Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Programme: School of the Spirit (SOS)
Date: Thursday, 22 July 2021
Ministering: Reverend Kayode Oyegoke
Text: James 1:21-25
A blessed man is one whose work is bearing fruit (James 1:25). The end of a work is known by the fruit of that work. God blessed works in the beginning when He made them. The blessing to be fruitful and multiply is a blessing for works (Genesis 1:28). The engrafted word is the word which is able to save the soul (James 1:21). A work that comes into blessing is synonymous to a branch that is bearing fruit. The end of the work, which is the blessing of the work, is the saving of the soul. A saved soul is one who is blessed in this capacity.
A fruitless tree is one which does not complete the cycle of work (Matthew 3:10). Every soul is expected to abide until the work completes its cycle and fruits are borne. Branches are an expression of life everlasting (John 15:5). The forces that are required to work are these branches; they were assigned and grafted to work. The ground of work or the ground for planting these workforce or branches is on a tree or a vine. The vine tree is a very mysterious tree which grows quite differently from many other trees. It has a special way of sprouting.
Jesus said in John 15:5: ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches’. Jesus was loaded with divine wisdom during His earthly sojourn. On the vine trunk is where we are being recruited and everlasting life grows on this vine trunk. We are the branches of the Son of God. Churches of everlasting life are the labor force that Jesus is raising. The possession of this kind of thought pattern is a breakthrough in this season. Many of us claim this scripture but it is not everyone that has arrived on the everlasting ground to work.
The reason for the Gospel, beginning from the new birth, is for people to have everlasting life (John 3:16). Those who believe in him should have everlasting life. Those who believe in Him would later believe on Him. It is good to first believe in Him and then go on to learn how to believe on Him. Believing in Him is a measure of belief while believing on Him is believing in the totality of Him, that is, the fullness of Him.
“The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father” is the only One who can declare God (John 1:17-18). The term ‘bosom’ means hiding place, not just the shoulder of the Father. The bosom is a place between the breasts and the arm. Bosom is the shape of the cleft of the rock; it is the sign of concealing. Where we keep things is between the inward arm and the side breast, and that is where the bosom lies. The shoulder and the breast portions of certain old testament sacrifices are reserved as the food of the high priest. This signifies that they are in the hiding place of the Most High.
The bosom of the Father is where the Father hides; it is the Father's house. The only begotten Son is the full expression of Sonship. The Eternal Son can only be found in God who is both the Father and God of the Son. The Father groomed Jesus to be an everlasting tree. God condescended so that the Son would ascend to everlasting life, and ultimately, Eternal Life. The place of ascending to everlasting life and Eternal Life can only be given by God. Only God gave birth to His only Son: it is the realm of the 'Only'.
The name Elijah means God the Father. “Eli” is Elohim, while “Jah” is Father who is the Lord Almighty. From our end we would call Him Jah Elohim. When we are in Everlasting Life, it is a realm of ‘Lord God’; the realm of Eternal Life is that of ‘God Lord’. We ascend while He condescends. The word Elijah means God is Lord. When Elijah called fire down and the fire licked all the altar, the prophets of Baal were in trouble.
This Lord is not Christ but is LORD; not just power but eternal power. The word 'God' is the Eternal God. The word 'LORD' is found in the realm of the Father. It is God who is everlasting. The everlasting God is undressing Himself as the reward. He condescends to the realm where He can harvest sons into His realm of Eternal Life.
The name of the man who brought the fire is Elijah which means God is Lord. That is the covenant name of bringing God from the realm of eternity to everlasting life. God is Lord, that is Eli (God) Jah, the actual pronunciation being Elijah. “And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.” (1Kings 18:39).
“The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.” (1 Kings 18:39). The person who brought this fire was “God He is the Lord” (1 Kings 18:38). “Jah Eli” was what they were calling Jehovah. The name of the mediator is Elijah: Eli is the Lord while Elijah is the preparer of the Way of the Lord (Malachi 3:1-2). John was prepared and was sent in the spirit of Elijah, for the purpose of preparing the way for Jesus to come (Matthew 11:10). If John had not come, there was no way Jesus would have been able to come. It was necessary for John to come before Jesus to prepare the way for Him. The same angel that announced the birth of John announced the birth of Jesus. John's coming was weighty enough to make Jesus come in the flesh, partake of flesh and blood and die on the cross. Jesus' first coming aided other comings. Jesus’ first coming in the flesh was very important.
