2017-08-01 Put God first in your life 把神放第一位 (1)

Wherever you go, you will hear people ask the same questions, “Why can God allow so much calamity and suffering? Why does God allow bad things to happen? Why does God allow calamities and death?” 你到哪里都会听到有人问相同的问题：“神为什么允许有灾难、痛苦？为什么允许坏事发生？为什么允许有灾难死亡？”

How can you find the answer? From the word of God,God not only allows, but creates all these things.去哪里找答案？在神的话里找，神不单允许，而且创造了这一切。Col 1:16, For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for him. God created all things.歌罗西书1:16因为万有都是靠祂造的，无论是天上的，地上的；能看见的，不能看见的；或是有位的，主治的，执政的，掌权的；一概都是借着祂造的，又是为祂造的。是神创造了万有。

Isa 45: 6b-7, I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness: I make well-being, and create calamity (or disaster NIV,): I the LORD do all these things. 以赛亚45:6下-7我是耶和华，在我以外没有别神。我造光，又造暗；我施平安，又降灾祸。造作这一切的是我-耶和华。Who created all these things? The Lord Almighty God who is the Creator of all. 谁制造了这一切？全能者我们的主创造了一切。

Do you see? All the verbs such as “form”, “make” and “create”, are in the present tense. It means that the Lord makes it happen frequently. 看见了吗？所有的动作，form（造），make（施），create（降）都是一般现在时态，表明上帝时常让这些事发生。

The Lord makes peace and brings prosperity, but He also creates calamity and disaster. 主不单赐平安、亨通，也降祸患、灾难，祂是配得敬畏的。For death entered the world because of sin, as well as calamity and disaster came as a result of the entrance of sin into the universe. 因为死因罪入了这世界，罪带来的后果就是祸患灾难，也因此进入人类生活。

But God can work all things out for the good of those who love Him. Isn’t He worthy to be feared? 但神使万事互相效力，叫爱神的人得益处。祂配不配我们的敬畏？If you hear people say, “God is love, this is the age of Grace, so that you can do whatever you want, He will forgive you.” Please don’t believe them. 要是有人说：“主就是爱，现在是恩典时代了，想做什么就做什么，主会饶恕你的”请不要去信。

Yes, we are in the age of rich Grace, because Jesus Christ the Son of God has paid the ransom for us, and shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. 没错，现在是恩典时代，主为我们的罪已付清赎价，使罪得赦免，It doesn’t mean that in His grace we are supposed to go on our own way to sin against God. 但这不是说，我们在祂的恩典里就可以继续走自己的老路、继续犯罪得罪神。

Rather, the bible teaches us, “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Cor 5:15 相反，圣经教导我们，“并且他替众人死，是叫那些活着的人不再为自己活，乃为替他们死而复活的主活（林后5:15）。”

Yes, if we stumble, God will forgive us, but the matter is not that if we can be forgiven, 要是我们跌倒了，神必赦免饶恕我们。但关键不是我们能不能得赦免，the matter is that if we are ignorant of the word of God and do something that God has forbidden in the bible, we mess our lives up, and make trouble for ourselves. 而是如果我们忽视神的话语，去做神在圣经里禁止的事，我们会搞砸我们的生活，给我们自己找麻烦。

Isa 5:21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. 赛5:21祸哉！那些自以为有智慧，自看为通达的人。God’s word will never pass away. He is great and awesome.This says that if we think things and do things according to our own wisdom, we think that it doesn’t matter, Actually, it does matter if we allow something to be first in our life but not God.神的话绝不会废去，祂是大而可畏的。这里说，在生活中，我们不把神放在第一位，想事，做事都自以为有智慧，我们觉得这没关系，其实是大有关系。

So today I’d like to share, why should we put God first in our life? A. Because we don’t want to increase our sorrows.所以今天我们会分享：为什么我们应当把神放第一位？

