I. Introduction

Good day to all! The topic I am sharing today is quite challenging. If I can explain it clearly, listen carefully. If there are areas I don’t explain well, it might be difficult for you to understand. Today, I will strive to share the final installment of this Mingding Destiny series, titled Filling Up What is Still Lacking in Christ’s Affliction for the Sake of His Body, the Church. Don't think I made up this title; it is straight from the Bible. This is the seventh part of the Mingding Destiny series, Filling Up What is Still Lacking in Christ’s Affliction for the Sake of His Body, the Church.

Recently, I saw a comment on YouTube that said: People like to get things done instantly, to get results immediately. This is not the way of faith; they do not know Christ at all. Seeking instant results is corrupt; once it doesn't work, they give up pursuing. This is called lazy theology. This is something I mentioned in my sermons, and this is where the concept of lazy theology comes from.

I tell you, there are plenty of lazy Christians, do you agree? If you agree, give me a thumbs up. A major misconception among Christians is: Ah, Jesus has already accomplished everything for me, so what should I do? I'll play chess! I'll travel! I'll have fun! I'll engage in idle talk! I'll gratify my flesh! I'll eat, drink, and be merry! This is what Christians do! All of this is called lazy theology. This is a very good point: there are many people who seek instant results.

Some even specifically seek my ministry because I often talk about instant kills in my sermons. They like that I can pop! and they are healed, so they can continue to love the world, gratify their flesh, and discern good and evil. But this doesn't work. God knows they want instant results. If I don't deliver instant results, they think, This doesn't work either; it's all boasting. There are many people who seek instant results.

Actually, I would like to serve them proactively, but my way of serving is different from what they want. I do everything by faith, which means I persevere as long as I can. Many Christians constantly seek that pop! If there is no pop! then forget it. This is truly a tragedy, and many people don't realize it. You need three to four years to get a university degree, right? Doesn't a university diploma take three to four years? Does everything just pop! with Jesus, and that's it? What do you need to do then?

Yesterday, a brother came to me. I had talked to him about the concept of the church many times, but yesterday he finally came. What for? His thirty-year-old daughter was demon-possessed, suffering from depression, bipolar disorder, and talking nonsense. We prayed for her yesterday, but the demons sent her to the mental hospital. Even after several hours, she wasn't healed. So, I must tell you today that you might think she was healed after several hours, but she wasn't. However, in my faith, I will persevere until she is healed. A thirty-year-old child with mental illness—how devastated must her parents be? In the past, don't think I liked those pop! moments. I really didn't like them. I hoped to save my energy, but I don't like pursuing that pop! If I pursued that pop! I would have joined those pop! people.

But thankfully, my past ministry has been characterized by this personality of mine, this perseverance, this thing called faith. One after another, people have been healed, and this case will be no exception because I don't seek instant results. In faith, I know God has predestined our victory. Doesn't that sound empowering? Persevere, persevere until victory!

After ministering yesterday, we continue today. People ask, Aren't you tired? How could I not be? I am tired. I'm often exhausted, but I am willing! This is my Mingding Destiny! I am willing to pay the price for it. Is that your business? I am willing! Do you know that the phrase I am willing! can shut many people down completely? Why are you doing this? I am willing, is there anything else to say? There are no more words. I often say these things: I like it, I am willing.

Sometimes people stop me: Don't do it, don't do it. I say, Why are you stopping me? This is what I like to do in this life. It's like playing a computer game; I win one game after another. It's so satisfying! What I am pursuing is that I am not interested in things that are not effective. What's the use of playing mahjong? No use. When I came into this world, I pondered what God wanted me to do in this world. What did God create me for? Like a computer, to achieve the effect of using a computer; like a phone, to achieve the effect of using a phone. If a phone or a computer cannot be used, it is broken.

What effect does God want to achieve by creating me? To build His glorious church. So, what do I live for? What is my Mingding Destiny? What do I live for? I live to build God's glorious church! I am willing to work hard for building God's glorious church! I am willing to die for building God's glorious church! This is God's plan for me, this is God's Mingding Destiny for me! I want to enter God's beautiful plan for me, I want to achieve God's purpose in creating me, this is my Mingding Destiny!

Once a person loses their Mingding Destiny, loses the originally designed function, they become useless. Have you ever heard of a useless person? Do you know what it means to be useless? Not making use of waste, just plain useless! Isn't it tragic to have no Mingding Destiny? So, today's topic is Filling Up What is Still Lacking in Christ’s Affliction for the Sake of His Body, the Church! Some people are frightened by this, saying, Can we still believe in Jesus? But this is the Mingding Destiny of the Apostle Paul. The Mingding Destiny of the Apostle Paul is: I want to fill up what is still lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, the church! I will die for this, I will pay the price for this, this is what I am willing to do, this is my Mingding Destiny! Doesn't that sound good?

