Introduction

Greetings! It is a great pleasure to meet you all online once again! The topic I am sharing today is Everyone Did What Was Right in Their Own Eyes. Some might wonder, what kind of topic is this? What is Everyone Did What Was Right in Their Own Eyes about? I once gave a sermon titled God Regretted Making Saul King. Every year during our crossover service, we enjoy drawing cards. One brother always remembers his former pastor and loves him dearly, which we appreciate. He secretly drew a card, and the name on the card was God Regretted Making Saul King. This brother exclaimed, Wow! How accurate!

You must understand that God has appointed many as pastors, judges, and Christians, and even as apostles. However, there are too many instances of regret, just like when God regretted making Saul king. In the history of Christianity, throughout the Bible—from Moses to the old John, from Genesis to Revelation—a careful reading reveals: Heavens, how could God endure this? It is practically the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods all over again.

China once had a historical period called the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, which was a time of blooming and contention among different schools of thought. You fight me, I fight you, as eight hundred vassal states annexed each other, leading to continuous warfare that eventually consolidated into the Seven Warring States. If you look closely, today's business world is also like the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, as is the international arena. Sometimes it resembles the Seven Warring States, other times the Romance of the Three Kingdoms—it's all chaotic. The history of Christianity is a sad one, whether in the New Testament or the Old Testament; it can truly be described as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

The situation of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods is one of chaos. How can this chaos be described? It is called everyone doing what was right in their own eyes. We haven't lived through that history, so let's talk about today. Our brothers and sisters come from various churches, and today's churches are diverse, believing in all sorts of things. Each person fervently believes that they are orthodox and fights for their own version of the truth. Truly, everyone goes their own way, doing whatever they see fit.

Do not think that merely putting up a sign makes something a church. It is a collection of all kinds of deities, prophets, anointings, and gifts—it is practically an American Western movie. An old man running for re-election as president had all sorts of prophets and prophecies saying, He will definitely be re-elected! They all came from churches. The calls for re-election were so high that it seemed as if God had spoken, but in reality, God doesn't really care. People believed it, and the person involved believed it, which directly led to a political struggle. In the end, he was not elected, so what about those prior prophecies? People always have their own explanations. Getting slapped in the face like that requires thick skin; I couldn't handle it. Where does that confidence come from? It's simply superstition. Such a diverse generation and dazzling scene are truly perplexing.

How do you know which one is right? It's difficult! It's a lament! Some time ago, when I was training our junior pastors, I raised a very sharp question: How do you know that what you are doing is right? Later, I found myself struggling, conflicted, and upset! The reason is simple: when asked, they were in a state of utter bewilderment. This reminded me of when I was working and very busy. My subordinate brought over a hundred pages of paper and slammed them on the table. I flipped through them and saw so much data that I was overwhelmed, so I asked him, How do you know that this data is correct? He replied, I don't. Then why did you bring it to me? This question is not easy to answer.

The Necessity of Striving and Self-Reflection

How can we know that what we are doing is right? Think carefully, have many people truly raised their children correctly? No, but they are still very confident. I told her not to do it that way, but she argued with me as if she were right. Christians are like that. Am I offending a lot of people with this statement? But I tell you, historically, the things Christians have done are incredibly diverse. I am very moved!

Over the past few years, I have been a rather unusual person because I often think that I haven't done things correctly and really want to understand what I am doing. Have I done it right or not? For this reason, I established Mingding Destiny, and because I am Chinese, I added Chinese to the front, creating Chinese Mingding Destiny. What does Mingding Destiny talk about? It talks about striving, which is very important. Don't say you won't strive; not striving with all your might is not acceptable, as the path to knowing God is endless. I am not telling you that I have done everything right; I want to tell you that I often think I have done things wrong. Some people say, Aren't you confusing people by saying that? The thought that I have done things wrong, the problem then is, I know I haven't done it right, I don't go my own way. I return to the Bible; I want to see what God actually said.

I really haven't found anything in the Bible about electing a president or leading a group of Christians to protest against the government. I am not in that position and don't want to preside over such things, so I won't do that job. I prefer to do something concrete: if someone can't find a job, I train them, turning them into a person. Although they were already people, I want to see if I can train them into better people.

