Introduction

Good day to all! The topic for today is They shall take up serpents. This is a very difficult topic to tackle. This past week, I had been toiling, wondering why I had chosen such a hard topic for myself. I have never handled snakes before. But this is from the Miracles Series, the words of Jesus Christ. At times, I would be gesticulating with my hands, and my colleagues would come over and ask: Teacher, what are you doing? I would reply: I am practicing taking up serpents with my hands.

I researched a lot of related materials but could not find anything particularly insightful. However, I did come across a news story about a charismatic pastor who, following the words of the 《Bible》, said: These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; he had done it all, but had not taken up serpents. So he got a snake, and ended up being bitten to death by it.

I was just wondering, was there something wrong with his head? If you are going to handle a snake, why not get a non-venomous one? He got a venomous snake and was bitten to death. There is such a news story, you all can look it up. It caused a great sensation! Was there a problem with God's word? Or was the approach inappropriate? God's word says they shall take up serpents, but he was bitten to death by a snake, which puzzled many people.

So how do you preach on this topic? I said: Lord Jesus, why did you say they shall take up serpents, yet when someone did, they were bitten to death? Did you not say that those who read your words and act on them are wise? This was not wise. Now let us unravel this mystery. This sharing can serve as a theological paper systematically discussing the theology of taking up serpents and how to do it.

Chinese Mingding Destiny has a very basic principle called emulating Jesus, which is a very good principle. These past few days, I have been pondering, and I suddenly realized that Jesus never held a snake, like a snake charmer playing a small trumpet to make the snake move along with the trumpet. Jesus did not do that, nor did he bring a band, or drummers, or guitarists, or worship leaders.

I found it very interesting. Did Jesus take up serpents or not? He did not. I was thinking that Jesus did not take up serpents, so why ask me to do it? Was He fooling me? Later, I understood that Jesus did take them up, He took control of the serpents, He mastered the serpents! Back then, Adam and Eve were mastered by the serpent, and so their lives were very miserable. The lives of Adam and Eve are like the lives of many common people.

Adam and Eve did not take up the serpent, they were taken by the serpent. There is a saying that the serpent is the most cunning animal that God created, the most cunning spirit. The serpent spoke a few words to Adam and Eve, and the battle was over. This guy was really formidable. The devil, that old serpent, knew long ago how to subdue others without fighting. Let me tell you, if the devil were to write a 《The Art of War》, it would be called 《The Devil's Art of War》, very formidable, full of tricks.

To overcome this serpent, you need wisdom, you need understanding. These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; these two things are relatively elementary. You have already cast out devils, you have already spoken in new tongues, now let me give you a bit of cold water, you are still far from it. A group of people have inherited the Chinese Mingding Destiny, organizing a group of people to pray hard, thinking they are very powerful, I have to tell you that it is all nothing.

In the sentence that follows, they shall take up serpents, do not go and get a snake. My taking up serpents is about taking up the devil, which makes sense. These two things, speaking in new tongues and casting out devils in the name of Jesus are simple, not requiring much wisdom or understanding. But taking up serpents is very complex, requiring wisdom and understanding, with full confidence in understanding, trusting in God's word.

So a person who does not read God's word, who does not understand God's word, then says, Pastor, pray for me. That is fine, but you still need to know God's word. If your illness is healed, quickly come and know God's word. You have been doing it wrong in the past, now start doing it right, you must be full of knowledge of God in understanding, be full of knowledge of God's truth. Later, you will know how I emulate the Lord Jesus. How did the Lord Jesus take up serpents? Let me read it to you:

Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (《Matthew》 4:1-4)

What kind of dialogue is this? If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread, into food. What? You think I cannot do it? If I had that level of intelligence, I would think: I am the Son of God, is it difficult to turn these stones into food? Not difficult, a trivial matter. Whack! the stones turned into bread, and he ate a piece. Jesus did not do this. I was thinking about what kind of trick this was; we will talk about it slowly later.

The first move, one round down, the devil was mastered.

Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, if thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. (《Matthew》 4:5-7)

These two sentences, two moves passed, the snake was mastered again. Was it taken up? Yes, it was. They shall take up serpents. How to take? What kind of move is this? An expert! This is how experts make moves. With one touch, one conversation, you know if they are good or not.

