[0:00] I'm still learning to preach, so I would appreciate any feedback that anyone might have for me after the service.
[0:19] Let us pray before we begin. Heavenly Father, may Your Word feed us today, so we may grow into the full stature of Christ, in Jesus' name of the earth.
[0:33] 天父,我希望你的话也能让我们长大成人满意基督的身体,基督的名字,祝你。 Well, in today's passage, Jesus is teaching a large crowd.
[0:46] 今天的经文讲道,耶稣在和一大群人讲道。 It's so large, the crowd comes in and almost immerses them.这个人群大到一个境界,他几乎把耶稣都给淹没了。But Jesus actually has to hop onto a boat and teach them from the sea.
[1:04] 所以耶稣就要坐在海里面的一个小船上来跟他们教导。The first thing that Jesus teaches them is the parable of the soul.耶稣教导他们的第一个比喻是撒动的人。If you've been paying attention to the sermons preached before today,you'll notice that this is actually the first parable recorded in the gospel of Mark.
[1:28] 如果大家之前有认真听讲道的话,就会发现今天所讲的比喻是马可福音中的第一个比喻。Before we go on to explain the meaning of this parable,let us first examine what Jesus had to say in verses 10-12.
[1:45] And we will then see why it is actually this parable.在我们开始看这个比喻之前,我们先看一下这段经文10-12节,讲到耶稣为什么要用比喻来讲这个故事。Where is that all?
[2:00] When he was alone,those who were around him,along with the twelve,asked him about the parable.And he said to them,So you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God.
[2:13] But for those outside,everything comes in parable,in order that they may indeed look,but not perceive,and they indeed listen,but not understand,so that they may not turn again,and be forgiven.
[2:27] Werely,无人的时候,跟随耶稣的人和十二个门徒,问他这比喻的意思。耶稣对他们说,神国的奥秘只叫你们知道,若是对外人讲凡事这种比喻,叫他们看时看见,却不晓得,听时听见,却不明白,恐怕他们回转过来就得赦命。So why did Jesus teach him parables?
[2:51] I had always thought that he did so,to make him easier to understand.那为什么耶稣要用比喻来教导呢?我一直认为他应该用比喻来教导,是为了让事情更简单明了,被大家认识。A parable should be a made-up story,designed to teach a lesson to the comparison.
[3:12] 比喻应该是一个讲出来的故事,为了是更容易的让大家可以看到这两个之间的比较。The word parable actually comes from a Greek word,which I'm not quite fully pronounced,which means comparison,illustration or analogy.
[3:33] 比喻这个词其实是来自一个希腊的主词,它的意思呢就是比较,地正跟比喻的意思。So when you hear this story,we should be able to relate it to our own life,and understand the meaning behind it.
[3:47] 所以当大家听到这个比喻的时候呢,应该可以和自己的生命,生活联系在一起,也就更容易地理解这个故事。But here,Jesus seems to be using it for another purpose,但在这里,耶稣似乎利用比喻有另外一个意思。He's using it to keep information from the crowd,so that they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,ever hearing but never understanding,otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.
[4:15] 但耶稣这里用比喻呢,确实要把这些信息让别人所听不到,也就是说,让那些看着去看的见却不晓得,听着去听的见却不明白,恐怕他们回转过来不得适应。I don't know how that strikes you,but it makes me ask,Why would Jesus do this?
[4:35] 我不知道对你有什么启发,但对我而言,我就在问为什么耶稣要这么做呢?Isn't he full of compassion?Full of grace?Doesn't he want people to be forgiven?
[4:46] 他难道不是充满怜悯,充满恩赐的什么?难道他不希望人们被救吗?被拯救吗?But why doesn't he make himself clearer?Why does his speech comparable?
