FOUNTAIN OF GRACE CHURCH OF GOD
MADRID-SPAIN.
HOST PASTOR: PASTOR DANIEL OBIDIEGWU.
TEL: +34632875301 (FOR COUNSELLING & PRAYERS.
Beloved, peace of God is the foundation of all Godly blessings, be
it spiritual, physical or of the soul, love peace, live in peace and be an
agent of peace in words and deed; Shalom.
Text: Luke
24:36.
 |
| Pastor Daniel |
Today
in these four words the Lord is saluting us, absolving us from
guilty feeling, reassuring us with His presence, blessing us and directing us.
Jesus
introduced Himself to His disciples saying, “Peace be unto you.” It was His
good wish—more, it was His fervent prayer! He breathed peace upon them
expressive of His goodwill, His love, His intense desire for their highest
good.
Peace is the highest gift He can impart. Said the apostle, “Grace, mercy,
and peace be with all them that love the Lord Jesus Christ.” He had given them
grace and mercy—He now gives them the highest benediction, peace! Did He not
mean more than that? In a second light it was a benediction. “Peace be unto
you.” He had been into the invisible world and He had returned from it—and He tells
them that there was peace reserved for them. He had passed the veil with His
own blood. He had offered up His sacrifice. He had said, “It is finished.” He
had received the token that it was finished by His being raised from the dead.
And now He comes to them with the marks of His crucifixion still upon Him, and
He tells them there is peace—it is done—“The war is over, the conflict s
concluded—My bloody sacrifice and glorious resurrection have made peace between
you and God.” “Peace be unto you.” It is the declaration of what He had seen
and heard of the Father as the result of His death; a benediction and a
declaration.
Peace
be unto you from master Jesus is also an absolution of our sins which are many
just as the disciples denied Him and went into hiding, yet He was able to
absolve them in these words. Remember that these were them who had forsaken
Him—there was one who had denied Him! Out of them all, there was no faithful
spirit there at all who proved to be faithful in the hour of danger.
Like cowards,
each one had cared for himself and deserted his Lord. They had slept while He
agonized. They had retreated while He advanced. They had, every man, left their
Master to seek each man his own. And now what does He say to them?
Do they
stand as culprits?
Is He about to accuse them?
Do they stand as deserters?
Is
He, as a captain, about to condemn them?
No, that one word seems to say, “It is
forgotten. It is forgiven.”
My only word to you is, peace, peace, peace. I know
your weaknesses. I know your deep regret. I know how you lament that you served
Me thus—regret no more, at least be not depressed with such regrets, for lo, My
only return to you is this, I give you My, “Salem,” My salutation—My word of
goodwill, My sweet word of love. I have not revoked My legacy, though I might
well have destroyed My last will and testament.
I said, “Peace I leave with
you; My peace I give unto you.” I confirm that will now, risen from the dead.
You shall see I have not cut you off from My affectionate regard. I, risen from
the dead, declare what I declared when your love was warm and your resolution
was rather to die with me than to desert me. I give you the same as I gave you
then, “Peace be unto you.”
When did Jesus stand in the midst of His disciples?
He came when they
were quite unworthy of His coming- Cowardly—they had deserted
Him! But though there was no one there that could have even thought, much less
said, “I deserve the Master’s company,” yet He came.
Oh, I think we are, many
of us, in the same plight. Looking back upon the past, we cannot feel that we
deserve any love visits from the Savior. We dare not put up a plea on that
ground. We are very unworthy—we are very unworthy—but that is no reason why He
should not come. They were unworthy, but He stood in their midst and said,
“Peace.”
Now
note, next, that they were very unprepared. They were not looking
for Him! They had not come together that night with any expectation of seeing
Him, you might have come without expectation but yet will He speak peace unto
you today ?
Note,
further, that our Lord came to them when they greatly needed Him.
They had got into a disorganized, demoralized state as a group and they were,
every one of them, almost ready to give up their faith. The third day had
passed, and they had not yet believed in His resurrection, though it had been
witnessed to them. They were foolish and slow of heart, and I do not know what
they might have done the next day, for he that is slow of heart and unbelieving
today may go to something worse, if worse may be, tomorrow! And they needed Him—they
needed Him and there He was in the midst of them!
Courage, then, my brother!
You need Him—you may expect Him! Sister, you need Him.
More
than that—on that occasion when He came, there were some of them who
were testifying of what they knew. Two of them were telling how they
saw Him in the breaking of bread at Emmaus. And while the two spoke, Jesus
came! Now here stands one witness who can bear testimony that there is a living
Savior, and a real one, and that His love is shed abroad in our hearts by the
Holy Spirit! And as you hear that testimony, and many of you are recording in
your souls your, “Amen,” to it, I hope He will stand in our midst and again say
in spiritual language, “Peace be unto you.”
Once
more, though, I say they were in a low state—they were all lamenting their
Master’s absence. I do not think, of all that company, there was one
but what had a heavy heart and was sad because Jesus was not there.
If you had
turned to Peter and said, “Peter, would you like to see Him?” He would have said,
“Oh, for another look on those dear eyes, even though it broke my heart again.”
And John would have said, “Oh, for another leaning of my head upon that bosom,
if I might be permitted such a favor.” And everyone, by dear remembrances of
the past, would have said, “Alas, we have lost everything in losing Him!
Take
away the sun out of the skies, rather than take Christ out of the circle of our
fellowship.”
Now, dear friends, have you, you lovers of the Savior—have you
missed Him and are you now saying,
“Oh, that I knew where I might find Him”?
Well, our mingled notes and praise shall reach Him and He will come and stand
today in the midst of us, and we, again, shall rejoicingly honor and worship
while the King sits at His table with His people.
What were the benefits of His visit?
1) He banished their
doubt
2)
He revealed Himself to them.
3)
He opened their understanding of the scripture.
4)
He refreshed their memory.
5)
He showed them their true position as His witness.
6)
His blessed presence created intense joy.
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