What God Thinks Of The Cross Part 2

Rain forests looking to Jesus on the cross of Jesus was in God's mind from eternity past eternity yet to be its history's great intersection place where God expressed his love, mankind most clearly in Chicago this morning to win with Sir, we're teaching us make cross vasculature are turning to chapter 4 what will we find when we get there. Find is the cross of Jesus Christ discussed like Peter is going to help us to understand that it has been in God's heart since the beginning of time, and by the way, Dave.

I love that expression that you used in the intro. The great intersection exactly what the cross of Jesus Christ is the reason that I'm preaching this series of messages you know that we live in a very political time in America's history and we need to keep our sites on what is most important. Politics is important, but the cross of Jesus Christ is most important. I've written a book entitled Christians politics and the cross that discusses the relationship that we should have with our governments but also with God. Would you like a copy. I think it will be of great benefit to all of our listeners. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com.

By the way thanks in advance for your generosity. We are dependent upon your gifts.

As we continue this ministry or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 now we go to the pulpit of Moody church where we discussed the cross of Christ in God's heart. Now I hope that you kept your Bible open to acts chapter 4 because Peter here is giving a prayer, and in this prayer gives us a tremendous amount of insight into how it all about the purpose of God was accomplished will pick it up in verse 27. For truly, in this city is in Jerusalem. There were gathered together against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint both Herod and Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do whatever thy hand and thy purpose predestined to occur in eternity past the script was written. God knew what was going to happen.

God already had us in mind way back then and now suddenly the script is going to be played out on the stage of the world and who are the players. There is a coalition of God's enemies that conspired together to have Christ put away to have been put to death. First of all, of course you have Herod other six Herod's in the Bible so don't get them confused. It is very easy to do this.

This actually is Herod and he was the ruler in Galilee.

This is that Herod who beheaded John the Baptist. This is the Herod before whom Christ was brought, and Christ said nothing. Member the story of how Herod said to him perform a miracle do something for me.

Herod wanted Christ entertain him with something spectacular and Jesus would not say word Client that was there and now suddenly this Herod is confronted by what to do with someone who, at his birth was said to be the king of the Jews, and he conspired along with some of the others such as Pilate is listed. Pilate is a very tragic figure. I think in history because remember he preferred not to have anything to do with Jesus Christ and he knew that Jesus was innocent and his wife even warned and she said because of a dream. I have suffered many things don't have anything to do with this man. So I tried to bargain with the Jews and said let me discourage them and let them go because at the Passover. You always let a prisoner go anyway. Crowd shouted no not Christ give us Barabbas crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. So what does Pilate do. He gives in to the mob and he lets Jesus crucified is interesting that Herod and Pilate were enemies. They did not get along at all. But the Scripture says that on bad day they became friends. They said that the man whom we hate has to be put away and we need each other in order to do it. Let's lay aside our differences to get rid of Christ and the Gentiles.

It says here in verse 27 the Gentiles goes with the Romans who actually ended up crucifying Christ, and of course the nation Israel rejected him and why did they rejected was it because of theological difficulties and it's because he claimed to be God, and they couldn't handle it there.

Theology could know is the reason Pilate who had his ear to the ground and was apparently a great student of human nature, and picked up the scuttlebutt.

He's the one who gives us the answer. The Bible says that Pilate knew that it was because of an that they delivered. Jesus made the religious leaders look bad and and because of that jealousy because the crowds were going with Christ and people were turning away from the scribes and the Pharisees and they saw his popularity and they were so angry they said get him out of our way and the motivation to have him. I have a question for you. Was it a gamble, might it be that it won't happen one of Jesus came and they wouldn't crucify him the prophecies of God could not be fulfilled after all said someone God is a gambler, hell I want you to notice what it says in verse 28 to do whatever thy hand and thy purpose predestined to occur. Don't be afraid of that word predestined. It simply means pre-determined wasn't a chance in the world that it would happen other than the way the script was written well you say yeah but human responsibility human free will. I hope you realize that I'm not going to speak on the solving that dilemma today or else we'd be here a little longer than you intended to stay came here today all that I can say is that in the Bible we need to live with attention that on one hand we are not puppets, but we actually do have wills and we act voluntarily as Herod if you went up to Herod and said now Herod, why are you delivering Christ over did he say well I feel the pressure of the divine decree know he did it because he wanted to act voluntarily so we need to live with that and then we also need to live with the fact that whatever God wills comes to pass.

