“Do You Now Believe?”

'By this we believe...' Jesus answered them, 'Do you now believe?' —John 16:30-31

Now we believe. . . .” But Jesus asks, “Do you . . . ? Indeed the hour is coming . . . that you . . . will leave Me alone” (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.

We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light as He is in the light. . .” (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation-just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.

---

現在你們信麼？

因此我們信……耶穌說，現在你們信麼？ （約十六30-31）

[現在我們信。 ]耶穌說：[你們信麼？時候將到……你們要分散……留下我獨自一人。 ]許多基督的工人留下主獨自一人，憑自己的責任感去作工，或憑自己的判斷覺得需要而做；這是因為缺少復活主的生命。其中並沒有罪惡，也與刑罰無關；只是當 發現這事成為認識基督的障礙，帶來何等的困惑、愁苦、難處，就必然蒙羞抱愧，痛悔地歸回。

我們必須更深切地投靠主耶 穌復活的生命，養成一種習慣，把一切事情不斷在他面前陳明。可是我們往往會作出合常理的決定，然後求神賜福。但他無法此物，因為這事不屬他管轄，而且脫離 現實。我們若憑責任感行事，就是堅立了一個標準與耶穌基督敵對。我們自視為[超人]，說：[這件事我要這樣那樣做。 ]我們把責任感放在寶座上，代替了主復活的生命。神沒有叫我們行在良心或責任感的光中，乃是行在神的光中，正如神行在光中一樣。出於責任感的工作，可以言之成理，持之有故；但出於順服主的工作，便無可爭辯；正因如此，聖徒容易受人嘲諷！

祈禱◆噢，主啊，當我醒來，仍與你在一起。願你以大能的復活生命，激發我的血肉之軀；願你藉著不斷湧入的能力，在這一刻喚醒我。

The Impoverished Ministry of Jesus

Where then do You get that living water? —John 4:11

“The well is deep”— and even a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! (John 4:11). Think of the depths of human nature and human life; think of the depth of the “wells” in you. Have you been limiting, or impoverishing, the ministry of Jesus to the point that He is unable to work in your life? Suppose that you have a deep “well” of hurt and trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says to you, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:1). Would your response be to shrug your shoulders and say, “But, Lord, the well is too deep, and even You can’t draw up quietness and comfort out of it.” Actually, that is correct. Jesus doesn’t bring anything up from the wells of human nature— He brings them down from above. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering only what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and also by saying, “Of course, I cannot expect God to do this particular thing.” The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish and weaken His ministry in us the moment we forget He is almighty. The impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus for Him to be our comforter or our sympathizer, but we refrain from approaching Him as our Almighty God.

The reason some of us are such poor examples of Christianity is that we have failed to recognize that Christ is almighty. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment or surrender to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying, “Of course, He can’t do anything about this.” We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, “It can’t be done.” You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.

---

限制了耶穌的工作

你從那裡得活水呢？ （約四11）

[井又深。 ]——比撒瑪利亞婦人所想的更深。想想人本性的深奧、生命的奧妙，和你[裡面的井]的深度。你是否限制了主耶穌的工作，以致他不能有所作為？假設你心中有一個像無底深井的煩惱，耶穌會對你說: [你心裡憂愁。 ]你就聳聳肩說：[可是，主啊，井太深；我無法從其中汲取平靜與安慰的水。 ]其實，耶穌要從上頭帶下力量來，而不會從人的井裡打什麼上來。我們若只記得以往讓神為我們做過的事，或說：[我當然不會奢望神這樣做。 ]那麼，我們就限制了以色列的聖者的工作。要全能才做得到的事，信徒該相信耶穌能夠做到。我們若忘記他的全能，就局限了主的工作；那使主的工作顯得衰退的是我們，不是他。我們只接受耶穌作安慰者、同情者，而不接受他為全能者。

我們中間有些人之所以成為差勁的基督徒，是因為心中沒有全能的基督。我們有基督徒的性情與經歷，卻沒有委身於耶穌基督，向他降服。到有了難題，就說：[他實在無能為力。 ]是我們限制了他的工作。我們掙扎到井底，想自己去打水；並且在放棄時心安理得地說：[這事不可能。 ]你知道仰望耶穌就可以做成。你的缺欠深如井，惟有竭力抬頭仰望神。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，只要我能聽見你發出清晰的吩咐，我將產生何等全備的信心！主啊，願你今天吩咐我。

