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SECTION A
甲部

1. Hello, listening friends.
亲爱的朋友,你好,

2. Thank you for tuning into this broadcast
很感谢你收听我们的节目,

3. It is a joy for us to bring it to you
我们很高兴能和你相聚。

4. And if you are joining us for the first time
如果这是你第一次听节目,

5. We are nearing the end of a series of messages entitled” The Garden verses The City.”
我们所讲的“花园与城市”这个系列信息已经接近尾声了。

6. I want to review with you the five reasons why Christians are apt to forget about the heavenly city.
我想跟你温习一下,基督徒之所以会忘记天上城市的五个理由。

7. First
第一,

8. A false perception of the heavenly Jerusalem.
许多人对天上的耶路撒冷有错误的观念。

9. Second
第二,

10. Yielding to the allure of what is seen on earth.
许多人眷恋世上所见的事物。

11. Third
第三,

12. Taking on worldliness as a life style.
许多教会沾染世俗的风气。

13. Four
第四,

14. Succumbing to the overwhelming pressures of life.
许多人因生活的重担而屈服。

15. And fifth
第五,

16. False teachings regarding heaven.
有许多关于天堂错误的教导。

17. In our last broadcast, we discussed the false perception of the heavenly Jerusalem
在上次节目里我们谈到,许多人对天上的耶路撒冷有错误的观念。

18. This time I want to start with the second reason:
今天我们要谈谈第二个原因。

19. We have the overwhelming pressures of life which eclipses our vision of the city of God.
我们生活在极大的压力下,往往遮蔽了我们看神的城市的视野。

20. Think how many of you are sometimes overwhelmed by things in your life.
回想一下,有多少次你被生活的压力冲击?

21. Think of the pressures of work.
想想你工作的压力,

22. Think of the pressures of your family responsibilities.
想想你家庭责任的重担,

23. Think of the emotional wear and tear of life.
想想你感情上的耗损,

24. Think of the hurt, rejection, pain, and danger that sometimes you feel
想想你有时感受到的伤害、排斥、痛苦和危险,

25. Think of your financial responsibilities.
想想你的经济负担,

26. All of these pressures combine to eclipse our vision of heaven.
这一切压力就会遮蔽了我们对天堂的视觉。

27. God wants us to be faithful in all our responsibilities.
神要我们尽忠职守,

28. God wants us to work diligently . . . and serve him in all we do.
神要我们勤奋工作,并在凡事上侍奉祂。

29. But all of that should be done with one purpose:
然而所有这一切,只有一个目的。

30. That we may draw the attention of the world to our Savior.
就是要让全世界的人,都注目在我们的救主身上。

31. That is, to let them know that we do what we do because we expect a reward in heaven.
也就是说,我们之所以这么活着,是为了将来在天上的奖赏。

32. We must let them know that the reason we forgive their insults, . . .
要让世人知道,我们愿意饶恕他们对我们的侮辱,

33. Is so that they may come to be forgiven by God, . . .
他们就能来寻求神的饶恕,

34. And that they too can go to heaven.
他们也同样得以到天堂去。

35. Our false perception of the heavenly city distorts the real truth.
我们对天上城市错误的认知,将真理扭曲了。

36. The overwhelming pressures in the city of man eclipse our vision for the city of God.
在人的城市里,巨大的压力遮蔽了我们对神的城市的视野。

37. And thirdly, . . .
第三,

38. The allure of what is seen tends to trip us.
我们对眼见世界的眷恋,常常会绊倒我们。

39. By nature, what we see with our own eyes gets our immediate attention.
通常,眼睛所见的,总是很快就吸引了我们的注意力。

40. By nature, what is visible tugs on our heart strings.
通常,人总是被眼见的事物牵引着我们的心。

41. Have you heard of the statement, “Out of sight . . . out of mind?”
你听过这句俗话吗?眼不见为净。

42. In this postmodern society we tend to believe what is verifiable.
在后现代的社会里,我们愿意相信可见的事。

43. We can get caught up in watching movies or television, . . .
当我们看电影和看电视时,很容易陷入这样的情况……

44. Which is a make-believe world.
那是一个虚幻的世界,

45. And yet, they become real to us, because we can see them.
但因为我们亲眼看见,就信以为真。

46. But the promises of God regarding a heavenly city do not seem real.
但神应许的天上之城,却显得很虚渺。

47. Probably some of you who are listening to me right now are thinking:
可能有听众会这么想,

48. “Heavenly city?”
什么?天上之城?

