91-Receiving the Grace of Christ by Faith#
91-Receiving the Grace of Christ by Faith
(JP Text Group - Sister Ren Wei's Compilation)
Luke 10:38-42:
38 As they went on their way, Jesus entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Let us start with a prayer:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise you for your grace. Today we choose the good portion like Mary. We sit at Jesus' feet to hear your words. Although I am sharing today, I know it is the Holy Spirit who helps us, and you give each person what they need through this message. I completely entrust this time to you. You know what your children who seek you need, and you are the God who provides food in due season. May they all receive your abundant blessings. Thank you, and I pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!
Brothers and sisters, how can we receive the grace of Christ? It is not that you work hard for God and then the Lord Jesus says, "That's enough, come and receive grace!" Rather, all the blessings from God are received by faith. God's blessings to us do not depend on our actions. We will focus on sharing what the law and grace truly are.
Why do we not say that you must receive the law by faith? Because receiving the law does not require faith at all. But God's grace is given freely and must be received by faith. Therefore, God wants us to receive the grace of Christ, not to receive the Ten Commandments or His law.
The purpose of the law is to make people see their inability. The more people want to be holy, the more they find it impossible to achieve holiness under the law. If we live under the law and try to live by it, you may want to love your husband very much, but you find it impossible to do so; the more you want to love him, the worse your actions become. This is the situation under the law. The principle of the law is demands. You must do this and that, and if you cannot do it, condemnation quickly follows.
Under the "Ten Commandments," the Israelites were often given demands. The most common phrase in the "Ten Commandments" is "You shall not..." In the Old Testament, it is "You shall not do this, you shall not do that."
But under the grace of the New Testament, God says:
"I will accomplish this for you."
"I will heal you."
"I will no longer remember your sins."
"I will have mercy on you, I will provide for you."
The New Testament is truly what we call grace. Because God is continually providing. In the Old Testament, God said you must be holy. Because without holiness, no one can see the Lord. And no matter what the Israelites did, they could not achieve holiness. But in the New Testament, God knows you cannot achieve holiness, so He gives holiness as a gift.
God's Son Jesus came and gave us His holiness. Under the New Testament, you cannot love your difficult husband or discipline your rebellious child. God says, "I will give you my love, and then you will have the ability to love." Everything is provided by God.
If you are still hearing "You must do this... and that..." it shows you are still under the law. Such teachings cannot bring about change; what truly changes you is Jesus continually supplying you. Until one day you cannot sit still, "Lord, I must tell others about you, for you have changed me by His grace." Amen!
Brothers and sisters, once you understand this principle, remember: when you are under the law, you are being demanded; grace is continual supply. Thank the Lord, it does not mean that we will not have the law under grace; many people still get trapped in the law. Let’s look at two people: one is Martha, and the other is Mary. Both followed Jesus, but one lived under the law, and the other lived in grace. When Jesus came to Martha's house, Mary was her sister.
When Jesus came with the twelve disciples to Martha's house, the two sisters had two completely different reactions. When Martha saw so many people, what was her reaction? "I must cook," because she saw thirteen strong men. Twelve disciples plus Jesus, right? Can these men eat? Don’t underestimate Peter; he was a hard worker, someone who could fish all night without sleeping, and he could really eat several bowls of rice!
Seeing this scene, Martha might have thought: "There is too much to prepare; I need to hurry and get ready." So she immediately went into the kitchen. Did she feel demanded? Just like some people see, "Oh, it's Sunday again; I must go to the meeting," and they dive into the kitchen, doing, doing, doing. But Mary is different; when Mary saw Jesus and His disciples coming in, she immediately sat at Jesus' feet and began to listen to His teaching. Usually, what we hear, what we receive, and what we act upon are completely different.
First, let’s look at Martha. Brothers and sisters, is there anything wrong with Martha serving in the kitchen? No, there is nothing wrong; Jesus never said, "Martha, who told you to run into the kitchen?" You must know that the church indeed needs some people like Martha to serve. For example, if our church holds a concentrated training session, it certainly requires someone to sacrifice time to cook; those cooking cannot listen to the teaching. Such people are called Martha. Martha was not wrong in serving; Jesus encourages us to serve. It’s just that Martha's service was law-based, which led to some problems; she became angry, anxious, and began to complain.
