Don't go to church. Drink! 不要去教會。 喝吧!

Possibly the worst advice you could give a new believer today is to tell them to go to church.
可能對於新的基督徒最壞建議是告訴他去教會。

Not mentioning the false concept of the church being some place we go, there is just as much unbelief in the church today as there is without, but all of it is masked in spiritual language, making you believe it is the Christian life.
更不用說教會不是某個地方我們需要去而我們就是教會,今天的教會的不信與世界一樣多,但所有的不信都被屬靈的語言所掩蓋,使你相信這是真正基督徒的生活。

It's not.
才不是。

It's self-seeking emotional satisfaction to inoculate us from hearing the simple message of faith and believing God.
使我們免於聽到簡單的信仰和信靠上帝的信息是一種自我滿足的情感滿足。

When I first believed in God, I was still very lost and broken, even though I was healed of severe depression.
當我第一次信上帝時,即使我已經從嚴重的憂鬱症得醫治了,我仍然非常迷失和破碎。

I hung around other believers as I devoured scripture, not realizing that everything I was reading was being subconsciously re-interpreted by the context of the believers around me.
當我吞噬聖經時,我一直在其他信徒身邊,卻沒有意識到我正在閱讀的所有經文都被我周圍信徒的經歷重新解釋了。

Simply stated, my standard for how to live a life of faith came from the people around me, not the Bible.
簡而言之,我如何過信仰生活的標準來自我周圍的人,而不是聖經。

Jesus told the woman at the well that if she knew who it was that asked her for a drink, she would ask him and he would give her water that would become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
耶穌告訴井上的女人,如果她知道是誰問她喝水,她會問他,他會給她一種將成為永生的泉水的水。

This was clearly signifying the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus was in constant relationship with and through whom he was constantly connected to his Father in heaven.
這清楚地表明了聖靈,耶穌與聖靈一直保持聯繫,並通過聖靈與天父不斷地建立聯繫。

Jesus said to ask our Father in heaven and he would give us the Holy Spirit. He told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were endowed with power from on high.
耶穌說要問我們的天父,祂會賜給我們聖靈。耶穌告訴門徒在耶路撒冷要等後,直到他們領受聖靈的大能。

The early church believers all received the Holy Spirit with clear evidence of tongues, prophecy or praise. They were filled and a spring of living water was flowing out of them into the world around them.
早期的教會信徒都以方言,預言或讚美領的證據領受了聖靈。他們充滿了生命之泉,從他們裡面流到周圍的世界。

The early church turned the world upside down... or right side up. They were flowing with living water.
早期的教會使世界顛倒了……就是改善。他們被活水充滿。

If you lived at that time, I wonder if you would rather worship idols. It was certainly easier, avoiding all the persecution of Rome, but it was also self-seeking.
如果你活在那個年代,我不知道你是否願意崇拜偶像。當然,這會讓你避免羅馬的迫害,但這也是自我尋求的宗教。

The church today encourages self-love and self-esteem to rise above problems. Jesus told his disciples to die to their own desires and hate their own life.
今天的教會鼓勵自愛和自尊心來解決問題。耶穌告訴門徒們死於自己的慾望,恨自己的生命。

The only way you can love others is to love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.
你可以愛別人的唯一方法就是心、性、力、意愛上帝。

If you love God with all, what's left for others? Nothing. That's the point. All your love is spent, putting all you have in God who longs to give you the Holy Spirit, filling you with his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.
如果你全部一切來愛上帝,剩下的還有什麼呢?都沒有。這才是重點。你所有的愛都用光了,你所有的一切都放在渴望給你聖靈的上帝那裡,而祂願意把祂自己的愛,喜樂,平安,耐心,仁慈,善良,溫柔,忠誠和自製來充滿你。

The only way to truly love others is to love God, but it is taught today that you must learn how to love self first. We've gotten it all backwards.
真正愛別人的唯一方法就是愛上帝,但今天我們卻被告知必須先學會如何愛自己。我們把這一切都弄倒了。

If you love yourself, you cannot love others. If you lose your life, you will find it in God, and his love will flow out of your belly in springs of living water to the world around you!
如果愛自己,就不能愛別人。如果你失去自己的生命,你將在上帝裡找到生命,祂的愛像活水的泉水從你的腹部會流出來,流向你周圍的世界!

Is it true? Do you really have this living water as Jesus promised? Maybe not. Many Christians today are taught that believing in Jesus is equivalent to receiving the Holy Spirit, but being filled with Holy Spirit was a separate event for believers in the book of Acts.
是真的嗎?你真的有耶穌所應許的活水嗎?也許沒有。今天許多基督徒被教導相信耶穌等同於接受聖靈,但對使徒行傳中的信徒來說,被聖靈充滿是另一回事。

You might be living a life without power because you don't have any power. You just have your own strength, which you aren't supposed to have anymore. It should have been all used up loving God. So what strength you have after that is only his strength, praise God!
你可能沒有能力的生活是因為你根本沒有能力,你只是擁有自己的力量。因為愛上帝應該已經把全部的力量用光了,所以你不應該擁有自己的力量。用光了之後你擁有的力量僅僅是祂的力量,讚美上帝!

