Sons of Disobedience

Can the media you consume shape your spiritual journey? Join me, B.R.Maul, as we explore the profound messages in Ephesians 2:1-3, delving into the transformation from spiritual death to life through Christ. This episode brings to light the significance of a sincere relationship with Jesus, beyond mere rituals or societal expectations. I challenge traditional doctrines and share personal reflections on how understanding our innate sinful nature and embracing the grace of Christ can lead to a transformative spiritual journey.

We'll also tackle the subtle influences of media, discussing how content can impact our beliefs and relationships. Drawing from my own experiences, I underscore the importance of emulating Christ rather than public figures. The episode highlights the gradual process of sanctification, encouraging listeners to seek a heartfelt connection with Jesus. Through honest confession and repentance, we can navigate our spiritual paths with authenticity and purpose. Join the conversation as we reflect on living a life truly transformed by love and grace.

Chapters

• 0:29 Living God's Way
• 15:06 Influences on Believers' Nature

Transcript

B.R.Maul: 0:29

Hello and good day. I am BR Maul and you are listening to Living God's Way in an Ungodly World. Currently I am teaching in the book of Ephesians. I'm in chapter 2. Today we'll be covering 4, no, I'm sorry, only 3, verses 1 through 3. So good to have you here with me. I hope all is going well with your walk with the Lord.

B.R.Maul: 0:56

Our walk with the Lord is a relationship. It's not something we just check off of a checklist, right. Oh, did this, did that? Okay, I'm good to go. But like any important relationships in our life, we take it seriously and we take it to heart. So let's jump right on in A reminder that if you have any questions or comments about today's teaching or any of my past teachings, you're welcome to get a hold of me. My website is brmaul B-R-M-A-U-L dot com. Just go to the contact page. There you can put your email and what it is that you have for a question or comment and I'd be happy to get back to you.

B.R.Maul: 2:07

Ephesians 2.1, who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also, we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath just as the others. Heavenly Father, please guide my teaching this day and every day, so that it is only your teaching, and none of my own, that is taught from these lips. I also pray for those who are listening. Open their heart, father, break down any pride, any insecurities, any fears, anything that may be holding the one that you want to speak to right here and now holding back from listening with his or her heart, and I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. So let me go back as I do. We'll go verse by verse. One thing I do love about reading God's word is every word is important, every punctuation mark. It is divine, perfectly pure.

B.R.Maul: 3:06

So when Paul writes in chapter 2, verse 1, and you he made alive Now, before we even go on to the next part of that sentence, who were dead in trespasses and sins, already look how powerful this is. And you Already look how powerful this is. And you, he that's Jesus made alive. I mean everything about this is huge. It is pointing right at you as a born-again believer in Christ, you and God himself. Jesus Christ, he made you alive. It wasn't anything that you did. It wasn't anything special about you. You are special to God in so many ways. We all have our uniqueness, but none of us are that special where he would single us out, just for the sake of who we are, to make us alive.

B.R.Maul: 4:11

God, the Father, gives everybody, before we are born again, the ability to accept his son, jesus Christ. He gives us that grace, and in this chapter we'll be talking more about grace. Grace, and in this chapter we'll be talking more about grace. It is only because of the grace of God that we are able to verbalize what it is we feel in our hearts the pain of being lost and then the ability to speak such words, admitting to the very fact that we are sinners and giving us, through his grace, the ability to believe in our heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, to believe in the very gospel of Jesus, his life, death, burial and resurrection, to be able to realize and understand and accept that we are sinners and that we need Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord of our life. So when Paul says and you, he's pointing right at you, beloved, and you he made alive Through his power, he has made you alive. And who were you? Who were dead in trespasses and sins? This is where that born again comes into play For all denominations out there that continue to practice the false doctrine of remember your baptism and put such power in the baptism itself.

B.R.Maul: 5:40

Not emphasizing the blood of Christ does not do justice at all, is misleading, because we are all born dead in our trespasses and sins. Now, as little babies, we are unable to sin, but we are still dead spiritually as we are born through sin into this sinful world. There's no getting around that. We can see that because we don't ever have to teach a baby to be selfish, to think of itself. We don't teach our little babies to only think of when they're hungry and don't worry about anybody else around them, no matter how disruptive you may be. We don't have to teach them, as they get older, to take a toy or an object from somebody else's hand and say mine, even if it isn't mine, but because they want it. We don't have to teach such things, and if we don't change that by being born again, by the way, those things remain in us. We may learn to be polite, but we are dead in our trespasses and sins. It is only when we are born again that we become alive spiritually.

