Why the Cross?

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We've just completed one of the most precious spiritual exercises which we are able to engage in as a church body.
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The Seder Supper is a powerful tool reminding us that the work of Jesus Christ is not limited to just the New Testament.
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Christ is seen throughout the Old Testament.
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He is seen in types.
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He is seen in prophecies.
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He is seen in symbols of His coming work.
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All of the feasts of Israel, every one of the major feasts points to a specific work of ministry of Jesus Christ.
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For those of you who are new to this feast, tonight was the first time that you've ever come to our church or been to a service like this.
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You had the opportunity to experience something that was quite different from any normal meal.
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All of the food that was prepared, every cup, every dish had special significance.
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The bitter herbs represented the bitter conditions of the Hebrews in Egypt.
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The kerosene represented the mortar that was used to make the bricks.
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And every word of blessing that we said, every time we spoke those words, they had special significance within the supper.
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There's something else that's important and something that I think most of you noted, was that at a special time in the service, we stopped the proceedings and we had questions which were asked from a young boy.
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Why is this night different from other nights? Why on this night do we eat only unleavened bread? Why on this night do we eat bitter herbs? Why do we hold this Passover service? That portion of the service is very significant because it first reminds us of the necessity of passing on our faith to the next generation.
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So many children grow up today having no understanding at all of God or Christ or the Bible.
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Recently, I was substitute teaching and I heard a young lady and I substituted newly.
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So it's, you know, it's, you know, rule.
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Well, it's becoming less and less rule all the time, but it's a rule area.
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And I heard a young lady ask another young lady in the class about baptism.
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Have you ever been baptized? And the young girl said, what is that? And she said, you know, it's baptism, it's what you do at church.
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She says, I've never been to church.
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I don't know what you're talking about.
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What does it mean when you say, have you been baptized? And to me, it's just an amazing thing that she didn't have any clue.
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She didn't have any idea.
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The table, the meal also reminds us of the inquisitive nature of the human heart.
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We all have questions about our faith.
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And those questions are not necessarily wrong.
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It's not bad to have questions about our faith.
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We should have questions and we should seek the answers to those questions.
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So in keeping with the tradition of the Seder, in keeping with the tradition that was started tonight, when that young boy read those four questions tonight, we're going to ask another question, a question that I think is even more significant than the questions which we have already heard.
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And the question is simple.
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Why the cross? Why the cross? This night in history represents to us the time before Jesus went to the cross.
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It was the night that he was spending with his disciples before he went to Golgotha.
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Tomorrow we call Good Friday.
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Because it was the day that Christ sacrificed himself for the good of his people.
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And people always ask the question, why? Why the cross? So tonight we're going to answer that question.
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We're going to go to scripture and I realize it's dark where you are.
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So we'll have this scripture up on the screen if you'd like to read.
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We're going to be in Luke chapter 22 and we're going to read verses 39 through 46.
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And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives.
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And the disciples followed him.
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And when he came to the place, he said to them, pray that you may not enter into temptation.
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And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw.
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And he knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.
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Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.
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And there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him.
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And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly.
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And his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground.
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And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow.
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And he said to them, why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
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Pray with me.
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Father in heaven, I thank you for this opportunity that I have to preach your word.
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I know that I am a fallible man and I am capable of preaching error.
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So I pray that you would keep me from error.
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And I pray that you would open the hearts of the people that have come here tonight to your truth.
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I pray that this message would be used to edify the saints.
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That it would also be used to convict unbelievers.
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And Father, that ultimately it would be used to glorify your precious name through your son Jesus Christ.
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And by him we pray.
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Amen.
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Tonight during our meal, we had an opportunity to celebrate multiple cups.
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Every time we took a different sip of the cup, that was a celebration of what in the Jewish tradition represented a different cup or a new cup.
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There were four cups.
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Each one of them represent different expressions of deliverance from Exodus chapter 6.
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I will bring out, I will deliver, I will redeem, I will take you out.
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That was the four promises of God.
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And each cup represented one of those four promises.
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Those would have been part of Jesus' last supper.
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Jesus didn't just have bread and wine, but at that last supper he had the Passover lamb.
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And he had everything, all of the elements were there.
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And it was probably the cup of blessing, the Hallel cup, that Jesus took and used to institute the last supper.
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When we arrive at our text for tonight, the one that we just read, of Jesus going to the Garden of Gethsemane, the meal has concluded.
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Jesus has already instituted the Lord's Supper.
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He has already demonstrated to them his love by washing their feet.
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He has already gone out and prayed the high priestly prayer found in John 17.
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All of these things have concluded.
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And now Jesus goes out to prepare himself for what is about to take place.
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He tells his apostles, you stay here and pray.
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Pray for strength.
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Pray that you fall not into temptation.
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And I am going to pray.
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And during this time, he mentions another cup.
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Verse 41 says, And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.
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You see, up until this point in the evening, all of the cups had been positive cups.
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Cups of deliverance, cups of redemption, cups of provision.
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All of them had been blessings.
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But now Jesus is talking about a different cup.
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This cup is a dreadful cup.
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This cup is a frightening cup.
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This cup causes the Lord of glory to sweat drops of blood.
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And the cup Jesus is referring to is the cup of God's wrath.
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Throughout scripture, we see the term cup used to describe the wrath of God.
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In Psalm 75, verse 8, it says, For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup foaming with wine, well mixed, and He pours out from it, and all of the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
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Isaiah 51, verse 17 says, Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of His wrath.
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Revelation chapter 14 says, And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
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We see this testimony throughout scripture over and over and over of this cup of wrath.
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When Jesus is kneeling before God to pray before going to the cross, He prays that a cup be taken from Him.