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. (《Matthew》 4:8-11)

Did you understand this move? It is not very clear, right? But this move is effective. This is how Jesus took up serpents. Do not go to the market and buy a snake. My brother is better at taking up serpents than I am. He used to run a snake meat restaurant. He skinned the snakes. He is better at taking them up than I am. He does not need to believe in Jesus to take them up. He can not only take up snakes, but also skin them and cook them into a snake feast. That is not the point. These three sentences for mastering the snake are too powerful, they must be imprinted in our hearts.

Later, where did the devil take Jesus again? The devil, through his children, the Pharisees, crucified Jesus. When Jesus was crucified, did Jesus master the serpent, or did the serpent master Jesus? We are confused again. I tell you, the devil was mastered by Jesus again. The devil crucified Jesus, but Jesus rose from the dead, completely trampling the devil under His feet.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He said this: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me! Moreover, He will give His authority to His people. So how do you master this devil? For example, a pastor quarrels with a sister he is shepherding. The lies released by the devil master the pastor.

Sometimes we seem to win, but we are actually being mastered; sometimes we seem to lose, being crucified, but we are actually mastering the serpent. Later, I searched for the taking up of serpents in the 《Bible》 and only found Moses taking up a serpent. Moses was quite interesting. God said: I will send you to Egypt to lead my people out. He said: I will not go.

After much negotiation, they finally reached an agreement. Moses was about to go, but he made an excuse, How will they know that you sent me? God said: Throw your staff on the ground. The staff suddenly turned into a serpent. God said to Moses: Go and take up that serpent. When he took it up, it turned back into a staff. I ask you, did Moses take up a serpent? Yes, he did. His staff was a serpent, which is difficult for us to understand.

If I were Moses, Oh, this staff is incredible. I have to take it home and find an iron cage to lock it in. If it turns into a snake at night and bites me, wouldn't I be miserable? He would go home and spend half a day making an iron cage, carrying the iron cage wherever he went, with a staff in his hand. Moses was quite interesting. Moses actually believed that this staff could be taken up, that the serpent would not bite him.

As a result, he took this staff and led the people of Israel out of Egypt. Moreover, this staff ate up the serpents transformed by Pharaoh's magicians. This is difficult for us to understand! Why did your staff not turn into a lion? Why did it not turn into a tiger? Why did it not turn into an eagle? The image of an eagle is so positive, and turning into an ox is so positive, why did it turn into a serpent? Because the serpent is the most cunning.

In other words, the serpent that Moses could master was the most cunning guy among the animals. It turns out that taking up serpents is not so simple. You must have full confidence in understanding, and be full of knowledge of God in understanding. So in the last days, to ascend the mountain of the Lord and enter the house of the God of Jacob means to be constantly knowing on the holy mountain of spiritual truth. Later, we can fight a battle with the serpent, with the devil.

Actually, let me tell you, the past few years have been very interesting. While casting out devils, wow, the spirit of the dragon came! I thought this was Satan, oh, we were fighting Satan today, so excited! Later, the devil said that it was actually an earthworm dragon. Hey, pinching an earthworm to death. Later, it said that it was actually a small gecko, just a small minion. Sometimes we are arrogant. Of course, the excitement at that time was good, Wow, we actually fought a dragon.

In fact, every step is quite exciting. I understand some brothers and sisters who are very excited to cast out a devil! They are very excited to speak in new tongues! But taking up serpents, you are still far from it. Everyone must know that geckos and chameleons are dragons, but there are also large and small dragons. Do you have the understanding to master the serpent? Do you have the wisdom to master the serpent? Do you have the wisdom to deal with the serpent? Can you, like Jesus Christ, not be tempted when the serpent tempts you?

What happened to that pastor who was bitten to death by a snake? That is called tempting God. As soon as the serpent comes, you become Sister Eve, Brother Adam, and you are mastered by the serpent as soon as it comes. The serpent sees that you are Brother Adam, Sister Eve, and that will not do. You may be talking about building a glorious church, but as soon as the serpent's lies come, you falter and are immediately hit. You may be able to cast out devils, you may be able to speak in tongues, but that does not explain anything.

A pastor had a heavy back and lumbar spine, and his wife had depression. They happened to live in the same house as me. He walked staggering, and both of them were pale. I said: What happened? She told me the reason, so I called her over and cast out the devil, and the depression was gone. The next day, she brought her husband to me. The senior pastor was quite embarrassed, probably thinking: You are also a pastor, and I am also a pastor, how can you cast out devils for me?

