2018-07-29 The Lord’s Prayer 主祷文(六)

We’ve almost looked through the whole Lord’s prayer this year again今年我们再次分享主祷文，很快又要分享完了. We did it last year虽然去年也分享过一遍, but this year we got some new understanding about the Lord’s prayer不过今年领受又有些不同(see Matt 6: 9-13，见《太6:9-13》). Our Lord teaches us to begin our prayer in praise to God主教导我们祷告从赞美神开始, acknowledging Him as our Father in Heaven and honouring that He is Holy承认祂是我们在天上的父，尊崇祂是圣洁的神. Then in our prayer接下来, we should be aligned with God’s priorities as our own 我们当让神的优先次序成为我们自己的次序– Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven愿你的国降临，愿你的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上. Next再接下来, our Lord teaches us to cast all our daily needs onto the Father主教导我们将一切日用所需交托给天父, for He is the provider of all因祂是一切的供应者. Followed by跟着, we need to confess our daily failures to forgive others to the Father我们需向天父承认每天发生的不饶恕, for if we cancel the debts they owe us因我们若免了别人的债, the debts that we owe God can be cancelled天父就免我们的债. After that再之后, our Lord teaches us how to seek God’s protection from temptation and Satanic attack 主教我们怎样寻求神的保护，脱离撒旦的试探和攻击- do not lead us into temptation不叫我们遇见试探, but deliver us from the evil one救我们脱离凶恶.

Why do we bless the name of the Father我们为什么称赞神的名? Why do we pray for God’s kingdom and His will to be accomplished为什么祷告求神国降临、神旨意成就? Why do we pray for daily bread and forgiveness of sins为什么为每日的饮食和饶恕祷告? Why do we pray to be kept from evil为什么祷告远离凶恶? BECAUSE we are involved in spiritual warfare因为 我们处在属灵争战中, in which the devil is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour魔鬼在其中如同吼叫的狮子，四处寻找可吞吃的人, through fear借着惧怕, unforgiveness 不饶恕or judgemental thoughts论断, pride 骄傲or jealousy嫉妒, lies 谎言or all kinds of self-centred thoughts或 各种自我中心的意念. Just as he did to Adam in the Garden of Eden魔鬼在伊甸园也这样试探亚当. But our Lord finally teaches us to declare WHY we ask for these things到最后，主告诉我们 这样祷告的原因, BECAUSE the Kingdom is Yours是因为 国度是你的, the power is Yours权柄是你的, and the glory is Yours荣耀是你的! Forever and ever直到永远! Our Father God is the Source of ALL who is the Creator我们的父神是万有的源头，是创造者! All the others are requests其他都是请求, but these three are declarations但这三句是宣告. “Thine IS the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory. Forever, and ever!因为国度、权柄、荣耀，全是你的，直到永远！ “

Last Sunday上周主日, an outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit came upon us圣灵大大浇灌我们, our brother Calvin and his wife Rebecca responded to the call of the Lord with tears. Calvin弟兄和太太Rebecca姊妹流泪回应主的呼召, praying that they were willing to be equipped and trained as God’s instruments to be sent one day愿意被装备训练，等候被差遣. The next morning (Monday)第二天（周一）, I received a call from Rebecca, who said我接到Rebecca电话说, “Jane, please come and help us Jane快来救我, our son had many horrible dreams last night我儿子昨晚发噩梦, now he is very scared给惊吓了, and it’s as if something is powerfully oppressing him好像被什么东西大大压住, he is feeling sick身体也好像病了一样…” To be honest老实讲, after the phone, I had a sense of joy我接到这个电话有点喜乐, because I knew that time for the deliverance of God for this family was becoming obvious因知道神拯救这个家庭的时间到了! And they were going see God’s power personally他们即将亲眼看到神的能力! In other words换句话说, if we say “Lord, Your kingdom come”我们若说”主啊，愿你的国降临”, but we haven’t experienced the power of deliverance by Jesus却从没经历过神拯救的大能, how can we really know that we once belonged to the kingdom of darkness又怎能真知道自己曾属于黑暗国度, and it is God who delivers us from the evil one是神在拯救我们脱离恶者呢? Our testimony of being delivered is showing the world that the salvation of Jesus is such real我们蒙拯救释放的见证，是向世界显明 耶稣的救恩是那么真实!

