PASTOR’S CORNER
ACCESSING THE PERFECT BLESSING IN CHRIST:
THE POWER OF THE CROSS
REFERENCES: JOHN 11:47-53, GALATIANS 3: 13, I CORINTHIANS 1:17-18, II CORINTHIANS 13: 3-5
Jn 11:47-53
Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.
The death of Christ was on purpose, and for a purpose.
In John 16:7, Jesus tells His disciples that it is expedient- to their advantage- that He goes away. Caiaphas, the high priest, is here prophesying to the same truth: Christ must die, for a purpose.
His death was not only to save the nation of Israel, BUT also to gather in one all the children of God that are scattered all around the world, including those in Nigeria.
This means that the mystery at work in the favour of Israel is also at work in your life. Israel prospers, you also will prosper.
Understand this: As one of the gathered of the Lord, your life should be mystery to your world. They might see you as small- like the size of Israel- but they will acknowledge that it is a dangerous thing for them to be against you, and a blessed thing for them to be for you.
There was something upon the head of Joseph that made his master testify that, his house had been blessed because Joseph was in it, so much so that he made the lad overseer of his entire house.
There was something upon the head of Jacob that made his diabolical father-in-law, acknowledge that he had been blessed because of Jacob’s presence in his household.
Gal 3:13-14
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
No man hangs and dies on the Cross, without having been led and put there.
It is written that no curse is permitted to rest upon anyone without a cause (Pro 26: 2). Since the scripture cannot be broken, what legal reason did the curse have to rest upon the Righteous? Where did he receive power to come upon Jesus?
When Jesus came into the world, He was pointed to, as the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, (Jn 1:29); and He did not dispute it.
He also declared that a good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. (Jn 10:11)
As a good Shepherd therefore, He laid down His life for his flock, bearing the sins of the people in His body (Isa 53:4, 12; I Pet 2:24). When He did this, curse found a legal leg to stand on; Curse came and rested upon Him, rather than on us.
Now, when your sins and iniquities have been borne by someone else, that person has taken it upon himself to pay the price for those sins.
If anyone decides to make you suffer torment over the same sins, that person is violating divine principles.
This means that no one in Christ should ever again suffer torment, affliction or oppression; he should never again be a victim of the curse, because the sin, that was its justification for resting upon him, has been borne by Christ.
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
He took away sin, so that the blessing of God will come upon us, unaffected, unhindered by sin.
If this is the truth; and IT IS THE TRUTH, why then do Christians still suffer despite the Cross? Why do evil covenants, and ancestral patterns still contend with the perfect blessings of God’s children?
I Cor 1: 17-18
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
The reason why many Christians do not enjoy the reality of this divine exchange, in spite of the sacrifice of the Good Shepherd, is because the gospel, the message of the Cross, is being preached with the wisdom of words.
God warned Paul about the danger of doing this: when the Good news is preached with the wisdom of men, the power of the Cross of Christ is deflated. It loses its ability to overcome evil, and claim for God’s children, their perfect blessings.
Brethren, the Cross is powerful, but when it is preached as an exercise in oration or as a display of one’s wealth of vocabulary, the power thereof is rendered ineffective. It wants to show itself alive in you, but it cannot.
For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
The preaching of the Cross means different things to different people. To the saved, it is the display of the power of God.
Your access to perfect blessings in Christ is by the Cross.
On the Cross, poverty, affliction, powerlessness, failure, witchcraft power... died.
Every legal ground of the enemy against your life died on the Cross.
Every evil law against your life was terminated on the Cross.
Your claim to perfect blessing is because of the divine exchange that transpired on the Cross.
Your sin for His righteousness;
Your weakness for His power;
Your poverty for His wealth;
Your shame for His glory;
Your limitation for His limitless capacity...
It all happened on the Cross.
II Cor 13: 3
Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.
A proof is evidence that something else exists.
Yeast is invisible in bread, but the rising of the dough is proof of its presence and potency.
When you prosper where others fail, it is proof that there is a mystery behind your prosperity.
When your life reflects the presence and potency of the Cross, men will look to you, to know how to access that same mystery.
Taking apart a radio set does not give you access to the voice within it. The radio set has been designed and wired to carry voice waves and project them- it has been made to speak.
This is the testimony of the saved in Christ.
His destiny has been wired to prosper and have good success, in the midst of a crooked world. Looking to know what makes him successful is to want to know what is in the ‘gramaphone’ [gramophone].
Jesus compares the Kingdom to ‘yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough’ (Matt 13:33 [NIV]). The yeast speaks in the dough, and displays its might in it.
Paul observed his life and said, ‘there is proof of Christ speaking in me’.
You also need to examine your life. What proof is speaking in you?
If there is any proof of ancestral flow speaking in your health, business, marriage, children, ministry, career; it is time cast them out.
Whatever confirms the presence and power of evil powers over your life is a proof, and it is speaking. It is speaking to get your attention, to remind you that they are still significant in story of your life. When you discover that you struggle at what others prosper in; you suffer in your body, marriage, career, business...
These come to celebrate their power over your life.
They taunt you, showing you how they frustrate what God says you will get, and instead, make sure you get what they say you will get.
For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.
His righteousness fortified us.
Christ died in weakness, transferring His strength to you and I.
When He bore our sin, it weakened Him; in turn, He gave us His righteousness and His strength.
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Examine yourself.
You need to know yourself; how much of Christ is in you? What is the depth of Christ in you? How deep is His fire, power, wisdom, knowledge, zeal...in you? The depth determines whether men will see the proof of a mighty working Christ speaking in you.
The proof of Christ in Paul was mighty; and the same Christ is mighty in you.
If men cannot see that same proof- of His wisdom, power and presence- in what you do, it means that the level of Christ in you is weak.
What do you do with the life you have been given? What investment of time, study, prayer, meditation and sacrifice are you working to leave behind for the next generation?
It is time to kill off normal Christianity.
You need to get to a point where people cannot but testify that you are an abnormal, unusual person in Christ. It is time to become an unexplainable phenomenon in your generation, even in the Kingdom of God.
Let the proof of Christ in you speak loudly, full of might and power.
You are a son of God; you are unstoppable.
PRAYER POINTS
In the name of Jesus,
- Fire of God, show Yourself alive in my life, deeper than this.
- Undeniable power of God; appear in my life. Show Yourself alive in me.
- Any proof of ancestral hands over my life; your time has expired. I terminate you by fire now.
- Any proof of ancestral judgement standing against my progress; I erase you by fire.
- Any proof of evil declaration against my life; I erase and terminate you by fire.
- My Father, showcase Your undeniable power in my life.