His back had been heavy for twenty years. I cast out the devil that was weighing down on his back. Remember, if there is a heaviness on your body, there must be a devil lying on it. But that senior pastor was still a bit embarrassed. He said: Actually, we cast out a lot of devils when we first started building the church decades ago, but now we do not bother to cast them out. It turns out that he was being chased away by devils.

When I was praying, I saw a big lizard, very fat, lying on his body, head to head and tail to tail. The lizard's two hands were grabbing his shoulders, and its two legs were grabbing his hips. How could he not be heavy? Carrying twenty kilograms of weight, even ten kilograms, would be enough to make you suffer every day. But he told me that he used to cast out devils many years ago, but now he does not bother to cast them out. What kind of talk is this?

I thank my God that I worked hard to pursue further when I could cast out a few small devils; fortunately, there is a book called 《The Last Day Showdown》, which allows me to ascend the mountain of the Lord and enter the house of the God of Jacob. Oh, isn't this another paper written? Taking up serpents, the interpretation in the past did not have this flavour.

I tell you, many pastors who cast out devils stop at casting out devils in the name of Jesus and speaking in new tongues, lacking the taking up of serpents. This not only happens to one person. There are some pastors, and you can still see the videos online, the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, etc. That kind of work does not seem difficult. What is difficult is taking up serpents. Later, the endings are not very good, quite tragic.

The two people I just mentioned, one was sued by his church members, which was quite tragic. The other was also quite tragic, so the lies released by the devil are very powerful. We are establishing the Chinese Mingding Destiny, and establishing a glorious church of God. I tell you, it is like treading on thin ice. We read God's word with fear and trembling. If you all listen to my preaching and discover many new things, it is because I have been doing research.

Learning God's word must not stop, and the knowledge of God is like the sea filling the ocean. Now I have only become a dipper of water, why am I so happy? So I have become a dipper of water and think I am amazing. Oh, I am so glad that I still know what humility is, knowing that there is no end to knowing God.

Once I went to a class, an old man who was a pastor who cast out devils, and he told me: Casting out devils is useless. How did he come to this conclusion? Because the devils will come back after they are cast out. What kind of talk is this? Did Jesus say something meaningless? In my name they will cast out devils. They are all deceived as soon as the serpent comes. We have also been deceived, but we quickly realized the devil's tricks and came out of the lies by the Holy Spirit.

We used to pray so loudly that the devils had not been cast out, but the property management came first. Later, someone came to us, and he was still praying loudly, and the property management broke down their door. Why? He was not just loud himself, he bought two speakers and put them at home, because his pastor taught him to pray with a very loud voice. The sound was like his house was being renovated, how could people stand it? Disturbing the people. So there are many lies.

In the past, to prevent loud property management from coming to make trouble, we bought an motorcycle iron helmet. If you want to pray loudly, put it on. When you finish praying, take it off and be covered in sweat. I am an engineer, and engineers have to solve problems. Later, we also designed a telephone booth. It is okay, you can lock yourself in and shout inside, shouting slowly. Did you have any feelings? You had a lot of feelings, but it was not God's word, Jesus did not need to do this, and those feelings may also be lies.

Later, we truly began to pursue understanding, but not many people seek understanding. For example, learning, last year and the year before, I lectured for two years, and found that after I finished lecturing, you all returned it to me. So truly taking up serpents requires emulating Jesus, requiring every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. You must not tempt God, you must serve the Lord your God only. Do you understand?

You know that prayer, sanctification, and faith are all very low levels, including salvation, which are very low levels. The devil's arrows can still reach them, so as soon as an arrow is shot, it hits, and when a lie comes, it is over. So only by ascending the mountain of the Lord and running to the house of the God of Jacob, and striving to know the truth of God, must you never remain at a very low level! I call on you today!

There are still some brothers and sisters who feel very good praying together for seven hours. Is that good? Yes. But it is not good if you only stay there. Are you all still stuck in the motorcycle helmet? Take it back. There is a small group of people who are addicted to praying every day, feeling very important and powerful, just like we felt back then. You must continue to climb forward, mastering the devil by God, taking up serpents, and being able to deal with the devil's tricks until you see the face of the Lord.

