第二十一天：記念我們的歷史

第二十一天：記念我們的歷史

中譯 : Shalom     TOD大衛會幕禱告部

「那世代的人也都歸了自己的列祖。後來有別的世代興起，不知道耶和華，也不知道耶和華為以色列人所行的事。」（士師記2:10）

「我們不將這些事向他們的子孫隱瞞，要將耶和華的美德和他的能力，並他奇妙的作為，述說給後代聽。」（詩篇78:4）

「以撒就在那裡（就是他父親亞伯拉罕築祭壇的地點）築了一座壇，求告耶和華的名，並且支搭帳棚；他的僕人便在那裡挖了一口井。」（創世紀26:25）

「以撒就離開那裡，在基拉耳谷支搭帳棚，住在那裡。當他父親亞伯拉罕在世之日所挖的水井因非利士人在亞伯拉罕死後塞住了，以撒就重新挖出來，仍照他父親所叫的叫那些井的名字。」（創世紀26:17-18）

上面四段經文的順序對這40天禁食禱告的主題非常重要。一個不知道自己歷史的世代會忘記神並失去對這地的屬靈能力。當我們將先前世代禁食禱告父母的屬靈歷史傳遞下去，一個世代會被感動而重修祭壇、再次挖掘復興之井，重新恢復他們在這地的影響力。因此，我們研究了歷史先鋒者所築的禁食祭壇，好能使活水湧流突破來更新全地。

當我敬拜神，我最喜愛描述神屬性名字的其中之一是「歷史的主」。 歷史不是無理頭事情的累積，也不是無意義的孤立事件。歷史有一位作者，而且就是祂的故事。祂寫了這歷史，祂是歷史的主。人不是受命運的擺佈或是殘忍預定論的產物。一位良善的神以恩慈統管萬有。祂改變時間和季節。祂掌管人類的一切。他從灰塵裡擡舉貧寒人，使他們與王子同坐。不法的邪惡權勢企圖改變時候和季節，扭曲神良善明智的計畫，但作者-神仍然掌管歷史。因為祂是作者，祂也是歷史的老師。我們需要從歷史學習。歷史教導我們神的法則並警告我們不要繞道偏行己路。

保羅喜愛歌林多教會再思以色列民出埃及的歷史。他寫道：「他們遭遇這些事，都要作為鑑戒；並且寫在經上，正是警戒我們這末世的人。」（哥林多前書10:11）。聖經歷史和所有的歷史向我們顯明神在過去的參與主導，我們應當按祂的法則路徑而行，並在現今世代帶出祂的目的計畫和能力。

因此在這40天的禁食禱告，我們要回到原初歷史上耶穌的禁食，以致恢復耶穌原有的能力。當我們讀路加福音第4章耶穌的禁食，可能會試圖將它視為一次異常的經歷，完全與現代忙碌的文化裡的我們無關。然而，當我們只有一次耶穌禁食的記載，而且是40天只喝水的禁食，並且祂宣稱若不藉著禁食無法將鬼趕出去（馬太福音17:21），我們就應當好好思考也許耶穌要我們所有人都這樣禁食，好使這個破碎世界得自由。

如果以色列人在曠野40年的失敗是我們鑑戒，難道耶穌40天的禁食不是我們應當仿效的模範嗎？一個世代40年所錯失的，耶穌用40天來成就。如果歷史是祂的故事，難道這不該是我們的故事？當一個歷史的學生發現某些歷史事件之間，明顯的因果關係模式，那個學生必定會留意並將這因果關係模式特別註記起來，認出這位看不見卻一直運行的歷史的老師。身為傳道者和教師，將這能力的歷史關係模式傳遞給下一代，是我們的屬靈責任。以致他們不會變成「不知道耶和華，也不知道耶和華為以色列人所行的事」的世代。因此，當信道是從聽道而來，屬天的重演和能力的再製就能發生。

據說華盛頓．丘吉爾（Winston Churchill）使用歷史如同大砲，讓英國這頭獅子重新吼叫起來。在這40天的禁食禱告中，我希望呼召一個世代，回到歷史上耶穌的禁食，以及那些跟隨耶穌的復興先鋒者禁食禱告的歷史見證。如此一來，我期待聖靈使每個國家的教會，都回到她獅吼般的能力位份。

先知瑪拉基宣告說：「看哪，耶和華大而可畏之日未到以前，我必差遣先知以利亞到你們那裡去。他必使父親的心轉向兒女，兒女的心轉向父親，免得我來咒詛遍地。」（瑪拉基書4:5-6）

