Introduction

Good day to everyone. Today, I would like to share on a very good topic, The Wisdom of Joy. You should know that without wisdom, it is difficult to be joyful. I see many foolish people, so without wisdom, joy is elusive. Today, let us obtain the wisdom of joy. This is the eleventh sermon in the series, The Words of the Preacher. The title is not very attractive; I think the title is quite important. I have learned a lesson and will improve the titles in the future to at least catch people's attention.

Not many people live happily in this world. Many create unnecessary problems. People are strange. What they already have, they take for granted. I tell you, including pastors among us, everyone has this problem. They are not happy with what they have, and they are very unhappy when they cannot get what they want. I find that it is very easy for a person to be unhappy, but very difficult to live happily.

Some people want others to respect them. They want others to respect them, but others do not. They keep wanting others to respect them, but they do not consider why they deserve respect. They are as lazy as pigs and as foolish as pigs. How can people respect them? For example, if you live like Pigsy, you still want the Monkey King to respect you. It is difficult for the Monkey King to respect Pigsy.

Then they complain, Ah, no one in this family respects me! Why should they respect you? How much have you given? It is good enough if you are not greedy for others' things, yet you still want others to respect you. Some people want others to think highly of them, but they do not ask why. Is it not normal for others to look down on them?

I think I have many good qualities. If people look down on me, I think, Why should they look up to me? There is no need for them to look up to me; I do not need it. When I preach on stage, people swipe on their phones. Why should they not swipe on their phones? Swiping on their phones is more important than listening to my sermon. There is no need for me to be unhappy. Some people like to make up many stories for no reason. It's very strange.

So I tell you, what people really lack is joy. And what they lack even more is the wisdom of joy. The world is very interesting. Some people have money but are not happy, and some people have everything but are not happy. This is something very strange. As a pastor, the most common thing I have seen is unhappiness.

A couple came to me two months after their wedding. I asked, What's wrong? They were crying as if their father had died. She said, Teacher, I am still a virgin. Oh my goodness, still a virgin after two months of marriage. I tell you, as a pastor, the most common problem I have seen is unhappiness. Happy people do not share with me.

A brother and a sister in the church fell in love. They never invited me to participate in their happy times. No one shares happy things with me. They come to me when they quarrel. I say, Why didn't you invite me to participate when you were happy? This is what pastors do. Have you noticed that pastors deal with problems?

Fortunately, I like to solve these problems. If I did not like solving problems, how unhappy would my job be? I like to solve the problem of unhappiness. There are two most challenging jobs in the world: the President of the United States and a pastor. The biggest challenge for a pastor is that those who come to the pastor are unhappy.

The Catholic Church has a confessional, and behind the confessional is a priest. I tell you, the priest knows many secrets because he hears all the whispers people say there. Later, I learned a trick. When people come to me, they are unhappy and uncomfortable. I say, Hey, hey, stop, I don't want to know the details. Just tell me roughly in what area you are unhappy, and that's it. It is also upsetting to hear all the details.

I have summarized the three common problems: indulging the flesh, loving the world, and discerning good and evil. I thank God that I am a professional in solving unhappiness. This professional in solving unhappiness specializes in solving all kinds of unhappiness. I want to open a clinic specializing in curing all kinds of unhappiness and unhappiness. I think my business should be good. If I opened a phone channel decades ago, and then upgraded to open a network channel after a while, it would definitely be popular, and then I would open a confessional or something.

Remember, once a person is of the flesh, they will definitely be unhappy; once they pursue worldly things and cannot get them, they will definitely be unhappy, and even if they get them, they will still be unhappy; once they discern good and evil, they will definitely be unhappy, because they are always looking for trouble. So joy requires wisdom. Wanting what you cannot get, and having what you do not want, is useless. Some things cannot be obtained just because you want them. I wanted to be rich, but I am not. How can I be happy?

For example, you set a small goal, say one hundred million. As a result, one hundred million is left with just one. The difference between one hundred million and one is one hundred million times. How can you be happy? Think about it. People in this world want to live, but they get a terminal illness. How conflicted is that? Then treatment, entanglement, and finally painful death. I wonder what kind of people these are. They cannot even die happily. It's too entangled.

