Pastor Paul Chappell: The Cross of Christ

let's turn to luke 23 we're going to read beginning in verse 33 as we preach this morning simply on the cross of jesus christ luke chapter 23 and verse 33 and if you would please stand for the reading of god's word luke 23 we're going to read verses 33 through 43 as we prepare for this week of worshiping and serving the lord jesus christ luke 23 verse number 33 and when they were come to the place which is called calvary there they crucified him and the malefactors on the right hand and the other on the left then said jesus father forgive them for they know not what they do and they parted his raiment and cast lots and the people stood beholding and the rulers also with them derided him saying he saved others let him save himself if he be christ the chosen of god and the soldiers also mocked him coming to him and offering him vinegar and saying if thou be the king of the jews save thyself and a superscription also was written over him in letters of greek in latin and hebrew this is the king of the jews and one of the malefactors which was hanged railed on him saying if thou be christ save thyself and us but the other answering rebuked him saying dost thou not fear god seeing thou art in the same condemnation and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man hath done nothing amiss and he said unto jesus lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom and jesus said unto him verily i say unto thee today thou shalt be with me in paradise let us pray our father we are so grateful today that you so loved the world that you gave your only begotten son and this morning as we consider the sacrifice of that gift i pray that you would cause us to regain focus to regain an understanding of really what it means to be a christian and father that we would move forward from this service a different people having looked at the cross is my prayer and especially if there is someone here that does not know jesus as a personal savior that today would be the day when they personally choose to receive christ and i pray and ask this in jesus name amen you may be seated throughout our lives we experience many different trials many different seasons of life many times as we have been through this past 12 months we have been told to focus on this policy or this work procedure or perhaps some other need relative to our own health or relative to our own plans and yet in many ways christians across america have lost focus this year on the single most important one that we should be focusing upon and that one is the lord jesus christ it's not wrong to be concerned about your health our body is the temple of the lord these are things to be concerned about and we certainly are doing our best to be careful but not fearful at lancaster baptist church it's not wrong to consider your finances the bible teaches us to be stewards and to be generous and to be careful in the way we manage these things it's not wrong to focus on family needs and to focus on the needs of your home but may i say to you this morning that the greatest object of our focus and worship should be the lord jesus christ some come to church and focus on who's there and who's not there and who's wearing this and who's wearing that and some focus on how they perceive others should behave and some are experts at watching others but may i say to you that the greatest single focus in your life and mine should not be on ourselves on our culture on others it should be on the lord jesus christ himself and that's what we want to do this week you see a glimpse at the cross can change everything the bible speaks in the book of corinthians about many who had come to know christ as savior and as it spoke of their transformational experience it says all of the list of sins that they had been involved in their fornication their adultery their lasciviousness their effeminate lifestyle and then the bible says such were some of you in other words when they came to the cross everything changed because if any man be in christ he's a new creature old things are passed away field all things have become new i'm thankful today for the power of the cross in our text this morning we see just before the crucifixion this time known as the triumphal entry the time when the lord jesus rides triumphantly into jerusalem on a donkey fulfilling the prophecy of zechariah 9 and verse 9 where the bible says rejoicing greatly o daughter of zion shout o daughter of jerusalem behold thy king cometh unto thee he is just and having salvation lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a cult the full of an ass here we see that is being fulfilled as jesus comes into jerusalem the people greeting him with the cry hosanna hosanna psalm 118 and 25 says save now i beseech thee o lord o lord i beseech thee sin now prosperity blessed be he that cometh in the name of the lord we have blessed you out of the house of the lord and this is what they said blessed is the one that cometh in the name of the lord and christ was welcomed as the resurrection week began thursday was the time of preparation the passover taking place in the evening celebrated on thursday evening in the upper room the last supper which we will study tonight in our service uh was then followed by the upper room discourse and and jesus and his disciples then leave to a place called the garden of gethsemane and it's interesting to think about these gardens jesus is going to the garden of gethsemane because of what had taken place many years prior in the garden of eden because man chose to sin jesus is now on his way to the cross of calvary and it was there in the garden of gethsemane that jesus as he was praying to the father father if it be possible let this cup pass from me not just the physical pain but the bearing of your sin and mine in his body he said father if it be possible let this cup pass for me and then as he sweat as it were great drops of blood he prayed nevertheless not my will but thine be done shortly thereafter we know the story john 18 tells us that jesus was betrayed by one of his own don't be discouraged when someone you thought was a super christian suddenly is nowhere to be found