Ephesians 1:17-19 (NJKV) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
The Apostle Paul didn’t want the saints to be ignorant about their inheritance because he knew it would dramatically change their lives. He wanted them to experience that “Aha!” moment when their spiritual eyes would be enlightened to understand what they had inherited through Christ. To recognise what belonged to them, they needed the spirit of wisdom and revelation. Likewise, we too have an inheritance in Christ. This inheritance refers to our new identity in Christ, which encompasses all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places that the Apostle Paul spoke about in Ephesians 1:3-14. This rich inheritance belongs to us. Therefore, we need to live it out.
Throughout our lives, we have different cheerleaders. As children, our parents serve as our cheerleaders. Then, friends and classmates act as our cheerleaders, especially on social media. When we start our careers, we seek approval and praise from our superiors. As we seek validation, affirmation, and praise from others, we base our worth and attach our identity to our achievements and these validations and affirmations. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world that operates on conditional love, where people likely cheer for us only when we are at the prime of our lives. When our identity is shaken or lost, can we still be effective in what we do, especially in our calling? Most people struggle to get back on their feet again. The person who hurts us the most is often the one we have empowered by allowing their thoughts, words, and judgements to affect us. All too often, we have given others too much influence due to our insecurities and fear of rejection, which ultimately leads to our own misery.
Do you know that you only need one cheerleader in your life, and that is God. We should seek God’s approval and validation alone. What He thinks, how He views us, and what He says about us should matter the most in our lives because He is our Heavenly Father and Creator. He owns us, having saved us through Jesus Christ. He should be the dearest person in our lives because He will work through the Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, and exhort us, reminding us of His word when we need it most. As we live out our identity in Christ and walk in His calling, God will give us godly wisdom for us to do well. We will also be at rest with nothing to prove and nobody to impress except God.
Sermon Series：You Have A Calling!
活出你的产业
以弗所书 1:17-19 求我们主耶稣基督的神、荣耀的父，将那赐人智慧和启示的灵赏给你们，使你们真知道他。 并且照明你们心中的眼睛，使你们知道他的恩召有何等指望，他在圣徒中得的基业有何等丰盛的荣耀； 并知道他向我们这信的人所显的能力是何等浩大，
使徒保罗不愿圣徒对自己的产业一无所知，因为他知道这将会彻底改变他们的生命。他渴望他们经历那种“恍然大悟”的时刻——当他们属灵的眼睛被开启，明白自己在基督里所继承的产业。要认出属于他们的一切，他们需要智慧和启示的灵。同样，我们在基督里也有产业。这产业指的是我们在基督里的新身份，包含了保罗在以弗所书1:3-14中所提到的一切属天的福气。这丰盛的产业属于我们，因此我们需要活出来。
在我们的一生中，会有不同的“啦啦队”。小时候，父母是我们的啦啦队；长大后，朋友和同学成了我们的支持者，尤其在社交媒体上；当我们开始职业生涯时，又渴望上司的认可与称赞。当我们不断寻求他人的肯定、认可和赞美时，我们便将自我价值与身份建立在成就和他人的评价之上。遗憾的是，我们生活在一个堕落的、以有条件的爱运作的世界里——人们往往只在我们人生巅峰时为我们喝彩。当我们的身份被动摇或失去时，我们还能在呼召中活出效力吗？大多数人很难重新站起来。伤害我们最深的人，往往是我们自己赋予了他们权柄——让他们的想法、言语和评判影响我们。太多时候，我们因内心的不安和惧怕被拒绝，给了他人过多的影响力，最终导致自己的痛苦。
你知道吗？你一生只需要一位啦啦队员，那就是 神。我们应当单单寻求 神的认可与肯定。祂的想法、祂如何看待我们、祂对我们的评价，才应是我们生命中最重要的事——因为祂是我们的天父和造物主。祂拥有我们，藉着耶稣基督救赎了我们。祂应是我们生命中最亲密的那一位，因为祂会透过圣灵引导、安慰和劝勉我们，在我们最需要的时候提醒祂的话语。当我们活出基督里的身份并行走在祂的呼召中时， 神必赐给我们属天的智慧，使我们行事有智慧。我们也将安息在祂里面——无需证明什么，也无需取悦任何人，唯独讨 神的喜悦。
讲章系列：你有蒙召的命定！
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