The day before yesterday, I was ministering to a brother, and he told me about his calling, which I found quite interesting. He said that many years ago he received a calling called watchman. I have been quite troubled by this; I don't know where he received it from. In the church, he did one thing: he often reminded the pastor, You're doing this wrong, you're doing that wrong, why are you doing this? Why are you doing that? He doesn't know that this is not called being a watchman; this is called fault-finding.

I tell you, the people I hate most in the church are these people! Why? Think about it, what kind of person is he? He says, You should do this, pastor, you should do that, pastor. Have you ever done it? You haven't even done it, just spouting an opinion, a view. Later, he got cancer, and I started ministering to him. I reminded him, and he stopped doing that to the pastor. Of course, he can come and be my watchman.

Actually, many terms have been invented in the church. The most common is intercessor. Are there any intercessors among us? Some say, My calling is to be an intercessor. While praying, they say, Pastor, you shouldn't do this, pastor, you should do that. Look, the pastor has gone astray; let's pray together for the pastor to wake up. Oh my goodness! Is that intercession? Then they say, This is God's revelation. I don't know where they heard it, whether it was from a weasel or a ferret—actually, weasels and ferrets are the same. They say, I received God's revelation. What is all this? I think many of these things are just made up on the spot. I tell you, don't be that kind of intercessor in our church. Let's not be intercessors. Everyone among us is a person of prayer!

What I dislike most is when someone does nothing else, can't do anything else, and just intercedes all day long. Isn't that fatal? That's not Mingding Destiny; that's life-threatening! So, brothers and sisters, everyone among us is a person of prayer; you don't need to intercede for others. I'm not like those pastors who have people pray for them in the back while they wander around in the front. Can that work? We don't have those things in our church.

We are a pastoral church, and the logic is very simple. Do you love the Lord? If you love the Lord, then shepherd God's little sheep and big sheep. There are many among us who are called little sheep. I am talking about shepherding God's flock. If you love the Lord, then shepherd God's sheep. This is very simple. You say, I don't have the gift of shepherding. That's okay; if you can buy soy sauce, buy soy sauce. If you can pass a knife or do chores, that's also serving. Even giving a cup of water to the least of these is giving it to Jesus.

Speaking of shepherding, who did you shepherd today? How did you shepherd? Can you shepherd? Is your shepherding effective? So, today I want to ask you: what is the greatest commandment given to us in the Bible? It is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. If loving the Lord your God is just saying, Ah, I love the Lord, I love Jesus! I love Jesus! then you've become a parrot. A parrot might even learn it better than you. The function of the church is shepherding. The concept of shepherding has become very clear in our church. We have a whole set of theological systems for shepherding. These are what we have dug out from the Bible.

The church we are building has a theological system. We have a theological system for healing and deliverance, a theological system for shepherding, and a theological system for building the church. Is it hard work? It is hard work. Why are many churches unwilling to do shepherding? Because shepherding is hard work. Yesterday, I prayed with that child and spent seven or eight hours here. So, it's not easy for us. You need to know that doing shepherding sometimes requires persuading people for their own benefit. Sometimes, while talking, people get angry with us, and we have to use a set of skills to twist and turn them around, so they don't go astray. Even if they get angry while we're talking, we still have to do it. This is my Mingding Destiny, this is my calling! This is based on the Bible.

What God cares about most is building the church, and what the church cares about most is shepherding. What are we doing with all these intercessors and watchmen who don't shepherd? How do we love God? I'm not very clear. I just preach the gospel; you guys figure it out. Anyway, I have a dream that our brothers and sisters can take on even a tiny bit of shepherding responsibility.

You need to know that when I deliver someone, cast out the demons inside them, and they fail an exam and come crying to me, I need to shepherd them! So, where did the shepherding in our church develop from? It developed from serving step by step, from the ground up.

I really think brothers and sisters are more blessed than I am because I have never been shepherded like this. I also thank God that because I haven't, I long to be shepherded. Actually, I have many problems, but no one cares. It's helpless; saying more is just tears. But God gave me a heart determined to build a church that shepherds well. So, brothers and sisters, don't worry; your problems are all on me, I put them all on Jesus. In His beautiful will, Jesus Christ hopes that we brothers and sisters can prosper. Sometimes, while talking, I feel a little uncomfortable.

