The Seven Words From The Cross Part 2

I'm glad you're joining us as we reflect in God's word today as you can tell I'm not preaching in the sanctuary today. We're starting to get a little lonely in there. But today we're bringing the message from this beautiful cross. Over the past week and the next week ahead. We're talking about the cross of Jesus and Jesus beautiful and message from that cross and what it says today Begin by looking into God's word and Luke Chapter 14 verse 27 Jesus said whoever does not care either cross and follow me my disciples. We know that were called the carry the cross of Jesus daily and it means that we have to eat to keep the faith when we're going through difficult times of suffering and hardship that comes our way. It should mean that as Christians. We live a life that really does reflect the lifestyle of Jesus Christ into the world of Jesus verses to do with a lot of different meanings in a lot of different applications over the years. But today I must mean and what it must have men in Jesus day to actually carry across imagine what it would have been like to be Simon. Simon was called upon to carry the cross. Cost of Jesus when Jesus couldn't go another step under its weight. So just imagine what it must have been like to to be signed in to have carried the cross of Jesus while following just steps behind him being his bloody Footprints along the way all the way to that. He'll called Golgotha the place of the skull in the humiliation that Jesus suffered of being publicly escorted out of the city and to that place as a criminal what would have been like to have felt the sticky warm Jesus blood on that cross as you were trying to get the loneliness of evil this around that plays the near we came step by step to that place of execution. What would have been like to have seen the Executioner standing there? The hammer and the nails in hand and then think what it would have been like to have had that weight and that burden of the Cross lifted from your shoulders and your back and to be told this cross does not belong to you it belongs to him. So you may go and then to see Jesus crucified to that cross. I mentioned we started a series together reflecting on Jesus last words from the cross and what those words speak into our lives today to Jesus first words that we looked at last week were father forgive them for they don't know what they're doing in these four words, of course of forgiveness, and then Jesus spoke the words today, you will be with me in paradise and these are words showing the God has great plans for your life and also for our entire Eternity today the third set of words from the cross are found in John Chapter 19, Verse 26 and 27 among the crowd that day were of course the soldiers in the mockers, but there are also people who really did love Jesus there were some who were healed by Jesus there were others who heard Jesus on many occasions. Some of them were his clothes followers his disciples and then among these people was also Mary the mother of Jesus and the question. I really wrestled with over this past week is how could Mary have been there to watch her son? Go through this excruciating torture and yet how could she not be there for him on one on such a time as this so I can't even imagine the torture that she must have been going through as she watched all of this unfold and the life of Jesus.

Stop. I mean it it must have. Jesus actually speak her name calling out to her in John chapter 19 verses 26 and 27 saying when Jesus saw his mother there and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby. He said to his mother dear woman. Here is your son and to the disciple. He said here is your mother don't want us to take a few moments today to examine these words and their significance to ask Jesus. Spoke these words to his mother. We see a few things taking place here Jesus for one was saying goodbye to his mother and he was making sure that she was cared for in the days and weeks that stretched out before then, but it was also so much more than that a transformation was taking place within their relationship to see Jesus was saying to Mary I can no longer live as as your son.

I can no longer function as your son noticed that he didn't call her. He didn't call her mother this time. He called her woman. I can't no longer be your son or function as your son but he's saying I can function now as your savior and how Mary must have grieved that she realized she was never see or or touch or or speak to her beloved Son ever again and you must have come over her when she Stupid chaos in the wash in the the tragedy that she was hearing the very voice of God. What meat what piece must have come over her as she believe that Jesus was in fact the Eternal Christ the long-awaited Messiah in the midst of this heavy confusion and and in grief. Chew slowly but surely understanding that it was better to have Jesus as your lord and her Saviour for all of eternity was to have him as our son for just a little while longer believed in Jesus as the Messiah. She saw him as the Son of God. I just think about the significance of that what a testimony that is to the the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ that his mother would call him Lord the mistake that the my mom would never make she would never look at me and think that I was the Lord because because she knows the mistakes and the struggles I've had throughout my life. But here's Mary looking up on my son and she recognizes him as Lord and savior. Well, I want us to go on to take a look at what Jesus said next in in that important statement. Jesus words to John. He said John here is your mother to see the custom at this time. Was it when a man passed away his wife in the care of her would then go to his oldest son? And so the sun would then be responsible for caring for his mother for the rest of her life oldest son. And so when he was dying here he then saw fit to look to John and he says here is your mother still sing John now, it's your responsibility to be my substitute to be a substitute for the rest of her life and in according to the history. John was faithful to to this assignment and and he cared for Mary and provided for her for some 11 years after this until she passed away elective on these words to John from the cross. These are words that are commissioned to us as well from the cross. Jesus calls us to be his substitute to be his representatives in this world around us. We are his disciples today. We are the ones that he loved we are the ones that Jesus gave his life in order to save and so has Christians were responsible for taking care of all the responsibilities that Jesus would have followed through with himself. If he had been hearings in the flash were called to allow him to live in us and to live through us. The New Testament is is filled with examples of times that were clearly called to do this. It says the Christ is the head of the church and we've the members of the church are to be his body. We are to function as the body of Christ. We are called to be his hands and his feet and his mouthpiece and his presents into the world around us were called to do this as as both a corporate body together.

