Introduction

Good day to everyone! The topic for today continues from our previous discussion. What was that topic? It was about becoming vessels of God's glory! We also talked about seeking glory, honour, and incorruptible blessings. These are all excellent terms! They sound wonderful. But today, I want to continue on this, and why? Because in our prayers, we often say: May glory, honour, and power be unto You!

Afterwards, they attribute all glory, honour, and power to God. But they themselves live without any power, any glory, any honour. That is truly giving everything to God. But this giving to God is not the intention. This giving to God, giving to the Lamb on the throne, is not what God desires. Sometimes when we say such things, it's easy to be misunderstood, everything is given to God. So then we have nothing? No! God wants us to become vessels of glory and honour in His eyes. Today’s topic: The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power!

In the history of the church, God's power, God's glory has been lost, and it has become the norm. And where did this norm begin? It started in the time of the Apostle Paul. Actually, if you go further back, before the Apostle Paul, there were Peter and James. From that time onwards, they gradually diminished the glory and power of God, step by step.

Some time ago, a few years back, a pastor asked his mother to come see me. Why did he ask his mother to come see me? He felt that I was particularly effective, and he was particularly impressed with me. Because they know about the deliverance ministries we do. His mother suffered from severe insomnia, and he had prayed for her for seven years, and her dosage of sleeping pills had increased fourfold. This is powerful prayer, the medicine dosage increased with prayer. God's glory did not increase, but the medicine dosage went up. As a result, she travelled a long way to see me. After some time, her insomnia was cured.

Then the pastor said to me, My mother, nobody could help her, but you could. Why? Because I have the power of God in my hands. Pay attention to what I say. I often tell stories, not just talking in theory. I talk about what I do. You may find that what I say is understandable to children, to the elderly, and also to intellectuals. Not only understandable, but also full of flavour. Why? Because what I talk about is what I do. I don't talk much about what I haven't done. Today I have a deep feeling: the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power!

God is with those who He gives His glory and His power to. God's glory, God's power! Some want God and He gives it to them, but once used, that’s it. We won’t get into the debate what kind of a person he is? And then they have the power of God. But I tell you, if you minister the way we demonstrate, then you will see God's power. Because the gospel of God is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

Later, another pastor came to me and asked, Pastor, I prayed for someone, and the tumour inside him was originally like a jujube; after praying, it became like an egg; after more prayer, it became like a goose egg; after more prayer, it became like a big radish; and after more prayer, the fellow looked pregnant. He asked me, Why is my prayer not working? Sometimes these words are too hard to speak, why can't I speak them? What can you say? Right? This it is, the absence of God's presence. You say there is no presence of God? Once a while, it works. Actually, I tell you, this thing is confusing.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You say there is no presence of God, sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't; actually, I tell you, this thing is confusing. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. It’s confusing, but you don't have to be confused, it should always work if it works, and it doesn't work, it only works sometimes, that's a bad one. It's like we use a calculator, sometimes there are numbers, sometimes there are none, that's a faulty one. Sometimes 1+1=2, sometimes 1+1=3, sometimes 1+1=4, that's a faulty one. So this thing has one thing related to it: faithfulness or unfaithfulness? If you serve God, you must have that faithfulness, and God will be with you.

If you wholeheartedly love God, God knows, and God will be with you, and God will manifest His power in you. Not only what God tells you, you do it and it works, but what God didn’t tell you, and you said it and it worked, God will also bring it to pass for you. You can see how tight this relationship, this relationship is very tight! God's glory, God's honour, God's power is manifested among us, you know this thing is very interesting, I especially like this.

Yesterday we visited a scientific research base. You say, you also visit scientific research bases? I like to do scientific research myself. We visited a scientific research base, and one of the people who went with us got sand in his eye. How do you deal with sand in your eye on the street? This is not difficult for me, a true story. What happened? Pray, pray in the car. Ten minutes later, the sand was gone. Where did it go? I don't know, I couldn't take it out.

Not just the eye, but some people eat fish, which is very interesting. After eating the fish, the fish meat goes down, but the fish bone stays in the throat. The fish bone stays in the throat, isn't that interesting? Nothing I did worked, and later I asked me to pray, there are times I can tell you God is very funny. How to pray so that the fish bone just doesn't go down. Finally I understood, God wanted to direct a play to teach people a lesson. The fish bone usually disappears about ten or fifteen minutes after prayer. But whatever I did it was no use, so he went to the hospital.

