7 LAST WORDS 2021 - Good Friday SERVICE - KINGDOM FELLOWSHIP

[Music] praise the lord kingdom fellowship praise the lord kingdom fellowship welcome everyone to our seven last words experience 2021 hallelujah let's honor him and give him praise everybody put those hands together and let's celebrate jesus he's a worthy god isn't he have your way oh god in jesus name [Music] whatever [Music] still [Music] it will never [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] i know it works [Music] me yes [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] oh [Music] yes [Music] right [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh it will never [Applause] wow [Music] [Applause] [Music] what [Music] i'll cross [Music] kingdom focused well this is the day that christ allowed himself to be crucified on calvary's cross that we might ultimately have the right to eternal life we gather today to celebrate those seven last words that jesus spoke from the cross of calvary we want to thank you for coming and sharing this time on this day that we call and the christian community good friday certainly with all of the suffering and the confusion and the chaos of that day how do we call it good because we recognize that we serve a god that recycles and god used the painful sacrifice of his son on calvary's cross to begin the redemption plan for us for eternal life and so we come today to celebrate and to be reminded of those words and for that purpose we have gathered some of the greatest preachers and proclaimers of the gospel on this side of glory to share with us and so i'm going to ask that you might invite others be electronic evangelists who want to let them know the word of god is going forth right here on this platform but right now let's just go ahead and pause for a word of prayer our lord and our god we bless you and we praise you because you loved us that while we were yet sinners you sent christ to die for us so now god as you have allowed us to have new eternal and abundant life in you remind us of these seven sayings these words that still provide for us the words of eternal life i pray that you might use each preacher to rightfully divide the word of truth but even more so god i pray that the seed that they speak will be as seed planted in good soil so ready our hearts our minds and our spirits to receive that which your spirit wants to save the church have your way be glorified through this opportunity of worship and have you choose to move we'll be careful to give you the credit we'll say that jesus did it we ask these blessings in his body name amen well brothers and sisters we're grateful to god not only for these preachers but for the churches that they lead and represent being a part of this community of faith together so we want to welcome each and every one of you from whatever branch of zion that you worship regularly and if you don't have a church home thank you for being a part of our virtual worship family tonight we're excited to share with you what god is doing in the midst of us and so not only will you receive the ministry of the word through these preachers but also the ministry of the word through song as we have brought our various congregations together to sing zion's song and to give god praise i'm excited to welcome to the kingdom fellowship pulpit today the reverend dr essentino lewis the esteemed senior pastor of the clifton park baptist church in silver spring maryland my friend and my brother who has been doing a wonderful job even throughout this season we're excited to welcome him back he always has a ready word and looking forward to what god is going to share through him i will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth my soul shall make its boast in the lord the humble shall hear it and be glad o magnify the lord with me and let us exalt his name together i am grateful to be with you once again at kingdom fellowship i want to thank reverend matthew wadley for continuing to bring our church community together on these good friday evenings my time is short and so my responsibility is to preach and i do want to get to what i want to call today the most unbelievable word we find it at luke chapter number 23 verses 33 through 34. you find the words here written and recorded by luke it says when they had come to the place called calvary there they crucified him and the criminals one on the right hand and the other on the left then jesus said father forgive them for they know not what they do the most unbelievable word california pastor bob morehead argues that the paradox of our present age is that we have so much more while at the same time having so much less we have more medicine but less health and wellness more things to buy but less enjoyment with the things we have we have taller buildings but shorter tempers more academic degrees hanging from our walls but it seems that we have less common sense in our communities and perhaps more most germane to the present text there is it seems greater access to vast repositories of knowledge while at the same time less understanding about the things that we know in the midst of his suffering jesus highlights this very paradox when he says father forgive them for they know not what they do this is often referred to by many as the first word of christ from the cross but what i need us to understand on tonight is that this isn't just the first recorded word of christ from the cross but this is the first word of anyone at calvary the text says that when they came to the place called calvary there they crucified him and the criminals one on the right hand and the other on the left and it says then jesus says they arrived at the top of the hill laid christ's cross flat upon the ground stretched his arms across the beams far enough for his wrist and feet to be nailed to the wood they lifted the cross set it into its place before uh but but the text says that before anyone could speak a word that anyone the the high priest before they could make a pronouncement before the roman guards could marshal a command before even the crowd could express anything worth memorializing jesus seizes the moment and frames the entire event for the world any good advocate will tell you that whoever frames the debate wins the argument and make no mistake about it there is an argument happening at the cross is this the man really the king of the jews is this the messiah the one isaiah said would be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities is this the lamb of god that john said would take away the sins of the world all of this is up for debate at the cross and and jesus says listen i get the first word about this i i get to shape the debate i get to control the narrative i get to dictate the terms i i know that you think this is going to be about death and defeat but but i'm going to make it about life and victory you think this is going to be a testimony about tearing down but i'm going to make it a moment a monument to building up and he says father forgive them for they know not what they do and beloved can i tell you what was true at calvary back then is true in our life right now that when it comes to the most significant events of life that jesus always gets the first word he always has the right to control the narrative always has the the prerogative to dictate the terms and to shape the contours of our life and and the devil he doesn't get to have the his way with us our enemies don't get to determine how things are going to unfold but the lord said before anyone gets to speak in any situation i get the first word i get the first word before the doctor speak i get the first word before the bank speak before the judge pronounces i get the first word this is the first word from the cross but it's also the first recorded word at calvary and as i examine this word not only is it the first word but to me it's the most unbelievable word i mean this word is extraordinary this might actually be the most unbelievable word jesus has ever spoken you you know jesus has said some unbelievable things i you remember he told the boy come here give me your two fish and your five loaves and i'll feed five thousand that's that's unbelievable he told peter to get out of the boat and to walk on water that's pretty unbelievable but this right here father forgive them has to be the most unbelievable word jesus ever spoke that this word is unbelievable because of its consistency i believe it's a true statement that all of us struggle with being consistent sometimes can consistent in matching our our public witness with our private attitudes and behaviors aligning what we say about ourselves and how we portray ourselves with how we conduct ourselves when nobody is watching yeah yeah it's harder now to fake it because everybody's got a phone in their pocket everybody wants to be a social media journalist and people will put you on blast we all know that and it's a challenge a struggle it's a reminder that we always struggle with being the same person all the time in in every circumstance and in every company but but here is jesus the man who publicly said love your enemies bless those who curse you do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you that you may be sons and daughters of the father he said and whatever you do stand in praying if you have anything against anyone forgive him that your father in heaven might also forgive you this is the same man that said that when asked lord if your brother keeps on sinning against you how many times do you forgive him and he responded 70 times seven but but remember now that jesus said all of those things when it was easy for him to say when he had preached when he was preaching to a receptive audience when he had crowds backing him up when he was away from the pressures of the haters and the naysayers what is remarkable about this word is that in his lowest moment when when it would have been easy if not expected for him to break away from who he said he was and no one would have blamed him if he would have been spiteful and bitter and resentful that instead he remained consistent loving and grateful and benevolent and beloved jesus could be the same man on the cross as he was in the street as he was in the synagogue it challenges us to reconcile sometimes these competing personalities we have when we're at home and at work and at the church when people see us that they should know who we're going to be because we don't switch up on them jesus said i'm the same yesterday today and forevermore and so on the cross he gives us this unbelievable word that shows