I. Introduction

Good day, everyone! Today, I want to share a topic that is somewhat difficult to explain clearly, called Expelling the Demons Within. Why not call it overcoming the sins within? Because the word sin is too convoluted, and I do not have the capacity to explain the concept of sin to everyone bit by bit, as everyone's understanding of sin is different. However, the understanding of demons seems simpler, so I call it expelling the demons within!

We always have Q&A sessions after preaching or Bible study. Some time ago, someone asked me: Teacher, can I expel the demons within myself? Alas, my answer at the time was relatively one-sided. Why? Because we still need to improve and grow. Recently, I have done in-depth research, and today I want to share the results of my research with you. The results of this research are beyond my expectations, because one can indeed expel the demons within oneself, as putting to death the deeds of the body is precisely this kind of work. Using putting to death the deeds of the body seems to bring some confusion as well. Is it a demon or something else? This is also perplexing. Today, I will try my best to share with you the results of my research over the past short period.

Know that the structure of the human body is very interesting. Do not be afraid when I say this; I am merely clarifying the concept for you. When a person is born, he carries demons within him. These demons can also be called sin, and they are called sinful nature. Why are they called demons? Because they are things of the spiritual realm. These demons reside within a person. Inside a person, there is also something else, which is the breath that God breathed into Adam's nostrils, which is the Spirit of God. That is to say, humans are created by God, and they bear God's image, but there are also things that corrupt that image. Alas, it seems like On Contradiction. This concept was initially called sin. Why is it called sin? We do not know. Perhaps the name of this demon is sin. Look, the Bible says:

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7)

Sin is crouching at your door. What is this if not a thing? It must be a thing. You must rule over it. Did you rule over it? No, you were subdued by the sin at the door. What exactly is the sin at the door? Opinions vary. People generally do not go back to the time of Genesis to look at this matter. They simply think that this person committed a crime, murdered, robbed, stole, cursed, but it is not that simple. Humans are created by God, and after creation, the Spirit of God is within them. When humans ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then this sin entered into humans. That is the logic. This sin is actually a spirit, a demon. This is a very confusing term. Why? Because later, it was explained by the great figures of Christianity in a way that is incomprehensible. In fact, it is a demon.

The sin of Cain was crouching at the door. It has strategies, personality, and methods, and then it schemes. Why is this thing called sin? Later, when I was casting out demons, I found this thing very interesting. If you ask it, Who are you? it says, Cain. If you ask Cain, the thing he was born with is called Cain. Why do I know this? It seems like I am telling a story, but actually, there really was such a thing in our ancestry. A wealthy family took a concubine named Xiaoqing. Xiaoqing loved to sing mournful songs, and this passed down through generations to a girl in the wealthy family.

This girl from the wealthy family came to Singapore and joined our church. The church began to cast out demons. Miraculously, a demon named Xiaoqing appeared on her. Isn't it frightening? This demon named Xiaoqing had been living in her and doing corrupting work. When did this Xiaoqing enter her? It may have been there since birth. Why was she called Xiaoqing? Because the name of the concubine was Xiaoqing. So when you asked her what her name was, she would say, Xiaoqing.

Xiaoqing actually could not sing Peking opera, but she made the orchid finger gesture of Peking opera very professionally. If she put on the robe, she could simply go on stage and sing Peking opera. And she sang there, singing so mournfully. Think about it, how real the things of the spiritual realm are! Actually, it was not this sister herself singing, but the demon behind her singing. What am I saying this for? It is that the names of these demons on people are often the names of the people themselves.

For example, Jezebel was a person, and later some demons were called Jezebel; this person was called Ahab, and later the demon was called Ahab. Don't you find it strange? The demon that killed Jezebel was the thing that was born with Jezebel. That is to say, the thing that you and I are born with, when we cast out that thing, it says that it is itself. Later, during a sister's deliverance process, I asked her, Who are you? She said, I am myself. I have heard this many times, and I often encounter this situation. Later, I understood.

I do not have profound theories, but I gradually understand that this sin is crouching at your door. Plus, when I cast out demons, the demon often says that he is himself, and he says that he wants to kill him. Look, the thing that lives inside him, the thing he was born with, wants to kill him. Later, I found that many times this demon is a spirit, and it is innate. He knows everything that happens from birth to death. Don't you find it strange?

