[Music]

and

we're going to the book of ephesians so

run over to the book of ephesians

to chapter number two and there we're

going to go

into the word of god

when we go into the word of god tonight

i believe that the word of god is going

to do some great things in us

so get ready to be blessed

tonight we're going to be in the second

chapter of the book of ephesians and

i've got my old

trusty faithful worn out raggedy

bible here the pages are all tattered

and torn and i've got notes written all

over them

and uh it looks a mess but

it's my bible and i love it and

uh every now and then i get away from

the ipads and all the other stuff

and just go back to the book just

because i like having it in my hand

i'm going to go to ephesians 2 and it

says and you heavy quicken

who were dead in trespasses and sins

wherein in times past she walked

according to the course of this world

according to the prince of the power of

the heir the spirits that now worketh

in the children of disobedience among

whom also

we all had our conversations in times

past

and the lust of our flesh fulfilling

the desires of the flesh and of the mind

and word by nature the children of wrath

even as others but god who is

rich in mercy for his great love for

with he loved us

even when we were dead in sins hath

quickened us together with christ

by grace ye are saved

and have raised us up together and made

us

sit together in heavenly places in

christ jesus

that in the ages to come he might show

the exceeding riches of his grace

in his kindness toward us through christ

jesus

for by grace are ye saved through faith

and that not of yourselves it is the

gift of god

not a works lest any man should boast

for

we are his workmanship created in christ

jesus

unto good works which god has before

ordained

that we should walk in them so

into reading of the word i read verse 1

through verse 10

but i want to talk about the gift of god

the gift of god

father sanctify the word of god into our

hearts and into our spirits

that we might grow in that we might be

edified in that we might be strengthened

by the word while it is yet being

preached i thank you for what you're

going to do in jesus name amen

now let's get busy

we're in the book of ephesians so we're

writing to the church at ephesus

uh it is written by the apostle paul

it is important for you to understand

that paul

is an orthodox comes from an orthodox

jewish background he's from the tribe of

benjamin

uh he was part of the sanhedrin court he

was

a pharisee he was a law keeper

he was at one time a christian killer

because he saw christianity

as a cult and he tried to destroy it

until he had his encounter

on the road to damascus that changed his

life

they start out ministering to the jew

and then ultimately they start seeing

more impact

amongst the gentiles and little by

little the church

is crossing the line moving from

jerusalem

uh over into the areas where the

gentiles were

like grown uh like other countries and

areas

and like ephesus uh which was

a cosmopolitan city by this time uh

that is filled with all types of people

uh ephesus has been around

for thousands of years but in these last

days

has become extremely cosmopolitan

because it is the gateway

to asia and it stands in between that

and jerusalem

there's a lot of trade because it's at

the coast of the waters

and there's a lot of people coming in

and out of that area

kind of reminds me of being in cape town

you go into cape town and you walk past

one person they're speaking english

and another person is speaking swahili

and another person is speaking

speaking dutch and on and on and on you

get all types of people

uh because it is a cosmopolitan city

means there there is a great deal of

diversity not only in terms of

language and ethnicity but also

theologically

there's a lot of different ideas

that are coexisting in the same city and

paul

labors in ephesus uh to correct the

course theologically

and to evangelize and

prosthetize as much as possible as many

people as he can get converted

over to christianity and finds a very

successful work

there in ephesus and he labors here for

nearly three years

praying and teaching and ministering and

tearing down the idols of the idolatry

and moving them away from the worship of

diana

and other gods and causing them to come

face to face

to an encounter with jesus christ

it is important that you understand that

because for paul who has that kind of

deep

rich jewish history to see these

gentiles filled with the spirit praising

god

in other languages being baptized in his

name

walking in the fullness of the spirit

it's almost shocking

it's it's a gas because their background

wasn't like his background

and sometimes god sends you to people

whose background is quite different from

your own

and him being pious a bit pious still a

bit biased

ah it is shocking for him to see

the exceeding riches of his grace

when paul talks about the exceeding

riches of his grace

he's talking about the lavishness where

with god

overlooks their infidelity to his

way their infidelity to his word

uh their infidelity to truth

uh their polygamous ideologies

their idolatrous ways

uh their promiscuity there were so many

things about them that you would never

think

you would never think that they would be

included in the plan of god

and so in the second chapter uh and i'd

love to go back and get the first

capture but it'll take too long in the

second chapter

he starts out and you heavy quicken the

word quicken

and the king james version is made alive

and you

have he made alive who were

dead in the trespasses of sin it doesn't

mean that they

this is the night of the living dead and

there are all kinds of people walking

around like corpses

but they were spiritually dead you were

dead in

sin what does dead mean anyway in the

bible

death in the bible never means the

cessation of life

death in the bible always means

separation

so whether you're talking about being

physically dead it's when the spirit

separates from the body

being spiritually dead is when our

spirits are separated from god

but one way or the other it is always an

indication

of separation and you have he quickened

made alive

reconnected who were dead separated

in the trespasses of sins and he reminds

him

of their background not because he's

messy not because he's a hater

not because he's trying to bring up