Luke 10:40: "But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.'"
While Martha was serving, she was also getting angry at the Lord. What she meant was, "Lord Jesus! How can you not say something about my lazy sister? I'm so busy in the kitchen by myself, and she just sits there doing nothing; why don’t you tell her to help me?" This is law-based service. Jesus did not say, "Yes, Mary, why don’t you help?" We must know that Jesus' judgment is absolutely correct. Amen.
When Martha was troubled, anxious, and complaining, Jesus made a correct judgment. Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. But one thing is necessary." Jesus pointed out Martha's problem: the reason Martha complained about her sister was that she was troubled and worried about many things, which led to her complaints. What was Martha's complaint? Too busy? Unfair? That is partly true, but more importantly, it was because she had not done one thing. What was that? Listening to the teaching.
If you do not take time to listen to the teaching and just serve, you will definitely complain. If you do not have God's word within you, when you see your husband come home, sit on the sofa, prop his legs up, watch TV, and start drinking tea, saying, "Wife, go cook, do this and that..." you will immediately get angry: "I just got off work; why do I have to do this for you?" You will feel unbalanced immediately.
Why do you feel it is unfair? If Jesus were to talk to us about fairness, could we still be saved? Jesus said to the Father, "Father, it’s unfair; I came to the world to save them, but how do they treat me? They insult me, slander me, and crucify me. Why should I suffer this? It’s unfair." If He went back, we would be finished. But Jesus looked at the Father’s will. He knew why He came to this world; His purpose was to save us from sin, so He came to serve. He never talked to us about fairness. Amen! Brothers and sisters, when we have God's word filling our hearts, we will not think about fairness or unfairness. Because in a family, you should never talk about fairness; it is a place where fairness does not exist.
A home is not a place for reasoning, nor is it a place for fairness; it is a place of love. The same goes for the church; do not talk about fairness in the church; the church is also a place of love. If Jesus were not here, why would we serve? Why would you give? Why would that person take care of the children while we are here listening to the teaching? If we talk like this, it is all unfair. That person would rush in and say, "Teacher Ren, send someone to help me; it’s unfair..." This is Martha's heart; she missed one thing: she did not first receive strength from Jesus. If you rely on your own words, you often feel unfair and often complain. Because you are serving under the law, you see yourself as being demanded; you see yourself doing many things, but why isn’t he doing anything?
Mary, on the other hand, is comfortable; she sits there, listening to Jesus. Amen, amen. The busy Martha finally could not hold back and rushed out to criticize both Jesus and Mary. Brothers and sisters, when we serve out of our flesh, you will also criticize others like this: "What you are doing is not good; why do you do it this way?" Because you are serving based on the law, you do not see how much love God has for him, how much mercy God has given him. I have always told you, you are all beloved children of God; you have all been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus, so we have no right to criticize you. I have no right to criticize you because God does not criticize you. God does not curse you, saying, "You did this, so I will curse you." No!
What Jesus wants us to do now is to receive His grace by faith. If you lack this one thing, many things will trouble you. It is not that you must come to listen to the teaching on Sundays; I do not require that. I just tell you that if you do this one thing at the beginning of the week, you will have much less trouble. Mary sat at Jesus' feet listening to the teaching, and she had much less trouble. You will see that later when Mary stands up to serve, she does not complain. But Martha lacked this part, so her service was one of complaints, law-based service, and Jesus corrected her viewpoint, saying, "Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
Today, when you receive His joy, His power, and His health from Jesus, no one can take away that blessing from you. With faith, in life, carrying this power to do things, you will find that your relationships with colleagues have changed, and your relationships with family members have also changed. Because you first did that one essential thing. You can see what kind of person Jesus is when He comes to your home; this is crucial. When Jesus entered Martha's house, Martha saw, "Jesus is so busy all day long! He is really tired; I must hurry to prepare something for Jesus." She saw that Jesus needed supply. Brothers and sisters, it is very important; when you see that Jesus also needs you to supply Him, it proves that you are already under the law, already being demanded.
