Brethren, we are in the season of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the words that our Lord said on the cross is " It is finished". John 19 vs. 30 ( KJV) : " When Jesus therefore had received vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost".
"It is finished". These words do not mean any form of submission to the enemy. It simply means, Christ has completed his assignment on earth.
Some Bible scholars understand it to mean Christ has borne all our pains, sorrow, and mockery and paid for our sins with his life.
It is also interpreted to mean " there is nothing else to do, nothing left to pay for. He paid for it all totally, completely, permanently".
So, how does this relate to you and I.
Let's remember that people he never offended confronted Christ. Or how do you explain that the Jews queried him about healing on the Sabbath day?
Jesus healed a lame man who had been looking up to healing for 38 years .
John 5 vs. 15- 18 ( KJV) completes the story. " The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day.
But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God".
Brethren, there are lessons for us here. Jesus said, " My Father worketh hitherto, and I work".
In other words, God is never tired of taking away challenges. God wants us to be at peace. God wants us to enjoy life that he has given us. Our God does not want us to be in pains or shed tears of sorrow.
This explains why the Lord Jesus didn't bother himself with the day or time . All he wanted was that the lame man should rise above stagnation. Jesus wanted him free from pains. He wanted the man free from mockery.
In the same way, God does not want his children in pains, sorrow or bitterness of soul. Christ went through all these for your sake and my sake.
This is confirmed in John 10 vs. 9-10: " I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly".
To find pasture means to be joyful. It means to have a sustainable means of livelihood, to have what your heart's desires.
Let's ask for a moment, why were the Jews more concerned about the day of healing rather than rejoice that the man that they had dropped coins for can now work and earn money himself? It's the same today, some people would rather see you remain with challenges so that you would remain their subject of mockery than see you enjoy life abundantly.
Note also that when the LORD Jesus mentioned the thief, he not only meant the devil but also those who for no reason want to make you their subject of mockery. They could be witches, they could even be what Pastor J.T. Kalejaye of R.C.C.G. calls " unfriendly friends".
The good news is that Christ has risen above pain, mockery, barrenness and lack of any good thing that God promised us. Brethren, you need to conquer fear and hold on to JESUS.
Let me share with you, the testimony of a lady at The Citizens Church ( TCC) in Abuja. The lady on Easter Sunday appeared with her husband for wedding thanksgiving. She said, twice she had planned weddings that didn't hold.
As a result she became a subject of mockery. Some people began to say, " May you not announce weddings that would not hold".
To anyone in Christ, it would be clear that the planned marriages failed because some forces worked against it.
Naturally, she was heart broken but she remained a Believer in Christ and whenever her Pastor, the Pastor in charge of TCC, Pastor Peter Balogun prayed for her, he would tell her she would get married.
Pastor Balogun told her that the man may not be a Pastor now, but he would be a Pastor. God revealed her future partner to her Pastor.
Thank God believed .
She must have held on to the words of the Lord Jesus in John 14 vs. 1: " Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me".
This lady must have also had in her heart, the word of God recorded in 2nd Chronicles 20 vs. 20 ( NIV) : " Believe in the LORD our God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper". Beloved, her husband with whom she gave thanks to God is a Pastor.
The word of God was fulfilled in her life. She triumphed over failure, mockery and loneliness because she stood with Jesus.
Brethren, do not let fears put you down. All fears, worries, have been defeated with the resurrection of Christ.
When Jesus was nailed to the cross, his accusers turned back. To them it is finished because they never knew that he that was buried would rise again.
I may not know in which area of life you fill unfulfilled. People may say that at your age, you can nether marry or have children.
Even if they do not say it before you, you know that you are being mocked. To over come your mockers, you must first conquer fear.
Let's see an example how Jesus in human flesh subdued fear.
Luke 42 vs. 41 -44: "And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed.
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground".
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Note that the Bible said, Jesus " prayed more earnestly". Brethren, you don't need to bother about your expectations. All that is expected of you is prayer, more prayer.
The more you pray, the more you subdue the challenge with the help of the Lord of Hosts. With this, you will surely testify because anyone that God helps never fails.
Jesus rose when they didn't expect, so some people didn't believe.
In the same way, as you hold on the Jesus claiming your rights to whatever you desire as a child of the Most High God, you will have it. It's only a matter of God's time and not your time.
Brethren, fear not. The womb that people who have called dead, would receive the power of resurrection and carry multiple babies in the name of Jesus.
If Jesus yielded to fear he would not have said, " Not my will but thine be done".
You do not need to submit to fear. Since it is the will of God that you bear children, you just hold on to Jesus.
If you believe Jesus lives, tell someone about it.
Share the joy of Salvation and save someone from depression or suicide.
Brethren, no challenge is worth your life.
Jesus has risen above all challenges but you have to pray and pray earnestly.
Christ has risen above all challenges.
Shalom!
