As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me . . . —Genesis 24:27
We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. “. . . the Lord led me . . .” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.
We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.
Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.
看出神的安排
耶和華在路上引領我……（創二十四27）
我們應該與神合一到一個地步，不必一天到晚求他指引。成聖就是成為神的兒女，而兒女的生命就是順服－－一旦不順服，就立刻直覺地感到一種隔膜。在屬靈的範疇裡，這隔膜是聖靈的一個警號。當聖靈警告，我們就該立即停下來，在心靈裡更新，好知道神的旨意。我們若是神的靈重生的，仍不住求神引我到這裡、到那裡，就是不敬虔。 [耶和華引領我]，回顧過去，我沒恩可以處處看見神奇妙無比的安排。我們若是從神生的，就必歸榮耀給神。在特殊的事上容易看見神的作為，可是只有在屬靈上有操練，才會在每一細節上看見神。別忽略一些偶然的事，認為這些是在神的旨意以外；要隨時隨地明白神的安排。
當心只顧崇拜自己一貫的信念，而不是專心愛神。 [我永不做那件事]－－若你是個聖徒的話，很可能你不能不做。主在世上是最不持守一貫做法的人，但他從不違背父神。聖徒唯一要持守的，不是一套原則，乃是神的生命。有神的生命，才不斷增加對神心意的認識。做狂熱主義者容易，做忠心耿耿的人難，因為要效忠神，需要一種出奇的謙卑；尤其是對在宗教上的虛偽，尤為困難。
祈禱◆[凡有智慧的……也必思想耶和華的慈愛。 ]主啊，那是多麼美好！為著你的榮耀，請賜給我這個記號。今天，我仰望你；願你的恩惠和美善豐厚地臨到我們。
November 14, 2012
November 13, 2012
Faith or Experience?
. . . the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me —Galatians 2:20
We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!
We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.
It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.
信心與經歷
……神的兒子……他是愛我，為我捨己。 （加二20）
我們要與自己的情緒搏鬥，完全歸向主耶穌；從自我的小圈子中出來，完全降服於他。試想想新約中的耶穌基督是誰，然後想想我們可憐的信心多麽渺小- [我沒有這種經歷，又沒有那種經歷！ ]試想想對主耶穌的資訊該存的指望- 他能把我們無可指摘地帶到神的寶座前，完全無瑕疵，完全改變稱義。我們要心存何等崇敬的信心。他成為我哦們的智慧、我們的義、我們的成聖與救贖。我們憑什麽說為神的兒子有所犧牲！從地獄和沈淪蒙救贖的人，竟膽敢說犧牲！
我們要經常保持對耶穌基督的信心；不是一個祈禱會裡的耶穌；不是一本書中的耶穌，乃是新約中的耶穌，是神成了肉身，把我們治死在他腳前的那一位。信心必須是對准給我們經歷的那一位。主耶穌要求我們毫無保留地歸他。我們實在無法經歷到主耶穌，也無法把他拘禁在我們心裡，可是信心卻對他有堅強不移的靠賴。在這一點上，我們看見聖靈對不信是多麽不耐煩。一切的恐懼都是可惡的，因為恐懼是源於我們不肯培育信心。人若與主合一，怎可能再落在恐懼疑惑裡？應該充滿無法抑制、得勝的信心凱歌。
祈禱◆主啊，願今天在我們眼前，展現你在我們當中那使人振奮和更新的臨在，為此我們只有欣喜，因為我們對永恆如何具體介入時間之中，有了新的盼望。
We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!
We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.
It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.
信心與經歷
……神的兒子……他是愛我，為我捨己。 （加二20）
我們要與自己的情緒搏鬥，完全歸向主耶穌；從自我的小圈子中出來，完全降服於他。試想想新約中的耶穌基督是誰，然後想想我們可憐的信心多麽渺小- [我沒有這種經歷，又沒有那種經歷！ ]試想想對主耶穌的資訊該存的指望- 他能把我們無可指摘地帶到神的寶座前，完全無瑕疵，完全改變稱義。我們要心存何等崇敬的信心。他成為我哦們的智慧、我們的義、我們的成聖與救贖。我們憑什麽說為神的兒子有所犧牲！從地獄和沈淪蒙救贖的人，竟膽敢說犧牲！
我們要經常保持對耶穌基督的信心；不是一個祈禱會裡的耶穌；不是一本書中的耶穌，乃是新約中的耶穌，是神成了肉身，把我們治死在他腳前的那一位。信心必須是對准給我們經歷的那一位。主耶穌要求我們毫無保留地歸他。我們實在無法經歷到主耶穌，也無法把他拘禁在我們心裡，可是信心卻對他有堅強不移的靠賴。在這一點上，我們看見聖靈對不信是多麽不耐煩。一切的恐懼都是可惡的，因為恐懼是源於我們不肯培育信心。人若與主合一，怎可能再落在恐懼疑惑裡？應該充滿無法抑制、得勝的信心凱歌。
祈禱◆主啊，願今天在我們眼前，展現你在我們當中那使人振奮和更新的臨在，為此我們只有欣喜，因為我們對永恆如何具體介入時間之中，有了新的盼望。
November 12, 2012
The Changed Life
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new —2 Corinthians 5:17
What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.
