Sunday Morning | Elder Terence Atkinson

You're listening to a message to go from at church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

So let's look at John reading from chapter twenty. Now,

the first day of the week. The first day of

the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while

it was still dark, and saw that the stone had

been taken away from the tomb. So, how many of

you think that Monday is the first day of the week.

According to the Bible, it is Sunday. So you see

some calendis Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday, wrong Saturday. You see

the calendars Monday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday thirty Friday Saturday. Correct.

Bible says on the first day of the week. Next,

next one. The reason why it's so much easier to

read from here than is to read from my Bible. Okay,

those that have reached the age of forty will understand.

Then she ran and came to Simon Peter. And she

ran and came to Simon Peter and the other disciple

whom Jesus love, who's the other disciple John, And said

to them, they have taken away the Lord out of

the tomb, and we do not know where they have

laid him. Next one, Peter therefore went out, and the

other disciple, and we're going towards the tube. If you

read other other gospels and say the both of them ran, okay,

they ran towards the tomb. And who's the first one,

the disciple whom Jesus love John? Okay, okay. So the

first point I'm gonna explain this to you, and in

my my language, I'm gonna call it three turns. Okay,

one turn two turn two turn three turns. So the

first turn Mary went to the tomb and found the

stone was rolled away, you know, go back to verse one,

verse one. We went to too early wives that and

saw that the room was and the stone had been

taken away from the tomb. And the second one second

verse then she ran in, came to sid and be

the Bible doesn't say that she went in. You know,

she assumed that when the stone was taken or was removed,

that Jesus was no longer there. But she did not

realize that it was not the act of some people,

but it was something supernatural. I want you to know.

Can you run to others when you want an encounter

with Jesus? Guys, I don't know how many of you

here are saved. I don't know how many of you

here do not know who Jesus is. But I pray

that by the end of this service you will give

your life to Christ. If you don't know, if you

don't already know him, because you got to know something.

If it is your heart's desire to search for Jesus,

you will find him. You See, you can't run to

somebody else because you know. Ah, if I have a problem,

and it's okay to go to your pastors, it's okay

to run to your CPC for help. It's okay to

run to godly people for help. But who should be

the first one you mentioned your issue to God? He's

the first one? Why respect He's the one who saved us, right,

He's the one who loved Did you die for me? No,

Jesus died for me. I got a problem. Whod I

go to first? The one who died for me? Now?

Does that mean you don't go to somebody else? No,

this is what I would do. Okay. I had a

really big issue, once, really really big issue. I first

go to God, tell God my issue, ask him for help.

After that, I went and approached past pastor. I need

his help now. Is God happy with that? Yes? Why

because I gave him due respect, I gave him due honor.

I believed him. Then when I go to his people,

I'm also doing what scripture says, that faithful man can

pray for you, that faithful man who have a relationship

with the Lord can help you. So even in my

second action, I'm glorifying God. Think about it. When I

have done that, I've glorified God. How many of us

got problems today? How many of us got issues? I

got to tell you two weeks ago, three weeks ago,

I was here klgh. My mom was in the emergency. Okay,

for those of you that don't know, my mom is

going through serious dementia already, I would say she's ten

percent there and ninety percent she's not. But praise the Lord,

she's not violent dementia. She's quite harmless with her questions.

And so I went there. This was at so I

relieved my brother. My brother took her in at ten am,

and I relieved my brother at four. Oh, yes, she's

already been there from ten am, right, I've been there.

So I went and I change shiffler at four o'clock.

I was there with her from four until four in

the morning. It was the most exhausting day of my life.

Is when a person is going through dementia like that.

I counted she asked me seven hundred and eighty questions

because every minute, literally there was one question. Now, I'm

not going to ignore her because to me, that is

no respect. So she's in an environment where she needs

that kind of help, right, So if she asked me

a question, I will take the trouble to answer her

seven hundred and eighty answers. I'm telling you the truth.

By the time the day was gone, I was finished

because they've already gone into the next day. Right. It's

quite funny. Also, I go there and she said, hey,

the guy looks like Jef. Jeff is my uncle who

passed away. Sometimes that looks like Jeff. He's been there

a long time. I've been watching him. Jeff is there,

Jeff is okay, okay. Then little on there was one

accident victim brought in and this guy had long hair,

beard in a mustache. And I thought to myself, it's

only a minute or two before my mom says Jesus

is here and true enough two minutes. Hey, that guy

looks like Jesus. So God was you know, making light

out of a tough situation. But it made me sad

because you always think your parents are strong. Your parents

have been strong. You gotta you know, you gotta care

for there. I mean, they've cared for you, they've been

there for you, And suddenly you find that so vulnerable.

