This year’s Good Friday service at the First Assembly of God Church – Wortmanville was held in a more relaxed setting under what some would consider post-pandemic circumstances. The atmosphere was charged and rich, pregnant with miracles, signs, and wonders, waiting to meet with the faith and corporate anointing of the day’s service.
Bishop Dr. Murtland Raphael Massiah delivered a brief but impactful message to the in-person congregation and the hundreds tuned in virtually. He titled his message, “It Is Finished”, Jesus’ last words before he died on the cross of Calvary. The Scripture text, John 19:17-30 highlighted a different aspect of Jesus’ Journey from the time he was sentenced to the time he was crucified.
For example, the other accounts noted that Simon of Cyrene was charged to bear the cross with Jesus down Via Dolorosa while John did not. John’s account of the gospel starts with him recognising God’s Supremacy while verifying that Jesus is Lord and was with God before the world began.
Further, in John’s account of the crucifixion, it stated that Pilate instructed that ‘Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews’ be written in three different languages, specifically Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. The Chief Priests were not happy about this but Pilate stood by what was written.
Bishop Massiah commented that this is one story he loves to tell because of the blessed assurance in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
With the blood of Jesus, the guilty person is now deemed guiltless
Bishop Dr M Raphael Massiah
He noted that admirable and powerful men of society died and people’s reaction cannot be compared to that of when Jesus died. “When Jesus said it is finished, nature stood, the grass sang, the earth said, our creator is back, the mountains stood at attention…” he declared. The act of Jesus going to the cross and laying his life down for the world was a significant one as he “literally purchased your freedom and mine.”
In the end, even the centurion who spearheaded the crucifixion testified that Jesus was surely the son of God. The demonstration of God’s power and determination to redeem his people remains evident as Christians gather every year to recognise this auspicious phenomenon.
Simply put, Bishop Massiah gave context to what Jesus actually did for us. “God requires justice. When a sinner is guilty and goes before the judge, the judge has to sentence because justice is required for sin. With the blood of Jesus, the guilty person is now deemed guiltless. Jesus won that for us. He made us free by his blood.”
In such an atmosphere where this Word was being preached, Bishop Massiah seized the opportunity for women suffering from gynecological complications to be prayed for. Dr. Debra Browne-Abrams who was visiting with her family from England (also a former member of FAOGW) testified that she was initially told that surgery will definitely render her unable to bear children but God had other plans.
The faith of herself and her husband combined opened an avenue where another surgery was done enabling her to conceive and give birth to her own children. With blessing from Bishop Massiah, she laid hands on women trusting God for similar intervention.
The other main feature of the service was the Sanctuary Choir as they ministered for the second time since COVID-19 was recorded in Guyana.
As Easter Sunday approaches, there is much anticipation as believers are positioning themselves for what God is about to do during this season.
