| Revelation 7:15-17 |
启示录7:15-17 |
| 15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” |
15 因此，他们可以在 神的宝座前，并且日夜在他的圣所里事奉他。那坐在宝座上的必展开帐幕覆庇他们。 16 他们必不再饿，也不再渴；太阳和一切炎热必不伤害他们。 17 因为在宝座中间的羊羔必牧养他们，领他们到生命水的泉源那里。神也必抹去他们的一切眼泪。” |
| Introduction: The Problem |
引子：问题 |
| The United States Surgeon General Jerome Adams was interviewed last Sunday. In that interview, he said it was fitting that he was being interviewed on Palm Sunday, at the beginning of Christanity’s “Holy Week,” because “this is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly. This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment. Only, it’s not going to be localized, it’s going to be happening all over the country. And I want America to understand that.” |
美国卫生总署杰罗姆·亚当斯上周日接受访谈。在访谈中他说在棕榈主日，就是基督教的“圣周”开始之时，接受采访正是时候，因为“坦白说，这将是美国最艰难最悲痛的一个星期。这将是我们的珍珠港时刻，我们的911时刻。唯一的区别是，这不再是只发生于局部地区，而是蔓延全国。我希望美国人民理解这一点。” |
| I am not here to comment on the accuracy of his statement or whether or not Adam’s prediction will come true. The fact that I can quote his words, the fact that I am familiar with his assessment, merits further reflection. Why do I know that? Why do I know what I know? I know what I know because I look where I look. Where I look becomes my focus – it captivates my attention and dominates my thinking. That is the question I set before you this morning: where are you looking? |
我在这里无意评论他的说法是否准确或他的预言会不会成真。我在这里想说，新冠病毒已经捕获了我们的注意力。我们都看着它。我们等着疫情更新。我们追踪各种数字的变化：确诊人数、死亡人数、病床数。我们看了再看。但我们绝不是只看那些。我们不是只盯着问题。死亡和疾病以及全球瘟疫来到这个世界是因为罪。罪是疾病背后的疾病，问题背后的问题。耶稣来是要解决这个问题。没有疫苗可以医治我们主要的问题——只有唯一的救主可以解决。这就是我们今天要定睛瞩目的地方。 |
| It is the most natural thing in the world look at the CoronaVirus. And we look at it and look at it and look at it some more. We look for the latest updates on what is happening. There are entire web sites devoted to looking at it from every angle. We can check the numbers. There is a tracker – number of those who tested positive, number of those who have died, number of hospital beds still available. You can look nationally and you can look locally. You can see what the curve looks like in Italy compared to South Korea. You can look at the economy and you can look at empty shelves at Costco. We look and look and look. |
现在在这世界上最自然的事就是盯着新冠病毒看。我们看着它，看着它，不住地看着它。我们看着疫情的更新。有很多网站在从不同角度分析疫情。我们可以追踪各种数字的变化——确诊人数、病亡人数、病床空置数。我们可以看全国的数字，也可以看局部地区的数字。你可以看意大利与韩国并排比较的曲线。你可以看经济形势。你可以看好市多的空货架。我们看啊看。 |
| But what does this say about us? C. S. Lewis warned about the very same dynamic in World War 2. |
但我们这样说明了什么？C.S.路易斯在二战期间也警告了同样的心理活动。 |
| In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. “How are we to live in an atomic age?” I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.” — “On Living in an Atomic Age” (1948) in Present Concerns: Journalistic Essays |
在某种程度上，我们对原子弹思虑过甚。“我们该如何生活在原子时代？”我很想回答：“有什么好想的？就当你生活在十六世纪，瘟疫几乎年年都要光顾伦敦城；或者当你生活在维京时代，每天晚上都可能有北欧海盗上岸来割断你的喉管；或者，事实上也是如此，你生活在癌症时代、梅毒时代、瘫痪时代、空袭时代、铁路事故时代或汽车事故时代。”——《当下的关注：新闻论文》中的《论原子时代的生活》（1948年） |
| He goes on to say that you and everyone we love was already sentenced to death long before the invention of the atomic bomb brought one more way to die to this fallen world. Indeed, death is not just a chance, it is a certainty. All of these different ways to die can bury our bodies, but they ought not to dominate our minds. |
他接着说，在发明原子弹带来新的死亡方式之前，在这个堕落的世界里，你和每一位我们所爱的人都早就被判死刑了。确实，死亡不是偶然，而是确定无疑的事。所有不同方式的死只能埋葬我们的心，却不应该主宰我们的心。 |
