Foreword

The entire Book of Deuteronomy speaks of who is blessed and who is cursed. The key is not one's ability, but one's blessing. The state of being blessed and the state of being cursed are entirely different. Deuteronomy speaks extensively about the concept of commandments—what one must not do—and we must understand these things clearly. We humans always think we are doing the right thing. Whether what we do is right or wrong is difficult to judge by words. People generally do not do what they believe is wrong; they do what they think is better or more correct. For example, when buying stocks, one believes they will rise, but whether they rise or not is beyond our control. Therefore, the establishment of our logical system is crucial.

Whether a person lives well or not can be concluded by observing and pondering in real work. Take real life as an example. China has undergone several transformations. The first round was Communism after the 1949 liberation, such as the Great Leap Forward for steel production, industrial development, and communal dining. Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening up after the Cultural Revolution addressed the issue of communal dining. The Cultural Revolution was essentially a struggle between two problems and two views—one view was to prioritize class struggle, and the other was to develop socialist production. Deng Xiaoping believed that economic production needed material incentives to stimulate people's enthusiasm, so the reform and opening-up process adopted the approach of material stimulation. Communal dining proved that people are selfish; everyone wants to work less and earn more. If you want to work less and I want to work less, then no one will work. As the Chinese saying goes, One monk has water to drink, two monks carry water, three monks have no water. Why do three monks have no water? Because no one fetches water; everyone wants to sit at home and wait for others to bring water. This is human nature. As a result, everyone wants to live well, but no one lives well.

After grasping the essence of the problem, Deng Xiaoping began implementing the household responsibility system, which indeed made China wealthy. But did wealth solve people's problems? It solved the problem of people's material lives, but social problems became more serious.

What is the reason for this phenomenon? I saw a photo of a hospital, crowded with people, which reminded me of when I provided IT services to 13,000 students. Doctors fix people, and I fix computers, meaning I was responsible for computer repair at the school. If 10% of the 13,000 students had computer problems, then 1,300 people would be waiting at my door for me to fix their computers. That scene would be overwhelming. Even 300 people waiting in line to repair their computers, with each computer needing to be clicked around without a guaranteed solution, would be terrifying. Thank God, I solved computer problems quite well, and rarely had hundreds of people crowding at my door.

Doctors face thousands of patients every day, and medical resources are extremely scarce. When I was young, there were not as many patients in hospitals. Why are there more patients now? In my childhood, I rarely heard of diseases like diabetes and cancer. Why are there more problems when material things are more developed? Some attribute it to gutter oil, but where does gutter oil come from? It actually comes from the greed within people. People are put on stage as economic animals, creating a materially developed society, but people's hearts are confused by material development, meaning something is not right inside people. In my generation, we rarely heard of people jumping off buildings to commit suicide, but now suicide is not uncommon. When I was in Singapore, a young man said his roommate jumped off the building. They greeted each other in the morning, but in the evening, he was lying dead on the ground. Another said my roommate also jumped, and someone else said my colleague jumped. I personally knew several such cases. If we grasp the essence of living, we should live happily. Those who commit suicide clearly have not grasped the essence of living, meaning they have not gotten it right. Who has it right? Deuteronomy has it right!

Living a Blessed Life According to God's Logical System

When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. And if the man is poor, you shall not sleep in his pledge. You shall restore the pledge to him when the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God. “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin. When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not turn back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. What remains shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. What remains shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. (Deuteronomy 24:10-15, 19-21 ESV)

I think these words are well-spoken, but many people do not agree. For example, when lending money to someone, you cannot take collateral as a pledge. If you do take collateral, you must return it the same day. People feel that they would be at a disadvantage, wondering what would happen if the borrower did not repay. In fact, it is even more incomprehensible in the Bible, especially the practice in the Sabbatical year. If you are doing loan sharking, it is impossible to do business. Why? How could God set such rules? If you do business this way, wouldn't I lose miserably?

But people forget that what they need in life is not visible money, but visible blessings! If people do not do as the Bible says, they will suffer curses, and God will treat them as sinners. God either treats a person as a sinner or a righteous person. Whether a person lives well or not really depends on how God sees them, not on what they do. If you are a wicked person, God will mess with you; if you are a righteous person, God will bless you.

Today we must know one thing: things that appear obviously unreasonable are part of God's logical system. We must know that people cannot control their own destiny. If you think you can control your own destiny, you will not be able to when you develop dementia in old age. So don't think you are great; God is actually in control of the world. If you ask me how I know that God is in control of this world, I can say a lot because I speak after practicing it. Today, brothers and sisters must know that we are to please God, and the logic of the survival of the fittest provokes God's wrath.

We can carefully observe that the world is not ruled by people. Even if you are a strong person, your words do not count. For example, Cao Cao, a famous figure in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, held the emperor hostage and commanded the princes, wielding great power. However, he suffered from severe headaches and was tormented by intense pain until his death. Cao Cao had no control over his illness because his words did not count.

