Background

This passage in the Bible speaks very well of a battle, of winning more with less, of overcoming strength with weakness, all relying on God's story.

This story records one of the most famous kings in Israel's history, King Hezekiah. Hezekiah reigned for fourteen years, and during these fourteen years he did something: he removed the high places. Why? Because the Israelites liked to offer sacrifices at the high places. These people liked to offer sacrifices at their doorsteps because it was convenient. In other words, seeking convenience in trusting God is not pleasing to God, because God requires people to return to the temple, to have a single place of worship. Even today, we need to return to a single place of worship, which is the church. Worshipping God in the church, this church is not a physical location, but a gathering of people.

Hezekiah did something pleasing to God, that is, no king in any previous era had done what Hezekiah did. All other kings did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and also followed his ancestor David, but the high places had not been removed. That is, people dare not challenge the limits of people worshipping God. Hezekiah completely abolished the high places, allowing people to return to the temple to worship God. This was a bold move, because the people of the entire country could either accept Hezekiah's reforms or resist them. This was a serious political issue, but Hezekiah did it.

This concept is very important for us to build a church. In this era, the Northern Kingdom of Israel became increasingly corrupt and did not conform to God's will. God raised up an Assyrian empire, and the Assyrian empire destroyed Israel. After being destroyed, it directly bordered many cities of Judah, and finally came under the city of Jerusalem. Hezekiah was facing a state of national subjugation. This state was quite difficult, because the Assyrian army sent nearly 200,000 troops, which was a huge number, and at that time the Assyrian empire was the strongest empire, like the United States today. The Assyrian army was also the strongest army, and even the Egyptian army could not compare with it. Against this background, what did Hezekiah do to make Assyria afraid? This chapter tells such a story.

In this context, there is a very good ending, which is that the Assyrian Empire could not overcome him, because as long as God does not allow it, no one, no powerful army can overcome it! This gives us great confidence. No matter how weak we are, no matter how powerful other political forces are, they cannot overcome what conforms to God's will. If this country is in accordance with God's will, this problem becomes very easy. Faced with any situation, if you are the king of a country, what choice should you make? This determines your trust in God within. Why couldn't the Assyrian Empire conquer little Judah? Judah was only one-third of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, a very small place. This small country could not be conquered by the Assyrian army. One very clear reason is that the Lord God is in control. As long as the Lord God helps you, there is no enemy that cannot be overcome.

Policies Adopted by the Assyrian Army

The policy adopted by the Assyrian army was to stand under the city of Judah and say to King Hezekiah, either rely on Egypt or rely on the Lord. He had abolished the high places for the Lord and returned to the Lord God, but what was the result? The army couldn't even find two thousand horsemen, and the army was vulnerable. It is useless to speak boldly to the Lord, what they said is indeed the truth. Many times, when we are in battle, what the other party says is indeed a fact. It was also God's will that the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Assyria, and today I am here to destroy you, and it is also the will of the Lord God, which is very challenging to people's faith and limits.

Watching the Northern Kingdom of Israel being destroyed with your own eyes. In those past days, God has been constantly declaring judgment on Judah. At this time, can you still hold on to your faith? He said I will attack you, and he waged a lot of psychological warfare. In our battles, we are often in a weak state. Even if we are in such a state, do not give up faith in God. Not giving up faith in God establishes a good state, a healthy relationship with God. Even if the Assyrian army is at the city, the Lord can still defeat him, one angel is enough. Some people ask how many angels defeated the army, but actually one is enough. It is easy for an angel to deal with people. It takes a ghost a half a life to mess with people, this is psychological warfare.

They began to demoralize the morale and momentum of the people of Judah, and especially used the language of Judah to persuade them not to believe Hezekiah's words. Hezekiah has been telling the people not to be afraid, our God will surely save us, but until now no salvation has been seen, and one city after another has been broken through. After the July 7th Incident, the Japanese established Manchukuo, and the three northeastern provinces were occupied by the Japanese. There was nothing they could do. The Japanese army launched a large-scale attack and immediately attacked Shanghai and Nanjing, and then large areas of Chinese territory were occupied by the Japanese. The Kuomintang government was forced to flee to Sichuan. Do you really believe Hezekiah's words? If you believe it, the facts prove that the God you believe in is also unreliable. The Lord God did not help Hezekiah either, because cities were lost one after another, thereby inducing the people of Judah to surrender.