Raymond and I went there. Raymond和我到了他家, after a short talk交谈了几句后, I felt like leading this ten years old kid to do a prayer of confession我的领受是要带这个十岁的孩子做认罪祷告, to repent of any activities like being involved in Buddhist temples and idolatry previously whether he did it intentionally or not为以前所有与去庙里拜偶像有关的事悔改，不管他自己知道不知道. The kid said the prayer孩子跟着祷告了, and also declared that he wanted to receive the power of forgiveness from Christ to forgive himself and his parents也宣告说他愿意接受基督饶恕的大能，饶恕自己，饶恕父母, because when he was oppressed by the dark power因在被黑暗压制时, he was angry and tried to stop his parent from praying他见父母在祷告，就发怒，不给他们祷告. That was unusual for a ten year- old kid对十岁孩子来说很不寻常. After we had finished all the prayers做完祷告后, a scripture came to my mind有句经文进到我心里, about when God called Jacob to Bethel是神呼召雅各去伯特利时, Jacob was instructed指示雅各的话, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you你们要除掉你们中间的外邦神, and purify yourselves也要自洁…” So I told the family我听见就告诉他们, and they found some the books that were related to the work of the devil于是他们找出一些与魔鬼有关的书籍, and burned them都烧了. The bible says圣经说, “In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power主的道大大兴旺，而且得胜，就是这样. Acts 19:20，（徒19:20）”  Everybody was filled with joy at that moment我们每个人心里都非常欢喜快乐! The next day第二天, Rebecca told me Rebecca告诉我, that because the horrible memories was still there when it got dark因前晚恐怖的经历, in the evening到了晚上天黑时, her son started to fear again她儿子又开始怕得要命, but after they had begun to praise God according to Psa 2 and Psa 149但当他们照着《诗篇》2章和149章开始赞美上帝时, which I had left for them就是我离开前留给他们的, I believe it was from the Lord我相信是从神而来, that the kid was released from fear孩子就从害怕中释放了! And Rebecca testified that since then her son has started to read bible and praise God every single night 并且Rebecca还见证从那以后她儿子每晚都读圣经和赞美神. Previously而在以前, whenever the parents called their son to read the bible and pray together每次父母叫他一起读经祷告, the son ran away quickly那孩子就快快跑掉了, but now现在不同了, he initiatively picks up a bible and read and pray every single night每天晚上他总是主动拿起圣经读祷. That’s the power of God这就是神的大能! that’s the evidence of God’s Kingdom come to this family是神的国度降临在这个家里的明证!

When Jesus came耶稣来到地上, the Kingdom of God has come，神的国就降临了! When he first came to share the gospel, he said他开始传道时说, “The kingdom of God is near神的国近了. Repent and believe the good news你们当悔改，信福音! Mark 1:15（可1:15）”  I love it我喜欢这句话. Because it tells us that we don’t have to earn enteral life by our own efforts因这话说，我们无需用自己的努力挣取永生, but just need to repent and forsake our own ways and believe in Jesus只需要悔改、离弃自己的道路，信耶稣. Regardless what we have done previously不论做过什么, we receive the kingdom of God by faith我们凭信心来接受神的国! That’s His grace那就是恩典! Jesus came to preach the Kingdom耶稣来传讲神的国, but not only did he preach the kingdom不只是传讲, but also he carried the kingdom of God to us还把神的国带给了我们! What is of the kingdom of God神的国在乎什么? The bible says经上说, that the manifest of the kingdom of God is righteousness, joy and peace神国的显现，就是公义、喜乐、和平. And they are in the Holy Spirit, not in the flesh并都在圣灵中，不在肉体中! “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking因为神的国不在乎吃喝, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit只在乎公义、和平，并圣灵中的喜乐. Romans 14:17（罗14:17）” When we repent and believe in Jesus, our faith is counted as righteousness, (see Romans 4:5，见罗4：5) 当我们悔改信耶稣，我们的信就算为义where is joy from喜乐从哪来? People look for joy in so many ways人四处寻找喜乐, that’s why they look for money之所以追求钱财, an affair外遇, even get into drugs to look for joy甚至在毒品里找寻快乐. But they will never find peace and joy outside of the Holy Spirit但若不是在圣灵里，就永远得不着喜乐.   

