Introduction

Let us turn to Joshua, Chapter 4. Chapter 3 already recounts Joshua leading the Israelites across the Jordan River. However, Chapter 4 reiterates this event, focusing on the theme of remembering the works of our God. Throughout Chapter 4, after the Israelites crossed the Jordan, Joshua commanded representatives from each tribe to each take a stone from the riverbed and place it at their lodging place, called Gilgal.

What were these stones for? They served as evidence among the Israelites, so that future generations, upon questioning, would know that the God of Israel led them across the Jordan as if on dry ground. Joshua also erected twelve stones in the Jordan River, where the priests stood.

The narrative continues with Joshua instructing the priests to carry the Ark of the Covenant from the Jordan. As soon as their feet touched dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their course, overflowing its banks. Joshua then reiterated that if their descendants asked their fathers about the meaning of these stones, they should be told that they crossed the Jordan on dry ground because their God had dried up the Jordan River, just as the Lord their God had dried up the Red Sea before them.

He concluded that this was to let all the peoples of the earth know that the Lord their God is powerful, and to instill in them a fear of the Lord their God. This passage tells the story of this event.

Therefore, I share this chapter with you, with the theme: Remembering the Works of Our God.

Remembering God's Grace in Our Lives

Brothers and sisters, whoever you are, if God has worked in your life, whether through healing or other miracles, whether a trivial matter or a momentous event, we must thereafter revere our God.

You will hear many stories from me, and some may question their authenticity, implying that such occurrences are rare. But I assure you, they are all true. If we were to recount all that we have experienced, it would take days! We experience God in this way every day!

I was leading a prayer meeting when a sister shared that a couple from her former church had asked to stay at her home, and she accommodated them with food, drink, and lodging. Fortunately, her life was spared, but she fell ill and developed a painful throat condition, rendering her unable to speak. She only recovered fully after praying with me. My spiritual discernment allowed me to understand what had transpired.

It is crucial to recognise that human memory is fallible. Regardless of your status as a Christian, it is disingenuous to claim that you have never experienced God. But after experiencing God, do you remember the Lord your God?

Our God is powerful, and we must always revere the Lord our God. A characteristic of mine is that I abstain from worldly pleasures. Why? Not because I have not experienced them, but because they are ultimately meaningless. I have cultivated a passion for serving God. I enjoy working and serving Him, engaging in meaningful activities. What meaning can worldly pleasures hold? Would a spiritually enlightened person indulge in such pursuits?

When leading prayers, I shared a passage:

Glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; punished, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:8-10)

This may seem perplexing, but it demonstrates that Paul was truly a spiritual man. He saw through the superficiality of the world and sought only to please God.

I led the brothers and sisters in composing a hymn titled Life Completely Dedicated to God. Our God is almighty, and walking with Him is so wonderful! What meaning can worldly pleasures hold? I truly cannot comprehend it. I am especially perplexed by Christians who indulge in such pastimes.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, heed my advice: if a Christian is fond of worldly pleasures, maintain your distance. I am not suggesting that you engage in identifying good and evil. They too possess the 《Bible》, and they too have experienced God. But have they remembered God? No. They only photograph tourist attractions, writing XXX visited on X year X month X day. This is what they remember. When have they remembered our God?

Speaking from the heart, since I began believing in the Lord, God granted me a small favour: when I could not find a job, He provided one. The boss who hired me was also a Christian, and now he is a good friend.

Three months after I was hired, my boss invited people from various departments to his home for dinner, a company gathering of sorts. He had believed in the Lord for a year longer than I had. He pulled me aside and said, Do you know? Your job is a miracle! I did not realise it was a miracle, but I felt it was wonderful, because I had already received a rejection letter, but then he asked me to interview again, which I found very strange.

To make a long story short, I have never dared to forget this event, because God saved me in my destitution. My boss said, Do you know how you got this job? God gave it to you! The English in your resume was terrible, the words were wrong, the grammar was wrong, it was a mess.

