Participants: Pastor Kenneth Cox
Series Code: TOTE
Program Code: TOTE000003
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00:02 Can you believe it?
00:04 Can you build your faith on it? 00:08 The promises of God's Word are sure. 00:12 They do not fail. 00:17 This book has stood the test of time. 00:29 Heavenly Father, 00:32 tonight as we look at the sacrifice that Your Son, 00:37 Jesus Christ, made in our behalf... 00:43 Lord, help us to understand. 00:46 May our minds be clear. 00:50 May they be open to the direction and guidance 00:54 of the Holy Spirit. 00:56 We pray, Lord, that we may see 01:00 all that was done upon the cross of Calvary 01:05 and that we might by faith reach out and take hold 01:11 of the provisions and receive the gift 01:14 of life eternal. 01:17 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 01:29 As Communism was coming to an end 01:32 I had the opportunity 01:35 to visit a city out 01:39 on the outskirts of Russia 01:41 right almost to China. 01:43 A city by the name of Vladivostok. 01:45 Now Vladivostok is the... kind of the naval port 01:49 for the Russian fleet. 01:51 A city of about 2,000,000 people. 01:53 And I had the opportunity to go in there and spend 01:56 several weeks working to help establish Christianity 02:00 there in Vladivostok. 02:02 And so while I was there 02:04 I went out and walked through one of their cemeteries. 02:07 Their cemeteries are a little bit different than ours 02:12 in the fact that on the tombstones they have a picture 02:15 of the person who has died so when you look at it 02:17 you can tell who has passed away. 02:19 But I noticed that as I was looking there that the 02:23 tombstones that had been erected 02:25 since the time that Communism started... 02:28 they were just very plain tombstones. 02:32 There was no symbolism of anything on them. 02:35 I got to looking, and the tomb- stones that had been erected 02:39 before Communism had come into being 02:43 had symbolism on them, or did have... 02:46 They had come in and they had chiseled off 02:48 every cross, every sign of Christianity at all. 02:54 You see the cross... the cross is a symbol of hope. 02:59 They didn't want those people to understand that the cross 03:03 offered to any of them anything more than Communism would offer. 03:07 And so they tried to do away with anything 03:09 that represented Christianity or offered to them 03:13 any hope at all. 03:14 To you and I the cross is a symbol of salvation. 03:19 It's a symbol of hope. 03:21 It offers to us eternal life. 03:23 It offers to us something that you and I don't have 03:27 of ourselves. 03:30 The cross... today we see it on buildings. 03:35 On churches. We see it on books. 03:39 In fact, there is more jewelry 03:42 made in the symbol of a cross than any other thing 03:45 because people get a cross and to them it offers to them 03:50 life. It offers to them hope. 03:53 It presents something. 03:56 Offers to them something that you can't have 04:00 any other way. 04:03 The scripture has this to say about it. 04:06 I Corinthians 1 verse 18: 04:21 Now to the person who doesn't know Jesus Christ 04:24 who hasn't accepted Him, true enough... the cross 04:27 probably is foolishness to that person. 04:29 But to the individual that has reached out in faith 04:33 and accepted Christ, it is the power of God. 04:38 You know we sing that song: 04:40 On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross... 04:48 You see, the cross - to you and to me - 04:52 is a sign of hope. 04:54 It's a sign of eternal life. 04:57 It's a sign that God has done something special 05:00 for you and me. But that's not the way it was 05:04 in the days of Jesus Christ. 05:06 The cross was a symbol of torture. 05:10 It was a symbol of shame. 05:13 It was a... it was a symbol of 05:15 someone who had been convicted of a crime. 05:20 And by the way, the crucifixion 05:25 didn't take place out on a hill far away. 05:31 The crucifixion took place right outside Jerusalem 05:35 right beside the street 05:40 so that as the people walked by they could see 05:43 those men hanging there. 05:46 And it was a statement that they were guilty. 05:50 That's what it was a statement of: that they were guilty. 05:53 It was a warning to anyone else who might think 05:56 of trying to do what these men had done. 06:00 And so you find the scripture says that they were convicted 06:04 criminals. They had been tried 06:06 and they had been convicted. 06:08 And so as they hung there on the cross 06:11 it was a statement of this. 06:13 And thus it reads here in Mark 15:28: 06:24 He was numbered with the transgressors, so as people 06:28 walked down the street they could see them hanging there. 