their past but he's trying to bring to

the forefront

the humility with which true worship is

born

true worship is not born just because

god

gives us things true worship is born

when we recognize our unworthiness of

the things that he gives us

and yet he bestows out of his goodness

not our goodness

the many blessings that we receive it

causes us to be grateful

it causes us to be more appreciative it

causes us to be more thankful

it causes us to honor god more readily

because we owe such a debt

there's no question in our mind that we

didn't earn this

this is all about him and not at all

about

us and paul talking to the gentiles no

worries is this any more true

than dealing with them

and i say dealing with them to

contemporarize it dealing with us

he said in times past we all walked

according to the god of this world

all of us he includes everybody i told

you it was cosmopolitan

so there were jews here there were

gentiles there he said but at some point

in life we have

all well i want you i want you to hear

this

so that none escaped i don't want anyone

to escape

we're in in times past she walked

according to the course

of this world according to the prince of

the power of the heir

that's satan the spirit that now worketh

in the children

of disobedience among whom also we all

had our conversations which means

lifestyle

in times past in the lust of our flesh

fulfilling the desires of the flesh and

of the mind

the lust of the flesh the desires of the

flesh

and of the mind and where by nature

were by nature the children of wrath

even as others now today there's a lot

of talk about what's natural and what's

not

not natural sin is natural

to us we are born in sin

we are shapen in iniquity and here lies

a lot of our confusion because we live

in an era today that whatever feels

natural to you you feel licensed to do

it

but in christianity we're going against

natural to spiritual

that's why we have to repent the word

repent metatonia in the greek

is to turn around and go in the other

direction

so in times past we walked according

to our flesh according is a musical term

in harmony whatever flesh wants flesh

gets

whatever comes up in the mind we go

after it we walked according to all of

that

but now in this last day we have we have

made a u-turn

and we're trying to walk after the

spirit

and not after the flesh deeper still

we're trying to walk away from our past

from our history to our destiny

we're trying to resist the gravitational

pull that we all feel to live life

at its lowest point if i jump up in the

air and i fall down to the ground

i will fall to the lowest point

that i am allowed to reach gravity pulls

me

if they drop the floor i'll flo i'll

fall lower

if they move the floor i'll fall to the

basement

because gravitational pulls never stop

until you are at the lowest point i

say that tonight because some of you are

feeling the pull and you're trying to

control how low you go

but you can't control how low you go the

pull is so strong

that without any obstruction there

you'll just keep going lower

and lower and lower and lower until you

find yourself

in the abyss and in the abysmal

condition

of of the depravity of the human spirit

and paul concludes everybody

irregardless to their point of view

their perspective their socioeconomic

level

he includes them all in the same place

and there were different

socio-economic levels in ephesus to be

sure

ephesus was quite a wealthy city so

there were wealthy

people in that city they had a caste

system

that is to say people in a caste system

are comfortable with the people who are

in poverty

staying in poverty and the people who

are wealthy staying wealthy

they believe whatever you were born into

that's what you were to stay into

but paul does not change the rules for

the rich

and have a different rule for the poor

he includes them

all in the same melting pot

of disgusting obnoxious humanity

the stench of our flesh the

lust of our flesh the depravity of our

mind

the creativity whereby we innovate ways

in which

we can fall lower and lower and lower

is natural to man

it is so foolish for us to uh talk to

sinners about living right because

they're they're not living wrong they're

living natural

doing what is natural to them they're

doing exactly what is natural to them

what we as christians are supposed to be

doing

is moving in the other direction toward

the spiritual

that that if we sow to the flesh we will

of the flesh

reap corruption but if we sow to the

spirit

we shall love the spirit reap life but

that is a constant

conscious conscious conscious decision

whereby we fight for every day that's

what the fight is over

the weapons of our warfare the bible

said are not carnal

but mighty the weapons are our warfare

and our carnal economies fleshly

current where we get meat the weapons of

our warfare

are not meaty are not carnal okay

the weapons of our warfare are not

carnal but mighty through god

to the pulling down of strongholds

things that have a strong hold on you

casting down

imaginations and every high thing that

exalted

itself against the knowledge of god and

bringeth every thought

into captivity unto the obedience of

christ

do you do that one time and you finish

absolutely

not you do that on monday

and then you have to pull on tuesday and

then you have to wrestle on wednesday

and you may have to wrestle for lunch

and you may have to wrestle thursday

morning

and friday and saturday and all day

sunday yes even sunday too

the enemy will still be trying to pull

you

down not necessarily into the lust of

the flesh like decadence and sexual

depravity he'll do that too but

depression and fear

and low self-esteem he wants to pull you

down there too

or doubt or arrogance or prejudice

or pride there's always something

pulling you and this one on one hand

you've got

the enemy pulling you to the flesh

and you've got the holy spirit pulling

you closer to christ

and we're caught in the pool when i

would do good

evil is present with me that which i

would not do i do that which i do i do

not owe wretched man that i am

who should deliver me from the body i'm

constantly pull

back and for i find then a law that when

i would do good who

pool okay evil is present with me

all of that is common we don't talk

about it

but it's common we don't tell about it

but it's common

some of us act like we're exempt from it

