於2011-02-28發佈
上週我們討論到先知性啟示的層級,從感動到被提至天堂,就像保羅與約翰在新約聖經裡的經歷。一般而言,啟示越戲劇化或層級越高代表越重要,聽起來似乎很合理;也有人認為啟示層級越高,先知職分也越大,但這些都不是實際狀況。我們學到啟示的層級比較多與任務的難度有關,而非啟示的重要性或先知權柄的層級。為此緣故,當我們經歷沒有領受太多啟示的季節,特別是高層級的啟示,我們應當學習心滿意足,善加利用這些時間,讓我們更多紮根在健全的聖經真理,仔細查考經文。   

正如末世預言全都清楚表明,我們越靠近這世代末了,困難也會越多。這即是何以我們在約珥書二章與使徒行傳二章看見,在末世的先知性啟示層級同樣也會增加。在這些困難中,我們的確需要更清楚的指引。 

當此先知性啟示增加時,我們必須謹記在心一個關於先知性啟示的基本真理─神賜下先知性啟示絕不是為了傳授或建立教義,我們已經擁有聖經上的話語,惟有神的話才帶著那樣的目的。你會發現許多異端和錯誤教導的本質,都是透過先知性啟示所領受的,或是說『錯誤的』先知性啟示。先知性啟示是為了顯明主策略性的旨意,而不是為了傳授教義。經上記著話就是我們的教義,早已寫成了,不會有任何從神來的啟示予以加添或刪減。凡是想要這樣做的,我們都應當立即視為假預言,並且拒絕它,無論其來源為何。對此,我們沒有絲毫懷疑。 

現在先回到我們稱之為比較低層級的啟示,從感動開始。我們也會從分辨的恩賜開始說起;分辨的恩賜在不同人身上有著不同的運作方式。舉例來說,當歐耳.羅拔士(Oral Roberts)把手放在人的頭上,他可以感受到那人身體哪裡有問題。也有一些人只要專注在某人身上,就可以開始感覺到一些事。這些感覺或感動就是啟示,當今一些最大的神蹟就是由這些感覺所產生的,這表示就算是最低層級的啟示也可以是非常重要的。 

感覺運作的方式,是當具先知性恩賜的人以這種方式專注在某人身上,他們可能開始會感到膝蓋疼痛,於是就知道那人的膝蓋有問題。這也是分辨恩賜常與醫治事工一起運作的方式;身體的醫治是最容易的醫治種類,『知識言語』的恩賜則是進入感情或靈裡層面的醫治,通常會與分辨恩賜一同運作。這是我們在自然領域無法瞭解的知識─我們可以看著對方,開始想起某件我們不曾經歷,卻是那人曾經歷的事。倘若我們保持專注,主會賜給我們關於那人景況的真理話語,可以釋放人從那事件的結果中得自由。 
 
這不過是先知性恩賜運作在醫治上的幾種方式,也可以將其運用在生活的每一層面。我學到當我聚焦在教會時,便會開始感受到我專注在人身上的事情。接著我學到這也可以運用在城市、國家與事業上─幾乎可以運用在人們有興趣或投入的任何事情中。有一次,主讓我看見一個朋友的球隊將贏得大聯盟,在其中有神要傳達的信息,我們倆在比賽前就知道每場遊戲的分數。『不』,我不能用這樣的知識下賭注,但在那場大聯盟的分數和比賽結果中,確實有神要傳達的信息。 

成熟的先知可以將恩賜專注在某件事或某個人身上,開始以超自然的方式來觀看,但我們應當只觀看對主的工有利的事情。屬靈的恩賜並不是娛樂我們的玩具,而是做主工的工具。尋求在所行的一切事上順服祂是基本的先知品德,可以讓主賜給我們更多的權柄和啟示。 

