Well, good morning, everyone. And welcome. It's great to see you all. And it's a privilege today to open the Word of God and share with you from the scripture.
You know, when I was preparing this message, I thought that I had finished with the book of Joshua. And I was going to take up a book in the New Testament and do some expositional ministry. But as I started to prepare, I had a little tug at my heart. And something inside of me said, I want to preach the gospel.
And I was encouraged last night as I was preparing to think about the gospel. So today, I would like to tell you the story of the cross. You know, I grew up hearing this message. It was riveted into my heart as a young boy when I sat under the sound of great orators that preached faithfully and clearly the message of the cross.
And to me, it's an immortal message. It never dies. It's the greatest message that we could hear today. So I'm going to invite you to turn to 1 Corinthians 1.
1 Corinthians 1, and we're going to read at verse 17. It says, for Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Not with wisdom of words, unless the cross of Christ should be of no effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them who are perishing foolishness.
And that word is to those who are headed for destruction. This message is foolishness. But unto us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
In verse 23, it says, we preach Christ crucified. To the Jews, it was a stumbling block. And to the Gentiles, it was foolishness. But unto us who are saved, this message is the power of God.
I'd like you to turn over to the book of the Acts and chapter 3. And I'd like to read at verse 13. Acts chapter 3 and 13. And here on this occasion, Peter is addressing the leaders of the nation of Israel that rejected Christ.
And he says, the God of Abraham and Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers has glorified his son, Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go. But you denied the holy one and the just one, and you desired a murderer to be granted unto you and you killed the prince of life, whom God raised from the dead. And we are witnesses. Luke chapter 23.
Luke chapter 23 and verse 1. And as I read this passage today, I want you to notice the crowd. Yeah, the crowd. You know, there's something interesting about the crowd.
It doesn't change. We go out on the streets, and I've been doing this for, well, 14 years. And every time that we preach the gospel, there's different people on the streets. But the sentiment of the crowd never changes.
You know, the sentiment of the crowd is today when you preach the gospel away with this man. We will not have him to reign over us. That is the sentiment of the crowd in 2024. And it was the sentiment of the crowd in AD 30.
The crowd never changes. Luke 23 and verse 1. And the whole multitude, that's the crowd. You know that it's referred to 273 times in the New Testament, the multitudes, the crowd.
They led him unto Pilate, and they began to accuse him. Verse 13. And Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people. Who are they?
They're the crowd. Pilate calls them all together. In verse 20, Pilate was willing to release Jesus, and he spoke again unto them. But the crowd said, crucify him, crucify him.
And he said, why? What evil has he done? They cried out the more. They were urgent with loud voices.
It says in verse 23. And they united together with this one theme, crucified Jesus Christ. Verse 24. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.
And he released unto him one that for insurrection and murder was cast into prison. That's the one that the crowd desired, and he delivered Jesus to their will. Look at verse 27. And there followed him, a great company of people.
That's the crowd. And they led him away to crucify him. And it says that women also be wailed and lamented him. Verse 33.
And when they were come to the place, which is called a skull. Calvary. There they crucified him. And the criminals, the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
And they said, Jesus. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. And they parted his garments. And they cast lots.
Look at verse 35. And the people. Who is that? The crowd.
And the crowd stood beholding him. They stood staring at him. This great spectacle. And it says that the rulers derided him.
And they said, he saved others. You let him save himself. And then it says this. If, notice that word.
If, if you be the Christ, the chosen of God. The soldiers mocked him coming to him, offering him vinegar. Verse 37. If, here it is again.
If you be the king of the Jews. Save yourself. Look at verse 39. And one of the criminals, the malefactors that were hanged, railed at him and said, if, if you are the Christ.
Save yourself in us. Verse 45. And it was about the sixth hour. And there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
And the sun was darkened. And the veil of the temple was torn in the midst. And Jesus cried with a loud voice. What did he cry?
He cried, it is finished. And then he said, Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit. Now look at verse 48. And all the people.
Who is this? The crowd. And all the crowds that came together to that spectacle, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts. Why?
Because they were convicted. And they returned to their house. And all his acquaintances and the women that followed him from Galilee stood afar off, beholding these things. I want to speak to you today about the cross.
