想要得到更多
Have you ever seen one of these before? If you have or know what it is post in the chat. I came across this a couple of months ago when I was catching up on world news. It’s a contraption developed by a man in Florida. The idea is that it works like a human hamster wheel. It is supposed to allow him to “run” on water. His goal was to run all the way up the East coast of America from Florida to New York. That’s about 2000 km or one and a half times the length of New Zealand, he managed to travel an impressive 480 km before things went wrong and he needed to be rescued. Now you might think that’s crazy. But this is the same man 5 years earlier.
你们看过这些照片吗？如果你知道它是什么，请在聊天区中写下答案。几个月 前，当我看世界新闻时，我看到这张照片。这是佛罗里达州一名男子发明的装置。它的工作原 理就像一个人类仓鼠轮。它应该可以让他在水上“奔跑”。他的目标是沿着美国东海岸从佛罗 里达州一直跑到纽约。这大约是 2000 公里，是新西兰长度的 1.5 倍，他成功地走了 480 公 里，然后出了问题，需要被救出。现在你可能认为这很疯狂。五年前，他做了同样的事。
He obviously hadn’t learned much. His comment to the media was this. “I will show people anything you want to do, do it,” “Don’t listen to anyone. Chase your dreams.” Now he may one day achieve his dream of running in a human hamster wheel from Miami to New York but it got me thinking. How many of us are equally oblivious of the hamster wheel that we’re in? Running and running as hard as we can… we think we’re making progress but really we’re just sitting in the ocean not really going anywhere.
他显然没有学到更多东西。他对媒体这样说： “你想做的任何事情，去做吧，”“不要听任何人的意见，去追逐你的梦想。” 可能有一天，他会实现他的梦想，那就是驾驶人类仓鼠轮从迈阿密跑到纽约。但这让我开始 思考，我们中有多少人同样无视我们所处的仓鼠轮？我们拼命地跑啊跑啊……我们认为我们 在取得进步，但实际上我们只是坐在海里，并没有真正去到任何地方。
We’ve been following the teachings of a man called the Quester, or the Teacher in the book of Ecclesiastes. This is one of the things that he observes about the world so many people just toiling. Working so hard but not really making any progress. In Hebrew, he calls it hebel which if you’ve been following the series you’ll know by now, means futile, or like smoke. So how do your hopes and dreams stand up in the eyes of the Teacher? I’m guessing you don’t want to run up the coast from Miami to New York, but there’s a reason you get up in the morning. It’s how you make your big life decisions. It’s how you prioritise your schedule. Here’s what the Quester has to say about your goals:
“So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is hebel, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is hebel.” (Ecclesiastes 2:17-19)
我们一直在遵循《传道书》中一位被称为传道者或老师的人的教导。这是他对世界上有那么 多人在劳碌工作，所观察到的事情。人们如此努力地工作，但实际上并没有取得任何进展。 在希伯来语中，他称之为 hebel，如果你一直在关注这个讲道系列，你现在就会知道，意思 是徒劳的，或者像烟雾一样。那么，你的希望和梦想在传道者眼中是如何体现的呢？我猜你不想沿着海岸从迈阿密跑到纽 约，但你早上醒来是有原因的。梦想和目标决定了你做出人生重大决定的方式。梦想和目标决 定了你如何确定日程安排的优先级。以下是传道者对你的目标的看法：
“我所以恨恶生命，因为在日光之下所行的事我都以为烦恼，都是虚空，都是捕风。我恨恶一切的劳碌，就是我在日光之下的劳碌，因为我得来的必留给我以后的人。那人是智慧是愚昧，谁能知道？他竟要管理我劳碌所得的，就是我在日光之下用智慧所得 的。这也是虚空。(传道书 2:17-19)
Progress is an illusion.
Do you remember “Borders” the book store? Post in the chat if you ever bought a book there. It was one of the largest book store chains in the world during the 90s and early 2000s. I remember going to the one on Queen Street as a kid, I loved it there, it had multiple levels and for a bookworm like me, it was like heaven.
