Introduction

Let us turn to Joshua Chapter 24, the final chapter of the Book of Joshua. What were the circumstances under which this chapter was written? Joshua was about to depart from this world, and he had many concerns. He hoped that people would wholeheartedly serve God. Wholehearted individuals were few and far between. In Joshua's time, many years had passed since they had left Egypt. They should have entered the Promised Land in the second year, but in that second year, Moses sent 12 spies to Canaan. They returned with a bad report, and only Joshua and Caleb, with faith, told the Israelites that they could enter and possess the land.

As a result, the Israelites were all afraid of the giants there, and God was angry, vowing that they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years. That entire generation of men of war died out, excluding the women and children. By the time of the Book of Joshua, when the Israelites entered Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb from that generation remained who could enter the Promised Land; even Moses did not have the opportunity.

However, Joshua was about to depart from this world. He was a wholehearted man, and he was well aware that there were few wholehearted people in that generation. After he left this world, what would become of the Israelites was uncertain. In fact, people are naturally not very wholehearted. In my many years of ministry, I have found that there are few wholehearted individuals. But to serve our God, we must be wholehearted!

You must be a wholehearted person to serve God because our God is a holy God, a jealous God. If we serve God half-heartedly, with divided loyalties, sometimes remembering and serving with fervor, but then cooling down at the slightest difficulty, such a person finds it difficult to serve God. Therefore, I have titled this chapter: You Shall Serve the Lord Wholeheartedly.

The Israelites Received Blessings Because of God's Wonderful Grace

How does this chapter begin?

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac.

And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out. Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.

And when they cried to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them. And your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. And after that you lived in the wilderness a long time. Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.

Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you all the time. So I delivered you out of his hand. And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand.

And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’ (Joshua 24:1-13)

These are the words God spoke to the Israelites. What did God enumerate to the Israelites? A long list of graces. Among these graces, there is a very peculiar characteristic. God chose the ancestors of Israel, making their numbers great. Later, Jacob went down to Egypt with his descendants. What was the result? God sent Moses and Aaron to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, blessing them and bringing disaster to the Egyptians.

This is a very miraculous thing. God gave the Promised Land to the Israelites and delivered the Canaanites in the Promised Land into their hands. Our God strikes down some and blesses others. This land originally belonged to the Canaanites, but God took it and gave it to the Israelites. The Israelites did not fight with their own swords or bows.

Later, Balaam wanted to curse Israel. Actually, it was not that Balaam did not want to curse Israel, but that Balaam could not curse Israel. What was the result of Balaam's attempt to curse Israel? God said:

I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you all the time. So I delivered you out of his hand. (Joshua 24:10)

This means that God protected the Israelites, struck down their enemies, and took the Promised Land from others and gave it to them. Through this event, can you see the work of God? If you see the work of God, you will discover a peculiar thing: God blesses and brings disaster. The whole earth belongs to God. He gives to whomever He wants, blesses whomever He wants, and has mercy on whomever He wants. We carefully observe the generation in which we live, and it is the same. God still reigns in the kingdoms of the earth. The question is whether we are people who wholeheartedly serve God.

We Must Choose Whether to Serve God Wholeheartedly

If we are people who wholeheartedly serve God, we will receive blessings, protection, and the Promised Land. We will be chosen by God. If we wholeheartedly love God and serve God wholeheartedly, is it forced or reluctant? Neither. It is our choice. God said so much to the Israelites, why? Joshua said this:

Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14)

What did Joshua mean by these words? These Israelites still had the gods they served in Egypt and beyond the River in their hearts because Abraham's father worshiped those gods.

These things are very interesting. Why do people like to serve foreign gods? Why is it so difficult for people to serve the Lord God? Such a good God, why are people unwilling to serve Him, but foreign gods are not good, why are people willing to serve them? This is a puzzling point.

