Cross Over to the Other Side

Cross Over to the Other Side

Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil did not simply mean that they disobeyed God’s word.
We must understand that hidden within this event was Satan’s meticulous strategy: “Let us be centered on ourselves.”

In fact, sin is a kind of desire—the selfish heart. If we think about for whom they ate the forbidden fruit, we can easily understand:
They wanted to become wise, like God.

Think about Cain.
Cain and Abel could not possibly have known on their own how to come before God; they did not possess such wisdom. They had to listen to the words of those who had been before God—the truly wise ones.
The only people who fit that description were their father and mother. But why did Cain refuse to listen to them? Why did he offer a sacrifice that God did not accept?

The reason lies in the fact that he felt he was better than they were. Cain was a strong and capable man—Scripture even suggests he was “born of the LORD.” Naturally, he was stronger than Abel.
Satan planted in his heart the thought, “I am wiser and smarter than others.”

Before Satan attacked mankind, he first prepared a foundation for attack—
that is, to make humans trust in themselves.

“I’m better than him; I have talent in this area.”
Satan’s first operation is to build an outpost in the human heart called self-trust.
Cain fell into this swamp:
“My offering is good. God will not be pleased with the blood and fat of sheep.”

Satan caused him to lose the ability to think.
As he looked with satisfaction at the produce he had grown with sweat and toil, he did not think about what God delighted in.

Even the wisdom needed to “survive in this world” comes not from centering on oneself but from considering the perspectives of others.

American automobile king Joe Girard learned a serious lesson shortly after he began selling cars.
When a customer came to inquire, Joe enthusiastically explained the car. He assumed that the customer would surely make a purchase. But the customer said he would not buy and added:
“You never listened to me. You only talked about what you wanted to say. That’s why I’m not buying.”

He was deeply shocked.
That incident changed his heart. He realized—he must listen to what the customer has to say, not merely talk about what he wants to say.
Later, one day, a customer came in and talked only about his little dog. Joe simply listened in silence. In the end the customer happily signed the contract on the spot.

When we center on ourselves, everything turns out the opposite of what we desire.

The cupbearer and the baker offended Pharaoh and were thrown into prison. The Bible does not record what their crime was.
Both men had dreams in prison. Joseph interpreted them.
The cupbearer dreamed of a vine with three branches that budded, blossomed, and produced ripe grapes. He squeezed the grapes into Pharaoh’s cup.

Joseph said this was a very favorable dream: after three days he would be restored to his position. And exactly as Joseph interpreted, the cupbearer’s dream came true.

The baker also told his dream. On his head were three baskets of white bread with various baked goods, and birds came and ate the food.
Joseph interpreted this dream too and said that after three days he would be beheaded and hung on a tree.

These two men committed the same crime, went to prison together, and dreamed dreams at the same time—yet their outcomes were vastly different.

We can say that dreams often reflect the state of our hearts.
The cupbearer realized his sin. In other words, just because he thought something tasted good did not mean the king would think so.
Their sin lay in this: their standards did not match the king’s.
The cupbearer abandoned his own way and brought only the juice of the grapes—this made him acceptable. Of course, within this lies the spiritual meaning that God accepts only the precious blood of Jesus.

He shifted his focus from himself to the king.
Faith is discovering what God desires.

We all have the instinct to “do things well.”
This mindset arises from a self-centered way of thinking. More important than effort is first understanding what the King desires.

“Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD.” (Hosea 6:3)

The baker, from beginning to end, did not change his heart. When he came before the king, he still placed various baked goods on the white baskets.
This was his method—his effort. What he thought was good remained good in his eyes; what he thought was right remained right. This mindset never changed.

He trusted in himself and rejected the king’s will. In other words, he did not repent.
We see that after the king’s wrath came upon him, the baker met a tragic end.

This is very similar to Cain.

The “rightness” that forms within us also stands against the word of God.
Cain, who created his own world, would not listen to his father or mother, nor to Abel, and ultimately became one who defied the word of God.

Dear readers, may you be like the cupbearer—examine your heart, discard your own standards, and take steps toward the Lord.

“Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD.
His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hosea 6:3)

过到那边去

 

亚当和夏娃吃了分别善恶树上的果子，并不意味着单纯地违背了神的话语。

要知道，这里面隐藏着撒但周密的战略，即“让我们以自己为中心”。

其实，罪是一种私欲，是自私的心。只要想一想是为了谁而吃了善恶果就能明白。

因为自己想变得和神一样有智慧。

想想该隐吧。

该隐和亚伯不可能自己知道如何走到神面前，他们没有这样的智慧。他们必须听智慧之人的话，即那些到过神面前之人的话。

这样的人也只有他的父亲和母亲。但是该隐为什么不听他们的呢？为什么献上神不喜悦的祭物呢？

原因在于他心里觉自己比他们强。该隐是一个健壮、有能力的人，甚至可以说是“由耶和华所生”。他当然比亚伯强。撒但把“我比别人更有智慧、更聪明”的想法放入了他心里。

撒但在攻击人类之前，首先准备了“攻击的根据”。

那就是让人相信自己。

“我比他强；我在这方面很有天赋。”撒但首先要做的是，把“相信自己的心”作为前哨基地。该隐掉进了这个沼泽中。“我的祭物好，神不会喜悦羊的血和脂油的。”

撒但使他丧失了思考的功能。当他欣慰地看着自己流汗浃背种地得来的出产时，不会想神到底喜悦什么。

“在世上生存”的智慧也源自考虑别人的观点，而非以自己为中心。

美国汽车大王乔·吉拉德在开始销售后不久就得到了很大的教训。

当一位顾客前来咨询时，他全心全意地给顾客介绍了汽车。他以为顾客一定会买车，但顾客却说他不想买，还说：“你根本就不听我说的话，只顾说你自己的话，所以我不买。”

他心里备受冲击。

那件事使他改变了心。原来要倾听顾客的话啊！不是说我想说的话，而是要听顾客想说的话。后来有一天，一位顾客过来，只是说了一些关于自己小狗的话，乔·吉拉德默默地附和着他。最后，顾客兴奋地立即签了购买合同。

若以自己为中心，就会适得其反。

膳长和酒政因为在法老面前犯了罪，被关进了监牢。圣经中并没有记录他们的罪名。

二人在监牢里做了梦。约瑟给他们解了梦。酒政梦见一棵葡萄树有三根枝子，发了芽，开了花，上头的葡萄都成熟了，然后拿葡萄挤在法老的杯里。

约瑟称这是一个非常吉利的梦，说他三天之后就能官复原职。果然，按照约瑟所解的，酒政的梦实现了。

膳长也讲述了自己的梦。在三筐白饼上，放上了各样烤的食物，有飞鸟来吃筐子里的食物。约瑟为膳长解了梦，说他三天后必被斩头挂起来。

二人一同犯了罪，又一同入狱，然后又一同做了梦，结果却是天壤之别。

可以说，梦是我们心境的体现。

酒政知道了他的罪。也就是说，他自己觉得好吃，并不意味着王也会觉得好吃。

他们的罪就是“与王的标准不相符”。酒政没有使用自己的方法，而是只拿了葡萄汁，这让他得到了悦纳。当然，这里面蕴含着神只接受耶稣宝血的属灵含义。

他把中心从自己转向了王。信仰就是了解神想要的是什么。

我们都有“想要把事做好”的本能。

这出自于以自我为中心的思考方式。比起努力，更重要的是要先知道王想要的是什么。

“我们务要认识耶和华，竭力追求认识他。”（何6:3）

膳长自始至终没有改变心，走到王面前时，仍然把各种烤的食物放在白饼上。这是自己的方法，是自己的努力。自己认为好的就是好的，认为对的就是对的，这种想法始终没变。

他相信自己，拒绝了王的意愿。也就是说，他没有悔改。

我们能看到王的震怒临到后，膳长悲惨地结束了自己的人生。

这与该隐很相似。

在我们里面形成的“正确”，也会对抗神的话语。

形成自己世界的该隐不听父亲、母亲的话，也听不进亚伯的话，最后甚至成为了违背神话语的人。

读者们，希望你们像酒政一样，察看一下自己的心，撇弃心里的标准，向着主迈步。

“我们务要认识耶和华，竭力追求认识他；他出现确如晨光，他必临到我们像甘雨，像滋润田地的春雨。”（何6:3）