All of Man's Problems Are Related to Eating

Last week, we talked about manna. The earliest problems that man encountered were related to eating. In fact, all of man's problems are related to eating, and there are especially many problems related to eating. For example, my mom says, What problems do I have? I have food, drink, money to spend, and a place to live. What else could I worry about? But sometimes she is still unhappy.

Today, as we read the Bible Story, I want to tell everyone that after the Israelites left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, the first problem they encountered was having no water to drink, and the second problem was having nothing to eat. Then they encountered something called manna, which they ate every day, at every meal, for decades, which was quite a trial. I think it has to do with eating and complaining. People complain when they encounter even small things. Last time, we talked about how, at a place called Marah, the water was undrinkable, and the Israelites complained, Did you bring us here to die in the wilderness? What the Israelites said was true, but it didn't solve the problem. God detests complainers. Moses cried out to God, and God said, The first test I give you is with water. If you have no water to drink, will you not complain? God is a God who heals us; God can heal everything. God instructed Moses to cut down a branch and throw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

Do Not Complain

Be careful when complaining. The Israelites complained about food, and they failed the first test God gave them. They failed the second test, which was about food, as well. God often tests the Israelites. It's necessary to test them. Even Abraham was tested by God. God will also test you and me. How important is eating in a person's life? Some might say, If I don't eat, I'll starve to death. But then again, when God tested the Israelites, they didn't starve to death. The Israelites simply didn't believe. Today, among us, if you are constantly worried about what to eat, drink, wear, and where to live, you are probably not much different from the Israelites. The problem is that your core interests haven't been touched. If your core interests are touched, will you still react the same way? If you are tested and have no water to drink, will you still believe in God? Can a person who has God starve to death?

Some of the Israelites were quite clever. When they woke up in the morning and had manna to collect, they collected more, thinking, What will I eat if it doesn't come down tomorrow? They collected too much. God had already told them not to worry, that there would be more tomorrow, that it would come when it was time. This kind of cleverness is not true cleverness; it is petty cleverness that provokes God's anger. So they collected too much, and the next day it stank and was full of worms. Then God said to the Israelites, How long will you refuse to believe in me? The Israelites made a fatal mistake: they had no faith in the future. The second mistake was that they thought they could not survive without food.

Man Lives Not on Food Alone, But on Every Word

You can try living by food alone and see what it's like. If these Israelites had not left Egypt, had not seen the miracles that Jehovah God performed before their eyes, had not crossed the Red Sea as if walking on dry ground, could not approach when facing the Egyptian army, why didn't they believe in God after experiencing so much? The logic in these people was simple: Is God reliable or not? To put it bluntly, they had no faith in God. If you live only for your belly, thinking that living is just about eating and drinking well until you die; but some people think, I live for destiny, for God, so I cannot serve your belly and also serve God; I cannot serve your business and also serve God; I can only serve God, because God is a jealous God, cannot serve God and also serve mammon.

Why do people love money so much? Because money can buy many things. You will find that having money is actually not reliable. I have met many businessmen, and people who have a lot of money still want to continue making money. What is the purpose of making money? There is basically no answer. Serve God when you have time, and if you don't have time, forget it, and come to God when you have problems. Why do people make money? Making money is for living a better life, but they don't live well. Man cannot serve mammon, cannot serve your belly, man lives not on food alone, not on money, but by carefully observing and following every word that comes from the mouth of God. I really don't want you to be a Christian and still die in the wilderness, unable to enter the promised land.

The devil messes with you so much. Many of us are messed with by the devil. Why are we messed with by the devil? It is because we lack this thing called destiny. If the question of what to live for is not resolved, the problem of the devil cannot be solved. Live for destiny! Without destiny, everything else is useless. You come, pray, get better, and then come back, going back and forth in torment. Living for money is foolish.

Start Living for Destiny

Some who gathered much had no surplus, and some who gathered little had no shortage. This is very miraculous. If a person has a mentality of poverty, he wants to have more. Those who gathered much had no surplus, and those who gathered little had no shortage. This cannot be understood according to human logic. We must know God's logic. If you gather too much, God will blow on it and take it away from you. There is no way. Therefore, do not be greedy. How much can you eat? Those who gathered much had no surplus, and those who gathered little had no shortage. This is determined by God. People who believe in the Lord are not lacking. If people who believe in the Lord are still worried about lack and gather too much, they will be like the Israelites. Then do you still trust in God? According to God's instructions, on the sixth day, you should gather twice as much food, because tomorrow is the Sabbath, and there will be no food. Some people opened it and saw that there was really nothing left, so they took out what they had gathered the day before. Some people will ask, Does man live on food alone? But it is not okay not to eat. Now that we have God, is eating not a small matter? You can't figure it out. With God, aren't all things small matters? People must carefully observe and follow, and must know what they are living for.