Let me share a few examples with you. In the Bible, there is a Samaritan woman. When Jesus went to Samaria to preach, one noon, Jesus was tired, hungry, and thirsty, so He sat by Jacob's well. At that time, a Samaritan woman came to ask Jesus for water to drink. Jesus said, "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again." Then the woman said, "Please give me this water."
This woman received the living water from Jesus and happily returned to the city. When Jesus' disciples returned with food, they said, "Rabbi, eat." At that moment, Jesus said something puzzling: "I have food to eat that you do not know about." The disciples began to discuss who had brought Jesus food. Brothers and sisters, do you know who gave Him food? They thought Jesus had received something to eat from someone else.
But Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me." Amen. At first, Jesus seemed thirsty and tired, but when people received from Him, Jesus regained His strength. Strength flowed out of Him again; this is our Lord Jesus Christ. In the world, the more you work, the weaker you become. But Jesus is different; the more you receive from Him, the greater His strength becomes. The more you receive from Him, the more abundant He is, because He is the source of all blessings. Just like living water, the more you use it, the more alive it becomes; this is our Lord Jesus Christ. So do not worry about what others will do when you receive. Jesus can provide. Amen, why did our Lord come to the world?
Let’s look at John 1:17: "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Jesus came to the world bringing grace and truth. The woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years knew this. She knew she needed the grace of Jesus Christ. She knew that by her own actions, she could not be healed. She tried all methods and saw many doctors, but the doctors could not heal her, and she spent all her life savings. The worst part was that she was not healed. When she heard that Jesus had come, she knew that this man was the Messiah recorded in the Old Testament. This woman said to herself, "I must touch the hem of His garment." What does this symbolize? In the Old Testament, God had a promise that the hem of this garment could bring healing. Just like we talked about last time, Bartimaeus also grasped God's promise and received grace; this woman with a flow of blood also grasped this promise. Because the Old Testament book of Malachi also tells us that when Elijah comes, there will be a spirit that can turn the hearts of fathers to their children, saying that the light has healing power.
Malachi 4:2: "But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall."
The "wings" mentioned here refers to the hem of the garment, which is completely the same as the other word "hem." This woman knew that the hem had healing power, so she wanted to grab the hem of Jesus' garment. When she grasped it, she received the grace of Christ; this was received by faith. Do not say, "Oh, is that thing very powerful?" No, it is not that thing that has special powers; it is her faith that released it.
Mary sat at Jesus' feet, continually receiving Jesus' words, and these words filled her with faith. Many people ask, "How can I have faith?" Let me tell you: listen to the teaching more, and you will have faith, and make sure to listen to the correct teaching, not the law. Brothers and sisters, if I let you participate in a "Ten Commandments training class," I estimate that after the training, you will have no faith left. Because I participated in one back then. When I went, I was quite confident. After the training ended, a week later, I found that I dared not do anything; no matter what I did, I would offend God. Do you know the reason, brothers and sisters? Because what you received was problematic. If you receive the law, you will find that people do not dare to meet God; this is the people of the Old Testament. But today, under the New Testament, people always crowd around Jesus, always want to touch Jesus, always want to follow Jesus because He is grace and truth. People can receive God's blessings from Him. And this supply has nothing to do with your actions.
Brothers and sisters, the good deeds you do cannot increase God's supply to you. The focus is not on you; the focus is on Jesus Christ. When Mary looked at Jesus, her perspective was correct; she looked at Jesus with the principles of the kingdom of heaven. She said, "When Jesus comes to my house, what I need is Jesus' supply. And I cannot supply anything to Jesus." Just like we shared last time, when David faced God's great grace,
David said, "What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord." (Psalm 116:12-13)
When Mary saw Jesus coming, she did nothing else but sit at Jesus' feet to receive His grace; this is the good portion. So if one day I visit your home, do not be like Martha, diving into the kitchen and not being able to call out. If you do, you will lose this good portion. It is not that there is no blessing; it is just that there is a better blessing, which is that we sit together and communicate. Thank the Lord!
