The Essence of Rebellion is Rebellion Against God

What is Numbers chapter 17 really about? The Israelites were not targeting people, but God. Look at what they said: But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, 'You are the ones who have caused the death of the people of the LORD.' (Numbers 16:41). On the surface, it seems to be about Moses and Aaron. Everyone must know that authority comes from God. When people begin to rebel against the authority established by God, they are not rebelling against people, they are rebelling against God.

God wants us, who read the Bible later, to see that the essence of rebellion is rebellion against God. Superficially, it seems to be standing on God's side, but in reality, it is standing on the opposite side of God. Why did God write this chapter through Moses? It is to let us see this matter clearly. At the end, God clearly showed that the authority of Aaron and Moses came from God:

Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. (Numbers 17:8)

The Israelites' Way of Thinking

Of course, some people say that Moses secretly replaced it, but no matter what, when we read the Bible, we agree that this passage is true.

Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, 'Behold, we are perishing, we are dying, we are all dying! Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, must die. Are we to die completely?' (Numbers 17:12-13)

We will see that the Israelites' way of thinking is very strange. In the past few years, among the people I have served, many people have this way of thinking, which is very interesting. Today we must understand what the result will be if you have this way of thinking. The result of this way of thinking is: it proves that authority comes from God. What would be the reaction of a normal person? They would not complain. The result is not that they do not complain, but they say that we are all going to die, isn't this very strange? God proved to them that the authority of Aaron and Moses came from God, and then the Israelites said, we are all going to die! we are perishing! Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, must die. Are we to die completely? Listen to this.

Today, abstracting this passage, this is the way of thinking of a person who is going to perish. You can choose this way of thinking, or you can choose another way of thinking. If we choose the Israelites' way of thinking, without even thinking about it, this is a person who is going to perish. Some people say as soon as they hear this, how can you say that I am going to perish? I say that people with this way of thinking are people who are going to perish.

Today, how to adjust our way of thinking, the way of thinking determines whether you are a person who is going to perish or a person who enters the promised land. The authority established by God is for you to carefully observe and follow, it is not to say that you cannot approach the tabernacle of the LORD, approaching means perishing. What kind of talk is this? If according to the Israelites' logic, looking at us today, many people have this logical system, you can't say anything.

Some people, in order to encourage them, we say, look, you are doing well even without a university degree. As a result, the other party replies, are you looking down on me! There is no way to continue. We say, look, that person also does not have a university degree, but they can also work and do very well! The other party replies, am I not as good as him? Living with this way of thinking, the ending will be doom.

Come Out of the Perishing Way of Thinking

Did our God know that the Israelites were like this? Actually, He knew. In the previous chapter, we saw the Israelites say to Moses and Aaron, you have killed the people of the LORD. As a result, a plague raged that day and killed 14,700 people. We thought this story could end, but the resentment had not disappeared. God saw the resentment in the Israelites and did this:

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel, and get from them a rod for each ancestral house, twelve rods in all, from all their leaders according to their ancestral houses. Write each man's name on his rod, and write Aaron's name on the rod of Levi; for there is one rod for the head of each ancestral house. Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. It will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will lessen from Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are murmuring against you.' (Numbers 17:1-5)

Is it reasonable? Actually, 14,700 people had already died before, why didn't they wake up? They had to have this scene. All along in Numbers, batches of people died, and then at this time, God gave them another chance to see that this authority came from the Lord God. But the Israelites' reaction, I believe, was not unexpected by God. Because God knew their way of thinking. Today, when we read this passage of the Bible, we must come out of this way of thinking.

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram died, should they have woken up? Should they have chosen not to be Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and chosen to fear the Lord God? But no, they still wanted to complain, and they used the name of the Lord God, saying that Moses and Aaron had killed the people of the Lord God. This complaint was very prevalent among the Israelites, and 14,700 people died that day. Logically speaking, at this time, the Israelites should have woken up, right? They still didn't wake up! They couldn't complain, they couldn't fall among the people who were going to perish! No, the Israelites still had complaints. God gave them another proof that the authority of Aaron and Moses came from God.

Does God really need to prove it every time? God doesn't need to. If it needs to be proven every time, and the problem is that it doesn't work even after it is proven. Things that rely on proof are not effective, can you understand? Everyone must not think that proof can solve things. I prove to you that I don't want to harm you, I just want to edify you. I prove to you that I love you. These cannot be proven! Then where is the problem? The problem is in our way of thinking. We must carefully deal with our way of thinking, this way of thinking is either like Moses and Aaron, or like Joshua and Caleb; or like Korah, or like these dead Israelites, who have to stiffen their necks and die in the wilderness!