| Dear friends, let us be frank. In these days, we are more aware than ever that our world is sick and we are vulnerable. But we are not just vulnerable to microbes and viruses. How many ways are there to get sick? How many things can go wrong with these bodies? How different types of cancer are there alone – let alone talk about the flu and pandemics. We really are a vulnerable people. We travel in many different ways, which means people can die in many different ways: airplane crashes, car crashes, bike crashes, boats sinking. How many types of natural disasters bring death and destruction? What about violent crimes and death? |
亲爱的朋友，让我们有一说一。在这些日子里，我们比以往更加意识到我们的世界病了，我们的生命很脆弱。但我们不只是容易受细菌和病毒攻击。我们得病的原因有多少？身上有多少东西会出毛病？看看光癌症就有多少种吧——更不用说流感和全球瘟疫了。我们早就是脆弱的人。我们有多少种交通工具，就有多少种死法：飞机失事、汽车事故、自行车事故、沉船。有多少种自然灾害带来死亡和破坏？更何况暴力犯罪致死？ |
|
| I promise that I have a point. I am not dwelling on death in order to be morbid. I want you to see that our world is all sick right now (literally sick) because sin entered the world and spread to all people and the creation was subjected to futility and a bondage to corruption. Death is the unrelenting, unavoidable, inescapable fact of our existence. There was an atheist that did the most far-reaching book on cancer ever written. At the end of it, he said we will never be able to cure all forms of cancer because it keeps changing. It is as if our bodies have a death sentence over them. We do. You don’t have to read 700 pages of technical medical detail to reach that conclusion. You just have to read the first few chapters of Genesis. These days merely draw our attention to it in a more widescale way. |
我发誓我说这些是有目的的。我一直说死亡不是想散播恐怖。我想要你看到我们的世界全然病了（确确实实的病了），因为罪进入了这个世界，所有人都染上了，整个受造界都服在虚空之下，受败坏的捆绑。死亡是我们的存在中倔强冷酷、不可避免、无可逃避的事实。有一个无神论者写了一部关于癌症影响最深远的书。在书的最后他写道，我们将永远不可能治疗所有类型的癌症，因为它层出不穷。这就像对我们身体宣判死刑。你不必读完700页的医学专业书籍来得出这个结论。你只要读创世记的前面几章就知道了。只是最近这些日子死亡以席卷之势吞噬了我们的全部注意力。 |
|
| But what is truly depressing is to spend our time staring only at the problem. Creation will one day be set free from this bondage to corruption and enjoy the freedom of the glory of the children of God. What will that be like? Why give all our attention to the disease instead of seeing and celebrating the cure? I am not talking about a vaccine for CoronaVirus, but the cure for the death that is behind the scare. We hear about it in our text this Easter morning. |
但更糟糕的是把我们的时间都用于盯着问题不放。受造界总有一天会从败坏的捆绑下得释放，享受神儿女荣耀的自由。那将会像什么样子？为什么要把我们的注意力全部投放在疾病上，而不是定睛医治而庆祝？我不是说冠状病毒的疫苗，但治愈死亡的良药就躲在可怕外表的背后。我们来听这个复活节早上的经文。 |
|
| Body: The Solution – Revelation 7:15-17 |
正文：解药——启示录7:15-17 |
|
| 1. The Place (v. 16) |
1.所在（16节） |
| 2. The Presence (v. 15, 17) |
2.临在（15，17节） |
|
| 1. The Place – No More Danger |
1.所在——再没有危险 |
| Look at this place and see how different it is than this fallen world. |
看看这个所在，再比较一下这个堕落的世界，有何不同。 |
|
| 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. |
16 他们必不再饿，也不再渴；太阳和一切炎热必不伤害他们。 |
|
| The blessed future for the redeemed of the Lord comes to us as a picture from Isaiah 49 and the work of restoration that the Servant and Shepherd will do. |
蒙主救赎的蒙福未来向我们走来，就像来自以赛亚书49章中的画面，那是仆人与牧人要作的更新之工。 |
|
| 8 Thus says the Lord: “In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, 9 saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; 10 they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. |