Although I am not Jesus, I can bring Jesus' words to comfort you. The problem is that many people, like Martha, see that Jesus needs supply; what they do not know is that Jesus can supply him even more. Amen! So the key is whether you are being demanded or continually receiving. You must believe that the Lord Jesus is always supplying you. Each person faces Jesus' supply; all we can do is receive. When someone gives you a gift, the best way to repay them is to accept the gift and then thank them. When Jesus says, "I want to give you healing today," you say, "Lord, I thank you!" Do not say, "Lord, wait a minute! I haven't confessed and prayed this morning!" "I haven't fasted for you this morning!" Do not do this; do not try to exchange God's blessings with your actions; that is not grace; that is what you deserve.
The laborer deserves his wages, which is not grace, but what is deserved; but to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. (Romans 4:4-5)
When you see God's abundant supply, the only way to repay God is to accept grace and then thank Him. Always remember: Jesus is a supplier, and we are receivers. Even when we evangelize to others, we are letting others receive from Jesus. You tell them that the Father has accepted them because of Jesus; you tell them that Jesus is willing to heal them and has already been wounded for them. You want this person to come before God to receive the grace of Jesus Christ.
When you see someone weak, you say, "Come back to God and look to Jesus!" Because you want Jesus to supply him personally. And we cannot do anything; we are just receivers. So we must first become receivers; do not rush to do things. First receive from God, and then serve. Mary sat at Jesus' feet, listening to Jesus' teachings; Jesus' supply is continuous.
God's supply is always there; the more you talk about Jesus, the more you receive. When we often share the grace of Jesus Christ together, the more we share, the more grace we receive, the more joy we receive. Conversely, the more you talk about worldly matters, the more anxious you become. A few days ago, my partner kept saying, "I saw some news on WeChat; that child went out, and something terrible happened..." I said, "Please stop talking." After a while, she forgot and said, "You don't know that 18-year-old girl went to a war zone, and then..." I said, "Can you not say that?" Brothers and sisters, do you know why I wanted to stop her? Think about it; if I say, "Really? Hurry up and tell me what happened; oh, what a pity." She would say, "There’s another one..." Oh no, you will find that the more you talk, the more anxious you become. If one day our church sends someone to Afghanistan to preach, he will think, "Oh no... am I scared?" He will remember how many negative things have happened there; the devil always wants you to see these things; this negative information can undermine your faith.
Jesus wants us to always keep our eyes on Him because He gives you His supply. When we talk more about Jesus, the grace you receive will increase; brothers and sisters, grace and healing have always been there; the important thing is that we must first see it and then receive it. In worldly culture, the more you give away, the less you have. But God's principle is "the more you give, the more you receive; the more you share, the more you have." What Jesus gives to others is always His grace, His joy, and His peace.
So when you share Jesus with others, you will find that joy multiplies. Let us look at the world with the same perspective as Mary. Do not use the principles of this world. God wants us to be centered on Him, to see His supply, and to live with such a heart. In the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, people see that the five loaves and two fish become less and less. But in Jesus' eyes, God's supply is always there, and the more it is supplied, the more it increases. It does not matter how many people there are; what matters is that God has this ability; this is the principle of the kingdom.
When we face the world with such principles, you will have faith because there is nothing Jesus cannot do; this is the principle of the kingdom. You need to understand that the supply of the kingdom of God is continuous. When God is willing to pass this blessing through you, you are the first blessed person. Our mindset must be continually renewed in God's word. God is absolutely generous; He is not a stingy God. Amen! Does God love you? God's love for you and what He has done is not just saying, "I love you," and then nothing else. God loves you, and His way of doing things is His supply to you.
When we were still sinners, God said, "I love you; I do not want you to remain a sinner; I do not want you to live in sin." God loves us and sent His only Son into the world, saying, "You go and die for their sins." This is the mark of God's love for us. When God sees that we have many diseases in this world, He says, "Jesus, you go down and give your body to them." Jesus came to this world, was wounded for us, and the purpose was for us to receive healing.
