The Quest for Life's Purpose

Recording:

Transcript:

1 Today's topic: Why was I born?
Why were pigs born? To be eaten by people! Why were cows born? To work, and also to be eaten as beef! Why were dogs born, why were wolves born? Why were mosquitoes born? Why were cockroaches and bedbugs born? The most disgusting creature in the world is the dung beetle. Why does it live? If you get close to a pig's ear and ask it, Bajie, why were you born? the pig will grunt a few times, and you wouldn't know if it understands or not. If you give it a pearl, it tramples on it and then turns around to bite you. That's the pig! We can't figure out what these animals are thinking. Actually, we have reason to believe that pigs, cows, dogs, and all the animals in the world think they live to live. Because if you threaten their survival, they will instinctively attack you. They think they know, without a doubt, but only humans can see clearly why they live. But why were we born? Why did we come into this world? How are we different from pigs? How are we different from cows? How are we different from dogs and wolves? According to the theory of evolution, according to the point of view of materialism, there is no difference, just a substance, just a piece of meat, nothing glorious or noble. Everyone is evolving, little by little. The stages of evolution are just different. It's all just about living. Living according to one's animal instincts is meaningless!

A few days ago, when I mentioned the purpose of life to a seeker who was still confused, this seeker replied, I live to enjoy life! The voice seemed to lack conviction in this answer. In fact, this sentence, or this view, is a very common one. But many people live with this view. Such a thought is an instinctual intuition. The ladies in nightclubs, like those patrons, or those who have affairs, who are mistresses, all live with this view. Those corrupt officials, those who have fallen, those who have not fallen, all live with the thought that I only have this one life, I must live well, I must enjoy everything I can enjoy! Once I die, I can't enjoy it anymore. I can't treat myself badly! If you try to think about it, it seems that the root of those corruption problems is this kind of thinking! How do these people live? The result is that they don't live well! Looking at the inside stories revealed through China's recent successful crackdown on tigers (meaning the fight against corruption), aren't those corrupt officials living with this kind of thinking? As a result, they all paid with their lives! When I was a child, my mother worked in a state-owned factory with tens of thousands of people. The director of that factory embezzled a lot of money, and after he retired, he lived in fear every day, and in the end, he died of hematochezia in his 60s. The director of my father's factory was our neighbor, and in his 50s, he got cancer and died screaming! Every time I passed his house, I felt creeped out. That voice seemed to never leave the house. According to my incomplete research, this kind of thinking is actually the root of Alzheimer's disease. This is exactly what the Bible says, For whoever wants to save their life will lose it. The problem is not whether you want to enjoy it, the problem is whether you can enjoy the beauty of life. In my opinion, based on my own limited observation, this kind of thinking is precisely the reason why people cannot obtain enjoyment.

The Contrast Between Faith and Worldview

The foundation of this kind of thinking is atheism plus evolution. In fact, atheistic thought has no dignity to offer humans. Evolution plus atheism is simply superstition. It is blindly believing some very unreasonable statements. For example, species are each according to their kind, and one kind cannot evolve into another kind through evolution. Apes have 48 chromosomes, dolphins have 44 chromosomes. How can this be crossed to become humans with 46 chromosomes? Is it 44.1, 44.2, 44.3, all the way to 46? Anyone with a little biological knowledge knows that is impossible! But many people believe these nonsense. And they think they are very scientific. In fact, they are ignorant. Once, an atheist principal said that humans evolved from monkeys. This is science. If you don't believe in science, you are superstitious. A primary school student stood up and said, Excuse me, principal, are you saying that you evolved from a monkey? Then is your grandfather's grandfather's grandfather a monkey? Everyone burst into laughter, feeling it was an insult. If it is said that your ancestors were a bug in the mud, a single-celled organism, wouldn't that be even more of a disgrace!

I choose to believe that I was created by God, and I think that is a noble, glorious human being! With the image of God on me!