Do this individually with in our homes in our workplace in the mission field where where God has placed Us in his hands in his presence has placed us any place you and your mission field to be his representative to be his substitute to reach out and to extend his hands. Listen to the words of this poem by a woman by the name of Annie Flynn. Christ has no hands but our hands to do his work today. He has no feet but our feet to lead men in his way. He has no tongue but our tongue to tell them how he died. He has no help but our help to bring them to his side what an important task that we've actually been assigned by Jesus to bring men and women to his side into a saving knowledge of him as Lord and Savior this I believe I give the a great understanding of what Jesus actually was saying what he meant when he said that that if we're going to follow him we must take up our cross. We must be his representative. We must actually do the things that Jesus would do and so the question

is this will you hear the voice of Jesus in your life? You see how you respond to Jesus first two sets of words from the cross that determines where you're going to spend eternity his words of forgiveness has plans for life and Eternity these words that will actually affect many other people's the question is will you choose to make a difference in your home? Will you choose to be his representative where God has placed you you choose to be his representative in your workplace. Will you make it your life's prayer Lord make me laugh. So that you and your work will become more. Shortly after World War II came to a close. Most of Europe was was in Ruins and countless children were left orphaned and homeless and one American Soldier told the story that he said he would never forget and in all of his life early one morning. He was driving his Jeep back to the barracks and as he turn the corner. He saw a little boy with his nose pressed up against the the windows of a of a bakery. And so he stopped his would you like something to eat in there and a little boy and a scared little boy said? Yes, sir. I would and so the soldier went into the bakery and and he bought a loaf of bread and he bought a dozen donuts how to put into a box and he took it out and gave it to the little boy and as he was walking back to his Jeep. He felt a tug on his coat and when he turned around that little boy was standing there looking up at him and in a little boy said mister. Are you God You see when we love people with no strings attached. We're demonstrating what God is like God's love is is unconditional God's love is a selfless Kind of Love A gracious and kind of love. I can't reach out and see and touch especially these days with our nation going through such difficult. They want to see in fact, they need to see god with skin on and that's why God sent his son into the world to be exactly that god with skin on when Jesus was crucified and he paid our price the price for our sins. He didn't looks to us and he asked us to go and be his substitutes to be his In the world around us. There's a whole lot of that. You may be the only Jesus the some people ever get a chance to see we're called to be the body of Christ his hands and his feet to the fourth set of words that Jesus spoke from the cross and and these are found in Matthew chapter 27. Starting at verse 46 Jesus. Jesus was becoming very aware that his life was not going to last much longer. He was breathing his last breath upon the cross in and that he didn't have much time left to live in in the darkness of that moment. He cried out Matthew chapter 27 verse 46 and he said my God my God. Why have you forsaken me?

Why have you forsaken me? You know, when the Apostle Paul are the Apostle Peter rather? He he spoke of Jesus saying that the Christ bore our sins on the cross and when he said that word bore, this is a word. That means a massive. Heavy unbearable weight and that's what our sin is a massive unbearable weight. So it's in Romans chapter 22. It says all of creation groans under the weight of our sin. It's destroying people. It's destroying people's lives. In fact, it's just in God's beautiful creation all around. This is the only way to the father is through faith in Jesus Christ. We have to realize it only Jesus can remove this heavy weight of Sin from our life. When Jesus bore our sins. He bought the penalty for our sins as well when he bore our sins all of Hell broke loose upon him on that cross that day experience physical death, but he also experienced

Experience the total separation from God's love and God's presence the hopelessness of evil raining the loneliness of Hell being separated from the presence of God in the midst of that experience. Jesus cried out those words my God my God. Why have you forsaken me and I can't help but to think when I hear those words, it wasn't right that spikes would pierce the hands of an innocent man, and it wasn't right that the Son of God would what was forced to hear the deafening Silence of his father God. It wasn't right, but it happened while Jesus was on the cross. Think about this Jesus hang there on the cross. God sat on his hands. He turned his back. He ignored the screams of his son crying out in agony do a thing as Jesus boys. Go to cross that Hillside my God my God. Why have you forsaken me? Was it right? No? Was it fair? No, was it love you bet it was love. In fact, it was a kind of love that was meant for you and for your life and for your eternity John chapter 3 verse 16 those familiar word says for God so loved the world. You see it was an act of love and grace that he gave his one and only son his back up on that evil and send it was a boil on the back cross in order to save us for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever would believe in him. We have eternal life. You see we are forgiven because Jesus was forsaken. We've been given the honor of living as his substitute in this world because he became our substitutes upon that cross. As you sit there in your living room and your on your couch or in that chair. Listen closely. Are you hearing God's voice speaking into your heart as Mary did and if you do maybe your heart skips a beat as you recognize the Jesus's reminding you and speaking those he died for you. And the only thing he expect for you to be able to live life to its fullest and live life eternally is that you would live the rest of your life for him regardless of the current circumstances that we were in and this means realizing that we are called to look around and just simply begin to do what Jesus would do to reach out and to be his hands to be his encouragement into the lives of others to break bring light where there is Darkness. You see the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was meant for times like this that we're living in light shines brightest in the Darkness. Let me pray with you. My gracious God we give you thanks today for the gift of life that you've given to us. And it's our desire today that we would live our life as a great reflectors of you as your representatives in the world around us, and we prayed in Jesus name. Amen. I'm so glad that you joined us today for worship know that I'm praying for you and and for your family and it has you go out into your mission field this week, and maybe that's right there in your home these representative be a representative of his love and his grace at this time. We're going to head back into the the sanctuary in our band is going to sing a song of worship and praise you can you can reflect on these words you can join in and sing it right where you are, but God bless you and hope to see you again next Sunday.