Learning the Lesson of Rebellion from the Israelites

Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. (Isaiah 50:1-3)

What will happen if the Israelites do not heed God's call? As God's chosen people, if they do not heed His call, they will be sold to creditors. The so-called creditors are none other than the devil, the enemy. Ever since Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, mankind today has been subjected to the devil, unless they accept the redemption of Jesus Christ.

However, people do not heed God's call. Why do people rebel? A person's rebellion is not because he deliberately wants to do so, for the logical system in his mind will generate his behavioral patterns. If a person's logical system is one that recognizes God, his mind will be very clear, and he will not kill Jesus. But if a person's logical system is a human logical system, then it is disastrous. If building a church today is also based on a human logical system, then the church has no power, and God will sell it to creditors, who are none other than the devil, because you do not believe in God's word. Today, we must know for sure that God is a God of great power.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; (Romans 1:16)

You must carefully consider that the entire gospel we believe in is a powerful gospel. For the word of God is not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost. We must know what we believe in. If you cannot see power in a church, and all you see is human logic, I tell you, this passage is spoken to them. Why do they not listen to God's word? Is God's arm shortened, that it cannot redeem?

God's word is established in heaven and never changes. God's arm is never shortened. God always executes salvation with great power. But God cannot save those who do not believe, and God cannot save those who do not listen to His word. The reason why we have power among us is because we hear God's word and believe it, and after believing, we act on it.

Every time I do healing and deliverance, I always find many people being controlled by aquatic animals. However, in this passage, God made the fish in the water die of thirst. When we pray and invite the fire of the Holy Spirit to descend, the evil spirits manifest themselves, and people will feel very thirsty. But do not give them water to drink, for the evil spirits in their bodies will die of thirst. After the deliverance, the person will no longer feel thirsty.

So, what lesson should we learn from the Israelites' rebellion? Learn the lesson of not listening to God's word. This lesson is not for others, but for God's chosen people. If you and I are chosen by God, I tell you that God's election also carries a key indicator, which is whether you listen to God's word. Those who do not listen to God's word and despise it will all fall in the wilderness.

Imitate the Faith of God's Servants

The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. (Isaiah 50:4)

When a person hears God's word, he should dare to speak it out, which refers to the tongue of the learned. In our prayers, we should often declare that we are healed by the stripes of the Lord Jesus! But many people do not believe it, and they dare not declare it because they are not taught. If they are taught, they will dare to declare it, and then I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. If a person does not have the word of God, it is a very deadly thing.

So today, brothers and sisters, receive the word of God and help those who are weary. What is most lacking in this era is the word of God. When the word of God is released, people's faith is built up. Faith comes from hearing the word of God, not from your self-confidence, but from believing in God's word. Many people's faith is quickly built up when they come among us because I speak the word of God. I cannot do what God knows, but God can do it, and God can do it through my hands. So, I am a learned person and then declare the word of God. I never diminish the power of God's word, nor do I ever diminish the mighty arm of God, so I am able to help those who are weary.

What does the Bible say? He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. What does this sentence mean? It means that the Lord reminds our ears every morning so that we can hear like the learned. You know, listening to God's word is a difficult thing because the words God speaks sound very unreasonable, but we still have to believe it. It is really too difficult.

For example, some people have a hard time finding a job, and some people's finances are on the verge of collapse. Then you say: God will turn your finances around. But looking at that environment, it doesn't look like it at all, but God can still reign. None of our persecuted sisters have lost a single hair, and none of them have declined to the point of begging for food.

So today, we must remind ourselves every day to receive the teachings of God's word, otherwise we will quickly enter into a human logical system. We are born with a human logical system. Actually, I am an intellectual. I used to work in a university, and I accidentally entered into speculation. When I went to prepare the manuscript again, I was quite painful.

Some time ago, Sister GX said a sentence: If you do not listen to God's word for two days, you will quickly enter the original state. In fact, the human logical system is very infectious, so God needs to remind our ears every day so that we can always receive God's teachings, not human teachings. When we receive God's logical system, it does not conform to the human logical system, and we will be persecuted and it will be very hard, just like this passage:

The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. (Isaiah 50:5)

Many people come among us, and many problems can be solved. Why is this? Because we listen to God's word and choose to believe it, because God's word gives people hope. But human words cannot give people hope, and the result is contradiction.

