Reflection on the Book of Ephesians 2

[Music] Church in fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Music] We are grateful, Jesus. We are grateful, Oh Lord. [Singing in Yoruba]. Amen, Hallelujah. We are grateful, Oh Lord. We want to say that You are good, and all the miracles You've done has brought us joy. And we are changed, and all the hope we have, we're blessing You right now. Oh Father, we declare. Father, we declare that we love You. We love You. We love You. We declare an everlasting love for You. Oh Lord, we declare. Father, we declare that we love You. We declare an everlasting love for You. [Singing in Yoruba]. Jehovah, You are the most high. Oh, Jehovah, You are the most high God. Jehovah, You are the most high. Jehovah, You are the most high God. Our Father, we are grateful. We thank You for Your love that is eternal. We thank You because Your love for us is an eternal love. We thank You that because Your love for us is a complete and a perfect love. We thank You for forgiveness. We thank You for adoption. We thank You for redemption. We thank You, our Father, for being joint heirs with Christ. We thank You for the down payment that You have made, guaranteeing that You will surely come back to us. And that down payment was not less than God. The down payment for our redemption is the Holy Spirit, which is the seal of our redemption. Lord, we worship You for this great gift, great Oh God, inheritance that we have. We bless Your holy name, our God. We worship You. We say be Thou exalted our Father in the name of Jesus. Mighty and everlasting God, we go again into Your word. We look into scriptures. Lord, we pray. The Bible says in Your light, we see light. Lord, grant us light that we may see light in the name of Jesus. Lord, let there be a light. The light of Your Spirit, the light of Your grace, the light of Your mercy, the light of Your truth, the light of Your power. Let it be manifest among all in the name of Jesus Christ. That Lord God Almighty, Your name might be glorified and Your church edified in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, eternal Father. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Wow, we thank our God again. We are gathered again this Monday for another time of our discipleship class. And like I said a few weeks back, before last week when we started the book of Ephesians, I said I was just wondering how we'd go about it, the matter of life, eternal life, peace. How do we go about it? And then we came to a conclusion that it appears we should begin by reflecting on the book of—having looked at peace and the way of peace, let's look, let's take a reflection on the book of Ephesians. As we go through that book, I believe the Lord will be making us to understand what was the burden—my actual burden. I didn't know how to put it in a topic. That's why I said a reflection on the book of Ephesians. So last week, it was a reflection on the book of Ephesians 1. And our consideration last week was looking at that we were chosen before time, before the foundation of the world. So that was our focus last week. And again this week, we are still reflecting on that book. We'll take another focus again. We stopped at verse 4 last week. We'll be moving on from verse 4 downward today to take another focus. I see some of them come, trying to look at what are the blessings that are in the heavenly places. What are the blessings in the heavenly places? And just before we ask anybody to—if they have anything they want to say, I will still come to that. The other day as I was saying last week, if you don't understand what is this heavenly blessing, you can't live with a focus of heaven correctly. I don't understand how you would do it. Maybe I will say the heavenly blessing is the basis of what we call Christianity. That's what makes it not to be a religion. Religion, from the point of philosophy, religion is an act that is created by man for the purpose of reaching out to the supernatural. That's religion. But Christianity is not a religion, because Christianity is God reaching out to man. I don't know whether you guys get the difference. So until you really understand the heavenly side, what God did so that you can now come to Him, I just don't know how you can live correctly as a Christian. Because what you will be doing will be a religious—you'll be trying to—like I was trying to tell somebody that I've never tried to be righteous. And the person was confused. She said, "So as—" I said, "No, I am righteous. That's why I live righteously." I'm not living righteously to become righteous. So the person only—"No, no, ko s'eni to je olododo, elese ni gbogbo wa," all of that. But why? Because he does not understand the heavenly blessing. So there is no way I can't see how anybody can really live the Christian life. Because the Christian life is about God reaching out to us. And in reaching out, God did some things. And the reason why God did it is what I want to read today. I couldn't get to that point last week. You know the burden will be coming even after you have left again. You'll get another—you get the point I'm trying to bring out. Some things will come again to your heart. So I want to mention it, then I will ask the class if there's anything that was a major blessing to you last week, then we'll proceed from verse 5. But I want to bring something to your focus in 1 Corinthians 1. I still want to say something about this choice, although I will discuss that more fully. But let's first look at 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1, I want you to see something in the Bible. Look at