單以滿足神的心為樂

眾聲喧鬧的時刻

隨著基督再來的日子越來越近，眾多紛亂的聲音將會蜂擁而至，企圖搶奪我們的注意力。格外顯多的神蹟奇事、審判與動亂都會集體衝擊人類，要求我們專注於它。世界上的罪和不法的事將會增加，進一步侵蝕許多基督徒的愛（太廿四12）。作為真誠追求至高者的信徒，我們必須小心提防那像傳染病一樣的苦毒，不要容讓自己被那些憤怒、沒有愛心的基督徒的態度感染或同化。

這正是保羅預警我們的「危險日子」（提後三1）。誠然，世界充滿了失去鹽分的信徒，他們那人工化的甜味已被世人踩在腳下。我們不能假設這不會發生在我們身上，但這亦正是天父命定彰顯活在我們裡面的基督的時刻。現在就是為命定的時刻，來全力前進、邁向完全的轉化吧！

被造為要討神喜悅

活出基督的樣式到底意味著什麼？其實，要活出基督就是單單為了一個目的而活：使神喜悅。為此，我們必須緊貼那些使祂心快慰的事情。

即使面對衝突或暴虐，耶穌仍然選擇討神喜悅。所以，當不公義的事情傷害我們，我們就要靠著憐憫贖回那些不良經驗。讓我們以登山寶訓為行事準則，並發掘那些能為神帶來喜樂的事情。

正如經上所記：「我們的主，我們的神，你是配得榮耀、尊貴、權柄的；因為你創造了萬物，並且萬物因你的旨意被創造而有的。」（啟四11）

在世上擁有真正的滿足和喜樂的秘訣，就是不尋求自我的滿足，單以滿足神的心為樂。雖然神喜歡我們享受祂豐富的賞賜，祂也希望我們明白自己不但是被造，更是為祂所造。

做一個普通的、主的工人

對耶穌的鄰居而言，耶穌不過是木匠的兒子，但對神來說祂卻是極貴重的珍珠。在耶穌開始公開服事、施行神蹟、吸引群眾跟隨祂之前，祂就不過是個木匠。但耶穌對神的委身令天父滿心喜悅，而基督存在的根本目的就是作神喜悅的事（約八29）。　

耶穌渴望討天父喜悅的心令祂完成了律法的要求，祂也為此而被釘在十字架上。這個木匠並不是為著對自己的文化或宗教的熱衷，所以才活出無罪的一生。祂的呼召乃是更崇高而超然的：就是愛神的律。祂渴切討天父喜悅的心超乎了一切。

對耶穌而言，還有什麼比天父在約旦所說的話更奇妙嗎？

天堂因天父發聲而開啟，聖靈降下來，天父喜悅的河湧流到祂的兒子身上，祂又用人從未聽過的聲音說：「你是我的愛子，我所喜悅的。」（可一11、路三22）



甘作藍領的神子

請別忘記──那時耶穌不過是個普通人。祂仍未曾開始公開的服事。想到這裡，我不禁震驚：耶穌當藍領工人的生活竟能令父神如此喜悅！祂不需要行神蹟、聚信眾，更不需要特殊的洞見來觸動天父的心。祂甚至還未禁食四十天。

就在祂過著最平凡的日常生活時，耶穌已使神滿心歡喜。

同樣地，真心追求神的人在日復一日的工作中也會尋求討神喜悅。耶穌雖然在做「屬世」的工作，但已能討神喜悅，這讓我們明白神所要的是更隱藏、更寶貴的特質，遠超過世人所推崇的外在表現。

換句話說，神喜悅那些在暗處喜樂地服事祂的弟兄或姊妹。

在神的眼中，真正的服事不在乎我們為祂做了什麼，而在乎我們在祂眼前成為了何等樣的人。

沒有一個追求神的人是微不足道的

正在追求神的你，請反覆思量這個奇妙的真理：我們能使神喜悅！

雖然世界的罪與不公義使神心碎，但當我們每天追求神，我們的愛心與信心就能使祂喜悅！　
假若我們以彰顯基督為目標，就能讓神的喜樂得到最大的滿足。對天父來說，絕對沒有別的人或事能為祂帶來更大的快樂，就是看見祂的兒子耶穌基督的靈彰顯在我們身上。我們每一次的順服，每一次邀請祂介入這個世界，都會使祂喜樂。每當基督透過我們去饒恕、祝福或愛的時候，天父的心就因我們而喜悅。

每個人的生命、境遇與挑戰都不同，讓我們都來追求能夠彰顯基督。在父與子愛的關係中，神喜悅的河流就湧流了。

神啊，我實在難以相信我的生命竟能為祢帶來喜樂！求祢以我為祢的工作，在我裡面塑造最能榮耀祢的性情，讓我的生命成為感恩馨香的祭，能讓祢的心快慰。

摘錄自作者的著作《The Days of His Presence》一書。

來源：中譯˙香港國度復興報


The River of God's Pleasure
By Francis Frangipane

The Clamor of Many Voices

As the days unfold toward Christ’s return, a multitude of voices will clamor for our attention. Additionally signs and wonders, judgments and upheaval will also burst into the collective consciousness of man, demanding our focus. Our world will experience the increase of sin and lawlessness, which will further deplete the love of many Christians (Matt. 24:12). If we are true seekers of the Most High, we must beware the contagious nature of an embittered heart. We cannot allow ourselves to be infected by, or conformed to, the attitudes of angry, loveless Christians.

These are the "difficult times" (2 Tim. 3:1) Paul warns about. Yes, our world is full of artificially sweetened, salt-free Christians who are trodden underfoot by men. We must not assume it cannot happen to us. Yet it is in this very environment that our Father has purposed to reveal Christ in us. Even now our destiny is courting our preparation. Let us press toward full transformation! 

Created for God’s Pleasure

What does it mean to become Christlike? It means we choose to live for one purpose: to give pleasure to God. To accomplish this, we must be intimately acquainted with that in which His soul delights.

Jesus always chose to give God pleasure, even in the midst of conflict and cruelty. Thus when injustice wounds us, we must redeem our experiences with mercy. Let us make the Sermon on the Mount our standard of conduct. Let us discover those ways that will reveal Christ through us and thus bring pleasure to God. 

As it is written, "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created" (Rev. 4:11).

The key to lasting happiness and true fulfillment in this world is not found in self-gratification but in bringing gratification to the heart of God. And while the Lord desires that we enjoy His many gifts, He wants us to know that we are not only created by Him but for Him as well.

A Lay Worker for God

To His neighbors Jesus was just a carpenter’s son. Yet to God Jesus was the one pearl of great price. Indeed, before His public ministry began---before there were any miracles or multitudes---yes, as a carpenter, Jesus’s devotion to God flooded the Father’s heart with pleasure. At the core of His existence, Christ’s motive was always to do only those things that pleased the Father (John 8:29).

It was His desire to please the Father that caused Jesus to perfectly fulfill the Law, and it was to please the Father that He went to the cross. It was not raw zeal for His culture or religion that compelled this carpenter to a sinless life. It was something higher and far more extraordinary: the law of love for God. His passion to give pleasure to the Father was all consuming.

Could Jesus have heard more wondrous words than the praise spoken by the heavenly Father at the Jordan? At the sound of the Father’s voice the heavens opened, the Spirit descended, and the river of God’s pleasure flowed outward to His Son. In words unheard by any human being, the Father spoke: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased" (Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22).

A Blue Collar Son of God

Remember, Jesus was still a lay person during this encounter. He had not yet entered public ministry. I am awed as I consider this reality: it was Jesus’s life as a tradesman, a "blue-collar worker," that increased the Father’s bliss! He did not need miracles and multitudes, or great insights, to touch the Father’s heart. He had not yet fasted for forty days. 

While accomplishing common, everyday tasks, Jesus flooded God’s soul with delight!

Likewise those who truly seek God are dedicated to bringing pleasure to their heavenly Father, even in the common tasks of everyday life. Jesus’s ability to please God while working a "secular" job tells us God is seeking something from us that is more hidden, more precious, than the things esteemed outwardly by man. 

In other words, God delights in that man or woman who serves Him with joy, even when no one is there to observe or impress. 

In God’s eyes, the origin of true ministry is not found in what we do for Him but in what kind of people we become to Him.

No God-Seeker Is Insignificant to the Father

You who seek the Lord ponder this wondrous privilege: we can bring pleasure to God! 

In a world where sin and injustice actually pain the heart of God, with our love and steadfast faith, as we seek God daily, we can please the Father! 

To set our goal to reveal Christ is to arouse God’s pleasure at its highest level. No one, nor any thing, brings pleasure to the Father as does seeing His Son, even beholding the Spirit of Jesus Christ revealed in us. Each time we submit to Jesus, giving Him access to this world, we please God. Every time Christ forgives or loves or blesses through us, the heart of God finds pleasure in our lives.

In every one of life’s varied and challenging situations, let us seek to know how we may reveal Christ. For in the love between the Father and His Son the river of God’s pleasure flows.

O God, the thought that my life may bring pleasure to You is so high, I can barely believe it. Lord, look upon me as Your workmanship; create in me that which will most glorify You. Make my life an aroma of thanksgiving that ever brings pleasure to Your heart. 

This message was adapted from a chapter in Pastor Frangipane's book, The Days of His Presence, published by Charisma House.