210 - Transform Your Mindset into Rest#
210 - Transform Your Mindset into Rest
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Little Prince of Heaven)
The topic of sharing is: Transform Your Mindset into Rest
Luke 13:10-17
10 On the Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues. 11 And there was a woman who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.
12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity!” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You! Thank You for giving us such words, through the words of Jesus Christ, let us be renewed in strength, and let us enter not into a working mode, but into a resting mode. We are willing to focus on Jesus Christ. As a new week begins, may we receive Your strength to live, and may You grant us wisdom and ability to know You more and apply wisdom in our lives. Anoint every brother and sister who comes before You, let them enjoy such blessings in You, thank and praise You! In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!
Those who have not accepted Jesus, who do not know the grace of Jesus, are all under a working mode. What is a working mode? It is the mindset that without doing something, there will be no good results, or that without effort, there will be no good outcomes. For those who do not believe in Jesus, this is a common inherent mindset. Is this mindset good? Yes! It makes people very proactive in doing things, but it also has many side effects, because when people are working, their thoughts are usually filled not with positivity, but with negativity; the negative and pessimistic thoughts dominate.
For example, when starting a business or wanting to open a store, many people think, “What if I have no customers? What if I lose money?” In the past, when I started my own business, many master-level people told me, “In China, when doing business, don’t think about making money right from the start; such businesses don’t last long. Expect to lose money in the first three years; can you afford to lose? If you can’t afford to lose, then don’t do it, because you have no risk tolerance. Don’t think you can just get your investment back; don’t try to take shortcuts.” Is this way of thinking correct? Yes, because people need to consider the issue of risk.
When it comes to risk, who are they relying on? They rely on themselves, because relying on oneself brings fear, and there are many unknowns about the future. Some people, when they see no customers and poor business at the beginning, immediately think, “What should I do? Let it be,” many people are like this.
Those who do not believe in Jesus are filled with pessimistic and critical thoughts; in other words, they are filled with oppression, bitterness, or anger. For example, if two businesses are doing the same thing, and the one next door is doing particularly well, they won’t think, “That’s great, their business is really good.” What do they think? “Why are people going to them?” In the past, I encountered a friend in such a situation; two stores sold similar items, and one item was particularly popular. He saw that he had no business, so he put that item in his own store, and as a result, the other person came over and started yelling at him. Isn’t that bitterness, oppression, and anger?
Why do people behave this way? To put it simply, their mindset is still in a working state, not in rest. They do not believe that this blessing is given to them by God; they believe, “I did this, and you did that, so you divided my customers, and you took my money.” If it’s a working mindset, this legalistic way of thinking, when they see brothers and sisters receiving God’s blessings, they will be jealous and say, “Why did he get it and not me?” This is a common fixed mindset of people.
God created our brains in a very unique way, allowing us to imagine very beautiful things. Today’s technological advancements are they not conceived in the human brain? If people had never thought about flying, there would be no airplanes. If people had never thought about landing on the moon, there would be no day when humanity landed on the moon. People first imagine these things in their minds before taking action.
Unfortunately, most people use their brains to think negatively or to dwell on how much pain they have suffered or how much injustice they have endured. Everyone’s brain is functioning. Each person’s brain is like a movie; it’s just that some people’s movies are war films, filled with battles and many deaths, and they see fear; some people are watching romantic films, appearing very sunny every day, but what are some people watching? Horror films, and they are fearful of everyone, saying, “You have a ghost inside you, you have a ghost inside you.” Everything is related to ghosts, and they are watching horror films.
Brothers and sisters, what should we Christians be watching? We should be watching about Jesus. Amen! Let Jesus fill your thoughts, and everything will begin to change. God gave us brains not to think about these negatives or to dwell on things that have already happened and cannot be changed.
God wants us to think positively, to store the grace of Jesus Christ. It’s like the hard drive in a computer; whatever you store in it is what you will see. I wish that from today, brothers and sisters, you fill your brains with God’s words, and you will not be influenced by bitterness, oppression, or anger. It’s not that they won’t exist; they will, but you will quickly clear them out, because there is a built-in function to clean up garbage. Hallelujah!