06:32 That's the reason the scripture 06:35 talking about the death of Jesus Christ 06:38 reads this way: 06:43 Matthew 27:39... "And those who... " what? 06:47 "passed by... " They're walking down the street 07:05 They are walking down the streets. There they hung: 07:09 a statement that they had been tried, convicted; 07:12 they were guilty. And they said: "If You're the Son of God, 07:15 come on down off the cross. " 07:16 Even the religious leaders of the day joined in, 07:21 because it goes on in the scripture and says: 07:36 If You are what You claim to be... 07:40 come down off the cross. 07:47 They said: "If You're what You said You are, 07:49 come down off the cross. THEN we'll believe You. " 07:53 Tried, convicted. For the crime 07:58 of claiming to be a king, the Son of God, 08:04 the Messiah, the Deliverer of Israel, 08:08 they hung Him on a cross. 08:10 Died in shame. 08:14 In fact, in the book of Hebrews 12th chapter verse 2, 08:18 it says: 08:34 So it says that He endured the cross, 08:37 despising the shame. 08:41 You understand what it means when it says 08:44 "He endured the cross? " 08:46 Let me tonight tell you a little bit about the 08:49 crucifixion of Jesus. 08:51 Maybe you'll understand a little bit 08:55 of what He went through 08:57 to save you... 08:59 to purchase your salvation. 09:01 You must understand that Jesus is not like you and I. 09:07 You must understand that He had the ability 09:10 to see it before it happened. 09:13 He knew every character. 09:17 He knew that Judas was going to betray Him. 09:19 He knew everyone that would be there involved in the 09:24 crucifixion. 09:25 He knew all that before it happened. 09:27 So when He went to the Garden of Gethsemane, folks, 09:31 He's going there fully conscious 09:35 of what's about to take place. 09:37 He knows what's about to happen to Him. 09:42 He also knows that at this time now 09:46 all the sins of mankind 09:50 is being placed on Him. He knows that. 09:54 The scripture says that He bore our sins. 09:59 So all the sins of the world are being poured upon Him. 10:02 He also understands that sin 10:06 is offensive not only to Him but to His Father. 10:12 Therefore, He knows that as He bears all the sins of the world 10:16 that those sins are separating Himself from His Father. 10:21 And that's why He cries out: "My God, My God, 10:25 why hast Thou forsaken Me? " 10:26 Because He knows that's what's taking place. 10:31 Therefore when He's there, 10:34 He is under great psychological stress 10:39 like you and I can't understand because He sees this all 10:44 vividly before it takes place. And that is why 10:49 it says that He sweat drops of blood. 10:54 You see, that is a condition - a medical condition - 10:58 called hematohidrosis... 11:01 what happens when a person is under tremendous 11:05 psychological stress. 11:08 Then a chemical is released 11:11 that breaks down some of the capillaries in the sweat gland 11:15 and it releases into it small amounts of blood 11:18 and it causes them to sweat blood. 11:22 But more than that, hematohidrosis 11:26 it also makes the skin extremely sensitive and fragile. 11:32 So He sweats drops of blood. 11:37 The mob comes 11:39 and they take Him away to a mockery of a trial. 11:46 And Pilate, Herod... trying to hope that some way 11:50 they might appease the crowd 11:54 have Him flogged. 11:56 Do you... have you ever read about Roman flogging? 12:02 See the art of Roman flogging, folks, 12:06 is to inflict upon that person 12:10 as much pain as possible without killing them. 12:15 That's the art of it. 12:17 So, by rights they're supposed to give them 39 stripes... 12:22 40 stripes save one. 12:27 But that all depends upon the soldier and how he's feeling. 12:32 The whip that they're going to use 12:35 is leather thongs. 12:38 In the end of them are steel balls 12:43 so that as they lay that whip across the back 12:47 of that individual 12:49 those steel balls bruise and make contusions. 12:53 And as they hit time and time again 12:57 they break open the skin. 13:01 In fact, it cuts because in those thongs, 13:06 those leather thongs, are little pieces of bone. 13:09 And the art of flogging is not just to hit the person 13:13 but when you hit them to pull it 13:16 so that those pieces of bones 13:18 cut every welt all the way down. 13:22 They're going to lay that across their back 13:25 from the back of the neck all the way down to the back 13:30 across the buttocks and the lower legs 13:33 until that whole part is bloody and open. 13:38 I could describe to you what historians 13:40 and people back then told about Roman flogging 13:43 and how it would even lay open the spine. 13:47 When they do this, it causes a person to go into 13:53 what is called hypovolemic shock. 13:57 It's a Latin word that simply means: hypo means low, 14:03 volemic... vo means volume, 14:05 lemic means blood. 14:07 It just means the loss of a great lot of blood. 14:11 And so as the person is bleeding and losing all this blood 14:14 it brings about several things 14:16 in their life. One... 14:18 since they are losing so much 14:21 blood, it causes the heart 14:23 to beat faster trying to take care 14:26 of the situation since they're losing so much blood. 