One of the sisters among us recently learned a profound lesson. This sister raised a child whose mind was not very good since childhood. He wanted to learn art, like dancing. Fortunately, it was dancing; it would be troublesome if he jumped off a building. You know, the tuition fee is one thousand per hour, and her mother poured money into it, burning a lot of money. It is very expensive.

Some brothers and sisters among us have experience, and this experience has a very high cost. As a result, the child has not earned back the money, and he often says to his mother, I didn't spend much of your money. Oh my goodness, it made her mother very angry.

She originally had a full-time job, but it was changed to a part-time job, which made her mother very anxious because there were no five social insurances and one housing fund. Her reasoning is: If I work full-time, I get six thousand a month. If I work three or four days a week, I get four thousand. It made her mother very angry.

Oh, I tell you, this mother is upset, raising an un划 (unprofitable) child. Do you all understand what un划 means? People from Fujian among us call it un划, which means not worth it. Raising an un划 child, and the child also feels un划. Oh my goodness, do you think both of them are very entangled? The mother urges the child to go to work, but the child does not want to work, creating many problems.

Recently, under the service of our pastors, under the service of our Joy Hotline, the mother said, Teacher, I see through it. I am no longer entangled. The child's destiny is the child's destiny. Even if the child has this destiny, I cannot lose joy. We have to thank our pastors for finally doing a good job with this Joy Hotline.

As a pastor, I tell you, you must solve the problem of unhappiness. Today, I really want to share with you the wisdom of joy. Do you know what kind of people are happy? You may not know. Today, do an experiment yourself, and you will find that the joy given out is different from the joy received. Logically, we should be happy when we receive, but after receiving it, we are happy for a few minutes, and then it is meaningless.

I used to think that it would be great to have a motorhome and travel around. At that time, I was very young. I got a driver's license, and on the third day, I bought a car and went to the beach for a picnic. I also bought a tent, picnic tools, a small table, and small chairs. I put them in the trunk and thought it would be great to be at the beach. As a result, each item was used once, and then I never went again. The equipment was complete, but after going once, I felt it was meaningless, and later it became garbage and was thrown away. No one wanted to buy it secondhand.

I thought, what did I get? I didn't get anything. On the contrary, as a pastor, I am often very happy to help people solve problems. There was a brother who was blind. I prayed for him and he was healed. When he came to see me, I hugged him and tears streamed down my face. I was really happy, and that kind of happiness still has that beautiful happiness inside to this day.

But when I say give out, do not give your house to others. Do not learn from some old men and old women who give their houses to their children, and then the children drive you out. That would be troublesome, that would be stupid. I say the wisdom of giving out is joy, and as a result, you become stupid and have no place to live. Teacher, I have no place to live. Well, I cannot give you a place to live either.

Giving is a kind of joy, and giving is a wise joy. But I tell you, giving money does not solve the problem. That is not how it works. The Bible does not say to give houses. In the Bible, if he is hungry, give him something to eat, a five-yuan hot dry noodles is okay; if he has no clothes to wear, give him some clothes to wear, that's all. It does not tell you to pay off his gambling debts, nor does it tell you to pay off his drug debts. So I think if you want to give, it is best to give wisdom.

Our church is a learning church. Why? To gain wisdom, to gain intelligence, to know God, these are all learned. Even joy is learned! I am a joyful pastor, and I really want to give joy to everyone. I have established a joyful church, a church that gives out.

Our church does not collect money. If you do not understand the meaning of giving, you are not qualified to give. Today, I must emphasize this matter. If you do not understand the meaning of giving, you are not qualified. You must study, you must become smart, you must know what you are doing, and the most important thing is to give people the wisdom of joy.

I used to be a joyful pastor; I gave out, but I attracted a group of selfish people, preparing a lot of roast chicken, roast duck, ham sausage, and northeastern vermicelli every Sunday, preparing a lot of delicious food, and as a result, a group of foodies came. After they finished eating, there was a lot left, so they packed it separately. There was a sister, and I hoped that she would pack it back and share it with her friends in the dormitory, so that more foodies would come. At that time, I really hoped that foodies would come. I had a very giving heart. I contributed money and effort.

As a result, after a while, I found that her face was full of acne. I asked, Why do you have so much acne? She did not know either. Later, I found out that she packed so many things every week, and that soy sauce beef, with peppercorns and spices added, was stewed and eaten for a week. Oh my goodness! What I gave out on Sunday could support her for a week. As a result, she ate it every day and got acne, ruining her looks. I was so sad.

