Introduction

Many passively assume these two chapters imply that the Israelites' 40 years in the wilderness after the Exodus were God's plan. Actually, this was not God's initial plan, but rather a Plan B out of necessity. God's Plan A was for them to enter the Promised Land. The 40-year wilderness journey is often mistakenly perceived as a path of glory, with the manna being viewed as glorious manna. However, imagine eating the same food for your entire life. What would you feel? A lifetime of only manna is a form of punishment.

Would you want to eat only manna for the rest of your life? I ate corn buns for over a decade as a child. Now, when dining at a high-end restaurant and others suggest ordering them, I say, No, thank you. I ate them for over ten years, and I'm tired of them. I can't eat them anymore. My point is that the wilderness was not a blessing. The Israelites' shoes and clothes did not wear out, remaining as new as the day they left Egypt. But would you want to wear the same outfit your entire life? Definitely not, right?

We used to misunderstand many things, thinking the 40 years in the wilderness were God's wonderful plan. In reality, it was the result of the Israelites' rebellion. Today, let's reflect on how many Christians do not trust God. Disbelief is a serious issue. If people trust God, they won't focus on their circumstances, and if they focus on their circumstances, they won't trust God.

What exactly is a curse? A curse is the failure to diligently observe and follow God's words. Deuteronomy 28 states that if you diligently observe and follow, you will receive certain blessings, but if you do not, you will suffer certain curses. The problem is that many Christians today are cursed but believe they are blessed. I have searched the entire Bible and found no record of cancer being a blessing. If you find one, please let me know.

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee... To fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord Thy God. Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. (Deuteronomy 28:15, 58-59)

I have not found anywhere in the Bible that cancer is a blessing in disguise, but some people speak nonsense against the Scriptures. What happens when they do? They are cursed.

Imitate Caleb and Joshua and Declare Words of Faith

There are two possible outcomes for Christians and preachers. One is that because they believe in God, they diligently observe and follow His commands, and are blessed, being above and not beneath, the head and not the tail. The other is that they are beneath and not above, the tail and not the head. The order is as follows: victorious Christians gain people in the world, so Christians should strive to be victorious and obtain promises, not remain in unbelief. This is crucial!

This chapter tells the story of two groups: the ten unfaithful spies and the two faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb. In my heart, I share the same resolve as Joshua and Caleb in many ways, but many people do not transmit faith. Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin, and the wages of sin is death. Many people do not transmit faith; not only do they disbelieve, but they also spread messages of unbelief to others, which is a very serious matter. The ten spies and the two spies entered Canaan, and they all knew it was a good place, a land flowing with milk and honey. Today, when we read Deuteronomy 28:1-13, everyone likes it, except those who oppose the theology of success. They think that believing in the Lord should involve suffering, but I believe that believing in the Lord should involve blessings. Only those who are cursed suffer, but suffering for God's kingdom while diligently observing His words is also a blessing. We see these two types of people entering Canaan together. While it is the same land flowing with milk and honey, one group sees giants who can devour the inhabitants, while Caleb and Joshua see their food. The twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel spent forty days there and saw two entirely different situations.

Today, as Christians, your vision determines your future in how you conduct yourselves. I often talk to Christians and find that some are like the ten, while others are like the two. Some see only difficulties, but in my eyes, every difficulty is a reason for victory. I see the demonic enemy as our food. Early on in building the church, I told my brothers and sisters that even if I were the only one left in the church, I would still follow God's word. Some told me that building a church requires money. Does building a church require money? Building a church requires God! Spiritual warfare requires God! Obtaining the Promised Land requires God! Victory in battle requires God!

Therefore, building a church requires only one thing: the presence of God in that place! In the early days of building the church, I drove away those who were willing to donate but also wanted to help in other churches. This church needs commitment, not people who run around to multiple churches each week. Those who are not committed should leave! Those who are willing to commit and build a glorious church with me, let's run together. Whether we succeed or not, I don't know, but in my heart, I have already seen the vision of God's glorious church. The church that the Apostle Paul built in the New Testament should be like this, where everyone who comes among us receives healing and enters into blessing!

