270 - Expand Your Boundaries, Inherit God's Blessings 2#
270 - Expand Your Boundaries, Inherit God's Blessings 2
(JP Text Group - 整理 by the Little Prince of Heaven)
Today we share: Expand Your Boundaries, Inherit God's Blessings - the second part.
The scripture is Genesis 1:27-28,
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father! Thank You and praise You! As a new week begins, we are willing to receive Your words to live by. Please help us, so that every brother and sister here can receive Your personal provision. You know what our inner needs are, and You want us to live out Your victorious style through Your words. Please guide this time, renewing everyone's thoughts and intentions. Thank You and praise You! All glory belongs to You. In the name of Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen!
Brothers and sisters, peace in the Lord! Welcome to your arrival! When we inherit God's blessings, we must first confirm that God has already given them. Do not seek what God has not given. All blessings are in Jesus Christ. Believing in God's promises transforms through our hands into what our eyes can see. By believing this way, all spiritual blessings belong to you. When receiving blessings, it is through your hands that you bring the blessings in.
Jesus is our provider. The Bible says He was born in Bethlehem, which means "house of bread" in the original language. Why did Jesus have to be born in this place? He is our provider, and a rich provider, or we can say He is our food. Food is what we eat; do not reverse the order by studying the components of food every day. These are good, but the most important thing is to eat it. You may not know what is in it, but if you know it is good for you, just eat it.
Some people get this wrong, studying doctrines, researching how many types of demons exist in the world... This indeed exists and can be studied, but the most important thing is to know Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
There are many doctrines in theology that you may never fully understand in your lifetime. You only need to know one thing: Jesus. His words are for you to eat, and that is enough. Use Him every day, just eat Him, and anyone willing to seek Jesus and come before Him to receive will not be rejected by Him.
Our Lord does not want you to live in worry and fear every day. You must know that you are in Christ, and in Him, there is abundant provision. As long as you are willing to rely on Him every day, He will surely lead you to experience His abundance. When you are abundant, you will also become a provider for others.
Looking at today's scripture, God created mankind in His own image, in the image of Him He created them; male and female He created them. Are you created by God? Some say, "No, I was born of my mother!" But are you created by God? Yes, then how are Adam and Eve like God? Where do you think you resemble God? Is our appearance the image of God? Then you could go out and say, "God looks like me," which seems problematic.
What is said here, that God created mankind in His own image, refers to the spirit within people. The spirit within us is the same as the spirit in Jesus, and the same as the Holy Spirit who created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. Isn't that the same? Although our shells are different, the inside is all the same. God placed His image within us, so when our every move is governed by the Holy Spirit within, you are like God.
Verse 28 says, God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
There are indeed many things we need to do in this world, and the previous sentence is that God blessed them.
Sharing the first point: Receive the inheritance that God has given us.
Before assigning them tasks, God wanted them to be fruitful and multiply. Now, if you were asked to have ten children, would you? No, you wouldn't, because you can't afford it. God not only wants you to give birth but also to raise them. To be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. You not only have to have children and raise them, but you also have to manage the earth. This is God's inheritance for you, and you must manage it. Is it getting better or worse?
You must also manage the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and every living creature that moves on the ground. If you rely on yourself, it becomes a heavy burden. Do you feel that raising children has become a burden? Because in the previous part, you do not know how to use it, so the burden becomes heavier. Do you feel that managing a company is quite complicated? Is a company of two thousand people easy to manage? Not easy, because human hearts are deceitful, and you lack something.
Now, is it easy to manage the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky? These seem to have problems. Brothers and sisters, when people are disconnected from God, problems arise. Initially, what God assigned to us was meant to be an enjoyment, but in the end, it became a burden. Before letting them do these things, God first blessed them.
If God does not bless first, relying on human strength will become a burden. What was originally a good thing may become too heavy and cumbersome, and one may not want to do it anymore. Some may say that relying on oneself can also lead to some success, which is true, but sustained success is very rare. Most people's success is temporary; perhaps many people gain something today, but overnight they lose it all. However, if it is blessed by God, it is permanent, and no one can take it away. Amen!
