新视域的力量
遗忘那重要的分享

经文
玛拉基书三13-18
13耶和华说:你们用话顶撞我,你们还说:我们用甚么话顶撞了你呢?
14你们说:事奉神是徒然的,遵守神所吩咐的,在万军之耶和华面前苦苦斋戒,有甚么益处呢?
15如今我们称狂傲的人为有福,并且行恶的人得建立;他们虽然试探神,却得脱离灾难。
16那时,敬畏耶和华的彼此谈论,耶和华侧耳而听,且有记念册在他面前,记录那敬畏耶和华、思念他名的人。
17万军之耶和华说:在我所定的日子,他们必属我,特特归我。我必怜恤他们,如同人怜恤服事自己的儿子。
18那时你们必归回,将善人和恶人,事奉神的和不事奉神的,分别出来。
信息分享
虽然诗篇七十三篇让我们看到诗人受到疑惑困扰,但他仍然以得胜的语调开始这首诗歌:「神实在恩待以色列那些清心的人。」一般的讲员总是把结论留到讲道结束时才说出来,但在这里,诗人却以结论来开始!有些人可能觉得诗人以结论来开始显得有点奇怪,但这在诗篇是相当常见的。原因是:诗人那么确信神是良善的,所以他决定要从那儿开始他的诗歌。他好像在告诉我们说:「我要告诉你我是如何由疑惑迈向信靠的,但此刻我所希望你明白的是:神是良善的。」
有些解经家相信在圣殿的敬拜过程中,有公开见证和崇拜的时间,就好像古老的循道会聚会一样,个别的弟兄姊妹向其他信徒作见证,讲述神怎样与他们相交。这其实是建立教会的属灵生命其中一个最有力的方法,但可惜今天似乎很少教会会这样做。
如果这首诗歌是诗人在崇拜时的见证,我们可以想像,当诗人讲述他怎样从受疑惑困扰,到对神的良善重新充满信心时,会给听众带来多大的激励。在基督徒的生命中,如果能够彼此分享那些帮助他们战胜信心危机的属灵原则,还有甚么比这些分享更加能够激励人心?如果我们忽略这个原则,我们的灵性亦会处于险境。
「神是良善的」
进深研究
约三25-36,五39,十五26;徒二十24
1 你上次公开见证神的良善是在甚么时候?
2 下次会是甚么时候?
祈祷
天父,求您让我们清楚看到,分享您在我们生命中所成就的大事,不单启发和激励我们,并且能够坚固基督的身体。每当我们遗忘了这重要的事情时,求您帮助我们懂得如何去让它恢复。奉耶稣的名求,阿们。
The Power of a New Perspective
A lost emphasis

Bible reading:
Malachi 3:13-18
13 "You have spoken arrogantly against me," says the Lord. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?'
14 "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty?
15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.'"
16 Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.
17 "On the day when I act," says the Lord Almighty, "they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.
18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.
Message
Although in Psalm 73 the psalmist is beset by doubt, he begins, nevertheless, on a triumphant note: "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart." Preachers usually leave their conclusion until the end of their sermon - but here the psalmist begins with it! It might seem strange to some that the psalmist should begin with a conclusion, but this is often seen in the book of Psalms. And the reason is this: the psalmist is so convinced of the fact that God is good that he decides to start right there. It is as if he is saying: "I want to tell you how I moved from doubt to faith, but the thing I want you to get right away is this: God is good."
Some commentators believe that in the Temple services there was a time of open testimony and worship, similar to that which featured in the old Methodist class meetings, when individuals gave testimonies to their fellow believers of God's dealings with them. This is one of the most powerful ways of building the spiritual life of the Church, but regrettably it does not seem to be widely practised today.
If this psalm was part of the psalmist's testimony during an open time of worship, one can imagine the impact it would have made upon the hearers as he related how he emerged from crippling doubt to renewed confidence in the goodness of God. I know of nothing more motivating in the Christian life than for believers to identify and share the spiritual principles which have enabled them to overcome attacks on their faith. When we ignore this principle we do so at our peril.
"God is good"
Prayer
O Father, show us clearly how sharing with each other what You are doing in our lives not only inspires and motivates us, but greatly strengthens the Body. Help us restore this lost emphasis wherever it is missing. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Further study
John 3:25-36; 5:39; 15:26
Acts 20:24
1. When was the last time you publicly testified to the goodness of God?
2. When will be the next time?
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