Introduction
Good day to all! Let us examine the sixth chapter of 2 Samuel. After reading this chapter, one can discern a person's character from their attitude, which roughly dictates their attitude towards faith. Some may ask: What is God up to? Some even start questioning God's rationale, wondering if God has made a mistake. Many do not understand, believing that God has erred. I may not fully grasp it either, but I always feel it is my lack of understanding, and I never think that God is in the wrong, but that I myself have not aligned correctly.
As you slowly ponder, the reason for the existence of Chinese Mingding Destiny is because there was such a person who constantly felt he had not understood correctly. Chinese Mingding is the result of earnest pursuit. Let us not immediately say: God, was it necessary for You to do this? Why did You do that? That would be troublesome! If we do not understand, we should say: God, I do not comprehend this. Personally, every time I lead you in studying the Bible, each chapter feels like peeling off a layer of skin! Thankfully, my skin is resistant to peeling, layer after layer. Studying a chapter of the Bible is like peeling off a layer of skin. My skin is also resistant to abrasion, polished until my forehead shines brightly, how wonderful! Why the peeling? Because I also cannot understand it. Some say: Can't you understand it with just one read? That’s nonsense! If I could understand it with one read, I would not need to constantly grind away.
The previous chapter spoke of David's increasing strength, and this chapter speaks of David will surely be more humble and think lightly of himself. This is a very good title! Because only the wise will think this way, while fools think they are great. After peeling off a layer of skin and reading again, I find that David becoming more humble and thinking lightly of himself is wisdom that only the wise understand. Try it, thinking lightly of yourself, there is much wisdom in it! Without wisdom, how can you conduct yourself? To be like Zhu Bajie (Pigsy), you do not need wisdom, but to be a person, you must have this wisdom, what wisdom? It is to think lightly of oneself.
If someone offends or wrongs me, it is nothing: with my small stature, who else would they offend? I still go home and sleep and eat as usual. If someone swindles my money, it does not matter either. Because I see myself as humble, I will suffer less in the future, thinking I am just an ordinary person. Unlike some who get upset and fuss over every little offense: feeling that someone has wronged them, because they always think they are great.
How was this theme summarized? Because the previous chapter was about David's increasing strength. This chapter is about after becoming strong, David becomes more humble and thinks lightly of himself. David's greatness lies in this. In this chapter, it is mentioned that David prepared 30,000 men, and then fixed this and that, and even made a new cart for the ark. Did David not do enough? He did plenty! So why did God strike Uzzah dead? It is not a matter of whether it was enough, but God felt it was a matter of attitude.
David thought he had done very well, but God thought he had not done enough: Do you think you are great just because you are king? Do you think mobilizing 30,000 men is impressive? And you even made a cart for me to sit on? You should have at least gotten a Mercedes-Benz with four wheels! Actually, it was all wrong, because in the Bible, God had already said that the Ark of the Covenant should be carried by people. You even made a cart? Do you think you are a Philistine? As a result, David began to fear when he saw God strike Uzzah dead.
At the time, David did not think he had done anything wrong, he thought he had done quite well. Who knew that the power of the Ark was so deadly, like a nuclear reactor, that would explode with the slightest trigger! It was like holding a bomb. So he decided not to move the Ark to the City of David yet, and instead move it to the house of Obed-Edom. Those watching thought that Obed-Edom was going to be unlucky! Was he really unlucky? No, Obed-Edom was a smart man! David, thinking he was smart, turned out to be foolish.
Later, David made a summary and adjustment to this matter: I will surely be more humble and think lightly of myself, this is called great wisdom! If he had said: I am growing stronger, this is my achievement, I am great! And even made a cart for God's Ark of the Covenant, that would have been terrible! If David had proudly thought: Now that I am king! God, making a cart for You, isn't that giving You face? But this time he saw someone die, David reacted quickly, realized he had not done it right, and then repented. So the title of this chapter is I will surely be more humble and think lightly of myself. Before, he thought he was great, but what is so great about that in front of God?
