We have been looking at the
Sermon on the Mount of Jesus for more than a month now到现在我们分享山上宝训已经一个多月了. This is the last time of the afternoon service this year今天是今年最后一次的下午崇拜, we will continue the rest of
the beatitudes next year八福余下部分我们留到明年继续分享. Today, we are looking at 今天的经文是,Blessed are the
merciful, for they will be shown mercy (Matt
5:7) 怜恤人的人有福了,因为他们必蒙怜恤。(太5:7)
A year ago一年前, we spent a night in Nelson我们在Nelson过夜, at a motel住在一家旅店, I hung a pair of washed socks on the edge of the out-side of the heater我把洗好的袜子晾在取暖器外沿, I hoped it would get dry by morning想着早上干了就可以接着穿, for I forgot to bring clean socks with me因我忘记带换洗的袜子了. The next day到了早上, Raymond told me, Raymond告诉我, “Thank God for His mercy感谢主怜悯! That He saved us from a disastrous fire让我们没被烧着”. Do You know why知道发生了什么吗? At midnight he found that the bottom of the door curtain was on the electric heater wire他半夜醒来,发现门帘搭在取暖器的电片上, which could have caught fire as the temperature was up to a hundred电线温度高达100度,完全可能引起着火. I was grateful for God’s mercy that He made my husband wake up我很感恩,因祂的怜悯,让我丈夫夜里醒来, so that we avoided a disastrous fire躲过一场火灾.
We need God’s mercy every day每天,我们都需要神的怜悯! If anyone doesn’t want God’s mercy要是有人不需要神怜悯, or if God wasn’t merciful to us或者神不怜悯我们, try to drive for just 10 mins试试开十分钟车, and see what happens看看会发生什么! It would be horrible会很恐怖!
The bible tells us that God is merciful more than a hundred times圣经里有超过100处 提到神满有怜悯! But first of all但先要问的是:
In Numbers 14:18(民数记14:18)说, it says, “the Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression耶和华不轻易发怒,并有丰盛的慈爱,赦免罪孽和过犯.” We see that mercy has to do with forgiving our sins这里看到,慈爱/怜悯,与赦罪有关. In Psa 145:8 (诗篇145:8)说,it says, “The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love耶和华有恩惠,有怜悯,不轻易发怒,大有慈爱.
Our Father God is not like us who immediately get angry我们的天父,不像我们容易动怒. His nature is merciful and full of compassion祂本性里充满怜悯同情, He will anger but slow to anger祂会发怒但不轻易发怒. Because He has perfect patience to wait for us to turn to Him因祂有完全的忍耐,等候我们转向祂. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit亚当和夏娃吃了禁果, our God wasn’t disappointed with them我们的神没有因此失望, so that He blew up at them以至于大发雷霆. No完全没有!
In Gen 3:21(创世纪3:21)说,it says, the Lord God made garments of skin for them, and clothed them耶和华神为亚当和他妻子用皮子做衣服给他们穿. Not only did He not get mad at them as they hadn’t listened当他们不听话,神不仅没有发怒, but also, He showed His compassion for them by making garments of skin to clothe them还为他们用皮子做衣服穿,彰显祂的同情. What a merciful Father He is何等怜悯的父亲! What if your children don’t listen to you要是你的孩子不听你呢? What if your friends don’t listen to you你的朋友不听你呢? Do you get mad at them你会对他们发火吗?
Although the consequences of what Adam and Eve did were so serious虽然亚当夏娃做的事 后果那么严重, that all man are born in sin and under the curse of sin since then之后所有人都要生在罪和罪的咒诅下, who can deliver us from sin and the curse of sin谁能救我们脱离罪和罪的咒诅? Thank our God who prepared the Lamb for us in His mercy. 感谢天父在祂怜悯里为我们预备了羔羊, Jesus Christ就是耶稣基督, who was killed for our sins为我们的罪被杀! His blood covered our shame祂的血遮盖了我们的羞愧,not our works 不是我们的工作. Our Lord was made as a garment of skin to clothe us主成了我们披戴的皮子! That’s God’s mercy这就是神的怜悯! God isn’t punishing us as our sins deserve神不照我们的过犯刑罚我们, but the punishment that brought us peace was upon Jesus Christ而是因祂受的刑罚我们得平安!