suddenly as speaking things you never thought they would speak even one of the 12 closest followers of jesus betrayed him for a few pieces of silver jesus is betrayed in that garden of gethsemane and brought before the jewish leaders at caiaphas house many of you have studied this story and i remember standing there on the steps of caiaphas house and looking back to the old city and realizing that short distance from which jesus came and through which he walked and as you think of the walk of jesus to caiaphas house every step he knew he was getting one step closer to the cross of calvary of course you'll recall pilate he was a political man he didn't want to get caught up in this he said i find no fault in him and truly there is no fault in the lord jesus christ but the crowd grew angrier and angrier and some of you'll recall they begin to scream give us barabbas give us barabbas they would rather set free a common criminal then let jesus christ escape the pain of the cross and so now as we come to our text about nine in the morning jesus is brought to the place of crucifixion just outside the city he's already been through a time of judgment a time of scourging the bible tells us there is a man simon the sirenian that is carrying the cross of jesus christ we know from studying history in the scriptures that simon was a black man may i say to you that when you love the lord jesus christ there's no racism or discrimination in your heart and here's simon that's iranian carrying the cross after jesus had been scourged and beaten here we see this picture of the cross of calvary suddenly christ is coming face to face with this roman object of punishment and execution and so it is that we sing today about the cross at the cross at the cross where i first saw the light years i spin in vanity and pride and then we come to calvary and and today people wear the cross around their neck and sometimes place it in their home as a piece of art perhaps but not during these days no one wanted to be around the cross no one wanted a cross in their home no one thought of the cross as a sense of pride or even redemption only pain and suffering would you come with me this morning to the place of the cross the bible says in verse 33 and when they were come to the place which is called calvary now i remind you that this place like your place in mind was a prepared place this this place was a created place jesus christ himself had created the place the bible says in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth and the bible tells us of this place that it is a place called calvary uh from uh the greek a cranion uh to the latin calvaria the word cranion you might guess it means a skull it is referred to as the place of the skull calvary sometimes referred to as golgotha and when you visit the place still to this day you can see uh even the forming of what may look like a human skull and jesus christ is brought to the place of golgotha the place of the skull and here in this place the lord jesus will voluntarily give his life for our sin i find it amazing to contemplate that jesus created the place where he would die that jesus created the tree upon which he would hang it was a prepared place there was a purpose for that place god is a god of a purpose and plan and he tells us in galatians 4 and 4 but when the fullness of time was come god sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law has it ever occurred to you that nothing ever occurs to god that all of this was according to his timetable has it ever occurred to you that these last 12 months did not catch god by accident god has a purpose for your life and mine in this place and in this place called calvary jesus comes to face the cross jesus is creator jesus is creator god the bible says in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth the idea that all religions point to god that all religions point to the same god is absolute blasphemy the idea that uh always lead and all roads lead to the same place is far far from truth this place of salvation this cross is the way by which we are saved and it is the only way ordained of god whereby a sinful man or woman might have their sins redeemed and washed away buddha and mary and gaia and muhammad are not equal there will be only one that will go to the cross we'll be buried and will rise again and his name is jesus christ none of the other gods are an equal part of the triune godhead this is ascribed only to jesus christ and the deity of christ is often attacked it was attacked in the first century by the gnostics who claimed that jesus was not god because he was in the form of man in the 4th century area said that jesus could not be co-eternal with god in the 5th century nestorius taught that jesus was two separate persons and sometimes he was god sometimes he was men in the seventh century mohammed said god had no son in the 19th century joseph smith declared that jesus was simply a son of god and a brother of satan but not the son of god the christ in the 20th century modernists even in some seminaries questioned the deity of jesus christ in the 21st century in the name of tolerance and in the idea that all i all gods are acceptable we see some again trying to pull the lord jesus christ down but i want you to understand that the one who came to this place called calvary is none other than christ the very son of god this is who he is coming to a part of his creation it was a prepared place and it was a painful place this place where the roman soldiers brought these criminals outside of jerusalem was known as a place of pain notice in verse 33 the bible says and when they were come to the place which is called calvary there they crucified him there they crucified him you see the word had become flesh jesus christ is now in the form of man he is still 100 god he is now 100 man he is there as the god man to experience real pain this was the place of capital punishment this was a place of crucifixion under the roman law deuteronomy 21 23 tells us for he that is hanged is a curse of god this was a shameful death this was a painful death this death would require that jesus would be stripped naked this death would require that