Sunday Message - Build the Holy Temple; Receive the Fire of Spirit 1

06/04/08
<Isaiah 1:10-15; John 5:17, 19-20, 37-39; John 3:3; John 4:21-24>

EXPOSE THE “FALSE SYSTEM OF BELIEF”

• We are going to share the messages on “Build the Holy Temple” this month. After building the
Holy Temple, use it to inflame the fire of spirit in our lives
• First of all, we must unveil the “false system of belief”. Unveil = expose. The false system of belief
must be exposed
• A lot of people go to church with false things. Thus, they have a lot of misunderstanding towards
God
• When people go into false belief, they will worship self-created gods
• Throughout history, all the belief of all the blessed saints starts from meeting the true God
(almighty, loving, righteous & faithful). They cannot stop conversing with God after meeting Him
• Regardless of the situation they are in, it is always the same God that they meet
• Regardless of good or bad things that they have met, they know that all of them come from God
• Therefore, all of them know their roles in God’s determined time
• We have our roles today also. We must glorify God, bless others and build God’s kingdom in our
roles. We will only have peace when we do well in our roles
• How Abraham started his belief? He started by meeting the true God. After meeting Him,
Abraham built altars continuously for the Lord who revealed to him in order to hear and submit to
God
• Moses was a useless, failure person who lived in agony before age eighty. After he had met God
at the age of eighty, he couldn’t stop conversing with God
• Some of us might have gone to church since young. As we grow older, we confirm our faith and
start to be involved in ministries. However, we really start to change after we had met God (eyes
opened)
• Since the day we had met the true God, His work, guidance, blessings have never stopped. Thus,
it is important for us to meet God
• All of us have lives. However, we are still unclear with regards to meeting God
• Some people have only met the church, or the pastor. Therefore, they will start to have doubts
with their blessedness the moment they face a problem or when they’d fallen. They will feel like a
failure or guilty when they encounter ironies in their lives
• Many people have a falsehood in their beliefs and this falsehood is something that we didn’t
discover in our lives also
• Before this falsehood is exposed, they will continue to spin in it. Therefore, their relationships with
God are sometimes good and sometimes bad
• What then, can we rely on, in order to meet the true God? We can only rely on the Cross
• Abraham’s altar is one with the shedding of blood. It symbolized Jesus Christ. Moses could only
come out from Egypt and crossed the Red Sea after he had gone through the shedding of the
blood on the Passover night
• We will definitely have some misunderstanding towards God if our beliefs do not come from the
Cross
• Knowing God through the Cross is totally different from knowing Him through theology,
philosophy, or miraculous signs
• David was the one in the Old Testament who knows God the most. David said, “even though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”
• What do we think of David’s life? His father-in-law wanted to kill him, his wife persecuted him, his
son rebelled against him, his children killed one another, etc. His life seemed to be cursed.
 However, he knew that he wasn’t cursed because of the Cross. He knew that everything was
God’s gifts, blessings and protection
• Is our understanding towards the Cross up to this standard? God has even given up His son for
us. What then will He not give us or how will He not protect us?
• Whenever we face something bad, will we start thinking that God has cursed me or that He has
deserted me? When we lost our money, joy or love, our first impression would be, it was a result
of God’s discipline or curse
• Those who do not know God through the Cross will continue to suffer
• Paul said that, apart from the Cross he preached, anyone or any angels who preached about
other crosses ought to be cursed
• How is our current situation? Are we worried in the morning, grumbling in the afternoon and
disheartened at night?
• God’s word has all been revealed. The content of God’s word is abundant. We simply don’t
believe. What is it that we don’t believe? We don’t believe in the Cross’ fulfillment
• If we don’t believe in the fulfillment and great love of the Cross, God’s complete righteousness or
that we are absolutely blessed, everything else which we believe in is false
• Some people understand belief as this: I must do more good deeds now so that I can go into
heaven when I die
• These people will receive accusation the moment they step into the church. They will not be
accused when they play, but will receive accusation when they pray
• The Cross tells us this: we are God’s people and we are loved by God. Our destinies are different.
We are born to receive blessings and to save an era
• People have turned the belief of God into religion. When the Lord came to earth, He gave people
love. However, millions were killed in the name of their “beliefs”
• Should believers receive more and more blessings? Should their family be more and more
blissful? Should their relationships be more and more loving? Should their careers advance more
and more? They should. But the question we must ask is this: do we receive all these through the
Cross? If not, all the things we possess should be torn down and rebuild
• Paul had realized that whatever was to his profit then, he considered as loss. Thus, he wanted to
know the Cross better
• The Israelites always regarded themselves as God’s people. They kept the Sabbath and a lot of
festivals, and they gave God their offerings. However, God has never been pleased with them.
Therefore, their prayers are not answered
• How to tell that prayers are not answered? First of all, there’s no anticipation after praying.
Secondly, there isn’t any change in our hearts and minds after praying

