Introduction

Good morning, everyone. I will be addressing a very important topic today, and that is "Gaining Freedom." This is the sixth part of our series, "Sharing in the Benefits of the Gospel." One of my colleagues remarked, "Pastor, your sermon titles used to be so long, how come they've suddenly become shorter?" I believe that to help people benefit from the Gospel, we need to use catchy titles that make people want to listen at first glance. So, I've shortened it a bit. Although it's not the exact wording of the Holy Scripture, it's more relatable for people to listen to, thanks be to God!

The most precious thing in life is not money. If you think money is the most precious thing, you are a fool. The most precious things in life are not family, love, or career. If you consider family, love, or career as the most precious, you are a simpleton.

The most precious thing in life is freedom. As the poem goes, and it doesn't matter who wrote it, the content is excellent: "For the sake of freedom, both can be discarded." "Both" is not just two things, but countless "things" like love, money, and status. The most precious thing for a person is freedom, and for the sake of freedom, all these can be discarded.

If a person loses freedom, it is a great tragedy in their life. The best gift God gives us is also freedom. We are called to be free. You know that our God hates oppression and being oppressed. I hope that through the sermon I am about to deliver, brothers and sisters can be released and freed from all kinds of oppression in the coming period, because oppression is what God hates.

The easiest thing to lose in this world is freedom. People lose their freedom for money, for family, for love, for career, for family, and for children. It all sounds like there are great reasons, but losing freedom and involuntarily living under oppression is actually very painful.

Some people lose their freedom for the sake of their own face; some people lose their freedom for the sake of their own lies. I tell you, people living under oppression cannot thrive. Living under oppression creates a twisted energy inside. So twisted, so twisted, twisting and twisting, it twists into the body, and the body becomes very twisted. Isn't it painful for a person to live twisted? It is very painful.

There is also oppression before believing in the Lord, and after believing, more oppressions are added, and even serving becomes oppression. For example, in the church, there is competition, comparison, and jealousy, and then serving becomes oppression. This phenomenon is very common. In our Chinese Mingding Doctrine church, I have a very grand dream, which is to hope that everyone can become smarter. If I oppress you, what do I gain? I gain nothing, and I get a beating from God. Our church does not oppress people.

You rarely hear me preach about obedience, and I don't want our junior pastors to convey the concept of obedience to those under them. If people are willing, they obey; if they are not willing, then forget it. If they are smart, they will obey; if they are not smart, they will twist. The road from oppression to freedom sometimes cannot be forced. This thing is too fragile, and if you break it, you will ruin people.

There is a brother who works in Shanghai. Every time he returns to his hometown, he asks his pastor for leave. Why? As soon as he gets home, there is a tigress in the house, and he is afraid, so scared that he dares not do anything. His family is also very interesting. His wife doesn't earn a penny, and the family's money is earned by her husband. Some time ago, we ministered to him, and then his heart slowly changed, and he became bolder. Although there is a tiger, he ate bear heart and swallowed a leopard's gall.

Later, his wife came to Shanghai to see him, and the first thing she asked when she sat down was: "Are you still donating?" This brother suddenly had the courage of a leopard, mustered up his courage and said: "Still donating." He thought his wife would open her bloody mouth and swallow him, but to his surprise, he suddenly surprisingly discovered that his wife had no reaction. God sealed the tigress's mouth. I think our God is too powerful.

This situation is really very common. Why? Actually, the feeling of fear is quite deadly. Many people in this fear don't know why they can't do it, they just have to be afraid. Every time I weakly encourage them, you can't encourage them too strongly, otherwise they will be oppressed by my very strong language, and that would be troublesome. As a result, the brother became strong for a while, and nothing happened.

He explained to his wife: "Look, I didn't donate before, and as a result, I was cheated, and I lost hundreds of thousands. Now that I donate, you see, we lack nothing, and there are fewer disasters and deceptions. This is a good thing." Everyone must know what is investment. I tell you, the best investment in this world is donation. I am not trying to trick you into donating. I may not even give you this qualification.

Many oppressions are various, but overcoming oppression is still about having faith in God. Can't God control your wife? Can't God control your husband? God doesn't even need a slap, just a little finger can handle him, do you believe it? A little finger can handle Pharaoh, the Egyptian army, and everything. This is our God. You must have faith in God, and with faith, you will experience God. There are still many unfree people among us, and many times they are oppressed by their own thoughts. Actually, people's thoughts are not important, what is important is God.