8 耶和华这样说：“在悦纳的时候，我应允了你，在拯救的日子，我帮助了你； 我要保护你，使你作人民的中保， 复兴那地，使人承受荒凉之地作产业， 9 对那些被囚的说：‘你们出来吧！’对那些在黑暗中的人说：‘你们现身吧！’他们沿途必得喂养， 一切光秃的高处必成为他们的草场。 10 他们必不饥饿，也不口渴，炎热和太阳必不伤害他们， 因为那怜悯他们的，要引领他们， 带领他们到水泉的旁边。 |
|
| These promises that the Shepherd’s care for his flock is so great that they will neither hunger nor thirst or have the sun strike them would have special meaning in an ancient land where those three things were perennial problems and deadly threats. While we are part of this fallen world and while we have these bodies that are wasting away, we are vulnerable to everything – there are dangers everywhere. And it is patently obvious that heaven is not a place for where only three dangers have been eliminated. The point is that all of them are gone. Did you hear that – there is an expiration date for all danger and all pain and all trial and all heartache and all fear. |
牧人要照看祂的羊群，这样的应许是如此伟大，他们不再饥饿，不再干渴，也不受太阳伤害。这三样事在古代有特别的意义，这些对当地的古人来说一直是个困扰的问题，也是致命的威胁。既然我们是这个堕落世界的一部分，既然我们的身体在不断衰残，我们对什么都是脆弱的——到处都是危险。显而易见的是，天国不仅仅是这三样威胁没有了，重要的是所有的危险都不见了。你是否听说过——所有危险、所有痛苦、所有试炼、所有心痛、所有恐惧都有一个失效日期。 |
|
| So many people focus on heaven like a place – and it is a place where there are no more dangers, no more death, no more tears, but it is more than a place – it is mainly a person. Why are there no more dangers? The passage gives a solution sandwich. |
许多人以为天国就是一个特别的所在——那里没有危险，没有死亡，没有眼泪，但其实那不止是一个地方——它主要是关乎一个有位格的存在。为什么那里再没有危险？今天的经文给了我们一个三明治结构的解答。 |
|
| 2. The Presence: Our Shelter and Our Shepherd |
2.临在：我们的庇护所，我们的牧人 |
|
| A. The Presence of the Father (v. 15) |
A.父的临在（15节） |
| 15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. |
15 因此，他们可以在 神的宝座前，并且日夜在他的圣所里事奉他。那坐在宝座上的必展开帐幕覆庇他们。 |
|
| Heaven is a place, but it is a place defined by the presence of God. God’s presence makes heaven heaven. His throne is there. His temple is there. It is his presence that is our shelter. Do you see it: “he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence” (v. 15). Can we agree that the shelter in place ordinance has been hard with isolation and loneliness and social distancing? How different is this shelter in place. We are sheltered in God’s presence. No more loneliness or isolation. His presence is our shelter and our refuge and our strength and our joy. Light and truth will always lead us to him as the source of light and truth. Listen to the journey of the Psalmist in Psalm 43. |
天国诚然是一个地方，但那是什么样的地方取决于神的临在。神的临在决定了天国之所以是天国。祂的宝座在那里。祂的圣所在那里。祂的临在就是我们的庇护所。你看见了吗：“那坐在宝座上的必覆庇他们”（15节）。我们是否同意，居家隔离令让人难受之处就在于孤独寂寞，与世隔绝？这个庇护所有多大的不同呢？我们覆庇在神的临在里，不再孤独与隔绝。祂的临在是我们的庇护所、我们的避难所、我们的力量与我们的喜乐。光明与真理总在把我们引向祂那个光明与真理之源。请听诗篇43. |
| 3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! 4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy |
3 求你发出你的亮光和真理，好引导我，带我到你的圣山， 到你的居所。 4 我就走到 神的祭坛前，到 神、我极大的喜乐那里。 神啊！ 我的 神啊！ 我要弹琴称赞你。 |
|
| This shelter is not a burden, but our exceeding joy. There will there be no danger because our Father will be our shelter! But wait there is more. |
这个庇护所不是一个负担，而是我们无尽的喜乐。那里再没有危险，因为我们的父将作我们的庇护所！但还不止这些。 |
|
| B. The Presence of the Son |
子的临在 |
|
| But I mentioned a sandwich. Let’s see it now. In my study, this week, I saw this and I broke down in tears. It came when I saw the “for.” |
我前面提到一个三明治结构。现在让我们来看看。这个星期我自己查经的时候看到了这一点，不禁泪目。我是看到“因为”时才突然发现这一点。 |
|
| 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” |