The cross is the very core message that God has for mankind. The cross is the very heart of God, revealed to a world of sinners. The cross is, it is the theme of the ages. It is an eternal message that will never die.
Throughout the ages of eternity to come, we will speak of the cross. And every redeemed soul that has been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ will look back to the cross and they will never forget this eternal, immortal message. I want to speak to you today about the teaching, the truth of the cross. What is the truth of the cross?
This is a faithful saying. Worthy to be accepted by all, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. How did he save sinners? By dying on a cross.
That is the message that God has for mankind. It is God's plan of redemption. I don't know if you realize it, you need to be redeemed. We were born into this world every human being with a sinful nature that causes us with a continual propensity to commit sin.
And sin stains the soul. Sin separates from God. Sin puts you on a downward road to destruction. The wages of sin is death and God sent his son into the world to pay that penalty for our sin.
You know, we sang beautiful words this morning. God sent his son. They called him Jesus. He came to love, heal and forgive.
He bled and died to buy my pardon. And life is worth the living just because he lives. And because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Can I ask you today?
Have you been to the cross? Has this message ever convicted you of your personal sin? Has it ever brought you to your knees? You know, we live in a world today that is no different than it was in AD 33.
People that are not saved. They think this message is foolishness. And if you're here today and you don't know Jesus Christ and you've never been forgiven of your sins, this message to you may be foolishness. If this message is foolishness, that's a wake up calling itself because it says, you are perishing.
The message of the cross is an offense. Yes it is. It is offensive. To see a man that is crucified, tortured, hanging upon a cross, it is repulsive.
Nobody wants to see that. And to understand that this person who has been crucified is God's one and only son, the creator of the universe, the God of the ages, the one who stepped into time became a man that he might bear the penalty of man's sin. It's an offense. You know why it's an offense?
Because it exposes all humanity in our sin. There is no difference. This is a message that people don't want to hear. You and I and every human being is equally condemned and equally sinful in our nature.
And the cross reveals that. It teaches us that we are ungodly. It teaches us that we are weak and we are helpless in ourselves to do anything about our sin. But the cross reveals the grace of God.
It reveals the righteousness of God. It reveals the love of God to humanity. I want to speak to you today about the crowd. You know what the crowd said?
They said, we don't want this man to reign over us. They said, crucify him. The crowd that day, they denied Jesus Christ. And you might say, well, it was really the Jews that denied him.
No. It was everyone at the cross that denied him. In Luke chapter 19 and verse 14, Jesus spoke this parable. And he foreshadowed what would happen in a couple of days.
The crowd that he fed, the 5,000 that wanted the loaves and the fish, those that were healed, those that followed him and flocked to hear his teaching. It came to a crisis and they said, we will not have this man to reign over us away with him, crucify him. You know, you might think that there was tremendous differences and there was between the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews hated the Romans.
They hated them. And the Romans, they despised the Jews. And Herod, he didn't like Pilate. Pilate wasn't his friend.
And Pilate really despised Herod. But so remarkable is this. That day, all the crowd came together with one voice to deny God's son, Jesus Christ. They settled their differences.
They said, we want to agree on this. They hated Jesus Christ. And they were willing to unite in one voice. Crucify him, crucify him.
Do you know what it was said 800 years before he came? He has despised and rejected among men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we all hid as it were our faces from him. This is the message of the cross.
The crowd denied him. And Peter, he made it so clear in Acts, chapter three that we read. He said to the leaders of that nation, you denied the Holy One, the righteous one. And you chose a murderer.
And you killed the prince of life. Do you know what he was saying that day? You are guilty. Can I ask you a question?
Have you ever felt a personal guilt in your life? Not only for the sins that you have committed your whole life, but for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Do you know what I realized? It was for me.
It was for my sin. And what I want to tell you today is it was for you. It was for your sin that Jesus Christ was crucified. But that day, they all denied him.
I want to speak to you a little bit about their doubt. You know, this is the way the world is today. The crowd and their doubt. Here's what the Jews said.
They got Jesus together and they assembled the Sanhedrin. Well, three o'clock in the morning, they had this emergency meeting, brought Jesus in, and they said, tell us if you are the Christ, if you are the Son of God. Tell us if you are. They doubted it.
