The Blessing of the Cross

Returning to the Cross Sermon Series

“The Blessing of the Cross”

KEY PASSAGE: Romans 8:28–39 (NASB)

Heavenly Father, I ask that You purify the thoughts of our hearts by the guiding inspiration of Your Holy Spirit. Help us to love You with all our heart, soul, and mind. May Your holy name be glorified through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. In His name we pray, and all God's people say, Amen.’ You may be seated.

THE LORD’S SUPPER – COMMUNION SERVICE 

Let’s read 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (NASB): Paul received this revelation directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way, He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Communion is not a time of spiritual autopsy and grief, even though confession of sin is important. Jesus gives His life; Jesus offers a new way; Jesus offers a new life; and Jesus offers a new beginning. We celebrate the life of Jesus, a life given and a life granted. Communion should be a time of thanksgiving, celebration, and joyful anticipation of seeing the Lord Jesus. Jesus gave thanks, even though He was about to suffer and die on the Cross. Let us give thanks this morning to our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let us pray.  Gracious Father, we give You thanks for the sacrificial life of Jesus Christ. I pray that You refresh our souls with the joy of Your salvation. Bless the little piece of bread as a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and the unity of this church. Bless the cup as a sharing in the death of Christ, as we die to ourselves to live for You. Thank You for Your love and forgiveness. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

TITHE and OFFERING

The worship team will lead us in song as we collect our tithes and offerings. Ushers, please pass around the offering plates so we can collect our tithes and offerings.

PRAYER FOR TITHE and OFFERING

I pray that You receive these gifts from Your faithful and diligent people, given freely out of gratitude for Your grace and mercy. May You use these offerings—and our lives—to advance Your kingdom and bring glory to Your name. We pray this in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

WELCOME

Welcome, everyone, to our Sunday Worship Service again. Please stand up, greet the people around you, and tell them that Jesus loves them. Our first-time visitors, please stand so we can see you. We also welcome all who join us online.

ANNOUNCEMENT

📖 Wednesday Night is our Bible Study Connect at 7:00 p.m. Please join us for a time of learning, fellowship, and spiritual growth as we study the Word of God! We are studying the Book of First Samuel, and this week we will focus our attention on Chapter 7. I encourage you to please read Chapter 7 and come prepared for Bible Study.  📅 Corporate Meeting—We meet at the church every Saturday at 8:00 a.m. for a prayer meeting. I encourage all of you to please join us during our Corporate Prayer Meeting here at the church. 

DECLARATION of FAITH in GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together. Please remain standing as we pray.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Let’s pray. Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, I pray that Your Word will go forth with power and clarity. May the Holy Spirit illuminate the true meaning of the Scripture in every heart and bring about true transformation in the lives of Your people. Let Your presence saturate this moment, bringing revelation, conviction, and producing lasting change. Father, I pray for a message led by Your Holy Spirit and bearing eternal fruit. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. You may be seated.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

Take God’s Word and find Romans chapter eight. Romans chapter eight is a lengthy passage, beginning with verse 28 and ending at verse 39. It is one of the most profound Scriptures in the New Testament about your salvation – about your victory in Christ Jesus. As we work our way through this passage, we are going to see a very familiar verse. And I pray that God will take that familiar verse and infuse it with a brand new freshness for your heart, mind, soul, and spirit.

SERMON EXPOSITION 1

Starting with verse 28, which says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, and to those who are called according to His purpose.” “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these, whom He predestined, He also called. And these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Verse 31 says, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Verse 34 discusses the death of Jesus Christ. That is the Cross, the focus of our sermon for today. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is expressed in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

SERMON STORY

One day, a wealthy man passed away, leaving behind a will instructing that all his possessions be auctioned. On the day of the auction, a large crowd gathered, eager to bid on this wealthy man’s valuable estate. The auctioneer began by presenting a modest painting—the picture of the rich man’s son. It drew little interest because the auction-goers were waiting for more extravagant items. The auctioneer says, ‘Who will make the first bid for the picture of his son?’ The auctioneer asked over and over again, ‘Is there a bid on the picture of the wealthy man’s son?’ There was silence in the room, and you could hear the sound of a pin drop.

After repeated calls, an old gentleman from the back of the room stepped forward and offered a single dollar, explaining that he had nothing more but wished to honor the wealthy man’s son. The auctioneer said, “Is there anyone else who wants to bid on the picture of the wealthy man’s son?” There was no response. The auctioneer hit the gavel and said, ‘SOLD.’ And then he hit the gavel again for the second time and said, ‘The auction is over!’ The folks in the room were surprised and said – What do you mean the auction is over?’

