Praise God and glory to His holy name for this incredible day that He has made which, as you know, is recognized worldwide for various reasons. But the real reason for this particular season was prophesied thousands of years ago and has been signified by the ancient feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. What did these feasts prophesy and signify? The divine miracle of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection! These were greatly anticipated events that all of creation had been anxiously awaiting since time began. And now the power of this prophesy and the glory of Jesus’ triumph has been revealed in these last days to God’s children by His Holy Spirit. And though our outward man perishes, our inward man is renewed day by day whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
When Jesus shared the Passover meal with His disciples, He told them to “Do this in remembrance of Me.” He wanted them to assemble together as one unified body to partake of the bread and cup that symbolized His suffering and His death. He did not want them to focus exclusively on the horrible pain He endured but to humbly, sincerely and genuinely appreciate, cherish and treasure the magnificent and incomparable act of love He displayed towards us which motivated Him to submit to such a sacrifice. A sacrifice where the standard was so high that nothing or no one else but Jesus was worthy to be offered. This was true, pure, uncontaminated, unadulterated love.
This kind of love is not defined by what you say but by what you do. It was this kind of love that God demonstrated for the world when He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. And it was this same love the Son had for His Father when He voluntarily gave His life to pay a price for us that we were unworthy to pay for ourselves. It was this same love that drove Him to leave His eternal home in glory to be made flesh and dwell among us on this earth as we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. It was this love that overshadowed Mary and produced the sinless savior Who would bring salvation to the lost souls inhabiting this dark world. It was this love that spoke heavenly wisdom through Jesus as a young child that the teachers, instructors and religious scholars were amazed at His knowledge. It was this love that fed five thousand, that healed a lame man, that forgave the sin of a woman caught in the act of adultery, that raised a dead child back to life and cast out a legion of demons from a suffering soul.
It was love that strengthened Him in His agony while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane while His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground causing Him to say to His Father, “Not My will but Thine.” It was love that sustained Him as He endured the brutality of a kangaroo court, a wrongful conviction and a painful crucifixion. It was love that held Him on the cross until the predestined plan of God for Him to be sacrificed as a sinless offering for the sins of the world was finished.
And it was love that occupied and guarded the tomb where His battered and lifeless body lay for three days until the awesome power of God was breathtakingly displayed to the universe when Jesus arose and stood victoriously as the undisputed champion of all creation having defeated death, hell and the grave! Love had been resurrected!
It was love that led Him to the Mount of Olives to be taken up in a cloud and to sit on the right hand of God at this very moment making intercession for us all. And it is love, dear ones, that will prompt His royal return when we shall all see Him coming in the clouds with great power and glory! The King of kings and Lord of lords will arrive with the armies of heaven requiring every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that Jesus is Lord!
How do we know it was love that was responsible for all of this, dear ones? Because we know that God is love. And love never fails, therefore God never fails. And it is because of God’s unfailing love that we understand what this day is all about. It is about the endless, eternal, everlasting love of God towards us all through His Son Jesus Christ. And it is also about the opportunity that has been given to each of us to love one another as He has commanded. The two most important principles in God's kingdom are to love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
And so, beloved ones, as we celebrate and rejoice in this most holy day, let us glorify God, not in words only but in action. Let us honor Jesus' supreme sacrifice by humbling ourselves before our Creator and allowing His love to shine through us upon everyone as He has so graciously done for us. God's love is the key. Let Him resurrect His love in each one of us, not only today, but every single day.
And now, may the love of God and the sweet communion of the Holy Ghost rest, rule and abide with all the true children of Israel until we meet again in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
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