attracts demons! Why do car accidents happen? Because loving the world attracts this kind of demon. Looking at the tragedies of the world, the ups and downs of human life, behind them all are spirits manipulating them! So people's perceptions of things are often not verified.

Loving the world attracts demons. What verification has this undergone? Through my ministry, I have repeatedly discovered that loving the world not only attracts demons, but also brings many diseases and many serious problems. If you ask me what method I use to study, I use the method of Jesus Christ. So brothers and sisters, I give you a piece of advice: many things are just what we think, we just see the surface of things. If we use a specific term to describe it, it is to see only the surface of things, but not to grasp the essence, which is metaphysics.

Regarding the matter of disease, behind it is a spirit. This is why Jesus trained his twelve disciples to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons; and he trained seventy disciples to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons; because healing the sick and casting out demons are very spiritual things. People's understanding of things is best examined from multiple perspectives. I use spiritual laws to examine them, not worldly or carnal laws, but according to the way and style of Jesus Christ's work.

So brothers and sisters, I know that you have many questions in your hearts, and I hope to be able to answer these questions. The reason behind these questions lies entirely in what we are pursuing. If we love the world, it cannot be explained by the doctrines of God; if we love God, viewing things in God's way, those who love the world cannot understand. One is to look at this life from the perspective of this life, and one is to look at this life from the perspective of eternal life; one is to look at the world and the things of the world from a spiritual perspective, and one is to look at the world and the things of the world from a carnal perspective. It is impossible to reconcile them within us. Sometimes, we have some mistaken ideas in our minds, and I want to correct them. If you hear that loving the world will cause car accidents and death, you will be confused, because they can cite a thousand or ten thousand examples of people who did not die.

One day, a sister came to me and said, Teacher, do you know what? So-and-so couple left our church, and they are doing very well! Do you expect them to be doing poorly? They are doing well, and I thank God! Later, another person left the church, and those who didn't leave said to me, Teacher, they are doing very well! I said, What do you expect? Do you expect them to be doing poorly? In fact, behind this lies a very deep meaning.

Some time ago, this sister often went out to movies and dinners with those sisters who had left the church. Later, she said to me, Teacher, they are living so well! I asked, Do you want to go with them? I understand that we have many questions in our minds, but what is the problem? What logical system are we using to look at this matter? For example, Adam and Eve, God commanded them, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die. (Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV). As a result, Eve ate it, and after eating it, she was confused. Because God said that she would die after eating it, but now she hadn't died and was still alive.

In Eve's concept, after eating it, her legs would kick, her eyes would close, and she would fall to the ground foaming at the mouth. That's what we humans thought, but it turned out not to be! Adam lived to be over nine hundred years old before he died. If you stand in the eternal world to look at the fruit that Adam ate at that time, you will not be confused, but Adam and Eve at that time were full of confusion. So we are talking about the seventh lecture in the series on loving God, Do Not Love the World. If we add a little more, it would be called Do Not Love the World or the Things in the World. Why? Because it can lead to death! The lead to death thing is very interesting! Why? A very naughty child came to me, and I took a stick and gestured at him, and he immediately became well-behaved. The child's mother was very strange as to why the child became well-behaved. Why didn't he listen to what she said? The child said, If the stick hits me, I will die!

People's understanding of things often fails to grasp the essence. If a person gets a serious illness, it is not at the moment they arrive at the hospital that they get cancer, but it is the result of accumulation over time that eventually becomes cancer. All things are the result of prolonged accumulation that produces a serious problem. Some time ago, a building collapsed. That building had been there for many years. Why did it collapse? Because the steel inside was rotten. Was it the work of one day? No! Was it one year? No, it was many years! So, we should look at things from a long-term perspective.

Scripture

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15 NKJV)

Prayer

O God! We come before You, may Your Word illuminate us. O God! May Your Spirit of revelation come upon us, so that we can open our spiritual eyes and see how much Your anger is provoked by loving the world and the things in the world. O God! Let us restore more of our love for You, let the love for the world in our hearts become less and less, and the love for You become more and more. O God! Work in us, do this wonderful thing in us. O God! Save us from all worldly logic, that we may live out Your will. O God! May the good plans You have for us be accomplished through Your power. O God! Because You have good plans for us, we have hope in this world! O God, may we come before You in the days to come and receive praise and a crown of glory! In the name of Jesus Christ! Amen!

Scripture Background

The First Epistle of John was written about fifty years after Jesus was crucified, around the same time as the Gospel of John. John lived to a very old age. He was about twenty years old when Jesus was crucified, and over eighty years old when he wrote the First Epistle of John. In his lifetime, he personally witnessed Jesus being crucified, the Holy Spirit descending on the church in Jerusalem, and the church declining from its peak. The great joke that the Jerusalem church made because of the problem of food was a profound impression! John personally witnessed the decline of the Jerusalem church in these years, and he also personally witnessed the churches established by the Apostle Paul. He saw a lot of things.

