I want to begin with a statement of faith: of all religions in the world, and there are 4 major religions (the big ones being Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism), as well as many minor ones, Christianity is the only one which the founder died for its followers.
This is very important! This distinguishes Christianity from all other religions.
The Christian Faith is built on the incarnation, the life, the death, the burial, the resurrection and the expected return of its founder.
All other religions are built on their founder claiming to have gotten some prophecy or revelation. Christianity is the only faith which the LIFE of the founder is the Foundation for the Faith of its followers.
Jesus’ incarnation, life, death and resurrection is the foundation for our Faith!
I have a question for you! Why did Jesus have to die? This is a very important question.
This is important because it’s a reasonable question. Why did He have to die to redeem humanity?
God is the creator of Universe and the Bible says all universe is in the palm of his hands. How could the creator of universe not save His own creation without killing His Son?
Why could God not snap His finger and redeem us all?
This is an important question: if God can raise the dead by saying a single word, why could He not redeem you and I by talking redemption onto you?
Why did we need to have a “bloody Friday”? Why did the God of universe have to deal with the death of a man to save mankind?
To answer this important question, we need to talk about The Birth of death.
When was death born? Who created death?
Many people say that satan created death. This theology is wrong! If you believe in this theology, you will never understand why Christ had to die!
Death was created by God. Death is not negative, God created death without life!
Death had no life! Death was dead.
Death existed before Adam but had no power over Adam, because death had no life.
God created death, God introduced death to his first man and gave Adam control over it. He said : Adam you decide what happens to death , if it stays dead or if it shall come alive! I give you the power over death.
Let’s read in your Bible who created death! Genesis chapter 2, look what God said about death.
”And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”Genesis 2:16-17 NIV
God said: When you eat this fruit, you will activate someone that is already present!
Adam didn’t create death, Satan did not create death! Death was there but useless!
God said: Adam, it is up to you, you can give it life or you can leave it dead!
I have no fear of death! I used to be afraid of death before I was born again. Back then. I didn’t even like passing in front of the cemetery, and didn’t like going to funerals.
If you really listen to me and receive the understanding of today’s teaching you will never be afraid of death again. Death was created to be under your control!
God said to Adam: you can decide if it stays dead or if shall come to life!
God warned them: Death can do nothing if you don’t eat. In other words, God said: If you eat from this tree you’re going to give life to death.
Death was powerless, useless, ineffective, but it was present. Death existed but had no power.
Everything that has life has death built in it.
For example:
A pot with flowers, the flowers in it are alive. The plant is hanging on for their life. Where they are hanging on to? The soil. Why? Because that is where they have come from. Where you came from you have to be attached to.
Where is life? Life is in the plant. As long as the plant stays attached to where it came from.
If I pull the plant away from the soil death is activated because the plant has been detached. If you separate the product from the source, the product eventually dies.
God said: Adam you and I are joined, if you abide in Me and my words abide in you death can never kill you, it has no power.
Death used to have no power over man. The submission and obedience of man maintained death powerless.
God said: if you obey me, you will live eternally but if you detach yourself from me by disobeying my command you will surely die.
Man had power over death through obedience to God’s word.
The key for you living forever is obedience to the Word of God again.
What did God give Adam to keep death at bay? His word!
God didn’t give any ceremony or religion, if you want to keep death dead, keep His Words, obey His commands.
Adam messed up and disobeyed the Word.
If death came to life when man disobeyed the Word of God then, the only way for death to be powerless again is if He gives man the Word again.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1, 14 NIV
The Word says: If you do what I say, you shall get your life back!
The breaking of the Word destroyed us but the submission to the Word can restore us!
Let’s talk about the activation of death.
If death was created dead, what activated death? Disobedience!
Disobedience in Hebrew translates to “Rebellion”!
And do you know what the word for “rebellion” in Hebrew also translates to?
It’s the same word for “SIN”!
Sin in the Hebrew language is simply rebellion against the will of God.
To steal, lie, murder, adultery, fornication, these things that we know as sin are just the results of disobedience.
What is disobedience? It is to rebel. What is rebellion? It’s sin!
So, Man’s disobedience to God’s Word, his rebellion and sin, activated the power of death.
Without disobedience, death had no power, it existed but it was dorment. Man’s disobedience to God’s Word gave life to death.
Man’s disobedience gave death power to kill him!