16 他们必不再饿，也不再渴；太阳和一切炎热必不伤害他们。 17 因为在宝座中间的羊羔必牧养他们，领他们到生命水的泉源那里。神也必抹去他们的一切眼泪。 |
|
| This is the main point of the passage. This is our great hope of glory. This is where we should be looking! Why will there be no more danger, no more tears, no more pandemics? The Father will be our shelter and the Lamb will be our shepherd! There will be no thirst (v. 16) because the Shepherd will guide us to the springs of living water (v. 17). And our shelter is not an impersonal structure – he is a loving Father who will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Our tears have an expiration date. They don’t just impersonally dry up – they are tenderly wiped away. |
这是这段经文的要点。这是我们伟大荣耀的盼望。这是我们应该瞩目的地方！为什么那里再没有危险，没有眼泪，没有瘟疫？父将是我们的庇护所，羔羊将是我们的牧人！那里再没有干渴（16节）是因为牧人要引领我们到生命水的泉源那里（17节）。而我们的庇护所也不是一座冷冰冰的建筑——祂是一位慈爱的父，祂必抹去他们的一切眼泪。我们的眼泪有一个失效日期。它们不是自然地风干——它们是被慈爱地抹去。 |
|
| But how do we get here? How do we come this place where the Father is our shelter and the Son is our Shepherd? We have two clues. The first one comes in verse 17: “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd.” Why say “the Lamb” will be “their Shepherd?” Isn’t this mixing metaphors? No, it is a profound testimony to the incarnation. |
但我们怎样才能到那里？我们如何来到父作我们庇护所，子作我们牧人的地方？我们有两条线索。第一条来自17节：“因为在宝座中间的羊羔必牧养他们。”为什么说“羊羔”必作他们的牧人？这是不是一个混合的隐喻？不，这是对道成肉身的深刻见证。 |
|
| The everlasting Son of God, who always existed and never came into existence, took on flesh, took on our nature to save us. To save the children who are flesh and blood, our Savior had to take on flesh and blood. In the metaphor of this text, the Great Shepherd of the sheep took on our sheepness – our nature. He became the Lamb – the sacrificial Lamb – that would be slain for the sins of the world. There was no other way for our sin to be forgiven. The price had to be paid. Either we pay for it in hell forever. Or he pays for our sin in our place. |
永恒的神子，昔在永在，取了肉身，取了人性来救我们。为拯救血肉之身的儿女，我们的救主也要有血肉之身。在这段经文的隐喻中，羊群的大牧者也成为一只羊——我们的属性。祂成为羊羔——献祭的羊羔——为了世人的罪而被杀。再没有别的途径让我们罪得赦免。代价总要偿还。要么我们在地狱里受永刑来偿还，要么由祂替我们偿还。 |
|
| That is the second clue and it comes in verse 15. How do these people in this picture come to the presence of the Father? We know there is only way to the Father – the one who is the way, the truth and the life: Jesus. We see it in this text as well. Did you notice the “therefore” at the beginning of verse 15? What is it therefore, it tells why they are there for. |
第二条线索来自第15节。这个画面中的人们如何来到父面前？我们知道来到父面前只有一条道路——那唯一的道路、真理和生命：耶稣。我们在这段经文中也看到了。你有没有注意到15节开头的“因此”？因此是什么意思？就是告诉我们为什么。 |
|
| 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” |
9 这些事以后，我观看，见有一大群人，没有人能数得过来，是从各邦国、各支派、各民族、各方言来的。他们都站在宝座和羊羔面前，身穿白袍，手里拿着棕树枝。 10 他们大声呼喊，说：“愿救恩归给那坐在宝座上我们的 神，也归给羊羔！” 11 所有的天使都站在宝座、众长老和四个活物的四周。他们在宝座前，面伏在地上敬拜 神， 12 说：“阿们！ 愿颂讚、荣耀、智慧、 感谢、尊贵、权能、力量， 都归给我们的 神， 直到永永远远。阿们！” |
|
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:9-14) |
13 长老中有一位问我：“这些身穿白袍的是谁？ 他们是从哪里来的呢？” 14 我对他说：“我主啊，你是知道的。” 他告诉我：“这些人是从大患难中出来的。他们用羊羔的血，把自己的衣袍洗洁白了。（启示录7:9-14） |
|
| Those who are there – why are they there? They are there because of Christ. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. What can wash away my sin – nothing but the blood of Jesus. |
那些在那里的人——他们为什么在那里？他们在那里是因为基督。他们用羊羔的血把自己的衣袍洗洁白了。什么能洗净我的罪——除了耶稣的血没有别的。 |
|
