Thursday 11th February 2021
Section One: V1-4 To Know Lord Jesus
V1 We are all being called and chosen. We are in here today, receiving the Word of God, because God has already appointed us today. We are not born as an accident and we need to recognise this. Many people do not like to celebrate their birthday because they don’t think it’s meaningful. But we need to wake up today and see that our birth is worth mentioning because God allowed it!
The Israelites did not think their lives have meaning, they were born in Egypt as slaves, they grew up seeing their parents work hard for the Egyptians. The Israelites born in the Wilderness also did not know their life purpose, they grew up seeing their parents walking in the wilderness, waiting, and following the pillars of cloud of fire… until the Word of God came to them. When God talked to the Israelites through Moses and Joshua, the Israelites found their purpose of life to enter the Promised Land.
The first day of our birth is the first day we responded to God. We were willing to come out from our mother’s womb and this is our first response to God’s calling. We need to make the decision to live a godly life, which is a life of thanksgiving and recognising God in our lives.
V1-2 who is the Messenger sent by God? He is not an angel, but the High Priest, Jesus Christ. Then who is Moses? He was faithful in the House of God, but he was not God and we should not worship him. We cannot put Moses at the same level as Jesus.
When we see a beautiful painting, we will praise the painting, but we forgot it was the painter, who painted it. We need to give thanks and remember those who helped us in the past. Remember the first love and how God has led us this far. Think about the problems we have been through in the past, why did we not give up? Who helped us to stay faithful until now? We face problems because we are on the journey to move forward, and our motivation to keep going is our encounter of God’s love.
Moses performed many miracles, people saw many things Moses had done, but it was God, who performed the miracles. Therefore we should see the Builder of the house rather than just the house. We need to know our Lord Jesus, when we know who He is, our life will not be like taking a rollercoaster, going up and down. Instead, when we know our origin is Jesus Christ, we will seek Him always for His strength.
Section Two: V5-6 To Be Faithful
Moses was a servant, since he encountered God, he has been faithful to the end, from Egypt to the Wilderness, he did not turn back, and he did not abandon the Israelites. Moses gave up all he had, followed God’s Will until the day he died. This is the life of a servant of God, no matter how tired he was, he never stopped and kept going to the end.
Today we are all chosen by God just like how Moses was chosen. Therefore, we need to take responsibility in the House of God. We are not only just being responsible in our own lives, but in the House that God has given to us, Bread of Life Christian Church in South Auckland.
When MG Leader Joey (from Hong Kong 611 Church) came to our church and prophesied that we will have our own land, it’s very exciting, because when we offer to build the House of God, our offering becomes a seed for the Kingdom of God to grow on this earth. We have a designated account for Church Building Offering, by faith let us make offering to receive this inheritance from God! We know the heart of God for our church, we have a calling, we have a direction to go forward. Our belief and our boldness can be shown in our actions. Offering to God is one way to take the action!
How can we be here today and what motivation kept us going? When we feel tired and want to give up, we need to look back and see how we have come this far! When we face problems, we often focus on the problem itself, but all these problems are the fruits of our lives, what we should do is to look back, and remember how we can overcome problems in the past.
Section Three: V7-19 To Humble
V7-11 talk about how Moses led the Israelites to the Wilderness. But this verse is from David’s Psalm 95 and the message is telling us to rest. God led the first-generation Israelites out of Egypt, gave them Ten Commandments, provided Manna for them, and walked with them every day. But the Israelites complained and remembered what was good in Egypt. They temped God and did not have a thankful heart; they only saw what they did not have in the Wilderness.
When we faced things that upset us, we complained and wanted to go back to our old lives. At the end God was angry with the Israelites and we should never let God become angry with us, only by humbling ourselves can we finish the race and not die in the Wilderness. Why do we have so many negative emotions and “go astray” in our heart? Because we don’t pray enough and we don’t see the Work of God.
V11 says, ‘they shall not enter My rest’ and ‘rest’ in this verse does not mean ‘Shalom’ (peace, as in the New Testament) but a land of rest prepared by God, which means the Promised Land God has given us. There is a Promised Land for each one of us. When we are not going into our Promised Land then we won’t be satisfied, and we will face problems. Bread of Life Christian Church in South Auckland is our Promised Land, being able to study in Leadership Institute is our Promised Land and coming to the Morning Devotion to light up for God is also our Promised Land. God wants us to enter the Promised Land He gave to us, and only when we enter it then we can receive rest.
