【Original Audio Bible Study Recording - Mandarin Version - Theme: On the Path to Inheriting the Land, God Will Honor the Leaders He Has Appointed - Shared on June 26, 2019】

Introduction

After reading Chapter 3 of the Book of Joshua, I would like to give this chapter the following title: On the path to inheriting the land, God will honor the leaders He has appointed. Why set such a topic? In the process of building the church in the past, we have been constantly dealing with a very evil thing called individual cultivation, which requires a lot of effort to deal with.

Constantly Dealing with Individual Cultivation

In Chapter 3 of the Book of Joshua, you will find that there is a very magical thing here. It is not that today someone wants to cross the Jordan River, and the water of the Jordan River opens, and this person slips away. Tomorrow another person comes to cross the Jordan River, and the water opens again, and this person slips away again. There is no such thing. Because it is not a matter of individual cultivation.

Why does the church lose its power? Because many of the things that today's church promotes are concepts of personal cultivation. Facing such an environment, we are constantly and very hard to deal with this kind of individual cultivation, because this way of believing in the Lord is ineffective.

So our brothers and sisters begin to listen carefully to my investigation, why does the Book of Joshua say so? There is a reason for it, because on the path to inheriting the land, God will honor the leaders he has appointed. We must understand God's will. God's will has never been to build a group of people who practice alone. The army of Jehovah came out of Egypt, and what God wants to build is a strong army.

The church should become the army of Jehovah God. Why is it called Jehovah God? The Bible calls it Jehovah God, so we call it Jehovah God. Then you say: Didn't there be Jesus later? Jesus is the son of Jehovah God, do they all have the same last name? Don't you think this statement is strange? We have to separate God. What God reveals to us is that God became flesh and came into the world, that is, the image of Jesus Christ.

God Accomplishes His Plan Through Leaders and Teams

This chapter of the story is very interesting. I will read it to you and you will know:

Joshua rose early in the morning, and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. So it was, after three days that the officers went through the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and the ark, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before. (Joshua 3:1-6)

This matter is very interesting, why? Because the officers of Israel went through the camp and ordered the people, why didn't the people of Israel whisper to each other? In fact, the people of Israel were whispering to each other. Wouldn't it be better if you said yours and I said mine? No, God's army is an army with clear levels.

Here it says, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before. So what did Joshua say? Joshua commanded the people, saying, Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people. So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. As a result, on the 7th day, the Lord said to Joshua:

This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant to stand in the Jordan. Now Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come here, hear the words of the Lord your God. And Joshua said, By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore, take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap. (Joshua 3:7-13)

There is a very interesting thing. Many years ago, a group of very faithful Christians happened to encounter a big flood in this place, which was very ferocious. Those Christians said: We will walk over by faith. Later, their bodies were found in the lower reaches of the river, more than ten kilometers away. So what kind of road did they take? Weren't these Christians following the words of the Bible? Didn't they also have faith? So what was wrong with their faith?

Brothers and sisters, you need to know that God's will in the New Testament is to establish His church. The church is God's army, fighting spiritual battles. All the things done, including crossing the Jordan River, are to complete God's plan for the Israelites through leaders and teams. What are those Christians going to do when they cross the flooded river? They just want to get convenience. We must come out of such a mystery of faith.

There are many cases of applying faith to the wrong place. Why are there not as many miracles in the church today as there used to be? You may see Joshua say that the Lord will do wonders among you. Joshua's faith, the leader's faith, is to fulfill God's will, and God's will is God's plan.

What do those Christians want to accomplish by crossing the flooded river? Then you say no, Peter also walked on the water, isn't that also practicing faith? That is practicing faith, but Peter is a man of Mingding Destiny, Peter gave up everything to follow Jesus, to fulfill the will of Jesus Christ.

Restore the View of the Church

Restoring the view of the church is very important. Without the view of the church, nothing can be done. There are many miracles among us. The pastor prays for you and you will get well soon, but it is not good to pray for yourself. In our church, I have never shied away from praying for others, because serving and pastoring them is what we should do.

Among us, the leader, your pastor, prays for you, and the effect is immediately different. And we rarely have such an exhortation to say: You must pray well. We never build things on one's own healing and deliverance. When have you seen people do deliverance for themselves? Is there such a thing? There may be occasionally a few times, but I can say that basically the leaders lead the pastored sheep to pray, and clearly see the presence of God, and clearly see the effect of healing and deliverance.

It is the same faith, so why is it like this? Because God lives in our relationship, God lives in the church. The church is a pastoring relationship established by brothers and sisters. It is not that everyone eats, drinks, and has fun. You treat me to a meal, and I treat you to a meal, and then everyone has a relationship. This kind of relationship is a relationship of eating, drinking, and having fun, and has nothing to do with God's church.

