Introduction

Good morning! We have finally reached the point where we will discuss the church. Everything we have talked about before has been groundwork. I want to tell you all: establishing the church is a grand plan of God in eternity. I have seen many, many Christians. When God needs them, they take a vacation! When they need God, God says, Sorry, I'm on vacation too. Building the Body of Jesus Christ is a grand plan of God in eternity.

The transformation of Christianity in the new era must re-prioritize this, understanding God's plan, knowing whether something is within or outside of God's plan. Therefore, the concept of the church must be re-established. The Apostle Paul's most central concept was building God's church, because the church is God's plan! The most failed aspect of Martin Luther's Reformation was getting rid of the church. Justification by faith: I have believed, I believe in my heart, and I confess with my mouth that I am saved. But what about the church? Church? What is the church? Are you referring to the Roman Catholic Church? I tell you, once you lose the concept of the church, you are finished, completely finished!

In the early days when we started building the church, during all the public holidays in Singapore, everyone was buying tickets, arranging flights, and going out to play. But we used all our public holidays for fasting and prayer. We fasted and prayed on New Year's Eve, the first and second days of Chinese New Year, Christmas, and National Day. I am proud of this. Everyone came! In those days, although the church was small, the attendance at every prayer meeting was 100%!

Once, while I was leading everyone in prayer, God gave me a vision: a large Earth floating in front of me. I saw this Earth rotating, with one side becoming bright and then the other. This vision was three-dimensional and so real! Later, I said, God, what does this mean? God said, I want to manifest my glory throughout the Earth through this small group of people.

I thought, Oh my goodness! At that time, we were in such a small city-state, and a small church in this small country. When I heard about those large churches with tens of thousands of people, I felt a little inferior. But I tell you, there is one thing that others cannot compare to. We truly lived to build the Body of Jesus Christ, to build God's glorious church. Can you imagine? Every brother and sister in the church took the time to fast and pray together!

Later, I started having Bible study on Fridays, teaching courses and Sunday services on Sundays, prayer meetings on Saturdays, prayer meetings on Tuesdays, and Bible study on Wednesdays. Everyone came. Then I asked them, Brothers and sisters, don't neglect your work! I was afraid of delaying their work and studies. Not only did they come every time, but some brothers and sisters were even more diligent, pursuing part-time degrees after work. They said, Pastor, don't worry, our work has been getting raises. I've been promoted and such. It was incredible!

This is the kind of church that trained a group of brothers and sisters. This group of brothers and sisters put the church first. I have rarely seen such a church. Truly blessed! One of our sisters told me, Pastor, my work contract expires in half a month. I said, Have you found a job yet? She said, Not yet. I became anxious. The next day, she came to me and said, Pastor, my boss told me there is a job opportunity in the financial district of Singapore. She said, I'm going for an interview tomorrow, and I'll tell you the day after. When that day came, she said, Pastor, I got the job! Working in the financial district is so close to the church.

Those who were pursuing degrees did not struggle or hesitate and obtained their degrees and graduated. The most amazing thing is that one of our brothers went to pursue a degree. I said, Don't you have class today? He said, Yes, but I didn't go. I said, Is your attendance rate sufficient? You won't graduate if your attendance rate is not enough. Later, he actually graduated! I said, God, you are amazing! This group of brothers and sisters put You first, and building God's glorious church is our Mingding Doctrine. At that time, we didn't have this name called: Mingding Doctrine. But each of us took God as our Mingding Doctrine!

Work is not a problem, degrees are not a problem, I think God is amazing! There were even raises and promotions. One sister could not graduate with her doctorate. This sister showed me the message from her doctoral advisor: You cannot graduate because you have not done enough. You need to redo your dissertation. Oh my goodness, after reading it, it was hopeless! I said, It's okay. We built God's glorious church together, and she served together as well. The next Friday, she came with another email to show me: Pastor, I can graduate! I said, What happened? What did you say to your professor? She said, I didn't say anything. I ignored him. Ah? Ignored him! Then the second Friday, her professor told her, You can graduate. Prepare for your defense. Wow! I tell you, my God! I really thank my God!

The following year, another doctoral student could not graduate. I said, What happened? I can't graduate. I said, That's okay. I have a victorious church here. In our Northeastern dialect: We'll work it out at church. Graduated! Can a doctorate be obtained like this? It can be obtained like this! Why? Because putting God first, living in God's eternal plan, can these trivial matters not be resolved by God? God can definitely resolve them. Having tasted the sweetness! So brothers and sisters, listen to my advice, if you are still living in entanglement, struggle, many troubles, many problems, there is only one reason: you have not lived in God's eternal plan.

