I. Introduction

Good morning! The topic I will be addressing today is: An eternal glory that far outweighs all our troubles! Do you know what happened? Actually, at seven o'clock this morning, I was thinking, Oh dear, I don't know how to preach on this. I wondered who chose such a topic. How am I supposed to preach it? By eight o'clock, I was still contemplating giving up, maybe just playing a recording. I persevered until nine o'clock, and now I feel this topic is truly excellent!

You should know that recently we have been talking a lot about understanding. Has your understanding been unlocked, or not? If your understanding is unlocked, then thank God! But I think some people, in their quest for understanding, have ended up loving the world. I said: You need to do your work well, unlock your understanding, do things right, and understand everything clearly. But as they seek understanding, they don't know where they are going. Today, I want to bring everyone back to the eternal hope of a transcendent glory. That is the best understanding, and the greatest understanding. That is the meaning and purpose of our lives! Don't get so caught up that you forget it.

You must know, I have a glorious hope within me, that one day I will stand before God. I seem to hear God say: Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your master. Do you understand? This saying is often in my heart. Some people ask: What does glory look like? Bad news, I can't answer that. I really don't know. If I did, I would be conning you. I really don't know. What will we be doing then? What will we be doing afterward? I'm not very clear on that either, not really very clear.

Will we be shouting Holy, holy, holy in heaven all day long? It seems a pastor mentioned chanting four or six Holys in a row? Oh dear, getting caught up in that. But today I want to tell you, it is good to have this glorious hope! It is so good to have this glorious hope! Why? Let me explain it to you: This hope is the source of my strength. Sometimes, living life can feel very discouraging, right? Surely. It feels like living is really terrible, living in discouragement and despair. At this point, you feel like living has no meaning at all.

Actually, to put it bluntly, it really has no meaning at all! But because of this hope, I keep going. I have persevered until today because of this hope. Me, preaching this sermon today, also because of this hope, I have made it until preaching this sermon. Do you know today, although serving is very tiring, though serving is very tiring and hard, I am very happy, and I feel alive. All because of this hope, all because of this immeasurable, incomparable and eternal hope! It's not an exaggeration at all. If I didn't have this hope, it would be trouble. Although I can't explain what glory is like? I really don't know, because that hasn't been arranged yet. You must know that persevering, persevering to this day, is all because of this glorious hope. One day I will stand before God and receive this crown of glory. As for what I will do, I don't know.

You must know that recently I have been receiving wave after wave [of people], receiving them and training them. Sometimes I have to take them to eat, bring them to play. Each time I take them to eat and play, it's not just eating and playing, it's using that time for training. It's very tiring, but when people see me, wow! They see me as full of energy, looking very carefree. Then, when I get back, I secretly hide in my room to prepare my sermon, exhausted! I really don't like being busy. Although I do a lot of work, quickly, and well, it is still very tiring! Then some people say, He's just full and has nothing to do.

Full and has nothing to do? Actually, I really can't afford to be, I am very restrained. Why? Because if I eat too much, I feel bad. If I'm overfed, I feel bad, If I am overfed a few times, I get sick. For example, when some brothers and sisters eat with me, they eat and eat. I say: Please, please, I'm already controlling myself very much. I can't control myself anymore. I really can't eat too much, if I eat too much, I get sick.” Later they said that fish die from overeating, and dogs get sick too, same here. I can't eat too much, like a fish or a dog. Overeating makes me sick. So you said I can’t afford that, I am not full and have noting to do.

Eating little, sleeping little, working a lot. What kind of person is this? Not eating, drinking, or playing, eating little, playing little, working a lot. There is a glorious hope inside, that is an immeasurable, incomparable and eternal glory! To be honest, not to boast, the workload of ordinary pastors really cannot compare to my workload. Think about it, some have been pastors for thirty years, and some thirty-year pastors have done nothing. From the first year they started preaching, they prepared fifty-two sermons, and after thirty years, it is still those fifty-two sermons. Repeating it every year, isn't that annoying?

