Introduction

Good day to you all! Let us examine Chapter 12 of the Book of Acts. I wonder what each of you has observed in this chapter. You can gradually understand that the Word of God will prosper, and those who believe in the Word of God will also prosper! However, in the eyes of people, there are many perplexing things, such as the killing of John's brother, James, and the increasing impoverishment of the church in Jerusalem. If people are bewildered by these phenomena, it indicates a deficiency in their comprehension. In fact, Chinese Mingding Destiny places great emphasis on comprehension – to see through the phenomena to the essence. If you cannot see through the phenomena to the essence, you will be confused by many things.

Since God is in control in every environment, how then was Stephen stoned to death? And how was John's brother, James, killed? It is because many things within us have not been cleansed, so we feel uneasy when we see people die. In other words, if one cannot understand the matter of life and death, then one is utterly ruined.

The theme of this chapter is So the Word of God Grew and Multiplied. Do you see that? Many people do not see it; all they see is Jesus being crucified, John's brother being killed, Stephen being stoned to death, and Peter being arrested. When people see such a situation, they think, Forget it! This faith is untenable. But that is not the case. If people encounter such circumstances and their faith is not firmly grounded, it is difficult to understand the work of God. The Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years did not know the works of God. This is the original text of the Bible. God was weary of that generation because the Israelites had observed the works of God for 40 years, yet they never understood them.

When your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.” (Psalm 95:9-10)

To Observe the Works of God

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of soldiers. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. (Acts 12:1-5)

If you do not observe the works of God, you are easily bewildered, and understanding this passage becomes somewhat difficult. After Stephen was stoned to death, many believers fled everywhere. Some ran to Antioch, and this place began to prosper. Finances and other aspects were not a problem; one could clearly see the presence of God in that place. Later, Peter was arrested again. The Israelites, especially the people of Jerusalem, greatly disliked Christians. Why was this? Because some Christians really did many things that were annoying.

Think about it, Peter led a group of people to the temple, and every day they acted as if it were a carnival; it was too noisy! After encountering persecution, they stopped eating and drinking, and no one knew where the money went. The people of Jerusalem saw this group of people as very lazy, always going into the temple to pray. After praying, there were still miracles, and then these people became a bit arrogant. After Peter became a great apostle, the Christian faith in Jerusalem gradually declined, and the money was almost spent. People began to become poor, and there was famine, coupled with an economic crisis, and persecution followed closely behind.

But Antioch began to prosper day by day! Through such things, have you seen the work of God? I ask everyone, did this persecution come from God? With the church in Jerusalem acting like that, it would have been ruined if God had not persecuted it. God persecuted them so much, but the great apostle Peter still stayed in Jerusalem! Because for Peter and his group, it was the will of God not to leave Jerusalem. Because in their view, God said they could not leave Jerusalem, even after the promised Holy Spirit descended. In fact, many people in other places are like this, staying in one place for generations. God stirred up persecution in that place, but even when people were persecuted, they did not know that the persecution came from God, because they did not know that God's intention was for the gospel to spread from Jerusalem to all Judea, to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Therefore, people must often observe the works of God and the trends of God. I tell you, there is a clear trend all over the world: the Chinese church is prospering, and the Western church is declining. Some people say, That's not necessarily true. Think carefully, and you will find that the Chinese have straightened their backs a bit more than before, and this is a trend. This trend comes from God. Of course, it is also possible that the responsibility of spreading the gospel may be handed over to others in the future.

Once, I was having dinner with a friend, and he asked me a question: If a coin is tossed 50 times and it lands on heads every time, what will it be the next time? After listening, I seemed to be stumped: It has already been tossed 50 times, so the next time should be tails, right? He said, No, you have to look at the trend when you look at things. As for what he told me, I was still a bit confused in my heart. But the conclusion that you have to look at the trend when you look at things is deeply imprinted in my mind. The people in the Jerusalem church never saw their own problems because their comprehension was not very good. These people just liked miracles and angels; they just thought these things were particularly good. But I tell you, the Word of God grows stronger day by day! The Word of God is the way of life, definitely not conjuring something out of nothing, or taking things from the air.

Therefore, we must observe the works of God, and sum up in our comprehension what the next trend will be. The Word of God is prospering day by day, but not in Jerusalem. Peter, as a great apostle, did not see the work of God. Because people with poor comprehension cannot observe the laws of things, nor can they observe the work of God. Although God repeatedly manifested His power through Peter, Peter could not understand what God's intention was.

