2.2.1 活在神的次序裡（一）
Life Garden Healing Course
Speaker ：Teacher Ming
I want to ask everyone, have you all had an experience of believing in Jesus? Let's do a survey: summarize your motivation for believing in Jesus in one sentence. It could be when you first encountered Christ, when you met someone who believed in Jesus, or the reason why you were interested in Christianity. Who wants to go first? Some people say they had no hope in life at the time; others say that believing in Jesus helped them understand love better; some were searching for love; some wanted to know the meaning of life. I found your answers to be very spiritual. Do you know what motivated me to believe in God at first? It was because there was good food at the fellowship, haha... Does anyone else relate to me? Some people made a covenant with God because a family member was sick, saying, "If you are good to my mother, I will believe in you." Are there any other reasons? Some people were kept awake at night by the Holy Spirit; someone online said they wanted to change themselves; others wanted to meet more people and develop their network; some were looking for healing; some were looking for the true value of life. I found that each of us had a different motivation when we first believed in Jesus or encountered Christ. Some reasons were very spiritual, while others were very worldly, like mine. However, we all hope for something better, because things were not good before, and we want to find something better. If we were unhappy before, we want to become happier, and we want things to become better. Like some people said earlier, they hoped for relationships, to meet more people, to be cared for, to be loved, or to receive love. Everyone's reason for believing in Jesus is different, but in general, our lives lack something, and we hope our lives will be better, so we are all searching for a better life.
What does it mean a life of Abundance?
When God created us, He intended to give us a better life. The Bible talks about having an abundant life - but what does that mean? It means what I mentioned earlier: after having this relationship, I can be loved, filled with peace, have relationships with others, have friends without fear of betrayal or loneliness. This is what we expect in our hearts and what many people desire. Looking back at the Bible, it tells us what kind of life God wanted to give us when He created us. The Bible says that God wants us to receive an abundant life, but in reality, we have lost this kind of life. This is what we will discuss today. My sermon is quite long, but you don't have to remember it. After leaving this room, just remember that the point we discussed today is that human beings were created to receive God's abundant life. After receiving this life, we can reflect God's glory.
What is the relationship between abundant life and reflecting God's glory? This is a question we will discuss today. The Bible says that thieves come only to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, but Jesus came to give the sheep life and to give it more abundantly. The meaning of abundance is increasing to the point of overflowing. Half a cup of water cannot be called abundant, only when it overflows can it be called abundant. God wants us to have this kind of life. Many people believe in Jesus and are attracted to certain aspects of the community they join, which is why they want to stay.
I began to understand the concept of Christ or Jesus when I was in junior high school. In our city, there was a custom of having a godmother, and one of my godmothers was different from the others. At that time, I hadn't become a believer yet, but she took me in as her goddaughter, and as her goddaughter, I had to visit her frequently and sit down to chat with her. I noticed that she had a characteristic: she was a very righteous person, and everything she did was by the book. Even for small things, she wouldn't cross that line. Her profession was in the education system; her husband was the director of education and she was a teacher. In that environment, the education system was in chaos, and bribery was prevalent, especially when students had to study. But my godmother was different. Even though her husband became a director and later a member of the National People's Congress, and her son became the director of a TV station, she remained upright in that kind of environment. This was a very impressive thing that she left with me. Later she told me: "Do you know? I am a Christian." I didn't understand what a Christian was at the time, and she told me that she prayed with her sister on the phone every week. I asked her if she didn't need to do anything after praying, and she said no, because her life became so much better after praying. She showed me that she didn't need to take bribes or give bribes like other people, and God blessed her family just the same. This was a very impressive example for me. At that time, I was very curious about what a Christian was like and why there was this result. It wasn't until I went to Malaysia to study that I met God and truly understood that we could have abundance because of this relationship (with God). When I met her, I already felt that this family was so abundant, and why everyone in the family was in such high positions. This was the most impressive thing for me.