There is a sister among us whose original church had many prophets. There were many prophets in the church, and I don't know if they were true or false prophets. When they were worshiping in the church, the pastor's wife was playing the piano, and as a result, the pastor's wife had a headache, and the prophet began to see, "Where did the arrow come from?" Then he pointed, my goodness, pointing to this sister, "It was shot from above her head."

Their church is even more severe than the Cultural Revolution. When the prophet points a finger, you have to write a self-criticism and confess your sins and repent. You don't know what sins to confess, and you don't know what to repent of, just because the prophet pointed that way. Oh my, the sister was frightened. Later, when she came to our side, she was released for a while. When she returned home from church, her mother looked at her child's face. When she went out, it was pink, but when she came back, her face turned green.

I was wondering, what kind of church is this? This is a church that oppresses people. Actually, this situation is quite common in churches. If you ask me if we have it in our church, there really is a little bit. Some junior pastors, their airs are so big, in front of the people they shepherd, they are like emperors, so powerful. How scary is that? They say one thing and no one says another, and if it doesn't work, they will beat you up until you go to the Desert Spring. Fortunately, they didn't send you to the Sea of Bitterness, but to a Sweet Spring.

I think, can brothers and sisters have some wisdom? I don't blame him, why? Because that's all he's capable of. If he doesn't do this, what else can he do? He can only put on airs. You have to have the ability to not put on airs. If you don't have the ability, how can you put them on? If you don't put on airs, you can't do the work. Being oppressed, not being free, no matter what the reason is, I may not be able to finish talking about it. But, the fundamental reason is only one, that is, people don't know that God is in control, people don't trust God, and they don't know that people's lives on this earth are empty, so they live too realistically.

For example, a father and son, does the father love him? Yes, but that love is also a physical love. I received a message a few days ago that the father ran upstairs with a shoe to slap his child's face. The child was so scared that he locked the door in the room and prayed. Why? Actually, they both lost their freedom. The father lost his freedom, and the child lost his freedom. This family is controlled by demons. The reason is that the child doesn't do what he wants, and the child has his own ideas. Oh my goodness! Soap operas are staged every day. Recently, the news has suddenly popped up with a few Calabash Brothers who want to rob you of your inheritance. There are all kinds of things.

There are also those among us who pursue perfection. If it's not perfect, they are not satisfied, and they feel uncomfortable. If you pursue perfection, if you are really perfect, you still have to thank God. If it's not perfect, it won't work, but you can't achieve perfection, so you feel uncomfortable for no reason. I wonder, can't people live without feeling uncomfortable? When a person walks into the grave in this life, the tombstone is engraved with "Resurrection is in me, and life is also in me." When you erect a monument for yourself, it will be "Discomfort is in me, and discomfort is also in me." Oh, how uncomfortable, and then below is a lifetime of soap operas.

Brothers and sisters, in Jesus Christ, God has prepared extremely abundant grace for us, and we lack no good thing. You say: "Pastor, you say we lack no good thing, but I haven't seen it." It's normal that you haven't seen it. You are feeling uncomfortable every day, so where do you have time to see it? If you knew, I wouldn't have to say it. I am saying it now because you still don't know, you haven't seen it, you only see discomfort all day long.

Is there work in Jesus Christ? Yes. Is there bread? Yes. There is everything in Jesus Christ. I tell you, people have a small pursuit in this world, and that is to hope for financial freedom. Do you know that we are already financially free in Jesus Christ! You say: "No freedom." If you rely on money, your money will never be free; if you rely on God, do you believe that God will take care of you? From today until forever, God will supply everything you need in your life.

You say: "Really?" Of course it's true. Some time ago, a sister had a hard time finding a job. It is said that her family has been Christian for five generations. According to her level, I think it is a bit difficult to find a job, but God designed a job for her, isn't it good? Some time ago, she said: "Pastor, I found a job." I said: "How is the job?" She said: "The salary is very good, beyond what I asked for and thought." I said: "It turns out that God has prepared even the tithe for you."