So many people remain at a very low level of truth. You must know what it means to take up serpents, start entering the vast truth, entering this spiritual world, and knowing the spiritual laws. Because knowing God's word and God's truth is like the sea filling the ocean. These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents. But this taking up of serpents explains what kind of faith belief is.

Many brothers and sisters say: I believe in the Lord. But they don't know clearly what they believe in. If you do not have the faith to take up serpents, this taking up of serpents is not like my brother making snake soup, making a snake feast, what kind of taking up serpents is that? This taking up serpents is emulating Jesus's taking up serpents, explaining that this faith is a wise faith, and knowing God with all your mind.

Do not be foolish, I am justified by faith. Why does it seem that righteousness cannot be seen? I am saved! I did not see anything about salvation. So is this faith in God's eyes faith or unbelief? A large number of Christians' prayers are not answered, for a simple reason: they have not done it right, has not aligned. How can they be answered if they have not done it right? Because their faith is unbelief in God's eyes.

Some sisters say: Look, it works when I pray for others, but it does not work when I pray for myself. That is definitely the case. You pray for others in the name of Jesus. You also pray for yourself in the name of Jesus, but here comes the problem: your understanding is not clear. It works when you pray for others, but if you encounter the spirit of the serpent, it will not work. Take out our scriptures, 《Mark》 16:14-20.

Scripture

Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. (《Mark》 16:14-20)

Prayer

O God! Grant us wisdom today, grant us understanding, open the eyes of our hearts, and let us enter into Your truth through the Holy Spirit. O God, today we are determined to climb the holy mountain of Jehovah's truth, to run to the house of the God of Jacob. O God, today we will be diligent pursuers before You.

May You be gracious to us, bestow Your revelation, bestow Your spiritual wisdom and understanding, that we may handle snakes, relying on Jesus Christ, imitating Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus Christ handled snakes, grant us the same knowledge and wisdom today, so that we can handle snakes and trample on the enemies of the devil, in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen!

Scripture Background

The first thing the Lord Jesus did when He appeared was to rebuke them for their disbelief and hardness of heart. At that time, those disciples were very confused: I clearly believe in Jesus. There is also a very interesting passage where Jesus sits with Peter, and Jesus does not say, You do not love Me. Do you love Me? Lord, I love You. Do you love Me? Lord, I love You. Do you love Me? Lord, I love You. He asked three times. In fact, what the Lord Jesus meant was, You do not love Me.

We must understand that it is very normal for the Lord Jesus to say that we do not believe. We think we believe, we think we understand, but in reality, we do not understand. We think we believe, but in reality, we do not believe. Isn't that strange? So what you think you believe is not valid, what you think you believe is useless. Then what kind of belief is true belief? Handling snakes!

The Lord Jesus said: And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. This is called faith! This is what it means to interpret faith! Handling snakes is the interpretation of a faith that can handle snakes. What kind of faith is this? It is a faith that has sufficient understanding. Do you understand? Not like asking a question and seeming to know but not knowing for sure.

I often encounter this situation. I say, Explain this to me. What is this? Oh, they ramble on and on, giving a long explanation without making it clear at all. I say, Stop talking, go back and think about it. Why do they ramble on and on? Because they are not clear. They think they are clear, but they cannot explain it clearly. They think they believe, but they cannot explain it clearly. Remember, if you cannot explain something clearly, then it is definitely over.

There was a person who said, Teacher, we have all taken the healing and deliverance courses, the 102 Courses. We can all cast out demons, we can all speak in new tongues. Then his pastor said, You are amazing. If I am someone who does not know how to pray in tongues, can you teach me? His eyes widened, How do I teach? He didn't know. Without praying in tongues, how do you lead him to be filled with the Holy Spirit? He didn't know. Then what were you boasting about? He was immediately deflated.

In reality, many things within us have not been thoroughly examined. You cannot explain them clearly. You merely have a feeling inside and think you understand. I will give everyone a concept: regardless of whether you are a child or an adult, if you cannot explain something clearly, then you are not clear about it. Why do some children study well, and some children do not study well? The reason why many children do not study well is very simple: they think they understand.