Ignorance is not the solution, nor is superstition; learning is. For the things I do right, I can explain why I did them right; for the things I do wrong or am unsure about, I know I haven't figured it out, and I can definitely explain that.

We have a ministry that specifically trains people to read Genesis because Genesis is the foundation of our faith, and they also read something I wrote called the 101 Course. This ministry trains people; it's not easy. One sister came to the ministry to learn, which was interesting, but she didn't do the homework. I was very surprised; if you are here to learn, what are you doing if you don't do the homework? She said she didn't know how to do it. I told her that I could teach her how to do it. But she felt that her faith foundation was so stable that she didn't need to do these things.

I asked her, How do you feel that your faith foundation is so stable? She felt that she believed in Jesus. I asked in bewilderment, What do you believe in regarding Jesus? She said definitively, I just believe in Jesus; I will definitely go to heaven when I die; I am already saved. The most popular saying in our church is 'I am already saved.' I said, Where does your confidence come from? You don't do homework; the Bible says to strive, do you know that? She said, I don't know. I wondered, what have you read?

God sits on His throne with such difficulty! How do you know if what you are doing is right or wrong? Where is the key? The key is method. There must be method in doing things. The things we learn must have method. You must know that things done without method, things done haphazardly, are merely things that come from a whim. To put it nicely, it's brainpower; to put it badly, it's tofu brain; and to put it even worse, it's diarrhea.

Method and Order in Bible Study and Life

There must be a method to studying the Bible, a method to building a house, and a method to writing a program. Does this sound reasonable? It makes sense. For example, when building a house, you can't just build it haphazardly. If you don't know if you are building it correctly, who would dare to live in it? If the house collapses one day, you will collapse with the house. If you live on the 18th floor, you will go to the 18th level! So you must know that learning is very important. Learn what? Learn method. Do you know what our method for studying the Bible is? Today, I will tell you a little bit: when studying the Bible, you must know what God wants to tell us, or what the author of the Bible wants to tell us. Do you understand?

People have a chaotic Spring and Autumn and Warring States period in their minds, as well as a chaotic Book of Judges. People need to come out of the chaotic Spring and Autumn and Warring States period and not be so confident. Blind confidence does not solve problems. Do you understand? Even today, we still have many things that we haven't sorted out and many things that need to be cleaned up. Why? Because everyone goes their own way, doing whatever they see fit, without any method. If you don't understand the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, then use another term: the Book of Judges. The Book of Judges is even more chaotic than the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period.

In the history of the church, since the Apostle Paul began establishing churches, it has been a chaotic battle. We often think that the situation after Paul should be better than the situation before Paul, but by the time of Martin Luther, the situation had fallen to rock bottom. From Paul to Martin Luther, that was a bear market; from Martin Luther to today, we have a bull market. We must continue to restore the truth of the Bible and remove all this chaos. Why talk about everyone doing what they see fit? Why do you do that based on a whim? I just want to do it that way! That must be very stubborn. Can you change without suffering? I have a professional term: eat more pig slop. Eat it, enjoy it. As they say in English, enjoy yourself! Everyone goes their own way, and there are simply too many ways to go.

Let me give you an example. One day, the grandson of one of our sisters had surgery. She called everyone she could in the group. When I answered the phone, it was about a child having surgery and needing prayer. I said you don't need to gather so many people, but many Christians believe that there is more power in having many people pray. This logic is clearly wrong. When did Jesus bring a large group of people to perform healing and deliverance? Jesus alone was enough, wasn't he? Jesus didn't gather tens of thousands of people for prayer. Oh my goodness! What else is that if not the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period? So brothers and sisters, you must know that when praying for a child's surgery, people want to mobilize as many people as possible, feeling that if people don't come, they are not supportive! What are you doing, holding a wedding?

There are also a lot of people who pray for business. I haven't seen that anywhere in the Bible! Really, brothers and sisters, if you have seen it, please tell me; I haven't seen it. So where do these habits come from? It's hard for the government not to dislike Christians! But the government disliking Christians doesn't prove anything. A large group of churches and Christians were outraged by the case of the chained woman in Xuzhou who was enslaved and gave birth to eight children.