but the reality is

it is common to me when are we going to

get to the point that we stop being

shocked

this is common to man this is part of

the human experience

it is natural i want i want you to see

that

i want you to see that because i think

that's important just in you getting an

understanding uh he says that

we were by nature the children of

wrath even as others we were by

nature the children of wrath

even as others think about that a minute

when something is natural to you you

don't think it's bad

it's natural to eat you don't think

that's right it's natural to get thirsty

anything that you deem as natural you

don't you don't

think that it's bad so the struggle that

we have

is intense because not only are we

wrestling against

it we are wrestling against the

permission

we give it to become our normative

now to become a christian is to resist

what is normal to you and to go into a

direction like

loving your enemies that's not normal

doing good to them that despitefully use

you that's not normal

a soft answer turneth away wrath that's

not normal

when somebody says something hateful and

nasty to you

it's not normal to want to say oh god

bless you

praise god not for me maybe it is for

you

but according to this bible that's not

normal at all

you want to get them together get them

straight but the bible says

to resist the gravitational pull to go

down the rabbit hole with somebody who

is talking to you

from their nature and to allow the holy

spirit to elevate the conversation

as michelle obama says when they go low

we go high

learning then to go into the opposite

direction

is something that we work on every

day with varying degrees

of success we work on it every day

we have not mastered it we are not

finished we're not complete we are

under construction this is an ongoing

process

now while we understand that and it's

important that we understand that

we must not use this understanding

as a license to lay with the swine

when the prodigal son comes to the hall

pen it is natural

for the pig to be in the mud and to eat

the slop

but it is not natural for him to do that

he has to resist that

so we can't use the fact that

everybody's doing it and

it's calming the man and you cussed me

i'll cuss you right back out and

all of that kind of stuff like that we

can't say well you know the

bible already knew that it was uh our

nature to be like that

that's why he quickened you that's why

he made you alive

that's why he filled you with the spirit

so that you would have an alternative

force

pulling you toward the good that would

reprimand you when you do wrong

that would convict you one of the one of

the greatest signs of being a christian

is not dancing it's not speaking in

tongues the enemy can imitate all of

that

it's not being able to shout and knowing

all the gospel songs the enemy can

outsing everybody it's none of that

conviction

is a sure sign of conversion

write that down conviction is a sure

sign

of conversion when you can do anything

you're big enough to do and you never

get convicted

then i doubt that you were ever

converted because if you're ever

converted it's not that you can't do

wrong but there is a conviction

that makes it stressful when you're in

sin

and some of you listening at me right

now you are absolutely a born-again

christian

your life doesn't reflect it but you're

an absolutely a born-again christian

but you are stressed out and you're

stressed all the time

and the reason you're stressed all the

time is because you are convicted

you can play it off you say i'm okay

but it's coming out in the way you sleep

and the way you eat and the way you

can't sleep

and the way you don't eat or you overeat

or you this is

conviction conviction you're short and

you're snapping with people

you're always justifying yourself always

defending yourself your personality is

disoriented

uh because you're at war

you're at war do you know that people

you're at war

god gave you a gift that put you at war

before he gave you the gift of god

as paul calls it the gift of god you

weren't at war

whatever flesh wanted flesh god no fight

no resistance no pull in the other

direction

but now you're at war because you're

pulled between

two different things all the time and

you're struggling sometimes depending on

when i catch you you might be more

victorious than you are

at other times

because there is a conflict there and

the very fact that there is a conflict

there

creates conviction the conflict

creates conviction

now if the conflict creates conviction

because if there were no conflict there

would be no conviction

there will be neither conflict nor

uh conviction if there were not for

conversion

so we understand conversion what does

conversion mean

conversion means i converted i turned in

the other direction

i'm a convert that's conversion

now when the convert tries to divert

back to his old ways it creates a

conflict because it was

natural but now there's a spirit man in

there

groaning oh

oh you know better than that oh why do

you keep making the same mistake

and so all of that that creates

conviction

and that conviction has a conflict

because i used to like it

it was natural it was all good

nice still feels good

but it also feels bad

because if you have been truly converted

if you want to do a conversion test on

yourself right now

do a conviction test

revival breaks out in the church not

because you got a well-known speaker

and the place is packed in the choir

sings good

revival never occurs where there is no

conviction con revival occurs

when people who have been in conflict

come

running to the altar out of conviction

that's how you know you're in revival

when all of a sudden you say enough is

enough

i'm gonna turn in another direction this

is so true in ephesus because ephesus is

like sodom and gomorrah it's full of

everything it's got all kinds of sin

and all kinds of idolatry all kinds of

murders and killings and

offering up sacrifices and all kinds of

obnoxious things that stink in the

nostrils of god

but god has come in and converted

the people in ephesus now the religious

people

are just shocked and of all that that

these people who have no

background in worshiping jehovah

are now not only worshipping jehovah but

his son

jesus christ in such a way that it is

shocking to the disciples

that they are making more headway

