Pastor Samuel Sharing

Brother William Sharing

A kingdom of priests and a holy nation

Good morning everyone. Today let's look at Exodus chapter 19. Chapter 19 is talking about this main topic: the Kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So what happens if you belong to a wonderful and mighty nation? If you belong to a mighty kingdom, you will feel proud of yourself. If you belong to a very powerful nation, a very powerful kingdom; especially if this kingdom belongs to God, it is a special privilege which is only made available to people like Jacob. So God is the God of Jacob, Abraham, and Isaac.

This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites. (Exodus 19:3-6 NIV)

We are God's treasured possession

Now, the whole chapter is talking about a wonderful thing. How wonderful it is! If we are set apart, and belong to God, although heaven and earth all belong to our Lord, God especially named it this way. "You are mine, you are my treasured possession." So special. You are a treasured possession.

Do you still remember Esau? Esau looked down on all these things, he did not take them as a treasure at all, so God did not take him as a treasure. But Jacob took this as a great treasure and pursued it for the whole of his life. Because of this, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and us, we become a treasured possession. If you are one of the Israelites when you hear this, what is your response? "What does that have to do with me? I have a job, and a kid to look after. What about the kingdom of priests, what about the holy nation? These things aren't in my interest at all!" They all look like Esau.

So, my brothers and sisters, you are given an identity, and such an identity is a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. God will take you as a treasured possession, although the whole earth is mine. This is the main point that Moses was trying to deliver to the people. Are you hearing this? If you look down on this identity, if you do not take it as a treasure, you will be like Esau. Even if you do not do much, like Esau; Esau didn't destroy or do something illegal, but just looking down on the firstborn right, looking down on the spiritual blessing, looking down on the holy nation and kingdom of priests, looking down on the treasured possession of God. Do you know what Esau was looking for? Good hunting, animals, good food, women, and day-to-day activities.

Let me tell you, if you take these things as important things, you have to remember how God cursed Esau. Why did God curse Esau, and why did God bless Jacob? It is very simple. One took it as a treasure, and the other did not take it as a treasure at all.

Don't be a "lay believer"

That is why, being a Christian, or a pastor, if you say "I just want to be a lay believer", one day, you will lay down and be laid off. Do you know what that means? "I am a lay brother, a lay leader, a lay believer", one day you will be laid off by God. Who told you that you are supposed to be a lay believer? You are a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. If you were to ask me what is the most important thing in my life, if you can name it, you are someone.

When I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, I found a treasure. This is the greatest treasure that I have ever had. Some people say, "Whenever I listened to your Bible study, you like to boast about yourself." I am not boasting about myself, I am boasting about this privilege! This kind of privilege of being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Am I getting an echo in your heart? Am I getting something echoing back from your heart?

It is a wonderful privilege! Among all the nations, when you travel around, you see a lot of lay people. They are American, they hold American passports, and they travel to places like Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, and they feel like "Wow, I am American!" Every time I talk to Americans; you know, we are Asian, but every time I talk to them, they are full of confidence. Do you know why? Because their nation is so powerful.

I was Chinese. Years ago, a lot of people said, "Oh, you are Chinese. Do you have meat to eat?" Their perception of China was that they were so poor, that they did not have meat to eat. And that was true. When I was studying at university, we spent about half a month's salary eating Kentucky chicken. It was a big meal. Or we drank a bottle of Coca-Cola and thought: "Oh, we are drinking a thing from America!" A lot of my classmates had the dream to go overseas. And their first choice was America. There was a time. But times have changed. When I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, after a couple of months and after I studied the Bible, I started to know this: I belong to God. What a privilege! I am a treasured possession of God.

We must have the character of Jacob

Something about me is that I have the character of Jacob, I have the character of Joseph. If you hear anything, you will hardly hear me murmuring about a situation. I carry the character of Jacob. I know I am chosen by the Almighty God, and that this is such a privilege. It is so powerful. This sentence is so powerful: "Treasured possession." God carried me on eagles wings, and brought me to himself! You have seen what God has done to Egypt! Have you seen what God has done to Egypt? If you have not seen it, read Exodus chapter 1-19, and you will know what God has done to Egypt.

