Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Good morning!
This week I have been given the opportunity to visit Taipei together with my wife Anethe. Anethe and I are from Norway, a small country in the northern part of Europe. Back home we have two kids, they are not actually kids anymore. Elisabeth, 22 years old, and Benjamin, 20 years. Yesterday we joined the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Voice of Salvation. Today I have been given the privilege of sharing God’s word with you.
Let us read from Luke chapter 4 verse 42-43:
At dawn, Jesus went out to a place where he could be by himself. The people went to look for him. When they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must announce the good news of God’s kingdom to the other towns also. That is why I was sent.
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, thank you for your words to us this morning. Please open our hearts to what you want to tell us today. And help us to willingly obey when you call us to serve you in various ways. In Jesus’ name we pray,AMEN
Jesus was now in Galilee, in the northern part of Israel. He had recently visited his own town, Nazareth, where he lived for many years together with his family.
Now he had walked eastwards, down to the sea of Galilee. The famous sea is also called Lake Tiberias, and sometimes the Sunday school lake. Many of the famous stories in the Bible took place in this area.
Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. He healed the sick, including Peter's mother-in-law. He expelled evil spirits,and calmed the storm on the sea.
He restored sight to the blind, and he opened deaf ears. Now he had come to Capernaum, a town on the western side of the Sea of Galilee. All the people that saw him were amazed.
– What is this teaching? they said to each other.
– With authority and power, he gives orders to evil spirits, and they come out.
News about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding area. And people tried to keep him from leaving them. But Jesus couldn’t stay.
– I must announce the good news of God’s kingdom to the other towns also, he said.
– That is why I was sent.
Sometime later, when Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, along with the disciples, he spoke about his return. He told his disciples about the signs they should look for. In the last days, he said, there will be war, hunger, earthquakes, persecution, false prophets and lawlessness. But at the same time something else will happen:
The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a witness to all peoples, and then the end will come.
In Matthew 16:26, Jesus points out something very important by asking a question:
– What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?
Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, died of cancer 5th of October 2011, when he was 56 years old: He was the wealthiest man in the world, but he gave a very interesting statement a few days before he passed away:
– When I soon die and will be buried, it doesn't really matter that I once was the richest man in the world.
When Jesus was crucified, He gave ALL people an opportunity to inherit eternal life.
In John 1,12 we read:All those who received Him, He gave the right to become children of God, those who believe in His name. And Paul repeats in Romans chapter 10:
Everyone who calls on the Lord's name will be saved. But then he continues:
How can they believe in someone they have not heard of?
And how can they hear without someone preaching?
3 weeks ago, I participated in a huge mission conference in Seoul, South Korea. More than 5 000 people, from more than 200 countries,were present. We were remined about a sad fact: There are still entire ethnic groups where few or no one knows Jesus.
And in many cases, they don’t even know others that can tell them about Him. When, and how, will these ethnic groups get an opportunity to hear about Jesus? It is only God who can open the ears of those who are spiritually deaf and blind. But you and I are called to be His ambassadors.
The apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:20 that we are messengers in Christ's place. The theme for the mission conference in South Korea was:
Let the church declare and display Christ TOGETHER.
Jesus said to his disciples: the harvest is great, but the workers are few. Today, 2 000 years later, the situation is still the same. To finish the Great Commission, we have to activate the WHOLE CHURCH. Together we can reach out to ALL peoples… all ethnic groups, with the good news.
When Jesus performed the food miracles, the disciples were his hands and feet. Before he was taken up to heaven,he gave them a promise – and a new mission:
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.
A missionary to Indonesia used to say:
• If not you – who?
• If not now, when?
