地上的器皿
在聖經中，醫治與先知性事工常連在一起。正如我們曾討論過，先知性恩賜可以分辨他人問題的一個方式，便是他們自己身體感受到他們所禱告之人的感覺。當你為某人禱告，若你的腎臟開始痛，很有可能不是你腎臟有問題，而是你所禱告的人。往往一當你接收到信息，疼痛就會消失。
為何主讓我們用這種方式來分辨問題所在呢？因為人們常常不清楚自己有什麼問題，無法告訴我們要禱告什麼，而這種分辨方式便很有幫助。當你有負擔的人或病人知道若不是從神來的啟示，你不可能知道這些，他們不但對神如此關心他們深受感動，更提升他們得著醫治的信心。我們的目標永遠都是在魔鬼的作為上得著醫治、重建與得勝，最大的得勝莫過於對主的愛之啟示。
在福音書中我們看到，在充滿不信的地方，就連耶穌所做的工作都受到阻礙。倘若耶穌會在那種情況下受阻，我們豈不更加受阻？倘若主的工作會以這種方式受阻，就可以幫助我們建立信心，而這樣的信心也是不可或缺的。
我所知道的醫治事工，都一定會營造一種信心氛圍以便行使醫治。這比較是他們個人的需要，而非主或人的需要，倘若這樣做對他們有幫助，我沒有意見。當我們成熟時，可能就不需要使用這樣的道具，但只要我們還有需要，若這樣做可以幫助我們聚焦在耶穌身上，也無傷大雅。
不老練的可能會認為，倘若他們真的有恩賜，就不需要這樣做，因為神能做成一切祂想要做的事，但祂卻選擇透過『地上的器皿』來執行。祂在許多方面承受我們的軟弱，就算祂可以想做什麼就做什麼，但祂卻沒有這樣做。正如我們在詩篇115篇16節所讀到的：『天，是耶和華的天；地，祂卻給了世人。』這即是何以祂不會在地上做什麼，除非我們向祂禱告─祂委派人來掌管地上。在啟示錄三章20節，祂甚至站在自己教會的門外叩門，看看是否有人會為祂打開門！在這世代，我們不能沒有祂，一定要在祂進來前為祂開門。
不成熟或不老練的人易於將他們的信仰放在理想主義，而不是聖經的見證上。我們的目標是要將我們與神的關係以聖經清楚顯明的為基礎，而不是以看起來應該會怎樣的方式為依據。不管我們相信與否，就連我們最理性的思考都可能非常扭曲，這即是何以祂賜給我們聖經。
當我們談到『不成熟』與『不老練』的人，我們也必須謹防過於將我們的信念以個人經驗為依據。許多人錯過神要透過他們來做的事，都是因為他們以為神曾經做事的方式就是接下來的方式。我們可以用耶穌為例子，在福音書中，祂似乎從來沒有用同樣的方式醫治人或行神蹟。神最基本的一個特性就是祂充滿創意，熱愛多樣性。每早晨祂都是新的，祂的本質並沒有改變，只是改變與我們互動的方式，好讓我們與祂的關係永保清新。行神蹟不在於相信某種特定方式，而是相信人子耶穌。
儘管一些醫治事工可能會堅持某種類型的音樂、燈光，或一定要怎樣做才對，這是他們的風格，不是聖靈，但這並沒有關係。祂將祂的榮耀澆灌在地上的器皿，你若想看見榮耀，有時我們需要容忍器皿的個人風格。我們可否超越器皿來看榮耀？我們可能需要更多的信心，但這才是重點所在。
神在地上最大的見證便是祂的子民，神在地上最糟的見證也是祂的子民。我們需要更多的信心越過教會的瑕疵來看，也需要謙卑來與他們交流，信心與謙卑基本上是從我們裡面流露出神的本質。當我們不再信靠人，甚至祂的子民，單單學習信靠祂，我們將會發現唯一可以站立的根基─就是主耶穌自己。當我們開始行在謙卑中，不去在乎人們怎麼想，而是神怎麼想，願意和卑微的人來往，也願意被視為祂不完全的子民，我們便朝著終極真實的愛前進。
(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week 18, 2012)
Earthen Vessels - The Path of Life, Part 11
Week 18, 2012
Rick Joyner
In Scripture, healing and prophetic ministries are often linked. As we’ve discussed, one way that the prophetically gifted can discern problems in others is to feel in their own body what those whom they are praying for feel. If your kidneys start hurting while you’re praying for someone, it is probably not your kidneys, but the person you are praying for. Usually, as soon as you get the message, the pain will go away.
Why does the Lord have us discern problems like this? Often people do not know what is wrong with them and cannot tell us what to pray for, and this helps. Also, when someone who is burdened or sick knows that you were given knowledge of something that you could not have known, except through a revelation from God, it not only deeply touches them with how much God cares for them, but also raises their faith level for the healing. Our goal always should be healing, restoration, and victory over any work of the devil. The ultimate victory is a revelation of the Lord’s love.
We are told in the Gospels that even Jesus was hindered in doing things when there was great unbelief. If Jesus could be hindered that way, how much more can it hinder us? If the work of the Lord can be hindered in this way, it helps if we cultivate faith, which is also expectation.
Every healing ministry I know must create what they consider to be an atmosphere of faith in order to operate. It is often more for them than for the Lord or the people, but if it helps them, I’m fine with it. As we mature, we may not need such props, but until we do, if such things help us to focus on Jesus, then they can’t hurt.
The inexperienced may think that if their gift was real they would not need this because God can do anything He wants, but He has chosen to work through “earthen vessels.” In many ways He has subjected Himself to our frailties. Granted, He could do anything He wants, but He doesn’t. As we read in Psalm 115:16, “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.” This is why He will not do things on the earth until we pray—He has delegated the rule over the earth to men. Even in Revelation 3:20, He stands at the door of His own church and knocks to see if any will open to Him! In this age, we must want Him, and we must open to Him before He will enter.
The immature or inexperienced may tend to base many of their beliefs on idealism rather than the testimony of Scripture. Our goal is to base our relationship with God on what is clearly revealed in Scripture rather than the way it seems it should be. Believe it or not, even our most seeming rational thinking can be very twisted. This is why He gave us the Bible.
As we discuss the “immature” and “inexperienced,” we must also beware of basing too much of our beliefs on just our own experiences. Many miss the things the Lord wants to do through them because they assume that the way He moved one time is the way He will do it the next. As Jesus is our example, we see in the Gospels that He did not ever seem to heal people or perform miracles the same way twice. One of the most basic characteristics of God is that He is creative and loves diversity. He is fresh and new every morning. His nature does not change, but the changes in His interaction with us keep our relationship fresh. What accomplishes a miracle is not faith in a method, but in a Person.
Even though some healing ministries may insist on the music being a certain way, or the lights a certain way, or other things that have to be just right, this is them, not the Holy Spirit. It’s still okay. He has put His glory in earthen vessels, and if you want to see the glory, sometimes we need to put up with the idiosyncrasies of the vessels. Can we look past the vessel to see the glory? It may take a little more faith on our part, but that is the point.
The greatest witness for God on the earth is His people. The worst witness for God on the earth is His people. It takes a higher faith to see past the flaws of His church, and it takes humility to want to be associated with them, both of which God is basically after from us. When we stop trying to put our trust in people, even His people, and learn to keep it in Him, we will find the only foundation that can stand—Jesus Himself. When we begin to walk in humility, which does not care what people think but rather what God thinks, and we are willing to associate with the lowly and be counted among His people with all of their flaws (and ours), we are on our way to the ultimate reality—love.
