November 13, 2025 • 49 mins
Pastor Lance highlights the centrality of the cross to every believer: we are determined above all to know Christ and Him crucified, according to 1 Corinthians 2:2.
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Father, thank you, Lord, for tonight.
We are grateful for the midweek opportunity to study the Word of
God. We thank you for what you've
already taught us as we have looked into your Word to see
what your Bible says about Christianity.
And we know that you'll teach usthis evening as we study the
Word of God. Open our hearts and minds.
Help us to be receptive to the truth of your Word.
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And our prayer, Father, is that as each of us look at our own
lives, we would measure it according to the standard you've
given in your word. And that, Lord, that would be
the measuring stick by which we look at our life and ask
ourselves the question, as Paul had said in 2nd Corinthians 13.
Five, test yourself, prove yourself to see whether or not
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Jesus is in you. May that always be the case for
us and may we live a life of self examination according to
what your word says, and then maybe live according to your
word in Jesus name, Amen. I gave you an outline tonight.
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If you didn't pick one up, they're still in the back, but I
gave one to you just so that youkind of know where we have been
over the last nine weeks that we've been together.
This is week #10 but we're on point #9 because the first week
was introductory. But all those points help you
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identify the marks of true Christianity we're looking at
and answer the question. Question, what is a a Christian?
And so as you look at that, you realize that a Christian is
known by decision, by definition, by description,
declaration, dedication, denunciation, devotion,
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disassociation, all those thingswe have covered over the last
several weeks. And we've only really touched
the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding all these
different points. But tonight, we want you to
understand that a Christian is known by determination.
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There there is a firmness about the believer.
There is a resolute determination, A steadfastness
about the believer that helps mark him out as one who truly
knows the Christ. He is one who truly has one
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focus, and that focus is a commitment and a discipline that
he exemplifies or she exemplifies.
In and through their lives. They know what needs to be done
and they do it. And the answer is in First
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Corinthians 2 verse #2 where Paul said these words.
For I determined to know nothingamong you except Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. That is the believers
determination. I determined to know nothing
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except the person Jesus Christ and his passion, his
crucifixion. I determined to know nothing
among you except the man Jesus Christ and his mission to be
crucified, Paul says. I I determined to know nothing
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among you except the Son Jesus Christ and his sacrifice.
I determined to know just one thing, the person and work of
Jesus Christ our Lord. That is the believers
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determination. Paul sums it up very succinctly.
I have one message, I have one mission.
I have one main talking point and it centers around a person,
Jesus Christ, and his purpose for coming his crucifixion.
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Every Christian is determined toknow nothing but the Christ and
his crucifixion, His death on Calvary.
It is the central mission of thelife of the believer.
And yet we find ourselves more concerned about social issues
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and more concerned about political issues and more
concerned about moral issues andmore concerned about mental
issues than we do biblical, scriptural issues.
And that's always going to be a problem.
But it need not be if you are determined to know nothing but
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Everything centers on the person
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of Christ and the power of the cross.
Everything centers on that. We have one symbol in our
auditorium and only one, and that symbol is behind me and is
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the cross of Christ. That's the only symbol.
There's no other symbol necessary, for it is that which
defines our faith. It's the one thing that
separates us from everyone else,the person and work of Jesus
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Christ our Lord on Calvary's cross.
That is the main thing and it means to be kept the main thing
in the church. And over the years there have
been all kinds of crosses. There have been Greek crosses
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and Coptic crosses and Roman Catholic crosses and Protestant
crosses, and Christians wear crosses and non Christians wear
crosses. And yet just because you have a
piece of jewelry around your neck doesn't mean you have the
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person of Jesus in your heart. It's very important to recognize
that a lot of people wear crosses, but do they even know
what that cross means? A cross was always a symbol of
torture. It was always a symbol of death.
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It was always a symbol of degradation and humiliation.
It's very precious to the believer.
Why? Because what man chose to do to
destroy the Christ only truly magnified the Christ.
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And so we realized that the cross was something that that
was such a, a, a painful experience.
It was developed by the Persians, Persians in, in the
500 B CS BC. It wasn't adopted by Rome until
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63 BC. They adopted it and perfected it
to such a degree that that it became the the main symbol of
torture and humiliation. You'll, you'll see people with
crosses in their, in their homesor around their necks with, with
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the person of Christ on the cross that, that always has, has
been a, a sticking point with mebecause the person on the cross
that they have is recognizable. But the Bible says he was
unrecognizable as a man because he was beaten beyond
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recognition. So, yeah, if you have a Jesus on
a cross that he's recognizable, you got the wrong Jesus because
he was not recognizable. If you have a Jesus on a cross
that has a loincloth around him,that again is wrong because when
people were crucified, they werealways crucified naked.
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There was no loincloth on them because it was an act of
humiliation and degradation. But you don't have people with
crosses with naked Jesus on them.
They got the wrong Jesus on there because he's not there.
He died and was buried and rose again.
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So it's imperative that you get the cross of Christ right,
because it is everything. It's the main thing.
So Paul would say, I determined to know nothing among you except
Jesus Christ the person and his cross, which was his passion and
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purpose for coming. So important to to understand
that, but yet we so easily forget that.
Paul didn't say I preach about the life of Christ.
Paul didn't say I preach about the miracles of Christ.
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Paul didn't say I preach about the message of Christ.
No, I preach Christ and him crucified because his life
didn't save us. His message didn't save us.
His miracles didn't save us. It was his work on Calvary's
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cross that saves us. And so Paul would determine to
know nothing among those in Corinth except Jesus Christ and
him crucify. The centrality of the cross is
what the Bible is all about. I'll show you that in a moment.
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But everything in the Bible centers on the person and work
of the Messiah, and that work was accomplished on Calvary's
cross. The cross was central to the
mission of Christ. It was central to the message of
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Christ, and it's central to the meaning of Christianity.
The cross is everything. And so therefore you must
understand the Christ who hung on Calvary's cross.
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It's interesting to note that the gospels, the Synoptic
gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke,1/3 of them is all about the
last week of our Lord's life. John's Gospel which is about the
deity of Christ. Half of John's gospel focuses in
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on the last week of the life of Christ.
In fact, if you got your Bible, turn me to John chapter 2
because in John's Gospel, John would refer to the hour 7 times
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and the hour is very very important.
As you recall in Luke's gospel that our Lord was 12 years old
and the very first recorded words in the scripture that were
spoken by Jesus were when he was12.
And there was nothing else untilhis ministry began and he began
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to preach about the Kingdom of of heaven.
But the words that he spoke at 12 years of age to his mother
while he was dialoguing with thePharisees in the temple were
these. Don't you know that I had to be
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about my father's business? Everything about the ministry of
Christ centered on the business of his father.
Very important statement. Probably the most important
statement Christ ever made. At the age of 12, I must be
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about my Father's business. In fact, it's the the first of
seven divine musts in the Gospelof Luke.