Today's topic is Filling Up What is Still Lacking in Christ’s Affliction for the Sake of His Body, the Church. You must have confusion and questions about this. Thankfully, I am using the original text of the Bible. Is it hard work? It is hard work. But that is Mingding Destiny. I was born for this, and I will die for this. Actually, I say in my heart: God! May I be used by you to fill up what is still lacking in Christ’s affliction for the sake of building your church. I am willing to place my life in God's hands. I was born for this, and I will die for this. Brothers and sisters need to know that often we think Christ has finished everything, Christ has accomplished everything, and we don't need to do anything, which becomes lazy theology. How can that be? The Apostle Paul spoke so well, really very well. He said:

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. (Colossians 1:24)
To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:29)

Does Christ's affliction still lack anything? Of course, it does. How can it lack anything? I tell you, you probably won't find any information online that explains this. If you do, then great minds think alike! I have biblical basis. Is everything God created perfect? Perfect. Six days of creating everything and then creating man. Everyone, what did they do after creation?

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28)

Have you seen videos of what happens to a donkey that no one takes care of? The donkey's toenails grow so long that it can't walk because no one takes care of it. Some people think, what did God create? Creating toenails that need people to trim. But that is our responsibility. God's creation is complete, but Adam's work has just begun. God's most perfect creation just leaves a portion for Adam to do. God deliberately left this portion for Adam to do, so that God can work together with man. How much our God loves us! God did not create an Adam who idles his time; God did not create an Adam who plays mahjong all day, travels all day, sets up tents, fishes. No. God created Adam to rule.

Jesus said on the cross, It is finished. Is it finished? I tell you, It is finished and It is over are not the same thing. Our Chinese translation is very good. The English translation is finished, meaning over. Where is it over? It is Christ's affliction that is over. The work behind us has just begun. It is finished laid the foundation for us; we have to build on it. If we don't need to do anything, are we just leaning back on it? Leaning back on it all day, won't we become useless?

So, in Paul's concept, the afflictions of Jesus still lack something, meaning our work is not finished. We must continue with the work that Jesus Christ did, to work together with God, to build the glorious church, that is our Mingding Destiny. Suffering for Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ suffering and gaining glory, we emulate Jesus Christ, it is normal to suffer a little for this Mingding Destiny. If you don't suffer for this Mingding Destiny, you will still suffer, just don't know what kind of suffering it is. This is Paul's original word, it is for the body of Christ, for the church to work hard, I am willing.

I often read Paul's letters and feel deeply touched. You will find that when I interpret Paul's letters, I interpret them in detail and straightforwardly because I empathize. Building a church is hard work, but if you don't do that work, who will? But that is Mingding Destiny, that is glorious and full of joy, this is entering into God's glory and becoming part of God's plan. So, brothers and sisters, you have come among us, if you have experienced God, feel peace and joy, and are blessed in the victorious church, that is just the beginning of Christian doctrine.

If you don't know that later you can enter into this glorious Mingding Destiny, suffer for Christ, build the body of Christ for Christ's sake, build God's church, and then labor for it and do your best, that is called glorious Mingding Destiny. God's will is the church, what do we do if we don't enter into God's will? So, building the body of Christ, that is, for the sake of the body of Christ, isn't it normal to pay a little price for the church? If you don't pay the price for this, you have to pay the price for that! You always have to pay the price.

Brothers and sisters, you must know that when I speak of Mingding Destiny, I want everyone to emphasize the concept of the church. Can you establish a concept of the church? If you can establish a concept of the church, that is very good. Because without a concept of the church, nothing can be realized. Why is the church powerless? Because the church has not been built according to God's word, because the people in the church do not have a concept of the church.

Why do many things happen in the church that are difficult to understand? Besides seeing many cancers, seeing this and that, including pastors getting cancer, why? Because they do not see the glory of God, because the theological system for building the church has not been built up, it is not built according to the system of the Apostle Paul. Whether or not a price is paid is debatable. Therefore, building God's church, the body of Jesus Christ, requires a price, it is the responsibility of every believer, it is the Mingding Destiny of every believer.

But in this generation, the concept of the church, the concept of the church is not clear, the definition of the church is not clear, and it is not implemented according to the definition of the church. It is as if hanging a sign makes it orthodox. Many people from other churches come to me and ask: Does your church believe in the Apostles' Creed? Does your church believe in the Nicene Creed? I say yes, you cannot stump me. So what? Are you done by reciting the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed? What is the use of just reciting that stuff? I once saw someone who could recite it fluently, but was bewildered as soon as Eastern Lightning came. The church today is extremely chaotic, and many people think this is faith, but it is not!

