Jesus Christ, the foundation of the Church – Our Confession – Pastor Jade Yi

May the Grace and Peace from God be with you. Amen.

願上帝的恩典與平安，與您們同在。阿們。

Our Story 我們的故事

Since the pandemic, scams have exploded. Have you ever received annoying fake phone calls, texts and emails from scammers? They act like someone who really knows us, cares for us, and wants to be our friend. Sometimes, they play victim and ask for our empathy and compassion. Without knowing, we start connecting with them through text or email, and eventually believe that we are making friends by talking to them on the phone. To them, we are not their friends but prey. Our vulnerability, kindness, and naiveness are their bait. We might think that we are in control until the moment we lose contact with them after they get what they want. They are after our identity and our belongings such as money. They don’t care about the kind of relationships that God has intended for us to have.

自從疫情發生以來，騙局層出不窮。您是否曾經收到詐騙者，煩人的虛假電話、簡訊和電子郵件呢？他們表現得像是一位真正了解我們、關心我們、想成為我們的朋友的人。有時，他們扮演受害者的角色來獲得我們的同情和憐憫。在不知不覺中，我們開始透過簡訊或電子郵件與他們聯繫，並透過電話與他們交談，在這些總總過程之下，我們開始相信，我們已經成為朋友了。對他們而言，我們不是他們的朋友，而是他們的獵物。我們的脆弱、善良和天真都成了他們的誘餌。直到他們得到他們想要的東西後，我們便與他們失去了聯繫。那時，我們才會認知到，一切並不在我們的掌控之下。他們想要的，是竊取我們的身分資料和我們的財產比如金錢。神對我們人與人之間和睦關係，他們一點也不關心，也不在意。

The Story of God 神的故事

In today’s reading from Matthew 16:13-20, the conversation between Jesus and Peter is life-giving. A life-giving conversation covers everything that can sustain or revitalize our lives together with God who is always with us. Unlike our experiences with scammers, in our relationship with God, there is no deception, just honesty. There is no pretentiousness, just authenticity.

在今天讀的馬太福音 16:13-20 中，耶穌和彼得之間的對話是一段賦予生命有活力的對話。一段賦予生命有活力的對話，是涵蓋了所有能夠維持以及振興我們與主上帝，永久一同生活的一切內容。這與我們和詐騙集團所經歷的過程完全不同。我們與神的關係，是沒有欺騙，只有誠實。沒有矯揉造作，只有真實。

Jesus is checking to see if his disciples know who he really is. Peter boldly and proudly says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus is pleased with his answers. Because his answer is the most important statement from which the Church is built upon. Jesus’ identity is the foundation of the church, our confession. Because of it, Jesus gives Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. But what is followed in verse 21-23 is shocking. Jesus calls Peter Satan because Peter disagrees with God’s plan, which is Jesus’ coming suffering, death, and resurrection.

在耶穌試探祂的門徒們是否知道祂的身分時，彼得大膽而自豪地說：“祢是彌賽亞，祢是基督，是永活上帝的兒子。” 耶穌對他的回答很滿意。因為他的回答正是教會賴以建立的最重要的陳述。耶穌基督是教會的基礎，也是我們的信仰。因此，耶穌把天國的鑰匙交給了彼得。但是，在第21-23節接下來的內容，令人震驚。耶穌稱彼得為撒旦，因為彼得不同意神的計劃，那就是，耶穌即將面臨的受難、死亡和復活。

Jesus sees both the strength and the weakness of Peter. He sees Peter’s strong faith as a rock, which is his confession, and from which the church will be built upon. He also sees Peter’s weak will as a stumbling block, from which the church can be scattered because of the mindset of human things. Being the rock and being the stumbling block are as different as day and night. Jesus knows Peter well. Even though Peter knows who Jesus is, can he trust Jesus enough to follow through God’s plan? That’s his test and challenge on his faith journey and also ours as well.

