Introduction

Good day to all! Let us delve into Chapter 13 of Genesis. Genesis is particularly captivating, brimming with a wealth of spiritual knowledge and principles. Our topic today is, "A Man's Vision Determines His Future." Do not be quick to lament, "How did I end up like this? God, why have you allowed me to become like this today?" Your past vision has shaped your present, and your present vision will shape your future. Do not blame God. The crux of the matter lies here: a flawed vision is a tragedy in a man's life. Without vision, one becomes narrow-minded and short-sighted, like a mouse that can only see the grain of rice before it. There is a song called "Mice Love Rice," but in pursuing the rice, the mouse ends up trapped.

Brothers and sisters, understand this: if disaster befalls me, I deserve it! If poverty comes upon you, you deserve it too! Why? Because your past vision was flawed. In truth, over the years of building the church, I have been doing one thing: trying to change people's vision, but to this day, I have not succeeded, and it has been a great failure. Why is vision so difficult to change? Sometimes, those I serve desperately want to walk the path of death, and no matter how hard I pull, I cannot stop them. Later, I concluded a rule: people do not do what they believe is wrong; they all think what they are doing is right. But when a person does not know that what they are doing is wrong, that ignorance is a tragedy.

Therefore, from today onwards, we must examine whether our vision is that of a mouse or that of an eagle. A mouse's vision is short-sighted, while an eagle soars in the sky, discerning all things on earth. When it spots small prey, it swoops down and snatches it with its talons. That is the vision of an eagle.

Corpses Litter the Road of Mingding Destiny

As I study the Bible, especially the books from Genesis to Deuteronomy written by Moses, I have found that corpses litter the road of Mingding Destiny. We have not yet read other books; we are only in Genesis now. Books like Deuteronomy and Numbers contain accounts of many deaths, group after group. One group dies by the ten thousand, another by the ten thousand. Imagine, 600,000 people died in 40 years, more than ten thousand deaths each year. Some were struck down by God, others died of old age. Corpses litter the road of Mingding Destiny, meaning that eventually, only Abram was left. Abram and his father had always lived in Ur of the Chaldeans. Lot's father, whether by good or bad fortune, died in Ur of the Chaldeans.

In those days, it was unclear how old Lot was. Later, he followed his uncle Abram. Abram had no son, and Lot was his brother's son, so he raised Lot as his own son. Later, he discovered that Lot's vision was not good. On the road of Mingding Destiny, God originally intended to lead their whole family to the land of Canaan, but Lot's father, Haran, died before even seeing Canaan, not even leaving Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram's father stopped in Haran and refused to go any further. Abram said, "Are you coming or not?" His father said, "I am not coming." Abram said, "You take your broad road, and I will take my narrow path. I am going to Canaan."

Abram left his father, and later, when his father died, he did not return for the funeral. The road of Mingding Destiny is not easy to walk; Abram's father was gone. Lot followed Abram, and as they journeyed, they reached Genesis Chapter 13, and Lot was gone too. How did he disappear? It is what we are going to talk about today. We know that Lot's life was tragic. Lot moved to Sodom, and later, God destroyed the city of Sodom, leaving only Lot and his two daughters.

Lot took his two daughters and climbed to a small mountain. He forgot to bring everything else, but he did not forget to bring a jug of wine. He used wine to drown his sorrows. All the wealth he had accumulated was gone, and he had no face to return to his hometown. People toil and toil, only to return to square one. Some start working hard at thirty, but by forty, they are back where they started. They toil from forty to fifty, and not only do they return to square one, but they also end up in the negative. They did not owe money before, but now they owe millions. They toil from fifty to sixty, what a tragedy! That is what happened to Lot. What was the reason? He was doing well following his uncle Abram, but he insisted on leaving. Was he not possessed?

Vision is powerful; a person's future depends on their vision. If you have no vision, that is your fate. People do not do what they believe is wrong. If Lot had known his future outcome, would he have chosen Sodom? He would not have. If Lot had known his future outcome, he would not have left his uncle Abram. What is the problem? A person's core interests are important. Core interests are why you live and what you live by.

