Introduction

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning to all of you. I'm so glad to have this time with you to study the word of God. May the Lord bless you.

We may read a passage of an article or even a book of the Bible, they all have a main point. Each paragraph is built surrounding the main point. If we can't figure out the main point, then we will have a problem understanding what the author tries to tell us. That's why I have been repeating this kind of teaching methodology again and again. And hopefully, you have done this according to what I have shared with you.

Do not spend your strength on women

Let's look at Proverbs chapter 31, the last chapter of the book. I assume you have read it a couple of times. After reading it a couple of times, what do you think the main point is? What the author was trying to deliver?

The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him. (Proverbs 31:1)

Who is Lemuel? It's not recorded and there has been a lot of speculation about him. Some people think it may be King Solomon. Now, who was his mother? Solomon's mother was Bathsheba, Uriah's wife. People speculate a lot about what happened between King David and Bathsheba. But, one thing is for sure, Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, taught Solomon a lot of things. That was why since Solomon was very young, he was already concerned about the Temple of God.

King David wanted to build a temple for God. Since Solomon was young, he had been taught by his mother to pay attention to God-related matters. They discussed a lot of things related to the Temple of God. Solomon was later on chosen to be the king of Israel, taking over King David's throne.

Generally speaking, a mother has a very strong impact on the kid, more than the father. The father will be busy with a lot of other things. If we assume Lemuel is another name for Solomon and the mother was Bathsheba. It doesn't matter whether it was Solomon or not. But we know Solomon was a good match.

Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb! Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers! Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. (Proverbs 31:2-3)

When you listen to this, it makes a lot of sense. What is this chapter trying to share with us? What is the main point of this chapter? The main point of this chapter is how to be a king. As Christians, we are kings. Because our Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of Lords, King of Kings.

So who are the kings? You and I! We, Christians are born to be a king. This chapter is teaching us how to be a king. The king is not appointed to chase after women. The king is not appointed to do whatever they want. You and I know that we come to this world with destiny. God has a great plan for you and me. He appoints us to be the kings and to be able to manage.

You may ask what the definition of Salvation is. Salvation is not about going to heaven after death, and it is to restore the image of God. We are sons of Almighty God, and we are born to be kings and to be able to manage everything on behalf of God on this earth.

In Genesis chapter one, God created humans, Adam and Eve, according to his own image. Then we all have the image of God. Do you know what the job was given to humans? Although the heaven and earth created by God were a perfect system, he gave a job to Adam and Eve to be fruitful and increase in numbers, manage the animals on the ground, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the water. So this is management. The king's job is to manage.

And this exactly matched what Solomon asked for from God. Solomon was asking for wisdom to manage Israel. And God gave him wisdom as this was taught by his mother.

His mother said, "My son, you are a king, do not spend your strength on women." That was one of the most important pieces of advice. So let's listen to what the mother is trying to say in this chapter. When you and I listen to this, whether you have a view on Bathsheba, let's put it aside.

We know the author is saying of the king Lemuel, it did not mention King Solomon nor the mother Bathsheba. We just use Solomon as an example. The mother was teaching the kid the right thing and this is the point the mother tried to make. So what is the main point of this chapter? It's how to be a king. The son listened to what his mother had shared and later on became one of the greatest kings in history. And it happened to be King Solomon.

So do not spend your strength on women and your vigor on those who ruin kings. But at the end of the day, Solomon had a lot of women, which might be a few hundred. Then the mother tried to share with her kid

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. (Proverbs 31:8-9)

This is what the mother was teaching the kid how to be a king and not waste all the energy on women and vigor on those who ruined kings.

It is not for kings, Lemuel— it is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish! Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. (Proverbs 31:4-7)

This is the purpose of wine and beer, but not for the king. The king comes to this world with destiny, the plan that God had in each one of us. You and I have kingship and do not lose it anymore. Our Lord Jesus sacrificed himself and died on the cross to accomplish salvation to be able to restore the image of God while we are still alive. So management is one of the crucial elements for anyone who aims to be a king.

The mother did not tell the son to get a good wife or chase after a good girl. She said not to spend the strength on women. However, a lot of mothers are not concerned about whether their sons will have a future or not. When their sons get to a certain age, they are rushed to get a woman to settle down.

Recently, a young man, pampered so much by his parents, suffered from depression. As a result, he had a mental breakdown, which was the devil. He had suffered from depression for a couple of years, so he started searching and found our website. He then listened to the website and started to understand, so he contacted us. One of the pastors set him free.

Recently, his mother tried to set him up with a girl. She does not have the wisdom of the mother of King Lemuel. The girl she introduced only looked pretty but did not resolve many problems. Because we don't know what she has deep down in her mind.

After a while, the depression came back. As you know, when you deal with relationship problems, it particularly gets worse when entering a marriage, there are a lot of fights, because two people have different views, different backgrounds, different thinking, logic, or habit. What I am saying is that the mother is trying to introduce the son for him to get a girlfriend. She thought, "My son ought to get married", and forgot about the development of the son to be a mature adult because he was suffering from depression. His intelligence level is not low. After a while, the young man realized it was not the time for him to be ready to make a girlfriend. So he got depression again, and we have to set him free again.

