Introduction

Today's topic is shrouded in mystique: Divine election. Weeks ago, my title was God's Calling and Election. Such a title leaves many despairing, uncertain if they are among the chosen, a decision seemingly beyond our control. However, election is straightforward: God chooses the foolish things of the world. You likely qualify. Even if I don't, you might. After all, we're competing on foolishness. The problem is, people rarely see themselves as foolish.

Reflecting on the earlier Mingding Destiny series, starting with Gathered Together in Christ, we must understand Mingding Destiny: why we live and die. This is not a joke. Grasp God's grand plan. Some dream of becoming Singapore's, or the world's, or New York's richest. Go ahead, pursue your dreams, your Mingding Destiny. But our Mingding Destiny is to be gathered together in Christ. We read a long passage from Ephesians, seeming comprehensible yet elusive, including a section on election.

You are either within or outside God's grand plan. Within, God protects you from the disasters of divine wrath. Remember, God's wrath is lethal! During the Exodus, every Egyptian family lost their firstborn, a 20% loss in a family of five, and a devastating 30% in a family of three. Thus, in the Mingding Destiny series, are you within or outside God's plan? Outside, you cannot escape God's impending disasters!

Our era is rife with calamities. You may cry injustice, but there's no redress. You say, God murders; I'll sue! No court will hear you, not even the International Court in The Hague. Why argue with God? The wisest move is to enter God's plan. Isn't it obvious? Who God chooses matters greatly. Who pleases God matters. Who God spares from disaster also matters. We must know what kind of person God chooses. As a person, know yourself. Avoid becoming a grotesque caricature. Knowing you are human means acknowledging your limitations. Can you control your child's destiny? No.

An elderly lady arranged her daughter's marriage, but the husband cheated, leading to divorce and upheaval. Later, she fixed her son's marriage, but his wife became overly controlling, a henpecked husband. Looking back, her plans failed. Can you truly orchestrate everything? Thinking she was astute, she sought the best, but people change. Today a person, tomorrow a ghost – how can you manage that? We desperately need God. We cannot control when we are born or die, nor what disasters tomorrow brings. For instance, recently, young women were brutally assaulted at a barbecue. They went for a meal, not a beating. Instead of enjoying barbecue, they suffered violence, a bolt from the blue. What can you truly control?

My brothers and sisters, realize my greatest strength: I know I'm human! You may question this, but it's high praise. Many see me as highly intelligent. Recently, someone said, You're too smart, too dangerous! If you turned to evil, we couldn't handle you. I was alarmed. If I'm perceived as a threat, that's perilous!

Some seek NATO membership to pose a threat, only to be attacked with missiles and artillery, not cucumbers or eggs, but devastating explosives. One must quickly clarify. I don't want to be perceived as a threat. I said, Don't misunderstand. My intelligence is for helping, not harming. When I seek advantage, I become foolish, unaware. A good excuse, right? I'm foolish; others exploit me. I never take advantage of others. In people's eyes, I'm a fool. They say, Anyone can take advantage of him; he serves everyone. I become foolish, but that's good, for God chooses such ones. Unlike those who instantly turn shrewd when facing a cost.

Don't despair about election. People think, I'm not chosen to be God's vessel of wrath. Why think so negatively? Don't worry, if you see yourself as human, foolish and inept at harming or exploiting others, you're on the right track. Don't become instantly shrewd when seeking personal gain. That's trouble. This can be perplexing. For example, a remarkable elderly lady among us (don't be offended) said, Teacher, I'm foolish and dull. I never attended school. Later, she cleaned for a company, and the boss praised her work, assigning her more floors. Instantly, she became shrewd: Will I get a raise? No raise, no deal! I thought, You're quick to be shrewd when it comes to more work. She understood perfectly: no raise, absolutely not.

Would God consider her foolish? She doesn't see herself as such. But suddenly, when I assign her homework, she turns dull. When I ask her to take notes, to study, to do homework, her intelligence vanishes, used only for personal gain. God wouldn't consider her foolish, but God chooses the foolish. Don't misunderstand; I'm not praising her. Perplexing? Very. What is foolishness in the world? If I were a cleaner, I'd say, Yes, Boss, anything else? The boss says, You want more? Take this floor too. I'd say, Sure, no problem. How much can one person do? Two, three, ten people's jobs. Eventually, you can fire them all; I'll handle everything. You think I'm a fool? The day I take leave, the boss panics, terrified. God chooses such people, simpletons! My brothers and sisters, understand this: some try to be clever with God, but cleverness backfires.

