Calamity Stems from Ignorance of the Spiritual Realm

The term calamity is prevalent in the books of the prophets, closely tied to man's ignorance of the spiritual realm. If one is ignorant of the spiritual realm, decisions are made solely through human eyes. Conversely, understanding the spiritual realm leads to fundamentally different actions. Why do people rely on others? Because of their ignorance of the spiritual realm, feeling a sense of security in human dependence. However, viewing matters from God's throne offers a different perspective. Therefore, one's understanding of the spiritual world influences their perception of things.

If one's understanding of the spiritual world is one of ignorance, the decisions made can be critical. Why do the prophetic books repeatedly emphasize calamity? Chapters 28, 29, 30, and the beginning of 31 all warn of calamity, urging attention to its nature. When faced with a situation, such as a crisis, what is the initial response? Is it recognized as a spiritual matter, a curse, or a blessing? The ability to view it through a spiritual lens determines whether it is a calamity or not. Approaching it with a worldly or carnal perspective will lead to the same reliance on Egypt, power, flesh, weapons, and flattery as the Israelites of the time, as described in Isaiah.

Chapter 28 speaks of the drunkards of Ephraim, while chapter 29 speaks of evildoers who believe their actions go unnoticed, even by God. They think they can withstand disaster, but they cannot, and God is fully aware. Ignorance of God among God's children brings calamity. This is why I constantly emphasize the spiritual realm in our church. Ignorance of the spiritual realm brings calamity. What were these Israelites doing? Isaiah chapters 30 and 31 describe them seeking help from Egypt. However, seeking help from Egypt becomes a calamity, a strange turn of events.

One becomes a child of God not because they have not experienced God, but because they have experienced much, and not just a little. Brothers and sisters among us have all experienced God, even those who have left the church. Yet, after experiencing God, they remain ignorant of the reality of the spiritual realm. I am struck by the extent of their foolishness! This foolishness stems entirely from their ignorance of the spiritual realm. When disaster strikes, it is truly a tragedy, and I do not wish to see them experience it. However, their ignorance of the spiritual realm will indeed bring calamity. Consider their words:

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or seek the Lord! (Isaiah 31:1)

These are weighty words. Do you truly have an understanding of the spiritual realm?

God Reigns in the Spiritual World

As a pastor, I sincerely aspire to be a good one. Why? Because in past years, good pastors have been few and far between. I felt like a freely grazing sheep, eating when there was grass and going hungry when there was none. It was truly difficult. However, this environment has driven me to seek God more fervently, and I am deeply interested in spiritual matters because they are profoundly real! When pastors prayed for our healing, I wondered what it was. It was a treasure! Healing through five minutes of prayer was miraculous! Therefore, I became a practitioner of spiritual truth!

I know: First, the spiritual realm is real; second, our God is the greatest in the spiritual realm. Grasping these two points, I rely on nothing else. My entire life's path is one of dependence on God. I cease to grasp at anything else, never soliciting favors or offering gifts. I rely on no one, because I know that my God reigns! This understanding of God's reign is crystal clear in my mind. When writing the 101 courses, dissatisfied with previous ones, I began to write my own. The first lesson of my 101 course is The Reality of the Spiritual Realm. The reality of the spiritual realm is the foundation of our faith!

Because the spiritual realm is real and our God is the greatest in it, all the spiritual experiences we have in this world are directly related to the spiritual realm and originate from it. I must cling to God in the spiritual realm! When I cling to God, I tell you, the feeling is incredible! Calamity cannot approach me, and those who approach me are blessed. It is miraculous! Because I am very clear about spiritual matters, brothers and sisters must have an understanding of the spiritual realm. What is my understanding of it?

For if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. (Deuteronomy 30:9)

These words are powerful! My livestock are blessed, and my children are blessed. What a wonderful thing! One day, our puppy's face swelled up alarmingly. Human facial swelling is frightening enough, but a dog's is even more so. The puppy could not speak or express its feelings, which was distressing, as communication with dogs is difficult. I held the dog's head in my hands, commanding the spirit causing the swelling to leave. An hour later, it was healed. When I removed my hands, the dog's face returned to normal. The reality of spiritual matters is profound!

A puppy's swollen face is a deeply spiritual matter. Therefore, know today that you should not rely on strong horses but on the Lord your God; do not rely on your work but on the Lord your God; do not rely on wealth but on the Lord your God; do not rely on your house, your money, your car, rely on nothing but the Lord your God. This is a critical matter. Failure to seek the Lord God invites calamity. Therefore, I tell you, seek God in everything! Look to God in everything! Enter into God's grace by faith, because our God does not intend to bring calamity but to bestow grace and mercy!