The ideas transmitted by these two groups are completely different, so remember to be careful about the words you speak. If your words undermine people's faith, you will bear the sin of causing others to stumble, which means causing them to lose faith. Therefore, the most important characteristic of a preacher is to constantly transmit faith, like Joshua and Caleb.

The land which we passed through to spy it out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them

The Lord is with us: fear them not. (Numbers 14:7-9)

What a wonderful transmission of faith! Today, if you are willing to give and participate in the spiritual transformation of Singapore, give generously. Giving another tithe is fine. Our money cannot save us, but when we participate in God's glorious plan, money is the least of our problems. In my faith, what I have believed in God in the past years has already been accomplished. When God fulfills the glorious hope that He has given me through tears, prayers, and service, I am not just happy, but I cry with gratitude! Thank God, God is so faithful! If you believe, you will surely receive.

Today, I gather my inner faith and say to my brothers and sisters again, let us fight a good battle for God in Singapore! What does it matter if we shed blood and sweat? Living is a simple thing, but living out God's glory is the most important thing. What is the point of living for three meals a day and sleeping it off? If I lived like that, I would rather die. But living for God, living out God's glory, and participating in God's glorious plan is such a wonderful thing!

Therefore, brothers and sisters, do not disbelieve, and do not transmit evil reports – Oh, the evil spirits are so powerful. When I was fighting with evil spirits, I was severely attacked and paid a heavy price. But even in that situation, one day I prayed for a sister who was a senior manager at a multinational corporation. She attended my meeting and went to the restroom during the break. When she returned from the restroom, she couldn't walk. I prayed for her, but nothing seemed to work. Usually, when someone has back pain, I pray for them and they are healed immediately. During meetings, if someone has back pain, I would say, Come, let me pray for you, and you will be healed immediately. After praying, we would continue the meeting. But this sister didn't get better, so I said I would pray for her after the Bible study.

When I prayed for her after the Bible study, I saw a large red dragon - copper-red, bronze-colored. You ask me how I saw it? I don't know, but I saw a large red dragon in the air, and the Spirit of God said that the dragon's tail poked her waist, and that's how she became like this. I said, Oh, I see. Finally, I drove the dragon away, and her waist was healed. Even when I am not completely victorious, I can still defeat the devil, let alone today!

Be a Victorious Christian Who Enters the Promised Land

The demonic enemy we face is so evil, destroying so many lives! Today, we demand that it repay what it has stolen in the past. Many people transmit messages of unbelief, so brothers and sisters, don't spread bad news. Some people say, Oh, him? I don't think he can last much longer. When I hear those words about how long I can last, I think to myself that I will definitely last longer than you. When I am still going strong, you will no longer be able to.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, know that God's promises are all good! But obtaining the promises is related to whether you believe or not. A person who believes will not fear the demonic enemy. When I was an ordinary believer in a local church in Singapore, some people would say that you cannot lay hands on people when you pray, because the demons will jump onto you. I thought, Let them try! I don't believe that. Because such words release fear. If that were true, how many evil spirits would you encounter on a crowded bus or MRT? This is nonsense. At that time, they wouldn't say that the one inside me is greater than the one outside?

Healing the sick and casting out demons should be done according to the Bible. If the Bible doesn't say it, don't talk nonsense. Our Bible studies are simple. After reading this entire passage, you don't need to have finished elementary school to know what the theme is. The theme is: fight victoriously and obtain the Promised Land; if you don't fight victoriously, you will not only not obtain the Promised Land, but you will also be struck down before God. Therefore, we have only one choice, not two. We have no choice except to be victorious and to fight. It doesn't matter if there are giants in front of us.

Joshua and Caleb entered Canaan forty years later, at a very old age. The giants did not kill them. They both died of old age in Canaan. Being afraid of death is not the solution. Therefore, brothers and sisters, start fighting! Start fighting! Know that the land is flowing with milk and honey, and know that God's promises are all very good!