These are two different worldviews, that is, what you believe the world is like determines your value system, determines your way of life, and also determines the purpose of your life. But these are just words, the most real thing is the result we live out. That seeker then raised another question, he said, Pastor, look, those who don't believe, they got better without praying when they were sick! What do you say? Of course, she felt very reasonable in asking this. I told her, You are so confused! What can this prove? It proves nothing. Sitting next to me at the time were Sister LN and Sister PL, I pointed to them and said, But I know that before they believed in the Lord, one had depression and the other had obsessive-compulsive disorder, but after believing in the Lord, I cast the demons out of them, and they were all healed! As for what happened to those cancer patients, I don't know, but I know that the cancer patients who came to believe in the Lord with me have all been healed! Yesterday, I received a testimony from a sister who had believed in the Lord for a month, saying that she prayed for a person in pain, and after praying, they were completely healed! With the worldview of atheism plus evolution, what is lived out? But with the worldview revealed in the Bible, gaining the ability to fight spiritual battles, overcoming the power of the devil, and gaining God's blessing, living out a glorious life! Amen! When I experienced these spiritual battles, releasing the captive, healing the sick, gaining the spiritual authority given by Jesus Christ, and seeing living testimonies, my view of the world was completely changed, and my interpretation of death was also completely changed! Now, we no longer look at the world with our physical eyes, but we see through the world with our spiritual eyes! So my purpose in living today is completely different from before I believed in the Lord! My living is no longer the same as the living of pigs, cows, cockroaches, and rats! I began to know why I live!

Today I will share with you, why I live?

Let's look at today's scripture.

2 Today's scripture: John 18:37-38
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” retorted Pilate.

3 Prayer – Thank the Lord for opening up a way of life for us

Revelation of Truth and Life

Lord Jesus, we thank you for coming into the world for us, descending to earth as a human, the Word becoming flesh, to testify to us, so that we, your people, can know the truth of the world. We thank you for letting us all experience your power and testify to the truth you have revealed! Today, speak to us through the pulpit! Make us know why we live!

Pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen!

4 The background of this passage and the questions it reveals
This passage is a conversation between the Lord Jesus and Pilate, the Roman ruler who judged him, after the Lord Jesus was betrayed and arrested. Pilate thought that the Lord Jesus would be afraid of death, would beg for mercy, would say soft words. But unexpectedly, the Lord Jesus said, I was born for this. I live to be crucified! To testify to the truth. In fact, the Lord Jesus mentioned three times that he would go to Jerusalem to be killed. Every time he mentioned it, he said, I will rise again on the third day. But the disciples only heard death, and did not hear resurrection. The truth used there actually means the reality. To let us know what the reality of the world is. As a result, Pilate uttered the biggest question in people's hearts, What is truth? Later, the Lord Jesus was sentenced to death. Then, he was tortured, flogged, humiliated, and crucified. It looked like a tragedy, but he rose again on the third day! He rose from the dead! After the resurrection, he appeared to the disciples. He ate and talked with the disciples. Later, 500 disciples watched the Lord Jesus ascend to heaven on a cloud on the Mount of Olives and disappear! A few days later, according to what he promised, he gave the Holy Spirit, and the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, strengthened, and went out to preach, with miracles and wonders following them! Just like what the Lord Jesus did! The lame walked, the blind saw, the dead were resurrected. Later, two thousand years passed, and today, we also perform many miracles that the Lord Jesus performed! It is because of one thing: the truth that the Lord Jesus said is the truth!

What does this kind of thing illustrate? The way people live is not what we originally imagined! Our original concepts are all wrong! Our original world view, what we thought was so normal, is all wrong! We are not living, living and then dying, and then it's all over. We are not the same as pigs and dogs, we have souls! Even if everyone thinks so, the fact is not like that, because the Lord Jesus showed us with resurrection from the dead! Later, he proved it to us with miracles and wonders! Later, he also gave the Holy Spirit, so that we can also do the same things! How shocking, how subversive, the fact is not like this! It turns out that atheism and evolution are things that blind us! We are not pigs, nor dogs, we are people who have eternal life!

Therefore, the Lord Jesus said, The kingdom of heaven is near, you must all repent. Repentance means that we took the wrong path in the past, and today, we begin to take the path that the Lord Jesus said! That is the direction of our life. That is the purpose of our living, that is our path! If the direction is wrong, even if everything is done right, it is useless. As the saying goes, doing the right thing right. Doing the wrong thing right is also wrong!

