最棒的基督徒生命13

耶穌基督的門徒

成為門徒最重要的觀點在於我們蒙召成為基督的門徒，而不是成為人的門徒。這並不表示我們不向他人學習，如我們的教師、牧師，甚至各式各樣門訓和知識的導師。在我們的時代能在名師與領袖門下上課是何等大的特權，但我們的呼召卻比此大得多。我們蒙召成為耶穌基督自己的第一代門徒。

雖然我聽別人說過幾次，但下面的事情真實發生在我身上。當我初信主時，我和朋友去聽了一場很棒的信息。會後我們一起去感謝他，他試著謙卑，因此回答說：『那不是我，而是主』。我的朋友當時也才剛信主，開玩笑的看著他說：『還沒有那麼好！』

當然，倘若那天晚上是主說的道，一定好得多。然而，這並不表示人的信息沒有價值或不是從主來的。我們是祂的身體，主透過祂的教師教導我們，透過祂的牧人牧養我們，透過祂的先知說話等…，但是我們被呼召來跟隨羔羊，而不是跟隨祂的信差。

我們一定要尊榮並聆聽祂差派到我們身邊的人，正如當主進入耶路撒冷，祂說我們將不再見祂，直到我們說奉主名來的是應當稱頌的。然而，誠如我們在雅歌所讀到的，此關係上的先知性比喻是在主和祂的新婦之間，代表教會的書拉密女對主做了一個很重要的請求，記載在雅歌1章七節：

我心所愛的啊，求你告訴我，你在何處牧羊？晌午在何處使羊歇臥？我何必在你同伴的羊群旁邊好像蒙著臉的人呢？

新婦在別人的羊群中是不會滿足的，就算是在主同伴的羊群中，她必須成為主自己的羊群。這並不意味我們不需要在祂下面其他牧人的教會，而是我們可以在祂牧人的教會，也可以同時直接跟隨耶穌，受祂的教導，由此在祂裡面成長。

當我聆聽教師教導時，我不是單單尋求聽主的道，乃是尋求聽見道成肉身的主。主是我的牧者，祂是我的教師。在約翰福音十章告訴我們祂的羊認得祂的聲音，他們跟隨祂是因為他們認得祂的聲音，而不單是祂僕人的聲音，甚至是祂很棒的僕人。

我們發現當我們在主裡成熟時，要正確連於牧者、教師與其他主所差派的使者，同時又發展個人與主的關係並不難。下週我們會更多說明，因為我們要完全行在我們的呼召中，瞭解此是非常重要的。

(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week13, 2015) 

 

Disciples of Christ Jesus- The Greatest Christian Life, Part 13
Week 13, 2015
Rick Joyner

One crucial aspect of being a disciple is we are called to be a disciple of Christ, not men. This does not mean we do not learn from others as our teachers, pastors, and even mentors in various disciplines and knowledge. It is a high privilege to sit under the great teachers and leaders of our times, but we are called to much more than this. We are all called to be first generation disciples of Christ Jesus Himself.

Though I have heard it told a number of times by others, the following account really happened to me. When I was a new believer, a friend and I went to hear a man who gave a remarkable message. Afterwards we went to thank him. Trying to be humble, he responded, “It was not me, it was the Lord.” My friend, who was also a new believer, looked at him kind of funny and said, “It wasn’t that good!”

Surely, if the Lord Himself had been speaking that night, it would have been much better. However, this does not mean the man’s message did not have merit or was not from God. We are His body and the Lord teaches through His teachers, shepherds through His shepherds, speaks through His prophets, etc., yet we are called to follow the Lamb, not His messengers.

We must honor and listen to those He has sent to us. As He said when He entered Jerusalem, from that time we would not see Him until we blessed those who came in His name. However, as we see in The Song of Solomon, this prophetic metaphor of the relationship between the Lord and His bride, the Shulamite maid who represents the church, made a remarkable and important request of the Lord in chapter 1:7:
   
Tell me, O you whom I love, where you feed your flock, where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions?

The bride will not be content in the flocks of others, even of the Lord’s companions. She must be in the Lord’s own flock. This does not mean we should not be in a congregation of one of His under-shepherds, but there is a way we can do this and also directly follow Jesus, be taught by Him, and thereby grow up into Him.

When I listen to teachers, I do not merely seek to hear the words of the Lord, I am seeking to hear the Word Himself. The Lord is my Shepherd, and He is my Teacher. In John 10 we are told His sheep know His voice, and they follow Him because they know His voice, not only the voice of His people, even His great ones.

To relate properly to the shepherds, teachers, and the other messengers He sends while developing a personal relationship with the Lord is something we find easier to understand as we mature in Him. Next week we will elaborate on this a bit more because it is crucial we understand this to walk in the fullness of what we are called to.