DAY 40
供物
雷克-喬納 Rick Joyner
翻譯：Kate
轉載/轉寄 請註明出處：國度禱告網

有一日，那人和他妻子夏娃同房，夏娃就懷孕，生了該隱【就是得的意思】，便說：耶和華使我得了一個男子。
又生了該隱的兄弟亞伯。亞伯是牧羊的；該隱是種地的。
有一日，該隱拿地裡的出產為供物獻給耶和華；
亞伯也將他羊群中頭生的和羊的脂油獻上。耶和華看中了亞伯和他的供物，
只是看不中該隱和他的供物。該隱就大大的發怒，變了臉色。（創世記4:1-5）

男人和女人所生的頭兩個兒子在本性上有明顯的不同。正如主使男人和女人不同一樣，祂創造的每個人都是獨一無二的。祂顯然喜歡創造力，但這讓我們想到其中一個終極問題。為什麼在世界面前代表上帝的教會，往往是如此無聊地千篇一律？為什麼本應與造物主合而為一的教會往往如此缺乏創造力，容易跟隨世界的潮流，而且通常只比它落後幾年？那些認識造物主的人應該是地球上最具創造力的人。我們必須拋開假冒的屬靈權柄強加給教會的有限視野的壓迫性枷鎖，這些權柄向教會施壓，使其順從。教會將獲得自由。然後她將以她的創造力震驚世界，而不是跟隨世界的潮流，世界將開始跟隨她。

爭取自由的鬥爭始於前兩個兄弟之間。嫉妒導致了壓迫。嫉妒總是根植於不安全感，它不斷地成為大多數人類衝突的根源。我們在馬太福音27:18和馬可福音15:10中看到，正是因為嫉妒，主才被送去釘死。我們還在《使徒行傳》和使徒的書信中反復看到，迫害的動機往往是嫉妒。

雅各書3:16告訴我們，"在何處有嫉妒、紛爭，就在何處有擾亂和各樣的壞事。"。教會內幾乎所有分裂的真正根源是嫉妒。人們可能會以教義和其他方面的分歧為藉口，但其根源通常是嫉妒。它是幾乎所有人類衝突的根源，也是試圖壓制獨特性和創造性的窒息性壓迫的來源。我們必須學會在自己的生活中認識和悔改這種邪惡，並抵制它試圖通過他人強加給我們的影響。

在該隱身上表現出來的嫉妒的根源，可以追溯到他的職業。該隱是個耕地的人，這說明他有屬世的心態。地被詛咒了，只有靠汗水才能結果，這說的是人的努力，或我們自己的工作。這對農民來說很好，但該隱試圖把自己工作的果實獻給主，這對主來說永遠不是可接受的供物。正如保羅在《使徒行傳》17:25所說，"也不用人手服事"。

亞伯獻了血祭，上帝接受了。這是對耶穌血祭的預言，只有耶穌的血祭才是神所接受的供物。供物是由小兒子獻上的，這也是一個預言，即是 "最後的亞當 "將使供物為上帝所接受。從一開始，主就為贖回墮落的世界作出了規定，也從一開始，預言性的行動就把我們指向耶穌和十字架的救贖。

接受亞伯的供物和拒絕自己的供物使該隱感到憤怒。這是一個預言，預示著那些試圖用自己的好行為來接受上帝的人和那些相信耶穌之血的人之間將存在著敵意。耶穌沒有被社會上的基本罪人迫害，而是被自以為是的人迫害。現在也是如此。有很多人，包括一些自稱是基督徒的人，把他們的信靠放在自己的工作上，作為他們的公義。他們通常試圖把新約聖經變成另一律法，即善惡樹的果實。他們同樣會怒斥和迫害那些把信心建立在十字架的公義上的人。因此，從前兩個兒子身上看到的是蛇的本性，以及那要用祂的死打敗蛇的人的本性。信任十字架。它將帶來一段時間的迫害，但它已經獲得了最終的勝利。
 

DAY 40
The Offering
Rick Joyner

Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD."
And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground.
And Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering;
but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell (Genesis 4:1-5).

The first two sons born to the man and woman had a striking difference in their natures. Just as the Lord made men and women different, He created every individual to be unique. He obviously loves creativity, but this leads us to one of those ultimate questions. Why does the church, which represents God to the world, tend to be so boringly uniform? Why does the church, which is supposed to be one with the Creator, tend to be so void of creativity, prone to follow the trends of the world, and usually only limping along years behind it? Those who know the Creator should be the most creative people on the face of the earth. We must cast off the oppressive yokes of limited vision imposed by counterfeit spiritual authorities that pressure the church into conformity. The church is going to be free. Then she will astonish the world with her creativity, and instead of following the trends of the world, the world will start following her.

The struggle for freedom began among the first two brothers. Jealousy led to oppression. Jealousy is always rooted in insecurity, and it has continually been the source of most human conflicts. We see in Matthew 27:18 and Mark 15:10 that it was because of jealousy that the Lord was delivered to be crucified. We also see repeatedly in the Book of Acts, and the apostolic epistles, that persecution was often motivated by jealousy.

We are told in James 3:16, "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing." The true root of almost every division within the church is jealousy. Men may use differences in doctrines and other things as excuses, but at the root of them will usually be jealousy. It is the root of almost every human conflict, and is the source of the stifling oppression that seeks to crush uniqueness and creativity. We must learn to recognize and repent of this evil in our own lives, and resist the influence it seeks to impose on us through others.

The root of jealousy that was manifested in Cain can be traced to his occupation. Cain was a tiller of the ground, which speaks of earthly-mindedness. The ground had been cursed so that it would only bear fruit by sweat, which speaks of human effort, or our own works. This is fine for farmers, but Cain tried to offer the fruit of his own works to the Lord, which will never be an acceptable offering to Him. As Paul said in Acts 17:25, "neither is He served by human hands."

Abel offered a blood sacrifice, which God accepted. This was a prophecy of the blood sacrifice of Jesus that would alone be an acceptable offering to God. That the sacrifice was offered by the younger son was also a prophecy that it would be the "last Adam" that would make the sacrifice acceptable to God. From the very beginning, the Lord made a provision for the redemption of the fallen world, and also from the very beginning, prophetic actions point us to Jesus and the redemption of the cross.

The acceptance of Abel's sacrifice and the rejection of his own outraged Cain. This was a prophecy of the enmity that would exist between those who tried to offer God their own good works for acceptance, and those who would trust in the blood of Jesus. Jesus was not persecuted by the base sinners of society, but rather the self-righteous. The same is still true. There are many, including some who claim to be Christians that put their trust in their own works as their righteousness. They usually try to make the New Testament into another law, the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They will likewise rage against and persecute those who base their faith on the righteousness of the cross. Therefore, seen in the first two sons is the nature of the serpent, and the nature of the one who would defeat the serpent by His death. Trust in the cross. It will bring persecution for a time, but it has already gained the ultimate victory.