In fact, in the process of our battles, we have almost reached the edge, wanting to surrender, wanting to give up, and not wanting to fight anymore. War is a very difficult thing. Assyria said which country's God can defeat our Assyrian army, and listed many countries that were destroyed one by one. At this time, his arrogance was revealed. The Lord cannot save you from my hand. In fact, the Kingdom of Judah was saved by God, not because Judah did anything. In fact, many times, it is because your opponent has offended God, and they don't know it, they are offending God. I tell you, if you can induce your opponent to offend God, then you will soon win.

The Assyrian Army Relies on Themselves

The Assyrian army relies on their army, their weapons, their equipment, and their past experience. When God wants to raise up the nation of Assyria, no one can stop it. The nation of Assyria may be very evil, but no one can stop it. God wants to raise up this evil nation to deal with Israel. Because the Israelites are too evil, God will raise up a strong nation to punish him. I tell you, the Assyrian army relies on themselves, but they don't know that they were raised up by God in that generation in order to make the Israelites serve their enemies whom God sent.

So I also encourage every brother and sister in our church to willingly and gladly serve the Lord our God. Don't think that serving God is really troublesome, I don't have time to serve God! I am so busy, I have a lot of things to do, our brothers and sisters must start to change this concept. If you do not serve the Lord your God, you will serve the enemies sent by the Lord. This is the result of the Israelites. But in that generation, King Hezekiah, because he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, he followed his ancestor David and worshipped God! Uncompromisingly worship God and even abolish the high places. Faced with such a situation, I tell you, King Hezekiah knew very well in his heart that he would definitely win in his faith. The countermeasures taken by King Hezekiah of Judah were very simple. You can take a closer look.

Humble Yourself Before God

King Hezekiah put on sackcloth and ashes, tore his clothes, and prayed before God. He put the letter from the King of Assyria before the Lord God, and then complained before God that the King of Assyria blasphemed you and reviled the living God. This trick is powerful. Then he asked God to personally attack the King of Assyria. Later, the King of Assyria died miserably and was killed by his son, and 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were wiped out by the angels and heavenly army sent by God. When fighting a war today, don't think that God seems to exist and seems not to exist. Don't worry, I tell you, why do I dare to speak so fiercely to the brothers and sisters? One of the reasons is that I believe God will surely make you victorious. You will surely receive the fruits of victory, and he will humble himself before God.

You need to know that in fact, at this time, the king needs a prophet. Any country needs a prophet. So he sought the prophet Isaiah, and Isaiah told him the words revealed by God: You need to know that our way of fighting is to rely on God. The devil's way of fighting is similar, to tempt God's people to forsake God. If you observe carefully, the devil cannot do anything to you, but the devil can deceive you into leaving God. If the devil deceives you into leaving God, he has already succeeded. When people forsake God, what will be the result? God will personally deal with his people. This is deadly. Brothers and sisters must be very clear about the devil's tricks. The devil cannot do anything to you. Even if you have this and that problem, in fact, you only have one problem, that is the relationship with God. Your faith is not good enough.

Constantly restore your inner faith, which is to believe in God's words, which is to believe in God's grace. So the devil's trick is to tempt people to forsake God, like Balaam going to curse the Israelites. He cursed for a long time but couldn't curse them. You say how hard Balaam worked, wanting to curse the Israelites but couldn't curse them. Then Balaam came up with an idea: to tempt the Israelites to sin, to use the women of Midian to tempt the men of Israel to commit adultery, and then God's anger came upon the Israelites, and as a result, one or two thousand people died that day. So we must know that the devil's trick is very simple, which is to tempt people to forsake God, to tempt people to be those who do not pay the price to trust God. Then those who do some opportunistic things and cut corners are not very serious people who trust God. When God's anger comes upon these people, the devil will laugh there. The devil's trick is very simple, which is to tempt people to forsake God.

Then our method is also very simple, which is to completely turn to God, and then God will surely fight for you. I must say that God can fight for me in my family, God can fight for the brother in the brother's family, and fight for the sister in the sister's family. God will also fight for you in your family because of you. The question is whether you are that Hezekiah. If you follow Hezekiah, you will be great.

