Were you chosen by God before the world even began? In this devotion from **Words From The Word**, Pastor Roderick Webster opens Ephesians 1:4 (KJV) — *"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love"* — and carefully walks us through one of the most profound truths in all of Scripture: God's election and what it really means for your salvation.

You might be asking…

- Does being chosen mean I have no choice in coming to Christ?

- Was Israel's election the same as personal salvation?

- How does John 3:16 fit together with the doctrine of election?

- What does it mean that God "drew" me to Himself?

**Key points from this devotion:**

- 📖 Election is God choosing us to be His *before we existed*

- 📖 There are three types of election in Scripture: national (Israel), vocational (e.g., the Levites, the apostles), and salvational

- 📖 Being of Israel by birth does not guarantee personal salvation (Romans 9:6–7)

- 📖 God draws sinners to Christ apart from any merit in man (John 6:44)

- 📖 The promise still stands — *whosoever believeth* shall have everlasting life (John 3:16)

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You know God has blessed you — but do you know where those blessings actually are? This episode zeroes in on one of the most clarifying truths in Ephesians: your spiritual blessings are not stored down here on earth. They are in heavenly places — where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And because you are in Christ, everything He has already belongs to you.

In this episode, Pastor Roderick Webster covers:

• The location of every spiritual blessing — "heavenly places" as seen across Ephesians 1, 2, and 3 (KJV)
• Why only the spiritual person can receive what the natural mind rejects (1 Corinthians 2:14 | KJV)
• The call to live as heavenly citizens while navigating real earthly struggles (2 Corinthians 4:8–9 | KJV)
• How walking in the Spirit produces the fruit of a life rooted in heavenly realities (Galatians 5:22–23 | KJV)
• Jesus as the blessing agent — and what our union with Him means for every resource He possesses
• The staggering inheritance of the believer: heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16–17 | KJV)
• Why His riches, righteousness, power, and position are all yours — by grace, through Him

📖 Scriptures referenced: Ephesians 1:3, 1:20, 2:6, 3:10, Colossians 3:1, 1 Corinthians 2:14, 1 Corinthians 6:17, 2 Corinthians 4:8–9, Galatians 5:16, 5:22–23, Romans 8:16–17, 15:5–7, 1 Corinthians 15:10 (all KJV)

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TU2LeWsbhw0

This is Episode 4 of All Spiritual Blessings — a devotional journey through the book of Ephesians with Pastor Roderick Webster on Words From The Word | Good News Baptist Church.

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0:00 Welcome + Wonderful Grace of Jesus (hymn)

1:11 The location of your blessings — heavenly places

1:41 Heavenly places in Ephesians 1, 2, and 3 (KJV)

2:15 Where Christ is seated — that's where your blessings are

2:54 Why the carnal man cannot receive spiritual blessings

2:58 Called to live as heavenly citizens (Galatians 5)

3:25 The fruit of the Spirit — evidence of heavenly living

4:00 Troubled but not destroyed — hope in earthly struggles

4:43 Jesus — the blessing agent

5:11 Union with Christ — what it means to be in Him

5:43 Heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8)

6:14 His riches, power, and position are yours

7:42 Closing encouragement

Have you been asking God for love, peace, joy, or strength — not realising Scripture says you already have them? This episode delivers one of the most liberating truths in all of God's Word: every spiritual blessing has already been granted to the believer in Christ, and God has held absolutely nothing back.

In this episode, Pastor Roderick Webster covers:

• Why God is the blessed one — perfect in goodness, with no variableness or shadow of turning (James 1:17 | KJV)
• Why every good and perfect gift flows downward from the Father — and why He is the supreme blesser of His people
• Who the "blessed ones" are — and why every Christian believer qualifies
• Why we keep praying for what we already possess: love (Romans 5:5), peace (John 14:27), joy (John 15:11), strength (Philippians 4:13), and divine power (2 Peter 1:3 | KJV)
• What it means that believers are already seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6 | KJV)
• The cricket replay illustration — a vivid picture of how God, outside of space and time, already sees every blessing as done in the believer's life

📖 Scriptures referenced: Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 2:6, James 1:17, Romans 5:5, Romans 8:28, John 14:27, John 15:11, Philippians 1:19, Philippians 4:13, Colossians 2:10, 2 Peter 1:3, Matthew 19:17, Psalms 1:4 (all KJV)

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ySPi1up48-8

This is Episode 3 of All Spiritual Blessings — a devotional journey through the book of Ephesians with Pastor Roderick Webster on Words From The Word | Good News Baptist Church.

