Always Remember God's Grace

Let us turn to the 13th chapter of Exodus. Time flies like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, some people reach 30, 40, or 50 years old. In the blink of an eye, a person's life is over. In fact, a person's life is really short. The Israelites stayed in Egypt for 430 years in the blink of an eye. In the 12th chapter, the Lord God finally brought His army out of Egypt. So what was the first thing God commanded them to do after they came out?

Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.” (Exodus 13:2)

The second thing is:

Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.” (Exodus 13:3)

The third thing is:

You are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons. “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Exodus 13:12-14)

All these things are to remember what our God has done for us. So the theme of this chapter is, Remember God brought us out of Egypt with His mighty arm. So why should all the firstborn belong to God? Shouldn't it be about being set apart? No! Because in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, God struck down all the firstborn of the Egyptians, both human and livestock. Because the Israelites killed a Passover lamb and put its blood on the doorframes and lintels, God passed over their homes and did not strike them down.

Having already left Egypt, why is the first thing God commands to remember that God brought us out of Egypt? And even our descendants should also remember God? Actually, it is not that the Israelites should not have died. In fact, the lamb gave its life for them. Now Jesus Christ shed His blood and sacrificed Himself as the atoning lamb, so we should remember that God redeemed us and brought us out of Egypt.

God knows people's virtues very well, so God's first command is that you have come out of Egypt, let your descendants know how you came out! So every year on this day, remember that the Lord God saved you from the hand of Pharaoh with a mighty arm. Think about it, in the past, descendants were all slaves, not even their own. Now they have been set apart and belong to God. God does not need our stinky tofu at all, but He released us from that place and made us free people. But people forget in the blink of an eye.

In the process of my ministry, I have found that people's memory is really very poor. The miracles and wonders experienced by these people I minister to are beyond my imagination, but they forget in the blink of an eye. I am very surprised, so surprised that my eyeballs are about to fall out. Let me give you a few examples: One person's academic performance in university was the worst in the whole school. After graduation, he could not find a job and almost became mentally ill. Later, God used me to minister to him diligently. I helped him revise his resume, I helped him with interview training, and his entire job search process was prayed for by me. As a result, when he had a job and a family, he forgot God's grace in the blink of an eye. I am telling this story to make everyone clearly see how bad people's memory is, so as to give brothers and sisters a reference.

There was a baby less than two months old whose half of his face was red and festering. If you see a baby with half of his face festering, what do you feel? Whether it is a boy or a girl, if he has a yin and yang face, it will be difficult to find a partner in the future. Later, I desperately led his mother to pray. Hour after hour passed, and the red and swollen areas on the child's face slowly disappeared. By the 5th hour, she took a photo and showed it to me. The child's face turned to a normal color. I myself was very surprised. But the child's family forgot in the blink of an eye, and in the end, it was as if I owed them a favor. Such things are everywhere.

Thank God, I never morally kidnap people when I minister to them. After ministering, they can do whatever they want. If you are willing to walk the glorious road with me, then let's walk well. If you are not willing, I will never force you. What I want to say is that people forget God's grace more than Alzheimer's. So when God led the Israelites out of Egypt, the first thing He commanded was, Remember the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt with a mighty arm.

God used the ten plagues in Egypt as the price. Every family in Egypt had someone die. How much blood was shed before the Israelites could come out? God spared no expense and struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, whether human or livestock, from Pharaoh to the common people. Every family died one, which is more serious than the current plague. If calculated on the basis of a family of five, then 20% died. Think about it, the Israelites all left Egypt, losing the main labor force, and then 20% of the people died. Every family was burying someone. What a great loss this is?

Brothers and sisters, is your memory still there? I want to remind everyone: Those who easily forget God's grace, God will definitely remember who you are. I thank God that in my most difficult time, when I called to heaven and earth, God gave me a job. From then on, I have remembered my God until today. From the beginning, I told God: My life was given by God, and I am willing to give up everything for God. When I was about to lose my job, surrounded by challenges, I was still ministering. It doesn't matter if I lose my job, as long as I have my God. Because I have a good memory! I am the firstborn in our family, originally a person who should have died. It was God who saved me with His mighty arm. I will remember God forever. From now on, I will no longer live for myself, but I will live for the God who redeemed me.