I often feel sad that the devil has done so much harm to people, and people have no wisdom to face this problem. There is a sister whose father could not work when he was 33 years old, and she herself could not work when she was 33 years old, and she had a lot of illnesses. Her brother could not work when he was 33 years old. This is a family curse. I don't need to tell fortunes. In her child's generation, they will not be able to work either. I give her a very practical answer: have destiny, know what you are living for. With destiny, it is very easy to drive out demons; without destiny, those mediums come among us, pray and get better, and pray until they die without solving the problem. But there is one thing that can solve the problem, and that is from now on, I live for God. This is my destiny. I came into this world for this purpose. My belly and my money are no longer my God! All my needs in life are in God. God tests you, and you fail at the first test. How long will you continue like this? So God says:

Then the Lord said to Moses, How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? (Exodus 16:28)

It is terrible if you refuse to keep them! So I give everyone a suggestion: no matter who you are against, don't be against God! God controls evil spirits and angels, and everything is in God's control. If you oppose God, will you have good? If God unleashes a bunch of evil spirits upon you, what will you do? You say, Isn't God the God who heals us? God is the God who heals you, but your God is your belly and money.

Today, we still need to return to a basic aspect. I think doing things practically, believing in the Lord practically, and doing everything right! I think a very important concept is carefully observing and following, and the most important thing is to obtain destiny. Today, a brother sent a message saying that half a year ago, he often listened to our Genesis Bible study, and the words Mingding Destiny often appeared in his mind. This time, we randomly drew names to give away books for free, and he received a copy of the book Obtaining Destiny. God actually knows people's hearts.

Therefore, those who gathered much had no surplus, and those who gathered little had no shortage. God will surely supply you. Thoroughly understand this matter of living. Is God a reliable God after all? Understand this matter! Dare to put all your chips on God. If you dare, all the things in your life will be settled. What family curses, these are not difficult. The difficulty lies in people's unwillingness to keep the Lord Jehovah's statutes, ordinances, and commandments.

It is sad to live for the Stomach

It is a sad thing to live for the stomach! The Israelites, after leaving Egypt, were constantly focused on food and drink, and they began to complain. They failed the test, and God recorded it against them. Consequently, they camped in Rephidim in the wilderness, and there was no water to drink. If you and I had witnessed the ten great miracles that God performed in Egypt, crossed the Red Sea as if walking on dry land, and eaten manna provided by Jehovah every day, what would you do when there was no water to drink, and God helped them turn bitter water into sweet?

And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. (Exodus 17:3-4)

The people complained, questioning who Moses was. Moses cried out to Jehovah! This man is truly interesting; when people's core interests are touched, you see if they reveal their wolfish teeth. How can these people become God's people? God wants to touch your core interests. I have also learned to touch your core interests, to see if you reveal your wolfish teeth.

The people wanted to stone Moses. If it were you, what would you do? I guess you have two choices: one is to complain like the Israelites, asking why you are on this so-called Mingding Destiny path, and wondering if you are all going to die of thirst. The other is to trust that if I rely on my God, God will surely provide for me. Isn't God testing you? You failed the test before! In the end, the Israelites did not pass the test, except for Joshua and Caleb.

Christians dying in the wilderness are everywhere. Christians who do not diligently keep and observe His commandments, statutes, and ordinances, and who do not solely trust in God, are everywhere. I think that if you have money to donate, it doesn't mean much. If you donate when you don't have money, that really means something; it is a matter of core interest. If you have time to pray with us, it's not a big deal. But if you are especially busy and still make time to pray and serve with us, that is the real deal, that is Mingding Destiny.

Mingding Destiny is that I was born for this, I live for this, this is my destiny! I can have nothing else, but I cannot be without my God. No water, no food, it doesn't matter, but I cannot fail to serve my God, that is the kind of resolve. God wants your life; what will you do? If God takes me away, that is exceedingly good, then I was born for this and die for this. Some people do not understand this.