Previously, we gave a lot of groundwork: we also talked about Paul's theology, the Gospel of Power, this gospel is the power of God, but I want to tell you, God's eternal plan is to build the Body of Jesus Christ, so that all things are united in Christ Jesus. This is incredible! Later I found that many Christians are outside the plan because their Mingding Doctrine is to be a designer, some Mingding Doctrine is to be a businessman, some Mingding Doctrine is to be a lawyer, some Mingding Doctrine is to be an accountant. It seems that few people's Mingding Doctrine is to build God's glorious church.

In fact, I want to tell everyone, God has a great plan throughout the entire course of history, from before creation to creation, and to eternity. God's great plan is so important! If you are in this plan, I tell you, entering this plan is incomparably good! If you are outside this plan, there are too many tragedies. So brothers and sisters, I tell you: you must have a global perspective. What is a global perspective? From the beginning to eternity, until the end of the world, recognize God in God's plan, know how God arranges it. I tell you, Ephesians is a handbook for building God's glorious church. If people cannot understand Ephesians, they still do not understand God's plan.

Building a victorious church, building a glorious church, building the Body of Jesus Christ, this is the most important theme of Ephesians. When I built the church that year, an old pastor told me: Do you know? Building a glorious church is the best. I said: Building a glorious church is the best, how to build it? He said: You read Ephesians. Now I can say that we really understand Ephesians.

In the past few years, we have been building God's glorious church according to what Ephesians says. Until today, there is no regret, all we see is God's glory. So every time I see brothers and sisters mess up this priority order, I feel a little sad. Sometimes I dare to speak out, sometimes I don't dare to speak out. Sometimes I dare to speak out because the pastoral relationship is strong, sometimes I don't dare to speak out for fear that people will not be able to receive it and get hurt. Is it difficult? It's very difficult, just build according to what people can receive.

What is life all about? Many experts have their descriptions. But I tell you, if living is not viewed from within God's eternal plan, you will see it in a cloud of confusion. In my workplace, I have seen many, many people, busy! Very busy! Busy until their heads are spinning. Some people are building the church and serving God, and they are also busy until their heads are spinning! The reason is simple, there is no global perspective. They can't study well, they can't work well, and they are so busy that they are kicking themselves in the back of the head.

When I encounter those who are busy with work, or those who are serving in the church and are about to burn out, I can already smell the burnt smell; or when I see people serving in the church, serving to the point that they either get depression, or get cancer, or become a tumour pastor, that is, a pastor with a brain tumour; I feel sad because they are messing around. Everyone knows that I use the phrase messing around a lot in this context. When I walk into the office and see: Pastor, I'm so busy. I say: Messing around! If a person doesn't have a global perspective and gets stuck in a dead end, how can they not be busy?

I can tell everyone: I am really not busy. You can take this as bragging, but my co-workers who are around me know that I am not bragging. Cowardice doesn't blow out from bragging. I'm really not busy. I do so many things, the most important thing is the global perspective. This global perspective is in God's eternal plan. When I started building the church, I developed a global perspective. I knew how God arranged it in eternity.

How did God arrange it in eternity? It is written in the Ephesians of the Bible. Ever since that old pastor told me to read Ephesians carefully, I have read it countless times, and finally understood God's plan in eternity. When our goals are very clear, many unimportant things are put down. If unimportant things are put down, can you still be busy? You will not be busy. Why are you busy? Because sesame seeds and mung beans are considered watermelons. If you say he can only handle a few? Sesame seeds and mung beans can handle watermelons, but what does he do when it is so large? What he says is a lot a lot, because his mind is chaotic and can't sort out a thought.

You need to know that this gospel is the power of God. How can we bring down the power of God? This lecture is to tell you to build the Body of Jesus Christ. You know that the theme of Romans is: This gospel is the power of God. The theme of Ephesians is: Building God's glorious church. If you add a subtitle, it would be: Releasing the power of God! This relationship is connected. Brothers and sisters, don't live in confusion, nothing is important, your children are not important, your family is not important, your work is not important, the important thing is God! If the important thing is God, I ask you: if God's power fills you, will you still be busy? You will not be busy.

If a person reads the Bible, you don't need to read it so carefully, just read through it quickly and roughly. When you read to Genesis, you will read about Abraham's Mingding Doctrine and the blessings in the Mingding Doctrine; if you read Exodus, the army of Jehovah came out of Egypt, this is the church, a portrayal of the Body of Jesus Christ; Numbers says that only those who can fight count; if you read carefully, all the keywords are constantly repeated; Deuteronomy talks about blessings and curses; and when you get to Revelation, it talks about the victorious church. In the end of the world, the victorious church can get grace! So you say this thing is not very critical?

I have developed a habit of not only liking to grasp the global perspective, but also liking to read classic books. I read all the classic books carefully. There is a university textbook on human resources, which is a classic in human resources; there are classics in accounting and financial management, and university textbooks are printed in more than a dozen, twenty, or thirty editions. So when you read, if you believe in Jesus, you must read the classics of the Bible carefully. Some people like to read out of context. I tell you, after reading it, quickly build the framework and build the global perspective. Those words that you constantly grab over and over again will do. The churches are all victorious, victorious, victorious. Take a look, it is written to seven churches.