Jesus carried the Kingdom of God to us by healing the sick, and casting out demons耶稣借着医病赶鬼把神国带下, he said主说, “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God我若靠着神的灵赶鬼, then the kingdom of God has come upon you这就是神的国临到你们了. Matt 12:28（太12:28）” It tells us就是说, when Jesus battled with Satan by the Spirit of God耶稣靠神的灵与撒旦争战, the strong man’s house began to be plundered抢夺了壮士的屋子, the captive started to be set free被掳的人开始被释放! The power of sin on the earth started to be destroyed罪的权势可以解开! the power of the Kingdom is at work神国度的能力在运行! And the Kingdom of God is already present here on earth through Christ Jesus and the outpouring power of the Holy Spirit. 借着耶稣基督和他浇灌下来的圣灵，神国度已经来到地上! In the Holy Spirit people find these three elements of the manifestation of the kingdom of God!在圣灵里，人才能找到这三个神国彰显的元素 That is righteousness, peace and joy! 就是公义，平安和喜乐But the kingdom is not yet in its fullness但还不完全. On the other hand另一方面, with the Kingdom of God continuing to come on the earth随着神国度不停到来, the battle is continuing争战也不停息.

Let’s see this from the book of revelation我们来看《启示录》12:7-11节, 12:7-11 7 And there was war in heaven在天上就有了争战, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon米迦勒同他的使者与龙争战. The dragon and his angels waged war龙也同它的使者去争战, 8 and they were not strong enough并没有得胜, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven天上再没有它们的地方. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan大龙就是古蛇，名叫魔鬼，又叫撒旦, who deceives the whole [a]world是迷惑普天下的; he was thrown down to the earth它被摔在地上, and his angels were thrown down with him它的使者也一同被摔下去. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying我听见天上有大声说, “Now the salvation我神的救恩, and the power能力, and the kingdom of our God 国度and the authority of His Christ have come并他基督的权柄，现在都来到了, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night因为那在我们神面前昼夜控告我们弟兄的，已经被摔下去了. 11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony弟兄胜过它，是因羔羊的血和自己所见证的道, and they did not love their life even when faced with death他们虽至于死，也不爱惜性命.

We can see that the age-old conflict takes place in the spiritual realm between the Kingdom of God and the rebellious kingdom of Satan我们看到灵界中神的国和撒旦国度之间从开始就有的冲突. Although the devil and his rebellious followers failed in heavenly realms尽管魔鬼和跟随他的背叛者被打败了, and were thrown down from there从天上被摔下, they still wage war against God’s people他们仍然向神子民挑起争战. And God allows it to happen而神允许发生这样的事! Why为什么? Because God wants to see His people be strong in Christ Jesus因神想看到祂的子民在基督耶稣里刚强起来, and through Him to defeat Satan and his kingdom并借着基督胜过撒旦和他的国度.