Someone contacted me. He has been in and out of the church three times. This time he is coming back again. I chatted with him and found that he had actually received many graces from God. He had experienced God. He said that he used to have one leg shorter than the other. A pastor prayed for him and he was healed. He is a businessman, and his purpose is to make money. Why did he come back again? Because he didn't make money. If he had made money, would he have come back? It's hard to say.

I challenged him and asked him what he really wanted to do? I told him that your goal is to make money, which is not the same as my goal. Don't say that your goal is to make money when you come back. If so, then you should do whatever you should do. It's like when you are on a plane and you suddenly find that the place you are going is not the place the plane is going. We are not on the same path. Isn't this very upsetting? If you want to be a businessman, then be a good businessman. If you want to be a Christian, there is only one choice, which is to put God first. People should have a good memory! He has also listened to what I have been saying recently, that Christians have no way back. If they retreat, they will die in the wilderness. There are not many options for Christians.

I want to remind everyone that whether you are an employee or a businessman, you must remember that God once saved us with a mighty arm. If you have not experienced God, you owe no one, not even God. You can do whatever you want, and you should do it well. If we have experienced God's grace and tasted the heavenly gift, we should not forget God. Brothers and sisters, I am talking to those who believe in the Lord and have experienced God's grace. God knows that our memory is not good, so we must always remember that the firstborn belong to God.

Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving. When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ceremony in this month: For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord. Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere in your territory. (Exodus 13:3-7)

I ask everyone, is leavened bread delicious or unleavened bread delicious? In our Northeast dialect, this unleavened bread is as hard as a heel. And we Chinese celebrate the New Year by making dumplings and eating big fish and meat. Is that remembrance? It's not like that! This unleavened bread is very unpalatable. Why eat it when it is so unpalatable? And why eat it for seven consecutive days? It is to let us know that the days we spent in the house of slavery were even worse than eating unleavened bread, but God brought us out and brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey. Every year on this day, remember the Lord your Creator, remember the Lord God brought you out of the house of slavery in Egypt.

What I cannot understand the most and what I am very surprised about is why people's memory is so bad? For example, some people were about to have a miscarriage. After I led her in prayer, the bleeding stopped. Later, the child was born, and now the child is very big, but she has forgotten God. I say these words to express my feelings. God also knows very well what kind of virtue people have. People very easily forget God's grace.

That day I met a person whose neck and shoulders were stiff. After I prayed, his neck and shoulders relaxed. In less than a week, I asked him how he was doing. He said, I admire you believers. I asked him, don't you believe in the Lord? He said, I have not experienced God! I was surprised. A week ago, I just prayed for you and your neck and shoulders just relaxed. How can you say that you have not experienced God? Then he asked me back, did that happen? I said, you have Alzheimer's? I think Alzheimer's is better than this.

Thank God, God gave me a good memory. From the day I believed in the Lord until today, I often count God's grace on me. The more difficult the days, the more willing I am to count. That is why sometimes when I lead everyone in prayer, my tears will flow down. Some brothers and sisters are especially lovely and feel sorry for me. They ask me, teacher, why are you crying? Actually, I am giving thanks, because I cannot help but shed tears when I think of God's grace. I was originally a hopeless, hopeless, and unglamorous dead person, living in toil and trouble, not knowing why I was living? Without purpose or goal, just living for the sake of living, living extremely bored, feeling that it would be better to die. But today, I have been saved by God's grace. How can I not remember my God forever!

Everyone must not think that remembering God's grace is a disadvantage. Counting God's grace is definitely better than counting money every day. The more you count, the more grace you will have in your grace account. One person had experienced grace twice. Once, he was about to die from cancer and was healed by my prayer. The other time, he had difficulty breathing for two years and I prayed for him again and he was healed. Later, people said, my son believes in the Lord like you. How can we live like this? I really want to ask her, what kind of brain is this?