Many people are like watching movies; who are they watching for? They are watching for themselves. Brothers and sisters, as mentioned earlier, our brains are like movies; many people are watching every day, letting their hearts see. When your heart is constantly playing negative movies, various murders, and scams, your heart will start to be affected, and your heart will have problems, and your body will start to have problems. What you see will directly affect your life, speech, and behavior. This story is beautiful in itself, but because some people are playing negative movies in their heads, it leads to bad outcomes.
On the Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. There was a woman who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years; this might be a spirit of bending or a hunchback spirit, just joking, I don’t have the ability to discern spirits, I can only say that the result of this person being possessed by a spirit is that she was bent over and could not straighten up at all, which is related to this spirit. After Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said: “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity!”
Here’s a revelation for everyone: What is it? There is a truth: How should we pray, especially regarding healing? Many people pray in a way that resembles a war movie, “The enemy is coming, hurry up and charge! This time we must defeat him, quickly bring more people,” and they start fighting in the background, is this a war movie? When did Jesus say, “Disciples, start fasting, I’m going”?
Has anyone ever fought like this? Has anyone ever cast out demons like this? Jesus’ way of casting out demons is usually very, very simple. Amen! So we want to provide a truthful explanation regarding casting out demons and healing; Jesus said to this woman: “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity!” Isn’t that simple? Jesus didn’t say, “Let me scare the demon out first.” There was no craziness, jumping around, singing, or shouting, right? No, everyone must return to the truth.
He simply said to this woman: “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity!” And that was it; this prayer was already completed. For Jesus, what kind of movie is in His heart? A victorious movie, what is being blown? The trumpet of victory, not the charge trumpet. How many people are still charging forward? They are blowing the trumpet of victory, Amen! He has already won. He said to this woman, you are set free from your infirmity, which proves that Jesus has already entered into rest; Jesus first entered into rest and then gave rest to this woman. Amen!
13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
Is this a good thing? Absolutely! There is such a testimony in the church; the immediate manifestation of a miracle should be something everyone cheers about, right? But the church where Jesus was was not like that. The synagogue leader, the one in charge of the church? The person in charge of the church usually has more power, the pastor of that church. He pointed fingers at Jesus and spoke. Was this woman part of that church? It’s obvious she was; she had been possessed by a spirit for eighteen years, which indicates what? It indicates that this pastor had no ability. He couldn’t cast out this demon, and when Jesus came, in less than a minute, the problem was solved. Shouldn’t this pastor be happy?
By normal human thinking, this pastor should be happy; this is such a good thing! But this pastor started to explode in anger; the synagogue leader was furious and said to the people, why was he angry? The believer was healed; he should be happy, but he was actually angry, angrily saying to the crowd, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
If you were that woman, what would you say? “How many times have I asked you?” What kind of thinking does this pastor have? A religious mindset; he does not have the life of Jesus Christ, nor is it a kind of faith; he just looks at where you haven’t done well. You violated a certain regulation of our church, which is wrong; even if there is a miracle from God on you, that is also wrong. Many people, when preaching the grace of Jesus Christ, say, “You don’t conform to our doctrine; even if you have a miracle, so what? I’m very angry because you don’t conform to our rules; you have already violated the rules.” Isn’t this the situation?
At that time, the synagogue leader was very angry; Jesus had only been serving for a short time, and such a great effect was produced. Why is there such a big difference between the two? One is a working mindset, a religious mindset, while the other is a resting mindset. Hallelujah! This woman had been unable to escape this predicament for eighteen years, but when Jesus saw her, he said, “Come to me,” and Jesus healed her. What did the synagogue leader say? “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
What is the Sabbath for? To rest? In the beginning of Genesis, what did God designate the seventh day as? A holy day. Later, when the Sabbath was established, it was a day to put down personal work, to put down personal matters, and to come to the synagogue to worship God, prioritizing God’s matters. While others rested, there were a group of people who did not rest; a group of people who were precisely working on the Sabbath, who were they? The priests and scribes, those who served in the church.
Was Jesus a priest? Yes. Was He a prophet? Yes. Did Jesus do anything wrong? No. That said, the priests or these teachers of the law taught the people about God’s words on the Sabbath, but when there was a problem, for example, when someone was sick or had bitterness, could it be poured out? Yes, so did Jesus violate the teachings of the Sabbath? No.