There was once a person, a friend of mine, who took the university entrance examination for five years. In our era, he was two years older than me. By the time I was about to graduate from university, he still hadn't passed the exam. He said, It's strange, I understand everything in class, but when I take the exam, I don't understand anything. Was that genuine understanding or false understanding? It was false understanding. So he had to repeat the year again and again. It wasn't genuine understanding.

We call this kind of person a university repeater, someone who always fails to get into university, failing year after year. Later, his son passed the exam, but he still hadn't passed. Was his brain not working properly? He thought he understood, but in reality, he didn't understand. Today, if you think you believe but in reality you don't, then how is that different from a university repeater? It should be called a disciple repeater, a leaky disciple.

Handling snakes is a good test. The faith that Jesus Christ interpreted, is it the faith within you? Examine it carefully. If you try to handle snakes, but your understanding is lacking, and you actually grab a poisonous snake and get bitten to death, wouldn't that be a great loss? Would that be a person being tempted? It is definitely being tempted. How is that different from jumping off a building? There is no difference. So understanding is very important, don't be deceived by the devil.

Some brothers and sisters leave the church, and then they share with other brothers and sisters in the church why they left. Then someone comes and tells me, Teacher, there must be a reason for their departure, there must be hidden circumstances. What are you trying to tell me? As if you know many secrets. Isn't that foolish? Do you understand? That is being deceived by the devil. So even if you can cast out demons and speak in new tongues, if you cannot handle snakes, you are still trash.

Brothers and sisters must know how often we are deceived by the devil. Therefore, we must wake up and rebuild on the word of God. You see some people come and say, You must be careful of the people around you. Is he corrupting the church? Should I be careful of the people around me? I think I should be careful of the person who is saying these words. So I tell you, there are too many people who are deceived by the devil, and the snake releases too many lies.

If you cannot handle the snake, you will be destroyed by the snake, so you will definitely suffer losses. Many people pay a price, but it is not according to true knowledge. Peter had three thousand people believe, five thousand people believe, and he felt very happy, Wow, there are many people, and there will be many offerings. What kind of murky atmosphere is that? It is learning from the lies of the devil. That is not the correct way to build a church. The correct way to build a church is what Jesus Christ and later the Apostle Paul did.

Even today, there are still many churches that use the three thousand people who believed and the five thousand people who believed as proof of church revival, thinking that this is revival. Is that called revival? That is called corruption! The faith that can handle snakes is the true faith! You must overcome the lies of the devil, and you must have a deep understanding of God's word. If you do not study well, what should you do?

Therefore, believing in God's word means having a solid foundation in truth and sufficient understanding. Without a solid foundation, you cannot go far. Brothers and sisters, I thank God that you have come among us. You will definitely find that Chinese Mingding Destiny is constantly climbing the holy mountain of truth, thoroughly digesting this spiritual word and truth.

I also thank God that for so many years of preaching, everyone is not tired of me. Why? The reason is very simple: I am doing research every week. We are a research unit, researching what? Researching the word of God, researching spiritual truth. Was this thesis well-written? Handling snakes, it has made me thoroughly understand it. There are corpses all over the road to building a church because their faith is not the faith that Jesus interpreted in the Bible.

Jesus interpreted this faith, clarifying it for our generation and for Christians of all ages. Later, in Paul's epistles, he said this: You must have sufficient understanding. Then you can handle snakes. How Jesus handled snakes, that is how we handle snakes.

Secret to Handling Snakes 1: Man Shall Live on Every Word That Comes from the Mouth of God

I ask you, is there a house of gold in this? Yes. Is there a beautiful woman like jade in this? Yes. All the words that come from the mouth of God are too powerful. Can they be eaten as food? Yes. Can they be spent as money? Yes. Can they be taken as medicine? Yes. Can they be lived in as a house? Yes. All our needs in life are met in Christ Jesus. The question is, do people live on every word that comes from the mouth of God? Some do not rely on it. If you do not rely on it, how can you obtain it?

There was a pastor who was quite old, with two children who looked quite young. He was already very old, close to retirement age. He looked at the money in his account, which was very little, and he felt very troubled. He started a business. As a result, this business raised money from the members, and after raising the money, the business lost money. After losing the money, the members sued him. How did this pastor do this? It was all a lack of understanding.

I only learned that all the words that come from the mouth of God a few years ago. At that time, Chinese Mingding Destiny had not yet been established. Once I read about relying on every word that comes from the mouth of God. How is it possible to know all the words? Later, I prayed and sought God, and God gave me a revelation: God's word is a complete system. Those within this system are not called additions, and those not in this system are called additions.

