According to the chinese lunar calendar, it is the year of the pig. Hence the topic zhu bajie will be spoken.

Actually this topic was spoken 12 years ago. The speaker wonders how many remember. The youth who interpreted then was not married. The youth is now married with child. Time flies, 12 years have passed!

The speaker requested for the youth to interpret for him this sermon but he had to teach RE. Another brother listening to the conversation and asked the speaker, “Will you talk about zhubajie in 12 years?”
“With the present condition of my body, I don’t know unless by the grace of God.” Regardless, the speaker is thankful he is able to share on the topic of zhubajie today.

Zhubajie may make you think about the character in the journey to the west. Instead, the sermon will be talking about the 8 different warnings of pigs. The Bible has many warnings.

WARNING 1
Lev 11:7
God said pigs are unclean not because it’s not clean but because it’s hooves are not parted, nor does it chew the cud (regurgitate and chew food again).

The word of God is food to our soul. Not only should we have eat of it, we have to regurgitate the word of God. We have to constantly think about the word of God. If we don’t regurgitate the word of God, then we’re just like pigs that don’t chew the cud in God’s eyes; we’re unclean. Why is this the case?

Psa 119:9 (read)
There’s a huge difference between the word of God and words of men. Shakespeare writes beautiful poetry. Libai also composed beautiful poems. But only the word of God cleanses our soul. Do we ask: some people have already listened to the word of God for decades, why are they still not cleansed?

It’s because that person has forgotten the word of God. Why is it that he forgets despite paying attention? Because he doesn’t meditate over the word of God. Only when we regurgitate and think about the word of God all the time will the word of God permeate our thoughts and become food and give us strength.

But many people do not love thinking about the word of God. To many, they just eat the food but don’t digest it. If you don’t digest it, the food can’t be a source of strength to you.

How are we going to digest the word of God?
The author of Hebrews says we require hearing mixed with faith to have the word of God become strength for us.

A group of people also get tired when they hear the word of God. To Paul, this is the peril of the last days; Man loathes the word of God!

If you are dieting, disliking food is good for you. But if ooh dislike the who, it’s not dieting but cutting short your life. Furthermore, if you loathe the word of God, the Lord will loathe you.

That’s what Samuel said to Saul. Since you despise and reject God, God will do so likewise.

If we reject God, there’s no impact on His power. But if God rejects us, the price we have to pay is immeasurable. Which is why we have to keep pondering over the word of God, that it becomes strength to our faith.

WARNING 2
Prov 11:22
In the English version it says “a lovely woman who lacks discretion”. In the Chinese version it says “”.

It’s linked. She lacks discretion because she lacks knowledge; she doesn’t know the right things she ought to know.

If you look at a beautiful lady and you realise she lacks discretion in her speech (rough! and how she carries herself (carelessly), she’s like a ring of gold in a pig’s snout. It’s off because it doesn’t match.

1 Sam talks about two women. One with discretion and one lacking: Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah lacked discretion. When she saw Hannah wasn’t able to give birth, she provoked her to anger. She was successful to the extent Hannah was so sorrowful and didn’t eat food. We can imagine what she said “Hannah what’s the use of worshipping God. His favour is not on you. See you’re still not bearing children. So what if your husband loves you. You can’t get pregnant. His inheritance will go to my children!” Peninnah lacked discretion, like a swine with a ring of gold in its snout. On the contrary, Hannah has discretion. She didn’t quarrel. Although she prayed to God to ask God for a child, don’t think she’s doing this to compete with Peninnah. She didn’t want to use the child to fight over the inheritance. Rather, she was preparing this child for God’s use. Every year she’d go to the temple of God. When she saw the state of the generation of priests and the state of the faith of the people, she really felt God’s temple required a faithful servant to lead His people. This is where Peninnah and Hannah differed greatly. Peninnah used her children for her own boasting. Hannah wanted to offer her child to serve God.

Therefore Peter encouraged sisters to not let our adorning that’s not just outward but also inward. Emulate Hannah who has genuine concern for the temple of God; a woman of discretion God delights in.

WARNING 3
Matt 7:6
Pigs would know its own food but can’t differentiate its own food from pearls. Pigs will just take it as a rock. You think you’re being nice for giving pearls but the pigs will turn around and bite you thinking you have it rocks to eat. Jesus reminds us not to labour for the food that perished but for the food that ensures to everlasting life. The words He speaks to us are everlasting, those who believe will have eternal life. But the Jews have no interest in the words of Jesus. They were just interested in His power; they just hoped for Him to multiply bread and heal them of their diseases. The words Jesus spoke were treated as rocks. They’re just like the pigs that can’t differentiate the rocks from the pearls. We should never be like the swine who don’t know the preciousness of the pearl, treating them as rocks. Do you esteem all things except the word of God? If you do, we’re just like the swine.

A saying:
不识货，半世苦
不识人，一世苦
不识主，世世苦
If you don’t know how to see the value of something, then you’ll regret for half your lifetime
If you don’t know how to recognise a man/woman for who he/she is, then you’ll regret your whole lifetime
If you don’t know the Lord Jesus you’ll be sorrowful forever

If you sell an antique for a cheap piece, you’d regret.
If you can’t read a man/woman and marry him/her, you’d suffer your whole life.
At least that’s just for your earthly life.
But if you don’t know the Lord, you’d suffer forever.