Of course, now I can write excellent English resumes for people, but back then, no one helped me, my English was poor, I was lacking in every way. My boss also thought my resume was terrible.

At that time, my boss had just believed in the Lord for a year. Before believing, he was suicidal. After believing, he prayed often because he faced many problems. He desperately needed someone to help him solve those difficult technical problems, because he could not solve them alone.

He had a large stack of resumes on his desk. Each morning when he arrived at the office, he would lay his hands on the resumes and pray, and then he heard a voice, my name. He thought, God, are you mistaken? This resume is terrible.

The next day he laid his hands on the resumes and prayed again, and he heard the same voice, my name. The third day it was still my name. This is why, three months after I started working, he called me aside and told me that this was a miracle.

What did I do for him during those three months? I helped him solve many difficult technical problems. I learned quickly, I studied intensely, and I would not give up until the problem was solved. This is my character. Building a church is the same. I will not rest until I build a victorious church, because I know my God is a faithful God.

To this day, I dare not forget how I survived. My life was given by God, and living was a boring thing, but since knowing God, I have known how wonderful it is to live for God. Among the people I serve, some make me feel very strange. They have a characteristic called selective memory: they cannot remember good things for long, but they can remember bad things forever. What kind of people are these!

One day, I served someone with a stiff neck and shoulders. I led them in prayer, and they were healed in three to five minutes. But three days later, she said: I have not experienced God, I am not like you. I looked at her and felt dizzy, like I was seeing double.

I was very surprised. Three days earlier I had led her in prayer, and her shoulders were healed, but three days later she forgot and said she had not experienced God! I told the brothers and sisters, never be such a person! Such a person living in the world is a tragedy! You forget what happened three days ago, how can you remember what will happen in the future?

Even before I was baptised, God helped me. After I was baptised, a particularly miraculous thing happened, because I was one of the few who tithed at baptism, so God especially favoured me. Later, I even tithed on my public housing fund, taxes, buying a house, and selling a house.

Brothers and sisters must know that this is not a small amount! In fact, my tithing ratio is about 15% to 17%, about the same as the tax paid to the government, or even more than the tax. What I want to say is that I did struggle, but after struggling, I chose to believe.

I believe that God's hands are mighty. What am I? He cared for me, He saved me when I was on the verge of death, this is what I dare not forget. Why do I have so many stories? Because I keep so many stories in my heart.

Our brothers and sisters must never forget! Why did our God record in this chapter that twelve stones should be erected as a sign? Where did the stones on the shore go? They were moved back to build houses, or they just don’t know where they went. To this day, the stones in the Jordan River that serve as a sign still stand there.

Until later days, the Kingdom of Israel, the Kingdom of Judah, until the re-establishment of Israel in 1948, the Jews were thrown back and forth among the nations. What is the reason for this? There is only one reason, and that is that they forgot that the Lord their God is all-powerful. Because they did not believe.

The Israelites crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land, and crossed the Jordan River as if on dry land. If three million Israelites were to be transported by ship, how many ships would be needed! Let's say one boat can carry a hundred people, and it takes an hour to go back and forth. Even if there are a hundred boats, they can only transport 10,000 people an hour. 3 million people is 300 hours, and it would take more than ten days to transport them non-stop! What a project that is, a remarkable project! But this project was solved by a word from our God.

Always Remember God's Power

With God, can a person's life not be simple? But I am very surprised, many people forget the experiences after experiencing God in a blink of an eye. Brothers and sisters, to this day, God has been especially kind to me, because I remember my God. I will never trust in anything else in my life, but only trust in Him, do you have such determination in your heart?

He gave me a job, this job is simply a miracle, and my boss also told me this, I was also very surprised, can my God do this? I think that God is the God who examines people's hearts, do you really have this determination in your heart, to remember the Lord your God forever?

Know that the hand of the Lord is mighty! Do you really revere Him? In fact, I am really sweating for many people, and I am really powerless many times. The people I serve are really too many to count. After serving and serving, one day I suddenly don't know why they leave the church, I am very surprised.

