Sermon Central
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The Power Of A Crucified Life
Contributed by Dr. Stanley Vasu on Aug 20, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: THIS SERMON IS ABOUT THE POWER OF A CRUCIFIED LIFE AND HIGHLIGHTS THE NECESSITY OF DYING TO SELF AND TAKING UP THE CROSS DAILY IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE THE ABUNDANCE OF THE LIFE OF GOD IN US .
THE POWER OF A CRUCIFIED LIFE
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OUTLINE
1. DYING TO SELF AND TAKING UP YOUR CROSS DAILY
2. TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
3. LOVING GOD MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE
4. A NEW COVENANT AND A NEW HEART
5. REWARDS FOR SACRIFICING EVERYTHING
6. POWER OVER THE ENEMY AND HONOUR FROM GOD
7. PEACE OF MIND AND A HEALTHY BODY
THE MESSAGE
THE POWER OF A CRUCIFIED LIFE
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1. DYING TO SELF AND TAKING UP YOUR CROSS DAILY
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The Lord wants us to die to ourself and let Christ live in us . That is the only way in which we can live a victorious life free from the bondage of sin and satan. Only when we are totally surrendered to God , we can bear much fruit and be used in the Kingdom of God mightily . We must deny ourselves and take up the cross daily to follow the Lord. We must deny our selfish desires and longings and offer our lives on the altar of the Lord everyday and dedicate ourselves to fulfill His will in our lives. Then we will be filled with the life of God and we will experience life in all its fulness.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. "
" I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. "
" For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.
The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. "
" Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. "
"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."
" Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. "
" Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. "
" The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. "
2. TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
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The Lord promises to fill us with His Holy Spirit to transform our hearts and lives . Our flesh constantly fails to please God and obey His commandments. Therefore when we acknowledge our failures and our helpless condition and throw ourselves into the hands of God , the Lord will fill us with His Holy Spirit and empower us to live a life pleasing to Him. The secret is to stop struggling in our flesh to obey God. We must realise our utter helplessness and humbly surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit and let Him take total control of our lives . Then the Holy Spirit will transform our hearts and produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Only then can we live a life that is pleasing to God. We must hunger and thirst after righteousness .Only then the Lord would satisfy our longing and do an amazing work of grace in our lives . If we are careless and indifferent concerning our walk with the Lord we will never enter the depths of intimacy with God . May the Lord draw us close to Him and use us for His glory.