I will talk to you about the issue of comprehension. A pastor met two marketing experts. These two people said they wanted to build this pastor into a world-renowned pastor. After becoming famous, the appearance fee would be hundreds of thousands, just like a celebrity's appearance fee. What should a person with poor comprehension do when they hear this kind of talk? I am a person who pays great attention to comprehension. Such small tricks will definitely not work in front of me. If people want to build me, I haven't even built them yet. This is because they are not familiar with the Word of God, nor are they familiar with the way of God; they do not understand God's plan, nor do they understand God's will and intention in this generation, and they cannot see the works of God and the trends of God. Although there are occasional miracles, many deaf people hear, blind people see, and lame people walk, in my eyes, they are at most just a Peter.

The comprehension of brothers and sisters must be constantly improved. I am extremely concerned about improving everyone's comprehension, especially among our pastors. If people's comprehension is not good, they will be easily fooled. Someone once told me how he protected his pastor in his previous church, how his pastor was fooled at the time, and how he rushed to the front and knocked those people down. It sounds very impressive, but what I want to say is that I don't really need his protection.

In other words, if people cannot observe the works of God, even if they have wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, they still cannot understand the works of God in the end. Isn't this a tragedy? Peter experienced so much persecution in the church in Jerusalem, and in this chapter, he was arrested again. As the leader of the church, shouldn't he think about it? However, I guess Peter's comprehension was not very good, which led him to think wrongly and connect the wrong things together.

Therefore, we must all come out of the delusions and become people through whom the Word of God prospers. If the Word of God prospers in you, you must be a prosperous person. If you see the trend of the development of things, you should see the work of God in it. Some people say, History has its inevitable laws of development, but God is in control of human history. It has never changed!

This chapter speaks very bluntly. Although God did not clearly tell Peter, Don't stay in this place anymore, go out and preach the gospel to the Gentiles, it doesn't take too many brain cells to understand this. To put it bluntly, you can understand it with your heels. God has already made it clear to Peter, but he is willful and insists on staying in Jerusalem. God thought, This kid is quite stubborn and has a tough temper! As a result, God ordered King Herod to arrest Peter. After Peter was arrested and imprisoned, he still didn't understand. In fact, Peter did a lot of work, but at that time, he may have thought that what he encountered was because he preached the gospel to Cornelius and entered the house of the Gentiles, so he was unclean, but he thought the opposite.

Peter, as a Great Apostle, Especially Needs to Observe the Works of God

I have found that there are many Peters, big and small, in this world who are not very intelligent and cannot understand the works of God. God told him everything at least three times, but he still didn't understand. God said, This is too much trouble. How many times do I have to tell him to understand? I might as well just replace him! Later, the center of the gospel moved from Jerusalem to Antioch, and Paul began to be raised up by God.

Many people rise up and many people fall in this generation! If people do not love to learn and do not observe; do not understand the works of God, nor understand the will of God, even if God tells you very clearly, you will not grasp the key points. The reason why Peter could not see the works of God was because he had a lot of traditional ideas in his mind. Tradition will limit people's imagination and will also limit God's work in us.

The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked along one street, the angel suddenly left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping for.” (Acts 12:6-11)

Peter was a very interesting person. The next day he was going to be brought out of prison to be killed, but when he saw the angel, he thought he was seeing a vision. It wasn't until the next day when he woke up and had already come out of the prison that he thought the angel was really amazing! Later, in 1 Peter and 2 Peter, he also said that angels have more power than people. Later, the history and tradition of the Israelites and Jews worshiping angels limited their understanding of things! As soon as they heard about angels, they felt that they were very powerful, but that was a tradition, not the Word of God. Peter saw with his own eyes that the angel led him out of the prison, and he felt that the angel was particularly powerful. In fact, he didn't know much about angels either, but his mind was full of self-righteous ideas. At this time, he didn't observe the work of God either, which is why the entire church in Jerusalem was corrupted.

God's will was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, but there were many Pharisees in the church in Jerusalem. When Peter returned, they questioned him about how he could enter the house of the Gentiles, which caused great confusion in the whole church. Their understanding of many concepts was also wrong, just like Peter said that husband and wife should jointly inherit the grace of life. In fact, this sentence is not in the Bible; he made it up himself. People do not love to learn, and their comprehension is not good, so they like to mess around themselves. When Peter saw Stephen being persecuted, his mind was full of Stephen being stoned to death. In fact, Peter had not even seen through life and death, nor had he understood it.

Some people challenged me and said, Peter was crucified upside down when he died. In fact, what difference does it make whether you are crucified upright or upside down? Peter felt that it was not okay, and he could not even imitate Jesus when he was crucified. What kind of brain is that? Peter did not see the Word of God prospering, he only saw Jerusalem becoming poor, and he felt that all the persecution was because King Herod and these people were too bad. Could it be that God cannot control these things? Of course, God can control them!

When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people were gathered and praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to see who was there. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. (Acts 12:12-17)

After Peter came out of prison, he went to the house of Mark. Who was Mark? Mark was one of those who prayed with them on the day of Pentecost, and his place was likely where Jesus and His disciples had the Last Supper. When Peter entered, he told everyone that those who were praying there thought it was Peter's angel. Actually, the Bible speaks of angels, but not very clearly. Peter and the others forgot about the Word of God and just talked about angels. I was thinking: why not bring in constellations? After Peter came out, he told James and the others what had happened to him and that he needed to hide elsewhere.

At this time, Peter still did not understand God's will. As the leader, he should have issued an order: that all Christians in Jerusalem should leave Jerusalem from now on and preach the gospel to the Gentiles. That was actually God's will! However, Peter didn't say any of this; he only told everyone how he got out of prison, foreshadowing that Peter handed over the management of Jerusalem to James, the physical brother of Jesus. However, James himself didn't understand the Old Testament very well; he was a follower of circumcision. Later, we see that the Apostle Paul fought a spiritual battle with those who kept the law of Moses throughout his life.

The gospel we believe in comes from the Apostle Paul, not from Peter. Peter handed over the leadership position to James, so what did he do? Even if he wasn't in Jerusalem, he didn't need to give up the leadership position. By Chapter 15, Peter had become second in command in the church. Peter never understood God's work from beginning to end, nor did he see God's will in this generation. Even if God spoke to him personally, He couldn't change the traditional ideas in him.

Chinese Mingding Destiny has broken through many traditions, and I don't adhere to tradition very much because tradition can restrict us from walking in God's will. Jesus Christ doesn't like tradition. Peter lost his authority at this time and didn't know what he was doing, but what is certain is that he didn't go to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. If he were preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, he wouldn't have given up the top position. As a result, he went into hiding and nobody knew where he went. This is not a glorious history.

Jewish Obsession with Angels

The prosperity of God's Word is related to people. When God's Word prospers in us, we must avoid the Jewish obsession with angels. When Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke, the theme was Many will rise and many will fall. There is a reason why the center of the gospel left Jerusalem, because the Jews were filled with all kinds of obsessions with angels. Therefore, Paul's letters say that the Jews like miracles, but their understanding of miracles is not profound, just superficial.

Chinese Mingding Destiny performs many miracles, but we are not obsessed with miracles and angels. Instead we are filled with hope for the prosperity of God's Word, yearning to walk in God's will. The Jews were filled with obsessions about angels, and when they saw Peter, they thought it must be Peter's messenger or angel. Many people used to like to study angels, but they didn't like to study the Word of God. They believe that everyone has a guardian angel or messenger. Anyway, I haven't seen it, and neither have the Jews. Just because Peter really saw an angel, the Jews pieced together personal experiences, accumulated them into their traditions, obsessions, and theological system. Can God's will still be carried out in such a place?

If some of us still think that every Christian has an angel, that's nonsense. Even if you understand angels thoroughly, can the Word of God prosper? Start waking up now and let the Word of God prosper. It's not about having an angel prosper around you; that's useless! Angels and constellations are not as good as the Word of God. If God should send an angel to save you, He will send one. If God doesn't send one, forget it! Persecution can't stop the prosperity of God's Word. When persecution comes, we must often reflect on what God's will is in this generation.

Chinese Mingding Destiny does not pursue signs and wonders. What we pursue is for the brains of our brothers and sisters to become more useful, to observe God’s works, to see God’s will, to see God's will and the trends He creates in this generation. A large number of Christians believe in tradition. Methodists have Methodist traditions, and Anglicans have Anglican traditions, and those cannot be touched. Catholics have Catholic traditions, evangelicals have evangelical traditions, and charismatics also have charismatic traditions. Chinese Mingding Destiny has no tradition, because tradition only hinders the work of God. We rarely talk about angels, but the work of God is clearly manifested in us.

Do Not Be Superstitious About the Power of Man

A member of a church told their pastor not to be afraid, that he would take responsibility if anything happened because he had people above him, and their church had a protective umbrella. If it were me, I would be afraid and tell him: my protective umbrella is much bigger than his, and I don't need him to protect us. In reality, do not believe in the power of man. A pastor received a poor young man who was said to be the son-in-law of a senior executive, and the pastor was confused, thinking that he had climbed up the social ladder. This pastor himself didn't have much money, but he still took this person to buy famous brands every day, spent a lot of money, and even asked his church members to protect him.

I don't eat things I can't afford, I don't buy things I can't afford, and I don't do things I can't do. Things become simple. I don't need people to protect me, and I don't protect others. I just be my little commoner. I don't believe in those things. In the local area, a powerful celebrity was about to die. Someone heard that my healing and deliverance was very powerful and asked if I could pray for him. I said: I'm not going! Even if I go, it's not because of his power. I despise these things the most, but the Jews like power.