5 In doing anything, direction is very important! The same is true for being a person!

The Power of Direction and Faith

In doing anything, direction is very important. If the direction is wrong, no matter how hard you work, it is useless. Invalid! Some people say that living is living. In fact, it's like saying nothing. If we say, What is the purpose of doing this project? Doing this project is to do this project. Doesn't it sound weird? Then this project should be a failed project. I don't know how to do it. Have you ever heard of someone's house being renovated? The renovator comes, How do you do it? What do you do? Someone says, Do it, just renovate it, renovate it casually, I renovate just to renovate. This work is impossible to do. If you are a taxi driver and you meet a passenger, and you ask him, Where are you going? I'm not going anywhere, I just want to take a taxi. Where are you going? I'm not going anywhere, just go anywhere. I think you would think this person is crazy, and if you take this person, you will probably send him to a mental hospital.

How can we, such noble people, possibly be that living is living? Saying this is worse than saying I don't know! If I don't know, I can seek. Thinking I know, but actually not knowing, how pitiful.

Here I interject a very purposeful thing: how to write a resume:

Finding a job, writing a resume, is a very purposeful thing. Just like writing a composition for the college entrance examination, you must stick to the topic. If you don't stick to the topic, you can't get points. A resume is the same. Does a resume have a topic? What is the topic? It is the job position you are looking for. With the job requirements, then write your outstanding achievements, then your skills and experience, and then your education. Everything must be closely related to the topic. Irrelevant things, don't write or write less. After reading the resume, you know that you are the most suitable person for the job applied for. People will give you an interview opportunity. If you don't stick to the topic, people will look at it and think it's not suitable! Finding a job is like this, in fact, everything is like this! Therefore, having a clear direction and goal is a sign of a person's maturity. Secondly, it is the ability of self-management and emotional management.

Not only is this the case in doing things, but the most important direction in being a person is why people live!

The Bible is the book that reveals to us how people can live well! That is the direction (why live), the method (how to live), and the execution! The Bible repeatedly tells us: Blessed are those who hear the word of God and do it! That is, those who do the direction, the method, and the execution correctly will experience God's blessing, that is, blessed people!

6 How to be a person, you need to understand the truth of the world, what is the truth that the Lord Jesus witnessed with his life?
The foundation of the Christian faith is the truth revealed by Jesus Christ! Know the laws and principles behind it. Knowing the laws of the development of things, you can manage them. This is why Christians can solve problems by praying. For example, the concept of destiny. Many people who do not believe in the Lord, their concepts are very confused. They don't believe in God, but they believe in destiny. I ask them what destiny is, and they can't explain it. They think destiny is fate. It cannot be changed. If destiny cannot be changed, a person is a puppet. Isn't that very boring? But if you understand what destiny is, you can control destiny!

The concept of sin

The concept of curse

The concept of disaster

The concept of death

The concept of man

The concept of the world

The concept of Heaven and Hell

The concept of battle

The concept of being blessed

7 How does the Lord Jesus witness the truth to us?

• Prophecy

• Miracles and wonders

• Resurrection from the dead

Not only did the Lord Jesus himself witness this truth, He also witnessed this truth through the early church! Two thousand years later, He, the living and true God, also witnesses this truth through us!

The Power of Faith and Truth

If you think according to my thoughts, with faith, the truth that the Lord Jesus witnessed is really impeccable! But if you have an unfaithful heart, you can always find reasons for disbelief, and you always feel that there are loopholes. What is the key? It is faith!

The Lord Jesus told a parable:

Luk 16:19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. Luk 16:20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores Luk 16:21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. Luk 16:22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. Luk 16:23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. Luk 16:24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ Luk 16:25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. Luk 16:26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ Luk 16:27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, Luk 16:28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ Luk 16:29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ Luk 16:30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ Luk 16:31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

8 Since the truth is like this, we will testify to it and live for it!
The ability to endure suffering lies in knowing why you were born!

The essence of enjoying life lies in knowing why you were born! Whether you get all the good things in life depends on whether you know why you were born!

