The CROSS - 5

The CROSS - 5

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh

--who are called Uncircumcision

by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands

-- that at that time you were without Christ,

being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel

and strangers from the covenants of promise,

having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus

you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one,

and has broken down the middle wall of separation,

having abolished in His flesh the enmity,

that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances,

so as to create in Himself one new man from the two,

thus making peace,

and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross,

thereby putting to death the enmity.

And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off

and to those who were near.

For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Ephesians 2:11-18

The cross of the LORD reminds us that the middle wall of separation between Jew and gentile and all mankind has been broken down.  

For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping,

that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

Philippians 3:18  

looking unto Jesus,

the author and finisher of our faith,

who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,

despising the shame,

and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

"that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:14-15  

The cross is not the end but is the beginning and the end of our faith and is the path to victory, joy, glory and eternal life.

who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree,

that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness

--by whose stripes you were healed.

1 Peter 2:24

The cross reminds me that even as the LORD took away my sins on His own body on the cross, I should die to sin and live for righteousness in Him.

Then Pilate said to Him,

"Are You not speaking to me?

Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?"

Jesus answered,

"You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."

From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying,

"If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar's friend.

Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar."

When Pilate therefore heard that saying,

he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat

in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover,

and about the sixth hour.

And he said to the Jews,

"Behold your King!"

But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!"

Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?"

The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"

Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus and led Him away.

John 19:10-16

Pilate said to them,

"What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"

They all said to him,

"Let Him be crucified!"

Matthew 27:22

So they cried out again,

"Crucify Him!"

Mark 15:13

"Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God,

you have taken by lawless hands,

have crucified, and put to death;

Acts 2:23  

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened,

and have tasted the heavenly gift,

and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,

and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance,

since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God,

and put Him to an open shame.

Hebrews 6:4-6

Once we have experienced the gift of salvation,  the power of the Holy Spirit and the revelation of the word, we should not fall away. If we do, we will be crucifying the LORD for ourselves and putting Him to shame. We should steadfastly follow the cross.

We should put to death the self in us and let the LORD live through us.

The CROSS - 4

The CROSS - 4

Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.

Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

But Jesus answered them, saying,

"The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.

"Most assuredly, I say to you,

unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,

it remains alone;

but if it dies, it produces much grain.

"He who loves his life will lose it,

and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

"If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me;

and where I am, there My servant will be also.

If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

John 12:20-26

Greeks to whom ‘CHRIST crucified’ is foolishness, desired to see JESUS. It must have been mind-boggling for them to reconcile the divine wisdom of the LORD with the foolishness of the cross.

Dying to self is the first step to increase and multiplication.

Saying ‘Yes’ to the way of the cross is in a sense similar to a girl saying ‘Yes’ to a proposal by the man. She has to be willing to give up her life of freedom to submit to, support and partner with her husband to pursue his interest and plan in life.

And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision,

why do I still suffer persecution?

Then the offense of the cross has ceased.

Galatians 5:11

As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh,

these would compel you to be circumcised,

only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

Galatians 6:12

The cross offends those who try to justify themselves by keeping the law or do good works.

... But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,

by whom the world has been crucified to me,

and I to the world.

Galatians 6:14

I overcome the world only through the LORD JESUS CHRIST, Who died on the cross for me

The CROSS - 3

The CROSS - 3

Now great multitudes went with Him.

And He turned and said to them,

"If anyone comes to Me

and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children,

brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also,

he cannot be My disciple.

"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

"For which of you, intending to build a tower,

does not sit down first and count the cost,

whether he has enough to finish it

-- "lest, after he has laid the foundation,

and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, "saying,

'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'

"Or what king, going to make war against another king,

does not sit down first and consider whether he is able

with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

"Or else, while the other is still a great way off,

he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.

"So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has

cannot be My disciple.

Luke 14:25-33

Then He said to them all,

"If anyone desires to come after Me,

let him deny himself,

and take up his cross daily,

and follow Me.

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it

. "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world,

and is himself destroyed or lost?

"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words,

of him the Son of Man will be ashamed

when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.

