Therefore the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says this concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob will no longer be ashamed, nor will his face grow pale. But when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will revere my name; they will revere the Holy One of Jacob and stand in awe of the God of Israel. Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding; and those who complain will accept instruction. (Isaiah 29:22-24)
Jacob, the Man
What kind of person was Jacob? Jacob was a spiritual person. He hoped to never die while he was alive! He could see his descendants for generations. I think Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all such people! Their characteristic is that God would make their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Before I believed in the Lord, if God had said this to me, I really wouldn't have cared. I would only have cared about living well in this lifetime! Would you think that way? I believe many people would think that way. But Jacob did not think that way. Jacob was very concerned about his descendants thousands of years later! Because he did not think he was dead; he thought he was alive!
The Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says this concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob will no longer be ashamed! I think this means that Jacob is truly with God! He feels very embarrassed, very ashamed, you know? How could my descendants become like this? How could you forget what I taught you back then? If you ask all the Israelites, do they know Jacob, Israel? Yes, that is our ancestor! Do they know Abraham? Yes! They know that even today, the Israelites still say that they are descendants of Israel and Abraham, but do they have the characteristics of Jacob's sons? That is hard to say.
Jacob will no longer be ashamed! Why is he no longer ashamed? Because God is still working on Jacob's sons! Do you think they are born of the flesh? No! Today, because of Jesus Christ, we belong to the name of Israel; from a spiritual perspective, we are Israelites! Why do we have the characteristics of Jacob? If you do not have the characteristics of Jacob, are you a son of Jacob? No! So Jesus said to those Pharisees: You are a brood of vipers! Those Pharisees said: No, we are descendants of Abraham. Jesus said: No, your ancestor is the devil! This immediately separated the people; who exactly are Jacob's sons?
Jacob's sons are those whom God has prepared for him! Those people must have the characteristics of Jacob! That is to say, spiritual people are Jacob's sons! Jacob will not be ashamed, nor will his face grow pale. When Israel sees his descendants, now the state of Samaria, Israel, and Judah, I tell you, they feel very embarrassed, really very embarrassed. But at this time, God says: The Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says this concerning the house of Jacob: The house of Jacob will no longer be ashamed, nor will his face grow pale. But you will see his children, the work of my hands, in his midst. This is the work of God's hands. Do not think that people rely on their own abilities, on human power. It is the work done by God's hands!
So in the Old Testament, if you take a natural stone to build an altar, that is acceptable. But if you use a hammer and chisel on it, once you have chiseled it, that stone cannot be used! It cannot be used to make an altar, because once human hands have worked on it, it becomes defiled! That is to say, people can only approach with faith. What kind of person is Jacob? Jacob is a person who inherits faith, Jacob inherits the faith of Abraham and Isaac! So he is a person of faith, a true Israelite. If a person does not believe in his heart, he cannot be an Israelite! So to honor God with your lips but your heart is far from God is all nonsense! So I call this: The work done by God's hands is still on Jacob's sons. As for Jacob, the man, Jacob is a spiritual person, and we must all be spiritual people. If you are a spiritual person, you are Jacob's sons.
God's Work on Jacob Has Never Stopped
God's work on people like Jacob has never stopped! They will revere God's name as holy, they will revere the Holy One of Jacob as holy, and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel! Jacob spent his life exploring and knowing God. If you are Jacob's sons, you must spend your life exploring and knowing God. I tell you, God's work will surely be on you, and you will surely revere God's name as holy. Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. If you are Jacob, carefully seek and carefully know God! Jacob is very resilient! If you have fifty percent of Jacob's character, you will become an extraordinary person; if you have one hundred percent of Jacob's character, wow! You will simply become a remarkable person in this era. If you have this kind of character, you must pursue continuous seeking, and impossible things will become possible.
He was originally the second son; he was born only a few minutes later than his brother, even if it was just one second later, you are still the second son, and that's the order! But in Jacob's heart, there is no such thing as impossible! So he spent his life pursuing to reverse this, he wanted to be the eldest son, he wanted to inherit the blessing of Abraham and Isaac. I tell you, if you are this kind of person, then there should be no impossible things in your mind, because you are a person who seeks God, so God's work is still on Jacob's sons.
So Jacob does not need to be embarrassed, nor does his face need to grow pale, because God has already prepared descendants for you. Who are Jacob's sons? They are those who truly inherit the character of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, those are Jacob's sons! Those who are confused in their hearts will understand, and those who complain will accept instruction. You may be confused in your heart, but if you have Jacob's character, you will understand, because God will work on you, but if you are a brood of the devil, a generation of vipers, God's work will probably be to manifest His anger, and those who complain will also accept instruction. We may sometimes be confused, we may sometimes complain a little, but that does not matter; whether you have Jacob's character is the key. No matter what kind of person you are, you can turn back, as long as you have Jacob's faith and Jacob's character.
