Learning Objectives
Establish the church's identity; non-identification is a serious problem.
Identify with the church's vision and mission, the church's core value system, and the church's service methods.
Remove the bad habit of blind non-identification, and also remove the bad habit of blind identification.
After identification, inherit, emulate, practice God's word, build a solid foundation of faith, and be a smart person.
Improve the effectiveness of pastoral care and ministry service in inheritance.
Question 1: Man Lives by Every Word That Comes From the Mouth of God
Read Matthew 4:4:
- Jesus answered, It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'
Read Deuteronomy 8:3:
- He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 30:14:
- No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
Answer the following questions:
Why is it every word that comes from the mouth of God, and not some words?
What does every word mean?
Is it difficult to keep and follow all of God's words?
Question 2: You Cannot Obtain the Promised Land Without Fighting and Overcoming
Read Numbers 14:32-37 (refer to 13:25-14:45)
Num 14:32 But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. Num 14:33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies dead in the wilderness. Num 14:34 For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ Num 14:35 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.” Num 14:36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it— Num 14:37 these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. Num 14:38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
Answer the following questions:
Wasn't that land promised to Abraham by God? Why must you face giants and fight to obtain it?
Why were the Israelites struck down by God with a plague because they were afraid to fight? What are the consequences of being afraid and not fighting?
Why only Joshua and Caleb could survive?
What conclusions can you draw from this passage?
Question 3: Only Those Who Can Fight Count
Read Numbers 1:25-1:45
20 From the descendants of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 22 From the descendants of Simeon: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 24 From the descendants of Gad: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 26 From the descendants of Judah: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 28 From the descendants of Issachar: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 30 From the descendants of Zebulun: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 32 From the descendants of Joseph: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 34 From the descendants of Manasseh: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.
36 From the descendants of Benjamin: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 38 From the descendants of Dan: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 40 From the descendants of Asher: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 42 From the descendants of Naphtali: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 44 These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. 45 All the Israelites twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were counted according to their families.
Answer the following questions:
Why does the Bible keep repeating All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families?
Do Christians who cannot fight count?
What does God want to tell us?
Question 4: The Church Is God's Army
Read the Old Testament Book of Exodus 12:41-42
12:41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt. 12:42 Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for generations to come.
After reading this passage, answer the following questions:
Why does God say this?
What is God's intention?
Question 5: Do What God Says After Reading His Word
Do what God says after reading His word - what does that mean?
What does it mean to read God's word and not do it? List the various types of not doing.
Question 6: Our Core Values
We insist that the Bible is true, we insist on accepting the teachings of the entire Bible, and we do not add or subtract anything from the gospel. (Complete Gospel)
We firmly believe that God is a good God, a God who loves us, a God who blesses us, a God who cares for us, and a God who supplies all our needs! (God is Good)
We firmly believe that God's promises in the Bible are faithful. (Faithful Promises)
We believe that the church is the body of Jesus Christ, the church is God's will, and our faith is the overall faith of the church. (Bride Church)
We recognize that the church should be clearly hierarchical, strictly disciplined, God's mighty army, and are willing to be obedient and committed disciples and elite soldiers. (Elite Soldier Team)
We are all masters in the church, children in God's house, building up the body of Christ. Pastors are not hired laborers, and members are not customers. (Master Identity)
The function of our church is to transform lives through spiritual warfare, healing, and deliverance. We believe that we can only obtain promises and experience God's grace through victorious battles. (Victorious Warfare)
We insist on living a holy life, and we strive to maintain unity in the Holy Spirit. The holiness and unity of the church are the key to our victorious battles. (Holy Unity)
We insist on walking in the light, firmly resisting darkness and any hidden sins. (Resist Evil Deeds)
We reject speculative religious methods, and we insist on taking the path of practicing faith, practicing belief, and integrating faith into life.