Oh, I thank God, I am running forward with this glorious hope. I'm tired, really tired, not an exaggeration at all. But, I tell you, because of this hope, no matter how big the workload is, it doesn't matter, I like it. You must know that there are many ways to live a person's life, there are many ways to be a pastor, and there are many ways to be a Christian, but only the one who runs forward with this glorious hope will definitely have a full sense of existence, and that feeling of being alive is really great! I am a very good person to live, I thank God! With God, with this hope, that is truly living, that is really living!

A few days ago, one of our sisters went back to see her grandfather. Her grandparents are both ninety years old, long life. Probably in a state of waiting to die. The state of waiting to die, oh, I tell you: the way her grandparents lived in, after taking photos and sending them to me, it was simply a garbage dump. Then she washed her grandmother's hair. Her grandmother's hair hadn't been washed for four months, no one washed it for her. Her grandma was quite understanding: “Oh, they are all busy.” Oh my goodness! After I saw it, I was thinking, my God, I don't want to live like that. I don't want to live like that, I don't want to live like that. If I lived like that, it would really be a tragedy of life! It's almost like waiting to die. Has everyone seen that state of waiting to die?

So I said to myself: Persist with one heart, run forward with this glorious hope while young and strong. Then I tell you, on the day before I die, I will still be serving with this hope. How wonderful! It is best to still be serving before death, praying with someone. Praying, praying, the breath is gone, very good! To live like that! You must know that although I really can't explain what that immeasurable, incomparable and eternal glory looks like. I can clearly say that because of this hope, I can clearly see the presence of God when I am alive. When I am alive, I am full of the sense of being alive! When I am alive, miracles and wonders follow me. I tell you, I am a divine man, really a divine man!

Two weeks ago, I received a mother with two children. Actually, I just put them on the plane this morning. After sending them to the airport in the morning, I hurried back to prepare my sermon. One of the children, if you have an impression, when I led the prayer, his face twitched. The child had Tourette's syndrome. With this Tourette's syndrome, I thought that if it happened when he came, I would quickly take him to pray, pinching and pressing. I try this acupoint, try that acupoint, very lively. It didn't happen, why is it gone? Not even a little bit.

I'll also tell you a very amazing thing, in the days before she came, it was very serious, but when they came to me, it disappeared like that. Oh, I said, what is this? Actually, I tell you: this is called the glory of God! The ghost was scared away. In the glory of God, in the presence of God, it is infinitely good! When you hear this, you want to come to me too, to get some of God's glory. Teacher, I really want to come to you. Some are so good, so good to what extent: let your Teacher Liu serve me, I'll buy him a ticket, and after he serves me, I'll give him one hundred thousand. Oh my goodness. This is troublesome! Can I go? Am I worth one hundred thousand? Can you give me that one hundred thousand? It's not about the money. Everyone knows that, right? It's not that I receive everyone who wants to come to me. If I receive that many, wouldn't I be courting death? Receiving people every day, no.

Because the child's mother is my co-worker, that is carefully handpicked by me, the relationship is here. Relationships are still very important. She came here to receive training, and the children also came here to receive training. Training them here, I will tell you, these children might become my smallest co-workers. When they left, I told them that they brought me a lot of joy. What is the reason? Because they have the same hope as me, the same desire, the same seeking. Every time I see someone with such seeking, I am happy, really happy. You must know that training co-workers can bless a lot more people. Blessing more people, that is my job. To shepherd, to train, even taking them out for meals, is training. Taking them out to play, is training. All the time obtained is training, it is all training time.

What I want to highlight is that carrying this glorious hope throughout one's life is infinitely good! I tell you, it's really like that. If it weren't for carrying this glorious hope, I would have gone to eat my fill and have nothing to do. Isn't that like being full and having nothing to do? Without this hope, how can I continue to live? Because I have this hope, I tell you, how many people have I blessed! Because I have this hope, I have blessed so, so many people. Because of this hope, I can continue to run downward, carrying this glorious hope throughout my life, running downward, blessing one after another, training one after another.

