Course Recordings
Q&A Recording (1)
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Q&A Recording (2)
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Shepherding New Believers
(00:07:12)
- I recently learned that a good friend of mine was fired from his company due to his own issues. He is under a lot of pressure in his life. When he told me about these problems, I felt very sympathetic and tried my best to help him. He is not a believer. His emotions greatly affect me. My question is, as someone who is shepherding, how do we deal with the emotions arising from such sympathy? I remember the pastor once shared some experiences on emotional control. How should we deal with these emotional issues? Thank you. (Bryan's question)
(00:09:50) - Teacher, my question is, what are the specific manifestations of acting foolishly? Sometimes I unknowingly embark on a foolish path without realizing it. Can the teacher share specific examples of foolish behavior? (Ma Xile)
(00:10:17) - A young sister who has just begun to receive praying in tongues starts to become lax in prayer after her problems are resolved through prayer, but she is still diligent in her Genesis study. She turns on prayer while doing other things, and when rebuked, she says she is praying, not recognizing that her lack of focus in prayer is a problem. I also remember the teacher saying that such people are not seeking enough or not seeking earnestly enough, and should be given more pig food. In this case, should I let her go and allow her to seek on her own? Or should I delve deeper into her interests and find a point of leadership through what she cares about most? I remember the teacher saying that everyone has problems and everyone wants to improve. If we cannot find what the other person cares about most, it is because we have not discovered enough. I am not sure if my thinking is correct. I have not tried it yet. (Bryan's question)
Visions and Dreams
(00:13:30)
4. Is it that one must have understanding before pursuing heavenly visions and dreams? Or is it that understanding slowly dawns on us after pursuing heavenly visions and dreams, revealing this vain world?
(00:15:37)
5. My mother has been following me in believing in the Lord for several years. She has received many blessings in the Chinese Mingding Church. Although she is 70 years old, her desires are still quite strong, and she still has a strong hope for worldly pursuits. Every time I advise her, she strongly holds onto her own views, such as believing that singing hymns can preach the gospel, using human methods to attract people to believe, and even scolding relatives for worshiping idols. She refuses to share her testimony and preach the gospel with power. How can the teacher deal with the self-righteousness of the elderly, tear down their hope in the world, and help them rebuild heavenly visions and dreams? (Xiang Xiang)
(00:19:56)
6. Teacher, when a person is willing to break free from worldly dreams, should they also gradually see through what it means to be alive? But some people only want to live a small life, focusing only on their own affairs, yet they are not living well. How can we improve their understanding and release visions and dreams to them?
(00:22:13)
7. The teacher said that the most effective way to solve problems in shepherding is to transmit visions and dreams. How can we transmit visions and dreams to family members who are still in traditional churches to achieve better results? What preparations do I need to make to transmit visions and dreams effectively?
(00:26:36)
8. Teacher, if I am shepherding a very poor person and I tell them about visions and dreams, they think that it is enough to lie flat in life and do nothing, and that God will bless them. How should we teach people with this kind of thinking? (Ling Feng)
(00:27:31)
9. The teacher said that if we want our problems to be solved, we need to receive visions and dreams from heaven. Many people seek God primarily to solve their own problems. When problems have not yet been resolved, if we talk to them about visions and dreams, they feel it is too distant and cannot understand it. As shepherding individuals, should we solve their problems first or release visions and dreams first?
(00:30:04)
10. Teacher, a sister I am shepherding used to work hard for her life and business, feeling energetic, motivated, and joyful. Now she knows that these are vanity of vanities, and she no longer wants to work hard in these areas. But now she feels that Mingding is far from her, and she does not care much about living. She feels that whatever she does is meaningless, and she has lost her joy. How can we stimulate the visions and dreams within her? (Ai Wei)
(00:33:54)
11. A sister has intermittent heavenly visions and dreams. For example, when she is not busy with work, she has visions and dreams and is willing to pay the price. But when she is busy with work, she says she wants to have visions and dreams, but in reality, she spends more time on work and is not as attentive to spiritual matters. She is in business and feels that it is normal to be busy during the New Year holidays, and that she will return to normal progress and participation after the New Year.
Teacher, how should I help this sister in this situation? Is she breaking down her worldly value system in this process? Am I too impatient? Or should I let her follow her own ideas and wait for problems to arise before teaching her?
(00:37:22)
12. When transmitting visions and dreams to those being shepherded in ministry, they may initially have hope, but after a while, they revert to their original state. Transmitting them again rekindles their hope, but if we stop transmitting, they go back again. My question is, how can we establish solid, heavenly visions and dreams in those being shepherded? (An De)
(00:41:10)
13. For those who lack faith, in transmitting visions and dreams, should we first build up their faith? (Hanna)
What methods can we use to motivate those who are lukewarm about visions and dreams? Or should we let them go for now and wait for them to encounter problems and actively seek me out before giving them a push? (Hanna)
Establishing Shepherding Relationships
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14. There is a sister who is very enthusiastic about serving her father, often praying with him, but she is not very eager to participate in church ministry. She has been attending church for more than two years and has only participated in the 102 ministry. After that, she only submits notes. The summaries of the notes are also very nice to say that she wants to be a person with Mingding, but she does not actively submit her daily reports. Can we judge that she is a relatively selfish person, only caring about her father, and not having the concept of building God's glorious church? How can we help her take a step forward from this situation? (Wu Lude)
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15. Recently, I feel that my shepherding target has grown a little. I feel that when I ask her about things she cares about, she starts to be interested in the topic, so I quickly encourage her to pray and suggest that she participate in prayer more often. When it is time for prayer, I feel that her prayer is still somewhat passive, and I feel that she is not eager enough or not focused enough. I feel that if I push too hard, the good relationship that has just been established will regress. What should I do? What other aspects should I start with to promote her growth? (Bryan's question)
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16. When a brother first received praying in tongues and sought healing prayer, he could pray very fervently and focus intently, and his ailments also received grace and healing. Later, his asthma problems returned, but they were much lighter than before. He also prayed every day, but there was no obvious progress. I remember the teacher saying that if the symptoms come and go repeatedly, either there is something that should be destroyed or the thoughts and mindsets need to be changed. After analyzing the situation of this brother, I felt that it should be the reason for his thoughts and mindsets because he has many unfair views and complaints about his superiors. After repeated exchanges, he also realized the seriousness of the problem, but he could not control himself when the words came to his mouth. I also taught him to pray first when he encounters this situation, to strike at the spirit of self-righteousness, and to strike at the spirit of feeling hurt. But at that time, he often forgets to pray, and he feels that when he complains, he feels satisfied and better. I feel that when the doctrine is spoken out and the understanding is spoken out, he agrees, understands, and comprehends, but he always misses a step when it comes to implementation. He said that he understood in his heart when he complained, and even told himself that he should stop, but he could not stop. When I talked about this thing should not be his Mingding and should not control his thoughts, he also understood, but at the moment of implementation, his feet were weak, and he succumbed to the knowledge of good and evil again. I feel that I have reached a dead end in this situation, and I cannot think of any other steps to help him cross this threshold. May I ask the teacher if there are any other methods I can try? (Bryan's question)
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17. I am shepherding an elderly person who loves face very much and is very afraid of others saying that she is not doing well. I want to let her know: People say that you have not done this thing well, but they are not saying that you are not a good person. I want to achieve this goal. How can I speak with more wisdom? (Qin Qin's question)
Being in a Lagging Behind State
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18. The sister I am shepherding has been coming to church for quite some time and has experienced God's grace. She is also willing to implement meetings, prayer, and Bible study, but her understanding has been very poor. She is muddled about many things, and we have tried our best to teach her, hoping that she can understand and not stay at a very low level. Her husband passed away from stomach cancer. During that time, I led her to study Ecclesiastes, and she came out of the trough, saying that she had some understanding of the vanity of life, but at present, she is in a lagging behind state. Teacher, how should I shepherd this sister next? (Tito)
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19. The sister I am serving also does homework and participates in church ministry, but she is still in a theoretical state in terms of truth. She understands everything that is said, but when facing problems, she does not remember God's words. That is, theory and practical life cannot be reconciled. How should I lead her? (Xiang Lan)
The Problem of Loving the World
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20. Abraham also lived in a fleshly body. Although he saw through living and pursued eternal life, there was no Holy Spirit filling in that era, and he did not dare to pray in tongues. How did he overcome the evil desires of the flesh by relying on God's power? Or can people only overcome the seven emotions and six desires of the world as long as they have Mingding?
