Why Moses Wrote Deuteronomy

Moses recorded the entire history of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt in Exodus, Numbers, and Leviticus. He even wrote Genesis in the wilderness. After completing these books, when it was time to hand over leadership to Joshua, near the end of the forty years in the wilderness, he wrote Deuteronomy. What was his purpose?

Essentially, it was to tell the new generation of Israelites that a previous generation had failed to inherit the Promised Land. Today, it is essentially a warning to the new generation: Do not be afraid of battle. The Lord, the God of Israel, will fight before you, enabling you to possess the Promised Land. The Promised Land is not something you conquer on your own, but something God conquers for you as you are willing to fight.

Today, we must understand that Moses's thoughts were a bit complex. How could the Lord God, who brought the Israelites out and nourished them like His own son, allow them to perish? Their thinking was peculiar. Moses wrote Deuteronomy to re-emphasize how the Israelites should diligently observe and obey God's words, so they would not fear battle and could enter and possess the Promised Land.

Do not think that our failure to enter the Promised Land has any impact on God. It has no impact at all. It is not about what God gains, but what we gain. If you fear battle and do not believe that God fights for you, thinking you are fighting on your own, you will certainly not be victorious.

Today, many of our brothers and sisters are in the midst of intense battles. Let us look at Deuteronomy to see whether you are a person who inherits the Promised Land or one who does not. If you are a person who inherits the Promised Land, you must begin not to fear battle, not to fear hardship, not to fear difficulty, and not to believe the devil's lies. The Lord God will fight before you and enable you to possess the Promised Land.

Do Not Fear Battle

When Moses wrote Deuteronomy, even if the Israelites once again abandoned God, refused to enter the Promised Land, and did not believe in God, and another group of Israelites died in the wilderness, God would not care. This can be confirmed by later scriptures. God demolished His own built temple, the temple built by Solomon, so that not one stone was left upon another. Do you think God cares about these things? God does not care about these things. Everyone must begin to cultivate the idea that our God really does not care too much whether one generation enters or not. Why did that generation not enter? It was because they were afraid of battle.

Fighting is definitely not comfortable, but if fighting is not a comfortable thing, would you be afraid if you had to fight? In fact, fighting is very difficult. Even if the Israelites entered battle with God fighting before them, it was still quite brutal. Sometimes they could not sleep all day and night, could not take off their clothes, could not change their clothes, and had no opportunity to wash or shower. They could do nothing. It was a very difficult battle.

Today, our battle with the devil is not easy either, and it requires paying a heavy price. Brothers and sisters, do you know how much God desires that we be like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, and that we obtain the promises given to them? That is why, through Deuteronomy, written by Moses, it is mentioned again and again, If you diligently observe and obey my words, which becomes a key theme of Deuteronomy: If you diligently observe and obey God's words, you will be blessed. If you do not diligently observe and obey, you will directly enter into a curse. So, brothers and sisters, do not think that what you think in your head is correct.

Why can the spirit of the dragon control our brothers and sisters? It is because the thoughts in your head have similarities with the spirit of the dragon. The lies it releases are very similar to the concepts within you, so the spirit of the dragon can easily control you. You must rise up and fight. Although it is difficult, you will surely receive the Promised Land. Claiming God's promises is the main theme of the Bible.

Do Not Live a Small Life; Live a Life with God's Presence

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

Today, a sister sent me a message, saying that her colleagues really like to live a small life, and she herself also likes to live a small life. Later, I severely criticized her. She later wrote to tell me that she was very grateful to me, and my criticism woke her up from this state of living a small life. Today, she saw that her Filipino colleagues who really like to live a small life have contracted many cancers, such as brain cancer and lung cancer.

Today, you must know that there is no good life outside of God's promises. Do not think that a small life is a good life. No, a life with God's presence is a good life. I want to bring everyone to God's Promised Land. We must diligently observe and obey God's words if we want to claim God's promises. This is the key.

What lesson did the Israelites learn in the wilderness for 40 years? They ate the same food for 40 years. When I was young, I ate corn buns for more than ten years. Today, they say it is delicious, but I will never want to eat corn buns again in my life. That stuff is too unappetizing. The same food, the Israelites ate for 40 years in the wilderness. How could that be comfortable? Although they had enough to eat, water to drink, grace, and their clothes and shoes did not wear out, that was definitely not the Promised Land. That was the wilderness road.

