Topic: Basic Concepts of Bible Study - Sharing Recording on April 19, 2019

Introduction

In the last session, we talked about how to study the Bible. Afterwards, many people raised some questions, which were basically centered around the theme of faith. Faith is a very important concept. What exactly is faith? Many people's interpretations of faith can be described as diverse and bizarre. In this session, we will look at how to read the Bible to understand God's will. Our faith must be in harmony with God's will. If we read God's Word, but our own logic system is still inside, it will be difficult to harmonize with God's Word.

Believing to Enter God's Will

Let's begin to understand how to enter God's will. God's will is clearly revealed in the Bible, but many people do not believe it. Someone asked me: Is seeing a doctor really God's will? The Bible clearly records that our God is the greatest doctor. Since our God is the greatest doctor, do we still need to find a small doctor? This is a very troubling question.

Let me give you an example. Suppose you go to the most powerful doctor in the world. You ask him: I know you are the most powerful doctor in the world, but can I go to a lousy doctor in a remote corner of a fifth-tier city in China to treat me? Isn't this very strange? I think if I were that doctor, I wouldn't know how to answer you.

Why do people ask such questions? Because they do not believe that God is the greatest doctor. I have a pastor friend who knows that I have ministered to many cancer patients, and many cancer patients have been released through my ministry. Many patients with depression have also been released in our midst. My pastor friend is afraid of seeing me because he feels awkward when he sees me. How does he pray? He says: God, should I have chemotherapy? If God hears this, what would He think? Can you find anything in the Bible about whether or not to have chemotherapy? Anyway, I didn't find it.

Some people will ask, who should see a doctor and who should not? I tell you, those who have faith seek God, and those who have no faith seek doctors. Some people ask me, who is the hospital prepared for? If we have hospitals, what do we need God for? Because there are many diseases that hospitals cannot cure, right? I also ask a question, if we have God, what do we need hospitals for? Because many people do not believe! It is precisely because we believe that we can draw on God's grace and promises!

Reading God's Word Must be Harmonized with Our Faith

Well, let’s return to an important point, which is faith. We often have a preconceived notion in our mind, that we think it is in accordance with God's will to see a doctor, but this is actually man's will. When man's will is different from God's will, how can they be reconciled? Then we will read God's will from the Bible.

Of course, I am not against people seeing doctors. Because some people believe and some people don’t, it’s their personal choice. That is to say, if someone chooses to have chemotherapy, they will have chemotherapy. If they choose not to have chemotherapy, they will not have chemotherapy. The doctor will respect your choice, right? Some people choose to have surgery, and some people choose not to have surgery. Some people who have surgery die, and some survive. Some people who do not have surgery also die, and some survive.

We must begin to know that we ourselves are qualified to make all decisions. If you come to me and ask me, should you see a doctor? I don't know, because I am not you. I can make decisions for myself, but you have to make decisions for yourself. Therefore, those pastors among us who serve are trained not to make any decisions for anyone.

The Bible talks about freedom, which is very important. Everyone must make their own choices. In fact, what kind of situation a person lives in is related to his choice. There were so many blind people in Jericho, but only Bartimaeus was there shouting: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Then this Bartimaeus saw. What about the other blind people? They chose to continue to live in darkness.

What am I talking about? I am talking about reading God's Word to harmonize with the faith within us. If you don't believe, how can you read God's Word? After I read God's Word, I imagine Jesus. But after you read it, you say: There is only one Jesus, how can I be like Jesus? Some people think that they cannot be like Jesus, but I think I can be like Jesus. Why? Because the Bible tells us that you should imitate Jesus. Imitating Jesus is my choice. I choose to believe. After I believe, I find that, wow, God's promises are so faithful!

Constantly Ponder and Seek God's Will

Brothers and sisters, we must return to a basic point. The Bible is a system of faith, and this system must be built up little by little by reading the Bible. The Chinese Mingding Destiny we talk about is a set of belief system.

Last week, we talked about Matthew 7:24: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Why do we say that reading God's Word and putting it into practice? Because of believe. He believes, so he will put it into practice. If he does not believe, how can he put it into practice!

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

Jesus said that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. All these words from God's mouth constitute a system. This entire Bible must build a framework, and faith is a very important concept in this system framework. Next, we will talk about what faith is, what promises are, what revelation is, what grace is, what blessings are, what curses are, what evil spirits are, and what God's sovereignty is. We will talk about all these things.

