Pure Faith

I feel refreshed, as I always do whenever I attend fellowship with the saints of God. Worshipping the Lord just lightens every load that I carry and His sweet presence just washes over me and there's nothing like it...nothing in the world comes close to that kind of feeling, of being close to your Maker, it's just different.
The message we had this morning was for me, I knew right from the beginning and my heart was both nervous and excited to receive His word- I know that God knows everything about me, see- so I do anticipate the bitter and not just the sweet, I anticipate the corrections and I look forward to it.

It was about Calvary...sometimes we think we have heard all there is to hear about Calvary, especially to christians, we know the story by heart and we know what it means to us. We know that Jesus gave us His life, that He suffered such physical agony and heartbreak in order to pave a way for us to reach eternity. Cynics would think that- 'well, he knows he's going to resurrect the next day...' but in fact, He could not have bothered to suffer anyway, Jesus could have given up halfway because he doesn't really need to BUT He did, because He was faithful- to His word, to you and to me. Jesus Christ chose to go through it, remember He came here on earth in the form of man, clothed Himself with flesh and is tempted in every way just like us.
But no matter how many times I've heard or read about Calvary, nothing really dulls its shine...
in fact everytime is different, for me, what happened at Calvary is just the ultimate expression of love, it's so precious. It's a love story- Jesus, our kinsman redeemer took our place and bore our sins, He fulfilled all the prophecies. It should've been me on that cross, it shoud've been you but He'd done it and spared us, forgiven us.
He is faithful, our God.

Calvary represented different kinds of people- the believers, the unbelievers, the cynics, sympathizers, observers, and those who deliberately rejected Jesus Christ.
Another character mentioned is a man named Simon of Cyrene, he was charged to carry Jesus's cross for Him, which he did. He actually fulfilled the perfect will of the Lord by carrying that cross, he represented the followers of Christ, the believers from the past, present and the future. He carried that cross to the end and followed the bloodied footsteps of Jesus every step of the way, he didn't go nowhere else, friend, except where the Master's feet has trodden, Amen!


We can see that from the beginning to the very last scenes of Calvary, the Lord has set examples for us. Simon, unkown to him at that time, was born to fulfill that symbolic role and now it's our turn...
The Lord Jesus Christ requires us to carry our cross, He instructs the Bride to 'get herself ready'. Although He paid it all for us, redeemed us and made a way for us to be saved, it does not mean we are not to do anything. We have battles to fight, burdens to carry, temptations to overcome, mountains to climb BUT the best assurance we could have is that God is with us through it all !
He would fight the battle side by side with you,
He would help you overcome,
He would wipe your tears whenever sorrow finds you,
He would give you a helping hand when you climb the steepest mountain,
and He would carry you when you can no longer go on...

The world and the people of the world go through the same hardships and sufferings but they don't have Jesus. It must be way, way harder for them to get on with life without the peace of God in their lives. That is why they turn to alcohol, drugs, women etcetera...they are hungering and thirsting but they do not know where to go, how to start a relationship with Christ.
I encourage fellow christians to stand in the gap and try to shine the light of the pure, unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ so the lost can find their way to the bloodstained path which leads to Calvary, repentance and death to self and the world.
Afterwards, is the ressurection morn, amen! only God has the power to transform you and me, He can make it happen. It may take days for some and years for others, but remember the same God that was faithful to the saints of old is the same God today. If you desire to change and be more like Jesus, then only believe, dearest friend because it will come to pass.

For fellow believers- we were instructed to remain faithful to Him until the end, to fix our eyes only in Jesus Christ. I know that it could be really difficult at times, and we fall, we trip but don't let it discourage you- get up again, continue the race. God gave us a promise- that He will be with us til the end, He will see us through...let's hold on to that promise, let us rely on the Lord and not in our own strenght or wisdom. Even if we do not fully understand what we are going through, sometimes we need to go through the storm, through the fog and we cannot seem to find our way and yet it is His will, so be it, amen- just trust Him and we'll be alright.
Jesus Christ is the faithful One, He is the same yesterday, today and forever !
Praise God!

¶ 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. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Matthew 16: 24-26