Many years ago, a brother among us was looking for a job. He wanted one thousand eight, and the offer he got was two thousand, and later the contract came down to two thousand two. Do you think this is God or not? How did that two hundred come out? That two hundred was the tithe that God arranged for him. Brothers and sisters, I tell you, once you trust in money, you will be ruined, and that two hundred will be pocketed. Aren't you relying on money? Then you will eventually be unfree and oppressed.

I remind you again, and I remind myself, in Jesus Christ, no matter how much money you have, how much money is in your account, it is not important. What is important is that we are financially free. Do you believe it? Amen! Quickly amen! Amen means I believe, this is mine. People must know that God has prepared everything for us, for what? To let us be free, to let us be financially free first, to let us be healthy, free, and spiritually free.

People are like this now, their hearts are not free, and it is very uncomfortable to be unfree in their hearts. I think it is so foolish to lose freedom for money, for career, for family, for affection, for children, for social status, and for some moral concepts!

When we climb spiritual peaks, wanting to see a thousand miles further, we go to a higher level. When you go to a higher level, you can see more clearly. Our junior pastors are slowly beginning to have this feeling. As time goes by, your spiritual height becomes higher and higher, and a sentence will often come out of you, and the frequency is quite high. Why? When you stand on that spiritual peak and look down, they are all fools, silly, messing around at the bottom, just not climbing up.

It is very uncomfortable for people to believe in the Lord at a very low level. When people climb spiritual peaks and look down, don't blame me, I am not cursing anyone, I am just telling the truth, "Silly." "Oh, fool." It is very hard to be at a low spiritual level. You tell him, he can't listen. Pastors often find that the people below are arguing with you, because he has his own point of view, and his point of view is at a very low level, and then people live unfree, they just like to argue and like to feel uncomfortable.

We must understand that financial problems are resolved. Look, you are not short of work. If you cannot find a job, your prayers will surely lead you to one. That is how I believed in the Lord back then. Therefore, among us, there is a special grace in finding employment. Then, the issue of sickness is resolved. Now, we must address the issue of freedom.

A person is controlled by what they value, loses freedom in that area, and is prone to emotional outbursts there. Have you noticed how, when people lose emotional control, their eyes widen, and the muscles around their mouths tighten? Older individuals develop fine lines on their upper lips. It is quite interesting. Why so agitated? Because their spiritual level is too low, they easily lose emotional control.

The easier you are to lose emotional control, the more foolish you are. The easier you are to lose emotional control, the more you are deprived of freedom and controlled by something. If a child does not perform well in school, anger flares up. This is a common situation among us. Before an exam, you might say, "If you rank in the top fifteen, I will buy you a 3D bicycle, a 3D tricycle." But if the child ranks thirteenth and later angers you, you might say in a fit of emotion, "You are getting nothing, no 3D, you might as well have dirt." That is emotion.

A person is controlled by what they love, loses freedom in that area, and their emotions are led by something. That is why unrequited love is so painful, and others cannot understand it. Slavery has been abolished, but the slavery in our hearts still exists. If a person believes in the Lord without knowing what they believe in, without knowing that in Jesus Christ, there is no lack, without knowing that God is eternally in control, it is simply a tragedy.

Brothers and sisters, work must no longer control us; life must no longer control me; abilities must no longer control us; and esteemed positions must no longer control us. If you want to live well, you must have wisdom. Today, we are discussing the sixth part of "Sharing the Benefits of the Gospel," which is "Gaining Freedom." It is hoped that you can have a clearer understanding of "gaining freedom."

Scripture

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. (Galatians 5:13-15)

Prayer

God! Perform this miraculous work in us today. Let us know what is the hope of your calling in you. Today, we are called to freedom before you. Give us wisdom today, so that we may know that the corruption of lust can cause us to lose freedom.

God, give us wisdom today, so that we may know how to love our neighbours as ourselves; let us know how not to seek our own interests; let us know how to serve with love, how to obey the Holy Spirit, and not indulge in lust. God, give us such wisdom today, so that we can live out your glorious image, live out your free image, in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen!

Scripture Background

Why did Paul write in Galatians chapter 5, saying: You were called to freedom? Why? Because the Galatians, as they believed in the Lord, ended up believing in selfishness. I can tell you, Christian faith can easily lead to selfishness. You hear people say, "Oh, I believe in Jesus, and I can go to heaven when I die." Believing in Jesus is just for that little bit, all selfishness. Then you say: Teacher, aren't you talking about getting the benefits of the gospel? Isn't that selfish? It would be good if selfishness could get the benefits of the gospel, but how can selfish people get the benefits of the gospel? It is impossible.

