晨兴圣言-马太福音中所启示...(W6-4)

第六周 • 周四

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晨兴餧养

太八9　 因为我也是一个在权柄之下的人，有兵在我以下；我对这个说，去，他就去；对那个说，来，他就来；对我的奴仆说，作这事，他就作。

十六24　于是耶稣对门徒说，若有人要跟从我，就当否认己，背起他的十字架，并跟从我。


一个要作神代表权柄的人，除了他自己必须认识神的权柄，并顺服神的权柄之外，还有三点基本的要求是必须有的：

〔首先，〕一个作代表权柄的人必须记得，没有权柄不是出于神的。…他身上如果有权柄，乃是出于神的；他自己并不是权柄。没有人可以立自己作权柄。你个人的意见，不能成为别人的律法；你自己的意见、看法或主张，并没有被接受的价值。…只有由神出来，显在你身上的权柄，你纔可以叫弟兄姊妹服。作代表权柄的人，只应该代表神的权柄。…所有作代表权柄的人，都必须记得：他只是代表神的权柄，他自己并没有任何的权柄。

一个人是作权柄的人，乃在于他是认识神的旨意，有神的思想，有神的意思（倪柝声文集第三辑第一册，二二九至二三○页）。

信息选读

一个作代表权柄的人，第二个基本的要求乃是要弃绝自己。当你不认识神的旨意时，就不可开口，不可随便使用权柄。一个作神代表权柄的人，不仅要在积极方面认识何为神的权柄，也要在消极方面学习弃绝自己。请你记得，你的意见，神并不宝贝，弟兄姊妹也不宝贝。…你以为你的意见是最好的，你以为你的意见，神宝贝，弟兄姊妹也宝贝。你乃是在梦里。你千万不要愚昧到一个地步，硬将自己的意见压在别人心上。

一个作神代表权柄的人，第三个基本要求，就是必须时刻与神有亲密的交通。不只有来往的交通（communion），并且是有东西的交通（communication）。有些人一天到晚有许多意见，他必须学习丢弃他的意见。他每碰到一个意见，都要带到神面前办交涉，看看这些意见是出于肉体的，还是出于神的。这样，神就能逐渐将祂的心意指教他。

所以我们要作代表权柄，就必须有属灵的条件，加上谦卑的条件。作权柄的条件，乃是根据自以为不配，自己觉得不行。我觉得有一句话不错：在新旧约圣经中我们看见，神所用的人，没有一个是骄傲的人。我顶直的告诉你，人一有骄傲，神立时把他摆在一边。我站作工地位二十余年，从来没有看见一个骄傲的人是神能用的。人在那里偷偷地骄傲，迟早会在话语里显出来，因为话语是走漏里面消息的。就是谦卑的人，将来在神的审判台前还不知要有多少的惊骇！而骄傲人的惊骇也不知要超过谦卑人多少倍！我们必须觉得自己不行，因为神只用无用的仆人。这不是我们客气，乃是真觉得我们是无用的仆人；虽然放了羊、耕了地，但回来时，仍说自己是无用的仆人。我们总要站在仆人的地位上（路十七10）。神绝不把权柄交给自以为是、自以为行的人。我们要拒绝骄傲，学习谦卑温柔（倪柝声文集第三辑第一册，二三三、二三七、三二四页）。

参读：倪柝声文集第三辑第一册，权柄与顺服下编，第一篇。

WEEK 6 — DAY 4

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Morning Nourishment

Matt. 8:9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he does it.

16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

In order to be God’s deputy authority, a person must fulfill three fundamental requirements (in addition to knowing God’s authority and submitting to His authority).

A deputy authority must [first] remember that all authorities come from God…If there is any authority in a man at all, that authority comes from God. There is no inherent authority in a person, and no one can appoint himself to be an authority. Our personal opinions cannot become others’ law, and our own ideas, views, and proposals do not deserve others’ esteem…We can only ask the brothers and sisters to submit to the authority in us which comes from God. A deputy authority can only be a deputy to God’s authority…All deputy authorities must remember that they are merely God’s representative authorities; they have no authority in themselves.

A person becomes an authority because of his knowledge of God’s will, God’s mind, and God’s thoughts. (CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” pp. 209-210)

Today’s Reading

The second basic requirement of a deputy authority is to deny himself. Before one is clear about God’s will, he should not open his mouth and should not exercise any authority. God’s deputy authority must not only know His authority on the positive side, but must learn to deny himself on the negative side. Please remember that neither God nor the brothers and sisters treasure your opinion…If you think your opinion is the best, that God treasures your opinion, and that the brothers and sisters honor your idea, you are living in a dream. Do not be so foolish as to unilaterally impose your opinion upon others.

Those who are God’s deputy authorities should possess a third qualification—they must have a constant and intimate fellowship with the Lord. There must not only be a communion, but a communication. Some are loaded with opinions throughout the day. These ones must learn to give up their opinions. Every time one has an opinion, he has to bring it to the Lord and find out if such an opinion is of the flesh or of God. In this way God will gradually reveal His heart’s desire to him.

In order to be a deputy authority, we must fulfill the condition of spirituality as well as the condition of humility. The qualification of an authority is based on one’s consciousness of his inability and unsuitability. One thing is sure: None of the persons that God used in the Old and New Testaments were proud. I can tell you frankly that as soon as a person becomes proud, God will put him aside. As a worker for over twenty years, I have never seen a proud man who was used by the Lord. Even if a man is just a little proud in private, his words will sooner or later expose him, because a person’s words always disclose the hidden state of his heart. Even a humble person will be greatly surprised at the judgment seat. The surprise that awaits the proud, however, will surely be many times more than that of the humble! We must be conscious of our unprofitableness all the time, because God can only use the unprofitable slaves. We are not saying this to be polite. We honestly should feel that we are unprofitable slaves. We may have tended sheep or plowed the field, but when we come in from the field, we should still acknowledge that we are unprofitable slaves. We should always stand in the position of a slave (Luke 17:10). God never entrusts His authority to the self-confident and self-assured. We have to reject pride and learn humility and meekness. (CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” pp. 212, 215, 286)

Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” ch. 12