Manna issue 81 - Whom God Uses in His Ministry (I) 神傳道時所用的人
God seeks those with a surrendered
heart and a rooted faith.
神尋找有順服之心和信仰根基的人
Clay Pot—California, USA
美國加州 瓦器
For the eyes of the Lord run to and
fro throughout the whole earth, to
show Himself strong on behalf of
those whose heart is loyal to Him.
(2 Chr 16:9a)
9耶和華的眼目遍察全地，要顯大能幫助向他心存誠實的人。
(代下 16：9a)
As part of the body of Christ, we
are all called to minister to God and to
our fellow members. We are His eyes,
His hands, and His feet. But the
question is, what kind of a person
does God actually use in His ministry?
The above verse says that God is
looking for people whose hearts are
loyal to Him. These are the people
whom He seeks to help, through
which He shows His great power. God
is looking for people whom He can
bless, honor, and use in a great way.
身為基督身體的一部份，我們大家都是被呼召來服事神，來服事其他的弟兄姐妹。
我們是祂的眼睛，祂的雙手，祂的雙腳。
但是問題是，神在事工上，到底祂真正要用的是那一種人？
上面的經節說，神在尋找忠心的人。
所以有些人，是神想要幫助的，
並且透過這樣，他可以彰顯自已偉大的能力。
神在尋找祂可以祝福，榮耀，並且承擔大任的人。
So we ought to examine ourselves
to see whether we can be used by
Him (Lam 3:40). The Bible says: “Take
heed to yourself and to the doctrine.
Continue in them, for in doing this
you will save both yourself and those
who hear you” (1 Tim 4:16). We must
carefully and continually evaluate
ourselves so that we can be molded
for the Lord’s use. When we are
refined, then we are ready to be used
by God.
所以我們應該省查自已，看看我們是不是能為神所用。
(哀 3：40)
聖經記載：
16你要謹慎自己和自己的教訓，要在這些事上恆心；因為這樣行，又能救自己，又能救聽你的人。
(提前 4：16)
我們一定要一直小心的衡量自已，
這樣才能被塑造為被主所用的樣式。
當我們經過精煉之後，那就準備好可以為主所用。
So what qualities make a person
useable by God?
所以是什麼樣的特質，才能讓人為神為用呢？
A SURRENDERED HEART 順服的心
A life surrendered into the hands of
the holy God is a marvelous thing.
The Bible describes surrender in a very
interesting way: when something is
surrendered to God completely, it is
described as “broken.”
順服神雙手安排的人生，是很奇妙的。
聖經用一種非常有趣的方式來形容順服：
完全順服神的時候，它的用字的"破碎"。
Used by God 為神所用
When God uses a broken vessel, it
represents someone who has
surrendered himself totally to God.
當神用破碎的器皿，這代表，
一個人完全順服神。
When Jesus fed the 5,000, He took
the bread, blessed it, broke it and
used it (Mt 14:19; Mk 6:41). This is
what God does in our lives. Just as
with the bread, Jesus will take us,
bless and “break” us, and use us for
His purpose. The hardest part is the
breaking, which happens when we
surrender our heart, when we submit
to God’s will and say: “Dear God,
whatever You want me to do with my
life, I will do. Whatever You want to
do in my life, I will accept.”
當耶穌餵飽5000人，祂拿起餅來，祝謝，剝餅，並分給大家。
(太 14：19；可 6：41)
這就是神在我們生活中所作的事。
就像餅的例子一樣，耶穌會拿起來，祝謝，把我們"打碎"。
然後才用我們來完成他想作的事。
最難的部份是要能夠打碎，只有當我們順服自已內心的時候，才會發生，
當我們順服順的旨意，並說：
"親愛的神，
無論你想要我的生命作什麼，我會順服。
無論你想要我的生命作什麼，我會接受。"
When Gideon led an attack on the
Midianite camp, God sent only 300
men out against 4,500. God told
them to surround the camp, and each
man to take three items into battle: a
trumpet, a clay pitcher, and a lit torch
to go inside the pitcher. At Gideon’s
signal, the men in his company blew
their trumpets at the same time and
broke their clay pitchers, sending the
bright beam of their torches into the
camp (Judg 7:19–20). The two other
companies followed suit: 300 men
blowing trumpets, breaking pitchers,
and wielding bright torches. The
enemies were thrown into mass
confusion and began attacking each
other. This is how God gave a
tremendous victory to Gideon and his
band of 300 soldiers. What would
have happened if the pitchers did not
break? There would have been no
light, there would have been no
victory.
