从天上赐下的复兴
复兴的明确标记

经文
诗篇三十二1-11
1(大卫的训诲诗。)得赦免其过、遮盖其罪的,这人是有福的!
2凡心里没有诡诈、耶和华不算为有罪的,这人是有福的!
3我闭口不认罪的时候,因终日唉哼而骨头枯干。
4黑夜白日,你的手在我身上沉重;我的精液耗尽,如同夏天的干旱。(细拉)
5我向你陈明我的罪,不隐瞒我的恶。我说:我要向耶和华承认我的过犯,你就赦免我的罪恶。(细拉)
6为此,凡虔诚人都当趁你可寻找的时候祷告你;大水泛溢的时候,必不能到他那里。
7你是我藏身之处;你必保佑我脱离苦难,以得救的乐歌四面环绕我。(细拉)
8我要教导你,指示你当行的路;我要定睛在你身上劝戒你。
9你不可像那无知的骡马,必用嚼环辔头勒住他;不然,就不能驯服。
10恶人必多受苦楚;惟独倚靠耶和华的必有慈爱四面环绕他。
11你们义人应当靠耶和华欢喜快乐;你们心里正直的人都当欢呼。
信息分享
昨天,我们谈到「复兴祷告」的第五个特点,就是悔罪。现在我们已经明白,在复兴之前,神的百姓祷告的特点是承认自己的罪,以及渴望与所有已知的罪断绝。我在1958年到访南韩期间,见过与这最有力的见证。相信你也知道,韩国在60年代初经历了宗教复兴,而我到访的那一年,虽然人们已极之渴望复兴的来临,但教会仍不能说是复兴。
有一天清早我去参加了一个零晨四时的祷告会。当我进入祷告会场(一间学校的大礼堂)的时候,我就意识到将要见证一些不寻常的事情。会场里有一大群人,每个人的脸上都带着敬畏和专注的表情。他们没有唱诗;忽然间在一个讯号发出以后,大家就都跪下来祷告。刚开始的时候他们都很安静,但是很快的大家就开始高声祈求,一个接着一个,在短短的几秒钟内,众人的声浪进入了高峰但是忽然又停了下来。然后有一位男士开始以高音调说话,我的传译员告诉我他在承认自己的罪和国家的罪。我没有办法以语言来充分描述他声音里所带出的强烈感情,他似乎被哭泣的痛苦和悔疚紧紧的抓着,而就在那几分钟之内,同样的悔罪的灵进入了每个人的心里,包括我自己在内。
我离开韩国时意识到自己已经见证了灵性复兴的初期,所以后来我听到复兴在韩国发生时完全不感到意外,因为复兴的标记一早已告诉了我。
「渴望与自己所知道的罪断绝」
进深研究
路十五1-21;箴二十八13;约壹一9
1. 浪子如何显出痛悔?
2. 认罪带来甚么结果?
祈祷
天父,求您帮助我永不要忘记您的名字叫耶稣,是您拯救了您的百姓脱离罪恶。我知道我已经得救,但现在我再要祈求您拯救我到底。奉基督的名祈求,阿们。
Heaven-Sent Revival
A sure sign of revival

Bible reading:
Psalm 32:1-11
1 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.[b]
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord." And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!
Message
We are seeing that prior to revival the prayers of God's people are characterised by contrition and a desire to break with all known sin. The closest I have ever come to witnessing this came during a visit to South Korea in 1958. As you know, Korea has been experiencing religious revival since the beginning of the 60s, but in the year that I was there, although the people were greatly expectant, the Church could not be described as being in revival.
One morning I participated in a 4 am prayer meeting. As I entered the prayer venue - a large school assembly hall - I was conscious that I was about to witness something unusual. The place was crowded and there was a tense reverent expression of attention on every face. There was no singing and at a given signal people knelt for prayer. At first there was silence but soon the people began to pray aloud, one after the other, until within seconds their voices became a crescendo which then stopped as suddenly as it had begun. A man's voice rose in high-pitched tones and my interpreter told me that he was confessing his sins and the sins of the nation. No words of mine can adequately describe the intensity that was in his voice, the agony of his sobs and the penitence that seemed to grip him. Within minutes the same spirit of penitence swept through every heart in the audience - my own included.
I came away from Korea sensing that I had witnessed the first stages of a spiritual revival. When later I heard that revival had broken out I was not surprised. The signs had told me so.
"Desire to break with all known sin"
Prayer
O Father, help me never forget that Your Name is called Jesus because You save Your people from their sins. I know I am saved but now I ask - save me to the uttermost. In Christ's Name I pray. Amen.
Further study
Luke 15:1-21
Proverbs 28:131
John 1:9
1. How did the prodigal son show penitence?
2. What is the result of confessing sin?
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