A. Because we don’t want to increase our sorrows.因我们不想愁苦加增。

Does anyone want to increase their sorrows? Increase their griefs? Sadness? No, no one wants to.有没有人想要加增愁苦的？想要加增愁烦的？加增哀伤的？当然没有人想。Psa 16:4a, The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. It tells us, if we run after other gods, our sorrow will increase. 诗篇16:4上 以别神代替耶和华的，他们的愁苦必加增。这真理告诉我们，如果我们追随别神，我们的愁苦会加增。What does other gods mean? The first of the Ten Commandments tells us this, “You shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3)”. 别神指的是什么？出20:3，十诫说：“除了我以外，你不可有别的神。”

And Deuteronomy 5:8-9a, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, 申5:8-9下 “不可为自己雕刻偶像，也不可做什么形象，仿佛上天、下地和地底下、水中的百物。不可跪拜那些像，也不可事奉它，因为我耶和华-你的神是忌邪的神。”

In the bible, there are more than 11 times, when God declares that He is a jealous God who is Holy and hates evil. He is God who creates well-being and brings disaster! He is the unchanging God.圣经里有超过11处，神宣告祂是忌邪的神，是圣洁的，祂恨恶邪恶。祂是造灾降祸的神，祂是永不改变的神。

If you travel to Asia, you can find many idols like a person’s image that people worship and believe can bring them wealth and luck. 如果你去亚洲，会看到许许多多人形的佛像，人们拜它们，并相信那些偶像会带来财富和好运。There are tangible idols in man’s eyes. In God’s eyes there are more intangible idols we can bow down to. 不但有看得见的偶像，在神眼中，我们还跪拜许多看不见的偶像。

Money can be a god to us, so Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money (Luke 16:13b).” 金钱可以成为我们的神，路16:13下，耶稣说：“你们不能又事奉神，又事奉玛门。”Remember the rich young man? When the testing of his faith came upon him, he thought that he had loved God without bowing down to any idols, 还记得那个富有的年青人吗？他以为自己爱神，没有事奉任何偶像；but when Jesus called him to sell all his possessions and gave to the poor, then to come follow Jesus, he left. 但当信心的考试临到了，耶稣呼召他变卖所有的分给穷人，还要来跟随耶稣，他就忧忧愁愁地走了。

Money is a strong idol for us, but giving tithe in faith can break our yoke of bowing down to money that causes us to fear, and experience more of His blessing in many ways. 金钱是个极有影响力的偶像，凭信心十一奉献可以破除金钱带来的惧怕，折断拜金的轭，使我们经历神更多方面的祝福。

Our jobs, our kids, our spouses, our hobbies, and our habits, and our interests, anything can be a god to us. 工作，孩子、配偶、爱好、习惯、兴趣，都可以成为我们的偶像。For example, if someone disrupts our plans or our jobs or our places, we can easily lose peace and get angry with them, we may ask of God, if the plans, the jobs, the order or the standards have gotten us to bow down to them? 比如，有人打乱了我们的计划，打扰我们工作或者搞乱了我们的地方，我们若很容易失去平安、开始发火生气的话，可以求问神，是否我们已经被这个计划、这份工作、这个标准、这个秩序捆绑住了？

If we must spend our time and money on our hobbies and interests, or we lose peace and feel sorrow. Ask God to check if the hobbies and interests have become idols to us. 若我们非要花时间，金钱在某项爱好上，否则不得安宁或者愁烦不堪的话，可以求问神，是否这个兴趣爱好成了我们的偶像？

Our spouses and kids can be gods to us, if we put them first before God. 如果我们把配偶孩子放在第一位、在神之前，他们都可能成为我们的偶像。8 years ago, there was a godly Buddhist who came to our home church, whose two kidneys had been transplanted 12 years ago. 8年前，一位虔诚的佛教徒来我们的教会。他在12年前曾做过两只肾的移植手术。

He converted to Christianity the first time I shared the gospel with him. And he started to taste lots of God’s grace, healing, dreams, and spiritual warfare that the Lord instructed him about in his dreams, and called him to be a prayer warrior, and gave him many inspiring testimonies. 他第一次听我传福音就信了主，之后尝到神的许多恩典，身体得医治，异梦异象，神在梦中指示他如何打属灵争战，呼召他成为祷告勇士，他有许多鼓舞人心的见证。