If you trace those divine musts through Luke's Gospel, you'll
realize that all of them deal with something about the truth
of his death. Why?
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Because that was central to his message.
It was central to his mission. So at the very beginning of
John's Gospel and we'll, we'll embark on a great journey in the
new year, coming in 2026 on Sunday mornings by going through
John's Gospel. It will take us a long time to
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get through John's Gospel. It took us nine years to get
through Luke, so it'll probably take us at least that long or
more to get through the Gospel of John.
But in the 2nd chapter of John, Christ is going to perform his
very first miracle, turning water into wine.
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It's very unique. And we'll talk about this when
we get there in in 2026. But it's it's interesting to
note that that this is his firstmiracle.
And you would think that his first miracle would make a make
a bigger splash than turning water into wine.
You would think his first miracle would be a resurrection.
I mean, that would make a prettybig splash.
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But it wasn't even healing someone who was who was
paralyzed would be a great splash.
I mean, after all, how many times do you get to make a first
impression? Just once.
And so we look at the turning ofthe water into wine in John
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chapter 2 as a so, so miracle. Oh, but it was a miracle that
set the tone for his entire ministry, that that's why it's
recorded and that's why it's thefirst miracle, because it
describes to us exactly why Jesus came.
And the Bible says to John too, that on the third day there was
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a wedding in Canaan of Galilee. And commentators will debate the
the meaning of the third day. I don't debate that.
I think it's very clear as to why John would say, why would
John say that on the third day there was a wedding in Canaan of
Galilee? The Jews will tell you it was
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the day of weddings, that that would be Tuesday of the week.
Saturday, of course, would be the Sabbath and that ended at
the evening time on Saturday. Sunday would be the first day of
the week and so they would beginto make preparations for the
wedding. Monday would be the the final
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duty surrounding the wedding andTuesday would be the wedding.
And so they would say that a lotof Jewish weddings would take
place on a Tuesday in ancient times.
I don't buy that, but that's what a lot of Jews will tell
you. I think it's very important
because I think it it sets the tone for the resurrection of
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Christ that on the third day he would rise again.
Why? Because this is the first
mention of the hour in John's gospel, the first of seven
times. And so it says in in verse
number #2 or says in verse #1 onthe third day was the wedding in
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King of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
And both Jesus and his discipleswere invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him,
they have no wine. And Jesus said to her, woman,
what does that have to do with us?
My hour has not yet come. So this is the first mention of
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the hour. So I think that John inserts the
third day because the third day is related to the hour.
And these are the words that Christ said to His mother.
My hour has not yet come becausethe very first mention of the
hour is that which would characterize His ministry.
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Very important to understand that.
Why? Because He would take the filthy
water, the murky water, The Dirty water for cleansing and
make it into the finest of wine.Because you see, that's what
Jesus did when he saves the soul.
He takes the murky, dirty water of your life and makes it the
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finest of wine. He makes you a brand new
creation. That that's why Jesus came.
That's why this is the first miracle.
It sets the tone for what the ministry of Christ is all about.
And that's why the very Nick scene, He's cleansing the
temple. Why?
Because Jesus is all about cleansing.
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And so he turns the water in thewine, and the very next scene is
his cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem.
And the very next scene after that is the conversation with
Nicodemus which says that a man must be born again.
He must be washed with the washing of water of the Word.
Again, speaking about the cleansing of the inner man.
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Everything about the ministry ofChrist was about cleaning the
life that is so filled with sin so that we can be clothed in the
righteousness of Christ. But that's the first mention of
the hour and it characterized his ministry.
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The second mention of the hour is found in John Chapter 7.
Because the Jews were were seeking to kill him.
And it says in verse #30 of John7.
So they were seeking to seize him, and no man laid his hand on
him because his hour had not yetcome.
The second mention of the hour in John's gospel.
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The first characterized his ministry, the second conveyed
His sovereignty. His hour had not yet come.
They wanted to kill him, but they couldn't.
Why? Because He was on a divine
timetable and everything about the Cross is is precise.
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And although they wanted to seize them and although they
wanted to kill them, him, they couldn't do it because his hour
had not yet come. But it was coming.
And so it truly conveyed His sovereignty over an 820 is the
third mention. It's the same thing.
It says these words. He spoke to the treasury as he
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taught in the temple, and no oneseized him because his hour had
not yet come. Again, it's all about the hour.
So the first mention, excuse me,clarifies His identity or His
ministry, and the second and thethird one convey to us His
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sovereignty. And then you come to the the 4th
mention of the hour, excuse me, that's in John 12 verse #23 when
some Greeks had come to to Philip and asked to see Jesus,
and Philip took him to Andrew and Andrew brought them to
Jesus. And these are the words of
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Jesus. In verse 23, He says the hour
has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
The hour's here. The hour has come.
He, he, He has truly conveyed His sovereignty.
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He has truly clarified His ministry, and now he's going to
certify His destiny. The hour has come.
Then in verse 27, now my soul has become troubled and what
should I say? Father saved me from this hour.
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But for this purpose I came to this hour.
Father glorify your name. The hour certified His destiny.
And then you, you have the next mentioned, the 6th mentioned in
chapter 13 verse #1 now before the the feast of the Passover.
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Excuse me, Jesus knowing that His hour had come, that He would
depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who
were in the world, He loved themto the end.
Here He clarified His identity. And then in John 17 verse #1 is
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the 7th mention of the hour, andit says, lifting up his eyes to
heaven, He said, Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son
that the sun may be glorified, or that the sun might glorify
you. So everything was about moving
toward the hour, and this one communicated His glory.
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Father, glorify the sun, so the sun may glorify you.
Put the sun on display so the sun can display you.
And is it not true that at the cross the glory of the Lord was
on display? His love was on display, His
mercy was on display, His forgiveness was on display.
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His goodness was on display. His wrath was on display.
Everything about the attributes of God were displayed at
Calvary. So Paul will say, I determined
to know nothing among you exceptJesus Christ and him crucified,
because when he was crucified, his glory was on display and he
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glorified his Father by putting him on display.
Everything is about putting Christ on display.
That is the determination of thebeliever.
I am determined to put Christ ondisplay.
So I'm going to preach Christ, the person and the power of the
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cross because that's the best way I can show people who Jesus
really is. You see, we forget that that the
cross is, is everything. Let's look at it this way.
Eternity past eternity past before the creation of the world
is all about the let's call it the predetermination or the
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predestination of the cross because he was the Lamb slain
before the foundation of the world.
So when eternity passed before the creation of the world,
everything was about the predetermination or the
predestination of the cross. So when the Bible says in Jesus
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one, let us make man in our image, the plan had been put
into place. Deity communicating with deity,
let us make man in our image. Why?
Because the whole purpose was toredeem a bride for the Son.
So in eternity past, it's all about the predetermination of
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the cross. So when you open your Bible and
you read the Old Testament, the Old Testament is all about the
preparation or the prediction ofthe cross.