I didn't do that, and many people think I did something wrong. I don't know if they are right or if I am right. Are they wrong, or am I wrong? But there is something that has method, and that method is the Bible, that method is Jesus Christ. In the Roman Empire, how many Xuzhou women were there? Countless! Did Jesus hold up a big sign and protest against the government? No. Actually, Jesus didn't care, and some people feel that that's very unjust! It's as if you want to uphold justice for God. Well, I wish you well! I think there are too many things that need to be cleaned up today.

The Danger of Doing as One Pleases and the Cost of Ignorance

I have been speaking eloquently for twenty minutes, and I have only given an introduction. It doesn't matter; we will take our time. Let's look at today's scripture. The first point is the introduction, and the second point is the scripture. Please open your Bibles:

Scripture Text

Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.” And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother.

Then his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver to the Lord for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. And now I will restore it to you.” So he restored the silver to his mother. And his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah. And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:1-6)

Isn't that like today's Christians? Yes! Doing whatever they want, is that how it's done? What curses, Blessed be my son by the Lord! All kinds of words. After reading it, they still think it's pretty good! But can you carve an idol as an ephod? Can you do that? They just do it themselves; that's called ignorance! Ignorance!

Prayer

God, have mercy on us! Open our minds, may we have a humble heart, and may we come before You with humility and gentleness to seek You, lest we fall into deception. God, open our minds this year, may we know Your will! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Background of the Scripture

The story in this passage is very interesting. In the hill country of Ephraim, there was an Israelite who was usually idle and didn't know what the word of God said. He didn't know anything, but he had great faith: Blessed be my son by the Lord, and he also believed in curses. Why? Because his mother's silver was missing, and she cursed the person who took the silver. As a result, her son heard this and exclaimed, Mom! I took the silver; you just cursed me. When his mother heard this, she immediately changed her tune and said, Blessed be my son by the Lord! How spiritual! The Christians I have seen always say, Thank the Lord! Thank the Lord! It sounds so spiritual! But they don't know anything inside, they just know, May the Lord give you peace, brother peace! Sister peace! That's about it.

The mother took the 1,100 shekels of silver and made an idol. Why? She felt that she should remove the curse from her son. But making an idol only brought a greater curse. Such ignorance! Neither the son nor the mother understood that this idol was not Jehovah God. Was it truly Jehovah God?

She set up a shrine in her home, as if inviting a deity from a temple to be worshipped. They didn't think it was enough, this mother and son who loved crafts, so they made an ephod and household idols. Not satisfied, Micah appointed one of his sons as priest, thinking this was perfect. But it was not God's arrangement; it was arbitrary. They burned incense, offered sacrifices, knelt and prayed earnestly, wearing out their knees.

Consequences of Arbitrary Actions and Spiritual Confusion

One day, a man arrived. From the hill country of Ephraim—whether Ephraimite or not, we don't know. A Levite came. This mother and son only knew about curses and blessings, much like some Christians today. They hired a Levite as a priest. Scripture says this Levite happened to be a grandson of Moses. His arrival filled Micah and his mother with confidence. They thanked God for answering their prayers, sending them Moses' grandson.

This grandson of Moses, finding no place to stay, ended up at their home. Why he had no place to live, the Bible does not say. I could concoct a story: In the days of the Judges, who cared about Moses or his descendants? It was more chaotic than today. One might wonder, why would a Levite wander to the hill country of Ephraim? Levites were supposed to work in the temple. Perhaps he lost his job or had poor relationships. Being a grandson of Moses didn't matter. Even being a grandson of Abraham wouldn't help. He found work with Micah, becoming their priest, much like building a church and hiring a pastor today.

In that era, the tribe of Dan was mixed up. They found Micah's household with idols and a priest, a complete set! And this priest was Moses' grandson! Thank God! The Danites took the priest and idols, offering Moses' grandson a choice: be the priest of one family or a whole tribe. He chose to be the priest of the tribe of Dan—a promotion! I tell you, as long as the tabernacle of Jehovah was in Shiloh, this arrangement of Micah's persisted. When they went to war, they consulted this priest. Was he effective? Yes, he was. Some prophets in churches today are reminiscent of this. Arbitrary actions led a tribe to near extinction.