SIN is the source of POWER of death. Death is not a problem! Death is hopeless, useless, powerless!
Death is a part of life!
“Jesus tasted death for everyone” Hebrews 2:9
He tasted death so those who were under the fear of the power of death could be set free.
Jesus came to deal with the POWER that death got! When you remove the source that gives power to death, it’ll still exist but it will no longer have any power!
This is why Paul says:
”O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”“
1 Corinthians 15:55
I know you’re there, but where is your sting? Where is your power to hurt?
It’s like a scorpion without its sting, like a wasp that cannot sting!
As if you were among hundreds of bees, but not a single one could sting you!
God didn’t kill the “bee”, He took sting out of it.
You may now say: Oh grave you have no control over my body!
Sunday resurrection is the proof that Jesus took the sting out of death as He freely walked out of the grave!
Death still existed on that Sunday morning but it had no power to hold HIM down.
Hallelujah!
When you have a debt to pay at the bank , they have control over you because you owe them. But when you or someone else pays off your debt, they have no right or reason to call you up anymore.
The Bible says
”For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.“ Romans 6:23
The wages of sin is death, but once it has been paid off, its wages it can’t bother you anymore!
Good Friday was death Pay Day!
Good Friday was the day when Jesus got his savings out on the Calvary and said: it’s paid for, it’s finished, you have nothing on them anymore!
YOUR DEBT TO DEATH WAS PAID FOR!
You don’t need to fear death anymore! You should go to the grave with a smile on!
Good Friday is about Jesus dealing with the source of POWER of Death!
What is the POWER of Death? SIN
What is SIN? Rebellion
What is Rebellion? Disobedience to God’s Word!
”Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—“
Romans 5:12 NIV
Can you see it now? Death gets its power through SIN, if you keep practicing SIN, Death can get at you !
You’re born in SIN and you are born under the POWER of death!
That’s why you cannot join in a church or religion that does not deal with SIN!
There is no redeeming blood in Buddhism, there is no redeeming blood in Islam or Hinduism, but there we do have the redeeming, blood of life in our faith in Christ.
Our faith guarantees the end of death’s power. Good Friday is God’s Solution!
For 4,000 years God had to use goats, lambs, birds and oxen as substitutes, but He fixed it once and for all.
That’s why there is no lamb, or blood in the altar anymore, because there was a final altar in Golgotha.
It was paid in full.
“For if, by the trespass (disobedience) of the one man, death reigned through that one man” Romans 5:17 NIV
One disobedient act activated death and gave it power to kill all humanity because that first man had everybody within him.
Death came alive through disobedience.
“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One Man the many will be made righteous”.
Romans 5:19 NIV
Hallelujah, can you give praise for Good Friday!
We need to understand and receive this revelation of the Cross and never be afraid of death or of satan again.
Satan has no power at all!
Satan’s only strategy is to get you to SIN!
The devil was in the garden, he was there all the time, but he had no power!
But when he heard God saying: IF YOU DISOBEY ME, THIS THING WILL KILL YOU!
Then Lucifer’s number one assignment became making man disobey God!
When man disobeyed God, death would finally be activated!
That’s why Jesus called the devil: The tempter.
He cannot MAKE you sin, but he will use everything around you to tempt you! He is doing it by using people, the internet and everything around to make you disobey God .
That’s why we are constantly fighting the fight of faith! When you fall for his temptation you activate the power of death!
That’s why the Bible says that if we SIN we have to quickly repent and confess it before God and He is faithful to cleanse you and purify you from every SIN. and the Blood of Jesus will clean you from the power of death.
WHEN YOU REPENT AND CONFESS means that DEATH IS DEAD AGAIN!
Everyday that you repent and confess you are destroying and killing death again!
Jesus gave you the POWER of keeping DEATH dead, because you have the access to the BLOOD!
Thank God for His Blood! Because without the Blood there is no remission of Sin, if SINS were not forgiven then DEATH would still have POWER.
When I repent, I confess my failures and the Blood cleans me and DEATH is dead again.
This is why we need to seek the Lord every day, we need to have devotional every morning just to make sure DEATH stays DEAD before you start your day again!
If you die without the blood of Jesus then you get the sting. But Jesus already died to remove the sting of death, you shouldn’t go through it anymore!
Passover is the manifestation of God’s love for you!
God loves you, so repent from your sins, turn to Him and keep death dead!
May God bless you.