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Foundation school teaching pt 3

Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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  1. Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is

  2. designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

  3. walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

  4. the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

  5. right in. So today we are going to be discussing

  6. on things you should keep knowing. So I hope

  7. all of us came with our books and our Bible,

  8. the walking pen to jot down and then to follow

  9. up on what we are doing today. So the course,

  10. we are doing course two and it is called things

  11. you should keep knowing as a believer, the things

  12. that you should keep knowing as a believer. So

  13. the last course that we did was salvation. We

  14. spoke about sin, how sin came into the world.

  15. There is nothing like this Adamic sin that we

  16. inherited. We spoke about all those things. So

  17. now, as believers, you are saved. The next thing

  18. that comes after salvation is learning. Immediately

  19. after you have been saved, immediately after

  20. you are saved, after you receive the life of

  21. God, The next thing that follows is learning.

  22. Now, what are you learning? You are learning

  23. about the life you have received now. You are

  24. learning about salvation. You are learning about

  25. the gospel. You are learning about what Christ

  26. has done. You are learning about who you are

  27. now in Christ. You are learning about... Christ

  28. walk in and through you. You are learning about

  29. the person of Christ. So you are learning everything

  30. that encompasses salvation. Right? So that is

  31. the thing that comes immediately after salvation

  32. learning. So in Matthew chapter 28, in Matthew

    Matthew 28 chapter mention Matthew 28 chapter mention

  33. chapter 28, when Jesus resurrected from the dead,

  34. spoke to his disciples. After his resurrection,

  35. he gave his disciples instructions to make disciples

  36. of all nations, to teach nations. Can we just

  37. go to that scripture in Matthew chapter 28, the

    Matthew 28 chapter mention

  38. latter part of it, from verse 18. Can we just

  39. open our Bibles there? Matthew chapter 28. From

    Matthew 28 chapter mention

  40. verse 18. Can you read for me? 28 from verse

  41. 18. Okay. So that make disciples is to make students,

  42. students of Christ, followers of Christ, students,

  43. a pupil. Right? The Greek word there, it means

  44. a pupil. So now as we have believed the gospel,

  45. who we are now? We are students. We are students.

  46. That means there is a learning that must go on.

  47. There is a learning that we ought to do as students

  48. of Christ, as students of the scriptures, as

  49. followers of Christ. Right? He told them to make

  50. students, to teach them all that he has commanded

  51. them. So as a believer now, as you have believed

  52. the gospel, your first understanding is that

  53. I'm a student. When I come to church, when I'm

  54. in the Garden of Believers, any meeting I'm in,

  55. in the Garden of Believers, I come to that place

  56. to be taught about the things that pertain to

  57. God and pertain to the kingdom of God. So I must

  58. come with that mindset, with that understanding.

  59. That I'm a student. Right? As you are here now,

  60. you are coming as a student to learn God's word.

  61. Amen? To learn God's word. Now, why is it important

  62. for you to learn after being saved? After you

  63. have received salvation? It's because when you

  64. were in the world, before you received salvation,

  65. you had some information in your mind. That are

  66. contrary to God's word. You have some information

  67. in your mind. That does not align to God's word.

  68. That is why Apostle Paul would tell the church

  69. in Rome. In Romans chapter 12 verse 2. That be

    Romans 12:2

  70. ye not conformed. Please I'm not a Greek. So

  71. bear with any accent I give you. The Greek accent.

  72. So it means for you to conform yourself. to something

  73. that you to act like what you are not it means

  74. to act like what you are not when you say conform

  75. yourself it means that you are acting in a manner

  76. that is not your nature so for you not to act

  77. in a manner that is not your nature it tells

  78. you to renew your mind it means to to inform

  79. your mind to put information and those information

  80. in your mind It is coming from God's word, from

  81. the scriptures. Right? It's coming from the scriptures.

  82. So it is very important that us, we as believers,

  83. it is very important for us to renew our mind

  84. daily by God's word. Because that is how we know

  85. what we have in Christ. And that is how we know

  86. the person of Christ. Hallelujah. That is how

  87. we know the person of Christ. When you receive

  88. salvation, nothing physical about you changed.

  89. Did your eyes change? Did you grow taller? No.

  90. Did you grow slimmer? Did you add weight? No.

  91. Nothing physical about you changed. Even at that

  92. point of salvation, nothing mental, automatically

  93. mental. I mean, the things that you knew. So

  94. let's say, for example, now, when you became

  95. born again, when you received the gospel, when

  96. you believe. You knew how to drive. Did you forget

  97. how to drive? If you knew how to drive, did you

  98. forget? You knew how to eat. Did you forget how

  99. to eat? You knew how to read. Did you forget

  100. how to read? So nothing mental. The information

  101. that were in your mind, you know that you are

  102. from Kenya. Did you forget that you are from

  103. Kenya when you received the gospel? No. So the

  104. information in your mind did not change when

  105. you became born again, when you received the

  106. gospel. The information are still there. And

  107. some of this information that are there are contrary

  108. to God's word. So now that you have the life

  109. of Christ in you, you learn that life that you

  110. have received. You learn that life. So now what

  111. we are talking about is just the fundamental

  112. truth that you need to know as believers. There

  113. are so many things that you must know. But these

  114. are just fundamental things that you must know

  115. as a believer. These are fundamental truths that

  116. you must know as a believer. And the first thing

  117. that you need to know, the first thing that you

  118. need to know as a believer is that you have eternal

  119. life. You have... Eternal life. Now, when you

  120. hear about eternal, what comes to your mind?

  121. Caroline, what comes to your mind? Something

  122. that has no end. Okay. Forever. Forever. Infinite.

  123. Like infinite. It does not have any end. Okay.

  124. Any other? Everlasting. Okay. So something that

  125. has no end, infinite, everlasting, that's what

  126. comes to your mind, right? When you hear about

  127. eternal. So now let's turn to John chapter 3

    John 3:16

  128. verse 16. Let me show something here. You know,

  129. we know this scripture. We have been reading

  130. this scripture. We have been reading this scripture.

  131. We know it by heart, right? John chapter 3 verse

    John 3:16

  132. 16. So what we are doing now. We are learning.

  133. Right? We are learning the things that pertain

  134. to identity. We are learning the things that

  135. pertain to identity in Christ. Because why? We

  136. are in Christ. Hallelujah. So, John chapter 3,

    John 3:16

  137. verse 16. David, do you want to read? Okay. Can

  138. you read for us? I have everlasting life. So

  139. he says whoever what? Believes. The person that

  140. believes, what will happen to the person? The

  141. latter part, what does he say? I have everlasting

  142. life. Before that, he says the person what? He

  143. says shall not perish. But what? Is he a future

  144. thing? No. What does he say? He says the moment

  145. the man believes, the man what? The man? Right?

  146. So it's not something that is futuristic. It's

  147. not a promise. The moment you believe, you have.

  148. Right? You are not praying to have. The moment

  149. you believe, at that same instant, you have eternal

  150. life. You have everlasting life. And that life

  151. is qualified as the life of God. That eternal

  152. life. Right? that is qualified as eternal. It

  153. is the life of God. We'll see that as we move

  154. on shortly. It's the life of God that you have

  155. received at the point of salvation. That is why

  156. it has no end. Right? That is why it has no end.

  157. So it is not talking about a concept of time.

  158. Right? It's not talking about the concept of

  159. time or something that... You strive, just like

  160. I said, you strive to get. So we must understand

  161. as believers that we have the nature of God.

  162. When we say you have eternal life, what we are

  163. saying is you are saying that you have the nature

  164. of God. You have the life of God inside of you.

  165. So the nature, the salvation itself, the nature

  166. of salvation is eternal. Write it down. That

  167. the nature of salvation, salvation itself is

  168. eternal. The work of Christ is eternal. The finished

  169. work of Christ is eternal. The gift of God is

  170. eternal. The gift of God is eternal. The gift

  171. of God is eternal. Now what does it mean to have

  172. eternal life? What does it mean to have eternal

  173. life? To have the life of God in you? Because

  174. you have believed the gospel. 1 John chapter

    1 John 5 chapter mention

  175. 5. But before we go to that, before we know what

  176. it means, let's read 1 John 5 first of all. Before

  177. we go to what it means, let's read 1 John 5.

  178. 1 John 5 from verse 10 to 13. Sister Ellen, can

  179. you read for us 1 John 5? 1 John chapter 5, from

    1 John 5 chapter mention

  180. verse 10 to 13. Are you there yet? Okay. I'm

  181. waiting for you. 1 John chapter 5. From verse

    1 John 5 chapter mention

  182. 10. 1 John chapter 5. Continue. Last thought.

