Participants: Jim Gilley, Pastor
Series Code: POF
Program Code: POF000004A
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00:26 Hello, and welcome to Pillars of Faith.
00:29 My name is C.A. Murray, 00:31 and it is my privilege and pleasure 00:32 to welcome you to another seating, 00:34 another session, as we go into the Word of God, 00:38 as we examine the pillars of our faith, 00:41 those things that we teach, that we believe, 00:43 that make us who we are and what we are, 00:46 and assure us that we're walking 00:48 in the way of Jesus Christ. 00:50 So we welcome you to another seating together. 00:53 Our speaker is the past president of this ministry, 00:56 one who had served the Lord for so many, many years, 00:59 Pastor Jim Gilley. 01:01 And he has been preaching powerfully 01:03 from the Word of God. 01:05 We have seen, and heard from him 01:08 an exposition of our great high priest, 01:10 that is of course, Jesus Christ 01:12 from the Book of Hebrews. 01:13 Then a sermon that I particularly liked, 01:16 God's Witness Protection Plan, drawn from Isaiah 43. 01:21 Truly amazing grace, our last seating and of course, 01:25 tonight we're gonna be speaking on the Cross of Christ. 01:29 And that itself as a title is something that I think 01:32 we'll be studying throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. 01:35 There could be sermons and books, 01:38 and sermons and books, and sermons and books 01:40 written on that most complex subject, 01:45 yet beautifully simple. 01:48 The Cross of Christ, what it means, 01:50 what Christ did for us on that cross, 01:53 and what happened from some three days later. 01:55 So we're gonna be talking about the Cross of Christ tonight. 01:58 And I'm quite sure that God will bless Pastor Gilley 02:01 in this message, as he has so many, 02:03 many times before. 02:05 Our scripture lesson for the evening comes to us 02:07 from the Book of 1 Corinthians, 02:10 and that I invite you to turn to 1 Corinthians 02:12 there in the New Testament with me if you will. 02:14 1 Corinthians 2. 02:16 And we're going to read just the first and second verses 02:20 of 1 Corinthians 2, and then we will pray and... 02:26 then we'll call our speaker. 02:27 1 Corinthians 2:1 and 2. 02:34 The Bible says, "And I, brethren, 02:38 when I came to you, did not come with 02:41 excellence of speech or of wisdom, 02:44 declaring to you the testimony of God. 02:48 For I determined not to know anything among you, 02:52 except Jesus Christ, and him crucified." 02:58 Powerful, powerful words 03:00 that will serve as a muse for Pastor Jim Gilley, 03:03 as he speaks to us in just a few moments. 03:06 I ask you now to bow your heads with me 03:08 in a word of prayer if you will. 03:11 Gracious Father, how happy we are 03:16 to know that Christ is our Lord, 03:19 our King, and soon coming Savior. 03:23 We are so happy to know that 03:27 our lives can be hid in Christ Jesus, 03:31 and that He loves us with an everlasting love. 03:35 We thank You for the power of Your word. 03:37 For it is truly a lamp unto our feet, 03:40 a light into our path. 03:42 Truly it shines in the darkness as a beacon 03:46 that if we will follow will lead us all the way home. 03:52 And so now Father, we ask a very special blessing 03:55 upon Your manservant, speak to him, 03:59 and then speak through him. 04:02 Touch our hearts, water our thirsty souls, 04:06 give us the power of the word, 04:09 and then let that word fill us to overflowing, 04:11 and motivate us, encourage us to do great things for you, 04:16 and to hold on until Christ comes again, 04:21 which we know will be very, very soon. 04:24 We thank you Father for Jesus, for His sacrifice, 04:28 for in Christ we live, and move, and have our being. 04:33 We can do nothing without Him, 04:36 yet we can do all things through Him. 04:39 Bless Jim now, as he speaks to our hearts, 04:42 and we thank you dear Father 04:44 in Jesus' blessed name, amen and amen. 04:52 Thank you, brother. 04:57 Thank you, Brother C.A., for that beautiful prayer. 05:00 Friends, someone mentioned to me 05:02 once that they were wishing that 05:05 we could record Brother C.A.'s prayers. 05:09 I think that's a wonderful idea, 05:12 and if you know anybody at 3ABN with influence, 05:15 you may suggest that to them. 05:17 And perhaps, we can still get that done. 05:21 I believe that it's something that 05:23 I would love to have is a CD of just his normal prayers, 05:30 but he is asking the Lord to bless the Word. 05:34 Well, the south coast of China, on a hill overlooking Macao, 05:40 Portuguese settlers once built a massive cathedral, 05:45 but a typhoon proved stronger 05:49 than the work of man's hands. 05:53 And it destroyed that great cathedral, 05:57 all except the front wall. 06:00 And down through the ages, that front wall has stood. 06:05 I read a story about that front wall, 06:08 it made me want to see it. 06:10 When I went to Macao, I left the tour that I was on, 06:14 and I took a cab and went down to that place, 06:18 found that cathedral, and looked at it 06:21 because I had heard the story of Sir John Bowring. 06:25 He was shipwrecked and the harbor, 06:27 a very treacherous harbor there at Macao. 06:31 He was shipwrecked, he was holding on to wreckage, 06:33 he thought he was swimming to shore, 06:35 but he was swimming out to sea. 06:39 And it would have been his total destruction eventually. 06:44 The fog broke, and he looked through that fog, 06:48 and just for a moment, he caught a glimpse 06:52 of that cross, and he turned, 06:55 and he started swimming towards that cross 06:59 and his life was saved. 