November 6, 2024 • 29 mins
Discover how to truly live God's way in a world that often seems to pull us away from spiritual priorities. Join me as I unpack the wisdom in Ephesians 1:15-23, urging a shift from worldly pursuits to a life rich in faith and love for our fellow believers. What if nurturing our spiritual community could lead to deeper understanding and fulfillment? Embrace the spirit of wisdom and revelation to enhance your connection with God's purpose for you. You'll leave with a fresh perspective on how to align your life with divine intentions, ultimately finding eternal rewards over temporary achievements.
In our exploration, we dissect the concept of the body of Christ, focusing on the distinction between simply attending church and being truly born again. The conversation challenges you to discover and utilize your spiritual gifts actively within your faith community, while also addressing the real obstacles posed by apostates and societal influences that dilute genuine Christian teachings. I emphasize the church's role in supporting both backsliders and baby Christians, fostering growth as we navigate the end times. This episode is a call to action, inviting believers to embody Christ's teachings and support one another in their spiritual journeys.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
B.R.Maul (00:29):
Hello and good day to you.
You are listening to LivingGod's Way in an Ungodly World,
and I am BR Maul.
Thank you so much for joiningme.
It's good to have you here foranother teaching in God's Word.
We are currently in the book ofEphesians, we are in chapter 1,
(00:49):
and I will be reading verses 15to 23.
In verses 13 and 14, paulreminds us that we are sealed by
the Holy Spirit, that the HolySpirit of promise is the
guarantee of our inheritanceuntil the redemption, in other
words, when Jesus Christ comesback to redeem us.
(01:12):
Have a lot to cover, so I'lljump right into it.
Verse 15, therefore, I also,after I heard of your faith in
the Lord Jesus and your love forall the saints, do not cease to
give thanks for you, makingmention of you in my prayers
(01:33):
that the God of our Lord JesusChrist, the Father of glory, may
give to you the spirit ofwisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him, the eyes ofyour understanding being
enlightened that you may knowwhat is the hope of his calling,
what are the riches of theglory of his inheritance in the
(01:53):
saints and what is the exceedinggreatness of his power toward
us who believe according to theworking of his mighty power,
which he worked in Christ whenhe raised him from the dead and
seated him at his right hand inthe heavenly places, far above
all principality and power andmight and dominion and every
(02:17):
name that is named, not only inthis age but also in that which
is to come.
And he put all things under hisfeet 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.
Okay, as usual, I will back upand break this down verse by
(02:41):
verse.
So Paul says.
Therefore, I also, after Iheard of your faith in the Lord
Jesus and your love for all thesaints that's verse 15, 16, do
not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my
prayers.
So, after Paul hears of theirfaith in the Lord Jesus and your
(03:03):
love for all the saints, we arein a time that this becomes all
the more prevalent in a life ofa Christian.
I can't speak for the rest ofthe world, but I can speak for
much of America in this case,because America Christians here
over the decades have fallen forthe ways of the world.
(03:26):
We have set our eyes upon thatwhich the world promises us Now.
I love America.
It is a wonderful nation.
The Lord, without a doubt,blessed the United States in its
birth, but over time whathappened is even the Christians
(03:47):
began to buy into the Americandream and the American dream
became something far less than arelationship with God as it
became more engulfed in thethings of this world having
success in this world, thethings of this world having
(04:08):
success in this world.
America is a place where thatcan be done and ultimately, I
feel everybody in the worlddeserves that chance that with
one's own efforts, with sweatand perseverance, that one
should be able to feed theirfamily, make for a healthy home,
maybe a business, or go on toeducation for a profession.
(04:30):
And even though we're seeing alot of this fade away in America
, I firmly believe there'sreasons for that beloved,
because as Christians, god'speople, over the decades we have
become less interested inloving the saints, our brothers
and sisters in the faith, and wehave become more preoccupied
(04:52):
with loving ourself, so much sothat we have even taken our eyes
off of love of country, takingfor granted the blood that has
been spilled before us for ourfreedoms.
And with that comes negligenceas we focus on our own success,
our own comforts, our ownretirement, none of which is
(05:16):
biblical.
Paul says that, after hearingof their faith in the Lord Jesus
and their love for all thesaints, that he does not cease
to give thanks for them, makingmention of them in his prayers.
The love of the saints, thelove of our brothers and sisters
in the faith.
I am calling on all my brothersand sisters to drop the dreams
(05:39):
of this world, whether you're inAmerica or not, to stop
spending the time that God hasgiven you here to do his work
for his kingdom, and our rewardswill be in heaven.
Our rewards will be in eternity.
We are to do the work now.
Here is not the place, now isnot the time to be building
(06:02):
stuff up, because that is justin this world, and remember,
this world in the end burns.
This isn't the world we'll beeven living in in eternity.
There will be a new heaven anda new earth.
Verse 17,.
(06:33):
Now, that's lowercase s.
That's not the Holy Spirit.
This letter is written to thesaints, so these are born-again
believers.
To be a saint is to be afollower of Jesus.
To be a follower of Jesus, onemust be born again.
Not my words, it's the words ofJesus Christ himself, so the
(06:54):
gift of the spirit of wisdom andrevelation in the knowledge of
him.