Do you want God to treat you like Egypt? Or do you want God to treat you like Jacob? Of course, I want to be treated like Jacob, a treasured possession, the apple of God's eye. Do you want to be like that? Yes, you do. You will be a treasure in the eyes of God. God will give you all kinds of things.

I know a lot of people who say: "Impart some anointing to me", and they have no idea what that means. I hardly teach these kinds of things. I teach people: "You'd better be a good priest, you'd better behave and inherit the character of Jacob." Do you know what the character of Jacob is? If you studied Genesis with me, you will know that I salute Jacob. He is such a wonderful person. He reversed the birthright, the birth sequence. Nothing is impossible for people like Jacob, because he has God. God, the God of heaven and earth, the name of God was associated with the name of Jacob. So powerful.

Do you want to be seen in the eyes of God like Egypt, or do you want to be seen like Esau? Do you want to be seen in the eyes of God like Jacob? God is speaking to the descendants of Jacob, but the problem is this, I am not the descendant of Jacob, but I do carry his character.

All Curses Have A Reason for It

The Israelites came out of Egypt, but they all died in the desert. Some people pronounce it as "dessert" because the dessert is the apple of their eye. But they died in the desert. As you know, in the eyes of God, they were bullshit. Sometimes in Chinese, we call it "dogshit". What I'm talking about is whether you know how valuable you are. But people don't know that. When we become a Kingdom of Priest, miracles follow us. When we become a holy nation, we consecrate ourselves to God. We belong to a mighty God! Who can bully me?

You can try to bully me. But do you know what God promised Jacob? "Whoever curses you, I will curse him. Whoever blesses you, I will bless him. " What a wonderful promise! If you are like Jacob, you cannot be cursed because you belong to God. The curse comes from God, God only curses people like Esau. Are you with me? God brought them out of Egypt. And God wanted to carry them out of Egypt on His wings like an eagle. How wonderful it is! The three million people saw with their own eyes what God did to Egypt.

To me, I'm so sad to say this, including some of our brothers and sisters over here, a lot of Christians never take it as a treasure. But this is really a treasure. I have seen many Christians behaving like the Egyptians. They are not Christians, they are Egyptians. That's why a lot of bad things happening to them. God will give them a disease the same as God gave to the Egyptians. God will give them a disaster the same as the one God struck the Egyptians with. And then we just flipped around and looked at them from the front to the back, and back to the front. The more I look at them, the more they look like Egyptians. They belong to the world, although they have the name "Christian", and they could be even worse. Be with me. Remember that God wrote a Bible for Christians. Are you with me? God wrote the Bible for His people, not for the people of Egypt, not for Egyptians. The Bible is not for Egyptians. The Bible is for the people of God, but God has spelled out curses and blessings so clearly.

Being A Priest of God Is A Privilege

The whole of Deuteronomy is talking about curses and blessings. It was written to the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob. So this is a high-risk profession and a high-risk choice. Either you take it as a treasure or you just neglect it, neglecting the spiritual right.

If you belong to the Kingdom of Priest, do you know what will happen? The power of Almighty God will come upon you. Last night, I didn't sleep until early in the morning as I ministered to people. I cast out demons and heal the sick because I know this is a privilege.

This is a privilege that I work in the spiritual realm. I cast out demons and I cast out the devils and this is the privilege. Do you know what people really need when they work on this earth? "I need money because I need to buy properties." Or: "I need a good job. God blessed me with a good job". In fact, you have asked for the wrong thing. You should ask God: "I want to be part of your treasured possession. I want to be your Kingdom. I want to be a Kingdom of priests. I want to be in this holy nation. I want to belong to you, Almighty God." Then do you need to ask for a job? You don't need to ask for jobs. Having a job is so low and it is never a problem in the Kingdom of priests. Are you with me?

