All things are under God’s control – Pastor Jade Yi

The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, chapter 1, verses 21-28. 福音記載於馬可福音，第一章， 21-22 節。

21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. 21 到了迦百農，耶穌就在安息日進了會堂教訓人。 22 眾人很稀奇祂的教訓，因為祂教訓他們正像有權柄的人，不像文士。 23 在會堂裡有一個人被汙鬼附著，他喊叫說： 24 「拿撒勒人耶穌，我們與祢有什麼相干？祢來滅我們嗎？我知道祢是誰，乃是神的聖者！」 25 耶穌責備他說：「不要作聲！從這人身上出來吧！」 26 汙鬼叫那人抽了一陣風，大聲喊叫，就出來了。 27 眾人都驚訝，以致彼此對問說：「這是什麼事？是個新道理啊！祂用權柄吩咐汙鬼，連汙鬼也聽從了祂。」 28 耶穌的名聲就傳遍了加利利的四方。

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. 這是主的福音。讚美主耶穌。

Grace and peace from God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with us. Amen. 恩典與平安從神、我們的聖父、聖子、聖靈賜給我們，與我們同在。阿們。

Every season has its own purpose and meaning just as the season of Epiphany. Today is the 4th Sunday after Epiphany. In this season, we come to glimpse who God is and what God does through our Savior Jesus Christ by reading the scripture, listening to related faith stories, hearing testimonies from our siblings in Christ, and experiencing God’s mighty acts in our own life. Because of all of that, our faith is also strengthened, and glorifying God comes naturally. 每一個季節都有它的目的和意義，就像主顯節一樣。今天已經是第四個主顯節主日。在這個期間，藉由主耶穌基督的故事，我們更加認識了 神，以及更明白神所做的事。我們之所以能夠懂得榮耀神，也自然而然地去做這件事，是因為我們透過閱讀經文，聆聽相關的信仰故事，和基督主內弟兄姊妹們分享的見證，並且在我們自己的生命中，經歷到 神的大能作為。這些種種過程，也同時堅定了我們對主的信仰。對吧!

We give glory to God for all that we have and all that we are. That’s because we got to know who Jesus is and what Jesus can do for us. Did Jesus’ disciples have clue who Jesus was and what he could do based on the scripture that we have for today, Mark 1:21-28? If we keep reading the rest of Mark, we know that Jesus’ disciples and many others like the religious leaders at the time didn’t get it, but someone did know who Jesus was.因著我們所擁有的一切和我們所擔當的每 一個角色，我們將榮耀都歸給神，這都歸功於，我們認識了耶穌基督。根據我們今天所讀的經文《馬可福音》1:21-28，耶穌的門徒有真正的認識了耶穌基督嗎？如果我們繼續閱讀馬可福音下面的幾個章節，我們就會知道耶穌的門徒和許多人，例如當時的宗教領袖們，他們並沒有明白耶穌的身分，但是，有個人很清楚耶穌基督是 誰。

Unlike Jesus’ disciples and many who were trying to figure out who Jesus was, the unclean spirits, or demons, knew exactly who Jesus was. They called Jesus the Holy One of God in 1:24, and called him the Son of God in 3:11, and called him the Son of the Most High God in 5:7. 當耶穌的門徒和許多試圖要弄清楚耶穌的身分時，污靈，也就是惡魔，已經確切地知道耶穌是誰。在一章二十四節，這些污靈惡魔稱耶穌為神的聖者，在三章十一節他們稱耶穌為神的兒子，在五章七節他們稱耶穌為至高神的兒子。

There is a well-known saying: “The assurance of victory is knowing your enemies.” Demons are our enemies. In order to take over our lives, demons have to know Jesus well first. Because they know that without Jesus, we can easily become hopeless, self-centered, and egoistic. Without Jesus, our chance of experiencing the kingdom of God is probably zero.有一句名言：【了解你的敵人是勝利的保證】惡魔是我們的敵人。為了掌控我們的生活與生命，惡魔必須先充分的認識耶穌。因為他們知道，沒有耶穌，我們容易墮入絕望、以自我為中心、變得自私自利。如果沒有耶穌，我們能經歷神的國度的機率可能是零。

From both the Old Testament and the New Testament, we know that demons are fallen angels. They rebelled against God and keep propagating evil in the world. And who is the head of the demons? It is Satan. Satan is also well known as the Accuser and Tempter. 從舊約和新約中，我們都知道惡魔是墮落的天使。他們背叛了上帝，並不斷在世界上傳播邪惡。惡魔的首領又是誰呢？就是撒旦。撒旦有兩個別名，一個是叫做控告者，另一個稱號是誘惑者。

