有越來越多徵兆顯示下一波大浪潮正在逼近，我們準備好了嗎？
下一波大浪潮─啟示錄
在1987年，我領受末後大收割的廣大異象，神讓我看到有兩波大收割即將到來。第一波浪潮會在我領受此異象幾年後發生，而且會持續數十年之久，這波浪潮將帶來基督教歷史上最大的收割與成長。神在異象中讓我看見第一波浪潮將在結束時開始消退，就像岸上的海浪在推進到海灘後會退去一樣。接著我看見在下一波浪潮來臨前會有一段屬靈平靜期。在這段平靜期需要為下一波將臨到更大的浪潮來預備。
目前我們正處在上一波浪潮消退的屬靈平靜期超過十年了，有越來越多徵兆顯示下一波大浪潮正在逼近，我們準備好了嗎？
在下一波更大收割來臨前，我們必須開始尋找能夠承接的網子。從這些網子當中，我們期待新皮袋教會的興起。就像所有的屬靈轉換期，當此發生時，這些新皮袋教會不會以一般人想要的定義開始。對那些習慣體制與官僚教會形式的領導階層，他們會對新皮袋教會感到倉皇失措。我們必須思想，真實讓基督作頭的教會看起來應該是什麼樣子。
我們若來看主所建造初代教會的方式，剛開始的雛形相當模糊。隨著教會的成熟，才呈現出更具組織性的架構，看起來比較像是神在精心安排，而非人想出來的形式與模式。要記得，寄居者的基本追求便是在尋求成為神正在建造的一部份，而非人手所造。事實上，在歷史上神的每一次運作都和人所期待的很不同，甚至是那些最渴望與禱告祂來動工的人。
主還沒讓我看見祂教會未來結構的全貌，但我有看見一些方面。我所看見的未來教會非常有能力，卻是相當小的教會單位，大概只有80到100人， 而最理想的數量是20人左右。這些教會很有彈性、很快回應，並且資源豐富，當他們人數快速成長時，就會倍增為全新的小單位教會，藉此保有彈性與對神的回應。
這不是說未來不會有大型教會；主在不同時期讓我看見這些大型教會如同『真理的堡壘』，就像是為主的軍隊所預備的大型軍事基地。然而，每間教會所具備的關鍵要素將是由神引導，而非由人引導。當然，神也使用人，但是由屬靈的官僚制度所帶領的政策、教義與方針與由聖靈所帶領的並不相同。
我們迫切需要可以承接大收割卻不會破掉的網子，研究指出只有百分之五在這些時候信主的人有加入教會。在第一世紀，『所有』得救的人都『加給』教會。今日不多人上教會的一個原因有可能是主日信息，但主要原因還是與教會過於死板有關，新教徒很難融入，甚至很難在其中找到他們獻上生命的主。再一次，在啟示錄三章20節，我們有非常挑戰性的經文，耶穌站在祂自己教會的門外，看看是否有人會為祂開門。
我們正靠近史上從所未有的最大事件與新信徒的最大收割。從未進入教會的新信徒相對容易門訓，在某種程度上，他們也加入了死板的『舊皮袋』教會生活。我們可能認為這將是一場災難，所以我們應該把他們分開，但是他們也可能成為彼此很大的幫助。要如何做呢？
在未來幾年中，教會將產生一個新元素─-主真實彰顯的同在，它將再一次像初代教會一樣，每個人都會對神所行的大事產生敬畏與驚奇。儘管在第一世紀的新信徒離開當時古板的猶太教，他們所做的改變出奇的快速。不是所有人都如此，那些對猶太教形式緊握不放的人確實成為年輕教會的問題。然而，耶穌基督在祂子民中間的能力與生命將輕易克服此問題。
所以，為著即將到來的大收割，我們可以怎麼預備？這將是下週每週一話的主題，接著我們將繼續來看啟示錄的最後幾章。
(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week23, 2018)
The Next Great Wave—The Book of Revelation
Week 23, 2018
Rick Joyner
In 1987 I was given an extensive vision of the coming harvest. I was shown two great waves of harvest coming. The first one that I was shown emerged a couple of years after I had that vision, resulting in the greatest ingathering and growth of Christianity in history over the next couple of decades. In the vision, I was shown that this first wave would begin to recede at the end of its time, just as a wave on the shore will recede after pushing as far as it can onto the beach. Then I saw a time of relative spiritual quiet before the next wave. This time was needed to prepare for the next, far bigger wave that is coming.
We have been in this period of the receding first wave and relative spiritual quiet for over a decade now. There are many increasing signs of the next great wave approaching. Are we prepared for it?
As the bigger ingathering will soon be upon us, we must start looking for the nets to hold the catch. From these nets, we can expect new wineskin churches to emerge. Like all spiritual transitions, when this happens it is not likely that these new wineskin churches will begin with as much definition as many will want. They will likely be disconcerting to those who are used to and like the institutional and hierarchical church forms of leadership. We need to consider what the church that truly has Jesus as its head would look like.
If we view the way that the Lord built the first-century church, it started out with a relatively ambiguous form. As it matured, it took on more structure in an organic, natural way. It looked a whole lot more like God orchestrating it than the many forms and patterns men have come up with since. Remember, a basic quest of the sojourner is to seek to be part of what God is building, not men. Virtually every move of God in history has been radically different than what most men expected, even those who most desired and prayed for Him to move.
The Lord has not taken me up to show me the complete coming structure of His church, but I have been shown some aspects of it. What I have seen is the coming of very powerful but relatively small church units. Eighty to one hundred and twenty seemed to be about the optimum size. They were flexible, responsive, and resourceful, and when they grew fast in numbers they would multiply into new, smaller units to stay flexible and responsive.
This does not mean that there will not be any large or mega-churches. At other times I have been shown these “fortresses of the truth” that were like great military bases for the army of the Lord. However, a key element of every church will be that it is directed by the Lord, not men. Of course, the Lord uses men, but there is a difference between being led by institutional policies, doctrines, and methods imposed by spiritual bureaucrats and being led by the Holy Spirit.
An impending need is for “nets” that can hold the coming catch without breaking. Studies have indicated that only about 5% of the people who make a decision for Christ in these times are actually added to the church. In the first century, “all” who made a commitment to Christ were added to the church. The message could be a reason for the low results today, but much of it has to do with the church being so rigid and archaic that new believers have a hard time fitting in, or even finding the Lord they gave their life to in it. Again, we have the challenging verse in Revelation 3:20 where Jesus stands outside the doors of His own church to see if anyone would open to Him.
We are on the verge of one of the greatest events in all of history and the greatest ingathering of new believers that there has ever been. New believers who have never been part of the church will be relatively easy to disciple. At some point, there will also be added those who have been in a rigid, “old wineskin” church life. We may think this will be a disaster and that we should keep these groups separate, but they could also be a great aid to one another. How?
Over the next few years a new factor will emerge in church life—the manifest presence of the Lord. It will once again be like it was in the first century, when everyone will experience a constant sense of awe and wonder at the great things the Lord is doing. Even though most new believers in the first century church came out of the rigid Judaism of the time, they made the change surprisingly fast. Not all did, and those who clung to their form of Judaism did become a problem for the young church. Likewise, we can expect some who come out of the more institutional versions of church life to present some problems. However, the power and life of Christ Jesus in the midst of His people will easily overcome this.
So what can we do to be ready for this impending ingathering? That will be the subject of next week’s word, and then we will continue with the final chapters of the Book of Revelation.