This is talking about knowinghim, knowing what God says,
knowing what our Lord wants usto do as saints, as his children
In my teachings.
That's why I talk much aboutthis, that reading God's word
(07:16):
each and every day is soimportant, for this very reason.
This is how we grow in theknowledge of him, of our Lord,
of our God.
Verse 18, the eyes of yourunderstanding being enlightened,
To actually have our eyesopened to the truth, to God's
(07:37):
word.
As God's children, as believers, it is important that we, of
course, don't know Jesus byknowledge only, but in our heart
I have seen over the years thatit is quite easy for someone to
be born again, but then stopright there, as if that's it.
Now that you are born again,there's nothing more to do, just
(08:00):
live your life here and waitfor death, and that way you can
enter eternity.
That certainly will happen ifyou're born again, even if you
do nothing after that.
But that isn't the way it isset up.
Here we are being told that weneed to know him, and to know
him is to follow him and to dowhat it is he tells us to do to
(08:22):
walk in the paths ofrighteousness, to follow his
ways.
I'm reading here thatunderstanding kardia can also be
translated heart, so thisincludes intellect, emotions and
will.
The heart is the channel throughwhich God imparts the truth
about his son.
This is an understanding thatunbelievers don't have.
(08:45):
It's impossible.
We must have the Holy Spirit inus to be able to have this
understanding, and that isavailable to you as a born-again
believer.
The Holy Spirit dwells in youso that you have direct access
to this knowledge, to thisunderstanding.
With that said, you must accessit.
(09:07):
In Proverbs, we're told over andover that wisdom is something
that you obtain, that you seek,that you look for, and that you
will find it.
If you seek it and then youmake it a part of who you are,
it goes into your heart, it goesinto your very being, into your
very existence.
Until you start to talk likeJesus, you start to live like
(09:30):
Jesus, like the very God whowalked this earth for 33 years
Continuing in verse 18, that youmay know what is the hope of
his calling, what are the richesof the glory of his inheritance
in the saints I really love inverse 18 when it says we are
God's inheritance.
How special is that beloved?
(10:16):
Think for just a couple ofmoments here, the very fact that
God, who has created everything, wasn't satisfied with just the
stars and the moon and the sun,just the stars and the moon and
the sun, all the beauty that wesee on earth itself.
He wasn't satisfied with that.
He refers to his saints, hischildren, as his inheritance.
(10:36):
What a privilege, what an honorto be that Now.
This, by the way, does away withthe teachings that everybody is
God's children, because herePaul has been referring to the
saints, and the saints are hisinheritance.
God wants everybody to be inhis family.
He wills that nobody be in hell.
(10:59):
But God has designed love thatit must be given to somebody.
The love that we have, we getto choose.
Do I want to give it, or maybeI should say keep it for myself
and love myself and live formyself in this life, or am I
going to love God?
(11:20):
Am I going to love his son,jesus Christ, giving my life to
him here and now, being aservant of God, knowing that the
treasures are in heaven, nothere.
There's no promise that becauseyou are born again, that you are
following God, that you aregoing to be free from disease,
(11:41):
that you're going to be freefrom pain and misery?
Perhaps loneliness that you'regoing to be free from pain and
misery?
Perhaps loneliness that you'regoing to be free from violence,
as this world continues to hateChristians more and more?
None of that.
And since, on this side ofeternity, the work needs to be
done, there are people out therethat still do not know who
(12:03):
Jesus is.
They don't know the gospelmessage, and in the meantime,
there have been many who havebeen deceived by giving false
gospels, false doctrine.
So we give up our treasure, ourtime and our talents, here and
now, knowing that none of thatbelongs to us, that these are
(12:24):
mere tools that we use to do thewill of God.
We, the saints, are God'sinheritance.
That's beautiful, absolutelybeautiful.
Verse 20, which he worked inChrist when he raised him from
the dead and seated him at hisright hand in the heavenly
(12:45):
places, far above allprincipality and power and might
and dominion and every namethat is named, not only in this
age but also in that which is tocome.
Well, there's quite a bit inthose two verses.
He raised him.
So God, the Father raised him,jesus, from the dead and seated
(13:07):
him, jesus, at God the Father'sright hand in the heavenly
places.
Think about this that he didn'traise Jesus spiritually, he
raised him bodily from the dead.
He overcame death and so Jesusis seated right now, at this
very moment, at the right handof God the Father, in his
(13:31):
physical body.
It's his glorified body becausehe's been raised from the dead,
but it's still a physical body.
We know that because when Jesusappeared to the apostles after
his resurrection, they couldtouch him, they could hug him,
they could touch his wounds,that Jesus decided to keep the
(13:51):
holes in his hands and the holesin his feet and the hole in the
side where the spear hadentered him, and I'm grateful
for that because it will be aconstant reminder in eternity
what he has done for me.
But it's a physical body, so inbodily form, and that physical
(14:12):
form is, far above all,principality and power and might
and dominion and every namethat is named, not only in this
age but also in that which is tocome.