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Do you ever wonder whether you truly have value — or feel empty and purposeless even though you're saved? This episode goes straight to the source. Pastor Roderick Webster opens Ephesians 1:1–3 (KJV) and begins unpacking one of the most powerful declarations in all of Scripture: that every believer has already been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

In this episode, Pastor Webster covers:

• Why Paul wrote this letter from a prison cell in Rome — and who it was written for
• The structure of Ephesians: three chapters of doctrine (the wealth of Christ) followed by three chapters of practical Christian living (the walk of the believer)
• What it truly means to be addressed as a saint — and why every believer qualifies
• How the righteousness of Christ is placed to the believer's account by faith (Romans 3:21–22, Philippians 3:9 | KJV)
• The difference between grace and peace — and why grace is the source that produces peace
• Why no person can find real identity, self-worth, or purpose apart from Christ

📖 Scriptures referenced: Ephesians 1:1–3, Romans 3:21–22, Philippians 3:9, Philippians 4:7, Psalms 1:4 (all KJV)

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/b69T6jnfe-g

This is Episode 2 of All Spiritual Blessings — a devotional journey through the book of Ephesians with Pastor Roderick Webster on Words From The Word | Good News Baptist Church.

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0:00 Welcome + series recap

0:18 Fannie Crosby — victory through grace

1:08 Paul, Ephesus, and why he wrote this letter

2:49 Structure of Ephesians — doctrine + walk

3:27 Believers addressed as saints — what it means

4:28 The righteousness of Christ placed to your account

5:26 Grace and peace — how one produces the other

6:40 All spiritual blessings — the source is God

7:28 Identity, worth, and purpose in a confused world

8:27 Preview — six divine blessings coming next

Can God Use Someone With My Past? — Introducing the Book of Ephesians

Have you ever felt like what you've done — or who you've been — puts you beyond the reach of God's purpose? This opening episode of our Ephesians series begins not with a doctrine, but with a life: Saul of Tarsus, the most dangerous enemy the early church ever faced, and the God who stopped him cold on the road to Damascus.

In this episode, Pastor Roderick Webster covers:

• The education, zeal, and anti-Christian mission of Saul of Tarsus
• The Damascus road encounter that brought him face-to-face with the risen Christ (Acts 9 | KJV)
• Paul's desert season in Arabia and his ministry launch in Antioch
• How Paul planted and pastored the church at Ephesus — and his tearful farewell to its elders (Acts 20 | KJV)
• A first look at Ephesians 1:1–5 (KJV) and the spiritual blessings every believer possesses in Christ

📖 Scriptures referenced: Ephesians 1:1–5, Acts 9:1–8, Acts 22:3–5, Acts 13:1–9, Acts 20:17–38 (all KJV)

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8U3WSGV3Pl8

This is Episode 1 of All Spiritual Blessings — a devotional journey through the book of Ephesians with Pastor Roderick Webster on Words From The Word | Good News Baptist Church.

New episodes released regularly. Share this with someone who needs to go deeper in God's Word.

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Do you know what kind of love God has placed on you — and are you living like someone who truly believes it? In this finale of the "Claim Your Blessings" series, Pastor Roderick Webster closes with two final blessings from Ephesians 6 and a breathtaking finish from Romans 8 and 1 John 3 that will remind you of exactly who you are in Christ.