Everything in the Old Testament prepares you for the cross
because everything in the Old Testament predicts the cross.
OK, so you read Psalm 22A, Messianic Psalm written 1000
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years before the cross was aboutthe crucifixion.
And then you move and you you open your Bible and you begin to
read Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 was written 700 years
before the cross. And then you read Zechariah
chapter 12 verse #10 where it says that that one day they will
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look upon him whom they have pierced.
Speaking of the of the crucifixion written 550 years
before the cross. Now why is that important?
Because the first recorded crucifixion in history happened
500 years before the cross, and yet 1000 years before the cross,
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there was a prediction about it.700 years before the cross there
was a prediction about it. 550 years before the cross there was
a prediction about it. But the cross did not come into
play until 500 BC by the Persians.
So before it was ever a thing oftorture, before it was ever an
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item that that would come into play, where it would crucify
and, and, and, and had this cruel death of people.
The Bible had already predicted it.
Why? Because it was predetermined in
the eternity past that he'd be the Lamb slain before the
foundation of the world. So in eternity past you have the
predetermination of the cross, and then in the Old Testament
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you have the preparation or the prediction about the cross.
And so you move through your OldTestament, you come to the
Gospels and the Gospels is all about the mission and the
revelation of the cross. Remember Mark's Gospel in Mark
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chapter 8 after Christ that asked the disciples who do men
say that I am doubt the Christ, the Son of the living God.
He says, OK, don't tell anybody that this is what I want you to
tell them. Mark 831 And he began to teach
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them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be
rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes,
and be killed. After three days, rise again.
And he was stating this matter plainly, openly.
In other words, this what you tell everybody?
Don't tell I'm the Christ and I'm the living God.
Tell them that the Son of Man must suffer.
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Tell them about the divine certainty of the cross.
And of course, that's when Peterwould pipe up and say, Lord, you
know, you don't have the mind, the things of God.
I mean, Lord, you don't understand who you are.
You're the Messiah. You're not going to die and
Christ is going to be behind me,Satan.
But they didn't understand the predetermination of the cross,
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nor did they understand the predictions about the cross.
So you move from Mark 9, from the divine necessity of the
cross to mark, I'm sorry, mark 8to mark 9, which speaks about
the divine certainty of the cross.
He said He was teaching His disciples the Son of Man is to
be delivered. This is divine certainty.
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What was the divine necessity? He must be delivered.
This is divine certainty. He is to be delivered into the
hands of men, and they will killhim, and when he has been
killed, he will rise three days later.
But they did not understand thisstatement, and they were afraid
to ask him. Why were they afraid to ask him?
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Why didn't they want to ask Jesus about the cross?
All you got to do is read on in in Mark's Gospel and you realize
that says the verse 33. They came to Capernaum and when
he was in the house, he began toquestion them.
What were you discussing on the way as if Jesus didn't know, but
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they kept silent for on the way they discussed with one another
which of them was the greatest. Of course, not going to ask
Jesus about the cross because that didn't fit into their their
methodology of greatness. So they weren't going to tell
him anything. But you see, the Gospels is
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about the mission of the cross and the revelation of the cross.
So everybody knows about the cross.
So you have the divine necessityand you have the divine
certainty, and then you have thedivine brutality of the cross.
And that's in chapter 10 when itsays these words.
And again he took the 12 aside and began to tell them what was
going to happen to them, saying,Behold, we are going up to
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Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief
priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death
and will hand them over to the Gentiles.
They will mock him, spit on him,scourge him, kill him, and three
days later he will rise again. The divine brutality of the
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cross. But even though he spoke about
its necessity, its certainty, and its brutality, he always
couched it in the victory of thecross.
Three days later I will rise again.
So wonder, Paul said. I determined to know nothing to
money except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
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Why? Because everything about the
cross was something that was predetermined in eternity past
and everything in the Old Testament all just predicted
what was going to happen with the death of the Messiah before
crucifixions were ever a thing. Now you now you come to the to
the gospels and now you have themission of the of the cross.
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This was the divine mission of the Messiah.
And so when he came, he came to die.
So you move from the Gospels to where the book of Acts and the
book of Acts is all about the explanation of the cross.
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If eternity passes about predetermination, and in the Old
Testament is about prediction and the Gospels is about the
mission of the cross, then in the book of Acts you have the
explanation about the cross because you're explaining to the
Jewish nation why it is the Messiah must come, must suffer,
and must die and rise again. So you you have in the book of
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Acts the explanation of the cross, and with that explanation
came the persecution of those who followed the way of the
cross. And you move from the book of
Acts to the Epistles. In the Epistles you have the
application of the cross. The cross is applied to daily
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living. So you had this memorial that's
set up called the Lord's Table, this due in remembrance of me.
And everything about the Epistles is applying the cross
life to your daily life because you've denied yourself.
Take it up your cross and you follow Christ.
And Paul would say, I've been crucified with Christ.
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I've died to myself. Christ died.
Second Corinthians chapter 5 sayyou would no longer live for
yourself, but for the one who gave himself for you and rose
again. It's all about the application
of the cross. Then when you're done with the
epistles, you come to what? The Book of Revelation?
What's the Book of Revelation about?
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It's all about the celebration of the cross.
It's all about the celebration. It's all about the adoration of
the cross. Why, for those of you who've
been here, you know what I'm going to say.
One time in the Old Testament, the Messiah is referred to as a
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lamb. Two times in the Gospels, John's
Gospel, he's referred to as the Lamb.
Two times in the epistles, the Messiah is referred to as the
Lamb. But when you come to the Book of
Revelation, 28 times he's referred to as the Lamb.
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Why? Because the Book of Revelation
is about the celebration of the cross, the Lamb that was slain.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive glory and honor
and praise. It's all about the celebration
of the cross. And then after the Book of
Revelation, where are you? You're in the eternal state.
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And you know what's going to happen in the eternal state.
It's all going to be centered around.
Get this now, the illumination of the cross.
Listen to this Revelation, chapter 21, verse 23.
And the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it,
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for the glory of God has illumined it.
And it's lamp is the lamp, the illumination of the cross.
It's that which illuminates eternity, future.
And so you, you, you go through all that, you begin to realize
everything in the Bible is aboutthe cross.
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So no wonder Paul said, I determined to know nothing among
you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Why? Because that's everything.
That's what we do. That's who we are.
And so after the predetermination of the cross
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and after the prediction about the cross and the mission of the
cross and the explanation of thecross, and then you have the
celebration of the cross and theillumination of the cross.
What's left? The invitation to the cross.
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There's always the invitation that's given because it's Christ
to invite you to come. If any man come after me, let
him deny himself, take of his cross and and follow me 6 times.
Christ talks about the cross andfollowing him because that's the
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gospel invitation. It's all about the cross.