Over the years, the church has eliminated group after group, like Lot's father, who died while the church continued to move forward. Others are like Abram's father, staying in the same place. And then there are those like Lot. You want to follow me, but I may not take you. I look at your vision, and I see your core interests, and I know that you cannot walk this path with us. While you still have some wealth and can still pursue your dreams, I say, "Please leave me. You go left, I go right; you go right, I go left. Let us part ways! We are not on the same path. Corpses litter the road of Mingding Destiny. This cannot be forced. I will not force you, and you do not force me. I will walk my path of Mingding Destiny, and you walk your broad road. You pursue your wealth, and I pursue my God."

Therefore, the church has eliminated group after group, sending them away. Do you think I care? I do not care much. I do not want to carry a Lot, because if I continue to carry a Lot, God will not bother with me. Carrying a Lot is an eyesore to God, so he must be sent away. Everyone must know that our small group leaders must constantly cleanse their groups and their pastoral areas. If you have a Lot in your area who is causing friction, there will definitely be conflict. So, be careful about this. If you are a good person, be a good person like Abram. Let Lot choose, and Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan. Abram had vision; he was a very visionary person.

Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold! How can anyone argue with that? Abram encountered famine when he arrived in the land of Canaan. He encountered an economic crisis! But Abram experienced the economic crisis, and his livestock increased, and his silver and gold increased even more! Do not just look at the money in Abram's hand; you must look at Abram's vision. This man's vision is powerful! Who should I learn from? I want to learn from Abram.

Abram has vision; this man is powerful! Whatever he does prospers. Whatever he does has God's presence, whatever he does has God's blessing. How powerful! You open a shop, and he opens a shop, but Abram's shop is very prosperous, and Lot is envious. Abram said to Lot, "Son, please leave me!" Why? If you do not leave, how can God speak to me? Later, God had Abram stand in that place and look to the north, south, east, and west. All that he saw, God would give to his descendants. It had nothing to do with Lot.

Did God have Abram drive Lot away? Yes, God had Abram drive Lot away. Lot himself also wanted to leave, but he could not bring himself to say it. If someone wants to leave the church but cannot say it, I will say it for you. I will be the bad guy; it does not matter. So, brothers and sisters, we must have vision. We must cleanse those who have no Mingding Destiny. What are they doing here if they have no Mingding Destiny? If you say, "Mixing in for blessings," but the blessing is what God reserved for Abram after Lot left. What did Lot get? Lot got the city of Sodom, a place to be destroyed.

The real estate in Sodom was very developed. It was the very fertile plain of the Jordan. All our pastors, you must have the vision of Abram. Cleanse your groups of those who have no Mingding Destiny. That is why our church does not care about one more person or one less person, especially not caring about one more Lot or one less Lot. If you do not have the Mingding Destiny of Abram, do not follow me! You cannot keep up. I am working hard here, and you cannot handle it. I ask you to write a few more assignments, take a few more notes, and you have a lot of opinions and complaints. What can I do? When you get busy, you prioritize work and business, putting God's affairs aside. What kind of vision is this? No wonder some people toil and toil, only to return to square one. Is this not frustrating?

I do not encourage everyone to save more people. Who are you saving? Why did Abram not try to reason with Lot? He came up to Lot and said, "Leave me! Get out of here!" It cannot be done, because Mingding Destiny is a choice. I choose to like this, and I like this. You cannot reason with people to change their minds. If reasoning could work, there would be no need to drive these people away!

For example, some people come to church looking for a wealthy husband. But the wealthy husbands are already taken. I say, "This place is not for that. You should go to the physical church over there. There are many people, over ten thousand. You have a wider range of choices, and you will find someone you are satisfied with. If you like someone who is married, I do not care." You say, "What kind of talk is that?" If you like someone, what do I care? That is your vision, and I cannot interfere. If you are always thinking about that, why should I stop you? If you want to take the postgraduate entrance exam, study hard. This place is not for taking the postgraduate entrance exam. If you want to be a civil servant, study hard. This place is not for being a civil servant.

Our brothers and sisters must emulate the character of Abram. How Abram did things, we will do things. How Jesus did things, we will do things. When did you ever see Jesus say to someone, "Stay! Stay!" Never. Jesus said to them, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." After hearing this, those people said, "This place eats human flesh! This is terrible!" They were scared to death and left. They did not understand what Jesus was saying, and they went out and spread rumors: "They are preaching about eating human flesh and drinking human blood! This is terrible! This is a cult!" They could not listen, so they were sent away.

