Sermon Series:
Hanging in a gallery in Paris is a haunting painting of a chess game. On one side of the board sits the Devil, his face twisted into a wicked, triumphant grin. On the other side is a young man, no older than sixteen, his head bowed in despair, tears streaming down his cheeks. The Devil has cornered him—it’s checkmate. The game of life, it seems, is over. The title of the painting? Checkmate.
One day, a renowned chess master happened upon the artwork. He studied it closely—first with curiosity, then with intensity. Something didn’t sit right. After a long pause, he suddenly exclaimed, “Young man, don’t give up! I see it now—there’s one move left. One move... and you can beat him!”
He was so captivated, he forgot it was only a painting.
That painting is more than art—it’s a parable.
On Good Friday, as Jesus hung on the cross, it looked like evil had won. Righteousness was crucified. Hope buried. Love silenced. It was, in the eyes of the world, checkmate. But what no one could see was that God still had one more move. And on Easter Sunday, He made it.
Jesus rose from the grave—conquering sin, death, and the Devil himself. It was the greatest reversal in history, the ultimate checkmate. Easter reminds us that no darkness is final, no defeat permanent. There is no grave deep enough, no stone heavy enough, no force of evil strong enough to stop the power of God’s love and victory.
Through the resurrection, God declares that He wins—and He invites us to share in that victory. Because of Easter, we as Christians can face every hardship, every injustice, every shadow in this world and proclaim with confidence:
“Checkmate! The game’s over. We win.”
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The Bible is full of lists of names that we don't know doing things that don't seem important, but there is significance in the ordinary. They were people consistently being faithful in the mundane while experiencing spiritual renewal in their lives. God has called us to view the ordinary parts of our lives as significant for His name.
Following the spiritual renewal happening in the lives of the people, they gather once again united to make an oath and make a ministry plan for their families in the days ahead.
When revival happens what follows is salvation, life transformation, and repentance of sin. This always begins inside the church. Repentance is the theme of the New Testament is we enter into the Kingdom of God. As God begins to move in a person's life it is always followed by repentance and confession.
After fulfilling the vision of rebuilding the wall with little fanfare, the attention immediately turns to God and His goodness. No one mentions the wall but spontaneous worship and renewal to God happens immediately. When God shows up in the room everyone immediately turns their focus to Him.
The enemy has tried to stop the project through discouragement and internal corruption. Now the enemy uses distraction to stall the vision from being completely. The enemy will use opportunities, criticism, and fear to distract you from fulfilling a God given vision.
