I. Introduction

Good day! Today, I will continue with the topic of being in God's presence. Being in God's presence is the most wonderful thing in a person's life, but many do not realize this, and they end up inviting trouble. So today, the theme I am speaking on is: As I was with Moses, so I will be with you! These are the words of God. The two most important concepts in a person's life are blessing and curse. You must know that Chinese Mingding Destiny has clarified these concepts very well. Many people talk about the concepts of blessing and curse unclearly, but we have made it clear.

A person either lives in blessing or in curse. Take a look at your own life. Do not look for problems at the technical level. Do not say, Oh, I did not manage this well, I did not manage that well. The two most important things in a person's life are blessing and curse. If you understand these two concepts, you will be formidable! You either live in blessing or in curse. If you do not get this right, you may be the smartest person in the world, but it will be of no use. At the same time, you may be the most diligent person in the world, but live miserably. Take a careful look around us, at what is happening in our generation today, and you can say, Oh, this statement is correct.

So, what is blessing, and what is curse? Do you still remember? Type a word to tell me, let us interact. What is blessing? Whatever a person does, having God's presence is called blessing. Whatever a person does, having the presence of demons is called curse. Do not argue with God about this. Do you all understand? That is to say, many times we are watching brothers and sisters invite demons in. The demons are also quite innocent, and then you feel uncomfortable, suffer from insomnia, pain, or you cannot defecate or urinate. Then you say, Teacher, pray for me. I ask, How did you do it? You invited demons in. Take a careful look at who is with you. You may have a few words branded on your forehead: I am a preacher; maybe a few words: I am a pastor; or maybe a few words: I am a Christian. It is useless. Seeing who is with you is a matter of life and death.

Many years ago, someone brought a Christian to my office, and then my spiritual eyes were opened. I saw that he was followed by a line of demons, looking like a crocodile tail from a distance, getting smaller and smaller, the last one like a little mouse, all demons, looking like demons, that I knew. I said, Are you very unlucky? He said, Yes. How could he not be unlucky? If I told him, he would be frightened. I, as a preacher, have understood one thing in my life: I can have no money, I can do this for free, do that for free, I can suffer losses, I can afford to suffer losses, I can afford to be taken advantage of, but what I value most is the presence of God. From the beginning when I believed in the Lord, this matter of God's presence has been deeply rooted in my bones.

So in these later years, God has clearly been with me. What I have done is blessed, what I have done prospers, it is really good. It is not that there are no problems, but there is no need to fear or panic when there are problems. Living is a very simple thing. So what should I do? I was looking for the meaning of living. In our generation, there was a big discussion about worldview. Now we do not discuss this anymore, but maybe everyone still thinks about it. What do people in our generation live for in this world? This is a big discussion about life, but I concluded that living is vanity, meaningless. I said, Oh, just live and die, die quickly. Now that I think about it, it is not easy for me to think this way when I was only eighteen or nineteen years old. To see through living, is that not Wang Yangming in the world?

Later, I came to know God, and then I became a preacher. You must know that later I understood, how can I bring down the presence of God? This is what I studied. I studied things quite deeply, that is, if I am a person who can bring people into the presence of God, bring people into the promised land, bring people into blessing, then God will definitely be with me. Later, this became the foundation of our Chinese Mingding Destiny, that is, why do I live? But sometimes I also get a little confused. How come I am a little dazed when I tidy up? Because I am sometimes confused in the face of real money. Fortunately, I am not in a hurry. I slowly sorted things out: Ah, no, money is not important, God's presence is the most important! In the past few years, I have done a bold experiment, and the result of the experiment is: God's presence is the most important!

I forgot which lecture this is in the God's presence series today, but it is about Joshua. I like this character very much. God's presence is powerful. As God was with Moses, so God is with Joshua today; as God was with Moses, so God is with me today. You may say: This is quite a big tone? This is just hope. I have such a hope, such a extravagant hope, you cannot argue with me. So I like this character very much. Wherever I go, I want to bring people out of curse, to replace the presence of demons with the presence of God.

For example, a few days ago I went to visit a brother and his mother. This brother is not stupid, not stupid as he is, and he is also very hardworking. He is not lazy at all in his work, but there is one thing, he lacks God's blessing. I said, Let us put these things aside for the time being and solve the matter of blessing and curse first. I do not know if people can understand these words, but without blessing, living in curse is useless, that is the presence of demons, that is too hard. Like some people whose business is very popular, that fellow, it is so popular all over the country, whether it is provincial cadres or municipal cadres, receiving this businessman is like receiving God, but what happened? He fell, owing trillions.