V12 says we have to ‘beware’, which is to see how God has led us this far. Not to magnify our problems, not to live in our emotions, but to see God’s Wonderful Work in our lives. When we share with our brothers and sisters, we share our Rhema from God. We need to observe, to see, to meditate repeatedly and to go back and revise. These are the pillars of clouds and fire from God. If we don’t give thanks, then we will easily depart from the path God has given for us. An “evil heart of unbelief” – the original text means “unhealthy” which makes us negative. When we are unhealthy and our faith is shaken, we turn away from God and reject and depart from Him. “Departing” means “quitting” – let us not quit on our way to the Promised Land and depart from our God who leads us.
V13 when we hear our brothers and sisters complained, we should not agree with them, instead we need to exhort one another daily and pray for one another. Use the Word of God to encourage them, because the Word of God is a double-bladed sword. Pastor only slept for 2 hours last night because he was calling his mum, he has the condition of Sleep Apnea, but the Word of God sustains him, and he has the strength to wake up and lead the Morning Devotion. Only a humble heart can help us value our God above all our physical needs.
V14-19 we need to be humble and be faithful to the end, then we will “become partakers of Christ”, because if we don’t then we cannot enter the Promised Land and we will be homeless. Everyday live a life of thanksgiving, through our humility, we can keep going to finish the race.
Pursuit & Respond
O Lord, help us to see our hearts, all the struggles, all the unbelief, all the unhealthy thoughts… these have kept us from going forward and being faithful to the end. Today we will examine our hearts, let the Holy Spirit reveal to us and see the wickedness within us. Shine upon us, Holy Spirit, so we see the lies and sins that stop us from going into the Promised Land.
We want to persist to the end, Lord, give us faith and strength so we will not give up. We want to be in Your presence every day, not just see the problems in our lives, but help us to look back at all the wonderful works You have done before. May Your Kingdom come to our lives, our family, our church. You have chosen us to receive Your Word ad Your love every day. You have never left us, and You can still help us. Reveal to us Your Will, Lord, so we will stay in Your rest.
Let us humble ourselves, to align with our Authorities, help us to see the vision You have given to our church, to take the land as inheritance, help us to hold onto it tightly! Release joy and abundance to us. Amen!