But one day, a rich and pretty woman fell in love with him and insisted that she wanted to marry him. They got married. 但是，有一天，一个美貌富有的女人爱上他并且一定要和他结婚，他们于是结了婚。Before he entered the marriage, I warned him, “if you run after your wife rather than God, you will lose everything, because everything is from God, if you forsake the King, how can you keep all stuff that belongs to the King?” 结婚前我提醒他：“如果你追求妻子，而不是跟随神，你什么都会失去。一切都是神给的，如果你离弃这位王，怎么还能留住属于祂的东西呢？”

Many years later, now he is still alive which is a miracle, but he has lost everything, including his wife, because he listened to his wife who wanted him to earn more money rather than listening to the Lord of ALL. Now, his sorrows are extremely increased and his health is in a terrible state. We will increase our sorrows, if we run after other gods.许多年后，他能活着已是个神迹，但他一无所有，妻子也离开了他。因他没有听从神，反而听从妻子的话，去赚更多的钱。 现在，他的愁苦实在大大的加增，身体状况也一塌糊涂。如果我们追求别神，我们的愁苦必加增。

“PR” can be a god to the internationals as well, 居留权也可成为国际人士的偶像，

this week I met a Chinese senior pastor who has been doing student ministry here for 8 years, he said that throughout this 8 years, he has witnessed to many Christian students that strived to gain PR by putting PR or a related job first, but they suffered great sorrows from doing this, 这个星期我遇到一位华人牧师，他在本地服事留学生已有8年时间，据他说，8年来他目睹了许多基督徒留学生，为居留权而挣扎，把居留权或者一份可带来居留权的工作放在第一位，都吃了不少苦。

because they ran after other gods, their sorrows had increased, till now the pastor said that he didn’t see even one attain what they had wanted. 因追随别神的，他的愁苦就加增；直到现在，他没看到一个得着所愿的。That’s really sad.But it witnesses how true the word of God is. “the sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.” 实在是很伤感的事，但这见证了神话语的真实。“以别神代替耶和华的，他们的愁苦必加增。”

So, whenever we feel sorrows increase about something which isn’t going as well as expected, we should ask God to check our hearts, whether we are running after other gods? 所以，无论何时，如果我们感到什么不如意的事使我们的愁苦加增时，我们当求神鉴察我们的心，是否在追求别神？

If we have put anything first that occupies our time, our money, our thoughts and our attention which God is supposed to do? 我们是否把本该属于神的位置，放进了别的事情，来占据了我们的时间， 我们的金钱，我们的思想，我们的注意力？

King David said, I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Psa 16:8 大卫王这样说，我将耶和华常摆在我面前，因祂在我右边，我便不至摇动（诗篇16:8）。

As King of Israel, David put God first in his life, he knew where his good things came from. Throughout David’s whole life, we can see that his priority was God, and God made David king of Israel and success. 大卫是以色列王，他知道好处从哪里来，他总是把神放在第一位。他的一生中，我们看见神在他生命中总是第一位，神也使他成为以色列君主，得享成功。

Do You know? Even our feelings can become a god if we allow them to control us. We need to ask ourselves, “Am I bowing down to the word of truth or to my feelings?” 还有，如果我们放纵感觉感受，它也可能成为我们的神。我们要问自己：“我拜的是真理的话语，还是在拜自己的感觉感受？”

I mean some feelings that cause us to feel rejected, feel lonely, to feel angry, if we always bow down to them, it may separate us from God’s love and mercy. 我是说一些感觉，叫我们觉得被拒绝，孤独，生气，若我们常年的顺服这些感觉感受，它就会叫我们与神的爱和怜悯隔绝。

We should turn to trust in God’s word. Take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow him. 我们要转向神的话，背起自己的十字架，否定自己，跟从耶稣。God loves us and created us, He knows that nothing can fill our emptiness except Him. 神爱我们，造了我们，祂知道除他以外，没有什么可以填满我们空的心。

Before I was a Christian, I used to ask myself, “I’ve got a good family, I’ve got good career,I’ve got everything I want why am I so unhappy.” 在我信主前，我总是问自己，“我有一个好家庭，有成功的事业，想要什么就有什么，为什么还是不快乐呢？”