After arriving at the hospital, the hospital tossed around and couldn't take out the fish bone so he returned in the evening. The fish bone was stuck for most of the day, she asked me to pray again. She completely abandoned the idea of finding a doctor to remove the fish bone. She completely abandoned this idea, because the doctor said he couldn't do anything. As soon as I prayed with her, it disappeared. Isn't God very funny? What is this? This is power! The doctor couldn't do anything, but it disappeared after prayer. Therefore, in today's generation, we are particularly lacking the gospel that has power! Not safe but power, which is kind of authority in the spiritual world!

What kind of person can only say that they cannot do it? It is only troublesome if they can only say that they cannot do it. Therefore, in the time of the Apostle Paul, they were very hateful of the gospel without the power of God! So he wrote this sentence: The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. You say this eye, the sand got into the eye, the fish bone is stuck in the throat, I tell you, what I do is very amazing! Most people don't have this faith. Right? Can you pray to heal the fish bone stuck in the throat? After I finished speaking, don't say that, someone else really had a fish bone stuck in their throat again. This time he didn't ask me, he listened to my recording and prayed, and the fish bone also disappeared. That's so powerful!

A few months ago, about half a year ago, someone broke three bones in his sole. The foot was so swollen that his foot was in a cast. I prayed for him, and according to tradition, called it to tidy up, I muttered, and what happened? The bones in the foot healed! After the foot healed, I said: the power of God is amazing! When he came, his foot was fractured and swollen out of shape, wrapped in gauze, in a cast, and with a splint. When he left, he bought a new pair of shoes and went home. After returning home, his surgery was scheduled for Tuesday. As a result, the doctor called on Tuesday and said, Why didn't you come? He said, I'm healed. The doctor couldn't believe it, how could he be healed? The doctor said, Come here quickly, come here quickly, this is not a joke. After he went there, they took another X-ray and saw that the bone was broken, but it healed.

Don't be misled by what I say? If you have a broken bone, it's best to see a doctor, and don't cause me any trouble. The doctor told him, but this is a true story. Seeing him walking around, the doctor was confused. The bone was broken, but he walked like a normal person. Walk around again, I'm walking, walk again. No, just walk again, just take another X-ray, it's too confusing! So, is the power of God good? The power of God is great!

Paul hated this kind of powerless gospel very much. You say that under the power of God, the man born blind can see, the man born lame can walk, can the man who becomes lame later? Yes! The man who goes blind the other day, can he? Yes! This is called the gospel of power! The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. If someone has given you a lot of words, but only to give you hope that you can go to heaven after death, and what heaven looks like? I don't know. If you really believe it, you may really be fooled. I haven't been to heaven, as for whether they were fooled? I can only say that they may have been fooled. Because if I can't deal with the things I can see, can I believe things that I can't see? I don't believe it.

So this thing is very interesting, where is the interest? The gospel of God's power is beyond our imagination. But the problem is, why is such a good gospel so rare in this day and age? Actually, it is very simple to make a powerful gospel powerless. It is not easy to turn a powerless gospel into a powerful gospel. Do you understand? So I want to tell you that this matter did not start today, it started in the time of Paul, turning the gospel into a powerless gospel. Such a historical process, the history of the church can be said to be a historical process in which the church lost the glory of God and the power of the gospel.

Therefore, I am very fortunate in this generation to be a vessel used by God. To build His glorious church, to restore His powerful gospel, so that we truly know that the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. If it depends on words, it will be troublesome. Do you know who can talk the most? Think about it, who can talk the most? I tell you that’s people from Northeast China who speak the most. Who in Northeast China can talk the most? Zhao Benshan can talk the most, right? Actually not. Who can talk the most? That's the talk show that can talk the most, who in the talk show can talk the most? There is a celebrity from Northeast China in the talk show named Li Xueqin, who can talk the most. no!

