Matthew-085

 

 

Requirements for God’s leading

1. God leads if you deny your self to love God with your all

Some time ago, some brothers were looking everywhere for a pastor, but they couldn’t find one. It’s not to say that there are no graduates from the seminary, but they wanted to find someone who truly loves the Lord God. So they asked me if I could recommend a godly candidate, and I said, “I’ll try to help you. I have someone in mind, and I’ll see if he’s willing.”

I looked this person up and said, “There’s a church in London that has around forty-some brethren who love God, but they have no pastor to shepherd them to maturity. Would you be interested to serve there?” It was a problem for him to accept this invitation as he would have to make a big sacrifice. He was living in a very comfortable home, and he was reluctant to leave it. He loves God, and I wouldn’t have asked him if I didn’t think that he would be suitable for the job, because it’s not a job for just any person who loves God. I felt that he has the experience, and he is well-equipped in the Word of God. Yet, it wasn’t a matter whether he knows the Word of God, but whether or not he was willing to serve this church. When I saw his reaction, I knew that he wasn’t too willing. He had just bought a beautiful house in a very scenic area, where he could look out into the hills and the trees! So the thought of moving to London where the traffic is dense and the air is poor, was quite unbearable. He could have told me, “Well, I can lead a small Bible study group here, so I’m serving God too. I’m unwilling to pay the cost to take on this church in London.” If he had immediately declined my offer, I would have thought that he was honest. But do you know how he replied?

He said, “I’ll see how God leads.” As a servant of God, he wasn’t honest to reply as he did. Looking for God’s leading was only his excuse. The real reason was that he didn’t want to accept the job. I didn’t say much to him at the time since I already knew why he didn’t want to go to London.

I just said, “All right, you look to God for his leading then. Then, there was no news from him at all for a few months.

After yet another few months, I looked him up, and was talking to him about another brother, and he criticized the brother saying, “Why doesn’t he serve God? He has the gift.”

I was surprised by what he said. Since he was critical, I said, “A few months ago, I asked if you would consider God’s work in London, and you said you would see how he would lead you. But I’d like to ask you, what are you really waiting for? What does God have to do in order to show you that it is his leading? Do you want to see a vision, or feel the earth quake for a moment, or witness a sudden miracle so that you’ll know he wants you to go to London? You know in your conscience that you’re unwilling to make a sacrifice and move to London.”

This is precisely the lesson that we have to learn. God leads those who do his will, and the Lord Jesus has already clearly indicated that we do this by imitating him to serve as God directs, and to live out his quality of life. Here is an urgent need in God’s work. I can fully understand if you say that you don’t qualify for the work. I would certainly not force anyone to do what they cannot do. For example, if you don’t have the gift to preach, I would be very unreasonable to insist that you preach. But I wanted to pursue the truth with him. Does he know what leading he is asking from God? He couldn’t say anything because there wasn’t anything to be said. This is not a matter of God’s leading, but rather, whether he is willing to take up his cross and follow in the Lord Jesus’ footsteps. So he felt very uncomfortable. It meant that he was not happy with me. That’s all right because I am used to this. I know that my preaching often cuts into the heart, but I preach God’s Word, not my words. I can’t help it if people are not happy.

Again, what kind of leading from God can the poor widow wait for? There’s nothing she can wait for. Brothers and sisters, I would like you all to know one thing: Do not use “I’ll wait for God’s leading” to deceive yourself. We can waste our whole lives not accomplishing anything for God because we say, “I don’t have God’s leading.” God’s Word has already told us what his leading is. If you need his leading in some specific instances, while you are walking on the way of the cross, he will give you the leading that you need. But if you have not taken the first, basic step, there is no way you can know what the second step is. In other words, God will lead you once you have taken the first step.

This brother asked me, “Are you saying that God doesn’t lead specifically?” I said, “No, that’s not what I mean. But if you don’t take the first step, you’ll never see the second step. Right now, if you say to God, “God, if you want me to go to London, I am certainly willing to offer my service to you. Although I love the environment I live in, although I love my house, I will let it go if I am suitable for your service. I will pack my bag immediately for the sake of these forty-some brothers and sisters in London who need a shepherd. I will follow wherever you lead.” If you have this attitude, God will lead you specifically.”