We firmly emulate the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul. (Practice Faith)
We are willing to pay the price, pray for a long time, build a prayer altar, actively participate in spiritual warfare, and build a glorious church. - We are determined to serve by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Give for the Lord and Live Out Destiny)
Answer the following questions:
- Try to find the biblical basis. Write it down.
Question 7: Understanding the Application of the Four Levels of Pastoral Care
Break the bondage of people's flesh
Break the bondage of people's spirits
Teach the power of God's word
Apply God's word to life
Answer the following questions:
What carnal problems have you ever broken (yourself or others)?
What spiritual bondages are you particularly effective at dealing with (from a personal or ministry recipient level)?
How do you teach others God's word? Is there a specific format?
In the process of teaching God's word, what do you think is the most important key?
How do you help those being ministered to solve basic problems in their life and work?
What do you think is the greatest effect of solving these basic problems in life for ministry and pastoral care?
Question 8: Understanding the Training and Pastoral Ministry System:
- Horizontal Training System - Systematic Bible Study
The church leads each member to study the Bible systematically. Study one book at a time. Bible study twice a week, New Testament on Wednesdays, Old Testament on Fridays. It can be completed in 4 years. The Bible study materials are then converted into text, printed into books, and kept in plain language, closely grasping the theme. Each group can use the Bible study materials for one-on-one discipleship training. Bible study materials are also constantly accumulated. Bible study is to systematically establish the foundation of faith in brothers and sisters and inherit the mission.
- Vertical Training System - Professional Courses
The church has designed a series of highly practical courses for each member. Revolving around four levels: breaking the flesh, breaking bondage, establishing a belief system, and applying God's word to life. Each course is divided into primary and advanced levels. The primary level is for application to oneself and the advanced level is for serving others. All of these courses use studentcentered, active learning methods. That is, those who participate in the class arrange their own time to listen, learn, and complete assignments. Finally, there is one-on-one discipleship training with the pastor.
- Combination of Vertical Pastoral Groups and Horizontal Ministry Groups
The church must have highly professional ministry districts. This pastoral district is a fixed pastoral district. The district pastor of the ministry district is directly responsible for pastoring the members of the district. The arrangement of ministry can also be discussed during the pastoral district meeting. There are two types of ministry teams in the church, one is a professional ministry team (pastoral + ministry) and the other is a general ministry team (ministry-oriented, helping to train and supervise brothers and sisters participating in ministry). This arrangement can improve the professionalism of the ministry. In other words, the ministry team should be composed of the core members of the ministry, with very low personnel mobility. Each member is responsible for different functions. The district pastor of the ministry team takes care of both the pastoral care and leadership of the ministry. Its members lead their respective teams to complete their functions. However, the members of this team do not have to be long-term members of the ministry. The mobility is very high, and the level of professional skills may not be high. They are mainly dispatched from various pastoral care districts to receive training.
Whoever Inherits the Church's Spiritual Assets Sees the Effectiveness of Service
Today we are talking about the second part of 'The Victory Chapter' - inheriting the church's spiritual assets, which is a very important part. In recent years, I have found that church leaders and coworkers who inherit the church's spiritual assets see the effectiveness of their service. Those who do not inherit the church's spiritual assets often do not see the effectiveness of their service.
No one in this life starts experimenting from scratch with fire. Today, almost everything is received from others. Why do people go to school? Because they want to learn what others have already done and done well. If you still use ancient methods of counting by tying ropes, you will never learn many things before you die. You do not need to re-derive the calculus that Newton created. It is already very good if you can learn calculus.
The same is true for the Bible! We do not need to rewrite it from scratch. What we need to do is inherit it. I did not invent these things in building the church myself. I inherited them from Paul. Many pastors, today, create a small group church, tomorrow another, this thing and that thing. They do a lot of things, but they do not know how to inherit what Paul said. In fact, it is already very good if you get everything Paul said right. If you are willing, you must return to the Bible. In the entire process of building the church, what we are actually inheriting is Paul's logical system. We understand the parts of the Bible that Paul wrote and then write it out, which is called our church's core values - the church's spiritual assets.