I believe my God is wonderful! Having God in my life, what more do I need? With God, you have everything! I hope the brothers and sisters in our church can heed my words. If you have God and still rely on something else, beware of the word calamity. Calamity to you rebellious children! Calamity to those who go down to Egypt for help! You cannot seek anything else. Trusting in a wall, it will fall; trusting in a tree, it will lean. Rely only on the Lord your God, for this is how our God discerns whether to bestow calamity or blessings. I resolve to live a blessed life, never wanting to enter into calamity or hear the word calamity. I only want to hear blessings, grace, and promises.

Sending Calamity is God's Wisdom!

Many do not know that our God sends both calamity and blessings. This realization was profoundly shocking to me, as it took me many years to understand that the Lord God sends calamity. Why did I seem to read it in the Bible but not truly grasp it? Later, as a pastor, I studied it carefully. I had previously hesitated to preach about the Lord sending calamity. I came to understand that it is truly wisdom, because God sends calamity in the hope that people will be blessed! If you believe that God sends calamity to punish you, to destroy you, then you will truly die in the wilderness. However, if you believe that God sends calamity to bless you, then you must begin to awaken and recognize the spiritual world. Start to know the reality of the spiritual realm and understand that our God is the greatest in it. God truly desires that we be blessed!

Ignorance of the spiritual realm is a calamity. The truth to be known is the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm consists of the devil, God, and us. If you do not know that the spiritual realm includes the devil, God, and people, then you are ignorant. Studying biology and genetics, no matter how thoroughly, is of little use. Those things cannot stop it, and the studies are exhausting. Genetics are complicated, but studying the spiritual world is simple. Reading the Bible reveals it, without the need for genetic mapping or hereditary studies. Those things are inaccurate, but the things of the spiritual realm are particularly accurate.

God Sends Both Blessings and Calamity

Now, I tell you, I can sense what spirits are on people. When I see a spirit, I know that person will experience certain things and what they have experienced in the past. My predictions are particularly accurate. If you know that Egyptians are human, then you should not trust them, for they are no different from you. At most, they may have larger muscles, more money, or more advanced weapons, but they are not God. All problems in this world originate from God! Calamity comes from God, blessings come from God, so what are you seeking from the Egyptians? The Egyptians do not even know who to seek, yet you seek them. Are you not inviting trouble upon yourself?

The Egyptians are men, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. (Isaiah 31:3) These words are excellent. Therefore, brothers and sisters, know that horses are flesh and Egyptians are men. Who will you rely on? You must rely on God, for all roots lie in the spiritual world. When the Lord stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together. (Isaiah 31:3) I urge everyone not to oppose God. If the Lord stretches out his hand, your reliance on Egyptian horses and Egyptian people, those who help you and those you help, will all perish. Such a thing is truly critical!

Let me share a concept with you, one that I may not express accurately, as many will oppose my statement. If you are eager to do charity, you are the helper; if you want to receive charitable help, you are the one being helped. Neither of these is the best solution. If you want to do charity, the best charity is to lead people into the spiritual realm to know God, to break the curse of poverty and calamity upon them. This is the best help.

Evangelism is sharing the gospel, leading people onto the path of blessing. This is a spiritual matter. Some people you cannot help. If they are under a curse, you truly cannot help them, no matter what you do. A pastor once told me this, and I did not believe it at first. Gradually, as I read God's word and understood God's nature, I realized that doing charity is a critical matter. Why? Because it involves helping and being helped. Therefore, you must use spiritual methods to help people, not worldly methods.

Do not think that you should stop giving food to someone who is hungry and then use spiritual methods to help them. That is not the way. Feed them first. The Bible says, I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was naked, and you clothed me. But the Bible never says that if someone owes a million in gambling debts, you should pay off their debt. The Bible does not say that. Therefore, understanding the spiritual world is crucial; it determines whether calamity or blessings will descend.

Destruction is a Spiritual Matter

And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man; and a sword, not of man, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be put to forced labor. (Isaiah 31:8)

The destruction of Assyria was due to spiritual reasons, not human swords, but spiritual swords. Assyria was destroyed because they did not know God and were unaware that they were merely tools in the hand of the Lord God. They became arrogant, and God destroyed them. Therefore, we know that all things are spiritual matters. Such a powerful Assyrian empire was destroyed by God simply stretching out his hand, let alone you and I, mere flesh and blood! Do not wait for God to stretch out his hand. I hope everyone knows God and understands that these things are spiritual matters. Assyria, a powerful nation, was destroyed by God in an instant. These are all spiritual matters. What can you and I rely on in our lives? The only thing we can do is not rely on the things of this world.

