Study Notes available in English and Chinese translations.
The news has been filled for months about places all over the world in which people are being persecuted. What doesn't make it into the news very often is that Christians are consistently the targets of the persecution. Some suggest that the persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world is reaching levels never before experienced in history. This news rarely makes it into the media. Bishops across Africa and parts of Europe have issued statements this month highlighting the violence and discrimination that Christians are experiencing in many places in our world saying that "the International Community needs to quit shutting its eyes to what is happening, to see and admit the violence specifically targeted against Christians, and seek to bring an end to a growing global crisis." They said that even other Christian communities seem to be "half-hearted and pretending not to see."
English
Do not be afraid
Revelation 2:8-11
The news has been filled for months about places all over the world in which people are being persecuted. What doesn't make it into the news very often is that Christians are consistently the targets of the persecution. Some suggest that the persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world is reaching levels never before experienced in history. This news rarely makes it into the media. Bishops across Africa and parts of Europe have issued statements this month highlighting the violence and discrimination that Christians are experiencing in many places in our world saying that "the International Community needs to quit shutting its eyes to what is happening, to see and admit the violence specifically targeted against Christians, and seek to bring an end to a growing global crisis." They said that even other Christian communities seem to be "half-hearted and pretending not to see."
So, let's open our eyes today both to the God who is sovereign over this world as well as to the reality of the persecution of his people that has happened in history and is happening now. By God's providence, we come to what I think is the best passage in Scripture to help us know how we should live in the light of the pressures that so many face in our world, i.e., Jesus' letter to the persecuted church in Smyrna, the city now called Izmir. Let me tell you what was happening in that city.
What Was Happening in Smyrna
Ancient Smyrna is known to have been among the most attractive places to live in the first century. The quality of life must have been extraordinarily high. By all accounts, it was a beautiful city: a magnificent harbor, spacious streets, stunning architecture, even one of the best climates. It must have been a bit like Santa Barbara, CA. In fact, the tourists who went there gave Smyrna the title, "The Glory of Asia."
Yet, for this little group of Christians who lived in Smyrna, it was a cruel city because they were undergoing pressure so great that they must have felt like it would crush them. Here's what was happening: Not many years before Jesus dictated these letters, six cities vied with one another for the privilege of erecting a new temple dedicated to the Emperor Tiberius of Rome. Guess which city won? Smyrna.
By the end of the first century, when Revelation was written, the worship of the emperor became law in Smyrna. Citizens who went into the temples to offer incense had to say, "Caesar is Lord". When they did, they were given a certificate verifying they had done it. Those who wouldn't do it would not only be viewed as irreligious. No, they were regarded as traitors, as enemies of the nation.
Are you beginning to see what it was like in Smyrna? There was no way that any genuine Christian would burn incense to "Lord Caesar" for Caesar was not Lord. Jesus alone is Lord. True Christians in Smyrna decided that they were determined make huge personal sacrifices rather than call anyone "Lord" other than Jesus. And so, it was inevitable that it was in Smyrna, where this Emperor worship so strong, that Christians came under severe attacks.
Jesus used three words to describe the difficulties Christians were facing there. The first was "persecution" or tribulation. This word in v. 9 literally means "under heavy pressure." It's the kind of pressure that we might see when a car is crushed. We say today, "I've been under a lot of pressure lately." Well, that was the situation of these Christians in Smyrna. They lived under constant psychological strain. Any day, the knock might come on the door. There would be a demand to see the certificate that they had worshiped Caesar – resulting in the humiliation of being dragged through the streets to stand trial for treason.
And that reality almost certainly contributed to the second hardship at Smyrna, i.e., poverty. The Greek has two words for being poor one means you have nothing to spare while the second means you have nothing at all. Jesus used the second word in v.9. These Christians, living in an affluent city, were reduced to living in destitution. "Living by faith" wasn't for them a religious cliché. It was a necessity because they had absolutely nothing. Career prospects? For a Christian in Smyrna? You must be joking! The only positions open to them were slavery and begging.
And then, on top of all this, there was a third burden they had to bear, i.e., slander. I will come back to this later. But, let me simply tell you that those they might have counted upon most for support were the very ones accusing them wrongfully. Bottom line: Christians had no place to go to find help in Smyrna.
