Ephesians 2:11-13

Notes taken by a Precious Sister:

• 11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

• 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

• 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Distance: Feeling far way and a far off

o Many of us today still, even being a Christians and even having the blood of Jesus wash that away all our sins, and inequities for all time.

o Hebrews 8:12- For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

o God doesn’t remember what stupid thing you might be doing tomorrow. All those sins have been paid for on Jesus’s cross. But we have a difficulty in forgetting. We recall to mind the things that God has forgotten. And we don’t recall to mind the things that God does remember.

o So, there’s a disconnection. God is over here and His thoughts over you, Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Those are His plans. God’s thoughts are not where you mind is.

o Paul said in Colossians 3:2-3, Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ. Your physical body is hidden in Christ. That means your healing, longevity and healing are hidden in Christ. It is not on the things that you worry about, things that you’re concerned about that have passed. We have a tendency to beat ourselves up when we make mistakes. Yet God knew that we were going to make those mistakes, and He still sent Jesus to die for us.

o So, we have to get to a point where we see all of our sins nailed on that cross. That doesn’t give us a license to do whatever we want. And discipline is not because of sin, because that has been paid for.

o But, when God have chosen a path for us, and we choose to go this way, rather than to follow that path, as a good Father, He tries to get you back on. Then after a while is a time out, then after that you get whipped. Hebrews says, “the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son." (Hebrews 12:6) When God disciplines us, if we don’t learn something from that; about how much He loves us, and that was a path was leading us ultimately to death, then we’re going to repeat the same thing all over again, and God will disciple us. And God will back off, Matthew 12:20- A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he sends forth judgment unto victory”.

o We want to move forward. God says I am, that I am, present tense. God is in the now. Tomorrow is His. He’s the one who have determined the course of our lives.

o If our will do not align with His divine will, discipline will come into play.

o For a child of God, who has been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ, born again, born of water and spirit there’s no more judgment for your sins. You will be discipline, not because you sinned, but because you disobeyed.

o God disciplines as a father disciples a child with love compassion, and mercy so that at end if you yield to it, it will yield to you the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

o Because at the end of the day, your Father wants you to know without a shadow of a doubt in your heart that you are His, and your sins are forgiven by Jesus’ sacrifice.

o Righteousness is by faith not by works, or by Old Testament laws. It means trusting God, that even when you don’t like yourself, He loves you.

o You need to tell yourself that you are Holy. According to the word of God you are Holy. You’re holy because God could not live inside of you unless you are holy. God cannot dwell inside you unless you were sanctified, because God is Holy.

o Your physical body will look like Jesus one day. Right now, you’re living in the same old body, but it’s not same old you.

o The devil likes to tell you you’ll never change, you’ll always be the same. That’s not who you are. That’s the old you.

o We need to speak life to those around us. Speak life to your wife, children and brothers and sisters.

o We should pray for our Pastors. If you don’t like something about your pastor, talk to the elders. The church is not an organization, it’s not a denomination. It’s an organism. And a body cannot function if all of its parts are not helping. There’s a structure. A leader should exercise his or her authority by being in submission and lifting each member. You need to put other above yourself. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:25. What does it mean? It means to give up something you like to serve others.

o We need to look at life from an eternal perspective. The reason why we are more fearful and doubt it’s because we are not filling our minds with with heavenly thoughts. We are filling our minds with things of this earth. Paul said, “I purposely know one thing, and only one thing among you, Jesus Christ and Him crucified”. (1 Corinthians 2:2)

o Ephesians 2:13- “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."

o The cross is the single most important thing that has ever happened in the history of mankind. Because it took us who were so far away from God and headed for destruction- and made us His. Jesus gave God what did not have with the first Adam- children. You are a child of God.

o When you feel worthless, remember the cross. Remember who lives inside you. As a child of God, you can take a stand without being disrespectful. Paul said, “I purposely know one thing, and only one thing among you, Jesus Christ in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form the strictures says. Therefore, if Jesus is the fulness of the Godhead in bodily form and you are His body, then Godhead dwells in you.

o You should be praying for the people around you because God is not slack in fulling His promises. If you pray for vengeance, God will avenge you because He’s obligated to you, as His child not to them. But because of the cross, and because Jesus actually died for that person and took the sins of the saved and unsaved. That was necessary for God to redeem all of creation. But if they don’t accept Jesus, they will go to a Christ less eternity.

o Acts 10:24 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: His love is for every one of His children. Be grateful for everything God has done for you on the cross. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 There’s absolutely nothing that we will go through here on earth that Christ doesn’t have the supremacy. Jesus is the name above names. He has the supremacy. So, why do I feel the way I feel? The answer is, what are you thinking about? If you feel hopeless, you are meditating on the wrong things.

o If you are the type of person who loves to pray, and you are still miserable, STOP praying because you are not praying the right way. When you’re praying, ask yourself, “who am I praying to?” Are you talking to your Father, or a mighty God who’s up there?

o God doesn’t have bank hours. He’s with you at all times.

o Ask God to help you yield to Him. You want to be more like Jesus? Then know who you are. Jesus always knew who He was. Jesus gave up His life for us, so that we may become sons and daughters of God. Therefore, know who you are without any doubts. For God to use you, He doesn’t need you to be a spiritual giant. He only wants you to be aware of who you are, and where you’re at.

o You need to be strong in the Holy spirit. God wants you to be faithful, and then He will give you the abilities. Ask God to reveal to you what your blinds spots are. Blind spots are things that you cannot see.

o Don’t ignore counsel. When someone brings something to your attention, you need to go to God. ask God, if it’s true? If it is true, seek wise counsel.

o If it’s not true, ask yourself, what signals am I giving that gives people that impression about me? God will reveal it to you. This shows humility, meekness. Jesus was meek and gentle at heart. You need to take corrections. God will use anyone to correct us.

o If the Lord gives you insight or a revelation about someone- Stay quiet. Don’t go and rebuke the person by telling them “I know what’s wrong with you... but you’re not ready to receive it.” That’s not showing kindness or love.

o God doesn’t tolerate unkindness. God doesn’t like bullies. If you’re unable to show love to a person, you need to check yourself. Something is wrong.

o As Christians, we are rooted in love. If you’re not rooted in love, you can’t love because we can’t give something you don’t have. If we don’t know we are loved, we can’t love. You need to spend quality time with your Father. God is always listening and talking to us. We just don’t listen.

o If you did something wrong, bring it to God. God allows U-turns. He can take us from one place to another.

o We need to calm our thoughts and set our minds on things above.

o Let Christ have full dominion of your life. Trust the Lord and stay in faith.