King Hezekiah of Judah Relied on God

He has always relied on God. Why did he encounter such a thing? Does everyone have such confusion? Don't believe that a person who trusts God will not encounter challenges. But in all challenging situations, God will eventually make you victorious. What was the challenge Hezekiah faced? What he encountered was being under siege, in times of distress and humiliation. When these things come upon Hezekiah, God will surely solve Hezekiah's problems through salvation. Solving Hezekiah's problems is in itself the best test of faith. After you know this, Hezekiah became ill, and God promised him that he would live fifteen more years. I tell you, there has been no such thing in history, only Hezekiah. That is to say, God gave him a reward because of what he did, because he was victorious in faith!

I encourage everyone, even if the situation you are facing may be as difficult as Hezekiah facing the Assyrian army of 200,000 troops, but what does it matter? As long as you believe, be strong and courageous, and constantly seek a relationship and connection with God, constantly deal with the state of unbelief in yourself, and simply choose to trust God. King Hezekiah of Judah understood spiritual laws very well. Our brothers and sisters must understand spiritual laws. If you face someone who trusts himself, he is vulnerable. Even if that person is your parent, the persecution he inflicts on you is ineffective. However, you must understand the art of war. A proud person is hated by God.

A proud person, God does not care whether he believes in the Lord or not, will definitely be struck down. If it is your parents, and they are there blaspheming God, God will definitely deal with them. Don't feel sorry for him or sympathize with his flesh just because he is your parent. It's useless! Because a person's enemies are his own family. The devil will definitely use your family to mess with you, but if you are not strong, you are not sympathizing with your parents at all, but sympathizing with the evil spirits behind your parents who are controlling him. So brothers and sisters must all start to learn to be strong and courageous, because with strength and courage, victory is certain!

The Art of War

I want to share with you that this art of war is found in The Art of War by Sun Tzu. It contains very interesting points: First, the Dao; second, Heaven; third, Earth; fourth, the General; fifth, the Law. The first chapter of Sun Tzu's The Art of War is called Laying Plans, where he says: The Dao causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger. It means that you must have the Dao within you. The Dao we possess is God, and God is the Dao. The Dao is within us.

In the beginning, the Dao was with God, and the Dao is the word of God. If we have the word of God within us, we have the Dao. When you talk to those who do not have the Dao, you will find them unreasonable, but we must be reasonable. What is the Dao? The Dao is the word of God, the principles of God! Second is Heaven, third is Earth, fourth is the General, and fifth is the Law. The Dao enables the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, allowing them to be of one heart and mind. The unity in our church is not because of what I have done, nor because I am an idol, but because I am one who diligently keeps and follows the word of God.

The Word of God is the Dao

Even those who label me as heretical must admit one thing: I preach the word of God more thoroughly and more extensively than they do. And to what extent does the Dao go? It enables one to face death or life without fear of danger. It makes people unafraid of life and death, willing to follow this person into battle even to the point of death. Brothers and sisters, you must know that I am a pastor who is not afraid of death; I fear nothing. What should I fear as a pastor? I am not afraid! But I won't foolishly run into the line of fire. What I am saying is that even when the Assyrian army is at the gates, there is no need to fear.

Then what does it say? Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons. Earth comprises distances, the difficult and the easy, the spacious and the narrow, life and death. That is to say, Heaven and Earth, one is spiritual, and the other is material. You must master the spiritual, and you must also master the material aspects. Then it talks about the General; the General is the leader. The leaders of our church must become soldiers in the hands of God. The General stands for wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness. First is wisdom; the leaders of the church must possess wisdom. Second is sincerity; they must possess faith and integrity. Third is benevolence; they must possess righteousness. Fourth is courage; they must be brave and have courage. Fifth is strictness; they must be strict in their requirements. See how well this is said!

If we are engaged in spiritual warfare today, and you can begin to achieve these five points, you will be formidable. Then The Law denotes organization, control, assignment of ranks, and regulations. That is to say, you must have rules, and the church must also have rules. So these five things, as a General, you must know. Knowing them will lead to victory; not knowing them will lead to defeat. The Art of War says this: See who has the Dao; see which general has the ability; see who has obtained the timing of Heaven and the advantage of Earth; see whose laws can be enforced; see whose troops are strong; see whose soldiers are skilled; see whose rewards and punishments are clear; from this, you can know the victory or defeat. It is all here. Actually, it is talking about being flexible. Warfare is deception! What does that mean? Warfare is about using tactics and strategies. What does it say?

