35. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CROSS. Gal:6v14.

It’s interesting that in the Bible Jesus doesn’t ask us to remember His Birth or His Resurrection, although we know we should, But He tells us to remember His death. When He instituted the Lord’s Supper he said, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22;19) Paul said in (Galatians 6;14) “God forbid that I should boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” Like the gallows or the electric chair it was an instrument of death. So why glory in it? Because of what took place there. When Jesus said “It is finished.” All our sins from the cradle to the grave were paid for. So the cross is God’s first and last word about Salvation, it’s His first word because Jesus was “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13;8). And The Cross is God’s last word about Salvation. For in Heaven they will sing, “You were slain, and have redeemed us to God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” (Revelation 5;9). There is no plan B for Salvation. The only road that goes to heaven, goes through Calvary. No one can bypass the Cross or go around it if they want to be saved. The Bible says in (Hebrews 9;22). “Without the shedding of blood there is no Remission (For Sin). As you look at the Cross today, You’ll see the curse of sin, the cost of sin and the cure of sin. And as you look at the cross, remind yourself; He did it for me. Paul writes in (1 Corinthians 1;22-24) Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” There is no Jewish way to be saved, or Gentile way to be saved. There is only one way to be saved – That’s the way of the Cross! We all have the same need. We need to know what is right and to do what is right We need the Wisdom to know what to do and the Power to do it And Christ offers us both through the cross. In his early ministry, when Billy Graham preached to a large crowd in Dallas, Texas, there was very little response to his message. As he was leaving the platform, an old man told him, “Your message was goof, but you didn’t preach the Cross” Billy went to his room, wept and resolved, “There will never be a sermon that I preach unless the Cross is central” Starting that day, God used Him to win more people to Christ than almost any other preacher in history. There’s just enough ego in each of us to want to ‘contribute’ to our own salvation by doing good works. But we cannot. There is nothing in what Christ did for us by going to the Cross that needs adding to, He did the complete job, no more or no less was required , there is nothing we can do to add to or take away from that ultimate sacrifice. It was the perfect sacrifice, by a perfect God. Hymnist Robert Lowry wrote; What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know: Nothing but the blood of Jesus. God dying on the cross sounds like “foolishness” to some people. Their philosophy is “If I cannot understand it I wont accept it”.That’s where they get it so wrong, Salvation comes through faith alone. Jesus said in (Matthew 18;3) ”Unless you are converted and become like little children, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Simple childlike faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross is all that is required. A story is told of a student whose professor gave him zero in a test. Upset, he approached the professor and said “It’s not fair, I don’t deserve this grade.” to which the professor smiled and quipped “I know, but zero is the lowest grade I can give.” That’s how God feels about our wisdom. In (1Corenthians 3;19) Paul writes-- ‘The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God” One day a man stood on the roof of his house during a flood and prayed for God to help him. Soon a row boat came by and offered him a ride to safety, but he said “Oh no thanks, God will take care of me. The waters kept coming up until it was up to his waist, suddenly a helicopter appeared overhead, and let down a rope-ladder to the man, “Oh no” he said and waved the helicopter on saying “God will take care of me” Shortly after that the man drowned. When he stood before God, he said “Why didn’t you save me?” God responded, I sent you a row-boat and a helicopter, What else did you want?” At the Cross God did everything required to save you. All you have to do is to trust in Christ and receive the gift of eternal life. You will never understand the message of the Cross, or receive the benefits of Salvation that come from the Cross, Until you first kneel at the foot of the Cross and receive Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. The story is told of a great preacher who was touring Italy, A friend told him to go to a certain village and view a painting of the crucifixion of Christ. “What is it like? he asked his friend said “Never mind what it’s like, I want you to see it, please promise me you will go and see it.” He replied “I will”and