Reflection on His Death and Resurrection

[music] Churches and fellowship cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. The Lord greatly desires godly homes. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. Be blessed as you listen. [music] [Speaker 1] Alagbara, you are the mighty God. Eyin l'ato bi ju. You are the glorious God. We thank God again for another time, the month of April, another time for our Singles Club. We give God all the praise for preserving us through our meeting last month, every first Saturday, the meeting of March, 7th of March last month. God has preserved us till today and we trust in Him to yet preserve us. We are here today for another episode of our Singles and Adolescent Club. We normally say Singles and Adolescent because our adolescents are also having their meeting right now. They are having their meeting in another venue while the singles have their meeting here. This another episode is a special one. We want to reflect on the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We felt that is quite timely because yesterday in the Christian calendar was Good Friday, and tomorrow we mark the resurrection. Saturday, in between Friday and Sunday, historically looking backward, it looks cold, it looks dark. It looks like that is the end, but there was a Sunday. By the time it was resurrection morning, the whole narrative changed. The Lord is risen. Death has been conquered. Satan has been conquered. Victory has been given. Jesus the conqueror has given victory to His church, to the church His body. And that is around some of the things we want to reflect on for this Singles Club of today. We just felt it's good that we reflect around the suffering, the death, and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. I welcome brethren joining us on Telegram. I welcome brethren joining us on Mixlr. And we who are physically here bringing the program to you, we welcome ourselves and we say many, many more years of Easter we shall celebrate in the name of Jesus Christ. Let us have a word of prayer as we begin this morning. Everlasting Father, we are grateful. We thank You for Your mercies and love. We thank You for all who You are. We thank You for all that You are. We bless Your holy name. Everlasting Father, we commit ourselves into Your hand. Lord, we pray that Your Spirit will work in our midst this morning, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, You will meet with each and every one of us in this area where we need You most in the name of Jesus. Everlasting Father, our eyes are on You. Let nothing prevail against Your purposes over our lives in Jesus' name. Thank You, almighty God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Reflection on His death and His resurrection. The reflection will be such that it comes in three parts: the suffering, the death, the resurrection. The suffering, the death, the resurrection. And what I want us to look at this morning in this reflection is what Jesus did by that very act of His suffering, His death, and His resurrection. What exactly He did by it. Let me first make some background comments and then we go straight into what we want to do this morning. Now, it is important for me to make this background statement. The Bible says in John 3:16: John 3:16 (KJV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. There is more to say that the Father did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that through Him the world might be saved. He who believe in the Son is not condemned, but he who believe not is condemned already because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. Something comes out very clear from that word of our Lord Jesus Christ. What came out very clear is that primarily what God offered us in Jesus is life. What God offered us in Jesus is life. Jesus, speaking again in the book of John 10:10, said: John 10:10 (KJV) The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. So something is clear. What is clear is that Jesus came to offer, to give life. All that Jesus did could be summarized into one thing. What is the one thing? He gave us life. Everything He did was to give us life and to give us that life in abundance. What I want us to do this morning in this reflection is to reflect on Isaiah chapter 53. That is what we will base our reflection on. I want us to particularly look at that scripture and try to relate it vis-à-vis the Easter. Yesterday, Good Friday; tomorrow, the resurrection. He died, He suffered and died yesterday historically in the church calendar, and by today He was still in the grave and Hell was rejoicing. By tomorrow, it will be a brand new thing from the dead He rose and that shattered everything about the aspiration of Hell. So let's look at Isaiah 53 as we journey together this morning. In going there, I quickly want to remind you of this. We're talking about yesterday, that in the church calendar, Good Friday refers to the Friday that Jesus was killed. And how was He killed? Was it a pleasant way to die? It wasn't a pleasant way to die. Number one, He was age 33. It looks too young for somebody to die at that age. He should have grown older, or grown very old till maybe 100 years or 120 before He would die. Number two was that there was no reason for Him to die. He did nothing wrong. And yet, through the injustice of the judicial system of that time, He was killed. Number three, look at the nature of how He was killed. Beaten almost to the point of stupor. The whip that was used on Him historically we were told is the Roman type of whip, a whip that has at the end of the whip sharp objects that once you whip and you pull, it tears the body. And then He went through all of that. Finally He was at Golgotha. And at Golgotha where we have a clear understanding of being nailed to a tree. He was nailed to that tree. Now, how do you explain that in relation to calling it a Good Friday? Is yesterday ordinarily, if you look at it historically, was it a good day? Was it a good day? Would you call that kind of day a good day? If