生命的道路 41

光越照越明

我們的世界變得越來越分裂，這並不令人意外。我們正來到這世代的末了，將會出現光與黑暗之間的終極戰役。每一個人都必須進入『斷定谷』，選擇他們所服事的那一邊。每一個人為他們生命所選擇的道路，不是迎向光明就是進入黑暗。正如我們先前曾談論過，在箴言四章18-19節所說的：

但義人的路好像黎明的光，越照越明，直到日午。 
惡人的道好像幽暗，自己不知因什麼跌倒。 

『義人的路』或『正確的路』將引至光明與清澈，這應成為每一位基督徒生命的標誌─越發光亮。倘若這並不是我們的狀況，代表我們在某處轉錯彎，遠離了生命的道路。正如路益師所做的解釋：『錯誤的路永遠不會變成正確的路；我們若沒有在正確的路徑上，我們必須回到我們錯過轉彎之處。』那即是悔改。          

在這些時候，光越來越亮，而黑暗則越來越幽暗。義人將看得更清楚，那些沒有在正確路徑上的人，正進入更大的黑暗與混亂中。正如上面箴言所說，他們跌倒卻不知因什麼跌倒，此會引至更大的懼怕，那也是二條明顯路徑中的另一條路。我們若在正確的道路上，我們會有更多神的平安和喜樂。我們若在錯誤的道路上，我們則會有更多的焦慮與懼怕。

我知道許多基督徒在最近的總統大選上跌倒，我也是其中之一。我們若在正確的道路上，我們將知道什麼使我們跌倒，所以我不想要跌倒了，卻看不清是什麼使我跌倒。這裡是我從這次選舉所學到的功課，有一些可能對你也有幫助。

在神裡面真正的信心是在神裡的信心，而非外在結果的信心。我最近常傳講這方面的信息，但正如保羅寫給提摩太的書信，要他『謹慎自己的教導』（參考提摩太前書4:16）。常常我們的教導也是我們需要聽到的信息，正如羅馬書四章18-20節，告訴我們有關『信心之父』亞伯拉罕的故事：

他在無可指望的時候，因信仍有指望，就得以作多國的父，正如先前所說，你的後裔將要如此。 
他將近百歲的時候，雖然想到自己的身體如同已死，撒拉的生育已經斷絕，他的信心還是不軟弱； 
並且仰望神的應許，總沒有因不信心裡起疑惑，反倒因信心裡得堅固，將榮耀歸給神。

當一切都很好時，任何人都可以有信心，但最大的信心展現在最不可能的環境裡。       

在2012年的美國總統大選後，我不曾看過有如此多的基督徒深感沮喪與迷惘，有好幾個小時我也是其中一位，然後我領受一個啟示，立即將我的沮喪轉變成很久沒有過的大盼望。然而，我不該感到沮喪，我若照我所要與所當的來親近主，我便不會對此結果感到意外。我當然期待一個不一樣的結果，但我將盼望放在那結果，當其不是我所預期的，我反而和許多人一樣大吃一驚。即便如此，要看見我所掉入的陷阱並不難，就是相信結果超過信靠神。

是神選擇歐巴馬而非羅姆尼嗎？不，是我們選的。正如我常常引用詩篇一百一十五篇16節，因為這是我們要緊緊抓住的重要真理，其宣告：

天，是耶和華的天；地，祂卻給了世人。

主將地上的權柄委託人來管理，這即是何以祂不會在地上做什麼事，直到我們禱告。在這次選舉中，美國得到美國人所想要的結果。此選舉是美國目前屬靈上非常好的氣壓計，正如俗語說：『你若不改變路線，你將到達你所前往的方向』，是美國決定不改變路線。

事實是美國現在遠在黑暗的道路上，我們無法單靠一個選舉來改變路線。或許我們現在將聚焦在我們真正的盼望上─轉向神。我們需要政府換人做的迫切性，遠不及文化上的改變。

我不知道有哪一個總統像歐巴馬一樣，能如此甦醒美國的教會，我認為他第二次的選舉比第一次更能喚醒我們。正如我們的青年牧師安得烈.阿姆斯壯（Andrew Armstrong）最近說到：『有許多事已經喚醒了基督徒，但我們卻很快按下鬧鐘上的『再睡一下』按鈕，或呈現出半夢半醒。現在我們必須完全清醒，不再沈睡。