In Christ在基督里, we are no longer condemned我们不再被定罪, but adopted as sons and daughters of God反成为神家的儿女! That’s God’s mercy这就是神的怜悯! Mercy is deliverance from the judgment our sins deserve怜悯是拯救我们脱离犯罪所受的审判! and Mercy gives us time to repent并且给我们时间去悔改. We all know the story我们都读过这故事, that Jesus didn’t stone the woman who was caught in adultery就是耶稣没有拿石头去打那行淫被抓的妇人. Rather相反, He said to those who were going to condemn that woman他对那些想拿石头打那女人的人说,
“if anyone of you is without sin, let him throw a stone at her first. (John 8:7) 你们中间谁是没有罪的,谁就可以先拿石头打她(约8:7).” That’s unfair实在不公平! The woman’s husband could have been very angry and hurt女人的丈夫或许很受伤就生气, when he found his wife had betrayed him当发现妻子背叛他, he might have wanted to punish her他一定想惩罚她! People who didn’t commit this sin could be indignant没犯过这个罪的人也会很愤慨, because they wanted her to be punished也想这女人该被打! But God didn’t punish her但神没有刑罚她, instead, He showed mercy to her反而怜悯她! that gave her time to repent给她时间悔改! Yes是的, In God’s mercy there is no “fair” 神的怜悯里没有“公平”, if we want fair如果我们想公平, we will have no hope and no life就没有盼望,也没命了, because we all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory因我们都犯罪亏缺了神的荣耀, for the wages of sin is death罪的工价就是死! We all deserve death我们都是该死的! And James 3:2 tells us(雅各布书3:2), “We all stumble in many ways! If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. 原来我们在许多事上都有过失;若有人在话语上没有过失,他就是完全人,也能勒住自己的全身.
We all stumble in many ways我们在许多事上都有过失! If you see somebody commit a moral sin如果你看到什么人犯了不道德的罪, you catch him你就抓住他, and want him to be punished immediately要他立刻受罚, how about yourself那你自己呢? Do you want to be punished immediately when you stumble你想不想自己一跌倒就被罚, without being showed mercy to you没有怜悯给你, and give you time to repent不给时间让你悔改? No不, we all want God’s mercy我们想要神怜悯我们! And we all want God to give us time to repent 我们都想神给我们时间悔改. So God’s mercy is unfair但神的怜悯不是公平的, because God isn’t punishing us as our sins deserve因祂没有叫我们受所当得的报应.
Instead取而代之的是, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Jesus Christ那叫我们得平安的刑罚落在耶稣基督身上, His Only and Holy Son神的独子、圣洁神子! That’s unfair实在不公平! That is the most unfair thing in the universe宇宙中最不公平的事! But God is just and love但神是公义和慈爱, He will discipline His children if they don’t turn from their wicked ways若神儿女不肯悔改恶道,祂会管教他们, and He also will judge in the last day祂也会在末后审判, He crashed His Son to forgive us and to renew us祂压伤他儿子来赦免和更新我们 that is God’s mercy这就是神的怜悯! We all need God’s mercy every single day of our lives每天,我们都需要神的怜悯!
No one can earn God’s mercy by their own efforts没有人可用行为赚得神的怜悯, but only by receiving God’s mercy in faith只有凭信领受怜悯! Our Lord Jesus commands us主吩咐我们, “Freely you received, freely give (Matt 10:8b) 你们白白地得来,也要白白地舍去。(太10:8下)” Salvation is a gift of God’s mercy救恩是神怜悯我们所给的礼物, we only can receive it by faith我们只能凭信心领受, not by our efforts不是凭行为! Jesus said to his disciples主对门徒说, “Receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20:22) 你们受圣灵。(约20:22) Without receiving the Holy Spirit没有圣灵, Christianity is dead基督教是死的! We are all dead我们都是死的! Even the twelve who followed the Lord for three and half years were dead甚至跟主三年半的门徒都是死的! They had no life-changing spirit他们没有更新生命的灵, when Jesus was crucified主被钉的时候, they all fell大家都跌倒了. But they were raised up但他们复苏过来, after receiving the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of the Lord因他们领受了圣灵和神的赦免. So所以, salvation is about receiving救恩关乎领受! Receive the Holy Spirit领受圣灵, receive God’s forgiveness领受神的赦免, receive God’s healing领受神的医治, receive God’s mercy领受神的怜悯, receive God’s love领受神的爱… but receiving is just half of the way to taste God’s mercy and his grace但领受仅仅是品尝神的怜悯和恩惠的一半, it can’t make us whole 这不能使我们得完全! The rest of the way to taste God’s mercy is to give it out另一半是需要我们给出怜悯!
