Theme: Jesus Christ, Our Fulfillment:
Topic: Living a fulfilled life
Introduction: Let us first explore the underlying factor as we define the key words of the theme for a better understanding of what we are dealing with.
1. Jesus: I wish to ask us one simple question: Who is Jesus? Individual response may differ based on their belief and exposure. What is your response? This question is not new and the answer has not changed. Jesus asked his disciples the same pertinent or similar question in Matthew 16:13-16: Who do people say I am? Even when Jesus was on earth, people were confused as to his true identity. Some thought He was a prophet of some kind: Jeremiah or Elijah reincarnated, a great political leader, John the Baptist came back to life. But the question becomes somehow personal when Jesus asked his disciples: who do you say I AM? A great man, Son of God [or a fool who thought he was God’s son, a Galilean Rabbi, a Teacher of God’s law, …the ultimate revolutionary, the Messiah of Israel, …Savior,…a first century wise man, son of Joseph, the carpenter, King of kings, — a misunderstood leader, the Lord of the universe, son of man, a fabrication of the early church ……or Christ, the son of the Living God.
The name Jesus means Savior as well as Joshua. There are many Jesus’ in our world today. The Hispanic name their children Jesus [Juse]; In Nigeria we had two prominent Church sect leaders who answered Jesus: Jesus of Oyigbo and Jesus of Ikot Ekpene. People trooped to their Churches for solutions to their problems. However, these two had died and their empires are in shamble.
What is Jesus to you? It’s not enough to believe in Jesus. You must be certain the Jesus you believe in is the right Jesus. . That question is all very personal to everyone, even today. It does not depend on what other people say or think. In the world of fakeness, imitations and spiritual counterfeits, it is easy to be introduced and believe in another Jesus. But your eternal destiny depends on the Jesus you know. Your answer therefore determines your eternal destiny.
2. Christ: The Anointed One, the Messiah [Matthew 16:13-16, Colossians 1:15-20, Ephesians 1:5-10]. He is the burden –bearer, yoke-breaker and sin-carrier. He is the anointing that breaks the yokes.
3. Fulfillment: means a feeling of satisfaction at having achieved your desires, the act of consummating something [a desire or promise, etc]. Complete to perfection, to satisfy and to finish. The Christian church is made up of men and women who confess in revolutionary truth—that Jesus of Nazareth is the son of the living God. Until you believe and confess that, you cannot claim to be a Christian. It does not matter whether you have read, have positive feelings about Jesus or you think he’s a good man. You are not a Christian until you confess that Jesus Christ is the son of the Living God. You must believe it and then confess it less it becomes a lip service [Romans 10:9-10; John3:18]. You are fulfilled when Jesus becomes your Lord, not only your savior.
Why is Jesus Christ our fulfillment: Permit to ask, do you have real sense of fulfillment in your life? Would you say you are really happy with your life or you live in fears? You do not seem to get secured, satisfaction or fulfillment or contentment? I know people who are highly successful yet they commit suicide. Some artists are wealthy and have every leisure at their fingertips, yet they’re sad and miserable; may have a gorgeous home, multiple cars, a loving spouse and wonderful children, rich and substantial bank accounts and heavy insurance policies to cover their accidents and deaths. Some have tight security but they are scared, fearful not secured. There is nothing they want that they do not already have. What could be missing?
- 1.You can have a good life, a loving spouse, wonderful children, supporting friends and cherished relatives but you live in fears; have no hope and abundant life. But only Jesus can give you peace and abundant life [John10:10, 28) Matthew 5:17; Luke 10:23-24, Luke 24:44; Hebrews 10:7; 2 Corinthians 1:20].
- 2.Why does God give us such great gifts? [John 3:16; Jeremiah 31:3; Isaiah 43:3]. The Lord’s love for human beings is amazing and everlasting, beyond our imagination, understanding and comprehension.
- 3.You may have heard God does not love someone unless he/she lives right? [Matthew 5:45]. But here are the truths:
- i.The Lord hates sin but loves sinners: [Romans 3:23; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 4:9-10]
- ii.Through the sin of Adam and Eve, every human race sinned but through Jesus Christ, we have been redeemed and restored back to God [Isaiah 53: 3-12; Matthew 27:45-46]
- iii.What God did was not for the righteous, good people, for the church members, but for the entire world [Romans 6: 23; Matthew 9:13; Luke 5:31].
- iv.It is vital and important that we understand that all have done some wrong and God calls it sin. Many people are quick to recite, ‘all have sinned and come short of God’s glory’ but often left out the good news, “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” [Luke 19:10]. He came to seek and to save that which is lost [1 John 1:7]. The blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin. Jesus shed his blood so that we could not only be forgiven of sin but healed of inner iniquities; only the blood provides forgiveness. God had already paid the penalty of sin, now all we have to do is to accept this free gift of eternal life.
- v.Isaiah 1:18; the Lord pleads with us, “come now, let us reason together; though our sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be white like wool [snow].” Revelations 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and open the door, I will come in to dine with him/her and he/she with me.”
- 4.God’s desire to save each one of us: “God created every human being but not every human being is a child of God.” You choose to be a child of God by putting faith in Jesus Christ and accept his saving grace [1 John 1:9; Rom 10:9-10; Psalms 32:1-2]. We can come to God directly in prayer through his son Jesus Christ and ask him to personally forgive us, in faith we can claim these promises that God will cleanse us and give us eternal life. Fulfilled life started by having peace with God, it’s not religion or ‘Churchanity.’
John 15:5 says, “I am the vine and you are the branches; he who abides in me and I in him bears much fruits. Without Me, you can do nothing.”
John 8:31- If you abides in my word, you are my disciples, indeed.
32 – And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
36 – If the son of man shall set you free, you are free, indeed.
John 15:3 – The word you have heard has cleansed you.
Psalms 145:14 – The Lord upholds all who fall, help those who are in trouble.
– saves all who have sinned. Raises up all who are fallen whether by Lord’s glory or his grace.
15 – Every living thing looks hopefully in Him and gives them food, in due season, when they need it.
16 – He hears those who call upon Him give them enough; can satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Jesus died on the cross for our sins but also shed his blood. Through the shed blood of Jesus, not only are we forgiven of our sins but also we can walk in that forgiveness and be set free from the curses of sin.
In Exodus 12:21-29
- a.God told Moses to tell the children of Israel to kill a lamb and take the blood and put it on the doorpost of their houses. When the spirit of death comes that night, it sees the blood over the doors of their houses and could not enter in but passes by.
- b.Romans 6:23 says the ways of sin is death. That doesn’t just means death by dying (physical) – heaven and hell. It could mean:
*Divorce – death of a relationship;
*Poverty – Lack or death of necessities;
*Racism (hatred) – death of love and right sense of value. This could mean uncontrollable anger, bitterness and rancor, unforgiveness that ruins relationships and family lies is part of death.
*Depression and sadness as well as demonic attacks etc.
People can be saved but are still possessed, suffer unexplainable calamity and alienations; have hatred in heart. When you realize how to use the blood over the doorpost of your house [your life, heart, mind set], these ills cannot enter because you are living under God’s divine protection. The old tabernacle made of stone and bricks, the priest use the blood of the lambs to atone for God’s people but it was a temporary solution. Today we are the tabernacle of God; the blood once and for all has been shed to forgive our sins and heal our infirmities [1 Peter 1:18-21, Hebrews 8:5f]
In Matthew 16:15-19, Jesus asked his disciples, who do you say I am? The question became then very personal; not what others say but you. I guess there must have been some silence of some sort since some may have been taken unawares. Peter proclaimed Jesus: You are Christ [Messiah – Anointed one], the son of the Living God. It means you are Christ the anointed son of God who removes burdens and breaks every yoke. Jesus quickly responded, blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah. Because my father had found favor in you and decided to reveal this through you, I will bless you. I will give you power and authority, and I will give you the keys to the kingdom of God.
- 1.I will bless you
- 2.I will give you power and authority
- 3.I will also give you the keys to the kingdom of God. {Matt 16:19}
- 4.Whatever you bind (forbid, lock up) on earth, I will do the same in heaven. Whatever you loose (allow, unlock) on earth. I will back it up with all dominion in heaven.
* If we must live a fulfilled life, we must have the keys of the kingdom. Keys are symbols of authority. A key gives someone the power to lock and unlock; to open something up and to shut something down, to let someone in or to keep somebody out. For example: In a prison setting, the warden (or highest ranking supervisor) has a master key- to open or close any door. The Janitors, maintenance people or building owners have entrance into any room or building.
There are different types of keys but the actual keys to the kingdom of God and to God’s power is the revelation knowledge. There is no power in rituals but life changing power in revelations of Christ Jesus.
Just the Baptism and Communion
– People have gone through baptism (not as a religious ritual) and got healed. In the same vein, Holy Communion is not just a ritual of bread and juice. It’s about the remembrance that we have a covenant with God that He sealed with the body and blood of Christ. Because of that sacrifice, we can believe His promises of healing and prosperity. Holy Communion [or The Lord’s Super] is a time of miracle and healing.
– In the beginning of creation, God, the father had all the authority. He had all the keys of the kingdom when He created Adam; He gave Adam the keys of authority and dominion. But Adam and Eve disobeyed and followed the dictates of Satan. At that moment, Satan tricked them and snatched the keys and became the god of this world.
– Then Jesus died on the cross, shed his blood for our redemption and descended into hell to defeat Satan and took back the keys for you and me.
– Having the keys or standing around keys would not open or close the door, except you have authority and power. When you have the keys and power, then you can open/close doors [Revelations 1:18; 3;7; 9:1-2; 20:1-2].
Jesus is asking us – who do you say I am? When you answer: you are Christ, the burden removing and the yoke destroyer; You are Christ, the one who forgives me of my sins and break the jokes of my life, then you have got the keys, you can bind and loose the blessings, open and close the doors. You have authority and have fulfillment. In Mark 1:34 Jesus healed many diseases and cast out my demons. In His name the disciples, healed many diseases and cast out many demons. That authority and power is still available today to all believers.
1 Peter 18:19-21
When Jesus bled from his hands, dominion was returned to God’s children. That means that whatever evil we encounter we have the authority in Jesus name to render it harmless. His divine power has given us all things suited / pertaining to life and godliness; called – to glory and excellence [virtue].
2 Peter 1:3-4 – given us his precious and exceedingly great promises we can escape from moral decay of the world caused by lust and covetousness, become partakers in the divine nature of God.
Rom 8:10-11
- the one who died as our substitute now lives as our advocate. If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1John 2:1)
- apart from Christ the world suffers a far worst kind of exposure before the God of all justice.
- If we have no advocate and no Savior, we would also have no hope. But in Christ, the believer has a Defender who stands before the father on his behalf.