B.R.Maul: 6:58

So verse 2, in which you once walked according to the course of this world in which you once walked. According to the course of this world, when we are born, we are on a course. We are set on a course, a path of selfishness, of sins and trespasses, and we are stuck there. We are slave to our sin, we want nothing to do with God, we do not seek out God. And as we're walking according to the course of this world, we are participating, being a part of the things of this world, the things that we desire to have in this world, the things that we desire to keep to ourselves, that desire for self-preservation, making sure that we live longer, that we live healthier, that we live happier. And we'll do that to any extreme because that is our nature. The only thing we have to go by is our flesh, the things of this world. So, before a person is born again, they do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them and they are dead to things of the spiritual world and only physically alive.

B.R.Maul: 8:16

Continuing on, I'll back up to the beginning of verse 2. In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit singular, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. So now we expand even more. So now we expand even more. We bring in this power now that is beyond us, but of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, referring to Satan. Because Satan is the ruler of this world, he is the god, small g of this world and before you are born again, you are slave to him.

B.R.Maul: 9:12

I know that can be difficult to fathom, because we tend to think of somebody who is slave to Satan as somebody who worships Satan and of course it's only because they want to worship Satan that they are under his control. So the people must only be those extremely evil beings that are out there the ones committing the most heinous crimes. Now, there's a lot there that I said that isn't accurate, right down to the very fact that it isn't just those who commit the hyenas' crimes, but every human heart has the capability of creating the most hyenas' crimes and even if we don't commit them, we think of them. Jesus tells us that, well, if we hate a brother, that is the same as murdering him. So it isn't the mere act, carrying out the acts, that is evil the very fact that it is within the human heart that we are even thinking it and then playing with that idea.

B.R.Maul: 10:20

So if you're not born again, beloved I don't know any other kind way of saying it because it's not nice at all but you are under the influence, you are under the power of Satan himself. And, as Paul wrote, who now and that was then and today, this very moment works in the sons of disobedient In? Now, that's a little scary term. When we think about that, I don't see that as meaning only those who are possessed by a demon, but it's referring to the nature that is in us. So working in us is part of who we are.

B.R.Maul: 11:02

And so when we don't have the Holy Spirit as our guide, because we are not born again, and even for those who are born again, when we backslide, when we look away from our Savior and our Lord and we look to the world, and we look to the world and we start turning to the world for our security, for our entertainment, for our feeling good about ourselves, whatever the reason is well, we begin to lose that connection. We have not our salvation. I've said it many times you cannot lose your salvation if you are indeed born again, but we can lose all of our blessings. So here he continues on, because the power I'm sorry, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, is that evil nature, is that influence by Satan and the demons himself. Without a doubt, there are people who are demon possessed, but that's not what this is referring to, at least exclusively Verse 3, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature there's that word nature children of wrath, just as the others. Who are the others, those who are not born again?

B.R.Maul: 12:34

It's a stark reminder that even after we are born again, we don't forget that we don't dwell on who we were. It certainly doesn't do any good to try to hold yourself accountable for things that you have done in the past once you're born again. That in and of itself is sin, because Jesus died for that and by being born again you have come to the Lord and being your Lord, he has wiped away your sins. So we don't have the right to hold ourselves accountable anymore. There's nothing heroic, there's nothing Christian-like, there's nothing that makes a person better because they're so aware of the sins of our past, and so we continuously hold ourselves accountable.

B.R.Maul: 13:19

We need to completely understand the forgiveness that we have received in Jesus Christ, but we no longer dwell on that, but to be able to remember not dwell, but remember who we were before. We were in Christ and Christ in us, that Satan had a huge influence upon us, that we were indeed slave to our sins. We could not not sin. We did not have the ability not to sin, we just went with the flow. Okay, here I go again. I have this desire. I must take care of it.

B.R.Maul: 13:58

So for us to be aware of that, that we too were once conducting ourselves in the lust of our flesh and fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And that's important because, end of the mind, those three words are quick to remind us that it isn't just about, once again, the acts that we have committed, but the acts that we have thought of in our head. This is a good reason why it's important, as Christians, to be very careful what you are watching on television movies, whatever it is, advertisements. What you're listening to, what kind of music, what kind of podcasts, how you talk, how you speak to other people, and I'm not talking about an accent. I'm talking about whether or not you are swearing and cussing or whether you belittle people, whether you are wrathful. All of this stuff we have to be very careful about, because it isn't just the very fact of things that we have committed by the flesh, but what we think about as well, and the things that you see and listen to, really influence who you are.