I tell you that it is not Zhao Benshan, Li Xueqin, or Shan Tianfang, con men can talk the most. Liars can say anything, they can say a horse is a deer, and a deer can say a horse. They can say anything, but they can't do it, they can't do it, they are liars. Among Christians, who can talk the most? Pharisees speak the most, so a contest between words and power. So today our brothers and sisters must know that glory, honour and power are the attributes of God, and God wants to give us His attributes, so that we can possess the attributes of God, because we were originally created in His image. We can now understand why Adam worked so efficiently back then, because he had God's glory, honour and power. That power is great, the attributes of God. People also opened up this path because of Jesus Christ, so that we can obtain the attributes of glory, honour, and power.

Sometimes I like to tell testimonies. When I tell testimonies, as soon as I pray, the eyes are healed; as soon as I pray, the fish bones are gone. Then they give me a big hat. When I put on that hat, it is not suitable, why is it not suitable? He said: Look, you are stealing God's glory. Can his words stump me? Do we still have this confusion among us? If there is still this confusion, today I tell you: God's glory is my glory, and my glory is also God's glory, we are one with God. The glory of Jesus Christ is my glory, and my glory is also the glory of Jesus Christ. Isn't that great! I am one with God.

So later I have a concept in our Chinese Mingding Destiny, called: it only counts if you do it, just talking is useless, you have to do it. Later there is another sentence: You have to be like Jesus, believe in Jesus, and be like Jesus. But in this generation, I think many people believe in Jesus, how can they believe as if they were a monk? Oh, it's very interesting, there is everything in this generation, believing in Jesus and believing in a monk. So today our brothers and sisters must begin to know that those who believe in Jesus must be like Jesus. If you believe in Jesus and Jesus looks like Buddha, doesn't that destroy it? Believe in Jesus, not like Jesus, then we don’t know what he looks like? It only counts if you do it, whatever Jesus does, we will do, and whatever Jesus does not do, then forget it!

The evil spirit that caused the church to lose God's glory, honour, and power has been operating in history. From the time of Paul to the present, they have successfully caused the church to lose God's glory, lose honour, and lose power, and have successfully tripped up many people. So today, brothers and sisters, begin to know that today I want to talk about the topic The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. I seem to have talked about it before, I forgot, I don't know whether it has you listened before, just take the Corinthian church as an example again. This Corinthian church is amazing, it is a very good case. Come, let's read today's scripture 1 Corinthians Chapter 4, Verse 20.

II. Scripture

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. (1 Corinthians 4:20)

III. Prayer

God! Today, let us deeply know that we are Your glorious vessels, and we have Your honourable figure on us; God! When Your glory is manifested through us, we will see Your power is manifested through us. In this generation, we will see the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers cleansed, and the dead raised from the dead; God! Your will is so, and we believe in Your gospel, the salvation that You have accomplished through Jesus Christ. This gospel is Your power.

God! Today, let this powerful gospel be restored among us again, let us this group of people can take over these services done by the Apostle Paul again, let us keep running forward and restore this powerful gospel in the church. May Your glory fill the earth, may Your deeds be manifested in the universe, may our brothers and sisters be faithful stewards before You. Let us be in awe of You, be faithful servants and stewards, You will surely be with us, and You will surely manifest Your power through us! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

IV. Scripture Background

1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians is a book that I often talk about. It is amazing to string together 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Romans, Galatians and Acts! Discovered a secret. What kind of secret did you discover? Con men are disguised as decent gentlemen. If these crooks grin with big fangs appearing in front of you: I am Jesus. Forget it! Children know that you are a ghost, right? Look at those big fangs, scary! He said he was Jesus, so forget it!

But the problem is, pretending to be a decent gentleman, there is such a group of people who are very good at talking, and are qualified to say this, this is troublesome, right? Later I tell you, according to my research, these people are really great! He came to Corinth and preached a gospel that caused the Corinthians to lose the power of God, a completely powerless gospel. Did you see that? In the days of the Apostle Paul, this evil force was operating in the church. He could speak and successfully alienated relationship between the Corinthian church and the Apostle Paul. The Corinthian church was established by the Apostle Paul from the beginning, but it was successfully alienated by this group of people. These people are very influential.

