Three Unlikely Bystanders | Pr Daniel Kong

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

We hope this message will light up your day.

So let me first start by telling you a story. Okay,

I remember, uh I when I was going I studied

in Melbourne forcusse some time go Melbourne for anyway, Hey

Melbourn kidding. So I had a privilege to travel to

Melbourne and one of the holidays during the winter break,

I came back. And I say privilege is because you know,

obviously back then, right when I was studying there many

many moons ago, there wasn't something called Asia. So just

to give you an idea of the costs that's involved. Okay,

so poor university student flying during wintertime. Uh you know

it's it's fairly fairly expensive. Okay. In short, So but

I showed up in the airport. You know, we just

you know, a sweater if you know what is just

very you know, just jeans and all that. And but

I was you know a bit you know, as as

students right back then, when you guys travel, you tend

to smuggle things in your in your hand carry not

not not illegal illicit stuff, but but but but we

tend to bring stuff because baggage limited expensive as well.

You can't pay for extra luggage, so we tend to

pack a little bit more things in our hand carry. Okay,

if you cat trying trying to say, maybe nowadays Asia

makes a bit more affordable or itemized and all that,

but that was what we used to do. And I

always tend to overstuff my backpack carry and I'm very

careful because I'm afraid that when they weigh you in

and they're like kyla, you know, and they have to

go back out and do those kind of things. So,

needless to say, I went through immigration, I went to

the actual what they call this the the the gate

just right at the gate before boarding, and then this

Malay dude came up to me and he calls me

in check you know, first name they have, Like, oh, abyss,

he found out, he found out what I was smuggling.

But no, you say, of course, he asked me questions

in shape manna, you know this guy of questions, you know, study,

et cetera. So I was very terrified, needless to say.

But the funny thing is at the end of the day,

just before boarding, they actually somebody else came up and

said you in checks and so you are upgraded to

business class. So so so again, first students can atfor anything.

And I mean literally, I expect, you know, being being

thought I was going going to be thrown in a

lock up and then suddenly it's something else, all right.

So I don't know whether, uh, you've ever experienced something

like that before, where you we asked questions, who me?

The guy behind me? Isn't me? Really me? Uh? I

mean I've never been on business class before. Uh And

and definitely you only experience it true movies, right, you

see what they do, they sip sham pain before you fly,

et cetera. So of course I was a bit nervous

as well, and I mean again bored. And they like you,

I mean when I get bought is mister Kong or

they know you by names of all you know amazing stuff.

Would you like some hot towel? And like, I mean,

my hands were definitely okayla, you know, I didn't know

I don't need a hot towel, but you know, then

they asked me what the pillow? I'm just happy my

one small pillowla you know, they give me extra pillow

and all that kind of stuff, So why am I

trying to say is that you know, they there's all

these new experiences, and sometimes we are thinking, you know,

do I actually deserve all these things? Right? And the

other the other you know, the next thing they ask you,

would you like nuts with you before you fly? And

and after that start they came along that's my militiare lines,

you know. Yeah, so I didn't earn that upgrade for sure.

In fact, if anything, they would bar me from on

board the plane because I was smuggling something. Ah. But yeah,

that's how God actually works to some extent, where you

might be just passing by, doing your own thing, thinking

they're going to economy class to some extent, right, but

sometimes you are called for something or invited to something

bigger than what you can even imagine to some extent. Okay,

And that's what I felt like on that day. Okay,

it was very memorable. I didn't take photos back then

because no selfie in the cameras back then were not

so good luck. But if you came today on a

good Friday service thinking there's just going to be another

you know, another service, been there done before, economy class

kind of experience, yea, I think again, God sometimes would

change things around a little bit. Okay, So I'm just

gonna start off like that. And why am I saying

this is because God sometimes speaks to us like that, Right,

It's like us, like you know, even if Joe came

along and said, okay, Sandy, come up and take the stage,

then you'd be like, oh man, I'm not prepared for this.

Like I said, I was probably googling, you know, how

how am I to behave like a like a business

class person instead of economy class. But that's what it is.

