I. Introduction

Good day to everyone! Today, I want to talk to you about a very good topic, titled The Honored Prince. Recently, I have noticed a deficiency in the minds of our brothers and sisters. What is it that is lacking? I feel it is honor, because they are not living honorably. I have been pondering, we live without honor, yet we want to establish our own righteousness, resulting in a life that is increasingly dishonorable and unbearable. Looking in the mirror, we even start to see ourselves becoming uglier. People like to be respected and esteemed, and dislike being looked down upon. This is very normal, but have you noticed that while we yearn for others to honor us, we end up being increasingly despised? Alas, the distress in our hearts.

Say, someone suddenly gets a bit rich, and no one knows how they got rich. Wow! The way they walk is somewhat like a crab, moving sideways. This person doesn't know how to live in an honorable manner, so today I will share with you how. Some people don't love learning from a young age, and they lack knowledge, with tattoos of a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right, and a ribbonfish tattooed on their waist, walking with a group of followers behind them. Do you call that honorable? I fail to see any honor in it. To me, they look like hoodlums, like nobodies, engaging in petty theft. How can that be honorable? People can tell what they are at a glance.

When I was young, people didn't know what to do. In those days, some people wore low-rise jeans with bell-bottoms. They would stand in groups of three or five at intersections. If you glanced at them, they would say, What are you looking at? And if you retorted, Looking at you, so what? then a bloody fight would ensue. As for people like me, I would detour around them. I wouldn't walk near them. I would go an extra kilometer, it didn't matter. Is that honorable? But they thought they were impressive. What kind of logic is that? In the end, some died from stabbings, others went to jail. Anyway, such things were common in our neighborhood. I was the only child who kept a low profile and avoided them. Some had bad tempers, others were petty, focusing on useless matters.

Later, I found people very interesting, always feeling like they were at a disadvantage. Can such a person be honorable? No, they cannot. People can tell at a glance that they are stingy. If you live in America, don't offend your neighbor when shoveling snow in the winter. You never know when they might pull out a gun. There was a news story recently about a family who shoveled snow onto their neighbor's property. If it were me, I would just shovel the snow in front of my neighbor's house as well. If they saw that I had shoveled the snow in front of their house too, they wouldn't pull out a gun. If they were cooking dumplings that day, they would bring over a plate. Which person is honorable? Is pulling out a gun honorable? No, it is not.

The relationships between people are very delicate. This is what people need to learn the most. Always wanting to take advantage of others, I tell you, not only will the neighbors know, but even the stray dogs on the street will know. What kind of reputation do you want to build ultimately? I have seen many messed-up situations since I was young. When people argue, they say things like, I used to buy you this, you used to buy me that, and they bicker back and forth. What can you gain from bickering? Then their reputation becomes tarnished. So, people must learn to manage their reputation.

If people say, This person is picky, like that hoodlum on our street, people will avoid them, knowing that this person loves to find fault and discern good and evil. They will avoid him so as not to provoke him. People like me have no choice due to our work. We are constantly dealing with people who discern good and evil. It is very tiring, and we fall apart when we lack faith. So, what is a person's brand image ultimately? Some people say, Why do you see me that way? Why can't people see you that way? You created that image yourself. People say you are no good? And you still think you are so great.

A couple came to me, and the husband said, Pastor, look at what she does. His wife said, Look at what he does. Then they both said together, He looks at my problems with a microscope, picking out all the flaws; he looks at his own problems with a magnifying glass, making them so small that they disappear. That's how people are. But when I look at them, I see that they are lacking something in their minds, lacking something in their heads. I lament, what can be done when there is a deficiency in their heads? Recently, it has been tough. So, people pursue spreading their name, and God ruins their name. People want to establish their own righteousness, and as a result, God ruins their name. Your reputation is spread throughout heaven and earth, everyone knows. Some people ask what hulu jiao qie zi means. It's like a Northeastern stew, everything mixed together. Gourds are put in, eggplants are put in, potatoes are put in, and some meat is put in. Everything is put in, resulting in a pot of thick noodles. You say that's delicious, but that's not the point. It means chaos.