But why were they angry? The reason is simple; because Jesus did what they could not do, when someone else did it, they became angry, “You took his job, you made him lose face.” This is a working mindset, while the other is a resting mindset. For Jesus, every day is a day of rest.
There is a heresy called the Seventh-day Adventists; they say, “Among the Ten Commandments, all others can be ignored, but this one about keeping the Sabbath must be kept; it cannot be abolished, so the others don’t matter. We should return to God’s Bible.” Who is the Lord of the Sabbath? The Sabbath was established for rest, right? Do you think a person with an illness, coming to church, can have rest? After Jesus healed her, did He not give her true rest? This is something she should have received on the Sabbath.
The synagogue leader didn’t even understand the basics, allowing this woman to suffer for eighteen years! How many churches live like this? The believers are suffering, and they still tell you to keep this and that; how have you offended God? Believers want rest, not work. “Why are you so busy now? Because you have offended God; you have done too little for God,” instead of continuing to let them work and serve, they should let them enter into the rest of Jesus Christ.
The synagogue leader was very angry because Jesus healed on the Sabbath; he was very angry. He didn’t dare to speak to Jesus, so he began to speak to the crowd, “There are six days for work.” Where was the focus of this synagogue leader? “There are six days for work.” You see, he said this angrily, right? His focus was always on work; the people worked for six days, busy in the fields, when would they have time to seek you? They finally came to you on the Sabbath, and you said they couldn’t be healed on the Sabbath; isn’t that pushing the people away? They can seek healing within six days, but not on the Sabbath. The synagogue leader didn’t even understand what rest was; he didn’t even get the concept clear.
Today, there are still people who ask me:
“Teacher Ren, should we strive to be holy?”
I said, “Do you understand what holiness is?”
He said, “Holiness is not sinning; it means our lives become glorious.”
I said, “How long do you think it will take you to achieve this?”
He said, “I can’t.”
I said, “Because you haven’t clarified the concept, that’s why people argue with each other.”
What is holiness? God has set us apart; that is holiness. How are you set apart? God has separated you from the world, dedicating you to Him, just like the priests of old, God separated them from the people and dedicated them to Him. They had a sign on their heads that read: “Holy to the Lord.” Did that mean they no longer sinned? They would still sin and fall, but they were still holy. Hallelujah!
Many people do not understand what rest is; the focus of the Sabbath is not about doing something, but about entering into rest. The synagogue leader’s focus was always on work; he was always concerned with doing more than God’s rest. I want to tell the brothers and sisters: Adjust your mindset, from constantly doing to entering into rest.
Now let’s look at what the Lord Jesus said, in verse 16: “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, should she not be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
This woman is a daughter of Abraham, bound by Satan for eighteen years; what does “should not” mean? It means it should be done. When someone is sick, should they count the days? “According to some regulations in the church, today is not suitable for seeing a doctor; we can only worship God.” If there’s a fire at home, “Today is not suitable for putting out the fire; today we must go to church to worship God.” Are there such Christians?
If the synagogue leader’s house was on fire, would he stay there? Would he say, “Six days can put out the fire, but absolutely not on the seventh day”? Would he say that? They wouldn’t do that themselves; instead, they would restrict others. How many people say, “Illness is God’s packaged blessing, a blessing in disguise”? When they themselves get sick, why do they run to the hospital? Isn’t that the same as this synagogue leader? Singing high praises, who can’t sing?
At that time, Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?”
Isn’t He talking to the synagogue leader? “I ask you, do your oxen and donkeys need to drink?”
Brothers and sisters, we are not going to church to learn worldly knowledge. I am not teaching you knowledge to make you religious or to fill you with various legalistic thoughts, “This can be done, that cannot be done,” I am not telling you these things. I want you to apply God’s words in your life; when you receive this word, apply it to yourself. If you are unwilling, don’t teach others.
To put it in one sentence, “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself,” Amen! If you are unwilling to do something, don’t make others do it. Hallelujah! Moreover, our Lord really will not make us do these things, so He healed that woman on the Sabbath. Hallelujah!