    1 John 5 chapter mention

  183. Talk from verse 13. Verse 13. Not verse 14. So

  184. verse 13 says what? Please read verse 13 again.

  185. You the what? You the belief. So the one that

  186. believe, have what? Is it a future thing? Is

  187. it something that you need to pray for to have?

  188. But what? He says, why do you have it? Because

  189. of what? You believe in what? You son of God,

  190. you believe in Jesus. You believe in him as your

  191. Lord and personal savior. He says, eat that belief.

  192. So the criteria for you to receive eternal life

  193. is what? Is to believe that what? In the son

  194. of God, to believe in Jesus Christ. Hallelujah.

  195. So that know, when he says that you may know,

  196. is for you to perceive. Is for you to discern.

  197. Right? That word there. Is EIDO. E -I -D -O.

  198. In 1st John chapter 5. Right? When he says that

    John 5 chapter mention

  199. you may know. That know there. In the Greek is

  200. EIDO. It means to perceive. To discern. To understand.

  201. E -I -D -O. It means to perceive. to understand.

  202. Now, it's not telling you that you need to have.

  203. The scripture is telling you for you to understand

  204. what you already have. Right? Now, the believer

  205. is not needy. It's not that you are striving

  206. to have. You have already. But just like I said

  207. in the beginning, You have to be taught. You

  208. have to learn about the life that you have now.

  209. So it is in learning you will know the things

  210. you have already. Right? If not, you will try

  211. to do or you will try to pray for certain things

  212. you already have because of ignorance. Right?

  213. Because of ignorance. So the devil... will use

  214. that ignorance to torment you, even though you

  215. are saved. So that's why it's very important

  216. for us to know, for us to perceive, for us to

  217. understand, for us to come to this full knowledge,

  218. this full understanding of what we have received

  219. in Christ. Amen. So the first thing, what it

  220. means to have eternal life, the first one, is

  221. that you are perfected and saved forever. Put

  222. that forever in capital letter. You are perfected

  223. and saved. Saved is closed. Saved forever. You

  224. are perfected and saved forever. You are not

  225. going to be saved. You are not going to be saved.

  226. You are saved because you believe in Christ.

  227. So one thing that we must understand about salvation

  228. is that there is assurance. There is no salvation

  229. without assurance. There is assurance in God's

  230. word. And we are going to look at those scriptures.

  231. There is assurance in God's word concerning salvation.

  232. There is assurance in God's word concerning salvation.

  233. Now let's read some couple of scriptures. What

  234. are these assurance that we see in scriptures?

  235. First, John. No, John chapter 17, verse 11. John

    John 17:11 John 17:11

  236. chapter 17, verse 11. John chapter 17, verse

    John 17:11

  237. 11. Annie, can you read for us? So Jesus prayed

  238. for his disciples. Jesus prayed for all those

  239. who will believe, not just his disciples, all

  240. those who believe, all those that will believe.

  241. He prays for them. He prays for us. He says,

  242. now I am no longer in the world, but these are

  243. in the world. And I come to you, Holy Father,

  244. keep to your name those who you have given me,

  245. that they may be one as we are one. So it is

  246. not you that is keeping yourself. It is the Father

  247. that keeps us. Right? It is the Father that keeps

  248. us. So that assurance is coming from the Father

  249. that I am the one that has saved you. I am the

  250. one that is keeping you. You are not the one

  251. that is keeping yourself. You are not the one

  252. that saved yourself. So you are not the one that

  253. is keeping yourself. He is the one that keeps

  254. us. He himself, the Father, is the one that keeps

  255. us. Let's look at another scripture. John chapter

    John 6:38–39

  256. 6, verse 38 to 39. So the one who saved us has

  257. assured us that he will keep us till the end.

  258. The one who has saved us has assured us that

  259. he will keep us till the end. John chapter 6

    John 6 chapter mention

  260. from verse 38 to 39. John chapter 6. 38 to 39.

    John 6 chapter mention

  261. Who is reading for me? What should I call names?

  262. John chapter 6, 38 to 39. For I came down from

    John 6 chapter mention

  263. heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of

  264. God. And this is the Father's will, which I had

  265. sent to him, and of all which he had given me.

  266. I should lose nothing. I should raise up again

  267. at the last step. So Jesus is saying that these

  268. words that the Father has given me, that those

  269. that have believed, those that have come into,

  270. you know, God's family, we'll talk about that.

  271. Those that have believed, I will not lose them.

  272. Jesus himself, God, who became a man, is saying

  273. to you, Because this scripture is not eating

  274. to you, but then we understand that it's eating

  275. for our learning. And it's applicable in as much

  276. as you are not the immediate audience, you are

  277. the secondary audience. But then he's saying

  278. that I will not lose any of them. This is what

  279. Jesus is saying. I will not lose any of them.

  280. It means that salvation is not you keeping yourself.

  281. It's not what we thought before that. Okay. After

  282. you are saved now, there are some things that

  283. you have to do to keep your salvation. No. You

  284. are not keeping your salvation. You are the one

  285. that saved yourself. Right? The one that saves

  286. you is the one that has said that these ones

  287. that have come to me, I will not lose them. I

  288. will not lose them. That's the assurance that

  289. we have. That the one that has called us, the

  290. one that has called us unto himself, He himself

  291. has said he will not lose us. So there is no

  292. way that you will lose your salvation because

  293. salvation is not that you receive an item. Salvation

  294. is Christ coming into your hearts. It's God calling

  295. you unto himself. And he himself that has called

  296. you to himself, he has assured you that he's

  297. keeping you. He will not lose you. So nothing,

  298. just like the scripture that we read in Romans

    Romans 8 chapter mention

  299. chapter 8. Nothing shall separate you from the

  300. love of Christ. And that love is what we see

  301. at the cross. That love, that is what we see

  302. him demonstrate. Nothing shall separate you from

  303. that love. Nothing. Nothing. Someone will say,

  304. okay, what about, someone asked the last time

  305. about conduct, right? That, okay, if I'm saved

  306. or someone is saved and the person is living

  307. wrong. And then Collins answered the last time.

  308. I remember the answer that he gave. That there

  309. is a difference between salvation and spiritual

  310. good. You are saved and then you are taught.

  311. That learning that you are learning now, that

  312. is the spiritual good. As you are learning about

  313. God, as you are learning about the things of

  314. God, that is spiritual good. So the spiritual

  315. good. that you see some people now, you will

  316. still see some, just like I said, there are information

  317. in your mind, you will still see some conduct.

  318. But as you learn God's word, as you grow in God's

  319. word, as you are taught each day, as you are

  320. taught, as you are taught about your identity

  321. in Christ, what Christ has done for you, who

  322. you are in Christ, as you are taught, you begin

  323. to see all those actions that you were giving

  324. out. you begin to see there is a change. You

  325. begin to see there is a change in the way you

  326. talk. You begin to see there is a change in the

  327. things you do. You begin to see a change. Why?

  328. Because you are informing your mind about who

  329. you are now. What you are doing, you are not

  330. doing character modification, no. You are giving

  331. expression to that life that is already inside.

  332. So what you are doing is like giving information

  333. to what is already. So who already you are, right?

  334. You are informing your mind about what has happened

  335. to your spirit. Amen. You are informing your

  336. mind. You are making yourself conscious, right?

  337. There is this awareness that you are bringing

  338. to your mind about what has happened to your

  339. spirit. Then you begin to see yourself doing

  340. the things of God. You begin to see yourself.

  341. giving yourself to prayers. First, you did not

  342. like to pray. But then when you are taught about

  343. prayer, you understand that that is my life.

  344. You begin to show yourself, give yourself to

  345. prayer much more. Why? The information that was

  346. in your mind has changed. Right? Before you were

  347. praying for your needs. Every day, my needs,

  348. my needs, my needs. But when you are taught about

  349. the primary, like the thing that you need to

  350. pray much more, what is prayer much more? Prayer

  351. is communication to God. You communicate with

  352. him. It's fellowship. It's not just when you

  353. have needs. So when that change in your mind,

  354. that information change in your mind, you start

  355. to see prayer differently and you enjoy fellowship

  356. with God. So that is the same with every other

  357. information in our mind. Amen. So it is the same

  358. with eternal life. That you have received eternal

  359. life. Hallelujah. So the second thing that we

  360. must know after we know that now we have eternal

  361. life, but let's read something first that I wrote

  362. here. One minute. Please, if you have any questions,

  363. you can write them down. So I wrote something

  364. here that You are saved by grace alone. On the

  365. basis of Christ alone. You are saved by grace

  366. alone. On the basis of Christ alone. You are

  367. saved by grace alone. On the basis of Christ

  368. alone. Through faith. Alone. You are saved by

  369. grace alone. On the basis of Christ. Alone. Through

  370. faith. Alone. Taught. T -A -U -G -H -T. Taught

  371. decisively. In scriptures. Alone. taught decisively

  372. in scriptures alone and for the ultimate glory

  373. of God alone. I'm going to start it again. You

  374. are saved by grace alone on the basis of Christ

  375. alone. When you say on the basis of Christ, it

  376. means on the basis of what Christ has done. Right?