Once a person is selfish, they are easily deceived. Someone comes along and says: You need to have a small operation on your male genitalia, and there are many benefits to it. He says circumcision is an operation, but why are there so many benefits? He is actually unclear, because the law does indeed write it that way. I tell you, people are like this, they would rather believe it exists than believe it does not. Why? They are afraid of losing something.

You had this surgery, and as a result, this leaven spread in the church. What happened? After the Sunday service, groups of three or five went to the coffee shop or hawker centre downstairs and said to the brother next to them, "Do you know? I had an operation." "What kind of operation did you have?" "I had a circumcision." "You did? Oh, I didn't have it."

Do you see everyone's logic? It is that you have it, and I don't, that won't do. If you enter the palace, you had an operation, and I didn't, that won't do, I have to have it too. That is called castrating pigs, having sterilization surgery. If you have sterilization, I have to have it too. It is that you have it, and I can't be without it. But whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, everyone doesn't care, they just compete for everything. You get double eyelids, I get triple eyelids; you get triple eyelids, I get quadruple eyelids. You might as well just get pleated eyelids.

This selfish way of believing in the Lord, competing, jealousy, and strife, is everywhere in the church. In our church, dealing with this kind of problem has made me sick to death. You say: Do we have it too? Where there are people, how can there not be. I want to tell everyone that selfishness is a problem that a person can never solve from the time they were created until now.

Why can't the communal pot be eaten? Because everyone is selfish. One monk carries water to drink, two monks carry water together, three monks have no water to drink. The church is exactly the same. I thought, what to do? Later, I discovered that people especially love themselves, to the point that they lose their freedom. People do not love freedom, people love themselves, and their hearts become slaves, competing for everything, and then people start to bite and devour each other, destroying each other.

Why? Everyone thinks they are right. Actually, with your spiritual level, I think you should forget it, don't insist on yourself, don't think you have the truth. The Christians I have met all think they have the truth. Do you find it strange? They haven't read the entire Bible, and they still think they have the truth.

"Pastor, I have already made a decision to believe in the Lord." Making a decision to believe in the Lord is nothing! I said that a bit roughly. I said: You make a decision to believe in the Lord, what does that count for? The person looked at me and said: What do you mean? I said: What do you believe in Jesus for? I can't see any resemblance to Jesus in you. People are like this, they all think they are right. Later, I learned a lesson, everyone is like this, I can't be like this, if I am like this, wouldn't I be stupid? I feel like I haven't done this right, and I haven't done that right either.

The Galatians, after doing this, felt that circumcision was so good! Paul didn't want to. Paul said: If I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? If so, then the offensive nature of the cross has been removed. I wish those who are disturbing you would cut off their own genitals. Then you say, does Paul mean that circumcision is nothing? But if I say that, someone will pick on me again, why do you speak so roughly? The words are rough, but the principle is not. It really is the case, what does it count for?

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. (Galatians 5:13-15)

Why? Because receiving circumcision actually represents a person's degree of selfishness, just for themselves. That is not building the church, nor is it pushing people into their Mingding Doctrine, nor is it pushing people into freedom, it is pushing people into indulging in lust. Because they feel that doing a small operation solves the problem, but the slavery in their hearts is still there. In their hearts, they are still slaves, they feel they have to do something, and they put on the yoke of slavery again. Christ has freed us for freedom; therefore stand firm, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

So, what causes people to lose freedom in the church is believing a lie. What causes people to lose freedom in the church is craving empty fame, provoking one another, and envying one another. For example, who stands in the centre position? The choir wears white robes, white hats, and holds hymn books, with a conductor in front. How many people want to sit in the conductor's position? There are many. The lead singers and backing singers, some are far from the microphone, some are close to the microphone, and there is a lot of arguing. Actually, no one is watching, what is there to see?

In this way, they bite and devour each other, and finally the church is filled with sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, filled with the lusts of the flesh, craving empty fame, provoking one another, and envying one another, doing these things. Anyway, the things in the church are quite interesting.

