CELEBRATION OF PASSOVER

"Intimacy With Jesus Through

His Sufferings, Death

and Resurrection"

"That I may know (personally and intimately be acquainted with) him (Jesus), and the power (miraculous performance; force as of the military) of his resurrection (coming back to life), and the fellowship (communion; joint participation) of his sufferings (opposition and persecution), being made conformable (receiving the same form) unto his death (crucifixion of self)". Philippians 3:10 KJV (Capitals are mine for emphasis)

ONLY JESUS CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND IS ALIVE TODAY

Identification with Jesus in His sufferings, death and resurrection is the reason we celebrate Passover. Depending on how much we surrender to the Holy Spirit, He is at work to bring us into the image and likeness of Jesus. The Passover celebration is not about the goddess of Spring, Easter egg hunts, bunny rabbits or a fashion parade. It's about the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. His resurrection sets Christianity apart from all other religions. The founders of Islam, Confucianism, Hinduism and Buddhism are all dead. Only Jesus came back from the dead and is alive today.

THERE WAS AN IRRESISTIBLE YEARNING AND LONGING IN HIS SPIRIT

The word "know" in Hebrew is an idiom which means "the closeness of an intimate relationship between a husband and a wife". The Apostle Paul had known Jesus for many years already when he wrote this. But, there was an irresistible yearning and longing in His spirit which could not be quenched by anything else but a deep and fulfilling personal relationship with Jesus.

HIS OWN DESIRES HAD TO BE IN TOTAL SUBMISSION TO THE WILL OF GOD

In order to achieve this, he noted that he needed to be a joint participant in communion and fellowship with Jesus in the persecution and opposition He faced while here on Earth. He knew he must "feel" the rejection our Lord experienced, and those imprisoned for their faith, as they were part of the body of Christ. With this there had to be "a death to self". His own desires had to be in total submission to the will of God. There had to be "a funeral for the old man"--his carnal nature. This would be necessary to bring him into a fuller comprehension of knowing the powerful force of the miraculous performance of the resurrection. We cannot fully appreciate the resurrection until we feel His suffering and crucify our fleshly nature to His cross. This is when we enter into "the holy of holies" and meet with Him face-to-face.

Bishop Marvin Schmidt

World Changers International

"Making a Difference in Our World"

Bishop_Marvin@WCI888.com

"Your First Source of Inspiration and Information"

Marvin Schmidt