This is called arbitrary action, and arbitrary action is spiritual adultery. Micah and his mother may not have understood, but neither did the Danites. They knew Jehovah blessed, but how? They knew the word curse but not what it meant. Many things they seemed to know, but not really. Are there brothers and sisters among us who are like this? It's troubling!

So, I give you a simplified version, as simple as Jesus. But you must establish a complete system of faith, from Genesis to Revelation. Then, you'll be less easily deceived. Don't be ignorant! The ignorant people in this passage faced dire consequences. This is the backdrop to the passage. Later, the tribe of Benjamin was decimated, nearly wiped out. Chaotic, like the Warring States period! Why? Because they treated idols as Jehovah God. Did they not know Israel's history of Exodus? They knew, but their knowledge became superficial.

Idols as Gods

id="h2-idolatryand20spiritual20lostness">Idolatry and Spiritual Lostness

Micah said to him, “Stay with me and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.” So the Levite went in. And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. Then Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. So Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.” (Judges 17:10-13)

They treated idols as God and became overly confident. It's like those ignorant but confident people we meet in training, thinking their faith is unshakable. I see their situation as similar to Micah's, or, more flatteringly, Moses' grandson. As if being Moses' grandson meant anything!

Making idols led to confirmations and pursuits, perhaps even dreams. They found a Levite, Moses' grandson, who miraculously journeyed from Bethlehem to Micah's house! God is confirming us! Today, know this: seeking confirmations with idols is often accurate. A sister wanted a boyfriend, obsessed with finding one, seeking confirmations daily. One day, confirmations came, everything fitting perfectly. She even saw the boy's face in a vision. When he appeared, she was certain God had arranged it. But was it so? Ponder it. It ended in tragedy.

They say a sister obsessed with finding a boyfriend sought confirmations daily. One day, confirmations came, everything perfect. She even saw his face in a vision. When the boy appeared, she was certain God had arranged it. Was it really so? Ponder it. It ended tragically. Of course, there are good and bad marriages. Don't argue with me. If you want to find someone yourself, go ahead. If you want to ask God, pray earnestly. Some who ask God have good results. I don't know. You see, this becomes a stumbling block.

Know that the road of faith is filled with snares, littered with corpses. Ignorance kills. Don't be ignorant. In the days of Judges, as Chapter 18 recounts, the tribe of Dan had not yet inherited their land. A terrible tribe. Everything came together. In the hill country of Ephraim, Micah made an idol, an ephod, and got Moses' grandson. The Danites, yet to inherit their land, sent five leaders to Micah's house to seek guidance from God. And it was surprisingly effective! How could it be so effective?

The Danites took Micah's priest and idols and made him their priest. Treating idols as God, they seemed to gain land, called Zorah and Eshtaol. Can you see the evil behind it? Don't think confirmations always come from God. This is a generation lacking a church perspective. Churches are like the Book of Judges: everyone does as they see fit, calling it a church. Evil spirits are rampant!

Spirits of Adultery and Spiritual Corruption

Who orchestrates these coincidences? Certainly, our God is involved. Our God is a stumbling block, allowing evil spirits to deceive. Understand? Moses often warned Israel, and God warned Israel through Moses, that the spirits behind it are deceptive. What are these spirits? They are spirits of adultery—unfaithfulness to God. Do you grasp what I mean? It's adultery. Because of this, spirits of adultery began to run rampant in that region.

Rampant Spirits of Adultery

How do we know? After this event, the author of Judges recorded the story of a Levite, living in the hill country of Ephraim. Was it the same Levite? Unclear, probably not. This Levite happened to take a concubine from Bethlehem of Judah, living in the hill country of Ephraim. The concubine committed adultery, ran off with other men, and returned to her father's house in Bethlehem.

Her husband went to Bethlehem to bring her back, for he had married her. He ended up staying at his father-in-law's house for days. One day, they were returning when, coincidentally, they passed through a place. How rampant were the spirits of adultery? The Levite and his concubine passed through Jebus but didn't stay there. Instead, he was compelled to stay in Gibeah.