Interesting thought Right nowwe are currently in the church
age, this is the age thatfollows the cross, but it's
(14:34):
really interesting, I think,when we're reminded also in that
which is to come, the age whichis to come, and then verses 22
and 23,.
And he put all things under hisfeet.
So God, the Father, put allthings under the feet of Christ
and gave him to be head.
So gave Jesus to be head overall things to the church, which
(14:58):
is his body, the fullness of him, who fills all in all.
So now, during this time, whenwe're still in this church age
and we act as his body, the bodyof Christ.
Now, the body of Christ isn'teverybody who attends church.
Everybody who attends a churchare considered church goers, but
(15:20):
everybody who is born again isconsidered the body of Christ
and that's why we have brothersand sisters around the world
Beloved.
If you're born again, you arepart of a very large family and
you have been given spiritualgifts, and those spiritual gifts
you are to be using in the bodyof Christ.
(15:43):
That's why you have been giventhose gifts and I've learned
that the way to discover thosegifts is to participate in the
body of Christ.
Do stuff.
You're not going to learn whatyour gifts are in the body of
Christ by just sitting there andreading books all day.
You certainly need to readGod's word.
(16:05):
But even that, now you knowabout the spiritual gifts and
you know the will of God as youread his word Very important.
But then you need to put thatknowledge and that wisdom to
practice and as you participatein the body of Christ, those
gifts will be manifest, they'llbe revealed to you and to others
(16:29):
.
In fact, going to church andbeing with brothers and sisters
is a great way for others tosometimes see what your gift is
before you even know it.
So if you're not sure, ifyou're thinking well, I just
don't know what the Lord wantsme to do in the body of Christ.
We'll start asking otherbelievers, because often we can
(16:51):
see what other people bring tothe body of Christ.
Now think about that for awhile.
The body of Christ.
What does that look like?
Well, in part it's when wegather at a church.
That's one way that can bedifficult in days like we live
in today, where deception isgreat.
(17:13):
We are living in the day andage, as we get closer and closer
to the day, the coming of theLord, that evil is working
overtime, and so there are manywho are apostates, who are going
to church, who are church goers.
They're not born again.
They are not children of God,but they look like children of
God.
(17:34):
They act pretty close to thechildren of God, but they don't
have access to the Holy Spirit.
But with such an abundance ofapostates among those who are
the body of Christ, it sometimesis difficult to see what a
person is to do.
One example that comes to mind,where the body of the church
(17:56):
isn't the same thing as the bodyof Christ, and the reason for
that is because you have peoplewho are apostates, who are not
believers, who are not bornagain but they act like it, that
are on the board of eldership,and some of them are leading the
way in certain programs goingon in the church.
And there's even the pastorsthemselves who are apostate, who
(18:21):
are not born again, who areeven reading God's word and
teaching God's word.
A scary thought, but thathappens, and these days,
unfortunately, it's happeningquite a bit.
More and more churches arefalling to the ways of the world
.
In order to please the world,to blend into the world Under
(18:43):
the cowardice act them sayingwell, we need to bring people in
so these who are sinning willaccept them for who they are,
for what they're doing, just theway they are, so we can get
them into the walls of thechurch.
Well, in theory that would benice, but unfortunately it's not
working at all, because that'swhere it ends.
(19:03):
They do things to entice thosewho are sinning to come into the
church, but then they don't doanything else about it.
So now we have churches thatare full of people who are not
born again and who are notcontributing to the body of
Christ.
I'll be speaking more aboutthat in coming weeks because, as
we are so close, getting closerand closer to the end time, it
(19:27):
is time for Christians, it istime for God's children, god's
church, not man's church, butGod's church, the body of Christ
, to step up and help those whoare apostate and also those
fair-weather saints.
Fair-weather saints are babyChristians, not newly born again
(19:49):
.
No, not newborn Christians,someone who's recently has been
born again into the family ofGod, so it's got nothing to do
with age.
A newborn Christian can be 60years old, but a baby Christian
is somebody who was born againsome time ago and are still
where they're at when they werefirst born.
(20:10):
They've made no progress.
The other fair-weather saint arebacksliders, those who may be
seasoned Christians but becauseof perhaps a major event in
their life, such as the death ofa loved one, a terminal illness
, losing their way of lifebecause perhaps losing a job or
(20:30):
profession, a business, whateverit might be.
It's different for everybackslider, and every Christian,
by the way, is capable ofbacksliding.
You don't lose your salvation Idon't have time to get into
that.
You do not lose your salvation,beloved, if you are backsliding
, but you are missing out on theblessings that your Heavenly
(20:53):
Father wants you to have on thisside of the grave, because he
will not turn his back on you.
If you are backsliding, youhave turned your back on him.
But fair-weather saints, theytoo, in the body of Christ, are
the ones who are just notcontributing.
They're born again.
But as for baby Christians,they don't know what to do,
(21:15):
maybe because of lack ofleadership, or they themselves.
They were all gung-ho about itand then they didn't see some
major change they wanted, and sothey're just kind of hanging
around.
But backsliders and babyChristians with love and
understanding, with theirbrothers and sisters in the
faith, coming to them andguiding them, offering a hand
(21:39):
and, for the baby Christians, ahand to walk them through what
it is to be a Christian, gettingthem to read God's Word,
getting them to participate insmall groups, getting them to
participate in small groups,getting them to get to the
church and to worship the Lord.
