Welcome to City Reach Cumberland's weekly podcast. We hope this message blesses you for more information about us You can check us out on the web at cityreachcomberland.com I'm gonna round up today. Too high is that possible? I'll read a little clip for you, and I'm gonna ask a question.
This is from Isaiah 53 Most of us have quoted this use this but this was a foreshadowing of what Jesus was gonna do He was despised and rejected by men a band of sorrows and equated with grief and as from one whom hid their faces He was despised and was esteemed him not and we esteemed him not Surely he has bore our griefs and carried our sorrows He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows him Jesus our griefs our sorrows yet. We esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted But he was pierced for our transgressions He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed All we like have sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way all of us have turned away in our own way And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all He laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all that's a lot of iniquity He was oppressed and he was afflicted yet He opened not his mouth like a land that's led the slaughter and like a sheep that before it shears his silence So he opened not his mouth I've said this before but I think at some point I saw the wickedness of mankind It said in back in Genesis that he said I'm even I'm sorry.
I even created him I wish I wouldn't have made him and I just pictures it's some moment in eternity and time passed and that God the Father's looking down upon the race just Can't believe what's happened to my creation and Jesus looked over and said I'll go I'll take their place Let me go and God lets you know Because we read through the book of the Old Testament how God tried to reach his people and say I need you to be different You need to address different eat different act different And then we read about the books of the law the law wasn't created for us to be good The law was created to show us how sinful we were that's it I've said this before but the law isn't there if you say I didn't break the law that doesn't make you righteous If you're focused not sinning you're not living the life God wants you to live So if over here is a bunch of sin and you're part of it and you're like I want to change my life around and you're standing here going Look at them sinning look wow well. I'm not part of it though Well they're having fun, but I'm not gonna partake of it. I'm just gonna and you lay your head down I go man. I didn't send it a good no you didn't because God's over here saying here's the life I have for you if you're worried if you're focused on this you're not even gonna think about that But what we want to do is we want to start living our life and we pick up bad habits and we got sin our life We got things were going along and then we're like we realize I ever kind of messed up like well I'll get a little Jesus to come along with me in my ride and I'll put him in my pocket So I got him so I'm good put a little Jesus in with everything else and put it into a concoction and I'm good But Jesus never said I'll follow you.
He said follow me He didn't say take me along the ride with you. He said follow me follow me I got plans. I got gifts. I got pounds.
I got things. I want to do you took us off that I took all that That's why we're celebrating Easter. He took all those in equities. I had someone come to me yesterday at the outreach He said I need to ask you something.
So okay, he said there's things going on But I can't I can't I know about forgiveness. I hear it But I don't I don't understand there's people that kill and rape how can they be forgiven how Said hey, I'm with you man. Am I natural self? I'm with you.
I don't get it either Am I what carnal mind? I don't get it. That's why I have to rely on that word and what God says to me and says They're forgiven just as much as anybody else if they're a new creation if they come to the Lord and say God I forgive me. I want to get saved.
I receive your sacrifice your life laid down for mine They're forgiven. I don't care what they've done. It doesn't matter and he was struggling to find that that line It was he put a line there and said okay, this these sins are worse than all the others. I can't forgive that I don't see how that's possible and one thing I said I said the only thing I can tell you man I said my words can go in this you're not that year.
I can speak to you all day I can tell you exactly about it might not change it draw closer to him let him minister to you He's the only one that get in here. I can speak to you up in here But only God's gonna get in here and make a change only God's gonna reveal the truth to you But that truth is he bore our griefs character sorrows pure for our transgressions. That's real He did that for you. He took it all for you.
He was the perfect sacrifice That'll test it all said you had to bring a sacrifice every year the best of your bunch bring me a lamb or a ram Whatever your wealth status was you had to bring a perfect animal had to be the best of your bunch you couldn't say like well Slams junk anyway, I'll sneak that one into sacrifice and no no no it's gonna get rejected. Give us your best That was got a fault. That was got a defect. It's got a limp.
