Why the Cross
Easter 2021
The bible talks a lot about humans and the state we are in
Romans 3:10–12 (ESV)
10as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
11no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
I know what you’re going to say:
· I am a good person
· I give to charity
· I work hard
· I provide for my family
· I make it to church “most” Sundays
· I read my bible occasionally
· I am not like those “other” people
There is a problem with every statement I just made, it the Letter “I”
· You see you can’t do anything
· You can’t fix your self
Psalm 51:5 (NLT)
5For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
· You were born in Sin
Ill prove it to you!
Commandment 1: You shall have no other gods before Me.
· I bet you have a functional God
o Money
o Job
o Kids
o You put something before God, I guarantee it
Commandment 2: You shall not make idols.
· Your TV
· Your house
· Your Job
· Your favorite Nascar driver
· Think about it we put all kinds of “Idols” before God!
Why Jesus? (in rides the savior)
Romans 6:23 (NLT)
23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
· Because God is Just, and a price has to be paid for sin
· And that price is Death
But because Gods character is to Love
· He gave you a way out!
· And Jesus is that way out
So what did Jesus do to pay the debt
· He lived a perfect sinless life
· He lived just like us all
· He was tempted in everyway
· He died a horrible death (that we should have died)
· And because he was sinless he rose on the third day
· He scarified his life for us all
· And he paid your debit to bring you it right standing with the father
· On the cross Jesus said “It is finished!”
In a nut shell
(the Great Exchange)
Penal, Substitutionary, Atonement:
· Imagine it this way
· He took all your guilt
· All your shame
· Everyone’s
· And took on to himself
· So, we can stand before God
· Clean
· Spotless
· Blameless
Gods perfect love
Jesus demonstrates a love that refuses to give up or give in, he is willing to love us even when we don’t love Him or even like him. He is determined to bring us back in right relationship with God no matter what the cost!!
Ro 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We are to look at the cross and say I have to strive to live more like Jesus, to be worthy of His sacrifice!
· We are meant to be changed by the events of the cross and in turn to practice the same sacrificial love demonstrated by Jesus toward others.
· As each new follower of Jesus shows that same sacrificial love to the world, lives will change and the world will be transformed!!
In the early hours of Saturday morning, I woke up from a dream
· It was just weird
· It was in this church
· There were all these celebrity pastors there
· And people were not worshiping Jesus
· There was all this hype, and smoke and lights
· And then some lady got up to speak
· And no one listened
o But I did
· And it was as if she was cutting right through the noise and hype
· She started talking about a man she cared for, and she described him
· He was not nice, and treated her very bad
· And that no matter what he did she just kept serving and taking care of him
· and over time he softened and started to see her for what she was
o his care giver
o his help
o his “savior”
· and then he rolled up in a wheel chair and spoke about her sacrificial love
· and then I woke up!!!
And you are wondering where is this all going
· this is what I wrote through tears
Sacrificial love changes people!
The way Jesus and us
the way My dad loved my mom ( through sickness)
And that’s the greatest example from the cross, that you and I can change lives not but what we say, but by what we do, how we sacrifice. My dream about sacrifice ( a women who took care of an old crotchety man, who in the end changed!) And then Jesus laid this on my heart the cross is no complicated at all, it’s just that God so loved the world, that he sacrificed for it, now go and do the same!
The cross always has and always will be about the love of a perfect father for his children!
· Everyone believer or not, is a child of God
· The cross was necessary
· The cross was brutal
· And it was the only way
· And God did it out of a deep love for his Kids
· Some of you have never seen a father’s love like this
· But you need to know there is a God in heaven that is the perfect father, and he love you!
· Sacrificial love transforms Lives!
· It turns enemies in to friends,
· Turns guilt into repentance, and melts hearts of stone.
· The world is changed by demonstrations of true sacrificial love and selfless acts of service.
We are to look at the cross and say I have to strive to live more like Jesus, to be worthy of His sacrifice!
· We are meant to be changed by the events of the cross and in turn to practice the same sacrificial love demonstrated by Jesus toward others.
· As each new follower of Jesus shows that same sacrificial love to the world, lives will change and the world will be transformed!!
Jn 13:34–35 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
As Christians we believe, and Jesus taught that that His suffering and death were the means of salvation for humanity.
· Through Him we are offered forgiveness,
· Redemption, and
· Right standing with God
· Through Him we find grace for our sins
· Mercy for our transgressions
· And a heart for a broken and fallen world
And we never forget he arose on third day a king and returned to his throne!
· He died as the sacrificial lamb
· He will return as the king of all kings
· The almighty God
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