God is building a home
[Whisper of the Shepherd] 8
(Picture source: http://kuojuly.blogspot.tw/2010/10/blog-post_3907.html)
God is building a family, turning the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers (see Malachi 4:5-6), including both earthly and spiritual families. This is exactly what God is doing in all places and nations right now. Relationships are restored and lives are changed. What is important is not the name or title of the father or mother, but the stature and substance of being a father or a mother. God is the Father, and we are children. Children will eventually grow up to be like their Father, so we grow from children to young men, and one day we will surely mature into fathers (see 1 John 2:12-14).
The church is a family, not a company; pastors and deacons are not managers, directors, or supervisors, but mature, loving, and role-modelling fathers and mothers. As a result, the family was established, order was restored, the church and the region gradually moved toward unity, and spiritual authority gradually came with it. As a result, harmony appears in society, and the quality of the country grows and changes. We witness the one-sidedness we knew in the pastdogmabecome wholeBelief,Beliefshowing the kingdom of heavenculture, and heavencultureIt will eventually be developed and implemented through the personal actions of God’s children, and it will becomenational conditions! How lucky we are to live in 2014, how exciting it is to see history happening around us!
Really understand the heart of Heavenly Father
In the church, we are also determined to let the two generations walk together and unite China and Britain. There is true love in the family of Christ that is not limited by age or hindered by language. There are not many churches in the Body of Christ that can really do this. Most of them are Chinese and English churches under the same roof (two churches under one roof) but rarely intersect. It is rare to have a deep relationship. They think more about their own convenience than about their own convenience. Consider the other person and think less about Heavenly Father’s will.
After repeated reviews, we want to conscientiously achieve the following four points (four "ships"):
1. Leadership: We step back and let young people take the lead.
2. Ownership: Which leads to ownership.
3. True relationship: Therefore, the Chinese and British generations have a close relationship.
4. Worship: Finally, we can worship together naturally and willingly.
I deeply admire the brave men, old and young, who are not afraid of death and are willing to pay the price and embark on this difficult road. But we believe this is the right way, and we are blessed together with these young people. Ask God to give us the ability to climb high, see far, and rely on the Lord to have wisdom, kindness, and courage, so that our local homes can also be built.
The road to heaven will eventually become wider and wider, and the body of Christ will eventually be built more and more into a vessel that can contain God’s grace and glory and will no longer be broken. God the Father can finally reign in His home, and the Kingdom of God finally comes and takes shape in the Lord’s Prayer.
The Bible says that for the joy that was set before Him, the Lord Jesus endured the suffering of the cross, despising the shame (refer to Hebrews 12:2). What He rejoices about is not just our salvation, but us as a group. The saved children have finally grown up, matured, and can understand the heart of their Heavenly Father! The Heavenly Father is pleased because we have finally obtained what He wants us to obtain, and our lives have been improved. Moreover, He knows that we will bring this treasure of the kingdom to many brothers and sisters around us who have not yet obtained it.
Take a closer look at the great things Heavenly Father accomplishes
We understand God’s heart, and we also understand God’s dream, His original plan. God created humans in His own image who have spirit, conscience, free will, and the ability to comprehend God’s revelations. Although he knows that not everyone will be willing to obey, he is confident that there will always be someone who will recognize his identity, take on the responsibility, and will be willing to connect with the Heavenly Father, build God’s house, and become His resting place on earth. So God has been patiently waiting.
In the past, people relied on their own abilities and unknowingly mixed things. Now they are gradually being purified. They no longer build a Tower of Babel for themselves. Rather, because they know that they are God’s children, they humbly and confidently keep their duties and stand firm. Set a position, love God, love others, be united, and then watch Heavenly Father accomplish great things, not what we have to do! This is too good to be true, but it is God’s dream. Today, what God has dreamed of is coming true. God knows that one day we will understand and respond, and He will finally be in power in the church and will triumph over the enemy!