It is not that John had not read Paul's epistles. He must have read a lot. Paul died about thirty years after the Lord Jesus was crucified, and John lived to be about sixty years after the Lord Jesus was crucified. The John who wrote Revelation knew the word overcoming very clearly, which is why Revelation speaks of the revelation of the overcoming church, and not of other things. At this time, John saw many people leaving the church, which is similar to the situation today.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. (1 John 2:19-21 NKJV)

What is the reason John wrote the First Epistle of John? Because many people were leaving the church, which confused many people. They felt that the end of the people who left should be like Judas betraying Jesus, and then hanging himself. But the result was not. These people seemed to be thriving after they left, which was really confusing. But the truth is not like this! It's not that they are living well. When you interact with them again, you will find that they still think they are Christians and they have built their own church and preached another gospel. John wrote to those in the church, dividing people into those who love the world and those who do not love the world.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15 NKJV)

It is not right to say that you have to have not a single bit of love for the world to be called loving God. John is saying that wherever you do not love God, wherever you love the world, that place does not love God. People do not go from loving the world to loving God all at once. It is a long process. For example, sometimes a person loves God fifty percent and loves the world fifty percent; and then it becomes fifty-one percent love for God and forty-nine percent love for the world. John is not writing this because you have a part of your heart that loves the world, and you are still dealing with it, and then saying that you do not love God. Rather, he is saying that wherever you love the world, that place does not love God. So let's think about it, and don't create confusion in this place.

At that time, those people left the church, established another church, and preached another gospel. This is the same situation that Paul faced in the early days. John personally witnessed the entire process of Paul establishing the church. The church in Jerusalem was persecuted, and these people went everywhere. Peter and John were like this. The places they went were often taken in by the churches established by Paul. So after seeing it with their own eyes, this struggle between loving the world and loving God has never stopped, especially in John's time, the persecution and the state of the church was quite difficult. In this context, John wrote the First Epistle of John, and its theme is Do Not Love the World or the Things in the World! What does it mean to love the world? What does it mean not to love the world?

But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 2:5-6 NKJV)

This is the same as what we said, the result of living it out is not based on your behavior, so living it out is like Jesus; but because it is based on faith, the result of living it out is like Jesus. Do as Jesus did. This is the consistent view of John and the Apostle Paul. In other words, to walk as the Lord walked is to love God, and those who love God abide in the Lord and will walk as the Lord walked. John wrote this with profound meaning! Why? Because many people do not walk as the Lord walked! The spiritual warfare today is very intense. Do many churches walk as the Lord walked?

They think they are walking as the Lord walked, but Jesus spoke half of the content of the four Gospels about healing the sick and casting out demons, and they have eliminated healing the sick and casting out demons. Can that be called walking as Jesus walked? I think this is a fairly controversial point of view! The standard mentioned in the First Epistle of John is very high. But we must know that the standard mentioned in the First Epistle of John is consistent with the standard that Jesus spoke. The standard that Jesus Christ spoke is not a compromise standard, and the standard in the First Epistle of John is not a compromise standard either. Isn't this very challenging?

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we must constantly deal with the love of the world and the worldly heart. We now divide these things into many levels. For example, the discernment of good and evil, the indulgence of the flesh, and the love of the world are all serious matters. Every time I lead in prayer, many brothers and sisters experience dizziness, headaches, and blurred vision. These problems are either due to indulging the flesh, loving the world, or discerning good and evil. Last night, a sister called me, and I spent several hours in prayer with her before she was delivered. But the problem is, these illnesses are the best evidence of the love of the world, the indulgence of the flesh, and the discernment of good and evil within us.

The Angle of Perceiving Things

Loving God must be rooted and grounded. How can a blind person love God? To think that loving God is the same as loving the world, and that loving the world is also called loving God, is utter chaos and a lack of understanding. Therefore, the angle from which we perceive things is crucial. The angle of perception is critical! For example, when we stand from a worldly perspective, from the perspective of this life, to look at these things, our way of explaining these problems is completely different from standing from a spiritual perspective, an eternal perspective, God's perspective, and the results we obtain are also completely different.

Our view of things is often limited by the angle from which we view them. For example, a plane, when viewed from the side, appears very thin, but when viewed from the front, it turns out to be so large! It's like the blind men and the elephant. Different people touch different parts of the elephant's body. The one who touches the leg says the elephant is like a tree; the one who touches the ear says the elephant is like a fan; the one who touches the tusk says the elephant is like a thick, smooth stick. The angle of perceiving things is often like the blind men and the elephant. So, when we say not to love the world, from the perspective of this life, you will feel that if I don't love the world, what do I love? The problem becomes very serious.

