Introduction

My friends, today we embark on the fourth lecture of our series on Wisdom, Folly, and Madness. Let me make one thing clear: every single lecture in this series is a rigorous research paper. It is pure, unadulterated substance. When I prepared the first lecture, I scratched my head, wondering how to approach it. I spent an entire week doing hard research. No sooner had I finished the first than I had to face the second. Again, I scratched my head, dug deep, and produced another research paper. The third lecture was the same, and now, here we are at the fourth.

This is a serious matter. I never serve you leftovers. I do not recycle old material because my passion lies in original research. Granted, the pressure starts building up on Monday, rises steadily through Saturday until I feel my head is about to explode, but by Sunday, once the message is delivered and delivered well, I pat myself on the back. Although it is the product of just one week’s intense research, I am highly satisfied with this standard. Thanks be to God.

Our topic for this fourth lecture is: "A wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment." The most critical asset a person can have in this life is wisdom—the wisdom to get things done. Look at the World Cup. A team charges forward, only to be knocked out in the group stage. How are they received when they return home? They go back to playing local matches, but their performance was so dismal that they return in utter disgrace.

Then comes the reflection. It is a painful, agonizing process. How can anyone enjoy that? They have no face to meet their fellow countrymen. A football team drawn from a population of 1.4 billion people cannot even beat a team from a nation of 500,000. It is indefensible. Therefore, you must deliver results. I do not believe a person can find joy in failure, nor do I believe failure is inconsequential. It is highly consequential.

You must understand the underlying principles of how things work. It is not just about a single principle; it is about understanding the entire process from the beginning, through the middle, to the very end. If you fail at any single stage, the entire enterprise collapses. Take rocket reclamation, for example. Why do we reclaim rockets? Because traveling from the ground to an altitude of fifty to a hundred kilometers requires a massive, incredibly expensive rocket.

If we can reclaim it, the cost of space travel drops significantly. But these machines are highly complex and packed with fuel. If the reclamation fails, the rocket explodes. Every single step prior to launch must be executed flawlessly, and reclamation—the final step—must also be perfect. Every stage requires its own rigorous research and development.

Think about it. Is this not how life works? When your child is a few months old, you must study how to care for an infant. When they turn ten, you adapt. In their teens, you adapt again. In their twenties, you adapt further. If your child is in their twenties and still acting cute like an eight-year-old, who wants to see that? It is repulsive. Therefore, to navigate life, one must discern time and judgment. You must get things done, and you cannot afford to make blunders at any stage. If you fail to get things done, what then?

Consider the consequences of failure. When the great generals of the Han Dynasty, Huo Qubing and Wei Qing, went to war for Emperor Wu, what happened if Wei Qing suffered a defeat? He had to return, dejected, having lost men and territory, and explain himself to the Emperor. In any dynasty, if Yue Fei went out to fight the Jin invaders and lost, he would return in disgrace.

If you are the only one who made it back while everyone else was captured, how do you explain that to the Emperor? I tell you, the entire journey back would be spent fabricating lies and figuring out how to pass the blame. It is exhausting. Failure in any endeavor is a tragedy. Of course, if you lose a casual game of cards, it is no big deal.

But you cannot run projects or fight wars with that casual attitude. If you ruin a project, leave it half-finished, lose a battle, lose a match, collapse a business, or ruin your own life, what do you do? There is only one reason for such failures: the inability to discern time and judgment. Such people are single-mindedly obsessed with "being themselves." They say, "I don't agree with this, and I don't agree with that."

What exactly do you agree with then? Do you agree with being a failure? Living life successfully is a skill that must be learned. It is not about "being yourself." Your raw, uneducated self is useless; you were born knowing nothing. Therefore, you must learn how to live, and you must learn how to work. That is what we call wisdom.

If you fail and report to your boss, you have to spin lies. Eventually, your lies unravel, your boss loses his temper, and you end up miserable. Take my employees, for instance. If they lack competence and try to bluff their way through, they will never succeed with me.

Why? Because I study my subordinates. I make it my business to know how to be a boss who cannot be deceived. But this is demanding work. If you make a mistake, I will certainly discipline you. Do not think that sloppy, sluggish work carries no consequences. It makes life miserable for everyone.

