Prayers from the Cross: Anguish, Intercession, Forgiveness

The heart of Jesus Christ is one that was offering forgiveness to those who have done the most evil and wrong to him. And that must be our heart as well. You may be here this morning and somebody has caused you deep pain. It could be a family member. It could be a parent who has not treated you the right way. It could be a coworker. It could be a neighbor. It could be someone that has caused you deep emotional hurt and pain, and it's caused within you this this bitterness that is welled up within you. [00:54:01] (32 seconds)  #ForgiveLikeJesus

The cross is not merely just a a piece of jewelry that is to be worn around our necks. It was a a horrific instrument of torture reserved for the most reviled criminals on planet Earth in the Roman Empire. Crucifixion was designed to be a a slow, agonizing death by exhaustion and asphyxiation. After a a brutal scourging or or a whipping, which the the Romans practiced by taking a whip that was embedded with bone and metal that they would often hit the the criminal's back. It would leave their their back just a massive flesh of torn flesh. [00:36:51] (44 seconds)  #CrossWasHorrific

who have been forgiven of such a great debt, every lie we have told, everything we have stolen, every time we've used God's name in vain, every time there's been anger welling up in our heart, every time we've offended our god, god forgave us of it all. He forgave us of all of our sin. Now how can we turn around and say, I don't forgive you? That's not the way that god has established it. That's not the way that the Christian life. God has made us different. He's transformed us. And when we respond the right way, people see that's different. [00:56:08] (36 seconds)  #LiveForgiven

As we engage in our prayer care share campaign, this prayer of Jesus must be the reflection of our hearts. The people we are praying for often know not what they do. They don't know what they're doing. They're living living in a world that tells them that they're their own gods. Right? And our prayer should not be judgmental toward people, but they should be intercessory. Asking god to lift the veil from their eyes. You know, sometimes the people that we need to pray for the most are those who have hurt us the most deeply. [00:51:40] (32 seconds)  #IntercessoryPrayer

Why was he forsaken by the father in his time on the cross? Because in those dark hours, Jesus was not just carrying sin. The Bible tells us that he became sin for us. It says in second Corinthians chapter five verse 21, it says, for he had made him, Jesus, to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we may be may be might be made the righteousness of god in him. He has made him to be sin for us, not to simply carry our sin. [00:42:16] (36 seconds)  #JesusTookOurSin

If we really thought about the fact that their sin is separating them, not just from an eternal home in heaven, but from a current relationship with God and the eternal relationship with God, it would affect the way that we pray for them. Can I encourage you to take some time this week and think about this prayer of Jesus, of being separated from the father? Think about what it is like to be separated from god. Think about your life before you came to know Jesus Christ as your personal savior. [00:46:12] (33 seconds)  #PrayForTheSeparated

And it was during this unimaginable physical pain that Jesus Christ was going through. And an even deeper spiritual darkness that he was facing. That Jesus uttered the final prayers that he would offer before his death, burial, and resurrection. And it is my hope this morning that as we consider these prayers that Jesus offered while while bearing the weight of our sins as well as as as that we will consider it, then we will also be challenged to also pray for other people during this Easter season. [00:39:02] (40 seconds)  #PrayLikeJesusThisEaster

People who never consider or think about Jesus or Christianity may during this time of year be a little bit more receptive to thinking and considering the claims of what the Bible teaches about Jesus. And because of this, we we love to at Community Baptist Church, we love to offer opportunities for our community to hear about our god, about our savior. And so this year, we're we're gonna be doing something a little bit different. [00:33:37] (28 seconds)  #OpenDoorsForEaster