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Rev Charles Oppong-Poku | APRIL 17, 2023 | Matthew 12:9-13 KEY VERSE: ¹² A person is worth far more than a sheep; so it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.” ¹³Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored, as good as the other. Matthew 12:12-13 (NIV) MESSAGE: The Pharisees were not happy with Jesus. They wanted to trap Him and accuse Him, and they found an opportunity to do so. Some say that the Pharisees may have placed this man in the synagogue to trap Jesus. I’m not sure about that. However, at the least, they saw the man there and knew that Jesus may very well want to heal the man. What Jesus says in verse 12 is key for our understanding as well. He says, “It is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.” What Jesus is saying here is that doing good surpasses following a list of rules. To say it differently “love is greater than legalism”. Legalism focuses on rules, but love focuses on people. The Pharisees were outraged that Jesus would heal on the Sabbath because it went against their strict interpretation of the law. They were more concerned with upholding rules than showing compassion for human needs, but Jesus saw the man’s suffering and acted out of love and compassion, even if it meant breaking the religious rules. Legalism leads to judgment, but love leads to mercy. The Pharisees were quick to judge Jesus and accused Him of breaking the law, but Jesus showed mercy to the man with the withered hand, offering healing and restoration. Legalism creates barriers, but love breaks them down. The Pharisees had created a rigid system of rules and regulations that made it difficult for people to approach God. They had become so focused on following the law that they missed the heart of God’s message. On the other hand, Jesus’ act of healing on the Sabbath broke down the barriers that the Pharisees had created, showing that God’s love and mercy are available to all who seek Him. Jesus’ act teaches us that as we go through our daily lives, it’s easy to get caught up in our routines and schedules but it’s important to remember that every person has value and deserves our love and compassion, even if it means breaking our usual patterns. Jesus’ act also demonstrates the power of God to heal and restore. Even when things seem impossible or hopeless, God can bring wholeness and healing into our lives. Jesus did not just heal the man with the withered hand out of love and compassion – He did it to make a point, to challenge the religious leaders who had become more focused on rules than on serving others. As followers of Jesus, we are called to serve others in His name. Sometimes that means breaking the rules or going against the status quo to show love and compassion to those who need it most. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE Don’t become too familiar with church and worship by following rules and performing religious rituals. Let us learn to show love more and don’t be judgmental. We exist to develop disciples who love God, love the church, and love others. Loving God and others is what we’re here to do. God showed His love and mercy to the world and made it possible for us to love and be loved through Jesus. Show the love and mercy of Jesus today and every other day because love is greater than legalism. PRAYER: Father God, thank you for your love and mercy. Give me eyes that will see beyond the natural, a heart that can feel the burden of the needy and hands that are ready to do something to help situations of others. Held me to understand that I exist to help people to love you, love the church and love others. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

Rev Charles Oppong-Poku | APRIL 16, 2023 | Matthew 12:1-8 KEY VERSE: ⁷If you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:7-8 (NIV) MESSAGE: In today’s passage, it’s the good old Pharisees who are opposing Jesus. The Pharisees were an influential religious sect within Judaism in the time of Jesus Christ and the early church. They were known for their emphasis on personal acceptance of oral tradition in addition to the written Law, and their teaching that all Jews should observe all 600-plus laws in the Torah, including the rituals concerning ceremonial purification. The issue of the Pharisees was that the disciples were “working” on the Sabbath day. The Pharisees and other religious leaders had developed a list of 39 different types of rules related to working on the Sabbath. Harvesting wheat was on that list of forbidden tasks to do on the Sabbath, even if it was just a small amount of wheat harvested by picking it with your hands. In responding to the concerns of the Pharisees, Jesus provided two exceptions and in doing so He points out that if the lesser is true, then the greater must be true as well. He referred to David and his men who went into the Tabernacle and ate bread that was supposed to be eaten by priests only, this was allowable because David and his men were truly in need. Then He said that the priests themselves violated the Sabbath laws by working