This stuff isn't things that wedo to get into heaven.
No, because as Christians wealready understand that it is
(22:02):
the blood of Christ that gets usinto heaven.
But as Christians, we are sothankful for the very fact that
Jesus paid our sin debt that wedon't have that price anymore to
pay.
We are so grateful that we wantto serve Jesus, we want to be a
participant in the family ofGod, and so I encourage you this
(22:23):
day.
If you fall into that categoryof a baby Christian, somebody
who was born again years ago,but yet you have not progressed
in your walk.
You are still, as Paul put it,still taking in just the milk of
God's Word.
You are unable to eat and chewthe meat of God's Word.
There are deep truths in therethat every Christian needs to
(22:45):
learn and apply to their life.
As baby Christians.
It's time to get away from just.
Jesus loves me.
This I know, for the Bibletells me so.
Jesus is love, love, love.
Yes, he is love.
Yes, jesus loves you so and yes, the Bible does tell you so,
but he's also righteous and hehas jobs for you to do, and
(23:09):
those jobs mean giving up thingsof this life.
So find yourself some seasonedChristians, those who have been
walking with the Lord for sometime, who are strong in their
faith to walk alongside ProverbsI believe it's in Proverbs 13,.
He who walks with wise menshall be wise, yes, well then,
(23:31):
walk with those Christians whoare wise, who are deep into
God's word.
It is a part of who they are.
As for backsliders, beloved, ifyou are backsliding, bless your
little heart for whatever hurtit is that you have.
But it is time to get over thathurt.
It is time to look to yourheavenly father, look him in the
(23:54):
eyes and actually let him knowwhat it is that is ailing you,
that is hurting you so much, andturn back.
Walk with him, get back on thepath of righteousness, get back
on the path where he can blessyour comings and goings in life.
Leave whatever it is that haspulled you away from your
(24:17):
heavenly father.
Take the hand of a seasonedChristian, somebody who they
themselves are currently.
Their walk with the Lord isstrong and they have the
strength to help carry yourburden with you because we are
told to do that for one another,and a brother and a sister in
the faith who understand thiswill be quick to help.
(24:39):
They'll want to glorify JesusChrist by helping a hurting
brother or sister.
And if you don't know JesusChrist, if you are not born
again, if you are not in thefamily of God, which means you
are not part of the body ofChrist but you would like to
take this very moment and turnto God, and you do that by
(25:01):
praying to him.
There's no magic prayer.
It comes from the heart.
We are told that with the mouthone confesses the Lord Jesus.
So by merely confessing that heis your Lord and by confessing
that you are a sinner, that youare broken, and knowing that in
your heart, that Jesus livedthat perfect life, that he was
(25:22):
sinless, that he is the Lamb ofGod who takes away the sin of
the world, and claim him as yourSavior and Lord, and know in
your heart that God, the Father,raised him from the dead and
you will be saved.
Right now, just ask him andturn from your sin.
(25:43):
Admit that you can't do it onyour own because you cannot, and
once you have asked him intoyour heart.
Well then, you're born againand it's important that you get
in touch with brothers andsisters in the faith.
Open God's word and read it anddon't stop.
Read it every day.
You know it was about 20 yearsago, now over 20 years.
(26:07):
At this point I believe thatthe Lord convicted me and I have
been reading his word eversince.
But when I first startedreading it was 10, 15 minutes
some nights, because some of thestuff I read I didn't get it.
It was hard for me even prayingon it.
Now I look back and I can admitquite easily it's because of my
(26:28):
own distractions of this world.
I had all these televisionshows I wanted to watch.
I had all these other plans ofmine of this world that was
getting in the way.
So at that time I was trying tofit in the walk with the Lord
in my life.
But hopefully you can save sometime by this advice.
(26:49):
When you are born again, it'snot your life anymore and be
thankful for that.
That's a beautiful thing,because then you are redeemed.
You will not have to pay thatprice in all eternity of death,
because Jesus paid that price.
But it does mean start throwingstuff away in this life.
If you don't have time to readGod's word every day, beloved,
(27:13):
that means you got too much ofyourself going on.
Chuck it, make time.
A person doesn't need near asmuch money as you think to
survive because the Lord willprovide Pray to him every day.
Get together with brothers andsisters in a small group, a
small gathering or evenone-on-one mentoring.
(27:35):
If you are blessed to find abrother or sister in the faith
who is willing to mentor you, tospend regular time with you, to
walk with you, to help you getthrough the ins and outs of this
life as a Christian, well, takeit, take it, take it, take it.
Now.
I can't mentor everybody wholistens to this program.
(27:59):
I sure wish I could.
This is the best I can do isteach with this podcast.
So I invite you to come back.
Lord willing, I'll be backagain next week and I'll just
keep teaching.
You're welcome to get a hold ofme on my website, brmaul,
that's B-R-M-A-U-L dot com.
Click on contact if you haveany questions, things that
(28:21):
you're struggling with or thingsthat you don't understand in
God's Word, or just something inyour walk in life.