These calamities are God's wisdom. Why? Because God intends to save. If you read the Book of Isaiah, you will see judgment, woe, and in that day, but if you do not discern God's intention to save, you have read in vain. Throughout the Book of Isaiah, judgment and salvation are interwoven. God wants to save, not to condemn. However, people willingly enter into curses, which is a critical matter. As brothers and sisters begin to understand how the spiritual realm operates, I want to share good news with you: God intends to save!

Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it; he will spare and rescue it. (Isaiah 31:4-5)

Brothers and sisters, we must now begin to learn to return to God.

Return to him from whom you have deeply revolted, O children of Israel. For in that day every one of you shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have made as a sin for you. (Isaiah 31:6-7)

Egypt cannot become your idol, nor can horses become your idol; none of these people can become your idols. We must begin to return to Him, for those who return to Him will be saved. This is the message that our God gives us. We must know that God works through His Spirit in the process of salvation; therefore, God saves those who return to Him, those who know the reality of the spiritual world.

If you do not know the reality of the spiritual world, what will you do? Will you begin to think that this matter is unreliable, that God is unreliable? But I tell you, God is the most reliable. I experience miracles almost daily. The Lord Himself is King, and the Lord will surely reign. The Lord cannot reign in us because of our unbelief. The Lord God has always been the King of the universe. If you and I believe, we will let the Lord God reign in us.

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. (Isaiah 32:1)

The Lord God Will Reign in Us

Do you know what righteousness means? Reigning in righteousness means reigning with justice. You must know what a righteous person is. A righteous person is one who believes. A king will reign in righteousness, ruling through your faith, reigning in you. If you are a righteous person, a person of faith, you will surely hide beneath God, trusting in God's salvation.

Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. (Isaiah 32:2)

Brothers and sisters, know that our God is our refuge, our God is our hiding place. You must know that He reigns in righteousness, which means through your faith. If you act in faith and enter into His righteousness, you become a righteous person by faith. As a righteous person by faith, you can hide in God, and He will become your hiding place from the wind and your shelter from the storm. He will be like streams of water in a dry place. And in the dry place, you will have water. Therefore, I believe that all the needs of our lives are in God, in God's salvation.

A Lifetime with God Will Make You Smarter

When you act justly out of faith, you become smarter.

Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The minds of the rash will know and understand, and the tongues of stammerers will be fluent and clear. (Isaiah 32:3-4)

A person's intelligence depends on three things: hearing, speaking, and seeing, but the most important is the fourth, understanding in the heart. It is truly lamentable when people are not intelligent! I have absolute confidence in making the people in our church smarter. For example, on Thursday nights, I lead everyone in studying the Bible in the micro-classroom, and I talk about the function of Solomon's wisdom. A narrow-minded person is foolish. A broad-minded person is wise. Do you want to become smarter today? If you want to become smarter, start by being a person of faith. What will a person of faith practice? They will practice seeing with their eyes, hearing with their ears, speaking with their mouth, and most importantly, understanding in their heart. Everyone, remember! Once you have these four, you will be very powerful. When you have done these four, foolish people will no longer be able to deceive you.

Seeing Things from a Spiritual Perspective

No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected. (Isaiah 32:5)

After reading chapters 31 and 32, I feel that Isaiah is very well written. Some time ago, I noticed some people gossiping about us behind our backs. They thought they were particularly normal and that we were particularly foolish. But we also thought they were particularly foolish. So what is the standard of measurement? It is because we do not act according to human logic, but according to spiritual logic. And they act according to human logic, so they cannot understand us and think we are very foolish.

A spiritual person sees through all things. If you see that a person is clever but petty, you will not be fooled by these people. The fool will no longer be called noble. When we were with them before, we used human viewpoints to see how powerful this person was. But now we will say, this person is not very noble. The scoundrel will no longer be highly respected. We thought they were very generous, good, and great, but later we found out they were not impressive at all.

For fools speak foolishly, and their hearts are bent on evil: They practice ungodliness and speak wickedly against the Lord. (Isaiah 32:6)

Look at these people, all doing these things, attacking God. If you are a spiritual person, you see through all these things, but they cannot see through you. The things they say, measured by the standards of the world, are very clever and noble, but when we look at them with spiritual eyes, they are going to be fools. This is called a scoundrel. This is called practicing ungodliness. This is speaking wickedly against the Lord. I tell you, these people do not have much of a future. I myself am very surprised, what exactly happened to these people? It is actually ignorance of the spiritual realm. Because of their ignorance of the spiritual realm, they will see things this way.

