1 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:10,245 Well, good morning. So glad 2 00:00:10,245 --> 00:00:13,525 to be in the house this morning. If you're joining us on livestream, thank you 3 00:00:13,525 --> 00:00:17,365 for joining us today. It is it is certainly a 4 00:00:17,365 --> 00:00:20,740 a good day. A couple of things, 5 00:00:21,380 --> 00:00:25,060 want to encourage you, that we have a midweek 6 00:00:25,060 --> 00:00:28,724 gathering, 6 o'clock, pastor Justin on Thursday 7 00:00:28,724 --> 00:00:32,325 night, 6 o'clock. Pastor Justin has been doing, a 8 00:00:32,325 --> 00:00:35,990 series, about the table and, it's been 9 00:00:35,990 --> 00:00:39,830 really rich. And so I want to encourage you if you can make 10 00:00:39,830 --> 00:00:43,190 that happen, if your capacity allows for you to be here on Thursday 11 00:00:43,190 --> 00:00:46,845 night, come and be a part of that. It's certainly 12 00:00:46,985 --> 00:00:50,585 in keeping and in line with, where we are in the 13 00:00:50,585 --> 00:00:53,770 season of leading up to Resurrection Sunday. 14 00:00:54,790 --> 00:00:58,550 And with that also, on Good Friday, Good Friday this 15 00:00:58,550 --> 00:01:02,315 year, we are going to have a worship gathering here from 16 00:01:02,315 --> 00:01:06,075 6 to 7. Okay? It will be an hour long. We are going 17 00:01:06,075 --> 00:01:09,770 to partake in communion together, and so, you can 18 00:01:09,770 --> 00:01:13,610 bring your family. We won't have kids ministry. The kids will join 19 00:01:13,610 --> 00:01:16,509 us in here. We will have, I believe we will have a nursery 20 00:01:17,895 --> 00:01:21,708 available, but during that gathering, families will will be in here. And we're God 21 00:01:21,735 --> 00:01:25,550 pray together, we're gonna worship together, and take communion. And so I encourage 22 00:01:25,550 --> 00:01:29,182 you, Good Friday, 6 o'clock to come and be a part 23 00:01:29,182 --> 00:01:32,814 of that hour service. And then, of course, we have resurrection 24 00:01:32,814 --> 00:01:36,585 Sunday, that's March 31st, And so, we're God celebrate the resurrection of 25 00:01:36,585 --> 00:01:40,045 our king because we get to live with him forever. Jesus is alive. 26 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,880 And, and so we're excited about that. I'm going to 27 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:48,400 ask you guys to, I'm going to ask you for a favor, 28 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:52,134 okay? Typically visitors who will come on Easter Sunday, 29 00:01:52,994 --> 00:01:56,115 there may be some people who will come once or twice in a year, they'll 30 00:01:56,115 --> 00:01:59,590 choose that day to come to to church and as you can see, our 31 00:01:59,590 --> 00:02:03,430 auditorium is pretty full. If you have the ability to come to 32 00:02:03,430 --> 00:02:07,015 the early gathering that day, I would certainly 33 00:02:07,015 --> 00:02:10,715 appreciate it to allow there to be room in this gathering for our visitors 34 00:02:10,775 --> 00:02:14,535 who come. It is a repeat gathering. You won't miss anything coming 35 00:02:14,535 --> 00:02:18,130 to the early gathering. And so if it is within your capacity to come to 36 00:02:18,130 --> 00:02:21,970 the early gathering on Easter Sunday and participate then, I would 37 00:02:21,970 --> 00:02:25,605 greatly appreciate it so it opens up room for our visitors during 38 00:02:25,605 --> 00:02:29,285 this during this during this time. Speaking of Easter, we are 39 00:02:29,285 --> 00:02:32,620 into that we are into a series. We're gonna start a 3 week series. We're 40 00:02:32,620 --> 00:02:36,459 gonna talk about Jesus' death. We're gonna talk about his burial, and we're 41 00:02:36,459 --> 00:02:40,159 gonna talk about his resurrection on Easter Sunday. And today, we're gonna talk about Jesus' 42 00:02:40,225 --> 00:02:43,905 death and pastor Justin's going to kick off this new series. Would you welcome pastor 43 00:02:43,905 --> 00:02:44,405 Justin? 44 00:02:48,625 --> 00:02:49,365 Thank you, 45 00:02:52,709 --> 00:02:56,310 Thank you, sirs. Just give you a fair 46 00:02:56,310 --> 00:03:00,090 warning. I do not know how long this jacket will make it this morning. 47 00:03:00,534 --> 00:03:02,955 It's a little warm. I'm trying. It's green. Right? 48 00:03:05,174 --> 00:03:07,995 Olive is a shade of green, so don't even 49 00:03:09,030 --> 00:03:12,390 out there. Right? It's the only green I'll wear year 50 00:03:12,390 --> 00:03:16,230 round. If you're able to, would you 51 00:03:16,230 --> 00:03:19,864 stand with me? We're God go ahead and read our passage for this morning. 52 00:03:19,864 --> 00:03:23,465 We'll read it together and then we'll pray and we'll get into the 53 00:03:23,465 --> 00:03:26,045 message today. Are we ready? 54 00:03:27,650 --> 00:03:31,330 So they took Jesus, and he went out bearing his 55 00:03:31,330 --> 00:03:35,010 own cross to the place called the pray of 56 00:03:35,010 --> 00:03:38,815 a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 57 00:03:39,754 --> 00:03:43,435 There, they crucified him and with him 2 58 00:03:43,435 --> 00:03:47,180 others, 1 on either side and Jesus 59 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,000 between them. Father, we thank you for this day that you've given us. God, I 60 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,805 thank you for the sweet spirit that is in this room today, 61 00:03:54,805 --> 00:03:58,585 God. It is heavy and it is beautiful. 62 00:03:59,125 --> 00:04:02,665 God, I pray that your word would penetrate into our hearts 63 00:04:03,190 --> 00:04:06,810 and the ways that we have made the cross too small, that you would 64 00:04:06,870 --> 00:04:10,550 magnify our view of the cross and the work that you 65 00:04:10,550 --> 00:04:14,265 have accomplished therein. Father, I pray that everything 66 00:04:14,265 --> 00:04:17,945 I say today would be soon forgotten. But, Holy Spirit, 67 00:04:17,945 --> 00:04:21,550 anoint me to preach your words to your people for the 68 00:04:21,550 --> 00:04:25,150 advancement of your kingdom, that the name of Jesus would be 69 00:04:25,150 --> 00:04:28,910 glorified through the power of the Holy Ghost. It's in Christ's name 70 00:04:28,910 --> 00:04:32,165 that I pray. Amen and amen. You guys can be seated. 71 00:04:35,745 --> 00:04:38,885 How many of you guys remember Smokey the Bear? 72 00:04:40,150 --> 00:04:43,930 Right? Right? Everybody remember Smokey the Bear? If you don't know, you youngins, 73 00:04:44,069 --> 00:04:47,849 there was a commercial, pretty tragic and 74 00:04:48,745 --> 00:04:51,565 traumatizing when we were younger and, 75 00:04:52,664 --> 00:04:56,440 and there was a bear and he was a park ranger and 76 00:04:56,440 --> 00:05:00,200 he had a park ranger hat and his name was Smokey, Smokey the Prayer, and 77 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,660 Smokey had a catchphrase. Right? What was the catchphrase Smokey had? 78 00:05:04,705 --> 00:05:08,545 Only you can prevent forest fires. Do you know how much pressure that is 79 00:05:08,545 --> 00:05:12,340 for a 9 year old kid? I'm serious. 