為加拿大歸回真神禱告
Turning Back to God, O Canada
洪予健牧師（經文：詩篇 33:8-12；代下 7:14）信友堂中英聯合禱告會信息（中/English） 2024年11月16日
一). 尊敬的各位貴賓朋友、弟兄姊妹們， 平安！首先，我代表信友堂的牧者長老和全體會眾非常榮幸地歡迎各位來賓朋友來到我們教會。我們在此一同將讚美和感謝獻給創造萬有的上帝，一同用禱告尋求上帝治理加拿大這國，帶領這民的旨意。願神的恩典榮耀彰顯在我們的聚會中。
我們信友堂是一家以中國大陸基督徒移民為主體的教會。我們為什麼要離開曾世代居住的中國，不遠千里來到加拿大，在此落地生根？很多人會說來加拿大是為自己和後代尋求更好的發展機會，並使自己辛勤的勞動成果得以保存，不為中共政權隨意剝奪。但這話只說對了一半，另一半更重要的原因是，我們嚮往加拿大是一個以基督教信仰原則所建立的國家。加拿大保障全體國民享有從上帝而來的不可讓渡的宗教信仰和自由敬拜的權利，具體表現在公民享有的言論、集會、結社，出版及請願抗議的權利。例如像我們今天這樣的公開獨立的禱告聚會，傳揚基督是主，是全地的大君王，這在中國是被絕對禁止的。任何敢於為擁有自由敬拜權利抗爭的牧師或信徒，一定會遭到逼迫，甚至被投入監獄，就如成都秋雨教會的王怡牧師那樣，正在獄中為主受苦。
但加拿大不一樣，大家是否記得1982年制定的加拿大權利和自由憲章的開場白嗎？ The introductory sentence to the Constitution of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedom. It says, 「Canada is founded upon principle that recognize the Supremacy of God and Rule of Law.」 這就是加拿大建國先輩所極其珍惜的來自上帝的真理啟示。正如詩篇33:8-9節指出」願全地都敬畏耶和華！願世上的居民都懼怕祂。因為祂說有，就有；命立，就立。」 請注意這裡提到神的權柄不是單行在信徒和教會中，而是行在全地和萬民中。加拿大擁有這樣遼闊的土地，豐富的資源不是上帝的眷顧嗎！加拿大所行的憲政法治、定期選舉、政黨輪替，不是基於基督教信仰所奠定的人權自由的價值觀嗎？加拿大在過往的歷史中已經得 了神的祝福。剛過去的陣亡將士紀念日就是緬懷加拿大軍人在兩次世界大戰和韓國戰爭中為維護世界和平所做的傑出貢獻。一切榮耀歸給神。正如詩篇33: 11 所說 「耶和華的籌算永遠立定；他心中的思念萬代長存」。加拿大隻要存敬畏神的心，繼承其建國先輩遵循的聖經原則，加拿大國民不但可得地上的福分了，也因福音在加拿大廣傳帶來永遠的福分。因為詩篇33:12節的如此宣告」以耶和華為神的那國是有福的！他所揀選為自己產業的，那民是有福的。「 君不見歷史上那些不以耶和華為神的帝國不都灰飛煙滅了嗎？例如希圖 稱霸天下的巴比倫帝國、羅馬帝國、蒙古帝國、大清帝國、鄂圖曼帝國、 第三帝國、共產蘇聯，哪一個站得住？
二）親愛的弟兄姊妹們，詩篇33:10節說：”耶和華使列國的籌算歸於無有，使眾民的思念無有功效。” 為什麼聖經提到”列國的籌算” 和”眾民的思念「總是要抵擋神呢？因為」 世人都犯了罪，虧缺了神的榮耀」。人最大的罪就是妄自尊大，自以為義，自以為聰明。世人高舉傳揚人的名對抗 神的既定旨意，必定會碰的頭破血流。正如創世紀中指出：人要造巴別塔通天，目的就是要高揚人的名，對抗 神使人遍滿全地的祝福。但是結果呢？神將他們的語言變亂，以至於不得不分散在全地。
我們這些從中國出來，受過共產專制欺騙的人都知道，共產黨聲稱自己代表人民的最大利益。馬克思發現了人類社會以階級鬥爭為動力，推動歷史發展的規律。那就是要讓先進的階級以暴力和專政的方式，打破傳統的道德和秩序，將一切產業收歸國有，窮人就可翻身，建立起人人均富平等的烏托邦理想社會。共產黨狂妄自大的結果是什麼？哪國實行共產，哪國就必須搞領袖崇拜，哪國就一定血流成河，一定經濟破產。北韓和南韓相比就是一個鮮明的例子。在加拿大曾經有政黨黨領在渥太華建立共產主義受難者紀念碑這件事上立場鮮明。為此我們感激不盡 ！