So, Jesus wrote them a letter in the midst of their persecution. The letter has several applications to us.
#1: Preparing God's people for persecution
These faithful Christians were under enormous pressure. Note this: The church in Smyrna is only one of two letters in which Jesus has no criticism at all for the church. Clearly, these were good and godly people. Some of us may wonder, "Didn't Jesus know it? Why did he let this happen?" And the answer is clearly, "Yes, he knew." And he also knew that, from a human perspective, their situation would get worse. Jesus told them in v. 10 that they soon would suffer much more. He told them also that the devil was going to find a way to get them thrown into prison. And he told them that they would have to be faithful even unto death.
So, in our human way of thinking, we usually believe God is answering prayer when he takes our troubles away. But, Jesus said that this kind of thinking is incomplete. He taught that a part of our calling might be to go into difficult places and experience difficult things and, while doing so, be faithful to him. Jesus wrote this letter to get his people prepared to live courageously and faithfully through the trouble that was ahead. And I think a part of my role as a pastor is to get you ready to think and live "Christianly" for whatever comes into your life in the future.
Many have said that the "messenger/angel" in 2:9 who read this letter to the church was none other than a man named Polycarp. He would have been about 25 years old at the time. 61 years later, Bishop Polycarp was seized by the authorities in Smyrna and called upon to recant his faith in Jesus. With confidence and without flinching, he knew what to do and he knew what to say. People attending his interrogation recorded his words. "He called on me to be faithful unto death. 86 years have I served Jesus and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme the King who saved me?" And Polycarp was killed for his faith.
You see, Jesus words here in Revelation 2:9-11 had laid a foundation for Polycarp's life. They had set him on a path for life that, when death came, Polycarp knew what to do. What did Jesus teach him? I can only show you briefly. What we see here is a Jesus-centered faith and Jesus-centered perspective on the world. I ask you to consider this way of looking at the world. Consider it carefully and with much prayer.
#1: "I am the first and the last (2:8)." There is an order and purpose to all that happens in this world.
Jesus taught that what happens is not random or coincidental. Here, he says that he is the one through whom all was created in the first place and he will have the last word as well. His last word found in Revelation 21-22 is that all will be made new – and that it will be very good again. Therefore, he is saying in this phrase that what is happening now in the middle of history is his too. We should find comfort in that truth when we know who Jesus is. However, many people become very confused when Jesus himself says that a part of his work allows for suffering, imprisonment and death. But, in this first phrase, Jesus is asking you to believe that he knows what he is doing when he allows us to go through trials. Do you?
#2: "I died and came to life (2:8)." Jesus is in control of all that happens.
When you remember that Jesus experienced the worst in this evil-filled world – even death – and overcame it through his resurrection, then you should also be able to grasp that he can bring victory out of whatever this world throws at you – unemployment, sickness, imprisonment and even your own death. Jesus' point is that even the worst thing in this world will not last forever. Did you notice v.10? "The devil is about to throw you into prison... and for 10 days you will have tribulation." You know the devil would want that to last forever. But, tribulation will not last forever. Yes, physical death will come but -- see v. 11 -- you will not experience the Second Death. You will never die to God. You have eternal life. Jesus is saying, "The reason is because I, the crucified and now resurrected Jesus, am your Lord and Savior."
#3: I know your tribulation, poverty and the slander...(2:9)." Jesus is not distant from you. He knows.
He knows what you're going through. He knows why he's letting it happen. He knows what he's going to bring out of this situation. He knows how he will make all things just in his time.
#4: "I will give you the crown of life (2:10)." Being faithful to Jesus is worth whatever it costs.
I really should say more than that. It's more than just "worth it". Jesus is saying you find your life – you discover what life is all about -- when you follow Jesus wherever he leads you.
So, let me ask you two questions:
What do you think it means to follow Jesus? To get him to do what you want? To have him take away all your troubles? Following Jesus means being willing to follow him wherever he leads. For these Christians in Smyrna, it meant the loss of their security, the loss of their wealth, the loss of their popularity, the loss of their reputation, the loss of their freedom and it would eventually mean for some, the loss of their lives. You need to know this. You need to be ready to name Jesus as Savior no matter what the world may do to you.