Do you have an eye to differentiate?

Some people have the gift of knowing when some branded good is fake. But why is it they can’t differentiate the true church? Why are they led astray by the sweet talkings of other people?

WARNING 4
2 Peter 2:22
Why does the pig go back to wallowing in the mire about being washed? The master of the pig thinks it’s too dirty so with much effort cleans it up. Despite that, the pig returns to the mud. So angrily it’ll scold, “You’re really a pig!”

Actually the master is also quite pig like. Because you already know the nature of the pig is that it doesn’t like to be clean. Even after cleaning it it’ll return to the mud to wallow and become dirty again.

This explains people who it’s been very hard to bring them and then they believe but after that they return to the world. Because of their nature. There’s no true realisation or repentance. They’re only like trading moved or their recourse is just for that moment. Or they have other I jetubes for believers. When they’re unable to get what they want and the moving diminishes, he/she will return for the world.

“But I really saw him repenting and asking for forgiveness! He even wept and said he was wrong. He prayed and asked God to forgive him.”
Such was the case of Saul who acknowledged his sin. He’s also remorseful for what he had done. But he didn’t receive God’s forgiveness because God looked at his inner heart. It didn’t have true realisation remorse or sorrow for what he had done. Only in that moment did he say to David “my son I have sinned against you!” What David did really did move him. But shortly after Saul continued his pursuit. If the moving is just for a moment, the repentance is just momentary, and God won’t forgive.

But God forgave the sin of David because God saw his heart; there was true realisation and remorse.
Psa 51:17 (read)
What God wants is a broken and contrite heart. We need to know that God doesn’t look at our sorrowful countenance or hear our sorrowful words, God sees if we have a broken spirit and contrite heart. A man who is truly sorry from his heart won’t return to the world to be defiled by the world. Perhaps in a moment of weakness he steps back into the world. But his conscience will rebuke him. He won’t find reason to comfort himself. He’ll know it’s his fault. It’s his sin. And he wants to turn back to God.

Often it’s the sorrowful face and words our children show that moves our hearts. Because of that we let them go. But actually it may not be true. We have to ask for God to help us. God doesn’t look at what’s external but what’s inside us. We must have true repentance from the inside. Only then can we kee ourselves forever in Christ Jesus.

WARNING 5
Luke 15:15-16
Why did the prodigal son descend to a state where his life was worse off than the pigs? Who made him like this? He made the choice to depart from the house of his father, to live a life of freedom. He liked to enjoy life and eat well, not to keep the love of God. To lead an indulgent life is the life of pigs. Will pigs labour to work for its food? Even if there is you can’t see them because they’re wild boars. All the pigs we know of have a good life. Without working food is brought to it. We laugh at the pig but it laughs at us

Yes pigs live an indigent life. But one day it’s owner will sell it away or eat it up. If our lives are like the lives of the pigs - indulgent and not fearing God - one day we’ll be devoured by the devil.

So Peter reminds us the devil is just like a roaring life seeking whom he may devour. There’re also some people the devil can’t swallow up. Of course if you’re prepared to be sealed by the devil, you don’t need to keep listening/reading. But if you don’t want to be swallowed up, listen/read what to do next.

1. If you draw near to God, God will draw near to you. Submit to God. And the devil woke be able to come near you

2. Don’t leave a foothold for the devil. We don’t need to worry the devil can suddenly come into us.
   Some people say not to pray so zealously because they think the more zealous they are the more likely the devil will kachiao us. There’s no need for us to fear because God prevents it

Why have some people been possessed then! Not because Jesus doesn’t love him but because he has left a foothold for the devil to work. If you leave the door wide open, isn’t that just like inviting the thieves in? If we lock the door that’s not leaving a foothold for thieves.

What does it mean to leave a foothold for the devil? Paul specially mentions not to let the sun go down on our anger. Saul is an obvious example. He was so angry over David he wanted to kill him. When the spirit of God lefh him the devil entered him.

We must pray to God to preserve us. When we have anger and jealousy arising in our hearts pray to God to dissipate all these things.

WARNING 7
A fairytale tells of 3 little pigs who built 3 houses. The oldest built his out of straw. The second was more hardworking and built his out of wood. The third was the most diligent and built his out of stone. The first and second built their house very quickly. While they were drinking coffee already, the third was still building his house of stone. “Working so hard for what?!”

Finally all houses were built. There seemed to be no difference. But one day a huge wind came about and the house of straw and wood were blown away. But the house of stone remained firm.

1 Cor 3:12-13
Some build their foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw. Only foundations built with golf and silver remain standing.

What do we use to build the foundation of our faith? Do we do it haphazardly or with great diligence and seriousness? One day fire will come to test our works. How many will remain standing and be preserved.

He who does my word and something. Whether the wind blows or the floods come, the house will remain standing.

WARNING 8
The pig said to the cow, “Both of us share a common thing. We sacrifice our whole body to human beings. Man likes beef and pork. But why do Man praise cows but mock the pigs. So unfair! Why?”
The cow said, “Perhaps it’s because when I’m still alive I contribute to mankind. But all you do is eat and enjoy your life.”

In this new year, pray to God to help us so that our faith remains unchanging. More importantly abound in the work of the Lord. Our labours in the Lord are not in vain.

May God help us to remember these 8 warnings 猪八戒