亞哈
All around us are competing groups. Have you noticed this? In fact, let’s see which one of the following groups you fall into?
我们周围都是相互竞争的群体。你注意到了吗？看看你属于以下哪一类？
I need you all to stand: (Stay standing / Sit)
我需要你们都起立（保持站立或者坐下）
● Marvel vs DC 漫威漫画还是DC漫画？
● Apple vs PC 苹果电脑还是其他品牌的电脑？
● Sweet vs savoury 甜还是咸？
● Dogs vs cats 狗还是猫？
● Phone vs text 打电话还是发短信？
● Facebook vs Instagram 脸书还是即时电报（社交媒体）？
● Toilet paper hung “over” or toilet paper “under” 厕纸外卷还是内卷？
● Online Shopping or Indoor Shopping 网上购物还是门店购物？
Grab a seat…Well, all that’s a bit of fun as we consider competing ideas.
请坐，这就是一些我们想到竞争时的有趣的事物
The part that’s not so fun is considering the competing demands and responsibilities that are the reality of our lives.
然而，我们现实生活中相互竞争的需求和责任却并非那么有趣。
We have 我们有
● work. 工作
● Family. 家庭
● Kids events. 亲子活动
All these things add clutter and noise to our lives.
所有这些都给我们的生活增添了混乱和噪音
On top of that 除此之外，还有......
● Keeping fit. 要保持体型
● The bank gets in there too – with rising mortgage rates and increasing costs of living. 银行的麻烦也来了，贷款利率和生活成本的攀升
● The need to look a particular way. 另辟蹊径的需要
● Even different ministries at church can feel like they want their bit from us too. 即使是教会的不同的服侍团队，也会觉得想从我们这里得到帮助。
● On top of that the priority to keep all this in balance, or at least look like it is. 所有这些之外最主要
的是要保持平衡，或者至少让它们看起来像是很平衡
● There are different promises about identity. 有不同的方法，保证我们的人设（身份）
● There are different messages about success. 有不同的说法，评价成功
● There are different ideas about what our purposes is. 有不同的想法，看待我们的目的
● All of them make demands of us. 所有这些都对我们提出需求
● They cry out the primary voice – which is the voice of God. 它们呼唤着 – 上帝的声音
● Our lives have become full of clutter with competing demands. 我们的生活充斥着混乱的竞争的需求
● It all gets too much! 一切都太过分了！
Can you relate?
你能感同身受吗？
As we come to our story today, the Israelites are in a cunundrum. Their lives are cluttered with competing loyalities and allegiances. Life isn’t going well for them.
All this happens through the influence of a royal couple called Ahab and Jezebel.
It’s been about 40-50 years since the kingdom divided by Rehoboam’s actions. If you remember last week, the tribes of Israel divided into two kingdoms: 10 tribes form the northern kingdom of Israel. Two tribes form the southern kingdom of Judah.
The rest of our series is going to focus on some of the kings in the southern kingdom of Judah. Today we
look at one of the kings from the Northern kingdom of Israel. In all, there are 19 of them. 100% of them are seen as evil.
Ahab and his wife Jezebel certainly reflect the epitome of the northern kingdom. This is how their story is introduced:
当我们来到今天的故事时，以色列人正处于一个难题之中。他们的生活被相互竞争的忠诚和效忠弄得一团糟。生活对他们来说并不顺利。
这一切都是透过一对名叫亚哈和耶洗别的王室夫妇的影响而发生的。
王国因罗波安的行为导致分裂已经有 40 - 50 年了。如果你记得上周，以色列各支派分为两个王国：
10 个支派组成北方的以色列王国。两个支派组成南方的犹大王国。
我们这个讲道系列的其余部分将集中讨论南部犹大王国的一些国王。今天我们来看看以色列北部王国的一位国王。北国总共有19个王，他们中的100％被看作是邪恶的。
亚哈和他的妻子耶洗别无疑是北国的缩影。他们的故事是这样介绍的：
“But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him.
…He married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal… He did more to provoke the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him.”/ 16:30-33 NLT
暗利的儿子亚哈行耶和华眼中看为恶的事，比他以前所有的王更严重。 …又娶了西顿王谒巴力的女儿耶洗别为妻，去事奉巴力，敬拜它， 32 又在撒玛利亚建巴力庙，在庙里为巴力筑坛。 33 亚哈又造亚舍拉，他所做的惹耶和华—以色列的 神发怒，比他以前所有的以色列王更严重。（王上16:30-33）
When Ahab marries Jezebel, she brings more than increased trade with another country. She brings with her an aggresive propanga: Baal worship.
Baal was an idol, a so-called god, who was worshipped in the area. He had long attempted to supplant the place of Yahweh, the Christian God, in the hearts of his people.
Ahab and Jezebel build a splendid temple for Baal right in the heart of the new capital city Samaria. It’s a clear messaage: Southern tribes have their temple to Yahweh in Jerusalem. The northern tribe has their temple to Baal who now calls on their allegiance and worship.
Here is an artists impression of Baal: The picture shows a worshipper offering worship to Baal. The reason there are plants around him is because Baal was seen to be the god responsible for crops and wheat were growing and cattle having calves. Baal was seen as the fertility god. So, the people worshipped Baal in the hope that they were would experience a flourishing and properous life.
Now, Baal was there before Jezebel - but she was an adament evangelist of Baal. She financially supported 450 prophets of Baal. At the same time, she ensured that the worship of Yahweh became illegal. She sought to have all the prophets of Yahweh assassinated in order to stamp out the worship of God. If you stood up and said ‘no, we need to serve God’ – you could get killed for that. So, the prophets of Yahweh that were left were often in caves, hidden away.