Today, you must know that how long we stay on the wilderness road determines one thing: whether you are willing to fight. The spiritual assets that our church passes on come from this. Without fighting and overcoming, you will not obtain the promise, but fighting is indeed difficult. Will it affect your small life? Absolutely. But there is no other better choice. If you do not want to struggle, then live a wilderness life. Either enter the Promised Land or stay in the wilderness.

The Bible is God's Word, God's Covenant

Since you have come out of Egypt, the Lord's mighty arm has led you out of Egypt, turning you from a slave into a free man. Today, you have become a free man, but whether you can enter the Promised Land depends on your destiny. Your destiny is your faith in God. God is eager for you to enter the Promised Land, but you will not obtain it if you are unwilling to fight. Therefore, claiming God's promises is the main theme of the Bible. Isaac is the son of promise. Salvation is God's promise to us. The Bible is God's word, God's covenant, and God's promise.

Today, you come to church and receive God's grace, not because you believe in the Lord well. Tonight, I will treat my sister to dinner, and my mother will think that my sister believes in the Lord well. I tell you, that is not really good. She used to have depression, was healed. She had diabetes, was healed and does not need to take insulin. Now she does not need to take sleeping pills, and she soaks in the church every day, but I tell you, that is merely receiving grace.

The Israelites did come out of Egypt, did experience God's mighty arm, and did receive grace, but what does that explain? That is not God's ultimate purpose. God's purpose is for the Israelites to become a blessing to all nations. Today, you come among us and receive grace because there are a group of people willing to be Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Although it is difficult, they are willing to hold on to their faith and run forward.

Do not think that we have anything to boast about. We are merely persistent in God's word. If we do not persist and do not become the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob of this generation, woe be to us. If you are unwilling to do it, even after receiving grace, you will not enter the Promised Land, but merely stay in the wilderness and die in the wilderness. So, what is God's ultimate purpose? The ultimate purpose is for you and me to become Abraham.

If we carefully look at the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they were not peaceful but were lives of battle, quite difficult. Actually, life in this world is never easy, but everyone must know that in this world you will have trouble, but in Jesus Christ you will have peace. No matter how much fighting is outside, there is God's promise inside.

Moses wrote Deuteronomy to warn the people of that era and us of this day to enter the Promised Land and obtain the promise. If you do not obtain the promise, you will be like the Israelites who died in the wilderness. Do you want to be the Israelites who died in the wilderness, or those Israelites who entered the Promised Land? All those in that generation who were sensible and should have entered the Promised Land ended up dying in the wilderness.

So, brothers and sisters, you must know that God reigns in this generation. What God says is what He does. If you walk the path of Jacob and Joseph, you will surely enter and obtain the Promised Land. If you walk the path of Joshua or Caleb, single-mindedly following God, without being double-minded, you will surely obtain the Promised Land, and obtain a double portion.

Today, we must learn a lesson from the Israelites: do not think that eating a little manna means that your spiritual life is good. That is far from it. The sun shines on both good and bad people. God gives grace to the wicked in this world, let alone the Israelites who came out of Egypt! But that is not God's good intention. God's plan is to bring us to the Promised Land. But these people did not dare to fight and fell in the wilderness. They were a group of people whom God detested. Do you want to be the one whom God detests, or the one whom God delights in?

Why This Generation of Israelites Could Not Enter the Promised Land

This is a tragedy in God's entire plan. They were about to reach the edge of the Promised Land, but then a few people returned with bad news, and most of the Israelites believed those negative declarations and died in the wilderness. Forty years of nothing. It was really miserable. Not only were they miserable, but Joshua, Caleb, and Moses were also miserable with them.

I will tell you why the Israelites could not enter the Promised Land: because they only cared about themselves and were very selfish. Do you know who has a bad life? People who are involved in lawsuits have a bad life. Why are they involved in lawsuits? Because there are many conflicts in people's interactions, people will live very tired. You know, a blessed person does not have these things. These things cannot create any value but can only produce many, many troubles. Therefore, people only looking out for themselves, being selfish, is the key to generating many problems.

Judgment is a spiritual matter. When their core interests are harmed, those who only care about themselves will not stand for it. Can those who only care about themselves fight? If a person only cares about himself, then this army cannot win battles. So, brothers and sisters, if you only want to live well, you are finished. You will definitely not enter the Promised Land.