Brothers and sisters, develop the habit of grasping the key points and building the framework. If you want to be a good accountant, you must read accounting books in this way. If you want to live well, you must know God's great plan. Mingding Doctrine has come along this plan. I have some things to boast about. In the past few years, I have read an English Bible until it was worn out, and three Chinese Bibles until they were worn out, just writing and drawing. Now there are fewer worn out ones because there are electronic versions, and electronic versions cannot be worn out. But when reading the Bible, I always write and draw. The more I read, the more the pages fall out, so I buy a new one. I put in the effort because there are treasures in it! We often say: In books, there are houses of gold, in books, there are faces of jade! This is an ancient Chinese saying.

So when we read the Bible, you read God's great plan, and I say in my heart: God! Let me enter Your great plan in my empty life! Later, I really understood the Bible better than the average person. Brothers and sisters, do you want to see God's power manifested in you? If you want to see it, it's simple, enter God's great plan. If you want to enter God's great plan, that's amazing.

Scripture

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1:17-23)

It doesn't matter if you don't understand this, you will still feel good! You recognize every word, right? I tell you, this sentence must be deeply imprinted in your mind! God originally wanted us to be above and not below! Christians who enter God's plan will subject all things under the feet of the church, because Jesus Christ is the head of all things for the church, and the church is His body, trampling all things under its feet! This word is amazing. But if people underestimate this blessing, it will be troublesome!

Can you open your spiritual eyes? From now on, don't put God aside first. Brothers and sisters, every time you put God aside, I feel emotional. After being emotional, you call and say: Pastor, pray for me! I am sick. I think, how much suffering do you have to endure before you wake up? From now on, if you are willing, imitate Jesus, if you are willing, imitate the Apostle Paul, or I also encourage you to imitate me. Brothers and sisters, really, I am not exaggerating at all, God is the purpose of my life, He is my Mingding.

Prayer

God! Open our eyes; God! Give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may truly know Him; God! Enlighten the eyes of our hearts, so that we may truly know what is the hope of Your calling, let us value the status of this son, let us know what is the rich glory of the grace accomplished by the precious blood of Jesus Christ; God! Let Your power of resurrection from the dead be manifested in us, and let us truly know that entering Your great plan, that is how great grace, that is how glorious a thing; God! You say that all things must be subjected under Your feet, You want us to be Your body, that is to trample all things under our feet; God! Let us enter this great plan of Yours, let us become the vessel of this generation to manifest Your glory! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Scripture Background

When was Ephesians written? It should be written after 59 AD, maybe 61 AD and 62 AD. How is this calculated? Paul brought donations to Jerusalem and presented the donations to James. James actually did something quite interesting, I will tell everyone, please read it carefully! He shook hands and hugged Paul, and said: Paul, you should go to the temple to make a vow, do something. This is very interesting. Paul really went to the temple to fulfill a vow, but as soon as he arrived at the temple, he was arrested. Is this a coincidence? It doesn't seem like a coincidence. It seems to be a Hongmen Banquet. It doesn't seem to be arranged in eternity, but there seems to be a little bit of arrangement.

You ask me: Shouldn't we Chinese understand this logical system? If you are involved in world politics or domestic politics, you would know that the political struggle is still fraught with peril. Paul was arrested when he arrived in Jerusalem. I won't speculate on what happened before his arrest; you can guess. Before his arrest, he wrote the Book of Romans. We have been reading the Book of Galatians and the Book of Romans during this time. After his arrest, he spent two years in prison in Israel. Those who arrested him were not only Jews but also Jewish Pharisaic Christians. If you ask me, they were definitely Christians. I don't have evidence to tell you, but I am entitled to think so.

At this time, the Apostle Paul could finally rest and stop establishing churches. In prison, with nothing to do, he finally had time to collate, organize, abstract, and summarize, summarizing the theory of building God's glorious church, which is this book, Ephesians. But it is a bit difficult to understand. The problem is that the entire Book of Ephesians is about the Church, the Church is the wisdom of God, and the Church is God's great plan. If you can understand the word Church, it would be extraordinary! Because God's power is through the Church. Do you want to be above and not below? Yes! Building God's glorious church will certainly be above and not below. Do you want to manifest God's glory and build God's glorious church? Yes! I dream of it! Let's build God's glorious church together.

Before writing Ephesians, Galatians had already taken shape, 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians had already taken shape, and Romans had also taken shape. Paul had already described the pure gospel very clearly. He wrote very clearly about the problems in the church, such as the many problems in the churches in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. This gospel is the power of God, and it is discussed very clearly. At this time, he wrote a book that collated and organized all of this, and established a theoretical foundation: building God's glorious church is God's great plan. This is fundamental; this is the mystery of God!