We have to live with that tension and recognize that there are some mysteries here that we will never possibly solve. But here's my point. When Jesus Christ died in history now, and descriptive heaven became a reality. The Scripture says that God sent him forth to be a propitiation for our sins to declare first of all, the justice of God. The apostle Paul said in Romans three God wanted to declare the fact that he was totally just that he could not overlook sin, but he wanted to redeem sinners single sin had to be accounted for and paid for meticulously just the cross of Christ proves that to prove his justice to prove his love because he would not have had to diet old. In other words, God could have been just by just letting all of humanity go its way and be lost forever. There was no necessary reason to redeem us apart from love and that's why we say with such enthusiasm that God loved the world, and aren't you glad he did. And in his wisdom is wisdom of how this dilemma could be solved but on the one hand we are sinners and cannot be received by God. On the other hand, he is so holy that indeed there can be no breakage, no fellowship, and the dilemma was solved by the coming of Christ. When God came himself onto the stage of history. Remember the Roman poet Horace used to say used to criticize Greek plays because whenever the plot got so tangled that they needed to untangle it.

They would bring a dog onto the stage and Horace said sometimes you are bringing God onto the stage to quickly before the plot is so tangled that it can't be undone. Well, I want you to know that this needed God and God came, God. We talked about the cross in the heart of God from the beginning of eternity. We talked about the cross in the history and the players as the script was an act.

What about the future is that the end of the cross.

Now we have to speak briefly about the cross now in heaven. Take your Bibles and turn to Revelation chapter 5 Revelation chapter 5 chapter 4 God is seen on the throne. But in chapter 5 there is a book written a scroll that is written on both sides. It is so full of information is the script is gone descriptive history as to how it's all going to end, and no one can open this book they can't.

The seals because it is hidden only the one who wrote the script knows its contents and can and acted and make sure that it is carried out, and so because John is involved here, emotionally, wondering who is going to open this book. He says I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to break it seals and no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open it or to look upon it, and I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book, nor to look upon it. One of the elders said to me stop weeping John behold the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David. He has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals and I saw a notice he didn't see a lion. Now he sees a Lamb between the throne. That is to say in the middle of the throne with the four living creatures. The elders I saw a Lamb standing, as if it had been slain, there is the cross is frequently said that when we get to heaven. Yes, we will see the nail pierced hands because Thomas was invited to see them and and there is a Lamb as if he had been put to death. He is living, but he still has the scars of that event took place in history just outside of the walls of the city of Jerusalem, and I want you to notice that now we see the audience that was participating in this play because there is a new song that is been written. Roy Clemenceau points out in a message that the cross of Jesus Christ changes the unchangeable and even changes. Heaven and new song has to be written with new creativity with a new way in which to worship because the Lamb is there on the throne, the Lamb who is God and notice what they saying when they sing this new song where they are at valve verse nine to take the book and to break it seals the bow was slaying there is the cross and didst purchase for all my blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation and notice what it says and thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God and they will reign upon the earth.

There is a kingdom that is not going to be shaken. No matter who wins a political election. You see, now that if it were not for the cross.

If it were not for the Lamb that was slain.

These people would be indistinguishable from all of the other people in the world because they would not be read Dean.

The cross was in the heart of God. The cross in history becomes the focal point of history and the cross of Christ is going to be represented in heaven forever by those of us who have been redeemed by its purchase and lot by the cross is God's priority. You know on earth. It is sometimes said that it's not what you know, it's who you know what's true in heaven to when you get to heaven you want to know the right person in the right person to know is Jesus Christ.

You know I'm here on earth, and he will take you to heaven to be with him. It's not how much you know it is cool you know. And Christ is the center of it all.

Know what I need to do is to end today by three very important lessons that I trust will be branded upon our hearts.

Number one redemption redemption, not political reformation is obviously God's priority.

I've emphasize that but I need to say it again redemption.political reformation is God's priority now. You don't need to think that I'm asking that we withdraw from the political process here in America we have the privilege to be involved in. We should be involved. Christian should be running for office, but hear me very carefully. Even that must be subject to God's larger purpose and for the purpose of being a mirror to display the wonder of God's love to fallen humanity because what we are interested in is not merely changes that might take place in the world today, but we are interested in eternity.

We are interested in the vision that John had all heaven you had people from every tongue and people and nation participating, not our responsibility to see whether or not we can shout louder than others. Whether we can take up our political muscle and that we can therefore control a political party because they had better march to our agenda and we had better have our Christian agenda adopted that has its place somewhere. If it is done carefully, but that is not God's agenda. That's not the thing to which we should be getting our energy, our attention, our time and our money and our focus. We have a higher purpose.

We indeed look for that city whose builder and maker is God. And we should not come across to society as those who are hostile those who can shout just as loud as somebody else. And those who whine like babies because our rights are stepped on the rights of Christians of always been stepped on throat 2000 years of history, Christ rights were stepped on, and that was the whole message of the cross. The cross interesting. I wonder if those who think that believe in political salvation.