Do you know that My mom did not close her

eyes and did not go to sleep for all the

twelve hours or fifteen hours she was there in the hospital.

She was so open eyed. Then she said in TERRENCEA,

what happened to all your furniture? We're in the main place?

Where are your furniture? You put it outside even get damage?

How come these strange people are sleeping in your bed?

This is what I used to I had to tell Mom,

you gotta lower your voice. This is a hospital. People

are trying to rest. That that was a stressful partner.

But I want you to know something. When I took

her back at four in the morning, she had already

not rested for I don't know how long. As I

took her into the house, she turned back and she said, Terence,

thank you very much. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience.

Was the ten percent that came through. You see, God

heard my prayer about my mom and he just wanted

me to know something. It's okay. He's in her hands.

Do you know, not one second did I grudge my

time with my mom that day. You see my my tightness,

my exhaustion, my you know, stress was not that I

was handling my mom in this situation. The stress for

me was you know what not you mom? You gotta

lower your tone because these people are you know, coming in,

they're all like dad. You know. You know that that

was my stress, and that was the stress I went

for nine hours. But I can't help I love. My

mom is a little bit harder hearing, so when she talked,

she talks loud. Love, what to do? I want you

to know that when you have an issue, who could

I go to at that moment? Could I run to somebody?

No?

I ran to the only one who could help. But

God is good that even when you are there in

a situation like that, you can still be of help

to someone. There was two boys who came in more

by accident. They had the accident in Pucho. How they

landed up in kg. I don't know, clang gh, I

don't know, okay, but they were there. This was seven

thirty in the evening, two of them wielding blood here blood.

Then one of them says, you know, can we go

and eat? We haven't broken fast yet, you know then,

and I said, no, you cannot until the doctor sees you.

So I said, you're hungry here, So I got them

food and water, and I gave them both to drink.

They were so grateful because I heard the Lord say

feed them. I heard the Lord. The Lord said feed them,

So I gave them food. You know what time they

were released? Two am. God knew that's life. You and

I got to realize the life that we live is

not for us, it's for somebody else. You are a battery.

You are a battery to help life. The only way

life is worth it is when you are helping somebody else,

when you're sharing with somebody else, because that's the only

thing you can take with you to the grave. Innough,

the Lord says, well done, my good and faithful servant.

In fact, the message I was supposed to share with

you is on the five talents. And believe me, you

would never have ever heard it the way the Lord

explained it to me. But he said, that's for another time. Okay,

So let me tell you something about Mary Magdalena. Do

you know that history said that she's a prostitute, but

you know the Bible never said it. You know who

was the first to say that, Pope somewhere in the

fifteen hundreds. Where he got it from? I have no idea?

All right, So this is what the research of Mary Magdalene.

Do you know that she has mentioned twelve times in

the Bible. She's mentioned more than some apostles. Wow, an

ordinary person was mentioned more times than one of the

beloved twelve. You know, God respects those who love him.

So if you think, oh, Terrence, are you an elder,

God loves you more. No. God loves anyone who loves him.

In fact, he loved us before we loved him. The

amount of love that he'll give us and you cannot

be quantified, and it's certainly not quantified according to my position.

I want you to know that she traveled with Jesus

a lot. You can find it in Luke eight one

to three. Mary Magdalene traveled with Jesus quite a fabit.

It is said that this Mary is the one who

poured the oil on Jesus' feet Luke seven thirty six

to fifty. Wow, if Jesus were here today, would I

get down on my knees and wash his feet with

my hair? Cannot why I got no hair? But would

I do something like that? And not? Would ah? I

find it hard to wash the feet of my wife

thing I've ever done. Dad, I'm gonna wash Jesus feed.

Come on, let's get real. What I'm trying to tell

you is, look at the heart of this lady. You

want to see Jesus, and I'm gonna tell you Jesus

is gonna respond to her in a very special way.

But if you want Jesus to respond to you like that,

then maybe you and I have to have a little

bit of this lady or the qualities of this lady

with us. The Bible says that she supported jesus ministry.

You can refer to that in Luke eight one to three.