In this life, if you want to enjoy your labor and its fruits, you cannot do so without wisdom. What is wisdom? It is the ability to discern time and judgment. Some people tell me, "Pastor, I have seen through it all." I ask them, "What have you seen through?" They reply, "I have seen through life and death." Well, so have I. But the difference is that you constantly fail in your endeavors, whereas I rarely do.

Discerning time and judgment has been the lifelong pursuit of my life, though I still have room for improvement. In this pursuit, I have paid my dues, made mistakes, and occasionally been deceived. But I will never allow myself to be deceived repeatedly.

There is joy in getting things done. What joy is there in failure? Failure only breeds the desire to shift blame and fabricate excuses. Therefore, to discern time and judgment means to learn. What have you been learning? What have you been doing with your time? Watching television dramas, episode after episode? When you finish, what have you actually gained? Nothing but cheap entertainment.

There is nothing new under the sun. Living requires learning. You must understand the times and judgments of human existence. Primary school, secondary school, university, and career—all of these are phases of learning. If a person works blindly, putting immense effort into inefficient and sluggish methods, they will inevitably run out of time.

Such people are not even qualified to claim they have "seen through" life. Their version of "seeing through" is entirely different from the enlightened perspective of the wise. They simply resign themselves to failure, saying, "Well, we all die anyway. If I fail, so be it. If I am in debt, so be it." They refuse to learn or reflect. I have a name for this attitude: the "dead pig" mentality—a dead pig does not fear boiling water.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must recalibrate. This is no way to live. Jesus Christ has died, He has risen, and He is coming again. Do you think that when He returns, you will have nothing to do? Do you think you can just idle away? I tell you, when He returns, He will say to the good and faithful servant, "Take charge of this city."

To manage a city means you are the chief administrator, the top leader. Can you manage it well? When Jesus comes, He will entrust you with one city, five cities, or ten cities. Do you think you will just be drifting along? Absolutely not. When Jesus comes, He will also operate on the principle of discerning time and judgment. He does not tolerate mindless indulgence. If you spend your life in mindless eating, drinking, and playing, when you stand before Him and say, "Lord, I am here," He will say, "Depart from Me, you wicked servant."

Just yesterday, we ministered to a woman in her mid-thirties. Her life has been an absolute mess. She had no job, so she came to Singapore to find work. An old acquaintance tried to help her, but it turned into an agonizing ordeal. When we shared Christ with her, she said, "I don't agree with this." I asked, "What do you agree with then?" She replied, "I don't know, but I feel what you are saying is brainwashing."

We are brainwashing her? Her mind is clogged with dirt and has never been washed. We simply wanted her to be blessed. She found a job paying nine hundred dollars. What can nine hundred dollars do in Singapore? It is barely enough for food. Later, her salary increased to fifteen hundred, but she resigned. With little money left, she went to Japan.

Eventually, she realized Japan was not for her either, so she returned to her hometown in Fujian. After idling away several years there, her relationship with her mother became highly strained. Seeing her daughter as a burden, the mother grew anxious and suggested she find a wealthy man to marry.

But she rejected a suitor because he was bald. If a man has wisdom, what does baldness matter? She complained about his lack of hair, but what use is a full head of hair if the mind is empty? In the end, she resolved nothing. She cannot distinguish good from bad, and she harbors the deepest resentment toward her mother. Her path is becoming narrower because she despises the very person who cares for her most. She has lost all discernment.

When people live entirely within their own narrow, selfish worlds, insisting on "being themselves," suffering will inevitably crush them. Suffering does not spare such people. The more you persist in this way, the more your suffering multiplies, weighing heavily upon you because you lack wisdom.

People often say, "Be yourself." What kind of logic is that? If we were followers of Guiguzi, we would study his teachings. If we followed Huang Shigong, we would study his. Today, we follow Jesus Christ, so we must learn from Him.

Do not mix Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism into a confused mess. It leads to nothing. Suffering will weigh heavily upon you, your health will fail, your mind will deteriorate, and you will end up ruined.