dealing with people with deep dark sin

than they are with those who were

religious and pious

and sanctimonious and keeping the law

and

abstaining from eating meats and washing

their hands and

honoring all the rules that created

piety and self-righteousness

and now god has come along and revival

has fallen

upon some of the filthiest people they

knew

imagine that some of the filthiest

people they knew

were now lifting their hands in the

sanctuary and worshipping god

and paul says god is quicken you

he's brought you back to life again he's

reconciled you back to himself

the breach has been reconnected

everything about salvation has redeemed

restored revived

it's all about connecting the breach

that was broken

do you feel the connection tonight

do you feel connected back to him

tonight

in all likelihood you probably do you

wouldn't be watching this bible class

you either feel it or you want to feel

it or your soul

needs to feel it or you wouldn't be on a

wednesday night watching a bible class

do you feel the connection where you're

connected back to god again

and if you want to test whether you feel

the connection

tell me about the conviction because if

you're feeling conviction

it's a sign of connection

and salvation is a gift

and it has been given to them

but with that gift comes responsibility

like i give you a car but you still need

gas and you still need oil

and you still need a tune-up and you

have to change the tires and rotate them

from time to time

and so forth and so on just because

something is free

doesn't mean that it comes without

responsibility

it is the gift of god jesus christ it's

the gift of god

that has been given to you but with that

gift comes certain

maintenance certain responsibility

certain things that need to be done in

order for you to enjoy it to its fullest

capacity

yeah you can keep going then not change

the oil

not change the tires but eventually

you're going to blow out the end up on

the side of the road with smoke and

engine

because you did not maintain what had

been

given to you

but i am persuaded better things of you

because anybody

who's watching bible class on a

wednesday night

they're doing maintenance

anybody who's shedding tears and saying

god i'm sorry

they're changing oil

anybody who's lifting up their hands and

saying you know what i'm not going to

say what i was going to say

or call who i was going to call or flip

out on who i was going to flip out on

they're doing maintenance on the gift of

god

the person who can do anything they want

to do and still speak in tongues

and still shout and still rejoice and

they never feel

conviction

might not have been converted in the

first place

a sheep and a pig both

potentially can fall in the mud

the pig when he falls in the mud he

wallows

because that's natural to him to be in

the mud he flips over on his back

and he rolls all around and he's not

happy until he's completely muddy

because the mud feels natural to him the

sheep

when he fall into the mud he cried

like the lost sheep from the 99 crying

out

they can both do the same thing but they

have a different reaction to

it because to one of them it's natural

and to the other one there's something

in them that says you're not supposed to

be here

let me talk just a moment to somebody

who's somewhere you're not supposed to

be

i know the feeling i personally know the

feeling i

understand the feeling very well you

don't live this long

and you haven't fallen into the mud and

no matter what you tell yourself and how

you rationalize yourself

how you justify yourself how you blame

other people the

way you were raised and what you went

through when you lost your job whatever

excuse you give

it's still not natural for you

and that's why you feel conflicted

and i'm all for therapy and i'm all for

counseling and i'm all for all that kind

of stuff

but a lot of times we're trying to

counsel away

conviction no matter whose couch you lay

on and

how you were when you got potty trained

and how you felt about your grandmother

and then they take you through all of

that but if you're convicted the easiest

way

to remove the conviction

is to repent and i cry

about i cry about it all the time yeah

but that's not repentance

repentance has nothing to do with tears

repentance has something to do with

turning around

and when you turn around and go in the

other direction

the conviction will ease

i feel like i'm talking to somebody i

don't know who it is

but this is good

paul in verse 3 brings us down to the

admitting that all of us have the same

problem we all have had our

conversations in times

past in the lust of our flesh

fulfilling the desires of the flesh not

just having the desires

but we acted on them and of the mind

the flesh and the mind and whereby

nature

the children of wrath even as others but

god but god

this but is a turning point in verse

four but

god who is rich in mercy

for his great love wherewith he loved us

that's the thing that got us he loved us

he loved us dirty

he loved us wretched he loved us in the

hotel room

he loved us at the casino table he loved

us half drunk

he loved us with the needle in our arm

he loved us in the jail cell

he loved us on the crime scene he loved

us in our chaos

he loved us in the midst of our domestic

violence he does not wait till you get

better to love you

i know that gets on your nerves because

that means that sometimes god loves

people that you don't even like

but god who is rich in mercy for his

great love

wherewith he loved us even when we were

dead

in sins have quickened us together

with christ by grace

are you saved he has quickened us

together

us together with christ now i want to

get into that

us he have quickened

us together with christ this is what

separates

old testament theology from new

testament theology

there was a us and at them

the us were the jews that them

were the gentiles now by the time we get

to the book of

ephesus he have quickened us

together in christ

the jew and the gentile come through the

same door

and become us and not a we and of them

and

us and of them instead we have become

us he have quickened us

together stop right there

he had quickened us do you know how

amazing that statement is

he had quickened us together with people

that the jews didn't even eat with

the woman at the well says you know your

people and our people we don't have any

