I. Introduction

Good day to everyone! I am rather excited about today’s sermon, and why is that? Because this matter is very interesting. For many years, I have had a minor query, as we are a church that casts out demons, yet I noticed that the Apostle Paul does not talk about casting out demons. Why did the Apostle Paul not discuss casting out demons? As someone with a strong character, I have researched this for many years and today I have found the answer. This issue of casting out demons is quite interesting, because in the end, the casting comes back to oneself. Thus, most of what Paul spoke about was casting out the self. Because that carnal part of oneself invites demons, and if you do not deal with that carnal part of yourself, then no matter how much grace God gives you, it is to no avail. Why? Because that is how God designed it. Initially, after casting out the demon, the demon leaves and your illness is healed. But then what? The problem is not actually solved.

Recently, our work in casting out demons has entered deeper waters, and our level is becoming closer to Jesus, closer to the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul did a very great work; building upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, he began to establish a system for constructing God’s glorious church, building the body of Jesus Christ, building God’s temple, and establishing the theory of Jerusalem. Zion, the temple, Jerusalem, and Israel, these terms all refer to the body of Jesus Christ, the church of God.

Paul did this work, standing on the shoulders of Jesus Christ and taking another step forward. I was excited after hearing it. Why excited? Because it turns out that Jesus Christ had unfinished work. Then I ask you, did the Apostle Paul finish his work? No, he did not either. We continue to move forward, standing on the shoulders of the Apostle Paul. Wow, we have an opportunity; it is finally our turn this time. Pushing it one step further, where should we push it? Not only should we follow Jesus in casting out demons, but we should also follow the Apostle Paul. And we should also follow them in building a glorious church. Today, we must push even deeper forward, including pastoring within it.

There is a sister who has been following us in faith for ten years now. In these ten years, she has experienced a lot. Ten years ago, she had lumbar and cervical problems. After God healed her, she began to experience numbness in her hands and feet. After experiencing the healing of numbness in her hands and feet, rashes started growing on her skin. It has been one round after another. Recently, she has been coughing severely. Once night falls, the cough wakes her up and she cannot control it at all. The air rushes upwards as if a tire has burst. That suffering – she cannot sleep at night. I took over this matter because I had previously pastored her.

I told her: I can lead you in prayer first, but the effect after prayer will not be great. Why? Because this is an external manifestation of an internal problem. I told her: Go back and reflect on yourself carefully. How many years have I been talking about reflecting on oneself? In fact, I told her to reflect on herself many years ago. Did she reflect? No, she did not. Now it is imperative to reflect. This matter of reflection is very interesting. I waited a day, but she had not yet reflected because she’s still writing a long treatise, preparing to write a paper.

I said, Is that necessary? There are only a few problems on your body, not even enough to use five fingers. I tell you, the problems on your body, you don’t even need to use five fingers; it's a matter of three to five sentences. I told her not to write a paper. As a result, she began to summarize. After summarizing, the cough was reduced. I am not kidding. Why? Because that is how God works. People like us, including myself, will not move forward unless God whips you or kicks you. I myself am the best example. I feel, why are there so many people as silly as I am?

Reflect on yourself, reflect on what? Today, I will tell you a little bit because there is a common phenomenon. Someone said: Teacher, I am just a lukewarm person; I am not enthusiastic about anything I do. I said: Come on, you are always enthusiastic at work; you can even go to work while sick. When have I seen you come to serve God while sick? Almost never. Reflecting on oneself as a lukewarm person, it is being lukewarm in faith, lukewarm in service. Some people say: You cannot say I have not done anything. I come every Sunday, I come to Bible study, and I come to prayer meetings. You cannot say I have a problem. As soon as I hear this, it is bad; this is being works-based.

If one believe something has value, they will certainly have enthusiasm for it; if one believe something does not have much value, they will certainly not have enthusiasm for it. Without enthusiasm, one still have to act the part. Like an employee going to work: you see him coming every day, but he is listless. Why? Because he does not love his job. But he cannot not come to work. He comes to work at 8:30 in the morning and leaves at 5:30 in the evening. He is always on time, and you cannot say anything about him, but he just gets by, doing as much or as little as possible, just gets by listlessly. Many of the employees I used to manage were like this.

