Title Ephesians 04:14-24 Upgrade your life
Contents
upgrade your life
[Ephesians 4:14-24]
[Standard New Translation]
About upgrading your life
Today, I think I should explain the sermon title first. This is because, although the word "upgrade" is commonly used in our daily life, it can be a foreign word to those who are not interested. Even young children know what the word “upgrade” means if they are using a computer. It is a well-known word that is mostly used in computers. 286-386-Pentium - and so on, the progress of computers has been expressed as an "upgrade". The meaning of the word is to raise the level and increase the grade further. So, when you use this word in life, it means to raise the standard of your life or to make progress in your life.
What grades and levels are there in life? You might ask yourself, but there are different grades in life. People are all working hard to live a better life. However, there is a problem of the value standard, which is the standard of the rating. This issue will be dealt with later.
What do we need for the future? - Ability to change
As I was preparing this sermon, I did research out of curiosity to see how many of the books published in our country offer advice for upgrading your life. I searched the books registered in Kyobo Bookstore, and a whopping 890 were found. Of course, it could be any book that advises you to advance your life. However, there are only so many books published that show the direct method. It is not just out of curiosity that I have done this research. Because the trend of book publishing is the interest of the time, you can read the interest of the time. Today's times are more challenging than ever for change, both socially and in every way. If we do not change, we are under a strong challenge that we must raise the level. Here are some impressive titles from the book names I searched for:
Change your life, change your perspective and you will see the future. You cannot move the chariot of life without being awake. i change myself I can change the president too. tame me Run vigorously toward tomorrow, breaking the limits of your abilities. You can't live like this only once. Raise your ransom
A distinctive feature of the book titles above is that there is a call to radically change your life, paving a new path. You can see that today's longing is to change your life.
What kind of world will the 21st century be? makes you think. Because the 20th century is already less than six months away. For a while, my interest in I-Q (intelligence quotient) moved to E-Q (emotion quotient), and for a while, many books on E-Q were published. However, ahead of the 21st century, IQ and IQ alone are not enough, but C-Q (change quotient) is predicted to become an important aptitude for successful people. So, in the 21st century, it is possible to speculate that if you do not have the qualities to change, you will not be able to live a successful life. Already, this phenomenon is strongly demanded by our society. An agile person who can change every day can lead a successful life.
The person of the future according to the Bible - a life born again every day
The topic facing our time today, “change,” is what the Bible demands, commands, and urges us to make a decision toward life from beginning to end. Paul is pointing the way in this age with the phrase “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Repentance means the birth of a whole new being. The teaching of becoming a child of God means a different level of life. The Bible doesn't always tell us about a life that stays there. Faith is on the way. It is a challenge towards an unfamiliar place. Peter's suggestion that we should stay as it is because it's good here on the Mount of Transfiguration is testified without much thought (Matthew 17:4). The life of being content with being comfy and not taking risks for further progress is beyond the interest of the Bible. The Bible endlessly urges us to deny ourselves into the future and follow the Lord who is ahead of us. The Lord said that no one who lifts the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). Paul urges us to run like a runner, but wholeheartedly as if we were running for a reward.
Philippians 3:13-4] Brothers and sisters, I don't think I have caught up with it yet. There is only one thing I do. Forgetting what is behind and looking only to what lies ahead, we are running toward our goal to receive the reward of that calling from above in Christ Jesus.
The bottom line is to run to the last day like a runner who is not satisfied. It is for the salvation of God. It is salvation that breaks the shadows of meaninglessness and futile life, overcomes the limits of death, and wins the spiritual warfare to reach the highest grade.
Clarify Life's Rating Standards - Upgrade Goals
Everyone invests heavily to raise the standard of their lives. As mentioned earlier, there are countless ways to change your life in bookstores. Every seminar that can change your life is full of people. However, many efforts will fail if the goal of changing your life is not clear. As a result, you may neglect your life with a sense of defeat that “you can’t do this”.
Many people think that raising the standard of life is an economic increase, an increase in education, a splendid change in appearance (upscale of face, body shape, clothes, house, car, etc.), or worldly fame, so many titles are engraved here and there on business cards. I am satisfied with my work.
However, while these efforts may help to some degree of self-satisfaction, they do not bring about ultimate success in life. You are missing out on your ultimate goal in life. It is said that we are the lord of all creation, and among all creatures, the grade of life, which is God's purpose, cannot be determined by material things or fleeting values that will disappear. It's a contradiction. The highest grade in life cannot be material. The criteria for grading life cannot be worldly. You must be holy.
The grade of life should be evaluated in Jesus Christ, in truth, in love.
"We must not be any more children than this. We must not be swayed or tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, succumbing to human deceit or cunning." (14)
You shouldn't shape your life the way the world teaches you. Who are you? Are you not the children of God who were bought with the blood of the cross? This was not done by human will or lust, but by the divine grace of God (John 1:12). Your worth, the value of your life, should only be the price of the blood of Jesus Christ. The value of our life is Jesus Christ. The standard of our life is Jesus Christ. It must reach the measure of Jesus Christ. Be clear about your goals in life. If your goals are clear, you will succeed. When you become a perfect man of Jesus, a perfect man of God, you will have the highest grade.
Hang out and unite - effective upgrades
Get rid of old habits that are a stumbling block in your life
To progress, succeed, and grow, we must discover the obstacles that impede progress and prevent success. It is necessary to find and solve the causes that block growth. You cannot fill a new one without throwing it away. You cannot create a new one without excreting the old. In order to renew the spirit, we must remove the dirt. It takes courage to break away from the familiar.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I understood like a child, I thought like a child; but when I became a man, I gave up childish things (1 Corinthians 13:11).
Dear fellow classmates
May your life progress, grow and succeed in the truth in Christ. May you enjoy the joy of raising the standard of your life. A Christian born as a child must grow up. God's people are born, but God's workers are made. If you do nothing, you will get nothing.
I do not say that I have already obtained it, nor that I have made it perfect, but I am pursuing to seize the thing for which I was captured by Christ Jesus. I am pursuing the reward of God's above calling in Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14).
to upgrade your life
Focus your life on Jesus Christ.
Join and unite to maximize your abilities.
Let go of old habits.
Run towards your goal without looking back or complacent. The Lord will provide you with everything you need to progress in your life.