When God brought us out of Egypt, the first thing He reminded us was not to forget God. Because I often remember God's grace, the things I do are beyond my own imagination. One day, I was about to take my mother out to eat when my mother started rolling her eyes, her mouth was crooked, she was drooling, and her whole body was curled up. I knew that old Ma was here, so I quickly prayed for deliverance, drove old Ma away, and after half an hour, my mother returned to normal. Then I drove her to eat. On the way, my mother couldn't do it again. I drove the car to the parking lot, then drove old Ma away again, and continued driving to the place to eat. Nothing was delayed. My mother ate a bowl of rice and came back with nothing wrong. My colleagues were all in the car at the time and they can testify for me. My mother has a son like me and has lived a long time. Otherwise, she would have died long ago! If you want me to tell stories, there are too many.

I will just say one thing, which is to remember our God. Almost everyone has experienced God's grace, but they have forgotten it in their memory. So we must often count God's grace in our memory and often remember it. Not once a year, but 365 days a year, every day remember our God, remember Jesus Christ died on the cross for us. I have ministered to many brothers and sisters. When they were seriously ill, I stood firm until I knocked down the demons on them and released them from their illnesses. When they were healed, I cried! Because Jesus' crucifixion for us was vividly portrayed before my eyes. It seemed that I saw the Lamb of God, the Lamb of God who saved us from sin, endured the scourging for us, and was nailed to the cross. That was really painful.

By His stripes we are healed, and by His precious blood we are redeemed. If we have a little memory, we should remember our God and often remember Him. Some time ago, a child of about ten years old had autism and could not speak. Our brothers and sisters desperately ministered to him, and I personally participated in it. Later, the child was not only able to speak normally, but also had good intelligence. But he left the church soon after. I really admire these people.

God very clearly told the Israelites:

For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord. Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere in your territory. On that day tell your son, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year. (Exodus 13:6-10)

We become Christians, children of God, do we keep the festival once a year? No! We must keep it 365 days a year. Do we have to keep the Lord's Day? No! We must remember our God seven days a week, 24 hours a day. This is not an exaggeration at all! Whatever we do, we do as if we were doing it for God. In the future, God will lead us into the promised land flowing with milk and honey, just like our current situation. God is clearly in our midst, coming into our midst. It is difficult not to be blessed!

Offering to God is a Matter of Course

You are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons. (Exodus 13:12-13)

To remember our God, we must offer the firstborn to God. The reason is very simple. Our lives are given by God. What is so great about giving a firstborn sheep, cow, or donkey to God? I don't know why some people's brains can't figure out this account. Our lives are given by God! Maybe you don't think so, and I don't force you. So sheep, cows, and money are nothing great, because we live by trusting in our God.

Once someone asked me a question. He said that he only had one sheep left in his family. Should he offer it to God or keep it to give birth to cubs? I asked him back, you only have one sheep left in your family. How are you living these days? You only have one sheep left because you have never offered sheep in the past. Then this one will also be finished! You may not even know where your own head has gone! I really don't know where this brain has grown! So many times I am very surprised, and I say that this is a birdman.

A birdman is a person with a small brain. His brain is like a walnut, his heart is like a peanut, his memory is not good, and his IQ is about the same as a bird. People often don't know how they ended up in a situation where they only have one sheep left, and they are still discussing with me whether to offer it or not. It's very strange! I told him that you have lived to the point where you only have one sheep left, and you still don't know that you are living under a curse? If I were you, I would have learned to offer it! Sheep are not our lives, God is our life! God is our mighty Savior and our mighty Healer. If you get sick in the future, can you rely on that sheep?