Jesus said to those who remained, "Do you also want to leave?" Those who want to leave, hurry up and get out! I guess they were too embarrassed to write these words in the Bible, but I guess Jesus' words were harsh enough. It was the same flavor as Abram sending Lot away. We must know that vision determines how people see things. Some people say, "Teacher, that is not the case. I have seen several people who left our church recently, and they are doing very well!" I said, "You are in cahoots with them!" I do not care much about that either. If you are lured away one day, that is fine too.

I have to thank Old Ma! Old Ma has a good relationship with me. Old Ma helped me build the church. I said Old Ma is very good; it cannot be done without Old Ma! Soon, Old Ma took one person away, and soon after, he took another person away. How great! I have to thank Sixth Brother. As soon as Sixth Brother appeared, he followed Sixth Brother! Otherwise, he would have become my burden. Sometimes I say to God, "God, send a Sixth Brother to take that person away! Lest they be like a cat in heat all day long."

Back then, when Lot and his family moved to Sodom, they were constantly counting money. Their house had doubled, tripled in value. Because the price of real estate in Sodom was sky-high. If you sold the house in Sodom, you could live well for several lifetimes. The price of houses in Sodom was like the price of houses in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. How great! Unlike you, Abram, pitching a tent, having to dig a pit to go to the bathroom, how inconvenient, so annoying! Taking a shower is also difficult! Taking a sauna is impossible. All day long, you are herding sheep, and your body smells of sheep. How can you live like this? Lot's vision was very unique. The sanitary conditions in the city of Sodom were very good! The bathroom facilities, the entire city's culture, entertainment life, nightlife, that life was so good! And you still have to give testimonies: "God, I thank you! For letting me come to such a good place. God, thank you for letting me earn so much money." But what was the result? Lot almost lost his life.

Lot's Vision

Lot is a very interesting person. Men are most afraid of marrying the wrong wife. Marrying a wife who loves money is a tragedy. Lot's views on many things should have been half learned from Abram and half instilled by his wife. As the Chinese say, "Pillow talk is the strongest." Lot's vision is quite interesting. He also began to get rich. This story is made up by me. The Bible says this:

Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. (Genesis 13:2)

Not only was there a lot, but it was also good, growing very fat and strong. What was the result?

Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s herders. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. (Genesis 13:5-7)

Why did Abram's herders quarrel with Lot's herders? I guess! The story here should have a bit of this flavor. At that time, Lot and his wife saw that Abram's cattle, sheep, donkeys, and camels were all growing fat and strong. The cattle, donkeys, and camels in their family were not as good in color as Abram's, dry and scrawny, and the fur always had barbs, which was disgusting to look at. Abram's sheep and cattle were all very good. Lot felt that Abram's cattle and sheep must have drunk the water from that well, so they grew so well. He thought, "I must grab it." As a result, Abram's herders quarreled with Lot's herders.

Seeing that well, they said, "Go over there." "No, I will stay here." "You go over there," and they quarreled there. When people see that other people's cattle and sheep are good, they become envious. Once they are envious, they start fighting for grassland and water wells. After fighting for a day or two, they have opinions. "Look, I want to use your well, why can't you let me use it?" Over time, the opinions grow. People's vision is not good! Lot and his wife's vision focused on the grass and water that Abram's sheep ate and drank. In fact, it was not because Abram's sheep ate that grass or drank that water that they were strong. Even if they drank any water in another place, they would be healthy because God blessed him.

Abram's herders quarreled with Lot's herders. Why did Abram's herders quarrel with Lot's herders? In fact, Abram's family had been using this all along. You come up and grab theirs, so they have to protect it. People's vision has a certain impact on their view of resources! If people think that their sheep grow well and their business is good because of this and that, if their vision does not know that it is because of God, they will wither! I thought, "What kind of nephew is this? I raised you since you were little, and now you want to grab your uncle's things. What is wrong with your brain?"

