Our Testimony About Christ

Preacher: Revd Isaac Etuah-Jackson
16th Jan, 2011
2nd Sunday After Epiphany

Text::
John 1:29b "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!


John 1:34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."


We are grateful to God once again that we have come to His house to share in His word.

Isaiah and the other prophets gave prophesies that described the new era of liberty and joy which the long-awaited Messiah would bring as promised to Abraham.

These prophesies were studied by devout Jews and was evident in the prayer that Simeon prayed for the baby Jesus. Because of his saintly life, Simeon had been promised that he would live to see the promised Messiah. This promise was fulfilled when the baby Jesus was brought to the temple. Simeon carried him in his arms and prayed for him – Lk2 27-32.

Lu 2:27 And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law,
28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word;
30 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation
31 which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel."

Two thousand years on, we today can also sing the song of Simeon with heart-felt joy and gratitude; for we can see, with the eyes of faith, that our saviour, the Son of God has come among us and enlightened us with the true knowledge of the real purpose of our life on earth.

Simeon’s testimony about Jesus was that he will be a light to the Gentiles.

John the Baptist paid a spontaneous tribute to Jesus: the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world; the Son of God.

John 1:29 b "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

To John, the Lamb of God was greater and more valuable than the Passover lamb, which had to be offered every year - Ex 12:11-14 - He knew this because he was the son of a priest.

Ex 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.


13 The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.


14 "This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever..

The Lamb of God was a once-for-all sacrifice. Jesus the Christ is the one true sacrifice which can deliver us from death. Through his death on the cross our sins are forgiven.

John made it clear what his own function was i.e. to bring men to Christ; so he claimed no greatness for himself. He introduced two of his own disciples to Jesus and they went and followed him. His disciples deserted him. But he must decrease while Christ increased.

Andrew was a man with a ‘missionary heart’. When he found the Messiah, he first introduced his brother Simon (Peter). His testimony was that ‘we have found the Messiah’

What is your testimony about Christ?

As we mark Evangelism Week this week, let us use the opportunity that comes our way to testify about Jesus. When we testify about the love and goodness of God, it would challenge others to give their lives to Christ.

If we can win a soul a month this year, we bring12 souls to the saving knowledge of Christ and when He comes into his Kingdom, we would have a place there with him.

In the Second Service, Sis Doris Achampong’s Sermon was more interactive.

She said to be able to testify about Jesus; we must be able to praise him; for praise enables us to testify about him. We must also have faith in him.

God testified about Jesus by saying ‘this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’.

Jesus testified about himself when he said ‘I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me’.

The woman of Samaria, after her discourse with Jesus went back to the village and gave a testimony about Jesus ‘John 4:28 So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? ’’

What is our testimony about Jesus?

Jesus is our Healer, our sustainer, our glory and the lifter of our heads.

She asked the men what they would do at home to be able to testify about Jesus; and Bro David Nyako said he will forgive his wife for whatever she does. The men agreed with him.

Our daily lives must be a testimony about Jesus. A testimony that He lives in us.

Donation of Musical Instruments

A group of church members that wants to

remain anonymous has donated a set of musical instruments, made up of Electronic organs, guitars etc to enhance the Ministry of One Voice and the Choir. It is also to enable the seasoned musicians in the church to train the young ones. In the picture on the left Revd Seth Kissi, the Minister-In Charge, prays over the equipments and dedicates them for the work of God.

Assisting him are the Assistant Ministers; Revd Foh Arkhurst on his right and Revd Etuah-Jackson on his left.

        

May God bless the donors!

Earlier in the month, the Young Adult Fellowship had donated 1,000 customised Sermon Note Pads. It was very thoughtful of them! In the note pads are the dates and themes for every Sunday of 2011. The essence is to enable church members to write notes as the sermon is preached; and then refer to them at home to recapitulate.

Chosen for the Mission of the Father

Readings: Is 42:1-9; Acts 10:34-43 & Matt 3:13-17

Preacher: Revd Isaac Etuah-Jackson

Text: Mt 3:17 and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

Let us look at the theme in two parts

1) Jesus Christ as the chosen one for mission and

2) Jesus Christ as the one we pattern for mission

The description of the Saviour in Isaiah written some 5 centuries before Christ’s birth showed that he did not proclaim himself to be sent by God but chosen by God – Is 42:1 he came to the world to teach both Jews and Gentiles the new law of God which was the love and mercy of God.

Jesus as the son chosen by the Father for His mission had a universal vocation to bring salvation to mankind. God was to reach out to man through this salvation plan which was to all peoples – Jews and Gentiles. Mt 28:19
John the Baptist’s mission was to prepare his fellow Jews for the inauguration of the messiah’s kingdom which they had waited for centuries; by washing them in the waters of the Jordan – an outward sign of their inner repentance and of turning their hearts to God.

Jesus’ baptism by John did not mean that he had any sin to repent of but to fulfil all righteousness; for he had to be baptised and anointed for the mission of the Father. He came to take away the sin of the world. Jn 1:29

The baptism made Jesus’ perfect righteousness to be imputed to his followers because he came to save them.

At the baptism of Christ, the Father spoke from heaven and proclaimed that Christ Jesus was His beloved son and he was pleased with him. At that point the Trinity was present to play their role. The Holy Spirit descended upon him to anoint him as the Messiah. It was a hallowed and memorable occasion where God the Father spoke from the scripture from Psalm 2:7 and Is 42:1 in delighted acknowledgment of his dear son.

Ps 2:7 ¶ I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son, today I have begotten you.

Isa 42:1 ¶ Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations.

God spoke about Jesus and showed him to the world that this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

But can these words be said about any of us?

Are we an example to our household and work place?

Christ came so that we come to the saving knowledge of God.

The greatest barrier to the spread of the Gospel in the first century was the Jew-Gentile conflict where the Jews claimed to be the chosen ones and we gentiles were not part of God’s Salvation plan. But through Jesus we know that God’s salvation is to all peoples – Jews and gentiles alike as God Himself demonstrated when he asked Peter to take the Gospel to Cornelius, a Gentile.

Our physical situation - our language, culture, prejudices, economic status etc therefore should not be a barrier to the spread of the gospel. We must remember that when one soul is won there is celebration in Heaven.

Today as Christ has been manifested to us we must launch into the deep to give the message of salvation to unbelievers and the unsaved around us.

Jesus as the chosen Messiah of God is calling on us to extend his mission. We are to continue his work till he comes back and we will give account. The salvation messages that we hear every Sunday must be translated into soul-winning and personal growth. We must grow in the area of bible study and obedience to the word.

May God say to us that he us well pleased with us for the way we are ordering our lives.

May Jesus find us worthy to enter into his kingdom when he comes back.

Eager to Maintain the Unity of the Spirit

Bible Readings: Eph 4:1-7; 1Cor 12:22-27

Preacher: Revd Seth Kissi

Covenant Service / Teaching on our Theme for 2011

We thank our God for a New Year and are grateful for this first service of the first month of the New Year.

Our Theme for this year, 2011, is Eager to Maintain the Unity of the Spirit – Eph 4:3

Ephesians 4 is a letter Paul sent to a church in gentile land reminding them to walk and live a life worthy of their calling.

Paul identified their challenges in verse 2 as

Lowliness

Meekness

Patience to forbear one another in love and

Diligence

If there is anything that has fought the church from the beginning to this time, it is the threat of division – sometimes in subtle ways.

Therefore we must make the spirit of unity the common denominator of all members in the common bond of peace. It means if you have been restored to fellowship with Christ, then there is peace between you and God and therefore between you and me. That is the common bond of peace.

One of the threats against the unity of the early church was ethnicity - where you come from; and that gave Paul a lot of struggles in his missionary work.

Paul saw himself as the apostle to the gentiles and so he preached faith in Jesus Christ as the basis on which God accepts and saves us; but the Jewish Christians in Ephesus could not accept that teaching and so they tried to persuade the churches in the gentile lands to behave like Jews – circumcision, keeping of the Sabbath, abstaining from eating certain foods, purification rites etc - in order to be accepted by God; and Paul fought against these teachings; and that has made it possible for us to worship today as Christians without the Jewish rites being an obstacle.

In 1Cor 12: 22-27, the situation was different. The issue that divided the church in Corinth was a spiritual one i.e. the alignment of the people to the leaders who had ministered in the Corinthian church. Some said they belonged to Paul, others to Apollos, others to Cephas (Peter) and others said they did not belong to any human leader, they belonged to God. In all these associations they were trying to tell each other that I am more superior than you are because my leader is more spiritual.

The other issue was the importance they placed on the gifts in which members operated. They said the gifts were more inspired than the works and services. And so those who operated in works and services were ordinary people. This was a church that was endowed in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and demonstrated these gifts well and that made Paul angry with them and accused them of being carnal. Paul addressed this issue of the gifts and defeated their wrong notion in a very excellent manner: the gifts and works and services come from the same Lord. Paul employed the human body metaphor to bring home the fact that individually we are members of the same body; some we do not even see (the heart, liver, kidney, lungs etc) but which play very important roles.

In the body there is recognition, forbearance, harmony and unity. Our differences should not serve to divide but to unite us.

In the body, we treat the less honourable members with a lot of care and modesty and so Paul argued that granted that indeed some gifts were more inspired than others, then the less important members ought to be treated with a lot of love and care and attention.

This year we want to put in everything possible to live in unity (in the ‘united’ church) to maintain the unity of the Spirit.

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