Messages

(Easter Day April 12th, 2020) Text: Luke 23:50-56; 24:1-7

Among the twelve disciples of Jesus, there was one whom he loved a lot. he will always be bu his side and go with him to places others didn’t get to go. He had left all, his family, his career, and followed Jesus for more than three years. On the day Jesus was crucified, he was not just closely following Jesus, he was by the cross. Jesus handed over his mother to his care (John 19:26-27). He was that disciple who will lean on Jesus (John 13:21-26). But Jesus was taken from him, and they all forgot he will rise again (John 20:9).

He did not ask why me. A Christian who asks why me is yet to be a Christ follower. Who else if not you? Rise up and run the race set before you. If you are in his shoes, what will you do, considering that his loved one was taken away from him. He was faced with the worst tragedy of life. But John lingered on, waited more on the Lord. All through the Sabbath, he did not waiver. In the morning the following day, he was at the tomb. He outpaced others to see the open empty tomb. What will you do? If you can just wait a little longer, your triumph is by the door. Don’t give up. Wait on the Lord.

Text: John 12:12-19

A large crowd of people followed Jesus as he rode on a colt into Jerusalem. They cried and chanted Hosanna, blessed be the King that cometh (Luke 19:38 KJV). The crowd according to the scriptures is made up of people who had gathered in Jerusalem for pilgrimage, those who had witnessed miracles of Jesus, and those who expected that he will be King to deliver them from the Roman oppressors. It is true that Jesus is the King, and the word of God affirmed that he would rule the people of God. But there is a misconception here. Jesus came to set mankind free and reconcile us with God. And he will come back to reign, and there will never be an end to his kingdom. But the truth is these people followed Jesus for the wrong reasons. From time immemorial, there has been history of people who turned back from following Jesus. Judas Iscariot, Ananias and Sapphira, Simon the magician, Demas all at one point followed Jesus and turned back to follow other things. They all followed Christ for the wrong reasons. There is a great danger to follow Jesus for the wrong reasons. Follow Jesus because Jesus is the son of God who came to reconcile us to the father and in him is life. Miracle, promotion, blessings etc. are all things people follow Jesus for, but it is wrong. It is true that in Christ, you can find all these, but do not follow Jesus for these reasons. Follow Him because in him alone is life, and life everlasting.

Text: Psalms 56:1-13

Trust is defined as firm believe in the reliability, truth, or strength of someone or something. The word trust is gradually fading away in our world in the face of many betrayals, disappointments and falsehood. Men find it hard to believe in the truth, rather they say it is relative truth. Because those who should have lived by truth, failed. fathers betrayed their children, trust is betrayed in marriages, ministers of God disappointingly lived by lies rather than the truth. Governments everywhere failed their people, and systems of man collapsed. It is natural for man to be afraid when faced with uncertainties as it is in this generation. But Joshua said be strong and courageous for God is with us everywhere we go (Joshua 1:9). Jesus held to the confession made by him alone ever in history that he is the way the truth and the life (John 14:6), in Vs 1 of the same scripture he admonished man to believe in God and also in him. He was so sure of his purpose that he came to give life unto man (John 10:10) and he is ever the same (Hebrews 13:8). Instead of a relative truth, Jesus is the truth we can believe, and this fact is incontrovertible. Instead of fear and uncertainty, we can choose to live by his peace by trusting in him (Isaiah 26:3). Apostle Paul said we can get the perfect peace of God through prayer with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6-7). David said his antidote to fear is to trust in the Lord (Psalms 56:3). Trust in Jesus, you will never be disappointed. He loves you.

Text: Numbers 13:17-33

Moses selected twelve people to go ahead into the promised land of Canaan, spy it out and bring back a report. Ten out of the twelve came back with the report that Israelites are like grasshoppers before the inhabitants of Canaan. Joshua and Caleb are the remaining two who went with them to spy the land. They are confident of the power of God and they had courage that they can enter the land and possess it as promised by the Lord. people may make promises, only God is able to bring the promises into fulfillment according to His purpose. Hold on to God, believe in Him, and He will grant you the peace and prosperity you seek. Be courageous.