Later, I explained sin as a demon. Everyone will definitely have some confusion or objections. Actually, do not have objections, because the name of this demon is sin. What is sin? It is that when a person is born, the innate demon naturally lives in him, and that is called sin. Later, he got a headache, and that was the spirit of headache coming in; he got lumbar pain, and that was the spirit of lumbar pain coming in. Those things can be cast out, but how can he cast them out himself? He must rely on the Spirit of God to put to death the deeds of the body. This is what I want to talk about today.

We find that people cannot distinguish what it is, because it is a spirit. This spirit lives in a person, and it is indistinguishable from oneself. Anyway, we often compete inside. When do we compete? When you are stimulated, when you are angered, that energy comes up, and once it is done, you cannot control it, and you tear each other apart. Daughters tear apart with mothers, daughters-in-law tear apart with mothers-in-law, and couples also tear apart. It is all like this. So two carnal people, both carrying sin within them, the sins within them tear each other apart, and as a result, people are corrupted by this innate sin, and people fall into the trap of the devil. So not being able to control this thing is that thing.

Some people say, Teacher, I cannot control it. I say, how can you not control it? Cannot control it is what I hear the most often. Why can't you control it? Because that demon is integrated with you, and you cannot distinguish which is you and which is the demon. But today, by relying on Jesus Christ, you can subdue them. Cain did not subdue it. Basically, people throughout the ages have not subdued this thing, but by relying on Jesus Christ, you can subdue it. If that thing in you often releases something that makes you self-righteous, we must be especially careful. Yesterday, a sister encountered something, and she said, I thought it was like this, I thought it was like that. There are so many things that you thought, why think? And you think very confidently. You must be especially careful.

Today, we must know that the salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ is to solve this problem. The exorcism in the time of Jesus was a very obvious exorcism, which was to cast out the demons from this person, cast out the demons of hemorrhea, cast out the demons of paralysis, cast out the demons of blindness, cast out the demons of deafness, and cast out the demons of epilepsy. But Jesus did not explain this matter very clearly. For example, when Peter was thinking according to human understanding, Jesus said, Get behind me, Satan! I ask you, to whom does that sin that we are born with belong? It belongs to Satan. That thing is too powerful. Jesus said, Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s. Do you see that? That is to say, this sin should be connected with Satan.

If we really want to get rid of this thing, then that is great! So the salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ is to solve this problem that we cannot control. He wants to save us from the dominion of sin. Jesus's exorcism is a broad exorcism. Why cast out demons in the name of Jesus? Today, there is nothing that is not done in the name of Jesus Christ. We often see that as we cast out demons, we end up casting out ourselves. Actually, that is not yourself, that is the demon that you were born with that lives inside you. That is, as soon as you are born, or as soon as your mother is pregnant, the devil Satan sends a demon over, and it becomes legal. They say, You can tell what someone will be like at three, and by looking at a child's personality, you can tell which play the devil is directing in him. As a result, you will find that it is tragic when they get old. Jesus is to solve this problem.

So recently, we have seen how these things come about? They all come from the demons outside and the demons inside working together from the inside and the outside. We thought that some things were the demons outside coming in on their own, but actually, it was the demons inside inviting them in. This is the root and essence of the problem. Recently, a sister's grandfather had Alzheimer's disease. I have been ministering to him. What for? He often makes trouble, makes trouble for his grandma, and in the end, his grandma also got sick. Very hard. Why? He doesn't sleep, and he doesn't let others sleep. As soon as people fall asleep, he pokes them, wanting this and wanting that, making trouble for people. He’s very naughty.

Having Alzheimer's disease is the thing that he was born with. It often uses the first person: I am this and I am that. He knows everything about his life, even though he is confused and doesn't recognize you, he is still very clear about his own affairs. If a person does not subdue this demon, like Cain, he will eventually have mental illness, definitely Alzheimer's disease. Why? He is subdued by the sin at the door, the innate demon. After that sister's grandfather had Alzheimer's disease, he could still chat with me. This gave me a great revelation. He said, I am a good person. I always reason with people wherever I go. Reason prevails everywhere. I said, Forget it, you can't even walk out of the nursing home, let alone reason everywhere.

Flesh, sin, demons, these terms all point to one thing, which is the innate thing. Casting out demons ultimately means casting out oneself, casting out the innate thing within oneself. We can call it sin, or we can call it flesh, or we can call it the lusts of the flesh, or we can call it demons. If you do not cast out yourself, you cannot solve the problem. Therefore, casting out oneself means casting out the demons within oneself. This is called brokenness. Today, the hymn we sang is called From Brokenness to Freedom. If you do not break down this thing of yourself, you cannot subdue this thing.

So as we cast out demons, we end up casting out ourselves. Do not wait until you are old, wait until you have Alzheimer's disease, it will be meaningless. I have now concluded that when a person has Alzheimer's disease, he basically cannot do anything. So while we are still young, before the days of decline come, remember your Creator! Do not think that thing is yourself. In fact, that thing is your carnal self, which is the sinful nature that you are born with, which is that demon.

In the process of research, I was surprised to find that Jesus cast out many demons, and Paul cast out many demons, but Paul's epistles no longer mention the matter of casting out demons. Don't you find it strange? I ask you, why do Paul's epistles no longer mention the matter of casting out demons? I have searched through Paul's epistles, and there is no longer any mention of casting out demons. Know that in the Book of Acts, it is written all the way to the last chapter, and Paul's ministry is described clearly. Did he cast out demons? Yes. That is, in the process of being escorted to Rome, he ministered to the father of the island chief who had a high fever on an island. His handkerchief, the things he had used, when they touched people, the demons on the people would leave. So he was very powerful at casting out demons.

But his epistles, like Ephesians, Colossians, and Romans, do not write about casting out demons. When was Romans written? It was written during Acts chapters 19 to 20. But Romans does not write about casting out demons. Why was he still casting out demons at the time, but when he wrote Romans and Ephesians, he no longer talked about casting out demons? Actually, it is not that he did not talk about it, he talked about putting to death the deeds of our body. Like when Jesus Christ cast out demons, five thousand people cast out many demons, but not many were willing to follow Jesus Christ.

Later, why did the Apostle Paul not write those things, and only write those things in Romans? Because Paul no longer did that thing, he did the work of establishing the church. Establishing a holy and unified church, this concept of casting out demons was upgraded in Paul's time, which was to cast out the demons within oneself. Why is the church often in a mess? Because everyone is walking around in the church with the demons on them. Some are deacons, some are pastors. Everyone is together, and they do not know if it is people having a meeting, or demons having a meeting. A group of demons!

So Paul's epistles were written to establish the church, and the purpose of recording Jesus Christ's manifestation as the Son of God of God is for no longer those easy things, but to build God a glorious church. Dealing with the carnal things on oneself has become a most important thing. You cast out one ghost that makes your leg hurt, it gets better; you cast out another ghost that makes your head hurt, it gets better; you cast out another ghost that makes your ass hurt, it gets better; you cast out another ghost that makes your stomach hurt, it gets better. These things are easy, but these things getting better do not explain anything at all. Finally, Paul wrote a higher theological system, which is to deal with the lusts of the flesh within oneself. I call it expelling the demons within oneself!

I have tried my best to describe this matter in this way, and I am working hard to speak. So in the years when Paul wrote the Books of Romans and Ephesians, in those years for expelling demons, he did not write about expelling demons. What did he write about? Establishing God’s glorious church, dealing with the lusts of the flesh, which is the demons. Jesus Christ came, nailed to the cross for us, and the problem He solved was also this problem. He did not care at all how many demons were on the people of the world, whether people in the church put to death the sin that they were born with. This is a higher level.

So people find that if they want to build a holy and unified church, they must solve the powerful ego within people, the very strong self-esteem. If you do not deal with it, you will not be able to build a victorious church. Why? Because they cannot deal with anything. The old Ma we are talking about is this thing. So no matter how many demons you cast out, it is useless if you do not solve this problem. The salvation of Jesus Christ is to release us to be free, and ultimately it is to break down the sin that we are born with, to restore the glorious image of God when He created us. The most important thing is to press this thing down first.

We used to have a brother who invented a theory of pressing down. To shepherd him, you must press him down. Actually, it is not pressing down that person, but pressing down the sin, the demon, within that person, because that person's reaction is purely carnal. Without pressing down, you cannot bless him. That is the essence of salvation. So there are many strange things inside people. Very bad people still think they are kind. Are there many people who think they are kind. A lot of cancer patients think they are kind. Weird right? They have cancer but they still think they are good people, thinking to themselves they are kind.