| Why is there no more darkness, nothing unholy, nothing impure, nothing unjust? Because there is a collision at the cross. At the cross mercy and justice come together, but so do light and darkness, holy and unholy, pure and impure, justice and injustice, love and hate. They collide together at the cross and at the resurrection we see the outcome. He is not here. He is risen. He won the victory. Light conquers darkness. Holiness vanquishes the unholy. The pure triumphs over the impure. Justice routs injustice. Evil is overcome by Good – Love wins over hate. |
为什么那里再没有黑暗、再没有不圣、不洁、不义的事？因为在十字架上发生了一次大碰撞。在十字架上，怜悯与公义相遇，同时也是光明与黑暗、圣洁与不洁、纯净与不净、公义与不义、爱与恨的交锋。它们在十字架上碰撞在一起，而在复活的时候，我们看到了结果。祂不在这里了，祂复活了。祂胜利了。光明征服了黑暗。圣洁消灭了不洁。纯净战胜了不净。公义击退了不义。良善压倒了邪恶——爱胜过了恨。 |
| Good Friday would never be good without Easter Sunday. |
如果没有复活节的周日，“好周五”就不可能好。 |
| He rose! Christ is risen indeed! I know it is hard today to have this social isolation and not be able to gather to celebrate this in the church building together. But maybe this reality makes this Easter more like the first Easter. Disciples in their homes. Struggling with isolation and fear. But on that Sunday morning. O, he was not there. Death could not hold him. The grave could not contain the Lord of life. |
祂复活了！基督真的复活了！我知道在这全民隔离的日子大家都不容易，也没办法聚在教会里一起庆祝。但这个现状让这个复活节更像当初那第一个复活节。门徒待在他们的家里，挣扎于隔离与恐惧之中。但在那周日的早晨。哦，祂不在那里。死亡困不住祂。坟墓容纳不了主的生命。 |
| It is the great game changer and perspective maker. Where you are looking makes all the difference. |
这是全面逆袭，颠覆三观。你所看的不同，结果也就不同。 |
| It is depressing right now to see that the church is empty. |
现在看着整座教堂空荡荡的让人伤心。 |
| But it is encouraging right now to see that the tomb is empty. An empty church does not change the fact that the tomb was empty, is empty, and will always be empty. Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! |
但如果你看到坟墓空荡荡的，就会欢欣鼓舞。此刻空荡荡的教堂不会改变那个坟墓过去空荡荡，现在空荡荡，将来也空荡荡这样的事实。基督复活了！基督真的复活了！ |
| Robert Murray McCheyne said that for every one look at yourself, you should take 10 looks at Christ. In a time of a nationwide pandemic, I think we need to update his statement to account for the tendency in our hearts. For every one look at the CoronaVirus, we need to take ten looks at Christ. Pray for the grace to look to Jesus until it becomes a habit of the heart in an age of distraction. |
罗伯特·默里·麦金尼牧师说你每看自己一眼，就要看基督十眼。在这举国抗疫的日子里，我想我们需要改编一下他这句话以适用于我们的心境。我们每看一眼冠状病毒，就需要看十眼基督。祈求恩典让我们定睛耶稣，直到这成为我们心灵的习惯，哪怕是在这纷扰的时代里。 |
| Look away from all the lies and counterfeit hopes people have for trying to cheat death. No! |
不再看一切的谎言和虚假的盼望，人们用它们来欺骗死亡。绝不！ |
|
| Look to: Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth, the One who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood (Rev. 1:5). |
要看：那信实的见证人、死人中首先复生的、地上众君王的统治者耶稣基督……他爱我们，用自己的血把我们从我们的罪中释放出来（启示录1:5） |
|
| Look away for a moment from all the analysis and predictions about how long this is going to be. No one down knows how it all will end. Look to the one Who is the beginning and the end - 8 “the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). |
暂停片刻，不要再看这场瘟疫的分析以及还要持续多久的预测。没有人真的知道这一切将怎么结束。要看创始成终的那位——主 神说：“我是阿拉法，我是俄梅格；我是今在、昔在、以后要来，全能的 神。”（启示录1:8） |
|
| When we are full of fear and uncertainty, turn away from the promise of a vaccine or a stimulus from the government. These are good things, but they are temporary. Look to the things that are eternal. Look to Christ: |
当我们心中充满恐惧，疑虑不定，不要想太多疫苗或政府的刺激政策。这些固然是好事，但它们只是过眼云烟。要看那永恒的事。要看基督： |