Why does God want people to remember Him? Because people have bad memory. I encourage the brothers and sisters in the church, if you are willing to be like me, you will keep every day, every thing, every bit of experience of God in your heart, then I tell you, you can preach the word of God wherever you go.

In fact, Jesus did not ask us to talk about other things, but only asked us to be witnesses of His power, to witness that our God is all-powerful. Crossing the Red Sea is like walking on dry land, crossing the Jordan River is like walking on dry land, God solved it with a word, can our life not be simple?

If you are a person who trusts in God, you cannot but experience God. What our God allows us to experience are things like crossing the Red Sea and the Jordan River, which are all beyond the ordinary. And the traditional church, believes in the all-powerful God as a God without power, I am very surprised.

There are many church documentaries, and the testimonies they tell, alas... After watching them, I don't know whether they are testifying to their God, or shaming our God. For example, there is a Christian with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, from the time he got nasopharyngeal carcinoma, to the process of treatment, until the final death, they filmed it all, and finally said: Look! How strong this person is! This is their faith, how strong!

I was thinking: God, where are you? I think the records in the 《Bible》are more interesting. I would rather believe in Jesus recorded in the four Gospels, or the Acts of the Apostles. Whenever there are sick people, Paul just cures them.

Can we start to believe in this all-powerful gospel as an all-powerful gospel? Our God is all-powerful, only if we first believe in Him as an all-powerful God, then the testimony we do will be an all-powerful testimony, this is great! Some people will say when they see you: Look how good this person's life is.

In fact, I have found that similar testimonial documentaries can also be found in the world, are there many who are not believers but also very strong? There are also many. I think, what we want to do is to make a testimony of great power for God, to know that the faith we pass on is a faith of great power.

A sister told me that once she ran to Korea to listen to a Korean pastor preach the gospel of faith. Coincidentally, we had just returned from out of town. After seeing her, we asked her what the pastor there was preaching. She said that the pastor was preaching: If God does not heal you, do you still believe?

I did not find such words in the Bible! I also do not know which section he is quoting. Our God is a God who heals us, but why does that pastor preach about what if God does not heal? He preaches such sermons all day long, so how can he be healed?

This sister has a urinary tract infection and has to go to the toilet every little while, but after she came to my office, she didn't need to go to the bathroom for three hours. I tell you, that's how people with God are. Later, we prayed for her, and she was completely healed.

But that's how people are. She was really healed, but does she really remember God? I think, why does God want people to remember Him? It is because people have bad memories and often fail themselves. In fact, we could have obtained more of God's grace, but because our memory only remembers the bad and cannot remember the good, we need to constantly remind ourselves to remember God's deeds.

People are really strange. They can always remember bad impressions, but they remember good impressions very vaguely. So what does God want us to remember? Remember that our God is mighty. Our God says:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

So bearing witness is very important. We have erected many stones on our website, but those may not even be half of them yet. There are still many that have not been recorded! But we must remember our God and keep God's power in our hearts.

The hand of the Lord is mighty, and the arm of the Lord has never been shortened. What are you still worried about? In God's eyes, everything is a small matter. If we fear God, we will not be afraid of anything; if we do not fear God, we will often be afraid of this and that.

Remember our Pastors and Leaders

God also wants us to remember Joshua, because Joshua followed God closely. This Joshua is extraordinary! I ask you, Moses said: Joshua, lead the Israelites across the river! Did Joshua's heart beat faster? Did he wonder: Did God really say this? How will this Jordan River be crossed? We need a boat, right? Where can I find wood? Should I swim across? If we rely on swimming, only one million out of three million will make it, and the rest will be washed away, not to mention the elderly and children.

I tell you, his heart was beating faster, but this happened to a person of faith. Joshua believed that our God is mighty! So brothers and sisters, the faith of the leader is crucial. I tell you, you are blessed to follow a leader of faith.