B.R.Maul: 15:06

There was a time when I was much younger that I didn't want to buy into it. I wasn't convinced that the movies that I watched, music that I listened to, had any effect on me. No way I am who I am. I listen to the music because I like the music. I watch the movies and the shows that I watched just because I liked it. But now I can look back and some of the movies that I watched being more violent, for example, or sexual and content, had a huge play in my personality, how I viewed other people and the music I listen to as well Music that I listen to today and at times there's songs that I hear and I'm thinking, wow, I really either didn't care at all about what the lyrics were saying, or I just completely misunderstood it, but some of those lyrics I'm thinking, or I just completely misunderstood it, but some of those lyrics I'm thinking that's not good. That certainly had an impact on how I looked at my relationships with other people, what I thought about society, what I thought about myself, what I felt was important.

B.R.Maul: 16:21

I think over time people have gotten more savvy to that, more aware of the fact that what we listen to and what we watch has a very large influence on us. And I think that's good because for those who step away from that, they're using that knowledge to better themselves and, of course, for born-again believers, we have the power of God in us so we are able to shut that stuff off. But what I fear today is that, with that awareness, there seems to be an acceptance of the very fact that, yeah, I know what I watch and what I listen to influence who I am. So a person can look at certain kinds of people and think I want to be like them, I want to act like them. So a person can look at certain kinds of people and think I want to be like them, I want to act like them, so I'm going to watch movies and shows and listen to things that they listen to. So I'm influenced and I can behave like them, I can act like them, I can look like them. So there seems to be a growing acceptance of the fact that, sure, this stuff influences me, but that's what I want to be.

B.R.Maul: 17:27

I hope you see, beloved, if you are born again, that for us that is wrong. We should desire to only be like our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. There should be no superstar or athlete or musician, whatever it might be that we want to be like Not at all. It should only be more like Jesus Christ. That is the whole idea of being sanctified. God could have decided all right, as soon as a person believes in my son Jesus, I am going to rapture them, I am going to take them home immediately and they will instantly be like my beloved son Jesus. But he doesn't do that. He keeps us here and we are justified. So as soon as we are born again, our sins are justified, they are paid for. He no longer holds those against us.

B.R.Maul: 18:29

But when it comes to our very nature, all of that doesn't happen at once. Some of it happens slower and over time. Other things quite quickly and over time other things quite quickly, no-transcript. But of course there were other habits, other things that I did, that didn't just change overnight and some of that was, I believe, because of his mercy. He didn't reveal to me like this is everything that you need to change. So you got one week you better change. He didn't do that and I am thankful for that because I think that would have been overwhelming for me. So the last part of that, verse 3, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, so our actions and our thoughts and were by nature, children of wrath just as the others. So one wonderful word in there is were past tense. Thank you, lord. We were fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of our mind. If you are wrestling with that, if you are still steeped in sin that you are unable to overcome with the help of the Lord, well then question Just ask this question and don't be insulted by it, but ask yourself am I born again? I say to do this out of love, because it's one of the best things you can do for yourself.

B.R.Maul: 20:02

Many of us were brought up and we were told that, because we were baptized as a baby, that we are a child of God. It was that very act when the pastor or priest sprinkled water on our head as a little baby and our parent or guardian witnessed and spoke for us that, yes, I'll be a child of God. Anybody who's read their Bible know that that's not true at all. That's impossible, in fact, because we're told in the book of Romans alone that one must confess with their mouth and believe in their heart, otherwise it doesn't happen. Well, a baby cannot confess in their mouth or believe in their heart. They don't have that ability. Before I go down too far in that rabbit hole, there's that past tense were.

B.R.Maul: 20:49

But if you are not sure, if you are born again, maybe you're thinking well, I thought I was born again. Maybe you said a prayer some time ago, or maybe somebody just said yes, if you do this or do that, or perhaps you were among the millions who have been taught indirectly that if you were baptized as a baby and if you continue to go to church, that if you were baptized as a baby and if you continue to go to church, and well, even if you can't make it to church, if you are on your best behavior and you have good intentions and you're, overall, a good person. You're not the one in the headlines and you're not committing those acts that you are thinking in your head. You just keep thinking them. Whatever it might be that you were taught but it was nothing about a relationship with the living God, with Jesus Christ, well then you may not be born again because you must confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus.

B.R.Maul: 21:45

Confessing the Lord Jesus means that you repent from the very heart that you are sincere about it. You regret the things that you repent from the very heart that you are sincere about it. You regret the things that you have done and you are fully aware that you need a Savior, that you are sinful by nature. There is nothing that you can do to change that. But you do know in your heart that Jesus lived a perfect life, he was sinless and that is why he is the perfect Lamb of God who was sacrificed. That is truth and you recognize that, because with the heart one believes unto salvation.