What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13, or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.
改變的生命
若有人在基督裡，他就是新造的人，舊事已過，都變成新的了。 （林後五17）
你對自己靈魂的得贖，有什麽看法？救恩得經歷是在你實際生活裡，一切都真正得改變了，你不再用以往的觀點看事物；你的喜好是新的，舊的東西已失去力量。這經歷的試金石是 π Δ π Δ 神到底有沒有改變了你最看重的東西？你若仍然留戀舊事，又說已重生了，那是在是無稽的，是在欺哄自己。你若已重生，神的靈就在你生活及理智上，顯明他的改變。當抉擇關頭來到，對於自己那顯著奇妙的改變，你就是世上最稀奇詫異的那一個。根本沒有可能會這樣做的，這完全想不到的改變，正是你得救的明證。
我的得救與成聖，叫我有什麽改變？例如我能否面對哥林多前書十三章的亮光，還是我要含糊躲閃？聖靈在我裡面成就的救恩，把我完全釋放。只要我行在光中，正如神在光中。神沒有可責之處，因為他在遠超乎我意識 τ 圍的每一細節中作工。
祈禱◆主啊，你的美善是那麽無可比擬，我們[好像做夢的人。我們滿口喜笑、滿舌歡呼]；為著我們將再次帶著禾捆，喜樂地回來的日子，我們讚美你。
What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is— has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above— you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.
What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13, or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.
改變的生命
若有人在基督裡，他就是新造的人，舊事已過，都變成新的了。 （林後五17）
你對自己靈魂的得贖，有什麽看法？救恩得經歷是在你實際生活裡，一切都真正得改變了，你不再用以往的觀點看事物；你的喜好是新的，舊的東西已失去力量。這經歷的試金石是 π Δ π Δ 神到底有沒有改變了你最看重的東西？你若仍然留戀舊事，又說已重生了，那是在是無稽的，是在欺哄自己。你若已重生，神的靈就在你生活及理智上，顯明他的改變。當抉擇關頭來到，對於自己那顯著奇妙的改變，你就是世上最稀奇詫異的那一個。根本沒有可能會這樣做的，這完全想不到的改變，正是你得救的明證。
我的得救與成聖，叫我有什麽改變？例如我能否面對哥林多前書十三章的亮光，還是我要含糊躲閃？聖靈在我裡面成就的救恩，把我完全釋放。只要我行在光中，正如神在光中。神沒有可責之處，因為他在遠超乎我意識 τ 圍的每一細節中作工。
祈禱◆主啊，你的美善是那麽無可比擬，我們[好像做夢的人。我們滿口喜笑、滿舌歡呼]；為著我們將再次帶著禾捆，喜樂地回來的日子，我們讚美你。
November 11, 2012
The Supreme Climb
He said, ’Take now your son . . .’ —Genesis 22:2
God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.
“So Abraham rose early in the morning . . . and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.
登峰造極
你帶著你的兒子……（創二十二2）
神的命令是：現在就帶去，不是等一會兒。我們辯論的伎倆是高超的，知道某件事是對的，但總設法找藉口拖延，不立刻去做。要攀上神的高峰，絕不可等一會兒，必須立刻去做。犧牲首先在意志裡作成；然後才有實際的行動。 [亞伯拉罕清早起來……起身往神指示他的地方去了。 ]（第3節）亞伯拉罕的單純多可愛！神對他說的話，他沒有與屬肉身的人商量。你要是想與屬肉身的人商量，就是與你的自憐和觀點，以及一切在你與神的個人關係以外的東西商量。那你就得當心，這些東西是爭奪並攔阻你對神的順服。
亞伯拉罕並沒有推薦自己去奉獻。總要提防自我揀選為神工作，自我犧牲可以是病態的。若神給你的杯是舔的，存感恩的心去喝；若苦的，就與他聯合去喝。若神為你鋪設的道路是困苦的，仍要走上去；但千萬不要挑選殉道。神揀選亞伯拉罕接受磨難，亞伯拉罕沒有異議，只勇往直前。你若非與神親密地一同生活，就很容易會指控神。在未有經歷磨難以先，你沒有權利下斷語，因為在磨難中，你會更認識神。神一直為他至高的目標而作工直至他的心意與人的心意合而為一。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，靠近我，進入我知覺的領域，直至我完全被你所佔有。願今天閃耀著你的能力。
God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.