Another example: when I was young, I raised rabbits. Some rabbits were strong, and some were weak. When the weak rabbits wanted to eat food, the strong rabbits would glare at them, and the weak rabbits would stay far away. Only after the strong rabbits finished eating could the weak ones get food. Later, I thought, You think you are strong? Don't you know I am the owner? When I fed the rabbits, I would take the weaker ones out separately and feed them fully before putting them back. I wanted the strong rabbits to watch me feed the weak ones. These strong rabbits probably never figured it out until they died. But when I wanted to eat meat, I would eat the strong rabbits first. I let you be strong. They thought they were strong among the rabbits, but they didn't know that I was the owner, and I was stronger than them. I am human, and rabbits will definitely get beaten if they fight with humans.

We humans! We must know that people need God in this world. There are many things we humans cannot solve. If we carefully observe the species in the world, endangered animals like the Siberian tiger and the Northwestern wolf are very ferocious animals, but they face extinction. Sheep, on the other hand, are increasing in number. New Zealand has millions of sheep. They say New Zealand has as many sheep as Singapore has people. How can such weak animals thrive so well, while wolves are in such a miserable state? Shouldn't it be the survival of the fittest? Wrong, because sheep have shepherds, and shepherds are stronger than wolves.

That is to say, today all of us have shepherds. Our God shepherds us. If God shepherds us, how can anyone stronger than us prevail against us? Can they prevail against God? So you must know that you should not rely on your muscles or your brain; you should rely on God and live well in this world. This means that you cannot become wealthy by taking advantage of others but by receiving God's blessings. Relying on corruption, injustice, and immorality may bring money temporarily, but the final result will definitely be bad. Why? Because you are opposing God.

Obey and Follow God's Words to Receive Blessings

What is a blessing? Obeying and following God's words is a blessing. Violating God's words is a curse, and God does not care whether you believe in Him or not. God is not only the God of those who believe in Him but the God of the whole earth; He controls all things in the universe. You can carefully observe whether things are like this. After observing, you can say how people can live well. To live well, you must grasp the essence—God's Word. If you live according to God's Word, you will surely prosper; if you violate God's Word, you will surely perish. This is the key. If you live according to God's Word, your thoughts and intentions will surely be changed by God's Word.

For example, some people think that what I am doing now is worthwhile, while others think it is not. It is worthwhile for me because I receive God's blessing, while some people think it is not worthwhile because I lose money. Which do you think is more correct? You will know by trying it. In this vast world, observe carefully. Do you see people who love money living well? I find that if an elderly person loves money, they are not far from Alzheimer's disease, and they will surely live without dignity and end up miserably. I want to bless my mother, and I must put God's Word in her, and I must not let her become a self-righteous, selfish person. I hope that she and I will be a blessing to many people. Don't care too much about your own gains and losses. Why? Because once people care about their own gains and losses, they will suffer.

In college, I was often invited to judge who should receive scholarships. We would interview the candidates for the scholarships and see if they were very selfish. Some Chinese students had excellent grades, often getting perfect scores, but they did not receive scholarships. Why? Because their logical system was very selfish. It would be a travesty if such people received scholarships. For example, I would ask them, Why are you doing this? and they would say, Doing this is good for me. Why don't you do that? and they would say, Because doing that is not good for me. Why should I do something that is not good for me? This is an extremely selfish logical system. Later, when I met some students at school, I constantly instilled in them a sense of social responsibility—to be someone who is willing to give, willing to dedicate themselves. As a result, two of the students I trained received scholarships that year. Why? Because during the interview, they naturally showed a sense of social responsibility and wanted to be a blessing to many people. Which do you think is more worthwhile? Getting the scholarship is more worthwhile; having a good logical system is useless if you don't get the scholarship. So, brothers and sisters, we must understand that your opinion is not important; God's opinion is important. We must do according to God's opinion.

“Take care, in a case of leprous disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 24:8-9 ESV)

What did God do to Miriam? Miriam had something in her heart that liked to judge right and wrong according to her own ideas. She judged Moses, who was chosen by God, and then she gossiped about him, and God struck her with leprosy. According to human logic, what Miriam said was correct, but if God thought she was wrong, then it was troublesome. Miriam did not think she did anything wrong; whether she thought she did right or wrong was not important. What was important was that she contracted leprosy.

Brothers and sisters, today we must understand one thing: whether your opinion is right or wrong is not important, and struggling over it is not important. What is important is whether you receive a blessing or a curse after struggling over it. Do you understand? If you receive a curse after struggling over it, then why bother?

Who in the world thinks they are right? Mentally ill people think they are always right. If you think you are always right and the whole world is sorry for you, then you are mentally ill. How do people become mentally ill? They are very sure that they are right and that the whole world is sorry for them, and then they are always miserable. If you don't think that way, it is better to think according to God's Word. Later, Miriam learned a lesson. She did not learn the lesson because she thought she did something wrong but because she was rebuked by God and contracted leprosy. I encourage everyone not to learn the lesson after contracting leprosy. Don't wait.

There are five brothers in my family. Those who discern good and evil and think they are right do not live well. Those who think they are neither right nor wrong and do not like to get involved in those things live well. There are five brothers in my family. The selfish and bad ones live miserably, and I live the best. From the perspective of biblical principles, I inexplicably obeyed and followed God's Word. I was like this even before I knew God. I basically did not strongly distinguish between right and wrong.