If you don't have a pastor whois a Bible believing Christian,
an adopted son of God, that iswell get a hold of me.
The Lord has put it on my heartto help all those that I can,
(28:42):
in any way that I can, and I'mgrateful to do it.
Beloved, I care for you.
I love you very much, I reallydo so.
Blessings to you and your lovedones.
May the Lord make his faceshine upon you and be gracious
unto you.
May the Lord lift up hiscountenance upon you, beloved,
(29:03):
and bring you peace.
And until next time, god bless,thank you.
Hello and good day to you.
You are listening to LivingGod's Way in an Ungodly World,
and I am BR Maul.
Thank you so much for joiningme.
It's good to have you here foranother teaching in God's Word.
We are currently in the book ofEphesians, we are in chapter 1,
(00:49):
and I will be reading verses 15to 23.
In verses 13 and 14, paulreminds us that we are sealed by
the Holy Spirit, that the HolySpirit of promise is the
guarantee of our inheritanceuntil the redemption, in other
words, when Jesus Christ comesback to redeem us.
(01:12):
Have a lot to cover, so I'lljump right into it.
Verse 15, therefore, I also,after I heard of your faith in
the Lord Jesus and your love forall the saints, do not cease to
give thanks for you, makingmention of you in my prayers
(01:33):
that the God of our Lord JesusChrist, the Father of glory, may
give to you the spirit ofwisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him, the eyes ofyour understanding being
enlightened that you may knowwhat is the hope of his calling,
what are the riches of theglory of his inheritance in the
(01:53):
saints and what is the exceedinggreatness of his power toward
us who believe according to theworking of his mighty power,
which he worked in Christ whenhe raised him from the dead and
seated him at his right hand inthe heavenly places, far above
all principality and power andmight and dominion and every
(02:17):
name that is named, not only inthis age but also in that which
is to come.
And he put all things under hisfeet 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.
Okay, as usual, I will back upand break this down verse by
(02:41):
verse.
So Paul says.
Therefore, I also, after Iheard of your faith in the Lord
Jesus and your love for all thesaints that's verse 15, 16, do
not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my
prayers.
So, after Paul hears of theirfaith in the Lord Jesus and your
(03:03):
love for all the saints, we arein a time that this becomes all
the more prevalent in a life ofa Christian.
I can't speak for the rest ofthe world, but I can speak for
much of America in this case,because America Christians here
over the decades have fallen forthe ways of the world.
(03:26):
We have set our eyes upon thatwhich the world promises us Now.
I love America.
It is a wonderful nation.
The Lord, without a doubt,blessed the United States in its
birth, but over time whathappened is even the Christians
(03:47):
began to buy into the Americandream and the American dream
became something far less than arelationship with God as it
became more engulfed in thethings of this world having
success in this world, thethings of this world having
(04:08):
success in this world.
America is a place where thatcan be done and ultimately, I
feel everybody in the worlddeserves that chance that with
one's own efforts, with sweatand perseverance, that one
should be able to feed theirfamily, make for a healthy home,
maybe a business, or go on toeducation for a profession.
(04:30):
And even though we're seeing alot of this fade away in America
, I firmly believe there'sreasons for that beloved,
because as Christians, god'speople, over the decades we have
become less interested inloving the saints, our brothers
and sisters in the faith, and wehave become more preoccupied
(04:52):
with loving ourself, so much sothat we have even taken our eyes
off of love of country, takingfor granted the blood that has
been spilled before us for ourfreedoms.
And with that comes negligenceas we focus on our own success,
our own comforts, our ownretirement, none of which is
(05:16):
biblical.
Paul says that, after hearingof their faith in the Lord Jesus
and their love for all thesaints, that he does not cease
to give thanks for them, makingmention of them in his prayers.
The love of the saints, thelove of our brothers and sisters
in the faith.
I am calling on all my brothersand sisters to drop the dreams
(05:39):
of this world, whether you're inAmerica or not, to stop
spending the time that God hasgiven you here to do his work
for his kingdom, and our rewardswill be in heaven.
Our rewards will be in eternity.
We are to do the work now.
Here is not the place, now isnot the time to be building
(06:02):
stuff up, because that is justin this world, and remember,
this world in the end burns.
This isn't the world we'll beeven living in in eternity.
There will be a new heaven anda new earth.
Verse 17,.
(06:33):
Now, that's lowercase s.
That's not the Holy Spirit.
This letter is written to thesaints, so these are born-again
believers.
To be a saint is to be afollower of Jesus.
To be a follower of Jesus, onemust be born again.
Not my words, it's the words ofJesus Christ himself, so the
(06:54):
gift of the spirit of wisdom andrevelation in the knowledge of
him.
This is talking about knowinghim, knowing what God says,
knowing what our Lord wants usto do as saints, as his children
In my teachings.
That's why I talk much aboutthis, that reading God's word
(07:16):
each and every day is soimportant, for this very reason.
This is how we grow in theknowledge of him, of our Lord,
of our God.
Verse 18, the eyes of yourunderstanding being enlightened,
To actually have our eyesopened to the truth, to God's
(07:37):
word.
