God At War Part 2

Morris is every indication pointed to Jesus dying. The loser jeered region made to hang on a shameful cross. But Satan could not prevent the redemption. Christ was achieving all who would believe on that cross, the devil saw his own appointment with an eternal lake of fire from the church in Chicago. This is going to win with Dr. when Sir was clear teaching sauce make it across the finish line vasculature.

Your series is called what is God up to today, speaking on the central event in human history. As you focus on dying a winner Dave. I want to commend you because I think that your introduction is so accurate that when Jesus died on the cross. Satan actually saw that eventually he would end up in the lake of fire and you know throughout the years I preached hundreds of sermons may be thousands, but I don't think that I've ever preached a sermon with a kind of enthusiasm and conviction with which I preached this sermon that Jesus there on the cross hanging in weakness died as a winner. What you know Christmas is just around the corner and perhaps you're looking for a gift to give to a friend. I'm holding in my hand a book entitled the Bible code finding Jesus in every book of the Bible have to tell you that this is a very attractive book. It's a book that has the references to passages of Scripture. One or two from every book of the Bible with a brief exposition of two or three pages that would make a great gift, whether the folks who live next to you are believers or unbelievers or you might want one for yourself for a gift of any amount. It can be yours. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 nine going to be giving you this contact info again at the end of this message. Right now I want you to listen carefully as we talk about Jesus dying a winner was a Roman poet by the name of Horace who was giving some guidelines for play writer today and he criticized them for two readily bringing God onto the stage to solve the complicated plot they had created set this Roman poet Horace quote do not bring a God on the stage unless the problem deserves a God to solve it. Well, if you been listening to these messages, you know that we have a problem that only God is able to solve, and I've been emphasizing that the earth actually is like a stay in there is a drama that is being played out. Give all of the different characters participating in God created the stage and then he created a wonderful canopy called the whole universe in this drama is being played out on this little small planet issues of justice and injustice, righteousness, light versus darkness.

It's all happening right here in the angels are watching and God is watching and the demons are watching and we're watching as the play is in but there is a problem on planet Earth that only God can solve and we must bring him onto the stage. Let me take a moment to review with you who the players are first of all, their Satan, of course, that strong, powerful, beautiful, evil being who chose against God then decided that he would not let God along with him. There were tens of thousands of lesser spirits called demons who do his bidding, who are party to his absurdity, and they fell to in rebellion against God. And then of course you have mankind remember what happened there in the garden when Adam and Eve decided to participate with Satan in their rebellion and anger toward God, and they ate of the fruit and they became participants in standing against the sovereignty of Almighty God. What could God do in this situation, what are his options. One of the options would be for God to take all of humanity and all the forces of Satan confined them to hell and allow them to think throughout all of eternity about the blunder.

This serious blunder of reading only in that they created themselves. That would be one option. Now, if God were to do that.

I want to affirm the fact that he would be totally just, and that throughout all of eternity.

All the universe would stand in all of the justice of Almighty God. But there'd be a problem if God would have done that and that is that only one of these attributes would really clearly be seen to actually in the creation of the universe. God showed us his his mighty awesome power and in creating beings who would choose against them and confining them to everlasting torment he would be showing us his justice. But that is really all that the universe would see of God, so God decided that there would be another plan, one that would enable his mercy and his grace and his law and all the other attributes that combine to make God. These attributes also would be given the specific glorious expression. Now I'm sure that when Satan asked Adam and Eve to sin and tempted them to do that and then they did exactly what he wanted. He had no idea that God was going to redeem part of the human race back to himself and reverse the curse.

Satan didn't know that in his glee, and in his excitement, he thought to himself that now that man has chosen to stand against God that the curse would be universal. Everyone who would be born would be tainted with sin. From here on out, and therefore consigned to everlasting rebellion and anger against God. That's what he thought.

But God had a plan secret plan and as Satan began to see the outworking of that plan. As we noticed in the message last week, but now we see that plan come to its completion.

What are the rules by which this plan is going to be executed.

First of all, the Lord knew that whatever would be done to redeem a part of humanity back to God. Whatever was done would have to be done totally at solely by God's salvation would have to be of the Lord. Obviously God could not look to man to participate because first of all, men and women are tainted with sin and God is inexpressibly holy and therefore any righteousness that people might want to contribute toward this would of necessity be disqualified.

The only righteousness that God accepts is his own salvation would have to be of the Lord is a second rule and that is that none of the attributes of God could ever be compromised. None of the attributes of God could be compromised. There could be no such thing as God looking at sin and then compromising his holiness and his integrity in salvation that we know to be the case. No possibility of God bending just because were sinners.