A person’s suffering is almost always self-inflicted. Sometimes, I look at such individuals and ask God, "Why are they like this? Why does life treat them this way?" To those in their fifties, I say: this is the path you chose to walk.

If you did not manage your life well in your childhood, your teens, your twenties, your thirties, and your forties, you will inevitably end up in this state in your fifties and sixties, saddled with debt. What is that if not sheer foolishness?

Brothers and sisters, reflect on this. Some people live miserable lives simply because they know nothing. They have never discerned anything; they have merely "been themselves," showcasing their own foolishness. Therefore, one must spend a lifetime learning to discern time and judgment. We teach you the 101 Course to provide a logical framework. We have you study Genesis not for my benefit, nor as a mere chore.

Some of you disagree with certain viewpoints. Frankly, you are not qualified to disagree. Genesis was written by Moses, and the words of Jesus do not require your endorsement. Human folly is profound. We must learn. Look at those who emulate Jesus Christ; not one of them is put to shame. As we read the Scriptures, we see that a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment. You must not be arrogant; arrogance is the undoing of man. Disagreeing with the teachings of Jesus is a clear manifestation of arrogance.

Stop trying to "be yourself." You say, "I like this, I prefer that." Your personal preferences are useless. If I lived according to my own preferences, I would be ruined. Personally, I have no desire to spend my days ministering to people; it is exhausting. But I act according to the will of God, not my own.

Spend your life learning to get things done. Do not shrink your sphere of responsibility; expand it. As your understanding of things deepens and broadens, your work will become effortless. You will be able to move great weights with minimal effort.

Therefore, excel in your current tasks. Study them thoroughly. If you say, "I am very busy because our system is going live," then master that system. If you are an online influencer, master the mechanics of that trade. This is what it means to discern time and judgment. Brothers and sisters, do not be foolish. Do not live merely by your own whims. If you insist on "being yourself," then my only response to you is: go play elsewhere.

Scripture

He who keeps a royal command will experience nothing harmful; and a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment, because for every matter there is a time and judgment, though the misery of man increases greatly. (Ecclesiastes 8:5-6)

Prayer

Father, open our minds. Utterly demolish the folly within us and remove our ignorance. Make us sensible and wise. Lord, open our understanding so that we may comprehend the explanation of things and the principles by which they occur.

Lord, teach us to obey Your commands so that we may experience no harm. Deliver us from heavy burdens and enable us to discern time and judgment. Make us wise, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Background of the Scripture

Solomon began the Book of Ecclesiastes with a powerful statement: "Vanity of vanities." However, many who read this conclude that since everything is vanity, they should do nothing at all. That is a misunderstanding. By the eighth chapter, Solomon is still exploring the theme of wisdom.

He asks, "Who is like a wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing?" This is crucial. Every event has an underlying principle. Thus, he wrote this short discourse in Ecclesiastes Chapter 8. Who is like the wise? Is a passive, idle person wise? No, that is simply the "dead pig" mentality.

The Mingding Doctrine: Discerning the Times and the Laws

That is not a wise man. Who knows the explanation of things? That is, can you explain this matter clearly and logically? Let me tell you, the projects Solomon undertook were massive. Building the Temple, constructing palaces, managing the inner and outer courts, and governing the entire nation—whether it was a project or an engineering feat, he understood and executed them with absolute clarity.

Consider this: when Solomon discussed the blueprints with David, they had not even reached the stage of craftsmanship. They were merely grasping what the blueprints represented. He did not begin building the Temple until his fourth year. For the first three years, he was first preparing materials, and second, thoroughly mastering the underlying principles. Not only that, he had to research various methods of transportation. I tell you, Solomon conducted extensive research; he understood the times and the laws.

Thus, he was able to govern the nation’s politics, economy, and culture. The building of a strong nation, in every detail, came from Solomon’s wisdom. It was a top-down project. If the leader does not want to do it, it is useless for the subordinates to want to. Solomon was a man filled with wisdom. The wisdom he possessed was the practical kind that gets things done. The Temple was built, the palaces were completed, the nation became the most powerful, and relations with surrounding countries were managed with absolute clarity.