Recently, a sister said, Teacher, I must give up this ministry. I asked, Why? She said, I'm starting work. I thought, What does work have to do with it? I served you while working; I never stopped. What kind of thinking is that? To abandon the ministry halfway, to halfway shepherd the person. Finish the task! No, I can't lead anymore; I have other things. It's interesting.

Another person said, Teacher, I can't lead these days. I asked, Why not? First, the computer broke, now what? I'm taking a class. I found it odd. Taking a class isn't teaching one; how busy can it be? If only it were as busy as earning money! What kind of thinking is this? I said, Mark the homework after class. No, she said, I'd be exhausted. How are you not exhausted during class? How is serving God exhausting? I see her collapsing sooner or later! These are clever people, very clever! How good it is to be like me, a fool! I don't know what fatigue is; I continue until I collapse.

This is election. People choose based on their standards, choosing a curse. Can that be blessed? Some say, Teacher, why hasn't my finances turned around? Wait and see. Today, my brothers and sisters, be thankful for no calamities. Destiny is a good word. People choose their destiny, why they live. People live for class, for work, whatever they live for, they live.

Everything created has a purpose. If something is created but cannot fulfill that purpose, it's a defective product, a failure in quality control. God created man to fulfill the need of what God wants man to do. But you say, No, I must satisfy my needs, not yours. The result is waste, or at least a second-rate product, not up to standard.

What is Mingding Destiny? Mingding Destiny is fulfilling the created purpose. A computer must work. If it crashes, it's useless. A car must run. If it breaks down, you have to push it, over a ton in weight. A plane should fly, not crash. That's a crematorium, an airborne crematorium. So, be foolish in this world, not too shrewd, not calculating the accounts so clearly that you become clever, for God doesn't want that. God wants the foolish things of the world. People manage their own affairs clearly.

Some ask, Teacher, how did I get scammed? Why did I give money to those people? They know everything. They just see a bait and think, Wow! Must seize this opportunity, and wire the money, expecting a 20% or 30% return. The result? Scammed. When my turn comes, with my foolishness, I say, How about wiring your money to my account? No way! They are shrewd this time. See? They know everything. Why? Because I don't have that scamming skill. Where would I scam? If I said, Give me $100,000, and I'll give you $200,000 by the end of the year, I might stand a chance.

My brothers and sisters, understand, a person's quality management, a person's brand management, learn from companies. God's demands are high. Like Coca-Cola in China, if there's even a slight defect, the product cannot leave the factory. It must be destroyed there, with records of production, output, and destruction. Like us running a factory: No problem! Give it to the employees to drink at home. The employees take it home, then sell it at small shops, circulating it in the market, damaging the brand. How could God ruin His brand?

I tell you, I often meet clever people. This cleverness is interesting. For example, one person had pus on the head and boils on the feet, a curse. The feet also had foul odor. When he came to me, I grabbed the smelly feet to pray. Oh my! I had to wear a mask and use ventilation. I almost fainted. From then on, I needed a gas mask. But the boils on his feet were healed!

Later, he came to my office, and I said, Where did you come from? Why do you smell like dumplings? He said, Teacher, I just ate a meal at Din Tai Fung. I said, You ate Din Tai Fung? Why didn't you buy me some? I often say this. Some sneak out and buy a box of rice. I say, You bought a box of rice? What about mine? Didn't you buy me any? No heart! How could you buy for me? If it's in your mouth, how would it get to mine? Yet, when they need my service, they come to me. It's bitter, very bitter!

So, people are not fools, except for me. I serve people without expecting anything in return. Foolish? You think I'm foolish? No! God likes me. If God favors me, that's powerful. I am God's chosen! Maybe one day, I'll happily bring back a box of rice, and someone will say, Hey, didn't you buy me one? Oh, this one is yours. See my brain! Then what will you eat? No problem. I'll buy another. Understand? I tell you, that's powerful. As soon as you do that, God chooses you. Once God chooses you, you become a divine person. Can you understand what a divine person is? You may not understand. I must tell you, I must make my billboard brighter and brighter. I must manage my brand so brightly, shining brightly. After hearing this, you can test my brand to see if it works.

