Transgressing God’s Word Invites Demons
The entire Book of Deuteronomy records what should be done and what should not be done, all of which God wants to tell us. If you do not do what must be done, it is called not diligently observing God's Word. If you do what God says you must not do, it is called transgressing the command of the Lord God. Both have a common result: inviting demons. Transgressing God's Word results in curses. What is a curse? It means that demons can legally operate in us because they can legally enter a person's life through the sins committed by that person.
For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. (Romans 7:14)
When we read Deuteronomy, we must clearly understand that the law in Deuteronomy is not about moral norms but about the laws of the spiritual world. It actually speaks to the impact of spiritual matters on our lives in this world. The law in Deuteronomy is not about morality; it is spiritual in nature, describing what actions will invite demons.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)
We must be clear about one thing: if the entire Bible is summarized in a few sentences, the first sentence is the greatest commandment God commands us: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the other is: Love your neighbor as yourself. Only when you love God will you be willing to put His Word into practice. It is hard to do these things when you don't love God. Driven by love, a person is willing to do anything for the other person. When we love God, we don't know what complaining or fatigue means. Although we are tired, we are still happy to serve.
When we read Deuteronomy today, we must discern what pleases God so that we can invite the Spirit of God to dwell among us, which is being blessed. When we do what God hates, we invite demons and are cursed. If you act according to your own will and value system, you will violate God and cannot live well.
In this era, observe the people around us. Take a close look, is anyone living well? If you conclude that everyone seems to be living poorly, what is the reason? They are transgressing the commands of the Lord God. The Bible describes many things that God hates. If you do them, you will definitely not live well! Therefore, when we read Deuteronomy today, do not evaluate it with moral concepts. Today, we must approach it from the perspective of understanding what invites demons and what does not.
Let me tell you a story: There was a brother, a Chinese, working for a Chinese company in Singapore. His mother was a Christian, and he also wanted to be a Christian, but he had a bad habit: he liked to patronize prostitutes in Singapore. He came to my office, and we often prayed together, but during prayer, he would smash his phone to pieces. We didn't know why he did this, and he couldn't control himself. Then he would buy a new phone. After a while, in the place of prayer, he smashed his phone again. He wanted to live well, but he was in pain. This person definitely had a demon, and it came from patronizing prostitutes. Upon closer observation, he was transgressing God's commands.
Why are people subject to the devil? Because people sinned and forsook God from the beginning. It is not that God cannot reign in this world, but He will not reign for you. God wants you to make a choice yourself: to be a person who diligently observes the Lord's commands and words, or not.
If you observe carefully today, you will find that people are becoming richer and countries are becoming stronger, but people are becoming less and less happy. Today, when I returned to my hometown for New Year’s Day, I looked out the window and saw the school surrounded by a circle, all watered and frozen into ice rinks, and children would go ice skating. My brother-in-law said, why are all the schools starting ice skating? He said that recently a child was about to take the college entrance examination but played games at home every day. One day, his parents were very angry and smashed his phone. As a result, the next day, the child killed his parents and jumped off the building himself, and the whole family was finished!
People don't understand the root of the problem, so the education department says that children are under too much pressure now and need outdoor activities. In northeastern winters, the weather is 15 to 20 degrees below zero Celsius, very cold. Can making ice rinks solve this problem? I found it very interesting. If ice skating could solve this problem, we would all go ice skating and the place would be fine! The key is that it cannot solve the problem. People like to do things that are related to the problem, but it is useless.
I agree with my own statement that if people do more and more things that God hates, they will invite more and more demons, and those demons will do many corrupting things. Various demons will bring various forms of oppression. If people have good food, fun, good places to live, and money, but they are not happy, how can they be happy with demons in them? Inviting demons is because people do things that God hates.
Today, I will tell you a few things that everyone must know. First, people cannot discern good and evil; discerning good and evil is death. If you discern good and evil for a long time, you will not live well! Some time ago, someone called me and thought I was very powerful because people would get better when I prayed. As a result, a friend of his family had ankylosing spondylitis. Based on my understanding of this world, I described the person's character because I had seen such people before. This ankylosing spondylitis comes from demons because people are prone to hatred and will inexplicably do some things. It doesn't matter at first, but it will become more and more serious.
The solution is to drive out the demon, and the person's thoughts must also be adjusted. They cannot act according to their own will. In this world, if you think you are right and everyone else is wrong, that is the root of the problem. You will definitely invite powerful demons. It would be strange if you didn’t get sick.