And that day, when they crucified Jesus Christ, they said, if he be the Son of God, let him come down from the cross. They said, if he be the king of the Jews, they were upset that Pilate wrote, this is the king of the Jews. No, they said, if. Do you know what one of the greatest stumbling blocks in coming to salvation is?
Doubt in the heart of humanity, if Jesus Christ is really the Christ. I want to tell you a quick story. I grew up listening to a gospel preacher in the gospel hall called Peter or a Suck. You guys have probably never heard of him, but he was an amazing, powerful, passionate preacher.
This man was a drug addict. Before he was saved, he was an enforcer for Hell's Angels. He spent three prison terms, and he eventually came to know Christ, and he gave his life to Jesus Christ. When he was in prison, there was a fellow criminal there with him called Billy.
Billy was a 1%er, and he had committed atrocious crimes. When Peter got out of prison and got saved, he went back in and he preached to those criminals. And Billy professed to be saved this one day, and he said to Peter, he said, Peter, I've given my life to Christ. I'm saved, and I'm not gonna live the life that I lived before.
Peter said, that's great, Billy. That's awesome. He said, I'm getting out in a few months, and I look forward to going to church with you. You know what I've heard people say this a million times.
I brought people here. I brought a man here not too long ago that was broken in repentance. Where is he now? You know what?
This is such a phenomenon of the heart of man. Billy got out of prison. Guess what he did? He did cocaine.
He did angel dust. He started getting back into his sinful habits again, and he fell in the sin. And one day Peter went to visit him, and he said, Billy, what happened? He said, I don't know.
He said, I just got convicted again. I'm going back in for 14 years. He said, Billy, I thought you came to Christ. He said, I did.
He said, I don't know what happened. He said, I guess Peter, it doesn't work. Peter said, well, it worked for me. Why didn't it work for you?
He said, I don't know. He said, well, tell me how it happened. Billy said, that day after you preached, he said, I went back to my cell and I said this, if sin is really that bad, and if there's really a hell, and if I'm bad enough to go there, and if Jesus really died on the cross for my sins, then God, give me salvation. I want to be saved.
And he said, I guess I got saved. Peter said, Billy, there's no if. There's no if. You have doubted whether you are a sinner.
You have doubted whether there's a hell. You have doubted whether Jesus is the Son of God. You know what these men did at the cross? They said, if he is the Son of God.
They said, if he be the King of the Jews. They said, if there's no if. He is the Son of God. He is the King of the Jews.
He is the living one of eternity. And you will either believe it and go to heaven, or you will doubt it and you will die in your sins and you will go to hell. There's no if. You know what else the crowd did?
They dishonored him. You know what the crowd does today when we preach the gospel? What do they do, Warren? They dishonor.
They blaspheme the holy name of God. You know what these men did? They spit upon his face. The King of Israel.
The eternal Son of God. They spit upon his face. They scourged him. They chose a murderer lining up as if the morality of Barabbas versus the morality of Jesus Christ.
They said, we'll take this one. They dishonored him when they gambled over his garments. They sat at the foot of the cross and they laughed and they mocked. They offered him vinegar to drink.
The crowd and their denial. The crowd and their doubt. The crowd and their dishonor. Where did they all end?
The crowd and their destruction. Let me tell you something. If you pursue a path of sin, and if you deny Jesus Christ as the eternal Son of God, and if you dishonor him, you will die in your sins and you will end in destruction. Do you know where the crowd is?
The crowd is in hell. Jesus said, enter you in at the straight gate for broad is the way. Why is the gate? And the crowds are flocking down that path.
Where does it lead? It leads to destruction. And many, there be. They go in there out.
Why? Because narrow is the way. Straight is the gate that leads to life. And few, there be, that find it.
When Jesus passed through the villages in Luke chapter 13, one man came unto him and said, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said, strive to enter in. For many I say unto you, we'll seek to enter in, but shall not be able. And a little bit farther down that passage, he draws back the curtain and he says, this is what it will be like in eternity.
When once the master of the house has risen up and shut to the door and he began to stand on the outside of that door and to knock. And he says, depart from me. You workers of iniquity, I never knew you. And they said, but we went to church.
We ate and drank in your presence. You taught in our streets. He said, I never knew you. Could I counsel you today?
This is the greatest message that you will ever hear. And you cannot remain neutral. You will either accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and embrace the cross, or you will die in your sins and you will end in destruction. Do you know why the cross is so offensive?
Because it condemns individuals. Let me give you some examples. Judas Iscariot, he was condemned at the cross. Because he loved money.
We heard about that yesterday. He was covetousness. And you know what he said? He said, if I could just get 30 pieces of silver, I'll let everything else go.
You know how foolish that is? Many, many people today, they hang on to this material bag of toys and they're unwilling to let it go so they might win Christ. The cross condemned Judas Iscariot. He went out and he threw the pieces down and he said, I have sinned against God.
I have betrayed innocent blood. The cross condemned Pilate. Because Pilate in his very heart was that coward. He knew Jesus was innocent.
He wanted to release him, but he was afraid. He was afraid of the lifestyle change. He might lose his job. What about the cost?
Do you know how many people today won't come to the cross and accept the claims of Christ? Because they're afraid of what it will do to their life. You know what Jesus said? He said, I will tell you what you shall fear.
Fear not him that will destroy the body. But fear him who has power to put the soul in hell. That's who you should fear. Don't let materialism, relationships, or any pursuit of an empty bubble of life deter you from coming to Christ.
The chief priests, they were condemned. Herod, he was condemned. You know what I heard? Herod was condemned because he was living in immorality.
And he didn't want to face that truth, but the cross condemned him. The Jews were condemned because they murdered Jesus Christ. Do you know what they said? We'll take that on us.
Let his blood be on us and on our children. We'll be responsible for it. Oh, how foolish. The cross and the crowd.
Can I tell you something? If you come to Jesus Christ, you're gonna have to get over the crowd. You're gonna have to turn away from popular thinking. You're gonna have to overcome the world and its values.
You need to turn your back on all of that and go to Christ. What did Jesus say at the cross? The cries of the cross rivet our very souls. When the God of the ages who is man revealed in flesh is hanging on a cross, has power and authority to condemn everyone.
He says, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. What else did he say? The darkness that seems to come into that scene.
It says that there was darkness over all the earth from the sixth to the ninth hour. And God Almighty took your sin in mind and rolled it on Jesus Christ, your sin. All the sin that you have committed your entire life. All known to God.
He took it all and he laid it upon Jesus Christ in that darkness. And what did Jesus Christ say? He said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why have you forsaken me?
Do you know who should be forsaken? You and I, we should be forsaken because of our sin in the hands of a holy righteous God, but it was Jesus Christ who was forsaken. Do you know what he did in those three hours? He finished the work.
He paid it in full. All my sin was laid on Jesus. Jesus bore it on the tree. God who knew it, laid in on him and believing I go free.
You know, there was a curse associated with that cross. The curse of sin. You know what? A brother said here yesterday, we don't preach sin enough from this pulpit because people don't wanna hear it.
Because it's like a mirror. And what it does is it reveals what is in the very part of all mankind. Sin separates from God. Sin is a stain upon the soul.
And we say, have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the lamb? Has your soul been washed in the blood of the lamb? The cross was a curse.
Galatians chapter three says, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. Do you know what Jesus Christ did? He took the curse for you. He took the curse for me.
He bore in his own body the death sentence. Galatians chapter six and verse 23 says, the wages of sin is death. Have you ever sinned? Of course you have.
Thousands of times. Do you know what you deserve? Death. That's a pretty hard straight up message.
That's what the Bible says. The wages of sin is death. And Jesus Christ on the cross became sin for us. He took our death.
He bore our penalty. He paid in full the curse. Something else happened. That's amazing.
Satan's power was destroyed at the cross. Do you know who has the power over you right now? If you are not a believer, it is Satan. How do I know that?
Ephesians chapter two says, when you were dead in your sins and in your trespasses before God, walking according to the course of this world, dominated by the power of the God of the age, children of disobedience, heading to destruction, dominated by Satan. Do you know why you can't live a good life? Because you are dominated and controlled by one who wants to see your soul in hell. And Jesus Christ took that curse and he broke that spell.
And he delivered us who were all our lifetime subject to bondage. Hebrews chapter two says, the one who is God took upon himself flesh and blood, that he might pay the debt of our sin and take the curse. Satan's power has been broken. Colossians two says it is canceled.