You must know that the concept of the church is clearly stated in the letters of the Apostle Paul. But the problems described in the Book of Colossians are all present in the church today. In the years when Paul built the church in the past, he wrote Ephesians and Colossians to keep the church from going astray, from going down the wrong path, from going into a dead end. But they are really not easy to read. If you are not someone who builds the church according to God's word, you will not be able to understand them, you will not know what he is talking about. So brothers and sisters, you must know that the problems described by the Apostle Paul are everywhere, and they all need to be corrected today. This generation is a generation of another transformation of the Christian faith, this is a new generation, and this generation will see the glory of God fill God's church again.

II. Scripture

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to his people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:24-29)

III. Prayer

God, may you use this passage, through the letters of the Apostle Paul, to encourage us again, may every brother and sister among us have the heart of Paul, may every brother and sister among us be a faithful servant and an elite soldier used by you in this generation. Let them in this generation, let each of us be able to bring such a heart of suffering, a heart of paying the price, to fill up what is lacking in Christ's suffering for the body of Jesus Christ, which is for the church of God.

God! Although we are unworthy, you have still chosen us, and for this we are grateful. God! May you use us, may you raise us up among all nations, and make us a blessing to all nations on earth. God! May you encourage us, let us love you with all our heart, soul, and strength, build your church, and shepherd your flock. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

I said with a heart of suffering, do not dislike listening to it, this suffering is the grace of God. It is much better than getting cancer and suffering, doing chemotherapy and radiation. Today, if we fill up in our flesh what is lacking in Christ's suffering, that is, suffer for this matter, that is normal. I ask you, is the church God's army? Then will you not suffer when you go out to fight? Of course, you will suffer, it will be very hard. Like the Battle of Shangganling in the Korean War, some people froze to death on the battlefield, it was very hard.

Today, we are fighting a spiritual battle, whether we like it or not, we are either slaves of this world and the devil, or we rise up and follow Jesus Christ, and fight against the strongest enemy in this world. Start building God's army, building God's church. Is it hard? It is hard. Is it not hard to fight a war? It is very hard. Is it not hard to establish God's kingdom? It is definitely not: very good, very peaceful, feeling very good, very joyful... What is so good, it has just begun.

IV. The Background of This Passage

Why did the Apostle Paul write the Book of Colossians? In fact, the church in Colossae was not established by Paul, but by Paul's good friend Epaphras, who was deeply influenced by Paul. As long as it is God's church, the Apostle Paul cares about it. As a result, the church in Colossae, like the church in Corinth, was affected by something. What was the effect? The church was doing well by believing in the Lord, and then a group of people came to confuse these people. Were these people sent by God? Maybe they were, because that is what God does. Were they sent by demons? Maybe, we will not discuss this matter.

After this group of people came, they brought something very mysterious: I saw an angel! They thought it was the shit that fell from the sky, when a bird passed by in the air pop! and it fell down, heavenly shit. I am not talking about that, but it is like the kind of thing they draw, with two wings behind it, two fat babies. We do not know what it looks like, we have not seen it. But I have seen a kind of person, this kind of Christian is very mysterious. You cannot see this kind of mystical stuff in me, I do not like this very much, I like to be like the Apostle Paul.

They said: Yesterday I saw an angel, and the angel spoke to me. There are often these people, seeing an angel is like a big deal. Do you know that some people are very envious of seeing or not seeing something. Some people say: Pastor Liu can see, and I can also see. After saying this, they smile smugly, very proud. See what? In fact, do not listen to me, seeing is seeing, not seeing is not seeing, that is not important, what is important is the effectiveness of your service.

Angel worship was quite common among the Jews. Some people say: I dreamed of Jesus, yesterday Jesus stood by my bed. They make up these things, and the people who listen to them feel chills in their hearts, thinking: Why can I not see them? Many people are anxious, and many people are worried enough. The people who see them are very proud. Some say: Angels have more power, the Archangel Michael, fighting with the devil for the body of Moses, these things appear in the books of Peter and Jude, 2 Peter and Jude both talk about these things, but you cannot see them in Paul's letters, Paul opposes this concept of exalting angels. They do not know that angels are just ministering spirits when they worship angels.

Besides this, there are also some people who are very powerful! Fasting and praying, what kind of fasting, they secretly eat things, they have prepared them behind their backs, they carry them in their arms. They say: Jesus fasted for forty days, and I fasted for forty-three days. I said, why are you still so radiant after these forty-three days? Later I found out that he said: I only drink milk. Anyway, there are all kinds of fasting prayers. Afflicting the body, saying: Look at my knees, they are like the knees of an old camel, they have calluses. They are very proud, very proud - I am already like this.

Afflicting the body, feigning humility. But, it has no effect on mortifying the passions and desires of the flesh. They often exalt the things in the Old Testament, such as circumcision and the like. I tell you, next, I will open the Book of James that I have researched, I did not dare to open the password that I used to use, now I will open it, if you agree, you agree, if you do not agree, then forget it. I do not dare to say that I am right, but after you listen to it, you can check it and confirm it.