You can see from a dead lake从死水湖我们可知, when it only can receive当水只能流进去, but can’t give out不能流出来, it becomes smelly and dirty这湖就又臭又脏! If every morning or every night如果每天早晨晚上, we do devotions我们灵修, read the Bible and pray读经祷告, “Lord主啊, have mercy on me怜悯我, forgive me赦免我…” and cry with tears流泪哭泣, then we receive God’s mercy我们领受了神的怜悯, forgiveness and peace饶恕和平安, but during the day可是白天, we want people (our family, our classmate, our colleagues, etc…) to listen to us我们又要别人(我们的家人,同学,同事等) 听我们的, and make them do what we want them to要他们照我们要的做, if they don’t若他们不照我们的意思做, we are offended我们就很恼怒. That’s not God’s way这不是神的道路! That’s the way of manipulation这是操纵! We are called to give out what we’ve received我们是被召,要将我们得的给出去! (give out forgiveness给出去饶恕, mercy怜悯, and love爱…) In Luke 6:37-38a 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. (路6:37-38上) 你们不要论断人,就不被论断。你们不要定人的罪,就不被定罪。你们要饶恕人,就必蒙饶恕。 你们要给人,就必有给你们的。
It tells us that the consequence of being judgemental will be to be judged 这告诉我们论断的结果是自己被论断, and of condemning will be to be condemned定罪的果子是自己被定罪! But if we are merciful and give the power of forgiveness to others但若我们怜悯人,并饶恕他人, we will be shown mercy and forgiveness我们就必被怜悯和饶恕. Freely we receive我们白白的得来, freely give也要白白舍去! As God’s ambassadors of mercy作为神国怜悯的大使, is it proper for us to act like a creditor我们行的像讨债的一样合适我们的身份吗? Every day每一天, whenever we see people doing something wrong in our eyes若我们看见别人做的不对, we then grab them然后就揪住他们, and count their faults with unforgiveness and grumbles数算他们的不好,抱怨和不饶恕他们, “he, as a leader他作为一个领导, he shouldn’t act like that 他不应该这样做…you, as my child你,作为我的孩子, you didn’t listen to me你没有听话…as my classmate作为我的同学, or flatmate舍友, or colleague同事, he behave badly他的行为太糟糕了…” Or “I read the bible and pray我读经祷告, you don’t? 你没有…I obey rules, you don’t…”我遵守规则,你不遵守… No 不! That's not the proper way for us to act as ambassadors of mercy and grace这不是我们作为神国使者该做的!