Read <Isaiah 1:10-15>

• v11 People brought the blood, but God wasn’t pleased. Just like people go to church to
worship God and to give their offering, but God has never been pleased
• v13 It seems that it is difficult to please God. They did everything that God had asked them to
do, but God still scolded them
• v14 God hated because their hearts were not changed after worships
• God has never been pleased but even think that they are troublesome. What is the reason for
this? It is because the things they did wasn’t done in the presence of God
• They didn’t do for God or in His presence. They do not love God or men at all

Read <John 5:17, 19-20, 37-39>

• The main theme for <John> is “must see, hear and touch God’s desire”
• The things that people have seen and are concerned about are different from that of God’s desire
• v17 God is still working today. Everything we do now should be done as we hear, see and
submit to the Father
• Jesus Christ did everything as He submits to whatever God has asked Him to do
• Some people may ask, if Jesus can go around healing people, why can’t they go to hospitals now
and heal all the sick people?
• Things happened only after Moses and Jesus knew and submitted to God’s perfect will. The Red
Sea will not open today even if we are there to command it to open
• A lot of people do things without seeing or hearing God. Thus, a lot of people have created their
own gods, which become their idols
• v19 the son cannot do anything by himself. The son can only do whatever he sees his father
is doing
• The beliefs of some people are this: they simply cannot see God’s work. Thus, they do things
according to the theology or rituals that they came out with. This is incorrect
• v38 Jesus Christ referred to the Pharisees. We should listen to what they preach but do not
learn from their behavior / lives

Read <John 3:1-5; 4:21-24>

• What Nicodemus was asking is this, how can one’s sins be forgiven in order to go to heaven?
• The answer that Jesus Christ gave him was this, if a person cannot see God’s guidance with him
there and then, he will have no part in heaven at all
• v5 We can only go into God’s kingdom through God’s word and spirit
• v22 “Your worship” means “what you have heard and believed”. What Jesus Christ was
talking about is that salvation must definitely come from the Cross
• God’s word and God’s spirit are revealed through Jesus Christ

1. The real display of false beliefs

1) The repetitive mistakes of Israel and a lot of Christians from generations to generations
• The Jews valued and followed the Law of Moses. However, Lord Jesus Christ didn’t like those
Pharisees
• The Pharisees were very fervent. He had also kept a lot of laws
• The Lord talks about love and they talk about wars. The Lord preaches on love and they
preach on legalism

2) There is a lot of misunderstanding today

• Do we have any false things in us? E.g. Believers always say that their belief is real; that they
are against cults and what they preach is the truth, etc.
• A person who claims that his belief is real basing on his own knowledge is incorrect
• Some people say that they follow God sincerely and they serve and give offering. Thus their
belief is real. These people claim that their belief is real basing on their own sincerity. In fact,
their sincerity cannot be compared to the Pharisees or Sadducees
• Some people ascertain their belief as correct because of the result of their experience in
serving. They have chased away demons in the name of Jesus Christ etc. Therefore, they say
that their belief is real. However, the Lord said that He never knew these people. God’s word
by itself already has power. Therefore, when the word is being preached, the demons will be
chased away
• Those who received healing are those who are healed because they believed God’s words.
However, it does not mean that those who really believe are those who speak God’s words
• Therefore, the Lord taught His disciples to do what the Pharisees did but not to follow their
lives
3) The current situation of living in false belief
• What is the essence of our belief?
(1) Do not know what God is doing
• Go to church, serving and offering are all important. We cannot deny them. However, all
these things cannot be the foundation of our love with God
• E.g.: a couple cannot be said to be in love simply because they meet each other 3 or 4
times per week. It should be because they are in love that they want to meet each other
many times a week
• A false belief often causes people to prove that they are loved by God using their actions
• Did God’s word get rooted in our hearts?
• Believers always know what they did for God. However, they never know what God is
doing because they always don’t believe
• What God wants us to see is who we are, and His purpose in creating us
• We do not believe that God is real only after we’d witnessed some miracles