dealings with each other

she was a samaritan the gentiles

in the bible days to eat with the

gentile you break the plate

and now god has quickened us

together this is good

but god i want you to get this but god

who is rich in mercy

for his great love wherein he have loved

us even when we were dead in sin have

quickened us

together with christ

so read that like have quickened us

together

and then add with christ

by grace you are saved

so all of a sudden people who didn't

speak to each other didn't live with

each other didn't talk to each other

didn't marry

each other didn't even eat with each

other have been made alive

together with christ

and then he says by grace

usa this is just as shocking

to the jew as it is to the gentile

because the jew is used to thinking that

he is saved by keeping the law

and paul says by grace you are saved

later not by works unless any man should

boast by grace you are saying

oh i'm not saved because i didn't take

my mule out

on the farm on saturday no no no he says

by

grace ye are saved

and then he looks at the gentile who has

been involved in orgies and idolatry

and and the murdering of infants and and

all types of debauchery

he says by grace yes

the same grace thrown in both directions

grace to the law keeper grace to the

lawbreaker

by grace you are saved

he brought him to one place and he

brought them together so that the jew is

standing right beside the gentile

saying one thing to god

be the glory to god

be the glory to god

be the glory for the things

he has done

not the things i have done not the

things you have done

but for the things he has done

he has saved me with his arm he has

saved me

and then then he goes deeper this is

good this is good that's good stay with

me

don't go anywhere

verse six is where it really gets good

don't move it's one thing to quicken us

together with christ

and it's another thing in verse six he

he

he now elevates the theology beyond

togetherness and unity and fellowship

in the grace of god he now escalates it

by saying

and anne has raised us

up together he raised us

up together and made

us sit together

in heavenly places in christ jesus

it's one thing to quicken me it's

another thing to raise me

he has raised us up together

and made us sit in heavenly places

in christ jesus

did you know we're seated in heavenly

places

maybe that's why god's got you watching

right now because

all of your prayer is about earthly

places

and maybe god's got you watching tonight

to remind you

that all of this stuff down here you're

not even really here

you are raised up and you're sitting in

heavenly

places in christ jesus

that's why you have peace that passes

all understanding

that's why you have a joy that's

unspeakable

that's why you have the presence of the

holy spirit in your life

eating through the carnality because you

have been raised

up to sit with christ

in heavenly places the jew and the

gentile

together that's us

he have raised us up together

later on he will call us one new man

he has made of the two one new man

twain he has tied us together and made

us

one new man in christchurch the church

is a new thing

it's not quite gentile

and it's not quite jew the church is a

new thing that god has done

if you read ephesians all the way

through this this this will light up

your life

quicken us together in christ jesus by

grace ye are saved this is the gift of

god

god is extending to you a gift

if i give you a gift you don't you don't

have to send a payment

you don't owe me anything for it it is

the gift of god

you may appreciate me for it you may

honor me for it

you may even give me something back but

you could never pay for it

because it was a gift you could never

pay for salvation not with your acts of

kindness

not with your deeds of service not even

with your times and offerings you're not

paying for salvation

when god got ready to pay for salvation

he did it with his son

on the cross who paid for salvation

now i know this is kind of elementary

stuff but we need this elementary

foundational truth has escaped the

church

we don't know who we are we we don't we

don't know who to say amen to

we say amen to everything we say amen to

to christian theology and then in the

same breath

we say man to ancient religions and odd

doctrines

and doctrines of men as long as it's

positive we say amen to it

as long as it sounds good we say amen to

it

we have itching ears anything that

sounds good to our ears we respond to it

it's because

we don't understand the fundamentals

that's why you have to go more than

sunday morning that's why you need

wednesday night bible class

so that you can get firm and

understanding what it means

to be a christian it's not because you

sit on the front row with your legs

cross

it's not because you know all the songs

or that you can dance and grab your back

and shout all over the church no

you shall know the truth and the truth

shall make you free

that's what god is doing for us tonight

isn't it beautiful

isn't it exciting to get a clear

understanding

of what god has done for you

so that you can be more than these

superficial christians who are only

thanking god because of

the christian liberties we're going out

of business and you got them from 50

off glory to god hallelujah i've been

praying about it

i got my shoes really

you think jesus died for you to get some

christian lubricants

or any other kind of shoe i'm not i

don't want to pick on them

i'm not saying you can't work i'm just

saying that jesus didn't die

for you to get stuff

jesus died that you might have eternal

life

and that you might have that life more

abundantly

and we don't get it anymore but it used

to be people was thanking god

because they were saved they were

shouting because they were saved

they were shouting because they were set

free now we get a lot of people shouting

because they closed on their house

or they shouted because they got a new

car and they didn't have to pay anything

down

or they're shouting because they got a

promotion on their job nothing wrong

with being thankful about those sorts of

things i'm not against that

but the biggest thing you ought to be

shouting about is the gift of god

which is salvation

which has been imputed to you

righteousness has been imputed to you

he knew you weren't righteous while you

were yet

in sin god commended his love toward us

the bible said and that while we were