So, what does this cough have to do with? What do skin diseases have to do with? What does being unable to defecate or urinate have to do with? What does being unable to eat, or eating a lot but never feeling full, have to do with? It has to do with this. Therefore, the topic I am speaking on today is Beware of the Customs of This Age. I have been talking about the deep waters of casting out demons for a long time because I wanted to talk about being careful of the customs of this age. We will read scriptures on this later.

The Lord Jesus healed many people, but the Bible does not record, and has absolutely no interest in recording, what happened to these people later. Some people think that the Lord Jesus’s healing went to the root. Did it go to the root? No, it did not. Later, after studying for a long time, I discovered that their illnesses recurred after they went back. The people I used to minister to, their illnesses recurred after praying. One person, who could not hear, could hear everything after praying, but it only lasted for fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes, they completely returned to their original state. Some people were healed after praying, but after half an hour, all the illnesses returned. Some people were truly healed after being ministered to, but all the illnesses returned after a day. Some people had all their illnesses return after a month, and some had all their illnesses return after three months.

I was thinking, did these illnesses go to the root? I like to study some very strange questions, but actually they are not strange. These all deserve to be studied, but generally people do not care, so I care. I was thinking, did the illnesses of those people whom the Lord Jesus healed return? Then I found that the illnesses had all returned. Someone said: Teacher, how do you know? I analyzed it this way: Why did this person get sick? Because their way of living was a worldly way, constantly inviting demons in, so of course they got sick. We must all know this today. This way of life, the way of thinking and feeling, determines the result of their life, which is a body full of illnesses. What is the problem? Jesus healed him so that he could start over, but then he returned to his original way of life. Do you think he will get sick again?

I will give you an example: This person got sick because he drank contaminated water. After being healed, he went back and continued to drink the contaminated water. Do you think he will get sick? He will definitely get sick. People are like this. God heals you so that you know that you were wrong in the past, that you did not do things right in the past, and today you want to correct it. This is called repentance. Without repentance, there is no way to experience the kingdom of God. Therefore, Jesus always says: Your faith has saved you. But if you go back and do not believe again, can it not recur? It all recurs!

The cancer patients I have ministered to, there is a very stubborn thing inside them that is especially deadly. Your faith has saved you, and your unbelief has hurt you. So why did you not believe later? The illness returned. Where is the root? The root is in the customs of this age. Did Jesus mention the customs of this age? Yes, He did. Did Jesus mention being carnal, meaning being human? Yes, He did. Although Jesus did not discuss it in such depth, when the Apostle Paul took over, he discussed this matter in great depth. Therefore, the customs of this age are very powerful!

The devil is very powerful. To what extent is he powerful? The devil kills people without shedding blood, kills people without using a knife, and does not even need to hand you a rope. In the end, you find your own rope, find your own knife, and stab yourself. Subduing the enemy without fighting is the devil’s most powerful tactic. He is definitely an expert. As long as he gives you a lie, he has solved you. Therefore, be careful of the devil’s lies and be careful of the customs of this age, because the customs of this age seem to have no problems. Let us recall the process of believing in the Lord. Which one of us did not come to seek God because we were about to die, or because we were not doing well, encountered disaster, or got sick? All of us did. So what is the root cause? It is our lifestyle, our way of thinking, and our value system.

Why do we say that we have entered a deep water area today? It is because freeing people from the customs of this age is of utmost importance! Some people say: Teacher, I cannot control myself. Lies! In fact, he controls himself very well. I said: Then let us try. Transfer all the money in your account to me. He said: That will not do. I said: See, you are controlling yourself very well. Do you know why you cannot control yourself? Because a scammer contacted him. The scammer will not say: Transfer the money to me. He will not be as straightforward as I am. Someone who is that straightforward is not a scammer. The scammer says: Look, if you give me one million, I will give you three million at the end of the year. As soon as he hears this, he is only thinking about the three million and quickly transfers the money, without asking questions or understanding the situation. He cannot control himself. Why? He is only thinking about making money and not thinking about losing money. He feels that this matter is a great deal and quickly seizes the opportunity.