[The world's happiness is always decreasing]

The Pursuit of Everlasting Joy

I was overjoyed when I bought an iPhone 6, so I bought another one – great! Bought another, happy, bought another, alright, bought another, nothing. I ate a food I hadn't had in a long time, so delicious! Took a second bite, so delicious! Took a third bite, delicious! Fourth bite, eating. Fifth bite, eating numbly. This is the law of diminishing returns of happiness! So when you buy a house, don't listen to the beautiful descriptions of the agent, saying that there is a large swimming pool where you can swim every day, the balcony faces the sea, where you can sit and drink tea, read books, and enjoy the sea breeze! But in reality, you should know that when you swim for 7 days and enjoy the breeze for 7 days, that feeling of happiness diminishes, and you start to get busy with your world, such as the computer world, the TV world, or work, etc. That swimming pool will no longer have your shadow, and the balcony becomes a place to dry clothes. You must know that the happiness of this world is constantly diminishing. A few years ago, I wanted to travel to Thailand with my classmates and called my mother to inform her. That phone call woke me up. My mother said, Traveling is nothing, just to see how poor or rich others are, to see other people's lives, about the same cars, the same buildings, besides, you haven't carefully experienced every bit of the place you live in. Yes, some of my friends are gradually losing awareness of Singapore unknowingly, and I started hearing various complaints from friends. I know that the happiness Singapore gives them is diminishing, and they are starting to look for new happiness abroad. In fact, as my mother said: Appreciate the soft morning light, the flowers and plants on the road, mutual help between strangers, these are the real enjoyments of life! The inner feeling is the most important thing in this life! In the past two years, my happiness has not decreased but increased, because I started to seriously think and solve my inner feelings! It's amazing! I found that pursuing material things is a wrong direction, because the happiness material things give you is constantly diminishing. I began to pursue faith, pursue God's presence, and I had invincible joy! Slowly and miraculously, the gain and loss of material things began to not affect my inner peace and stability. Now I am happy every day, and I am not lacking in material things. My boss and colleagues all like me very much. I know I am pursuing the right thing! I have found the law of increasing happiness! Scripture: All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. Ecclesiastes 1:8

[Article on December 9th] When I was a child, my father was the greatest in my eyes; after I went to elementary school, I thought the children of teachers were great at studying; when I went to middle school, I thought the classmates who got into key universities were great; when I got a job, I thought a colleague in the sales department was great, after going abroad, I thought people who could speak English were great, and later I thought some friends who could speak multiple languages were great... I have been watching other people's greatness since I was a child. All the envy, jealousy, and hate have taken root and sprouted in my heart. The feeling of inferiority is so uncomfortable that I cannot truly express it in words. Only when I try my best to earn it do I realize that they are already at the next level. I am always half a step behind others... Very frustrated... This year, after I knew the Lord Jesus, I can run freely in His kingdom, and I am very happy. It is not people who make me humble, but God. After I humbled myself, the Lord Jesus raised me up in front of people. After experiencing many things personally, I firmly believe that all the greatness I saw when I was a child is just elementary school in God's eyes. Everything is vanity, a striving after wind.

If you don't know the truth and don't know why you are alive, you cannot enjoy the beauty of life! Everything is a striving after wind, everything is vanity!

The Mission to Live for Truth

When we receive this truth, we believe that what the Lord Jesus said is true. The Lord Jesus opens our spiritual eyes, gives us spiritual power, and manifests His power through us. We are like the Lord Jesus. In order to witness this truth, even death cannot stop us from preaching the gospel! Because we have overcome death!

Last week, we talked about The Benefits of Suffering. When I talked about those missionaries who paid the price of their lives for us Chinese, I choked up a bit. I know that today we are blessed to enter the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. In the beginning, the Lord Jesus shed His precious blood, and later Peter and Paul also shed blood and sacrificed, filling up in their flesh what was lacking in the afflictions of the Christ. Over the past two thousand years, how many people have paid the price of their lives for this. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, a large number of foreign missionaries gave up their comfortable lives and came to China to bless our Chinese nation, for the truth, for the true facts, and to bring our Chinese nation into the kingdom of God. They also shed precious blood and paid the price of their lives to fill up what was lacking in the afflictions of the Christ, so that we could receive this grace! Today, it is we Chinese who are beginning to walk this road of preaching the gospel! It is we who are beginning to fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ Jesus.

Once, the Spirit of God came upon me and asked me if I would be willing to die for Him. I answered so readily, I am willing. I am very grateful. I know what I am saying!

Many people must say, Oh, this Samuel is too obsessed with his faith, he's become stupid, his brain is broken by faith, how can he believe like this? I think our family members must think the same way about you.