Gibeah was inhabited by Benjaminites, and in that time, the spirits of adultery were rampant. As a result, how did it end? They stayed in a place without lodging, but an old man took them in. The wicked men of the city came knocking, wanting to commit vile acts with the Levite and his concubine. The concubine was raped and killed. It was a disaster. The spirits of adultery were driving people in that place, starting with Micah's idol. Ask me if there's a connection. I say there is, but you can disagree.

After the concubine died, the Levite cut her body into twelve pieces and sent them to the tribes of Israel. The tribes, acting arbitrarily, organized an army of 400,000 and destroyed the Benjaminites, killing everyone except a few hundred men. It was complete chaos. I won't delve deeper. I want to tell you that when people start worshipping idols, spirits of adultery run rampant. Know this: when people start worshipping idols, spirits of adultery run rampant in the church.

A pastor posted happy family photos on Facebook. Then, a girl came with a child, claiming him as the father. It was chaos. Where did it start? With Micah and his mother making an idol and ephod for May Jehovah bless you, leading to rampant spirits of adultery, recorded in Judges 19 and 20. This led to a tribe nearly being wiped out, all due to arbitrary actions. Do you understand? What is adultery? Adultery is unfaithfulness. Unfaithfulness leads to destruction. I once preached a sermon, a Bible study, on Adultery Brings a Spirit of Death.

The Cost of Ignorance and the Pursuit of Truth

We see chaotic scenes, seemingly independent cases, but they are related in the spiritual realm. Write this down: Spirits of adultery lead to destruction. Not just individual destruction but the near destruction of a tribe. If we consider this today, how many churches are built by people like Micah? Too many. I want to tell you: Ignorance is not the way.

Ignorance is Not the Way

How much ignorance is there? Too much. A sister came to us when her father had cancer. A relative, a preacher, would come to their house and charge for praying for her father. It sounded unusual, paying for prayers. She was overjoyed to learn our ministry is free. Why? She had never seen it. What is the church for? What is the temple of God for? What is the tabernacle of God for? What is worshipping God for? Not playing with curses and blessings, but doing God's word. Doing God's word brings blessings; disobeying brings curses. What is the purpose of building a church? To shepherd God's flock well.

Today, I want to impart a concept to everyone. I have seen many engage in various activities, yet neglect shepherding. Why is that? Shepherding is laborious, indeed, how strenuous it is. Anything not aimed at shepherding is termed licentiousness. Just now, someone typed that there is a church near their home that charges for healing and deliverance. May God have mercy on us. Isn't it a tragedy if a church is for the purpose of making money? Everyone must remember, if a church is about making money, it is treating the church as a business, which is most distressing. It's not far off from Micah fashioning an idol and an ephod.

People hope to receive blessings, but can one obtain blessings through ignorance? Ignorance does not bring blessings. This is why we encourage everyone to learn; we constantly emphasize learning. Like that sister who said, The foundation of my faith is firm; when I die, I will certainly go to heaven; I am already saved. Our church always says I am saved, so why do I need to do homework and study here? Alas, without learning, how ignorant can one be? Being so ignorant and yet having such confidence—I am already saved. I see not a single trace of Jesus Christ in you.

We have a sister among us who was once a group leader in a church and even did shepherding, yet her household was chaotic. Was there any semblance of Jesus? No. But she was very sure she was saved. Upon closer examination of her, you would see many images of the devil. But the words they speak are not much different from what Micah said, always saying, Now I know that the Lord will bless me. Bless what? How to bless? Ignorance.

Starting today, every brother and sister should cultivate a habit. Can we clearly know what God's Word says? Can we know whether we are doing right or wrong? What is our methodology? What exactly is our method of Bible study?

Building a church is like building a house! Everyone must be wary of taking shortcuts, and must learn to emulate Jesus, not only pursuing, but striving to pursue, striving to do what Jesus Christ did. God's Word is a light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet. Commandments and laws bring wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Understanding these is how we gain wisdom and understanding. Be careful of taking shortcuts. Pursuing what anointing, pursuing what gifts—these all require contemplation and understanding. Everyone now knows why our church is so focused on shepherding because that is the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Striving to Pursue and Establishing a Complete Belief System

Recently, we have been conducting shepherding training, training everyone on how to do shepherding. It must be done according to the likeness of Jesus Christ, not according to other standards. Today, a testimony came from a brother I minister to. A few days ago, while eating, he cautioned everyone to be careful while eating fish, lest a fish bone gets stuck in the throat. No sooner had he said this than a fish bone got stuck in his own throat. He called me, and I prayed with him.