John 15:5 says, I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.
Jesus compares our relationship with Him to that of branches and the vine. When we remain in Him and He in us, and we are connected, we will bear much fruit. This is related to your actions. I will give you a metaphor using spiritual life and living. When we believe in Jesus, at that moment, you, the wild grape branch, are grafted onto the vine of Jesus. Is that true? Yes, but being grafted does not mean you bear fruit yet, but your life is already connected to Jesus' life. By faith, this is accomplished; grafting is not you striving to lean on Jesus and connect with Him; it is all done by God.
After God cuts you from that wild grape or wild olive tree and places you in Him, you are connected to Him, and your life is connected. But you have not yet borne fruit.
How can you bear fruit? You must continuously receive nourishment from the vine. If this grape branch thinks, "Am I really in Jesus? Does God not want me anymore? Is He going to cut me off with scissors soon?"
If this grape branch thinks like this every day, it cannot bear fruit. All its energy is spent on worry and fear. When it sees scissors, it is afraid: "I am not growing; if I grow too fast, I will be cut off." This is problematic. Brothers and sisters, our lives are connected to Lord Jesus. He will not cut you off again. You need to receive His provision continuously, and you will bear much fruit. Thank You and praise the Lord!
First, you must receive the inheritance that God has given you. The first thing God said to them was to be fruitful and multiply. To bear spiritual children, to evangelize to more people, these people are saved in life and are connected with us spiritually. To be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and manage it.
God's words are very precise. We need discernment. Many people go to two extremes. The first extreme is complete sovereignty of God. Some say, "Everything is up to God; whether we have it or not is fine." They emphasize God's sovereignty and do not emphasize what people should do; it is all done by God. This is incorrect. Without us, what would God do? Who was the world created for? For us, right? God did not create the earth just to play; it is too boring to create two people and put them in.
God created the world for people to enjoy His joy. After God created everything, He gave the earth to people to manage. The scripture tells us that God blessed them and let them manage the earth (the world). No matter what kind of person you are, everyone wants to manage something: no matter what, you are a parent and can manage your own children.
Everyone has the ability to manage; some just perform better than others. When God created man, He gave them the ability to manage and the right to manage, so He gave the earth to man, while He Himself manages the heavens. Do not separate these two. If you must emphasize God's sovereignty and push people aside, people will become fatalistic, saying, "It doesn't matter whether we do anything or not."
In this way, people become unwilling to do things and will say, "Lord, you take care of it." How will God take care of it? They push all responsibility onto God, and when they end up with nothing, they will say, "Lord, why do You treat me this way?" Because they pushed all sovereignty to God and did nothing themselves. This is the first extreme, completely emphasizing God's sovereignty, whether we have it or not is irrelevant.
The second extreme is that God saved our lives, but we rely entirely on ourselves for living. Many people say, "For small matters, we can handle them ourselves; for things we cannot solve, we will seek Jesus. Jesus is too busy; He has so many things to manage in heaven and earth, so do not bother Him with small matters." This statement is also incorrect.
God blesses people, and who gives birth to the many? It cannot be said that God does it Himself. Who manages the earth? It is also people who manage it; managing the fish in the sea is also done by people. But God gives you wisdom and ability to do things. Everyone must separate this. We have received God's grace; you must do things according to God's way to see God's blessings. Amen!
God gave all authority to Adam. When he managed the world, he could enjoy the joy that God's words brought him. Think about how interesting it was when a huge creature came before Adam, and Adam said, "Your nose is so long; I will call you an elephant." It was very happy and said, "Then I will be called an elephant."
Isn't that interesting? Now, the only names we can give are to our children and pets; for everything else, we have lost the power to name. But Adam had a lot of such autonomous power because God gave him this ability to manage everything. Hallelujah! God blessed them, and the subsequent things were done by God through people. Therefore, people must use God's power to do their best; this is not the law but God's way of blessing you.
