Introduction

Good day to you all! The sermons I have been delivering recently have been closely related. The topic of this sermon is: Take heed that no one deceives you. We Chinese people enjoy watching skits because they convey a certain flavour. A few days ago, I played a skit performed by Zhao Benshan, it was truly excellent! Zhao Benshan and Fan Wei played the roles of big swindler and small swindler (that is, scammers). I watch it and laugh every time, it's very amusing. This skit was probably recorded seventeen or eighteen years ago, it was a programme on the Spring Festival Gala, very classic. What is the most abundant thing in the world? Scammers, so people are easily deceived if they are not careful.

Why are there so many scammers? Because by scamming people, a lot of money goes into their own accounts. Recently, there have been many online scams. A certain bank's customer was scammed of S$8.5 million, it's truly hard to guard against! There's a saying: The Dao is one foot tall, the Devil is ten feet high! No matter how high your Daoist cultivation is, the scammer's magic is always much higher than yours. If a person's brain is not clever enough, not sharp enough, they will likely be scammed.

How about we try a test? I'll test everyone's IQ, this is learned from Zhao Benshan: There's one monkey on the ground, and qí monkeys in the tree, how many monkeys are there in total? Some people say eight. Wrong, there are two in total. Because the qí monkeys in the tree are riding monkeys. Let me test everyone again: There's one monkey on the ground, and qí monkeys in the tree, how many monkeys are there in total? Some people say two, wrong! This time there are seven monkeys in the tree. This is a brain teaser! Here comes another one: There's one monkey on the ground, and qí monkeys in the tree, how many monkeys are there in total? Answer eight, wrong again, because one of them is pregnant. The tricks scammers use are even more numerous than these, I'm just quoting a little bit. So people need to be careful. If there are trees on both sides while you are driving, you need to be careful, don't mistake the red monkey butt for a red light.

Why are there so many scammers in this world? Because scamming is a very easy way to make money, often hundreds of thousands or millions come into the account. It's so difficult to earn money through hard work! One year I went home, my mother pointed outside the window and said: There's a shop opened over there called Happy Old Mum. When I heard this name, it sounded like a scammer. What Happy Old Mum? In the end, the old mum cried. My mother also kept telling me that she wanted to invest a little, so I told her not to invest, it's a scammer. If people always want to earn easy money, they are not far from being scammed. Sure enough, when I went back the following year, Happy Old Mum had closed down and changed to something else. Where did it go? It scammed enough, closed shop. Many elderly people put in all their savings.

At first, people invested ten thousand, and after two weeks they got back twenty thousand. Wow! Everyone knew this news, they invested ten thousand, twenty thousand. As a result, they invested twenty thousand again, and got back forty thousand. When they invested forty thousand again, did you think they could get eighty thousand back? Not even ten thousand was left, and finally it closed down! Many elderly people lost everything, crying!

Why is this happening? It's still because people always want to take shortcuts. Whether it's scammers or those being scammed, they deserve it! So I am preaching Take heed that no one deceives you. It's the same on the path of faith, there are the most scammers on the path of faith. One year I went home, my mother happily showed me a very big ring. I asked her what was going on? She said she picked up a ring. I looked at the ring on her finger was gone, where did it go? It turned out she had met a scammer, the two rings looked almost the same colour, but one was gold and the other was copper. She took the copper ring for a gold ring, and her gold ring was taken away by the scammer, and she thought she had taken advantage. Later, I bought her another one, otherwise the old woman would feel uncomfortable.

There are plenty of people among us who have been scammed, and now our pastors are ministering. Some time ago, someone invested, and as a result, seventy thousand was gone, and some people invested and three million was gone, all by name. You must be careful, lest anyone deceives you. If you are not careful and are deceived, you will be back to square one overnight, wouldn't that be your own fault? Our brothers and sisters must be careful.

A mother said that she wanted to invest, and I asked her what the return on investment was? She said one hundred and ten percent, I heard a little dodgy. Warren Buffett can only achieve a return of twenty percent a year, to that extent, many people spend hundreds of thousands to buy a ticket to have a meal with Buffett. If your investment can have a return of one hundred and ten percent, wouldn't it be more impressive than Buffett? Then people should all come to you for dinner, how come they don't? Are you stupid! You must be careful, lest anyone deceives you. What is the most abundant thing on the path of faith? Scammers. There are many people who are deceived on the path of faith, and there are also many who deceive people. You need to know that on the path of faith, false prophets, false Christs, false apostles, and false Christians are everywhere, so you must be careful.