In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.’ When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every animal and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.” (Exodus 13:14-16)

Therefore, our offering today is a matter of course. I ask you, if God is your savior, what would you do? In ancient China, there were many tragic heroes who gave their lives to repay the kindness of knowing them. If even the kindness of knowing them can be given up, then what should be given up for the kindness of saving lives? Later I found that the more we remember our God, the more we experience God's grace. Think about it, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt and were Pharaoh's property. As slaves, if they ran away and were caught, they would be killed, and they were unarmed. How could they come out of Egypt? Now God has saved you with a mighty arm.

According to today's saying, our Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb. He redeemed us from the world. Our lives were originally slaves in this world. We were originally working for this world. We lived and died without glory or hope. Our lives were nothing but toil and trouble. Shouldn't we remember our God and offer ourselves to God?

I often talk about a concept, what is your core interest? If you are an employee, is your job your core interest? If you are a businessman, is your business your core interest? Why did that brother go in and out three times? Because he was pulled very hard by his business, so he went to work on his business. But we are priests of God, and we do what priests should do. We must make a mark on our hands and scriptures on our foreheads to remember our God. You will see that from Moses onwards, those who were willing to remember God, such as the great prophet Samuel and the great king David, were all prosperous. These things are too awakening, don't be confused.

When Encountering Difficulties, Steadfastly Trust in God

When will people forget God's grace? When people encounter a little difficulty, they will forget immediately. Their eyes only see that small difficulty. God has helped you solve such great difficulties before. Now that you encounter a small problem, can't God help you solve it? Why do you forget? Because people choose to forget, they are just a birdman. This is just a fact. God knows very well that people are like this.

There is a kind of person who counts God's grace when they encounter difficulties and remembers that our God was able to show His power and save us from Pharaoh in such difficult times. Can't God take care of this little thing now? These Israelites were unarmed and could defeat Pharaoh, and they could also plunder the wealth in the hands of the Egyptians. Did they do it by themselves with their martial arts skills? No, it was God's martial arts skills! If God took these Israelites directly into the promised land, how would they react? When they saw that they had to fight to enter the promised land, they would feel that fighting was hard and people would die. They would immediately forget everything that God had done to the Egyptian Pharaoh.

God did not misjudge people! He took them around in the wilderness, training them again and again. When it was time to enter the promised land, they still did not dare to enter. I am very strange, why do birds dare to enter, but this group of birdmen dare not enter.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle. (Exodus 13:17-18)

In the past, when the Israelites were unarmed in Egypt, God was able to save them. Now that they have weapons in their hands, is God not able to do it? When you encounter difficulties, what is the first thing you think of? Is it just your little ability? Later, you find that your little ability is not useful anywhere, and you become a loser. You think it would be good to have abilities like me, but in fact, my abilities are not useful either. Because I have never relied on my abilities, but on the Lord our God.

Our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, and Samuel. The Lord God is also my God. When Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived as foreigners in the land of Canaan, it was a very barbaric era. They were still able to survive by relying on God and become great princes. Can't we do it today? How God allowed Abraham to live in that land, today God also allows you to live in this land, and living becomes a very simple thing.

God knows that if the Israelites were not this kind of birdman, and everyone was eager to enter the promised land, would it be good to take them on a shortcut? Of course! Like me, I did not wander in the wilderness. God took me on a shortcut. From the first day I believed in the Lord, in a very short time, I read the Bible once. Although there were many things I didn't understand, I had a very deep impression and knew what kind of people could enter the promised land. So I said to God, I want to take a shortcut. From now on, I will remember the covenant You made with Abraham. I have the blood, genes, and character of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in me. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and also my God. No matter what I experience, my God is always the God who saves me.

When I was still a slave in the house of Egypt, God could save me. Now that I have left Egypt, how could God not save me? No matter what difficulties I face, even if I pass through the Flaming Mountain, my God can still lead me through! As a result, God led me on a shortcut. This shortcut is simply magical! God is clearly with me, giving me wisdom and intelligence, and blessing everything I do. When I first believed in the Lord, I was able to perform miracles. It was very magical. A child was born and was about to die. After I prayed, he came back to life. I think my God is great! That child is 26 years old this year.

