Pastor Samuel Sharing

Brother William Sharing

The Key Point Is to Fear God

Good morning everyone, today we look at Exodus chapter 21. But when we read this, is it supposed to be in the Bible? I'm so shocked. This chapter has put me in a very difficult situation to explain to all of you. But later on, I thought about this. I thought, this is talking about one thing, and that one thing, is to fear God. To fear God, and be alert about the signs of curses.

Many problems happened to you and me. When we see bad things happen, are we reflecting on it, and saying, "Oh I need to make changes"? The key thing is to fear God. If you read with me the whole Bible, you will see the whole thing, from the beginning to the end of the Bible. From the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible, you will see curses and blessings. The blessings and the curses are two things that we must know. If you do not know the blessings and the curses, and you have no idea what the fear of God is, even if the signs of the curses have happened to you, you will still say, "Oh this is normal". Is this normal? No. I would rather these things never happen in my life.

So the whole chapter of Exodus 21 is talking not about good things, but bad things. But this is also in line with Deuteronomy. Do you know Deuteronomy, also written by the same guy, Moses? And this guy, Moses, is a very good writer. He wrote so much, all the way from Genesis to Deuteronomy, as well as Exodus. This guy is very well-read and can put it down into writing. That is why we can read it today, what he has written about all these bad things. When we read Exodus chapter 21, verses 1 through 14 are about blessing, and verses 15 through 68 are about curses. Curses are worth talking about.

Selfishness is The Root Cause of Curses

How did these curses come about? I'm going to talk about number one. Behind all these curses, why do they happen? Of course, because of not obeying the word of God. But let me tell you, selfishness is one of the key reasons behind all these curses. When all the Israelites, just like you and I, have no money, we do not even have the right to ourselves, our money belongs to our master. When we are slaves, we have no right to keep any property and nothing belongs to us. But all these Israelites have come out of Egypt, and have become free people. Do you know what is a free person? A free person can start to own some property. So you look at this so-called prosperity, so this guy is so rich, this guy is a millionaire, that guy is a billionaire. People are measured by how much he or she owns, by the amount of money they have.
Private property was a new invention among the Israelites. Because they came out of Egypt; they were slaves and owned nothing, and now they have to prepare to live with prosperity. They had to learn to live with a lot of money, a lot of property, a lot of slaves, and a lot of other things. Money! This is going to develop a selfish desire. Private property is secured by law. Have you read the Constitution? If you read the Constitution, you will see that there is protection surrounding private property. Usually, private property in the Constitution appears as one whole chapter. University textbooks are also talking about governance, talking about the law. If you study law, you will have a clear idea about property rights.

But this is something that develops into another thing, curses. Because you have such a strong desire to own something. Because you have such a strong desire to become rich, richer than any other guy, you take a different route. And that route, superficially, is a shortcut to get rich. But if you go back to the Bible, especially Exodus chapter 20, it talks about the ten commandments.

People thought, "Obey the Word of God? How can I get rich by obeying the ten commandments? Oh no, I will make my own way." And then they have the desire to go for a shortcut. So listen carefully. If you have the desire, which drives within you to own something, you are in danger. And be alert about the signs of curses.

These are a whole set of problems that God foretold the Israelites to be careful about all these. But at the end of the day, some still became very poor, some became very rich. And some killed other people, some are killed, and some died for no reason. And all these things happened in Israel. You don't have to be shocked, this is normal because human beings are so silly. They do not understand curses or blessings, all they see are millionaires, and billionaires. They want to be men of renown.

Throughout history, a small group of people developed a new theory, do you know what this theory is? I want to kill these selfish things. Does anybody know? They want to kill these selfish things because they think that selfishness is the root cause of all these problems. So they developed a new Theory, that no one owns anything. However, it will be very difficult to get them to work. So then, no one owns anything, everything is owned by the government. After it is owned by the government, they distribute and manage the distribution of wealth. But they have big problems, in the end, people become lazy, and the economy becomes very problematic.

So the great leader, Deng Xiaoping, is someone I really admire. And I really salute him, he is a really great leader. Do you know what he has done? He has done a very wonderful thing, the Reformation. The Reformation changed one thing: He made use of people's selfish nature, to develop the economy. "I can own property, I can invest, I can become an entrepreneur!" And the people who are daring, become rich, but the people who are conservative, stay poor.

So in those days, I observed these things. In human history, no one has successfully dealt with selfishness. Are you with me? So selfishness is one of the things that I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing. In the economy, selfishness is one of the key factors that drive people to make money and to pursue money. That is why everyone works so hard, and that is why the economy grows. And the drive of selfishness becomes a motivational factor. But it is also a problem, people are so selfish that policies must be developed to deal with all these things. Even if the people own money, they will stay poor.