It says that if you are capable, you must make the opponent think you are incapable; if you want to do something, you must make the opponent think you don't want to do it; if you are attacking nearby, you must make the opponent think you are attacking far away; if you are attacking far away, you must make the opponent think you are attacking nearby. If your opponent is greedy, lure him with a bait; if he is in confusion, attack him; if he is substantial, prepare for him; if he is strong, avoid him; if he is angry, provoke him, making him even angrier so his intellect drops to zero; if he is humble, make him arrogant; if he is rested, make him weary; if he is united, sow discord among them. Attack where he is unprepared; sally out when he does not expect you. These are the keys to victory, but they cannot be taught beforehand.

So everyone must understand the art of war. Even though the key is to rely on God, we must still be flexible. For example, Hezekiah faced the Assyrian army, and he was no match for them at all. He began to learn one thing: he only had one path: to be absolutely strong and to overcome by God!

God Raises Up Whom He Wills

Speaking of Assyria, this is a matter of national destiny. God raises up whom He wills. The rise and fall of many nations is not because of what anyone does; it is about what God wants to do. You must know that God raises up whom He wills. The Assyrian Empire was raised up because God wanted to raise up a nation to punish Israel. That's the whole matter. It was not because the Assyrian army did anything right; it was because Israel did something wrong. So brothers and sisters, you must know that when God wants to raise up our China, you must see the good intentions of God behind the rise of China. You must know that God reigns in the kingdoms of men. Even those who do business must know that God is in control.

Jack Ma is very clever. He said that he always maintains a reverent heart, walking on thin ice. He said he doesn't know how he succeeded; it was an invisible force pushing him up. When God wants to raise up a person, when God wants to raise up a nation, it is all about God manifesting His will in that person. Don't think it is yourself. Even if one day we are raised up by God, we must know that God reigns in our lives. Never think you are very powerful. Once you think that way, what follows will definitely be a state of bad luck. Pride is what God hates.

So brothers and sisters must know that some people are more proud, or they have a wrong perception inside. In the past, we couldn't talk about good things when we encountered them, because if we did, the good things would no longer come. Some people, after believing in the Lord and being healed, still don't speak about it and stubbornly refuse to give testimony. Don't blame me for warning you. Do you think that is because of you? No, it is because of God, so give glory to God. The more Christians give testimony, the more they experience God. I warn those among us who don't give testimony. Some people refuse to give testimony after God heals them, and then they say that there was no complete healing at all. You must understand that we live to glorify God's name, not to glorify our own name.

Those worldly people often say, I am very lucky; I have been very lucky lately. After saying they are lucky, bad luck begins. But Christians who don't give testimony, who encounter good things but can't talk about them, if you don't speak, God will leave you. You must know that God reigns in the kingdoms of men; God reigns in the lives of men. Today, we must begin to change. Many brothers and sisters give testimony. Do you think I want you to give testimony? No! You want to testify for yourself, and then God's name will be glorified because of the healing of your problems. Isn't this all recorded in the Bible? You must see clearly that this is the law established by God. If you violate the law established by God, it will be terrible. You must begin to learn to give testimony. I know some people stubbornly refuse to give testimony.

God Cares About the Relationship Between People and God

The problem of competing with the enemy does not depend on how strong the enemy is, nor does it depend on how strong you are, but only on one thing: your relationship with God and the enemy's relationship with God. If your relationship with God is stronger than the enemy's relationship with God, God will help you. Brothers and sisters, you must know that this is God's promise. God's promise to us is not because of anything else, but because of our relationship with Him. How is this relationship built? It is built through faith. God said, I will defend this city for David’s sake and for the sake of my servant David.

God cares about the relationship between people and God. If God cares about the covenant established with David, and Hezekiah followed his ancestor David, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord, do you think Hezekiah would be destroyed in his lifetime? No! It was destroyed many generations later, after many kings. Those kings did not follow their ancestor David, nor did they follow Hezekiah. But we must learn from people like Hezekiah. What does it matter if two hundred thousand Assyrian soldiers are at the gates? You don't need to be afraid or worried. You only need to worry about one thing: do you have a healthy relationship with God?

I think we will continue to move forward. I don't know what the future holds, but I know one thing: my relationship with God is good; my relationship with God is absolutely good. God allows us to see clearly how God is with me. God is with me, and even those who do not believe will say we have energy; we have superpowers. I also thank God for allowing me to be a vessel that God can use in the days I live on earth. Follow David, and also follow Hezekiah. In the days on this earth, even if the Assyrian army is at the gates, with God's help, it will be easily solved. God will send His angels and heavenly hosts to completely destroy all the armies of the devil.