It was not managed in a pathetic, incompetent manner. Then he wrote about this, saying, "Who is like the wise man?" Now look at yourselves: who among you has any wisdom? Do you know the explanation of things? I tell you, the king he wrote about was himself.

"I say, Keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him." (Ecclesiastes 8:2)

These words are of critical importance. Solomon was saying, "Hey, young man, standing before me, do not think that just because you hold a high rank of the first, second, or third order, I cannot make you suffer. If I want you to suffer, you will surely suffer. If I want disaster to befall you and heavy pressure to weigh upon you, I tell you, I can do it with my little finger." Therefore, Solomon advised people to keep the king's commandment. This is about relationships. I tell you, a wise person must understand relationships.

One's relationship with authority is paramount. You must remember: if you fail to manage your relationship with those above you, you will surely ruin yourself. If you judge good and evil in your relationship with authority, you are finished. Because he is above you. The fact that he sits above you means something. Perhaps occasionally a foolish person sits in authority, but that probability is small.

To sit in that position, to have climbed up there, he must be quite capable. Especially with Solomon—what are you little ones trying to argue with me for? Why are you getting so worked up? Do you truly understand the explanation of things? This is exactly what Solomon was writing about.

Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing. When a command is given to you, you must study it thoroughly. I have a personal rule: I will never assign a task to others that I myself do not understand. If I assign a task I do not understand, I will tell them clearly, "Let us explore what this is; do not just produce something blindly for me."

If I give you an exploratory project, and you try to rush to produce some arbitrary result to show me, you have missed the point. You have not kept the commandment. Therefore, he who keeps the commandment will experience no harm. Some people, however, when told to go east, they go west; when told to chase the dog, they catch the chicken. They always alter the instructions and fail to keep the commandment, and then they get reprimanded.

Your work is given to you by your superior; you must understand clearly what that work is. I tell you, some people are most adept at fighting against their bosses. Some fools fight their bosses with the greatest vigor—they are absolute fools. Out in the field, they cannot expand the market; in project management, they cannot handle clients; but when they return home, they fight their bosses with immense arrogance. There are many such people.

Solomon said that a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment (laws), because to every purpose there is time and judgment. You must know the laws. For a task to succeed, it can never be achieved through blind action. Solomon knew very well that blind action leads to failure. Solomon was a man who strictly kept and followed God’s word. If God said to build the Temple in a certain way, he did it exactly that way, putting all his effort into researching how God wanted it built.

For instance, dealing with massive timber, huge stones, gold, and bronze was no easy task. But because God commanded it, Solomon believed it could be done and went to research it. Some fools would come before Solomon and say, "Boss, it cannot be done, it cannot be done." What foolishness! The king is not asking you to do the impossible; he is asking you to study what King Solomon wants you to do, and then figure out how to do it. Research it thoroughly.

Sometimes I like to do this: I ask, "How long will this task take you?" "Two weeks." I say, "Why two weeks? One week." Ah, bargaining so fiercely and quickly is a sure sign they have not used their brains. Therefore, one must learn to discern the times and the laws. To have no understanding of things is a tragedy; it will surely bring misery, without a doubt.

If one cannot discern the times and the laws, he will not know what is to come. He will not know the next step, or the step after that, in the progression of things. Furthermore, man does not know his time of death. If you live your life constantly fighting against God, you will certainly not know your end.

There was a young man who suffered from a severe skin disease. He came to us, we prayed with him, and his skin disease was healed. After he was healed, for some unknown reason, his small-group leader offended him. Once offended, his temper flared, and he declared, "I will no longer tithe." In truth, the church does not become poor without his tithes; indeed, if we actually accepted his tithes, it would feel somewhat unclean.

Then he became negligent in prayer and Bible study. Frankly speaking, in my view, he should not have been allowed to stay until that point; we should have told him to leave much earlier. Our leaders must be careful: once a person reaches this stage of judging good and evil, stop praying for them. Let them go. We cannot handle them. Let them find a temple or a mega-church; our place is not suitable for them. Let them roam the wide seas and fly the high skies.