我們正朝向好幾個財政峭壁，只要真正有碰觸到的人都瞭解此，我們的問題遠超過任何選舉的結果所能改變。現在或許是我們聚焦在唯一一件可以改變此結果的事上─我們必須有另一波的屬靈大覺醒。

倘若你願意再多容忍我幾週，我想要在總統大選的功課上挖得更深一點，我認為瞭解這些對我們而言極為重要。

(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week 48, 2012)


The Light is Getting Brighter - The Path of Life, Part 41
Week 48, 2012 
Rick Joyner 

Our world is becoming more polarized. This is to be expected. We are coming to the end of this age, which will be the ultimate battle between light and darkness. Every person must enter the “Valley of Decision” and choose which they will serve. Every person will choose a path for their life that leads to the light or the darkness. As we have covered before, we are told in Proverbs 4:18-19:     

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. 
The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. 

“The path of the righteous” or “the right path” will lead to increasing brightness and clarity. This should be the hallmark of every Christian life—ever increasing light. If this is not the case for us, then somewhere we have missed a turn and departed off of the path of life. As paraphrased by C.S. Lewis, “The wrong road never turns into the right road. If we are not on the right road, we must go back to where we missed the turn.” That is repentance.

In these times, the light is getting brighter and the darkness is getting darker. The righteous will see more clearly, and those who are not on the right path are entering greater darkness and confusion. As stated in Proverbs, they stumble but do not even know what they stumble over. This leads to increasing fear. That too is another way that the two paths are distinguished. If we are on the right path, we will increase in the peace and joy of God. If we are on the wrong path, we will increase in anxiety and fear.

I know many Christians who stumbled over the recent elections. I am one of them. If we are on the right path, we will know what we stumbled over, so I don’t want to ever stumble and not see clearly what I stumbled over. Here are some of the things that I have learned from this and some of you may find helpful.

True faith in God is faith in God, not just an outcome. I have been preaching this a lot lately, but as Paul wrote to Timothy to “pay attention to your own teachings” (see I Timothy 4:16). Often what we are teaching is what we too need to hear. As we are told in Romans 4:18-20 concerning Abraham, the “father of faith”:

In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”

Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 
yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Anyone can have faith when everything is going well, but the greatest faith is demonstrated in the most impossible circumstances.

I don’t remember ever seeing so many Christians as depressed and disoriented than after the 2012 elections. I was one for several hours, and then I received a revelation that turned my depression into a surge of hope like I do not remember having for a long time. However, I should not have been depressed, and if I had been as close to Lord as I want to be and should be, I would not have been surprised by this outcome. I was definitely expecting a different one, but I was putting my hope in that outcome and was in shock as much as anyone when it did not come out the way I was expecting. Even so, it was easy to see this trap that I had fallen into—believing for an outcome more than trusting in God.

Did God choose Obama over Romney? No. We did. As I quote often because it is such an important truth for us to grasp, Psalm 115:16 declares:

The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men. 

The Lord has delegated authority over the earth to man, which is why He will not even do things on the earth until we pray. America got what America wanted in this election. The election was a very good barometer of where America is spiritually right now. As the saying goes, “If you do not change your course, you will end up where you are headed,” and America decided not to change course.

The truth is that America is now so far down the path to darkness that it will take far more than an election for us to change course. Maybe now we will focus on our only true hope—turning to God. We do not need a change in our government as much as we need a change in our culture.

I do not know of any other President in my lifetime that has awakened the church as much as Obama. I think his second election has done this even more than the first. As Andrew Armstrong, our youth pastor, recently said, “A lot of things have awakened Christians, but we quickly roll over and hit the ‘snooze’ button or just remain half awake. Now we have to get fully awake and stay awake.”

We are headed for more than a fiscal cliff, and I don’t know any person truly in touch who does not understand this. We are beyond what any election can do to change this outcome. Now maybe we will focus on the only thing that can change this outcome—we must have another Great Awakening.

If you will bear with me for just a couple of more weeks, I want to dig down a little deeper on the lessons of this past election. I think they are crucial for us to understand.