you call it a bad day, am I right? But why don't we call it Bad Friday? Something good in it is that that death was purposed by God. That death marks our redemption. That death marks our salvation. That's why we are calling it Good Friday. But in the ordinariness of it, it was a bad Friday. And so it becomes very, very important for us to understand something. It is not exactly how a particular event looks that determines whether it is good or bad. It is in relation to what God is doing. We must get that about our own life. When Joseph was denied by his brother, when he was betrayed by them and he was sold as a slave, he entered Potiphar's house and Potiphar's wife blackmailed him and he was thrown into prison. The ordinary circumstance of it was a bad one. But what makes it a good one? Because of what God intended to work through it. So as we begin this reflection, I want you to have that at the back of your mind that when you look at the suffering, the death, and resurrection of Jesus, fundamentally you must understand what makes certain things bad or evil is not in the ordinariness of how what happens to us, but in relation to God's purpose. Is it furthering the purpose of God in our life? Is it allowing what God planned for us to come to pass? Is it bringing the intention of God for our life to come brighter? So no matter what would have happened to us, as long as that thing is making the purpose of God in our life to be established, how do we describe that thing? It becomes good. It becomes good. That is a fundamental thing for us to know. So young people listening to me, brethren online, I want you to get something very clear wherever you are listening to me. Get that very clear in your spirit. Don't always interpret things from the ordinariness of it. You must learn to have this other what I call the eternal goggles, that when you are looking at things, you could view it from the point of eternity. And when you view it, you could see what God is doing. And when you can see what God is doing, then you are able to interpret that thing in relation to your life. Now to Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah 53. Let's see what the Bible says in Isaiah 53. What we are seeing first in this chapter, we are reading between verse 1 and verse 10. That's what we want to reflect on this morning. Isaiah chapter 53 opens with: Isaiah 53:1 (KJV) Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? So the first thing was a question. A question. What is the question? Can you believe this report? Can you believe this report? Which report is this that we want to believe? Which report? And to be able to believe that report, it says the second thing, that to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. Verse 2: Isaiah 53:2 (KJV) For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. Who is the "He" here? As we read on, it will be clearer. He will grow up before Him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. He has no form nor comeliness. When we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. Verse 3: Isaiah 53:3 (KJV) He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Who is this speaking about? Who is this verse talking about? It reads on. It says in verse 4: Isaiah 53:4 (KJV) Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. [Speaker 2] Oluwa ti gba. [Speaker 1] Isaiah 53:5: Isaiah 53:5 (KJV) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:6 (KJV) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:7 (KJV) He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. Isaiah 53:8 (KJV) He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. Isaiah 53:9 (KJV) And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Isaiah 53:10 (KJV) Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Isaiah 53:11 (KJV) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:12 (KJV) Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. So who is this passage talking about? Talking about Jesus. Am I right? They're talking about Jesus. So I want us to reflect on these things. And I want you to look at the way this thing came. I want you to look at this record. I want you to be able to appreciate Easter, Good Friday, and Easter. Now it says, "Who will believe our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? He shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. He has no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." Now the passage was talking about Jesus. And it was making us to see that there is something that came out. Jesus will grow before Him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. What is that telling us? What is it telling us? What is a tender plant? What is a tender plant? When you say a plant is tender, something that you can easily break. The something just growing. He will grow before Him like a tender plant. When you look at it, look at the birth of Jesus. Look at how He was born. Look at the circumstance of His birth. He will grow before Him like a tender plant. Mind you, at that birth, don't forget that angels were there to announce that born to you this day in the city of God is the person who is the Messiah. The Earth should be glad because He was born. Yet when He was coming, He didn't come with noise. Can you imagine that God came to the Earth and nobody knew? Can you imagine that the God of the universe was coming down into the universe, the best place for Him to go is not Aso Rock. The best place for Him to go is not White House in Washington, D.C. The best place for Him to go, are you understanding me, was to go to where you have cattle dealers, among people keeping sheep. And to make things worse, the circumstance of His birth was even such that you won't know that the person that was born was anything important. At least maybe a state hospital. Maybe at least something. They couldn't even get a place for Him to be given birth to in a room. He had to be given birth to in a manger. Do you know, I hope you know what a manger is. That's where they normally put food for animals. So He became, can you imagine