It's got spots. You want your best That's the only thing it was sufficient and anything shot the animal up spill the blood all in the temple I can only that priest go into the very inner inner inner sanctuary to stand in the gap for you to sacrifice or to be the sacrifice for your sins He's the only one then you walk away. I'm good for another year game my perfect sacrifice priest did his thing I'm good. So next year I'm gonna come back and do it all over again Jesus at one time once I'll go I'll come and live as a man.
I'll live perfectly. I won't sin. I won't be disobedient I'll listen to everything the father tells me he was tempted just like we are He was tempted just like us. We read the Bible sometimes think well Jesus didn't even get through anything But also says he was tempted just like we are I'm gonna bet Jesus had a couple of couple of good looking You're a women come sneaking up on him.
I'll say that but I mean think it's true if he faced all the temptations we did He said no not today He did it all lived his life And said I'll lay down my life for you. I'll shed my blood If you've ever I wasn't I feel like it needs to be read how many of you have never read any details of the crucifixion Like any of the what happened what do you really went through has everybody read it? But it begins with a surging Sorging everyone pronounce that beat Whipped and not just a little crack on the butt you do for kids but beaten to where flesh is coming off Bloods pouring out bones are exposed muscles exposed If you read a lot of this of if you do a lot of studies on this it said a lot of normal mortal men would have died just from this They'd already been dead right there Jesus couldn't die yet couldn't and then as he's going through that they mocked They stripped his clothes off because they said it's kind of a death. You have no dignity in it.
No, no pride They strip everything they want you humiliated not just dead humiliated You put a crown of thorns on him made him carry his own cross and this wasn't some two pound piece of wood Even that right there. They said most guys would die. You've already beaten your already bleeding out now You're carrying this 7500 pound cross and not just from here to the back of the church This is all the way out to the outskirts of town up on Golgotha's Hill Most men want to die right there. Jesus couldn't die yet.
He was scripted nailed to the cross on the cross Jesus hung in agony Soldiers divided his garments cast lots for his robe various onlookers taunted him crucified on either side of Jesus were two thieves Soldiers found Jesus or the soldiers found Jesus already dead But to be certain one of them drive a spear inside from which he poured blood and water I skip I think I'm just a but they said when you're hanging like that First is the agony. Just think of just hanging natural weight Why do I just grab one of something just like your body weight hang like hold on to like a ledge? He didn't do it very long and then The asphyxiation search coming because all that body weights coming down your chest can't expand You have to literally push yourself up just to get a breath And they said think about that pain you're getting nails down and you're trying to push up Think of how just think about a splinter hurt you and how annoying it is let alone having six inch nails ran through your feet And just to get a breath think about that you had to go through agony get a breath to save you from the agony of suffocating Some reports say six hours of that six hours Finally he gave up his I just sometimes think I don't even think the angels knew What was going on? I don't think they got it either.
They were I can see what they're ready to go right? I mean like that's Jesus man. We got we got a good war like Bob you gonna let us go like we need marching orders, man Silence and it said Jesus any second could have just went come Angel came and just to wrap place up Jesus knew he couldn't do that He went through with everything that he knew he had to do every Old Testament prophecy about what the lamb the perfect sacrifice was gonna Be had to come to pass and he knew he had to shed his blood die on a cross And that's I before we go any further I want to ask a question. I want to know is there anyone in here that needs to be saved You've never accepted that sacrifice for you.
You've never said Jesus your my lord and savior because of what you did I want to serve you and if you're in here today, and you've never done that Please let's let's pray right now raise a hand. Please anybody that needs to be saved We have anybody said this earlier, but that song ain't no grave We should be walking around not afraid of death Jesus conquered death. He defeated death He defeated that thing. I'm not saying why I play Russian roulette I'm saying we shouldn't walk around with this outstanding fear of death.
