In the next period of time, I will share Teacher Yang Xiqiang's "Calling-Responding to God's Call with Life". As our society increasingly advocates being oneself, everyone has lost themselves in various affairs. I hope that sharing this book can give everyone some thoughts and directions.
It is never too late to find yourself.
The author of this chapter chooses the information related to names from the Gospel of John and Luke to understand how God calls us according to our personal and unique names.
"The Lord Knows Me" written by John
1. The Lord who called the disciples at the beginning of the volume knows me
John 1:38 Jesus turned around , saw them following, and asked them, “What do you want?”
John 1:42 Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John; you shall be called Cephas.”< /p>
John 1:48 Nathanael said to Jesus, “Where do you know me?” Jesus replied, “I saw you while you were under the fig tree before Philip called you. ”
John 1:51 also says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Yes. Jesus saw them first, which is the same recognition as in Amos 3:2: "You only have I known you among all the families of the earth."
Seeing = knowing, not just a mental cognition, but a very intimate relationship and selection. We also see it in the story of Nathanael, but not by name but by character and temperament. It turns out that Jesus already knows every aspect of us and even sees our future (John 1:51). The most important thing for a disciple is to realize that God sees, knows, and knows me.
2. The Lord who laid down his life for the sheep knows me
John 10:1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, no one enters the sheepfold by the door; But he who enters through the gate is a thief and a robber.
John 10:2 He who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
John 10:3 The gatekeeper. He opens the door to him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep and leads them out.
John 10:4 When he has released his own sheep, he goes ahead of them. and follow him, because they know his voice.
John 10:5 The sheep do not follow the stranger, because they do not know his voice, and they will flee.”
John 10:6 Jesus. The parable was told to them, but they did not understand what it meant.
This passage highlights the difference between oneself and outsiders through the contrast between the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep and the relationship between the thief and the sheep. We have a relationship with God; the sheep recognize the shepherd. Voice, in real life, we worry that we cannot hear God’s call or hear it wrongly, but in fact we can hear it because we are God’s people, and more importantly, God knows us.
John 10:7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep.
John 10:8 Whoever comes before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep do not listen to them
John 10:9 Whoever enters through me will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
< p> John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I came that the sheep (or "people") may have life, and have it more abundantlyJohn 10. :11 I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:12 If a hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own, and he sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and flees. He keeps the sheep and scatters them.
John 10:13 The hireling runs away, because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; Know my sheep, and my sheep know me.
John 10:15 Just as the Father knows me, I also know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
John 10: 16 I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them, and they will hear my voice, and they will become one flock and have one shepherd.
John 10:17 My Father’s love. I, for I lay down my life that I may take it again.
John 10:18 No one takes my life from me; I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This is the command I received from my Father.”
This passage still talks about our own human concepts. When a sheep enters the door, it means entering the life of God. Only when it returns to God can it live its true self and have an abundant life. In ordinary times, when we lead people to the Lord, we also lead them into the life of God. All activities of the church are for this purpose, not to increase the number of people.
It also talks about the difference between shepherds and hired hands: hired hands work for a living, while shepherds lay down their lives for the sheep. This is what the Lord Jesus is like.
3. Volume 1: The Lord who washes people’s feet, He knows me
John 13:1-20 Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him and Judas’ choice, but He still washed His feet to show that Judas was still one of His own. Jesus was very sad that Judas did not repent. God is always ready to receive us in any situation.
4. End of volume The triumphant and resurrected Lord, He knows me
John 20:19-29 Jesus appeared before Thomas in order to make him believe.
John 20:29 Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." This can be an explanation or a question in the original Greek text. . When he is the question, it sounds like Jesus rebuking Thomas for his unbelief, but explaining: "Did you believe because you saw me?" no. You believed in me." Jesus' answer comforted Thomas. God knew Thomas' unbelief, but through this, he told him and also told us that faith does not rely on hearing or seeing, but on Jesus knowing him. Because Jesus knew Thomas, He appeared again deliberately. God knows the crux of my relationship with Him, and He will take the initiative to help us overcome it.
John 21:15-17 Jesus and Peter’s three questions and three answers about your love for me. The author notices that the repeated phrases, "You know I love you" and "You know everything" bring out new insights. The author believes that the key point of this passage is to know that through his answer, Peter knew that he could not love God. However, after answering, Jesus told Peter the final outcome, and Peter finally loved God and risked his life. The fulfillment of this calling and the transformation of life all depend on God’s fulfillment and God’s knowledge of Peter (John 21:18-19).
"There is a name in heaven" in Luke's Gospel
Luke 10:17 The seventy returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to your name because of your name." ”
Luke 10:18 Jesus said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Luke 10:19 I have given you authority. You may tread down serpents and scorpions, and you may overcome all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall harm you.
Luke 10:20 Yet do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. .”
Contrasts in this passage
1. Your (Jesus) name vs. your (disciples) name
The name of Jesus has authority to control. Demons, the Lord’s name is very valuable, but in the eyes of Jesus, our names are more worthy of joy and more valuable in heaven.
2. Satan’s fall from heaven vs. your name in heaven
Satan’s fall from heaven is a victory in spiritual warfare and a ministry effect. Ministry results are what God’s authority can achieve through our lives and services, but they are still not as good as our names in heaven.
Our names are recorded in heaven. Under the cultural background of that time, it was not salvation as we often understand it now, and our names are in the book of life, but God called us and created us. God has approved our life in this world. This is His intention long ago. Vocation and creation are inseparable.
Luke 10:21 At that very moment, Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, rejoiced and said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank you that you have hid these things from the wise and prudent; And the child was revealed. Yes, Father, for it is your good will.
Luke 10:22 All things are delivered to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father. "No one knows who the Father is, except the Son and whomever the Son wills to reveal."
Luke 10:23 Jesus turned to his disciples privately and said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see." /p>
Being able to have a heavenly vision is an achievement that surpasses any service on earth. Who you are is more important than what you can do for the Lord. Disciples are sent. , God has entrusted you with an important task, and the perfection is entirely up to God. Here we need to promote the evolutionary thinking. The materialistic evolutionary thinking is to do our best to overcome all difficulties to evolve and survive; but the calling emphasizes that everything is created by God, including Within you, you don’t need to do anything on your own to affirm your existence and value. We need to correct the concept of service, which is to receive rather than achieve something.
Learn from Jesus’ self-affirmation.
1. God will achieve the results of the ministry
John 12:28 Father, may you glorify your name.” At that time, a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified my name.” "The purpose of ministry is to glorify God, but this is the Father's business, and God will accomplish it.
2. The respect we need must come from the Father
John 12:26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, he who serves me will also be There; if anyone serves me, my Father will honor him. ”
The above is an excerpt and summary of the article, I hope it will be helpful to readers.
Calling is the awakening of life, not intellectual knowledge.