Most people believe in Jesus because they have been preached to. We want a better life and read in the Bible that God wants to give us life and give it more abundantly. However, we find that in reality, we do not have that life. I remember there are over 30,000 promises and blessings in the Bible. When we grasp each of those promises, we receive the blessings that come with them. For example, God promises to make us the head and not the tail, to put us above and not beneath. But the reality is cruel. We look back at ourselves and it seems like we are not above, but still beneath. We are not the head, but the tail. We are wandering in this place, and I do not see that we have received the satisfying abundance of life. It feels like our life has been taken by the enemy, or rather, stolen, robbed, and destroyed. We are looking forward to that life, and we love Jesus and God, but we find that the more we serve, the weaker we become, the more we serve, the more we are hurt. We also find a pile of things waiting for us to handle when we return from serving. Isn't the one I serve Jesus? We ask ourselves this question. Jesus, who has over 30,000 promises in the Bible that say we should live a life as abundant as His and even overflowing, but the reality is so cruel that when we come back home, we have a lot of problems waiting for us to solve. No one can answer these questions for us, and that's why we feel like something is blocking us from receiving the abundant life God has promised us. Ephesians 3:19 says that we may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height of God's love. After receiving salvation, we are to be filled, or rather, filled with abundance. This verse speaks of our lives being filled with all the fullness of God. You are to be filled because being filled with the love of Christ means that we have the opportunity to come out of old bondages after accepting Christ's redemption. What are those old bondages? It is to receive this abundant life away from the enemy's killing, stealing, and destroying, right? After receiving this life, you are to be filled. Ephesians 3:19 says that everything that God fills will fill you. This abundance is different from the abundance we mentioned earlier. Where is it different? 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." What does this mean? We can receive an abundance, and this abundance is that we begin to receive such a life that when others see us, it is like they are seeing Jesus, as if reflected in a mirror, becoming like the Lord, from glory to glory, as if seeing Christ. The Greek word for "Christian" literally means "little Christ," which means that Christians should be like Christ. When we see the life of a person, it is like the glory of the Lord reflecting from their life. If you have time, there is an article in the ministry called "From Praise to Glory" written by a sister named Ruth, who was the teacher of Renny McLean, the author of "Eternity Invading Time." Ruth, this extraordinary person, was used by God throughout her life to teach the glorious life, and she often brought God's glory down from heaven herself. In Renny Mc Lean’s article, he says that even after Ruth has died, that anointing was still there, just like when Isaiah touched the coal, and he came to life. Renny McLean talks about the invasion of glory into time, where nothing becomes something, and from his ministry, we can see eyes growing where there were none and severed hands growing back. This shows that such abundance in God can be obtained.
In 2 Corinthians 3:18, it is said that we can receive such an abundant life that when people see us, they see Christ. This life is amazing, and it goes from nothing to something, such richness is amazing. This kind of life has a time element, a journey, and steps, so that we can go from glory to glory, and be transformed by the Lord's Spirit. Everyone knows that we are born again from the Holy Spirit, and we hope that when we are born again by the Holy Spirit, we can have such a life. But after we are born again by the Holy Spirit, we ourselves are not yet perfect, we have not achieved a score of 100. Why is that? Because the restoration of life requires a process that takes time. 2 Corinthians 3:18 mentions that a program of going from glory to glory is necessary so that our lives can enter a glorious degree and then enter an even more glorious degree, and then enter more and more degrees of glory. When people see you, they should know Jesus, and when people see you, they should know that you are born of the Holy Spirit. So, the point is not whether you look like Christ, but that you should naturally be like Christ. Because when you begin to receive all that abundance and live in glory, you have already entered a program of going from glory to glory. Why do we lack patience in the beginning? Why can't we let God make our lives at his own pace? Why do we find that our environment does not make us more joyful and Christ-like? In fact, in this process, we still find it difficult to touch God's peace and joy. Occasionally, there may be an exciting worship in the church, but after worship, when we leave the room, what do we find? Oh no, people are talking badly about me again, and then I must hide. It seems that when we go out, that abundant life disappears.
What is abundant life? In the book of Genesis, there is an example of Adam and Eve. Before they sinned, were they not living an abundant life? Genesis 1:27-28 says that God created man in His own image, both male and female, and blessed them. When we see Adam at that time, he had the abundant life of God, right? Who can tell me to what extent that abundance was? Adam was to manage the Garden of Eden. How big was the Garden of Eden? It had four rivers passing through it, which means it was bigger than a city. He needed to manage a city by himself, what did he need? He needed ability, talent, and not only to manage what was on the ground, but also to manage the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, and all kinds of creatures. In other words, Adam at that time had to have abilities that surpassed our current abilities; otherwise, he could not have managed all of this by himself. We can barely finish cleaning our home for a day, but Adam had to manage the watershed of several rivers and name all the creatures, which shows what? It shows that his memory was very good. Who can remember thousands of animal and plant names in a day? Remember them? We cannot. And Adam was able to categorize all these animals by name, indicating that his memory was very good. Another thing we see from him is the abundance he received from God. Why do we use Adam as an example? Because in Genesis 1:27, God created Adam in His own image, and that abundance was in Adam. Genesis 2:15 says that the Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. To work and take care of it, if you want to take care of something, you must have a systematic management. The word "take care of" means protection. It means that there would be enemies invading the Garden of Eden; otherwise, there would be no need for protection. Why take care of it? If everything in the Garden of Eden was peaceful and calm, the snake could not enter, Satan could not enter. It was to let Adam take care of the garden. The meaning of "take care of" is the meaning of protection, not letting enemies in, and it requires ability. And this ability may have exceeded whom? It is highly possible that we do not know. It is a mystery. He was able to take care of it, indicating that God gave him some abilities. If this ability could reach the level of the spiritual realm, that is, superpowers, it could be considered miracles. Therefore, some people say that Adam may have had the ability to travel through time and space and move from one point to another in an instant, otherwise he could not have taken care of such a large garden. This is the abundance mentioned by God in Genesis, it should be so. The source of abundance comes from God, and God created humans to become like Him. God's purpose is also to be the same, when you can be like Him, even the devil says, "Can you be like God?" and to Adam, "Can you be like God?" God also said, "You shall be like me." This is God's purpose. From this sentence, we know that when Adam had not fallen, he had the ability to be like God, with abilities that we cannot see now. We see how much was lost after the fall of humanity. When we hear some testimonies, such as when Elizabeth came last time, her car keys were locked in the car, and miraculously, the key was pulled out of the keyhole and placed in her pocket. She was originally in Canada but crossed back to mainland China, and there were witnesses to this event. She did not have a passport, did not have a visa, did not take a plane, this is abundance, the abundance that God mentioned. However, after modern humans fell, this is extraordinary power! But in Adam's time, it was already like this. Can we experience it? We can experience this abundance because it has been inside of us all along. When God's life enters us, that abundance comes in too, and when God created humans, that abundance was already placed inside of us. So, when you see what God did after creating Adam, He did a very special thing, what was it? He breathed a breath into his nose. So, when He breathed, their noses had to touch, and maybe their lips too, but their noses had to touch, and then when the spirit entered, Adam's spirit came alive, and he did what? He opened his eyes. Who was the first person he saw? God is the reason why we say that He loves humans to the point of finding mud, using water to bring it to life, which is why our bodies are made up of 97% water and 3% minerals. We are a bunch of mud and water cemented together, and then Adam was molded out of it. I don't know if He was actually molded, but I imagine so. And then Adam was created in His image. After He finished, He breathed life into him, and as soon as the breath entered Adam, he opened his eyes for the first time. He didn't see Eve or anyone else, but he saw God. So, when you bring a chick next to an eagle, if the chick sees the eagle first, it will think of it as its mother. The relationship has already been established. At that moment, the love relationship has been transmitted. So, when God breathed life into Adam, that relationship was established within him. God's entire presence is in human life, so we can naturally live from one level of glory to another, even to greater glory, and even to become more like Jesus. And the source of all this abundant glory is God because God is love, and He has given us all these things.
The expression of love requires a relationship. When you don't know someone, the love you express is virtual. If you express that love for someone you don't know, it's a virtual love, and it's not considered true love because it's not within a relationship. I write a poem to express my feeling of love, which is called the love in a lyrical song, but I may not have a specific object. I express a love in a book, but the love has no object. Then, what is the love I am expressing? It's virtual. Love is an expression within a relationship, which is why God created relationships around us. Last time, I mentioned that love without a relationship is like asking someone to live on a mountain alone. There's no relationship, but you say you love people very much. This love only loves yourself. If you have no object to express your love to, what is the relationship? In the church, many people talk about relationships and even change systems to talk about relationships. We want to have an art exhibition to establish relationships with each other. We want to have a feast of love and establish relationships with each other. But we find that the more we talk about relationships, the more difficult it is to establish them. The more we talk about relationships, the more they break down. Does it mean that the steps we take in discussing relationships in small groups are wrong? Or is it because we need to change these steps? However, I found that even if we change the steps, relationships are still easily broken or have problems. Why is this? What should relationships be like? Let's look at what the truth is like because most people don't understand what real relationships are in the Bible, which leads to misusing relationships and getting hurt.
Now let's talk about the second point - relationships. In the process of interacting with others, when we talk about relationships, we find that it is still easy to get hurt or to break apart. If we talk about relationships because of relationships, it may lead to division, forming cliques, or splitting into smaller groups, because you are talking about it based on relationships. If we want to solve such problems, we must first look at the truth about relationships in the Bible. Let's take a look at the relationship of the Trinity, which is an example. There is no better example than the Trinity, which consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. How do they talk about relationships in the Bible? John 5:19-20 says, "Jesus gave them this answer: 'Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.'" What did Jesus say? Whatever the Father tells me to say, I will say it, and whatever the heavenly Father tells me to do, I will do it. I do nothing by myself. Sometimes in the Bible, it seems like Jesus is heartless. Sometimes when he sees his friends get sick, he doesn't go see them. Why? Because of the Father. It's not a matter of whether he wants to or not. If the heavenly Father doesn't tell him to, he won't go. He has already passed through Jerusalem three times and didn't go in, even though he knew he should go, but he didn't because the heavenly Father didn't tell him to. The same goes for visiting patients. If God doesn't say to go, he won't go. In this relationship, Jesus completely obeyed and honored the will of the Father.
In Acts 4:8, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to the people, "Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healed." In the early Church, we know that there were 120 people praying in the upper room of Mark's house when the Holy Spirit descended upon them and they began to speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues is a manifestation of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Clearly, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke through the Spirit. The Spirit used him as a vessel to speak. What did he say? He spoke in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This relationship between the Holy Spirit and Jesus is that the Spirit glorifies Jesus. The Spirit was using Peter to glorify Jesus Christ, not himself. The focus was on Jesus Christ. He didn't say, "Look at me, the Holy Spirit, and what I can do." Instead, he glorified Jesus. This is all about Jesus Christ. Let's look at Matthew 3:16-17, "After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.'" Before Jesus began His ministry, He did one thing. He went into the wilderness to find John the Baptist. After John baptized Jesus, something happened. The heavens opened, the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, and a voice from heaven said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Did the Father say, "Listen to Me, I am the Father, don't listen to Jesus, don't listen to the Holy Spirit?" No. He said, "Listen to My Son." When the Father proclaimed that this was His Son, what did He do? He glorified His Son. He didn't say, "I am the Father, and you should glorify me." He said, "You should glorify My Son." When the Holy Spirit comes, He says, "You should glorify Jesus." Look at the whole context of the Bible, and you'll see that within the Trinity, they never exalted themselves. They always exalted others. They never glorified themselves, but they always glorified the other. So, this is a paradigm, a pattern, and an example. This is the interpersonal relationship that God created us to live out. He used Himself as a metaphor to tell us that when we work together, when we cooperate with each other, we should follow this pattern, this partnership pattern, this interpersonal relationship pattern. But what do we see when we encounter interpersonal or partnership relationships around us? It's always "me first," and we never talk about honoring others. Whether it's in the church, ministry, denominations, individuals, or business, how do we talk about it? We may sound humble, but what we often raise up is ourselves, our denomination, our service, ourselves... That's why so many interpersonal relationships in the church break down because we have never lived in or walked in the truth revealed by the Trinity. Just imagine, when you come home, you honor your husband and children, and then your husband honors you and your children, and your children honor you and your husband. Could you not be harmonious? Definitely you will be more harmonious. Why? Because we always see ourselves as inferior to others. God's love is expressed to us through such relationships. Therefore, all abundance, the Triune God expresses to us through this way. Do you know how God described people when they were created? He didn't say, "Because I am God, I will belittle you." Do you remember? When He described people, He also honored and lifted them up. No matter how lowly you are as a human being, you are His creation, He can crush you with one foot, He can ignore you, or even take back your life, but He did one thing, He honored you in interpersonal relationships, even though you are a creature, I still honor you. So, in the process of God lifting us up, He puts His abundance into us. This is the truth of interpersonal relationships that God has revealed to us, the truth of harmonious relationships is also here, and the truth of handling church relationships well is also here, and the truth of handling leadership relationships well is also here.
In the kingdom of God, only such relationships can bring out love, so that we can receive all the abundance of God, and as we just discussed, through such relationships, we can enter from glory to another glory, into deeper glory. This refers not only to individuals, but also to the church, the bride of God, and the kingdom of God. We enter another relationship from one relationship. If our service, our relationships with others, the relationships between leaders, and the relationships within ministries are all focused on "me, me, me," my convenience, my benefit, my interest, and we do not honor others, then we cannot enter the overflowing abundance. When relationships are chaotic, witchcraft arises. It's simple. If a son dominates his parents in a family, is it chaotic or not? It is chaotic. If a wife desperately tries to dominate her husband, is it chaotic or not? It is chaotic. I once read a news report that a master's student brought not only a bunch of food and drink to school, but also a woman, who was his mother. Why? It was because his mother was in control of everything in the family, so she wanted to manage everything. When the child goes out, what should the mother do? She's worried, so she follows the child to school and arranges everything from accommodation to laundry and cooking. Are there such examples? Yes. This is an example I saw in a newspaper. It is clear that there is a person in control in this family. I have given many examples of controlling behaviour before. I once told you an example, didn't I? There was a person who, whenever her husband disagreed with her opinion, would run to the balcony and step outside, and tell her husband that if he didn't agree with her, she would threaten to jump down. She always got her way. Why? It's because of coercive control. When relationships are not handled properly, chaos enters, and when chaos enters, witchcraft arises. So, when we deal with interpersonal relationships, we must be very careful to deal with witchcraft, why do we often feel that there is so much witchcraft in so many gatherings we go to? Because we have never lived out the truth of relationships, we have never known this truth.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth in perfect order. What is order? Order is called laws in the material world - physical laws, chemical laws, natural laws. Who created these laws? God did, not man. Man only discovered them, but never created them. The second order God spoke of is the spiritual order, the spiritual law. There are two orders: the first is the worldly, which is the natural law; what is the spiritual law? We will talk about that later. For now, we are talking about the worldly order. If all things in the world did not live within the laws of the world, what would happen? The seasons would not follow spring, summer, fall, winter; volcanoes would erupt at random times, and the sea would not flow to lower ground. What would happen? Natural disasters. Even nature knows it must live in God's order. If it does not live in God's order, disaster will come. All things in the universe must obey the physical laws God created. If you acknowledge this, then we can say the world is harmonious. Many advertisements say the world is peaceful, why? Because they follow God's laws. The spiritual law says that when all things operate according to God's order, they will reflect His glory. This is stated in 2 Corinthians 3:18 and Psalm 19:1. All things God created speak of His glory. This means that if I am within God's created laws, whether physical or spiritual, I can overflow and manifest His glory. Therefore, if you do not follow God's order at home, you will not be able to reflect His glory. So, you can see how important this truth is. This is mentioned in 2 Corinthians, and after receiving God's glory, we should reflect it. Life is a natural reflection because all things in the world are a natural reflection. When we go to the lake and see the water flowing to lower ground, it is so beautiful. If we do not live within God's order, we can only pretend to have that glory, do you understand? Because we cannot naturally live out that glory. So, we become fake. When I come home, I should honor my husband and children, but when I get home, I have a different face than when I'm at church. I don't talk to my husband when he talks to me. But when I get to church, I'm like a bird. Why? We feel like we are wearing a mask because we are not living out the laws God has given us, so we cannot naturally possess that glory.