From verse 1 to verse 21, it speaks of all those who are not like Jacob. Do you think God's work is not on them? It is still there! In fact, Jesus never tried to transform the Pharisees. Jesus never tried to say, believe in the Lord, I am the Messiah, come and believe in me, why don't you believe? Jesus did not do this. Jesus said, You brood of vipers. Why is this so? I tell you, it all lies in the choice in people's hearts, because in the New Testament it says that Jesus knew what those people were thinking in their hearts! If Jesus knew what those people were thinking in their hearts! He would know what He should do.
Religious People
Woe to you, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Let your annual festivals go on, year after year. (Isaiah 29:1)
You know, in Jerusalem, the Israelites' habit of worshiping God has never changed, even after they were divided into the Southern and Northern Kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom of Israel also worshiped, and they also thought they were worshiping Jehovah God. In the time of Jesus, a Samaritan woman also knew how to worship God. Don't you find it interesting? It's not that they didn't know how to worship God; their festivals continued as usual. That is to say, the worship system established during David's time was still being carried out there, but it was a religious system.
So brothers and sisters, we must begin to understand one thing: you go to church on Sunday, but is your heart with God? When I communicate with some local Singaporean Christians, they all say this: If the pastor preaches for more than ten minutes, many people raise their arms to look at their watches and then complain, pastor, can you be on time? They think that being on time is very important. Is it really important? Actually, it is not important. You travel a long way, one hour to get to church and one hour to go home, what difference does ten minutes more or less make? If the meeting ends ten minutes early, they will be very happy! Then what did you come for?
The city where David encamped, the system of worship and praise established by David, the temple built by Solomon, the offerings there were still being carried out as usual. Even in the time of Jesus, there were still chief priests! Never mind the external form, the main thing is the heart within, the heart of man determines whether God accepts it. What if there is only the external form but not the heart within? That would be a very, very deadly thing.
I will bring distress on Ariel, and there will be mourning and wailing; she will be like an altar hearth to me. I will encamp around you; I will besiege you with towers and set up siege works against you. Brought low, you will speak from the ground; your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will come ghostlike from the earth; out of the dust your speech will whisper. But your many enemies will be like fine dust, the ruthless hordes like blowing chaff; suddenly, in an instant, it will all happen. (Isaiah 29:2-5)
It is not a religious form, but a key to true faith. The key to faith is to truly believe in the Lord! It is useless for a person to keep a religious rule! Religion cannot solve problems!
People Who Love the World
Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be sightless! Be drunk, but not from wine; stagger, but not from beer. (Isaiah 29:9)
This represents loving the world. I have summed up an experience in the process of serving, that is, people who love the world are very, very dangerous. They can lose God's salvation at any time, and they can also lose God's grace at any time. Everyone, do not love the world! Loving the world is not a joke! We must all begin to cultivate a habit of not loving the world.
The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep: He has sealed your eyes (the prophets); he has covered your heads (the seers). For you this whole vision is like the words of a sealed scroll. If you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” he will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” Or if you give the scroll to someone who can’t read, and say, “Read this, please,” he will answer, “I don’t know how to read.” The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. (Isaiah 29:10-13)
God will give people who love the world a spirit of deep sleep! After loving the world, they will become blinded. I have always wanted to train everyone to become shrewd people, but I cannot train a person who loves the world to become a shrewd person! No matter what, there is no way to train them to be shrewd! For example, in my entire service process, what shocked me was the result of these people loving the world? They become very stupid! They cannot figure out very simple things!
For example, just now KX was talking about her testimony. When she loved the world, she could not save any money from working for a month, and she did not have enough money every month. Then what are you doing at work? And are you really enjoying it? You are not enjoying it, you are just spending money randomly, and it is gone in a few moments! The money is gone before the end of the month, and the next few days are painful! Why is this so? Because as soon as she sees the mala spicy pot, she cannot walk away! Mala spicy pot can be eaten. Suppose a pot of Singapore mala spicy pot costs 6 or 8 dollars, which is quite good! But you order 15 dollars' worth, what are you doing?