We were born with the destiny to manage

So what I am saying is that, compared to a lot of mothers, many mothers don't want their son to be a king in the future, or to be a manager, or to do management. They are not teaching him the wisdom of management. This is a big problem. That is exactly why King Lemuel's mother talked to the son. She said, "Do not spend your strength on women. Do not waste your energy on that. Your job, you came to this world because of my vow. I had been seeking God. You are the son of my womb, the son of my vows. You came to this world to be a king; my son is going to be a king! Do you know what a king is supposed to do? He is supposed to manage a nation, manage a people, he is supposed to have all the wisdom to manage."

That is his job! Think about it. You and I came to this world, and is the aim of our life to get married in our 20s and 30s and then have a son or daughter and have a family and live? The daughter and son get older and get married, and you look after a grandson or granddaughter. After that, you finish, and it is the end of the day. Is that what we are supposed to do? But a lot of people live in this manner. But this is not the manner God planned for us. He planned for us to be kings, to rule over the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, the animals on the ground. We are supposed to be rulers, we are supposed to be kings. We have to manage, we are supposed to speak for people who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of the destitute. "Speak up and judge fairly, defend the right of the poor and needy."

In the spiritual world, a lot of people are under bondage. And what is our job? We are the kings who set a lot of people free. We are supposed to cut the bondage, we are supposed to loosen those who are under captivity. We are supposed to set them free. We are supposed to cut them free, cut and break the bondage, and break the chain. Everything we are supposed to do is to speak for those people. Speak for those people, the poor and needy.

So you have to know that if you are going to live a life like any other animal; some people say, "a bird!". You can be a bird man. A bird, compared to a human, what is the better choice? Some people just want to be a bird. Do you want to be a bird? Humans are supposed to be kings, to rule over nature, to rule over the birds in the sky, the animals on the ground, and the fish in the sea. We are born to be kings, to manage, to be fruitful and increase in numbers, and become the blessing of the whole world.

Our desitiny is not to get married.

This is the mother, telling the son: "Do not spend your energy on women." But what about marriage? The first marriage was between Adam and Eve. The first marriage is a failure of a marriage. Ever since Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, they started to point fingers at each other: "Your fault, not my fault," that kind of thing. That is exactly what is happening today.

Look at the relationship between the wife and husband.From what I know, a lady came to join us, and she was suffering from that kind of problem. And the husband was also suffering from their marriage. And every day, the lady was not working, but she got a stool and sat in front of the husband and was monitoring him. So we ask her, do you do anything? She said "no, I flip through my phone", watching TikToks, the short videos. One after another, day after day. That is a problem. That is why the mother says, "a wife of noble character, who can find?" And do you see the message? There is no such thing at all! A wife of noble character, who can find? She is worth far more than rubies, any expensive stone.

What I am trying to say, is the mother, most times the mothers are women; women know women well. The wife of noble character you cannot find. Can you find it? So don't waste time. Focus on your job, God has a plan for you! You are supposed to be the king, not an animal looking for a mate. So the wife of noble character, who can find? Can you find it? Let me read it for you.

Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ship, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings, she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand, she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. (Proverbs 31:11-27 NIV)

The whole paragraph. To be honest, in all the days of my life, I could not find it. A lot of people are not a wife of noble character, a woman of noble character, but they assume they are of noble character. What self-righteousness! In chapter 29, we have talked well about self-righteousness. The stiff-necked, after many rebukes, will be destroyed without remedy. When people have a stiff neck, they assume they know. They think that they are a wife of noble character, but they are not. And that is what I see pretty often.

One day, we visited a church, and in the church, the wife and husband are both pastors. The husband is the senior husband, and the wife of the senior pastor is the senior senior pastor. This is something pretty common. I have problems understanding. One day, the wife of the senior pastor looked for us. She suffered from a severe bone pain, and the whole body was extremely painful. And my staff was praying for her for a couple of months, and all the pain was gone. But the bones, the joints and the fingers, actually were not in the original shape anymore, they were all swollen. She had a lot of problems with her husband, and she tried to control her husband. Now and then, she would create a lot of problems for her husband. How do I know? I know the husband.

The husband was supposed to learn how we do the deliverance, and how we build up the church. I talked to the husband and shared with him. He was running his church for over thirty years, and I was sharing with him how to set up a church with the doctrine of destiny. The husband went back and prepared a big thing, deliverance, casting out demons and healing the sick. But the wife disagreed. The wife thought she was a wife of noble character. What a sad thing. And now and then, the church decision was not aligned with the word of God, but aligned with the word of the wife of the pastor. I have seen so many of these cases. But let me tell you, King Lemuel, the son says, the wife of noble character, who can find?