There are many people who are in the limelight in this generation. A few days ago there was news about the four major families in northern Myanmar, who were once very prominent people. The video showed people with a watch on their hand, a thirty million watch, which looked a bit silly. So when I saw them today, they have become prisoners, so scared that they wet their pants, they were incontinent. Have you seen these things in this generation? Have you seen them? What does that mean? It means that they are all climbing up, and after they climb up, the demons remove the ladder. I do not know if it was God who removed the ladder, or the demons who removed the ladder, and then they fell down. Is it a tragedy? Why do people do this? I do not know.

So I often advise brothers and sisters, for example, this brother's mother, she cried when she saw me. Why did she cry? Because her son has not started a family. I said, In my opinion, starting a family and entering a coffin are the same. Is this so important? Moreover, it is easy for one person to live happily. How difficult is it for two people to live happily? Is it difficult for two people to live happily? So I am telling you, people cannot figure this out in their life. Happiness is so important. Whether to start a family or not is not important. What is the point of living tangled up after starting a family? Moreover, people have already experienced it. Why do people want to go down this painful path? I do not know. I untied this knot for him. I do not know if it was untied in the end.

So, they end up inviting the presence of demons. Why? The things in people's brains are a lie. If people are not happy living, what is the point of having anything? If people are happy living, what is so great about having nothing? We often encounter these people, making these little things in the world so complicated, so tiring, and extremely loving money. We have a brother among us, I have known him for many years, oh, he lives so poorly. He said to me, Teacher, there is a princess who wants to send me to Shanghai to manage her company, to be the second in command. I said, That is good, is there money to take? He said, No money, there are shares. Is that not being deceived? Some people say, Teacher, I am going to sell oil. I said, Why don't you sell arms? All day long, you are drilling into the eyes of money. It is better to sell arms, you will become arms in a while.

There are many such things. I said, Why do you have to do these things and bring in demons? It is life-threatening! Look, some people partner with people to do business and are cheated. The partner runs away, and he is left with the debts. What are you doing? Is your brain made of pigs? These are all tragedies, so I am telling you, loving money. There was a person whose husband said to her, If you earn more money than me, then I will listen to you in everything. I have heard a lot of these stories. As a result, this girl is stupid. She thought, My husband will listen to me, then I have to work hard to make money. Bang! She got into P2P. P2P sounds fast, what is fast? It is very fast to get into debt. I feel like what kind of brains are these? She lost a lot of money, her husband also divorced her, and then married another woman, and continued to do this.

I am thinking about this, how come there are so many people who bring in the presence of demons, and so few people who bring in the presence of God? When I talk to them about the presence of God, they think I am stupid; when they talk to me about the presence of demons, I think they are stupid, and they still think they are smart. So what am I pursuing? I am pursuing the presence of God. I thought, my life is empty, I want to live out a destiny, this is what I founded Chinese Mingding Destiny for. The stories of demons' presence are endless. If you want to bring in demons, demons will definitely come if you lose your destiny. Will God supply you with everything in life? I talked about it last week, and everyone was comforted, although demons are present, God still feeds me, and I was comforted in my heart. Today I will give you some words that are not so comforting. Why? Because demons are present, what is the point of God feeding you? Those who owe six million also live, those who earn six million also live, those who earn one hundred million also live, and those who lose one hundred million are also living there, what is the point?

The stories of demons' presence are endless in this generation, one after another. Are you one of the common people, following the demons one after another? Creating one tragedy after another, some people have created a story and want to use God, which is really hateful. Saying, Teacher, didn't you ask me to do practical things? I asked you to do practical things, but I didn't ask you to be deceived. Bang! Being cheated out of 100,000, and now you have to pay back the loan. Oh, what is this? You have your own goals, you have your own purposes, in fact, in your bones, it's just a matter of money, loving the world, in your bones, it's still that little thing. There are few stories of God's presence, there have been so few for thousands of years, but rarity is precious, how precious, not using God, but being used by God, becoming a noble and glorious vessel.