(2) Do not like conversing with God

• The difference between true and false belief is whether we like to find God or not?
• People in love like to find each other. There is an attraction between them
• There are two reasons why people do not like to find God: either they do not know Him or
they do not know Him enough (i.e. a lot of misunderstanding towards Him)
• Which person likes to pray?
• Who will look for God first instead of his partner or anyone else when he faces some
difficulty

(3) Do not see the development in love/relationship

• Is the relationship between God and us getting closer and closer? Is there any developing
between our stories with God?
• What had God done for me last year? What did He do for me this year?
• We attend church’s meeting not because the Pastor had asked us to attend. If we go to
church and attend meeting because we want to get closer to God, then we’d really met
God

2. The products of false beliefs

• If belief isn’t developed by meeting God, conversation with God and walking with God,
believers will definitely go into one of the 4 traps below:

1) Legalism = Reversal between personality and ritual, between contents and vessel
• People who start with the behavioral standards will surely go into legalism
• Legalism is the reversal of a person’s personality from a routine/ritual. Which is more
important? The Sabbath or a person’s life?
• When we see a brother or sister is weak, do we try to lift him/her up first, or do we want them
to change their behavior first? Do we have compassion or do we judge people first? Do we
blame or protect people first?
• Gospel starts from meeting God. Religious people will always ask why the Pastor still doesn’t
end the worship service? They think that the Pastor doesn’t keep to time
• The latter doesn’t see God during worship. Therefore, they will explode whenever others step
on their feet
 • Everybody has symptoms of legalism
• Legalism will cause division to church and spousal relationships
• Legalism is dangerous. If a person can do it, he will become like the Pharisees, who are very
good in accusing others. “If I can offer, why can’t you? If I can believe, why can’t you?”
• Those who start with the Cross will have compassion on others. They know that they are also
weak and imperfect but had received the grace of the Cross. Thus, they know that others
have a timetable also
• Legalism will also cause families to fall apart. Husbands and wives often accuse each other
saying, “It’s all your fault. You don’t know how to teach the kids!” “We don’t have money
because you don’t know how to spend money wisely”
• Legalism has filled churches. People will enter into legalism when they cannot share God’s
word with God’s compassion

2) Seeking prosperity = God isn’t the purpose of my life, but the tool for me to achieve my
purpose = looking for blessings outside God because one has not known Him
• People will enter into prosperity gospel when they cannot see that God is with them
• In fact, God Himself is blessing. Blessing doesn’t mean that God must give us money or a
blissful marriage
• A lot of people seek God to have good health or wealth. Otherwise, they seek God to resolve
their problems
• God Himself is the purpose. Thus, we must grasp God. He has a complete purpose. E.g. I’m
sick. When that happens, we must use His purpose to restore all blessings and to bless all
people with my sickness
• If my illness is not beneficial to me or anyone else, God will not let me continue to be sick
• Do we come to God because of poverty? Let God be glorified with my poverty by using His
purpose. Allow others to see how God has graciously given to me. If my poverty is not able to
glorify God, He will let me have pay increment or new openings
• A lot of people have their beliefs reversed. Their beliefs have gone into religious teaching
• Quite a number of churches are preaching “prosperity gospel”
• Some pastors use physical things to attract people. It is similar to what was recorded in
<Jeremiah> that false prophets are telling the people, “Everything is good”, “you shall receive
peace”. Those false prophets are to be cursed.
• The Cross tells us that God is with us. After God has entered my life, I am the one who is
important. Thus, there’s a perfect will for my illness. The tribulations I face is for my blessing
• Prosperity gospel measure God’s blessings with material possessions.
• If our company doesn’t want us anymore, we must know that we are already blessed. Thus,
that company doesn’t deserve our blessings. This is why Jesus Christ taught the disciples, “if
anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when
you leave that home or town”
• A lot of people don’t go for God but for material possessions. Though they might have gotten
a lot of material things, they won’t be able to enjoy them fully. They will be bound by fears or
all these material things

