When I Am Lifted Up -- The Importance And Power Of The Cross Series

WHEN I AM LIFTED UP --THE POWER AND IMPORTANCE OF THE CROSS.

John 12:27-35

Gospel of John Series 2021 (Message # )

Greenmount and O’Leary Churches of Christ

September 04, 2021

Video Link: https://youtu.be/GqgSyGR1Tb4

INTRODUCTON:

1) Do you remember the words of some of those beautiful hymns of the faith?

A.) “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”

B.) “Would you be free from your burden of sin? There’s power in the blood! Power in the blood!”

C) “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel’s veins …”

D) “When I See the Blood, I will pass, I will pass over you.”

E) “O, the blood of Jesus … it washes white as snow!”

F)“On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame.”

2) We have come to a time when words, hymns, and even Scriptures like these are disappearing from churches and Christianity.

A) It is no longer popular to speak on topics such as the blood, and suffering of Christ, heaven, hell, salvation, being true to the word of God, or other such topics that are vital to the Christian faith.

B) But today as we continue in our messages from the Gospel of John, we come to the twelfth chapter, and in this chapter, Jesus addressed the matter of the cross and his sacrificial death on the cross.

ba.) Jesus not only mentioned this topic but declared the importance of the cross.

I) THE CROSS WAS ALWAYS A STRUGGLE FOR JESUS.

1) It was a struggle when Satan tempted him with an alternative plan.

A) Luke 4:1-11

B) Satan challenged him on his deity (verses 3-4)

ba.) If Jesus was really God, it would not be a big deal to turn stones into bread.

bb.) After forty days of being without food, Jesus was certainly hungry and would have loved to have had a nice biscuit.

C) Satan challenged him with power, and the kingdoms of the world. (Verses 5-8)

ca.) The very reason Jesus had come into this world was to establish the Kingdom of God in this world.

cb.) Satan made it so easy.

cba.) Just bow down one time and Satan promised to give him all the kingdoms of the world, and Jesus would not have to go to the cross to achieve his goal and plan.

.01) The lies of Satan always sound good, but they are only empty lies.

2) The cross was a struggle when Peter declared Jesus should never go to the cross.

A) Matthew 16:21-23

B) We know that Peter was blind to the plan of God and did not understand the necessity of the cross.

ba.) From Peter’s perspective Jesus was too popular for the cross to be an option.

bb.) The plans which Peter had for Jesus did not include the cross.

bc.) Jesus rebuked Peter for the words that represented the great temptation Jesus faced from the beginning to the end of his ministry.

bca.) That temptation was to avoid going to the cross.

bcb.) If there was a way other than the cross, the human side of Jesus wanted to take it

bcc.) Even on his final night before the crucifixion Jesus wrestled with thoughts of the cross.

.01) His struggle was so great that his blood vessels were bursting under the pressure; Even so, He declared “Not my will, but yours be done.

.02) Knowing the terribleness of the cross He still surrendered himself to the plan of God, for he knew there was no other way for man to come to salvation, than through the cross, and the blood of Jesus.

.021) Our Lord surrendered to the will of God, but He still struggled with the cross.

3) Even here at the end of Jesus ministry the cross was a major challenge to Jesus.

A.) The nearer He came to the cross, the greater was His desire to avoid it.

II) THE CROSS WAS THE DIVIDING LING BETWEEN THE JUDGMENT OF GOD AND THE GRACE OF GOD.

1) The cross became judgment on the world.

A) Several years ago, the Gaithers wrote the hymn: “It is Finished”

aa.) The words of the first verse of that hymn go:

There's a line that is drawn through the ages

On that line stands an old rugged cross

On that cross, a battle is raging

For the gain of man's soul or it's loss

ab.) That song is exactly the description of the Cross.

aba.) It is a line that has been drawn through the ages and the fate of man’s soul depends on which side of that line we live our lives and anchor our souls.

abb.) The eternal destiny of each person depends on our view of Jesus and the cross.