But he has such a wife, constantly doing this behind his back. Lot is the chairman of the board, and Lot's wife is the CEO! Sometimes the chairman cannot control the president; in fact, the president indulges the chairman. Life is not easy! Abram also felt uncomfortable. The problem lies in this vision. Did Lot have Mingding Destiny? He had no Mingding Destiny. If you tell me that Lot is a righteous man, who recognizes Lot as a righteous man? Only Peter thinks Lot is a righteous man. In fact, Jesus did not say that Lot was a righteous man, and the Apostle Paul did not say that Lot was a righteous man. Do not talk nonsense, because they both have the same generation name, one is called Lot, and one is called Peter, they are very similar.

People's view of resources is very important. Let us think again, Abram is rich because of God! He becomes rich even when he encounters famine, which is amazing. You say, "How do you know that Lot's view is not good?" It is not that I say his view is not good, but Abram knows that his nephew's vision is not good. Abram watched his nephew grow up wearing open-crotch pants, so he knows his petty mind. He is naked in front of me. Silly boy, always talking nonsense, whispering with your wife in bed, and then arguing with me the next day. I know your little tricks. As a result, the next day, Abram said, "Lot, come here, please leave me. Is not all the land before you?" He thought, "This silly boy will definitely choose wrong." Lot stood before Abram, thinking, "The opportunity has come. Silly old man, your vision is not good. If you let me choose first, I will definitely choose the best."

Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) (Genesis 13:10)

Oh! This place is good. Silly old man, if you did not let me choose, we could have discussed it. We could have divided the fertile land in half, and we could have divided the barren land in half. Since you let me choose, I will not be polite. As a result, Abram knew your vision long ago, and he knew how you would choose. Because Abram's choice is not the land at all. Whether the land is fertile or not is not important. It is important to have God, because I rely on God.

Think carefully, why am I prosperous in everything I do? I am prosperous in everything I do. Because I do not rely on what I do; I rely on the God I trust. I have the vision of Abraham, which is that even in barren places, I can see God's work and see the work that God is doing in me. Abram does not care about money. Do you think he is being sarcastic? He really does not care about money, and he does not care about that land. What he cares about is God. Lot's vision is so bad. Abram saw that, "Silly boy, you will lose everything in that place in the future!" As a result, his pants were really taken off by his daughters. How embarrassing. He looked around, but he could not see far.

If you are a little mouse, shading your eyes with your hand, what can you see? If you lie on the ground at the height of a mouse, what can you see? You cannot see anything; you can only see a grain of rice. If all you see is a grain of rice, and you put a grain of rice not far away, you follow that path, and you walk into a trap. Is that not a trap set by God? That tragedy! It is a terrible sight. If Lot had seen far enough, he would not have left Abram even if he was beaten to death. Because everything he saw was earthly resources. The core interest of people living is to rely on earthly resources. I tell you, Christians must never rely on this. Christians live by God, eat by God, and God is the best resource.

Abram's Vision

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. (Genesis 12:10)

Abram saw that the place was not ideal! As soon as he arrived, there was a famine. People thought: Since God has given me this land, and there is a famine, oh, I understand. What was his vision? He understood in his heart and was clear in his mind: God is testing me, testing my faith. That's alright; I will definitely overcome this test. As a result, he went down to Egypt and returned with much silver, gold, and livestock. Everything in Abram's hands became a treasure. Then Abram went to a place and built an altar there, calling on the name of the Lord. All of Abram's actions involved calling on the name of God; he was renowned for it. In verse 4, he built an altar, and in verse 18, he built another altar, calling on the name of the Lord.

where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 13:4)

So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord. (Genesis 13:18)

That is to say, you must know what you live by. If you do not know that living by God is the best choice, then what are you doing among us? What happened? Seeing Lot, he sent him away. God is my resource, God is my guarantee. If Lot is here, if someone attacks, Lot may not necessarily be on my side. As a result, after Abram sent Lot away, God said to Abram, stand in this place, look to the north and south, east and west. All the land you see, I will give to you and your descendants.

The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. (Genesis 13:14-15)

Has everyone pondered this? Strange, could Abram see that the plain of the Jordan was like the garden of the Lord? He could see it. Could Lot see it? He could see it. That was what the physical eye saw. But with spiritual eyes, you see that the place was extremely sinful. God may have given the Canaanites more than four hundred years, and then let the Israelites go to Egypt. But looking at Sodom, alas, there were not many years left. Do you all understand? Not many years left, because the sin was extreme.

