Introduction

Good day to you all. After reading Chapter 16 of Deuteronomy, wouldn't you find it to be quite a hassle? Three times a year, some have to travel a hundred kilometers, others two hundred. Of course, if your home were right next to the temple, it'd be very convenient, just a step outside. So I was thinking, the houses near the temple must be incredibly expensive. Why? Because of the convenience, the temple is right outside your door.

But what about those who live two hundred kilometers away? Oh, they'd have to walk all the way, then keep the festival at the temple. Three times a year, everyone comes, and millions crowd into Jerusalem. Wouldn't that be a commotion? If you ask me, I'd want to avoid that peak period. But that's what the Bible prescribes, three times a year.

Oh, let me tell you, it would be terrible if you didn't know what this was all about. Our Chinese Spring Festival happens once a year, but in Israel, it's three times a year. Not everyone goes back for the Spring Festival; many already live in their hometowns. But in Israel, everyone has to go, tickets are hard to get, it's truly a struggle. Wouldn't you say that's a hassle? It is. So how do you understand it? It's unsettling, right? I'll tell you, what is Chapter 16 of Deuteronomy really about? It’s about remembering the grace of the Lord your God all your life.

I. Man's Memory Is a Very Spiritual Thing

Man's memory, that's something extraordinary! I'm very astonished because man's memory is very strange. I can give many examples. If I'm talking about you, don't judge me. There are some people among us, of course, they've already left the church. This person is very interesting. I still don't understand it. He got cancer, had chemotherapy to the fourth stage. If he continued with chemotherapy, he would die. If he didn't, the doctor said he would also die. So he came to me, and I prayed with him, and miraculously, the cancer in his body was healed.

Sometimes I don't quite like miraculous healings because miraculous healings are very easy, but people forget quickly, and they forget incredibly fast. So now I hope it's a bit slower. To be honest, I still think it's better to be a bit slower. People have to suffer a bit because suffering a bit now is to suffer less in the future.

I said, You have to follow me and believe in the Lord properly. She said, Then how will I live my life? I thought, what kind of brain is this? Is it filled with chicken dung or pig dung? Cow dung or dog dung? I said, After you get better, you have to live your life well, you should learn to give offerings. She thought, Give offerings? Okay, here's two hundred dollars! Oh my god, I said, Forget it, you might as well give it to the doctors who do chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

I was very surprised, what can you do with such a person? I thought I should just let it go. But because her son is still among us, I should show some consideration for her son's sake, I have to be a little humane. People forget in the blink of an eye. Who is this? Isn't this just a Pharaoh? If you want to be a Pharaoh, that's fine, I won't stop you, I can't stop you.

Two years later, her son got married, and she couldn't come. I said, Why can't you come? She said, Oh, for the past two years, I can't breathe when I lie down, I can't sleep when I sit down, I've been sleeping sitting up. I said, Why didn't you come to me? What kind of brain is this? Still afraid to come to me? I asked her to believe in the Lord properly.

Thank God, the first time, God saved her through my hands, but she didn't remember God. The second time? I said, Come to me, I won't morally blackmail you, what are you afraid of? You don't have to hide. I said, Let me lead you in prayer. I like to be a cheapskate, for the sake of her son, I acted like a cheapskate. As a result, after praying, she got better, she could lie down and sleep, and she could breathe, and she could attend her son's wedding.

I'm a marriage registrar, and the couple said to me, Teacher, my son follows you in believing in the Lord, how should he live his life? I said, What kind of brain is this? It's okay, isn't this just courting death? Some people say something nice, that this brain was squeezed during birth, it doesn't work well. Or after birth, when the child was playing, it was squeezed by the door. Later, after growing up, it was squeezed by this world.

In the process of serving, every time I discover that man's memory is a very spiritual thing. We must never boast, we're just laughing at someone who is not better than us by fifty steps laughing at one who retreated a hundred steps, it's not much better, we forget in the blink of an eye, it's very interesting. So I was thinking, God, heal him slowly, let him grow some memory. I said, Let him suffer a little more, it's okay to suffer a little more.

I ask you, is it a hassle to go to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, to go to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Weeks, to go to Jerusalem to keep the Passover? It is a hassle. But is this hassle better, or is the hassle of cancer's radiotherapy and chemotherapy better? I think it's better to keep the festival in Jerusalem.

Why does God have to cause so much trouble? Even after so much trouble, they still forget. Did the Israelites forget later? They forgot everything. Coming to the temple of God from Jerusalem, rejoicing and being happy is better than being in the hospital. So our brothers and sisters must grow a memory. In any case, we must grow a memory, that is, to always remember all your life the Lord your God.