No matter what gender you are, God has a plan

It's very difficult to find. That's why you shouldn't spend all your strength on women, but pay attention, and fulfill your duty given by God. God has given you a duty, a job that you'd better do well. Let me say this, even if you are a woman, you're supposed to do what a king is supposed to do. Whether you are the wife or the husband, it doesn't matter. As long as you are a human, God has a wonderful plan for you. You are supposed to create value. You are supposed to be knowledgeable. You're supposed to speak with wisdom, and you need to have the wisdom to manage people and things. Whether they are the king or the wife of the king, they were given a job that they were supposed to accomplish. They were supposed to fulfill the plan of God. If you read this, you will know that whether you are male or female, it doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that if we are kings before the Lord Jesus Christ, our God the Father. Our God has a plan for all of us, regardless of male or female, we have a job we need to manage. And you need to do your due diligence on whatever was given to you. You probably play a different role, maybe you have a different duty. But either way, you have to do your due diligence. You have to learn and equip yourself. You have to grow. You have to acquire knowledge and skill. And you have to acquire the kind of ability and wisdom so that you can be a person who is clothed with strength and dignity.

Nothing is an exception. Whether you are male or female, you all are humans. You're supposed to have the image of God. You are a king. You are the ruler of the things you're supposed to manage. It's not trying to say, "You can marry a wealthy guy and you don't even need to do anything!" No, it's not like that. Whether you get married, you still have your duty to fulfill. Our God does not care whether you are a woman, or whether you are a man. God will always treat you the same way. Our God wants us to be king. He wants us to be fruitful, increase in numbers, and be able to rule over the fish in the sea, the beasts on the land, and the birds in the sky. Did you know that you could be a king? A person who can manage? A person full of creativity? You are a person who can create value, a person who can help those who are poor and needy.

Fear God and fulfill your duties

And the most important thing is that whether you are a man or woman, a king or the wife of a king, you have to know one thing. You need to have fear of God. If we have this kind of fear, then we will carry out our due diligence. We will not go astray. We will not do it in our own eyes which we saw fit. We will do according to the body of Christ, the church of Almighty God. We will fulfill the church and build it according to the word of God. And this church, the army of God, will march out and set people free, will snatch people from the hands of the devil, preach the word of God and restore the image of God. You might be wondering, am I a king? Am I a princess? Am I a man of noble character or am I a woman of noble character? Let me assure you, I'm pretty sure this is the salvation of God. Wonderful salvation!

While we are still living on the earth, God will work in you and me to restore the image of God. We will be a ruler who manages things. And we will be able to manage a project, a task, a team, or do many other things. These are exactly the things our church will do. We will train people to do things properly. In the past years, I have been very concerned about this. Many people were bound, then we broke the binds. We can break the curse, we can cast out demons and devils. We can do all kinds of things. But after the person was set free, what are they going to do? They still have to create value. They still have to go on the path of restoring the image of God so that we act like Jesus Christ and do what he has been doing. We can have the glory of Almighty God, have a sign on us so that we can do what Jesus had done: set people free, break the chain, break the bondage, cast out demons, heal the sick, and restore the image of God. We have to train the person not only can make a living but to make a good living, then they will become a man or a woman of noble character. God has given all of us certain talents and your talents will be maximized. The usage of your talent will be maximized, and you can probably help those at the lower level. When you help them, sharpen them, and make them grow, then you will also grow.

Enjoy working

When the image of God is restored, we will do our work vigorously, and we will start to enjoy working. There's a parable, some people started working at the vineyard at 8 o clock AM, and they agreed to pay 1 dollar. Then some came at 9am, 10am, and 11am. Or some came after wandering the street for the whole day. Finally, at 5 pm, they got into the vineyard. The moment it was 6 pm, they started working. In the end, each of them got the same amount of money. The one who started working at 8 felt unfair. Is it unfair? No, working is a reward. If you don't work, who will you be? Do you want to be someone who gets fed by others? You sleep, you wake up, and get fed again? You're not even counted as a donkey, as a cow, as a pig waiting to be slaughtered. Do you want to be living the life of a pig? Do Humans live pig lives? No, you and I have to know that with the image of God, we enjoy achievements. The work itself is the reward, and we will start to enjoy it.

When I was a student, I enjoyed learning. When I became a worker, I enjoyed working. When I became a manager, I enjoyed management. Sometimes I hate doing those things, but I have to convince myself often that I have the image of God. I have a destiny. I didn't come to this world just to travel, play, eat, or enjoy. No! I came because I carry a destiny which is the plan of God in me. God wants to make me a king. We are kings, our God is the king over us, and we're supposed to manage on behalf of our God. That's exactly what the image of God is. This image will be restored. You and I will look like Jesus Christ.You and I will do what Jesus Christ has been doing. And you and I will be filled with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will be able to do what our Lord Jesus Christ has been doing when he was on earth. Prepare yourself to engage God in this process, and let the plan of God be fulfilled in our life. That's called destiny.

May the Lord Bless you!