If you lived in Smyrna, would you have been a Christian? Be honest. If not there, what makes you think you really are a Christian in these easier times here? I fear for people who seem ready to leave the church when no one speaks to them or when they found the sermon a bit boring.
I think something terrible has happened in the way modern American Christians think about our faith. We've presented our faith as being something the early Christians would never have believed possible. We've tried to make it easy. Comfortable. Status Quo. Unexciting. We've even made it safe. But when you embark on following Christ, it's the beginning of the greatest adventure possible a sometimes-dangerous adventure in which we often live counter to the world's ways. That's the challenge of being a Jesus-follower: You are to give your life to Jesus and to be faithful to him no matter what happens.
So, it's all about Jesus and the question you will constantly have to ask yourself is this: Do I trust him? If so, you need to follow him wherever he takes you. He simply says this: "Do not be afraid (2:10a)." Be faithful even unto death (2:10b)." "Never forget that I know..."
Jesus taught these things and the young Polycarp was ready for whatever the world threw at him. I want you to be as prepared to be faithful to Jesus as he was no matter what happens in your world.
#2: Standing with the global persecuted church
Not all the churches mentioned in Revelation 2-3 were going through persecution. The church in Laodicea, in fact, was quite wealthy and doing quite well. One of the messages of the New Testament however, is that when one church is suffering, other churches should stand with them in prayer and support.
And, we here in the USA are not yet in a time in which we are a church persecuted like the church in Smyrna. However, brother and sister churches in Christ are going through persecution in our day that, in many ways, is at least as intense as anything that happened in Bible times. Perhaps you say, "Pastor Greg, I never hear about how Christians in other parts of the world are persecuted." Frankly, I cannot comprehend why there seems to be a cone of silence around the fact that churches are being burned, pastors are being imprisoned, and Christians are being slaughtered in many places in our world.
What do I want you to do? I would like you first to become aware of what is happening. You may not hear anything about what's happening in the mainstream news. But, there are some website that I recommend highly to you:
www.persecution.org -- (I will have this streaming while I speak of what is in the news on the day I preach.)
www.persecution.com -- Associated with Voice of the Martyrs, founded by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand.
www.opendoorsusa.org -- A ministry going back to the great work of Brother Andrew.
Then as you become aware, make a commitment to pray daily for the persecuted church as the Holy Spirit prompts you. Pastor Scott White has visited many of the places where the church is being persecuted and he reports that consistently the church members have one major request, "Please pray for us, and especially for our children."
I imagine there will be other ways that can stand with our persecuted brothers and sisters when we are not experiencing persecution. But consider the words of one Pakistani pastor: "Our people have been killed. No one seems to care." I want to be sure we care about and for the persecuted church. Let us pray for what Jesus asked: That they will not fear, that they will be faithful to him, and that they will know that he is near.
#3: Bringing blessing to those under great pressure in our own neighborhood
There is one more thing we should be doing when we are not experiencing the kinds of persecution the Christians in Smyrna were experiencing. We should be a Christ-centered community offering the love and help of Jesus to those in trouble in our own neighborhood. This comes out in a verse that has caused Bible readers a lot of confusion over the years: 2:9b: "I know the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." Throughout the centuries people have used those words to persecute Jewish people -- including in Nazi Germany. Some have read them and said that Jesus and John the Apostle were anti-Semitic. But that's a misreading. In particular, Jesus and John were not anti-Semitic. No, they were Semites! They were Jewish! So, what's going on in this text?
There was a significant Jewish community in Smyrna. In fact, many of the most successful business owners were Jewish. At that time, in Smyrna and throughout the Roman Empire, the Jewish people had a special privilege. Because of their religious heritage, they – and they alone – were exempt from having to worship the Emperor. For a number of years the Christian churches were also exempt because the government viewed them as being a branch of Judaism. But in Smyrna, the Jewish community did not like that and they became the main accusers of the Christian people.
What Jesus is saying in his strong words is that true Jews were established by God to further his purposes and reflect his ways. But, in Smyrna, they were doing the opposite. That's what Jesus meant by them becoming a "synagogue of Satan". Did you know that the word "Satan" literally means "accuser". Here, Jesus is saying that those who should be providing support for God's people had become the main accusers of God's people. Can you imagine how hard it was for Christians, many of whom were of Jewish heritage themselves, to run to a synagogue to find support and help? Then, when they went into the synagogue for help, they found the people there to be their main accusers. Let me tell you this: Some of the deepest psychological damage happens to children when they run to their families in times of feeling pressure from gangs or from other forces, only to find their own family is a place of abuse. That's what was happening to Christians in Smyrna. The very people whom they counted on for support had become the people who slandered them.