Jesus said I defeated death They thought death thought it had me gave up my spirit dead soldiers mocking. Yep. He's dead getting down I'll just if you want the body here taking pretty much not grave But you know what he was running his gums about raising himself up and he does have these crazy disciples I might do something to put that big step in front of that grave seal it up that way. There's no ifs ands or buts Let's make sure and for three days They thought they had him they thought the whole thing was over see he wasn't he wasn't the king He wasn't on the side.
He wasn't just a man. He was just a man now. He's in some grave just like everybody else three days later When they went to the tomb and said Angel said what are you doing here? You think we're doing here?
Hey, Jesus walked out of the grave He's alive. Jesus is alive Peter and John. All right Let's get make sure they get there. There's a living and it's symbolic in there If you read that the linen was folded up and in Jewish customs that folded up linen meant something my work here's finished I'll finish at this table fold my linen up He didn't just throw it on the ground that linen was nice to fold it up me to the work is finished And I'll say it again even not just said earlier.
I think in our life sometimes we still have those things just like that Man said yesterday. We still struggle with thoughts of saying I don't know about that. I don't know about this I don't know about forgiveness. I don't know about really restored.
I've done so much. I've done this and I just You we have to have a revelation of what this truly means what works why we celebrate Easter? It has to be a fresh true revelation in your heart. It can't just be another day It can't just be okay.
Well, Jesus died it has to be a really true heart spirit soul body revelation That says what Jesus really did he laid it all down for me every iniquity every sin all the chest all everything He took it into that grave with him. He took it on the cross For you We got to walk out of that grave that meant you also are a new creation you come out of that thing new when you say Jesus I accept your word and Savior new creation old you dead in the grave new you walking with life Does it mean you're perfect doesn't mean you're never gonna mess up again? That's not it Get out of the religious mindset But God says I'm giving you life. I'm giving you life at the end of this journey.
You want to be able to say I thought tip He said it second Timothy four seven. I just had a tool to I fought the good fight I've fought the good fight. I finished the race. I've kept the faith.
I thought this week two reasons He said I fought a good fight good fight Good winning that's one of them. Yes, who's a big boxing fan anybody? Anybody the boxing fans in here your box. Okay, Royce is a boxing fan when my Tyson boss.
You're not this spot Was that a good fight from my Tyson? Why? Because he lost It was a good fight for both of us because he won but why else was what else would make a fight good because it's worth it? It's worth it funny page It's worth it right?
But Timothy fought that race because he said it's worth it the end of this fight It's worth it whatever you go through whatever you're struggling with whatever's beating you down Whatever the enemy's pounding your brain or doing to your body or doing this around you Indoor and door and door because it's worth it. The fight is worth it The Bible says stand the best thing sometimes you can do if you're an actual altercation Man, some of them blast you and you get on the ground as you stand up like this You stay in you take a shot from me and that's sometimes the best thing you can do like whoa I had you down you're standing. Well, I'm gonna come hit you again. Okay.
Well, I guess what I'm gonna do I'm gonna get back up. I'm gonna stay back up Amen, say again, curse Nothing when you have accepted this and say I'm a new creation I'm telling you that means you got to put the gloves on and fight doesn't mean life's easy doesn't mean It's just struggles and it means the struggles get real the struggles get real and how do we fight? We fight flesh and blood how we fight We fight with the word we fight with the word we fight in spiritual battles high places We do not we don't go to devil with our fists. They come on devil.
I'm gonna punch you in faith No, we fight spiritually. I'm gonna hit you with my swords devil keep coming at me. I'm gonna pull my sword out I'm gonna bash you across the face with it. That's what we're gonna do.
I'm gonna chop your head off Goliath Fight the good fight of faith. It's worth it in the end too often. We're five steps into this thing It gets overwhelming. I just want to give up It's the Israelites going out to the edge of the sea and Moses is going And they're going you brought us out here to kill us.
