Introduction · 引言

You have found your seat at the Father’s table. You have learned to stay seated even when enemies surround you. Now the Father asks you to do something that changes everything — look up from your plate and notice the empty chairs.

你已找到天父桌子旁的座位。你學會了即使仇敵環繞也繼續坐著。現在天父要求你做一件改變一切的事——從你的盤子裡抬起頭，注意那些空椅子。

The Father’s table is not full yet. There are people in your city, your nation, and across the world who do not know there is a seat for them. Evangelism — at its heart — is not a program or an event. It is the act of walking toward an empty chair and carrying the invitation.

天父的筵席還未坐滿。在你的城市、你的國家和世界各地，有許多人不知道有一個座位是為他們預備的。傳福音——從本質上說——不是一個項目或活動。而是走向空椅子並攜帶邀請的行動。

Before Jesus gives any strategy for reaching the empty seats, he gives a command that surprises us — pray. Not plan. Not organize. Pray. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers. This tells us something important: the harvest belongs to God, not to us. We are responding to what He is already doing.

在耶穌給出任何觸及空椅子的策略之前，他給出了一個令我們驚訝的命令——禱告。不是計劃。不是組織。而是禱告。求莊稼的主打發工人出去。這告訴我們一件重要的事：收成屬於神，不屬於我們。我們是回應祂已經在做的事。

More workers means more teams. The harvest is too large for one person, one church, or one organization. This is why collaboration and multiplication matter — and why this session points directly toward Session 4.

---

Stay Focused on the Mission · 保持對使命的專注

This instruction sounds strange at first. Why no greetings on the road? In the culture of the first century, greetings were elaborate and time-consuming. Jesus is not being rude — he is saying: stay focused. Don’t let good things distract you from the main thing. The empty seats are waiting. Don’t let the journey become the destination.

這個指示乍聽之下很奇怪。為什麼在路上不問人的安？在第一世紀的文化中，問候是複雜而耗時的。耶穌並非無禮——他在說：保持專注。不要讓好事分散你對主要事物的注意力。空椅子在等待。不要讓旅程成為目的地。

This is a word for every missionary: this is not a vacation. You are on assignment. The empty seats at the Father’s table are your purpose. Keep them in view.

這是對每一位宣教士說的話：這不是假期。你是在執行使命。天父桌子旁的空椅子是你的目的。保持它們在視野中。

---

Peace to This House · 願平安歸這家

Before you can fill an empty seat, you need to find the person who is open to receiving what you carry. Jesus calls this person the “person of peace” — someone God has already been preparing. They are not yet fully at the Father’s table, but they are leaning toward it. They welcome you. They listen. They stay in the conversation.

在你能填滿空椅子之前，你需要找到那個願意接受你所攜帶之物的人。耶穌稱這個人為「平安之子」——一個神已經在預備的人。他們還沒有完全坐在天父的桌子旁，但他們正在向它傾斜。他們歡迎你。他們傾聽。他們留在對話中。

In practical terms, the person of peace often shows up as someone who is:

• Open to your compassion work or your vision for youth
• Willing to invite you into their community or network
• Asking questions rather than closing down
• Providing resources, hospitality, or access without being asked

在實際中，平安之子通常是這樣的人：對你的憐憫工作或青少年異象開放；願意邀請你進入他們的社區或網絡；提問而不是封閉；在沒有被要求的情況下提供資源、款待或通道。

Not every door will open. Jesus is honest about this — if peace is not received, it returns to you. You shake the dust off your feet and move on. This is not failure. It is discernment. The harvest is too important to spend all your time at a closed door.

並非每扇門都會打開。耶穌對此是誠實的——如果平安不被接受，它就回到你身上。你跺掉腳上的塵土繼續前行。這不是失敗。這是辨別。收成太重要了，不能把所有時間都花在一扇緊閉的門前。

---

Work With Local Context · 與當地情境合作

Stay in the same house. Don’t go from house to house. This is a principle of depth over breadth — of building something that lasts rather than touching many things lightly. Jesus is saying: commit to the context God has placed you in. Eat what they set before you. Adapt to what is already there.

住在那家。不要從這家搬到那家。這是深度勝於廣度的原則——建造持久的事物，而不是輕描淡寫地觸及許多事物。耶穌在說：委身於神放置你的情境中。吃他們所擺上的。適應已有的。

In practical mission terms this means:

---

Eat What Is Set Before You · 吃他們所擺上的

The fruit of mission is people seeing the glory of God in their actual context. You eat what they set before you — you enter their world — and then God moves. Signs. Healing. Testimony. People begin to see that the kingdom of God has come near. Not as a foreign import, but as something happening right in their own home, their own community.

宣教的果子是人們在自己實際的情境中看見神的榮耀。你吃他們所擺上的——你進入他們的世界——然後神就動工。神蹟。醫治。見證。人們開始看見神的國臨近了。不是作為外來的輸入，而是在他們自己的家、他們自己的社區中發生的事。

---

The Door and the Meal · 門與食物

Felt Need vs Real Need · 感受需要與真實需要

One of the most important skills in evangelism is knowing the difference between a felt need and a real need — and knowing how to use one to lead to the other.

傳福音中最重要的技能之一是了解感受需要和真實需要之間的差異——並知道如何用一個來引導到另一個。

A felt need is what a person thinks they need — the hunger they can name. It might be entertainment, belonging, someone to listen to them, practical help, healing, or simply a friend. A real need is what every person actually needs — Jesus, the gospel, discipleship, godly community, and the church.

感受需要是一個人認為自己需要的——他們能說出名字的飢渴。可能是娛樂、歸屬感、有人傾聽、實際幫助、醫治或只是一個朋友。真實需要是每個人真正需要的——耶穌、福音、門訓、屬神的群體和教會。

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.”

「凡喝這水的，還要再渴。人若喝我所賜的水就永遠不渴。」

John 4:13–14 · 約翰福音 4:13–14

The woman at the well came for water — a felt need. Jesus used that felt need as a door into the deepest conversation of her life. He didn’t ignore her thirst. He used it to lead her to living water. The felt need is the door. Jesus is the meal inside. Don’t just open the door — serve the full meal.

井旁的婦人來是為了水——一個感受需要。耶穌用那個感受需要作為門，進入她一生中最深刻的對話。他沒有忽視她的渴望。他用它來引導她到活水。感受需要是門。耶穌是裡面的食物。不只是打開門——上完整的食物。

---

The Meal You Carry · 你所攜帶的食物

The Four Acts of the Gospel · 福音的四幕劇

The gospel is the meal you are carrying to every empty seat. Know it. Practice it. Be able to share it clearly in any context, with any person, through any door the felt need opens.

福音是你攜帶到每個空椅子旁的食物。了解它。練習它。能夠在任何情境中、對任何人、通過感受需要打開的任何門清楚地分享它。

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day.”

「我當日所領受又傳給你們的：第一，就是基督照聖經所說，為我們的罪死了，而且埋葬了，又照聖經所說，第三天復活了。」

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 · 哥林多前書 15:3–4

---

Plan It Out · 計劃出來

Use this planning table for your specific context — your city, your calling, your team. · 為你的具體情境使用這個計劃表——你的城市、你的呼召、你的團隊。

---

Discussion Questions · 討論問題

Use these in pairs or small groups. · 在二人或小組中使用這些問題。

1. What felt need has God used to draw people close to you or your ministry?

   神用什麼感受需要把人吸引到你或你的事工身邊？

2. How do you know when to share the gospel and when to just keep listening and serving?

   你怎麼知道何時分享福音，何時只需繼續傾聽和服事？

3. What does “working with local context” look like in your specific city or nation?

   「與當地情境合作」在你的具體城市或國家是什麼樣子？

4. Who in your life right now might be a person of peace — unusually open to what God is doing through you?

   你生命中現在誰可能是平安之子——對神透過你所做的事異常開放？

---

Key Takeaways · 重點摘要