瑪拉基書三章
3:1 萬軍之耶和華說：我要差遣我的使者在我前面預備道路。你們所尋求的主必忽然進入他的殿；立約的使者，就是你們所仰慕的，快要來到。 3:2 他來的日子，誰能當得起呢？他顯現的時候，誰能立得住呢？因為他如煉金之人的火，如漂布之人的鹼。 3:3 他必坐下如煉淨銀子的，必潔淨利未人，熬煉他們像金銀一樣；他們就憑公義獻供物給耶和華。 3:4 那時，猶大和耶路撒冷所獻的供物必蒙耶和華悅納，彷彿古時之日、上古之年。
約翰福音三章
3:1 凱撒提庇留在位第十五年，本丟彼拉多作猶太巡撫，希律作加利利分封的王，他兄弟腓力作以土利亞和特拉可尼地方分封的王，呂撒聶作亞比利尼分封的王，
3:2 亞那和該亞法作大祭司。那時，撒迦利亞的兒子約翰在曠野裡，神的話臨到他。
3:3 他就來到約旦河一帶地方，宣講悔改的洗禮，使罪得赦。
3:4 正如先知以賽亞書上所記的話，說：在曠野有人聲喊著說：預備主的道，修直他的路！
3:5 一切山窪都要填滿；大小山岡都要削平！彎彎曲曲的地方要改為正直；高高低低的道路要改為平坦
3:6 凡有血氣的，都要見神的救恩！！
Messenger of God
Scripture
Malachi 3:1-4
1 "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
Luke 3:1-6
1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. 3He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
"A voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
5Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6And all mankind will see God's salvation.' "
Reflection
- Malachi as the messenger of God
A young man, perhaps thirty years of age. He was a pious man, with a heart full of reverence for the Lord. This young man was deeply distraught by the spiritual low of his people. They had endured tremendous hardship during the Babylonian exile. Their faith in the Lord was largely preserved by the messages of hope spoken by prophets of old, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. This hope of return was eventually realized, and faithfully, they rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem.
But to their profound disappointment, the new Jerusalem was but a shadow of its former glory. For those, who could still remembered the grandeur of the original temple, they broke down in tears when they saw the shack that was to become their place of worship.
Life was hard! The righteous suffered while the wicked, who cheat and lie and steal, prospered. People grumbled and complained constantly by saying, “Where is the God of justice?” (Malachi 2:17) Some, in their frustration, even dared to suggest, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” (Malachi 2:17) It was as if that God no longer cared.
What really got to this young man was the spiritual low of the Levi priests. They go through the motion of making sacrifice to the Lord with people’s offerings, as required by the Law. But they turned a blind eye to those defective offerings of animals that were crippled, diseased and blind (Malachi 1:7-8). It was as if that God did not see.
But this young man knew better. He knew that God sees and God cares. Most importantly, he knew that God is coming, soon. He knew he must speak up, he knew that he must act as God’s messenger to prepare the way before his coming.
This identity as the messenger of God was so consuming that people came to know the young man as Malachi, which in Hebrew is translated as “My Messenger”.
That is the story of the prophet whose name and whose message was remembered and was preserved as the last of the twelve Minor Prophets.
But there was nothing minor about his message that God is coming, soon.
- John the Baptist as the messenger of God
Sometimes later, another young man, perhaps thirty years of age. He too was a pious man, with a heart full of reverence for the Lord. Ever since his birth, he had been set-apart for God, no wine or other fermented drink had ever touched his lips.
This young man was deeply distraught by the spiritual arrogance of his people. They were living securely in the false reliance on their heritage. They proudly claimed that, “We have Abraham as our father” (Luke 3:8), as if that bloodline somehow exempts them from doing what is just in God’s sight.
What really bothered this young man was the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who talked of the coming of the Lord, but did nothing to prepare for His coming. It was as if such talk was only but an empty talk.
But this young man knew better, he knew that God is coming, soon. He saw himself in the Scripture, an identity as the messenger of God who is to prepare the way of the Lord.