So, what is your image like in the workplace? If your image is not good in the workplace, don't blame people for seeing you that way. You created it yourself. What is your image like in your family? Ask around, people won't dare to tell the truth. They are afraid of stirring up a hornet's nest, so they avoid it. People say, It's all good, all very good. Is it really good? People don't dare to tell the truth. Some people, whether in their family or at work, ask others, Why do you all honor that person? Why don't you honor me? The way you ask the question gives you away. People know exactly what kind of person you are, and they're already being kind to you by treating you this way. If you have a bad image, don't ask why people see you that way. It's all self-inflicted.

In the past years, on which matter did you not feel justified? You feel justified in everything. You feel justified, but how do people see you? People think, He always thinks he's right, taking advantage and still feeling like he's at a loss. Can people respect you? Today, I want to teach you how to manage your reputation. Some people are extremely selfish at work. Even the cleaning lady knows what kind of person you are. It's like running around naked. So, today we must learn how to manage our reputation and become an honored prince.

You say: I just want to make an iron pot stew, a Northeastern mess. Finished stewing a pot of confusion, then we have no way to talk. Take advantage, picky, fling face, stingy, you say will there be people like this? Is there anyone among us who like this? no. But the most difficult is this kind of person, stingy people do not think that they are stingy; picky people do not think that they are picky; people who love to take advantage of people never feel like they are taking advantage of people. If you yourself feel that, then it will be easy.

There was once a Ph.D, in fact, he has not graduated from his doctorate, the salary is not very high, I kindly said to him: You move to live with me, we live here so good, there is a big hall, want to cook something to cook something, want to fix something to fix something, and have their own room. But we these people have a characteristic, that is, each person pays one hundred dollars, buy toilet paper, detergent, mineral water, drinks, etc. in the refrigerator, everyone will eat it, drink it like this, who do not pay attention to the bottle of water. Then I said to him, Brother ah, you also pay one hundred dollars. He said: I will not pay, I will buy some from time to time to put there. When he moved away he did not buy anything, all are using mine, more than one person used, we do not care, more than two people used I do not care.

As a pastor, I hope to tell him the truth, in fact, do the pastor is also very painful, always tell people the truth, annoying. I said: This thing is called stingy, this stingy is nothing good for you, in the future you this reputation is not good. As a result, people said to me: Teacher, you do not know, we Shanghai people are like this. Oh, Shanghai people are like this? He is the standard of Shanghai people, Shanghai people may beat him, maybe not beat him. Then he said: I am the most generous among the Shanghai people. Oh! Put all Shanghai people under their feet. Will there be people like this? I was upset, originally told him a thing, hoping that he could change it well, the result of the self-feeling is super good.

Do we have this feeling among our brothers and sisters? They are very stingy, but they feel that they are the most generous in Chengdu; I am in Hangzhou, Hangzhou I am the most generous; I am in Lanzhou, Lanzhou I am the most generous; I am in confused state, confused state I am the most generous. It became a joke state, just do it this way. People are like this, you say you can be honored? I ask you, would you honor such a person? Of course, I would honor them, why? I do this job, no way, can't but honor them. I also have to declare with faith that he will become a generous person in the future, and I have to serve with faith, otherwise how to do it? It's too hard. So, this thing is very important, I have to tell you, where is the future of people? Inside their reputations.

When I was in college, a dormitory was only twelve square meters, with six or seven people living there, an average of one meter or so per person. The relationship between people in our dormitory was good, why was it good? There were a few people in our dormitory who would carry a kettle in each hand when they went to fetch water. Some people were strong, so they would carry two kettles in each hand. Anyway, carrying one kettle is carrying, carrying two kettles is also carrying. Sometimes carrying one kettle is not balanced, carrying two is balanced. Would you say the relationship is not good? The people in our neighboring dormitory all fetched their own water, would you say the relationship is good? That relationship is not good. So stingy people are very interesting, when we were in college, there was one person who actually installed a lock on the kettle, others are not allowed to use it. You put on a lock, people will find a locksmith to use your hot water, just prank you.

