Testimony and Call to Live in Blessing
- Today's Topic: Living in Blessing!
Before I begin speaking on Living in Blessing, is there anyone moved to donate $100 Singapore dollars to me? If so, please come forward. Praise the Lord! Someone actually donated! I will keep this and spend these $200 well! Everyone, do not dwell on this $200, and do not look at the two who donated. They are just normal people like you and me. Bring your hearts back and listen carefully to the sermon!
Getting back to the topic, today's topic is Living in Blessing!
Living in blessing is truly good! As we live, who would want to live with many problems, many troubles, many illnesses, little money, little health, and little joy? I believe no one would raise their hand! Living in blessing, enjoying the life God has given us, a life full of joy, full of goodness, full of happiness, health, and abundance, is truly good! Blessing is what we need most! Happiness is what we need most! Since I believed in the Lord Jesus, I have known how good it is to live a blessed life! It is just a pity that so few people sitting below are willing to live in blessing like me. What a pity! When we hand out gospel tissue packets, many people turn their heads away, seemingly very proud, disdainful, as if they know where the path to blessing lies.
There are many ways to live. All roads lead to Rome, as the saying goes. All roads lead to hell, all roads are paths of curse, but there is only one path to blessing! That is the path of blessing that the Lord Jesus has opened up for us! Living in blessing is living in the Lord Jesus. The gospel we preach is truly the gospel, and I truly hope that more people will receive the benefits of this gospel!
Take one of my classmates, for example. A few weeks ago, her husband suddenly passed away, and she still hasn't recovered. She is still confused and lost. We can understand. Yesterday, I received a call looking for the church. She herself is a believer and came from Canada to Singapore because her two older sisters were caught up in a lawsuit and are having a hard time. She hopes to find the path to blessing. She immediately asked, Does your church cast out demons? We said, We cast out demons! I think she knows that living with demons is not a good life. This is a good question because demons are the reason why we do not live well. Not long ago, the uncle of one of our sisters, who was perfectly fine, suddenly had a stroke and is still recovering. There is no end to such disasters. If we cannot solve or prevent these things, does it not prove that we are on a path that is not blessed? How good it would be if these things did not happen!
Thank the Lord for letting me know Him, for letting me know that our Lord Jesus is the path to our blessing! It is a path of blessing, a path of health, a path of abundance, a path of joy, a path of living out God's dignity, glory, and the meaning of life! This path is full of wonderful and beautiful things! Just yesterday, when I was preparing my sermon, my mother sent me a QQ video call. When I answered, I found out that my younger brother had a high fever. I prayed for 10 minutes, and he was healed. Ningjing sister then led him in prayer again at night. When he woke up in the morning, he sent me a message saying he was completely healed! This younger brother of mine used to not know the path of blessing and lived a very hard life. Later, he followed me to believe in the Lord and not only often experienced healing but was also greatly blessed financially. Last week, the mother of sister JR in Korea suddenly had stiffness in her back and could not move while showering. Sister JR and brother HF prayed for her, and she completely recovered. Last Tuesday, when I was leading the prayer meeting, my mother went online, opened a video, and I saw her having difficulty breathing. I prayed for her, and she was fine in 3 minutes! I am so grateful to the Lord; this is truly my God who blesses me! With a God who blesses me, countless people have experienced miraculous transformations!
The Truth and Practice of Financial Blessing
Today, I want to talk about living in blessing. But this topic is too big. I can only talk about it from one aspect, which is financial blessing. Financial blessing is the most obvious and the most powerful proof that we no longer rely on money and break free from the obsession with money! Who wants to live a poor life? I think no one wants to! Abundance is an important part of the gospel we believe! If you don't believe it, go and read Deuteronomy 28! This is not prosperity theology; this is a blessing that God declared as early as the time of Moses!
A few weeks ago, I once again had a strong impression that God wanted to bless our brothers and sisters financially. Later, this impression came to me again and again. So last week, I posted this information in the church news section. In fact, looking back at our path of building the church in the past few years, we can say that God is the God who makes us rich!
Money is not the answer to our life problems; the God who bestows blessings is! Without the days of blessing, even if you live to be a thousand or ten thousand years old, it is meaningless. It is nothing but toil and sorrow! Days without God are not good at all! To live a blessed life, hold fast to our God who blesses us! Everything is given to us by Him!
If you do not know this God who bestows blessings, you must know Him!
Let us look at today's scripture.
2) Today's Scripture: Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Let us pray together!
3) Prayer
... Pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen!
4) From the context of this scripture, see what Jesus meant by these words
Luk 6:27 But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, Luk 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luk 6:29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Luk 6:30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Luk 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luk 6:32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. Luk 6:33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. Luk 6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. Luk 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Luk 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luk 6:37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luk 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
The Key to Blessing: Giving and Faith
I know it is difficult for everyone to accept these words. But this is what the Lord Jesus told us! What we can accept may not lead us into blessing. What we cannot accept is the key to leading us into blessing! Let's not jump to the conclusion that we can't do it so early! Let's think for a moment, if someone does it, what kind of person would this be? He must be a person who is very wealthy and has a very broad mind! Jesus said that he will be a son of the Most High! Everyone, please pay attention to me again putting our core values on page 3 of the weekly. There is one there, imitate Jesus Christ! We should imitate Jesus Christ, the Son of God! How Jesus Christ teaches, we should do!
Here are a few key things said: First, what we must do. Love enemies, be willing to be bullied, be willing to be taken advantage of, lend to others without expecting to get it back. Second, what we must not do. Do not judge people, do not condemn people, do not hate people. Then it says, Luk 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
That is to say, how you treat others, God will treat you. This is true for good, and it is also true for bad. With what measure you mete, God will measure to you!
It turns out that the way of treating people, the measure of treating people, is the key to living in blessing! What is given out will be received! Giving out really requires faith! Do you really believe that God will bless you? Give it out!
Let us say together: Luk 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you.
Don't think that I love money very much, and when people offer contributions, I put them in my own wallet. You need to know that with what measure I mete, God will measure to me! This is what kind of pastor delivers what kind of anointing! What kind of anointing brings what kind of blessing! I have found that God blesses me in finding work, finances, and investment, and God also blesses brothers and sisters in these things! It's really amazing. Who you imitate, whose teachings you listen to, you get what they get!
5) What you bless, you will receive a blessing, what you curse, you will receive a curse, what you sow, you will reap! How much you sow, you will reap double!
I finally understand! Why did God say to Abram (later Abraham), Those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed! It turns out that God is telling us that if you bless, you will receive a blessing, and if you curse, you will receive a curse! What you sow, you will reap! What you sow will be returned to you many times over!
If you are not living well today, don't blame others, that is what you, your ancestors, sowed before!
God blesses, God also curses
This is the spiritual principle! Whether you believe it or not, this principle has not changed! It is like the law of gravity. Whether you know it or not, understand it or not, this principle is still working! This is the law established by God!
You say, how sad it is for a person who does not know God! Every day they follow their own will, violate the laws of God's creation, live under a curse, and do not know it, and continue to sow curses! Not only this generation, but the next generation will also reap what you have sown!
From today onwards, start sowing blessings. Although you cannot see the harvest yet, because what has been sown has not yet grown. What you have sown in the past must be constantly removed, and the future will definitely be completely reversed! This is the key to living in blessing!
- God's blessings are clearly visible!
The Spiritual Principle of Sowing and Reaping
I have clearly seen God bless our brothers and sisters in the past. I will not give examples! New friends, you do not need to doubt. I dare to say this in front of the brothers and sisters because I have evidence! Whether it is those who are working, doing business, going to school, looking for a job, or studying part-time, all have clearly seen blessings! As a pastor, what could be happier than seeing brothers and sisters being blessed!
I recently found out the reason why our brothers and sisters have been blessed in the past few years! Knowing it, I regretted it! Not regretting the offering, but regretting that the seeds sown were too few! Our tithe, which is due, is merely returning to God what belongs to God. That is merely removing our curse. That is not a seed! At that time, God gave the pastor's wife an inspiration to save one dollar a day for the building fund! That is the seed! If at that time, we saved two dollars a day, sowing double the amount, wouldn't we receive more blessings today? Can you say I don't regret it?
In the days to come, everyone can do it according to their inspiration, freely, willingly, and gladly. If you are willing to save two dollars a day, then do it! Saving 10 dollars a day, I don't mind more!
We must know the principle of God's blessing more deeply! Now, God wants to bless us again, not because of anything else, but because we understand that we are sowing seeds! There are also those who do not understand that sowing seeds, but not pleasing God. Therefore, I want to admonish everyone to pay attention to my teaching and not to take it out of context!
There are many examples of not being blessed. Last week, I received a phone call. She listened to my sermon recording on Breaking the Curse. The other party opened her mouth with some doubts about what I said in breaking the curse. She gave me many examples of offerings that were not blessed. At that time, I was wondering why her reaction was so strong. It turned out that she was not a tithe-paying Christian. She did not believe that not paying tithes would be cursed. I did not argue with her. In fact, her life itself is a good proof.
The sermons I preach often offend people. What does it matter? I still want to tell everyone the way to be blessed!
In fact, there are many examples of offerings that are not blessed! There are many reasons. For example, Cain in Genesis, although he offered, was not accepted. Later, I will share with you the root cause of the problem of not being blessed!
God is also doing the work of blessing in other places.
During the New Year, Pastor Zhou and his wife came to Singapore, and the pastors of Singapore and Malaysia Bread of Life Church gathered together. At the end, Pastor Zhou's wife gave me a book A Blessed Life alone. I took it out to read last week, and it was very shocking!
I am a person who gives offerings and a person who is blessed. I often tell people that my annual income has increased tenfold in 10 years. I think this is a miracle for a working person! But the author of this book increased his annual income tenfold in 3 years! I think I should repent, I underestimated our God too much! The author, Robert Morris, had an income of $7,200 in the first year, $50,000 in the second year, $72,000 in the third year, and more than $100,000 in the next year! The amount of his offering far exceeded 10%! The highest was as high as 70%! But their quality of life did not decline as a result!
His few stories:
- Testimony of 10 times the return on offering
- Testimony of 100 times the return on offering
When I talk about this, where are your eyes? Are you on the 10 or 100 times the return? Wrong, let's read Jesus' words carefully: Let's say together: Luk 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. It turns out that what God wants us to grasp is not how much we can get, but how much we can give!
The Path to Blessing of Faith and Offering
Brothers and sisters, God is real, and God's blessing is also real. You don't need to ponder in your mind, you can't figure it out! What you need is practice, to personally experience all His goodness! Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
You need to know that we all need God's blessing! Our money is never the answer to our lives! Our God is! This is what we clearly see! Living in blessing is extremely wonderful!
I testify to you, our brothers and sisters can also testify, Robert Morris wrote a book to testify to you, we have all experienced God's grace. It is overflowing, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap! I encourage you to start practicing God's word! Prepare the vessel to receive the blessing!
I often hear people share with me those offerings that are not blessed. Today I want to share my understanding.
7) Why some people do not see blessings
Why do many people who give offerings not see God's blessing? These things are true, and I believe what they say is true. Is there a problem with the promise of the God who blesses, or is the problem with ourselves?
I think I still believe the words in the Bible: 2Co 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are Yes in Christ. And so through him the Amen is spoken by us to the glory of God.
So where is the problem of not being blessed?
- Cain's offering: not the firstborn, not the first fruits, people's attitude
- No faith to wait for the harvest, giving up too early
- Poverty mentality:
- Wrong motives: a cash cow
- The church does not pray for the battle, does not fight the spiritual battle
- All things come from God, we offer what belongs to God to God!
Everyone may still be thinking about the brothers and sisters who gave me the $100. Look at them, do they have confused expressions on their faces? If it were you, you would think that the pastor was joking with you and return it to you after the meeting. Who knew that it would be put in your own wallet! Even if it is put in the offering box, it is better than putting it in your wallet!
Do you know why they ran up so happily and offered it to me? After the offering, they didn't think about what the pastor was going to do at all, and they didn't care whether it would be returned to them?
Because that was my money! I gave it to him before the meeting and asked him to return it to me!
God's original intention is to bless us. But He gave it to us, and we are not willing to return it to Him, so He will no longer give it to us. Think about it, God is a rich God, why does He want us to offer the money He gave us, just because He wants to bless us more!
There was a wealthy man who had three friends. Before he went on a long trip, he told his three friends, I will give you ten thousand every month, and you will take one thousand out of it and give it to my wife on a monthly basis. As a result, one of them took out five thousand every month and gave it to the friend's wife, one of them took out one thousand every month and gave it to the friend's wife, and the other one gave one thousand in the first month, only five hundred in the second month, and simply did not give it in the third month! If you were that wealthy man, how would you treat your three friends? Would you not send money to the third friend on a monthly basis, but send that ten thousand to the first friend?
All things come from the Lord! We offer what comes from the Lord to the Lord! This is Solomon's prayer! Do you know why God appeared to Solomon in a dream? When Solomon asked for wisdom, God gave Solomon what Solomon did not ask for. Some people answered that it was because Solomon asked for wisdom. Actually not! It was before that, when Solomon ascended the throne, he needed to offer a bull as a sacrifice, but Solomon offered a thousand bulls!
A Generous Heart and the Source of Blessing
God likes people to know that He is a rich God! God likes to bless people! But God examines people's hearts, do you really believe that He is the answer to all the problems in your life? Do you really know that He is the source of blessing? You must listen to His words and be a generous person!
Let's read Luke 6:27-38 again:
Luk 6:27 But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, Luk 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luk 6:29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Luk 6:30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Luk 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luk 6:32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. Luk 6:33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. Luk 6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. Luk 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Luk 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luk 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luk 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
9) Conclusion: Living in Blessing
Generous heart!
Why come to church often – to receive blessings
Why build a church – to impart blessings
Contents
- Today's topic: Living in Blessing! 1
- Today's Scripture: Luke 6:38 2
- Prayer 2
- From the context of this passage, see what Jesus meant by this 3
- You bless, you will receive blessings, you curse, you will receive curses, you sow what you reap! You sow how much, you will receive double the amount! 4
- God's blessing is clearly visible! 4
- Why some people do not see blessings 6
- All things come from God, we offer what belongs to God to God! 7
- Conclusion: Living in Blessing 8