There was confusion in the room because the wealthy man’s millions in assets remained untouched. Then the lawyer stepped forward and read the will of the wealthy man. The father’s will declared: “All my treasures are to be auctioned, beginning with the picture of my son. Whoever claims the picture of my son receives everything else, for I wish to entrust my possessions only to those who truly value my son. The worth of my estate is not found in gold or goods, but in the one I love most. I have tied the value of everything to the son.” The message was clear: “He who has the Son has everything; He who does not have the Son receives nothing.” Romans 8, verse 32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

SERMON EXPOSITION 2

What a wonderful verse! The logic that flows from this verse is irresistible, and this verse is the most breathtaking window into the generosity of God’s grace. Paul says: if God has already given us the ultimate—His Son Jesus—what else could God possibly withhold? The Cross is the proof, and Christ is the pledge. When you and I stood guilty and condemned before a holy and righteous God, heaven did not hesitate. God gave—not reluctantly, not conditionally, He freely, and not just anything, but everything wrapped up in the person of His Son Jesus Christ.

All the things that God wants to give you are connected to His Son Jesus Christ. Today, I want to speak to you, me, and us collectively about ‘The Blessings of the Cross,’ which is the last sermon for our series on “Returning to the Cross.” All the things that God wants to give you, watch this—for free—Will He not with Him, freely give you all things? All the things that everybody wants do not come without this picture; it comes in connection with the Son of God.

In our sermon series a few months ago on the Beatitudes, you heard me say —everybody wants to be blessed, but they don’t want to be blessed with Jesus, the Son of God.  We want all the stuff that God can give, [the – all things that God has in store for us], but we don’t want the picture of the Son of God front and center. We crave God’s gifts but resist God’s image. It is like walking into an auction and walking past the picture of Jesus Christ to grab the treasures, unaware that every true blessing [every spiritual blessing] of God is tied to Jesus. “Watch This.” The  Blessings of God Are Always Found in the Face of Jesus.”

We want the cars, the houses, the bracelets, the necklaces, the clothes, the bling-bling, and the bank accounts. And I want to be blessed, but according to the passage, all the things that God has for you only come with Jesus. “He who did not spare His own Son.” In other words, God did not hold Jesus back … and He is talking about the Cross; God did not keep Jesus back like He spared Isaac, when He told Abraham to sacrifice his son. What God did for Abraham, He did not do for His Son Jesus – His Blood! He who spared not His own Son, and the Son we are talking about is the Son of God. He is talking about the Cross, the Cross of Christ, which becomes the entryway to all the things that God has determined for your life.

SERMON EXPOSITION 3

Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” The ‘ed’ at the end of the word bless means that everything that God is ever going to do for you and me is already on deposit. This verse affirms that every spiritual blessing that God has for you is not pending; it has already been granted to you in Christ. [Watch This] God’s generosity is not just a promise—it is a provision through Jesus Christ on the Cross.

SERMON APPLICATION 1

The people at the auction did not understand that everything the wealthy man left behind was tied to the picture of his son. Jesus paid the price on Calvary, and the Cross is not one of many things; it is The Thing. Many of us have storage. Most storage facilities have a central gate that you must walk through to access the stored items. You must pass through the main storage gate, which serves as the entryway. What has been stored belongs to the person storing it, but you must enter through the main entrance to access the stored items.

God has already put all things in deposit! All that God has determined for you in your Christian experience has already been placed into your storage. But there is a central gate you have come through, and that gate is the Cross. The Cross of Jesus Christ is the central point—the Cross of Jesus Christ is the reference point. God did not spare His own Son! And this should be the measure by which you determine God’s love.

That is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 2, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” He says, 'I want to keep the Cross in your face, up in your grill.' I don’t want you to be able to detach yourself from the Cross of Christ. From Christ and His Cross, because that is the only way you get to “the all-things!” You get to all things not by going after all things. The verse says that “You get to all things by being with Jesus.” He says, “God causes” in verse 28, “All things to work together for good to those that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.”

SERMON EXPOSITION 3

Everybody likes the first part of that passage in verse 28; “all things are working together for good,” without remembering the last part, which says. “Those who are called according to His purpose.” The verse does not tie goodness to circumstance, but to our divine calling. And this is not just good news—it is God-centered news. I want to zero in for a moment on verse 28. “All things”—yes, even trials. “Work together”— being woven. “For good”—not immediate comfort, but eternal conformity to the image of Christ. “To those who love God,” your heart responds to grace. “Who are called according to His purpose”—because salvation has design, direction, and destiny.