Before, in the physical church, it was especially interesting. Some people were afraid of the cold, so they had to sit in a place where the air conditioning was blowing, and then complained that the air conditioning was too cold; those who were afraid of the heat had to sit in a place where the air conditioning couldn't reach, and then complained that the temperature was too hot. The people who adjust the air conditioning in the church are too tired. I found it very strange, why don't you just find a warmer place to sit? Or find a cool place where the air conditioning is blowing hard. No, they have to do it the hard way. Why? Their brains are broken. Someone typed that there is also fighting for the microphone.

Brothers and sisters, you must know that when a person is controlled by the yoke of slavery, they feel that being close to the microphone is better, and not being close to the microphone is not good. So, believing in the Lord to the point of losing freedom is also the case among us. I must remind everyone again, don't insist, after insisting, you will become a fool.

You say: I can't help but insist, he is obviously doing something wrong. Hey! There are many people who do right and wrong, the sky hasn't fallen, and our God is still in control. If you are Joseph, even if you are sold into Egypt, it cannot corrupt you. It is not a question of right and wrong, it is a question of whether God is in control or not.

So, I think the background of this scripture is that people easily crave something, and as a result, they lose their freedom. Whether in this secular world or in the church, if people's brains don't work well, if people crave something, crave something empty, it is actually meaningless, and as a result, people lose their freedom. When people lose their freedom, they put on the yoke of slavery. Who is behind that? The devil comes. Then the Galatians have sick people and dead people. Corinth and Galatia are all like this.

The Foundation of Gaining Freedom: The Lord Jesus Controls Everything

This person, he just doesn't believe in God. He doesn't believe in God, doesn't know that God controls everything, so he loses his freedom. The foundation of gaining freedom is that you believe God will not make mistakes; you can even believe that the devil will not make mistakes; but you cannot believe that you will not make mistakes. God will not make mistakes, the devil will not make mistakes, it is we who make mistakes.

I must tell you, the Lord Jesus controls everything! The Lord Jesus gave us a demonstration, he was crucified by the Jews. Even being crucified, can that be right? That is not right, but it is right. Why? Because that is how God works. The Lord Jesus rose from the dead, proving with great power that he is the Son of God.

The Bible says that we lack no good thing, but do you believe it? Many people don't believe it; God prepares everything for us, do you believe it? You may not seem to believe it. God wants to release us to gain freedom, how does he release us to gain freedom? If our wealth cannot be free, how can we be free? I tell you, Jesus Christ is powerful, he can really release us and free us from finances.

Some people do not believe in the Lord properly, nor do they build the church properly, and then they build a club according to their own ideas. That place has no God, only demons, and no problem can be solved. So, if we please God and build God's glorious church according to God's word, lacking no good thing in Jesus Christ, you can see this with your own eyes.

It is not about saying I have the ability to find a job. When I am destitute, God provides me with a job; that is truly a miracle. So, from the time I believed in the Lord until we built the church, we have never lacked miracles of finding jobs. It is not because of your strong abilities, but because God is truly powerful. Among us, these people who love God sometimes do not seem to have much ability, but God gives them a good job. Why? God wants us to have faith in Him.

When the Israelites left Egypt, did they starve in the wilderness for forty years? No, they ate manna from heaven for forty years in the wilderness. Did they work? No. Did they farm? No. Where did the food come from? It came from God. Our Lord Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. You say, "Is that real?" It is real. Never mind if you eat manna every day, and the air you breathe smells like manna, and even your farts smell like manna. It does not matter; your stomach is full, and you are not hungry. Your clothes are not worn out. So, everyone must know that God provides everything for people to live. Do you believe that?

The foundation of freedom is that the Lord Jesus is in control of everything! Our Lord Jesus is in control of everything! You must know that something is not right, but God makes it not right. What does it have to do with you? If you want to make it right, you are wrong with God. So, when you find a job, thank God. Originally, God's will was like this.

Sometimes I hear people say, "Oh, the unemployment rate here is 10%." I say, "Even if the unemployment rate is 20%, God can tailor a job for you, no problem." You say, "Pastor, my past resume shows that I changed jobs every six months. People get annoyed after reading it." That cannot stop God from helping you. People will just take a liking to you. You do not know why, but God knows. God just wants to give you a job so that you can remove all worries.