耶穌既看見彼得的強項，也看見彼得的軟弱。他將彼得堅強的信心視為磐石，這是他確認的信仰，也是教會建立在其上的基礎。他將彼得軟弱的意志視為絆腳石，教會可能因人的思維而四分五裂。成為磐石和成為絆腳石就像似天壤之別一樣。耶穌很了解彼得。儘管彼得知道耶穌的身分，但他能信得過耶穌，來遵循神的計劃嗎？這是他在信仰道路上的挑戰和歷練，也是我們的挑戰和歷練。

Challenges 挑戰

Last Friday, on my day off, my family and I hiked the Oyster Dome trail. At the trailhead, which was halfway up the mountain, we saw a man who was getting ready to paraglide. He kept checking his paraglider over and over again. Then, he was waiting for the right moment to leap into the air. After about 5 to 10 minutes, he leaped and flew into the space where he and the wind worked together to enjoy the ride.

上週五，我的休息日，我和我的家人去爬牡蠣圓頂步道。在半山腰的登山口，我們看到一個人正在把他的滑翔傘準備好。他一遍又一遍地檢查他的滑翔傘。然後，他就等待著合適的時機，準備滑翔。大約5到10分鐘後，他縱身一躍，飛入了他和風共同合作的空間，享受著滑行。

Watching him check his paraglider reminded me of a tragic story I heard recently. This past January, Nathy Odinson, 33 years old, tragically lost his life during a daring stunt in Thailand. He illegally climbed a 29-story building on a coastal resort and jumped off – but his parachute didn’t open. Despite being an experienced parachutist with 5,000 jumps around the world, he made a critical error that could have been prevented, leading him to leap to his death. There is a fine line between our strong faith and a weak mind. If we are careless or over confident, we can lose everything including our life.

看著他檢查滑翔傘，我想起了最近發生的一個悲慘故事。 今年 1 月，33 歲的內西·奧丁森 (Nathy Odinson) 在泰國的一次大膽特技表演中，不幸喪生。在度假勝地區，他非法攀爬了一棟靠海的建築物，從 29 層樓跳下，但他的降落傘並沒有打開。 儘管他是一位經驗豐富的跳傘運動員，在世界各地多達有 5000 次的跳傘經驗，但他還是犯了一個本來可以避免的嚴重錯誤，導致他的身亡。 在我們堅強的信心和軟弱的意志之間就只有一線之隔。 如果我們粗心或過於自信，我們可能會失去一切，包括我們的生命。

We all know that the Holy Spirit means the wind, the breath of God, that sustains and revitalizes the church, our life together. In our Wednesday evening Bible class, we also talked about how the early Christians followed the Holy Spirit’s lead, working together to sustain and revitalize the church. God knows us well, our strength and our weakness. But do we know God well and trust Him enough to let the Holy Spirit lead us and work in and through our lives together, individually and communally?

我們都知道聖靈意味著風，神的氣息，祂能維持和振興教會，以及我們的團契生活。在周三晚上的聖經課上，我們談到了早期基督徒是如何跟隨著聖靈的帶領，與其共同合作來維持和振興教會。神很了解我們，知道我們的強項和軟弱。但是，我們是否足夠了解神，並且足夠信任祂，讓聖靈帶領我們，並透過每一個人的生命，一起共同地建造我們的團契生活呢？

There is a saying, “You should always keep your friends close and your enemies closer!” It is similar to a Chinese idiom, “Know yourself, know your enemy, fight a hundred battles, win a hundred victories.” It basically means that we will be safer if we know more about our enemies than we know about our friends or ourselves. But what does the Bible say about this?

有句話說：“要親近朋友，更要親近敵人！” 就像中國的成語「知己知彼，百戰百勝」。這基本上是意味著，如果我們對敵人的了解多於對朋友或自己的了解，我們就會更安全。但聖經對此說法，有甚麼不同呢？

In Romans 8, Paul says that if God is for us, who can be against us? Paul also assures us that no one and nothing can separate us from the love of God. Jesus says that He is our friend. And we know that Satan is our enemy. So, should we keep our friend Jesus close and the enemy Satan closer? Instead of keeping Satan closer to us, why don’t we do something differently?

保羅在羅馬書第8章說，神若幫助我們，誰能敵擋我們呢？保羅也向我們保證，沒有任何人、任何事物能使我們與神的愛隔絕。耶穌也說了，祂是我們的朋友。我們也清楚，撒旦是我們的敵人。那麼，我們是否應該讓我們的敵人撒但比我們的朋友耶穌，更親近我們呢？與其讓撒旦離我們更近，我們是否應當採取別的方法呢？

There are countless scriptures affirming God is our protector whenever we are in danger. From the book of Genesis, we learn that Satan planted the seed of sin in our lives. We call it the original sin. That’s why we have moments like Peter struggling with our weak mind experiencing seven deadly sins: (1) pride, (2) greed (3) lust (4) envy (5) gluttony and drunkenness (6) wrath (7) laziness.

有無數的經文都證實了，每當我們遇到危險時，上帝都會保護我們。從創世記中，我們得知撒旦在我們的生命中種下了罪惡的種子。我們稱之為原罪。這就是為什麼我們會像彼得，有那樣軟弱的時刻，與我們的原罪思維作鬥爭。我們七大原罪是（1）傲慢 (2) 貪婪 (3) 色欲 (4) 嫉妒 (5) 暴食和醉酒 (6) 暴怒 (7) 懶惰。

Good News 好消息

The good news is that we are granted with the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Each of these deadly sins can be overcome with the fruits of the Holy Spirit that are stated in Galatians 5:22-23, love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Sometimes, we give too much credit to Satan who tirelessly waits day and night to weaken our minds. Sometimes, we get distracted and put too much energy on trying to defeat or understand Satan. Didn’t Jesus say in verse 18 that the gates of Hell will not win against the foundation of the church, who is our savior, Jesus Christ. God has everything under control and will take care of Satan.

好消息是我們被賦予了聖靈的能力和同在。每一個聖靈的果子都可以克服致命的罪惡，加拉太書 5:22-23 指出了聖靈的果實有，仁愛、喜樂、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、信實、溫柔、節制。 有時，我們過於相信撒旦，高估撒旦過於上帝。而讓撒旦日夜不息地削弱我們的意志。有時，我們會分心並投入過多的精力來試圖擊敗或了解撒旦。第 18 節耶穌不也說了，地獄之門不能勝過教會的根基，而教會的根基就是我們的救主耶穌基督。神掌管一切，並且會對付撒但。

All we need to do is trust God enough to follow through God’s plan, and let the Holy Spirit fill our lives fully. Instead of being a stumbling block that Satan wishes us to be, may we be a rock like Peter, standing strong and bearing the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Then, we shall see our fellowship be like the one stated in the book of Acts 2. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching that they received from Jesus. They met at church, broke bread and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. They praised God and enjoyed each other. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

我們需要做的就是要足夠的相信上帝，來遵循上帝的計劃，並且讓 聖靈完全充滿我們的生命。願我們不再像撒但所希望的那樣成為絆腳石，而成為像彼得一樣的磐石，站立得穩，結出聖靈的果子。自然而然，我們的團契就會像使徒行傳第二章所說的那樣。他們專心遵守使徒從耶穌那裡領受的教訓。他們在教堂聚集，懷著快樂而真誠的心情一起擘餅並吃飯。他們讚美神並享受彼此一起的生活。主將得救的人數天天加給他們。

Every day is a new day, every week is a new week, every year is a new year, every life is a new life in Christ. Through Jesus Christ, God creates something new each day. The kingdom of heaven is open at any moment to whoever says, “Yes, with God’s help! I want to live a new life in Christ who is my savior and to whom I trust.” May we remember the first time we say yes to our Lord, and may we follow through God’s plan, being the church God has intended us to be. Amen.

每一天都是新的一天，每週都是新的一週，每年都是新的一年，每一個生命都是在基督裡的新生命。透過耶穌基督，上帝每一天都在創造賜與新的生命。天國隨時都為人們開著的， 只要說：「是的，我願意，在有神的幫助下，我要在基督裡過新的生活，祂是我的救主，也是我所信靠的。” 」願我們記得我們第一次對主說「是的，我願意!」的時候，願我們遵循神的計劃，使我們成為神所盼望中的教會。阿們。