Some people say they believe in grace but have taken it to extremes. They say, "Jesus has done everything; we do not need to do anything. If someone tells you to do something, that is the law." If I say at noon, "Everyone come to eat," and you say that is the law, then do not eat. If you go to work, that is the law, then do not go. Brothers and sisters, we must discern such matters. Look at some scriptures; God wants to work through what you do with your hands so that you can personally see this blessing.
Was David a person who acted according to God's words?
1 Samuel 18:14-16,
14 David was successful in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw that he was very successful, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.
David relied on God in almost everything. Did he not do anything? At that time, David was working under King Saul. Did he think, "I have already been anointed by Samuel; I am a king; how can you make me do things?" The Bible says he was successful in all his ways, which describes that he relied on God.
It does not say, "I do nothing and only rely on God; you will say I am a successful person." Where does this success come from? It is in the things he does. He was successful because he used God's wisdom. Isn't this applying God's words to life? It also says that the Lord was with him. It is precisely because God was with him that he was successful, and it is precisely because he was successful that it showed that God was with him. Isn't this a mutually reinforcing matter?
Saul also saw this, and we know Saul was not spiritual. Saul saw that David was successful and was very afraid of him. Why was he afraid? He saw God's presence on him. But all Israel and Judah loved David because he went out and came in before them. A person who truly applies God's words to life and experiences God's words will surely be loved by God and also loved by people.
If after believing in Jesus, you always say, "I am loved by God," but everywhere you go, people dislike you, and you speak with a tail behind you, doing things lazily, and people dislike you, while you say, "I am loved by God," this must mean there is a problem in your life. David relied on God and lived out God's style. The way he lived was that all Israel and Judah loved him because David was always ahead of them in doing things, and what he relied on was God's power.
Another person, Genesis 39:23, "The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did."
I put these two people together, and you will find that they both did things while others saw that God was with them, proving that the blessings and abilities they brought forth from what they did were beyond human normal limits. What does this illustrate? If you rely on God to do things, it will surprise some people and show that God is with you.
I will give you the simplest example. For instance, during service, we pray for someone whose life is about to end and is very ill. We pray for him, "In the name of Lord Jesus, God has healed you." This person gets better, and through this, some people see that God is with us. Isn't that a fact? It also strengthens us; we know God is with us, so we are more willing to do things.
If I tell you that you all have the authority of Jesus inside you, and you believe it, is that a fact? If there is a sick person, and we say, "I believe Jesus has given me the authority to heal; I believe..." and shout this, can this person be healed? No, unless someone goes over and lays hands on him to pray, and this action is beneficial to us. When you act, that is when you receive this blessing. Joseph was such a person; David was such a person. Some may say, "How do I know I will inherit the inheritance?" Look at the scripture we shared last time.
Romans 4:13, "For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would inherit the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith."
After being justified by faith, God will give you this blessing. God not only wants to give you the identity of a righteous person, but this identity of a righteous person also carries the blessings of the righteous. Many people only receive the identity of a righteous person but do not live out the blessings of the righteous, which is very unfortunate. Today I want to tell you: you are called righteous by God through faith, and you can also inherit the blessings that God gives to the righteous. How do you know? Because the Bible tells you so; God has already told you this. Back then, Abraham also did not know. He said, "How do I know I can inherit the land?" Look at
Genesis 15:7-9,
7 The Lord said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” 8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 9 So the Lord said, “Bring me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
I have shared this segment before, called the Abrahamic Covenant. In this scripture, when Abraham asked God, "How do I know I will inherit this land? I cannot gain possession of it by my own ability; what is the evidence?" Did God tell Abraham to do something? These things are for sacrifice, and the purpose of the sacrifice is to tell Abraham: there is a covenant between you and me.
Brothers and sisters, how do you know you will inherit this world? Because you also have a covenant with God. You can inherit God's inheritance not because of your actions but because in Christ, God has already prepared all the inheritance for you, just like Adam and Eve inherited the world. What did they do when they inherited the world? They were created by God, and when He breathed into them, they were already qualified to inherit the world. Amen!