In the heavenly realms在天上, they accused Christians day and night before God撒旦在神面前日夜控告基督徒, as we see in the book of Job《约伯记》中说, “How can you love and bless them你为何爱他们祝福他们呢? They’re breaking your laws in whatever they do他们想干什么就干，根本不守你的律法…they can’t even believe in Your sovereignty甚至不信你的主权…” whatever等等! Now Since Jesus Christ died and was resurrected from dead既然耶稣基督死了又复活, Jesus declared祂宣告, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me天上地下所有的权柄都赐给我了! Matt 28:18b（太28:18下）”  “therefore God exalted him to the highest place 所以，神将他升为至高and gave him the name that is above every name又赐给他那超乎万名之上的名, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord叫一切在天上的、地上的，和地底下的，因耶稣的名无不屈膝，无不口称“耶稣基督为主”. Phi 2:9-11a（腓2:9-11上）” These verses shows that now the salvation这些经文显明, 救恩、and the power能力, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come神的国度和基督的权柄已到来! The book of revelation chapter 12 verse 10 has been fulfilled《启示录》12：10节已经实现! and it is continually being fulfilled还在继续实现!

But the scripture tells us, that WE are at WAR!不过，圣经告诉我们，我们 正处在 争战中！ Just like Jesus was就象耶稣那样! V.12 tells us 12节说, but woe to the earth and the sea只是地与海有祸了, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short因为魔鬼知道自己的时候不多了，就气忿忿地下到你们那里去了. Do you see看到吗? That the devil’s character is full of great anger and hatred魔鬼的性情充满怒气和仇恨, while our God is slow to anger而我们的神不轻易发怒, full of mercy and grace to forgive sinners有怜悯有恩典，赦免罪人.

So if we are angry people所以，若我们是常愤怒的人, and if we can be riled up immediately动不动就容易被激怒, for whatever reasons we think that we are justified不论自己觉得多有理, we need to deal with our own inner wounds都需要来对付自己里面的伤害.. Believing in God’s grace is easy相信神的恩典很容易! “forgive me, Lord! 主啊，赦免我！” you are forgiven, that’s grace你就被赦免了，那是恩典! But passing God’s grace on to others is not easy把恩典传递给他人却不容易! Forgiving those who hurt you is not easy饶恕伤害你的人是不容易的. But we must practice it every day可我们必须每天操练饶恕他人, so that we would not fall into the temptation of fury就不至于落入怒气的试探中. And to be captured by the devil被魔鬼掳去. Then he will accuse you让恶者得到机会控告你, “do you see yourself看看你自己? you fail all the time老跌倒, you sin as many times as your heart beats老犯罪，没个停…” Don’t listen to him不要听恶者, we must rebuke him in faith我们要用真理责备他, “Get behind me, Satan!撒旦，退我后面去！ The blood of Christ has washed my sins away基督的宝血洗净了我! I will do God’s will我必要遵行神旨意!”

Let’s go down to verse 17我们往下看17节, it says这里说, “So the dragon was enraged with the woman龙向妇人发怒, and went off to make war with the rest of her children去与她其余儿女争战, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus这儿女就是那守神诫命、为耶稣作见证的.”  Do you see看到了吗? that the war is still there争战还在持续! We are at War我们正在交战中! The dragon is waging war against God’s children龙向神儿女发动争战. The more we keep the commandments of God我们越是守神诫命, the more hate the devil holds toward us恶者越是恨我们. Just like he hated Job如同他恨约伯. But Now Christ Jesus our Lord has overcome但我们的主 耶稣基督现在已得胜! The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work 神的儿子显现出来，为要除灭魔鬼的作为(1 John 3: 8b，（约一3:8下）)! All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Christ Jesus 天上地下的所有权柄都赐给耶稣基督and He has given us authority to trample on snakes and scorpions 他也已赐给我们权柄，可以践踏蛇和蝎子and to overcome all the power of the enemy又胜过仇敌一切能力 (see Luke 10:19，路10:19)!