Anyone who wants to take a shortcut is basically about to be scammed. Those who serve want to take shortcuts, and those who are served also want to take shortcuts, then it's basically over. How can you avoid being scammed? Is it not being scammed if you don't encounter a scammer? Actually, it's not. Be cautious. I really want to train everyone to be people who scammers don't want to scam.

There is a sentence in the Bible that says: Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. (Matthew 24:28)

Where there is a dead body, there will be eagles and crows circling in the sky, because the corpse is there. If you are a dead person, you attract crows and eagles. If you are a person who wants to take a shortcut, you attract scammers. If you are a cautious person, what do you attract? A scammer tries to scam me, it will be a lot of effort!

If you are scammed out of all your savings as soon as you encounter a scammer, who can you reason with? We minister to a sister, originally her child was possessed by a demon and had a mental illness, we told her to come over, but she said let the child come by himself, because she was very busy and had to go to Guangxi. I asked her what she was going to do? She said there was an investment opportunity, that opportunity was very good. Before long, seventy thousand went down the drain, isn't that her own fault?

You know, many years ago, one place in China was the most chaotic, that was the train station. That place was very chaotic. If you nervously clutching a bag, in a hurry, then it's over! Scammers will be attracted immediately. We previously talked about one monkey on the ground and seven monkeys in the tree, it's hoping that you will learn to be a cautious person, don't be like a monkey. If you are like a monkey, it will be troublesome, and you will attract scammers.

So everyone should start trying to learn to be a cautious person, so that whether the Dao is one foot tall or the Devil is ten feet high, they cannot scam you. If I don't have that greed, that desire, no matter how deep the scammer's skills are, I won't bite the bait. So my original one hundred thousand is still one hundred thousand, seventy thousand is still seventy thousand, three million is still three million, do you understand? So brothers and sisters, start being a cautious person! Be sure to be a cautious Christian.

Scripture

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.(Matthew 24:1-4)

Did you understand? His disciples said: Please tell us, when will these things happen? What are the signs of your coming and of the end of the world? Jesus did not answer this matter. Jesus answered: You must be careful, lest anyone deceives you. Do you see most deception is happening on the day of the Lord Jesus' return? Too many are being deceived.

Prayer

God! open our minds, let us be a cautious person, let us be a person of insight, let us be a person of loyalty, let us be able to do as you say and be a wise virgin, always preparing for your return. God! help us, give us wisdom and intelligence, let us know how to manage what you have entrusted to us.

God! let us be able to serve in every service in a down-to-earth way, let us always be vigilant and pray, lest we fall into deception. God! remove the hypocrisy within us, tear down the logic of hypocrisy within us. God! save us from all this deception, let us be cautious, vigilant, and constantly implement according to your words. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Scripture Background

If you read the Bible carefully, the scripture we are talking about is Matthew chapter 24, verses 1 to 4. What did chapter 23 talk about? Talked about woe to the hypocrites. Brothers and sisters, take a moment to review your past experiences. Are there more people who build God's church hypocritically? Or are there more people who truly build the church according to God's word? Of course, there are more hypocrites.

Are there more Abrahams in this world? Or are there more ordinary people? Of course, there are more people who are not like Abraham. So brothers and sisters, be especially careful! Be careful of hypocrisy. So when Jesus came out of the temple, the disciples pointed to the temple. In those days, the temple was not only a landmark building, but also the tallest and most upscale building in the city, very magnificent, and it took decades to build. But Jesus pointed to the temple and said: Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down. Why tear it down? When we read things, we must connect them. The previous chapter was all about hypocrisy, so if this temple was built on hypocrisy, wouldn't God tear it down?

God does not reside in temples made by human hands at all. So when Jesus came out, he pointed to the temple and said: Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down. The disciples then raised a question, which seemed to be related, and seemed to be unrelated: When will this happen? Then they asked a second question: What are the signs of your coming and of the end of the world? As a result, Jesus answered: You must be careful, lest anyone deceives you. A person who is not cautious will attract scammers, and one scammer is enough to scam a careless person back to square one. Jesus began to talk about the signs of the end of the world:

For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.(Matthew 24:5)

The matter of deceiving people runs through from the beginning of mankind to the return of Jesus, and to the end of the whole world, from beginning to end. The word deception is simply too profound. Who is deceiving people? It is the Devil, Satan. The Devil Satan operates in the hearts of many people, which creates a lot of deception, this is a sign of the end of the world!

