the cross focused life

Living it up: Part 4- The Cross focused life                              Friday July 2, 2010 Ecclesiastes 7:13-20; Hebrews 12:1-13
 

Consider what God has done! Eccl. 7:13 Consider Him (Jesus)! Hebrews 12:3

Ecclesiastes has allusions to several New Testament Scriptures. 7:20 “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” is directly quoted in Romans 3:12 and 3:23 All have sinned providing the basis of Universality of Sin. All are sinners and in need of a Saviour.

I. Consider What God has done!
The Universality of Sin
– Original sin and personal sin.
All have sinned – All can be saved – Christ died on the Cross to save ALL sinners. On the Cross Christ forgave all sinners. The offer of forgiveness is for all.
-Confess, believe, receive Christ and receive His life.
-Consider what God has done! Stand in Awe before God!

II. Consider Him (Christ)! Hebrews 12:3
*Analyze and observe every part of his life and conduct and his courage in sufferings.
*The Cross of Christ remains a subject of discussion, faith, scorn and ridicule. Wisdom does not agree that someone needs to die. Ch. 7 speaks on wisdom.
*Consider Him who endured
Endure –Hupomeno to bear up with courage. Courageously suffer. 12:2,3,7

*He Endured the Cross
Jesus endured the cross. Despising the Shame. Bore all the shame.
-Shamelessly and ashamed are two opposite. We can suffer shamelessly because of the cross is to identify with Christ and consider Him but be ashamed of the cross, is to disown Christ and His Cross.
*He Endured opposition form sinful men.
-“Contradiction form sinners against Him.” KJV

*You Endure Hardship. Vs. 7 To endure hardship does not fit in worldly wisdom.
-It is foolishness. Why would a loving God allow hardship?
-Do we prepare our children to endure hardship or to enjoy life? “Whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39 – sounds foolishness.

III. Cross Focused Life changes perspective on Life.
1. You forgive by looking at the cross.
You want to get back but one look at the cross, you forgive and move on. -He forgave his accusers and his tormentors. Col 3:13 Forgive as the Lord forgave you. “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” I forgive but find it hard to forget. Consider Him!

Unless you forget you cannot move on. Phil 3:13, speaking of getting hold on life for which Christ has called Him. “I do not consider myself yet to taken hold of it.

But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:13 “Forgetting what is behind me, I press on…”

When we do not forgive, we allow ourselves to be in bondage to someone else. You forgive and let God be God. It is dreadful to fall into the hands of Awesome God.
-We have to plead for God’s mercy on those who oppose and trouble us. That is why Jesus said Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing…”
-Have mercy on them O God. Surrender them to the foot of the cross.
-Let God deal with their lives. You don’t need to be in bondage to their forgiveness.

2. You give up your rights. Cross Focused. Matt 27 Jesus suffering the violation of human rights against him.
-Biblical perspective on Human rights? And Believers perspective on Human rights. -Based on Ten commandments. The Best Charter of Rights. Jesus’ speaking out against injustice and his declaring the year of Jubilee all bring up the dignity of Human beings made in the image of God.
-Christians are still working to combat human rights abuses and to promote the welfare of all people. As they preach the Gospel around the world, they are digging wells, planting crops, giving clothes, dispensing medicine, and providing education for the destitute. This is as it should be.
-We also must understand the way they are treated for the sake of the Gospel.
-There is a sense in which the Christian has no “rights” of his own, because he has surrendered his life to Christ. Christ “owns” the believer. “You are not your own; you were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). But God’s authority over us does not negate God’s image in us. Our submission to the will of God does not annul God’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 23:39). In fact, we serve God most when we serve others (Matthew 25:40).

People never give up their rights. They always fight for their rights. We give up in order to advance a greater cause. The Kingdom comes first. Before self and before my own rights. Take up His cross and follow Him.Jesus said to them all, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Lk.9:23

3. You Let Christ Win. Victory in Christ. Determine victory. Who won?
God has made us victorious through Christ our Lord and His Cross. God has made a public spectacle of the enemy.

“He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us, he took it away nailing it to the cross and having disarmed the powers and authorities he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the Cross.” Col 2:13-15

We are led into triumphant victory through Jesus. 2 Cor. 2:14 “Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ …” 1 Cor 15:57 “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We are on the winning side. Either way we win. Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live ---- but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Victory in Christ has nothing to do with personal victory.

-Victory for the Cross sometime comes at the cost of personal loss. As crucified, we have nothing to lose or nothing to gain.

Looking unto Jesus
– He is the Author and perfecter or finisher of our faith. For the Joy set before Him, endured the cross.
-Beyond the Cross, he saw the Joy of doing the will of God.
-Narrowness that led to a life of obedience. Sometime the Roads that leads to life is narrow Matt 7:14 only a cross focused life can see the Life on the other side of the road. “Enter through the narrow gate…Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it….But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Galatians 6: speaks of boasting without cross. Taking away the cross from their lives to avoid persecution and sufferings.

6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.”

Cross focused life is without weight and besetting sin. WE can run the race and win the prize.

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