1. Hello, our listening friends.
亲爱的朋友，你好。
2. If you are joining us for the first time, we are in the midst of a study about the life of Abraham.
如果这是你第一次收听我们的节目的话，我们现在正在学习亚伯拉罕的生平。
3. In our last broadcast, I promised that I would tell you more about Abraham between the ages of 86 and 99.
在上次的节目里，我答应要告诉你亚伯拉罕在八十六岁到九十九岁之间的事。
4. And that age was between the end of chapter 16 and the beginning of chapter 17 in the book of Genesis
他这段年龄的经历，就发生在创世记十六章的结束到十七章开始之间。
5. And there is absolutely nothing recorded in the word of God.
其实，圣经里完全没有任何记载。
6. Only those words,
只有这些话，
7. Verse 16,
十六章十六节说，
8. “Abraham was 86 years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.”
夏甲给亚伯兰生以实玛利的时候，亚伯兰年八十六岁。
9. then in verse 1 of chapter 17,
然后在十七章第一节这么说，
10. It says that “When Abraham was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said ‘I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless.’”
亚伯兰年九十九岁的时候，耶和华向他显现，对他说：“我是全能的神，你当在我面前作完全人。”
11. If you have your Bibles with you I want you to mark in your Bibles.
如果你手上有圣经的话，请在你的圣经上记下，
12. There is a thirteen-year period of silence between Genesis 16 and Genesis 17.
在创世记十六章到十七章之间，有十三年沉默的时期。
13. The Bible does not tell us... why there is such a long silence.
圣经并没有告诉我们，为什么会有这么一段长时间的沉默。
14. Please understand what I am trying to tell you.
希望你能了解我将要告诉你的。
15. This is only my own conjecture.
这只是我自己的推测。
16. There was nothing important during those 13 years that was worth recording.
在那十三年里，并没有任何重要的事，是值得记录下来的。
17. and in the same way,
同样的道理，
18. There is nothing significant that happens in your life... when you are out of the will of God.
当你远离神的旨意时，在你的生命中也不会有任何重大的事发生。
19. When Abraham and Sarah tried to interpret the will of God... by what seems to be natural...
当亚伯拉罕和撒拉，以符合自然规律的角度来解释神的旨意时，
20. they marched right out of fellowshipping with God.
他们就脱离了与神的来往。
21. The moment they marched out of the will of God...
就在他们远离神的旨意时，
22. Ishmael was born and their spiritual growth was stumped.
以实玛利出生了，他们属灵的成长也停顿了下来。
23. This is the second time we see Abraham wander into a period of spiritual stagnation.
这已经是第二次我们看到亚伯拉罕徘徊在灵命停滞的状态里。
24. Do you remember... when did Abraham go out of the will of God the first time?
你还记得他第一次脱离神的旨意，是什么时候吗？
25. Since I started making conclusions about the 13-year period of time in the life of Abraham... I might as well continue.
既然我对亚伯拉罕生命中的这十三年开始了我的推论，我还是继续说下去吧。
26. During that period of time;
在那段时期里，
27. Most likely Abraham became more successful than ever.
亚伯拉罕极有可能更有成就了。
28. Most likely his influence in the community became great.
他在社区里，很可能具有极大的影响力。
29. Most likely his reputation of being a hero for rescuing Lot... made him an important citizen.
他拯救罗得的功勋，极有可能使他成为家喻户晓的英雄人物。
30. But most of all... Abraham thought everything between him and the Lord was just great!
最得意的是，亚伯拉罕认为他与神之间的每样事情都棒极了！
31. He probably thought that after he helped God fulfill his promise...
他或许觉得自己帮忙神成就了神的应许之后，
32. he was living a perfect life of a gentleman farmer...
他成为一个体面的绅士，过着完美的田园生活。
33. no hassles...
没有任何麻烦，
34. no testing...
没有任何考验，
35. no family crisis...
没有家庭的危机，
36. no financial crisis...
没有经济的危机，
37. Abraham was probably thinking “God must be pleased with me.”
亚伯拉罕或许这么想，“神一定对我很满意。”
38. Everything must be A-OK because the waters of life were smooth.
凡事都毫无问题，生命真是一帆风顺。
39. My dear friend, I want you to listen very carefully to what I am going to tell you.
亲爱的朋友，请你留心听我接下来要说的话，
40. The times when the waters of your life are smooth...
当你的生命一帆风顺的时候，
41. it is a time when you should be concerned about your relationship with the Lord.