Let's review what we have done, whether it's our service or our actions. You know that nature is the most genuine, and that human-made things are flawed. Nature is created by God, including what we do with our hands, our service, our peace, and our relationships. If any of us need to create, pretend, or force things in such an environment that is not natural, we need to repent. We know that only a life that comes from abundance will be natural and genuine, not harming others but blessing them. In Genesis 1:28, God blessed them and said, "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." God used a very special name, "subdue," and "rule over," and before that, it said that God blessed them. We know that this means that you have the power to rule and manage, which is what we usually call authority. This authority is the right to cover everything on the earth, from the fish in the sea and birds in the sky to every living creature on land, and it is what God gave to people when He created them, before they sinned. Authority is a spiritual law that God gave to people to govern the world. If people obey this authority and begin to rule the world, they can receive all of God's abundance and glory to govern the world, and this is the only way to bring harmony and peace to the natural and spiritual world. If everything in the universe is willing to operate within the laws that God created, and if Adam and Eve had not sinned but operated according to the authority given by God, our world today would not have come to its current state, and we would still be in the Garden of Eden, doing what? Glorifying God. So, when there are problems in the material world and the universe, we know that the people who govern this world are not living according to the order and spiritual laws that God created.
There is another spiritual law in Matthew 7:1-2, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way, you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." This is a spiritual law, and the Bible speaks of many spiritual laws. It is not a law of causality where doing good leads to receiving good in return. Rather, spiritual laws are the order created by God. God created the world and all things in it, with both worldly laws and spiritual laws. When we live according to God's spiritual laws, we can enjoy all the spiritual abundance that God offers. Conversely, if we go against this law, even if we love Jesus, serve God, and work hard to bring thousands or even millions of people to believe in Jesus, we cannot enjoy this abundant life, nor can we even enjoy the authority that God bestowed upon humans as mentioned in Genesis. Only by obeying God and listening to His words can we have spiritual authority. One of the authorities given is the power to cast out demons, which is reflected in this law. This is a spiritual law, and if we obey God, this spiritual authority will naturally be bestowed upon us. Therefore, for those who are often disobedient in their lives, where does authority come from? They do not have any authority. They can do many good things, such as making soup, mopping the floor, washing anything, and working for many hours in the church, but they envy authority, the authority to cast out demons, the authority to heal, and the authority of anointing. Why? Because they do not understand this law, which is to obey God. We have encountered many examples of casting out demons. Once, a demon said to a person, "You cannot cast me out." He said, "Why not?" The demon replied, "My name is Rebellion. You never obey your leader, so what right do you have to cast me out?" So he did not have that authority in his hands, understand? Why? Because he chose not to live in the spiritual order created by God.
In spiritual laws, there is another example in Galatians 6:7-8, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." What exactly is the flesh referred to here? In the original text, it means the self, the "I want, I want, I..." mentality. Just like Satan, who wanted to ascend to high places and be equal to God, this self-centered mentality leads to corruption. If our ultimate goal, even in serving in the church, is "I want, we want," and we live in a community that exalts and honors ourselves, we will not receive the fruits of the Spirit because it is a product of the flesh. This is a very important spiritual law, and therefore, the order of obedience to God is crucial in receiving authority from Him.
Today, we talked about abundance, relationships, the patterns of relationships, and the order of spiritual and worldly laws.