I think that after people love the world, they become very, very strange! That is, God wants to pour a spirit of deep sleep on them, and then they lose the vision to see the future. I don't know how this person will live in the future without a vision of the future! For example, there is another brother who left us, and I also find it very strange. He studied at the university for a year and a half, and all those who studied with him have graduated, but he has not yet graduated, and you know what? You can graduate by studying eight subjects, but now he still has seven subjects to finish! It is a very strange thing, but the problem is that he himself does not know it! Why doesn't he know it himself? After he was poured with a spirit of deep sleep, he was blinded, and his view of the future is a very strange view!
So brothers and sisters, do not love the world! You know that feasting can make people dizzy! At that time, I said to his group leader: This brother is controlled by an evil spirit. Can you serve him and release him from that evil spirit! His group leader took him to see a movie. Can seeing a movie bring release? Seeing a movie cannot bring release. It is very easy for a person to become stupid, that is, no matter how you look at it, he is stupid! But he doesn't even know it himself! The whole world knows he doesn't know it himself! What kind of person is a smart person? A smart person is like Jacob. Where is Jacob smart? He can shape the future! He has a foresight of the future!
Everyone must know that if you can predict whether stocks will rise or fall, will you be poor? You won't be poor! So what's the problem? People have no foresight! If you are a person of faith, like Jacob, you have foresight, wouldn't you be rich? I am very, very surprised at the stupidity of those who love the world and cater to the flesh. If you want to be a shrewd person, the first thing is not to love the world, and the second is not to cater to the flesh. People who cater to the flesh and love the world are extremely stupid people.
Relying on One's Own Wisdom
Therefore behold, I will again do marvelous things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden. (Isaiah 29:14)
God is not only working among the sons of Jacob, to hallow His name and to fear the Lord, the God of Israel! Even towards those who are not the sons of Israel, He has not ceased working! He says, the wisdom of their wise men shall perish. Do not rely on your own wisdom, but learn to rely on the wisdom that comes from God! You know that when we rely on human wisdom, we become confused! If I think according to human wisdom, I am finished, but if I think according to the wisdom of Jacob, the problem is solved!
Jacob's thoughts are different from the thoughts of men. Jacob and Esau have two different logical systems, Jacob thinks about how to obtain God's blessing, how to please God, how to hallow God's name, and how to enter into eternal life! Because he is based on faith! When people speak according to human wisdom, then there is trouble! Solve my problems at work! I can't finish my work in eight hours a day, even if I work twenty-four hours a day, I can't finish it, what should I do? How can I worship God? This sounds reasonable! But that is human wisdom, which is not very useful. Therefore, brothers and sisters must know: God is God! If the Lord is God, is anything too hard for God? I come to worship my God, to live a life with God, that is wonderful! And experience has proven that it is very good!
In this past period of time, do you know what? Our church has entered a new season! The efficiency of healing and deliverance has greatly improved! If everyone remembers, last year when I prayed for KR's fever, it exhausted me. As soon as the fever went down, it came back up when I was about to rest. But recently I discovered that God has opened a new season, and this new season is that the efficiency of service has greatly improved! Yesterday YX took that brother to pray, and it was done in half an hour, twenty minutes! So now not only has the efficiency of our service improved, but the efficiency of healing and deliverance has also improved, and we also often lead everyone together in deliverance. I think this is the perishing of the wisdom of the wise, and the hiding of the discernment of the discerning. Without that, it doesn't count, because they must take God's wisdom as wisdom!
Do Not Turn Things Upside Down
Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord, and whose deeds are done in a dark place, and they say, Who sees us? or Who knows us? You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered equal with the clay, that what is made should say to its maker, He did not make me; or what is formed say to him who formed it, He has no understanding? (Isaiah 29:15-16)
The most foolish person in the world is the one who thinks that his own standard is the world standard, the world's most advanced standard! I often encounter such people. They have done something very foolish, and then I say: Why did you do this? They say: Everyone does this! Do they think that everyone in the world is the same as them? I have met many people who think, like, everyone would do that! In fact, many such people are very interesting! They think that what they do, everyone would do!
Let's carefully observe our surroundings. The examples I just gave, I believe you would not do that. You think doing that is very foolish! But the person who does this thing thinks he is very smart! He thinks that he cannot do what he has to do in secret, who can see us? I tell you, God sees everything, he thinks he can't see, no one can see! Isn't this very foolish? God watches all things on earth from heaven, just like transparent things! The thoughts and intentions of people cannot be hidden before God! You think you are the smartest, but in fact we are just a speck of dust on the earth, don't think you are as smart as God! We must not turn things upside down. We are created, and we can never understand the wisdom and understanding of the God who created us.