If you understand this principle of the kingdom, you will know that my healing can be received from Jesus because God loves me. God has already loved me; His supply is always there; He has already supplied Jesus to me; Jesus' body has already been supplied to me, so I can receive His healing. Amen, today I am telling you how to practically rely on this God. It is not just saying to rely on God, to rely on God, to rely on God in everything... and then you do not know what to do. When you understand these principles, you will look at these things from the perspective of the kingdom and understand that there is nothing to worry about because Jesus has already supplied everything. I am just receiving what He has already supplied.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus died on the cross for our sins; two thousand years ago, Jesus was wounded for our healing; these are all completed matters. What do we need to do? — Believe and receive.
When you believe and receive, you will find that this supply is always continuous. If you cannot see it, you will become like Martha. Because you do not see it, you naturally will not grasp it. Many people always say, "I prayed too! Why hasn’t God done anything?" In fact, you are relying on yourself; you say, "I have fasted; why hasn’t God done anything?" In fact, you are under the law, trying to exchange God's healing or help with the law. What is faith? Faith is believing that God has already done it, regardless of how things are. It is not self-deception; many people say, "You see, my words make me feel uncomfortable." They feel that this thing is too fake; in fact, it is not fake; it is you, through faith, speaking out the results you want. You are not speaking without basis; you have God's promises and words.
You say, "Lord, I believe I am healthy." What is the sentence? Because the Bible tells us that by His stripes, you are healed. You say, "Lord, I believe your words are fulfilled in me." Always remember to add "have been." It is completed. Do not say, "I believe one day you will heal me." God says, "Okay, then wait." You do not even know when you will be healed; how can I heal you? This is important; God's supply is already there; you believe that it has been supplied today, and God says, "Okay, that’s enough." So do not rely on yourself; many times, people cannot do this.
The Bible says we often find ourselves in jealousy, strife, and greed. Do you know why people are greedy? Just like I said to the brothers and sisters before, some people say, "Lord, I do not want too much; if I can earn ten thousand a month, I will be content." Do not laugh; laughing proves that you have prayed like this before. When God really gives him ten thousand a month, is he content? He will say, "If I can get twenty thousand, I will be content." If God gives him twenty thousand, will he be completely content? No, he will not. This is greed. Why do people have greed? People are greedy for certain things, greedy for certain people, greedy for this and that; in reality, they have an empty heart, and a beggar's mentality is at play. Perhaps our analysis of the situation is different from your thoughts. This is the root cause; the reason is a beggar's mentality.
A sister once told me about an old lady who had three sons. The three sons were very filial to her. Moreover, the assets of the three sons were all over a hundred million. They bought a very large house for the old lady, and the interior was beautifully decorated. They also hired a nanny for her, and every week the children would come home to see the old lady. Shouldn't she be content? But this old lady went out every day to pick bottles from the trash can to take home. Her sons said, "Mom, what do you want to do? If you need money, we can give it to you; don’t do this; how much can you sell?" The old lady said she did not know why, but whenever she saw empty bottles, she wanted to grab them. It was not that she lacked material things; she had plenty, but her heart was that of a beggar.
Do not laugh, brothers and sisters! Many times, we are doing the same thing. The Bible tells us, "God has given you all the riches of the kingdom." But we live like beggars, always saying, "Lord, give me ten thousand, give me ten thousand..." In fact, we do not believe God enough. When we are greedy and jealous, we do not believe in God's abundant supply. We must receive this supply by faith. In fact, God's supply has always been there, and it is abundant. When you do not believe, you will use your own methods to satisfy your jealousy.
Let’s look at a passage from Numbers 11:31-34:
31 Then a wind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side, and a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground. 32 The people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail; he who gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck down the people with a very great plague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving.
Do you understand this passage? I have asked some people, and they said they understood it. Many people do not understand God's intention when reading this passage. They say, "God, you are really too cruel; you promised to give them quail, but these people just chewed it and had not swallowed it, and you killed them." On the surface, it seems like this. God is terrible; if you ask for the wrong thing, you die; it is better not to ask, right? It is too unjust to die like this.