You must know that many people have poured cold water on me in my life. I believed in it when I was very young. I thought, Oh, how good it would be if I could be like Moses, how good it would be if I could be like Joshua. They laughed at me and said, Hey! How many Moses are there? Just one. Is it not good to have one more? How many Joshuas are there? Just one. I said, Oh, how much I want to be like Jesus. They said, How many Jesuses are there? You want to be like Jesus? I said, Oh, how much I yearn to be like Paul. People said, What do you want to be like Paul for? To suffer so much. I just like to be used by God. Today I finally caught this opportunity, I finally caught an opportunity to be used by God, thank God! My worldly dreams are finally shattered.

I hope I become such a person, but I hope that everyone also hopes to become such a person. Learn from Joshua, Samuel, they are all top-notch people, otherwise you ride a horse and try to deceive them, can you deceive Joshua? Will Joshua be scammed by P2P? No; Will Samuel be scammed by P2P? No. These people are all top-notch people, don't you want to be top-notch people, do you want to be scum? Some people are top students, some people are poor students; some people are top-notch, some people are scum, isn't this all chosen by people? God was with Samuel, and God did not let a word Samuel said fall to the ground. Many years ago, after I finished reading this sentence, I said, God, I also want to be such a person. Later, I did.

In fact, many people often get it wrong. Is Genesis what you heard me talk about? That Abimelech did not make a covenant with God, but made a covenant with Abraham, what are you doing with a second-hand one? Some people say, Teacher, bless me. I can bless you, because I am Samuel, I bless you, and your words will not fall to the ground, how good it is. But what are you doing with a second-hand one? Is it not good for you to be Samuel? You said, I can't do it. It is not that you can't do it, it is that you don't want to do it. Some people say, Teacher, you also say a word, 3,500. Now 3,500 is too low, 35,000, it's all these things.

God was with Moses, so because of Moses, the Israelites lacked nothing in the wilderness for forty years. Everyone must know this principle, it is not that God was with the Israelites, that was just a polite remark from Moses. What does Moses mean? It is that God is with me, so you three million Israelites lack nothing in the wilderness. Don't get it wrong. Learn from these people, be people like Moses, Joshua, and Samuel, how good it is. Some people say, Then it is good to follow Teacher Liu. If you follow me, you should be like me, be people like Moses, Joshua, and Samuel.

I really hope that the truth I am going to preach today will penetrate into the bones of the brothers and sisters, into your bones. Don't say, Oh, God supplies me, God also feeds Esau. Did God arrange a place for Esau? He did. Did God arrange a place for the Moabites? He did. Did God arrange a place for the Ammonites? He did. Did God arrange a place for those who are cursed? He did. Let them complete the meaning of their existence by rushing forward on this earth, the meaning of their existence is to set off a group of people who have the presence of God!

So God longs to be with us, everyone must not think that God does not want to be with us, we have to beg grandpa to sue grandma, it is not like this. God longs to be with people, but He just can't find people as smart as Moses and Joshua. After racking his brains, this one is not good, rotten; that one is also not good, rotten, like picking fruits at a fruit stand, they are all rotten. If those who want to have God's presence are found by God, I will tell you, God sees you as a treasure. Isn't this what our destined music creation song is called Treasure, it's just that I can't sing well, so I didn't bring everyone to sing it today, I will play it for you later.

What God wants to find, when He finds it, He sees that the person wants to use God to achieve his own purposes, there are so many such people, how low, using ghost money as money, that is for the dead, God is too lazy to pay attention to them. Some people say, Pastor, can you pray for us? I said, Pray for what? He said, Let my son find a good job. Some people say, Pastor, can you pray for my son? I said, Pray for what? He said, Let my son find me a daughter-in-law. Oh, but I don't want to discourage this faith of theirs, it's okay, I can only respond politely. There are also people who say, Pastor, can you pray for my daughter? Let my daughter marry a rich man. After looking through the people in the church, I saw that they already have owners. Oh, God sighed! I will read a passage to you:

> Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came into being, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. “He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig's blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations; I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring upon them what they fear, because, when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight.” (Isaiah 66:1-4)

Did you understand? If you didn't, go home and check the Bible, Isaiah chapter 66, verses 1 to 4. How many Christians in this generation desire the presence of God? A local pastor invited a foreign pastor to preach, along with a translator, said to be French. After speaking at length, he snapped open his briefcase and said, “Everyone, give your offerings.” There were five hundred people, and if each person donated a hundred, that would be quite a lot. After the offering, he snapped the briefcase shut, picked it up, and left with the translator, who was from Hong Kong. It took the pastor half a day to realize what had happened! He chased them to the airport in his car and snatched the briefcase back. Ah! What is all this about? A group of people who have lost the presence of God. I really do not like this.