its consistency but not only is it consistent but but it's unbelievable because of its simplicity he says father forgive them of all the seven words from the cross i can make a compelling argument that this first word is the simplest that that's why i think that commentators don't write much about it it's not uh eschatologically significant as the second word it's not anthropologically or sociologically relevant as the third word it's not harmoniological complex as the fourth word it's not christologically weighty as the fit or soteriologically momentous as the sixth theologians don't have to debate the meaning and the significance of this first word because it's so simple father forgive them who among us doesn't know what forgiveness means but while it's so simple on its face what makes it so difficult is not its interpretation but it's application the difficulty is not understanding what jesus is saying but it is committing to saying it ourselves because if jesus can forgive priests that conspired and confederated against him if he could forgive the soldiers who spit on him and mocked him and beat him if he could forgive the gawkers who just stopped by to see get a good look at his suffering then you and i can forgive the sibling we haven't spoken to in years over a disagreement we can forgive the co-worker who stabbed us in the back trying to get ahead some of us have been holding on to some stuff for far too long and and jesus is here on the cross saying father forgive them for they know not what they do this word is unbelievable because of its simplicity but not only that it's unbelievable because of its perceptivity jesus said father forgive them for they know not what they're doing and i've got to admit to you tonight that i had some problems with this part of the text because on its face it appears clear that they all knew what they were doing you can't tell me the jewish high priest did not know what they were doing when they convened in the back room of the synagogue conspiring to manufacture charges against jesus that had no basis in fact you cannot tell me that they did not know what they were doing when they brought him to caiaphas and then pilate and then herod and then back to pilate again you can't tell me that they didn't know what they were doing when they whipped up the mob to cry out give us barabbas you can't you you can't tell me that the romans didn't know what they were doing when they beat his bloody body when they made him carry his own cross you can't tell me that they didn't know what they were doing when they punched him and pushed him and slapped him all of them knew what they were doing but remember the paradox sometimes we have all the understand the knowledge we need but we have a deficit in our understanding and jesus said father forgive them for with all the stuff they know they don't really know what they're doing they think they know but they don't really know because if they knew that i'm not just a man but i am the way the truth and the life they would not be doing this to me they think they've got all the knowledge but if they really knew that i am the bread of life and that he who comes to me will never hunger and he who drinks and believes in me will never thirst they would not be doing what they're doing they think they really know but they don't know that i am the resurrection and the life he says father forgive them for they know not what they do i'm out of time and i'm almost finished but i want to leave you with this we can make the mistake of treating this text and treating this event as if it's just something in history i've been in church long enough to know that that you can sit in the pews and you can listen to somebody uh preach about jesus and believe that it's all about something that happened in history something about antiquity but i have to tell us tonight that this is not something that just happened years ago this is not just about some roman guards it's not just about some high priest but the truth of the matter is this is about you and it's about me it reminds us that no matter what sins we have committed no matter what we have done no matter how far we have fallen that there is forgiveness at the cross was it for sins that i had done that he groaned upon that tree amazing pity the grace unknown and love beyond degree at the cross at the cross where i first saw the light and the burdens of my heart rolled away it was there by faith that i received my sight and now i'm happy all the day it's the most unbelievable word father forgive them for they know not what they do [Music] also excited to welcome back to the pulpit of reverend dr haywood robinson the senior pastor of the people's community baptist church in silver spring maryland i'm going to ask that you would get in your tent doors and get ready to receive god's word as he speaks through his preachers certainly the lord is good and what an awesome time of worship we're enjoying here at the kingdom fellowship and e church to god be the glory for the great things he's done and for this powerful testimony to his goodness that we're enjoying even right now let's thank the lord for that word on forgiveness we give god praise and give him glory i want to thank pastor watley for inviting us to come and be a part of this celebration once again i want to thank the people from the people's community baptist church family who are joining in with us and for each one of these congregations that have gathered together in solidarity that we might exalt the one name jesus christ i'd like now to invite your attention uh to the new testament book luke chapter 23. i'm going to begin reading at verse 35 luke 23 verse 35 i'm reading from the christian standard bible it reads like this the people stood watching and even the leaders were scoffing he saved others let him save himself if this is god's messiah the chosen one the soldiers also mocked him they came offering him sour wine and said if you are the king of the jews save yourself an inscription was above him this is the king of the jews one of the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at him aren't you the messiah save yourself and us but the other answered rebuking him don't you even fear god since we are undergoing the same punishment we are punished justly because we're getting back what we deserve for the things we did but this man has done nothing wrong and he said jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom and he said to him truly i say to you today you will be with me in paradise i want to ask you to join me in prayer father we honor you and we bless you we thank you for this privilege to proclaim your word i pray that you would take full reign of my thoughts in my speech that i might say those things lord that centers square within your will spare me lord that i may not say anything this evening that would contradict with what pastor wadley or any of these pastors have been sowing into the lives of their sheep rather lord without knowing what they've been sowing i pray that you would lead me to say things that would echo and would reinforce the very truths that they have been proclaiming for then lord will know that our coming together is by divine design and you'll get all the glory and the honor in jesus name we pray amen amen i want to talk this evening i want to talk this evening from the subject a ready response for real repentance a ready response for real repentance we are proclaimers of the gospel that is the main message of the church of jesus christ the gospel and some have said that it's summed up in one verse in john 3 16. others have said that what we're experiencing of our master on a hill on a cross that these seven statements all contain components of this great gospel message and i agree with that i believe that when you hear the cry number one all the way through cry number seven there's some element of the gospel message that is communicated to us i believe that one of the things that makes this cry distinct however is that this cry identifies for us what we bring to the salvific event the other six all give us a sense of what jesus brings but there's something we have to do he may have paid it all but he doesn't do it all when it comes to salvation there's something we must do and it's my prayer that as i proclaim this brief message that if there's a person who has never done the one thing that this cry addresses i pray that you'll make that decision to do what this thief did that same day i pray you'll do that tonight and i believe that what we learn from this text tonight there's so many messages out of each of these passages but tonight i believe we learned that god stands ready jesus stands ready ever ready to respond to the cry of repentance he always is ready to respond to that there's a song of old that says on a hill far away stood an old rugged cross an emblem of suffering and shame but i love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain that great hymn of the church speaks to us about calvary and speaks to us about the cross but there is a more recent uh song that has this chorus on a hill there's a cross and on the cross there is blood for me travis green pins that and it speaks to that same gospel message what does god want to say to us this evening i believe that god wants us to to notice that even while jesus having been tried throughout the night from judgment hall to judgment paul having been taken before caiaphas taken he's been taken before herod he's been taken before pilate and he's been shoved and he's been mocked he has not only been tried but tortured all night and throughout the morning he's been tormented and right here while he's got nails riveted in his hands and nails riveted in his feet he's got people on the ground taunting him come down from the cross my brothers and sisters i noticed that jesus does not respond to their taunts he doesn't respond the priest according to what we read today the priest cried out to him and then we noticed that the soldiers cried out to him but we don't see any response to that then we see that even the thieves on the cross because one of the other gospel writers tells us that both thieves at one point we're railing at him we're criticizing him but he does not respond to their taunts and yet we discover what gets his attention and that is the revoir the voice of repentance always gets his attention and my brother and sister if that's you tonight god is standing ready he's got a ready response to the real repentant sinner you see there were people on the ground saying come down and we'll believe you