Today I want to ask you, do you have this hope? If you don't, hurry up and get one. Really! If you don't have this hope, hurry up and get one. Who have you blessed? You have to know, really have to ask yourself. Some people have been in our midst for a long time, I say, who have you blessed? Whose problem have you solved? Who have you helped? He says: Ah, I'm busy with work. So, the hope is on earth. Oh, my business is very busy, so, the hope is in business. Then I tell you, that world will surely pierce you with sorrows. Because of serving, all the bitterness will become momentary and light troubles. Because of this hope, all the discouragement becomes momentary and light discouragement. Because this hope is full of strength, because of the glorious hope, it is because we want to accomplish this immeasurable, incomparable and eternal glory! Is it true? It's true. Otherwise, where does God's presence come from?

One co-worker shared something with me. Let's all think about it. I will talk a little bit more about this topic of shepherding. My co-worker's family raised a puppy. Later, the dog got old and died. You should know that the relationship between people who raise dogs and the dog is very good. Are there any dog owners among us? The relationship between people and dogs is very good. When the dog died, people cried, mothers cried, daughters cried, then we served. I thought someone's father died. Seeing my co-worker serving, I said: Whose father died? “No, it's the dog's father who died,” so this matter is very interesting. If you raise a dog and have such feelings, what kind of feelings would you have when you shepherd God's flock? That's human! Shouldn't you pay a greater price?

Actually, when you serve with the heart of a father and mother, it's not just crying when a dog dies! When serving, serve with this glorious hope, keep serving, until the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and when all kinds of diseases are healed, you are really happy, you can really hug each other and cry bitterly! That's not helpless crying, that's gratitude! So today, our church is a shepherding church; it is a church that shepherds at a price, but this job is not easy. Why? Because when shepherding, if I say something a little too strong, [they] leave the group; if [they] leave the group, I'm concerned about it here! And so if I invite him back, cannot deal with his flesh, nor can deal with his bad habits, and therefore I do not invite him. You say that no one to invite? I'm still thinking about him in my heart.

Oh, sometimes it's very hard! If you serve him a little lightly, his bad habits won't be changed at all. I tell you, this is much harder than training a dog, that's training a person! Raising a dog is easy! You know that's a person! As soon as you mess with him, he'll argue with you. Has everyone noticed that? Those who have argued with me today don't need to care, I’m willing, it doesn’t matter. As soon as you fix him, he argues with me! Does that apply to you? That is pertaining to you. Dealing with carnal bad habits is much harder than training a dog. What is that? That's really dealing with ghosts! There is a sentence in the Bible that touches me very much: I did not shrink back from declaring to you anything that was profitable. This is Paul's shepherding. What does Paul talk about in his letters? He said: You may have countless instructors, but not many fathers.

2 Corinthians is the scripture that we are going to talk about, which is a concrete manifestation of the wisdom of Paul's shepherding! You know, my shepherding is learned from Paul. If you read 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, you'll find that his tone is a little strange, and you're definitely not used to it. But today, the passage we have chosen is selected from 2 Corinthians. On the one hand, today I want to encourage the pastors among us to shepherd with the heart of a father and a mother, paying the price, with wisdom, with this glorious hope; on the other hand, I also want to encourage the brothers and sisters among us to also carry this glorious hope, and start to thirst for growth, and thirst to become ministers, this is training!

I want to bring all of these, with this glorious hope, you will become a very characterized person, become a person with a character like the Apostle Paul. Because of this glorious hope, it becomes our goal in life. When you encounter difficulties, no matter how difficult or dangerous, you can face them with a victorious character. I tell you, It is all due to this glorious hope. When a person puts their hope in this world, If you mess with this world, you will be crushed. Because you can't resist it, and God is not with you. If you carry this glorious hope, God will be with you, God will add strength to you, and you will become a person who wins even if you wrestle with people and with God, then you will become a person whom the world is not worthy of. Open today's scripture, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

II. Scripture

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

III. Prayer

Lord! Today, let us receive this glorious hope in our hearts, let us know that You will accomplish this eternal glory that far outweighs all our troubles for us. Although we don't quite understand it today, we know that because we carry this hope. Therefore, we do not lose heart in this world; In this world I see Your presence, we see that There be a treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. These momentary and light troubles, are nothing; God! Even if our bodies are decaying today, our hearts are being renewed every day; God! Let us run about laboriously in this world with this glorious hope, until one day we come before You and receive glorious praise, let our hope see that day come with our own eyes. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

IV. Background of the Scripture

The background of this passage is also that the Apostle Paul earnestly wants to build up the brothers and sisters of the Corinthian church with this glorious hope, just like I am sharing with you today. What kind of church is the Corinthian church? The Apostle Paul traveled to preach the gospel, traveled to Corinth, and lived in this place for a year and a half. After living in this place for a year and a half, he established the Corinthian church. Paul left this place and went to the next stop. Not long after arriving at the next stop, a group of people came, and this group of people caused great trouble to the Corinthian church. What kind of people can cause such trouble? He must have some background. What is his background? Because that background is called the greatest apostle. This greatest apostle came to the Corinthian church. You say, how do I know?