  377. On the basis of Christ alone, through faith alone,

  378. taught decisively in scripture. What you are

  379. being taught is in scripture. It's the scripture,

  380. the word of God. Alone. And for the ultimate

  381. glory of God, alone. Amen. Did you get that?

  382. Okay. So another thing quickly, what it means

  383. to have eternal life is that you are no longer

  384. condemned. Romans chapter 8 verse 1. You are

    Romans 8:1

  385. no longer condemned. What it means to have eternal

  386. life? It means that you are no longer condemned.

  387. Because why? There is therefore now no condemnation

  388. to them who are in Christ Jesus. Why? Because

  389. Christ has took up, Christ has, the word for

  390. condemnation here, it means to give judgment

  391. against, to judge worth of punishment. Christ

  392. has took that punishment. He died as you. He

  393. took your place. So there is no condemnation

  394. for you in Christ. Why? Because Christ has paid

  395. for that punishment of your sin. Christ has paid.

  396. Hallelujah. Did we write the scripture? Romans

    Romans 8:1

  397. chapter 8 verse 1. Did we write it? Okay. So

  398. the third thing that we must know what it means

  399. to have eternal life. You are no longer condemned.

  400. Okay. Yes. Yes. the first thing that you must

  401. know, you have eternal life. Did you write it?

  402. Then under you have eternal life, what does it

  403. mean to have eternal life? Then the first thing

  404. that we spoke about, it means that you are perfected

  405. and saved forever. It also means that you are

  406. no longer condemned. Right? So under that, you

  407. have eternal life. The question, what does it

  408. mean to have eternal life? Under that first thing

  409. that we are talking about. And then under that,

  410. you put, either you write, you use woman figure

  411. one, woman figure two. That's under you are saved

  412. and perfected forever. Yes. You are saved and

  413. perfected forever. Any more questions? Are we

  414. getting it? If I ask you now to explain, would

  415. you explain? David, would you explain? Yes. You

  416. will explain? Yes. Okay. At the end of the teaching,

  417. I will provide time for us to explain. All right.

  418. So the third thing, under what does it mean to

  419. have eternal life? It means you have God's power

  420. at work in you. You have God's power at work

  421. in you. Philippians 2 verse 13. Philippians 2

    Philippians 2:13 Philippians 2:13

  422. verse 13. You have God's power at work in you.

  423. And what does that scripture say? It says that

  424. power. Gives you the desire to do the things

  425. that pleases God. Can we read that scripture?

  426. Sorry, what's your name? Oliver. Oliver, can

  427. you please read for us Philippians 2 verse 13?

    Philippians 2:13

  428. Philippians 2 verse 13. Okay, start from verse

    Philippians 2:13

  429. 12. He says it is God, right? So what you are

  430. working out is because of what? God is already

  431. what? Working in you. So, God's power is at work

  432. in you, the believer. Amen. So that life of God

  433. is at work in you right now. The life of God

  434. is at work in you right now. The power of God

  435. is at work in you right now. If you see yourself

  436. giving yourself to prayer, it is the power of

  437. God that is at work in you. If you see yourself

  438. loving the guardian of believers, it is the power

  439. of God that is at work in you. If you see yourself

  440. loving the things of God, it is the power of

  441. God that is at work in you. He is the one that

  442. has put that desire. Right? So even the things

  443. we are doing as believers, it is not by our strength.

  444. It is the power of God that enables us to do

  445. the things we do. It is the power of God. That

  446. enables us to love the things of God. The things

  447. that, that's our nature now. Right? That's our

  448. nature now as believers. That's our nature now.

  449. So you have God's power at work in you all the

  450. time. All the time. You have God's ability at

  451. work in you all the time. Amen. So did we get

  452. that? Any questions so far? Okay. What's your

  453. question? Okay. Not to be judged by others. not

  454. to be judged by yourself, not to be judged by

  455. the world, not to be judged by anything, right?

  456. Because it is actually an identity crisis that

  457. makes you judge yourself. For example, now, if

  458. you, what is sin? Missing the mark. Let's say,

  459. for example, you miss the mark. And then you

  460. start seeing yourself outside of who you are

  461. in Christ. You are condemning yourself already.

  462. You are being like, you are guilty. And that

  463. is an influence. We understand that there's an

  464. influence also, right? The devil. But then why

  465. are you condemning yourself? Or why are you looking

  466. down on yourself? Or why are you judging yourself

  467. and feeling bad for yourself? It's because there

  468. is still some information in your mind that is

  469. contrary to our identity in Christ. Now, I'm

  470. not saying that you should do certain things,

  471. right? For example, now, to sin. Why? Because

  472. that is not your nature now. But then, if you

  473. sin, or if you do something wrong, or if you

  474. miss the mark, you are not supposed to... glorify

  475. what you have done, but you are supposed to receive

  476. what Christ has done. By what? By confessing

  477. your reality in Christ. By confessing that this

  478. is not my nature. I live above sin. And then

  479. you give yourself to the word and go. So it's

  480. not just about confessing it, but then you have

  481. to give yourself to the word. That area that

  482. you are seeing that there is a loophole, you

  483. give yourself much more to the word to see that

  484. that thing is addressed. So even you yourself,

  485. you must not condemn yourself. Because why? Christ

  486. has not condemned you. You must, whatever Christ

  487. has called you, that is what you are supposed

  488. to call yourself. Whatever God has called you,

  489. that is who you are supposed to walk in. That's

  490. who you are supposed to call yourself. Hallelujah.

  491. So, did I answer your question? Alright. So the

  492. second thing that we are looking at, The second

  493. point, your sins are forgiven and you are justified.

  494. Your sins are forgiven and you are justified.

  495. Your sins are forgiven and you are justified.

  496. So, how many of us have been in any cell for

  497. a long time? Like, How many of us were in church

  498. when Pastor Fred taught about forgiveness of

  499. sins? None of us. Okay, you were here. You were

  500. there. So, when we say you were there, were you

  501. there? No, the forgiveness of sins. I don't think

  502. you were there. I think that was last year. Yeah.

  503. That was a long time ago. So, When we say the

  504. blood of Jesus, sometimes, you know, when we're

  505. back at home, whenever we hear the blood of Jesus,

  506. what comes to our mind is, you know, is it literal

  507. blood? Sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle blood. I

  508. don't know how many bloods, how many liters we

  509. should, if by now it would have finished now,

  510. if it is literal blood. Since that time, we are

  511. still sprinkling the blood. So I want to ask

  512. us, when they say the blood of Jesus, When you

  513. hear the blood of Jesus, what comes to your mind?

  514. Is it the literal, physical blood of Jesus? Okay,

  515. you said the death. So when you hear the blood

  516. of Jesus, what comes to your mind? When we say

  517. we are cleansed by his blood, what do you think

  518. that means? The blood of Jesus. Okay. So when

  519. we say blood of Jesus, sometimes when some things

  520. happen, the blood of Jesus. To me, I'm giving

  521. a defeat to that situation. Okay. Okay. All right.

  522. That's okay. So the blood, is it literal blood?

  523. Is that blood I want to know? Yes, mother. Please

  524. can you just enlighten us? You and sister. She

  525. will take over for me. Okay. Okay. You want to

  526. add something there? So in essence, when we say

  527. the blood of Jesus, not literal blood, what we

  528. are talking about is the life of Jesus. So when

  529. you say, I plead the blood, you are saying I

  530. plead the life of Jesus. And the life of Jesus

  531. is in you. The life of Jesus. is in you. I know

  532. that some people will have questions after this

  533. class. Right? But then the blood is not physical

  534. blood. Right? It's not literal blood. So when

  535. we say we are cleansed by His blood, it's not

  536. that it's physical blood. Right? It's sacrifice

  537. as paid for our sins, for the penalty of sin.