One of us testified that he suffered, and later followed the Whirlwind Prayer. After getting better, he could work, and after working, he had a boss. As a result, he could see the boss but not God. If the boss wants you to work overtime, you have to, the boss is so powerful! Remember God? God can't be seen or touched. So it's good for this person to suffer a little.

II. Remember That the Lord Led You Out of Egypt

Those of us here have all experienced God's grace. I rarely see someone who had a dream last night and woke up this morning saying they want to believe in the Lord. If that happened, it would be a miracle.

We're battered and bruised in this world, either because of this or because of that, either this is uncomfortable or that is uncomfortable. People start to realize, No! I have to find a god. Some have depression, some are uncomfortable all day, some are in debt, some have trouble studying, some have difficulty finding a job, there are many such people. Anyway, I don't know your situation, I myself came this way.

I really rarely see people who are free to believe in the Lord, that's really rare. People only think of finding a god when they have problems. That's how I was, I couldn't find a job at the time, thank God! God had mercy on me. So remember that the Lord led you out. How did you believe in the Lord then, how did you experience those sins you suffered?

Our brothers and sisters must never forget, we must remember the Lord your God all our lives, remember how God led you out of Egypt. Or maybe you believed in the Lord in a muddle-headed way at first, but later you must have experienced God. If someone has believed in the Lord without experiencing God, that must be a special election.

Observe the month of Aviv and celebrate the Passover of the Lord your God, because in the month of Aviv he brought you out of Egypt by night. Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name. Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt. Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning. You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God is giving you except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. Roast it and eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the Lord your God and do no work. (Deuteronomy 16:1-8)

When we were young, we often recalled the bitterness of the past and thought about the sweetness of the present, and we were very comforted. Have you all eaten Recall-the-Bitter-Past meals? It seems that people today don't remember it very well. We were poor at that time, so what did we do? After making tofu, the leftover residue was fed to the pigs, called tofu dregs. We couldn't afford tofu, so my dad would ride a bicycle and take me to buy a pot of tofu dregs back. That stuff was so hard to eat, then we would add some wild vegetables, as long as it had some salt. That was Recalling the Bitter Past.

So this Passover is a memorial. How do we commemorate it? I tell you, in Israel, Passover is the biggest festival. Once I went to Israel and it happened to be Passover, and it was very lively, just like the Chinese New Year. So in the cities that the Lord has given you, you must not sacrifice the Passover. Only in the dwelling that the Lord has designated, the dwelling of God, the dwelling established for His name.

Walking from afar, if it's a week, you'd have to walk for a week, then you'd have to leave a week in advance, otherwise you wouldn't make it in time. From your herds and flocks, choose a good one to offer as a sacrifice. During this festival, you eat sacrificial animals, and you don't eat bread with yeast. You have to eat this sacrificial animal on the same night, and you can't leave it until the next morning, you have to eat it all. Then I don't quite understand, isn't this sacrificial animal offered to God? How did it end up in people's stomachs? What does God do with that stuff? It just seems like it's offered to God, but actually it's all offered to your own stomach.

Actually, it's just to make people grow a memory. I say God is quite interesting. You come from afar, then offer a sacrifice, then eat it in your own stomach, don't you think it's a lot of trouble? I tell you, it's operating on people's memory. That is to say, it won't work if you don't make such a fuss. Later, I thought, what if you don't make such a fuss? It doesn't seem to work very well if you don't make such a fuss. I have to tell everyone that Chinese Mingding Destiny is a theology that makes people go through a lot of trouble. Why do we have to go through a lot of trouble? To make people have a memory, only with a long memory will it work.

For example, Bible study on Wednesdays and Fridays. You just finished Bible study on Friday, you haven't even written the notes yet, and the sermon comes again on Sunday, and then you have to pray on Monday night, and then you continue to pray on Tuesday. It seems like Wednesday just passed, and then you have to start Bible study again. Oh, it's like a revolving lantern, constantly rushing there. Later, I thought, what on earth is God doing? God does this well, it's good for us to be blessed.

I was thinking, if everyone's time is not used to remember God, and is used to watch Douyin, what can you get out of it? You either get a fever, or constipation, or cervical and lumbar spine disease. Someone said, Teacher, do you know? In the years that I've been in Chinese Mingding Destiny, I've saved a lot of money in my medical insurance card, I never use it, and I don't need to. Before I came here, there was always no money in my medical insurance card.