The person I hate the most is the miser. The things they care about are all small matters. They have no ambition, no hope or vision, no dreams or destiny. They only remember that someone said this or that, caring about this and that, caring about the things I dislike. To say something offensive, I look down on these people very much. Because the things they think about seem quite clever, but I think they are very foolish! If the words of these people can deceive you, you must be careful. If they deceive you, it is because of your ignorance of the spiritual realm. If you see through all the things of the spiritual realm, your eyes, ears, heart, and mouth will all be very well managed.

Learn to Be a Noble Person

Brothers and sisters, you must all learn to be wise people. What will wise people do? Noble people devise noble plans, and noble people stand very high. There is a word that translates into Chinese, this word is called very low, it means very rotten, a very low level. A sister from Hangzhou came back and told me that she used the knowledge about living in abundance that she learned from me, and then talked about it with her niece's father. After listening, her niece's father felt that this sister had not stayed abroad in vain for the past few years. Actually, she did not stay abroad in vain, but did not stay in church in vain. He felt that she analyzed things very clearly. So we must know that people stand at different heights, and people will use different eyes to look at you. If your height is very low, people will look down on you. Even in interpersonal relationships, you must learn to be a noble person.

The noble person makes noble plans, and stands firm in noble things. (Isaiah 32:8)

What you plan determines your height. You and I must plan for the kingdom of God, and planning for the kingdom of God starts with seeking the kingdom of God and seeking God's righteousness. Let God reign in us, and we become a noble person. A noble person sees things in a completely different way. Use God's eyes to see things, and you will stand firm in noble things. If you seek the kingdom of God and seek God's righteousness, in such a high matter, you will enter into eternity.

Relying on Material Things for Comfort is Foolish

If you are very rich and you feel very comfortable, if you feel that you have a lot of land and a lot of property and feel that you do not need to worry, then disaster will come. Woe! This is talking about these people. Those who rely on material things for comfort and security are foolish. Do you want to be a foolish person? If you want to be a foolish person, be this kind of person. If you want to be a wise person, be the opposite of this kind of person.

You women who are so complacent, rise up and listen to me; you complacent daughters, pay attention to what I say! In little more than a year you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail, and the harvest of fruit will not come. Tremble, you women who are complacent; shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your clothes, bare your bodies, and put sackcloth around your waists. (Isaiah 32:9-11)

Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines and for the land of my people, a land overgrown with thorns and briers—yes, mourn for all the houses of joy in the city. The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; the citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks. (Isaiah 32:12-14)

Relying on material things for comfort is a concrete manifestation of ignorance of the spiritual realm. If you can only be secure if you have a lot of money, if your sense of security is built on money, that is the most foolish state in the world. Are you building your security on your job? On your money? On all these material things? You have a lot of property, but when the property tax is implemented, you do not know whether your property can help you make money or help you pay taxes? Relying on material comfort is foolish.

If you travel around the world, you will definitely see the ruins of many developed cities. Today's Ephesus is a ruin, the most expensive real estate back then, but it was useless! So we must build our hope on the Spirit of God. If the Spirit of God is poured out on you, even barren land will be transformed into fertile fields. We must know how important the pouring out of God's Spirit is!

until the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. (Isaiah 32:15)

The Spirit of God is What We Can Rely On

The Spirit of God is a very important thing. Why? Because when God created the universe, do you know what happened?

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:2-3)

That was the beginning of the creation of the world, which means that the Spirit of God can create something out of nothing. You and I, relying on the Spirit of God, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, can create something out of nothing. Being wealthy is not a problem, money is not a problem, property is not a problem, all things are not problems. The Spirit of God is the key, and the Spirit of God is brought down by faith. You and I must learn one thing, which is to rely on faith. You must know that when the Spirit of God is poured out, your wilderness will become a fertile field. I tell everyone again, the Spirit of God is going to do a very wonderful thing in us, and you will definitely become a blessed person!

If the Holy Spirit often works in us, after you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will become a person who turns the wilderness into a fertile field. This property may be a wilderness in the hands of others, but in your hands it becomes a fertile field, and it becomes valuable. So everyone, do not rely on money, do not rely on people, rely on God! After relying on God, I tell you, no matter what, learn to observe and invest in property. God will make your property appreciate. So everyone must learn to manage your wealth. When the Spirit of God is poured out on us, the wilderness in our hands will become a fertile field.