就是你应该注意到你和神的关系的时候。
42. Abraham failed to recognize that smooth waters don't always mean that God is pleased with us.
亚伯拉罕并没有认清这点，一帆风顺不一定就代表着神对我们满意。
43. Sometimes when the waters of life are smooth...
有时候，生命中凡事顺利，
44. it could mean... that spiritual stagnation has set in.
可能正代表着属灵生命的迟钝。
45. The hours when you are struggling and facing crisis after crisis and you feel you are learning by feeling the wind at your face...
而当你不断地挣扎着去面对一个接一个的危机时，你正是在逆风中学习。
46. these are often the times when you and I are growing the most.
往往这就是最能叫你我成长的时刻。
47. God does not necessarily want comfortable Christians.
神并不一定需要舒适的基督徒。
48. Read Acts 13...
读一读使徒行传十三章，
49. and you will see how the apostles in spite of harassment were "filled with joy and with the holy spirit."
你会发现使徒在重重折磨之下，仍然“满心喜乐又被圣灵充满。”
50. When circumstances seem to be easy... and comfortable...
但当情况看起来既轻松又舒适的时候，
51. it can mean that spiritual progress is at a stand-still.
可能代表着，属灵的进程到了一个休止的地步。
52. I think that the main reason for Abraham's peace of mind during those 13 years...
我认为亚伯拉罕在那十三年当中之所以能心安理得，最主要的原因是，
53. was the fact that he lived with a false premise.
他其实是活在一个虚幻的前提之下。
54. He thought that Ishmael was the fulfillment of God's promise.
他以为以实玛利就是神所应许的。
55. And the Lord had to reprogram Abraham... out of his self-satisfaction.
所以神需要纠正亚伯拉罕的观念，使他从自我陶醉中醒悟过来。
56. The Lord had to re-orient Abraham... to the painful truth.
神需要重新调整亚伯拉罕的角度，使他面对这痛苦的事实。
57. The Lord had to re-introduce Abraham... to the big picture.
神需要让亚伯拉罕从大体着眼，重新看见那幅远景。
58. So... on Abraham's 99th birthday... God pays him a visit.
因此当亚伯拉罕九十九岁的时候，神向他显现。
59. Now if you have been keeping records... you would have noticed that it had been 24 years since God had given Abraham the promise in Genesis 12.
如果你还记得前几次讲过的，你会发现从创世记十二章那里神给亚伯拉罕应许，到这时已经有廿四年了。
60. But here in 17:1 for the first time God identifies himself as “El-Shaddai”.
然而在十七章第一节这里，神才第一次表明祂自己是“全能的神”。
61. In other words he is saying to Abraham “I didn't need your improvising... I only needed your obedience.”
换句话说，祂要告诉亚伯拉罕：“我不需要你自作主张，我只需要你完全顺服。”
62. Then He commands Abraham; ... “walk before me and be blameless.”
接着祂吩咐亚伯拉罕说：“你当在我面前作完全人。”
63. You might ask, why has God given this command to Abraham?
你或许会问，神为什么要给亚伯拉罕这个命令呢？
64. God is saying to Abraham "don't keep on making the same mistake over and over and over again
神就是要告诉亚伯拉罕，“不要一而再、再而三的犯同样的错误。”
65. There is a note of comfort here for all of us.
这里有一点是可以让我们每个人得着安慰的。
66. God's promises are never affected by our failure.
那就是神的应许，从来不会因着我们的失败受到影响。
67. Our failure is painful for us.
失败对我们来说是非常痛苦的。
68. Our failure stunts our spiritual growth.
我们的失败叫我们属灵的成长受到阻碍。
69. Our failure hurts those around us.
我们的失败叫那些在我们周围的人受伤。
70. But thank God... His promises remain the same.
但是感谢神，祂的应许是不改变的。
71. Here we are, we find Abraham at 99 and Sarah at the age of 90...
在这里，我们看到亚伯拉罕是九十九岁，而撒拉是九十岁。
72. and God is about to renew His work in their lives.
而神即将在他们的生命中，重新开始祂的工作。
73. He changed the name from Abram to Abraham...
祂把亚伯兰的名字改为亚伯拉罕；
74. and he changed the name Sari into Sarah.