How much work do you think the founders and subsequent CEO’s put into that business? The CEO changed in 1998 amidst a world that was moving ever more online. 2006 was the last year they made a profit and its yearly income dropped by $1 Billion in the next four years. By 2013 the Brand was completely gone as if it never existed. If Borders was the hamster wheel, the internet and Amazon were like the category 5 hurricane that ripped it apart.
进步是一种幻觉
谁还记得“博德思”这个书店？如果你曾经在那里买过书，请在聊天 区中发帖。在 90 年代和 2000 年代初期，它是世界上最大的连锁书店之一。我记得小时候去 过皇后街的那家，我喜欢那里，它有许多楼层，对于像我这样的书呆子来说，那里就像天堂。
创始人和后来的首席执行官为该企业付出了多少努力？1998 年，随着业务越来越转移到在线 交易，首席执行官改变了管理模式。 2006 年是他们盈利的最后一年，在接下来的四年里，其 年收入减少了 10 亿美元。到 2013 年，该品牌完全消失了，就好像它从未存在过一样。如果 说博德思书店是仓鼠轮，那么互联网和亚马逊就像五级飓风，把它给撕裂了。
The same story could be said for any of the progress we make in our lives. This is what the Quester is saying. Everything we toil for at some point we end up handing it over to someone else and we no longer have any control over it. Who’s to say that despite our greatest efforts, nothing we have worked for makes any long term impact on this world? When we’re gone we have no control over what happens next. The next generation could completely undo all the hard work you’ve done. Whether or not you want to leave a mark the same fundamental truth still applies. We’re all chasing after some kind of ideal life that is really outside our control. We all might call it something different but we all have some kind of goal for our life, you might call it chasing your dreams like hamster-wheel man, others call it their calling, or maybe it’s the classic, “I just want to be comfortable.”
We typically think of these things like a ladder. We start at the bottom as children and we spend our lives working our way up the ladder until someday we’ve “made it”. We are living the good life, we’ve achieved great things. But the truth is if we’re small enough, we have no way of knowing whether our ladder, is really just a hamster wheel, that never ends.
我们在生活中取得的任何进步，都可以说是同样的故事。这就是传道者的意思。我们辛勤工作 的一切，在某种程度上，我们最终会把它交给别人，我们不再对它有任何控制。谁敢说，我们付出了最大的努力，我们所做的一切会对这个世界产生长期影响？当我们离开 时，我们无法控制接下来会发生什么。下一代可能会完全取消你所做的所有努力。无论你是否想要留下痕迹，同样的基本真理仍然适用。我们都在追求某种理想的生活，而这 确实是我们无法控制的。我们都有某种生活目标，你可能称之为追逐你的梦想，就像在仓鼠 轮里的人一样。其他人称之为他们的呼召，或者也许这就是那句经典之词，“我只是想自由 自在。”
这些东西就像梯子。我们从小就从底层开始，我们一生都在努力向上爬，直到有一天我们 “成功”了。我们过着美好的生活，我们取得了伟大的成就。但事实是，我们无法知道梯子 是否是一个仓鼠轮，越爬越高，永无止境。
Later in the book the Quester says this: “Everyone’s toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied… Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite.” (Ecclesiastes 6:7,9a)
The Quester is identifying one of the fundamental truths of being human. Even when we achieve our goals they will never truly satisfy us. They are like an appetite, a hunger that we will never fill. There’s always more you can achieve, a higher state of enlightenment, more money you need to spend to be comfortable. Or if you do somehow achieve this state there’s always more work to do to hold onto it, to maintain it. You will never escape the toil. The truth is…
Progress is an insatiable appetite
We live in a busy, anxious world and it’s rooted in this appetite for progress. We read, “What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labour under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain, even at night their minds do not rest. This too is hebel…” (Ecclesiastes 2:22-23)
… futile.