The Israelite Way of Thinking in the Church Today

In the past few years, one thing I have never understood is why people are like this, the things people see are really strange. I will give you some examples: Once I was leading songs on the stage, and a young man whom I had worked hard to serve, bringing him from the edge of despair to a path where he could live, said privately: Look at the pastor's eyes, isn't he just trying to provoke someone? After I heard it, I felt very puzzled, am I so bored? Later, there were more things.

Didn't God feed those Israelites? They ate the manna given by God every day, and then they opposed God when something happened, can you understand? I cannot understand. The people I shepherd, according to the words of the Lord God, the cattle raised by people know who their masters are, and the dogs also know who their masters are, but the Israelites do not know, they are not as good as pigs and dogs! One thing that surprised me very much about the people I served was that those who had nothing to do with him stood on their side when they opposed me. I don't need you to stand on my side, at least you can stand in a place that can be understood, but you have to mix with people who oppose me.

I will give you another example: A girl was pregnant, and she had a big reaction during pregnancy, and she vomited out bile. Did the person who opposed me serve her? No.

One day passed, one week passed, one month passed, I said to the person who opposed me (who was a leader at the time, the sisters' group leader), go and pray for her. She took her to see a movie. Can watching a movie solve the problem? It can't solve the problem. She also took her to eat, drink, and have fun. I really couldn't stand it anymore. One day the sister vomited very badly. I cried out to heaven and earth to pray for her. The pregnancy reactions disappeared, and they completely disappeared from that day on. People don't say that my pastor really loves me, they say, how can the pastor treat that person like that? Does that person have anything to do with her? Does that person have any grace to give her? No.

Later, one day she had symptoms of a miscarriage. She did not call the person who opposed me, but called me. I told her the truth without hesitation and told her to repent. She only knew to be afraid when she was about to have a miscarriage. I prayed with her, and before the ambulance arrived, all the miscarriage symptoms disappeared. The child was born smoothly. In retrospect, people do not remember my grace, they remember the person who has nothing to do with her.

I am not trying to ask for credit by saying these examples today, I am just wondering what the logical system of these people is. In the time of Paul, Paul worked hard to build the Corinthian church, and his relationship with the brothers and sisters in the Corinthian church lasted for a year and a half. He shared the word of God with them, but a group of people came and opposed Paul with that group of people. I am really very puzzled.

Even today, when we look carefully, there are many among us who have received grace from me, or from our leaders, but there are very many who have fallen behind. I estimate that I should not be as good as Moses, there were still a group of people who entered the promised land in Moses' time. But today, in the process of building the church, the number of people who have fallen behind is more than that of Moses, which is very sad. We don't want them to perish.

Negative Thinking, Unable to Bear God's Promise

Later, I discovered that if people have a logical system of negative thinking inside, they cannot bear God's promise. Today I warn everyone, if you still like negative thinking, you will miss God's promise, and even if you see the promised land, you will die in the wilderness. Why negative thinking? Even if you want to be negative, it is not your turn. I shed blood, sweat, and tears, I spend money and effort to serve these people, I have never taken advantage of anything, even if you want to be negative, it is not your turn.

Negative thinking is definitely not an option. I have been very tired recently and don't want to go on like this. I can find someone to do the decoration, for example, this door, it costs 600 Singapore dollars to find someone to decorate, and ten doors cost 6000. It costs me 100 Singapore dollars to do it myself, a total of 1000 Singapore dollars. Later I thought about it, I should still do it myself. I had a hard time falling asleep last night, I didn't know how to make the board? How to climb up to a height of six meters? How to build the board? If I had money in my hand, I would spend tens of thousands of dollars, but I feel that this is a very unworthy thing, and I don't want to be so tired.

A sister was negative, and she came to us. I did not personally lead her to pray and let her be released. If I serve her, she will still be negative if she is not released. If a person wants to be negative, they can always be negative, but what is the benefit? It is uncomfortable today, and it is uncomfortable tomorrow. Can you think of something that is comfortable? When it comes to uncomfortable days, I have had more than everyone else, and I swallow all the discomfort in my stomach. You can find your pastors if you have problems, who else can I find besides God, it is really hard.