Luke 9:23-26

The LORD JESUS’ demand on our life is absolute. We need to forsake all for His sake. He has to take first place in our lives.

The CROSS - 2

The CROSS - 2

And those who passed by blasphemed Him,

wagging their heads 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."

Matthew 27:39-40  

The worldly mindset is diametrically opposite to the way of the cross.

To have the mind of CHRIST is to be mindful of the cross of CHRIST.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

who, being in the form of God,

did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

but made Himself of no reputation,

taking the form of a bondservant,

and coming in the likeness of men.

And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death,

even the death of the cross.

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him

and given Him the name which is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

of those in heaven, and of those on earth,

and of those under the earth,

and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11

Taking up my cross means, having the mind of CHRIST.

Having the mind of CHRIST means:-

• making myself of no reputation
• taking the form of a bondservant
• Identifying with those below my position and with transgressors

He who humbles himself will be lifted up by GOD.

Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

 Isaiah 53:4-5

but we preach Christ crucified,

to the Jews a stumbling block

and to the Greeks foolishness,

1 Corinthians 1:23

At a certain point in your pathway in life you will encounter the cross.

You cannot ignore the cross of CHRIST because it confronts you for a decision.

If you retreat from the cross you will go backwards.

You cannot go around it because it embraces the whole world.

You cannot go under it as it is planted on earth.

You cannot fly above it as it reaches heaven.

If you decide to humble yourself to accept the forgiveness the LORD offered from the cross, you will embrace it and go through it and find salvation and peace.

You need to take up your cross to be yoked to the LORD to progress in Him and serve Him. The light of the cross is the only path of victory.

The Cross - 1

The CROSS - 1

The LORD JESUS’ coming into the world was the first step in GOD’S plan of salvation for mankind.

If He did not die on the cross, we would not have a way of salvation.

If He did not rise again, we would not have the hope of a victorious life on earth and resurrection on the last day.

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem,

and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes,

and be killed, and be raised the third day.

Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him,

saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"

But He turned and said to Peter

, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me,

for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

Then Jesus said to His disciples,

"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself,

and take up his cross, and follow Me.

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels,

and then He will reward each according to his works.

Matthew 16:21-27

If I desire to be a disciple of the LORD JESUS, I should take up my cross and follow His path.

I should also teach others the way of the cross and not be Satan’s instrument to tell them otherwise. We would be a stumbling block and an offence to others in the eyes of GOD if we discourage them from following the cross.

"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

Matthew 10:38

Each of us has a specific cross that we need to take and follow CHRIST.

My cross is to deny my self, carnality, pride and my will and allow the LORD to live through me.  

Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.

Him they compelled to bear His cross.

Matthew 27:32

JESUS carried His cross for my sake.

I must take up my cross and get yoked to the LORD JESUS.

"Come to Me,

all you who labor and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,

for I am gentle and lowly in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

"For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30

I have to deny self for the LORD’S sake. When I take up my cross for the sake of the cross of CHRIST I find peace and rest to my soul.

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law,

having become a curse for us

(for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),

Galatians 3:13

The great exchange was done at the cross.

The Most Blessed One became a curse for our sin

so we the cursed could become the blessed!

Commandment and Permission

GOD commands us to do His will.

GOD permits us to do our will.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

 Nor are your ways My ways,"

 says the LORD. 

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

 So are My ways higher than your ways,

 And My thoughts than your thoughts.

 Isaiah 55:8-9 

DIVORCE

DIVORCE

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings,

 that He departed from Galilee

 and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

 And great multitudes followed Him,

 and He healed them there. 

The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him,

 "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"

 And He answered and said to them,

 "Have you not read

 that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'

 "and said,

 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother

 and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 

"So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.

 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

 They said to Him,

 "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce,

 and to put her away?" 

He said to them,

 "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts,

 permitted you to divorce your wives,

 but from the beginning it was not so.

 "And I say to you,

 whoever divorces his wife, 

except for sexual immorality,

 and marries another, commits adultery;

 and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

 Matthew 19:1-9