REWIND
The podcast "REWIND" features a collection of past sermons from Organic Church. Each episode takes listeners on a journey through the teachings and messages delivered during previous worship services. The content is a retrospective look at the spiritual guidance and insights shared by Pastor Michael and visiting guests!
Listeners can expect to revisit powerful sermons, meaningful scriptures, and impactful messages that have been shared in the past. The podcast aims to provide a convenient and accessible way for the church community and new audiences to engage with the timeless wisdom and spiritual teachings presented during earlier sermons.
Whether it's a reflection on a particular theme, a series of teachings, or a selection of sermons covering various topics, "REWIND" offers an opportunity for individuals to deepen their understanding of the faith and find inspiration in the timeless messages.
The podcast may also include commentary or reflections on the historical context of each sermon and how it continues to resonate with the present-day congregation.
REWIND
Why Have You Forsaken Me? (March 26, 2025) Pastor Kory Roland
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" These haunting words from Jesus on the cross reveal a dimension of suffering beyond physical torture—spiritual abandonment. As darkness covered the land from noon until three o'clock, Christ experienced separation from God the Father in a way that defies comprehension, becoming sin for our sake though He Himself was sinless.
The timing of Christ's crucifixion aligns perfectly with the Jewish temple sacrificial system—hung on the cross at 9am during the morning sacrifice and dying at 3pm during the evening sacrifice. This divine choreography proclaimed Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice, the Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world. His cry echoes Psalm 22, a prophetic psalm written centuries before crucifixion existed as an execution method, yet describing with uncanny accuracy the suffering Messiah would endure.
When Jesus died, the massive temple curtain—60 feet long, 30 feet high, and 4 inches thick—tore from top to bottom, signifying that access to God's presence was no longer restricted. Through Christ's sacrifice, we now approach God's throne boldly to receive mercy and find grace. Even the Roman centurion, hardened by witnessing countless executions, recognized something extraordinary in Jesus' death, declaring, "Truly this man was the Son of God."
As we journey through this Lenten season toward Resurrection Sunday, we're challenged to respond appropriately to such a sacrifice. We cannot use Christ's death as permission to continue in sin but must instead live transformed lives worthy of His redemption. The resurrected life He offers isn't temporary but eternal—not just a better version of our old existence but something entirely new and everlasting.
This Easter, let's prepare our hearts to meet this resurrected Lord with anticipation and gratitude, and seize opportunities to share this good news with those who haven't yet experienced the freedom and reconciliation that comes through Christ's sacrifice and victory over death.
the celebration of the resurrection, the Lenten season. I know Christmas gets a lot of attention and I love the Christmas season, I love the Christmas spirit, but there's something about the anticipation of the resurrection. If I were to sum up the meaning of the resurrection or the meaning of the Easter season with a verse of the Bible, I love the book of Job where Job says I know my Redeemer lives, and I think that's the message I know my Redeemer lives, and so one of the oldest books in the Bible is Job and he's talking all about the resurrection and our Lord Jesus. And that's what I want to do tonight. If you have your Bibles, we'll be in Matthew 27. As you know, we've been going over the last words of Jesus on the cross and his words on the cross. They inspire hope and encouragement. You know, to the thief on the cross he says you'll be with me in paradise. He comforts Mary and the beloved disciple. Tonight his words spoken from the cross are not so much comforting as they are heart-wrenching. In Matthew 27, verse 45.