Later, I changed. Let everyone be happy. How great it would be if we were all givers. Do you understand? We are a giving church, and a giving church is a church that gives. Today, I am talking about Chapter Eleven of Ecclesiastes. You must know for sure that Chapter Eleven of Ecclesiastes is a guide for our joy, knowing what is going on is joy. It is normal to be unhappy, because people think that receiving is receiving, but it is not. Only what is given out is received.

Scripture

Ecclesiastes Chapter 11, verses 8 to 10:

Even if a person lives many years, let them all be enjoyed. But let them remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that is to come is meaningless. You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 11:8-10)

Prayer

God! Give us wisdom today. God, your will for us is joy, your will for us is health, and your will for us is prosperity. God, today save us from the flesh that corrupts us, save us from the selfishness that corrupts us, save us from the foolishness that corrupts us, and let us gain this wisdom of joy.

Lord, let us know that Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God and Jesus Christ is the power of God. Today, let us begin to gain this wisdom and gain this power before Jesus Christ so that we can live out your glorious image in the days of our lives and let your plan be fulfilled in us. May your plan for us succeed.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Scripture Background

Solomon gathered wealth throughout his life. The construction of the temple cost hundreds of tons of gold. The ground was paved with gold, and many projects were carried out. He built the temple and his palace, with three thousand concubines in the harem. Then he did a great experiment, wanting to gain joy. Do you all still remember? But was he happy? No.

When his son Rehoboam succeeded to the throne, he told the truth. When Solomon built his palace, the foremen held whips, and they would whip you if you did not work. I ask you, did anyone get whipped to death? This thing is a bit mysterious. The Bible does not say. But his son Rehoboam clearly said that his father Solomon used the whip to drive these people like slaves. At that time, it was a slave society.

That was not Liu Wencai, nor Zhou Bapi, that was Solomon, whipping crack crack crack, and he would whip you if you were lazy. Did anyone get whipped to death? This is hard to say. What does it matter if a slave dies? It is nothing. He still has a wife and children at home. Slaves petitioning? Where to petition? I tell you, very cruel management. Solomon lay in bed, was he happy? He went out to inspect, to see, and sometimes he could see, and sometimes he could not see. He hired many cruel foremen, who were immoral.

The three thousand concubines fought in the palace all day long, could he be happy? I ask you, how many problems would there be in pastoring a church of three thousand people? Those three thousand concubines had to judge cases all day long. The story of the cat for the crown prince often took place in the palace. Then he married an Egyptian woman and a Sidonian woman from foreign countries. They were all princesses from those countries. Was he happy? He was not.

Solomon did a very failed experiment. He only summed up the wisdom of joy when he was old. Was it foolish? It was foolish. So he said that when you are young, you should be happy in your youth, but he was unhappy from youth to old age.

There was also an emperor in China named Kangxi, who became emperor when he was young and fought with Oboi. I tell you that was not a joke. When he was old, Kangxi said: I have worked hard all these years. I only sleep three or four hours a day. Just those memorials, just those reports, were fighting with the sky, fighting with the earth, fighting with the ministers, and fighting with the feudal officials and generals. I think a person's life like Solomon's seems to be wise, but it is spent in vain.

Young people, you should be happy in your youth, who is he talking to? He is talking to himself. Brothers and sisters must know that he is not talking about others. Originally, this Solomon was a very handsome and smart young man, but he only realized when he was old that he was wrong, pursuing the pleasure of the flesh. What did he finally say? He said: But know that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment.

Did God judge him? He did. When he was old, he wrote a book of Ecclesiastes. What kind of teaching is it? Oh, my life has already been judged. Oh, it's difficult. Finally, retribution has come. Those are all retributions. So when Solomon wrote Chapter Eleven of Ecclesiastes, you thought he was writing about others. He was writing about himself.

He said: Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. Give out, have you given out? Did Solomon cast his bread upon the waters? I don't think so. He said should, ought to. I tell you why, there were so many who lacked food and clothing, who died of hunger, it is really too many to count. Why should you ship your grain across the sea? That is, the water flows past, so that those who are hungry can eat.

Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. You can receive, keep receiving, you can continue to be selfish, you can continue to be selfish, wanting what you cannot get, getting what you should not get, never giving out, you try it, disaster will definitely come. Brothers and sisters must know that disaster will definitely come to selfish people. Some people only want to gain, even marrying a husband and having children, they calculate whether it is worth it or not, just for the sake of profit.

Brothers and sisters, do you know that this is the experience Solomon summed up, and he gradually understood it when he was old. Did he regret it? He did. Never wait until the days of fading beauty and decline come before you remember: Oh, I have not lived out the image of God in this life, but only lived out the image of a ghost. Looking in the mirror, you are neither human nor ghost. Oh my goodness, all the money is spent on plastic surgery, and it all collapses when you get old.

So God's design is designed this way. Isn't it said this way: If clouds are full of water, rain pours down on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. Someone asked me: Teacher, what does this sentence mean? I said: The steam on the ground rises, giving it away for free, and when it reaches the sky, it accumulates rain, and it falls down again. Where does it fall? It falls on this ground again. That is to say, you seem to be giving out, but it returns to you. Do you understand?

Why are people poor? Because they do not give out. If you do not give out, where will the clouds in the sky come from? Where will the rain come from without clouds? Today you must know that giving out is like the water vapor on the ground rising, and then the rain falls down. There will be disasters in selfish places, and there are many disasters in selfish big places. The sky will be dry.

You should not make excuses for laziness either. Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. What about giving out? That's not possible, I don't have the conditions. Is it so difficult to give out joy? If you have a little wisdom, is it so difficult to give wisdom to others? It's not difficult. You also have to know that it is useless to make a lot of excuses without giving out and without paying the price.

So it is difficult for people to understand what this logic is, what is the joy of giving out, giving out means it is gone. If you give out one dollar from ten dollars, you have nine dollars left. You did not study well in elementary school, but you are pretty good at arithmetic. I can tell you that those who do not do well in school can definitely distinguish between ten dollars and nine dollars. Oh, this is not understood, completely misunderstood.

So you do not know the work of God. You do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of the God who makes everything. You just cannot understand it. So if one lives many years, let one be joyful for them all; however, let one also remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. All that is to come is meaningless.

The root of unhappiness is not giving; the root of unhappiness is carnality; the root of unhappiness is not fearing God; the root of unhappiness is not knowing that it is vanity upon vanity. I have said so much, and I hope everyone will go back and read the original text carefully. The original text of Ecclesiastes chapter 11 is better than what I have said. I am just rambling on, hoping that everyone can listen to it.

Giving is Wisdom

Remember, giving is wisdom; it is the wisdom of God. Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Will you find it? Surely you will. Why? Because you give it away freely. Why cast it on the water? Is this giving it away freely? Chinese Mingding Destiny deeply understands the wisdom of giving, not because of anything else, but because after many days you will find it again; this is the work of God. Ponder it slowly. Today, if you are in debt, you don't need to think; you are always thinking of getting.

Like us, we always want to give. Giving is wisdom. You should apportion your gifts to seven or even to eight. Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. Where does light come from? Light is constantly given away freely. Sunlight never requires money. All of that is given to us by God; it is the wisdom of God, the power of God. So, Chinese Mingding Destiny initially built a selfish church, not because I was selfish, but because I wanted to give and fatten people's selfishness.

Later, we completely changed the culture of the church, and some people were quite disappointed: Oh, I didn't get to eat your braised beef. I thought, What kind of mind is this? Now it is much better. I immediately teach you to give, and I immediately let you gain the wisdom of happiness. Isn't that better? They still feel quite disappointed. When I see that expression, I think, Oh my goodness, here comes another glutton, another food lover! They should be happy. Ecclesiastes is better than braised beef, and Ecclesiastes is also better than chicken drumsticks.

So, giving is wisdom, and Chinese Mingding Destiny must give. Until today, I still have a great regret. I have not yet fulfilled my wish. Although all of us pastors want to give, there is one thing that I feel is too necessary to do, and one is theological research, including research on pastoral capabilities. We need to shepherd such problems and shepherd such problems. The effort we put in is not enough, and the content we develop is not enough.

Today, we need to develop more content, and we need to give more. If you don't develop content, where does the food come from? If you don't have food, what can you give? If what you give is fertilizer, that would be troublesome. You say you just eat fertilizer, or organic fertilizer. I still think it's natural. I wonder if I can develop some pastoral content to make everyone wiser. I am filled with emotion. To this day, there are quite a few talented people among us.

