Learning a Framework-Based Way of Thinking

Recently, I spent some time studying why some people read poorly. I discovered that those who are not good at reading lack a framework-based way of thinking; they see only the trees and not the forest. If a person only sees the trees and not the forest in their life, it will be difficult for them to live well. If a person has a framework-based way of thinking, they will grasp the whole before the parts. A person without a global perspective and framework thinking essentially has no future.

To live well, one must learn a saying: The true face of Lushan cannot be clearly seen, for one is in the midst of the mountain. This poem is a portrayal of the world's life; people live in confusion, unable to jump out. Every day, work, children... they are busy with these trivial matters, thinking they are very important. But are they really that important? Not really.

I often give this example: If a person suddenly knows they are dying, they will find that all problems are no longer problems. Money is not a problem, houses are not a problem, cars are not a problem, even children are not a problem, because they are dying. How much money can you spend when you are about to die? You can't spend much. So, if a person suddenly gets a fatal illness that no one can cure, they will suddenly see things clearly.

Anyone who has gone through the valley of the shadow of death, seeing that they are about to die, their view of life will suddenly enter into a framework-based way of thinking, and then everything will become clear. What exactly do people live for? So, sometimes I say: Ah, I really should put a coffin in my office; when people can't figure things out, I'll let them lie in it for a while to feel it.

The problem is that once a person gets a deadly disease, they will think that living is a simple thing, but once they come back to life, living becomes a very complicated thing. Why? Because once you are back in Lushan, you can't see the true face of Lushan; once you come out of Lushan, you can suddenly see clearly what life is all about.

If a person often attends funerals, it is easy to see things clearly, seeing an old acquaintance who lived and then just disappeared. You will find that living is actually a very simple thing; work, family, and relationships all become trivial matters.

Not One Word of God's Promise Has Failed

I want to lead everyone into a framework-based way of thinking. Let's quickly read the Book of Joshua, chapters 1-24. This book is 26 pages long; reading one page in 2 minutes will take about 52 minutes, and reading one page in 3 minutes will take more than 70 minutes. Reading slowly, no matter how detailed you read, is useless, because you lack framework thinking; you see only the trees and not the forest.

If you read chapter 1 in the first half of the year and chapter 24 in the second half of the year, you will not gain anything. Why? Because you will get fragmented things. If we read quickly, you will see that this book is about the Israelites obtaining the promised land. If you read chapter 21, 22, 23, and 24, you will find a sentence running through the entire book: Not one word of God's promise has failed.

After we have studied the Book of Joshua, if we write a study book on Joshua, we must tell the reader: Not one word of God's promise has failed. This sentence immediately lifts up people's faith! When a person's faith is ignited, they will think: Why has God's promise not been fulfilled in us? Some people have received the promise, and some have not. Those who have received the promise think God's promise is like this, and those who have not received the promise think God's promise is not like this. Many pastors say such things because they speak according to their own understanding.

I am speaking according to God's word in the Bible: Not one word of God's promised word has failed. Paul clearly demonstrated this in Romans: Has God's word failed? No. What is the matter with the decline of the Israelites? Because there were no people like Abraham among the Israelites. God's promise is to Abraham's descendants; if you are Abraham's descendants, you must have the appearance of Abraham.

If you truly believe in God, not one word of God's promise will fail in you. Paul's focus of contention was: I am also an Israelite, why has God's promise not failed in me? God uses Paul in ways that are beyond human imagination.

Emulate People with Character Like Joshua

After reading the entire Book of Joshua, we need to think about what kind of title to give this book, a title that can run through the entire book. You will summarize that the theme of this book is that not one word of God's promise has failed, and then say to yourself every day: Not one word of God's promise has failed. But observing reality, you will be confused: Why has it failed for some people and not for others?

You would not want to do things that cause God's promise to fail, would you? But what to do and how to do it is our choice; no one is forcing you. What thing that people do is not their own choice? You can choose to emulate Joshua and Caleb in the Book of Joshua, or you can emulate Korah in the Book of Numbers, or the Israelites who fell in the wilderness.

People on earth must know one thing: people live by every word that comes from the mouth of God, and not one word that comes from the mouth of God fails. If we have such firm faith, we will choose to be such people. Because the Bible is not written for Joshua, but for those who later are like Joshua; Genesis is not written for Abraham, but for those who emulate Abraham. When reading the Bible, never read it for others; read it for yourself.