Speaker 1:At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. At about three o'clock Jesus shouted in a loud voice Eli, eli, lemme, shabachtania, which means my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought that he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so that he could drink. But the rest said wait and let's see if Elijah comes to save him. Then Jesus shouted out again and released his spirit, and at that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split apart, the tombs opened and the bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead and they left the cemetery after Jesus' resurrection and went into the holy city of Jerusalem and appeared to many people. If you could just bow your heads with me, father, god, lord, as I seek to bring your word tonight, I pray that it is your word. I pray, lord, that it is not my words, not what I once said, but Lord you. I pray that, father, we would have an anticipation of meeting Jesus, we would have an anticipation of the work that you're doing. And, father, as we get closer and closer to to resurrection Sunday, I pray each of us has an awareness of the fact that one day we will see this resurrected Lord. One day we will meet this resurrected Lord and the Lord that we serve from a distance now we will see face to face and I pray that we are ready for that day. In the holy name of Jesus, we pray and everyone said Amen. So there's a lot going on at the cross. There's a lot going on that, unless you understand the context, you miss. First, in verse 45, at noon, darkness fell across the whole land until about three o'clock. If you look at all of the gospels, it's pretty much assumed that Jesus was hung on the cross around nine o'clock in the morning and then by about three o'clock when he shouted out these words my God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Shortly after that, he breathed his last and he released his spirit. What's interesting to note? That, if you are a good Jewish person, the time of 9 am and 3 pm have very important significance to you, because that is the time that, throughout history, throughout the whole temple period, they have sacrificed the morning and the evening sacrifices, and so, as Jesus was hung on the cross at 9 o'clock, there would have been a loud blast of the trumpet across the whole land of Jerusalem, letting them know that their morning sacrifice has just been killed. And then, as he passes away, as he dies on that cross, at about three o'clock there would have been another loud blast of the horn letting everyone know that the evening sacrifice has just been killed. The evening sacrifice has just been killed. What few did not realize at that point is the final sacrifice had just been slain on that cross.
Speaker 1:John calls Jesus the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world. And we see through the life of Jesus the whole time. He is trying to reconcile us to the Father, trying to teach us more about God. As the Bible says, he's the visible image of the invisible God. And here we have on the cross the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate suffering, where Jesus is abandoned by God the Father, by God the Father. Why? Because the Bible tells us that he had to become sin for us. God is a holy God. In fact, as we looked at at my church on Sunday, in the book of Habakkuk it says God is so holy he cannot even look upon evil. You know, you think of the blessings that's given in the book of Numbers, and the famous one that's used as benediction is may the Lord make his face to shine upon you. May the Lord give you peace. Well here, the Lord did none of that for Christ Jesus. The Lord had to turn his face from Christ Jesus because he became sin for us. And it gets even worse when you understand the fundamental truth that Jesus was God.
Speaker 1:In John 10, verse 30, jesus declares the Father and I are one. He tells the religious leaders, he tells the people that even before Abraham is, I am. And that word, I am the covenant name Yahweh, the name given to Moses in the burning bush, to tell the people of Israel their covenant God. Jesus was God made flesh, god incarnate and like God. Jesus was perfect, but when he dwelt among us, he dwelt to be our portion of sin, to be our sacrifice.
Speaker 1:And what is so incredible about the words Jesus speaks my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Is? These words were already spoken before in scripture. In fact, these words are basically a direct quotation from Psalm 22. And I encourage you to turn there just for a minute. You see, psalm 22 is a prophecy about crucifixion, long before the practice of crucifixion was even created. And yet we have Psalm 22, verse 1. And the very same words my God, my God, why have you abandoned me? He says every day I call to you, my God, you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. And he says in verse 3. Yet you are holy. You are holy and enthroned on the praises of Israel. Our ancestors trusted you and you rescued them. You know. Think of Jesus on the cross crying hear me, my God, my God, why have you abandoned me? And the reason being is verse 3, you are holy. And though at that moment, yes, Christ was God, he was not holy. At that moment, he was forsaken. He was sin for us.
Speaker 1:And you read further on in Psalm 22, and you realize that it depicts Jesus' agony on the cross. In verse 11, don't stay far from me, for my troubles is near and no one can help me. In verse 11, and tearing into their prey, can you get the agony? The death on the cross was a serious matter. The death of Christ on the cross was a serious matter and it was a painful matter. It was what Christ suffered for you.
Speaker 1:Not surrounded by loved ones In fact, his loved ones had abandoned him, other than Mary and John. Not surrounded by friends, he's surrounded by enemies. In verse 14, my life is poured out like water. My bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax melting within me. My strength has dried up like sun-baked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs. Evil gangs closes in me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat. They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing. Whom but Jesus could this verse reference when it talks of the pack of dogs?
Speaker 1:Oftentimes in Scripture, especially in the Old Testament, the idea of dogs are used for enemies surrounding you, or even the demonic surrounding you. And you think at the cross, what kind of demonic forces were present to gloat over Jesus? What kind of demonic forces were present to watch God, the Son God in the flesh, die in front of them? And I'm sure they took great delight in it. Of course, I'm sure they didn't quite understand what was going on and Jesus dying on that cross, abandoned by God. And what do the people do? It says they thought he was calling out to Elijah. They missed it.