but jesus knew that wasn't real repentance he knew there was they were looking for a show they were looking for entertainment but when he hears true repentance he can't help but respond many of us have auto responders in our computer systems and our networks i wouldn't be surprised if kingdom fellowship has the same somebody texts guests to a certain number and all of a sudden you get on your phone information where you can a contact page you can put your information in you put that in and before you know it you got a letter coming back thanking you for worshiping with kingdom fellowship today those are called autoresponders i want you to know that god's got an auto responder when it comes to repentance genuine repentant repentance he stands ready to respond he doesn't have to call anybody doesn't have to ask anything here this dying thief says to this dying savior he says remember me when you come into your kingdom what is it what is it that this man did that caught jesus attention it wasn't just those words i want to suggest he acknowledged christ's identity when he called him by name jesus because his name means savior for our sins and so by calling him jesus he didn't just say hey man remember me he said jesus because he came to believe at one moment he was criticizing with his his partner in crime but now he's saying i see something different and he says to him jesus and not only does he identify him as jesus but i believe that he identifies his innocence he says this man has done nothing and then the third thing that he identifies is his intercession i believe he heard jesus when jesus said father forgive them for they know not what they do he understood jesus was standing in a place of intercession and so he said look i'm gonna ask this guy who's standing in the place of intercession to intercede for me somebody needs him to do that tonight but this is the other thing that i believe caught jesus attention the faith in this man he had faith in christ's invincibility where do we get that because he says when you come into your kingdom i mean what you're saying is i see beyond the cross i see beyond death that you are going to still overcome death you cannot take you out that you are invincible i believe when we believe in the invincibility the resurrection power of jesus christ he hears that and so what does jesus say it doesn't take long to say what jesus said jesus basically said man i can do better than that he says i'm going to give you relationship and this is the nature of the relationship he gives him and that he can give you and me are you ready for it here it is he says first of all i'm going to give you intentional relationship he says truly truly i say unto you whenever jesus uses those words he's saying that i'm intentionally about to drop something on you and so he says truly truly you're gonna have an intentional relationship with me but not just intentional he said it's gonna be immediate he said today i'm not talking about tomorrow i'm not talking about some time out years from now in the in the great buying bar today brother you are going to have a relationship with me jesus says to any repentant center i've got an intentional relationship an immediate relationship and an individual relationship he said i know there are a whole lot of people out here but i'm talking to you you today you i thank god that he gives us an individual promise he says and then he says you've got an insured relationship you will be there's no guessing about it there's no hoping about it you will be with me in paradise next thing i notice is that he says it's an intimate relationship you're going to be with me you're going to i know that you got your brother over here but you're going to be with me because of your faith in me and finally he says it's an immortal relationship we're going to paradise not a relationship down here but a relationship where there's no more sorrow no more suffering no more hardship no more dying you're gonna have a relationship with me and so i thank god for that hymn that tells us the dying thief rejoice to see that fountain in his day and there may i though vowel is he wash all my sins away my brothers and sisters believe the word today that god has a ready response for real repentance [Music] [Applause] [Music] amen [Music] [Music] oh [Music] from [Music] blood [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] see [Music] [Music] oh is [Music] [Music] guilty is [Music] [Music] stars we're so excited about what god has already said and god is yet going to speak some more looking forward to the next word being brought to us by the reverend dr tyrone jones iv the esteemed senior pastor of the first baptist church of guilford he has been my brother for years since we were in seminary together we're excited to still be together and god continues to bless our ministries looking forward to what god is going to share through him for us well my assignment tonight is the third word from the cross and that word is found in the gospel of john john's gospel chapter 19 and i want to read in your hearing verses 26 and 27 when jesus saw his mother there the disciple whom he loves standing but nearby said to her woman here is your son and to the disciple here is your mother from that time on this disciple took her into his home for the time that i have that's mine to share i want to talk about let the church say amen let the church say amen it was at the foot of the cross in my estimation it is a reminder of how it was that people would gather gather and congregate together kind of like the things that we used to do prior to this pandemic gathering together family and friends because beloved wherever jesus is and there are a bunch of people there we find the gathering of the saints and we remember as we worship and give adoration to god remember how it used to be how it used to be when we gathered together in the same place at the same time with jesus being the central focus i believe in this moment of family and friends gathering at the foot of the cross that this is both formational and foundational to what the church the body of christ is called to be although the founding of the church by way of the holy spirit would not take place until sometime later in acts chapter 2. in this moment jesus is teaching us what it means to be the church let church say amen in jesus's words of compassion to those gathering in earnest coming to see jesus jesus leaves them words to live by and i believe that these words are the precursor to the formation and foundation of the church universal in jesus christ jesus never intended to leave these brave bold and emboldened stand bystanders at the place where there's only the terminal points of death no no jesus's words give rise to the eternal power of his divine work in this place so jesus while dangling in the distance and dying for our sins speaks to the church as a kid i i'm a pastor's son and as as a kid it was always the best part of church for me was when my father would get up and and he would say the benediction uh we were traditional baptist church and so we would say uh the threefold amen we would sing the song and i would jump up with joy singing out loud ah man i would get all excited and happy the music it was going and we're getting ready to say let the church say amen and church would be dismissed now don't get me wrong i love the music i've loved the dancing and shouting and of course my dad's sermons amen but but we were there all day long and if anybody knows anything about church back in the day you were in church from sun up to sundown and so when the benediction was given and when people were getting ready to say amen i got excited it was the best part for me so my dad would say let the church say amen and we would leave i believe the third word from the cross should cause the church to want to say amen she calls the church to want to say amen in three different ways number one when we say amen we're saying amen because jesus takes on a new role for us the bible says he sees his mother but now as he speaks the role he previously had with his mother now changes from before and i was he said before just your son now i'm your savior i was before just the child that you raised but now i'm the savior that comes to get you free from your sins you see in the church being a part of the body of christ means new roles for us as well jesus as they were evolving and becoming more of what they were supposed to believes a lasting word from the cross that lets us know that we've got to move from being ordinary sinners to extraordinary saints jesus moves us from being well he moves himself from being just a prophet with power to perform miracles to now embodying his messianic authority as the son of god not just your son mary but now savior of the world and so let the church say amen because we have a christ that dies on the cross changing and moving into a new role and giving us an example of the people as the people of god of what we're supposed to do and so when i looked at my hands and my hands were new and i looked at my feet and they were too ever since that wonderful day my soul's been satisfied in fact second corinthians 5 17 says if anyone be in christ they are new creatures all things are passed away and behold all things become new and so he shows us a new role by what he speaks from the cross to his mother but then the second thing is not only does jesus show us a new role let the church say amen but he also gives us new relationships new relationships when he sees mary he says woman behold your son then he says son behold your mother i like that amen the church means not only are we as individuals supposed to be about a new role and change but then also we're supposed to develop personal connections with others in the body of christ new roles and new relationships in the body of christ remember mary had other children but there were nowhere they were nowhere to be found conversion would not happen for some of them until after jesus was resurrected from the dead but jesus decided i'm not going to wait on them to make a connection with my mother i'm going to introduce her to a new relationship with the beloved disciple john and isn't that good news to know that we can form new relationships with people in the community of faith it's not about us being isolated it's not about us being alone but it's about us being a part of a larger family of god i thank god for those old mothers that helped to bring me along back in the day i thank god for mother smith and mother starling and mother foot and sister king some