The Attitude One Should Have Before God
In the process of building a church, what I hate the most is when someone thinks they are helping me build the church. I hate when people have this attitude, as if they are doing me a favor. Why do I hate this? Actually, what is needed most in building a church is God. It is God who is building His church. Do you think you are helping God? I would not dare to have such an attitude. You think you are helping God, and then you are helping me, we are all on the same skewer, can that work?
It is God who is building His glorious church, and I am only a vessel usable in His hands. I have always felt that I am so small that I am used by God. Where did I get this blessing? In traditional terms, the ancestors must have burned incense and the ancestral graves must be smoking. That is why I hate others helping me build the church. Even I dare not say that I am helping God build the church. I only say: God, what a grace it is that I have been chosen by You to build Your glorious church. What blessing did I cultivate in my previous life?
Do not be deceived by my sometimes fierce demeanor, but in my bones, no matter who I meet, I see myself as insignificant. So I am joyful, and it is hard to take away my joy. You glare at me, and I still go home and eat and sleep well. You spit at me, and I still eat, drink, and sleep well. Why? This is normal, because I see myself as insignificant.
I do not think that just because I am the founder of Chinese Mingding Destiny, others should respect me because of that. Does founding Chinese Mingding Destiny make me great? There is nothing great about it. I say that in normal times, but I say it in order to build up everyone's faith. But in my heart, I say that I have such a blessing to have the opportunity to serve my God while I am alive! I know that serving is grace, and work is also grace.
Some people become complacent, thinking that they have made many contributions to the enterprise and created great value. How can the boss treat them like this? They become upset. They are upset when they are promoted, and they are even more upset when they are not promoted. They are constantly making themselves upset. On the contrary, if I am not promoted, I ask myself what makes me worthy of promotion? Do you understand why I am so joyful? It is because the worst thing for people is to always think they are a dish. Why do daughters and mothers always fight? It is because the mother thinks she is a dish, and the daughter thinks she is a dish. In fact, the two together do not even make a dish. The problem lies here.
So the attitude people should have before God is what I just said, David's attitude changed later. Why did it change? He himself said that his previous attitude was terrible, telling God : What else do You want from me? What God wants is for you to have a humble attitude, you must know that you are just a person! If you know that you are just a person, then you must humble yourself before God all your life. That is the attitude that people should have. He gets offended over everything, and even squeezes out two drops of tears, as if he has suffered a great injustice. If we were to follow your standards, my grievances are more than just two drops of tears.
People must be humble before God. Even if you are a king, you must be humble. Let alone if you are just a small pastor, district leader, or group leader. People must really have such wisdom in their lives. Without this wisdom, you will always think you are a dish. So David had this wisdom before God. When Abel and Cain offered sacrifices, why was one accepted and the other was not? Because the attitude was not right.
In a company, we are not afraid of hiring people who lack ability, but we are afraid of hiring people who lack good attitude. An incorrect attitude will not work, there is always rebellion in their bones. Once the attitude is wrong, even if everything else is right, it is useless. Why was Saul unable to offer sacrifices? Because his attitude was not right. God desires to have another faithful priest. It was okay for David to offer sacrifices because David was a faithful priest. This is a matter of attitude. If you do well, will you not be accepted? If you do not do well, then you must think it over carefully.
What God Values Is the Attitude Within People
Do you know why sometimes I intentionally provoke you to anger? That is because I want to stimulate you to see your reaction. Some people, when stimulated, reveal their rebellious nature. On the surface, they seem loyal, but in their hearts, they are not loyal. I slightly provoke them and see that there is rebellion in them. That thing can kill people, God values people's attitude. So let me ask you, what was Uzzah's attitude toward God? He wanted to help God, thinking: Can God do without me? If that is the case, you will be killed by God!