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6)

When we have a teachable heart, we will suffer persecution, but you must know that when you suffer persecution, it is definitely not a dead end. For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. (Isaiah 50:7) Therefore, you must have faith, you must believe, and stand firm, knowing that you will not be ashamed.

I have a personality in me, which is to stand firm. I don't know how to go the way ahead? But I know that the Lord God will help me, and I will not be ashamed. So, he that justifies me is near. If we do such a person, God will stand by your side, and God will stand by your side, and then you will see:

He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up. (Isaiah 50:8-9)

You will find that those who carry the logic of the world, their clothes are aging and eaten by moths, but we are those who are constantly renewed in the word of God. So today, brothers and sisters, you must know that those who oppose us and argue with us are all okay, but no one can condemn us, because the Lord God helps us.

Those Who Do Not Listen to God's Servant's Words Will Lie in Misery

Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow. (Isaiah 50:10-11)

Today, we must know to fear God and listen to the words of God's servants. Do not be in darkness, for miserable days will come to those who do not obey God's word and do not fear God.

Imitate Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Jesus, Paul

Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. (Isaiah 51:1-3)

We need to think about many things. Today in this era, Jesus has ascended to heaven for two thousand years. Today, we must think about what Jesus did in the world back then.

Brothers and sisters, often think about these things, and you will know how to obey God's word. Imitate Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Jesus, and Paul. These are what we should think about. When you listen to God's word, the desolate situation will be comforted.

From 2011 to 2015, the church was extremely desolate. I served hard, and as a result, everyone in the church opposed me. Some people who cannot be bosses, the people below will go against him; those who can be bosses, the boss does not do it, and the people below follow. Those who can be pastors, the pastor and the people below do it together; those who cannot be pastors, the pastor does it alone, and the people below go against him. I served hard, and it was very desolate at that time, but I continued to listen to God's word, and God gave me the vision of a glorious church. Until today, desolation can be comforted, the wilderness can be like the Garden of Eden, and the desert will become a garden, and we will be joyful. But we must choose to listen to God's word, and God's promises will surely come to pass.

God's Word is the Light of All Nations, and God's Righteousness and Salvation Endure Forever

But my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. (Isaiah 51:6, 8)

You must believe in God's word. God's word says so, and we believe it so. God's salvation and God's righteousness are forever and will never be abolished. Do not be afraid of people's insults, and do not be alarmed, because God will keep us. Today, our brothers and sisters must know that God's righteousness has come, and God's salvation has been accomplished. We live in today's generation, we must know for sure that righteousness is the lesson of faith.

We will definitely encounter these things. If you encounter these things, you are blessed. So Jesus said when teaching his disciples: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10). If you are incompatible with the people of the world, then you have believed in the Lord correctly; if you are good friends with the people of the world, and you agree with what they agree with, then you have believed wrongly. We must know that if people insult you and persecute you for the sake of the kingdom of God, then you are blessed, because the kingdom of God is yours.

God's Mighty Arm Will Be Revealed

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. (Isaiah 51:9-11)

Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. (Isaiah 51:17)

Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. (Isaiah 52:1)

What is Rahab? It is the devil. The great fish is also the devil, which is the sea monster, which is actually the snake, which is the dragon. To strike the devil is to rise up and strike the dark forces of the devil. Today, if you ask me why our church sees the manifestation of God's mighty arm? It is because we listen to God's word and then do it, then God will manifest himself among us, and we will be comforted, and we will no longer be afraid.

God’s Power Will Be Manifested

“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor?” (Isaiah 51:12-13)

Those in the world will incur God's wrath, but our God will comfort us and manifest His fury on those who oppress us. Today, brothers and sisters, let us not be afraid or fearful any longer. God has begun to reveal Himself, calling us His people.

“I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand—I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, 'You are my people.'” (Isaiah 51:15)

Today, God says we are His people. Why? Because we have heeded His words. Do not assume that just because a place has a Christian church sign, it is a Christian church. Having a sign does not necessarily make it a Christian church. Only those who hear God's word and act on it are God's church. If you hear God's word but do not act on it, that is where God will manifest His anger. We must all understand that we are called His people when we listen to Him; how can we be called His people if we do not listen to Him?