Speaker 1:It says some offered him wine on a sponge sour wine. Most likely it was a mixture of sour wine and likely it was a mixture of sour wine and sour wine being a mixture of vinegar. If you ever got vinegar on a cut, you know how painful that is. Some people use this verse to say well, they had compassion on Jesus. They tried to give Him something to drink. You have to understand that, the pain that he would have been in when that sour wine, that vinegar, touched His lips.
Speaker 1:The second thing you ought to note where did they get the sponge from? At the crucifixion, that sponge was a military-issued toiletry item used to clean oneself after going to the bathroom. This is what they did to our Lord and it burdens me even more to know this is what they did to our Lord and it burdens me even more to know this is what they did to our Lord on my behalf. I should have been up on that cross. I should have been there suffering. We should have been there. And yet we get to sit here and worship Him, we get to be called sons and daughters, we get to be called His children, not even His slaves, but His children Joint heirs with Christ. How does any of that make sense other than the overwhelming love of God? You see, the Bible makes it very clear that Jesus was God.
Speaker 1:Philippians 2. Philippians 2, verse 6. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to or something to hold on to. That's profound. I mean, who among you are willing to give up something as powerful as that, your divine privilege? I mean it's hard enough to find people to give up an hour or two on Sunday to come to church. And here God is setting aside his own divine privilege. Rather than clinging to that, rather than clinging to his status, it says, instead he set aside his divine privilege, the Greek word being kenosis to give it up.
Speaker 1:He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, and he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on the cross. You know, you see, in movies and popular TV or popular books, you know there's what we call noble deaths and there's what we call not noble deaths, and there's always these noble deaths for the hero. Finally, if they have to die a death, at least it's a noble death. Our Lord died a criminal's death on the cross. And, yes, now we can praise Him and we can say thank you for that. But the people at that time did nothing but scorn Him. You see, on that cross, christ identified Himself with us. Remember when Peter tried to defend the Lord Jesus and cut off the servant's ear? And Jesus says don't you realize? If I merely asked, my father would send an army of angels down to rescue me. But then how could the Scriptures be accomplished? He said you see, the Bible tells us, rather than identifying himself as God, which is who he was, but rather than identifying himself with God, rather than standing up and saying you can't treat me like this, isaiah 53, verse 12, says he counted himself among the rebels, he counted himself among you and I.
Speaker 1:And when the father had to pour out his wrath on somebody, he said pour it out on me, give it to me. And this is where we read so often in the scriptures, in Isaiah, where it says that he was marked for us, he was beaten and abused for us, all of us. It says like sheep have gone astray, but God laid on him all of our sins. I don't know about you, but I don't even want to have to answer for my own sins, let alone all your sins. And here Christ says no, identify me, count me among those rebels.
Speaker 1:And yes, you can talk about the spirit or the physical suffering on the cross, which was greater than any of us has probably ever experienced, the whipping, the beating being hung there. You realize, the Roman regiment that hung Jesus on the cross was a special regiment. Rome did the very same thing, kind of like the Nazis did. The Nazis had a special group of Gustavos or SS agents who would persecute prisoners and persecute the Jews. The Romans did the very same thing. The Romans had a specialized unit. They didn't go into battle like other soldiers. Their only job, from sunup to sundown, was the beating and executing of criminals.
Speaker 1:And that's who they gave Jesus to. And they beat him worse than anyone. In fact, the book of Isaiah tells us he wasn't even recognizable after all of the ordeal. And in fact, when they finally led him away to be crucified, it was not because they had mercy on him, it was not because they felt like Jesus had enough. The Bible tells us very clearly when they had grown tired, when they had grown tired of mocking him when they had grown tired of abusing him. That's when they said okay, now let's crucify him. That's our sins, that's the seriousness of our sins.
Speaker 1:But I think that this verse in Matthew 27, and what it reveals to me, is that even worse than the physical suffering on the cross was the spiritual suffering on the cross, the spiritual anguish of Christ, god the Son, one of the members of the Trinity. The spiritual suffering that he had to endure to take upon all those sins that even the Father himself could not even look upon. His own son, his very same son who he claimed at his baptism saying this is my beloved son, with whom I'm well pleased. And now he turns his face away. Remember, in the garden, when Jesus was agonizing, he prayed to God, if it be possible. Remember, in the garden, when Jesus was agonizing, he prayed to God if it be possible, let this cup of suffering pass from me. And then he said not your will, but my will. And then they hang him on the cross. And what do the people say? He saved others, but he couldn't save himself. You realize that was a true statement. He could not save himself and save others. He had to choose, and he chose us. You see, in that cup that Jesus asked to pass from him, that cup that he did not want to drink, it was the cup of God's judgment, the cup of God's holy judgment that was meant for you and I.