I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” (2 Corinthians 11:5)
I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. (2 Corinthians 12:11)

Everyone began to think about it, these words are very interesting! Who can confuse the Corinthian church? He must have some background, right? Who is it? Peter. This degree of confusing people is still quite high. Why? Because Peter followed Jesus. Peter not only followed Jesus, he was the greatest among the twelve disciples. Peter was really well received in the Corinthian church, everyone gathered around to be with Peter. If taking a photo, Peter must be in the center, because he is the greatest apostle. After arriving to the Corinthian church, he declared: I am the greatest apostle! Does the background sound scary? Very impressive. As a result, this greatest apostle did something very disgraceful, and the Corinthian church began to have great confusion.

What is the great confusion? They discussed with Peter: Is this Paul an apostle? He said: No! Only the twelve of us are apostles. As soon as he said this, it was troublesome. As a result, Paul kept emphasizing in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians: I am an apostle! I am an apostle! It sounds very hard after hearing it. Why do you always have to express that you are an apostle, as if people don't know? No, someone is messing things up! This is not something else, the operation of the power of darkness behind the scenes is obviously creating chaos in this church. Not only that, it has messed up the things in this church very badly, saying that Paul is for money. But Paul has never taken a penny from the Corinthian church!

Do you know? Paul earned money to support himself and his co-workers, and then served in this church. In fact, this is really a problem, he should take the money. Because if he doesn’t take the money, the relationship is not strong! What happened? They poured a lot of dirty water on Paul. The Corinthians were not very smart, and as a result, they began to attack Paul. At this time, Paul was very hard! How can you not be bitter? Very hard. The Corinthian church that he had worked so hard to establish and shepherd turned against the Apostle Paul and treated Paul as an enemy. The gospel he preached is not right, and the Orthodox is here! Is it destroyed? It's destroyed, but in fact, the Orthodox is with Paul. So the Corinthians need to resolve this issue in this conflict and contradiction.

On the one hand, Paul is the person involved in this contradiction, one is the Corinthians, and the other is Paul. The contradiction between the two sides is very sharp; on the other hand, Paul is also using the heart of a father and a mother to restore this relationship, to bring the church back to the right path, and wrote 2 Corinthians. When 2 Corinthians was written, the relationship had already been restored, the misunderstanding had been resolved, and the Corinthian church had returned from that maze. They knew again: Ah! As it turns out, there are ten thousand teachers, but there are not many fathers! Actually, I tell you: ministering is sometimes cold hearted, why? People are all right until they encounter core interests, but when they touch core interests, they immediately show their teeth.

So no matter what kind of fatherly or motherly heart you serve with, I tell you that the flesh will act up and they will be a different person, so this matter is very interesting. Why did this church turn around? Because the Apostle Paul did not covet their wealth at all. If he does not covet their wealth, it will always come to light. Paul did not covet their wealth, so who coveted their wealth? It was someone else who confused the Word of God for profit.

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. (2 Corinthians 2:17)

See it? Why do these people create chaos? For profit, they confuse the Word of God. Therefore, the pastors among us today, in any case accept this teaching of the Apostle Paul. So that’s how many things is, Paul, but not with an eye to the background. The inside is that Paul finally spoke very severely, but today Paul wrote second Corinthians to the Corinthians Church, is the third letter, the first is first Corinthians, the second letter is lost, not included in the Bible, because the second letter should be written even more severely, Written very heavily, the words were very sharp. As a result, the relationship became more and more uncomfortable, more and more rigid, and the conflict became more and more obvious.