Jesus emphasizes rest; should she not be set free on the Sabbath? In other words, the Sabbath is a day for people to find rest, and Jesus emphasizes rest. One service has no effect, while the other continues to be in God’s miracles. Many people say, “What should I do to solve my problems? What should I do to turn my current predicament around?” Very simple, stay continuously in God’s rest; completely hand this matter over to our Lord.
If your perspective is focused on work, thinking, “If I don’t do something, this matter will only get worse; if I don’t take some remedial measures, I’m finished,” this is a working orientation. The other is a resting orientation; please remember: Rest is not doing nothing, it is “Lord, what should I do in the face of this problem?” You need to find promises in the Bible and believe. Amen!
Or say, “Lord, give me wisdom to resolve this issue.” Hallelujah! We believe that this woman who had been bound for so many years, her condition had become increasingly severe; we can imagine her hunchback condition was very serious, and she could no longer work. What she needed was not to do more work; she needed rest. Amen!
Where does true rest begin? It begins with the mindset and then enters into your heart. Many people think rest is lying in bed doing nothing, that is called rest, but no, brothers and sisters, we have never said, “Rest is sleeping, doing nothing, Lord, I’ve thrown it to You, I’m resting.”
Jesus Himself is rest; He wants us to have His rest in this world. Rest begins with the mindset. It’s not that you lie in bed and rest; how many people lie in bed and still do not rest? Their minds are constantly thinking, tossing and turning, unable to sleep; isn’t that not resting? You lie in a rocking chair, shaking yourself all over, that is not rest either. True rest is not doing nothing, nor is it about relaxing your whole body. Many people say, “I want to enter rest; I’ll play some soft music, and slowly I’ll enter rest.” That is not rest, brothers and sisters; the rest God speaks of emphasizes inner peace. Hallelujah!
Inner peace is different from a working mentality. Many people lie in bed and are still working, “How will I handle that person tomorrow? What about that client tomorrow?” These are all working. Even if your body is still, your heart is still laboring; this will make you very tired.
Rest begins with your mindset. 2 Corinthians 10:4, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
This is what God has already told us; when facing many battles, such as “How do I solve this problem?” or when some pressure comes, these are all called battles. When battles arise, what should we do? The Bible tells us: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.” What is worldly? It is self-centered, fleshly, and worldly; all of these are self-centered. When you fight relying on yourself, this is worldly. Today, when we say, “You are relying on the flesh again,” what does it mean? You are relying on yourself! It doesn’t mean you are not saved; it doesn’t mean your life is too small; it has nothing to do with that. The fleshly nature, every one of us may have it, do you understand?
For example, if someone says something to you for no reason, your anger “flares up,” and you scold them, isn’t that worldly? Does our life drop because of this? Your life hasn’t dropped; it’s just that at that moment you were filled with the fleshly nature, do you understand?
When Jesus said, “I am going to the cross; I am going to die for you,” Peter said, “You cannot die; how can you die? We won’t let you die; you cannot die.” Jesus didn’t say, “Peter, you understand me too well; then go die for me.” What did Jesus say? “Get behind me, Satan.” At that moment, was Peter worldly? For us, this is worldly; you cannot say Peter is not saved; that’s not the point.
When it comes to battle, there are two ways: one relies on God’s power, and the other relies on one’s own ability. But here God tells us very simply, our weapons of battle are not worldly. When you see someone’s temper is very bad, constantly complaining, or having various bad habits, how should you battle? “Stop smoking; let me tell you, lung cancer is formed this way; you are almost there! Didn’t you see you are coughing every morning?” Who are you battling with? You are battling with that person, but the Bible says: “The weapons we fight with are not worldly; they are before God.” Amen!
People’s tempers are very explosive; a small spark can ignite them; what is the reason? They are worldly; they are always self-centered, always defending their own dignity. If you keep lighting their fire, how can they not ignite? Some time ago, I shared with you that in the wilderness, junipers are very dry; they are so dry that a small spark can ignite the entire desert. Your enthusiasm is really like a fire in the desert; you can’t let it burn out; what does it need? Water, Amen! God tells us, “The weapons we fight with are not worldly,” but are before God, not relying on ourselves, but having divine power to demolish strongholds.