The rituals in the Old Testament, keeping this and keeping that, they emphasize this thing. They also made up a bunch of Greek philosophy, which seems high-end, as well as psychology, human heredity, you cannot touch this, you cannot touch that... Believing in the Lord has become like this, is it fatal? To this day, I tell you, there are still some people who always anoint with oil, lay hands, pray and distribute something, they emphasize this kind of thing. Moreover, they do not want to pay any price, they just want to get it all at once. And they are mindful of earthly things, they only consider earthly things, and they have made up a lot of personal practices, entering secret rooms, kneeling and making calluses on their knees, but there is no effect.

These people have ruined the church, do you want to learn from them? Of course not, I learn from Paul, he ran the church very well, I do not learn from those who ran the church so poorly that it was destitute, you better not learn from them. Those who do not do well often bring some repetition of words: You rich people... There are also very spiritual rich people, how can you include Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were all rich people. In short, the words they speak are not very appropriate, and at a glance, they are poor boys who have not received much education and are talking nonsense. In this situation, the Apostle Paul reiterated the truth of the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. The truth of the pure gospel of Jesus Christ at least guarantees one thing: it is effective. In this situation, although it was not a church established by Paul, Paul also cared about it.

Do you know that today, the materials of our Chinese Mingding Destiny Theology are used by many people on the Internet. A person had a mental illness, and when it broke out, he broke the glass, and the floor was full of glass, and he stepped on it. Later, in the mental hospital, he listened to the information on our website every day, and he recovered and became normal! It is very interesting. There are many more, listening on the website. As far as I know, many churches use our materials. In fact, we also care, if you are willing, brothers and sisters, if you really want to pray, then pray for those people. We really want to be a blessing to this generation, no matter what kind of church, no matter who built it, as long as you are willing to build God's glorious church, using our things is all free, no money is charged. Some people may even use our things to make money.

Paul wrote the Book of Colossians. You will find that the Book of Colossians and the Book of Ephesians are very similar. The Book of Ephesians was written to the church in Ephesus, and the Book of Colossians was written to the church in Colossae. The problems of the church in Colossae and the church in Ephesus are not very different, so they were written separately, but the logical system for building the church inside is the same. The churches established by the Apostle Paul definitely pay attention to one thing, that is, the shepherding of the church. Therefore, the words that the Apostle Paul spoke in the church are actually very similar to the words we speak in our shepherding.

V. Abundance in Jesus Christ

Many times, we do not have enough understanding of the abundance in Jesus Christ. For example, when I preach the gospel to you, it is as if I am preaching a religion to you, but it is not. I think I want to introduce this benefit to people, it is a beneficial thing for you, why do I have to persuade you? Once I was driving, taking an old man, who was the grandfather of a sister among us, I took him on a trip, he sat in the passenger seat, I sat in the driver's seat, and I kept talking to him, and he turned his head and said to me: Ah, this is very strange, why do you have to desperately persuade me about something that is beneficial to me? I said: I also think that is the case. He finally understood that he has to be persuaded about something that is beneficial to him, it is as if I like to put a hot face against a cold ass.

You must know that the abundance in Jesus Christ is tangible and substantial. Often, the churches we build have a characteristic: they are truly blessed! Not only are they truly blessed, but even the problems of those who are sick are solved, and the financial problems are also solved. You will find that God is very abundant in the church. Our God is an abundant God, and the church is an abundant church. In the Book of Colossians, our Heavenly Father likes to have all the abundance dwell in Jesus Christ:

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. (Colossians 2:9-10)

These words may be understandable or not, but it does not matter, what I want to tell everyone is that our Jesus Christ is the head of all powers and authorities. What does that mean? Even demons have to listen to him, all these angels, fallen or not, are in Jesus Christ, and they have to listen to him. Why does the Apostle Paul's theology not allow people to rebel or protest against these things? Because the Apostle Paul's theological system clearly says: These earthly rulers are all established by God, do not mess with these things. Fortunately, Paul did not write in the Bible that he rose up in revolt, like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, to overthrow the Roman Empire, he did not do this, and we will not do this either. You must know that in Jesus Christ, there is an extremely abundant grace. Moreover:

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:15)

That is to say, we must know one thing, building God's glorious church is beneficial to both you and me. Do you know? After knowing this, we must clearly know that building God's glorious church is definitely not a disadvantage! Brothers and sisters, you must know for sure that just among us, we do not know how much medical expenses we have saved, a lot. That does not even include other blessings! The abundance in Christ, the abundance of God, our Heavenly Father is very rich!