Some people are foolish, knowing God's promise but denying that God's promise will be fulfilled. Among the Christians I have met, including many pastors and preachers, few of them talk about such a topic: Not one word of God's promise has failed. They talk about what they have experienced; as for what they have not experienced, they find excuses for themselves: I am not Jesus, I am not Paul, I am not Joshua; their experiences are theirs, and I am me.

But I am not like that. Since the Bible writes about Joshua, I am determined to emulate Joshua. How good it is to be like Joshua! Do you want to live a little better? You certainly want to live well. Are you willing to pay the price? That's a bit difficult. Can you live well without paying the price? You will not live well either. Observe this world carefully: Do losers live prosperously? Or do those who willingly offer their lives completely live prosperously?

People who live for God, whether in work or in life, can live with passion and live better. If we trust in God, we should be a person who serves Jehovah with enthusiasm, like Joshua; this is emulation. In fact, when I read the Book of Joshua, I felt deeply that Joshua's character is somewhat like mine, and I hope to have more of it, more of it.

Overcoming Fear by Faith

Before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, their impression of the other side of the river was a memory from thirty-eight years ago, and Joshua now knew nothing about the other side of the Jordan River. He only knew that there were giants and very powerful enemies on the other side, and the road ahead was not a joke, because bullets have no eyes; it is unpredictable who they will land on.

So you need to know that entering an unknown territory is scary for anyone, including Joshua. If people are afraid, they cannot enter the unknown; only by overcoming fear with faith can they enter the unknown. Therefore, when we read the Book of Joshua, we need to know that even a great man like Joshua had fear, but he overcame it. Although he did not know what the future would be like, he trusted in God's word.

Each of us must enter into the unknown. Every time you take a step forward and enter a new field, your life will experience new breakthroughs, your life will experience new stories, and your life will accomplish God's new work! Which one is not a new exploration of the unknown? But it does not matter; if a person wants to enter the unknown, the most important thing is to compete with fear.

People are afraid not because others scare you, but because you scare yourself. You do not even know what will happen tomorrow, and you scare yourself first, even trembling, so you have to start competing with your fear.

The Bible describes Jacob wrestling with man and with God and prevailing. Wrestling with man is competing with yourself, which is a very common situation. Joshua at this time was also competing with himself; he was also uncomfortable and afraid. At this time, God appeared to him because he prayed, and God encouraged him, saying, Be strong and courageous. This is said to fearful people. God said, Be strong and courageous! But if you still cannot, then God says:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

Do you believe that God is with us? Looking back at the road I have traveled, when I first started establishing the church, I really knew nothing. I did not know what a church looked like; I did not know what a church should do; I did not know what shepherding was. So I went to other churches to see, and after looking around, I felt that they had not done it right, so I began to explore continuously. After so many years, today I really thank God; I am sure that not one word of God's promise has failed.

My mother could not walk; her legs were as soft as noodles. After praying, she was healed, but soon she became like that again. After praying, she was healed again. Is it the body that makes people live? No, it is the spirit that makes people live. When a person's spirit prospers, they will be healthy in body and successful in everything.

I quickly browsed through the Book of Joshua and felt a lot. It turns out that people's exploration of the future is full of challenges, and the road to the future is full of unknowns. We do not know what will happen in the future at all. The past few years have been full of faith in God.

Now, facing the future, although it is full of challenges, worries, anxieties, and fears, there are also times of discerning good and evil, because as long as people look at the environment, everything looks impossible. But in faith, when you move forward, Jehovah will fight for you in front of you. When I began to have such a framework, would I still be afraid? No!

We must live out all the potential that God has given us in our lives and live out God's glory, because that is God's will. In fact, each of us can be Joshua and Caleb, and it all depends on your own choice. There were many testimonies this past week, including an old man who had left the church before. He got sick, came back to pray, and was healed.

The daughter of this old man, who is in her fifties, got a strange disease. After going to the hospital for examination after examination, they could not find anything wrong, but she was healed after praying with us. Although they have not returned to the church, God has had mercy on them because of us, which is beyond human imagination! I often share with everyone how much medical expenses you save by trusting in God in this life! How much suffering you avoid! Why would you not want such grace? Just make a choice, choose to be a person like Joshua; how great that is!

Be a Person Who Devotedly Follows God

Joshua's first characteristic: he was a person who devotedly followed God. Devotion is the most important characteristic in a person's life! A person without devotion, for example, thinking about Chinese while doing math, thinking about English while doing physics, should not even think about studying well in this life, because his mind is full of pulp.