That is why in some places, in some cities, the price of the property is so high, and within the city, lots of people become so poor. And you know what? Because the money all goes to the rich men over there. Do you think the rich man is concerned about the poor? No, they are not concerned about the poor, they are concerned about the money in their pockets. But so much money, billions upon billions, and I don't know what they do with all of it. They can have an empire of their business, sometimes so rich that they become richer than a whole nation.

But in the end, the world keeps on developing theories. And this theory is still developing right now! People observe problems in society, whether in North America, China, or Singapore, people observe this and that. They start to develop new theories to cope with the problems. And I would say that selfishness is something wonderful. It can be a motivational factor, or it can be the root cause of curses.

So that’s where the curses come from. So I encourage all of you to have fear for God and be alert, observe and pay your due diligence. Pay attention to the whole world and how it develops.

This is very philosophical. I want to talk about selfishness. My point number 1 is selfishness can be a problem. Private property is protected by the law, but it can cause a big problem.

Signs of curses (1): Poverty

Point Two: poverty is one of the signs of curses. You know when the Israelites came out of Egypt, they are all at the same starting point. From no one owning anything to starting owing something, and eventually marching into the promised land, then the problem started as everyone was given a fair share of the property over there. The houses were not built by them, but by the Canaanites. They started taking possession of that. And then by throwing the lot, everyone started getting a share of the land. After starting that, and after years and years apart, some became very poor, some became very rich.

In any society, it all works like that. I know a professor who has developed a mathematical model. It can compute the data of the people from the society and in the end, the output shows that some become rich while some become poor. This mathematical model demonstrates that.

If you were to ask me, as an individual, if I want to live in poverty? No, obviously not. Then what are you going to do with that? Some people want to be richer, want to own some property, some money, or own something. The problem is about curses and blessings. That's why we need to have fear for God. Why do some people become poor? It's not the mathematical model that pushes you into poverty, but it is your mind. So your mind determines your future.

Your mind is going to determine your future. If your mind can follow the word of God, and they have fear about the word of God, then deal with your selfishness and your carnal desire, nail down all of these, and you will be blessed.

Come on, you'll be blessed. Do you want to live under blessing or do you want to live in curses? You have to pay attention to the signs of curses and know clearly that poverty is definitely not a good thing. And some people give me the example of Joseph: even Joseph was sold to Egypt as a slave for 10 years. Well, you have to live long enough to see the end result, right? After three years in jail, if you live long enough, you would see something happening to Joseph. He became a minister under the Pharaoh as second in command in the whole of Egypt. And he was managing Egypt so well that he became a very wealthy person. If you could give any other example such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, or even David, anyone you could think of, they were all wealthy people. If you obey the word of God, money is not an issue. But the problem here is not about money, but that you have a strong desire for money. If you have a strong desire for money, you will fall into curses, and no one will be able to save you.

In the whole world, there are a lot of problems. Sometimes justice is taken away. You just see a lot of things happening. Do you have a problem understanding why some people were sold as a slave? Why are some people in poverty and why do some people live and fall under a lot of other issues. You got to reflect on that.

Do you know what the root of the curse is? The fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. So if you are one of the people living in poverty, don't assume you are a Joseph, but try to be alert about the signs of poverty.

Unlucky things happen. For example, your bull knocks down some people, and in the end, the family demands payment, and you got to pay right? Another day, another unlucky thing happened, and you got to pay in the end, until you have nothing left. And you got to sell yourself as a slave right? That's about that. That's the first portion of the chapter talking about the people who sell themselves as slaves and live in poverty.

And pay attention to what is in your mind. We have ministered to people who suffer from poverty. And I know their mind can be very dirty. I'm so conscious that after years of ministering to people, I know that laziness is horrible. With a strong desire, selfishness has become a problem. So you observe that the first sign of the curse is poverty.

Signs of Curses (2): Unlucky Incidents

The second sign is life and death. Some people were put to death, some people were killed and some people killed others, right? All kinds of unlucky things happened. Whether unintentionally or intentionally, something happened. You could run away, but killing or being killed is still not a good thing. Even if someone kills someone else, either the one who kills or the one who has been killed, it doesn't sound like a good thing, right? I don't want to get involved in all this. These are bad things.

And why did it happen? You can see the spiritual force behind it. Curses and blessings have clear definitions. It was developed by me because I searched high and low in the Bible, but I couldn't find a simpler definition. I hope I can make it simpler.

Do you know what is a curse? For those things you do, if there is a devil with you, that's called a curse. For those things you do, if God is with you, that's called a blessing. Are you with me?