promised he would go He went to the village and visited the chapel where the painting was. The old caretaker said ”You’ve come to see the painting haven’t you?” “Why yes I have” the Preacher replied. The caretaker responded “Follow me” The great preacher was not prepared for what he was about to see, instead of a beautiful masterpiece, the painting seemed all our of proportion and didn’t make sense. “I don’t understand this painting” he said. The caretaker replied “Come closer.” He did. The caretaker said “Get lower” He did. Finally as he was kneeling at the foot of the cross, he looked up and saw the power and beauty of the painting he was reduced to tears It’s only when you lay aside your pride, preconceived notions, intellectual approach, and humble yourself, that the message of the Cross transforms you. (1Corenthians 1;18) says--”For the massage of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the Power of God. In (Colossians 1;20) Paul tells us ‘Christ’s death on the Cross has made peace with God for us all.’ and Carolyn Aends adds--; Easter Sunday is the Christian’s Gold medal victory lap,” I like that! ...Although I dread Good Friday...because the Images of torture and suffering also the terrible recollected cry of “My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken Me?” leaves me feeling guilty and speechless. In fact left to my own devices, I’d probably skip Good Friday. But… if I did, Easter morning would become increasingly hollow. I’d forget just how much my salvation really cost, I’d start to believe that you can have victory without sacrifice That you don’t need to die (to self) to live the resurrected life. I’d buy the lie that Christ’s victory over death and my decision to follow Him means life would be trouble free. The Bible writers encourage us to consider suffering an opportunity to identify with Christ to take up the Cross and follow Him. Yet.. When the job is lost, or the tumour is malignant, or the relationship is betrayed, we grieve not only the wound, but also that we can be wounded. We feel somehow Jesus has let us down, we certainly don’t consider it “Pure Joy” No, we consider it failure. So, How do we become Easter Sunday Christians? When I’m expecting Easter Sunday, and I get Good Friday (I try) to remember that God’s definition of ‘good’ far exceeds my own. That almost all New Beginnings have come from what felt like terrible endings. What seems like small but devastating death is actually a chance at New Life. We need to understand that we must be ‘broken, changed and rebuilt’ to grow in to what we were made to be. If you are struggling to see the good in your situation, read (Colossians 1;18-20) it says” He is the head of the body made up of His people… It was through what His Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to Him...For Christ’s death on the Cross has made peace with God for all by His blood.” In 2013, Fox News reported that an exercise in a university course textbook involved instructing students to write the name of Jesus on a sheet of paper, put the paper on the flour and stomp on it, in one Florida university class, all the students participated except one! Out of love and loyalty to Jesus, he said he would not do it. This leads us to ask the question,Why would anyone, even an Atheist, agree to do such a thing? Answer. Because sometimes we fight what we fear. It’s called ‘Living in denial’. Think about it; Hatred and resentment normally end at the grave because the person is dead and no longer has any power over you. So why then do some people still hate Jesus? Fear! Deep down they fear He’s still alive and that His influence in the world is growing. And His influence will continue to grow! As Isaiah says in (11;9) The earth shall be full of the knowledge of The Lord as the waters cover the sea. The Historical truth of Christ’s resurrection is beyond dispute to any honest, open mind. But the greatest proof of His resurrection can be seen in changed lives. Paul writes in( (Romans 8;10-11) You have ben made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you.’Song writer Alfred Ackley put it this way. ‘You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart. (John 20; 7) ‘The cloth that covered Jesus’ head was folded up’ In Bible days when you wanted a special piece of furniture made, you chose a carpenter with a reputation for excellence – “a master carpenter” or what they called a finish carpenter, (a really good tradesman). Now these particular carpenters had an interesting custom donating their expertise. When they had completed the piece, they would take off their apron, fold it up and set it in on the finished work thus signifying the work had been completed. With that picture in mind read this – (John 20; 1-9 ) Early on Sunday morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved… Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple out ran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, While the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in. And he saw and believed. - for until then they still hadn’t understood the scripture that said Jesus must rise from the dead’ Note the words in (20; 7) ‘The cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up’ The Master carpenter had finished the work His Father had given Him to do. Our salvation was complete. You and I don’t have to work at being saved, we only have to put our trust in Christ, and our sins are forgiven along with the assurance of our place with Almighty God in Heaven. I hope we all have a fuller and better understanding of, not only the Cross and all it stands for, but also the very power of the resurrection of our Divine Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for reading it. Phaline ---------------------

34. WINNING LIFE’S BATTLES 2 Chron: 20v12

With God’s help, King Jehoshaphat defeated three much larger armies than his, and his victory teaches us how we too can win life’s battles. First you have to identify your enemy, many of us have no idea who our real enemy is. We think it is the person who is interested in taking our job, our spouse or our money. But many times our enemy is our own attitude! It’s not so much what’s happening that gets us down, It’s our response to the situation. Before you can win on a personal level, you must identify the enemy. Watch how Jehoshaphat reacted when he heard “A vast Army” was coming against him. He was “alarmed”(2 Chronicles 20;2-3). That’s a fairly typical human response. We see a big problem, panic and become fearful about what’s going to happen to us .Now, in truth fear isn’t all bad, unless we deal with it in the wrong way. We can use it to motivate us to conquer the problem and drive us closer to God. It’s when we get discouraged, give up, get angry and start asking, “Why me, Lord”? That fear defeats us. If you are in a situation that’s filling you with fear and anxiety, Remember - God doesn’t respond to need, He responds to faith. so stake your faith on His unshakeable Word and stand on His promise.(Isaiah 41;10) says--”Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed, For I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” Unshakeable trust in God’s Word brings His help. Secondly, we have to admit our own inadequacy. The only people God can’t help are those who don’t think they need His help. King Jehoshaphat said in (2 Chronicles 20; 12) “We have no power to face the vast army that is attacking us. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You “ Often our eyes are on everyone and every thing – except God – The only one who can solve our problems. Our circumstances are like a mattress, if we’re on top we can rest easy, but if it’s on top of us we can get suffocated. So, to win over our circumstances we must keep our eyes on the Lord. Remember, (Zechariah 4;6) which says “It’s not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord” None of us can live the Christian life by our own strength because we have a power shortage. we need the power that comes from letting God’s Spirit live through us. Try to imagine a glove, on its own it is limp and powerless, but once a hand fills that glove it becomes useful and effective. In (Acts 1;8) we read that Jesus said “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” Jesus often spoke of the Holy Spirit as “The Helper,” So when you don’t know what to do, stand on His promise; (In John14;26) “The Helper, The Holy Spirit, whom The Father will send in my name...will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” If we fight in our own strength we’ll lose. But when we draw on the power of God’s Spirit which is within us we’ll win. Thirdly, take your problems to the Lord, In the midst of His crises Jehoshaphat set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast. Why is prayer often the last thing we think of? Because we are so self-centred, and arrogant we want to work out our problems ourselves not wanting to ask God’s help, and that is a dangerous attitude to have towards God. When we’re facing life’s battles prayer should be our first resort not our last. And sometimes when the problem doesn’t yield to prayer alone, God leads us to add a second element; “Fasting”. Ever tried it? Fasting isn’t something mystical or mysterious; It’s about focus! It’s saying ‘Lord, I can do without many things, but I can’t solve this problem without You, so instead of being preoccupied with TV, or food, or Social Media, I’m going to spend time seeking Your face. Cornelius a Gentile, fasted and prayed for four days asking for direction. As a result, God sent Peter to his house to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles and in the process changed the course of history. In order to know who to appoint to leadership positions, the New Testament church, fasted, prayed and asked God for guidance and as a result one of the most dynamic evangelistic teams of all time, “Paul and Barnabas” was born (see Acts 13;2-3). When you get serious enough to fast and pray about your problem, God will guide you to the solution. Fourthly, God wants us to relax in our Faith, When we give the problem to God, get your hands off it. In (2 Chronicles 20;15) God responded to Jehoshaphat’s prayer “The battle is not yours but God’s” Many of us try to fight God’s battles in our strength. In the initial flush of becoming a Christian we are eager to win the world to Christ, but don’t realise what’s involved. Then after we’ve worked hard under our own steam, reality sets in and we end up crawling back on our hands and knees, disappointed because we think we’ve let God down. But He reassures us, “You didn’t let me down, because you weren’t holding me up.!! The truth is we don’t hold God up – He holds us up! We don’t have Him in our hands, He has us in His hands! And He’s telling us to relax in faith and let Him do the work through us. In (Colossians 2;6 Paul wrote As you received Christ Jesus as your Lord, continue to live your life in Him.” In other words, Remember how you first became a believer – by simple faith in the finished work of Christ – and continue to live by simple faith. You didn’t become a Christian by striving for perfection and doing good works. Good works have nothing to do with it! Salvation is a free gift. God doesn’t need us to micromanage things; He has everything under control, what He wants is for us to relax and allow Him to live through us Fifthly, In (2 Chronicles 20;17) God told Jehoshaphat “Stand firm” What does it mean to “Stand Firm” when you’re in a crises? Your whole being is calling out to you to do something, But God says “Stand Firm” It means ..Stop, and allow a mental attitude of quiet confidence that says “I’m going to trust God with this.” and let whatever happens happen. Now watch God work. It’s never God’s will for us to run away from a difficult situation, If we do, the situation will only follow us a bit further down the line. It may not look the same, but it will be the same. Why? Because God wants to teach us that He is sufficient for any problem. If we don’t learn this today, we will learn it next week, next month or next year, but eventually we will learn it, and the sooner the better. We can save ourselves many problems by “Standing Firm” and waiting in quiet confidence for God to work it out for us.. So what do we “Stand Firm” on. (2Chronicles 20;20) Tells us, “Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; Have Faith in His prophets and you will be successful” First we need to “Stand Firm” on the character of God. God is Faithful and we can depend on Him. Second we need to “Stand Firm on the writings He has given us through His prophets. In other words the Truth of the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word, and we need only rely in quiet confidence on His written promises. So “Stand firm on the unchanging character of God and the unchanging promises of His word. Sixth, Thank God in advance. Imagine standing on a mountaintop looking across a valley to the mountain on the other side. A big battle is about to take place down below, on one mountain three enemy nations are poised and waiting to devastate Israel. The Israelites are on your mountain and their leader Jehoshaphat tells them “Here’s God’s battle plan all of you who sing in the choir, I want out front” So the army goes marching in to battle with the choir out in front singing praises to God!! Did the plan work? Well yes it did. The opposing armies got confused and started killing each other. And all the Israelites had to do was divide up the plunder! Why did God do it this way? As a visual object lesson to teach us to praise Him in Faith even before the victory happens. When we pray, Lord, I know I have problems, but I know and believe in advance there is no problem You can’t handle. Three things will then take place, 1. Our atmosphere changes, we no longer feel afraid because we have the assurance of God’s presence. 2. Our attitude changes, and we begin to say, Lord, this may be too big for me, but it’s not too big for You. 3. Our approach changes, and instead of speaking words of doubt, we start speaking words of faith, and because our faith honours God, He honours our faith and the battle begins to turn in our favour. Now there’s another important key to victory, Don’t just praise God for a while and then stop, Keep praising and thanking Him until your breakthrough comes. Thank you for reading my thoughts on ‘Winning Life’s Battles,’ The main thing to remember is...Satan doesn’t want us to trust The Lord, and will do and say anything to us to discredit Him, so if we can show God that He and His Word is what we trust and rely on, He will come to our help and send His Holy Spirit when we call on Him. May God keep us safe in His care. Phaline.