Baal worship is now the national religion.
当亚哈与耶洗别结婚时，她带来的不仅仅是与另一个国家贸易的增加。她带来了一种激进的宣传： 巴力崇拜。
巴力是一个偶像，即所谓的“神”，在当地被人崇拜。长期以来，他一直试图取代耶和华，基督教上帝在人民心中的地位。
亚哈和耶洗别在新首都撒玛利亚的中心地带为巴力建造了一座华丽的圣殿。这是一个明确的信息， 南国在耶路撒冷有他们的圣殿。北国现在有了他们的巴力神殿，巴力现在呼吁他们效忠和崇拜。 这是艺术家对巴力的画像：图为敬拜巴力的信徒。他周围有植物，是因为巴力被认为是负责庄稼、小麦生长，以及牛群生崽的神。巴力被视为生育之神。于是，人们崇拜巴力，希望他们能过上富足的生活。
巴力在耶洗别之前就存在。但她是巴力的忠实传道者。她资助了 450 名巴力先知。同时，她确保崇拜耶和华成为非法。她试图暗杀所有耶和华的先知，以杜绝对上帝的崇拜。如果你站起来说‘不，我们需要服侍上帝’，你会因此被杀。因此，剩下的上帝的先知们常常藏在山洞里，隐居起来。巴力崇拜当时是国教。
The people who once sat around the meal table and declared: ‘give thanks to God for he is good. His love endures forever’ Now give grace at that same table and say - ‘give thanks to Baal for he is good. His love endures forever.’
The primary space in the hearts of the people is now centred – not around God – but around Baal.
There arrives on the scene a prophet of God named Elijah. His name means ‘Yahweh is God.’ He has a simple mission – to clear the stage of competing gods and get rid of all the clutter now in their lives and ensure the people hear the voice of God and give the primary space to worship and follow Yahweh, the One who deserves it.
Perhaps you can relate to the competing demands that go on in your life. And perhaps amidst all the noise and competition of all these demands, God has been superceded. Other things have begun to capture your imagination. Or distract you. You find your identity in something different to who God says you are.
If that’s you - my prayer today is that you will find clarity on what it looks like to clear the stage of all these things demanding your affection and allegiance, and reserve the primary space in your heart for the One who deserves it.
Now, typically, there are 5 movements I’ve noticed as people clean out the competing demands that pull on our hearts. Of course, these movements aren’t the only ones and may not be linear.
But, what I’ve found is that these give movements tend to happen when people move from an unhealthy hopeless place to a healthy hopeful place – with God back at the centre again.
曾经围坐在餐桌旁的人们宣称：‘感谢上帝，因为祂是善良的。祂的爱永远长存” 现在在同一张桌子上却把谢恩归于假神巴力，“感谢巴力，因为他是善良的。他的爱永远长存。”
人们心中的主要空间现在围绕着巴力，而不是围绕着上帝。
一位名叫以利亚的上帝的先知到来。他的名字的意思是“耶和华是上帝”。他的使命很简单，清除竞争神灵的舞台，让人们摆脱现在生活中的所有杂乱无章，确保他们听到上帝的声音，并把主要空间腾出来敬拜和跟随上帝，那位真正值得敬拜的上帝。
也许你可以将生活中不断发生的相互竞争的需求联系起来。也许在所有这些要求的喧嚣和竞争中， 上帝已经被取代了。其他事情已经开始吸引你的想象力，或者分散你的注意力。你发现自己的身份与上帝所说的你不同。
如果你是这样的人，我今天的祷告是，你会找到清晰的答案，即清除所有这些要求你爱戴和效忠的东西，并在你心中为值得你爱戴的那位保留主要空间。
现在，通常情况下，当人们清除内心的相互竞争的需求时，我注意到有 5 个动作。当然，这些动作并不是唯一的，也可能不是线性的。
但是，我发现当人们从一个不健康的绝望之处，转移到另外一个健康的充满希望的地方时，这些动作往往会发生，上帝再次回到中心。
MOVEMENT ONE: See the problem
动作一：看见问题
Movement 1 is about a drought. It’s about seeing the problem.
In the case of Israel, the drought got their attention.
Remember, the people have sold themselves out to worshipping Baal because they believe he is responsible for the rain and behind the crops growing.
Elijah, the prophet of God, shows up in front of the king. He says, ‘You want to rely on Baal for crops/bread.. .Well, I’m praying that God will send a drought!’
动作1 是关于干旱的。 这是关于看到问题。就以色列而言，干旱引起了他们的注意。
请记住，人们已经出卖了自己，崇拜巴力，因为他们相信他对雨水和庄稼生长负有责任。
上帝的先知以利亚出现在国王面前。他说，“你想依靠巴力来获得庄稼/面包 好吧，我祷告上帝会降旱灾！”
This is how Elijah speaks to the king: 以利亚这样和国王说到：
“As surely as the LORD (Yahweh), the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”/ 1 Kings 17:1 (NLT)
“我指着我所事奉永活的耶和华以色列的 神起誓，这几年若是没有我的命令，天必不降露，也不下雨。”（王上17:1）
“There won’t be any rain. There won’t even be dew in the morning. Not until Israel turns back to the real God.”
This is bold. These kind of words could get you killed. But, Elijah says what he has been told to say. He leaves. There are three years without rain!
As you can imagine, the first year is hard – but I guess there are some reserves. In the second year, the people plant their seeds in the hope of a better way forward – but there is no water for a new crop.