As God's children, as believers, it is important that we, of
course, don't know Jesus byknowledge only, but in our heart
I have seen over the years thatit is quite easy for someone to
be born again, but then stopright there, as if that's it.
Now that you are born again,there's nothing more to do, just
(08:00):
live your life here and waitfor death, and that way you can
enter eternity.
That certainly will happen ifyou're born again, even if you
do nothing after that.
But that isn't the way it isset up.
Here we are being told that weneed to know him, and to know
him is to follow him and to dowhat it is he tells us to do to
(08:22):
walk in the paths ofrighteousness, to follow his
ways.
I'm reading here thatunderstanding kardia can also be
translated heart, so thisincludes intellect, emotions and
will.
The heart is the channel throughwhich God imparts the truth
about his son.
This is an understanding thatunbelievers don't have.
(08:45):
It's impossible.
We must have the Holy Spirit inus to be able to have this
understanding, and that isavailable to you as a born-again
believer.
The Holy Spirit dwells in youso that you have direct access
to this knowledge, to thisunderstanding.
With that said, you must accessit.
(09:07):
In Proverbs, we're told over andover that wisdom is something
that you obtain, that you seek,that you look for, and that you
will find it.
If you seek it and then youmake it a part of who you are,
it goes into your heart, it goesinto your very being, into your
very existence.
Until you start to talk likeJesus, you start to live like
(09:30):
Jesus, like the very God whowalked this earth for 33 years
Continuing in verse 18, that youmay know what is the hope of
his calling, what are the richesof the glory of his inheritance
in the saints I really love inverse 18 when it says we are
God's inheritance.
How special is that beloved?
(10:16):
Think for just a couple ofmoments here, the very fact that
God, who has created everything, wasn't satisfied with just the
stars and the moon and the sun,just the stars and the moon and
the sun, all the beauty that wesee on earth itself.
He wasn't satisfied with that.
He refers to his saints, hischildren, as his inheritance.
(10:36):
What a privilege, what an honorto be that Now.
This, by the way, does away withthe teachings that everybody is
God's children, because herePaul has been referring to the
saints, and the saints are hisinheritance.
God wants everybody to be inhis family.
He wills that nobody be in hell.
(10:59):
But God has designed love thatit must be given to somebody.
The love that we have, we getto choose.
Do I want to give it, or maybeI should say keep it for myself
and love myself and live formyself in this life, or am I
going to love God?
(11:20):
Am I going to love his son,jesus Christ, giving my life to
him here and now, being aservant of God, knowing that the
treasures are in heaven, nothere.
There's no promise that becauseyou are born again, that you are
following God, that you aregoing to be free from disease,
(11:41):
that you're going to be freefrom pain and misery?
Perhaps loneliness that you'regoing to be free from pain and
misery?
Perhaps loneliness that you'regoing to be free from violence,
as this world continues to hateChristians more and more?
None of that.
And since, on this side ofeternity, the work needs to be
done, there are people out therethat still do not know who
(12:03):
Jesus is.
They don't know the gospelmessage, and in the meantime,
there have been many who havebeen deceived by giving false
gospels, false doctrine.
So we give up our treasure, ourtime and our talents, here and
now, knowing that none of thatbelongs to us, that these are
(12:24):
mere tools that we use to do thewill of God.
We, the saints, are God'sinheritance.
That's beautiful, absolutelybeautiful.
Verse 20, which he worked inChrist when he raised him from
the dead and seated him at hisright hand in the heavenly
(12:45):
places, far above allprincipality and power and might
and dominion and every namethat is named, not only in this
age but also in that which is tocome.
Well, there's quite a bit inthose two verses.
He raised him.
So God, the Father raised him,jesus, from the dead and seated
(13:07):
him, jesus, at God the Father'sright hand in the heavenly
places.
Think about this that he didn'traise Jesus spiritually, he
raised him bodily from the dead.
He overcame death and so Jesusis seated right now, at this
very moment, at the right handof God the Father, in his
(13:31):
physical body.
It's his glorified body becausehe's been raised from the dead,
but it's still a physical body.
We know that because when Jesusappeared to the apostles after
his resurrection, they couldtouch him, they could hug him,
they could touch his wounds,that Jesus decided to keep the
(13:51):
holes in his hands and the holesin his feet and the hole in the
side where the spear hadentered him, and I'm grateful
for that because it will be aconstant reminder in eternity
what he has done for me.
But it's a physical body, so inbodily form, and that physical
(14:12):
form is, far above all,principality and power and might
and dominion and every namethat is named, not only in this
age but also in that which is tocome.
Interesting thought Right nowwe are currently in the church
age, this is the age thatfollows the cross, but it's
(14:34):
really interesting, I think,when we're reminded also in that
which is to come, the age whichis to come, and then verses 22
and 23,.
And he put all things under hisfeet.
So God, the Father, put allthings under the feet of Christ
and gave him to be head.
So gave Jesus to be head overall things to the church, which
(14:58):
is his body, the fullness of him, who fills all in all.
So now, during this time, whenwe're still in this church age
and we act as his body, the bodyof Christ.
Now, the body of Christ isn'teverybody who attends church.