Devotion is an attribute of God. Our God is very devoted to doing things; once He sets a goal, He will achieve it and will never give up until He reaches the goal. Revelation says that everything is done. Is it done now? Not yet. It has not been accomplished for so many years. If it were a man, he would have given up long ago. From the creation of Adam and Eve to today, although God's promise has not been fully accomplished, a person of faith believes that not one word of God's promise fails; this is called devotion.

A person with devotion will not drift around, doing this today and that tomorrow, following God for a while and not following Him for a while. How can you feel good when your mind is chaotic? Who wants to live uncomfortably? But when you are not devoted, it is really uncomfortable. So, if you want to live comfortably, be a devoted person.

A devoted person sets a goal and runs straight toward it, not looking to either side, but always moving forward. Fixing your eyes on God's promise, you will tightly grasp God's promise and run straight toward that goal. Therefore, in our faith, we need to know that God is going to do new things in us next, and the previous things are all in the past.

I am gradually beginning to realize that a person must constantly do new things in their life. Constantly exploring the unknown requires a goal, requires devotion, and requires devotedly following God. However, if we devotedly grasp the world, that is also devotion, but it is not following God. As for us, we emulate Joshua. Fear will not reign in us who devotedly follow God. Such people will meditate on the word of Jehovah God day and night. The Bible says:

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:5-8)

These words are very good! So let's start building an overall concept. Building an overall concept is actually not difficult. If you read a little faster, you will finish reading it in a while and be able to grasp the outline of the whole story. What Joshua did in his life was a very miraculous thing. The city of Jericho collapsed before him, not because of himself, not because he invented a cannon, and not because he invented a bomb. He just needed to be strong and courageous and lead the people around the city of Jericho for a few laps, and the city of Jericho collapsed. We are very surprised. Is this story made up or is it true?

You walk around the city, what if they throw stones down? If they throw stones down, will the people below not be crushed to death? Still walk? But no one threw stones. Don't you find it strange? After walking for seven days, the city collapsed. We are really surprised, what exactly happened? Could not God make them not throw stones? God is completely able to paralyze them so that they cannot throw stones. Could not God make them not shoot arrows? God can. Our God can do anything.

After crossing the Jordan River, the Israelites camped there and then performed circumcision. The people of Jericho knew that they were observing circumcision; they all had surgery. How could they fight? The Jericho people would rush over and destroy the Israelites all at once, wouldn't they? Weren't the Shechemites killed by Jacob's sons in this way? But was Joshua worried? Could not God make them not come out? God definitely could!

I tell you all, whether in the workplace or in any situation, you need not be afraid. Just focus on following God. Let the words of God be ever on your lips! We have nothing to fear. When we are afraid, it is because we lack faith in God. With faith in God, and focusing on following Him, there is no fear.

When we waver, our minds immediately become muddled. When we fix our faith and focus on following God, we immediately overcome all difficulties! What will be the result? The result is that Joshua became a strong man. Before crossing the Jordan River, he was a fearful man; after crossing it, he became a strong man. When we begin to emulate these characteristics of Joshua, we can accomplish extraordinary things in our lives.

Faith is a Choice

Joshua was not made of special stuff. Faith was simply his choice. Over the years, I've studied what faith is, and after much research, I've found that few people can describe it clearly. I've been pondering what they often talk about: what exactly is faith? When I ask, Do you believe in Jesus? they say, I believe in Jesus. But what do you believe about Jesus? They don't know at all.

I say, How can you believe in Jesus like this? Some people answer, I'm not Jesus, I'm not Paul. What else can I be? But these are not really believing in Jesus. Believing in Jesus means truly believing that you will be like Jesus.

Later, I discovered that faith is simply a choice, a choice to believe, nothing more. Someone asked me, Did God choose you to serve Him? Yes. How do you know God chose you to serve Him? Because I believe. Why do you believe? Because I am willing to believe. Why are you willing to believe? I am just willing to believe! I choose to believe. Is there a problem with that?

Gradually, no one asks me that anymore. Now people say, You are very famous now. Many people come to me asking about you. A pastor came to inquire about me. When I first started the church, there were only a few members, and even I felt bad about it. Others felt even worse. They questioned me, Is God calling you? Yes. Then how did it become like this? It's okay! The glorious church is in my faith. Today's situation is the result of that faith.

The future is shaped by the faith of today. So, start making a choice in your faith for your future victory. I believe God will make me victorious. Is there a problem with that? It's not about the size of your muscles, nor about the extent of your abilities, but about the size of your faith. Do you truly believe that the Lord God is with you, and that no one can stand before you all the days of your life? I believe!