  538. So now, you have received that forgiveness of

  539. sins. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 1. Verse

    Ephesians 1 chapter mention

  540. 7. So that we will see. That. Once you believe.

  541. You have received. That forgiveness of sin. It's

  542. not that you are asking again to be forgiven.

  543. No. You have received. 1. Verse 7. Yes. In him.

  544. In him who? The him here is who? It's Christ,

  545. right? In Christ we have what? We have what?

  546. Redemption. Through his sacrifice. Or through

  547. his, yes, through his sacrifice, right? And what?

  548. The forgiveness of sins. In Christ we have what?

  549. And what? Please look at your Bible. Look at

  550. your Bible. Look at your Bible. Look at your

  551. Bible. In him, we have what? Redemption. Through

  552. his. And what? The forgiveness of sins. According

  553. to what? The riches of his grace. So in Christ,

  554. we have what? One, redemption. And what? So the

  555. redemption actually is the forgiveness of sins.

  556. That's what he has redeemed us from. He has redeemed

  557. us from that penalty of sin. So a man that has

  558. received Christ has received forgiveness of sins.

  559. The man has received forgiveness. A man that

  560. has received Christ, the man that is in Christ

  561. has received, it's not that he's going to receive,

  562. has received forgiveness of sins. The man has

  563. received forgiveness of sins. Now, God is a just

  564. God, right? God is a righteous judge. So what

  565. did God do? God did not overlook sin. Right?

  566. He did not overlook sin. Remember the last time

  567. we spoke about the wages of sin is what? Is death.

  568. So a man's sin, a man has to die. But man cannot

  569. die. We, we cannot die for ourselves. If we die,

  570. there is no way we will resurrect. So God became

  571. a man to die. For man. Because it's only him

  572. that can resurrect. Right? So he died as us.

  573. He paid for the penalty of sin. So now, because

  574. you believe in what he has done, you have received

  575. that forgiveness of sin. So what do we do now?

  576. We thank him for that forgiveness of sin. Do

  577. we have any question? Mr. Clara, do you have

  578. any question? The way you are doing your face

  579. is like, what is this woman saying? Do you have

  580. any question? By the end of the class. Okay,

  581. what don't you understand? For the forgiveness

  582. of sin or for the blood of Jesus, which one?

  583. If it was for the blood of Jesus, me and you

  584. would talk. Which part you don't understand?

  585. Is it the forgiveness of sin? No, I understand

  586. about the forgiveness of sin. But for the blood

  587. of Jesus, it's definitely... Okay, okay, okay.

  588. We'll talk about that. We'll talk about the blood

  589. of Jesus because that will take us a long time

  590. and we don't have time now to go into much details

  591. of that. So, but then... Christ has paid, just

  592. like I said, he has paid for the penalty of sin

  593. and we have received forgiveness of sin. Let's

  594. read Psalms 103, verse 1 to 18. I want, who's

    Psalms 103:1–18

  595. going to read this for me now? What's your name,

  596. brother? Yes, brother, please read for us Psalms

  597. 103, from verse 1 to 18. To 18, yes. Who what?

  598. Verse 3 says what? Who what? Who forgives? Did

  599. he say who will forgive? He says do what? Who

  600. forgives? So he's telling us the character of

  601. God is that he forgives sin. There is already

  602. provision for forgiveness of sins where? In Christ.

  603. Right? Are we good? There is provision already.

  604. Okay, let's continue. is merciful and gracious.

  605. That's the character of God. The character of

  606. God is merciful and gracious. Yes, continue.

  607. He has not dealt with us according to our sins.

  608. Yes, please continue. Not punished us according

  609. to our iniquities. That's what my translation

  610. says. So, he has not punished us according to

  611. our iniquities. Rather, he has punished, he laid

  612. it upon Christ. He laid everything upon Christ.

  613. So, you have received forgiveness of sins. Now,

  614. when you pray, should you pray again to receive

  615. forgiveness of sins? So what are you supposed

  616. to do now? To thank God for what you have received,

  617. right? Because what he said, he said you have

  618. received in him, we have redemption to his blood,

  619. the forgiveness of sins. So what are you supposed

  620. to do now? You are supposed to what? Thank God.

  621. Sister Ellen, are you getting it? Are you sure?

  622. So let's say for example, now you are praying.

  623. Or let's say, for example, you do something wrong.

  624. When you are praying, are you going and meeting

  625. God? Lord, forgive me for all my sins. Have mercy

  626. on me. You know, please forgive me. Forgive me.

  627. Or is it that when you come, you say, Father,

  628. I thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you because

  629. your power will continue to help me to live above

  630. sin. So which prayer will you pray? You thank

  631. God. Why? Because you have received. The forgiveness

  632. of sin, right? You have received it. Okay. Amen.

  633. All right. I like that we are following. So God

  634. has forgiven your sins. Colossians chapter one,

  635. verse 12 to 14. Colossians chapter one, verse

  636. 12 to 14. Colossians chapter one, verse 12 to

  637. 14. Is that Christabel? Is that you for us? Colossians

    Colossians 1:12–14

  638. chapter 1, verse 12 to 14. New King James, please.

  639. So we see Apostle Paul writing it again to the

  640. church in Colossus. He wrote it to the church

  641. in Ephesus. Then he wrote it again to the church

  642. in Colossus. That what? You have redemption to

  643. his blood, the forgiveness of sins. So these

  644. are the things that you must know so that you

  645. will not be living in guilt and shame when you

  646. miss the mark because you are going to miss the

  647. mark. Why? Because you are still in this body.

  648. Right? So, but then you have the power of God

  649. in you that enables you not to live in that mistake,

  650. not to live in that sin. You have the power of

  651. God in you. So, is that knowing that helps you

  652. to live above it? To live above guilt? So, you

  653. will make mistakes. But then when you make mistakes,

  654. you don't stay there. You affirm your reality

  655. in Christ and you listen to God's word much more.

  656. So that area of your life is dominated by God's

  657. word and you will see your action being changed.

  658. Amen. So the third thing that we'll look at,

  659. do we have any questions before we move? Yes.

  660. How do you then talk to them? Because when you

  661. explain this to them, they will think, okay,

  662. I think that's the market. And how would you

  663. explain it to them? How would you explain it

  664. to them? It is possible for them to leave my

  665. family home to the right. And now just for me,

  666. you can start seeing the market. Okay. So because

  667. of that has been the person's life for a long

  668. time. Let's say, for example, the person has

  669. lived that life for a long time and then the

  670. person just received the life of God. The person

  671. will not automatically leave that smoking. That's

  672. just the truth of the matter. Right? Growth takes

  673. time. And growth is not, as we preach the gospel,

  674. is not our... It is not us that make people grow.

  675. Our responsibility is to teach people. But the

  676. one that causes the growth and increase and the

  677. understanding in men is the Holy Spirit. So even

  678. as we preach, we trust in the power of the Holy

  679. Ghost to cause that change in the heart of that

  680. man. Right? So your responsibility is to continue

  681. to push the person to his identity in Christ.

  682. That this is who you are. You are loved by God.

  683. This is your identity in Christ. Show the person

  684. their identity in Christ. You are not supposed

  685. to tackle the action first. What you are supposed

  686. to show the person is who they are. And when

  687. they begin to see who they are, they will be

  688. like, no, this smoke, what is it adding to me?

  689. Like, it's not adding anything to me. I should

  690. leave this. This is not my life. Immediately,

  691. the person begins to see that this is not. So

  692. you give the person who the person is first.

  693. And because the person has seen who he is now,

  694. he will begin to live all the other things that

  695. is not him. He will begin to live gradually,

  696. but it's not instantaneous. Right? It's not instantaneous.

  697. You keep on preaching to the person about his

  698. identity and you keep on praying for the person

  699. because it is the Holy Spirit that brings that

  700. transformation. And also, if the person is willing

  701. to change and to learn his identity, Right? Because

  702. the will of the man also is very important. So

  703. those are the things. I don't know if I did answer

  704. your question. All right. So we're not finished,

  705. but I believe that... Okay, you have a question

  706. too. Please write it down. Please write your

  707. question down, please. So that we'll go... Write

  708. it down. Write your question down. After we do

  709. this, then I will take another question. So the

  710. third thing. Right? Is it the third? The third

  711. thing, right? The first one is what? You have

  712. eternal life. The second one? The second one

  713. is what? Your sins are forgiven and you are what?

  714. And you are justified. So the third one is that

  715. you are a new creature and God is your father.