Brothers and sisters, who is demolishing the strongholds? Our Lord is demolishing the strongholds. Do you understand? You just press the button of the missile; who destroys the enemy, that target? It’s not you who flew out; you pressed the button of the missile, and you flew out to destroy the enemy; it’s not like that, right? Many times we want to fly out ourselves; you just let the missile fly out, and when you pray, when you battle, isn’t it letting God do it? Let the Holy Spirit do the work; it’s not you doing it; this is how we battle.
Let me give you an example; extreme charismatic groups, what do they teach? “We must demolish the enemy’s strongholds.” Do you know what they are doing? They are breaking curses every day. I don’t know how hard that curse is to break; Jesus couldn’t do it once; do they have to break curses every day? “You have a family curse on you, so you must break it.” They are cutting chains every day; have you heard of this term? Cutting chains; I don’t know how strong that chain is; even Jesus couldn’t cut it; they have to cut it every day. Moreover, how do they do it? They want to throw the devil down from the sky.
Does the Bible say the devil is the ruler of the air? Isn’t he in the air? That’s right; he is in the air, but how do you bind him? The extreme charismatic groups say, “Since the devil is in the air, let’s go up to the air!” Many people take planes to pray, saying we can bind him only in the air, or they say we must run to the top of the tallest building in the city, pray loudly there, and engage in spiritual warfare. These people think the closer they are to the sky, the better the effect; is that so? If that were the case, Jesus would be very pitiful; the highest thing Jesus sat on was probably a donkey; at that time, there were no tall buildings, but did Jesus bind fewer demons than these people?
Even if he is in the air, so what? Our weapons of battle are not worldly. Amen! You can sit in a rocket; Satan is still there; the problem is not you binding him; it is who? It is the power of Jesus Christ! The effectiveness of Jesus’ ministry surpasses all the efforts of those extremists; why do these people have to do these things? It’s due to ignorance of the Bible, do you understand? Many people cast out demons as if they are jumping rope, jumping around, waving things around...
I once mentioned in a sermon that there was an extreme organization that made people buy wooden swords, the sword of the cherubim, hang it in their homes, and cut off the devil; the devil would not dare to enter their houses. So, which is more powerful, that sword or Jesus? They think that sword is powerful, believing that sword was anointed by some master.
“That sword prayed over by the master; is that an ordinary sword?”
“The sword of the cherubim shines everywhere; how come I haven’t seen it shine?”
“Your spiritual eyes are not opened…”
It’s not our ability; it’s God’s ability; He can demolish strongholds. Amen! Brothers and sisters, it’s not your ability; it’s God’s ability demolishing strongholds. What stronghold do you think our God cannot break? Since there is none, don’t be anxious. Amen!
Look at 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
This is God’s power! Every argument refers to the things people imagine, the evil thoughts of people; who can change them? Our Lord can easily demolish these strongholds. Amen! There are also various pretensions that hinder people from knowing God; some people have been praying for their partners at home, saying, “Why can’t he believe in the Lord? Why does he always persecute me?”
You shouldn’t ask why; you should ask what to do. “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I break all the pretensions in ______’s heart, and I demolish all the arguments and wrong thoughts within him.” You should declare it this way, Amen! When you speak like this, you are actually declaring against the forces behind a certain person, and then in the name of Jesus Christ, it can destroy all those pretensions and demolish them.
It goes on to say, “And we take captive every thought.” Do you see that? Since it mentions taking captive, it proves what? It proves that in the past, they were deceived; their hearts were led astray in the past, but now God personally takes it back, making it obedient to Christ. Amen! When a person willingly submits to Jesus Christ, it is because their heart has been taken back; a person likes to drink; what is the reason? Their heart is still bound by alcohol; how should you pray?
“In the name of Jesus Christ, I take his heart back from alcohol.” Who should take it back? Let Jesus take it back; use the name of Jesus to take it back, Amen! Don’t wait until he comes back from drinking and say, “Why did you drink again? You’ve broken so much furniture at home; life is unbearable.” Is there any use in declaring that? No, you need to see the spirit behind it; it’s not a worldly battle; it’s a spiritual battle. Hallelujah!