There is a very strange phenomenon. A brother in his church served very actively, ranking second in terms of active service. The first was a sister who was also very active, but she became seriously ill and eventually left. Then this brother became the leader in service in the church. But after that, he also became seriously ill with a stomach hemorrhage. Sister H, who is among us, was third in line at the time, and now it was her turn to be the leader. But this sister thought, If I continue to believe in the Lord with you in this way, it will be my turn to get sick next. So she came to us and later became our district pastor leader.

God will manifest His mighty arm. We see miracles as commonplace among us. Someone challenged me, Look, they are quite famous, and all the churches accept and agree with them! Actually, when I thought about it, it was hard to say, and I did not want to be against them. I said that in the time of Jesus, the high priest who crucified Jesus was also widely accepted. But that does not matter. Listen to God's word, and God Himself will testify for you. If God Himself testifies for you, then thank God, it means you are someone who listens to God's word. If you testify for yourself, that is useless.

Awake, awake, Zion! Clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city! The uncircumcised and defiled will enter you no more. Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive. For this is what the LORD says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.” (Isaiah 51:17-23)

When people listen to God's word, even if they are still persecuted, they are not afraid, and God comforts us, manifesting His mighty arm. Jerusalem will rise up; Jerusalem represents the church. This passage describes a church beginning to turn around. God will inflict the humiliations we have suffered on those who mistreat us; behind them is the dark power of the devil.

God will hand this cup to those who mistreat you. Thank God, God is doing the work of reversal among us, calling us His people, and removing from us the desolation, destruction, famine, and war that we have experienced, so that we can begin to turn around.

Arise and Build a Glorious Church

Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city! The uncircumcised and defiled will enter you no more. Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive.(Isaiah 52:1-2)

The church begins to put on beautiful garments, begins to manifest God's glory, and then puts on God's power. The church goes from desolation to revival. And from now on, the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter among you. These words speak of the most important basic principle in building a church: we cannot tolerate the breeding of foul things in the church.

Today, we must have a concept that our God is Jesus Christ! After Jesus Christ rose and ascended to heaven, He said that the church is His body and Jesus is the head of the church. That is to say, we are the body of Jesus Christ, and we cannot tolerate dirty and filthy things remaining in the church.

When you come to our church, you first come as a visitor, and then you reach the stage of being a disciple, and only then are you a member of the church. Only disciples are, believers are not necessarily. Believers are at best just believers. What Jesus wants are disciples. If you read the New Testament carefully, go out to all nations to preach my gospel, making them my disciples. What is a disciple? A disciple is someone who takes up the cross and follows Jesus closely, someone who is willing to pay the price.

That is to say, only those who can dedicate their lives to Jesus can be called disciples; others are at best just believers. Today, the reason we are pushing everyone to serve is because that is a manifestation of being a disciple. Then you will find that God wants to break the chains on your neck. When you come among us, you must all be set free.

“Therefore my people will know my name; in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.”(Isaiah 52:6) This is God's word, God's promise. Our church believes in God's word and God's promise, and then God's word begins to be manifested among us, and on that day, we will know that it is God's promise.

If you ask me how to know God, Paul said, My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5) Only through God's power can one truly know God. If you preach a gospel without God's power, that is not called knowing God. Knowing God must mean knowing that this gospel is the power of God.

Therefore my people will know my name, the spiritual world is full of power. We must begin to be strong, continue to hold fast to God's word, continue to listen to God's word, ask God to open our ears every day, and then we must hold fast to God's word and begin to see the glory that God manifests in the church.

Compromise Is Not the Answer

Once, when I was attending a pastors' meeting, a pastor was on stage telling his tragic experiences. He was sued in court by the brothers and sisters in his church. This man suffered from depression and was sued in court. He went through several years, starting in 2007, until recently when he came out of it. When I was listening backstage, I was not listening to his tragic story. I began to earnestly seek, God, what exactly happened that made this happen to this person?

Later, I told myself that I would never build a church through compromise. Whether you are a pastoral district leader or a small group leader in the church, you must learn to be strong and courageous and insist on building God's glorious church. Then those who are uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter among us. And those who are willing to receive God's word, willing to become disciples of Jesus Christ, and truly seek the Lord God can all come.

Today, brothers and sisters, we must begin to come out of this attitude of compromise. There are also some people who tell me that our church owes those who have left the church. I also thank God that those who said these words have also left. Do I owe them? I never owe anyone; I do not owe the person who said these words. When he was sick and dying, we desperately prayed for him day and night, regardless of the time. Whenever he came, we would pray for him, and it was always long-term prayer, because his illness was truly life-threatening.

