Good afternoon everyone大家下午好! Welcome back
to the afternoon service欢迎回来参加下午堂聚会! Have you had a good rest during the new-year holiday新年休息的好吗? Has your strength been refreshed有没有重新得力? Are you happy with your holidays假期过得好吗? Are you
looking for a blessed life你是不是在寻找蒙福的人生? The bible tells us圣经说, “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions人的生命不在乎家道丰厚”.
It tells us that life is not our circumstances这是说,生命不是在乎我们所处的环境, the house we live in住怎样的房子, the job we do怎样的工作, or how much money we have有多少钱. You can have the best and still be miserable你可以拥有最好的物质生活,但仍然不快乐. However相反, you can be very happy and peaceful你可以极其平安快乐, yet you only have a little即使拥有的很少, if you keep your heart in the right place只要你的心摆放得正.
Over the last three weeks前三周, we were back in our home town我们回国了, where I was busy with bible teaching我在那里忙着讲解圣经, counselling辅导, and prayers又祷告. During the first Sunday service when I was there在第一个主日聚会, I kept preaching我连续讲道, talking and praying for more than ten hours讲解加祷告 共十几小时. And I saw God’s reconciliation work strongly upon people但我看见神和睦的工作大大临到众人. People repented他们就悔改, and their relationships with God and with people were reconciled与神的关系、与人的关系就和睦了. After their relationships were restored当关系修复后, I could see the happiness and joy on their faces就可以看见他们脸上的欢喜快乐,just because of their hearts that were in the right place都因为心又回到正确的位置上. So are you happy with being a Christian你是一个快乐的基督徒吗?
If you are not happy along the journey of being a Christian如果在作基督徒的过程中 你不开心, how can you be happy at the end of the journey到终点你又怎会开心呢? God wants you to be happy with this journey神愿意你在这过程中开心, and to have a blessed life并得到蒙福的人生. But these are not enough这还不够, God wants you to be the blessed life神还要你成为这祝福的生命, so that wherever you go以至于你无论往哪里去, you will be able to bless others都成为别人的祝福!
Today今天, we are gonna continue the message of the Beatitudes让我们继续分享天国八福. What a blessed life looks like怎样是一个蒙福的人生, or what a happy life looks like又或者,一个幸福人生会是什么样. Let’s read Matt 5: 1-12 …我们来读《马太福音5:1-12》…
Last year去年, we looked at the first of the five beatitudes我们分享了天国八福的前五福, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven虚心的人有福了,因为天国是他们的. It tells us that the kingdom is of those who are humble before God是说天国属于那些在神面前谦卑的人. And then, those who mourn-over their sins and the sins of the world will be comforted那些为自己和世界的罪而哀恸的人会得着安慰.
The third, those who are gentle and controlled by God’s power will overflow with God’s power温柔的、受神能力管制的人,会涌流出神的能力. The fourth, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be satisfied饥渴慕义的人必得饱足. The fifth, those who accept God’s mercy and are merciful to others will be shown more mercy接受神的怜悯、怜悯他人的人,必蒙更多的怜恤. Well, they are having a happy life indeed他们的人生实在幸福快乐! Today今天, we are going to look at the sixth one我们来分享第六福, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God清心的人有福了,他们必得见神.”
Do you want to see God想不想见到神? Do you want to hear from God想不想听到神说话? How can you see God怎样可以见到神? And see His genuine work in your daily life怎样可以在每天的生活中见到神真实的工作? Keep your heart pure保持清心! You know, one day有一天, we heard some meowing at home我们在家里听到猫叫, which came from the basement of our place是从地下室传来的, when I took up the floor of the closet我就打开橱柜地板, and allowed daylight to shine into the basement让日光透进去, gosh天啊, do you know what I saw你说我看见什么了? I saw some cat’s feces there有好些猫粪在那里, and it’s very smelly臭的不行…well, we utterly had no idea when our neighbour’s cat ran into our basement and pooed我们完全不知道什么时候邻居家的猫进去拉了屎. Then, we needed to clean it out接下来我们就要清理干净.