07:01 Later on, he wrote that hymn, that's in our hymn note, 07:05 "In the Cross of Christ I glory, 07:08 towering o'er the wrecks of time, 07:11 all the light of sacred story 07:14 gathers round its head sublime. 07:19 You know, things come and go, 07:22 but the Cross of Christ still stands. 07:26 And our text today, "And I, brethren came to you 07:29 not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, 07:32 declaring to you the testimony of God. 07:34 For I determined to know anything among you 07:38 except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." 07:43 Now, when the Apostle Paul said this, 07:45 he said it to the Corinthians, he had already been to Athens, 07:50 he'd been to Marseille, 07:52 he had had what the intellectuals call 07:55 the greatest sermon that he ever preached. 07:58 The only one problem with that great sermon 08:00 is there were no converts. 08:03 It was very philosophical. 08:05 They had all these different images, 08:08 they had an image to this god and to that god, 08:12 it's just so they wouldn't miss out 08:13 they had wondered the unknown god. 08:16 Paul comes along and he is philosophical, 08:18 and he says, I know who this unknown god is? 08:21 And he begins to witness of the God of heaven. 08:26 But you know something, the philosophy did not sell. 08:32 People were not convicted, and when he went on to Corinth, 08:37 he said I'm not going to be philosophical anymore. 08:41 I'm going to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 08:47 And he did, and there were multitudes that were converted, 08:52 as he preached Jesus and Him crucified. 08:57 Now Paul says that to the Corinthians it was foolish. 09:01 He said from verse 17 and 18, 09:03 "For Christ did not send me to baptize, 09:05 but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, 09:09 lest the Cross of Christ should be of no effect. 09:12 For the message of the cross is foolishness 09:16 to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, 09:21 it is the power of God." 09:25 And then with a flash in his eye, 09:27 he said in verse 23, 09:29 "But we preach Christ crucified, 09:32 to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness." 09:38 Now, the word foolishness in the Greek is 'moria'. 09:42 We get our word moronic from it, or insane. 09:46 In other words, it's just crazy to preach the Cross, 09:51 that's what the Greeks thought, 09:53 and the Jews, it was a stumbling block, 09:56 because the Cross was such a horrible thing, 09:59 and to preach that. 10:01 That was a stumbling block to the Jew, 10:04 and foolishness to the Greek. 10:08 Paul says that God's foolishness is wiser than man. 10:15 You know there are people that try to focus us 10:18 away from the Cross today. 10:20 There is a movement among not only our denomination, 10:24 but all denominations, 10:26 it's called moral influence theology. 10:29 It's not new. 10:30 It began first about 800 A.D. 10:34 And it will raise its ugly head about every 150, 200 years, 10:39 and it will have a following for a while. 10:42 But when you really study the scripture, 10:45 there is absolutely nothing to sustain it. 10:49 And you know, the apostle said, 10:51 because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, 10:55 and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 11:01 And then he said in Galatians 6:14, 11:05 "I glory in the Cross of Christ." 11:09 Now there are many things Paul could have gloried in. 11:13 When you look into the ministry of Jesus, 11:15 there are some many things. 11:17 First of all, His preexistence, Christ never had a beginning. 11:22 When He was born in Bethlehem, 11:25 that was not His birth, that was His incarnation. 11:29 He has always existed, 11:31 from everlasting to everlasting, 11:34 He has always been. 11:36 And Paul could have said, 11:38 I glory in the preexistence of Christ, but he didn't. 11:44 He could have gloried in the virgin birth of Christ, 11:48 Christ was not born, as I am born and as you. 11:52 He was born of a virgin, Mary, a teenaged girl, 11:56 she is engaged to be married, 11:58 and an angel comes to her and tells her, 12:01 you're going to have a baby. 12:02 And she has never known a man, in the biblical sense. 12:09 And so, Christ was born of a virgin. 12:15 And then he could have gloried in the teachings of Christ, 12:18 nobody ever taught like Christ. 12:21 Somebody strikes you on one cheek, 12:23 turn the other cheek, 12:25 if you had to love your enemies, 12:28 what kind of foreign policy is that. 12:31 Do you think our country would exist long in this world 12:35 with that type of foreign policy? 12:37 Somebody says, well, we ought to try it. 12:39 Well, maybe we should. 12:42 But you see, Christ was telling 12:43 you and me, how we are to live. 12:47 His teachings, unbelievable teachings, 12:52 and people would marvel at, 12:53 He taught about the law, 12:56 and He taught that the law was... 12:58 He expanded it, so that not only if you were 13:03 just to not kill your neighbor, 13:07 you were not even to hate your neighbor. 13:10 You're to love your neighbor. 13:13 He expanded the law in Matthew 5, 13:15 he gave us those beautiful beatitudes. 13:19 Look at them, the teachings of Christ are unbelievable. 13:25 I gave the Bible to a young man, 13:26 not too many years ago. 13:29 And I told him, I just want you to read 13:32 Matthew 5, 6 and 7. 13:37 This is the Sermon on the Mount and he read it, 13:42 and he gave his life to Jesus, 13:45 because he read what Jesus said. 13:48 No one has ever taught like Jesus. 13:53 And Paul could have said, 13:55 I glory in the teachings of Christ, but he didn't. 14:00 He could have gloried in the miracles of Christ. 