Over the years, in my constant prayer and seeking, I have received revelations little by little and constantly broken through. Therefore, what I am sharing with you today is the Bible study system of Chinese Mingding Destiny, that is, reading the Bible to understand God's will.

For example, someone writes you a letter, and you need to know what this letter is trying to tell you. If you only read it according to your own ideas, instead of reading it according to the writer's ideas, then the letter is written to you in vain. Usually, when we write a letter to someone, it is to get the other person to take some action and do something. Then we must write clearly what the goal of this matter is, how to do it, and to what extent it should be done.

Why do we say that reading God's Word means putting it into practice? Because that is God's command to us. If we read God's Word but cannot understand God's will, how can we put it into practice? If we don't put it into practice, then we are building the house on the sand. Understanding God's will has stumped many people, but later I discovered that it is not a difficult thing. Moses also said that this is not a difficult thing, it is in your mouth and in your heart. (See Deuteronomy 30:14)

How can we find God's will? I will take Genesis chapter 5 as an example. This chapter is difficult to read. When I first read it, I saw that the entire chapter was full of people's names, and I hardly knew these names. Also, Matthew chapter 1 is full of people's names, and they are all Hebrew names. Usually, I would start preparing for the Bible study of this chapter two weeks in advance. I knelt on the floor of my office and asked: God, how should I study Genesis chapter 5? The whole chapter is about who and who, how many years he lived, who he gave birth to, and then he lived for how many years and died. It keeps repeating this thing. What is this trying to tell us?

While I was praying, God gave me a very wonderful revelation: Did you see that? I deliberately keep repeating this thing, born, lived, and died. I suddenly realized, Oh, this is so important! It turns out that God repeats this so that we can understand that living, being born, and dying is basically what life is all about.

But living this matter makes people feel confused and uncomfortable. What should people do about such an uncomfortable thing? There is Enoch in the Bible, he walked with God, he is the only one who did not die. It turns out that those who walk with God do not die. Enoch has opened a way of life for us. Therefore, the topic of my study of Genesis chapter 5 is to see through life and death. Only by seeing through life and death can people seek God. If people think that living is very interesting, just like beasts, how can they seek God!

Reading God's Word Must Be Carefully Obeyed and Followed

An old lady had suffered from insomnia for 20 years. Her son was also a pastor, and her son was also a good friend of mine. The pastor asked me if I could minister to his mother. When his mother came to me, I scolded her, because she couldn't see through life and death, so she suffered from insomnia. Isn't that very miserable? Don't think that you can understand even if you can't see through it. If you can't see through it, you will suffer from insomnia, but if you see through it, you won't suffer from insomnia, right?

That day I led her in prayer, and I rebuked the spirit of insomnia to leave. After praying with her for half an hour, I asked her to listen to my recorded sermon on seeing through life and death. As a result, the next morning, she said that she slept well, and fell asleep after listening to half of the recording. This is great news for an insomnia patient. Later she came to me again, and she was really healed, completely healed. Some time ago, she sent me a message saying: Your aura and energy are really great! The words she used were very interesting. She had just believed in the Lord not long ago, and she was very happy to be healed, so she sent me a long message of gratitude. A very interesting old lady.

The same is true for Numbers chapter 1. The entire chapter says that a certain tribe, from the age of twenty and above, all those who can go out to fight, how many were counted. Then it is what tribe, from the age of twenty and above, all those who can go out to fight, how many were counted. Each tribe is repeated once, and twelve tribes are repeated twelve times.

For example, in Numbers chapter 7, the leaders of each tribe offered sacrifices. The offerings were the same, a silver plate, weighing so many shekels, a silver bowl, weighing so many shekels, and calves, rams, male goats, etc. All twelve tribes repeated it once. If we were to write the Bible, we might write it like this: Twelve tribes, each tribe offered so and so, how simple, just write it once.

But God is not like this. God's intention is to let us know that to be a Christian, only those who are twenty years old and above who can fight count. You say you have become a Christian, but you don't count, how sad. Therefore, our Chinese Mingding Destiny system is built through studying the Bible, reading God's will from it, and then constructing it.