It's nerve wracking because we're unprepared. And this today, I'm

going to start off by sharing a few stories from

the Bible that talks about what we call bystanders, things

people that are just passing by, not knowing what they

are getting themselves into, but somehow God has invited them in.

All right, So if you can just you know, bear

with me, hopefully that sort of gives you a little

bit of introduction of where I'm coming from. And tonight

I'm going to talk about three people that is invited

to Good Friday. You know Good Friday, Like I said,

Like we said earlier, it's a very significant day because

it also sometimes marks the what has happened just before

the cross? Okay? Oh yes, okay, I forgot my title,

but anyway, I'm better with titles, by the way. So

initially I thought innocent bystanders, but maybe not a good thing.

But anyway, Uh, yeah, I know sometimes have been Have

you ever been to a place where you walked in

and then you felt you didn't belong before, walk into

a wrong door? Perhaps? Uh sometimes for me, I walk

into the wrong toilet after a while, Because now this

are all the symbols are not very clear, right, especially

those that are in some countries there and let's not

get that anyway, but you get the idea you walk

into a place that you feel you don't belong, uh,

and sometimes you don't know how to behave or react.

So these are some bystanders that were involved in the

story at the cross, or in the process of getting

to the cross, and they woke up one fine day

on Good Friday not knowing what to expect, okay, and

but they were so involved in the story that it

changed the whole narrative of what has happened at the Cross.

So these three people, I'll introduced them in a fact

in a little while, they have been woven into the

whole history of the Bible just because they were just bystanders,

just doing their own thing. But they were invited in. Okay.

So Jesus, obviously, you know, died and rose again. But

let's look at Luke twenty three, and will start off

like he can help me. The cool name by the way,

So let's look at the first one, okay, in Luke

twenty three. If you have Bibles with you, you can turn

to Luke twenty three. And this is what it says,

our very first bystander in the story. Today we learn

from Luke turning three, verse twenty three. Let's read here. Okay,

but the mob shouted louder and louder, okay, demanding that

Jesus be crucified, and their voices prevailed. So Pilot sentenced

Jesus to die as they demanded. So Pilot is the

guy who sort of ruled the sort of the boss

of that time. And then he was pressured and were

they're pressuring him to release Barbas or Barabbas. Okay, the

man in prison what for for insurrection and also murdered

the mess is a criminal, and they demanded that he

turned Jesus over to them to do as they wish. Okay,

So just to give you a bit of context, this

is them really wanting Jesus' blood love to some extent. Okay,

I really want this. And then what will happened after

that is they led Jesus away a man called Simon

who was from Serene, Syrene, Siren, I think happened to

be coming in from the countryside. I highlighted the word

happened to be coming because usually it sort of tells

you that he's just doing his own thing. Suddenly got

caught into action, all right, happened to be That means

coincidentally he was there, not really, I mean he's passing by.

Then the soldier seized him and put the cross on

him and made him carry it behind Jesus. Okay, so

the story is Jesus was there, he was mocked, he

was beaten. He had to carry the cross on his back.

By the way, the cross is quite quite a big item,

quite heavy as well. But it came to a point

where Jesus was physically unable to carry the cross anymore,

literally couldn't. And you know where he's supposed to go,

supposed to go to this hill where he's supposed to

be crucified and carrying that cross. Okay, so he physically

can no longer carry the cross, and physically as well,

he could not complete his walk, his journey, his mission

towards the top of the hill called a place called

gor Guta or sometimes called cavalry, right, so to get

there he can't. Physically he cannot fulfill his destiny. And

something here happened, Okay, very interesting because the Roman soldiers

then caught upon this guy who's just wondering along, not

doing or something like a bystander, and then ca Simon

who's passing by as we read, to help Jesus. So

Simon was somewhat forced to help carry the cross again

literally physically to bear the load of the cross. Okay,

so we before we focus on the inconvenience, like, you

know what am I doing? I'm doing I'm just passing by.