So today, many people end up losing the presence of God. Now I don't really like to do this anymore. Like the people I used to serve, they would come to church because they couldn't have children, but once they got pregnant, they would go for protection of the fetus. Isn't God the best protector of the fetus? If they were about to miscarry, they would come to me and say, “Pastor, please pray for me quickly.” I prayed for them, and the ambulance arrived, but the symptoms of miscarriage disappeared. What kind of thinking is this? Recently, one of our small pastors hadn't been serving for several months, and suddenly she felt unwell and was about to miscarry. What had happened during those months? She went to protect the fetus. She thought serving couldn't protect the fetus. What kind of thinking is this? Can't the presence of God solve this problem? Yes, it can. As things went on, she was about to miscarry, she suffered from insomnia, she brought in demons, and she had bad luck. Actually, the demon had never left and had been watching her all along. Tragic stories fill this world. How foolish! Their minds are full of vain things. How can they not be tragic?

Have you seen God's idea today? “What is the place of my rest?” Where can God find rest in such a group of people? God, I am here. May this place be your resting place. God, may you raise us up and make us a church that builds your presence, builds the body of Jesus Christ, and becomes your resting place. God, see, here is a group of people who are humble and contrite and tremble at your word, afraid of making mistakes. God, as you were with Moses, be with us today as well. This is our cry. God, may we have your presence throughout our lives, and may we praise your holy name in your temple forever! Did you understand? Yes, God's presence can solve our problems, but our goal is not to solve these problems. Our goal is God's presence, to be used by God, and never to use God as a rag. Amen!

## II. Scripture

> After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:1-9)

## III. Prayer

God, see, here is a group of people like Joshua who long for your presence. God, see, here is a group of people like Joshua who are ready to receive your good will for us, to become people who lead your people into the promised land to possess the land. God, use us and raise us up in this generation. God, you are our Mingding Destiny, you are everything to us. God, we are willing to be used by you and become a blessing to many. Although we are not capable, although we are afraid, your presence can be our comfort, our strength, our wisdom, and our ability, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

## IV. Scripture Background

The background of this passage is that Moses is dead. Joshua wandered with Moses in the wilderness for forty years. What Joshua experienced during these forty years, I tell you, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, the rotten state of the Israelites, that was all clear in Joshua's heart. The rotten state of the Israelites was really as uncomfortable as it could be. How clearly Joshua knew what the Israelites were like! To what extent? Later, God led Joshua, and Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land. Before Joshua died, he said, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. You cannot serve him, for he is a jealous God. Did everyone understand? Even though Joshua led them to the promised land, the things in the bones of the Israelites never changed from the time of Moses to the time of Joshua. Doesn't that make you upset? It does.

Let me tell you, I deeply understand this upset. I just recovered this week. For almost a whole month before, I had a severe cold. Don't think that I come to preach on Sundays, study the Bible on Wednesdays, and study the Bible on Fridays. Actually, I had a very severe cold. My whole body ached terribly, it was so uncomfortable and tiring. I deeply repented about knowing what to repent about - looking around, a group of Israelites; I was upset; I was discerning good and evil. Actually, I often understood things but then didn't understand them again, because bringing everyone into the promised land is not for me to discern good and evil, not to be picky, and then God dealt with me. Actually, I had told everyone long ago that serving is for the people who are served, not for the people who are being served. It doesn't matter if the people being served are rotten. In fact, we shouldn't be picky about who we serve. It's a grace that people are willing to let us serve them. Offending God in my heart, I have recently been resurrected with full blood, so I think I understand Joshua's troubles too well.

