Please turn to the letter to the Ephesians.
Ephesians chapter 1 We will read from verse
15 through verse 23.
I will read it through in English and
then I will ask my brother to read
it through in Chinese.
Wherefore, I also, having heard of the faith
in the Lord Jesus which is in you,
and the love which ye have towards all
the saints, do not cease giving thanks for
you, making mention of you at my prayers,
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, would give you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full
knowledge of him, being enlightened in the eyes
of your heart, so that you should know
what is the hope of his calling, and
what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints, and what the surpassing
greatness of his power towards us who believe,
according to the working of the might of
his strength, in which he wrought in the
Christ, in raising him from among the dead,
and he set him down at his right
hand in the heavenlies, above every principality and
authority, and power and dominion, and every name
named, not only in this age, but also
in that to come, and has put all
things under his feet, and gave him to
be head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him
who fills all in all.
The Father of glory, would give you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full
knowledge of him, being enlightened in the eyes
of your heart, so that you should know
what is the hope of his calling, and
what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints, and what the surpassing
greatness of his power towards us who believe,
according to the working of the might of
his strength, in which he wrought in the
Christ, in raising him from among the dead,
and he set him down at his right
hand in the heavenlies, above every principality and
authority, and power and dominion, and every name
named, not only in this age, but also
in that to come, and has put all
things under his feet, and gave him to
be head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him
who fills all in all.
Let's have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, we want to thank thee again
for gathering us together this time.
We do gather in thy precious name.
And we believe that thy presence is here
with us.
We pray that thou will open thy word
to our hearts.
Because thy word is living and operative.
We pray, Lord, that thy word will not
just pass us by.
But by thy Holy Spirit, that will plant
thy word into our hearts.
That we may be transformed and conformed to
thy own image.
To the praise of thy glory.
We ask in thy precious name.
Amen.
The theme of this conference is spiritual seeing.
We would like to approach this theme with
the two prayers of the Apostle Paul.
We know that in his letter to the
Philippines, he prayed twice.
The first time it is recorded in the
first chapter.
And the second time is recorded in the
third chapter.
Now we know that prayer is the voice
of the heart.
Therefore you find that Paul, out of his
heart, he prayed for the saints in Ephesus.
And his prayers are according to his own
experiences.
He has experienced the Lord in this way.
And he prayed for the Ephesian believers.
They too will experience the same.
Now this morning we will consider together the
first prayer.
It is the prayer for the spirit of
wisdom and revelation.
Now we know Paul when he was a
young man.
His name was Saul, which means asked for.
Because he was named after the first king
of Israel.
He was a most unusual youth.
He was brilliant, capable, and most young people
of that sort will seek after the world
and the things of the world.
But he was different.
He saw through the world, and he
sought for things spiritual.
He saw that the world was temporary, and
he sought for the eternal.
So when he was a young man, he
studied the law, and he became a Pharisee.
He was more advanced than his contemporaries.
He was a very zealous young man, and
he really had a heart to serve God.
But unfortunately, he was trained according to the
teaching, the tradition of the fathers.
Even though the tradition of the fathers of
Judaism is the best tradition in the world.
And according to the tradition of the fathers,
he persecuted the church.
Because they consider our Lord Jesus as an
imposter of Judaism.
And therefore, he must be persecuted and wiped
out.
And Paul became a leader in such persecution.
He thought he was serving God, but he
was spiritually blind.
But thank God, God looked upon the heart.
God saw that this young man was sincere,
because he really wanted things eternal.
And he really thought he was serving God.
So God looked upon his heart, and showed
mercy to him.
While he was on the way to Damascus,
because he persecuted the Christians not only in
Jewish cities, he persecuted Christians even into the
Gentile cities.
So he got the documents from the priests,
to go to Damascus to seize upon those
who believed in the Lord Jesus.
And to bring them to Jerusalem to be
condemned.