|
| See the One who has the voice like the roar of many waters and whose face shines like the sun in its full strength that you can’t look at to long or your eyes will burn out, and hear him say in the midst of pandemic and job loss and panic and fear, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades (Rev. 1:17-18). |
看那位声音好像众水的声音，脸发光好像正午的烈日不可逼视，听祂在这瘟疫、失业和恐慌横行的中间说话：“不要怕！ 我是首先的，我是末后的， 18 又是永活的；我曾经死过，看哪，现在又活着，直活到永永远远，并且拿着死亡和阴间的钥匙。”（启示录1:17-18） |
|
| Look now while you can. Because one day he “is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him (Rev. 1:7). What will every eye see? John tells us: |
现在就看。因为有一天祂要“驾着云降临，每一个人都要看见他”（启示录1:7）每双眼睛将看见什么？约翰告诉我们： |
|
| 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:11-16). |
11 我观看，见天开了。有一匹白马，那骑马的称为“忠信” 和“真实” ；他按着公义审判和作战。 12 他的眼睛好像火燄，头上戴着许多皇冠，他身上写着一个名字，这名字除了他自己没有人认识。 13 他身穿一件浸过血的衣服，他的名字称为“ 神的道” 。 14 天上的众军，都骑着白马，穿着洁白的细麻衣，跟随着他。 15 有一把利剑从他口中吐出来，他要用这剑击打列国，他必用铁杖治理他们；并且还要踹全能 神烈怒的压酒池。 16 在他的衣服和大腿上，写着“万王之王，万主之主” 的名号。（启示录19:11-16） |
|
| Look before it too late. |
趁现在还不太迟，赶紧看。 |
|
| Conclusion: Look and Be Saved! |
结语：仰望，就得救！ |
| Think of the story of C.H. Spurgeon’s conversion. |
请思想一下C.H.司布真的归信经历。 |
| I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair until now, had it not been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm one Sunday morning, while I was going to a certain place of worship. I turned down a side street, and came to a little Primitive Methodist Church. In that chapel there may have been a dozen or fifteen people. I had heard of the Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people’s heads ache; but that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved .... |
要不是因为神的良善，在一个礼拜日早晨我去某处敬拜的路上，祂给我赐下一场暴风雪，我有时会想我可能到现在还会在黑暗与绝望之中。当时我转过一条小巷，来到一个循道宗守旧派的小教堂里。小教堂里只有十二到十五个人。我以前听说过循道宗守旧派，他们大声唱歌吵得人头疼。但我不在乎这个，我只想知道我如何才能得救…… |
| The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last a very thin-looking man, a shoemaker, or tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach. Now it is well that preachers be instructed, but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was—“LOOK UNTO ME, AND BE YE SAVED, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH” (Isaiah 45:22). |
那天早上传道人并没有到场。我猜他大概是被雪困住了。终于，一个很瘦的男人，好像是鞋匠，或是裁缝之类的人，走上讲台开始讲道。这个人看来是受过教导的，但他实在是愚蠢。他本应该紧紧抓住他要讲的经文，原因很简单，他实在也没有别的话好说。那段经文是“地极的人都当仰望我，就必得救”（以赛亚书45:22） |
| He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There was, I thought, a glimmer of hope for me in that text. |
他甚至发音都不标准，但这并不重要。我想，在这段经文中有我的一线希望。 |
| The preacher began thus: “This is a very simple text indeed. It says ‘Look.’ Now lookin’ don’t take a deal of pain. It aint liftin’ your foot or your finger; it is just ‘Look.’ Well, a man needn’t go to College to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool, and yet you can look. A man needn’t be worth a thousand a year to look. Anyone can look; even a child can look. |
这个讲道的人如此开场：“这句经文真的很简单。它说‘看’。看并不费什么劲。它不是叫你抬脚或动手指，而只是‘看’。是的，人不需要上大学才学会看。你也许是个大笨蛋，但也会看。人不需要年入千磅才会看。随便什么人都会看，甚至小孩也会看。” |
| “But then the text says, ‘Look unto Me.’ Ay!” he said in broad Essex,“many on ye are lookin’ to yourselves, but it’s no use lookin’ there. You’ll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some say look to God the Father. No, look to Him by-and-by. Jesus Christ says, ‘Look unto Me.’ Some on ye say ‘We must wait for the Spirit’s workin.’ You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says, ‘Look unto Me.’” |