These Israelites, Moses led them into the promised land. Alas, Moses was so pitiful. Just because they were so rotten, Moses lost his temper and could not enter the promised land. It's not easy to do this job, so he was afraid, and he felt uncomfortable and afraid in his heart. What was he afraid of? He thought in his heart, Can I bring this group of Israelites in? Can this group of Israelites fight? What if I led everyone: 'Charge!' charged up, but when I looked back, it was just me, and they all ran away, leaving me behind. Joshua would have died without a burial place. How could he not be afraid? It's nonsense to say he wasn't afraid. Now there's a saying, Not afraid of godly opponents, only afraid of pig teammates. Joshua thought to himself, Alas, I've got a group of pig teammates. Moses sent twelve spies, and when they came back, ten of them were complaining. Just such a group of people. Joshua said, If I send twelve more spies back, how about we wander in the wilderness for another forty years? It's upsetting. It's all lies if you say it's not upsetting. It's definitely upsetting, a group of pig teammates, afraid. This job is not easy to do.

Before, when Moses was the top leader, Joshua could sleep when he was full. Moses couldn't sleep when he was full, he was upset. I just think Joshua was too difficult. Now he's the top leader, can't sleep tonight, can't sleep tomorrow. When Moses died, it was Joshua's turn to have sleepless nights. The pain of being a top leader, the troubles of being a top leader, it's not easy to do. Does God know? God knows. God saw, It's over, I have to take action. As a result, God spoke this passage to Joshua, which is the passage we are talking about today. So what was Joshua afraid of? Actually, you can't say that Joshua had no faith in God. It would be strange if he wasn't afraid. Select twelve more spies, go in for another walk around, come back and wander in the wilderness for another forty years, and then get a Joshua II. How to do this job? It's not easy.

Then God said a lot of comforting words to Joshua, all of which were issues that Joshua was concerned about. Joshua thought to himself, God, you've got such a group of pig teammates. Can you be with me? With such a group of pig teammates, is this job going to work? God said, Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. See that? Joshua asked in doubt, Really? Really. So, to bring people into the promised land, the difficulty is very great, the problem is here. Later, Joshua understood that these three million Israelites were just doing a green leaf, and Joshua was the flower.

Later, we gradually began to understand that what God cares about is really not that group of Israelites. Although God feeds them in the wilderness, what God cares about is what you can count on your ten fingers, what God cares about is people like Joshua who are willing to have God's presence and enter into God's Mingding Destiny. God first gave him a goal, to possess the land, not because the Israelites were good enough, but because I, the Lord God, give you grace. It's not them that I value, it's you, Joshua, who I value, for following me wholeheartedly, so I choose you to lead them in to possess the land. You're afraid? I know, but I will be with you. It doesn't matter if you're afraid of things you can't do, I am the Lord God, I am your ability, I am your wisdom, I am the answer to the root of all your problems. Do not be afraid, only be strong and courageous. God's presence is the answer to the problem. This is what those with Mingding Destiny must adhere to in their lives.

A person with Mingding Destiny is willing to live for God. You only need God's presence in your life. It doesn't matter if your ability is a little weak, it doesn't matter if your head is a little stupid, you cannot be without God's presence. You may be the smartest person in the world, and you may be the most diligent person in the world, but without God's presence, nothing can be accomplished. So today I encourage everyone to be like Joshua with me. Can we start saying to God with me: God, see, here is a large group of people like Joshua who want to bring God's people to the promised land. God, it is the greatest grace for us to serve you!

It's not about seeing what the Israelite people are like, it's not about seeing what the people you serve are like, it's not about despairing after you see them, because our hope is in God, not because people are good enough, but because God is gracious enough. God is full of grace, with abundant grace and love. God is already extremely happy as long as He has chosen one Joshua. What if there is a group of Joshuas here? The angels in heaven will rejoice for us. Do we know what our Mingding Destiny is? Do we know what our vision is? Our vision is not opening the briefcase to collect money, snapping it shut, running to the airport, and then being snatched away. That's too painful. Our vision is to become a blessing to many people.

I thank God, I have verified it time and time again, this road is definitely open. I can tell you, I never take advantage of people. I feel bad if I don't give them a little blessing, because my goal is to become a blessing to many people. This is definitely not hype, this is being done. Is there struggle? There is struggle. But my blessing comes from God, my blessing is not the donations of members, my blessing is the grace that comes from God. God's presence, God wants to be with us, until the end of the world, until forever and ever!