You see, people have time to get sick, they have time to give money to others, to the hospital, but they just don't have time to go through so much trouble. Actually, it's good to go through so much trouble, it's so fulfilling! So, either you are tormented by this world, or you are tormented by God, but if you are tormented by God, you can be tormented into blessings. If you are tormented by the world, then you go in and out of the hospital, or you go in and out of massage parlors.

Someone said to me, Teacher, do you know? I came to Chinese Mingding Destiny, from age 30 to 50, for more than 20 years. For more than 20 years, I had to get a massage every day after work, otherwise my back would be stiff. Actually, it's useless after the massage, if it was useful after 20 years, it would have been healed long ago. So I made a decision, let's keep the festival to the Lord every day, and remember God every day. I haven't been to the hospital for several years, thank God, what do I go to the hospital for? Why go to the hospital after coming to Chinese Mingding Destiny?

God brought us out of Egypt to prove one thing, that is, we used to be controlled in Egypt, and it was very uncomfortable and hard to be tormented. We cried out to God, and God released us from the bondage of the world. From then on, we will be without lack all our lives. How wonderful! This leads to a question, why am I so willing to go through so much trouble?

Actually, later I found out that after all the trouble, nothing was delayed, only getting sick was delayed. Even making money was not delayed, only getting sick was delayed, only disasters were delayed, and many of these disturbing things were delayed. Remember our God, don't forget as you live. I tell you, people live a small life, and they think it's always been like this. Actually, there's no such thing. There should have been disasters, there should have been pain, there should have been going in and out of the hospital.

Our brothers and sisters, establish your influence in your family, be strong, and be Abraham in your family. God will remember your family because of you, Abraham, and they will go through a lot less trouble. Once I went to a meeting, and there were fourteen people sitting around a big table. I looked up and saw my friend, he used to be my neighbor when I was a child, we went to school and came home together. God's words came to me, saying that he was full of diseases, and it was hard.

Later, after dinner, I shook his hand and grabbed his shoulder, and he sent me a message the next day. He said, Oh, you are really a man of God! My shoulder was hurting so badly, it didn't hurt after you touched it, and it didn't hurt when I woke up this morning. What happened later? He said, You don't know, my dad has been paralyzed for seven years, my mom has been paralyzed for seven years, I have been taking care of my parents for fourteen years. Oh, that's a lot of trouble. I said, May God have mercy! Can our brothers and sisters be strong, have some backbone, remember that God has released us? Be Abraham in your family no matter what.

Why take care of a paralyzed old man, and then take care of another paralyzed old man? What's the point? Is it hard? It is hard. I thank my God, my mom has a paralyzed waist, but God didn't let her be paralyzed. I was thinking, if I took care of a paralyzed old man for fourteen years, they would have made me go crazy, I don't want that.

God! You come and torment me, I am willing to keep the festival before you, I want to remember your grace on me all my life. God! I am willing to pay this price. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, going to the hospital, I don't want any of these, and I don't want lumbar spine, cervical spine, lumbar disc herniation and concavity. God! I want to keep the festival before you, I am willing to walk a hundred kilometers, two hundred kilometers.

====输出开始
O God! I shall not depart from You all my life, let me live in Your grace. If You want to test me, I am willing to act according to Your will and release me. Our brothers and sisters must know that time is life, and life is time! If you have dedicated your life to God, how can you not dedicate your time to God? Some say: I have dedicated myself to God, but I have not dedicated my time. What is time used for then? Time is reserved for sickness and disaster.

Is it good for us to keep the festival and celebrate the New Year before the Lord? Yes, it is. We have three long holidays a year. If we say that we walk one hundred kilometers from home to the temple, this one hundred kilometers is a self-driving tour, we walk for a while, rest for a while, set up a small table and have some barbecue. Driving is very simple. Try walking, walking thirty kilometers a day, and it takes three days to walk less than a hundred kilometers. I thank God that God's arrangements are incomparably good, lest I forget God.

## Three, You Shall Remember That You Were Once a Servant in Egypt

**You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your towns, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes. (Deuteronomy 16:9-12)**

It's good after Passover, and God will bless you. You and I must have a determination that we do not live by our own hands, but by God's grace and God's blessings. If you are really willing to rely on the Lord your God, you will never lack in your life. I think many people may not have this faith, but it doesn't matter, just listen to it.