14:03 You look at all the different healings that took place. 14:06 He is walking through Jericho, 14:08 and there is a blind Bartimaeus, 14:10 he is crying out to him, crying out to him, 14:13 and he heals him right there. 14:16 He sees Zacchaeus, he says 14:18 I want to go home with you Zacchaeus, 14:20 and he goes home with Zacchaeus, 14:21 and just the result of Zacchaeus being with him, 14:25 seeing the healings that happened, 14:27 listening to him, it changed his whole life. 14:30 You look at the hymns, he comes to the man, 14:33 who has been there by the pool, 14:36 and he's been waiting all those years 14:38 and he heals him. 14:40 Look at Peter's mother-in-law, and how He healed her. 14:45 Look at all of those, Jairus' daughter 14:49 and how she was healed, and all the different ones. 14:54 You see, my friend, 14:55 the healing power of Christ is unbelievable. 14:59 There's never been anything like it in history. 15:03 And Paul could have said, 15:05 I glory in the healing 15:08 and the miracles of Jesus. 15:12 He could have gloried in the power of Jesus. 15:16 The Bible tells us that 15:18 this world was spoken into existence 15:23 by the very words of Jesus Christ. 15:27 Read John 1, 15:29 you will see how the word 15:31 became flesh and dwelt among us. 15:35 And this powerful word, Jesus Christ, 15:39 before His incarnation in this world, 15:44 we see how that His power was so unbelievable, 15:49 and Paul could have said, I glory in the power of Christ, 15:54 but he didn't say that. 15:56 He could have said, I glory in the resurrection of Christ, 15:59 that's why if I have a Cross, it's an empty Cross, 16:04 Christ is not still on the Cross. 16:06 Christ is not still in the tomb. 16:09 There are two places in Israel, 16:12 that they know, they feel one or the other is probably 16:16 the actual place, where Christ was in the tomb. 16:20 I go to one of them, I go to Gordon's Calvary, 16:25 and we have our communion service there, 16:27 it's a garden setting and I believe with all my heart 16:30 is that's where Jesus was put in the tomb. 16:33 It fits the description 16:35 better than anything else in scripture. 16:37 H.M.S. Richards believed that. 16:39 Now I know some of the archaeologists 16:42 differ with us on that, but I am going to wait. 16:46 In fact, where He was, 16:48 where He was buried makes no difference. 16:50 It's the fact that He was resurrected. 16:54 Came out of that tomb, He is not in the tomb. 16:57 He is alive, and Paul could have said, 17:01 I glory in the resurrection of Christ. 17:05 He could have gloried in the second coming of Christ, 17:07 this is the great climatic moment towards 17:10 which all history is moving. 17:14 The clouds will break open, Christ is going to come, 17:18 and I'm looking forward to that day. 17:21 And Paul preaching the second coming 17:24 constantly could have said, 17:26 I glory in the second coming, but he didn't. 17:29 He said, I glory in the Cross of Christ. 17:36 Now, why? 17:38 Why did he glory in the Cross of Christ? 17:41 Because you see, 17:42 Christ did not come primarily to be born, 17:46 He did not come primarily to teach, 17:50 He did not come primarily to do miracles. 17:55 He came primarily to go to the Cross, 18:01 and to die on that Cross for you and for me. 18:07 When, Hay wrote his life of Lincoln, 18:11 he wrote some 5,000 pages. 18:14 And to the events surrounding 18:19 the actual death of Lincoln, 18:21 his assassination, and his death, 18:24 he did only 25 pages out of the 5,000 pages. 18:30 When Christ came, one half of John, 18:34 and one third of the other gospels are given 18:37 over to the events surrounding the death 18:41 and resurrection of Jesus Christ, 18:43 because Christ came primarily 18:49 to die for you and for me. 18:53 And when you look at that crowd, 18:56 you see what's really wrong with man. 18:59 You see the day before, or the weeks before, 19:02 a few days before, 19:04 they are shouting hosannas, 19:07 they are throwing leaves in front of him, 19:10 they are crucifying, wanting not to crucify Him, 19:13 but to make Him king. 19:15 Then they turned on Him, 19:18 and some of those same people are shouting, 19:22 crucify Him, and they are beating Him, 19:26 until He bleeds, they put a crown of thorns on His head, 19:33 they put a 250 pound cross on His shoulders, 19:39 and I believe the angels would gasp, 19:43 that we would treat our savior that way. 19:47 Our creator, our God, but they... 19:53 God did not spare Him, because if had spared Him, 19:58 you and I would be lost today without any hope. 20:03 But you know, his real suffering 20:04 was not physical, it was mental. 20:09 Every sin, everything that I've ever done, 20:13 and you've ever done, that was wrong was picked up 20:16 and the guilt of that was placed upon Him. 20:21 And we know, that it was our sins that killed Him. 20:25 Few years ago, they had a motion picture, 20:28 that was made here, it was at least 20:32 promoted here in this country. 20:35 And they talked about who crucified Jesus, 20:39 was it the Romans, or was it the Jews, 20:42 or who was it? 20:44 But you know, my friend, 20:46 I am the one that crucified Him and so did you. 20:49 That was our sins that brought about His death. 20:54 He voluntarily went to the Cross, 20:58 and died on that Cross for you and for me. 21:02 Now there are lot of things 21:03 we don't really understand about the Cross. 21:06 How could one man dying atone for all of our sins? 21:12 Well, He wasn't just a man. He was God. 21:15 One hundred percent God, one hundred percent man, 21:19 do I understand that? 21:20 No, not fully. 