a very heavy square wrought iron nail would be driven through the hands of the lord jesus christ and that through the arch on each of his feet as they are placed together nails would come with the knees slightly bent to allow the one being crucified to stretch up for air during the time of the crucifixion in fact most of those upon a cross would die of asphyxiation as they were seeking to breathe and as they were suffering the blood loss and the dehydration struggling somehow to find breath there on the cross of calvary the tools that were used were brutal and so very very painful as they would place the nails through the hands and the feet and the crown of thorns upon the head of jesus christ the common method of ending a crucifixion swiftly was the breaking of the bones of the one that was on the cross of calvary this was unnecessary for christ as he died six hours after his crucifixion the bible says in galatians 3 and verse 13 christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us so jesus not only is suffering the pain of the cross but he is suffering the sin of the cross being made a curse for us it was real pain that jesus christ the son of god the perfectly sinless son of god experienced for us he had been tempted in all points like as we are but he was without sin he did not deserve the cross but voluntarily he goes to the cross to become the redemption for the sin the covering for the sin of all who would believe it was a real pain may i say today it was a redemptive pain it was not a wasted pain but it was purposeful it was for our sin it was so that we might be reconciled back to god turn if you would in your bible to romans chapter 3 and verse 24. romans 3 24 as we consider what happened on this cross judicially theologically what happened there for us on our behalf the bible says in romans 3 and 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in christ jesus every man needs to be justified for every man is separated from god by his sin for all have sinned and come short of the glory of god and the only place of justification for sin is found in this place calvary where jesus shed his blood we are justified freely by his grace it was only by grace that he went to the cross of calvary but notice verse 25 whom god hath set forth speaking of jesus god the father have set forth to be notice now a propitiation through faith in his blood you see jesus on the cross of calvary became our propitiation you know the meaning of this word it simply speaks of a covering it speaks of the mercy seat the covering of the ark of the covenant upon which the blood was sprinkled in the old testament and jesus became our propitiation the covering for sin all of us as sinners need a covering for sin and i'm going to tell you something the church can't cover your sin and the baptistry can't cover your sin and religion can't cover your sin only the blood of jesus can cover sin that's why calvary is so vitally important this place of calvary this cross of calvary this sacrifice of jesus is what makes it possible to know the forgiveness of sin what can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of jesus christ the place of calvary what a place that jesus would step into a place of his own creation to provide for our redemption but notice secondly not merely the place of the cross let's notice the people of the cross after all that's why he came he came for people people like us people like these in the scripture verse 35 the bible tells us and the people stood beholding and the rulers also with them derided him saying he saved others let him save himself if he be the christ the chosen of god now notice this phrase in verse 35 the people stood beholding interesting phrase meaning they were spectators they were there some were worshipers but the majority were spectators this was something to watch this was something to jeer this was something to make comment about you know we live in a nation full of spectators we live in a nation where people sometimes are even attracted to grotesque sport and they bet on these sports and they scream and yell and think that it's kind of cool and as america becomes more and more depraved the more bloody and the more ugly we are becoming more and more in my opinion like the romans of old imagine yourself just for a fun afternoon going to watch someone crucified this gives you a picture of the mindset of the roman culture how depraved it had become and they were there as spectators and may i say that while they may merely have come to see who was being killed this day they would be held responsible for what they saw may i say that every person in america who hears the name of christ in the gospel of christ even if they reject it even if they only use jesus for cursing where you work even if they only make fun of jesus on television however they twist the truth may i remind you that one day it is appointed on a man once to die and after this the judgment every man will stand before god for what he does with the truth of the crucifixion and the resurrection this world may view themselves merely as spectators but they will be held responsible now jesus had taught in john 12 and i if i be lifted up i will draw all men unto me and here we see that he is lifted now upon the cross and yet we see these scorners the bible says in psalm 22 and verse 7 all they that see me laugh me to scorn they shoot out the lip they shake the heads saying he trusted on the lord that he would deliver him let him deliver him seeing he delighted in him psalm 22 and 16. for dogs have compassed me the assembly of the wicked having closed me they pierced my hand and my feet i may tell all my bones they look and stare upon me again every single activity around the cross was prophesied in the old testament all of this tragedy is according to god's timetable please friend remember as we go through this life and as we await for the coming of jesus christ that all of it is according to his timetable the crowd was just watching as the son of god was mocked and humiliated and brutalized and it makes you wonder what would people do today what would the response of the average citizen be today the bible tells us in matthew's gospel they walked by and they they wagged their heads they railed on him they they said unkind things to the lord jesus christ and there were at least three categories of these people there were the rulers the bible says in verse 35 and the rulers also with him derided him this no doubt speaks of the jewish sanhedrin some of the religious rulers who were hoping to be done with jesus christ and and uh they derided him that is to sneer or to scoff they uh they showed sarcasm well he said he was the son of god well he's obviously not the son of god he saved others he can't he can't save himself and this is the mind of the unbeliever today is it not it's a mind of sarcasm it's a mind of criticism even while people say sometimes they say they believe in god but they'll relegate jesus to some lower echelon of the gods sometimes they'll outright deny that there is a god some of you remember the comedian and political satirist george carlin who said before his death something is wrong here when there's war and disease and death and destruction and poverty and corruption something is wrong this is not good work if this is the best god can do i'm not impressed results like these do not belong on the resume of a supreme being the man in his twisted mind failed to understand that the sins and the wars and the sickness of this world are not originated by god but originated by sinful men themselves and george carlin realized that the moment he died in 2008 and he faced a loving god who had sent his son for if by the sins for if by because of the sins of many one died and one paid the price for our sin then all may be found whole through jesus christ but he rejected christ he turned from christ many choose not to believe the rulers chose not to believe there's a second group there's the soldiers notice in verse 36 the bible says and the soldiers also mocked him coming to him and offering him vinegar think of this men who were sworn professionals men who were paid substantially some of them by the roman government now they are mocking now they're offering vinegar to jesus christ instead of water the bible speaks of this in isaiah 53 he is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not surely he hath bone borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we did not yet we did esteem him stricken and smitten of god and afflicted but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed you see by the very wounds by the very shedding of the blood that those soldiers were watching healing could have come their way except for the fact that they rejected him as the son of god they also made their choice to ridicule they mocked him in fact in verse 38 the bible says they made a superscription and placed it over him and they made it in greek on account of the hellenistic jews that would have been present and they made it in lapton on account of the governmental language of the day and they made it in hebrew on account of the language uh that was uh also common amongst those uh who were there uh with the rulers and their followers and and in order to cover this universal message of satire and criticism the guards put this inscription there years ago there was a painting made by rembrandt rembrandt in this painting of the crucifixion simply placed himself in the picture of the crucifixion interestingly he placed himself as the one overseeing the crucifixion the one watching the crucifixion rembrandt was illustrating in this painting that we were all there that all of us were there spiritually thank god if you're there as a believer then your sins are being covered by the blood that is atoning but if you're there as an unbeliever simply observing there is no atonement for someone who sees it and wags his head and reviles and only uses jesus name in a cursed language there's no redemption for someone who's like the ruler and like the soldier just making fun of what's happening there and rembrandt reminds us it's not enough to know that there was a jesus historically we must know him personally as our savior if we will be saved if we will have a home in heaven we see the rulers and the soldiers and then of course the two thieves how could you preach about the cross without remembering those two thieves notice in verse 39 and one of the male factors which were hanged railed on him can you imagine that you ever you ever wonder about the depravity of man do you ever wonder about it you ever wonder why so many men in prison so many men and women strung out on drugs so many people strung out on their bitterness i mean you could name the sin why is it that the only time they use the name of god is to curse god's name why is it some are saved thank the lord for that but so many people are bent on hating god and in fact the farther they turn from god perhaps giving themselves even to satan himself and do you see that here in this malefactor this common criminal who is he to revile the king of kings and the lord of lords yet he does here we see the first thief as he reviles and speaks out the word railed on is an interesting word it's blasphemous it speaks of speaking evil or falsely of jesus christ denying who he is he says if you are the christ but then of course there's a second one is there not in verse 40 but the other would you pray with me that we would find some of those others this week with the gospel of jesus christ don't let the devil tell you that everybody you work with doesn't want god don't let the devil tell you that all 500 000 people in the antelope valley are god hating covent fearing people that don't want to see you or touch you or hear from you hey i'm gonna tell you there are some others there were two at the cross one reviled and one believed and we must remember that there are some who do still want to know the truth of jesus christ and sometimes they wonder why we don't tell them and here we see this other the bible speaks of him here verse 40 the other answering rebuked him saying thust thou dost dost not thou fear god seeing thou art in the same condemnation oh listen this man had a tenderness to christ verse 41 and we indeed justly he says we deserve this we deserve to be hanged we're criminals