80 00:05:12,340 --> 00:05:15,720 I thought my whole life that it was up to me 81 00:05:17,220 --> 00:05:21,055 to prevent force because that's what Smokey told me. They'd show a tragic story 82 00:05:21,055 --> 00:05:24,035 and then he'd come on in the end and he'd point and say only you 83 00:05:24,415 --> 00:05:27,715 can prevent forest fires. And that's heavy. 84 00:05:29,250 --> 00:05:32,449 I'm serious. I carried that for a long time to realize there ain't no way 85 00:05:32,449 --> 00:05:34,949 I was not even there. It had nothing to do with me. 86 00:05:36,645 --> 00:05:40,405 But the reason I'm telling you guys this is because for most of 87 00:05:40,405 --> 00:05:43,465 my life, this is how I have carried the cross. 88 00:05:44,610 --> 00:05:48,389 I have had felt this overwhelming sense 89 00:05:48,450 --> 00:05:52,035 of guilt and shame and this 90 00:05:52,035 --> 00:05:55,475 heavy weight because my sin is what sent him 91 00:05:55,475 --> 00:05:59,320 there. And my whole life I have felt this weight, 92 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,919 this pressure that that if it wasn't for me and my 93 00:06:02,919 --> 00:06:06,365 sin, then he wouldn't have had to die. And there's 94 00:06:06,365 --> 00:06:10,205 hymns and songs and it was my sin that held him there and it was 95 00:06:10,205 --> 00:06:14,045 the thought of me and I'm just my whole life. I'm like God, this is 96 00:06:14,045 --> 00:06:17,790 this is heavy. And I feel like on my 97 00:06:17,790 --> 00:06:21,550 journey over the past, few months years that I've felt the 98 00:06:21,550 --> 00:06:24,290 love of God say, son, you've made the cross way too small. 99 00:06:25,115 --> 00:06:27,615 You have made the cross way too small. 100 00:06:28,794 --> 00:06:32,495 I we will never understand the magnitude of what was accomplished 101 00:06:32,555 --> 00:06:36,340 on the cross of Christ, but the love of God is 102 00:06:36,340 --> 00:06:40,180 whispered to me over days months years of 103 00:06:40,180 --> 00:06:43,800 what exactly has been accomplished on the cross. 104 00:06:44,020 --> 00:06:47,145 And every new revelation magnifies 105 00:06:47,605 --> 00:06:51,285 its beauty and lessens the burden for me in my 106 00:06:51,285 --> 00:06:54,980 life. I know that my sin was 107 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,900 responsible, but that's an incomplete and a small 108 00:06:58,960 --> 00:06:59,575 and minuscule 109 00:07:06,860 --> 00:07:09,280 the accomplishment of the cross. 110 00:07:10,699 --> 00:07:13,979 I'm gonna give you guys a disclaimer. I am fully aware that there are many 111 00:07:13,979 --> 00:07:17,495 things that I don't know. I don't know what I don't 112 00:07:17,495 --> 00:07:21,254 know, but I know that I don't know what I don't know, 113 00:07:21,254 --> 00:07:24,694 and therefore, I'm open to God showing me what I don't 114 00:07:24,694 --> 00:07:28,440 know. Somebody got that. 115 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,980 I know that's that's Southern, but there was one guy was like, I'm tracking. 116 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,700 I am tracking you today. 117 00:07:36,605 --> 00:07:40,125 So, however, this is an attempt for us to find even more 118 00:07:40,125 --> 00:07:43,425 value, even more value 119 00:07:44,230 --> 00:07:47,990 in the cross than we already have. So 120 00:07:47,990 --> 00:07:51,510 we're gonna start with one thing we do know, the forgiveness and the 121 00:07:51,510 --> 00:07:53,290 atonement, since that's what we know. 122 00:07:55,095 --> 00:07:58,514 The cross provided the means for our redemption. First 123 00:07:58,535 --> 00:08:02,350 Corinthians 57 says this, cleanse out the old leaven 124 00:08:02,350 --> 00:08:05,870 that you may be a new lump as you really are unleavened for 125 00:08:05,958 --> 00:08:09,090 Christ, our Passover lamb 126 00:08:09,625 --> 00:08:13,324 has been sacrificed. Our Passover lamb 127 00:08:13,465 --> 00:08:16,905 has been sacrificed. Paul describes 128 00:08:16,905 --> 00:08:20,650 Jesus as our Passover lamb. Pastor Kevin, referred to a series 129 00:08:20,650 --> 00:08:24,330 that we've been doing on Thursday nights. And I've I shared some of this 130 00:08:24,330 --> 00:08:27,230 information with you guys that have been attending. But 131 00:08:27,925 --> 00:08:31,525 Paul describes Jesus as our Passover lamb. Where does this come from? 132 00:08:31,525 --> 00:08:35,290 This originates in Exodus chapter 12 verses 1 through 133 00:08:35,290 --> 00:08:38,890 13. The Israelite people are about to be brought out of slavery 134 00:08:38,890 --> 00:08:42,270 from Egypt and God is giving them specific instructions 135 00:08:42,490 --> 00:08:46,135 on what's going to happen before the angel of 136 00:08:46,135 --> 00:08:49,655 death comes and all of the firstborn of 137 00:08:49,655 --> 00:08:53,240 everyone that does not have the blood covering their 138 00:08:53,580 --> 00:08:57,020 house will be killed that night. And God gives him specific 139 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:00,535 instructions. He says, matter of fact, look, everything we've done up to this point, I'm 140 00:09:00,535 --> 00:09:04,315 changing it. This month is gonna be the 1st month of the new year. 141 00:09:04,455 --> 00:09:07,435 Starting in this month, this is gonna be the 1st month of the new year. 142 00:09:07,990 --> 00:09:10,790 And what I want you guys to do is on the 10th day of this 143 00:09:10,790 --> 00:09:14,550 month, I want you to take a lamb, a perfect spotless 144 00:09:14,550 --> 00:09:18,365 lamb, and bring it into your household and keep it there for the week. Then 145 00:09:18,365 --> 00:09:21,885 for the whole week, what you're going to do is inspect this 146 00:09:21,885 --> 00:09:25,709 lamb for spots and blemishes. And then on 147 00:09:25,709 --> 00:09:29,230 the 14th day of the month at sundown, you're going to 148 00:09:29,230 --> 00:09:32,830 slaughter the lamb and you and your family are going to take the blood of 149 00:09:32,830 --> 00:09:36,615 the lamb and you're gonna sprinkle it on your posts and the angel of the 150 00:09:36,615 --> 00:09:40,214 Lord will see the blood and passah or 151 00:09:40,214 --> 00:09:44,010 pass over. Passah 152 00:09:44,010 --> 00:09:47,850 is the Hebrew worship means to spare or protect it 153 00:09:47,850 --> 00:09:51,675 was not that the angel of the Lord just skipped over the house it 154 00:09:51,915 --> 00:09:55,515 spared that house. Passover was to 155 00:09:55,515 --> 00:09:59,055 passah, spare or protect. 