“但经文接着说：‘仰望我。’嗯！”他用埃塞克斯郡口音说：“你们中许多人都看着你们自己，但是看那里没有用。你们在自己里面找不到任何安慰。有些人说要仰望父神。不，稍后再看祂。耶稣基督说：‘看着我。’有人说：‘我们应该等候圣灵的工作。’现在这不是你要操心的事。要仰望基督。经文说：‘要仰望我。’” |
| Then the good man followed up his text in this way: “Look unto Me; I am sweatin’ great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hangin’ on the cross. Look unto Me, I am dead and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I ascend to Heaven. Look unto Me; I am sitting at the Father’s right hand. O poor sinner, look unto Me! look unto Me!” |
然后这个好人这样解说经文：“仰望我，我正汗滴如血。仰望我，我正挂在十字架上。仰望我，我死了，埋葬了。仰望我，我复活了。仰望我，我升到天上。仰望我，我正坐在父神的右手边。哦，可怜的罪人，仰望我！仰望我！” |
| When he had …. managed to spin out about ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I daresay with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. |
他这样费劲地消磨了十分钟以后就黔驴技穷了。然后他看见我站在画廊下面。今天人这么少，我猜他肯定认出我是个陌生人。 |
| Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, “Young man, you look very miserable.” Well, I did, but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued,“And you will always be miserable—miserable in life and miserable in death—if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.” Then lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothing to do but look and live!” |
他双眼盯着我，好像知道我的全部心事似的。他说：“年青人，你看上去很痛苦。”好吧，是的，但我不习惯于有人在讲台上对我品头论足。不过，他这是漂亮的一击，正中要害。他接着说：“你将一直痛苦——活着痛苦，死后也痛苦——要是你不顺服我今天这句经文的话。但如果你现在就顺从，就在此刻，你就得救了。”然后他举起手，用典型循道宗守旧派的大嗓门高喊：“年青人，你要仰望耶稣基督。看啊，看啊！你别无选择，只要看，就有生命。” |
| I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said—I did not take much notice of it—I was so possessed with that one thought .... I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word,“Look!” what a charming word it seemed to me. Oh! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away. |
我立刻看到了救赎之路。我不知道他还说了别的什么——我压根没去注意——我只是被一个念头紧紧抓住……我原本打算再做五十件事，但当我听到“看”这个字，就觉得那是多么迷人。哦！我就一直瞪着看，几乎要把眼珠子瞪出来。 |
| There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me this before, “Trust Christ, and you shall be saved.” Yet it was, no doubt, all wisely ordered, and now I can say— |
然后乌云散了，黑暗消失了，那一刻我看见了阳光。那一瞬间我复活了，和他们一起以最大的热情投入歌唱，唱的是基督的宝血，单单仰望祂的单纯信心。哦，以前曾有人告诉过我：“信靠基督，你就可以得救。”毫无疑问，这是最明智的命令。现在我可以说—— |
| “E’er since by faith I saw the stream; Thy flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme, And shall be till I die. . .” |
“自从因信见此泉源，流自救主肋旁，我便赞美主恩奇妙，立志一生传扬……”（译注：圣诗《宝血活泉》） |
| That happy day when I found the Saviour, and learned to cling to His dear feet, was a day never to be forgotten by me .... I listened to the Word of God and that precious text led me to the cross of Christ. I can testify that the joy of that day was utterly indescribable. I could have leaped, I could have danced; there was no expression, however fanatical, which would have been out of keeping with the joy of that hour. Many days of Christian experience have passed since then, but there has never been one which has had the full exhilaration, the sparkling delight which that first day had. |
我找到救主，学会紧紧抓住祂的双脚的那一天是快乐的一天，我永远不会忘怀……我听神的道，宝贵的经文引导我来到基督的十字架前。我保证那天的快乐是无法形容的。我欢呼雀跃，手舞足蹈，都无法表达。无论有多么狂热，都无法与那一刻的喜乐相称。自从那以后，我又经历了很多作为基督徒的日子，但再没有像那天那样兴高采烈，就是那头一天熠熠生辉的喜乐。 |
| I thought I could have sprung from the seat in which I sat, and have called out with the wildest of those Methodist brethren ...“I am forgiven! I am forgiven! A monument of grace! A sinner saved by blood!” |
