Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore; Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity, love, and power; He is able, He is able, He is willing; doubt no more. // I will live for day after day, I will live for Jesus let come what may, the Holy Spirit I will live for Jesus day after day.
Eternal Rock of Ages we bow before you, we adore You, we exalt You we bless Your Holy Name be Thou magnified for your inestimable love You bestowed upon us glory be to you on high.
How can we thank You enough for Thy goodness and mercies that endureth forever more. Thank You Father, thank You Lord. You are worthy O Lord thou Lamb of Calvary to receive glory and adoration. Thank You Father; thank You Lord.
Beloveth, the Holy week is gradually taking shape. Today we will be encountering Jesus praying with His disciple and am sure you are eager to pray too but unlike the disciple you must not be disenchanted. You must not sleep when it is most crucial to be alert, you must tarry for atleast one hour praying to identify with Jesus’s moment of praying in Gethsemane, the most agonizing moment of His life. The apostles miss the experience of this moment and Jesus was not happy about it.
My prayer today is that we will not miss it. We will through the help of the Holy Spirit understand the significant of this moment in our life in Jesus Name. Can we talk more of this tomorrow?
We have by the Divine inspiration discussed two out of three command given to the disciples by our Lord Jesus after disclosing His identity to them. At the moment the disciples were exceptional happy and the like of James and John were strategizing on how they will be sitting one at the left hand the other at the right hand. Peter even rebuke Jesus for telling them about the events that will soon take place.
It was at that moment that Jesus made it clear to them the condition to be His disciple. That is where the text of moment took effect.
Beloved, Jesus is saying same to us “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matt 16:24 (KJV)
When Jesus first called the disciples they left what they were doing to follow Him as Jesus ministry expanded a certain man indicated his interest in fellow Jesus and Jesus giving him an insight to His ministry the young man told him “Lord suffer me first to go and bury my Father.”
That was the cross we taught about in yesterday’s teaching. Your cross is your pleasure you forsake in joining Christ in His ministerial assignment. Is not sickness. It will involve some discomfort but none will lead to actual lack or abandonment as we also read in the second ministration. (Lk 9:57-62).
Beloved, now that you know what following Jesus entails, are you still willing to follow Him knowing also that you must pick up your cross and follow Him? Or do you want to first go bury the dead or bid goodbye to your beloved ones?
When Jesus bids you come, he demand an instant response that when it will be convenient for you to go. An Old Testament account will help us also in understanding the urgency of the call of God in any man’s life. The book of had the account of Elijah and Elisha, when the mantle of Elijah fell on Elisha, he also wanted to go kiss his Father and mother but the demand of the moment did not allow that so he held a feast on the spot with his people around him and bid them bye and followed Elijah (1King 19:19-21).
Are you surprise at the tune of our ministration today? Nothing change, we are still in the prayer section and we need to set the stage for effective prayer. When you have good understanding of what you are asking from God, when the answers come you will also know or else you will be beating the air other than running the race. Praise God.
Following Jesus might create some discomfort but like Paul we must count it as nothing but little affliction because when the eternal life package will be delivery to you, you will quite agree with me that it is truly “a little affliction” (Act16:37, 2 Cor 11:23-28, 2 Cor 4:16-18).
Beloved, come with me to read more about following our Lord Jesus and then know where you fit in the maze and join to make it easy for others to come on board. We all have influence you know.
Your circle of influence awaits you to lead them Christ, but that will remain a dream until you make the choice of deny, carrying your cross and the follow Jesus in whose work you are commission. Praise the Lord.
Here is what Jesus told someone who told me that his mother and brethren are waiting to see Him. Please read the account in Matt 12:46-50. So beloved this following of Jesus is a serious matter make a decision
Let us discover more:
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”—Matthew 16:24
We can take God’s presence for granted. We can assume that because Jesus said He would be with us always, He will follow us wherever we go (Matt. 28:20). Jesus does not follow us; we are to follow Him. You do not invite God to join you in your activity. He invites you to become involved in His activity. Jesus said: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). Following Jesus requires absolute obedience. He does not seek our counsel about which direction we think is suitable. God already knows what is best without ever having to consult with us.
Following Jesus will lead you into experiences you never dreamed of! You will be with Jesus as He weeps over those trapped in sin. You will feel the pain that Jesus feels. You will see those who were spiritually blind experience the joy of coming to see God for the first time. You will see lives that were broken, made whole. You will see marriages restored; those in bondage, released; and those who mourn, comforted. At times it will be easy to follow Jesus. At other times, you will be tempted to abandon Him. Following Jesus can mean going through a storm or standing on a mountaintop.
You may have stopped following Jesus, but now you want to follow again. When you stopped following Jesus, you did so on your terms. But the returning to Jesus is strictly under His conditions. He is God, and you are not. Are you willing to follow Jesus anywhere, at any time, under any condition? That is the only way you can follow Him.
Following Jesus will lead you into experiences you never bargained for. I am a witness but am also comforted because His promises has not fail concerning me and my household. It has been a journey of faith. It has been most challenge from the quarters you least expected but His Word is standing sure concerning us. He has always shown Himself strong on our behalf and I cannot thank Him for lest. And am very sure someone also have a testimony of the cost of following Jesus.
But don’t be discourage because like you can see that is your cross and you cannot claim to be following from your comfort zone.
Let us remember to keep a date in Gethsemane as we discussed earlier. Ask Jesus for the full revelation of that moment in garden.
Remember the “Garden of Eden” now the Garden of Gethsemane. While Adam and Eve were at ease in the Garden of Eden, Satan took a run on their destiny. Notice you that Satan came to do same to Jesus but thank God for that firm resolute to deliver mankind from eternal destruction (Lk 22:42-44).
Jesus was not willing to give up but for the Will of the Father to be done. Beloved, how often do you allow the Will of God to done in your live? Beloved, we must not toil at the garden today we must pray and be delivered of all our maladies and be well quip for the kingdom work ahead of us. Praise the Lord.
May God help us not be disenchanted when it mattered most in our destinies in Jesus Name. We must stay awake least we fall into temptation. Praise Jesus.
“Stay awake and pray so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”—Mark 14:38
At times your spirit must demand supremacy over your flesh. Your spirit will know what your Lord wants you to do, but your flesh will cry out for its own fulfillment. There are times when sleep must be denied, even when you are exhausted, because it would be disastrous for you to rest at such a time. When the Lord commands you to “watch and pray,” it is crucial that you obey.
As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He knew that the pinnacle of His ministry was quickly approaching. He was aware that the legions of hell were marshaling their forces to defeat Him. If there were ever a critical time for His closest friends to be undergirding Him in prayer, this was it. Jesus told them that He was deeply distressed, even to the point of death.
Surely they could have sensed the intensity in His voice and the urgency of His demeanor, and surely they could have found the strength to obey His request. Yet He found them asleep. No excuses. They had fallen asleep at the most pivotal moment in human history, not once but three times!
Jesus asks you to join Him in what He is doing. He may ask you to watch and pray for an hour. You may have to deny your physical needs and desires in order to pray with Him. You may have to leave the comfort of your bed or your home. You may even have to sacrifice your safety in order to be where Jesus is. Seek to bring every physical desire under the control of the Holy Spirit so that nothing will impede your accomplishing what Jesus asks of you.
May we seek Jesus while He may be found. Call Him while He is near. Make a choice today to follow Jesus today. The hymn we sang today was written by Joseph Hart. He struggled with God for many years and eventually gave his life to Christ, so is never late to being you work with Jesus.
You are a puzzle in the maze and with you the maze will take shape, so don’t stay away rather join and be bless.
Pray and ask God to help you to make a choice for Christ. Rise and be counted. Rise and follow Him.
O! Father help your children whose desire is to follow you bearing their cross along. God of harvest arise and help us. Rescue souls that are perishing and deliver us from the grip of the evil one in Jesus Name.
Beloved stand an hour watch with the Lord today. We will be blessed by it. Praise the Lord.
Then you can sing the full hymn as attached below.
Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love, and power;
He is able, He is able,
He is willing; doubt no more.
Now, ye needy, come and welcome;
God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh;
Without money, without money,
Come to Jesus Christ and buy.
Let not conscience make you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him:
This He gives you, this He gives you;
‘Tis the Spirit’s glimmering beam.
Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Bruised and mangled by the Fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all;
Not the righteous, not the righteous;
Sinners Jesus came to call.
Remain ever blessed in the Lord
Evang. Ifeoma Ohondu
Attached is the brief account of the life of Joseph Hart.
COME, YE SINNERS, POOR AND NEEDY
Joseph Hart (1712–1768)
LONDON-BORN Joseph Hart struggled against God for years. When he attended church, he went to find fault. He responded to a sermon by John Wesley by writing a tract, “The Unreasonableness of Religion.” He was a language teacher by profession, but spiritually he was (in his own words) a “loose backslider, an audacious apostle, and a bold-faced rebel.” Then he came under conviction. At times he was afraid to sleep, fearing he would “awake in hell.” He went from church to church, but as he said, “everything served only to condemn me.”
Finally at the age of forty-five he wandered into a Moravian chapel in London and heard words of hope. On returning home he knelt in prayer.
Three years later he became a minister and began writing hymns to touch the hearts of others who had experienced similar spiritual struggles. The words of his hymns come from the heart of someone who has been there