Entering the Promised Land Through Righteousness

After World War I ended in 1917, the British occupied a piece of land in Jerusalem. After the British occupied this land in Palestine, they allowed the Jews to return. As a result, a Jew bought this piece of land from the Israelites for a very cheap price. Since buying this piece of land, rain has fallen on the land on time. Before that, when the Arabs owned this land, it was a barren place where even wild dogs did not want to live. Because this land was very barren, it did not rain, it was very dry, and nothing grew. As a result, after this Israelite bought it, the wilderness became a fertile field, and the fruits grown there were the best fruits. The fertile field looks like a forest, it is really great! What should we do at that time? We must rely on the Spirit of God.

Then justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. (Isaiah 32:16-17)

Three righteousnesses are written here. The word for righteousness is called righteousness. What is righteousness? Righteousness is faith! A person with faith is called righteous, so righteousness and faith are closely linked. Justice will dwell in the desert, do you still want to pursue justice? Then you live in the desert. If you pursue righteousness? You will surely enter the Promised Land. The Israelites in the wilderness rely on justice. I think everyone should not pursue justice. Justice lives in the wilderness, and the pursuit of faith in righteousness lives in the fertile field. So today, our brothers and sisters must understand.

See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will govern with justice. (Isaiah 32:1)

If you want to be a king, you will become a prince through faith. If you want to rely on justice, you will only become a leader. That is all. But today you and I are all princes.

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. (Isaiah 32:18)

If you want to rely on the Egyptians, it will bring disaster. Don't you want to live a peaceful and stable life? A peaceful and stable life depends on the Spirit of God. You will definitely be peaceful and stable by relying on the Spirit of God, do not be afraid. Do not think that after you believe in the Lord, you will encounter persecution or other situations. You will definitely be under the protection of the Spirit of God.

Learn to Sow Seeds and Shepherd God's Sheep

you who sow beside all waters, and let the ox and the donkey range free. (Isaiah 32:20)

Why do I force everyone to enter into shepherding? Because those who shepherd are blessed. Trust God to sow seeds. What is sowing seeds? Sowing seeds by the water is to distribute blessings. What will happen to the seeds sown on the ground? Can you take them back? Once they are sown, they cannot be taken back. The seeds can only die and grow many grains. That is to say, we must sow seeds, and sowing seeds is to bless that land. Our church, in any case, every brother and sister must develop the habit of sowing seeds, giving freely and sowing seeds and then shepherding. Not only bless that land, but also shepherd the oxen and donkeys on this land. What are oxen and donkeys?

The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger (Isaiah 1:3)

It means knowing the master, knowing the owner's manger, this is Isaiah's concept of oxen and donkeys. Why not write sheep? Oxen and donkeys are animals that know their master. Blessed are those who shepherd oxen and donkeys, that is, you shepherd the sheep of God, shepherd the people of God, shepherd those who know God! Never shepherd those who do not know God. Those who do not know God know nothing about the spiritual realm. After shepherding them, they stab you in the back, which is really deadly.

I have shepherded many people who can be said to be monsters, they do not know the master, nor do they know the owner's manger. Very sad! I have not offended them, nor have I taken advantage of them in the slightest. Moreover, I spent a lot of effort on them to shepherd them. What did I get in return? What I got in return was hatred. I do not know why they hate me so much? I also do not know whether they hate me or not, and I am not sure what they are thinking in their hearts. Anyway, I will no longer shepherd them. I tell you, I am blessed, because we shepherd the people who know God. What is shepherding? It is bringing people before God, letting them know God, that is called shepherding! Let them have faith in God, know that God is their salvation, this is shepherding.

So brothers and sisters, our church will become a blessed church! I hope brothers and sisters will start preparing themselves. These testimonies will become the material for me to write books in the future. I also very much hope to write a book about our church, called The Blessed Church, or The Glorious Church. The experience of God building a glorious church among us is really great! I see the testimonies of our brothers and sisters in the church emerging one after another, week after week, constantly experiencing God. Why is this? Because I bring everyone before God to know God, to know the master, to know the owner's manger, and to know the reality of the spiritual world.

Conclusion

Blessing and disaster are all because of the Spirit of God. Do you know the Spirit of God? If the Spirit of God is poured out, you will surely have peace! If you do not know the Spirit of God and do not understand the reality of the spiritual realm, disaster will surely come! Because this is the principle of the spiritual world.