What everyone deserves to learn from me is that I am never negative. Negative thinking will cause God's promise to pass you by and fall in the wilderness. In my heart, I think that I can always finish this wilderness road, and one day I will enter the promised land. One day I will stand before God and give an account. I wish our brothers and sisters would become shrewd. Why am I leading everyone to do these things? If everyone becomes shrewd through these things, that is what I want. If people don't do things, and just pray and preach all day long, they will not become shrewd. You can try it, will just praying and preaching bring you into God's promised land? It is a blessing if you don't become a Pharisee.

Our church is a church that does practical things. I very much hope that our brothers and sisters will come out of negative thinking. Negative thinking has no benefit, it only makes you more uncomfortable. If you want to be negative, I am more qualified to be negative than everyone else. Reading Paul's letters, the more I serve, the more I can understand the words Paul wrote. Paul served the Corinthian church, and a group of people came and opposed Paul. Today we need to come out of negative thinking too much. If you think negatively, will Moses and Aaron suffer any losses? No. Your negative thinking can only bring you the road to destruction. Numbers chapter 17 is about the way of thinking of the Israelites who perished. You can choose to be negative, but if you want to enter the promised land, you must reject these things. Today many people have depression and cancer because you are a negative thinker and you have nothing to do with God's promise. I urge my brothers and sisters to come out of negative thinking and not to live with a negative thinking pattern. This negative thinking can only corrupt yourself.

Be a Smart Person, Choose Not to Be Negative

A few days ago, I took my colleagues to visit my former boss. On Wednesday, I led a Bible study in his home, speaking to everyone and also to my boss. When I first started working, I couldn't speak English, and my boss forbade my colleagues from speaking Mandarin with me. He became a believer a year earlier than I did and is a very devout brother. Today, I gave him a copy of the book I wrote. Seeing brothers and sisters who believed around the same time as me, they are all doing very well, and they haven't suffered as much as I have. I have truly served God and everyone else with all my heart, soul, and mind. I hope that when I come before God in the future, He will reward me.

Life is very short. What is there for us to boast about in this world? What can we gain from being negative? That's why Paul constantly says in his letters, Don't compare yourselves with each other. What is there to compare? Those he served didn't put in as much effort as Paul did. If anyone had the right to be negative, it was Paul.

Looking closely at the Bible, did Moses ever take advantage of the Israelites? No, he didn't. The gold and silver they brought were all plundered from Egypt under Moses' leadership. Why then did these people oppose Moses? It's hard for us to understand, but we know that a person destined for destruction must walk this path. It's easy to choose the path to destruction. Be negative a little today, be negative a little tomorrow, and one day you’ll develop the most painful disease: mental illness, suffering endless torment. Having food and drink but suffering torment is unbearable.

I suffered many wounds in my past ministry. In 2011, I led my eldest sister to believe in the Lord. In 2013, I told her to invest in some property in Korea. Because I criticized her a few times, she started to be negative towards me. Before she became negative, she said something to me that I am very grateful for: following me in faith has blessed everyone. She said that the money she made in Korea during the two years she followed me in faith exceeded all her income in Korea in all these years. Just because I criticized her a few times, she was negative and gossiped. I was really hurt. What did I gain? Nothing.

A few years passed in the blink of an eye, and she returned to us again. After returning to us, looking at the current situation, she regretted it too late. How could she have made such a foolish decision? One act of negativity cost her a lot of money! If she had listened to my advice back then, the situation would be completely different. What was I after? All I wanted was to bring everyone into God's grace and blessing. Even if I got angry or lost my temper with you, it was only because I wanted you to wake up and break free from that negative thinking pattern. However, whether to walk away or not, I can't make the choice for you. You must make the choice yourself.

Never be like my eldest sister, who lost God's blessings over the past few years. I dare not boast about anything else, but my heart in serving God is to bring everyone to the promised land of God, to bring everyone into God's grace. My determination is definitely testified before God. No matter how much I suffer, I will not be negative. How sad I am, only I can deal with it. You have pastors, I don't. But God is my shepherd, God will surely be gracious to me, and God will surely remember me.

You know the Book of Nehemiah. I really like one of Nehemiah's prayers: Remember me, O God! When I run forward with my colleagues, I need to bear the pressure every time I enter an unknown territory, but I must bear all the pressure. Sometimes I'm really afraid of leading everyone into a pit, afraid of leading everyone on the wrong path. It's painful in my heart, but I don't want to undermine everyone's faith, so I endure it day after day. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Actually, I am weaker than everyone else. I don't want to be Paul, but this is not a choice I can make. What do I want to say? I want to say that everyone really should not be negative.

