(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Okay, tonight we continue with the book of Ephesians, and we are in chapter 2 tonight. And if I were to title this first section here, I would title it, The Children of Disobedience or the Course of this World. And if you look down at your Bibles at verse number 1, it says, And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past he walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in time past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. So the first thing we're going to look at this evening is the fact that we were raised from the dead. That's what we see in the first couple of verses here. And actually the first three verses really highlights our condition prior to salvation. And look at verse number 1 again, it says, You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sin. Now, that word quick, it is not a word that we necessarily would use today. It's not a common word that we use today. But it is a common word in the Bible. I mean, we see it over and over again in the Bible. And obviously, when we think of the word quick, we think of something that's fast, we think of something with rapidity. But when the Bible uses that word quick or quickened, quickeneth, it's referring to the fact that it's bringing something to life. It's reviving something, it's quickening them from the dead. And really, a synonym to this would be regeneration or resurrection, right? You think of the resurrection, it's referring to the fact that something was dead and it's being brought back to life, okay? It's being resuscitated, it's being resurrected, it's being regenerated. And so we obviously see that this book is addressing who? Christians, people who are believers, people who have been saved, because he says, You hath the quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sin. And so the quickened there is referring to people who have been saved. And this should come as no surprise to us, because in chapter number one, we see the Holy Spirit being mentioned as the earnest of our inheritance and to the redemption of the purchased possession. And it says, In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and whom also after ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. And so the Holy Spirit plays a vital role in the salvation of a soul, right? Because the Holy Spirit not only comes to dwell within an individual, the aspect that really saves that person, or the working of the Holy Spirit that saves the individual is the regeneration that that Holy Spirit brings. Because he comes to dwell within the believer, but prior to even dwelling in the believer, he comes to regenerate the believer, he comes to bring him back to life. And this is why chapter two goes on and says, You have the quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sin, because prior to chapter number one, the latter end, we see is the Holy Spirit that comes and quickens you. And in fact, if you remember, Jesus said, you know, it is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life, the Bible says, okay. Now turn with me, if you went to Matthew chapter 19, hold your place there in Ephesians chapter number two. I'm going to read to you from Colossians 2 13, it says, and you being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you, all trespasses. Now let me make two comments regarding Colossians. Colossians is almost like a reflection of the book of Ephesians. And in fact, when you read Ephesians, and then you go read Colossians, it's almost as if Paul the Apostle just basically took what he said in Ephesians, and he just rewarded it a little differently in Colossians. I mean, he basically addresses the same exact thing. He talks about the same exact things. And he even uses the same terminology. But he says, you have to quicken together with him, and then it says, having forgiven you, all trespasses. So I mentioned this in my sermon about our last week, or whenever it was that I preached through Ephesians one, two weeks ago, but you know, the Bible talks about things that accompany salvation, right, the Bible talks about in Hebrews chapter number six, and there are certain things that accompany salvation. We think of salvation as like, well, now I have eternal life. Now I'm going to heaven. I'm not going to hell. But there's so many other things that accompany salvation. The Holy Spirit accompanies salvation, the sealing of the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And in fact, it's synonymous with the forgiveness of all sins. So when you have the Holy Spirit, he comes to regenerate you, it's synonymous with being forgiven of all sins. And in fact, it's when God makes your spirit, what, sinless, because obviously we understand that, you know, God cannot dwell in sin. So when he comes to reside within us, he regenerates that spirit, and therefore it is sinless. Now the flesh is not sinless. And this is why the Bible says in first John chapter three, it talks about that he that is born of God does not commit sin, for he is born of God and his seed remain within him. He cannot sin for he is born of God. And what does that refer to? The spirit, okay, that's referring to the fact that the spirit receives all the forgiveness of sins, and therefore cannot sin, it's made perfect, okay. But we see in Colossians two, verse 13, that it's synonymous with being forgiven of all trespasses. Look what it says in Matthew 19, verse 28. It says here in Jesus sentence, and verily I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye all also shall sit upon the 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Now go to Titus chapter number three, Titus chapter number three. So we see here Jesus says, you who have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his glory, he's referring to the resurrection, because the regeneration is synonymous with resurrection. Look at Titus three, verse number five, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. Now this is a good point to sit on for a little bit. Anything when it comes to salvation is not of ourselves, and in fact, don't we see that in Ephesians chapter two? It literally says, not of yourselves, not of works that any man should boast. The only thing that we have to do is place our faith in Jesus Christ. The only thing we have to do is confess with our mouth, and you know what, confessing is not a work by the way. Asking God for salvation, asking God for a gift is not considered a work. Because to say that that's considered work is to say that the person who's waiting in the welfare line is working to get that check, right? If they just go there to ask for the welfare check, but we wouldn't consider that working. They're asking for it. And here we see it says, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but yet you have a group of people out there today who claim Christianity that want to say, no, yeah, you have to have faith in Jesus, but you also have to do a little, you have to put in a little effort as well. You have to follow God. You have to walk with God. You got to know God. You got to have a relationship with God. You got to love God. It's just like, well, let's look what the Bible says. Loving God is a work of righteousness. Getting baptized is a work of righteousness. Keeping God's commandments, it's a work of righteousness. And what does the Bible tell us? Not by works of righteousness, which we have done. So it's nothing on, no righteousness on our part. And here's the thing, this is being a little facetious here because of the fact that we're not righteous. You understand? You know, the Bible says that our righteousness are as filthy rags in the eyes of God. We are all as an unclean thing. Our righteousness are as filthy rags. You know, the Bible says there is none righteous, no, not one. So good luck trying to use your righteousness to get into the kingdom of God. It's impossible because you don't have any righteousness. You know, except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, you shall not see the kingdom of God. And what is he referring to? He's referring to, you got to have the righteousness of who? Jesus Christ. Because the Bible says he has made him to be sin who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. You know, it's when we believe on Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God is imputed unto us. We on God's, on Jesus Christ's record, we can come with his record and say, you know, I have eternal life, not because of my righteousness, because I have the righteousness of Jesus. That's the only righteousness that God accepts. Because it's the only righteousness that's perfect, you understand? Righteous means you're right all the time. You're just righteous, okay? And then he says here, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. Look what it says, by the washing of regeneration. So just as we saw in Matthew, he says, in the regeneration, referring to the resurrection, in like manner in Titus 3 five, it says, by the washing of regeneration, what does that mean to regenerate something? Well, Ephesians two means to quicken it, to bring it back to life, okay? By the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Now go back to, or go to Romans chapter number seven, if you would, Romans chapter number seven, I'm going to read to you another couple of verses here from John chapter five, verse 21, the Bible reads, go to Romans seven, for as the father raised up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the son quickeneth whom he will. John 6 63 says, it is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. So over and over again, we see this word being used, quicken, meaning being brought back to life. And it says of the word of God in Hebrew chapter number four, that the word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword. That doesn't mean like it's quick, like, you know, when your preacher is like, it's really fast, you know, it's saying that it's a living book. You know, this is not like any other book in the world. The King James Bible is not like any other book in the world. It's the word of God, it's quick, it's powerful. And in fact, it's the word of God that quickens us as well. Over and over again, the book of Psalms, you see David expressing this specifically in Psalm 119. He talks about how the word of God quickens my spirit, okay? It quickens his soul, it quickens him. You know, even though we are, our spirit is quickened and we're saved, you know, we can be get a little dead sometimes, right? I mean, didn't Jesus rebuke in Revelation chapter three, what church was that? The church at Sardis? He says, you know, you have a name that you're living, but you're dead, right? He's like, you're dead, you're just kind of, you're just kind of apathetic towards the things of God. You're getting a little too comfortable, you're getting a little too bored with church, you're getting a little too bored with preaching, you know, you're not very interested in the things of God. You know what you need to be quickened? By the Bible. You know, if you remember the disciples, when they were on the road to Emmaus, they met Jesus along the way, and they spoke to him. And when Jesus departed, they said this, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us, by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures. You know, Christian heartburn, amen. Hey, you know, sometimes, you know, this is the good kind of heartburn, where, you know, you're getting a little apathetic towards the things of God, church bores you, so many bores you, reading your Bible bores you, because you're just kind of doing it out of duty. But you know what? At that point, you need to meditate on God's Word, you need to read God's Word, because it is that which will revive you. Hey, you don't need a revival conference. Okay? This independent fundamental Baptist revival conference, you know what I mean, that is basically biting from the Pentecostals and the charismatic crowd, right? And look, folks, I'm not against conferences, I just preached that one. And you know what? I didn't get revived. You know why? Because I was already revived before I went there. I got edified though. I was edified, I learned, you know, I had great fellowship, it was awesome, you know, just a rip on people and things and cultures. It was great to hear sermons on transvestites, you know, just very refreshing things to hear. You know, every once in a while, you just need a sermon on transvestites. But here's the thing is like, it's funny, these churches out there, these old IFB churches, they host these revival conferences all the time, yet they're as dead as last year's Christmas tree, they're dead. They bring in these old codgers who come, who are not revived themselves, I mean, they look like they're on life support. They preach like they're on life support. Their conversation is though it's on life support, who are they reviving? Nobody. You know, and what they want is this soul stirring, you know, want the Spirit of God to fall upon us, brother, and have revival. We need revival. Hey, we got revival in our church. Every time after church, we talk about the Word of God, we get fired up, we go soul winning, we preach the Word of God, we take a stand for truth, we get excited about the things of God. We have young people in our church who are fired up about the Bible, I mean, that looks like revival to me. But where does it come from? It comes from biblical preaching, folks, preaching that's unfiltered, preaching that's in