anything coming out of such a person? But the person that was coming in that figure was the Lord of the universe. So He was coming up before Him. He was coming up as what? As a tender plant. He was coming up as something that you will not recognize, as something not to be recognized, as something to be despised, as something to be thrown aside. That's why the Bible says He will come up before Him as a tender plant. A tender plant. Something you can easily, something vulnerable. Please, how vulnerable is a baby? How vulnerable is a baby? How strong is a baby? Imagine, that same Jesus—let me give you an understanding. That same Jesus, when John saw Him in His glory in the book of Revelation, what happened? He died. John saw Him, He took the breath of God to enter John again to be able to rise. But because He was coming as a savior, He was coming to save, He was coming as a deliverer, He was coming to give us life. And look at the manner of His coming. He came as a tender plant. He came as a tree out of a dry ground. When you say a dry ground, not a fertile ground. He was coming from parents that are carpenter. He was coming from somebody that is not recognizable. He was coming from ordinary Mary. The Bible says there was a virgin, not even a priest, not a queen, not somebody recognized in society. Just one girl that had kept herself pure, not known, not recognized. He was coming out of a dry ground. The parentage was nothing to reckon with. That was why at a point they said, "Is this not the son of the carpenter?" He was a tender plant coming out of a dry ground. I am looking at a reflection on this person who died, how He came and how He died. He came out of a dry ground. He has no form nor comeliness. Of course, what do you want to recognize in that person? Is there anything to, of course so there was no form, there was no comeliness, there was nothing to commend, no beauty. He says, "and when we shall see him, there is no beauty to desire him." Who want to give birth to a child in that kind of situation? Who want to tell a story that where were you born? So there's no beauty. But for you, the place of your birth is in Britain. Place of your birth is in Atlanta, Georgia. There's a way when they want to ask you, you want to say, "in the United States of America." You want to show them that me, I am not just anybody. So but for Him, there was no beauty to desire Him. The point I'm trying to make, I want you to get something very clear as a believer. Be careful of ostentation. Be careful of show. Be careful of shakara. Be careful of arrogance. Be careful when—the matter of our salvation, the matter of our redemption, the matter of life, is something that is far from showmanship. It's something that is far from show-off. It's something that distances itself from arrogance and pride. It's something of humility. It is something of cool-headedness. It is something of sober reflection. Be careful when you have this spirit of "I want them to see me, I want them to know, dem go take, dem go know." By the time I talk, dem go take. Be careful with this kind of spirit. It's not something we found in our Savior. Be careful as a young man with things that surround showmanship. Be careful when the grace of God upon your life is to get a fellowship to impress them with your spiritual gift. You want to show that me, I can speak in tongues, I can do this, I can—when you notice that something about you is to show up with people, be careful. Be careful. You may not be having the mind of Christ. You are not walking in the mind of Christ. You are not walking—what I'm trying to say is that you are not walking in life. The life, let me show you something in Philippians chapter 2. We're just reflecting on these things and I want you to get these things very clear. Look at the book of Philippians. Philippians. Open your Bible to Philippians chapter 2. Look at what it says. I'm reading from verse 1: Philippians 2:1-2 (KJV) If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Verse 3: Philippians 2:3 (KJV) Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Let me read that in simpler translation. It says verse 3, "Don't push your way forward to the front. Don't sweet-talk your way to the top." Showmanship. It says, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind." Lowliness of mind. Whatever you want to do as a young man, whatever you want to do, be careful about arrogance. Be careful about showmanship. Be careful about wanting to show up. Look at our young people today. Some, even when they carry their father's car, they want to behave as if it is their car. Once something comes into their hand, the next thing is to begin to—I saw one young man who was fortunate to buy a bike, this special bike. The way he sat on the thing, I was wondering, if he opportunity to buy a plane, maybe you will burst in this pride. The way he was so full of himself on the thing. The point I'm making is the Bible says it is important to understand what it means to have lowliness of mind. Let each esteem the other person better than himself. Let each of you look not to his own importance, but also in the interest of others. Look at verse 5, 6, and 7: Philippians 2:5-8 (KJV) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Are you getting something? People that will experience life—please not my word, I said Jesus came to give us life. People who are experiencing this life that comes from the death and resurrection of Jesus, they are men of lowly mind. They are people of humble mind. They are not people of arrogance. They are not people of showmanship. Not people of "shakara me, let them see, dem go take, dem go know." By the time I talk, dem go take. That is never their motive in whatever they are doing. They carry lowliness of mind. So when we shall see him, there is no beauty in him to desire him. I am back again to Isaiah. verse 3: Isaiah 53:3 (KJV) He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Beyond the way He came with lowliness of mind taking the form of a man, it's now telling you what happened to