For us who are Spirit-filled believers, we believe we have received and the living water from God is a spring within our belly, flowing out to eternal life.
對於我們被聖靈充滿的信徒,我們相信我們已經領受了上帝的活水,而我們腹中的泉水要一直湧流到永恆的生命。

If it's true though, why do you live like the world does? Why do you quarrel and gossip like the world? Why do you hold back forgiveness like the world? Why are you sick and tired like the world? Why are you struggling to get by like the world?
如果這是真的,那麼你為什么生活得像世界一樣?你為什麼像世界一樣吵架和八卦?你為什麼要像世界一樣不要寬恕?你為什麼像世界一樣生病又疲倦?你為什麼要像世界一樣努力掙扎?

Is it really true? If it is, I wouldn't know by looking at much of the church today.
這全部是真的嗎?如果我看大多數現代的教會,我不會知道是不是真的。

Jesus said his disciples freely received, so they can freely give. At the end of Revelation, Jesus said he would give to the thirsty the spring of the water of life without payment.
耶穌說他的門徒是免費領受的,所以他們可以免費奉獻。在啟示錄結束時,耶穌說他將無償地獻出生命之水給乾渴的人。

The water Jesus offers is free! But you must reject the polluted, dirty water of self-love, being controlled by emotional pleasure and worldly reassurance which lives selfishly caring self at the expense of others.
耶穌提供的水是免費的!但是,你必須拒絕自愛,被情感愉悅控制和世俗放心的骯髒的水,這種被污染的水代表自私自利的生活,以為自己犧牲他人為代價。

Unfortunately, many go to church and discover there is no water being offered. It's only feel good worship and feel good messages. My brother, I want you to be blessed, but bless God, it won't come from me.
不幸的是,許多人去教會發現其實沒有活水。只是感到良好的敬拜和良好的信息。我的兄弟,我希望你被祝福,但願上帝保佑,這不會來自我。

Seek the source of blessings, even God, and he will freely give you his water when you turn away from the world's promises to fulfill through entertainment and technology.
尋求祝福的源頭,甚至是上帝,當你遠離世俗通過娛樂和技術實現的諾言時,祂都會自由地給你祂的水。

When you come to God, leave your life on the altar as a living sacrifice and drink. Drink freely. Receive all from him and you will have a spring of life within you.
當你來到上帝面前時,將自己的生命作為活祭和喝。自由喝。從祂那裡領受一切,你裡面將擁有生命的泉水。

If it's really true, he will flow into your body, giving you health. He will flow into your mind, giving you peace. He will flow into your soul, giving you emotional stability. He will flow into your finances, giving you prosperity. He will flow into the people around you, giving you opportunities to disciple others. He will flow into your future, giving you a living hope.
如果這是真的,祂會流入你的身體,為你提供健康。祂將流入你的心靈,使你安寧。祂會流入你的靈魂,使你保持情緒穩定。祂會流入你的財務狀況,為你帶來繁榮。祂會流入你周圍的人中,給你機會門訓別人。祂將流入你的未來,給你盼望。

There is a better way to live! Detox from the worldly church culture and read the Bible in all its simplicity. Then choose to believe it. Jesus said to heal the sick and cast out demons because we were meant to do it. He said to love others as he loved us because it's possible. He said we could move mountains by speaking to them because he gave us the faith to do it.
有更好的生活方式!從世俗的教會文化中排毒,並簡單閱讀聖經。然後選擇相信它。耶穌說要醫治病人並趕鬼,因為我們本來是要這樣做的。他說愛別人就像他愛了我們一樣,因為這是可能的。他說我們可以通過我們的話語移動山,因為他給了我們這種的信心。

All his commands are attainable when we love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and drink freely of his living water.
當我們心、性、力、意愛上帝並自由的喝活水,祂所有的命令都是可以實現的。

Get over yourself and allow him to fill all of you, flowing through you to his glory, not your own. It's always about him and it will always be about him because it has always ever been about him.
超越自己,為了上帝的榮耀讓祂完全充滿跟使用你。 全總是與祂有關,也將永遠與祂有關,因為全時光一直與祂有關。

Christ is the image of the invisible God. Whose image are you created in? It's time to start living the life you were called to.
基督是那不可見之神的形像。 你是在誰的形像被創建的? 現在該開始活出你被呼召的生活。

And it all starts with a drink.
這一切都從喝開始。