“So Abraham rose early in the morning . . . and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not “confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to “confer with flesh and blood” or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, “I will only go to there, but no farther.” God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.
登峰造極
你帶著你的兒子……（創二十二2）
神的命令是：現在就帶去，不是等一會兒。我們辯論的伎倆是高超的，知道某件事是對的，但總設法找藉口拖延，不立刻去做。要攀上神的高峰，絕不可等一會兒，必須立刻去做。犧牲首先在意志裡作成；然後才有實際的行動。 [亞伯拉罕清早起來……起身往神指示他的地方去了。 ]（第3節）亞伯拉罕的單純多可愛！神對他說的話，他沒有與屬肉身的人商量。你要是想與屬肉身的人商量，就是與你的自憐和觀點，以及一切在你與神的個人關係以外的東西商量。那你就得當心，這些東西是爭奪並攔阻你對神的順服。
亞伯拉罕並沒有推薦自己去奉獻。總要提防自我揀選為神工作，自我犧牲可以是病態的。若神給你的杯是舔的，存感恩的心去喝；若苦的，就與他聯合去喝。若神為你鋪設的道路是困苦的，仍要走上去；但千萬不要挑選殉道。神揀選亞伯拉罕接受磨難，亞伯拉罕沒有異議，只勇往直前。你若非與神親密地一同生活，就很容易會指控神。在未有經歷磨難以先，你沒有權利下斷語，因為在磨難中，你會更認識神。神一直為他至高的目標而作工直至他的心意與人的心意合而為一。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，靠近我，進入我知覺的領域，直至我完全被你所佔有。願今天閃耀著你的能力。
November 10, 2012
Fellowship in the Gospel
. . . fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ . . . —1 Thessalonians 3:2
After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.
I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”
福音裡的相交
……在基督福音上和神同工……（帖三2，新譯本）
人成聖以後，很難再明說自己的人生目標是什麽，因為神已藉聖靈把你放在他的計畫裡。如今在他對全世界的計畫中，他使用你，正如他在我們的救贖計畫中，使用他的名字一樣。你若為自己求大事- 神呼召我做這個那個，就是限制了神對你的使用。只要你對自己的品性仍感關注，或仍抱個人的野心，就無法與神的心意認同。要與神合一，必須把自己的意念決絕地拋棄，讓神待你到他對全世界的計畫中。這樣，你的行動既全在主裡，就必無法明白所行的路。
人生的目標是屬神的，不是屬自己的，這一點我們必須學習。神按著他美好的旨意用我，要求我信賴他，不要說：[主啊，這事叫我心痛。 ]我這樣說就成了一個阻礙。若不再對神說我要什麽，他才能毫無阻隔地把所要的給我。他可以把我壓碎，也可以叫我高升，他可以隨己意而行。神只要求我對他完全信任，信任他和他的良善。自憐自憫出於魔鬼，我若走這條路，神就不能用我於全世界的計畫裡。我若活在一個[世界裡的世界]，深怕走到外面會凍僵，深就永無法帶我出來。
祈禱◆主啊，願你發聲，讓我可以聽見和明白。我的屬靈生命似乎太表面化，能察覺到帶有恩慈的能力是那麽少；求你激勵我，直至我與你一同發光。
After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.
I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being “frost-bitten.”