Brothers and sisters, when you are born of God, the Holy Spirit dwells in you, and you are qualified to inherit this world. Always maintain a righteous mindset. What does this mean? When you feel that doing this thing may not succeed, you are relying on yourself or looking at your environment. You must believe: in Christ, God helps me; there is nothing I cannot do. The Lord is with me; I will surely prosper in everything.
This is God's promise to us. Whether others believe it or not is their business; you must believe and always maintain a righteous mindset. How does righteousness come? When you encounter something, think about what Jesus accomplished for you on the cross regarding this matter. Can Jesus bless you? You say, "Yes! I believe Jesus can bless what I am doing now."
Then you must believe that this blessing has already been given to you; everything is related to the cross of Jesus. In Acts 20, Paul once invited the elders of the Ephesian church to meet him in Miletus and held a special pastor's conference there. Here are Paul's words; let us look at them together.
Acts 20:28-32,
28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number, men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 32 Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Brothers and sisters, you will find that when Paul was training this group of pastors, he said very important words. The Holy Spirit made you overseers of the whole flock; what is this for? When a servant sees someone's problem, he must point it out, with the purpose of bringing him back to God and living by relying on God; this is the role of oversight.
You must keep watch over yourselves and all the flock. Paul tells this group of pastors: the people you shepherd and oversee are those whom Jesus bought with His own blood.
The following is a very surprising statement. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Even from your own number, men will arise and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them. Brothers and sisters, what does Paul worry about the most? He is most worried about a church leader and servant saying the wrong thing. Originally, these people were all redeemed by Jesus with His precious blood and are very precious.
But if a pastor says here, "You are all a group of heretics, a group that deserves to die; look at how you are not like Christians?" Similar words to attack the flock are called heretical words, leading disciples to follow some false things. Then Paul continues to say, "So be on your guard; remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears." When Paul admonished them, he did not attack them but helped them recognize the word of God's grace.
Finally, he says, "Now I commit you to God and to His word of grace." This word has an effect. Let us see, if the word you hear is correct, your life will definitely be correct. What can this word bring you? The following says this word can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Brothers and sisters, if the word you hear is the truth, this truth will do two things: first, this word can build you up; second, it can make you share in the inheritance. Paul gives us this word, and the purpose is also to build us up and let us share in the inheritance. The way of grace is the way of grace.
Brothers and sisters, Paul has entrusted you to God and the way of His grace, which can build you up. What does it mean to build? The opposite of building is to tear down; this should be known, right? Attacking each other and hating each other is tearing down, right? Originally, a good family ends up in pieces; isn't that tearing down? The opposite of these things is building. The meaning of building in the original language is to benefit you and strengthen you.
Brothers and sisters, you must know that the true way of God's truth, after you hear it, will benefit you and strengthen you. If you cannot discern whether what this person is saying is true, then see if this word can bring you building, and you will understand. If you feel worthless, unable to do anything, and afraid to act, thinking that God dislikes you, being overly cautious, and feeling that the world looks down on you.
But when you come to church and hear the word, you find that God loves you so much. You are a righteous person, and you can inherit the blessings of the righteous. This must be a word that builds you up and strengthens you. This is why many people say, "I am truly joyful after hearing the truth. After so many years of hearing the word, this sermon has released me and made me very joyful." This proves that this word is functioning normally!
The way of grace in Jesus Christ brings people to be built up, absolutely not to strife, division, and arrogance. The more a person understands God's grace, the more humble they become. The more they understand God's grace, the more cautious they become in serving. Because they know that the person they serve is someone redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Since you know he is bought back by Jesus' precious blood and is loved by God, how should you treat him when you serve him? With caution. Would you say, "I see you as a child of the devil"? You would not easily draw such conclusions because you do not know whether what you say is correct; what if he is not? Then you are attacking God.
The more a person understands God's grace, the more cautious their service will become. This is the first point, which can build you up. The second point is that it makes you share in the inheritance with all the sanctified ones. Here, the sanctified ones refer to all the saints. How did you become sanctified?