Nothing grows. Third year comes around – and now there isn’t even any seed for the third year – and besides, what’s the point. There is no water.
No income. No food. Nothing.
God is withholding his blessing from his people.
This is exactly what Solomon had warned the people would happen if they turned to follow other gods. We heard it in his prayer at the opening of the temple:
“不会下雨的。早上甚至不会有露水。直到以色列转向真正的上帝。”
这是大胆的。这种话可能会让你丧命。但是，以利亚说出了他被告知要说的话。他离开了，有三年时间没有下雨！
你可以想象，第一年很艰难，但我想人们还是有一些储备。第二年，人们播下种子，希望能有更好的收成，但没有水，什么都没长出来。第三年来了，现在连第三年的种子都没有了。此外，没有水，还有什么意义呢？
没有收入，没有食物，什么都没有。上帝不给祂的子民祝福。
这正是所罗门警告人们，如果他们转而跟随其他神会发生的事情。我们在圣殿落成时的祷告中听到了这一点：
“If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray
… and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins … then hear from heaven and forgive./ 1 Kings 8:35-36 “
“如果他们因为得罪了你，天就闭塞不下雨；他们若是向这地方祷告，承认你的名 离开他们的罪
，求你在天上垂听，赦免你仆人和你的子民以色列的罪 ” (王上8:35-36)
So, the absence of rain is a reminder to the people that they have turned away from God.
Now I have to be careful about something here. There are all kinds of difficult things that can happen in life. It doesn’t mean that God is disciplining you. It might be upheaval in your job, family difficulties, horrid illnesses – this doesn’t mean that God is behind it. Sometimes the nastiness of life comes our way and it is not related to our behaviour.
In this case, it is related to Israel’s behaviour. Baal is now at centre stage of their homes and life. The rain stops because God is wants to get the people’s attention. Sometimes the only way we will listen is when things come crashing around us and we see the emptiness of what our lives have become.
We might get to that drought for a range of reasons. Sometimes we need to find ourselves in some sort of drought before we’re ready to move forward.
因此，没有下雨是在提醒人们，他们已经远离了上帝。
现在，我必须在这里谨慎对待一些事情。生活中会发生各种困难的事情，这并不意味着上帝正在管教你。它可能是你的工作剧变、家庭困难、可怕的疾病，这并不意味着上帝在背后管教你。有时， 生活中的讨厌事会向我们袭来，这与我们的行为无关。
在这种情况下，它与以色列的行为有关。巴力现在处于他们家庭和生活的中心位置。没下雨是因为上帝想要引起人们的注意。有时，我们唯一愿意倾听的时候，就是当事情发生在我们身边，冲击我们，我们才看到生活变得虚空。
我们可能会因为一系列的原因，到达那个干旱的地方。有时我们需要在某种干旱中找到自己，然后才准备好向前走。
This leads to 这就导致...
MOVEMENT TWO: Recognise you have a choice
动作二：认识到你有一个选择
Here, you move from recognising that there is a problem, to recognising you have a choice to make.
In other words, will you continue on the path you are on, or will change your allegiance and go down a new pathway. You can’t have it both ways.
After three years, Elijah came back on the scene and said ‘hey, I need to call a gathering.’ He invites the people to a place called Mt Carmel. This is a picture of the place here:
This is one of the many ridges along the 26km of Mt Carmel. Somewhere along there is where Elijah invited the people to gather.
The place is significant in the story for a couple of reasons:
在这里，你从认识到问题，到认识到你有一个选择要做。
换句话说，你是继续走你正在走的路，还是会改变你的忠诚，走上一条新的道路。你不可能两全其美。
三年后，以利亚回来说：“嘿，我需要召集一次聚会。” 他邀请人们到一个叫迦密山的地方，这是一张照片：
这是沿迦密山26 公里的众多山脊之一。在那里的某个地方，以利亚邀请人们聚集。这个地方在故事中很重要，原因有两个：
For one, it’s significant because of what you see from up on the ridge.
首先，它的意义在于你从山脊往下看到的东西非常壮观。
It’s not what you see when you look AT Mt Carmel, it’s what you see when you’re looking FROM Mt Carmel: the Jezreel valley.
Normally, this would be one of the most fertile lush agriculturally rich spots anywhere in the area. It’s very name means ‘Fertile Garden’ because it saw heavier rainfall than anywhere else in the country.
But after three years of drought, this whole area is baked and barren.
From this spot, the people can see the devastation of the drought right in front of them.
So, the place is significant because it is a reminder of their problem, but it is also significant for a second reason:
这不是你看迦密山的样子，而是你从迦密山向下看时所看到的：耶斯列尔山谷。 通常，这是该地区最肥沃的、农业资源最丰富的地方之一。它名字的意思是“肥沃的花园”，因为它的降雨量比全国其他地方都多。
但是经过三年的干旱，整个地区都被烤焦了，一片荒芜。
从这个地方，人们可以看到干旱造成的破坏。
所以，这个地方很重要，因为它提醒了他们的问题，它的意义还在于第二点：
This place came to be one of the most important places for the worship of Baal. One of the kings around this time refers to Mt Carmel as ‘Baal’s bluff.’ Effectively, Elijah is going to the headquarters for Baal. In a sense, he is highlighting the cause of their problem.
