New Life Fellowship

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know…his incomparably great power for us who believe.(Ephesians 1:18-19)

Mary Lou and I and the kids went to an event this summer called Revelation Generation. It was a fun time as bands and singers from many different genres took Biblical truths and their personal experiences with Jesus and tried to make them known through song to this young generation. Music is a great way to reveal Jesus and Jesus needs to be revealed. Proverbs 28:18 says, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.” I find more and more in our day and time that many, especially the younger generation, lack discipline. It seems like life is a virtual smorgasbord that offers to scratch any itch and sooth any desire. The seductress calls, “Come to the streets and find whatever you want, whenever you want it and as much as you want.” There are many streets and many roads but only one will lead to life.

Peter had a revelation. Jesus had confronted his disciples by saying, “Who do you say I am?” You can read the story in Matthew 16:13-20. Peter really understood who Jesus was and proclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” After Jesus blessed Peter he said, “This was not revealed to you by man but by my Father in heaven.” We need a revelation revolution of this magnitude today. That is what I believe God’s incomparably great power in us is for. If you read Ephesians 1:19-23, you will see Jesus revealed. Right in the midst of Paul praying for a generation of believers to have open eyes to the might and power of God, he reveals who Jesus is and who we are in Christ.

Many times I have read this passage and been struck by the fact that there is nothing on earth that compares to the power of God. Nothing. In order to get an idea of God’s power Paul has to use a likeness from a supernatural event, the raising of Jesus from the dead. But God did not only raise Jesus from the dead, in His ascent, Jesus went from Hell to Heaven and lead captives in His train and bestowed gifts upon men in the procession (4:8-11). Then Jesus takes His seat on the Throne as King of all the universe, above all rule, authority, power, dominion and title for all ages, times and generations. That’s not the end. Jesus is given everything that exists. He is the soul proprietor of everything that exists, all that has been created. Nothing remains that is not under His feet. And some people think they are getting away with it. And some people think that God is not in control. His is a loving and patient God, not wanting any to perish but all to come to eternal life. I am thankful that He is, for even I would be immediate dust.

Then the Father appoints Him as Head of everything for the church, which is His body and is the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. He does this last after He establishes everything else the way He wants it. Bam! All His authority and power to His people. The same power, the same love. Day after day I sell myself short because of unbelief. Day after day I find myself caught up in the tyranny of the urgent and missing the awesomeness of Christ in me. All I can do is pray…“Lord, open the eyes of my heart to your incomparably great power in me so that I may be the fullness of you in my generation.” We need a revelation revolution.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened  in order that you may know…the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints… (Ephesians 1:18)

We are looking at the second of three revelations that Paul encourages us all to pray for. Folks, we need a revelation revolution! Our eyes have become accustomed to the light of this world. That light is not very bright. The Lord has so much more for us than the meager wares of this world. But our eyes need to be enlightened! Pray for it. You are selling yourself short if you continually long for more of what this world has to offer. God our Father has an inheritance sitting there ready for you to access now. To change your longings and desires you first need revelation. You need to both see and to value the Kingdom benefits, blessings and gifts, the riches of His glorious inheritance.

Our inheritance is the wealth of God himself. Paul says, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household (Eph 2:19).” He is our Father! Do you know what the benefits are of having the Creator of the universe as your dad? Paul can only say, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations (Eph 3:20-21).”

Israel was promised Canaan (earth) as its inheritance (Exodus 32:13). But our inheritance today is the New Jerusalem (the heavenly realm called Mt Zion, Hebrews 12:22-29). This is a place where there are millions of angels and all the saints gone on before us. It is a place of power where Jesus sits on the Throne. It is a place of 24/7 worship like you could never experience here on earth. It is a place of shaking where God the Father loosens every spiritual oppression and burns up every unholy thing. Wow, what a city to be a part of!

Our inheritance is a place of ultimate spiritual blessing. Paul says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3).” Let’s just make reference to the word “every.” You need it? It’s there for you. You do not need to walk in a realm of poverty. He came to give life and give it more abundantly. If you are walking in poverty it is because you do not have the revelation that Paul asks us to pray for. Pray today that you may have the eyes of your heart enlightened to every spiritual blessing and the ability to access it. Spiritual blessings impact the natural realm.