In the process of building a church, inheritance is very important. I inherit from the Apostle Paul, I inherit from our Lord Jesus Christ, and after inheriting, I put it into practice in life and act it out. After acting it out, I find it is effective, and then I turn the most important and core things, like the foundation, into our church's core values. Why are they called core values? They are the most critical content. I think the Bible also asks us to emulate Paul, and the Bible also asks us to emulate Jesus Christ, so that is inheritance.
In ancient Chinese customs, there is a method called a master teaching an apprentice. In fact, the apprentice emulates what the master does. In the entire process of inheritance in the church, we immediately become one with Paul and one with Jesus Christ. Then, if our church brothers and sisters inherit our church's spiritual assets, then we also become one.
Inheritance is the foundation of unity, the key to victory, and a manifestation of obedience. Many brothers and sisters in the church like to do their own thing. This is a very bad habit. I do not approve of those who like to do their own thing. Doing your own thing is more about messing around. It does not build up life. They listen to this and that, everywhere, even to us. Doing your own thing cannot solve the problem in life. When there is a problem, they come to me and ask me to pray for them. I think these people really need to have their minds reformed.
You must know that inheriting the church's spiritual assets is a very critical component. Continuously inherit the church's spiritual assets and then build the church together based on identification. Would we say that we have reached a complete point in knowing God today? No! Knowing God is an endless thing. Establishing church identification is a very important issue.
Identify Through Practice
Today, I see many brothers and sisters in the church. Why can't he (she) completely obey? It is because they do not identify. When I was leading a sister in prayer, there was always a voice of accusation inside her: Why can't you obey? Why can't you obey? In fact, some people are asked to obey, but you cannot ask them to identify. They must learn to identify themselves. If he does not identify, his obedience is a fake obedience. It is useless to be outwardly obedient but not inwardly obedient. That is, he must identify with you before he can obey.
I would also like to explain a concept: Why can you obey, but you cannot obey me? Because he does not identify with you, he identifies . When he identifies with something, he can obey. Therefore, brothers and sisters, when you have some non-identification inside, you must be especially careful, especially if you do not identify with the core values of the church. It does not matter if you do not identify with me. What you identify with is the Apostle Paul or Jesus. Because when I speak, I basically capture these most critical things from the Bible.
I should be a bookworm-level reader. I definitely read books more clearly than the average person, not to mention that the Spirit of God also leads me. Therefore, you need to identify with the church's vision, mission, core values, and service methods through practice. After you do it, you can say whether this thing is problematic or useful. This is how you identify. At the beginning, you choose to identify first and then practice. After practicing, you will find that the whole thing is the same. Do not slap your head. We must remove blind identification and blind non-identification. The reason for blind identification and blind non-identification is that people do not practice. If you are a person who practices God's word, you will not blindly identify or blindly not identify.
I really do not want you to blindly identify with me, and I do not want you to blindly identify with Jesus. I hope you start with identification and then implement it. This is doing what God says from reading His word. After identification, you will inherit and emulate and practice; then you will identify more and inherit more and emulate more. Later, I discovered that those who do not identify are basically people who do not practice. They just slap their heads and say, I don't think what he is doing is right, and what he is doing is not right! When you ask him why he thinks it is not right, he cannot say why, but he just does not identify.
So be a smart person. A smart person is someone who does what God says after hearing it. Do not tell me that you identify but do not do it. That is no different from not identifying. You will see the effectiveness of your service when you do it. If your service is not effective, it is useless for you to tell me a thousand or ten thousand identifications. What are you identifying with if there is no effect?
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we must say today that healing and deliverance, who have you delivered? If you have not delivered anyone, then you either do not identify with it or do not practice it in your bones. If you inherit the core values of our church and then put them into practice, you will definitely have the effect of pastoral care and the effect of ministry. Is not it? Therefore, brothers and sisters, we must return to a very critical place and we must adjust ourselves and be a smart person. Start from practicing God's word.
Then I understand God's word by reading, praying, and seeking. Then I share it with you. After sharing, you listen and do it, and you will see the effect. Why is this the case? Because our church's core value system comes from prayer, revelation from the Holy Spirit, reading the Bible, grasping the meaning of the Bible, and then from practice. After we have practiced, we summarize the effective things into our church's core values. Then we observe many phenomena, and then we correspond to God's word, and then we see that when these phenomena are explained using our church's core value system, they are more in line with God's word.
For example, one person got cancer. Many people are confused: Why did he get cancer? I tell you: Because a person cannot obtain promises if he does not fight. Why do many people not get healing? Because he cannot fight and win, so he cannot obtain promises. Then later we looked back at the Bible and saw that this was indeed the case. We summarized our core values. Therefore, brothers and sisters, start to come out of blind identification and blind non-identification, and start actively participating in service in the church, and then build up your entire belief structure.
Your entire belief structure must be built up. If you do not build it up, then your belief will be a chaotic belief. I often listen to brothers and sisters sharing and see such an interesting phenomenon: what he says seems to be what I said. You think this is a bad thing, but I think it is a very good thing because he inherits! He inherits, he imitates, he emulates, and then he begins to see the effectiveness of his service, and then he begins to know that this is a victorious path. That is, if you want to win, it is inseparable from inheritance. Because we have suffered a lot, shed a lot of tears, and shed a lot of blood in the entire process of building the church, the Lord led us step by step in this process to sort out this core value. I believe this is God's wonderful work!
In recent years, some people have sorted out the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, but I have found that those who recite these creeds fluently, even backwards, have ended up in Eastern Lightning and various heresies and cults. Why is this the case? Because there is no power. Later I discovered that that kind of thing cannot prove that his belief is pure.
I think many of us brothers and sisters come from traditional church backgrounds. In fact, you are no strangers to the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. What I am talking about is to tell you that the core values developed by our church are actually much better than that thing. Because that thing basically has no great use. Where did that thing come from? That thing is to give people a false comfort. I believe in what... I believe in what... but in the end it is not implemented in practice.
A person who reads God's word and does not do it is a foolish person. If you do it, you will see God's power manifested in your life. This is why our church promotes brothers and sisters to learn inheritance no matter what. Let me give you a few examples: one of them is called Distinguishing Good from Evil. If you read the Bible, at the beginning of Genesis, it says that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil cannot be eaten. If you eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will surely die. So this matter begins to understand a very critical concept: Distinguishing Good from Evil is a very powerful thing. But if you search for Distinguishing Good from Evil on the website, no one talks about Distinguishing Good from Evil except our church.
Reck Jonah's first book, written in his twenties, was about Identifying Good and Evil, but it didn't sell well and now feels somewhat lost. No one reads it. Why is that? Because the devil vigorously hinders people from understanding the discernment of good and evil. This kind of discernment is extremely wicked. We have repeatedly learned this from countless defeats, and then, after praying and seeking God, He tells us that we are bound to lose in the battle of discerning good and evil. Do not fight on that battlefield; instead, strike the devil on the battlefield of faith.
In the entire process of spiritual warfare, I want to tell everyone the first core value:
Core Value: Accept the Teachings of the Entire Bible, Without Adding or Subtracting, Insisting That the Bible is Truth – This is Crucial
Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3)
Every word signifies a complete theological system, continuously discussed and established through Paul's epistles. We inherit the complete system of church building from Paul, who received it from Jesus. The concept of every word is definitely not just some words. In the Christian church, a very popular saying is, This is outdated, that is outdated, times have changed. This refers to this era, that refers to that background, and God doesn't do things this way anymore. There are many such ideas.
This kind of thinking is quite wicked and incorrect. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God's words will last forever. Every word is a complete theological system that must be diligently excavated to build a glorious church of God. This theological system is understood through extensive prayer, the revelation of the Holy Spirit, biblical themes, and observations of phenomena. Therefore, God's words cannot be added to or subtracted from; it is a complete system. Faith is the key to the entire Christian faith, establishing a faith-based theological system.
Every word implies certain foundations. Houses have foundations, and faith is the foundation of belief. There are other truths as well. Every word is like building a house. Jesus said that hearing His words and acting on them is like a wise man building his house on the rock. The wind and rain will not collapse it. The rock is the salvation of Jesus Christ, which is faith. If you believe, you receive; if you do not believe, you do not receive. The foundation of a house is crucial; if the foundation is not solid, the house will collapse. The pillars are also crucial for stability and load-bearing. The floor slabs are important and must be solid. The remaining walls and interior facilities are also important. Would it be comfortable and convenient to live in a bare house? It would be cold in the winter and full of bugs in the summer. The built house must have complete facilities.
Every word can also be likened to building an airplane. An airplane must have an engine, and the faith of Jesus Christ must have an engine, which is the power of the Holy Spirit. The plane must have a navigation system, a power system, and a control system. It will take off steadily in any environment. Who would dare to sit in a plane that lacks even one part? The faith of Jesus Christ is a faith that allows our lives to take off, soaring like an eagle. How can it fly if it is incomplete? The faith of Jesus Christ refers to every word, which must be a complete system to make a person's life fly. Some people's faith is not good, and they don't read the Bible well. It is incomplete, piecemeal, and impossible to fly. The promises in the Bible cannot be fulfilled in them. Completeness is very important.
Only Through Victorious Warfare Can We Obtain Promises
From Genesis to Revelation, there is a main axis, which is a backbone of our Jesus faith: only through victorious warfare can we obtain promises. Whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, we must fight to obtain God's promises. No matter how many of God's promises there are, they are all real. The entire Bible speaks of warfare. Many Christians' prayers are not answered; they feel that's just how it is. I used to be extremely reluctant to go to the hospital and pray for people because they died after praying. Why cannot the promises of Jesus Christ be fulfilled?
We have never seen Jesus pray and someone die, or someone's eyes be fine and then go blind after praying, except for Paul's blindness. Those who seek Jesus are healed. Why is this? Like Jesus, one prayer and it's good. I hope it is like this. Spiritual warfare is a battle between two kingdoms. The earth is the kingdom of the devil, and if God wants to establish His kingdom on earth, there must be warfare.
Throughout Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy, you will find that the entire process of the Israelites reaching the Promised Land is a process of warfare. Those who dared not fight died in the wilderness, and those who fought obtained the Promised Land. This symbolizes that many Christians also passed through the Red Sea and ate manna, but ultimately died in the wilderness because they dared not fight. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of warfare, not against the people of the world, but a spiritual battle, warring against the dark forces in the air. Christians who do not fight will die in the wilderness. Though they have the grace of the wilderness, they do not obtain the Promised Land. This is not God's plan. God's plan is for us to enter the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Christians must believe to the point of flowing with milk and honey.
Numbers 14:32-37 says they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, seeing only giants, not daring to fight, complaining. Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh entered the Promised Land because they were not afraid of fighting or of giants. Wasn't that land given to Abraham? Why must they face enemies and fight to obtain it? This is God's truth. God gave that land to Abraham but did not destroy the people of that land, so the Israelites could smoothly enter and obtain that land. Why is this?
God reveals a truth to the Christians of this era: if you dare not fight for the land promised to you, you will not obtain that land. You must drive out the people of that place. This is our belief in casting out demons today. These signs will accompany those who believe: casting out demons by the Spirit of God, and the kingdom of God has come upon you. We often pray for God's kingdom to come, but we do not see God's kingdom come. Why? Because we have not driven out the demons of that place. How can we obtain that land? Obtain those promises? The entire Bible remembers this clearly.