I hope that our brothers and sisters do not have this kind of thinking. Once you have this kind of thinking, you will think: Look, I am helping you build a church, I am helping you do this and that. I do not need it! Really, I do not need it at all. I do not want to make it big. Do I look like someone who is ambitious? I do not want to be like Peter, who preached a sermon and had three thousand or five thousand people believe in the Lord. It would be good if we could filter out five people from those five thousand who love God. I do not have that hobby.
How do I see myself? I have told you, if someone says I am like a dog, I will say: What kind of dog? I am just a pile of dog feces. If someone says I am just a pug, I will tell you: You are flattering me too much, I am just a pile of dog droppings. If I answer you like this, what else can you do? You have no moves, right! My move is very powerful, it is to see myself as insignificant.
So what God wants is attitude. Why did God choose me? First, I am absolutely loyal to God and will never retreat. Second, I see myself as insignificant. I have never thought about why I should give offerings to God, nor have I ever thought about why God loves money so much. I often think that if it were not for God, I would have been a dead person long ago. If it was not for God, I would not know where I would have died. Now that God has saved my life, I should give my life to God. The attitude in my heart has had this humble taste from the very first day I believed in the Lord.
Humility is definitely not this or that kind of performance in front of people, it is starting to know that you are just a person, and that you need a God. So I was insignificant before God, and I established Chinese Mingding Destiny. I speak with a heavy Northeastern accent, and Northeasterners like to boast. I said: It is amazing that you know me, because you know someone who sees himself as insignificant. There have not been many such people since ancient times, only one in five hundred years! Some people think I boast. But I think people like them only appear once in five thousand years! I lament, how can it be so difficult to find someone who does not think highly of themselves? People who see themselves as humble and insignificant, this theory is a bit like my theory.
Have you ever stepped in dog droppings when playing in the park? I especially hate raising dogs, because I often step in dog droppings. God values people by looking at their attitude. The Ark of the Covenant was in Uzzah's house for at least fifty or sixty years. From the time Uzzah was born, the Ark of the Covenant had been in their house, but he never took the Ark of the Covenant seriously. He just casually stuffed it into a small shed, thinking it was just a broken cabinet, and may even have wanted to find an opportunity to auction it off, to save space. That was Uzzah's attitude.
They carried the Ark of God out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, and put it on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. They carried the Ark of God out of Abinadab's house, which was on the hill, with Ahio walking in front of the ark. David and the entire house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of musical instruments made of pine wood, with lyres, harps, timbrels, rattles, and cymbals. (2 Samuel 6:3-5)
Actually, David also had problems, he did a few things after coming powerful as king when: He selected 30,000 men from Israel, made a new cart, and had Abinadab's two sons, Uzzah and Ahio, drive the cart, thinking he had done a good job. He also made musical instruments of pine wood, lyres, harps, timbrels, rattles, and cymbals, and danced/celebrated. But is this what God wants? Does God need this stuff? God does not need it, God just needs the attitude in people’s hearts. Just like many churches now have drum kits and drums, like internet celebrities. They play the drums so well! The singing is so accurate, and the keyboard play is so good, and the dancing is so good.
But is that what God wants? What does God need that stuff for? If you want to see that stuff, go to a concert. Our church has long since rejected that stuff, because what God wants is our attitude! I lead everyone onto the right path, which is to see yourself as insignificant. Even if a pastor offends you, you will not be offended. David did a bunch of things that God did not want, and as a result, God struck Uzzah dead. The meaning is that David should carry the Ark himself, that is, use the family of priests to carry the Ark. No matter what, people's attitude must be right! What God wants is attitude.