Once a person is deceived, what will be the result? Will fall. Look, scammers like me can't deceive at all, it's a little difficult for them to trip me up! But not everyone is so cautious, so they are deceived by ghosts as soon as they are fooled. Even pastors among us must be careful! I once met a Christian who said to me: I am a Christian, I am a believer, it is impossible to fool you, and it is impossible to deceive you. I thought to myself, forget it, the three words Christian are no different from scammers, I don't care whether you are a Christian, don't talk nonsense when you come to me. Because I have a little money in my hand, he asked me if I wanted to invest? Now take out one million, and you can get back three million by the end of the year.

I said: Oh! One million becomes three million, which is more impressive than the one hundred and ten percent return! Can you explain it to me? Why give me such a good opportunity? This inquiry, the scammer can't explain. He is neither related to me nor a friend, how could he give me a good opportunity? How can he be so concerned about making me a wealthy person? If someone is not careful and is deceived by such a scamming Christian, it's over, and they will feel that Christians are not good people. I often encounter these non-believers being deceived by Christians. In fact, when I first came to Singapore, the first person who deceived me was a Christian. I rented his house, and when the time came, he didn't let me move in, and the deposit couldn't be recovered. But the crucifix displayed in his house was very large.

Since then, I have been prejudiced against Christianity. But thank God, he still gave me the opportunity to know him. Scammers will never write on their foreheads: I am a scammer, he will definitely package himself as a very bright angel. The Devil will also not show their fangs and claws and come to you and tell you that they are the devil. Instead, it pretends to be Christ, Christian, and prophet to deceive many people. This thing is too hateful, and many people fall in this way. I once served a person who was in a very miserable situation, with diseases all over his body and joint pain all over his body, one of our sisters in one distant city, she cannot bear children. Both, we ministered too. Later, both of them became children also conceived, and the pain all over the body also got better. As a result, one day, these two sisters added me on the internet, I added you, and they chatted very well.

But what they talked about was not that I had healed their illnesses and driven out the ghosts, but about the prophets in their area. One sister said that there was a prophet in their local area, and the other said that they also had a prophet there. The two talked about it, and their prophets told them that the teacher had problems. As a result, the two people left the church. I was surprised, why didn't the prophet heal the pain in your body and the disease of not being able to bear children? If you believe him, why did you come to me? Now there are many false gospels, and there are also many false prophets. It seems that there are more things that deceive people. Eating and drinking, buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage, planting and building, these are all these things. For example, investing in this and that, isn't this buying and selling?

So brothers and sisters, you should recall Lot's wife. Lot's wife is a typical case of being deceived, and she became a pillar of salt after being deceived by the Devil. We must know that the background of this scripture is before Jesus was crucified, and it is all about being cautious, being vigilant, praying, and being careful, lest you fall into deception. Because once a person is deceived, it is difficult to turn back. So brothers and sisters, be careful, lest anyone deceives you.

Be a Faithful and Wise Servant

Towards the end of chapter 24, Jesus said:

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(Matthew 24:42-51)

You will find that vigilance and hypocrisy are closely related. Everyone should carefully ponder those who are easily deceived all have a bit of hypocrisy, have a bit of wanting to take shortcuts, and don't want to be serious. Don't want to distribute food at the right time in a honest way, don't want to shepherd in a honest way, and don't want to manage God's household in a honest way. Still be responsible when the master is not there, this is called a faithful and wise servant. It's not that the master is coming and you quickly do some superficial work. You don't know when the master is coming, that is to say, you don't know when the master will suddenly stand behind you. So whether the master is there or not, still serve faithfully, and be a faithful and wise servant.

Everyone must know that many people have no knowledge, no loyalty, and no insight. This is a big trouble, things are not clear, and the problem is very serious. I will once again take Peter out to discuss with everyone. Although Jesus chose him to be a great disciple, Paul reminded him more than once. Jesus said: I will build my church on the rock, who did he say it to? Said to Peter. Hope that he and God work together to build the church on the rock, and the power of the underworld cannot overcome it, and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven.