156 00:10:00,620 --> 00:10:04,000 John chapter 12 verse 1 tells us that Jesus 157 00:10:04,220 --> 00:10:08,000 arrived in Bethany 6 days before Passover 158 00:10:08,379 --> 00:10:12,125 on 9th day of the month. And then John theater 12 verse 159 00:10:12,125 --> 00:10:15,885 12 tells us the the next pray, that 160 00:10:15,885 --> 00:10:19,620 was the word that he used, the next pray, which would have been the 10th 161 00:10:19,620 --> 00:10:23,079 day of the month that Jesus on a donkey 162 00:10:23,540 --> 00:10:27,084 rode into Jerusalem, which was the center of the house of 163 00:10:27,084 --> 00:10:30,705 worship for the Israelite people. The lamb of God 164 00:10:31,084 --> 00:10:34,705 brought in to his house on the 10th day. 165 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,880 And for the rest of the week, all they did was try to find 166 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:42,560 faults in Jesus. They was asking him, like, tricky questions. They were trying 167 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:46,325 to trip him up. They were inspecting the lamb for blemishes 168 00:10:46,625 --> 00:10:50,005 and spots. And then on 14th day, 169 00:10:50,545 --> 00:10:54,380 the Friday, the lamb of God, the Passover lamb 170 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:58,280 was slain on the cross at the same time that the 171 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:01,675 priests were taking lambs and slaughtering them for the 172 00:11:01,675 --> 00:11:05,195 people. The true Passover lamb was being 173 00:11:05,195 --> 00:11:08,850 slain at the same time that those Passover lambs were being 174 00:11:08,850 --> 00:11:12,230 slain right before sundown. 175 00:11:17,815 --> 00:11:21,115 Revelation 138, John describes Jesus this way. 176 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:25,400 And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose names has not been 177 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,080 written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the lamb 178 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:32,775 who was slain. I don't particularly like the way the e f ESV says it, 179 00:11:32,775 --> 00:11:36,615 but if you didn't catch that in all that language, Jesus is the 180 00:11:36,615 --> 00:11:39,990 lamb who was slain before the foundation 181 00:11:40,610 --> 00:11:41,670 of the world. 182 00:11:44,769 --> 00:11:48,485 That's hard for me to get my head around. That's hard for me to 183 00:11:48,485 --> 00:11:51,892 get my head around that before the world was created, the Spirit 184 00:11:52,084 --> 00:11:55,720 had some type of conversation. We're gonna 185 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:59,560 make a world, we're gonna make man, and they're gonna mess this 186 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:02,699 up big time. 187 00:12:03,855 --> 00:12:07,455 But I know what we'll do. I know what we'll do. I know what we'll 188 00:12:07,455 --> 00:12:11,055 do. Jesus said, matter of fact, I'll go and be slain for 189 00:12:11,055 --> 00:12:14,589 them. I'll go in their place 190 00:12:15,770 --> 00:12:19,610 and be slain for them and but that's not really good enough. God's 191 00:12:19,610 --> 00:12:23,255 like, you know what? I love the way Graham Cook describes it. He says, no. 192 00:12:23,255 --> 00:12:26,075 We can't just forgive them. We're gonna have to kill them. 193 00:12:26,935 --> 00:12:30,670 We're gonna have to kill them, And then what we'll do then what 194 00:12:30,670 --> 00:12:34,430 we'll do is we'll we'll we'll we'll tell them that if you if you 195 00:12:34,430 --> 00:12:38,221 die with him, that will will submerge you in theater. 196 00:12:38,245 --> 00:12:41,385 And when you come out, that'll be called being born again. 197 00:12:42,485 --> 00:12:46,330 We'll kill them too and then they'll be born again. And Holy Spirit, it'll be 198 00:12:46,330 --> 00:12:50,090 then your job to reveal them everything that Jesus had done for them and empower 199 00:12:50,090 --> 00:12:53,715 them. Before the foundation of the world, this 200 00:12:53,715 --> 00:12:57,255 had already been established. You know what that tells us? Redemption 201 00:12:57,635 --> 00:12:59,335 is in his nature. 202 00:13:01,290 --> 00:13:04,030 Redemption is in his nature. 203 00:13:06,935 --> 00:13:10,615 We can see this in his interaction before Pilate with 204 00:13:10,615 --> 00:13:13,975 Barabbas. If you're not familiar with the 205 00:13:13,975 --> 00:13:17,690 story, before Jesus goes to the 206 00:13:17,690 --> 00:13:21,210 cross, they're standing before Pilate and it was their 207 00:13:21,210 --> 00:13:24,830 custom that on a holy pray, they would let somebody go free, 208 00:13:24,925 --> 00:13:28,545 a prisoner go free and so they bring out Jesus 209 00:13:29,324 --> 00:13:32,625 and they bring out Barabbas and Barabbas is a bad guy. 210 00:13:33,790 --> 00:13:35,730 Barabbas murders people, 211 00:13:37,550 --> 00:13:41,205 murders people. He's a 212 00:13:41,205 --> 00:13:44,505 rebel. He leads insurrections against the government. 213 00:13:45,205 --> 00:13:49,029 He tried to overthrow the government. Him 214 00:13:49,029 --> 00:13:52,790 and a whole bunch of other people, and they bring this guy out and they 215 00:13:52,790 --> 00:13:56,630 put him here and then they bring Jesus, son of God, who's never 216 00:13:56,630 --> 00:13:59,915 done anything wrong, Perfect spotless 217 00:14:00,055 --> 00:14:03,815 lamb and they bring him out and you know what Pilate says. Pray. Who do 218 00:14:03,815 --> 00:14:07,240 you want? Who do you want? And what do they 219 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:10,459 say? What did they say? 220 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:14,975 Give us Barabbas. He said, who do 221 00:14:14,975 --> 00:14:18,355 you want, Barabbas? Yes. Give us Barabbas. 222 00:14:18,894 --> 00:14:22,570 And Jesus is there silent because he 223 00:14:22,790 --> 00:14:26,470 knew what God knew. And I love the way that Judah Smith says it. He 224 00:14:26,470 --> 00:14:29,990 says that God knew, Jesus knew that 225 00:14:29,990 --> 00:14:33,775 God had to treat Jesus like Barabbas so he 226 00:14:33,775 --> 00:14:35,875 could treat Barabbas like Jesus. 227 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,580 Even his name, Bar means son, 228 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:45,480 Abba means father, the son of the father for the 229 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:46,460 son of the father. 230 00:14:49,035 --> 00:14:51,055 It's it's in his nature. 231 00:14:52,395 --> 00:14:55,680 Redemption is in his nature. He 232 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:59,500 Why? Because he was a substitutionary Passover 233 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,480 lamb slain before he even decided to make the 234 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,954 world. That's his character. That's who he is. 235 00:15:09,575 --> 00:15:13,095 Our redemption, the forgiveness of sin, our 236 00:15:13,095 --> 00:15:15,990 atonement is found in the cross. 237 00:15:21,545 --> 00:15:25,385 Calvary is also the fulfillment of God's promise to the serpent. Yeah. 238 00:15:25,385 --> 00:15:29,225 He made a promise to the serpent in Genesis 315. So get 239 00:15:29,225 --> 00:15:32,790 this. I will put enmity between you and the woman and 240 00:15:32,790 --> 00:15:36,470 between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head 241 00:15:36,470 --> 00:15:40,225 and you shall bruise his heel. This is God's promise to 242 00:15:40,225 --> 00:15:44,065 the serpent. This is referred to as a seed war. This is a 243 00:15:44,065 --> 00:15:45,970 millennia Holy battle 244 00:15:51,329 --> 00:15:51,829 garden. 245 00:15:54,904 --> 00:15:58,665 Man was created to have dominion on the earth. 246 00:15:58,665 --> 00:16:02,470 It was a birthright that god gave his people. Be 247 00:16:02,470 --> 00:16:05,930 fruitful, multiply, subdue the earth. 248 00:16:07,030 --> 00:16:10,710 Reign over it, rule over it. I want you to do a little thought exercise 249 00:16:10,710 --> 00:16:14,455 with me for a second. Think of something that has 250 00:16:14,455 --> 00:16:17,274 been created and then given a purpose. 251 00:16:19,570 --> 00:16:23,330 Name one thing that has ever been created that was created and 252 00:16:23,330 --> 00:16:27,170 then given purpose. You can't do 253 00:16:27,170 --> 00:16:30,665 it, can you? You can't do it. Why? 254 00:16:30,725 --> 00:16:34,024 Because nothing is created without purpose. You are created 255 00:16:34,325 --> 00:16:37,880 for a purpose. Nothing is created and 256 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:41,420 then given a purpose. So how much more so 257 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:44,459 mankind created for a purpose? 258 00:16:45,285 --> 00:16:49,045 We are created to be God's regents on the 259 00:16:49,045 --> 00:16:52,505 earth, representatives of the heavenly kingdom 260 00:16:52,805 --> 00:16:56,200 here on this earth. We we so detach 261 00:16:56,660 --> 00:17:00,339 the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth, and we and we 262 00:17:00,339 --> 00:17:03,964 and we say things like, well, that's just a supernatural. He has set things 263 00:17:03,964 --> 00:17:07,724 in order here on Earth the same way they are 264 00:17:07,724 --> 00:17:11,484 in heaven. Why did Jesus pray? Your will hear the way it is up 265 00:17:11,484 --> 00:17:15,169 there. What where do we even get these concepts 266 00:17:15,230 --> 00:17:18,369 of kingdom? We don't just come up with these on our own. 267 00:17:19,630 --> 00:17:21,329 God has set this in motion 268 00:17:23,595 --> 00:17:27,435 and the authority and dominion of mankind has been usurped by 269 00:17:27,435 --> 00:17:31,250 the enemy or given away throughout history. We have 270 00:17:31,250 --> 00:17:35,090 given away the authority that God has given us. And according 271 00:17:35,090 --> 00:17:38,929 to Deuteronomy chapter 32 verses 8 and 9, look at this. It says, when the 272 00:17:38,929 --> 00:17:42,735 most high gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, 273 00:17:42,795 --> 00:17:46,635 he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of 274 00:17:46,639 --> 00:17:50,130 God. But the lord's portion is his people, 275 00:17:50,190 --> 00:17:52,530 Jacob his allotted heritage. 276 00:17:54,110 --> 00:17:57,905 What does this mean? Growing up, my mom used to tell me, well, 277 00:17:57,905 --> 00:18:01,665 the Jews were God's chosen people. And I'm like, well, flip them a 278 00:18:01,665 --> 00:18:05,365 fish. Lucky them. Right? How'd they get that? 279 00:18:06,690 --> 00:18:10,210 Right? Have you you've heard that Jews were are God's 280 00:18:10,210 --> 00:18:13,810 chosen people. Well, where did that come from? This is where it came from. God 281 00:18:13,810 --> 00:18:17,645 divided the nations up and he took Israel as himself. Have you 282 00:18:17,645 --> 00:18:21,245 read passages in the New Testament theatre seem like, well, that was 283 00:18:21,245 --> 00:18:24,940 kinda harsh for Jesus to say that, but we don't understand it 284 00:18:25,019 --> 00:18:28,860 Where the Syrophoenician woman is coming to Jesus for something, he said, Look, it's not 285 00:18:28,860 --> 00:18:31,820 my time to come to you yet. I'm here for the Jews right now. And 286 00:18:31,820 --> 00:18:35,415 she's like, Well, even dogs get crumbs from the master's table. And he's 287 00:18:35,415 --> 00:18:39,175 like, I love your tenacity, lady. He did that's 288 00:18:39,175 --> 00:18:42,830 Justin speak, man. It's a little bit cleaner than that if you go read 289 00:18:42,830 --> 00:18:46,670 it, but that's the gist of it. It's all throughout the New 290 00:18:46,670 --> 00:18:49,550 Testament. You can see it, and Jesus is like, it's not my time for that 291 00:18:49,550 --> 00:18:52,845 yet. It's not my time for that yet. And I'm like, what is he talking 292 00:18:52,845 --> 00:18:56,445 about here? Why? Because God had come for the nation of Israel 293 00:18:56,445 --> 00:18:59,265 first. Why? Because those were his allotted people. 294 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:05,320 The accomplishment of the cross is that Jesus reclaimed all 295 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:09,000 authority that man had abdicated and gave it back to us as 296 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,445 regents. Matthew 28 18, I love this. 297 00:19:12,825 --> 00:19:16,585 I love what Jesus says here. Jesus came and said to 298 00:19:16,585 --> 00:19:20,360 them now this is after the death, burial, and resurrection. And 299 00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:23,420 look at what Jesus says. What is that first quotation? 300 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,784 All authority in heaven and 301 00:19:27,784 --> 00:19:30,605 on earth has been given to me. 302 00:19:31,625 --> 00:19:35,070 All authority in heaven on earth has been given to 303 00:19:35,070 --> 00:19:38,130 me. Go therefore and make disciples of 304 00:19:38,750 --> 00:19:42,595 all nations, baptizing them in the 305 00:19:42,595 --> 00:19:46,435 name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching 306 00:19:46,435 --> 00:19:50,149 them to observe all I have commanded you and behold I am 307 00:19:50,149 --> 00:19:53,510 with you always even through the end of the 308 00:19:53,510 --> 00:19:57,275 age. Jesus accomplished on the cross 309 00:19:57,495 --> 00:20:01,335 the reclamation of the authority that we had abdicated and that had 310 00:20:01,335 --> 00:20:05,050 been you served. And what did he do? He gave it back to us now 311 00:20:05,530 --> 00:20:09,370 empowered by the Holy Spirit for us to go and 312 00:20:09,370 --> 00:20:13,070 be regents and ambassadors of the kingdom in the earth. 313 00:20:15,245 --> 00:20:19,025 You gave up the authority I gave you. I'll come get it back, 314 00:20:19,085 --> 00:20:22,765 and I will give it back to you, but now I'm sending you 315 00:20:22,765 --> 00:20:26,320 with my spirit. And now the gospel is 316 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:28,900 available to who? All nations 317 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:33,825 that happened at the cross. I read a verse this past 318 00:20:33,825 --> 00:20:37,445 Thursday where Jesus said, and this used to mess me up. 319 00:20:37,985 --> 00:20:41,505 He said, hey, you'll do greater things than 320 00:20:41,505 --> 00:20:45,090 me. Have you read that passage? You'll do 321 00:20:45,090 --> 00:20:48,850 greater things than me, and I'm like, God is 322 00:20:48,850 --> 00:20:52,345 that possible Until you realize that Jesus was 1 323 00:20:52,345 --> 00:20:55,405 man in one place at one time 324 00:20:56,665 --> 00:21:00,380 and now and now he has given us 325 00:21:00,380 --> 00:21:04,220 the promised Holy Spirit. And now you get to be a regent at 326 00:21:04,220 --> 00:21:06,460 your job and you get to be at your job and you get to be 327 00:21:06,460 --> 00:21:09,895 where you're at on vacation and and where you go grocery shop at, and the 328 00:21:09,895 --> 00:21:13,655 places that you interact. And now we are doing greater things because 329 00:21:13,655 --> 00:21:17,340 the spirit has been multiplied and magnified and the gospel of 330 00:21:17,340 --> 00:21:20,240 Jesus Christ is preached to all nations. 331 00:21:23,235 --> 00:21:26,915 And he accomplished it at the cross. What we 332 00:21:26,915 --> 00:21:30,455 had given up, he took back for us. 333 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:36,320 The way in which he died was one of the most brutal deaths in the 334 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:39,940 history of the planet. The Romans had perfected crucifixion. 335 00:21:41,294 --> 00:21:44,115 They spent about 500 years perfecting their craft. 336 00:21:46,174 --> 00:21:49,955 Crucifixion was not just a way to die. It was a method 337 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:53,720 of torture, and it was a statement to all would 338 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,539 be opposition to Rome. 339 00:21:57,975 --> 00:22:01,735 Imagine we let out a service here, and we all get out, and 340 00:22:01,735 --> 00:22:04,830 we go down here on San Ridley and right in front of First Watch, There's 341 00:22:04,830 --> 00:22:08,049 3 men hanging bleeding naked 342 00:22:08,910 --> 00:22:12,635 on crosses in the side of the road and a sign that 343 00:22:12,635 --> 00:22:16,475 says, this is what they did. Do you think you would be doing the same 344 00:22:16,475 --> 00:22:20,315 things to mess around and find out like that? You probably would not. 345 00:22:20,315 --> 00:22:23,820 Right? You would not and that was the point. That was the 346 00:22:23,820 --> 00:22:27,580 point. Anybody that's God come and defy 347 00:22:27,580 --> 00:22:31,315 the Roman rule like this, this is what'll happen to you. This 348 00:22:31,315 --> 00:22:33,655 is exactly what will happen to you. 349 00:22:35,155 --> 00:22:38,615 It was a method of torture. It was a particularly 350 00:22:38,915 --> 00:22:41,820 cruel and unusual form of disposing 351 00:22:42,279 --> 00:22:45,820 people. Disposing people, 352 00:22:46,919 --> 00:22:50,685 says Jeremy Ward, head of the physiology department at King's College in 353 00:22:50,685 --> 00:22:54,285 London. Each aspect of the death on the cross had its 354 00:22:54,285 --> 00:22:57,920 particular ghastliness, some less accurately depicted 355 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:01,460 by artists than others, the discovery of the bones of a crucified 356 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:05,280 man now in a museum in Israel point to the fact that the feet 357 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:08,915 were likely not stacked on the front of the cross. In 358 00:23:08,915 --> 00:23:12,674 the remains, the nail goes through the heel leading to the conclusion that 359 00:23:12,674 --> 00:23:16,520 the crucified were more likely nailed with their ankles 360 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,040 on either side of the cross mass. Can you 361 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:23,775 imagine that? This it's not this 362 00:23:23,775 --> 00:23:27,295 picture we see here. Most likely, your feet are on both 363 00:23:27,295 --> 00:23:30,790 sides of the pillar, and there's a nail through both 364 00:23:30,790 --> 00:23:34,470 ankles. So so the only thing 365 00:23:34,470 --> 00:23:38,005 to support you is your ligaments and your tissue 366 00:23:38,225 --> 00:23:42,065 resting against that nail. It's not like they said, well, let's put him a 367 00:23:42,065 --> 00:23:45,710 little foot rest up there to stand on. No. They probably 368 00:23:45,710 --> 00:23:49,550 laid him down, nailed it through, and then slid it up and 369 00:23:49,550 --> 00:23:51,090 let it drop into place. 370 00:23:53,274 --> 00:23:57,115 Both sides of the mast. Both sides of the 371 00:23:57,115 --> 00:23:57,615 mast. 372 00:24:01,980 --> 00:24:05,660 Ward says some artist interpretations have been especially accurate. The 373 00:24:05,660 --> 00:24:09,120 classic position of the hands in paintings is that they are clenched. 374 00:24:10,015 --> 00:24:13,695 A neurologist suggested that the church was due to the fact that if the median 375 00:24:13,695 --> 00:24:16,434 nerve was struck, it would cause neuropathy, 376 00:24:17,559 --> 00:24:20,860 which controls the thumb and finger so they would indeed clench in a particular 377 00:24:20,919 --> 00:24:24,759 way as that would have been contributed to death, but it would not have been 378 00:24:24,759 --> 00:24:28,465 nice. As far as a nail goes through your hand, 379 00:24:28,465 --> 00:24:32,225 it causes nerve damage, and you can't control the 380 00:24:32,225 --> 00:24:36,000 way your fist will church up. So now 381 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,520 you don't have anything to grab onto. There's there's 382 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,200 nothing to grab onto anyway, and there's nothing to really support 383 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:47,025 your weight except the nail that's through both ankles and a 384 00:24:47,025 --> 00:24:50,805 beam of wood. Your arms were usually positioned 385 00:24:51,105 --> 00:24:52,485 higher than your torso. 386 00:24:55,330 --> 00:24:58,630 Said that he is said to have expired after 6 hours 387 00:24:59,009 --> 00:25:02,855 on a Friday. In addition to the positioning of the cross, Ward says that 388 00:25:02,855 --> 00:25:06,534 the length of survival also depended on the health of the individual 389 00:25:06,534 --> 00:25:10,134 being crucified and on the severity of their treatment beforehand. They 390 00:25:10,134 --> 00:25:13,940 routinely whipped them and had them carry at least part of 391 00:25:13,940 --> 00:25:17,460 their cross to the side of the execution. I mean, we we quote this 392 00:25:17,460 --> 00:25:21,005 verse, and by Christ's stripes, we are healed. And we have no idea what 393 00:25:21,005 --> 00:25:24,845 those stripes actually were. The Romans were 394 00:25:24,845 --> 00:25:28,300 brutal. There were some instances that the man being 395 00:25:28,300 --> 00:25:30,640 crucified never made it to the cross. 396 00:25:31,900 --> 00:25:35,580 Never made it to the cross. They would take 397 00:25:35,580 --> 00:25:39,325 them and they would strip them down. They would strip them down and 398 00:25:39,325 --> 00:25:42,865 they would tie them to a block. And they had this 399 00:25:43,005 --> 00:25:46,640 crazy thing with pieces of leather hanging off of it 400 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,640 with glass and metal or whatever that they could inflict pain 401 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:54,400 with, and they 402 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:58,145 whipped him. I tried to 403 00:25:58,145 --> 00:26:00,648 cut my 2 fingertips off the other pray. 404 00:26:03,690 --> 00:26:07,530 Didn't particularly like that, but if you've ever hit your finger 405 00:26:07,530 --> 00:26:11,370 on something or or it's like if you get hurt, now your body says, hey, 406 00:26:11,370 --> 00:26:15,115 touch everything with that. Right? 407 00:26:19,735 --> 00:26:23,230 So you imagine you get hit one 408 00:26:23,230 --> 00:26:26,050 time with this brutal device 409 00:26:26,990 --> 00:26:29,570 and it just lands wherever it lands 410 00:26:30,645 --> 00:26:34,105 on your back flesh bone muscle tissue 411 00:26:34,164 --> 00:26:37,845 ligaments anything and then the only way to get it out is for them to 412 00:26:37,845 --> 00:26:41,510 snatch it and everything goes flying with it and that would have 413 00:26:41,510 --> 00:26:45,190 been enough but they go right back to the same spot he'd been hit 414 00:26:45,190 --> 00:26:48,934 in. Some of these criminals hung on this 415 00:26:48,934 --> 00:26:52,695 cross for days and Jesus died within 6 hours. Why? 416 00:26:52,695 --> 00:26:54,715 Because they were killing him on the way. 417 00:26:56,250 --> 00:26:59,470 39 times they hit this man 418 00:27:00,730 --> 00:27:04,250 over and over and over and over and 419 00:27:04,250 --> 00:27:07,925 over and over and over and over and over and over 420 00:27:07,925 --> 00:27:11,405 and over and over and over and over and over and over and 421 00:27:11,405 --> 00:27:14,990 over and over and over and over and over and 422 00:27:14,990 --> 00:27:18,830 over and over and over and over and over and 423 00:27:18,830 --> 00:27:21,390 over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over 424 00:27:21,390 --> 00:27:22,975 and over. They hit him. 425 00:27:25,215 --> 00:27:27,155 39 times. 426 00:27:28,975 --> 00:27:32,820 And then they said, get up And they put they they put a 427 00:27:32,820 --> 00:27:36,420 robe on him. And if you've ever put a band aid on something 428 00:27:36,420 --> 00:27:39,985 that's hurt, right? They put a robe on him and then it 429 00:27:39,985 --> 00:27:43,445 stuck to whatever was wet, whatever tissue was there 430 00:27:43,745 --> 00:27:46,520 long enough where they could spit on him and and put the crown on him 431 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:50,280 and humiliate him. And then when it was time to carry the cross, they snatched 432 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,260 it off and ripped open whatever wound was there. 433 00:27:55,495 --> 00:27:59,015 Can you see why 9 year old me is like, God this is heavy. My 434 00:27:59,015 --> 00:28:01,515 sin did this. He's like, it's bigger than you. 435 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:06,660 It's bigger than just that son, don't make the cross this small. 436 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:10,080 I didn't do all this just to have you have a small view of the 437 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:10,580 cross. 438 00:28:14,225 --> 00:28:17,985 Then they then they put his they were ordered to carry parts of their 439 00:28:17,985 --> 00:28:21,720 cross. And so he had to carry his cross and I 440 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:25,500 love the way the gospels, I love the way God understands 441 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:28,945 us because they brought somebody along 442 00:28:30,045 --> 00:28:33,565 to help him carry it. I read 443 00:28:33,565 --> 00:28:37,250 passages that say, pick up your cross and follow me and some 444 00:28:37,250 --> 00:28:40,870 days, oh my God, I can't do this. I wanna quit. 445 00:28:42,835 --> 00:28:45,655 Now I realize he sent somebody to help me carry it. 446 00:28:46,915 --> 00:28:50,760 He sent someone to help bear the burden. If he did it for his son, 447 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,600 why wouldn't he do it for me? He did do it for 448 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:58,255 me because he did it to his son. The son 449 00:28:58,255 --> 00:29:00,355 of the father for the son of the father. 450 00:29:04,015 --> 00:29:07,700 By the time they got there to the side of the execution, 451 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:12,480 they were already pretty traumatized and had probably lost a 452 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:16,284 major amount of blood. For some, 453 00:29:16,284 --> 00:29:19,565 it could be a day or more and how they were treated once installed on 454 00:29:19,565 --> 00:29:23,404 the cross had a significant effect as well. You have to maintain the 455 00:29:23,404 --> 00:29:26,669 weight of the body on the legs so that the weight of the arms isn't 456 00:29:26,669 --> 00:29:29,330 too much so that you can breathe properly. 457 00:29:31,635 --> 00:29:35,255 As he hung there, he would slowly suffocate. 458 00:29:36,275 --> 00:29:40,080 His body would slink down so church, and the only way to 459 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:43,920 get a good breath was to pick himself back up against the 460 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:47,275 nails. It's torture. 461 00:29:47,735 --> 00:29:51,575 It's brutal. They were making a 462 00:29:51,575 --> 00:29:55,415 statement and this is what the Jews asked for. Give 463 00:29:55,415 --> 00:29:56,120 us Barabbas 464 00:30:03,559 --> 00:30:06,514 They They didn't know what he would accomplish. 465 00:30:10,735 --> 00:30:14,174 Gradually, the exhaustion gets worse and worse, and you can't keep the weight 466 00:30:14,174 --> 00:30:17,860 up as warden. It is known that the guards would break the legs 467 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:21,920 in order to hasten death sometimes. So was the case with those 468 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:25,055 on either side of Jesus according to the gospels. 469 00:30:26,795 --> 00:30:30,475 Romans 5:6 says, for 470 00:30:30,475 --> 00:30:33,375 while we were still weak at the right 471 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:37,840 time Christ died for the ungodly. Do you think it's 472 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,200 any coincidence that he came when he 473 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,955 came? Pray out to me, I would say, can I be 474 00:30:44,955 --> 00:30:48,715 poisoned and and die in my sleep? Or it 475 00:30:48,715 --> 00:30:52,500 could have been an electric chair in 2019. Or it could have 476 00:30:52,500 --> 00:30:56,179 been a lethal injection, or he could have been killed, 477 00:30:56,340 --> 00:31:00,120 when they were trying to wipe out all of the babies. But instead, he comes 478 00:31:00,260 --> 00:31:03,815 at the point in history where the most brutal way to 479 00:31:03,815 --> 00:31:07,655 die is the way to die. Do you think that's coincidence? He 480 00:31:07,655 --> 00:31:11,419 just so happened on a Roman cross? No. He said, I'll take the most 481 00:31:11,419 --> 00:31:15,179 amount of pain for the most amount of time if that's 482 00:31:15,179 --> 00:31:18,975 what it takes. Why? Because he was the lamb who was slain before 483 00:31:19,195 --> 00:31:22,635 the foundation of the world. Redemption is in his 484 00:31:22,635 --> 00:31:23,135 nature. 485 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:30,520 This is the death we should have died. This 486 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:34,095 is the death we should have died. And as a matter of fact, 487 00:31:34,315 --> 00:31:36,415 it is the death that we died. 488 00:31:38,555 --> 00:31:42,299 We need to understand that we were so corrupted in our 489 00:31:42,299 --> 00:31:45,520 flesh. Mankind had been so corrupted 490 00:31:45,980 --> 00:31:49,635 in our flesh that we could not just be forgiven, we 491 00:31:49,635 --> 00:31:51,415 had to be crucified. 492 00:31:53,395 --> 00:31:57,230 We had to be crucified. Romans 493 00:31:57,230 --> 00:32:00,910 6:6 to 7 says, we know that our old 494 00:32:00,910 --> 00:32:04,695 self our old self 495 00:32:04,695 --> 00:32:08,455 was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be 496 00:32:08,455 --> 00:32:12,135 brought to nothing so that we would no longer be 497 00:32:12,135 --> 00:32:15,750 enslaved to sin for one who has died has 498 00:32:15,750 --> 00:32:19,450 been set free from sin. Galatians 2:20 499 00:32:19,510 --> 00:32:22,410 says, I have been crucified with Christ. 500 00:32:23,174 --> 00:32:27,015 Nevertheless, I live yet not I, but Christ lives in me. The 501 00:32:27,015 --> 00:32:30,375 life that I live now, I live by faith in the son of God who 502 00:32:30,375 --> 00:32:34,179 loved me and gave himself for me. That should be our life verse 503 00:32:34,179 --> 00:32:38,020 every single day of the week. I have been crucified with 504 00:32:38,020 --> 00:32:41,654 Christ. Literally, I died with him. 505 00:32:44,274 --> 00:32:47,895 Jesus did not just die for us, he died as us. 506 00:32:49,350 --> 00:32:53,110 He did not just die for us, he died as 507 00:32:53,110 --> 00:32:56,550 us. The accomplishment of the cross 508 00:32:56,550 --> 00:32:59,915 places us in a present future life instead of a 509 00:32:59,915 --> 00:33:03,755 past present reality. Our old nature has been 510 00:33:03,755 --> 00:33:07,055 killed and our past has been redeemed. I love 511 00:33:07,260 --> 00:33:11,100 I love so much that Jesus' very first miracle 512 00:33:11,100 --> 00:33:14,780 was turning water into wine. And you know why I love it so 513 00:33:14,780 --> 00:33:17,955 much? Wine takes time. Right? 514 00:33:19,055 --> 00:33:22,735 You don't just put the pray. I still hadn't figured out how that works, by 515 00:33:22,735 --> 00:33:26,429 the way. I said, I told y'all that's I God need a little 516 00:33:26,429 --> 00:33:30,110 bit more time. I just now realized that. I don't know how to thresh or 517 00:33:30,110 --> 00:33:33,835 press grapes yet, but I'll get there. Wine 518 00:33:33,835 --> 00:33:36,894 takes time. Am I right? There's a fermentation 519 00:33:37,355 --> 00:33:41,070 process, but look at what Jesus did. He gave the 520 00:33:41,070 --> 00:33:43,410 water a past it never had. 521 00:33:46,190 --> 00:33:48,690 I don't know if I'm even talking to anybody today. 522 00:33:51,695 --> 00:33:55,235 He gave the water a pass it never had. 523 00:33:57,215 --> 00:34:00,990 The the cross gives us 524 00:34:00,990 --> 00:34:04,610 a present future reality instead of this 525 00:34:04,670 --> 00:34:08,265 present past mentality that we're always walking in. 526 00:34:08,725 --> 00:34:12,085 We're always looking back, oh, I did this and I'm so this, and our mind 527 00:34:12,085 --> 00:34:15,780 is back here when we have been crucified with him. That means 528 00:34:15,780 --> 00:34:19,400 all that is dead too. Now, I am responsible 529 00:34:19,540 --> 00:34:23,364 to live a present future life. I 530 00:34:23,364 --> 00:34:25,465 am presently wonderful 531 00:34:27,205 --> 00:34:31,030 because of the cross. I love the way Graham Cook says it. 532 00:34:31,030 --> 00:34:34,710 I'm not everything I'm supposed to be yet, but when he 533 00:34:34,710 --> 00:34:36,409 died, I died. 534 00:34:38,895 --> 00:34:41,555 When he died, I died. 535 00:34:44,015 --> 00:34:47,368 Most of us has Spirit our entire lives living past, 536 00:34:47,455 --> 00:34:49,219 present and not present 537 00:34:52,639 --> 00:34:54,260 future. The work of the cross, 538 00:34:58,925 --> 00:35:02,625 the gospel of Jesus is not about improving your life 539 00:35:03,085 --> 00:35:06,890 or learning to be kind to your neighbor. The 540 00:35:06,890 --> 00:35:09,710 gospel is not, I used to do drugs, and now I don't. 541 00:35:11,130 --> 00:35:14,945 The gospel is not, I used to be mean to my wife, and 542 00:35:14,945 --> 00:35:18,705 now I'm kind to her. That's you can find that any 543 00:35:18,705 --> 00:35:22,180 other place. You can find that in other 544 00:35:22,180 --> 00:35:25,780 religions. You can find that at AA meetings. You can find that in a number 545 00:35:25,780 --> 00:35:28,180 of places in the world. And I'll and the world will tell you, you can 546 00:35:28,260 --> 00:35:32,005 sometimes you can even find that in yourself. You've all known 547 00:35:32,005 --> 00:35:35,765 people that have gotten sober or got older and and stopped being 548 00:35:35,765 --> 00:35:39,500 so mean and crass. That's not what the 549 00:35:39,500 --> 00:35:43,340 gospel is about. The gospel was about and the cross was 550 00:35:43,340 --> 00:35:46,480 restoring mankind back to the family of God. 551 00:35:47,805 --> 00:35:51,404 He restored us back into the family of 552 00:35:51,404 --> 00:35:54,384 God, a place we could not go 553 00:35:54,924 --> 00:35:58,560 before the cross. We are 554 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:01,619 all of Adam, and therefore, we all have the same problem. 555 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:06,339 And Jesus is the solution for the problem. 556 00:36:07,785 --> 00:36:11,165 Jesus said in John 14, I am 557 00:36:11,625 --> 00:36:15,385 the way, the truth, and the life. That phrase, I am, is the 558 00:36:15,385 --> 00:36:19,050 exact same phrase that he used later when he when they asked, 559 00:36:19,050 --> 00:36:22,810 are are you Jesus? He says, I'm him. It's the same phrase. It's 560 00:36:22,810 --> 00:36:25,930 in Exodus when they said, who are we gonna say send us? And God said, 561 00:36:25,930 --> 00:36:29,644 I am. Jesus reveals that he is God and he 562 00:36:29,644 --> 00:36:33,484 is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only way to have 563 00:36:33,484 --> 00:36:37,250 a relationship with the father, and he did it through the means 564 00:36:37,250 --> 00:36:38,070 of the cross. 565 00:36:43,915 --> 00:36:47,275 From the beginning, all God has wanted is a 566 00:36:47,275 --> 00:36:50,635 family with us included in 567 00:36:50,635 --> 00:36:54,380 it. And everything that has happened 568 00:36:54,380 --> 00:36:57,040 along the way has separated us from that, 569 00:36:59,340 --> 00:37:00,880 separated us from that. 570 00:37:03,165 --> 00:37:06,625 And there have been things that have been good enough 571 00:37:07,565 --> 00:37:11,010 over the centuries, Atonement, 572 00:37:13,070 --> 00:37:16,850 sacrifices, but it was never good enough. 573 00:37:18,110 --> 00:37:19,810 None of it was ever good enough. 574 00:37:22,974 --> 00:37:25,075 So god said, I'll do it myself. 575 00:37:27,510 --> 00:37:30,970 Every other religion, you have to find your way to God. 576 00:37:31,430 --> 00:37:34,650 But in Christianity, God says, I'll find my way to you. 577 00:37:36,635 --> 00:37:38,414 I'll find my way to you. 578 00:37:50,020 --> 00:37:53,205 If the focus is healing and life change and active service, 579 00:37:54,405 --> 00:37:57,925 then the gospel's not any different. But when we 580 00:37:57,925 --> 00:38:01,525 understand that Jesus is restoring us back into the family of God, then we have 581 00:38:01,525 --> 00:38:05,160 a relationship with the father through the Holy Spirit. So how 582 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:07,660 much more precious is the blood of Jesus 583 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:12,615 when I know that I can be relieved of 584 00:38:12,615 --> 00:38:16,154 that overwhelming feeling I've carried my whole life 585 00:38:16,535 --> 00:38:20,079 and I can walk free understanding that it 586 00:38:20,079 --> 00:38:23,680 was bigger than that. It's so much bigger than I can 587 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:27,359 understand. I'll never get it. I don't even know if I'll get it when I 588 00:38:27,359 --> 00:38:30,935 cross over Jordan. But for now, the cross has become 589 00:38:30,995 --> 00:38:34,595 even more powerful when I see exactly what Jesus has done in my 590 00:38:34,595 --> 00:38:38,420 place. He has given me back the authority that 591 00:38:38,420 --> 00:38:42,020 I abdicated. He's restored me back into a relationship with the 592 00:38:42,020 --> 00:38:44,680 father. He has empowered me with the Holy Spirit 593 00:38:46,785 --> 00:38:50,325 for spiritual warfare. And that spiritual warfare is making 594 00:38:50,545 --> 00:38:54,085 disciples of all nations, telling of the gospel 595 00:38:54,305 --> 00:38:58,080 that Jesus came and died in my pray. And when he died, I 596 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:01,140 died. And now I'm restored back into relationship with the father. 597 00:39:03,005 --> 00:39:06,045 How precious is the blood of Jesus? Worship team, you come out, and I'll pick 598 00:39:06,045 --> 00:39:09,724 my jacket up. How 599 00:39:09,724 --> 00:39:13,299 precious is the blood of Jesus to you? How 600 00:39:13,299 --> 00:39:15,000 small have we made the cross? 601 00:39:19,515 --> 00:39:22,415 The blood of Jesus will never lose its power to love. 602 00:39:23,355 --> 00:39:27,195 It will never lose its power to forgive. It will never lose its power 603 00:39:27,195 --> 00:39:30,870 to restore. It will never lose its power to a point. It 604 00:39:30,870 --> 00:39:34,310 will never lose its power to redeem. It will 605 00:39:34,310 --> 00:39:36,890 never lose its power to redeem. 606 00:39:38,845 --> 00:39:42,465 It will never lose its power to transcend our thinking. 607 00:39:42,685 --> 00:39:46,420 It will never lose its power to accomplish everything 608 00:39:46,420 --> 00:39:50,200 that God has set out to do. He could have gotten to a to b, 609 00:39:50,740 --> 00:39:54,065 a 1000000 different ways and this is the way he chose to do it. 610 00:39:57,025 --> 00:39:58,964 This is the way he chose to do it. 611 00:40:00,704 --> 00:40:04,520 How precious is the blood? It's for this reason I 612 00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:08,120 shout. When y'all see me acting stupid down 613 00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:08,620 here. 614 00:40:13,335 --> 00:40:17,175 When you see me with my earbuds in singing and you don't wanna hear 615 00:40:17,175 --> 00:40:21,020 it. When 616 00:40:21,020 --> 00:40:24,620 you see me on my face. When you see me 617 00:40:24,620 --> 00:40:28,320 crying in that corner. When you see me praying over another brother. 618 00:40:31,465 --> 00:40:35,305 This is why. It's 619 00:40:35,305 --> 00:40:39,010 always been Jesus. It's always going to be Jesus. It's 620 00:40:39,010 --> 00:40:42,450 never gonna stop being Jesus. And the power of his 621 00:40:42,450 --> 00:40:44,795 death and the beauty of his resurrection. 622 00:41:01,885 --> 00:41:04,945 Forgotten the power of the cross and the work that God has accomplished. 623 00:41:07,405 --> 00:41:10,819 But now, in this season, in this 624 00:41:10,819 --> 00:41:14,500 moment, at this time in history, I repent and I 625 00:41:14,500 --> 00:41:18,099 look to the beauty of the cross, and I see the blood that was shed, 626 00:41:18,099 --> 00:41:21,755 and I understand that this is bigger than me. God 627 00:41:21,755 --> 00:41:25,535 is restoring all of mankind back into his family. 628 00:41:25,755 --> 00:41:29,500 And we when he died we died with him. And I don't have 629 00:41:29,500 --> 00:41:32,800 to live back here. I don't have to carry that weight. 630 00:41:37,295 --> 00:41:40,835 This is the reason we shout. This is the reason we celebrate. 631 00:41:40,975 --> 00:41:44,630 This is the reason we proclaim his death until he comes 632 00:41:44,630 --> 00:41:47,609 again. This is the reason why 633 00:41:48,230 --> 00:41:51,775 we worship. So stand with me. 634 00:41:52,795 --> 00:41:54,735 If you made the cross too small, 635 00:41:56,635 --> 00:42:00,200 this is a moment for you too As we 636 00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:03,740 worship our risen king. See, he's not dead anymore. 637 00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:09,495 He's not dead. Come on. 638 00:42:10,275 --> 00:42:13,955 Because if he if he just died, then what good 639 00:42:13,955 --> 00:42:16,800 was that? But when he rose, I rose too. 640 00:42:17,980 --> 00:42:21,740 So we celebrate that this morning. That 641 00:42:21,740 --> 00:42:25,280 he didn't die, and it was brutal and beautiful. 642 00:42:25,420 --> 00:42:27,655 That was horrible and holy. 643 00:42:29,635 --> 00:42:33,155 But when he died, we died and now we live in newness of 644 00:42:33,155 --> 00:42:37,000 life as sons and daughters of the risen king king, and for that reason we 645 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:40,839 worship. If you need to pray with somebody this morning for any need, I'm 646 00:42:40,839 --> 00:42:44,039 gonna ask brothers and sisters to come down here, and you can come down here 647 00:42:44,039 --> 00:42:47,075 and pray. But I just I would just like for us to just worship this 648 00:42:47,075 --> 00:42:50,694 king. How precious is the blood? 649 00:42:51,315 --> 00:42:54,680 It will never lose its power and I I get to 650 00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:58,220 celebrate with you for all of eternity. 651 00:42:58,599 --> 00:42:59,500 Let's worship.