When you declare in the name of Jesus to turn his heart back to Christ, that person will submit to Jesus Christ. These attacks and battles are all in the mind; we are not blowing the charge trumpet; we are not telling you to bravely fight; it is already the trumpet of victory; the trumpet of victory must be remembered as the trumpet of victory, that Jesus Christ has already defeated the enemy; when was that? Two thousand years ago, when Jesus said, “It is finished” on the cross, at that moment, the devil had already failed, and the victory in spiritual warfare had already been determined.
Now your enemy is merely deceiving you, deceiving you in your thoughts, making you think the battle is not over; in fact, the battle has already ended. Today, when we talk about spiritual warfare, it is not about shouting louder to defeat the devil; it has already failed; declare your victory, declare Jesus’ victory, declare that today the devil is the loser. Every time a battle arises, you must declare that Jesus is victorious.
Paul tells us in Romans, “I am in great distress; there are two laws at war within me; when I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” What should be done? Is this a spiritual battle? But how does Paul say afterward? “Thanks be to God! Through Jesus Christ our Lord, I can be victorious, and I am more than victorious.” Amen!
Why can we be victorious through Jesus? Because Paul knew that on the cross, Jesus had already won; you are merely controlled by this mindset, making you feel that the war has not been won; in fact, you have already won. So later in Romans 8, Paul tells us, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Because the Holy Spirit has set us free, if you do not know that the Holy Spirit has released you, freeing you from the law of sin and death, you will not be able to come out of this battle.
Spiritual warfare is indeed happening every day; the devil constantly accuses you in your thoughts, but you must believe, “In Christ, I am already a victor.” Do not let the devil scare you; he is merely a roaring lion; the true lion is Jesus Christ; how could a fake scare away the real? If you do not understand this spiritual warfare, and you are still in a working mode, your mindset has not entered into rest, and you are relying on yourself to strive and strive in battle, perhaps your battle target is precisely your child, your husband, or your wife, and you are just fighting every day; it’s not like that; this is a superficial phenomenon. The devil is merely waging a psychological war against us; he just hopes you are afraid, because when you are afraid, you lose your strength.
When the Israelites left Egypt, did they have any power? But they kept winning battles; it was our Lord who actively attacked and defeated the enemy. Later, after crossing the Jordan River, when they went to battle, those enemies were quite afraid of the Israelites, leading to later wars where they hardly needed to engage in large-scale battles; those people fled in panic or surrendered directly. Do you know the reason? Because their hearts had already been filled with fear.
Exodus 15:11-15,
11 Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand, and the earth swallowed them. 13 In your unfailing love, you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength, you will guide them to your holy dwelling. 14 The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. 15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified; the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling; the people of Canaan will melt away.
Why were they trembling? How was the once powerful Egypt dealt with? It was merely by the words that came out of God’s mouth that the entire Egypt was ruined; other people thought the Egyptians were finished; we definitely cannot win. Anguish gripped the people of Philistia; at that time, the chiefs of Edom were terrified; the leaders of Moab were seized with trembling; the people of Canaan melted away. Did these wars happen? When the Israelites arrived, they were already afraid; why did the gates close when the Israelites arrived? Because their hearts had already been filled with fear, so their strength could not be displayed.
If the Israelites had opened up a battle with the Philistines, the Israelites might not have won; it was like that in the past and is like that now. But why were the Philistines afraid? Why were the Moabites afraid? Why were the Edomites afraid? Why were the people of Canaan afraid? Do you know that the people of Canaan were all quite tall? Over three meters tall; what were the Israelites? They were like the Israelites said at that time, “We look like grasshoppers in their eyes.” Why were they so afraid? Because their hearts were filled with fear.
Brothers and sisters, whenever you face life, if you are in a working mode, you will be filled with fear, because you cannot grasp all things; there is no certainty about the future; but if you are in rest, knowing that Jesus is your backing, He has already won in all things, you will no longer fear what lies ahead.
Even if you fail this time, so what? My Lord will help me stand up again; even if there are losses this time, so what? My Lord will repay me double, so we do not fail, because our Lord does not fail. Amen! What is frightening is that you are caught by fear; once fear is in you, you will lose your strength; the devil is like a roaring lion; he first attacks your heart, making you afraid, and you will flee in despair, not daring to reach out easily to do anything again, because you are afraid of making mistakes, afraid of being laughed at by others, you are afraid... which prevents you from entering into rest. But I want to tell everyone: Jesus has accomplished everything; you should enter into rest and work. Amen!