3) Humanism = live using men’s standard and method, relying on man’s limited strength =
reversed roles between master and slave
• Men didn’t meet God. They only know that they ought to love, serve and follow God. As such,
they came out with a lot of personal method or do things with self ferventness
• It is very difficult to do things like that and there won’t be good results. Those who serve like
that will become more and more lifeless or have dispute with others
 • Humanism is like a person looking for his watch. He searched the whole house but not his
pockets
• They always touch on the wrong things. Trying very hard to evangelize when others are not
interested at all
• Such people will not quiet down to pray whenever they face any problems at work
• A lot of our disheartenment is a result of humanism

4) Mysticism = not seeking “the God who is always with us and guiding us (normal God)” but
seeking “the god who appears in special time, space, situation (abnormal god)” = easily
causing people to go into suspicious, blind faith, weird beliefs, conversation with evil
spirit, possessed by evil spirits
• People who are into mysticism always want to see miraculous signs
• In fact, our hearts always want to see miracles too, especially in our studies, careers, families,
relationships etc
• The greatest miracle of all is the miracle of “having something from non-existence”. It is the
miracle of creation from God’s word and life. Thus, God’s word is sustaining the whole
universe and everything in it
• We always like to find miracles of physical healings. The fact that we are still able to work or
run when we are sick is a miracle itself. When our children are sick and we called our
mother-in-laws to come help us take care of the children. The fact that they are willing to
come is a miracle itself
• We always claim that we are in poverty and ask God to perform a miracle by sending some
money to us. Isn’t it a miracle that we still have clothes to wear and food to eat when we are
in poverty?
• Miracles take place everyday in our lives. Have we seen them?
• People always asking God for things that can bring them pleasure or excitement. This is
mysticism

• The four elements listed above seem to be all different, but they all had a common starting point.
All of them have the same spiritual condition. All of them are problems resulting from men
becoming carnal, men deceived by the evil spirit and hence enter into a state of disbelief
• This is the fundamental problem of men. Men has been listening to the message but they always
can’t understand
• Their common point is “self-centeredness” and all these four elements always come repetitively
• Whenever a person meets a problem, he will not seek out God’s perfect will by prayer first. He will
feel that he has not love God enough or he has not done enough, or he has yet to evangelize etc.
Therefore, they try to serve or evangelize harder. When they do that, they become more and
more lifeless
• They will go to the places where there are special meetings. People are often entangled in these
four falsehoods repetitively
• Men continuously wanting to receive special experiences or special feelings. When they fail to
receive the things that others can receive, they will put in more efforts or try to find more mystical
things, etc. Men continues to dwell in frustration and cannot break away from the cycle
• When people continue to live in such a situation, their family members and children will get
tortured
• These four false “system of beliefs” come from not having experienced the Cross. In other words,
people try to change themselves. One who is not serious in the past takes it more seriously now

3. The fundamental reason why one cannot go back to the true belief
1) Because their lives have yet to pass “the Cross (death and resurrection)” <Ro 6:1-11>
 • We need not try to revamp (修改) anything. The Cross doesn’t command us to revamp. We
are already changed. Our identities, destinies, belongings were all changed
• We need to hear God’s word. We already belong to God’s kingdom. In that case, do we still
need to do our own things? Do we still need to go to work, or teach our children? Therefore,
the purpose of working and teaching our children is different
• This is death and resurrection. This is a new creation. Revamp comes from religious teaching.
When one does something with a revamped mindset, it is already religion
• If one thinks that he shouldn’t drink, smoke, lie anymore simply because he has become a
Christian; he is only leading others into mysticism, legalism and humanism. Those who can
change by their own effort will start judging others and not love others
• It is only right for one to see the real change in himself