Let's go back at least when we were slept if we got fed There is no way that way We'll make a way when you walk out of that grave God's gonna put you on a journey That's just there's some it's don't get me wrong There's highs and lows man is highs or high man is highs are high and they can't be replaced That's why also one of the support things I spring to bibles and pulse it I've learned to be content I'm content with a lot of them to tell with a little it's too often. We just take our walk wall like they might walk New car new house. Oh, man. I'm walking.
I must be walking right a couple steps later. It's like that happens I messed up somewhere. Oh crap, but I do wrong you're doing wrong Attorney's gonna be fellies mountains valleys peaks lows It also just got to be content all of it because the one thing you got is you got Jesus if you got him you got everything Got everything I think I can find a score again. This was I love this I was reading this book and talked about how after the resurrection From the resurrection onward the gospel that Jesus had preached became the gospel that was Jesus the disciples now recognize that Jesus Christ came Not only to preach a gospel, but to be a gospel.
He is the gospel. He is the gospel too often. We think why don't I have to speak to people? I don't have word.
Yeah, you do just talk with It's simple the gospel is very simple Easter is very simple. It sounds so incredibly simple and dumb that some people That's the way I got one. I said my son a little perfect life. He's perfect after you raising back to life three days You turn you over about all the other if you know that you can get someone safe.
I've said it for here John 14 12 Jesus said you'll do greater things. You'll do these things and greater these things come healing think about Go to blind eyes open deaf ears resurrect somebody from death What's greater than all that get someone safe? Jesus couldn't get someone safe Truth Jesus couldn't get someone safe. He didn't die yet.
He couldn't preach salvation to somebody. He was gonna be salvation He couldn't say well, you believe in my death. Oh, yeah That's why it says that you'll do greater things your ability to get someone shape save share the gospel is greater than all the miracles Jesus did that that wrecks people's minds, but it's true. That's why I told him that you're gonna do greater things than me Why don't you do great things?
You can't do all that stuff. You know what's wrong about me. Let's close out here I kept the band up here because I don't speak up. Thank you man.
I wanted to play a song again because And madam glad you find listen I need a little more harmonica on my life. Yeah cowbell in harmonica So good man. It's so good I just want to play the song and I want us to really find some joy, you know, it's okay I think a lot of times we tend to get a little somber because we think Jesus died during Yes, that's true. Also for resurrection And that's what he wants us to he wants us to celebrate He wants us to enjoy this thing and say I died for you like live live live Some of us are surviving.
We're just existing. Jesus said live I didn't do my Facebook challenge last week my Facebook challenge this week is live there's people in here raise your hand If there's something on your on your heart that you're like man I've always wanted to go here do this be this whatever something Do it this week unless it's I mean I know there's probably some crazy, you know, you want to go do it, you know The I did a rod up and I'll ask him maybe it's not realistic, but like if you said I always want to get the grand Canyon Guess what make plans to do it right now. I always want to see Niagara Falls make plans to do it right now I haven't seen my cousin in five years. They live go see your cousin live God says live live Don't make a way and I want you to as we sing a song I really if there's somebody in here if you still feel like that rock is in front of you That's big things got you in a cave you're locked in you don't feel freedom.
You don't feel released You don't feel like got life. Let's pray or as the songs playing I really want you to get focused on God not your surroundings not your neighbor not the person in front of a hymn But the fact that that stone rolled away And just walk out of that grave and he's saying you do the same thing walk out Stop don't stay in that grave walk out By face that stones rolled away. I'm walking out and freedom. I'm alive Lord.
Thank you for your Ultimate sacrifice. Thank you for laying down your life 2000 years ago. Thank you for just being the ultimate example of mankind and Thank you that you shed your blood You laid your body down that we were able to protect those things Lord and walk in the homeless of life You gave us a tool to defeat the enemy. You never leave us nor forsake us Lord if there's one in here today that needs set free deliver I pray that you would speak over them right now set them free grab them by the hand and yank them out of that grave Where we thank you for the gift we just pray a safety blessing of our family gatherings today Lord let people just gather with love and joy peace Lord thank you for life without you.
We have nothing Jesus your name amen amen