當基甸對米甸人的營區發起攻擊的時候，
神只派300人出去打4500人。
神告訴他們要包圍營區，每個人帶三樣東西去戰鬥：
一隻號角，一個空瓶，點著的火把，藏在空瓶之中。
隨著基甸發生訊號，他們一起去的人都同時吹響號角，
打破空瓶，讓他們把火把的光照進營區。
(士 7：19-20)
其他二隊也如法炮製：
300個人同時吹角，打破瓶子，揮舞明亮的火把。
引起了敵人大大的混亂，彼此互相攻擊。
這就是神給基甸和跟隨他的300精兵，如何贏得巨大的勝利。
若是沒有打破瓶子，會發生何事呢？
不會有亮光，就不會有勝利了。
When the woman came to anoint
Jesus at the house of Simon the leper,
she broke the alabaster flask and
poured the expensive oil on Jesus’
head (Mk 14:3). When she broke the
flask, the fragrance would have filled
the room (cf. Jn 12:3). Unless the flask
is broken, there would be no
emanating fragrance.
耶穌在長大痲瘋的西門家裡坐席的時候，
有一個女人拿著一瓶香膏來，
她打破了真哪噠香膏，把這名貴的香膏澆在耶穌頭上。
(太 14：3)
當她打破玉瓶的時候，香味就會充滿整間房子。
(參考，約 12：3)
除非這個玉瓶破了，不然就會沒有散發出來的香味。
As with many things, Jesus is the
supreme example. In the Garden of
Gethsemane, He prayed: “Father, if it
is Your will, take this cup away from
Me; nevertheless not My will, but
Yours, be done” (Lk 22:42). Careful
study of the Old Testament reveals
that the cup is a metaphor for our
lives, and that it can be filled with a
variety of things. Our “cup” can be
filled with blessings and salvation (Ps
23:5; 116:13), or it can be filled with
wrath and judgment (Isa 51:17). In
fact, many Old Testament passages
use the metaphor of the cup as a
reference to God’s fierce judgment.
So as He prayed, Jesus knew the
agonizing pain that awaited Him, and
yet, He ended with “Not My will, but
Yours, be done.” This is total
submission.
對很多事情而言，耶穌就是最好的例子。
在客西馬尼園的時候，祂禱告說：
42說：父阿！你若願意，就把這杯撤去；然而，不要成就我的意思，只要成就你的意思。
(路 22：42)
若是認真的研究舊約，就會知道這杯就是我們生命的比喻，
而且杯子可以用來裝滿各樣的東西。
我們的"杯子"可以充滿很多祝福和拯救，
(詩 23：5；116：13)
或是也可以裝著神審判的憤怒。
(賽 51：17)
事實上，許多舊約的經節，用杯子來比喻神兇猛的審判。
所以就如他的禱告，耶穌知道那等著祂的極度痛苦，
然而，祂最後卻以"不要成就我的意思，只要成就你的意思。"
這就是全然的順服。
There will be a time in our lives
when we must go through our own
personal Gethsemane, a time when
we feel completely lost and alone,
unable to stem the flow of tears. This
is when we say to the Father: “Not
my will, not my ambition, not my
desire, but Thy will be done.” When
we have broken our own self-will and
our self-dependency, God will do
amazing things in our life.
在我們的生命中，將會有一段時候，
那時我們一定要經歷自已個人的客西馬尼園，
就是那段當我們覺得完全迷失狐單的時候，
而且不能阻止流下眼淚來。
這就是當我們向天父說：
"不要成就我的意思，不要成就我的野心，不要成就我的慾望，
但願你的旨意可以成全。"
當我們已經打破自已的個人意志和依賴自已的情況，
神就會在我們的生命中，行出奇妙的事情。
Sought by God 尋求神
God also looks for a broken heart, but
not in a romantic sense.
神也尋找破碎的心，
但不是以浪漫的方式尋找。
When David, the author of Psalm
51, committed adultery and was
confronted by Nathan, he
acknowledged his sins (2 Sam 12:13)
and repented, submitting himself to
the word of God’s prophet. Samson
led most of his life relying on his own
strength. After the Philistines captured
him, he could no longer save himself
by his own might. Strung between
two pillars, the blinded Samson finally
humbled himself and prayed. And
that was when God answered him.
詩篇51篇的作者，大衛當他犯姦淫，
並且受到拿單先知的質疑，
他就承認自已有罪，
(撒下 12：13)
並且悔改，自已服從神先知所說的話。
參孫他整個大部份的日子裡，都依靠自已的力量。
腓利士人抓到他之後，他就不再能夠用自已的力量來救自已。
最後被綁在二根柱子之間，瞎子參孫終於謙卑自已，並且向神禱告。
那就是神回應他禱告的時候。
When we have committed sin
against God, and we acknowledge
our wrongs and repent wholeheartedly,
that is when we are broken before
God. Such broken hearts are sought
by God. As David himself
acknowledges, “The sacrifices of God
are a broken spirit, a broken and a
contrite heart—these, O God, You
will not despise” (Ps 51:17).