While he was nearing the city of Damascus,
suddenly a brilliant light, brighter than the noonday
sun, shone upon him.
He was smitten by that light upon the
ground.
That light was so bright that it blinded
his naked eyes.
But thank God, the same light opened his
inner eyes.
He saw the righteous one.
He thought that Jesus was an imposter.
He was unrighteous.
But now he saw the same Jesus is
the righteous one.
Jesus was the only righteous one who could
return to heaven and see God.
Because no one could stand before God.
Because we were not righteous.
But here you'll find that Jesus is the
righteous one.
He recognized that he is the son of
God.
Because God was pleased to reveal his son
in him.
We find that in Galatians chapter 1 verse
16.
And he heard a voice from heaven.
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?
It is hard for you to kick against
the good.
It was not an angry voice.
It was a voice full of sympathy.
You don't know what you are doing.
You are hurting yourself.
Why do you kick against the good?
Don't you understand that you had a master?
Don't you understand that you are like an
ox?
Don't you understand that you are yoked?
You are supposed to do the work of
your master.
But you were stubborn.
You were naughty.
You kicked against the good.
You wanted to go your own way.
I tried to touch you with the good.
Just to remind you.
That you had a master.
You could not do your own will.
You should do my will.
But you kick against the good.
And you hurt yourself.
How many times you want to do that?
Is it not time that you should recognize
me?
And surrender your life to me.
And this heavenly vision of the road of
Damascus delivered him from spiritual blindness.
He saw the Lord.
And that seeing transformed his life.
Instead of being Saul the Pharisee, he became
Paul the Apostle.
And we know Paul means little.
He formerly was the one who was asked
for by the world.
But now he recognized himself as little, as
nothing.
His whole life was transformed.
And this was his own experience.
And out of that experience, he prayed his
prayer for the Ephesian believers.
Dear brothers and sisters, there is one thing
that we must recognize.
That when we come to spiritual things, we
were blind.
No matter how brilliant you are.
No matter how intellectual you are.
You may be able to understand many, many
things.
When you are faced with things spiritual, you
are totally blind.
Do not think that you are able to
understand spiritual things.
Do not think that you can experience spiritual
things.
Because the word of God tells us very
clearly.
If you turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2,
1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14.
But the natural man does not receive the
things of the Spirit of God.
For they are folly to him.
And he cannot know them.
Because they are spiritually discerned.
Here the word of God tells us very
clearly.
The natural man.
Now the natural man is the psychic man.
The natural man refers to an unregenerated man.
You remember after man sinned.
On the day, the Lord said, on the
day that you should eat the forbidden fruit,
you shall die.
But we find that Adam and Eve lived
hundreds and hundreds of years.
And they begot sons and daughters.
But the Lord said, on the day that
you should eat thereof, you shall surely die.
What was dead on that day?
The spirit in man was dead.
The spirit of man was cut off from
communication with God.
Man had fallen into his soul and body.
He became a natural man.
Lived by his soul and his body.
Lived by his lust and passion.
He became a man of the flesh.
Motivated by that unregenerated, created life, fallen
life.
Without the spirit.
And this refers to the unregenerated people.
But you find in the Bible, it sometimes
refers even to believers.
Because a believer who do not walk after
the spirit.
Do not walk according to the mind of
the spirit.
He still live according to the natural.
He still live according to himself.
As if he had no spirit.
So brothers and sisters, even in 1 Corinthians.
Even in 1 Corinthians.
We see that Apostle Paul said, you are
still carnal.
Even though you have been saved.
But you do not live by that new
life.
By that new life in your spirit.
You still live by your own life.
Your natural life in your soul.
So you are still carnal.
And being carnal, you are still natural.
So brothers and sisters.
Do not think that the natural man refers
only to the unbelievers.
If you do not live according to the
spirit of God.
Do not live according to the new life
in your spirit.
And you still live in the natural life.
And you are still carnal, the natural man.
And the natural man does not receive the
things of the Holy Spirit.