21:22 And I don't think anyone does, because you'd have to be God, 21:25 if you're to understand that. 21:27 It's something that we cannot fully understand, 21:30 but we trust and we believe, 21:32 because that's what the Bible tells us. 21:36 We see two things, when we look at that Cross. 21:39 First of all, it shows me 21:41 the sinful condition of mankind, 21:45 we can't change. 21:48 It shows me also the awfulness of sin. 21:51 Man cannot change himself. 21:53 Jeremiah 13:23, 21:55 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin 21:57 or the leopard his spots? 21:59 then may ye also do good, who are accustomed to do evil. 22:04 So I said, but I'm not so bad, 22:06 I'm just as good as the next person, 22:09 but the question is, are we as good as Jesus? 22:13 If we're not as good as Jesus and none of us are. 22:17 Then we need His blood to cover our sins. 22:21 We look at that Cross, and it was not necessarily 22:24 the big sins that put Jesus on the Cross. 22:27 You know Caiaphas. 22:29 What was his sin? 22:30 His sin was pride. Religious pride. 22:34 We look at Pilate. Pilate was afraid. 22:37 He was afraid to stand up, 22:40 where he could stand up to that crowd, 22:43 he was afraid, fear, sometimes that's where our problem. 22:47 We're afraid to stand up to our friends, 22:49 we're afraid to stand up where we work, 22:52 we're afraid to stand up for God. 22:54 Wherever we are, fear. 22:57 That was Pilate's sin. 23:00 Herod, immorality, impurity, 23:03 robs you of any kind of moral compass, 23:07 so that you are not able to make right decisions. 23:11 And then we look at Judas, what was his thing, greed. 23:16 I'm gonna get mine. 23:18 I'm gonna get mine. 23:20 What's keeping you from the Cross today? 23:24 If you have not accepted Jesus, 23:26 if you have not accepted His Cross, 23:28 what's keeping you from that Cross? 23:31 You know, there were lot of people, 23:33 the crowd there, was, 23:35 it says at least a 100,000 people, 23:38 up to that many, may have actually 23:40 watched the crucifixion, 23:42 because there were probably 2 million Jews 23:45 there for the Passover at that time. 23:48 And the Bible says, they're sitting down, 23:52 they watched Him there. 23:54 They took their sack lunches, and they sat down. 23:57 They didn't put any nails in Jesus, 24:00 they didn't do anything 24:01 to try to help him, or to hurt Him. 24:04 But it was just, they watched Him there the Bible says. 24:09 And there are many people who because of indifference 24:15 do not accept Jesus Christ. 24:18 The second thing that we see is, 24:21 we see God's great expression of love for man. 24:26 Years ago, I read a story, 24:29 they called the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. 24:31 He gave up the throne for this woman, 24:33 and they call it the greatest love story ever told. 24:37 I disagree 100 percent. 24:40 The Bible says, the greatest love story ever told 24:45 is the story of God 's love for you. 24:50 John 3:16 says, ":For God so loved the world, 24:53 that He gave His only begotten Son, 24:58 that whosoever believeth in Him, 25:00 should not perish, but have everlasting life." 25:03 Deuteronomy 23:5 says, 25:05 "The Lord your God turned the curse 25:07 into a blessing for you, 25:08 because the Lord your God loves you." 25:12 Psalms 146:8, "The Lord loves the righteous." 25:17 Isaiah 38:17, "But you have lovingly delivered my soul 25:23 from the pit of corruption." 25:25 Malachi 1:2, "I have loved you, says the Lord." 25:29 Ephesians 2:4, "But God, who is rich in mercy, 25:34 because of His great love, in which he loved us." 25:40 And then in 1 John 3:1, 25:43 "Behold, what manner the father has bestowed on us, 25:46 that we should be called the children of God." 25:50 John 4:8, "He who does not love, 25:54 does not know God, for God is love." 26:00 God loves you. 26:02 God loves you so much, 26:04 that He gave His only begotten Son for you. 26:08 And that son went to the Cross. 26:11 Now we get back to discussing the moral influence theology. 26:14 I've had some great people in this world 26:17 that have actually fallen for this. 26:20 And somehow they miss the story 26:24 that begins at the very beginning of the Bible 26:27 with the offering in Eden of the lamb 26:33 that was sacrificed. 26:35 Pointing forward to the Lamb of God to re-sacrifice. 26:40 And they miss it. 26:42 Somehow they miss it. 26:43 I want to read you some text. 26:45 We've got a few minutes here today. 26:46 I want to read you some text. 26:48 In Exodus 12:13, 26:51 "Now the blood shall be a sign for you, 26:54 and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, 26:57 this was the Passover, 26:58 and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you, 27:03 when I strike the land of Egypt." 27:05 Exodus 24:8, 27:08 "And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, 27:12 this is the blood of the covenant 27:14 which the Lord has made with you, 27:15 according to all his words." 27:18 And then in Matthew 26:27, 28, 27:23 We hear what Jesus said, he took the cup, 27:26 and he gave thanks, and he gave it to them, saying, 27:29 Drink from it all of it, 27:30 for this is my blood of the new covenant, 27:34 which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 27:38 This is Jesus talking, about His dying on the Cross, 27:43 the shedding of blood. 27:45 And when people come along and say, 27:47 "Oh, you've just misunderstood." 27:49 Oh, my friend, they have misunderstood. 