As a result, he is now in the hospital with a cerebral hemorrhage. When you hear this, do not say I am trying to frighten you. I am not. I am saying that if a person does not understand the laws of things, and does not know the times and the laws, he will not know the future. If a man knew that his actions would lead to a cerebral hemorrhage, would he dare to act this way? He would not.

If a person knew that a path led to misery, would he walk down it? Tell me, brothers and sisters, if you knew for certain that driving a certain way would cause a car accident, would you do it? If you knew that going to a certain place would end miserably, would you go? No. It is because man does not know the future, because he does not know the times and the laws. Therefore, we must look at the trends of things. There are laws to living.

Solomon researched extensively and concluded that the law of living is to fear God, to enjoy life, to discern the times and the laws, to get things done, and then to enjoy the fruit of one's labor. It is not about making a mess of things and then expecting to enjoy the fruit of your labor. You cannot.

For example, we study theology deeply, yet we have only scratched the surface of knowing God. Because we are constantly growing and exploring, I thoroughly enjoy the church we have built today. I enjoy eating, drinking, and being merry.

"Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 8:15)

If you can live out this verse, you have truly understood life; you are indeed a wise person. If you have nothing to eat or drink, how can you be merry? Therefore, I tell you, the most important thing is to perceive the work of God. We must perceive the work of God not through worldly logic, but through spiritual logic.

I do not fear your foolishness, nor do I fear your ignorance. What I fear is that you do not know how powerful God is. God can certainly mold you into a person of understanding and wisdom. You must learn to perceive the work of God. Once you see it, you realize, "Oh, God favors this kind of person." Then you understand, and you resolve to be a person who pleases God. David pleased God so much, so I will be a person like David. As for who I am, that is of no importance.

Therefore, from a human perspective, you will always see things through a fog and never understand. Under the sun, you can never fully search out the work that God does. Only by perceiving the work of God do we realize how vital it is to discern the times and the laws. This is the wisdom Solomon discovered after all his research. It is about knowing the explanation of things, which means the wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment.

Who is like the wise man? And who knoweth the interpretation of a thing?

Brothers and sisters, you must know that a wise person is always able to explain things clearly and logically. This is what we call wisdom. I thank God. When I first started working in customer service, I mastered the job completely. I knew exactly how to converse with customers.

Sometimes, even when a problem was not resolved, the customers still liked me. It was not that the problem was unsolvable, but rather, "Let it be for now." I would say, "Professor, give me two days. If I can solve this, I will let you know; if I cannot, I will also let you know. I will go back and study your issue." How could they be unhappy with that?

Later, when I moved into management, the customer service in my department performed exceptionally well. How could they not, under my training? Later, when I went into networking, I mastered networking thoroughly. I managed servers and mastered server technology. I wrote software and understood software deeply—more deeply than most.

In management, I mastered management. Did I suffer? No, I did not. Of course, there were challenges, but I tell you, I did not suffer; I enjoyed life thoroughly. I lived comfortably every day, and later, I established the church. Therefore, knowing the explanation of things is all found in the books.

In my spare time, I read marketing management, human resource management, and financial management. I may not have mastered them all completely, but I acquired a vast amount of knowledge because I made sure I understood my current work thoroughly. You must be able to explain these things clearly. When you see a problem, you must be able to explain its root cause, and then set about solving it. Once solved, you can indeed explain it with absolute clarity.

When we first established the church, we could not explain clearly what the church was, nor what inner healing and deliverance were. We could not explain it well; we understood a little, yet we were still in the dark. Later, we kept exploring. By 2015, we wrote the 101 Course. Before that, our courses were copied from others, and I found them incoherent and illogical; they could not explain things.

Later, we developed the 201 Course, the Inner Healing and Deliverance Course, and the Bible Study Course. We explained everything clearly. If you listen to the audio on our website, the 103 Course on how to study the Bible is explained with absolute clarity. The 102 Course on how to perform inner healing and deliverance is also explained clearly. I am not speaking blindly. The 101, 102, and 103 Courses are our most fundamental courses for believers.