But what is this passage really talking about? You will understand from which angle to view God; this is important. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they did not want to eat manna anymore; they said to God, "Lord, we want to eat meat." Eating meat is not a crime. God did not say it was wrong to want to eat meat. Not only that, but God also did something: originally, quail should not have been there, but God made the wind bring the quail from the sea. Just because the people wanted to eat meat, God made the wind change the direction of the quail's flight so that this group of people could eat meat. God intentionally changed the direction of the quail; look at how much God's blessing and abundant grace there is! After the quail were blown over by the wind, they scattered around the camp, were they far from them? They were right beside them. Did they have to labor? God supplied them just because they prayed; this is God's abundant supply.
On this side, it was about a day's journey, and on that side, it was about a day's journey.
Do you know what this means? The quail were around their camp; do they know how many quail there were? You must walk a day's journey to see the boundary; it was a dark mass of quail. You walk a day's journey to see that it was all quail; this is God's abundant supply. And that is not all; God promised them that He would give them quail for a month. God was very considerate of this group of Israelites; the quail were lying on the ground, and the people would be tired after bending down to pick them up all day, possibly suffering from muscle strain. God made the quail fly, about two cubits above the ground, just within reach; they did not even have to bend down. God had supplied every aspect; even this detail was considered by God.
But the people rose all day and all night and the next day, and gathered the quail;
Brothers and sisters, what do you think of when you read this passage? Greed. Why were the Israelites greedy? It was because of unbelief; they were not sure if God would really supply for a month. Seeing that the quail were alive, there was a possibility that they could fly away. Think about it; today the quail are flying here, and if Jesus lets them all fly away tomorrow, what will we eat? But God’s word has already said, "I will let you eat for a month." Did they believe God's word? God's supply has always been there; because God's word is there, these quail will not fly away for a month. God will not let them starve; He will let them fly continuously. The people could eat whenever they wanted; they were all alive. But because they did not believe God, it led to their greed. As a result, they rose all day and all night and the next day, which was two days and one night. What were they doing for three days? They did not sleep and began to frantically catch these quail, fearing that these quail would run away or wanting to keep more for themselves. They were relying on themselves. God's supply has always been there; the key is whether you see God's supply.
When you rely on yourself, you are under the law; when you rely on God's word, you are always in God's supply. The Israelites did not believe; they were not sure if God would really let them eat for a month, so they caught these quail for two days and one night, placing them around their camp. This phrase is crucial! Where were the quail before? After the quail were blown over, they were around the camp; when they killed the quail, they also placed them around the camp. The difference between these two is that one is alive, and the other is dead.
Brothers and sisters, God's supply is alive; our efforts are dead. What resulted from this? Because the people did not believe God's supply, they relied on themselves, and they ended up with a bunch of dead quail around them. In fact, the living ones were always around; how good it would have been to have the living ones! They could eat them tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow they would still be alive... How long can the dead ones last?
In the wilderness, the temperature during the day could reach 46 degrees, and at night it could drop to minus ten degrees. Such extreme heat and cold would naturally lead to plagues. In fact, it was not God who sent calamity to strike them; it was those quail they killed, placed around their camp, that after two days and one night of extreme heat and cold, caused the plague. They trapped themselves in this plague. If they had listened to God's word, there would have been no plague. Because God supplied them with living things, so do not ask for a week's blessing; do not ask for a year's blessing; God wants to give you supply that is new every day and is alive. After eating, you will still be healthy. The Israelites wanted to eat quail for a month, but relying on their own methods, they could not preserve it for a month. But God's method was very simple; God would let the quail live for a month.
While the meat was still between their teeth, they tasted the consequences of what they had sown. If we rely on the law, the more we try to work hard, we often fall into the traps we set for ourselves. Thinking we are clever, we end up being "too clever by half." It is better to believe God's word!
