POWER OF THE CROSS.
The
power the church holds today has its source on the cross of Jesus and his empty
grave. That’s why today we have crosses all over the world to represent its
power. What makes the cross so powerful?
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| Pastor Josephat Gwajima |
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow me." Matthew 16:24
"And
as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled
to bear his cross." Matthew 27:32
"If
he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will
believe him." Matthew 27:42
"But
God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Galatians 6:14
"And
that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain
the enmity thereby." Ephesians 2:16
What
makes the cross of Jesus Christ so important?
When
you talk of christianity there are three main things involved:
1.
Power of the blood of Jesus
2.
Empty grave (power of resurrection)
3.
The words Jesus spoke on the cross
The
blood of Jesus is what gives us authority over satan and his demons, power to
rebuke and cast them out of our lives. Moreover, the empty grave of Jesus is an
assurance that there is life after death for human beings. We christians do not
go for pilgrimages because unlike other denominations whose initiators died and
still have their bones in their tombs; Jesus rose from the dead and his tomb is
totally empty.
On
the cross when Jesus was about to die he gave only seven final statements.
Normally, even today a man on his deathbed no matter how foolish he will give
his final words and usually these are very important and sensible. So, let's
see what Jesus' final words were and what their value is. But why did Jesus say
only seven statements? Why not ten or a hundred?
These
are some few other scriptures where the number seven keeps recurring:
"And
on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the
seventh day from all his work which he had made." Genesis 2:2
"Of
every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female:
and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female." Genesis
7:2
"For
yet seven days, and i will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty
nights; and every living substance that i have made will i destroy from off the
face of the earth." Genesis 7:4
"And
the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon
the mountains of Ararat." Genesis 8:4
"And
Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves" Genesis 21:28
What
is it with the number seven that it keeps recurring in the bible?
Number
seven is a declaration of completion and fullness. Thus the cross of Jesus
stands to complete everything in our lives from our health to our ministries.
It is only the cross of Jesus that can complete a person.
So,
on the cross Jesus gave his seven final statements which were:
1."And
at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani? Which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me?" Mark 15:34
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| Pastor Josephat Gwajima |
"But
he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are
healed." Isaiah 53:5
Jesus
was rejected so that through the cross he was rejected you and i can be
accepted by the father.
2.
"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
Jesus
forgave his torturers while enduring unspeakable pain. Naturally, people would
tell you they need to heal from the pains inflicted on them so they can forgive
those who hurt them. But the cross of Jesus offers us strength to forgive
amidst our pain. There are people who are dead today; some are suffering from
incurable diseases like heart failures simply because they cannot forgive. Most
of the breakthroughs people are looking for in life today are hidden in
forgiveness. Even God himself forgives before healing. It is important to be
able to forgive so that you can be forgiven too by your father in heaven. When
you are unable to forgive you pave way to some demons that will dwell in you
causing all kinds of misery including diseases.
3."Verily
I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
Jesus
said these words to one of the thieves who believed him at the cross. Jesus did
not say probably or may be but surely today we will be together in paradise.
The cross gives assurance on every promise God has given for our lives. It is
the assurance that heaven exists and is our birth right as the children of God.
"In
my father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you."John 14:2
4.
"Behold thy son! Behold thy mother!" John 19:26-27
It
is amazing how even during his last moments he was making peace between people,
his mother and favorite disciple. The cross is a source of peace; peace between
families, between enemies even between religious groups and nations at large.
Jesus stood as the bridge to make peace between God the father and human
beings. He is the only true way to heaven. No church or denomination serves as
the bridge to heaven only Jesus is, through his cross.
5."Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit." Luke 23:46
This
tells us it is possible to commend your spirit to some hands, may be God's or
the devil's hand. The cross is a safe place to commend our spirits; there we
can be sure our spirits will be on God's hands safely. It is the place where
neither the devil nor his demons can reach you; it is way above their reach.
Today most people have their spirits into the hands of the devil's agents
knowingly and most unknowingly where the devil enslaves them as he pleases.
Seek to have your spirit commended into the hands of our heavenly father today
through the cross of Jesus Christ.
6."I
thirst."John 19:28
Knowing
you only have a few minutes to live, why would one thirst for water? Was Jesus
thirst for water? If not, what was the nature of his thirst? And to whom was he
addressing his thirst? He was telling not his torturers of his thirst but God,
the father. That despite the pain I am enduring now I still thirst to do your
will. The cross is the source of our thirst to serve God in all earnest. It is
at the cross where we find our thirst to seek God and bring millions to Jesus,
thirst to pray, praise, heal.
7.
"It is finished!" John 19:30
After
all was done and said Jesus shouted it is finished and then bowed his head and
gave up his spirit. The devil rejoiced thinking that Jesus had accepted defeat.
Jesus was not murdered; he gave his life so he could have it back. The more
they beat and tortured Jesus the more our lives were being released part by
part. At the cross, Jesus looked back at our lives and saw that he had made way
for freedom on every human aspect and that every scripture written about him
was fulfilled. This was the point he shouted it is finished; unlike the devil's
definition he meant all was well and done in the world in God's glory. Right
after he said it was finished a series of events followed:
a)
The world went dark. The cross of Jesus Christ is a cross of events.
b)
Rocks were rent. The cross of Jesus Christ breaks rocks. There are rocks in
your life today; probably your boss is one such rock. Introduce them to the
cross of Jesus and break them
c)Graves
were opened. The cross has power to open the graves. That's why on every christian’s
grave today there is a cross, this is to hope that one day these people will be
resurrected by the power of the cross. This is where the power of resurrection
lies.
d)
The earth was quaked. The cross has power to shake the world mightily. Only the
kingdom of God is unshakable. All other kingdoms will be shaken and uprooted.
e)
Women wept for Jesus as a sign for their thirst for him.
f)
The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. This was a
sign of direct access to God; that everyone was granted permission to pray
directly to God and not through priests.
g)
Over his head an address was placed. This denotes the fact the cross gives you
the address to your destination.
h)
The head of the crucifixion after seeing these entire he declared "Truly,
this was the son of God!"
i)
When they pierced his sides forthwith came there out blood and water. It is a
biological fact that the plasma which is watery and a component of human blood,
is separated from the blood only when one is dead. So the overflow of water and
blood is prove beyond doubt that at the cross Jesus died.
The
three days before Jesus' resurrection Jesus was somewhere in this world. He
went down to the dwellings of the devil; stepped on him and put him in his
place beneath his feet. But above all he got the keys to Hades.
PRAYERS:
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| Part of mass who attended Sunday service |
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