Abinadab's Attitude Toward God
The seventh chapter of 1 Samuel says that the Ark of God was sent to the battlefield by old Eli and was captured by the Philistines. The Ark of God does not need human protection, God will protect His own Ark. As a result, the Philistines personally sent the Ark of God back to Beth Shemesh. But God struck down many residents of Beth Shemesh, and then the Ark went to the house of Abinadab. The Ark was in Abinadab's house for about 50 years. This treasure was in Abinadab's house, but it did not bring blessings to Abinadab's family. If there were blessings, the Bible would surely write: Because the Ark of God was placed in his house, what blessings did Abinadab's family receive?
However, the Bible does not state that the Ark was simply placed in a small shed in his house, where he might have even considered auctioning it off. Abinadab's attitude was: Oh, it's just a box, isn't it? He never regarded the Ark as a treasure, thereby conflating his attitude towards God with his attitude towards the Ark. It was like sugar water, where the sugar and water are inextricably mixed. Because of this, Uzzah felt that his family had been taking care of that thing for fifty years, and it was just a box. So, they casually carried the Ark and placed it on an ox cart.
Let me offer a word of reminder, if our attitude towards the Lord is incorrect, our faith is in vain. Many pastors feel they are sacrificing too much in serving God! But I believe I am willing to give all I have. Some people say: God! Look how much I have sacrificed, what more do you want from me? How atrocious this attitude is! Have you seen such pastors? I have seen many! This is truly critical. If the attitude is wrong, even if you possess a treasure, you will not recognise it as such, which is a great tragedy in one's life!
Abinadab was such a person, and his whole family thought the same way: We are helping Jehovah watch over the Ark. If it weren't for our family guarding it, this Ark would be exposed to wind, rain, and sun. But even without them guarding it, it would not be affected by wind, rain, or sun, do you believe that? Because it is God's Ark, can't God even protect His own Ark? This is the bad habit people develop from childhood: Our family is helping God watch over the Ark, which is an extremely poor attitude. If you come to our church with this attitude: I’m here to help you build the church, just get out of here. Lest you come here and be cursed. If your attitude is wrong, whatever you do is no good.
In fact, there are not many pastors that I respect, and not many Christians either. If you truly have the attitude of Obed-edom before God, then you are truly remarkable. I see you as very precious. But Abinadab's attitude towards God is obviously lacking.
Obed-edom's Attitude Toward God
The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household (2 Samuel 6:11).
Uzzah was struck dead by God because of the Ark. Would you still be willing to bring the Ark into your home? Surely not, right? But Obed-edom was extraordinary; he brought the Ark into his home. After bringing it home, he had extreme reverence for God, thinking: How did I earn this blessing? How could I have this opportunity to bring God's Ark into my home? Where did I get this blessing? Because others dared not, only Obed-edom took it home. Different people manifest two different attitudes toward God: one manifests God's anger, because they receive God's wrath; the other receives God's love.
A person who loves God receives abundant love from God, while a person who does not love God is accursed and receives God's wrath. In one's lifetime, if there is such an opportunity again, be sure to bring it into your home! The Ark was in Obed-edom's house, and God greatly blessed him. How did God bless him? In what way did He bless him? It was visible. David sent people to Obed-edom's house and saw that everything Obed-edom did prospered. If everything you do withers and you are in a sorry state, then you are not blessed, because the attitude in your heart is wrong.
For example, tithing. I once ministered to a person, and after ministering to them, they were blessed and their financial situation turned around. I said: You must learn to tithe. He replied: It's just two hundred dollars, isn't it? Take it! He even insulted me, as if I were a beggar or a fundraiser. Forget it, I don't want such a person! Later, he got a deadly disease. Unfortunate, right? Unfortunate! So everyone must know how glorious and awesome God's name is. We are just individuals, just ordinary people in the crowd, let alone before God? Before God, no matter how rich you are, how high your status is, even if you are a king, you must know that there is a God in heaven who controls our destiny, He is the Lord of all, how awesome He is.