You know why am I being involved in this? I

don't want to be involved in not talking about the

heaviness of the burden of the cross. But think about it,

this is the very first bystander that was invited to

be a part of history. What I mean by that

he could literally feel the blood Jesus literally, and then

he could literally also carry the cross because he really

did carry the cross right to follow Jesus literally as well,

because they were going towards the hill. Right. So the

inclusion of Simon in this story is an interesting one.

Depending on where you see your perspective. It could be

you're in the wrong place at you know, at a

wrong time, or a good place at the right time.

I don't know, but you know, it doesn't matter because

it still is his push into the pages of history

because he was just passing by. But the weight of

the cross, as we know, our Jesus, our Lord Jesus,

couldn't carry anymore. And the fact remains is Simon did

come in and bore the cross. So what can we

learn from this moment in Simon? People always say, oh, unfair,

you know, why should he carry it? But interesting fact

you think about it, when Jesus couldn't carry the cross,

Father God could do something, right, He could just suddenly,

you know, do something from Hocus Pocus up in the

air and then okay, suddenly Papaye muscles come in and

he can actually carry the cross. It means he can

physically make Jesus able. Father God could do that, but

he chose not to. Right, he chose not to. But

why why with God and his supernatural ability and his strength,

why can't he allow Jesus to have a second win

just to complete his mission? After all, isn't his mission

to really just go and die across? He could have, right,

but he didn't. So what this actually tells me is

that he could have. But he's also sending a message

to everybody at that time, including our time as well.

It's still relevant that the fact that is, you don't

have to always be strong enough. This is even true

for Jesus. That means if you really cannot, it is okay.

You don't always have to have things under your control.

It's another way to put it right. It's okay to

be overwhelmed because you know, life as it is will

always throw a curveball to you and it will weigh

you down. And sometimes, you know, we bear the cross

we carried across, and it's such a burdensome thing to

carry with us, and in seasons it will get heavier

and heavier, and then you say, God, I don't know

how I can do this on my own. I can't

do this. How can I raise this child, this teenage

boy is like a bit wayward. You know, God, how

can I do this? Lord? How can my marriage work?

I really can't do this anymore. It's beyond me. How

can I deal with this illness that you've put into

my life or into my family's life. Lord, I'm lonely,

I'm hurting. Why? Lord? Why? And it's interesting because some

of these voices that you hear, it's quite common voices.

You'd be like, why am I being put in here?

Why am I battling this? In different seasons of my life?

And these voices, you know, they get stronger and stronger

if you do not seize it. But again, here's a

reminder that you know you don't have to have it all.

You know, the Lord will always still provide assignment into

your life to help you if you will just recognize

that even Jesus couldn't carry it across and he needed

Simon and God sent assignment. That's just passing by doing

his own thing. But you know that's what it is.

God will send assignment into your life. God will send

a miracle, a friend. Sometimes you just don't recognize it

and you just keep looking up. In other words, God

will send you a solution if you'll only listen and look,

and you'll never know this person. This, even this idea

sometimes can cut pop you into another level and you

see things in a different perspective if you only look

and won't you just stop for a while sometimes to

say it's okay, allow God to show you who this

Simon is in your life? Who has God sent you

to lift up your burden? Even Jesus can be physically

tired and drained. He can't carry on, and he allowed

Simon to take over. Of course, the other thing could

also be if you flip the tables around, could you

be a sigmon to somebody else at the same time? Okay,

if God speaks to you, don't just say okay, you

know I can't. Sometimes God will using that special moment

as well to be an encourage you to somebody who

else who needs it as well. Okay, But what I'm

trying to say is that if you're called to a

certain place, it's you need to be obedient to it.

You are a way supposed to be. It is not

by coincidence, really, and I believe that Simon is not there,

even though it seems like he was. There passing by.