When I was casting out demons, the demons clearly told me, You are famous in our realm. Our boss sent me; I dare not disobey. I said, Then are you not afraid of me? The demon said, I am afraid! But either way, it's death whether I go back or stay here. As a result, the devil was defeated.

We constantly cast out demons. Spiritual events are repeatedly confirmed, proving that not a single word of God's promise will fail. Throughout the entire Bible, we gradually sort out a clue, summarizing that God's promises in people like Joshua do not fail, and those who follow Joshua also experience miracles. I long for everyone to be a Joshua, longing for everyone to focus on following God.

The Israelites were not very focused. So when Joshua was about to leave the world, he told the Israelites, You cannot serve the Lord God, for He is a jealous God. God requires people to focus on following Him. If you are not focused, Chapter 24 records that after God blesses you, He will bring disaster. This is Joshua's prophecy to the Israelites. This doesn't sound good at all, and it stands in stark contrast to God's promise that not a single word will fail.

Although God's words never fail, what can be accomplished if people do not focus on following God? One moment you follow Lao Ma (a reference to following worldly ways), the next moment you follow the worldly system, and then you come back to follow God. If you keep wavering, what can you gain? You are a traitor in every kingdom. How can life be good?

You are not only a traitor in the devil's kingdom, but also a traitor in God's kingdom. Such a person cannot have a good life. I have carefully observed that those who betray their own people in the news often have a miserable end. For example, the bodyguard who betrayed Saddam Hussein of Iraq also had a miserable end. Remember! Never be a traitor. Since you have chosen to follow God, focus on following Him to the end, even to death.

Victory in Battle is Necessary to Obtain the Promised Land

No one will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Even the devil will not be able to stand before you. This is God's promise. You must fight to win. If you don't win, you won't be able to obtain the Promised Land. Therefore, victory in battle is necessary to obtain God's promise. Not a single word of God's promise will fail, but we must choose to fight to win. The choice to fight is itself a response of faith. The reason for choosing to fight is that I believe I can defeat the enemy and take their land.

In the business world, a customer will either buy from this company or that company. If they buy from your company, they won't buy from other companies. If a customer is about to buy someone else's product, and you snatch that customer, it is actually a battle. It's not a joke! We have a brother who works at Huawei. He said something to me that was very good. He said, The reason why Huawei has today's achievements is not because of anything else, but because they have fought their way to this point. Otherwise, why would people buy your product?

More than a decade ago, Huawei was nameless in the market of similar products. The top few had nothing to do with it. You could only find Huawei's name in the other types that occupied a small share. Today, Huawei's success is the result of hard work! Can you do it without focusing on your work? So I thought: The success of anything is a process of winning a battle. Nothing can be obtained without a battle. Snatching food from a tiger's mouth is a fierce battle. It's only yours when you snatch the meat from the tiger's mouth. That requires risking your life.

As Christians, we must believe that even when snatching food from a tiger's mouth, our God will be with us, because not a single word of God will fail. The Promised Land is for all who overcome! Without overcoming, you cannot obtain God's promise. Even if God says, Not a single word of My promise will fail, you must possess the following qualities: First, focus on following God; second, believe in God's words; third, be strong; and fourth, start moving forward and fight to win.

Some people read the Book of Joshua and say, Oh, this is too cruel and bloody. God wants to kill everything. If you have such thoughts, I understand you, but God may not understand you. I wish you good luck. Today, what is it that we have that we did not obtain through victory in battle? For example, in doing business in the market, if you think, Oh, if I get this customer, then others won't get it. I should just give it to them! What are you doing?

We have many strange ideas in us, just because of womanly compassion. When we are in trouble, we remember and ask, God, where are you? God might also say, I want to ask you, where have you gone? I told you to focus on following Me, but you didn't focus. Where did you run off to? Today, let's start emulating Joshua, emulating his focus, emulating his strength, and then fighting to win, carefully obeying God's words. When we do this, we will lead a group of people to experience God's wonderful promises.

What is lacking in this world are people like Joshua. Are we willing to be like Joshua? We must eliminate a situation among us: Oh, I am not Joshua. If you have such thoughts, reject them with all your might! We must have an idea in us: I must be like Joshua! I am determined from birth to be like Joshua, to be above and not below, to be the head and not the tail, to live out God's glory, honor, and power!

