Friday, 06 April 2012 00:00

Written by Jonathan Eze

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The foundation of the Christian faith is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Christ lived the righteous and perfect life while on earth and surrendered his life as a ransom in exchange for the redemption of the human race but with the proviso that beneficiaries will exercise faith in the ransom sacrifice.
 He suffered the penalty for mankind sins by taking  guilt upon Himself and dying horribly on the torture stake.  He rose bodily from the dead that first Easter morning ensuring that those who have been baptized into His death and resurrection will rise again in glorified bodies on the Last Day.  This is the great paschal mystery that Christians have celebrated since the earliest days of the church.  As the apostle Paul joyfully declared:  ...Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive...  “O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?”  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:20-22 and 55-57).  On Easter Sunday therefore, while secular society occupies itself with eggs and rabbits, the Christian church celebrates God’s great triumph over sin, death, and the devil.

According to  Special Apostle Prophet Gabriel Fakeye, Easter is the focal point of the Christian faith. It is significant for four main reasons:
 The Easter event fulfils hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament of the Bible and predictions that Jesus makes in his teaching. Easter is something God planned from the beginning.
 “At Easter, Jesus modelled what it meant to live and die in perfect obedience and faith in God. He suffered horrendously yet did not sin.
 “Jesus, in his death on the cross, pays for the death penalty of others who trust in him. This is because he was pure and perfect and is the only one who did not deserve to die himself.
 “Because Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday this proves his divinity and his power to save for eternity those who commit to him. This event in history has great enduring significance.”
National President of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, said events of the past few months had amply shown that Nigerians were yet to come to terms with the tenets of democracy and must, therefore, take advantage of the season to turn a new leaf in the interest of the nation.

He urged Nigerians to eschew violence in every ramification and the wanton killing of innocent souls in parts of the country and try to live in peace with one another in the spirit of the compassion demonstrated by Jesus Christ who went to the Cross for the sins of the entire world.
 Cardinal Okogie, urged Nigerians to show love to one another as “lack of love has created so many problems in the country and in the world as a whole. “We hear and read of numerous stories of fraud, killings, cheating, deceit, lies, envy, terrorism, assassination, oppression, cruelty, jealousy, selfishness etc. All these are fall-outs from a dismal lack of love between and amongst us.”
Rev. Adebayo Adeniran, the District Superintendent, West and Central Africa of the Apostolic Faith Church, said described the Easter as the greatest event in the dawn of creation. “Sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ  is the greatest  event since the dawn of creation and as such, the Apostolic Faith Church has drawn plans to commemorate the the event. To commemorate the death and celebrate Christ’s resurrection to a new life, we are pleased to announce that our 2012 Annual Easter Retreat will hold from Thursday, April 5 to Saturday, April 7,2012.

Since the beginning of our work in Nigeria,the Apostolic Faith organisation has held annual Easter  retreats. Over the years,these retreats have proved to be source of spiritual revival and valuable means o evangelism
“The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith. Little wonder Apostle Paul proclaimed”…if there be no resurrection of the dead,then is Christ not risen:and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain”(1 Corinthians 15:13-14)

Therefore the theme of our 2012 Easter Retreat is “The Resurrection Power And glory”.
The resurrection power of Jesus delivers us from the corruption of sin into a new life of godliness and glory”
Rather than indulging in eating and drinking on Easter day, the Archbishop Akinadewo said that it is is a period of sober reflection where every Christians should think about the pains and agony that Jesus Christ suffered on the stake. He added that those who use liquour  in celebrating Easter dont know what they are doing.
Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and Bishop David Oyedepo urged Nigerians to make good use of the period in showing remorse for their sins and turning over a new leaf for the best. They added that the sacrificial death of Jesus remains the greatyest gift ever and should be appreciated.