the verse 31. Or let me read 30 to 31. Even though I'll be speaking more from the verse 18 to that 30 so, if we have the time today. Now, look at 30 to 31. What did the Bible say? Whatever translation you have, let us read. I'm reading my own here. "But of Him you are in Christ, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, that as it is written, 'He who glories must glory in the Lord.'" I don't know whether you get that. God don't want anybody to say anything is about me. It is a strong matter with God. Because—I'm trying to establish something about what we said last week, even though I'll be moving further about it today. But I want to—I could not say this last week and I needed to say it. That the reason why God is talking about this heavenly blessing, this heavenly place we are talking about, is because God don't want anybody to glory in himself. Whatever the glory, He wants it to be that everything is of Him. It is through Him. It is by Him. It is from Him. It is for Him. So that nobody can boast. That's why if you notice that Paul was saying something about our redemption. He said, "By grace you are saved through faith. This not of your own, lest any man should boast." God intend to take all the glory. So Christianity is not a religion. It's not man trying to reach out to God. It is God deciding to save man. He came down. He came down to meet us. Jesus said, "Whosoever has seen Me has seen the Father." He came down. So it's not that we went up to meet Him. No, He came down to meet us. And then He redeemed us. He saved us. He died for us. That is what Christianity is. So the thing I want you to see is that if you are not living for Jesus and you are a Christian, honestly you are blind. Because you don't understand, it's like you don't really understand what Christianity is. No. So that is why you see God, ever before you begin to think that you want to be saved, God Himself had made a selection so you don't say it's about you. You don't come and say it's about me. "Emi w'Olorun ri." Iro o, Olorun lo wa e ri. So that He alone, He alone holds the glory. He alone holds the glory. He owns the glory. He owns the glory. You know, that He redeemed you. He saved you. He came for you. And that's the point I need to add today. Now, I will be adding more and more to that as we go on today. But quickly I want to ask, is there any point of blessing anybody want to raise from verse 1 to 4 that we discussed last week? Is there anything that was a point of blessing to you? Anything that you felt, wow, you want to talk—say something about before we move on? Anybody? Okay, let's have our sister. [Speaker 2] Praise the Lord. The one that really struck my heart most is the fact that I was chosen before the foundation of the earth. And to me, as I keep thinking about it, sometimes it doesn't feel so. It doesn't even for on-looker, looking at you because we are physical beings, it doesn't look so. Like chosen, so if I'm chosen, why is my way like this? Why am I—I remember sometimes late last week, I was going and I was talking something to God. I was saying, "God, ha, this this and this and this and this." And then it came to me expressly from my heart that "You are blessed. You are blessed." And I responded back to God. I said, "Yes, I know I'm blessed but it doesn't feel so." He said, "You don't have to feel it. You need to know it." Amen. Amen. He said you don't have to feel it, but you need to know it. And my prayer is, my response back to Him is that God help me to know it well. I mean, I'm not talking of knowing—knowing it really, really knowing it, no matter what happens. Amen. So the challenge is, yes, I've been chosen, but kai, it doesn't—if I'm chosen, like Rebecca, if God is with me, why is everything like this? But God is with me. Praise the Lord. [Speaker 1] Hallelujah. Thank you so much. In fact, that's very true. Okay, let's hear—I thought it's only one person. Okay, let's hear you. [Speaker 3] Last week, what really blessed me was that I also had cause to look back at how I became—how my walk with God began. My mind went back to a time like that where I lost my way. That I left home, actually, and dead of the night. It was night, so dark and I didn't want to go back. But suddenly, I don't just know what just—I don't even know how it just happened. I just found myself walking back home. And it was—I was very, very far away from home. And it was very, it was strange to me. But looking back at the aftermath of those events, how I began, how I met Christ, I just sometimes you just think as if that you are the only one in the—you are the only one left to fight your battles alone. But the truth is that God who began the work is the one that will see it all through. [Speaker 1] Amen. In fact, that's very true. That's very true. God who began the work is also able to finish it. You know, you know what she said was something that occurred to me, so—you know, but from a different verse. Things happening around me, some years back now, but I know it's not in the immediate recent past. And suddenly this scripture, "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." You know, everything was somehow. Then the thing just came to me. He said, "Look, you see we know. We don't need to feel. We don't need to think. We don't even need to understand. We only need to know." It said just know. I said, "God, this is hard." Just know. Know it. And when Jesus said you will know the truth and the truth will—I'm telling you, that is the reality of the Christian life. If you go and look at our being able to overcome sin, go and check it in Romans 6. You will