God Has Abundant Grace, Mercy, and Justice

God not only wants to promote Joshua, but also hopes that everyone can be like this. How can we prove it? In the Bible, there is a prostitute named Rahab. Rahab was originally from Jericho. God had clearly issued a slaughter decree, God wanted to slaughter the city, to kill all the people in the city, not even leaving a livestock. As a result, there was a peculiar person, Rahab, who believed: I call on the name of God, the God of Israel, He will surely save us. Rahab and her family were actually rescued from Jericho, and later Rahab became one of the people in the genealogy of Jesus. How wonderful!

If God is such a God, then shouldn't we focus on following God even more? Rahab called on God, and God removed her from the list of those to be killed and rescued her. That is to say, our God will save everyone who calls on Him. If God is such a God, then shouldn't we focus on following Him even more? The people of Jericho died because of the hardness of their own hearts. If there had been one more Rahab in that city, God would have saved them. If all the people in the city had surrendered to the name of God, all the people in the city would have been saved.

In this generation, people often discern good and evil towards God, thinking that God's slaughtering the city is not good. I think that God has abundant grace and mercy, but God is also a just God. The people of Jericho committed many evils and deserved their fate. We should not discern good and evil towards God, but start emulating people like Joshua, focusing on following God.

There is also a very peculiar thing in the Book of Joshua. A man named Achan committed a crime, and as a result, the entire people of Israel could not win. We must establish a framework for thinking. This is a very critical element. Joshua led the Israelites. Did any of these Israelites steal things belonging to God? If so, you must remove him. Among us, all those who do not pay tithes must be deleted, because with such a person, the entire team will not be able to fight to win, because what you are holding in your hand belongs to God, you are holding things that should be destroyed.

There is a kind of idolatrous thing that belongs to the things to be destroyed, and there is a kind that belongs to God, which belongs to the things to be destroyed when it is held in one's own hands. The first city was Jericho, and all the gold and jewelry inside belonged to God. Only later did it belong to them. What is born first belongs to God. The first city that is conquered belongs to God, and all the spoils must be offered to God. This is the rule.

Completely Dedicating Ourselves Is Only Right and Proper

We must build a holy church, which cannot have things that should be destroyed. Therefore, we attach great importance to tithing. This involves the church's victory in battle, and whether it can lead everyone to obtain the Promised Land. Ai was a very small city, but the Israelites were defeated. Jericho was a very large city, but they were able to win. Victory in battle depends entirely on God.

Therefore, we must completely dedicate ourselves. God is full of grace and mercy, and God is also a just God. Should we focus on emulating Him? Whether it is from Chapter 1 or Chapter 24, it is all talking about this matter. When we read the Bible, we must read both the beginning and the end carefully.

“And the Lord your God, He it is who has fought for you. I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have cut off, from the river Jordan to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun. The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight, and you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. Therefore be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law. Do not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,” (Joshua 23:3-6).

Our God is a God who wins battles, our God is definitely not Santa Claus!

“For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. One man of you puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you. Take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God. For if you in any way turn back and hold fast to the remnant of these nations left among you, and make marriages with them, so that you go in to them and they to you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you. “Behold, today I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and souls that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. And just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until He has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you. If you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that He has given to you.” (Joshua 23:9-16)

Therefore, we need to understand the framework of the entire Book of Joshua, which is to focus on victory in battle, and focus on following God. Victory obtains the promise. If we focus on serving God, God will bless us. If we follow the people of the world and act like them, God's anger will be kindled against us, and we will perish quickly. To serve this God, we need to focus. This is the most important trait. Whether it is Joshua or Caleb, they are all people who focus on serving God.

Our church will once again enter a new stage and enter the unknown. All our co-workers will no longer be religious service, but real service. We will all emulate the Apostle Paul by setting up tents, serving God and working at the same time. That is to say, we will be the same as all the brothers and sisters. You have your work, we have our work, you have your business, we have our business, we will focus on serving God like our brothers and sisters.

As a preacher, I hate messing around the most. For a while, I said that I would never do full-time service, and then I lost my job. Later, I found that the entire characteristics of our church could not be separated from my understanding of God. I worked hard in the workplace, doing practical things. But in the preaching profession, there are too many people who are full of religious flavor. They don't do serious things, but think they are serving God.

In the preaching profession, there are many people who do not do practical things, because preaching is doing things with a clear conscience. Giving two sermons a week makes it easy to fool people. It's not like IT, it's not like learning software. If it cannot run after writing, then you will know immediately. In the preaching profession, you don't know if there are errors, or if there is none. In the end, it just goes on day after day, year after year, just messing around, but our entire team is down-to-earth doing practical things.

May God bless everyone!