I serve God with a reverent heart. Why do I serve you with such dedication? I serve everyone as if serving God! My heart is in tears, no matter how unwilling I am, I reverence my God, and I will never follow my own desires. I serve people as if serving God. Thank God for giving me the opportunity to serve, service is grace, and work is also grace! Everyone should be willing to work, service is grace, and this is what I say to myself. If you are willing to listen, then listen. If you like Old Ma's way of eating, drinking, and having fun, then enjoy your food, drink well, have fun, and have a good time, and also get dementia.
Obed-edom was remarkable! He is worthy of our emulation and learning. He joyfully brought the Ark home, neither pushing it away nor refusing it. He was chosen by God. God initially chose Abinadab but did not choose correctly, later He chose Obed-edom.
God initially chose Abinadab, but did not choose correctly. Later, God chose Obed-edom. In the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, God is speaking of His search for a loyal priest who is after His own heart. Everyone should emulate Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul, and be a loyal priest before God. Emulate Obed-edom and David, and be a wise person who knows that God is a treasure.
Our God, no matter what the environment, manifests two aspects: on the one hand, God prepares for those who love Him blessings that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined. On the other hand, God will certainly punish those who hate Him for their sins, from father to son to the third and fourth generations. This is one's own choice. God can arrange for one more loyal priest on earth; He can arrange for even more. Unlike before, when being assigned to a state-owned enterprise was an incredible blessing. Now, God's enterprise is lacking talent, and however many loyal priests there are, that is how many are needed. If you come and find that there are already people in charge, God will create another arrangement for you. How great is that!
Obed-edom was very clever. He had just seen God strike down Uzzah, but he could joyfully bring the Ark into his home. No one else dared, but he dared. What kind of person is this? In the past few years, seeing the Ark placed in Abinadab's house, Obed-edom's heart itched, and he thought: How great it would be if I had this Ark! How great it would be if I had this opportunity to serve God! Later, God chose him. David saw Uzzah die, closed his eyes, and pointed his finger at Obed-edom, and he was chosen. This is not a matter of a day or two. So everyone, don't rush, prepare yourselves well. Don't say, as soon as I call out: Everyone come and serve, you say: Then you arrange it. If you have this aspiration, I can point to you with my eyes closed. Because God will choose you! But you must have a good attitude.
David Readjusted His Attitude: I Will Humble Myself Further and Consider Myself Insignificant
David sent people to Obed-edom's house to see if they were still alive. Uzzah died, and King David did not dare to bring the Ark into his own city. He originally thought it was a good thing, but it eliminated a person right away. David was frightened. But when they looked, they discovered that God was blessing Obed-edom, and everything he did prospered.
Do you all understand? Let me give you an example. Suppose Obed-edom's family opened a steamed bun shop, and next door there was also a steamed bun shop, selling millet porridge, coarse cornmeal with steamed buns. Some people say, what are you talking about? I'm just giving you an analogy, right? We don't know if Obed-edom sold steamed buns. It's just an analogy, don't argue with me. Before, this Obed-edom was shouting Selling steamed buns every day, but no one came. Later, he changed to Selling dumplings, but no one came. Even if he sold hamburgers, no one came. But as soon as the Ark came in, there was a long queue at the door, and he even set up a tent at the entrance. The city management didn't even care. The people lining up were densely packed, and some were willing to wait two hours to eat his steamed buns, hamburgers, and drink his coarse cornmeal porridge, a fusion of Chinese and Western cuisines.
Even the city management had to queue up, and it was amazing to be able to buy his hamburgers. It tasted so good no matter how you ate it at home. No one else's food tasted as good as his. The people David sent looked and went back to tell David: Obed-edom is not only alive, but living very well. The city management didn't even dismantle the tent that was obstructing the entrance of his house. His street stall economy was doing well! Amazing, right? The steamed bun shops and hamburger shops next door were all envious and regretted not bringing the Ark into their own homes. Later, Obed-edom hired a group of security guards to stand around the Ark to prevent people from snatching it. Actually, security guards were not needed, God chose people's attitude.