The angle of perceiving problems determines our method of perceiving things. For example, if we believe that there is no spirit in this world and that everything is material, then we will look at it from a material perspective and think that a person's genes determine their character. The idea that matter determines everything has not been proven. Standing from a spiritual perspective, that it is the Spirit that gives life, we arrive at a completely different conclusion. Therefore, their different angles of perceiving things lead to completely different conclusions.

The Angle of Perceiving Things Determines the Method of Perception

If you are confused about not loving the world, it is because you are standing at a different angle. I tell you, the method of perceiving things is to look at them from a completely different angle. Traditional Chinese medicine has its own method of perceiving things, and Western medicine has its own method of perceiving things. Traditional Chinese medicine, a medical system that has been circulating in China for so many years, has lost many traditional therapies. But in China, traditional Chinese medicine has survived, and there are still many prejudices about it. Why? Because traditional Chinese medicine looks at problems through the lens of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. Some people will argue that Yin and Yang and the Five Elements have not won the Nobel Prize, and they cannot become science. This is a matter that cannot be debated. I have witnessed many subtle ways in which traditional Chinese medicine solves problems. The method of perceiving things is closely related to your angle of perceiving things, that is, how you perceive it determines how you understand it.

What is our method of perceiving things? Why do we say we cannot love the world? Why are we discussing this topic? Because I follow what Jesus did, and this is what emerges! Let's look at COVID-19 again. It is related to the spiritual realm, it is lao ma, and lao ma is very bad. Last night, I ministered to a brother who was covered in hives. Those were the worms of hell, evil spirits! How can I understand these problems? You ask me what method I use to see them, do I use a microscope? How can a microscope see them? So, some people's methods of perceiving things limit their understanding of things.

What method do I use to perceive things? I follow Jesus' method. If you look at what Jesus did from a material perspective, you will not be able to understand it at all. For example, when a child died, Jesus took his hand and he came back to life. There were no tubes, no procedures, he just came back to life. Many people will find that impossible. Many times, we see that those who came to Jesus for healing were healed. If we look at these things with human eyes, we will feel very confused. I follow what Jesus taught, and wonders and miracles abound.

Someone said to me, Teacher, I want to tell you a testimony that might become material for your sermon today. I said, Tell me. He said that his fingers were very swollen every day when he worked. To heal his fingers, he tried many remedies and applied various ointments, but it didn't work. This person is very serious about discerning good and evil. When people discern good and evil often it will trigger very serius bodily reaction. Jesus Christ tells us that it is the Spirit who gives life. I told this man that he was discerning good and evil, but he didn't admit it.

The other day, he said that the people he worked with were bullying him, and he struggled in his heart, wanting to confront them. They quarreled endlessly. Later, he found his pastor to pray for him and resolved to reject the discernment of good and evil. In the past, his fingers were very swollen every morning when he woke up, and it was very painful to work. This morning, his fingers were much better, with only a little swelling left. The degree to which his fingers improved was almost the same as the degree to which he dealt with the discernment of good and evil.

Do you ask me if this method of perceiving things is scientific? The result of practice shows that it is scientific. Don't think that what is reasoned out in the mind is science. The result of practice is science! Brothers and sisters, you must know what science is. If a new drug is effective for 30% of people and has side effects for 70% of people, then I ask you, does this drug grasp the essence of the disease? No! Can everyone understand what I'm saying?

I use a switch as an analogy. If you press the power button and the phone should turn on, what if the phone can be turned on 50% of the time, and 50% of the time it cannot be turned on? Then I ask you, can this phone still be used? It's broken. If a calculator shows 1+1=2 50% of the time, and 1+1=3, 4, 5... 50% of the time, then the calculator is broken. Why is the cure rate for diseases sometimes 30%, sometimes 40%, and sometimes 70%? The reason is very simple: the results of practice cannot achieve 100%. If the switch can be turned on 70% of the time and cannot be turned on 30% of the time, would that be scary? Therefore, once you find the law of perceiving things, you can repeat the practice.

You ask me if my practical results can be repeated. I say they can be repeated and can be replicated on a large scale. For example, if everyone is healed, and there are still some who are not healed, we will correct these interfering factors. My method of perceiving things is to look at problems from a spiritual perspective. Because from childhood to adulthood, I have had a strong curiosity about the spiritual realm, because I have seen that fortune tellers are generally accurate because they are prophets. Some people disagree and think it is just blind guessing or coincidence. I don't think so. They can't just make things up because there is spiritual control behind it, and they are viewing the lower dimension from a higher dimension. So, the problems of disease and love of the world can be explained. And the practice can be proven. This is what I think is the method of perceiving things.