There are tens of thousands of Chinese in London, so there is such great potential for the expansion of the church. It’s not difficult for the church to grow into a family of a few hundred brethren. It only needs a servant of God. But this brother was unwilling to go. I understood he was bound by the world, so he had difficulty to make a big sacrifice. I knew that he was unwilling to take up his cross to follow in the Lord Jesus’ footsteps. He would be willing to accept an invitation to preach at this London church because it only costs him some time. But it’s a totally different matter to live and work among the Chinese there, and to leave the beautiful surroundings of his present home. He was unwilling to do this. I can say that at least he is honest if he had said to me, “Brother Chang, I can’t accept this job because my love for God is inadequate.” Then I would have said to him, “That’s all right. Don’t go. Wait until you have matured spiri­tually, until you can see the preciousness of God, and until you don’t feel obliged to accept this job.” However, since he used the excuse, “I’ll wait for God’s leading,” I knew that he was not only lying to God, but also to himself because he never had any intention of accepting the job.

You will certainly meet this matter of God’s leading in the days ahead, and you must know the basic requirement. If you want to know the leading of the Lord, first, you must absolutely take up your cross to follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus. If you are not at all willing to love God with all of yourself, and to love your neighbor as yourself, don’t wait for God’s leading. God will not lead you even if you wait for 20, 50 years. I must make this first step very clear to you.

 

2. Be willing to give all two mites of your ability to serve God

The second point is this: Many people think they are like this poor widow, who doesn’t have much at all to give to God. They are not like this brother I have just been talking about, who is very capable and very knowledgeable in the Word of God, but who is not willing to offer himself to God. So you think, I don’t know how to preach, and I would never be able to take up that job at the church in London. I have nothing to give. Well, I have something to say to those who think that they have nothing to contribute. Don’t say that you don’t have anything. At least you have two mites, and I don’t mean financially.

All of you feel that you have too few spiritual gifts or ability. I often encourage the brothers and sisters in our Liverpool church not to think that preaching is for the pastor, and that God’s work is for those who have spiritual gifts. No, you have your share to contribute, which is very precious in the eyes of God, although it may not be very much in the eyes of men. Man may say, “What are two mites?” Please notice what the Lord Jesus said to the Jews:

In other words, from the Lord Jesus’ point of view, if you are willing to give all of your two mites to God, you have given more than all the others.

I think people who love God with their whole person will discover that although they are nobodies in this world, they will be more exalted in God’s kingdom than the pastors, evangelists and church workers. I guarantee that you will find this to be true on that Day. This poor widow is not less important to God than Abraham. She gave as much to God as Abraham did. She gave her all, and Abraham gave his all. Her position in the kingdom of God is not less than Abraham’s.

 

Isn’t it reckless to do what this poor widow has done?

Let us continue to ask another question: Isn’t this poor widow reckless to do what she has done? Don’t you have this thought? You might say to her, “My dear widow, it’s good to love God, but you’re risking too much. You’ve acted recklessly! Where’s your dinner going to come from? You’re going to starve! It’s good to love God, but you have to be within reason. You should take “the middle road”, and not be an extremist. You have to be well-balanced like me.” You might think this widow is wrong. She has acted foolishly in the way she loves God. If she doesn’t give everything she has, at least she can afford to buy a piece of bread, and how uncomfortable it is to feel hungry! Do you think she is reckless? You’re right. She is reckless, isn’t she? How are you going to answer this question? I think that if this poor widow came to you when she was hungry that evening, you might have said to her, “You’re too foolish! Now you’re hungry! That’s what you get for loving God with all your heart, and for giving him all that you have! Do you love God? Well, he loves you too. So you could have kept your two mites in your pocket.” This is our human reasoning.

But why does the Lord Jesus say to his disciples that the poor widow has done what is right? How is she right? You would say, “She’s done wrong from my point of view. She’s an extremist. No one should make such an offering to God.” I think you must have thought this deep down in your heart. My initial thought was similar too. So what’s your answer? Is she in the wrong? If she has done wrong, why would the Lord Jesus ask his disciples to imitate her? He told them, “This widow is your example. You must take up your cross and follow me.” Should we learn from this widow? Can you see the Lord Jesus’ reasoning? You will say, “The Lord Jesus is teaching us that it’s very good to go hungry for God’s sake.” What is the lesson to be learned? I would like to hear your opinions.