How did God do it. You know how we would've done it read have ordered a media campaign. We have got a news man an advance press corps, we would have invited the hosts of the universe, we would've invited angels and demons, and all of humanity and God would've said yes but I'm going to do and I want everybody to watch and were going to have a live huge greens by which the world will be able to watch because God is coming to town. We would've done it, but God who loves to do things differently than we whose thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways does it entirely different.

Here's a little sleepy town that some of us visited this June, 6 miles south of Jerusalem called Bethlehem and here is this peasant couple that comes to Bethlehem and the Redeemer is born in Bethlehem who is the son of God who is both God and man because 1/3 rule was that God would accept no sacrifice on behalf of humanity unless it was given by a part of humanity, namely a man and here's this baby that is born helpless baby if you please baby who participated in the creation who was used to throughout all of eternity.

Having the host of heaven, saying, holy, holy, holy.

He is helpless baby who needs his diapers born there and and then he grows up and becomes a man and he got some miracles and a preacher some fantastic sermons and people want to shut them over the cliff. Other people want to destroy him in other ways are taking up stones to stone him, but God prevents him from dying before the time when he is scheduled to die and then finally all the wrath of humanity descends upon him, and they get their ways and they take this man who was in rotation to them, primarily because he was making the religious leaders look bad. They take him and they nail him to a cross and every body who is party to that scheme sounds good sees God, take your Bible for moment and turn to Luke 23 we could read any one of the Gospels and read the account of Christ's death, but I've chosen Luke chapter 23 is to refresh your memory of how it went. Luke 2332, and two others also who were criminals were being led away to be put to death with him and when they came to the place called the skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying. Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.

They cast lots dividing up his garments among themselves and the people stood by looking on, and even the rulers were sneering at insane he saved others, let him save himself if this is the Christ of God, the chosen one.

Soldiers mocked him, coming up to him offering him sour wine and saying if you are the king of the Jews, save yourself and there was an inscription above him. This is the king of the Jews. One of the criminals who was hanging there was hurling abuse at insane are you not the Christ, save yourself and us, the other answered rebuking them. Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation, and we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds.

But this man has done nothing wrong, just that far from you know people say oh I wish I was there in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus I tell you I'm not sure if I wish that because I don't know I might be among those who are hurling insults at your apart from God's grace. I'm just bad enough to do that I may have been on the wrong side of Christ when he was here on earth. A lot of quote good people were a lot of good religious people on the wrong side and I want us to look today.

First of all, at the cross through the eyes of mankind, let's suppose that you had a video recorder and you are going to take this and you're going to use segments of it in the evening news you want to follow the last few days of Jesus Christ when he was here on earth. What is it that you would see as you'd see him mocked and the five.

First of all, you'd see a tremendous amount of injustice without any vindication vindication. He takes it all.

We don't have time to do it this morning but when you read the account you can see that he had a very unfair trial unfair and he had no attorney to appeal to nobody to go to for help. He was falsely accused.

The charges were made up and there was no investigation as to whether or not the charges were true, they were only to quickly believed and he endured it. He was the proverbial doormat as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he opens not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment and he endured it all and he did not say anything. He just kept. What a loser not only injustice but Shane Shane you know just just remember, folks, this is the Jesus who was used when Evan hearing all the host of angels shout, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts that expression has as its object Jesus Christ as well is God the father and he's heard it all comes to the earth, despised and rejected.

His closer torn off. He's kicked movement Jew boy that what's your problem characterize shouted at, mocked, and then when he is crucified he is crucified naked and people are able to log by into hurled abuse at him and insults and nothing happens to stop that goes on and on and on.

Shane powerlessness. That's what we see we see injustice Shane. We also see death without any dignity at all. In fact, what is there on the cross and they offer him some wine, hoping that possibly some of this sting of death and those nails would be alleviated if he rejects it because he wants to die with the full capacity of all of his powers intact and he says no there is no death with dignity.

What an awful glory site. One of our problems as Christians is that we can we magnify the cross because we don't want to see it in all of its horror.

We have nice deed to beautiful crosses made for churches crosses that are built with right angles and then they are solid and they are sand and then they are varnished and they look so smooth and so nice read your mind that such nonsense. Were talking about a cross that was a tree trunk and then the crossbeam was a grand rough on sand.

It was awful and were talking about huge ugly nails. That's were talking about you look at Jesus Christ with your video recorder because you want to do an analysis of his last week on earth.