传道书里，传道者是这样说的：人的劳碌都为口腹，心里却不知足。眼睛所看的比心里妄想的倒好 (传道书 6:7,9a)
传道者正在确定人类的一个基本真理。即使我们实现了目标，它们也不会真正满足我们。它 们就如同人的胃口，永远有个无法满足的饥饿感。你想要达到更多的目标，更高的启蒙状 态，你需要花更多的钱来获得舒适感。或者，你已经以某种方式达到了这种状态，那么总是 有更多的工作要做，来保持它，维持它。你将永远无法摆脱辛劳。事实是…
进步是一个永不满足的胃口
我们生活在一个忙碌、焦虑的世界，它的根源就是对进步的渴望。 我们读到：“人在日光之下劳碌、累心，在他一切的劳碌上得着什么呢？因为他日 日忧虑，他的劳苦成为愁烦，连夜间心也不安。这也是虚空。” (传道书 2:22-23)
……徒劳。
Doesn’t that speak to our generation? These words are thousands of years old but describe so many of our lives. The overwhelming stress and busyness of life have always existed they just look different for different generations. It starts in high school, as internals, exams, sports practices, music lessons and rehearsals start to fight for your time. Then if the next step is a university, you seem to be drowning in assignments and cramming for exams. Then it’s full-time work, then it’s marriage and the demands of a relationship and more family commitments. Then it’s a family of your own and you’re suddenly a part-time taxi driver, carting your children to every corner of the city on top of everything else.
I mean it’s exhausting and stressful just talking about it. When the sum of our lives is just working to get to the next rung on the ladder, it’s exhausting. The last year and a half have shown us that this idea of progress never satisfies.
这难道不是在说我们这一代人吗？这些话有几千年的历史，但却描述了我们的许多生活。生 活的压力和忙碌一直存在，只是在不同年代的人看来有所不同。从高中开始，你需要安排时间给实习、考试、体育练习、音乐课和排练。然后，如果下一步 是大学，你似乎淹没在作业和考试中。然后是全职工作，然后是婚姻以及更多的家庭承诺。 然后是你自己的家庭，你突然成为一名兼职出租车司机，在所有事情之外还要把你的孩子带 到城市的每个角落。
我的意思是，光是谈论它就让人筋疲力尽，压力山大。当我们的生活总和只是为了到达阶梯 上的下一个梯级而努力时，它会让人筋疲力尽。过去一年半的时间告诉我们，这种进步的理 想永远不会令人满足。
The hurricane of Covid-19 came in pushed us way off course. I was watching a video of YouTube celebrating his 30th birthday and something he said stood out to me. He said something to the effect of, “I don’t really feel 30 because the last year has just been like a non-year, nothing really happened. I’m still 29.”
In a lockdown, it was like life was on pause and it forced us to reflect on our dreams and aspirations. Some of us realised we’re not really going anywhere running in our hamster wheels, and we saw huge numbers of people switch jobs. So many people realised they were wasting their time in their job, but all they ended up doing was swapping one hamster wheel for another. Last year I came on full-time as a Discipleship Pastor here at Gracecity It was a year I had so many goals that I wanted to achieve. So much progress that I wanted to make for ministries, groups and services to thrive. But then lockdown after lockdown happened.
新冠病毒的到来，使我们偏离了航线。我在油管视频上观看了某人庆祝他 30 岁生日的视 频，他说的话让我印象深刻。他说的大意是：“我并没有真正感觉到 30 岁，因为去年就像 一个非常年，什么也没发生。我仍然是 29 岁。”
在封城期间，生活就像暂停一样，它迫使我们反思我们的梦想和抱负。我们中的一些人意识 到，我们并没有真正在仓鼠轮上跑到任何地方，我们看到大量的人更换工作。许多人意识到 他们在工作上浪费时间，但他们最终所做的只是将一个仓鼠轮换成了另一个。去年，我开始在恩典之城教会担任全职的门徒训练牧师，这一年我有很多想要实现的目标。 我想推动事工、小组和各样服事蓬勃发展。但后来发生了一次又一次的封城。
While there might have been some progress in some of these areas, it’s nothing like what I had imagined. It was so easy to get caught up in feelings of insufficiency, feeling that I should have just worked harder, been more involved or just been better. As I came to these verses I started to realise that as long as you’re chasing after progress this is always where you’ll end up, feeling burned up, insufficient and unsatisfied.
