Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000036
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00:20 Hello, friends, and welcome
00:22 to another Wednesday night Bible study 00:23 here in Thompsonville, Illinois at the 3ABN Worship Center. 00:27 Thank you so much for tuning in. 00:29 We pray that you have your Bibles, your pens, 00:32 your family, your friends, 00:33 all of those individuals that want to join you 00:36 and as right now as we study the Bible together. 00:39 I'm always excited about Wednesday night 00:40 because it's not a sermon, it's a teaching time, 00:43 and I believe that teaching is vitally important for us 00:46 to understand not just what said, 00:48 but how it applies to our lives, 00:50 and how we can benefit not only intellectually 00:52 but spiritually. 00:54 And as we study the theme of the cross tonight 00:57 it's so vitally important 00:58 because we say so many things about the cross, 01:01 and I'll discuss that a little further 01:03 what actually is the message of the cross. 01:06 If you'd like a copy of the lesson tonight, 01:08 go to the website ASF.3ABN.org and download lesson number 12, 01:14 entitled Carry My Cross. 01:16 How to carry my cross? 01:18 And if you're busy, 01:20 just take the next 57 minutes or so, 01:22 and this lesson will go by as quickly 01:24 as you can possibly imagine, 01:26 but the blessings are abundant. 01:29 Before we do anything, before we even sing tonight, 01:30 let's have a word of prayer. 01:32 Bow your heads with me. 01:34 Heavenly Father, thank You, Lord, that tonight, 01:35 we can open Your Word and as we open the book, 01:38 we pray that You'll open our book, 01:40 read our hearts, read our lives, 01:43 help us to see Jesus more clearly, 01:45 and where we stand in our journey, 01:48 and our relationship with Him. 01:50 May this message about the cross 01:53 be very clear tonight, but, Lord, 01:55 also we pray that You'll hide us 01:57 under the shadow of the cross 01:58 and help us to walk in the newness of life. 02:00 We pray in Jesus' name. 02:02 Amen. 02:04 Now we always like to sing our theme song, 02:06 it's Victory in Jesus, 02:08 the words will appear on our screen. 02:09 And if you tune in before, you like to sing, 02:12 just turn your volume up and sing along with us 02:15 as we speak about the theme song 02:17 of where our victory is found. 02:18 Let's sing together. 02:27 I heard an old, old story 02:31 How the Savior came from glory 02:35 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:39 To save a wretch like me 02:43 I heard about His groaning 02:46 Of His precious blood's atoning 02:50 Then I repented of my sin 02:54 And won the victory 02:58 O victory in Jesus 03:01 My Savior, forever 03:05 He sought me and bought me 03:09 With His redeeming blood 03:13 He loved me ere 03:15 I knew Him 03:16 And all my love is due Him 03:20 He plunged me to victory 03:24 Beneath the cleansing flood 03:28 I heard about a mansion 03:32 He has built for me in glory 03:35 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:39 Beyond the crystal sea 03:43 About the angels singing 03:47 And the old redemption story 03:50 And some sweet day 03:53 I'll sing up there 03:54 The song of victory 03:58 O victory in Jesus 04:02 My Savior, forever 04:06 He sought me and bought me 04:09 With His redeeming blood 04:13 He loved me ere 04:15 I knew Him 04:17 And all my love is due Him 04:21 He plunged me to victory 04:25 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:28 He plunged me to victory 04:32 Beneath the cleansing flood 04:39 Can we say amen to that? 04:40 Amen. 04:42 That song has become a favorite song of those 04:45 who tune into the program 04:47 because it really is all about the victory 04:49 that we find in Jesus. 04:51 Tonight, our topic is "How to Carry My Cross." 04:54 Let's say that together, "How to Carry My Cross." 04:59 Now I want to begin tonight in a very different way 05:02 because the topic of the cross, we say... 05:05 There's a song I enjoy singing "The Old Rugged Cross." 05:10 And that song has been sung by so many. 05:12 I think it's a very, very, very famous song. 05:15 Then there's another one 05:16 "The Old Rugged Cross Made The Difference." 05:18 And so much is focused on the cross. 05:22 But oftentimes, 05:23 when trials come our way and difficulties come our way, 05:26 people say, "Well, that's the cross 05:27 that I have to bear." 05:29 "Well, there's my cross is." 05:31 And oftentimes, we apply the message of the cross 05:35 to incidents in our lives 05:37 that are not necessarily applicable to the cross. 05:41 So I want to really make it very clear 05:42 what it means to carry our cross. 05:46 Let's begin by showing you some pictures. 05:48 These are some familiar pictures. 05:50 When you see this picture, 05:52 it opens to your mind these three crosses, 05:54 we think about the crucifixion. 05:57 One thief, another criminal, and Jesus in the middle. 06:03 The man on the cross, the man in the middle. 06:07 I think this is probably one of the most famous renditions 06:10 of the cross, especially, 06:12 during the time of year 06:14 when people talk about the resurrection of Christ. 06:16 They always have three crosses. 06:18 But if you think of the... 06:20 If you think of the jewelry industry, 06:23 crosses have been abused, have been misused, 06:26 have been reinterpreted, 06:28 in the occult world they turn the cross upside down, 06:31 in the occult world they had 06:33 so many other dimensions to the cross 06:34 which really does not apply to the Bible at all. 06:37 It takes the meaning of the cross and dilutes it 06:39 and distorts it and, at best, 06:42 misinterprets the message of the cross. 06:44 So as I thought about putting this 06:47 presentation together, 06:48 I said, "Well, let me show them a cross 06:50 that people wear around their neck." 06:52 Well, when I think about that, I'm reminded of the phrase, 06:56 my good friend, Doug Batchelor said to somebody who asked, 07:00 "Is it okay to wear a cross?" 07:02 He said, "Well, if you could find 07:04 support of the Bible, 07:05 because the Lord didn't say, wear a cross, 07:07 the Lord said what? 07:08 "Bear a cross." 07:10 And so we've seen crosses, and people often wear that, 07:13 you've seen cross earrings and cross tattoos. 07:16 Sometimes you've seen crosses on back of a leather jacket 07:19 with the skull in the middle of it. 07:21 And the cross has been so misused and so abused 07:24 but that's probably one of the most famous renditions. 07:26 However, I'm kind of... 07:28 I take to this one, 07:29 this next one because this one is found in Southern Illinois. 07:34 Some people may have heard about the Bald Knob Cross. 07:37 Now this cross is 116 feet tall, 07:39 and I have not necessarily seen this one, I heard about it. 07:43 So I chose tonight to share this one. 07:45 Southern Illinois boasts one of the biggest crosses 07:47 in the nation. 