Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. Ps 84:5 NKJV

Is your heart set on pilgrimage? I hope so, because the joy of life at all stages is to grow closer to God, to grow close to His Throne, to be drawn in practice to where He has already placed you and to live in that kingly authority and blessing. That is the joy at every stage of life, even at the gateway to eternity, what I call the great adventure of going to Heaven! Pilgrimage requires struggle; it’s always easier to lie down and not go anywhere, but that leads to a bondage that in its most benign form we call boredom. True Christianity is anything but boring! It is fun, it is a fight, it is a joy inexpressible when you walk into a victory that you struggled for and know your life has a purpose and has made a difference. We are on a pilgrimage from the Cross to the Throne!

Jesus said, “I am the Road…from THE MESSAGE John 14:6

I love the ocean. I grew up on the ocean in San Francisco Bay in California. My favorite place to go pray and meet with the Lord is in Lincoln City OR at a place called Land’s End State Park which of course is on the ocean. It was a place where the early settlers worked to make the vital ingredient of salt which was necessary for health and preserve meats and other foods. Land’s End was literally the end of the journey on the Oregon Trail. Our end of our spiritual growth journey is at the Throne of God where we find the power of life for Him to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think.

In our last article we started THE JOURNEY at Romans Three and left it at the ‘waystation’ of Romans 12:1-2. Now we pick up the journey again at Ephesians One.

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Eph 1:1 NKJV

Ephesians builds upon the foundation of Romans just as the later landmarks on the Oregon Trail were only reached after obtaining the former. Spiritual growth is in one sense linear, in that you have to obtain certain objectives before you can effectively move on to others. For instance, people come to our conferences, they do miracles, then three weeks later they are no longer doing miracles. Why? It is because the bedrock foundations of faith have not been sufficiently built in them to sustain that anointing. You have to build Romans truth into your heart – like, there is NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus and, through speaking in tongues in love all things work together for the best possible result – before you can sit at the right hand of God and rule in authority. Most of us ‘condemn ourselves’ right out of authority before we ever walk in it! The answer is to read Romans until you ‘get it,’ until it’s a part of you, until its truth is swimming in your soul. Is it a struggle? Maybe. Is it worth it? Absolutely!

When you read Romans, look up words you don’t understand. Ask questions – ‘What in the world is Romans Seven talking about?’  Talk about it. Find others that are on the same journey and compare notes. Personalize it. Take Romans 5:1 and say, “I have peace with God!” Let Romans truth begin to swim in your soul, then you’ll be ready for Ephesians. Romans truth is foundational to every aspect of your life – your job, your family, your finances, your health, your future, etc.

Let me show you something in verse one of Ephesians.

Do you see that phrase ‘…to the saints…and faithful in Christ Jesus’? I believe it is an example of the figure of speech HENDIADYS where two nouns are used – saints and faithful – but one thing is meant. In this figure the second noun always augments the first noun so it could be translated ‘to the faithful saints in Christ Jesus.’ The next question is – faithful to what? In this case, the answer is – Romans truth!

Romans truth – I know I’m born again, I know I have passed from death to life, from sin to righteousness, I know I have peace with God, I know my condemnation was laid on Jesus, so I have no condemnation to answer for, I know I have a new nature of Christ in me, I know I am a son or daughter of God, and have a new language of worship, praise, prayer and blessing, and I know nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus! These are the landmarks on our pilgrimage to the Throne. When you know that in your heart, you are ready for Ephesians.

Many times what drove the settlers west was the search for gold. Ephesians One through Three is so loaded with spiritual gold that we can stop and pick up nuggets for a lifetime and become unfathomably wealthy. Wealth is NOT intrinsically immoral. How wealth, or any power, is used is what is moral or immoral. So, let’s search for the wealth of Ephesians with a view towards using it for His Kingdom and for the glory of our King.

There is so much here that I’m just going to highlight some things as you read Ephesians.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Whenever you read, remember, this is NOT a greeting. It is something far more significant – it is an impartation. Stop, open your hands, look up and say, “I receive grace and peace from You, ABBA, and from You YESHUA HA MASHIACH!” Let that grace and peace fill you!

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Eph 1:2-14 NKJV

We are so rich, so full, so blessed! Drink these truths in. Let your heart meditate and stand in awe and wonder at them. The hardest thing about highlighting is not highlighting everything here! Now, look at the first great prayer in Ephesians. This is not Paul’s prayer, because holy men of God spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The words were Paul’s, but they came for God, and as such they outline the DESIRES of the Holy Spirit for us.

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,  21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Eph 1:15-23 NKJV

Oh my goodness! All things under our feet? Do you see why you must be rooted in Romans truth before you can fully accept that all things are under your feet? He wants to give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation – what we call the genius anointing – to know the hope of His calling, what riches we have in His inheritance, and what the HUPERBALLON MEGETHOS – it always makes me grin from ear to ear when I read that, MEGETHOS (greatness) should have been the name of an 80’s Christian Rock band – of His DUNAMIS that lives in us, that greatness that can be manifested, like in healings, miracles and resurrections. Two days from now will be the eighth anniversary of one of the extraordinary miracles I have had the privilege of being associated with – the birth of the Twins.

Look at some of the great truths of Ephesians Two and Three. I think of chapters two and three, the great truths in it, like a beautiful campus with different buildings that we call the  Throne Room Complex, ABBA’s University where He will take the ages to come to show us the riches of His grace. Think of it! Rejoice in what is to come!

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Eph 2:4-10NKJV

The word workmanship is the Greek word POIEMA, meaning masterpiece. The Body of Christ, made up from Jews and Gentiles, born into the family of God, is God’s masterpiece. When you look in the mirror do you see a masterpiece? Yet when ABBA sees us, He sees we are His masterpiece, just like how you view your children.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 

We see the Cross on the Throne Room Campus because it is through the blood of Christ that we have gained access to the Campus, and the Father.

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,  21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Eph 2:13-22 NKJV

We have become the great Temple on the Campus where the presence of God dwells. May our hearts stand in awe of the holy presence of God!

The pioneers on the Oregon Trail sought to reach the Willamette Valley in Oregon. We have reached the Throne Room Campus in the heart of Heaven by grace and have grown up there on the trail from the Cross to the Throne. Here is where we see the Great Mystery revealed.

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles —  2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 

8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;  10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,  11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Eph 3:1-13 NKJV

The Church, His masterpiece, declares to the whole creation the manifold wisdom of God. ABBA has always wanted to declare to His creation how great He was, how wise He was, how wonderful He was so that our worship of Him would not be out of obligation or assignment but out of the ideal purity of young, vivacious love. We are going to be in love with Him, and each other, forever!

Finally, the second prayer – again the outlines of the desires of the Holy Spirit for us!

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height —  19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Eph 3:14-21NKJV

Journey’s end – the Throne Room of God – the end of the trail, the end of the pilgrimage. We can go there now and live in that glory to the greatest degree possible while still in this earthsuit. We are pioneers on a love frontier, as my friend Joe used to sing, blazing new trails in our hearts to the Throne of God. See you on the Trail! Love you!

Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…