Message by Eddie Fernandes
Introduction
(Click intro title) The message I am about to preach today couldn’t have come at a better time. I am convinced God knew what I would be going through and He inspired this series many months ago knowing this message would coincide with my situation and a really terrible week for me. That’s what I love about God. He is not bound by matter, space or time. He looked into my future and He led me to prepare a sermon that would be uniquely woven for me. Normally, we preachers believe our sermons are for other people to hear. Rarely do we prepare sermons for ourselves. Well, this Sunday God wanted me to hear this sermon. I am preaching to myself not so much to the choir. If others, such as you my friends, can benefit, that is an added bonus.
We are in part 8 of our series on the Stations of the Cross. This will be the 5th message I preach in this series of 12 messages. Tom, one of our Elders, preached one; my middle daughter Renée preached another, and last week, Gaby, my youngest daughter, came in from Riverside Lisbon to preach the 7th message. The key people we will study today is Jesus and His Father in Heaven. The key teaching is CONFIDENCE/TRUST. And the key Scripture passage is Mark 15:33-39. You can also read the narrative in Luke 23 and John 19. Let’s read: (Click passage 1a) “At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’). When some of those standing near heard this, they said, ‘Listen, he’s calling Elijah.’ Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. (Click passage 1b) ‘Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,’ he said. With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’” (Mark 15:33-39 – NIV).
And thus ended the life of our beloved Messiah. Let’s recall His last week of life. The weekend prior to His death Jesus walked towards Jerusalem knowing He was about to face the worst week of His life and knowing He would be killed. He arrived in the town of Bethany six days before Passover and there on the Sabbath He was anointed at Simon the leper’s house. A great crowd gathered to hear from Him on the Sunday. We could say He held a “service” for those who had come from near and far to see Him.
The final week in the life of Jesus (Click sub-title)
Early on Monday morning He got up and entered Jerusalem, visited the Temple and returned to Bethany. The date was Nisan 10 on the Jewish calendar, the exact day when Jews selected and separated the unblemished Passover lambs to be sacrificed. Jesus, in effect, presented Himself as the sinless Paschal Lamb who would take away the sin of the world. On Tuesday He returned to Jerusalem, cursing the barren fig tree on the way. He also cleansed the Temple of money changers and vendors who were blocking access for gentiles to come and worship God. This infuriated the religious leaders and they plotted to kill Him. At sunset He returned to Bethany with His disciples. On Wednesday as they walked back to Jerusalem the disciples noticed the fig tree had withered. At His Father’s House on Temple Mount, Jesus was questioned and defiantly challenged by the religious leaders. In the afternoon He climbed the Mount of Olives and delivered His famous teaching. He also predicted that He would be killed within two days. Judas met with the religious leaders and planned the betrayal of Our Lord. Darkness was fast approaching.
On the Thursday Jesus instructed His disciples to start preparing the Passover. He began to prepare them for what would be the most painful and terrifying time of His life. He ate the Seder, or Passover meal, with them and He prayed for them. He then led them to the Garden of Gethsemane where He spent the night in prayer suffering tremendous agony as all hell was loosed upon Him. That night Judas arrived with soldiers. Jesus was betrayed, arrested and taken to be tried by Annas and later by Caiaphas, the High Priests of Israel. They had religious power but could not sentence a man to death. So they mocked Him, beat Him, spat on Him, and sent Him to be tried in the early hours of Friday morning, first by the religious Sanhedrin, then by Pontius Pilate the Roman Governor, and then by King Herod Antipas. Wherever He was sent He was abused, tortured, ridiculed, mocked and hurt. Finally, He was sent back to Pilate, the only one with power to decree the death sentence. Pilate washed his hands to imply his innocence, and then handed Jesus over to be whipped with 39 lashes, as was customary for the Romans, and then to be crucified.
Bleeding, battered and broken He carried the heavy cross through the cobbled streets of Jerusalem and up the dusty road to Calvary. Exhausted and almost lifeless He fell. As Renée preached 2 weeks ago they recruited an African, Simon of Cyrene, to help the Lord. At 9am He was crucified as they drove nails through His wrists and ankles. He died at around 3pm and was buried before sunset, because the Sabbath was beginning and Jews did not work on the Sabbath. He died at the precise same hour Jews were killing lambs all over the country in preparation for Passover.
The tomb was sealed, a contingent of Roman guards was placed to ensure nobody would remove the body, as was feared by the religious leaders. Friday night, Saturday and Sunday morning the body of Jesus remained lifeless in the tomb. Early on Sunday morning the soldiers were blinded, the stone was rolled away and Jesus came forth from the grave, alive! He conquered death, hell and the grave. He was the firstfruit of many resurrections to come. Jesus was alive! As we read in (Click passage 2) Acts 1:3, “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”
The unimaginable suffering of Jesus (Click sub-title)
Everything was going so well. Only one week before His murder, on Palm Sunday, Jesus was being praised as “King of Kings.” One week later He was beaten so badly, that Isaiah prophesied, 600 years prior to this event, in chapter 53 of the book that bears his name, that Jesus would be led like a lamb to the slaughter. He would be so badly tortured that He would end up (Click passage 3a) “like one from whom people hide their faces…despised…a man of suffering…punished…stricken …pierced for our transgressions…crushed for our iniquities…oppressed and afflicted…cut off from the land of the living…assigned a grave with the wicked…though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.”
The suffering of the saints (Click sub-title)
How many of you have experienced pain on this level? None of us I am sure. But, many of you know exactly what it means to suffer. Many have experienced really tough and crippling times. This past week was one such time for me. It was the climax of one of the most troubles months in recent years. On Monday, I buried my beloved cousin Raquel, aged 46 and a victim to cancer. That evening I had a meltdown. Most of you know me as a tough guy. As one who charges fearlessly into the face of a storm, without flinching. You know me as a strong leader who can take a LOT of stress and handle all kinds of duress. But, as tough as I strive to be, I’m a hard core biker, I am also a mere mortal and made of the same substance as everyone else here today. I am a weak human.
For the past few months I have been in and out of hospitals, since I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Although I always put on a brave front it was a smack in the face. Then came Covid-19 and the shutdown of our church, city, and country. The financial worry crept in. Would we survive if people weren’t coming to church and giving their tithes and offerings? Our overhead, as a ministry, is almost 12.000€ per month! Then people began to get sick. The pandemic started with me presiding over 2 funerals of good friends, back-to-back. I was called to visit the sick and dying in homes and in hospitals. People began crying out for help. We started a Covid Emergency Fund. We opened a Food Bank. Marta and I ran ourselves into the ground trying to help everyone, as best we could. Painful weeks followed painful weeks. The uncertainty of the church’s future. Good friends taking ill. Several in our church hit with Covid, including Santo, who sang today. I visited all who allowed me to, without fear, asking for the Lord to protect me. I want to be a good shepherd, fearing no evil. As the “engine” in our church I need to inspire and encourage people. While most chose to isolate and to stay home, I was present. In was in church. I entered the homes. I hugged the sick. I prayed and stayed with hurting people.
Last week my 2 year stint of immunotherapy at the IPO, Portugal’s Oncology Hospital, began. I spent all day in cancer wards, surrounded by very sick people, doing tests and going from doctor-to-doctor. I left the hospital after many hours and went straight to visit my cousin as her body was shutting down. I prayed with her and cried with her. I went back later to take her some supplies. I’m glad I did. I never saw her face again. After that I rode to Foros de Amora to visit Pr. Marcos Silva, bed-ridden for almost 3 years. My heart was broken to witness, not only his suffering, but the suffering of his wife and two beautiful daughters. I was the first visitor they have received since Covid started! Everyone is too afraid (or too indifferent) to visit. I also received the news that a good friend in the ministry had a breakdown and was hospitalized. Plus, many continue to die in our country. Some took their lives, like the wonderful actor, Pedro Lima. A spirit of death shrouds Portugal, and indeed the world. The globe seems clouded by violence, anger, hatred and people bent on destruction, as though Covid were not enough to hurt us.
