『要擴張你帳幕之地』... 'Enlarge the place of your tent'

(English at the bottom)

今天所聽的講道主題是‘Enlarge your tent’ (『要擴張你帳幕之地』)，

源自以賽亞書54章2節：

『要擴張你帳幕之地，張大你居所的幔子，

不要阻止；要放長你的繩子，堅固你的橛子。』

雖然個多月前基於《每日經歷神》12月12日的文章

《擴大你的帳幕》而寫下一篇網誌

《不論年歲，『擴張你帳幕之地』》，

但今天講道指出經文字面背後的含意是：
不應該因為有神的應許而忽略了過程 - 

經歷神的應許得到實現的過程！

都市人難以理解「擴張帳幕之地」；
原來「擴張帳幕之地」並非易事，

因為當時的帳幕以羊皮製造，

擴張須要依靠多人合力拉闊皮革，
過程既用力，也需時甚長；

而擴張帳幕原來的範圍，

亦須有賴四周鄰里移開自己的帳幕以騰出空間。

簡而言之，「擴張帳幕之地」是

有賴許多人付出努力、互相配合的成果。

當時以色列人亡國，被擄到巴比倫，

但神應許他們將得着釋放重歸故土並重建聖殿，

對當時一無所有的以色列人實屬難以置信！

講道有以下精句，真要看看如何能夠實踐：

- 「擴張帳幕」(實踐呼召) 須要很努力。

- 有呼召，便有相應的過程。

- 呼召不是達成你的心意，而是成就神的旨意。

- 順服神。

- 神邀請你參與當中的過程。

- 我們在過程中獲得神的應許。

- 不要因為神的應許而忘形、疏於過程；

  過程是艱苦和須要有所犧牲的。

這些都是對「擴張帳幕」(意思是回應、實踐呼召) 的重要提醒！

「擴張帳幕」像船駛向茫茫前方 - 未知的將來
'Enlarge the place of your tent' is like
a ship sailing towards the uncertain future.
photo taken on 30.11.2017

'Enlarge the place of your tent'

The theme of today's sermon was: ‘Enlarge your tent’, 

which referred to Isaiah 54:2, 

“Enlarge the place of your tent, 

stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; 

lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”

The Israeli had been captivated to Babylon, 

but God promised them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the holy temple.

However, enlarging the tent in those days 

required a lot of hard work from a group of people in stretching the goat skin together, 

and the neighbors willing to move their tents to provide the space needed. 

In other words, 'enlarging your tent' (respond to God's calling) demands a lot of effort. 

Here’re some insights from today’s sermon, 

which are good reminders when we are going to ‘enlarge’ our 'tent':

-         ‘Enlarge your tent’ is a stunning call which requires a lot of effort.

-         When there is a call, there is a corresponding process.

-         Not your will, but God’s will be done.

-         Submit yourself to God.

-         God invites you into a process.

-         It is in the process that we receive His promise.

-         Don’t get excited by His promise so that you get lazy with the process. The process is hard, sacrificial.