Faithful People – 4

Faithful People – 4

Subject – Faithful to the Cross

by Rick Welbore

1 Corinthians 1:17‑18 (NKJV) 

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 

–Tonight I want to talk to you about the wonderful sacrifice and the extra-ordinary power of the cross on which Jesus gave His life.

–Paul says something very interesting...this message of the cross is foolishness to the world but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Promise - Prize - Process

–Let me establish this from the very beginning:

1. Jesus went to the cross to save others not Himself!

Matthew 27:35‑43 (NKJV) 

35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." 

36 Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. 

37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 

38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. 

39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 

40 and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross." 

41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 

42 "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 

43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.' " 

–They put over His head...This is Jesus...the King of the Jews...Can I declare to you today that He is not only the King of the Jews but He is the King of kings & the Lord of lords...of all of us. 

–The chief priest, the scribes, and the elders said…If you are the Son of God come down from the cross..."He saved others; Himself He cannot save.”

–Let me state clearly to you today that He could have saved Himself if that had been His intention...He could have slipped thru the crowd like He had done so many times.

--He could have called 12 legions of angels to defend Him, and also all He had to do was speak the word...Are you Jesus...I am He...they all fell to the ground.

–The chief priest, the scribes, and the elders said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.” He could have saved Himself but He came not to save Himself but to save others -world.

2. Jesus went to the cross to reveal God’s secret wisdom!

1 Corinthians 2:1‑8 (NIV) 

1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 

2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 

3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 

4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 

5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. 

6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 

7 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 

8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 

–So many today have such superior wisdom because they have found a single truth in God’s Word and have made it the entirety of God’s Word...out of balance.

–Paul said let me sum up for you what I know...sum up for you my wisdom...For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. The cross!

–Paul did not come in pride and arrogance...he came in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. What a difference in what we get so much of today.

–Can I declare to you today God’s secret wisdom and His extra-ordinary sacrifice and power...It was in the cross...it was on the cross...It was Jesus crucified.

–Paul said that is enough...Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

–How authoritative was this tremendous sacrifice and extra-ordinary power...8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 

–If they had known the wonderful love through Jesus’ sacrifice and the forgiving power thru the cross they would not have nailed Him there.

–Jesus declared it on the cross...Too late boys...It is Finished it is done...I have paid the price for all those who will come to God!  Look at your neighbor...It is finished!

3. What we do with this incredible revelation of the un-selfish sacrifice and power found in the cross of Christ can change the world. 

Hebrews 12:1‑3 (NIV) 

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 

2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 

–What do we do with this revelation?  We stop being entangled with this world, stop willful sinning (presuming on God’s grace), and let us run after Him with all our hearts! Let us be faithful people. 

–We fix our eyes on Jesus...why?  Who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

–Since thru the cross God has made a way of escape for us...let us take it!

Theodore the Studite (9^th Century) sermon -The Precious & Life giving Cross of Christ. He compares the tree that Jesus died on to the tree in the garden (Genesis).

Theodore - “How precious the gift of the cross, how splendid to contemplate!  In the cross there is no mingling of good and evil, as in the tree of paradise: it is wholly beautiful to behold and good to taste.  

–The fruit of this tree (the cross) is not death but life, not darkness but light.  

–This tree (the cross) does not cast us out of paradise, but opens the way for our return.”

–This was the tree on which Christ, like a king on a chariot, destroyed the devil, the lord of death, and freed the human race from His tyranny.  

–This was the tree (cross) upon which the Lord like a brave warrior wounded in hands, feet, and side, healed the wounds of sin that the evil serpent had inflicted on our nature.  

–A tree once caused our death, but now a tree brings life. Once deceived by a tree, we have now repelled the cunning serpent by a tree. What an astonishing transformation!  

–That death should become life, that decay should become immortality, that shame should become glory!  

–Well might the holy apostle exclaim: Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  

–Though the rulers of this world did not see the significance of the cross God had been revealing it since the beginning.

1Cor. 2:8 (NIV)

8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 

Theodore points out the types and figures of the cross of Christ: “Was it not the wood of a tree that enabled Noah, at God’s command, to escape the destruction of the flood.  And surely the rod of Moses prefigured the cross when it changed water into blood, swallowed up false serpents of Pharaoh’s magicians, divided the sea at one stroke and then restored the waters to their normal course, drowning the enemy and saving God’s own people?  Aaron’s rod, which blossomed in one day in proof of his priesthood, was another figure of the cross, and did not Abraham foreshadow the cross when he bound his sound Isaac and placed him on the pile of wood?

1 Peter 1:18‑21 (NLT) 

18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. 

19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 

20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days. 

21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. 

–God knew from the beginning that He would give His Son Jesus on the cross for us.  This is extra-ordinary sacrifice personified.

4. How do I identify with Christ’s extra-ordinary sacrifice and the power of the cross?

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) 

20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 

–Before I received Christ and surrendered my life to Him...I believed in Him, I believed He died and rose again but I could not make the connection of how that could help me.

–I knew I was lost...that was obvious...I was convinced I could not live for God so why even try.

–This verse changed my life:

–I have been crucified with Christ...I died to myself and my plans.

–It is no longer I who live...Rick could not live the life.

–Christ lives in me...No longer me but Christ in me.

–The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 

Colossians 1:27 (NIV) 

27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 

–The glorious sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the extra-ordinary power of the cross has introduced to me (Christ in me, the hope of glory!)

--Truly think about yourself and what little hope you have of obtaining any kind of glory in this life. If you did get it, it would only be for a short time.

--But think of the wonderful cross of Jesus and think about receiving His wonderful salvation. When you do, you have Christ in you, the hope of glory for all eternity! Shout to the Lord!

--That is plenty enough reason to be faithful people! Amen!