49. “That is a foolish fantasy for the weak, poor and sick people who cannot cope with life’s realities.”
只有那些生病的、贫穷的弱者、无法承受现实生活的人,才会有这种愚昧的幻想。

50. And even the least materialistic among us gets caught up in the materialism of this world.
那些最不在乎物质享受的人,也会被这个物欲横流的世界羁绊。

51. We make business and financial plans as if we were going to live forever.
我们在事业上和财务方面作出长远的计画,就好像我们会长生不死似的。

52. We give God the crumbs and the leftovers and we think we have been generous.
我们给神的只是残羹冷炙,还自认为是在慷慨奉献呢!

53. The scriptures tell us that it is only what we give to God that really counts.
圣经告诉我们,奉献给神的才能存到永恒。

54. Yet, we don’t stop long enough each day to ask the question
但我们从不停下来好好反省,问问自己:

55. What will happen to my plans if I go home to my Heavenly Father this afternoon?”
如果今天下午我就要回天家见天父了,我所有的那些计画又会怎样呢?

56. Or, . . . “what will I say to the Lord when I see him face to face?”
或者问,当我面对面见主时,我对主说什么呢?

57. Then there is the fourth reason why we do not focus on the heavenly city
第四个我们不能专注于天上之城的原因是:

58. The worldliness of the church tends to muddle our thinking regarding heaven.
教会的世俗化,往往模糊了我们对天堂的向往。

59. Ask an average church what their spiritual goal is.
去问问一间普通的教会,他们属灵的目标是什么?

60. Ask an average church how they are accomplishing the purpose for their existence.
一间普通的教会,为了继续维持下去,如何才能完成这个目标呢?

61. You will be shocked and surprised by the answers.
他们的答案可能会令你很震惊。

62. The early church members had one goal and was to bring glory to the name of Jesus.
初代教会的成员只有一个目标,就是要荣耀神的名。

63. Today, many churches are ashamed to proclaim Him as the only way to heaven.
今天很多教会,羞于传扬基督就是到天堂唯一的道路。

64. The early church’s number one priority was holiness.
初代教会,最重视的就是追求圣洁。

65. Today, many churches don’t even know what that means anymore.
今天许多教会,连圣洁真正的意义都不懂。

66. The early church measured their success . . . in terms of eternal gain.
初代教会,以永恒的奖赏为成功的指标。

67. Today, some churches measure their success in terms of earthly gain.
今天有些教会,以世界的利益为成功的指标。

68. Why would anyone want to think of heaven if they are so preoccupied with earth?
当人们以地上的事为念时,他们怎么会思想天上的事呢?

69. Why would anyone want to go to heaven if they think that they can have it all right here?
当人们认为今生在世上就能赚取一切时,他们还向往去天堂吗?

70. Then there is the fifth and final reason
最后第五个理由,

71. False teaching regarding heaven leads us to ignore it.
有许多关于天堂错误的教导,使我们不注意它。

72. Many people in the world believe that God is not going to send anyone to hell.
世上有很多人认为神不会让人下地狱,

73. This statement is both true and false at the same time.
其实这句话也对,也不对。

74. God is not going to send anyone to hell.
神不会送人下地狱,

75. Those who end up in hell will send themselves there.
在地狱里的人,都是自己要去的。

76. They will go there because they would not believe that there is only one way to heaven, . . .
他们到那里,是因为他们拒绝相信,上天堂只有一条路,

77. Jesus’ way.
耶稣就是那唯一的道路。

78. Some of you might be asking
有些人会问,

79. “What about those who have never heard of Jesus Christ?”
那些从没有听过耶稣基督的人又如何呢?

80. Here is my answer:
我的回答是:

81. Don’t worry about those who have never heard.
你不必为他们担心,

82. They are not your responsibility.
你不用对他们负责,

83. They are God’s responsibility.
那是神的责任。

84. What God is going to ask you is this:
神要问你,

85. “You heard . . . what did you do with what you have heard?”
你听见了,那么,你将如何回应呢?

86. Someone sat in my office a few years ago and looked at me in the eye and said:
前几年,有一个人坐在我的办公室里,理直气壮地对我说,

87. “How arrogant for you to think that Jesus is the only way to heaven!”
你说,耶稣是唯一的道路,未免太霸道了吧!