So, David wanted Obed-edom to return the Ark to him and place it in the City of David. This time he got it right, knowing that the ox cart was made by the Philistines, and the Ark was carried by people. David danced in front of the Ark. Do you know that kind of dance? Bare-chested with a tie, dancing like a Yangko, his legs swaying left and right, welcoming the Ark into the city. Did anyone die? No one died.
This is all from Northeast skits, bare-chested with a tie, only Northeasterners can do it. Everyone was stunned. I, David, consider myself insignificant. What king would do this? Before, he prepared 30,000 people and ox carts to welcome the Ark, but now he himself is in front, considering himself insignificant, and must be more contemptible, this kind of attitude should be had before God. David's attitude was right, and no one died anymore. David's dynasty also became stronger and stronger. Because our God is a God who prospers people.
All of us, as long as we are not blessed, must change our attitude. If you can have this attitude, you will receive abundant love from God, you will love God, and you will know what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. You will not be like Uzzah or Abinadab, you will be like Obed-edom and David. So attitude is extraordinary, it's just a matter of one thought! So we must first have a good attitude. I have talked so much, now let's talk about a negative character, Michal's attitude towards God.
Michal's Attitude Toward God
Michal inherited Saul's attitude. Saul did not consider himself humble, or consider himself insignificant. He felt that he was a king, and he was amazing. If you are amazing, can you be bare-chested with a tie? No, you have to be in a suit and leather shoes, with a gun in your hand and a horse under your crotch, wearing a helmet and armor, that is very mighty, and the photos look good. If you put two photos together, everyone would think that David was a janitor or a madman. Not a janitor, then a security guard, in any case, just an A-bao.
Looking at Saul, he was tall and strong, handsome, and his hair was combed shiny, the standard photo was taken. Although that place was not Tiananmen Square, a small archway had to be hung with a photo, which looked so handsome! But it was useless, the attitude in his mind was wrong, and his mind was filled with excrement. Later, Michal saw that David's brain was not working well, and it would be great if he was like his father Saul! Looking from the upstairs, David was like a security guard or a janitor, bare-chested with a tie, how embarrassing! That's her level of understanding.
Michal told David that he was too embarrassing, and he was not like the king of Israel. Because in Michal's heart, the king of Israel should be like her father. But although Saul was very tall, handsome, and dashing, in God's eyes, he looked like a piece of garbage. Although David looked like an A-bao. If he had a flat head and a little more flesh on his neck, he would look like Fan Wei from behind. Bare-chested, like he had too much beer. When the Israelites saw him, they found that this guy was just like Zhao Benshan when he took the stage, and everyone laughed before he even opened his mouth.
Michal had a wrong concept in her mind, which came from people. Brothers and sisters must know that if we want to be great in the kingdom of God, we must be servants of all. That's the logic. Unlike some pastors who look like pastors, but are not in their bones. Like me, who is not good-looking and speaks vulgar language, but before God, I feel that I am worthy to serve my God. So Michal inherited Saul's world system.
David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke about, I will be held in honor.” (2 Samuel 6:21-22)
David did not put on airs, amazing! What is cleverness? David is the cleverest person in history. Saul was a fool, his head was full of excrement. What's the use of being so handsome? It's useless. David and Obed-edom are people worthy of emulation. If you can learn this set, you will be amazing in this life, become a human being. A demon that has been practiced is called a demon, and a person who has been practiced is called a human being. Michal, Saul, and Uzzah are all fools. I hope that brothers and sisters can all be clever people and be precious in the eyes of God. How great it is to be a human being! Chickens that are practiced are called chicken extract, and people who are practiced are called human extract.
Summary
It took me a bit of effort to summarize this chapter here. The theme is really clear, and it is really as I said, it is many levels higher than what I used to talk about. I will also humble myself further and consider myself insignificant. This sentence is the golden rule! From now on, do not consider yourself a dish. From now on, start developing this habit!
May God bless everyone!