07:49 And I want to say it's bigger than the next cross 07:51 I'm going to show you but sometimes 07:52 if you're driving down the Highway 57, 07:55 where 57 and 70 meets, do you know what city that is? 08:01 Okay. 08:02 Ha? Effingham. 08:03 Effingham. 08:05 We're right in the City of Effingham 08:06 just before you get there, you see this massive tall, 08:08 tall cross. 08:11 Right. A big old metal cross. 08:14 Well, this one is bolstering a higher height than that one, 08:18 the Bald Knob Cross. 08:20 But this is probably 08:22 one of the most famous cross images. 08:25 The cross of Christ and Christ Himself 08:28 are there on the hills 08:29 over that great City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 08:34 So when we think about the cross, 08:37 depending on where you are, many images come to your mind. 08:40 You could be in a church where cross is very popular, 08:43 some churches have crosses on their steeple, 08:45 some churches have crosses right in the center 08:48 as the person walks into church, 08:50 and some people in their religion 08:51 they always make the sign of the cross. 08:53 The cross means a lot to a lot of different people. 08:56 The cross means a lot to people that are religious, 08:58 people that are Christians, 09:00 and people that are not necessarily Christians. 09:03 Sometimes, you'll see a rock group wearing a cross, 09:05 and you say, but their music, it doesn't match the symbol. 09:08 But a lot of people don't know that in the occult world, 09:11 one of the reasons why rockers wear that cross 09:13 is because they take pride as Satan worshippers 09:16 to wear the symbol upon which Jesus was crucified. 09:20 They're not wearing it because they are religious, 09:22 they're wearing it, bolstering that, 09:24 "We crucified Him on this cross." 09:27 Then you see the cross upside down, 09:28 which is a distortion of the message of the cross. 09:32 And then, as I said earlier, sometimes people say, 09:36 "Life is just so difficult for me. 09:37 I guess this is the cross, I'm called to bear." 09:41 But I want you to go with me right now to Matthew 27 09:44 before we go to question number one. 09:46 Matthew 27. 09:54 Matthew 27, 09:55 and we are going to look 09:59 at probably one of the most moving stories 10:01 in the Bible, 10:03 "The crucifixion of Jesus." 10:09 All right, let me just cut down how much I was going to read. 10:14 Let me start with verse 21. 10:17 Verse 21. 10:23 This is where Barabbas is freed, 10:26 and they choose to crucify Christ, 10:29 and let Barabbas go free. 10:32 "The governor..." 10:34 And I'm reading in the New King James Version. 10:35 "The governor answered and said to them, 10:38 'Which of the two do you want me to release to you?' 10:42 They said, "who, 'Barabbas!'" 10:47 And by the way, 10:49 when you think of 10:50 who the question is being asked to, 10:52 it's being asked to those who should have chosen Jesus, 10:54 the people that have been carrying His message, 10:58 the chief priest. 10:59 "Who do you want? 11:01 Barabbas?" 11:02 And he thought this would be a no-brainer. 11:04 "Who do you want this criminal over here 11:07 or this man that really you have nothing 11:09 to convict Him of? 11:11 Who do you want?" 11:12 And they chose a criminal over Jesus. 11:16 Pilate said to them in verse 22. 11:20 "What then shall I do with Jesus 11:23 who is called Christ?" 11:25 "What I'm going to do with Him?" 11:27 "They all said to him, 'Let Him be,' what?" 11:30 'Crucified!' 11:31 Then the governor said, "'Why, what evil has He done?' 11:36 But they cried out all the more, saying, 11:38 'Let Him be crucified!' 11:41 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, 11:45 but rather that a tumult was rising, 11:48 he took water and washed his hands 11:50 before the multitude, saying, 11:52 'I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. 11:56 You see to it.'" 11:57 Well, actually he had the power to release Him 11:59 so putting water on his hands didn't change his standing, 12:02 did not change his decision. 12:05 And says in verse 25. 12:07 "And all the people answered and said, 12:09 'His blood be on us and on our children.'" 12:13 If you follow the history of those who rejected Christ, 12:17 there is an appointment that they have. 12:19 It's talked about in Revelation 1:7. 12:22 "Every eye shall see Him, 12:24 and those also that pierced Him." 12:27 That appointment was made on this occasion 12:29 because when they mocked Christ, 12:30 and they reviled Him, and they rejected Him, 12:34 and they said to Him, 12:35 "If you're the Christ, save yourself." 12:37 They adjured Him to confess that He was the Christ. 12:40 He says, "I am, and you will see me again 12:44 coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." 12:47 So the good news tonight before we go any further 12:49 is the cross was not the defeat for Christ, 12:51 the cross was the place of victory for all of us. 12:55 It was not the place of defeat for Christ, 12:58 but you'll find it exactly why He had to go there. 13:01 And finally, go down to verse 26. 13:04 And I'm going to go very quickly here 13:05 because I want to cover it. 13:07 "Then they released Barabbas to them." 13:08 Verse 26. 13:10 "And when he had scourged Jesus, 13:13 he delivered Him to be crucified. 13:16 Then the soldiers of the governor 13:17 took Jesus into the praetorium 13:19 and gathered the whole garrison around Him. 13:23 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him." 13:28 Verse 29. 13:29 "When they had twisted a crown of thorns, 13:32 they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand." 13:37 And they bowed the knee before Him 13:40 and mocked Him, saying, 13:42 "Hail, King of the Jews!" 13:44 I don't know if you caught that, 13:45 the next time they bow their knees before Him, 13:47 it's going to be quite a different story, 13:49 what do you say? 13:50 "Every knee will bow, 13:51 every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." 13:56 But I'm giving you the picture of the cross 13:57 before we dive into it. 13:59 In verse 30. 14:00 "Then they spat on Him, 14:02 and took the reed and struck Him on the head. 14:06 Then when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, 14:11 put His own clothes on Him, 14:14 and led Him away to be crucified." 14:18 And finally, verse 32. 14:20 "Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, 14:23 Simon by name. 14:25 Him they compelled to bear His cross." 14:30 You find when you read the gospels, 14:32 when you read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 14:34 you only find two examples or two instances 14:36 where it talks about, "Bearing His cross." 14:39 But you'll never find a place in the writings of the gospels 14:42 where Jesus ever said the cross was His. 14:47 Jesus never claimed the cross was His. 14:50 Because what was the purpose of the cross? 14:51 Somebody tell me? 14:53 What was the purpose of the cross? 14:55 Crucifixion. 14:56 That was the purpose of the cross. 