Our world is spiraling out of control. On Monday, after an exhausting weekend of ministry in the north, I presided over my cousin’s funeral. She died while I was in the north. During the cremation ceremony I was flooded with grief as I recalled the death of my brother, my mother, my grandparents, and my aunts, all of whom whose funerals I have presided over. My dad and our family members were present so I remained as strong as I could for them. But that evening at home my blood pressure rocketed and I collapsed. I reached the limit in body, soul and spirit.
The necessity of trust (Click sub-title)
It’s when life spirals out of control that we need to know that someone is in control or all hope is lost and we could very well end up like Pedro Lima. I for one am so glad I found Jesus. He makes sense of my life. He gives strength to my life. He shows me a bigger picture and paints a picture of my victory, IF ONLY I WOULD TRUST IN HIM. Many of us relate to Our Lord’s cry on the cross: (Click passage 4) at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’). Many of us have been there. We identify with the feelings and emotions flooding Jesus as pain pierced every cell of His being. Jesus was a man like us and He felt everything we feel. At that moment He was feeling alone, abandoned and broken. Have you been there? I have, not on that level, and I well imagine you have too.
But did you know He spoke at least seven times on that cross? His first words were “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). There’s a huge lesson for all of us. But, we have spoken about that already earlier in this series. The lesson we want to learn today is to TRUST in God’s plan even in our darkest of times. His second words were directed to one of the thieves. He assured that man, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). His final words were : (Click passage 5) “It is finished” (John 19:30) and “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
Jesus walked into Jerusalem fully aware of what was coming. He knew torture and death awaited Him. But He also knew that His life was in the hands of His Father. He TRUSTED His Father’s plan implicitly. He was CONFIDENT that His Father would sustain Him and give Him the strength and courage He needed. He boldly told the repentant thief: “I am going home and you will join me there.” His last words were the closure to His mandate. He had told His Father several times already that He had come to earth to fulfill His purpose. His knew His mission was ending. As He surrendered His body to the grave He said “I commend my spirit into your hands.” In other words: IN YOU I TRUST!
The unfailing promises to those who “trust in the Lord” (Click sub-title)
In this crazy world and in these troubled times my hope and my trust is ONLY in God. You see Isaiah did not stop when He described the suffering of Messiah. He went on to write in (Click passage 6) Isaiah 53: “…he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
When we are fully convinced in our hearts that we are living righteously, that we are obeying the Word of the Lord, that we are fulfilling His purposes and living out His unique plan for our lives, everything changes. Then, my dear friends, we may suffer, we may experience times of pain, we may pass through the “valley of the shadow of death” BUT we are not alone. God is there with us, He is there for us, and He is there in us. As humans we may at times dismay, we may at times fear, we may at times crash, we may at times feel like God has abandoned us, BUT He hasn’t and he won’t ever turn His back on His beloved.
Conclusion: David’s Psalm of trust (Click sub-title)
The words Jesus spoke on the cross were spoken by King David in his Messianic Psalm 22. David wrote: (Click passage 7) “1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?). Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. 4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.” David goes on to describe His own trying, troubling, and terrible situation and then concludes, like his ancestors before him, “in God I can also trust!” No one who trusts in God is ever put to shame. I will draw to a close by challenging every single person to learn from Jesus and to learn from King David. Release your problems and let go of your stress. Give your burdens, your anxiety, worry and depression to Jesus. Let go of the negative influences over your lives. Take 5 mins per day, every day this week, to mediate on His glorious promises for your life. Then take another 5 mins to immerse yourselves in songs of praise with lyrics about faith and trust in the Lord and tell the Lord “I will trust in You!”
Let’s do that right now as we sing I will trust in you and after that I would like to pray for those who are in a dark tunnel (Lauren Daigle - Trust In You – Youtube)