當我們犯罪得罪神的時候，
我們承認自已的錯誤，全心全意來悔改，
那就是我們在神面前打破自已內心的時候。
這樣破碎的心，是為神所喜愛的。
就像大衛自已所認同的，
17神所要的祭就是憂傷的靈；神啊，憂傷痛悔的心，你必不輕看。
(詩 51：17)
Trained by God 為神所訓練
On the other hand, being broken is
not always a result of sin. Sometimes,
God will break us to strengthen our
faith, and train us to rely on Him
instead of our own strength. The Bible
describes how Jacob wrestled with
God all night. Until then, his faith had
not been his own. Yes, he knew of his
father’s faith, but he was only living
out the faith of his parents; his own
faith did not mature until after the
wrestling match. And he not only
walked away with a personal faith,
but also with a permanent limp to
remind him of his weakness.
另一方面，打破內心不總是因為犯罪的原因。
有時候，神會打破我們來加添我們的信心，
訓練我們來依靠祂，而不是依靠自已的力量。
聖經記載了，雅各整夜與神摔跤。
在那個時候，他的信仰還不是屬於他自已的信仰。
是的，他知道自已父親的信仰，
但是他只是過著與自已父母相同信仰的日子；
他自已的信仰還不成熟，直到他和神經過那場摔跤比賽之後。
他離開了那裡，不只開始自已的信仰，
而且也瘸了一條腿，來提醒自已很軟弱。
How many times have we truly
wrestled with God, the way Jacob
did? Do you know your God? We all
need a divine wrestling match with
God, and He will touch us, just as He
touched Jacob’s hip. We will not be
the same person we once were. If we
wish to be used by God, we must
surrender and be broken.
我們到底有幾次真正和神摔跤，就像雅各所作的一樣呢？
你真的認識你所信的神嗎？
我們全部都需要和神，有一場屬天的摔跤比賽，
祂會碰觸我們，就像是祂摸了雅各的屁股一樣。
我們將不會像過去那樣。
若我們希望能為神所用，
就一定要順服，並且打破自已。
A ROOTED FAITH 札根的信仰
The second quality that God seeks in
His workers is a faith rooted in Him.
This is when a person believes in
God’s word and reflects this in his
behavior. The Bible tells us that
“without faith is it impossible to
please Him” and “whatever is not
from faith is sin” (Heb 11:6; Rom
14:23). This means that faith must
underlie every action, every work,
carried out by a worker of God. And
with a firmly rooted faith, a worker
can do great things for God.
神要祂工人所擁有的第二個特質就是，
信仰能札根在祂身上。
這就是人相信了神的話，並且反應神的話在他的行為上。
聖經告訴我們，
6人非有信，就不能得神的喜悅；
而且
23凡不出於信心的都是罪。
(來 11：6；羅 14：23)
這代表了，每一個行為，工作，都一定要有信心為基礎，
都要由神的工人來加以實現。
若是有堅固札根的信仰，
工人就能為神行出大能的事。
However, we are often limited by
our own unbelief. Sometimes we even
have a hard time believing in God for
the daily things in life. There are times
when our faith tests God, rather than
trusts Him. But to truly believe in God,
we need to attempt things in our
ministry which we know we cannot
achieve on our own. Only then will
we witness the hand of God in our
work. If we want to do great works
for God, then we need to take that
leap of faith. Do not be afraid to step
out on a limb. When we are doing the
things that God wants us to do, we
must walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7).
然而，我們時常被自已不信的心所限制。
有時候，我們甚至很難在生命中，每天發生的事情上，來相信神。
有時候，我們會試探神，而不是信靠祂。
但若是要真的來信靠神，
就要我們的服事中，來試著完成一些事情，
而且我們也知道，靠我們自已是不可能完成的事情。
只有那樣，我們才會在我們的工作中，見証神雙手的作為。
若我們要為神作偉大的工作，
那麼我們就要跨出信心的那一步。
不怕冒險向外跨出。
當我們作了神所要我們所作的事情，
我們一定要靠信心而行。
(林後 5：7)
In my experience, I have seen how
God works when we have faith in
Him. Many things have happened
that cannot be explained simply by
human effort. One example is how
God has saved many souls in my
home church. A number of years ago,
we started a weekly Sunday morning
prayer, which starts at 9.00 am and
lasts for half an hour. Whoever is
willing will come to church to pray for
the growth of the church and for the
weak and sick members. Initially, only
twenty or twenty-five members
joined the prayer. But their hearts
were for the Lord’s work. The church
council and preachers encouraged us
to expect great things from God and
to attempt great things for God. Soon,
we were amazed by what was
happening—God worked wonders in
us.