Speaker 1:The book of Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 25. Jeremiah 25, verse 15. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me. Take from my hand this cup filled to the brim with my anger and make all the nations whom I send you drink from it. When they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by warfare. I will send against them Psalm 75, verse 8. For the Lord holds a cup in His hand that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours out the wine of judgment and all the wicked must drink it, draining it to its dredges. The Lord holds a cup in His hand, pouring it out on the wicked, the cup of His divine judgment.
Speaker 1:Revelation talks about the wine press of God's judgment Getting ready to be poured out. And who steps in but Christ Jesus? And takes that cup, draining it to its dredges, to where you and I don't have to suffer that terrible fate where Christ Jesus drank it in full. And what does he offer us in exchange? But the cup of the new covenant. He says I'll take your sufferings, I'll take your sins, I'll take everything from you and in exchange I give you the cup of the new covenant. Your sufferings, I'll take your sins, I'll take everything from you and in exchange I give you the cup of the new covenant. And this new covenant means fellowship with God. This new covenant means that now you and I have a way to be reconciled to God. But please hear me, when Jesus took that cup from you, he wasn't thinking oh, if I take this cup, they can go on living their sinful lives and I'll wash away all their sins.
Speaker 1:Jesus was thinking if I take this cup from them, they have a way out of their sinful lives, a way into fellowship with God, a way to break that cycle of sin that had been infecting the human race from the very beginning and start anew. This is what he says. You must be born again. He says you want new life, you want to be with me. Paul says we are dead to sin and raised to new life in Christ. But I have met far too many Christians who use the death of Christ on the cross to continue in that same sinful cycle. Oh, christ will forgive me. Oh, god has mercy. Now, god's mercies are anew every day. And while that is true, you cannot use verses like that to say you don't have to change Because I don't know about you. But my Bible says repent, repent and be saved. Repent and be saved, repent and be baptized. Turn from those sins. And here's what's so profound about Christ taking our sins In the sanctuary. It says back in Matthew 27, verse 51, at that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
Speaker 1:In our Bible study we just went over Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. This was the one time of year that man was allowed into the presence of God, the one time of year where not everyone but only the high priest was allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was, where the presence of God was, and offer sacrifice there. Do you realize, before Christ, none of you would have ever had the chance to be in God's presence, none. We would have never had the opportunity or the chance to be in the presence of God. We were forever forced to be outside. Because if we were to stand in his holy presence, the Bible says God tells Moses to tell Aaron he can't just come in and out, because if he comes in and out I'll strike him dead.
Speaker 1:And then here comes Jesus and his death on the cross, so powerful, so profound that that curtain that had separated man from God for so long was torn. And it was not torn bottom to top, it was torn top to bottom. And it was not torn bottom to top, it was torn top to bottom. And I don't know about you, but when I think of curtains often I think of these little pieces of fabric that let the light in. This curtain was no little piece of fabric, in fact, it was estimated to be 60 feet long, 30 feet high and 4 inches thick. And with Jesus' death it was torn.
Speaker 1:Why? Because now, through Christ Jesus, you and I had a chance to be in the presence of God. Now, through Christ Jesus, we can approach God's throne. The Bible tells us in Hebrews, if you look in Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4, verse 14. So then, since we have a great high priest who has entered heaven, jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. I pray that there is nothing that shakes your faith, there is nothing that shakes your confidence in Christ, because he is our high priest who has stepped in our presence, who has stepped in the presence of God, laying down his life, his blood and the Holy of Holies to give us access into the very presence of God.
Speaker 1:And it says in verse 15, this high priest of ours understands our weakness, for he faced all the same testing that we did, and yet he did not sin. He understands our weaknesses. I take this also to mean he won't put up with our excuses, because he's understood everything, he's done all the same testing that we've gone through. You might say, well, jesus, you don't understand. You don't understand how I feel, or this makes me happy, this is what I want. He understood all of it, he faced all of it and yet did not sin. You can't give him any half-hearted excuse, but what you can do.