[4:59] It's a confusing.那他为什么不让自己更明显地表达自己的意思呢?他为什么要用抵律来迷惑别人呢?Well,because Jesus uses the parablesto divide and judgethose on the outsidefor their rebellion against him,因为耶稣用抵律就可以区分和来判断那些在外面跟他作对的人,这就是他用抵律的原因,If you've been with us for the last few weeks,and our last few sermon,to mark,you remember that there's a rising tide of oppositions against you,如果大家过去几个礼拜都跟我们一起来听马可福音的讲道的话,就会发现有一股非常强大的力量他们在反对耶稣,he's been questioned about the past few weeks,rebuked for breaking the Sabbath law,and even accused of relying on the devil,他被别人种种的指责,其中包括他没有进食,他也没有守安息日的律法,而且他还被别人指责说,他所行的神迹是借着魔鬼而行的,
[6:08] In fact,by chapter 3 verse 6,they were talking to kill him,第三章第六节中,他们竟然还要策划一个阴谋要谋杀耶稣,for Jesus' parables were meant to divide those against him,from those who want to follow him,所以耶稣的抵御是为了分别那些想要跟随他和反对他的人,In fact,in later part of chapter 4,we'll see that Jesus did not teach at that placewith anything but terrible,之后我们在第四章中就会看到耶稣在任何地方讲道的时候,他没有讲什么东西,只是在讲抵御,when he's alone with his disciples,but he's doing everything,但当他单独和他的门徒在一起的时候,他就会向他们解释这些事情,and now I'll ask you to show your picture,so,back when I was younger,which is not that long ago,在我还年轻的时候,也就是不久之前,we have these 3D magic eyes,我们有一些3D的相片,does anyone know what we've done?
[7:26] 有人知道这是什么吗?a few of you,有一些哦,this means you're as old as me?也就是认为你们跟我一样吗?so what they are,for those who don't know,is that these pictures of us look like a random pattern,大家不知道那么可能第一眼看到这个相片,觉得它就是一个没有顺序,没有的一个乱七八糟的东西,但是如果你仔细地从某一个角度去看的话呢,你会看到一个3D的一个图画,其实 quite magical,很神奇的,the problem is that,if you never follow to learn the proper way to look at the picture,you will never see a hidden image,但问题是,如果你不去学怎么样看的话,你就永远也看不到它里面的一幅画,by the way,for those who are crossing your eyes,be the original picture,大家如果在看的话,其实里面是一只鹰,大家可以看到耶稣的避孕其实也是类似的,those who really care,will come to know the truth,那些真正在乎,真正想要知道真相的人,not so much because they understand the Bible,but because they care enoughto ask what it means afterwards,并不是说他们知道这个比喻是讲什么,而是他们会在比喻讲完之后去问这个比喻到底是什么意思,and also hang around long enough to explain to me,他们也会追随耶稣,直到耶稣向他们解释这个比喻的意思,for those who are against Jesus,the parables would not mean anything to them,because they would use them more,但对于那些反对耶稣的人来讲,这个比喻并并不代表任何事情,因为他们根本就不想要知道它的意义,remember,even the disciples didn't understand the power of the right first,but they asked what Jesus meant after the power left,大家要知道,就连那些门徒,他们一开始也不理解这个比喻的意义,他们是之后问了耶稣才知道的,they had a soft and open time,他们有心学习,understanding is an issue of the right,是否要了解这个比喻呢,取决于你有没有心,those who have a hard heart,those who have close eyes,and close ears,they won't understand it,那些心坚硬的人,他们的眼睛也是闭的,耳朵也是闭的,他们不会明白,在第九节中,耶稣讲到,有耳可听的,就应当听,although Jesus divides the crowd with this public story,it isn't meant to stay a public forever,尽管耶稣用这个故事来区分大家,但是他并不是要永远这故事成为一个谜语,by explaining the parable to these disciples,
[10:53] Jesus ensures that the message is passed on to us,向他的门徒解释这个故事的含义呢,也就是为了让这个故事的意义,让我们也不知道,Indeed we can read the explanation for ourselves,right here in the Bible,to understand it,it will have used to fear,所以在这里我们可以借由圣经来了解这个比喻的意义,让我们那些想听的就可以听,it's very important for us to understand this parable,对我们来说了解这个比喻是非常重要的,Jesus says in verse 13,Do you not understand this parable?
[11:28] Then how will you understand all parables?第十三节中他讲到,如果你们不明白这比喻吗,这样怎么能明白一切的比喻呢?This parable is significant becauseit describes the four waysthat someone can respond to God's word,这个比喻非常重要,因为他描述了四种不同回应神的方式,In other words,we can only understand God's word,we choose to respond appropriately,也就是说,我们唯一可以了解神的意义的方式,就是回应他用正确的方式,Before we even begin to examine these responses,we must understand that in all these four cases,the sower,that is the person spreading the word of God,does not change,在我们来仔细看这个回应之前呢,我们必须要确定的就是,在这四个回应当中,多种的人,也就是那个撒种的人,他是不变的,他就是神的话,他没有分别的平均的把种子撒在各地,那他撒的种子,也就是神的话,也是不变的,在每一个这四个回应中,不同的呢,只是接收种子的土壤是不一样的,如果我们讲的更简单一些,就是听的人的心,和他们怎样回应神的态度,首先我们有路边的小路,当一颗种子掉在路边的时候,鸟可以很快地来把它吃掉,这些就是那些非常坚硬,非常封闭的心,以至于神的话,直接在他们身上谈了回去,大家可以想象一下,在耶稣教导的当时,很有可能人群中站着一些法律在人,在他们的心里,他们这样想,这个人为什么这样,这么聪明,为什么我这么努力地学习,来学习那些律法,可却有成千上万的人,去选择听这个木匠呢?
[14:21] 我需要花多少钱,才可以让这个人消失?耶稣无论说什么,也不可能进入这些人的心里,还有一些路在浅石头地上,土也不深,但发苗却很快,日头出来一晒,因为没有根底的干阔。我必须要承认,我觉得很奇怪,为什么种子落在浅石头地上,可以长得比陆在好的土壤中更快呢?
[15:08] 之后我了解到,因为在石头地上,在石头地上有非常少的土,所以说这种子没有别的地方长,它就只能向上长。但是当天气变热的时候,它就会很快地干枯死掉,因为它没有足够地跟沸清浮浪跟吸引,吸收到养分和水分。这也就是那些接受了神的话语的人,可是在逼迫下,他们就变了。第三个,我们有的是荊棘土壤。在荊棘土壤中,种子确实可以保持的时间长一些,但是那些世上的诱惑和其他的一些东西,让这种子没有办法发扬。我们也在周围看到这样的事情,不是吗?
[16:33] 有些人来到教会受洗,然后也会每个礼拜来教会。他们去参加小五股团器,也会参加星期日的敬拜活动,施工。但有一天,大家会发现这个人来小组来得越来越少。他也可能会不来参加排练,或者是不来星期日的生活。或者他们发现这个人找了一个不是基督徒的女朋友,也或者他找到了一个欺骗掉上班的工作。这是一个没有把心放在神上的人。最后我们有那些落在肥沃土壤上的种子,他们代表的是我们那些用心灵听神的话语,并且接受它垫在裸活时的人。大家看,用这一个比喻,耶稣就已经描述了听他话中的所有不同的人。在这里,我们需要问自己一个问题,自己是一个怎样的土壤呢?
[18:24] 其实这不是很难看出来,因为好的土壤会有果实,其他任何一种都不会。我们需要做的就是看一下自己的生活,反之是否有果实,接触。所以我们在谈论什么样的土壤呢?
[18:54] 不是苹果也不是橙子。可能是属,可能是灵命的果实,也就是说我们让其他非基督徒变成基督徒。但是我想这里也讲的是属灵的果实。Halatians 5.22-23The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
[19:36] 加拉太书第五章22-23节讲,圣灵所结的果子就是忍耐,喜乐,和平,忍耐,恩慈,良善,信实,温柔和节制。作为基督徒的我们,当你们在看属灵的镜子,你有看到你们自己在这几样中的成长吗?
[20:05] Have you become more loving and kind to the people around you?你有没有对周围的人更加的有仁耐,更加的和善呢?Especially those that you didn't get along with at the start?
[20:19] 尤其是那些一开始和你相处不好的人?Have you become more joyful and peaceful because you are able to see the grace and assurance that God has given you?你有没有变得更加的喜乐,更加的和平,当你看到耶稣给你的恩典的时候?