Do Not Violate God's Statutes, Ordinances, and Commandments

In my ministry over the years, in our church, the proportion of those who stay is probably less than one-tenth. I have served many people. Where did all these people go? Later, I discovered that after ten lepers were healed, only one stayed to follow Jesus. Those others thought that their leprosy was finally healed, and they should enjoy their lives, visit hot springs and saunas, eat and drink well, and travel the world. They had so many things to do, where would they find the time to worship God?

What happened to the other nine of the ten lepers later? They ended up in trouble again. They had leprosy because they lived under a curse. What is a curse? It is violating Jehovah's statutes, ordinances, and commandments. God gave them grace and healed them, but they went on to violate God's statutes, ordinances, and commandments. The disease certainly returned, though not necessarily leprosy. Brothers and sisters, never go against God! But do not do so with a fearful heart, but with a heart of reverence. God is not an evil God; God wants us to have life.

As a result, God commanded Moses to strike the rock, and water would flow out. It was very miraculous; water flowed out. Among us, those who have experienced God are numerous; miracles abound! Why do people test God? What are people's core interests? If your core interest is your child, you are cursing your child. If your core interest is your mother, you are cursing your mother. If your core interest is your business, you are cursing your business. If your core interest is eating, drinking, and playing, you yourself are the curse.

So, when God is testing you, I give you a suggestion: solve the root problem; what am I actually doing? If you are only thinking about making money, whether it's RMB, US dollars, it's like joss paper to the dead; it's useless. When you get to hell, what are you going to spend it on? Guo Degang's crosstalk about hell depicted people frying dough sticks in pairs and frying twisted doughnuts one by one.

What I mean is, what can you buy with money? So, we must understand that when you experience a miracle, it proves one thing: this world is a spiritual world. This world operates by the word of God, and if you violate the word of God, that is a curse. We must understand that if you are God's people, who can resist you?

The Israelites were doing well there, receiving manna every day and having water to drink. But then a large group of Amalekites tried to destroy the Israelites. What is there to fear when you have God? Moses had Joshua go out to fight, and Moses went to the top of the mountain to pray for him. When Moses raised his hands, the Israelites prevailed over the Amalekites, but when he lowered his hands, the Amalekites defeated the Israelites. Later, Moses had to hold both hands up. When he got tired, Aaron and Hur supported Moses's hands, one on each side, and his hands remained steady until sunset. This was also good!

Finally, Joshua defeated the Amalekites with the sword, and the Amalekites became enemies of the Israelites. God said:

For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. (Exodus 17:16)

God will have war with the Amalekites from generation to generation for the sake of His people. You need to know that if you oppose the Israelites, God's people, then you become God's enemy. So the Bible says, those who curse Abraham will be cursed, and those who bless Abraham will be blessed.

If you become God's people, will you lack food? No! Will you lack drink? No! When enemies rise up to attack you, God will help you defeat them. What could be better than this? You cannot solve such problems with money. So, among us, those who have money should be careful; is money your god? I think that rich people are not necessarily so fond of money, but the dirt poor are definitely fond of money.

We must know for certain that God fights for His people, so Jehovah is my banner! Jehovah is my banner of victory! Today we think about what you are living for. If you are 30 years old this year, look at what you have achieved in these many years. If you have not lived well, change your way of living, live a life of Mingding Destiny, and live for God from now on. I think everyone should ask themselves, what am I doing while I am alive? You live and then you die, do you need to worry about living? Since living is a very simple thing, don't make it too complicated! If you really do not have Mingding Destiny, it will be difficult for you to continue with us!

Summary

Today, let's remind ourselves, brothers and sisters, what are you living for? If you are thirty years old today, look at the results of your past life. If it is not good, change your way of living and start living for God. Who are we among? Should we ask ourselves: People die when they live, do they need to worry about living? Why is living, which is a simple thing, made so complicated? Making it complicated is not a good thing.

Let each of us ask ourselves whether we have Mingding Destiny? Without Mingding Destiny, it is difficult to follow us. Listening to me all day long, after listening to me, you will think: This request is too high, who can do it?

If you truly live for God, believe in Him, rely on Him and trust in Him alone, everything becomes simple. If you are half-hearted, straddling two boats, God hates it the most. Not only does the world dislike you, God also dislikes you, how can you live? In this lifetime, these things must be understood. Israel could not overcome food; food was their core interest. If God said, Give Me your life, wouldn't the Israelites turn the world upside down? People need to be clear about what you are doing. If you don't know, come and explore and understand the story of Israel's Exodus today.