The mission of Satan is to oppose God and seek to frustrate God’s plans and lead God’s people into rebellion. As the ruler of a host of fallen angels, Satan wants us to take God’s promises for granted or forget all about it. Satan’s goal is to persuade us that we are not capable of embracing God’s Kingdom but take in whatever we see, hear, and experience in our current earthly life. It’s like sheep without a shepherd. 撒但的使命是和上帝唱反調，他不只是要挫敗上帝的計劃並且要誘惑上帝的子民來背叛神。作為一群墮落天使的統治者，撒但的目標是要我們相信自己並不享有上帝的國度，要我們忽略忘記上帝賜給我們的一切應許，撒但要我們墮落於目前塵世生活中所看到的、聽到的和經歷的一切事情。就像一群沒有牧者的羊群。

That’s exactly what happened to the possessed man in today’s story. By casting the demons out of his body, by healing his mind, body and soul, Jesus established a new relationship with him. Through Jesus, he received a new life and experienced what a beautiful God’s Kingdom is. That’s Jesus’ mission – establishing a new relationship and letting everyone experience the beauty of God’s Kingdom.這正是今天故事中被惡魔附身的人所面對的人生。透過將邪靈惡魔趕出他的身體，治癒他的心靈，耶穌與他建立了一個新的關係。因為耶穌，他獲得了新生命，並經歷了神的國度的美好。這就是耶穌的使命 ¬– 與人建立新的關係，要所有人都親身體驗到，神的國度的美好。

God does three things for us; Satan also does three things for us.神為了我們做了三件事；撒但也為了我們做了三件事。

First, God comes to us in Jesus to heal our mind, our heart, our body, and our soul. Satan comes to us in demons to destroy and damage our whole being by possessing us, confusing us, and making us sick and weak.第一件事: 神透過耶穌來到我們的生 命，治癒我們的思想、心靈、身體和靈魂。撒但以惡魔的形式來到我們的生 命，佔有我們、迷惑我們、使我們生病、軟弱，從而傷害和毀滅我們。

Second, God comes to us in Jesus to set us free from the bondage of sin so that we don’t live in broken relationships with God and God’s people. Satan comes to us in demons to separate us from the love of God by making us prideful, hateful, and manipulative. 第二件事: 神藉著耶穌來到我們的生 命，將我們從罪的捆綁中釋放出來，好讓我們不活在與神和神的子民存有的破裂關係中。撒但以魔鬼的形式來到我們的生 命，使我們變得驕傲、懷有仇恨和控制欲，使我們與神的愛隔絕。

Third, God comes to us in Jesus to reveal to us the Kingdom of God by calling our name in our Baptism. Satan comes to us in demons to tempt us to be the Lord of ourselves and others and accuses us for not being good enough, making us shameful and guilty each day. 第三件事: 神透過耶穌來到我們的生 命，在洗禮中呼喚我們的名字，向我們揭曉神的國度。撒但以魔鬼的形式來到我們的生 命，引誘我們做自己和他人的王，或者指責我們的缺點，使我們時時都感到羞恥和內疚。

By grace through faith, let us be living testimonies to Jesus. Whenever we feel troubled spirits in ourselves or a spiritual war within us, may we pray to God in Jesus’ name for healing. All the healing that we have received and accumulated through our life can certainly strengthen our faith and renew our relationship with God and those around us. 藉著恩典藉著信心，讓我們成為耶穌活生生的見證。每當我們感到內心不安或內心有屬靈的爭戰時，願我們奉耶穌的名向神祈求醫治。我們一生中所接受和累積的所有治癒肯定可以增強我們的信心，並更新我們與上帝和身邊的人的關係。

While Satan is still a dangerous enemy, Jesus prays for us and gives us the powerful weapons of prayer, faith, and the blood He shed and the body He gave to you and me. There is no way we can control demons or eliminate them from our lives, but God can. In Romans 16:20, St. Paul said that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under our feet. And in Revelation 20:10, John said that Satan is thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 雖然撒旦持續是一個危險的敵人，但耶穌為我們祈禱也賜給我們強大的武器，例如祈禱、信心、他為我們所流的寶血以及他為我們所捨的身體。我們無法控制惡魔或將它們從我們的生命中剷除，但神可以。在羅馬書16章20節中，聖保羅說，賜平安的神很快就會把撒但踩在我們腳下。在啟示錄20章10節中，約翰說撒但將被丟進硫磺火湖中，就是獸和假先知所在的地方，他們將日夜受折磨，直到永遠。

The people asked in Mark 1:27, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” We can respond to their question with confidence that it is a new teaching with authority. We can be sure that Satan’s end is certain. Amen. 馬可福音 1 章 27 節中，人們問：「這是什麼事？是個有權威的新教導！祂用權柄吩咐惡魔，連惡魔也聽從了祂。」 我們可以充滿信心地回答他們這個問題，是的，這是一個具有權威的新教導。我們可以確信，撒旦將會被結束的。阿們。