14:31 Secondly, since they're losing so much fluids 14:37 their kidneys shut down 14:40 to save the loss of fluids. 14:45 Thirdly, it causes them to be tremendously thirsty 14:49 and also it causes their blood pressure to drop 14:53 so drastically that they become very dizzy and faint. 14:57 Now you can begin to put together some of the things 14:59 that happened to Jesus. 15:00 Because you remember, as they laid that cross on Him 15:04 and He's carrying it out to Golgotha, 15:07 you remember He staggered and fell. 15:10 Fainted because He's in hypovolemic shock. 15:13 That's what's happening to Him. 15:15 Also, that's why when He's hanging there on the cross 15:18 He cries out "I thirst... " because He's lost so much fluid. 15:22 They're going to take Him to the cross. 15:29 They laid Him out on the cross bar 15:34 and they're going to drive nails through His hands. 15:41 Those nails are going to pierce a nerve in here 15:45 called the median nerve. 15:47 You know what that's like? 15:49 You ever hit your funny bone? 15:52 OK, that's the ulnar nerve. 15:56 It's like if you took that nerve with a pair of pliers 16:01 and twisted it. 16:03 That's what it'd be like to have a nail driven through that. 16:06 And then they're going to hoist Him up there on the cross 16:09 and then they're going to drive nails through His feet 16:12 to pin them to the cross. 16:14 And again, piercing the nerve. 16:17 I'm trying to get across to you when the scripture says 16:20 that He endured the cross, you get a little idea 16:23 of what He endured for you and for me. 16:26 This is what He's going through. 16:29 When they put Him on the cross and they drop Him, 16:36 that stretches His arms about six inches. 16:40 That means both arms are going to become dislocated. 16:44 The moment He falls into that position, 16:48 then all of a sudden the only way He can breathe 16:54 is inhale. 16:56 To be able to exhale 16:59 He has to push Himself up with His feet 17:02 to be able to inhale air... and then He can exhale, 17:07 thus rubbing his bloody back on the cross. 17:12 Strength giving away, step by step. 17:15 His heart is beating much, much faster 17:18 because of the great amount of blood that He's lost 17:22 and He's going to die of cardiac arrest. 17:26 That's why it says this in scripture: 17:48 Why are they going to break their legs? 17:50 Well see, that's the way they can breathe. 17:54 Because they're pulled down there and they can't breathe 17:56 unless they can push up with their legs. 17:58 And so if they came and took an iron and broke their leg 18:02 then they couldn't push up and they would suffocate 18:05 to death. Hasten their death... 18:08 that's what they're trying to do. 18:24 You see, Jesus didn't die 18:29 from necessarily the crucifixion. 18:32 He died from cardiac arrest 18:36 that took place. And thus you find that as He died there 18:39 it says: 18:44 Because his heart had ruptured, 18:48 separated there. And when it pierced His side 18:51 blood and water came out. 18:53 This is what He endured, friends. 18:55 This is what the Son of God endured 18:58 that you might be saved. 19:04 I want to go a step farther, 19:05 because the scripture doesn't say 19:07 that He just endured the cross. 19:10 It says He "despised the shame. " 19:17 Now do you understand shame? 19:19 Do you understand what it means when it says 19:23 "despising the shame? " 19:24 Let me identify for you what shame is 19:28 because the scripture gives you some indications. 19:31 In the book of Revelation it says this: 19:48 You read through the scripture and any time someone 19:53 revealed their naked body, that in the scripture was a shame. 20:00 OK? When it says "despising the shame, " 20:04 this is what happened. This is what took place. 20:19 They stripped Him naked. 20:21 Hung Him on the cross 20:25 without any clothes. 20:52 Now folks, it's one thing... 20:56 It's one thing to take a man 21:02 and treat him with such shame. 21:06 But let me tell you, it's something entirely different 21:10 to treat the Son of God that way. 21:14 And that's what they did. He endured the cross, 21:18 despising the shame, 21:22 for you and for me. 21:25 Till today, because He went through all that, 21:28 He suffered that, He went through all the shame, 21:31 thus the cross offers a great amount of hope. 21:40 You see, homicide. 21:47 Terrible. Terrible when somebody goes out and 21:51 kills another human being. 21:53 How horrible. 21:56 But sin is exceedingly sinful 22:00 when its deicide. 22:03 When it kills its God. 22:09 The worst thing that sin ever did is when it took 22:12 the Savior and hung Him on a cross... 22:15 the murdered victim of our sins. 22:19 That's what Jesus did. 22:21 Have you thought about this, folks? 