This leader with faith will lead you across the Jordan River as if walking on dry ground, and will rush through many storms with you. Even if you encounter something that should kill you, you will not die, and many things will be turned around.

We have a sister here whose whole family lives a particularly hard life, full of the works of the devil. Her younger brother had a tube inserted into his body for bowel movements because he couldn't defecate, which was very annoying. She also had many problems herself!

She had been a believer in a church for six years! The pastor of her church is a good person, but when I say good person, I mean he only knows how to be a good person and may not have any ability at all. Later, she was introduced to us and her life began to undergo great changes.

On the day I served her, I happened to have time to participate. I learned that her husband had cardiovascular problems and was admitted to the intensive care unit. That night I prayed for her, and she was filled with cold air and received great release, and her husband also received great release.

Why had she not been released for six years of believing in the Lord, but experienced God in a few days among us? You experience the kind of God you follow! A pastor without faith who only speculates leads you on the path of speculation; a pastor with faith leads you on the path of faith! And only those with faith can experience God's power! It is difficult for people to not believe in God.

The effect of remembering leaders is stated in Joshua chapter 3:

And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. (Joshua 3:7)

Look, in chapter 4:

That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses. (Joshua 4:13)

Do you understand? The leaders used by God are those who follow God wholeheartedly. So when Joshua and Caleb are mentioned, it is emphasized that they followed God wholeheartedly. The 10 spies who went to Canaan with them were long gone, but Joshua and Caleb were still strong.

I think, brothers and sisters, do not think that all churches are the same, and that all pastors who believe in the Lord are pastors, so they are all the same. Can they be the same? They are not the same! Brothers and sisters, you must know that the Israelites crossing the Jordan River has a direct relationship with God, and also has a direct relationship with Joshua.

If there was no one like Joshua among the Israelites, and everyone was like Korah, then everyone would return to Egypt in groups of three or two to continue being slaves. Therefore, our brothers and sisters need to honor your leaders, but it is my responsibility to train your leaders. I think, what can I pass on? What I can pass on is that everyone must learn to have faith. In fact, we do not need great faith, as long as we have faith like a mustard seed, we can move mountains.

Entering God's Plan

That pile of stones commemorated three things: First, our God is mighty. Second, the leader of the Israelites was honored in front of everyone. Third, the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to obtain the promised land.

At that time, it was the second time the Israelites counted the people. There were more than 600,000 who could take up arms and fight. What were they going to do? They were going to fight, so the water of the Jordan River was opened. If you go to find a job, try crossing a Jordan River? It would be good if you were not drowned.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must know that God's collaboration with people is not to satisfy people's plans and needs, not to satisfy us to live a small life, but to satisfy God's great plan. God's plan, He will personally accomplish, and we are only working with God.

If you have a strong desire to live a small life in your heart, you have your plan, and God has His plan. They are completely incompatible. You must be careful! Because Pharaoh also wanted to cross the Red Sea, but was drowned in it. Is your plan useful? What does it mean to have Mingding Destiny, I tell you? It is to enter God's plan! It is not that God requires us to enter His plan, but that we must desire to enter God's plan! Because God's plan is related to eternity, and our plan is only in this life.

In fact, people live about the same, and in the end, they all die. But that is just looking at it from a human perspective. From God's perspective, that is just the flesh! It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. So today, are we living with our flesh, or are we living with our spirit? Are we obeying the flesh, or are we obeying the Holy Spirit?

Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must know that when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, they were completing God's greatest plan. God recorded this event in the Bible so that we would know that God is mighty. After we understand God's plan, we can also participate in God's plan and be used by God. That is a wonderful life.

God will honor us. Never have your own plans. What is the meaning of your plan? It has no meaning. How chaotic is this generation today? Protests today, elections tomorrow... Then, the more you do, the more a president ends up in prison. This world is really noisy, and people's plans are constantly changing, but God's plan never changes, and God's plan is in eternity.

I think, why can people experience God's plan? Because of Mingding Destiny. You can be healed when you come to church because someone has given up everything for Mingding Destiny to fulfill God's will, so you will have grace when you come among us.