He went out into the wilderness and proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It was an unusual practice, to be dipped into water, but people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
They called him John the baptizer, some speculated if he was the One. But John proclaimed with humility, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ (Luke 3:16)
We know what happened to that story; God did come, in the man of Jesus of Nazareth. Like a refiner’s fire he cleansed our sins and baptized us with the Holy Spirit, so we may present ourselves as righteous offerings to God.
- Messenger of God in Our Time
But that is not the end of the story, it continues. God promised that he will come again. So as we wait in this season of Advent going into Christmas, We remembered that God came some two thousand years ago, we celebrate that God is still here in Spirit, and we wait in anticipation that God will come again. We also remembered the messengers of God who prepared the way before.
Both Malachi and John were able to discern the spiritual ill of their people in their own time. Both were able to discern what God would have wanted them to say to these people. Both were courageous enough to speak up despite challenges to their authority, and doubt of their identity. Both proclaimed faithfully, the message of God.
So if God is coming again, who are the messengers that shall prepare the way? We all are! There is nothing inherently unique about being a messenger. All that is required is the willingness to receive the message and the willingness to proclaim this message. Being a messenger of God also encompasses the willingness to allow God to claim you and to possess you.
We all have a spirit in us. This spirit is first breath into us by God when we were created, and the spirit renews our hearts again when we accepted Christ as the saviour. It is through this Spirit of God that we are called to be God’s messenger, his ambassadors to the world.
It would be presumptuous of me to say how each of us should prepare for the way of the Lord. Suffice to say that it does not come through a voice in the cloud, well, not usually. In fact, the whole point of having a Spirit in us is to have the gift of discernment to see for ourselves what each of us need to do to prepare for God’s coming.
The great thing about being a Christian is that God lifts up ordinary women and men, like you and I. He calls us and he claims us not only to be his messengers, but also to be his daughters and sons.
Therefore, let us all go and proclaim this good news to others, and let us all prepare our hearts for the Lord. Because God came, God is here with us, and soon, God will come again.
Questions:
- What aspects of Jesus’ coming do I await with anticipation?
- What aspects of my life is incompatible with Jesus, aspects of which I must repent?
- How can I undertake preparation, purification and repentance in order to be ready for God’s coming?
心靈小品
2009/11/27 週五 大專、青少年聚會
點擊程序可以聽到錄音
-- 敬拜讚美 宥升 帶領
1. 聽我的禱告
2. I offer my life
3. Here I am, Lord
4. 帶領我
2009/11/29 週日 主日崇拜
前奏 Prelude--- Joseph T.
1. 詩歌讚美 Praise 領詩:Aaron T.
2. 讚美 Praise “哦主，我懇求你”
3. 證道 Sermon 「日子將到」 Rev. Paul Wu 翻譯: Julie L.
4. 默禱,後奏 --- Joseph T.
活動佈告欄
為教會
-- 為本教會吳柏翰牧師的牧會
-- 為教會的青少年事工禱告
-- 求神復興我們同工開始 求神復興同工禱告的心（TRC禱告部落格）
-- 為12月20日預備的慕道受洗的朋友---高美秀，Melody，Hilary Chen, Jessica 蔡，11月8日截止報名
-- 請多鼓勵您身旁的年輕人來加入靈修默想禱告的行列！
-- 為新一年度各團契新的輔導服事禱告
-- 為聖誕節的許多節慶事工計畫
為肢體
-- 為社青面對事業上和工作上的壓力
-- 為大專團契許多契友這幾天要面對考試禱告
-- 為H1N1的病情可以得以控制，請大家勤洗手注意衛生
-- 為因為工作或學業壓力大，而晚上不能好好睡覺的人禱告
-- 繼續為Ivy 的眼睛眼角膜的損傷計畫回台治療禱告
-- 為Kristin, Hilary and Ken's 的爺爺過世，求主安慰遺族
-- 為江宜萱姐妹的背痛依舊，求主醫治
-- 為賴芳雪近日因頭痛與感冒身體不適，求主醫治
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