大使命11
終極勝利
確切的先知性預言顯示，我們正快速朝著光明與黑暗之間的終極戰役前進。能活在這些時候無非是最大的特權與榮幸，但我們有一個比忍受這些時候更崇高的目的─我們在這裡是為了參與耶穌受十字架以來最大的得勝─光明勝過黑暗的終極勝利。
我們在以賽亞書六十章1-3節看到此勝利：
興起，發光！因為你的光已經來到！耶和華的榮耀發現照耀你。
看哪，黑暗遮蓋大地，幽暗遮蓋萬民，耶和華卻要顯現照耀你；祂的榮耀要現在你身上。
萬國要來就你的光，君王要來就你發現的光輝。
所以我們看到當黑暗遮蓋大地，幽暗遮蓋萬民，主的榮耀要顯現在祂的百姓身上。結果是萬國要來就光，光將得勝，而不是黑暗。這將會藉由最剛強的基督徒而產生，他們的生命被建造在最堅固的根基上，在要來的一切事上必不動搖。最剛強的基督徒總是那些最棒的門徒，因為這是在基督裡邁向成熟的道路。
光明勝過黑暗最大的勝利永遠是耶穌的十字架，沒有比十字架更好的典範來彰顯神的愛與祂的特性。倘若我們要像祂一樣，並做祂曾做過的事，我們也必須天天背起我們的十字架來跟隨祂，為祂的緣故放下我們個人的生命（參考路加福音9：23）。
十字架是神的愛與善勝惡之能力的終極呈現，正如我們在啟示錄中看見，耶穌將以羔羊的身份永遠被認識。祂說沒有為朋友捨命更大的愛了（參考約翰福音15：13），但耶穌所做的遠超過捨下祂的生命。祂倒空祂屬神的本質，成為我們當中的一員，住在最艱困的地方，而且是最渺小與最被鄙視的國家。祂在地上的每一天都是很大的犧牲，祂做的最大犧牲是為我們受盡折磨與羞辱。
當然，能參與耶穌與祂的犧牲，是一個人所能擁有的最大殊榮，不單是在地上，更是在神整個創造與永恆中。這是我們的終極呼召，我們的終極殊榮，亦是祂門徒的基本責任，正如祂在路加福音十四章27節所言：
凡不背著自己十字架跟從我的，也不能作我的門徒。
真實的基督徒生命，就是成為基督的門徒，是一個犧牲的生命，一個尋求行祂旨意，而非我們旨意的生命。耶穌在十字架受到最大的不公平待遇，祂卻沒有報復，或祈求天父來報復，反倒是祈求赦免。這對任何人來說都是最困難的任務，但這是門徒的基本責任─或許行之公正卻不去報復，反倒以饒恕待之。
當光明與黑暗之間的戰役揭開，我們的勝利不是仇敵被毀滅，而是他們蒙拯救。耶穌上十字架是為了拯救那些逼迫祂，甚至折磨祂的人。身為基督徒，我們可能常常定意饒恕，卻由衷盼望從主來的正義，但耶穌所做的卻遠超過此，祂不要天父為祂報仇─祂甚至祈求天父赦免他們。那就是最大的饒恕與最大的愛。
饒恕可能是所有事情中最困難的一件，但它卻是基督教最基本的門訓，亦是基督徒成熟的確切標誌。正如神要我們背起自己的十字架來跟從祂，我們也當每天尋找機會來饒恕。
許多人相信他們不需要饒恕，直到犯錯的那一方悔改為止。這並不是耶穌的作為，當我們還在罪中，祂先赦免我們。有些人後來承認祂偉大的憐憫，有些人則不然，無論是哪一種人祂都赦免，我們也需要如此做。
饒恕某人不代表他們不需要承受犯罪所帶來的後果，有一些屬靈律法可以在這裡應用，例如加拉太書六章7節：『不要自欺，神是輕慢不得的。人種的是什麼，收的也是什麼。』然而，我們身為祭司的基本呼召，就是為那些犯錯的人代禱，代表他們尋求神的恩典與憐憫。
種什麼收什麼的律法同樣也應用在饒恕他人上；倘若我們要收割憐憫，我們必須學習一有機會就栽種憐憫。倘若我們要收割恩典，我們必須一有機會便栽種恩典。十字架的生活每天都賜給我們機會栽種恩典與憐憫，當我們能如此做時，我們同樣也會如此收割。
(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week 11, 2013)
The Ultimate Victory - The Great Commission, Part 11
Week 11, 2013
Rick Joyner
The sure word of prophecy reveals that we are heading fast toward the ultimate battle between light and darkness. It is the highest privilege and honor just to live in these times, but we have a much higher purpose than to just endure the times—we are here to participate in the greatest victory since the cross—the ultimate victory of light over darkness.