He cannot receive it.
Because they are folly to him.
Things spiritual become folly to them.
Things of this world become wise.
And therefore they still seek for the things
of the world.
And they look down upon things spiritual.
They cannot receive things spiritual.
Not only they cannot receive it.
They cannot know it.
Because spiritual things have to be discerned spiritually.
Now dear brothers and sisters.
I want to make this a point.
Because lots of God's people do not understand
this.
They think that because they are saved.
Therefore the whole spiritual world is open.
But dear brothers and sisters.
If you do not live according to the
spirit.
Do not live in the spirit.
You are no different from the people of
this world.
You will look down upon things spiritual.
You think that those who seek for spiritual
things are foolish.
And you think you are wise by seeking
things of this earth.
So dear brothers and sisters.
When we are faced with spiritual things.
No matter how small that is.
When we are faced with things spiritual.
We are completely blind in our natural life.
I hope this will really sink deep into
our understanding.
Do not think that because you are brilliant.
Do not think that you can grasp spiritual
things quickly.
You may grasp them intellectually.
You think that you understand.
But you do not understand.
You are still outside of the spiritual realm.
Unless there is revelation.
Brothers and sisters.
Think back to the days when you are
saved.
You may be brought up in a Christian
family.
That's what I was.
I was brought up in a Christian family.
My father was a pastor.
He loved the Lord.
And we have family altar every evening.
Our father would gather us children.
We would gather together in the drawing room.
And our father would read us from the
word of God.
Then we all kneel down and he would
pray for us.
I was brought up in that kind of
atmosphere.
From my kindergarten up.
I always studied in Christian schools.
I read the Bible myself.
I prayed too.
I attended the church.
Very faithfully.
But dear brothers and sisters.
I knew all about the gospel.
But I did not receive it.
I believed that the gospel of Jesus Christ
was true.
He came to save sinners.
But I am no sinner.
So let Christ save sinners.
I was too good to be saved.
Dear brothers and sisters.
That was my condition before I was saved.
I was totally blind to things spiritual.
I was completely shut out from heaven.
People looked at me and thought I was
a Christian.
But I wasn't.
And I could tell you more.
I even served God during those days.
I led prayer meetings.
I even preached.
And the way I preached was I took
a good sermon from a famous preacher memorized
it and repeated it.
But I was cut off from heaven.
God was a distant God to me.
There was no communication.
Not until one day.
He opened my inner eyes.
His living word spoken to my heart.
If I confess my sins He is righteous
and faithful to forgive my sins and to
cleanse us from all my unrighteousness.
Suddenly all the burdens were gone.
I was freed.
I can look up to heaven and say
Dear Abba Father We need revelation.
You remember when Peter confessed Jesus as the
Christ, the Son of the Living God?
And what did our Lord say to him?
Simon Bar-Jonah This is not something that
the flesh can tell you.
It is my Father in heaven who reveals
it to you.
Brothers and sisters as you recall your conversion.
Does it not happen this way?
Even though the details are different.
The principle is the same.
Naturally we were blind to spiritual things.
But He pleased God to reveal His Son
in me.
And when the spirit of wisdom and revelation
was given When the spirit of wisdom and
revelation was given Immediately our inner eyes were
opened.
We can be like those who were born
blind to witness.
Once I was blind but now I see.
And this is our testimony.
But dear brothers and sisters Remember What happened
at that time is a principle that applies
to your whole spiritual life.
In every step of your spiritual life It
begins with the spirit of wisdom and revelation
be given by God.
Without that spirit of wisdom and revelation We
are completely blind, shut off from things spiritual.
Now what is the spirit of wisdom and
revelation?
Wisdom refers to the content of
revelation.
That is to say God is wisdom.
The wisdom of God The purpose of God
The way of God What
is in God is now being revealed to
us.
The content of God is now being revealed
to us.
In the whole universe our God is the
greatest mystery.
No one knows God naturally.