Some recent thoughts emerged from my meditation:
1. 多經一事，多長一智。
2. 三人行必有我師。
3. 成功與失敗皆有所學，都是成長的過程。
4. 每一個人的生命裡都經過春、夏、秋、冬不同的季節。
5. 尊榮人是對的。
6. 謙卑是天國的文化。
7. 不必爭名分。做完該做的，讓別人得稱讚（credit）。
8. 傳道書九章13至16節說到城被圍困，有一個貧窮人用智慧救了那城，卻沒有人記念他。那又何妨？學做那個人吧。
9. 公開時稱某爸、某媽，別人不免覺得奇怪，若真有關係，私下可以，因為是關係的實質，而不在乎新的頭銜或稱謂。
10. 往往長處也是短處，短處中也見長處。
11. 屬天的策略是從神領受的，因此需要活在靈裡，時時與神建立極親近的關係。常問：「今早神對你說了什麼？」
12. 與神獨處、建立關係、聽主聲音是必不可少的。方言、靈歌，也是進入內院與神溝通的美好途徑。
13. 我需要羨慕所有的恩賜嗎？不必，因為是在團隊、在基督的身體裡，我做該做的那一份就夠了。絕不單槍匹馬。
14. 生命比恩賜重要。成熟、謙卑、向神忠心、有為父的心都是經歷過破碎才有的。
15. 神看重我們這個人，勝過我們所做的。
16. 神看重關係勝過對錯。若證明自己對，而破壞了關係又怎樣呢？
17. 醫治是同意神。許多真理想通了，所領會的真理才會使我們得自由（參考約翰福音8：32）。
Do everything to please the Father
God longs for His kingdom to come to the church, and this is our prayer (see Matthew 6:10). The Lord Jesus said: "It is your Father's pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Reference Luke 17:32) He also said: "The kingdom of God is among you." (Reference Luke 17:21) The Kingdom of God It is God who reigns and reigns, God’s orders are implemented, God’s order is diffused and covered, God’s will is carried out, the honor and culture of the kingdom of heaven are manifested, people love each other, and regard others as better than themselves….
The Lord Jesus prayed that we live in this world but are not of this world (see John 17:11-18). But the kingdom on earth is still affecting us, for example:
1. The Lord Jesus led his disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, but not long after, they were already discussing who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven (refer to Luke 9:28-48).
2. The mothers of James and John also asked Jesus to allow her two sons to sit on the right hand and the left of the Lord in the kingdom of God (see Matthew 20:20-28).
3. When the disciples saw a man casting out demons in the name of Jesus and stealing their anointing, they forbade him (see Luke 9:49-50).
4. When the Samaritans did not receive Jesus, the disciples suggested that they should do as Elijah did and command fire to come down from heaven and consume them (see Luke 9:51-56).
There are many examples, but they are all ideas influenced by the kingdom on earth. But the Lord Jesus came to show us the Father. He keeps telling us who our Heavenly Father is. He also serves as our example, saying what Heavenly Father says and doing what Heavenly Father does. He teaches us how to be good sons and tells us that what we receive is no longer the heart of a slave, but the heart of a son. Through His death on the cross, the Lord opened the veil and brought the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. The kingdom on earth has always told us what the church should be, but the kingdom of God has repeatedly revealed to us what the kingdom of heaven should be like. It dawned on me and the smoke cleared!
May God’s will be fulfilled step by step
In the kingdom of heaven, the most basic thing about the church is a family (see Luke 6:10; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter 4:17), not a company. From Genesis to Revelation, we also see God building the family. At home we learn to belong, we are no longer alone at home, we feel safe at home and can open our hearts.
There is inevitably mess at home, and babies and teenagers bring great challenges to parents. However, children will grow up, and it is so joyful to watch them grow from children to adults one by one! We are committed to each other at home, and we learn to be of the same mind, stand together, and walk together. This is the home that Heavenly Father longs for and the church that the Lord Jesus wants to build.
The influence of the kingdom on earth is decreasing, and the kingdom of God is increasing. He will increase, but I will decrease. This process is not easy and the price has to be paid, but God’s house is being built, His will is being fulfilled step by step, and our hearts are comforted with Father God. God has removed our veil and the spaceship is taking off. First, the most difficult thing to overcome is the insistent gravity, and then the earthly cabins have to be abandoned one by one, so that the rocket can finally take the space capsule into the orbit of heaven. Let those of us who have seen clearly, boldly and wisely throw away the glass beads in our hands in exchange for treasures with a real price in heaven! This is an exciting time, how lucky we are to live today! But being a pioneer comes with a high price. When the American West was developed, one person died every 16 miles on average. Now the West is so prosperous! Many people sacrificed their lives when Taiwan opened the first east-west highway, but now tourist buses pass by one after another! Warriors of the Kingdom of God who are not afraid of death, do you dare? pay tribute!
作者小檔案 許宗實牧師是微生物學博士，他又從芝加哥三一神學院獲道學碩士，目前是傳福中心的主任牧師。著有《飛出鳥籠》一書。