After I became a Christian, I knew that we were made for more than that! We will never find satisfaction in our lives until we run after the real God, and live for His glory.  信主后，才知道，我们受造的目的远远大过这些。只有追随这位真神，为荣耀祂而活，我们的生命才得到满足。

When I was preparing the script and about to go on to the next point - “the benefits of putting God first”, 当我准备这个讲章时，正要写到第二点 “将神放在第一位有何益处”，suddenly something happened, I realised that God wanted me stay on this point to share more of why we should put God first in our lives, 突然发生了一件事，我明白了神的心意，要我在“为何要把神放在第一位”这第一点上有更多分享；so I will share the next point next time, and later, we will share “how to put God first”. 所以，下次，我们才分享第二点，下下次，我们则会分享“怎样把神放在第一位”。

This time we’re gonna to keep to this point, why should we put God first? 今天，让我们集中在第一点上——为何要把神放第一位？

B, Because He is the God the Creator of all. He has delivered us from sin through Jesus Christ (Col. 1:13). B，因为神创造了万有。祂借着耶稣基督将我们从罪中拯救出来（歌罗西书1:13）

If we don’t put God first in our lives, we don’t put God in the first relationship with us, then our lives are so hard.我们若不把神放在生命中的首位，我们就不能与神建立关系，如此我们的生活就不会顺利，而与神的关系是一切关系之首。

Has anybody done any research about what happened between God and Israel in their history? The book of Judges clearly displays how Israel walked in a cycle of sin, 有没有人查考过神与以色列历史的关系？士师记里清晰地展示了以色列不停走在犯罪和拯救的循环里。when they put other things ahead of the Lord, they suffered failure, famine, robbery, and poverty. 当以色列人将其他东西放在神之前，他们就遭受失败、饥荒、抢夺、穷乏。

In their distress and despair, they called upon the name of the Lord. God gave them a leader to remind them of the way of God, 他们在困苦穷乏中呼求神的名，神就兴起士师，指示他们回转神的道路，they turned back to God’s way, then God granted them success and peace. 他们一回转，神就赐下兴盛平安。

But with the leaders’ death they again went astray and followed other gods and their own desires, then they suffered distress, robbery, and failure again. 当士师死后，以色列人又偏行己路，随从别神和私欲，又遭受困苦、抢夺、患难。And then they called upon God’s name, and God showed His mercy to them.他们又呼求神的名，神又向他们施怜悯。

God allowed His people to be defeated when they put their own desires first. But in their distress, when they called upon the name of the Lord, God delivered them from their enemies’ hands. 神允许祂的子民因随从自己的想法而遭受失败。他们在困苦中呼求神的名，神又从仇敌手中解救他们。This same thing happened over and over again, they walked in a cycle of sin and deliverance. 同样的事不断重复，以色列人走在犯罪和拯救的循环圈中；But they still didn’t know God’s way, though God forgave them and delivered them many times. 神虽然许多次赦免拯救他们，他们仍然不知道神的道路。

Someone said that if you study church history over the last two thousand years, you will see the cycle repeating itself. 有人说，如果去研究以色列最近2000年历史，就会发现这循环仍在继续着。That’s very true. It’s not just Israel, but it happens in the church everywhere. 这绝对是真的，不单以色列，今天各地的教会也是这样。Think about ourselves, whether we really put God first in our lives? 想想我们自己，生活中是否把神放在第一位？

How many times we call on God’s name just like calling the ambulance in an emergency? 多少次我们好像呼叫急救车一样呼求神的名？“Help me, O Lord,Help” Because of the problems that have increasingly arisen. And God helps us, 我们的难处不断涌现，“帮帮我，主啊，帮我”，神就出现帮助了我们。

afterwards, we go our own way, 然后，我们又回到自己的老路上，“Money, I need to work more No, I don’t have time to read the bible and pray I don’t have time to go to church I don’t want anyone to interfere with my life and my routine ” “要多挣钱，要做多点，没时间读经祷告，没时间去教会，不要改变我的生活 我的安排，”And then, bad things happen, we call on God’s name again, “God,help me”如此，不好的事情又开始出现，我们又呼求神，“主啊，帮我”