So how should we respond to this? Here is the Quester’s response, he says, “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil.” (Ecclesiastes 2:24a)
虽然在一些领域可能取得了一些进展，但这与我想象的完全不同。我很容易陷入不足的感觉 中，觉得自己应该更加努力，更加投入，做得更好。当我读到这些经文时，我开始意识到， 只要你在追求进步，你的结局总是如此，感到疲倦、不足和不满意。
那我们应该如何应对这种情况呢？这是传道者的回应，他说： “人莫强如吃喝，且在劳碌中享福，我看这也是出于神的手。” (传道书 2:24a)
He’s saying,
Enjoy the step you’re on
The Quester doesn’t say eat, drink and find satisfaction in achieving your goals but eat, drink and find satisfaction in your toil. If you’re not satisfied in the toil, you’ll never be satisfied.
I’m one of those annoying people that can eat as much as I like and I don’t gain weight. I’m told it won’t last forever but when I was a teenager I discovered the key to happiness… Potatoes. I could just eat and eat potatoes. It was a nightmare for my parents, they’d get a 10kilo bag and we’d go through it in a matter of days. I could even get to the point where I’d eaten so much potato that I was full to bursting and yet somehow I still wanted more. Pursuing my deepest desire for potatoes did not bring me fulfilment, and the same applies to any dream or calling we set for ourselves.
他在说,
享受当下
传道者不是说吃喝并在实现目标中找到满足感，而是说吃喝并在辛劳中找到满足感。如果你 在辛劳中不满足，你永远不会满足。
我是那种可以随心所欲地吃东西，却不会发胖的人。在我十几岁的时候，我发现了幸福的关 键……土豆。我可以一直吃、一直吃土豆。这对我父母来说是一场噩梦，他们买一袋 10 公 斤的土豆，而我们会在几天内吃完它。我甚至可以达到这样的程度：我吃了那么多的土豆， 以至于我已经饱到爆，但不知为什么我仍然想要更多。追求对土豆的最深切渴望并没有给我 带来满足感，这同样适用于我们为自己设定的任何梦想。
If you’re not satisfied in the toil, you’ll never be satisfied. It’s easy for me to look at the past and see all of my failures and disappointments and to look at the future and stress about reaching this or that stage of life. Jonathan spoke to us a couple of weeks ago about recognising the season that we’re in and live appropriately to that season part of living well in the season that you’re in is recognising that in every season, no matter what news has just thrown your life off course, there are still things to be enjoyed. A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil.
As hard as the last year and a half has been for me in ministry I have so much to be grateful for. I have an incredible and amazingly reliable team in Alpha. I could focus on the need for more helpers, a tech person, someone to help me out, but even if I get that help, there would always be something else that I needed. The same could apply to any area of my life right now. There are always struggles, but there are always things to celebrate.
如果你在辛劳中不满足，你就永远不会满足。我很容易回顾过去，看到我所有的失败和失 望，展望未来，并为达到人生的这个或那个阶段而感到压力。 乔纳森牧师几周前和我们说过，关于认识到我们所处的时期，并根据那个时期适当地生活， 在你所处的时期中好好地生活，要知道在每个时期里，不管有什么消息使你的生活偏离轨 道，仍然有事物可以享受。一个人除了吃喝，在自己的辛劳中找到满足，没有什么比这更好 的了。
尽管过去一年半的事工对我来说很艰难，但我有很多事情要感恩。我在启发课程中拥有一支 令人难以置信且非常可靠的团队。当我需要帮助时，更多的帮手、技术人员，就会出现来帮 忙，但即使我得到了帮助，总会有其他的东西是我需要的。这同样适用于我现在生活的任何 领域。总有挣扎，但总有值得庆祝的事情。
What is it that you can be doing to find satisfaction in your toil? How can you set apart time to celebrate and be grateful for the fruit of your labour? It could change your whole perspective. But the Quester goes on to say something even deeper than this. Talking about this satisfaction he says, “This… is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person that pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness…” (Ecclesiastes 2:24b-25)
你可以做什么来在你的辛劳中找到满足感？你怎样才能抽出时间来庆祝和感谢你的劳动成 果？这可能会改变你的整个视角。 但传道者继续说了一些比这更深的东西。谈及这种满足感，他说：“我看这也是出于神的手。论到吃用享福，谁能胜过我呢？” (传道书 2:24b-25)
Fulfilment is from the Hand of God
The Quester says, to the person that pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness. Who is the person that pleases God? This is something that was revealed to us in Jesus. This is what Jesus said while here on Earth: “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:27-29)
You see Jesus is the one who has received God’s seal of approval. He is the one in whom God is pleased. If we want to receive wisdom, knowledge and happiness, it’s not about the works we do it’s about drawing near to Him and accepting Him into our lives.