  716. So all these things that we break, break, break

  717. down, all these things, they complement each

  718. other. Just that, because this is foundation

  719. school, just break them down. Just speak about

  720. them shortly because we did not even go in depth

  721. to certain, you know, of these topics, these

  722. topics that I hear. So you are a new creature

  723. and God is your father. 2 Corinthians 5 verse

    2 Corinthians 5:17

  724. 17. Let's read. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17. 2 Corinthians

    2 Corinthians 5:17 2 Corinthians 5:17

  725. 5 verse 17. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17. So how

    2 Corinthians 5:17

  726. did you receive forgiveness of sins again? Who

  727. can answer that? Brother Eric. How did you receive

  728. forgiveness of sins? Yes. But how did you receive

  729. the forgiveness of sins? Yes, the forgiveness

  730. of sin is there. But how did you receive it as

  731. a person? By faith. By faith in what? By faith

  732. in what Christ has done. Please. You receive

  733. forgiveness of sins. By faith in what Christ

  734. has done. By faith in the gospel. I wanted to

  735. clarify that. I wanted to know if you understand.

  736. How you receive forgiveness of sins. Amen. So.

  737. So you are a new creature. And God is your father.

  738. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17. Second Corinthians

    2 Corinthians 5:17

  739. 5, yes. Anyone who is joined to Christ is renewed

  740. in. This is done. Please, which translation is

  741. that? Good news. Good news. Sorry, please, can

  742. we get New King James or please, for better,

  743. you know, for this class, can we just get like

  744. New King James or King James? For just this class.

  745. Yes. He says, if any man beware in Christ. So,

  746. when you look at the original, if any man in

  747. Christ, that he is, is not in the original. How

  748. many of us have BLB? If you check your BLB, right?

  749. If you check your BLB, that's if any man is,

  750. read it again, if any man is in Christ. So that

  751. if any man, he reads as this, therefore, if any

  752. man is in Christ, A new creation. That's how

  753. it reads. If any man in Christ. A new creation.

  754. So that's new. The word new itself. Is speaking.

  755. Is the Greek word kainos. K -A -I -N -O -S I

  756. kept this class simple. I did not want to give

  757. any. Plenty of Greek words. So that I would.

  758. Keep it simple and understand. K -A -I -N -O

  759. -S. K -A -I -N -O -S. Right? That's the word

  760. new. If any man be in Christ, a new creature.

  761. If any man be in Christ, a new creation. The

  762. word new, kainos, it implies unheard of. What

  763. it means, if you check the original. You will

  764. see some, you know, variation of words of definition

  765. for it. It implies unheard of, uncommon. Something

  766. that has never been. Right? Something that has

  767. never been. Yes. Unusual? Huh? It is unusual.

  768. No, unheard of. Not unusual. Unheard of. Unheard

  769. of, uncommon. Did you get it? Yes. Unheard of,

  770. uncommon. Did you get it? Yes. Yes. Okay, so

  771. what are you asking? Are you asking? Is unusual

  772. a five -word word? Unusual. Okay, unusual. Something,

  773. yes, yes, yes, yes. You can apply it. Unusual.

  774. So, did we get that unheard of, uncommon? Did

  775. we get those? Okay. Something that has never,

  776. you have, like something that has never been.

  777. Something that has never been. Something that

  778. has never been. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8

    Ephesians 2:8–10

  779. to 10. So, you that you are in Christ now, that

  780. have received the life of God, the new creation,

  781. is a man. That has never been. We have never

  782. seen that type of man before. The world has never

  783. seen that type of man before. That type of man

  784. has never existed before. The new creation in

  785. Christ. The man that has the life of God. That

  786. man that is God's house. That man that is God's

  787. house has never existed before. That man that

  788. is God's temple. God is dwelling inside of that

  789. new creation man. It has never been before. Right?

  790. You are that man. I am that man. Hallelujah.

  791. You are that man. I am that man. Hallelujah.

  792. We are the man in Christ. The new creation. We

  793. are created where? In Christ. Ephesians chapter

    Ephesians 2:8–10

  794. 2 verse 8 to 10. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8

    Ephesians 2:8–10

  795. to 10. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8. Mm -hmm.

    Ephesians 2:8

  796. Mm -hmm. To 10. So the believer that is in Christ,

  797. right, is created in Christ Jesus. It's like

  798. you never existed before. That's why when you

  799. are in Christ, there is nothing like, this is

  800. my, like it's a new slate. It's like you never,

  801. it's a brand new person. is a brand new person.

  802. Because why? Now you are born of the Spirit.

  803. It's not just procreation now, right? It's more

  804. than procreation. You are now the new creation

  805. in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. That means you are

  806. spiritual now. You are not of the flesh again.

  807. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, like

  808. Jesus would tell Nicodemus. That which is born

  809. of the Spirit is Spirit. You are spiritual. You

  810. are born of the Spirit. You are now, you are

  811. the new creation in Christ. You are the new creation

  812. in Christ Jesus. God's family will see it when

  813. we are looking at God as our Father. You are

  814. now the new creation. You are created where?

  815. In Christ. That new creation is created where?

  816. In Christ. In Christ. So we'll see in Christ,

  817. in Christ, in Christ. Why? Because Christ is

  818. the only way. That is God's standard. Right?

  819. It's the only way. So because you are a new creation

  820. now, there is a way of life that is attached

  821. to your identity. Because you are a new creation

  822. now, there is a way of life. There is a way that

  823. you should talk. There is a way that you should

  824. live. There is a way that the things that you

  825. are doing, right? There is already a standard,

  826. right? And that is what we call the kingdom culture.

  827. It is the kingdom culture. It's not something

  828. that is only like it's exclusive to you, no.

  829. You are part of a kingdom now, right? You are

  830. part of a family, the family of God. So, because

  831. of now you are believed and now you are a new

  832. creature, born of God, born of the Spirit, right?

  833. How many of us have started reading that book,

  834. the book of the month? Hey, tomorrow is book

  835. review. Hey, how many of us have started? Yes.

  836. I already read it. Okay, but did you go through

  837. it again? No. You are in my cello. Tomorrow.

  838. Please, you need to read that book before celebrating.

  839. You have to read 72 pages. In the first part

  840. of the book, you will see the writer spoke about

  841. two things. Sensual knowledge and revelational

  842. knowledge. Now, When we say you are a new creation

  843. in Christ, born of the Spirit, it's not something

  844. that you see with your naked... Can you see the

  845. Spirit in me? No. What you can... What you can

  846. just see, right, is the expression of the Spirit.

  847. When you see the way I love, when you see the

  848. way I talk, when you see the way I act toward

  849. one another, you will see that this person is

  850. just different. Why? It's because you are born

  851. of God. So because you are born of God, by default,

  852. your nature and character, right, must exhibit

  853. what is already inside of you. So what you are

  854. giving out is not something that is out of space.

  855. What you are giving out is the life that is in

  856. you. Remember last Saturday, I spoke about the

  857. fact that Salvation is not receiving a thing.

  858. It's receiving the life of God. It's receiving

  859. the life of God, which is eternal life we spoke

  860. about. And that life that you have received is

  861. forever. Forever and ever. So there is a way

  862. of living that is attached to that life. What

  863. is not associated with God should never be associated

  864. with you. Why? Because you are born of God. You

  865. have the nature of God. You have the DNA of God.

  866. You have this character now. The fruit of the

  867. Spirit is the character of the believer. We have

  868. been taught about love, about the love work of

  869. the believer. That is the character of the believer.

  870. That's the nature of the believer. It's not something

  871. that you struggle to work in. As you learn about

  872. your identity, as you learn about these things,

  873. By default, you begin to see yourself working

  874. them. You begin to see yourself working them.

  875. So that is, you know, that is the life that we

  876. have been calling to. Imitate God as their children.

  877. Coming now to God is our father. The concept,

  878. what God really wanted from the beginning is

  879. to have a family. And the new creation is the

  880. family of God. Hallelujah. This is the family

  881. of God. All believers all over the world, that's

  882. the family of God. You have a brother, you are

  883. here, but you have a brother in USA. Why? Because

  884. of the Holy Spirit in you and the Holy Spirit

  885. in him. So you are one from one family, the family

  886. of God, bounded by the same Spirit. Amen. So

  887. we'll just read one scripture, then we'll move

  888. to the next one. Ephesians chapter 3, from verse

    Ephesians 3 chapter mention

  889. 14 to 15. Ephesians chapter 3, from verse 14

    Ephesians 3 chapter mention

  890. to 15. Ephesians chapter 3, from verse 14 to

    Ephesians 3 chapter mention

  891. 15. He says, I bow my knees to the Father, Apostle

  892. Paul speaking, of the Father, to the Father of

  893. our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family

  894. in heaven and earth is named. The whole family

  895. in heaven and earth is named. Those that are

  896. sleeping in Christ, those that are here on earth

  897. physically, all of us. It's a family, right?