What do they rely on to preach this gospel that loses the power of God? Relying on a mouth. We have a saying in Northeast China, “A two-cent teapot has a good mouth. they are all broken, only the mouth is left, can that thing be used as a pot? The fourth point you still don’t know? The fourth point is the background of this passage. These people are very good at talking, so what exactly did they say? Because 1 Corinthians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, all because the relationship between these Corinthian churches and Paul was alienated, these confusions arose within them. Think about it, after these confusions arose, Paul defended himself, and through his defense, it can be seen that these people in the other Corinthian church,

Why were they able to accept another gospel and accept another set of logic? They have many reasons: First, their reason is: Look at this Apostle Paul, he is not an apostle at all. Why? Because he speaks very vulgarly. Look at us, how good we speak! Like a broadcaster. These people speak like a gentleman, they sound nice and pretend like it. So you see how powerful the devil is! Who exactly are these people? According to my research, they must be inseparable from James and Peter. So this, saying that the Apostle Paul speaks vulgarly, how could the kingdom of God and the gospel speak like him?

Have you ever found that I speak very vulgarly, right? I often say silly things, and sometimes I say harsh things. Later, the Apostle Paul also wrote in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians: Although my words are vulgar, my way is not vulgar. Straightforward! So people like those well-mannered things. So what I’ve been doing has no packaging, it’s just with my spiritual children, with my own children, what will be the sense of packaging? It doesn’t mean anything.

Later, they talked a lot about the persecutions and sufferings that the Apostle Paul suffered. Look, the Corinthians fell for it after hearing this. If they had God's presence, if the Apostle Paul had God's presence, how could they have suffered so many tribulations? Sometimes they can’t eat, sometimes they can’t drink, sometimes they are naked, and sometimes they are beaten, they have been beaten several times. If God is really with them, would this happen? I tell you that there may be some doubts among us today. You still think that God is with you, and the words you speak are simply beautiful, and they are all gentle.

Don’t look at Paul as a highly educated intellectual, but he is straightforward in his speech, without beating around the bush or pretending, and he has suffered these tribulations and worked hard with his own hands. Look at these people: If the gospel that Paul preaches is right, why does he have to work with his own hands? Listen to these words, what’s wrong with working with your own hands? If you don’t work with your own hands, will pies fall from the sky? Let me tell you, the logical system of the gospel of pies falling from the sky is quite corrupt.

Until today, I called a sister, and the sister's father hated Christians very much. I said: Oh, I have the same hobby as your father, and I also hate Christians. Her father said: You Christians just like to wait for the pies to fall from the sky. Oh, I think so too. Why? Because of these things, you see, working hard with your own hands, if he has God's presence, he should be able to turn stones into bread. He is so busy and tired, can that be called the presence of God? You're confused or not You’re confused.

Until today, there are still people among us who have such a view. I tell you, I work hard, it’s not that I don’t work hard, I’m also very tired, can I not be tired? But I am willing to do this, I work more with my own hands than ordinary people do! That is absolutely working with my own hands, and I am often cursed and persecuted. When people curse us, we bless them; when people persecute us, we endure them; when people slander us, we persuade them kindly. Until now, people still regard us as the filth of the world and the scum of all things. Strange? Strange. So the Apostle Paul suffered these things and used them as their material, saying: Look, he must not have the presence of God. Without the presence of God, Paul said in one sentence: I have the power of God! As soon as I prayed, many things that many people could not solve, as soon as I prayed to Paul, they were cured, very powerful!

Why did Paul write about the thorn in his side in his letter? He didn't need to tell us. Why? Because those people took the thorn in his side and hyped it up. Even today, some people are still hyping up the thorn in the Apostle Paul’s side. Look at him, he also has a disease in his eyes. I tell you, what is that thorn? Paul’s eyes have a problem. You know that the liver governs the eyes and the liver opens into the eyes. What do you mean? Anger hurts the liver, and Paul has a bit of a bad temper. Regardless of his temper, he is still very wise.

He is hot-tempered, and his eyes were once struck by God on the road to Damascus. Later, when he prayed, many scales fell out of his eyes and his eyes were healed, but a root remained. But he left this root behind. Look, he now has a thorn. Look at his eyes, if his eyes are like this, can he still pray for others? What kind of power of God? These words sound very reasonable. The Corinthians heard: Oh, yeah! We must not believe in the wrong gospel, we have to go back to the root. Look at these people, one is Jesus’ physical brother, and the other is Jesus’ great disciple. If we don’t follow them, can we truly follow the true gospel? broken. Is that the true gospel? Very confused!