福音裡的相交
……在基督福音上和神同工……（帖三2，新譯本）
人成聖以後，很難再明說自己的人生目標是什麽，因為神已藉聖靈把你放在他的計畫裡。如今在他對全世界的計畫中，他使用你，正如他在我們的救贖計畫中，使用他的名字一樣。你若為自己求大事- 神呼召我做這個那個，就是限制了神對你的使用。只要你對自己的品性仍感關注，或仍抱個人的野心，就無法與神的心意認同。要與神合一，必須把自己的意念決絕地拋棄，讓神待你到他對全世界的計畫中。這樣，你的行動既全在主裡，就必無法明白所行的路。
人生的目標是屬神的，不是屬自己的，這一點我們必須學習。神按著他美好的旨意用我，要求我信賴他，不要說：[主啊，這事叫我心痛。 ]我這樣說就成了一個阻礙。若不再對神說我要什麽，他才能毫無阻隔地把所要的給我。他可以把我壓碎，也可以叫我高升，他可以隨己意而行。神只要求我對他完全信任，信任他和他的良善。自憐自憫出於魔鬼，我若走這條路，神就不能用我於全世界的計畫裡。我若活在一個[世界裡的世界]，深怕走到外面會凍僵，深就永無法帶我出來。
祈禱◆主啊，願你發聲，讓我可以聽見和明白。我的屬靈生命似乎太表面化，能察覺到帶有恩慈的能力是那麽少；求你激勵我，直至我與你一同發光。
November 09, 2012
Sacred Service
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . . —Colossians 1:24
The Christian worker has to be a sacred “go-between.” He must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the worker’s life. When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created. If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. We must make sure that we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in others those things which He alone can do.
When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32).
神聖的事奉
現在我為你們受苦，倒覺歡樂，並且為基督的身體，就是為教會，要在我肉身上補滿基督患難的缺欠。 （西一24）
主的工人要作神聖的中間人，與主和他的救贖認同，以致主能不斷地透過他創造新生命。不是工人自己的人格影響另一個人，乃是基督的真正同在，透過工人的生命流露出來。我們按新約的記載傳揚主耶穌，並他受苦的歷史事實，我們的話就變成神聖；神就使用這些話，因著他救贖的計畫，在聽者身上創造新生，否則，這些人就不能成為新造的人。若我們傳的是救贖在人生命中的效用，而不是傳揚有關主耶穌自己的啟示，那末在聽者身上成就的就不是新生命，只是精美的屬靈教化而已。神的靈也不能為此作見證，因為這是屬於另一領域的事。我們必須留意自己活在與神同心同工中，以致在我們傳他的真理時，他能夠在人心靈中，成就只有他才能夠成就的事。 [多可愛的個性！ ][這人真了不起！ ][多超越的卓見！ ]神的福音在這些之上有什麽出路？福音無法通過，因為這只能吸引人歸我，而不能吸引人歸他。人若以人格吸引人，人注目的就是他的人格；若他與主的品格合一，他的吸引力就在於主耶穌的能力。信徒的危機是在於榮耀人，耶穌卻說我們要[舉起]的是他。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天在大能和威嚴中，在更多方面得勝。保守我的心靈遠離世俗化。
The Christian worker has to be a sacred “go-between.” He must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the worker’s life. When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created. If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. We must make sure that we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in others those things which He alone can do.
When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32).
神聖的事奉
現在我為你們受苦，倒覺歡樂，並且為基督的身體，就是為教會，要在我肉身上補滿基督患難的缺欠。 （西一24）
主的工人要作神聖的中間人，與主和他的救贖認同，以致主能不斷地透過他創造新生命。不是工人自己的人格影響另一個人，乃是基督的真正同在，透過工人的生命流露出來。我們按新約的記載傳揚主耶穌，並他受苦的歷史事實，我們的話就變成神聖；神就使用這些話，因著他救贖的計畫，在聽者身上創造新生，否則，這些人就不能成為新造的人。若我們傳的是救贖在人生命中的效用，而不是傳揚有關主耶穌自己的啟示，那末在聽者身上成就的就不是新生命，只是精美的屬靈教化而已。神的靈也不能為此作見證，因為這是屬於另一領域的事。我們必須留意自己活在與神同心同工中，以致在我們傳他的真理時，他能夠在人心靈中，成就只有他才能夠成就的事。 [多可愛的個性！ ][這人真了不起！ ][多超越的卓見！ ]神的福音在這些之上有什麽出路？福音無法通過，因為這只能吸引人歸我，而不能吸引人歸他。人若以人格吸引人，人注目的就是他的人格；若他與主的品格合一，他的吸引力就在於主耶穌的能力。信徒的危機是在於榮耀人，耶穌卻說我們要[舉起]的是他。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天在大能和威嚴中，在更多方面得勝。保守我的心靈遠離世俗化。
November 08, 2012
The Unrivaled Power of Prayer
We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered —Romans 8:26
We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable.
“He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is.
The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “. . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “. . . He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer . . . . But you have made it a ’den of thieves’ ” (Mark 11:17).
Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.
We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable.
“He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is.
The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “. . . your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “. . . He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer . . . . But you have made it a ’den of thieves’ ” (Mark 11:17).
Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.
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