Today I will tell you my own opinion. Later I found out that the churches established by the Apostle Paul all loved to give offerings, and they also had money to give offerings. How much did they give? Someone guessed one hundred million US dollars. If it is converted into today's prices, it may be more than that! Where did all that money go? It went to the very poor church in Jerusalem. Paul really wanted to exert some of his influence so that the church in Jerusalem could accept his theological system. But it was not very successful.

So I tell you, the churches established by the Apostle Paul are not poor. Why? Because the abundance of God in Jesus Christ is in the church, dwelling in Jesus Christ in tangible form. God's will for us is definitely not poverty, God's will for us is definitely abundance. So in the letters of the Apostle Paul, there is such a sentence:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

What is the problem? How does it happen that the church becomes poor? You all know what I am going to say, right? It is all wrong! Once, someone wanted to help some poor preachers, how did he help them? He had three million to do business. He had good intentions in his heart, he said, I will use this three million to do business and support the poor preachers. It is troublesome to use this three million to support the poor preachers, it offends God! Later, all three million went down the drain. Later, he called me and said, can you pray for his money? I said, there is no mention of this in the Bible! I have never heard of praying for money! He said that the Holy Spirit wakes him up at three o'clock every night, and he says that he wants me to pray for my money. I said that is an evil spirit! My God! It is all messed up. Why can you not help these poor preachers? It is okay to give him a bowl of rice. Because it is God who makes him poor! If you oppose God, will you still have good fruit to eat?

Today, how does the abundance in Jesus Christ come about? Later, I understood, it is because the church we built is the church of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. (Colossians 1:16-18)

Everything is under His control. So this matter is very interesting. When I followed the logical system of the Apostle Paul, which is our current Chinese Mingding Destiny system, I discovered a very miraculous thing in the process of building: when the demon is defeated, it actually returns the money! Brothers and sisters, you must know for sure that the reward brought by healing and deliverance is extremely rich. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ. You say, for God's will, building a victorious church, like that old man said to me: Hey, why do I need you to persuade me about things that are good for me? Why do we need others to persuade us about things that are good for us today? Why can't we just slap! God, I just want to do it this way! What abundant grace there is in this! What abundant glory there is in this! Completely guiding us before God, what a glorious hope there is in Jesus Christ! Isn't it normal to worry about this matter, to work hard, and to spend some effort?

So the Apostle Paul spoke this passage, for the church, not for himself, nor for anything else, but to make up in his flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. This lacking is to build a glorious church. So today, this word is not spoken to the Apostle Paul himself, but to those who read the Book of Colossians. You and I should make up what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions in this generation, build His glorious church, and complete what Jesus Christ has not completed. The will of Jesus Christ must be satisfied, and the will of God must be satisfied! God will be glorified through us!

VI. Laboring for the Church is a Joyful Thing

What did the Apostle Paul say? Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you. It is very hard, can it not be hard to bleed and sweat? But there is joy in the heart. Because this is my Mingding Destiny.

To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:29)

Last time we preached about striving diligently. Brothers and sisters must know that God's requirement is a very peculiar requirement. God's requirement is that people love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength! How to 尽 (jin, exhaust)? That is, everyone has their own reasons. You have your way of 尽 (jin, exhaust), and I have my way of 尽 (jin, exhaust), but is your way of 尽 (jin, exhaust) really 尽 (jin, exhaust)? Have you 尽 (jin, exhaust)ed? If you haven't 尽 (jin, exhaust)ed yet, then hurry up and 尽 (jin, exhaust)! God's requirement is that people 尽 (jin, exhaust) their hearts, 尽 (jin, exhaust) their souls, and 尽 (jin, exhaust) their strength, but many people want to 尽 (jin, exhaust) their hearts, 尽 (jin, exhaust) their souls, and 尽 (jin, exhaust) their strength to play. There is no time to love God. This is very interesting.

You will find that the order in which people arrange things is very strange. Yesterday, a child who was learning programming said that guests would be coming to his house tomorrow, so he couldn't come to learn programming tomorrow. I thought, if you were working and guests came to your house, would you go to work? If you told your boss, Guests are coming to my house, so I'm not going to work, would that be okay? What if you were in school? If you said that guests were coming to my house so I couldn't come, and if you were in the army and you said that guests were coming to my house so you couldn't report to the army today, that would be troublesome. But when it comes to studying or building the church, why can't you come?

I wonder to what extent we have 尽 (jin, exhaust)ed our hearts, 尽 (jin, exhaust)ed our souls, and 尽 (jin, exhaust)ed our strength for building the church today? If you have 尽 (jin, exhaust)ed your heart, 尽 (jin, exhaust)ed your soul, and 尽 (jin, exhaust)ed your strength, then the labor you exchange for it will definitely be joy. Why? Joy comes from God. When God blesses you, the things you do will be accomplished. Then can you not be joyful? Many things will be solved, right? Preach the word of God completely, start pastoring, start teaching, and start admonishing everyone. Laboring for the church is a joyful thing, and it is worth the effort to lead people to God!

