|
The message of the cross
is the power of God
(1 Corinthians 1:18).
God forbid that I should boast
except in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ
(Galatians 6:14).
I hope you are encouraged by the following excerpt from the first message in a series of 4 messages I am sharing at Holly Ridge Baptist Church on Wednesday evenings this month.
THE CROSS: THE TERM
Paul uses the term The cross in the above two verses to embrace all that Jesus did to save us -- His crucifixion, death, resurrection, ascension, and seating -- AND God identifying us with Christ in His completed work. A Christian has a deep relationship with Christ...deeper than many realize.
The cross is the center of all Scriptures and all of history. The cross is the purpose of all of history culminated in Christ's complete work for us and in us. God is now entrusting us with the gospel in His-story!
THE CROSS: THE BATTLE
The message of the cross is the message our enemy has fought through all of history. People and ministries that subtly shift off of the foundation of this message diminish their influence in the kingdom of God on earth. Following are questions my friend John Best encouarges each of us to prayerfully consider:
1. Have I allowed the busyness of life deflect me away from hearing the message of the cross causing me to become complacent with religious activities?
2. Have I heard the message of the cross so often that I have lost my childlike wonder of the cross?
3. Have I seen the message of the cross rejected so much that I've lost the passion to teach it and have replaced it with other methods that appear to be more spiritually correct?
I experience these temptations. I need others to encourage and to remind me to keep marching into battle each day with our Lord's victory already won, to hold His banner high, and to proclaim His gospel rooted and exalted in the cross - no matter the cost!
CLOSING
There is no greater message for us than the message of the cross. May we grow in hearing God speak this message of His heart into our hearts to move us to live more fully, more simply, and more sacrificially. There is no greater calling. There is no greater purpose. There is no greater joy. There is no greater hope.
ps, Listen to the mesage of the cross in the first and last stanzas of the hymn Onward, Christian Soldiers (written in 1865):
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before!
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe.
Forward into battle, see His banner go!
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before!
Onward then ye people, join our happy throng.
Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.
Glory, laud, and honor, unto Christ the King.
This through countless ages men and angels sing.
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before! | 