Abraham obtained that promised land, not by entering smoothly. God led the battle, defeated the devil and the enemies, and then drove out the people of that land, or exterminated them. This passage symbolizes wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, until they were destroyed by God, because they were afraid to fight. The Israelites feared fighting and were instead killed by a plague. Ten of the twelve spies were leaders, the most powerful men from each tribe, but they died in the plague. They intended to save their lives, but lost their lives. Joshua and Caleb were willing to lay down their lives for God and obtain the Promised Land. The result of not fighting is very obvious.
Many brothers and sisters in the original church saw a state of being oppressed by the devil. There were many problems in the church. It was better not to go to church, but going to church led to depression. That's a bit too much, but anyway, a church that does not fight cannot win. Christians who are unwilling to do healing and deliverance will be bullied by the devil. Judges records that whenever the Israelites lived comfortable lives and did not want to fight, they were bullied by the surrounding nations.
The Chinese nation has been a strong nation throughout history, but 100 years ago, it became the sick man of East Asia. The Japanese devils could beat you whenever they wanted and loot you whenever they wanted. As a result, they occupied most of China because of weakness. But the Chinese fought for eight years and drove out the Japanese devils. It was impossible to drive them out without warfare. Today, don't just ask the demons to leave; in Jesus' name, through warfare, drive out the demons. Today, our warfare has reached a fever pitch, starting to completely strike the devil and the enemies. Even the biggest demons must be trampled underfoot. Do not be polite. If you often think in your heart, Don't be so cruel, be a little kind to the devil, that is not the teaching of the Bible. The Bible tells us to completely exterminate them.
Why can only Caleb and Joshua survive and enter the Promised Land? Because they are warriors who fight. It is not because they are skilled in martial arts, but because they trusted in God's promise to defeat the giants. What revelation can be gained through this short passage? You cannot obtain the Promised Land without warfare. If you dare to fight, God will make you victorious. Do not be afraid to fight; when you are strong, God will make the devil and the enemies tremble before you. We are called to be God's army, to set the captives free and release those who are imprisoned.
Be Brave in Warfare, Become a Member of God's Army
We are called to be God's army, to set the captives free and release those who are oppressed. If you do not release the captives and those who are oppressed, what are you doing? You are called to be God's army, because on the day they left Egypt, after exactly four hundred and thirty years, the armies of the Lord went out of Egypt. Was that an army?
A group of rabble, all slaves and common people, but in God's eyes, that's an army. We cannot win and obtain the Promised Land without warfare. In fact, warfare is an expression of faith. If you say you believe that God makes you victorious, then what are you afraid of?
If you believe that God makes you victorious, then go bravely into battle. In fact, I myself am a best witness. I've cast out so many demons and released so many captives. If the devil were powerful, it would have killed me long ago. Today, it can't kill me, and I'm living quite well.
Because God reigns in this world, don't think the devil reigns. Bravely fight the devil; that is the concrete manifestation of faith.
Those who dare to fight can live; those who dare not fight cannot live. It is very simple. Joshua and Caleb were able to survive because they were not afraid of the giants before them. They took those guns, all like the strong men such as Lu Zhishen. They were very powerful. But Joshua and Caleb were not afraid and wiped them all out.
As long as you are willing to fight according to the word of God, you will surely triumph and surely obtain the Promised Land, because this is God's promise. You know, in our growth as Christians throughout our lives, we must know a few things: only those who can fight count. What can you do if you can't fight?
Do Not Be a Spiritual Dwarf
You become a spiritual baby, still a spiritual baby after decades. That is dwarfism, sick, unhealthy. Do you want to be a dwarf? You don't want to be. You want to be a grown-up soldier who can fight. When the Israelites left Egypt, in the first chapter of Numbers, the number of people in each tribe was recorded.
It does not record how many people were in that tribe, but it records that those who were twenty years old and older and able to go out to fight were counted. That is to say, those who could not fight did not count. Are you someone who can go out to fight? If you are someone who can go out to fight, you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, and you can be counted in it.