Speaker 1:And it says in verse 16, so let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Let us come boldly before the throne of God, not timidly, but boldly. Not with fear, it says, but with confidence. We will receive His mercy. And, boy, that's what we need the mercy of God, because it is only by God's mercy that you and I could ever hope to get to heaven. It is only by God's mercy that you and I could ever hope to receive forgiveness of our sins. And guess what the Bible says, that God has mercy to give you because of our sins. And guess what the Bible says that God has mercy to give you because of Christ Jesus.
Speaker 1:But I don't want you to miss the importance of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. I think sometimes we can be so removed from the crucifixion it happened over 2,000 years ago that we forget how serious of a matter sin is. That's something the people of Israel were intimately aware of, because every time they sinned they had to take one of their lambs or their goats. They had to take it to the priest and watch that lamb die in their place. Yes, I don't know about you, but if you were a little boy or girl and you grew up playing with a lamb and then one day your parents said let's take that lamb to the temple and you had to watch that lamb die, you'd have a pretty good understanding of how serious sin is. And sin is still serious, but for you and I. It is Christ, jesus and His blood that was so powerful that it negated any need for further sacrifice, because he paid it all. But how dare we use the blood of Jesus to continue to sin? How dare we use the name of Jesus to continue in our sinful life?
Speaker 1:Paul says living means living for Christ and please hear me, I think there's a big difference between living for Christ and living for yourself in the name of Christ. Why, why does Christ get all the glory? Why must we live for Him? Because the Bible says in 1 Peter 1.18, for you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the emptied life you inherited from your ancestors. Please hear that that's the life you have apart from ancestors. Please hear that that's the life you have apart from Christ. It's empty. It is empty and, yes, you can fill it with whatever you want, and many people use many different things and many different vices to fill their life, but what they're missing is Christ, because their life is empty without Him. And if you want to remain in that empty life, then you can go through your whole life trying to find purpose, trying to find meaning. But I promise you, no matter what you do with your life apart from Christ. The only inheritance, the only legacy you can hope to leave is a hole in the ground, and Christ saw our empty life.
Speaker 1:And what did he do? What did God do with that? He says God saved you the second half of 1 Peter 1.18, and the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. This word mere it quite literally means common or ordinary, not mere gold or silver. I don't know about you, but I've never treated gold or silver as mere. I'm always like what Gold or silver? But there is not enough gold or silver on this entire earth to pay for your sins.
Speaker 1:And so it was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. It says God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has revealed him now to you in these last days. Long before the world began, when God confronted Satan in the garden for the terrible sin that had just happened, god told him I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. And he tells Satan that one day the seed of the woman would come to crush his head and, though Satan could crush his heel that the seed of the woman would be his death blow. That seed of the woman was revealed to be Christ Jesus, born of a virgin, born without a sinful nature, born to be the spotless lamb of God. And in verse 21, it says through Christ you have come to trust in God and you have placed your faith and hope in God, because he's raised Christ from the dead and has given him great victory. So Christ then becomes the key to having a relationship with God, the Father. Christ then becomes the key to having a relationship with God, because it is through Christ we have come to trust God.
Speaker 1:It is through God sending Christ to earth, it is through the ministry of Christ that we get to see the love of God and we get to see how precious God loves us, as my Bible says, as our Bible says, for God so loved the world, he gave us his one and only begotten son Verse 22,. You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth. So now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart, for you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living God. As Scripture says, people are like grass, their beauty is like a flower in the field the grass withers, the flowers fade, but the Word of the Lord remains forever. So the new life that we inherit in Christ is not one that is temporary, but one that is eternal, is not one that passes away, but one that will live on into eternity. And it says and the word is the good news that we preach to you, the good news of the scriptures, the good news of the gospel. That's what gospel means, good news.