 

Love God: Give yourself totally to God, and have faith he will provide

I have told you before that loving God and faith are inseparable. What does loving God mean? It means having faith in God, trusting him. This poor widow had faith in God. There is another poor widow, who is a very good example to us. She is the poor widow who provided the prophet Elijah with bread (1 Ki. 17:9-15). There was a famine, and this poor widow only had a little bit of flour and oil left. And Elijah tested her faith by saying to her, “Take your flour and oil and make bread, and give it to me.” The widow could have said, “Don’t you know that this is a time of famine? You come to my home when my son and I don’t even have enough to eat, and you are so rude and inconsiderate to demand bread. What are we going to eat?” You might think, “Elijah, you are not worthy to be a servant of God. As a servant of God, shouldn’t you rather say, ‘Let the widow and her son eat’? It’s all right if you don’t eat.” What was Elijah’s intention? It was to test her and see if she had faith in God.

In fact, she did. She said, “This is a servant of God. Let him have the bread.” Of course, she must have thought, “What are my son and I going to eat from now on after you finish our flour and our oil?” But when she finished making the bread, she discovered something amazing! There was still the same amount of flour and oil left! If she had thought at the time, “Why should I let you eat when my son and I have nothing? No, I won’t make bread for you,” she wouldn’t have witnessed God’s miracle. Did this poor widow act recklessly? You must learn the secret of experiencing God from this. If you can see this reasoning clearly, and you are willing to do accordingly, you will experience how amazing God is. Why? This is what we are going to talk about today.

 

Give your all, then you will experience God’s power and know him!

Many Christians have never experienced the greatness of God’s power. They live a very ordinary Christian life throughout their lifetime. Never once have they seen God’s glory and amazing power. But who will experience the amazing power of God? They are those who, like the poor widow, are willing to give to God from the heart, not only their money but also themselves. You must remember that it’s easier to offer your possessions to God than to offer yourself to him. First, you must give yourself totally to God. If you haven’t given yourself totally to God, you will never experience how amazing God is in your entire lifetime! Did the widow lose anything? This poor widow really has the wisdom of God!

Most ordinary Christians are the poorest when it comes to experiencing God. Ask any Christian to tell you his experience of the power of God, and he won’t be able to tell you anything! Their knowledge of God comes from reading books. Many pastors and church workers gain a lot of intellectual knowledge about God from seminaries and Bible schools, but they just have no experience of God. What they preach at the pulpit is knowledge that anyone can get from books. I would rather read more interesting books than list­en to their sermons. Why? They cannot speak with power because they haven’t experienced God. They don’t have a personal and intimate relationship with God so that they are able to learn precious lessons from this intimate relationship, and so they lead a very dull and ordinary Christian life. They drool when they hear others speak about their experiences of God, because they only have second-hand experiences.

Here lies the secret of experiencing God’s power, and this is the important reason why the Lord Jesus gathered his disciples to tell them, “Learn quickly from this poor widow.” What can they learn from her? She is reckless and foolish in the eyes of the world, but did she do wrong? No, and why not? She got the chance to experience God’s power immediately! Just think, will this poor widow starve that evening and for the next few days? Why did she do what she did? Because she had faith! And what is faith? Faith is, as the Lord Jesus said, “If you put God first, he will certainly make it up to you and meet your need.”

This is why Elijah tested the other poor widow: “Are you willing to take out everything that you have and give it to God?” I think the widow must have taken time to think and not rushed into saying, “Yes, no problem!” She must have thought, “What about my child? What about me?” It’s all right for her to starve, but she will find it hard to watch her child starve. Many Christians are very concerned about their children, and rightly so. They would say, “Will my children starve? It’s all right for me to bear hardships, but I can’t bear to see my children suffer.” But the widow was willing to say, “I will do as the servant of God says. I will let you eat the bread as you have requested.” So she was able to see God’s power at work.

Did this widow who gave her two pennies ever go hungry? If she did, her God is not the living God. This God is not worthy of her trust; He is not reliable. That is why the Lord Jesus promised, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Mt. 6:33). It’s amazing that God takes the responsibility. This poor widow has probably heard the Lord Jesus preach previously.