That raises the questions: What is His purpose? Verse 29 says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” Do you know what God’s goal is? God’s goal is to clone Christ, to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus. To the image means to mirror Jesus Christ. God’s goal is that you and I increasingly look like Jesus in our attitudes and actions, character, and conduct.

God loves Jesus so much that He wants everybody to look just like Jesus. And the more you are conformed to the image of Christ, the closer you are to all things! If God loves us so much that He wants us to look like Jesus, how can we Christians be so discouraged and frustrated when we already share the glory of God? He says in verse 28, “All things work together for good.” ‘All things’ means everything that happens in your life is to make you look like Jesus Christ, good, bad, or ugly, should make you look like Jesus. Ask God the question? God – how do you want to use this bad and ugly situation for Your ultimate glory? God – how do You want me to use this situation to make me look more like Jesus?

And so, if it’s a negative experience, God is putting you through a blender and working something out. God wants you to look more like Jesus so you can access what in store for you. You see, everybody wants to get to the storage, but they don’t want the conformity. He says that God is working all things for good. He is working all things in your favor.

SERMON EXPOSITION 4

Please notice these great theological words in verse 30. Verse 30 says, “Those whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. This is a great verse for those who believe you could lose your salvation. While this passage is a powerful verse, it is often misused and abused. This verse is about our spiritual experience as believers. Because according to this verse, “If God starts with you, He doesn’t stop—He finishes what He begins.” Everyone God calls, He glorifies. The very ones God begins with are the very ones He finishes with. God doesn’t lose a single soul along the way. But watch this—His plan is not just to take you to heaven; it is to pour out every spiritual blessing [the – all things] that belongs to you here on earth.

SERMON EXPOSITION 5

And all things are tied to how closely you are associated with the Cross. How closely you are tied to Jesus Christ. He says, “All things are working together for good” verse 28. He says in verse 32, “He wants to freely give us all things.” In verse 37, he says it again, “But in ALL these things, we are overwhelmingly conquerors through Him.” You know when all things are happening when the blessings of the Cross are coming your way and are in your favor. When things that …used to conquer you, you are now conquering them. That is how you know that all things are working for you, because the stuff that used to be in charge of you, you are in charge of it.

The things that used to control you, you are now controlling them. The stuff that used to wipe you out, you are wiping it out. It doesn’t mean there is no more stuff; it means that the stuff is no longer calling the final show. Because in ALL these things, the verse says that you are more than conquerors. God has already pre-determined your conclusion. He’s already pre-scripted your life, but your victory is tied to whether you are fulfilling His purpose of being conformed to Christ and His Cross. The picture of the Cross may appear ordinary to some people, but make no mistake: every promise, every blessing, every ounce of hope is attached to the Cross. Everything that matters is tied to Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross.

SERMON STORY

Sometimes the Cross may not appear glorious, because it looks stained with suffering, grief, sorrow, and rejection. But when you understand the purpose of the Cross and embrace the One hanging on it, everything changes. The Cross is not just two wooden sticks, vertical and horizontal intersecting – Watch This – The Cross is the intersection of heaven’s mercy and the sin of this world. Through the finished work of Jesus Christ, he has already deposited every spiritual blessing for those who are associated with the Cross. It is all built into the Cross—waiting to be received.

It's like a man who saves every penny to buy a ticket for an expensive cruise. And while the man is on the cruise, he sees all these people eating, drinking, and having fun. He watched passengers on the cruise go back for seconds and thirds. And then finally, desperation drove him to a cafeteria worker, and he asked, ‘Sir, is there any way I can just get a sandwich?’ The cruise staff member looked and said Excuse me, ‘A sandwich? Don’t you know that when you bought your cruise ticket, the price of the food was included?’ Everything on this cruise is built into the price that you paid for the cruise ticket. Some Christians today are starving spiritually, not because provision hasn’t been made, but because we don’t realize what we already have in Christ. Everything we need has been included and built into the Cross—our joy, our peace, strength, purpose, destiny, and authority—it is built into the Cross. Don’t live in lack when heaven has already deposited into your spiritual account here on earth.

When God paid the price, all things for your life were built into the payment. All the things that God has purposed for you and planned for you are freely given to you. You don’t have to buy it, earn it, or work for it. The word is called Grace! God has given you sufficient grace. In verse 33, he raises a question. He says, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?” “When is God who justifies …?” Who is going to condemn you? Christ Jesus is the One Who died. The proof is that God’s love for you is never to be measured by your circumstances. If you look at your circumstances as the measure of God’s love, you will forever be questioning how much God loves you. Whenever you are tempted to question the love of God, He invites you to look at this: God invites you to the Cross. How much does God love you? God loves you to death!

