選擇 32
雷克-喬納
2022.12.27
上週我們從希伯來書12:26-29開始,以及我們現在正在經歷的一切可以震動的事物的震動。由於每個共和國或民主形式的政府的基礎是其選舉的完整性,隨著每次新美國選舉,美國人的信任被更深地震動。這將導致什麼呢?
我們也開始討論喬治-巴納和他的研究團隊進行的馬克-納特爾(Marc Nuttle)的美國價值觀研究(America’s Values Study)的非凡發現。這段經文和這項研究共同揭示了神的國度是如何來到美國以及其他許多國家的。為了補充另一個重要的觀點,請看哥林多前書3:12-13:
"若有人用金、銀、寶石、草木,禾稭在這根基上建造,
各人的工程必然顯露,因為那日子要將它表明出來,有火顯露;這火要試驗各人的工程怎樣。
人在那根基上所建造的工程若存得住,他就要得賞賜。"
法蘭西斯-弗朗吉潘(Francis Frangipane)曾說,主建造祂的房子的方式是先向它扔火柴起火,燒掉木頭、乾草和稻草,露出下面的金、銀和寶石。這種情況目前正發生在美國和其他許多國家。這些大火所造成的看似破壞並不是要摧毀這些國家,而是要震動一切可以震動的,以便揭示和建立不能震動的--神的國度。
馬克-納特爾的《美國的價值觀研究》可以有多種解釋方式。結論就是這樣,美國一直在果斷地轉向傳統的、符合聖經的道德價值觀,但辯論將是關於如何和為什麼。政治學家會從科學的角度來看待它,這是有道理的。政治家將透過政治角度來看待它,這也有一定的好處。我熱愛科學,也瞭解政治,但這項研究所揭示的內容比兩者都要大得多。
幾十年前,當我開始研究美國的歷史時,我禱告詩篇90:16-17:"願你的作為向你僕人顯現;願你的榮耀向他們子孫顯明。願主─我們神的榮美歸於我們身上。願你堅立我們手所做的工;我們手所做的工,願你堅立。"
自從1971年成為一名基督徒以來,我聽見美國與神有盟約,有特殊的命定來實現神的目的。我需要確認和瞭解這一點,如果這是真的,我就能知道我們的命定。雖然我還沒有找到神與美國有特殊盟約的證據,雖然很多人禱告並聲稱這一點,但神在聖經中承認的盟約都源自於祂。我只是沒有發現寫在聖經哪裡。然而,有大量證據表明,美國被獻給了主,而且祂也明顯接納美國,這對美國有重大影響。
透過幾十年對美國歷史和聖經預言的研究,美國和其他幾個國家的目的對我來說變得越來越清晰。我花了很多年才找到這些目的,但是一旦我找到了,我就無法不看到它們。美國既不是 "新耶路撒冷",也不是神的國度,但它顯然在為這兩者預備道路方面發揮了作用。
由於我一生都在尋求瞭解主和認識祂的工作,由於我所看到的許多事物都是祂在各國的工作,我不能不透過一個屬靈的鏡頭來看待美國的價值觀研究及其發現。我在研究結果中看到聖靈和祂的工作,它們非常令人鼓舞。
我們現在需要鼓勵,因為我們需要勇氣。美國人民和他們的政府之間存在著巨大的脫節,而且這種差距正在變得更大。美國人民對他們的政府越來越反感,而他們一直在轉向的是政府和社會的聖經原則,儘管似乎很少有人知道這一點。正如馬克-納特爾幾週前對我說的那樣,"這幾乎就像美國人民正在回到人類墮落前在花園裡的樣子,但許多人還沒有把神與他們所感覺到的東西聯繫起來"。
我們將在未來一年的 "每週一語 "中解讀這一點。我認為這將是我們在很長一段時間內聽到的最令人鼓舞和最有啟發性的消息,並將給我們一個更準確的範式來感知聖靈在我們的世界中展開的事情。
Choices, Part 32
Rick Joyner
Last week we began with Hebrews 12:26-29 and the shaking of everything that can be shaken, which we are now experiencing. Since the foundation of every republic or democratic form of government is the integrity of its elections, with each new U.S. election, American trust has been more deeply shaken. Where is this leading?
We also began to address the remarkable findings of Marc Nuttle’s America’s Values Study carried out by George Barna and his research team. Together, this Scripture and this study reveal how the kingdom of God is coming to America as well as to many other nations. To add yet another important perspective, consider I Corinthians 3:12-13:
“Now if any man builds on the foundation with
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.”
Francis Frangipane has said the way the Lord builds His house is to first throw matches at it to start fires and burn up the wood, hay, and straw to reveal the gold, silver, and precious stones beneath. This is currently happening in the U.S. and many other countries. The seeming destruction these fires are causing is not to destroy these countries, but to shake everything that can be shaken, so what cannot be shaken—the kingdom of God—can be revealed and built.
Marc Nuttle’s America’s Values Study can be interpreted in many ways. The conclusions are what they are, and America has been turning decisively back to traditional, biblical moral values, but the debate will be about the hows and whys. The political scientists will view it scientifically, which has merit. The politicians will look at it through a political lens, which also has some merit. I love science, and I understand politics, but what this study reveals is much larger than both.
When I began to study the history of America decades ago, I prayed Psalm 90:16-17: “Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and confirm for us the work of our hands…”
Since becoming a Christian in 1971, I have heard that America had a covenant with God and a special destiny to fulfill God’s purposes. I needed to confirm and to understand this, so if it was true, I could know our destiny. Though I have yet to find any evidence for God having a special covenant with America, though many have prayed and claimed this, the covenants in Scripture that God has acknowledged all originated from Him. I just haven’t found where He has done this with America. However, there is abundant evidence that America was dedicated to the Lord, and that He has manifestly accepted this. This is huge and has major implications for America.
Through decades of studying both American history and biblical prophecy, the purposes of America and several other nations have become increasingly clear to me. It took me years to find these purposes, but once I did, I could not unsee them. America is neither the “new Jerusalem” nor the kingdom of God, but it clearly has a role in preparing the way for both.
Since I have spent my life seeking to know the Lord and recognizing His work, and since much of what I have been shown is His work in the nations, I cannot help but see America’s Values Study and its finding through a spiritual lens. I see the Holy Spirit and His work throughout the study’s findings, and they are very encouraging.
We need encouragement right now because we need courage. There is a huge disconnect between the American people and their government, and this gap is becoming wider. The American people are increasingly disgusted with their government, and what they have been turning to are biblical principles of government and society, though few if any seem to know this. As Marc Nuttle said to me a few weeks ago, “It’s almost as if the American people are returning to the way man was in the garden before the fall, but many have not yet connected God to what they are sensing.”
We will unpack this in the Words for the Week over the coming year. I think this will be some of the most encouraging and enlightening news we have heard in a long time and will give us a much more accurate paradigm for perceiving what the Holy Spirit is unfolding in our world.