Judgement Awaits Those Who Shirk Destiny
The Book of Isaiah is essentially about God's judgement on the whole earth. In this chapter, God brings the judgement to a climax. This is the calamity that befalls those who lose vision and destiny, revealing the short-sightedness of people who only see what happens before death. The ending is tragic. The Bible tells us: If one does not know what death is, he will definitely not live well. If people only live in this life without any vision and destiny, they will face calamity. Calamity is sudden; it does not need many times, just once or twice is enough. One cannot live well without destiny. Our God sees people living in death, and He is full of regret, yet He desires all to be saved, but people insist on living according to their own preferences.
Many people think that as long as they are good people, they will have a clear conscience in this life. However, being a good person cannot prevent the coming of calamity. The Israelites and Judahites were specially chosen and called by God. They had a sense of destiny and vision, so God called them, and they began to enter into God's destiny, but later they lost this destiny. They constantly struggled between destiny and living a comfortable life. Those who want to live a comfortable life will definitely not be able to bear the mission of God's kingdom, because the world only cares about the things of this life, and their eyes cannot see eternity. As Christians, if we lose vision and destiny, we will have the same ending, suffering God's severe judgement.
The oracle concerning the Valley of Vision. What do you mean that all of you have gone up to the housetops, you who are full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain were not slain with the sword, nor did they die in battle. All your leaders have fled together; without the bow they were captured. All of you who were found were captured, though they had fled far away. (Isaiah 22:1-3)
Because they lost their destiny, they began to live a life of flight. After listening to these testimonies, you must know why you are alive. You may come among us to be healed, find a job, improve your living standards, or increase your salary, but there is something more important: Vision and destiny must not be lost, because this is what people need most. The education industry is now booming because education can give people hope. What our God does is to let us build a glorious church and bring hope to people. This is the best thing in life, and the hope that our God gives is not the hope of this life, but the hope of eternal life. We begin to enter into eternal life during our days on earth, and we become people who are not afraid of death.
Take Up God's Destiny
For the Lord God of hosts had a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the Valley of Vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains. And Elam bore the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates. He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest. (Isaiah 22:5-8)
The consequence of losing vision is being attacked by the enemy. Do not think that the enemy's attack is the work of the devil; every one of them is a wonderful arrangement of God. So everyone should carefully consider: What do we believe in when we believe in the Lord? We believe in becoming a blessing to all nations and peoples in this generation. A few days ago, I was very shocked because we had several brothers and sisters who had particularly stubborn and serious illnesses, and we竭力served them. God does not want us to experience those heavy and great disasters or long and prolonged illnesses. These are all our own choices. When we restore the vision and destiny within us, we will not experience such disasters.
It is very sad if a person puts all his hope in this life, just like people constantly climbing a peak. When they reach the top of the mountain, they take another step forward and fall into a cliff. What is the point of doing this? Climbing to the peak, but what lies ahead is a dead end. Our God knew long ago that people are climbing on worldly peaks, and after climbing, they will perish. So why choose the path to destruction? Because when we preach the gospel to some people, they think we want something from them, not knowing that life is vanity of vanities. If your hope is only in this life, you are more miserable than the world. So I tell you, if you become a Christian today and then forsake God, your condition will be worse than before. You will live very painfully in the world, and then, after death, you will fall into that place like the world.
You saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago. (Isaiah 22:9-11)
Our God has long set the path of life and the path of destruction before us, and also set the path of blessing and the path of cursing before us. Do you want to be blessed? Then only the path of Abraham can be taken; do you want to be cursed? There are many roads to cursing, and there are thousands of paths to cursing, but there is only one path to blessing: to take up the vision and destiny that God has for you. I met a sister who met a suitable object in the church, and soon got married in a flash, and then quickly entered into pain, but she herself thought this was God's will. A marriage without a destiny is a disaster. If marriage is only to satisfy physiological needs, it will not enter into God's will.
In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth. (Isaiah 22:12)
The occurrence of these disasters is actually not surprising. Such disasters are staged every day, but unexpectedly, people are surprisingly indifferent to these disasters. Their reaction is:
Behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (Isaiah 22:13)
What is the first reaction when people lose vision and destiny? My greatest wish in life is to travel around the world, and my greatest hope in life is to enjoy everything in this world that I can enjoy.
Become People Who Inherit God's Destiny
People have no vision and destiny, only see this life, and live in the flesh, because they do not know that it is the Spirit that gives life, so they arrange everything for the flesh. These people do not know what will happen after death, and God sits before His throne watching all this. We must know that we will definitely be judged by God's righteousness in the future. If people know to fear God, they know that God will judge everyone. Do not think that I want to die, so I want to enjoy all that I can enjoy in this life.