A few days ago, a sister's grandfather had dementia, hitting and making trouble, insisting someone had sold his house. The family couldn't handle him. Can a family handle dementia? I tell you, be careful with dementia. Hurting someone doesn't violate the law for them. He was causing trouble in the hospital, so I said to the sister, If it's really impossible, come to me. I'll help you. Do you believe I can fix it over the phone? The next day, he was fine!

After he was better, the sister said, My grandfather is fine. I thought, Does this have anything to do with what I said yesterday? Maybe yes, maybe no, but I think it's related. The demons are quite cunning, thinking, Don't bring that old man; he'll get me. I can't handle him. Oh! He finished speaking, so I won't go against him. Gone! The next day, nothing. The third day, nothing. It's over! How much trouble is saved? The demon said, Don't call for that old man. This old man is not that old man. That old man has dementia; this old man fixes dementia. They are not the same kind of old man.

Therefore, many people are not capable of casting out demons, but are good at attracting them. What kind of person should you be? We must be clever about this. Some are extremely clever at harming others; others become foolish when harming others, becoming foolish to take advantage of people. Where is the justice in this? Many don't know the secret: If you are highly skilled at harming others, highly skilled at taking advantage, you're finished. Finished what? God cannot choose you! If you become foolish as soon as you harm others, and clever as soon as you bless others, who wouldn't God choose? Always think: I want to be a blessing to many!

Some are not like that: God, bless me! No. Ah, God! I want to bless others, make me a blessing to many. Isn't this Mingding Destiny? This is Mingding Destiny. So today, brothers and sisters, you must know, you are who you choose to be. Don't be like: It's over, it's over people. If I serve you, I serve you as if serving God, but when I serve you, I have to talk to you. After speaking, I turn around and say, It's over, it's over. Then it's all over. It's not that I'm cursing anyone. I know very well what kind of person you are, after serving you. Man's biggest problem is not knowing that he is a man. You can't solve many problems. You can't control when you are born and when you die, you can't control when you encounter disasters, so you need God.

Therefore, if you do what God has chosen, then you will be great. But you know, in this world, I admire those who have so much confidence in themselves. Some people are tragedies, watching themselves go into tragedy. If you can wake up after listening today, then wake up. If you can't wake up, then continue to be confused. I have dragged many people back from the brink of death, but they ran back again. I dragged them back from the brink of death, and they had a tug-of-war with me. I dragged them over, and they pulled back. Where does such great self-confidence come from? It's just that they don't know that tragedy can happen at any time.

If you come back from the brink of death, then you have to say: Oh! I got a deadly disease, and this kid cured me. In our common people's terms, it's like tidying up and muttering, Oh! What is this? Oh! I want to be this kind of person. This sounds like human speech. But no, they continue to live their own lives, living to the point of getting a deadly disease, and then continue to live on. Well, I can only say: Good luck! You must know that you need God. Don't put God aside whenever something happens, or God will put you aside? I just lament, those with sores on the soles of their feet and pus flowing from the tops of their heads, you must understand, you have to think about it, are you still there?

Once, Jack Ma and Yu Minhong were chatting about Alibaba and New Oriental. The conversation went like this: Yu Minhong said: A hundred years from now, Alibaba may be gone, but education will still be there, and New Oriental will still be there. Jack Ma said: You're wrong. Education will still be there, but New Oriental has become old Western, gone west. It's not even a hundred years yet, and it's almost over. If you were to ask me to say something: Stop bullshitting, anything is possible a hundred years from now, but you will definitely be gone! Isn't that the truth? You won't even last a few decades with that small appearance. You are a man, and you need God very much. Don't play petty tricks with God. If you are a fool before God, God will choose you. You will still be there a hundred years later, a thousand years later, ten thousand years later. Because you have entered eternal life!

We Chinese have a saying: May you live ten thousand years without limit. This sentence is very interesting. I used to shout May you live ten thousand years without limit when I was a child, but I didn't know what May you live ten thousand years without limit meant. Does it mean you won't die for ten thousand years? Bullshit! If anyone tells me May you live ten thousand years without limit, I'll fix him. Do you think I'm a turtle? A thousand-year-old turtle and a ten-thousand-year-old tortoise, isn't that troublesome? Are you cursing me? This phrase was shouted many years ago, but after only a few years, it didn't work anymore. Look, China has the title of Lord of Ten Thousand Years, but today we haven't seen a single Lord of Ten Thousand Years. The average lifespan of those called Lord of Ten Thousand Years is thirty or forty years. The lifespan of the Lord of Ten Thousand Years is short. There are also those called Lord of a Thousand Years. When we watch operas, there are those who are two thousand years younger than the Lord of Ten Thousand Years, called Lord of Eight Thousand Years. Whether it's Lord of Eight Thousand Years, Lord of a Thousand Years, Lord of Ten Thousand Years, or May you live ten thousand years without limit, they're all stiff, all in vain. Only the DJI drone is still there. But then again, that DJI is so僵(stiff)!