What kind of image on someone's body is how such a person act. People must have the image of God, God gives it out for free, people do not have the image of demons, you are mixed in a group of demons, can it be good? Someone told a story, in hell, everyone around a pot of Northeastern stew, the pot with meat, gourds, eggplant, pumpkin, cabbage, catfish, tofu, and then each person hungry and thin and thin. Why? Everyone was given a big spoon, the handle of the spoon is very long, if you take this spoon, and then feed to their own mouth to go, but can't put in; but heaven also has a pot of Northeastern stew, heaven's Northeastern stew everyone eat very well, is also a large pot, each person is also issued a spoon with a very long handle, because the handle is long, everyone feed the opposite people eat, everyone can eat. Who wrote the story? Writes so well. So, self-righteous, selfish people, it is a tragedy, lacking a string in the head.

I tell you, if people inside is a poor heart, the stray dogs on the road know, the dogs have to bully you. The dogs do not want to bully you, God will say: Go, bully him. Where is the problem? The problem is that inside is poor, inside to be poor, outside can not be poor. You think you are not poor inside, that is because you feel good about yourself, feel good about yourself is useless, take the words of God a shot is finished. Always want to pay less, get more, the time saved to brush Tiktok, brush finished, that is completely cold. And then God also hate him, people also hate him, this person and less knowledge, small skills, what can't do.

People just work less, why work less? Feel that work more disadvantaged. In the past few years, I have been a good employee in the workplace, I like to work more. I tell you, what are the advantages of working more? Is my own, I certainly do; not mine, as long as no one does, I certainly do. Of course, people let us do it and we have to do it. More work, I have value, but I am not soaking there for twenty-four hours a day, more pay, more gain, God likes me, people like me, and then the salary is rocketing up.

You must know, in the past few years I have put in a lot of effort, I not only read the Bible down the effort, I do anything down the effort. How much effort I put in? From the age of twenty to now, I spend an average of 80 percent of my time going to bed at 2 a.m. Only 20 percent of the time do I go to bed before 2 a.m., and very little time. You say, then the body is not tired? Is it broken? You say: Look, are you not tired and caught a cold today? No, that's discerning good and evil and calling a ghost.

So, today let us know, I used to have more skills, do more work, I work more to what extent? After doing so many years of management, the whole network I am definitely a good hand, do clearly, that the network is how one thing, in the brain is clear; write software clearly, why? Do more work. Sometimes employees hang monkeys, that is, play temper, then I will take over to do it. You say, where do you have time? My time is the same as your time, you have time, how can I not have time? More experience, more skills, good temper, I rarely lose my temper. So, become an Honoured Prince is good? If In God view, God feel it is good.

Then I invented a set of things, this set of things is very powerful, that is, working is grace. Why is work grace? Because I don't work, people don't give me these problems, where do I get my experience? So, washing the toilet I hummed a small tune and wash very happy, wash completed, then the toilet is white and bright, the washbasin I also washed the white bright. I love to work, why? I have a noble prince logic inside. Do people you have to make people honor you? Do people to be looked down upon, why bother? You say: You wash the toilet people can look up to you? I ask you, if you really see me washing the toilet there, what do you feel? You will feel: Wow! Teacher is too powerful. Is it respect or being looked down upon?

Some time ago, I saw the toilet was stuffed with things, I cleaned it up. why? Because there was a place for a deodorant floor drain, but it was piled high to the top, not easy to clean it up, so I cleaned up. I saw the toilet was dirty, I started cleaning it, wash it little by little, if I do not clean it, it will be more and more dirty. So, some people say: Teacher, why do you not love money? I said: Money should love me, I am valuable, I am more valuable than money, I love money what to do? You say Abraham is also that kind of person? I guess so. He has money, he need money what to do? Not like some people live like that.

So, you have to put in the effort. What have you been doing all these years? I only go to bed before 2 a.m. 20 percent of the time, the rest are going to bed after 2 a.m., then I learn a lot, I do a lot of work. Where is the problem? As soon as you clean up, you go to brush Tiktok, you can't control it. Now Tiktok is filmed very well, specializing in grabbing people's hearts, put people's hearts were kidnapped, this is not the head is lacking a string. From now on, do less things that do not create value, do less things that are not honorable. Now is the end of the world, you want to come to Jesus to send a few Tiktok? Send a few short videos, see how funny this is. Of course, I also send them, it looks really good. It is just that there are many things in people's minds that lack a string, the dishonorable, selfish, picky do less, or do not do. So, you have to become a valuable person, become somebody, if you are someone of worth , you can afford to give. All of your problems stem from your lack of worth.