27:51 They're not reading the Word, 27:53 and they aren't reading what God says. 27:56 And then it says in Romans 3, "For all have sinned, 28:00 and fall short of the glory of God, 28:03 being justified freely by His grace to the redemption, 28:07 that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth 28:10 as a propitiation by His blood through faith. 28:16 Romans 5:8, 9, 28:18 "For God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that, 28:21 while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 28:25 Much more then, having now, being justified by his blood, 28:29 we shall be saved from wrath through him." 28:32 Ephesians 1:7, "In him, we have redemption through his blood." 28:38 And I could go on and on. 28:40 There are so many, I'll read you a few more, 28:42 but I just want you to know 28:44 that from Genesis to Revelation, 28:47 the story of the Cross 28:49 and the blood of Jesus is prevalent 28:52 all the way through. 28:54 And it is so clear, and how people can miss that. 28:58 I have a hard time understanding. 29:00 Ephesians 2:13, 29:02 "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off, 29:06 but you have been brought near by the blood of Christ." 29:10 Colossians 1:19, 20, "For it pleased the Father that in him 29:14 all the fullness should dwell. 29:16 And by him, to reconcile all things to himself, by him, 29:21 whether things on earth, or things in heaven, 29:24 having made peace through the blood of his Cross." 29:28 And then it says in Hebrews 9:11, 12, 29:33 "But Christ came as high priest to the good things to come, 29:37 with a greater and more perfect tabernacle, 29:40 not made with hands, that is not of this creation, 29:44 not with the blood of goats and calves, 29:47 but with his own blood 29:50 He entered the most holy place, once and for all, 29:54 having obtained eternal redemption." 29:58 Hebrews 9:22, 30:00 "And according to the law almost all things are purified 30:03 with blood and without the shedding of blood, 30:05 there is no remission." 30:08 1 Peter 1:18, 19, 30:11 I hope you are writing these down. 30:14 "Knowing that you were not redeemed 30:16 with corruptible things like silver or gold, 30:20 from your aimless conduct 30:22 received by tradition from your fathers, 30:24 but with the precious blood of Christ, 30:27 as of a lamb without blemish." 30:30 And then 1 John 1:7, 30:33 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, 30:36 we have fellowship with one another 30:38 and the blood of Jesus Christ, His son, 30:41 cleanses us from all sins." 30:43 I've got about four more, I want to read. 30:46 And Revelation 1:5, 30:48 "To him who loved us, and washed us 30:50 from our sins in his own blood." 30:55 Revelation 5:9, "And they sang a new song, saying, 30:59 'You are worthy to open the scroll, 31:01 and to open the seals, for you were slain, 31:04 and have redeemed us to God, by your blood." 31:09 ' Speaking again of our Lord and Savior. 31:12 Revelation 7:14, "These are the ones, 31:16 who have come out of great tribulation, 31:18 washed their robes, and made them white 31:21 in the blood of the lamb, who is Jesus Christ." 31:26 Revelation 12:11, "And they overcame him 31:29 by the blood of the lamb, 31:31 and by the word of their testimony, 31:33 and they did not love their lives, unto death." 31:37 Now, my friend, if there anything 31:39 could be clearer than that, 31:41 I don't know what it would be. 31:43 I really don't. 31:45 I think that there is no question 31:48 that Jesus came to die on the Cross 31:52 for you and for me. 31:55 He did not come just to live and to show us how to live. 31:59 In fact, if you look at the moral influence theology, 32:03 it is the most legalistic thing ever. 32:08 There are many a times, 32:09 these people, they hate legalism. 32:12 But they'll say to you that 32:13 Christ came to show you how to live. 32:18 Not, He didn't come to die on the Cross. 32:21 Then they go into this question about well, 32:25 who was He paying the price to and so forth? 32:28 You know, there are lot of things like this 32:29 we don't really truly understand. 32:31 We believe we do, we have an explanation, 32:35 but we'll have to wait, it takes a maturity to wait 32:38 until we have the opportunity to ask God. 32:42 During that millennium, we'll have time to ask 32:44 all the questions we want to ask, 32:46 about the plan of salvation, 32:48 about how it worked, how it has worked in our lives, 32:52 and for each one who are saved. 32:55 And that would be a glorious day. 32:59 But, my friend, you have to ignore 33:03 so much scripture to not believe 33:06 in the sacrificial blood of Jesus. 33:11 You know, the amazing thing, I used to have a friend 33:14 who was very active in casting out demons. 33:19 And he told me, I don't run around looking for demons 33:23 to cast out, sometimes, 33:25 we run into them whether we want to or not. 33:28 But I remember what he told me. 33:32 He said, if you are ever confronted with it, 33:35 you talk about Jesus, and the blood of Jesus. 33:39 Because he said the demons cannot stand to hear 33:43 about the blood of Jesus. 33:46 You know, I thought that's interesting. 33:49 They're some people who cannot... 33:52 cannot stand to hear about the blood of Jesus, 33:56 about His shedding of the blood. 33:59 Perhaps, it is because of the influence of the devil 34:04 in their lives, I don't know, that they can't. 34:08 I do know that if you are confronted 34:11 with the situation of demons, 34:14 and we've seen them particularly overseas. 34:17 I remember one time, 34:18 when we were down in Odessa, in Ukraine. 34:22 And there was a man and lady came, 34:25 and they brought along a lady, who had a demon. 