If what fills a person is a worldly logical system, you will find that serving foreign gods is very reasonable; if what fills you is a Godly logical system, you will find that wholeheartedly serving God is very reasonable. Everyone thinks their choice is reasonable, but the problem is, it may not conform to God's reason. Whether it conforms to God's reason and whether it conforms to human reason, where is the key? The key is whether our eyes see the things of the world, or see a little further? Or do we see the things of the flesh, or do we see the spiritual things?

Chinese Mingding Destiny has made several fundamental arguments. The most important of these is that the spiritual realm is real. If the spiritual realm is real, then the things in this spiritual realm determine the things in our world. What we are arguing is that we must have spiritual eyesight, and use spiritual eyesight to see through all the things in the world. When we communicate with people who have worldly logical systems, we will find that what they say is full of loopholes. Many things they think are reasonable are actually not reasonable at all, because the results are not good.

Make Smart Choices

Joshua said to the Israelites:

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Joshua asked the Israelites to make a choice. Not only did the Israelites have to make a choice, but we who have received the promise must also make a choice. If you have experienced many miraculous works of God, today you need to make a choice. We often say that if you come among us and get healed, we do not morally kidnap you. You make your own choice: whether to serve God wholeheartedly, or continue to serve the gods beyond the River? Or the gods of the Amorites in your land? Or the gods of the Chinese? Or the gods of various people?

Serving God must be a choice in our hearts. This choice is not because of fear, but the smartest choice. Wholeheartedness and half-heartedness are critical. A half-hearted person's heart will drift, and they cannot see God when things happen. Do you say that he does not know God at all? Not really, he often experiences God. Among the people I serve, there are many such people. I despise half-hearted people to the core. I feel uncomfortable when I see them. I think, how can they be so stupid? After experiencing so many graces from God, how can they still not make a choice?

Let me give you an example: There was a young man among us who came to church many years ago. Two boxes of demons were attached to him, tormenting him. After he came, he was delivered under our ministry and received many graces, but as he lived, he abandoned God and chose to love the world. He also felt that believing in the Lord was good, but he was not wholehearted.

As a result, he wanted to find a Christian sister to be his wife. Later, he actually found one, but unexpectedly, she was a scammer. Wasn't that unlucky? Later, he returned to the church, and after walking with us for a while, he left again. After leaving for a while, he came back again. This time, his mother had stomach cancer, and her belly was very swollen. How can people be so stupid? One brother joked and said: This person has come and gone three times. How can he not know that loving God wholeheartedly is an incomparably good thing?

Wholeheartedness and half-heartedness are our choice. Whether we serve God or not is our choice. Everyone must make such a choice. When you come among us, I will not morally kidnap you, but the words I say and the sermons I preach are all encouraging you to make smart choices.

There was a sister who, when her financial situation was very good, was arrogant and walked as if she had billions. As a result, when financial problems arose, she became servile again. Later, she found a job and fell into busyness. If people like us were to choose a job, if it would affect my service to God, I would rather earn less money and free up time to serve.

I will not give a lot of reasons to explain, and the road I have traveled is not much easier than theirs. As a result, this sister worked seven days a week and was very tired. As soon as you mention it, she gets anxious and thinks she is doing the right thing. I often tell her, can you change the stupid things inside? Can you reflect on yourself? But she can't reflect. People always think that what they do is right. She thinks, who wouldn't choose this way if they were in this situation?

If I were to choose, under any circumstances, I would make serving God the most important thing in my life. I would rather eat less and spend less; it doesn't matter. I want to serve my God because I live to serve God.

Many people lack a wholehearted commitment, even after experiencing God's great works, like the Israelites, who personally experienced God's many powers and graces. When they left Egypt, God struck down the Egyptians, and they all saw it with their own eyes. Then why be a person who is struck down by God and provokes God's anger, instead of being a person who wholeheartedly loves God and pleases God? I encourage everyone, you are all people who have experienced God. Whether we can serve God wholeheartedly is a crucial choice in our lives!