in the temple and yet that was right. Then, Jesus says in verse 6 that something greater than the temple is here. He is saying, “I am greater than the temple.” That’s a bold statement because the temple represented the holy presence of God and God Himself. By saying that He is greater than the temple, He establishes the greater element in this discussion. Jesus is saying that if it’s right for the lesser, David and the priests, to break the strict letter of the law on the Sabbath; then it’s also right for the greater, Jesus Himself, to break the strict letter of the law on the Sabbath. This is not to say that God’s laws do not matter. However, we must remember that any day set aside to honour God and to bring rest to his people must recognize the holy worship in blessing others. To rest on the Sabbath for the Jews did not mean to refrain from any form of labour, but it did mean to honour God on the day he set aside and to bless his children by letting them enjoy His rest and praise Him. Similarly, every day for Christians is to be a day to worship God and serve others. The Pharisees were trying to worship God by following all the religious rules and making sure others did, but they got it all wrong because one needs Jesus to follow God’s laws. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE How do you define your relationship with Jesus Christ? Don’t define your relationship with Jesus by the rules and rituals you follow. Understand that true worship is knowing the Son of Man – Jesus, who is Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a gift to God’s people. However, the Saviour is a greater gift than the Sabbath. Jesus the Saviour is greater than any other religious law and anything! He is greater than David and his men, He is greater than the priests of the temple, and He’s greater than the temple itself. Jesus deserves all our devotion, all our worship, all our sacrifice, and all our hearts. Sabbath rest is good, but the rest found in Jesus is better! PRAYER: Thank you, dear God, that true rest is found in Jesus Christ. Help me to understand that true worship is more than following religious rules and traditions. Help me not to follow mere religious traditions but to surrender my life completely to Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath and find the rest in Him. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

Rev Enoch Thompson | APRIL 15, 2023 | Matthew 11:28-30 KEY VERSE: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NIV) MESSAGE: When opportunities exist for our greatest welfare, we cannot blame others who failed to make use of them, as the reason why we should not engage those opportunities for our development and progress. The statements of the Lord Jesus in our text for today must be read with the unbelief of Bethsaida, Korazin and Capernaum at the back of our minds. In the context of their unbelief, the Sovereign Lord of the Kingdom of God invites the reader to ‘ ²⁸"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV). In a world where unbelief and lack of submission to the revelation about God are on the rise, even in fulfilment of the divine prediction (2 Tim. 3:1-5), the call goes out over the waters to your soul and mine to come to the Lord Jesus, and to seek our self-definition and restful satisfaction in Him. Christ announces the new Sabbath, the new eternal day of rest which begins in this life and will continue into eternity. Finding meaningful life and having a satisfying abundant life (John 10:10) are in the package that the Saviour offers us. We are called in because of and in spite of the burden of our labour under the taskmaster of the human soul, Satan. Sin-sick souls, Jesus would receive, and heal us with the balm of Gilead. The Lord Jesus offers us a new yoke and a new life. To choose between the yoke of slavery to sin and Satan, or to become a willing slave to the loving heavenly Master; either way, the human soul must bear a yoke, and we must choose the yoke of Christ, for the yoke of Christ is easier than to bear the yoke of Satan. We are called to and must believe when others refuse to believe. The benefits of commitment to the Lordship of Christ Jesus far outweigh any pain we encounter as a consequence of that wisest choice. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Have you bowed at the foot of the cross where Jesus died for you? Have you come to Him for the cleansing by His blood and being touched by His healing hands? There is a wonderful life that begins now when we come in response to the holy invitation. If you have decided to believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, walk boldly and confidently in His service. You owe no apologies for the unbelief of others. PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to you in total trust for my journey through Earth to Heaven. Please help me to “see you more clearly, love you more dearly and follow you more nearly, day by day.” For your dear Name’s sake, Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

