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The tongue – Part 5

By Ibifaa Victor-Thompson
05 May 2019   |   4:11 am
From our previous edition we were informed to weep no more, that Christ Jesus has paid our debts on the cross of Calvary.

Ibifaa Victor-Thompson

From our previous edition we were informed to weep no more, that Christ Jesus has paid our debts on the cross of Calvary.

Jesus Christ before dying on the cross emphasised greatly on the significance of the cross. He said if we should follow Him we must deny ourselves. ”If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26-27)”.

Why the cross? Everyone of us whether great or small should understand that we have a cross to bear. Jesus Christ said man has a responsibility to obey and do the will of God Almighty at all times. For this to be accomplished in our lives, it requires self-denial (forsaking) and discipline to obey God’s command. That is why the tongue plays a major role in our lives as we live to please God Almighty. Take your time to read Luke 5, and you will discover that Peter had an encounter with the Master Jesus Christ. That led to his total surrender to follow Him and his eventual death for the course of the Kingdom of God.

Did Jesus Christ bear is own cross? Yes! He came and showed us a pattern by first going to the cross to lay down His life as a living sacrifice for humanity. The Bible says, “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them. My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter; What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners (Matt. 26:36-45).”

Jesus Christ felt the pain of bearing His cross as we read in the above scriptures that He went with some of His disciples to pray with Him but His shock was they could not pray for weakness of their bodies. Yet He went further to talk (pray) with the Father about His situation. And, at last surrendered all by using His tongue wisely to say let only the will of God be done. After he had prayed the same prayer three times He willingly surrendered Himself (Matt. 26:46-57) to bear His cross. Isaiah said who hath believed our report? When the Lord opened his eyes to see what Jesus Christ will do for mankind (Isaiah 53).

The agony of the cross of Jesus Christ gives us a concern to re-examine ourselves whether truly we love Him or not. Hear what the betrayer said: “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself (Matt. 27:3-5).”

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