Everybody who attends a churchare considered church goers, but
(15:20):
everybody who is born again isconsidered the body of Christ
and that's why we have brothersand sisters around the world
Beloved.
If you're born again, you arepart of a very large family and
you have been given spiritualgifts, and those spiritual gifts
you are to be using in the bodyof Christ.
(15:43):
That's why you have been giventhose gifts and I've learned
that the way to discover thosegifts is to participate in the
body of Christ.
Do stuff.
You're not going to learn whatyour gifts are in the body of
Christ by just sitting there andreading books all day.
You certainly need to readGod's word.
(16:05):
But even that, now you knowabout the spiritual gifts and
you know the will of God as youread his word Very important.
But then you need to put thatknowledge and that wisdom to
practice and as you participatein the body of Christ, those
gifts will be manifest, they'llbe revealed to you and to others
(16:29):
.
In fact, going to church andbeing with brothers and sisters
is a great way for others tosometimes see what your gift is
before you even know it.
So if you're not sure, ifyou're thinking well, I just
don't know what the Lord wantsme to do in the body of Christ.
We'll start asking otherbelievers, because often we can
(16:51):
see what other people bring tothe body of Christ.
Now think about that for awhile.
The body of Christ.
What does that look like?
Well, in part it's when wegather at a church.
That's one way that can bedifficult in days like we live
in today, where deception isgreat.
(17:13):
We are living in the day andage, as we get closer and closer
to the day, the coming of theLord, that evil is working
overtime, and so there are manywho are apostates, who are going
to church, who are church goers.
They're not born again.
They are not children of God,but they look like children of
God.
(17:34):
They act pretty close to thechildren of God, but they don't
have access to the Holy Spirit.
But with such an abundance ofapostates among those who are
the body of Christ, it sometimesis difficult to see what a
person is to do.
One example that comes to mind,where the body of the church
(17:56):
isn't the same thing as the bodyof Christ, and the reason for
that is because you have peoplewho are apostates, who are not
believers, who are not bornagain but they act like it, that
are on the board of eldership,and some of them are leading the
way in certain programs goingon in the church.
And there's even the pastorsthemselves who are apostate, who
(18:21):
are not born again, who areeven reading God's word and
teaching God's word.
A scary thought, but thathappens, and these days,
unfortunately, it's happeningquite a bit.
More and more churches arefalling to the ways of the world
.
In order to please the world,to blend into the world Under
(18:43):
the cowardice act them sayingwell, we need to bring people in
so these who are sinning willaccept them for who they are,
for what they're doing, just theway they are, so we can get
them into the walls of thechurch.
Well, in theory that would benice, but unfortunately it's not
working at all, because that'swhere it ends.
(19:03):
They do things to entice thosewho are sinning to come into the
church, but then they don't doanything else about it.
So now we have churches thatare full of people who are not
born again and who are notcontributing to the body of
Christ.
I'll be speaking more aboutthat in coming weeks because, as
we are so close, getting closerand closer to the end time, it
(19:27):
is time for Christians, it istime for God's children, god's
church, not man's church, butGod's church, the body of Christ
, to step up and help those whoare apostate and also those
fair-weather saints.
Fair-weather saints are babyChristians, not newly born again
(19:49):
.
No, not newborn Christians,someone who's recently has been
born again into the family ofGod, so it's got nothing to do
with age.
A newborn Christian can be 60years old, but a baby Christian
is somebody who was born againsome time ago and are still
where they're at when they werefirst born.
(20:10):
They've made no progress.
The other fair-weather saint arebacksliders, those who may be
seasoned Christians but becauseof perhaps a major event in
their life, such as the death ofa loved one, a terminal illness
, losing their way of lifebecause perhaps losing a job or
(20:30):
profession, a business, whateverit might be.
It's different for everybackslider, and every Christian,
by the way, is capable ofbacksliding.
You don't lose your salvation Idon't have time to get into
that.
You do not lose your salvation,beloved, if you are backsliding
, but you are missing out on theblessings that your Heavenly
(20:53):
Father wants you to have on thisside of the grave, because he
will not turn his back on you.
If you are backsliding, youhave turned your back on him.
But fair-weather saints, theytoo, in the body of Christ, are
the ones who are just notcontributing.
They're born again.
But as for baby Christians,they don't know what to do,
(21:15):
maybe because of lack ofleadership, or they themselves.
They were all gung-ho about itand then they didn't see some
major change they wanted, and sothey're just kind of hanging
around.
But backsliders and babyChristians with love and
understanding, with theirbrothers and sisters in the
faith, coming to them andguiding them, offering a hand
(21:39):
and, for the baby Christians, ahand to walk them through what
it is to be a Christian, gettingthem to read God's Word,
getting them to participate insmall groups, getting them to
participate in small groups,getting them to get to the
church and to worship the Lord.
This stuff isn't things that wedo to get into heaven.
No, because as Christians wealready understand that it is
(22:02):
the blood of Christ that gets usinto heaven.
But as Christians, we are sothankful for the very fact that
Jesus paid our sin debt that wedon't have that price anymore to
pay.
We are so grateful that we wantto serve Jesus, we want to be a
participant in the family ofGod, and so I encourage you this
(22:23):
day.