Brothers and sisters among us, if you want to use a more modern word, it is called alignment. Align with whom? Align with God's glorious plan. We say it this way: to grow well in order to build God's glorious church! Some people are not: I must grow well in order to accomplish my plan. Wouldn't that be a problem? Even growth will grow into a curse.

Let's sort out the first chapter of Ephesians. We won't have time to talk about the later chapters. If you want to understand the entire Book of Ephesians, I promise everyone that one day I will take you through Ephesians again. After we finish 1 Samuel, I want to study Ephesians. Ephesians is the manual for God's glorious church; that is extraordinary. If you want to ask me why Chinese Mingding Doctrine is so good, and you are blessed as soon as you come? Because the church is built according to what is written in Ephesians. Many times people cannot grasp the most important and main path. They emphasize grasping the nine gifts! In fact, the nine gifts are at a very low level, and the fivefold ministry is also at a very low level. But I want to tell you: building God's glorious church is the highest level!

The Church is the Body of Christ

The Church cannot be separated from Jesus Christ; the Church is the Body of Jesus Christ! In other words, the glory of the Church is the glory of Jesus Christ, and the glory of Jesus Christ is the glory of the Church. The glory of the Church comes from God because the Church is the Body of Jesus Christ. Can you imagine putting a tumor on the Body of Jesus Christ? What do you think? I think if you put a tumor on it, God will have to put a tumor on you! Do you want to turn the Body of Jesus Christ into a smoky mess, collecting all kinds of garbage and rubbish? If you really dare to collect it, won't Jesus Christ put a pile of garbage on you? This logic is very simple.

So when I read that the Church is the Body of Jesus Christ, I said: God, I dare not, I don't want to build a smoky church; I only want to build the Body of Jesus Christ because this is God's plan in eternity. Think about it, many people say: this one is saved, and that one is saved. In fact, they are all wolves in sheep's clothing or weasels in sheep's clothing. Wouldn't that be corrupting? Today, a sheep is eaten by a wolf in the church, and the next day they find that one sheep is missing. Where did the sheep go? It was eaten. Tomorrow another sheep is missing. In the end, the whole group is wolves. Then what are you doing? Is that a church? That's not a church; that's a club. We don't even know what kind of club it is, hanging a church sign.

The Church is the Body of Jesus Christ, which is filled by Him who fills all in all. You build according to the Word of God. You need to know that Moses built the tabernacle according to the Word of God, and the glory of God filled the tabernacle. David and Solomon built the temple according to what God drew with His finger for David, according to the revelation of God. After the temple was built, the glory of God filled the temple. You can imagine that it cannot be sloppy! Why does Chinese Mingding Doctrine have such high requirements for brothers and sisters? The requirements for brothers and sisters cannot be lowered because this is the Body of Jesus Christ. Can the Body of Jesus Christ bring in Old Ma? That won't work! If you corrupt the Body of Jesus Christ, God will corrupt you.

So from beginning to end, we should not lower the requirements of the church. Lowering the requirements of the church is just asking for trouble. When each brother and sister comes in, you might say: God, I pray that you heal me! You can be healed; that's no problem. After you are healed, if you are not building God's glorious church with us and have your own goals and priorities, then go outside the circle. You can play however you want; it's your own fault if you are cursed.

When you brothers and sisters come in, doesn't the 101 course talk about Mingding? Isn't the last lesson of the 101 course building God's glorious church? Yes. So when did we lower God's standards? We never lowered them. God's standards cannot be lowered! If you lower God's standards, wouldn't that be a curse? You're bringing garbage into the Body of Jesus Christ.

There are many strange logics among us, but they are not in accordance with God's Word. If you really understand God's Word, you will know what to do. So from day one, we build the Body of Jesus Christ. Do you know how to build it? I tell you, for a while, when people came to the church, we would first tell them this and that, and after telling them a lot, then we would talk about being filled with the Holy Spirit, because when speaking in tongues and praying, they were still a bit awkward, as if they were embarrassed.

You know I broke through layers of obstacles. I did one thing right away: come in and be filled with the Holy Spirit, speak in tongues and pray, and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and then be filled with the Holy Spirit. Many people opposed! They told me: Teacher, he doesn't understand yet! I said: Do you understand? You've been filled with the Holy Spirit for so long, and you still don't understand. Can you explain it clearly? If you can explain it clearly, let's all explain it. If you could explain it clearly, you would have explained it a long time ago. What are you explaining? In fact, people have already explained it here.