这个地方后来成为崇拜巴力的最重要场所之一。此时的一位国王将迦密山称为“巴力之崿”。实际上，以利亚是去了巴力的总部。在某种意义上，他是在强调他们问题的根源。
Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!”/ 1 Kings 18:21
以利亚走近众人说：“你们三心两意，要到几时呢？如果耶和华是 神，你们就应当随从耶和华；如果巴力是 神，你们就应当随从巴力。”众人一句话也不回答。（王上18:21）
This is the crossroads moment. He says, “If Baal is the true God – go for it. ( I can imagine him glancing out at the valley - it doesn’t look like it’s been going well these past three years, right). But, here’s the thing: If Yahweh, the Christian God is the real God – follow him. Give him the primary space on the stage of you life.’ My guess is that if you asked the people privately ‘do you worship Yahweh?’ they would have said –“Sure -he called our ancestor Abraham. He rescued us from slavery and planted us in this land.” “Oh, and do you worship Baal?”
“Well, sure. Baal promises us a flourishing life. He provided me a son and a daughter, didn’t he? We hoping he is going to get our crops growing again. Why wouldn’t we worship him as well?”
Elijah says ‘you can’t go down two pathways. Choose one: If Baal is the true god – follow him. If Yahweh is the true god – follow him.’
这是十字路口的时刻。他说：“如果巴力是真神，那就去吧。（我可以想象他瞥了一眼山谷，过去三年看起来并不顺利，对吧。）但是，问题是：如果耶和华，基督教的 上帝是真正的上帝，跟随祂。把你人生舞台上的主要空间让位给祂。我的猜测是，如果你私下问这些人，‘你崇拜上帝吗？’他们会说，“当然，祂呼召我们的祖先亚伯拉罕。祂把我们从奴役中解救出来，把我们安置在这片土地上。”“哦，那你们崇拜巴力吗？”
“嗯，当然。巴力向我们承诺一个繁荣的生活。他给了我一个儿子和一个女儿，不是吗？我们希望他能让我们的庄稼再次生长…… 我们为什么不敬拜他呢？”
以利亚说，‘你不能腳踏兩條船。选择一个：如果巴力是真神，跟随他。如果耶和华是真神，跟随祂。
Think about this like a marriage. Let’s say the bride wants an open marriage – why should she be restricted to one partner when she could have multiple partners. Why should she miss out?! But, the husband wants an exclusive relationship – just her. Q: Is it going to work?
God wants an exclusive relationship with you and me. He wants us to say to him ‘forsaking all others’ I take you to be my God for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish. For as long as I live.”
This is what Jesus said. One day the people asked Jesus ‘What does God want most?’ The people asking worded it differently: – ‘what’s the greatest commandment?’ Remember how Jesus answered it?
把它想象成婚姻。假设新娘想要一个开放式婚姻，当她可以有多个伴侣时，为什么要限制在一个伴侣身上， 她为什么要错过呢？但是，丈夫想要一种专属的关系，只有她。问题来了：这能行吗？ 上帝希望与你和我建立一种专属关系。祂希望我们对祂说，“离弃所有其他人”，无论好坏，无论贫富，无论疾病和健康，都要爱你、珍惜你，把你当作我的上帝。直到永远。
这就是耶稣所说的。有一天，人们问耶稣：“上帝最想要什么？”人们问的措辞不同：“诫命中最大的是什么？”还记得耶稣是如何回答的吗？
Love the Lord your God 你要爱你的上帝
With all your heart 尽心、
With all your soul 尽性
With all your mind 尽意、
With all your strength 尽力/
He wants all of you – an an exclusive relationship where the stage of your life is cleared of everything that competes.
祂想要你的全部，一种专属的关系，你生活的舞台上要清除出任何与祂竞争的东西。
How do you do that? I’ve got four kids at school, work to do, bills to pay. Like many others, we have a
massive mortgage – the rates are going up. Cost of living...How do you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength with all this going on?
Let’s break it down into a quadrant here of some of the areas typically in our life.
So, we have 1) relationships 2) our stuff, 3) our work/study, 4) family (could be wider whanau that you are part of).
你要怎么做到的？我有四个孩子在学校，我有工作要做、账单要付。像许多其他人一样，我们有巨额抵押贷款，利率正在上涨，生活成本走高…… 在这一切发生的情况下，你如何全心全意地爱上帝？
让我们做一下分解：
我们有 1）关系 2）事物，3）我们的工作/学习，4）家庭（可能是更广泛的群体）
Jesus says ‘I want all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. What does this mean?
耶稣说，‘我要你全心、全性、全意和全力。’ 这是什么意思？
What he means is he is primary over all this. He speaks into all these areas
祂所指的是，祂在这一切上是首要的，祂掌管所有这些领域:
● So, we invite him to direct us in our relationships 因此我们邀请祂指引我们建立各种关系
● We ask him to lead us in our relationship with our stuff and have the right idea of what money can
do and can’t do for us. 我们请祂引导我们与我们所面临的事情建立关系，并正确了解金钱能为我们做什么和不能做什么。
● We bring our career and occupation and study under his domain – believing that when we do go
work for others – it honours him. 我们将我们的事业、职业和学习归于祂掌管，相信当我们为他人工作时，就是在荣耀祂。
● We ask him to be at the centre of our family – however complicated it might be. 我们求祂做我们
家庭的中心，不管多复杂
Ultimately, what we’re asking is that he be at the centre of all this. So the stage of our life is primarly influenced by him and for him and with him.
Perhaps there is something of Elijah’s story already calling out to you right now: calling for a decision: that it’s time to invite God to change the way you think about your relationships, your money, your work, your family. And go down a different pathway than the one that you on.
What I’ve found is that typically, there is a point where we say ‘I’m in.’ And we begin the journey of discovering what that looks like. And typically, over time, there are more specific decisions.