Both curses and blessings come from God. For people who live under the curse, somehow they have this strong drive and are emotionally uncontrollable and kill someone. Then it's finished. That is already done and the fellow needs to be put to death. There is no need to argue anymore. So this is something if we trace back with our carnal eyes, you are having problems understanding why these things happen. Sometimes buildings collapse, and people are killed, right? So many things happen and to all these things you need to pay attention. These things all come for a reason. No curse comes for no reason. All curses come with a reason.

I have ministered to many people who have many unlucky things in their life, such as the warehouse caught fire, or so many legal cases going on as well as other court cases. They spent so much effort on all these things. Let me tell you, I hope all the bad things stay away from me. That's why I encourage all of you to have fear for God.

Signs of Curses (3): Curing Your Parents

The third sign of curses is cursing father and mother. If you have read the Ten Commandments, God makes it so serious about your father and your mother. If you curse your father or your mother, you will be cursed. You may say "I did not see it". You could try! You can watch it right now.

I happen to have a good mother. My mom took care of my grandfather, the father of my father. You know my mother was a very good daughter-in-law, who carefully looked after her father-in-law until he passed away. She was so young, at the age of 26, looking after a man aged around 60 until he passed away. And my mom was blessed. She had a very good life and did not suffer much in her whole life, with a good ending.

So looking after your mother and your father is a blessing, not a curse.

“Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. (Exodus 21:17)

So we need to pay attention to that. When people are in poverty, some bad unlucky things happen, and many times it is associated with the bottom line requirement of the Ten Commandments.

Signs of Curses (4): Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a curse. If you watch carefully, the human traffickers and all these people are living under a curse.

Signs of Curses (5): Quarreling

If two neighbors quarrel, mostly they quarrel over property, money, or something associated with money. I have never seen people quarrel over "how come you do not allow me to bless you?" I never saw that and never saw people quarrel over "Well, how come you do not allow me to give you money?" How can you do that? Have you seen any kind of quarrel like that? No, no, no. It's either someone taking advantage of the other or the other one that does not want to be taken advantage of. Then they start to quarrel, right?

There are a lot of quarrels in the world. All these quarrels are meaningless. Somehow, two persons can start a fight and one was injured because the other one is stronger. In the end, the stronger person injured the weaker one and he got to pay money for that.

Why we are doing all these? This is a sign of curses. We need to pay attention to this. If you want to pay attention to all this, you need to review your whole life. If you are in your thirties, review your past thirty years. If you are in your sixties, review your past sixty years. What is the thing that is driving your life? Where are you driving to? How are you going to live for the next so many years?

Quarreling is not a good thing at all. I would rather not quarrel at all. I would rather give in and let you take advantage. It's no big deal, right? Because I have the blessing from God! Are you with me? If you have a strong desire to make money, you need to be very very careful in your life. This is the fifth sign of curses. Number four is about human trafficking. Sign number five is quarreling and paying a price for that.

The Sign of Curses (6): Bull Goring

Sign number six is injuries or deaths due to bull goring. A bull could gore a person and even kill a person, or a bull could gore another animal. Or the bull of another family could gore your bull and your bull is dead. These things are all fighting. Not just men fighting each other, the bull could fight with another bull or fight with the humans as well.
If you open your spiritual eyes, what do you see? You can see the spirit jumping onto the bull and the bull becoming abnormal. Is this mentioned in the Bible? Yes. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 8, it was recorded that when the spirit jumped onto the herd of pigs, the pigs jumped off the mountain into the lake. So bull goring is one of the most dangerous things because the bulls are so powerful when they start to get emotional. If you are the unlucky person who gets the bull goring and then passes away, then people would ask: "How did this guy die?" "Oh, this guy died of bull goring." "Oh my God! Was he fighting with the bull?" "No! He was just walking along the street and somehow a bull just went mad and gored on him, and then he died!" Dying of bull goring is indeed so unlucky. You know, if you were in bullfighting, then you could qualify as a hero, right? But dying of bull goring accidentally is just so unlucky.

Look at Things with Spiritual Eyes

All the lucky or unlucky things have a spiritual background. Over the years I start to realize all these things that happen in our lives are somehow directed like movies, from Episode One, Episode Two, and Episode Three. These things are somehow manipulated by the spiritual world. Sometimes the spirit was telling me: "You know, I was the mastermind of this accident! That day, when I passed by the place, I blew onto the vehicle and the vehicle just jumped off the road!" There are so many accidents in the world, which are all associated with curses. So we got to have fear of God.

You got to pay attention to one thing: the unlucky things. When you see all these things happening, you can learn from the lessons of others. You watch, observe and pay attention to all the things. What can you conclude? The only conclusion is the fear of God. We'd better obey the words of God. Obeying is better than disobeying. If you have a fear of God you would not set your eye on the money.