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

So I made a bold attempt. I am very bold. In a time of chaos, people were still entangled in whether to speak in tongues or not! It doesn't matter; learn from me. What language isn't learned? Is it difficult? Open your mouth and speak. A few days ago, a sister's pastor called her, and she came back and told me: Pastor, do you know how much money so-and-so sister has saved now? When I heard about money! It sounds good to talk about money because I especially like brothers and sisters being blessed financially. I said I don't know! Her pastor told me: This sister has saved 600,000 in the past few years. Do you know that? Before she came to church and believed in the Lord, she didn't have any money. She would earn it all and spend it all, and then earn it again and spend it again. That's about it, a moonlight clan.

When she first came to church, she was one of the first guinea pigs I experimented on. After she came in, I didn't care. I just talked a little bit: It's good to believe in Jesus! Do you want to believe? She said: Yes. Then she was filled with the Holy Spirit, and there was no difficulty in speaking in tongues and praying. What's there to worry about? Isn't that great? But some brothers and sisters get lost along the way. In those years, there was a brother who later asked her if she could introduce him to a job. That brother was about to overcome and be blessed in the church, but he left the church in the year of rapid turnaround and is still doing data entry work.

The Church is the Body of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit must be working in people in Jesus Christ. It's not something that you and I can explain clearly by speaking. In other words, it's so good that the Holy Spirit is working in people! You say that's not a decision of 600,000, nor a decision of 6 million, but a very great decision made in eternity. Because our sister began to gradually transfer the fear of the boss to the fear of God and the reverence of God. She used to tremble when she mentioned the boss, but now she lives in God's eternal plan.

The Church is the Body of Jesus Christ, putting all things under its feet. Building the church should be building such a church. I ask you, is finance still a problem? It's not a problem. Is business a problem? It's not a problem. The Holy Spirit does wonderful things! So coming among us, being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues is no longer a confusing thing; it's a very simple thing.

So never lower God's standards. God's standards are forever established in heaven. Jesus Christ wants disciples; Jesus Christ does not want believers. From the moment a person comes in, we must begin to remold them, and may the Holy Spirit work in us, begin to put to death the passions and desires of our flesh, and enable us to live in God's eternal plan. Later, she brought her sister to the church as well. Her sister came to the church with tears in her eyes, but now she is always joyful, and her children are grown up.

I thank God that the Church is the Body of Jesus Christ, which can put all things under its feet. What is this if not a good blessing? So at the beginning of building the church, we didn't say wait for you, take your time! No, we started with speaking in tongues and praying, which is the standard. If you do not meet this standard, as long as you are still growing, we can wait for you to grow, but the standard cannot be lowered. How simple is that!

All Things Must Be Placed Under the Feet of the Church

You know, when I read Ephesians early on, I was shocked after reading this passage!

and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:19-23)

Are you shocked after reading it? Shocked. Do you know how that PhD graduated? It was Jesus Christ; it was the power of God that was revealed among us that made him graduate. Did you think it was by his own ability? He was almost tangled and depressed to death by his own ability. All things are placed under the feet of the church. Do you want to build such a church? Do you want to put God in the first place in your life? Do you want to start entering into God's great plan? Of course, you want to put all things under your feet. I told that PhD to put his mentor, his doctoral supervisor, under his feet for God's sake.

Do we still put the customer first? No, God first. Is business first? No, God first. Do we still need to be afraid of employees leaving? No. Do we still need to be afraid of customers asking for this and that? Put all things under your feet, even the customers are under your feet. If people cannot see God's glory in this matter, isn't that a tragedy? Do you still need to be afraid of your boss? Do you still need to be afraid of this and that? Do you still need to be afraid of your children? No need.

Brothers and sisters must know that building God's glorious church is being above all the people in the world. Many people seem to be afraid that I am busy. I serve by the power of God. Can I be busy? I will not be busy. Why are you busy? Because you are being trampled underfoot by all things and can never turn over. How can you not be busy? You are a slave below! There are a lot of slave owners above. We are children of God in eternity, and all things are placed under the feet of the church. I was particularly shocked when I read this sentence.

An old man gave me a book called The Sacred Challenge, written by a British pastor. When I was struggling in the church, when I read that book, I said, God! When can such a thing be accomplished? But in my heart, there was a vision of a glorious church. My eyes will get wet when I tell you this now. At that time, the feeling was that I had a vision of a glorious church in my heart, and I knew that one day, all things would be placed under our feet.

Has it been trampled today? It has been trampled. All things have been placed under our feet, and even the demons have to listen to us. We have surpassed this life and the next. What else do you want? What is this if not a treasure? So I regard Jesus Christ as the greatest treasure and consider all things as rubbish. Later, a year later, when I took that book back and flipped through it, oh my god, we have gone through what God recorded in that book. I tell you, later we completely surpassed the level that pastor had reached. I want to show off my Jesus Christ again, our Lord Jesus, His glorious church, what spiritual blessings we have in Jesus Christ. God has given us all kinds of spiritual blessings, and these blessings are so wonderful!

You see, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. Even the demons have to listen to us, so I guess what Old Ma told me was from the bottom of his heart. It said that there are not many who can beat it in all ages. I said, what do you mean? It said, you are one of them. Oh, I am one of them, then I am really one of them. After I knocked Old Ma down, Old Ma was submissive. Does everyone know horse trainers? If you cannot tame that horse, you cannot ride it; you cannot use that horse if it cannot be tamed. After it is tamed, you can ride it and use it as you please.

Putting all things under our feet includes everything in the spiritual world. I thank God that we have finally reached the level of Ephesians. If you ask me again what Ephesians is about, I can tell you clearly that the Apostle Paul summarized it very well. The only regret is that this book is too difficult to read and should have more stories. I can also understand the Apostle Paul. There were no electronic versions in those days; they were all written on parchment scrolls so that they could be preserved. If I wrote a story like this, the Bible would be too thick, and everyone would not be able to read it. The Apostle Paul highly summarized and summarized the essence of building a glorious church. All of them are the essence. The only difficulty is that it is too difficult to read. Now we finally understand it.

In Christ, He Has Blessed Us with Every Spiritual Blessing

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

Everyone must know that all things in the world are just a shadow of the spiritual world, that is, the spiritual world controls what happens in the world. If God, in Jesus Christ, that is, in the church, and the church is the Body of Jesus Christ, has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, what kind of blessing do you want? You say, I want 600,000. Isn't that already there? I tell you, this sister never thought that she could save 600,000 in her hand. In fact, it's too simple. What is 600,000? But don't live for that 600,000; you must live for God. If you come before God and say, God, I don't ask for much, just 600,000, God thinks you are too LOW. Why only ask for 600,000? Ask for all kinds of spiritual blessings. There are so many kinds of spiritual blessings, and many people just don't know how good all kinds of spiritual blessings are. Not only put all things under your feet, but also obtain all kinds of spiritual blessings.

What sustains me? I am sustained by God. When you have spiritual blessings, is money an issue? Money is not an issue. You need not worry about me lacking money. No need. What you should worry about is the absence of these spiritual blessings. There are so many spiritual blessings. I ask you, is good health part of spiritual blessings? Is financial prosperity part of spiritual blessings? They are all part of it. Is spiritual power part of spiritual blessings? Are the nine gifts of the Spirit part of spiritual blessings? Yes, all kinds of spiritual gifts. What do you need? We lack nothing in Jesus Christ. The problem is that many are not in Jesus Christ's plan, not builders of God's glorious church. Aren't you suffering a great loss? They are people without blessings, with a thin destiny. Isn't this a tragedy?

After listening to me, you might awaken, or you might not. I cannot stop you. But I must tell you one thing: In Jesus Christ, we lack no good thing. In Jesus Christ, all of God's promises are ours. To be in Jesus Christ is to be in the body of Jesus Christ. The body of Jesus Christ is the church of Jesus Christ, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. Once a person grasps this basic principle, their life will be very good. I tell you all, God can give us all kinds of grace.

You know that when we need a certain kind of talent, we find it. When we need another kind of talent, one appears again. We don't go looking for them ourselves; they come to us. We have a brother among us who is responsible for software. When he needed a certain software skill, someone said, Use me, please use me. As soon as he used him, it was the person we were looking for, quickly solving the problem. This is what we call spiritual blessing. I have concluded that we should never rely on our own ability, never live by the sword in our own hands, but always rely on blessings. Blessings are truly wonderful. You want every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus: healing the sick, casting out demons, all kinds of good things are especially good in Jesus Christ.

Let me briefly say why 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and James are not what I want to introduce to you. I actually understand them. In James, there is no view of the church at all. The body of Jesus Christ is not mentioned. You can read for yourself. There is no mention of the body of Jesus Christ, no building of God's glorious church, no entering into the eternal plan. All that is discussed are moral concepts. This is the difference. Many are personal cultivation logic systems.

He Chose Us in Him Before the Creation of the World

You will notice one thing: those who come among us come mysteriously, all coming miraculously. Someone got my email from somewhere and wrote a very long tragic story, from his childhood to his depression, a whole bunch of things, boyfriends, girlfriends, all kinds of things. He sent it to me at three in the morning, and I replied at four in the morning. The next day he read it and felt it was very divine, so he came. After coming, his depression was healed, and he also found a job. The whole person got better and better. Isn't this a coincidence?

Also, some people leave, just when they are about to have blessed days. They leave because they tell me that their destiny is Singapore. I say, Your destiny is Singapore? My destiny is the body of Jesus Christ. That's very good. I tell you, everyone has their own story. The Apostle Paul said that He chose us in Him before the creation of the world. It is so wonderful. I am truly chosen by God. Those whom God has chosen, to make us holy and blameless. See how good that is.

Never think that you come to church to grow. No, you come to church to build the body of Jesus Christ. In building the body of Jesus Christ, constantly dealing with the lusts of your flesh, you become holy and blameless. How can you become holy and blameless in Jesus Christ? It is because you and I begin to establish a shepherding relationship, or you establish a shepherding relationship with your pastor.