But I think God orchestrated all that to ensure that

Jesus can still fulfill his mission and complete what he's

called to do. Okay, So what is God's promise in

your life? Ever heard God's promise before? And when God

promises something right, Remember he says that, I mean, God

says that he's the author and the finisher. So when

God starts something, he will definitely ensure you finish your job,

whether or not on your own awareness. A simon gets

thrown into you the picture, he will definitely enable you

to finish it. That's a promise. So what I'm trying

to say here is trust God. I know sometimes we

get impatient, but just trust He's going to finish what

he started. Okay. So that's the first bystander that we

see in the story. The second stander or bystanders plural

is found in John nineteen. Okay, let's look at John nineteen,

verses twenty three. When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took

his clothes, dividing them into four shares. So they stated

it four ways, four pieces la, okay, moving around one

for each. So we know at least there's four soldiers

low because one each right, but with the undergarment remaining,

they miss one piece remaining. The garment was seamless. I

mean to say, it couldn't be broken down. It's just

one piece a one z. Is that what they call it?

Any it? We'll went into one piece from top to bottom. Okay,

let's not tear it. They said to one another, Let's

decide by the Lord who will get it? What do

they mean by that? They they rolled diesler you or

they do dealer some of them. Some of the verses

say they actually roll dices and all that they drew lots,

and this happened. That description be fulfilled. Okay. So what

does it mean by that is that if you actually

go to that particular verse, there's a there's a reference

to Psalms twenty two where there's a prophecy about this

happening where they will be dividing Jesus clothes or garments,

and they will do that by casting lots. Okay, So

what has happened there is actually part of what was

foretold in Psalms. So this is what the soldiers did. Okay.

So they divided the clothes, they cast their loss to

the government and they kept after that, they kept God

as Jesus hung on the cross. Okay, So now why

do I classify that as bystanders? Okay, just to give

you some contexts in that time, in that era, soldiers,

of course they they also fight off army. I mean,

they fight off enemies, et cetera. But they are always active.

So even though you may not be stationed somewhere or

doing something, the government at the time will probably put

you to work. You might even be working the roads,

building bridges, et cetera. So they're always active. So on

that faithful day they probably got a message from the

general of the time to say, okay, one, two, three, four,

come with me. You are in charge to ensure that

Jesus gets to where it's supposed to go. And then,

of course we know the story after that. Okay. So

they were called and put on a specific mission and

tasks for the very special day. So imagine this. When

the soldiers went and did what they did, they were transferred,

they were roped in, they were pulled in to be

part of the crucifixion. Do you think that the soldiers

know what is happening. We don't know. Maybe they may

have heard of this Jesus guy. They may have heard

of what he did, what he stood for. It could

be rumors, it could be all mass crowds following him,

et cetera. They could have heard of his teaching as well,

what he proclaims. You know, he says that he's a king,

he's a leader of some sort. We don't know, but

I'm quite sure they could. It's a possibilit that they

may not be fully oblivious, but they could also be

fully oblievious to what's happening because they for them, it's

just a mission. So they were passing by, they were

bystanders as well. Okay, imagine that. And that's why sometimes

it's a bit funny because if they knew what they

were dealing with, I think they would have done it

a bit differently. They wouldn't do this, you know, short

eating with you know, splitting and where the garments go to,

the kind of thing, because they knew who they're dealing with.

In fact, they were probably just doing their job because

they had to make sure that all things are clear.

There's no fighting, you know, the mission will still carry on.

In the process, they just did a site hustler essentially, right,

It might make something stre and come right, no harm,

because it's probably so valuable piece of clothing. If they

knew Jesus was who he is, maybe it could be

something that you can put on eBay eventually. I don't

know what the do. I used to do eba a

lot last night. You get the idea, okay, So so

I got a photograph of what's happening there. Thanks for

putting up. And the reason why the rope was a

seamless is because it's a one piece, right. They couldn't

divide it, so someone had to win it, and they

did what they did. They rolled the dice and then

somebody got it. But here's the lesson here. Sometimes we

can be so close to you know, the big, the

big thing in this case Jesus, right, so close to

what Jesus can offer, and yet we, like what Joe

was saying, we may not even experience it. We may

miss the moment. It could be easily missed. And I

can even dare say sometimes right, it's not just missing,

but you may settle for something else, just like how

this Roman soldiers settled for a garment and they were

happy with it, and they missed the biggest thing. That's

happening just meters away, probably inches away from where you

know where they were. They were doing it just right

under the cross. Imagine that they could have experienced something

very different, but they chose or they missed the mark.

They just focus on something lesser. So the next point

is from the Romans soldiers or soldier, if you're to

look at one or four, don't settle for anything less.

Don't settle for the less, because if you trade God's

best for something temporary, you miss the mark. Really, and

we've seen this over and over again in different Bible stories.

Right he saw in the birth right for just a

bowl or soup, you trade your inheritance and then you

regret it later. But it's always like that. We always

focus on the short term, and we sometimes trade temporary

comforts for what God wants you to have to some extent.

So the question here really is are you settling for

the good enough when God here, God is actually offering

you abundance life to the full life that is going

to be ever changing. But we are just so focused

on the good enough. So, friends, my encouragement to you

do not settle for just that. You need to come

to a place that even coming to this is not

a religious game. You know we're doing this. It's not

a fun thing. You know, I feel good and then

move on with life. We are to take this on,

like I said, once you experience it, you take it on. Right.

It's really freedom, it's really liberty. It's really the abundant

life that you know, even that what we talked about

is really the ability to have full, grace, full joy,

full Your relationship will just flourish on our level if

you just take it in allow God to move in

your life. I'm not saying that there's no life. There's

a life without struggles. Don't get me wrong. You know,

even Daniel and his friends struggle. But God promises you

this right he will give you. He will be with

you no matter what. And that's the key thing here.

Life with Jesus is okay because even through the struggles,

you'll be fine. This is why Jesus did what he did.

He died for us so that we can have this

kind of life, to say that He's always going to

be with us, so that when we even go to heaven, right,

it's not like a limping to heaven kind of experience.

Now you really can live life free, doing what you're

called to do, celebrating every season of your life, doing

things boldly into some extent because you know you're walking

in line with God. And this is why we can

dance to heaven to some extent. So yes, again, I'm

not discounting struggles. We recognize struggles will be there, but hey,

what better way to do it than to do it

with Almighty God with us? Right? So Galatians one for

I don't have it up, but Jesus died to deliver

us so that we can overcome, overcome what every struggle

that's in the present world, and of course it also

goes to say beyond the present world as well. So

what am I saying here is that he went to

the cross for a reason. It is so that we

can have victory in this world, like we've taken the community.

We declared victory. Right. It is something wonderful, life abundance,

life full of victory. It's something that we need to

embrace because if not, we will settle for the mediocre.

We water down the promises of God and sometimes we

live life pass Cenra use this word very strongly. He

used the word look warm lives and we don't want

to be look warm because that's atually robbing yourself. So

am I trying to say here? I'm reminding everyone here

that you need to strive for more, You need to

look forward to more. The best is yet to come

if you only allow God to show you, and when

He shows you what's in store for you, you'll be

amazed and you will be really living life to the full.

Because every day, every step you take, you know it's

it's a step closer to that maturity. Because you know

two years ago. You may say, if two years ago

me will be here, I can't handle this. Why? Because

God is maturing you every single day, allowing you to

grow into what you're called to do, you or to be.

And we shouldn't settle for anything less you know it

might it might be in a place, in a job

that you don't quite like. It's okay, allow God to move,

you know, through that situation as well. You know you

may also be in a relationship. You know that that

that that is not what God has called you to have.

You know you're going for unbelievable. Perhaps do not settle

for that as well, because God has called you to be.

You know something bigger than that. God wants you to

experience abundant life, but you just got to trust him.

That's what I'm trying to say here. Otherwise the enemy

knows this. He can't steal the promises that God has

for you, but he can definitely convince you to settle

for the mediocre or the it's okay variation of what

God has in stall for you. And we got to

be very care you know, ever talk about dreams. Before

God show you dreams, you're usually very passionate, you run

full force with it. But over time you water down

the dream and you lose sight of what God has

in stuff for you. So refuse to settle. So what

I'm trying to say here, always strive. Do not trade

ultimate freedom with just a partial freedom just because it's

easier to just accept it as is. It's okay, kind

of a mentality, right, it's not off. God loved to

be to be to be frank, don't settle for just

knowing God, but walk with him every step of the way,

and you'll be amazed like where God would take you

if you just keep on believing, keep on moving forward.

God has planted you to be victorious, to be effective

where you are. Let us not just roll, you know,

roll dices and and draw lots and miss the mark

just because we are not focused on, you know, the

life that God has installed for us. And this is

the last, the last bystanding to cover which is the one,

you know, one of the three, sorry exceling Jesus, one

of the two that is actually on the cross. This

guy is a little bit different the thief right, one

of the thieves. He knows what lies ahead of him,

He knows his destiny. He knew that he committed something

and probably by the end of the day he would actually,

you know, be punished. And he took it on. He said, okay,

I understand that I deserve it. But what he doesn't

know on that day when he's being you know, when

he's being executed, or the process of getting there, he

didn't know who is going to be next to him

again bystanding doing his own thing. In fact, he was

put there. But guess who was there. It was Jesus.

What he didn't know, he knew where he was going,

But what he didn't know is that on that good

Friday he's going to encounter the Savior of the world.

Can you imagine that all right, so amazing. Right, let's

look at the story, okay, reading from amplified version Luke

twenty three. Now, there was an inscription above him. This

is above Jesus is the crosser. This is the king

of the Jews. One of the criminals who were hanged

on the cross beside him kept hurling abuse at him, saying,

are you not the Christ? Save yourself from us from death?

And sorry, and us from death. But the other one

who rebuked him, saying, so this is the one that

I was speaking about. Do you not fear God? So

that really tells you, right, He recognizes straight away that

this is God. Maybe he didn't know who's going to

beside him, but he quickly knew that this is God.

Since sorry where forty one? Thank you? Yeah, we are

suffering justly because we are getting what we deserve for

what we have done. But this man has done nothing wrong.

Forty two and he shalls. He was saying, Jesus, please

remember me when you come into the kingdom. And then

Jesus said to him, I assure you, or surely I

mean as sorry, I assure you, and most solemnly say

to you today you will be with me in paradise.

Sorry saying about blessed assurance. Right, you know it's probably

coming from here as well. I assure you you will

be with me in paradise. When Jesus says sorry, When

the thief says please remember me, he's probably asking Jesus to,

you know, for a second life for because he recognized

that if he gets the grace that Jesus hath always

talked about, he'll be okay. So again you can see

here he's also citing Jesus's promises, his reference. He talked

about the kingdom. He recognized it right, He recognized that

God is just next to him. He probably heard the crowds,

He experience everything. He see the women crying. Mary was

there as well, the food of cross. He experienced everything.

And then, with an outburst of the recognition of who

God is and his expression of his faith, he say God, Jesus, please,

will you remember me now? Before you think that it's

only asking one the Bible she talks about multiple times,

because in the actual translation it's actually multiple times, so

it's probably saying please God, Please God remember me, remember

me now. The key point here is right, the thief

has faith that Jesus can save him. And this is

just a reminder that you know, we are all saved

by grace, not by words. Nothing you can do can

actually earn you that grace that God has promised. But

the other thing we want to remember as well, it's

never too late to turn to Jesus. Redemption is always

there for you, no matter what you've done. God is

still there because it is true the grace of God,

and you just have to believe the faith in Jesus

that you have. It doesn't matter. You have earned your

salvation and that's his promise. And the man in the

opposite he's done the opposite thing. He denied Jesus, he

mocked Jesus. And this is what I think it's important.

Then sometimes God is also there to extend the invitation

to you, to say it's okay, come back. You don't

have to earn it, you just have to believe, and

therefore you have access to eternity. So amazing, right, so amazing.

But sometimes for us we can again just miss the

map because we could be like the other guy who

denies Jesus. And you see, the faith is all in

its to release him, to save him. Jesus is already

up to his maximal Before that, he was struggling to

walk up there. So physically it's already bunch it zero,

nothing left of him, and yet in the spiritual sense,

he could still provide that liberty, that freedom. Imagine that

how amazing, How amazing is that? So for us, you know,

it's not just putting this man in that position. God

has put this position. She's actually put us all at

the cross literally next to him to some extent, because

He's always invited us to respond to the grace and

offers this grace. But we may not recognize it because

we think I'm just a bystander, just like the guy.

I'm just doing my thing. But this is God's gift

for you. So it's really up to you. Right now,

the ball is on your court. You know, when we

say it it's finished, it really is finished. Nothing else

you can do. Here is my power, the Lord, says you,

with all you need. Here is the peace at the

cross is given to you. Here is the grace that

will enable you to live life differently. Here is also

God's or Jesus extension to a redemption. It's really up

to you how you're going to respond to this because

the power is already given to you to some extent.

You just have to harness it. I'm going to end

here by focusing on the power of the blood. You know,

we took communion earlier. And have you ever sometimes woken

up in the middle of the night and then you

try to go to the toilet in the dark, and then

you you know, you kick a corner of a table

or something like that, and then yeah, my son does

that a lot, by the way, esture. He he's very

good at doing this, and you can hear him from

a mile away. But if you think about it right here, oh,

and you make sure that everybody wakes up. But you

know what happens right when it actually kicks you stop

your toe and all that. What happens immediately, of course,

the pain is there, right, And then what happens after

that is that there will be a rush of blood

to that region and then somehow you'll change color this

color a little bit, and then eventually it will turn

some colors that we don't quite like any painful, right,

But that is exactly what happens when the body needs uh,

it's injured, the body needs a treatment. The blood actually

rushes into the area to protect and to ensure that

whatever there is not meant to be there is fully

restored to its original form. And that's exactly what the

blood of Jesus does as well. Sometimes we don't recognize it.

The heart is there and Jesus uses again blood to

fix things. So there is power in the blood. The

blood of Jesus is not only there just for the communion.

It's really there to fill the hurting places in our lives,

the sections that we cannot heal on our own in

the physical. And God is able to use his blood

to heal whatever that is withholding you back. So really

I'm going to end here what is hurting you? If

you are honest with yourself, what is withholding you? And

if you identify that, allow God's blood to come in.

There is that power, There is that redemption because the

blood of Jesus also runs to your wounds, so that

restoration could happen. So whatever hurt that you've experienced in

your life, it's okay on this good Friday. Like I said,

you're not here by coincidence, I believe. So won't you

allow God to identify the past hurts or even the

present hurts and allow him to move and restore you.

It may be a marriage that you know you struggle with.

You say, God, how am I going to do this?

It may be finances, allow God to move in. It

may be also you know in your family, you know,

difficult relatives, or even your teenage son who's a bit wayward.

It's okay if that is what God has identified as

a area that needs healing, allowed him to heal you.

It may be anxiety. It may be those other things

that you know physically you can't restore, even medically you

can't restore. Allow God to use his blood to heal you.

And that's the power and the message of the grace

that God gives you true what He's done at the

cross many many years ago. So, friends, won't you just

release your faith in Jesus, just like how the the

teeth he recognizes God and allowed God and he said, God,

won't you just remember me? And sometimes you just need that?

Won't you just remember me? You may feel that his

Father is never far. He's rushing in to heal the heart.

Thank you Lord. So at this moment, I like to

just invite us all to just close eyes and let

us experience like what Joe was saying, and experience God,

experience the Blood of Jesus, not tomorrow, not yesterday, but now.

Not just remember him during communion, of course we want

to do as often as we can, but don't just

hear about the blood or hear about Him, but let

us experience Him in our lives. Allow your faith to vord.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit as church org. We

are also active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing that

this week is going to be a good week. I

hit for you. God bless