比尔强生:我如何领受启示?

将比尔强生牧师的“How do I receive revelation?”   翻译出来,有些拗口(英文原文在后面,请对照着看),希望对你读圣经、祷告、灵修有帮助。

曹欧弟兄

我如何领受启示?
(英文原文: http://bjm.org/qa/how-do-i-receive-revelation/ Bill Johnson)
很多人要我为他们祷告,要从经文中领受更大的启示。对于我来说,能用祷告来祝福一些人是我的荣幸。启示是怎么来的,或者启示给谁,是很少被人明白。在生命中很多大喜乐之一就是听到神的声音。这没有什么不好的。但是伴随分赐会有一个代价。
对想要从神的启示中成长的人,下面列出一些实践性的建议:

  1. 成为小孩的样式。当渴望深刻是一个没用的渴望,而简单、谦卑的心却能帮助一个人听到神的声音。在多年的教导后很多人发现,神的话经常是既是深刻的,同时也 是简单的。那时,耶稣说:父啊,天地的主,我感谢你!因为你将这些事向聪明通达人就藏起来,向婴孩就显出来。(太11:25)
  2. 顺服你所知道的。耶稣教导跟随他的人: 人若立志遵着他的旨意行,就必晓得这教训或是出于神,或是我凭着自己说的。(约7:17) “如果人愿意 … …他必知道”(直译)- 清晰度来自于这个人愿意遵行神的旨意。顺服的意愿吸引来启示,因为神是一位管家,将他的财宝投资到好土上-降服的心。
  3. 学习圣经里“默想”的艺术。我想起我夜间的诗歌。我的心沉思默想,我的灵仔细探究。(诗篇77:6 新译本)圣经里的默想是一个勤奋的搜索、探究。当宗教的异端教导人倒空他们的意念作为他们默想的方法,而圣经教导我们用神的话充满我们的意念。默想有一个安静的心和一个被引导的意念。在我们的心里不断地思索神的话,带着从一颗孩童般的好奇心而发出的追求,这是默想。
  4. 活在信心里。按照信心活在当前的任务中,使得我准备好期望更多。此等不信之人被这世界的神弄瞎了心眼,不叫基督荣耀福音的光照着他们;基督本是神的像。(林后 4:4) 注意:福音的光照着那些相信的人。启示来到那些显示出信心的人!带着明白神早已愿意将奥秘启示给你而活着(太13:11),依此祈求。然后预先感谢主。
  5. 养成一个理解/悟性的心。这种心有一个能在上面建造的根基。这些是王和他的国度的基本观念。合适的根基吸引建造者(启示者)来将东西加到根基上。“聪明人易得知识。”(箴言14:6b,直译:知识对于有悟性的人很容易)神很智慧地将一些新鲜的灵感/洞见加给那些已经有基本概念的人。当新鲜的灵感来的时候,悟性的心有一个准备好的空间能把它装进去。这个不是像种子撒在地上丢了一样。
  6. 将你的夜晚交给神。我尝试以激起我心的感情、将它引导给圣灵来结束每一天。多么奇妙的一种去睡觉的方式!雅歌诗一般的启示:“我身睡卧,我心却醒。”(雅歌5:2)神喜欢在夜晚来拜访我们,给我们一些我们在白天很难接受的指示。(约伯记33:15-16)渴望将我们夜晚的时间交给神,是从孩童的心自然流露出来的,这种心知道启示不是赚取来的。特别的祈求神在夜间透过异象异梦来服事你。一旦你有一个异梦或异象,将它记下来,并求神给你理解。
  7. 将你已经领受的给出去。当你服事神的话的时候,切不可低估一个饥渴的人从你那里能“拉走”什么。处在一个持续的给予的状态,是一个确实得到更多的方法。当我们在服事的时候处在“在我们的头上”一种状态时,我们发现神在夜间已经把这些放在我们里面了。他从我们心里的深处汲出来的东西,还不是我们有意识的思维过程的一部分。(箴言20:5)
  8. 成为神的朋友。神和他的朋友分享秘密。15 以后我不再称你们为仆人,因仆人不知道主人所做的事。我乃称你们为朋友,因我从父所听见的,已经都告诉你们了。 (约翰福音15:15)他使他的朋友知道所有的事情。不仅他想要分享所有,他已经邀请我们去问所有他的事情。要习惯去听比你能和他人分享的更多。听他所说的。但是只说他给你自由去说的那些能说出去的。有些事启示出来,因为我们是朋友,但这些不可以跟别人去分享。(这是一个很重要的原则,从神而来的启示,不是什么都可以给他人讲的。-译者注)

How do I receive revelation?