但我們來到加拿大後卻驚奇地發現，這個國家如今流行的激進左派意識形態越來越偏離了傳統的基督教信仰價值觀，反倒是越來越有文化馬克思主義的特徵。那些掌握了立法，司法、教育，媒體大權的知識菁英們不再謹守珍惜憲法中明文規定神的至高權威 。他們將基督教信仰價值排除在社會的公共議題之外。他們用共產黨所喜用的覺醒 「woke」 來挑動民眾的自義情結，以此沖破西方基督教文明的一些基本規則。他們所宣揚的DEI中的多元主義，其實否定了神真理啟示中一元性，E不再代表每個人在各展其能上的機會平等，而是如共產黨那樣，搞大鍋飯制度，強調的是人人最終結果的無差別。 I 可以包容人一切的作為，唯獨不包容對此持不同觀點的人。
他們以人的政治正確代替神的聖經正確，正如共產黨以他們的政治正確剝奪了人宗教信仰的權利。共產黨用階級差別，大搞身分政治，在人群中煽動仇恨。這兒的左派菁英就如法炮製了種族批判理論。他們如共產黨一樣打著保護弱勢（窮人）的名義，佔據道德高地。他們以反種族歧視之名，給予與某種族超於其他種族的身份待遇，實際上是擴大了種族中的矛盾。他們以反性別歧視之名，結果就是強行改變聖經中關於婚姻是一男一女，一夫一妻的定義。更離奇的當今政府竟然允許少年兒童的變性可以不經父母同意，成年後變性的男子參加女子體育競賽，而一些著名的女權主義者卻一聲不吭。他們改變了聖經中有關生命神聖的觀念，加拿大在這一點上要比其他西方國家走得更遠。加拿大在西方國家中最早宣布了大麻合法化，以至毒品氾濫，吸毒致死的人每年都有驚人的上升。而墮胎的合法早已不受挑戰。醫療助殺，則比比皆是。
三） 為什麼加拿大變得如此的面目全非，左派的自由黨政府難辭其咎。但我要指出的，不但政府要回頭，要緊的是加拿大教會要先悔改，因為神的審判是從神家起頭的。不但那些否定聖經無誤的自由派教會要悔改，因為他們跟隨社會潮流；就是那些肯定聖經無誤的保守福音派、基要派教會也要悔改，他們雖不跟隨世俗潮流，但卻將自己關在教會的四面牆內，他們以教會不搞政治為名， 不願實質上是不敢對社會的種種墮落腐敗發出公義之聲，違背了聖經所教導的教會應當是世界上的鹽和光，沒有讓基督在凡事上居首位。 須知這次美國大選，川普以壓倒性的優勢重新當選，顯示了政治保守主義的強勢回歸。這和其中美國千千萬萬的基督徒挺身而出，不但禱告，而且投票分不開。連一向與世隔離的Amish 基督徒都積極的參與大選，由此可見激進左派的種種倒行逆施是何等的不得人心。但願美國教會的復興來激勵我們加拿大的教會。使越來越多的加拿大教會站出來支持一個願意敬畏神，各項施政接近聖經原則的政黨。神在美國興起瞭如特朗普這樣不屈不饒，剛強勇敢的政黨領袖，能夠公開高舉聖經，發誓要將聖經重新帶回美國的公共生活中來。這無論如何對教會來說是一個極大的激勵。但願神也將加拿大教會復興到這樣的程度，以至於加拿大認同基督信仰的政黨領袖，有一天也能夠公開高舉聖經，發誓要將聖經重新帶回加拿大的公共生活中來。
「公義使邦國高舉，罪惡是人民的羞辱」。但願我們在這裡一同為教會的復興禱告，為在上執政掌權者禱告，求神照著祂在代下7:14節的應許，「這稱為我名下的子民，若是自卑，禱告，尋求我的面，轉離他們的惡行，我必從天上垂聽，赦免他們的罪，醫治他們的地。 」
基督是主，求主赦免我們教會失責的罪。基督是王， 讓加拿大重新回到 神的心意中。 Turn back to God! O Canada. 阿們！
A Prayer for Canada to Return to the True God
Pastor Yujian Hong
The FCNABC Chinese-English Joint Prayer Meeting (November 16th, 2024)
Psalm 33:9-12; 2 Chronicles 7:14
Good afternoon everybody! May God’s peace be with you, dear friends and all brothers and sisters in Christ.