Brothers and sisters, you must know for sure that these leaders pray for you, and it is very effective, just like Joshua declared that the water of the Jordan River would be completely cut off and stand as a heap. When Joshua declared this, God honored Joshua in the eyes of the Israelites, so that the people of Israel knew that God was with Moses, and so was with Joshua. When we read this sentence, we must know for sure that God actually values leaders at every level. When you are pastoring the sheep, God is absolutely with you. So as a leader, you must be able to solve one thing, which is to pass on faith.

Faith Can Accomplish the Future

How did Joshua know that the water would be cut off and stand as a heap? How could he know? Because of faith! You say that's not the case, it's what God told him. He believed what God told him. If God told him and he didn't believe it, he wouldn't dare to declare it. If a leader has no faith, it is difficult to continue, and it is difficult to be a leader without faith, because what you declare is all future things.

For example, God said to Joshua, tell the people of Israel that the water will be cut off. If Joshua had no faith in his heart, he would think, if I tell the people of Israel and the water is not cut off in the end, where will my face go? This is called unbelief. So we must begin to know that the most important thing for a leader is faith.

This section describes Joshua's faith and his team, and speaks of the leader's faith and the faith of the entire Israel. You will be surprised to find one thing, that is, no one in the entire Israel doubted, from the women and children in the Israel camp to Joshua, no one did not believe.

The road we are taking today is a road of faith. If we do things we are familiar with all day long, then you don't need faith. But today the Israelites are going to cross the Jordan River. When they come to the Jordan River, they can't see where the boat is. The Israelites didn't ask this, because they know that the God we believe in will surely perform miracles before us.

Why pass on faith? As a leader, you must have faith, Joshua must have faith, and the people of Israel must have faith. Signs and wonders will accompany those who believe. Believe that God has a wonderful plan for us, which is the plan to enter and inherit the land.

God's Will Is to Honor the Leaders He Has Appointed

Why can we clearly see the presence of God among us? Because from the beginning of building the church, we have been pursuing God's will. Brothers and sisters must know that God's will is to honor the leaders He has appointed. This is what God himself said,

On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life. And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan. (Joshua 3:7-8)

Did God say that the water should be separated? No. Joshua's words later were spoken by his inner faith. He said that all things should be united in Jesus Christ, and Joshua knew that it was God's will. Are there still people among us who are continuing to run forward on the road of personal cultivation? If you are still cultivating personally, and you feel that I want to be close to God, I am God's bride, I want to prepare something, if you still have such thoughts, then you have to change them.

Whether in the New Testament or the Old Testament, all things must be united in Jesus Christ, that is, through the body of Jesus Christ, that is, through His church. Jesus Christ is the head of the church, and the church is the body of Jesus Christ, which is a complete and united relationship. That is, in God's great plan of salvation, we must know the truth that God has revealed. This is a team's faith, and it is a matter of church view.

Many church pastors lack a church view, and church leaders lack a church view. How can a team without a church view and a pastor without a church view see the presence of God? Why are our requirements for brothers and sisters so strict? Because this is the army of the living God, and we must be a team to fight spiritual battles. Joshua had such faith in him, so he dared to say so.

and it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap. (Joshua 3:13)

In the previous verses 7 and 8, Jehovah God did not say so. He said: When you come to the edge of the water of the Jordan River, you must stand in the water of the Jordan River. So what's left? What's left is that we must know the will of God fully in our understanding.

Do you know? The kind of employee I hate the most is the kind who does whatever you tell him to do. As long as you don't tell him to do anything, he doesn't do anything. That is a kind of blind dogma. He doesn't do things that are not explained. If I describe all the details clearly, then what do I need you to do? I might as well do it myself, right?

Brothers and sisters, you must learn to become children of God. If you are a slave, you must describe everything clearly to you before you can carry out the task. This is called a junior worker, a very low-end worker. But once you become a friend of God, you will understand what God's will is. When you are promoted from a friend to a son of God, you will fully understand God's will. Whatever you say, God will accomplish according to what you say. The relationship is very solid.

Once, a sister came into my office and said: I want to find a job recently. I said: How much is your salary now? She said: More than 2,000. I said: Find a job with a salary of 3,500. As a result, she found it as soon as she looked for it. It is difficult to increase from more than 2,000 to 3,500. Later, another person came, and like the previous person, the original salary was more than 2,000, and also found a job with a salary of 3,500.

I declare this, and God accomplishes according to what I say, why? Because God wants to honor the leaders He has appointed. God did not give me revelation, I said it by faith. Why does God want to honor me and exalt me in front of my brothers and sisters? Because that is God's will, God knows that I am determined to build God's glorious church, and the church view is very important.

Another time, when a sister prayed with me, I knew that she was very poor, desperately poor, and I was very anxious in my heart. I said: I prophesy that you will experience a great turnaround in your finances. I encourage the brothers and sisters who are leaders among us, don't be stingy, be bold to say it. If you are a leader who builds God's glorious church, God will surely let you be honored in front of the sheep you pastor. But you must be a person of faith. As a result, a company hired her in a few days, and the salary continued to rise, the financial problems were immediately solved, and the life was greatly improved.