But I know one thing, I don't want to live that kind of poor life again. I tell you, I am very good to my tenants, why? The days when I rented a house in Singapore were too bitter. It is a grace to meet a good landlord. I am afraid when I think about it. You know, when you rent a house, people care about you cooking in the room, you can only boil water. What should I do later? Pour a little soy sauce, if I don't have money, I buy a big bag of chicken wings. After eating for a while, I feel sick when I smell chicken, and I am tired of eating it.

After eating too much chicken, when I smell the smell of chicken, I smell the smell of chicken manure, which is not an exaggeration at all! After eating too many eggs, when I smell the smell of eggs, I smell the smell of chicken manure, which is strange. So I tell you, we were once slaves in Egypt, and as a result, what? Together with us and the orphans and widows who live among us, we bring them to the presence of God. It doesn't matter whether they know God or not, I am willing to give them grace.

As for how many days the Feast of Weeks is, it should not be long. After Passover, after a period of time, it will be the Feast of Weeks. You see, it takes seven days to go there, seven days to come back, and seven days to stay there. Twenty-one days are gone. Isn't it seven days to come back? After keeping the Passover for two weeks, and then forty-nine days, in fact, it has been more than a month, and you have to go back again. It takes seven days for you to go there. Oh, this toss! Brothers and sisters, don't think that those who live next to the temple of God have a big advantage. That's not the case.

You need to know that although you have walked for seven days, I tell you, nothing has been delayed. I don't know if you have this experience. Among us, every brother and sister spends more time on spiritual things than a full-time pastor. However, the result is that nothing is delayed. Then you say what is delayed? Cancer is delayed.

So brothers and sisters, don't care about spending time in front of God, that is dedicating our lives. We must remember the days when we were slaves in Egypt. We don't want to work every day. Do you think working every day is good? Have you been caught up in it? Do you feel like you've been caught up in it? You didn't work enough when you were a slave in Egypt? Now God has grace so that you don't have to do that, because we no longer live by the swords of our hands, we are not Esau, we are Jacob.

Some people say: If I don't do it, who will do it? Can God help you solve my problem? Remember the days when we were slaves, don't be like that, it seems that it's uncomfortable not to earn a little money, put down your work, because the work will never be finished. We are not lazy, but we do our work well when we are working. So we must take our children, servants, and maids with us to keep the festival. It's not about taking them to work together, letting the maids run around with you, and being busy to death.

## Four, You Shall Remember That God Blesses You and God Makes You Happy

This is the second of the three festivals. Not long after, the Feast of Tabernacles will be kept.

**You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your towns, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you. For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful. Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. (Deuteronomy 16:13-17)**

You know the Feast of Tabernacles is good! The Feast of Tabernacles is seven days. Everyone went, millions of people around Jerusalem. If it is according to a family of five, there are tents all over the mountains and fields, and the children are having fun. Then everyone lives in tents. Happy? Happy. I tell you, especially children like to play this. It's so good at home. This camping is not hygienic. Think about it, it's hard to stand up in the tent. You have to crawl in and crawl out. And there are mosquitoes outside.

God wants to make us happy, but it is not an extra burden. Collect all our grains and wines. I tell you, God has rich grace and mercy. God does not want you to be a working machine. God wants you to be happy. You know how good happiness is, like summer camp, there are camps, and all kinds of programs are hosted. What are you doing? It is to make you happy. Remember, God is not a God who makes us suffer, God is a God who wants to make us happy. Fortunately, God did not make us Chinese Jews. If God made us Chinese Jews, it would be bad. Everyone would go to keep the Feast of Tabernacles and wholesale a trainload of mineral water.

You know there is a Yangtze River Lantern Festival recently. If someone wholesales a batch of drinks, the opportunity to make money will come. They only think about this. For example, there are three million people. They are engaged in wholesale and retail there, and then make money. Money earned, but did not earn happiness. They are raising prices.

In the early days of the gospel, God did not allow Paul to spread the gospel to Asia. I think it makes sense. You know, it is difficult to keep the Sabbath when the gospel is spread to Asia. Until now, in many village churches, as long as it is harvest time, the meeting will be canceled. You can't just have a meeting whenever you want. The pastor's field also needs to be harvested, so it is canceled.

What kind of brains are these? This is a typical psychological state of us Chinese: If I don't harvest, will all the crops rot in the ground? Is it okay for God to make it not rot? People feel that it is not okay, they have to harvest. So the blessings in the village church later became less and less, and finally many problems occurred, because people did not believe in God.

In fact, it is God who wants to make us happy when people keep the Feast of Tabernacles. It is not that God needs us to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, it is that we need to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Then during this time, remember our God. Remember what? God makes us happy! Remember that God blesses us in all the produce of our work and in the work of our hands, and blesses us.