Our Misgivings About Jesus

The woman said to Him, ’Sir, You have nothing to draw [water] with, and the well is deep’ —John 4:11

Have you ever said to yourself, “I am impressed with the wonderful truths of God’s Word, but He can’t really expect me to live up to that and work all those details into my life!” When it comes to confronting Jesus Christ on the basis of His qualities and abilities, our attitudes reflect religious superiority. We think His ideals are lofty and they impress us, but we believe He is not in touch with reality— that what He says cannot actually be done. Each of us thinks this about Jesus in one area of our life or another. These doubts or misgivings about Jesus begin as we consider questions that divert our focus away from God. While we talk of our dealings with Him, others ask us, “Where are you going to get enough money to live? How will you live and who will take care of you?” Or our misgivings begin within ourselves when we tell Jesus that our circumstances are just a little too difficult for Him. We say, “It’s easy to say, ’Trust in the Lord,’ but a person has to live; and besides, Jesus has nothing with which to draw water— no means to be able to give us these things.” And beware of exhibiting religious deceit by saying, “Oh, I have no misgivings about Jesus, only misgivings about myself.” If we are honest, we will admit that we never have misgivings or doubts about ourselves, because we know exactly what we are capable or incapable of doing. But we do have misgivings about Jesus. And our pride is hurt even at the thought that He can do what we can’t.

My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly— “Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.”

---

對耶穌的低估

先生沒有打水的器具。 （約四11）

[神所說的一切奇妙我很欽仰，但他休想我能在生活裡真正行出來！ ]論到主耶穌本身的美德，往往叫我們有一種敬虔的優越感。 [你的理想甚高，令我們心悅誠服，但一涉及實際事物，就行不通了。 ]我們各人對耶穌或多或少總有這樣的想法。當我們向人講說與神立約，人家會好奇地問：[你的錢從哪裡來？你怎麼應付生活？ ]因而使我們對耶穌發生質疑。有時這種疑慮會發自我們本身，對主說這件事他也許難以應付。 [說信靠主是不錯的，但人總要生活的啊，耶穌連打水的器具也沒有，他怎樣供應我們？ ]你要留心裡面那敬虔的虛偽說：[我不怪主耶穌，只怪自己。 ]人從來不會怪責自己；我們無能為力的地方，自己知得很清楚，但不滿意主得卻很多。對他能做而我們所不能的，我們會覺得有損自尊。

當我省察自己，才發現神對任何事物都能應付自如，這樣，不滿就油然而生，因為我的自卑感在作祟。若真的是這樣，要來到神面前承認：[主，我對你有誤會，我未能放下自己，去信任你的智慧；我沒有離開自我的悟性，去相信你的全能。]

祈禱◆噢，主啊，我懷著何等的釋然投向你。我對你的需要真是數之不盡，而在那奇異的釋放和喜樂中，我發現我所需要的，就只有你。

The Destitution Of Service

. . . though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved —2 Corinthians 12:15

Natural human love expects something in return. But Paul is saying, “It doesn’t really matter to me whether you love me or not. I am willing to be completely destitute anyway; willing to be poverty-stricken, not just for your sakes, but also that I may be able to get you to God.” “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor . . .” (2 Corinthians 8:9). And Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s. He did not care how high the cost was to himself— he would gladly pay it. It was a joyful thing to Paul.

The institutional church’s idea of a servant of God is not at all like Jesus Christ’s idea. His idea is that we serve Him by being the servants of others. Jesus Christ actually “out-socialized” the socialists. He said that in His kingdom the greatest one would be the servant of all (see Matthew 23:11). The real test of a saint is not one’s willingness to preach the gospel, but one’s willingness to do something like washing the disciples’ feet— that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God. It was Paul’s delight to spend his life for God’s interests in other people, and he did not care what it cost. But before we will serve, we stop to ponder our personal and financial concerns— “What if God wants me to go over there? And what about my salary? What is the climate like there? Who will take care of me? A person must consider all these things.” All that is an indication that we have reservations about serving God. But the apostle Paul had no conditions or reservations. Paul focused his life on Jesus Christ’s idea of a New Testament saint; that is, not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others.