We see this in such places as Isaiah 60:1-3:
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
“For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you.
“And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
So we see that at the time when darkness is covering the earth, and deep darkness the peoples, the glory of the Lord will rise on His people. The result will be that the nations will turn to the light. The light wins, not the darkness. This will happen through the strongest Christians whose lives have been built on the strongest of all foundations that will not shake through all that is coming. The strongest Christians will always be the best disciples because this is the path to maturity in Christ.
The greatest victory of light over darkness will forever be the cross of Jesus. There will never be a greater example of God’s love and His character than the cross. If we are to be like Him and do the works that He did, we too must take up our crosses daily to follow Him, laying down our own lives for His sake and for the sake of those he died for (see Luke 9:23).
The ultimate demonstration of the love of God and the power of good over evil is the cross. As we see in the Book of Revelation, Jesus will be forever known as the Lamb. He said that there was no greater love than one who laid down his life for his friends (see John 15:13), but Jesus did more than lay down His life. He emptied Himself of His divine nature to become one of us and lived in one of the most difficult places in one of the smallest and most despised nations. Every day that He was on the earth was a major sacrifice, and then He made the ultimate one by embracing the torture and humiliation that He did for us.
Certainly, to be identified with Jesus and His sacrifice is the ultimate honor one could ever have, not just on the earth, but throughout the entire creation of God and eternity. This is our ultimate calling, our ultimate honor, and the basic responsibility of His disciples. As He said in Luke 14:27:
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
The true Christian life, which is to be a disciple of Christ, is a life of sacrifice. It is a life of the most basic commitment to seek and to do His will, not our own. It was on the cross that Jesus suffered the ultimate injustice, but He did not retaliate, or ask the Father to retaliate, but rather to forgive. This is one of the most difficult tasks for any human being, but it is the basic responsibility of the disciple—to forsake retaliation when it may be just and to forgive instead.
As the battle between light and darkness unfolds, our victory is not the destruction of our enemies, but their salvation. Jesus went to the cross to save the very ones who had persecuted Him and even for those who were torturing Him. As Christians, we may often resolve to forgive but secretly hope for justice from the Lord, but Jesus went beyond that. He did not want the Father to get even for Him—He even asked the Father to forgive them. That is ultimate forgiveness and ultimate love.
Forgiveness can be one of the most difficult of all things to do, but it is the most basic discipline of Christianity and the surest sign of Christian maturity. As we are told to take up our crosses daily to follow Him, we should also daily look for opportunities to forgive.
Many believe that they do not have to forgive until the person who did them wrong repents. That is not what Jesus did. He forgave us when we were yet in our sin. Some later acknowledged His great mercy and others did not, but He forgave them anyway, and we must do this.
Forgiving someone does not mean that they will not have consequences for their sin. Other spiritual laws apply here, such as Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” However, it is our basic calling as priests to intercede for those who transgress, seeking grace and mercy on their behalf.
The law that we will reap what we sow also works on our behalf when we forgive others. If we want to reap mercy, we must learn to sow mercy every chance we get. If we want to reap grace, we must sow grace every chance we get. The life of the cross gives us daily opportunities to sow grace and mercy, and as we are able to do this, we too will reap the same.
