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路加福音12：1-12 你知道不该作的事吗?
Dear brothers and sisters, friends, good morning. Welcome to the 9th day of the 2nd month of 2017, the 9th day of the 19th day of the Lunar New Year. Today's Zhengdao Jingwen is recorded in Lujia Fuyin, Chapter 12, Verse 1 to 12.
The theme of Zhengdao is,. Do you know what you shouldn't do? Charlie Munger once said,. Achievements in life and business are things you know you should avoid. For example, marriage, early marriage, etc.
Dear brothers and sisters, Once you know what you don't want to do, or don't want it to happen to you, you should know what you shouldn't do. Professor Michael Porter of Harvard University once said,.
The essence of a profession is to choose what you shouldn't do. If you want to start a business, there are some things you shouldn't do. For example, don't let your dreams overshadow your business model.
Or don't focus on the bottom line of your business, neglecting the service and feelings of your customers. Don't even use your pension as a source of income. In our daily lives, we should also know what we should do, and what we shouldn't do.
The American actor, Lucille Ball, once said,. Knowing what you shouldn't do is more important than knowing what you should do. In today's sermon, Jesus teaches his disciples and us, what we shouldn't do.
First, don't cover up what is hidden. Chapter 12, verse 1 -3. After Jesus tested the Pharisees and the Lawmakers, his name rose to the top. In the beginning of today's Sermon, it says,. At this time, there were tens of thousands of people gathering.
They were so terrified, they wanted to see what Jesus was like. Or, most of them wanted to hear what Jesus had to say to the Pharisees and the Lawmakers. So, the crowd roared, and even fought each other.
But Jesus knew, many people did not truly follow him. They were hypocrites. Here, Jesus said to them, You must beware of the laughter of the Pharisees, that is, the laughter of hypocrites. Hypocrites are hypocrites.
They wear a mask. They dare to hide themselves behind the mask. Jesus compared the hypocrisy of the Pharisees to a virus that infects and ferments. It will expand and expand. Even in today's Sermon, we often encounter such a phenomenon.
You may have seen Christians wearing a Bible in church, but they did not read it. They did not attend the Sermon. They were not interested in the Word of God. But they were full of reproach, criticizing the Lawmakers, and so on.
Some Christians think that the Church should grow. They think that the Church's equipment is too old. The Church should expand and build, and so on. But if you have the opportunity, you should be surprised at their small contribution to the Church, but a large part of it is spent on personal car consumption, such as traveling, buying a new car, buying a new handheld game console, and so on.
Brothers and sisters, friends, if we do not guard against this small laughter, it will be like in a dough, that is, in a church, it will spread and pollute the whole Church. What will you do next? In the second chapter, Jesus says, What is supposed to be, is not revealed.
What is hidden, is not known. In the end, what is hypocritical, what is hypocritical, must be revealed. In the Church, we do not have a record of each individual's contribution. Our so-called private contribution can become a hypocritical cover-up.
We must be vigilant, we must be alert, because what you say and do in secret will be heard and seen in public. What you say and do in private will be heard and seen in public. Secondly, do not be afraid.
This is recorded in chapter 12, verses 4 -7. Do not be afraid of how others see you. Do not be afraid of being called stubborn, or being called weak, and so on. There is a lot of pressure from society.
For example, the issue of homosexuality, the position of homosexuality, and so on. We, as Christians, are not in line with the general trend. So we do not need to be afraid of them. We do not need to be afraid of their bribery, or their discrimination, or the pressure of exclusion, or the loss of a job, or even a business, and so on.
Sometimes, the pressure from society can be life-threatening. Just last month, in India, there was a couple who believed that Jesus was standing in the cold water with his family in the village, in the cold water, in the deep well of the well, and that he was the one who kept them away from Christ.
But these couples were not afraid of the pressure from society. On the 4th day, Jesus said, After you have killed your body, do not do anything else. Do not be afraid of them. In the end, the couple were tortured to death 17 hours later.
But Jesus said on the 5th day, I am going to point out to you who you should be afraid of. You should be afraid of those who have the power to kill after they have been killed. Are you afraid of people?