22:23 If Jesus - who only had imputed sin... 22:29 Do you understand what I'm saying when I say 22:31 imputed sin? Do you know what I mean? 22:33 When I say He has imputed sin 22:36 that means He didn't sin. 22:37 That means the sin was placed upon Him. 22:40 Imputed. It wasn't something He did; it was placed upon Him. 22:44 When Jesus only had imputed sin 22:48 and He had to suffer like this for your sins and mine, 22:54 then I want to ask you: 22:56 if Jesus the spotless, the perfect, the divine Son of God 23:02 had to suffer like that 23:05 for your sins and mine, 23:08 then I wonder how you and I might suffer 23:12 if we neglect so great a salvation. 23:15 That He did for each one of us 23:21 here this evening. 23:36 Now, to that person who doesn't know Christ 23:39 maybe it doesn't mean anything, 23:41 but to you and I it is the what? 23:46 "Power of God. " 23:48 That's what I want to talk to you about tonight: 23:50 the power of the cross. 23:52 What it can do for you as an individual tonight. 23:56 That power that it's talking about there, dear friend, 23:59 that power is divine. 24:01 I'm not talking about human power... 24:05 I'm talking about divine power 24:07 that can take an individual - I don't care who he is - 24:10 and can change his heart 24:11 and make him totally and completely different. 24:15 I'm talking about an individual 24:21 like a fellow that came to my meetings. 24:23 It's the only body... only person that I can ever remember 24:26 that I wished wouldn't come. 24:30 This man came every night... 24:34 usually, about half drunk. 24:38 That didn't bother me. 24:40 I usually have somebody in the audience about half drunk 24:42 every meeting I've ever had. 24:44 So that didn't bother me. 24:46 But he had a great big beard, 24:50 and that didn't bother me 24:51 either. I believe if God put the 24:53 whiskers there, well... 24:54 it's your privilege if you want to let them grow. 24:57 But he chewed tobacco. 25:00 That didn't bother me either because I grew up 25:02 with people chewing tobacco... so that really didn't bother me. 25:05 But he let the tobacco juice run out of the corners of his mouth 25:08 till it filled that whole beard full of tobacco juice. 25:11 And he smelled horrible... THAT bothered me! 25:15 Because, you know, if he sat down by anybody, 25:18 they got up and moved. And I really don't blame them... 25:20 I would have too, you know. 25:22 Each night when we got to the end of the service, 25:24 he'd come up and shake my hand and all he ever said to me is 25:26 "you stepped on my toes. " 25:29 We got down to the end of the meetings. 25:32 I gave an invitation for people to come and give their hearts 25:35 to Christ. First one out of their seat was that man. 25:38 Come down the aisle. As he came down the aisle I said 25:41 "Why, Lord? Why this man? 25:43 He'll come down here and there'll not be another soul 25:46 come down here because he came. " 25:48 And that's exactly what happened. 25:50 Mean exactly what happened. Not another person budged. 25:54 But he was dead serious. 25:57 Dead serious. 25:59 I saw that man give his heart to the Lord. 26:03 I saw his whole life change. 26:07 I saw him change from a drunkard. 26:11 I saw him move his wife and six children out of a hovel 26:14 and into a decent home. 26:17 I watched as I pastored that church. 26:21 He became the head deacon of my church. 26:25 I'm talking about the power of God. 26:28 And I don't care who you are tonight. 26:31 I don't care what your situation is. 26:33 I don't care where you've been. 26:35 I don't care how bad you've been. 26:37 The power of God can change you because that power is divine 26:42 and it can change your life 26:44 if you and I are just willing to step out and accept it. 26:47 Listen to what it says: 26:58 It can change a person's life. 27:01 How strong is that power? 27:02 Jesus spent 3-1/2 years ministering on the earth. 27:06 You can read the stories, and there was a few people 27:09 and a few disciples that followed Him... 27:11 but not very many. 27:13 But when He died, when He hung there on the cross, 27:16 and He paid the price, and He came forth from the grave, 27:20 you want to see what happened? 27:22 Huh? You want to see what happened when that took place? 27:25 Listen. This is what happened: 27:32 But listen... Acts... Acts 2:22: 27:48 This is Peter preaching. He's talking about Jesus Christ. 27:52 This is after the resurrection. 27:53 This is after Jesus went back to heaven. 27:55 Watch: 28:07 Telling them what happened... 28:30 Peter stood there and he preached that Jesus Christ 28:33 had died for them; that He had paid the price for them. 28:36 That He had risen from the grave and that He was alive. 28:39 And they were cut to the heart and they said: 28:41 "What must we do? " 28:42 Watch what happens: 29:09 You're talking about the power of the gospel. 29:11 The power to change lives... one day, three thousand 29:15 gave their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ. 29:18 He can take you and change your life. 29:24 Make it totally and completely different. 29:35 This is the area, folks, where I find 29:39 so many don't understand. 29:41 I didn't understand. 29:44 I didn't understand for a long time. 29:47 You see, we're so inclined to do it ourselves. 29:52 And I run onto people who live miserable Christian lives 29:58 because they've never understood this. 30:00 Listen carefully: 30:07 Now He told Jeremiah here in the 18th chapter 30:10 to go down to the potter's house. 30:24 It was marred in the hand of who? 30:26 In the hand of the potter. 30:29 Now watch who has the power. 30:32 Who has the power here tonight? 30:35 The potter or the clay? 30:38 Now come on, let's get it clear. Who has the power... 30:41 the potter or the clay? 30:43 The potter, OK. 30:56 Folks, you and I... 31:02 our only responsibility 31:06 is to be submissive to the potter. 31:10 Are you following me? 31:12 That's all that God asks 31:15 is that you and I be submissive to the potter. 31:20 That I let Him do His work in my life. 31:24 Listen as Paul goes on about this same subject: 31:55 You and I are nothing but vessels of clay 31:58 and God is the potter. 32:01 And He can make that vessel whatever He wants it to be. 32:05 And if you and I will submit, 32:08 if we will be humble, 32:12 if we will not be proud, 32:15 if we will submit to the working of God in our hearts, 32:20 He will make us into the vessel that He wants us to be. 32:24 This is what God wants to do for you. 32:48 Now in the home that I grew up we had vessels of honor 32:51 and dishonor in it. Didn't your home? 32:54 Sure. My mother in the dining room had a china cabinet 32:58 in which she kept vessels of honor. 33:01 And when we had company - we had special guests - 33:05 she would go to the china cabinet 33:07 and would take out the vessels of honor 33:09 and feed us all on the vessels of honor. 33:12 But boy when the company left 33:14 all the vessels of honor went back in the china cabinet 33:17 and we ate out of dishes in the kitchen cabinet 33:20 of dishonor. You understand what I'm talking about? 33:23 OK. That's up to the potter. 33:25 He can make whatever vessel He pleases. 33:29 But the scripture says here 33:31 if you and I will submit, 33:33 if you and I will turn our lives over to Him, 33:36 if we will be submissive, 33:38 He will make us a vessel of honor. 33:42 That's what He will do for us. 33:44 That is the power of God. 33:52 That's what God wants to do for you tonight. 33:55 He wants to make you a vessel sanctified for His purpose 34:00 to use for His purpose. 34:03 And if you and I will do that, we will be a vessel of honor. 34:06 But dear friend, let me tell you something, 34:08 that's God's work... not yours. 34:12 God's work. All you and I must do is submit. 34:19 J don't know if you ever heard the story of the Persian prince? 34:24 This Persian prince one day reached down and picked up 34:29 a piece of clay. 34:30 And as he was just rolling the clay in his hand 34:34 he smelled it. Had a marvelous smell to it. 34:40 wonderful. And he said to the clay: 34:43 "Where did you get your wonderful fragrance? " 34:47 "Oh, " the clay said, 34:50 "they laid me beside a rose 34:53 and I drank in its fragrance. " 34:56 Friend tonight, I'm just telling you that if you 35:02 walk with Jesus Christ, you fellowship with Jesus Christ, 35:07 the Rose of Sharon will change your life 35:12 and you will put forth a fragrance 35:15 of the marvelous love of Jesus Christ that comes no other way. 35:20 God will do that for you. 35:38 What a difference it makes! 35:41 What a difference it makes in my life. 35:46 II Corinthians 5:21. Let me tell you right now: 35:50 if you don't have this text underlined in your Bible, 35:54 if you don't have it highlighted, 35:57 don't go to sleep tonight until you do. 36:00 Go home, get your Bible out and dear friend, 36:04 get you a highlighter - get you something - 36:07 but mark that text and don't ever forget it. 36:10 Listen to it: 36:19 Marvelous! 36:21 "Took Him who knew no sin to be sin for us 36:26 that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. " 36:32 I have been looking for someone for years. 36:37 Every place I go I look for that individual that I can find. 36:42 You see, I have a pen here. 36:47 It's a good pen. 36:48 I use it; it writes OK. It's a nice pen. 36:52 But I have been looking for someone, 36:55 I have been hunting for someone, 36:57 who will be willing to trade me 37:00 a Mercedes for my fountain pen. 37:05 I'd be happy to just trade somebody 37:10 my fountain pen for a Mercedes. 37:13 You say: "Well, yeah, you would. 37:16 That person's crazy if he does that: 37:19 trade you a Mercedes for a fountain pen. " 37:22 Well, my friends, listen. 37:26 That's what that text says. 37:28 It says that God - or Jesus Christ - 37:31 is walking into this room here tonight... 37:35 walking into this room and He's saying to you: 37:38 "I'll tell you what, if you'll give Me your sins, 37:45 I'll give you My righteousness. " 37:47 That's what that text says. 37:50 Jesus says: "If you'll just give Me your sins, 37:54 I'll give you My righteousness. " 37:59 Aren't you willing to do that? 38:01 Aren't you willing to do that? Am I hearing right? 38:05 That He'll give me His righteousness 38:08 if I'll just give Him my sins? 38:11 Oh, absolutely, friend. 38:14 Absolutely I'll give Him my sins. 38:18 I hope that you would. 38:20 The scripture gives a perfect illustration of this 38:23 as far as I'm concerned. 38:25 Jesus was talking to Nicodemus. 38:28 You remember He said to Nicodemus, He said: 38:31 "You've got to be born again. " 38:33 And Nicodemus said: "What do You mean? 38:35 I've got to be born of my mother a second time? " 38:38 And Jesus said: "No, Nicodemus. 38:41 That which is born of flesh is flesh, 38:42 and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. " 38:45 And Nicodemus said: "I don't understand. 38:48 I don't understand what you're talking about. " 38:51 And Jesus said to Nicodemus... He said: 39:07 And Nicodemus all of a sudden remembered 39:10 about the children of Israel being out in the wilderness. 39:13 And they were out in the wilderness, and God said to them 39:18 "This is the way you need to go. That way. " 39:21 And they said: "Lord, that's pretty rough. 39:27 That's rocky and steep that way. 39:31 And, Lord, we can get to the land of Canaan this way 39:35 and it's much flatter... not near as steep. " 39:40 And the Lord said: "No, no. 39:43 You don't want to go that way you want to go this way. " 39:46 And they said: "Lord, You haven't forgotten that we've got 39:50 the women and the children and the cattle. 39:52 And there's mountains here and the terrain is hard, and 39:56 the path is narrow and all those things, Lord. " 39:58 And the Lord said: "That's the way you want to go. " 40:00 And they said: "But, Lord, it'll take us a little longer 40:03 but it will be so much easier on the children and on the 40:06 cattle and everything if we'd go this way. " 40:08 And the Lord said: "You really don't want to go that way. 40:11 You want to go this way. " 40:13 And they said: "Lord, that's just too hard; 40:15 we're going to go this way. " And they went that way. 40:19 And the scripture says that poisonous snakes 40:22 began to crawl into the camp and bite the people 40:26 and they began to die. 40:29 And they went running to Moses and they said: 40:32 "Moses, Moses, do something for us! " 40:35 And Moses prayed. 40:37 And God said: "Moses, make a brazen serpent. 40:43 Put it on a pole 40:47 and tell those people that if they look at that serpent 40:50 they'll live and they'll not die. " 40:52 Why? Why in the world would God tell him 40:57 "make a brazen serpent and put it on a pole? " 41:00 In the Bible, what does a serpent represent? 41:04 Represents the devil. 41:06 Represents sin. 41:07 So why would He say: "Make a brazen serpent 41:11 and put it on a pole? " 41:13 Because Jesus Christ became sin for you. 41:19 That's why. Jesus Christ became sin for you. 41:24 He said: "I'll take your sins 41:26 and I'll give you My righteousness. 41:30 I'll do that for you. " 41:40 And so Jesus Christ was lifted up, crucified, 41:43 hung on a cross that He might draw you and me to Him. 41:47 But that text goes on in II Corinthians 5:21 and says: 42:02 That you and I might become the righteousness of 42:07 God in Him. You see, that's the righteousness of God. 42:11 I'm talking about the power of the cross. 42:13 I'm talking about what can take and change your life. 42:16 Understand, folks, this righteousness is not 42:19 your righteousness. This power is not your power. 42:23 It is God's righteousness; it is God's power... 42:26 and that's what can change you and me. 42:29 You and I can't change ourselves. 42:33 II Corinthians 13:4: 42:46 "Crucified in weakness 42:48 but He lives by the power of God. " 42:52 Now listen carefully: 43:06 You and I can live a Christian life day by day 43:10 by the power of God. 43:13 So what's He going to do for you? 43:24 OK? 43:35 Are you trying to tell me tonight 43:38 that there's not a sin that God can't take care of? 43:43 Are you trying to tell me tonight that your situation 43:46 is so bad that God can't handle it? 43:50 Are you trying to tell me 43:54 that He can't take your life and make it different? 44:00 He's able... exceedingly, abundantly 44:03 to do more than you and I can think or ask. 44:16 Peter's saying here I Peter 1:5... 44:24 You see, my faith cannot be in myself. 44:27 It cannot be in what I can do. 44:29 But my faith must be in God and what He can do. 44:32 And if I put my faith in Him 44:34 He is capable of doing more than you and I 44:37 can even comprehend. 44:45 Now, this is a text, folks, 44:48 that when I first read it it took me about 44:54 a year to believe it. 44:58 It just to me is so marvelous 45:01 of what He has done for you and for me. 45:04 So listen very carefully to this text... 45:06 a very, very vital one. 45:08 It says: 45:15 Whose disobedience was that? 45:18 Adam's. 45:23 You say: "Well that's not fair. 45:27 Just because Adam sinned, why should that make me a sinner? " 45:32 Well, let me ask you a question: 45:34 if your grandfather had died when he was three years old, 45:38 how old would you be tonight? 45:42 Huh? 45:44 You're trying to tell me that your grandfather had something 45:46 to do with you being here? 45:47 Yes. And I'm trying to tell you 45:50 that Adam had something to do with you being a sinner. 45:52 See? 45:53 OK. So by one man's sin 45:56 all of us became sinners. Now listen: 46:06 Now I've got to ask you: 46:08 are you made righteous by your obedience? 46:11 Or are you made righteous by His obedience? 46:14 You're made righteous by His obedience, not yours. 46:19 See? That's the marvelous thing about it. 46:22 It's His righteousness 46:25 that makes all the difference in the world. 46:30 Jesus had an experience when He was here on earth. 46:34 There was a man who had lived a very, very sinful life. 46:40 In fact, his life had been so bad 46:43 that it had a physical effect upon him 46:45 and it caused him to be in a stretcher, 46:48 he was a paralytic... he couldn't walk. 46:49 And one day he heard about Jesus. 46:55 And he talked some of his friends into taking him 46:58 to see Jesus. And they put him on a stretcher 47:00 and they took him to Jesus. 47:01 And Jesus was in this house and He was talking to people 47:05 and the place was packed. 47:07 In fact, there were so many people in there, there were 47:09 people sitting in the windows and the doorway 47:11 and you couldn't get in. 47:13 And his friends took him up on top of the house. 47:17 And they took the tile off the roof 47:20 and they lowered this man on a stretcher 47:23 right down in front of Jesus. 47:27 And as this may lay there in front of Jesus, 47:32 Jesus said this to him: 47:41 Now folks, let me explain something. 47:43 That's all that paralytic wanted. 47:45 He didn't want anything else. 47:48 And just to have the assurance that his sins were forgiven 47:52 and he was freed, he could have had his friends 47:55 pick him up and carry him out of that house 47:57 and he would have went out of that house rejoicing. 48:01 His healing that I'm going to read to you now 48:04 didn't take place because that was necessarily 48:06 what he was wanting. 48:08 It took place because there were some people in the room 48:11 that couldn't believe. 48:13 Watch: 48:27 They said: "How can He tell this man his sin's forgiven? 48:32 God's the only one that can forgive sins. " 49:08 The boy just jumped up off the stretcher... 49:10 headed for the house. 49:22 Now I want to ask you, folks, 49:24 what could the paralytic do? 49:28 Come on. What could he do? 49:30 Nothing! He's lying in a stretcher. 49:33 He can't do one solitary thing. 49:37 He's paralyzed from the neck down. 49:41 It's the power of God... 49:44 the power of God that can change your life tonight. 49:48 The power of God that can make you different. 49:52 It's not your power... it's HIS POWER. 49:55 I don't care who you are. 49:57 I don't care where you've been. 49:59 I don't care what you've done. 50:02 God has the power to change your life 50:06 and make it totally and completely new. 50:12 I mentioned one text to you 50:14 that you ought to go home and highlight in your Bible. 50:19 I'm going to give you one more. 50:20 These are two texts, dear friend, 50:22 if you don't have any others outlined in your Bible - 50:26 highlighted in your Bible - 50:27 highlight them. 50:29 Colossians 1:28: 50:34 Speaking of Jesus Christ. 50:40 Now listen very carefully: 50:51 Perfect in Christ Jesus. 50:55 Oh, isn't that wonderful? 50:57 Jesus said: "Listen, listen... 51:00 give Me your sins. 51:01 Give Me all your sins. 51:03 I'll give you My righteousness. " 51:06 And when that happens, God looks at you and says: 51:09 "Aren't they all perfect? 51:11 Don't they look so nice? 51:13 There's no one sin in any of them. 51:15 They're all perfect! " 51:17 Because you have the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 51:21 See? That's what He does for you, friends. Marvelous! 51:25 He'll do that for you and for me. 51:29 We have a song that we sing. 51:32 Unfortunately, most of the time I ever hear it sung 51:36 is at funerals. 51:38 I don't know of any song in Christendom, folks, 51:41 that to me states the gospel as clearly as this song. 51:47 And that song is simply called 51:51 Rock of Ages. 51:53 Listen to the words of it: 52:07 See... that's it. 52:09 Like that paralytic, I can't bring a thing. 52:12 I can't do anything. 52:14 All I can do is cling to the cross of Jesus Christ. 52:28 As Maddy sang that song, I'm going to glory... 52:31 I'm going to glory in the cross of Christ. 52:34 If I'm going to boast, I'm going to boast 52:36 in the cross of Jesus Christ... 52:38 because I have nothing to bring, I have nothing to offer. 52:41 Only in Jesus Christ. 52:47 One of my favorite scriptures 52:49 is found in the book of Revelation. 52:54 It says this: 52:59 I want you to listen to what the power of God is. 53:23 To Him... I mean, King of Kings. 53:27 The Lord of Lords. The Ruler over all the kings of the earth. 53:31 That He loved us and washed us from our sins 53:36 in His own blood. I'm so glad tonight, 53:39 folks, that that text isn't turned around. 53:41 I'm glad that it doesn't say 53:43 that He washed us and then loved us. 53:47 See, God's not saying to you 53:50 "Get yourself all cleaned up and then I'll accept you. " 53:53 No. He's saying: "I'll take you just like you are. 53:56 Just like you are: sinful, undeserving, 54:03 weak, defiled. 54:05 I'll take you just like you are. " 54:08 He loves us just like we are. 54:09 I'm so glad tonight that He doesn't love us 54:12 like we love babies. 54:15 You know? You know how we love babies, don't you? 54:18 Yeah. If the baby has been washed and powdered and is clean 54:22 anybody will pick it up and love it. 54:25 But you let it get a snotty nose and a dirty diaper 54:28 and watch how many people go the other way. 54:29 See? God doesn't do that. 54:32 God loves us just exactly like we are. 54:36 And it says that His blood cleanses us 54:41 from what? 54:44 All sin. 54:46 It didn't say some sins. 54:49 It said tonight that the blood of Jesus Christ 54:51 will cleanse you, dear friend. 54:54 It will cleanse us from all sin. 54:57 You remember that text in the Bible that says: 54:59 "Though your sins be as scarlet 55:01 they shall be as white as snow. 55:05 Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. " 55:11 Now you understand scarlet and snow, don't you? 55:16 Scarlet's red; snow is white. 55:19 You understand the contrast. 55:21 But what in the world is He talking about when He says 55:23 crimson and wool? 55:26 Well, crimson's red. It's a staining agent. 55:29 If you get it in fabric, you can't hardly get it out. 55:31 OK? But what does that have to do with wool? 55:36 Well, when I was a boy 55:38 I belonged to something called the FFA. 55:44 You know what that is? 55:45 Future Farmers of America. 55:49 And one of the requirements for belonging to the 55:52 Future Farmers of America 55:53 is that you had to have an animal to show at the 55:57 county fair. So, with the help of my father 56:01 we purchased a couple Southdown lambs. 56:05 They're little sheep; they're not very big. 56:07 OK. 56:09 And I raised these Southdown lambs 56:14 to show at the county fair. 56:16 Dear friend, let me tell you there is much, much more 56:22 to what the Bible has to say when it says 56:24 we're like sheep than you and I ever believed. 56:27 But nevertheless, I raised these lambs 56:30 and getting ready for the county fair. 56:32 And we got down to, oh, about 3-4 weeks before the county fair 56:37 and my agriculture teacher said "I want you to go home. 56:40 I want you to get a gunny sack. " 56:42 If you don't know what a gunny sack is, a gunny sack is a 56:45 feed sack. And he said: "I want you to cut the corner 56:47 off of it and split it down on one side 56:49 and I want you to put it over those sheep's heads 56:52 and let that sack spread out across their body. 56:54 Which I did. I went home... I didn't understand why 56:57 this was. But I put it over on the sheep, 57:00 and they ran around with those things on them 57:01 all day. And when I would go out and feed them 57:04 I'd pick up those sacks and look under there 57:06 and the wool was getting dirtier every day. 57:08 And I went on; I couldn't understand 57:11 because we were getting closer to the fair all the time, 57:14 and now when I picked that sack up it was black. 57:17 I mean just kind of a greasy mess under there. 57:20 We got down to about three or four days before the fair. 57:25 Agriculture teacher said: "We're going to come out 57:28 to your house and block your sheep. " 57:30 He came out and brought his shears out there. 57:34 We caught the sheep; took those sacks off of them. 57:37 I mean, they were filthy... dirty. 57:41 And he took those shears and began to cut about an inch 57:44 or an inch and a half of that wool off. 57:46 Those sacks, folks, had pulled all the dirt to the top. 57:51 And when he cut that, 57:53 that's the purest white you'll ever see. 57:56 "Though your sins are as crimson, 58:00 they shall be as wool. " 58:04 That's what God is willing to do for you 58:06 and to do for me. 58:08 That's what Christ did on the cross. 58:14 That's the power of the cross to change and to make your life 58:17 different. And tonight the Lord Jesus Christ is 58:21 willing just to take and wash your sins white as snow. 58:30 To obtain a copy of this program 58:32 or for more information, please write to: |
Revised 2014-12-17