I come to realise the way my relationship is not under his leadership - so, I make that decision. Or,I realise my money is not under his influence – And I’m at a crossroads moment around that.
Or, my work or my family needs to be led by King Jesus with Him calling the shots – and not the other way around.
归根结底，我们所要求得的是，让祂成为这一切的中心。 因此，我们生命的舞台要以祂为主、向祂而活、与祂同在。
也许以利亚的故事中的某些东西，现在已经在呼召你：呼吁你做出决定：是时候邀请上帝改变你对人际关系、金钱、工作和家庭的看法了。走一条与你所走的不同的道路。
我发现，通常情况下，我们会说“我加入”，然后我们开始探索这段旅程。通常，随着时间的推移， 会有更具体的决定。
我开始意识到我的关系不在祂的引领之下，所以，我做出了这个决定。
或者，我意识到我的金钱不受祂影响，而我正处于十字路口时刻。或者，我的工作或家庭需要由主耶稣来带领 - 而不是相反。
It’s a crossroads moment. It requires a blatant decision: will I stay on the course I am on (that doesn’t actually seem to be working so well!). Or, will I change course and give the primary space and allegiance to God.
Right there on the hillside, Elijah says to the people: ‘Hey, you’ve got to make a decision. You can’t play it both ways. If the LORD is the real God – put him at the centre.’
Do you know what did the people said? Nothing! Zippo. They’re not prepared to make a decision.
Why? I guess they are conflicted. Confused. They have no idea what to say - even though they can see the drought staring them in the eyes!
这是一个十字路口的时刻。这需要一个大胆的决定：我是否会留在我所走的路线上（实际上似乎并不是那么好走！）。 或者，我会改变方向，把主要的空间交给上帝，并对上帝忠诚。
就在山坡上，以利亚对人们说：‘嘿，你们必须做出决定。你不能两边都选。如果上帝是真正的 神， 那么就把祂放在中心位置。
你知道人家是怎么说的吗？什么也没说！啥都没有，他们不准备做出决定。
为什么？我猜他们是矛盾、困惑的。 他们不知道该说什么，尽管他们可以看到满目的干旱！
This leads to movement three:
这就引入了第三个动作：
MOVEMENT THREE: See the empty promises of your idols
第三个动作：看见你所拜偶像的空洞许诺
SO, Elijah says, let’s have a god contest. Whichever god wins – that is the god who should be followed. What happens next is quite a humerous scene.
On one side you have King Ahab and his entourage.
In addition, you have 450 prophets of Baal and another 400 prophets of Asherah – another supporting god of his tribe.
Remember, all these prophets have home town advantage – they are on Baal’s turf.
Think of this is the Eden Park of All Black Rugby. Elijah – like some outlier Irish player is laying out the challenge to the All Blacks right in their home turf. He is going to the home centre of Baal and about to step into a contest – giving them home team advantage.
So, if there are 1000 prophets and entourage on one side all cheering on Baal – who do you have on the other side representing Yahweh? Well, there is Elijah! That’s it. It can feel lonely on that side at times, right?
所以，以利亚说，让我们来一场属神的竞赛吧。哪位神获胜，那个神就应该被追随。
接下来发生的是一个相当有趣的场景。一边是亚哈王和他的随从。
另外，还有 450 名巴力先知和另外 400 名亚舍拉先知，部落的另一个神。请记住，所有这些先知都有主场的优势，他们在巴力的地盘上。
想象这就是橄榄球全黑队的主场。以利亚，就像是爱尔兰球员在全黑队的主场向他们发起挑战一样。他要去巴力的主场，并准备参加一场比赛，面对主场优势。
一边有 1000 名先知和随从在为巴力欢呼，那么另一边代表上帝的是谁？嗯，是以利亚！仅此而已。在那边一定会感到孤独，对吧？
Elijah calls for a showdown of the gods.
The idea is very simple: He and the prophets of Baal will both put wood on their altars, sacrifice a bull and ask their god to send down fire from heaven.
Elijah brings in two bulls. He gets the prophets of Baal to determine which Bull they will sacrifice – so that Elijah can’t be accused of interferring.
The only rule in the competition is that you have to leave it to your god to start the fire. No matches. It’s up to Baal or Yahweh to begin their own fire to burn up the sacrifice.
Now all this would please the prophets of Baal because Baal was known as the lightning god. In many of the archealogical pictures of Baal – you see him with a thunderbolt in his left hand.
The prophets of Baal go first. This is how the story goes:
以利亚呼吁进行诸神的对决。
这个想法很简单：他和巴力的先知都将木头放在他们的祭坛上，用一头公牛献祭，并求他们的神从天上降下火。
以利亚带来了两只公牛。 他让巴力的先知决定他们将哪只公牛献祭，这样以利亚就不会被指控出手干预了。
比赛中唯一的规则是，你必须让你的神来点火。没有火柴。 由巴力或上帝自己点起火来烧掉祭物。现在这一切都会让巴力的先知们高兴，因为巴力被称为闪电之神。在许多考古照片中，你可以看到巴力的左手拿着一个霹雳斧。
巴力的先知先行，故事便这样展开：
They called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.
About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”/ 1 Kings 18:26-27
他们把人给他们的公牛牵了来，预备好了，就从早晨直到中午，呼求巴力的名，说：“巴力啊，应允我们吧！”可是没有声音，也没有回应。他们就在所筑的祭坛周围跳舞。到了中午，以利亚嘲笑他们，说：“大声呼求吧，因为他是神，也许他正在默想，或事务繁忙，或正在旅行，或正在睡觉，你们要把他叫醒。”（王上18:26-27）
* don’t you love this? Some serious sledging and trash talk from Elijah! “Baal is a bit distracted, a bit too busy. Maybe he’s deaf or out of range. Maybe the WIFI isn't connecting with him– cry louder!