Chinese Mingding Destiny is a theology of 尽心竭力 (jin xin jie li, exerting all one's strength), and Chinese Mingding Destiny is a theological system for building the church. Chinese Mingding Destiny is a theological system for building God's glorious church, it is 尽心竭力 (jin xin jie li, exerting all one's strength ), not a lazy theological system. A lazy person cannot go on.

VII. The Old Testament is Just a Shadow, the Substance is the Church

You know there is a group of people who preach a lot of rules and regulations. We just talked about Colossians 2:18.

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. (Colossians 2:18)

What does it mean? Most people don't understand it very well. Follow my train of thought and see if you can understand. Angels have more power, and they cannot speak words of rebuke. Do angels really have more power? This is called false humility, worshiping angels.

Everyone knows that Israelis and Jews are fascinated by angels, so when old John wrote the Book of Revelation, he saw this and that old thing. Ezekiel in the Old Testament also saw a lot of things. But this is gone by the time of the Apostle Paul. In fact, an angel is a serving spirit, and the power of an angel cannot be greater than that of a human! People are made in the image of God. Look at the images of angels, they are all images of animals. Today we must know for sure that people have the image of God, but can angels have the image of God? It is not the same thing, not the same level. So today we cannot let anyone disqualify you because of this.

See: Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen (some manuscripts: what they have not seen); they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. (Colossians 2:18)

Do you know what it means? I saw an angel, oh, you can see angels? How did you see angels? In fact, no one can verify this, is there a photo? No photos. No picture, no truth, no picture, where does the truth come from? Just talking nonsense! Later in my ministry, I often minister to those who see this and see that all the time, and what they see are ghosts! I said these things, dwelling on what you have seen, and after seeing it, they say Wow! and become very arrogant: I can see, but you can't; I can see, but you can't. This thing is very harmful. Brothers and sisters must know that if you are messed with by this kind of angel, you are finished, and people will immediately become arrogant.

In fact, no one can prove whether he really saw it or saw it falsely. Many people say: I heard the voice of God. Other people get anxious, why can't I hear it? This is how your reward is taken away, so let's not believe this thing anymore. If someone among us tells you: I saw an angel, I saw Jesus, Jesus spoke to me, etc., these things cannot be proven and are of no use. How to prove it? It depends on how this person serves, how he pastures, and how much authority he has. If a person is so poor that he is penniless, and then he hears that Jesus brought him sausage, what is all this? Anyway, I am convinced. This matter is according to what people command and teach.

Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. (Colossians 2:23)

Just do these things, or use his philosophy and empty nonsense, not according to Christ, but according to human traditions and the elementary principles of the world. Today we must know for sure that the fullness of deity lives in bodily form in Jesus Christ. Anyone who does not do this, who does not build the church according to what the Apostle Paul wrote in the Books of Colossians and Ephesians, but who looks at this and looks at that, is very dangerous. It is still very popular today, but the problem is that it is ineffective and misleading.

God's presence can definitely solve problems. For example, when Joseph was a slave in Egypt, God was with him, and as a result, everything went smoothly for him. There are still some people among us who always want to pursue quick results, and have a small operation on their genitals, a circumcision, and after the circumcision, isn't it still the same? In fact, the things described in the Old Testament have already proven one thing to the Israelites: it is ineffective! Remember, the Old Testament is just a shadow, whether it is building the temple or building the tabernacle, it is just a shadow. The substance, the real form, is Christ, is the church, is the body of Christ.

What good is it to keep rules and regulations or have surgery? In the end, it is ineffective, and in the end, you still have to deal with the flesh, and in the end, you still have to rely on the Holy Spirit to put to death the evil deeds of the body, and in the end, you still have to rely on building the church, because there is a relationship of pastoring, and there is a relationship between people, so people's problems will be revealed. When people get along with each other, you will find that there are many problems, many problems, that is, you and he both have problems.

Once, a sister came to me for training and stayed with me for a month, and nothing happened. It's not that there are no problems with this sister, there are a lot of problems with this sister. Later, I arranged for her to go to another city, where there were some of our co-workers. As a result, while they were working on it, they almost caused our sister to have depression. When I saw this, I thought, this won't work. As a result, she said to me in one sentence: Why didn't I have any problems when I was with you? When you are with me, you don't have problems because I can handle it, because I can handle it. Your not having problems doesn't mean you don't have problems! So in the end, you still have to deal with people's bad habits and deal with the things of the flesh. They can't handle it, so wouldn't that cause problems?