So basically she might have been quite wealthy, which I

tend to believe, because the perfume that she put on

jesus feed was not cheap, neither was the flask that

it was in. So you know what. This is also

saying it doesn't matter whether you're rich or poor. You

can still love the Lord. If you've got a lot

of money and you love the Lord with all your heart,

God will not mind blessing you with more money, you

know I because that's not the love of your life.

Jesus is the love of your life. Guys, those of

you who are young, love the Lord your God with

all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,

with all your strength. Start loving him like that. From now,

many years down the line, you will see yourself so

successful in life because the Lord has used your love

to nurture you and give you his kingdom. You're like

at the start, I'm nearing the end, and I will

tell you nothing is better than working and loving and

caring for Jesus. She was also the one who was

possessed by seventy. This is in Luke eight to what

Wonder three. So this one is telling you no matter

what your past is, it makes no difference. If you

love the Lord, something great can happen. The Bible not

on life. History is full of people who were horrible people,

but when they had an encounter with Jesus, it changed

their life. Oh may he in grace? How sweet the sound?

You know who wrote that? Thanks John Newton? John Newton right.

He was a slave trader. He brought slaves from Africa

and supplied to the US. He was quite a nasty man,

but he found Jesus. And what does the song say?

Saved a wretch like me? I was lost, but now

I'm found. Was blind, but now I see guys, So

who have you here? Ever traded in slaves? Don't put

up your hands. What I'm trying to say is this,

If somebody is rotten as that can get to love

the Lord. So can you look at this lady? I mean,

how bad can it be? She was possessed by demons,

but now she's possessed by the love of God. Do

you know that she witnessed his death on the cross?

Mark fifteen forty. Do you know that Jesus brothers and

sisters and mother did not witness the death on the cross?

You look in scripture and find out, well, he did

tell John John, this is your mother. But after that

they left. She was the only one one of those

that remained. The rest left. Scripture doesn't talk about his

brothers being there. What happened when Jesus died on the crosser.

He was alone. Make no difference, make no mistake about that.

He was totally alone. This lady, she was there. It's

in scripture. It's a Mark fifteen forty and in Mark

fifteen forty seven and Matthew twenty seven sixty one. She

witnessed his burial. She was there from the cross right

down to the time Jesus was taken down and laid

in the tomb. That is devotion, man, How he devoted

to Jesus in that fashion. Now, my father is in hospital.

He's worded here in care je hit. He's been there

since Friday. He's got you know, his beep is going

high and going low, and he's bleeding. All right, he's

ninety four. Do I fall to pieces because he's there

in hospital. On Friday? When I saw him, I had

a word with him, and I confirmed his belief in

Jesus by saying that prayer that we say at the

end of the service, asking Jesus into the heart and

the hearts to be a lot in saviors. And he

repeated those words with his own mouth. Do I believe

he is? Said absolutely? When he goes to be with

the Lord. Do you think I will share the tear? Maybe?

But you know what, You're going to see the happiest

guy around, and then you're going to see why are

you something wrong with you? Are? No? If we really

believe that we are going to be with Jesus, why

do we have to be sad? I'm going to see

him again unless I'm not going to be there, which

I you know, I will continue to believe God so

that I will be there. I'll see him again. I

will not be sad stranger. So let's move on. Remember

this the first time. Can you run to others when

you when you want an encounter with Jesus. Let's look

at what happens next John twenty. Let's read from verse

six to ten and he six six. Okay, wait, hang

on on. So now this is uh. I think Peter

and all that have arrived at the tomb. Yeah, verse four.

Go back to verse four. So they both ran together

and the other the other disciples outran Peter, and they

came to and came to the tomb first. So John

came to the tomb first, but the one that loved

Jesus would not go in. So loving the Lord doesn't

make you brave. Loving the Lord doesn't necessarily make you brave.

But you want to know something. If you look at

John when he continued to love the Lord, they tried

to kill him in in the end of his love,

but they could not. They tried boiling him in oil.

He could not die. He's the one that Jesus said

will remain out of all the apostles, He's the one

they couldn't kill. But he was the one that was afraid.