I work hard, so what is the result? Later, I became a pastor and started building a church, and all my skills were useful. Now I am preparing to write a book on business management these next few years, so that employees in companies will see work as a grace. Then people will say, You are manipulating me (PUA-ing)”. Then you should go to AUP. You should go away, because I am helping people to live out dignity, not helping them to live as losers. Everyone must become a valuable person, so that in the future, when you go out into society to mix with officials, society will reward you. So, when I was in college, those penny-pinchers did not do well in the workplace. If you see someone carrying two water bottles, those two water bottles demonstrate the system of values rooted in his bones. Those people go on to be successful, and society rewards you.

So, today we must live out an honorable form, become an Honoured Prince. If you want to brush Tiktok when working, you tell yourself: I have to become an Honoured Prince! Abraham did it this way, and later he became an Honoured Prince. Not like us, the more we work, the worse it gets. Sometimes, you had to keep an eye out, if you don't watching over, then they'll go to brush Tiktok.

II. Scripture

Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. These were the years of Sarah’s life. Sarah died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead, removing her from my sight.” The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.” Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites, and said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me at the full price as a burial site among you.” (Genesis 23:1-9)

III. Prayer

God, today we ask you to work in us, we want to invite You into our lives, into our hearts, to let Your words be engraved on our hearts, so that we can run forward on the road that Abraham has opened up for us. God, completely remove the bad habits inside us, deal with those evil things in us. God, today let us be able to live out the image of a great and honored prince! God, all things are possible in You. God, may You do this wonderful work in me, deal with me, mold me, use Your Holy Spirit to burn me, so that I am more like You, remove the fleshly and worldly lusts inside us. God, help me, Your will is so. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

IV. Scripture Background

Abraham lived in the land of Canaan for many years. He went to Canaan when he was about seventy-five or sixty-six years old, and Sarah was probably sixty-five or seventy-six years old, and the couple was about ten or eight years apart in age. As a result, Abraham lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old in Canaan. He lived in Canaan for nearly sixty years. After these sixty years, Abraham successfully managed his reputation. What kind of reputation did he build? A great and honored prince!

In the place where Abraham was, the people around him were all idol worshipers. Abraham got along very well with them. To what extent? People thought that Abraham was so powerful, and he never took advantage of others. He was also very skilled in martial arts, and the people he trained at home were also well-trained. I can say that if Abraham were born today, he could be called a manager of a large enterprise, an expert in management. How do you know that he is an expert in management? At this time, Abraham was about one hundred and thirty-seven or eighty years old, and when he was one hundred years old, he had to be circumcised. When he was circumcised, God gave him a command that everyone in his family should be circumcised. As a result, he went to tell everyone about the circumcision.

We can't do it, we can't do anything. If we say that there are thousands of people in our family, and then we told everyone: We all have to be circumcised. Everyone would have to be circumcised. Everyone would say: What is circumcision? You answer: It is to cut a piece of skin off the male genitals. What would everyone's reaction be? Everyone would say: If you want to cut it on yourself, then cut it, but don't cut it on me. We don't know how Abraham did the ideological work, but everyone did the surgery. Ah, what ideological work is this? So, he is a very good business manager. There is a set of management system. As for how he did it, we don't know, but we just know that he is really powerful and has successfully done so.I guess there is God behind this.

Before that time, he also took 318 people from his family, including himself, a total of 319 people, and followed the local people to chase after the four kings. The four kings are now the local gangsters, wearing overalls, bell-bottomed jeans, left green dragon, right white tiger, a ribbon fish tattooed on their waist, shouting: You pay me taxes! Like the underworld. As a result, they led their troops to destroy Sodom, where Lot was, and they took Lot's whole family away. Once they left, Abraham was not happy because that was his nephew. As a result, he took the 318 people from his family and defeated the underworld bosses, the local mafia.