But what did he say after he got better? He said we owed those who left the church. Today, I tell everyone that I have never owed anyone. If you are willing to bear the same destiny and remain in the church, I will never drive you out. But if you do not have the same destiny in the church, what are you going to do?

My pastor told me that to build a church is like boarding a plane. Everyone flying to the same destination is on this plane; those who are not flying to this destination, if you want to jump off the plane halfway, once you get on, you cannot get off. Building a church requires the same destiny and the same vision. We cannot build a church like taking a bus, where you can get on and off at will.

Today, our church must continue to be purified. District pastors, clean out those who do not respond to anything, do not speak, and do not know what they are here for, those who are playing as lurkers in your districts. Those who are uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter among us. Why do some church pastors suffer from depression? Because those who come among them with the power of darkness, of course they will suffer from depression.

Among the pastors I know, many suffer from depression. If pastors suffer from depression, how can they release those who suffer from depression! Today, brothers and sisters, we must begin to learn to be strong; you must believe in God's word. Do you know what I say? Small group leaders cannot shepherd, hand them over to the district pastors; district pastors cannot shepherd, hand them over to me; if I cannot shepherd, I hand them over to God. If I cannot shepherd, God can shepherd. Even if I am wrong, God will not be wrong! If he is God's people, God will definitely give him a proper arrangement, not us giving him a proper arrangement. Have faith in God.

Proclaiming the Pure Gospel: God Reigns

Today, God reigns among us! If God truly reigns, can those who come among us be released? Today, I challenge many people. If a brother or sister is severely oppressed by the devil, when he meets Jesus, can Jesus release him? He will definitely release him. Today, we must know for sure that God reigns among us, and Jesus Christ continues to do such things among us, using you and me as vessels. It is not because we can do it, but because God can do it.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”(Isaiah 52:7)

Begin to ascend the mountain of the Lord; how beautiful are the feet of those who do so. When you and I ascend the mountain of the Lord, we will experience wonderful experiences. It is too wonderful. We never dared to imagine that our church would be as prosperous as it is today, but what God has done far exceeds what we can imagine.

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy, when the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.(Isaiah 52:8-10)

Ascend the Mountain of the Lord and Enter the Temple of the God of Jacob

When we are waiting on the mountain of the Lord, God's arm will be greatly manifested. On the top of the Lord's holy mountain, we will enter the Father's garden of love. When we reach the Father's garden of love, God will lay bare His holy arm in the sight of all nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. The book describes that the glory that is displayed can be seen from very far away, and then the proclamation that God's people are coming out begins.

Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the LORD’s house. But you will not leave in haste or go away in flight; for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.(Isaiah 52:11-12)

This is God's promise. We are priests of the Lord God, we are a royal priesthood, a holy nation. Today, brothers and sisters, begin to come out of the world, and then the Lord God will lead us like He led the Israelites out of Egypt, with a pillar of cloud in front and a pillar of fire behind, and those who hear and see God's glory will pour in.

Today, we must know for sure what kind of situation is before us. People far away at the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God because of our preaching. We are a church that preaches the gospel, we do not preach the gospel of poverty, but the gospel of abundance. Because our Lord Jesus once said, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. We must boldly believe and boldly declare that our God is a wonderful God, and the gospel He preaches is good news, peace, good tidings, and salvation.

Some say the gospel is about carrying the cross, but in fact, carrying the cross is also about leading you to the abundant path and dealing with the passions and desires of the flesh. We must nail these passions and desires of the flesh to the cross so that we can enter into that abundant promise. Our God will lead us in front and keep us behind.

Hear God's Word and Build God's Glorious Church

The entire New Testament is about building the church. If you do not believe it, I will tell you: in Revelation, the old John wrote to seven churches, not to you or me as individual people. If there is anything individual, it should be words of criticism. Today, brothers and sisters must know that the church is the body of Jesus Christ, and our destiny is to build God's glorious church, to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, to release the captives, to release the oppressed, so that the mighty arm of God can be manifested because we hear God's word, to perform salvation and build a glorious church.

A glorious church is built in this way, through hearing God's word. As Matthew 7:24 says, the one who hears God's word and does it is a wise man.