14:58 The cross, that cruel act of taking a person's life 15:02 was brought into existence by the Persians, 15:05 the Medo-Persians, 15:06 then it was later adopted by the Romans, 15:09 and they refined the process 15:14 of persecution on the cross. 15:16 They made it so that, 15:17 whoever was persecutor on the cross, 15:19 they could get the maximum amount of pain 15:21 before that person expired or before they died. 15:25 But when you find out tonight about the cross, 15:28 this was the mission of Jesus. 15:31 "For God so loved the world 15:33 that He gave His only begotten Son, 15:34 that whoever believeth in Him should not perish, 15:35 but have," what? 15:37 "Everlasting life." 15:38 Jesus had to come to perish that we don't perish. 15:41 Jesus had to come to die 15:43 so that we can have eternal life. 15:46 And this cruel act that we see, when you go to Isaiah 53, 15:51 the Bible says, "He was wounded for," 15:53 whose transgression, "our transgressions." 15:56 When you look at the whipping, He was bruised for our, what? 15:59 Inequity. 16:00 The chastisement of our peace is upon Him. 16:03 In other words, what that means is, 16:04 you're getting the peace, and He's getting the lashing, 16:08 it should be the other way around. 16:10 The reason why you have peace 16:12 is because He's taking the lashing for us. 16:14 The reason why we have peace 16:16 is because He's taking what we deserve, 16:18 we're literally trading places. 16:21 I want you to get that in your mind, we are what? 16:23 Trading places. 16:25 In other words where He should be is where... 16:28 We should be. 16:31 I want you to keep that thought in mind, we are trading places. 16:36 Now let's dive into question number one. 16:39 We are trading places, okay? 16:44 Question number one. 16:47 What condition does Jesus attach 16:51 to being a follower of Christ? 16:55 Matthew 10:38. 16:58 In our last broadcast, 16:59 we began here but just to give 17:01 the complete picture of the lesson, 17:03 I want to start with this tonight 17:04 because this is a very important text 17:06 as it relates to laying the foundation 17:08 for the verses that come after that. 17:10 What did Jesus say is imperative the condition 17:13 for being a follower of Christ. 17:14 Matthew 10:38 reads as follows. 17:16 Let's read this first one together. 17:18 Are you ready? Here we go. 17:20 "And he who does not take his cross 17:24 and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." 17:29 Now I want you to get this picture. 17:31 Here it is the day of crucifixion, 17:33 and Jesus is on His way to the cross. 17:35 Now what we didn't catch 17:38 when I read that verse in Matthew 27 is, 17:42 they chose a man to carry the cross of Christ 17:47 because in reality what was being illustrated 17:50 there is this very verse. 17:53 Simon was carrying the cross, 17:56 and he was following Jesus. 18:00 And what we didn't catch in that very illustration? 18:02 If you look at Matthew 27:32, "They found a man from Cyrene, 18:07 Simon by name. 18:09 Him they compelled to bear His cross." 18:12 They applied the cross to Jesus, 18:14 but the first illustration of the journey to the cross 18:17 was not Jesus carrying the cross, 18:19 but who carrying across? Simon carried the cross. 18:25 Oftentimes, you see in these illustrations 18:28 quite a different, you know, movies do a lot of things. 18:31 But Simon, when they got to Golgotha, 18:33 Simon was the one that took it there 18:35 because in reality Matthew 10:38 18:38 was being illustrated very carefully off the bat. 18:41 "If anyone will come after Me, let him take his cross and," 18:45 do what? 18:46 "Follow Me." 18:48 Simon was carrying the cross that belonged to Simon, 18:50 it didn't belong to Jesus. 18:53 He was going to be crucified on it, 18:55 but it really was Simon's cross. 18:57 Simon was the first man to follow Jesus 19:01 that carried his cross. 19:04 So Simon was living this verse out in 19:08 order for you to get to the life 19:09 that I have in store for you, 19:12 you've got to carry the cross that belongs to you. 19:16 So right away, I want you to put this down 19:18 in response to the question, 19:20 what condition does Jesus attach 19:22 to being a follower of Christ? 19:24 Carry your cross. 19:27 Write that down. 19:28 We must carry our cross. 19:30 I want you to make it personal, 19:32 "Carry my cross. I must carry my cross." 19:40 Outside of being wrongly accused, 19:43 everyone that went to the cross was a criminal. 19:45 If you checked out Jesus' record, 19:48 did He have any crimes? 19:49 None at all. 19:51 So how was He deemed a criminal? 19:54 How was He deemed a criminal? 19:59 Oh, say it again, honey? 20:01 Our sins. Our sins. 20:05 He was bruised for our iniquity. 20:08 In the judgment hour, 20:10 He was beaten for something we did. 20:13 He was about to be crucified for something 20:14 we were guilty of. 20:16 So if you really want to think about this thing 20:17 about salvation by works, 20:19 there are some places around the world, 20:21 and I can say this, 20:22 you know, so my roots are from the Philippines 20:24 but yearly around the time of Easter 20:29 so many people in foreign countries, 20:31 there's a tradition in some places, 20:33 and I saw some of the video. 20:35 This happens in portions of the Philippines 20:37 where some young men 20:39 find it a great honor to put hooks in their backs, 20:42 some of them find it a great honor 20:43 to literally be nailed through their hand 20:46 and hung up on the cross. 20:47 They find it a great honor. 20:50 They jostle for that position. 20:51 They want to be literally nailed 20:53 to the cross. 20:54 They want those nails to be pierced. 20:56 Some of them would just serve the purpose 20:59 of just having multiple hooks in their backs, 21:01 and they will be lifted up slowly 21:03 like a fish being taken out of the water 21:05 and just hang there to receive the accolade of his willing 21:09 to be crucified like Christ. 21:12 I want to say at the very beginning, 21:14 I'm glad that's not what Jesus wants us to do. 21:18 Amen? Amen. 21:22 What He wants us to do is far more, 21:24 far more difficult than that. 21:29 Did you get what I just said? 21:31 That's easy to do. 21:33 What He wants us to do is far more difficult 21:35 than having nails driven through our hands 21:38 once a year or having fishhooks in our backs 21:40 that are going to eventually be healed. 21:42 He wants us to do something a lot more effective than that. 21:46 Let's go to question number two. 21:48 Let's go to question number two 21:49 and find out how relevant this is. 21:51 Question number two reads as follows. 21:54 What was the principle that led Jesus to the cross? 21:56 There was a principle that was applied there. 21:59 What was that principle? 22:01 And we're going to turn to Philippians 2:8. 22:04 Philippians 2:8. 22:07 You know, the bearing of the cross 22:08 is very principle based, 22:10 it's not necessarily emotional based. 