KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 27:45 KJV “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour”.

As the Lord hanged on the cross, the scriptures said there was darkness over the land, from the sixth hour to the ninth hour. In Israel there was a twelve-hour day period, and a twelve-hour night period. The day begins at Six am.(6am) and ends at 6pm.The sixth hour from our key scripture is 12 noon today’s time. The skies were darkened. This event was not a solar eclipse (an eclipse is a period that the moon comes in between the sun and the earth, making the earth go dark) of the sun. Jesus was crucified at the Passover, when it was the full moon. The full moon means the sun and moon were at opposite sides, making it impossible for the moon to come in between the sun and the earth. Secondly this darkness lasted for three hours, which is not possible for the moon to stay for such a long time between the earth and the sun, knowing the earth keeps rotating and revolving. What caused the darkening of the earth? It was obviously the power of God that caused the elements to acknowledge the dying of the Son of God.

This event also teaches us that, God never forsakes His servants in the times of crises. The Lord Jesus was bound to go through that moment of suffering yet, the father expressed His presence and control over the whole situation. Dear child of God, never feel deserted under any condition. He has said, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. The controlling of the elements of space shows God’s almighty power. It also tells us the devil does not have all the power.

Let the experience of our Lord, inspire you, never to be worried or afraid at whatever may come your way. Isa 43:2 KJV “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. “God cannot leave you to face any crisis all by yourself. The reason is that, we represent Him and so, it is His glory that is at stake 1st Samuel 17;47. Secondly, He has assured us never to leave us nor forsake us. Go about your activities in this life always with your shoulders up, your head raised and your heart very joyful. You and God cannot be defeated

THOUGHT:  ” GIVE NO PLACE TO FEAR”

FURTHER STUDIES

1Samuel 17:47 KJV “And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands”.

Hebrews 13:5 KJV “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 27:42 KJV” He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.”

The Lord was subjected to so much pain in the body. Another kind of pain that the multitude tried to subjected Him to, was mental torture. They made mockery and tried to incite Him to please them against God’s will. One area where most people fall is when others put pressure on them to act according to their expectations.  There are also others who do not act according to the expectations of others but react negatively because of what someone or a group of people may be doing. All these falls within the scope of the pressure of others. Adam will not displease his wife Eve, and so had to join her in sinning against God. A woman decided to pay back her husband’s infidelity by going for another man. This is very wrong, yet that is what happens when you react to people’s actions.

In Samuel 14, the Lord instructed King Saul to go and utterly destroy the Amalekites. The verse nine said Saul and the people, spared Agag, the King of the Amalekites and the fat of the rams. This means although the Lord had said he should destroy everything of the Amalekites, He rather listened to the counsel of the people. They might have said, look at these fat rams and what do we gain by killing them? The Lord said to Samuel that, Saul had rejected Him.

King Herod killed John the Baptist because of the influence of his guests. Mat 14:9 KJV “And the king was sorry: nevertheless, for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.” How much are others pressurising you to do things you don’t have to do? Some people would not go to church, because of the behaviour of others. There are some husbands who decide not to be active in the house of God, because of their wives. Who is your Lord, your wife or Jesus?

How do you react to the insults and the wrong behaviours of others? Many homes are torn apart, because husband and wife are reacting to each other, and not to what God says.

 Who is a matured person? He is the man, who lives independent of the action and inactions of others.

He lives on principle. You are not matured if your life is a constant reaction to what others say and do.

 Every child of God must only be pressurised by the word of God.

That is to tremble at what the word of God says. Jesus did not allow any of what they said to move or influence Him. He never led His life by being controlled by any. man.

As children of God, we do not do what men want, or what they do to us, but what God wants to be done to and for men. Make this your principle for relating to others.

THOUGHT:  LIVING A SUCCESSFUL LIFE IS DOING WHAT PLEASES GOD.

FURTHER STUDIES

Matthew 27:43 KJV” He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.”

Psalms 1:1,2 KJV” Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 27:40 KJV And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

The book of James says, one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed, when lust has conceived it bring forth sin. James 1:14,15. When the Lord hanged on the cross, some of the people wagged their heads and said, He says he would pull down the temple and raise it up in three days. If you are the Son of God, then set your self free and come down. At the beginning of the Lord’s ministry the devil used a similar word to tempt Jesus. This was Satan speaking through the people.

 EVERY PROMPTING TO SIN IS THE VOICE OF THE DEVIL

The Lord could not be tempted then, neither could he be tempted now. He did not react to any of the satanic suggestions. This trick failed this second time.