So, in Paul's epistles, if you are a child, still under the law, still no different from a servant, then you must grow up to become a son of God. Only when you grow up can you become a son of God. Therefore, Numbers 1:25-45 records the twelve tribes. Only those who were over twenty years old and able to go out to fight were counted; others were not.
Only Those Who Can Fight Count
I think this reveals a truth: only those who can fight count. Why did we say earlier that you can only obtain the Promised Land through victorious warfare? If you can only get the promise through victorious warfare, then only those who can fight count. What do you count for if you can't fight? So, does a Christian who cannot fight count? Does not count. So, what does God want to tell us?
We must continue to grow and mature, which is to make disciples. Why is this 201 course talking about making disciples? Because it is to allow everyone to begin to grow and mature, to be soldiers in God's army.
Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. (2 Timothy 2:3-4)
The 201 course is to make you a warrior in God's army, able to fight spiritual battles, able to release captive souls, able to liberate oppressed people, able to cast out demons, and able to teach the word of God, and then build people's faith. This is a very crucial component of our 201 course.
If you read the Bible carefully, you will find that you and I have read these things, but why haven't some people grasped them? I want to say it is because we have not yearned to understand the word of God. Later, in the process of building the church, I began to yearn to know the word of God. When I read chapter by chapter carefully, I realized, How could I not have read these things in my twenty years as a Christian?
I also did not summarize them, because I prayed very little. When you pray, God will reveal to you that only those who can fight count.
A Church Must Have a Spiritual Army
To inherit the spiritual assets of the church, we must grasp the very important and key components that God reveals in the Bible. Those are foundational. The fact that the church is God's army is not only said in the New Testament; from the Old Testament to the New Testament, throughout the entire Bible, it speaks of the church as God's army. The church must fight and win to obtain the promises.
So today, brothers and sisters, do you know? God did not say that on the day they left Egypt, after exactly four hundred and thirty years, a group of common people came out, or a group of slaves came out. Instead, He said, “The armies of the Lord went out of Egypt; this night is the Lord’s night, because the Lord led them out of Egypt, so you must keep watch to the Lord, and keep watch through generations.” Why didn't God say a group of common people came out?
Why didn't He say a group of slaves came out, but instead said the army of the Lord came out? Because this is an army. The church is God's army, which is very crucial. Every time you pray for the kingdom of God to come, do you know that a country without an army is not a country?
If China's rockets are removed and everything is gone, I tell you, you will immediately be bullied, do you believe it? The country will no longer be a country.
So today, to say we must establish the kingdom of God, we must establish a very powerful spiritual army to strike the devil and the enemies, constantly expanding the kingdom of God on earth, and let all the good things in God's kingdom be fulfilled in us. God's promises are manifested in God's kingdom.
If You Don't Fight, You Will Be Beaten
Many Christians are not in God's kingdom but in the devil's kingdom. If you are a Christian in the devil's kingdom, I think that is a very cruel reality. So the church is God's army, and the army is a component of God's kingdom. Without an army, there is no country.
The later history of Israel also proved one thing: although they were God's chosen people, when they were weak and lived comfortable lives, they were bullied by the surrounding countries. It was truly a miserable bullying. The land they painstakingly cultivated and the grain they harvested were snatched away. What were you doing?
So today, I once again remind you, brothers and sisters, don't think that in our church, you don't have to cast out demons, occasionally come to a gathering, or often come to gatherings, but you don't want to fight... If you don't fight, the devil will beat you!
When that time comes, do not blame God for not protecting you. It is that you yourself did not protect yourself, because you did not become a brave warrior in God's army, and you did not contend in faith; the devil will definitely come to bully you because you have not carefully kept and obeyed God's word. Brothers and sisters, it is not that God is not faithful; God is still faithful. If you are unwilling to carefully keep and obey God's word, what can be done?
If the devil bullies you, God really can't control you. Learn to inherit the core value system of the church and be a mighty warrior of spiritual warfare. You know that throughout the history of Israel, many years after Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan, there was a tribe called Dan that had no place. Why?