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21. Some of those who are being served come to the Chinese Mingding Church because they have heard testimonies and seek to change their jobs, improve their business, and have their children succeed. How can we both help them solve problems and gradually guide them to break free from worldly dreams and start pursuing Mingding?
(::)
22. Teacher, I am shepherding a relatively old brother. He wrote in his notes that he wants to walk the path of Mingding, but his homework is written according to his own ideas. I have requested the format and that he write in more depth. He agrees verbally, but the homework he submits is still his own style. I have also shown him my notes as a template, but he still has no intention of changing. I have been shepherding him for nine months. His attitude is very good on the surface, but what he does is not what I asked for. How can I deal with the willfulness inside him?
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23. An older sister I am shepherding has some education and is now retired at home. She has a daughter, but her daughter does not take care of her own children and leaves them for her to take care of. She is very concerned about her granddaughter's academic performance, but she has worked hard for a long time with poor results, but she still constantly enrolls her child in various interest classes and likes to compare her child with others. How should I tear down her dream of basing everything on knowledge and ability? Should I scold her every time I seize the opportunity when she is uncomfortable or her child is sick? (Ruo Ge's question)
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24. Teacher, if a person believed in the Lord when he was young and experienced God's grace and God's power, but has been living a small life because he has not believed correctly, and is just a Sunday Christian, and later finds that he is not living well and has diseases, and then comes to us in his 60s to start building a foundation of faith again, is it possible for a person of this age to have Mingding? (Nisan's question)
Healing and Deliverance
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25. Teacher, hello, please ask if false illnesses belong to the lies of the devil? The false illnesses I am talking about here are the following:
(1) When my mother was still alive, she was normal at other times, but at the end of each year, she would experience symptoms similar to depression. Later, as she got older, she really became depressed, and then high blood pressure, diabetes, and gynecological diseases became entangled with her.
(2) My husband had a headache when he was extremely tired. Later, as long as he was tired, he expected to have a headache, and the headache entangled him for many years. Even if the child has a headache, he will say that it is inherited from him.
(3) My sister feels that as long as she does not sleep well, she will catch a cold and get sick. As long as she sleeps well, she will be fine, so she often experiences not sleeping well and catching a cold. (Xuan Yun's question)
The Question of Eternity
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26. Teacher, how do you discuss the question of eternity with young people in their teens and twenties? When alive, it is easy to understand that God's blessing is used in their work, life, and study, and they have indeed received God's grace through prayer and studying God's word. It's just that their lives have not experienced any sickness or suffering. Some have heard of their close elders being sick, suffering, or passing away, or TV and movies have provided a little imaginative material. It is possible to imagine the physical death and the lake of fire and brimstone. They seem to understand living in eternity in words, but they cannot imagine it. In fact, not only young people, but even people in their forties and fifties also cannot imagine what the benefits are of living in eternity. They feel that it is quite tiring to think that they can never really die, and they cannot separate themselves from the pain of living in the flesh. I feel that establishing the concept of eternity is very helpful for seeing through the things of the world and removing the knowledge of good and evil, but when I talk about the beauty of living in eternity with God, I feel very good, but it seems that I cannot share it very clearly with those being shepherded . (Qian Qian's question)