wk 5 - Do I Need Clingstone Faith? Wk 1
Cling to the Cross • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Delight in the Lord Psalm 1:2
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.
Strong's HEBREW 2656:
Pleasure, desire, a valuable thing, a matter.
Hear this verse again...
“But they
find pleasure,
they desire such a good thing,
they uncover a valuable thing,
they discover the weightiness of
the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.”
SONG:
The Old Rugged Cross – Lyrics
The Old Rugged Cross – Lyrics
On a hill far away,stood an old rugged Cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old Cross
where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain
(Refrain)
So I’ll cherish the old rugged Cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged Cross
And exchange it some day for a crown.
A SPECIAL PHRASE:
“I will cling to the old rugged cross”
THE AUTHOR:
George Bennard was born into a very modest family in Youngstown, Ohio in 1873.
He later became an itinerant Methodist preacher and served for several years in Canada and in some of our northern states. Bennard had a favorite Scripture verse, John 3:16. When quoting the verse, he seemed to always have a vision of a cross - a crude Roman instrument of death. It was stained with the blood of Christ, who gave his life in order that we might become Christians.
Bennard composed the melody first, when writing The Old Rugged Cross and he struggled to write the lyrics. The only thing that came to him was the line, "I'll cherish the old rugged cross".
He finally completed the chorus and was pleased with his efforts, but the verses he composed did not seem proper and suitable. The song seemed to take shape in bits and pieces.
After receiving ridicule at a revival meeting he had renewed meaning of the cross etched into his mind and heart. He took the manuscript, on which he had labored for so long, and placed it on the kitchen table. In a very short span of time, he was able to rewrite the stanzas with each word falling perfectly into place. He eventually finished the song in Albion, Michigan in 1912.
He asked his wife to join him in the kitchen. She did so, and he joyfully sang his prized, new song for her to hear. She was very pleased and expressed that the song was great!
George Bennard lived his retirement years in Reed City, Michigan, and passed away there in 1958…where he,
Clung “to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it” that day for a “crown.”
-Lindsay Terry (Story behind the song: 'The Old Rugged Cross' published 7:16pm ET April 9th, 2015 https://www.staugustine.com/)
WHAT DO WE CLING TO?
WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO CLING TO?
“I will cling to the old rugged cross”
Clingstone defined:
any of various stone fruits (such as some peaches or plums) with flesh that adheres strongly to the pit.
Clingstone vs Freestone
Freestone peaches pull easily away from the pit, while
Clingstone peaches (as the name implies) take a little more coaxing to release the fruit.
—Sally Pasley Vargas, BostonGlobe.com, 24 July 2019
Week 1 Focus:
Do I Need Clingstone Faith?
-Not by clinging to a mistake
-Not because you invested a lot of time in something.
-Not by putting up appearances such as saying the right things
-Not by ignoring a problem
-Not holding on to the past
If so, How Do I Get It?
-We can ask for increased faith, however, faith is like a seed. It grows. Jesus likened it to one of the tiny-est seeds know in that day and time— a Mustard Seed.
14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said,
15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.
16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”
17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”
18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.
19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
So, How Do I Get Faith?
By trusting and believing, Faith— Yes— but HOW?
Two Verses to Ponder this Week...
6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
So, With Faith Our Actions Change...
We don’t clinging to mistakes, we ask forgiveness and let God.
We turn our invested time over to the Lord in everything.
We may need to repent and lop it off:-)
We don’t putting up appearances — we turn to God and others and be genuine
not in our strength, but in God’s Strength
through the power of the Holy Spirit we can trust what Christ has done for us.
13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
PLUS...
We don’t ignore the problem, we point it out and face it head on with faith and thanksgiving.
2 Chronicles 20 (READ PASSAGES IN BIBLE)
LASTLY...
We don’t hold on to the past, we lean into God for FAITH IS NOW, FAITH IS ACTION BASED ON GOD’S WORD TODAY!
Since FAITH comes from Hearing the Good News we must be sharing it all the time for others to have FAITH that comes in knowing Jesus Christ!
WHO WILL YOU SHARE JESUS WITH THIS WEEK FOR FAITH TO GROW?
PRAY!