Try harder!
你不喜欢这个吗？ 以利亚说的一些话是严重的挑衅和抨击！“巴尔有点分心，有点太忙了。也许他聋了，也许 WIFI 没有连接到他，喊得更大声些！
再加把劲！
The prophets are so desperate that they start self-harming in the hope that Baal will see their blood and take them seriously. But, all their frenzy produces no fire from Baal’s thunderbolt. It’s a complete failure. God is at work exposing their counterfeit gods.
‘Well JD, you can count in my not to worship Baal anymore.’ I’m not expecting that to be what you take-away from today.
But, God is still at work exposing our counterfeit gods. X2
先知们非常绝望，他们开始自残，希望巴力能看到他们的血并认真地待他们。但是，他们所有的疯狂都没有产生巴力的雷电之火。这是一次彻底的失败。上帝在作工，揭露了他们的假神。
“好吧，JD牧師你可以指望我不再崇拜巴力了。”我并不期望这就是你今天的收获。但是，上帝仍在作工，揭露我们的假神。
There is a well known quote that goes:
‘There is a god shaped vacuum in every man that only God can fill.’/ St Augustine
有一句众所周知的名言：“每个人身上都有一个上帝塑造的真空，只有上帝可以填补。”圣奥古斯丁
Have you heard this? It goes a long way back to the 300s. Question. Is that true? Really?
Second question: If its true, why is it true.
I think author and pastor Steve Manion answers those questions spot on when he talks about our lives as a bottomless pit of neediness and desire. What he has said has shaped a lot of my thinking in this message.
He says, it’s like the inside of us is this massive well. You drop a 50c coin down there and it takes forever before you hear a faint ding.
We have this massive void. We try to fill it with all this stuff and noise in our lives.
你听说过这句话吗？它可以追溯到公元300年。
问题来了：这是真的吗？真的吗？
第二个问题：如果是真的，为什么是真的？
我认为作家兼牧师史蒂夫·马尼恩（Steve Manion）在谈到我们的生活是一个充满需要和欲望的无底洞时，准确地回答了这些问题。他所说的影响了我在这篇信息中的很多思考。
他说，这就好像我们的内心是一口巨大的井。你将一枚 50 分的硬币扔下去，要过很久才能听到微弱的叮当声。
我们有这个巨大的空白。 我们试图用生活中所有的东西和噪音来填充它。
Some of you try to fill it with approval. Perhaps you grew up in a household where you were not affirmed. But you learned that when you worked hard, you got it. So, you work hard... too hard – hoping to hear something. You long for people to notice you, to affirm you. But no good word is ever good enough. No
amont of words is ever enough. No praise or affirmation will fill that bottomless pit.
一些人试图用认可来填补它。 也许你是在一个没有得到肯定的家庭中长大。但你学会了，当你努力工作时，你就会得到它。所以，你努力工作……太努力了，希望能听到一些什么。你渴望人们注意到你，肯定你。但好话永远不够好。再多的言语也不够。没有任何赞美或肯定会填满那个无底洞。
Additionally, no sculpted body will ever be scultped enough. You meet someone stunning. Yet, that
person often looks into the mirror and they see flaws. So they do surgery. They get fixated on treatments and procedures and techniques to fight the ageing process. But, it’s never enough. They chase a younger and younger look. It’s a bottomless pit.
此外，被雕琢的身体从来都不会觉得足够完美。你遇到了一个令人惊艳的人。然而，那个人经常照镜子，他们看到了自己的缺陷。所以他们做手术。他们沉迷于对抗衰老过程的治疗、程序和技术。但是，这永远不够。他们追求越来越年轻的外观。这是一个无底洞。
Some of you it’s about success, meeting the KPIs, the sales targets. But, in the same way, no success is ever successful enough. I was in business in my 20s – as a commercial insurance underwriter. I remember the first year – hitting targets, particular accounts. Then, the next year those same accounts would come around and you hit more targets – but there was the same accounts and more targets and more and more and more. It was relentless. It’s an infinite well that can never be satisified.
有些人是为了成功，为了达到关键绩效指标和销售目标。但是，同样地，没有任何成功是足够成功的。我在 20 多岁的时候做生意，作为一名商业保险承保人。我记得第一年，达到了目标，拥有特定客户。然后，第二年，同样的客户出现，你达到了更多的目标，但同样的客户和目标越来越多，越来越多。这是无情的。这是一个永远无法满足的无限的深井。
The amount of money you make or have is never enough. And you get good at making it. You once thought that if you made $60k, you would be rickh. Then, $100k. Then $150k. But you find that more is never enough. Why? It’s a bottomless pit.
你赚的钱或拥有的钱永远不够。你会变得善于赚钱。你曾经认为，如果你赚了 6 万美元，你就会变得富有。然后，10 万美元，然后是 15 万美元。但你发现，钱永远赚不够。 为什么？这是一个无底洞。
Some might chase some erotic experience. Or it might be the pit of pornography. You try to pull yourself away. But there is this constant vacuum for more. And more.. Why? Because there is an infinite pit inside – a hole in my heart and it is never filled.
有些人可能会追求一些色情的体验，或者是色情制品。你试图把自己拉开。但是这种持续的真空， 需要更多，还有更多。为什么？因为里面有一个无限的坑，我心里的一个洞，它永远不会被填满。
It’s never full.