Speaker 1:So then, what is your response in light of this? Well, the Bible tells us that too, in 1 Peter 2.1. So get rid of all evil behavior, be done with deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy and all unkind speech, and, like newborn babies, you must crave the spiritual milk so that you will grow into the full expression of salvation. Cry out for nourishment now that you have heard, or now that you've had a taste of the Lord's goodness. The Bible tells us that sin becomes a trap for us. He who sins becomes a slave us. That sin becomes a trap for us. He who sins becomes a slave to that sin. But whom the Son sets free is free. Indeed, christ on the cross was separated from God by his sins in order to bring us and to reconcile us into the presence of God. As Jesus talks of the shepherd who leaves the 99 to find the one, jesus left the eternity of heaven, the glory of heaven, to reconcile us, his lost sheep, to bring us back in to his heavenly home. And just as God raised Christ from the dead, the Bible tells us that one day the Lord will return to bring us all home with Him. Jesus died, yes, in shame, he died in sin, but he was risen in victory. He was reconciled to God and now reconciles all of us to God. But I earnestly, earnestly beg you, don't use the sacrifice of Christ to continue in your old way of living. I want to just read to you one last part in Matthew 27. I want to just read to you one last part in Matthew 27. Matthew 27, verse 54.
Speaker 1:The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened, and they said truly, this man was the son of God. And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John, sons of Zebedee. I love verse 54. This Roman centurion, this Roman officer. How many men had he watched die? How many men had he executed himself? How many men had he watched beaten and never blinked an eye? Roman officers, roman soldiers, were often just convicts serving out their sentence in the military rather than the prisons. What kind of terrible deeds did this officer do? And yet the centurion and the others, upon seeing the death of Christ on the cross, were so moved that they declared truly, this man was truly the Son of God. This becomes a profound statement of who Christ Jesus is, that even those who were enemies of the cross, those who were enemies of Christ, find themselves bowing their knees, find themselves declaring that this was the Son of God, the Son of God who died in your place, who died in my place, that we might be reconciled to the Father.
Speaker 1:So, as Lent continues and as we get all the way ready for this resurrection Sunday, this resurrection celebration, I pray that you have an anticipation of meeting this resurrected Lord. I pray that your hearts are ready for this resurrected Lord. That's the whole purpose of Lent to prepare your hearts for the resurrection, because I promise you, one day, soon, we're going to see this resurrected Lord. I think you look at the signs of the time. I don't know how much longer we have, but I promise you it's not going to be too much longer and I pray that each and every one of you have an excitement upon meeting Jesus and each and every one of you have grateful hearts because of his sacrifice on the cross, and I pray that those grateful hearts will encourage you, will prompt you to testify. This lost world needs Christ Boy. There are so many problems in this world today, but guess what? Jesus is the solution for all of them.
Speaker 1:And I'm sure each and every one of you knows somebody who doesn't know the Lord. Maybe they're your family, your friends, somebody you worked with, somebody just in your area. When is the last time you've given them the gospel message? When's the last time you've told them about Christ? You know, just like Christmas, easter is often a celebration that's not just celebrated among Christian homes, it is often even the unsaved. Just like Christmas, easter is often a celebration that's not just celebrated among Christian homes, it is often even the unsaved, the unbelievers. They still have Easter dinner or Easter celebrations, or at least Easter icons. What a wonderful time to show them the true meaning of this season. What a wonderful time to witness to them, and I pray that you don't miss opportunities to give them this gospel message.
Speaker 1:Bow your heads with me, heavenly Father. Lord, god, what did we do to deserve your great love for us? Truly, lord, the answer is absolutely nothing. In fact, all of our life pointed to the contrary. Lord, we weren't seeking you, you were seeking us. We weren't desiring anything more from you, but you wanted more from us. Lord, you chose, you chose us Chose to punish your perfect Son in our place.
Speaker 1:Father, it is through Christ that we are reconciled and I pray, lord, that each and every one of us has the confidence, the boldness, to now come before your throne in the name of Jesus, knowing that our sins are forgiven, that our sins are completely wiped away, that, lord, that you have moved them as far as the east is from the west, that you have forgotten them.
Speaker 1:Father, the blood of Jesus is so powerful that it completely eradicates our sins from the fabric of the universe that you can't even find them. So, father, I pray for two things this season. I pray that we would all have an acute awareness of that forgiveness. And, father, I know for many of us and that means we have to forgive ourselves, and I pray that we would do that. Number two, father, I pray for the lost, for those who don't know you, for those in our own homes or our own circles of influence, and, father, if we have missed opportunities, I pray you forgive us for them. But I pray that you would encourage our witness that there would be no more missed opportunities. Be no more missed opportunities, lord. I pray that each and every one of us knows you and loves you and serves you with each and every breath that we have.