2 Corinthians 11:3 says, “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
Why are some people unable to enter rest? Because in their mindset, they have already leaned toward other places, leaning toward work, leaning toward the law, losing that sincere and pure heart toward Christ. Do you truly believe that Jesus can help us in all things? You say the problem has not been solved; can you believe that God truly wants to help you and show His love upon you? Regardless of whether you can understand, you say, “Lord, I am willing to believe.” If you hold onto such a heart without giving up, you can rest assured that God will let you see His power manifest in your life.
At the beginning, was Eve not in God’s blessing? Everything God did was for her benefit; unfortunately, she lost that sincere and pure heart toward God and began to doubt; she wanted to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to become like God; she wanted to rely on eating that to discern good and evil; isn’t that relying on herself? What was the result? Not only did she not achieve it, but she made herself worse. That’s why the serpent had the opportunity to tempt her.
Our hearts are the same; do not let various strange theories and thoughts of working in this world fill your heart; your heart should be singularly focused on our Lord Jesus Christ. The devil is waging a psychological war; he will tell you, “Look at how they live; look at how this group of people ends up.” But where are you? You are in Jesus Christ; you are different from the world, so do not impose the worldly mindset on yourself; you should place the promises of the Bible upon yourself; that is what you should hold onto, brothers and sisters.
You see these people in the world; after work, three people start commenting on someone, “He’s no good,” “What happened in that person’s family?” You should not discuss like this, Amen! You should discuss the grace of Jesus Christ together; when you see some people indeed have weaknesses and problems, pray for them, instead of spreading rumors; our hearts should be directed toward Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! When you are in rest, a person in rest is different; they carry the glory and power of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
Eve initially possessed the image of God; she did not become the image of God by eating that. Today, Jesus has already won; do not rely on striving to win; you are battling in victory. When others come to battle, you are already battling in victory. Hallelujah! Just like prayer, many people pray to be answered; in fact, God has already answered you, which is why you pray. This is rest; do you understand, brothers and sisters? Many people say, “Lord, look, I have prayed for an hour; please fulfill it!” You are wrong; this is a working mentality; you should transform your mindset into rest, saying, “Lord, I know You are listening to my prayer.”
At Lazarus’ tomb, what did He say? “Father, I know You always hear me, but this time I am not for myself; I am for these people,” and said, “Lazarus, come out!” Can you pray in this restful way? Do not complain about all your matters, saying, “Lord, why haven’t You fulfilled it yet? What else do You want me to do?” In fact, it’s not about what you need to do; it’s about whether you can believe that God has already accomplished it for you, saying, “Lord, I believe You have already accomplished it for me; although I do not see the result now, I still thank You.” Pray with a heart that has already won; battle with a heart that has already won; that will be different.
When David defeated Goliath, did he know he had already won? He said to Saul, “When I was…” Not long ago, “When I was shepherding in the wilderness, a lion or a bear came and took my sheep; could I let it go? I used my sling to knock it down; what is this Philistine? Isn’t he just like a lion or a bear? Isn’t he just a bit taller? What’s so great about him? Rest assured, I can take care of him with a stone.” David’s heart had already won. Otherwise, he would say, “I’ll give it a try,” and then look, “Oh my, he’s so tall!” David was just a teenager; that Philistine was over three meters tall; would he still try?
In David’s heart, he had already won, so he said: “I do not rely on myself; I rely on the name of the Lord Almighty.” I wish for you to transform your mindset into rest; it’s not about your own efforts; it’s about believing in the name of Jesus Christ; He will keep you in peace; although the environment may not seem favorable now, He will keep your peace!
Let’s look at a verse, Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
Isn’t that simple? Many people ask why they do not have peace; do you rely on this God? To rely on God means to lean on Him; this explanation may not be entirely accurate, but the method is like this. Lean on God and don’t look for others, Amen! When you lean on God, what is the consequence? He will keep you in perfect peace; it’s not that I will give you my peace; it’s perfect peace; what does perfect mean? Full score. Hallelujah!