Looking at this land and that land, which was better? Actually, Abram did not care whether it was good or bad. Abram cared that he could rely on God for blessings wherever he was. It is a strange thing, why did God give today's Palestine, that is, the land of Israel, the land of Canaan, to Abram and Abram's descendants? If He had given Abram the plain of the Jordan, the land of Sodom, how good that would have been. Why give the barren land of Canaan? You say the plain of the Jordan is so fertile, why give me this barren land of Canaan? He did not rely on that. Whether the land was this way or that way, as long as it was the promised land, that was powerful. Because this is what God promised me.

If you do things entirely based on the environment, based on conditions, based on this and that, always blaming this or blaming that. Either blaming the ancestors, or blaming the ancestors for bringing many curses. Or blaming the family you were born into, not being born with a silver spoon. Or blaming your parents for not sending you to a good university. Or blaming yourself for not getting into a good university, or blaming yourself for not marrying a good wife, or blaming yourself for not marrying a good husband, or blaming yourself for not finding a good job, always blaming something. Just not blaming yourself for not having Abram's vision, isn't that foolish? Isn't that very foolish?

I tell you, the whole earth belongs to God. Everything belongs to God. God decides to give to whomever He wants. God says this land is for you, good! God says that land is for you, good! Because that is the promised land. So Abram stood in that place, looking to the north and south, east and west. Look as far as you can see, how good that is. Close your physical eyes, open your spiritual eyes, see your future, because with one look, you see into eternity. Seeing Abram's descendants like the dust of the earth, I ask you, what kind of person is this? If you look and say: Alas, how can I live to that time? What's the point of seeing that? I will be dead by then.

Abram did not think that way. Abram said: Alas, my descendants are like the dust of the earth. I will surely see my descendants like the dust of the earth with my own eyes. Even now, at this moment, we are talking about Abram, and Abram is looking down from heaven: Wow, Chinese Mingding Destiny is my descendant. A person who pursues living forever, pursuing blessings in eternity, is completely different from pursuing blessings in this life. See how far you see, not only looking to the north and south, east and west, not only seeing widely, but also seeing far. Not far in distance, but far in time, seeing into eternity. In eternity, seeing God's glorious church being built throughout this earth.

I tell you, sometimes I have a sense of excitement, an excitement that can feel the angels in heaven cheering for us. The angels in heaven are applauding for us, because there is a group of people like Abraham here, a group of people with Abram's vision. With one look, they see into eternity, with one look, they see God's beautiful will being accomplished in us. In the future, the descendants of Chinese Mingding Destiny will be as numerous as the dust of the earth. If one can count the dust of the earth, then one can count the descendants of Chinese Mingding Destiny. In this generation, God will raise us up, possessing a heart in eternity. The following sentence gives me great encouragement.

“Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” (Genesis 13:17)

Sometimes I think, should I arise and walk through the length and breadth of this land? Some people say, where are you going? Alas, I really want to go to Yunnan. Why do you want to go to Yunnan? Old Ma is in Yunnan, and I think that's good. Walk through the length and breadth of this land, as long as I see it, God will give me this land. Sometimes I lament, one year a Taiwanese girl got cancer. To serve her, I bought a plane ticket and flew to Taiwan. Although that person died, the land where my feet stepped is being revived.

In the spiritual world, God will choose many of His people in that land. People with Abram's vision will come into our midst. I lamented and said: God! I want to walk through the length and breadth of this land, God! May You, in the days on this earth, constantly manifest Your glory through our Chinese Mingding Destiny. This land You have already given to us. Wherever we go, build an altar to God, and that place will be an altar of prayer. Brothers and sisters, begin to possess Abram's vision. How far can your eyes see? Can you see God's beautiful will in us in eternity? If you can truly see, everything you see will be given to you. This is God's promise.

May God bless everyone!

Genesis Chapter 13 Scripture

13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.
13:2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
13:3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier
13:4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
13:5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
13:6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.
13:7 And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
13:8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.
13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”
13:10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
13:11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company:
13:12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.
13:13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
13:14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west.
13:15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.
13:16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.
13:17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord.
"""