your face, preaching that is hard, preaching that is content filled with the Bible. Oh, you can't go down too deep into the Bible, brother, you know, you're going to bore people like that. No, you're boring. Because your sermons are so shallow, you know, it's as shallow as a cup of water, no one's going to learn anything. You know, the Bible is an interesting book, folks. There's a lot of interesting things in the Bible. And one thing you'll learn is that when you read the Bible, you start learning the Bible, and it begins to quicken you, begins to get you excited about the things of God, okay? But from the first layer of being quickened, or being regenerated, or being resurrected, is this matter of salvation, obviously. Now when we got saved, our spirit got quickened, which is synonymous with it got resurrected, right? So if it got resurrected, that means that one time it was alive, and then it died, and then we got saved and it revived. Oh, man, I rhymed that. That was pretty cool. Look at Romans seven, I'll prove it to you. Look at verse seven, it says, What shall we say then is the law of sin, God forbid, nay, I had not known sin, but by the law, for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taken occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence, for without the law, sin was dead. In other words, it was dead to the Apostle Paul at one point, he didn't really recognize it as sin. Obviously, he's not clarifying how old he was when this took place, but we would say that this is obviously before the age of accountability, okay? What he's saying is this, there is a point, there is a time in his life where he didn't know that the commandment said, you know, you should not lust or covet, when he recognized that, at that point thereafter, sin worked in him, wrought means worked, in him all manner of concupiscence. It almost opened up the door to sin, okay? He says in verse nine, look what it says, for I was alive, excuse me, I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. So he said, look, there's a time in my life where my spirit was alive, and then the law came, and what does that mean when the law came? In other words, he recognized what the law states, okay? You know, lust, covetousness, murder, lying, bearing false witness, or how about just this, just not loving God, you know, 24-7, okay? He was alive, but then the law came, and when the law came, the commandment came, sin revived and that's when he was slain, he died, his spirit was slain. Verse 10 says in the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death, for sin, taken occasion by the commandment, deceived me and by it slew me, the Bible says. So this is actually something that all of us in this room have experienced, unless you're still a little child and you still have not recognized these things, you know, there's a time when the law slew us, and we can't really pinpoint necessarily when that took place, okay? You know, could it happen as a child, it could happen, you know, as a teenager, it really depends, we don't really know, and I don't think it's even important to navel gaze and figure out when that was, because, you know, the Bible doesn't clarify when that could be, okay? Everyone's conscience is opened to, you know, the commandments of God at different points in a person's life, okay? And so for you, it might have been at the age of 6, it might have been at the age of 10, 15, we don't know, based upon your upbringing, we don't really know. But the thing is, the point is this, prior to you getting slain, you were alive, and this is important because of the fact that, you know, this proves the fact that babies, they're born with the living spirit. And you know, people have a problem by saying like babies are saved, I don't really have a problem with that, because technically they're like saved, not necessarily because they believe on Jesus Christ, but because they haven't been slain by the laws of yet, and if an infant or a child who has not been slain by the law dies, they will go to heaven, okay? You know, all the aborted babies or children who died prematurely for whatever reason, if they died, they didn't have a knowledge of sin, they didn't understand these concepts, then they go to heaven, okay? And that's a great comfort, you know? And you know, that's very gracious of the Lord, right? It's not like this Calvinistic God that says, well, you know, some of these babies are reprobate, they can't get saved no matter what. Or the Catholics that say, you know, you have to physically baptize the baby to wash away original sin, where you don't see, you don't even see that term being used in the Bible, original sin. That's not a concept. These are people, they invent these things in their mind, okay? Original sin, and what they're referring to is, oh, they have to wash away the original sin of Adam and Eve, like they're paying for the sins of Adam and Eve or something like that. It's nonsense, folks. God holds a person accountable once they understand that they've sinned against God, okay? We're not washing away original sin, or you can't wash away original sin. A child, an infant, when they die, they will go to heaven, and in fact, David is a testament to that. Because when David lost his child, you know, he specifically said, I shall go to him. He shall not return unto me, okay? Well, we know that David was saved. We know that David was going to go to heaven when he died. And so the implication there, the insinuation, is the fact that his child who died went to heaven because he was going to go be with his child in heaven one day, okay? Go back to Ephesians chapter two, if you would. So the Bible tells us we're quickened, okay, who were dead in trespasses and sin. Our spirit is resurrected. It's regenerated, where we have a new man dwelling within us. So there's two types of resurrections that we experience, is it not? We experience the resurrection of our spirit when we believe on Jesus Christ. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new. But then we're also going to experience the resurrection of our body, or as the Bible also puts it, the redemptions of our body, okay? The regeneration of our body. Now look at verse number two. So we see there, death, and now we're going to look at the destination. It says in verse two, wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world. So he said, look, you were dead in trespasses and sin, or when you were dead in trespasses and sin, you walked according to the course of this world. Now what does that mean when it says the course of this world? Well, course is like a path, okay? Now how many of you have ever heard this phrase used before? This world is going to hell in a handbasket. I think it's very much biblical. Because it is. Now not everyone in this world is going to hell in a handbasket, but the vast majority of people are going to hell in a handbasket. Why? Well, according to the course of this world. And what is the course? What is the path of this world? Hell! Hell is the course of this world. It's the final destination for every lost soul that does not get saved. That is the final destination of that individual. That is the course of this world, okay? And this is why the Bible tells us in Matthew 7 13, enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. And many there be which go in thereath, okay? It says, because straight is the gate, narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. So this is saying that the way of salvation is narrow. This doesn't mean that it's hard, okay? Because salvation is extremely easy for us. Now was it hard for the Lord? Yes. Because he had to die on the cross, he bore the sins of the whole world, he went to hell for three days and three nights, he resurrected, this is what the Bible teaches, but for us it's just receiving the gift, okay? But the reason it says that it's narrow is because not a whole lot of people are going to go through that way. More people are prone to go through the broad way, okay? The Hindu way, the Buddhist way, the Catholic way, the Mormon way, the Jehovah's Witness way, believe it or not, okay? These cults, they're more prone to go through the broad way. What is the vast, the doctrine that's taught by the vast majority of false religions today is you have to do something to go to heaven. You have to earn salvation, you have to work, you have to repent of your sins, you have to do all these things. I mentioned that I've been on Instagram, I'm an Instagram influencer, I'm going to put out some videos tomorrow, you know, doing pop locks or something, but I put out this video and I literally remember the day I told you, Lisa, I said, I got an idea for a video and it's going to go viral, I promise you. I was like, it's a silly video, I'm going to be mocking repent of your sins, okay? And I said, it's only like a couple seconds, but it will go viral, I said, because I think it's funny and I know what funny is and I know that if someone else made this video, I would watch it over and over again because it's so funny. But I thought viral for me was like 10,000 views or something, right? It got 100,000 views, tons of views, people are just watching over and over again and it's great too because a lot of people were watching it, it opened up a door of conversation between them and I and they're just like, whoa, it doesn't say that because the caption read or it said, when heretics realize that repent of your sins to be saved in quotations is not in the Bible because you won't find that phrase in the Bible and people are like, they'll message me, they're like, hey, you're right, it's not in the Bible, I just looked it up right now and the phrase is not there, so what do you have to do to be saved? And the people have gotten saved because of that video, believe it or not. So I'm thinking, man, I should do some pop locking or some sort of breakdancing or something, you know? I don't know, I think I might switch my profession now. But you know, there's people, there's thousands of people who like the video and like the concept but there's more people who hate it. They're like, this is wicked, you're evil, you're a false prophet and I can't even tell you how many messages I've received where people would say, stop teaching false doctrine, stop being a devil, stop being a heretic and I always respond with this, how can I stop when I've never started? I was like, how can I stop teaching false doctrine when I never started? And then they'll say this, you know, oh, the Bible says repent and believe, repent and believe and it's just like, these people are out of their minds. I'm like, where does it say of sins? It says it right there, repent and believe. I'm like, what? I'm like, no, no, no, I mean like in the text, where does it say, repent of your sins to be saved? They're like, it's right there, repent and believe. I'm like, you guys are nuts, these people are crazy and you know what, like thousands of people, okay, believe this. Thousands of people have messaged me practically the same exact message. They're like, oh, go ahead and read your Bible and read this portion of scripture and you'll find it and it's some verse about repenting and that's it. I'm like, where does it say of sins? There's nowhere in the Bible does it say that. It's just right there. You know what it taught me? Broad is the way and many there be which go in there at, okay. You know, it showed me, you know, the vast majority of people disagreed with the video and the vast majority of them are not saved, okay. And so, that's a lesson from Instagram Reels for you tonight. But we walked according to the course of that world as well. There's a time when we believe that you have to work your way to heaven. No one in here ever thought, well, I had a corner of that truth though, I knew. I knew it was by faith alone. I just needed someone to lead me to the Lord and that was it. No one believed that. All of us believed to a certain extent, it was by works, repenting of your sin, adhering to some sort of, you know, church or whatever it may be. We all believe that because we're all gording according to the course of that world. We're all heading towards hell, okay. And of course, then someone brought us the gospel. It goes on to say, wherein in time past, he walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. Now that's a pretty interesting statement, huh? You know, the prince of the power of the air. Now this is obviously referring to the devil, Satan, okay. And the reason we know that is because the Bible often refers to him as the prince. And in fact, in Ephesians chapter six, it talks about the principalities. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. So God calls him the prince of the air, okay, prince of the power of the air. The Bible says in John 12, turn with me if you would to, oh, you can stay there. Go to Romans chapter five actually, go to Romans five. John 12, 31 says, now is judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. John 14, 30 says, hereafter, I will not talk much with you for the prince of this world cometh and has nothing in me. John 16, 11 says of judgment because the prince of this world is judged. Now why does it call him the prince of the power of the air? What is up with that phrase? Well, when I hear that, I think of Job 1, 7 where it says, the Lord said unto Satan, whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it. So what I believe this is referring to when it says that he's the prince of the power of the air, he's referring to the fact that God has given him authority over the world basically. This is why the Bible says that he is the what, the God of this world who hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, okay, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them. And so I believe this is just referring to the fact that he's the prince of this world. He's the ruler of this world. He's the one who rules over the rulers of this world. So why is that important to know? Because there's a doctrine out there where people teach that we need to usher in the kingdom. Have you ever heard that before? We got to usher in the kingdom, Pastor Mejia. Christians have to permeate every aspect of society. We got to permeate politics and businesses. We need to usher in the kingdom of God because it's only when Christians are able to permeate all aspects of society that Jesus Christ will come and he'll set up his millennial reign. Okay? But that's never going to happen. Now notice I didn't say it's never going to happen that Jesus Christ will not rule and reign here. It's never going to happen that Christians will permeate all society in this world. Why? Because the head honcho unfortunately of this world is Satan himself. He runs the course of this world. He's the prince of the power of the air. He's the one that dictates all the evil and wickedness of this world. Okay? Look, this is one of the reasons I don't vote. Let me see, are there any voters around here? All right. They're not here tonight. There's a couple of voters in our church. Okay? I'm not against them. But maybe they knew I was going to talk about this tonight. I don't know. But this is the reason I don't vote. Why? Because Satan is the prince of the power of the air. He's the ruler over the rulers of this world. Okay? You know, I won't vote until Jesus Christ comes and the government shall be upon his shoulders. And even then, my vote doesn't really count. Because Jesus will rule with a rod of iron and he's not taking a vote. You either submit or you don't. And if you don't, off with his head. Okay? With the morning star, brother. No, I'm just kidding. Not the morning star. What I'm saying is this, is that he's the ruler of this world. Therefore, you know, I'm not going to vote for some president or some mayor or governor because of the fact that they are the puppets of Satan. So, well, then how are you going to bring about change? Necessary changes to this world. Well, according to the Bible, the way we bring about change is by getting people saved. By preaching God's word. Yeah, but that's not effective enough. According to who? You? According to politics? According to the Republicans? According to the Democrats? According to who? Because according to the Bible, that's how we make a change. The Bible says that if some have compassion making a difference, others pulling them out of the fire. Saved with fear, pulling them out of the fire. Hating even the garments spotted by the flesh, the Bible says. The best thing you can do for someone is pulling them out of the fire. Yeah, but we need to change California. We need to run out governor Newsome and try to get a Republican to be the governor of California so things can go a little better. Folks, let me just give you a rude awakening. It's not going to get any better. You're living in a Disneyland type of a world if you think this world is going to get any better. You're deceiving yourself. And if you don't believe me, go back 50 years and tell me if the United States has gotten better over the last 50 years. Okay? It's not. Spoiler alert. It's not. It's gotten worse. Morally, Christians, doctrine, churches apostatizing, people accepting the most godless filth of this world as things that are normal, I mean, folks, it's gotten a lot worse. Oh, but we can still turn the tide. Isn't it funny? People trying to turn the tide of America via rulers and governors issuing in righteousness, it's almost like you're equivalent to a person trying to earn heaven by their own righteousness. Because, folks, the only way righteousness will be law in the land is when who comes? Jesus. We need the presence of Jesus Christ upon this world in order to make this world righteous. So you can exercise your own righteousness and your own morality and do whatever. You got your little Florida state there. DeSantis is, you know, he's making all kinds of crazy laws and he's for the conservatives and, you know, you have all these conservative states out there. You can have these little pockets, but, folks, 50 years from now, that's not even gonna matter. You can issue forth your own righteousness if you want, but the world will never become a righteous place until the governor, the main governor, the God, God himself, comes and establishes his millennial reign here. That's what I'm waiting for. So you trying to establish righteousness upon this world, you know, through the laws and legislations, it's like you trying to get your flesh to be subject to the laws of God. Because the flesh is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, the Bible says. You can never make the flesh obey the word of God. It hates the word of God. It doesn't want to obey the word of God, but here's the thing. You can submit the flesh by the Spirit, but there's always gonna be that battle, you understand? And so he said, well, that's why we should put an effort into, you know, the effort that should be placed into this life is making sure you live righteously, you raise your children in righteousness, you raise your family in righteousness, you preach righteousness, but you're never gonna convert the entire world. Why? Because broad is the way. I mean, if we can convert the whole world, then that verse would not, should not exist. Because there's many there be that go in there. No, God was wrong on that one. We're gonna make sure a lot of people go through the narrow way. We're gonna turn this boat around, the narrow shall become broad and the broad shall become narrow. We're gonna switch it, it's not gonna work. That's not to say that a lot of people are not gonna get saved because a ton of people will get saved. But just the reality is this, is that the course of this world is going towards hell because the captain of the ship is Satan himself. He is the prince of the power of the air, okay? And then it goes on to say, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Now when you read the Bible, specifically the New Testament and some of the Old Testament, you often see that people are often referred to as children of, from a spiritual perspective, children of disobedience. We see here children of wrath, of course we have children of God, and then you have what? Children of the devil, okay? And these are all separate categories. And it's important to note that because people will teach that, you know, we're all children of the devil. Prior to getting saved, how many of you have ever heard that before? Am I the only, me and Mark are the only ones? Okay, thanks. I'm like, man, maybe I'm out to lunch on this one or something. Look folks, there's people out there that believe that people prior to salvation are all children of the devil. But that's so crazy to think that because of the fact that to become a child of Satan, I mean, that just sounds bad. You have to be a reprobate in order to do so, okay? The more correct labeling would be that we were children of disobedience and children of wrath. Now why does it call people prior to salvation children of disobedience? Well, it's alluding to Adam and Eve because we are offspring of Adam and Eve, right? We all come from Adam and Eve and they are the parents of disobedience. They're the ones who first disobeyed God and basically damned the whole world, you know, to hell. Look at Romans 5 verse 12. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. So never, you know, minimize the potential of one man. You know, don't ever think, you know, this obviously is a principle that can be applied in different areas of our life and you think to yourself, well, I'm just one person, well, you know, one person damned the whole world. So don't minimize, you know, your abilities too much. Yeah, you're one man, but one dude just screwed it up for all of us. One lady messed it up for all of us, okay? I mean, people have different people they want to meet in heaven. I'm sure Adam and Eve are going to be hiding in a corner. It's like, you. It's like, yeah, me. I did it. I mean, what an awkward meeting that's going to be, right? What an awkward meeting to meet Adam and Eve, like, hi, what's your name, Eve? Eve. How about all the ladies who've had children meeting Eve? I mean, Miss Susie, you know, you know, you know, it's like, yeah, thanks, Eve. Hey, by one man, sin entered into the world and death by sin for that all have sinned. Now, the flip side of that, the Bible goes on to say that by one man, basically, righteousness came, which is Jesus Christ, you know, so he basically, he fixed that, and it was by him that the world can be saved, okay? So really, the principle of one man here is very much important because it shows you how much of an impact one person can really make, okay? You think to yourself, well, I can't make as big of an impact as this pastor or as this person. Yeah, but you don't really know that, though. You don't really know how big of an impact you really will make. You never really see the outliers of the ripples that you make in the water. I'm talking about the furthest ripple that's out there, you never really see it. You only see the initial ripples that you make in the water, right? And you make some ripples, and you're like, well, that wasn't that big. Yeah, but you don't know how far that ripple will expand, though. It goes pretty far. And so, you know, the impact that we can make in this world can be so big that it surpasses even your lifespan. Think about that. You know? You say, well, I don't know if I'm going to make an impact. Well, you know what? You might make a bigger impact when you're dead. You might make a bigger impact when you die. Through your children, your grandchildren, other people who listen to your preaching, if you preach, or, you know, who follow your example as a Christian, you just never know. Okay? But the point is, is that one man can make a big difference. And when the Bible talks about the spirit that now work within the children of disobedience, it's referring to the fact that, you know, we are children of Adam, we're children of Eve, we're children of those disobedient parents. Okay? Romans chapter number seven, Romans chapter number seven, let me continue reading in Romans chapter five, verse 13 says, for until the law, sin is in the world, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there is no law. That's another proof that children, if they die, and they don't understand these things, they will go to heaven because sin is not imputed if there is no law. Okay? It says in verse 14, you're in Romans seven, nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned, after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. Look at Romans chapter number seven, and verse number 13. So it says that we're children of disobedience, that means like, you know, obviously, once we're born, I mean, coming out of the mother, our mother's womb, we're sort of disobedient. Are we not? We kind of just want to do our own thing, babies, they don't adhere to instructions very well, you know, they disobey us, okay? Stop crying, and they keep crying, you know, you know, I got, Zias, he's, he's a gift from the Lord because he's teaching us a lot, you know, sometimes you think, like, I got this parenting thing down, and then God sends you just a unique one, you know? And he, and he's that unique one, like, he's, he's just a, he's sometimes a challenge, you know? And he's one of those that basically, they, he has a high pain tolerance, just has a really high pain tolerance, and just has no fear, you know, and, and, you know, don't, don't, don't do, don't touch it, don't touch, and he's like, it's like, oh, you know, and obviously he gets, he gets punished for that, but where is that going with, oh, oh, children, they're just naturally disobedient, and then we grow up and we're disobedient, that's just part of our nature, and here's the thing is that we're, we're born with that, okay? And it kind of always remains with us, because we're in this flesh, you understand? Look at verse 13, it says, was then that which is good made death unto me, God forbid, but sin, that it might appear sin, work in death in me by that which is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful, for we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin, look what it says here, for that which I do, I allow not, for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that do I, I'm gonna try to say that five times fast. He says, if then I do that which I would not, I can send it to the law that it is good, now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me, so he's basically expressing the battle between the flesh and the spirit in our lives, right? I mean, every Christian goes through this, every Christian experiences this matter of fighting the flesh, it's like the thing that I hate, that I do, the thing that I wanna do, I don't do, it's like I wanna read the Bible more, but I don't, I wanna please God, but I struggle, it's like that constant battle, right? And then he says this, when I basically do what I'm not supposed to do, it's basically sin that's dwelling in me, it's the sin