Loving the world attracts demons! Some people say that those who do not believe in the Lord are living well, but there are many tragedies in the world. I think many people see things in a one-sided, isolated, and unconnected way. A young man made a lot of money starting a business, bought a sports car, and took a carload of people out for drinks on the second day of the New Year. As a result, there was a car accident. The day before the car accident, he was living well, but the car accident changed everything. I need you to understand that you think others are living well, that's because you haven't lived long enough. If you live long enough, you will find that the end of loving the world is not good.

A person who loves the world and becomes an official will be a corrupt official; a person who loves the world and does business will be a treacherous merchant; a person who loves the world and becomes a doctor will be a doctor in an unscrupulous system; if a person who loves the world opens a hospital, that hospital is an unscrupulous hospital. Isn't that fatal? It's bad enough from a human perspective, but it's even worse from a spiritual perspective. Therefore, in this world, we must constantly summarize the events that have happened throughout history. What can you summarize? Your confusion about many problems is because you see things in a one-sided, isolated, and unconnected way. I'm talking about a philosophical concept. I encourage everyone to develop the concept of philosophical thinking.

How People Are Deceived

People are easily deceived because they look at problems from a worldly perspective. Like the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are all a kind of people's love of the world. People value the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. That is why people are deceived. What they speak of is reason, but they don't see things in the long term, nor do they see the connections between things. For example, with regard to birth, old age, sickness, and death, many people think this is the law of nature. I then ask you, How about the SARS in 2003? How did it come and how did it leave? No one has explained it clearly. The current coronavirus is still there. Have people figured out what is going on with this coronavirus? It is still not clear how it came, when it will leave; mankind has no way to control it.

Because people look at problems from a worldly, material perspective. If you stand from a worldly, material perspective, this is a virus, but if you stand from a spiritual perspective, this coronavirus is an evil spirit, is the spirit of lao ma! If you look at problems from a worldly perspective, then the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are extremely important. But if a person looks at things from eternity, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life will pass away, and only those who do the will of God will live forever. It depends on what you want. If you want this life, you will definitely be confused when you look at problems.

Because Jesus spoke of the way of eternal life, many people could not listen to it. Jesus watched these people leave one by one. People are looking for bread, and Jesus is talking about the Way. People think, can the Way be eaten? This suddenly left Jesus speechless. Seeing fewer and fewer people around him, Jesus did not care at all, and even asked Peter and John whether to go or stay, and he wouldn't keep them if they wanted to leave. Of course, this is what I said myself. Maybe the words are a little rough, but that's not important. The question is, what is people's pursuit? We pursue the way of eternal life, we look at problems from a spiritual perspective, and we examine problems from the point of view revealed by Jesus. How can you be deceived? People are deceived entirely because of what they need.

If you want something that you think is important, I may not think it is important. You take what you think is important, and I take what I think is important. That's all there is to it. I think living is vanity of vanities, so I have seen through many things in the world. Because my way and point of view of seeing things are different. But we must know that the demons attracted by loving the world explain all the tragedies in the world. If you go to the hospital and see people with tubes inserted, receiving chemotherapy, or receiving electrotherapy, these people give money to the hospital and find the best doctors, but is the problem solved? The problem in the spiritual world is not solved. But people are deceived like this, and they don’t know what’s going on till they die. There are many people who die in confusion in this life. Because they live in confusion and deception, how can people not be deceived if they regard absurd things as truth?

Detailed Investigation is Needed

Don't think that detailed investigation is something that a scientist or a certain party does. Everyone should learn to investigate. After our detailed investigation, if you were to become an official, would you still be a corrupt official? If you continue to be a corrupt official after your investigation, then take your time to think about it. So I want to make a conclusion. The result of my detailed investigation is to do what Jesus did. Look at 1 John 2:6, is it saying this: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. That is what Jesus said, to walk as Jesus dide is the command that Bible taught us. Is what Jesus did good? Yes! If you carefully investigate the fate of those who love the world, their fate will not be good.

To love God is to do what God says, to love the world is to do what the world says, to love the world is to value the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. You have to carefully investigate these things. If you don’t live for long enough, you can’t investigate. If you live long enough, like old John, you will investigate these things very clearly and witness so many things with your own eyes. You will understand that doing what Jesus did is a choice of understanding. We can choose to love God, so that our love for God is rooted and grounded, not a blind love. To love God is to do what God says. It can not only be explained, but also have practical results, and see God's grace with our own eyes, and see God's power manifested among us.

In the past years, I have led prayer meetings and there have been very many people who have been healed. Do you want to be like me? If you want to be the person such as Jesus, the Apostle Paul, and old John, then start right now and don’t spend a lot of your time in the love of the world. Some people will say, what should I do with my work, then do a good job. After investigating the end of the love of the world, you will still love the world? Don’t think that there will not be a price to pay for loving the world. Loving the world will pay a heavy price, and will bring about very evil spirits.

May God bless you all!