A message of reflection from our founder, Dan Celia, to friends of the Ministry from Easter 2021:
There are a great many newsworthy items and happenings which have caught my attention over the past week, and about which I most certainly have an opinion. However, today is Good Friday, and Easter Sunday is the most important day of the year in the life of a Christian. It is because of this day that we know we have a living Savior. This year is of particular interest to me because it would appear that a great many of us have a heightened awareness that He may be returning sooner than we imagined.
In 2nd Corinthians, the Apostle Paul clearly details his biblical conviction that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ did, does, and forever will, change everything in our lives. Today, on Good Friday, and with Easter on Sunday, our entire human history and all of biblical history is put into its proper perspective. For the many of us who may be stressed for our households and for the circumstances of our life, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us a confident assurance for the future. Paul makes it clear that he absolutely realized, and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he too would be raised from death and would indeed live eternally. Paul knew firsthand the supernatural power and glory of God which was clearly displayed in his life. We must still recognize today that this supernatural power, and the glory of God, is consistently displayed each and every Easter, as we look at the past, the present, and our future.
I had planned to share a few verses with all of you. Indeed, I found not a few verses – but rather quite a few. In 2 Corinthians 4:3-15, there is contained this incredible confession of faith that Paul makes. I am thinking of all the people this weekend who are unable to “see” the real supernatural Truth which is revealed to us every year from Good Friday through Easter Sunday. Now, if you have read any of my books or other writings, you may have noticed that I very seldom waiver from my New King James Version of the Bible. But I do love the way these verses flow from Eugene Peterson’s “paraphrased” Bible, The Message, and wanted to share it with you.
If our Message is obscure to anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get.
Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.
If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us – trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us – he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!
We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!
My favorite part of that message is the last paragraph. Read it again, and again. It is interesting that as we recall the words in Scripture, we understand that Paul (before he became a Christian) knew the story of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the reason that we must not keep quiet with the Gospel message – because there are people (perhaps someone reading this) who also know the “story” of the Resurrection. Paul, in the book of Acts, talks about the power of God that knocked him to the ground and its brilliance. Remember that he said it was like the sun reflected in Jesus Christ. Paul said that “a light from Heaven brighter than the sun was shining all around me” (Acts 26:13). There are a great many people who know the Resurrection Story, but do not know the Resurrection Glory which they can find in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But we, as stewards of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, can talk to those people and share with them this Glory.
You often hear me speak about our ultimate stewardship being for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But for this reason – since so many who know the story do not know the glory – I love Christian radio. Many of you know that I came to Christ as a result of a radio broadcast many years ago. Five years later, my wife came to Christ because of something I heard on the radio and shared with her. I pray that in our giving and our tithes we will first consider our home church that is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and hopefully seeing souls saved, but that we would then continue to do the work of the Kingdom with our finances.
Most importantly this Easter, let’s sit back and relax and just bask in the confident assurance of our Everlasting Life in Jesus Christ, and the confident assurance that He is in control and that, if Revival is to happen in this Country, He will be at the head of that charge.
I pray that all of you have a Blessed Easter as we reflect on the powerful Glory of God and the Resurrection of His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Thank God He lives. Happy Easter!
Your Fellow Servant,
Dan Celia
April 2, 2021