我想我可以从座椅上弹跳起来，像那些循道宗兄弟用最狂野的声音高呼：“我被赦免了！我被赦免了！一座恩典的丰碑！一个被宝血救赎的罪人！” |
| (Taken from The Early Years Iain Murray, ed., London: Banner of Truth, 1962, pp. 87–90). |
（摘自伊恩·穆雷编辑的《早年》伦敦：真理旗帜出版社，1962年，第87–90页） |
| I can’t see you now. No one else can either. You can jump, you can dance, you can spring from your couch in your jammies. You can say amen, hallelujah, Christ is risen. Your God sees you. Your living Savior sees you. Sing it to him. Say it to him. Let’s join the worship happening in heaven right now. Do you feel the world is broken – O my yes we do. Do you feel the shadows deepen. We do. But do you know that all the dark can’t stop the light from getting through. Is it good that we remind ourselves of this?! It is. Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole? Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll? The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave. He is David’s root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave. Look to him! Is he worthy? He is! |
现在我看不见你们。这里的其他人也看不见你们。你们可以欢呼雀跃，可以手舞足蹈，可以穿着睡衣从沙发上跳起来。你们可以说阿们，哈利路亚，基督复活了。你们的神看得见你们。你们永生的救主看得见你们。向祂歌唱。向祂说哈利路亚。让我们一起加入正在天上进行的敬拜。你是否感觉到世界已经破碎——哦，是的。你是否感觉到黑影在加深？是的。但是否知道所有的黑暗都无法阻挡光明？让我们提醒自己这个真理好不好？好的。有谁配得？有谁健全？有谁能够揭开那印，展开那书卷？犹大的狮子征服了坟墓。祂是大卫的苗裔，神的羔羊，被杀为奴仆作赎价。仰望祂！祂是配得吗？是的！ |
|
| Sermon Discussion Questions |
讲道讨论问题 |
| Sermon Text: Revelation 7:15-17 |
讲道经文：启示录7:15-17 |
| Sermon Title: The Risen Shepherd |
讲道标题：复活的牧人 |
| Main Point: Why will there be no more danger, no more tears, no more pandemics? The Father will be our shelter and the Lamb will be our shepherd! |
要点：为什么那里再没有危险，没有眼泪，没有瘟疫？因为父要作我们的庇护所，羔羊要作我们的牧人！ |
|
| Outline |
纲要 |
| 1. The Place (v. 16) |
1.所在（16节） |
| 2. The Presence (v. 15, 17) |
2.临在（15，17节） |
|
| Discussion Questions |
讨论问题 |
| 1. What is the difference between this fallen world and the world to come according to Revelation 7:16? |
1.根据启示录7:16，这个堕落的世界和将来的世界有什么不同？ |
| 2. Why will that place in verse 16 be the way it is according to verses 15 and 17? In other words, what is the sandwich of this passage? |
2.根据15和17节，16节所描述的所在为什么是那样的地方？换句话说，这段经文的三明治结构是什么？ |
| 3. How does the Lamb become the Shepherd in verse 17? Is John just mixing metaphors or is there something deeper and more glorious going on? |
3.羔羊如何变成17节中的牧人？约翰只是混合了两种隐喻，还是有什么更深刻更荣耀的含义？ |
| 4. What is the significance of the “therefore” in verse 15? |
4.15节中的“因此”有什么重要意义？ |
| Application Questions |
应用问题 |
| 1. Have you witnessed in yourself how easy it is to look at Covid-19? Assess where you have been looking – where and how often. What is your proportion? For example, many of us would say for ever 10 looks at Covid-19 we have taken 1 look at Christ. |
1.你是否见证自己有多容易去看新冠病毒？评估一下自己怎么看——看哪里，多频繁。比例如何？例如，我们中很多人会说，我们看10眼新冠病毒才会看一眼基督。 |
| 2. How can you change the habits of your heart in terms of where you look and what dominates your attention? |
2.你如何能够改变分配注意力的习惯，就是你经常看哪里，让什么来支配你的注意？ |
| 3. What part of this message do you need to share with someone this week? Is there someone you need to exhort? |
3.这篇信息的哪一部分你在这周需要分享给他人？有谁需要你去鼓励？ |
| Prayer Focus |
祷告聚焦 |
| Pray for the grace to look to Jesus until it becomes a habit of the heart in an age of distraction. |
祈求恩典仰望耶稣，直到这成为心灵的习惯，哪怕在这纷扰的时代里。 |
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
网友评论