When you come to church, the supply the church gives you is absolutely not worldly methods. Worldly people will tell you: see so many quail, catch them hard! If you want to store for a month, you must catch more; but the church's supply is in God's word, and God says you can eat quail for a month; you can eat living ones for a month. The church supplies you with the living water of Jesus Christ, His abundant life. When you come to church, you are renewing the life within you; when the life within you is abundant, your outer body will definitely be strong. You will prosper in all things, just as your soul prospers. Just like 3 John tells us, "I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." Your body is strong, and you prosper in all things, depending on the degree of your soul's prosperity. Amen! The key is whether we believe in God's supply. Do not learn from the Israelites; they really did not believe and relied on themselves, ultimately falling into greed.
You must be certain about God's word. Many people are uncertain about whether they can be saved, uncertain about whether they can enter the kingdom of heaven. Because of this uncertainty, they often doubt, complain, and even speak negative words. In the Bible, there was a woman caught in adultery; the Pharisees brought her to Jesus, wanting to stone her.
Jesus said, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." As a result, they all left, from the oldest to the youngest. Do you know why they left from the oldest to the youngest? Jesus gave them the law; Jesus said, "If you are without sin, you can throw a stone at her." The older ones thought, "I have been a believer for sixty years; in these sixty years, I have sinned every day and offended God! If God were to scrutinize my sins, I would be doomed; I better not throw." They threw down their stones and left. According to his thinking, he was uncertain about God's love and redemption because he was under the law.
How many people in the church are uncertain? I have asked many people, "Do you believe you are a person in the kingdom of heaven?" She said, "This is hard to say! It is up to God; if God lets me in, I can go in; if God does not let me in, what can I do?" She is uncertain. When she is uncertain about whether God loves her or has already accepted her, she will say, "Lord, you did not hear my prayer today because I did not do well enough, so you did not accept me. I still have to work hard to enter the kingdom of heaven." Brothers and sisters, are you still working hard to enter the kingdom of heaven? You are already a person in the kingdom of heaven. The Bible clearly tells us:
John 1:12 "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."
So you are now a person in the kingdom of heaven. No matter what others say, you say, "I believe God's word says this about me; I do not care if you say I will go to hell; I will go to hell. Because God says I am in the kingdom of heaven." You must have certainty because this is what God's word tells you; this is also God's supply. If you are under the law, like I just mentioned, in an uncertain situation, your faith will also be unstable; this is too important for us! You must see that God's supply is certain and real. We must believe in His supply.
Let’s look at a passage from Numbers 14:9: "Only do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them!"
This is what Caleb said to the Israelites. At that time, they were almost at Canaan, and at the door, they said, "Let’s go see how the land God has given us is." When you have this thought, it means you do not believe in God's supply. Just like today we say to the Lord, "Lord, you say the kingdom of heaven is so good; you must let me see it first!" Some people always like to give strange testimonies, "I went to heaven! I saw..." "I went to hell; I saw..." But what does that matter? Even if you went to heaven, you only saw part of it; we do not deny that some people say they went to hell; you do not go there; why do you care? Rather than giving such testimonies, it is better to give the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The Bible has described the kingdom of heaven very clearly. God said to the Israelites at that time, "I will bring you into a land flowing with milk and honey." When the people went there and came back after forty days, they said, "Indeed, the land God has given us is a land flowing with milk and honey!" Do you think God is joking? God's promises are recorded in the Bible. You do not need to see; you know that God has said it, and this word is true; that is enough. Then say, "Lord, I receive strength, healing, and supply by faith." If you have debts, receive God's supply; if you have diseases in your body, receive God's healing. Everything is just about continually receiving from God because God's supply is here.
The Israelites sent twelve spies to see the land, and among them, ten spies returned and said, "That place is indeed a land flowing with milk and honey, but we cannot enter. The cities are fortified, and the enemies are giants. We cannot defeat them." But Caleb said to these people, "But do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land, for they are our food."
This is looking at the inhabitants of the land from the perspective of the kingdom of God. If you look at it from your own perspective, you think they are giants, but from God's perspective, they are nothing; they are just food! Have you ever been afraid of food? With today's advanced technology, people can cultivate and graft many large foods; for example, a winter melon that two men cannot carry. It is a very large winter melon. But no one says, "I am so scared! How did it grow so big?" No one thinks like that because it is your food. The bigger the food, the happier you are.