nature, okay, because obviously his spirit is sinless. He says in verse 18, for I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not, for the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do, now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me, I find it in the law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. Now what evil is he referring to? His flesh. How many of you have experienced that type of frustration? I think everyone has, right? You know, all the other, you guys are just always spirit filled, walking in the spirit. People are like, never, I'm always in the spirit. There's a constant battle, that's what the Bible says, walking in the spirit, you should not fulfill the lust of the flesh, for the flesh lusteth against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh, these are contrary, the one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that you would. It's a constant battle, and you know what, it's a battle, it's a lifelong war that will last until you die, and you know, unfortunately, a lot of people, they just give up on the war, and then they just mind the things of the flesh and become carnal, fleshly Christians. You know, the goal should be that we're just constantly waking up in the morning and just go at it with the flesh, not allowing the flesh to overcome us, you know, having dominion over the flesh, you know, doing that which is, walking in the spirit, doing that which is pleasing unto the Lord, okay? Look at chapter eight, if you will, chapter number eight, this is what it means to be a child of disobedience, okay? The child of disobedience is the child that is basically giving into the flesh, is walking after the flesh. Look at Romans eight, verse number five, for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit, for to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. You know what this shows me? It doesn't matter how much an unsaved person says 50 Hail Marys, and, you know, our fathers and they crawl on their knees and they even crucify themselves in the Philippines and they do all these righteous things, because there's no living spirit dwelling within that person. They can't please God. God looks at that as foolishness and stupidity. He looks at it like this is stupid, and in fact, if you think about it, it's such a blasphemous thing to do, to get crucified. It's like, are you saying that the crucifixion of my son is not enough, that you have to do it? It's insanity, folks. They that are in the flesh cannot please God, the Bible says. Now here's the thing. If we're children of disobedience, you're like, well, you know, the carnal mind is enmity against God, it's not subject to the law of God. How is it then that we got saved? You know, how does that work then? Because of the fact that if it's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, it doesn't want to think about the word of God, and if you are unregenerated prior to salvation and your flesh only wants to do that which is wrong, then what's the caveat? How is it that we got saved? Well, go to Romans chapter number two, Romans chapter number two, because, you know, Calvinist would try to use this to say, yeah, there you go, see, total depravity. You know, that's why you have to be elected, because when you're elected, God gives you the faith to believe, you know, you're chosen prior to the foundation of the world, and if you're totally depraved, you know, this is you right here, you can't seek after God, you can't know the things of God, you're just destined for help, false, okay? How is it that if we're children of disobedience, our flesh is not subject to the law of God, how is it that we can still get saved? Look at verse 14 of Romans chapter two, it says here, for when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by what? Nature, the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves. Verse 15, which showed the work of the law written in their hearts, the Bible says. Their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another. So according to the Bible, each and every one of us has the law of God written in our hearts. Now this doesn't mean like it's literally written there, and it doesn't mean like our literal heart either, you understand? It's referring to the fact that the law of God is in us. Now what is that referring to? It's referring to the conscience, because the conscience is that aspect of our being that understands the difference between what, right and wrong, you understand? So if you're totally depraved, this wouldn't make sense then. Chapter two, verse 14 wouldn't make sense. Someone who's totally depraved wouldn't even have the law of God written in their hearts. Because the law of God, you know, the Bible says that the law of the Lord is perfect. And the law is what? A light. And this is the light that every single human being is born with. They're born with the understanding of right and wrong. And may I say they're even born with the knowledge of God. They know God exists. They just don't know that his name is Jesus. So they're born with light already. The Calvinists teach that their light has already been put out. There is no light in them. The Bible teaches, because you know, the Bible is often very much different from what the Calvinists teach, that the Gentiles, even if they don't have the law of God physically, they don't have a Bible, they're in the jungles of Africa, in some cave, that's okay, they still have the law of God written in their hearts. And they can still respond to the light that God gives to them, you understand? So in other words, the light that God gives them is this, there is a God. And that person, in recognition that there is a God, seeks after the Lord. Now that person will never get saved just by doing that. That only takes them to the point where they say, I need a Savior, I know there's a God out there somewhere. And God in his omniscience, God in his omnipotence, sees the hearts of men, okay, views that person in recognition that they're looking for the light and he brings them more light to the point where he gives them an independent fundamental Baptist or something, so wanted to go out there and give them the gospel and get them saved. That's how it works, okay? So even though they're children of disobedience, it doesn't mean they can't get saved because they still have the law of God written in their hearts. And Calvinists, it's frustrating when they just think like, there's people out there who are just completely totally depraved, but yet they'll say that the sodomites can get saved. Oh wait, hold on a second, a sodomite is actually totally depraved, is reprobated, according to the Bible. You know, the Bible actually says that they have a seared conscience. They're ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, the Bible says. They have a seared conscience, the Bible says he gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. He basically removes their ability to believe, yet the Calvinists, because they hold to a repent of your sins doctrine, will teach, as long as that person turns from that sin, they can get saved. Well, what happened to your totally depraved doctrine then? You misplaced that doctrine. It's a misplaced doctrine. You need to relocate that doctrine to the actual reprobates of this world who cannot be saved. Go back to Ephesians, if you would. We're not going to finish this chapter, obviously, today. We'll finish it next week. Verse number three says, among whom also we all had our conversation in time past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Look at verse number four. But God, that's a great statement there. So we see our condition before Christ, and you see that it was like the course of this world, the children of disobedience, the children of wrath, the prince of power of the air. Oh, but God. That's a great phrase. What does that signify when God intervenes? But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace are you saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So we see our condition before salvation, now we see the creation of the new man. So this is great. Even though you're dead in trespasses and sin, you are going according to the course of this world, you're on your way to hell, God, who's rich in mercy, basically sent his son. God commended his love toward us, and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He elevated his love. To commend means to elevate. It doesn't mean, when the Bible says, for God so loved the world, it doesn't mean like, he so loves you. A lot of people try to use, they'll say that, right? For God so loved the world, he just so loved with you, he just so loves you. It's like, dude, chill out, okay? When it says so loved, it means in this manner, okay? And when the Bible says, but God commended his love, it doesn't mean necessarily that he demonstrated it, although he did demonstrate it, commend means to elevate, okay? He accentuated, he elevated his love towards us by sending his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. And that is great love, folks. We don't need to have a vision of God, we don't need to have some supernatural dream where God takes us into the clouds and we commune and, you know, in a field of daisies or something like that, and he made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside, stupid. He already showed his love for us. He elevated his love by sending his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Stop reading all these romantic novels. Do people even read those anymore? I don't even know if those really exist. Do you guys remember those thick novels that they would sell at the grocery store? And they would have like some pirate guy, and he's like, he looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger or something. But there's just like these, I remember as a kid seeing that, I'm like, this book looks so stupid. He's like, hold on a minute, and they're just like. But you know what? Some Christians are like that. They want Christianity to be like that romantic novel. It's like, God just swept me off my feet. It's called chastisement, if he does that, actually. When he pulls the rug from under you, you know, that's God disciplining you, actually. We don't need all that fluff. You know, why don't you meditate on what God actually did, which is he sent his son Jesus Christ to die for you so that you can have eternal life. Why don't you meditate upon the fact that he calls us his sons, his children? You know, what manner of love, the Bible says, that God will call us his children. First John chapter three, the manner of love, that he would be willing to associate himself with us and call us his children, and we could call him our Heavenly Father, okay? This is great love. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together, by grace are you saved, and hath raised us up together, made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I'm going to have to stop right there. We'll get into verse seven and on the following week. So what did we learn this evening from Ephesians chapter number two? Well, we learned our condition before Jesus Christ, okay? You know, every once in a while, it's good to kind of think back on your hall of shame, right? Just kind of think back what it was before Christ. Now, obviously, I'm not saying that the things you used to do, you don't do them anymore, because maybe you still do some of those things. Maybe you still struggle with some of those things, and those things do not go away once you get saved. Amen? There's a teaching out there that says, well, once you get saved, you will no longer desire to do these sins. You're just a new person. Yeah, you're a new creature, but the old man is still abiding within you, and you know, it's the one we're looking at. It's the flesh. And you know, every once in a while, it's good to remember, you know, that we're according to the course of this world, that we were misled, we were deceived, we were blinded by the God of this world, but God, but God, amen? And we were quick. And let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Thank you so much for Ephesians chapter 2 and the wonderful truths that are found therein, Lord. I pray, God, that you'd help us to meditate and reflect upon these things and recognize that there was a course that we were heading towards. And what's unfortunate sometimes is that some people, even though they're saved, they still want to follow the course of this world, even though they're going to reach a different destination at the end of their lives. They want to walk according to the world and the fashions and the cultures and the ideologies of this world sometimes. We have a different race to run, and it's a race that we have to run with patience, and it's a race that you've set before us. And as you even mentioned in Ephesians 2, that we are your workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God had before ordained that we should walk in them. That's the course that we need to be walking, is the works that you've ordained for us to do, the works you've called us to accomplish and to achieve in this life for your honor, for your glory, Lord. And I pray, Lord, that you help us to reflect upon those things as we go into the weekend. I pray for the brethren who are sick right now, and I pray that you touch them, you heal their bodies, Lord, and help them to recover, and may you strengthen their immune system, Lord. And I pray that you bless us as we go on our way in Jesus, and then we pray. Amen.