Change Your Mind and Obey the Principles of the Spiritual World
I have tried it myself. I am not a saint. If I do what is evil in God's eyes, I will also invite demons. When the demons come, I know that I must adjust my thoughts and do what God says. It sounds difficult, but it is easy to do. This is the principle of the spiritual world. Deuteronomy 22, which we are discussing today, talks about what God hates. Observe slowly, including your family, and see what happens when they do what God hates!
I have researched and investigated and found that people have a characteristic: no one thinks what they do is wrong. If they knew it was wrong, they wouldn't have done it in the first place. They think it's right and then do it, based on their own value system and logical system. Do some people know that corruption or bribery is wrong? They know, but they still do it because they think it is valuable. So they get into prison.
They think it's valuable, that's called values. What is more valuable and what is not valuable. Earning ten million from doing this and one million from doing that. They will definitely choose to earn ten million first. This is called value judgment. We all follow the standard of cost-effectiveness, so it is challenging to disobey our values and obey God's values. Our values must be adjusted according to God's Word. If they are not adjusted according to God's Word, the result will not be good.
Why are people living more and more unhappily today? Singapore is the most typical place. Every time I take a taxi, I hear taxi drivers complaining about the government, saying that driving a taxi in China is much better than in Singapore. Actually, he is talking about what he doesn't know. He doesn't even know if driving a taxi in China is really better than in Singapore. Why does he say this? Because he blames the government for all his unhappiness. This is a very interesting phenomenon. People don't like to blame themselves. They think they are not wrong and that the fault is all on others. This is a very serious case of discerning good and evil, and things will get worse and worse. So when we read Deuteronomy 22, we want to see what God's requirements are and what your own judgment is :
If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. If the owner does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he claims it; then give it back to him. Do the same with anything your brother has lost, whether an ox, a donkey or anything else he leaves behind; do not ignore it. If you see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him get it to its feet. (Deuteronomy 22:1-4)
According to human logic, doing so not only loses money but also causes trouble. However, God requires you to do so. When you encounter something and you don't do it, you invite demons. The demon will say: God, this person did not do according to your Word, give him to me. God has no way to not give him away. What will happen after you give him away? Bad things will often happen to you because doing these things will invite evil spirits!
We must not think that it doesn't matter if we do something that violates God's Word. We have the precious blood of Jesus Christ. No matter what it is, we can just wipe it with the precious blood of Jesus Christ and be exempt. It's like wiping your mouth after secretly eating something and it's over. There's no such thing! Do you think that just because you are a Christian, you can erase your violation of God's Word? There is no such thing! I will teach you a lesson: whatever you do, act according to God's Word!
How to do it? Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We must all know that everything in this world has a reason. Today, we sow a seed of a curse, and we will reap the fruit of the curse later. Who sowed the seed of the curse when we committed the sin we are suffering today? If not ourselves, it may be our parents, grandparents, or maternal grandparents.
So we know Jesus Christ and have the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which covers the transgressions we could not cover in the past. But if we still deliberately do what is evil in God's eyes today, the results you invite will follow your descendants for three to four generations. Don't blame God for being ruthless.
Have a Heart of Compassion
Everything has a reason. The effect of a lifetime comes from the heart. The problems of your ancestors are easy to solve, but your own affairs in this generation are difficult to solve because you caused them yourself. Don't pretend. What must you have in your heart? Have a heart of compassion. You know how important that person's ox and that piece of clothing are to their family. If they lose them, how worried they will be. You must have compassion for them so that such things will not happen to you.
I was taught by my parents since I was a child: don't laugh at or bully the blind, the mute, or the very poor. Why? Because after you laugh at them and bully them, blindness, muteness, and poverty will also come upon you. I personally saw a child in our yard who was a few years older than me. Because he saw people stuttering, he also imitated them. People stuttered there for a long time: Uh--uh--uh--uh--uh--uh--. He was there too: Uh--uh--uh--. He laughed at people, and in less than two days, he became a stutterer himself. He was a stutterer for the rest of his life, and it was difficult for him to speak! How did his stutter come about? He learned it. How did he learn it? Because he thought people were funny. So everyone must have a heart of compassion. I have also seen that the descendants of those children who bully and laugh at the disabled will be disabled. Why? Because they invite demons. So we must have a heart of compassion.
