SUED service yesterday left every attendee truly transformed by the word. It is a service that will not be forgotten as Pastor ministered to us on the topic “Like our Wonderful Jesus”. As a prelude to the message, Pastor brought to our remembrance the truth that we are just like Jesus, emphasizing that this is true for every Christian, the only difference being the choices that we make, whether we would take advantage of this truth and live it out in reality or not. Reading from John 17:24,
“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world”
Pastor showed us that Jesus desire was that we would be placed in the same position as he is. The same position of authority, influence and ability and he accomplished this by his death and resurrection. He came to where we were to bring us to where he is. Everyone who is born again is now in the same position as Jesus is; can see things the same way and can have the same response. He prayed that we might behold his glory and Pastor reminded us that as we earlier learnt, the word is a mirror and when we behold the glory in the word, we are beholding ourselves. Beyond having material things, God wants us to know him deeper and to live the glorious life he has planned for us. Jesus illustrated this to Peter in Luke 5:1-8 when by a miracle; he received in a twinkle of an eye an harvest of fishes that would have otherwise taken him a lot of hustling to get. By this singular action, Jesus made a ridicule of hustling and chasing after earthly things that the word of God can give to you in abundance.
Pastor went on to show us from the word that God is not averse to our being like Jesus. Rather, in his love and kindness, he is pleased to share his divinity with us. In Mark 9:38-41, the disciples of Jesus saw a stranger casting out devils with the name of Jesus and stopped him because he was not a follower of Jesus, They reported him to Jesus and Jesus responded by commanding that they should not stop him, he did not mind that someone was taking advantage of the authority in his name even without following him. Much more, he desires that those who know him and follow him live their lives and function like he does.
Pastor went on to clarify that our being just like Jesus should not make us consider it strange when we observe some difficulties in life. We should not be like those who begin to question who they are when challenges strike. Jesus faced challenges despite being the son of God and since we are like him, we will not only have similar results but we will face similar challenges. As an example, Pastor mentioned that as a Christian, you could have people around you mock you for vocalizing your faith, Jesus had the same experience. Before he raised Jairus’ daughter up, he affirmed to those present that she was not dead and was mocked by the very same people who had been crying. However, he remained unmoved and went on to demonstrate his faith in such faithless atmosphere teaching us that we should not be moved by those who may delight in mocking our expressions of faith. Instead, like Jesus, we must remain unmoved, refuse to be shy and remain confident in the faith we have expressed. We should not change our confession just because someone else is not agreeing to what we are saying. Jesus was called many names for simply saying who he was according to God’s word. They said he had a devil and many called him mad but that did not change who he was.
Pastor concluded by teaching us that in responding to challenges, if it seems like what we have said is not coming to fruition, we don’t begin to question God. Instead, we should remember that Jesus had a similar experience, look at how he responded and do likewise. In Mark 11: 14, Jesus spoke to the fig tree but there was no visible response. He had enough physical reason to doubt the efficacy of the words he spoke but he remained unperturbed. It was Peter who called it to his remembrance the next day that the fig tree had withered. From his response, we see what his mindset was throughout that period when nothing seemed to be happening.
“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” Mark 11:23
Based on this response, one thing we can be sure of is that all the time it took before the tree withered, Jesus did not doubt in his heart, instead he believed that what he said would surely come to pass. In our lives as individuals, while walking through different phases in life, making confessions about our lives and future and speaking to situations, we should learn to maintain that confession, never changing it, it might take a while before we see the results, but during this period, we must refuse to doubt but remain in the assurance that what we have said will definitely come to pass.
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