在我的經驗中，我曾經看過，
當我們對祂有信心的時候，神是如何的動工。
發生了許多事情，靠著人的努力，就是不能解釋這件事。
其中的一個例子就是，神如何在我家鄉的教會拯救了許多的靈魂。
幾年之前，我們開始每周一次星期天早上的禱告，
從早上九點開始，持續一個半小時。
無論是誰，都可以來到教會，為了教會的成長，
為了教會軟弱和生病的信徒來禱告。
但是他們的內心，就只是為了神的聖工。
教會的職務會和傳道人鼓舞我們，
要盼望從神而來偉大的事情，
並且為神試著完成偉大的工作。
不久之後，我們都很驚訝所發生的事情 -
神在我們中間行了神蹟奇事。
Once, prior to a spiritual
convocation, the church hosted a
special service in a member’s home,
and more than thirty-five truthseekers
came. Afterward, during that
spiritual convocation, more than
twenty truth-seekers attended on the
first night, and many of them received
the Holy Spirit. We continue to pray,
and God continues to work. Truthseekers
walk into church and receive
the Holy Spirit. Some come to us,
having sought the truth for a while,
and ask to be baptized.
有一次在靈恩會之前，教會在一個信徒的家中，舉行特別聚會，
而且有超過35個慕道者來參加。
之後，在那次的靈恩會期間，
有超過20個慕道著來參加第一晚的聚會，
他們有許多人都得到了聖靈。
我們繼續禱告，神就繼續動工。
許多慕道者走進教會，得到聖靈。
其中有些來幕道的人，
經過一段時間來學習真理之後，
就有一些來的人，尋問要受洗了。
It is amazing how God works and
uses those whose hearts are rooted in
Him. The only limit is how much faith
you have in Him. What are your
expectations of God? As Jesus said,
“According to your faith let it be to
you” (Mt 9:29).
很奇妙的是，神作工和使用那些內心有札根在祂之人的方式。
唯一的關鍵，就是到底我們對祂有多少的信心。
你對神的期待是什麼呢？
29耶穌說：照著你們的信給你們成全了罷。
(太 9：29)
CONCLUSION 結論
All of us have been called to work for
God, but God chooses to work
through those with certain qualities. If
we wish to have a fruitful and
powerful ministry, we need to
examine whether we have the
qualities God seeks.
我們大家都被叫來為神作工，
但神會選那些有某些特質的人來動工。
若我們希望自已的服事可以結果，大有能力，
就需要檢討自已是不是有神所要的特質。
God is looking for those who are
broken and have surrendered
themselves to Him. We should ask
ourselves, “Have I gone through my
personal Gethsemane?” We need to
come to a place in our life when we
say to God, “Do whatever You want
to do in my life; I surrender all to
You.” As we surrender ourselves to
Him, we will find that God will reshape
our mind and soften our heart with
His love. His skillful molding will give
way for greater fruitfulness in our
ministry. God can do much with a
surrendered heart.
神所要的人，是打破內心，順服祂的人。
我們應該問自已，
"我已經走過自已的客西馬尼園了嗎？"
在我們的生命中，來到一個時間的時候，
那時我們要向神說，
"任憑你的旨意，在我的生命中成全；我願奉獻所有給你。"
當我們順服自已，就會開現，
神會重塑我們的心思意念，用祂的愛軟化我們的內心。
祂高超塑造的技藝，會讓我們的服事，有達成更大果實的方法。
有一棵順服的心，神能作很多的事。
God also requires His workers to be
rooted in faith. Let us reflect on what
we believe God can do in our lives, in
our families, and in our church. Do
not limit God by limiting our faith in
Him. Ask God to help our unbelief
and strengthen our faith (Mk 9:24).
Believe that God is going to accomplish
great things for us and through us,
and He will use us mightily in His
ministry.
神也要祂的工人，能在信仰上札根。
讓我們想想，我們到底相信神在生活中，在家中，在教會，可以作什麼事。
不要因為我們限制了自已對祂的信心，而限制了神的作為。
求神幫助我們不信的心，加添我們的信心。
(可 9：24)
我們相信，神一定會為我們完成大事，
經由我們，祂會大大的用我們來服事。
To be continued… 待續
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
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