We know that the Athenians were very clever.
Yet they have to have an alter call
to the unknown God.
But God is not unknowable.
Because he reveals himself.
If God should hide himself No one would
ever know God in any way.
Because he is far beyond us.
But we thank God.
Because of his love for us It pleases
him To reveal himself To reveal his heart
to us Reveal his mind to us To
reveal his way to us To reveal his
beloved son to us Dear brothers and sisters
Everything begins with wisdom The spirit of wisdom
and revelation When God reveals Something
happens in our spirit He reveals himself in
our spirit Thank God when we believe in
the Lord Jesus This dead spirit was being
quickened Renewed into life And
the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit And
there he is able to reveal himself to
us Brothers and sisters You find that it
is all In the innermost of our being
We thank God Because he gave us his
word This Bible Gives us the whole revelation
Full revelation of God Throughout the centuries God
revealed himself And now we come to have
in our hands the Bible That is the
full revelation of God The wisdom of God
is all there But brothers and sisters When
you read the Bible Does it mean that
because you read the Bible Therefore you got
the whole revelation of God?
No The Bible is the full revelation of
God Because it is God's breath It
is the breath of God It is the
spirit of God And it is eternal truth
It never changes It always works It is
not affected by time or space It is
eternal truth But brothers and sisters This eternal
truth It has to become living and operative
in each one of us The same spirit
that breathes into these words Is the same
spirit who will speak again to us by
the word And when this happens The word
becomes living and operative The eternal truth
becomes your personal living experience The eternal truth
becomes a living and operative experience in each
one of us This is why the word
Tao becomes a living and operative word It
is the same spirit It
has to become a living and operative word
in our hearts When this happens We get
the revelation So revelation is not that something
completely foreign to the word of God If
anyone should say that he got a revelation
But not outside of the word of God
Is false But revelation
is what has been written Is being quickened
into our life And
in our spirit suddenly a light shines And
we can shout and say this is true
Brothers and sisters That is the spirit of
wisdom and revelation So the whole thing begins
within our spirit And it is from God
God will grant you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the full knowledge of God
This is the only way to know God
But brothers and sisters When we receive such
revelation Something happens in our spirit There is
light in our spirit We know something has
happened What God has spoken is real There
is power there We can say now we
see But we cannot explain it In
our spirit we know But our mind needs
to be enlightened So therefore you find in
the prayer of Paul He not only said
that God will grant you the spirit of
wisdom and revelation And he said be enlightened
in the eyes of your heart So that
you should know In other words What you
have seen in your spirit needs to be
understood And know to explain it
First in your spirit there is a light
And then you find the Holy Spirit will
work in the eyes of your heart Now
what is the eyes of the heart?
It is our mind Our understanding Because you
remember our Lord Jesus after his resurrection He
appeared to his disciples And he tried to
tell them how the Old Testament prophesied about
him And then in Luke 24 verse 45
Our Lord opened their understanding And they began
to understand the Bible So brothers and sisters
To use an illustration It is like you
are taking a picture You use a camera
and you give a shot An impression was
made on the film But you will not
be able to see it You have to
wash it with liquid And then the picture
comes out So this is the same way
Revelation is in your spirit And then you
find your understanding being enlightened And then you
begin to know and understand And you are
able to explain it to other people What
is revealed?
What is it that you have seen?
What is it that you begin to know,
to understand?
And then you find in the following There
are three things The wisdom and revelation Will
begin to be understood in three ways And
that is what you will find in verse
18 Being enlightened in the eyes of your
heart So that you should know What is
the hope of his calling That is the
first thing What the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the saints The second
thing What the surpassing greatness of his
power Towards us who believe The third thing
What is the full knowledge of God?
How do we know what is in God's
mind?
How do we know what he is doing?
Here you find our God is doing three
things Number one What is the hope of
his calling?
