Introduction

Good morning, everyone. Today, we will be discussing the twelfth lecture on "The Words of the Preacher," which is essentially a Bible study of the Book of Ecclesiastes. Some may be surprised that we are conducting a Bible study on a Sunday. However, even on Sundays, we can engage in Bible study because we are in great need of the words of the preacher. Many of the world's tragedies occur because people are unaware of the preacher's words, not knowing that life is vanity of vanities, leading to numerous tragic outcomes. Today's theme is "Man Returns to His Eternal Home."

How a person should live is an eternal question. Some people live their lives only to end up with cancer; others live to the point where they can no longer bend their legs or straighten their backs. How do they end up in such a state? It is because they lack the Dao. The words of the preacher speak to how a person should live. I, as a preacher, do not proselytize; brothers and sisters, please do not proselytize either. We simply want to teach people how to live well, how to live happily, and how to gain the wisdom of happiness. This is very important.

For example, if you are under a lot of work pressure, simply listen to my lectures on Ecclesiastes. The pressure of work, pressing down, can cause numbness in the fingers and arms, and eventually affect the heart. Wouldn't that be life-threatening? So, I often tell you that how a person should live is a very eternal question.

Brothers and sisters, I must tell you that I am a very capable person when it comes to living life. I have seen some people who, without someone to care for them, cannot even get a meal. Their homes become chaotic because their wives have left for a while, and they cannot manage. But I am a very capable person when it comes to living life. Nothing can take away the joy within me, and I do not rely on others. I take good care of myself. Not only can I live well myself, but I can also explain clearly how to live well.

Today, I want to tell you that nothing can take away the joy within me. My lifelong pursuit is to emulate my God, to live out the image of God while alive. This is the Dao that I preach. The Dao that I preach is not about going to heaven after death, but about living out the image of God while alive. How wonderful it is to live this way.

For some time, I wanted to write a book called "Ecclesiastes." Some people said, "Don't write it; Solomon has already written it." I thought, "Oh, someone has already written it?" But after reading the Book of Ecclesiastes today, I feel that I cannot surpass Solomon. So, I am taking Solomon's Ecclesiastes and lecturing on it. After studying it, I have reached the twelfth lecture, the last chapter, with the theme "Man Returns to His Eternal Home."

When I was not yet twenty, in our era, there was a great debate about the philosophy of life. This was the great debate about the philosophy of life in the 1960s and 1980s. After much discussion, no clear conclusion was reached. After the discussion, there were no answers. Everyone was disappointed, and the conclusion was: we live and then we die, for seventy or eighty years, we live and then we die.

We read Chairman Mao's poems, Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Genghis Khan, and Emperor Taizong of Tang. Oh my goodness, one generation of heroes passes, and another generation of heroes comes. It was very disappointing. In fact, describing it as disappointment is an understatement; it was actually a kind of despair. In this process of despair, people just lived on, that was roughly the feeling.

It was not until I came to know the Lord Jesus that I found the meaning of life. I am created by God, I have the image of God in me, and I will return to my God in the future. This world is not my home. So, if you ask me if I have pressure in life, I rarely have pressure. If living is meaningless, how can there be pressure? In today's terms, this is called being very Buddhist. Living this way is quite carefree, and although it is Buddhist, the results are still good, and the work is still good.

Later, I discovered that this is powerful. Once you believe that many things in this world are meaningless, will you still have pressure? You will not have pressure, or very little pressure. That is why the people around me rarely see me under pressure. Some brothers and sisters come to me, and I receive them. They are surprised: "Tomorrow is Sunday, and you are receiving me today. How are you not preparing your sermon?" It's okay, I have been preparing from Monday to Saturday. On Saturday, I will have a meal with you, no pressure.

I am telling you, this feeling is especially good. Do you envy it? I say that if preachers live in depression, how can the members of the church not be depressed? If the preacher gets cancer, wouldn't there be even more cancer in the church? We must know how to live, brothers and sisters must know how to live. Living and living until you become depressed, isn't that a tragedy?