What did Peter do later? Peter is very interesting, interesting in what way? Peter didn't do what he was told. Did he build a decent church? There is no record. The church in Jerusalem later became very desolate, full of Pharisees and a lot of hypocrisy, so the church in Jerusalem later became very poor. Peter took his wife and wandered around in the churches established by Paul. Because Peter had followed Jesus, he had a great influence. When the members of the church saw Peter coming, everyone seemed to greet a saint. So later, the letters of the Apostle Paul repeatedly emphasized that he was an apostle, as if he was arguing about something, as if he had to snatch the title of apostle from others, which was very disturbing.

Because the challenge Paul faced was that he was a disciple who had not followed Jesus, while Peter was a disciple who had followed Jesus. As an ordinary Christian, would be confused when facing this situation? Definitely. So Peter caused a lot of trouble for Paul. Why was Peter like this? Because lacking insight and lack of loyalty, in fact, God had told Peter again and again. Jesus said that he would go to Jerusalem to be crucified, die, be buried, and rise again on the third day. But Peter said that this must never happen, and as a result, Jesus said Satan, get behind me, you only care about the things of man, not the things of God. Peter is a person who only cares about the things of man, does the Lord Jesus know? Know.

So what is the problem with Peter? How did he become like this? He can't see through life and death! Everyone must know that without insight, without knowledge, cannot see through life and death, so they are weak when they encounter problems. Let me ask everyone, what is the difference between living one more day and living one less day? What is the difference between living one more month and living one less month? There is no difference. If you think it's different, it's trouble.

Why did Peter deny the Lord three times? What caused him to deny the Lord three times? It's just lack of insight. Not only lacks insight, but also lacks strength, and does not understand in his heart. What will happen if you acknowledge the Lord Jesus? If you has followed the Lord Jesus and are disciples of the Lord, is there any problem? No problem at all. But he doesn't understand in his heart! Because he doesn't understand what will happen? So he cursed and swore that he didn't know Jesus.

Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.(Matthew 26:74)

Jesus was nearby at the time, he looked up at him, and when the two looked at each other, Peter was very embarrassed, what was the reason? A person without insight will be like this, so people must have insight. Later, when God had no choice, he chose the Apostle Paul to establish his church, and the Apostle Paul left many letters that became our reference. Peter denied the Lord three times, and many of the things he did lacked insight. Although he had not received much education, but as the days passed, as the years passed, he still needed someone to write for him, he needed a secretary to write, he did not know how to read, did not read, and could not write, and had to dictate to the secretary. Can such a person become a person with insight? Without insight, where does loyalty come from? It is difficult to have loyalty.

What I said may not be so right, but you have to be a faithful and wise person, and distribute food at the right time. Understand things and be a faithful and wise servant, how important it is! Such people are difficult to be deceived. How is it possible to be deceived if you are down-to-earth? Everyone must have insight, and still be responsible when the master is not there.

Be a Wise Virgin, Always Prepare Yourself

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any extra oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ “ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.(Matthew 25:1-13)

====输出开始
Be vigilant at all times! For you do not know the day or the hour. Therefore, always be prepared. Later, I discovered that among the brothers and sisters I pastor, some are not always prepared. When they do something, they like to make a movement, shouting slogans: Lord! Even if everyone else falls, I will not! This is useless. Immediately afterward, they deny the Lord three times.

The Lord Jesus knew what kind of person Peter was long ago. If we do not do practical work in a down-to-earth manner, and be a faithful and wise servant who distributes food at the proper time, building up the church properly and pastoring God's flock well, how can we be a wise person? What does it mean to have oil in the lamp? It means we have the Spirit of God within us, allowing the Spirit of God to always fill us. Those who are fake cannot be wise!

When the Lord Jesus comes, do they believe in the Lord? These people believe in the Lord! But are they deceived? Yes, they are deceived. Some people deceive them, saying, It doesn't matter, there is enough oil. But as they burn it, it runs out. When the Lord comes again, what will He choose? **Those who can serve God conscientiously and carefully, and are prepared at all times. Not making movements, not shouting slogans, and certainly not bluffing**. If you are someone who shouts slogans, Lord! We are here! The Lord will say, I do not know you. Peter is a very worthy case for us to be vigilant about. Is this case worth our consideration? I have studied this matter quite thoroughly. Why? Because it is mentioned in the Bible, and I will continue to talk about it.