So, here we are here in Southern California living in one of those rare times in which we are not persecuted for being a Christ-centered church. We are not thrown into prison for saying "Jesus and Jesus alone is Lord." Not yet. We are living in a place of privilege and blessing. Jesus' call is to be stewards of our privileges and blessings in times like we are experiencing as the church in the US to help those in our neighborhood in the midst of their times of great pressure (in ways that the privileged Jewish community did not do in Smyrna). I want hurting people in our area to know that when they walk up the entry to that church with the big cross towering over the 210, that they will find people of compassion – not accusers.
When we experience times of God's blessing, we should pass that blessing on to the world around us. My conviction is that, when we have the opportunity and resources to do so, our church should be a place of refuge as God is a God of refuge (Psalm 46:1).
Now, Nancy Stiles, the Executive Director of the Lake Avenue Community Foundation, will come and tell us a few ways we might be able to fulfill that calling...
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
title="Chinese
士每拿教會:不要害怕
09/29/13
《啟示錄》2:8-11
幾個月來,新聞裡充斥著世界各地的人們被迫害的消息。這些事件常常不能成為新聞,是因為基督徒一貫是被迫害的目標。有些人認為對主內弟兄姐妹的這些迫害,是史無前例的。這些事件很少在媒體披露。非洲和歐洲的部分主教本月發表聲明,強調基督徒在我們這個世界的很多地方遭到暴力和歧視。他們說,“國際社會不應對此視而不見,眼睜睜地讓這些專門針對基督徒的暴力事件發生,應當努力結束這種正在增長的全球危機。”他們還說,甚至其他基督徒團體似乎也是漠不關心,視而不見。 因此,今天,讓我們睜開眼睛,來看看掌管這個世界的神,也看看那歷史上所發生過的、對祂的百姓的迫害,這些迫害如今仍在發生。依靠神的引導,我們來到今天的經文,我認為這是最好的經文段落。它能幫助我們明白,面對當前世界的眾多壓力,我們該如何生活——看看耶穌在寫給受迫害的士每拿教會的信裡是如何說的。士每拿就是現在土耳其的Izmir。我來告訴你那裡發生了什麼。
士每拿發生了什麼
古代的士每拿在西元一世紀對人們很有吸引力,那裡生活水準很高。據說,它是座美麗的城市:是一個大港口,有寬闊的街道,漂亮的建築,且氣候宜人。有點像加州的Santa Barbara。而觀光客給士每拿冠以“亞細亞的榮耀”之美名。 然而,因為有一小群基督徒居於此地,士每拿卻又成了殘暴的城市,因為這群基督徒經歷了極大的壓力,他們感到自己快要被壓碎了。下面是這個城市發生的事情:在耶穌寫這封信的若干年前,有六個城市爭奪為羅馬皇帝提庇留設立新廟的特權。猜猜最後誰得到了?士每拿。 在西元一世紀末,當《啟示錄》被撰寫時,在士每拿,敬拜皇帝被寫入法律。進入廟裡燒香的公民,必須說:“凱撒是主。”當他們這樣做的時候,就會獲得一個證明,表明他們做這件事了。那些不做的,不僅被視為不敬虔,還會被當做叛國者,是國家的敵人。 你是不是開始明白士每拿是什麼樣子了?任何真正的基督徒不會向“主凱撒”燒香——因為他不是主。只有耶穌是主。在士每拿的真基督徒寧可付出巨大犧牲,也不願稱基督以外的任何人是“主”。因此,在士每拿這個強力敬拜皇帝的地方,基督徒就處在嚴厲的打壓之下。 耶穌用了三個詞來描述士每拿基督徒所面臨的困難。第一個是“迫害”或者苦難。這個詞在第9節,意思是“在重壓之下”。當一輛轎車被撞時,我們可以看到這種重壓。我們今天會說:“我最近一直在很多壓力之下。”那就是士每拿這些基督徒所面臨的狀況。他們始終處在心理壓力之下。敲門聲隨時會響起,被要求出示證明,表明他們已經敬拜過凱撒——如果沒有,他們會被拉到街上,接受因“叛國”所帶來的審判,並受到羞辱。 在士每拿,還存在第二種艱難,就是貧窮。希臘語有兩個詞來形容貧窮——一個是沒有剩餘,一個是一無所有。耶穌在第9節用的是第二個詞。這些住在富裕城市的基督徒,卻生活在貧困之中。或許,他們一開始就不富有。但是,他們的財產被當局充公,或者被一些強盜搶走,而政府並不懲罰這些強盜,並且說:“他們只是偷了基督徒而已”——這兩種原因使士每拿的基督徒陷入貧困。 “靠信心而活”對他們來說,不是宗教的說辭,而是真實的需要,因為他們真的一無所有。職業前景?對士每拿的基督徒?你在開玩笑!對他們來說,只有做奴隸或者乞討。 除了這些,他們不得不忍受第三個重擔——譭謗。我待會兒會講這個。在這裡我簡單告訴你,他們想仰賴的人,卻是一幫經常指責他們的人。要點:在士每拿,基督徒找不到幫助。 因此,耶穌在他們受迫害的時候,給他們寫了一封信。這封信有幾個地方值得我們效法。
#1: 神的百姓要為受逼迫做好準備
這些忠實的基督徒處在重壓之下。請注意:耶穌有兩封信裡沒有批評教會,士每拿教會是其中之一。很明顯,這是一些善良、敬虔的人。我們當中有的人會問:“耶穌知道這些事情嗎?祂為什麼會讓這些事情發生?”答案很清楚,“是的,祂知道。”祂也知道,從人的角度,他們的情況會越來越糟。耶穌在第10節告訴他們,他們會經歷更大的患難。祂還告訴他們,魔鬼將想方設法把他們關進監獄。祂告訴他們,要至死忠心。 以人類的思維,我們通常會認為神會回應我們的禱告,將我們的麻煩除去。但是耶穌說這種想法是不完全的。祂教導說,我們蒙召的一部分,就是要進到困難的環境,經歷困難的事情,而這樣做的的時候,要對主忠心。耶穌寫這封信,是讓祂的百姓預備以勇敢和信心度過前面的困境。我認為,一個牧師的角色的一部分,就是幫助你準備好,無論將來你遇到什麼困難,都能像基督徒那樣思考和生活。 很多人說,在2:9中向教會讀這封信的“使者/天使”是一個叫坡旅甲的人。那時他大約25歲。61年後,坡旅甲主教被士每拿當局逮捕,要他放棄對耶穌的信仰。他信心滿滿,毫不畏縮,他知道該怎麼做、怎麼說。參加他的庭審過程的人記得他的話:“祂號召我們至死忠心。我服事耶穌86年,祂沒有錯待過我。我怎麼能褻瀆救我的王呢?”坡旅甲因他的信仰被殺。 你看,耶穌在《啟示錄》2:9-11中的話,成了坡旅甲生命的根基。它讓坡旅甲在面對死亡時,知道該如何做。耶穌教給他什麼?我只能簡要地給你看看。我們所看到的,是一個以耶穌為中心的信仰,和以耶穌為中心的世界觀。我請你考慮以這種觀點來看世界,仔細思考並多禱告。
#1: “我是首先的,也是末後的(2:8)。”世界上所發生的一切事情都有次序和目的。 耶穌教導說,事情不是隨機的、偶然的。在這兒,祂說祂是首先的,萬有都借著祂而造,祂還有最後的話。祂最後的話,在《啟示錄》21-22章中可以找到,說萬物都會被更新——一切都會重新成為美好。並且,祂在這句話裡表明,現在所發生的事情,是整個歷史進程中的一部分,也是由祂掌管的。如果我們知道耶穌是誰,我們應該從這真理得到安慰。然而,當耶穌自己說,祂的工作的一部分是受苦、監禁、死亡的時候,很多人感到困惑。但是,通過這句話,耶穌要你相信,當祂允許我們經歷試煉的時候,祂知道自己在做什麼。你相信嗎?
