於2012-10-16發佈
生命的道路32
神國管家職分
主耶穌說惟有當我們學會管理地上的財富,祂才會託付我們天上真正的財富。聖經在公義方面的教導,大約三分之一到二分之一都與管家職分有關。顯然,妥善管理 神託付我們的事物,才是主看為公義的根本條件。沒有這樣做的人,主在才幹比喻中稱其為『又惡又懶的僕人 』(參考馬太福音25:26)。做得很好的人則得著稱讚說:『好,你這又良善又忠心的僕人,你在不多的事上有忠心,我要把許多事派你管理;可以進來享受你主人的快樂』(參考馬太福音25:21)。倘若我們要被託付更多,管家職分是不可或缺的。        

能夠被託付餵飽五千名窮人一天一餐的資源固然美好,能擁有使一個漢堡倍增到足以每天餵飽五千人的權柄更好,這正是主從一個小男孩午餐餵飽五千人所彰顯的 神國權柄。那即是地上財富和 神國財富之間的不同;然而,我們必須正確管理地上財富才能被託付 神國權柄。

我們正活在一個時刻,大部分的權力和問題都是經濟層面的。在今日教會的許多教導似乎都以經濟議題為主,這未必是錯的,它不過是反映出我們所活在的時刻,並提出多數人切身問題的需要。即便如此,我們可以改變我們的角度,來提出真正的權力所在,真實的財富所在,以及真正重要的事為何。

讓我們先從自然界開始談起,因著哈伯太空望遠鏡與其他傑出的發明,現在我們知道宇宙比我們多年前所認知的大出許多倍。自然界的宇宙如此浩大、令人驚嘆,與屬靈界比起來卻微不足道,就好像你的影子與你相比一樣。我們的神為至大!當地上發生最偉大的神蹟,如摩西分開紅海,天使正在打哈欠,他們見過比地上更偉大的事情─他們看見天上鋪張穹蒼,如鋪幔子,正如詩篇所告訴我們的一樣。

與自然界的宇宙相比,地球不過是一粒灰塵;與屬靈界的宇宙相比,地球連一粒灰塵都不如。然而,地球卻極為重要、充滿價值,因為神的兒子來到地上,為著我們的救贖而獻上自己的生命。聖經告訴我們 神將會再次來到地上,住在人中間!這全然說明大小與價值無關。這即是何以天使寧願在地上有任務,而不要在銀河系。主亦是在地上呼召人成為祂自己的兒女,這是全宇宙,自然界或屬靈界最崇高的呼召!

我常聽到人們說,只有三分之一的天使墮落,所以好天使的數量仍多一倍。這離實際情況還差很遠,天使只是其中一種屬靈受造物,還有難以計數的屬靈受造物。在聖經中我們稍微瞥見一二,如基路伯、以西結的輪子等。只有其中一種的三分之一墮落,其他種類並沒有墮落。天使是 神的使者,他們無以計數,比 神其他屬靈受造物多上好幾倍。

當魔鬼和天使墮落被丟到地上,所有在宇宙中的邪惡現在被困在地上。路益師曾寫到,天堂是如此浩大,倘若所有的邪惡化成一顆球,朝著天堂中的一隻小鳥丟過去,那球甚至沒有足夠力量威脅到小鳥。重點是地上充滿邪惡與罪惡,那是因為現在邪惡掌管地上,但我們越多進入 神的國,邪惡對我們的影響也越小。 神只要動動小指頭,所有邪惡都會連根拔除,這樣的事最後一定會成就, 神的國一定會來到地上。

從政治、經濟、社會與宗教的角度來看,好像邪惡此刻正佔上風。邪惡將在全地有最後一次的肆虐,但這卻絲毫無法出現在 神所做之事的雷達螢幕上。世界所有的邪惡,是人類以為可以不需要 神來管理這世界的結果,在最後,我們將知道這是多糟的想法。人類的問題遠超過我們所能解決,但所有問題都有一個解決方案─回轉向 神。

正如我們在以賽亞書六十章1-5節所看見的,當黑暗遮蓋大地,幽暗遮蓋萬民,主的榮耀將顯現在祂的子民身上,列國會來就光。光將戰勝,這甚至不是一場公平的爭戰。所有在宇宙中的邪惡,最終會像暴風雨中的火柴一樣被吹熄,也許一時之間邪惡看起來好像贏了,但它半點機會都沒有。

美國的債務很快就會超過16兆美元;一個敬畏主的國家之祝福,在於它可以借給許多國家,卻不用借貸。當我們敬畏主時,我們曾是歷史上最大的債主。當美國開始遠離 神,我們便在轉離祂的咒詛之下受奴役,正如欠債的是債主的僕人。美國現在是歷史上最大的債務國,每一天我們都更快向下沈淪。

凡是瞭解經濟的人都知道,16兆美元的債務並不是真正的數字。國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)決定研究美國真正的債務有多少,包括我們未來的義務,如老人津貼與全民健保等。IMF判定我們真正的債務超過200兆美元,他們推斷就算美國人繳納百分之百的稅,也絲毫無法彌補這些義務所帶來的龐大債務。就像我們現在所遇到的許多問題,這雖然超越人類的解決方案,卻無法超越 神的解決方案。

全世界的經濟顛三倒四,所帶來的後果每年不斷上升,擊打著我們。人類完全無路可走,但 神國度的資源如此龐大,就算一次償還全世界的債務,都不會有人發現少了什麼東西。全世界的債務比不上 神國銀行的一分錢,這正是主將要做的,但有幾件事需要先做,我們下週會談論到。