He took away the ordinances of handwriting that were against us, took it out of the way, canceling the debt. And he overcame the powers of darkness and he destroyed the curse of sin and it's gone. Okay, maybe everything that I've said up until now, you've heard before. And if you have, praise God, you just heard it again.
There are claims for the cross. Let me tell you the claims that Jesus said. In his own words, this is what he said. In John chapter 12, he said, I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw.
All humanity unto me. Every single person that has ever lived is going to have dealings with Jesus Christ. He is the judge of all the earth. And I saw the dead, small and great stand before God and the books were opened.
And everyone whose name was not written in the Lamb's book of life was cast into the lake of fire. That's what the scripture says in Revelation 20 and verse 11. There are claims. You will stand before God.
You know what Jesus said? He said, destroy this temple. Destroy this body. And I will raise it up after three days.
Did that happen? Absolutely. That happened. You know what else Jesus said?
Jesus said, I will lay now my life. And I will take it up again. I have power to lay down my life and take it up again. Did he do that?
Yes, he did. Let me tell you this. If the crucifixion happened and Jesus Christ never rose from the dead, none of this would matter. There would be no Christianity, but Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
And he is alive and his claims are real. And you will stand before him. I lay down my life. I have power to lay it down.
I have power to take it up again. Do you remember the thief on the cross? What did he do to deserve salvation? Nothing about the same as you did.
Nothing. But at the very moment that he's about to die, the crowd around him are all doubting. What does he say? He says, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
He never doubted his person. He called him Lord. He didn't say, if you be Lord, he said Lord, remember me. He didn't doubt his power.
He believed that he had power to make this man's life different. He didn't doubt his purpose. He said, I know you have a kingdom. And when you have your kingdom, I want to be in it.
Is there anyone here today that's simple enough to accept the claims of Christ? Christ died for our sins. He was buried. And he rose again the third day.
And he is alive. This is a crisis. Do you know why it's a crisis? Because you can't escape this message of the cross.
You can't ignore this. You can't walk out of this church and say, oh yeah, that guy was pretty passionate. That's all good. Nice message, whatever.
No, you must do something with this. Most people are like Pilate. They'll wash my hands. I have nothing to do with this man.
Yeah, whatever. That's good. That's your religion. No.
Pilate came to this crisis. He said, what shall I do then with Jesus? Who's called Christ? You're going to have a crisis in your life.
You're either going to deny him, deny this message, and say it's not for me. And you will die in your sins. And you will be in hell. Are you going to accept the claims of Christ?
And you're going to say, it is true. I am a sinner. It is true that Christ came to save me. It is true that he died for my sins.
And he broke the curse that he took the penalty of all humanity upon himself. And I believe in him. Is there anyone here today that's just simple enough to say this? I believe it's true.
It's all true. It's all true. God sent his son to die for me. I'm guilty.
I'm a sinner. I deserve to be in hell. Nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross-eye cling. Naked come I for dress.
God wants to give you his righteousness. The Apostle Paul learned that in Philippians 3 when he said, I went about trying to establish my own righteousness. And then I realized that I can have the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ. Do you believe on him?
Do you accept him as your personal Lord and Savior? Do you accept the claims of the cross? Folks, this is not foolishness. This is the power of Almighty God.
And it is greater than the wisdom of men. And it is a theme that's for the ages. We will never forget the cross. We will never forget the work of redemption.
This is personal. And I plead with you today as we close this meeting, that you would repent of your sin. Turn from your sinful thoughts, your sinful ways, and surrender your life to Jesus Christ and cling to the cross. There's no message like the cross.
It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. We're going to pray. And we're going to sing a beautiful hymn that I love, the old rugged cross. 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. I hope that everyone in this church comes today and puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and accepts the claims of the cross. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the word of God.
We thank you, Lord, for the amazing work of Calvary. We thank you for the Savior of sinners that is ready and willing today to save all that will come to him by faith. We thank you, Lord, for the precious blood of Christ. It cleanses us from all sin.
And so help us today as we part that we would never cease to get over the amazing claims of the cross and that we would enjoy this in our soul today as we leave this place that Jesus Christ died for me. We give thanks and we commend this church to you and pray your blessing on every one of us as we part today in Jesus' name, amen.