After establishing a shepherding relationship, you will find that your filth and uncleanness, your discernment of good and evil, are fully revealed. Some people dare not tell their pastor what is in their hearts, but in the ministry, they tell their small group leader bad things about their pastor, because they are dirty inside. It's not that what you say makes sense, but because you are too dirty inside. Everyone knows now, right? Ministry is to get your words out. Not to fix you, but to make you holy and blameless. Our church has many tricks for dealing with people's problems.

Brothers and sisters must know that once a relationship is established in the church, and you and I do something together, all your problems will come out. What do you value? Your style of doing things, your way of doing things are all revealed. Sometimes I say, What kind of brain is this? I'm not complaining. My purpose is to say that this brain really needs to be changed. The church is because people need to have relationships with each other, to build God's glorious church together, so your problems will be fully revealed, and the Holy Spirit will work among us.

A few days ago, a brother said to me, Teacher, I don't know which one I should put down first? I said, You think you do a lot of things? One sentence shut him up, because he really doesn't do a lot of things. Just this little bit, and you still want to put down a few more? I think you should just forget it. Then he said, Really, just by opening my mouth, I handed the devil into your hands. This problem is revealed.

You must do things with brothers and sisters. I know that doing things with brothers and sisters is the best edification for brothers and sisters. If you don't do things, we shout hallelujah together. You shout loudly and feel very spiritual. He shouts loudly and also feels very spiritual. If you buy a bull's horn to blow, he blows it very well. If you buy a cowhide to blow, he blows the cowhide very well. What's the use? No use at all. Brothers and sisters, building the church is our job. Since God has given us all kinds of spiritual blessings in the heavens, we will use these blessings to be a blessing to others. We want to build the body of Jesus Christ, to be holy and blameless in Jesus, this is God's great plan.

When you first come to church, you will definitely be choked a few times, definitely be criticized a few times. As I criticize, I find that people become obedient. That's strange. If I don't criticize you, it means our relationship is not close enough, so I don't dare to criticize you casually. If the relationship is close, since you were chosen in Jesus Christ before the creation of the world, since God wants you to grow in the church, to become holy and blameless, then take action, roll up your sleeves and work, get rid of all the dirt, be blameless. Finally, you will be given the adoption as sons.

Adoption as Sons

You think that when you come in and say, I am a son of God, you are? Why doesn't it look like it? Seems like the son of Old Wang next door? As soon as you do something, you put God aside. As soon as you do something, it's all this chaotic stuff. What to do? Treat you as a servant first. Has everyone noticed that as soon as you enter Chinese Mingding Doctrine, you feel like a nobody? If you want to leave, you can't find the same in other churches. How good would it be if there were more churches like Chinese Mingding Doctrine in this world! If you stay, you are criticized like a nobody, and you have to honor the pastor, do ministry, and take notes, so tired.

I haven't worked for so many years, and the church still forces me to go out and find a job. How can I find a job? I don't know how to work outside, I'm afraid! I have never worked in my life, just eating idle food. Coming to this Chinese Mingding Doctrine church, I have to go out to work and clean the house. The things in the storage room are dripping down like a small mountain, and I have to take a photo for the teacher. What kind of church is this? How come it's like I have an extra housekeeper, I'm like a servant. Why? To mold you into a son of the living God in the family of Jesus Christ, to be like Jesus, not to do anything else, but to remove your bad habits and build you up, so that you are full of the stature of Jesus Christ.

Many churches don't do these things. What do they do? They do a lot of hypocrisy. For example: Brother, Jesus loves you, and I love you too. Let's put on a show and have a big chorus for Christmas. After singing, it's still the same. The house is still dirty. So I tell you, for the brothers and sisters to grow into the likeness of God's sons, go back to university.

To come among us is to go back to university, even if you are about to retire. Some time ago, I was on the phone with a brother, and he said, I want to retire. I said, How old are you? I heard that he was much younger than me. If you live to be eighty or ninety years old, there are still thirty or forty years left, and you want to do nothing. I said, What is this? This is just the beginning, go to school! Start working! What to do? Be like God! Grow into the likeness of God's sons.

For he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will (Ephesians 1:5).

Adoption as sons is predestined, not that you get it immediately. Since it is already predestined, you must enter into God's plan, to grow to the full measure of the stature of Christ. It is predestined, God has been waiting for you there for a long time. God will definitely help you, the power of Jesus Christ's resurrection will come upon you, to empower you, to mold you into the likeness of God's sons. Is this good? Good! So brothers and sisters, our church does not have those chaotic things, only real things. I especially hate those hypocritical things. If you like hypocrisy, you have come to the wrong place. If you want something real, I tell you, you will definitely be joyful.