Well, some will ask那么，有人会问, “Why do we still get spiritual attacked by the devil sometimes为什么我们有时还被魔鬼攻击呢?” “Why do we still have no power to serve为什么我们还是没能力服事呢?” Good questions问得好! The power of overcoming the devil is not by our flesh胜过魔鬼不是靠肉体的能力 – the old-self不是靠老我, but by the Holy Spirit而是靠圣灵! If you practice being obedient to the will of the Father in the Spirit你若操练灵里顺服父旨意, by dying to the self every day in faith凭信每天向己死, the power of God will be revealed through you distinctively神的大能就会借着你不容置疑地显明! On Thursday night, during the bible group这周四晚的查经中, people honestly admitted that it’s very hard to deny the self and take up the cross daily to follow Jesus as a lifestyle大家都承认，很难把否定自己、背起十字架跟从耶稣当成自己的生活方式. But don’t forget但不要忘记, it’s by God’s grace through our faith我们是凭信依靠神的恩典! Not our own works不是靠自己的行为!

I remember that 12 years ago我记得十二年前, God promised me a revival to the home church in a dream神在梦中给我应许，就是家里的教会会被复兴. Some people thought that revival means to have some wonderful experiences有人想，复兴就是美妙的经历吧. I love the way what Charles Finney talked about a true revival looks like, 我喜爱查尔斯.芬尼关于真正复兴的见解, he said他这样说, “Revival is a renewed conviction of sin and repentance复兴乃是更新的认罪悔改, followed by an intense desire to live in obedience to God并伴随强烈的意愿为顺服神而活。It is giving up one’s will to God in deep humility复兴是正在深深的谦卑里放下自己的意思 顺服神旨意活.” In fact事实上, revival is always intimately connected with repentance复兴总是与悔改相关。

When the Kingdom of God comes upon us powerfully当神的国大有能力降临在我们身上, it crashes our own agenda它粉碎了我们的日程表. It interrupts our TV times and demands our full attention干扰了我们看电视的时间，它要得着我们全部的关注。 We experienced this when we were in China我们还在中国的时候有过这样的经历。After a two-years constantly fasting and prayer in my early ministry在服事头两年，我不断禁食祷告. One day之后有一天, God’s power powerfully came on our home church神的能力大大降临到家庭教会, people confessed and repented of their sins with tears人们流泪认罪悔改, asking for forgiveness请求饶恕, confessing their sins publicly并公开认罪, we saw reconciliation我们看见和睦, healing医治, deliverance释放, demons screaming that were cast out邪灵被赶出去, and God’s kingdom powerfully came down 神国大大降临…people had no desire for their hobbies人们对原来的嗜好失去兴趣, but desire the presence of God只渴慕神的同在!

I used to lead a service there for 3 or 4 hours我曾经带领长达3、4小时的聚会, from prayer从祷告开始, to sung worship唱诗敬拜, and preach讲道,  and sung worship and prayers again再唱诗、敬拜、祷告…people were full of joy and didn’t want to leave until midnight人们充满喜乐直到半夜人都不愿离开! That’s God’s power那就是神的大能! Now如今, it has been more than 10 years十年过去了, the power of God is still there神的能力仍在! Now如今, they’ve learnt how to keep the presence of God,他们已学会怎样能持续有神的同在which is to practice the word of God in faith就是在信心里行道, and confessing their sins to each other 和彼此认罪and praying for each other 互相代祷。

In 2016, I also saw a revival here in NZ in a dream. 2016年，我在梦中也见到新西兰这里将有复兴. In which, people （kiwis） who were depressed and waiting for being cleansed were rushing for the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit在梦里, 那些沮丧低沉的在等候洁净的人们冲向那圣灵洁净的力量 after they had heard like the voice of a group of angels当他们听见一队有如天使的声音, singing with tremendous power and peace from far to near带着惊人的能力和平安从远到近, 在唱，“Wairua Tapu…圣灵请你来” It was very slow but full of power那歌声慢而有力，the dream was over.梦没有了. I know this is a call that God wants us to pray for it 我知道这是神呼召为此祷告, until the time comes直到应许成就。

When Jesus were resurrected, he said, “As the Father has send me, I’m sending you. John 20:21” 父怎样差遣了我， 我也照样差遣你们 约20:21”  Just as the Father sent Jesus into the world父怎样差遣耶稣基督来到世上, we are sent into the world我们也照样被差到世上. Jesus was sent to bring the Kingdom down基督怎样被差遣带下神国度, we are also sent to bring the Kingdom down to our family我们也被差遣去带下神的 国度在我们的家, our society我们的社区, and wherever we go和任何地方!