Therefore, if you add anything to God's word, you are cursed, and if you delete anything from it, you will also suffer losses. You must know that God's word is a system. Once it forms a system, it is difficult for the devil to deceive you. As soon as you hear it, you will know, Oh, that's how it is. If you do not form a system, everything you hear today and tomorrow will be fragmented, and it will be very uncomfortable. If you do not form a system, your mind will be muddled. Whether it is something or not, it is very uncomfortable to have a muddled mind.

Now I understand that as long as a person's mind has not yet formed a complete system, and he lives on some of the words that come from the mouth of God, that is bad. Or if he relies on a certain word that comes from the mouth of God, that is also bad. If you rely on every word that comes from the mouth of God, you live in this system, you will not go astray, it will not be difficult to handle snakes, and the devil will not be able to deceive you.

Why is what Jesus Christ answered so powerful? Jesus has a system, and He knows what the devil is doing. Look at this saying, If you are really the Son of God, then turn these stones into food. Aren't you hungry? Turn these stones into food. Jesus answered very powerfully, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. This sentence is too important, and the devil was deflated.

Could Jesus turn these stones into food? Yes, how is it possible that He couldn't? Didn't the five loaves of bread and two fish feed many people? Then why not turn five stones into food and feed five thousand people? Wouldn't it be great to feed five thousand people with five stones? So I think, if a person lives on food, on money, on medicine, on work, that is bad. You will not be able to handle the snake, and the snake will come and handle you instead.

Brothers and sisters, those who suffer losses, who are deceived by the snake, and who are handled by the snake, it is difficult to get healed through prayer. Didn't you say that all diseases are healed? This disease caused by being deceived by the snake is not easy to deal with. So, can we start building a complete system today? Some people read the word of God, they have read the Bible many times, but in their real lives, they still believe in their own little things. How important is this matter? It affects your life.

Those things that can disturb us and make us upset are all these things of life. I rarely see people upset about the word of God. Like me this past week, I have been working very hard to understand handling snakes. Oh, I was gesticulating there, and someone asked, Teacher, what are you doing? I am practicing handling snakes. Oh my goodness, how do I explain this? It's not easy to explain. Pray and seek God, and God is truly gracious. Otherwise, today's message would be a failure.

Secret to Handling Snakes 2: Do Not Put the Lord Your God to the Test

Oh my goodness, this word is too important. Because it says, Hey, aren't you the Son of God? Jump down from here! I ask you, if Jesus really flew down from a high building, I am Jesus Christ! I am God! Many people would believe. But Jesus said, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. The devil also says, It is written, and Jesus also says, It is written. Which one is it is written?

It is written to handle snakes, so he grabs a poisonous snake and gets bitten to death. Would you say that is putting the Lord your God to the test? Reading the Bible about the Israelites crossing the Jordan River, and the river in front of their door floods, I want to cross the Jordan River. And they drown. Has that happened? Are these not all tests of God? Is that handling the snake? That is being handled by the snake. Isn't it bad to be handled by the snake?

Daniel was thrown into the lions' den, and God sealed the mouths of the lions in the lions' den, and Daniel came out unharmed. He read this passage and thought it was good. He tried to sneak into the Hangzhou Wildlife Park by climbing over the wall. After climbing over, it was bad. A tiger was waiting there, and he was bitten to death by the tiger. God, why didn't you seal the tiger's mouth? Is that putting the Lord your God to the test? Yes, it is.

You try running to a wildlife park and see if God can seal the tiger's mouth, seal the lion's mouth, seal the snake's mouth, and bind the legs of all kinds of animals. You run behind a horse and try to touch its rear end, and see if God can bind the horse's legs. All of this is called testing God! There is no need to play with this kind of faith. This kind of faith is meaningless. Do you understand? Can you improve your wisdom, improve your understanding, and have sufficient confidence in your understanding?

Secret to Handling Snakes 3: Serve the Lord Your God Only

This sentence is crucial. As soon as you see the riches and glory of the world, Oh, that's so good! You are finished, you are handled by the snake. I ask you, does the sentence Serve the Lord your God only somewhat dampen your faith? Actually, it's good to dampen it a bit. The faith that Jesus speaks of and interprets is the faith that can handle snakes.