#2: “我死了,並且復活了 (2:8)。”耶穌掌管萬事。 當你記起耶穌經歷了這個邪惡世界的最壞的事——甚至死亡——並且通過祂的復活勝過了世界,你也應該明白,祂也能夠勝過這個世界所加給你的東西——失業、疾病、坐牢和你自己的死亡。耶穌的觀點是,即使是世界上最壞的事,也不會永遠存在。你注意到第10節了嗎?“魔鬼要把你們下在監裡……你們必受患難十日。”你知道魔鬼想要把患難持續下去。但是患難不會永遠存在。是的,身體的死亡會到來,但是,請看11節,你不會經歷第二次的死。你將永遠不再死。你有了永生。耶穌說:“這是因為我,被釘十字架且復活的耶穌,是你的主和救主。”
#3:“我知道你的患難,你的貧窮 ,( 你卻是富足的)也知道那自稱是猶太人所說的譭謗話 …(2:9)”。耶穌離你並不遠,祂知道你的一切。 祂知道你正在經歷的苦難;祂知道允許你經歷苦難的原因;祂也知道你經歷苦難後將產生的果子;祂還知道如何使所有這些事發生得“恰逢其時”。
#4:“我就賜給你那生命的冠冕(2:10)。”持守耶穌的信念,值得為之付出一切。 我要說的不止這些,遠遠超過“值得”。耶穌說你可以找到生命——無論祂帶領你去到何處,你都緊緊跟隨耶穌——這時你就找到了生命的真諦。 所以,讓我來問你兩個問題:
#1:對你而言,“跟隨耶穌”意味著什麼?唱詩時胸中湧動的暖流?還是一場令你有新的看見的講道?這些都是真的。相信我,是真的。 “追隨耶穌”意味著無論祂怎樣帶領,都願意順服。對於那些士每拿的基督徒而言,這意味著失去安全,失去財富,失去社交圈(朋友) ,失去名譽(被誹謗),失去自由,某些人甚至要失去生命。你需要瞭解這些。無論這個世界如何對待你,你都要稱耶穌為救主。 #2:如果你處在士每拿,你還會做基督徒嗎?老實講,如果不在那裡而是在安全舒適的環境,你怎樣看待“自己是否是真正的基督徒”?有些人僅僅因為沒有人與之交談,或者對講道不甚感興趣而決定離開教會。 我認為當今的美國基督徒對基督教的認識有些可怕的誤區。我們用某種早期基督徒不可企及的事情來展示自己的信心。我們想要舒舒服服地當基督徒。舒適、安於現狀、輕輕鬆松。實際上,當你決心追隨耶穌之時,可能就是最大冒險的開端——有時是危險的旅程的開端,因為我們的生命不同於世俗方式。那是“成為基督徒”的挑戰。為了表明你的信心,無論未來發生什麼,你必須將生命主權交托耶穌。 你要不斷地問自己所有這些關於耶穌的問題:我信任祂嗎?如果你信任祂,無論祂將你帶往何方,你都得跟從。祂只是這麼應許我們:“不用怕(2:10a)…忠心至死(2:10b)”,“聽聖靈所說的話…並且順服(2:11)”。 耶穌教導了這些事情,而年輕的坡旅甲也為之做好準備,無論世界怎樣對待他。我希望你也準備好對耶穌忠心,無論你的世界裡發生了什麼。
#2:支持全球被迫害的教會。 並非《啟示錄》第二、第三章涉及的所有教會都受到迫害。事實上,老底嘉教會的境遇就相當好,相當富裕。新約的某些經文教導我們:當一個教會受難,其他的教會應當用禱告和實際的幫助來支援他們。 我們身處美國,也並非處於士每拿那樣受迫害的時期。然而,的確有一些兄弟姐妹的教會正在受到多方逼迫,其程度不亞於聖經所載。也許你會說:“葛列格牧師,我從沒聽說當今世界有什麼教會正在受迫害。”坦白說,我無法理解沉默——當我們面對這麼多地方的教會被焚燒,牧師被投監,基督徒被屠殺的事實。 我要求你們做什麼?我期待你們關注正在發生的事。在主流媒體,你也許是聽不到什麼。但是我要重重推薦幾個網站: www.persecution.org -- (當我預備講道,需要談及新聞時,我總要去流覽一下)。 www.persecution.com -- Richard Wurmbr牧師創立的“殉道者之聲”。 http://www.opendoorsusa.org -- Brother Andrew的福音傳播網站。 