Monday, 23rd August 2021
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-10 Put God at the Centre
Firstly we must Keep the commands of the Lord then long life will be added to us. Jesus also taught the disciples to love the Lord our God and to love the neighbours as ourselves. When we have love for God and for people, to be true to God and to people, then we will be blessed in front of people and in front of God.
Secondly we must trust in the Lord with all our heart. We should not rely on our own knowledge, being smart is about the ways we do things, but God says not to rely on these things. Our own understandings are all from the world, we must be humble and let God take over. When we are labeled as ‘smart’ we are also telling God that we can handle it ourselves and we don’t need God! So if we want to walk in this blessed life, then don’t rely on our own understanding.
Thirdly, we must fear the Lord and depart from evil. Nowadays there are many people on the social media trying to talk to us and befriend with us. But when we accepted them we might fall into a trap. God reminds us to stay away from evil, and if we fear the Lord, then we will stay away from these evil doings. When we stay away from temptation then we will be healed.
Next, we must honour the Lord our God. Do we really put God at our Centre? We hold onto our wealth and things we thought are important so tightly then we will fail to see God in our lives. On the other hand, Proverbs 3 told us to offer our first fruit, then God will never let us in lacking! When we honour God first then God will bless us. Walk in the Way of God, rely fully on Him and put Him in our Centre!
V11-20 Do Not Despise the Chastening of the Lord
The chastening of God is His discipline and correction for our future path. We are scared to be disciplined and corrected, but we confused this with punishment. Punishment is for something we’ve already done in the past, but correction is for us to walk in the right path in the future. We should be humble and stop relying on our own understanding.
Chastening of the Lord is like a coach correcting the athletes, it’s for their own benefit and for them to be better. A lot of people are afraid of being corrected, because there are many things in our lives yet to healed, and we cannot take corrections and disciplines. If we want to receive a blessed life, then we must examine ourselves, where do we need to be healed and why can we not accept the corrections?
Section Three V21-33 Keep Sound Wisdom and Discretion
When God gave us blessings for us to have the ability to help others then we should not withhold good from them. We must love our neighbours, have good relationship with them. We need to be more and more humble, do not think people on the high positions in the world are always blessed. God is righteous, do not learn from the world, but set ourselves apart. It’s easy to have a blessed life, as long as we walk in the guidance of the Lord. He has already given us all the instructions and guidance, He has prepared the best of us, but are we willing to accept it?
2021年8月23日 星期一
潘锡安牧师
大部分的箴言篇章是所罗门王所著，一开始并不是为了写成圣经中的一部分，而是后来他的后代希西家王为了从当时一切的混乱和罪恶中有真理的指引而将所罗门王的箴言寻找出来编撰成册，教导世人。希西家王很渴慕一个蒙福的生命，我们也都很期待我们的生命蒙神祝福。今天的经文告诉我们如何能活出蒙福的生命。
一、以神为中心 （V1-10）
1）要谨守神的诫命
V3-4 我们要全心全意去爱神，也要爱人如己，这样就“必在神和世人眼前蒙恩宠，有聪明”。
2）要专心倚靠耶和华
V5-6 人的聪明是在于做事的方法和态度，但神教导我们不要倚靠这些地上的认知，而要谦卑“认定耶和华”。我们若以为自己聪明，就不会去需要神的帮助。我们要走的是神指引的道路，那是一条蒙福的道路。
3）要敬畏耶和华，远离恶事
V7-8 这个世界有很多的诱惑，比如在社交媒体上有很多奇怪的群组邀请，我们若没有一颗敬畏神的心，就很容易让自己陷入试探。但如果我们能敬畏耶和华，不做那些恶事，我们的身心灵就能被医治，得健康。
4）要尊荣耶和华
V9-10 “初熟的土产”指的是献上之后不知道后面还有没有的收获。我们在生活中有很多金钱或我们觉得给我们保障的东西，我们要信靠神，将这些献给他。
二、不可轻看主的管教（V11-20）
管教与刑罚有区别：刑罚是惩罚人过去的错误，他们破坏了规矩，所以刑罚可以保护个人及团体的安全；而管教则是为了未来，是为了明天的开启而预备，神管教我们是为了我们前面的道路。很多时候我们觉得自己什么都懂，什么都会，但以神为中心的人要谦卑，不可倚靠自己的聪明，而神对他所爱的人会不断提醒、导正，因为神一路陪着我们走。我们面对责备，不要有防卫的机制，若我们反应强烈，就要省察自己，是否因为有过去的经历需要医治以至于我们无法坦然面对责备？
V13-20 当我们愿意放下自己接受管教，我们就是有福的，得到的好处甚至比金银珠宝更贵重，就是长寿、富贵、安乐和平安。所以当我们被管教的时候，不要有受害者心态，而要谦卑领受。生命树就是谦卑顺服、舍己利他，当我们愿意谦卑接受管教，我们就能有生命树的气息了。
三、要谨守真智慧和谋略（V21-33)
要谨守真智慧和谋略就首先要有完全谦卑的心，倚靠耶和华，当我们有力量可以帮助别人的时候，我们就不要推辞(V27)；不可谋害我们的邻舍，要与他们和平共处，甚至祝福他们（V29）。
V31-35 当我们看见一些作恶的人反而过着看似蒙福的生活时，我们不要去学习他们所做的事，只要跟随耶和华。神是报应的神，这些作恶的人最终会受到他们当得的报应，所以我们不需嫉妒，只要将自己分别为圣给神。
神已经为我们预备了最好的道路，我们是选择神给我们的祝福，还是这个世界呢？愿我们都能做出对的选择！
*追求祷告：
让我们开口祷告，求神给我们谦卑，在疫情漫布、未来充满不确定的时候，让我们全心倚靠他。
主你赐恩给谦卑的人，所以我们谦卑来到你面前，求主加添我们力量，让我们真的能够谦卑顺服活在生命树的气息中，恢复我们起初美好的being。我们虽然因着疫情lockdown留在家中，但我们宣告今天必有美好的事发生！奉耶稣基督的名祷告，阿门！