How many such people are there among us? There are plenty of people who seize what they think is an opportunity and end up losing money. At the time, they only thought it was an opportunity and quickly seized it, afraid of missing out. Why can they not control themselves? Because they think it is an opportunity. If they do not think it is an opportunity, then they can control themselves very well. I lament people’s ignorance and foolishness. How much of God’s grace do people need to experience before they are willing to recognize the root of the problem? They do not know that they are harming themselves, and they do not know that they are living in the devil’s lies. Do you think this is not life-threatening? There are plenty of people who harm themselves!

There is a woman – why do I call her a woman? We in the Northeast have a saying: “She is just a broad” [娘们 - Niang Men]. This is not a nice thing to say; saying that she is just a woman is more or less the same meaning. I used to minister to this person, and the pastors among us have also ministered to her. One freezing winter, she packed two bags of hot noodles, but when she returned home, she found that the door was locked from the inside and she could not get in. She stood at the door and waited for a long time. When the door finally opened, her husband walked out with another woman. Think about it: the door was locked from the inside. What could her husband and another woman be doing inside? As a result, she got so angry that she immediately went blind. She said to me: “Who wouldn’t do that in my place?” I said: I wouldn’t do that. I must be crazy to make myself blind! She went blind and married her husband back then, and now she is truly blind.

Later, after we ministered to her, her eyes got better and she could see a little bit, but she was still blind, still just a woman! She is quite detestable. I ask you: to make a blind person see, you need to go to the hospital for treatment. How much money would you have to give the hospital? Her salary is about two thousand two hundred, but she only gave two hundred as an offering. She even asked another sister: “How much did you give?” I will not give that much; why should I give that much? Why did we say that you are not qualified to give? At that time, we were blind [to her true nature] and gave her this qualification to give, but she did not treat it as a qualification, and she even played tricks on me, haggling over those twenty yuan. I felt that I should deprive her of this qualification, but she is still blind!

Therefore, now we all say that anyone who wants to give an offering must start from being unqualified. You must understand. If you do not understand, are you not inviting a curse? Someone asked: Teacher, why am I worse off than before since I gave an offering? You do not understand. You think you are giving God a small tip, so how can God not discipline you? The curse will be even deeper! Arguing with God about this and that. Therefore, people are foolish! It is because they live in the logical system of this age.

Today, I must tell you that marriage is not a joke. Some people value marriage very much. There was a couple who divorced, but a pastor caught them and put them on a boat again. They put on wedding dresses again and started saying “forever and always” and “one husband and one wife”. But they could not make it work. Both of them lived very painfully, but they still divorced later. This pastor values this thing a lot. Putting on a wedding dress and making a new vow is easy, but dealing with the logical system of this age inside us is not a joke! Therefore, marriage is often a case of being blind and marrying the wrong person, or marrying the wrong wife.

Like this blind woman, I do not call her a sister. We do not have this relationship; I am not her pastor, and she is not a sister in our church, because she is not qualified. You say, her husband walked out of the house, and she went blind. Then she said to me: Who wouldn’t do that in my place? What kind of logic is this? The customs of this age! The customs of this age have killed so many people! Let us just regard her husband as a piece of beef and that woman as a piece of pork. A piece of beef touched a piece of pork, and you went blind. What kind of logic is this? If ten pieces of beef touched ten pieces of pork, it would have nothing to do with me. What does it have to do with us? That is a set of logic, all the notions of “green hat”, “red hat”, I have a beef and pork theory.

Do these things have anything to do with you? Was it necessary to go blind? If your eyes could see, why did you not love God well? Is this not still a blind person? I ask you, did this woman go blind again later? She definitely went blind again! Anything can happen. I have so many stories like this to tell! There was a husband who saw his wife talking to a male colleague, and he went home and sharpened a knife to kill his wife's entire family. What kind of logic is this? A husband received a female leader from a higher department at his workplace, and his wife saw it, and it was trouble when he got home. Some people say: How do you know so much? Did you personally experience it? No, I am making up a story.