These people are not qualified to talk about what will be there and what won't be there a hundred years from now. You won't be there, so what's there to talk about? The house is still there, but you're not there; the company is still there, but you're not there; the yamen is still there, but you're not there. Just like the Chinese say: Iron yamen, flowing officials. The yamen is still there, the Prince Gong's Mansion and the Prince Yong's Mansion are still there, but the people are not there. You have to know that you are a person! What are you so great about? You haven't left the earth in your whole life. What I'm saying is a bit sad. You haven't left the earth in your whole life, what are you so great about? Not to mention the solar system. You still think you're so capable, capable of what? You don't know too much! Some people haven't left that village in their whole life, what are you so great about? There's nothing to be proud of.

There are too many things that people don't know, so those who are chosen by God are those who think they are not capable. If you think you are very capable and very牛掰(awesome), why would God choose you? How to choose? You can't choose them! There is a song that says, I need God every day. But isn't it true that many of us need to have meetings, training, work, and work every day? Work is their god, their god is these things, just like that. Their brains aren't that good, and they still think they're smarter than me. You don't listen to what I tell you.

Today, brothers and sisters, can I give you a suggestion? This is not a curse, I want to save you. This suggestion is what I want to offer myself. Why do I have to be vigilant every day? Because I don't know if disaster will come tomorrow, so I put God first every day. I'm not like some people, with such fat courage, always feeling that tomorrow is in their hands. People should feel every day that disaster may come tomorrow, and then need God and call on God as if disaster is coming tomorrow. Don't go back to being who you were after the disaster passes, then what will you use to resist when disaster comes again?

I think some people are so great, I don't know where they get so much confidence, I don't know why their courage is so fat? They just do it like that. When disaster comes again, what will you use to resist? If you get a deadly disease again, what will you use to resist? You say: That's okay, I'm in Chinese Mingding Destiny. But Chinese Mingding Destiny doesn't solve the person that God wants to kill! We can't control who God wants to deal with! I can't go against God. They go back to being who they were, so sometimes I worry about many people. The Bible says:

Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Be always on the watch and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen. (Luke 21:36)

Can you escape all that is about to happen? Live slowly! That is your creation. Do whatever you like, but if you choose something that provokes God's anger, that's deadly! Don't be a shrewd person, calculating everything too cleverly, that won't work.

Scripture

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, (1 Corinthians 1:27-28)

What hopeful words! But don't hope too early, you have to know what these words mean. Today I can tell you that this is my thesis, don't just listen to the story, no one interprets this passage like I do. It's not enough to just be pleasant to listen to, it also has to have substance.

Prayer

God, open our spiritual eyes today, so that we may know your calling and election, and what glorious blessings there are in eternity! God, open our eyes today, so that we may know whom to imitate. God, inspire us and help us, so that we may have such a determination to be a person who pleases you; to be a person who you consider to be wise; to be a person who is foolish in this world. God, be gracious to us today, open our eyes, so that we may have wisdom to make the right choices. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Background of this scripture

The background of this scripture is very interesting. Almost no one has read what I have read in these two books, 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. After reading them, I put in the effort to write two Bible study books, called The Spiritual Man Discerns All Things, volumes one and two. This is what I wrote after I discerned all things.

Why did the Corinthian church receive Paul's 1 Corinthians? Because they went astray. Where did they go astray? They went astray to something very evil, either a bit like what the Jews were pursuing, or a bit like what the Greeks were pursuing. They just didn't want what Jesus was asking them to pursue. Why did it become like this? There are some very interesting things subtly revealed here.

What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas[a]”; still another, “I follow Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:12)

Everyone started arguing, and this matter involved Cephas. That is to say, there must be some people in the Corinthian church who thought they belonged to Peter. Why did the Corinthian church get involved with Peter? Wasn't the Corinthian church established by the Apostle Paul? Later, Paul left this place to build churches elsewhere. As a result, Peter must have come up, and he said a lot of things: I am Jesus' great apostle, I am chosen by God, I was the one who followed Jesus when Jesus said, Come follow me!