I wonder if they have ever taken the time to ask the simple question. How did Jesus and a small band of his followers actually transform their culture and transform their society through the proclamation of the gospel. How did that happen. I believe that we have lost confidence in God's ability to save America through the cross. We don't think that he does that anymore and were not seeing it happen and therefore we think that God can't cast about for some some solution that is going to deliver us and restore us.

God is bringing us back to the basics to God's own priority. That's number one number two old nations, all nations not just one nation, but all nations are a part of God's program and comprise his agenda. Verse nine about his purchase for God with thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You say will surely there's a very special little part of heaven that's reserved just for Americans. Well, maybe there is, but that's not what the text tells us about. Do you realize that God's agenda is much greater than then saving the American dream. There are people from Brazil and from Russia and from China and from all the nations of the earth, because God's vision for this world is trance national transnational and it includes people of every color and people of every nation and every tribe that have ever existed and that is God's agenda for the world and that should be our agenda for the world as well. Best thing we can do is to get in line with the director, the man who wrote the script, the one who wrote the script and be in line with his agenda. Lastly, and of course I've already said it is the church is the church and not a political party that is the bearer of this message.

I want you to know today that the future of America does not rest with a political election, the future of America much more rests with the people of God and always will. It is we who are told to be salt and light and even a candle, even a match in a very dark cave can give a tremendous amount of light and we need not decry the fact that we do not have enough numbers possibly to always do what we want to do politically. We may work toward that goal.

But that's not a means of discouragement because we recognize that at the end of the day. We have a message which can grow and can be in the lives of people and grant them eternal life, and if God should be please this nation have a great spiritual awakening, and men and women all over the place, turning to Christ is a will is going to happen. I don't know whether it's going to happen. We certainly don't deserve it.

I don't believe that Christians are desperate yet. That's why we find it so hard to get people to pray today because we still are not in a condition that is bad enough for them to be that concerned so we do not know what we know is we must we must stick with God's agenda. Take for example England you know that there was a time in English history when things were so bad that they would have to shut down Parliament during the afternoon because the members were too drunk to continue. Children were being abused in factories and working long hours and they were being rejected and the decadence was all over the place and then what did God do, he raised up the Wesley brothers and you have the great awakening and that awakening by the way has its effects herein. American we think of the preaching of Jonathan Edwards.

We do not know whether God will do that again. But this much we do know is that is that is ultimately God's means of restoring us is through his cross. See, God gives us the cross and when we believe on the cross and receive what Jesus did for us. There is a payment centers when we receive then what happens is, God gives us him self. God gives us himself God comes to us. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto him self.

We must do is to have the same boldness is the early church were so deeply convinced that this message could change lives. Nothing could stop them as they proclaimed it around the world and we stand now we stand in their history.

There train will you join me as we pray father we pray that there may be those who, in this moment are believing on Christ the Savior. We pray that you will give them the grace to reach out and say Lord Jesus, I've sinned, I cannot be reconciled to you apart from Christ. I accept him enable them to reach out father for those of us who know him.

We pray that during these days we might use every opportunity to represent him well.

Tell men and women. There is only one name by which you can be saved and that is the glorious name of Christ. Grant us the vision of the cross. We pray in Jesus this is Pastor lantern. Let me share with you a very encouraging story that Rebecca and I rejoice in. We were sitting at an airport. I think it was Washington DC and we struck up a conversation with the woman and we let her to faith in Jesus Christ now turns out that she had a coworker. She told us later who'd been praying for her. Matter fact she got on her cell phone and called that coworker right after she came to faith in Christ. But she wrote us a letter and this is how it ended.

I was lost but now am found that of course is the heart of the ministry of running to win, sharing the good news of the gospel that when you listen to this series of messages don't get the impression that I think that politics isn't important it is. But what I'm stressing is that it is not. Most important, the cross of Christ. The message of redemption is what we live for and hopefully we'd be willing to die for. I've written a book entitled Christians politics and the cross. The subtitle is an urgent plea for the church to return to its mission and that of course is sharing the gospel, whether it's in airports or at home wherever it is that we are, we represent Jesus Christ for a gift of any amount.

This book can be yours Christians politics and the cross here is what you do go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337.

I'll give you that phone number again.

In just a few seconds but let me tell you, I appreciate the many people who pray for us, the people who support the ministry of running to win. You are a part of a large family and what we are committed to doing is to emphasizing the good news of Jesus Christ in the midst of this political wrangling if I could put it that way. Give us a call 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, Hanoi 60614 on running to win. We've been looking at God's view of the cross, but next time will change our focus these days politicians take lots of poles, so let's take a poll are so don't miss what man thinks of the cross as will see the contrast is startling, running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. Thanks for listening for Dr. Erwin looked certain this is Dave running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church