The moment you believed in Jesus, you were set apart by God. Therefore, the Bible tells us very clearly that you are all saints. All of us who accept Jesus Christ as our Savior are saints, set apart by God for Him. We all have the evidence to inherit through Jesus Christ.
Look at Ephesians 1:13-18,
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
Through this passage, we can see that when you hear the message of truth and believe, you receive the gospel. When you believe in Him, you receive the promised Holy Spirit as a seal, which proves that the moment you accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in you. What real benefits does the Holy Spirit dwelling in you bring? This is your evidence of inheritance.
Do you know what evidence is? Do you know what a check is? Does it have a seal on it? Can you just take some paper from the bank, write on it, and exchange it at the bank? No, it cannot be exchanged. What is missing? It lacks a stamp, the bank's stamp. With this stamp, people recognize: this is our bank; we can exchange it for you.
When you accept Jesus, the seal of the Holy Spirit is upon you. Do not say, "I know I have the Holy Spirit inside me." Just knowing is not enough. Do you know what this seal of the Holy Spirit brings? What it brings is a rich inheritance. You see a check with a one followed by nine zeros, stamped. Do you know what this stamp and the number on it mean?
This is your inheritance. When you accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in you, and you can draw on all the blessings of the kingdom of heaven. Why do people like money? Actually, people do not like money itself; they like what money can bring them in various benefits. If money cannot buy anything, what use is it? The more you have, the more it becomes a burden. If I give you a bundle of money from the Republic of China era, would you want it? It is useless; it represents a value, representing inheritance. Hallelujah!
The Holy Spirit is the seal upon you, representing that you can draw on all the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven through the Holy Spirit. This is the evidence of our inheritance, until God's people are redeemed, to the praise of His glory. Brothers and sisters, when will you no longer rely on the Holy Spirit to inherit? When our bodies are redeemed, then you will no longer need to rely on the Holy Spirit to inherit. So now is the time.
Verses 15-16 say, "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers."
Paul cares very much about this identity: you are all saints. I am so happy to hear that you believe in Jesus; I have heard that you have the Holy Spirit inside you. I am truly delighted. Each of you can draw on God's inheritance just like I can. How to draw? I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him.
You must know Jesus, understand His abundance, understand His blessings, and understand His power so that you can receive His power. Let us be practical; there are top achievers in every field in this world, and Jesus is the best among them.
Let me give you the simplest example. Is Jesus a fisherman? No, compared to Peter, from a worldly perspective, Peter has more experience. Peter has a boat and has been fishing for a long time, with very rich experience. When Jesus and Peter stand there discussing fishing, the locals would definitely recognize Peter; he is indeed quite impressive at fishing.
However, although Jesus had never fished, it does not mean His ability is less than Peter's. Peter relies on his experience to fish, which is what all worldly people rely on now. But Jesus does not follow the usual path. Peter calculates the time, water flow, and climate, and then casts the net in that place, while Jesus does it differently, casting the net casually.
Sometimes some people's faith is too great, so great that it exceeds Jesus, and they are even unwilling to cast the net, saying, "Lord, let the fish come out." Is this correct? At least there should be an action, right? You should be the one to take the boat and throw the net into the water; this action should be yours, right?
Many people skip this and say, "Jesus, you do it for me; if I do it, it becomes the law, and they will require me under the law." After Jesus told Peter to cast the net, a miracle happened. It was not the net looking for fish; at an apparently abnormal time, the fish began to swim into the net, and in the end, they almost could not pull it up. This is Jesus' way; this industry is like this, and other industries are like this too.
The miracle of the five loaves and two fish is also like this. We feel that the food is getting less and less, but with Jesus, it keeps increasing. This is the law of the kingdom, and the Holy Spirit dwells in you. Do not live with worldly logic; live with supernatural logic and the way of the Holy Spirit. So how should you live?