Malachi showed more comings of Jesus. Jesus’ coming into His temple would happen only after the church has been built. Malachi prophesied of the end - Jesus coming to His temple (Malachi 3:1). A first messenger prepared the way for the Lord whom was sought, and who now also became a messenger of the covenant. The Lord that came to earth the first time would come again as a messenger of the covenant. This is not Jesus coming to preach in Nazareth street; but this is Jesus coming as the King to His church. This church is the church which He built on the earth and has capacity to receive him.
“He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.” (Malachi 3:3). The sons of Levi are priests in the Holy Place. Levi gave birth in the Court. Sons of Levi means Sons of the Kingdom. Levites would give tithe to Aaron. This means that priests are a tithe of tithes, while Levi is the tithe of Israel to God. We are the tithe of the church unto God and so we must never go back from being this. The tithes must be given to God (Malachi 3:10-12).
“Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them . Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? [8] Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” (Malachi 3:7-8). Returning means returning to God (Malachi 3:7). The returning is in tithes and offerings. We rob God in tithes and offerings. Paying tithes of our natural possessions is also practiced in the New Testament. It is necessary to pay tithes and offerings.
God does not only receive the substances that we give but also first of all receives our person. Abraham paid tithes to someone in the pattern of Jesus - Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:8-9). A man that struggles with laying down a measure of his substance cannot give his person. God receives beings; He receives tithes from beings. The giving of tithes and offerings has not stopped and the Church should not refrain from paying tithes to Jesus. Jesus has been receiving tithes from the Church; and a time would come when the church would graduate in tithes and offerings.
The messenger who will prepare the way will first come, and then the Lord whom we seek will come (Malachi 3:1). The coming in this context is not the first advent of the Lord Jesus when He came to die on the cross; rather, this coming speaks of the coming of the Lord as the Messenger of the covenant. The covenant is the covenant of everlasting life. However, it will take sons of Levi to participate in this covenant.
God intends that we all would arrive at this covenant at the same time; but this is limited by our will which causes us to respond at different times and levels. Our will is subject to times because of the situation of things here on earth. There is a time stretch for the will of all saints to come in; and God will endure until all these wills come to obedience. However, those who respond first would not receive the same portion of blessing as those who decide to obey later. There is a portion of blessing for those who obeyed first.
Offerings and tithes precede the giver. The Church will offer gifts to Jesus. Anyone in this light is an extension of the body to the Master and is like the offering and tithe of the Church to God. Hence, such a one must not look back. We must know that obedience is not tied to us alone but to a lot of others behind us. Jesus obeyed so that He will save those who will obey later. Just as He was raised for others, He would also raise people for others at large.
When the Lord is in His temple, no one sees Him (Malachi 3:2-3). The reason why He will come into His temple is to teach His temple how to make covenant; because He is coming with the message of the covenant. Thus, there can be no covenant without the message; the message unveils the covenant.
Hebrews chapter 8 verse 1 describes God and the High Priest who sits on the throne; while verse 2 describes the Messenger, the Lord Almighty (Hebrews 8:1-2). “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:8) These names are important because they are secrets of the covenant.
The manifestation of the Lord as seen in the midst of the candlesticks is the Lord Almighty (2Corinthians 6:17-18). He is the minister of the True Tabernacle and can also minister in the Sanctuary. He is a fire in the Sanctuary and a light in the Most Holy. He is God on the ark and He sits on the ark of the covenant. His movement from the ark to us is the work of the messenger of the covenant. This means that He comes to teach us how to make covenant. The covenant of the True Tabernacle is the covenant of charity. The covenant of the Court is the covenant of life, while the covenant of the Sanctuary is the covenant of peace. However, our destination, which is the actual testament, is the covenant of Everlasting Life.
The covenant of the Lord Almighty is the everlasting covenant (Isaiah 55:2-3); the purpose of which is everlasting life. The promise is Eternal Life; it is sure. For Eternal Life to be sure for anyone, he/she must come into a sure place; that is, to make your calling and election sure, you must come into everlasting life. Everlasting Life is the surety for Eternal Life. This sureness is in God and not in man, because of man’s will. When the covenant has been made sure in a man, Eternal Life will not elude him.
The manchild company will of saints across the entire body of Christ. The manchild is a tithe of tithes. God will make sure that every profession in the Body is represented in this manchild company (the 144,000). When God sees this fruit, He sees them as a tithe of the general body of Christ being offered to Him. This work will grow more than the size of 144,000 as in a physical number. The 144,000 constitute the generation of those who will first have everlasting life. The Body of Christ will give many men to Christ. These men would be men who have life; and out of them, some will come into life and peace. Out of the company of those who have life and peace, some men will come forth into everlasting life, and at this point will be received by Jesus. Jesus will receive these men into everlasting life; while the Father will harvest them into Life Eternal, which is His abode/house/bosom. That is to say, Jesus has prepared a room for us in Eternal Life.
Jesus is “the mediator of a better covenant” (Hebrews 8:4-6). Covenant here is singular and not plural. This tells us that there are measures in the promises.
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:” (Hebrews 8:8). There were two houses mentioned in this verse including Israel and Judah. Israel was split in two; however, to God, Judah is the house with the covenant of everlasting life while Israel is the house of life. Judah is reaped from Israel. Judah is the seat of the throne; thus, to Judah pertains salvation. These two houses are Samaria and Jerusalem. Samaria is the capital city of Israel; while Jerusalem is the capital city of Judah.
“Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). This statement means that the saving of Israel belongs to the Jews. Jesus was a Jew by nature, from Judah; hence, we see Him telling the woman of Samaria which He met at the well that He is salvation (John 4:22). Not all Israelites are Jews. The Samaritans were 10 tribes of Israel who went up to the mountain to worship God. Initially, when they came out of Egypt, they went to the temple in Jerusalem with the rest of the tribe of Judah. After Shiloh, the next place of worship was Jerusalem. However, during the reign of Jeroboam, the son of Solomon, the nation divided into two: Israel and Judah.
What God is telling us is that a time will come when all of Israel will be like Judah and all Israel shall be saved. Judah has the perfect salvation pattern. When Jesus was speaking with the Samaritan woman, He said, "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews." (John 4:22) He made this statement based on His Jewish origin; because salvation was of the Jews. Then, He went further to say that a hour is coming when true worshippers will no longer worship God on the mountain nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This therefore means that without worship, there is no salvation.
The last worship is for the last promise - the promise that is attached to a covenant. This covenant is the one God is making with the fathers. Fathers are Judeans - those who have arrived at Judah. Though they may all be Israelites, not every Israelite qualifies as a Judean. God will not make covenant with children.
At the time of the making of this covenant, no one would need to teach his neighbour and his brother to know the Lord; because everyone would know the Lord from the least to the greatest (Hebrews 8:9-11). The fact that the Bible mentions least and greatest here tells us that even when the covenant is made, there will still be hierarchy. There are two covenants before the last covenant; they are the covenants of neighbourhood and brotherhood. Neighbourhood is the first life found in the Court while brotherhood is the next level of life found in the Sanctuary. The purpose of brotherhood is for the covenant of everlasting life.
A pure heart is one which obeys the law of loving the brethren fervently (1Peter 1:21-22). We need to do the love of the brethren so that we can be identified as ‘brothers’; that is, this love must continue until we become one. Love is the transfer of the blood of the brethren into our system. We must be seen with that gene, otherwise Elohim will neither trust us nor will He teach us everlasting life. Everlasting Life belongs to those who must have performed love fervently; it has to be fervent so that the gene could spread. The gene would have eaten so deep into our systems, making it impossible to ever get it out. Nothing should be able to separate brethren. Love binds brethren together.
If we break the everlasting covenant, we would not be taken by God. Thus, entrance into everlasting life occurs as we obey the everlasting law of love, which causes us to be joined to God.
Romans 8:35-39
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The effect of being separated from the love of Christ goes beyond separation from the brothers; it also results in being separated from God. God cannot trust one with love who separates himself from his brethren. The greatest warfare against love is discord. There are some who sow discord among brethren to separate them. Thus, when God joins Himself to us by love, He is sowing the seed of the everlasting covenant. Everlasting covenant connotes being undetatchable from God - being in everlasting love/life with God.
Everlasting life should last in anyone who possesses it. No one can carry everlasting life when such a one’s womb has not been permeated, tampered or baptized with the nature of the love of the brethren. God does not trust any place except the love of the brethren is present.
The love of the brethren is that which hates the world. This world communicates a belief that is against faith in Christ; it communicates hopelessness in Christ. The love of this world communicates its love in order to detach you from the Father. When you love the brethren, you will love the Father. You cannot love the One who begat and hate he that is begotten of Him. No one who claims to be a child of God will hate brethren who are walking in truth. Such souls who hate doctrine cannot continue long with us. We must strive to keep doctrine. Jesus died for doctrine; it is His life. If we pervert doctrine, we do not honour the Lord. We should endure sound doctrine.
Covenants are made when obedience is carried out. Obedience means doing the covenant. It is awesome to hear the covenant; but it is more blessed to do it. Those who love coming for meetings will eventually make the covenant. Those who are at home should not take this period for granted and excuse ourselves because of the COVID pandemic. This season is so relaxed and we could be tempted to relax along; but this season is conditioned this way to try us. There are some in whom life is not uppermost in their souls. The reward will not be given to all of us just because we flocked together but based on our individual growth. We should examine our growth and passion for the Lord. Perhaps this period is one to try us whether we would still be willing when surrounded by a relaxed atmosphere instead of persecution.
Members of this ministry should not be without any department in the ministry. We should take our service in the ministry seriously. Anything your hands finds to do, do it with all your might. Even while functioning in the workforce, covenants will be made. We should not excuse our seriousness during streaming sessions because we are at home. We should not be lazy about streaming meetings. We should make use of our time judiciously and keep hearing.
Hearing precedes looking (1John 1:1). Being faithful in ‘hearing’ will take you to ‘looking’. You need to hear for some time for the sedimentation of understanding to take place; that is, for understanding to pile up. After this occurs, you will begin to see and thereafter begin to look. Seeing alone does not result in change, but looking - looking that brings conversion. The progression begins with hearing. When hearing has sedimented, you will begin to see. Seeing is understanding what you have heard. Seeing is comprehension; while looking is for inheriting. Looking is the doing; looking is the work (James 1:25). When you continue looking, you will not forget. Looking makes you a doer.
Thus, as Jesus teaches us of the covenant, our hearts are being drawn away to look. John was told, “come and see” (Rev. 6:1). In looking, a man looks into the perfect law of liberty (James 1:23-25). Such a man will see himself as he is, so that he can be known as he is known. Thus, he sees himself in the true light of everlasting life. Although you may not seem to have measured up at the point of looking, continue looking; and you will keep growing and adjusting, till you get to the point where you have the everlasting stature. The everlasting version of yourself is in the mirror.
A looker is an expert at looking in the mirror. You keep looking until you perfect it. While looking, work is going on; and the Mediator of the New Covenant is also supervising the work, helping you and interceding for you.
The season of everlasting life is also the time of great wrath because Satan is angry. This is a time when you are uprooting Satan and deleting his works by looking in the mirror. The mirror has eternal power. No one who is engaged in eternal power will not be prepared in Eternal Life. Eternal power is the power of an endless life. The power of an endless life is the law of an endless life. We can arrive as an abiding son of God. We can become God's sons by the law of God, through the law of the perfect liberty.
Salvation is shedding a law and inheriting another law. It entails disobeying Satan and obeying Jesus, because obedience ends in making a covenant.