The Lord was decided about His stands. He would not be moved by the words of those people. Dear one are you being tempted about one thing or another?

 To know you are tempted means you know what God expects of you.

To be tempted means you have not decided on your position for God. Remember A DECIDED MIND CANNOT BE TEMPTED.

In Genesis 39, Joseph could not be tempted because he had decided to please God any day and at any time. Dear one take a stand for God.

The Lord spent some moments of prayer and received grace or ability from the Spirit. He advised the disciples, to watch and pray, so they would not enter into temptation. What was the Lord saying to the disciples, as well as all men? He meant be ready any day to overcome any prompting to act against God’s way. Temptation is when the flesh takes over the control over the individual whiles his Spirit is relegated to back. To be carnally minded, or to be led by the flesh is death. Rom 8:6,7. Jude says in Jude 1;23b “…hate the garment spotted by the flesh.” What would it cost us, if Jesus, had decided to respond to their words? The results of yielding to temptation is always grievous. In Judges 26:21 The cost of yielding to temptation for Samson was the lost of his eyes, his anointing and his life.

To Joseph the rewards of overcoming temptation was, becoming a Prince in a foreign land.

THOUGHT:  SETTLE IT ONCE AND FOR ALL, TO ALWAYS BE ON THE LORD’S SIDE

FURTHER STUDIES

Gen. 39:10 KJV “And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph Day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.”

Gen. 39:12 KJV “And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 27:37. And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Pilate wrote or, he caused to be written, this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. The Jews sharply rejected it and went   on to crucify Him. Kings determine the lifestyle of their subjects. Tyrants terrorise their subjects and make a mess of their lives. Prov. 29:2 KJV “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn”.

There are indeed two different kinds of Kings that rule over men. They are Jesus or the devil. Ephesians 2:2 KJV “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: “The devil is called the Prince of the power of the air.

 He expresses himself as the self will of the individual.

This is the reason most people think, they rule themselves, and it is not any devil.

What are the traits of self will? The following verse reveals the traits of self will.2Ti 3:2 KJV For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. The scriptures teach that, when men are in this state, that is what will result in the peril of the last days.2 no Timothy 3:1,2

What type of king is Jesus? Jesus is all powerful who can protect his subject from any invading powers. He is filled with love and so fills His subjects with love. He is the Prince of peace and so His subjects have an abundance of peace. He is the great healer and blesses His subjects with every good thing. He died to give His life to His subjects.

Now, I ask again, who is your king? Is it Jesus or Self will? The man who is self willed thinks he is free to do what he wants, yet he knows that he is filled with fears of all kinds, and he is ruled by passions that leaves him peace less.

Dear brother or sister, king Jesus says come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matt 11:28).Why not make that decision today. He stands at the door of your heart and gently knocks, waiting for your positive responds. Respond today.

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly father, I have been ruling my life, which has left me sinful. Jesus, I repent of my ways and welcome Jesus as the Lord and saviour of my life. Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul.

FURTHER STUDIES

Prov 14:12 KJV “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death”.

Rev 3:20 KJV “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matt 27:35 KJV “And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.”

The life of Jesus was a constant stream of fulfilled scriptures. He said, I came to do your will, oh God. Heb 10:7 KJV” Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. “In our key scripture, the events that took place during His crucifixion, were all prophesied. We can find our key scripture as a quotation from Psalm 22:18, which says ” They parted my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” Why was the Lord so successful in bringing the scriptures to pass in his various life encounters? The answer is that He was totally yielded to the Holy Spirit.

Every child of God is born of the Spirit and the word (John 3;3-5). His life should be a manifestation of the word continuously. Eph 2:10 KJV “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Just as the life of Jesus was under the control of the Holy Spirit, your life must be controlled by the Holy Spirit. This is achieved by doing what the word says. God’s word are the intents and acts of the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord Jesus lived to please the Father. The Father testified of Him and said ‘this my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased’. Our essence of living must be to please the Lord. A life that fulfills the word of God is the highest order of living. Creation is a product or proceeds from God’s spoken word. There is nothing, condition or problem that is superior to the word of God. Every contrary power in this universe is subjected to God’s word. Heb 3:3 says God upholds all things by the word of His power. It does not matter how the word appeals to your reason, just act in line with what God’s word says. Your life would be a stream of fulfilled prophecies as well as a life of living above the negative forces in this life.

THOUGHT: IT IS NOT WHAT APPEARS REASONABLE THAT MATTERS BUT SCRIPTURAL RESULTS.

FURTHER STUDIES

Prov 3:5 ,6 KJV” Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”.