people whose names mean nothing to you but mean the world to me you see beloved when we develop those relationships with brothers and sisters in christ who can help us forge a new relationship with the lord even a pandemic cannot stop these new roles and relationships that we have in the kingdom of god you see no matter your denomination or church polity jesus said in as much as you have done it to the least of these you've done it unto me and i don't know about anybody else but that's good news let the church say amen you see everything changing rolls everything shows for the changing roles in the personal life of the believer jesus speaks from the cross and ever evolving connection and new relationships in the family of god i'm grateful for that because it has an african proverb that says i am because we are but then third and finally let the church say amen not only because we have new uh roles and not only because we have new relationships but let the church say amen because we're carrying out new responsibilities notice with me verse 27 c clause it says from that time on this disciple took her into his house i told y'all when i was younger that when church had the benediction that's when i was the happiest when the church had his benediction and the threefold all man i was excited because as a youngster i knew the benediction meant church was over i love to hear let the church say amen and all of that i thought once i left the place where the cross was that church for me was over but my family took church home with them they started praying at home and they started reading scriptures at home and they started doing all these devotions at home and i said to my mother and my father why is it that we're doing at home the things that we did at church and i said i thought when we said a man at church church was over and my dad said to me we may have left the building but the church never left us and that's good news for somebody out there today we may not be able to gather like we used to but the church is in us and i said in a retort to my daddy i shouldn't have said it but i said it uh i said well amen on sunday amen means that it's over right my dad said no amen doesn't mean that it's over but amen means it is so in other words it's just the beginning amen means that you've got a responsibility now when you leave the four walls of the church to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and to give somebody the good news of jesus christ and share your faith amen doesn't mean that it's over but now it's time to share your testimony with somebody amen doesn't mean that it's over but now it means it's time to go to work our new role requires that we live like jesus my new relationship requires that i connect with my greater community and my new responsibility requires that i remember at home what i heard from the cross and when somebody ought to give god praise on that let the church say amen yes to his will and yes to his way yes to the power that worketh within us to give us all kinds of understanding and to do the things of god aren't you glad that god is doing it for let the church say amen well we look forward to another word from god we're going to be having the next word from bishop c guy robinson the esteemed senior pastor of the tabernacle of the lord church there in baltimore maryland his first time coming to share with us for our seven last words i've always appreciated his perspective and i'm looking forward to what god has to say through him to us grace and peace unto you in the great marvelous and messianic name of the lord jesus who is the christ to pastor watley and the kingdom fellowship church it is a blessing to be here and the word of the lord comes to us from the gospel of matthew matthew 27 verse 46 the new king james translation of the holy text reads this way for this is indeed the word of the lord and about the ninth hour jesus cried out with a loud voice saying that is my god my god why have you forsaken me father in jesus name bless us now use us for your glory we pray amen my god my god why have you forsaken me i want to talk about feelings and facts feelings and facts there are few things as traumatizing to the human psyche as the feeling of having been forsaken it is a feeling of disruptive detachment from meaningful relationships that triggers childhood fears of abandonment such feelings remind us that we are more than just individuals but we are social individuals by nature and by nurture conceived through relationship and for relationship with others as such the feeling of being abandoned or forsaken is an existential threat to our purpose our person our peace of mind and holistic well-being and the adversary of our faith will try to manipulate circumstances in our lives to arouse the feeling of going through what we are going through without any comfort of companionship help or hope but thanks be to god for creating us as beings with more than just our feelings for we are fearfully and wonderfully made cognitive emotional beings which means that we are capable of processing both feelings and facts in other words it is within our anthropological construct and ability and responsibility to both acknowledge our feelings in times of crises and yet simultaneously critique those feelings by holding them accountable to time-tested axiomatic truths well-reasoned conclusions solid spiritual principles and the trustworthy assurances of god's presence power and promise the realities of these existential complexities and the triggers can be stirred as we read recite and reflect upon jesus's fourth declaration from the cross my god my god why have you forsaken me in some way shape or form i believe it is safe to say that all of us can identify or have identified at some point in our lives with the general sentiment of these words perhaps never more so than now when we deal with the realities of a now year-old pandemic that has physically distanced us placed loved ones in quarantine tremendously altered our social lives and taken tolls on our emotional and socio-economic well-being that are quite frankly still being calculated in times like these it can be all too easy to find ourselves feeling all alone but if we're going to identify with the important feelings that are visceral to this text it behooves us also to identify with the implied and expressed truths or spiritual facts of the text in its fullest theological context because when the feelings of abandonment arise we must also know what we know even as we feel what we feel in the midst of feeling what we feel we must first of all know the word in this hour of unimaginable physical and emotional pain jesus cries out the inspired and prophetic words of the 22nd psalm my god my god why have you forsaken me it is a psalm that begins by acknowledging the feelings of grief but continues to acknowledge the hope of glory and he does not cry out these words in hebrew to show off his rabbinical prowess but he cries out in aramaic the language of his natural upbringing the language of if you would the hood where he grew up eli ely la masa because in moments like these the need to be authentic in our communication is more important to the psyche than any preoccupation with being churchy just to impress nearby observers when we're feeling this kind of pain what's in us will indeed come out of us and what is in jesus in this traumatic moment is the word and somebody today needs to be assured or reminded that even in our pain there is a word for you and me about you and me because his word is both prophetic and prescribed you do know what a prescription is don't you a prescription is written for our healing before our healing so that we might receive our healing as we follow the instructions that have been prescribed i'll say that again a prescription is written for our healing before our healing so that we might receive our healing as we follow the instructions concerning our healing that have been prescribed somebody needs to know that in spite of how you may feel there is a healing word from the lord for you he sent his word and healed our diseases it was written a four time for our learning so that we might know and believe the report of the lord so that in spite of how our circumstances may be trying to provoke us to feel we can know the report of the lord says i'm healed the report of the lord says weeping may endure for a night but joy is coming in the morning the report of the lord when chaos is all around me the report is that everything is going to be all right so in these challenging times we may indeed feel some kind of way but we've got to know that god's word is true and we've got to know how to worship to worship someone or something is to express its value in our lives the very word worship is a latter english version of the older expression worth ship or the state of being found worthy and in this hour of emotional turmoil we find jesus crying out something interesting my god my god why in other words i'm in my feelings i feel some kind of way about this but i want you to know that even with me feeling like i feel you are still my god i've got some questions and i'm asking why but i want you to be clear that even in this you are still my god even when the pain is undescribable your worth in my life is undeniable even when the enemy is coming in like a flood your power is without rival i recognize the worth of your greatness that is beyond comparison so this moment is not just about how i feel but it's about what i know so i will call upon the lord because he is worthy worthy of adoration worthy to be worshipped worthy of the praise worthy of the glory from the rising of the sun to the going down of the very same the name of the lord is worthy to be praised i know you're worthy i know the word and in spite of how i feel i expect to win oh my god my god why have you forsaken me you must understand that even in his feelings jesus teaches us how important it is to be aware of our identity in fact in these first couple of words from the cross he alternates between addressing his father and his god in other words in the mystery of the hypostatic union we see him as the worshipping son of god and he teaches us that even in what we're going through we can still stand on the assurance that we are children of god and because we are children of god we can expect to win the expectation of victory is something that god puts in our spirit ecclesiastes 3 says he has put eternity in the hearts of his children which means in spite of what i'm going through something in me says hold on bigger better and brighter is coming and as worshiping children of god you've got to know who you are so yes you may be persecuted but you got to know that you are not forsaken yes you may see the lightning flashing yes you may hear the thunder roll you may feel sin breakers dashing trying to conquer your soul but do you hear the word of the lord it's a word that's telling you it's a word that's telling me to still fight on why are you still fighting after all you've been going through why are you still standing because in spite of how i feel he promised never to leave me i said he promised never to leave he promised never to leave me alone so i'll keep praising them because feelings are temporary but my glory and my praise is going to keep on going in fact the more i praise him the better i feel at first i felt abandoned but i kept on praising them now i feel the anointing kicking in right now at first i felt defeated but i kept on praising them and now i've got a feeling that not something not most things but all things are working together for the good ain't the lord all right only fight your battles only stay by your side won't he make a way out of no way you want to be a heart fixer only be a mind regulator well let the redeemed of the lord say so because it's tied to how i feel these are the facts well brothers and sisters it's time to give as god has blessed us and certainly throughout this season we have been blessed i can share with you as pastors one of the great relieves that we've had is to know that the people of god have been faithful in giving throughout this virtual season because of course the work of ministry has gone forward and many of us are doing more to impact not only our congregations but our communities under this pandemic so on behalf of all of us we want to commend you and thank you for your faithfulness and serving and sacrificing and i certainly want to encourage you to sow into what you know as good ground even as we support this service tonight we want to thank you in advance for supporting us through your giving you see on your screen the means available to give as god has blessed you i just want to ask god's favor on us as we move forward in the ministry of giving father we glorify you and we praise you that we have to give we thank you that you have sustained us and sustained our means throughout this season i pray god that you will now give us not only a spirit to give but to give with a cheerful heart bless god i pray both gift and giver bless each congregation represented tonight and those around the kingdom as we continue to do your work in jesus name amen i want to set our eyes on the cross for a moment sing of his love sing of his grace sing of his mercy hallelujah i will sing your praise for you've done such a marvelous thing [Music] for someone so wretched he had my soul you have a regime no one else could do it and no one could care half as much he had you thought my soul was worth it so you gave your only son for you okay what lord you see you see my accomplishments yes you do even though you becoming me you see my finish thank you god i had no no it's not oh lord and i can't help it i can't help it but i give you all the praise for the marvelous things for the things you've done that i might be set free hallelujah what a glorious glorious glorious day gloriously oh everything that you're doing right now everything you're gonna do oh it's marvelous so we say thank you oh the stone that the builders rejected all the stone that the field is rejected i have become the chief cornerstone oh and it's marvelous in our eyes oh that god is [Music] for live me from and thank you for your grace for your mercy for your love for your compassion for keeping me from saving me to deliver me somebody ought to say thank you to jesus what a what a glorious glorious glorious things brothers and sisters there is another word from the lord coming from the reverend dr kelly hayes who is half of the pastoral leadership of the real power amy church there in upper marlboro maryland and we're so excited about her willingness to come and to share tonight receive the ministry of reverend dr kelly hayes praise the lord it is a blessing to be here with kingdom fellowship and i want to give honor to the esteemed pastor of this household of faith reverend matt you matthew watley and his lovely wife sister shauna watley and bringing you greetings from real power and me church i am grateful to be here i bring the fifth word on tonight coming from the gospel of john chapter 19 verses 28 and it reads simply jesus knew that his mission was accomplished and to fulfill the scripture jesus said i am thirsty very simply the title of my sermon is i'm thirsty it is absolutely mind-boggling how many beverage options we have to meet the demand of human thirst have you been down a beverage owl in a grocery store lately or paid attention to how many beverage commercials there are if you're a beer drinker you can choose from regular and light dark and robust flavor now they even have fruit flavored you can get your lemonade and tea regular unsweetened extra sweet or hard meaning they put some liquor in it the choice is for soft drinks like soda or pop if you're from the midwest like i am are endless and then you have hard liquor that comes in tears according to the process and ingredients used such as well premium and top shelf and who doesn't like a glass of wine every now and then if you can decide which one based on the many varieties vintage and origination locales the brews wine and spirits industry have given way to full-on careers for experts as brewers distillers and sommeliers trying to educate you and tell you how and what to drink for the occasion and for your pocket if that isn't enough for the athletically inclined and overworked crowd there's the likes of gatorade power aid the five-hour energy drinking red bull promising to give you wings they are even pushing pedialite once only used for six infants and toddlers is now perfect for adults there are whole social constructs created around first it's called happy hour between the hours of 5 p.m and 7 p.m the price of drinks are reduced to entice people to hang out eat appetizers socialize and network and of course drink crowds of thirsty people last but not least there's of course water good old h2o and leave it to the good old capitalism to take the one beverage out of all the others mentioned the one we cannot live without and make it a commodity they're still sparkling fruit and herb infused alkaline mineral reverse osmosis spraying filtered distilled and straight from the polar ice cap sourced glass bottled water allied market research says that the global water industry is on track to hit over 319.8 with a b billion dollars within the next two to three years now even though we are inundated with a plethora of choices to quench our thirst our body truly only depends on water to survive every cell tissue and organ in our bodies needs water to work properly we needed to maintain temperature remove waste lubricate our joints and more simply put water is needed for overall good health and survival so if this is true why are there so many other options to quench our thirst because human beings like the freedom to exercise options we like to be able to imbibe whatever we want whether it's good for us or not we want the option to drink alcohol until we can't see straight or we want to be able to pay top dollar for the latest exotically sourced bottled water if we want to we don't always drink what we need if we drink what we want or sometimes not at all consequently many of us are walking around dehydrated attempting to quench our thirst with everything except that which we were created to need our bodies are even made of 60 to 70 water yet we still need to drink it especially in extreme situations like heat and over exertion or biological impairment when your brain doesn't even tell your body that you need water but my brothers and sisters i can't think of a more extreme situation than crucifixion an envy driven kangaroo court proceeding that resulted in the scene described in our text the most inhumane form of government sanctioned murder death by crucifixion jesus had been hanging on the cross now for six hours and the last three in darkness this level of suffering is beyond my comprehension and because we are well beyond the literal context of this moment as i preach i do so in hindsight looking back on this moment wondering how to extrapolate any impactful meaning for our lives today how do we make sense of this fifth word of jesus from the cross matter to us in our 21st century one year into a pandemic post insurrection reality tv living social media driven economic and food insecure reconstruction error reboot rich getting filthy richer middle class disappearing digital divide growing mental health crisis kind of existence my honest answer is i don't know but my suggestion is we look at this moment of jesus on the cross and ask ourselves a question what is it that we need to learn from this master teacher that we can apply to our own lives what was jesus teaching us in my humble opinion he was teaching us how to respond how to respond to what preacher life jesus was now beyond his expressions of care and concern his humanity was threatening to take over as he was fresh off of the gut-riching emotionally reality of feeling forgotten and forsaken here was the deja vu moment the fulfillment and embodiment of the prophetic word in psalm 22 depicting what the suffering serpent would think and experience in his quest to rescue humanity from their fallen state my life is poured out like water uh all my bones are out of joint my heart is like wax melting within me my strength has dried up like sun black clay my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth you laid me in the dust and left me for dead in excruciating pain maneuvering to lift his body to take each breath was like trying to keep himself from drowning in his own blood and water his muscles were on fire and every cell in his body was screaming for relief as he breathed the words i am thirsty of course he is you would be too if you have been deprived of vital hydration after six hours of torture and only offered that which would numb you and not satisfy you the truth of the matter is that we've all been there we may not have experienced physically hanging on a cross but life will bring cross life experiences right to your door and if we're honest for many persons this pandemic has only exacerbated our numbness it lay bear our private thoughts realizing that we have done everything we were told to do we have stuff we have debt we have a spouse we have a boo we got bag we got children we got degrees we got churches we got businesses we got books and positions yet we live with annoying persistent thirst we aren't satisfied we are thirsty we have lost more than we have gained trying to pretend to be something we aren't we are thirsty we are living lives of quiet desperation because everyone on our timeline looks like they have it all together then why am i still struggling i'm thirsty i thought i would have more by now i thought i would be more by now i'm thirsty i'm broke and broken and ashamed that i'm broke and broken thank god i don't have to come to church no more cause then i don't have to pretend like i'm okay i'm thirsty statistics say that the age of social media we are more isolated lonely and depressed than ever more but i want to tell you today coming to the reality that what the world has offered us for thirst has only numbed us and it can be jarring and despairing to understand this but i'm here to just to encourage you on this good friday though you are struggling with the conundrums and the dichotomies of human life there is good news the fifth word of jesus from the cross shows us the humanity of jesus when he acknowledges his feelings of abandonment and expresses his need and prepares to pivot toward victory in our cross-like experiences it is our pivot moment as well because this is the bridge between staying where you are and receiving what you need is living in the tension between giving in to despair or turning it over to god it's the place where your hope and hopelessness are battling for your soul it's the place where your faith and your fear are wrestling where your mind and your spirit is having a stare down contest go ahead admit it you're thirsty you have lost some things and you feel depleted you're thirsty you've been dwelling in a dry and weary land you have endured so much that your brain is no longer telling your body you're thirsty and you're in danger of spiritual dehydration the enemy of your soul is trying to make your tongue cleave to the root of your mouth and stifle your praise but i'm encouraging you today just like jesus admit it i'm thirsty when you do you free yourself and you make room for your breakthrough i'm here to tell you that no matter how dark the day how deep the loss how numb you feel how severe the thirst what jesus did on the cross over two thousand years ago provides the living water that you need to satisfy your thirst living water that's the only thing that you need to truly live when you're parched from life you don't have to go to a happy hour but you can be happy because jesus life has been poured out just for you hallelujah and that means we are forgiven filled and fulfilled i'm so glad that when life does what life does and leaves us depleted and dry i can admit i'm thirsty because of what jesus did it's no longer a cry of fear but it's a cry of faith but i know that god hears my cry and he'll answer by and by and when i feel myself in the desert and life only offers me a mirage hallelujah i find comfort in the 23rd psalm it says you became my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight you anoint me with the fragrance of your holy spirit and you give me all i can drink hallelujah until my cup overflows i'm thirsty this is not a cry of defeat but it's a cry of surrender the only thing that was going to quench jesus's thirst was to complete the mission for which he came to earth he was trying to make it to the real happy hour returning to the presence of his father even the master teacher jesus is modeling the art of surrender hallelujah and god is telling us today to hold on just like he told the woman at the well anyone who drinks the water of the world will soon become thirsty again but those who drink the water i give will never be thirsty again so when you find yourself hallelujah thirsty acknowledge it admit it and then remind yourself that what you need is within i got a river of life flowing out of me it makes the lame to walk and the blind to see you i got a river of life flowing out of me spring up a well down in my soul spring up or well and make me whole hallelujah i love god because god it has the holy spirit that reminds us that he is the master brewer the distiller and the somalia the holy ghost helps you realize that you've been living too low you don't need to deny your thirst you just need to upgrade your thirst you need to go higher you need top shelf refreshment but as the deer pants for you oh god my soul thirsts for god for the living god are you thirsty then it's a good friday happy hour the price has been reduced to zero because the price has already been played isaiah says is anyone thirsty come and drink even if you have no money are you thirsty drink up the drinks on jesus jesus paid it all are you thirsty drink up lift your hands in god's presence drink up worship at the throne of god drink up come to me all that are weary and heavy late and drink up pray until you feel the power to pivot drink up get your joy back drink up get your mind right to drink up and get your power back drink up come on y'all but the question is are you thirsty he's back he's back he's back by popular demand reverend dr reginald thomas the esteemed senior pastor of the greater gethsemane baptist church and baltimore maryland is coming to share the word of god with us and we want to be in prayer for him as he shares with us what god has placed on his heart so i want to express my tremendous appreciation and thanksgiving to my great friend your visionary leader thank god for reverend matthew wadley his wonderful wife to all of my preaching partners who i share with this good friday celebration i greet you in the name of the lord jesus christ all of you my father's children it is an absolute privilege and pleasure to be here with you today so it's my assignment to share from the sixth word the sixth saying from the cross i thank god for those who shared before me and i wish they were kinder to me and leaving more for me to share but i thank god for the way god has used them john chapter 19 i want to share from the a clause of verse number 30 here's how these verses these words rather read according to the new king james virgin so when jesus had received the sour wine he said it is finished i want to preach for a few moments from this thought this tag this title i want to preach it's handled it's handled now god please have your way use this your preacher to preach your word grant clary thought and precision of speech in the name jesus we pray with thanksgiving amen it's handled so my brothers and sisters there are some things that we really wish were over a way before they even started some things like this pandemic some things like mass shootings and other forms of violence we wish were over before they even got started things like the co-opting and dismantling of social justice initiatives hate crimes including the brutality against our sons and daughters our brothers and our sisters we wish those things were over way before they even got started things like the contemporary systematic enslavement of black and brown people through mass incarceration things like the deportation of immigrants from a nation of immigrants like racism and sexism classism and ageism unemployment and employment extremely high student loan payments and other bills that we sometimes struggle to pay we wish they were over way before they even got started these things we wish would cease and desist quick fast and in a hurry but the unfortunate reality is that some things take time to finish some things are not over immediately some things don't finish quickly some things take hours and days and weeks and months and for some things it even takes years for them to be finished like like jesus and his mission jesus could not rush his mission the mission that he had been assigned to way before the beginning even began jesus could not rush it now for around 33 or so years the invisible has been visible the eternal has invaded time and space the word has been made flesh and dwelt among them jesus though humanly visible spent most of his earthly time on earth hidden behind the scenes hidden getting ready for and in anticipation of the completion of his assignment for most of jesus's earthly life he spent it being hidden of his 33 or so years he spent most of it with most people not even knowing his name most people not even aware of his miracle working power most people only seeing him as a carpenter's son most likely plying the trade of his earthly father joseph they saw him making tables and making doors and completing tasks that you would assume a carpenter would complete but they never saw in him what he knew was in him they never saw him being more than just a carpenter jesus had all this in him but for most of his life had to be hidden how do you handle it when you know you've got power but you're not released to use it yet jesus his teaching his preaching and his miracles were all components of his mission but there was something else there was something else other than his teaching in his preaching and his miracles there was something else something else that the disciples would not be able to comprehend something that would not make sense to his closest followers they they understood that his teaching and preaching and miracles were included in his mission but they did not understand that his suffering had to be included too his mission called for it jesus called his suffering the cup the cup the cup he prayed in the garden of gethsemane for way around this cup but he concluded that the successful completion of his mission required the emptying of that cup and that he was the only one who was qualified to empty it this cup of suffering was full when he got arrested on thursday but with every beating and every betrayal and every insult in every denial every nail every feeling of abandonment jesus was taking another sip from that cup and after he drank the very last drop of that cup jesus then declared it is finished in other words it's been handled what is finished though what is it that's been handled well in the greek the word to the lester is translated as it is finished and the greek word to the lester carries with it the connotation in commerce that a debt has been paid in full see our sin debt has been paid that that's what's finished the cup is now empty that's what's finished i i had a sin debt that i could not afford to pay but jesus paid it all jesus handle it is there anybody who is