Our inheritance is eternal life. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time (I Peter 1:3-5).”

Oh Lord, may we see and believe. Show us your glory. Show us our inheritance.

 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you. (Ephesians 1:18)

I’m going with the Greek translation that reads, “That you may know the hope of his calling.” The thing that Paul is placing his hope in is the calling. Last week I talked about this and gave five things that this call represents. Please refer to it by going on-line to our web site. Today I want to focus on a particular aspect of our calling that I called the most dangerous part, becoming disciples.

Why do I call it dangerous? Because a disciple is a follower who entrusts his life to Jesus Christ and does not revoke that decision when fear sets in. We need to know the plan God has for our lives so that the thrill of living in Him fills us with a sense of destiny. Fear will not give way to an aborted plan if we are true followers. It takes guts and determination to follow a radical. Jesus is a radical when measured in human terms. So, are you radical when it comes to our culture? His disciples were taught to be. Although they were not rude, proud or pushy, they walked in quiet confidence and changed the world.

What kind of person does that? Jesus called men who were willing. The twelve of them may not have impressed a lot of the religious leaders. They were unlearned men according to the standards of Israel (Acts 4:13) but they were willing to learn. They were teachable. Though they were often men who got into arguments with each other, they were honest men. They were honest when confronted and honest with themselves. They also had big hearts. They left all to follow Him and stayed with Him unto death. They were common men who became extraordinary because they risked their reputations and even their livelihoods to follow the One who simply said, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

I believe that a true disciple is a person who truly is pliable in the hands of the Master. Today we look at our church leaders. The truth is we can look good on the surface for them. We know the words to use and the right excuses to make. But church leaders are not the ones we are to follow. Yes, they are men who must give an account. We are to obey our leaders and work with them in the mission of our churches. But let’s not get sidetracked. We all are followers of the Master, Jesus. Jesus is the most important person in your life. To obey Him and honor Him with your life is what will make you happy and fulfilled. You are to entrust your life to Him. He is the One you are to please. When He calls you to step out on the water you do. When He calls you to pray for those at your work place you do. When He asks for your money you give. When he commands you to be holy you change. It’s all about Jesus. And Jesus knows those who know and follow Him. He is wild and dangerous but He is the most wonderful adventure you will ever know. Love Him today by following Him. He is calling.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparable great power for us who believe.  (Ephesians 1:18-19)

I have prayed for the church many times. Haven’t you? We are the people of God. Though we live in the world, but are not of it. That being said, we need to live in this world with a different vision. Paul prays that the eyes of our heart will see what he sees. Men and women of God who walk in great revelation are desirous that the church body, the family who derives its name from above (Eph 3:14), sees from a different perspective. This is the great hope that Paul has when he prays for our hearts to be captured by fresh pictures of heavenly realities that will change our view of life. May your life be forever changed!

The first download of heavenly reality is to know the hope to which we have been called. Actually, the text reads more literally, to know the hope of his calling. Whenever anyone on earth has made a promise to you, you may have some hope but most people have some reservations as well. There is no need for any of that with the glorious Father. The hope of his calling has already taken place (II Tim 1:8-9), is an ongoing daily reality (I Thess 2:11-12; 5:23-24), it looks to the future of eternal glory or what is called the blessed hope (Titus 2:13) and all of this is irrevocable (Romans 11:29). That is where Jesus wants the treasures of your heart to be. May the eyes of your heart be enlightened! 

OK, if this calling has such great security and is never ending, what exactly is it? Good question, listen to this:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights (there’s that word again, see last weeks teaching), who does not change like the shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the Word of Truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all he created (James 1:17-18).” You were chosen. That is the first part of the call. Jesus made it very clear to his disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last (John 15:16).” You are highly favored. You were chosen by the Lord. All of your efforts and all of your good looks did not get you there. He chose you. You did not accept him, he accepted you. He came and got you. Just as Jesus picked out each of his disciples and called them to be with him, he picked you out and called you to be with him. If you are reading this, you are probably with him. The reality of this calling is to make you followers. He wants you to be with him.