The third secret to handling snakes is to serve the Lord your God only. If you covet the things of the world, why? Because people have no vision, their eyes only see the little things of their lives. As a result, the riches and glory of the world become the snake's secret to handling people. If you want to handle snakes, then serve the Lord your God only. Do you understand this time?

If you say, Oh, serving God, let's forget it, it's better to be handled by the snake. Look how good this is, how beautiful this world is, how beautiful the universe and all things that God created are. How much I want to go out and see all the things that God has created. After seeing them, Good, thank God. But may the purpose of people living not be to see these riches and glories of the world. All that we pursue may become stumbling blocks for us.

Secret to Handling Snakes 4: Obtain Destiny

I tell you, it is not easy for a person to run this road. Why? When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was praying there. Why? It was hard. That night he was going to be arrested, that day he was going to be flogged, that day he was going to endure the whipping, that day he was going to be nailed to the cross. Should I do it or not? Jesus was praying there with all His might.

God! If it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from me. But not according to my will, but according to Your will. I came into this world to do this thing. This is the purpose of my life, this is my living destiny. I came into this world for this, I live for this, and I also die for this.

As a result, He willingly endured the whipping. Did it hurt? Yes, it hurt! Nailing to the cross, did it hurt? Yes, it hurt! Hanging on the cross and slowly dying took effort. Was it hard? Yes, it was hard! But this is our destiny. Even in death, we must obey God's will. This is called destiny. I live for this, I die for this, I was born for this, I came into this world for this. I tell you, this is called destiny.

God has given us a destiny today, what are we called to do? We are called to build God's glorious church, this is our destiny. We are to be a blessing to all nations and peoples on earth, through building the church. Not through scattering money, scattering money is useless. Through breaking the curses on people, liberating the captive souls, and bringing people into blessing, we are scattering blessing.

So why could Moses handle snakes? Because he had a destiny! God gave him a snake, and he went to Egypt to bring the people of Israel out. Was it hard? Yes, it was hard. Was it annoying? Very annoying. When you see that group of Israelites, it is heart-wrenching, irritating, and annoying. However, we must not follow our own will, but follow God's will. That feeling is very annoying.

So when he could no longer bear it, Moses struck the rock with his staff. His heart was really annoyed, You annoying people. Of course, I am not Moses, I am far from it. Are brothers and sisters willing to say a word today? According to my own will, I am unwilling, but, God, not according to my will, but according to Your will be done.

The snake nailed Jesus to the cross, but the snake was handled by Jesus. This is victory! This is victory! Those who are greedy for life and afraid of death cannot serve God, those who do not want to build His glorious church according to Jesus Christ, and make it our destiny, cannot walk this road. We can bless you, but that is not a good road. The road of destiny, outside of destiny there is no victory, outside of destiny there is no ability to handle snakes. Amen!

Secret to Handling Snakes 5: Ascend the Mountain of Jehovah, Run to the House of the God of Jacob

If you have the opportunity, read Rick Joyner's The Final Quest, called The Road to Ascend, that section is writing The Army of Hell is Advancing. You must know the truth of God. The holy mountain of God's truth, even if you climb it, you have only walked one road. Every level of God's holy mountain has many, many truths. Within every door of truth, the truth you obtain is a wisdom to deal with the devil, every truth is a wisdom to deal with the devil.

So we emphasize study so much, we emphasize understanding so much, we emphasize wisdom so much. Never think that I can cast out demons, and be happy. I can pray in tongues, and be happy. It is normal to be happy at that stage, because you have ascended a level, but you cannot stop there, you must strive to climb. Today, you have recognized the truth of handling snakes, you have recognized the secret of Jesus Christ handling snakes.

God! Today, grant our brothers and sisters wisdom, grant us understanding, let us be able to know You more. Let the faith within us in this world be the faith that can handle snakes, and let the truth within us be the truth on Your spiritual holy mountain.

Today, let us take up the keys to the kingdom of heaven, draw on the resources of the kingdom of heaven, let Your truth be engraved on our hearts, let us live for this, let us live for this, let us also die for this, let us come into this world for this, let us imitate our Lord Jesus Christ, may Your glory fill the whole earth, may we always abide in Your glory.

May God bless everyone! Amen!