Because they drew lots for that land, but they were unwilling to drive out the people inside, so they did not obtain it. So that tribe wandered everywhere. They were also twelve tribes of Israel, but after many years, this tribe of Dan had no land and no place to live, and they kept wandering. This is very miserable! Is the tribe of Dan God's chosen people?
Yes, but they do not fight. If you don't fight, you will be the same, and you will get nothing in the end. You can only be often bullied by the devil, the enemy.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:12-13)
Only by establishing God's army can we fight against the devil and the enemies, and only then can we obtain the promises. So, brothers and sisters, you must know that the Christian faith is a holistic faith of the church. It's a united army. Only the unity of the church can fight and win. So don't play solo games over there. It is useless to cultivate alone by yourself.
Intimacy with God Cannot Replace Warfare
In the church of Jesus Christ, there is a very fashionable term: intimacy with God. I do not oppose you being intimate with God, but you must become a component of Jesus Christ's spiritual warfare army. If you are not in Jesus Christ's mighty army, then even if you constantly seek intimacy with God, do you think the devil will not bully you? The devil will still bully you.
Once, there was a sister who was intimate with God in the church all day long. After three or five days, she was still there, being intimate with God, but she was particularly upset and uncomfortable inside. Then my co-worker told me about this, saying that this sister was always uncomfortable and especially unhappy.
Then I went to see her. Sure enough, in the office, she was turning on the computer and playing a song, and then being intimate with God, praising God, but with a distressed look on her face. Then I pushed the door open and asked her what was wrong. She said she had been very uncomfortable for several days. She had been intimate with God for several days, but she was still uncomfortable. I said, Isn't this very ridiculous?
I will lead you in a prayer. Then I asked her to put her hand on her chest and rebuke the evil spirits to leave in the name of Jesus Christ, and she was all better in five minutes. Why was she so uncomfortable? It was because the evil spirit behind her family was constantly releasing evil spirits through her family to attack her and make her particularly uncomfortable.
So brothers and sisters must know for sure that we must never think that intimacy with God and praising God can replace fighting. The Israelites really took knives and guns to drive the people of that land out. The Israelites were not worshiping God in the temple, and then the devil and the enemies or the people of Canaan automatically ran away. No, they were driven out with knives and guns! So warfare is warfare, intimacy with God is intimacy with God, and worshiping God is worshiping God. These things cannot replace each other.
Today, brothers and sisters, understand one thing with me, that is, praying in tongues and praying with understanding are different. Praying with understanding cannot replace praying in tongues, and praying in tongues cannot replace praying with understanding. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is being filled with the Holy Spirit, and reading the Bible is reading the Bible. You cannot say that if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you don't need to read the Bible. There is no such thing, so these things cannot replace each other.
You can't say that if you build a house, you don't need a floor and a bed. How can that be? The floor cannot replace the bed, and the bed cannot replace the floor. The toilet cannot be used as a bedroom, and the bedroom cannot be used as a toilet. What kind of house is it if there is a bedroom without a toilet? It is also not okay to have only a toilet without a bedroom.
The engine in an airplane cannot replace the wings, and the wings cannot replace the engine. Do you understand? So today, we believe in Jesus Christ, and we believe in a complete faith. There are many bastard Christians who use one thing to replace other things. Is that not a lie?
They are bullied by the devil, and that is what they deserve. Today, brothers and sisters, if you do not carefully keep and obey God's word, you will be cursed. If you carefully keep and obey God's word, you will be blessed. So today, we brothers and sisters must know that the church is God's army. This is a very crucial concept.
The Church is God's Army!
We brothers and sisters must know that the church is God's army. This is a key component. Don't nonsense; it is useless to drag it on and on. So brothers and sisters, start to be strong and completely inherit the spiritual assets of the church. The church becomes God's army; if the church becomes God's army, then it can obtain the promises.