If you are like me, you accepted the invitation. That is the second part of the call. You said yes to Jesus, ‘Yes, Lord, I accept you and I accept the invitation to be with you.” Wow, immediately we were born into a new Kingdom. To know is to be with him. To be with him you must be born again (John 3:3). Paul said that we are to know the hope of his calling. When Jesus called his first disciples, it was by the virtue of relationship that they were permitted to know him and the Kingdom with all of it benefits (Luke 8:10). But in order to know him they had to commit to being his disciple both by following him and putting their complete faith in him (John 2:11). This is the third and most dangerous part of the process. The forth part of the calling is the great reward of bearing fruit that lasts (John 15:16). The final part of the calling has been mentioned, the eternal blessing of spending eternity with the Lord in a totally new world (John14:1-4; Rev 21 & 22). Next time we will look into the third part of the calling, becoming a disciple. Until then, enjoy your calling by enjoying your Savior.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19)

 I love studying Ephesians. There is so much to being a believer that I have not realized or even come close to using. In the passage above Paul is asking God to make the church aware of her hope, her rich inheritance and her incomparably great power. In order for the church to get a clue, he asks that the body of Christ has “enlightened eyes.”

These eyes Paul refers to are in your heart. We have to realize that the Father has a way of communicating to us. It can be missed if you don’t know what to look for. Many of us are so used to using our natural eyes. We haven’t a clue about our inner eyes. Some call it intuition. Have you ever had someone say that they have a “check” in their spirit? They mean that there is some warning within but they are not sure why. There are other times that you just know something good is about to happen and you move forward without fear. Some call it a feeling. I get what I call Holy Spirit nudges in my spirit; I know that I am to talk to a person about the Lord. Sometimes the Lord will lead me to take a different direction than I had planned and find out that the Lord helped me avoid trouble. There are many ways that the Lord speaks to us but in this particular prayer request, Paul prays for enlightened eyes. This is more than nudges or intuitions.

Paul is very concerned that the church develops and grows in their inner being (2:16-18) and that our inner being is able to pick up on the signals of heaven. I wanted to know more about how we see with our inner eyes so I did a little

study on the word enlightened. The word enlightened comes from the Greek word photidzo. Sound familiar?  It means to shine, to shed light on, to give or bring light to, or to illuminate, i.e., to light up. If you have inner eyes that pick up on light signals from above than you are a cool person indeed! Paul gets as excited as I do about this when he says to the Corinthian church, “For the God who said, ‘let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have the treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (I Cor 4:6-7). The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ? Shining in our hearts? Wow!

For the sake of space, indulge me here. I’ll try to squeeze some huge revelation into a small space. Think of the invention of photocells. They are sensors that allow you to detect light. When light strikes the cell it allows current to flow more freely. The cell can detect large or small illuminations of light levels. These cells are found in cameras, photocopiers, toys and many appliances. They pick up on light and make it useful. You have a light sensor in you. Light (the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus) comes to you every day. Actually, anytime you want it to. When you open your heart’s photocell you will be able to pick up on revelation from heaven any time you need it and make it useful. Large amounts of light (wow, the glory!) and small amounts of light (the still small voice). Read verses 18-23 again and see what He wants you to pick up on. We’ll talk more next time.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that you may know Him better. (Ephesians 1:17)

There was a continuous prayer upon the heart of the Apostle Paul for the church. I think that wherever he went he whispered these words for each believer and each house church and each gathering of believers, “Lord God Almighty, give your body a Spirit of wisdom and revelation that they may walk with You, and that they may see You and that they may know You more and more.” That is, of course, my translation and also my prayer for today’s believers.

First of all, each believer is to be filled with the spirit. Paul says that he is praying that the Father my give you the Spirit wisdom and revelation. In other words we need to have special infillings of God’s Spirit for Christian life. I was filled with the Spirit when I gave my life to Jesus. But I had another powerful infilling years later when I started to learn that the Lord wants to fill me daily. Since then I pray to be filled every day. Paul says in Eph 5:18 “Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery. Instead be filled with the Spirit.” The words “be filled” should be translated “go on being filled” or “be you being filled.” It is in the present tense signifying a continuous giving of the Spirit. It is also in the imperative. That means it is not a suggestion. It’s a command.

If you want to know the Lord and walk in His ways, you are going to need a continuous infilling of His Holy Spirit. Every day it seems that the Holy Spirit nudges me to not say something that I was about to say. That’s the nature of wisdom. Daily the Holy Spirit gives me words for people to either encourage them or exhort them to a better way of thinking or living. Every day I ask for His truth to be revealed.  Daily I am led by revelation to see what the Lord is doing (see John 14:31) and follow Him. Even at night before I go to bed I ask for dreams of wisdom and revelation and God is faithful to do that. It is best to keep a pen and paper by your bedside. This is the work of the Spirit. How are we going to see divine activity without God in us? It was Jesus’ desire that we would not only have God with us but have God in us (see John 14: 26 and 15:26 and 16:6-15).

The Holy Spirit brings us wisdom (sophia in the Greek) which is an unusual ability to hear and understand God’s Word and a supernatural knowledge of God’s will and His ways in order to make them known here on earth. With wisdom of God and His ways you can interpret heaven into the earthly realms. This is just a synopsis of wisdom. You can do further study but for some fun read I Corinthians chapter two. Revelation (apocalypsis in the Greek) refers to the insight and discernment that the Spirit brings to divine truth and the ability to see God working in our day and time (see Habakkuk 2: 3 and 3:2; I Cor. 2:14, 16; Hebrews 4:12-13). This is an uncovering of things hidden from the world so that they may be made known by you. But the primary purpose of all of this is so that you may “know” Him better. The word “know” here (epignosis in the Greek) refers to the fullness of knowledge (wisdom and revelation) that comes through personal and intimate acquaintance or relationship. If you want to be closer to Jesus, you’re going to need wisdom and revelation. If you are going to walk in His ways, you’re going to need wisdom and revelation. If you are going to make Him known, you’re going to need wisdom and revelation. Let’s join with Paul and keep praying for wisdom and revelation!

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (Ephesians 1:15-16)

Paul is a true Apostle. You can hear his heart of love for those who have become followers of Jesus and he is a man of prayer. There are those who labor over you. There are people who care enough for you to pray for you. Your walk with Jesus is a day by day encounter with the living God who gave His life for you. He loves you and does not want you to confine your relationship with Him to a service at church. He does not want to be fit into your life or be added to your schedule. He wants to be with you 24/7. As the wise Proverb puts it, “Acknowledge the Lord in all of your ways (Pv. 3:6).

In our busy times we need to carry in us an awareness of the presence of the Lord. In order to do this Paul prays a prayer that you and I need to make a part of our daily life. Let’s look at the first part of it. “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that you may know Him better.” Notice the capital “S” in the word Spirit. Paul is praying that we might be filled with the Holy Spirit who is the wisdom and revelation of God the Father. It is so wonderful that God is such a God of relationship. When He gives you understanding of Himself, He comes to you in the presence of His Holy Spirit and makes knowledge of Him an issue of encounter, not an issue of information. Knowledge in the Kingdom of God comes by visitation. You cannot know the Father any other way. You can read the bible or books about Him but unless you encounter Him you do not know Him. You can go to church and hear sermons and teachings about Him but unless you meet Him face to face you will not know Him.

The touch of the Holy Spirit is essential for this relational encounter to happen. God is a Spirit and when He comes to us and when we go to Him, he relates in the realm of the Spirit. Yes, He has come in the physical realm as a man. Jesus was and is the exact representation of the Father (Hebrews 1: 3). He came to this earth to show us the Father (John 14: 7-10). However, many never knew Jesus. The Jewish leaders accused Him of blasphemy when He revealed His glory to them and the crowds wanted Him to be an earthly leader and deliver them out of the hands of the Romans and crucified Him when He wouldn’t. They never knew Him.