22:13 I was sitting in the NRB convention, 22:16 my wife was there, 22:17 Pastor Batchelor was there, 22:18 and number of other pastors was there, 22:20 it was a massive interdenominational 22:22 gathering that happens 22:24 at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention, 22:26 the year one when the movie The Passion came out, 22:30 and they had a preview of it. 22:32 And there was, oh, few thousand people in there. 22:35 That place was packed from side to side 22:37 when they decided tonight 22:38 they're going to preview this showing 22:40 to all these religious leaders. 22:42 And you can hear a pin drop in there. 22:46 But then over the quietness of the crowd, 22:47 you can hear people weeping in different corners of that room. 22:53 Weeping for the cross is an easy thing to do, 22:59 being nailed on the cross is an easy thing to do. 23:03 I want you to see what was the principle 23:05 that led Jesus to the cross. 23:07 Philippines 2:8. 23:09 Okay, look at this again. 23:11 "And being found in appearance as a man..." 23:16 What are the next two words? 23:17 He did what? 23:19 "Humbled Himself 23:22 and became obedient to the point of death, 23:27 even the death of the cross." 23:31 Now let me spend a little bit of time on that. 23:33 When you read Fox's Book of Martyrs, 23:35 probably one of the hardest books to read, 23:37 it's not a book that you want to read if you cannot handle 23:39 the atrocities that were perpetrated 23:41 on Christians during the Dark Ages. 23:43 And it's very descriptive. 23:46 But if you look at this verse and you begin to understand 23:49 why Christians went through what they went through, 23:51 they in many cases were willing to experience 23:55 the death of the cross 23:56 because they refused to be disobedient. 24:00 See, obedience requires something. 24:03 It requires a humble heart, 24:05 and a person willing to be obedient. 24:07 My wife and I, every now and then, 24:11 we saw this broadcast, 24:12 I think it's on HD television, 24:14 they talk about Million Dollar Rooms. 24:16 I got to share this Million Dollar Rooms. 24:18 And we were looking at this program 24:21 Million Dollar Rooms, 24:22 not million dollar houses, Million Dollar Rooms. 24:28 Wrap your head around that. 24:30 Twenty thousand square foot houses, 24:32 palatial in every respect, 24:34 and I sat on the edge of the bed, 24:35 and I sat there, and I got more and more disgusted 24:39 every Million Dollar Room I saw. 24:42 And I was thinking to myself, 24:43 "This is just a new version of the lifestyles 24:45 of the rich and famous." 24:47 And I'm sitting there on the edge of my bed... 24:52 And I'm thinking, 24:54 "This is sick, this is torture." 24:57 But all of a sudden, the Lord, Cynthia, 25:00 the Lord dropped a little drop of heavenly wisdom in my mind, 25:06 and he said, "That's nothing compared 25:07 to what I have in store for you." 25:09 Okay? 25:11 That's nothing. 25:13 And I thought to myself, 25:14 "Honey, let's cut that off and let's read our Bible." 25:18 And I opened... 25:20 We opened up Ellen White's writings 25:22 and began to read the scriptures of heaven. 25:24 And she said, "When I got a glimpse of heaven, 25:28 I had to lay my pen down 25:30 because words cannot describe what my eyes saw." 25:37 You know how they do the gold fixtures, 25:39 "These fixtures are made of 24-carat gold, 25:41 and they're..." 25:42 This chandelier was imported from Italy, 25:47 and this countertop was made from a hard... 25:51 What do they call that stuff? 25:53 "Granite that was hewn out of a rock 25:55 that has to be centuries old 25:57 because you see the fossilization in the rock. 26:00 And these tiles on the floor, my wine cellar in the basement 26:03 are all from the streets of Bethlehem, 26:07 they must be at least 2,000 years old, 26:09 and chances are Jesus and His disciples 26:11 walked on these cobblestones." 26:13 And he puts them in a wine cellar. 26:17 And I'm thinking, "Okay, okay. Next?" 26:20 Then a guy shows a movie theater 26:22 he had in his house, 26:23 $2 million movie theater in his house, 26:25 $600,000 sound system. 26:27 You know, if you've got money like that 26:28 and you want to waste it and stand before God 26:30 to give accountability of how you wasted money 26:32 when there are millions of people starving, 26:34 that's up to you. 26:35 However, I just had enough of it 26:38 and I have to turn it off pastor. 26:40 I did turn it off and say, "Let's get into Bible." 26:42 And I said to my wife, "Honey, have you noticed, 26:46 none of those houses 26:48 had any golden floors from end to end?" 26:52 They were all built on concrete foundations, 26:55 not 12 foundations made of 12 precious stones. 27:00 I had not seen a single gate on any of those properties, 27:03 Marlene, that was made of one pearl. 27:05 Come on somebody had to see what I'm heading with it. 27:08 And I thought to myself, 27:09 "Jesus died so that we could live there, 27:13 and we don't have to pay a penny for it." 27:15 Amen? Amen. 27:16 Oh, but there is something we have to pay, 27:19 we've got to be obedient, we've got to be humble. 27:23 The first thing I want to point out 27:24 about the message of the cross, 27:26 the message of the cross doesn't need display. 27:28 You don't need to get a big old gigantic cross. 27:30 And I've seen people they get crosses, 27:32 some guys get these big old honking crosses, 27:34 big old massive gold chains, 27:36 and they're walking around with a cigar in their mouth 27:38 and big old golden cross, "You know, I'm a Christian." 27:41 I don't think that is not what bear the cross means. 27:46 Or it's on the back of a jacket or on the side of a house 27:48 or spray painted on the building 27:49 that's not what the message of the cross is. 27:51 The message of the cross is humbling ourselves, 27:54 humbling ourselves, 27:56 being obedient even if it means dying. 27:59 Why did Jesus die? 28:00 Because He was obedient to the point of death. 28:04 So here is the first message of the cross, 28:06 I want you to get this. 28:07 I didn't give you space to write this down 28:09 but here it is. 28:10 The message of the cross calls us to be 28:14 so willing to be obedient that if it costs us our lives, 28:18 we're willing to go that far. 28:21 That's huge. 28:23 Because when the time comes 28:25 for persecution to arise again in places 28:28 where we find it so customary to just go to church 28:31 out of traditional habit, 28:33 you'll find that Christianity is going 28:34 to be really whittle down to those 28:37 who are willing to die, 28:38 and those who just were there for the choir, 28:40 over there for the palatial palaces. 28:42 It's going to be a time those who stayed around 28:45 and followed Jesus after that point. 28:47 That's why the disciples were hiding, 28:49 that's why they were hiding on the first day of the week. 28:51 They were not having a church service, 28:53 they were hiding for fear of the Jews, 28:54 they thought they were next 28:56 because they knew if their master died, 29:00 they're just a few steps away 29:02 from themselves also giving their lives. 