You should read the Bible; the Bible gives you many ways to live, and those are definitely victorious methods. Therefore, you should ask God to give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation; these are all given to you. The gift is that if you are willing, He is willing to give it to you. To make you truly know Him and enlighten the eyes of your heart so that you may know the hope to which He has called you, which is in Jesus Christ; you always have hope, and He tells you that you are an inheritor.
What is the glorious inheritance among the saints? This is the inheritance God wants to give you. What has been said above is a fact, but many people say, "I also believe in God's words, also believe in Jesus Christ, also believe in grace, and believe in what Jesus has accomplished for me, but why do I not see it?" This is the confusion of many people. They believe everything you say, but their lives do not change. What is the problem?
Some say, "How can I inherit this inheritance? Why do I still have nothing? I am not healed yet?" You need to see if you have fallen into one of the two extremes mentioned above.
Sharing the third point: Inherit the inheritance through action.
If you only hear, "I believe in all the blessings of the kingdom," but you believe without acting, you will not see the effect. This is what James says: faith without works is dead, meaning it has no effect. Look at a very important scripture,
Genesis 13:17-18,
17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” 18 So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.
In the passage we just read, Abraham asked God, "How do I know I will inherit this inheritance?" God told Abraham, "Build an altar." It was to remind him of the promise God made to him. This promise God had already said: "Get up! Walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you." As long as God said this, you should get up. What does it mean to walk through the land?
Walk from one side to the other; as long as you walk through the land, it will be yours. God said it, so you should walk through. What did Abraham do? He pitched his tent, built an altar, and then said, "How do I inherit this land?" Can't you just walk around and find out? Many people miss this: "I know God loves me; I know the authority of Jesus is great..." Can you stretch out your hand and pray a blessing for yourself? As long as you stretch out your hand to do this, you will see this happen. Hallelujah!
Today, I will clarify many people's confusion. Many people say, "I believe these things, but I do not see them." You need to take the action behind this, continuously meditate on God's promises, and walk out in faith.
Two farmers prayed to God, saying, "Lord, You must send rain today; my crops need rain. If it does not rain soon, my crops will die." Both prayed this prayer. One of them, after praying, went and piled up the soil next to his field to collect water. The other one kept saying, "Lord! I believe You! It will definitely rain." Which one is the true believer? It is the one who went out to act and prepared for the blessing.
After you pray, can you prepare for what you just prayed for to welcome this blessing? Many people skip this part. So what will happen when God gives you blessings? How can you see it with your own eyes? Therefore, this point in our lives must be filled. Let us look at Jesus; this passage is about Jesus washing the disciples' feet.
John 13:14-17
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Let me ask you a question, if they do not act, are they blessed? Yes, even if you do not act, you are still a blessed person. But when you act, you will see this blessing come upon you. It is precisely because you know you are a blessed person that you should express this blessing through your actions. How did Jesus prove that He was a blessed person? By washing the feet of the disciples, He proved that His heart was indeed great enough to do the greatest thing, to wash the feet of the disciples. This is a manifestation of His worthiness to be exalted to the highest place.
Today, we think that eating better and enjoying better is being blessed, but it is not like that. It is how much blessing you can bear from God. Once you truly understand that you are a blessed person, you will no longer care how people see you. You will do as Jesus did, and you will truly be blessed. Hallelujah!
This point may need to be listened to repeatedly in today's sermon; it may give you a new perspective. You can meditate on this scripture this week. Think about why Jesus washed the disciples' feet. Jesus said, "I have set you an example; you should do as I have done for you. When you do this, you will be blessed." This means you will see this blessing with your own eyes, referring to matters of service, and then you will see it.
What happened when Peter truly did as Jesus did? At the gate of the temple, there was a lame man who hoped someone would give him something. When Peter arrived, he began to implement what Jesus did, saying to the lame man, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Wasn't this serving?
He used the service that Jesus gave him, and as a result, the lame man jumped up and praised God. When Peter served, three thousand people repented, five thousand people repented, the lame walked, and the blind saw. All these things happened. We must not use this passage to say, "In the future, let’s set up a basin in the church, and after the meeting, everyone wash each other's feet."