If people do not understand that living is vanity of vanities, it is difficult for you to obtain happiness. Today, I truly hope that everyone can understand what I am saying and gain the wisdom of happiness. Where is the pressure? If the boss fires you, it's okay, just keep working hard. If people take advantage of me, let them. If I am kind to someone and they forget me, let them forget. These are all meaningless things.

You have to think about it, if I were a very fragile and sensitive person, wouldn't I live with a thousand wounds, living as if I were dripping blood every day, all bloody and scary. Do not think that I am saying "everything is vanity, everything is meaningless," and then I will lie down and do nothing. No, I will live very seriously, very seriously living out the image of my God, very seriously living out the glorious appearance that God created me to be, full of glory, full of grace, full of power, remembering the Lord who created me throughout my life.

Is that Versailles? It's not fake Versailles, it's real. I will remember the Lord who created me throughout my life, until I see the face of the Lord and receive praise, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the glory of God." This is a very important concept in Chinese Mingding Destiny, to live out the image of God while alive. Do you want to? "Oh, teacher, I dream of it," let's walk this destined path together.

You say, "Teacher, I am already very busy with work. My father gave me a goal of one hundred million last year, and today he gave me a goal of two hundred million. The pressure is immense, what should I do?" Vanity of vanities, what are you going to do? If you still cannot be empty, I will sing you a dirge, I will let you live so seriously. Why so serious? Oh my goodness, I have never seen anyone live until they die.

You might ask, "Is this possible?" Why is it not possible? I have found that God is gracious to those who find good jobs. One of our brothers at work can finish the boss's work in one hour because he works quickly. What does he do after that? He does church work, serving left and right. Another sister is the same. I said, "Why aren't you busy?" She said, "I'm not busy." I feel that if you believe in God, God will bless you. Is it so difficult for God to arrange a job that is not busy for you?

But some people make a job that is not busy very busy, which I also do not understand. Making a job that is not busy very busy, I say, isn't that making trouble for yourself? Can you believe in the power of God? God will arrange a good job for you. Some people can't, if they are not busy, they feel sorry for themselves.

I tell you, God will accomplish according to what people think in their hearts. If you want to be busy, He will give you a busy job. If you want to work eight hours, no, ten hours. When you are busy for ten hours, no, twelve hours. Twelve hours, no, fourteen hours, like 996, 007 and so on. Don't you want to be busy? God will give it to you, God will let you be busy, God will accomplish according to what people desire in their hearts.

So I was thinking, can we desire not to be so busy when we are alive, and then desire to serve God? I have found that those who love God, no matter what they do, they end up not being busy; those who do not love God, no matter what they do, they end up being busy loving the world, which is very strange.

Brothers and sisters, you must know, can you live out the image of God, how can you live out the image of God? It is not difficult, because you must believe in the power of God! God will be your ever-present help! The salvation that our Lord Jesus accomplished on the cross, He will always give you strength, so that you can overcome in the spiritual world.

Our Lord Jesus is our strength! Our Lord Jesus is our authority! Our Lord Jesus is our glory! He enables us to overcome our flesh, He is our ever-present help. Try it and you will know, those who have tried it know it is absolutely effective.

I once visited a brother who was a real estate developer. I stayed in their family's hot spring villa. But that's not the point, the point is that when he invited me to dinner, he gave me a difficult question, he said: Pastor, let me ask you a question, out of a thousand people, how many go to heaven? This seems to imply something. I said: What's going on? He said: Last week, their church invited a pastor who gave a sermon saying that one out of a thousand people goes to heaven, and nine hundred and ninety-nine people go to hell.

Oh my goodness! I said: I haven't been to that place, how would I know. Don't say, I answer this kind of difficult question very well, I haven't been there, I don't know. I said: If you see that pastor again next time, ask him if he has been there, he hasn't been there either, how could he come back if he had been there?

After he heard it, wow, he felt that very few pastors answered like me, isn't this wisdom? But I have a logic. I said: Brother, I will tell you my logic. I said: Look at who this person lives like when he is alive, if he lives like a ghost, he will definitely go to the ghost; if he lives like a god, he will definitely go to the god. Originally, the God we believe in is the God of the living! This answer made our brother very happy, and he finally found the answer.

