Philippians 4:19 (NKJV) And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
There is a difference between those who invest or do business according to God’s leading and those who do business based on their own desire or wisdom. Living the consecrated life doesn’t mean that we will not be affected by an economic downturn. Yet as we daily seek and walk with God, He will counsel us. Those whom God has specifically called to be businessmen will have the grace and ability to thrive even in a volatile market. They will have the wisdom of God and a stability of faith in the midst of uncertainty. They will have the gifting, ability and experience to stay resilient and rebuild their positions. But it will likely be a different story if we are venturing out on our own, led by a spirit of covetousness. That is why it’s wise to live a consecrated and sanctified life for the Lord.
Consecrating our lives will enable us to walk in faith, not be lured by the world to compromise our values, or be affected by information that comes through our senses. All of us are challenged on a daily basis to either go with the world or walk with the Lord. It is in every decision that we make at work and at home. We need to be sensitive to the times and seasons that God has for us. He knows the market, as well as the businesses that we are involved in. If we have already started a business venture, God may even reveal to us when it’s time to let go or make changes, so that we would not be stuck with a Founder’s syndrome, being reluctant to accept change due to pride or sentiment, leading to eventual loss or embarrassment. Proverbs 23:7 says that as a man think in his heart, so is he. Therefore, we need to constantly renew our mind with the word of God so that our thoughts are aligned with it. The expression of our faith in our daily living is very much dependent on our conviction. If we are really walking in His calling and gifting, then there will be grace available for our tasks. However, if we have not sought His face, we might easily abandon a project in times of discouragement. We need to seek His face before repositioning ourselves in the marketplace because His grace will not be available if we persist in doing that which He has not asked us to do.
Sermon Series: Resilience (Part 4)
过分别为圣的生活仍存在挑战
腓立比书 4:19 我的神必照他荣耀的丰富,在基督耶稣里使你们一切所需用的都充足。
那些按神的带领投资或做生意与那些按己意或个人智慧做生意的人是有区别的。过分别为圣的生活并不意味着我们不受经济衰退的影响。然而，当我们每天寻求神并与神同行，祂必指教我们。那些蒙神特别呼召成为商人的，神必赐恩典与能力，使他们即使在动荡的市场中也能够蓬勃发展。在动荡和不稳定中，他们将有来自神的智慧和坚定稳固的信心。他们必有恩赐、能力和经验来保持韧性和反弹力，得以恢复并重建自己的定位。但如果我们是被贪婪的心所驱使而自行去冒险闯荡，那就另当别论了。因此，我们需要活出以神为中心的生活，并且向着神过成圣生活，这才是明智之举。
活出分别为圣的生命将使我们能够在信心中行走，不受世俗的诱惑而妥协自己的价值观，或被我们的感官信息所影响。我们每个人每天都会面临挑战，要么跟随世界，要么与主同行。它存在于我们在工作上或家庭中所做出的每一个决定里。对于神为我们安排了的时间日期，我们要敏锐回应。祂比我们更了解市场，也了解我们所参与的业务。如果我们已开始创业，神甚至可能会向我们启示该何时收手或做出改变，这样我们才不会陷入所谓的创始人综合症—因骄傲或情绪伤感而不愿意接受改变，最终导致损失或困境。箴言 23:7 说一个人的心怎样思量，他为人就是怎样。因此，我们要不断地用神的话语来更新我们的心意，好让我们的心思意念与神的话语保持一致。我们信心的表达是以我们内心的确信为依据，并会在我们的日常生活中表现出来。我们若真实行在神的呼召和恩赐中，就会有恩典临到我们的工作中。然而，我们若未寻求神的面，在遭到挫折的时候就很有可能会轻易放弃某个项目或工程。在市场定位之前，我们需要寻求神的面，因为我们若一意孤行去做 神未让我们去做的事，就不能领受神的恩典。
讲章系列： 韧性 （反弹／恢复能力） （第四部分）