If you study the Bible carefully, you will find that the theme of each chapter is very obvious. For example, Deuteronomy chapter 28 keeps repeating: If you carefully obey the words of the Lord your God, then you will be blessed in this and blessed in that... What does this mean? It means to carefully obey and follow these words of God. In the second half, it is written, if you do not carefully obey the words of the Lord your God, you will be cursed in this and cursed in that... After reading it, I was trembling with fear. Later, I gradually understood that not only blessings come from God, but also curses come from God. We used to think that blessings came from God, but curses did not come from God. God is like Santa Claus, only grace but no curses. How can that be!

There are also curses in the New Testament. Galatians 1:8 says: But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! After reading these words, should we believe them or not? Anyway, I believe it. I wrote the Bible study of Deuteronomy into a book called Blessings and Curses.

Brothers and sisters, we must know that blessings and curses both come from God. So how does the curse work? The curse works through evil spirits. Once God curses, evil spirits pounce on it. Therefore, we must be very clear-headed. Why can these cancer patients be healed when they come to me? When I meet a cancer patient, I say: Cancer is a curse. The reason for the curse is that people have violated God's Word. If you want to be healed, first come out of the curse, let the precious blood of the Lord Jesus cover you, and then rebuke the evil spirits to leave in the name of Jesus Christ. Many people are healed.

But some people argue with me, thinking that they are the Job of today, but did Job get cancer? Job was healed, so what do you do? Job said, I had only heard about you, but now my eyes have seen you. Why? Because Job humbled himself. God challenged him, and he could not answer many questions, so he said, I am unworthy. But some people get cancer and still think they are worthy, and then they say to me: Only you are right, only you are right, we are all wrong. It doesn't matter whether I am right or wrong. The Bible is written clearly in black and white.

You read Deuteronomy 28:

If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the Lord your God—the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. (Deuteronomy 28:58-59)

We really have to go back to the Bible. What the Bible says, we will do. A few days ago, a pastor asked me if I could help him train his co-workers. He told me that generally people don't say it like you do. Generally, when people see someone who has cancer, so miserable, how can they say that you are living under a curse? They can't even say it! They often say that it is all God's will.

I think it is very strange. If this is God's will, do you want a little bit? Can saying that save people from curses? We really need to repent and do what God says. What God says, we will do.

Let's go back to the theme, which is how to read God's will. God's will is written clearly in the Bible, so why does everyone read the same Bible, but read so many patterns? Who is Jesus? Jesus is God incarnate! The Holy Spirit fills Jesus without measure. Jesus can hold all things with His almighty hand. Do you believe it? I believe it! If you don't believe it, you won't get it. If you say that you have to see a doctor, then I wish you good luck.

God's word is established in heaven!

To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. (Deuteronomy 10:14)

Living is a very simple thing. I am very famous among my classmates. They all regard me as a master. Why? Because my prayers are effective. One day my classmate came to me, hoping that I could help her. She had been sick for three months. She originally had a minor hyperthyroidism, so she went to see a doctor. As a result, as she watched it, she damaged the function. After looking at it again, she damaged that function again, and finally she couldn't get out of bed.

She walked into the hospital leisurely at first, and then obediently lay in the hospital bed. After I saw it, I felt that this was really miserable. The vice presidents of the hospital were all our good classmates, so wouldn't they give her the best treatment? Later she came to me. I prayed with her for an hour, and she was completely healed! Her husband happily took her home. Our God is indeed the greatest doctor! Do you believe it or not?

God Wants a Victorious Army

The Book of Numbers makes it clear that only those who can fight are counted. I, too, have pondered why, even though God had promised the land to Abraham and his descendants, it was necessary in the days of Moses and Joshua to take up arms and fight for it. Only by fighting and conquering could it be possessed. Was it truly given by God, or was it taken by their own hand? This is perplexing. I considered the hardship and suffering involved, the loss of life in battle.

I thought myself quite clever, and even offered God a suggestion. I said, God, the solution is simple. You need only breathe a breath, and the Canaanites would all perish. Moses and Joshua could then lead the Israelites into Canaan without such toil, leisurely strolling in. Or better yet, since You are omnipotent, You could whisk them away to Canaan in a single gust of wind. So simple! No war, no casting of lots, nothing needed.

But that is not the will of the Almighty God! It was merely my own idea. Many think that would be preferable, and I once thought so too. But the Scripture we read does not say so. I knelt there in prayer, for many days, until understanding came. Without striving and triumphing in battle, the Promised Land cannot be obtained.