yet sinners

christ died for us he didn't wait till

we got together no no no no no no

to those of you who are saying as soon

as i get together i'm going to be a

christian

i'm going to come in i'm going to be

real i'm not going to be like those

church people that

i'm going to be with no you don't

understand

god commended his love toward us

and that while we were yet sinners

christ

died for us

i want that to sink into your spirit i

want that to get into your heart

because this is the basic understanding

of christianity that every believer

needs to know if we knew this a lot of

the problems

and a lot of the false teachings that

are running amok in the world today

would just go right past us

because it wouldn't pass the sniff test

if we really knew this and and

it's a failure on the leadership

if we don't teach this

the bible said that he did it verse 7

that in the ages to come

he might show the exceeding riches of

his grace

and his kindness toward us through

christ

he did it for the future that in the

ages to come

he could look at us and say see how

gracious i am

i saved her you have no idea what she

did

you have no idea where he came from but

my grace

was stronger than their grit

my grace was so much stronger that it

overcame

even the pull the gravitational pull

that was pulling them down to when i met

him he was suicidal look at him

clapping his hand dancing all over the

church

praising god and rejoicing that in the

ages to come he might

show the exceeding riches of his grace

that's why he did it

that's why he did it to display openly

his ability

to forgive the unforgivable to love the

unlovable

to reach the unreachable

to touch the untouchable

that's what christ did for you

and if i'm talking to somebody tonight

and you've been walking around

now you've been depressed about things

and i admit these are depressing times a

lot's going on

we have a lot of confusion a lot of

chaos a lot of

death a lot of sickness a lot of job

loss a lot of things and you've been

worried about all of that stuff

maybe god brought you up here tonight so

you'd have something to rejoice about

you have something that the stock market

can't take that the 401k can't take that

your boss can't take

that your husband leaving can't take you

have something

that racism can't take that pride can't

take

you have something that's so rich and so

full the witch can't take it the

root worker can't take it the dust sword

can't

can't take it away you have the gift of

god that he has given to you

in your earthen vessel in your human

body

you're walking around with the gift of

god down inside of you

now why is your countenance fall

why is your soul heavy and your head

hanging down

about all this stuff you're gonna leave

anyway

you're gonna leave your house you're

gonna leave your car somebody else gonna

drive it

somebody's gonna be wearing your clothes

i know you don't like to think about it

somebody's gonna be sleeping in your bed

before solo it's only

a matter of time before another family's

gonna be living in that house

are you all upset about that

and given no thought to the preciousness

of the gift that you have in christ

paul is drilling us into the heads

of the church at ephesus so that they

will have a

sound foundation

later he says in the same book or it

might be asked

after my departure grievous wolves will

come in

not sparing the flock of god he knows

that there's going to be false

teachers from among your own self shall

arise false teachers with perverse

teaching

he knows all of that's coming

and because he knows it's coming he

wants to make sure

that he has established him in the faith

strong enough

to withstand the lies we're living in a

time right now

that you can't hardly tell the truth

from a lie

people are just all carried away right

now with anything they read on the

internet they take it they just

run with it get in fights with

it kill people over it shoot people over

it they don't know it's just something

they read

and the only way to defeat the false

is with the truth not with the god

with the truth so paul is attacking them

with truth that they might have an

understanding

that god is proud of how far he brought

you

that god wants to show you off in the

ages to come

to say see that woman right there

look what i did in her life see that

that young man right there that one that

was raised without a father

that one whose mother didn't even want

him see what i did in his life

he should have been a statistic should

have lost his mind

should have had a nervous breakdown

should have thrown in the towel but by

grace by grace

you are saved it is

the gift

of god oh what an amazing gift

i'm almost finished

for we are his workmanship

created in christ jesus we are

his workmanship created in

christ jesus god is working on you

not the bishop god is shaping this and

cutting off that

and sanding his part right here and

meshing these things together

and shaping you out and rounding off

rough edges

and and staining what needs to be

stained and covering what needs to

become

we are his workmanship created

in christ jesus

isn't that amazing isn't that amazing

somewhere you should get a t-shirt and

say made by god

because you are his workmanship

created in crisis and anybody who does a

lot of work on something you want to

show it off

if you cook a good dinner you want to

show it off

if you build a nice house you want to

show it off

if you sit down and you sow a nice skirt

you want to wear it you want to show it

off

you don't make a nice skirt and then

just hang it in the closet

because you want to show off your

workmanship god said you are my

workmanship i've been working on you all

of your life

i was working on you when you didn't

even know i was working on you

i was working on you when you were still

in the clubs and still in the street

and stealing yourself i was working on

you i was working on you through all

those failed relationships and things

that didn't work out

i was working on you showing you over

and over and over and over again

don't fall in that same mud again get up

and now you're finally listening at me

and you're finally growing

and you are his workmanship created

in christ jesus this is good

this is so good i don't know if it's

blessing you but it's blessing me

now he says that he's going to show us

off

in the ages to come in verse 7.