Keeping our hearts pure is similar to cleaning out our basements保持清心和清理地下室差不多, we should allow the light to shine deeply into our hearts我们要让光照进心的深处, and allow the dirty thoughts to emerge让污秽的意念显出来, if we fear or dare not see the dirt如果我们害怕,不敢见灰尘, we then can’t clean it up就不能清理干净. So to see some dirt in our basements (our hearts) is a good thing,isn’t it? 看见地下室(我们的心)有脏东西,是件好事,不是吗?
Don’t be afraid of being judged by God’s words不要怕被神的话审判, it gives us an opportunity to be purged and made pure in heart我们的心就有机会被洗净, so that we can see God就可以见到神了! This is the goal这才是目的! To reach the goal of seeing Him we need to be purified from the heart要见到神,我们就要先从心里被洁净!
Jesus our Lord said in Make7:21主在《可7:21》说, for from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts因为从里面,就是从人心里发出恶念、苟合、偷盗. It reveals that sins start from within这启示我们,罪从内里生出, not from without不是从外面! Therefore, every Christian has a full-time job所以每个基督徒都有份全职工作, that is to guard our hearts就是保守自己的心! Because Pro 4:23 says因为《箴言4:23》说, Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life你要保守你心,胜过保守一切,因为一生的果效,是由心发出.
It’s your responsibility这是你的职责, that you are in charge of guarding your own heart你要负责保守自己的心, not God不是神的职责! not anyone else 也不是别人! But you这是你的职责! Because you don’t know when the devil will come to tempt you因你不知道魔鬼什么时候会来试探你, or when you will be hurt by someone else’s words or actions或你什么时候就因别人的话或行为受伤了. God also uses our circumstances神也使用我们的环境, our spouses我们的配偶, our children孩子, and the people around us我们周围的人 to purify us来洁净我们.
Have you ever listened to your heart你有没有试过聆听自己的心, when things当有些事 (or your children或者是你的孩子,or your family members家人, or people around you或周围的人) aren’t going in the direction you want不如你意,What comes out from your heart你心里会发出什么呢? Have you ever asked God to purge your own heart你有没有求神来洁净你的心 Instead of blaming others? 去代替责怪他人?Or have you just been accustomed to living with what comes out from your heart还是,你已经习惯与顺从心里这些意念而活 So that you are prone to get down? 因此你很容易沮丧下沉?Or do you neglect what comes out from the heart或者,你忽视心里出来的意念, and just pursue doing good outwardly只追求外面做好呢? If we only cleanse our actions如果我们只是清洁我们的行为, we deceive ourselves就是欺骗自己, and leave the heart dirty before God把污秽的心放在神面前. I believe that it is the biggest scheme of the devil to blind God’s people in the last days我相信,这是在末后撒旦欺骗神子民的最大骗局. So if we want to overcome若我们要得胜, we must be purified from our hearts to our outward actions就必须从心里到外在要洁净! For instance就象这样, if we say to somebody如果我们对人说,
“Hi, good to see you嗨,见到你很高兴.” But our hearts say但我们的心却说, “Hum哼, hope I will never see you again最好以后别见到.” God hears the last voice not the first one神听到的是后一个声音,不是前面的. The heart is what we are before God心才是我们在神面前的真样子 Because the bible says因圣经说, “Men looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7. 人是看外貌,耶和华是看内心《撒上16:7》”
Jesus said something pretty strongly about the heart关于人的内心,主耶稣有过一些严厉的教训, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. (Matthew 23:25–26) 你们这些假冒为善的文士和法利赛人有祸了!因为你们洗净杯盘的外面,里面却盛满了勒索和放荡。你这瞎眼的法利赛人,先洗净杯盘的里面,好叫外面也干净了。(太23:25-26)
Can you see看到了吗, that salvation is not about reforming our outward manners救恩不是改造我们外在的行为, so that we behave better叫我们表现好点, but to cleanse our hearts first而是先洁净内心, so that we can become pure 让我们在神面前清洁and a brand-new creation before God并成为新造的人!
The bible says圣经说, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Cor5:17若有人在基督里,他就是新造的人,旧事已过,都变成新的了。(林后5:17)” We are a brand-new creation in Christ 我们在基督里是全新造的人! So the crucial thing we learn from this beatitude 因此,从这一节里我们认知一件至关重要的事,is that God is concerned with the heart就是神看重的是我们的心. It is not enough to clean up our outward actions光是行为改邪归正是不够的. Somebody said有人说, “now I am clean我现在干净了, since I became a Christian我做基督徒后, I haven’t committed adultery再也不淫乱了.”