Many people ask me to pray for them to receive greater revelation from Scripture. While it’s always an honor to bless someone with prayer, it is seldom understood how revelation comes, or to whom it comes. One of the greatest joys in life is hearing from God. There is no downside. But there is a cost that comes with the impartation.
The following is a list of practical suggestions for those wanting to grow in revelation from God.
1.    Become childlike. Simplicity and humility of heart helps qualify a person to hear from God, while the desire to be profound is a wasted desire. What many discover after years of teaching is that the word that is simple is often the most profound. “At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” (Matthew 11:25)
2.    Obey what you know. Jesus taught His followers, “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.” (John 7:17)  “If anyone wills . . . he shall know” – Clarity comes to the one willing to do the will of God. The willingness to obey attracts revelation, because God is the ultimate steward, investing His treasures into fertile ground – the surrendered heart.
3.    Learn the biblical art of ‘meditation’. “I call to remembrance my song in the night; I will meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search.”  (Psalms 77:6) Biblical meditation is a diligent search. Whereas religious cults teach people to empty their minds as the means of meditation, the Bible teaches us to fill our minds with God’s Word. Meditation has a quiet heart and a ‘directed’ mind. Mulling a word over in our heart, with a pursuit that springs from the inquisitive child’s heart, is meditation.
4.    Live in faith. Living by faith in my present assignment makes me ready for more. “Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”  (2 Corinthians 4:4) Notice that the light of the gospel comes to the person who believes. Revelation comes to the one expressing faith! Live with the understanding that God has already willed to give you His mysteries (Matthew 13:11),  and ask accordingly. Then thank Him in advance.
5.    Acquire an understanding heart. This sort of heart has the foundations in place for something to be constructed upon it. These are the basic concepts of the King and His kingdom. Proper foundations attract the builder (revelator) to come and add to those foundations. “But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.”  (Proverbs 14:6) God wisely stewards fresh insight to those who have the basic principles in place. When fresh insights come, the understanding heart has a “slot to put it in”. It is not lost as seed spilled on the ground.
6.    Give God your nights. I try to end each day with my heart’s affection stirred up and directed to the Holy Spirit. What an amazing way to go to sleep. The Song of Solomon reveals this poetically, “I sleep, but my heart is awake.”  (Song of Solomon 5:2) God loves to visit us in the night and give us instruction that we would have a hard time receiving during the day. (Job 33:15-16)  The desire to give God our night season flows naturally from the child’s heart that knows revelation cannot be earned. Ask Him specifically to minister to you in the night through visions and dreams. Once you have a dream or vision, write it out, and ask Him for understanding.
7.    Give away what you have already received.Never underestimate what hungry people can “pull” from you while you minister the word. Being in a place of continual giving is a sure way of getting more. When we’re in ‘over our heads’ in a ministry situation, we find out what God has been putting into us during the night. He draws out of the deep places in our hearts things that are not yet a part of our conscious thought processes.  (Proverbs 20:5)
8.    Become a friend of God. God shares His secrets with His friends. “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15) He makes all things known to His friends. Not only does He want to share all, He’s invited us to ask anything of Him. But be accustomed to hearing more than you can share with others. Listen as He speaks, but speak only what He gives you freedom to speak about. Some things are revealed only because we’re friends, and are not to be shared with others.
Dreaming with God, pages 131-134
by Bill Johnson
Destiny Image Publishers
http://store.ibethel.org/p280/dreaming-with-god-book