  898. It's a family. Let's read another one, Ephesians

    Ephesians 2:18

  899. 2, verse 18. So there is something called the

  900. family of God. It's not just what we want to

  901. use for believers, no. It's because of that is

  902. what God has called us. God has called us his

  903. family. Because why? We are born of God. Say,

  904. I am born of God. I am born of God. God is my

  905. father. I am born of God. God is my father. I

  906. hope you are convinced. You are not just saying

  907. it. You know you are born of God. You have the

  908. Spirit of God in you. Hallelujah. Okay, can we

  909. just read Ephesians chapter 2, verse 18? Ephesians

    Ephesians 2:18 Ephesians 2:18

  910. chapter 2, verse 18. Okay, continue. Ephesians

    Ephesians 2:18

  911. chapter 2 verse 18. Okay, please read Ephesians

    Ephesians 1:6

  912. chapter 1 verse 6. Ephesians chapter 2 verse

    Ephesians 2:1–6

  913. 1 to 6. Yes. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1 to

    Ephesians 2:1–6

  914. 6. Start from Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1 to

    Ephesians 2:1–6

  915. 6. and were by nature children of wrath, just

  916. as the others. So they are children of wrath,

  917. right? Those that are children of the devil,

  918. because they choose to be, some of them choose

  919. to be children of the devil. Yes. Excuse me,

  920. which version? Ephesians 3. Ephesians 2, rather,

  921. from verse 1. This one. Come here. Ephesians

  922. 2 from verse 1 to 6. Yes, please continue. Verse

  923. 18. To who? To Christ. We have access. By what?

  924. One spirit. To what? The Father. So God is our

  925. Father. Because we all have the same spirit.

  926. We have access. Direct access. You don't need

  927. any prophets. To access God for you. Now you

  928. have access. To the father. You can speak to

  929. the father. And the father hears you. Why? Because

  930. his spirit is in you. You are born of him. He

  931. is the one that gave birth to you. The spiritual

  932. birth. Hallelujah. So you are born of God. In

  933. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 1. Just write it down.

    Ephesians 5:1

  934. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 1. It tells us to.

    Ephesians 5:1

  935. imitate God. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 1. Just

    Ephesians 5:1

  936. write it down. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 1. Then

    Ephesians 5:1

  937. Romans chapter 8 verse 15. It says we have been

    Romans 8:15

  938. given what? Who knows that scripture? Ephesians

  939. chapter 8 verse 15. Romans, Romans chapter 8,

    Romans 8:15

  940. verse 15. We don't know that scripture. Romans

    Romans 8:15

  941. chapter 8, verse 15. Those who are led. Romans

    Romans 8:15

  942. chapter 8, verse 15. Let's read it. So the Spirit

  943. that we have received, right, is a Spirit that

  944. enables us to cry what? Abba, Father. He's your

  945. Father. Right? He is your Father. So you have

  946. the light. Why? Because you have His Spirit.

  947. So you have the light now to cry Abba, Father.

  948. So when you go to pray, you have the right to

  949. say what? When you go to pray, you have the right

  950. to say what? Even without prayer, when you are

  951. just having a conversation, probably, I don't

  952. know, some of you have conversation with the

  953. Holy Spirit, you have the right to just say,

  954. Daddy, Father, right? He's your Father. God is

  955. your Father. And the Church of NACF, Right? He's

  956. the family of God. Not just the church of Tennessee.

  957. Every believer is your brother, is your sister.

  958. All over the world is your brother. We are united

  959. by one spirit, which is the spirit of who? The

  960. spirit of Christ. Right? Amen. Please ask your

  961. question. Time. Just write it down. I'll make

  962. sure to give like 10 minutes to answer those

  963. questions. So for me, please just write it down

  964. so you don't forget. So the fourth thing that

  965. we'll talk about, did we, do we have any questions

  966. for this one? Please write it down because when

  967. I said, did you have any questions? Please write

  968. it down. Please, please. Yes. So the fourth one

  969. we'll talk about, right? The fourth one is that

  970. you have dominion. You have authority. As a believer,

  971. you have dominion. You have authority. You have

  972. dominion. Under you have dominion. The first

  973. one over the devil and his agents. The first

  974. one over the devil and his agents. 1 John, chapter

    1 John 4:4

  975. 4, verse 4. 1 John, chapter 4, verse 4. 1 John,

    1 John 4:4 1 John 4:4

  976. chapter 4, verse 4. So you are of God. We're

  977. speaking to believers. You are of God, little

  978. children, and have overcome them. Because he

  979. who is in you is greater than he who is in the

  980. world. So the them here is talking about the

  981. things of the world, the devil and his agents.

  982. You have overcome them. Why? Because of grace,

  983. they overcome here. Okay, you're looking for

  984. the... This one. You see? This one? Yes. So,

  985. they overcome here. When you... The Greek means...

  986. What it means... is to carry off the victory.

  987. It's like you carrying the victory. It's not

  988. you that won the victory. It's not you that fought

  989. for the victory. But it's you that is carrying

  990. the victory. That's overcome. The Greek meaning

  991. of it that implies in that verse is to carry

  992. off the victory. A conqueror. To carry off the

  993. victory. It means that the believer, the believer

  994. is walking from a place of victory over the devil

  995. and his agent, over the systems of the world.

  996. The believer is walking from a place of victory

  997. because why? Christ has paid the price and Christ

  998. has brought us up as he rose up victorious. So

  999. we also, we have identified with him and we are

  1000. walking victoriously. In his victory. Hallelujah.

  1001. So the believer is victorious over the devil

  1002. and his agents. The believer is victorious. You

  1003. have overcome because of who is in you. God is

  1004. in you. God is in you. So you have prevailed.

  1005. So the second thing that a believer needs to

  1006. know, that's the first one, that you have dominion

  1007. over the devil and his agents. Hebrews chapter

    Hebrews 2:14

  1008. 2, verse 14. Put this scripture there. Put this

  1009. scripture there. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14.

    Hebrews 2:14

  1010. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 17 to 22. Chapter

    Ephesians 1:17–22

  1011. 1, verse 17 to 22. Ephesians chapter 2, verse

    Ephesians 2:4–6

  1012. 4 to 6. I will repeat again. Hebrews chapter

    Hebrews 2:14

  1013. 2, verse 14. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 17 to

    Ephesians 1:17–22

  1014. 22. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4 to 6. Let's

    Ephesians 2:4–6

  1015. read Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4 to 6. Ephesians

    Ephesians 2:4–6 Ephesians 2:4–6

  1016. chapter 2, verse 4 to 6. Ephesians chapter 2,

    Ephesians 2:4–6

  1017. verse 4 to 6. So, now it says the believer is

  1018. seated where? He's seated together with who?

  1019. With Christ. Now, let's go to Ephesians. We have

  1020. to read Ephesians chapter 1 now. So, this is

    Ephesians 1 chapter mention

  1021. Ephesians chapter 2, right? You see that the

    Ephesians 2 chapter mention

  1022. believer is seated with Christ, right? In heavenly,

  1023. in the heavenlies. And the original is in the

  1024. heavenly, right? In Christ Jesus. So the believer

  1025. is seated with Christ. He's seated with Christ

  1026. together. So now let's read Ephesians chapter

    Ephesians 1 chapter mention

  1027. 1. We have to read Ephesians chapter 1 now. Ephesians

    Ephesians 1 chapter mention Ephesians 1 chapter mention

  1028. chapter 1 from verse 17. that you may know what

  1029. is the hope of his calling, what are the pictures

  1030. of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

  1031. and what is the exceeding greatness of his power

  1032. toward those who believe, according to the working

  1033. of his mighty power, which he worked in Christ

  1034. when he raised him from the dead, and seated

  1035. him at his right hand in heavenly places. Power

  1036. above all his quality and power, and might and

  1037. dominion, and everything that is real. not only

  1038. in this age, but also in that time. And he put

  1039. all things under his feet and gave him to be

  1040. held over all things in church. So he says, verse

  1041. 20, which he walked in Christ when he raised

  1042. him from the dead and seated him at his right

  1043. hand in the heavenly places, far above all principalities

  1044. and powers and might and dominion. Then in Ephesians

    Ephesians 2 chapter mention

  1045. chapter 2, read that the believer is seated with

  1046. who? So it means that this dominion that the

  1047. believer is seated, where Christ is seated now,

  1048. that is also where the believer is. In that place

  1049. of authority, in that place of dominion. So the

  1050. believer has dominion over what? Principalities

  1051. and powers. Might and dominion. The believer

  1052. has authority. The believer has authority. Why?

