Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Programme: Believers’ Convention 2023 (Day 4 - Morning Session)
Date: Wednesday, 9th August 2023
Minister: Pastor Shehu Makama
Transcript Excerpt
There is a coming of the Lord to the Church and another coming of the Lord for the Church. These two comings can also be related to the two forms of resurrection: the resurrection from the body and the resurrection of the body. We cannot talk about the coming of the Lord without talking about His resurrection. We must understand the resurrection of the soul through the preaching of Christ. This is when the soul is awakened; nevertheless, it has not truly come into full salvation, even though it has experienced the first resurrection.
Salvation is the emptying of Jesus unto us. The preaching of Christ is also the emptying of Christ into us. This might raise the question of which Jesus is being emptied. The Jesus that would be emptied into us in the process of the journey is the Jesus that would enable us to overcome the enemy; while the Jesus that would be emptied in salvation is the glorious Jesus that would establish the kingdom and reign of God within His people.
“For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:17). The phrase, "death reigns" means that death is a dominion— it is a governance. There is a government of death that is ruled by death. The promise we have in this Scripture is that we would first receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness; through which the reign of the kingdom of God upon the earth, where death previously reigned, will be administered.
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (1 Cor. 15:19). If the hope we have “in Christ” is only in this life, it is a miserable hope. The only hope we can have in Christ that will not be miserable is the hope for another life. The term, "this life" is referring to the present dominion where death reigns. Even though it is in Christ, if our hope is in the government where death reigns, we are of all men most miserable. This is because every hope under the government of death will end in death. Therefore, it is not sufficient to be in Christ but to consider where we place our hope.
Every man has a hope which is a function of his nature. Therefore, to change our hope, our nature has to change. In Christ, we find ourselves living for a hope that is miserable (1 Cor. 15:19). The teaching that the hope of Christ is to give the believer a good life and material things, are hopes in this life. Such hopes have the sting of death in them, so they would end in misery.
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. [21] For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:20-22). The resurrection of Jesus Christ offered another hope for us – the lively hope. Christ risen from the dead has become the firstfruit; there would be other fruits that would rise. ‘Rising’ here indicates a rising into another life containing a living hope, where we can escape the hope of this life. Death sealed the hope of the destiny of every man through Adam, leaving no other hope or destiny, because death is a ruler— a government. So even though we are in Christ, we have not yet escaped death until we can rise above the presentation of the hope that death offers.
“But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. [24] Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. [25] For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. [26] The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor. 15:23-26). This is the rejoicing we have of His coming: that we will be raised to another hope higher than the hope of this life; another hope that comes after resurrection— and that is what salvation is. Before the destruction of the last enemy which is death, death will still reign. That is why to Paul the only hope and the only glorious thing that can happen to him is to conform to the death of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of attaining the resurrection of the dead.
Christ has attained a dominion, He is seated at the right hand of God and on the throne; however, His body, the Church is still under the reign of death. And until the enemies of God are brought under His feet, dominion cannot be established. When His enemies are defeated, death would be annihilated.
The death that reigns on the earth is not just physical death; rather, it is the death that reigns within man which produces the outward representation that we see. Death cannot rule externally if death is not ruling in a man. Death reigns because of the ground it has for expression within us – flesh. The absolute dominion of the life of God will come when the life of death is totally expunged from within us (Matt. 24:21).
“For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.” (Heb. 2:5). The world referred to in this Scripture is the world we have hope. This is where our hope lies. Our hope is not in this life; according to Hebrews 1:11, this world will pass away. There must be a passing away of the old creation within us before the new world, which is the kingdom of God, can be enthroned within; but we must be able to bear this period of the passing away. The life of Christ which we have within us, the first resurrection, is not sufficient to dethrone the life of death reigning in the earth.
“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” (Rev. 13:7). Overcoming the saints means ‘not allowing them to gain dominance over the external world’. Our claim of expressing the dominion-life of God within us in the present world is only a mockery of the dominion of God; this is because the dominion of God cannot be expressed in a world where sin and death are still the order of the day. Our hope lies in the world to come.
“But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? [7] Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:” (Heb. 2:6-7). God’s promise to us is not the dominion or subjection of this world, but of the world to come. The time is coming when all things that have been put in subjection under man will really be seen under him. Death, the last enemy, will be destroyed after the great tribulation and the passing away of this present life from within us (1 Cor. 15:26). The first resurrection is a victory over death. The coming of the Lord is what is going to kickstart the resurrection of the dead (Rev. 20:6). Our hope for the coming of the Lord is not just our excitement but our readiness.
“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4:17). God’s agenda and judgment is the Church. Salvation has to do with the saving of the righteous – a man being made Christ. Our eyes must be on the judgment coming upon the whole earth within us, and it is our submission to this judgment that will bring about the coming of the Lord. The new world is not just a place but is within us. It must first be established within us. We must be ready to receive the experience of the revelation that is coming to us. The Lord will allow a lot of things to happen within us; but He is not bringing judgment unto destruction but unto salvation.
Round off by Reverend Kayode Oyegoke
There is a world in man that controls the external; this world is in the heart of man. The government of Satan reigns in the earth because of the hold it has over the heart of men. God desires to take away this inward dominion of Satan, or else Satan’s reign would remain intact. God set the Israelites free from the physical dominion, however, they were still under the dominion of Satan in their hearts; the real bondage was under Satan who instituted Pharaoh to physically oppress the children of God.
The first resurrection speaks of the stature of Christ. The next level of resurrection that would culminate into full dominion is the salvation of the soul, which brings the saint into the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). The latter is the stature of Christ in another dimension. Jesus has different statures which He came into by His walk. The stature of the Son of God is the highest stature Jesus came into; the work of the fivefold ministry will continue to work in the saints until they are raised into this stature and they have become sons.
Death, the last enemy, is yet present in the other dimension of the fullness of Christ; and when the work of the five-fold ministry is not yet done there, death will still reign over the man to some degree, even though such is a child of God. The stature of Christ sets one free, however, such is not yet saved; this means that God is still unsure of such a man. Salvation is total when one becomes completely free, having learnt the element that can completely overpower death. Until we get to this level, the present world will still remain.
The present heaven and earth are tied to an everlasting strength and power. The power that created the heavens is one that makes up the Son of God, but the Son of God is superior to it. These powers are shadows of the Son of God and the creations in this category are Lucifer, Michael, Gabriel, and other creatures in their order. However, one of these creatures, Lucifer, fell and converted all the energy he was created with to create death. God did not create death, Lucifer turned himself into death; he murdered all the life of God in him (John 8:44). After killing all the life of God in himself, he sold that death to every creature he could get. So Lucifer is not just a custodian of worlds, he is also a holder of creatures. When a shepherd is struck with false doctrines, the sheep cannot escape. Satan was a shepherd and he infected some of the beings under him with the death in him.
After Satan corrupted some angels and turned them into evil spirits, he brought his corrupted life to man. The highest form of life that Satan teaches is death. However he does not present death to man as death, but as help. This help becomes the hope of man. It makes men highly committed to it. Death kills by its sweetness. It is a way of life that offers the hope of a lifetime. As long as man embraces this lifetime offered by death, he remains under the dominion of death, even if such is in Christ.
If man could escape the dominion of death at the point of New Birth, then there would be no need to stay on the earth to learn salvation. Satan’s dominion would have been removed from the air and he would have been cast into the lake of fire. Satan is the prince of the air because a lot of people in the world still obey him, including believers.
Death is a world of hope; it suggests a life to every man. There are stars, a sun, and a moon that the enemy has designed to rule over man, which are present in the soul, different from the physical ones we see. Worldliness is not first in the external activities, but a hope in the heart of man. It is not a thing that can be easily hated. Men love it (2 Tim. 4:10). The world can capture apostles and take down prophets. Everything Satan offers are love gifts, and by loving them, a man dies. Danger lies in loving the world and the things in it. However, God is sending light to deliver men from the allegiance to the world, but some men still love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil (John 3:19). Evil is a practice away from the judgment of God.
God speaks of His own day through apostle Peter, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:” (2 Pet. 1:19). The “dark place” is not the world, it is a place where there is no light from the sun, moon, and stars; this is the sanctuary – the holy place – where the only light present is that of the menorah. The brightness of the light of the menorah is not of the day, but one that precedes the day. The Most Holy Place is the day of God. Peter was stating to the church he was writing to that they had been moved from the Court into the Sanctuary.
Worship, sacrifices, and offerings take place in the Court; however, these are not sufficient to take away the “day” and are under the supervision of a wrong light. Therefore, exit from the Outer Court into the Holy Place is accompanied with a catastrophe, which is the sixth seal referred to in Revelation 6:12. To fall the stars and injure the moon and sun is to bring the saints into the Holy Place. When these events will be occurring, things in the natural may still appear to be intact, but God is dealing with the hearts of men. As the day over a man is changed, the life over such is also changed (Ps. 121:6). So to come into the Holy Place is to come into a dark place where God shines light to prepare the saint for the day.
Peter was admonishing the saints to ensure that they obeyed prophecy; prophecy here means the promises that would create the Day gradually. The first light that is introduced to a dark place is a day that begins referred to as “alpha”; that is, God is granting one the blessings of the beginning – “alpha”. The littlest form of day is the “evening”, which is different from the night. So when God is to upgrade the night at first, it looks like an evening. As God increases the light, it turns into morning. Therefore, the “day dawn” is referring to the morning time, when the whole of the man’s soul has gotten the “morning”.
Satan is a son of the morning; this is why it is difficult to deal with him. We also need to be given the morning/light. When that light comes, death is past, and the true light now shines (1 John 2:8). Then it can be said that such a soul has passed from death to life because such a one loves the brethren (1 John 3:14). Any man who has such a construction within him does not live on earth by anything that is of the earth, but lives by the powers of the world to come.
Every Christian should attain this state of a daystar in their hearts (2 Pet. 1:19). This is the nature called “divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). The Lord will not return no matter how much we call for His coming until some natures are done in us. The nature we have now is completely different from Jesus’. Before rapture will occur, there must be a disengagement in the soul from the world.
It is important that we have the things we are hearing in our hearts, not just in the Bible. This was the case with the children of Israel. They enjoyed manna from God but Satan lived in their hearts, while they put God in tents. They saw God’s presence on the mount, the blazing fire, the dreadful sight, etc., yet did not fear Him. A man can see God’s presence and become fearless because a man can train his soul not to fear God. This was the case with Satan. So God swore that they would not enter His rest (Heb. 3:9-11). It is dangerous to get to such a state.
Blessings!
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