34:30 Now this demon spoke through her just like a man. 34:35 And it was a very frightening situation, 34:39 because they have been casting the demons, 34:42 and this person had lot of demons in them. 34:44 They've been casting them out, 34:47 and they got down to that last demon. 34:50 And this was the scary part for me, 34:52 because the demon told the people, 34:55 and they didn't, I guess if they knew, 34:57 I was in Odessa, they never told me they did. 35:03 The demon said to them, take me to Odessa, 35:06 I want Gilley to cast me into the Black Sea. 35:10 Well, I don't know why, but they did exactly that. 35:14 They got on the train, and brought this lady there. 35:18 She was demonic, she was controlled by demons, 35:22 at least this one. 35:24 And this last demon, I don't talk to demons, 35:28 I don't carry on any kind of conversation at all. 35:32 But I simply pledged the blood of Jesus, 35:36 and placed my hand upon that lady's head, 35:40 actually with anointing oil, anointed her. 35:43 My translators were really nervous and upset, I was too. 35:48 And this is not something you look to, 35:50 or want to do, or be involved with. 35:52 But when I mentioned the blood of Jesus, 35:56 that demon left, and left that person, 36:01 and I suppose was cast into the Black Sea. 36:04 That's what the demon had requested, 36:07 and the person had come. 36:10 That person was free from the oppression of demons, 36:13 not by me, but by the blood of Jesus. 36:18 By Jesus, who turned and gave His blood. 36:23 You know, the Bible says, the foolishness, 36:26 he says with God has chosen 36:28 the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. 36:32 The foolish has shamed the wise. 36:36 And God has chosen the weak things of the world, 36:39 to put to shame the things which are mighty. 36:43 This is 1 Corinthians 1:27, 36:49 "And the weak things to put to shame 36:52 that which are mighty." 36:53 Verse 28, "And the base things of the world 36:56 and the things which are despised, 36:59 God has chosen and the things which are not 37:02 to bring to nothing the things that are." 37:07 You see, in verse 26, it says, 37:10 "For you see your calling, brethren, 37:12 that not many wise according to the flesh, 37:16 not many mighty, not many noble are called, 37:21 but God has called the foolish things of the world. 37:26 There was a lady in London, by the name of Lady Hunnington, 37:33 and she was of noble birth, there were no nobility 37:38 that it made a public profession of Christ. 37:41 There was an evangelist there by the name of Hill. 37:44 He was holding a meeting, 37:46 and this lady came to the meeting. 37:49 She gave her life to Jesus, and she said later on, 37:53 I was saved by one letter and they said what? 37:58 It says that there are not many noble, 38:04 not many. 38:06 She said that if there hadn't been that 'm' there, 38:09 it would have been not 'any.' 38:11 And she says, I would not have been among those who except, 38:16 is saved by one letter, 38:21 the Cross of Jesus Christ. 38:25 The Cross that is the only way to come to Him 38:31 and to give your life to him. 38:34 Now I had some people that said, 38:36 well, you know there are some statements 38:37 in the Spirit of Prophecy that seem to indicate, 38:41 that the crucifixion was not necessary. 38:45 I never found any of those. 38:47 But I want to read you some that speak otherwise. 38:51 This comes from the book of Acts 38:53 of the Apostles, page 474, 38:57 "Christ crucified for sin, Christ risen from the dead, 39:03 Christ ascended on high, was the science of salvation 39:08 that they, mean the disciples, were to learn and to teach." 39:14 And then, she speaks about every sermon, 39:18 Testimonies Volume 4, page 394. 39:21 "No discourse should ever be delivered 39:24 without presenting Christ, and Him crucified, 39:29 as the foundation of the gospel." 39:34 Christ and Him crucified, 39:37 the foundation of the gospel. 39:41 We will... 39:43 There is another statement here found 39:45 in Testimonies to Ministers, page 424. 39:48 It says, "There is a great work to be done, 39:51 the world will not be converted by the gift of tongues, 39:55 nor by the working of miracles, 39:58 but by preaching Christ, crucified." 40:02 This is how the world is to be converted. 40:06 And we need to be preaching Christ, 40:08 more than ever before. 40:10 In every message, 40:11 He should be at the very center. 40:14 Now reading one more here, and this is also from 40:18 Testimonies to Ministers, page 331, 40:22 "Where the people assemble to worship God 40:25 let not a word be spoken that shall divert the mind 40:29 from the great central interest, 40:31 Jesus Christ, and him crucified." 40:36 The third angel's message is to be our burden of warning, 40:41 the side issues are not for us to meddle with. 40:45 This is why at 3ABN, 40:48 we preach Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 40:51 It is the Three Angels' Message in verity, 40:57 as we have been told in the book, 40:59 Christ Our Righteousness. 41:01 I'm reading again from Volume 4, page 375, 41:06 the mighty argument of the Cross 41:08 will convict of sin, 41:10 the divine love of God for sinners, 41:12 expressed in the gift of His son, 41:15 to suffer shame and death, 41:17 that they might be ennobled and endowed 41:20 with everlasting life, is the study of a lifetime. 41:24 I ask you to study endured the Cross of Christ. 41:29 If all the proud and vain glorious, 41:33 whose hearts are panting for the applause of men, 41:37 and for distinction above their fellows, 41:41 could rightly estimate the value 41:43 of the highest earthly glory, 41:45 in contrast with the value of the son of God 41:48 rejected, despised, spat upon 41:53 by the very ones whom he came to redeem. 