  1053. Because he's seated with Christ. The believer

  1054. is seated with Christ. So the second thing, the

  1055. second thing under you have dominion is that

  1056. you have dominion over sin and the flesh. Romans

    Romans 6:14

  1057. chapter 6 verse 14. You have dominion over sin

  1058. and the flesh. Romans chapter 6 verse 14. Romans

    Romans 6:14 Romans 6:14

  1059. chapter 6 verse 14. Dominion over sin and the

  1060. flesh. Romans chapter 6 verse 14. You have dominion

    Romans 6:14

  1061. over sin and the flesh. Sin shall not have dominion

  1062. over you. What it means, when you look at the

  1063. Greek word there, the Greek word there implies

  1064. to exercise influence upon, to exercise influence

  1065. upon, to have power over. to exercise influence

  1066. upon, to have power over. So in essence, what

  1067. is Apostle Paul telling the believer? That you

  1068. have power. Do not allow sin to influence your

  1069. action. Do not allow your action to be influenced,

  1070. right? Do not allow sin to dominate. Your actions.

  1071. Every action of yours. Do not let your action.

  1072. Do not let sin have dominion over you. Sin have

  1073. power over you. Why? Because you have been. You

  1074. don't have that niche. You don't have that influence

  1075. again. That influence. Now the influence that

  1076. you have. Is the influence of the spirit. That

  1077. is in you. So you must not allow your actions

  1078. to be influenced. That's what it means. You must

  1079. not allow your actions to be influenced and you

  1080. allow sin to reign, as he will say in the latter

  1081. part, to allow sin to reign in your mortal body.

  1082. It means the believer has the responsibility

  1083. by willpower to choose what to do and what not

  1084. to do. You have the willpower to say yes and

  1085. no. You have the willpower to say yes and no.

  1086. So he's saying now, say no to sin. Do not allow

  1087. sin. Do not allow your conduct, your lifestyle.

  1088. Do not allow sin reign. Why? Do not allow it

  1089. influence over your life. Because Christ has

  1090. redeemed you from that life. Now the life that

  1091. you have, what you are supposed to produce is

  1092. fruits of righteousness. The life that you have

  1093. now is fruit of righteousness that must be seen.

  1094. Amen? So the next thing that we'll talk about,

  1095. so this is over sin and the flesh. And the third

  1096. thing we'll talk about, over the wall and its

  1097. systems. 1 John chapter 5, verse 4 to 5. Over

    1 John 5:4–5

  1098. the wall and its systems. Over the wall and its

  1099. systems. Talking about the ideology of the world.

  1100. Just like it was said in Romans chapter 12. Do

    Romans 12 chapter mention

  1101. not be conformed to this world. Don't allow the

  1102. world to dictate how you live. Do not allow,

  1103. you know, all these... This is what they are

  1104. saying. All these things. I don't even know them.

  1105. All these aquarius. What? Aquarius or what? Sanguine

  1106. or what? You are a child of God. Simple. You

  1107. are born of God. You are the Holy Spirit. You

  1108. are not sanguine. You are not melancholic. You

  1109. are not none of this. Did the scripture call

  1110. you that you are melancholic? Did you see it

  1111. in the scripture? Did you see any of the disciples

  1112. calling? saint of God, melancholy. Do you see

  1113. any of them calling? You are not. Because I am

  1114. melancholic, my temperament is different. You

  1115. have the temperament of the Holy Spirit and his

  1116. gentleness, his self -control, patience. So,

  1117. we must not allow the ideologies of the world

  1118. to dictate the way we live. You have power over

  1119. the systems of the world. The scripture. 1 John

    1 John 5:4–5

  1120. chapter 5, verse 4 to 5. So we must not allow

  1121. the world to take the way we live. We must not

  1122. allow the world to influence our thinking pattern

  1123. because whatever thing you do, we start from

  1124. your thinking. The things you consume on social

  1125. media, the things you discuss, your conversations.

  1126. The things you hear. Right? That's where it starts,

  1127. from your mind. And then you start calling yourself

  1128. what you are not. He, she, they, them. God made

  1129. male and female. They are calling themselves

  1130. he, she, they, them. And then you see an unbeliever

  1131. that is ignorant. You start calling yourself

  1132. what you are not. So you don't allow the world

  1133. influence the way you think. You allow the word

  1134. of God permeate your mind so much. That all of

  1135. your action, your lifestyle is guided by the

  1136. word of God. And when you are asked, you say,

  1137. the life that I'm living, my standard is God's

  1138. word. My standard is not trend. It's not trend

  1139. of these days. That the trend of these days is

  1140. to do any kind of thing, any sort of things that

  1141. the world, everybody's doing. You see of when

  1142. doing this, you follow. You see. Other people

  1143. doing certain things on social media you follow.

  1144. You have a role model that is an unbeliever that

  1145. you are following. You are following their lifestyle,

  1146. their ideology concerning marriage. You are following

  1147. their ideology concerning the things of the spirit.

  1148. You are following their ideology concerning relationship,

  1149. friendship. Someone that is not born again. So,

  1150. our ideology, our thinking pattern. Our thought

  1151. process must come from God's word. When we have

  1152. examined God's word much more, the things that

  1153. we think, the things that we ponder upon, the

  1154. things that we meditate upon must be the things

  1155. that are acceptable, the things that, as Apostle

  1156. Paul would say, things that are pure, things

  1157. that are praiseworthy, that are according to

  1158. the will of God, not what the world has set.

  1159. So we are in this world, but we are not of this

  1160. world. We are in this world, but we are not of

  1161. this world. So we should not allow the world

  1162. influence the way we think. Rather, you are the

  1163. one that is supposed to influence. You are the

  1164. one that is supposed to influence. Amen? You

  1165. are the one that is supposed to influence. So

  1166. the world has its systems. The world has its

  1167. ideology. Don't allow it to rub off so much on

  1168. you that you forget who you are. That you begin

  1169. to work in identity crisis. Amen. So the next

  1170. thing, the last thing that we will talk about

  1171. is that you are a minister of God. The last thing

  1172. that we will talk about is that you are a minister

  1173. of God. No. Number, is it number five? You are

  1174. a minister of God. We heal the sick. We raise

  1175. the dead. We bless the man. That's, you are a

  1176. minister of God. Right? We, what's the, what

  1177. we used to say? I'm a priest. I'm a king. I'm

  1178. a prophet. With me, God will build you on some

  1179. source. It's not by mouth. Right? It's not by

  1180. mouth. Yes, you profess it. Yes, it's good to

  1181. profess it. But it is a responsibility. Right?

  1182. You are not just a son of God. You are not just

  1183. a child of God. But also, you are a minister

  1184. of God. You have been called to steward the gospel.

  1185. You have been called. To steward the mysteries

  1186. of Christ that have been revealed in the scripture.

  1187. Right? So in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17

    2 Corinthians 5:17–20

  1188. to 20. Let's read it. 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

    2 Corinthians 5 chapter mention

  1189. 17 to 20. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17 to

    2 Corinthians 5:17–20

  1190. 20. 2 Corinthians 5, 17 -20 Therefore, if anyone

  1191. is in Christ, he is an iteration. All things

  1192. are pastoral. Behold, all things have become

  1193. real. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled

  1194. us to himself through Jesus Christ, and has given

  1195. us the ministry of reconciliation. He has given

  1196. us what? Are you the new creation in Christ?

  1197. That means you have been given the ministry of

  1198. reconciliation. Yes? You are what? You are what?

  1199. You are an ambassador. One that speaks for. Yes?

  1200. So this is what you are preaching. You are preaching

  1201. that God is not imputing any sin on anybody.

  1202. There is forgiveness of sins in Christ. You have

  1203. to believe in what Christ has done. The unbelievers,

  1204. they remain unsaved. Why? Because they reject

  1205. what Christ has done. Those that we have preached

  1206. to, some people who preach to them and they say

  1207. they don't want to believe, they remain unsaved

  1208. because they have rejected the gospel. They have

  1209. rejected what Christ has done, the provision

  1210. that God has made for their sin. So as ministers,

  1211. as children of God, we have the responsibility

  1212. to preach the gospel. Why? Because that is what

  1213. you have received as salvation. With that gift

  1214. of salvation comes a responsibility. And that

  1215. responsibility is to bring others as you have

  1216. been brought in by someone. It's your responsibility

  1217. also to go outside and bring others into the

  1218. family. So Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10. We are

    Ephesians 2:10

  1219. not saved by good works, but we are saved unto

  1220. good works. Right? We are not saved by good works.