I am telling you, God is truly powerful! He blinds those people and makes them hire you. But I think God is pretty good. We have to say it from our perspective. God is really good. None of us will go hungry. We will definitely have food to eat. God has prepared everything for us. Why? Because Christ has set us free, teaching us to be free. What does that mean? Financial freedom, health freedom. How attractive does that sound? If people hear this and do not believe, then so be it. But what we believe, we will obtain.

Financial freedom, health freedom, spiritual freedom, how wonderful! Do not make yourselves suffer for no reason. People always feel like they have to do something, and that is when things go wrong. I remind everyone again, never, ever think that your actions will perfect God's work. Never come before God and say, "God, let me help you with something." God will just say to you, "Cut it out. Help yourself first." Christ has set us free. What is the freedom we have obtained? It is financial freedom, health freedom, and spiritual freedom. We mainly talk about spiritual freedom.

The Root of Losing Freedom: Loving Yourself Too Much

If a person loves himself too much, it will manifest in strange phenomena. For example, if you marry a husband, you start to feel that your husband is yours. Your husband is out there flirting and picking wildflowers by the roadside. You think you are a domestic flower, and then the domestic flower and the wildflower start fighting. Why? You think your husband is yours. Is that really the case? Your husband's heart is not yours; it is his own. Why do you feel that your husband is yours? Because you love yourself very much, and you want to control him.

There was a sister whose husband locked the door and was messing around with another woman at home. She waited outside the door. When her husband came out of the house with another woman, she got angry and blinded herself. Can you imagine how stupid that is? Is there any meaning to it? I do not think there is any meaning to it.

In my words, what does it mean for two to become one? From day one, Adam and Eve never became one. What did the two of them do? They started arguing and bickering for a lifetime. Someone said, "Two become semiconductors." That is not bone of your bones and flesh of your flesh; that is a bone spur in your bone and a flesh thorn in your flesh, and you have lost your freedom.

Why are people so concerned? Because they think it is theirs. That is a selfish manifestation. People love themselves too much, care about themselves too much, and then a series of constraints and things that lead to loss of freedom arise. And you know what? People are selfish and say, "I am doing this for your own good." For whose good? That does not even make sense logically. After people love themselves too much, they are particularly considerate of themselves.

I used to pastor someone who loved himself very much. He came to my office smelling like buns. I said, "Where did you go?" He said, "I just pampered myself and ate Din Tai Fung's buns." I said, "Why did not you buy some for me?" He said, "Could I buy them for you? I am pampering myself. Can I pamper you?" He loves himself too much, eats so much meat, and still keeps eating.

From the creation of man until this era, selfishness is impossible to kill. People love themselves. You will not put the property under my name in someone else's name. This is a very strange phenomenon. Where does private ownership come from? It comes from the Bible, which divides the land to each person, which is yours and which is mine. Once you own it, things go wrong, and people fall into the pit of selfishness.

People fall into this pit of selfishness, and then they covet other people's vineyards, other people's children, other people's wives. They always feel that other people's things are better. Why? Because they love themselves too much inside, and selfishness is activated. Once you indulge the flesh, you are not free. So, people cannot use freedom as an excuse to indulge in the lusts of the flesh. Why? Because when people indulge in the lusts of the flesh, they are not free.

People love themselves too much, and then they are particularly insistent on themselves, even to the point of loving themselves to what extent? They insist on their own views, and then they bite and devour each other. They do not know that God is in control. They think that if they are right or wrong, what will happen? They just do not know that sometimes God lets them make things wrong, and that is right.

I am especially grateful to God! I am quite surprised. How can I have such wisdom? Like me, I am not anxious. I will not lose my freedom in order to pastor someone. Of course, there are times when that reckless energy comes up, and I quickly deal with it. The Bible teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Why? Because you love yourself too much. Can you love others as you love yourself? If you love others as you love yourself, you will have freedom.

The Lesson of Gaining Freedom: Learning to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

People who want to be free are especially powerful and do not seek their own preparation. It is difficult to control such people because they do not seek their own benefit. For example, if I serve you, I seek your benefit, and you also seek your own benefit. We have no conflict. Our goals are very consistent. You love yourself very much, and I also love you very much. You want to benefit, and I also want you to benefit. We have no problem.