SERMON EXPOSITION 5

It is your association with Jesus; it is your connection with the Cross. That is why you want to hang out around the Cross. You want to hang out around the Cross because it is with Him, the One whose life He did not spare; the Cross; the One who died for you; the Cross. He says it is Jesus and your association with His death, burial, and resurrection that gives you access to all things!

Everybody wants Resurrection Sunday, but nobody wants Friday. God did not highly exalt Jesus until after Calvary. Jesus was not highly exalted before Calvary. He went through stuff! Here is the promise. Again in verse 37, he says, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” That means, Super Conquer! You know you are being conformed to the image of Christ when the things that are designed to pull you down and keep you down don’t hold you down anymore!

Now watch this: you cannot overwhelmingly conquer unless there is something to be conquered. There has to be something opposing you for the word 'conquer' to mean anything to you. The word conquer is meaningless without opposition, and it doesn’t mean a thing. In verse 38, Paul says, “I am convinced…” That is called Holy Ghost conviction … And then Paul gives polar extremes, he gives us the extremes of both ends, because life is full of extremes. Paul goes from one extreme to another extreme. Why? To catch everything in between, so your stuff – your circumstances that you are dealing with right now is in this verse.

He says, “Neither death nor life.” Death is one extreme, and life is another extreme. Some days you are full—you feel full of life. Other days, you feel like a dead person walking. One day, you get up full of joy, peace, and happiness; the next day, you have … death all around you. He says, “Nor angels, or principalities …” Sometimes it is going to feel like God has sent His angels to protect you, other times it is going to feel like God has let the demons take over your life! Sometimes it is going to look like heaven is on your side, other times, like Job in the Bible, you are going to feel like God has let Satan through into your face to mess things up in your life.

He talks about angels: that is the good stuff; there are good and bad angels; principality, that is the bad stuff. He says sometimes it looks like God is all over you, and other times it looks like hell is all over you. He says, “Neither things present, nor things to come …” He says what is messing with you now and what you are afraid of tomorrow will no longer define you because you are going to become an overwhelming conqueror.

“Paul talked about another extreme—an extreme of space: He says, ‘Neither height nor depth…’ Some of us experience mountain-top moments, full of joy and triumph. Others walk through valleys (the valley of death), heavy with grief and struggle. Sometimes you want to praise God, worship God, and give Him all the glory, and sometimes you feel like cursing God and dying. He says neither height, the highest point, nor depth, the lowest point! When God is conforming you to the image of Christ and delivering you to all things, none of those things will have the last word. You are going to be stable—why, because you are an overwhelming conqueror.

FAITH APPEAL, CALL to ACTION, and ALTAR CALL

And then he closes with these words, he says, “nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I think that covers everything. If it is created, it is not ultimate. Why? Because everything created answers to the One who made it. And the love of God, rooted in Christ, stands above it all. Suffering and pain. Sunshine and rain. Joy and sorrow. Good days and bad days. Sinful and satanic opposition—all things work together for those who love God. Why? Because they are transforming you into the image of Jesus Christ. And so, my challenge to you is, don’t quit. Don’t throw in the towel. If you hang out at the Cross, if you keep God close… God, I know this is a bad day, but I know You love me so much because Jesus died for me on the Cross. You keep reminding yourself about the Cross. Nothing will be able to separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus … God, I am coming back to the Cross. I am coming back—I don’t feel love right now, but I am going to hang out where love is – at the Cross. I keep coming back to the Cross and the Christ of the Cross. God is calling us back to the Cross—because it is at the Cross that His blessings flow. That is where grace was purchased, where purpose was revealed, and where the fullness of His provision was released. The Cross is not just our starting point—the Cross is the source of our spiritual blessing.

God bless you!

If you are here today and don’t know Jesus, I want you to come forward so I can pray for you. If you need prayer, please come forward so we can pray for you. Let’s stand on our feet and give God some praise because of the blessing of the Cross.

BENEDICTION [CLOSING PRAYER]

Let us pray. Father, we thank You again today for this remarkable passage of Scripture and the conclusion of our sermon series “Returning to the Cross.” The sermon series radiates rich truth, and we thank You, Father, for this sense of accumulation that we have experienced. Father, I pray for those who might be in our fellowship today who do not know our Christ, do not know the Savior. I pray that You will work a mighty work of salvation in their hearts. We commit ourselves to you with thanksgiving and praise for blessing us with Your Son Jesus Christ. May we be faithful to live it out in Your Son’s name, we pray. And everyone says. Amen.

God bless you. We look forward to seeing you next week at 10:30 a.m.