2) Why can’t one pass the Cross? Because, “those religious goers” have yet to comprehend
“the 3 basic Gospel messages revealed through the Cross”
(1) Men’s fundamental problems (becoming flesh, roots of sin, Satan) <Eph 2:1-3>
• Fundamental problems = the problem of men being unable to see and hear God

(2) The completion of Jesus Christ’s substitution in judgment, death, burial and
resurrection <Eph 2:4-6>
• There is only one answer: Jesus Christ. Salvation is found in no-one else.
• Everything we got now is new. New identities, belongings, purpose, destiny. In the past,
we were living in a state whereby we had departed from God
• We ought to deny ourselves. In the past, we might think that we still have 5% of goodness
in us
• Before we know God, everything we did was sin. We had only want to glorify ourselves,
and not God for things that we did well

(3) The “eternal and infinite blessings from heaven and earth” that God has prepared in
Jesus Christ <Eph 2:7, 1:3-23>
• In the past, we were filial to our parents not for the purpose of glorifying God but for the
purpose to make our conscience feel better. Now, we are filial to them because of our
love for their lives
• All our methods for doing things now are new. New ways to love our parents, to use
money and to bless others

3) Because, have yet to understand: “how to tear down completely and rebuild”
• Tear down completely and rebuild. It is not tearing down, if we think that we are giving money
to the church by our offering
• True belief: No matter what we do, we do it out of love for God. E.g. hymns singing,
interceding for others, blessings others etc
(1) Meet God
(2) Believe the word of God deeply
(3) Establish a covenant with God
(4) Converse with God
(5) Walk with God

4) Have a real belief in accordance to the newly built “system of life and living”, experience
the process of “conversing and walking with God”; understand better what is mean by “(1)
God’s doing; (2) love conversing with God; (3) developing the relationship with God and
with men”
Conclusion
• After listening to this message, some people may think that the preacher is really good and the
messages of other churches are wrong
• We cannot say this. By saying this, we are wiping away a lot of God’s grace. We are not denying
other churches
• God’s grace is among the churches from the past till now. What we need to agree is that all
churches need to move on to another timetable
• However, if someone says that we are criticizing other churches, in which we had claimed that
“only our message is correct. All other messages are wrong”, this is a slandering statement
• In fact, we ourselves are being deceived all the time and we have often entered into the false
belief. Therefore, those who say such things do not love the Lord at all. They provoke others out
of their pride. Have they really pondered the state of their own spiritual lives?
• If a person feels that he is really like the Pharisees and he is really not good; he is being accused
• We are blessed forever. Thus, we should not be accused but have a burdened heart
• A burdened heart makes us realize that though we are incorrect, because God loves us, we
should get even closer to Him. Only then, the message we heard would be correct
• The result of the Gospel is this: present our bodies as living sacrifices; we will guard our hearts
and minds; we will test and approve what God’s good, pleasing and perfect will is
Sharing and Prayer Topics
1. Is my life and living established upon the “true system of belief”? Do I understand God’s
work in my past? Has God already told me “what would be done in the future”? Do I like to
get closer to the Lord? Do I understand the things that happen when I converse with God?
Is my love towards God and men developing continuously?
2. The Gospel of the Cross is “the great power of God”. If a person is able to see through the
mystery of “the Cross of Christ” like Paul, he will surely be able to enjoy “infinite
blessings”: What is the standard of my understanding for “the 3 fundamental Gospel
messages (main pt 3) that were revealed through the Cross”? Have I passed the test of
“completely destroy and rebuild”, receive a new life, able to understand God’s perfect will
in me (my conditions), and to enjoy the infinite blessings at all times?
3. Because, people have yet to see through the mystery of “dying and resurrecting with
Christ (Cross)”; in the lives of the born-again Saints, there is still a tendency to go for
“legalism, seeking prosperity, humanism and mysticism”. Reexamine my life: using
Christ’s Cross message which reveals the truth to me, erasing those unhealthy “religious
elements” so as to achieve a Gospelized life (people of Gospel, people of Christ, people of
God) which is more beautiful and powerful