Who is more foolish? Who is more ignorant? Who is deceived? What is the truth of the matter? Everyone must not be mistaken. Among my peers, I am not considered stupid, nor am I considered foolish. If I, who am not so foolish, am willing to pay the price of my life, don't you think that the gospel I preach cannot be true? Don't you think that I must have known some secrets and seen something? Why don't you think that this gospel is really a treasure? Think about it, are you on the wrong path? Even if you don't understand, you should believe what I say when you see the miracles God performs through my hands!

Moreover, so many people have been willing to pay the price of their lives for two thousand years. Isn't it worth thinking about?

Do you know why the Lord Jesus was willing to pay the price of his life? Do you know why Peter and Paul were willing to pay the price of their lives? Do you know why I am willing to pay the price of my life? Because we all know the truth, heaven is real, hell is real, the spiritual realm is real, eternal life is real, we are to bear witness to this truth, to this truth, to reign with the Lord Jesus and receive glory together in the future! We were born for this, and we came into this world for this! That is the purpose of our lives!

9 Summary – Bearing Witness to the Truth
Some time ago, I wrote a WeChat public platform. The topic was the reality of the spiritual realm. The result was that the forwarding rate was the lowest. That is the truth. It turns out that people love worldly things so much. Spiritual things, the truth, things that can allow us to live abundant lives, people don't want to know, and they are not interested in knowing. These are two worldviews, one is the spiritual vision, which is the truth, and the other is the physical vision, which is a shadow and an illusion. It is what you believe the world is like that determines your value system, determines your lifestyle, and also determines the purpose for which you live. Since we know the truth of the world, we were born for this! We bear witness to this!

The Essence of Life and Eternal Hope

I have found the source of joy! I have found the purpose of living! I have found the meaning of life! I have found the truth! The problem that has troubled me for so many years – I have found the answer. So excited! I preach this truth wherever I go, I preach this gospel wherever I go. Really, what a great grace this is! Death can no longer reign over me, leaving the world is no longer such a regrettable thing. I know where I come from and where I am going! I know that my Lord Jesus lives forever, and I will surely stand before Him in the future. We will surely receive rewards from my Lord! I will also live with the Lord Jesus!

Brothers and sisters, I am speaking from the bottom of my heart, I am willing to lay down my life for the Lord!

Are you willing?

The last 5 seconds of life? Do you have any regrets?

Once, I was flying from South America, and when I passed the Gulf of Mexico, I encountered a huge storm. The storm was so great that the plane seemed as light as a piece of paper. Many German nurses were sitting in the back, crying and shouting. Pillows flew around, tableware flew around, things fell here and rolled there. Seeing that the plane was about to crash, the captain actually announced: If anyone knows how to pray, pray for us all. I really took out the booklet and looked at the photos of my family. I touched the photos one by one and said goodbye to them, saying that I would take the first step. It was really dangerous at the time. And in my heart, there was a sentence: God exists, the door that God opens, no one can close, the door that God closes, no one can open. God will never let me die until death comes. At that time, a belief arose in my heart: I belong to God, God will take care of me, so no matter how strong the wind and rain, I will not die. So I was very peaceful. In that crisis, I said to the shouting passengers: Please be quiet, this plane will not crash, I believe in God. With this shout, everyone stared at me. Really, with God's help, the plane landed safely later. That incident is still unforgettable in my soul. From this, we can know that whether or not you believe in God is clearly distinguished in a crisis. In times of peace, people don't care much about whether God exists. In a crisis, you can also believe that my roots are in God, and with God with me, my heart can be at peace. In that moment of crisis, it felt so good to think that God was there. Everyone will encounter a major crisis once, and that is death. Everyone in the world must die. When dying, isn't anxiety, fear, and despair at their peak? Doesn't everyone open their eyes wide, clench their fists, and struggle with all their might, unwilling to die? But those who believe in God, believe that God is my Father, and that I come from the Father and return to the Father, can close their eyes peacefully and go to heaven in fear. Therefore, we must know where the root is, we must know that God is my Father. We must know that we were sent by God the Father to this world. How did I come? If you think that you evolved from a single cell into a human, and that humans evolved from monkeys, then we don't know the purpose of coming into this world. If we can know that God is my Father, then we can know that He created me in this world for a purpose.

2 Timothy 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

The Joy and Mission of Suffering for Christ

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.

Acts 20:24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.