Do not be perplexed, even today. Sometimes when people seek my service, I myself am also experiencing pain and illness. Do not think I have no ailments; I do. Even in the midst of my own suffering, I still serve others. And how does that service go? It works just as well. My own issues are something God deals with. You see, if a person were to tell stories, there would be so many! Please, do not regard me as a paradigm of holiness. I am not; I am a paradigm of a sinner. Why a paradigm of a sinner? Because my temper is not the best. When eating, I need to consume more liver. Goose liver is too expensive; we cannot afford it, so we eat pig liver instead – liver to nourish the liver. There are many vexing matters, and I have to slowly learn to be like Lao Tzu, but I never quite became him. Now, I am like a middle-aged uncle, an elderly old man, with a thermos flask as standard equipment, filled with wolfberries to nourish the liver, due to the fiery temper within.

Let me tell you, the world really is like this. When you see many vexing things, you sometimes get angry. Alas, after getting angry, you regret it; after regretting, you become weak; after weakness, you become strong again. Anyway, that is how we carry on until the day we meet the Lord. Compared to others, well, let me tell you, look at Apollos, look at Paul. Look how good Apollos is, just there making his judgments. These people dissected Paul inside and out. After listening, the Corinthians said, Ah, Paul is fake.

Can you believe this? Paul felt miserable in his heart and wrote the book of 1 Corinthians in tears. Because Paul knew that if he did not speak out, it would be as if he was allowing these Corinthians to fall into this pit. If he spoke, it would seem as if he was defending himself. What good would defending himself do? It was actually for the Corinthians to be able to return to the powerful Gospel. So, Paul began to defend himself. Look at my conduct? Look at how I teach? How do I conduct myself? How do I act in the church? How do I teach? Actually, you cannot find fault.

You see, though you have countless instructors, you do not have many fathers. He said, I, Paul, through the Gospel, have begotten you in Jesus Christ. You are all my spiritual children. What good does it do for me to defend myself? So, when it comes to this matter, continuously defending oneself is not really for oneself. When I first became a believer, I felt that Paul particularly liked to defend himself, but he was forced to by them. But what was Paul comparing? At the outset, People ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. Today, I can boast before everyone: I am faithful in Jesus Christ, because I emulate the Apostle Paul.

So, having said all this, if you want to compare, compare faithfulness; if you want to compare, compare a father's or mother's heart; if you want to compare, compare a person's conduct and behavior; if you want to compare, compare how someone teaches, leading people to Jesus Christ. If you want to compare, in the end, compare the power of God. If it is about being eloquent, swindlers are the most eloquent. So, compare the power of God, which is the foundation upon which the Apostle Paul stood in this powerful gospel. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. This power is the ability in the spiritual world to trample all the enemies of the devil. Do you understand?

So, Paul says in this passage, You should imitate me, Paul, in my service. I serve these spiritual children as if they were the least important. The first should be last, and the last should be first. Can everyone understand this? That is, someone who serves lets others go first, taking on the riskiest matters themselves, being last. Why be last? For the last seem to be first, and the first seem to be last. You may be someone served by the Apostle Paul, but I long for you to be someone who can also do this – to serve many people, with the heart of a father and mother.

This is the background to the Apostle Paul’s writing of 1 Corinthians. He puts forward the concept: The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power! Remember, turning a dynamic, powerful gospel into a powerless one is a simple matter. But transforming a powerless gospel, restoring it, so that people can enter into the powerful gospel, into the kingdom of God, is not an easy task. Having explained the background of this passage, I want to continue discussing what I intend to illustrate.

V. Do not listen to what people say, but look at what they do

Alas, sometimes when serving, there are many things, and it feels like it would all end in tears if one spoke of them. There was a woman who had a disease – she suffered from joint pain and swelling all over her body, and the condition was quite severe. That day, while I was praying with her, a large lump suddenly appeared on the back of my hand, about the size of a quail egg. How did this lump just visibly swell up? Her illness improved, and a lump appeared on my hand. Some people might listen and say, You are not that impressive. You are not good enough. I did not care at all about a lump appearing on my hand, or anywhere else. She got better. Then, a month or two later, I went on to minister to her two younger sisters-in-law and others.

