Almighty Father, we say thank You this morning for Your death and Your resurrection; thank You for the victory that comes with it, thank You for the tremendous hope that He brings, and thank You Father Almighty God because by reason of Your death and Your resurrection we have overcome darkness permanently. Accept our thanks in the mighty name of Jesus.
Lord, as we celebrate {glitch}. Thank You Father because You have answered. We pray Lord that You will speak to us by Yourself today in Jesus name, and Your word will do us good. Blessed be Your name forever oh God, in Jesus wonderful name we have prayed.
Good morning church! Happy Easter celebration to you all. Thank God for the privilege of life and thank God for giving us the honor to be part of this glorious celebration, it is my prayer that you will live and you will live well in Jesus name. You will fulfill destiny, just as Jesus Christ fulfilled destiny, every one of us shall fulfill destiny in Jesus name.
Time is not much on our side but we will try everything possible to ensure that we do all that we need to do and join our father in the lord before our thanksgiving service, but today is so special, can you please tell somebody, welcome to this glorious day, you will not go the same way you came in Jesus name.
[Birthday celebration]
By the grace of God, this month has been declared as our month of Open Door, Revelation 3: 8. When you talk about open doors, you talk about new opportunities; when you talk about open doors, you talk about transformation; when you talk about open doors, you talk about breakthrough. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that all this shall be your testimony this morning in Jesus name.
By the grace of God, tomorrow Easter Monday, there will be no prayer chain, the reason is that we want you to at least take some time to enjoy yourself.
We want to thank those of you who joined us at the Let’s-Go-a-Fishing shelter yesterday, we appreciate you very profoundly. But I must confess that the journey yesterday was a long one, very long, very strenuous, very demanding, and of course, after going through all of that, we have every reason to thank God for the success of the event and of course to take some bit of rest. So you can crave your personal altars for prayers tomorrow, the Lord will bless you in Jesus name.
As usual, today is a loaded day but we’ll have this first course as usual before we link up with our father in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15: 12 – 20, it’s actually a long one but for the purpose of this exhortation, it says “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17And if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”
Brethren, today represents a very significant moment for all genuine believers and disciples of Christ across the globe, it marks what I call the triumph of Christ over sin and death. Jesus came to the world to save sinners, however, the task of a complete salvation of man was incomplete until the crucifixion and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ was accomplished.
This is so because without the shedding of blood according to Hebrew 9: 22, there is no remission for sin. In other words, since sin requires a costly sacrificial penalty rather than mere apology under the biblical law, if you read the Old Testament, you’ll find out that the consequences of sin is beyond an ordinary apology, it requires a capital punishment, it signifies that life represented by blood is given to atone for sin.
And that’s why they will tell you that Moses law was this and that, if you commit any blunder, there are some that will lead you to being stoned to death or being killed, but this is why Jesus Christ came to the world and made (what I call) the ultimate sacrifice for the final atonement of sin of mankind.
So it is for this reason that believers all over the world today celebrate the Christ resurrection because His resurrection actually serves as a cornerstone of our faith. From that scripture that we read, it says if Christ has not risen, it means that our faith is in vain, but thank God for the death and the resurrection of Christ which of course serve as a cornerstone of Christian faith.
Jesus Christ is the symbol and the ultimate identity of Christian faith and His death and resurrection actually validates His status and of course unwavering purpose for our lives. And this takes us to the big question why we are here today, why do we celebrate His resurrection?
Number one reason why we celebrate the resurrection of Christ as believers today is simply because His death and resurrection serve as a validation of our faith. Without the resurrection, faith is futile and believers will remain permanently in their sins. Therefore, the resurrection of Christ validates Jesus as the Son of God, guaranteeing victory over sin and death, and of course securing the promise of eternal life and future resurrection for believers.
It also confirms the Old Testament prophecies. You’ll find out in Genesis that someone will come who will save the world; the Bible says in Isaiah that the government shall be upon His shoulder, He will rule the world with peace and all the rest. So His final crucifixion and resurrection actually confirm some of the testimonies of the Old Testament.
In first Corinthian that we read from, 12 – 19, it tells us that our faith, my faith and your faith would have been futile and empty, there would have been no redemption and those who die believing in Christ would have been lost forever if Christ has not risen.
The number two reason why we celebrate today is simply because of victory over sin and death. The resurrection marks the triumph of life over grave, proving God’s power and of course providing what I call justification. Justification in this sense actually means forgiveness.
In Romans 4: 25, it says, who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification; He was delivered for our offences, for our sins, for our iniquities, for our shortcomings, but guess what, He was raised again for our justification. And in Revelation 20:12, it simply tells us that death is not the end, and the dead will be raised, it says, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
So it means that death is actually not the end of our lives because there are dead that are dead now that will be raised on the day of resurrection.
Number three, why should we celebrate the resurrection of Christ is because He gives us hope of future resurrection. Because Jesus lives, believers have the promise that their own mortal bodies will be resurrected and glorified in due course. In Romans 8: 11, it says, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that dwells in you.
And of course we are told in 1 Corinthians 15: 19 where the Bible says if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable; but thank God for eternal hope that we have in Him, thank God for a hope of life after death. Paul in his words of encouragement to the Thessalonians said that we should not be like those who have no hope, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, it says, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.”
And of course in Romans 5:5, the Bible says hope in God does not make it ashamed, it says, and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. I pray today that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead will destroy every work of the enemies in your life, in your family, in every area of your life in the name of Jesus Christ.
And of course in 1 Corinthians 15: 20, it says, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” In Matthew 28:6, it says, “He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay, the grave has yielded his victim. I pray today in the name of Jesus that whatever is holding you down will yield you unto the Lord to from today in Jesus name.
Number four, He’s a living hope and empowerment. The resurrected Christ is present to empower believers to live (what I call) a new life, transforming their daily actions from vain to purposeful. Our God is a purposeful God, therefore, in Romans 6:4, it says, “Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life.”
In 1 Corinthians 15:52, that one promises that the dead will be raised imperishable, it says, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” [Music] I pray in the name of Jesus that from today you will embrace newness in Jesus name. From today we’ll celebrate a new beginning, a new beginning of change, a new beginning of transformation, a new beginning of blessing, a new beginning of freedom, a new beginning of hope that comes with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Number five, why we celebrate, we celebrate because of the divine assurance. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ confirms that Jesus is the Son of God and that God’s justice was fully satisfied through His sacrifice. In first Peter 3 & 4, it describes this hope as a living assurance of an inheritance that can never perish according to His great mercy.
It says, “Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.” What a great assurance, and that’s why I always say that believers are not ordinary, we are partakers of the divine nature, we are made in His own image, His likeness and His image is constantly made perfect in us.
And He said a time will come when we put on that imperishable nature. And I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that that reservation that He has made for us in heaven, we will not lose in Jesus name.
So today we celebrate Jesus courage, commitment and obedience to the will of the Father. From the accounts of the scriptures, you’ll find out that Jesus Christ did not come for long life and prosperity that many of us pray for today. Every prayer we pray, let me live long, let me prosper, let me be blessed, but we find out that Jesus never came for a long life and prosperity, He came for a purpose, and to the praise and glory of the Lord, He fulfillee purpose.
And I pray in the name of Jesus that because Jesus Christ fulfilled purpose, you will fulfill purpose. By His grace, I will fulfill purpose, together we will fulfill purpose in the mighty name of Jesus.
It took Jesus courage to accept the calling if I may put it that way. Right at the garden of Gethsemane, He said, “Father, if it pleases You, let this cup pass over me,” but in a twinkle of an eye, He recognized the fact that He was a Man of purpose, He came not for Himself but for the liberation and the deliverance of others.
He said Father not my will but let Your will be done; if Jesus had decided to turn around and say sorry Sir, this cross is too heavy for me, I won’t be able to take it, perhaps there would have been a change of mind, and if that has happened, your faith would have been in vain, our gospel would have been in vain, everything about Christianity would have been futile and empty.
But because Jesus abided by the ministry and by His calling, today we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And maybe before we close, maybe we should also thank God for everyone who had a hand one way or the other in the death of Jesus, maybe we have to look at it. That may sound a bit funny but sometimes we need to thank God for the good, thank God for the bad and the ugly.
Maybe we have to thank God for people like Judas Iscariot, if Judas Iscariot had not done what he did, there would have been no salvation for mankind, he had to play his role and he played it very well. We have to thank God for people like Pontius Pilate, a man that decided to follow the path of injustice, and he did that so that the agenda of God might be fulfilled.
You know, in Jeremiah 29:1, it says, “For I know the thought that I have towards you, the thought of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end. You see, there is a way God orchestrates some development just to fulfill purpose. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that from today, God will fulfill purpose in your life in Jesus name.
Maybe we have to thank God for people like Simeon, the man that offered to carry the cross. Simeon who went there and said look, if I cannot do anything, you’ve killed him, let me carry the cross; he carried the cross and he took it to the right location. Maybe we have to also thank God for a man called Joseph the Arimathea; the man that after they left Jesus, he went there quietly to give Him a decent burial.
Brethren, what are we saying here? We must thank God for everything. Today I challenge every one of you, thank God for everything, thank God for the good, thank God for the bad and thank God for the ugly. Romans 8: 28, it says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
There is a scripture, I think is in the book of Romans, it says no man lives for himself and no man dies for himself. If we live we live for God and if we die we die for the Lord, no man owns himself, God owns all of us, and because God owns all of us, He has His agenda for our lives, He has His scripts for our lives and there is none of us that can circumvent God’s scripts for our lives.
There is no way you can just jump God’s agenda, He has designed it and one step after the other must be followed. That’s why this morning, it just occurred to me, if we are celebrating God for the death and resurrection of Christ, I think we should also thank God for those who crucified Him because you could see that it’s part of the plan.
When we were much younger, we used to say Judas is a wicked man, it will not be well with Judas Iscariot, but now when you look at some of these things and you study the scriptures, you find out that maybe it was even beyond Judas Iscariot, maybe it was part of God’s agenda that our faith can be validated and we can enjoy the freedom that comes with the resurrection of Christ.