Without Mingding Destiny, It Is Impossible to Enter the Promised Land

Living a small life can have very lofty excuses because people's thoughts only care about themselves. This mentality can package this thing very beautifully. For example, for the sake of God, I must take good care of my family. If I cannot manage my own family well, how can I manage God's family? Sounds very reasonable, right? Only caring about oneself and selfishness are packaged very well.

But no matter how people package it, God is the God who examines people's hearts. If people only care about themselves and have no Mingding Destiny, it is impossible to enter the Promised Land. As soon as they see a battle, they immediately think of the suffering they will endure. So, from Judges to Samuel, and all the way to later generations, you see that those selfish people brought the nation of Israel to extreme poverty, and the surrounding nations constantly bullied them.

Can you imagine? A person sees how God used His mighty arm to save them in the land of Egypt, how He led them through the Red Sea, and how He led them to overcome all kinds of difficulties. They were only one step away from the Promised Land, and then they began to disbelieve again, and began to doubt whether God would send them to the Promised Land to perish, to be killed there by others.

Seeing so many miracles, and yet still having no Mingding Destiny, this is a fatal thing. And precisely because of this, Jesus said: Do not rejoice because the demons fear you and submit to you, but rejoice because your names are recorded in heaven. What does that mean? It means that being able to fully claim God's promises is the most important thing. What do you rely on to claim God's promises? You rely on striking the power of the devil and darkness.

Why could that generation not enter the Promised Land? They sent twelve spies. Moses greatly regretted this. Why do I say this? Moses wrote these summaries of the past in Deuteronomy near the end of the forty years. After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, Moses himself also worked hard, and then what?

They all came to Moses and said: Let us send men before us to scout out the land. Then Moses said, The plan seemed good to me. This seemed good to me was a big deal. Moses himself did not enter either. Why? Because when you enter, are you entering based on your own understanding of that place, or are you entering based on God's promise, or based on God's Spirit and God's personal guidance? You do not need to do those things at all. It is actually unnecessary.

Moses never thought that these spies would do something very stupid upon their return. Remember! God is our Dao (道). You do not explore and understand it first, and then know how to claim God's promises. It is definitely not because you understand it thoroughly that you know where the road is, but because of God's personal guidance. Today, brothers and sisters, begin to come out of the idea of first seeing clearly what the road is like.

To Rely Solely on Jehovah

What were these Israelites truly seeking when they went to scout? They wanted to see how to wage war in that particular place. Today, brothers and sisters, you must begin to understand one thing: in this world, never rely on your own intelligence and wisdom. As Proverbs so aptly puts it, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

Today, brothers and sisters, you must begin to realize that you should never rely on your own wisdom in anything. Did the Israelites have scouts when they left Egypt? They had no scouts at all. Their exodus through the wilderness and the Red Sea was guided by God. They followed the pillar of cloud, moving and camping according to His decisions.

Then, suddenly, they thought they were clever enough to go and have a look. Look at what? After seeing, they returned with a bad report, and all those who did died before Moses. Remember, God leads us. If you try to understand the path ahead through your own means, I tell you, you will likely not enter the Promised Land, for that is a deceptive path.

This time, Moses learned his lesson and did not send scouts again. Why? Sending them might bring another forty years of wandering. So today, brothers and sisters, begin to trust God completely. You might say, Pastor, what about Joshua sending two spies? Those spies did not go in to examine the land; they went to save Rahab's family.

Those spies who returned with a bad report undermined the faith of the Israelites, and the Bible records in Numbers that they died of a plague on the spot. Today, brothers and sisters, if you undermine the faith of others, you will surely be undermined yourself. God will ruin those who ruin His church, and those who undermine the faith of the brethren will be ruined by God. Perhaps they will not die on the spot like those ten spies, but their end will not be good either.

Build People's Faith, Report Good News

Today, brothers and sisters, begin to learn not to report bad news, but to build people's faith like Joshua and Caleb. That is a good place, and God will surely lead us in, and He will surely fight for us. The church is now in a state where a fierce battle lies ahead, and many of our brothers and sisters may struggle in this battle.

I have absolute confidence that our brothers and sisters can be delivered. This battle is against the most powerful dark forces in the spiritual realm, the spirit of the dragon. So, brothers and sisters, do not report bad news. If someone often contacts you, and you become troubled afterward, I will give you a simple trick: when they contact you again, you can say, Forget it, I don't have time to chat.

