Good Friday: Holy Week 4

"If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the Mighty God."

Happy Good Friday, and my friends, Good Friday is a good day for all of us who are TRUE BELIEVERS. This is the day in history that our Lord Jesus took our sins, YES, OUR SINS, to the cross with Him. The death on the cross was very, very painful, but if we truly follow Jesus and give over our sins, and the pain the sins cause ... and every believer shouted PRAISE GOD AND AMEN.

Dear Father in Heaven, today we ask as we look back to the day You went to the cross, and we know You took our sins and the sins of the world to the cross. Jesus, please forgive us this day, forgive us of our sins, and as we look back and see You being Nailed to the cross, we know we are clean, and now we want to repent. Lord, we also need You to do just that, for You see, Lord, sin is all around us, and it is so easy to step into it.. Lord, protect us from the sins and wash us white as snow. Lord Jesus, I want to thank You for dying for me, and also for others. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Good Friday, Holy Week 4: John 3 16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, BUT TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH HIM. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned. But whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." (NIV)

After the supper Jesus had with His disciples in the "upper room", and after Jesus was finished praying at Gethsemane, He was arrested. Those who arrested Jesus took Him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. Ok, at this point if it was a court in the United States today those arresting Jesus would need to "state their case before the judge".

Here is what the ARREST ORDER SHOULD HAVE SAID ... Jesus, you are guilty of crimes of the sins of Pastor Daniel W. Lehman and then the order should have read with all names there, not just mine. Each of us caused our Lord Jesus to be arrested. Yes, Jesus was arrested and convicted of our sins and our shame, and today I ask all of you to pray for Jesus, and tell Him you are sorry, and I want you to think also of this, that each time you sin, EACH TIME YOU SIN, I want you to think about this, EACH TIME YOU SIN, EACH TIME I SIN, EACH TIME WE ALL SIN, I THINK WE ARE DRIVING ANOTHER NAIL INTO HIS HANDS AND HIS FEET. Now that is my thinking, that is not in the Bible, but if we truly believe that Jesus was put on the cross for our sins, then we are the ones who caused the nails to go in. Think about it and let me know what you think. Today, I want you to really think about it, and pray about it, and then in your mind, pull the nails out. And then we, you and I, need to repent and we need to stop the nailing, we need to PUT OUR HAMMER DOWN! And someone said Amen!

The Bible tells us about Peter who denied Jesus, and I wonder how many people still today say they are a Christian and deny Jesus. I will get in trouble saying this, but our President just did this, when He stood on foreign land and said to the world ... "We, meaning the United States, are not a Christian nation." If you deny you are a Christian you just might be doing what Peter did. But listen up, Jesus was reinstated, and those who have walked from Jesus. Today I ask you this very important question ... if you were arrested for being a Christian, would those who arrest you be able to find enough evidence against you to prove to their court that you are Christian, or would you be set free for a lack of evidence? Would you be one to deny Jesus? Now as for me, there might have been a time that they could not find evidence about me to prove I was a Christian. However today, today, I would stand before the court and confess, YES, I FOLLOW JESUS, AND I AM PROUD OF IT.

Luke 23: 28 Jesus turned and said to them, and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' 30 Then they will say to the mountains 'Fall on us and to the hills, cover us!' 31 For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?'' (NIV)

Now look at this, a "bedside conversion": Luke 23: 32 - Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals, one on His right, the other on His left. 34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (NIV) Now while Jesus was on the cross, soldiers came up and mocked Him, spit on Him. Then here comes that bedside conversion, and let me explain that term. This is what means. A person who has not given himself over to Jesus, they are not born again, and they are in bed dying, taking those last breaths, and someone leads them to Jesus, and they confess their love for Jesus. They are saved. Yes, for they indeed confessed over to Jesus and were Born Again. And here is the proof that it happens ... Jesus was on the cross and one criminal rebuked Him, while the other stood up for Jesus, saying this. Luke 23: 42 Then he said this, " Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise". (NIV) And this one criminal was saved and went home with Jesus. Where do you stand? Then the death came for Jesus. Luke 23: 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit". (NIV) And it was done. From there he was taken to a tomb to be buried, and a stone was placed in front of the tomb, maybe a boulder would be a better term. Then guards were stationed to watch over the tomb. What happens next?. SEE YOU SUNDAY MORNING FOR A SPECIAL EASTER MESSAGE ...

Remember you are invited to a concert at the Bridges today at 2.00 PM ... Join Carry The Light for this very special concert. Now go forth and share those blessings, and please remember to rejoice today for indeed it is GOOD FRIDAY. Jesus loves you so much He died for You, and I love you also ... dan.