Him. The previous day they have shouted. What did they shout? "Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is He that come." They shouted that within that week in the triumphal entry. By the same people who shouted "Hosanna, Hosanna," by Friday, what was their shout? "Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" The Bible says He was despised and rejected of men. When Pilate was asking Jesus or Barabbas, Jesus, the same people that He healed, the same people that He did all the good for, the same people that were the multitude that were going after Him, looking for bread, looking for miracle, that same multitude were mobilized by the high priest and they were shouting, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" And when they were given option of Jesus or Barabbas, what did they choose? They chose Barabbas. They rejected Jesus. They rejected Him. It says He was despised, He was rejected. Nobody wanted to identify with Him. He became a man of sorrow. They went there, removed, took thorns, make Him to take a crown, pierce it into His head and blood was coming down. And He was left, it was now Him versus the multitude, versus the high priest. He became a man of sorrow, rejected, not wanted, acquainted with grief, became familiar with grief. And what did we do? Please, where were all the disciples? Where did they stay? The Bible says they were watching from afar. Peter quickly said, "I tell you in the name of God, I don't know him." Everybody scattered, everybody have gone their ways. Nobody want to get close again. We hid as it were our faces from Him. Why? Nobody want to identify with failure. Nobody want to identify with failure. Nobody want to identify with ridicule. Nobody want to identify with it. He was despised and we esteemed Him not. We did not esteem Him. We were not celebrating Him. We were not seeing Him as something good. However, the Bible says something. Look at what the Bible says in verse 4. What is the first word in your own translation? Let's try different translations. What's the first word? [Brethren] Yet. [Speaker 1] Yet. Another translation? [Brethren] Surely. [Speaker 1] Surely. Another translation? [Speaker 4] But. [Speaker 1] But. Another translation? [Brethren] Surely. [Speaker 1] Surely. So we have "Surely," that's "Yet," we have "But." Now I want us to look at this "Surely," that word. That word that is coming in. What does "Surely" stand for? When you say "Surely"? [Brethren] Certainty. [Speaker 1] Certainty. Certainty. Listen to something. That all of those things that happened to Him, they did not happen in vain. They did not happen in vain. What was coming out of it? A certainty. A certainty was coming out of that thing. What is the certainty? What is the certainty? Surely what? [Speaker 4] He took up our pain. [Speaker 1] And surely what was going on was that what? He was taking our pain. What was going on even though it was something rejected, it was something despised, so nobody want to identify with this, nobody want to reason it as something good, nobody want to be part of it, everybody hide their faces from Him. But look at what was going on certainly. And I'm telling you, if you don't understand this certainty, you will never enjoy life. What was certainly going on? What was certainly going on? What was going out? All those things that were going on, they were not going on for fun. They were not going on for play. They were not going on ordinarily. They were not just events of ordinary day. They were not just things happening by chance. They were not things happening by coincidence. What was going on was that He was taking our pain. That was what was going on. He was taking our pain. It says, "Surely he took our pain." What's the next thing you find after pain? He did what? [Brethren] He bore our suffering. [Speaker 1] He was taking pain, He was taking our suffering. He was taking our grief. He was taking our sorrow. Jesus was taking our grief away. He was taking our sorrow. That was what He was taking. It was taking certainly. That was what was happening at that moment was that He was doing something. Our suffering and our pain were taken away. That was certainly what was going on. Even though people were seeing Him smitten by God. Can you read further? [Speaker 4] Yet we considered him punished by God. [Speaker 1] You see, what everybody was seeing, "If you are the son of God, come down from the cross." They were looking at, "God has caught him." You know the way we normally say, "God has caught him now." God has punished him for all the wickedness he was doing. They were seeing him smiting by God. But actually, why was God smiting him? Why was God smiting Jesus? He was smiting Him so that He can carry our pain, our grief, our sorrow. You see, one thing that we must get and that we must get clear is not that our grief will be carried. It's not that our grief will be bore by Jesus. No. The truth was that our pain, our grief, our sorrow, they had been carried. Not that they will be carried. Our grief, our pain, our sorrow, they had been carried. Not that they will be carried. What I'm trying to make you see is that at the time Isaiah was prophesying, people can be saying, "Jesus, come and carry my grief. Jesus, come and do it for me." But as at now that we are preaching, you need to understand that we are no more at the point where Isaiah was prophesying. We are at the point where we are talking about Good Friday and Easter. And we are looking at it historically. We are saying that, Good Friday and Easter, a reflection on His suffering, His death, and His resurrection, is telling you that actually, certainly, not that you are thinking maybe, maybe. No. He says, "Surely!" God did not just strike Jesus for striking sake. No. God did it so that He can carry certain things. And when it happened years back, it was actually done, not that it will be done. It was actually done, not it will be done. You see, what I notice about the way the gospel is preached today, what I notice about what the average young man, young person, the average Christian in the church understand, is as if Jesus is still going to die. It's as if we are at the point of Isaiah. No. Please listen. Jesus had died. And can I announce to you that He had resurrected? He had resurrected. You will be asking me, what is the pain and what is the grief that He carried? What is the pain? What is the grief? He took our suffering, He took our pain. What is the pain? What actually is the pain? What actually is the grief? What actually is the sorrow that He took away? The Bible did not leave us confused. And please, I want you to get something also. At the time Isaiah was prophesying, I want you to know that there were thousands of years before Jesus was finally born. Are you understanding me? Thousands of years was between Isaiah and Jesus Christ. Years, centuries, hundreds of years was between Isaiah and Jesus Christ. And I want you to see how Isaiah, speaking by the Spirit of God, was vividly describing how Jesus will die, how He will be born. Have you seen it? He will grow before Him like a tender plant, a tree out of a dry ground. Isaiah was speaking as if he was witnessing how Jesus will be born in a manger and he was speaking. What I'm trying to make you see is that when the Spirit of God is doing something, the Spirit of God is doing what is sure and what is certain. When the Spirit of God is doing something, the Spirit of God is doing what is sure and what is certain. Do you see that exactly as it was prophesied, it was in the exact details that it was fulfilled? That's why you could see how we were taking the picture one by one. A tender plant, a child, vulnerable, not in glory. Out of a dry ground, a parent as carpenter, one Mary nobody knew. When we see, there is no beauty in Him to desire Him. Who want to be born in a manger? Who pray for that kind of birth? If you look at all of those things, what I'm trying to make you see is the certainty that is in the word of God. That when the word of God is coming by the Spirit of God, when the Spirit of God was moving men to write, when the word of God was moving men to speak, He was speaking of certainty. These are not words of men. They are words of God. So if in describing how it will happen, he described it with certainty, then does something not tell you that if he says that certainly it was for our sake, then it is also with certainty? If he says what was happening is for your sake, don't you understand that if the way it happened, it happened just exactly the way it happened, and with certainty, exactly? I will come back again to what actually happened. What when it says He took our pain and our suffering? What is it specifically? I will come to that. But I want you to look at that Isaiah again. Look at the passage that we are looking at again. I want to show you something. I will come back to the matter of what exactly is the grief and the sorrow that He took away from us. I will still come back to that. Let me skip verse 5, verse 6. Come to verse 7 and verse 8. It says He was oppressed, He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. Is that exactly what Jesus did? Was Pilate not shocked that Jesus was not speaking? "Don't you know I have power to free you?" He was not talking. Did it happen exactly? Exactly. I'm trying to show you something. He opened not His mouth. He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth. We have seen that, exactly. He was taken from prison and from judgment. Are you following something? Was He given fair judgment? Was He given fair judgment? No fair judgment. They tackled Him, there was no fair hearing, He was not allowed to present His own case, what He was allowed, they just mobilized people, they just—judgment was taken away. I'm trying to make you see how certainly these things were. How the certainty these things happen. It says He was taken from prison, judgment was taken from Him. Who shall declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living. True or false? True. Who want to die at 33? Who is saying, "God, at 33 let my children die"? I am showing you, I'm trying to make you understand that these things had happened, these things were said hundreds of years before they were fulfilled. So I want to make you understand what you must enter into except if you are not born again. And if you are not born again, I want to call you, please come. Come into this family of God. Come into this family. And if you are coming, I want you to truly come. Come with all your heart. If you are there and you are still doing it one kind, one kind, I pity your life. There is a "surely" over our life that you don't know. If you know it, you will key into it. And that's what I want to show you. There is a "surely." He says, "Who will declare his generation? for he was cut off from the land of the living." But why was He cut off? For the transgression of my people was He stricken. It was not for His own sin. Look at the next thing. "He was made and he made his grave with the wicked, and the rich at his death, but because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." So because He had done no violence, there was no deceit in His mouth, there was nothing He did wrong, what did God do for Him? At His grave He was with the wicked. At His death He was with the rich. Do you know what the Bible is saying at all? I want you to look at the certainty of how these things happened. When He was to die, Jesus was in the middle of two wicked people, thieves. You remember? He was in the midst of two wicked people, robbers. So the wicked was on one hand when He was to die. It said again, "At his death, was he also with the rich?" Was there the rich? There was the rich. Who was the rich? Joseph of Arimathea. You remember? He came and he said they can bury Him in his own grave that he has kept. There was a rich man. I am showing you how with certainty these things were fulfilled. How with certainty each of these things came to pass. Now, let's now go to when the Bible says, "Surely he took our sorrow. Surely he took our grief." When I say "Surely," I want you to also make you see that the Bible did not leave us not understanding what He took. The Bible spelled them out one by one in this prophecy. So surely He took your grief, He took your sorrow. What exactly has Jesus settled for you? Now understand that at this point it was a prophecy. At the time Jesus was alive, He refused anybody preaching Him because He has not yet died. Why? You cannot enforce a testament when the testator had not died. If there is a will, the person who wrote the will must die before you now enforce the will. Am I correct? Yes. So the testator must die. That was why Jesus did not allow when they say, "The son of God," He will just silence the demon, silence them. He was not known. But eventually, when the testator died, what will now happen to the will? What will happen to the will? The will will now be enforced. What I'm trying to make you understand, if you don't understand the certainty with which you must enforce the testament, you cannot enjoy life. Jesus came to give you life. But a testament must be, see, it is written down. The will was written down. After that yesterday, the Good Friday and the resurrection, what are you to do? You have to enforce the will. You will now see many times, young people just come, see the will said that these three houses belong to the last born. The first two cars belong to the firstborn. They will now be following—everything is written down. The certainty because a will has been written. It has been written. You know, so it becomes very, very important to understand this. The testament is meant to be enforced. The testament is meant to be applied. Life should not just give you anything apart from life. Are you understanding me? What He came to do is something to be enforced, is something to insist on. Why? Because everything happened with certainty. I showed you, with certainty. So what came out of it is also with certainty. What came out of it is certainty. Look at the things that came out of it. Look at it. Look at it. When the Bible says in verse 4, "Surely he has bore our grief and carried our sorrow, our pain and our suffering." When the Bible gets to verse 5, look at how He began to spell it one by one. What is the first thing? What is the first thing in verse 5? "But he was" —please read— "but he was pierced for our transgressions." What is the first thing? But—no, the first thing there that He did. He was pierced for our transgressions. For our transgression. What is a transgression? What is a transgression? Transgression is when you transgress. How do you transgress? You have broken down a law. Don't do this thing, you have done it. Don't do that, you did it. You have transgressed. It says He was wounded for our transgression. You know what that means? If God punish you again for your sin, then it is not the gospel. Do you understand me? What I'm trying to make you understand, the certainty with which you should enforce the gospel. He said "Surely" so that you can—what actually happened was that God was deliberately doing those things to Him because God was taking your sin away. He was beginning to spell the suffering and the pain. If your sin don't go away, then it's certain. If you are in Jesus and you are still thinking that maybe I will go to hell, you don't understand the gospel. You should understand what happened. If you are not in Jesus, don't let anybody deceive you. Do whatever you are doing. In fact, sleep inside church and die inside church. And let them be praying for you after you have died. [Sings in Yoruba] "Oluwa gba, na gba f'ere berere." Die! I pity your life. It is in Jesus. It is in—please, I want you to understand. It is not a system that died for your sin. I've seen people say, "I attend church. I'm a good Christian. I'm in the choir. I'm in this." Please, I'm not saying that is a bad thing. But I'm saying the matter of your sin is in Him. In Him. It is about Jesus. It is about encounter with Jesus. And unfortunately, I also see men who have encountered Jesus and yet they cannot say confident of this very thing, "He who began the good work in me will finish it." They are uncertain. Right? "Maybe, maybe one thing will take me to hell. Maybe I will not be able to overcome my sin. Maybe, maybe." And let me tell you, it is that uncertainty that will make you not to receive anything from God. The Bible says for a double-minded man—I'm quoting scriptures. I would like us to read that. Look at people who are "eh, eh." Let me read it in James for you. James chapter 1. James chapter 1. I read from verse 6: James 1:6-7 (KJV) But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. Can we read that in another translation? NLT, NIV? Can we? [Speaker 4] Amplified. "For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything he asks for from the Lord." [Speaker 1] Have you seen that? It says, "For truly." Are you seeing it? "Lord, in fact Lord, it's another 'surely' over your own life. May negative 'surely' not be over your life." He says, "For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything he ask for from the Lord." Is that not a very serious thing? Please another translation. [Brethren] NIV. "That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord." [Speaker 1] So when you are doubting, what should be your expectation? Brethren, you are not answering me. When you are doubting, what should be your expectation? [Brethren] Nothing. [Speaker 1] Nothing. So I tell people many times, when you don't see the things of God happening, check the kind of attitude are you coming with. He says "Surely." You see, it is a serious matter with God. When people don't come with a heart of faith, it's a serious matter. He says the person should not expect. People are expecting things to happen. They will say, "Anyway, we are doing it, I'm following God's principle." But you are not following with a confidence that there's going to be—you are following, "let me just see, sha. Let me just try. Anyway they said they just preach yesterday and the word blessed me, let me just try it." We are not, God is not a God of uncertainty. God is a God of certainty. Any other translation? NLT? [Brethren] NLT. "Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord." [Speaker 1] Sing it! "Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord." So there are people who are believers, who are asking things from God, but they should not expect that they will receive anything from God. Why? Because they are not asking in faith. So there's something about it. The Bible says surely, certainly, He took our salvation. Whatever we have done against God before we came to Jesus, whatever it is you have done against God, whatever will not make you at peace with God, whatever—it's talking about the suffering and the pain. What would have given us suffering and pain? This is making reference to things that will make God not to ever be at peace with you. Your transgression. We transgressed against God. Remember, I didn't transgress against the Devil. I didn't sin against the Devil for goodness' sake. So he cannot accuse me. The person I sin against is God. And the person who I now say is, "Surely I have taken it away." So how can someone take somebody to the throne of grace? Now transgression are the open sins that we know. But you see, it didn't stop there. What is the second thing that He handled? What is the second thing that He handled in this our suffering and our pain? What's the second thing? Bible says He was bruised for our what? In Isaiah 53 verse 5. What's the second thing? He dealt with open sin, transgression. What's the next thing again that you see? [Brethren] "He was pierced for our rebellion." [Speaker 1] He was what? Pierced for our rebellion. Are you seeing that? On one hand He dealt with sin. On the other hand He dealt with rebellion. He dealt with iniquity. Do you understand what that means? What the Bible is saying is that when He took your pain and your sorrow and your suffering, He dealt with every open sin and He dealt with every secret sin. Open sin, secret sin. Because the Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter 12, he said God will bring every man to judgment. God will judge everything, even the one that is done in secret. So the judgment of God is coming on every sin, open and secret. But when he said Christ took this thing, Christ took both the open sin, He took the secret sin. Surely He took them. He took them. He went before fellow Jesus. Look at that Isaiah. What is the next thing He did? [Brethren] "He was crushed for our iniquities." [Speaker 1] No, the next thing after that now. "The punishment that brought us peace was upon him." The chastisement for our peace is where? The chastisement for our peace was upon Him. What does that mean? Did Jesus not say when He was to go, He said "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives." Do you know what that means? If you want to understand what it means, you will see element of it in Philippians chapter 4 verse 6 and 7. It says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your request be made known unto God, and the peace of God which passes all understanding." The chastisement for your peace—what the Lord is saying is that there will be no time that you will not be at peace. There is a peace that passes understanding. There is a peace that in the midst of confusion—let me give you an example for instance. Who can ever be at peace when you see yourself surrounded by enemies? But you can see how Elisha was at peace. "God, smite them with blindness. God," and God said, "Okay, who are you looking for? Okay come with me, not here, follow me." They were at peace. They were at peace. There is a peace of God, not as the world gives. The peace the world can give you is when you are at peace when everything is at peace. That is when, that's the kind of peace that the world can give. But there is a peace that the world cannot give, that everything is scattering. Look at how the psalmist puts it in Psalm 46. Look at Psalm 46. Look at how the psalmist put that peace. Psalm 46 verse 1 and verse 2. It says: Psalm 46:1-3 (KJV) God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Please, which type of shaking is that? You know mountains don't move. Do you know what it means by mountain? Ordinarily, me that cannot shake. Have you ever seen mountain shake? It's talking about complete confusion and disaster. No matter how the wind blow, have you seen mountain bow? Let me tell you something. It's like a element of what almost happened when they almost killed a sitting governor Ortom in his farm. You could just imagine that somebody killed this governor, killed that governor, killed this one. You see that when you begin to see how mountains move, move to the middle of the sea, it's telling you that things that have never happened before in life, things that have never shaken before. It says we will not fear. Though mountain be removed in Nigeria. Mountain has not moved. Nigeria has not moved in Nigeria. Nigeria is still there. There's still settlement here and there. There's activity, you go to work, you go to—some people cannot sleep. Some people cannot sleep. And when you see the level of panic and fear and trepidation today, we have not entered into something. Something is missing. And that's why I'm telling you, please young people, see, desire a deeper experience. There is something deeper than just attending church. I'm not saying you don't go to a church or attend church. But when you begin to think that Christianity is about "I am in the church, I'm in this, I did that, I'm in this, I read my Bible every morning," when you think that Christianity is just about this activity, you are missing the point. He said there is something what Jesus suffered is something deep. It is something you get the more you know Him better and better and better and better in Him. And when I say in Him, I say in the cross. It is in Him. It is the more you get intimate with Him. It is the more that your fellowship is fully with the Father and with the Son. Do you know that that is when your fellowship with the brethren can be very, very meaningful? So it's something to understand. The chastisement for your peace is upon Him. Look at how Isaiah put it again. He said, "thou will keep in perfect peace the man whose eyes stayed on thee." He said there is a peace that is perfect. There is a peace that is not perfect. And that just what you are describing. A peace that —I normally just laugh. I was asking somebody, "How do you know that this relationship is of God?" You know what the person said? He said, "Sir, there's a way, there's a way everything is just peaceful." I said everything is peaceful. That is how you can know. I said but are you sure that if the circumstance begin to change and it looks like things are not peaceful, it will not be the will of God in you? I said there is something deeper than he said, "the boy is nice, everything is okay, everything is fine." I said, "Look, you are not getting it. There is a peace that is beyond everything is fine. There is a peace that is beyond the boy is nice or the sister looks good. There is a peace that is beyond the father is a reverend, his mother is a pastor." There is a peace that is deeper than all of this. There is a peace that even if the mountain is moving, you are certain about what you have entered into. You are not shaking. That's what comes, that is what is offered to you in Christ. The matter is in Christ. It is in that His suffering, His death and resurrection. So you must pray. And I know you have said this too. When that hymn writer said, "When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride." You must beg God to be able to survey this suffering and death. You must be able to survey, understand what actually happened. And get into what actually happened. Don't just think Christianity—Christianity is both a group experience and a personal experience. The fellowship with the brethren, don't forsake the assembly of one another. But the other one is our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son. There is a growth in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. And that is why you noticed that when Jesus showed up in Revelation, what did He say? Did He say they that overcome will inherit eternal life? Is that what He said? What did He say in all the overcoming? He said, "He that overcometh." They may not overcome, but he must overcome. He that overcometh. When he comes into certain situation, they may not overcome. Some may go this way, some may go that way, some may —I give you a good example. The 12 that were following Jesus physically, when He was to be killed, they went to stand afar. The disciples stood afar. But somebody that was following Jesus online, whether on Mixlr like us or on Telegram like some of you now who are with us here, Joseph of Arimathea—you know he was not with the 12. But he was a disciple of Jesus. He was following Jesus online. And when those who have followed physically fled, it was the online brethren that came and said, "Give me the body of Jesus, I want to bury it." They may not overcome, but he that overcometh. So there's a place of growing in grace. There is a place of this work. There is a place, there is a same—look at that story I just gave you, Elijah and the servant. The servant was not overcome, "alas master, alas master." But the master was calm. Then you see, you see this thing being reflected in this strange way. He says two shall be working together, one will be taken, the other left. Is that not true? Two will be on the bed together, one will be taken and the other left. Two people could even have association and yet one is taken and the other left. So we'll be able to interpret these things into our work with God. Where do you as an individual, as a young man, as a young woman, where do you stand as an individual? When everybody else is not there, how do you stand? Can you see Joseph? He was not with his father, he was not with his brothers. Yet he told that woman, "Madam, I cannot do this thing." Nobody was there, but he was—he was a Christian to the core. He said, "Madam, I cannot do this thing, madam." For people who are only good Christians when there are enough presence around them to make them behave correctly. When they are inside fellowship, they can easily preach. But put them inside bus to preach, their heart would be shaking. That thing is knocking against—you cannot stand. It would be very, very important for you to get this thing clear. The chastisement for your peace is upon Him. Look at how Isaiah put it again. "Thou will keep in perfect peace the man whose heart stayed on Him." There is a peace that is perfect. I want us to go home with this morning. And I want us to pray. Father, we thank You for another time in Your presence. Father, we ask that as we leave this place, help us to carry the consciousness of Your peace that passes understanding. Help us to enforce the testament of Your peace over our lives. May nothing move us from the certainty of Your love. In the name of Jesus. Amen. Let's share the grace together. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forever more. Amen. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever. Amen. This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in enriching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday at 5:00 PM, Adolescent and Singles Club every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM, marriage forum second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM, family life seminars, regular school outreaches, and every day counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp, by first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Very Joy filling station along Igede road, Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria. Or send us an email through familytentministry01@gmail.com. You can also reach us on YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook, or through our website www.familytentministry.com, or listen to any of our podcasts at Spotify. Our phone numbers are 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you all.