On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal robes, sat on the judgment seat and gave a public address to them. The people kept shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died. (Acts 12:21-23)

Why were there so many people there? The people of Tyre and Sidon obtained food from the land of King Herod, but King Herod hated the people of Tyre and Sidon. These people were going to build relationships with King Herod to restore their relationship and try to reconcile because they had to rely on the power of man to live. Why did Peter choose James? Why wasn't John, the disciple Jesus loved, chosen? Because James held a very important position in this church. If the leader stepped down, James would have to step up. This matter may also have something to do with Mary, because that was Jesus's mother, and James was another son of Jesus's physical mother. Actually, Jesus had already understood this matter, but Peter’s mind was filled with many human logical systems.

But He answered the one who was telling Him, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold, My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:48-50)

Jesus once said this, but by Peter’s time everyone had forgotten, and they only remembered Mary, Jesus’s mother, and James, Jesus’s brother. If they didn't take good care of them, they were afraid that Jesus would blame them, and they were filled with human things.

From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” (Matthew 16:21-23)

Peter is someone who understands people's hearts, which to some extent is quite endearing, but he was being endearing in the wrong place. That’s why I emphasize not being superstitious about the power of man. The Catholic worship of Mary didn't actually start with others; it started with Peter. I am exposing these things because I want everyone to understand that human relationships are very harmful. Do not be superstitious about the power of man, because God is always in control.

If You Cannot See God’s Works, You Will Be Marginalized by God

There were 600,000 Israelites who died in the wilderness, and only Joshua and Caleb were left to enter the promised land. They were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. The reason was because they were superstitious about the power of man. People like to make up a lot of angelic obsessions. They don’t understand God and cannot see God’s works, so they are marginalized by God. Peter was later marginalized to a very pitiful extent. A preacher had no one to preach to. At this time, the church in Jerusalem was already extremely poor. They didn’t understand the laws of property and even less the laws of God. All that was left was a passion, but it didn’t work. Peter hid for a while, and as a result, he lost his position as leader, and the church became poorer and poorer. It was too tiring to go back to fishing, and he was too weak to farm, and he didn’t know how to herd sheep very well. Besides being the best at eating, he couldn’t do anything else.

After that, Peter would go to Ephesus to give a sermon, and people would give some church offerings. The next day he would go to Corinth to live for a while, using the fact that he had seen Jesus to freeload off the popularity of the church Paul built and earn some extra money. If people didn't invite him, he would start talking nonsense, saying that what he did was better than Paul's set of things. Paul's set of things didn't keep circumcision, but he did; it was better to be circumcised than not to be circumcised. Peter almost distorted the gospel into heresy, because he had followed Jesus, and people thought he was a great apostle. Peter relied on fooling people into believing that he was the real apostle, and Paul was embarrassed to say anything, so it was okay to let him eat and drink.

However, a preacher cannot walk in God's will. To be marginalized by God is the real tragedy. I have always told my brothers and sisters that even now, I am always walking on thin ice. I am afraid of losing God's grace and going my own way. I want to walk in God's will all my life, to see God's works and God's will.

And the Word of God kept on spreading, and multiplying. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem after they had fulfilled their service, taking with them John, also called Mark. (Acts 12:24-25)

Later, Paul would always send the money donated from various churches to James in Jerusalem. James was in charge of these donations, and Paul and Barnabas honored the church in Jerusalem. But even if the offerings were taken to Jerusalem, the Word of God still prospered in Antioch. The Apostle Paul brought the gospel from Jerusalem to Antioch and then to the Roman Empire. Then, after more than two thousand years, starting with the Roman Empire spreading throughout Europe, we have the opportunity to serve God, which is a great grace.

I have met some preachers who feel that serving God is a very big sacrifice. This attitude is obviously wrong. It is a great grace that we can serve God, and giving is also a grace. I often say: I am qualified to give, to have the opportunity to serve God, to have the opportunity to participate in God’s great plan in this world, and I am really grateful that I have not been marginalized until now. If a person cannot see through life and death, they cannot walk the path of serving God and seeking God's will. If a person cannot see through life and death, then all that remains is caring for people, and it is completely ruined.

How many of us still cannot see through life and death? People walk and walk and end up in an urn, BBQ. So whether you can see through it or not, you have to learn to see through it! Take serving God as your destiny in this life. If a person is not afraid of death, there is nothing to be afraid of. If you miss one meal, you just eat one less. It’s easy if you’re not afraid of death. You don’t have to be afraid of anything. What you have to be afraid of is deviating from God’s will.

May God bless everyone!