誠如你們意識到的,我們要為這些受迫害的教會天天禱告,就像聖靈催逼你一樣。Scott White牧師走訪過許多這樣受逼迫的教會。他報告說,這些教會的會眾們總是有一個祈求:“請為我們禱告,尤其是為孩子們禱告。” 在我們自身沒有遭受逼迫時,我想會有其他一些方式,讓我們可以和受逼迫的弟兄姊妹們站在一起。但請思考一下一位巴基斯坦牧師的話: “我們的人民被殺害,但似乎沒人在乎。”我希望我們一定要去關心受逼迫的教會。讓我們為著耶穌所要求的禱告:他們不會懼怕,他們會忠心於祂,他們知道祂就在身邊。
#3:將祝福帶給我們社區中那些承受巨大壓力的人們 在我們沒有遭受士每拿的基督徒們所遭受的那種逼迫時,還有一件事是我們應該做的。我們應當成為以基督為中心的社區,為我們社區中有困難的人們提供了耶穌的愛和幫助。這裡出現了一句困惑聖經讀者多年的經文。2:9 B:“也知道那自稱是猶太人所說的譭謗話,其實他們不是猶太人,乃是撒旦一會的人。”幾個世紀以來,人們使用這些話來迫害猶太人——包括納粹德國。有些人讀了這些經文說,耶穌和使徒約翰是反猶太人的。但是,這是一種誤讀。特別是耶穌和約翰,他們絕不會反猶太人。不,他們本身就是閃米特人!他們是猶太人!那麼,這句經文又是怎麼回事呢? 在士每拿有一個著名的猶太人社區。事實上,許多最成功的生意人都是猶太人。當時,在士每拿乃至整個羅馬帝國,猶太人享有一個特權。因為他們的宗教傳統,他們——只有他們——可以免于敬拜皇帝。有好些年,基督教教堂也免於敬拜,因為政府把它們看作是猶太教的一個分支。但是士每拿的猶太人社區並不是那樣,他們成了基督徒的主要控告者。 耶穌用激烈的措詞是想說,真正的猶太人是被神所立的,是為了成就神的旨意,彰顯神的道。但是在士每拿,他們所做的卻恰恰相反。這就是耶穌為甚麼說他們成了“撒旦一會的人” 。你知道嗎,“撒旦”這個詞的字面意思是“控告者”。這裡,耶穌是在說,這些本應當為神的子民提供幫助的人卻變成了控告上帝子民的罪魁禍首。你能想像到當時基督徒的處境有多困難嗎?他們跑去猶太會堂尋求支援和幫助,而且他們當中有許多人自己就是猶太人的後裔。然後,當他們走進會堂求助時,卻發現那裡的人是他們的主要控告者。讓我來告訴你:給孩子的心裡造成最深刻的傷害是,當他們受到來自幫派或其他勢力的欺壓而向他們的家人求助時,才發現自己的家是一個虐待兒童的地方。那就是士每拿基督徒們所遭遇的。那些他們認為最可靠、最能支持他們的人,變成了他們的譭謗者。 那麼,在這裡,在南加州,我們生活在一個難得的時代,在這裡我們不會因作為一個以基督為中心的教會而遭受逼迫。我們不會因為稱“耶穌,只有耶穌是主。 ”而被投入監獄。我們生活在一個享有特權和祝福的地方。耶穌呼召我們做特權和祝福的管家,在我們所經歷的時代,作為一個美國的教會,應該去幫助我們附近那些正在經受巨大壓力的人們(去做當時士每拿享有特權的猶太人社區沒有做的)。我希望我們這個地區中正在遭受傷害的人們知道,當他們走進這個位於210公路上高聳著大十字架的教會時,他們會發現一群富有同情心的人們-而不是控告者。 當我們經歷神的祝福時,我們應該將這祝福傳遞下去,傳給我們周圍的世界。我堅信,當我們有機會和資源來這樣做時,我們的教會將會是一個避難所,正如神是避難所一樣(詩篇46:1)。 現在,Nancy Stiles,LAC基金會執行主任將會告訴我們一些方法,借此也許我們可以去實現那個感召...
榮耀歸給神,
葛列格博士
主任牧師
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2013, Lake Avenue Church
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2013, Lake Avenue Church