the exceeding riches of his grace

and his kindness toward us through

christ jesus

for by grace are ye saved through faith

and that not of yourselves it is the

gift of god

for by grace are ye saved through faith

and the faith ain't even yours and that

not of yourselves you didn't even

believe

of yourself it is the gift

of god not of works

not of works not of keeping up days

and eating abstaining from meats and all

of the things that went along with the

law

this was shocking to the jews

not of works lest any man should

boast you have

nothing to boast in except jesus christ

for we are his workmanship created in

christ jesus unto

good works which god hath

now check this out this way it gets

really good

which god had before ordained

that we should walk in them

in other words god

pre-ordained it before

and then over time he did it

that we should in the future

be presented

so this is the knee jerk something that

god did off the top of his head

he told jeremiah before i formed thee in

the belly i knew thee

i ordained thee and i had sanctified

thee to be a prophet unto the nations

god has before ordained

before your mama met your grandmama

before your mama met your daddy before

your granddaddy met your grandma

god has before ordained you to come into

the light of who he was

he did it in eternity it showed up in

time

that in the ages to come that's the

future

he could show what he had started before

you got here

look at the plan of god how

consistent it is how long

term it is how he strategized before you

were born

god was planning david when

ruth was still in moab married to

naomi's son who died

god was planning for david he allowed

naomi's son to die and for ruth

to end up going back with her

mother-in-law to bethlehem

so that she would give birth in

bethlehem where jesus would later be

born

to a son named obed

that was a result of a union between her

and boaz

and that obed would grow up in mary and

have a son

named jesse and that jesse would grow up

in murray

and have a son named david

and that all of this would happen out of

bethlehem

so that thousands of years later

he would come to a virgin named mary

and mary would be with child and they

would journey

to bethlehem and be born

in a manger look at how many thousands

of years

god's word is solid and plain and the

problem with us

is we want immediate answers

from a long-term god

we want to understand right now

naomi wanted to understand right then

why did i lose my

son i lost both my

sons in moab

in her entire lifetime she never got a

good clear answer

but in the ages to come

you begin to see that romans 8 28 is

true that

all things work together for the good of

them that love the lord

are you going through something right

now and you wanted answers and it

doesn't seem fair and it doesn't seem

right

and you're upset with god because you

want immediate answers

from a long-term god

be still and trust him

that all things work together for your

good

and they will i want to stop and i want

to pray

for people who are suffering from not

understanding why things didn't go the

way you planned them

and i want you to understand the reason

that things did not go

the way you planned them is because they

went the way god

planned them and god's plans will always

prevail

over your plan i want to take you by the

head

and lead you to the garden of gethsemane

until you surrender your will

to his will and say not my will

but then be done and some of it you're

going to understand

soon but there are some things that you

went through

it's going to be in the ages to come

that you begin to say lord i

thank you that i had to leave moab and

go back to bethlehem

because if that hadn't happened then

this would have happened

and if this hadn't happened then that

wouldn't happen

and if that hadn't happened then this

wouldn't happen

that providence

that providential moving of the holy

spirit

is also a part of the gift of god

now i i don't want to minimize the pain

of uncertainty i don't want to act like

it's easy

to deal with uncertainty i know it's not

easy i know it hurts

i know it's painful i know it's

difficult i know it's tough

that's where you have to believe and you

have to trust

that this is going to work out for your

good

and you just accept the gift

and over time you open it up

and little by little you begin to see

that the steps of a good man

are ordered by the lord and he

delighteth in his way

2020 2019

2020 especially and and and and even

over to 2021 has been

interesting for a lot of us it has been

really really interesting

but none of it has gotten off course

from what god has in mind because even

the things that were wrong and unjust

and unfair

and cruel and painful and difficult will

yet still work together to accomplish

the eternal purpose of god

you have to be a believer

to believe that

you have to submit to believe that

and i want to pray with you now because

we

[Music]