If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life. (Deuteronomy 22:6-7)
Do you think God is talking about a moral matter? No. God is talking about a matter, and this matter is the law set by God. This law is to let you have a heart of compassion inside. You must not only have compassion for your brothers, but also for livestock. Some time ago, there was a news report in Taiwan that someone in the army was abusing animals. It was exposed by the media, and the consequences were very serious. Abusing animals is a bad habit. People abusing animals also reflects the cruel and ruthless mentality in people. We must have a heart of compassion in us. What does God want from us? He requires us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). Why do I serve so tired and so hard, and am willing to serve in this way? Because I have seen God's mercy. You must know what God hates, and you must not go into it. If you do what God hates, you will become the person God hates. So, do everything to be a person who pleases God.
I read a book I wrote on the road, and the book is called Doing What Is Right in the Eyes of the Lord. The more I read it, the better I felt. Why do you do what is right in the eyes of the Lord? Because if you do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, God will be with you; if you do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, God will not be with you. Who will be with you? The demon will be with you! Can you live well if the demon is with you? That is impossible.
When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof. (Deuteronomy 22:8)
So today, brothers and sisters, start to have a heart of compassion. When building a house, put a railing around the roof so that no one will fall from the house, and the guilt of bloodshed will be on your house. So this is very important. Maybe you will say, It doesn't matter, if someone falls down, that is his own business. I tell you, if someone falls from your building and there is an unnatural death, that place will attract ghosts. How do many houses become haunted houses? That's how they become. If there are hangings or suicides in the house, there is a problem with the house. Why? There are ghosts in that place, so today we must have a heart of compassion. Don't think it doesn't matter. We must do everything we should do. This is compassion. Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. This is what God wants from us.
God Delights in Kind, Not Hybrids
God, in His creation, intends for us to reproduce after our own kind. We must learn to keep things separate and distinct, avoid mixing what should not be mixed. Mankind has a penchant for creating hybrids. In the Chinese language, the term hybrid carries a negative connotation. To liken someone to a mule is considered highly unflattering. Mules are sterile, a dead end, because they are the product of crossbreeding between a donkey and a horse. While mules are useful and hard-working, they are fundamentally hybrids. We must understand that adhering to one's own kind is of paramount importance. Consider what the Scripture says:
A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this. (Deuteronomy 22:5)
Why does God find these things detestable? Because they contravene God's original intention for humanity. God intended that men should be masculine and women feminine, sons should be like sons, fathers like fathers, and mothers like mothers. Deviation from this design leads to significant disruption. When a father ceases to embody fatherly qualities and a son fails to embody sonly qualities, when a father resembles a son and a son resembles a father, and even more disturbingly, when a son acts as the father and the father as a servant, it invites demonic influence. Chaos ensues. What God detests should be treated with the utmost seriousness. Take, for example, the video of a sixty-year-old man clad in silk stockings and a short skirt, carrying a small handbag, mincing about like a woman. He identifies as a polysexual, a homosexual who nevertheless married and had children, yet his wife and son are powerless to influence his attire. This is highly irregular. When things deviate from their natural order, it attracts demonic forces. What indwells such a person? Demonic spirits, which then sow chaos. Thus, brethren, to assess someone's spiritual state, observe whether they are mired in confusion. If confusion reigns, it is a sure sign of demonic activity. Do not dismiss these matters as mere sartorial choices. The issue is far graver because such deviations undermine God's creation of distinct kinds.
Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled. Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together. Do not wear clothing woven of wool and linen mixed together. (Deuteronomy 22:9-11)
Evidently, adhering to distinct kinds in our lives extends beyond merely distinguishing animals as birds or reptiles, or classifying plants by family and species. It is intimately interwoven with our daily existence. The planting of two kinds of seed in your garden engenders a hybrid. The yoking of an ox and a donkey for plowing is ill-advised. Mixtures are generally undesirable. Why? Because such practices violate God's original creative intent, transgress the commands of the Lord your God, and invite demonic influence. Therefore, brethren, we must approach these issues with spiritual discernment. What we deem trivial often carries significant consequences. We must carefully consider the repercussions of our actions. If the outcome is adverse, no amount of righteous indignation or justification can redeem the situation.
Sexual Immorality Invites Curses
Deuteronomy 22:13 and onward addresses matters pertaining to sexuality. We must understand that sexual relations and marital life are not simple affairs; they are easily susceptible to demonic influence.
I once encountered a young man whose predilection for prostitution had attracted a multitude of demons. When these spirits manifested, he would lose control and irrationally destroy his mobile phones. Sexual matters are not merely about consensual pleasure; they are a gateway to demonic influence. Why is it that married life often pales in comparison to the single state? In your singleness, you may bear the imprecations of thirty ancestors. Upon marriage, this number doubles to sixty. If your spouse engages in extramarital affairs, the burden escalates: ninety, one hundred and twenty, one hundred and fifty, one hundred and eighty...