God could have led us on a shortcut, but because your inside is filled with unbelief and fear, and also with Alzheimer's, you easily lose your memory and forget in the blink of an eye. If you make a mark on your hand and scriptures on your forehead, and often think about it, you will definitely be able to take a shortcut. In those past years, I was very blessed in the workplace. Blessing is definitely better than curse. Who wants to live a cursed life? Who doesn't like to live a prosperous life? But you have to have that virtue! That is, you have to learn to be grateful and remember God! Otherwise, you will be afraid when you encounter something. What is the point? Why be such a person?

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.” (Exodus 13:19)

Everyone knows that when people die, they are buried, but Joseph died and was not buried. His coffin remained there until it became bones. Why? Because Joseph had a strong determination: Even if I lie in a coffin and become a pile of bones, I must enter the promised land, because God's promise will be fulfilled in the days to come! Joseph is a person who lives forever! Moses remembered the oath the Israelites had sworn before Joseph and took Joseph's bones into the promised land.

After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 13:20-22)

Do you see our God? When I read this passage, although I cannot see the pillar of cloud or the pillar of fire, I know very clearly that since God led me out of Egypt, that is, out of this world, God has been leading me on the path He wants me to take. Although there are occasional times of rebellion and occasional deviations from God's path, God has not remembered my sins. God still guides me. This makes me even more grateful!

God Never Forsakes Man

God has never forsaken His people. God will not forsake you because you are a nobody. On the contrary, it is man who forsakes God time and again. The road out of Egypt is littered with corpses. From the Book of Exodus and the Book of Numbers, we can see many painful lessons, precisely because people have poor memories. If you experience a testimony, write it down, because a bad pen is better than a good memory. When we forget, we can pick it up and look at it, so that we can turn back to God again, and be inspired again by God's Spirit and God's love, to continue running the road ahead.

God guarded the Israelites day and night with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. What grace! What are you still afraid of? If you don't enter the Promised Land, where else can you go? Apart from this road of no return, what other road can we take? Moreover, the place we are going to is a land flowing with milk and honey. Why must we choose to fall in the wilderness and become people whom God detests? If you want to be a person pleasing to God, start trusting Him now!

Some time ago, a person contracted a lung disease and needed to take a certain medication. This medication made him feel very uncomfortable after taking it, but the doctor said he had to take it. It was uncomfortable to take it, and he was afraid not to take it, so he struggled and suffered for many days between taking it and not taking it. I was very surprised! Because in the past, I often ministered to him for a period of time, and his lung disease improved very quickly, even the doctor was surprised. I asked him a question, and he has not answered it until now. I said, did the medicine cure him, or did God cure him? Why didn't he answer? He just wouldn't admit that God had healed him. I can only say that he is an ungrateful person, and I admire such people!

Conclusion

Never forget God's grace, and start remembering how God healed us and how He delivered us. So I say again a very harsh word: Are you willing to become a person who falls in the wilderness? If you are willing, then go ahead! As for me and the brothers and sisters who have the same aspirations as me, we must enter the Promised Land! No matter how difficult the road in the wilderness is, we must rush through it! No matter what difficulties we encounter, remembering that in the land of Egypt, in the house of slavery, under the hand of Pharaoh, in the face of the most powerful head of state, God was still able to deliver us, what kind of fiery mountain and difficulties cannot be overcome?

Having crossed the Red Sea and the Jordan River as if walking on dry ground, even Pharaoh is but a sesame seed in the eyes of God. Although we cannot, all things are possible for those who trust in God! Nothing is impossible for God! Do not be afraid, do not worry, but trust in God alone. Remember, never be an ungrateful person! We may be too far removed from what the Israelites experienced 3,500 years ago, but have we experienced less today? We must have faith, like Joseph, even if we die, we must enter the Promised Land! Nothing can hinder the accomplishment of God's good will!

May God bless everyone!