by nature want to know

now but there are some things that we

will only understand then

and until that time comes

you gotta walk through ephesians two

and thank god for what he's already done

how he's quickened you how he's turned

your life around

how he's made you alive how he's

forgiven your sins

and he sets you on a different path of

destiny

and you have to trust him that in the

ages to come

everything you don't understand i grew

up in the baptist church

and we used to say we are tossed and

driven

on the restless sea of time somber skies

and howling tempest

off succeed a bright sunshine but in

that land of perfect day

when the mist has rolled away we will

understand it better

bye

let me pray with you tonight father in

the name of jesus

there are some people right now who

really really want an understanding

and i understand it because i've been

one of them and i may be one again from

time to time

we just want to know what we don't know

we want to see

what we don't see we want to understand

what we don't understand but father

right now give them the grace

to trust you when they can't trace you

to believe on you and to rest in the

fact

that all things are going to work

together for their good

and i pray that right now all over the

world

with hands raised and tears smalling

there will be a surrender to your will

an

abandonment of our spirit of cynicism

and criticism and complaints and

aggravation

and depression and fear and that we

would just lift our hands and surrender

all to you and give you our highest

praise

with grateful hearts that he

that had began a good work

in us shall perform it unto the day of

jesus christ

that is my prayer and i pray it for you

tonight

in the name of jesus christ of nazareth

and every blessed believer

said amen

i hope you've been blessed tonight by

the word of god and that in some way it

may have helped to strengthen you

uh i love the book of ephesians i love

it it's loaded with all kinds of stuff i

could talk about it

all night long but i thought these 10

verses were enough

to leave with you tonight to really

think on to digest

to receive into your spirit to accept

into your life

because for many of us this is

addressing some pretty hard stuff

we've had parents today and children to

die

we've had relationships to fall apart

jobs to collapse and businesses to go

under

we've got people who are walking that

are non-walkers

people who used to love to dance who are

in wheelchairs

and some of the things that you're going

through i'm not making light of them

there

they are difficult

but i also understand

that god has a plan and your belief in

your faith in him

makes all the difference between

church-goers

and believers and you have to decide

tonight

am i going to be just a person who's

still in my old nature

going to church or am i going to be a

born-again

baptized spirit-filled

believer

on the strength of that faith i live

on the strength of that faith i give i

sow into it

i plant my seeds of faith into it

i activate my faith by my actions

i planted to the kingdom of god because

i'm sowing from the visible into the

invisible i'm sowing from the tangible

into the intangible

i'm praying from the physical into the

spiritual

we do it all as unto god

because my problem is over here

but my answer is over there

to all of you who have sown and are

sowing and planting tonight

you you give god your corruptable things

and he gives you his incorruptible

things

and trust me you always get the best

stand of the deal

because whatever god has in store for

you

whatever god is getting ready to do in

your life

it is

the gift of god

just before i close if you do not know

jesus

i don't know how you're making it not

now

with the plagues loose and the curse is

loose

and this uh apocalyptic situation that

we're living in right now

that reminds us of eschatology and tells

us

the time is winding up

this is no time for you to play games

with god if you want him in your life

right now

before we close this bible class tonight

can i pray with you i'd love to get a

note from you

a word from you that says i want to be

saved

i'd love for you to type it right on the

line right now

i want to be saved i'm going to give you

a minute

just say just that mere compression

shakes hell

makes demons tremble makes satan flee

i want to be saved just that mere

confession escapes

the gravitational pull of drugs and

addiction and depression and suicide

and loneliness and emptiness i want to

be safe type it right on the line and

while you do

not only me but everybody watching

tonight is praying for you

there are thousands of people watching

tonight and we are all

praying for you

to be quickened together with christ

and join us and step into the royal

family

and have your sins washed away by the

blood of the lamb

type it out i want to be saved don't

worry about what people think

don't worry about what they said or

who's talking about i type it out right

now

a confession confession is made under

salvation

i want to be saved

hurry up i'm getting ready to pray

step over your doubt and your fear and

you say i'm just going to say it to

myself but i'm not going to say it out

loud no no no no

confess it i want to be saved

and i'm going to pray for you and we're

going to pray for you

and god is going to hear us

and he is going to quicken your life

you remember what that means it's going

to make you alive

because what you've been calling living

is not living at

all father god with a bowed down head

and an

open heart i bring to you

your sons and daughters which you have

before the world began

ordained that they might come to know

you

and some of them are in grave trouble

and others of them have great

success but the success has not brought

the fulfillment

that they needed on the inside some of

them have

lots of things but the inside is empty

as an old empty wagon

i pray in this majestical moment

that you would come into their heart

step into their lives

wash away their sins

and reunite them

like two lovers running toward each

other at a beach

reunite them back into the arms of a

loving god

who's been waiting so long for them to

come home

and it was done and it wasn't even

sunday

on a wednesday night

through a stream

i found the one

i was looking for

in jesus name amen i'm pushing this a

little bit further

just just type that was me i just gotta

say just type it that was me

i just got saved that was me i just gave

my life back to christ that was me

i just re rededicated myself to christ

that was me just say it out loud so your

spirit can hear

faith coming by hearing and hearing by

the word of god just put it out there

that was me that was me that was me

that was me that was me that he did it

for me

he did it in my house my husband and i

just gave our lives to christ

my whole family just just right there

just tell it right now

on the line

that was me he did it for me

what the bishop was preaching about in

ephesians chapter 2

just happened in my living room in my

kitchen

in my bedroom over my cell phone my ipad

my television set

he did it for me it is true

it's not just a story in a book it's an

experience in my heart

thy word have i hear it in my heart

that i might not sin against you

my god i thank you tonight for this

opportunity to share the word of the

lord with you

i hope it blessed you real good i hope

it strengthened you in some way

i hope it encouraged you to hold on to

the lord

i want to invite you to our easter

resurrection service this sunday

it's going to be absolutely amazing you

will not want to miss it

it's an amazing opportunity and to all

of you preachers

teachers thinkers interviewers

uh presenters communicators

all of you who sense the call of god can

i recommend this to you right quick

my new book just it hasn't even come out

yet

but you can pre-order it

barnesandnobles.combooksamillion.com

you can go to amazon.com they'll bring

it right to your house you don't even

have to go nowhere

don't drop the mic pick it up

today i wrote it because we're passing

the mics and generations are passing and

it's going from one to the other

yeah in it i talk about how to get the

most out of the scriptures

how to study how to minister how to work

with different types of crowds

how to keep communicating when you want

to shut up

how the introvert can be an extrovert

how you can communicate more effectively

in spite of your circumstances why is

that important

because with the heart man believeth

but with the mouth confession is made

unto salvation

the power of life and death is in the

tongue and if you're not careful the

enemy will

shut you up

god doesn't answer emojis

he answers prayer

[Music]

don't drop the bike we'll really

heighten your walk with him

so get your copy if you can i hope to

see you on resurrection sunday

have a wonderful evening this evening

and may the grace of god

and the sweet communion of the holy

spirit

rest rule and abide with you

until we get together again i'm bishop

t.d jakes

the senior pastor of the potter's house

i'm so

proud to have had this opportunity

to share god's eternal word

i love this word with you

god bless you have a good night

you