I have a friend who operates nightclubs and discotheques. I shared with him this guiding principle: sexual relations between two individuals result in a shared burden of curses. One person carries the curses of thirty ancestors; two carry the curses of sixty. Given his profession, he has had numerous sexual partners. After my explanation, he exclaimed, I must carry the curses of eighteen thousand ancestors! This is no laughing matter. Therefore, any act of sexual immorality must be decisively eradicated, purging the evil from within Israel. What God detests is deemed evil, and exorcising evil dispels demonic forces, curbing their malevolence. Recently, a sister shared with me a disturbing account of widespread sexual abuse and mistreatment of children in a kindergarten. I cannot vouch for the veracity of this report, as I have no firsthand knowledge.
However, such actions are unequivocally detestable to God. God's abhorrence draws demonic forces, which then afflict not only the perpetrators but also the victims, carrying over to the children. Therefore, acts of sexual immorality are particularly prone to attracting demonic influence. We must disabuse ourselves of the notion that such acts are merely consensual. Any sexual relations outside the confines of marriage invite demonic influence.
If a man is caught sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. (Deuteronomy 22:22)
Note the clarity of the Scripture. Why the imposition of the death penalty upon adulterers? Because their demise arrests the transmission of demonic influence, effectively curbing the rampant influence of demons upon humanity. Immorality invariably begets grave consequences.
If a man marries a woman and, after sleeping with her, dislikes her and slanders her, giving her a bad name and saying, “I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,” then the woman’s father shall bring to the town gate proof that she was a virgin. Her father shall say to the town elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her, saying, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.” Then her parents shall display the cloth before the town elders, and the town elders shall take the man and punish him. They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the woman’s father, because this man has slandered a virgin in Israel. She shall remain his wife; he can never divorce her. If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the woman’s virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house; you must purge the evil from among you. (Deuteronomy 22:13-21)
We struggle to fathom why premarital sex warrants death by stoning, deeming it excessively harsh. It is because such acts serve as vectors for demonic transmission. In our present era, premarital sexual relations are often viewed with casual indifference. The infamous case of sexual impropriety involving a former American president underscores its gravity. However, contemporary Americans have adopted a relaxed stance, indicative of a departure from divine precepts that has reached absurd proportions.
You must purge the evil from among you. What course of action, then, should we take in our day? We must vigilantly shun that which is deemed evil in the eyes of the Lord, for such actions carry perilous consequences.
A man shall not marry his father’s wife; he must not dishonor his father’s bed. (Deuteronomy 22:30)
Marrying one's stepmother invites demonic influence and curses. Therefore, adopting a spiritual perspective allows us to discern the spiritual dimensions underlying what we might otherwise construe as mere moral infractions. If we, brethren, are under the New Covenant, are such practices permissible? Nay, they remain forbidden. If, under the New Covenant, we engage in such practices, may God have mercy upon us. Therefore, I urge you, and I urge myself, to strive diligently to keep and obey the commandments of the Lord your God, for it is the Word of God, not mere sustenance or fleeting pleasures, that sustains us. Let us meticulously adhere to the Word of God, thereby denying the demonic forces any foothold to operate. Therefore, brethren, armed with a deeper understanding of these matters, let us abstain from that which God abhors. If we recognize that abstaining from that which God abhors yields the greatest rewards, then let us rigorously discipline ourselves, establishing a new system of values rooted in divine favor. Though we may occasionally succumb to transgressions, provided they are unintentional, let us strive to extricate ourselves from their grasp. This is no trifling matter.
Today, brethren, it is imperative that we fully comprehend the dynamics of blessings and curses. For instance, we often rationalize: I am too busy to attend gatherings; I am too busy to engage in prayer; I am too busy earning money to place my trust in God; I have time for curses, but not for blessings... These are perilous inclinations. Today, I do not seek to bind you to the strictures of the law, but to illuminate the path to divine favor. That path begins with the recognition that human existence is not predicated upon material wealth, employment, or sustenance, but upon every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. You must diligently immerse yourselves in the Word of God, building a firm foundation upon its tenets. When human thoughts and intentions are saturated with the Word of God, all problems are resolved. Therefore, brethren, I exhort you to deepen your understanding of the workings of the spiritual realm. If we possess such an understanding, I assure you that you will prosper. May God bless you all!