The New Testament also states that all the promises of God are Yes in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). Yet many do not receive these promises. This phenomenon troubled me. How to explain it? Did the Israelites who perished in the wilderness receive the promise? No. I then categorized Christians into two groups: those who receive the promise, and those who do not; those who enter the Promised Land, and those who die in the wilderness.

Some find the manna of the wilderness palatable, but I believe that is not the best. I would not want to eat the same thing every day for 38 years; that would be unbearable! Today, when we go out to eat, there are so many choices that one is overwhelmed. But imagine if there were only one stall, selling only manna, for 38 years. What would you think? I would say, God, I want to go to the Promised Land! To that land flowing with milk and honey! How abundant are its resources, how delicious its fruits. God's intention is for us to enjoy the good things of that land.

As an engineer by training, I tend to ask strange questions. I once asked, God, why are humans so complicated? They must eat and drink, and then excrete. Wouldn't it be better to have a tank of oil? A hole in the waist, filled with oil, and a person could run about. Or simply plug into a charger. How much simpler! But then I realized how dreary life would be without the pleasure of eating.

Human consumption is a marvelous creation of God. He placed taste buds on our tongues so that we may savor the deliciousness. To eat as if one were eating dirt would be a curse. Thus, in Genesis, the serpent eats without pleasure. How gracious is God! Even eating is pleasurable, prepared for us with care.

Without struggle, the promise is not obtained. Why do people suffer from illnesses and afflictions? It is because they are unable to overcome the dark powers of the underworld. These powers are intricately linked to disease. How can this be shown? The Scripture says, But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (Matthew 12:28). Jesus trained twelve disciples, then seventy others, sending them all out to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. To overcome the forces of darkness is truly remarkable.

God desires to build His glorious church. Victory in spiritual warfare leads to the attainment of promise, a promise found in Jesus Christ. Is healing God's will? Yes. For all who came to Jesus were healed. From Jesus' definition of the church, we understand that healing and deliverance are fundamental works of the church, not some esoteric practice.

Some say, Because my spiritual life is deficient, I cannot cast out demons. But the Scripture never states this. The disciples Jesus trained were often flawed. At the time of Jesus' crucifixion, they were still arguing about who was the greatest. Were their lives exemplary? No. Jesus trained them for only a few months before sending them out to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. This is not through our own merit or works, but through the power of Jesus Christ and the authority He has given us.

This is a crucial concept in Chinese Mingding Destiny: victory in spiritual warfare leads to the attainment of promise. Without victory, or without the courage to fight, one dies in the wilderness. If you disagree with me, you may return to the Scripture and examine carefully why Genesis and Numbers repeat this theme again and again.

On the very day the four hundred and thirtieth year was completed, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:41)

Were those God's army? At first glance, they appeared to be ragged slaves, utterly destitute. Their gait was that of slaves; they hardly resembled an army. But God's intention was that the army of the Lord would emerge from Egypt. Therefore, in building the church today, we build a church of God's power, the army of the Lord.

The Book of Revelation begins by speaking of those who overcome. If I were to title a study of Revelation, I would call it The Revelation of Building a Victorious Church. One of my traits is a desire for clarity of concept. Without clear concepts, nothing can be done. Why must one first attend university and then undergo workplace training? It is to clarify concepts. Since we have become Christians, let us clarify the concept of what a Christian is. A Christian is a good soldier of Jesus Christ, one who must strive for victory. A Christian should be like Joshua and Caleb, following God wholeheartedly and entering the Promised Land.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

Were Joshua and Caleb afraid when facing the giants of Canaan? Yes. But God said, Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed; be strong and courageous. Today, as Christians, we may also experience fear. But that is alright; God tells us to be strong and courageous, for no enemy will be able to stand before us all the days of our lives. This is a great blessing, a profound comfort. The will of God, as revealed in Scripture, is clearly visible.

No one shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5)

Be a Christian Who Strives Earnestly

I have written a study of Hebrews entitled Striving to Maturity. For the gospel presented in Hebrews is not merely that one can enter heaven after death. A careful reading of Hebrews reveals that its theme is striving to maturity. Some ask, Is this the gospel of grace? I reply that it is. There is grace, certainly, but it is also a faith that requires sacrifice, a faith of earnest pursuit and striving to completeness.