So, who knows the explanation of things? The wise man knows, and it takes great effort. I truly thank God. In the early days when I was building the church blindly and in confusion, would God have been justified in striking me down? Actually, He would have been. But I had a good attitude. I knew what I knew, I did not argue with God, and I believed that my God would surely lead me to build a glorious church, no matter how difficult it might be.

Therefore, the setbacks and hardships we experienced in the early days were because we could not discern the times and the laws; we could not explain things clearly. Our explanations were incoherent. Thus, we must strive to be wise. The early years were very difficult. Every battle was a breakthrough, and every breakthrough was won with tears. It was incredibly hard. It was only when the church began to triumph, taking territory and constantly expanding, that we arrived at what we see today.

So if you ask me, "What is this about?" I can explain it to you clearly. For instance, if someone has a trigger finger that cannot straighten, it is surely because they are argumentative. When a person argues, they argue with twisted logic; they love to make excuses but refuse to admit their own shortcomings.

Therefore, when there are physical ailments, I tell you, I understand: the more sicknesses there are in the body, the filthier the person's mind is. This applies to me as well—exactly the same. We are all sinners. Be careful with physical illnesses; do not let them accumulate. That is misery, not glory.

Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing

Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing. Solomon was a wise king. If you do not keep his commandment, and instead immediately say, "That cannot be done," Solomon will say, "Be gone." This is not how things are done. Then how should they be done? You should say, "King Solomon, you have commanded me to do this, but I do not quite understand it yet. No matter, give me some time to explore it, and I will return to report to the king."

Discern the Time and the Judgment

Solomon heard this and thought it was excellent—a spirit of inquiry. The Bible says, "He who seeks finds." Solomon might well have said, "If you truly do not understand, you can pray more." But if you had run into a Chinese emperor—that miserable wretch—he would have demanded, "When did you sneak into this team? Drag him out, execute him, and confiscate his property!" That would have been real trouble.

Therefore, when a man receives something, he must ponder it and understand the time and the judgment. This is the moment the King is assigning work to you. Of course, if I assign work to you, you can choose to be indifferent; it matters little to me, and I do not particularly care. But a man’s misery rises from working against his immediate boss.

For instance, when I worked at Huawei, who was my "Huawei"? Was it Ren Zhengfei? Ren Zhengfei did not even know me. Who then was my Huawei? My immediate boss was my Huawei. If I failed to maintain a good relationship with my immediate boss, trouble would abound, and life would be miserable. It is the easiest thing in the world for him to make my life difficult. Thus, my boss was my Huawei.

At most, my boss’s boss was also my Huawei—these were the people within my reach. If they wanted to make me unhappy, make me experience misery, or fire me, it took but a single word. As long as it conformed to HR regulations, I was finished; I would experience misery.

So, over the past years, I made sure to maintain excellent relations with both my boss and my boss’s boss. If I could make it good, I made it good. I wanted to solve problems for them. When their problems piled up, they would eventually come to me and say, "Come and help me solve this; here is your assignment." I would never say, "No, I cannot do it."

When my subordinates tell me, "No, this cannot be done," I say, "If you cannot do it, next week I will do it and show you. I have manpower. If you cannot do it, there are plenty of others who can." Therefore, he who keeps the command will experience no harm, because he who commands is higher than you; he is above you. You must be careful. This is a law; this is what we call the time and the judgment. If you cannot handle this, will you not suffer? If I want to make someone suffer, I have a thousand ways to do it.

The Wise Man’s Heart Discerns Time and Judgment

First, get your relationships right, then get the job done. In conducting oneself, one must discern the time and the judgment; it is the same in doing business—discern the time and the judgment. In fact, this is our main theme. "Time" is when you assign work to your subordinates, and "judgment" is how you apply the principles of dealing with your superiors to this specific matter. If you mix them up, you fail. The time and the judgment must align.

In primary school, study like a primary schooler, according to the time and judgment of primary school. In secondary school, follow the time and judgment of secondary school. In university, follow the university's time and judgment. Many of you have probably never got it right from primary school to university; you have just been mucking around. I encourage you: if you have been mucking around, put it right immediately.