If we feel like saying: Can you solve my problems at work? Then why can't God solve it! In fact, haven't many of us experienced God solving problems for you? Many people make money without knowing God, and eventually owe tens of thousands! High interest loans! That person's mind is always confused! He thinks what he does is very smart! Robbing Peter to pay Paul, the more you try to fix the hole, the bigger it gets! It's killing me! So never turn things upside down! What is the smartest thing a person can do? The smartest thing a person can do is to know the Lord who created all things! Remember, Jacob is one of the smartest people in the world since there were humans. Because he knows God, he knows God, a person who does not know God is very foolish! Very foolish!
Do Not Act Violently
A person who turns things upside down, does he think that God is not working? He does not know that there is God, and then God will not work, you believe it exists, you don't believe it doesn't exist! How can that be the case? God still works, God still blesses his work, and works on the sons of Jacob. If you don't know, then carefully observe, whether it is a person who turns things upside down or a person who does not turn things upside down, they have never stopped God from working. If you think that God has stopped working, then it is too foolish! Never think that God has stopped working. To this day, God still blesses those who should be blessed and curses those who should be cursed! What does He say about those who act violently?
For the ruthless one is brought to nothing, the scoffer ceases, and all who watch for iniquity are cut off, who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with false argument deprive the just of his right. (Isaiah 29:20-21)
You know that the logic of this violent act is a culture of the strong. Recently, when I was doing micro-lessons, someone said: Pastor, I listened to your culture of the strong, and I have a lot of understanding. I used to want to be a strong person, but now I don't want to be. A strong person is someone who acts violently. Those who act violently will be brought to nothing! Why? Because God's work is still being done! Where did those violent people go during the time of Noah? They were all washed away by the flood. Where did the violent people during the Second World War go? They eventually became war criminals! Isn't that right? Brought to nothing! Never think that God does not control this world, God still reigns in the kingdoms of men!
Do not be a scoffer, the scoffer ceases! Who is a scoffer? It is someone who does not know that there is God, and thinks that he is the most advanced level in the world, and that what he does is the smartest choice! After a few years, he regrets it. He has been regretting it for the past few years, and then says: I made a very smart decision! As a result, after a few years, he feels that he was so foolish at the beginning, and he also cares about face, and when others say something to him, he is still upset, and still argues for himself, that is also right, wrong is also right! So do not be a scoffer, the scoffer does not know that there is God in power, so the scoffer will also be destroyed!
Be Children of Jacob
This is the work that God does, and then what should we do? We must be children of Jacob. If you become a child of Jacob, what will be the result? Then Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale. For when he sees his children, those who emulate Jacob, the work of God's hands, in their midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. These words are really well said. If you and I are Jacob, or the sons of Jacob, or people like Jacob, God's work will never cease in you.
Yesterday I sorted out our finances a little bit. I have spent a lot of money in the past year. I am a person who has faith in what I do. I am very bold. I am really dare to spend money. In order to serve God, I really have a lot of faith. Then a few days ago, I did a statistics. Many people who gave offerings have left this year, of course, more have come, and spent so much money, how can I still save so much money? The church's money has not decreased, but has increased a lot! The most conservative estimate is that it has increased by 60,000 Singapore dollars in the past year, which is our surplus, which is quite good! I tell everyone this number, just to let everyone know that the work that God's hands do has never stopped!
I and my full-time colleagues calculated together, and we couldn't figure it out no matter how we calculated it, how could there be such a thing? Because our operating costs have increased greatly, and our income has not increased much, so how could we save so much money? Oh, it turns out that this is the work that God's hands do! What kind of people does the work of God's hands do on? It is done on people like Jacob! Brothers and sisters, if you want to be a person, don't be a person like Sun Zhongmou. It is not good to raise a son like Sun Zhongmou. It is not good to raise a son like Cao Cao. Don't raise a son like Zhuge Liang. Raise a son like Jacob! Not only should you raise a son like Jacob, but we ourselves must be like Jacob. I tell you that God's blessing will surely come!
Next, I want to encourage everyone to start joyfully welcoming the church into a new season, into a medium-to-high-speed growth season. You will find that there seems to be 300 yuan at the beginning of the month, and there are still 300 yuan at the end of the month. If this is not a miracle, what is it? Such things often happen to our brothers and sisters, so let our brothers and sisters all start choosing to believe in your heart, believe that God will bless you materially, because God has blessed Jacob materially, and also believe that God will bless us in our work needs, because we don't have a religious taste, because our hearts sincerely say before God: God, I love you! We love God and get life!