In the Bible, there is a story: once a prophet healed a general. The general brought a lot of money to see the prophet and he wanted to give the money to the prophet after the prophet healed him. But the prophet refused to take the money. When the disciple of the prophet saw that, he went after the general and asked for the money. After getting the money, the sickness of the general came upon the disciple and he got leprosy. People tend to look at money but never look at things with spiritual eyes.

So you got to build your ability to watch with spiritual eyes. If you ask me, I do not want to have any business relationships with people under curses. I don't want to do that and I don't even want to make money, get benefits, or take advantage of them. I don't want even want that. Some people like to minister to those businessmen. Do you know why? After ministering to the businessmen, they actually have this thinking: "Yeah, I may be blessed by God with business opportunity!" Is that so? No! You will get cursed, man! Those are the things you could not do. Pay attention to that. Always ask yourself this question: What is my inner drive?

That's why when I minister to anyone, whether rich or poor, I have no strings attached. Do you know what is the meaning of "no strings attached"? It means no other idea, no other selfish drive attached. Do you know why? Do you know why I'm doing this? I have no such intention: "Oh, if I do deliverance for this guy, he will donate a lot of money!" No. I don't want that. I do not want that. God is a rich God so I do not need money. I only need God. I have no desire to make money. I don't need a lot of money. I'm a cost-effective person. If the renovation contractors want to make money out of me, that's not possible. The software house that wants to make money out of me will also fail because I write on my own software. For the people who want to do this and that, you know, like cleaning up the air-con, no, I could do it on my own. So I do not need a lot of money. I'm not even worried about the future.

So, brothers and sisters, open your spiritual eyes. What are you getting? Are you getting leprosies? Or are you getting curses? Are you getting all these nonsenses? Are you getting the devils? Are you attracting the devils? That's why I encourage all of you to learn a lesson from me. I only have one desire: to bless people, not to take anything from people. All my things come from God and God is a rich God. I have fear of God. That's why I never covet any other people's money, wife, or any of their properties. If you own a big bungalow house, so what? I don't need that bungalow house. I also don't need so much property. If I have money, then I have money. If I don't have money, I still have joy. I need to obey the word of God because the ten commandments are the bottom line. Once you drop below the ten commandments, curses will come upon you.

One day a friend of mine brought another person to my office. When I watched the fellow walking into my office, I saw a whole set of devils follow him. How did I see it? I saw it visually. I saw visually a whole set of devils, from taller ones all the way to smaller ones. There were about twenty plus of those devils following him like a tail. As the person was walking, the devils lined up in the room following the person, like a movie in my office. I asked who this guy was. And they said: "Oh, this guy is a Christian!" Oh my God, he's a Christian. Then why did I see all the devils? I said: "My brother, my brother, are you very unlucky? And a lot of things happened to you? Is that so?" He said: "Oh true enough!" Then he told me all kinds of unlucky stories.

Renew Our Mind

So unlucky things are the work of the devil. But don't blame the devil. Blame ourselves because we are under curses. We are under curses. If the devil follows you everywhere you go, how can you get blessings? I once met an engineer. In Singapore, there are not many engineers smarter than him. He's a very smart person, a top engineer. He took a project. He solved a lot of problems and helped the owner save probably three hundred thousand dollars. But the fellow could not get the payment. He was very unlucky.

And one day he asked me why all these unlucky things happened to him. I said: "Because you are living under curses." Then he objected: "No. I'm a Christian. Why am I living under curses?" Curses are for Christians! Are you with me? Curses are not for the aliens. Curses are for Christians, for those people who believe in God. Do you think the Bible is written for unbelievers? No, the Bible is written for the believers. The blessings and the curses are prepared for the believers and this Exodus Chapter 21 is exactly telling us: the Army of God came up from Egypt and among the whole people of Israel, some lived under blessings while some lived under curses. And that's why all these things happen in this society.

Have we got to pay attention to that? You observe the whole world with spiritual eyes and then study the underlying principles. Then what can you conclude? We'd better pay attention to what happened to us. This part did not mention the diseases God gave to the Egyptians. If you got the diseases that God gave to the Egyptians, those long and lasting diseases, you'd better pay attention to change your mind. If You do not change your mind and still say: "Oh I'm OK, I'm fine." Then that's called self-righteousness. You got to pay more price for that.

So I'm really glad to figure out what Moses was trying to tell us in this chapter: Signs of courses, and in the end, to have fear of God, and to be alert about the signs of curses. You'd better not deal with things in man's approach. But deal with things by the word of God.

May the Lord bless you. See you next week!