我知道什麼是主要我專注之事的方式,是藉由先知性的指令,或另外兩種方式:1)是藉由在我心中對某件事的熱愛不斷增加,而我知道那不是出於天然人的愛。2)是藉由舊約所謂的:耶和華的默示』(撒迦利亞書9:1; 12:1。倘若我們要持守我們的恩賜,瞭解這些東西是很重要的,下週我們會更仔細談到。

(摘自 喬納 word for the week, Week 7, 2011)

Maturing in the Prophetic
Week 7, 2011 

We have begun to discuss the levels of prophetic revelation from impressions to being caught up into heaven such as Paul and John did in the New Testament. Generally, it makes sense that the more dramatic, or high level the revelation, the more important it is. Others seem to think that the more high level the revelation, the greater the ministry of the prophet, but neither of these may be the case. We have learned that the level of revelation is more related to the difficulty of the task than to the importance of the revelation or the level of the authority of the prophet. For this reason, when we go through seasons of not receiving much revelation, especially what we are calling high-level revelation, we should learn to be content, and use these times for sinking our roots deeper into sound biblical truth, searching the Scriptures. 

As the prophesies of the end times all make clear, as we get closer to the end of the age, the difficulties will be increasing. This is why we see in Joel 2 and Acts 2 that in the last days the level of prophetic revelation will likewise be increasing. In these difficulties, we do need more clear guidance.

As this increase of revelation comes, we must keep in mind one basic truth about prophetic revelation—that prophetic revelation is never given for imparting or establishing doctrine. That is what the written Word was given for, and it alone has that purpose. You will find at the root of many heresies and false teachings that they were received through a prophetic revelation, or we should say, a false prophetic revelation. Prophetic revelation is for revealing the strategic or tactical will of the Lord, not for imparting doctrine. The written Word, which is our doctrine, is finished and no revelation will come from God to add to it or take away from it. Any that would presume to do this we should immediately judge as false prophecy, and reject it regardless of how it comes. About this, we can have no doubt.

Now we will go back to what we are calling the lower levels of revelation, starting with impressions. We will also start with the gift of discernment. The gift of discernment operates in different ways with different people. For example, Oral Roberts could feel what was wrong physically with another person when he put his hands on their head. Others can just focus on a person and start to feel things. These feelings, or impressions, are revelation. Some of the greatest miracles in modern times resulted in these, which reveals how even the lowest level of revelation can be very important. 

The way that the impression works is when a prophet operating in this way focuses on a person, they may start to feel a knee hurt and then know that this person has a knee problem. This is the way discernment often works with a healing ministry. Physical healing is the easiest kind of healing, and for moving into the realms of emotional or spiritual healing the gift of “a word of knowledge” often works with discernment. This is the knowledge of something we could not know in the natural—we could look at someone and begin to remember something that we did not experience, but that person did. If we stay focused, the Lord can give us a word of truth about the situation that can set that person free from the consequences of the event. 

These are just a couple of ways that the prophetic gifts can operate in relation to healing, but they can be used for virtually every other area of life as well. I learned that I could focus on a church and start to sense things just like I did when focusing on a person. I then learned to do it in relation to cities, then nations, and businesses—virtually anything that people are interested in or engaged with. Once, when the Lord showed a friend of mine which team was going to win the World Series and that there was a message in this, we both started getting the scores of the games in this Series before they were played. And “no,” I would not gamble with such knowledge, but there was a message in the scores as well as the ultimate outcome of that Series. 

A mature prophet can focus their gift on something or someone and start to see into them supernaturally, but we should only want to see what is useful to the work of the Lord. The gifts of the Spirit are not toys for entertaining us, but tools for doing the work of the Lord. This basic prophetic integrity, seeking to do all things in obedience to Him, can enable the Lord to give us more authority and revelation. 

The way I know what the Lord wants me to focus on can come by prophetic directive or two other ways: 1) by love growing in my heart for something that I know is not a natural love that I have, or 2) by what is called in the Old Testament “the burden of the word of the Lord” (Zechariah 9:1; 12:1). These are important for us to understand if we are going to stay on course with our gifts, so we will discuss them in some detail next week.