Be a wise virgin, always preparing for the Lord's return. It is like preparing well and serving well as if the Lord Jesus will return at any moment. Lest the Lord says, I do not know you. Not like some people who cry a lot, like Peter's tears. I tell you, did these virgins wait for the Lord Jesus to return? Yes, they did! Did they know the Lord Jesus? Yes, they did! But did they fulfill their duty to be vigilant at all times? No, they did not! In the end, the Lord Jesus said, I do not know you. This is a very serious problem. You must be vigilant! For you do not know the day or the hour.

How many Christians believe they are saved? How many Christians are wise virgins? Not many! A faithful and wise servant is hard to be deceived. A wise virgin is always prepared. Do not speculate, do not try to cut corners, do not think it doesn't matter, thinking you are already saved. Otherwise, if there is no oil in the lamp, when the Lord comes again, the Lord will say, I do not know you. Isn't this being deceived? Isn't this all your previous efforts being wasted? What are they deceived by? **Occupied by the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and a series of other things. Planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage, buying and selling, eating and drinking, with no time to always prepare! And thus they fall into deception**.

## Manage Well What God Has Entrusted to You

If a person manages well what God has entrusted to them, they cannot be deceived. If they are a faithful and wise servant, a wise virgin, they will always be prepared, managing well what God has entrusted to them. In this way, it is difficult for you to be deceived. Who is easily deceived? **Those who like to be hypocritical are easily deceived, those who play at superficiality are easily deceived**. Some people take the responsibility God entrusts to them—one thousand, two thousand, five thousand talents—and make it smaller and smaller until they have nothing left in the end. As for Peter, which church did he pastor? It seems that one cannot find it. There really isn't one. In the process of his service on earth, his bad habit of hypocrisy is clearly recorded in Galatians. What about the responsibility the Lord Jesus gave him when He resurrected and ascended?

Peter was the first to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. God also gave him a vision to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, but what did he do in front of the Gentiles later? He was being a hypocrite. Would that do? Later, as things progressed, Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles, and Peter became the apostle to the Jews. Peter lost the ministry God gave him to serve the Gentiles. Not only did Peter lose the responsibility God entrusted to him to serve the Gentiles, but he also lost his position of managing the church in Jerusalem. To whom was his responsibility entrusted? It was entrusted to James, who became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. How was this work done? How did the responsibility become smaller and smaller? And end up like this?

Because doing what God gives you, managing it diligently, is so tiring! Playing at superficiality is so simple! God knew long ago that Peter's spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak. How many among us have a willing spirit but a weak flesh? Brothers and sisters, observe carefully, are there many pastors like Peter? Yes, there are. Does everyone know what kind of culture I want to build up among us? **That is, to manage well what God has entrusted to you. Do not play at superficiality, do not rely on lip service**. We have a saying in Northeast China: A two-cent teapot has a good mouth. If you only have a good mouth, it is useless. You are just playing at superficiality.

Some people often take what I preach and say, Teacher, you said this. Have you done it? I say, Silly child, this is said to you. People should often think about whether they have fulfilled their responsibility, whether they are making their responsibility smaller and smaller. How many years have you been with us? Have you managed well what God has entrusted to you? To date, who have you successfully pastored? Or have you only done a little? Brothers and sisters, do you know what silver is? You are my silver. I will definitely turn those worth one thousand into two thousand, those worth two thousand into four thousand, and those worth five thousand into ten thousand. This is called pastoring. Do not be lazy! The attitude of many among us toward work and service is very problematic. Does it need to be managed? Yes, it does. Do not become like Peter.

Peter's responsibility became smaller and smaller, and in the end, he was with the Gentiles. Either don't be together, or if you want to be together, you play the hypocrite when people from James come. How can this be done? Isn't that his responsibility? There is no pastoring, only doing some superficial work. Hypocrisy will be torn down. Hypocrisy is abominable in God's eyes. If you do it in a down-to-earth manner, no one can deceive you. Deceive what? Only those who like to take shortcuts, be lazy, cut corners, and do fake things are deceived. Do you understand? Do not do fake things! What happens if you play fake? Can everyone set their heart on loving the Lord our God with all your heart, soul, and strength?

Just these few days, I served a cancer patient. The cancer has spread, and it is very difficult. But I see that this sister is very zealous and is still doing the Genesis Bible study homework for the 003 ministry. When I heard the ministry leader introduce her, my heart was truly moved, so I personally served her. These few days, her body has greatly improved. She even sent me a message in the morning saying that she slept very well last night and did not take any painkillers. I replied to her very directly, The disease is getting better. Prepare yourself well and be a Mingding Destiny person, managing well what God has entrusted to you.