It’s not that you do enough; it’s not that you love God enough; it’s because you rely on Him, Amen! Thank and praise the Lord! Because you rely on this God, do not let the views of the world fill your heart; that will play negative movies, you know? Most people in the world play horror films, war films, or gossip films; don’t watch those, Amen!
We should only watch films about Jesus Christ; that will give you perfect peace in your heart. Hallelujah! I hope everyone often meditates on God’s promises; those promises are for you. Firmly believe in God’s words; use God’s words to define your life. If others say, “I don’t think you are doing well,” do not accept such wrong thoughts, Amen! Jesus Christ defines my life, so do not let anyone take away your rest. Hallelujah!
Let’s look at a verse, 3 John 1:2, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”
In fact, you will prosper in all things, and you will be in good health, which is related to your soul. What does the soul include? Your spirit, your thoughts, and emotions. It means that before your body is healthy and everything goes well, you must maintain a healthy mindset. Amen! To put it in our words, “A harmonious family leads to prosperity.” There is a reason for this. A harmonious family is first a peaceful emotion or mindset. If the family is chaotic, nothing will go smoothly. The first thing to believe is that we can prosper in all things and be in good health; isn’t it true that everyone wishes to receive these two blessings? Prosperity means that whenever you encounter anything, there is a solution, there is God’s wisdom; good health means our bodies will not age prematurely or die, which is related to your soul, that is, related to your thoughts and mindset. Hallelujah!
If you say, “I’m forty years old; according to some experts, people start to decline at forty; I estimate that menopause will come soon; I have thought of all kinds of menopause symptoms; I have read many experts’ opinions, and I have more than half of them.” If you play such movies every day, before long, these symptoms will manifest in you because what you think in your heart will be reflected in your body; it is just like that, Hallelujah!
Brothers and sisters, you are different from the world. God’s thoughts are that He wants you to prosper in all things and be in good health; what does being in good health mean? It means not only being healthy but also being strong because your soul is like this; your inner spirit is like this. Amen! Let your emotions and thoughts align with God’s spirit; let the Holy Spirit guide your heart; use God’s words to renew your thoughts and mindset. Amen! If you do this, you can rest assured that you will often enjoy God’s peace!
John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
The world indeed gives you a certain degree of peace. For example, many people think, “If I have enough money, I can be a little more at ease,” but in fact, when you have enough money, your heart will not only lack peace but will also be anxious; do you know why? The people of the world actually have two kinds of thoughts: first, they desire what they have not obtained; second, they fear losing what they have obtained; this is the manifestation of anxiety.
Do not think that having enough money means peace; “enough” is an empty phrase; what does enough mean? If people understand the grace of Jesus Christ, what they have now is already enough. Amen! You say, “It’s different; I’m currently living from hand to mouth,” but that is enough because you can enjoy your peace in this; God will continually add to you, adding more to you. Amen! Hallelujah!
The peace the world gives you is temporary, but Jesus says, “My peace is not like the peace the world gives; the peace I give you is without anxiety and without fear.” Hallelujah! And all of this comes from God’s promises. You need to repeatedly think about these words; these words you are sure are given to you by God; meditate on them, and the negative, dark, and pessimistic thoughts will be cleared away.
I hope everyone will work with the power of Jesus Christ and rest in the new week. When you see someone greatly blessed by God, you will shout from your heart, “Thank You, Lord! Hallelujah!” Because God can bless him, He can also bless you, so do not let jealousy and strife fill your heart; let the rest of Jesus Christ always fill your heart because Jesus Christ existing in your heart is the day of rest; the focus is rest! Not the day! Hallelujah!
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You! Thank You for giving us such words, letting us enjoy rest in You, transforming our mindset into Your rest, not relying on ourselves; relying on ourselves will lead to the fleshly nature, entering various pitfalls, and being influenced by people. We are willing to be influenced by You, using Your words to define our lives.
Lord! As a new week begins, I am willing to hand over everything into Your hands; I am in Your rest, believing that Your promises will be fulfilled in my life; although I do not see this result at this moment, I still believe in You. Because the weapons of my battle are not worldly; Your power can demolish all the strongholds and schemes I encounter; I enjoy Your blessings in You; this is a blessed week. Wherever I go, I will carry the grace of Jesus Christ, not only building myself but also building those around me, letting me always be in Your rest. Thank and praise You! In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!