If we truly believe that Jesus is the son of God, and that salvation and eternal life can only be achieved by believing in Him, we can't keep this knowledge to ourselves. In 2 Kings chapter 7, we read about a time when there was war in Israel. Let us read from verse 3-9:
There were four men who had a skin disease. They were at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. They said to one another, “Why should we stay here until we die? Suppose we say, ‘We’ll go into the city.’ There isn’t any food there, and we’ll die. But if we stay here, we’ll die anyway. So let’s go over to Aram’s army camp. Let’s give ourselves up. If they spare us, we’ll live. If they kill us, we’ll die.” At sunset they got up and went to Aram’s army camp. They arrived at the edge of it. But no one was there. The Lord had caused the soldiers of Aram to hear a noise. It sounded like chariots and horses and a huge army. So the soldiers said to one another, “Listen! The king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings. He has paid them to attack us!” So the soldiers of Aram had run away at sunset. They had left their tents and horses and donkeys behind. They had left the camp just as it was. And they had run for their lives.
The men who had a skin disease arrived at the edge of the camp. They entered one of the tents. They ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes. They went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent. They took some things from it and hid them also.
But then they said to one another, “What we’re doing isn’t right. This is a day of good news. And we’re keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until sunrise, we’ll be punished. Let’s go at once. Let’s report this to the royal palace.” And so they did. By doing this, they saved not only themselves, but also a lot of other people.
You and I have heard the good news that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. That anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
Let us seek opportunities to share the Good News with other people. And let us pray that our Lord and Savior gives us hearts that are willing to obey him, wisdom and courage to take any given opportunity to be ambassadors for Christ and actively participate in the Great Harvest. May our Heavenly Father bless us all!