A man came to Jesus and said, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Do you hear what he’s really saying? It’s like, Look, I’ve done enough good. What more do I need to do to get eternal life? Jesus completely disregarded his desire for eternal life. Jesus said, No one is good except God alone. You are evil. If a person admits he is evil, there is hope for salvation. But if he thinks he's good, he's in trouble. In this fleshly existence, even Jesus Christ did not acknowledge Himself as a good teacher, much less us. Because in the flesh there is no good. Even if you have the desire to do good, the power to carry it out is not there. You can shout slogans all you want, but the result will never match your words.

People often like to say, He's a good person, she's a good person, that person is quite kind. This is nonsense. Why is it nonsense? Because there is no good in the flesh. People with dementia still think they are good, even after causing their families so much trouble. So, that teacher who discussed goodness with Jesus, the one who asked what he must do to gain eternal life, he probably said the same thing to everyone: Good sir, you're a good person. Rubbish! That's why Jesus ignored the talk about eternal life. First, the foundation must be shattered: there is no good except for God alone, not even one good person.

You might say he has some good qualities, but those cannot resolve the issue of goodness. If a person does not put to death the evil desires of his flesh, subdue the inherent demon within him, he cannot be a good person. Carrying such a demon, he'll only cause trouble, full of malice. Let me tell you, does my mother have good qualities? Yes, she has some. But when I was serving my mother, she stood outside my office door, and I overheard her on the phone with my brother, weeping and wailing, as if I had mistreated her terribly. I cursed, thinking, What kind of mind is this? Isn't that bad? Very bad.

It wasn't her doing; it was her inherent fleshly nature. Some might say, Pastor Liu is using foul language again. When I get angry, is that my flesh? Maybe. Maybe it’s me, or maybe it’s the sin within me. But let's not argue about that. I want to emphasize our disgust for this. Why are people so bad? My mother tells my brother I've mistreated her badly, but I don't indulge her here. From ancient times, people have had great ideals and hopes, but they are completely corrupted by the inherent demon within them. They haven’t dealt with this demon.

Later, when I was dealing with old Ma, he told me he had never been defeated, but he said he was defeated by me. I don’t know if that’s true, but he was really suppressed by me. So, dealing with inherent sin is a prominent characteristic of our Chinese Mingding Destiny. Many pastors who start churches find them lacking in love, full of infighting, and they die with regrets. Some pastors ask me, Does your church have this problem? I say, No. Because here, we absolutely do not tolerate such issues.

Church politics are all about this—the inability to deal with this thing. People eventually conclude that their greatest enemy is themselves. So, our exorcism is a new kind of exorcism. I've finally found the root of the problem. The new exorcism is about casting out the demon within ourselves, the one we are born with. Your character must change. Even if your inherent character is terrible, it must be changed. Cast out that demon. You say you were born that way. I've even discovered a crucial point: Do you know why people become foolish? It's because the demon within constantly makes decisions for you, gives you ideas, leading you down a fleshly path, reaping corruption from the flesh and eternal life from the Spirit!

So, how do you become smart? I've finally found the answer: first, subdue the inherent demon, our original nature. If you used to have a bottom line, and you would break down and explode when it was crossed, destroy that bottom line today. That bottom line is a demon. Know today that what corrupts you is the inherent demon within you, or inherent sin, or an evil spirit, or the nature of the flesh. I seem to be speaking clearly. Do you want to be smart? If you want to be smart, change. I have an original idea that aligns with this: I believe anything inherent is useless, whether it’s intelligence or stupidity. Everything is learned, and you will become intelligent. Your assumptions are useless, and the things you’ve always done are useless.

A sister asked me why she wanted to change her phone number, because changing her phone number would mess up all her linked bank accounts. She said she changed her phone number whenever she moved to a new place. I thought she was carrying around a landline—how could you do that in the age of cell phones? I found it strange. She said she had always done this, always thought it was the right thing to do, and had never questioned it. Isn't that the work of sin, the work of the demon within? It constantly makes you think that way. You have many assumptions, but they are useless. The thing within us often makes us think that taking a loss is beneficial, and that taking advantage is harmful. Everything is reversed. Cain was such a person, a complete fool.