When the third letter of 2 Corinthians was written. Titus went to the Corinthian Church, Communicated with them, With wisdom to open all the confusion, All the buckle’s, This time to write, In all of Titus’ efforts to unlock all of the confusion, he wanted to emphasize It is infinitely useful to maintain hope while things are at a standstill. Why did we serve like this. To achieve the most excellent of glory is why? you also should to achieve the most excellent of glory do not look to look for

Because even Paul had his imperfections. Did you all know that Paul had many notable imperfections? First, it's what many people bring up. Paul had an ailment that he carried with him constantly. What was it called? That thorn, that thorn in Paul's side. How did people criticize Paul? Look, he's sick! He's definitely not an apostle. He has this flaw! Horrible. So what if he has this flaw? He's still a faithful servant of God. Understand? So, there are many who pick at flaws.

Paul also experienced many trials, think about it carefully. Many people, as soon as they face a trial, say they must have done something wrong. Like Peter, after he was arrested and put in prison, he stopped preaching the gospel to the Gentiles altogether. Why? He said he was arrested because he was preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. So later, he became an apostle to the Jews and could no longer be an apostle to the Gentiles. Originally, God called him to minister to the Gentiles, to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Understand? Think of how many trials Paul endured. He was whipped several times, stoned, once thrown outside the city walls. There were so many things.

These people would take the apostle Paul as an example: Look at him, he's been arrested, look at him, he's been arrested again. Something must be wrong! How could he be an apostle? Where is God's protection? Isn't that misleading? I tell you, the Corinthians really struggled against this kind of misleading. Whether you can withstand it today, that's up to your own character.

Because serving God means contending with the most powerful enemy in this world, Satan. You would think it's like sending sheep among wolves. Serving God is definitely not all peace and tranquility. It's not all joy and happiness. It's not just feeling good. No, no. The suffering endured is to make up for what is lacking in the sufferings of Jesus Christ on the cross. That was the apostle Paul's argument.

Alright, the fourth point I'm talking about is the background of this passage. I can't elaborate too much on the background of this passage; it would cause problems. I'm just explaining why Paul is saying this: to achieve for us an immeasurable and eternal glory, which is to bring the Corinthians back to this hope of glory. All trials can be explained, all sufferings can be explained. That's what the gospel is.

Today, brothers and sisters, if you want to serve God, paying a price is normal. If you want to serve God without paying a price, without experiencing anything, just wanting peace and quiet, you might get peace and quiet. But think, when you're fighting on the battlefield, or boxing in the ring, even if you win, you're going to get beaten up, aren't you? Do you know, brothers and sisters, that when you're boxing in the ring, even if you win the championship, you're still going to take a lot of punches from the runner-up. It's no joke.

So today, brothers and sisters, let's no longer live in confusion and delusion. Fighting the good fight and keeping the faith in this world is definitely not all peace and quiet; it's not like that at all. In reality, with this hope of glory, many of our experiences are merely light and temporary afflictions, even the painful torment brought by the Corinthians. I tell you, Paul wept when he heard that the Corinthian church had become like this, truly heartbroken. Not because he himself was hurt, but because the Corinthians had gone astray and would suffer. That's serving the Corinthians with the heart of a father and mother.

5. We Do Not Lose Heart

Those who serve God must not lose heart. We do not lose heart! Where is that sentence? We do not lose heart is in verse sixteen: We do not lose heart. What does that mean? It means that even though our bodies are decaying day by day, we do not lose heart. I ask you, was Paul saddened by what the Corinthian church was doing? Yes, he was. I ask you, won't sadness cause illness? Sadness will cause illness. So why didn't he have faith? You try having that kind of faith yourself! You'll cry even when your dog dies. Seeing the Corinthian church going astray, the children he had nurtured going astray, wouldn't that break his heart? It's normal to be sad; it would be abnormal not to be sad.

But even though the body is decaying, we don't need to lose heart, because we're not living to pamper ourselves, we're not living to have a good life. That's not it at all. What are we living for? For that immeasurable and eternal glory. If you're living to pamper yourself today, you won't be able to keep going. What happens when there's a problem? So today, we have chosen the most powerful enemy in the world, Satan. Satan will definitely use all sorts of methods to entice people away from God's word, to entice people to obey the devil's schemes, to release all sorts of things. You know, the corruption that the devil brings is real; you can't reason with them. Can you reason with them? So, you will inevitably encounter conflict in pastoral ministry.