Later, I studied this person Joshua. What kind of person was Joshua? He was one of the twelve spies who went to Canaan to investigate, to survey, to investigate, to understand. He went. Joshua and Caleb were the only two of the twelve spies who did not die. The ten were killed by God. Why? The ten spread bad news and had no faith. This Joshua was particularly powerful. He led the people to fight against the Amalekites. If you read the Exodus written by Moses, Joshua was fighting below, and Moses was raising his hands above. When Moses lowered his hands, Joshua was defeated below; when Moses raised his hands, Joshua won below. This young man Joshua was quite interesting. At that time, he had quite a bit of faith in Moses. Moses tried his best to keep his hands raised, until Joshua completely won. I think this person is too amazing. Was he afraid of death? He was not afraid of death. Was he afraid of death when he entered Canaan? He was not afraid of death.

Later, there was another interesting thing. It is not clear how this passage describes the situation at that time. That is, Moses took Joshua up the mountain. Was Joshua waiting for Moses halfway up the mountain, or did he go to the mountain to be Moses' secretary and be with God? The Bible does not say. But I guess, did Joshua go to God's presence with Moses? Probably not, because Joshua's face did not shine when he came down. So where was Joshua? He set up a small tent halfway up the mountain. Moses went to the mountain to be with God, where there was food and drink. Joshua was alone halfway up the mountain. Moses stayed there for forty days, and Joshua stayed halfway up the mountain for forty days. What was his feeling? More upsetting than the Israelites who made a golden calf at the foot of the mountain. I ask you, what did he eat? What did he drink? It seems that this matter is not written. He had nothing to eat or drink. Later I tell you, God must have supplied him.

But this matter is very interesting. Joshua wandered alone halfway up the mountain for forty days. Moses came down, which made Joshua very happy. When he saw Moses, Joshua heard a noisy sound from the bottom of the mountain. Joshua said to Moses, There is the sound of battle below. Then Moses said, No, it seems to be the sound of feasting. Practicing in faith, Joshua believed that Moses would definitely come down from the mountain. The Israelites at the foot of the mountain did not know whether Moses would come down. This is Joshua. Later, there is another record that Joshua never left the tent of meeting, that is, when Moses went out to inspect the camp, Joshua was in that place of the tent of meeting.

What made Joshua so remarkable? It was the depth of God's presence within him, a person who yearned for that divine companionship. Recall his regret on the mountainside? I can only reach the halfway point, he lamented, but I am still thankful to God, for it is far better than remaining at the foot of the mountain. Moses brought Joshua, not Aaron, up the mountain. There must be a profound meaning. Joshua harbored a deep desire in his heart. There, Joshua did not indulge in the knowledge of good and evil, questioning why he could not ascend further, or why Moses was seemingly superior. This is only my conjecture. Rather, Joshua exclaimed, Behold, I have reached a place where I can experience the presence of God. A truly remarkable individual, he would later become wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord, entering the Promised Land, receiving a double inheritance, and leading Israel for decades, until his death at the age of one hundred and ten.

He would enter Canaan at the age of eighty, and in the thirty years until his death at one hundred and ten, he gained a thorough understanding of the Israelites, realizing that they merely sought to exploit God for sustenance and gratification. Joshua warned them, You cannot serve the Lord God, for you only see Him as your provider, the One who sustains you. Their focus remained on the mundane aspects of life, lacking any glorious hope. But Joshua held a different aspiration in his heart: I want to be a person with God's presence, that is the purpose of my existence, my Mingding Destiny! This is the core message of this scriptural passage.

## V. Bringing People to the Promised Land

Bringing people to the Promised Land: this is what matters most. I often tell everyone: Clear Objectives, Defined Strategies, and Correct Methods. If the objective is faulty, and a person's goal in life is merely money, that is the end of it. The person who replaces God with anything else, substituting Him as the goal for which they live, their troubles will surely increase. If anything replaces God, replaces Jehovah, their troubles will surely increase. Today, God has lifted away your troubles, replacing your own volition as the goal for which you live, so you deserve your distress. Today, you must understand what the goal for which you truly live is! Today, if you ask me my goal for which I live: it is to bring people to the Promised Land, to build a glorious church for God, to bring His people into the Land.

How many of God's promises have we fulfilled today? Quite a few! Many have been healed, and it is difficult not to be blessed among us. So, if you have been blessed, is that blessing your aim? No, you must still become a blessing to others. Then if you have been blessed, do not boast before me, it is not because you are spiritual enough, it is because there is a group of pastors like me serving you, bringing you into God's promise. Today, we must shoulder the responsibility of this management, the responsibility of this training. Know that our abilities are limited, so what we need most is God's presence, for God to become our strength, our ability, our wisdom, the answer to all our problems. Never live in delusion, for example: Look, I am doing well, my salary has increased, my business is good. That is not proof of God's presence; people without God's presence also thrive, and the removal of the ladder is another matter.

