Maundy Thursday 4/2/15 The Empty Church (4)

Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Thanks for a great day and thank You for answered prayer about Matthew. Thanks for keeping him safe. Thanks for all You do for all of us. Please, Lord, help my thought process and help me be ready for tomorrow. Help Dolores as she readies the music. It has been awhile since we were out preaching and teaching. Please, Lord, be with us.  Help me now with the daily message and then to get it dispatched. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.

Brothers and sisters, all honor and glory to God and thank you for your prayers. We received a letter from Matthew yesterday that told us he was safe. We still have not talked to him, but we now at least know where he is. Please keep praying that if he has not returned to God that he will. I want to get started with the message, The Empty Church.

Maundy Thursday: April 2, 2015: The Empty Church (Day Four)

John 16:19 - Jesus saw that they wanted to ask Him about this, so He said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see Me no more and then after a little while you will see Me'? 20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world." (NIV)

Question for you. Did you ever really stop and think why the Friday before Easter is called "Good Friday?" If you really think about it, it was not a good day for our Lord Jesus. However, with that said, it sure was a good day for we who have become "Born Again." For we now  have a "path to peace." Now you can quote me on that last saying, for Jesus is indeed our "path to peace." I have seen it written like this. "Know Jesus, Know Peace, no Jesus, no peace."

With our scripture for today, Jesus is with His disciples and His time is coming, coming to an end here on earth. His disciples were talking together and said to one another, 'In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while You will see me.' What does He mean, they were asking each other. That is when Jesus gave them the answer in our scripture. But what does it mean?

Well, Jesus knows He is going to be put to death, and He also knows He will be risen from the dead. So He is telling them in His way that He will be leaving, the first time will be for a short time. He will be gone and as we know, as we have the benefit of our Bible and this is history, Jesus states, "In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after awhile you will see Me."

The scripture also shows they, the disciples, will "weep and mourn" while the world rejoices. But that, as we know, will get reversed. They will cry, weep, mourn, but as we will see after Easter, His disciples will see Him again. Then of course He will leave them again. Do you know when? That we will talk about in about a month. The scripture also talks about sorrow, pain, etc., turning to joy. Jesus uses the example of a woman who gives birth to a child, has all that pain, and when the child is born, the joy overcomes that pain. It also talks about the world rejoices when His disciples weep. That is no different today as we see how the world is and how the world treats real Christians. Christians are being murdered daily, and in the news today we hear of Christians being murdered just yesterday in Kenya, which if I am correct is where President Obama's father lives or lived.

Brothers and sisters, while we are here on earth we will go through a lot of pain, a lot of it. And while none of us want to be in a hurry to leave our homes here on earth, when we do leave, when we do get called and head to our final forever home, we will have no more pain, no more suffering, it will be pure joy, IF, and yes, there is a big, a really big IF ... we must be saved, we must be "Born Again," and I love those two words. They scare the pants off of some people, but not me, as I am "Born Again." My job now is to see that others come to know Jesus. You know I have talked about The Empty Church this week. Some of the churches are empty because they were left empty by a flock who pulled up their stakes and left. Others did not PREACH and TEACH the TRUTH and once that starts it is a matter of time until the church folds. But there is a time that the "Church should be Empty," and that is when the flock goes out door to door and spreads the word of the Lord. Christians make fun of the Mormons and those Jehovah's Witnesses as they go door to door. But they are doing what Christians are to do. When was the last time people set out from the church you attend and "worked the streets" or the market places? Ask yourselves this one. Would Jesus be welcome at the church you attend or would He be looked down on because He needs a "shave?" Is the Holy Spirit welcome at the church you attend? If you were standing on a Sunday Morning in that church where you attend and someone was jumping up and down on fire for Jesus, what would happen? What if they spoke in "tongues?" We are to praise God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Ghost. All three, my dear brothers and sisters. How long has it been since you just really worshiped God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Ghost? Think about it, and while you are thinking about it, I want to get you started.

Praise You, Jesus, thank You, Jesus, I love You, Jesus, come into our house and make it a home, Father, and please baptize me in the Holy Ghost, dear Father. I love You, I love You, I love You. Thanks for dying for me and all others. Praise You for permitting me to work for You. All glory and honor is Yours. In Jesus' Name. In Jesus' Name, I ask to be saved, cleaned up, washed in the blood of Jesus. All glory to You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Now go forth loving Jesus and sharing your blessings. And remember, all good things come from God. I love ya. Please share my love as you share the love of Jesus. Enjoy your Good Friday, and remember all of this was done for us, for you and for me.

Pastor Dan