Embracing the Cross: The Better Promise of Faith

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"Hebrews 11 is known as the great chapter on faith and uh with the heroes of faith mentioned here, many of them did fantastic things, amazing things and, you know, things we've never seen in our lifetime, walls falling down just praising the lord and sea splitting open lions being killed but we read in Hebrews 11:40 verse 39 sorry all of these gained approval through their faith but they still did not receive what God had promised because God provided something better for us." [00:00:07]

"Now just think of that phrase all those wonderful things they did in Hebrews 11, there is something better than all of that. I think a lot of young people would like to do some of the miracles mentioned in Hebrews 11 and show themselves as great men of God, but what is that something better, something better than pulling down the walls of Jericho, something better than making the sun stop in the sky for 24 hours, something better than killing a lion with bare hands or splitting open the Red Sea?" [00:01:12]

"First of all give up all sin, that's the better thing better than overcoming lions and pulling down walls of Jericho, give up all sin and once you've given up all sin, give up all the weights, encumbrance of weight something that's not openly sin but is a hindrance, some encumbrance that's hindering us, give it all up and run with endurance the race looking at Jesus only who endured the cross that's the better thing." [00:04:17]

"Would you rather do a miracle or die to yourself every day? I'm not asking you to give me the official answer, ask yourself deep down in your heart what would you rather do, if God said I'll give you an opportunity to do a miracle or die to yourself in some difficult situation tomorrow which would you choose, you think you'd accomplish a great thing for God by doing a miracle and it gets published in the magazine or newspaper that so-and-so did a miracle, you think that glorify God?" [00:05:14]

"How do you like to suffer some shame for Christ that that is a better thing, I don't think many Christians have understood that, I want to ask you brothers honestly, since the time you become a believer, when was the last time that you had to suffer some shame for being known as a disciple of Jesus Christ, can you think of some instance can you think of any instance in the past where you have to suffer shame because you are a disciple of Jesus?" [00:06:00]

"The more I become like a little child and helpless dependence, the more I become like a branch, helpless dependence on the tree the more my faith will be perfected and the more I think of how clever I am and how much I know the Bible, and how I can impress people with my sermons and my preaching and etc etc, my faith is not yet perfect my dependence is not on God my dependencies on myself." [00:13:24]

"Paul said I'm so dead that when he said in Galatians 6:14 this world is crucified to me and I am crucified to the world the cross had done its work in Paul the living Bible paraphrases it and I have as little interest in this world as a dead man has, I tell you I meditated on that Lord can I say honestly I have as little interest in this world as a dead man has, not that I don't live responsibly but I accept everything what God gives I accept." [00:14:16]

"That's the meaning of breaking the bread and drinking the cup, Lord I want to do this with meaning today, judge yourself it says in 1 Corinthians 11 and then take part of the cup, what does it symbolize dead to myself, dead to sin and death to the world, yeah three things in Galatians Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ self, Galatians 5:24 the flesh is crucified and third Galatians 6:14 I'm dead to the world the world is dead to me those are the three things about the cross that Paul speaks in Galatians." [00:19:49]

"I want to take it seriously Lord it wasn't yours, even one sin you know I had to shed your blood I want I don't want to take even one sin lightly anything and the biggest of all sins is pride be aware of that that's the thing that's most undetected in us every one of us, I say to myself there's more pride in me than I have seen, more I have not yet become like Jesus and he said to me learn from me for I'm humble, I want to learn I want to learn I haven't learned I've learned a little bit." [00:24:31]

"Philippians 2 is very clear he humbled himself, he became a servant and then he humbled himself to be crucified, so all of that I'm testifying to when I break the bread I'm going to sing a hymn at the end of it yeah so sing of him and go to the cross, that's how Jesus went I love that as far as I know that's about the only place in the gospels where we read that he sang a hymn and it was not at the end of the sermon on the mount it was not at the end of some miracle that he did oh let's sing him somebody's healed here or 5,000 people were fed let's sing a hymn." [00:25:09]

"God has provided something better for us, that we might become perfect if you want to get in the spirit of the breaking of bread in that first time it was done, say Lord I want to sing a hymn when I have to die, I want to sing a hymn when my respect is taken away from me, when my rights are taken away from me and when people take advantage of me and they know that I will not respond because I'm a Christian, they know that I will not fight back because I'm a believer they know that I never struggle with flesh and blood." [00:26:02]

"Do you believe in one Corinthians 10:13 that God will never never allow you to be tempted beyond your ability, that's why we're willing to die that's why I'm willing to make it public but I've died to the world I'm not going to fight with you for my property or my money or anything, you relatives of mine who didn't give me my share of my property keep it, we have had numerous cases in CFC of some elders who walk away with church buildings that we that we built for them go ahead, I will not fight for these things." [00:27:27]

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