Let me tell you, when Jesus gets into your life,

he will change you. You will not remain the way

you are. You will become extraordinary because of him, and

your life will have a greater turn. Okay, So, and

he that's Peter, stooping down and looking in saw the

linen cloths lying there. Yet he did not know that. Sorry,

that was John. You're not going then, Simon. Peter came

following him and went into the tomb, and he saw

the linen cloths lying there. So both confirmed that they

saw cloth there. You think any wrapping can keep hold

on Jesus. Do you think that Jesus can be tied

up you and I in our lives when we need

his help? Do you think there's anything that can tie

up Jesus from helping you. But you know, when you

go to a friend, he may be tied up with

his own problems. He may be tied up with financial constraint,

he may be tied up with meetings at the office.

But any time you go to Jesus, he's not tied up. Guys,

this resurrection, remember this, he's not tied up. Let's move on.

And the handkerchief that had been around his head not

lying there with a linen cloth, but folded together in

a place by himself. There is nothing that could prevent

Jesus from looking at you. There's nothing that can prevent

Jesus from looking at you. You have a cloth over

his face. He's not there anymore. There is no restriction

from the Lord keeping his eyes on you. Guys, you

think you're alone, No, no, no, no, Jesus was alone

on a Friday night. But you and I he's got

you know that that always remember this, Jesus, he's got

his eyes on you. Why no more cloth on his face,

So anytime you feel it's the Lord actually looking at me,

remember this cloth no longer on his face, No hindrance.

Next one then the other disciple also came, came to

the tomb when in also and he saw and believed

for as yet they did not know the scripture, and

he must rise again from the dead. You see, she

thought something else, but they believed they had that that

that that faith. Okay, next worse, then the disciple went away,

went again to their own homes. I want you to

know something. Others may examine our situation, others may even

have their own opinions, but often they just return home.

You see. That's why you and I have got to

cultivate a relationship with the Lord of Lords in the

King of Kings, because he just won't leave you and

return home, whereas everybody else. Yeah, yeah, you putting, Yeah,

I know. My thoughts and prayers are with you. See

you are I got to go home. I'm not talking

about our leaders here, Okay, leaders in ex church will

go the tenth mile for you, all right. But what

I'm saying is you got to realize that there is

something to be said for your own personal relationship with Jesus.

Cultivating that strength with him personally is to your benefit

because he never says okay, I understand. See, your lady alligator.

I'm going home, Jesus not like that. Let's look at

uh verse eleven. But Mary stood outside by the tomb, weeping.

And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into

the tomb next verse, and she saw two angels in

white sitting, one at the head, the other at the

feet where the body of Jesus had laid. Next verse.

Then they said to a woman, why are you weeping?

She said to them, because they have taken away my lord,

and I do not know where they have laid him. Obviously,

Peter and James, Peter and John had their own issues.

They believed Jesus had risen from the dead, but they

didn't think enough to stop to speak to Mary, who

had alerted them. They just went back. Guys, when people

find something gooder, don't think they will always carry with you.

When they find something good. Sometimes they've got their blessing

they got and they'll go home. That's what it means, guys.

You and I got to realize something. That's why we

don't live for ourselves. We live to bless somebody else.

Because if they had told Mary that Jesus had risen,

she wouldn't be crying. How many people are still crying

in our presence. Hey, move, Mary's devotion was fully invested.

Do you know that Mary was fully invested in Jesus.

She would not leave without an answer. Wow, when you

stand your grandma, I am not leaving without an answer.

You know what happened after that? Her devotion now attracted

the attention of the spiritual realm. Because she stood her

ground and with not be dissuaded from her devotion to Jesus,

something supernatural broke free. And now she sees angels. Who

are the angels? Angels are messing? You see where the

two guys who saw it and believe ran and went away.

We have these two angels because you see, your devotion

will open the spiritual round you. Whether people help you

or not, God will help you. He sends its messengers

to say it's going to be okay. So sometimes don't

worry if things in natural don't work out. Okay. But

if you continue to believe in the Lord, the supernatural

breaks free, breaks into your faith, breaks into your situation.

It reveals itself okay. And guess guess what it is.

When she's when that spiritual realm breaks free, what does

she do? She still talks about Jesus. Guys, you and

I got to learn that devotion that Mary had where

Jesus was concerned, and she's the only one who got

something to happen. You and I we're going to get

very excited to hear about. Okay, let's talk about the

second turn. Remember the first turn, the first turn, I

explained to you, this is the second turn. Let's look

at John twenty, verses fourteen and fifteen. Now, when she

had said this, she turned around and she saw Jesus

standing there. So I don't know whether she turned around

so the fool is thing, or she just, you know,

turn around, whether she could see the fool, but she

turned around, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

So the second term. So the first turn, you go

to people, nothing really happens. Second term, now she's looking,

she's believing, and now she has an encounter. Her confession

attracted the one who could answer her devotion. Her confession,

her belief attracted the only one who could give her

the real answer. The second turn put her in the

presence of Jesus. Sometimes we're just unaware who we are

talking to. That person that shows up from nowhere could

very well be an angel, could have been sent by Jesus,

could even be Jesus. You might not know. I remember

once I used to ride my bike from Clang to

kl I was doing my studies, you know, Kawasaki gto.

I forgot to churn the valve when I filled up petrol,

so I didn't know that I was running on my

reserve until I ran out of fuel somewhere between Charlam

and Clanger. There's a long distance, okay that time, no

light on the highway, no light on the highway. It

was just a dark highway. Ic Tea did not exist,

you know, it was. It was those days, like hand.

This was about forty years ago, okay. And I was stuck,

and all of a sudden, this guy comes behind me

and he says, you ran out of petrol. Don't worry,

I'll help you. He looked around. He found one of

the drink boxes you know, of the tetra bricks. Okay.

He tore it open. He pulled his fuel val from

his his his more bike, let it drip into that,

poured it into my fuel can. I tried, the bike

started and he rode off. Thank you very much. Where

do you live or I live somewhere, and so he

told me where he lived. The next day I went

searching for the place. I could not find it. I

went searching for him. I could not find him. I

could not find the place. Did I have an encounter

with with an angel? I do not know. Maybe I

just heard the exits the address wrong, okay, but at

the right time the Lord came through. How cool is that?

If not? Can you imagine I had to push my

biker more by pushing for about fifteen kilometers? That would

have been really difficult. Okay? And verse fifteen, what this

verse fifteen say? Jesus said to her, woman should I do?

In the Jesus voice, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom

are you seeking? She's supposing him to be the gardener

said to him, sir the gardener. Yes, I don't think

she really soft fully. Okay, how to see? I think

Jesus the gardener when he saw you know something over

your shoulder. She's supposing him to be the gardener said

to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell

me where you have laid him, and I will take him.

This is let's go to verse sixteen. Jesus said to

her Jesus said to her. Mary, she turned and said

to him, rabbonie, which is to say, teacher, this is

the third turn. This is the third turn. Okay, I

want Jesus with me. I want Jesus with me, even

if I am the only one, I need him. I

need him. A desperation for the Lord received a personal response.

If you are desperate for Jesus, he will respond. Mary.

I experienced this, and this is how I came to

the Lord. When I went to that poor church, that

small church, that church in a campone surrounded by grass

and cowdang. That was where I got saved, in a

small hut, worshiping with poor people, people who worked in markets,

people who were cow herders, poor people. When they worshiped

the Lord, Jesus literally came and revealed himself to me

and said, Terence, see the reason why I used that

voice is because that's the voice I heard. That's the

voice I heard when he spoke to me and asked

me to receive him. Terence, you're not a Christian. Why

don't you receive me now? And in the quietness of

that worship that lasted four hours, I received the Lord.

She would not let go how many of us let go?

And then we say, why doesn't our breakthrough come? I

gotta ask you, did you let go? Look at her?

She had an encounter with the apostles, no go, she

had an encounter with angels, no go. Who did she

want Jesus? And when Jesus responds, our eyes are open

and understanding, and fulfillment of our needs takes place. It's there.

She just had to mention her name, and she knew

who he was. And this is the exciting part. So

if you forget everything I've shared with you this resurrection morning,

this is the morning I want to share with your

truth that many of us sometimes do not realize when

we read the scripture, And it is this a complete devotion.

Listen to this, a complete devotion arrested Jesus from his

plan that he had to make a pit stop before

even meeting with the Father, before meeting his mother and

family and apostles or his other disciples, all with whom

he met only a week later. You can only touch

Jesus with faith. And this showed the difference. What did

Jesus say to her, do not cling to me, for

I have not gone to be with the Father yet. Right.

Yet that means that Jesus had finished his work with

what he had to do. The Bible says that he

broke the devil to pieces. He is now going to

be with the Father first. But because that devotion was

so strong, it stopped Jesus in his tracks. It arrested him,

It even changed his plan that he had to respond

to someone who so devotedly loved him.

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this week is going to be a good week.

I hit for you.

God bless