for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man listen this man hath done nothing amiss by the way what you believe about jesus is vitally important if you're going to be saved it's not just that he's the way to heaven he is it's not just that he forgives sin he does but you must understand that he is the son of god the perfect son of god he's not just another man and this thief was catching that this thief was seeing that jesus christ is the sinless one he is the son of god he has done nothing amiss and he looks in verse 42 and he said unto jesus lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom we see a repentant heart when he says it should have been us we deserve this uh we see that he is willing to admit his sin we see a believing heart when he says lord remember me acts 20 and 21 says testifying both to the jews and also to the greeks repentance toward god and faith toward our lord jesus christ berkoff said moreover true repentance never exists except in conjunction with faith while on the other hand wherever there is true faith there is also real repentance in other words when a man or a woman is saved when a child is saved there is this awareness and recognition of their sin there's a willingness to confess their sin even as they are turning to the lord jesus christ and if someone is not convicted of that sin and seeing their need for christ then they will not be saved and this man was convicted of his sin to the point that he turns to jesus and said lord remember me in paradise and you know what jesus said this day shalt be with me in paradise he said for whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved oh thank the lord for his promise thank the lord that god covered him with grace this morning we see the place of the cross it is called calvary cranium the hill of the skull we see the people of the cross and some rejecting and some receiving christ such as the centurion but notice if you would with me this morning the pardon of the cross what is being accomplished here is the pardon of the sin of all who would believe the sinless one took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint jesus bears this horrific pain and shedding of blood so that we might have redemption there is at the cross then pardon for sin by the way i don't care if you've been saved three years 30 years or 60 years don't ever get over what happened at the cross you hear a song about the cross you say i've sung that 20 times before sing it again and thank god for it the pardon of the cross now notice in verse 34 the bible says then said jesus father forgive them forgive them that's the heart of god for you that's the heart of jesus toward you father you know what's about to happen here you sent me on this mission father forgive them for they know not what they do now the question this morning who can forgive sin some say their church can forgive sin the mormon church baptizes people for their dead relatives so that their dead relative sin can be covered the church of christ teaches that sins are washed away in the water when someone is baptized it's called baptismal regeneration the question this morning is does water wash away sin the question this morning is can a church wash away sin can we by doing our own good works wash away sin and i believe the answer is very clear in the bible this morning there is one that can wash away sin and his name is jesus christ but god commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners christ died for us much more than being saved through him by the wrath to come every one of us can find salvation through the cross of jesus christ but some would say well jesus yes we understand jesus but jesus was just a man how can you say that just a man could forgive our sin may i submit to you this morning that he was conceived of the holy spirit that he was born of the virgin mary listen if he if he wasn't man then who was that in bethlehem's manger but if he wasn't god then why did the angel say unto you this day is born a savior which is christ the lord if he wasn't man then who was baptized in the jordan river if he wasn't god then why did a voice from heaven say this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased if he wasn't man then who was that that was tempted in the wilderness if he wasn't god of whom did the scripture say he made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of god through him if he wasn't man to whom did the leper boy bow and say lord if thou wilt thou can makes me clean and if he wasn't god who said i will be thou clean and if he wasn't man who touched the brow of peter's wife's mother and if he wasn't god who made the fever leave and if he wasn't man who was that asleep in the back of the boat and if he wasn't god who was it that looked to the waters and said peace be still and if it wasn't man then who stayed on the mountain all night to pray and if he wasn't god who saw the disciples in their storm toss ship and came walking to them on the water and if he wasn't man then who rode in the sand at the feet of the woman taking an adultery and if he wasn't god then who said neither do i condemn thee go and sin no more and if it wasn't man who stopped and said who touched me and if he wasn't god who looked at the woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years and then touching the hem of his robe has made me whole and said daughter thy faith hath made thee whole and if he wasn't man who stood all day and taught the multitudes and if he wasn't god who took the five barley loaves and the two fish and fed a crowd of five thousand men beside women and children and if he wasn't man who whipped outside the tomb of lazarus in bethany's graveyard and if he wasn't god who cried with a loud voice lazarus come forth and if he wasn't man who washed the disciples feet and if he wasn't god who said this is my body which is broken for you this is my blood which is shed for you and if it wasn't man who sweat as it were great drops of blood and if it wasn't god who said father if it be possible let this cup pass for me nevertheless not my will but thine be done if he wasn't man whose beard did they pluck out and if he wasn't god who said destroy this temple and