"Today we are talking about the emptiness of life. Life is narrow as a palm, it is like misty rain, comparable to a flower and similar to grass. The grass will wither, the flower will fall, but only the one who fears the Lord will live forever."
A few days ago, Pastor Zhang Xuejun shared an online sermon with his congregation entitled, "How Christians Face Disasters," to demonstrate the emptiness and ephemeral nature of life. He stated the following tenets: Human life is in the hands of God; we must listen to God's words to nourish ourselves spiritually; for the sake of our Lord we should shepherd believers during the current pandemic.
Pastor Zhang quoted several Scripture verses and described four of life’s basic characteristics:
1) Life is short. A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. (Psalms 90:4) All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. (Psalms 90:9) (Psalm 90: 4, 9) Our life is like a moan so it is very short. A thousand years is like a watch during the night which is just three hours long.
2)Life passes quickly. Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:14) Pastor Zhang shared his own personal experience of how he went to Changbai Mountain to see the mist framed in the sky. He found the mist was there only three seconds and had disappeared when he briefly looked away.
3) Life is virtual reality. As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. (Psalm 17:15) Here he explained: When do I wake up? After leaving this world, when I see God’s likeness, then I am fully awake. So we are in a dream when we are alive. And things in the dream are not real, so life is not true reality.
4) Life is empty. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. (Psalms 39:5)“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.” (Psalms 39:6) Pastor Zhang gave an example of how the term "phantoms" is used. The shadow on the cloth that one sees in a puppet show is projected from the puppets in the background, but it is a phantom, not real. So life is also empty, and human life is nothing compared to God's eternity.
Pastor Zhang used the example of David to illustrate the importance of truly believing in God. He quoted 2 Peter 3:13, "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” What is the meaning of “righteousness” in this passage? According to the motivation, method and degree of King David's crime, it was more hateful than that of Saul. Saul was only greedy for cattle and sheep and took pity on the king of Amalek. Saul didn’t take someone else’s wife and have the husband killed. Why did Saul's life end completely different from that of David? Because David was a true believer. The grace that David received from God proves the doctrine of justification by faith. David was a true believer, Saul was false, and he was not born again. David truly repented, and God forgave him. In this way, he reminded us that we Christians must also have faith in God's love and forgiveness and then repent and confess our sins.
He also said that during the pandemic, Christians needed to listen to God's words as bread from heaven.
"You should listen to God's words because it is like seeds—there is life in them. We are born again and need to be fed by God's Word," he said that although human life is short, it is under God's control, so people need to fear him.
At the end of the sermon, he said, "You must be a God-fearing person from this age to all of eternity. The world will return to dust, but justice will be given to our children and grandchildren. Today if we fear God, we are blessed by him, and our children and grandchildren are will be blessed. "
- Translated by Abigail Wu
疫情下再次思考人生
“今天讲的是空，人生的空，窄如手掌，像一片雨雾，像花，像草。草必枯干，花必凋谢，唯有敬畏耶和华的会永远长存”
日前，张学军牧师以《基督徒怎样面对灾害》为题，在网络上与会众分享了人生的虚空和短暂：人的生命都在神的手中；要用神的话喂养和浇灌自己；在这非常时期，更得为主做工，牧羊好羊群。
首先，他引用了一些经文，讲述了人生的4个特点：
1.短。 在你看来，千年如已过的昨日，又如夜间的一更。 我们经过的日子，都在你震怒之下。我们度尽的年岁好像一声叹息。 （诗篇 90:4，9）人生非常短，一千年仿佛一更天，而一更天是三小时。
2.快。其实明天如何，你们还不知道。你们的生命是什么呢？你们原来是一片云雾，出现少时就不见了。 （雅各书 4:14）张牧师讲了他自己的切身体验：他去长白山看天池，云雾很短，有时只有3秒钟，一转身就没了。
3.虚。至于我，我必在义中见你的面。我醒了的时候，得见你的形像（见或作看），就心满意足了。（诗篇 17:15）这里他解释到：我醒了的时候，是什么时候？离开这个世界，我到神那里就醒了。而梦境当中的事情不是真的，所以人生是虚的。
4.空。你使我的年日，窄如手掌。我一生的年数，在你面前，如同无有。各人最稳妥的时候，真是全然虚幻。世人行动实系幻影。他们忙乱，真是枉然。积蓄财宝，不知将来有谁收取。（诗篇 39:5-6）这里用了两个“幻”。他举了个例子：木偶戏里布上的影子是后台的木偶投过来，是幻影，不是真的，人生是空的。并且人的生命和上帝永恒比起来和没有是一样的。
同时，他以大卫的例子来说明真正相信神的重要性。他引用彼得后书3章13节的经文“但我们照他的应许，盼望新天新地，有义居在其中”提问：这里的义是何意。按照大卫王犯罪的手段、形式、程度，他比扫罗犯罪都可恨，扫罗只是贪恋牛羊，怜惜亚玛力王亚甲，没有杀尽；杀大卫也没有杀成。扫罗没有说霸占别人的妻子，杀人，为什么扫罗的人生结局和大卫截然不同。大卫是真信主的，大卫的人生在神面前所得的的恩典证明了一个教义：因信称义。大卫是真信的，扫罗是假信的，是没有重生的。大卫真心悔改，神赦免了他。以此，他提醒基督徒：我们也要有对神爱和饶恕的信心，悔改认罪。
他也讲到疫情期间，基督徒需要听神的话语，就像吃饭一样。
“听神的话，这里面有生命，是种子。我们里面重生了，需要神的话语来浇灌，喂养。”他说，虽然人的生命短暂，但人的生命由上帝掌管，人需敬畏他。
在证道的最后，他说：“一定做一个敬畏神的人，怕神的人，从亘古到永远，世人就归回尘土了，而我们呢，他的公义也归给子子孙孙。今天我们敬畏上帝，我们自己得福，儿孙后代也蒙恩。”
"Today we are talking about the emptiness of life. Life is narrow as a palm, it is like misty rain, comparable to a flower and similar to grass. The grass will wither, the flower will fall, but only the one who fears the Lord will live forever."
A few days ago, Pastor Zhang Xuejun shared an online sermon with his congregation entitled, "How Christians Face Disasters," to demonstrate the emptiness and ephemeral nature of life. He stated the following tenets: Human life is in the hands of God; we must listen to God's words to nourish ourselves spiritually; for the sake of our Lord we should shepherd believers during the current pandemic.
Pastor Zhang quoted several Scripture verses and described four of life’s basic characteristics:
1) Life is short. A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. (Psalms 90:4) All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. (Psalms 90:9) (Psalm 90: 4, 9) Our life is like a moan so it is very short. A thousand years is like a watch during the night which is just three hours long.
2)Life passes quickly. Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:14) Pastor Zhang shared his own personal experience of how he went to Changbai Mountain to see the mist framed in the sky. He found the mist was there only three seconds and had disappeared when he briefly looked away.
3) Life is virtual reality. As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. (Psalm 17:15) Here he explained: When do I wake up? After leaving this world, when I see God’s likeness, then I am fully awake. So we are in a dream when we are alive. And things in the dream are not real, so life is not true reality.
4) Life is empty. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. (Psalms 39:5)“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.” (Psalms 39:6) Pastor Zhang gave an example of how the term "phantoms" is used. The shadow on the cloth that one sees in a puppet show is projected from the puppets in the background, but it is a phantom, not real. So life is also empty, and human life is nothing compared to God's eternity.
Pastor Zhang used the example of David to illustrate the importance of truly believing in God. He quoted 2 Peter 3:13, "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” What is the meaning of “righteousness” in this passage? According to the motivation, method and degree of King David's crime, it was more hateful than that of Saul. Saul was only greedy for cattle and sheep and took pity on the king of Amalek. Saul didn’t take someone else’s wife and have the husband killed. Why did Saul's life end completely different from that of David? Because David was a true believer. The grace that David received from God proves the doctrine of justification by faith. David was a true believer, Saul was false, and he was not born again. David truly repented, and God forgave him. In this way, he reminded us that we Christians must also have faith in God's love and forgiveness and then repent and confess our sins.
He also said that during the pandemic, Christians needed to listen to God's words as bread from heaven.
"You should listen to God's words because it is like seeds—there is life in them. We are born again and need to be fed by God's Word," he said that although human life is short, it is under God's control, so people need to fear him.
At the end of the sermon, he said, "You must be a God-fearing person from this age to all of eternity. The world will return to dust, but justice will be given to our children and grandchildren. Today if we fear God, we are blessed by him, and our children and grandchildren are will be blessed. "
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Pastor: Think about Life again under Pandemic