Why? Because without striving, one cannot enter the Promised Land. Christians who fall in the wilderness are countless. They lack the ability to fight spiritual battles, the ability to cast out demons; but they excel at attacking pastors. I do not wish to be like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; I wish to enter the Promised Land.

God allows us to see clearly the faithfulness of His promises. One day, I listened to another pastor's study of Hebrews. I sat through the entire study, but did not hear him address the theme of the book. He spoke of his own ideas, seemingly unrelated to the text. He is a renowned pastor, so I dared not speak amiss. But many enjoy listening to such teachings. I understand clearly what I am reading, and could tell that he did not address the book's central theme. If one does not grasp God's will, can one obtain God's promises? It is difficult.

Brothers and sisters, begin to follow the path of Chinese Mingding Destiny, reviewing concepts such as faith, promises, spiritual warfare, revelation, grace, blessing, curse, evil spirits, God's sovereignty. I will also discuss many misconceptions in the Christian faith. Speaking in tongues, for example, is a pernicious misconception. Today, in this global online Bible study, I present my views for your careful consideration. You need not agree, but you must read the Scripture and see if what I say is true.

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

At that time, there was no New Testament. How could one verify whether Paul's words were true? Brothers and sisters, our Chinese Mingding Destiny theological system is one that is neither to be added to nor subtracted from. The epistles of Paul and the words of Moses and the prophets of old are consistent. Paul said:

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)

The Old and New Testaments cannot be separated. Moses said that nothing should be added to or taken away from his writings. Later, Isaiah added, Samuel added, and many others added. But this is not considered adding or subtracting, because they are within the same system. Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, and the Apostle John are all within the same system. It is not that they added but claimed not to, but rather that they are within the same system, so nothing was added. Do not add refers to adding something outside the system.

If the Chinese Mingding Destiny concepts we teach today are consistent with what Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul taught, and we also demonstrate God's word through our actions, is there a problem? There should be no problem.

In the previous lecture, I said that we should be like Jesus. Regardless of your denomination, being like Jesus is never a problem. Therefore, we should desire to do what Jesus did. If you cannot discern God's will in Scripture, how can you do what Jesus did? As we begin to write out the tenets of Chinese Mingding Destiny one by one, many phenomena can be clearly explained.

Why did Korah die in the wilderness, descending alive into the pit? Because of their rebellion, God struck them down. Our God is strict. Do not think of Him as Santa Claus, believing it does not matter what you do, that you can still go to heaven. That is not the case! A real estate developer once asked me, Out of a thousand Christians, will 999 go to heaven and 1 to hell, or will 999 go to hell and 1 to heaven? My logic is simple: if you live like Jesus, you will go to Jesus when you die; if you live like the devil, you will go to the devil when you die.

We should all strive earnestly, in Jesus' name, to constantly wage spiritual warfare, cast out demons, let God's kingdom come, continually strike the enemy, trample the dark powers of the underworld, release captive souls, bind the works of the devil, and we will see God's works manifested among us.

Everyone should know that even evil spirits were created by God.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

God created all things, including evil spirits. Among God's creations, the serpent is the most cunning. Why did God place the serpent there and allow it to deceive Adam and Eve? Was it not God's will? In the process of continual seeking, I have discovered that evil spirits function as scavengers. Consider this: in the environment of the church, without the work of evil spirits, how can the church be sanctified?

I later discovered that many who become victorious in the church are then taken away by evil spirits. There are also many who are driven into God's kingdom by evil spirits. If not for the work of evil spirits, we might not seek God.

Remember that God is in control! Evil spirits are also under God’s authority. Without God's permission, not a single hair falls. Some fear evil spirits, fearing this and that, but they do not fear God, which is strange. If we are to trust, let us trust the greatest God, the one who has even evil spirits under His control. If we carefully keep and obey God's word, will that not solve all problems? If you disobey God's word, God will send evil spirits to trouble you. If evil spirits trouble you, and God troubles you, how can you survive?

Conclusion

Begin to form a complete system of faith, learn to carefully keep and obey God's word, and strive to enter into completeness. Within us, there will no longer be this fear or that fear, for we are children of God, and we have the faith of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph, the faith of Joshua and Caleb, and later, like Samuel and the Apostle Paul, we will continually experience God's marvelous promises in His kingdom. Salvation is the restoration of God's image within us while we are alive, not waiting to go to heaven after death. Therefore, let us return to the Scripture, investigate these concepts clearly, and establish a theological system for studying the Bible.