II. Scripture

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:18-25)

III. Prayer

God, today release us. Today, in our midst, in the hearts of our brothers and sisters, may You be our strength, so that we can overcome the devil, the enemy, and the evil desires of the flesh. God, lead us to victory today, let us begin to cast out the inherent demon within us. God, lead us to victory today, let us boast only in Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

IV. Scripture Background

This is the problem that our God wants to solve. Can’t you control yourself? Today I tell you, you absolutely can overcome through Jesus Christ! Some time ago, I met a very large, obese man who really wanted to live out the image of God. We must acknowledge that, but in dealing with his problems, we couldn't find the way. Later, we understood that it's not external demons at all, but the inherent thing within us. How do we deal with this inherent thing? Today, I hope to explain this clearly.

Paul established churches in various places, and in Acts chapter 19, he planned to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome. He had a strong burden for the Jews and wanted them to receive the grace of Jesus Christ and the ability to subdue the sin and inherent demon within them. On his way to Jerusalem, he wrote a letter called Romans.

Why did he write Romans? The church in Rome was not established by Paul, but by Jews who had fled Jerusalem. The problems within the church were extremely complex, full of confusion and infighting. Many issues from the early church remained unresolved. They wrote to Paul because his letters were widely circulated, and they considered him very powerful. They wrote to him about their problems, and Paul wrote Romans to answer their questions.

Writing Romans was a major leap in Paul's theological views. Traditional exorcism is one thing; exorcising the demon within oneself, dealing with the evil desires of the flesh, is a huge leap! If you want to build a church, you must solve this problem. Systems cannot solve the problem. Bringing in this tradition or that tradition won't help. Only the salvation of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, can put to death the evil desires of the flesh.

Martin Luther summarized justification by faith from his reading of Romans, and the Lutheran denomination still exists today. But he didn't fully understand it. Romans is not about justification by faith. What happens after you are justified? You believe, but then what? Romans addresses the issue of subduing the inherent sin and demon within oneself. He didn't get it right. The theme is wrong. Because at the beginning of Romans, it says:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. (Romans 1:16)

What power? The power to put to death the evil desires of our flesh. It's still exorcism. This exorcism is written here, describing the problem within people very clearly.

For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (Romans 7:19-20)

The sin he uses here is actually the demon that tempted Adam and Eve, Satan itself, very powerful! We say we want to strike down Satan's throne. Where is Satan's throne? It’s within us, it’s this thing. Among all the things God created, the serpent is the most cunning. So the serpent is Satan, who tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Later, Satan tempted Jesus Christ to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Its schemes are too powerful. We cannot withstand them with our abilities today.

So, that's how you strike Satan. What I'm saying today is very direct. If you want to strike the devil, the enemy, and strike down Satan's throne, it's not elsewhere, it’s within people. That fleshly nature, that is sin. So, the devil has been sinning from the beginning. If you connect all of this, sin is a demon, and a demon is sin, that's the logic. Paul says:

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. (Romans 7:21)

Have you noticed? You want to accomplish something, but evil comes out. There is a powerful force inside.

For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Romans 7:22-24)

See that? We need to solve this problem, and we can solve it through Jesus Christ. So today, we must clarify this: how do we overcome? That's what I want to talk about.

V. No Good in the Flesh

We must implement this. If you think there is still good in your flesh, you don't need the grace of Jesus Christ. You can just keep going slowly, until you get dementia and end up in a nursing home. There is no good in your flesh. What's there to boast about? Many brothers and sisters often ask me, Teacher, can you praise me a little? I say, What should I praise you for? Are you the Good Teacher? He says, Look, I've made progress recently. I say, You should have progressed to this point last year or the year before. Why are you only getting here now? He says, Oh, Teacher, can you encourage me a little? Encourage what? Remember, there is no good in the flesh.

I've known this logic for a long time. How did I know it? When I was managing dozens of employees, I discovered a pattern: if you praise them and spoil them, they become bad. If you don't believe me, try it. If you've ever managed people, you'll know. I'm extremely good at finding faults. My eyes are very sharp. Hey, why was this done like this? Why was that done like that? They feel bad after hearing it, but they still think, This guy is too厉害, his eyes are too sharp. Nothing escapes his eyes.

So, the fact that there is no good in the flesh is a very fundamental truth. That's why Jesus Christ talked to that young man about the Good Teacher. The young man asked Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Don't talk about eternal life, talk about the Good Teacher. That's nonsense. Remember, if people think they are not bad, it's nonsense. They are still far from perfect. Because people often lower God's standards. In fact, it is never enough for people to restore the glorious image that God created in us. What's there to encourage? It's good enough if I don't strike you down. You are still far from perfect. These words may sound unpleasant, but they are true. So, the fact that there is no good in the flesh is key to needing the salvation of Jesus Christ.

