於2011-05-13發佈
在基督肢體中具先知性的人

我個人和我所認識具先知性的人多半為概念取向,以致於我很容易把細節混在一起。這樣的弱點使那些細節取向的人不容易瞭解,並常常視為邪惡動機。我盼望這樣的情況永遠不會發生,但我知道這是我的弱點,所以我學習欣賞那些細節取向的人儘管他們常常使得像我這樣概念取向的人惱怒,但我們非常需要他們。

過於注意細節的人也很容易成為自義的人,就像法利賽人所呈現出來的:『蠓蟲你們就濾出來,駱駝你們倒吞下去。』(參考馬太福音2324他們需要概念取向者的幫助,正如概念取向者同樣也需要細節取向的人。倘若概念取向的人無法看見叢林中的樹,細節取向的人就無法看見樹中的叢林,我們兩者都需要看見。

對先知的偉大應許何以總是複數─給眾先知,而不單給一位先知─可能主要是因為這件事。這即是何以偉大的應許是給那些學習與他們不同者同工的人,他們所擁有的對應力量彌補了我們的弱點,而我們也能夠協助他們的弱點。 

毫無疑問,彼此都要謙卑才能形成這樣的團隊。一個團隊的成員越不同,那個團隊通常會越強壯。然而,此時的教會很少找到一個團隊裡面是如此不同,以致於當詢問一個問題時,他們幾乎像鸚鵡一樣,全部重複一樣的東西。 

先知性的人和其他團體一樣,在這件事上有其過失,整體來說這的確是先知性事工很大的弱點。可能要勝過此的最快方式,就是刻意與那些最惱怒我們的人固定聚集在一起。或許加入使我們最惱怒的教會對我們會有所幫助;先知性的人要融入任何地方,或被任何人瞭解都很困難,以致於他們必須這樣做,成為任何事的一部份。這是件好事! 

當我說我們都需要教會生活中的挫折與惱怒,好使我們的靈命成熟,人們以為我在開玩笑,但我是認真的。你可以在知識中成長,甚至在經歷中成長,正如哥林多前書十三章告訴我們的,我們可以在信心中成長到一個地步,甚至可以行許多神蹟和移山,但我們若沒有在愛中成長,全都與我們無益。不是因為我們擁有先知性恩賜,就否定我們必須彼此相愛的基本基督徒責任。要我們愛其他人或許有些難,因為愛我們的很少,但那才是使我們在愛中成長的更大機會。 

當然,我們只想要投入在聖靈引領我們去的教會和關係,但我懷疑是否會有許多人能領受祂在關係中的引領,因為我們太容易選擇那些與我們最契合的人,卻與那些惱怒我們的人保持距離。 

正如我們曾說過,倘若我們看見的有限,知道的有限,預言的也有限,代表我們全都缺少個人瞭解與先知性觀點的一部分。多數時候,擁有我們最需要部分好使我們有完整圖畫的那些人,可能就是我們最難與之相處的人。我不斷重複談論此,是因為我們要成為在基督裡的肢體,跨越此對我們非常重要。 

對先知性的人還有另一個重要因素─學習寫作。說出來的話比寫出來的容易造成誤解,這很可能是哈巴谷書二章2對此勸誡的原因:『祂對我說:將這默示明明地寫在版上,使讀的人容易讀(或譯:隨跑隨讀)。』

書寫是先知與使徒傳達上不可缺少的方式,現在仍是如此。然而,書寫令人乏味的本質,與許多具先知性的人概念取向的本質相反。那即是癥結所在;學習如此做,並用心來做,可以幫助我們在傳達上更有效率與準確,這正是傳達的重點。寫下來的話有著和說出來的話非常不一樣的能力,那即是何以連道成肉身的耶穌都站立在『經上記著話』!說出來的話在鼓勵聖徒與行動上會有立即的效果,但寫下來的話在創造出深度並帶來完全改變上更有能力,我們兩者都需要。

(摘自 喬納 word for the week, Week 17, 2011)


The Application of a Prophetic Word, Part 3
Prophetic in the Body of Christ

Week 17, 2011 

It is my makeup, and that of most prophetic people I know, to be so concept-oriented that I am prone to mix up details. This is a weakness that those who are detail-oriented have a hard time understanding and often attribute to evil motives. I hope that is never the case, but I realize I have a weakness so I have learned to appreciate the detail-oriented. Even if they are often irritating to people like me who are concept-oriented, we need them very much. 

Those who are detail-oriented can also be prone to the kind of self-righteousness displayed by the Pharisees who would “strain out a gnat and swallow a camel” (see Matthew 23:24). They need the help of the concept-oriented as much as the concept-oriented need them. If the concept-oriented cannot see the trees for the forest, the detail-oriented cannot see the forest for the trees. We need to be able to see both. 

The reason why the great promises for the prophets is always plural—to the prophets, not just a prophet—may be chiefly due to this one thing. This is why the great promises are for those who learn to work together with those who are different, who have corresponding strengths that make up for our weaknesses, and who have weaknesses that we may be able to help them with.

No doubt it takes a lot of humility on the part of each for such teams to form. When I look for the strengths or weaknesses in a church or other organization’s leadership, I look first for how many people are working together that are different from each other. The more different the members of a team are, the stronger that team usually is. However, in the church at this time it is rare to find a team that is not so uniform that when asked a question, they are almost like parrots who all repeat the same thing.

Prophetic people are just as guilty of this as any other group, and it is a great weakness in the prophetic ministry in general. Probably the fastest way to overcome this would be to intentionally start getting together on a regular basis with those who irritate us the most. Perhaps it would be helpful for us to join the church that irritates us the most. Prophetic people can have such a hard time fitting in anywhere, or being understood by anyone, that they have to do this to be a part of anything. That is a good thing!

People think I’m kidding when I say that we need all of the frustrations and irritations of local church life to mature spiritually, but I am not. You can grow in knowledge, and even grow in experience, and as we are told in I Corinthians 13, even grow in faith to the point of doing many miracles and moving mountains, but if we are not growing in love, it will profit us nothing. Because we have prophetic gifts, this does not in any way negate the basic Christian responsibility that we have to love one another. It may be harder for us to love others because so few love us, but that is an even greater opportunity to grow in love.

Of course, we only want to devote ourselves to a congregation or relationships that the Holy Spirit is leading us to, but I wonder if many are able to receive His guidance in relationships because we are so prone to choose those who we are the most comfortable with and to separate ourselves or divide from those who irritate us.

As we have covered, if we only see in part, know in part, and prophesy in part (see I Corinthians 13:9), then we are all missing pieces to our understanding and our prophetic perspectives. Most of the time, those who have the part that we need the most to have the complete picture will be those we may be having the most trouble with. I will continue to repeat this often because it is so crucial for us to get beyond in order to become the body of Christ we are called to be.

One other important factor for prophetic people—learn to write. Things that are spoken are far easier to be misunderstood than what is written. This may be the reason for the exhortation in Habakkuk 2:2: “Then the LORD answered me and said, ‘Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run.’” 

Writing was a vital way that the prophets and apostles communicated, and it still is. However, the tedious nature of writing can be contrary to the nature of many prophetic people who tend to be so concept- oriented. That is the point. Learning to do this, and do it well, can help our communication become far more effective and more accurate, and that is the main point of communication. The written word has a very different power from the spoken word. This is why Jesus, who was the Word Himself, took His stand on “It is written!” The spoken word can have immediate results in encouraging the saints and for encouraging action, but the written word has far more power for creating depth and making profound change. We need both.