於2011-08-14發佈

教會生活:先知性成長的關鍵 

現在我們有了不偏左右的異象,身為一個不偏左右的人,我們需要面對我們所領受許多非此類的預言。倘若我們說出神真實的話,我們很可能會使許多人憤怒,我們可能會被稱為假先知,或其他各式各樣的稱呼。後來,當你的預言成真了,卻沒有人注意到。你不是為了認同而進入先知的職分。  

大多數人,可能包括大部分今日的基督教領袖,認為稱任何人為先知並不保險,直到他們離世、不再成為威脅。那也是以色列人所做之事,他們尊榮死去先知的墓,卻抵制在他們時代對他們說話的先知。這是因為許多教會被宗教的靈掌控多過聖靈;宗教的靈通常是尊榮主曾做過的事,以合理抵擋主正在做的事。當耶穌行走在地上時,以色列的宗教人士正是祂最致命的仇敵,現在那些受宗教的靈所掌控之人,仍大大逼迫真正跟隨主的人。

當然有許多勇敢的基督徒領袖,不僅歡迎先知性恩賜,也包容其弱點與不成熟。我想許多仍抵制先知性者應當先不加入,因為它仍不成熟與一團亂。然而,當它尚未成熟、仍一團亂時,那些付代價歡迎的人將因接待先知而得著完全的獎賞。所以我們需要為著接待先知的人感恩,也試圖諒解不接待的人。

然而,許多具先知性的人拒絕教會的原因,和他們被教會拒絕的原因一樣─教會尚未達到他們的標準。不能在教會成長、承受一切挫折和惱怒的先知性者,是無法長大成熟的,因此也無法被託付他們本可以有的權柄。同樣地,迫切需要成長的教會,可以使用這些讓先知性者成熟的一切挫折、惱怒與問題來自我成熟。雙方需要彼此來消彌對方的極端,但要我選擇的話,我寧可要沒有先知性的教會,也不要沒有活躍教會生活之先知性者。

我們在使徒行傳二章17-18節看到『在末後的日子』,主要將祂的靈澆灌,結果是帶來先知性啟示─異夢、異象和預言。此賜給男女老少,應當涵蓋所有的人,這是因為當我們進入這些時候,我們需要這種先知性的引導。雖然上一段我說寧可和拒絕先知性的教會連結,也不願與拒絕教會的先知性者連結,但我對於拒絕先知性的教會是否能度過要來的時候,並沒有太大的信心。

即便如此,教會是主的新婦;我們是為了教會而有這些恩賜,我們需要盡我們所能來服事教會,無論她是否按我們想要的方式來接納我們。同時,我也不會跟隨具先知性、卻不委身服事主的新婦之人─主將為祂的新婦回來。遠離服事祂的新婦就是遠離我們呼召與目的的根基,我對於離開基本目的─例如成為在基督身體具功用的一份子,具先知性的人或任何基督徒,並不抱太大希望。

當然,我先前曾分享過這些,未來你當然也會常常聽我提起。我不認為一個沒有活躍教會生活的基督徒能長大成熟,具先知性的人更不用說。脫離教會生活的先知可能有非常真實與令人印象深刻的恩賜,但假先知不也是如此。我所碰到的每一位假先知都被神呼召成為先知,但幾乎在每一個個案中,他們都脫離肢體生活,被苦毒與拒絕玷污。你的恩賜或呼召越大,你也會成為更大的攻擊目標。為此緣故,我們生命主要的焦點是在愛中成長,可能最能呈現此的就是饒恕。

(摘自 喬納 word for the week, Week 30, 2011)


The Prophetic Experiences, Part 7
Local Church Life: Vital to Prophetic Growth
Week 30, 2011  

     Now that we have the vision for moderation, and being a moderate person, we need to deal with the many prophecies that we’ll be given which will be anything but that. If we speak the true word of God, we are likely to make a lot of people mad. We will likely be called false prophets as well as other colorful adjectives. Then, when your prophecies come true, it will seem like no one noticed. You don’t get into this job for the approval rating.

     Most people, and probably most present-day Christian leaders, do not think it is safe to call anyone a prophet until they are dead and no longer a threat. That’s what the Israelites did too. They honored the graves of the prophets who were dead while resisting the ones who were speaking to them in their time. This is because much of the church is actually controlled more by a religious spirit than by the Holy Spirit. A religious spirit often parades its honor of what the Lord has done in order to justify resisting what He is doing. It was the religious in Israel who were the most deadly enemies of the Lord when He walked the earth, and it is still those who are in the grips of the religious spirit who will most vehemently persecute those who are really following the Lord.

     Certainly many courageous Christian leaders have not only embraced the prophetic but embraced it in its weakness and immaturity. I think many who are still rejecting the prophetic should get a pass because it is still so messy and immature. However, it will be those who pay the price of embracing it when it is immature and messy who will also get the full reward of receiving a prophet in the name of a prophet. So we do need to be thankful for any who will receive the prophetic and try to be understanding toward any who do not.

     However, many prophetic people are rejecting the church for the same reason they are now rejected by the church—the church does not yet meet up to their standards. Prophetic people who do not grow up in a local church life, with all of its frustrations and irritations, are not able to mature as they should, and therefore be trusted with the authority they could otherwise have. Likewise, the church that is in such need of maturing could use all of the frustrations, irritations, and problems maturing prophetic people have to mature. Both need the other to have the extreme edges knocked off of them, but given the choice, I would take a church without the prophetic rather than the prophetic that is not part of a vital, local church life.

     We see in Acts 2:17-18 that “in the last days” the Lord is going to pour out His Spirit and the result will be prophetic revelation—dreams, visions, and prophecy. These are given to the young and old, male and female, which should cover just about everyone. This is because as we enter into these times, we will need this kind of prophetic guidance to make it. Though I say above that I would rather be connected to a church that rejects the prophetic than to prophetic people who reject the church, I do not have much faith in churches that reject the prophetic making it through the coming times either.

     Even so, the church is the Lord’s bride; our gifts were given for the church, and we need to do all that we can to serve the church whether she receives us as we would like to be received or not. At the same time, I will not follow prophetic people who are not devoted to serving the Lord’s bride that He is coming back for. To depart from serving His bride is to depart from something very basic to our calling and purpose. I have even less hope for prophetic people, or any Christians, who get severed from a basic purpose like being functioning members of the body of Christ.

     Of course, I’ve shared this before, and you will certainly hear it from me often. I do not believe that one can mature as they should as a Christian, much less in the prophetic, without a vital, local church life. Prophets that get severed from local church life can have very real and impressive gifts, but so do false prophets. Every false prophet I have met had a calling to be a prophet of the Lord, but in almost every case, they were severed from the body and then poisoned by bitterness and rejection. The more powerful your gift or calling is, the more of a target you will be. For this reason, we must have as our main focus in life to be growing in love, which is probably most demonstrated by forgiveness.