  1221. We are not saved by what you did. what she did

  1222. not do. In that verse, we are yet sinners. Christ

  1223. died for our sins. Christ died for the ungodly.

  1224. So you are not saved by good works, but you are

  1225. saved unto good works. That good works is ministry.

  1226. That good work is the preaching of the gospel.

  1227. That good works is the raising disciples for

  1228. Christ. That is the life that you have received.

  1229. Right? Sometimes, Some people, the pastors or

  1230. the leaders, they have team leaders, cell leaders,

  1231. who tell them, come to church, come for cell

  1232. meetings, come for meetings, come to the Garden

  1233. of Believers. But some of them, the excuse that

  1234. they give is a valid excuse. I have to go to

  1235. class. I have to go to this. I have to go and

  1236. do other mundane things, other natural things.

  1237. It's valid to them. But then what we must understand

  1238. is that your purpose, right, is not your career.

  1239. The reason why you are living, the reason why

  1240. you are here, your purpose is not nursing, right?

  1241. It's not financial accounting. It's not law.

  1242. It's not all this. natural things that man has,

  1243. is man -made, right? Those things are good. Don't

  1244. get me wrong. But that is not your life. That

  1245. is not your life. Because when you die tomorrow,

  1246. when you see the Lord, when you sleep, he's not

  1247. going to ask you, how was your business? How

  1248. was your career? No. The assignment that I give

  1249. unto you, did you do it? Did you preach the gospel?

  1250. How many people did you preach to? How many souls?

  1251. How many people did you raise? How many people

  1252. did you, how many disciples? That is the purpose.

  1253. That is your life. Any other thing that you are

  1254. doing, that you are not doing that one, you are

  1255. just living. So, all those things are good. What

  1256. our life is. preaching the gospel because we

  1257. are ministers of God. That one you have set yourself

  1258. up. There is nothing you can do about it. There

  1259. is nothing you can do about it because why? You

  1260. have received the ministry. We have been saying

  1261. it every Sunday. I received the what? What have

  1262. you received? We have been saying it every Sunday.

  1263. No? I have received Okay, I'm a prophet. I'm

  1264. a what? I'm a priest. I've received the message,

  1265. the ministry, and the office of Jesus Christ.

  1266. When Jesus Christ was on the earth, he was preaching,

  1267. healing the sick. How was his ministry? Preaching,

  1268. healing the sick. So that is what we have received,

  1269. right? That is what we have received as believers.

  1270. Amen? So, as we go, we must have this mindset.

  1271. We must have this understanding that we are ministers

  1272. of God. We have been called to reach the lost.

  1273. We have been called to preach to the lost. We

  1274. are ambassadors. We have been called for to show

  1275. His praises. We have been called for to show

  1276. the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness.

  1277. Into his marvelous light. We are children of

  1278. God. Called to serve the will. Desire. Purpose

  1279. of our father. We are children of God. That have

  1280. been called to serve. The will. Desire. And purpose.

  1281. Of our dear father. We are children of God. Called.

  1282. To serve the will, desire, and purpose of our

  1283. dear Father. We have been called. So you will

  1284. see examples in scriptures, I should say it again.

  1285. We are children of God, called to serve. Called

  1286. to serve the will. The desire, purposes of our

  1287. Father. We are sent, we are the sent ones to

  1288. the lost. Hallelujah. We are the sent ones to

  1289. the lost. We are the sent ones to the lost. We

  1290. are the sent one to the lost. So you will see

  1291. examples in scriptures. Just write this down.

  1292. Example, Acts chapter 5, verse 40 to 41. Acts

    Acts 5:40–41 Acts 5:40–41

  1293. chapter 5, verse 40 to 41. You will see how the

  1294. disciples, in the whole book of Acts, you will

  1295. see how they rejoice. After they are being persecuted

  1296. for the gospel, that's another thing. You know,

  1297. we are hearing news of, you know, things that

  1298. are happening, persecution all over the world,

  1299. especially in Nigeria, in other places, we see

  1300. persecution. So, we must be encouraged that you

  1301. will be persecuted for the gospel. Right? The

  1302. disciples were flogged. After they had been flogged

  1303. and they told them not to preach the name of

  1304. Jesus, they went about rejoicing and they went

  1305. and preached about that same Jesus they told

  1306. them not to preach about. So, we will be persecuted

  1307. for the gospel, right? We will be persecuted

  1308. for the truth. But then, that should not stop

  1309. us from preaching. That should not stop us from

  1310. preaching. The gospel. Amen? Amen. So another

  1311. thing that we must know as sons of God and ministers

  1312. of God is that we will face trials and temptations.

  1313. Right? We will face trials and temptations. They

  1314. will come. But then, in those trials and temptations,

  1315. let me give you some scriptures. 1 Corinthians

    1 Corinthians 10:13

  1316. 10 verse 13. God has made a way of escape for

  1317. us already. He has provided a way of escape.

  1318. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13. 1 Corinthians 10,

    1 Corinthians 10:13 1 Corinthians 10:13

  1319. verse 13. So before the temptation comes, just

  1320. know that there is a way of escape. Right? Before

  1321. the trials come. And temptation comes from our

  1322. desires. Some of the things that we desire are

  1323. not of God. So, when you desire things that are

  1324. not of God, these are temptations that are tempting

  1325. you to sin against God's will. But then, we understand

  1326. that we have received self -control. One of the

  1327. fruits of the Spirit is self -control that we

  1328. have received. So we are able to live above our

  1329. feelings. We are able to live above the things

  1330. that we desire. Right? So trials will come. Temptation

  1331. will come. But then we understand that we have

  1332. the Holy Spirit in us that enables us to live

  1333. the Christian life. So this life that we have

  1334. received, we don't live it by our strength. Right?

  1335. It is by the power of the Holy Ghost. We walk

  1336. together with him by our will. Right? We walk

  1337. together with him. So the first thing that we

  1338. spoke about is what? Look at your notes. The

  1339. first thing we spoke about. You have eternal

  1340. life. The second thing we spoke about. Your sins

  1341. are forgiven and you are justified. The third

  1342. thing we spoke about. The fourth thing. The fifth

  1343. thing. So I want to ask you now. Who are you?

  1344. What is your identity? One by one. We start from

  1345. the back. From the teaching. What is your identity?

  1346. Okay. I know, I know. You have learned. That's

  1347. good. That's good. Yes, Sister Caroline. Who

  1348. are you? Okay. Yes. A child of God. That's your

  1349. identity. That's your identity. Hallelujah. Amen.

  1350. Yes. Your sins have been forgiven and you are

  1351. justified. So what that means is that there is

  1352. no praying again, no crying again for your sins

  1353. to be forgiven, right? Would you cry again to

  1354. God and say, God, please forgive me? He has forgiven

  1355. you already. So what do you do? You thank him

  1356. for the forgiveness of sins you have received,

  1357. right? So you are one that have received forgiveness

  1358. of sins. Hallelujah. Amen. Yes. You are a new

  1359. creature. What does that mean? You are a new

  1360. creature because God is your father. God is your

  1361. father. You are a new creature means you are

  1362. born of God. Right? You are born of God. It means

  1363. you have the Spirit of God in you. That's what

  1364. it means. Right? You have the Spirit of God in

  1365. you because you have believed the gospel. Now

  1366. you are born of God and you have the Spirit of

  1367. God in you. Hallelujah. Yes. Sorry, please can

  1368. you just repeat what I said? You are a new creation

  1369. because of what? Because God is your Father.

  1370. No. Yes, God is your Father. You are born of

  1371. God, yes. His spirit is in you, right? God's

  1372. spirit is in you. You are born of God. His spirit

  1373. is in you. You are a new creation now because

  1374. you are born of God and his spirit is in you.

  1375. Yes. Yes, God is your father, but I wanted you

  1376. to say, you know, yes, the Holy Spirit is in

  1377. you. You are born of God. Hallelujah. Amen. Yes.

  1378. We appreciate you being here today. We hope you

  1379. carry this word with you throughout your week.

  1380. Don't forget to check the show notes for additional

  1381. insights. Stay connected with us through our

  1382. website or follow us on social media. If you

  1383. are encouraged, share this message with someone

  1384. you care about. Until next time, stay blessed.