And sometimes I talk to people before their interview. Before the interview, they come to ask for advice. Because I'm very good at showing people how to do well in the interview. For those people who have listened to me, whether you have that caliber or not, that's a totally different issue. Because the interview is about putting up a show.

So they remember how I have trained them for the interview and most likely they will get it. Do You know what I do? I teach people to have dignity and get to know who they are. You are the children of Almighty God. You walk in like someone with talent. When you walk in, you are not begging for a job. The moment you beg for a job, you will never get it.

Because you are a talent and the company needs people like you, you will get the job. Are you with me? So when you sit there answering questions, you ask questions. When you answer, you got to carry the kind of tone that you know who you are. I'm the child of God. I belong to the Kingdom of priests. It's not that I need this job, but this job needs me. I'm sure you will get it, whether you have the caliber or not, whether you are a true Jacob or not, that's another issue.

But why am I saying this? You'd better understand the Kingdom of priests. A lot of people are also preaching the Kingdom of God. But how much do they know about the Kingdom of God? How much do they know? How much do you know about the Kingdom of God? And they take John Maxwell, who wrote a book about Leadership. They study so hard on leadership. But when I look at it, is this the Kingdom of priests? Oh no, no no! Do you know what kind of people are priests? Do you know what priests do? A priest is the one who touches Almighty God and brings the power of Almighty God onto the ground and then brings the problem that is on the ground back to Almighty God. This is called a priest.

This is called a priest. You and I are priests. I am a priest. We belong to a holy nation.

So, after you have listened to what I say, " Oh yeah, I'm a priest". Suddenly you realize you are a priest. That would be good. I'm a priest and I interact with God. I am a treasured possession of God. I will bring blessings from God and share the blessings out to the Earth with the people. That's what God wants us to be.

Curses Upon Those Who Look Down On God's Privilege

God wants us to be above all other nations: a nation above all other nations, a people above all other people. But if you look down on this, you do not take it as a great treasure, you will get big problems. God is a jealous God. If you do not take it, you need to be very, very careful. A lot of Christians live under curses and they do not know. Someone sent me a message. When I saw the message, I said: "my brother you're living under a curse." "No, I'm not living under a curse." Oh my God! "I think you are living under a curse, come on." "I'm not living under a curse, I just got sick. I just need to go for chemotherapy. I just need to go for this treatment. I'm falling sick." Then they send me a message like this, from Proverbs, "An Undeserved curse does not come to rest." (Proverbs 26:2)

They do not understand the word at all. Curses all got reasons. There's no "no reason". Curses all come with a reason. The reason is that you look down on the privilege God gives you. Some Christians minister to people. But I don't think they do what I do. When people call them, they say they are busy. Same, when they called God, God will say I'm busy. I think this is how it works.

The Kingdom of God Has Its Own Hierarchy

Do you know how powerful the Kingdom is? God came down, and descended upon it in fire. There was a trumpet, thunder and lightning. It's so scary, so scary. God was so fearful, there was smoke, and the whole mountain was full of smoke. God spoke to Moses and Moses spoke to God. God permitted Moses to go up to the mountain and God spoke to Moses to tell people this and that. Amazing!

If I were to be one of the Israelites standing down there, how wonderful! No other kingdom looked like this. Do you know who is the king in this Kingdom? God is the king of this Kingdom. That's how it works. I belong to Almighty God, who should I fear? I should not fear anything. I fear nothing because God is my God. Amazing! This is so amazing!

So number one is the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of priests. They have their own leadership structure. The Kingdom of God is very organized. Sometimes people read this and have problems understanding it. "How come Moses went up there and did not perish?" "How come God does not allow us to cross over to force our way? And to get closer to God, I just want to approach God." No! If you try to force your way and approach God, you will die and you will be stoned to death or shot by arrows.

This is what God said. Do you know what He said? God picks His own leaders. God is the king of His kingdom. God can appoint the people. Once God said I called Moses to come forward, then when Moses went to the mountain, nothing happened. It was all OK. Perfect. No problem at all. Are you with me? That's not God's approach if you are not called by God but try to force your way forward and you say I want to be elected. If God picks you, then you can be the leader. But if you want to get the leadership position through election then you will surely perish.