Therefore, there are even more things that involve being obsessed with money. A while ago, there was a murder case in Hangzhou. What happened? The wife had the money, the husband did not. The wife would not give the money to her husband, so the husband killed the wife. After killing her, some people put the body in the freezer to stew slowly; some people chopped it up and flushed it down the toilet. As a result, a toilet burial was invented. Some people have burials at sea, scattering the ashes into the sea; some people have burials on mountains, hanging the coffin on the mountain; there is also cremation and burial in the ground. This time, there is a toilet burial. Alas, what a感慨 (gan kai - sigh of sorrowful contemplation)! It is all for money; it all belongs to the customs of this age.

If our brothers and sisters see that their husband is a money lover, you must be careful, you never know when you yourself might get a toilet burial. Everything is for money. How many companies have incidents? How many families have incidents? Distress! Why? The customs of this age. If people regarded money as joss paper, would you still kill for this stuff? You would not kill for this stuff. Many people have ruined themselves for this stuff, but there are still many people who keep relentlessly going for money! Alas, let us quickly get the whole company listed on the stock market. For what? To harm people!

One day I was driving down a street, and they said to me: This whole street belongs to that company. It was all bought by that company. That was many years ago, and it used to be so glorious, a trillion-dollar enterprise. As a result, what happened? The company went bankrupt, and the people went to prison. What were they doing? I do not know what they were doing. I was thinking, if a person does not deal with these logical systems of this age well in their lifetime, then is that not a disaster? Today, everyone listens to what I say as if it is a joke, so reflect on yourself. Some people say: Teacher, I need to work; I cannot let go. Later, they get cancer. Did they let go? They let go. Their company can still survive without your stinky tofu! Many people feel that they are indispensable; they cannot let go. These things are all very strange logical systems.

Standing at the height of God’s throne and looking down, all you see are fools. Divorcing the wife, dividing assets, transferring assets, going to jail, then coming out and still being a good man. Forget it; you do not even know if you can come out, and if you do, you will be a little old man. People direct a whole bunch of farces in their lives! People have no God, no eternal life, and only think about living this life, which results in one farce after another. Have you calculated wrong? Tragedy! For thousands of years, one generation passes and another comes. How many people can see through it?

Have you woken up a bit today? How much of God’s grace do you need to experience before you can come out of the logical system of this age, the customs of this age? Do not think that I will thank you for working hard. Some people say: Teacher, didn't you tell me to work hard? To have me endorse you for the logical system of this age is useless. Therefore, the root of the problem is still the value system inside, as it was in the Apostle Paul’s time and still is now!

How many farces have you directed for yourself? Last week, a brother called me and said: Teacher, the sermons you have been preaching recently are all directed at me. I want to tell him: Today is also directed at you. You must figure it out, silly child. When will you finally wake up? How many of us today are truly learning to love God? How many people truly love God? While singing the song Love the Lord, hoping to love God more deeply, sometimes my nose becomes sore and tears almost fall down. Without God, I really do not know how to live this life. After saying all that, it is just to tell you to be careful of the customs of this age!

II. Scripture

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (《Ephesians》2:1-7 )

III. Prayer

God, open our spiritual eyes today, let us know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints! God, completely destroy the worldly value system inside us today, let us know that there is no hope in this world, no hope at all. God, since you chose us from the world in the past, let us experience your grace when we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Today, we want to deal with ourselves more deeply, remove the lies that come from ourselves, and live for you from now on! Let us experience your immeasurable riches of grace more and more, experience your kindness toward us more and more, and let us be able to bear good witness for this later generation. God, have mercy on us, let us live with Jesus Christ, and receive this wonderful grace together. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen!

IV. Scripture Background

Everyone should know that 《Ephesians》is the most difficult book to read among all of Paul's epistles. Why is it the most difficult to read? Because when the Apostle Paul wrote 《Ephesians》, his theological system had reached a state of consummate skill. I think he just wanted to save a few sheets of paper. At that time, there was no paper, only parchment, so he wrote very concisely, highly summarizing the logic of building God’s glorious church. When did this happen? It happened when the Apostle Paul was in Rome waiting for the emperor to hear his case.

What was the process like at that time? The Apostle Paul was going to Jerusalem. Before going to Jerusalem, he passed by a place. He did not have time to go to Ephesus, so he called all the senior pastors of the churches he established in Ephesus. The senior pastors of the various churches in Ephesus came to see Paul, and Paul said to them: Perhaps I will not have the opportunity to see your faces again in the future. As a result, everyone embraced and wept. When Paul said this, he also said: Even among you, some people will rise up and do rebellious things, following the devil’s lies.

Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. (《Acts》20:30)

After that, the Apostle Paul went to Jerusalem. Later, he began to sit in prison, sitting in prison in Israel for two years and sitting in prison in Rome for two years, four years in the blink of an eye. During these four years, he had nothing to do in prison. He could not go online, and there was nothing to read. He began to summarize, classify, and organize his theological system. 《Ephesians》is actually more advanced than 《Romans》. In what way is it more advanced? If you want to go to the root, then 《Ephesians》is truly going to the root. He sent this letter to the church in Ephesus. Why was 《Ephesians》written to the pastors of the church in Ephesus? Because some of the pastors in Ephesus had begun to deviate from the way of God.

The church in Ephesus deviated from the path of God in several ways: some churches leaned towards building families, family altars, and family relationships, placing great emphasis on the family; while others gradually reverted to worldly customs. These worldly customs include celebrating birthdays and the hundredth day after a baby’s birth, among many other things. Pastors in the church would throw extravagant celebrations for their sixtieth birthdays, and weddings were made to be incredibly grand. Gradually, the secular logical system and worldly customs were mixed in. Paul knew that the church in Ephesus, along with churches in other places, had been infiltrated by worldly customs. Once a church is infiltrated, many problems are sure to arise.

I can tell you that, to this day, nearly two thousand years later, the infiltration of worldly customs into the church is a very serious matter! As I mentioned earlier, church pastors would take a constantly quarreling couple onto a boat, where they would renew their vows, wear wedding dresses, and take photos on the high seas, only to return home and continue their intense arguments. What is the point of all this? There is no point. So, after mixing in certain things, Paul wrote this letter to warn against worldly customs. That is why I say we must be careful of worldly customs.

Do these worldly customs seem to be outrageous or harmful? No. Are there any problems with these things? They seem harmless. They all seem good, advising you to be a good person, to work hard, to manage your family well, and to educate your children properly. What is wrong with that? Nothing at all. But is there really no problem? Yes, there is. These things are considered worldly customs, reasonable and justifiable. Therefore, the most potent trick of the devil is to infiltrate these things into the church, causing the church to lose God's glory and God’s Spirit. That is how it happens.

So, I want to emphasize one thing: the view of the church! The Book of Ephesians is a treasure trove for building a glorious church of God. Paul hardly mentions exorcism, but he talks a lot about building the church. Exorcism becomes a byproduct. Today, as we enter these deeper waters, we must recognize that the devil's working methods have never changed throughout history and remain the same to this day! Living in worldly customs, in the value system of this life, and in carnal desires—it is all here. So, perhaps we should first exorcise the flesh and exorcise worldly customs. This is the work of the devil.

Then it mentions God's salvation and the church of God. Talking about the church of God leads to talking about drawing near to God. Even drawing near to God can be misleading, so the devil is truly formidable, extraordinarily so! Today, let me insert a few words. How many people love the world? They love the world so much that their back passage leaks, and then they repent. But what about now? Who will you turn to when your back passage“ leaks again? People forget the pain once the wound heals. Why don’t they have such great passion for loving God? It is strange to me. Later, I thought that God gives us His grace while we are dead in our transgressions and sins. But after giving us grace, we must build God's glorious church, which is our Mingding Destiny!

This Mingding Destiny includes drawing near to God and singing hymns there, which has misled many people. Then, there is ‘this apostle’ and ‘that prophet’, with a lot of titles, which has also misled many people. They have everything except the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. Isn't it all in vain? When I founded the church, I discovered one thing: we must never end up doing something that God says He does not want. Oh dear, wouldn't that be a tragedy? I am busy on earth, making dumplings and cooking for the brothers and sisters. Then God says: ‘This is not what I want.’ Oh dear! Oh my!

I said: ‘God, may Your Spirit not depart from me, may I always walk in Your will, and may I not labor in vain on this earth in my lifetime.’ Then when I come before God, God says: ‘I do not know you.’ Well, that is not too bad; at least I had the chance to come before God. Some people do not even have the opportunity to come before God, which is even worse. Therefore, to solve the fundamental problem, the church is not just about healing the sick and casting out demons. The church is about solving the fundamental problem of human existence!

5. The Work of the Devil

Through what means does the devil work? We can clearly understand this through today's scripture.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh, following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. (Ephesians 2:1-3)

What is the work of the devil? The work of the devil is worldly customs! All these worldly customs are the logical systems built on the foundation of this life. Worldly customs do not involve killing or arson. Some people say, ‘Teacher, I do not kill or commit arson.’ Does that mean you are a good person? Isn’t that a bit outrageous? A cancer patient said, ‘Teacher, I feel that I am a good person.’ When I heard that, I knew something was wrong. I said: ‘How are you good?’ He replied: ‘I have not killed or committed arson.’ There are many people who have not killed or committed arson, so the world should be full of good people. Some people say, ‘Teacher, I sometimes give a bun to beggars.’ Does that make them good people? What kind of logic is that? Worldly customs do not involve killing or arson, and we cannot tolerate killing or arson in these worldly customs either, although such things do exist.

This world also has strong moral concepts. People have invented many terms: mistress, cuckold. How many people have been harmed by moral concepts related to marriage and family? How many people have been harmed by work and life? The devil never puts a knife to your throat to threaten you; the devil's work is worldly customs. So how do you invite the devil in? It's because you didn't kill, didn't commit arson, and didn't do anything outrageous. No, you don't need to do those things. You can secretly covet someone's property; that's okay too. Some people say: ‘Well, if my parents' house isn't left to me, who else should it be left to? It's okay to take a little from them; I need it too.’ This is worldly customs!

You need to know that worldly customs include a large number of things related to money. There is a story about the eldest son taking his mother away. The second son said to his mother: ‘Mom, I know your monthly income, and I know your daily expenses. I have a clear idea of how much money you have left.’ He thought that money was his. Can you believe how poor he is? If a person raises a poor son, he will really be like this. And the poor son has a son, and the poor son wants to arrange a wedding for his son. It’s simply a tragedy! Isn't this all about this life? Doesn't it cost money for him to arrange a wedding for his son? It does need money. Where does the money come from? From his mother. His mother is already ninety years old. I find this very interesting.

If you observe this world, it is full of worldly customs. If you ask me, I don't think many things are important. You think many things are important, but I don't. It won't kill anyone. You think I'm only saying this today? I've had this attitude since I was in my twenties. Think about it, from my twenties until today, haven't I lived quite comfortably? Things that won't kill anyone are minor matters. Matters that can kill people are no longer matters. Dying is good. Why? I live in eternal life. Do I care about that? I don’t really care anymore. God is also humorous. God deliberately lets the devil do this. People deliberately forget eternal life, attend funerals, and are still clear-headed on the day. They put the person in the crematorium, and after burning, they pick up some ashes. It's not clear whose ashes they're picking up. Anyway, there's a lot of ash in there, then it’s placed in an urn and finally in a grave.

The other day I went to a funeral, and the undertaker placed the urn on one side of the grave and then wrapped a brick and placed it on the other side. I asked: ‘What is this for?' He said: ‘This is reserved for her husband.’ Her husband was right next to her. I thought it was quite interesting that one day her husband would also come to live here. I said: ‘Where her husband will live is still uncertain.’ If her husband had several wives, where would he go to live? Funerals, weddings, marital ethics—many of these are worldly customs.

Worldly customs bind people tightly, whether political, economic, or all the things of this life, making people miserable and exhausted! Although everyone is marching towards the urn, even at the age of eighty or ninety, they are desperately fighting for a job. They love work and find it fascinating. People know they will get sick, feel uncomfortable, and suffer throughout their lives. God is also humorous, allowing the devil to make people less than human, so that He can see whether you seek Him or not. If you do not want to seek God, that's okay; but if you seek God and experience Him, like the church in Ephesus, how can you return to the worldly logical system and worldly customs?

You will notice that no one in our church celebrates birthdays. If you want to celebrate my birthday, get lost! I said, ‘get lost’. Some people say: ‘Teacher, let's celebrate your sixtieth birthday.’ I said: ‘Get lost, I'm only in my twenties.’ I cursed them. Why? What’s the point of celebrating that? Commemorate my sixtieth? I don't want to celebrate that. You don't know, I'm only eighteen this year, so handsome! Top handsome. Some people say: ‘Teacher, how will you take care of your old age?’ I said: ‘Take care of my old age? I'll take care of my youth, that’s much better!’

Today, my brothers and sisters, you must know that people have experienced the devil's work within the past logical system, and then they begin to seek God. After seeking God and experiencing God's grace, how can they go back again? What kind of brain is that? It’s strange. This is what Paul wrote in the Book of Ephesians. We originally had abundant glory to seek, originally had God's grace and God's hope to seek, why don't we seek them?

6. God's Salvation

You must know that the devil has his work and God has also prepared salvation. Jesus casting out demons gave us a demonstration, which is called grace. Originally, demons could live in you, but because you believed in Jesus, demons can no longer live in you. But then people lose faith, and the demons come back again. People think that believing in Jesus means they can believe, but they still operate according to the world's logical system. Is that called faith? That's called disbelief. Brothers and sisters, think about it slowly. God cast out the demons, which gave us grace, which is salvation, very simple!

After getting well, people feel: ‘Oh, I'm healed. I can enjoy myself to the fullest!’ Isn't enjoyment part of God's design? People go on trips and indulge in eating, drinking, and playing. Some people feel: ‘Oh, great, I'm healed. Now my strength has been restored. I have the ability to argue with my husband again, and I am qualified to love the world again!’ Oh, I feel powerful! Later, I developed a habit. I said that experiencing God's grace doesn't count for anything. Only their choices after experiencing God's grace count!

I once ministered to many cancer patients. After praying, they could immediately get up and walk, go to the fields to work, and nothing was wrong. The uncomfortable feelings were all gone, but they continued to live in worldly customs. Therefore, the devil's work is worldly customs, which is the root that harms you. To remove the root, you must remove these worldly customs. After experiencing these things, I learned many lessons. In the end, experiencing God's grace doesn't count for anything. Only repentance and the removal of worldly customs count. Whether you truly have a Mingding Destiny will then be evident.

Today, we must enter the deep waters of exorcism. The deep waters of exorcism involve worldly customs. Dealing with this is the only way to truly solve the problem. Solving the fundamental problem is not just about healing the sick and casting out demons, but about worldly customs! This is why the Apostle Paul no longer writes about exorcism, but about worldly customs and carnal desires. That is the key issue! God's salvation is not something we deserve; it is that God releases His grace when we are still unworthy, so that we can come out of the devil's lies and worldly customs.

7. God's plan is to build a glorious church

If a person does not know what will happen in the future, if your vision is only one year, two years, three years, five years, you might see your son grow up, get married, and take a wife. You can fulfill this wish and die content, enter the crematorium, just a vision of three, five decades, or seventy or eighty years, without knowing what comes after. If that is the only goal, can you live well? Chest tightness, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high blood lipids, and then using your own methods to control your diet and lose weight. What problem can you ultimately solve? You cannot solve any problem. Even if you have money to go to the hospital for treatment, you cannot solve many problems.

What can solve the problem is changing our vision. Can our vision see God's eternal plan? If we can see God's eternal plan and build God's glorious church, that is complete reconciliation with God, removing the worldly customs within us. What we once considered beneficial, we now consider harmful, changing us. Today, we must know that God wants to build a glorious church and establish a church view. The church view is what the Apostle Paul wrote in the Book of Ephesians, that in Jesus Christ, people can be completely reconciled to God in the church!

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. (Ephesians 2:14)

We and God are called the two groups, finally reconciled. In ancient China, this was called the unity of heaven and man. The unity of heaven and man is achieved through the church. The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and then we can draw near to God. There are several things here that are myths: the concept of apostle has been made vague, the concept of prophet has been made vague. Some churches have gathered a group of people, saying they are prophets, and then they talk nonsense; drawing near to God has been made chaotic, thinking that singing songs ecstatically means drawing near to God. It is all confusion. Therefore, building a temple full of God's glory is the key!

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcised” (which is done in the body by human hands)—remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-13)

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:14-22)

Becoming the glorious dwelling place of God is the church. God dwells in His temple. If God also dwells within you, it is because you are in God's temple. This is the most important point of Mingding Destiny: building God's glorious church! You say: 'What about husbands and wives?' Later in Ephesians, Paul talks a lot about husbands and wives. Later, Paul said: 'Actually, I am not referring to you two, I am referring to Jesus and the church.' The church is the bride of Jesus Christ, and Jesus is the groom of the church. It is such a union of two that form one. Therefore, today we must begin to rethink this and establish a complete concept: God's plan. Knowing how God's plan is, the goals are clear, the strategies are specific, and the methods are correct. The goal is to be one with God; the strategy is to build God’s glorious church, full of God's Spirit; and the method is to deal with the worldly customs within us!

8. Dealing with worldly customs throughout one's life

Actually, I am not that interested in your illness; I am most interested in your dealing with worldly customs. Why? Because that is the key to solving your problem! How many worldly customs are hidden within us today? Is giving face to people a worldly custom? Yes. Is pleasing people a worldly custom? Yes. Some people have liked to please people since childhood, and this habit is difficult to change even today, so there is much to change. Don't tell me: 'Teacher, why is believing in the Lord so troublesome? Can believing in the Lord be simpler?' It means dealing with worldly customs and building God's glorious church. It's that simple. But dealing with worldly customs is easier said than done.

How many of us live for God today? How many live for money? When it comes to serving God, it seems that this is not what he wants; when it comes to making money, this is what he wants to do. Today, can we choose the one with the highest and longest lasting return? That is truly a permanent title deed. Dealing with worldly customs throughout one's life, what you have dealt with today is not enough at all. If you talk to me, you will notice that my words often have barbs, making you feel uncomfortable. Why? The reason is simple: I am not dealing with you; I am dealing with the worldly customs within you.

Do you want to live out God's glory, do you want to go with God’s aura? Walking in this world, not like a woman wearing jeans and high heels, clicking and clacking, thinking she is very suave. No, there is nothing suave about that. Walking on the road with God's Spirit with you, walking on the road with the aura bestowed by God's angels, with angels encamped around you, and God will accomplish what you declare with your mouth. Do you want this? Yes, you dream of it! Today, start making a decision: no matter which intersection you are at, make a U-turn! No longer sprint forward in the worldly logical system, because ahead is an urn. Start making U-turns at every intersection, dealing with worldly customs, and removing the lies within us. How wonderful! All the way there is God's presence, all the way there is God's grace, all the way in God's will, all the way you can see God's glory, until you see God's face. Amen!

Let's sing a hymn to prepare for today's offering. If you do not understand the meaning of offering, or if you are not qualified to offer, please do not offer. If you do not understand the meaning of offering, offering will bring a deep curse! Today we spoke a very piercing sermon, are you awake? Today, it is not just tithing, but offering yourself completely, beginning to thirst for Him more deeply, experiencing Him more deeply, and experiencing God's glory and power more deeply. And we also ask God to reveal His will, elevate our vision, and be renewed day by day. That is a choice that is better than anything else!

At this time, raise your hands: Lord, I am here, help me today, lead me to climb Your spiritual mountain, let me love You more and more deeply, let me experience You more and more deeply, let me be familiar with Your words, and understand Your will. God, today I have decided not to live in the worldly logical system anymore, not to live in worldly customs anymore, I will only love You, build Your glorious church, and let my heart completely belong to You. In the name of Jesus Christ, I will offer myself completely as a living sacrifice. God, may You accept my offering, 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!