see, "Knowing this, that your old man was crucified." You see, there is a knowing that you must know. And once you don't know that know, you can never be free. There is a knowing. And that knowing is not intelligent knowing, the way scholars, the way people scholarly know, you understand what I'm trying to say? It's not a scholarly knowing. It has nothing to do with intelligence. In fact, you can be a student of the Bible. You can have all the biblical history, everything. You can draw all the map of all the things the Bible talked about. Palestine is in the east of Jerusalem, Jerusalem is—you can have all those scholarly things, and yet this know we are talking about you don't have it. And you know that was why when I was to start, I said, you know, not as if I don't know these things before. But you know there is a way God renews something again in your spirit. More and more and more and more I am realizing that it is in His light that we see light. It is in His light that we see light. If God don't come to us, we cannot go to God. It's in His light. You see, that know is a know that when—oh, thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus. The scripture just came to my heart now. That knowing is the knowing that Jesus was telling Peter when He said, "Flesh and blood have not revealed this thing to you." Aha, it is that knowing. It said it was revealed to you by who? By My Father in heaven. It is that kind of knowing. It is a knowing that comes from the Father. That knowing is a knowing that surpasses ordinary understanding. You will know the truth and the truth will make you free. "Flesh and blood," He said, "but My Father in heaven has revealed this to you." So it is in that light. When you have light in that light, it is that knowing that we are talking about. And when that knowing comes to a man, that man can live the life of God. He can live the supernatural life of God. And until that knowing comes, that man will remain a natural man, cannot live the life of God. It's that knowing. It is that knowing. Honestly, it is that knowing. And I pray that more and more and more and more because I'm telling you, that's the direction—you know the year is closing up. But please don't forget something. There is no year in, year out with God. I've said that before. There's no year in, year out. So that if God was a hundred years old, for instance, when He created the earth, how old is He today? He's still a hundred. There's no year in, year out with God. But normally, because we are in time, God seems to bring His purpose for us per time because we are in time. But not as if God lives in time. But He operates with us per that time, that's why He said that you must know your timing. You get the point I'm making? So that as 2020 is closing up, I see God emphasizing that it is men of this knowing that will begin to survive. It is that knowing, that knowing that it's not flesh and blood that reveals. Things will be getting relatively darker. The wicked will be waxing worse and worse. But men with this knowing, as the darker the environment, the better the beauty of light. Have you noticed that before? Have you noticed that before? You know, if you go now and you off this light, you don't really appreciate so much the light. It makes little or no difference. But let it start getting dark. Let it move to seven, let it become eight, let it get to nine, ten. If you put on this light, what will happen? What will happen to that environment? It's going to change completely. Now, it looks as if it does not bring any change. Now, what I'm trying to say, what I see God as we move through time into 2021, 2022, we don't need to fear, but I need to announce to you, it's going to be tough. Tough in the sense that things will be getting darker. What I said initially, perilous time, time more difficult to deal with. Why? Because men shall be lovers of themselves. So men shall be becoming what? More and more wicked. Moving from bad to worse to worst. Things will be getting darker. Even men and women will be getting that way. Selfishness will increase. Those things, not loving God, hating God, there'll be more already secularism. There'll be more, much more the more. I hope you know the meaning of secular, without God. There'll be more secularism. Separate secularism from spirituality. There'll be more secularism. But I want to tell you something that God will also be doing is that this knowing that we are talking about, this knowing that we are talking about, it is men that flesh and blood don't reveal things to. You know the other disciples, when they got to that junction in their life, they were lost. "Who am I?" Some said You're Elijah, some said You're this. He said, "No, you, who do you say that I am?" They could not answer the question of life until there was a man who was operating at a level different from that level. I pray that will be our level. There was a man. And when the man confronted that question of life, he said, "You are Christ, the Son of the living God." He said, "Wow, flesh and blood did not reveal this." Those are the kind of men that will last. And if I put it another way, those are the kind of men that we need. Those are the kind of men that we need this period. Those are the kind of men that we need. And so let's be getting into this act, into this matter. I'm telling you, we are closing up 2020, we are entering 2021, it's like that like that like that. But I'm telling you, things will be getting extremely tough and rough, but men who have this knowing, who have this knowing, what will happen? They will be better appreciated. What did I