Remember way back in, in, in thebook of Exodus, Christ gave
Moses his memorial name. Exodus 3 verse #15 this is my
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name, my memorial name that is to be remembered from generation
to generation. And that name is is given when,
when, when Moses is speaking to God, who's speaking to him
through a burning Bush, He says,who should I say?
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Send me? Tell him I am sent you.
I am is commonly called the tetragrammaton, the the four
Hebrew consonants that make up the name of God, the yod, the
hey, the vav in the hey pronounced yave.
We had some vowels in there to call it Jehovah, but the right
pronunciation pronunciation is yave in the Greek.
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It's ego a me I am, and Christ would say in John 824, unless
you believe that I am ego a me, which is the translation of the
for Hebrew consonants in the book of Exodus, the 3rd chapter.
Unless you believe that I'm the God who spoke to Moses from the
burning Bush, you'll die in yoursins.
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That's His memorial name becauseeverything about His name is to
be memorialized. Because in that name I am that I
am. God declared his preeminence,
demonstrated his power, described his provision, and
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delivered his people. That's the memorial name of God.
And that's exactly what happenedon Calvary.
He declared his preeminence. How?
By the inscription above the cross, Jesus of Nazareth, King
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of the Jews, the thief would look at him and say, Remember Me
when you come into your Kingdom.Everything about Calvary's cross
demonstrated the preeminence of Christ on the cross, because
everything happened precisely asHe described it and planned it
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out. And it was through His death on
Calvary that He destroyed the power of sin over death and
destroyed the power of Satan in your life and mine.
He declared His preeminence on Calvary.
He also demonstrated His power. John 10 verse #18 Nobody takes
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my life from me. I lay it down on my own
initiative. And if I lay it down on my own
initiative, guess what? I take it right back up again.
That's power. That's real power.
And he demonstrated his power. He demonstrated his power when
when the world became dark, he demonstrated his power through
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the earthquake and the and the falling of the rocks.
He demonstrated his power when when many people came out of the
tomb. He demonstrated his power when
the veil was torn in two. But everything about the great I
am didn't just declare his pre eminence, but it truly
demonstrated his power. Now, Calvary, did he describe
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his provision? Yes, he did.
He looked at his mother and said, behold your son, and
looked at John and said, behold your mother.
Even in his dying breath, he would provide for his mother.
(40:50):
Even in his dying breath, he honored his mother and he would
provide forgiveness. Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they were doing. He died so that man could be
forgiven, and so he would provide forgiveness.
The great I am would do this. Why?
(41:14):
So he could deliver his people. And that's exactly what he did
to the thief, he said. Today you'll be with me in
paradise. And if it wasn't for Calvary's
cross, we'd still be dead in oursins.
But we experienced deliverance from the power of sin, from the
(41:35):
penalty of sin, ultimately one day from the presence of sin.
Why? Because of the cross of Christ.
So Paul would say, I determined that there is nothing among you
except one thing, Jesus Christ and him crucified.
(42:03):
AW Tozer has written a a devotional.
It's called The Pursuit of God, The Pursuit of man.
It's very small devotional. You can't buy it on Amazon
because I bought the last 13 copies yesterday.
Sorry, but I bought them. It's such a unique devotional.
(42:28):
And in there he describes the cross.
Listen to what he says. The cross where Jesus died
became also the cross where his apostle died.
The loss, the rejection and the shame belong both to Christ and
to all who are in very truth His.
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The cross that saves them also slays them, and anything short
of this is a pseudo faith and not true faith at all.
But what are we to say when the great majority of our
evangelical leaders walk not as crucified men, but as those who
accept the world at its own value, rejecting only its
(43:13):
grosser elements? How can we face Him who was
crucified and slain when we see his followers accepted and
praised, yet they preach the cross and protest loudly that
they are true believers. Are there not 2 crosses?
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And did Paul mean one thing and they another?
I fear that that is so, that there are two crosses, the old
cross and the new cross. He says.
If I see you right, the cross ofpopular evangelicalism is not
the cross of the New Testament. It is rather a new bright
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ornament upon the bosom of self assured and carnal Christianity,
whose hands are indeed the handsof Abel, but whose voice is the
voice of Cain. The old cross slumin.
The new cross entertains men. The old cross condemned.
(44:27):
The new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed.
Confidence in the flesh. The new cross encourages
confidence in the flesh. The old cross brought tears and
blood. The new cross, well, it brings
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laughter. The flesh, smiling and
confident, preaches and sings about the cross.
Before the cross it bow, bows, excuse me.
And toward the cross it points with carefully staged
hysteronics. But upon that cross it will not
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die. And the reproach of that cross
is stubbornly refused to bear. I will know how many smooth
arguments can be marshaled in support of the new cross.
Does not the new cross win conference and make many
followers and so carry the advantage of numerical success?
Should we not adjust ourselves to the changing times?
(45:33):
Have we not heard the new slogan, New days, new ways?
And who but someone very old andvery conservative would insist
upon death as the appointed way to life?
And who today is interested in agloomy mysticism that would
(45:54):
sentence its flesh to a cross and recommend self effacing
humility as a virtue actually tobe practiced by modern
Christians? These are the arguments, along
with many more flippant still, which are brought forward to
give an appearance of wisdom to the hollow, meaningless cross of
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popular Christianity. Doubtless there are many whose
eyes are open to the tragedy of our times, but why are they so
silent when their testimony is so sorely needed?
In the name of Christ men have made void the cross of Christ.
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Men have fashioned a golden cross with a graven tool, and
before they sit down to eat and drink and rise up to play in
their own blindness, they've submitted, or, excuse me, they
have substituted the work of their own hands for the working
of God's power. Perhaps our greatest present
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need may be the coming of a prophet to dash the stones at
the foot of the mountain and call the church out to
repentance or to judgement. So articulate was a man who said
(47:25):
this almost 100 years ago. But he saw what was happening
with the cross of Christ and howman refuses to carry his cross
(47:45):
and be slayed by that cross. True Christianity, the true
believer has one determination and that is Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. Every believer is determined,
(48:09):
focused, steadfast, resolute on fulfilling 1 Main purpose, 1
objective, 1. Discipline, 1 Focus.
Christ and His cross. It's everything.
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It's that which gave you life. Why would you focus and be
determined to do anything else? Let's pray.
Lord, we thank you for tonight. We thank you for your word.
We thank you, Lord, for the conviction that it brings.
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Truly, Lord, there is so much inthe Word of God and everything
about it. It's about the cross, your
coming, your death, your Burrow,your resurrection, the victory
of that which was certain, of that which was necessary, of
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that which was brutal. It was victorious.
And we who have embraced Christ and His cross live a victorious
life. Our prayer is that Lord, every
single day we would manifest that victorious life because we
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have determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. Jesus name Amen.
Father, thank you, Lord, for tonight.
We are grateful for the midweek opportunity to study the Word of
God. We thank you for what you've
already taught us as we have looked into your Word to see
what your Bible says about Christianity.
And we know that you'll teach usthis evening as we study the
Word of God. Open our hearts and minds.
Help us to be receptive to the truth of your Word.
(00:23):
And our prayer, Father, is that as each of us look at our own
lives, we would measure it according to the standard you've
given in your word. And that, Lord, that would be
the measuring stick by which we look at our life and ask
ourselves the question, as Paul had said in 2nd Corinthians 13.
Five, test yourself, prove yourself to see whether or not
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Jesus is in you. May that always be the case for
us and may we live a life of self examination according to
what your word says, and then maybe live according to your
word in Jesus name, Amen. I gave you an outline tonight.
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If you didn't pick one up, they're still in the back, but I
gave one to you just so that youkind of know where we have been
over the last nine weeks that we've been together.
This is week #10 but we're on point #9 because the first week
was introductory. But all those points help you
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identify the marks of true Christianity we're looking at
and answer the question. Question, what is a a Christian?
And so as you look at that, you realize that a Christian is
known by decision, by definition, by description,
declaration, dedication, denunciation, devotion,
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disassociation, all those thingswe have covered over the last
several weeks. And we've only really touched
the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding all these
different points. But tonight, we want you to
understand that a Christian is known by determination.
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There there is a firmness about the believer.
There is a resolute determination, A steadfastness
about the believer that helps mark him out as one who truly
knows the Christ. He is one who truly has one
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focus, and that focus is a commitment and a discipline that
he exemplifies or she exemplifies.
In and through their lives. They know what needs to be done
and they do it. And the answer is in First
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Corinthians 2 verse #2 where Paul said these words.
For I determined to know nothingamong you except Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. That is the believers
determination. I determined to know nothing
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except the person Jesus Christ and his passion, his
crucifixion. I determined to know nothing
among you except the man Jesus Christ and his mission to be
crucified, Paul says. I I determined to know nothing
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among you except the Son Jesus Christ and his sacrifice.
I determined to know just one thing, the person and work of
Jesus Christ our Lord. That is the believers
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determination. Paul sums it up very succinctly.
I have one message, I have one mission.
I have one main talking point and it centers around a person,
Jesus Christ, and his purpose for coming his crucifixion.
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Every Christian is determined toknow nothing but the Christ and
his crucifixion, His death on Calvary.
It is the central mission of thelife of the believer.
And yet we find ourselves more concerned about social issues
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and more concerned about political issues and more
concerned about moral issues andmore concerned about mental
issues than we do biblical, scriptural issues.
And that's always going to be a problem.
But it need not be if you are determined to know nothing but
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Everything centers on the person
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of Christ and the power of the cross.
Everything centers on that. We have one symbol in our
auditorium and only one, and that symbol is behind me and is
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the cross of Christ. That's the only symbol.
There's no other symbol necessary, for it is that which
defines our faith. It's the one thing that
separates us from everyone else,the person and work of Jesus
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Christ our Lord on Calvary's cross.
That is the main thing and it means to be kept the main thing
in the church. And over the years there have
been all kinds of crosses. There have been Greek crosses
(06:33):
and Coptic crosses and Roman Catholic crosses and Protestant
crosses, and Christians wear crosses and non Christians wear
crosses. And yet just because you have a
piece of jewelry around your neck doesn't mean you have the
(06:55):
person of Jesus in your heart. It's very important to recognize
that a lot of people wear crosses, but do they even know
what that cross means? A cross was always a symbol of
torture. It was always a symbol of death.
(07:19):
It was always a symbol of degradation and humiliation.
It's very precious to the believer.
Why? Because what man chose to do to
destroy the Christ only truly magnified the Christ.
(07:42):
And so we realized that the cross was something that that
was such a, a, a painful experience.
It was developed by the Persians, Persians in, in the
500 B CS BC. It wasn't adopted by Rome until
(08:06):
63 BC. They adopted it and perfected it
to such a degree that that it became the the main symbol of
torture and humiliation. You'll, you'll see people with
crosses in their, in their homesor around their necks with, with
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the person of Christ on the cross that, that always has, has
been a, a sticking point with mebecause the person on the cross
that they have is recognizable. But the Bible says he was
unrecognizable as a man because he was beaten beyond
(08:48):
recognition. So, yeah, if you have a Jesus on
a cross that he's recognizable, you got the wrong Jesus because
he was not recognizable. If you have a Jesus on a cross
that has a loincloth around him,that again is wrong because when
people were crucified, they werealways crucified naked.
(09:12):
There was no loincloth on them because it was an act of
humiliation and degradation. But you don't have people with
crosses with naked Jesus on them.
They got the wrong Jesus on there because he's not there.
He died and was buried and rose again.
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So it's imperative that you get the cross of Christ right,
because it is everything. It's the main thing.
So Paul would say, I determined to know nothing among you except
Jesus Christ the person and his cross, which was his passion and
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purpose for coming. So important to to understand
that, but yet we so easily forget that.
Paul didn't say I preach about the life of Christ.
Paul didn't say I preach about the miracles of Christ.
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Paul didn't say I preach about the message of Christ.
No, I preach Christ and him crucified because his life
didn't save us. His message didn't save us.
His miracles didn't save us. It was his work on Calvary's
(10:38):
cross that saves us. And so Paul would determine to
know nothing among those in Corinth except Jesus Christ and
him crucify. The centrality of the cross is
what the Bible is all about. I'll show you that in a moment.
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But everything in the Bible centers on the person and work
of the Messiah, and that work was accomplished on Calvary's
cross. The cross was central to the
mission of Christ. It was central to the message of
(11:25):
Christ, and it's central to the meaning of Christianity.
The cross is everything. And so therefore you must
understand the Christ who hung on Calvary's cross.
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It's interesting to note that the gospels, the Synoptic
gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke,1/3 of them is all about the
last week of our Lord's life. John's Gospel which is about the
deity of Christ. Half of John's gospel focuses in
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on the last week of the life of Christ.
In fact, if you got your Bible, turn me to John chapter 2
because in John's Gospel, John would refer to the hour 7 times
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and the hour is very very important.
As you recall in Luke's gospel that our Lord was 12 years old
and the very first recorded words in the scripture that were
spoken by Jesus were when he was12.
And there was nothing else untilhis ministry began and he began
(13:00):
to preach about the Kingdom of of heaven.
But the words that he spoke at 12 years of age to his mother
while he was dialoguing with thePharisees in the temple were
these. Don't you know that I had to be
(13:23):
about my father's business? Everything about the ministry of
Christ centered on the business of his father.
Very important statement. Probably the most important
statement Christ ever made. At the age of 12, I must be
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about my Father's business. In fact, it's the the first of
seven divine musts in the Gospelof Luke.
If you trace those divine musts through Luke's Gospel, you'll
realize that all of them deal with something about the truth
of his death. Why?
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Because that was central to his message.
