I. Introduction
Good morning, everyone. I want to share a very important topic with you, which is the money bag. What does the theme of the word money bag mean? It means putting wages into a bag with holes. People work hard to earn money, put the earned money into their pockets, but it leaks out. Fortunately, it's just the money that leaks. Some people don't just have leaks, but an avalanche of leaks, leaking terribly, and end up in debt. Why? The reason is simple: the money bag has holes. A sister was recently delivered, and we hope that every brother and sister can be delivered from all kinds of bondages. This sister was oppressed by Mammon because money was too important to her in her life.
This sister started working after graduating from junior high school, and something happened as soon as she started working. As long as it was payday, she had to stay in the hospital for intravenous drips. Isn't that strange? It lasted a whole week, and the next month when she got her salary, she was back in the hospital again, getting intravenous drips. It was really weird! Sometimes the money earned wasn't enough to pay for medical expenses. She would get sick as soon as she had money. Later, she had too many of these illnesses and these unlucky things happened to her. Many years ago, she came to know Chinese Mingding Destiny, and then she listened on the website. Not only did she listen on the website, but she also came to us and was recently delivered from Mammon.
Actually, I am still talking about our original series, called Freedom from Bondage. The money bag is leaking, living that kind of life, holding a leaking money bag while singing the song of a wandering monk. Have you heard of this wandering monk? Walking from south to north, from east to west. In fact, the best singer is an entrepreneur who wants everything but gets nothing. Walking with a leaky bag, the money bag leaks, and in the end, he lives like Ji Gong. If you observe carefully, it's not very clear how people get their money, and it's also not very clear how they lose their money. This is a very strange thing.
Some people accumulate more and more money, some people lose their money as they work, and some people end up in debt. A brother was very busy, but as he got busier, he lost millions of RMB that year. He has burned a lot of money in his life because he is doing business. Anyway, I don't think his management methods are very good. It's not so much about management as it is closely related to the love of money in this person's bones. Some people have urine leaks, blood leaks, anal leaks, and some people have money leaks. In this life, any kind of leak is enough to suffer.
So I really hope everyone can fix this leaky money bag. If this leaky money bag is not fixed, the hole will get bigger and bigger. It will no longer be a money bag, but a debt bag, filled with debts, and you get cheated as soon as you do anything. What is this for? The money bag is gone, the whole money bag is a hole, maybe only the bag is left, and then it's replaced with a debt bag. What's the use of filling that debt bag? Recently, I've been studying something very interesting: who makes people's money bags leak? It is God!
I've been observing one thing recently. How do people get bound? I really want to study the works of the devil. I will write a book called The Working Principles of the Devil. This devil is very interesting. It doesn't hold a knife to your neck and say, Eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? If you don't eat, I'll cut you. It's not like that. Satan doesn't hold a knife to your neck and say, Do you love me? If you don't love me, I'll cut you. It's not done like that. So how does Satan do it? Satan just releases a lie.
I've been thinking recently that Satan just does one thing: putting lies into people's hearts. How does it put them in? Satan says, You must trust in money. You must eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat it, you will have wisdom. See, what doesn't need money? You have to spend money when you get sick! How can you live without money? Actually, this is a lie. You have to be busy, you have to rely on yourself, you have to be capable, you have to read Kazuo Inamori's How to Work and How to Live carefully. People are ruined when they believe these lies! If you say that what I'm talking about is not a lie but a fact, then it's bad, we are not on the same path.
So what do people live on? Chinese Mingding Destiny has proven one thing: people live on every word that comes from the mouth of God! How much money do you need to stop someone from getting a liver transplant? Kidney transplant, heart transplant, just replace the head! Head transplant, after the transplant, you don't even know who it is anymore. How much money would that take? Isn't it troublesome if people think like that?
A young brother among us, his father did tutoring and made a lot of money. That was fifteen or sixteen years ago. This brother said to me, My dad is uncomfortable every day. I said, Let me talk to your dad. After talking, I realized that his dad had one million RMB. Fifteen years ago, one million RMB could buy several houses in Shenzhen.
I asked him, Why are you worried? He said, Teacher Liu, if my kidney fails, it will cost 300,000, and if my liver fails, it will cost 400,000. I said, If your head fails, then the one million will be gone. He was worried about this every day. Others don't have one million, and they don't think about liver failure or kidney failure every day. I think what kind of mind is this? It's that people believe a lie, and as a result, they are ruined.
People live on every word that comes from the mouth of God. If you don't believe these lies, you won't be cursed. But if you believe the lies and are cursed, God will send a few little demons to mess with you. Either your liver fails, your kidney fails, you have urine leaks, or you have stool leaks. Any one of these leaks is enough for you to suffer, or your money bag leaks.
God makes people rich, God makes people poor, God makes people die, God makes people live, God sends disasters, and also gives blessings. People cannot see through God's actions. The work of Mammon and the devil is to release lies. You never see the devil holding a knife or a gun to your neck. It doesn't happen like that. So when people follow the lies, curses come upon them, and God sends a few little demons to give you a few leaks. Some people have one kind of leak, some have two kinds of leaks, some have three kinds, and some have four kinds. When someone has a urine leak, I say, Don't continue to do this. After a while, you'll have a stool leak, and that will be troublesome! Total urinary and fecal incontinence, isn't that a leak? After people are cursed, whatever the demons want to do to people, they must first ask God for instructions.
Actually, I think this thing is very interesting. This thing coincides with the story in Journey to the West. The demons in Journey to the West, and Tang Seng and his four disciples went to the West to obtain scriptures, experiencing eighty-one tribulations. None of the tribulations are unrelated to the gods in heaven. They are all orchestrated by heaven.
Later, I felt that everything in this world is orchestrated by God. If you are unlucky, you can't say that God is bad. We can't break the big leg. Can an arm beat a thigh? Even if you use your thigh to compare to God's little finger, you can't break it, let alone an arm breaking a thigh. We have to think of a way, what kind of way? It is to act according to God's will. God! I will be the kind of person you are pleased with. We can't control what kind of person we are born as. But we can definitely control what kind of person we want to be. Is your head leaking? Your head is still your own.
God has already established the rules. What kind of people will be blessed, what kind of people will be cursed, what kind of people God is pleased with, what kind of people God has mercy on, and what kind of people God gives grace to. God! Then I will be that kind of person. Actually, my logic is very simple. We must know that curses are very powerful. People living in curses can't do anything right.
In the early years, I was very unlucky. Why was I unlucky? At that time, I thought I was very capable. Everyone knows that top students have some tricks, but those tricks can't beat God. God doesn't need any tricks. He just brushed me off with one brush. I was brushed off so unluckily, and that money bag leaked every day. It was very upsetting. Later, I began to seek God. In those days, before I knew God, I summed up a rule. We can't break this thing with God. Later, I went to find God, and finally broke the curse on me and began to learn to love God.
At that time, it was a physical church. On Sundays, I had to go to church, take a bus from my house, change one bus to the left, change another bus to the right, and it took an hour and a half to get there, covered in sweat. The weather in Singapore is very hot. Fortunately, the church has air conditioning, which is quite cool. After the sermon is finished, I am already frozen through. Later, I had to bring a down jacket to church. The outside is covered in sweat, and you have to wear a down jacket when you go in. This down jacket is not important. What's important is that the curse is broken.
Our brothers and sisters must know that Sunday gatherings are unwavering because I live by God. Whose family is getting married, whose family has someone who has passed away, I don't live by these things, I live by my God. These things can wait until I finish church. Over the years, I have never missed a Sunday because I know clearly in my bones that I live by my God. I can put down anything, but I must never put down my God.
Yesterday, I was revising a testimony. I don't know if it will be broadcast today because we have too many testimonies. There are a lot of them piled up in the warehouse, and many testimonies are broadcast as a whole, and they haven't been broadcast for several weeks. So don't be surprised if your testimony is not broadcast because there are too many testimonies. In the past, sometimes it would take more than 40 minutes to broadcast, which is not good. I have to control it to about 15 minutes.
Among us, there is a brother whose enthusiasm for God came, and as a result, business came to him on its own. I think it's great. So how did his business come on its own? I have to sort things out for you slightly. One of his business partners wanted to swallow it alone and contacted the customers privately. The customers talked to this person, but another boss found out about this and snatched the business at a very favourable price and conditions. His business partner worked in vain for half a day. The boss got the business, and the contract was signed.
In the end, the government didn't approve it because he didn't have the qualifications. This boss is a friend of our brother. He came to our brother. After talking, it turned out to be the customer. After going around in a circle, it turned back again. People were busy, but this brother did nothing. So what did he do all day? He was doing pastoral care all day. I couldn't stop him, and as a result, pastoral care produced orders, and it was still a big order! Because he was building God's temple.
Pastoral care is building God's temple, which is God's will. God wants to take this business over for you. Who can take it? Just let you do this, just let you be so busy, and let the money bag leak down to his money bag to build God's temple is an act of faith. This brother is not looking at whether the money bag is leaking. He is saying, I want to do pastoral care well, I want to live for God. He has this faith inside.
Unlike some people who do it, but are very conflicted in their hearts. While attending Sunday gatherings, they are worried about the business of the store. How can God bless you? He can't bless you! Because people don't have this faith in them. They are always thinking, I have to do pastoral care, I have to do ministry, but my store, my business, my orders. How can people without faith move the hand of God? They can only move the hand of the devil. So we are co-workers with God, and we must move forward by faith, and then we can build God's holy temple. The key point is in building God's glorious church.
If you have the heart to build God's glorious church, you will definitely be blessed. If you examine carefully and find that your money bag is leaking, then God has poked a hole in your money bag. It's best not to wait for God to send you a debt bag. The money bag is gone, and then the hole is too big and becomes a debt. If you become a Christian and don't love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and don't carefully observe and keep His words, then you will be cursed. Deuteronomy is written for Christians. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 talks about blessings, and verses 15-64 talk about curses, which are written for Christians.
If you do not carefully observe and keep the words of the Lord your God, God will put on you the diseases of Egypt, and also the diseases not given to Egypt. If you do not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness when you are rich, God will send enemies to attack you. We must observe carefully and think carefully about what happened.
II. Scripture
Let's look at the scripture. The scripture is in Haggai chapter 1, verse 6.
You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but you do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.(Haggai 1:6)
III. Prayer
God! Give us wisdom and understanding today so that we may know how to examine ourselves, so that we may know that you are in control of everything.
Also, let us be able to recognize your actions and let us know that the gold is yours and the silver is also yours. God! Give us wisdom and understanding so that we can examine ourselves and see if there is a hole in our money bag. God! Examine ourselves today and see if our hearts are on you, willing to build your glorious temple.
O God! Just as You did such things in the days of Haggai, do so in our days as well. Today, stir us, move us, and enable us to see our own deeds. Let us see the faith within us, and today, let us turn back to You and begin to build Your glorious temple, so that the latter glory may be greater than the former. Yes, You are our moneybag, You are everything to us. May You remember us and have mercy on us. May You dwell among us and manifest Your miraculous works. Let us, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, live out Your glorious image on this earth, live out a prosperous life, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!
IV. Scriptural Background
This passage is taken from the Book of Haggai, a very short book consisting of only two chapters. It tells of one thing: the various misfortunes experienced by the Israelites. They sowed much but harvested little. Looking at the heaps of grain, they expected twenty measures but found only ten. Agricultural experts believed that the harvest should have yielded twenty measures, but they only reaped ten. Isn't that strange? Someone came to the wine vat, expecting fifty containers, but only found twenty.
God attacked their work with blight, mildew, and hail. Wasn’t this a leakage? Fortunately, the Book of Haggai does not mention other types of leakage, such as urinary or blood leakage.
Throughout their history, the Israelites often offended God. They didn't commit murder, arson, or robbery; they simply tried to save time on God's affairs and spend it on their own. If this is you, then take a look at your moneybag.
After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they were always unclear about God's actions. After the time of Moses and then Joshua, the Israelites often offended God, thinking: Serving God and attending meetings is a waste of time! The Feast of Tabernacles? Let's wait until you've finished celebrating, then we'll celebrate. Why? Lower cost. Hotels cost a thousand dollars a day during the festival but only a hundred dollars afterward. They tried to find a loophole, but this loophole should not be exploited. After exploiting it, the moneybag leaked. The Israelites exploited a loophole, and their moneybag leaked. The Israelites accumulated many bad habits, and God used many prophets, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, to warn them, but the Israelites didn't listen, and as a result, their nation was destroyed, and they were exiled to Babylon.
After the Israelites were exiled to Babylon, God gave them a seventy-year deadline, after which they would return to Jerusalem. This period is recorded in the Book of Daniel. Daniel knew the seventy-year deadline was approaching, so he fasted and prayed and received a revelation, writing this book. Zerubbabel was sent back, leading many exiled Israelites, who were actually Jewish elites. After returning to Judah, Zerubbabel held an official position called governor. In today's terms, he was a high-ranking official managing a large area of land.
After Zerubbabel returned, everyone went back to Jerusalem, and they held a gathering, after which everyone was very happy. However, the temple was still desolate. As for the desolate temple, what did the Israelites say? They said: The time has not yet come to build the Lord's house.
God caused your nation to be destroyed and sent you to Babylon. Now God has given you another chance, bringing you back from Babylon. The Babylonian Empire became the Persian Empire. The king of the Persian Empire was a believer, so he sent Zerubbabel to lead the Israelites, that is, the Jews, back to Jerusalem. Is the opportunity not ripe? It's not that the opportunity isn't ripe, but they are each busy renovating their own homes. Where is the time to renovate the temple? As a result, they returned to their old bad habits.
Brothers and sisters, you must know that our church's requirements are very high. Why are my requirements high? I only hope that you have more opportunities to be blessed. I don't want you to be carrying a leaky moneybag, busy doing nothing, and ending up with a pile of debts. In fact, Zerubbabel's job was not easy. He shouted: Come! Let’s build God’s temple together! But no one had time. What were they busy with? Busy renovating their own homes. No time? Then what was the purpose of returning from the Persian Empire, from Babylon?
See that? The hearts of these people are too dirty! Today, our church is not like the days of Zerubbabel when a shout would still work. The walls of Jerusalem, the temple of Jerusalem, are still desolate, but the Israelites are busy with their own affairs, living small lives. So, many years ago, I concluded: Christians cannot live small lives; Christians must live a God-centered life.
Can you be busier than God? What do you think you can achieve by being busy? I can only say may God have mercy on you, and don't end up with debts. Why? Because this is God's doing! As a result, the Israelites were so busy that they sowed much but harvested little, ate but were not satisfied, drank but were not full, wore clothes but were not warm, and those who earned wages put their wages into a bag with holes.
Things always happen, and everyone finds these things strange. In fact, God is even more anxious; God really doesn't want people to live under a curse. As a result, God had to stir up Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah. Why stir him up? Because he wasn't much better either, so God had to stir him up to lead the people to build God's temple together. God told them through the prophet Haggai why they were living under a curse. You hoped for much, but it amounted to little. When you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? Because God's house was desolate, while each of you was busy with your own house.
Today's Christians are not much better. If I don't ask everyone, you can try it and see. There are so many things that each person wants to be busy with. So, why was Zerubbabel stirred up? Because he feared the people, so God said: Zerubbabel, be strong, you must be strong. It turns out that being the governor was not easy, so the temple was desolate, people's hearts were dirty, and as a result, little demons came to steal the blessings that people should have received. Wasn't that a leakage?
So, what exactly is holiness? What is defilement? It is easy for people to be defiled. Holiness is very difficult. One white towel, you put a little black ink on it, and everyone who sees the towel sees the black ink. Defiled things defile immediately. Only when everything is clean is it clean. So, it is very difficult for people to live a holy life. Unbelief is defilement.
We must be people who build God's temple. A person who builds God's temple must be a strong person. Do you dare to make demands? Do you dare to do it this way? The path we, Chinese Mingding Destiny, are taking is the path of building God's glorious church. Have we come through? We have come through. I once said that even if there is only me left, I will still do it this way. Fortunately, I am not the only one left; there are many left.
I once shared with many pastors how to build God's glorious temple. After I finished speaking with them, they said: That's impossible. I said: Why is that impossible? Brothers and sisters, you must know that people can all be required. As long as a David appears in that generation, the entire country is David's country. If a Samuel appears in that generation, then God's people will follow Samuel.
If you, as a group leader, shepherd a few people, what will happen if you dare to make demands? The people under you will be blessed together with you. If people leave after being required, then it means that they are not on the same path as us, so the church becomes holy.
So, our brothers and sisters must know that we must completely break the curse and dominion of Mammon and build God's glorious temple and God's glorious church together, and God will be in our midst. Then the latter glory of this temple will be greater than the former glory, and God will fill this temple with glory! Then the gold is Mine, and the silver is Mine. In this place, I will grant peace, declares the Lord Almighty. Do you know that gold is God's? Silver is also God's? If you don't know, then slowly watch your destiny.
It is a tragedy when people are controlled by money. What is the most tragic thing? It is not knowing that all things come from God! This is a tragedy, and as a result, they are busy for nothing. Our brothers and sisters are beginning to understand that it is not that I need you to build God's glorious temple, but that you need to. I'm not saying that I don't need you, but that you need to. Why? Because your moneybag has holes, but my moneybag doesn't have holes. If some people's anuses are leaking, my anus is not leaking. Even if I have to tie you to the wings of an airplane, I have to tie you to the path of building God's glorious church.
When you have this heart to build God's glorious church, you will surely be blessed. There are no poor people in the kingdom of God. In the past, you didn't believe it; you believed in your own busyness, and as a result, you ended up with a pile of debts. Are you still busy now? Are you willing to set aside our time and dedicate it to God? Are you willing to take our time to shepherd God's flock? They always say they have no time. What are you spending your time on? You are busy with your own affairs, so how can it not leak?
If you are a person who builds God's glorious church, there will be a characteristic: God will choose you to be a seal. In the last days, we who have received God's seal, those who build God's glorious church, will become seals, and then God will seal many people. In these last days, God will allow those who have the seal to be spared from these disasters and sufferings.
If the Third World War breaks out, it will be no joke. When an atomic bomb is dropped, it will be deadly. But if you have God's seal on you, God will save you from this danger because these disasters are not prepared for you! This is the background of this passage. But if the history of Israel is replayed again, and Zerubbabel leaves, and then it becomes desolate again, isn't that strange? They go back to living small lives again, so there is the Book of Malachi.
Several decades later, Ezra returned and emphasized again a God-centered life, but everyone still lived small lives, and God's heart was broken once again. So, God raised up Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem again and rebuild the wall. It's a pity! People in their bones like to live small lives, whether it's your children, your house, or your car, it's all these things, just busy with their own affairs. Don't people know that this road is a path of destruction? If that road is a path of destruction, the Bible has already shown it to us. Today, we are building God's glorious church in unity. This is not a common phenomenon; this is a rare phenomenon and also a rare opportunity.
God will use us as a seal to seal God's people. May God greatly use us, raise us up, and make us a group of people who build God's glorious church.
V. You Should Examine Yourself
You should examine yourself. Examine what? See if your moneybag is leaking. When you examine it, you will find: Ah! It's talking about me. In fact, God has already given us enough grace, and we already have enough reason to put down those things we are busy with. In the past, you were so busy that you became depressed. In the past, you were so busy that you were in pain everywhere. In the past, you were so busy that you tightened all your nerves. In the past, you were so busy that you had this disease or that disease.
Some people are so busy that they even make their anuses leak. Some people are so busy that they end up with a pile of debts or even depression. What is the meaning of all this? There is really no meaning. So, we should reflect on ourselves and see what our current situation is. Am I not asking you to write reflections every day? Even if the content of the daily reflection is the same, it doesn't matter. In fact, you don't have many problems; you may only have a few. Our goal is to readjust our thinking.
Therefore, because of you, the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and hills, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands. (Haggai 1:10-11)
These are all God's arrangements. Some people may question: God, how can you do this? You are too harsh. But the fact is so. Instead of arguing with God, we should examine ourselves and see what we have done. We need to check our shepherding situation and see if our shepherding is in a desolate state.
See what level we are at. Some people have depression. What happens after depression comes? They are healed in our midst. After being healed, do they have a heart to build God's glorious church? No. They are still busy with their own affairs, and as a result, what have they gained over the years? They have gained a leaky moneybag and have not received a reward. Shouldn't we examine ourselves carefully? When I say this, many people may identify with it. What conclusion can you draw? It turns out that we have been busy with our own affairs, and God's house is desolate. It's not the desolation on our side, but the desolation on your side.
I really wanted to kick some people out many times. If you are not here to build God's glorious church, what are you doing with us? If I cannot ask certain behavior of you, or if it is useless to ask, what am I doing here? I do not want to build a temple full of filth. I do not want a lot of rubbish people to mix into the church and then create trouble here. If we are to build a church, let us build a holy and united one, with a common vision, a common mission, and unity of purpose, dedicating ourselves to God. This is my heart's desire.
Sometimes I hardened my heart, and then softened again. Sometimes I cried out to God: God! Strengthen me. Of course, if someone is willing to repent and come back, no problem. But if it happens again and again.
You have your core interests, and I have mine. If your core interest is to make money, and my core interest is to build God's glorious church, then we are not on the same path. You go your way, and I will go mine. Let us separate! You can take whatever you want. You are welcome to be Lot, and I will still be Abraham. You choose what looks good, and I will choose mine. But building God's glorious church is my destiny. I will not change it even if I die, so everyone should examine themselves.
VI. Always Feeling Insufficient
People always feel that they do not have enough. If your purse is leaking, that is visible. If something happens as soon as there is some money on your account, it will tell you that your purse is leaking.
There is another strange thing where you eat but are not satisfied, drink but are not quenched, wear clothes but are not warm, and the wage earner puts his wages into a bag with holes. Is this not very strange? You always feel like you are lacking. From the day I believed in the Lord, every time I looked at the money in my bank account, there was a very strange phenomenon, always feeling there was more than I imagined. I would feel, how is there so much? I would be in a particularly good mood. If there should have been this much money but you find there is so little, how did it get less again? You will be in a particularly bad mood.
People always feel that they have too little, which is actually just a feeling. For example, after eating, you feel uneasy inside. I ask you, where does this feeling come from? It comes from God. I once said that no matter what a person has in this life, if they live a life of entanglement every day, even if they are very rich, have many children, many houses, and many maids, but are unhappy and depressed every day, what is that? It is an illness, depression. This feeling is very hard, and this is what is called a lifetime of entanglement. So you always feel insufficient.
You hope for much, but receive little. When you bring it home, God blows it away. If you have this feeling, then it is right, it is talking about you. You need to examine yourself and then look at your feelings. Where does this feeling come from? It comes from a lie. Mamon has released a lie, which is to let you eat well, drink well, and make money well. But in fact, it is very strange. Some people wear cotton trousers in the summer because they are cold. So what do they wear in the winter? They wear three layers of cotton trousers in the winter. It's just that people's feelings are not right, all because a lie makes people think they have to take care of themselves.
Some people think: I have to take care of myself. Where do I have time to care about the temple? Where do I have time to build the church? That is Teacher Liu's business, what does it have to do with me? I am just here to freeload some blessings and ride the coattails. So, if you always feel insufficient, you know something is wrong. If something is wrong, you have to carefully examine your foundation.
VII. Hoping for Much, But Receiving Little
It is normal to have a good hope inside you, but you are always disappointed. You need to know that the higher the hope, the greater the disappointment. Do you recognize this saying? So how can my hope be higher and my disappointment smaller? Because my hope is in Jesus Christ, and your hope is in this world, hoping to eat more, drink more, and enjoy more, hoping to have more money and more in your account. In the end, hope is hope, but disappointment is real. Is this not a lie? Is this not a constraint?
Brothers and sisters, you must reflect on yourselves and reflect on what exactly is inside you. I know you have good hopes inside. Who does not want to live a better life? To live more freely? But you have to know how to live a better life. It is easy to want to live a better life, but it is difficult to know how to live a better life. Some people even want to settle on the moon. The premise is that you have to be able to get there! You are just jumping around there like a little bird, no matter how you fly, you cannot fly high, so your hope is useless.
There is a book called Think and Grow Rich, written by an American. It says that if you think about having money every day, you will have money. This is the law of attraction. If you are a Christian and you think every day: I want to be rich, I want to be rich, in the end, your purse will leak. Hope is not very useful, you have to have a plan. The logic of this world does not work for Christians. But God's logic works for Christians, and it also works for the people of this world, so do not live in a false lie anymore, do not live in the devil's lie anymore, because if you live in the devil's lie, God will send a few little devils to poke a big hole in your purse. The bigger your hope, the bigger the hole they will poke.
VIII. Because God's Temple is Desolate
Why would people put the wages they earn into a bag with holes? Is this not very foolish? Because God's temple is desolate. You may find many reasons, reflecting on this and reflecting on that, but there is actually only one reason: when God's temple is desolate, God's people suffer loss; when God's temple is prosperous, God's people are blessed. Can we do an experiment? Everyone should set aside time as holy. You say: Teacher, I cannot do it. I have already set aside fifteen hours every week. Then double it to thirty hours and try it. If you do not do the experiment, you will not know.
Let me tell you, is God not able to manage this little thing? If God is pleased with us, all problems can be solved. If God hates us, all problems become troubles. Actually, you do not need too many experiments. Every one of us has experienced God. Do those who have experienced God still need to haggle with God? If you are still someone with excessive cancer cells, do you have the strength to work? No. If you not have strength to work, then isn't it 神恩典?(神的恩典 is the Grace of God )We have experienced so much. Some people have insomnia, discomfort, and weakness. Some people are tired, some people have tumors, some people have this and some people have that. We have experienced enough grace. Since we have experienced enough, why are our minds still filled with this garbage?
Do you have the same spirit as me today? I tell you, this summary of mine is very incisive. I have already grasped the essence of things. The prosperity of God's temple is key of keys. God wants to fill this temple with His glory. I will read it to you:
For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Haggai 2:6-9 NKJV)
Can you understand? If gold is God's and silver is also God's, then why do we need to work so hard and grab gold and silver there? Is it not better to grasp God tightly? God is going to shake all nations. Everyone should know what kind of era this is and what kind of situation we are in today. Does everyone know the current situation? The world's political and economic situation is a mess, a mix of everything. Now it is a generation of comparing who is worse. See who has the longest breath, see who is more rotten. Whoever can withstand the rot can withstand a longer period of time than you. Those who cannot withstand it will just be a little more rotten. Everyone is very rotten.
Look at the economic situation. What is this doing? This is God going to shake all nations. After shaking all nations, what will happen? After shaking all nations, God will bring the treasures of all nations. Do you not know that God is the treasure? God is going to shake all nations. I have a very strong feeling inside. When the economic situation is very good, people are busy with their own affairs. What will happen when the economic situation is not good? When the economic situation is not good, people will find that they are busy but have nothing to be busy with, which is useless. The more they are busy, the more money they lose. These people will be shaken, and many treasures in God's eyes will be brought. People will come and seek God, and God will do wonderful work among us.
This is our day of blessing, this is our day to begin to receive grace, this is a blessed generation. This is not勉强活下去(barely surviving), this is a generation to capture enemies. Observe carefully whether God is shaking things up. Some time ago, during the COVID-19 pandemic, God shook things up. What did that shake shake up? It shook the church. God personally tore down many churches because they were not churches at all. Thank God! In this generation, we will all be raised up to fill God's temple with God's glory.
We are these treasures that God has shaken out of all peoples and nations. God has brought us these treasures. God's temple will be filled with glory. As long as you are strong in your heart, you can build God's temple. Do not be weak, because we are strong through God. We do not look at the environment, we look at God. If you are doing business, you need to build God's glorious temple even more, and you need to mend that leaky purse. Do not walk around with a leaky purse. When God's temple is desolate, everyone suffers loss.
IX. God's Temple is Filled with Glory
Do you know what kind of mindset I had when I first built the church? I saw that the situation of the brothers and sisters was too miserable. Those who rented houses would sometimes have conflicts with the landlord. Those who looked for jobs had problems with their bosses and had a hard time finding jobs. It was difficult to do anything. Oh, my God! Even if I had some skills and resources, I could not help them and could not solve these problems because there were really too many problems! At that time, I came to a conclusion, that God's temple must be filled with glory.
Later, do you know what happened? There were no problems with renting houses, no problems with jobs, no problems with studying, and many problems disappeared. Because God's temple was filled with glory. From our time to today, I tell you, our church does not hold prayer meetings once a month, nor does it hold prayer meetings once a week, but every day. Are you still worried about耽误你的事吗?(delayed your work ) Worry no more. Because God's temple is filled with glory, gold is God's and silver is also God's. God brings all the treasures of all nations. Thank God! I successfully solved the problems I faced in those years. I know that as long as God's glory fills the temple, many problems will disappear.
In the years when the church was very desolate, because a church was built but it was not a church of prayer. In the early years, there was only eating, drinking, and having fun. There was a big meal after the meeting. I thought this would attract people to come, but it was cursed. Without God's glory, having only a big meal is useless. Later, I lost my job, became unemployed, and had a mid-life crisis. But thank God! There was a prophet who was an Indian. If you asked me to say his name, I would not be able to figure it out, but I still have that recording to this day. He said to me: You will go through a very long and dark tunnel. In the end, you will see God's glory!
These words gave me great encouragement. In fact, I did walk through a very long and dark tunnel, standing in the tunnel, because I hoped that God's glorious temple would be built. Although there were tears and sweat, I made it through. I experienced many pains, but I still made it through. But now, we see God blatantly with us. The church I see is the dream in my heart at that time, the hope in my heart. But we must know that the glory of the latter temple will be greater than the glory of the former temple, so do not be satisfied, because God wants to do greater things.
God is going to do more wonderful things. At that time, some of our brothers and sisters were actually very miserable. They were unemployed in their thirties. Sometimes, when we looked at them, we could not ignore them, so we gave them some subsidies. But now, because God's glory fills the temple and fills the church, now, the brothers and sisters are developing in their finances and businesses.
I hope that everyone can continue to move forward. Do not have too short-sighted a vision. We must all be raised up to build God's glorious church. It requires strength. Building God's glorious church will definitely consume your resources and consume your time, but you need to be strengthened. You will definitely face obstacles and you will definitely face battles. God knows the struggles inside us. We have struggles inside, but when we make up our minds, in the end, you will definitely see God's glory, amen!
In the coming generations, we will see more of God's glory. I hope that our brothers and sisters will be able to see Jesus Christ come again while they are still alive. What a wonderful testimony that will be! Amen!