B.R.Maul: 22:26

Well then you're born again and if you want to make sure, well, speak those words and just ask the Lord. Lord, I want to be your child, heavenly Father, I believe unto your Son Jesus Christ, and I am fully sorry and I repent of my sins and I turn to you and believe that your Son is my Lord and King, my Savior, and he is Lord of all my life. Now and then you're born again. That's not the prayer, it is through faith and we'll get to that next week, but it is by the grace of God. He gives you that grace in this very moment that you are seeking him. He gives you the grace to be able to say that. He gives you the grace to understand that, to see that, and what a blessing that is.

B.R.Maul: 23:16

Because for all who are born again, we were by nature children of wrath, just as the others, the poor souls out there who do not know Jesus as their Savior, who are not born again. The other word in there, the past tense, were. That's very nice, but nature and we see this in God's Word the very nature, because who we are, our nature, is also in us, it is our DNA, it is our mechanics, it is our blood, is our DNA, it is our mechanics, it is our blood. However, it is that you understand it best. But we are born into a sinful world and by our very nature we are sinful. We don't have to be taught to sin, that's for sure. We know it. Once we are born again, we do have to be taught not to sin, and through the help of God, through the Holy Spirit, we can do that. Will you be sinless on this side of the grave? No, but you keep reading God's word, you keep praying to him and you will sin less. And such a blessing because then you are no longer carrying that baggage with you of all the sins, sinning time and time again. Looking over your shoulder, did anybody see me? Does anybody truly know my thoughts? Can anybody see my inner self? How much of my nature can everybody else see? That's not a great state of being, but for those who are the others, sadly, that is their being, that is their state.

B.R.Maul: 25:02

We have much going on in this world today. No doubt that the powers and principalities of this world, the darkness that surrounds us in this world, is working overtime. Can you feel it? Can you feel it's like the winds have changed direction. There's a sudden shift and over the last few years, darkness seems to work overtime. Few years. Darkness seems to work over time and the darkness becomes even darker. Evil is abounding. Evil is being rewarded for good and good is being rewarded with evil. Governments are completely upside down. So it's quite amazing.

B.R.Maul: 25:47

It really is that at the same time, the power of God, it really is that at the same time the power of God, our very nature is no longer our own, but we are renewed, and it is through the Holy Spirit as we put on Christ shining. The light of Christ is all the more brilliant in this darkness and all the more needed. There is nothing greater that you can do, beloved, than to follow Jesus Christ, to be born again. And once you are born again, the great thing doesn't stop. That is only the beginning. You have been given the gift of eternal life when you are born again. And what a great gift. Take a hold of that gift, embrace that gift, and I encourage you to spend the rest of your life, here and in the next age, in eternity, showing your appreciation to God himself for that gift. Until we are done in this age, share that gift with as many people as you can Be the light and the salt beloved of this earth, many people as you can Be the light and the salt beloved of this earth.

B.R.Maul: 26:56

Now, next week, when we get into verses 4 and beyond, we'll talk more about God's grace and where faith comes in, so very powerful things there. It is awesome how God has chosen to not just do everything for us and around us, but through us, as a believer, as a member of the body of Christ. He will work through you to do his work. We are his hands and feet. We are his mouths and ears as we listen to the world. He uses us. What a privilege it is to be a part of that, and I look forward to tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. Until he calls me home or until he raptures the church.

B.R.Maul: 27:48

I just hope and pray he continues to work through me that I don't get sidetracked with this world and take my eyes off of my Lord and Savior, because it's easy to do. And so it's that time that I remind my listeners, I remind my brothers and sisters in the faith, to stay in his word every day. Don't let a day go by that you're not reading his word beloved, because think of all the ways the world is getting into your mind, the things that you watch, the things that you listen to, all of that it's a lot of racket. So I encourage you to open his word every day. You know what, even if it's 10 minutes here in the morning, maybe 5, 10, 15 minutes during the day, and maybe another 10, 15 minutes before you go to bed, but take every chance you get and drink in your Savior and pray to him. Bring your prayers and supplication with thanksgiving before him. He's listening to you, he loves to listen to you.

B.R.Maul: 28:52

Talk to him, and when I talk about staying focused on him, you can't do it alone. We just can't, because we need to come together with our brothers and sisters. This is how we exhort one another and we lift one another up. We can't do it alone. So find brothers and sisters, truly born-again believers, who love the Lord Jesus and who are actively seeking him, and come together. I would encourage you at least once a week if you can do more, great, but everything we do in our life that is weekly is a big part of who we are and then worship him. So I thank you so much for joining me. I look forward to our next little visit. Until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you, and may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, beloved, and give you peace. You beloved and give you peace and until next time, god bless, thank you.