If you fall into that categoryof a baby Christian, somebody
who was born again years ago,but yet you have not progressed
in your walk.
You are still, as Paul put it,still taking in just the milk of
God's Word.
You are unable to eat and chewthe meat of God's Word.
There are deep truths in therethat every Christian needs to
(22:45):
learn and apply to their life.
As baby Christians.
It's time to get away from just.
Jesus loves me.
This I know, for the Bibletells me so.
Jesus is love, love, love.
Yes, he is love.
Yes, jesus loves you so and yes, the Bible does tell you so,
but he's also righteous and hehas jobs for you to do, and
(23:09):
those jobs mean giving up thingsof this life.
So find yourself some seasonedChristians, those who have been
walking with the Lord for sometime, who are strong in their
faith to walk alongside ProverbsI believe it's in Proverbs 13,.
He who walks with wise menshall be wise, yes, well then,
(23:31):
walk with those Christians whoare wise, who are deep into
God's word.
It is a part of who they are.
As for backsliders, beloved, ifyou are backsliding, bless your
little heart for whatever hurtit is that you have.
But it is time to get over thathurt.
It is time to look to yourheavenly father, look him in the
(23:54):
eyes and actually let him knowwhat it is that is ailing you,
that is hurting you so much, andturn back.
Walk with him, get back on thepath of righteousness, get back
on the path where he can blessyour comings and goings in life.
Leave whatever it is that haspulled you away from your
(24:17):
heavenly father.
Take the hand of a seasonedChristian, somebody who they
themselves are currently.
Their walk with the Lord isstrong and they have the
strength to help carry yourburden with you because we are
told to do that for one another,and a brother and a sister in
the faith who understand thiswill be quick to help.
(24:39):
They'll want to glorify JesusChrist by helping a hurting
brother or sister.
And if you don't know JesusChrist, if you are not born
again, if you are not in thefamily of God, which means you
are not part of the body ofChrist but you would like to
take this very moment and turnto God, and you do that by
(25:01):
praying to him.
There's no magic prayer.
It comes from the heart.
We are told that with the mouthone confesses the Lord Jesus.
So by merely confessing that heis your Lord and by confessing
that you are a sinner, that youare broken, and knowing that in
your heart, that Jesus livedthat perfect life, that he was
(25:22):
sinless, that he is the Lamb ofGod who takes away the sin of
the world, and claim him as yourSavior and Lord, and know in
your heart that God, the Father,raised him from the dead and
you will be saved.
Right now, just ask him andturn from your sin.
(25:43):
Admit that you can't do it onyour own because you cannot, and
once you have asked him intoyour heart.
Well then, you're born againand it's important that you get
in touch with brothers andsisters in the faith.
Open God's word and read it anddon't stop.
Read it every day.
You know it was about 20 yearsago, now over 20 years.
(26:07):
At this point I believe thatthe Lord convicted me and I have
been reading his word eversince.
But when I first startedreading it was 10, 15 minutes
some nights, because some of thestuff I read I didn't get it.
It was hard for me even prayingon it.
Now I look back and I can admitquite easily it's because of my
(26:28):
own distractions of this world.
I had all these televisionshows I wanted to watch.
I had all these other plans ofmine of this world that was
getting in the way.
So at that time I was trying tofit in the walk with the Lord
in my life.
But hopefully you can save sometime by this advice.
(26:49):
When you are born again, it'snot your life anymore and be
thankful for that.
That's a beautiful thing,because then you are redeemed.
You will not have to pay thatprice in all eternity of death,
because Jesus paid that price.
But it does mean start throwingstuff away in this life.
If you don't have time to readGod's word every day, beloved,
(27:13):
that means you got too much ofyourself going on.
Chuck it, make time.
A person doesn't need near asmuch money as you think to
survive because the Lord willprovide Pray to him every day.
Get together with brothers andsisters in a small group, a
small gathering or evenone-on-one mentoring.
(27:35):
If you are blessed to find abrother or sister in the faith
who is willing to mentor you, tospend regular time with you, to
walk with you, to help you getthrough the ins and outs of this
life as a Christian, well, takeit, take it, take it, take it.
Now.
I can't mentor everybody wholistens to this program.
(27:59):
I sure wish I could.
This is the best I can do isteach with this podcast.
So I invite you to come back.
Lord willing, I'll be backagain next week and I'll just
keep teaching.
You're welcome to get a hold ofme on my website, brmaul,
that's B-R-M-A-U-L dot com.
Click on contact if you haveany questions, things that
(28:21):
you're struggling with or thingsthat you don't understand in
God's Word, or just something inyour walk in life.
If you don't have a pastor whois a Bible believing Christian,
an adopted son of God, that iswell get a hold of me.
The Lord has put it on my heartto help all those that I can,
(28:42):
in any way that I can, and I'mgrateful to do it.
Beloved, I care for you.
I love you very much, I reallydo so.
Blessings to you and your lovedones.
May the Lord make his faceshine upon you and be gracious
unto you.
May the Lord lift up hiscountenance upon you, beloved,
(29:03):
and bring you peace.
And until next time, god bless,thank you.
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