Fifth point, we do not lose heart. Wasn't that mentioned earlier? Did you see the words? Look at the words typed earlier, wasn't it written there? Fifth point, we do not lose heart. And then what's below the fifth point? Not using your head? You need to change it! Take a look.

Okay, in pastoral ministry, you will inevitably clash with the devil. Why? Because many people pander to human desires. In your pastoral ministry, many people pander to human desires. Do you need to deal with it? Yes, you need to deal with it. If you deal with it, how will the other person react? They may not receive it so positively. If they don't receive it positively, what should you do? Then there will be a conflict.

That conflict in pastoral ministry is the conflict between Paul and the Corinthian church. With the heart of a father and mother, you truly end up weeping. On one hand, you have the heart of a father and mother, but people don't think you have the heart of a father and mother, they think you're trying to harm them. So, the devil's scheme is to pander to human desires, the devil's method is to make people self-righteous. Was the apostle Paul clear about what the devil was doing? Yes, he was. In the end, even though some people in the Corinthian church had been rebuked, Paul was still worried that they would fall into perdition. What did Paul say? Lest Satan should take advantage of us.

Why? Because you must always have a heart of compassion, even for those who caused problems in the church, those who had been at odds with Paul, creating a lot of trouble. Paul had to forgive them, because we know the devil's schemes. So, do not lose heart. When you encounter difficulties, it doesn't mean you should retreat. When conflict arises in pastoral ministry, the pastors I have trained have not retreated. Not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of those being ministered to. You may not accept it, that's alright. This is called pastoral teaching. As long as it benefits you, we don't shy away from saying it. What are we dealing with? We're dealing with human desires. How much of what's inside us is in accordance with God's word? Actually, a lot of it isn't.

For example, a sister told me, Teacher, I really saw Jesus! What should I say to that? If I discourage her enthusiasm, she'll definitely be unhappy. If I don't discourage her enthusiasm, she'll think seeing Jesus is very spiritual. Is it really that simple? If you really see Jesus, you definitely won't be like this today, no doubt about it. Seeing Jesus today, seeing Jesus tomorrow. Is that how it is? It's as if Jesus has nothing better to do than to come chat with you all the time. So, when you want to discourage someone, won't that cause conflict? That's why, do not lose heart. It has many meanings. Do not lose heart, in pastoral ministry, you must have the heart of a father and mother, but you can't retreat. You must always examine people's core interests.

You can always examine me, you can also examine the pastors among us. Is their core interest in the glory of God? If their core interest is in pursuing the immeasurable and eternal glory, you can rest assured, you can be completely at ease. They won't harm you. If what they're pursuing is money, is profit, then you need to be careful.

Brothers and sisters, you need to know today that you must be qualified to give offerings before we let you give offerings. If you're not qualified to give offerings, we don't really need the money. What we need is for people to turn to God. Examine people's core interests. What are people's core interests? Whether you're a pastor among us or a brother or sister among us, start putting that core interest on the immeasurable and eternal glory. Start with that kind of hope. No matter how many difficulties you face, even if there seems to be no hope of living, don't worry, don't lose heart, because God will be with us.

6. We Have This Treasure in Jars of Clay to Show That the Surpassing Power Belongs to God

We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. This is one of my favorite passages, because we have this hope, our thoughts and minds are with God, and God is with such people. Then a treasure enters our jars of clay, and these jars of clay will manifest surpassing power. Originally, we were just smelly fleshy bags, nothing special, just a lump of meat. But this lump of meat is different from that lump of meat. What's the difference between this jar of clay and that jar of clay? Inside is the hope of glory. God will dwell within us, and we will have the surpassing power of God manifested.

So today, brothers and sisters, you must know, what did the apostle Paul use to prove that he was the apostle Paul? I'll read it to you:

I have been a fool! You forced it on me, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not in the least inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. (2 Corinthians 12:11-12)

Do you see that? In other words, when we truly have this hope of glory, you will see that this person carries this surpassing power. Of course, today, brothers and sisters, you must be careful. There are also people who carry great power, but inside they don't carry this hope of glory. Do they exist? Yes, they do. Start thinking about this. If a person has God's presence, you will clearly see God's presence with him. But some people can also perform miracles, can also cast out demons in Jesus' name, but Jesus does not recognize them, because they are not filled with this hope of glory.