這主要的意思不是指父親和兒女們修復好的關係，而是指上個世代的心和對神的熱情會傳遞給下個世代，下個世代會回復如同先祖世代對神的追求和奉獻犧牲。有趣的是，以利亞禁食40天並將他的心給了以利沙作他的屬靈兒子。也許時候到了，我們的世代應該如同施洗約翰，回到以利亞的禁食和滿腔的熱情，以致全地每個國家的咒詛能被除去，耶穌能親自向各族各民各方的兒女們顯現。

在這40天的剩餘的日子裡，我鼓勵你閱讀自己族群、城市、國家的復興史，看看是否禁食禱告，孕育出了那段歷史。然後，讓我們不僅讀歷史，更在這40天內，修造祭壇、挖掘古老的復興之井，寫下歷史！

 

Day21   Remembering Our History

"Another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel." - Judges 2:10

"We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done." - Psalm 78:4

"Isaac built an altar there (the same place his father Abraham built an altar) and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well." - Genesis 26:25

"So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them." - Genesis 26:17-18

The order of the four verses above is very critical to the theme of this 40-day devotional track. A generation that doesn’t know its history forgets God and loses its spiritual potency in the earth. When we pass down the spiritual history of the fasting fathers and mothers of past eras, a generation is moved to rebuild those altars and to redig those wells of revival, recovering once again their power in the earth. Thus, we research the fasting altars of historic forerunners so that once again rivers of living water will break out to refresh the globe.

When I worship God, one of my favorite names describing his nature is “The Lord of History”. History is not a compilation of brute facts and meaningless isolated events. History has an Author and it is His Story. He has written it and He is the Lord of it. Man is not at the mercy of impersonal fate or cruel determinism. A good God governs the earth with kindness. He changes times and seasons. He overrules the edicts of man. He raises the poor out of the ash heap and makes them sit with princes. Sinister powers seek to change times and seasons and alter God’s benign and wise plans, but the Author holds the pen. Because he is the Author, He is also the Teacher of history. We are meant to learn from history. History teaches us God’s ways and warns us against detouring from them.

Paul enjoins the church at Corinth concerning Israel’s exodus history when he writes, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11, NKJV). Bible history, and all of history, shows us how God has acted in the past so that we might reenact His pathways to purpose and power in our present age.

Thus, in this 40-day devotional, we return to the original historic Jesus Fast in order to recover Jesus’ original power. When we read of Jesus’ fast in Luke 4, we may be tempted to treat it as a once-off anomaly, completely irrelevant to us in our modern and busy culture. However, when we have only one recorded fast of Jesus, and that one fast was 40 days on water, and when He declares that certain demonic spirits are cast out only by prayer and fasting (Matt. 17:21), then we have to seriously consider the probability that Jesus meant for all of us to do extended fasting to set this broken world free.

If Israel’s failure in the 40-year wilderness was an example to us, then must not Jesus’ example of the 40-day fast also be an example for us to follow? What a generation failed in for 40 years, Jesus fulfilled in 40 days. If history is His Story, then shouldn’t it be our story? When the student of history begins to discover certain patterns recurring with obvious cause and effect realities, then that student must pause and highlight such patterns, recognizing the presence of the unseen teacher of history at work. As preachers and teachers, it then becomes our spiritual obligation to pass on the historic patterns of power to the next generation so they will not be those “who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done.” Then, when faith comes with hearing, a divine reenactment takes place and power proceeds again.

It was said of Winston Churchill that he used history like a cannon and gave the lion of England back its roar. In this 40-day fasting devotional, I hope to call a generation back to the historical fast of Jesus and the fasting history of those pioneers of revival that followed in His train. In so doing, I hope the Holy Spirit will give the church in every nation back its roar.

The prophet Malachi declares, ”Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6).

This does not primarily mean that fathers and children will be restored to good relationship. It means the hearts of the patriarchs and their passion for God will be passed on to the hearts of their children and those children will return to the God pursuit and sacrifices of the patriarchal forefathers. It’s interesting that Elijah fasted 40 days and gave his heart to Elisha as a spiritual son. Maybe it’s time for our generation, like John the Baptist, to return to Elijah’s fast and heart passions so that the curse can be restrained over all nations of the earth and that Jesus may be manifested to the children of every nation, tribe, and tongue.

For the remainder of these 40 days, I would encourage you to study the revival history of your tribe, city, or nation to see if fasting and prayer were the birthplace of that history. Then, let’s not just read history, but let’s make it by building altars and digging ancient wells of revival in these 40 days!