It was central to his mission. So at the very beginning of
John's Gospel and we'll, we'll embark on a great journey in the
new year, coming in 2026 on Sunday mornings by going through
John's Gospel. It will take us a long time to
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get through John's Gospel. It took us nine years to get
through Luke, so it'll probably take us at least that long or
more to get through the Gospel of John.
But in the 2nd chapter of John, Christ is going to perform his
very first miracle, turning water into wine.
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It's very unique. And we'll talk about this when
we get there in in 2026. But it's it's interesting to
note that that this is his firstmiracle.
And you would think that his first miracle would make a make
a bigger splash than turning water into wine.
You would think his first miracle would be a resurrection.
I mean, that would make a prettybig splash.
(15:15):
But it wasn't even healing someone who was who was
paralyzed would be a great splash.
I mean, after all, how many times do you get to make a first
impression? Just once.
And so we look at the turning ofthe water into wine in John
(15:35):
chapter 2 as a so, so miracle. Oh, but it was a miracle that
set the tone for his entire ministry, that that's why it's
recorded and that's why it's thefirst miracle, because it
describes to us exactly why Jesus came.
And the Bible says to John too, that on the third day there was
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a wedding in Canaan of Galilee. And commentators will debate the
the meaning of the third day. I don't debate that.
I think it's very clear as to why John would say, why would
John say that on the third day there was a wedding in Canaan of
Galilee? The Jews will tell you it was
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the day of weddings, that that would be Tuesday of the week.
Saturday, of course, would be the Sabbath and that ended at
the evening time on Saturday. Sunday would be the first day of
the week and so they would beginto make preparations for the
wedding. Monday would be the the final
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duty surrounding the wedding andTuesday would be the wedding.
And so they would say that a lotof Jewish weddings would take
place on a Tuesday in ancient times.
I don't buy that, but that's what a lot of Jews will tell
you. I think it's very important
because I think it it sets the tone for the resurrection of
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Christ that on the third day he would rise again.
Why? Because this is the first
mention of the hour in John's gospel, the first of seven
times. And so it says in in verse
number #2 or says in verse #1 onthe third day was the wedding in
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King of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
And both Jesus and his discipleswere invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him,
they have no wine. And Jesus said to her, woman,
what does that have to do with us?
My hour has not yet come. So this is the first mention of
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the hour. So I think that John inserts the
third day because the third day is related to the hour.
And these are the words that Christ said to His mother.
My hour has not yet come becausethe very first mention of the
hour is that which would characterize His ministry.
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Very important to understand that.
Why? Because He would take the filthy
water, the murky water, The Dirty water for cleansing and
make it into the finest of wine.Because you see, that's what
Jesus did when he saves the soul.
He takes the murky, dirty water of your life and makes it the
(18:30):
finest of wine. He makes you a brand new
creation. That that's why Jesus came.
That's why this is the first miracle.
It sets the tone for what the ministry of Christ is all about.
And that's why the very Nick scene, He's cleansing the
temple. Why?
Because Jesus is all about cleansing.
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And so he turns the water in thewine, and the very next scene is
his cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem.
And the very next scene after that is the conversation with
Nicodemus which says that a man must be born again.
He must be washed with the washing of water of the Word.
Again, speaking about the cleansing of the inner man.
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Everything about the ministry ofChrist was about cleaning the
life that is so filled with sin so that we can be clothed in the
righteousness of Christ. But that's the first mention of
the hour and it characterized his ministry.
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The second mention of the hour is found in John Chapter 7.
Because the Jews were were seeking to kill him.
And it says in verse #30 of John7.
So they were seeking to seize him, and no man laid his hand on
him because his hour had not yetcome.
The second mention of the hour in John's gospel.
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The first characterized his ministry, the second conveyed
His sovereignty. His hour had not yet come.
They wanted to kill him, but they couldn't.
Why? Because He was on a divine
timetable and everything about the Cross is is precise.
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And although they wanted to seize them and although they
wanted to kill them, him, they couldn't do it because his hour
had not yet come. But it was coming.
And so it truly conveyed His sovereignty over an 820 is the
third mention. It's the same thing.
It says these words. He spoke to the treasury as he
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taught in the temple, and no oneseized him because his hour had
not yet come. Again, it's all about the hour.
So the first mention, excuse me,clarifies His identity or His
ministry, and the second and thethird one convey to us His
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sovereignty. And then you come to the the 4th
mention of the hour, excuse me, that's in John 12 verse #23 when
some Greeks had come to to Philip and asked to see Jesus,
and Philip took him to Andrew and Andrew brought them to
Jesus. And these are the words of
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Jesus. In verse 23, He says the hour
has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
The hour's here. The hour has come.
He, he, He has truly conveyed His sovereignty.
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He has truly clarified His ministry, and now he's going to
certify His destiny. The hour has come.
Then in verse 27, now my soul has become troubled and what
should I say? Father saved me from this hour.
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But for this purpose I came to this hour.
Father glorify your name. The hour certified His destiny.
And then you, you have the next mentioned, the 6th mentioned in
chapter 13 verse #1 now before the the feast of the Passover.
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Excuse me, Jesus knowing that His hour had come, that He would
depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who
were in the world, He loved themto the end.
Here He clarified His identity. And then in John 17 verse #1 is
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the 7th mention of the hour, andit says, lifting up his eyes to
heaven, He said, Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son
that the sun may be glorified, or that the sun might glorify
you. So everything was about moving
toward the hour, and this one communicated His glory.
(23:17):
Father, glorify the sun, so the sun may glorify you.
Put the sun on display so the sun can display you.
And is it not true that at the cross the glory of the Lord was
on display? His love was on display, His
mercy was on display, His forgiveness was on display.
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His goodness was on display. His wrath was on display.
Everything about the attributes of God were displayed at
Calvary. So Paul will say, I determined
to know nothing among you exceptJesus Christ and him crucified,
because when he was crucified, his glory was on display and he
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glorified his Father by putting him on display.
Everything is about putting Christ on display.
That is the determination of thebeliever.
I am determined to put Christ ondisplay.
So I'm going to preach Christ, the person and the power of the
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cross because that's the best way I can show people who Jesus
really is. You see, we forget that that the
cross is, is everything. Let's look at it this way.
Eternity past eternity past before the creation of the world
is all about the let's call it the predetermination or the
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predestination of the cross because he was the Lamb slain
before the foundation of the world.
So when eternity passed before the creation of the world,
everything was about the predetermination or the
predestination of the cross. So when the Bible says in Jesus
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one, let us make man in our image, the plan had been put
into place. Deity communicating with deity,
let us make man in our image. Why?
Because the whole purpose was toredeem a bride for the Son.
So in eternity past, it's all about the predetermination of
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the cross. So when you open your Bible and
you read the Old Testament, the Old Testament is all about the
preparation or the prediction ofthe cross.
Everything in the Old Testament prepares you for the cross
because everything in the Old Testament predicts the cross.
OK, so you read Psalm 22A, Messianic Psalm written 1000
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years before the cross was aboutthe crucifixion.