• Blessing 26 — You are an ambassador for Christ — even in bonds (Eph. 6:20)
• Blessing 27 — You are called to pray always and for all people, with perseverance (Eph. 6:18–19)

And the series closes where it must — with the love of the Father:

• You are more than a conqueror through Him that loved you (Rom. 8:37)
• You are a child of God — and an heir with Christ (Rom. 8:16–17)
• One day, when He appears, you shall be like Him (1 John 3:1–3)

You are not just blessed with some spiritual blessings. You are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Claim them. Live like it.

📖 Key scriptures: Ephesians 6:18–20, Romans 8:16–17, 8:37, 1 John 3:1–3 (KJV)

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/h1CY4oAJtNY

Words From The Word — feeding your faith, one devotion at a time.

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0:00 Opening — Count Your Blessings

0:41 Recapping the Blessings Series

1:30 Blessing 26: Ambassador for Christ in Bonds (Eph. 6:20)

3:11 Blessing 27: Pray Always for All People (Eph. 6:18–19)

5:23 More Than Conquerors (Romans 8:37)

5:41 Blessed With All Spiritual Blessings (Eph. 1:3)

6:22 Children of God — Heirs With Christ (Romans 8:16–17)

6:49 Behold What Manner of Love (1 John 3:1–3)

9:34 Live and Grow in Christ — Series Close

10:42 Thanks, Closing Prayer & Farewell

Are you tired of losing battles the Bible says you should be winning? The problem may not be your faith — it may be that you're fighting the wrong enemy without the right armor.

In this Words From The Word devotion, Pastor Roderick Webster unpacks Blessing 25 from Ephesians 6:10–17 (KJV) — God's full armor, given to every believer to win not some battles, but every battle:

• Belt of Truth — the first piece; guard yourself with truth
• Breastplate of Righteousness — no righteousness without truth to anchor it
• Feet Shod With the Gospel of Peace — boots built for the battlefield
• Shield of Faith — able to quench every fiery dart of the devil (Eph. 6:16)
• Helmet of Salvation — protecting the mind
• Sword of the Spirit — the Word of God, quick, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword

And the model for using it? Jesus Himself — "It is written" — three times against the devil's every attack.

📖 Key scriptures: Ephesians 6:10–17 (KJV)

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/L1phYoHfFl8

Words From The Word — feeding your faith, one devotion at a time.

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0:00 Opening — Count Your Blessings

0:31 Blessed With God's Full Armor

1:10 Be Strong in the Lord (Eph. 6:10)

2:31 Our Real Enemy — Not Flesh & Blood (Eph. 6:12)

4:47 Stand — Having Done All to Stand (Eph. 6:13–14)

4:55 Belt of Truth & Breastplate of Righteousness

5:47 Feet Shod With the Gospel of Peace

5:47 Shield of Faith — Quench Every Fiery Dart

6:39 Helmet of Salvation & Sword of the Spirit

7:21 How Jesus Used the Sword (Matthew 4)

7:55 Closing — Claim Your Blessings

8:36 Closing Prayer & Sendoff

Claim Your Blessings Pt. 4 — The Spirit, Marriage & Family (Eph. 5–6 | KJV)

Is the Holy Spirit truly in control of your life — or is the flesh still running things? And what does God's Word say about the relationships that matter most to you?

In this Words From The Word devotion, Pastor Roderick Webster brings the "Claim Your Blessings" series to a close with two final blessings from Ephesians 5–6 (KJV):

• Blessing 23 — You are offered the fullness of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18) — the key question isn't how much of the Spirit you have, but how much of you the Spirit has
• Blessing 24 — You are given the ability to make every relationship work — marriage, family, and workplace — according to God's design (Eph. 5:21–33; 6:1–9)

Closing truth: you don't need to beg God for blessings He has already given. You are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places — right now, in Christ.

📖 Key scriptures: Ephesians 5:18, 5:21–33, 6:1–9 (KJV)

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZcrAJxuwGMs

Words From The Word — feeding your faith, one devotion at a time.

Share this episode with someone whose relationships need the touch of God today.

#WordsFromTheWord #KJV #ClaimYourBlessings #ChristianLiving #Ephesians