A few days ago, something finally comforted me. A sister called me; she is a partner in an accounting firm, an auditing company. She said, Teacher, I want to contribute. I was greatly comforted, and I told her, It is really needed. At this time, I also deeply know how to make use of people's selfishness. I said, Let's do something that benefits your work and your company.

I want to give, but I think I still have to make the benefits of giving and the wisdom of giving clear. I was greatly comforted, but my physical strength is limited. Because we have a unique teaching method, we have a unique way of developing content, you will find that with the same theology, Chinese Mingding Destiny speaks more directly and simply.

Simplifying complex things is wisdom. It is simple to give. After I finished speaking, everyone did not understand, but they applauded cluck, cluck, thinking that I spoke very profoundly and confused everyone. That is not the habit of Chinese Mingding Destiny. Chinese Mingding Destiny simplifies things. All of our things are free. It is free for you to come among us.

The Bible study materials and sermons of Chinese Mingding Destiny have supplied many people. As far as I know, there are countless pastors of churches who do not have the ability to produce so much content. They are just using it for free on our website. They put together ten or so people, seven or eight people, and then collect offerings, broadcasting my sermons.

In fact, I still hope to give them more training. Giving is our habit; this is our wisdom. As for someone saying this is a chain, I don't even know whether it is chained or not. We don't care; we only care about giving. Do brothers and sisters know? In this place, it is God who provides, and God gives us many graces. Therefore, I have made up my mind to give, just like the Apostle Paul. We are a giving church, a giving theology; that is the wisdom of God.

Giving is for Yourself

Giving is for yourself, which means that giving is grace. Let me read to you: If the clouds are full of rain, they will pour down on the earth. What does that mean? Yesterday a sister asked me, and I said: This is giving, and finally it returns to oneself. Water rises from the earth and is poured on the earth again. I'm asking you, have you gained? You have gained. It forms a cycle, and then it nourishes the earth, and the earth grows plants and crops.

Our brothers and sisters may not understand it well, and the sister who asked me this question said: Teacher, you are too wise. I tell you, not many people really understand this sentence. Giving is grace is a very important logic of Chinese Mingding Destiny. This is the work of God. On one side are the clouds, and on the other side is the rain. Today, everyone must know that giving is for yourself; that is the work of God, but many people do not know it.

What are we living on today? We are living by giving, because God will surely provide for us. I know that God has prepared a more prosperous path for us, so no matter where I go, I am determined not to take advantage of others. My goal is to give. If one day I cannot give, then I will sit in meditation and pass away, or be called die in peace.

You must know that this is the work of God. If people do not know this truth and do not know this wisdom, that would be troublesome. Therefore, the relationship you establish with me must be a healthy relationship. I do not expect to receive anything from people; I only expect to receive from God.

The following says: If a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. Is that strange? The tree falls because people cut it down. If it is cut down by people, then people pay the effort to cut it, and he must be facing the direction he wants it to fall. But if this tree falls by itself, then isn't that given by God? It is given by God. Wherever it falls, it will lie there. If it falls in your arms, it will lie in your arms. Do you understand? That is given by God.

Why do I explain it this way? I think Solomon, who wrote this Bible, may not know that Chinese people like money and worship the God of Wealth. That wood is called timber. This is my explanation. Timber. If a piece of timber so big falls into your arms, wow, you'll make a fortune. Later, I thought, the Chinese are really talented.

When I was a child, I would celebrate New Year's Eve. Because people were poor at that time, they liked to have money. Having money is called you. Then my mother arranged for one of our children to hold a bundle of firewood, running from the backyard while shouting: Firewood is coming, firewood is coming. My mother said: Quickly welcome the firewood in, come in. Then she carried the firewood into the house. If you hold a tree, how much effort would that take, right?

Then my younger sister was very funny: What kind of wealth [Cai]?!, it’s wood [Chai]. When my mother heard this guy calling wealth firewood, then she immediately hit her: Let you talk nonsense. This is superstition. Of course, what Solomon wrote is not the same thing. It would be great if a tree fell into your house. It would be even better if it fell from the mountain and flew into your yard. You don't even need to carry it. That's fortune.