主內親愛的弟兄姊妹早安！這禮拜我有機會和我的太太Anethe拜訪台灣。我來自於北歐的一個小國家挪威，我們家有兩個小孩，但他們已經不太小了，伊莉莎白22歲，班傑明20歲。昨天我們參加了救恩之聲50週年的慶祝聚會，今天我有幸受邀來與你們分享上帝的話。
先讓我們一起來讀《路加福音4章42-43節》：
「天亮的時候，耶穌出來，走到曠野地方。眾人去找祂，到了祂那裡，要留住祂，不要祂離開他們。但耶穌對他們說：「我也必須在別城傳上帝國的福音，因我奉差原是為此。」
我們一起禱告：
親愛的天父，我們感謝祢今天早上賜給我們祢的話語，請打開我們的心門讓我們渴慕祢今天要向我們所說的話，請幫助我們，當祢呼召我們用各種方式去服侍祢的時候，樂意順服祢的旨意。奉耶穌的名禱告，阿門！
耶穌現在在以色列北邊的加利利，祂很常拜訪祂自己的家鄉拿撒勒，拿撒勒是祂居住多年的老家，現在耶穌前往東邊，下到了加利利的海邊，這座有名的海又被稱作提比里亞海，有時候又被稱為主日學湖，因為很多有名的聖經故事都是發生在這片區域。
耶穌在這裡傳講天國的福音，祂醫治生病的，其中也包含醫治了彼得的岳母。祂趕出污鬼，平靜了風和海，祂讓瞎眼的看見，讓聾子聽見，現在祂來到迦百農，這是在加利利海西邊的一座城市。
所以人看見耶穌都非常的驚訝，他們彼此詢問祂的教訓是什麼？因為耶穌的教導帶有權柄和力量，祂一吩咐污鬼，污鬼立刻就出來了。耶穌的神蹟奇事馬上就在這片地方被傳開了，人們想要把耶穌留在他們中間，但耶穌不能留下來，祂說：我也必須在別城傳神國的福音，因我奉差原是為此。
聖經後面的記載，耶穌與祂的門徒獨自坐在橄欖山上的時候，祂告訴門徒祂要再來的事情，祂告訴門徒他們未來將會看見的記號，到那日，祂說：會有許多的爭戰、饑荒、地震、逼迫，假先知和不法的事情，但同時還有其他事情會發生。
天國的福音要傳遍天下，對萬民作見證，然後末期才來到。《馬太福音24章14節》
《馬太福音16章26節》耶穌的一個提問，要指出一件非常重要的事情：
–人若賺得全世界，賠上自己的生命，有甚麼益處呢？
蘋果創辦人賈伯斯在2011年十月五號的時候去世，他享年56歲，他曾經是世界上富翁之一，但在他過世的前幾天，他提了一段非常有趣的聲明。
–我很快將要過世、被埋葬，我曾經是不是這世界上有錢的人將不在重要？
當耶穌被釘在十字架上的時候，祂給了全世界的人一個機會去承受永生。
我們一起來讀《約翰福音1章12節》：
凡接待祂的，就是信祂名的人，祂就賜他們權柄作上帝的兒女。
保羅在《羅馬書10章13節》重複說：
凡求告主名的就必得救。
但保羅在14節接著說：
未曾聽見祂，怎能信祂呢？沒有傳道的，怎能聽見呢？
三個禮拜前我去參加一場舉辦在南韓首都首爾大型宣教會議，有來自超過200個國家，五千多位的與會者，我們被提醒了一個很令人傷心的事實，世界上仍然有許多種族只有少數的人或是沒有人聽過耶穌，在很多情況下，甚至他們沒有辦法找到一個人能跟他們分享耶穌，這些族群的人，他們要等到什麼時候，透過什麼方法才能聽見耶穌呢？只有上帝有能力打開那些屬靈上聽不見、看不見的人。
但你跟我是被耶穌呼召的福音大使，使徒保羅在《哥林多後書5章20節》提醒我們：我們是做基督的使者。這次在南韓宣教大會的主題是，讓教會一起宣告並彰顯基督，耶穌跟門徒說：「要收的莊稼多，但做工的人少」，兩千年以後的今天，情況仍然沒有改變，要完成耶穌給我們的大使命，我們要動員全教會，我們大家一起才能夠讓福音接觸到所有人，所有的族群，當耶穌行了餵飽群眾的神蹟時，門徒是耶穌手跟腳，當耶穌升天以前，祂給他們一個應許和一個新的使命，聖靈降臨在你們身上，你們就必得著能力，你們要在耶路撒冷、猶太全地和撒馬利亞做我的見證，你也要做我的見證直到地極。
一位印尼的宣教士曾說：
如果不是你，會是誰？
如果不是現在，更待何時？
如果我們真心相信耶穌是上帝的兒子，也相信唯有藉著相信祂才能得到救恩與永生，我們不能只把消息留在我們身上。
《列王紀下第7章》，以色列那時候正在發生戰爭，讓我們一起讀3-9節：
3在城門那裡有四個長大痲瘋的人，他們彼此說：「我們為何坐在這裡等死呢？
4我們若說，進城去吧！城裡有饑荒，必死在那裡；若在這裡坐著不動，也必是死。來吧，我們去投降亞蘭人的軍隊，他們若留我們的活命，就活著；若殺我們，就死了吧！」
5黃昏的時候，他們起來往亞蘭人的營盤去；到了營邊，不見一人在那裡。
6因為主使亞蘭人的軍隊聽見車馬的聲音，是大軍的聲音；他們就彼此說：「這必是以色列王雇用赫人的諸王和埃及人的諸王來攻擊我們。」
7所以，在黃昏的時候他們起來逃跑，撇下帳棚、馬、驢，營盤照舊，只顧逃命。
8那些長大痲瘋的到了營邊，進了帳棚，吃了喝了，且從其中拿出金銀和衣服來，去收藏了；回來又進了一座帳棚，從其中拿出財物來去收藏了。
9那時，他們彼此說：「我們所做的不好！今日是有好信息的日子，我們竟不作聲！若等到天亮，罪必臨到我們。來吧，我們與王家報信去！」
所以他們就這樣做了，正因他們的行動，他們不只拯救了自己，他們也拯救了更多人的性命。
你我都聽見了福音，上帝如此愛世人，願意把祂獨生子賜給我們，凡相信祂的人，不至滅亡反得永生，讓我們尋找機會去分享這好消息給其他人，讓我們向我們的救主禱告，求祂賜給我們一顆願意聽從、順服祂的心，求祂賜我們智慧與勇氣，把握每一個機會做基督的使者，積極的參與在這世代的大豐收中。
願上帝賜福我們每一位！