What you have today, the grace you have received, is because those with God's presence are here, therefore you have received the grace. Thus, the goal must be clear: to bring people into the Promised Land, into God's blessing. No matter how awful they are, how terrible they may be, we do not have the right to differentiate between good and evil, because we have a principle: serving is not for the sake of those being served, it is for the sake of the one who serves. Perhaps those being served receive grace, perhaps they do not, we always ask ourselves: Did I not do it right? We must constantly reflect, this is our purpose, so those of you doing ministry, those of you acting as sub-pastors, must try to come out of this vicious cycle, not engage in downwards discernment of good and evil; that is God training you, giving you a task to train. If those being pastored say, Why do I have such a pastor?, then that is your destiny.

 #  VI. Do Not Be Afraid or Dismayed

Those with God's presence, would they still be afraid, still be dismayed? If you are afraid today, if you are dismayed today, what you need is God's presence. If God's presence is there, and you are still afraid, still dismayed, then you have dispelled the presence of God. I will tell you, the Israelites, the Jews, are awful, from ancient times to today, have they changed much? It seems not. Why? The reason is simple: Deep down, they have the same attitudes. Although they are descendants of Abraham, their thoughts and intentions are not those of Abraham; they are afraid of death.

Yet it is this group of people that Joshua must lead to face giants in battle. Wasn't I just telling a joke? Joshua leads the Israelites to charge forward, then turns back to see that he is the only one left. How could this battle be fought? It couldn't be. Facing giants, being afraid, having a heavy workload, being afraid of making the wrong decisions, and Joshua must lead such a terrible group of Israelites. Isn't that courting death? It is! But I tell you, even in the face of this, God's presence remains the key to solving problems! Therefore, as the Lord God was with Moses, so He will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you! Rest assured.

So do not follow your feelings. If you follow your feelings, you will be afraid. If you follow your feelings, you will be dismayed. If you follow your feelings, you will see the difficulties ahead as being as large as mountains, and you will see your teammates as being as useful as pig teammates. But do not worry, God's presence is the most critical. Therefore, brothers and sisters, today we begin to tidy up, to deal with those feelings of fear and dismay within us. We do not need to live in that fear and dismay, because that is nothing more than a carnal feeling, and today God's presence will deal with those carnal feelings.

## VII. This Book of the Law Shall Not Depart from Your Mouth, But You Shall Meditate on It Day and Night

Our feelings are inaccurate, do you all know that? We can have this feeling, we can have that feeling, but those feelings are inaccurate, God's words are accurate. If you have worked in engineering, you will find that your eyes are always deceiving you. What is straight might be seen as crooked, what is crooked might be seen as straight, what is level might be seen as sloping, what is sloping might be seen as level, and there is only one thing to do. You need to find a laser level to draw a straight line, that is what is accurate. So we need God's words, this book of the law, that is the standard. When we measure, our feelings are inaccurate, but God's words are established in Heaven, Heaven and Earth will pass away, but not one stroke or detail of God's word will pass away. Why meditate on it day and night? Because this is precise work, bringing people to the Promised Land, pastoring God's people, shepherding His flock, training them, managing them is a heavy responsibility, and is a very precise task.

In past years we have accumulated many examples of pastoring, but our pastoring experience is still not enough, because people are deceived by the devil, and the subtlety of their thoughts and intentions is beyond our imagination. That is to say, we need to meditate on God's words day and night, then get right this precise work of bringing people to the Promised Land, we must be clear on God's intentions, be clear on God's methods, be clear on God's wisdom, understand God's power. If you read the book of law, what will you find? You will find that God can open paths in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, God can enable the Israelites to pass through the Red Sea as if on dry ground, and God can allow a most powerful nation to have the most powerful army, and allow the Israelites, unarmed, to come out of there, able to defeat the most powerful army, that is our God.

So today when we read the book of law, then you will know God's power, and you will no longer establish your faith on your feelings, the peace you feel, or your dismay, fear, discouragement, distress, these are not important, what is important is that God's word is established in Heaven. Your faith is not established on your feelings, it is established on God's word, these words must not depart from your mouth, but you must meditate on them day and night, this is the path that we have walked. Pastoring people is an extremely complex and precise task, and today our research into pastoring is only at a very preliminary stage, there is still a long road to walk, so continue to mine God's word, it is filled with treasures, filled with riches!

