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Sermons on Ephesians (Page 6)

Forgiveness and Healing – part 5

Susan Segawa, Pastor Drew’s wife, shares publicly for the first time, her painful past of child sexual abuse and her road to forgiveness and healing. It’s wise to remember that we can grant forgiveness right away to someone who has hurt us, however the path to our healing from their sin may take some time.

While Joseph was in Egypt, God gave him grace and wisdom to forgive – and to also figure out, that what others used as evil against him, God is able to use for His good and to help many people (Genesis 50:15-21). In a similar way, God used Susan’s tremendous pain to draw her close to Him so that she could receive Christ’s forgiveness and to also forgive others and heal. Thus, from her youth, she developed a personal relationship with the LORD, a love for God’s Word and the ability to become a worshipper. Today, Susan is not only a victor in Christ and a survivor, but God used the pain and suffering – in His hands – to direct her into her calling in the ministry of Worship. “And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.” (Psalm 27:6)

One of the songs Susan wrote as a teenager that was produced as fruit from the pain of her childhood years, is In God’s Own Time, which is shared in this audio message. This song comes from Psalm 27:14 – “Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”

In Christ: Learning to Live in our New Nature – part 3

As Christians who have been born again, we cannot live in our old nature, for that way is dead. Christians now have a new nature, which is in Christ. We must learn to live in this new nature so that it’s possible for us to give godly grace, forgiveness, love and mercy to others. The butterfly can serve as an illustration for us, as a butterfly has a new nature and can never go back to living in its old nature, as a caterpillar. Everything’s new, including its food source, way of eating, its mobility and its appearance among many other things.

Bearing with One Another in Love

Paul teaches in his letter to the church at Ephesus that they, as Christians, need to first know important doctrine about Jesus Christ. In chapter 4, we read Paul’s instruction about church life within the body of Christ. Paul teaches us to walk worthy of our calling within our local fellowship and gives us great practical ways on how to do it. He instructs the Christian to bear with one another in love, so that we may endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and not give in to the devil’s tactic, which is disunity.