Do you understand? Do not receive these things. Those who report bad news will not die well, and those who receive bad news will not enter the Promised Land. So, brothers and sisters, if you are confused by what people say, why do you still listen? I am very surprised that some among us particularly like to report bad news. In such an era of fierce battle, we need our brothers and sisters to strengthen themselves, to believe in God's guidance.

It does not matter if you cannot believe in Moses, or if you cannot believe in your district pastor, but you can choose to believe that God still reigns among us. If God still reigns among us, then what else is there to say? So, brothers and sisters, do not be confused. Do not be the one who reports bad news, and do not listen to those who report bad news, because they will ruin your faith and allow the devil to destroy you in the wilderness while fighting with you.

Do Not Fear Man, Fear God

They feared the enemy but did not fear God. This is a very strange phenomenon. It is a perplexing question: many people fear disease, customers, bosses, colleagues, but they do not fear God. What kind of mind is this? The Bible tells us, Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Today, brothers and sisters, you must know that it is God who brought us out of Egypt, it is God who brought us into the wilderness, and it is God who will bring us from the wilderness into the Promised Land. But on the way to the Promised Land, corpses lay everywhere. Who killed them? It was not the devil, but God Himself.

If you read the Book of Numbers carefully, wow, ten thousand died; wow, tens of thousands died again. After reading it, I feel that I will tremble because of God's word. So today I am doing the homework of repentance, and sometimes I repent that I do not fear God enough. So today you must know, do not fear anything, just fear God enough. If you only fear God, He will surely bring you into the Promised Land.

Do not listen to those who report bad news, even if the people there are so tall, what does it matter? They are not bigger than God! Even if you are afraid, you should fear God first, right? Because God killed the Israelites batch after batch. The Bible even says, And the time from our leaving Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Valley of Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. For the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the camp until they had all perished (Deuteronomy 2:14-15).

People Must Have a Heart of Reverence for God

Do you want to be someone who is destroyed by God? If you want to be someone who is destroyed by God, no one can stop you. Today I encourage everyone, do not be afraid, start to rise up and enter into the Promised Land, just like Joshua and Caleb. It is not that we are not afraid of these difficulties, and we also know that this path of service is not easy, but we do not need to be afraid.

Brothers and sisters, you must know that we really do not need to be afraid. As long as we fear God, God still reigns in this generation. What else is there to say? Do not wait for God to kill you. They do not fear God, and then they complain about God. They complain when they encounter a little difficulty. This is a very strange group of people, and I cannot believe that there are such people in the world.

In this generation that I serve, I have found that there are many such people in this generation. They complain about God when they encounter a little difficulty. Why doesn't God heal me? Why is God like this? Why is God like that? Can't you have a little bit of faith to continue fighting, just one step away from your victory, and then go in to receive God's promise?

What Prevents People from Entering the Promised Land is the Fear of Death

Many Christians are afraid of death, and I am very surprised why there are so many Christians who are afraid of death. A Christian who is afraid of death, a Christian who is afraid to pay the price, cannot obtain the Promised Land. Today, brothers and sisters, you must wake up again. I know that serving is very hard, and I myself am very hard, but there are no good choices, right?

Today, brothers and sisters, begin to learn to pay the price, even not fearing death. They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. If you do not cherish your life, even if you die, God will surely raise you from the dead, right? This is the reason why the Israelites could not enter the Promised Land, except for two people in that generation, Joshua and Caleb.

Only Those Who Follow God Devotedly Can Enter the Promised Land

Today, brothers and sisters, you must begin to understand one thing: only those who follow God wholeheartedly can enter the Promised Land. You must know that devotion is a very important quality, which is to fix your eyes on God. I do not believe that God cannot accomplish it, I just believe! Believe! Believe! It does not matter if I pay the price, God will surely bring me to the Promised Land. The Promised Land is truly a very beautiful realm.

The reason why Christians are in a passive and beaten state is because they dare not fight, and as a result, they live a miserable life. If you persevere, you can overcome, and after victory, isn't it a vast world? Devotion is a very important quality. It is very important to be devoted in faith. If you are not devoted in faith, it is adultery. God killed these people in the wilderness because they did not follow God wholeheartedly, and their hearts wandered.