Brothers and sisters, when we come to calling
We often think of my calling, your calling
I am called to be a doctor, I
am called to be an engineer I am
called to be a housewife We always think
of calling in terms of ourselves And we
always think of calling as doing something And
what are we to be occupied with?
But notice When you have revelation Then you
begin to see It is not your calling,
it is his calling God has called us
He has called us with a holy calling
A heavenly calling An on high calling He
has called us Not so much to do
But much to be God's
calling is concerned with our being He called
us to be something Brothers and sisters What
is it that God has called us to
be?
Called all of us to be What is
that calling?
The supreme calling The calling that is far
above our personal calling There is his calling
that we share together According to Ephesians We
are called to be the body of Christ
Because as you read on to the end
of the chapter You will find it We
are to be the church, the body of
Christ There is no higher calling than this
calling Even if you are called to be
the president of the United States What is
that to be compared to be in the
body of Christ?
We are called to be in that body
We are called to be the fullness of
Christ We are called to be his glory
Dear brothers and sisters Have we ever understood
this?
Is it not the calling that we should
be occupied with?
And notice What is the hope of our
calling?
What is the hope of being called to
be the body of Christ?
What is the hope of the body?
When the body is fully matured That body
is to be the bride of Christ This
is our blessed hope This is what we
are all looking forward to This is why
we need to be matured Because if we
are not matured, that body cannot be the
bride This is why we must pay every
cost to see that it is done The
hope of his calling That is the first
revealed thing And then the second thing What
the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints You know, again, when we
think of inheritance We think of our inheritance
in Christ Oh, how rich, how glorious is
our inheritance in Christ This is optimal
But brothers and sisters We have not been
delivered from ourselves We always think of ourselves
What do we have?
He is for us We are self-centered
But when the heavenly light comes upon you
You are delivered from yourself From your petty
self And you are delivered into that unmeasurable
realm You
are thinking of his inheritance Don't you know
that we are given by the heavenly father
as gifts to his beloved son?
God gives his son to us as a
gift God gives his son to us as
a gift At the same time, he gives
us as a gift to his beloved son
We find that in John chapter 17 It
is true that Christ is to be our
inheritance It is true that Christ is to
be our inheritance He is the land flowing
with milk and honey But at the same
time God has made us his inheritance God
inherits us And what the riches of the
glory of his inheritance Can you imagine that?
When we think of Christ our inheritance That
expression is true The
riches of the glory of our inheritance in
Christ Jesus But no It says here
The riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints How can it be?
Can it be?
Is it possible?
With man it is impossible With God it
is possible Therefore you find the third thing
Where is the power that will transform such
poor desert Wilderness Into land flowing with milk
and honey How
can it be?
Where is the power?
And the third thing So in the revelation
he tells us Verse 19 And what a
surpassing greatness of his power towards us who
believe He
wants us to believe there is a power
It is a surpassing power It is a
power greater than nuclear power And that power
has been demonstrated already It was demonstrated in
the life of our Lord Jesus It is
the power that raised Christ from the dead
It is the power that put him at
the right side of God In the heavenlies
It is the power above every principality, authorities,
every name named It is a power
that put all things under his feet It
is the power that made him head over
all things We have already seen this power
demonstrated in the life of our Lord Jesus
God has put all things under his feet
He has become head over all things To
the church which is his body The fullness
of him who fills all in all What
happened to the head is going to happen
to the body The body is to experience
the same power That delivers us from all
the things that have control over us Deliver
us not only from sin, from the power
of sin Deliver us from the world and
the things of the world Deliver us from
the flesh and even our self-life Deliver
us from all the temptations and trials That
we may be filled with Christ who fills
all and in all So
when God comes to see his inheritance in
the saints He saw Christ in his fullness
And that is the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the saints He
who has called us is faithful He will
perform Dear Lord, we bow ourselves before
thee Realizing that thou has
done something far beyond that we ever think
of We are
willing to lay ourselves at thy feet And
pray thy will be done In thy precious
name we pray Amen