满足来自于上帝
传道者说，对讨上帝喜悦的人，上帝会赐予智慧、知识和幸福。谁是讨神喜悦的人？ 耶稣向我们启示。 这是耶稣在地上所说的话：“不要为那必坏的食物劳力，要为那存到永生的食物劳力，就是人子要赐给你们的，因 为人子是父神所印证的。”众人问他说：“我们当行什么，才算做神的工呢？” 耶 稣回答说：“信神所差来的，这就是做神的工。”” (约翰福音 6:27-29)
你看，耶稣是那个得到上帝认可的人。祂是上帝所喜悦的那一位。如果我们想要获得智慧、 知识和幸福，这与我们所做的工作无关，而是与亲近上帝、并接受上帝进入我们生活有关。
Our greatest need is to come to Jesus
The Quester identified we will never actually be satisfied with what we have. On one hand, he says we should aspire to eat and drink and be satisfied in our toil but on the other he says, but this satisfaction really comes from God. Without God, who can eat or find enjoyment? Imagine how he would have responded knowing that you could invite the Spirit of God into your heart. To have a close personal relationship with this living God. To be led by him, and strengthened by him every single day.
I think it would bring new meaning to his understanding that provision, wisdom and fulfilment come from God. I think he would completely rethink his entire life. All of his work and toil are now no longer separate from his relationship with God, all of his work will now be an expression of his relationship with God. You see even as followers of Jesus we often forget this or fail to grasp the reality of it. We are like the people who asked Jesus “What must we do to do the works God requires?” We naturally want to achieve something. And it’s hard because maybe you’ve been given a calling or a vision for your life and you’ve been putting everything into that dream. But you can get in such a hurry to pursue that vision that you leave Jesus behind. When you do this you end up feeling like there’s no end to the work, you fill up your schedule and you feel insufficient, not good enough and overwhelmed. You’re running on empty because you’ve left behind the power source, the motivation behind your calling. Jesus wants you to know that He has done the work to please God which means the work of God is this, to believe in Jesus.
我们最大的需要是来到耶稣面前
传道者发现我们实际上永远不会对所拥有的东西感到满足。一方面，他说我们应该渴望吃 喝，在辛劳中得到满足。但另一方面，他说，这种满足真正来自上帝。没有上帝，谁能吃喝 并得着享受呢？想象一下，如果知道可以邀请上帝的灵进入他的心，传道者会如何回应？与 这位永生的上帝建立亲密的个人关系。每天被祂引领，得着能力。
我认为这会给传道者的理解带来新的意义，即供应、智慧和实现来自上帝。我想传道者会完 全重新思考他的整个人生。他所有的工作和辛劳，现在都不再与他与上帝的关系分开，他所 有的工作现在都将是他与上帝关系的表达。 你看到，即使作为耶稣的追随者，我们也常常忘记这一点，或者没有把握住它的现实意义。 我们就像那些问耶稣“我们必须做什么才能做上帝要求的工作？”的人一样。我们自然希望 取得一些成就。这很困难，因为也许你被赋予了人生的使命或愿景，而你一直在为这个梦想 付出一切。但你可能会急于追求那个梦想，以至于把耶稣抛在后面。当你这样做时，你最终 会觉得工作没有尽头，你填满了你的日程安排，你觉得不够、不够好、不堪重负。你在空虚 中奔跑，因为你把力量源泉，即你的呼唤背后的动机抛在脑后。耶稣想让你知道，祂已经做 了讨上帝喜悦的工作，这意味着，讨上帝喜悦就是相信耶稣。
If you’re exhausted he will bring you rest, if you feel like a failure he gives you the seal of approval which he received from his Father, if you feel overwhelmed and out of control he says trust me, the work is in my hands. Some of the people with the strongest faith I see are the people who serve on Alpha. They give up every Tuesday evening during the school term and four weekends a year. That might sound like toil to you but it’s not toil to them because it’s what brings them closer to Jesus as they share their own relationship with Jesus and encourage others to explore one.
如果你筋疲力尽，祂会给你带来安息，如果你觉得自己是个失败者，祂会给你从父神那里得 到的认可，如果你感到不知所措、失去控制，祂会说相信我，工作在我手中. 我看到的一些信仰最坚定的人是为启发课程服务的人。他们放弃了在学期中的每个星期二晚 上和一年中的四个周末自己的时间。这对你来说可能听起来很辛苦，但对他们来说并不是辛 苦，因为当他们分享自己与耶稣的关系，并鼓励其他人探索这种关系时，这会使他们更接近耶稣。
At the end of 2020, Sarah Rawlings, who has been our Alpha worship leader for many years, was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer. She was given only months to live unless she received urgent chemotherapy, even then the prognosis wasn’t good. She had a severe reaction to the treatment, lost consciousness and required further hospitalisation. When she’d recovered and returned home, she said she wanted to meet with me. I felt sure I knew what was coming, we needed to talk about finding a replacement. She was going to tell me she wasn’t going to be able to serve anymore. Sure enough, when we met Alpha came up but I was not prepared for what she had to say. She said, “Peter and I have prayed about what we want for this time. We want to continue to serve the Lord and be a testimony to others. Would it be okay if I still lead worship at Alpha?”
I was blown away. Far from pulling back, Sarah’s greatest concern was that I wouldn’t let her serve on Alpha. Despite having to deal with fortnightly chemotherapy treatments and bad reactions adding extra strain and complications. I’d come into this conversation anxious and stressed about the progress of my ministry about the extra toil that might be involved and here was a woman facing one of the greatest challenges in life asking if she can still serve the Lord.
2020 年底，多年来一直担任启发课程敬拜团队领袖的莎拉·罗林斯被诊断出患有第四期 （晚期）癌症。除非她接受紧急化疗，否则她只能活几个月。即使化疗，预后也不乐观。她 对治疗有严重反应，失去知觉，需要进一步住院治疗。当她康复回家后，她说她想见我。我 知道会发生什么，我们需要谈谈找一个替代者的问题。她要告诉我，她不能再做事工了。 果然，当我们碰面时，我没有准备好听她说什么。她说：“彼得和我已经祷告过了，我们这 段时间想要什么。我们想继续事奉主，成为他人的见证。如果我仍然在启发课程带领敬拜， 可以吗？”
我大吃一惊。莎拉并没有退缩，她反而很担心我不会让她继续为启发课程服事。尽管她不得 不应对每两周一次的化疗，不良发应增加了额外的压力和并发症。 在这次谈话前，我对事工的进展感到焦虑和压力，因为可能会涉及额外的辛劳，而我却看到 一个面临着生活中最大的挑战的姊妹，她问我是否还能事奉主。
But if I’d stopped to think I shouldn’t really have been surprised because Sarah’s priority had never been progress or results, Sarah’s priority had always been growing closer to Jesus. Serving on Alpha week in and week out isn’t a volunteer position that needed to be filled, it isn’t just work that needs to be done it’s an expression of her relationship with Jesus as she shares His love with others. And you know what? She hasn’t missed a single Tuesday evening this year. There was a time that she was hospitalised over the weekend and while she was there she air-guitar practised the chords she needed for Tuesday and sure enough, Tuesday came and she was there.