---

傾盡的事奉

難道我越發愛你們，就越發少得你們愛麼？ （林後十二15）

天然的愛是期望回報的，但保羅卻說：[我不管你愛不愛我，我甘願竭盡一切犧牲自己，不單是為你的緣故，更是要把你帶到神那裡。 ][你們知道主耶穌基督的恩典，他本來富足，卻為你們成了貧窮。 ]保羅事奉的觀念正是：[不管我怎樣竭盡心力，也是甘心情願的。 ]對保羅來說，這是一件樂事。

神的工人要傳道這觀念，並不是耶穌基督的觀念。他的觀念是要我們藉著服役人而事奉他。 耶穌基督的思想比社會主義者更富於社會主義的色彩。他說在他的國里，最大的要作眾人的僕人。作聖徒真正的考驗不在傳講福音，乃在洗門徒的腳，就是做那些在人眼光中無足輕重的事，在神看來卻是非常重要。保羅樂意為神的緣故，不計算代價地耗盡一切為人。但我們會把經濟問題帶過來——[假如神要我到那裡，薪金怎 樣？氣候怎樣？福利怎樣？ ]人總要考慮這些的。這一切表示我們事奉神仍有保留：而使徒保羅卻毫無保留。主耶穌對新約聖徒的觀念，保羅都集中在自己的生活中；他不但傳播福音，更為別人成為擘開的餅、倒出來的酒。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，求你今天使那導致我們在你的事奉中軟弱無力的自我意識，永遠消失，這樣，我們所知道的，便只有耶穌。

The Delight Of Sacrifice

I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls . . . —2 Corinthians 12:15

Once “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,” we deliberately begin to identify ourselves with Jesus Christ’s interests and purposes in others’ lives (Romans 5:5). And Jesus has an interest in every individual person. We have no right in Christian service to be guided by our own interests and desires. In fact, this is one of the greatest tests of our relationship with Jesus Christ. The delight of sacrifice is that I lay down my life for my Friend, Jesus (see John 15:13). I don’t throw my life away, but I willingly and deliberately lay it down for Him and His interests in other people. And I do this for no cause or purpose of my own. Paul spent his life for only one purpose— that he might win people to Jesus Christ. Paul always attracted people to his Lord, but never to himself. He said, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

When someone thinks that to develop a holy life he must always be alone with God, he is no longer of any use to others. This is like putting himself on a pedestal and isolating himself from the rest of society. Paul was a holy person, but wherever he went Jesus Christ was always allowed to help Himself to his life. Many of us are interested only in our own goals, and Jesus cannot help Himself to our lives. But if we are totally surrendered to Him, we have no goals of our own to serve. Paul said that he knew how to be a “doormat” without resenting it, because the motivation of his life was devotion to Jesus. We tend to be devoted, not to Jesus Christ, but to the things which allow us more spiritual freedom than total surrender to Him would allow. Freedom was not Paul’s motive at all. In fact, he stated, “I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren . . .” (Romans 9:3). Had Paul lost his ability to reason? Not at all! For someone who is in love, this is not an overstatement. And Paul was in love with Jesus Christ.

---

犧牲的快樂

我也甘心樂意為你們的靈魂費財費力。 （林後十二15）

聖靈一旦將神的愛澆灌在我們心裡，我們就立即與耶穌基督一樣關懷別人。耶穌基督對任何一種人都有愛心。在事奉的工作上，我們不能以自己的嗜好為指導；這是我們與主的關係中，最大的考驗。犧牲的快樂，在於我為[朋友]捨命，這並不是隨手丟出，而是經過深思熟慮後，為他和對人的愛心，甘願把生命捨去。這也不是為 了別的什麼使命。保羅只為一個目的而把自己耗盡——為主得人。他時刻被主吸引，而不體貼自己。 [向什麼樣的人，我就作什麼樣的人。無論如何，總要救些人。 ]人若說他要向神建立聖潔的生命，那對人就絲毫無益了；他不過把自己安置在臺階上，與人群脫節。保羅成了一個祭牲，他所到之處，主耶穌都使用他，作為神的旨意。我們不少人只追求自己的目標，以致主無法隨意使用我們。若我們真的委身於耶穌，就該沒有自己的目標了。保羅說他曉得怎樣作一塊門前的地毯而心無惱怒，因為他的生命已全屬於耶穌了。我們很容易轉移目標，不歸屬基督，而專注於那些叫我們靈性得釋放的事物。保羅的動機不是這樣：[為我弟兄，我骨肉之親， 就是自己被詛咒，與基督分離，我也願意。 ]——太狂放，太誇大了，是嗎？人在愛情裡這樣說話，並不是誇大，乃是愛上了基督，如保羅一樣。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，求你今天保守我們，讓我們完全不需要想到自己，只是喜樂地與你一起。

The Determination To Serve

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve . . .—Matthew 20:28

Jesus also said, “Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27). Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s— “. . . ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). We somehow have the idea that a person called to the ministry is called to be different and above other people. But according to Jesus Christ, he is called to be a “doormat” for others— called to be their spiritual leader, but never their superior. Paul said, “I know how to be abased . . .” (Philippians 4:12). Paul’s idea of service was to pour his life out to the last drop for others. And whether he received praise or blame made no difference. As long as there was one human being who did not know Jesus, Paul felt a debt of service to that person until he did come to know Him. But the chief motivation behind Paul’s service was not love for others but love for his Lord. If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated and broken-hearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us from serving one another.