 

Be a “non-extremist” and never experience God’s power

I often ask Christians to consider the meaning of these words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 6:26, 28, 30:

We have a lot of clothing, we are not starving, and we lack nothing. So the Lord Jesus’ words are meaningless to us. And why don’t we lack, and why don’t we experience God’s power? It’s because we are not walking on the way of the cross.

You can make a choice today: Cling on to your money, keep your abilities to yourself, live a very ordinary Christian life, and then go to your grave, and hope that one day, you will be saved. Certainly, you can be such a “Christian.” Most “Christians” are like this. This kind of “non-extremists” will never experience God’s power. Or you can be a “reckless” Christian in the eyes of the world, to whom the riches and careers of this world are not worth much. After all, we lose everything after a few decades of life. In the same way, this widow cannot keep her two mites. She can choose to buy a few pieces of bread with these 2 mites, or give them as her offering to God. Of course, she will go hungry, but she won’t be hungry for long. God will supply her needs. Does this sentence, “God will supply her needs” mean anything to you? Or are these words meaningless? We don’t find these words meaningful because we have not experienced them. We don’t know if God is the living God, and wonder, “Can he really supply my need?” You dare not take the risk to give your all to God as the poor widow did, because you don’t believe that God will supply your need.

 

George Mueller had total faith in God

Starting a school and feeding 2,000 orphans daily

I don’t know if any of you have heard about George Mueller of Bristol. Perhaps one or two of you have heard about him. This is exactly what George Mueller of Bristol did. He is a mad man in the eyes of the world. Not only did he give his all to God, but he also took the challenge to look after many orphans in Bristol, an industrial city in England. A lot of orphans had neither shoes nor warm clothing when the winters were awfully cold. They didn’t have money to go to school, and there was no one to teach them. Today, we have social welfare, and people can go to school on a scholarship. But in those days, there was no scholarship, and the children were just running around on the streets. So George Mueller started a school for them, and he taught there.

However, the orphans had nothing to eat after classes. They were homeless, and there was no one to take care of them. So George Mueller pondered, “What shall we do with these orphans? He decided to take care of them. How did he do this? He did not write people to say, “Please send your contribution to set up an orphanage. This work is good, so come along and help us.” What did he do? He waited for God. Not once did God forget to provide for their needs. Do you know how many orphans he took care of? 2,000! Would you have faith if you had to take care of 2,000 orphans, providing for their daily needs, and your own? What did George Mueller do when he did not have a cent in the bank? Every day, he went before God and said, “God, these are your orphans. Please provide for their needs.” And every day, God provided for their needs in many different ways.

Once, a certain man asked Mueller, “Do you have savings in the bank?” And Mueller said, “No.” Again, that man asked, “How are you going to live if you have no savings?” To that Mueller replied, “If I have savings, I will lose the opportunity to see how God will provide for my needs.” That man did not understand this kind of logic. He would have said to this poor widow, “You should save your two mites to guarantee your future needs.” When he asked Mueller, “How can you manage your daily living if you don’t have savings?” Mueller said, “I know that my God is faithful.” That is faith.

Why are Christians today not willing to give their all to God? It’s because on the one hand, they don’t love God, and on the other hand, they don’t trust God. They don’t believe that God has the power to provide for them. But Mueller had faith to love and trust God.

 

Having 50,000 prayers answered by God

Someone asked Mueller when he was an elderly man, “Can you please tell us your experiences of trusting in God?” And Mueller replied, “I have walked with God all this time, and I am an old man now.” Then, he took out a notebook and said, “I have recorded 50,000 prayer requests here, and God has answered all of them. God has answered me 50,000 times!” How many prayer requests have you recorded, and how many of them has God answered? Is it 2 times, 3 times, or 5 times? God answered Mueller 50,000 times.

Another person asked Mueller, “Hasn’t God answered any of your prayer requests?” He thought for a moment and said, “Yes.” So the person asked, “Can you please tell me about this?” And Mueller said, “There are two requests that I am still praying to God about. He hasn’t answered them yet.” “And what are those two requests?” Mueller said, “I have been praying for two people for over 40 years that they may open their hearts to God. But God has not heard my requests yet.”

Not long after this, Mueller passed away, and this person was very curious to know whether or not God had answered these two prayer requests of Mueller’s. So he tried to track down these two people who were not in England. He found one, and discovered that this person had already come to God, but Mueller had not received this news. This prayer request has already been answered! He also looked up the other person to see if he had come to God, and indeed, that person too, had already come to God! Mueller had died without knowing that the two people he had prayed for during all those years had finally come to God. God had graciously answered his prayers! Mueller was unique in that he had total faith. Why did God hear his prayers? The reason is he loved God totally with all his heart, so his prayers are certainly completely in line with God’s will.