88. This man is not alone.
世上不只他一个人这么想。

89. This false teaching abounds in some churches.
这一类错误的教导侵入了教会,

90. No wonder many people are confused.
难怪人们感到混乱迷糊。

91. And no matter what I said to that man, it did not matter to him.
无论我怎么解释,这个人都充耳不闻。

92. I tried to tell him that this is not my idea.
我告诉他,这不是我的意见。

93. I told him that I had nothing to do with this truth.
我告诉他,这是真理,不是我创立的。

94. Jesus is the one who said it . . . not me.
这是耶稣的话,不是我说的。

95. And I want to show you how false teaching is misleading people:
让我为你指出,那些不正确的教训,如何误导了许多人。

96. In June, of 2000
2000年六月,

97. There was a gathering of a hundred delegates from 30 countries.
来自30个国家的一百位代表,在一起开会。

98. They represented more than 20 religions in the world.
他们代表着全世界二十几种宗教,

99. Hindus and Buddhists and Episcopalians and Presbyterians all met together to form one religion.
印度教徒,佛教徒,圣公会和长老会的代表,济济一堂开会讨论宗教合一。

SECTION B
乙部

1. All of the nominal Christians in that group rejected the Biblical teaching that heaven is a place exclusively reserved for those who follow Jesus as their only Savior.
那些挂名的基督徒,一致反对圣经有关天堂的教导。圣经说,只有跟随耶稣,承认耶稣为他们唯一的救主的人,才能进天堂。

2. My listening friends listen very carefully please
亲爱的朋友,请仔细听我说。

3. “We have not here an abiding city,
这里不是我们永远的居所,

4. But we seek after the city which is to come.”
我们所追求的是将来的天城。

5. I love life as much as any of you.
跟每一位朋友一样,我热爱生命。

6. I love serving my family.
我乐意为我的家人效劳。

7. I love speaking to you over the radio.
我喜爱向你广播。

8. But I look forward to the day when I go to glory!
但我向往着进入荣耀天家的那一天!

9. I want to tell you a story, a true story
让我讲一个真实的故事给你听。

10. There was a missionary who served the Lord for 40 years.
有一位宣教士,服侍主40年之久。

11. After that faithful ministry he was returning home by boat.
当他结束了忠心的侍奉后,乘船回到家乡。

12. An American President was also aboard that boat.
恰巧当时的美国总统,也搭乘同一艘船。

Upon entering the harbor, . . .
当船抵达岸边时,

13. The missionary felt deeply rejected and hurt.
这位宣教士深深感到被遗弃的伤痛。

14. Why?
为什么?

15. The President received a tremendous fanfare as he arrived home.
总统返抵国门,受到热烈的欢迎,

16. And not one person was waiting for this faithful servant of God.
却没有一个人来迎接这位神忠心的仆人。

17. There was no recognition for his 40 years of serving the King of Kings.
服事万王之王40年之久,竟然没有人表扬。

18. As the man sat on the train heading for his home, . . .
当他搭上开往家乡的火车,

19. A small voice whispered in his ear:
一个微小的声音对他说:

20. “You are not home yet.”
你还没真正回到家呢!

21. Let me ask you this
请问,

22. Have you been a faithful steward of God, . . . and received no recognition?
你是神忠心的管家吗?然而你并没有受到表扬,

23. Remember you are not home yet.
别忘了,你还没真正回到家呢!

24. Have you been faithfully teaching and received no recognition?
你是否忠心的教导真理,却没有受到表扬?

25. Have you been faithfully witnessing and serving and received no recognition?
你是否忠心为主做见证,并服侍主,却没有受到表扬?

26. Have you paid a heavy price for your faithfulness to God and received no recognition?
你是否为了对神尽忠而付出高昂的代价,却没有受到表扬?

27. Remember, you are not home yet.
别忘了,你还没真正回到家呢!

28. Wait until we get home!
耐心等候到天家的那一刻!

29. When you get home, you will be recognized for your faithfulness.
当你回到天家,神要嘉勉你的忠诚。

30. When you get home, you will be rewarded for your honesty.
当你回到天家,神要奖赏你的诚实。

31. When you get home you will be commended for your perseverance.
当你回到天家,神要称赞你的坚忍。

32. When you get home, you will hear from the lips of Jesus:
当你回到天家,你会听到耶稣亲口说:

33. “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
好,你这又良善又忠心的仆人,

34. “Enter into your Father’s rest.”
进来享受天父所赐的安息。

35. Are you going to heaven?
你是往天家去吗?

36. If you are not sure,
如果你还不确定,

37. Today you can give your life to Jesus Christ and be assured of heaven.
今天就将你的生命交托给耶稣基督,你必定可以往天家去。

38. You can pray this prayer with me
请和我一起祷告。

39. Heavenly Father
天上的父亲,

40. I come to You
我愿意归向你,

41. In the name of Jesus
靠着耶稣的名,

42. I receive Him as my Savior
我愿接受祂为我的救主,

43. I enthrone Him as my Lord
并遵祂为我生命之主,

44. Now assure me of Heaven
赐给我到天家的确据,

45. And help me to live with the expectation of Heaven
并帮助我遵照天上的样式而活。

46. In Jesus name
奉耶稣的名祷告,

47. Amen.
阿们。