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But beloved, He is not talking about the cup of men's wrath.
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That is where we get confused.
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He's not saying, Oh God, keep me from the hatred of the Jews.
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He's not saying, Oh God, keep me from the torment of the Roman scourge or the Roman cross.
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These things certainly were horrid acts of violence.
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They were terrible acts of violence and they were terrible acts of injustice.
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But Jesus is not sweating drops of blood over that.
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His pores are not excreting blood out of fear of a cross or fear of a scourge.
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Years ago, I know most of you are familiar with the movie Passion of the Christ.
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Passion of the Christ came out a few years ago.
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Very popular film.
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It was rated R, so a lot of young children didn't get an opportunity to see it.
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And at the time, it was apparent that the filmmaker and those associated with the movie wanted to make a point regarding the inhumanity of the cross.
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They wanted the world to know that what type of Jesus died was really a bad death.
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It really was a hard death.
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And certainly it was.
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But something that needs to be remembered, though, is that Jesus' death, from a physical standpoint, was not unique.
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Many thousands of people died on Roman crosses.
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Criminals were hung on the streets.
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They were hung on crosses by the major roadways, so that when you were entering and exiting major cities, you would see these people, know that they had broken the law, and know you don't want to do that.
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They were hung as examples.
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It was so common to put people on a cross that Jesus wasn't even the only one to be hung on the cross that day.
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Think about it.
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There were three crosses on the hill.
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Not just one.
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Why do I say that? Am I trying to downplay the pain of the cross? No.
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I'm trying to help you understand why the words of Christ were so important.
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The Bible tells us that He was sweating drops of blood.
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He is suffering in anguish in His soul.
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Because in just a few short hours, He was going to be experiencing a cup.
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But beloved, it was not the cup of the wrath of men.
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It was the wrath of God poured out upon Him.
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All of the judgment that is deserved by the elect.
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All of the punishment which is due.
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The sins of His people.
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All of the hell that you and I deserve as a result of our wretched sins was poured on Him in an instant.
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Beloved, in that moment in time, He became the object of God's wrath.
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This is no small thing.
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It is an amazing thing.
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And it is a frightening thing.
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2 Corinthians chapter 5 For our sake, God made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us.
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You see, in that moment, Christ became sin for us.
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And as such, became the object of the wrath of God for us.
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Colossians chapter 2 verses 13 and 14 And you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, this He set aside, nailing it to the cross.
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What is nailed to the cross? The record of our debt.
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How is the record of your debt nailed to the cross? What was nailed to the cross? Christ.
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Christ absorbed in Himself the record of our debt.
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Christ became sin for us.
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He became trespass for us.
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He became the object of God's wrath for us.
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In a preordained moment in time, God the Father enforced His eternal justice on His Son.
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For us.
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Matthew 27 and 46 In about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, Lehemah, Sabachni, My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me? That was the moment.
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That was the moment that the cup was poured out.
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There was an amazing transaction in heaven, wherein God the Father took all of the sins of His people and He laid them on the Son and He punished Him as a substitutionary sacrifice.
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Knowing this, I want to take you back to the garden and I want to challenge you with a thought.
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Go back to where Jesus is now.
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On His knees, prostrate before the Lord, and He's saying, Lord God, if it be Thy will, Father, take this cup from me.
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We asked the question originally, Why the cross? So far, we've seen that it was intended to satisfy the wrath of God on behalf of His people.
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That was the purpose of the cross.
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And in that sense, we've answered the question, Why the cross? But there's a deeper question that's built in to that question that this text also answers.
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Because when we ask, Why the cross? We also ask, not just of the purpose of the cross, but we ask, Was the cross necessary? Beloved, we live in a day, we live in a day wherein men and women go through their whole lives caring nothing about the cross.
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They go through their whole lives thinking nothing about their sin, nothing about a holy God, nothing about the wrath that they so justly deserve.
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And if you ask any one of them, My friend, if you died today, do you think that you would go to heaven? Every one that I've ever asked, and I have asked so many a soul that question, they would say, Certainly I would.
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And you say, Why? They say, Because I'm a good person.
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Because I don't deserve the wrath of God.
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Beloved, Jesus asked if there was another way.
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He said, Father, if there be another way, take this cup from Me and the answer from heaven, because there is no other way.
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That's the message of the cross.
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If you've come here tonight, and you know Christ, and He has regenerated, the Spirit has regenerated your soul to receive Him by faith, you know there's no other way.
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Because you know the depth of your sin, and you know the necessity of the cross.
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But beloved, if you came here tonight and you don't know that, I want to challenge you.
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Why did Christ go to the cross if you could go to heaven without Him? He asked, Father, if there is another way, take this cup from Me.
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And I remind you again, that the answer from heaven was no.
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Our Father and our God, we come to You in Jesus' name.
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We thank You and we praise You for sending Your Son Jesus to die on that cross for us.
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We thank You and we praise You that He went willingly to that cross.
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Certainly, He asked if there be another way.
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But He also said, nevertheless, not My will, but Thy will be done.
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Father, Your will was done on that cross.
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It pleased You to smite Your Son so that He would become the firstborn among many brethren.
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So that He would bring many sons to glory.
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So that He would be the Savior of His people.
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You, O God, have blessed us through the Son.
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We thank You for that blessing.
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And Father, if there are those among us tonight who know not of that blessing, that they're trusting in something else tonight, I pray that You would draw them to the foot of the cross, because only You can change a heart.
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Only You can regenerate a soul.
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Only You can bring a person to understand their need of a Savior.
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So we trust You now.
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In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
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Beloved, let's stand and sing.
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And if you've come tonight and you need to pray, I'll be right here.
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Let's stand.