ARE YOU a believer who continues to slay the Messiah time and time again by the life you’re living? Are you living a holy life or are you a sinner with a religious spirit? Do you slay the Messiah each time you take communion?
Has your life been changed by the Word of God? Does sex, a job or any of your earthly possessions matter when you are in the casket? Will drugs, titles, designations, wealth or poverty matter when you die? Is it well with your soul?
These and many more questions were asked last Good Friday by Pastor Michael Crichlow when he addressed the congregation at Trinity Outreach Ministries International, located at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic.
During what seemed like a day of reckoning, Crichlow urged those gathered for the early morning service to view the death of Jesus Christ in relation to the state of their souls. He also admonished them to “come clean with God”.
In thought-provoking sermon, he noted that some people viewed church simply as a religious organisation but he warned that the only sure way of making it to Heaven “is to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour” and His finished work at Calvary.
“God would be a fool to give the Messiah to die for our sins if we are able to save ourselves.
“Are we lifting up the Messiah or are we slaying Him every day by the lives we live?” Crichlow reiterated throughout his sermon.
He stated that “If we sin willfully there remains no more sacrifice for sin” and also Crichlow also pointed out that while it was the religious leaders who sent Jesus to the Cross, many Christians “are also guilty” of doing so each day by the lives they live.
He added that while the religious leaders of the day were near [in proximity] to Jesus when He died, they were “still so far off” [spiritually], just as some people today “are in the same position”.
He asked his listeners: “Are you near to Jesus but yet still so far away?”
Crichlow added that “On the Cross man’s redemption and liberation from the bondage of sin were being paid, yet the crowd and religious leaders who condemned Jesus, missed it.
“They were near and yet so far,” he echoed, as he begged the question, “Could it be that we are in church every Sunday, always have a Bible open and talking about God but still so near and yet so far?
Crichlow took his main text from St Mark’s Gospel Chapter 15: 1- 18 and his message was titled – The Slaying Of The Messiah.”
The morning service was punctuated with praise, worship and a series of prayer invitations, which drew many to the altar.
To have your sermons featured in Altar Call, please email cherylharewood@nationnews.com.