Rev Enoch Thompson | APRIL 14, 2023 | Matthew 11:25-27 KEY VERSE: ²⁵At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. Matthew 11:25-26 (NIV) MESSAGE: When those who witnessed the immediate physical miracles of the Lord did not believe, what hope is there that those who are remotely placed in time and location, like us, could believe? The discussion of the unbelief of the people of Bethsaida, Korazin and Capernaum in the preceding verses is linked to the Lord’s comments in verses 25 to 29 of Matthew 11. In this portion, the Lord shows us that when others choose to disbelieve, or not to respond positively to the light they have received, that will not stop others from being able to believe! We can believe this because of two factors the Lord identifies in the text. Firstly, we can believe because what we are called to, in following the Lord Jesus Christ, is a child-like faith that does not have all the answers to all the questions that the worldly wise and learned will want to address before believing. The Christian faith is an intelligent faith in that it makes intellectual sense in its claims and teachings. It makes sense that an intelligent being, called God, existed before all things, and created everything we see, and all the order we see around us. There must be a Creator; it takes more faith to doubt the existence of God than it takes to believe in the existence of God! The Fall into sin by the first humans and the provision of God of a Lamb to wash away humanity's sin all make meaning and show the transforming power seen in the lives of those who believe. The Gospel calls for a child-like faith, not a childish faith. The child believes without reservation and with full conviction that what has been said is true, and what has been promised will be delivered. Secondly, we can believe because we receive revelation from God Himself to us. Our feeble spiritual senses are strengthened by the help of a gracious merciful Father who by the power of His Holy Spirit reveals His Son to us as our Saviour and Lord (verse 27). We cannot, in and of ourselves, know God, till He draws us to Himself, and He is drawing all to His love because He wants all to be saved (1 Tim. 2:1-4). FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: In an unbelieving world, will you make up your mind in simple child-like faith to believe in God and all He stands for? Will you build upon the light of revelation you have received so far, and develop your faith muscles, until the vision of God becomes a reality in your journey through life, and when you cross the river of death? PRAYER: Lord, I believe in you, when the world is becoming more and more godless because they do not believe. Please help me to truly believe. Lord, heal the Church of empty religion without God and His power to make us into the new humanity. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

Rev Enoch Thompson | APRIL 13, 2023 | Matthew 11:20-27 KEY VERSE: Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. Matthew 11:20 (NIV) MESSAGE: Why are we so blessed, is a good question to ask of oneself, of our nation and of humanity. Very often we lose sight of why we are blessed, and when the purpose is forgotten, abuse is inevitable. When we forget of our humanity as a special creation made in the image of God, it becomes very easy for us to see the divine purpose in our creation and existence, and to lend ourselves to unholy inhuman behaviour. We have stressed all along that the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ were not simply the display of empty supernatural power. They were meant to reveal the identity of the One performing the miracles as God and to cause the observers of those miracles to understand the arrival of the Kingdom of God, and to repent and gain entry into that rule of God in the hearts of humans. That is exactly the point that the Lord brings up forcefully in our text. “Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.” Matthew 11:20 (NIV). The Lord spoke harshly of the cities of Bethsaida, Korazin and Capernaum, and predicted severe judgment for them on Judgment Day. The cities of Tyre and Sidon, and even Sodom would have a more bearable judgment than the first three cities because, in the scale of God, the later cities would have responded more appropriately if they had witnessed the miracles that the former had the opportunity to witness. To whom much is given, much is expected. Those who have the opportunity for more spiritual light will be judged with a more strict judgement, in this life and in Judgment Day. Those who are given more of life’s resources will suffer more if they abuse their privilege and end up in poverty. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Why are you alive today when someone went to bed last night and did not see this morning? Why do you have the ability to see, hear or taste, when others have lost those abilities? Please begin to see that the opportunities God gives you are intended to reveal the reality of God to you, and to lead you to honour God in a closer walk under His rulership. PRAYER: Dear Lord, please forgive me when I have taken your blessings for granted. Please help me to see the reason for the blessings, and to believe, and to live under your shelter. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

Rev Enoch Thompson | APRIL 12, 2023 | Matthew 11:16-19 KEY VERSE: "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: . . .. Matthew 11:16 (NIV) MESSAGE: In daily conversation, we have developed the skill of changing the subject, when we are uncomfortable with the discussion or to dodge the issues at stake when we want to avoid the responsibility that points in our direction. The high praises of John the Baptist, and the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Jews of the time, made their attitude of rejection of the ministry of the two a matter of surprise. As a nation, they did not repent once and for all and accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah (John 1:11-12). It is a wonder to God (to whom nothing should be a wonder), and it is so put in the text as to make it our wonder, that a people who received both the powerful preaching ministry of the greatest of the prophets, and who witnessed the most-inviting preaching, in-depth teaching and miracles of the God-among-them should be so heartless and blind as to miss the divine revelation right before their eyes. The divine response to the divine “confusion” when we are dodgy to the revelations of God to us, is: "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: . . .. Matthew 11:16 (NIV). God uses different methods to draw our attention to Himself and His messages. The strange lifestyle of John the Baptist, away from the company of people, eating strange food and dressing in rough uncomfortable attire, could not call the attention of the Jews to the repentance necessary to enter the Kingdom of God. Neither did the socializing of the Lord Jesus, His easy approachability and His availability make the Jews see the depiction of the feast of the Kingdom of God He had come to inaugurate. Rather they found accusing statements to make about the messengers and the message of God. To those who are not ready to listen and believe, “The preacher is too loud” or “The preacher is too soft.” “The preacher is too fashionable.” or “The preacher is out of date in fashion.” FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Are you paying attention to what God is saying, or are you using the circumstances around the message to reject the message? Is Christianity a child’s play or real life and death business for you? Don’t dodge the question! PRAYER: Dear Lord, forgive me for the times I have tried to change your topics and divert attention from the clear messages to me. Please help me out of the playground of childish humanity and religion, to a serious mature walk with you. Please rouse your church from slumber and child’s play to a new commitment to righteousness in an evil world. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

Rev Enoch Thompson | APRIL 11, 2023 | Matthew 11:11-15 KEY VERSE: He who has ears, let him hear. Matt 11:15 (NIV) MESSAGE: The text today continues the Lord’s commentary on the person and ministry of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was the greatest of all that had come ahead of him as a prophet of God because he was the fulfilment of the great prophet who was to immediately precede the fulfilment of all that had been prophesied about the Messiah. And yet the least in the Kingdom that the Messiah will usher in was to be considered greater than John. Kingdom greatness lifts the believer above anything that elevates people in the general context of human existence. The Lord was pointing out to the Jews that since John was the prophesied Elijah who was to come (Malachi 4:5-6), then the arrival of the Messiah they had waited for all centuries was at the door, and their national and worldwide salvation was at hand, even in their midst. What the Lord was saying about John the Baptist was true, and the One speaking those words was Himself the Truth. Like all truth, the important thing is not the knowing of it but the correct engagement with that truth. Therefore, the Lord concludes the section with “He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 11:15 (NIV). Certainly, the people in the crowd had ears, and they could hear the sound of the Lord’s voice in His teaching; but were they hearing, as to understanding and taking the necessary steps to fit into the Kingdom of the Messiah? To truly understand is to be so convinced of a truth as to stand under that truth, that is live by that truth and benefit from that truth. It is sad that too many people, even in the church, have ears for decoration rather than ears for hearing. We need to understand, because “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.” Matthew 13:19 (NIV). FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: God is speaking of the soon coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, as we see the signs of the end times all around us. Can you hear what the signs are saying? Are we living as a people awaiting the Rapture of the Church? Stand under the word of God to show that you understand God’s word! PRAYER: Lord, thank you for the truth you always make known to your waiting people. I pray that I will have ears that hear, a heart that yields, and a life that stands under what I understand. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

Rev Enoch Thompson | APRIL 10, 2023 | Matthew 11:7-10 (Resumption of verse-by-verse reflection) KEY VERSE: This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' Matthew 11:10 (NIV) MESSAGE: A messenger often reflects the stature and orientation of their sending office. An ambassador reflects the dignity of the sending monarch or ruler of their home-country. In our text today the Lord Jesus Christ finished answering the question of His identity that John the Baptist had brought through His disciples to him, and as they take their leave, He raises the question of the identity of John the Baptist to His disciples. For the Jews who were accustomed to religious teachers, and people with prophetic declarative gifts to the point of even the writing prophets, John the Baptist, and even the Lord Jesus Christ Himself might be one of many religious attractions passing through their experience. At the particular point in history, the national liberation forces seeking political independence from Rome and colouring their ambitions with the Messianic expectations of the people would have made it difficult for the people, and even the leaders of the nation to see the visitation of God, to bring about their salvation. No wonder they did not see the time of their visitation, and rejected the Lord of glory, asking in His place for a murderer to be released to them. The Lord took time to indicate that John the Baptist was not merely a preacher/ prophet as the many who had come before him but was that special messenger of God who was to come in the spirit of Elijah and to introduce the coming of God among His people as He had promised in Malachi 4:4-6. John was a man whose birth and its attendant developments were part of the divine visitation which Israel was not seeing. He paid dearly for standing for the truth when he spoke against the sins of the people and of their leaders. In an era where sin is becoming the norm and human thinking is more and more becoming warped by unthinkable perversions and wickedness, we need men and women who are anointed by God to represent Him to humanity. We need a truly prophetic voice from every pulpit and from every pew. We need true believers who will point to Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world, the Way, the Truth and the Life, without whom no one will get to the Father. We need men and women of God who will not be ordinary people, like reeds being swayed in the wind, nor be people of elegance like those who wear fine robes and have political attachments in palaces. We need a prophetic people of God from professional Ministers in every pulpit, to lay people in the pews, who are accredited by Heaven, and are conscious of a divine assignment. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: If you are a disciple of the resurrected Saviour Jesus Christ, you have a duty to represent Him to the dying world around you. Pray that God will give you the boldness to speak for God wherever you find yourself. Who are the special ministers of God He has placed in your life and over you? How do you value them and support them? PRAYER: O God, more than send us ministers with heavenly accreditation, make us all ministers with heavenly accreditation!!! Let your word go forth from your Church with power. Lord, make us ministers with heavenly accreditation! For your dear Name’s sake, Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

Rev Enoch Thompson | APRIL 9, 2023 | Matthew 28:1-10 KEY VERSE: ⁶He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." Matthew 28:6-7 (NIV) MESSAGE: Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed!! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!! We can sing with the saints of all ages: Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! 1. The strife is o'er, the battle done; the victory of life is won; the song of triumph has begun. Hallelujah! 2. Death's mightiest powers have done their worst, but Christ their legions has dispersed: let shouts of praise and joy outburst: Hallelujah! The waiting-time is over, and the victorious conquering Saviour emerges triumphant over the most domineering and crippling power, death. The breaking news is here; CHRIST HAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD! At His birth, the good news of His arrival was proclaimed by angels, pursued by lowly shepherds and followed by sophisticated Magi from the east. At His resurrection, the great news was not to be kept hidden. While the forces of darkness were conspiring by good old filthy financial manipulations to keep the truth of the resurrection wrapped up by giving money to the soldiers and planning to bribe the Roman leadership, the camp of the faithful is equally called upon to go and tell. The angel told the women to go and tell the disciples (verse 7), and on their way, the Lord Himself told the women to go and tell the disciples, whom He calls “my brothers” (verse 10). We must first come and see the empty tomb, and then go out to announce the resurrected Saviour to a dying world. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Have you believed beyond every shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ arose from the dead? Do you have living evidence in your life that He is alive and rules in your heart? Do you walk with Him and talk with Him? Does He determine your tears and your joys? Then go to a dying world and shout from the top of the mountains; “Jesus Christ is alive. He wants to live in your hearts.” PRAYER: Hallelujah, thank you, Lord, that you arose for my justification, and that you live in my heart. I believe you arose, may I arise daily, from all that brings death in my spirit and all that seeks to keep me dead. May I experience resurrection power in every aspect of life and resound to all the world around me the living presence of the resurrected Saviour. Hallelujah! For your dear Name’s sake, Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

Rev Enoch Thompson | APRIL 8, 2023 | Matthew 27:57-66 KEY VERSE: ⁶⁵"Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." ⁶⁶So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. Matt 27:65-66 (NIV) MESSAGE: For most people most of the time, we are awaiting the fulfilment of a promise, or the realization of a dream, a vision, or the maturing of some investment. The initial point of that hope is one thing, and the realization of the expectation is another joy, but the waiting-time, the period in-between is very often an agony, a challenge, and that is where many people fail. The religious and political leaders had heard the claims by the Lord Jesus Christ that He would be killed, and that on the third day, He would rise to life. They did not believe Him, and they called Him a deceiver. They logically feared that if anything in the semblance of a resurrection happened, it would strengthen the followership of the Lord and make them lose their grip on the minds of the ordinary people. They, therefore, sought legal authority to impose a military guard at the tomb. The seal of Rome and a guard from the Roman army were posted at the tomb, to ensure that the miraculous did not happen. How many things have been done by the Devil to make sure that our resurrection with our Master, the new life He offers, and the beauty for ashes, do not become a reality. I invite you to a deep reflection on the things that fight against us and try to keep us down. We must not deny the fact that there are people, situations, background realities, and current circumstances that all work together against our fullest realization. The Lord Jesus had more than enough factors to keep Him in the grave; the limiting space within the tomb, the large stone at the entrance of the tomb, physical weakness from the beating, the psychological pain of the insults before and during the crucifixion, the loss of blood and strength through the journey to Calvary and the crucifixion, the seal of the emperor and the guards from Pilate, all of these were to make the waiting-time for the Lord the stopping-time. But thanks be to God that for the Lord Jesus, His waiting-time remained a waiting-time. All that was done to keep Him down did not succeed. What is done against us in our Saturday in the grave should not stop us from our Sunday morning outburst. FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Are you facing a waiting-time that is being turned into a stopping-time by forces opposed to you? Cry out to the One who experienced a Saturday in the grave, with opposition forces working around Him to keep Him down. If the risen Jesus lives inside of you, no force of Hell can stop you from becoming all that God has called you to be. Stay strong in your waiting-time. Sunday is coming! PRAYER: Precious Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you showed me to learn to wait for the Father’s allotted times. May I learn to trust you in my waiting-times. Grant me the grace to stay the course and not run ahead of you. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

Rev Enoch Thompson | APRIL 7, 2023 | Matthew 27:32-54 KEY VERSE: ⁴¹In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴²"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. Matthew 27:41-42 (NIV) MESSAGE: Good Friday was the darkest and most sorrowful day in the history of the universe; the God of the universe was substituted for humanity, His sinful creation, and He died a most miserable death. So sordid was the event that the sun refused to shine, and the earth quaked to receive the holy blood that was spilled. God-in-man, Jesus the Son of God, was dying for the humanity that He so loved. Around the dying Messiah His disciples were confused and disorganized, the ordinary people who had hailed Him a few days earlier had been turned around by the manipulation of the religious leaders into abusers of their Messiah. The religious and political leaders themselves had turned into the ring leaders and insulters of the Man of Sorrows. Their insult to the Lord was that ⁴²"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. Matthew 27:42 (NIV). The chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders had opposed the Lord Jesus throughout His life and ministry. They were determined in their hatred and dislike for Him and all He did and taught. And yet on this day that their wishes were being fulfilled as in the Messiah upon the cross they demand the empty sign that the Lord would come down from the cross to get them to believe in Him. Thank God He stayed on the cross. A dying God or Messager of God is indeed unacceptable to the religious mind, but He was the God who had demanded that without the shedding of blood, there would be no forgiveness of sin. It would have been easier for the Lord Jesus to come down from the cross, but He chose to carry His plan to its logical conclusion, to offer His life for the life of humanity, and die fully. He would give them the harder sign, the sign of Jonah, the sign of rising from the dead on the third day; “²⁹As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.” Luke 11:29-30 (NIV). And when this sign was fulfilled, the same religious and political leaders found reason to reject it (28:12-13). We do not need signs to follow Christ, we need intelligent faith! FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Do you believe in the dying Saviour, or do you not believe? Make up your mind and stand by what you determine to believe. Do not believe in subjective signs that may be or not be. Jesus died for our sins. He gave His life to save you, do you simply believe? Stop looking for signs, for the deed is done! PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for taking my place on the cross, thank you for refusing to come down, and for drinking the cup of my sins to the very dregs. I desire to believe till my dying moment. Please help me to have the faith that does not place conditions or look for signs. Help me to stay by the Old Rugged Cross, and to live by the blessings of the body that was broken, and the blood that was shed for me. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

Rev Enoch Thompson | APRIL 6, 2023 | Matthew 26:26-30 KEY VERSE: While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Matt 26:26 (NIV) MESSAGE: Anniversaries and memorials help recall and immortalise important events for individuals, families and nations. In the Upper Room in the week of His passion, the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper, a memorial, a recalling of the great sacrifice that He was headed to Calvary to offer. The meal was the annual Passover Feast, celebrated by all Israel in recollection of the mighty deliverance accomplished by God in the lives of their ancestors, from the tyranny of slavery in Egypt. Through dramatic spiritual encounters against the gods of Egypt and the display of the superior power of Yahweh, the slavery of Israel to Egypt was brought to an end. God directed that, that event was to mark the first month in the calendar of the nation Israel, and they were to celebrate their deliverance in the Passover (Exodus 12:24-27). Christ had come to instate a fuller version of Passover, and in all the enactment of the prophecies throughout His life and ministry and especially in this week in which He would be offered as the ultimate perfect sacrifice He gave us the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, to help us remember and celebrate the new Passover, the deliverance from spiritual bondage, and freedom to live a new life of freedom in Him. The bread that He broke was a symbol of His body that was about to be broken. The wine He offered them was to symbolize the precious blood that was about to be shed and to remind us that His blood was able to cleanse all our sins and make us acceptable before the Father in Heaven. It is our privilege and our responsibility to take part in the Lord’s Supper as regularly as it is arranged by the Church. In that ceremony, we also celebrate the Body of Christ, the Church that emerged from that great sacrifice. The unity of that mixture of Jews and Gentiles, the new humanity that was made possible by the reconciliation with God that came about because of Calvary. What joy to celebrate the memorial of the greatest and best sacrifice ever! FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE: Do you partake of the Lord’s Supper? Do so gladly with true understanding. Thank God for the wonderful gift of His love in the death of the Saviour Jesus Christ. If you are not partaking of the Lord’s Supper, correct whatever concerns there are; talk to a Pastor or a Christian friend, and begin to memorialize Calvary for your blessing. PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus thank you for your body that was broken, and for your blood that was shed. May I encounter you afresh, Lord, each time I partake of the bread and the wine of the Lord’s Supper, may I receive a fresh grace to take up my cross and follow you. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen. THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING. SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!