The blood of Jesus Christ has set us apart 

Scripture Reference: Leviticus 8:24

The fact that we are today kings and priests is not a coincidence. God set us apart to be kings and priests and all this happened through the work of redemption and the blood that Christ shed for us. We have seen that life is in the blood. Today, we are going to see how the blood of Jesus Christ has set us apart to be kings and priests to God.

Leviticus 8: 23-24 says: "And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about."

Aaron and his sons were being set apart in order to be priests to God. God couldn't allow a sinner to enter into his presence.  It was for this purpose that an animal had to be punished in their place. Three things that Moses did that had significance: He applied the blood of the ram on the tip of Aaron and His son's right ear, upon the thumb of their right hand and the great toe of their right feet.

 First, He applied the blood on the right ear because from the fall of Adam, mankind seized to have a spiritual relationship with God. For this reason, it was impossible for a human being to hear the voice of God in his heart. People could only hear it with their physical ears and this mainly through prophets.

Today, because of the blood of Jesus Christ shed for us, we have access to revelations from God. It's good to note that the first miracle that Christ Jesus did while redeeming us, was to put back the ear of the soldier (that had been cut off by Peter). The blood of Jesus Christ was shed so that we can be removed from condemnation, so that we can discern and know the will of God. The bible says in the book of Hebrews 8:10 that : "This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people."

God wrote His laws in our hearts.

Secondly, as Moses applied the blood upon the thumb of the right hand so was Christ pierced in His hands, and blood came out- this was to give you the right to serve God. To be a priest and stand before God pure and raise your hands to Him. This also means that as a Christ believer and disciple, you should never fear laying your hands on people.

Thirdly, just like Moses applied the blood on the great toe of the right foot, so was Jesus Christ pierced on the feet and blood came out: This was so that you will stand firm and so that the gates of Hell will not prevail against you. In the past, as we see it in the book Judges 1:6 that if they wanted someone not to run away, they would cut off his big toes and this would hinder this person from standing firm. Ephesians 6:13 says that: " You must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand."

Yes, the devil will come to seek a way to destroy your life. And you have no power of your own to overcome His plans. A life full of fear, challenges and tears is not what God prepared for you. Each time you are going through tough times, believe in the blood of Christ shed for you to stand in those tough times. It is because of the blood of Christ that you have victory over all things!

The blood of Jesus Christ speaks

Blood speaks. The story of Cain and Abel displays this fact, as we see it in Genesis 4:9-10: "And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground."

The blood of Jesus Christ speaks. The word says in Hebrews 12:24 "And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."

If you are born again, the blood that is flowing in you speaks of the value of the blood that has redeemed you. 1 Peter 1:18-19 says " Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (Also read 1 John 1:1-7, 1 Peter 1:1-2).

The blood of Jesus Christ enables us to walk in the victory that we have received. 

1. The blood of Jesus Christ gives us victory over rebellion and sin. Let's look at Luke 22: 40-44: 

"And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and knelt down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

There was blood that was shed because of the obedience of Jesus Christ to go to Calvary. Jesus Christ overcame the temptation of disobedience by being obedient and He shed His blood for that. Because of His blood, you can stand before all temptations and say: "I will not fall into this temptation but pass over it because of the blood that the Saviour shed in the Garden of Gethsemane for me, because He overcame all temptation."

2. The blood of Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the curse of sin

Matthew 27: 29 says: "And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!"

Jesus Christ wore a crown of thorns and was mocked and disgraced so that you can be clothed with His Glory- so that He can remove all disgrace and mockery in your life.Just like a husband is honored and pleased when his wife looks good, the beauty and glory of the church causes Christ to be honored. 

The Lord endured poverty for us. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we have been healed. Jesus Christ endured it all so that you can be prosperous.

Today, just like Haman paraded Mordecai through the city square, crying out before him, “This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor." so does the blood of Jesus Christ speak blessings upon your life saying "this is what is done to the man that the King has been good to."

Thank Him for His blood!!

The Victory that is found in the Blood of Jesus Christ

In your blood, there is life. When a person dies, the blood stops. And in his blood, that‘s where his identity is. Adam is the only human being that did not receive blood from another human. All of us have inherited blood from our parents.

Our Blood can also carry blessings and curses. In life, you can find people or families who never progress, never get married or always get divorced, others are prone to particular types of disease... all these are some of the ties created through blood. Many pray asking God to help them but not knowing what He has already done through the blood of Jesus Christ- which is His own blood.