It just so happened that I was going to visit a brother who rents a counter in a busy area, using it to do healing and deliverance. Wasn't my brother with the fish bone a good opportunity for healing and deliverance? So I prayed with him. Of course, I arranged for other co-workers to visit the brother I had originally planned to see. By evening, the fish bone had not dissolved and was still stuck in his throat, and our co-workers continued to pray for him. In the end, he decided to go to the hospital.

After arriving at the hospital, the doctors tried everything to no avail, and he returned from the hospital and called me again. Think about it—having prayed for him at noon, in the afternoon, and in the evening, and going to the hospital, it was already past ten o'clock at night. Without a heart to strive to pursue, one would truly send him to the hospital. But at this time, we cannot push him to the hospital; in fact, it wasn't us pushing him to the hospital, but his own wanting to go. I began to pray with him again, and after praying for an hour, the fish bone completely disappeared.

Everyone must know for certain that many people say to be careful, thinking that I am pursuing miracles. Then show me a miracle that you are pursuing. Do you all know what I am pursuing? I am pursuing to be like Jesus. Whenever and wherever, I always ask myself, What is my methodology? My methodology is emulating Jesus.

I often ask myself: If Jesus were here, what would He do when facing a cancer patient? If Jesus were here, facing someone with a fish bone stuck in their throat, what would He do? He would touch them. If Jesus were here and someone's ear was cut off, what would He do? Jesus would put the ear back on and make it grow back. If the blind and the lame came before Jesus, what would He do? Jesus would heal them.

I once preached a sermon called All Were Healed. What if one is not healed? I strive to pursue. How did this fish bone disappear? It was because I strive to pursue being like Jesus, strive to pursue knowing God, and strive to pursue shepherding the flock God has entrusted to me. Understood? I often like to encourage everyone to rise up, pursue, and strive to do what Jesus did. This should not be wrong; this is called methodology. Ignorance is not the way; be careful of taking shortcuts, what blessing, what gift, what anointing. I want more anointing, more gifts; I think you had better pursue being like Jesus.

Once, when I was sick, someone said, If you are sick, don't talk about it. Aren't you afraid of causing others to stumble? It is normal for me to be sick; I am also a sinner. After I recovered, a brother came to me, and I said, What are you busy with? He was busy with a fish bone stuck in his wife's throat—another fish bone. Have mercy on me; if there are any more fish bones stuck in throats, please don't always think of me. There are other pastors who can do what I do.

His wife had a fish bone stuck in her throat, and I said, That's easy. Have your wife answer the phone, and I'll pray for her. As a result, after praying for over ten minutes, it was resolved. Sometimes these problems take several hours to resolve, and sometimes they are resolved in minutes, but this does not stop us from pursuing being like Jesus. How much did Jesus understand the Word of God? Impeccably clear. So ignorance is not the way.

The Importance of Establishing a Complete Belief System

I don't think you need to believe me; you don't have to believe me. In fact, I encourage you not to believe me, but I encourage you to study well, examine well, and understand well. Establishing a complete system is like building a house. Some truths are foundational, and some truths are like load-bearing walls, load-bearing pillars, and load-bearing beams. The foundation of the house cannot be moved; it must be firmly installed there. Then the walls must be built, and after the walls are built, hard and soft furnishings must be added, and only then does the house become a beautiful house.

Our understanding of God's Word is also like this: grasp the key points; truths are great and small; do not put the cart before the horse. Once you put the cart before the horse, you become a Pharisee. So today, to establish a complete system, you must know for certain that saying, May the Lord bless you, is of no use. How is it useful? Obeying and following God's Word brings blessings; disobeying and violating God's Word brings curses. So here, we only have obedience and following or disobedience and violation; here, we only have blessings or curses.