And what happened? What happened was quite interesting. They abandoned me. Do not think it was an air bubble. It was a ganglion cyst, hard and stiff. Regarding that matter, I said, They abandoned me. How did they abandon me? Later, someone who knew her shared with me what had happened. There was a prophet next to her house who told her, You must be careful about this person. You see, their logic is very simple: I would rather be in pain all over than enter heresy in order to go to heaven. Are you familiar with this style of speech? What language are you speaking? Alas, if they cannot even cure the pain, if they cannot even resolve the pain, what kind of gospel is that?

“Go to heaven? More like ‘heaven’ spelled wrong! Who knows what kind of heaven that is? Maybe going into refined sugar! After being pickled by refined sugar, do you all know what happens? Things pickled with refined sugar will not spoil. Have you ever seen meat pickled in soup? That meat does not spoil, it does not rot; sugar preserves it. I think, instead of going to heaven, go into refined sugar and become a specimen, so that you will not decay.” Do not listen to what people say; look at what they do. Did everyone take down the fifth point? Do not listen to what people say; look at what they do. If their pain cannot be resolved, yet they get themselves a prophet, such a prophet I would say forget it. Isn't that so? I think that kind of prophet is probably someone who eats first.

This Jesus Christ is very interesting. Jesus Christ gave us a very good example; believing in the Lord should be like this. There were times when people were perplexed. For example, John the Baptist was perplexed. So, John the Baptist’s disciples came to Jesus, and what did Jesus say? They came to investigate whether Jesus was the Messiah. When they came to Jesus, Jesus did not answer, did not answer directly. Go back and tell John. Tell his disciples, tell him that the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the dead are raised. Then judge for yourself.

What is this called? It is called authenticating that Jesus Christ is Lord, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God through the ministry of God’s power. Through what? Through the manifestation of this power, God’s power, God’s glory, God’s presence. Do not think that God’s presence will manifest some kind of fluorescent light. No. What God’s presence manifests are the miraculous deeds that Jesus Christ performed. That is the power of God: the blind see, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the dead are raised. From now on, I want to exhort everyone: do not listen to what people say; look at what they do. If what this person does is not very good, and they only know how to talk, you can basically conclude that they are a swindler – probably swindling many people not into heaven, but into refined sugar.

VI. Being like Jesus is what counts

Today, brothers and sisters, do we know about imitating Jesus? If you look in the Bible, you see Jesus say, You should imitate me. The Apostle Paul also said, You should imitate me. Not me, but Him, themselves. So, the difference between being like Jesus and not being like Jesus is too great. Those who are like Jesus go to Jesus. Those who are not like Jesus, to whom they are like is where they go. Do you understand?

Sometimes, when I am casting out demons, I find that the demon on this person, once cast out, returns, cast out, returns, cast out, returns. It is quite interesting. One day, I said, You demon, you are really bad. I cast you out, and after beating you up, you leave, but in a few days, you come back again. The demon said, I am also quite wronged. I said, Why are you wronged? The demon said, I was wandering around on the street, and I saw: 'Hmm, this one looks a lot like me. The thoughts in his head are the same as mine, so I went in.' He invited me in, and then you beat me up and cast me out again. A few days later, I look at him, and he looks like one of my people no matter how I look at him, so is there anything wrong with me living inside him? After listening, I felt that this matter was quite interesting.

Those who are like someone go to that one. Can everyone understand? Those who are like Jesus go to Jesus. If you are like a demon, will you not go to the demon? Or the demon comes to you – it is the same. If you are like Jesus, Jesus comes to you, the Spirit of God comes to you. If you are not like Jesus, who do you think they are like? If you are not like Jesus, you are like a demon. Alas, this matter is quite interesting. Later, I felt that being like Jesus was quite simple.

Once, there was a person whose church invited a pastor. Standing on the stage, he said, Out of a thousand people, one goes to heaven, and 999 go to hell. This person had a little bit of sense and did not quite agree. When he invited me to dinner, he asked me, We invited a pastor who said on the stage that out of a thousand people, 999 go to hell, and one goes to heaven. I said, Alas. He asked me, What do you think? Actually, I am telling you, people often give me difficult questions, and I do not know whether he made up the difficult question or whether he really encountered this difficult question. I said, Regarding this matter, I do not know, because I have never been there. If you asked me to count, how would I count? I cannot count.

Later, I said, I do have an answer. He said, What is your answer? I said, Those who are like Jesus when they are alive go to Jesus after they die. Those who are like the devil when they are alive go to the devil after they die. What if someone is half like Jesus and half like the devil? Is this not what the Bible says? Cut off your arm, cut off your foot. If something causes you to stumble, cut it off. If you do not cut it off, what should you do? If you do not cut it off, the matter should be a little troublesome. Do not know what to do? So, believing in the Lord is about being like Jesus. Like what? You must be like Jesus Christ, having this power. So, I am telling you that when you encounter these matters, it would be good if you used my method to answer.

Some people ask me, Teacher, do you think I can go to heaven? I look to the left, I look to the right, I rummage around, as if I am picking an apple, looking at it from all angles. I say, There is a little trouble. Why can I not see the likeness of Jesus? It is a little difficult for you to go to heaven. I think that if heaven is full of people like you today, I would not want to go. Did I answer his question? I did not answer. Would it not offend someone if I directly answered? But did I answer? Yes, I answered, and I answered quite tactfully. I said, If heaven is full of people like you, I think I will go somewhere else instead. That is definitely not the case. We must not go to the place where he is going. So, being like Jesus is what counts. Is believing in Jesus good? Yes. Is it difficult? It is still a little difficult.

Rummaging around, the people of the Corinthian church could not see that they were too much like Jesus, could not see. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote heavily in 1 Corinthians. They were all carnal. In theory, they should all be spiritual, acting as teachers who could teach others, but in their bones, they were still carnal people. It is said that being carnal is being at enmity with God. How can this be good? It is a very difficult, troublesome matter.

So, the Gospel that the Apostle Paul preached was inherited from Jesus Christ. The Gospel we preach today is inherited from the Apostle Paul because what the Apostle Paul inherited was that set from Jesus Christ. So, being like Jesus is not simple. Many Christians say to me, How can you be like Jesus like this? Look at what they say. What do you want to be like? I was thinking, what do you want to be like? If you do not want to be like Jesus, who do you think you are like? If you are not like Jesus, what is the point of believing in Jesus? So, how can you be like Jesus? It is the power of Jesus Christ.

VII. How can one be like Jesus?

Have you all discovered that recently my sermons seem to be somewhat actionable? That is, you can do it according to what you have heard. It is actionable. Being like Jesus is what counts. But how can you be like Jesus? Today, brothers and sisters, you must know to be a faithful steward. All that God asks of us is a faithful person. If we become faithful stewards, God will surely be with us. If you become a priest, but you are an unfaithful priest, do you all know what is meant by unfaithful? It is a little difficult to use God to explain unfaithfulness. I will say, if a wife is unfaithful to her husband, what does that mean? That is called cheating. Or, let us say it is cheating in the heart; the body has not cheated, but has not had time to.

So, faithfulness corresponds with promiscuity. If a person wants to be like Jesus, but they lack faithfulness, is this not troublesome? Brothers and sisters, we must know to be faithful, to be a faithful servant before God, to be a faithful soldier, to be a faithful steward. This is what I expect. If you ask me, Why do you minister in this way? It is the expression of faithfulness, to minister to the spiritual children God has given me with a father's and mother's heart. If you truly have this kind of heart, you are a faithful person. Please do not bring a testimony to me that says, Teacher, look, that day when you prayed for me, my illness improved, so I am very spiritual. Quickly stop. You are spiritual? That day when I prayed for you, I still had to deal with your carnal depravities.

People think that experiencing God's grace counts, but it actually does not. Experiencing God's grace is God's grace; you did not deserve it. If you want to deserve it, you must be faithful before God. Being faithful before God means doing things the way God says to do them. Do things the way Jesus does them. If Jesus does not do something, then forget about it. This is called faithfulness. Then, when you minister with a father's and mother's heart, you will surely see God's power manifested through you, because you are God's faithful servant. Do you all understand? So, ministering with a father's and mother's heart is really good. It is indescribably good. Why? Because when you minister with a father's and mother's heart, you will see God's power constantly manifesting.