Washing each other's feet refers to serving one another. When you serve one another, you will see this blessing come upon you, miracles will happen, and lives will be changed. This is our way of being blessed. Jesus did this, and we expect to do the same. You should receive this blessing practically, allowing you and those around you to benefit from it. This is the first thing we need to meditate on.
The second thing we need to meditate on is Philippians 4:8-9,
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Paul said this to the Philippian church, and it seems we do not quite understand it. If we extreme interpret it today, for example, some people say, "Jesus has accomplished everything; we do not need to do anything. If we do anything, we fall back under the law."
Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—are these not good things? You should think about these good things; the source of these good things comes from Jesus. You should think about the benefits Jesus brings you. What else should you think about?
You should think about what you have learned from me, what you have received, what you have heard, and what you have seen in me. You should put these things into practice because they have all believed. After believing, repeatedly meditate on these, and finally take this step to see the desired results. Hallelujah!
Remember when Joshua commanded the priests to carry the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan River, did it require faith? You must first believe, then dare to move forward. Otherwise, you would not dare to move forward. Because at that time, the waters of the Jordan were already high, and everyone knew it was impossible to cross, similar to our Yellow River flooding. Would you dare to go down with the Ark? Without faith, you would not dare to move forward.
Joshua commanded them, "Just carry the Ark and move forward. I want to tell you, when your feet touch the Jordan River, the waters will immediately stop, and the ground below will become dry." Do you believe this? Now you need to meditate on what Jesus said to you. I ask you, "Do you believe?" Many things are beyond your imagination, just like Joshua said to the priests, "Go do it," encouraging them to act.
If we discuss whether this can be done here, it is 100% impossible because human methods are always unfeasible. How could stepping in cause the waters to dry up? The water is so deep. This matter can only be seen by relying solely on faith. After believing, you must start to act. The four men carrying the Ark had great faith. I think Joshua was probably among them. This requires faith to take that step. So do not merely stay at the level of prayer; prayer is good.
After praying, you must prepare for what you just prayed for to receive this blessing. Perhaps Joshua prayed, "Warriors, now carry the Ark and come down to the river." At that time, do not look; just close your eyes and move forward because you know there is a river ahead; what else are you looking at? The Bible says that when they stepped into the Jordan River, the waters immediately dried up, and they saw the miracle. Hallelujah!
Some people pray for themselves, "In the name of Lord Jesus, I believe Jesus has healed me." From that moment on, they no longer think of themselves as sick: "I am a healthy person, so now I will act according to the thoughts and behaviors of a healthy person." Peter also prayed for that lame man like this: "You, get up!" The lame man said, "I cannot get up." "You stand up!" "I cannot get up." When faith and action collide, you should believe in God's words.
After getting up, he found he could walk. This last step is extremely important. Therefore, what you have learned, received, heard, and seen, you should put into practice, and the God of peace will be with you. Now let me ask everyone: "When you do not act, does God not be with you?" The law will tell you, "If you do not act, God will not be with you."
I now tell you: Whether you act or not, God is with you, but when you act, you will feel that God is with you. Now do you all understand? This is what you feel. How do you feel it? Just prayed for that person, and the lame man got up; God is with me. At that moment, you believe more than anyone that God is with you. Although I have always told you that God is with you, through such actions, you are more certain that God is with you. So expand your boundaries and inherit the inheritance that God has given you.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father! Thank You and praise You! Thank You for renewing my thoughts through these words today. You want to expand my boundaries and let me know that I can inherit God's blessings because Jesus has accomplished everything for me on the cross. I can obtain all of God's blessings with the Holy Spirit as evidence. In my life, please help me, grant me wisdom, and give me the spirit of revelation and wisdom. Let me hear Your words and act on them. You said that those who act will be blessed.
Lord! I am willing to experience Your presence in my life, to experience Your words. Please help me, grant me faith to experience Your words, and truly feel Your words coming to fruition in my life. Thank You and praise You! All glory belongs to You! In the name of Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen!