“The Message of the Cross”
Throughout history the cross of Christ was, is, and will always be a focal point of history and a point of division and controversy in this world. Some people look at the cross and see Christ being crucified. They imagine the broken, bloody body of Jesus hanging on the cross. Others act as if Jesus Christ never hung on the cross. If you will open your heart and your mind to the message that God wants you to hear, you will never look at the cross the same way again.
The cross is a personal message to you from God. This message as with every message from God is special and important. However, this message is not just from God it was sent special delivery by Jesus Christ. That makes this message the most important and the most special message ever written or received.
I
The term I show’s us that the message is coming directly from God. This is a message not being relayed to you through a prophet, but being personally delivered to you by Jesus Christ. Through out the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments our relationship with God is pictured as a relationship between a husband and wife. In the New Testament Christ is referred to as the Bridegroom and the Church is referred to as the Bride of Christ. The marriage relationship is a relationship of love and fidelity. The marriage relationship is between one man and one woman. That makes it a very personal relationship. In Jeremiah 31:3 God is telling you that He loves you.
Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee”.
O
The ‘O’ is to remind us that there is only one true God and only one way to God, which is through Jesus Christ. The ‘O’ is in the center where the beams meet for a special reason. The vertical beam represents the relationship between God and man. The horizontal beam represents our relationships with those around us. Neither of those relationship will be what they should unless we are firmly focused on this target. Like lining up the Cross hairs on a target, the cross hairs of history, the cross hairs of the world, and the cross hairs of God line up on this one event, they point to this one truth, this one message. A message that God said was so very important it had to be hand delivered by God’s only Son. A message that Christ Jesus gave His life to deliver to you.
John 17:2,3 “as thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”.
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”.
“E”
The ‘E’ is to remind you that your soul is eternal so your choices are eternal as well. The loving relationship with you that God wants is an eternal relationship. His love is a Love that will never betray you and will never end. The ‘E’ is also a reminder that the offer for that eternal relationship is open to everyone. God wants your love and friendship. God’s offer of salvation can be either accepted or rejected. God want’s your love to come willingly from your heart.
John 17:2,3 “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”.
“U”
Do you feel unloved? Do you feel unwanted? Maybe the world says you’re not good enough. Maybe the world says you’re ugly, or short, or fat, or stupid. Maybe you feel that you don’t measure up to the standards of the world. But God does not judge you by the world’s standards. God says “you are special” and that He loves you. God says “you are precious in my sight because I created you”. What God values is a pure heart, what God looks for is a heart that loves Him, what God wants is for you to love Him because He does love you.
Satan wants to destroy anything and everything that God loves, including you. Satan wants you to believe a lie. Satan wants you to believe that nobody, not even God loves you. The truth is that no one in this world could ever love you as much as God loves you right now. The truth is that you are not unloved, but rather that you are loved by the One true God who is love.
Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee”.
“L”
The ‘L’ is there to remind you that God longs to have a personal loving relationship just with you. God wants to have a restoration of the fellowship and friendship with you that He created you for. God loves you and it breaks His heart when you don’t have a close personal relationship with Him. God created you to have a special relationship with Him. When you have sin in your life you are separated from God by that sin. Christ died for you to free you from the penalty of sin, which is death. He did that because God wants that loving relationship to be restored.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, (you) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”.
“V”
The ‘V’ is to remind you that you can be a victorious Christian. Christ died for you to free you from the penalty of sin, which is death. You can have the victory over sin. The ‘V’ is a promise to you from God that through the cross we become free, free from the wages of sin and free from the bondage to sin. It is time to start celebrating the victory that Christ won for us on the Cross. It’s time to let go of the attitude of defeat that the world tries to sell us. It is time to grab hold of Christ’s victory and hold on tight with both hands. It’s time to accept that we are the adopted children of God, we are the children of the King. So when the world wants you to feel defeated, when the world tries to get you down or depressed just shout “V.I.C.T.O.R.Y. Jesus is my battle cry.”
Romans 6: 22, 23 “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
“Y”
The ‘Y’ is there because you are the person God loves and you are the person His message is meant for. If a letter has a sender it must also have a recipient. That person is you. You have a message in front of you from God that declares “I LOVE YOU”. An important message always had a seal. This letter was written to you from God and sealed with shed blood of Christ on the Cross. To prove the seal was authentic and not a forgery, the message was validated by the resurrection of Christ.
“The perfection of the Cross”
Of special interest in this message is the number 7. In the Bible the number 7 represents perfection or completeness. This message if you count the letters has only seven letters. The validation for this fact is found in the last three words that Christ spoke while He was still alive. John 19:30 “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”.
The message is a personal plea from God. It is a plea to return to Him. It is a request for a restoration back into a personal loving relationship with God. But it is your message to decide what you will do with it. Before we sing the Hymn of invitation I want you to look at the message in front of you and think about this.
Maybe you accepted Christ at some time in your past, but ask yourself “what is my walk with God like today”? “Am I walking with Him as I should or have I walked away from Him”? Since God is concerned with your heart ask yourself “is my heart right with God today”? “Is God the number one love of my life love as He should be”? Ask yourself “Who am I living for God, or for the world”?
If God is not living in you as He should be, or you are not walking with Him as you should be, then please rededicate your life to God today. If sin has separated you from the wonderful love of God, then come back into that loving relationship today.
Maybe you have never given your heart to God and asked Christ to be your savior, today is your chance. Maybe you are wondering about this love that you have heard about, come and learn what it means to know that God loves you. God’s offer of Forgiveness and Love is free and open to all who will ask Christ to come into their heart and live in them.