For example, some brothers and sisters are extremely busy at work. When asked why they do not attend services, they give highly improper excuses. "What have you been busy with lately?" "Our system is going live." If a system is going live, do you understand the basic logic of the launch? This includes data entry and stabilization. Once the system is stable after the launch, it will not be so busy.

You might ask, "Pastor, if you teach this way, will people stop coming to services?" Frankly, my services do not desperately need crowd numbers. My goal is to train people to be smart and wise. I do not want my services to add chaos to people’s lives when they are genuinely busy. Of course, if a person is truly wise, he will certainly know: "I cannot miss the service; no matter how busy I am, I cannot miss it."

Because that pleases God, and I live by God. Why then should I stop you from coming to services? There is no need for me to do so. Therefore, brothers and sisters, discern the time and the judgment. Do not muck around. I hope you understand this.

Without Wisdom, Misery Weighs Heavily Upon Man

I tell you, much of this misery stems from a lack of understanding. Let me give you a few examples. If you are a pastor and you think you are making a great contribution to God, I tell you, misery will surely come upon you. If you do not view ministry as a grace, you might as well not minister at all.

If you think ministry is a great contribution, you do not understand God, nor do you know the time and the judgment; misery will surely follow. I once conducted a study on why cancer is so common among pastors. Cancer brings great suffering. The conclusion I reached shocked me: they believed they were helping God. They felt they were working very hard for God, serving Him under great strain, and sacrificing a great deal.

I find this very strange. When I serve God, though there are tears and sweat, I enjoy it thoroughly. Whatever I do, I treat it as scientific research. I do the research, and I find it wonderful. There are so many research topics ahead of me. After all my study, I conclude that ministry is pure grace.

I truly thank God for opening my mind. This is not a chore; it is a privilege. What a grace God has given me to serve Him! I remember when I got my very first job; I treasured it immensely. I had the lowest salary in the entire department. I dare not say I did the most work, but I worked the hardest.

Because that job was a grace—a grace given to me by God when I could not find employment elsewhere. So I did it well. As I worked, I realized a truth: if they had not given me this job, where would I have learned about the Internet? Where would I have learned about servers? Where would I have learned customer service? If I had tried to learn networking and server management at home, I could neither have managed it nor afforded it.

They provided me with an environment, and I had to grow. When they gave me a difficult problem, my colleagues would say, "It’s your turn again; here is the hot potato." But to me, the hot potato was not hot because I wore gloves. It was grace. My logic is different from that of ordinary people. Thus, before I turned forty, I became a senior executive in a university.

Was that not because they gave me a platform to grow? If I had dropped in by helicopter without knowing anything, how could I have done the job? I want you to treat your work as a grace. You must love your job, enjoy it, and use it to improve yourself and discern the time and the judgment.

With a high salary, I achieved financial freedom within a few years. With such a high salary, how could one not achieve financial freedom? Add some investments and rental income—if your rental income is high, will your life not be very comfortable? Because I am a problem solver. Without wisdom, misery weighs heavily upon man.

If you mess up a problem given to you, are you not in trouble? Therefore, a lack of wisdom is fatal; it leads to hard labor. If your work is miserable, you are in trouble. Remember, if you work hard but do not enjoy it, you are finished. Soon, illnesses will multiply.

Your mind will deteriorate, and your body will fail. Does this misery not weigh heavily upon you? I remind you again: a lack of wisdom is the root of many problems, and misery weighs heavily upon man. For me, serving God is a grace. What a grace that God should call me to serve Him!

Therefore, I enjoy it, I solve problems, and misery does not weigh heavily upon me. If you treat it as a chore, you are in trouble. Unless you view it as a grace, you are in dangerous territory. Many pastors may never understand, even unto death, why they got cancer despite working so hard.

This is a fundamental issue that must be corrected. If a man does not understand how the spirit of Mammon operates and thinks according to its logic, the depression of ten years ago will return, and misery will weigh heavily upon him again. You were delivered ten years ago, but if you have not changed today, those things will gradually return. Nothing comes without cause; misery does not come without cause, demons do not make mistakes, and God does not make mistakes. It will weigh heavily upon you.