The devil will be very happy if you think and act in this way你若这样想和行 撒旦会很高兴! Because an unmerciful heart opens a legal door to the evil spirits因一个无怜悯的心会向邪灵 打开合法的门 to enter your life进入你的生命, or your family你的家庭, an unmerciful heart brings out complaints一个无怜悯的心生出抱怨, judgemental thoughts论断, blame责怪, lies and unforgiveness谎言和不饶恕. Do you think the unmerciful servant will be a happy man? 你觉得那个无怜悯的仆人会是一个喜乐的人吗? No不会! he will be tortured他会被折磨. Our Lord Jesus has revealed this spiritual principle to us 这耶稣已经把这个属灵原则告诉我们 in the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18在马太福音18章的无怜悯的仆人的那个比喻里面. God wants us to deliver His mercy to others因此,神要我们把祂的怜悯传给他人, so that the devil can’t work in your life因此撒旦就不能在你的生命里做事, or in your family或你的家, or in your work place或你的工作地方. You may pray 你可以祷告:
“Yes, Lord是的,主, they haven’t done what I wanted them to他们没有照我要的做, but how do you act但你会怎样行呢? when I haven’t done what you wanted当我也没有照你要的做…thank you for your mercy谢谢你的怜悯, that You waited for me patiently until I turned to you from my heart你耐心的等待我,直到我从心里愿意转向你…Lord主啊, I receive Your mercy我接受你的怜悯, I lift him up to you 我把他交托给你, and wait for you我等候你, and not my will不要我的意思, but Yours be done只要你的意思成就…”
Freely you receive白白的得来, freely give白白的舍去! “Receive---Give 接受---给出去.” “Receive” is just half the way to taste God’s mercy “接受”只是品尝神怜悯的一半, “give” is the other half “给出去”是另一半, add them together把他们加起来, that’s the whole process needed to taste God’s mercy就是我们所需要的品尝神怜悯的全部过程! The bible says圣经说, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, (Matt 7:12a) 所以,无论何事,你们愿意人怎样待你们,你们也要怎样待人。 (太7:12上)
If you were that person who did wrong thing若你是那个做错的人, what would you want to have people do to you你希望人们怎样对待你? Do you want people to accuse you你希望大家控告你? To condemn you定罪你? To blame you责怪你? Or do you want people to have mercy on you还是你希望大家怜悯你? If you want people to have mercy on you若你希望别人怜悯你, and not to accuse or condemn you并不定罪控告你, you must do this to them first你就要先这样对待他人. That’s why our Lord Jesus says这就是为什么主耶稣说, blessed are the merciful怜恤人的人有福了, for they will be shown mercy他们必蒙怜恤!
It doesn’t mean God isn’t just这并不是神不公义! But God gives people enough time to repent但神给人足够的时间去悔改! In the end He will judge在末日祂必审判! Thank God for His mercy that leads us to repentance感谢主祂的恩慈是领我们悔改! If we freely receive mercy若我们白白得怜悯, forgiveness饶恕, and love和爱, we freely give them out白白的将这些给出去, we will not only be blessed那样,我们不单会被祝福, but also become blessings to others更是会成为他人的祝福! to your families成为家人的祝福, to your colleagues同事的祝福…
James 2:12-13, Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (雅2:12-13) 你们既然要按使人自由的律法受审判,就该照这律法说话行事。 13 因为那不怜悯人的,也要受无怜悯的审判;怜悯原是向审判夸胜。 This verse tells us这经文告诉我们, if we speak and act in line with our position as those who are going to be judged by the truth若我们行事为人,和我们的地位相符,就是像一个要被真理审判的人, and turn to trust in God to walk并转向信靠神而行, we can be set free from manipulation and all bondages of sin 我们就能从操纵和各样罪的捆绑中被释放出来. Mercy is opposite to manipulation and criticism怜悯和操纵,论断是相反的! If every day we read God’s word若我们每一天读神的话, and allow it to judge the desires and motives of our deep hearts让神的话审判我们心深处的私欲和动机, we pray我们祷告, “Lord主啊, you command us to love those who offend us 你要我们去爱那些冒犯我们的人, bless those who curse us去祝福那些咒诅我们的人, but why is my heart unhappy with that person’s words and his attitudes但为什么那人的话和态度使我的心那么不高兴…Lord主啊, when I sin against you当我得罪你, you are never offended by me你从没有感到被冒犯而生气, you are full of mercy你却全然怜悯我…I receive your mercy我接受你的怜悯 and forgiveness to forgive him (her)和饶恕去饶恕他…because he is like me因他和我一样…we all fall short of your glory我们都亏欠了你的荣耀…I’m willing to let your mercy flow through me to him我愿意让你的怜悯从我流淌到他身上…”
You know, when you really pay attention当你真的留意, and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through the words you read让圣灵借着你读的真理对你自己说话, to remove the plank from your own eye去除去你眼中的梁木, you receive God’s mercy 你接受神的怜悯, and if you are carefully passing this mercy onto others并且你留意将神的怜悯传给他人, stop manipulating others停止操纵他人, but speak truth in love但凭爱心说诚实话, it gives you freedom这带给你自己自由!
