Programme: Anamnesis 2023 (Day 3 - Morning Session)
Date: Friday, 8th December, 2023
In this Anamnesis, we are celebrating Jesus; the One who lives forever. Though He died, He lives forevermore. We are not celebrating the remembrance of a dead man or God. The essence of this remembrance is not so that we will not forget Him. Rather, the very remembrance is the life that Jesus has brought for us to live. We must therefore not forget Jesus and what He has done.
If there is anything our enemy doesn't want to see, it is Jesus and the life of Christ on the earth. Therefore, we must have a common purpose or goal, otherwise, Satan can use us. Satan is a strategic fighter and it is important for us to see it from that point so that we can stop striving against one another, and rather appreciate ourselves. Every offence a person takes is in order to protect his/her pride, therefore, offence is not of the Lord. But Jesus is the One we are all supposed to honour.
On this path, we are all in the process of learning. God did not perfect any man before calling them. The work on this path is not about having knowledge alone, therefore, God will have to take us through a process of learning. Jesus said we should learn ‘of’ Him, and not ‘about’ Him (Matt. 11:28-29). One can learn about Jesus in the city but you learn of Him in the wilderness. Learning is difficult when there is no yoke.
God knows how to get us to learn therefore, He has customized our tests. It is not possible to cheat or copy one another’s test. When we hear the words of the kingdom, we are opened up to tests. And if God does not prove us, He cannot bless us. Our cups are individual cups; this is what makes Jesus relevant in our lives and situations. Therefore, regardless of how we are learning and moving, we should ensure that we are drinking the cup.
“But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. [23] And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.” (Matt. 20:21-23). Taking the cup is not a one-time experience, as in the doctrine of ‘once saved, forever saved’. The process will tell whether or not a person would be able to take the cup. It is Jesus that died for us and owns the cup and life. Therefore, it is Jesus that will determine when and how we'll drink the cup.
The subject of sin has been a critical one since the creation of the world. Sin did not start from the earth but from heaven, and it has become a second nature to man. The Bible calls sin a lower nature. It came from a being who used to be heavenly but does not belong there anymore (Job 1:7). God intends to bring man to that very high place but Satan will do everything to fight it. When God could not find any man born of a woman with the stature He desired, He had to raise a Man from Himself — Jesus. Jesus was a different species of a man who could do the will of God.
There is a slight difference between Covenant and Testament. The will of Jesus is His Testament and His blood was used to seal the covenant, in order to open the will. Jesus has a covenant with the Father, which is what births the will. In other words, a covenant is what gives the Testament. The will of God goes beyond the New Testament; it is Eternal. But God required a man to open it up.
Under the Old Covenant, they used inferior blood – the blood of animals. Blood determines nature. They were stiff-necked because of the blood that was working on their behalf (Deut. 9:13). It was the blood of goats that was speaking for them. There was no one under the covenant who could step into the Testament, not even Moses.
The day the Israelites were coming out of Egypt, they slew a lamb and put its blood on their doorposts. That single act was what gave them deliverance from death and out of Egypt. Yet, that blood was not strong enough to transfer God’s nature. The people (Israelites) who came out of Egypt had the Egyptian nature in them. A Jew is known by two things: the circumcision and the oracle. But because of the length of time they had used in Egypt, circumcision had become a long forgotten practice among the Israelites and they were already like captors to the Egyptians. Therefore, God had to go back to the covenant He had with Abraham to save them.
The moment they came out of Egypt, part of their first requirements from God was that the foreskins of the men be cut, otherwise, He would not be committed to them and be tempted to kill them in the wilderness. But the moment they were circumcised, they were committed to the covenant for the will to be opened. God also became committed to them.
Love is not a feeling; it is obedience to a law. We cannot claim to love based on our deeds alone. Love is a commitment to a commandment or law. Vashti was expected to know the law but she was committed to nothing. She could not come to show herself because she was not committed to anything (Est. 1:12).
Love is beyond giving physical things, for the commitment of love is a commitment to a law. People find it difficult to love their spouses because they are moved by their feelings and the looks of their partners, instead of obeying a law. This was the problem of the Jews, therefore, they were instructed to love their God. But they could not love someone they did not know. The way to show or express one's love to God is by keeping His commandments (Jn. 14:15).
Jesus loved righteousness and hated iniquity (Heb. 1:9). This was enough for God to know that Jesus truly loved Him. He was committed to keeping God's commandments. The only reason we can love our enemies is because of this commandment that we ought to keep, therefore, we do not need to worry about being seen as fools. Loving the brethren can be a difficult task. In a sense, the people who sold out Jesus and killed him were His brethren. Yet, Jesus kept the commandment. This is also what He wants us to keep.
In Luke 22, the scribes and chief priests were looking for Jesus as the Passover feast drew near because they felt He had come to take their place and to make them slaves. That was sin and wickedness of heart in the hearts of men operating. Hearts can be wicked (Jer. 17:9), but Jesus has come to turn hearts back to God, so that our deliverance can be proper. The Israelites could not pass over death because the blood that was used during the first passover could not speak. So, on that day of the Passover, Jesus decided to open up the chapter of Him being the Passover Lamb.
When the story began in Exodus, man had no clue that the Lamb was a man. But John was able to see this. He saw that the Lamb who would take away the sin of the world was a man (Jn. 1:29). Meanwhile, sin had been dealing with man for many years and in different shades. In Luke 22, Jesus showed up to prove to them that He was the true Lamb.
“Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. [4] And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. [5] And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. [6] And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.” (Luke 22:3-6). Whenever the disciples gathered in fellowship, Judas was often busy meeting with the Pharisees. Little did he know that a prophecy had gone forth that someone was going to betray Jesus, and he walked into it. Judas had the capacity to betray Jesus but he also fulfilled scriptures unknowingly. It was wrong for him to speak evil of his pastor (Jesus) to other people.
It is easier for Jesus to deliver us from sin than to deliver us from ourselves. Every self-confidence we have is a flesh-confidence and flesh can preach and do ministry. Judas committed many sins, and they were all products of his heart. First, he spoke ill of his pastor (Jesus) publicly. His betrayal of Jesus and the terms of it started from a conversation. After engaging in those conversations and agreeing to the terms of betrayal, he still went back to fellowship. A devil was required for the covenant to be fulfilled (John 6:70).
God can both give life and take it. It is important to know that God does not think the way we do. God is love but He is also a consuming fire. The testament has not changed who God is. For many years, the Israelites had been doing the feast of Passover but never really experienced it. Jesus then came to show them how to truly experience the passover. At that point in time, there were two passovers going on simultaneously — the Old Testament and the New Testament passovers.
The essence of the passover is to cause people to gather unto God. Similarly, the essence of Anamnesis is to help people gather to the Lord. Anamnesis is about remembering the sacrifice that gathered people unto one Lord so that we all, even now, must gather unto His life. There was no way men could gather unto His life if He was not killed. This was why He went to the cross. The Testament will not come into effect if the blood of the testator is not shed.
Moses prophesied that a prophet like unto Him would be raised. He also said anyone who does not hear his voice will be cut off from Israel (Acts 3:22-23). Jesus was like Moses: they were both priests, they stood at a level where they could see the testament of God, and they both revealed the covenant and the testament. Moses already said that the coming Prophet would be a ‘speaking prophet’. This does not just refer to speaking from the mouth, but from the blood. This is because the blood of Jesus is the voice of Jesus that speaks better things.
“But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. [5] Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. [6] And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. [7] Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.” (John 21:4-7). These bible verses show us that the fact that we hear Jesus’ voice does not mean we know Him. The reason for Anamnesis is to open Jesus to our hearts and make every heart see that this Testament is hinged on Him. It was only John who knew who Jesus was among the Apostles because the rest did not know Him. The essence of Anamnesis is to help us know Jesus.
“He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” (John 21:17). We cannot claim to love the Lord if we are not keeping commandments. Everything Jesus said played out exactly how He had said it would. He also said that would be the last time they would all be celebrating the passover together, for the next time He would celebrate it with them would be in the Father’s kingdom (Matt. 26:29). Two things came out of the covenant: the flesh and the blood. The flesh is the body of Jesus while the blood is the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. These are the two things that will help the covenant to be sealed in any heart.
“And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. [29] But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. [30] And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. [31] And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.” (Luke 24:28-31). That communion was an eye-opening communion. They had an upgrade of sight, spirit, and soul. Their souls were upgraded to sight Christ. The essence of being born again is that we may see the Kingdom. As they sighted Him, He disappeared because those two men did not have the stature for the sight. The things that have been said to us in this meeting typify ‘bread and wine’ that are meant to create both stature and a flow of life in us. When we are moving with bread and wine, we will have weight and spirit. No wind will blow us to and fro because we would have been made heavy by bread.
Round-Off by Reverend Kayode Oyegoke
This message is a prayer. The spirit of the message is an anticipation that before the end of Anamnesis, we will reap the harvest of this conference, which is that Jesus would appear to us. Appearances are in levels. Jesus appeared to five hundred brethren at once. He also appeared to Cephas, John, the eleven, and even James (1 Cor. 15:5-7). Apart from the five hundred brethren, all that Jesus appeared to became apostles. This means that appearances have strength.
The breakthrough of communion is to help us see Jesus by pointing us back to Him. The essence of Anamnesis is for us not to forget Jesus. The Church has forgotten Him, though they pray to Him and use Him for miracles without considering Him and all that He entails. This meeting is like an ignition to open the essence of why He came. Wine is the blood that runs in the flesh, so that we can have the complete package of Jesus, the Son of God.
Blessings!