In fact, there are many such people among us. Do not have negative thoughts because I said such things. Instead, you should start to say, Yes, I want to be like Joshua and Caleb, a devoted person. Even if the people of that generation are all dead, I will still be Joshua and Caleb. The later result was that Joshua and Caleb not only lived very well and entered the Promised Land, but also inherited a double portion of the land.

Today, brothers and sisters, you must know that those who have not obtained the promise are all people without character, and those who have obtained the promise are all people with character. Jacob was a person with character. At the age of seventy-five, he went to his uncle's house with a cane to graze sheep for his uncle. Was it hard? It was very hard, but for the sake of the Promised Land, for the sake of God's promise, what does it matter to suffer a little? But those who did not obtain the promise also suffered a lot.

Everyone should know that that suffering not only has no glory of God but is also more bitter than the suffering experienced in entering the Promised Land. If you want to be a smart person, be like Joshua and Caleb, and you will surely have a better sense of happiness. There will surely be greater glory, you will surely obtain the Promised Land, and you will surely inherit the land. Because there is only one thing, which is devotion. A devoted person will fear God.

A devoted person is not afraid of death and also knows that he cannot die. Even if a giant is standing in front of you, you cannot die, do you believe it? I have driven out so many demons, if demons were powerful, they would have taken my life long ago! Since they are not powerful, what am I afraid of? I often lose the idols in their homes when serving people. Pastor! Will these things come back to find me? I said, Yes. Oh, then what do I do? I don't know what to do.

Since we can kill it, we will kill it again when it comes back. It's a very simple matter. Because God reigns, and knowing that God is greater than all things is very important. Brothers and sisters, you must know that the demon made you so miserable. You came to the church and we killed the demon. That demon can't do anything to you, so why are you still afraid? God is greater than all things, believe in God's promise, and even if there are difficulties, still believe in God's promise.

Even if there is a fierce battle ahead, still believe in God's promise. Brothers and sisters, do you believe that bullets don't have eyes? I tell you! Bullets have eyes and will definitely not hurt God's people, because God can still make bullets miss you. Brothers and sisters, begin to learn not to be afraid and cultivate the character of following God wholeheartedly. You say, Pastor, I don't have this kind of character!

If you declare negative words, you will not have it. If I don't have it now, then choose to have it! It's really not difficult, it's just a choice. What are the characteristics of Joshua and Caleb? They chose to believe in God. People who choose to believe in God really cannot die. Brothers and sisters, don't think that Joshua and Caleb will die miserably. You must know that those who do not believe do not have God's presence, and they will die miserably.

Those Who Do Not Believe Do Not Have God's Presence

God is not with those who do not believe. You must know that if God is not with them, it is an extremely sad thing. Brothers and sisters, can you understand? If God is not with them, how can they fight when they go to war, right? Isn't that courting death! As a result, they were defeated by Satan.

Do you know why these people went to war again? When they heard God say that they would be in the wilderness for forty years, they suddenly calculated that they still wanted to enter the Promised Land, but they could no longer enter. Because God had already declared His judgment, and then they said no, we want to fight, we are willing to fight according to the command of Jehovah our God. So they each went up with weapons, Jehovah God said to Moses: Do not go, because I am not with them. God was not in their midst, and then they went up and were defeated, and many people died on the spot.

Today, brothers and sisters, you must know that they went to war with an extremely selfish purpose. Brothers and sisters, can you imagine these people? After calculating this and that for forty years, I still think it is better to go to war. It is not okay to go to war, do you understand! You must do according to God's word.

Summary

Do not be unbelievers. All those who do not believe, stubborn and rebellious people, have not obtained good results. How miserable! Be those who believe in God and believe in God's promises. If you believe that you will receive, you will surely receive. Why be an unbeliever? Why are we controlled by this and that today, and have this or that trouble? There are still some things in our minds that are polluted by those who spread bad news.

You simply reject the lies of the devil. It is very simple, just do not agree. Brothers and sisters, begin to remove the wavering in our hearts and begin to choose not to care about our own gains and losses. That is the best protection for winning the battle. If you want to save your own life, then trust God wholeheartedly. The conclusion we have drawn from Moses' words is: never be a Christian who cannot enter the Promised Land.

If you are willing to give everything for God, God will keep everything. If you are willing to give half for God, God will keep half. If you are not willing to give anything for God, God cannot keep anything for you. Choose to be a believer, our God is greater than all things. Today, our brothers and sisters must restore the faith of victory in our hearts. Amen!