holy ghost happy and thank you jesus glad that your debt has been paid that the pathway to peace with god has been created that the process is now over that the mission is complete it is finished because jesus already handled it go ahead high five yourself for the first time in the sermon and give god some praise for everything that the lord has handled give god some praise for everything that jesus has finished for the debt that jesus has paid jesus paid it all off to him our old sin had left the crimson stain but jesus washed it white ass no wait a minute what can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of jesus what can make me whole again nothing but the blood of jesus oh precious is that flow that wash me white ass no no other help do i know nothing but the blood of jesus if you know it's been handled go ahead and give god praise even if you all by yourself praise him like you're in the sanctuary praise him in your living room like you're in the sanctuary because it has been handled and if jesus can handle all of that is there anybody who knows that surely he can help you to handle whatever it is that's on your plate right now that if jesus can handle all of that then i ought to know that surely he can handle and he can help me to handle my trials and my trauma that he can help me to handle my tribulations and whatever drama may come up in my life if jesus can handle all of that then surely he can help me to handle the bills that i still owe if jesus can handle all of that then surely i ought to trust and believe that he can finish whatever he starts in my life and is there anybody watching right now who wants to give god your best praise for everything that the lord has handled in your life is there anybody who knows that you have some problems and you still have some burdens and you still have some obstacles in your life but the only reason you have not lost your mind is because you already trust and believe that based on what is already handled that he can handle all of this and he can handle some more high five yourself for the second time in the sermon and give god some praise because you believe that based on what he's already handled that every hater and every trial and every trouble that still persists that he's still able to handle all that too as a matter of fact i can lift my head up high as a matter of fact i can still have joy i can still have faith i can still have hope because i trust and believe that while i'm trying to figure it out he's already worked it out somebody ought to shout his somebody ought to give him some glory because it's already handled as a matter of fact when you get home tonight or when you get in the bed this evening make sure you lay your head down on the pillow and get a good night's sleep make sure you get a great night's sleep because whatever it is that's still going wrong in your life guess what it's handled i know that you may not have experienced it yet but is there anybody who believes that from god's position in eternity that and our experience in time that from eternity's perspective is already been handled i dare you to high five yourself for the last time in the sermon and declare over your life it's handled my burdens have already been handled my heartbreaks have already been handled my heart ain't have already been handled i'm gonna give god my best razor because i believe that now under him who is absolutely able to handle whatever i've got going on i'm going to give him praise cause it's finished i'm going to give him praise cause he's handled a shouty ass shouty ass shouty ass in god able shouty ass hallelujah it is finished because it's been handled god bless you brothers and sisters we're excited to receive the ministry of the reverend dr daryl williams the senior pastor of the saint paul united methodist church there in oxen hill maryland god has done great and marvelous things throughout his ministry and we're looking forward to receiving what god has to share with us through him this is the day the lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it first i want to thank pastor watley for the invitation it's always a pleasure to be at the kingdom fellowship church especially during times like these it's like a homecoming and it's good to be back in the house i thank all of my fellow pulpiteers from this evening for all that they have done and now i'm going to do my best to do what i can father we ask you to bless us as we get ready in jesus name amen the seventh word comes from the gospel according to saint luke luke the 23rd chapter verse 46 and these words are captured by the gospel writer and when jesus had cried out with a loud voice he said father into your hands i commit my spirit having said this he breathed his last for a moment i just want to talk tonight from the topic it's in his hands it's in his hands friends as we enter into the scene at this seventh word i ask the question how did we wind up here and and i asked that question because due to the constraints that life has placed upon us over the last year i find myself watching far more television than i usually would i find myself spending time on a e and hgtv but what i found myself doing more than anything else is watching a lot of police procedurals i have become very vested in law and order and law and order svu and law and order criminal intent i've become obsessed with ncis and the crimes in the navy i've become obsessed with ncis l.a how can you have an east coast and not have a west coast thank god they didn't get into a rivalry i'm i'm enjoying criminal minds as i watch season after season of it and watch how it develops but i really like this show called cold case files while the others are scripted cold case files goes back and looks at things that were not solved originally and as i've been watching it i've become a bit of an amateur detective as i like to call it i'm an amateur detective and as i approach calvary on this day i realize that some of what we've seen we have not seen through the eyes of a detective i've been doing some detective work and i've come to some conclusions that i want to share with you this evening as i walk to the scene i realize that we have to climb up a hill called golgotha jesus is carried across all these ways down the via de la rosa and then he's climbed the hill carrying a cross on his back he's been nailed to the cross he's got nails in his hands he's got nails in his feet sometimes we say that so fast that we don't realize the excruciating pain of having been nailed to a cross because we'll say they hung him high they stretched them wide we don't take enough time to realize that they were banging nails directly into his hands suspending his weight in the air by nothing but the sinews muscles and ligaments of his body holding his body up they put a crown of thorns on him allowing the thorns to crush into his skull and blood to ring down his face and we look at it and we wonder how did we wind up here and and often times i've noticed that when we say how did we wind up here if you watch the internet enough you'll find out that in this time of racial reckoning too many people have said that it was a state-sanctioned murder and i would tell you don't get your theology off the internet you have to get your theology from the bible because here's the thing this was not a government murder i want to posit today that this was an assisted suicide pastor what do you mean it was an assisted suicide you have to understand the nature of a murder a murder means that someone took it in their hands to take the life of someone else out of their hands and leave that person dead suicide by contrast is when somebody decides to take their own life with their hands and take their life themselves the assisted nature of this suicide is that god had jesus come down for a purpose and jesus has done some things that leave us realizing that he used the government to help but it was not murder it was assisted suicide the government was but his means for doing what he was going to do you've got to understand jesus put a plan in action to get us here uh the bible tells us in john chapter 13 verse 27 as soon as judas had touched take taking the bread satan entered into him so jesus told him what you're about to do go and do it quickly in other words he gave an instruction to get this event in order he gave an instruction to get this event going along the way and then if you look closely and you read your bible i hope i have some bible readers out there there are suicide notes left in the word oh watch carefully john chapter 10 verses 17-18 therefore my father loves me because i lay down my life that i may take it up again no one takes it from me but i lay it down of myself i have the power to lay it down and i have the power to take it back up again this command i have received from my father in other words jesus had warned his disciples ahead of time everything is not what it seems in other words i can lay down my own life and i can take my own life back up for it to be murdered it would have been out of his choice but the bible tells us that he said i've already made a decision about this it goes on for verification in john chapter 15 verse 13. this is my commandment that i love that you love one another as i have loved you greater love has no man than this that someone lay down his life for his friends in other words when you don't realize that jesus laid it down then you don't realize that he died for us that he made a decision because he loved us enough to lay his own life down so when you say that it was murder you removed the theological significance of what jesus had actually done but we run into an issue at this point whether it's murder suicide or natural causes you get to a point when you die that you've got to decide what to do with your stuff can i talk to somebody the truth of the matter simply is jesus has been on this cross for six hours at this point we we know the beginning and we've gotten to the end but it's been six hours in between six hours of torture six hours of pain six hours of being watched six hours of folk gawking six hours of folk talking crazy it's been six hours and jesus has a lucid moment at the end where he comes to realization that he has a conundrum what do i do with all my stuff and i believe my brothers and sisters on this seven last words we find the last will and testament of jesus christ of nazareth oh you see for six hours he wrote out his last will and testament he wanted everybody to know what to do with his stuff when he was finally done you have to understand too many times