Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministries (EGFM)
Programme: Tuesday Prayer Meeting
Date: 21st September 2021
Minister: Pastor Thomson Ehima
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; [4] God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?” (Heb 2:3-4). Everything Jesus spoke about was “so great salvation” and God also bore witness to His words with signs and wonders. The healing and miracles He did were for the purpose of so great salvation. As we begin to come into the stream of so great salvation, we would begin to experience some witnesses (healing and miracles).
Every seeking ought to be prompted by sight. “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints...” (Eph. 1:18). Seeking should be generated by sight. The eyes of the soul must first be enlightened after the New Birth that we might know (see). It is until we see that we comprehend. Until we see, we cannot seek genuinely. Seeing generates a quest in the heart, where it begins to gravitate towards the original intention of God for man, which is salvation.
“Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” (1 Cor. 11:27). There are things we must undertake not to partake of His flesh and blood unworthily. One thing we must do is judge ourselves as we partake of this table. Anytime we sit to hear, we are partaking of a communion. “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.” (1 Cor. 11:26). We are to show/partake of a kind of death. “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” (Philip. 3:10). We show the fellowship of His sufferings by being made conformable unto His death. Through death, Jesus destroyed him that had the power of death (Heb. 2:14).
The activity of deliverance from darkness begins with the learning of Christ (faith, hope and charity). However, the learning of Christ only delivers us from darkness in a measure. “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves…” (2 Cor. 1:9). This scripture is showing us why God is going for self in us because death springs forth from selfishness.
One may have come into the stature of Christ and subtly trust in himself, but Jesus Christ kept fighting against trusting in Himself. “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” (John 5:19). This saying was not far from Jesus’ mouth because it is from the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). It was not just a mere saying from His mouth; He was attacking something that wanted to well up within Him.
“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” (John 14:9). Jesus was showing/manifesting the life of the Father. He came to the seal of obedience, but needed to obey the final lap of obedience to get the reward.
The work the enemy has done in us is the pronouncement of a sentence of death that is hanging on everyone. The enemy connects it to us trusting ourselves and there are different levels of trust. “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. [6] For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh…” (Jer. 17:5-6). The manifestation of flesh is in grades. A man might have been delivered from this world, that is, have attained the stature of Christ but can still manifest flesh.
The principle of everlasting life played out in the story of the prodigal son. The prodigal son came to himself and told his father that he was not worthy to be called his son but a servant (Luke 15:17-21). This is also similar to what Jesus Christ did. “Though He were a son, yet learned He obedience…” (Heb. 5:8). Jesus was in the form of God (Christ) yet took the form of a servant (Philipp. 2:6-7). Jesus attained a stature that He had to strip Himself of to fulfil the obedience of the cross.
Jesus, as the Eternal Word emptied Himself to become man. When He became man, He grew into some stature (Christ) but had to empty Himself again for the obedience of the cross; because it is the pattern of anyone who will receive the reward of both everlasting life and Eternal Life. The obedience Jesus learned here was not to trust in the state He had attained, but to trust in the living God that was able to raise Him from the dead (Heb. 5:7).
Hospitality is what we should be using when we arrive at charity because there are things we must do to be ushered into a new season. We must use our gifts and graces to serve one another and not ourselves and it will lead us to the season of selflessness. There are things and graces that come as a result of obeying God but we must not be tempted to use it for ourselves. We should use it to serve one another - these are seasons we move from charity to fervent charity.
1 Peter 4:10
"As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." The grace of God is salvation (Titus 2:11). It opens one to God's working; it produces life in us. Grace has a twin work: as knowledge and the administration of the spirit (spirit of grace). The spirit of grace is to beat to shape, tailor and arrange a man. Jesus did not just have grace as knowledge but also as the spirit of grace. Grace exists in arrangements; it has her arrangement in marriage to make husband and wife come into life (everlasting life). Grace is manifold; we should pray to discern it when at work. You need wisdom to tell manifold grace. It is needed to internalize life in us and birth godly conversation; we need the help and aid of the spirit to translate knowledge to life (Jn. 6:63).
One thing required of a steward is faithfulness. So we should be able to steward grace in their diversities. Being in lack is also a working of grace, and a man ought to steward it to inherit life.
"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (1 Pet. 4:11). There's a repetition of the commandment not to look at ourselves again in this scripture because every man tends to look at himself especially after going through a dealing. The essence of the gifts we receive is not to glory in it, but to empty it as an offering/sacrifice unto the Lord.
But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. [14] If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye ; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. [15] But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. [16] Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. [17] 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. 4:13-17). Our embodiment of these conversations opens us up to a time of restitution. The time of judgement of God's house is part of the time of restitution because to restitute is to recover, put in proper arrangement or put in order. Restitution also means Eternal redemption or Eternal salvation. The church Peter wrote to in 1 Pet. 4:17 were in a time where judgement must begin in the house of God. He connected the issue of judgement to the end. The "end" here is not the end of time, but what we should end in or turn out to be. Those who do not obey the truth would end up becoming worse (2Tim. 3:13), because disobedience has its own work in the soul.
The time has come that judgement must begin in the house of the Lord (1Pet. 4:17). The people of God must take the issue of judgement seriously. We cannot come into judgement without knowledge (Phil. 1:9). Judgement means discernment, insight or what we approve of. There are things we lack parameters for because we do have the equipment/insight to judge them. 1 Corinthians 2:15-16 "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. [16] For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
To know the mind of the Lord is by revelation and understanding. It is to be aware of His dealings and workings. The spiritual are those that have attained a state beyond charity (1Cor. 3:1-2). They had been exercised in spirituality (1Cor. 2:13). The worthy way to come to the Lord’s table is to come by judgement. We must judge what the Lord has brought as being different from previous meals. If we do not make enquiries before the Lord, we will not know the right heart attitude to profit with this season.
If certain actions make some unworthy of everlasting life, there are actions that will make us worthy of everlasting life (Acts 13:42-46). By judging ourselves, we possess garments (Matt. 22:11-12). There is a kind of attitude required of us this season to profit with the light God is shining. In the parable of the five virgins, the wise virgins were engaged in a conversation that enabled them to have oil in their lamps (Matt. 25:4). There are things we must be doing to keep us in the feast of everlasting life. Judas Iscariot could not witness the last supper because he did not have the required heart posture for it.
The communion table is not something to be taken lightly; there is a fear we should have in our hearts when we approach the table. "To examine" in 1 Corinthians 11:27 is for us to judge ourselves. Our faces are veiled; it is an infirmity of the fallen man. When we examine ourselves, the veil is taken away (1Cor. 3:5-16). It will take unveiled faces to behold the image (2Cor. 3:18). 2 Corinthians 3:15-16 "But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. [16] Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away."
We may have attained the stature of Christ but there are still things that are veiled and as a result we cannot see. This is a time for us to approach the things coming to us with soberness, fear, broken hearts and trembling to be made worthy. If you hear words of everlasting life and there’s no change to becoming what you’ve heard, it will corrupt you and you will become worse. As we judge the things of the spirit, we must continually judge ourselves.
God is not calling us into timidity; He has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). Running away from everlasting life is also not judging yourself, but we should be like Peter who was faithful to the Lord all the days of his life (John 6:66-68). May we receive grace to be found faithful till the very end in Jesus name.
Message Ends