Initiation of the Ministry of Christ

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May 11, 2014  A.D.

Initiation of the Ministry of ChristMother’s Day this year was beautiful, just as our Mothers are! Listen in as our Pastor / Teacher, Landis Fisher preaches an inspiring message about the “Initiation of the Ministry of Christ”

Old Testament Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61:1 – 3  (KJV)

Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;
Isa 61:2  To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
Isa 61:3  To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

New Testament Scripture Reading: John 11:1 – 44  (KJV)

Joh 11:1  Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Joh 11:2  It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
Joh 11:3  So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
Joh 11:4  But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”
Joh 11:5  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Joh 11:6  So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
Joh 11:7  Then after this He *said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
Joh 11:8  The disciples *said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?”
Joh 11:9  Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
Joh 11:10  “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
Joh 11:11  This He said, and after that He *said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.”
Joh 11:12  The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
Joh 11:13  Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.
Joh 11:14  So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
Joh 11:15  and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”
Joh 11:16  Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
Joh 11:17  So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.
Joh 11:18  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off;
Joh 11:19  and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.
Joh 11:20  Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house.
Joh 11:21  Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
Joh 11:22  “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
Joh 11:23  Jesus *said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Joh 11:24  Martha *said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Joh 11:25  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
Joh 11:26  and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Joh 11:27  She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”
Joh 11:28  When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
Joh 11:29  And when she heard it, she *got up quickly and was coming to Him.
Joh 11:30  Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.
Joh 11:31  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
Joh 11:32  Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Joh 11:33  When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled,
Joh 11:34  and said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
Joh 11:35  Jesus wept.
Joh 11:36  So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!”
Joh 11:37  But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”
Joh 11:38  So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, *came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
Joh 11:39  Jesus *said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, *said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
Joh 11:40  Jesus *said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
Joh 11:41  So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
Joh 11:42  “I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”
Joh 11:43  When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”
Joh 11:44  The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”