If you heard these words, how would you react? I tell you, Paul in the Corinthian epistles, especially 1 Corinthians, he is always arguing about one thing: I am an apostle, I am an apostle, I am in no way inferior to the greatest apostles. Who is he saying this to? Who is he comparing himself to? He is comparing himself to Peter. Why compare himself to Peter? Because Peter is the greatest apostle called by Jesus. Peter was still with Jesus when Jesus ascended to heaven. People not only say it, but they also have a background!

Peter's preaching must be better than Paul's! If it were me, I would think so too. As a result, things got complicated. Later, when Paul faced this very confusing environment, he wrote 1 Corinthians. Everyone should know that later this Peter came to the Corinthian church, and it is very worthwhile to savor what kind of person he became during this period!

In the Bible study industry in the church, almost no one dares to challenge the authority of the Apostle Peter. But when it comes to me, I strip Peter naked. Why? Because I study the Bible in detail! What did Peter do? I dug it all out for him. Don't guess, I didn't cyberbully him, I just told the truth, I did a human flesh search on him through the Bible. I did a human flesh search to dig out all of Peter's affairs. Digging out these things is very interesting, and as a result, these meanings are subtly revealed.

The Corinthian church began to go astray, and it is inextricably linked to Peter. Why? Because once these people went astray, they departed from the doctrine of the cross and lost the power of God! Everyone should pay attention: if we go to the churches one by one, what these people lack most is the power of God! There is no lack of bullshit, everyone says something different. They prattle on and on, but they don't know what they're talking about? They can't even handle a small ghost.

There was a church that dug a pool in the yard, and this pool was called: the Pool of Bethesda. Every time the water bubbled, someone would jump in, wasn't that how Jesus did it back then? Was that what Jesus did? Does that thing work? As it turns out, the history of the church became a history of losing the power of God. Do you think this generation needs to be restored? It is very necessary!

When the Apostle Paul was writing 1 Corinthians in Corinth, it was because the church went astray and lost the power of God. The church was full of all kinds of disputes, full of all kinds of theories, and then it was all bullshit. Many people got sick, and then they died, everyone did something……. If you read 1 Corinthians, you will find that the Apostle Paul has a very clear explanation of marriage. But today, many churches have become matchmaking agencies, or MLM bases, just doing these things.

The Corinthian church observes the Lord's Supper, and many people don't eat breakfast or lunch, why? Because the Lord's Supper is in the afternoon, so they eat a full meal. As a result, the Lord's Supper has to be prepared in桶one bucket after another. What has this become? Who did this? Do you all know who did this? The first person to do this bullshit thing was Peter. When Peter built the Jerusalem church, he cooked food and ate together. Everyone brought their money and cooked together, communism. Communism existed at that time, and as a result, the Jerusalem church was eaten up.

Therefore, Paul was very distressed when he saw these chaotic things in the Corinthian church. The church he personally established was messed up by a group of people; not only that, but they were also very speculative, as if they were very knowledgeable and wise, talking about angels, and in the end it all became稀屎(shitty). Can that thing be useful? So in the end, Paul wrote this letter of 1 Corinthians, mentioning this election, which is to let people return to the cross of Jesus Christ, and let people know not to rely on their own wisdom.

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through what seemed foolish to preach to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:21-29)

Even Peter is like that. That is to say, later we must know for sure that there is more to these words than meets the eye. You cannot boast by your own flesh, you must boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. You must boast in the power of God. Therefore, in 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul challenged these people. What is the challenge? Let's compare and see if you have this power in your hands or if I have this power in my hands?

Let's restore a powerful gospel in the Corinthian church again. But the history of the church until today, Chinese Mingding Destiny, is still very heartbreaking. Why is it heartbreaking? Because they removed God's power and still think they are orthodox. Depression and Alzheimer's disease are purely ghosts, and they can't handle them but they still explain them blindly, as if they are very wise. So today, we must know the background of this scripture.

This is not about anything else, it's about election. Election is not something mystical. You say: I am chosen by God. How can I not see it? The Apostle Peter has become a stumbling block for many people. If you don't examine it carefully, you will become a stumbling block for everyone. Do you all know? The Bible has dug many pits for us, and whether or not you fall into them depends on your creation.