Think about that, how many cycles do you want to go through repeatedly? 问问自己，这个圈还想重复走多少次？Where there will be endless trouble and problems, because we kick God out from the first rank and put “me”, “I” first to be like a god. 我们在哪里把神踢出第一位，把这个“我”、这个“自己”放在这本属于神的位置上，在哪里就有无穷无尽的麻烦事。

Walking in this cycle of sin and deliverance will never please God, and we will waste our time going around such a cycle again and again, without producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, 我们浪费时间来来回回，结不出圣灵的果子，神岂会喜欢这种无止尽的犯罪又拯救的循环呢？

although God will forgive us and deliver us when we call on His name for help, yet we will have nothing to do with the promise of “the abundant life” and become an overcomer in His Kingdom, because God isn’t the first in our lives. 虽然祂听到我们的呼求，就会赦免我们，施行拯救，但我们与那“丰盛生命”和神国度里的得胜却是无份，全因我们没有把神放在生命中的第一位。

What a shame, Someone said, “I’m zero, God is One, if I put the One before me, I will become 10, if I’m two zeroes, I will become 100, 多可惜啊！有人说：“我是个零，神是1，如果把1放在我前面，我就成了10；如果我是两个0，就会变成100；if I’m three zeroes, or more, I’ll become 1000, 10000000…”如果我是三个0，更多0，就会变成1000,1000000……” Imagine that? Isn’t that wonderful? Put God first in our lives, let ourselves become zero, as having nothing yet possessing all things (2 Cor 6:10) 想想那有多美妙？把神放在生命中第一位，让我们自己成为零，似乎一无所有，却是样样都有的(林后6:10下)。

God’s blessing is not as what we think it’s good or not, God’s blessing is for our good of eternity. 神的祝福不是我们认为的好与不好，祂的祝福是为永恒的益处。Psa 11:3 says, when the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? 诗篇11:3根基若毁坏，义人还能做什么呢？Can you see the rebuilding next door? If the foundation of the building was destroyed, the building would get into big trouble and collapse. 我们隔壁正在重建大楼，要是它的地基毁坏了，大楼就要倒塌。

In the same way, if we build our relationship with God like building a house, who is our foundation?  Jesus Christ our Lord and the word of truth. Actually, Christ has set an example for us. 同样的道理，与神建立关系就如同兴建一座大楼，地基是什么？耶稣基督和真理的话语，耶稣基督实在为我们做了榜样。When Jesus Christ our Lord came to the earth, he put God the Father first in everything he did and in every way. 耶稣基督来到地上，他任何事任何情况都把神放在第一位。

Although his enemies were against him wherever he went, he was never hurt, never bitter, and never lost hope for the people the Father gave to him, 走到哪里都有敌人围绕他，但他从不受伤，毫无苦毒，对神给他的人从未失去盼望；because he didn’t put himself first, but died to himself, his way is “Not my will, but Yours.” 因他没有把自己放在第一位，却向己死，他的道是，“不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思”。He put God first in his earthly life and lived a life of light and victory for us to follow.在地上的日子，他活出光和得胜的生命，叫我们效法。

Put God first in our lives. Because He is our God the Creator of well-being and disasters, and of all. 把神放第一位，因祂是我们的神，造福、造祸、造万有的神。He loves us and cares for us, He doesn’t want us to run after any false gods and suffer loss and pain, as we go through the same cycle as Israel did. 祂爱我们，关心我们，不愿我们象以色列人一样，因追随假神受损受苦。

Now I’ll conclude my message with God’s word in Matt 6:31-33, 我用马太福音6:31-33来结束今天的分享，Jesus knows our needs, if we put God first in our lives, we will lack nothing and be satisfied.耶稣知道我们的需要，如果我们把神放第一位，就一无所缺，样样充足。

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” 马太福音6:31-33所以，不要忧虑说，吃什么？喝什么？穿什么？这都是外邦人所求的。你们需用的这一切东西，你们的天父是知道的。你们要先求祂的国祂的义，这些东西都要加给你们了。