A few days ago, I sorted out my logical system again. I had an interesting conversation with a sister: she said, Teacher, I feel a little tired of living. I said, Then die, you won't be tired if you die. She said, You sound like you're answering questions and solving problems. I said, It's not answering questions and solving problems. Isn't it normal to be tired of living? Either tired for a curse, or tired for a blessing; either tired for the world, or tired for God; either be a slave of the world, or be a slave of God.

I said the most important logic is this: if you want to live, you have to understand that it's good to live joyfully, it's important to live joyfully. How can you be joyful? You can only be joyful by growing. How can you grow? You can only grow by learning. Tired? Yes, but joyful. What is the best learning? Working, solving problems is the only way to truly learn. Aren't you joyful when you solve problems? After a round of talk, it just means let me do more work. I said, Yes, what else can you do if you don't work? Can you be joyful? Let's do an experiment, you stop doing anything for a month, and you still get paid. How good. She said, No, no, no, I've tried it, I don't want to, I still have to work.

Everyone should gradually know that you want to gain the title of the son of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus came into the world as a man and set an example for us. We must imitate Jesus Christ. It is such a church that will put all things under its feet; it is such a church that the Spirit of God will fill us; it is such a church that can let us gain evidence, so that we can come before God with boldness, without fear, and without regret, saying: I have finished the race, I have fought the good fight, there is a crown of glory reserved for me. Can you have such faith? Have such passion?

Build God's glorious church with passion, I guarantee you will not become a brain tumor pastor, absolutely not! Look at my joyful appearance, envious, very joyful. Just solve one problem after another, even if people who don't believe in the Lord will be edified in my presence. Amazing. When I think of the glory that will be revealed to us in the future, when I think of being eternally united with God in Jesus Christ when the time is right, that is truly happy.

To Be Brought Together in Christ When the Time Reaches Its Fulfillment

I can tell you that the time is almost here!

as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:10)

So that’s the key. This is the mystery of God. It is to let us know the mystery of God. When the time of fulfillment comes, be united in Christ. Which means there is Jesus Christ in me, and I am in Christ. I am in Him, and He is in me. This is the ideal state. From now onward, there will be no more sadness, no more tears, and from now on, union with God is complete. It is the unity of man and nature that the Chinese talk about. At that time, some people will see us from afar being one with God in Jesus Christ, enjoying God's glory in eternity, and doing everything as if filled with heavenly power. Some people mourn with gnashing of teeth, regretting what they see!

Listen to this divine timeline: God created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh. Revelation speaks of a thousand years, the final seventh 1,000-year period. God seems to have been playing a numbers game in eternity. That numerical game is that humanity has one, two, three, four, five and six thousand years on earth. The seventh thousand years is when Jesus returns and leads us to rule the world for the thousand years. Then, we enter into that completeness.

It is said that someone once made this calculation: From the time of Noah to the creation of Adam was 1400 to 1500 years. From Noah to Abraham was four hundred years. From the creation of Adam to Abraham was 2000 years. From Abraham to David was a thousand years. David lived 3000 years ago, and Jesus Christ lived 1000 years after that. Christ was born about 4000 years after Adam. The number of years now shows it’s been nearly 6000 years. So is the end near? It may just be my wild guess, but it is well-founded.

What does this mean? God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and rested on the seventh. So there are six thousand years, followed by the seventh. A thousand years is like a day in the eyes of God. So I am thinking it may be soon! When I look at the news these days, I think likewise. I have been saying that when the time comes, be united in Christ. In fact, if you read the Bible carefully, you will see that all the prophets show that the latter glory far surpasses the former glory. The latter sanctuary will be greater than the former sanctury. That prophecy is very fitting indeed!

What Chinese Mingding Doctrine is trying do is to build God’s glorious church and build the body of Jesus Christ. Will building the body of Christ in this generation will surmount the glory of the eras of Apostle Paul and Jesus Christ? I want to participate in the final build of the glorious church to be a part of this glory!

This entire discussion points to this generation is very very near. If you love life, there aren’t many years left. And those who doesn’t must spend those years with Jesus. Let us start doing well in working to receive our Lord Jesus! Therefore, we are paving the way for the second coming of the Lord Jesus to build up the body of Christ. This will complete God’s will for us to build God’s glorious church!

When the brothers and sisters enter the plan of God, many things will come to pass! Both this generation and this world will not last! Even as the people in world sell, buy, farm and marry and so on, we are to happily anticipate welcoming or Lord Jesus! If many of us want to plan and focus on matters outside the plan of Jesus, all that we have done will be meaningless! Let us remove all hindrances to run in this heavenly race, and this is my conviction to all!

In this new trend shift in Christianity, it's no longer just focusing on self cultivation. Instead, it's building of His Glorious Church. By His Grace, God has prepared a glorious crown and throne. When the time comes, we will come before God to receive the reward.

God Bless You!