As for whether he lives like Jesus or not, that is another matter. Whoever a person lives like when he is alive will go to that place, that is our eternal home. If a person lives like a ghost, he will go to the ghost, to the King of Hell, that is his eternal home; if a person lives like God, relying on the salvation of Jesus Christ, living out the image of God, returning to God, that is our eternal home.

The Book of Ecclesiastes is crucial to people's influence. Don't think that the beginning is vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities, and then you think: it's over, I'm lying down. No. Whether you like it or not, one day you will leave the world, and someone will prepare an urn for you, maybe no one will prepare it for you, and you will die on the street without knowing it. One day you will leave this world!

Some time ago, we contacted a real estate agent, he said: The owner of this house is dead, I said: Did he die suddenly or slowly? I can't ask anything else, this question is a bit embarrassing, but my question is very wise, he said: He died suddenly. I thought: That's it, he must have died in this house.

I made a deduction, he died in the house and no one knew, because he was single. Suddenly died, who suddenly died in the hospital, how could that happen? As a result, it stank, and the tenants who rented the house smelled the stench all day long, and found that it was floating out of that room, and then they called the police, and the police rushed in and saw that it was rotten. This is still a bit scary.

So I tell you today, one day people will leave this world, and the things of this world will no longer have anything to do with you. Your love and your hate, although everything is so real, but once it is marked with a period, all the things turn into green smoke, all the things, are over. If people do not know this, it is difficult for you to have the wisdom to live. The root of the tragedy in this world is that people do not know that one day they will die, and one day they will go to their eternal home.

In fact, Solomon's words are a bit roundabout, you might as well just say that people will die one day, and also the eternal home, and also pull a bit of literary talent. For the sake of the most temporary and light things in this world, desperately grabbing, grabbing a pile of pain, and finally living out like a beast. How the beast lives, how people live, how the beast is born, how people are born, how the beast dies, how people die. A lifetime without a glorious appearance, a lifetime without blessing and without happiness, and also making a lot of debts, hard work and sorrow, and diseases until death.

A Singaporean sent a WhatsApp message to the church, describing this life, how his father worshiped idols, how his aunt died of cancer, how his uncles died of cancer, oh my goodness, he himself also got cancer, his sister has a kind of depression, oh my goodness! Living too seriously, isn't it? Living too seriously.

So I tell you, before the days of decay come, remember the Lord who created you. You are created in the image of God, how can you live out the appearance of a beast, you must live out the appearance of God. A lifetime of learning to fear God, keeping His commandments, this is our duty today. Do you know why you should keep His commandments? The commandments are very low, lower than the commandments, violating the commandments, you will be cursed.

It is very miserable for people to live in a curse, this is what Solomon said. He saw so many things with his own eyes, so Solomon said with wisdom: The preacher meditated and examined with wisdom, and wrote down honest words with uprightness. It is not to make up a Santa Claus to fool everyone. God will surely repay! We can see God's retribution while we are alive, and see that those who do not fear God and do not keep and follow His commandments end up living very miserably and eventually die.

Now there is a very powerful artificial intelligence, you give it a 60-year-old photo, it can quickly turn you into a child, gradually erasing wrinkles, and then the skin also relaxes, from 60 years old to 70 years old, and then to 80 years old, and finally it withers. Oh my goodness, it's really hard to look at in the end, I really don't want to see that kind of appearance. After watching it, I sigh: Oh, people live, and in the end they wither.

If you want to do an experiment, put a good apple in the refrigerator, and one day take it out of the refrigerator, just want to eat it, but find that it is not good, it has already withered. The wrinkles on the apple are like the skin of an old man. Oh, let's forget it, I don't even have the mood to eat it, the apple is like this, and people are no more than this when they are old. Thinking about the days in front of us is very cruel, and time is a butcher's knife. The most deadly thing is not knowing whether you can only sit in a wheelchair in the end, lying down and unable to turn over.

People should be sober when they are alive, you must see, be a person with the Dao in your life. After having the Dao, it is good to live. Once the curse is formed, he must live very painfully. So people must live happily, you must have wisdom from God. Today I tell you, why is Chinese Mingding Destiny called Mingding Destiny? That is, why must you understand why you live. Why do I live? Why do I die? Why did I come to this world? You must understand clearly.

I once served a Taiwanese girl, also in her thirties or forties, very miserable, cancer, that life was lived for money. Why do I know that she lived for money, she got cancer. It was also very magical when she came, after praying, the cancer completely disappeared, and when she went to the hospital for an examination, it was good, it was gone. Then after a month, all the diseases came back again, oh, I sighed.

At that time, we cried out to the heavens and brought her to pray, her mind was full of money. As long as she had no strength, she would ask me to pray; as soon as she had strength, she would break her fingers there, I don't know what she broke. Later, after she died, I learned that she owed too much debt, and she lived for money all her life. She was still counting money six hours before her death, if she didn't have money, she would break her fingers there, thirty million, eight hundred million or something. I said: What are you muttering about? Muttering about money. Tragedy.

So today we must shout loudly, even if people don't like to listen, they must listen. What does it mean? That is, people will leave this world one day, this world is not our home. Our home is not in this world, all the things in this world are vanity. When you regard the things in this world as vanity, there will be fewer tragedies in the world. There are too many tragedies in this world now, people need blessing too much, need release too much, need to know God too much, need the power of God too much.

So the problem of disease, the problem of finance, its root is in Ecclesiastes, are you a blessed person? If you are seeking the eternal homeland, wanting to return to God, longing to live out the image of God while alive, I tell you, the gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel; if you want to desperately grab money in this world, grab this and grab that, what you grab is a curse, that is also the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many people fall, many people rise. So we must remember our God, because we are returning to our eternal home.

Scripture

Let's read today's scripture, Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verses 5 to 8:

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 12:5-8)

Prayer

Let us pray together. Especially for those who are stressed, depressed, suffering, and in pain, it is crucial to understand that vanity of vanities arises because we place too much importance on worldly matters, leading to many problems. We must not continue running down the path to tragedy.

O God, open our spiritual eyes today. Let us know that this earth is not our home. Let our hearts know that we have an eternal home with You. O God, grant that in our days on this earth, through our Lord Jesus Christ, we may live out the glorious image You created us to be. This is Your will.

O God, may Your kingdom come upon us. May Your will be done in us. O God, may we choose wisdom, choose intelligence, learn to fear You, learn to know You, and keep Your commandments throughout our lives. This is the duty of man. O God, open a path for us, that we may know how to return to You. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Scriptural Background

Solomon was old; whether he was in a wheelchair, I do not know. It is possible he was in a wheelchair, because his writing sounds so miserable. Perhaps he wrote Ecclesiastes while sitting in a wheelchair. In his old age, Solomon summarized his life, as the days of decline were approaching, which was very bleak. Think about it, even if you are wealthy, being in a wheelchair is still difficult.

So he lamented his life, saying: "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them.'" I do not know if he was writing about himself; if he was, it was that he had reached those joyless years. I tell you, it is terrible when people get old and have no joy.

I once visited a nursing home. I originally wanted to get into the nursing home business, called the senior economy, anticipating the serious aging population in the future. But after going there, oh my goodness! People with tubes, in wheelchairs, oh, that was not a nursing home. The nursing home I envisioned was one where people could play mahjong, play cards, sing, and dance. No, it was a place to wait for death! Oh my goodness, all joyless days; I gave up on that joyless business.

I tell you, just look at the expressions on their faces; people are not dead yet, but their hearts are. I think Solomon, at that time, had money; his own home was a nursing home. When the days of decline came, he wrote a sentence: "Would it not have been better if I had remembered my Creator in my youth, before the evil days came, before the joyless days drew near?" Actually, he was writing about himself; I guess he was.

"Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low..." (Ecclesiastes 12:2-4)

Looking out the window, everything is dim; the doors are shut, the sound of grinding is faint. At the sound of a bird, one rises up, unable to sleep. All the singing women are brought low. So Solomon wrote these words; I think he was very touched, it was a very desolate scene.

You must remember your Lord, why? Because you will return to your eternal home. Originally, we are on this earth, even if we become someone like Solomon, we find ourselves powerless to stop it. I think his yang energy was depleted, and he seemed very weak, so at this time, it was even more difficult.

He summarized Ecclesiastes, writing from the beginning to chapter twelve, and when he reached chapter twelve, he found himself in this state. Alas, a lifetime of busyness, busy with the court and the harem, busy with memorials in the court, busy with concubines in the harem, oh, I tell you, a lifetime of busyness, meaningless. In old age, he realized he had sown many curses.

How many curses did Solomon sow? I must tell you about this. I once had a classmate who had quite a few curses on him, and I discussed this with him. He used to run a nightclub, and he was very frank when he discussed it with me. I said: "This is how a person gets curses: a person has thirty ancestors, and their sins and curses are added to you."

"When you marry a wife, her family also has thirty ancestors, so after marriage, there are sixty. Then you get a mistress, now there are ninety. And if that mistress has someone else, there are one hundred and twenty." He said to me: "Oh my goodness, according to your calculation, wouldn't I have eighteen thousand curses?" Eighteen thousand curses added to him.

Did Solomon have many curses? Yes. So many wives, from all over the place, and then following them to worship idols, so what kind of situation do you think he was in when he was old? When he was old, the curses found him. "Ah, Solomon, where can I let you escape?"

So he must have been unable to bear it, suffering while writing Ecclesiastes. People will certainly suffer retribution in life; when they get old, they begin to receive these curses and retribution, and then they realize how important it is to remember your Creator in your youth, do you understand? Today, brothers and sisters, we must remember our Creator before these days of decline come.

I thank God that you cannot have many wives in this one-man-one-woman era, so you do not have to worry about becoming like Solomon. But other things still need to be found and dealt with little by little. If you ask me to help you with healing and deliverance, it is faster to consider repentance. So what is the state of old age like?

"...they are afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets; before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well..." (Ecclesiastes 12:5-6)

That is, the things of the dead are smashed, because no one wants his things; having his things there is frightening. Thinking of Solomon's miserable state, ah, his gold, silver chains, and golden bowls, give them all to him, bury them with him. The well for drawing water, the wheel is also broken. The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.

Whether we are used to it or not, you must know that all these things in life are vanity. What people desire in their hearts is also abolished when they leave this world. When Solomon was young, wow, beauty pageants, recruiting concubines, in today's terms, taking concubines, busy enough. So I ask you, if Solomon could start over, and he felt that he should not do this again, that it was meaningless, what should he do? He should start being a preacher with virtue.

So some people, after reading it, think Solomon was amazing, but Solomon had a hard life. In the end, he said:

Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. (Ecclesiastes 12:9)

What wisdom does the Preacher have? Do not sow curses when you are young, because you will definitely reap them when you are old, without even thinking about it. So, meditate, examine, and arrange many proverbs, seeking to find pleasing words, what does that mean? Seek to find words that please God, and be a wise person.

In the end, he concluded that the whole duty of man is to fear God, for God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. This is the last sentence of Ecclesiastes. I ask you, was Solomon judged? He was judged. So he deeply knew the power of curses, and deeply knew that God's commandments cannot be touched.

Did Solomon touch them? He did. Worshipping idols, and marrying many wives, and buying horses from Egypt, he did a lot of things. So in the end, when Solomon was old and wrote Ecclesiastes, those were his heartfelt words. Are we walking on Solomon's path today? It seems very glorious; is it that we are walking on Solomon's path, and we want to be glorious before we are glorious?

Once I said to a sister, there is a ten-thousand-person church in our area, and a ten-thousand-person church is very glorious. The senior pastor gave the position of senior pastor to his son. This is quite fashionable now. What is fashionable? It is that the senior pastor created the church and made it a ten-thousand-person church, and then left the position to his son, father to son.

Then some of our sisters said: "Ah, that is so glorious." Is it glorious? It is not glorious, it is actually very miserable. Because it is not easy to do, how can that job be easy? People must know that many things in this world are vanity of vanities. So after Solomon summarized, the whole duty of man is to fear God, not according to human logic, human logic is to find a job.

I think Solomon used his life to write Ecclesiastes, and today we should summarize it well, look at it well, and avoid running wildly on Solomon's path in his youth. Building palaces, recruiting concubines, and oh my goodness, three thousand in the harem, and three thousand in the court, just counting the names of these ministers, counting the names of these concubines, tiring enough. When he got old, the curses came one by one, and then he realized that fearing our God was too late.

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

What does it mean? From the beginning of one's life, all the way to old age, we reap what we sow. The path of one's life is walked out by oneself. If your goal in life is to return to God, to return to your eternal home, then it is manageable. The problem is, you do not know where to go. The path of one's life is walked out by oneself; you run towards the goal you have set for yourself.

Perhaps your goal is not so grand. Perhaps your small goal is not a hundred million, but a million. Whether your small goal is a million, ten million, or a hundred million, you run towards that goal. But is that goal your eternal home? It is not your eternal home. Then where is your home? If your goal is to return to God, quickly remember your Creator in your youth, and then yearn to live out God's plan for you.

Of course, God has two plans for you: Plan A, to live out the image of God; and Plan B, to live out the wilderness experience. When one is old, never ask: God, why is this happening? Do not ask why this is happening, because you have walked this path yourself. I have personally seen many who covet other people's houses; before they are old, curses come upon them. Before they are old, diseases chase after them one by one. In days of suffering, what can one do?

Therefore, do not emulate Solomon, but rather emulate David. The Bible never tells us to emulate Solomon; the Bible tells us to emulate David, because David feared God. In our youth, set our goals well. Our home is with God; everything on earth is vanity. I ask you, do you have time? If you have time, how can vanity not have time? Do it sooner or later, do as much as you can. The sky will not fall.

All Things in This World Are Vanity, a Chasing After the Wind

Why do people get depression, why do people get cancer? It is because they do not know that this world is vanity, they do not know that this world is a chasing after the wind. It is too tragic. The root of all human tragedy is because people live too seriously, truly taking this world as their eternal home. But in fact, this world is not our eternal home.

There was once a celebrity who spent a lot of money to buy a cemetery plot. As a result, because of him, all the graves in that cemetery increased in price. In those years, it was still 100,000; now it is 500,000. Oh my goodness, buying a cemetery plot for the dead is more expensive than a house for the living. But that celebrity's grave is also desolate, overgrown with weeds; it is useless.

Today, we have too many vain things, whether it is work, study, marriage and childbearing, buying and selling houses. There are too many vain things, and then a series of entanglements and sufferings arise because of these things. Why? Because we do not know it is vanity; it is truly meaningless. Sometimes, brothers and sisters come with their practical problems. I really cannot just say: Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, and be done with it. I still have to speak according to the way that is not vanity, because they cannot hear about the vanity of vanities.

But if you can truly hear it, you are remarkable, and you do not need to come to me. So the things at work, Solomon's work was more important than yours, and it was also vanity. It was not Solomon's hand that held up the nation of Israel, but God's hand. Studying, going to university, not being able to go to university, all these things are vanity.

Then what is real? Living out the image of God is what is real. So before the days of decline come, knowing it is vanity, we seek an eternal homeland. Once you seek an eternal homeland, things become manageable. How do they become manageable? Because you are blessed, you are favoured. When a person is blessed, many things become easier. If God is for you, who can be against you, is it not?

So seek an eternal homeland in these vain years. Then what should people do in this world? Lie flat? You do not need to lie flat; you can still live well. Observe carefully those who are blessed; which one of them lives poorly? Slowly ponder and learn to be a wise person.

Being a Wise Person

Solomon, in his old age, said:

"Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched for acceptable words, and what he wrote was upright and true. The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd." (Ecclesiastes 12:9-11)

For a preacher to be wise is to possess the Dao. How does this Dao enter us? We must meditate, examine, and learn. That is why we in Chinese Mingding Destiny place such importance on learning.

Those who are not fond of learning say, "Why is believing in the Lord so troublesome?" Was going to university troublesome? Is being unemployed after graduation troublesome? Is taking the postgraduate entrance exam troublesome? Is studying for a postgraduate degree troublesome? Is failing to graduate with a postgraduate degree troublesome? Troublesome, yes, but those are greater troubles. People don't find learning those things troublesome; they accept the trouble. But when they come to church to learn the wisdom of living, the wisdom of joy, they find it troublesome. What kind of thinking is that, I wonder?