(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week 39, 2012)


Kingdom Stewardship - The Path of Life, Part 32
Week 39, 2012 
Rick Joyner 

          The Lord Jesus said that we could not be trusted with the true riches of the kingdom until we learned to handle earthly riches. It has been estimated that from one-third to one-half of the biblical teachings on righteousness have to do with stewardship. Obviously, managing well what has been entrusted to us is what the Lord considers fundamental to righteousness. Not doing this is why one was called “wicked, lazy slave” in the Parable of the Talents (see Matthew 25:26). Doing this well got the other commended with “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things: I will put you in charge of many things” (Matthew 25:21 NIV). Stewardship is vital for us to learn if we are to be trusted with much.

          It would be wonderful to be trusted with the resources to buy five thousand poor a meal every day. It would be better to have the authority to multiply one hamburger into enough to feed five thousand every day, which is the kingdom authority that the Lord demonstrated when He fed the five thousand from one little boy’s lunch. That is the difference between earthly wealth and kingdom wealth. However, we must manage the earthly wealth right to be trusted with kingdom authority.

          We are living in a time when most of the power and most of the problems are economic. Many of the teachings in churches today seem to revolve around economic issues. This is not necessarily wrong, but a reflection of the times in which we live and the need to address the pressing issues of most people. Even so, we could use a drastic change of perspective about where the real power is, where the real wealth is, and what is really important.

          Let’s start with the natural first. Because of the Hubble telescope and other brilliant inventions, we now know that the physical universe is many times bigger than we perceived just a few years ago. As big and impressive as it is, the entire physical universe is but a shadow of the spiritual realm and has about as much substance compared to it as your shadow does to you. Our God is big! When the greatest miracles were done on the earth such as Moses parting the Red Sea, the angels were yawning. They have seen much greater things than anything ever done on the earth—they saw the heavens stretched out like a tent curtain as we are told in Psalms.

          Compared to the physical universe, the earth is hardly a speck of dust. Compared to the spiritual universe, it could not even register as a speck of dust. However, it has infinite importance and value because the Son of God came to the earth and gave His own life for our redemption. Then we are told that God will come to the earth to dwell among men! This is a profound statement that size may not have anything to do with value. This is why angels would rather have an assignment to the earth than over galaxies. It is on the earth that the Lord is calling those who will be His own sons and daughters. This is the highest calling in the universe, physical or spiritual.

          I often hear people saying that only one-third of the angels fell so the good still outnumber the bad two to one. That is very far from the case. Angels are only one spiritual species, and there are millions more. We have been given a glimpse of this in Scripture with the cherubs, cherubim, “Ezekiel’s wheels,” and others. Only one-third of one type of spiritual being fell, and none of the rest did. Angels are the messengers, and they are outnumbered many, many times over by all of God’s other spiritual beings.

          As the devil and the angels that rebelled have been cast down to the earth, all of the evil in the universe is now confined to earth. As C.S. Lewis once wrote, heaven is so big that if all of the evil in existence were fashioned into a ball and hurled at a single little bird in heaven, it would not even have enough power to register as a thought to that bird. The point is that on earth we are so evil-centric and sin-centric because it is dominant here now, but the more we enter into the kingdom, the smaller it will become to us. With the tiniest move of God’s little finger, all evil could be eradicated for all time, and ultimately this will be done. The kingdom is certainly coming to the earth.

          From a political, economic, social, and religious perspective, it may look like evil is prevailing at this time. Evil will have one final rage upon the earth, but this is hardly even a speck on the radar screen of all that God is doing. All of the evil in the world is the result of mankind thinking we could run this world without God, and at the end, we will learn for all time what a bad idea that was. Every human problem is getting beyond human remedy, but there is an answer to every one of them—return to God.

          As we see in Isaiah 60:1-5, when darkness is covering the earth and deep darkness the people, the Lord’s glory will appear on His people, and the nations will come to the light. The light is going to win, and it is not even a fair fight. All of the evil in the universe will ultimately be blown out like a match in a hurricane. As much as it may look like for a time that evil is winning, it does not have a chance.

          The U.S. debt is scheduled to surpass $16 trillion soon. The blessing of a nation that fears the Lord is that it will lend to many nations and not borrow. We were the greatest creditor nation in history when we feared the Lord. When the U.S. started turning from the Lord, we started coming under the curse that is promised to come upon nations that turn from Him—slavery, as the debtor is the creditor’s slave. Now the U.S. is the biggest debtor nation in history, and we are sinking faster each day.

          To those who understand economics, our $16 trillion dollar debt is a deceitful number. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) decided to do a study on what is the real U.S. debt, which included our future obligations such as entitlements. The IMF determined that our real debt was over $200 trillion dollars. They concluded that all Americans could be taxed at the 100% rate forever, and it would not even come close to meeting these obligations. This is beyond human remedy, like many of our other problems now, but it is not beyond God’s remedy.

          The whole world is upside down economically, and the consequences of this are both growing and hitting us more each year. There is no human way out, but the resources of the kingdom are so great that if all world debt were paid off at once, no one in the kingdom would even realize anything was missing. All world debt would not even register as a penny in the kingdom bank. The Lord is actually going to do this. There are just a couple of things that have to be done first. We will discuss these next week.