say? What I mean is that they will be shining brighter. Now things are not very dark, you are not appreciating those men. But as things start getting darker and darker, awon lo ma ma mole. They'll be getting brighter and brighter. But those who don't have this knowledge, just like those other disciples remained confounded and speechless, you will not be speechless in the face of the question of life. They were speechless. They were speechless. Now, we are—I needed to add that because we went in that direction. But please note that it's something that God will be doing as we close up the year, as we enter 2021. And so, we said that God don't want anybody to glory in himself. God alone wants all the glory. He alone wants the glory. He alone wants the glory. And as I pick the matter up from where we stopped last week, when we stopped last week, Ephesians 1, Ephesians 1, I stopped at "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world." He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. And I hope you didn't forget something I mentioned last week, that since He chose us before the foundation of the world, then the truth is that God actually began to work in our lives even ever before we came to God. Do you—I hope you remember that statement. So if you want to ask me when did God began with you, God began with you even before you entered into your mother's womb. And if you understand that, it will make you—I don't know how you have been seeing the past in relation to the present. But if you have an understanding that God started His work in your life ever before you came to Him, till the point where you came to Him, the work continued and the work continued till today. You see, the important crux that that will bring into your life, into your awareness, is that God is that only factor, is that only factor that we must do everything to follow. He's that only factor. All other factors, they are dependent on this singular factor. And it's also very, very important because this matter is coming now. It's coming now to you and you are realizing it now. It's also very, very important for you to know now that look, if there are mistakes in the past, if there are things in the past, but now I'm now realizing—it's like—I don't know how best I can explain this thing, but the best way I can is what I'm explaining now. Maybe, you know at a point you were not a Christian. When you became a Christian, what were you told? They said, "Yes, but they also told you that the days of ignorance, God overlooked. But now He has called every man to repentance." So whatever you have done in the past, whatever I did in the past, count it as the past. At the point where God met with you, you begin with God and trust God that His mercies can avail for your life, isn't it? It is that same thing I'm saying now that, you see, when you come to the understanding that actually God began to work in your life before time was and then from the beginning of time. Now, you now look at your life now as a Christian that how do I now handle situations in my life that maybe as a Christian for instance, I have disobeyed God? Do you get what I'm trying to say? Are you understanding me now? Maybe you now try to look back and say, "But how do we correct what I've become a Christian? And I've not followed God, I've not walked through with God. I missed God at some point. How will I now have that corrected?" You see, the truth is this. The correction that you need for that past is nothing more than the realization and the repentance from the past. Maybe for instance, let me give a very critical instance. I was discussing with a sister recently and it will be very, very critical one. She realized now that even as a Christian, she did not get it right maritally. Have you understanding me? So so many things are now happening. So in the midst of her praying, praying, praying, praying, she now had the realization that we were discussing, she came to realize that. And she was now wondering, "Me at this age now, where I have already become a Christian and I missed it like—how will my life now be right? Since the only factor upon which my life depend, I missed it at a point." Do you get it now? What me I am telling you now, and I want you to realize, that is this, is that if God had factored the death, the crucifixion of the Lamb, before the fall of man. Are you understanding me at all? The same way you must realize now that if it's now dawning on you that "Ah, so God chose me from the beginning." Now, what about God, what about after I became a Christian? What you need to get your life right again, even now, is the fact that you have realized that one, I made a mistake, and then two, the need to repent. So she was asking me that how does she repent? Is it to leave the husband? I said no. It's not that kind of—when we say repent, what I mean is that now you need to realize that your fighting and competing with the blind was wrong. You have not been fair to the man. You, you are light; he is not light. So the first thing to do about repenting is to forgive him for all the things you have held against him. Ah, oni sir, moni bee ni, a o se fe bere bayi ni. You know you want to start. I said you have been holding an unbeliever for living as an unbeliever. You have been holding him as a wicked man, whereas you are the wicked person. You are not just. Ah, I want to show you how to get it right. Now first, you first need to forgive everything you've been holding him for. And then number two, you now need to know that it is in your light that he can see light. I said you are the one to now begin to—the Bible