I once met a brother who was contaminated by the spirit of death at his mother's funeral. His back was stiff and particularly painful. After I led him in prayer, he was released. But without destiny, he still lived his own little life and did not regard God as God. I tell you, this ending will be worse than the previous back stiffness! We are chosen by God, and we must take up the destiny of this generation, which is such a glorious destiny! Calamities and sufferings will continue to ravage these people. So we must hold on to God, and we must see the destiny that God has for us.
The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: “Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,” says the Lord God of hosts. (Isaiah 22:14)
Are you still living for the little things of this world? We can see how many people are struggling on the verge of death, clinging to the most expensive medicine prescribed by doctors to save their lives. But in Jesus Christ, God has given us a medicine that never dies, which is such grace! But those who are stubborn and rebellious will never be forgiven for their sins.
In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth. (Isaiah 22:12)
We will see many phrases like in that day in the Book of Isaiah. Our God does not like to judge people, because our God creates seeds. God repeatedly warns in that day, but many people do not believe it, thinking that their current state is very good.
## Do Not Live a Self-Indulgent Life
**It takes time for a person's loss of Mingding Destiny to manifest results.** Judah and Israel survived for two to three centuries after losing their vision and Mingding Destiny before being destroyed. Esau, after losing his Mingding Destiny, still had over 400 men in his household more than two decades later. With God, a thousand years are like a day, and a day like a thousand years. Knowing we will all die one day, we must prepare for our eternal life, not live a self-indulgent life. I am saddened to see some Christians only turn to prayer when disaster strikes. Therefore, brothers and sisters, **do not be people of little faith, but take on the mission of God's Kingdom. Do not live for worldly things, but strive for eternity.**
**Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:15)**
We must walk by faith. When the seeds you sow bear fruit, even if it is bad fruit, you must bear the consequences. I urge you that disaster does not come overnight. If we have a heart that fears God, we will not allow disaster to come. We will surely live out God's will with our Mingding Destiny. **Death can no longer reign in our lives. We belong to God. We must take on God's Mingding Destiny and vision and live in this generation.**
**What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock? (Isaiah 22:16)**
Do these people know they are going to die? They know, so they enjoy eating and drinking while they are alive and make arrangements for what will happen after they die. They are doing what the Egyptian pharaohs would do. Many Christians' minds really need to be washed clean. There is too much worldly defilement within, not knowing that the flesh is of no benefit. In truth, after death, the body returns to dust, and the spirit returns to the God who created man. Living to prepare for the flesh, and preparing for the flesh even after death, is a tragic thing. We should only care whether we can fulfill the mission of God's Kingdom while we are alive and whether we glorify God's name.
## It is the Spirit Who Gives Life
What will happen to those who live purely in the flesh? We must know that living in the flesh is a rather pitiful thing because **it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no benefit. The body returns to dust, and the spirit returns to God who created us.** Living is about making our spirit come alive, for we are spiritually alive people. Therefore, we must have God's Mingding Destiny and vision. We shall receive God's grace and blessings in this world. The grace and blessings you receive when you come to this church are not because of what you have experienced or the choices you have made in the past, but because before you came to the church, a group of people laid down their lives to serve God. If you are also willing to lay down your life to serve God, then those who come to the church later will experience the same blessings and grace as you.
Brothers and sisters must know how important it is to restore the Mingding Destiny God has for us! In that era, God predestined His Son Jesus Christ to be born in that generation. Thus, it is written:
**In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will be a seat of honor for the house of his father，all the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and all its relatives, from the least of cups to the largest of jars. In that day, declares the Lord Almighty, the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down. The Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 22:20-25)**
This is God's glorious Mingding Destiny! You and I must belong to Jesus Christ. The church is the body of Jesus Christ, the descendant of the house of David. **Jesus Christ holds the key to the kingdom of heaven. He will sit on the glorious throne of His Father, and we will become part of God's glorious Mingding Destiny.** Nothing is more blessed than building God's glorious church. So in that day, the burdens on us will surely fall from us.
## Restore God's Mingding Destiny
If you are living a tiring life, then take on God's glorious Mingding Destiny. Those who wholeheartedly serve God cannot live in corruption. Although we sleep very little, we still live well and healthily. **The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.** Serving by the Spirit, God originally intended to raise us up to serve this generation. This is the purpose for which we came into this world. If you are raised up by God to become a people serving this generation, God will surely have a glorious Mingding Destiny in you! You will hold the keys to the kingdom of heaven in your hands, drawing on the resources of the kingdom of heaven at any time and any place.
Either enter into judgment, constantly sowing seeds of sin to cater to the flesh with selfish desires, or enter into Mingding Destiny and become a blessing to all nations. Brothers and sisters, **we must take on the Mingding Destiny of this era and become vessels through which God blesses this era!**
**I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will be a seat of honor for the house of his father. (Isaiah 22:23)**