41:57 How insignificant, would appear all the honor 42:01 that finite man can bestow." 42:03 Testimonies Volume 4, page 375, and then the same Volume, 42:10 Testimonies, page 399 to 400, 42:13 "Christ crucified, 42:15 Christ is seated in the heavens, 42:18 Christ coming again, she is so soften and gladdened, 42:23 and fill the mind of the minister of the gospel, 42:26 that he will present those truths 42:29 to the people in love and deep earnestness. 42:33 The minister will then be lost sight of, 42:36 and Jesus magnified. 42:40 You see, that is the message 42:43 that we are to give to the world. 42:47 Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, 42:52 Jesus Christ. 42:54 You see, whenever we actually take communion, 42:58 we're looking at the breaking of the bread, 43:02 the body being broken, and then the blood of Christ, 43:07 we're seeing that all of this is happening 43:10 as a result of his dying on the Cross. 43:17 And I tell you, my friend, 43:19 if there is ever a time we need to understand, 43:23 what the Cross means to each one of us, 43:27 it is the day in which we are living. 43:30 The times that we are looking at today are unbelievable. 43:34 There are so many things happening around the world 43:37 that are going to be a great test to each one of us. 43:43 And the only way, is to hold on to Jesus, 43:48 to trust in the Cross, 43:50 to rely upon Him for life eternal. 43:55 That, my friend, 43:57 is the only way we can come to Him. 44:03 When you look at the life of Christ, 44:05 and how he'd loved individuals, 44:08 you look at how he reached out to people like Zacchaeus. 44:13 We look at Zacchaeus for instance, 44:15 he is there climbing up in the sycamore tree, 44:18 it's a child story. 44:19 We love to tell that story. 44:22 But here is Zacchaeus, knowing that he's not worthy, 44:28 and Jesus says to him, I'm gonna go to your house. 44:33 I'm going to your house, and when He goes, 44:37 Zacchaeus, is so moved, so changed 44:41 because when we come in touch with Jesus, we are changed. 44:46 Jesus was soon to go to the Cross. 44:49 He was soon to die for Zacchaeus 44:51 and for each one of us. 44:54 But he reached out, and he touched that life, 44:57 you look at that same Jericho, 44:59 blind Bartimaeus, blind Bartimaeus, 45:03 crying out, crying out to Jesus, 45:08 and Jesus heals him, 45:11 restores his sight. 45:15 We look at all of these miracles that took place, 45:19 and we see in these the love of our Lord 45:25 for each one of us. 45:27 And then we see him go to the Cross. 45:32 When you look at that week and you see 45:34 it starts off with Palm Sunday 45:37 and they're all ready to make him king, 45:40 but then as the week progresses, 45:43 as he angers the high priest by chasing the money, 45:49 changes the way and condemning what they are doing. 45:53 He makes enemies by standing for that 45:56 which is right and true, and pure and good, 46:01 and what happens? 46:03 They take him to the Cross. 46:06 We look at him there on that Cross, 46:09 he could have come down, he didn't have to stay there. 46:13 As the people chose to put him there instead of Barabbas. 46:19 Barabbas, a criminal, an absolute want, 46:24 horrible person, a murderer and everything else, 46:27 and they said, turn him loose. 46:30 Turn him loose, crucify Jesus, 46:35 and they put the Son of God on the Cross. 46:41 You know, you wonder, 46:44 as we look at the impact of that, 46:47 those that were there, they were ready to leave him, 46:51 the disciples, they were all upset, 46:55 they didn't know what to do. 46:58 You remember that Peter finally said, 47:00 after the resurrection, he was still confused, 47:03 he said, I'm going fishing, 47:05 went back up there to the Sea of Galilee, 47:09 back to his home turf, back near the city 47:13 that Jesus called His own, which was Capernaum. 47:16 After Jesus left Nazareth, he looked at Capernaum, 47:20 to be his own place, and He taught there 47:22 in the synagogue, 47:24 and this is where He called the fishermen 47:26 that became His disciples. 47:29 And now, He goes back to them, 47:32 and He says, 47:35 "Have you got anything to eat? 47:36 Did you catch any fish tonight?" 47:39 And they said, oh, no Lord, they didn't say, no, Lord, 47:43 because they didn't know who it was at the time, 47:45 but they said, "No, we didn't catch anything." 47:48 He said, "Cast your net on the other side," 47:52 and then the fish began to come. 47:55 It began to be very prevalent, 48:01 and Peter says, "It is the Lord." 48:04 And then he talks to Peter, 48:07 and he says, "Bring some of the fish 48:09 which you have just caught,' and they did it. 48:13 Peter had caught a 153 fish, 48:18 they counted them, 153. 48:23 You see, this was a big test at that time. 48:27 Were they going to go forward with the message, 48:31 the message of the Cross, 48:33 or were they going to go back to fishing. 48:36 It was such a critical, critical time. 48:40 And Jesus said to Peter, 48:43 "Do you love me more than these?" 48:50 And he was talking about the 153 fish. 48:53 Peter said, what do you mean, talking about the fish? 48:57 He was talking about, 48:59 "Are you gonna give up fishing and preach the Cross? 49:04 Are you gonna give up 49:06 this lucrative business that you have?' 49:08 Because it was, it was very lucrative for these fellows. 49:12 He said, "You're going to give this up and preach the message 49:18 that I have called you to be fishers of men. 49:23 Are you going to present the Cross?" 