If I Be Lifted Up
The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
John 3:14-15 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Jesus went on to say," for God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."
Jesus looked through our blackened sin-stained hearts and still loved us so much He came to die for our sins. He knew no matter what we did of ourselves it just would not be good enough to obtain merit with God.
What Jesus Did
John 19:17 " And He bearing HIS cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgatha: Where they crucified Him.
Jesus knew what was to come, He knew the pain and torture He would endure. But my friend He loves you and me so much He knew this cruel death was planned before the very foundations of the world. How much love is that? An eternal glorious king looked down upon the foundations of Earth and said He will someday die to reclaim mankind. That He was not coming to condemn the world but to save it if we just call upon His name.
Cruelty of The Cross
The Romans were killers, bold cruel hateful despisers of men killers. To them crucifying a person was just a game and the worse they made it the more thrilled they were. BUT JESUS HAD A PLAN. The cross of calvary was to have the longest lasting effect on mankind the world has ever known. If He be lifted up, He would draw all men unto Him. No, that does not mean every person ever to live will be saved. It does though mean some time in that life Christ would be presented to them. Some only one day before God will realize just when Jesus was presented to them. I Corinthians 1: 17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. We need to carefully proclaim the Gospel, so the lost sinner sees the cross. Not flowery like a lot of the television preachers but with words given by the Holy Spirit of God. Preaching Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sin.
NOT OUR GLORY
Galatians 6:14, " But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." We do not preach to obtain glory of men. If we do that then it is us seeking our own greatness and not the glory of the cross of Christ. One must never take the pulpit boldly for God will humble him as he comes down, rather take the pulpit humbled and let God give you the boldness to preach HIS Word. Go up humble come down bold, go up bold come down humbled. You see Christ humbled Himself even to death the death of the cross, Philippians 2:8. See those seeking glory in preaching the Gospel, their own glory are enemies of the cross. They are likened to the Scribes and Pharisees, and the Sadducees. Philippians 3:18
REDEMPTION
Christ redeemed us by going to the cross to die. He offered His very body beaten and bruised for our sins. HE gave up the throne of heaven to come as a lowly man to be lifted up on the cross of calvary as our sacrificial lamb. He alone bore our sin and wiped our hearts clean by his cross. Colossians 1:20 "And having made peace through the blood of HIS cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him ", and if you are looking up each scripture keep reading in Colossians through verse 23. Paul tells us just what Jesus did for us. In the second chapter and verse 14, one of my favorite verses Paul exclaims," BLOTTING OUT THE HANDWRITING OF ORDINANCES THAT WAS AGAINST US, WHICH WAS CONTRARY TO US, AND TOOK IT OUT OF THE WAY, NAILING IT TO HIS CROSS. Read this verse slowly, pause at each comma. How many times has the apostle Paul called it HIS cross? It was not a cross we could bear. It was not a sacrifice we could make. If we even tried, we would still pay the penalty of our sins, DEATH, eternal separation from God.
AUTHOR OF OUR FAITH
Jesus planned out faith, He planned for our redemption. He alone gave His own life that we may live, live forgiven and redeemed. Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. See the finishing was Jesus going to the cross to die, was dead, buried and rose from the dead. He completed His work; He finished the plan of man's redemption. He DIED so you could live, He arose from death so you could live again. Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, my friend He knew we could not do it alone He took our place, despising the shame, the shame of the cross, a king crucified by the spiteful horrendous cross. And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. He is there for when you the believer dies, He tells God you are one of HIS.
WHAT IS YOUR PLAN
What is your plan? How do you figure to spend eternity? See John tells us we may know of our salvation in I John 5:11-13. What will you do today? Will you take Him and ask for your sins to be forgiven? They already are acknowledged by Jesus and nailed to His cross, you just have to now acknowledge Him and ask that your sin is forgiven. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, there is none righteous no not one, for the wages of sin is death, death by definition is eternal separation from God. Yes, it sounds bleak, but Romans 5:8 tells us, "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." He died for you and me, will you accept HIM now?
