晨興聖言-為着主的來臨(W5-3)

第五週　週三

http://morning-revival.twgbr.org/mp3s/2023/1-Chinese-NY/week-05/week5day3.mp3 

晨興餧養

創十二7~8　耶和華向亞伯蘭顯現，說，我要把這地賜給你的後裔。亞伯蘭就在那裏為向他顯現的耶和華築了一座壇。從那裏他又遷到伯特利東邊的山，支搭帳棚；…他在那裏又為耶和華築了一座壇，並且呼求耶和華的名。

基督徒的生活，是一種祭壇和帳棚的生活。祭壇是向着神的，帳棚是向着世界的。神對於祂兒女們的要求，就是要他們在神的面前有祭壇，在地上有帳棚。…祭壇和帳棚是連在一起的，是人沒有方法分開的。…創世記十二章七節…給我們看見，祭壇是根據於神的顯現，…誰也不能將他自己奉獻給神，而他是沒有遇見神的；誰也不能把一切都擺在祭壇上，而是沒有神的顯現的。奉獻不是由於人的勸勉，不是由於人的催促，乃是由於神的顯現。如果神沒有向人顯現，那就沒有一個人是能自動把他所有的都擺在祭壇上的。…如果有一天，我們遇見主，那一個遇見，就自然而然產生奉獻。只要你遇見神一下，只要你看見神一下，你就不是你自己的。神是遇見不得的！人一遇見神，人就沒有方法為自己活着（倪柝聲文集第二輯第十七冊，一一六至一一七頁）。

信息選讀

神的顯現裏面有無窮無盡的能力，那一個顯現把你一生的道路都改變了。基督徒為神活着的能力是在乎看見神！哦，不是我要立志事奉神就能事奉神，不是我要築祭壇就能築祭壇，乃是要有神的顯現。…神向亞伯拉罕顯現，亞伯拉罕就築了一座壇。這裏的壇不是獻贖罪祭的壇，這裏的壇乃是獻燔祭的壇。贖罪祭是為着我自己贖罪，燔祭是將我自己奉獻給神。這裏的祭壇不是指着主耶穌怎樣替我們死說的，乃是指着我們怎樣將自己奉獻給神說的。這裏的祭壇，就是羅馬十二章那一類的祭壇。

祭壇的結局，是引到帳棚去〔創十二8〕。…等到〔亞伯拉罕〕有了祭壇之後，神的話纔給我們看見帳棚。…帳棚的意思是流動的，是不扎根的。神要藉着祭壇來對付你自己，神要藉着帳棚來對付屬乎你的東西。亞伯拉罕有祭壇，他把他的一切都給了神，那麼是不是從今以後亞伯拉罕連身上的衣服都沒有了？不，亞伯拉罕還有牛，還有羊，還有許多東西。但是，亞伯拉罕是住在帳棚裏的人。換句話說，祭壇所餘剩的東西，只能保留在帳棚裏。…這些從祭壇上留下給你的東西，你只能保守在帳棚裏。

求神賜恩給我們，叫我們在祂面前看見奉獻的緊要，叫我們活出祭壇和帳棚的生活（倪柝聲文集第二輯第十七冊，一一八至一二一、一二五頁）。

日日更新的復興，是帶着變化的。羅馬十二章二節：『藉着心思的更新而變化。』林後三章十八節也說，『我們眾人既然以沒有帕子遮蔽的臉，好像鏡子觀看並返照主的榮光，就漸漸變化成為與祂同樣的形像，從榮耀到榮耀，乃是從主靈變化成的。』這給我們看見，變化是藉着觀看主而來的。…我們越觀看祂，就越返照主的榮光，漸漸變成主的形像，從一種程度的榮耀，到另一種程度的榮耀。這乃是從主靈變化成的，不僅是復興，更是變化。所以，每天早晨有新的復興，就是每天早晨有新的變化。只要我們一生的年日都在這樣的變化中，我們就能在主的生命裏長大，以致成熟。這種復興、更新、變化，乃是我們眾人今日的需要（李常受文集一九八八年第四冊，五三頁）。

參讀：倪柝聲文集第二輯第十七冊，第十六篇。

WEEK 5 — DAY 3

Morning Nourishment

Gen. 12:7-8 And Jehovah appeared to Abram and said, To your seed I will give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him. And he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel…; and there he built an altar to Jehovah and called upon the name of Jehovah.

The life of a Christian is the life of the altar and the tent. The altar is toward God, while the tent is toward the world. In His presence, God requires that His children have an altar and on the earth that they have a tent… The altar and the tent are interrelated; they cannot be separated. [In] Genesis 12:7…we see that the altar is based on God’s appearance… No one can offer himself to God unless he has first met God. Unless God has appeared to a man, he cannot offer his all to God. Consecration is not the result of man’s exhortation or persuasion but of God’s revelation. No one can voluntarily offer up all he has on the altar if God has not first appeared to him… When man meets God, consecration takes place spontaneously in his life. If you catch sight of God just once and touch God just once, you are no longer your own. God is Someone who cannot be touched lightly! Once a man touches God, he can no longer live for himself. (CWWN, vol. 37, p. 89)

Today’s Reading

God’s appearance brings with it inexhaustible power. Such an appearance will alter the whole course of a person’s life. For a Christian, the power to live for God is based on his vision of God. Oh! It is not our decision to serve the Lord that enables us to serve Him. It is not our will to build an altar that produces an altar. An altar is built when God comes to a man. God appeared to Abraham, and Abraham built an altar. This altar was not for a sin offering but for a burnt offering. A sin offering is for redemption, while a burnt offering is an offering of ourselves to God. The altar here does not refer to the Lord Jesus’ vicarious death for us; it refers to the consecration of ourselves to God. It was the kind of altar spoken of in Romans 12:1.

The altar has its issue in the tent [cf. Gen. 12:8]… Not until [Abraham] had built the altar does the Word of God bring the tent into view. A tent is something movable; it does not take root anywhere. Through the altar God deals with us; through the tent God deals with our possessions. At the altar Abraham offered up his all to God. Was he thereafter stripped of everything, even his clothing and belongings? No! Abraham still possessed cattle and sheep and many other things, but he had become a tent dweller. What was not consumed on the altar could only be kept in the tent… The things that have passed through the altar and are for our use can only be kept in the tent.

May He be gracious to us and cause us to see the importance of consecration so that we may live a life of the altar and the tent! (CWWN, vol. 37, pp. 90-93, 95)

Daily revival brings transformation with it. Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” This shows us that transformation comes from  beholding the Lord… The more we behold Him, the more we reflect the glory of the Lord, and we are transformed into the image of the Lord from one stage of glory to another. This transformation is from the Lord Spirit. There is not just a revival but a transformation as well. Hence, to have a revival that is renewed daily is to have a transformation that is fresh daily. If we remain in this transformation our whole life, we will grow in the life of the Lord until we are matured. This kind of revival, renewal, and transformation is what we all need today. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “A Timely Trumpeting and the Present Need,” p. 41)

Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 37, ch. 16, “The Life of the Altar and the Tent”