That’s man’s judgement这只是人的判断, but our Lord Jesus said主耶稣却说, “You have heard that it was said, ‘do not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matt 5:27-28你们听见有话说:‘不可奸淫。’只是我告诉你们:凡看见妇女就动淫念的,这人心里已经与她犯奸淫了。(太5:27-28)” Can you see that what the heart responds to is what we are before God看到了吗,心的回应才是我们在神面前的真实样子! Nobody can purify his own heart无人可以洁净自己的心! But we thank our Lord Jesus who died for our sins但感谢主耶稣,为我们的罪死在十字架上, and was resurrected from death又从死里复活.
1 Peter 1:22 clearly tells us《彼前1:22》明白地说, now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart你们既因顺从真理,洁净了自己的心,以致爱弟兄没有虚假,就当从心里彼此切实相爱. For he purified their hearts by faith. Acts 15:9b又藉着信洁净了他们的心(徒15:9下)
How can we be purified怎样得洁净呢? The way of being purified这洁净之道是: by faith through the Spirit in obedience to His truth藉着信,靠着圣灵顺从真理! The consequence of being purified洁净的果效是: Have sincere love from the heart to love one another deeply爱弟兄没有虚假,从心里彼此切实相爱.
If you want to check whether your heart has been purified after a prayer of self-denial若你想检验自己的心在做了否定自己的祷告后是否洁净了, you can check if you have sincere love for your enemies可以检查心里有没有神的爱来爱仇敌, before you couldn’t accept them之前你是不能接纳他们, but now you have divine love to accept them from the heart但现在你有神的爱从心里来接纳他们.
Blessed are the pure in heart清心的人有福了, for they will see God因为他们必得见神! What does “see God” mean“见神” 是什么意思? As we are seeking to know Jesus our God more当我们追求更多认识主 耶稣, one of the significant ways is by the names given in Scripture其中一个重要方法,是藉着圣经中提到的神的名 来认识祂. A name in the ancient Hebrew culture is far beyond just what God is called在古希伯来文化中,神的名 远不仅是个称呼而已. But a reflection of what His character is like而是神性情的显明. Today, we are picking up some of His names to share我们今天来分享几个神的名.
A, See God who is the provider看见神 是供应者
In Genesis 22《创世纪》22章, when Abraham was about to sacrifice his only son Isaac 亚伯拉罕就要将独生子以撒献上as a burnt offering to God just as the Lord had commanded照神的吩咐当做燔祭, God saw Abraham’s faith神看到亚伯拉罕的信心, and said to him就对他说, “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son现在我知道你是敬畏神的了,因为你没有将你的儿子,就是你独生的儿子,留下不给我.” Then,Abraham saw a ram 于是,亚伯拉罕就看到一头公羊that God had already provided for him 神早已预备好了to sacrifice as a burnt offering instead of his son来代替以撒当做燔祭献给神. “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. Jehovahjireh: that is The Lord will see, or provide. (Gen 22:14 KJV) 亚伯拉罕给那地方起名叫耶和华以勒(意思就是“耶和华必预备”),直到今日人还说:“在耶和华的山上必有预备”。耶和华以勒:耶和华必看见,或耶和华必预备。(创22:14 KJV版)
So can you see有没有看到? When Abraham went through the process of being purified in his heart by faith in obedience to God’s commands当亚伯拉罕借着信 顺服了神的命令, 经历了这洁净己心的过程 even taking the big risk of losing his only son甚至冒着失去独生子的风险, Abraham saw God他就见到了神, who is the provider祂是供应者! “The Lord will see, and the Lord will provide耶和华必看见,耶和华必预备!” It’s not from reading articles不是从文章里读来的, or from someone telling him或是别人告诉他! It’s from his own experience that he truly learnt that God provides这是从亚伯拉罕自己的经历里 真实经历了神是他的供应!