Those four kings defeated the five kings, and later, those four kings were defeated by Abraham. The result was quite something. In that place, everyone was secretly spreading a story, saying that Abraham must have obtained some kind of supreme martial arts manual. They all said, Don't mess with this old man. He has unparalleled martial arts skills. Did he? No, he had God! As a result, Abraham's reputation spread in that area. No one dared to touch Abraham, this old man. Why? As soon as they heard about Abraham, they trembled all over, thinking, It's good enough if he doesn't come and attack us. Let's not provoke this old man. He has God behind him. He doesn't have supreme martial arts skills; he has the Bible behind him. He's extremely powerful! As a result, Abraham conducted himself with dignity in that place, in his dealings with others.

In fact, Jin Yong should have written a novel about Abraham. I’m not sure what Abraham’s palm technique would be called, but in any case, Jin Yong didn't write it, so let's write it. As the years went by, how impressive did Abraham become? I suspect Abraham's management philosophy was already famous locally. Were there locals who came to Abraham to learn, to attend classes? Possibly. Abraham could open a class, teaching business management, how to govern a country, but some things are not necessarily teachable.

Did people come from far away to learn? Certainly. Why? Because the sheep Abraham raised were good, and his son Isaac's crops were also good. The whole family was full of experts. Why? Because they didn't waste time on TikTok; they pondered about how things should be done, how to do things right. If you don't know how to learn, first learn how to learn. Unlike some people whose eyesight and brains are not good, they always mess things up when they do things. As a result, Abraham led his whole family in conducting research every day, studying how to do things right.

Actually, Abraham's good name had spread far and wide by this time. He never took advantage of others, never bullied anyone. Then, if someone infringed on something of his, he would say, Take it. What kind of person is this? He was too remarkable. Everything he did was blessed. Raising sheep was blessed. He had plenty of money. His family's money was like joss paper. This Abraham was a rare talent of his time. Everyone called him a 尊大的王子 (dignified prince). His name was not Wang Zi; he was a 尊大的王子 (dignified prince), like a king's son, lacking nothing in his family. So his reputation spread.

Abraham sometimes did things that were quite interesting. After Sarah died, we don't know why he had to buy a burial plot. I think, if it were now, if your home was in Northeast China, or in the Changbai Mountains, or in Sichuan's Mount Emei, I would ask you, If you drove an hour from your home, would there still be people? No. Then find a deserted place, dig a pit, cut a piece of bark from a tree, and bury the urn there. Wouldn't that be good? It wouldn't cost any money. But Abraham didn't do it that way.

Abraham heard that the Cave of Machpelah was a place with good feng shui. He inquired and found out that the land belonged to Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. Abraham said to the Hittite elders, If you could put in a good word for me, and get Ephron son of Zohar to sell me this plot of land, I will pay the full price for it, so that I can bury my dead. We find it strange. Wasn't Abraham someone who had seen through life and death? Why still bury the dead? Why not a sea burial, scatter the ashes, and be done with it? Don't ask me; I don't know. I'll tell you one reason: Abraham buried his wife Sarah here. The burial plot he bought would be legitimate in the future. He left a mark. Now, this land in Hebron, including Abraham and Sarah's Cave of Machpelah—whether it's the same cave, we don't know—anyway, it has become a place of pilgrimage for many people. Abraham bought this land, made a mark, and made it their family's ancestral tomb.

The fact that they called Abraham a尊大的王子 (dignified prince) for buying land is worth exploring. Why? Because we brothers and sisters lack that appearance of a 尊大的王子 (dignified prince). There is a hope within me, a hope that what flows in the bones of our brothers and sisters is Abraham's way of doing things. Not the matter of buying a burial plot, but the matter of being a 尊大的王子 (dignified prince). Do you want to be a 尊大的王子 (dignified prince)? If you want to be a 尊大的王子 (dignified prince), you can certainly become one. Why? Because God helps you! God could help Abraham become a 尊大的王子 (dignified prince). Why can't he help you? The question is, what prevents you from becoming a 尊大的王子 (dignified prince)? We must study this carefully.