Today's generation is filled with deceptive things. One day, a sister sent me an article by a famous person. After listening to what he said, it seemed very reasonable. But today I want to read a few paragraphs to let everyone understand whether this kind of thing is God's Word. He said:

These past few days, I've been thinking a lot; civilization is not about faster, higher, stronger on the surface, but only about whether a society no longer eats people. (I can't find this in the Bible either.) Christians are not about outward spirituality, loud prayers, fervent Bible reading, and enthusiastic gatherings, but about living out the Lord's love and acting out the Lord's righteousness. (Seems good, you can't say he's wrong.)

Faced with sin, Christians, or God's righteous people, are always the primary responsible ones. If the sins of a country are great, the inaction and apathy of Christians are often the primary cause. (Seems like it and seems like it isn't.)

The further people are from God, the further they are from being truly human; those trapped in sin are worse than beasts. A society that strongly resists divine redemption will inevitably fall into the darkness of hell. The expressions of Auschwitz concentration camps are various; Xuzhou is one type. Those groups that commit evil and imprison women's villages are each an Auschwitz, and the tragedies suffered by sex slaves far exceed those of black slaves in those years. (Sounds very righteous.)

Writing poetry after Auschwitz is shameful; similarly, today's people being muddle-headed, seeking peaceful times, and even singing praises of prosperity is extremely shameful. The most terrible thing about religion is hypocrisy, and what Jesus criticized the most was the hypocrisy of religion.

What is hypocrisy? The pastor Edward who promoted the American Awakening put it well: A person who is so devout that he neglects worldly responsibilities is a hypocrite. And such hypocrisy is spreading in Chinese churches and global churches, so that the world is becoming increasingly corrupt, to the point of heading towards the end times. When the crosses of Chinese Christian churches were being torn down, they hoped that society would make a voice of justice, but when the evil of Xuzhou appeared, where were the voices of Christians and pastors? Is it appropriate to not speak out for society but ask society to uphold justice for themselves?

This year, what I see and think about is all Xuzhou Iron Chain Woman, and there is a faint voice in my heart that comes from Jesus. Jesus says, That locked up, suffering one is me.

I don't know what I can do, but I deeply know that my heart cannot be calm, and I cannot eat, pray, or breathe normally. There are many more paragraphs about jointly using light to illuminate the tragic world and so on.

I know that these people really want to transform this world, but today I am pouring cold water on everyone. This world will become increasingly dark; this world will become increasingly unjust; this world will become increasingly corrupt; very normal! But God's church must become increasingly holy. This passage of confusing text is the misleading result of lacking a system.

Brothers and sisters, what exactly is our Mingding Destiny? Our Mingding Destiny is not to advocate for justice in the world. Do not straighten what God has made crooked; do not participate in politics. Our kingdom is not of this world; our kingdom is the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and our Mingding Destiny is to build a glorious church. I have not seen Jesus walk the streets advocating justice, nor have I seen Jesus describe Himself as the Xuzhou woman chained with an iron chain.

Why mention these things? I need everyone to be able to start examining and learning what confusion is brought about by this kind of text. There is a complete lack of the theological system taught by Jesus behind this kind of text. Today I am teaching everyone to come out of this confusion and learn to examine and think. Our Mingding Destiny is to build God's glorious church; our Mingding Destiny is to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons; our Mingding Destiny is to build the body of Jesus Christ and prepare for the return of Jesus; our Mingding Destiny is for everyone to be like Jesus.

Today I encourage everyone to begin to strive to pursue, to live according to the image of Jesus; this is our Mingding Destiny. We live for this, and we also die for this, no longer living in a state of lacking knowledge. Perhaps the people who wrote these words really want to transform this society, and they want to become a political force, but I want to tell everyone that the Bible has not taught this.

Start building a complete belief system. We have a series of courses that brothers and sisters can contemplate and learn from. We will teach everyone how to learn and how to build a system. This is the work we are going to do, and there is a lot of work we need to excavate. May God have mercy on us! Grant us grace! Let us be able to build a church filled with God's glory in this generation and do more concrete things, not thousands of miles away from us, just writing a paragraph of text; this is not our work. Our work is to build on solid ground with those around us, those we shepherd, and release them from the dominion of the devil. May God bless everyone!