1Cor. 11:26 - For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes

To experience Christ one must experience, not merely new life
but new life which is life through death, life out of death; life from death.
Christ can only be fully experienced after we, ourselves, have died on the Cross!!!

• Luke 9:23 - "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily...
• Gal. 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

The Evangelistic program in 1st Century was Christians dying for their Faith!

...The Cross is the Threshold to the things of God...

To Understand the Cross as the threshold to God's power, you must realize:

1. THE CROSS IS DESIGNED TO OFFEND YOU.

"...the offense of the Cross..." Gal. 5:11

• Luke 9:23 - "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily..."
• Gal. 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

Jesus cannot live in the same life as I (self).

Saul of Tarsus had to die for the Apostle Paul to live.

The Closer we come to the Cross - The more aware we become that must die.

2. You must Lay Down Your Life to Take Up Your Cross.

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily..."

God doesn't force the Cross on you - you must first lay down your life.

The Cross is the only way to the Surrendered your life.

2Cor. 4:7-12 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

John 6 is the chapter when Jesus teaches the principle of the Cross to his disciples.

Flesh RESPONSE

John 6:41-43 At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42 They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?" 43 "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered.

Flesh RESPONSE

John 6:52-54 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 53 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,"

Flesh RESPONSE

John 6:60-63 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? ... 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing."

Flesh RESPONSE

John 6:66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

3. The Cross must be a Daily Task

If anyone would come after me, he must ... take up his cross daily and follow me.

There is a Moment of Surrender and a Process of Surrender.

Surrender is submitting to Christ in the details of life- daily.

Audio File: 

2010-01-10.mp3

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