Today we gathered here to offer praise and thanks to our Almighty God, and together we seek in prayer, God’s will in ruling and guiding this nation - Canada. May God’s grace and glory be present in our gathering.
Now, may I ask you to say after me: “Jesus is Lord. May God bless Canada!” “Jesus is King. Let us pray for Canada!”.
Our church - Faith Chinese - is made up of Christians who immigrated from China. Why did we leave China, the land where we lived for countless generations, traveling tens of thousands of miles to come to Canada and settle down here? Many people will say that they came to Canada seeking better opportunities for themselves and their children, and to preserve the fruit of their labor, so that it would not be arbitrarily taken away by the CCP. But this explanation only gets it half right. The other half is found in a more significant reason: we appreciated the Christian values on which this country, Canada, was founded. Canada protects the God-given rights of religious freedom that every single citizen enjoys, concretely expressed in citizens possessing the right of free speech, the right of assembly, the right of association, the right of publication, and the right of peaceful protest.
Some of you may not know that gatherings such as our public and independent prayer meeting today are strictly prohibited in China. Any pastor or believer who dares to fight for freedom of worship will surely be persecuted, even thrown into prison, among whom is Pastor Wang Yi of Chengdu Early Rain Church, who is suffering for the Lord in prison right now.
Canada, however, is different. Friends, do you still remember the opening sentence to Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedom, established in 1982? It reads: "Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law." This is the revelation of truth from God that the founding fathers of Canada greatly treasured. Just as Psalm 33:8-9 says: “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”
Dear friends, the power of God in this passage is not only restricted to the church and believers, but applies to the whole earth and all people. Is it not God’s abundant providence that Canada is such a vast land with so many valuable resources? The constitutional rule of law that Canada abides by, the periodic elections, and the changing of political parties, do they not all stem from the values of human rights and freedoms established by the Christian faith? Canada has experienced God’s blessing in its history. Remembrance Day, just a few days ago, was in honor and remembrance of the valiant contributions of the Canadian veterans who fought against Fascism and Communism in World War II and the Korean War.
All glory be to God. Just as Psalm 33:11 says, “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” As long as Canada keeps a God-fearing heart and continues to follow the biblical teachings that the founding fathers themselves followed, the citizens of Canada will be able to receive not only blessings on earth but also eternal blessings because of the gospel which has spread all across Canada. For Psalm 33:12 proclaims, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.” Has not every single empire in history that refused to acknowledge the LORD as their God perished into dust and ashes? For instance, which empire that sought to conquer the entire earth—the Babylonian Empire, the Roman Empire, the Mongolian Empire, the Qing Dynasty Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Nazi Germany, the Communist Soviet Union—still stands?
Beloved brothers and sisters, Psalm 33:10 says, “The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.” Why does the Bible say that “the plans of the nations” and “the purposes of the peoples” always try to resist God? Because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The greatest sin of mankind is his presumptuous arrogance, self-righteousness, and self-proclaimed wisdom. Just as Genesis points out: Mankind wanted to build a tower that reached the heavens, with the aim of glorifying the name of man, in resistance to God’s blessing for mankind to fill the earth. What was the result? God confused their language so that they had no choice but to disperse across the whole earth.
We have come from China, and we have endured the lies of the communist regime. The Communist Party claims to represent the greatest good of the people. They say that Marx discovered that history moves forward through conflicts between different social classes. The idea is that the progressive class should first use violence and dictatorship to dismantle traditional morality and order. Then, all capital should be transferred to the government, giving the poor a chance to succeed and creating a utopian society of perfect equality What was the end of the Communist Party’s pride? Whichever country implemented communism, that country would need to deify its leaders, would surely pour out in bloodshed, and would surely collapse economically. Contrasting North Korea and South Korea is a prime example.
