It was certainly a covenant sealed with fire when God called me to be set apart for Him. My natural mindset was truly confounded by what I deemed as God’s ‘foolishness’ until I finally realized it meant a new life for me to leave all my earthly treasures and everything behind to work with Him (Matthew 19:29).
Matthew 19:29 (NKJV), “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”
1 Corinthians 1:25, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength."
Called to be a revivalist, God has used me as His messenger to deliver messages to some of His anointed servants, some of whom are considered highly respected and influential people of God with international standing.
Anything we value above God is considered idolatry (Matthew 22:37, Rev 3:15-16). Abraham placed God above his most beloved only son, Isaac, by obeying God's command to sacrifice him. Abraham obeyed because he feared the Lord and God put him to a test.
Matthew 22:37, Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
Revelation 3:16, "So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth."
I am called to preach the last-days message which in itself is offensive to believers, whose hearts are still attached to worldly things. One thing we must realize is that the most effective way of solving this problem of loving the world is not by removing worldly things, but by delivering the heart from the grip of worldly things.
At times, I am surprised that the Lord has called me to preach such strong messages which had offended many believers and even my two mentors. I could not understand why I would have to take on such boldness which could easily jeopardize my relationship with them. However, having personally experienced God’s judgment upon me before, for failing to obey, I had now to obey for fear that the Lord would take drastic steps to remove the stumbling blocks from my life to work with Him.
Gradually, as I grow in Christ, I also increase in wisdom and discernment. I have learned to preach at the spiritual development levels and condition of the Church and congregants.
As I was clearing up my closet, I found a book, “The Human Spirit” written by the late Kenneth Hagin. He was one of the most influential American Pentecostal preachers who was often referred to as 'the Grand Daddy of the Word of Faith Movement.'
Diagnosed with "a deformed heart and an incurable blood disease" from birth, Hagin was partially paralyzed by age 15, confined to bed, and was told he had little time to live.
In April 1933, his heart stopped beating, and his other vital signs failed three times. In each of these instances, Hagin said he felt himself being dragged to hell. In the third instance, he prayed for Christ's help and forgiveness—and came back to life. He died at the age of 86 in 2003.
Kenneth Hagin's Testimony:
Suddenly my heart stopped beating and I fell from my chair to the floor! I became as cold as ice all over my body. I had been dead twice when I suffered with heart trouble at the age of sixteen, so I knew when death came over me this time.
They carried me to the parsonage and summoned my wife from the woman's Sunday school class. As soon as she came into the room she knelt beside my bed and wept, Ï feel this is all my fault.
Then she told me she had been complaining to the Lord about my long absence from home. She never had mentioned a word of it to me. However, she said that one day as she was washing dishes, she had heard a voice saying, Í could take him away where he could never come back. 'She was startled, but dismissed it as her imagination playing tricks on her. Kneeling beside his bed she prayed this prayer of submission: 'Lord, if You will just spare my husband, I don't care how long he is gone or where he goes in Your will. I will not complain about it again.’
Then the Lord showed me where I had missed it too. When we had made a new consecration to the Lord to do His will, whatever it might be, we too can be instantly healed and made completely well.
How did I get into that predicament? Instead of listening to God and putting His Word first, I had sought the advice of various pastors. All they could give me was natural counsel. They had said, 'Your first obligation is to your family. You have small children and you should be home with them. You shouldn't be out in the field.' One preacher after another told me that; so I took their advice. I tried to do what they had suggested: to do what I wanted to do in the natural - and I nearly died.
I finally learned that a man can fulfill his obligations to his family and still obey God."
Kenneth Hagin
Ps Paul K P Ang
Arsenal of Fire Ministries,
California, USA
Nov 1, 2017
甘坚信 “人的灵” 一书中的一个功课
当神叫我为祂分别为圣的时候，这的确是一个被火封印的盟约。我的自然思维方式真的被我以为是神的 “愚拙” 所迷惑，直到我终于发现这代表我的新生命，要放下所有世上的财宝和一切，来与神一同工作（马太福音 19：29）。
马太福音 19：29："凡为我的名撇下房屋或是弟兄、姐妹、父亲、母亲、儿女、田地的，必要得着百倍，并且承受永生。"
哥林多前书 1：25：“因神的愚拙总比人智慧，神的软弱总比人强壮。”
神呼召我作复兴者，使用我作祂的使者，传递信息给祂的受膏仆人们，当中有些是被公认为德高望重、有影响力和国际地位的属神的人。
任何我们看为比神更重要的东西都是偶像崇拜（马太福音 22：37，启示录 3：15-16）。亚伯拉罕把神放在他最心爱的独生子以撒之上，顺从神的命令把他献上为祭。亚伯拉罕顺从了，因为他敬畏耶和华，而神考验他。
在马太福音 22：37 里，耶稣回答说：“你要尽心、尽性、尽意爱主你的神。”
启示录 3：16：“你既如温水，也不冷也不热，所以我必从我口中把你吐出去。”
我被呼召传讲末日的信息，它本身会对信徒带来冒犯，因他们的心还停留在世俗的事物上。我们必须认识到，解决贪爱世界的问题最有效的方法，不是除去世俗的东西，而是把心灵从世俗事物的掌控中释放出来。
有时候我到惊讶主呼召我传讲如此强烈的讯息，得罪许多信徒，甚至我的两位导师。我不明白为什么我要采取如此勇敢无畏的态度，这很容易伤害我和他们的关系。然而，我曾亲身经历过神对我不顺服的审判，现在我要服从神的命令，因为我害怕主会采取严厉的步骤来除去我生命中的绊脚石，好叫我与祂同工。
渐渐地，随着我在基督里成长，我也在智慧和洞察力有所长进。我学会了在教会和会众的灵性发展水平和情况下传讲信息。
在我清理壁橱的时候，发现一本由已故的甘坚信（Kenneth E. Hagin）所写的书：“人的灵”（The Human Spirit，暂译，目前无中文版）。他是美国五旬节最有影响力的传教士之一，经常被称为 “信心运动的先祖”。
甘坚信出生时就被诊断患有 “一颗畸形的心脏和不可治愈的血液疾病”，15岁时就部分瘫痪，被限制卧在床上，并且被告知他剩下没有多少时间活在世上。
在1933年4月，他的心脏停止跳动，而他其他生命的迹象也停顿了三次。在每一次中，他说他感到自己被拖下了地狱。在第三次中，他祈求基督的帮助和饶恕，并复活过来。他在2003年去世，享年86岁。
甘坚信的见证：
“突然我的心脏停止跳动，我从椅子跌到地板上！我全身像冰一样冰冷。我在十六岁的时候因患心脏病已经死过两次，所以我知道这次死亡临到了我。
他们把我带到牧师公寓那里，把我妻子从妇女主日学的课上召来。她一走进房间就跪在我床边哭泣，我觉得这全都是我的错。
然后她告诉我，她一直在向主抱怨我离家很久。她从来没有告诉过我。然而她说，有一天当她正在洗碗时，她听到一个声音说：“我可以把他带走，他就永远不会回来。” 她吓了一跳，却当成是她想象力跟她玩的把戏。跪在床边时，她祈祷着这个顺服的祷告：“主啊，如果你放过我的丈夫，我不在乎他出门多久或按你的旨意去了哪里。我不会再抱怨了。”
之后主告诉我，我也有错的地方。当我们为主作新的分别为圣去行祂的旨意，无论那是什么，我们也可以立刻得医治而完全痊愈。
我是怎么陷入那种困境的？我没有听从神，把祂的话放在首位，而是寻求不同牧师的意见。他们能给我的只是自然的忠告。他们说：“你的首要义务是你的家庭。你有年幼的孩子，你应该和他们一起在家里。你不应该留在在外地。” 一个又一个传道人这样地告诉我，所以我接受了他们的建议。我试图按照他们的建议去做：在自然界我想做的事 --- 而我差点就死了。
我终于明白一个人可以履行他对家庭的义务而仍然服从神。”
甘坚信
洪光炳（保罗）牧师
烈火军火库事工
美国加州
2017年11月1日