This passage is especially good. It is not from us, but from God. You know, this power that comes from God. Earlier it said that our outer self is decaying day by day, but our inner self is being renewed day by day. Then it goes on to say that we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this surpassing power belongs to God. Actually, I tell you, this confusion is the same confusion that people had when Jesus was crucified on the cross.

When Jesus was crucified, some people said, If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross and show us. Why didn't Jesus come down? Was it because he didn't have the ability to come down? He had the ability to come down. But I tell you, this confusion became a stumbling block for many people. I hope that brothers and sisters can understand that since there is a treasure in jars of clay showing the surpassing power, it will definitely not be used for selfish motives in service.

7. Though Our Outer Self Is Wasting Away, Our Inner Self Is Being Renewed Day by Day

I tell you, when you truly serve with that kind of heart, it really touches your core. Do you think Paul's body was decaying as he served like this? It was decaying. Didn't Paul have God's presence? So why was his body still decaying? Everyone is definitely confused. Because Jesus was also like that, Jesus was also nailed to the cross. What does it mean to carry the death of Jesus Christ in one's body? It means constantly encountering near-death experiences. He was flogged several times. I ask you, didn't that hurt his body? It hurt. Later, didn't his buttocks get infected? Didn't he have scars? Yes, he did. When it was overcast and rainy, didn't he feel uncomfortable? Yes, he did. He was stoned to death. Were his bones broken? Yes, they were broken. But do you know what happened? Paul didn't care about these things at all.

Taking care of his health was no longer a factor in Paul's ministry considerations. Paul didn't care about taking care of himself at all. He didn't care about these things at all. Taking care of his health was no longer his goal. He just used this body to work hard. Do you know what it means to work hard? Just do it, work until you drop. Everyone understand? Why? Because he had the hope of glory in his heart. And working hard kept Paul busy. What could decay, let it decay. He didn't care about these things at all. Think about it, there was persecution from the outside, this persecution today, that persecution tomorrow. He experienced so many things. Being arrested frequently, getting beaten up frequently, it was no joke. If you punched Paul in the face, his face would turn blue.

You understand? Internal disturbances. One moment, something happens to the Corinthian church, and Paul is suffering on the inside. Another moment, something happens to the Galatian church. Another moment, something happens to the Ephesian church. Then something happens to the Corinthian church again. Anyway, he built the churches. He built them well in the beginning, and then he left, and then people came in, and the super-apostles came. When the super-apostles came, he couldn't rest at all. How could he rest? If he could rest, he wouldn't have to be like this, he could just sit back and relax. Isn't that right? That wasn't the case. If there were things that made him rest, he'd really be troubled! And I often have that troubled feeling.

Some people ask me, Teacher, how come you have this problem too? I'm troubled! But I have the hope of glory, I'm not confused. Where does the confusion come from? It's normal to get sick. It's normal to be sore all over after being tired. Taking care of my health is no longer my goal. I'm just going to use this body until I meet God! Serving God, serving is taking care of my health. If it weren't for serving God, people would suffer a lot, maybe even worse than this. Serving God with this immeasurable hope. No longer living for myself. My goal in life is to build God's glorious church, to have this eternal hope in Jesus Christ in the future, with this eternal hope of glory, all suffering becomes a light and momentary affliction. All sorrows become a light and momentary affliction!

Brothers and sisters, you must know today that being mindful of the flesh is death. If a person is mindful of the flesh and calls it taking care of their health, you won't be able to serve God. If you want to serve God, you really can't take care of your health. Some people often advise me, Teacher, your sleep schedule is bad. Oh, my sleep schedule is bad? What should I do? The devil torments our brothers and sisters at three in the morning. If the devil is tormenting our brothers and sisters, do our brothers and sisters care about me or not? If you care about me, the devil will torment you. If you don't care about me, you'll call me and affect my sleep. Sleep? What's sleep?