Therefore, the things that Chinese Mingding Destiny recognizes are effective, pastoring is effective, and what Chinese Mingding Destiny says is what is described in the letters of the Apostle Paul. After we practice these things, they are effective and can solve people's problems. In pastoring, if you want to be effective, there is still a lot of work to be done, and you need to do it little by little.

VIII. Gradually Renewed in Knowledge in the Image of Its Creator

Why do these people worship angels? Because it's fast, it can be done all at once, but if you want to shape a person, it's so slow and takes so much effort. What does Chinese Mingding Destiny say? That is, when we are alive, we can live out the image of God, and this is the concept of salvation in Chinese Mingding Destiny. The teachings of the Apostle Paul also carry this logical system, putting on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Gradually renewed in knowledge, not by inserting a USB drive into his ears and nose, and then pressing copy and paste, and everything goes in all at once, it's not that simple. What does education study? Education is studying how to get the knowledge in the teacher's brain into the student's brain, which is a very complicated process. So gradually renewed in knowledge, constantly learning, constantly knowing, and then there is the image of its creator. We need to start to understand what the image of the Lord is. Our God is an engineer, and the projects he does are very good. If we want to have the image of the Lord, we must have this knowledge, and the Holy Spirit will definitely give us wisdom and intelligence, so that we can be gradually renewed in knowledge, not only with spiritual knowledge but also with a lot of knowledge related to the image of God.

Next, let us seek the things above, so that God's will may be satisfied and please God among us. Pleasing God can only be done through the church, because the church is God's will. So in the whole process, you can't rush, and you have to implement it little by little, you can't rush. It's hard, very hard! Can it not be hard? But that is Mingding Destiny! Isn't this the last lecture in our Mingding Destiny series? What is our Mingding Destiny? Our Mingding Destiny is to build God's glorious church, and to implement it little by little in a down-to-earth manner. It's not about seeing an angel today and having a dream tomorrow, and you may have dreams, but the Bible records that Abraham only had a few dreams in more than twenty years, unlike some people who see Jesus every day.

We implement it little by little until our knowledge of the Lord fills the earth as the sea covers the sea, then that is Mingding Destiny, can you not be joyful? So brothers and sisters, don't rush, learn little by little in a down-to-earth manner, and you will be in trouble if you rush. You say: Teacher, why am I having problems again? Isn't this much better than last year? Last year I hit people and cursed people every day, and this year I curse once a week, isn't that already a lot of progress? Last year I messed up once a week, and now I mess up once a month; last year I messed up once a month, and now I haven't messed up once a quarter, isn't this gradually becoming normal?

From today on, you must know that no matter what we do on earth, even if we are slaves, it does not affect God's work in you; even if we are cleaning, it does not affect God's work in you; whether we are on earth as someone's son, someone's father, someone's servant, or someone's maid, no matter what you do, it does not affect it. Only one thing is important, whether you are willing to become a person of Mingding Destiny and build the body of Jesus Christ.

IX. Conclusion

For Mingding Destiny, if it is really your Mingding Destiny, then you have to pay the price. What is Mingding Destiny? To put one's life on the line, that is our Mingding Destiny. The glory of God will fill the whole earth again; the glory of God will come upon us again! Brothers and sisters, we must begin to expect, to strongly expect to participate in building God's glorious church.

Let's sing a song and collect today's offerings. If you don't understand the meaning of offering, don't offer it, because offering is a blessing! It is not others who are blessed, but you who are blessed. If you think I am fooling you, don't be fooled. If you think I am fooling you, you are also insulting me when you offer. Don't be fooled, don't be fooled. Look carefully, understand clearly, and then do this. One of our sisters is a landlady. When she didn't offer, she often had this and that happen. Later, she realized that something was wrong, so she decided to give offerings. After giving offerings, she found it very magical, it worked, and she was especially blessed.

Brothers and sisters, if you don't understand the meaning of offering, please don't offer. Today, we begin to yearn for God's glory to be manifested throughout the earth through Chinese Mingding Destiny, because we are building His glorious church according to His will!

Everyone raise your hands and pray with me: God! I offer myself into your hands, may you use me, I am willing to enter into your plan for me, may your will be done in my life, as it is done in heaven. God! Let me be able to take on your Mingding Destiny in this generation, let me be a blessing to this generation, building your glorious church! God, use me, open my eyes, to see the needs of this generation, to see the souls crying out in the darkness! Send me, send us to build your glorious church, so that your will may be satisfied, may your glory fill us, in the name of Jesus Christ, I want to offer myself as a living sacrifice, may God accept my offering, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen!