Easter - THE POWER OF THE CROSS
INTRODUCTION:
Have you heard of the book called
“The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook?”
It’s a survival manual, based on interviews with experts (You can view this book online at Amazon.com)
Here are some of the subjects covered in the book:
• How to escape from quicksand
• How to jump from a building into a dumpster
• How to perform a tracheotomy
• How to break down a door
• How to hot-wire a car
• How to fend off a shark
• How to leap from a motorcycle to a car
It has sold over a million copies.
If you read it you will find that some of the advice is quite predictable.
Like in the part how to deal with a charging bull,
Rule 1 “DO NOT ANTAGONIZE THE BULL.”
Don’t say, “You stupid bull.” That seems fairly obvious.
But sometimes the advice is quite difficult
“How to survive if your parachute fails to open.”
“First, signal to a jumping companion.”
My question is what if you’re not jumping with a companion.
Let me give you a little test of your survival skills:
What should you do if confronted by an angry mountain lion?
A, run;
B, play dead;
C, make yourself look bigger by opening your coat;
D, sing a gentle, happy song.
THE CORRECT ANSWER IS C--
make yourself look bigger by opening your coat.
“The principle behind this book is a simple one.
You just never know.
You never really know what life will throw at you,
You never know what’s waiting for you around the corner
You never really know when you might be called upon to choose life or death with your actions.
But when you are called,
You need to know what to do.
That’s why this book is written.”
And that’s why this book was written
That we might know what to do now to be prepared for the life to come…
Lets take a look inside…
TEXT - 1 COR. 1:17-18
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
[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.
My purpose this morning is to boast in the Power of the Cross
To tell you that all those who reject the message of the cross
Are lost and dying and headed for hell
But that there is still time JESUS will save all those who come to Him through the Power of the Cross
Prayer…
I. WE LIVE IN A RELIGIOUS WORLD
I went on line the other night and found a list of websites for major denominations…Here is a sample
Adventists
American Baptists
Anglicans
Apostolic
Assembly of God
Baptist southern
Bible fellowship
Brethren
Byzantine
Calvary Chapel
Charismatic Episcopal
Church of God
Evangelical free
Friends
Foursquare
Greek orthodox
Mennonite
Missionary Baptist
Orthodox
Pentecostal
Primitive
Reformed
United Methodist
And Wesleyan
So many, many denominations
How many_______ does it take to change a light bulb?
1. Charismatics: Only one, since their hands are always in the air anyway.
2. Presbyterians: None. God has predestined when the lights will be on. And off.
3. Catholics? None. They always use candles.
4. Episcopalians: Ten. One to actually change the bulb, and nine to say how much they liked the old one.
5. Church of Christ: None. There was no evidence in the New Testament that light bulbs were ever changed.
6. Baptists: CHANGE?!?
7. Pentecostals: Ten. One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.
As I said we live in a religious world
II. BUT REALLY THERE ARE ONLY TWO RELIGIONS
There is Religion A and Religion B.
RELIGION A
IS “FAITH” IN NAME ONLY
As described by
2 Tim. 3:5
having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
It is baptisms and
Eloquent speech
It is ritual prayers
And good works
Ceremony
Customs
And Tradition
It’s the practice of attending church
Without genuine faith in the living Lord.
In fact many who have religion A
know nothing about God or the BIBLE
And have no assurance of heaven
And no belief in HELL
Religion A focuses on the outward appearance and is concerned with what other people can see
Religion A looks for loopholes in scriptures in order to avoid obeying them
Religion A honors the past and rejects that God could be active in the present
Religion A always seeks for some deeper truth, but only in order to control people
THE SECOND IS RELIGION B,
RELIGION B
Is Faith that is based upon a right relationship with God
It is a life-transforming experience by the Holy Spirit
It begins with definite commitment to Jesus Christ
It provides an ongoing personal relationship with the Father
It involves forgiveness.
Repentance
Prayer
Commitment
Sacrifice
Discipleship
Giving
Caring
And freedom
Our Text says 1 Cor. 1:17
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Religion A is Baptisms and Human words of Wisdom
Religion B is the Gospel and the powerful message of the Cross
Which is your religion?
Mine is the Powerful Cross…
III. THE POWERFUL CROSS
The message of the cross has Power
Two kinds
1. IT HAS POWER TO MAKE PEOPLE MAD
I was doing some research the other day and discovered that there are about 75 prophecies in the Bible that tell us that the Gospel will prosper…
However, when the followers of Christ began preaching This Powerful Message, they were met with opposition
Consider Steven, in Acts 7:54 when he preached the Gospel the religious
…were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.
WHY?
A. WHEN RELIGION MEETS THE LIVING GOD IT HAS TO FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL
How has it survived?
It has survived on the POWER it has to Blind men from seeing
That a life lived following a religion
May look like the real thing
May feel like the real thing
But make no mistake
It is not the real thing
An old fellow had been in the north woods for weeks by himself, camping out. Each night at dusk he built a campfire, boiled water for coffee, and took out his skillet to fry up some bacon for dinner. As he was sitting by the fire one night, the water boiling and the bacon sizzling, he heard a tremendous racket in the brush. The sound was like a roaring freight train, and as trees fell over and branches snapped, the biggest bear he’d ever seen lumbered into the clearing. On the bear’s back was a tough-looking hombre holding a seven-foot live rattlesnake in his hands.
The man shouted and screamed as he brought the bear to a skidding halt, bit the head off the rattlesnake, and flung it into the brush. Then he slid off the bear’s back, turned, and hit him between the eyes, knocking him unconscious.; The camper was speechless as this wild-eyed renegade walked over to the fire, tossed the boiling coffee down his throat, drank the hot grease from the skillet, and ate all of the bacon in one bite. As he wiped his hands with poison ivy and slapped the bear back to consciousness, he turned to the camper and said, “Partner, I’m sorry I can’t stay around and visit with you a while, but I’ve got to keep moving ‘cause a real bad dude is chasing me!”
The real thing has real power
1 Cor. 1:18
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.
1 Cor. 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
Why are religious people offended by the cross?
B. They are offended because we who believe are so dogmatic that no one can be saved except through the sacrifice of Jesus upon that cross
It is angering because when they hear it
those who are ignorant of it or not submitted to Christ,
feel the convicting power of the Holy Spirit
who convicts the lost that unless they turn to Christ they will be condemned
It exposes their deeds as evil,
and the fruit of their life as meaningless
Further He reveals Christ,
the truth of the Gospel
and the reality of His saving power.
It is an offensive
Because it reveals that all our righteousness is like filthy rags
It reveals lost condition
and it reveals that all who are lost must seek salvation God’s way
That is - through Christ.
But it only makes people mad and offends
Because it’s power is so contrary to the way people live their lives
2. The real power of the cross is its ability to transform a person.
There is a story about a little girl who proudly wore a shiny cross on a chain around her neck. One day she was approached by a man who said to her, “Little girl, don’t you know that the cross Jesus died on wasn’t beautiful like the one you’re wearing? It was an ugly, wooden thing.” To which the girl replied, “Yes, I know. But they told me in Sunday School that whatever Jesus touches, He changes.”
The gospel was not given for our information but for our transformation
(Insert your own transformation story here)
We were sitting the other night at Men’s meeting reflecting on the grace of God and his ability to save
Pastor Ron and Pastor David were remembering that at one time they tried to kill each other in a bar room fight..but now..
Yoga can’t change a man like that
Bahai can’t
Islam cant
Jehovahs witness Can’t
Further
Catholic cant
Baptist can’t
And now Ill say it
(Your Denomination)
But Jesus CAN
As Jesus said John 3:14-16
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, [15] that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
[16] "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
CONCLUSION:
Oswald Chambers once said
All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ,
all hell is terribly afraid of it,
while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning. -
Men will prepare for the quicksand
The mountain lion
The charging bull
But will neglect the power of the cross
And say
I’ve got my religion
I am OK
But Paul said “You are Perishing”
1 Cor. 1:18
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.
We have a powerful message
It makes some people mad
But it transforms all those who will look to the cross and call upon the name of the Lord….
