Sunday 7th September 2014 - The Lamb of God - Brian Nish

THE LAMB OF GOD & THE CROSS OF CHRIST (Part One) INTRODUCTION John 3v16 - For God so loved the world He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life Eph 2v4 – But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us… So many conferences, books, and messages, put the emphasis on what we should do for God. This message about The Lamb of God and The Cross of Christ puts the emphasis on what God has done for us – because of His great love for us! Understanding this should be our foundation for serving Him. 1 Cor 1v18 – For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God The message of the Cross doesn’t just save the lost - it also saves the church! My experience For a number of years I have believed that there is a missing ingredient in the church, and that this ingredient is a ‘Spirit of Holiness’ or ‘Holy Fire’, often seen in times of revival. Approx 4/5 years ago I asked the Holy Spirit to reveal His holiness to me. What happened took me by surprise! He took me to the Cross. I was there when they drove the nails through the hands and feet of Jesus. I was there when they hung Him up on the Cross. I was there when He suffered and died for me. Throughout this whole time, in my spirit, I was crying out “No, don’t do it – that should be me!” What I learned from this experience is that holiness isn’t just about conviction of sin, and being separated to God for His purposes - but is mainly about the love of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary. Over recent years I have returned to the Cross several times. A few months ago on a Sunday morning I picked up our wooden cross from the platform, and carried it around, prophesying about returning to the Cross of Christ. A few weeks ago as I was praying I was suddenly struck by ‘something from heaven’ and I ‘erupted’ in tongues…I was then taken back to the Cross again. Paul Worth, about 4 weeks ago at Forefront, began to prophesy about the Cross and then broke down in tears. The Prophets Many of the prophets of our day are proclaiming that the last move of God will be a return to the Cross of Christ! Bobby Conner – “We’re going to radically return to the preaching of the Cross” Rick Joyner – “There is going to be a returning to the Cross. The Cross will be popular again” Bob Jones- “A picture of the ‘Monument to Humanism’ in the church falling down and the ‘Cross of Christ’ being lifted up in its place” Paul Keith Davies- “The Body of Christ has scarcely touched the redemptive truths of the Cross. A deep revelation of the Cross will profoundly equip us” Benny Hinn – “We must get back to the Cross, for the Cross destroys the plague of sickness and sin” John Arnott – “I believe that the next great move of God will have the Cross of Christ and the blood of the Lamb at the centre” John Kilpatrick – “I believe revival came to Brownsville because we honoured the Cross of Christ and the blood of the Lamb” The Theologians Many eminent theologians speak of the necessity of the Cross of Christ taking centre stage in our lives and churches. For example: Jonathan Edwards – John Wesley – Charles Spurgeon - John Stott – Wayne Gruden – Sandy Kirk – JC Ryle - John Piper – to name a few. The Book Throughout this message extracts are taken and adapted from the book ‘Undone – By A Revelation Of The Lamb’ by Sandy Kirk. THE CROSS, REVIVAL, AND THE HARVEST The purpose of this message is twofold: 1) It is to help us realise how much we are loved by God – because a deeper revelation of Jesus, as the sacrificial and victorious Lamb on the Cross, and the blood that He shed for us, will grip our hearts forever 2) It is to prepare our hearts for the last great revival and harvest before Jesus returns W’worth 1947 Prophesied Charismatic Movement, House Churches – and then said the Spirit and Word will come together and we will see the greatest revival this nation has ever seen, greater than the Wesleyan and Welsh revival of former years. This revival will go from the UK, to Europe, and to the ends of the earth. What is the purpose of this last great revival? To equip the church with the love and power of God to bring in the last great harvest before Jesus returns. People get saved when they come to the cross of Christ and are washed clean in the blood of the Lamb! This was all planned before the world began Some things were agreed between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, way back in eternity, before the world was created. One of these things is what the theologians call ‘God’s Eternal Redemption Plan’. GOD’S ETERNAL REDEMPTION PLAN God’s eternal redemption plan is a covenant between 'God and God'. It begins in the book of Genesis and ends in the book of Revelation - with the Cross of Jesus Christ and the blood of the Lamb at the centre. Obviously, we don’t have an account of the actual words spoken, but in her book ‘Undone – By A Revelation Of The Lamb’, the author says the holy conversation may have gone something like this, as the Father revealed His heart to His Son: “My Son, My Beloved, I want Us to have a family, and I want to give You a bride, but this will cost You everything. It will mean You must tear Yourself from My side and step down into a fallen world of sin and pain. You must lay aside your robes of eternal glory, robe Yourself in human flesh, and then allow Your flesh to be torn to bloody shreds on a cross” The Father wanted the Son to know what He would endure if He agreed to this covenant, so He showed Him what He would go through in advance. Then imagine the Father taking a deep breath and looking straight into the eyes of His Son. With tears of love streaming from His eyes and grief swelling in His heart, He then told His Beloved the most painful and monumental part of the plan: “Then My Son, You must open wide and drink down every drop of My cup of wrath! You must drink it all alone, for I will open the heavens and pour down upon You My undiluted wrath against sin. Over and over again, with pounding fury, You will be punished with My severe judgement, taking upon Yourself the punishment which mankind deserves for sin. My Son, this is what You must endure if You agree to become a lamb”. Then I believe the Father would have explained to His Beloved: “Son, I want you to have a bride who chooses to love You as I love You – with an infinite and unquenchable love. This is why We must create people with a free will. They must be able to choose whether or not they will love You”. Now I see the Father, with searching eyes, asking the eternal question, the one on which the redemption of His bride would hinge: “Son, will You go? Will You lay down Your life as a lamb?” Now from this eternal vantage point, I picture the Son as He slowly closed His eyes and bowed His head. Timeless moments passed as the Son looked ahead and saw what He would endure. He saw Himself flung up on two stakes of wood, stripped of His robe of glory, draped in naked, bleeding flesh. He saw Himself crushed with human sin, and cast into the raging flames of God’s wrath and punishment, and the fiery flames of hell. But He also saw something else. He saw a bride washed in His own blood. He saw Himself rising and ascending to the throne and receiving a bride covered with His resurrection glory. He saw a bride who would love Him, and would only live to bring Him the reward of His sacrifice for her. In fact, He saw you, and He loved you even then, for the Bible says “He chose us in Him before the creation of the world” (Eph 1v4). He saw what would happen to you if He refused to drink the Father’s cup of wrath. But the Son couldn’t bear to see you being punished for your sins. He couldn’t endure living without you in His presence, because ‘you are the joy set before Him’ (Heb 12v2). So He lifted up His head and looked into His Father’s eyes, and with tears spilling from His eyes and love gushing from His heart He said: “Yes, Father, I will go! I will offer Myself as Your Lamb!” At this point, I see the Son of God collapsing into His Father’s arms. Together they weep, the Holy Spirit sobbing with them, for each of them knew the magnitude of this costly sacrifice.