Who can bring the Kingdom down powerfully? 谁能大有能力的带下神的国度同在？God never ask us to do anything by our own strength神从来没有要我们靠自己做! Jesus said耶稣说, “Receive the Holy Spirit!领受圣灵” It is abiding in the power of the Spirit of the truth这是要连与真理的灵, like Jesus who overcame the devil’s temptation像耶稣胜过试探, powerfully brought the Kingdom down大有能力的带下神的国度!  We need to receive power from on high to finish our tasks我们需要领受从上头来的能力去完成任务! Also, we need to follow Christ and deny the will of the sinful nature同时，我们需要跟随基督来舍去旧人的意思. Only new wineskins can keep the new wine新酒只能装在新皮袋里! That’s why we need to practice this这就是为什么我们要操练: “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body 2 Cor 4:10 身上常带着耶稣的死，使耶稣的生也显明在我们的身上。

Are you ready to receive new wine?你准备好领受新酒了吗 God is looking for those who are humble hearts神在寻找那些谦卑的人! Who are poor in the spirit!灵里贫穷的人！

In the book of Acts《使徒行传》中记录, after Jesus’ resurrection耶稣复活后, He stayed on the earth with His disciples for forty days 祂四十天之久向门徒显现 and spoke about the Kingdom of God 讲说神国的事 (see Acts 1:3b，见《徒1:3下》). Why didn’t he ascend back to heaven immediately when he could get back his throne of glory为什么祂可以得回荣耀宝座，却没有马上回到天上? Why did he stay on the earth for forty days为什么还要留在地上四十天之久? What was the purpose of those days目的是什么? To build their faith, as well as ours, 为建立他们的信心，也为我们that’s God’s love for us! 那是主的爱Because they were witnesses that Jesus was crucified因他们亲眼看到耶稣被钉十架, and his body was buried身体被葬在坟墓中. But through these days being with them但借着这么多天与门徒同在, Jesus brought the hope of resurrection to them耶稣带给门徒复活的盼望, as well as to us这也是给我们的盼望! He is risen indeed!祂确实复活了 Don’t be afraid不要怕! Death has lost its grip on us死亡再也不能拘禁我们! We should go on our task with his resurrection power靠祂复活的大能，我们应当继续完成使命! After suffering, there is resurrection受苦之后就是复活! The gospel brings God’s Kingdom on earth福音将神的国带到地上! The gospel transforms people’s lives and homes and impacts this world powerfully福音大大更新人们的生命、家庭，影响了这个世界!   Jesus said然后他又说, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations,所以，你们要去，使万民作我的门徒” In other words也就是说:

·        To bring the Kingdom of God to all nations去把神的国度带到万国

·        To bring the Kingdom to wherever you go 无论去哪里，把神的国度带到那里

·        To live a life of being humble and obedient and dependent on the heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit as Jesus was 如同耶稣，谦卑顺服，依靠天父和圣灵

·        To live a life of prayer, sacrifice, and serving in love as Jesus did 如同耶稣，过祷告、舍己、在爱中服事的生活

The promised provision of the Holy Spirit empowers us that we can fulfil the great commission through Him!这应许给我们的圣灵使我们在祂里面可以完成大使命 Bless are the poor in the spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! 虚心的有福了，天国是他们的！“Humble us谦卑我们, Lord主, we pray我们祷告，Let Jesus reign and rule in our hearts让基督掌权在我们心中, to cast out  the rebellious kingdom of Satan and its ways赶出撒旦悖逆国度的一切道路! Let Your name be glorified through us!让你的名在我们身上得荣耀” ！For thine is the Kingdom, the power and glory forever and ever因为国度、权柄、荣耀全是你的，直到永远, Amen阿门!