After experiencing this当经历这事后, his knowledge of who God is was strengthened I believe我相信他对神的认识得了坚固! So if we really follow the footsteps of Abraham’s faith我们若真这样来跟从亚伯拉罕信心的脚踪, we will see God as well也会见到神! Because our God is unchangeable因神永不改变! If our hearts say我们的心若说, “Oh, I don’t have enough money哎,我钱不够…I want to get this and that我想要这要那…” Let’s cast out all the craving thoughts from our hearts让我们从心里赶出这些贪心, and declare来宣告, “be still! And know that He is God心啊,要安静!要知道祂是神!”
In this world在世界上, there is a lot of uncertainty about the economy存在着许多不确定性,经济上的, future employment未来就业的, the education system教育系统的, health健康的, retirement退休的, and so on等等. But God wants us to put our faith in Him但神要我们信靠祂, be content with what you have满足于我们现有的, and be thankful for what the Lord has given you为神给我们的感恩! keep your heart pure洁净我们的心, and you will know that his name is Yahweh Jireh就会知道祂的名是 耶和华以勒; He sees and will provide what you need祂看见我们的需要,祂必预备!
B. See God who is our Banner.看见 神是 我们的旌旗
In Exodus 17《出埃及记》17章, when the Amalekites and Israelites were at war亚玛力人与以色列人争战, as long as Moses’s hands were raised to pray只要摩西一直举手祷告, and they were depending on God并且他们依靠神, they won他们就得胜. So 因此,“Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovahnissi. Jehovahnissi: that is The Lord my banner. (17:15 KJV) 摩西筑了一座坛,起名叫 耶和华尼西,就是“耶和华是我旌旗”。(出17:15 KJV版)
In the ancient days古代的时候, when armies went to battle军队出去打仗时, a banner or a flag would go out in front of them队列最前面要举旗, to represent the power and the spirit of the nation代表那个国家的权力和精神所在. But Moses’s power to win the victory was not from his natural ability但摩西得胜的力量不是来自他的天然能力, but depended on God而是信靠神! He sought out the Lord with a pure heart他清心寻求神, and he saw “the Lord is Jehovahnissi” who became his Banner (his victory) 就看见 耶和华尼西,成了他的旌旗(他的得胜)!
How could Moses see God who is Jeovahnissi摩西是怎样看见 耶和华尼西 的? He relied on God with all his heart and all his mind他尽心尽意 依靠神! James 4:4, 8 says《雅各书4:4,4:8》说, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God你们这些淫乱的人哪,岂不知与世俗为友就是与神为敌吗?所以凡想要与世俗为友的,就是与神为敌了. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded你们亲近神,神就必亲近你们。有罪的人哪,要洁净你们的手;心怀二意的人哪,要洁净你们的心.
How do we purify our hearts怎样清洁我们的心? To purify our hearts is to purify ourselves from double-mindedness就是除去心里的二意, we can’t both love God and the world我们不能既爱神又爱世界, like a husband who has both a wife and a girlfriend就象丈夫 既有妻子又有女朋友! Our Lord loves us with an undivided heart我们的主,一心一意爱我们, in the song of songs 8:6b《雅歌8:6下》, it describes “love” like this这样描述 爱情: “for love is strong as death因为爱情如死之坚强” This is what a husband whose heart is pure toward his wife looks like这是在描述一个丈夫对妻子的纯洁的爱的心Our Lord Jesus chose to love us even to die for our sins to give us His eternal life我们的主 耶稣,宁愿爱我们,爱到为我们的罪而死,将永生赐给我们! We aren’t only sons and daughters of God我们不止是神的儿女! We are His bride我们是祂的新妇! So we are to get rid of our double-mindedness to love our bridegroom with all our hearts因此我们要除去心怀二意,全心来爱新郎! If we allow ourselves to be purified in hearts我们若愿心被洁净, we also will see that the Lord is Jehovah Nissi就会看见主是耶和华尼西, who is our Banner and victory祂是我们的旌旗、我们的得胜!