in three days i will raise it up again and if he wasn't man who said i thirst and if he wasn't god who looked at the thief next to him and said today thou shalt be with me in paradise and if he wasn't man who looked down at mary and said woman behold thy son and john john behold thy mother and if he wasn't god who cried it is finish and if he wasn't man then who on that cross cried out my god my god why hast thou forsaken me and if he wasn't god then who said father into thine hands i commit my spirit and if he wasn't man whose body did they place in the borrowed tomb of joseph of arimathea and if he wasn't god who rose on the third day triumphantly he is the god man and he is the only one who can save someone's sin the only one who can cover sin and provide salvation is this god a man oh from the heart of the father we hear this love message today that from calvary a word is spoken and the word is father forgive them for they know not what they do first john 4 and 10 herein is love not that we loved god but that he loved us and sent his son to be a propitiation for our sin jesus came to that cross he bore the pain of that cross the suffering the separation the loneliness of that cross so that our sins could be pardoned it's a place where sins are pardoned a pardon for sin but it's also a place for the saved that is provided here you see what is what is provided at the cross well a pardon is provided but also because of the cross there's a place where every believer will reside did you catch that in verse 43 the bible says and jesus said unto him verily i say unto thee today thou shalt be with me in paradise now the word paradise speaks of the soul's destination immediately after death and he says you'll be there immediately we read the word here we read it in luke 16 with lazarus paul speaks of paradise in second corinthians he says you're going to be there immediately you'll be with me in heaven it speaks of heaven the place of the saved billy graham tells the story of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town and he saw a young man he needed some directions and he asked the young man he said son where's the post office he said i'm i'm looking for the post office and afterwards the evangelist said to the young man i'd like to invite you to come to our revival meeting tonight i'm going to be preaching a message and telling people how they can know how to get to heaven and the young boy said i don't think so he said if you don't know how to get to the post office i'm not going to listen to you on how to get to heaven you know you you may not know where the post office is but if you know jesus you know how to get to heaven because whoever will come to him he will in no wise cast them out and oh what a blessing to think of this that as jesus is on the cross being reviled by rulers and soldiers and criminals that this one man said lord remember me and jesus said today you'll be with me in heaven you'll recall this this man did not have the opportunity to get baptized could somebody help me with that this morning he didn't have a sunday school pen to show you he didn't have a religious pedigree he simply believed on the lord jesus christ for by grace are you saved through faith and it's not of yourselves it's the gift of god it's not of works lest any man should boast and jesus said i'll meet you in heaven jesus says let not your heart be troubled you believe in god believe also in me and my father's house are many mansions if it were not so i would have told you i go to prepare a place for you and if i go to prepare a place for you i will come again and receive you unto myself that where i am there you may be also this same jesus who provided a place called heaven for this trespasser will provide a place called heaven for your neighbor he'll provide a place called heaven for your friend now he may want to use us to invite them it may require that we're obedient to his commission to tell them about jesus christ well they're not ashamed to tell you about their sports team or their political view they're they're not ashamed to tell you about what matters to them does jesus matter to you when we think of all that he did should we not tell others of his wonderful love you see there's a great difference today my friends a great difference between realizing on the cross he was crucified and then saying on the cross he was crucified for me and when it becomes personal like that then you know salvation then you have a message to share with others for the bible says neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name given under heaven whereby you must be saved may i challenge you this week to share that name to talk to folks look it it's easter boy i'm looking forward to church this sunday our pastor is going to preach about the resurrection the coming of christ he's beginning a brand new series talking about what's going on in the world and where does it align biblically and how we can know that god has a plan in fact you can receive a free copy of his book understanding the times i hope you'll come he'll tell us about jesus you'll learn more about the one that means so much to me more than anyone else i've ever known jesus he died on the cross of calvary and even that guy at work that only says jesus in the form of a cuss word something's going to come into his mind some thought's going to come racing into his heart maybe a grandmother's praying for him in another state i do not know but god can use you to nudge them so that they might know the lord jesus christ the cross at the cross at the cross where i first saw the light oh friend never get over what happened for you at the cross of jesus christ the bible tells us of the cross when they came to the place which is called calvary let's think of that place let's live in that place this week let's live out the reality of the cross this week

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

Views: 1,284

Rating: 4.9069767 out of 5

Keywords: lancaster baptist church, lancaster baptist, baptist church, paul, chappell, paul chappell, pastor paul chappell

Id: bkS2NCXrSP0

Length: 46min 18sec (2778 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 29 2021