So this morning, brethren, as we celebrate the death and the resurrection of Christ, I want to implore every one of you, regardless of the situation, I think you just need to thank God. When you have money, learn to thank God; when you don’t have money, you must learn to appreciate God; when the bank account is far, you need to thank God; when the legs are strong, you need to thank God; and when the legs wobble occasionally, you still have to thank God.
Because the Bible says in all things we should give thanks, we should not be up and dancing only when the going is good, but we should be up and dancing, offering gratitude to God for every experience and for every challenge that we go through. It is my prayer that God Almighty in His power and love will continue to carry us in Jesus name.
So in summary, the resurrection turns darkness of crucifixion into the victory of the resurrection, assuring believers that their labor in the Lord is not in vain. In 1 Corinthians 15: 57 & 58, it says, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that our labor can never be in vain in the Lord. Our labor can never be in vain because Jesus Christ died and resurrected.
Therefore, as we celebrate His death and resurrection today, I want to implore all of us to reflect on our lives, look backward to Calvary and imagine the pain and the agony that He went through.
Secondly, I need you to look inward and ask yourself, each and every one of us, ask yourself, where do I stand in the light of all that Jesus Christ went through?
And thirdly, look forward with a grateful heart and gratitude to the One who gave us life. My prayer for all of us this morning is that may His resurrection offer you fresh hope, peace, joy, and happiness in the mighty name of Jesus.
How often do you appreciate God? How often do you appreciate God for Jesus and of course for the salvation that He brought? How often do you humbly and objectively take stock of God’s goodness in your life like David did and offered Him praise. Our scripture made it pretty clear that if Christ has not risen, our faith would have been futile and useless.
So as we celebrate His death and resurrection today, I want us to bear in mind that we still have a long way to go and without His grace, we may not be able to accomplish more. And that’s why I want to urge every one of us as we rise on our feet this morning to ask for His enabling grace.
[Music]
I just want us to go before the Lord this morning, pray to God, Father, give me Your enabling grace and empowerment to live above sin and to overcome the challenges of this world in the name of Jesus. By my strength, I cannot do this, Lord, I need Your help, give me Your enabling grace in the mighty name of Jesus.
These prayers leave no one out, it’s a prayer we must all pray. Father, please engrace me in the name of Jesus. Empower me in the name of Jesus.
And if you are here today, you have not given your life to Christ, something tells me you cannot have a better time to do that than now, on a day that we celebrate the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus died so that we will not taste death, Jesus Christ died so that our faith can be validated, Jesus Christ died so that He can give us hope eternal.
He said if only in this world we have our hope, we are of all men most miserable. But thank God there is a hope beyond the grave, but hope beyond the grave is actually meant for the believers, is meant for the saint.
So if you are under the influence of my voice this morning and you have not consciously offered your life to Christ, if you have not consciously invited Jesus Christ into your life as your Lord and personal Savior, as we pray this prayer I want you to pray to God, invite God into your life, tell God, I am very sorry for my past life, I’m sorry for the sins I’ve committed, from today, Lord Almighty, I want to embrace You, I want You to come into my life, I want You to come and rule and reign in my life from today, I want You to be in charge of my life from today in the name of Jesus.
Forgive my unrighteousness in the mighty name of Jesus. Remove everything in my life that is causing go slow in my journey of life in the name of Jesus. Everything that is causing go slow, everything that is orchestrating what I call the traffic that will not allow you to walk as fast as you want to, pray to God to remove it today in the mighty name of Jesus.
That was one of the reasons why He came and it was also part of the reasons why He offered Himself as a living sacrifice so that you will not taste death. Pray to God this morning. Father, please come into my life, I confess You as my Lord and personal Savior from today, let Your death and Your resurrection not be in vain over my life in Jesus name. Thank You Father because You have answered, in Jesus wonderful name we have prayed.
[Altar call]
Say, God, I have come to Your feet today, let there be manifestation of Your power in my life in the name of Jesus. I’ve heard today that Your death and resurrection offer new hope, Father, I embrace that new hope today; I embrace that new peace today; I embrace a life of happiness today.
Father, let sorrow and bitterness of life in my life that have characterized my life before now become a thing of the past. Have mercy on me God in the name of Jesus. Let Your death and Your resurrection over me not be in vain. Thank You Father because You have answered, in Jesus mighty name we have prayed.
I pray for every one of us that from today there shall be manifestation of the power of resurrection in Jesus name. That same power that raised Jesus from death will manifest so much in your life today that it will revive every good thing that is dead in your life in the name of Jesus Christ.
New strength, new joy, new hope, new peace, peace like a river. receive today in the mighty name of Jesus. And I pray that by reason of that resurrection, you will walk in the newness of commitment and of faith with effect from today in the name of Jesus Christ. Love for God, love for the things of God, love for the people of God, receive like never before in Jesus name. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever, in Jesus wonderful name we have prayed.
If you have been blessed, come on, say a better amen. Let somebody shout hallelujah!