I once met a pastor who was quite abominable. I put a lot of effort into serving his daughter and told this pastor, Pastor, as I serve you today, you should serve others well in the future. But later, when he returned to his church, a sick member sought him out. Not only did he not serve them, but he also said some abominable things, Healing and deliverance are not easy. I cannot pray for you, I cannot serve you. Would that do? **As long as you do not play at superficiality, do not play fake, that is called being cautious, that is called avoiding being deceived**. In this way, you will not think of turning one million into three million suddenly, and others will not be able to deceive you out of your one million.

## Serving People as Serving God

**When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:31-46)**

**Doing it to the least of these brothers is like doing it to God**. Even the brothers and sisters who seem insignificant, serving them is like serving God. That is called a faithful disciple, that is the real deal. It is not serving them because we want to get something from them, but we serve them as we would serve God.

Whether you are the real deal, the demons know, God knows. Like we serve the cancer patient, if you play fake, you cannot release them from the dominion of the devil. Only being the real deal can drive out the devil. Demons will not drive out demons. As long as brothers and sisters stay among us, we will definitely serve them well. Even if you are insignificant, the least among us, we will serve you as we would serve God. This is the culture of our church, do you understand?

I remind everyone among us again, being fake is quite abominable. You better be vigilant. Don't be teary-eyed. Being teary-eyed is useless. Think about who you have served. Once, a brother came a long way to see me, hugging me and crying bitterly. Why? Because his eyes were going blind before, but later he was healed among us, and now his eyes can see. What a great grace! So ask yourself, who have you served until today? Right? Recently, I told his pastor to clean up the pastoral district, and the pastor was going to clean him out because he doesn't serve people, but he is there for eating, drinking, and having fun. Oh, he began to cry bitterly and repent. But where were you earlier? What if your eyes go blind again? I can continue to serve you as I would serve the least of the brothers, but what about you? Do you understand?

There is another quite abominable thing among us. Someone had lost their job, and I said, Come and be my co-worker. I will give you some subsidies. Actually, he was completely unqualified to be my co-worker, but I had to do it this way. He couldn't survive otherwise. I had him lead a 102 ministry class, but he was on Douyin all day, not looking at any class assignments. I was wondering, he is still taking my subsidies? How could such a thing happen? How should one serve people? Shouldn't it be serving people as serving God? I was originally going to say this in the report, but I will tell everyone about it at this time. The church needs to do the work of cleansing again. Not a single hypocrite will be left. Do you want to be a hypocrite and play fake? All will be torn down! Do you understand?

Can we begin to serve people as we would serve God? Not serving someone today and being excited to death, and then not serving them tomorrow. Some brothers and sisters serve people, and it is as difficult to find them as it is to find the mayor or the premier. In the future, God will say, I do not know you. Everyone must rise up to serve, everyone must rise up to grow. Maybe you say I am not serving now, but you must be on the road of growth, moving forward.

If you are lagging behind, wanting to be Lot, I will send you away like Abraham. You go east, I go west; you go south, I go north. We will not interfere with each other. If you are unwilling to be Lot, wanting to be Peter, then you are not qualified yet. Peter was a great disciple of Jesus. At least there is a brand effect there that can deceive some people. Paul could not do anything with him. But you are not!

If you go the way of Peter, always playing fake, playing hypocrisy, sorry, you cannot stay among us. I have already had all the pastors start cleaning up such people. If you have been among us for several years and have not grown, just lagging behind, I can give you a promise: whenever you are sick, look for us to pray. We will serve you the same. Pursue what you should pursue. But as for us, we serve people as we would serve God.

If you are just using your mouth, picking faults here and there, not being practical in your work, not being practical in your ministry, doing a terrible job of pastoring, then it must be dealt with, right? Isn't this deception? Why don't you do this in your work, treating your work as if it were God? If you treat God's affairs as if they were your work, we would be very grateful. Everyone must know that God will tear down hypocrisy.

## God Will Tear Down Hypocrisy

**Jesus said to them, Do you not see all these things? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. (Matthew 24:2)**

God wants to cleanse His church. Do you see God's work in the last days? God will use the pandemic to tear down many churches. The pandemic has become a great test for the church. If the church is one that does practical work, does pastoring, the pandemic cannot crush this church. Not only can the pandemic not strike down such a church, but the church will also grow significantly and grow in this process.