49:26 And they did. 49:28 They presented the Cross, they accepted Him. 49:32 They went to the mountain there overlooking Jerusalem, 49:39 the Mount of Olives, 49:41 they saw him ascended to heaven, 49:44 and then these men 49:47 started preaching on Pentecost. 49:51 You saw Peter, preaching the Cross, 49:55 preaching what had happened to Jesus, 49:58 telling the people, they had crucified him, 50:01 and 3,000 of them that day 50:03 accepted the message, 3,000. 50:08 And then we look at these men, 50:11 they gave their whole lives 50:16 because they had see Jesus give His life. 50:20 We'll look at James, 50:21 James was the first of the twelve to be martyred. 50:27 We look at John, John lived a long life, 50:32 he wrote the Gospel of John, the Book of Revelation, 50:36 first, second, and third John, 50:39 and he had a long life. 50:42 It was not an easy life, but it was long. 50:47 We look at Peter, Peter was crucified upside down. 50:53 Upside down, he said "I'm not worthy to be crucified the way 50:57 Jesus was crucified. 50:59 And so they crucified him upside down. 51:03 And then we look at Andrew. 51:05 Andrew, who had given his life to Jesus. 51:10 Andrew was not a preacher, you remember it was Andrew 51:13 that found the boy with the five loaves, 51:16 because Andrew was quietly going around 51:19 visiting with people one at a time. 51:21 It was Andrew that found Jesus in the first place 51:23 and brought Peter to him. 51:25 Andrew was not a preacher to speak of. 51:30 But there are many traditions concerning Andrew 51:34 but all of them come down to His death. 51:39 There are several different places 51:40 where they say, "He died." 51:43 When I was in Ukraine, they had a, 51:46 had a monument to him there 51:49 and they said that he brought the gospel there. 51:52 They said, these stories were told that, 51:55 he brought the governor of the province of the area, 51:59 his wife to Jesus. 52:00 It angered the governor, 52:04 and he proclaimed death for Andrew. 52:08 When they got ready to crucify him, 52:11 he said "I'm not worthy to be crucified 52:13 the way Jesus was crucified." 52:17 He said, "I'm not worthy to be crucified upside down 52:19 like my brother was crucified." 52:22 But put me on an 'X', 52:24 now the sign of the 'X' was the sign of the cross 52:30 of the Christos, of the fish, and this was one of the signs 52:35 that the people at the time of a New Testament, 52:41 they were already using this sign 52:44 as a symbol of Christianity. 52:48 And so they put him on an X. 52:51 Now the death of the cross were sometimes 52:54 speedy and sometimes took a while, 52:58 a man could live up to two weeks on the cross, 53:02 and the tradition is that Andrew lived on that cross, 53:08 and preached, and as he preached, 53:12 people came and Andrew had finally mounted a pulpit. 53:19 And he was preaching Jesus Christ, 53:23 and Him crucified. 53:25 You see, those man who had witnessed that crucifixion 53:28 were willing to give their lives, 53:31 they knew that Jesus had come forth from the tomb. 53:34 They knew that this was true, that this was not just some 53:38 fable that was made up, they knew it's so much 53:42 that they would give their own life for it, 53:46 and as the result, thousands 53:51 and thousands of people came 53:55 to know the Lord Jesus Christ. 53:58 We said of these men, 54:01 that they turned the world upside down. 54:04 Read a story in a little pamphlet by Dr. James Kennedy. 54:11 And Dr. Kennedy told the story 54:14 supposedly happened along the Mississippi River. 54:18 There was a train track that went across 54:20 and there was a young man who had a child, son, 54:25 that was about eight years old 54:27 and he was in charge of raising the drawbridge 54:31 that would allow the ships to go by, 54:33 the boats to go by and then lower it again 54:36 for the train when it would come. 54:39 One day, of his own, the boy's birthday, 54:42 he allowed his son to go with him, 54:46 the son went along and he began to play outside 54:51 and he went down on the edge down on one of the platforms 54:56 but somehow he got trapped 54:58 in the gear of that great bridge. 55:04 His father knew that he had to extract him, 55:08 but he also knew that 55:09 he didn't have enough time to extract him 55:13 because he can hear the train coming. 55:17 The train was coming, the 4 o'clock train, 55:21 with all those hundreds and hundreds of people on it, 55:26 passenger train. 55:28 He had a choice, do I go down 55:32 and rescue my son and have all of these people lost, 55:39 or do I have to sacrifice my son? 55:43 So that these people can be allowed 55:48 to cross this bridge safely. 55:51 And then he made that decision horrible as it was. 55:55 He pushed that lever, 55:58 ground his son and workings of that bridge 56:04 and down the bridge came and here comes the train 56:10 running right by, people on theirs 56:13 talking and eating and having a good time, 56:18 tears falling down his cheeks, I want you realize, 56:24 I just gave my son for you. 56:29 I don't know if that's a true story or not, 56:31 I read it in his booklet. 56:34 I tried to verify, I've not been able to, 56:38 but I do know this, 56:41 that God gave His Son, 56:43 Jesus, for each one of us. 56:48 He gave His Son on the cross, 56:52 the shed blood of Jesus covers each one of us. 56:58 Father in Heaven, I thank You for Jesus, 57:01 I thank You for the cross, 57:03 I thank you Lord that 57:05 You have given us life eternal through Him. 57:10 I pray, that you will help us 57:13 not ever to turn away from Jesus 57:18 and help us to be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, 57:24 for we ask it in His wonderful and powerful 57:27 and loving name, amen. |
Revised 2016-07-21