So, there is no good in people’s flesh. Some people constantly shout slogans: Ah, what am I going to do? If I don't have destiny, I’m just livestock. But in the end, their ministry is chaotic and yields no results. How can shouting slogans possibly produce results? It only counts if you act it out. So, you'll find that the flesh can't do anything. You'll mess up as soon as you act. Since ancient times, people have had great ideals, wanting to establish communism, but they were messed up by human selfishness, a very beautiful ideal, having everything you need. But later, they discovered that people don't work when they all eat from the same pot. So Deng Xiaoping used people's selfish psychology to implement the private system, because the public system doesn't belong to you. But if everything is yours, won’t you be diligent? Amassing wealth is very diligent, selfish.

Therefore, that inherent part within man's flesh remains as it is. Once viewed through this lens, your pastoral care will no longer involve statements like, This is good; that is good. Instead, upon arrival, you'd ask, What's the issue? There are still many problems. I only want to know what needs to be resolved and where we need to deal with things. Past issues, even if partially addressed, should not lead to complacency. As the song goes, Our Lives No Longer Linger. You cannot remain stagnant; this song speaks profoundly. Be honest with yourself; many things remain undone. Have you achieved something significant just by accomplishing a little? Far from it. Therefore, this is fundamental!

VI. The Struggle Within

There is no inherent goodness in the flesh; there is a struggle within. You might say, Teacher, I have no struggle within, nor do I desire to do good. In that case, you are in harmony with demons; proceed accordingly. If someone owes two trillion, can you manage to owe four trillion? That would be quite a feat. So, if there is no struggle within, you are in the wrong place and should not be here. If you come to our church, I believe you are seeking. If you are seeking, there is definitely a struggle within, because you desire to do what you cannot and end up doing what you do not want to do, which is very disheartening.

Unlike some individuals who are inherently evil, their conscience is clear when they commit evil because their conscience has been devoured. Without a conscience, they do not struggle. That is not our concern. Our concern is: I want to build God's glorious church, restore the glorious image in which God created me, completely offer myself, and be a blessing to many. If you say, I do not want to be a blessing to many; I want to be a curse to many, then you can change your name to Huang Jiayin, which would be quite fitting. Therefore, today we must understand that it is normal to have struggles within. Why? The thing we produce always goes awry because the inherent demon is still there. Today, we are driving out this very thing.

Is there a struggle within you? If so, I congratulate you today. Through Jesus, you can overcome it! Do not bring over those people who commit evil without any pangs of conscience, who have no desire to do good, and who only seek to amass wealth. Therefore, the struggle within primarily describes the desire to live out God's glorious image, only to enter a death spiral. The moment you think about it, Satan receives the signal. Upon receiving the signal, it immediately sends reinforcements to harass you. Not only do internal demons harass you, but external demons also harass you. As a result, what is produced turns out to be a mess. This is a troubling matter and a human predicament.

VII. The Holy Spirit Has Freed Us in Jesus Christ

The Holy Spirit has freed us in Jesus Christ, as described in Romans chapter 8. How has the Holy Spirit freed us? What does it mean to be in Jesus? It means to be in the church. How does being in the church free us? Because the church is God's temple, and God's Spirit moves in His temple, this place has God's great power. So, you will find that the demons we drive out among us here are child’s play. But today, we are climbing a peak, beginning to walk in the path of the Apostle Paul, driving out the self within us!

So, the Holy Spirit has freed us in Jesus Christ. How has He freed us? When you are in Jesus, the sin, which is the bad thing you have done, is covered by the blood of Jesus, and the demon no longer has power over you. It is no longer legitimate. This includes the inherent thing. What it did in the past was not done by you but by that sin, which is placed on its head. If you have 49% of the shares, and it has 51% of the shares, that is also quite deadly because you, as a minor shareholder, have no say. The major shareholder has the say. You bear the bulk of the debt, but it takes all the benefits. As a result, in Jesus Christ, Jesus did one thing: He was nailed to the cross, shedding His blood and sacrificing for us, covering all these things. At this time, it becomes illegitimate inside; it no longer has the qualification to be legitimate.