Paul’s understanding of how Christ had dealt with him is the secret behind his determination to serve others. “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man . . .” (1 Timothy 1:13). In other words, no matter how badly others may have treated Paul, they could never have treated him with the same degree of spite and hatred with which he had treated Jesus Christ. Once we realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust our determination to serve others for His sake.

---

事奉的決心

人子來，不是要受人的服侍，乃是要服侍人。 （太二十28）

保羅對事奉的觀念與主一樣：[我在你們中間作服侍的，像他一樣。 ][我們為基督的緣故作你們的僕人。 ]我們常以為一個蒙召作傳道的人，是被召成為與眾不同的人。對於耶穌基督，他被召的是別人門前的地毯；做他們的屬靈領袖，卻絕不是他們的上司。保羅說: [我曉得怎樣處卑賤。 ]

保羅對事奉的觀念是這樣：[我為你們耗盡了最後一分力量，你儘管稱讚我，或是指責我，一點也沒有關係。 ]只要有一個人尚未認識耶穌基督，保羅就是欠他的債，要服侍他直到認識主。保羅事奉的根源不是愛人，乃是愛主。我們若獻身人類的幸福努力，很快就會心碎而倒退，因為人忘恩負義，比狗更加厲害。但若動機是出於愛神，那麼怎樣冷酷無情也不能阻攔我們的服侍。

保羅體會耶穌基督怎樣對待他，就成為他決意服侍人的秘訣。 [我從前是褻瀆神的，逼迫人的，侮慢人的。 ]——不論人怎樣對待我，也絕對比不上我昔日怎樣以惡毒來對待耶穌基督。我們一旦體會耶穌基督怎樣為我們的卑鄙、自私、罪惡服侍到底，那麼，不論別人怎樣待我們，也不能改變我們衛士服侍人的決心。

祈禱◆主啊，你僕人的說話，正好標明我內心深切的禱告——我的神，我仰賴你的恩賜，好像我不能從任何人身上尋見，或在人內心的幻想或構思中出現。

The Discipline of Spiritual Perseverance

Be still, and know that I am God . . . —Psalm 46:10

Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen. Perseverance means more than just hanging on, which may be only exposing our fear of letting go and falling. Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered. Our greatest fear is not that we will be damned, but that somehow Jesus Christ will be defeated. Also, our fear is that the very things our Lord stood for— love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men— will not win out in the end and will represent an unattainable goal for us. Then there is the call to spiritual perseverance. A call not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated.

If our hopes seem to be experiencing disappointment right now, it simply means that they are being purified. Every hope or dream of the human mind will be fulfilled if it is noble and of God. But one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting for God. He brings fulfillment, "because you have kept My command to persevere . . ." (Revelation 3:10).

Continue to persevere spiritually.

---

屬靈韌力的操練

你們要休息（英文作安靜），要知道我是神。 （詩四十六10）

堅韌不單是忍耐，乃是在忍耐之上，加上絕對的肯定，知道所期待的必然實現。堅韌也不單是持定，那可能只是怕倒下來的軟弱。堅韌是以最大的努力，堅信他的英雄表現能夠獲得最後勝利。一個門徒最深的恐懼，不是他會被定罪，而是耶穌基督被貶低，叫祂所代表的一切——對人的愛、公義、饒恕和仁慈，至終不能奏凱；而祂所表彰的一切只像電光一閃而過。這是，屬靈的堅韌力叫我們不要徒然持守而無所事事，乃是著實地作工，確信神絕不被挫敗。

若我們的盼望似乎幻滅了，那正是進行潔淨的工夫。人心裡一切所想所​​求；都必一一實現。生命中最竭盡心力的事，莫過於等候神。 [你遵守了我忍耐之道。 ]

保持屬靈的韌度。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，今天讓你那偉大、使人尊貴和叫人鼓舞的感動臨到我們每個人身上。讓我們完全不用驚慌，而我們的心靈亦免於過分的追趕。