THE ALMOND BRANCH OF HOPE

Easter Message of Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva
12 April 2009

“Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a branch of an almond tree. Then said the LORD unto me, You have seen well: for I am ready to perform My word” Jeremiah 1:11-12

Resurrection always brings a message of hope. There is nothing more hope-boosting than knowing that the dead, yes the DEAD, may rise again!

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the single redemptive event that perfected mankind’s salvation and deliverance from sin, at the same time proving that faith in Him that holds the indisputable power over death is not useless.

Jesus, the Son of God, had to taste death to give His sinless life as a sacrifice for all the transgressions of mankind (Isaiah 53: 3-6; Hebrews 2:9). When He cried out on the cross: “It is finished!” (John 19:30) every requirement for the forgiveness of the sin of every man, under the Law and the Commandments, was satisfied! Every work needed to be done to set man free from the dominion of the evil one was indeed finished!

The Lord Jesus was the Lamb of God who, by His sacrifice on the Cross, had taken away the sins of the world. The Heavenly Father proved to all that Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross was accepted as payment for man’s debt when He raised Him from the dead after three days of being in the grave. Because of the resurrection, those who have received Jesus as their Savior and Lord are now assured of eternal life, and just like Him, will also experience their own bodily resurrection (I Corinthians 15:12-22)!

The resurrection was also the message of God to Israel in the time of the prophets. Every time the Israelites were chastised by God because of their collective sin and backsliding from their covenant with God, the Lord raised up prophets to bring His message of restoration to their nation. One such prophet was Jeremiah.

In the beginning of God’s call to Jeremiah, the young prophet, the Lord showed him a vision. It was the vision of an almond branch (Jeremiah1:10-12). The almond tree in Israel is the very first tree that awakens to life after the long winter season. It is the very first tree that would burst forth with beautiful white flowers in the early spring while the rest of the trees are still barren and sleeping. It is a symbol of the powerful phenomenon: The Resurrection!

God was saying to the prophet Jeremiah: “Even if Israel, My very own nation, dies because of My discipline and judgment, I can raise her back to life again and restore her glory among the nations!” The Lord told Jeremiah that the vision of the almond branch spoke of His willingness to fulfill all His promises to Israel if they would return to Him with all their hearts and walk in obedience to His will and purposes (Jeremiah 3:12-22), and that it was for the sake of the glory of His name that He was going to do this (Ezekiel 36:21-23). Israel was a nation covenanted with God bearing the name of Jehovah, the eternal, self-existent God of covenants.

The Philippines today needs to experience the power of the Resurrection! Like the nation of Israel, we are also a nation that bears the glory of the name of Christ! Being the first and only Christian nation in the Far East, we are today dying in shame and reproach being known today as the most corrupt country in Asia. From being one of the most prosperous countries in the region in the 1940’2 up to 1960’s, we have sunk to our destitute state today. Many of our people are going out of the country just to find jobs. In the time of relative global prosperity, we are among the hungriest in the world. Unprecedented moral and spiritual degradation, especially in places of authority, has brought our people closer and closer to the grave. Systemic corruption is all over the land.

Is there hope? Because of the Resurrection, I dare say, yes there is hope! Like Jeremiah, we must receive a vision of the almond branch!

The Philippines in fact was first named “Archipelago of Saint Lazarus” before it was named the Philippines. This could be a prophetic pronouncement; that this nation would be resurrected in due time, because Lazarus, the closest friend of Jesus for whom He wept when he died, was raised from the dead by Jesus Himself. Jesus prayed to the Father that life would return to the body of Lazarus which had been dead for four days. Everybody was mourning for Lazarus and had given up hope until the voice of the Lord Jesus broke the silence of the grave with the loud shout of command: “Lazarus come forth!” (John 11:43).

Lazarus rose back to life! He was released from the burial clothes (representing murderous, hindering works of the Enemy like poverty, chaos, rampant sinfulness, among others) that bound him hand and foot by a simple command the Lord gave: “Loosen him!” (John 11:44).

As we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, let us fill our hearts with the message of hope for ourselves, our people, and nation! Let us look unto the Lord Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the One who holds the keys of death and hell (Revelation 1:18). Because Jesus has risen, the Philippines, the Archipelago of Saint Lazarus will also rise! Let us not lose sight of the vision of the almond branch, the vision of hope in the worst of situations!

Let every God-fearing and nation-loving Filipino believe God for our nation’s resurrection! Let it be said, the Philippines will RISE and be great again!

BABANGON NA ANG BAGONG PILIPINAS!

RATIONALE OF JESUS’ COMING

Jesus Christ came;

1. To fulfill prophecy. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15)
2. To become the Lamb of God "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." (Isaiah 53:7)
3. To fulfill the law and its requirement. "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill . . . not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished" (Matthew 5:17-18).
4. To reveal the Father. "Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him" (Matthew 11:27).
5. To save the lost. "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost" (Matthew 18:11).
6. To give His life as a ransom. "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28).
7. To serve. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve" (Mark 10:45).
8. To preach the gospel. "But He said to them, 'I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose'" (Luke 4:43).
9. To bring fire. "I have come to bring fire to the earth" (Luke 12:49). "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire . . . He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:11-12).
10. To send a sword. "Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! No, I came to bring a sword. I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household" (Matthew 10:34-36).
11. To seek the lost. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
12. To bring judgment. "And Jesus said, 'For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind'" (John 9:39).
13. To give men life and to have an abundant life. "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10b).
14. To do His father's will. John 14:31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
15. To be king. "Therefore Pilate said to Him, 'So You are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world'" (John 18:37).
16. To bear witness to the truth. "For this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice" (John 18:37).
17. To save sinners. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (I Timothy 1:15).
18. To redeem and purify a people for his very own. "who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:14)
    

To be a faithful high priest. "That He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God" (Hebrews 2:17).

To do the will of God. "Then He added, 'Look, I have come to do Your will'" (Hebrews 10:9).

To provide a new standard for holy living. "Since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps" (I Peter 2:21).

To bear our sins. "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross" (I Peter 2:24).

To bring humanity back to God. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18)

To take away sin. "You know that He appeared in order to take away sins" (I John 3:5).

To destroy the works of the devil. "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil" (I John 3:8).