And then you move and you you open your Bible and you begin to
read Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 was written 700 years
before the cross. And then you read Zechariah
chapter 12 verse #10 where it says that that one day they will
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look upon him whom they have pierced.
Speaking of the of the crucifixion written 550 years
before the cross. Now why is that important?
Because the first recorded crucifixion in history happened
500 years before the cross, and yet 1000 years before the cross,
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there was a prediction about it.700 years before the cross there
was a prediction about it. 550 years before the cross there was
a prediction about it. But the cross did not come into
play until 500 BC by the Persians.
So before it was ever a thing oftorture, before it was ever an
(27:03):
item that that would come into play, where it would crucify
and, and, and, and had this cruel death of people.
The Bible had already predicted it.
Why? Because it was predetermined in
the eternity past that he'd be the Lamb slain before the
foundation of the world. So in eternity past you have the
predetermination of the cross, and then in the Old Testament
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you have the preparation or the prediction about the cross.
And so you move through your OldTestament, you come to the
Gospels and the Gospels is all about the mission and the
revelation of the cross. Remember Mark's Gospel in Mark
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chapter 8 after Christ that asked the disciples who do men
say that I am doubt the Christ, the Son of the living God.
He says, OK, don't tell anybody that this is what I want you to
tell them. Mark 831 And he began to teach
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them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be
rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes,
and be killed. After three days, rise again.
And he was stating this matter plainly, openly.
In other words, this what you tell everybody?
Don't tell I'm the Christ and I'm the living God.
Tell them that the Son of Man must suffer.
(28:33):
Tell them about the divine certainty of the cross.
And of course, that's when Peterwould pipe up and say, Lord, you
know, you don't have the mind, the things of God.
I mean, Lord, you don't understand who you are.
You're the Messiah. You're not going to die and
Christ is going to be behind me,Satan.
But they didn't understand the predetermination of the cross,
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nor did they understand the predictions about the cross.
So you move from Mark 9, from the divine necessity of the
cross to mark, I'm sorry, mark 8to mark 9, which speaks about
the divine certainty of the cross.
He said He was teaching His disciples the Son of Man is to
be delivered. This is divine certainty.
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What was the divine necessity? He must be delivered.
This is divine certainty. He is to be delivered into the
hands of men, and they will killhim, and when he has been
killed, he will rise three days later.
But they did not understand thisstatement, and they were afraid
to ask him. Why were they afraid to ask him?
(29:41):
Why didn't they want to ask Jesus about the cross?
All you got to do is read on in in Mark's Gospel and you realize
that says the verse 33. They came to Capernaum and when
he was in the house, he began toquestion them.
What were you discussing on the way as if Jesus didn't know, but
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they kept silent for on the way they discussed with one another
which of them was the greatest. Of course, not going to ask
Jesus about the cross because that didn't fit into their their
methodology of greatness. So they weren't going to tell
him anything. But you see, the Gospels is
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about the mission of the cross and the revelation of the cross.
So everybody knows about the cross.
So you have the divine necessityand you have the divine
certainty, and then you have thedivine brutality of the cross.
And that's in chapter 10 when itsays these words.
And again he took the 12 aside and began to tell them what was
going to happen to them, saying,Behold, we are going up to
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Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief
priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death
and will hand them over to the Gentiles.
They will mock him, spit on him,scourge him, kill him, and three
days later he will rise again. The divine brutality of the
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cross. But even though he spoke about
its necessity, its certainty, and its brutality, he always
couched it in the victory of thecross.
Three days later I will rise again.
So wonder, Paul said. I determined to know nothing to
money except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
(31:30):
Why? Because everything about the
cross was something that was predetermined in eternity past
and everything in the Old Testament all just predicted
what was going to happen with the death of the Messiah before
crucifixions were ever a thing. Now you now you come to the to
the gospels and now you have themission of the of the cross.
(31:51):
This was the divine mission of the Messiah.
And so when he came, he came to die.
So you move from the Gospels to where the book of Acts and the
book of Acts is all about the explanation of the cross.
(32:11):
If eternity passes about predetermination, and in the Old
Testament is about prediction and the Gospels is about the
mission of the cross, then in the book of Acts you have the
explanation about the cross because you're explaining to the
Jewish nation why it is the Messiah must come, must suffer,
and must die and rise again. So you you have in the book of
(32:37):
Acts the explanation of the cross, and with that explanation
came the persecution of those who followed the way of the
cross. And you move from the book of
Acts to the Epistles. In the Epistles you have the
application of the cross. The cross is applied to daily
(32:57):
living. So you had this memorial that's
set up called the Lord's Table, this due in remembrance of me.
And everything about the Epistles is applying the cross
life to your daily life because you've denied yourself.
Take it up your cross and you follow Christ.
And Paul would say, I've been crucified with Christ.
(33:18):
I've died to myself. Christ died.
Second Corinthians chapter 5 sayyou would no longer live for
yourself, but for the one who gave himself for you and rose
again. It's all about the application
of the cross. Then when you're done with the
epistles, you come to what? The Book of Revelation?
What's the Book of Revelation about?
(33:39):
It's all about the celebration of the cross.
It's all about the celebration. It's all about the adoration of
the cross. Why, for those of you who've
been here, you know what I'm going to say.
One time in the Old Testament, the Messiah is referred to as a
(34:03):
lamb. Two times in the Gospels, John's
Gospel, he's referred to as the Lamb.
Two times in the epistles, the Messiah is referred to as the
Lamb. But when you come to the Book of
Revelation, 28 times he's referred to as the Lamb.
(34:24):
Why? Because the Book of Revelation
is about the celebration of the cross, the Lamb that was slain.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive glory and honor
and praise. It's all about the celebration
of the cross. And then after the Book of
Revelation, where are you? You're in the eternal state.
(34:48):
And you know what's going to happen in the eternal state.
It's all going to be centered around.
Get this now, the illumination of the cross.
Listen to this Revelation, chapter 21, verse 23.
And the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it,
(35:10):
for the glory of God has illumined it.
And it's lamp is the lamp, the illumination of the cross.
It's that which illuminates eternity, future.
And so you, you, you go through all that, you begin to realize
everything in the Bible is aboutthe cross.
(35:36):
So no wonder Paul said, I determined to know nothing among
you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Why? Because that's everything.
That's what we do. That's who we are.
And so after the predetermination of the cross
(35:58):
and after the prediction about the cross and the mission of the
cross and the explanation of thecross, and then you have the
celebration of the cross and theillumination of the cross.
What's left? The invitation to the cross.
(36:21):
There's always the invitation that's given because it's Christ
to invite you to come. If any man come after me, let
him deny himself, take of his cross and and follow me 6 times.
Christ talks about the cross andfollowing him because that's the
(36:41):
gospel invitation. It's all about the cross.
Remember way back in, in, in thebook of Exodus, Christ gave
Moses his memorial name. Exodus 3 verse #15 this is my
(37:03):
name, my memorial name that is to be remembered from generation
to generation. And that name is is given when,
when, when Moses is speaking to God, who's speaking to him
through a burning Bush, He says,who should I say?
(37:25):
Send me? Tell him I am sent you.
I am is commonly called the tetragrammaton, the the four
Hebrew consonants that make up the name of God, the yod, the
hey, the vav in the hey pronounced yave.
We had some vowels in there to call it Jehovah, but the right
pronunciation pronunciation is yave in the Greek.
(37:50):
It's ego a me I am, and Christ would say in John 824, unless
you believe that I am ego a me, which is the translation of the
for Hebrew consonants in the book of Exodus, the 3rd chapter.
Unless you believe that I'm the God who spoke to Moses from the
burning Bush, you'll die in yoursins.
(38:10):
That's His memorial name becauseeverything about His name is to
be memorialized. Because in that name I am that I
am. God declared his preeminence,
demonstrated his power, described his provision, and
(38:38):
delivered his people. That's the memorial name of God.
And that's exactly what happenedon Calvary.
He declared his preeminence. How?
By the inscription above the cross, Jesus of Nazareth, King
(39:01):
of the Jews, the thief would look at him and say, Remember Me
when you come into your Kingdom.Everything about Calvary's cross
demonstrated the preeminence of Christ on the cross, because
everything happened precisely asHe described it and planned it
(39:24):
out. And it was through His death on
Calvary that He destroyed the power of sin over death and
destroyed the power of Satan in your life and mine.
He declared His preeminence on Calvary.
He also demonstrated His power. John 10 verse #18 Nobody takes
(39:48):
my life from me. I lay it down on my own
initiative. And if I lay it down on my own
initiative, guess what? I take it right back up again.
That's power. That's real power.
And he demonstrated his power. He demonstrated his power when
when the world became dark, he demonstrated his power through
(40:08):
the earthquake and the and the falling of the rocks.
He demonstrated his power when when many people came out of the
tomb. He demonstrated his power when
the veil was torn in two. But everything about the great I
am didn't just declare his pre eminence, but it truly
demonstrated his power. Now, Calvary, did he describe
(40:30):
his provision? Yes, he did.
He looked at his mother and said, behold your son, and
looked at John and said, behold your mother.
Even in his dying breath, he would provide for his mother.
(40:50):
Even in his dying breath, he honored his mother and he would
provide forgiveness. Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they were doing. He died so that man could be
forgiven, and so he would provide forgiveness.
The great I am would do this. Why?
(41:14):
So he could deliver his people. And that's exactly what he did
to the thief, he said. Today you'll be with me in
paradise. And if it wasn't for Calvary's
cross, we'd still be dead in oursins.
But we experienced deliverance from the power of sin, from the
(41:35):
penalty of sin, ultimately one day from the presence of sin.
Why? Because of the cross of Christ.
So Paul would say, I determined that there is nothing among you
except one thing, Jesus Christ and him crucified.
(42:03):
AW Tozer has written a a devotional.
It's called The Pursuit of God, The Pursuit of man.
It's very small devotional. You can't buy it on Amazon
because I bought the last 13 copies yesterday.
Sorry, but I bought them. It's such a unique devotional.
(42:28):
And in there he describes the cross.
Listen to what he says. The cross where Jesus died
became also the cross where his apostle died.
The loss, the rejection and the shame belong both to Christ and
to all who are in very truth His.
(42:50):
The cross that saves them also slays them, and anything short
of this is a pseudo faith and not true faith at all.
But what are we to say when the great majority of our
evangelical leaders walk not as crucified men, but as those who
accept the world at its own value, rejecting only its
(43:13):
grosser elements? How can we face Him who was
crucified and slain when we see his followers accepted and
praised, yet they preach the cross and protest loudly that
they are true believers. Are there not 2 crosses?
(43:38):
And did Paul mean one thing and they another?
I fear that that is so, that there are two crosses, the old
cross and the new cross. He says.
If I see you right, the cross ofpopular evangelicalism is not
the cross of the New Testament. It is rather a new bright
(44:03):
ornament upon the bosom of self assured and carnal Christianity,
whose hands are indeed the handsof Abel, but whose voice is the
voice of Cain. The old cross slumin.
The new cross entertains men. The old cross condemned.
(44:27):
The new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed.
Confidence in the flesh. The new cross encourages
confidence in the flesh. The old cross brought tears and
blood. The new cross, well, it brings
(44:50):
laughter. The flesh, smiling and
confident, preaches and sings about the cross.
Before the cross it bow, bows, excuse me.
And toward the cross it points with carefully staged
hysteronics. But upon that cross it will not
(45:11):
die. And the reproach of that cross
is stubbornly refused to bear. I will know how many smooth
arguments can be marshaled in support of the new cross.
Does not the new cross win conference and make many
followers and so carry the advantage of numerical success?
Should we not adjust ourselves to the changing times?
(45:33):
Have we not heard the new slogan, New days, new ways?
And who but someone very old andvery conservative would insist
upon death as the appointed way to life?
And who today is interested in agloomy mysticism that would
(45:54):
sentence its flesh to a cross and recommend self effacing
humility as a virtue actually tobe practiced by modern
Christians? These are the arguments, along
with many more flippant still, which are brought forward to
give an appearance of wisdom to the hollow, meaningless cross of
(46:17):
popular Christianity. Doubtless there are many whose
eyes are open to the tragedy of our times, but why are they so
silent when their testimony is so sorely needed?
In the name of Christ men have made void the cross of Christ.
(46:39):
Men have fashioned a golden cross with a graven tool, and
before they sit down to eat and drink and rise up to play in
their own blindness, they've submitted, or, excuse me, they
have substituted the work of their own hands for the working
of God's power. Perhaps our greatest present
(47:01):
need may be the coming of a prophet to dash the stones at
the foot of the mountain and call the church out to
repentance or to judgement. So articulate was a man who said
(47:25):
this almost 100 years ago. But he saw what was happening
with the cross of Christ and howman refuses to carry his cross
(47:45):
and be slayed by that cross. True Christianity, the true
believer has one determination and that is Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. Every believer is determined,
(48:09):
focused, steadfast, resolute on fulfilling 1 Main purpose, 1
objective, 1. Discipline, 1 Focus.
Christ and His cross. It's everything.
(48:32):
It's that which gave you life. Why would you focus and be
determined to do anything else? Let's pray.
Lord, we thank you for tonight. We thank you for your word.
We thank you, Lord, for the conviction that it brings.
(48:53):
Truly, Lord, there is so much inthe Word of God and everything
about it. It's about the cross, your
coming, your death, your Burrow,your resurrection, the victory
of that which was certain, of that which was necessary, of
(49:15):
that which was brutal. It was victorious.
And we who have embraced Christ and His cross live a victorious
life. Our prayer is that Lord, every
single day we would manifest that victorious life because we
(49:41):
have determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. Jesus name Amen.
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