它永远不会满。
In the 1600s, a french man named Blaise Pascal – who was a philosopher, mathematician, scientist, inventor, and theologian expanded on that quote from Augustine and said
16世纪，一位名叫布莱斯·帕斯卡 (Blaise Pascal) 的法国人，他是一位哲学家、数学家、科学家、发明家和神学家，他对奥古斯丁的这句话进行了扩展，并说：
“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” /Blaise Pascal“
每个人的心中都有一个上帝塑造的真空，任何受造物都无法填补，只有造物主可以填补，只有藉着耶稣。” 布莱斯·帕斯卡
When we look to other things in the hope that they can full that hole – we will be constantly disappointed. Elijah is seeking to expose the futility of the idols the people were following.
We all have them. All of us.
It might be a good thing in and of itself. But when that thing or relationship or experience becomes the ultimate thing, then it has become an idol that is competing with God. That thing or relationship or experience is now making promises and making demands.
当我们寄希望于其他事物能够填补这个洞时，我们将不断感到失望。以利亚试图揭露，人们所追随的偶像是徒劳的。
我们都有这些偶像，我们所有人。
这本身可能是一件好事。但当那个东西或关系或经验成为最终的东西时，它就成了一个与上帝竞争的偶像。那个东西、关系或经验现在正在做出承诺、提出要求。
Pastor Timothy Keller articulates this incredibly well:
Most people know you can make a god out of money. Most people know you can make a god out of sex. However, anything in life can serve as an idol, a God-alternative, a counterfeit god…
What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. / Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods
提摩太·凯勒牧师对这点阐述得非常好：
大多数人都知道你可以用钱来造一个神。大多数人都知道你可以用性来造神。生活中的任何事物都可以充当偶像、替代神、成为假冒的神……
什么是偶像？它是对你来说比上帝更重要的东西，是比上帝更吸引你的心和想象力的东西，是你寻求给予你只有上帝才能给予的东西。
What might it be for you? Typically, these questions bring something to light?
对你来说可能是什么？通常情况下，这些问题会给人带来一些启示？
Q: Where do you look for your significance, your security, your identity, or your purpose
你在哪里寻找你的意义、你的安全感、你的身份、或你的目的？
Q: What captures your imagination 是什么吸引了你的想象力?
Q: What losses leave you distraught 哪些损失让你心烦意乱?
Q: What do you sacrifice good things for 你为了什么牺牲了好东西?
My guess is that something comes to mind for all of us. There might be so much promise.
But eventually, something happens.
我的猜测是，我们所有人都会想到一些事情。可能给我们有这么多的保障。
然而，天有不测风云。
We lose our job. 我们失业了。
We age. 我们上了年纪。
We face a health challenge. 我们生病了。
Or, a pandemic hits and we realise that humanity is more vulnerable than we had been told it was.
Inflation hits – and we realise money can’t be trusted like we once believed.
或者，一场流行病袭来，我们意识到，人类比我们被告知的更脆弱。
通货膨胀袭来，我们意识到金钱不能像我们曾经相信的那样被信任。
Suddenly, our idols are exposed for what they really are. False promises. False gods.
Elijah is seeking to expose Baal as a fraud, a counterfeit god in the hope that the people will come to their senses and turn back to the real God.
This god contest is designed to help them see the One who deserves our worship and allegiance.
The 1000 or so on Baal’s side that have shouted and danced and cut themselves in manic activity finally give up. Baal with his thunder bolt can’t deliver.
It’s now Elijah’s turn.
突然间，我们的偶像暴露了它们的真实面目。虚假的承诺，虚假的神。
以利亚试图揭露巴力是一个骗子，一个假冒的神，希望人们能清醒过来，转向真正的神。这场神的竞赛，是为了帮助他们看到值得我们崇拜和效忠的那一位。
巴力一方的一千多人，在狂躁中叫喊、跳舞、自残，终于放弃了。巴力的雷斧无法发功。现在轮到以利亚了。
The people are about to experience the fourth movement
接下来人们将经历第四个动作:
MOVEMENT FOUR: Experience the Aha of God’s presence and power
动作四：体验 神的同在和大能
Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!”/ 1 Kings 18:30
以利亚对众人说：“你们走近我这里来。”（王上18:30）
He calls the people close to him: Come near to me.
He repairs the altar. Then, he adds some extra challenges to make it even harder for Yahweh to win this contest.
他唤人们走近他：到我这里来。
他重修已遭毁坏的上帝的祭坛。然后，他又为这场竞赛加添了一些额外的挑战，使上帝的胜算添加难度。
Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about 15 litres. He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood.” After they had done this, he said, “Do the same thing again!” And when they were finished, he said, “Now do it a third time!” So they did as he said, and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench./ 1 Kings 18:32-35
以利亚奉耶和华的名用这些石头筑了一座坛，在坛的四周挖沟，可容十四公升种籽，然后把柴排好，又把公牛切成块子，放在柴上，就说：“你们盛满四桶水，倒在燔祭和柴上。”又说：“倒第二次。”他们就倒第二次；又说：“倒第三次。”他们就倒第三次。水流到祭坛的四周，甚至水沟里也满了水。（王上18:32-35）
At this point, everything is utterly drenched. There is no way this thing could light up even with packets and packets of fire starters and a box of lit matches.
