Tuesday, 6th December 2022
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-4 To be Filled with Joy
John display the way of life in this chapter. In our way of following God, we must walk in the way of life. We know a lot of Knowledge, we have a lot of thoughts, but what is really the way of life? In John 1:1 it talks about life, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,and the Word was God.” The way of life is the way with the presence of God. Moses was unable to enter the Promised Land, but he received the presence of God. He was able to see God face to face, and have close encounters with God.
Moses knew the importance with the presence of God, when God is with us, our life will be different. Do we also seek the presence of God? Do we also long to live a life with the presence of God? John was with Jesus for three years, he knew it’s the importance to have the knowledge of this way of life. The world is full of imperfections, and it continues to lure us into the wrong knowledge. The way of life is to believe, to baptise, and to be saved. It’s the way of faith, and the way of joy. When we receive true joy then we will be satisfied.
Where do our joy and satisfaction come from? When we face God, we are not here to worship an idol. Only by having an encounter with God then we can receive the true joy and satisfaction. We must learn to let go and be filled by true joy. When we have the encounter with God, we will no longer feel weary and tired, our anger, our bitterness, and all our problems will all go away. It’s like climbing up to a mountain, when we get to the top, no matter how hard it was along the way it, our joy will be more than all the hardship.
Section Two V5-10 To Walk in the Light
We walk in this way of life, we will have a lot of feelings, but we must know that all these feelings need to go back to the truth. When we live under the Tree of Life, we also need to let go of ourselves, put our needs and desires away, let the Word of God be the lamp of our feet and the light of our path. We receive many things and we think they are from God. But when we really have encountered with God then we will know that our old lives were based on emptiness.
Let us be willing to come near to God and to live in the Word or God. Let us be bold to admit our sins, to return from our transgressions, then we can let the Light of God come into our lives. Do not let our lustful desires become our excuses to sin, but let the true Light take us out of all the lies and weaknesses. When we walk through the mountains and valleys, then we can be filled with joy and satisfaction.
It’s time for us to let go, stop thinking about the impossibility, stop holding onto this world, and receive the eternal blessings and joy from God.
约翰一书 1 – 生命之道
2022年12月6日 星期二
潘锡安牧师
正如约翰福音1:1所说, 生命就是神的同在。摩西虽然无法进入应许之地，然而他蒙神呼召后一路有神的同在，神没有撇弃他。有神同在，我们就能在地如在天。使徒约翰在本章经文里教导我们何为生命之道。
一、v.1-4 要喜乐充足
V1 使徒们三年时间与耶稣基督是同住同行的。
V2 我们不要像拜偶像一样去“拜耶稣”。没有父的应许，子不能做什么。耶稣在地上所彰显的不是自己，而是天父。我们的生命里不能将耶和华神隔离。
V3 现在的人常常只传扬耶稣基督，将阿爸父撇弃了，这可能是我们小时候受到地上父亲的伤害，很容易将这个感受投射到天父身上。耶稣基督为我们死，是因为天父的呼召，所以我们不要忘了爱的源头。
V4 当时的信徒受到希腊文化、诺斯底主义影响，追求“知识”而不是生命之道，人心没有满足。我们能得救不是靠着知识，而是“信而受洗”。马太福音2:10提到“大大地欢喜”- 这些东方智者的喜乐单单是因为看到耶稣而不是因为耶稣解决了他们现实生活中的问题。我们能够“喜乐充足”，应当单单来自于能够与神面对面。我们不满足、充满负面情绪，是因为自己不愿意放下，不享受与神的同在，没有看神是我们的王，只将他当做我们情绪宣泄的对象。我们被神提升到“兴起、发光2.0”的阶段，就不要停留在以前那种向神丢垃圾的态度，而要渴慕与神面对面。能够遇见那位创造穹苍的主，我们所担忧的问题就不再重要了，我们的喜乐就能满足。
二、v.5-10 要在光明中行
V5-7 我们可能会说自己能够听到神说话，然而我们的生命如何？罪使我们与神隔绝，若我们活在罪中，我们真的能与神相交、从神那里听见他说的话吗？唯有神的话语是我们脚前的灯、路上的光，带领我们向前行。我们无法走在神的话语中，是因为里面有很多“我”放不下。没有神的话语，我们的言行只凭自己的“感动”，是没有根基的。耶稣基督的血洗净我们的罪，让我们可以靠近神。
V8 我们要勇敢承认自己的罪，因为神并非在定我们的罪。我们犯罪后很容易用世人的软弱、自己的情欲、无奈能借口来为自己开脱。然而，我们要用神的真光真理带领我们离开一切欺骗，走过高山低谷，让我们的欢喜真正得到满足的。我们是否愿意放下一切不可能、放下手里紧紧抓住的、领受神给我们永远的福乐吗？