God honors His leaders. That's why in front of the whole Israelites God spoke to Moses and Moses could speak to God directly. When Moses spoke to God, God did respond to him.

If other people cried out: "God, I also want to speak to you! I have a question for you: why are you not picking me?" God did not bother. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? God doesn't even bother such questions.

Only Moses could speak to God. God honored him. When God was speaking to Moses, all the three million Israelites were standing down there and heard that. They had this impression: "Oh, this Moses is appointed by God. So we had better respect him."

You got to understand one thing: If you curse Jacob, you will get cursed; If you bless Jacob, you will be blessed. Are you getting something from this kind of Bible Study? I'm sure you can get something, right?

The Kingdom of God Cannot Tolerate Flesh and Carnality

The Kingdom of God cannot tolerate flesh and carnality. Are you with me? You see that God commanded the Israelites not to have sexual relationships with their wives. It is legal for you to have a sexual relationship with your wife. It is perfect. It is legal. But you cannot do it because you need to abstain and consecrate yourself.

You know, sexual relationships are purely carnal. Are you with me? Sexual relationships are purely carnal. That's why there are a lot of things that people got to know. People need to know that it is flesh. Whether it is legal or not, it is still the same thing. Even for husband and wife, sexual relationships do not become holy because of the so-called "legal" relationships. No. It is purely carnal.

Because the Kingdom of God did mention such things, it gives us a clear message: We must deal with our carnality. If you care for your flesh, you will be the enemy of God. Even if you turn to the Bible, turn to the New Testament, and you say: "Oh, this command is from the Old Testament but we are at the New Testament now", God is still God and His requirement has never changed. The God of the Old Testament is also the God of the New Testament. God is the God for both the Old and New Testaments. God is consistent.

Carnality is the enemy of God. Why do humans get all these kinds of problems? Why do humans get possessed by devils? Why do humans not become the treasured possession of God but the treasured possession of devils? Because of carnality.

We Need to Nail Down Our Carnality All Our Life

You and I, the whole of our life got to deal with the carnality. That's so wonderful! God has given us the Holy Spirit. God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us deal with our carnality so that we can nail it down and defeat our carnal behaviors.

The devil surely knows our carnality. One day I was casting out the demon. You know, inside my heart, I have all the "likes" and "dislikes". I really hate to deal with people who are stupid. But being a pastor, you got to minister to all kinds of people. So one day I was casting out a devil. The devil said: "You cannot cast me out!" I asked: "Why can't I?" The devil replied: "Because you also know actually you don't like this person at all! I know how you feel. You hate to minister to this person!" Oh my God! The devil knows what's in my heart!

I speak it out openly. To be honest, I really hate that. But do you know how I was going to respond to the devil? Can you make a wild guess?

Some of you may know me. I said: "By carnality, yes. I don't like to do all these kinds of things. But I obey the words of God. I got to nail down my carnality. So, now, devil get out! You'd better get out! Yes, you are reminding me I got to deal with my carnality. But now I'm not allowing my carnality to rule over me!" Are you with me?

Actually, I hate to deal with all of you. That's my carnality. I also like to enjoy good food. I also like to enjoy traveling. I like to enjoy many things. But that's not my destiny. My destiny is to nail down my carnality and follow the words of God. I want to be part of the Kingdom of the Priest. I want to be in this holy nation. That's why I enjoy ministering!

In the past few days, I have been dealing with the devils one after another, queuing up at my door. They manifest through the people I shepherd. They gave me a lot of headaches. Oh my God! I really hate this. Yes, that is my carnality.

It is a very good reminder that I have not totally nailed down my carnality. Yes, the feelings are true, but I didn't follow the feelings. That's why the New Testament asked us: Who are you following? If you follow the feelings, you will be led into destruction. If you follow the Holy Spirit, you can go into your eternal life. Are you with me?