But today, if we don't obtain them, we must tell ourselves that there is a problem. Where is our problem? It is that building the church is not done according to building God's army, but rather building the church is God's home. God's army and God's home cannot be separated; they are an overall concept. Without a nation, where is the home? Right? Without an army, where does the nation come from? Have you heard of a country without an army? When Singapore first became independent, the first thing it did was to build its army. If it didn't build an army, the surrounding people would bully it. So today, we need to know what the coming of God's kingdom really is. The coming of God's kingdom is casting out demons through the Spirit of God! What do we rely on to cast out demons? We rely on God's army! A mighty army!

The prayer I dislike the most is just drawing near to God. After drawing near to God, it doesn't seem to work very well. If it doesn't work, what are you still doing there? Some people just draw near to God all day long. One day, it doesn't work; two days, it doesn't work; three days, five or six years pass, and it still doesn't work. Then they say, I still believe. Heavens, you believe wrongly. Obtaining the promise or not obtaining the promise is closely related to warfare.

If you read the entire Bible, you will find that warfare is key, spiritual warfare is key. Therefore, brothers and sisters, start to realize that people's reactions are very obvious when facing difficulties. When facing difficulties, some react by rushing forward, while others react by retreating. Retreating is the spirit of returning to Egypt, always thinking that the past days were better. Have you heard this before? If a person always thinks that the past is better, then things will only get worse and worse.

Today, we need to know that if we encounter difficulties and say such things, we would rather have died in Egypt. If you would rather have died in Egypt, wouldn't it be better to die in the Promised Land? Their words are not about preferring to die in Egypt, but about fear. If they had the faith to say, Let me die, it wouldn't be like this, right? What is so great about death? We must obtain the Promised Land no matter what. If you have such faith, and you don't care about death, do you still care about the giants? Actually, they are afraid. They are afraid of the giants, but they are capable of stoning Caleb and Joshua. So my former pastor said that they are not capable of casting out demons, but they are very capable of driving out pastors. Fortunately, the brothers and sisters in our church are brothers and sisters who cast out demons, not those who drive out pastors.

One of my relatives drove his car off a cliff and climbed out of the car without dying. He got up and said, Why didn't I die with a snap? He said this. Oh! In retrospect, he is just a meticulous person, how could that be a path for him? So everyone, think about it. If a person faces difficulties and thinks that he would rather die, that is not the way to solve the problem.

Today, brothers and sisters, be clear about who you should emulate. Obtaining the promise or not obtaining the promise is related to warfare. Warfare is related to building God's army. Therefore, the first eleven chapters of Numbers repeatedly selected people, screening out those who didn't count and bringing in those who could fight. Having struck down a group of people earlier, they still can't fight at this time. So what does God say? How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? Today, we see so many miracles and wonders. If you haven't seen miracles, God will definitely give you the opportunity to see them. But if you have seen miracles repeatedly and still don't believe, you will fall into the situation of this group of people.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, know that the difficulties ahead of us are not terrible at all. What we need to worry about is whether we have lost faith inside. Know that our God is such a great God! There is nothing impossible for our God! The arm of the Lord has never been shortened! If the arm of the Lord has never been shortened, and if we want to win this land for God with faith, then there is nothing we cannot do!

Religious Reformation

Some time ago, God gave me a tremendous, very challenging task. I know it sounds like I'm boasting, but it truly is a prompting from God. For the first two months, I kept it to myself, hiding it, in a state of wanting to speak but not speaking. But now, I can boldly discuss it with everyone because my faith is growing stronger. God is raising us up in this era to do something: to carry out another religious reformation. The church will no longer be built according to what we received in the past. God wants to unlock the truth in the Bible once again. Victory in battle and obtaining promises are truths revealed in the Bible long ago, but they are not common in the church.