Jesus Christ was born in a supernatural way, with no earthly father, but a heavenly father and hence carrying the blood of God and His DNA. He became the second Adam- with no curse in His blood, He was fully qualified to redeem us from our sin’s nature and all the curses that came as a result of the fall of Adam.

Because of His blood, we have been saved, redeemed and removed from the dominion of Satan (Ephesians 1:7-12).Jesus Christ shed His blood at various points of the crucifixion: when He was sweating in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he was wearing a crown of thorns,  as he was being beaten up, pierced - and many other times. Each and every drop of blood that He shed was for our full redemption which required that a ransom and sacrifice be paid.

After His death on the cross, He descended to the lower parts of the earth and Satan found that He had no right to keep him there. Jesus Christ commanded that now, every captive who had been held by Satan be set free.

Today, as a believer, you need to know that the blood of Jesus Christ gave you a spiritual DNA- God’s DNA. When you were born for the first time, you had the DNA of your father. Being born again gave you a new identity in Christ, that’s why curses cannot catch you. Today, you don’t need to go through people, saints, angels, Mary,  to get to God. Jesus Christ qualified you to enter into the Holy of Holies and He paid a ransom for that. His blood continuously cleanses you.

Believe what the blood has already done for you and Thank God for that!

By Nahimana Dieudonne

Walking by Faith leads to a good end

Hebrews 11: 1 and 8 says : 

      “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

      ^“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” (Hebrews 11:8)

Faith is believing God and His word. Abraham, our father and the father of faith obeyed God and left a place he had known for many years, to go to another place where God was going to show him.

Even though Abraham had obeyed God, He did not let go of Lot but travelled with him.

There are different steps that God takes you through in your walk of faith

 The First step is to make a decision to separate yourself from things that your life was founded on and move from one place to another. We chose to move from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light. Just like a lady who is getting married to a gentleman, you have to leave everything behind and cleave to Christ.

Second Step: Genesis 13

Abraham had to separate himself from Lot. They had different perspectives. Some people may be great but not born again. You have to let go of them. Lot could also represent your siblings, friends, etc... a time comes when you have to separate yourself from them and follow Christ.

Many Christians are carrying a “Lot” around. You need to let go of Him.

Third Step:

Abraham also learnt to give to God. He gave tithes to Melchizedek before that law was instituted. He understood the importance of it. You should not give because you want something back from God. You should give because you love God.

Fourth Step:

Abraham made the mistake of sleeping with Hagar and bringing forth Ishmael. He did it, thinking that God will be pleased. But He was wrong.

 Jesus told us not to judge because many people in their faith can make mistakes. It happens. This mistake did not stop Abraham from becoming the father of many nations. Moses killed the Egyptian, but that did not stop him from leading the children of Israel out of Egypt.

 Abraham was restored and God gave Him Isaac.  Even though you might have made mistakes, or been slowed down by Ishmael, there is a restoration coming. One of the things God desires for you is to live a life of rest.

Abraham finished his life being known as one who lived a life of faith.

How is your walk of faith?

By Senior Pastor Dieudonne

Sunday 13/10/2013

Scripture Reference: Mark 11:22-24

Pasteur Nahimana Dieudonne

The bible is divided in two parts: the time before Jesus Christ lived and time after He lived. In the Old Testament, people waited for the promises that God had given them. Sometimes God will give them the privilege of experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit for a short time, and then the Holy Spirit would depart from them. Today, because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, as new creatures, we don’t wait for the promises of God to be fulfilled- because Jesus Christ fulfilled all the promises for us and gave us the Holy Spirit to live in us. Instead, we live them out.

The story is told in the bible of the fig tree that the master went to look for some fruit on it. It looked good but He found no fruit on it. He cursed it, and the next day, the disciple found it withered. There are some lessons that Jesus wanted to teach the disciples here.

First is that faith speaks. Jesus said: “Truly[f] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” Here, Jesus was teaching His disciple what prayer is.

In prayer, we don’t speak to God about the mountain or pray to God to remove the mountain for us. We speak to the mountain. When the storm raged, Jesus Christ did not call or pray to the father to stop it. But He commanded the storm to stop.

Secondly, when you pray, check that you are praying in faith. Let nothing in this world cause you to fear and stop you from having faith. The enemy that many believers have today is thinking that what we have in Christ is not enough.

Thirdly, Jesus said believe in God. In other words, be at peace and stand in faith, waiting until He fulfills what you have asked for.

Finally, a verse to remember is the prayer Paul made to the Ephesians, He said : “For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:15-21)

Amen!!

FAITH

Pastor Christophe

Scripture Reference Mark 11: 24

When you have faith, you believe what your eyes have not seen. Hope is based in the future whereas faith is based in the present. Faith brings to us the things that already exist (from eternity).

In Mark 11:24, our Lord said: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  Here Jesus was telling us that after asking God for something in prayer, we should not go back hoping that he will do it in the future or some day. But we should believe that God has already done it.  We should not start hoping after prayer but we should believe that we have received what we have asked for. And we should stand upon faith and not upon hope, knowing that in Christ everything has already been accomplished.

When it comes to faith, there are three major points that we should remember:

•  If you don’t believe in the creator, you cannot believe in the created. Believing in God is the key to true faith. Your faith should be in God. Remember the bible says that without faith, it is impossible to please God.
• Secondly, believe in the will of God (John 5: 10- 14). To believe the will of God is to believe His word.  And we receive what God desires. Believe in what God has said and promised. 
•   Psalm 27: 1 to 3 says: “The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” When we are defeated in the battles and we cry, it is not because He has failed or He is unable to help us, it is because we lack faith. He is still there. David believed in the God He had seen, the God of Israel, that is why He said He will not fear. Psalm 125:1 to 3 says that “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.² As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.” When you believe in God, everything that comes against you cannot touch you. You become strong.

 Believe in God. The one who fights for us has no beginning and no end. Before the problems that you were having ever existed, God already had an answer.So have faith in God.

Sunday 29^th September 2013,

Praying in the Name of Jesus Christ by Ange-Michel Muhayimana

Scripture Reference: Hebrews 1:1-3

Prayer is a way we have been given to have communion and fellowship with God. We don’t pray to beg God to do things for us but we pray to build our relationship With Him. Prayer is a dialogue and an interaction with our God. So, praying in the Name of Jesus Christ is something God has given us to build that fellowship and communion with Him.

The bible says : “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” (Hebrews 1:1-2) .In the Old Testament, the high priest represented people before God and had to give an offering for God to approve and hear his prayers. But today, the bible says that God speaks to us through Christ Jesus, our High priest. He gave the sacrifice of His body on the cross, once for all and through Him, we can hear God speak to us and we can speak to Him 24/7.

In Hebrews 1:2, we see that God appointed Christ as His heir, just like Abraham made Isaac His heir. And we, us Christ’s disciples, are Co-heirs with Him of all things (Romans 8:17). For all things were created through Him and for Him, the bible says in Colossians 1:15-17. All things in Heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible belong to Jesus Christ, for they were created for Him.

Jesus Christ said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” To get to the Father, you have to go through Jesus Christ.  God gave Jesus Christ the name that is above all other names (Phil 2:9-11). There is an authority behind every name. When people mention the name “Ange- Michel”, you don’t think of the president because there is nothing that Ange-Michel has done that can be associated with that title.

In the same way, God invested His power in the name of Jesus Christ. There are many who are called Jesus but there is One Jesus Christ- Lord of Lords and King of Kings. The seven sons of sceva tried to use the name of Jesus Christ and they were thoroughly beaten up because they did not know who Christ is and the authority in His name.

We should know that God is glorified over the things that are done in the name of Jesus Christ. John 14: 13 says: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” There is nothing that God does without passing through the name of Jesus Christ and the promise that Jesus made still stands today.  He said “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 16:23). Notice the word whatever here, meaning everything! Then you ask, “How come have I not seen an answer to my prayers? For a job, for a wife, for a husband, for a child, etc.?”

1 John 5:14 says: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” We should ensure that when we asked God something, it is according to His will, first of all. Secondly, we should also be willing to wait for the “Kairos” moment, the opportune moment, the right time God has prepared for us to receive the answers to our prayers. And we should wait with the right attitude, with an attitude of expectation and thankfulness.

So, let’s pray in the name of Jesus Christ, knowing that whatever we ask in His name, we receive!

Two more verses to consult on this topic Mark 11:23 and James 4:3