 

Experiencing the immediate lifting of a thick fog

Once, Mueller was invited to preach in New York. At that time, there were no airplanes so he had to take the boat. The boat couldn’t dock at the pier because of very poor visibility due to a thick fog. It had to stop and wait until the fog lifted. Mueller looked at his watch and saw that time was running out for him to get to the church to preach. He couldn’t afford to miss this meeting because a lot of people were waiting to hear the Word of God. He didn’t go to New York for himself, but for God’s work. So he found the captain of the boat and asked, “Captain, how long will this fog last?”

The captain replied, “Well, I can’t tell you. It could last for two hours or two days.”

But Mueller said, “That won’t do because I have to preach.”

The captain replied, “There’s nothing I can do about the fog.”

So Mueller said, “My God can do something about it. I will pray.”

And the captain said, “I’ll pray with you.”

But Mueller said, “You don’t believe in God, so you’ll waste your time praying.”

Then the captain said, “Well, I’ll go down to your cabin and be with you as you pray.”

And Mueller said, “All right. This is acceptable.”

After Mueller finished praying, the captain got up and said, “I’ll go up now.”

Mueller said, “Go up and see. The fog has been lifted.”

The captain was surprised, and said, “What do you mean? Do you think the fog has been lifted after five minutes of prayer? I’ve never heard of this!”

So Mueller said, “You don’t believe, do you? That’s why I told you it’s a waste of your time to pray when you don’t believe. My God is the living God. Go up and see for yourself that there’s no more fog. The fog has to be lifted, or else I won’t be able to preach the Word of God. That’s why I know my God will answer my prayer. Go up and see.” So the captain went up and indeed, he saw that there was no more fog!

I am only telling you about a few of his many experiences. How many servants of God are like this in this day and age?

 

God, my Father provides for me

I read Mueller’s biography when I was a very young Christian, and at that time, I said, “If God is such a God, I’m willing to follow him.” Sure enough, after many years of experiencing him, I have disco­vered that God is truly the God Mueller has experienced. We would be here for many hours if I were to tell you all my experiences of God. God provides in the most extraordinary and miraculous ways!

 

My tuition at 2 Bible colleges and at university

When I first came to England and went to Bible college in Glasgow, Scotland, I only had 50 pounds. That was all the money I had. How was I going to attend Bible college with 50 pounds? Who was going to provide for me? I only looked to my Father in heaven. He will provide for my needs. I used up my 50 pounds during the first semester of Bible school, but I still had another two more years to go. I didn’t even have pocket money, so how was I going to study for two more years? There was no scholarship. Was I being muddle-headed? Was I reckless? I didn’t even have money for transportation. How was I to pay for tuition? No one knew my situation, but God knew my need, and that’s enough. When I graduated two years later, I did not owe the Bible college anything. You might say, “You must have many friends in England who helped you.” I tell you honestly, I had just arrived from China, and I did not have any friends in England, but God provided for my needs through all kinds of ways. This is our God! After I graduated from Bible college, my principal recommended me to go to another Bible college in London for another year. So I went, and who provided for me? No one but my Father in heaven!

What is humorous is that if you want to apply for residence in England, you must state your source of financial support. I didn’t know how to fill in the answer to this question because I had no human source of financial support. I couldn’t lie on the one hand, but on the other hand, if I told them that I had no source of financial support, they would deport me! I thought it over and over again. I had only one option, and I wrote: “My Father provides.” I wrote a capital ‘F’ for ‘Father.’ So when the immigration officers read this, they probably thought that it was my physical father on earth who was providing for me. I could only fill my application form in this way every year, but I did not lie. It was my Father who was providing for my every need.

He provided for three years of studies in two Bible colleges, and then at university. I had no money at all when I applied for university. I was accepted, and I had to pay the tuition on a Wednesday, but I was penniless. Yet, I knew that if God wanted me to go to university, he would provide for my tuition. Lo and behold! On Wednesday morning, I received a check. And do you know how much the check was for? 50 pounds. How much did I have to pay the university? 50 pounds. God knew that I needed 50 pounds, so he gave me 50 pounds. I had no bank account, so I could not cash the check. I signed on the back to endorse it, and handed it to the university as one semester’s tuition. It’s impossible to finish telling you how amazing God is!