V. 尊大的王子 (Dignified Prince) (I): Knowing How to Speak

Knowing how to speak, and also knowing how to listen to others. Let's not speak as if we are enemies from the start. Abraham certainly wasn't like that: wearing ripped jeans, with a hole in the thigh, tattoos of a dragon on the left, and a tiger on the right, shouting: Hey kid, come here! Of course, Abraham wouldn't be like that. If some of you brothers and sisters said to me, Hey kid, come here! I would come, because I am a stinky kid. If you say I'm a stinky kid, how stinky are you? You must know how to speak, and you must know how to listen. Remember, a willful person is very poor at speaking. Think about it. Regarding speaking, I still hope to improve myself constantly, but compared to many people, I am somewhat good at speaking, because what I say seeks the benefit of others. Abraham was remarkable. He knew how to speak:

I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead, remove them from my sight. (Genesis 23:4)

Abraham wasn't like some people, speaking as if others owed him something. What hey kid, I think you're a hey kid. So Abraham was very good at speaking. He said, I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here. Is it sell? It's buy. But why use sell? It is grace that they sell to you. Even though you spend money to buy it, if they don't want to sell it to you, what can you do? Drive out an hour, there are plenty of deserted mountains and fields, can it work? No, it can't. So this matter is quite interesting. Does buying and selling require begging others to buy? That's not buying and selling, is it? He himself saw through it. Those who see through it know how to speak; those who don't see through it don't know how to speak.

To know how to speak, you must have that knowledge within you. If a person doesn't have that knowledge, always feeling that others owe you, and those who always feel they owe others, speak differently. One way of speaking is that you feel others owe you, you speak harshly, and others dislike you, and they won't call you a 尊大的王子 (dignified prince). Before Abraham said this, he had interacted with the Hittites his whole life, saying many things, because he had that knowledge within him. So, Abraham was remarkable. Not only could he speak, but he could also listen. People said, My lord, listen. Do you really think you're the lord? Abraham knew how to listen.

Hear us, my lord; you are a mighty prince (尊大的王子) among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead. (Genesis 23:6)

If you think, This is great. I don't need to drive an hour to find a place. I can just bury them in this tomb, then burying them there would not make you a 尊大的王子 (dignified prince); it would make you a stingy prince. If you take advantage of cheap things, you'll be ruined. Why did they say this to Abraham? Because they knew that if they gave you a little advantage, you would take it immediately. Why did they say this to Abraham? They knew that Abraham would not take this advantage. Do you understand now? Do you think what is said is true? Like my mom saying to people, Come, eat. They ate, but the five children weren't full yet. After they left, she said, They have no sense (不嚼味). If I tell you to eat, you eat? A tragedy happens when our eyes and brains don't work well. We must know what happened, we must know how to do things. I get along well with people, I have good relationships because I never take advantage of others; I always let others take advantage of me. How can the relationship not be good?

Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. He said to them, If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me at the full price as a burial site among you. (Genesis 23:7-9)

This is called knowing how to speak. What about those who don't know how to speak? Those who don't know how to speak don't know how to listen either. They just say, Great, that's good. I'll use that one. Then they're ruined. Their image for a lifetime is not ruined today; it's decades ago that people knew, “If you don't take advantage of cheap things, you couldn't be you.” Then Abraham said, Tell me a price, and I will pay you the full price. The result of their conversation is very interesting:

No, my lord, listen to me; I give you the field and the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.” (Genesis 23:11)

Can you understand this sentence? You must learn to listen. Do you think only we Chinese are like this? Jews are like this too.

Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land and said to Ephron in their hearing, “If you will, please listen to me. I will pay the price of the field; accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.” (Genesis 23:12-13)

Ephron answered Abraham, “Listen to me, my lord; four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between you and me? Bury your dead. (Genesis 23:14-15)

Was a price given? Yes, a price was given. Was four hundred shekels of silver cheap or expensive? It should have been bought expensively. Four hundred shekels of silver is no joke; that's a lot of money, but Abraham had plenty of money. His sheep were well-raised, and his crops were well-managed. Abraham was bitten, because they often took advantage of Abraham like this. They took advantage of Abraham, and then they thought Abraham should be poor, but Abraham became richer and richer. They felt this was unreasonable. As a result, Abraham really gave four hundred shekels of silver.

The question is, are you really a digniified prince (尊大的王子) or not? Because these Hittites had been taking advantage of Abraham for more than a day or two. The story of him being taken advantage of had spread everywhere. Everyone thought, if you open your mouth with this old man, it is normal to take a little advantage. Everyone now knows, is this reputation connected to the dignified prince (尊大的王子)? Absolutely connected. Because he is called dignified prince (尊大的王子), then people ask Abraham, How did you become wealthy? So many people take advantage of you, how can you be so rich? Today this person takes a cut, and tomorrow that person takes a cut. Of course, you are not yet Abraham, so don't be taken advantage of so much, until you can't take it anymore, because you are not yet a dignified prince (尊大的王子).

Abraham said, Because I have God, I am the Son of God. They thought, So he has God, should have said so earlier. We should have taken more advantage, should have charged less than four hundred shekels of silver. Why is this person Abraham called dignified prince (尊大的王子)? Because he is remarkable. He doesn't love money, but he just has money, doesn't lack money at home. Doesn't this make those who love money angry? He doesn't love God, but he still has money. Why? Because it comes from God. If Abraham's sheep were fat and plump, and the Hittites' sheep were skinny and scrawny, then I ask you, are Abraham's sheep valuable or not? Selling a few sheep earns it all back. So we must know what is in Abraham's head.

VI. Dignified Prince (尊大的王子) (II): Knowing He Is a Foreigner, a Sojourner

It is bad if a person does not know that he is a foreigner, a sojourner, so Abraham does things with extra effort. Everyone should know that foreign immigrants work very hard, especially the first generation. So today I tell you that I rarely go to sleep before two o'clock in the night, then you must understand why? I am an outsider, I am a sojourner. If I always take advantage of people in this place, will they not kill me? So I will definitely work harder, because you have no advantage in this place. This sentence not only represents this meaning, it also represents many meanings. If I am a sojourner in this world, if our family's money is like joss paper, then would you still take this matter so seriously? If you take money like joss paper, then if someone moves a bit, would you fight with them there? You wouldn't.

Abraham was also a foreigner in the world, also a sojourner. He sought a better country, that is, a heavenly country, he wanted to return to God. This is what Abraham sought in his early years. He obtained a destiny. God wanted to make his name great. Has his name become great? Yes, it has. Then did he value worldly things? No, he didn't. If he valued worldly things, that would not be seeking a better country, that would be seeking a better urn. So a dignified prince (尊大的王子) must know that he is a foreigner, must know that he is a sojourner. If we work as foreigners, as sojourners on this earth, we will underestimate these worldly matters, and you will become a dignified prince (尊大的王子), you will know how to speak, because the logical system inside you is correct. When others take advantage, let them take it, what does it matter?

So everyone should begin to gradually understand Abraham. The reason why Abraham obtained such a title (dignified prince), is because many people always want to take advantage of him. Others have taken advantage of him, and Abraham is still rich. So those who have been deceived among us, they don't know that the money they earned is joss paper. Actually, it really is joss paper. Many people haven't understood it. If we all understand it, seeking a better homeland, the momentary afflictions are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all!

VII. Dignified Prince (尊大的王子) (III): Strong in the Bones

Abraham is a person who is very strong in the bones. Don't look at the surface where he says he is a foreigner, but the bones inside him are extremely strong, unlike some people who are very weak. Why is he strong? It is because he underestimates worldly matters, so he is strong in the bones. If you take worldly matters so seriously, you cannot be strong in the bones. Strength in the bones comes from faith in God, so he has this character, the core of his character is faith, it is faith in God. Having faith in God, so what if others take advantage of you? I have God. Today, when others take advantage of us, the feelings inside is a turmoil. If you don't have faith in God, you feel that you have done a lot of work when you do a little, and you don't want to do more, and you always want to take advantage of others. What happens in the end? Today, you don't have the appearance of a dignified prince (尊大的王子).