Otherwise, why are the effects different when it is the same church and the same God? I tell you why. I don't know what some people are doing, but I know one thing: The proportion of pastors who get cancer is much higher than the proportion of ordinary people who get cancer.

What is the reason? If you are a pastor and you hear me say this, you don't need to accuse yourself, but you can examine yourself. Why are we living? If we live for God, how can serving God be tiring? Many people play computer games without getting tired, and many elderly people play mahjong for 24 hours without getting tired. Why? Because they live for it.

The year I took the university entrance exam, my mother got sick and was sent to the hospital for examination. As a result, she was diagnosed with cancer. I was about to take the university entrance exam, and as a result, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. It was like a bolt from the blue. What happened? Later, the doctor said that they made a mistake, and that another person had cancer. You have nothing to worry about. You are benign and just need an operation. At that time, my mother collapsed on the bed for two full days after hearing that she had cancer. As soon as she heard that she did not have cancer, she went downstairs and played two rounds of mahjong.

What do I mean by saying these things? If people can serve God with the enthusiasm of playing mahjong, it will definitely work! I have asked people who play computer games why they are not tired. They can play games all night or watch Douyin all night, and they have nothing to worry about the next day because they love it. But when I ask them to serve, they can't do it.

So brothers and sisters, if we love God, the burden is light. If we do not love God and have to follow the rules, it is so painful, how can we not get cancer? If you ask me why I serve with such joy, it is because I love God! I am like these people who love to play computer games, I just love to serve, so I never rest.

Completing God's plan is our Mingding Destiny! God remembers his leaders so that we know that our God is mighty, great, and awesome!

God Wants Us to Be His Witnesses

So how should we remember? It is to remember what God has done in us, just like the Israelites set up twelve stones in the Jordan River as a record. When your descendants ask about it, you will look at these stones and remember that God led you through the most difficult days of your life.

So brothers and sisters, boldly give your testimony. If you give more and more, that will be great. God wants us to give our testimony. Has He asked us to talk about anything else? No. Someone asked me, can't we talk about the previous testimonies? No, it's not that. It's just that if you keep talking about the testimonies of 20 or 30 years ago, it's as if you haven't experienced God during this period, which is not okay.

We need to experience God and trust God often. We are reading the Bible today not to Joshua, nor to Moses, but to ourselves! Just as Joshua once led the Israelites through dry ground, brothers and sisters will surely experience God's power, that is for sure.

Although we are almost dead, we still survive. We often experience this, just like walking on a tightrope. When we look back after walking, it is really scary, but after walking, we have really walked. This is how the Jordan River was crossed.

As long as we walk in God's will, the water of the Jordan River will be cut off for us, and the water of the Red Sea will also be cut off. There is no Fiery Mountain that cannot be passed. Know that God wants us to be His witnesses, which is a very, very beautiful thing.

Everyone must know that the Jordan River was originally overflowing its banks, and then it was divided in half by God. If you hear someone say in your service that this is how things were originally, you should know that it is an evil spirit. What we need is not a Jordan River that is cut off every day, but one that is cut off on that day so that we can walk through it, even if it returns to its original state. It doesn't matter.

Originally we were dead and had no image of God, but God later turned us around, so what was originally is no longer what it was originally. This is all because of God's power. Some people may say: I was born this way. But we must change what was originally by faith to what is no longer what it was originally. God is going to reveal His glory through us. This is what we are experiencing now, and we must also tell our future descendants. Our Chinese Mingding Destiny theology will not only affect this generation, but also many generations.

Conclusion

Our God is a mighty God. He holds up the universe with His almighty hands. He guides us through the Jordan River with His almighty hands, as if walking on dry ground. There is no road that cannot be crossed. We must cultivate a heart that fears God and cultivate a habit of fearing God.

We must often remember what God has done in us, and you will experience God more! May God let our spiritual descendants know how God led us forward in this generation!

May God bless everyone!

Joshua List