Christian Dominion Centre UK

So, we mock and despise Jesus. What else do we do? We betray him. Luke 22:47-48 Judas,  is a biblical figure that you've probably scratched your head over and wondered, How can anyone so close to Jesus, do such a thing? How could Judas be part of Jesus' inner circle and fall so low? If Judas hadn’t been one of the 12, his betrayal wouldn’t have been much of a betrayal. You can only really betray those who have put their trust in you. God has entrusted us with so much and we betray him whenever we’re not faithful stewards over what he’s given us.  Whenever we misuse the gifts that he’s placed within us, using them for personal gain instead of furthering his kingdom.  When we abuse the position that he has placed us in, using our power to manipulate and mislead people.  When we mistreat our brothers and sisters in the Lord.  When we speak negatively about his church and his people, especially to non-believers.  How are we to expect those in the world to want to be part of the bod

Mocked We've seen how Jesus was despised, particularly by the pharisees. Now let's look at those who mocked him. In  Luke 23:8-11 , Jesus stands before Herod. Herod wanted him to perform some kind of miracle so he could see what all the fuss was about.  However,  Jesus stood, in silence, not wanting to perform for Herod, so Herod, instead, made his own entertainment by mocking Jesus. Not only that, he sent Jesus back to Pilate, dressed in 'splendid clothing', another attempt at making fun of our saviour. In   Matthew 9:23-24 ,  the people laughed at Jesus when he said that the leaders daughter was just sleeping and not dead. As Jesus hung from the cross, he was mocked by the rulers and soldiers,  v:34-38 . Many of them would have seen the miracles that Jesus had performed, but in this moment, Jesus was a laughing stock because he couldn't (wouldn't) save himself. These things shouldn't suprise us,  2 Peter 3:3-4 , warns that believers will be mocked with reg

(This message was taught on the 24th of September 2023) Whilst Jesus walked the earth, he interacted with many people. Most of these interactions ended with a great miracle or life changing massage.  Even with this, not everyone treated Jesus well, even those who were close to him.   We all look at the various biblical figures and take inspiration from the things they said and did. But there are those we look at and wonder, how could they do that? What we fail to realise is that we too behave in the same way. Our behaviour towards Jesus and the things of God aren’t always what they should be. We sometimes treat him worse than unbelievers. We’re going to look at how different people in the bible treated Jesus and how we also do the same.   Despised Jesus To despise someone means to look down on them. It means hating them and seeing them as having little or no value. The pharisees, regularly despised Jesus and tried to discredit him. They constantly tested Jesus, attempting to make him o

  The Meek ( Matthew 5:5 ) In seeing that they were spiritually poor, and then mourning for what they had done, they then become meek.    Someone once asked me how someone who is meek can inherit the earth seeing as they are we ak. I explained that being meek doesn’t mean you’re weak, it doesn’t mean that you are shy, easily pushed around and allow people to walk all over you. T he meek are those who are humble, they’re not easily pushed around. They have a controlled strength. They are not interested in self gain and can submit to proper authority. The don’t seek to manipulate or seek the downfall of others so that they can succeed.     There are many example of this in scripture: Genesis 13:7-11 – Abraham was Lots uncle, and so by rights, he should have chosen were to go. In fact he could have just sent Lot away. Instead, for the sake of peace, he allowed Lot to choose where he wanted to go, even though he was more than likely going to choose the better land.   Numbers 12:1-9

Those Who Mourne  ( Matthew 5:4 )   On the surface this may seem like mourning in the sense of having experienced a loss. However, the people mentioned here are not mourning the loss of a loved one, they are expressing a deep regret over the circumstances they find themselves in because of sin. Having realised that they are spiritually poor and, are in need of Christ, they grieve over all that they have done. David lamented after Nathan spoke to him regarding his actions towards Bathsheba and Uriah ( Psalm 51:1-4 ). The tax collector was sorrowful, at the temple ( Luke 18:9-13 ). The prodigal son was repentant over his decision to leave home ( Luke 15:17-19 ). Recognising that we have done wrong is not enough, we need to also have regret over what we have done ( 1 Corinthians 5:2 ) The Blessing The promise for those who mourne, is that they will be comforted. This comfort is in the fact that your sins have been forgiven.  Looking back at the examples above: The prodigal son expected to

  In the beatitudes ( Matthew 5:3-10 ) Jesus teaches about the values that will make the people blessed, or in this context, experience a Godly happiness. These are things that should be present in the life of a believer. Over time the beatitudes has become something that many people know on face value, but if we go deeper, we see that this sermon has so much to teach us about what God expects and what it means to be a true representative of the Lord. We will use the next few weeks to look at each of and we should ask ourselves whether we see any of these virtues in  our selves The Poor In Spirit   ( Matthew 5:3 ) The Original Greek word for poor was pto chos  which means to be reduced to begging. It means you are destitute and lacking in everything. The poor in spirit are those who after hearing the word, come to the realisation that they are in desperate need of God. They are lacking spiritually, nothing in their life reflects him, they have no connection or relationship with him wha

Hebrews 4:2 says,  'For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.' (NKJV) In this verse, we hear of many people hearing the gospel, however, the impact it had was not the same with everyone. This was not because of the quality of the preaching or because those hearing didn't understand. It was simply because those who saw no change in their life did not listen in faith. When the word of God is applied with faith, great things take place. We see this in the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 . Everyone in the army of Israel would have heard of the great things that God had done for them and the promises they were still yet to see, but all they could focus on was the great Goliath. David, however, didn't see a mighty warrior, his focus was on the Lord, and the fact that they were God's chosen people. He had not only heard of the great things that