29:04 Why do you think Peter denied Jesus? 29:06 Because he was not willing to die. 29:09 Didn't he say, "I'll even die for You." 29:11 But when the test came down to it, 29:13 Peter was unwilling to give his life, 29:15 he was going to his verbal accolade. 29:19 "I'll support, You Lord, and I'll even die for You." 29:24 "You will? All right." 29:27 Do you know Jesus? 29:29 Well, I'm getting into preacher now. 29:33 Excuse me if I'm preaching. 29:35 The point of the matter is the cross requires 29:37 humble obedience. 29:38 It means how willing and how obedient 29:42 are you willing to be is it to the point of death, 29:45 even the death of the cross. 29:47 Now I want to expand this 29:49 because the Lord is not saying to you, 29:50 "Honey, I'm willing, I'm obedient get some nails." 29:53 No. 29:55 It's a far deeper than that. 29:57 Let's go to question number three, 29:58 far deeper than that. 30:01 Number three. 30:03 Okay. 30:04 "How does the Bible describe those that were crucified? 30:09 How does it describe those that were crucified? 30:15 We're going to look at Galatians 3:13. 30:19 Galatians 3:13. 30:26 Lot of times, we think of Galatians... 30:30 Galatians is a powerful book. 30:34 I mean, they're all powerful, but Galatians is a book... 30:36 Lot of times people say, "Well, I'm going to study 30:37 the Book of Romans." 30:39 Romans will mess you up if you're not deep enough, 30:41 but Galatians... 30:43 What we're going to say? 30:47 One of the quarterly. That's right. 30:48 Study the Book of Galatians, 30:50 that was a beautiful quarterly by the way, 30:51 very imperative to study that one. 30:53 But Galatians 3:13 is where we're going to start first 30:55 for the answer here. 30:57 All right, how did the Bible 30:58 describe those that were crucified? 31:00 Here's the answer. 31:01 Galatians 3:13 reads, 31:03 "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, 31:09 having become a," what? 31:11 "Curse for us for it is written, 31:15 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.'" 31:19 Now follow this carefully. 31:22 The curse? 31:23 What's the curse? What's the curse? 31:28 Well, it may even goes deeper than that? 31:31 This is quite deep here. 31:33 Let's all put on our scuba gear, 31:36 we're going in. 31:38 When we were born, 31:40 we were born in a bad condition. 31:43 1 Corinthians 15:22. 31:45 "As in Adam," how many die? 31:47 "All die." 31:48 So we were born cursed, cursed to die. 31:54 And at that point, we didn't do anything wrong. 31:57 But if we stayed around long enough, 32:00 we'd realize 32:01 what bad predicament we really are in. 32:03 We were born cursed. 32:05 We were born with this nature 32:06 that we couldn't do anything with. 32:09 So we were born in a bad situation. 32:12 I don't use the phrase original sin 32:13 that has different connotations, 32:15 but we were born with a nature 32:16 that was out of harmony with the nature 32:19 that we need to be inhabitants of heaven, 32:22 couldn't go on with that. 32:23 That's why the Bible says, "Flesh and blood 32:25 cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven." 32:27 That's human flesh, that's sinful flesh, 32:29 that's carnal, 32:30 that's a carnal nature could not. 32:32 So now the cross then being the symbol of death, 32:39 the law, the wages of sin is death. 32:43 So where there is no law, there is no sin. 32:48 Where there is no sin, there is no need of death. 32:52 So where there is a law, there is sin. 32:54 The curse of the law means the law condemns you. 33:00 The law does what? Say that again. 33:02 Condemns us. 33:03 So when the Bible says, "The Lord has redeemed us 33:06 from the curse of the law, 33:08 the law says, 'Mike, you're going to die.'" 33:13 And Jesus says, "Wait a minute. 33:15 Mike, you don't have to die on the cross, 33:18 I already did that." 33:21 And so Mike accepts what Christ did 33:27 because Christ took what Mike did. 33:32 He took on that, He became that curse, 33:35 having become a curse for us, He took on that nature, 33:39 He came to the earth, and took on that nature. 33:41 Now go with me to 1 Corinthians 15. 33:43 I want you to get this because 33:44 your minds are opening up. 33:46 And while it's open, I want to fill it 33:49 with some really good stuff. 33:51 1 Corinthians. 33:54 All right? 33:56 And chapter 15. 34:06 Okay? 34:09 Okay, now we're going to go to... 34:14 We're going to talk about the two natures. 34:16 Start with verse 43. 34:17 I'm going to dive into the little ways. 34:19 Verse 43. 34:22 Talking about this whole concept of 34:24 why are we cursed, 34:26 why is that the cross 34:28 or the law sends us to the cross, 34:30 why is that there is a curse that comes upon us 34:33 because of the law. 34:34 Look at the two conditions here. 34:37 Verse 43 is what I said 34:38 speaking of the two conditions that we are faced with. 34:44 Let's look at the first one. 34:46 "It is sown in dishonor," 34:48 that is the natural, 34:51 "it is raised in," what? "Glory. 34:53 It is sown in," what? "Weakness, 34:56 it is raised in," what? "Power." 34:59 Verse 44. 35:00 "It is sown a," what? "Natural body, 35:03 it is raised a," what? "Spiritual body. 35:06 There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." 35:11 Notice that. 35:12 Now verse 45. 35:14 "And so it is written, 35:16 'The first man Adam became a living being.' 35:21 The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.'" 35:26 Look at the two conditions, we have this natural side, 35:28 we have this spiritual side, 35:30 we have this side of this dishonor. 35:33 But then we have the side of glory, 35:35 we have the side of weakness, we have the side of power. 35:38 Now the cross being in the middle, 35:41 you have the dishonor and the weakness here, 35:44 then you have the cross here, 35:46 then after the cross you don't have the dishonor, 35:48 you have the glory and the power. 35:50 What did Jesus say when He was risen? 35:54 "All power is given unto Me 35:58 in heaven and in earth." 36:01 But let's keep going. 36:03 Verse 46. 36:05 "However, the spiritual is...?" 36:07 What is the very next word? 36:09 "Not first." 36:10 So when you're born, what's first? 36:12 The natural is first, the dishonor is first, 36:17 the corruption is first, the weakness is first. 36:21 All that is what we are born with, 36:24 we're born with corruption, we are born with weakness. 36:26 We're born in that natural condition. 36:28 And no matter how hard you try, 36:30 no matter how difficult you put effort forth, 36:33 you cannot work your way out of that condition 36:36 because that condition according to this text 36:38 that condition is the cursed. 36:40 That's the reason why you got to die. 36:43 So you ask yourself the question, 36:44 "How am I going to fix this? How am I going to fix this?" 36:49 Look at verse 47. 36:51 "The first man was of the earth, 36:54 made of dust. 36:55 The second Man is the Lord from heaven." 36:59 And I lover verse 48. 37:01 "As was the man of dust, 37:03 so also are those who are made of," what? 37:06 "Dust." Are we made of dust? 37:08 Yes. 37:09 How to live a spiritual life? 37:10 That's the natural body but get this now. 37:12 "And as is the heavenly Man, 37:15 so also are those who are," what? 37:18 "Heavenly. 37:20 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, 37:22 we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. 37:27 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood 37:30 cannot inherit the kingdom of God 37:33 nor does corruption inherit incorruption." 37:35 One of the greatest reasons 37:37 why you should give people this text is because 37:39 when people say, "You die and go to heaven." 37:40 You can't because you're still in the natural, 37:43 you're still in the weakness, 37:44 you're still in the corruptible side, 37:46 you can't, you got to be changed. 37:48 And that's where verse 51 to 54 really comes in. 37:50 That's the context of verse 51 to 54. 37:54 We often think, "Well, all of a sudden 37:55 there's going to be this changed light 37:56 when Jesus comes." 37:58 Oh, what a big mistake. 38:00 The biggest mistake is to think 38:01 that the change is going to happen when Jesus comes. 38:03 The last change is going to happen when Jesus comes 38:06 is the changing of the body 38:08 but not the changing of the nature. 38:14 Do I need to move my ears out any further? 38:17 The nature is what gets changed now, 38:20 the nature is what gets taken to the cross now. 38:24 You're not gonna get up. 38:26 Now, obviously, 38:27 we're going to have the character of Christ, 38:29 but that cross is now, 38:30 there's going to be no cross in heaven, 38:32 that cross is on earth. 38:33 When Jesus comes, He's going to say, 38:35 "Oh, did you get baptized? 38:36 Well, let's do this real quickly, 38:38 so I could help you and give you a new nature." 38:39 That's the final product. 38:41 That's the glory part. 38:43 The justification, accepting Christ, 38:46 sins being forgiven, 38:47 sanctification, growing in Christ, 38:49 being saved from the power of sin, 38:52 but glory being saved from the presence of sin. 38:56 Did you get the picture now? 38:58 So by the time, 38:59 you are changed from corruptible to incorruptible, 39:01 from mortal to immortal, 39:03 that's the last phase, that's not the beginning of it. 39:06 Amen. 39:07 The beginning is now. 39:09 Let's go to the next question. 39:11 Question number four. The beginning is now. 39:16 How does the Bible further explain 39:17 the transaction of the cross? 39:20 There's a transaction there. 39:23 That's right. 39:25 Number three the answer to that is. 39:27 Thank you. 39:28 Number three, the answer is cursed. 39:29 That was the condition of those that were crucified. 39:32 They get that because they're cursed. 39:34 Last place you want to end up is on a cross. 39:36 But question number four takes us to 2 Corinthians 5:21. 39:41 How does the Bible further explain 39:43 the transaction of the cross? 39:47 You need to see this chapter 39:48 that we just read before this verse 39:50 really jumps out at you. 39:51 2 Corinthians 5:21 reads as follows. 39:53 Here it is on the screen. 39:55 "For He made Him 39:58 who knew no sin to be," what? 40:01 "Sin for us." 40:02 That's the first side. 40:04 "That we might become 40:06 the righteousness of God in Him." 40:11 Now if you want to put a comma, 40:13 a good place to put a comma 40:14 would have been right after the word God 40:15 because if any man be in Christ... 40:17 2 Corinthians 5:17. 40:19 "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. 40:22 Old things had," what? "Passed away. 40:24 Behold, all things had become," what? 40:26 "New." So what passes away? 40:27 Here's what passes away. 40:29 I want you get what passes away. 40:30 The dishonor passes away, the weakness passes away, 40:34 the natural body passes away, 40:35 all of that stuff 40:37 that we were born with passes away. 40:39 And by faith now, I want you to catch this, 40:42 by faith who are we? 40:44 By faith who are we? 40:46 I just read the text. 40:48 I just quoted it. 40:49 "If anyone is in Christ, he is a," what? 40:51 "New creation." 40:54 So who are we in Christ? 40:55 Let's say it again, a new creation. 40:59 That means if you walk around the house 41:01 looking for the old creation 41:03 by faith, 41:05 we can say, "I'm new in Christ." 41:06 When a person gives his or her life to Christ 41:09 and is baptized and comes forth. 41:11 They come forth... 41:12 Let's go to Romans 6. 41:14 They come forth to a different kind of life 41:16 that's why it's so important for us... 41:19 That's why it's so important, Romans 6. 41:22 Okay? 41:26 That's why it's so vitally important for us 41:29 that we understand what happens when we're baptized. 41:31 Lot of people say, "I'm a member now." 41:33 If all you are is a member, 41:34 then you're really no different than what you were. 41:36 You could be a member 41:38 but there's something bigger here, 41:40 this cross has made a difference. 41:41 When I say thank You, Lord... 41:43 That's why it's so important to understand 41:45 what happens when you go down in the watery grave. 41:48 Romans 6. 41:50 And let's look together at verse 4, okay? 41:53 Romans 6:4. 41:56 Well, verse 2. 41:58 Romans 6:2. 42:00 Well, Romans 6:1. 42:02 You got to get the context. 42:03 Is that okay? 42:05 Okay, "What shall we say then? 42:06 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" 42:08 What's the answer? 42:09 "Certainly not! 42:11 How shall we who," what is the next word? 42:12 "Died to sin live any longer in it? 42:15 Or do you not know..." 42:17 Paul is asking, 42:18 "Don't you know 42:19 that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus 42:22 were baptized into His death?" 42:24 When you're baptized, 42:25 you're baptized into that death. 42:27 That's where Galatians 2:20 comes in but let's go on. 42:31 "Therefore, we were buried with Him 42:33 through baptism into death, 42:36 that just as Christ was raised from the dead 42:40 by the glory of the Father, 42:43 even so we also should walk in," the what? 42:47 "Newness of life." 42:49 Some got killed, 42:51 you can't have a new life unless the first one is gone. 42:54 That's why the next verse is beautiful. 42:56 "For if we have been united together 42:58 in the likeness of His death," 43:01 what's the next word? 43:02 "Certainly we shall be 43:04 in the likeness of His resurrection." 43:06 Well, how do I know that? 43:07 "Knowing that this, that our old man was," what? 43:14 "Crucified with Him, 43:15 that the body of sin might be done away with, 43:18 that we should no longer be," what? 43:20 "Slaves to sin. 43:21 For he who has died has been freed from sin." 43:25 Now, ah, pause, and you're thinking. 43:31 Is there sin in the world still? 43:33 Is there still temptation in the world? 43:35 So what sin have you been freed from? 43:42 You've been freed from the penalty of sin. 43:46 Come on say it again. 43:48 The curse. 43:49 What was a curse? 43:51 Death. 43:52 You've been taken off a death roll, 43:54 can I get an amen anywhere? 43:56 Amen. 43:57 So you no longer... 43:58 So there is no fear... 44:00 There should be no fearfulness of the coming judgment 44:03 because the penalty of sin 44:04 no longer reigns over the head of anyone 44:06 who gives his or her life to Christ. 44:08 That's no longer over you. 44:10 You have been freed from that. 44:11 That is, you now 44:12 in the likeness of His resurrection. 44:14 Was Jesus fearful of dying again 44:16 in the likeness of His resurrection? 44:17 Absolutely not. 44:18 He came forth with the glory and the power, 44:22 the very thing that Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 44:24 is on the other side. 44:25 The glory, shown dishonor raised in glory. 44:29 See, the glory comes after. 44:32 So if we don't have the message of the cross, 44:35 if we don't have the experience of the cross, 44:38 if we don't take our sin to the cross 44:40 and die with Christ, 44:42 we can't live with Christ. 44:45 If we don't accept His death, 44:47 we surely can't accept His resurrection 44:49 because what comes first, death or resurrection? 44:52 Death comes first. 44:54 You've got to be in the death 44:55 before you be in the resurrection. 44:56 So often people get baptized 44:58 because they understand 28 fundamentals, 45:01 and they don't understand the cross. 45:04 So they go in ignorant of the teachings, 45:07 come out intellectually sound of the teachings, 45:10 but they don't understand the transaction of the cross. 45:13 Something happened here, 45:15 "He made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us," 45:17 transaction that we might become 45:19 the righteousness of God in Him that's how we do it in Christ. 45:24 Amen? 45:25 Without Jesus in the mix, then we're just very educated, 45:28 very well-tuned people 45:31 that understand what the 28 fundamentals mean. 45:33 "I believe the message of the cross. 45:35 Well, I understand all the teachings. 45:36 Yes, you die and go to the grave 45:38 and all the other stuff that comes along with that." 45:40 The message of the cross is far deeper than that. 45:43 And let me tell you why this is important to me, 45:46 and why it should be important to every one of us. 45:48 When you really understand what happens there, 45:50 you should not live a fearful Christian life. 45:52 You shouldn't walk around and say... 45:54 I know what you're going to send me, 45:56 you're going to write me and send me that text. 45:58 Oh, that quotation from Ellen White 45:59 where we say we should never say we are saved. 46:02 But that's only one portion of what she said, 46:04 but she also points that we should have that assurance. 46:07 C.D. 46:09 Brooks, I like the way he says, "I am saved, I'm being saved, 46:13 and I'll be saved." 46:15 Right? 46:16 I'm saved from death, 46:18 I'm being saved from the power of sin, 46:20 I will be saved from the presence of sin. 46:23 That's a salvation is, 46:24 not a one-time, once saved, 46:25 always saved because there's still sin 46:28 that's why I asked you, is there still sin? 46:29 So what have you been saved from? 46:30 If somebody says, "Are you saved?" 46:32 Say, "Yes, I am, I'm being, and I will be. 46:35 They'll get so confused, they'll say, "I'll be back." 46:38 Not only let me help you understand what I mean. 46:41 And so I asked, "Are you saved?" 46:43 They say, "Yes." I said, "Saved from what?" 46:46 "Well, I accepted Jesus when I was 16 years old, 46:48 1923 on 2 o'clock in the afternoon." 46:51 You ever hear that? 46:53 "I remember when I was 22 years old, 46:54 I accepted Jesus, and He came into my life." 46:56 "Okay, are you saved?" "Yes." 46:57 "From what?" 46:59 Help them understand that 47:00 because too often people 47:02 are exercising a faith of the Christian life 47:06 but continuing to mumble, bumble, 47:08 and stumble failing to realize 47:11 what is really made available to them. 47:12 That power, that glory, that's on the other side, 47:14 it's important for every one of us. 47:16 I need it too. 47:17 Amen for that. 47:20 He took what belongs to us 47:21 so that we can receive what belongs to Him. 47:24 That's question number four. 47:26 Number five. Let's move on quickly. 47:27 We have a lot of questions here. 47:29 Number five, what does Isaiah the prophet tell us 47:34 the cross accomplished? 47:36 What does Isaiah tell us the cross accomplished? 47:38 We quoted that earlier. We can go right to that. 47:40 That one is a very familiar passage 47:42 but don't let the familiar understanding of that 47:45 cause you to miss its message. 47:47 Isaiah 53:5. 47:49 I want to go right to this one 47:51 not just in the interest of time, 47:52 but I want you to see this 47:54 we talked about earlier 47:55 and this is to reiterate. 47:57 What does Isaiah the prophet tell us the cross accomplished? 48:01 "But He was wounded for our transgressions, 48:04 He was bruised for our iniquities, 48:07 the chastisement," 48:08 that word chastisement, the whipping He took, 48:11 "for our peace was upon Him, 48:13 and by His stripes we are," what? 48:15 "Healed." What did the cross accomplish? 48:20 Say it again, Bud, who said heal? 48:24 Okay, Dan. 48:26 Healing. 48:30 If you think of all the healing 48:31 that Jesus extended to the multitudes, 48:36 He didn't just healed them physically, 48:38 He healed them mentally. 48:42 Lot of times, we're locked into the vacuum there. 48:48 You see clearly, 48:49 the healing that the stripes brought 48:51 was the healing that was far deeper 48:53 than anything they could imagine. 48:55 It wasn't just the taken up off the bat, 48:57 but they went away with rejoicing 48:59 healed by His stripes. 49:01 So if you answer the question here to number five, 49:04 what does Isaiah the prophet tell us the cross accomplished? 49:06 It accomplished, what? 49:08 Healing. 49:09 Healing from the sin, 49:11 as well as the condition of the sin. 49:14 The condition of it was the impact 49:16 not just on the destiny but on the daily life, 49:22 not just the destiny but on the daily life. 49:25 All right. 49:27 Okay, number six. 49:35 Okay, here it is. 49:40 We went ahead of ourselves, 49:41 but I want to go back there 49:43 because it was important to get that. 49:46 What does the Bible describe 49:48 as our first place of unity with Christ? 49:53 What does it describe 49:54 as our first place of unity with Christ? 49:59 Go back to Roman 6:5. 50:03 Say that again, honey? 50:05 Our first place 50:06 that we are united with Christ is in death. 50:10 Before you could be united with Him in life, 50:12 you have to be united with Him in what? 50:14 Death. 50:16 That sounds very unusual. 50:18 Well, what good is there for me? 50:20 Well, if you think about what Satan was put out of, 50:24 what Lucifer when he lost his estate 50:28 because sin could not abide 50:30 in the glorious courts of heaven. 50:32 So it was either 50:35 remain in the character that I created you in 50:38 but if you change your character, 50:39 then this is not the place that you can continue to abide. 50:42 So why is he abiding in death now? 50:44 Why is he waiting for his day of destruction? 50:46 Why is he looking forward to the second death, 50:48 not looking forward to it, 50:49 but why is that his appointment? 50:53 It's because he did not accept the place 50:55 that Christ had placed him in that perfect character, 50:57 in that perfect unity with Christ. 50:59 As a result of that now, 51:01 our unity with Christ first begins in death. 51:05 Let's look at that again. 51:07 "For if we have been united together 51:11 in the likeness of His death, 51:17 "For if we have been united together 51:19 in the likeness of His death, 51:22 certainly we also shall be 51:24 in the likeness of His resurrection." 51:28 Now not to run past that too quickly, 51:31 but I want to ask a few questions. 51:35 It was a long time before I realized 51:38 who my dad was but... 51:41 I'd always wondered what he looked like. 51:43 I always wondered if I walked past him 51:45 that I would notify, 51:46 if I would recognize anybody as being my father, 51:49 because I didn't even know who he was naturally. 51:52 In the very same way, 51:54 when we are identified with Christ, 51:56 when we are connected with Christ, 51:57 when Christ becomes our father, 51:59 there's a connection there 52:01 that brings with in more than just the benefits of the life 52:07 but there should be some evidences 52:08 of our connection, right? 52:12 Some people say, "You know, 52:13 you have your father's eyes." 52:15 Or, "Your voice sounds like your dad." 52:19 Or, "Your handwriting, it's like your mom's." 52:21 There are some evidences there. 52:23 Go with me. 52:25 Let me turn, then I'll tell you where it is, okay? 52:31 Okay, here we are. 52:33 Galatians 5. 52:47 Galatians 5. 52:52 And let's look together at verse 16. 53:03 Galatians 5 and starting with verse 16. 53:08 Well, could I just give you verse 13 very quickly, 53:10 verse 13, it gives me the context of it. 53:13 You know, lot of times, 53:14 if you read just the verse itself, 53:16 you don't get what's before and what's after it. 53:17 Let's start with verse 13. 53:20 It says, "For you, brethren, have been called to," what? 53:25 "Liberty." 53:26 That's freedom, another word for liberty is freedom. 53:28 "Only do not use liberty 53:32 as an opportunity for the flesh, 53:36 but through love serve one another." 53:40 How to live a spiritual life in a natural body? 53:43 After the Lord frees us, 53:44 we still have this natural body. 53:46 But He said, "You've been set free. 53:47 But now that you've been set free 53:49 don't use that as... 53:51 Since you're not on death row any more, 53:52 don't feel that you could do what you did before 53:55 and not mess up this relationship. 53:59 Don't feel that since you're not fearful 54:01 that there's a death date set for you 54:02 when you were on death row 54:03 that you're now going to live anyway 54:05 and there's no consequences to that." 54:06 He said, "Don't use your freedom 54:08 to mess up your life." 54:09 That's why when people quote this text, 54:11 you might see my mouth moving... 54:13 Let's quote it together. 54:18 "He who the Son sets free is free indeed." 54:25 But if you go to John 54:26 and you read the text, 54:31 "For if the Son, 54:32 therefore shall make you free, 54:35 you shall be," what? 54:37 "Free indeed." 54:38 If you go to John 8, 54:39 I want you to see this very quickly. 54:41 We have about... 54:42 We're going to get this. 54:50 John 8:36. 55:04 Okay, "Therefore, if the Son makes you free, 55:08 you shall be, " what? 55:09 "Free indeed." 55:10 And verse 32. 55:12 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall," what? 55:17 How many times that we say set? 55:20 The truth shall set you free. 55:24 Setting me free and making me free 55:26 is not the same thing. 55:29 When people are set free from prison, 55:31 you know, they have this big, old, high technical word, 55:34 it's called recidivism rate. 55:38 Write that one down. 55:40 Recidivism rate, you know what that means? 55:42 That means the percentage of those 55:44 who end up back where they were. 55:46 The recidivism rate is very high, why? 55:49 Because they've been set free physically, 55:52 they have not been set free, what? 55:53 Mentally. 55:55 They've still got a prisoner's mind. 55:56 There's some people that have been bound 55:58 for so long, they say, 55:59 "You know, I'm a whole lot more comfortable in there, 56:02 than I am out here." 56:04 And in the very same way, 56:06 "For those who are set free spiritually..." 56:09 Some people have lived in sin so long 56:11 that unless they understand 56:13 what that freedom and that liberty is all about, 56:15 their recidivism rate is huge, 56:17 they go back to that 56:19 because they have not learned, 56:21 they have not learned the life of freedom. 56:24 That's why it's important when a person 56:26 gives his or her life to Christ, 56:27 they begin to practice differently 56:29 and live differently 56:31 and speak differently and think differently 56:37 because as I was going to read in Galatians, 56:39 you see that the flesh in the spirit 56:42 it talks about all the sins of the flesh, 56:44 but then it says, 56:46 but now the fruit of the Spirit is, what? 56:47 Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 56:49 meekness, patience, all that other good stuff. 56:51 If we don't begin to learn that other side 56:53 that comes after the cross, 56:54 then we have this recidivism rate 56:56 that's going to be high. 56:57 And after we accept all this intellectual knowledge, 56:59 we say, 57:01 "I understand what the message is 57:03 but no change in the life." 57:04 And we end up back there and wonder how do we get there 57:07 because we haven't understand that there's a process 57:09 that not just sets us free 57:11 but that makes us free. 57:16 And the message of the cross 57:18 takes us to the cross as the first place of unity, 57:21 not just the likeness of His death, 57:24 but the likeness of His resurrection. 57:27 I don't want to be just set free, 57:29 I want to be made free. 57:32 I don't want to go back to where I was before, 57:35 I want to stay on this side, 57:37 the life that the person 57:39 who has been set free in Christ experiences. 57:42 So if you're studying this lesson 57:43 about what freedom really is 57:45 about the message of the cross, 57:47 how to carry your cross. 57:49 The message is simply this, 57:50 carry your cross day by day, 57:53 putting self to death day by day, 57:56 living in the power, 57:58 and the wonder of the cross, 57:59 and then your life will be in Sharper Focus. 58:03 God bless you. |
Revised 2018-11-05