Brothers and sisters, you must know that learning plays a very important role in our lives. Learning what? Learning to be a wise person. The words of a wise person are like goads. What are these goads for? To prick the thigh. In ancient times, people made a chair, and when you sat on it, if you dozed off, the needles underneath would pop out and prick you, waking you up immediately. Then they would hang their hair from the rafters, and if they dozed off, the hair would pull painfully. Pricking the buttocks below and pulling the head above, oh my goodness, how arduous.

Pricking the thigh, the words of a wise person are like goads, like a mace, making people alert. You know how powerful these things are. And I tell you, the words of these wise people are like the prophets, the masters of assemblies are the prophets, and their words prick us. When we read the prophetic books of the Old Testament today, every prophetic book is like a thorn, like a goad.

The words of the masters of assemblies are like firmly embedded nails—is that not a mace? —given by one Shepherd. What does this mean? The masters of assemblies, these prophets of God, their words are like maces with nails, and I tell you, they are given by one Shepherd. What is this wisdom? It is a systematic thing.

We have a brother among us who is also seeking the meaning of life. He said, "I have heard a lot, but what Teacher Liu says is systematic, unlike some people who are fragmented, going left and right." Given by one Shepherd. I must say that what I speak truly comes from God. Although some things are my own words, the core of what I speak still comes from God.

Otherwise, you can examine and meditate. If you want to be a wise person, you must receive revelation from God, receive wisdom from God. That is the key. If you receive God's wisdom in your youth, before the days of decline come, you will know that man must return to his eternal home. Man will know that the things of this world are vanity, and man will remember his Creator before the days of decline come.

Do you have time? Yes. Do you have time to study God's word? Yes. Do you have time to meditate? Do you have time to examine? Do you have time to declare? Therefore, in the twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon actually conducted a very profound reflection.

God Will Judge Every Deed

God will judge every deed, whether good or evil. If you observe carefully, some of our brothers and sisters have families where their father died of cancer, and their sister died of cancer. Would you say the probability of cancer is high? Yes, it is. We must be especially careful. Curses are very real. It is very hard for people to be cursed. When people are alive, they will surely see God's judgment. God will surely judge.

If you are very serious about distinguishing good and evil, very serious about indulging the flesh, and love the world very deeply, loving these vain things very deeply, you will surely be judged. So brothers and sisters, whether you like to hear it or not, I tell you, if what is spoken is not to your liking, then that is right, because the logical system you have inside is wrong.

Therefore, the Israelites did not like to hear the words of the prophets in Israel. Why? Because it was different from their pursuits and logic. But that was indeed wisdom from God, and people will surely see it while they are alive. Today, brothers and sisters, remember to fear God! Do not touch things that are cursed. If we are cursed, we will have sickness and poverty, which are definitely related to the curse. Do not accumulate curses until they grow.

Therefore, once we know that we have an eternal home, that we must return to that eternal home, we will manage well in this world. How to manage? Live out God's glorious image. It is better for people to live in blessing than in curse. In the days of blessing, although a price is paid, the price is worth paying, better than the curse without paying a price.

Conclusion

The conclusion is to fear God, because God will surely judge. If we are pursuing the eternal home, will you still feel pressure from the goals set by your boss or the things arranged by your boss? Maybe you will, and you need to figure things out. But if these are vanity of vanities, wouldn't the pressure be halved? If God gives you the goal of returning to the eternal home, it would be good if you feel a little pressure. The fear is that there is no pressure at all, that it is completely ignored. This is a very common phenomenon.

Today, we must begin to re-examine ourselves. It is not that we have not seen enough. We have seen the things of this world, including the things that happen in our own families, very clearly. We are unable to bear any disaster that befalls us. Then why not learn to fear God? It is not that I am scaring you, it is a real need. Today, let us hold fast to the goal that God has given us, let us fear Him all our lives, and then return to the eternal home He has given us.

May God bless everyone! Amen!