This is what it means in the Book of Ecclesiastes, it is very interesting. Point number seven, point number seven, do you have some wisdom today, huh, you have some wisdom. Point number seven, do not make excuses not to give. Is that right?

Don't Make Excuses Not to Give

Don't make excuses not to give, don't make excuses not to give. Do you know what this means? He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. As soon as you look at the wind, you cannot sow because there is wind. As soon as you look at the clouds, it is going to rain and you can't harvest. There is always a reason. I tell you, people's laziness is always able to find excuses.

Just like the child of that sister among us, it is really worrying. Why? From a full-time job to a part-time job. The full-time job can't even pay off the money she used to spend, so she takes a pay cut and does a part-time job. This is also very impressive. Today's young children are very awesome. Why? I don't want to expend too much effort. Is working seven days a week the same as working three or four days a week?

Lazy, he who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. They give themselves many reasons for poverty, and give themselves many reasons not to give. Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must rethink it. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

We don't know which one will prosper, but I have to tell you, a basic principle of ours is that we don't expect anything. We only expect one thing, which is to give. What does it mean? It means you would not hope to make excuse. Namely Sowing the seeds in the morning, and sowing in the evening is also good.

You Should Not Use The World's Wisdom to Understand God

This world's wisdom is very powerful. You do not know the way the wind blows, or how the bones grow in the womb of a woman with child; so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things. Oh, how can giving lead to receiving? And then, why, because it falls into the logical system of a businessman. A businessman's system is a system of profit, and God’s system is giving, and God gives to you.

For example, the water on the earth rises, then becomes clouds in the sky, and then the clouds are full and the rain falls. If you are not blessed you must solve this problem. The problem of being blessed is very important. If a person is not blessed, everything you do is useless, no matter how hard you try. If a person is not blessed, whatever your hand does is not blessed. What you produce, and whatever you have will you be blessed? Your offspring or even live stock will not be able to prosper. You see look serious this much. Should you rethink your thoughts, if your offspring are not prosperous? Should you rethink your thoughts, if your livestock are not prosperous?

So I think we should not use secular wisdom to see it. That blessings and curses cannot be explained at all by worldly logic. That is, you are very hardworking and very hardworking, but you have not gained anything. People are also very hardworking and very hardworking, and they also have gained it. Can you not worry?

But I tell you, blessed people are not like this. Blessed people do not rely on the swords of their hands, but on God's blessings. Those who live by the swords of their hands are cursed. You must listen clearly, blessing and curse, this is the key to people's lives, an eternal truth. I am not giving everyone a brainwash when I say these things. This is God's design. You may not be able to understand it, but if you really understand it, it is the wisdom of happiness.

There are too many things we cannot understand in this world. In the early years, when I first believed in the Lord, an old man was the leader of the church, and he taught me lessons. This old man was so rich that it was hard to understand. His family runs a gas station, and owned many gas stations in Singapore. Adding gas to cars is like printing money. It is very rich.

What he said about giving is that my income, minus my expenses, the money left over, is the amount of the offering. According to my calculations, I donate that and am broke at the end of the month, and it may not be enough. Oh, I was walking home, frowning, and feeling uncomfortable. Halfway there, I figured out something. I said to myself: I'm so poor, and people are so rich. People tell me give money for offering. Give it a try! Dedication!

As a result, this attempt was extraordinary; God gave me too much, a decision I would never regret for the rest of my life. Why? Because this is the work of God. I couldn't understand it, but later I could understand it. Why? I have wisdom: nine dollars is more than ten dollars, because these nine dollars are blessed.

Later, I also saw another bad habit in the church. People took money out of their pockets, fumbled in their wallets, twenty, fifty, took twenty and stuffed it into the donation bag. Some people also had interesting things, taking a one-dollar bill, grasping it tightly, click, throwing it in, click, grabbing out a fifty-dollar bill inside, because you don’t know what his hand did.

Later, I made a decision myself. I felt that giving shouldn’t be painless; it should hurt. Of course, it doesn’t hurt at all now, but it needed to hurt at that time. If it doesn’t hurt, then you are just giving a tip. If you give God a tip, isn’t that courting death? It’s simple now. I give a good offering. Thank God, we cannot use worldly wisdom to understand God. Someone once asked me: Is the wisdom of God completely opposite to the wisdom of the world? It should be.