2021年2月11日 星期四
希伯来书 3
如何坚持到底
一，要认识主耶稣 （v.1-4）
1，“同蒙天召的圣洁弟兄” – 我们要知道我们都是有呼召的，是被神所看中的，被神的呼召所创造。我们的出生不是偶然，我们的母亲怀孕是有神的心意。我们出生的那一天就是蒙神呼召拣选的那天。当年那些在埃及、在旷野出生的以色列人可能不会觉得自己的出生有意义，他们不知道他们的出生是要离开埃及，进入迦南美地。我们过往可能不知道自己出生的意义，但现在神借着圣经话语和他的仆人对我们说话，因为我们是被神呼召拣选的。我们出生的那一天就是回应神呼召的一天，因为小孩子愿意从狭窄的产道中出来，所以要纪念我们的生日；“圣洁”- 就是认出神是创造主，我们要知道自己是圣洁的，是能够承认神创造；“你们应当思想。。。” – 我们要认识我们的神；“使者”就是从神差派来的。
2，当时的希伯来人不只是敬拜天使，也敬拜摩西，因为他带领以色列人离开埃及。但经文这里说摩西是 “在神的全家尽忠”，就是尽了他该尽的责任。摩西是神的仆人，不是神，我们不能拜人，所以不能把主耶稣的身份跟摩西混淆。
3-4，当我们看到一件伟大的作品, 我们常赞美那件作品而忘了背后的创造者。我们能走到如今，要回头看我们起初的爱，看神是怎么带领我们的。我们会在路上遇到问题，是因为我们在向前走，我们能继续走下去的动力就是因为遇见神的爱。当年带领以色列人见证神迹、过红海、出埃及的，是神，不是摩西，所以我们不要只看房屋而不见造房屋的主。当我们更认识主耶稣的时候，我们就不会每天高高低低，因为我们能向我们的创造主来祈求。
二，要忠心（v.5-6）
5，摩西自从遇见这位今在永在的神，他没有退后，没有离开旷野跑回家，而是忠心到底。我们即使累，也要继续走，因为作为仆人的，就要“在神的全家诚然尽忠”。我们每一个弟兄姐妹都是神所呼召的仆人，都要为神给我们的家 – 南奥克兰灵粮堂 – 尽忠。2019年香港611教会的许静族长来到这里时曾预言我们教会会有一块属于自己的地。我们若能为教会的地业奉献，是有满有恩典的，因为当我们奉献的时候，我们就是在神国度里种下一颗种子。我们教会一直都有一个建堂奉献，鼓励大家在新的一年凭信心奉献，为我们的家摆上，用先知性的行动表明我们相信神给我们得地为业。摩西愿意为所有出埃及的以色列这个家尽忠，我们也要效法他。我们要知道神给我们教会的心意。
6，“可夸的盼望”是神给我们的；“胆量”是用行动可以表现出来的，不是嘴上说说而已。当我们走不下去的时候，我们要看回自己的过去是如何走到如今，我们不要看到问题出现就着急去扑火，问题的出现通常都是我们生命结出的果子，我们要反思自己在过去是如何靠神跨越问题。
三，要谦卑（v.7-19)
7-11，这里所讲的摩西带以色列人离开埃及，过旷野的事，是出自大卫所写的诗篇95篇，他要带出一个很重要的信息，就是我们要安息。
以色列人在出埃及、过旷野的时候，神给了这第一代的以色列人行了很多伟大的神迹奇事，每一天都与他们同行，每一天都造访他们，但是在这40年，以色列人整天抱怨，说埃及如何好，想要回埃及。他们试探神，心里没有感恩，因为在旷野没有看到自己想要的东西。当我们遇到苦难的时候，我们就会抱怨，就想回到过去，质疑当初为什么离开为奴为仆之地。神的回应是“厌烦那世代的人”。我们不要凭自己的感觉生活，而是要看到这40年是谁在一路保守以色列人。我们要有感恩的心，要谦卑，才能有喜乐，才能走完当跑的路。我们“心里常常迷糊”，因为我们里面的灵人太弱，我们唯有靠大量的祷告才能喂养里面的灵，让我们里面强壮起来，就不会情绪反复无常，不会心里迷糊，不晓得神的作为。
11，这一节的“安息”，不是新约所讲的Shalom (平安)，在旧约里这个安息指的是神所预备给我们的安息之地，就是神给我们的应许之地。我们每一个人都有安息、应许之地，就好像创世纪开始神创造的伊甸园给亚当管理。我们是否看到自己的应许之地，还是好像士师记里面的以色列人那样，到了应许之地却没有赶出外族得地为业？我们是否带着我们过去的问题、小信来到神给我们的应许之地？南奥克兰灵粮堂、学房、在晨祷为神点灯，是神给我们的应许之地，我们是否有一颗感恩的心，在这应许之地得地为业？还是在抱怨我们眼前看到的困难？唯有进入神所给我们的应许之地我们才能得到安息。我们要靠着耶和华神来争战得胜，不要靠自己。安息就是我们愿意进入应许之地里面，靠着神就能进入到他的安息。
12，“谨慎”，不仅是小心，还要观察是神是怎样一路保守我们走到如今，不是放大今天看到的问题，活在自己的情绪里，而是活在神的同在中。我们每一天来晨祷都会有领受，我们要记下来，时常回看，因为这是神给我们的灵粮。“不信的恶心”- 原文圣经指的是“不健康的”，让我们负面。当我们不健康，信心被摇动时，我们就会离弃神、弃绝神。弃绝 就是“退出”- 我们不要在走向迦南应许之地的路上退出，弃绝了带领我们的神。
13，我们今天能在这里，要彼此感恩。当我们听到别人抱怨的时候，我们不要去附和，或心里阿们，也不需要用自己的话去安慰人，而是要用神的话语来鼓励他们。我们不要轻易被环境影响，要努力来到晨祷领受神给我们的亮光。唯有一颗谦卑的心，才能帮助我们轻看肉体的需要，因为我们看重神。
14-19，要将起初的爱“坚持到底，就在基督里有分了”，不然就会因为不信的缘故进入不了安息的应许之地。
让我们能每一天谦卑自己，跑完自己当跑的路程。
追求：
主，帮助我们看到自己内心的挣扎，不信的恶心，不健康不讨神喜悦的，一切沉沦的、阻挡我们不能来回看我们过去如何得胜，不能谦卑来寻求你的这些人事物。求主帮助我们看见里面不信的恶心，和仇敌谎言的攻击。
求圣灵光照我们，让我们看见里面不信的恶心，时常迷糊，一切阻挡我们进入应许之地的谎言和罪。“但基督为儿子，治理神的家。我们若将可夸的盼望和胆量坚持到底，便是他的家了” – 主，帮助我们坚持到底，在你的同在当中我们凭信心行事，不是看到问题，而是看到我们过去如何靠你战胜问题。让我们看到神的爱，更多呼求神的国来到我们的生命中。我们的问题解决不完，但帮助我们看到你过去如何带我们跨过问题，你从母胎就拣选我们，你不曾离弃我们。你是帮助我们坚持到底的神。让我们每天都是喜乐的，不是抱怨的。饶恕我们嘴巴信但心里不信的恶心，捆绑心里一切阿们别人抱怨的想法，活在你的命定，忠心跟随你，谦卑自己，有受教的灵，与我们的权柄对齐水位。帮助我们看到你给我们教会的应许之地，让我们得地为业！