What is to be torn down through the pandemic are those churches that do not do practical work, only do superficial work. If the pastors among us do not do practical work, only do superficial work, God will strike you down, and you will be torn down. Do you have hypocritical elements in you? Do you have elements in you that allow deceivers to find you? Deceivers are always waiting. So wake up, wake up! In the last days, God is doing the work of tearing down. Before the Lord Jesus returns, God must tear down. Do you understand? So what are you being deceived by? There is no need to be deceived!

## Summary

**Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)**

If you wish, you can read from Matthew 26:36-41. What is being said here? Jesus is about to be crucified. Jesus took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to the Garden of Gethsemane:

**And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” (Matthew 26:37-38)**

Now everyone knows why I always single out Peter. Who are they? They are weak people. Our Lord Jesus is truly full of compassion and grace. Jesus took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Jesus was very troubled, sorrowful! Why was Jesus sorrowful? Because you must always be vigilant, lest you enter into temptation. Did they enter into temptation? Peter and the two sons of Zebedee were arguing before Jesus was crucified, who was to be on the left, who was to be on the right, who was to be the greatest? Why don't they argue about being crucified? Why don't they argue about serving well in the church? Why don't they argue about having more responsibility, more grace?

What is being great for? They thought the salary was very high and the work was little. They did not know that the great must serve the small. So if God does not tear down, can it be done? Jesus took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and was very troubled in His heart. Did you think Jesus was troubled because He was being crucified? No, He was troubled for His disciples! Because they are weak.

Brothers and sisters, do not say, My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. Such excuses are useless. Even if you are accused, you should be accused. Crying is useless. Peter denied the Lord three times. Even if the slogan is shouted loudly, I will never fall. The Lord Jesus says, Useless, you will deny Me three times. Even crying to death after denying the Lord three times is useless. Jesus was very troubled for them.

**And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:39-41)**

The second time He went to pray and returned, He saw the disciples sleeping again. They slept so well! The third time He went to pray, it was the same as before. Jesus said to them:

**Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later. (Matthew 26:45)**

What a helpless response from Jesus! Matthew recorded this passage to let us know what it means to be deceived when we read it. It is useless if our heart is willing, but our flesh is weak. Does everyone know that if you have a humble heart, not just caring for yourself, being a servant, serving the least as serving God, being a wise virgin always prepared, being a faithful and wise servant, will you be sleeping like this? No, you will not! How could you be sleeping like this?

The Lord Jesus reminded them several times. What is interesting about the following story is that Peter denied the Lord three times. Later, Peter took his wife to the church established by Paul to live there, asking many people to support them because he was a great disciple of Jesus, causing Paul a lot of trouble. Peter himself wrote, Our beloved brother Paul, what he writes is difficult to understand, and if you misinterpret it, you will bring destruction upon yourself.

Does everyone know what it means to write this? It is to put a fig leaf on himself, but Matthew tore off Peter's fig leaf long ago. Later, what exactly did he do when he established the church? The Bible does not record it, but we now admire Peter for being crucified upside down. He even felt in his heart that he was unworthy to be crucified because he had been playing fake for so many years. It was not until he was about to be crucified that he knew he was unworthy.

At this time, Peter's heart was very painful. I also know that the brothers and sisters among us who are deceived are very painful. Many people ask me, Teacher, how can I not be deceived? It is to **not play fake and move forward one step at a time in a down-to-earth manner. Be a servant and be someone who pays the price**. I am speaking a bit hard-core because I do not want brothers and sisters to become like Peter. I hope that all brothers and sisters can become like Paul.

Not only faithful but also wise, knowledgeable, not living in confusion. Peter did not know how to read. After so many years, he would have been able to write even if he learned one word at a time. In the end, he still had a secretary help him write. How lazy! He could not even fish or write. How many brothers and sisters over seventy years old among us are learning to write and type and can do it now.

Brothers and sisters must know that you must always be vigilant and pray lest you enter into temptation. When you are deceived, although you have that name, you do not have that substance and you will put a fig leaf on yourself. Let us not have the name, not have that superficial thing, but value the name of the Son of God in a down-to-earth manner. Not the superficial name, but value the responsibility God gives us, letting us be vigilant in this world and serve in down-to-earth way. This is my summary. May God bless everyone!