When misery weighs upon us, what we need most is wisdom. We cannot keep sliding down, or we will slide straight into misery. To have a good environment and not cherish it, to blame others, or to make excuses for oneself—that is a tragedy.

We Must Have Spiritual Vision

We must have spiritual vision. What do you think? Have you learned anything? From a worldly perspective, many things seem like a loss. But with spiritual vision, you see that many things are actually a gain. Under the sun, if you want to study wisdom, you cannot do it using worldly concepts. If you study it from a fleshly, human, and worldly perspective, you are finished.

A sister came to me and said, "Pastor, my depression has returned, my insomnia is back, and whenever I cannot sleep, my heart races and I feel extremely irritable." I said, "I understand this all too well. When you had no money, you did not rely on money, and you were delivered. Now that you have money, you begin to rely on it. Does this not provoke God's anger?"

Let me tell you, where do demons come from? They are sent by God. You have not grown for many years; in fact, you have regressed. Therefore, depression returns to plague you. Let us first clear the rubbish from your mind. If the demon comes to plague you again, I tell you, if you want to change now, it is easy; God will heal you immediately. When you encounter this, come to me quickly, and I will lead you in prayer.

If things are well, repent quickly. Once God heals you, do not assume you have already changed; it is only the beginning. It is God’s grace. Then, quickly rid yourself of these bad habits and worldly logical systems. The next morning, she said, "Pastor, I slept so well last night!" Therefore, you must have spiritual vision. I am not asking you to work yourself to death until you become foolish; I am asking you to have spiritual vision.

From a worldly perspective, you will always be dizzy and confused. I am not asking you to carry heavy burdens, but to become wise and intelligent, discerning the time and the judgment. Let me remind you again: the amount of illness in your body corresponds to the amount of rubbish in your mind. It is not just your mind that has rubbish; mine does too.

Last week, I repented deeply. As I conduct research and know God, I discover my own foolishness and repent. Worldly things kill; the system of Mammon kills. Therefore, we must have spiritual vision. Remember, everything in this world has a spiritual root.

Enjoy the Good of Your Labor

If you can discern the time and the judgment, you will have far fewer illnesses, and your body will be much stronger. Sometimes, when there is rubbish in your mind, you think physical exercise can solve it. It cannot; the more you exercise, the worse it gets. The rubbish in your mind cannot be removed by exercise.

Of course, if you do not have much rubbish in your mind, exercise is perfectly fine and normal. The most important thing in a man's life is to enjoy the good of his labor. If you catch a wild pheasant on the mountain, and you do not wish to sell it, you pluck it, clean it, and wonder: should I braise it, fry it, or roast it?

Then you think of adding some Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and spices to rub over it and stuff inside. I tell you, when you take that first bite, do you know what that feels like? It is one of the finest enjoyments under heaven, because you caught it yourself.

When you complete a project successfully—because I love interior design, and my design is finally realized after drawing so many blueprints and working so hard—standing there, that feeling of satisfaction does not fade for a long time. I am a person who thoroughly enjoys the fruit of my labor. After I finish a job, the sense of satisfaction and achievement is immense.

I like to ponder and create a short video of a few seconds. When I look at it, it looks fantastic, and I am deeply satisfied. Writing software or developing a system brings great satisfaction. When I preach a sermon, and this paper is published, and everyone is edified, the satisfaction is wonderful. I thank God for arranging such a good job for me to serve Him.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, never turn living into a heavy burden or a misery; turn it into an enjoyment. Enjoying good food is not the spirit of Mammon—though eating until you are obese certainly is. Enjoying good food, going out to take photos, making short videos, and sharing them on social media is not Mammon; it is life.

If your work is excellent, and you succeed and become a corporate executive, managing things well, and occasionally taking your family on holiday, that is not Mammon. That is enjoying the fruit of our labor. I desire that all brothers and sisters be people who enjoy life. During our days on this earth, let us turn everything into enjoyment—learning into enjoyment, work into enjoyment, everything into enjoyment. No heavy burdens, only enjoyment, because in Jesus Christ, there are only good things.

This concludes our sermon. May God bless you all.