Text: Hebrews 10: 19-39.

God always desire fellowship with man, and despite past failures, He called Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) and made him a man of His choice for fellowship. Through the family came a man called Jacob who while fleeing his brother and running to Laban’s house met with the Lord in the midway. And as he returned after a blessed journey, he worshiped the Lord at the same place where the Lord met with him and he had called the Gate of Heaven. But the Lord is not limited by distance or limited to a geographical location. The woman by the well, the Samaritan woman had told Jesus that worship will be on the mount, but Jesus made her to know that he, with whom she is chatting is the Messiah and worshiping Him is does in Spirit and truth (John 4:19-26). No longer about the limitations of place. But been in Christ is all that is needed to be in His presence. There is no other entrance to God except by Him (John 14:6; 9:7-18). The place of God’s blessings is still a part of God’s promise and the Christian’s hope in the New Testament. But the place of His blessings is now in Christ. To be in Christ is to be in the place of God’s blessings.

Text: Genesis 28:10 – 22.

God has always desired fellowship with mankind, and as the bible recorded, He will seldom come down to fellowship with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. He loved mankind to the point that He wouldn’t let man just go away from His presence after sinning. He made a plan for redemption. When Jacob and Esau were in their mother’s womb, they struggled with one another. Their mother consulted a prophet and she was informed the younger shall be greater than the older. After their birth, series of events led to Jacob leaving his father’s house. He went to Laban’s house. But on the way, he had a dream while sleeping. The heavens opened and he saw angels ascending and descending through a ladder and God was at the top of the ladder. He called Luz, where he had the dream Bethel when he woke. He said God is there, and it is the house of God, the gate of heaven (Genesis 28:17). Jesus also affirmed to Nathanael in the first chapter of John (John 1:51) that angels will ascend and descend upon the son of man. Jesus is that ladder and the church is that gate of heaven.

Text: John 14:1-20

Jesus told his disciples that he has to go, and Peter the bold disciple told him he will go with him. But that he will deny Jesus thrice before the cock crows. The departure of the savior was for our redemption to be complete. He even said if He did not go, the Holy Spirit cannot come to us. He also said he is leaving to prepare a place for us, that where he is, we can also be. But Apostle Peter said what manner of man are we supposed to be (2 Peter 3:11). He is gone to prepare a place for us, and knowing this, what manner of man are we supposed to be? Are you ready? This world has nothing to offer us, the only hope is heaven. The place of rest and peace where the glory of God is the light and there is no darkness.

Text: John 1:1-15

God created the heaven and the earth in six days but called Moses to Himself and gave him instructions pertaining to the tabernacle for 40days. He gave Moses a clear specification for the Holy God to be able to make a dwelling with the sinful man in the wilderness. The tabernacle was a moveable place of meeting between God and man, all through the journey in the wilderness. After the arrival of the Israelite in the promised land, king David decided the tabernacle should not be in the tent. The temple was built to house the tabernacle. But in the new testament, the one in the tabernacle came as a human being to live among man to reconcile man unto Himself. The Bible says Jesus is the word by whom the earth was made, He made the world and he is the only begotten of God the father John 1:1,10,14). But Jesus said our worship will no longer be in the temple, and he is the one by whom anyone will get to the father. Are you a living tabernacle of God? You are the temple of the Holy Spirit, are you a true temple of the father?

The only place of perfect peace, security and fulfillment on earth is the presence of the Lord. To dwell in His presence, security is guaranteed and no weapon of the enemy is able to take away from Him. Only in His presence is joy unlimited, joy that can not be trampled upon. Pleasures for evermore, that is satisfying to the soul is available only in His presence. But to be in His presence, it is mandated and required that you be holy for our God is a holy God.