Many people ask me: Didn't you say that the Bible is all inspired by God? Then God also inspired Judas to commit suicide, do you want to do it? If you want to commit suicide, there are plenty of excuses. There are also Jeroboam and Rehoboam, there are many. We mustread the Bible carefully, understand what God wants, and then the background of this scripture explains this election very clearly. Election is not something mystical. The one who explains election clearly is the Apostle Paul. How does God elect? That's how he elects.

God Chooses the Foolish of the World

How does God choose? It is those who think they are incapable, foolish, and unworthy that God wants to choose. This is not some unfathomable mystery: Am I chosen? Am I truly chosen by God? What if I am not chosen? Feeling anxious, you don't need to overthink it; this is not fortune-telling. You come to me and ask: Teacher, am I chosen by God? Can you help me figure it out? Figure what out? Am I going to give you a Bazi reading? This is not hard to understand. I'll give you an example: It's like a computer connected to the internet: I have the world's largest database! Connected to the internet? No! I have the world's largest database! What largest database does your small, broken computer have? A one-terabyte hard drive. What's a one-terabyte hard drive? In the eyes of God, your brain is like a walnut, and your heart is like a peanut. What are you showing off? As if you are so great. This won't work; it's unusable!

When Moses thought he was capable, he was unusable. When Moses was a prince in Egypt, God could not use him. You may have dreams, you may have a destiny, and you may want to save the Israelites, but it's unusable. After he herded sheep in the wilderness for forty years and thought he was incapable, God insisted on using him. You say this selection, God is truly humorous! Moses said to God: I'm not going. God said: You have to go! Moses said: No! I'm not going; but in the end, he went. This gives us a clear concept that when we think we are capable, we are unusable. Later, when we think we are incapable, God still wants to use us. Those who think they are foolish are the ones who are suitable. Do you understand?

David, the greatest king of Israel, thought he was incapable, and he believed he needed God. This David was actually very capable. So you see, God chooses the foolish of the world. If you think you are the world's unicorn, then you are not far from being a beast. Human history has also proven that arrogant and self-important people are not far from being irrelevant.

It is important for a person to believe that they need God. It is important to believe that you are just a human being. You may think you have traveled to Europe and America, but you have never left the Earth. What does that count for? We must know that life is short, seventy or eighty years. We must know that if we are wise in this life, we will be foolish in eternity; if we are wise in eternity, we will be foolish in this life. Which one do you choose? The most terrible thing is when people think they are clever.

Many people think this is an opportunity and they must seize it, but they end up being deceived. Many years ago, I had a friend who received an email describing how an African prince's father had been assassinated, but there was a huge sum of money in a European bank that required lawyer fees to retrieve it. As a result, my friend was deceived. How did I know he was deceived? He borrowed ten thousand dollars from me. If he had told me he needed the money for this, I wouldn't have given it to him! That rascal! At the time, I asked him: What are you going to do? He said: Don't ask, I need this money. Later I gave it to him and didn't really expect it back. In the end, he disappeared because he had borrowed a lot of money from many places, and no one could find him anymore.

One email deceived him; people think they are clever, thinking they have caught a good opportunity. Some time ago, someone thought they had caught a good opportunity and lost a lot of money, and then thought they had caught another good opportunity and lost even more money. There are so many fools! Those who think they are clever, thinking it's an opportunity, who knows if it really is? If you do not have the concept of eternal life, you will be entangled by the things of this life. If you have the concept of eternal life, you are a spiritual person who sees through all things. That's easy.

Brothers and sisters must know that God chooses the foolish of the world. My foolishness is what God has chosen! I really seem like a foolish person, and my foolishness is in the world. Now, few people want to be a blessing to others; it's good enough if they don't try to get money from others. This is the condition God chooses. The condition God chooses is very simple, so simple that it can definitely be done, but I fear you are too wise. If you are too wise, it's over!

The World Cannot Know God Through Its Own Wisdom

In my ministry, recently I have been dealing with self-righteousness everywhere. Do you know what self-righteousness is? It's when people have their own way of thinking, their own set of views on everything. When people have their own wisdom, they cannot know God. Only when you deny your own wisdom, and then read the Bible, and bring the principles of the Bible into your life, that's it! Simple!

I find it very interesting. Some people say: Teacher, why don't I know how to pastor anymore? Teacher, why do I seem to not know how to speak anymore? Teacher, why is my memory not as good as before? I looked at them and said: Oh, you've finally woken up. There's hope for you! They said: What does that mean? I said: You finally know you don't know how to pastor. They said: I used to be good at pastoring, why don't I know how anymore? I said: You never knew how before! You just thought you knew, but you didn't! Oh my god, you finally woke up. I was celebrating for a long time, while they were confused.

