Allow Christ to live in your heart

Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider conducted the Easter service on 5 April 2015 in Metz, France. A total of 1,085 young people participated locally. The Chief Apostle based his sermon on a passage from Colossians 1: 27: “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

“Easter is the feast of joy and hope. In order to properly understand the importance of the celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, one must put oneself into the context of that time,” said the Church leader. “Only then is it possible to comprehend what Jesus represented to His disciples and the believers of that time. In their religion, in their faith, the Jews had a very specific conception of God: God was a strict God, the highest Judge, who dwelled in heaven. And then along comes Jesus and reveals a completely different God to them. He explains to them that God is their Father, a God with whom they can talk openly. He tells them that He is a God of love, a God of patience, a God who is very near, whom they can practically touch.” This was a revolution, something completely new. “And so the disciples, through Jesus, suddenly discovered another God entirely, namely the true God: God is love. God is near. God is gentle. He is patient.”

Jesus glorified God

Jesus was an example to mankind. “By fulfilling His commission, Jesus glorified His Father and maintained: ‘You see? It is possible after all!'”explained Chief Apostle Schneider. “Through His example, He showed that one can indeed be and remain pure in a world corrupted by sin. Jesus demonstrated that one can indeed remain righteous in an unrighteous world, that one can indeed practise tolerance in an intolerant world, and that one can indeed forgive in a world comprised only of judgement, revenge, and hatred. He showed them that one can abide in the truth, even in a world filled with lies.”

Jesus proclaimed glory with God

“Jesus told them, ‘It is not all over when you die! Life goes on. One day you will be able to enter the kingdom of God, into eternal glory, and dwell with God.’ He opened up a new perspective on the future for them, a perspective they had never known before.” At the time, the perspective of mankind was limited to earthly existence, “but Jesus explained to them that things were far better than that: ‘You will be able to enter into the kingdom of God, into the kingdom of heaven.'” And then Jesus is arrested and tortured—and dies. “What was that supposed to mean?”asked the Church leader. Then he went on to explain the ups and downs in the chronology of the events of the time. “The death of Jesus also changed the perspective of His disciples: suddenly God was an uncompromising Judge. Evil had triumphed over good. “Egoism, money, lies, violence, and corruption all played a key role during Passiontide,” explained the Chief Apostle. All hope had been lost.

The disciples are excited about the resurrection

“And lo and behold, there is Jesus! He has risen from the dead! He lives! It was then that the disciples understood: He was right all along! His God is the true God. God really is a God of love, a God of patience, a God who is near to us! Good is indeed stronger than evil! Death is not the end! There is a great future, namely the kingdom of God! The disciples were excited to know: ‘Christ is risen!'” noted Chief Apostle Schneider. “And what became of this fantastic message? The disciples spread it all around the world. This message lived on because Christ now lived in His disciples through the Holy Spirit.”

Allowing Jesus to live in our hearts

“All those who were witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus are long dead,” summarized Chief Apostle Schneider before going on to describe the task incumbent on all Christians alive today: “It does not suffice to be baptized and sealed. You must allow Jesus to live in your heart! You must live your faith intensively!” The foremost clergyman went on to explain: “Allowing Christ to live in you also means that you must make time to read the Bible every now and then in order to see what Jesus actually said.” The Chief Apostle also appealed urgently to the believers: “Speak with Jesus, speak with God in prayer! Love Him with all your heart! Allowing Christ to live in us also means that we must allow Him to make decisions, that we must allow Him to decide what steps we take, and that we must allow Him to show us the right direction!”

Little room for hope in the world

And then Chief Apostle Schneider described the parallels to our time: “As strange as it may seem, the more you look at the world today, the more similarities you will find with the world of the disciples of that time. For many people today, God is dead, He is absent. And anyway: if He did exist, how could He permit all the atrocities committed in the world? God is dead and buried. Others maintain that God does exist, but that He is certainly not the God we know: He is an implacable, intolerant God who requires us to kill our enemies, who requires us to kill all those who do not think as we do. And this God is becoming more and more manifest in the mind of mankind. Others in turn long for a strict God who defines the rules. Then things would at least be black or white, good or bad—and if they are bad, there is punishment. That would be good: a God who establishes order!”

“Many people are in despair because they have the impression that evil has ultimately gained the victory. After all, egoism, money, lies, and bribery prevail in the world. It is not my intention to give a political speech here, but let us simply be very sober-minded. Let us just take a look a the news—that alone will suffice. Just look at the things that are happening in the various countries around the world. There is no longer any room for discussion. In very objective terms we must concede that it is true: the world is ruled by the law of the stronger power, of money, of personal interest, and of lies. Many people are without hope, and have doubts about human nature, because they think that the battle is lost and that evil has won. And as far as the future is concerned, many believers have resigned themselves to waiting for the end of the world. Others no longer wait for anything, or at most only wait for death.”

Proclaiming the glad tidings

“The world needs Christians. The world needs New Apostolic Christians. The world needs you and me in order to tell them this message: ‘No, God is not dead! No, evil will not prevail! Yes indeed, there is a future!” Such was the appeal of the international Church leader. “But these glad tidings must be lived in practice!” noted Chief Apostle Schneider, admonishing the believers to do more than merely talk about the glad tidings.

• “If I claim that Christ lives, that He talks to me, that He reveals Himself to me, that I can have fellowship with Him during the celebration of Holy Communion, but at the same time say that it is too exhausting to attend the divine service on Sunday morning, then my message is not very credible.”
• “Christ lives! He helps me! If that is the case, be grateful for His help and prove it! If I am an eternal complainer, no one will believe that Christ has helped me.”
• “Christ lives! I can encounter Him in our brotherly fellowship. But if you are constantly sulking and pouting, if you are constantly offended and insist on hiding yourself away in a corner, then you are not credible either!”

A change in our relationship with our neighbour

Coming back once again to the conditions in the world today, the Church leader explained: “The world is in despair because it believes that evil is stronger than good. Let us show that the opposite is true. Jesus showed His contemporaries—as we can show in the world as it is today—that one can indeed be righteous in an unrighteous world, tolerant in an intolerant world, and that one can indeed love in an egotistical world, and that one can indeed forgive even the greatest sinner. This also means we are of the firm conviction that Jesus desires to allow each and every person in our surroundings to enter into the new creation. And this changes our relationship with our neighbour, particularly when we become aware: ‘Jesus also wants to let him into the new creation!’ Then I will immediately look at him differently.”

“Christ needs our testimony,” said Chief Apostle Schneider as he concluded his sermon. “Christ lives! Let us demonstrate this to our fellow human beings. Let us show them how God is. Let us prove to them that God is active today, that we can indeed encounter Him in the church and in our brotherly fellowship.”