said you are the light of the world. So you have to take up that ministry. You become a light in your marriage. As you begin to enter now and live correctly like this, the mercy of God will come. God can possibly convert your husband. But if you continue in this war, battle line that you have drawn, that "ma f'i han, ma f'i ye," then I said sorry, you will never find mercy to avail for this marriage. I said but if you will now factor yourself back now to God, is to repent. That's what I mean by repenting. Factor yourself back to God and begin to live as unto God. You will soon realize that with God all things are possible. Ko s'ibi t'Olorun o ti le yo omo ti e. Go back and check the story with Israel. No matter how much God scatters Israel, the day they repent, God will gather them again. Hallelujah! He will gather them again! No matter how much you have scattered it before now, if you make up your mind to return to God, God will gather you again. That's the truth. He will gather you. He will gather you. That's our God. He will gather you again. He will gather everything back. Ah! [Singing in Yoruba]. I just feel we should pray for one minute. Is there something you feel has scattered? I'm telling you that there is no how much God scattered Israel, He can gather them again. Is there something, after you became a believer, you felt you missed it at a point? And it looks like it's scattered? Can you speak to God? Can you just speak to God? Can you say something to God about it? Say, "Baba, gather me again. I come to You, the source of my life. Gather me. You can gather it. You can! You can gather it! You can, Baba! Gather it for me!" I'm trying to make you understand redemption. The matter is not about the devil. Our God is greater. Our God is a redeemer. Our God is awesome. Ah, is there God, is there anything particular like that sister that came to me? Said, "Bro Wale, ah, can things be correct again? Can it be right again? I knew I missed God. I disobeyed Him. Can God still gather me?" I said, "Sister, God can gather you. He can gather you. He can gather you!" That's what I told her. I said, "Look, now that you have realized it, all you need is to come back home." Ah, Jesus demonstrated that in the prodigal son. He said when he came back home, the father said, "Please go and remove this rag and clothe him. Remove the rag and clothe him! We have not celebrated, it is time to celebrate!" I'm telling you that God can celebrate you when you return home. You can be celebrated. I'm telling you, it's the way of God. You see, the love of God is something you cannot search. You can't search this love. You cannot search it. It's something beyond us. It's something look—that is why I tell people, go and read the Old Testament very well. Because the New Testament is a shadow of the old—no, sorry, the New Testament, I mean the Old Testament is a shadow of the new. The new fulfills the old. The real thing they are in Christ. It tells you that God can gather His people. It doesn't matter where they missed it. He began with them before time, and if something happened in time, God can correct it. Do you know why? God is above time. God is beyond time. God does not pay tribute to time. And God controls time. Hallelujah! He! God is before time. After time will be no more, God will still be there. So God is above time. God is not subject to time. God does not pay tribute to time. And God can control time. That is God. That is God. That is God. That is this our God. He is before time, after time will be no more, God will still be there. So God is above time. God is not subject to time. God does not pay tribute to time. And God can control time. That is this our God. That is this our God. He's beyond time. He's above time. Does not pay tribute to it. That is God. That is God. That is God. Whatsoever happened in time, the mercy of God can avail for you. Whatsoever had happened in time, whatsoever happened in time, God can do something about it. It's just for you to return. He said, "If My people that are called by My name, they will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, then I too will turn to them and I will heal their land." And that is God. That is God. That is God. That is God. Thank You, Father. Thank You, Father. I just—it just occurred that we should pray for just that one minute. I just wanted us to pray. Just pray. Is there something you must settle? Maybe there is a critical mistake you made at a point. There is some kiss you took, and now you are—ah, aye mi o ba ti d'aju eleyi lo, kani mo se bi eleyi. Ah, ah, ah, aye mi o ba l'ewa j'eleyi lo, kani mo se bayi. Oh, I want you to bring those things to God and say, "God, aye mi si le l'ewa. O si le ni ewa, ewa to ye k'aye mi ni. Aye mi si le ni ewa yen. My life can still be beautiful. It doesn't matter. If yes, I serve a God who transcends time. Who transcends time. Thank You, Father. Thank You, Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. [Speaker 1] Let's pray the grace together. The grace—this message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a quest ministry involved in enriching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission heat. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 PM; adolescents and singles club every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; marriage forum second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; family life seminars, regular school outreaches, and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Very Joy filling station along Idjare road, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you all. Amen.