You are going to ask me if it’s possible to stake my life to totally depend on God. If I didn’t do this, I would have starved to death in England. If you don’t trust God, you can go to England penniless and see how many weeks you can survive. You will end up on the street! And if the government doesn’t allow that, you will be deported. You can think that it’s reckless of me, but I witnessed how God provided for me year after year.

 

My mother is my witness. She said, “Your God is real.”

My mother had told me that she couldn’t understand how I could survive in England without money. She couldn’t help me even if she wanted to because she was very sick, and could hardly pay for her own medical bills. In Switzerland, each operation costs a few thousand dollars! She asked me, “Eric, how do you manage your daily living?” I said, “My Father in heaven supplies all my needs.” She’s not a Christian, so she said, “I don’t understand how your Father in heaven supplies your needs.”

I replied, “Well, I’ve lived in England for many years, and you know that I haven’t taken money from anyone. My Father in heaven uses a different way to provide for me each time, and if I were to tell you everything in detail, I wouldn’t be able to finish in a few hours.”

After I graduated from university, my mother wrote me to say: “I don’t understand, but I only understand one thing: the God you talk about is the real God. Although I still don’t understand the theories you’ve told me, I can’t argue that your God is real. Every time you tell me that God provides, indeed, he provided. Had he not provided for you, you would have starved to death in England a long time ago.”

God not only provided for my university education, but also for a few years of theology. All this is so amazing that it’s impossible for me to finish telling you even within a few hours!

Again you might think, aren’t you reckless to go to England to study when you’re penniless and friendless? You should at least look for a scholarship first. But who would give me a scholarship? Who would know me? I had just come out of China. There was a scholarship for me to go to the United States, which I did not accept because I saw that it was not God’s will. God wanted me to take the hard road, to have no guarantee. When there is God, there is never a problem.

 

Love God and your neighbor with all your heart – see his glorious power

Let me summarize what we have learned. Would this poor widow, who gave all that she had, starve or run into difficulties? I know the God whom she knows. God always fulfills his word. He said, “Put me first in your life. Love me with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself, and I will give you all these things that you need. I will be your guarantor.” Would you like to try and see how powerful God is? Would you like to try out the strong support of his everlasting arms?

This passage is extremely precious. I speak to you from my heart. You can be an ordinary Christian, living in a comfortable environ­ment throughout your life, but you will never experience God’s power. I am now talking at a deeper level, am I not? I have made all of you feel a bit more uneasy by saying all this, but I still want to say to you clearly that, the way of the cross is a path where you can see the glory of God. If you don’t walk on this path, you will never see God’s glory.

But if you take this path, it is a hard, dangerous road, a road that has no security in the eyes of the people of this world. That is why the apostle Paul said, “We have become fools in the eyes of the world for the sake of Christ.” Paul was such a learned man that he would have no problem becoming a professor at the university in Jerusalem. He could get a very good job at the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court in Jerusalem because he was a great lawyer. Why was Paul such a fool to suffer so much hardship and peril for preaching the gospel of God? This is how the people of the world would think of him. For the sake of the gospel, Paul was lashed and beaten with rods countless times by the Jews, stoned once, imprisoned many times, was in danger from robbers, danger at sea, danger from false brethren. Despite these trials and hardships, his goal in life—like the widow’s goal in life—was different from people of the world.

Do you know that the two mites of the poor widow became treasure in heaven because she gave God all she had? She had treasure in heaven, but she was very poor on earth. She had become a spiritual millionaire, and she would never lose her riches. This is why the apostle Paul said, “I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ in whom are the imperishable and eternal riches of God.”

Brothers and sisters, I could speak words of comfort to you today, and what I have said is making you quite uncomfortable. But this is the Word of God. If you amass the riches of this world for yourselves, you will end up being the poorest. Only the poor widow will become the richest. She grabbed this opportunity to give God her all, and she will certainly receive all of God’s riches.

I am also a “fool” to have thrown away my career. My professor at university liked me very much, and kept on recommending me to his superiors, so that I could become an assistant professor. I could turn back from the hard road and take the more comfortable road in times of difficulty. I don’t want to mislead you into thinking it is an easy road, but God’s love for you and me is unbounded, so that we shall stand in his love.

 

God didn’t forget my birthday when I’ve given him all of my two mites

I like to recount this incident because it shows how great is God’s love to us. I remember one day when I was in London; it was my birthday, but nobody knew because I usually don’t tell other people about it. It was my birthday but I was penniless. Don’t we usually buy a cake, or eat some noodles—a symbol of longevity—to celebrate our birthdays? But my pockets were absolutely empty! I thought that is all right. What’s wrong with suffering a little bit of hardship for the sake of serving God? But did God forget my birthday? Amazingly, he didn’t! No one knew it, but God’s care and love for me even in this tiny detail really touched my heart! God did not forget my birthday!

You would think, God is almighty but he is very busy. He has to see that all the elements in the universe are working in order, so when does he have time to remember a birthday? But no, our God is too amazing! I got up in the morning and remembered that it was my birthday, but that’s nothing very special. Then, someone came looking for me and asked, “Are you free tonight?”

I replied, “I’m free.”

So he said, “I would like to invite you for dinner.”

And I answered jokingly, “Why? Is it your birthday?”

He said, “No, it’s not my birthday, but I just want to invite you for dinner.”

I said, “But what have I done for you that you’d want to invite me for dinner?”

And he said, “It’s just that I am free today, and you are free, so I would like to invite you for dinner.”

I asked again, “Tell me honestly, are you celebrating something?”

He said, “No. It’s just that we are good friends, and it’d be nice to have dinner together.”

“But, why today? Why not yesterday or tomorrow?” I asked.

He replied, “There’s no special reason at all. I just want to invite you for dinner tonight.”

“All right then,” I said.

He invited me to a Chinese restaurant for a very big meal! I had not had such good food for a long time, but he didn’t know that it was my birthday! He took me to a restaurant in the city, over an hour’s car ride from where I was living. He didn’t know that I didn’t have money to take either the subway or the bus. After dinner, I thanked him and went on my way. I could only walk home, but I enjoyed it because I was very full. Walking for over an hour would help my digestion. It was also not too cold to walk.

As I walked, I said to God, “O God, how amazing you are! Nobody knows that it’s my birthday today, but you didn’t forget! And you moved this brother to take me out for dinner!” So, I thanked and praised God all the way home for over an hour! That thankful walk really helped my digestion. God never forgets.

After a few days, I thanked this brother, “Thank you for inviting me to dinner. It was my birthday. You didn’t know about it, but God knew.”

He said, “Really? Was it your birthday?!”

I said, “Yes! Of course, you didn’t know it. Nobody knows. But thanks be to God!” I often think about this incident, and it touches my heart very much. Other people might forget you, but God never forgets you. This is how much God loves you. He will never forget that you have given him all of your two mites. How can he see your two mites? He sees. How can he see the poor widow’s two mites? He sees.

 

Win God’s heart and love when you love God and your neighbor

We have been trying to answer the question: What do I get if I love God with all my heart and my neighbor as myself? The answer is you have won God himself and his love. He is far more precious than any treasure on earth. This is the lesson we must learn.

You will ask me, “Now that you have given your all to God, are you enjoying a comfortable living as a pastor?” Well, I think that any street sweeper in Montreal earns much more than me. I say this with a clear conscience. If I told you what my income is, I guarantee you would say that a street sweeper earns far more than I do. But if you offered me a job as a director of a company, earning a couple of tens of thousands of dollars, I would say, “Thank you, but I won’t accept it because by the grace of God, I want to continue to experience his almighty power in providing for my needs.”

Right now, I am still experiencing his provision for me every week. Sometimes, the phone bill gives me a shock because it’s half of my income! So I say to my wife, “Wow! This phone bill is expensive! What shall we do?” But God always has a way to provide. It’s never a problem for him.

Today, let us learn from this poor widow: Love God with all of your heart and your neighbor as yourself. The two mites, her all that she offered to God, also had a role in helping the needy. Part of the offering received at the temple was for maintaining it; another part was for contributing to the needs of the priests; and another part for helping the needy. If you love your God in this way, you will see his glory. But if you don’t want to love God with all your heart, you will never see his glory and his power in your lifetime. This is what I would like to share with you today.