Live Many Years Then Rejoice Many Years

Man is just vanity upon vanity in this world. Man should be happy for many years if he lives long so, but he should also think of the dark days, because there will be many days and all that is to come is vanity. We Chinese often say there is “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river.” You are fine when you are thirty years east of the river, but you are not fine when you switch to west of the river.

So no matter what the future holds, as long as we are in this world, if people live one year, they will be happy for year, and if they live two years, they will be happy for two years, and if they live three years, they will be happy for three years. No matter whether he is east or west of the river, it is a happy river, a happy east of the river, and a happy west of the river, because people are just vanity in this world.

Let me give you the example of Joseph: When he was a young man, he happily to be wealthy young man, wearing the colorful clothes his father gave him. Those colorful clothes looked better than today's Hermes. Later, he became a slave and went to the west side of the river.

Being a wealthy young man, being a happy wealthy young man; being a slave, happy slave; being a prisoner, a happy prisoner. Whether in the east or west of the river, people are just vanity in this world, but there is one thing that cannot be missing in this world, and that is to gain the wisdom of happiness. Why? Believe in God! Do you understand?

A person should be happy for many years for as long as he lives. I tell you, even if you are a slave, even if you are a prisoner, it is just training and testing God gives you. When you come out of there in the future, you will definitely become an extraordinary person. Later, after thirteen years west of the river, he exchanged this for many years of being the east side river as prime minister of Egypt. That wasn't thirty years east of the river and thirty years west of the river, it was seventeen years east of the river, thirteen years west of the river, and then back to east of the river.

Live in happiness all your life! Brothers and sisters, did you hear that? Living in happiness all your life requires wisdom from God. You must see through human life! It will be troublesome if you don't see through it. Brothers and sisters, if you see through it, many things will be solved easily. Can you hear it? Can you engrave this sentence in your heart: People should be happy for many years. Because the coming dark days will be many. Darkness cannot stop the light in our hearts.

You Should Be Happy, But You Should Reverence God

Young man, be happy in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgement. (Ecclesiastes 11:9)

Solomon experienced a lot of things, did a lot of things, was he happy? He wasn't happy. Don’t be selfish when you are young. Give when you are young, you can gain the wisdom of happiness when you are young. Know that everything is vanity when you are young! Know that God will judge! Don’t be like Solomon, learn from David. Solomon suddenly realized when he got old: Hey, his youth was wasted. He was busy for a lifetime, and only knew what happiness was when he was old.

Because God will judge you! If you gratify the flesh, three things. I am also afraid that our pastors will use these three old things: gratifying the flesh, loving the world, and distinguishing good from evil, because God will judge you like this. God will not only judge you later, but you will also experience God’s judgment in the world, letting you know that this is all called foolishness.

Remove Sorrow, Overcome Evil

You know, a person's life should remove sorrow from the heart and overcome evil from the flesh, because the beginning of a lifetime and the time of youth are all vanity. Yesterday a sister, when she was in elementary school, her father died of cancer. She told me the scene at the time. After he died, he was transported from the hospital to the crematorium. There was a large freezer in the crematorium. When you pulled him out of the freezer, you saw the person lying there, but there was no breath.

Then in that era, people could still see how it was cremated, bang pushed in, and the fire whoosh burned out. After it was burned, they took a small bag, bought an urn, and put the bag of bones in. back. At that time, our sister felt, what is this? Vanity upon vanity, it's gone. The end of our life is probably, bang pushed into the cremator, and then the fire bang, and then it turns into a pile of ashes.

We should remove sorrow and overcome evil, no longer gratify the flesh, no longer pursue the things of this world, only seek a logic of giving, this is the logic of the priest. The logic of sacrifice is a happy logic, a divine logic. Today, if you are very unhappy, the reason is simple, there is too much sorrow in your heart and too much evil in your flesh. You take the matter of people living too seriously.

Originally, the beginning of a person's life and youth is all vanity until old age. Why did Solomon only talk about the beginning of a lifetime and the affairs of youth? Because the time of youth is full of hope. If we overcome these things from youth, our hope will be in God. Knowing that it is all vanity upon vanity in our life, how could people be unhappy? Today, let us tidy up our hearts, so that we can live happily and gain the wisdom of happiness. This is incomparably good.

May God bless everyone! Amen!
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