It’s not been smooth sailing for her. I’m sure this has been a trial like no other for her and Peter. But because her work for Jesus is the fruit of her closeness with Jesus… over the years she has grown closer and closer to Jesus so that nothing the enemy throws at her will overpower her. We must never forget that…
但是，如果我停下来认真思考，我真的不应该感到惊讶，因为莎拉的首要目标从来不是进步 或结果，莎拉的首要目标一直是与耶稣越来越接近。周而复始地在启发课程服事并不是一个 需要填补的志愿者职位，这不仅仅是需要完成的工作，这是她与耶稣关系的一种表达，因为 她与他人分享了耶稣的爱。 你知道吗？今年她没有错过任何一个星期二晚上。有一段时间，她在周末住院，当她在医院 时，她空手练习了周二所需的和弦，当然周二她就来到启发课程。
对她来说，这并非一帆风顺。我敢肯定，这对她和彼得来说是一场前所未有的考验。但是， 她为耶稣所做的工作，是她与耶稣亲近的结果……多年来，她与耶稣越来越亲近，所以敌人 向她投掷的任何东西都无法压倒她。我们决不能忘记……
Our greatest calling is to grow closer to Jesus
Is that true in your life? Or have you become so distracted with your calling and vision that you’ve forgotten that all of your work ultimately comes out of growing nearer to Jesus. What are you doing to make sure your highest calling is not chasing your dreams but growing closer to Jesus. Maybe you’ve never known the love and fulfilment that comes through accepting Jesus into your life. You have a hunger that’s never been satisfied. Draw closer to Jesus. Wherever we are on the journey, we all need is a fresh outpouring of Jesus’ Spirit into our hearts. Our greatest need is to come to Jesus and our greatest calling is to grow closer to Him. I’m about to pray. If you believe that that’s what you need right now, if you need a fresh experience of God’s love, I encourage you to pray this prayer along with me.
我们最大的呼召是与耶稣更亲近
在你的生活中是这样吗？或者你是否已经被你的呼召和异象所困扰，以至于你忘记了你所有 的工作最终都是出于亲近耶稣。无论你现在做什么，你最高的呼召不是追逐你的梦想，而是 与耶稣更接近。也许你从来没有体会过接受耶稣进入你的生命所带来的爱和满足感。你有一 种从未得到满足的饥饿感。亲近耶稣。无论我们在身处何处，都需要上帝的灵新鲜地浇灌到 我们的心中。我们最大的需要是来到耶稣面前，我们最大的呼召是与祂更亲近。我要祷告 了。如果你相信这就是你现在所需要的，如果你需要对上帝之爱有全新的体验，我鼓励你和 我一起做这个祷告。
Prayer / 祷告
Let us pray together.
“Heavenly Father, I am so good at chasing after goals and dreams that are just empty promises. I hunger for more from life and I realise that only you can satisfy that hunger. Jesus, please come into my life. Fill me with your Spirit. Help me to always make drawing closer to you my number one priority. I pray this in your name. Amen”
If you prayed that prayer with me just now I encourage you to reach out and let someone know. You can let us know by clicking one of the prayer buttons in the chat if you’re on church online or send us a message on Facebook. As Jonathan showed us last week we should never do this alone and we’d love to help you belong and make drawing closer to Jesus your number one goal.
Let’s now bring our praises to God as we invite him into our hearts.
让我们一起祈祷， “天父，我追逐那些空洞的目标和梦想，我渴望从生活中得到更多，我意识到只有你才能满 足这种渴望。耶稣，请进入我的生命。用你的灵充满我。帮助我始终把与你亲近，作为我的 首要任务。奉耶稣的名祷告，阿门”
如果你刚才和我一起做了这个祷告，我鼓励你举手，让别人知道。如果你参加线上主日崇 拜，你可以通过点击聊天中的那个祈祷按钮来告诉我们，或在脸书上给我们发送消息。正如 乔纳森牧师上周告诉我们的那样，你不应该独自做这件事，我们很乐意帮助你找到归属感， 帮助你使你的首要目标是与耶稣更接近。
现在，让我们把赞美归给上帝，邀请上帝进入到我们的心中。