Some of us grow peanuts; when you harvest, you find that God's blessings exceed a hundredfold, and you cannot finish harvesting in three days. The more peanuts you have, the happier you are. If you see the enemies as your food, the bigger they are, the happier you are because they are enough for you to eat; you will not be afraid just because they are big. In Caleb's eyes, the enemies in Canaan were just his food. Because Caleb did not rely on himself to defeat them; he relied on God's word to defeat them.
He said very clearly: "For they are our food, and their protection has been removed from them. The Lord is with us; do not fear them!" Caleb was not afraid because he knew God was with them. You are not afraid today because you know God is with you. No matter where you go, God is with you. When you see these things, do you see the food that God has supplied you with, or do you see the obstacles God has given you?
Brothers and sisters, God will absolutely not give you obstacles. When you see giants in your life, do not say this is a problem God has given me; you should see it as food God has given you. God wants to use this situation to let you rely on God's strength to defeat it, so your faith will grow. Whatever you need now, come before God and treat all your problems as food God has given you. Let God supply you, give you strength, and defeat all the giants in your life.
Last passage: Deuteronomy 33:25, "As your days, so shall your strength be."
This verse is something everyone should meditate on carefully and declare. Because as your days are, so shall your strength be. The world's principle says, "The older you get, the weaker you become." But God says, "As your days are, so shall your strength be." These are two aspects; it depends on which angle you look at this matter from.
Under the law, just like the Pharisees mentioned earlier, the longer his days, the more he believes in the Lord for fifty or sixty years, he will find that he has sinned a lot, and he may not enter the kingdom of heaven because he has committed so many sins. He will have fear in his heart and no strength. Under grace, God will continually supply you, and as you grow older, looking back over the past fifty years, God has supplied grace every day, and every day you will give thanks to God.
God is not counting your sins every day; He is supplying you every day. God has supplied you for fifty years; what is this one problem? Isn’t that strength and faith? In the past, God accomplished such great things; what is this one? Because as your days are, so shall your strength be.
If your past days were always under condemnation and guilt, even if there is a good opportunity in front of you, you will not dare to seize it. If your past days were always in the grace of Jesus Christ, always in His supply, this time, you will still give thanks to God for it. Because all the difficulties in front of you become food. As you grow in your faith in the Lord, your strength will grow. Thank the Lord.
Let us pray together:
Lord, according to the world's principle, the older we get, the weaker we become. The New Year is coming soon, and many people say, "I am one year older, and my strength is getting weaker." But beloved of God, do not have such thoughts because this "strength" has a very wonderful name called "rest."
When you are in Jesus' rest every day, the older you get, the more rest you will have. This is the strength that Jesus supplies. We are not under the law; we are under the grace of Jesus Christ, living every day in Jesus' supply. When the surrounding environment changes, we see God's supply; we receive His supply by faith, and our lives will be filled with gratitude.
There may be some obstacles, but they are our food. Heavenly Father, we thank you because you are with us every day. You let me see that your supply is continuous. Even now, you are supplying us. At this moment, healing is being supplied; I receive your supply; I receive your healing.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I command this disease in my body to be healed; I command, in the name of Jesus Christ, my heart to be healed, and my blood to be cleansed. You have given healing to my mother and father because you tell us, "You came to give us life and to give it abundantly."
You took our death upon yourself so that we could have your life; you are our sin offering, and we receive your abundant supply. Lord, we are so unworthy; we are so poor that we cannot even offer a little sacrifice.
But God has sent us the best sacrifice, which is your Son Jesus Christ. He is perfect and without blemish; His purpose in coming to the world is to save us and to supply us with abundant blessings. Lord, thank you for giving me the same blessing as Mary. And I also become like Mary, a person who receives your rest before Jesus, a person who receives your blessings. This week, I will serve with your power. I will coexist with those around me with this power. The glory of Jesus Christ will shine through me. Thank you and praise the Lord! All glory be to you, I pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!