Now that you have done this, you begin to have the right to choose. If you still choose to obey the flesh after doing this, what happens? Your internal logic system has not changed; you still think it is worthwhile to gratify the flesh. But after it is all over, you are still entangled, distressed, and living in depravity. Therefore, the statement The Holy Spirit has freed us in Jesus Christ is not made in vain. Each time you recommit sin, you crucify Jesus Christ again. So, we must have a heart of gratitude.

Previously, Jesus bore our sins for us; previously, our curses fell upon Jesus; previously, demons could legitimately corrupt us, but today they cannot legitimately corrupt us; previously, we should have been tormented by demons with leg pain, back pain, and headaches, but now we can cast them out in the name of Jesus. Why? Because what was once legitimate has become illegitimate. What is that? God's grace wants to save us from the dominion of sin and from the dominion of the inherent demon, and then allow you to choose. If you choose wrongly, you deserve it; then you suffer more. You say, Lord, save me. Then God will save you again, but this is not the way to solve the problem.

If you want to heed my advice, there is only one way to solve the problem: drive out the inherent demon within you and no longer focus on the desires of man, but only on the desires of God. Shall we make such a choice? If we do not make such a choice, then perhaps that is your destiny. But as for us, what we are doing is not to save the world, but to bring the children of God before God. I will give you an assignment: go home and read Romans chapter 8 carefully. It is to reveal the sons of God, not to mix the sons of demons into the church. Some people say, I am a vessel created by God to manifest God's wrath. Maybe that is true. You are already very clear about it and still deliberately do these things. No one is forcing you to do that; people choose it themselves.

VIII. Choose to Obey the Holy Spirit, Not the Flesh

You must understand that what man gratifies is entirely man's choice. What do I gratify? What do you gratify? What people gratify is different. Some people gratify things of the flesh, full of eating, drinking, and playing, with no glorious hope. In fact, God's Spirit often guides you within, but you drive away God's Spirit and leave the spirit of the demons behind. Is this not a tragedy? Can you choose to obey the Holy Spirit and not the flesh? Of course, this statement sounds rather vague. Given the opportunity, I will study these words more deeply and share them more directly with you. Choosing to obey the Holy Spirit is obeying God's word. God's word is spirit, is life. Obeying the flesh reaps corruption.

In fact, when you cannot bear it, it is easy if you are willing to bear it. You rely on the Holy Spirit to pray in the Spirit, and you will find that feeling is gone. For example, you really want to eat something and feel hungry as if your chest is sticking to your back. When you have this feeling, pray in the Holy Spirit for a while, and you will find that the feeling is gone. I ask you, is this real hunger or fake hunger? If it is real hunger, how can this feeling disappear? Why? Because that feeling of hunger is released from the inherent sin. That feeling of hunger is the same as the feeling of a headache, feeling irritable, and feeling frustrated. Are these feelings real? Very real. But if you follow it, you reap corruption; if you follow the Spirit of God, you reap eternal life!

So, stop believing in the feelings of the flesh. Why are we irritable inside? Is it not an easy thing for the inherent demon to release a little irritability to you? But if we follow it, you will be irritable for a day, two days, a month, or two months; but if we do not follow it, but follow the Holy Spirit, we will quickly get rid of this feeling of irritability. Some people get rid of it in one day, and some people get rid of it in two days. So, I think we have studied this matter relatively deeply. Jesus truly has abundant grace. We prayed about our feelings, and they were eliminated. Where did they go? Because the Spirit of God puts all peace and joy within us.

IX. What Is Man's Hope?

You must know what some people hope for. They hope to eat a bowl of hot and dry noodles from Wuhan with good dishes: all these things are simply low. What man hopes for determines everything. So, whether you obey the flesh or obey the Holy Spirit depends on what man's hope is. If man hopes for things of the flesh and things of the world, I tell you, you will not be well. If you hope for things of this world, how can you deal with the demon? Only in Jesus Christ is there the hope of eternal life. You will despise this life. Therefore, the light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, all these light and momentary afflictions are not worth mentioning.