As Leaders, We Must Learn to Impart Faith, Vision, and Dreams

Therefore, I believe that as leaders of the people of Israel, we must learn to speak out and declare the faith within us, and then pass this faith on to others, just as Joshua said:

“And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.” (Joshua 3:13)

No one had ever seen such a thing, but Joshua was able to stand there and begin to declare to the people of Israel, and the things he declared came to pass. When I lead healing and deliverance sessions, I often declare the same thing, telling the person that they will be well soon. I am constantly imparting faith.

Building up people's faith is a remarkable thing. If you are a leader, you must learn to impart faith, impart vision, and impart dreams. These visions and dreams are visions and dreams from God. We dare not disobey the vision from heaven, which is to build up the body of Jesus Christ and establish God's glorious church. That is a vision from heaven, and we still dare not disobey it today.

So you are blessed to be among us, because God is clearly manifesting the honour He has bestowed upon us. We must begin to deal with those erroneous theologies that emphasize God's sovereignty to the point where people become mere puppets. But puppets are useless; it is faith that is useful.

We who are leaders must possess faith, impart faith, and impart vision. God is not emphasizing His sovereignty here, but rather looking to see if there are leaders who understand His will. If you understand God's will and act according to His will, then as God was with Moses, as God was with Joshua, as God was with Jesus Christ, as God was with Paul, so too will God be with you and me. Because we understand God's will.

Joshua wrote so clearly that as long as we begin to declare with faith, God will surely accomplish what we declare. The result was:

And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. (Joshua 3:14-17)

To enter and possess the land, we must be people of faith. What we receive is not what we received in the past, but the original gospel of God. If God is with us, what do we fear? Today, let us learn to be strong and courageous like Joshua, do not be dismayed, and do not be afraid! For we are completing the Mingding Destiny in our lives, and we are completing God's good will in us, which is to build a victorious church.

To have such a great Mingding Destiny of building a glorious church of God

Brothers and sisters, if you do not understand God's will and only engage in personal cultivation, you will not be able to see God's presence, nor will you be able to see how God makes you great in the eyes of all Israel. We who are leaders must begin to gradually understand God's will, and in any case, begin to learn to see how God honours your leadership.

Among us, leaders pray for those they serve, and the results are very good. Why is it that when you pray for yourself, it doesn't work, but when your leader leads in prayer, it does? Because this is God's will, because God wants to build His church, and that is teamwork.

We must know for sure that Joshua and Moses were people who were with God. We must know that we live in this world to fulfill God's plan, not our own. Do you have God's Mingding Destiny on you, or are you living only for your own little matters? Ask yourself, are you willing to live for God, or are you willing to live for yourself? If you live for God, God will cause you to be honoured and magnified in the presence of those you shepherd.

We must remove many misconceptions about faith. Why was God with Joshua? Why did Joshua declare that the Jordan River would stand up in a heap and the waters flowing downstream would be completely cut off? Because Joshua understood God's will. Is our faith built on our personal path, or is it built on pursuing a heavenly path with a Mingding Destiny? Moses fulfilled God's plan, Joshua fulfilled God's plan, but what about you? If we are carrying such a great and glorious Mingding Destiny of building God's glorious church, signs and wonders will surely follow you.

The Bible says that signs and wonders will accompany those who believe. Believe in what? Believe in God's word, understand God's will, not believe in our own pursuit of small goals. Why do many churches lack power? What is lacking is leaders with faith, what is lacking is the unity of the church. Our church has come to where it is today because we have seen God's will and have been constantly exploring and pursuing it in God's will. God is clearly with us.

All those who crossed the Jordan River had a faith in God in their hearts that was unprecedented and unparalleled. We see what God has accomplished among us, can you summarise it in one sentence, that on the road to possessing the land, God will surely honour the leaders He has appointed. If you can summarise it, you will know that obedience is blessed!

The faith of the Israelites came from obedience, and after more than thirty years of training in the wilderness, they began to become a people of faith. There was no complaining, no negativity, because they trusted in God, and they completely crossed the Jordan River, right across from the city of Jericho. The people of Jericho saw the Israelites crossing the Jordan River, and they thought, how many boats would it take for 3 million people to cross the Jordan River? They had no boats, but they crossed the river as if walking on dry ground. The people of Jericho said: Who can stand before such a people? Their hearts melted.

Rahab, who was mentioned in the previous chapter, looked down from the city of Jericho and saw the Israelites crossing the Jordan River as if walking on dry ground. Rahab made the most correct choice in her life, which was to take refuge in the God of Israel. Today, you are among us, seeing what God is doing among us, what kind of choice should you make?

At this time, Joshua overcame the fear within him, overcame his timidity, and then became strong and became a leader of faith. He passed on his faith to the leaders below him, and the officers of Israel went throughout the camp and passed on their faith to the people of Israel, and as a result, the miracle of that generation was accomplished!

Let us be of one heart and mind to build God's glorious church on this earth, and God will manifest His glory among us! May God bless everyone!