又把撒莱的名字改为撒拉。
75. Not only that...
不但如此，
76. But He is about to bless them with a son of their own.
神还要赐福给他们，让他们有一个自己的儿子。
77. Don't ever think that you are too old to accomplish great things for God.
千万不要认为你自己年纪太大，不能为神完成大事。
78. I don't mean having babies at old age...
我的意思不是指在年老的时候怀孕，
79. but you could have spiritual children at any age.
而是你在任何年龄，都可以有属灵的孩子。
80. Even if you are physically unable to get around... you can pray... and intercede better than most people
即使你的体力不许可你四处奔波，但你比大部分的人可以更有效的为人祷告代求。
81. I want you to look very carefully at the first 8 verses of Chapter 17, of the book of Genesis
请你仔细的看创世记十七章头八节的经文，
82. while God is talking to Abraham about the fulfillment of his promise of a child by His supernatural intervention...
当神对亚伯拉罕说，祂要运用超自然的力量，使亚伯拉罕有一个孩子来成就祂的应许时，
83. Abraham was thinking all the time about Ishmael.
亚伯拉罕一心一意只想到以实玛利。
84. But not until you get to verses 15 and 17 that you realize what is happening here
但是等到你读了十五和十七节，你才明白这是怎么一回事。
85. God was telling Abraham: “I will do the impossible.”
神告诉亚伯拉罕：“我要作一件不可能的事。”
86. The Lord was thinking of Sarah as well.
神所指的是撒拉。
87. All of a sudden... Abraham probably stopped half-way through his thought and says... “What?”
当亚伯拉罕还在自己的想法中思考着，突然他愣住了，说，“什么？”
88. "No you don't really mean that God.”
“神啊！不是真的吧！”
89. “You have already given me a son by Sarah through Hagar.”
“你已经借着夏甲给了我和撒拉一个儿子。”
90. “Lord... Ishmael is already born... surely he is the boy you want."
“主啊，以实玛利已经生下来了，他不就是你要的孩子吗！”
91. Have you ever thought you have heard the Lord... when you basically have heard the voice of your desire?
你是否曾经认为你听到了主的声音，而事实上是听到了你自己的欲望呢？
92. Have you ever thought you were in the will of God... when you were actually doing what you wanted to do?
你是否曾经认为你遵行了神的旨意，而事实上是在做你自己想做的事呢？
93. Have you ever been convinced about something to be the will of God? ... then you face a rude awakening that it was not the Lord at all!
有些事，你是否曾经肯定是神的旨意，却又猛然醒悟，发觉那根本不是主的意思。
94. Poor old Abraham.
可怜的亚伯拉罕，
95. Now every bit of human wheeling and dealing for the past 13 years are going up in smoke.
过去十三年里，他靠人为的力量所作的每一分努力全都化为烟雾。
96. Why do you suppose God waited for so long?
你猜神为什么要等那么久才重新介入呢？
97. Because geriatric maternity wards are not commonplace...
因为高龄生产并不是普通的事，
98. and often God works when the very last human possibility has been exhausted.
而神往往是在人用尽了自己所有的办法后才开始工作的。
99. Only when you come to the end of your tattered rope... that He leads you and hands you a silken cord.
唯有当你到达你那条破旧的绳索的尽头，祂才会引导你并且交给你一条丝绸做的绳子。
100. Only when your small boat begins to sink in the middle of the ocean that He would invite you aboard a large ship.
唯有当你的小船在汪洋大海中快要沉没时，祂才会邀请你登上祂的大船。
101. For 13 years Abraham pinned his hopes on Ishmael...
这十三年来，亚伯拉罕把他的希望寄托在以实玛利身上，
102. but now his heart is throbbing with heartache...
现在他的心痛苦的悸动着，
103. and probably to soften the blow in verse 21 God says;
或许为了减轻这个打击，在廿一节那里神说：
104. “My covenant I will establish with Isaac when Sarah will bear you a child at this time next year.”
“到明年这时节，撒拉必给你生艾萨克，我要与他坚定所立的约。”
105. We have come to the end of our time with you this broadcast.
我们这一次节目的时间差不多到了，
106. Please tune in next time, we will learn more about what this visit from the Lord meant.
请你下次继续收听，我们将会学习更多关于神这次的显现意味着什么事。
107. Until then, I wish you God’s richest blessing
愿神大大的赐福给你，下次再见。