I'm very clear in my mind. The devil wants to fool me around, but I think it may not have the chance. So I would like all of you to know that this is the kingdom of priests and this is the holy nation. Dealing with your carnality is one of the major jobs in our life. Yes, the feelings are true. Inside me, the feelings are very real. But I do not allow it to rule over me. I do not follow the feelings. In the end, do you know what happened? The devil fled! I cast out one devil, cast out another one, and I cast out yet another one. Do you know what happened? The angels in heaven are clapping their hands and celebrating! They are celebrating because there is one more Jacob on the Earth. I hope all of you are Jacob. We follow the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is so powerful that no flesh can stand in front of the Holy Spirit, that no feelings can rule over our life. Our life belongs to the Kingdom of God!

Consecrate Ourselves

So we got to consecrate ourselves. Do you know what is the meaning of "consecrate"? If we consecrate ourselves, this means we set ourselves apart and we belong to God. If we say we set ourselves apart and we belong to God, then we must live in a very neat and tidy kind of manner. We cannot live in a big mess and call ourselves consecrated. If I say I set myself apart for God but my bedroom is still a big mess and I say: "Never mind! When I go up to heaven after I die, I will be clean!" Oh my God! Oh my God! What a horrible way of thinking! If you cannot manage even your bedroom, what do you go up to heaven for?

So remember: God is going to give us the mighty power because we are His priests. After you hear my sharing, do you feel the privilege? Do you have that kind of feeling: "Wow, my God! This message is so comforting, so soothing! It feels even better than listening to those soothing music!"

God Has Given Us All The Privilege

So I hope all of you have understood what I'm sharing with you. You should have understood The privilege. This is such a privilege being a priest of God. God will put you above, not underneath, above all other people. God will put you above all other people. What an amazing privilege!

From now on, never look down on this privilege. If next time I say "Let's have a Bible study", don't reply with "Oh I don't have time"! Oh my God! Once I had to minister to a person, who said: "Oh sorry, I don't have time because I got a project!" You know what I am doing. I have been doing this throughout the years. At that time, when the church was not standing in victory, I had to face the music all around in the corporate world with so many problems. Yet, when someone approached me for help, I still prayed for her and cast out demons. I really did that.

Do you know why I'm doing this? You got to know why. I know my life does not depend on my job. My life is in the hands of God. I value this privilege of being a priest of God. I take this privilege so seriously. That's why even when I lost my job, I still knew for sure that I have God with me, so it was no big deal!

Be a Jacob of This Age

My brothers and sisters, I hope all of you are a Jacob of this age. Have that kind of character! Have that kind of character! I'm not so sure whether somehow I did it out of my nature or what. But for the past twenty or thirty years, I had not watched a movie. I never watch TV dramas. Some people like to watch TV dramas. They can watch TV dramas non-stop, one episode after another, one day after another. They really enjoy watching that.

But I enjoy the privilege given to us in our Lord Jesus Christ. I cast out one demon and that is my Episode 1. I cast out one demon after another and those are Episode 2 and Episode 3. So in every sermon and bible study of mine, you can hear many stories. And all those stories are the stories of the priest of God. As a priest of God, I have the privilege of drawing the power from the throne of the Almighty God and then passing it on to the people I want to bless. God wants me to bless them all.

That's my destiny. My destiny is not watching TV dramas or watching episodes. It's not watching movies or traveling around. It not having a good tour or having a good meal. Yes, sometimes I enjoy eating good food, like any other person. I'm not an angel. I am a still human. But I know I have a privilege to be the priest of Almighty God. And one day when I stand in front of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ will give me a very good appraisal. I will bring my result, that is, the fruit I bear for our Lord Jesus Christ along with me. God will put me above not underneath.

I really hope all the promises in the Bible, in our Lord Jesus Christ, all the promises in the kingdom of priests, come true on me. I wish this will happen to you as well. Amen!

The Kingdom of God is not short of jobs but short of people like Jacob.

May the Lord bless you. I will see you next week.