C, See God who is our healer.看见神是 我们的医治者
In Exodus 15《出埃及记》15章, when the Israelites were in the wilderness以色列人在旷野, they encountered bitter water at a place called Marah来到一个叫 玛拉 的地方,那里的水苦, the people grumbled against Moses他们就向摩西发怨言, but God showed Moses a tree但耶和华指示摩西一棵树, he cast it into the bitter water他把树丢在水里, and it became sweet水就变甜了. The tree healed the water那棵树医治了水! And the Lord said耶和华又说: “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you你若留意听耶和华你神的话,又行我眼中看为正的事,留心听我们的诫命,守我一切的律例,我就不将所加与埃及人的疾病加在你身上,因为我耶和华是医治你的.” Here we see the LORD revealed as Jehovah Rapha主在这里启示,祂是耶和华拉法, who is the healer 祂是医治者.
The Israelites only knew how to grumble against their leaders以色列人只知道对领袖发怨言, when their natural needs weren’t met当他们的需要得不到满足时. You may grumble against your parents你也会抱怨父母, or your family members家人, or other people其他人, when your desires aren’t satisfied当你想要的 得不到满足时. But this is useless但这没有用!
For all those negative thoughts所有负面的意念, like complaints就如抱怨, grumblings叽里咕噜的埋怨, and unforgiveness不饶恕 can only hurt you emotionally只会在情绪上mentally精神上, spiritually and physically心灵和身体上伤害你自己! Stop looking at other things不要看其他、 and blaming your circumstance停止抱怨环境, or blaming other people停止抱怨人! People can give you nothing人什么也给不了你. It’s useless to grumbling against men! 对人发怨言是没有用的.
God has thrown the tree into the bitter water神把树丢进苦水! The bitter water can become sweet苦水可以变甜! What does the tree represent这树 代表什么? “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness 1 Peter 2:24他被挂在木头(树)上,亲身担当了我们的罪,使我们既在罪上死,就得以在义上活。(彼前2:24)” Jesus Christ bore our sins in his body on that tree耶稣基督 把身体挂在这木头(树)上,亲身担当我们的罪, now “that tree” has been thrown into “the bitter water”现在,那“树,木头”被丢进“苦水”里, which is in us就是我们心里! The bitter water pool can become sweet苦水池可以变甜! How can it become sweet怎样变甜呢? This “bitter pool” (the heart) used to groan这苦水池里(就是我们的心)过去是抱怨, moan叹息, blame and judge others bitterly责怪、苦毒论断他人, and choose not to accept and love unconditionally不愿选择无条件接纳和爱人, but now if you allow that tree to be thrown into your bitter pool in your circumstances但现在,若是你在环境中让这树丢进你的苦水池里, if you keep your heart pure若是你保持心里清洁, and listen carefully to the truth not to your own voices留心听真理而不是自己的声音, and follow Jesus’ path of loving God and loving people with all your heart跟随耶稣的脚踪,全心爱神,全心爱人如己, the bitter pool can become sweet这苦水池就变甜了!That’s the hope that you need to look up这是你要仰望的盼望! Jehovah Rapha耶和华拉法, our Lord Jesus who still heals today我们的主 耶稣 今天仍然医治我们!
I read a testimony from our home church yesterday. 昨天我读了一个从家里教会来的见证A sister 一个姊妹, whose little son had been coughing seriously last week她年幼的儿子上周一直有严重咳嗽, and the medicines he took didn’t work for him吃的药也不管用. She was so upset她很烦, and even cursed herself to die甚至咒诅她自己去死. But after having listened to our bible teaching on Thursday night但听了我们周四的查经, she realised that it was because of her own sins of all kinds of negative thoughts and words她意识到这是因为她自己各种负面思想和话语的罪, which exposed her little son under the attack of the devil使她年幼的儿子也暴露在撒旦的攻击下 so she repented with a contrite heart于是她痛心悔改, and prayed for her son然后为她儿子祷告, then God healed her son from coughing instantly 神就立即医治了她儿子的咳嗽! Hallelujah 哈利路亚!
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God清心的人有福了,因为他们必得见神, who is the Almighty God and the Creator of everything祂是全能者、是万有的创造主! Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God清心的人有福了,因为他们必得见神, who is Jehovah Jireh祂是耶和华以勒, who sees and provides祂必看见,耶和华必预备! They will see God他们必见神, who is Jehovah Nissi耶和华尼西, their Banner and Victory神是他们的旌旗、是他们的得胜! They will see God他们必得见神, who is the healer who still heals today神是医治者,一直医治到如今!