Someone in their forties said to me: Teacher, I'm getting old, my memory is not as good as before. I said: Come on, your brain was a rotten egg even when you were in your twenties. What I said was not very harmful, but it seemed quite insulting! They can't understand the Bible when they read it, they can't listen to sermons, what is it? They just have their own way of thinking, choosing what to listen to. If it doesn't suit my taste, throw it away! If it doesn't fit my flavor, throw it away! After remembering for a long time, they only remember the jokes I told. They didn't listen to the thesis I presented, only the jokes.

The most deadly thing is to not have knowledge but to think you do. If a person does not have something but thinks they do, they are deceiving themselves. The things of this world are very interesting. Take Pharaoh, for example. Moses said: plagues of frogs, plagues of flies, plagues of locusts, and plagues of hail. After experiencing so much, one would normally think, this is powerful, I must worship this God! Shouldn't they think that way? Pharaoh, who was so clever, was so foolish? It's because he was too clever, and after being too clever, the thoughts in his brain became very strange.

Do you know that the thoughts in the brains of people who are very clever in the world are very strange? To what extent are they strange? They are as strange as Pharaoh, who forgot everything after just experiencing all kinds of disasters. His memory is similar to that of a fish, only nine seconds. Why? Because his brain is full of a worldly logical system. Why don't you listen to what I tell you? Because you are full of self-righteous wisdom, a worldly logical system, and you fall into it as you think. Just like the Egyptian Pharaoh. So self-righteousness kills you!

Some people almost died, and then they lived again, but they still live the same way as before. The worldly logic system is very strong, the pursuit of the things of this life is very realistic, it's all real money, but it's all very empty. Why? Because the real money is still there, but you are gone. It sounds like a curse, but it's the truth. It's just that people don't know!

When you ask questions, I rebuke you, and I know you have your own way of thinking about your own little affairs. Later I thought I can't control you anyway! I just encourage you to run hard, don't look to both sides, and in the end, you will be digested in that Western Heaven. So today we tear down and rebuild, knowing that that set of thinking doesn't work, even if you spend forty years herding sheep in the wilderness, tear it down, stop being an arrogant person, think that you are not good enough, and receive this set of Jesus, and thoroughly tear down the things you were born with. They are useless, only leading to corruption.

So I often say to brothers and sisters: Whether you are fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, or ninety years old, tear it down well, and throw it away as garbage. It costs money and effort to demolish a building!

We Preach Jesus Christ Crucified

Can you understand Jesus Christ crucified? This is such a foolish doctrine. If I were in charge, some people would say: I would start a rebellion! See, five loaves of bread and two fish can feed five thousand people, and you can turn stones into gold, and drill for oil on the spot. If you want soybean oil, we'll produce soybean oil; if you want peanut oil, we'll produce peanut oil; if you want gasoline, we'll produce gasoline; if you want water, we'll get water on the spot by drilling a hole and drinking it. If there were a war, it would be amazing. The Israelites would rise up, start a rebellion, overthrow the Roman Empire, and establish the Davidic dynasty. Brothers and sisters, that's not how it's done. People are confused! Follow Jesus to conquer the world, get an official position, sit next to him, and become the left prime minister and the right prime minister, right? Can we think like that?

People are just foolish, and in the end, they say: He was crucified! The Jesus we believe in was crucified. Jesus said he would be resurrected on the third day, but no one heard him. What does that mean? This foolish doctrine is a very interesting doctrine. I tell you, you always feel like I want to hurt you, because I want to tell you not to gratify the flesh, and it's hard to agree with. It would be great to eat and drink well, but I tell you that the flesh is of no benefit, and don't gratify it.

But today what we preach is Jesus Christ crucified. Yes, we preach Jesus Christ crucified, but Jesus Christ opened up a new and living way for us. Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life, so what he did, we must also do. Are you also going to be crucified? No, I nail all the evil desires of the flesh to the cross, so that my spirit can be one with God. So you must know that the things of this life, of the flesh, are a huge pit, a bottomless pit.

It is impossible to understand the way of life, it is a way of dedication, a way of Mingding Destiny. I was born for this, I will die for this, this is the purpose of my coming into the world. Because Jesus came into the world, his purpose was to give us a demonstration, to be an example, and to open up a new and living way. Completely dedicate yourself, like a fragrant burnt offering presented before God, that is the way of life. No one can go to the Father except through Jesus Christ, that is, through this way of dealing with the flesh. What to do? Therefore, rely on the Holy Spirit to put to death the evil deeds of the body and offer yourselves. Do you understand?