in families because there's no will and testament the family will come apart over what to do with grandmama stuff i i believe she would have wanted me to have the dishes i believe she would have wanted me to have the dresser i believe she would have wanted me to have the place i believe she would have wanted me to have the rugs and because grandma didn't lay it out everybody's fighting for jesus said i don't want y'all fighting for my stuff so i'm gonna lay out what i want you to do here's the thing when you decide who to give what you have to look at it from the standpoint not just of who deserves what but who can handle what you see i have plenty of friends but there's some friends that i would trust to watch my house there's some friends i would trust to leave my car with i have very few friends that i would trust to keep my child for a week but i have some friends i wouldn't let my watch my dog for 15 minutes you got to know who you're leaving stuff too and the bible tells us that jesus ran the line of giving out his stuff watch this he started giving away stuff little by little he gave away his clothes because the centurions and the and the soldiers had to take them split them up to fulfill prophecy he gave away his forgiveness in the first word when he told them father forgive them for they know not what they do he gave a criminal this another chance in the second word when he told him today you'll be with me in paradise he gave his mother to his best friend so that his friend would have a mother to take care of and his mother would have somebody to take care of him in the third world in the fourth word he gave witness to pain when he said my god my god why have you forsaken me in the fifth word he gave a nod to prophecy when he let them understand that he had the thirst in this moment in the sixth word he gave what should have been his final address when he said tell a lester which simply means it is finished but now he's left with his spirit i gave away all the temporal stuff i laid out who would get all the earthly pleasures and who would get all the earthly treasures but now i've got the most important thing i've got the most precious thing i'm left with my spirit all jesus understood that because his spirit was the most important thing it was the last thing that would be read it was the last thing that would be decided so in luke 23 46 he cries out understand he's been in pain for six hours he's been hanging on a cross bleeding he's been dehydrated but yet he finds the strength to cry out i don't know about you but after a whole bunch of pain it seems like it should have been a murmur it seems like it should have been a murmur it seems like he should have been muttering it seems like he should have been whispering but when something is important you shout it from the rooftops you pull up everything left in you to push it all the way out of you and he cries out in a loud voice father into your hands i commend my spirit and having said that he breathed his last understand when figuring out who to leave his spirit with he considered four things he considered the identity the location he had to have volition and he had to have a possession to leave he lived he gave the identity father remember in the first word it's father forgive them in the middle it's my god my god but when things came back around it was father again it's the identity of the one who means most it's a location into your hands i'm not gonna leave it the chance i'm not gonna leave it to the universe i'm gonna put it in a specific place so i know where it is it's volition this is my decision you don't have to coach me you don't have to tell me won't be no argument this is where i'm putting it and it was his prized possession his spirit so he says father into your hands i command my spirit he's repeating what david wrote in psalm 31 5 when he said into his hands i commit my spirit but beyond being in utterance it's also a prayer and beyond being a prayer it's a bedtime story jewish mothers used to have their children repeat these words into your hand i commit my spirit before going to sleep because we don't know hebrew right here i'm going to translate from the hebrew to the american let me help you out now i lay me down to sleep i pray the lord my soul to keep in other words now i lay me down to sleep i'm just laying down to sleep i pray the lord my spirit to keep you've got to understand all he was doing was saying his prayers before he laid it all down because the bible says that after he announced it he had given up his last so when he looked at it he knew the identity with the father he knew the thing that he was giving which was the spirit he knew he was doing it of his own volition which was the choice he made but you've got to understand location he said in to your hands he didn't just say father unto you he didn't just say father near you he said specifically into your hands i need you to understand that god's hands are a good place to put some stuff how the bible says that in genesis chapter 2 when god made man god made a decision that he wouldn't just speak it remember he starts off with let there be light and he uses words to create light from darkness he uses words to separate water from ground but when he gets to making man he puts his hands to the job he begins to form man out of the dust and then breathe the rua of spirit into him he picks up that man with his hands and puts him in the garden you've got to understand when you start talking about his hands it's the same hands that have the finger that carved the ten commandments into stone tablets you got to remember when you're talking about the hands isaiah 41 and 10 fear not for i am with you do not be dismayed for i am your god i will strengthen you i will help you i will uphold you with my righteous hand even satan understood the power of god's hand in job 1 and 11 he challenged god by saying stretch out your hand and touch the things that job has and take away your hedge of protection from him and he'll curse you he knew that god's hand was the hand of protection his hand was the hand of providence oh understand psalm 89 and 13 where ethan the ezra site the wisest person recorded in the bible short of solomon simply says you have a mighty arm as strong as your hand and high is your right hand what i want you to know is that jesus oh took the all-state thing and he said i need this to be in good hands why is he good hands my brother why is it good hands my sister because when you put it in god's hands you got to remember he's got the whole world in his hands he's got you and me brother in his hands he's got you and me sister in his hands he's got the mommies and the babies in his hands when you put it in god's hands you know it's taken care of when you put it in god's hands you know it's protected when you put it in god's hands you know it's been taken care of protected it's been moved it's been covered it's been strengthened it's been made righteous so i want you to know right now the way that jesus put it in his hands whatever you're going through my brother put it in his hands if your marriage is in a bad place put it in his hands if your money is in a bad place put it in his hands if your health is falling apart put it in your hands if your child just can't get right put it in his hands if your mental health is falling down put it in his hands if you're looking for a new job put it in his hands no matter what it is it's in his hands now stop trying to carry it stop trying to hold on to it if he can handle jesus's soul he can handle what you're going through he can handle what you're dealing with because when he's got it it's in his hands now i don't need it back i don't have to carry it i don't have to walk with it he's got it in his hands goodbye now church may the lord god bless you real good but before i get up out of here on this good friday evening you need to know no matter what it is no matter how it's gone no matter what you're going through put it in his hands [Music] brothers and sisters with all that god has said throughout this night through seven preachers i just want to extend the invitation for anyone who doesn't know the lord jesus who suffered on calvary's cross to save you from your sins if you're unsaved or unsure about what it means to be saved then we offer you christ we offer you the opportunity to be saved from a devil's hell to be allowed to live on earth with heavenly hope and to know that when you go to glory you'll be going with god forever in eternity i want to extend to you christ and if you don't know him for yourself i just want to encourage you to reach out to the information that's listed there on the screen one of our leaders will be happy to show you the word of god what it means to be saved to pray with you the prayer of salvation and if you don't have a church home you're growing and developing getting stronger as a saint and being built up in the body of christ we want to invite you to become a part of a body of believers a local church home where you can grow and develop in the things of god we have seven churches represented tonight and i can attest that any of them would be welcome i would be happy to welcome you in but more importantly these are places where you know you will grow and and be able to prosper in the things of god so i want to encourage you to again reach out to the information we'll be happy to hook you up with a local house of worship where you can grow in the things of god i finally if you have fallen off and fallen back from your relationship with god if you're a backslider and you've uh kind of been away from church and been away from god we want to connect with you and to pray restoration your relationship with god come on reach out as well don't wait for tomorrow may be too late but choose you today which god you'll serve i want to thank you for coming and sharing this time of worship with us certainly i've been blessed i know you have been as well this broadcast will be available on demand and so for those of you who want to go back and get another dose or to share with others i encourage you to be electronic evangelists of one and let somebody know that they can be blessed right on this platform receive now the benediction grace peace and mercy from god the father god the son and god the holy spirit rest ruled abide now with these your people both now and forevermore amen god bless you kingdom focused

Channel: KFAME Church

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Length: 118min 20sec (7100 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 02 2021