Actually, I tell you, you will not lack anything if you rely on God's blessing. The most deadly thing for people is a kind of cognition, that is, Esau's cognition. Do we live by God's blessing or by our efforts? You work very hard, may you have a pair of legs that can catch up with wild boars. You run faster than Esau, that is so tiring.

Are we able to rely on the name of a son that God gives us, and value this name very much. We are happy because of God, not because we make more money. It is not because we do more work and make more money, and squeeze out all the time, how can we have time to keep the festival. So remember that God blesses you, remember that God makes you happy, so keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

God really wants us to be happy. What do people live for if they are not happy? Oh, that face is full of vicissitudes. There are vicissitudes when you have money, and vicissitudes when you don't have money. If we are in front of God, relying on God's grace and relying on God's blessing, do we need to have so many vicissitudes? There is no need.

## Five, Pursue Utmost Justice

If you live by God's grace, you keep the Passover, and God brings you out of Egypt. You keep the Feast of Weeks, remember that you were once a slave in Egypt, and then remember that you keep the Feast of Tabernacles, you need to know that God makes you happy, and know that God is a God who blesses you. Never lose this, pursue utmost justice, do not take bribes, and do not pervert justice.

**You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and distorts the words of the righteous. Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 16:18-20)**

Our brothers and sisters must know that when you are selected as an officer or judge of the Israelites, do you want to pursue utmost justice? If you live by God's blessing, you must be careful about this curse. If people live by money, their legs will be weak when they see the money. People think: What is justice? I live by money! That's real gold and silver. If I don't want it, am I a fool? No, I have to accept it. Send it to the backyard, and the accountant will accept it: silver notes are accepted, gold notes are accepted, gold bars are accepted, RMB is accepted, and US dollars are accepted. It is piled up like a small mountain at home.

What happened later? Later, he was cursed. Then what? Can't survive. You need to know that you remember your God at Passover, you remember your God at the Feast of Weeks, you remember your God at the Feast of Tabernacles, reminding ourselves that we live by God, not by people.

You need to know that survival depends on God. Just after keeping the festival, you come back and judge a lawsuit and you are cursed. What are you trying to do? There are too many stories on this land of China. Sometimes nine hundred billion, sometimes one trillion, wow, the numbers are scary. If one hundred RMB is tied to one million for you, you really can't lift it. Your small physique may not be able to lift it. You have to know how heavy that thing is.

The people who print money are also very damaging. The biggest one is one hundred yuan. As a result, one hundred yuan is tied to one million. Oh, it's so heavy. It should be dozens of kilograms! You should print the money bigger, but if the money is printed bigger, won't it become ghost money? So you have to pursue utmost justice. Why? Because you have to remember the Lord your God and remember that God makes us survive.

You need to know what God hates? You need to know what God wants? What God wants from us is to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. I can give many examples. People don't like to live by God's blessing. People like to rely on real gold and silver. But once people rely on real gold and silver, the result is at their doorstep, saying: I want to offer sacrifices to God, but it is too far to Jerusalem, so I will build an altar at my doorstep.

As a result, when I see that the Canaanites build an altar, they all build pillars. Why? Pursue abundance. People don't know that when they build an altar and offer sacrifices, they are not thinking about God, because they are thinking about real gold and silver. They hope that God will listen to them, not that they will listen to God. So never forget what the Lord God hates. If you forget what God hates, and you only have money in your eyes, you will become spiritually blind.

## Six, Go to the Place God Chooses Three Times a Year

Are you willing? You have to go to the place God chooses three times a year and bring things, you can't go empty-handed. Offer gifts according to the blessing that the Lord your God has given you. Is it a toss? It's a toss. But I am willing! Is it troublesome? It's troublesome, but I am willing! Probably only Chinese Mingding Destiny likes to talk about such challenging words that test our bottom line. Why? Because we live by God, God's word is the light before our feet and the lamp on our path. It is not troublesome, because we are willing!

As long as we are willing, we are all very clear in our hearts that we live by God, and God's requirements and God's will are satisfied. What does God want us to do? God wants us to be able to survive, God wants us to be able to live happily, God wants us to be able to live abundantly, and God wants us to live so that everything we do is blessed by God.

Everything that causes God's blessings to be damaged must be kept away from. Do not worship idols. Have you remembered now? I will remember the grace of the Lord my God all my life, and I will never forget it all my life. Remind myself every day, let me have a teachable ear, no longer be blind, and look up to God. This is a great grace.

May God bless everyone!