[20:36] Are you becoming more patient and gentle with those who get on your nerves?你有没有对那些让你觉得不爽的人有更多的忍耐,更多的恩慈呢?Have you grown to be more generous in your giving to the church and to those who are in need?
[20:52] 你有没有变得更加的大方来奉献给教会和那些需要帮助的人呢?Have you learned to manage your time and resources better by practicing self-control?
[21:03] 你有没有学会用节制的方法来更好地管理自己的时间、自己的资源呢?If your answer is yes to some or all of the above, then congratulations! God's word has truly taken you in the path.
[21:17] 如果你的答案对以上是有或者是全部都有的话,那么恭喜你神的话语在你的心里已经生根发芽!If your answer is no to all of the above, then perhaps you are a new Christian or not yet a Christian.
[21:37] 或者你可能还不是一个基督徒,或者你可能是一个刚受洗的基督徒。That's okay. It may mean that the seed has not yet had enough time to grow.这也没有问题。很可能这个种子还没有足够的时间在你心里发芽。There is another way to tell.
[21:54] 还有另外一个方式可以告诉我们。Does the word of God sting your heart?神的话有没有触动你的心?Does it make you feel uncomfortable or does it simply bounce off without any effect?
[22:09] 它是让你觉得不舒服呢?还是只是直接的被弹了回去,让你一点感觉都没有?Because God's word says that we are all sinners, and it calls for us to put out all selves to death and take on a new life.
[22:24] 神的话告诉我们,我们全部都是罪人,我们要放弃舍弃自己过去的自我,让他死,才能有一个新的生命。If that doesn't make you feel uneasy, then it may mean that you do not yet have God's word in you.
[22:40] 如果这样讲还不能让你们觉得不舒服的话,那么这就可能证明神的话还没有在你的心里。In that case, I urge you to take some time and consider if you want to do something about that.
[22:53] 如果那样的话,我就希望大家可以有一段花一些时间思考一下你要将来我怎么做。You might ask, how do I hear God's word?你可能会问,我怎么样才能听到神的话呢?
[23:06] What do I have to do to soften my heart towards Him?我要做什么才能让我的心变得软呢?The answer is that you can't.答案是你不可以, at least not on your own.
[23:19] 至少你自己不行。Jerima 17 tells us, the heart is devious above all.It is perverse, you can understand it.耶利米书17章第9节说,人心比万物都诡诈,坏到极处,谁能识透呢?
[23:36] The truth is that we cannot condition our hearts using our own strength, because we are all sinful.答案就是我们不可以依靠自己的力量让我们的心变得更加容易接受神的话,因为我们都是罪的,有罪的人。But do not despair.
[23:54] 但不要绝望。What we can do is ask God to soften our hearts for us.我们能做的就是祈祷,神可以帮助我们,让我们有一颗能接受他的心。神在以细节中对我们有这样的保证。A new heart also will I give to you, and a new spirit I will put within you,and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh,and I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues,and you shall keep my judgment, and do them.
[24:33] 我也要赐给你们一个心心,将心灵放在你们里面,又从你们的肉体中除掉食心,赐给你们的肉心。我必将我的灵放在你们里面,使你们顺从我的律法,遵守进行我的典章。朋友们,今天的经文讲的是希望。因为耶稣已经向我们证明,神的话可以让我们由内而外地改变。我们需要做的就是要接受它,让这些话可以住到我们的心里。让我们一起低头祷告。 Lord God, you promised us that when we ask, it will be given to us,and we seek, we will find, and we knock on the door, it will be opened to us.
[25:33] 神啊,我们向你祷告。我们祈求。你就给我们寻见就寻见,扣门就给我们开门。so now we pray that you make us into good soil, give us ears to hear, so that your word may grow in us for your glory.
[25:51] 神我们祷告,你可以让我们变成好的土壤。赐给我们耳朵,让我们可以听到,所以我们可以在你里面茁壮地成长,以荣耀你的名。in Jesus name, amen.
[26:03] IIIIIIIIIIIIII