And there's only one or two words that can possibly describe it, and they are words like failure. Words like defeat. It's all over, and even the disciples ran away and said I guess we were deceived. We followed him. We hope that it would be he who would deliver Israel, but he was not the liver because Joe is a look at them now look at them awful glory. Death that's the cross from an standpoint from God's standpoint, something quite different was taking place at that moment, quite different know the Bible says in verse 44, and now it was about the sixth hour and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour son being up skewered and the veil of the temple to apply a darkness why darkness it's because the worst criminal who had ever walked the planet Earth was dying was a terrible death was the worst sin that you can think of you think murder is bad you think Stalin and his death camps was bad, wanting cruelty is bad. This man who is being crucified between two common thieves was guilty of that in all of its work.

Oh, I know there's some women here today, so it's not the worst thing that you could possibly do. Death is one thing right is worse than a woman is violated and humiliated and now suddenly the man who was dying there on the middle cross, he is a rapist of all things. Somebody said let's still not bad, child abusers, child molesters, what about them. Got a letter from one of them on Friday told you that I radio ministry touches into prisons and I'm just astounded at the number of letters we receive.

He says I listen to your sermon over the radio station W and BW yesterday you spoke on abuse children. I found it helpful, but I need to ask you, how does the one who has offended the little ones receive peace see I'm in prison I received a life sentence +185 years I was charged with rape. But what really happened was that I had sex with four little boys ages 7 to 12. I been locked up for 10 years.

He goes on to say I want to go to heaven forever and be with Christ. That's what he says but he says I still feel guilty, and even though I've confessed my sin sometimes I don't feel forgiven I say to myself what kind of a person can molest little children make you so mad you like this bit who can do that and if that is not enough.

You think about child abuse like that little girl who was locked in the closet. She cries for help. She's five years old and she is beaten and she is neglected and she is whipped until she dies and we sang God how can you take at the man who's dying on the cross is guilty of it. If you can believe it. No wonder it became dark well might the sun in darkness high shot it's glory in when Christ, the great Redeemer die for man. The creatures so happens that he himself never committed a single sin. He was without sin. He was spotless. The Bible says all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way in the Lord to lay upon him the iniquity of us all, and he became guilty of all of it in the limited horror terribleness. That's how he died, but I'd like to do is to show you now how the cross of Jesus Christ is God's greatest moment's greatest moment so I thought that the creation of the world was listenable that we had with creation, we know about his power would never know about his grace had consigned mankind to hell Wedo known as justice, but we have never seen his grace and compassion.

It is there on the cross in what mankind may well describe as the darkest hour dogs attributes like a kaleidoscope were lit up in all of their glory and beauty and wonder, so that even the Angels of heaven were looking over and seeing what was happening and saying we can't believe it. This is God's finest hour.

What are the attributes first of all pulses in Romans 325 pieces God set Christ forth to declare his righteousness. That's the first purpose of the cross sandwich thought that the cross was designed to save me was in the first purpose of the cross is for God to declare to the world his righteousness. It says that Christ was set forth publicly to declare the righteousness of God, my friend, this is Pastor Luther. I hope that you picked up on the passion that I have when it comes to preaching the cross of Jesus Christ and of course as we think about Christmas, which is just around the corner. We are reminded of the fact that Jesus actually was born crucified. That is to say, he came to Bethlehem so that he might eventually die on the outskirts of Jerusalem for our sins, winning a tremendous victory. Let me ask you this question. When you think of the books of the Bible. Do you see them as individual books. Well of course they are. But do you see that they are united with a common theme. What does first Samuel have to do with the book of Matthew.

For example, I'm holding in my hands a book entitled the Bible code finding Jesus in every book of the Bible.

This is a very attractive book. It's one that you can give to a friend and if you contact us today.

We believe it will even be able to get it to you before Christmas.

It's entitled the Bible code finding Jesus and every book of the Bible for a gift of any amount. It can be yours. Here is what you do go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 now I'm going to be giving you that contact info again because remember, if you order it today. We believe that you'll be able to have it for Christmas. I need to ask you this question. Have you ever wondered what Jesus talked to the disciples about on the way to Emmaus when beginning with Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.

He expounded to them about himself.

The Scripture is a unified whole. That's why think it's so important for you to have a copy of the Bible code finding Jesus in every book of the Bible.

Contact us today go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 you can write to accept running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614. Jesus did not die accidentally next time more about how every detail with his sacrifice was predetermined before time began running to win is sponsored by the teacher