Once, after an earthquake, a mother saw that her child was pinned under cement. The child was still alive and had not been injured. What to do? After being pinned underneath, the mother exerted her strength and moved the cement slab away. The child was rescued. Everyone found this hard to believe and asked her how she had rescued the child. She said, I just moved the cement and rescued the child. He said, That cement is still there. Come move it now. She could not move it now. He asked, How were you able to move it then? She said, I do not know. I am telling you that this kind of love for a child can release great power. Have you ever noticed how heavy a child is? The more a mother cares, the more strength she has. When they are first born, they weigh five, six, seven, eight pounds. Holding them and holding them, they reach over twenty pounds. Holding them and holding them, they reach over thirty pounds. The mother picks them up and walks. Isn't that so? So, mothers still experience paying the price for raising their children.

In this matter of shepherding spiritual children, do we have a heart to pay the price? How can one be like Jesus? How can one release the power of God? How can one manifest God's glory? You must have faithfulness. Serve with a father's and mother's heart. Serving with a father's and mother's heart is not like being a guest. They are not guests; they are your own spiritual children. You must pay the price in serving. Do you know how to be like Jesus? When we are answering questions today, don’t ask: Teacher, how can I? Alas, I see how you can. I have already spoken about it. Can you go back and listen again?

VIII. Suffering for Christ is glorious

Suffering for Christ is suffering that is glorious. Let me ask you, if you really believe in this Gospel, and you pay the price for it, you really believe. If you say, I really believe, but when it comes to paying the price, when it comes to suffering for Christ, you disappear. You have a false belief, isn't that so? So, I think that today, brothers and sisters must believe. People must not complain about the judgment that Paul encountered. That is glorious. The suffering that Paul endured was so that the death of Jesus Christ would be manifested on their bodies so that the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ would cover them.

The road of believing in the Lord is not just about receiving benefits; it is about paying the price. I will tell you what to do: If a person values the glory of God, and wants to be a glorious vessel, there is no road that does not involve paying the price. If a person is like Jesus, can they be like Jesus without experiencing some sin? It is impossible. So, if a person wants to walk the road of being like Jesus, how did Jesus walk? Jesus took up his own cross, willingly giving Himself up. Why would someone willingly give themselves up? Because they have already seen through this matter of being alive, they have already understood it. So, they willingly give themselves up. This is calculated clearly. In order to obtain God's glory, in order to manifest God's power, to be a faithful servant and soldier, this is the logic. If someone is living a good life in this world, do not non-believers live good lives too? It does not prove anything.

IX. Conclusion: The Kingdom of God is in Power

The kingdom of God is in power. That is the example that Jesus Christ gave us. Why? Because the kingdom of God is in the spiritual world, not in our material world. Authority in the spiritual realm is called the kingdom of God is in authority in the spiritual world, in the spiritual realm of power. Authority and ability are called power. How can one do it? It is the theme I spoke about today. A pure Gospel will certainly manifest the glory of God in the spirit world, to trample on the enemy of the devil.

The matters that we encounter today, no matter what they are, can hardly be separated from matters of the spiritual world. Whether good or bad, let us begin to know today that it is almost impossible for a person to live without experiencing matters of the spiritual world. If I were to speak of the stories of the spirit world, I could speak of a great many. But after people experience it, do they value the kingdom of God, do they value the power of God? It is not that you have power only then, because you are like Jesus, then you have the power of God. Whether good or bad, today, let us minister it to each other. God has a wonderful plan for you. God wants to manifest his power through you, to trample the enemy of the devil. All the powers of darkness in hell will be trampled before you. You say the glory of God, how noble. Every manifestation of God's glory is the manifestation of God's power. Amen!

Let us sing a hymn and collect today's offering. If you do not understand the meaning of offering, please do not give. At this time, raise your hands and pray with me: God, I just want to be a glorious vessel for you. God, please use me, make me a precious, glorious vessel for you. God, may your power be manifested through me. May you be with me until the end of the world. God, lead me to run this road, I just want to please you, I just want to serve with this father's and mother's heart.

“God, may you raise up many brothers and sisters among us, able to restore your glorious image. God, inspire everyone among us today, desiring your glory, desiring your power, desiring to be a faithful soldier, desiring to serve with a father’s and mother’s heart. May you descend among us, may you make us precious, glorious vessels manifesting your power. This is our petition. 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 today 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 the evil one, for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen! May God bless everyone!