But the problem comes when you do not love your neighbor as yourself. Then, when we compare, you are more uncomfortable than me. I seek the benefit of others, and I am not hurt if they do not want it. If I seek my own benefit and do not get it, I am hurt, and I am uncomfortable. If you live your life like this, and some people always seek the benefit of others, they will be comfortable and free for a lifetime. But if you seek your own benefit for a lifetime and then do not get it, you will be uncomfortable and emotionally out of control for a lifetime. I have many cases of serving like this.

A sister said, "Pastor, look, she already feels very sorry for you. Please do not say anything more to her." She feels sorry for me, so she gets angry with me? How do I feel that she feels sorry for me, so she gets angry with me? But she cannot say that. She can only euphemistically say, "Pastor, I am always so sorry for you." Her words are always twisted. Later, I pointed it out to her, "You are uncomfortable because you feel that I am sorry for you. If you felt that you were sorry for me, could you argue with me if I said a few words to you?"

So, brothers and sisters, start to understand a key point. When you are serving, you will find that learning to love your neighbor as yourself is a lesson in gaining freedom. People are always seeking their own things, such as wanting to prove their own views, wanting to prove something. In the end, they will definitely be controlled. People become stupid when they seek their own things. When people love themselves too much, they become stupid. People's emotions are out of control because they want to get something but do not get it. You want to get praise from others, but you do not get praise from others, and you feel uncomfortable in your heart. Is that the case?

I may not be able to finish talking about all the concepts of freedom, but these are the few points I have sorted out. The first point is that the foundation of freedom is that the Lord Jesus is in control of everything. The second point is that the root of losing freedom is loving yourself too much. The third point is that the lesson of gaining freedom is learning to love your neighbor as yourself. I am telling you, when you look at depression, cancer, and other conditions, the reason is definitely loving yourself too much.

The Bible says, "You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

The Degree of Spiritual Height Determines the Degree of Freedom

The degree of spiritual height determines the degree of freedom. Why? Because in this life, people cannot be free at a very low level of spiritual height. Why? Because your understanding is not clear. People whose understanding is not clear do not know what is beneficial to them and what is harmful to them. The degree of spiritual height determines the degree of freedom.

Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." Look at this spiritual height. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Can he not be free? He must be very free. If you read Paul's letters carefully, you will find that his spiritual height is very high. But when you read 1 Peter and 2 Peter, you feel that the spiritual height is a bit low.

How do we gain freedom? I encourage everyone to put in some effort to recognize the truth, to be filled with the knowledge of God in understanding, and to have sufficient faith in understanding. You experience God once, and then you have faith. After a while, the faith is gone again. Next time a crisis comes, you experience God again, and then after the crisis passes, you start walking the old path in new shoes again. Why? Because your understanding is not clear, and the stubbornness in people's minds is too strong.

Then there is the soap opera, and you do not know how many episodes have been filmed. A wave of soap opera comes, you cry out to God once, you experience God once, and then you forget God again, and then there is the second episode, the third episode. There is a Taiwanese TV series that seems to have filmed more than three hundred episodes. Oh my goodness, you just watch it. You watched it more than ten years ago, and it is still that TV series more than ten years later. I think that climbing to spiritual heights cannot be done by spinning around in the same place.

A pastor said to me, "Pastor, I want to force him to write a testimony so that he does not forget it later. Last time he had cancer, and God healed him. But he said, 'I have never had cancer.'" Our understanding of these things is completely unexpected.

Brothers and sisters, when you climb to the spiritual peak, your spiritual height is the continuous improvement of your knowledge of God's truth, and your degree of freedom will become higher and higher. Why? Because lies have no working space in you. Lies are no longer in you.

Conclusion

We must start to gain freedom because it is uncomfortable to be unfree. We must break down all kinds of fears, all kinds of worries, all kinds of anxieties, all kinds of discomforts, and even all kinds of insistence. If you want to insist, insist on one thing: insist on climbing to the spiritual peak, and you will live out God's freedom. That feeling of freedom inside you is especially good.

Sometimes I do not know how to describe it to everyone. I do not know how to describe it in English, and I do not know how to describe it in Mandarin. That feeling of freedom is especially good. To put it simply, it is just very good. My language ability is relatively poor. I can only tell you that. May everyone have the courage to grow well in Jesus Christ and gain freedom.

May God bless everyone! Amen!