But something unfortunately happened we have to admit it sadly, after arriving in Canada, we were shocked to find that the popular progressive leftist ideologies in this country were straying more and more from traditional Christian values, and instead were gradually acquiring more and more traits of communism. The legislature, judiciary, education systems, and media, which the leftists occupied no longer respect and value what is clearly written in the Constitution concerning God’s supreme authority. They have cast Christian values outside the domain of public dialogue. They use the notion of “wokeness” which is embraced by the Communist Party to stimulate the self-righteous feelings in the people, in order to destroy some fundamental principles of Western Christian civilization. In the DEI they have proclaimed, diversity actually denies the singularity of God’s revelation of truth; equity no longer means equal opportunities for every person according to their unique abilities but rather, means in the communist sense, extreme egalitarianism, emphasizing no difference of outcome for every single person in the end; inclusion means that all human behaviors are acceptable, except the ones that do not agree with their point of view.
They have exchanged God’s biblical correctness for man's political correctness, just like the Communist Party uses their political correctness to rob the people of their freedom of religion. The Communist Party uses class differences and identity politics to stir up hatred among the people. Here, the leftist intellectuals have likewise invented Critical Race Theory. They, like the Communist Party, in saying that they are protecting an oppressed group of people, claim for themselves the moral high ground. In the name of fighting against racism, they have given certain races special treatment over other races, which in reality, furthers racial conflict. In the name of fighting against sexual discrimination, they have forcefully changed the biblical definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, one husband and one wife. Even more absurdly, the present government has allowed children to undergo sexual transition procedures even without the parents’ consent. Men who have transitioned after reaching adulthood are allowed to participate in female sports events, yet some notable feminists are not saying a word. They have changed the biblical understanding of the sanctity of life. Canada has strayed further in this aspect than other Western countries. Canada, among the Western countries, was the first to declare the legalization of marijuana, so that drugs run rampant, and drug-related deaths are increasing each year at a startling rate, and the legalization of abortion has long been uncontested. Furthermore, there is medically assisted killing and so forth.
Regarding why Canada has become so unrecognizably different, the leftist Liberal government has its share of responsibility. However, I will point out, not only does the government need to return, but more importantly, the churches in Canada must first repent, for the judgment of God begins with the house of God. Not only do the Bible-denying liberal churches need to repent for they have followed the tides of culture, but even the Bible-believing conservative churches, the fundamentalists, need to repent. Although they have not followed the ways of the world, they have locked themselves up in the walls of their churches. They claim that they act this way because the church does not engage in politics, but in reality, they are afraid to raise a righteous voice against the number of depravities and corruptions in society, and so violate the Bible’s command for the church to be the salt and light in this world, and have not honored Christ as Supreme in all things. Oh, Lord, please help us with a brave heart so that we can stand up and fight for your name’s glory in every public sphere of the society.
We need to know that Trump’s sweeping victory in the recent US election signals the strong return of political conservatism. This cannot be separated from the prayers as well as the voting of thousands upon thousands of Christians. Even the Amish Christians who had a tradition of being separated from the world actively participated in this election, making it visible that the claims of the progressive leftists that are against God’s order did not reach the hearts of the people. May the revival of America’s church motivate our churches in Canada, so that more and more Canadian churches can stand up bravely and support a political party that is willing to fear God and govern in ways that align with biblical principles. God has raised in America a leader like Trump who is courageous and resilient, able to publicly raise the Bible, and promises to have the Bible return to the public life of America. No matter what, this is a great encouragement to the church. May God likewise cause a revival like this to happen in Canada, so that the leader of a political party who agrees with the Christian faith can also one day publicly raise the Bible, and promise to have the Bible return to the public life of Canada.
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.” May we pray together here for the revival of the church, and for the rulers of this nation. May God do as he promised in 2 Chronicles 7:14, which says “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Christ is Lord, may the Lord forgive us, the church, for the sin of failing to carry out our responsibilities.
Christ is King, let Canada once again return to the will of God. O Canada, turn back to God! Amen.