到了这一步，所有东西都被彻底淋湿了。即使有一包又一包的引火器和一整盒火柴，这东西也不可能着起来。
Then, Elijah prayed a simple prayer
然后，伊利亚做了一个简单的祷告：
Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O LORD, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”/ 1 Kings 18:36-37
到了献晚祭的时候，以利亚先知近前来，说：“亚伯拉罕、以撒、以色列的 神耶和华，求你今天使人知道你是在以色列中的 神，我是你的仆人，又是奉你的命令行这一切事。耶和华啊，求你应允我，应允我！使这民知道你耶和华是 神，又知道是你使这民的心再回转过来的。”（王上18:36-37）
That prayer stands in stark contrast to the whole day of begging and pleading of the 1000 or so prophets
and entourage who were unsuccessful. And it took less than 30 seconds to say. It’s painfully simple. It’s not about a magic formula or technique, or getting just the right words. It’s about the one Elijah is praying too!
这个祷告与 1000 多名未成功的先知和随从，一整天的乞求和恳求形成鲜明对比。而且用了不到 30 秒的时间。这个祷告很简单。这无关乎神奇的公式或技术，也不是念对咒语。而是关于以利亚所祈祷的那个人！
Listen to what happens next
听听下面发生的事:
Immediately the fire of the LORD flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! / 1 Kings 18:38
于是有耶和华的火降下来，吞灭了燔祭、木柴、石头和尘土，连沟里的水也烧干了。（王上18:38）
Remember there is 15 litres of water in the trench alone plus 16 large jars of water. Everything is licked up in a flash.
别忘了，单是沟里就有 15 升水，外加 16 个大罐子的水。然而一切都在一瞬间被火舔舐干净。
And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The LORD—he is God!
Yes, the LORD is God!” / 1 Kings 18:39
众人看见了，就面伏于地，说：“耶和华是 神！耶和华是 神！”(王上18:39)
It’s their aha moment: “We want to be all-in with you God!” These four movements all come together for the final one:
这是他们的惊喜时刻：“我们全部都要和在你一起，上帝！” 这四个动作都汇集到最后一个：
MOVEMENT FIVE: Enjoy the fullness of life with God
与上帝一同享受生命的丰盛第五个动作: 与上帝一同享受丰盛的生命
Looking over the barren land, Elijah prays again.
In the distance he sees a cloud. The rain begins to fall and fall.
God is restoring his promise – his blessing. Once again, the grapes will again grow. The crops will be again be restored.
Friends – this is the heart of God. And it the heart of God to bless you in ways beyond you can imagine. He wants your life to flourish.
望着这块荒芜的土地，以利亚再次祷告。他看到远处有一朵云，雨开始落下。
上帝正在恢复祂的应许、祂的祝福。 葡萄再次生长，庄稼将再次恢复收成。
朋友们，这就是 神的心。以超乎你想象的方式祝福你，这是上帝的心意。祂希望你的生命丰富。
Jesus said: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”/ John 10:10 (NIV)
主耶稣说：“我来了，是要使羊得生命，并且得的更丰盛。”（约10:10）
God says, “I want you to experience my blessing. And what I want is YOU! An exclusive relationship with you.”
神说：“我要你经历我的祝福，我想要的是你！与你的专属关系。”
I am the one – and only one – who can fill that God-shaped vacuum you have.
Only God is the one who can satisfy that longing we have inside, that vacuum that drives us to work too hard, spend so much, pursue relationship to relationship, or experience to experience – and still find our lives left empty.
He comes to us and fills wants to fill that God-shaped vacuum with his own love.
我是那位，也是唯一的那位，可以填补你内心的上帝塑造的真空。
只有上帝能满足我们内心的渴望，填补那个驱使我们过分努力工作、花费大量金钱、追求各种关系、或各种经历的真空。没有上帝，我们仍然发现我们的生活是虚空的。
祂来到我们身边，用祂自己的爱来填补这个上帝塑造的真空。
Corrie Ten Boom said, “There is no pit so deep that the love of God is not deeper still.”/ Corrie Ten Boom Allow the love of God to fill you and satisfy you.
柯丽·特恩·鲍姆说：“没有一个坑深到比上帝的爱更深。” 让上帝的爱充满你、满足你。
My prayer is that this day is the day where many of us will find God to be our all in all. To work through these movements
我的祷告是，在这一天，我们中的许多人将发现上帝是我们的全部。要完成这些动作：
● See the problem - recognising that something is wrong 看见问题，认识到出了某些问题
● There at the crossroads – recognise you have a choice. Will you continue to follow some Baal substitute or will you allow God to shape your life. 站在十字路口，认识到你要做选择。你会继续跟从巴力，还是让上帝塑造你的生命？
● Will you seeing the empty promises of your own idols? 你能看见你所拜偶像的空洞许诺吗？
● Will you experience the Aha moment of God’s power and grace? 你会体验到上帝的大能和恩典吗？
● All these movements drive to that final one - enjoying the fullness of life with God 所有这些动作都
引入最后一个，与 神一起享受丰盛的生命
The band are coming up to sing a song called ‘Clear the Stage.’
敬拜队现在上台给大家献上一首歌“清理舞台”
That’s our desire today: To clear the stage of all these competing noises and false promises, the idols in our lives. And reserve the primary space to worship the One who deserves it.
这就是我们今天的愿望：清除舞台上所有这些竞争的噪音和虚假的承诺，以及我们生活中的偶像。保留主要空间来敬拜值得敬拜的那一位。
SONG/ PRAYER/ BI: “clear the stage, Reserve the primary space to worship the One who deserves it.”
结束：“清理舞台，保留主要空间来崇拜应得的那位。”