If you ask me what hope I have in this world, I have no hope. When I was forty years old, I wanted to start a nursing home business. I thought it was a sunrise industry. With an aging population, many people would need elderly care in the future. I thought this business model was good, so I went to investigate. I walked into one nursing home after another to see. After seeing them, I did not want to do it. Some had tubes inserted, waiting to die. After seeing them, I was upset. Later, I concluded that people have no hope in this world at all. Some people ask, How will you take care of yourself in the future? There is no elderly care. If I am to die tomorrow, I am still serving today. My hope is in heaven. They said, What will you do in the future? Who will send you to the crematorium? What if you are thrown into the garbage dump? I said, Just throw me into the garbage dump.

X. Conclusion

Later, I concluded that there is no hope for man in this world. My hope must be in heaven, in Jesus Christ. I have hope in eternity. This is the motivation for my service. This is why I despise many things. Why don't I fight with my brothers and sisters for property? Of course, there is not much, and there is nothing to fight for, because I have no such hope on earth, nor do I want these things, because all my needs are met in Jesus Christ. What do I need these things for? Are you lacking anything today? Nothing is lacking. So, to this day, not only do my hands support me and my coworkers, but my coworkers also use their hands to support themselves and their coworkers. Isn't this great?

So, brothers and sisters, what you hope for depends on what you believe. If people live and then die, what hope is there? There is no hope. Look at those old people in the nursing homes; the old look is unbearable. I tell you, before the days of your decline come, hurry to hope for eternal glory and live out God's glorious image. If you long to live out God's glorious image, I will give you a few examples, like Moses, who was very strong at the age of one hundred and twenty and could climb the mountain to look at Canaan and then be taken away by God. Like Jacob, who worshiped God with a staff in his hand, moved his legs to the bed, and died, returning to his ancestors. I ask you, did any of them look like those old people in the nursing homes? That is a tragedy!

Today, what you hope for determines your future. If your hope today is entirely a hope of the flesh, your future will be like those people in the nursing homes. How sad! So, today I encourage everyone to know what your hope is. What man hopes for will choose to obey what man thinks is valuable and will value what man thinks is not valuable and will not value what man thinks is not valuable. Why do people always value and cater to those things? Because he is ignorant. All hope is in this world.

Today, God has chosen us to be the sons of God, and the Spirit of God will dwell in us, and we will constantly take back the space occupied by demons in us little by little and give it back to God. Just like the Israelites entering the land of Canaan, we will defeat them all, so that we, new and whole, belong to God. The sons of God must appear among us. What a beautiful picture! Seeing brothers and sisters overcome, not living in carnal depravity, no longer living in the ravages of the devil, becoming an overcoming people, not only driving out external demons, but also getting rid of the demons in ourselves. What have we dealt with today? This is what Jesus Christ said.

Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20)

What does it mean to have your name written in heaven? Let our hopes and all our choices be according to what God has planned for us. God is the God who helps us. Our weakness has the help of the Holy Spirit. If you are weak, it does not matter. If you cannot choose, it does not matter. God can help you. If you trust Him, you can gain power. How eager we are to become like the Son of God. Jesus Christ has set an example for us, willingly being nailed to the cross and rising from the dead to become glorious. Today, if we also imitate Jesus Christ and nail the passions and desires of our flesh to the cross, we will also live out God's glorious image.

Jesus once gave a rather extreme example: the begging Lazarus and the rich man. What does this illustrate? It shows that even begging should be done with the hope of heavenly glory. It is not real begging; this is an extreme example Jesus gave. God allows us to abandon these worldly things. There is no hope in this world, only the hope of heavenly glory, to become the sons of God. Amen!

We are preparing to sing a hymn to receive today's offering. If you do not understand the meaning of offering, please do not offer. Today, let us look up to God with the hope of heavenly glory and see how wonderful it is for the days of victory to come! Brothers and sisters, raise your hands and tell God, tell our Lord Jesus: I want to overcome ourselves. No matter how many years the demon has been in my body, today it will be trampled under my feet. I want to become the victorious people of God; in the name of Jesus Christ, I want to completely abandon all worldly hopes; in the name of Jesus Christ, I want to overcome, I want to choose to obey the Holy Spirit, I want to choose to obey the Word of God; in the name of Jesus Christ, the devil's lies must retreat! God is my helper, who can resist me? Today we must live out God's glorious image. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Brothers and sisters, know that if money can solve our problems, we do not need God, but I tell you that money cannot even solve the problems of this world, let alone spiritual problems. So, I share with you that from now on, we will no longer rely on money, but only on God. God, may You accept our offerings. We offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to You. May You be with us until we see Your face. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!