We must not only reject all the customs of this life, but also reject many of our carnal habits. In the past few years, many people have not understood what I have done. Like some of us, sometimes I am embarrassed to say it. If I don't say it, I feel uncomfortable; if I say it, you feel uncomfortable. What to do? I really don't know what to do, so I just say it weakly. Like one of our brothers, I asked him to lead a Bible study, and he said, pastor, lead it yourself! It's OK for me to lead it, it doesn't matter if I lead one more or one less.

I asked him where he was going. He was going to attend a wedding. Oh my god! Is a wedding more important than a Bible study? Don't say I lead a Bible study, even if I'm just listening to a Bible study, I wouldn't go to a wedding. Some people are like this, you go, go to the death. After you finish attending, wait for them to attend your funeral, because you are already married. When people ask me to attend, I say I can't go. They ask me why I can't go, I say I set this time thirty years ago, can it be moved? I scheduled it for Jesus! Silly child, are you more important than my Jesus? I can still live without you, but I can't live without Jesus, right! I made an appointment with Jesus.

So you see my determination, which is actually to deal with our carnal habit of pleasing people! Maybe the person you are pleasing is your wife, maybe the person you are pleasing is your husband, maybe it's your children, but you don't want to please God. Even if you are a great disciple, it is useless. Why you live is useful, Mingding Destiny is useful. The past is useless, only today is useful. Some people's time is gone all the time, gone all the time, and I think it's strange. I have a bad temper, you don't have to come next time, it's not your business, I don't need you at all. What are you here for? This and that all the time.

This Gospel is the Power of God

For this gospel is the power of God. Can I have great power by attending your wedding, your funeral, your graduation ceremony? When something happens to me, everything will be extinguished and it will be useless. I tell you, I basically don't participate in this stuff in my life. Why? I'll tell you why, it's a waste of time. I didn't come into this world to attend weddings, did I? It doesn't matter if I'm missing, I'm not the groom or the bride, if I'm just running a cameo, forget it! Because what I need is the power of God.

Why are we so dedicated and willing to give up everything? Because it's worth it! That's where people's choices are. I have become God's person, a man of God, and even demons are afraid when they hear me. The story I just told, the grandfather of one of our sisters had Alzheimer's disease, doesn't that save a lot of trouble? If you want to try my name, you can, to combat Alzheimer's disease and see if it works. The world thinks it's foolish! Therefore, we want to carry the death of Jesus Christ, carry our own cross, so that the power of Jesus' resurrection from the dead can be manifested in us.

Don't always want to find me, treating me like a master, it's useless! Why don't you want to be a man of God, a person of God? I thank God for remembering me and showing me grace. I said: God! Look, I am coming, I am coming to do your will. I often tell God with tears, I hope that one day I can see God earlier, rest from the labors of the world, and let the fruit of my service in the world go with me into eternal life.

Brothers and sisters, the gospel is the power of God, why has it been lost? It is because of people's choices. Unbelief is the root of the problem, it's still your own way of thinking. Are you pursuing your own way of thinking? A brother said to me: Teacher, you know I am a very stubborn person. You know you are stubborn and you don't change? Have you changed? I know my problem. Do you really know? If you really knew, you would have changed long ago. You always choose the wrong thing, you are afraid of everything, but you are not afraid of God, you are very brave.

The road to the kingdom of heaven is narrow, and those who work hard will get it. Choices have a price, but it's worth it. Because the power of Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead will protect me, do you understand? Money cannot solve our problems, serve with faith! Many brothers and sisters, I actually know what you are thinking, but I still serve with faith. I sigh in my heart: There are so many Corinthians! Big and small Corinthians. According to your learning, you should have become teachers long ago, but looking at the way you are learning, you are still spiritual babies, so today I talked about a Mingding Destiny series.

I hope everyone can rise up, wake up, and know what kind of people God wants to choose. No longer live in confusion, like a fortune teller. God chooses those whom the world considers foolish, and self-righteousness is the biggest obstacle. Next, our brothers and sisters will begin to deal with self-righteousness, start saying I know I have this problem, I will also deal with it, I will deal with it like this, and make wise choices by the power of the Holy Spirit. May God bless everyone!