CELEBRATING JESUS
Good Friday – 29th March 2013
GOD HAS ALWAYS HAD A PLAN
Genesis 3:15 - And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
Even before man ever fell into sin and disobedience, God had a plan through His Son to reconcile us back to Him.
Isaiah 53:3-5 - he is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him; he was despised, and we did not esteem him. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by god, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed.
John the Baptist saw Jesus the prophetic Lamb of God that was slain before the foundation of the world.
John 1:36 - And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!”
The blood of animals was accepted by God under the Old Covenant as an offering for sins. God never allowed the sacrifice of human flesh and blood. Jesus was sinless and His blood sacrifice was acceptable to God.
Jesus became a sacrifice once and for all for everyone in the present and future as He was the spotless Lamb.
Jesus suffered in the flesh for all of us and went through extreme physical pain and emotional trauma for us. His Father allowed His Son to suffer for us because God’s sacrifice is powered by His love for us.
John 3:16 -For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
There are a number of lessons we can apply through the death of Jesus.
1. WE CANNOT BUY OUR SALVATION
Jesus bought us with His blood and no further payment or sacrifice is necessary. He sees us through His blood and finds no fault in us.
We should also learn to see others through the blood of Jesus.
2. WE CAN ENGTER HIS PRESENCE BOLDLY
When Jesus cried “It is finished”, it meant that there were no more barriers and obstacles to His presence. We simply step into his presence boldly and say “Father”.
There are no more works or rituals that need to be done before we enter into the Holy place.
3. JESUS TOOK AWAY THE CURSE
Galatians 3:13 - Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),
We are no longer under any curse and no-one can curse us because Jesus became the curse for us and has blessed us.
The curse of sin, sickness, and poverty can be overcome. We are blessed coming and blessed going out.
4. HE HAS GIVEN US HIS NAME
He has given us His name which is above every name. We do not come in our own name, but we come in the name of the Lord.
Those that reject Jesus will receive the name of the devil which is ‘666’.
5. QUALITY OF LIFE
We can enjoy each and every day and live a quality life.
He loads us with new benefits every day and wipes away the failure of yesterday through His mercies.
We can live a full and abundant life because of His death on the cross.
6. WE HAVE A NEW FAMILY
The church represents a new family where we meet our brothers and sisters in Christ and worship our Father.
7. ETERNITY BEGINS NOW
All God’s the promises are for now and can be enjoyed during our lifetime on earth. We do not have to wait to die to access heaven’s blessings.
When we die and go to heaven, our life simply continues. Heaven is an extension of our abundant life on earth.
1 John 4:17 - ….because as He is, so are we in this world.
8. FULFILL YOUR COMMISSION
The completed work on the cross represents the fulfilment of the Jesus’ life purpose and means that we can fulfil our diving purpose on earth during our lifetime.
We have not been paled on earth to life and die, but to fulill a divine plan which adds to God’s Kingdom.
Matthew 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
9. YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Through His death, Jesus was able to send the Holy Spirit to empower ordinary believers for extra-ordinary ministry.
When God fills us with His presence and power, we are complete.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. - 2 Corinthians 4:7
10. THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS OURS
God’s Word does not necessarily contain givens, but rather possibilities. When He says you will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country, it is not a given, but a possibility. These realities can only be accessed by faith.
When God says you are healed by the stripes of Jesus, you are not healed. You have to walk in that healing and access it by faith. You have to train your mind to accept the supernatural and once you have a revelation of that reality, you can take healing to a lost world. That is why God gives us the Word so that we can confess it and place a demand on the promises of God contained in His Word.
This is not His choice because He has already made His choice and chosen us. We need to make a decision for Him and accept Him into our lives.
Romans 10:9 - That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Hebrews 3:7-8 - Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your heart.