## VIII. God Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You

Why does God tell us these words? Sometimes you might make mistakes. You say, Oh dear, I made a mistake. What does it matter if you made a mistake? God will never leave you nor forsake you. As long as your goal is to bring people to the Promised Land, as long as you can deal with those carnal feelings of fear, dismay, discouragement, and distress, as long as this book of the law does not depart from your mouth, although this precise task may occasionally lead to a failed experiment, it does not matter, God will not leave you nor forsake you, God will complete His will in you, it is not you completing God's will, it is God completing His will in you.

God is so faithful, God is so full of grace! God's words are established in Heaven, God even provides for the descendants of Esau, the descendants of Lot, how could God not bring you, Joshua, to possess the Promised Land? It is not because the people of Esau were good, they were awful, and it is not because the Israelites were good, it is because they were awful. That is because God has abundant grace, and God is seeking vessels like Joshua, so I hope that our brothers and sisters can have faith in God, and no longer dwell on, Oh dear, if I lay my hands on them to pray, will the demon run into me? These things are ignorant fears and dismays.

To what extent do you know God's words today? Do not believe in the Lord halfway, and fail our 101 course, yet still feel that you are very impressive. Some people say, Ah, Pastor, everything you are saying I already know. What do you know? Do you think you know? Meditating on God's words day and night is still not enough, and these are not my words, I have only explained God's words, have you studied them enough? Today, are you one with demons, or one with God? Today, are you a person destined for misfortune, or a blessed person? So I think, have faith in God today, to this day God has not left you, God has not forsaken you, God has not crushed you like crushing an ant. Today God is waiting for you to repent, longing to become a vessel used by God, bringing people to the Promised Land, filled with grace, filled with the glory of God.

## IX. Conclusion

Know how God's presence comes, God is with people like Joshua, God is with people like Moses, God is with people like Samuel. Those with Mingding Destiny, who are willing to live for God, who dedicate their lives and sacrifice themselves, God longs to be with you. Do not think that receiving a little of God's grace means that God is enough to sustain me. No, we have a higher goal, which is to become a vessel of God's presence, to build a church with God's presence, to become God's temple.

> Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my resting place? (Isaiah 66:1)

God, we are Your temple, we are a group of people who tremble at Your words, O God, we are the humble and contrite whom You care for, this is whom You are willing to be with, and we will go according to Your words, and be careful not to bring demons in. Lift up your hands, and make this declaration with me: God, today I will dedicate myself, may You be with me as You were with Moses! God, may You be with me as You were with Samuel! Make me a glorious and honorable vessel, able to build the body of Jesus Christ, to bring God's people into the Promised Land. In Jesus Christ's name, Amen!

Today we will sing one of our own hymns, and collect the offering for today, this hymn is one we created ourselves, called Treasure. Today brothers and sisters must know that the church is definitely not a place for making money, if the church is a place for making money, then it is not a place for blessing people, because it is a business. But today what we are doing, we are doing within God's will, in valuing this matter of God's presence, and we tell you the truth of offering, offering is offering back to God what comes from Him, it is something blessed, it is not that your money is providing for the church, it is God providing for you. Do not think, I have given a lot of money, I am amazing. That is not in accordance with God's heart, you must be especially careful, and do not offer your offering and receive a curse in return, that is a tragedy. Offering is grace. But today we are not collecting offerings, today we are collecting people like Joshua, will you allow God to mold you into a Joshua? Everyone follow me together. Do not think that offering is a great thing, becoming a Joshua, now that is a great thing. Amen!

At this time, pray with me: God, may You use us, may we be able to build Your glorious church in our days on this earth, God, may we be able to participate in the matter of building Your glorious church, may Your will be done, may Your heart be satisfied. God, use us, we are here, God, we are willing to dedicate ourselves completely, to become a vessel that is esteemed by You. God, we are to build the body of Jesus Christ, to become the place where You dwell, may Your presence come down, may Your glory be manifested more and more among us. God, we hope that Your heart will be satisfied, God, grant us a rigorous heart, let us tremble at Your words. God, save us from those absurd and vain things, and come out of hypocrisy. In Jesus Christ's name, Amen!

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours, for ever. Amen!