Choosing to Trust God Wholeheartedly Is a Personal Choice

Secondly, God recounts His works, how He blessed the Israelites and brought disaster on the Egyptians, how He protected the Israelites and struck down their enemies. Finally, how He took those lands from the hands of the Canaanites and gave them to the Israelites. The purpose is to tell the Israelites, to see the works of God, and to let the Israelites make a choice for themselves: whether to wholeheartedly trust God?

People have choices. No one is forcing you, and no one is coercing you. You need to observe and make a smart choice. But what are the reasons for our choice? We often have various reasons for serving God, some for this reason, some for that. Let's see what the Israelites said in the scripture:

The people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, (Joshua 24:16)

This sounds awkward. What does it mean to far be it from us? The understanding is that we actually want to forsake the Lord, but we dare not. We really want to steal, but we dare not; we really want to sin, but we dare not. This kind of talk sounds like it's not coming from a smart person. Then what else did the Israelites say?

for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” (Joshua 24:17-18)

Because He is our God, He brought us out of the house of slavery in Egypt, preserved us on the land where we walked, and drove out the enemies in the land where we lived. Therefore, we must serve the Lord. Can we say that? As a result, Joshua said something that the Israelites were confused when they heard. What did he say?

But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” (Joshua 24:19-20)

What exactly is our reason for serving God? I can tell you that my reason for serving God is not because of the benefits I receive from God, nor is it to thank God for bringing me out of the house of slavery, nor is it because God has helped me and blessed my work, nor is it because God has healed my diseases, nor is it because God has done so many good things for me... none of these.

I have only one reason for serving God: because He is God.

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## Seeing Through the Meaning of Life to Serve God Wholeheartedly

The meaning of my life is to serve Him. Therefore, no matter what circumstances, hardships, or problems I encounter, I choose to serve Him wholeheartedly because that is the purpose for which I came into this world. So, we must all carefully consider, did we come into this world to live for our parents? To live for our siblings? Or to live for our wives, husbands, or children?

What exactly did we come into this world for? In fact, if a person cannot see through these things, he cannot be focused. For example, with work, the logic system of many of us is like this: because God has blessed our work, we must serve Him. But I can tell you, this system is untenable.

Why did Jacob and Joseph not retreat when they experienced trials? The trials they experienced actually far exceeded what ordinary people can understand. Jacob's lifelong pursuit was to obtain God's blessing, but after obtaining God's blessing, all that was left was a staff in his hand. If you encounter such a thing, what conclusion would you draw? Would you say, Oh, what kind of blessing is this? Look at my brother, he didn't get a blessing, but he's living a good life...

Are our eyes too short-sighted? If our eyes are so short-sighted, you cannot serve God, because our God is holy and jealous. He will not forgive your transgressions and sins. Your transgressions and sins are because you have a carnal, worldly system within you, and you live in this life. All your pursuits are focused on the matter of living.

Many people do not want to die after getting cancer. Death is extremely despairing for many people, but isn't it good to despair early? If you despair early, you will know to seek God sooner. In fact, all of us, without God, have been sentenced to death in this world. Whether you like it or not, it's just a stay of execution for seventy or eighty years, or even less for some people. Many people struggle for the things of this world. Is it really necessary?

Isn't living a very simple thing? How can a person with God not live well? See what kind of grace God has prepared for those He delights in! See how those who wholeheartedly serve God and follow Him turn out! If you see how they turn out, what will your choice be?

Brothers and sisters, I ask you: what is your reason for serving God? If your reason for serving God is because God blesses you, then you cannot serve Him. In the past, I had a colleague who said: I thank God that He gave me a job when I was in trouble, so I want to serve Him. I told him directly: you cannot serve Him.

The purpose of our lives is to serve Him, and there is no other. If you feel that living is very enjoyable, then live well! I feel that living has no meaning other than serving God. Living is just waiting to die.

I carefully examine the reason for people's lives. Some people, when they open their mouths, are very unsophisticated. For example, they say to their children, When are you going to find a boyfriend? When are you going to get married? When are you going to have children? They desperately look for a job in a state-owned enterprise, desperately pass the civil service exam, but they don't know that the final outcome of a person is just a urn. Moreover, the urn you get is not easy to come by. Who knows how you died?