Brothers and sisters, we must begin to let these words enter our minds. For example, we think it is right to avenge the murder of our father, and someone owes us a blood debt, but it says here, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each shall be put to death for his own sin.” (Deuteronomy 24:16 ESV). This means not to kill people indiscriminately. If you take indiscriminate revenge, a curse will come upon your family, and you will commit the sin of shedding human blood. As a result, the entire family will pass on the curse from generation to generation. We must be careful about what the Bible prohibits. “If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.” (Deuteronomy 24:7 ESV). So you see, kidnapping and trafficking people results in a capital offense. God will really punish you to death. Don't blame God for being ruthless. Why? Because God hates kidnapping and trafficking people. I think we humans need to understand many things, many spiritual principles. What is the most basic principle? It is to please God and to do what is right in God's eyes. You must not do what is evil in God's eyes.

For example, it talks about a man who divorces his wife, and then his wife remarries. Later, her husband dies, and he remarries his ex-wife. The Bible says that this is an abomination to the Lord and that you must not defile the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. What does it mean to be defiled? It means that evil spirits can freely operate and corrupt people there. So I think it is not something you can do as you please. You need to do according to God's Word. After we understand these things, we can see it clearly with spiritual eyes.

The Key to Blessing is Obtaining Mingding Destiny

Brothers and sisters, it is crucial to understand that some things are matters of life and death. For example, brothers and sisters with cancer need to repent thoroughly. Those with cancer or other serious illnesses, or those who have struggled back from the brink of death, must change their inner thoughts and replace their own words with the Word of God.

In fact, what is described in the Bible is merely a very, very low-level regulation. Such a low-level regulation only exempts you from the curse you are under. So what about being blessed? Being blessed means that a person must have Mingding Destiny. If you want to live well, you must have Mingding Destiny.

For example, the student I mentioned earlier who won the scholarship only got an interview opportunity after listening to me. Whether a person has Mingding Destiny in real life is like a mule or a horse—you’ll know once you put it to the test. Later, this student followed me and became a Christian. He had a serious mental illness, and I cast out the demons from him, but he still had a severe selfish mentality and no Mingding Destiny.

In our church, I want to push everyone into service. If everyone enters into service, what will happen? Some people, like mules or horses, will fall apart. This student later left the church. Why? Because he thought, how can one survive with such service in our church?

In fact, you can only live well with such service. If you look closely at those among us who serve God with Mingding Destiny, who serve the brothers and sisters at the cost of their lives, who is not living well? Isn't that right? Everyone is living very well! Later, he went to a church where there were no requirements other than meetings and requests for offerings. In the end, he lost his job and had to take care of his elderly parents. His parents are about my age, not considered old, but with many illnesses that needed care. The loss was too great, and he paid a heavy price.

Brothers and sisters, you must know that having Mingding Destiny is the beginning of blessing. Today, I encourage brothers and sisters to be willing to suffer losses and pay a price. On the surface, it is a loss, but in reality, it is pleasing God. If we all have such a vision, what do you think will happen? If we all have such a vision, we will all be blessed. Although you and I may not be comparable to the powerful, capable, prestigious, governing, and authoritative people in the world, God is pleased with us and wants to bless us, which solves many problems. Therefore, success is not by relying on chariots or horses, but by relying on the Lord Jehovah God.

Brothers and sisters, we must change our inner thoughts. Don't think that I am forcing you to serve. Your service is a requirement from God. Deuteronomy 24 only speaks of a very elementary stage. If you leave a sheaf in the field when you harvest your crops, so that the sojourners and widows can take it, God will bless everything you do. If we are willing to serve our God, how great will the blessing be! I don't want everyone to be unblessed. I hope we are all blessed. A few days ago, a few sisters, when they met my colleague, shared all the blessed things. One of the sisters was really blessed. She had a very strong sense of Mingding Destiny. When she came to our church last year, she had a salary of 3,000 yuan a month, and now it is tens of thousands a month, multiplied many times, ten times!

Therefore, everyone should rise up to serve, serving in healing and deliverance, casting out demons, preaching the gospel, and preaching the Word of God. If you are a mighty warrior of God in healing and casting out demons, what will happen? The demons in the spiritual realm will be afraid of you. No spiritual forces of darkness can steal your blessing. If nothing can steal your blessing, wouldn't you be making a great profit? Everyone should think carefully about which path is the true path of life. Recently, I have been serving my mother, and I am trying my best to change her inner thinking logic system. That kind of thinking logic system is quite stubborn, but thank God, it is gradually being destroyed step by step. What kind of thinking logic system you have, you attract what kind of spirit.

If your thoughts and intentions are like God's, willing to be a blessing to many people, willing to pay the price, you will attract the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will give you life. If you are like a demon inside, stingy and selfish, and then calculating every detail, full of harm, which is a worldly logical system, loving money, loving face, loving power, then it is troublesome, then you will attract unclean spirits. If there are unclean spirits in your life, can you live well?

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we must re-examine the logical system within us, and we must rise up to serve this era, so that this era may be blessed because of you, and God will make you a blessed vessel. Amen!