VIII. Dignified Prince (尊大的王子) (IV): Able to Do Things Right and Well

Abraham's martial arts are strong, he is good at fighting, his management is first-class, and raising cattle and sheep is definitely his profession. Then I ask you, how can you become a professional without putting in effort? How can you become someone with high martial arts without putting in effort? How is it possible to manage well without putting in effort? Why do I often say that some people, after listening to one of my sermons, become like someone who has smoked opium? Because after smoking it, they go home and lie flat again. Abraham did not lie flat because he saw through it. He still able to do things right and well. Doing right and well requires effort, is the effort you have put in enough? The effort you have put in is not enough. Some people, when they work, say: Finish it quickly, finish and be done with it. As a result, they mess things up once they do it. When some people raise sheep, they say, It's so annoying, so smelly, the sheep has pooped again, has urinated. When is a bad time to urinate? Why does it have to urinate when I'm here?

Abraham is very remarkable. How do I know this, some people ask? He himself educated his son, and he also educated his grandson, so his son Isaac, and grandson Jacob, are all like that. Moreover, he clearly knows that living in this world is about rejoicing in labor. Abraham has this characteristic, to rejoice in labor, more work doesn't matter.

IX. Summary: The Key to Being a Dignified Prince (尊大的王子)

The key to the dignified prince (尊大的王子) is that God makes his name great. Did Abraham find the reason why he was living when he sought it? He found it. If he found it, then he should become a blessing to many people. When others took advantage of him, he said he blessed them, because he understood this matter of living in the world. So the key to the dignified prince (尊大的王子) is that God will make his name great. God will curse those who curse Abraham, and bless those who bless Abraham. Gradually, the people around him summarized a rule: This person must not be taken advantage of.

Have you pondered through it? It is that this person is too remarkable, God will bless those who bless him, and curse those who curse him. I ask you, do the people around him know this sentence? They know it. Abraham spends his free time sharing this with others, Genesis chapters 12 to 23, Abraham often shares this. So when he is taken advantage of, Abraham blesses them. When others take advantage of Abraham, in the end God deals with them. As a result, later they found out that this person is too remarkable, can’t be touched, and know that he is very spiritual. Many people only talk about Mingding Destiny, but is there really this Mingding Destiny? If there really is this Mingding Destiny, you will definitely live out God’s glorious appearance and become a dignified prince (尊大的王子). From now on, imitate Abraham, this is the true way to be blessed. May God bless everyone!

Let us sing a hymn to prepare for today's offering. If you do not understand the meaning of offering, please do not offer, because offering is for God. I did something very interesting once. I went to visit a brother, and this brother was actually quite good. I arrived in a foreign land, and he helped me buy subway tickets and so on. As a result, for those few days, he kept fighting with me to pay for meals. I gave the money back to him, but he gave it back to me. That can't be such a hassle, such a hassle would make Alipay cry. Later I said: “If you are willing, then offer the money to God.” You see, I bless you, and you are also blessed; you offer to God, and you are also blessed. Blessings inside and out. Never do less blessing matters. So I'm thinking, today our brothers and sisters must have a new understanding of offering from now on, because that is for God, the church does not lack money.

So today, do more blessed things, but what is the problem? In fact, offering is a tiny thing. Never make offering such a big matter. Having Mingding Destiny is the key! There is an unwritten rule among us, that is, many people want to offer, and I tell them that they are not yet qualified to offer. For those who want to offer, it is best to be blessed with us, start learning the Word of God, knowing the Word of God, knowing the Chinese Mingding Destiny system, this is the key. Then we will tell you that you are qualified to offer.

Raise your hands to pray: Lord Jesus, help me, transform my inside, and also transform my external image, so that I can become a dignified prince (尊大的王子), so that I can become a blessing to many people. God, today help me, deal with the lazy, selfish, and picky faults on my body, deal with the fleshly and worldly logical systems on my body, let me truly become a person with Mingding Destiny, and a blessed person. In the name of Jesus Christ, I declare: I just want to be a dignified prince (尊大的王子) in God’s eyes. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

May God bless everyone!
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