John 1:3 KJV All things were made by him (the word); and without him( the word) was not any thing made that was made.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 27:32 KJV “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross”.

Simon of Cyrene was compelled to help Jesus, yet in actual fact it was an avenue of blessing for him. Man, always needs God’s help. God has myriads of angel to serve Him always. In the moment of Christ weak body, He could have asked angels to assist Him. Every act of man directed towards pleasing God is always a channel to bring peace, and satisfaction to man. The Lord expresses this in Deut 28:47.

Deut 28:47 KJV “Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things”; The Lord warned the Israelites and all men that if they would not serve Him joyfully and in gladness for the abundance of all things, they would serve their enemies. This implies if you serve the Lord, gladly and joyfully it tends to your favour.

Now those who serve God as if they are doing God a favour, are seriously siphoning life out of themselves. The Lord added to the statement in Deut 28 :47, that those who do not serve joyfully and gladly for the abundance of all things would rather serve their enemies in nakedness and want of all things. Now to our question, is it God who needs help or man? It is man who needs help and serving God satisfactorily is one of God’s means of blessing us.

When the people of Israel were in Egypt, the Lord sent Moses to announce to Pharoah to let them go, that they may serve Him.

Exodus 9:1. Going to serve God is their deliverance. Dear one, God’s call to serve Him is your deliverance from Satan’s grip and lies. There are some individuals who think they are helping God by giving to the church of God. Please deliver yourself from that negative mentality. Giving to the church of God is a favour you have done yourself. The Lord says it is more of a blessing to give than to receive. Acts 20:35

 It is we men who needs God’s help, and we receive His help as we yield ourselves to Him in various ways of service. When we call on God in times of difficulty He hears and responds, because we trust in Him. The act of trusting, is a way of yielding oneself to Him.

THOUGHT: THE HAPPIEST OF MEN ON THIS EARTH, ARE THOSE WHO HAVE FOUND THE TRUTH OF SERVING GOD CHEERFULLY

FURTHER STUDIES

Rom. 12:1 KJV ” I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Prov. 3:9 KJV “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

KEY SCRIPTURE; Matthew 27:32 KJV “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross”.

The Lord Jesus after loosing so much blood and general weakness, could not have borne the heavy cross all alone. The soldiers seeing how weak He was and His inability to carry the cross through, the soldiers looked around and found one Simon, of Cyrene. Cyrene was a province in Lybia. Simon was an African. The bible said he was compelled to support the master. My question is how did he accept the call to support the Lord. Did he do it willingly or out of compulsion? This man is God’s creation, if he carried the cross out of love and joy, then there is a reward for him. If he carried it out of complaining and anger, then there is no reward for him. For he has only rendered service to his own creator. He owns his strength and life.

Now let’s bring this home to our service unto the Lord. How are you serving the Lord.? The Lord must be served on the following terms:

1. WILLINGLY. 1Corinth 9:17 KJV” For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.

2. LÒVINGLY .1 Corinth 13:3 KJV And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

3. SACRIFICIALLY. John 12:25 KJV “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”

4. FAITHFULLY. 1Co 4:2 KJV “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

5. KNOWLEDGE. John 4:22 KJV “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews”.

6. HUMILITY. James 4:6 KJV” But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

7. PURITY. 2 Tim 2:19 KJV ” ” “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

8. GOD FIRST. Matt 6:33 KJV” But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

9. JOYFULLY. Deut 28:47 KJV” Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;

The above are some of the ways God expects us to serve Him. Your service would be far rewarding if you go by these terms.

 THOUGHT:  GOD IS THE REASON FOR OUR EXISTENCE, IT IS JUST REASONABLE TO JOYFULLY SERVE HIM

FURTHER STUDIES

Rev 4:11 KJV “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 27:28 KJV “And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.”

The Lord Jesus came into this life to save men from every satanic work. The passion of Jesus was meant to take care of every pain or shame that we should go through…Whatever He did was either an example for us to be copied or an act to change our state. During the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, He suffered various kinds of painful, shameful and disgraceful things, and all was for us.

In our key scripture the Lord was stripped off His clothes. They put a scarlet cloth and began to mock Him. Dear one, in the light of our discussions whatever reproach you find yourself, is now broken over your life in Jesus’ name. Jesus has already carried that shame for you.

The prophet Isaiah gave a lot of Messianic prophecies in his book. Isaiah 53 is specifically devoted to revealing the great substitute work of our Lord Jesus. Isaiah 53:3 KJV says “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not”. The immediate verse says He is despised by all men, and He is a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. This was done for us, and so you should be free from every shame. You must vow to let your experience only be what God has said and done for us. Jesus was stripped naked and you must not be naked. Jesus was put to shame so you would be brought to fame to His glory.