If a person cannot please God and lives only for the sake of living, with all his energy in this world, he cannot wholeheartedly love God. But those who wholeheartedly serve God live well, because the whole earth belongs to God. God blesses people and brings disaster to people. If you are a Canaanite, God will take everything you have and give it to the one who loves God.

We must carefully ponder this today. If you still have that system in you: because God blesses me, so I want to serve Him, then you cannot serve God. So everyone should re-examine themselves, whether you are new here or have been here for a long time, ask yourself what the meaning of your life is.

Some time ago, I led everyone to examine the Book of Ecclesiastes again. I wrote a book called Recognizing the Empty Life. Because living is vanity of vanities, but people live very seriously in vanity. Think about it, if a 70-year-old can live to 90, there are only seven thousand days left, but they are still struggling, and struggling very hard.

If we carefully observe this world, this world is full of sorrow. All tragedies are because some people sacrifice the interests of others in order to strive to live. For example, Cain, Lamech, whoever wants to harm him, he kills them. Like Cao Cao's logic system: I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me. As a result, he got migraines. The migraine demon tormented him to death, but in the end, he still died.

If we all see through the end of life and know what it is like to live, we will definitely know that the purpose of our lives is to serve God. If people don't know this, it doesn't matter when they die. Some are struck down by God, some die of cancer, some die of cerebral infarction, some die this way, some die that way…...

Because they all serve foreign gods, with this world and this life as the purpose of living. What a foolish thing to do, what a foolish thought. If you do not know God, it is the same when you die. We must know for sure the attributes of God, our God who gives blessings and brings disasters, then it depends on who you are. If you are Joseph, even if you are sold into slavery in Egypt, God will be with you, and you will prosper in everything.

Like Joseph, no matter how much hardship and suffering he experienced, he always had joy from God in his heart. Later, Joseph became the prime minister of Egypt. God will make us forget our pain, because we live to serve God.

If we live to serve God, with God in our hearts, we will completely dedicate ourselves to God. Many people cannot see through this. Some people still hold on to the idea that man dies for wealth, and the bird for food, how sad it is!

Imitate God, have the attributes of God, and pass on the blessing. The purpose of our lives is very clear. So we must know the attributes of God, we must know that God is a holy God, and God is also a jealous God.

**If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you. (Joshua 24:20)**

I have seen this with my own eyes many times. Why do many preachers live without any glory of God? Because I have contact with these people and understand them thoroughly in private. Where is the focus in their bones? There is no focus. They are very good at indulging the flesh, but not good at dealing with the flesh.

A carnal person cannot hope to receive God's blessings and grace. A carnal person provokes God's wrath. In any case, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body, because the deeds of the body are the most attractive to demons and the most inviting to disaster.

Even now, there are still many people indulging the flesh to the extreme. We must begin to know that God is holy, God is jealous, God blesses and brings disaster. How should we make a wise choice? We choose to live for God, love God wholeheartedly, and serve Him alone.

## Overcoming the Devil's Temptations

If the devil wants to tempt us, like he tempted Jesus, for example, the Bible says:

**The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” (Matthew 4:3)**

Is food that important? The Scripture says: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Isn't living a very simple thing? Relying on every word that comes from the mouth of God, do you really think so? Can the word of God be eaten as food? Can keeping and following the word of God be eaten as food? I tell you, not only can it be eaten as food, but it can be eaten very well. Man shall not live on bread alone, and you will be able to resist the devil.

**Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:5-7)**

Do we really understand God's attributes in our minds? If we understand God's attributes, like Jesus Christ, the devil cannot deceive you. The devil has always wanted to deceive Jesus, and all Christians have experienced these deceptions and lies, but Jesus overcame them. What about you?

**Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” (Matthew 4:8-10)**

This is Jesus Christ's logic system for dealing with the devil. If we have Jesus' logic system in us, even if we die on the cross, we will be resurrected from the dead, ascend to heaven, and sit at the right hand of God the Father, with a crown of glory. If Jesus lived for this life, Jesus could not have gone to the cross. If we also live for this life, we cannot go to the cross. We will not imitate Jesus Christ; we will not face all things and still not retreat, but simply move forward.

Forsaking God is not a joke. Faced with any situation, can we firmly hold on to serving God wholeheartedly? Can nothing and no one deprive us of our determination to serve God? Some time ago, a sister was very troubled. Her husband sent some threatening words to me on QQ every day. In fact, I did not force his wife to believe in the Lord. I did nothing, but her husband always did these things. Although this sister is no longer among us, she is still following online. I am very moved. This is wholeheartedly serving God!

Recently, some changes have taken place in this sister's family. Because someone in her husband's family is seriously ill, hundreds of thousands have been spent without any effect. As a result, her husband suddenly remembered and said to his wife, You quickly pray!

I think in this generation, people have said enough blasphemous words, which is really hateful. What can they do when they encounter disasters? They can do nothing. Originally, he persecuted his wife fiercely, but now he wants to turn around and ask his wife to pray for him. People are so foolish.

## Loving God Wholeheartedly and Serving God Wholeheartedly is a Wise Choice

Everyone should carefully ask themselves, without God, what can you control? Recently, the parents of a sister among us came to us. They felt that believing in the Lord was a very shameful thing. In fact, they themselves could not explain anything clearly. As a result, when they went on a trip, they were tricked into a silk shop and were fleeced.

People are so foolish. In fact, what can people control themselves? Why must they speak wildly and think that they are great? Is what they say reasonable? No, but why are they so sure that what they say is reasonable?

I think our sister has a long way to go to turn her family around and make her family smarter. Is it not a very wise choice to choose to serve God and serve Him wholeheartedly? If we stand in the long river of history today and look back five or six thousand years, or even tens of thousands of years, what conclusions can we draw? People are too small and disappear in the blink of an eye. What can we grasp?

If we do not know that we need to know God in our lives, we will serve those foreign gods, because foreign gods are very considerate of our flesh and care very much about our present life; foreign gods also like to corrupt our flesh and corrupt our lives. This is a very strange paradox.

Then let us make a wise choice, choose to serve God, and serve God wholeheartedly! Only a focused person can enter the promised land! Only a focused person can serve our holy and jealous God.

## Conclusion

In the days to come, God will do more and more wonderful things through us, because among us, there is a large group of brothers and sisters who wholeheartedly love God. I believe that God's heart in this generation is to be revealed through us. God will unprecedentedly raise up a group of people who wholeheartedly love God and wholeheartedly serve Him. God will continue to add people who wholeheartedly love God and wholeheartedly serve Him to our midst!

If you ask me: Why does God manifest his presence so greatly among you? Why does God perform healing and salvation among you? Why was I not healed in that church, but healed when I came among you?

I tell you: It is because there is a group of people like Joshua and Caleb here, there is a large group of people who imitate Joshua and Caleb and serve God wholeheartedly! Seeing our service in this way, getting up before dawn and working late into the night, completely disregarding our own bodies, no matter what kind of people they are, they will exclaim, You serve in this way!

Yes, this is how we serve, because this is our Mingding Destiny! This is why we came into this world. May God remember our service. In fact, God is already remembering our service. In the days to come, we will spread this gospel of great power, the good news of serving God wholeheartedly, throughout the whole earth. The whole earth will raise up a large group of people who wholeheartedly love God and wholeheartedly serve Him.

God will raise up such people throughout the earth to serve this generation! Let this era, because of your and my service, be able to see the glory of God! to experience the power of God! to receive the grace of God! to enter the promised land! Like Joshua, he served that generation and then rested. Isn't it meaningful to live like this? Our service, our labor, and the effect of our service will enter into eternity with us!

May God bless everyone!