The action of “receiving” add “giving” in faith can give you freedom! 信心的“领受”和“给出去”加在一起给你自由 。In John 8:31在约8:31, Jesus said to those who had believed him耶稣对那些信祂的人说, they were not unbeliever他们不是不信的, but those who had believed him却是信祂的, "If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free 你们若常常遵守我的道,就真是我的门徒。你们必晓得真理,真理必叫你们得自由。”
Our Lord Jesus didn’t say if you yourself said you had believed Him我们的主耶稣没有说,若你自己说你信了祂, that you would be His disciples, and that you would be free from all bondages 你就会成为祂的门徒,就会被释放得自由. No不是! You must continue to practice and follow His teaching你必须持续的行和遵守祂的道, so that He will acknowledge you as His disciple因此祂会认出你是祂的门徒. “Then” you will know the truth not head knowledge 那样你就能认识真理 不是头脑知识, “Then” here introduces the result of the situation, which begins with “if” “那么”这个词是 因始于“如果”这个前提,所带出来的结果. It gives answer to “why”这话回答了“为什么”, Why those believers who were familiar with the bible but still couldn’t be set free为什么这些信他的,又熟悉经文,却仍然没有得自由? They were still in the bondage of sins他们还在罪的捆绑中! Because they just listened and read因为他们单单听了,读了, but didn’t live up to what they had attained但没有行出他们所领受的. But if we receive mercy但我们若领受怜悯, we give mercy to others我们把怜悯给出去; we receive forgiveness我们领受饶恕, and we give it out to others我们给出去饶恕他人, we can be set free我们就能得自由! Free from judgemental thoughts从论断里得自由, controlling从控制欲里, manipulation操纵里, fear惧怕里, lies 谎言里 and all sorts of negative thoughts 和各种负面思想里得自由. Why God doesn’t want us to judge为什么神不要我们去论断? Because we all blind in some way因为我们在某种程度上都是瞎子, we don’t know why she (or he) behave badly我们不知道为什么他会行为那么糟糕? Only God knows the reason只有神知道为什么, “why you have become like this为什么你会变得那样, why he has become like this为什么他会变得那样.” the spiritual understanding of “why” can lead us to God’s mercy对“那人为什么会那样”的背后的属灵的认知,可以引导我们进入神的怜悯.
Twelve years ago 12年前, I received some young people to live in my home我接待了一些年轻人住我家, there was a nineteen year-old girl有一个19岁的女孩, whose behaviour was very bizarre她的行为很古怪. Everybody came to me and complained about her 每个人都来我面前抱怨那个女孩的古怪行为. One bizarre thing they told me was有件古怪的事是, that she locked up herself in the bathroom for more than one hour in every winter morning她可以每个冬天的早上把自己关在洗手间, to open up the tap打开水龙头, until the hot water was run out直到把热水放光, then she came out 然后走出来, for sure that everyone would have no hot water to use为的是确保每个人都没有热水用.
Everyone was mad at her 每个人对她都很生气 But I wasn’t surprised 我没有感到奇怪 because I had dreamed a dream about her 因为我做过一个她的梦in which I saw she was oppressed by demons我看见她被鬼附。This was the first time, that God opened my eyes to know some spiritual things那是神第一次开我眼睛知道属灵的事. For God’s word says因神的话说, (Eph 6:12) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places是与那些执政的、掌权的、管辖这幽暗世界的,以及天空属灵气的恶魔争战。
Our enemies are not people我们的敌人不是人, and are not your husband, wife and your children不是你的丈夫,妻子和孩子, but the evil ones in heavenly realms是天空中的恶者们, God wants us to forgive神要我们饶恕 and to leave room for Him to save or to judge并把或拯救或审判的权利交给祂, so I told what I had received to all the people who lived in my home 因此我将我领受的告诉那些住我家的人, and they repented to God 他们悔改了. when we showed mercy to that girl当我们施怜悯给那女孩, she repented at that period在那段时期她悔改了. One day 一天,when I was praying over her, and rebuking evil spirits to go out from her body当我正为她祷告,斥责邪灵从她身上离开. God opened my spiritual eye and I saw a dark shadow like beast came out from her神开我的眼睛看见一个像兽一样的黑影从她身体里出来. That’s a long story这是个很长的故事, I’ll tell you later if you are interested若你感兴趣,稍后我再告诉你.
Anyway总之, Mercy isn’t a reason to let the person keep sinning怜悯不是一个叫人继续犯罪的理由. But because of this understanding and mercy但因在神怜悯里的理解, we will be able to pray mercifully to touch God’s heart我们就会有怜悯的祷告来触摸神的心, so that God may give that person a heart of repentance因此神或许给那人一个悔改的心 So what if your husband若你的丈夫, or wife妻子, or children孩子, or flatmate comes back home in an angry mood室友回来带着怒气? You can judge without mercy, say 你可以这样无怜悯的说 “I don't like your attitude我不喜欢的态度. I am also working hard我工作也很辛苦. I don’t like the way you’re acting我不喜欢你所行的. I tell you, don’t get me mad at you我告诉你,不要惹我发火!” Or you may pray in your heart to receive God’s mercy或你在心里祷告去接受神的怜悯, and be merciful to him向他施怜悯, then say然后说,
“You seem to be having a bad day今天看上去你过的很不好. I just want to say that God loves you我只想告诉你神爱你, and He really cares about you祂真的眷顾你. And I love you too我也爱你.” You can imagine the outcome of the way you have chosen to act你可以想象一下这两种的不同结果, it really determines if the door is open to Satan’s destroying work这能决定是否向撒旦的毁坏的工作开门, or to God’s blessing还是向神的祝福开门! We can easily say我们很容易的说, “No wonder that church is dead难怪那个教会是死的, because they have turned to their own way因为他们都在自己的路上…no wonder they suffer a financial curse难怪他们那么穷, because they worship heaps of idols因为他们拜那么多偶像…No wonder难怪…”
But what if you think about if you were them但想一想,要是你是他们, what if you cry for mercy要是你呼求怜悯, “forgive us Lord主啊求你赦免, we all sinned against you我们都得罪了你, have mercy on your church求你怜悯你的教会…on your people你的百姓, save us拯救我们…”
Mercy triumphs over judgment怜悯是像审判夸胜的! In numbers 14在民数记, we see when the Lord was about to punish the Israelites who rebelled against Him我们看见,当以色列民悖逆祂,正在祂要去刑罚, and tried to throw stones to kill Moses and Aaron因为他们要用石头打死摩西和亚伦, what if you were one of them你要是他们其中一个? Would you have thrown stones back to those rebellious people with anger你会不会用石头打回给那些悖逆的百姓?
But Moses didn’t take offence at them但摩西没有因他们发怒, rather相反, he cried for God’s mercy to forgive those people他祈求神怜悯赦免他们, and the Lord forgave them神就赦免了他们. That’s a real intercessor of God’s kingdom这个一个神国度的真正的代祷者, who has a merciful heart like Christ Jesus像耶稣一样有一颗怜悯的心! “when people are about kill Christ当人要杀基督, he didn’t cry out他没有呼求, “Father父啊, show your justice to them彰显你的公义!” Rather相反, he interceded for the transgressors他为罪犯代求, “Father父啊, forgive them赦免他们…” Moses also laid down his own feeling of rejection摩西也放下他受拒绝的感受, and cried out for God’s mercy to forgive His people呼求神怜悯赦免祂的百姓, so those rebellious people were persevered their lives at that moment那时 那些百姓就免了一死. Today今天, God’s kingdom needs people who have a merciful heart to call on His name神的国度需要有这样心的人,来呼求神的名, so that He may be able to abundantly forgive因此神就能广行赦免, and pure out His Spirit on His church powerfully并大有能力的降下祂的圣灵, to raise the dead来叫死人复活; to open the eyes of the blind叫瞎子看见; to open the ears of the deaf叫聋子听见; to heal the sick病得医治; and to save more来拯救更多人! Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy怜恤人的有福了,因为他们必得怜恤!