Please I wish to clarify that as faithful sons of God we may be persecuted for the course of Christ. Persecution may be to disgrace, beat up or even kill us, these are very different from the blessings of Jesus’ suffering, that breaks Satan’s power over the Christian ‘s life.

Now how does one walk in the blessings of Jesus suffering for us.

1 Accept that Jesus has born your shame and so you would not bear any shame.

2.By faith refuse to walk in shame any longer

3. Believe and declare that you are out of every unwanted shameful life.

 4 Thank God for delivering you from every shameful life.

PRAYER

Dear heavenly father, thank you for letting our Lord Jesus to take over our shame and disgrace. In Jesus name, I declare that, every shameful condition is ended in Jesus’ name.

FURTHER STUDIES

1 Pet 2:21 KJV For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Isaiah 53:2 KJV” For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matt 27:26 KJV “Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.”

After Pilate had failed to convince the high priest and the Pharisees not to crucify Jesus, Jesus was taken to the whipping post and was scourged. Pilate had wanted to release Him, why did he allow Him to go through that scourging? Pilate could have said if they are calling for His crucifixion, then let them send Him to be crucified without being scourged? Well, this was   a Roman law that demanded that after a slave had been sentenced to death by crucifixion, he must be scourged.

Although this was a Roman law that demanded that Jesus be scourged, it was to fulfill an eternal plan of God for all humanity. The scourging was God’s way of placing all the sicknesses of humanity on Jesus. Isaiah 53:5 KJV “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

Let’s consider the type of whips that was used to scourge the master. He was beaten by a lead tipped, three stringed whips, attached to a wooden handle. There were two lead balls on each of the strings. Each stroke pulled the flesh, to cause him to lose blood and to weaken Him before the final crucifixion.

The result of the scourging was a well destroyed, torn and bruised body. The following is what Isaiah said about Him. Isaiah 52:14 KJV” As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men”: Jesus suffered this way to carry our sicknesses away. The Father permitted that His only begotten Son paid the full penalty for our healing and freedom.

Anyone suffering from any disease who would turn to the Lord in prayer, claiming that because Jesus suffered for us, and carried away our sickness he is healed and needs not to remain sick any more. He would be healed and made whole.

PRAYER

Dear heavenly father, thank you so much for allowing our Lord Jesus to suffer so much, that I might be made whole., if he suffered for me, then I will not also suffer. I receive my healing and walk out of every disease or pain in Jesus mighty name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDIES

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition Isaiah 53:4 “Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition 1 Peter 2:24 ” He personally bore our sins in His [own] body on the tree [as on an altar and offered Himself on it], that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 27:25.”Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children”.

After Pilate said he washes his hands off the blood of Jesus, the Jews quickly remarked, Let His blood be on us and on our children. This was a very serious statement with very far-reaching consequences. The simple meaning is that ‘we have killed Him, therefore any judgement or demand of His life, should be required from us.”Deut 19:13 KJV says “Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. “This was the sin of an innocent blood and the consequences were so grave. Every innocent blood called for God’s judgement. These people called for the full requirement of that judgement.

There are some people who unthoughtfully make certain statements that bring so much hardship on them. Rev Kenneth Hagin, who has gone to be with the Lord, said a very faithful brother in a church suddenly fell ill and entered a state of coma. This man of God and others prayed so much for His healing. The Lord asked him to stop praying, for no one could do anything about his state. The Lord said to him, that this man had said when he was well, that he would die at forty years. He suddenly fell ill when he was forty years. The scripture says in Mat 12:37 that “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned”. The only person that could undo that statement was he himself. Dear one, consider your experiences with what you have been saying. If there be any self-imposed judgement, then quickly ask the Lord to forgive and withdraw that statement.

In the case of the mob that supervised the crucifixion of Jesus, they were saved by the prayers of the Lord Jesus and the very role of Jesus’ blood. On the cross, He pleaded for forgiveness for them, because they knew not what they were doing. (Luke 23;34). Secondly the blood of Jesus never calls for vengeance but mercy and forgiveness. Heb 12:24 KJV “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Although they had called for judgement and punishment, the Lord himself intervened for them. Be very careful about any unthought statements, for you may not have an intervention as the people in Jesus’ time had.

THOUGHT:  SAY ALWAYS WHAT YOU WANT, THAT ALSO GLORIFIES GOD

 FURTHER STUDIES

Numbers 14:28.”Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:”

Proverbs 18:21. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof”