听 从 智慧的 教 导 ！ [ 箴言 8:22 – 36] 在 教会 服事 时 ，我 们 常因繁重的工作而忙碌、分心（路加福音 10:40 ）。 结 果，我 们对 周 围 的弟兄 姊 妹心生怨 气 ， 觉 得他 们 “把 [ 我 们 ] 撇 下， 独 自做工”（第 40 节 ）。 怀 着 这种 不 满 ，我 们 甚至在 祷 告中向主 诉 苦：“主 啊 ，他 们撇 下我 独 自做工， 你 不在意 吗 ？”（第 40 节 ）。每 当 此 时 ，我相信主 会对 我 们说 ：“某某 啊 ， 你 为许 多事思 虑烦扰 ，但只有几件事是必要的——或者 说 ，其 实 只有一件事就 够 了”（第 41–42 节 ）。主希望我 们 像 马 利 亚 那 样 ，“坐在主脚前听他的道”（第 39 节 ） 并 顺 服 祂 的旨意；然而，我 们 却渴望按自己的意愿忙碌做 许 多事 来荣 耀神。 尽 管主 说 “只有一件事就 够 了”（第 42 节 ），我 们 却不 满 足于只做那一件事。 归 根 结 底，我 们 是在按自己的意愿服事 教会 ，而不是 顺 服主的旨意。 当 主看到“ 马 利 亚 已 经选择 那上好的福分”（第 42 节 ） 时 ，我 们 却像 马 大一 样 ，被 许 多事 务 弄得心 烦 意 乱 。 当 我 们开 始默想《箴言》第 8 章——特 别 是第 1 至 11 节 —— 时 ，我 们认识 到，若要 获 得辨 别 力，就必 须 听 从 智慧的呼 唤 ，聆听 她 的 教 导 以 获 取知 识 。我 们 探 讨 了 应当 听 从 智慧 教 导 的四 个 理由： (1) 智慧所言乃是“至善之事”（第 6a 节 ）； 换 言之，我 们 必 须 聆听，因 为 智慧 将 正确的价 值观 注入我 们 心中。 (2) 智慧所言乃是“正直之事”（第 6b 节 ）；也就是 说 ，我 们 必 须 聆听，因 为 智慧指引我 们 走上正确的道路。 (3) 智慧所言乃是“ 真 理”（第 7 节 ）； …… 这 意味着我 们 必 须 聆听，因 为 聆听能使我 们获 得 真 知。（ 4 ）智慧 谈 到了“公平”（或公 义 ）…… 这 就是原因所在（第 8 节 ）。 换 言之，我 们 必 ...
Our God is faithful, and He will surely fulfill what He has promised us in His time and in His way!
“As
Elizabeth was barren and they had no child, and both were well advanced in
years” (Luke 1:7). While meditating on this verse, I would like to share the
lessons given to me:
(1)
When
I read this passage, I am reminded of Sarai, Abraham’s wife, in Genesis: “Now
Sarai was barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11:30). Sarai, who could not
conceive and had no child, “by faith … received power to conceive, because she
considered Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11).
(a)
While
meditating on the statement that she considered the One who promised to be
faithful, I am reminded of one of my favorite verses, 2 Timothy 2:13: “If we
are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” [Modern
Translation: “We may be unfaithful, but the Lord is always faithful and cannot
break His promise”].
(i)
What
was the promise given by this faithful God to Abraham, Sarai’s husband? It is
in Genesis 15:5: “And He brought him outside and said, ‘Look toward heaven, and
number the stars, if you are able to number them.’ Then He said to him, ‘So
shall your offspring be’” [Modern Translation: “Then the Lord took him outside
and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.
That is how many descendants you will have’”].
·
Romans
4:18 says: “In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father
of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be’” [Modern
Translation: “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept
hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations, for God had
said to him, ‘That’s how many descendants you will have’”].
·
By
faith, Abraham became the father of many nations. Likewise, his wife Sarai,
though she was too old to bear a child, “by faith was enabled to conceive a
child because she considered Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11,
Modern Translation).
(b)
Just
as Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, were both very old
(Luke 1:7, Modern Translation), “Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though at
about one hundred years of age he figured his body was as good as dead—and so
was Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19, Modern Translation).
(i)
Abraham
never wavered in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, being
fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised (Romans 4:20–21,
Modern Translation).
·
Sarai,
who had such a remarkable husband of faith, followed his example and “by faith
… received power to conceive” (Hebrews 11:11). In other words, both Abraham and
Sarai were convinced that God was able to do what He had promised (Romans 4:21,
Modern Translation).
(c)
Our
God is faithful, and He will surely fulfill what He has promised us in His time
and in His way!
(i)
The
promise the Lord personally gave me is John 6:1–15 (the feeding of the five
thousand). For my family, it is 1 Peter 5:10: “And after you have suffered a
little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in
Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” [Modern
Translation: “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace
who called you to share His eternal glory in Christ will Himself restore you,
make you strong, firm, and steadfast”]. For the Victory Presbyterian Church,
where I serve as senior pastor, it is Matthew 16:18: “… on this rock I will
build my church …” (Modern Translation).
·
The
reason I believe that the Lord, who is faithful, is bringing these promises to
fulfillment is because of these assurances:
-
Numbers
23:19: “God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should
change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will
He not fulfill it?” [New Translation: “God is not like a man—He does not lie.
He is not a human being—He does not change His mind. When He speaks, He acts;
when He makes a promise, He fulfills it”].
-
Isaiah
55:11: “So shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to
Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in
the thing for which I sent it” [Modern Translation: “So also is My word that
goes out from My mouth: it will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish
what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”; Common
Translation: “So it is with the word that goes out of My mouth: it will not
return to Me without accomplishing its mission, but will succeed in doing what
I sent it to do”].
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