He is only revealed by the Spirit. Apart from the Holy Spirit there is no revelation, or wisdom. Let’s hook into another passage of scripture here. Paul explains this very clearly to the Corinthian church. Go to I Corinthians and read 2: 6-16.  Notice carefully how wisdom and revelation come to you. Notice specifically how the passage ends. Do you see how you can walk in the presence of the Lord every day? Do you see how it is possible to have an awareness about the Lord 24/7? In closing, please understand that to have the “mind of Christ” is not speaking of your earthly mind or mentality. The spiritual mind is something totally different and the Father wants you to have the mind of Christ 

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (Ephesians 1:15-16)

Paul has called followers of Christ to a higher level of living. He has called us to a heavenly perspective (1:3), he has challenged us to know who we really are since we have been adopted as sons and daughters (4-10) and he has charged us to conform to the predestined plan of Him who has chosen us (11-14). The problem with most of us is that we lose perspective. Our earthly culture is in conflict with the heavenly culture. Our earthly culture is ever present. We live in it; we can see it and we can hear it. Therefore, it has the upper hand in the way our lives are influenced.

This is why Paul prays as he does. He has seen the faith of the Ephesians. He has seen their love for one another but this causes him to pray for their spiritual eyes to be continually open in order that they may have wisdom and revelation. Read verses 17-23.  There are three awesome things that Paul asks for. He wants every believer to know the hope to which he has been called, the riches of his glorious inheritance and the incomparable great power for us who believe (that power being compared to the power that raised Jesus from the dead). Hope, inheritance and power, just what everyone needs. But many, including myself, walk daily without the influence of these great treasures in our lives. What’s the problem?

One day I was at the church office and the Lord nudged me to take a walk. I walked all around Columbus and then came to a stop at the crossroads where the only traffic light in Columbus directs the ebb and flow of cars and trucks. The voice of the Lord came to me and asked, “What do you see?” Quite frankly all I saw was the light, the traffic, a bar, a restaurant, a bank (now gone), a flower shop and a deli. But that was too obvious, so I kept looking. The little crossroads of Columbus is obviously a place of commerce so as I watched the people come and go and looked up and down the streets, feeling strangely conspicuous, I started to sense a little pain. Pain? What is that all about? Good question. Many times we ignore that pain or the uncomfortable feeling inside of us and don’t ask what that pain is doing there. The pain or discomfort has words behind it. It is saying something. As I prayed and listened with my inner ear I heard the word, loss. When I heard that word I opened my eyes and all I could see was loss. People coming to and fro shopping, eating and drinking, but lost. Houses lined the streets that would someday be gone. Our church that used to be in The Grange now no longer there. I could go on with what I saw but the point was that everything that we see about us, that influences our lives, is temporary. But the temporary is robbing our time, our focus and our energy. I hear too many people crying burnout and that there is no time for God and church and ministry because we are too busy.

The true thief is the devil (see John 10:10) and the true life giver is Jesus. We need to see from a better and more energizing vantage point. Rather than standing at the crossroads of man’s paved highway, we need to stand with the Most High and see what He sees. Paul prays that we will have wisdom, revelation and that the eyes of our heart will be enlightened (17-18). We will look at this prayer next week but for now, what is the pain inside of you? What are you neglecting to see?

“In Him you were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.” (Ephesians 1:11)

 Last week we looked at Ephesians 1:3-10. Paul gave us a very vital picture of who you are in Christ. He spoke about the work of Jesus in your life and who you were chosen to be. Today we are looking at the plan that the “chosen” ones of God have (read Eph 1:11-14).

 Read the above verse again. Do you know that the Lord has been thinking about you for a very long time? Not only is the Lord with you every day and every moment, but He has planned your future. He also planned how you fit into His grand destiny even before you existed. I love what David says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16). Does God really have a book with your name and your destiny in it?

He knows every baby that has been aborted and has a plan. He knows every child who has been abused or abandoned and has a plan for them. He knows every person who has been rejected by parents and so-called friends and has a plan. He knows every trial that we all face and has a wonderful plan. Actually, He knows every person who has ever been born and has a plan. Last week we learned that He plans to redeem them. Buy them back from all the harm the evil-one has wrought upon them and make them holy and blameless in His sight. Then He blesses them in the spiritual realms with every spiritual blessing. Now we learn that He places them into his Kingdom to be (1:12) “the praise of His glory.”