Everyone must know today that as long as I'm serving, or many of our pastors, have you noticed that they often answer the phone at four in the morning, or three in the morning? Why? What health? Where does health come from? Serving is taking care of my health. If I don't take care of myself, what happens? I'm not confused. Though my outer self is decaying, my inner hope is becoming stronger day by day.

8. All Suffering Becomes a Light and Momentary Affliction

Then the light and momentary affliction becomes lighter, all suffering becomes a light and momentary affliction. Is it hard? Today I hope that brothers and sisters know that if you're not suffering, something is wrong. I ask you, if you're raising a child, do you need to feed them at night? You need to feed them at night. Of course, many mothers give their children to maids to raise after they're done raising them. Let the maids raise them. After the maids raise them, they become more and more like the maids. And you start to wonder why your child turned out this way. If you hire a male servant, they'll look more and more like the male servant, and that will be even more problematic.

All suffering becomes a light and momentary affliction. Why? It's not that the thing isn't bitter enough, it is bitter, it is hard, but our feelings become lighter. Our feeling towards the pain isn't as strong, because we're filled with hope. Does raising children hurt? It hurts. Is it hard? It's hard. Is pastoral work hard? It's hard. Does it hurt? It hurts. Whose fall doesn't break my heart? These are the apostle Paul's original words. If you minister with the heart of a father and mother, it will definitely hurt. If you don't hurt, it's because you're a hired hand. That's the difference.

I'm saying these words to the pastors among us. Do you really have the heart of a father and mother? If you have the heart of a father and mother, no virus can stand in your way. Maybe one benefit the pastors among us have is that you're all ministering online. You don't have to do what I used to do, hugging a foot, a foot that smelled so bad, that had athlete's foot, and having to hug that foot and pray for him. It really smelled bad, not just a little bad. I'd wash my hands as soon as I got home. But what was that kind of service for? It was for the glory of God.

9. Conclusion: To Achieve an Immeasurable and Eternal Glory

I tell you, people live their lives and then they die, and after they die, they don't know where they're going. People don't have much meaning when they're alive, and it's even worse after they die. Is there any meaning to that? No meaning, no meaning at all. Suffering for the things of this world, some people see their children die before them. Calamities happen in families. What's the meaning of that? There's no meaning to it at all. If it weren't for service, if it weren't for the hope of eternal glory, I really wouldn't know how to live. Because there's no meaning, no meaning at all.

Because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are unseen are eternal. While I don't know what will happen next, I know that living is a very spiritual thing. We will definitely live forever in the glory and presence of God. Even if we leave this world, even though we don't know before we leave, before we leave there's the presence of God. And after we leave, we return to God, which is incomparably better. People should often ask, Why am I suffering? If you suffer for the things of this world, there's no meaning to it. But for God, for service, for seeing the glory of God, it is incomparably better, and you will be victorious every time.

Did Paul win over the Corinthian church? He won them over. Did Paul win over the Galatian church? He won them over. Wherever Paul served, he was victorious every time. I also thank God that to this day, I can boast in Jesus Christ and triumph over the spiritual forces of darkness. Each time, even though there is conflict, even though there are tears, we see God causing us to triumph, and we see brothers and sisters returning to the way of Jesus Christ. I believe that in the end, I will stand before God, I will see God's glory, and I will be in God's glory forever. I don't know what I'll be doing, but that is my hope. May God bless everyone!

Let's sing a song and prepare to receive today's offering. Let us seek God all our lives. Let our service be pleasing to God, let our service be able to achieve an immeasurable and eternal glory! That is the word of God, that is the salvation of God. If you have received grace because of my service, then you owe me a favor. You also owe God a favor. If you are also serving with the same hope of glory, then you don't owe anything. And I congratulate you on receiving the best, you have also received the best blessing.

Brothers and sisters, pray with me: God! Raise me up, so that I can also receive this hope of glory, and run this race in this world. God! May you be my treasure inside me, and also reveal surpassing power, so that as I run forward with this hope, I can see your presence, so that I can manifest your glory and serve this generation in this generation. God! Raise up, raise up your people, to be a blessing to this generation. God! I am here, may you use me, so that when I come before you, I can receive your praise and become your faithful and good servant. 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!