If you really want to be negative, you really don't have the right to be more negative than me. Negativity is not the way to go; negativity is a path to destruction, a path that cannot be taken. Why are people uncomfortable? People are negative in their hearts, thinking a lot of negative things inside. How can they not be uncomfortable? I am really fortunate to have a group of brothers and sisters like you who run this path with me. This is an encouragement to me. Every time I see you, I am encouraged again to continue running forward. Although this road is not easy to walk, serving is tiring and hard but not serving will be even more tiring and hard, and it is a path to destruction.

In my heart, I have determined that no matter who you are, as long as you are among us, whether you are being served by me or by the pastoral leaders, group leaders, or small group parents; whether you have directly or indirectly received grace here, it is because God has chosen us. Choose to walk a path of victory and enter the promised land. The Israelites said to Moses: We are dead! We are perishing! We are all perishing! Everyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord must die. Are we all going to die? (Numbers 17:12-13). What they said was true.

The Levites have their Levitical duties, there are Moses and Aaron, and you also have your responsibilities. Those whom God has ordained in their offices are meant to bless you, right? Does God want the Israelites to perish, or does He want them to be blessed? Because the entire nation of Israel entered the wilderness, the rules God established were to make Israel a powerful army, so they could enter and possess the promised land.

So today we really begin to understand that there is a mindset of destruction and a mindset of blessing. The choice is up to us. If you have a negative mindset inside, I don't blame you. You can be transformed through training in the church. If you refuse to be transformed, is there any other way to go? Today, let us be strengthened again. No matter what, we must move forward. We will walk a path of victory, overcoming our flesh, overcoming our negative emotions, and overcoming our negative thinking patterns. Know that God does not want us to die, but to gain grace and enter the promised land. You say, didn't God want them to die in the wilderness?

Today I tell everyone that if the Israelites had faith in God, prayed, sought and obeyed God, I believe the Bible could be rewritten. Forty years could become twenty years, twenty years could become ten years, and ten years could become two years. It is possible to enter the promised land. God often relents and does not bring the disasters He has spoken of. But if people continue to be stubborn and rebellious, continuing with a negative thinking pattern, God will fulfill what they think according to their words, and that is destruction. Why choose destruction? Today you are a little negative, tomorrow you are a little negative. You don't know when you will be knocked down by the devil.

Update Our Logical System

So today I encourage everyone to rethink, think about what kind of mindset you have, and update the wrong logical system inside us to God's logical system. Let us live not by what we think inside, but by the Word of God. If God says we can live this way, then live this way; if God says we can live that way, then live that way. Never rely on your own head. It's useless. Don't walk according to your feelings, but according to your faith in God.

Which of us hasn't experienced the reality of the spiritual realm? Isn't it because we were badly bullied by the devil that we came to the church? Do you still want to go back and continue to be bullied by the devil? You have the courage to do so, but I don't. I only have one courage: to continue running the path God has prepared for me ahead.

I often feel troubled in my heart, facing many unknowns, not knowing what to do. Even a simple renovation, when you go to the property management, they give you all kinds of difficulties. Until today, the renovation permit has not been obtained. They require this letter and that letter, a whole bunch of documents. Every time I hear it, I really don't know what to do! I feel really uncomfortable in my heart. You may be uncomfortable for yourself, but I am uncomfortable for the kingdom of God, for serving, and for continuing to run the road ahead. But thank God, God really remembers me.

There is a brother's mother who is not among us, but wherever she goes, she testifies for us, saying how her son serves God and how he believes in the Lord. As a result, she found a part-time job and the boss of this job is a fallen Christian, and when he met her mother, he said to her, I want to donate a large sum of money to your son's church. When his mother woke up in the morning, she called us and shared this testimony with us.

You may be curious if the money has been received. Not yet. It's a very interesting phenomenon. Although the money has not been received, my heart is encouraged. God knows us, may God remember us.

As Paul said: You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house, (Acts 20:17-20).

This is also what I want to say to everyone. I encourage everyone to imitate me. You say, isn't it very hard to imitate you? I tell you, it is even harder not to imitate. If we can receive God's grace, these sufferings are sufferings with glory. But if it is for ourselves, what glory is there in those sufferings? From now on, everyone must begin to be strengthened again. If there are negative voices inside, let us flush the negative voices inside us down the toilet! What belongs to the old donkey belongs to the old donkey, what belongs to the toilet belongs to the toilet, and what belongs to the manhole belongs to the manhole! But we must be victorious people of God, and enter the promised land no matter what, like Joshua and Caleb, be God's elite soldiers. May God bless everyone!