Paul says in verses 13-14 that you also were included in His plan when you believed in the gospel and sealed with His Holy Spirit guaranteeing your final destiny, heavenward in Christ Jesus (see Philippians 3:12-14).  Our final destiny is to be with Him forever (John 14:1-3). And I say destiny, not destination. Arriving at a destination somehow implies that the trip is over. It is not. When we enter the Kingdom created for us in heaven (Matthew 25:34) there is still a wonderful plan for us!  

Ask yourself a question. How are you conforming with the purpose of His will as Paul says in the opening verse above? If I buy a car and use it for a boat I’m in trouble. If you believed in Jesus and live as the world does you are in trouble too. The car will sink and so will you. You were meant to live for “the praise of His glory.” What about His plan? One of the most widely quoted scriptures is Jeremiah 29:11 where the Lord says, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” That is God’s heart. But He is speaking to a people who are in captivity because they lived in disobedience to His will. He also has a plan for those who do not live in conformity to His will.

Let’s encourage one another and all the more so as we see the Day approaching to live for the praise of His will. As I took time to pray this morning I asked the Lord to help me live wisely in this depraved generation. The best praise we can give to Jesus is to live for Him and know the plan He has for us (read Matthew 25:31-44).

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)

Paul has a way of making believers think and see higher. So many times we see things from an earthly view. Paul in a later chapter in Ephesians calls this futile thinking. Paul’s aim is to get us thinking from a different mindset by challenging us to know the blessings won and available to us in the heavenly realms. You may have heard the phrase, “So heavenly conscious, no earthly good.” Paul would challenge that statement. The one who becomes heavenly conscious will be very good on earth. They will be talented, effective and righteous.

Recently our family has been watching “Extreme Makeover, Home Addition” with Ty Pennington. The program is focused on helping families who are living in homes that are basically falling apart. Many of the stories are very touching. The crew arrives on the scene and the family piles out of the house filled with smiles and tears as they meet the cast and then are whisked away to Disney Land where they will have fun while the builders construct a brand new home. The first thing that has to be done is to destroy the old clunker of a house. I have watched time and time again as the camera crew shows the family (who at this point is sitting comfortable in their condo in Florida) a big caterpillar excavator tracking up to the house and then with one fell swoop, crushes in the roof and eventually flattens the house. As I have watched that moment, even though the family is happy, there is a trace of regret. All the memories that the family had attached to that house that they survived in over the years are gone! They can no longer look upon those walls, those rooms or that kitchen.

It is the Holy Spirit’s function to do an Extreme Makeover in every believer. But before a new spiritual house can be built the old one must be demolished. Paul says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ (II Cor 10:5). Even though there may be some regrets in leaving the old way of life, we must pick up the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places and destroy everything that opposes the knowledge of our Father and take captive all thinking that causes us to be disobedient to Jesus. We must triumph over the spiritual forces of evil (Eph 6:12) that threaten to usurp control of our minds. Jesus has triumphed over evil ( ) and secured spiritual blessings that he holds for us in the heavenly realms (see Eph 1:20, 2:6, 3:10).

The first thing the Lord wants us to demolish is our self image. Read Ephesians 1:4-10. Pay close attention to the words that Paul uses to establish your new image. See who you actually are as a new creation. Here are some of the words I have found that describe us: chosen, holy, blameless, predestined, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, wise and understanding of the mystery of His will. These are all a part of the spiritual blessings that define us. Do an expanded study of these words and others that you have come up with in this passage by looking up what they mean in a Strongs Concordance. Look up other verses that your study bible cross references. Compile a big paragraph using what you have learned to describe yourself. After the paragraph has been constructed repeat it to yourself and pray it over yourself. Begin, the best you can, to memorize it so you can repeat it to yourself daily and declare it over an over to yourself until you really believe it. Fight the good fight of faith. This is who you really are. Destroy the old image!