Many people get cancer, oh! It's a blessing in disguise. That's the result of failure, not the result of victory. So, what kind of religious reformation are we bringing today?

This religious reformation is: the entire belief system must return to the Bible, which is victory in battle and obtaining the promised land! Of course, there are other core value systems that we will repeatedly convey in Bible study. Many Christians today have not achieved victory and have not obtained promises, and then they use strange theological concepts to explain it. They are unwilling to pay the price but still want to obtain the promised land, and they are afraid of difficulties. When they don't obtain it, they use a distorted theological concept to explain it. This is a common problem of this era.

Today, we must eradicate this problem. No matter where we go, to the ends of the earth, we must transmit the truth that God has revealed to us! That is, God wants to build a victorious and glorious church in this generation, and God's glory will fill the whole earth! In Martin Luther's time, God revealed the truth of justification by faith, but in this era, God has revealed the truth of victory.

Therefore, starting today, encourage brothers and sisters to be Christians like Caleb and Joshua, constantly entering the promised land and drawing upon all of God's grace! Do you know what God said to those ten spies?

Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. (Numbers 14:28)

As a result, they died in the wilderness. How many Christians today live in the wilderness their whole lives? They do not enter the promised land, but die in the wilderness! They never see God's promises. What is the reason? It is because they do not have a victorious mindset!

Therefore, we build a church, we build a victorious church; we transmit information, we transmit victorious information. Today, we must reform the desolate state of the church. With God, what is there to fear, no matter how great the difficulties?

A few days ago, when I was really discouraged, one of my brothers encouraged me. He told me that even in Elijah's time, when it was so desolate, there were still 7,000 people. But Elijah never found those seven thousand people. Alas, it was too difficult, as if starting a new chapter but unable to find an exit. So, a person struggling in faith is actually very uncomfortable. Are you afraid of the difficulties and giants you face? Are you afraid of battle? Bullets have no eyes, everyone is afraid. But with God's words, God's promises, and hope in eternity, you can move forward with a faith of if I die, I die, and never retreat, because there is no way back!

In Hebrews, that generation were all people who displeased God. Do you want to be someone who pleases God, or someone who displeases God? As a result, those ten spies died on the spot before the Lord: these men who spread the bad news died of a plague before the Lord. (See Numbers 14:37)

When others saw this, they got up early in the morning and went to the top of the mountain, saying, We have sinned. We are willing to go up to the place the Lord has promised. This is a very peculiar reaction. It is not because they believe in God, but because they saw those ten spies die and thought they should go up anyway. This kind of faith is useless at all!

So, in the concept I convey is an active faith, not a passive faith! Those people have a faith brought about by fear of death, which is useless. Because he got a terminal illness and then came back to believe in God. As a result, the Lord God did not go with them. God will not go with a group of people who are afraid of death, want to live a comfortable life, and are unwilling to let go. Many people with attachments cannot go to war, so do not be a person who cherishes life and fears death. Being with the Lord is an incomparably good thing.

Summary: Fight with a Determination to Die

Whenever I see those who have terminal illnesses and still don't want to die, I feel particularly sad. Knowing that they have a fatal disease and still don't want to die, struggling bitterly, it is very painful. Today, I want to teach brothers and sisters a secret, which is not to place hope in this world, but to live for the Lord in this world!

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me; (Galatians 2:20)

When you have such a mindset, you can challenge the dark forces of this place, and you can release the captive souls. If you are afraid of death, you will not obtain the promise. Therefore, after reading this passage of Scripture today, you should have a deeper understanding of what kind of person obtains the promise? Never be a person who cherishes life and fears death. If you are not afraid of death, what are you afraid of the boss? If you are not afraid of death, what are you afraid of business debts? With a mindset of if I die, I die, you will live very easily.

Brothers and sisters, do not place your hope in this world. This world will have sorrows that prick and sting you. Place your hope in eternal life, and then fight in this world with a faith of if I die, I die, and you will obtain the promised land, which is the beautiful land you live in.

May God bless brothers and sisters!