I am going to tell you here that you should be more afraid of God. Are you afraid of people leaving you? I am going to tell you here that you should be more afraid of God leaving you. Are you afraid of the death of your body?
Jesus said here, You should be afraid of your soul being eternally thrown into hell. We are afraid of God because it is his greatness and justice. And we have sinned easily. When we commit the sin of God, we should suffer the wrath of God.
When we realize God, we should be afraid of God. Then we will not be afraid of people. This is what is written on the tomb of John the Baptist. He who fears God the most, is the one who fears God the most.
He is not afraid of the face of people. Another reason why we are not afraid of God is because he cares about us. He values us. Jesus said on the 5th day, Aren't 5 sparrows worth 2 silver coins? But in front of God, not a single one is forgotten.
What about people? Jesus said on the 7th day, You are more precious than many sparrows. Not only that, He loves us. He even brushed our hair. He even combed our hair. God cares about us. He cares about our lives.
Brothers and sisters, friends, God cares about you. So you don't have to be afraid of people. Thirdly, don't deny people. When we are afraid of people, or when we are under pressure from society, you may give in.
If you have in your heart, in the Church of God, you will form another Jesus. A Jesus who is in harmony with society, or with political power. That is not the eternal Jesus. You know that. But you have done what you shouldn't have done.
On the 8th and 9th day, Jesus told them, and told us, Those who recognize me in front of others, in front of the messenger of God, must also recognize him. Those who do not recognize me in front of others, in front of the messenger of God, must also not recognize him.
Jesus' teaching here, teaches us to recognize the true Jesus. As Paul warned, the Christian Church of Corinth, among them, there is another Christ, another Holy Father. Therefore, as Paul said, we are only saved by faith, and not by adding something to our faith.
Similarly, we must recognize the true Jesus. We should not add or reduce anything to him. For example, if we do not believe that he was born again, that he did not resurrect, etc. If this is the case, then the Jesus you know, is another Jesus.
The Christ you know, is another Christ. Those who recognize Jesus in front of others, are those who have not yet ascended to heaven, and have not yet been resurrected. They must also recognize him in front of the messenger of God.
That is to say, he is one of them, and one of his children. On the contrary, those who do not recognize Jesus, his attributes, his status, etc., or those who do not recognize Jesus, although they say, Jesus, Jesus, but in the end, Jesus says to them, I have never known you, so leave me.
Brothers and sisters, friends, should you know what you should not do? Jesus said in verse 10,. Those who speak against the Son of Man can still be saved. What does this mean? I think it means to follow your own conscience, and not to recognize the conscience of God.
What I am saying here is not to deny the Holy Spirit of Jesus. In language, some people have offended Jesus. His sin can be forgiven. We can look at Peter's account of convincing Jesus to go to Jerusalem, and his three times of not recognizing the Lord, to understand this sentence.
Jesus then said,. But those who are devoid of the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. The Holy Spirit teaches people to recognize their sins, and to be bound by the shackles of sin, and not to be saved.
It also teaches people to see that God is the God of justice. He is also the God of judgment. Only by believing in Jesus can we be saved, and have eternal life. So, when you are devoid of the Holy Spirit, you have rejected the grace of God again and again.
Your sin cannot be forgiven. Brothers and sisters, you should know that what you should not do is not to deny the Holy Spirit, and not to reject the grace of God. When you do not deny the Holy Spirit, when you do not deny Jesus, when you do not accept Jesus as your Savior, you do not need to worry about how to defend yourself, or what to say.
Because at that time, in front of people, officials, or authorities, the Holy Spirit will not only be what you should say, because God is great. Brothers and sisters, friends, do not be afraid of what people do to you.
What is the worst thing to do? They put Jesus on the cross. The result is good. Similarly, the result of your transgressions will also be good, because God is watching over every hair on your head. No matter how great the pressure of public opinion is, do not deny it, because the Holy Spirit works in your heart.
He will only be what you should say, and what you should worry about. So, do not worry, do not be isolated. Don't you know? God, our God, has seen me, has seen you, how great and precious you are. Thank you for listening.