CROSS – Leads To Crown

If you lay imprisoned in some great fortress, and one who loved you went forth to try to rescue you, and fell & died fighting, you would cherish the memory of your friend's valiant effort on your behalf, but you would still remain in chains, undelivered.

So it would have been with those whom Christ came to save if He had not risen; those for whom He gave His life would have been undelivered.

But Christ has conquered death & holds in His hands the keys of the grave.

- Dr. J. R. Miller. (moreillustrations.com)

1 Pet 5:4 (ICB): “Then when Christ, the Head Shepherd, comes, you will get a crown. This crown will be glorious, and it will never lose its beauty.”

“God's plan makes you sing about resurrection when you’re hanging on a cross.” -  Rod Parsley.

CROSS – God’s Love Towards Us

During the holiday season, when you were purchasing gifts, how often did you hear someone say: "Be sure to take off the price mark."

Certainly you did not care to have the price paid for the article left visible. It was proper to erase it.

The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is not his own. He was bought with a price. The price paid was the blood of Christ.

There is no way to "take off" or erase the price paid by Him for His purchased possession. The blood-bought are blood-marked. The mark of the purchase price is on you & me to remain.

- The Wonderful Word. (moreillustrations.com)

1 Cor 6:19-20 (ERV): “You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit that you received from God and that lives in you. You don’t own yourselves.  God paid a very high price to make you his. So honor God with your body.”

“By the cross we know the gravity of sin and the greatness of God's love towards us.” -  John Chrysostom.

CROSS – He Bore Our Sins

Once, it is said, a Scottish preacher of the modern school closed a sermon with these words:

"Virtue is so attractive that if she was to become incarnate & walk the world in human form, men would fall down & worship her."

The pulpit of that church was occupied the same evening by a different type of preacher, a humble evangelical man, and at the close of his discourse reminded the congregation of the statement made in the morning by the senior preacher & then added:

"I am very sorry to say that Virtue did once walk the world in human form, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and men, instead of falling down & worshiping Him, nailed Him to a cross."

- Heart and Life Magazine. (moreillustrations.com)

2 Cor 5:21 (TLB): “For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!”

“We do not know the value of Christ, if we will not cleave to Him unto death!” -  Robert Murray McCheyne.

CROSS – Who Crucified Him?

'Twas I that shed the sacred blood,

I nailed Him to the tree;

I crucified the Christ of God,

I joined the mockery.

Of all that shouting multitude

I feel that I am one;

And in that din of voices rude

I recognize my own.

Around the Cross the throng I see

Mocking the Sufferer's groan;

Yet still my voice, it seems to be

As if I mocked alone.

-Selected. (moreillustrations.com)

Acts 2:23 (ERV): “Jesus was handed over to you, and you killed him. With the help of evil men, you nailed him to a cross. But God knew all this would happen. It was his plan - a plan he made long ago.”

“We must not forget that it wasn't the Jews that put him on the cross, and it wasn't the Romans. It was my sins, it was your sins, the sins of this world.” -  Franklin Graham.

CROSS - Destroyed Devil’s Works

When his enemies called for merriment in the temple of Dagon, blind Samson, groping with either arm, laid hold upon the pillars of the temple and then, bowing himself, brought the Philistines and their temples down in ruin & death.

So our Lord Jesus Christ, with His arms spread out on the Cross, seizing with one arm the pillar of sin & with the other the pillar of death - the two huge pillars upon which rests the kingdom of Satan, bowed Himself unto death & brought that kingdom down into  an unrecoverable ruin.

- (moreillustrations.com)

1 John 3:8 (ESV): “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”

“In Christ alone, and His payment of the penalty for our sins upon the Cross, we find reconciliation to God and ultimate meaning and purpose.” -  Dave Hunt.

CROSS - Symbol of Sacrifice

The cross forces sacrifice into the heart of life.

It condemns selfishness, the oldest idol in the world.

It reveals God's method of dying in sacrifice, and being raised again in power - as the process through which the individual lives.

- Dr. J. Kelman  (moreillustrations.com)

Gal 2:20 (NIV): “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

“There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.” -  Charles Spurgeon.

EVALUATION

In 2004, a painting by Anna Mary Robertson was brought to the Antiques Roadshow for evaluation. Born before the Civil War, Robertson did not take up painting until late in her life. Her primitive style eventually became extremely popular & her work commanded a high price.
 
The man who brought the painting to be evaluated had lived nearby & his mother was a friend of Anna.   He said, “She was just a wonderful friend of the family. And she would let my mother buy these paintings, which she thought had relatively little value. I guess my mother did, too. She probably bought 8 or 10 paintings in all & my guess would be for perhaps under $10 each.”
 
The painting that was bought for around $10 was appraised as being worth $60,000!
 
In her early days of painting, Anna did not think of her works as being very valuable, so she parted with them for next to nothing.
 
How often do we give up that which is priceless for a little temporary advantage?
 
Source: The Antiques Roadshow episode aired on February 28, 2005 (ministry127.com)
 
1 Pet 1:19 (ERV): “You were bought with the precious blood of Christ’s death. He was a pure and perfect sacrificial Lamb.”
 
“Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all.” -  Augustine.

GRACE

Dwight L. Moody became so stirred in the preparation of his sermon on `Grace', so wrought up in his search for truth, that he seized his hat, left his study, strode out into the street & accosted the first man he met with the abrupt enquiry:

“Do you know what Grace is?”

The man happened to be a policeman on point duty, and the question & earnestness of Moody broke him down & the encounter transformed his life.

Is it any wonder that a man, fired with such earnestness & intensity, exerted such power over audiences?

- (moreillustrations.com)

Jer 20:9 (GNT): But when I say, “I will forget the Lord and no longer speak in his name,” then your message is like a fire burning deep within me. I try my best to hold it in, but can no longer keep it back.

“Grace is free sovereign favor to the undeserving.” -  B.B. Warfield.

WORDS

When you speak, speak clearly & naturally. Say what you mean & mean what you say.  Be brief & sensible.
 
Words should drop from the lips as beautiful coins newly issued from the mint, deeply & accurately impressed, perfectly finished, neatly struck by the proper organs, distinct, sharp, in due succession and of due weight.
 
- Alfred Auston, Slips of Speech. (moreillustrations.com)
 
Pro 12:13 (ERV): “The wicked are trapped by their foolish words, but good people escape from such trouble.”
 
“If I speak what is false, I must answer for it; if truth, it will answer for me.” -  Thomas Fuller.
 
1 Pet 1:15 (KJV): “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.”

ARE YOU SAVED?

“If I was to ask you tonight if you were saved? Do you say 'Yes, I am saved'. When? 'Oh so and so preached, I got baptized and...' Are you saved? What are you saved from, hell? Are you saved from bitterness? Are you saved from lust? Are you saved from cheating? Are you saved from lying? Are you saved from bad manners? Are you saved from rebellion against your parents? Come on, what are you saved from?” -  Leonard Ravenhill.
 
Mat 3:8 (ICB): “You must do the things that show that you have really changed your hearts and lives.”
 
“It is altogether doubtful whether any man can be saved who comes to Christ for His help with no intention to obey Him.” -  A.W. Tozer.

IGNORING WARNINGS

In July of 2011, 3 young tourists when visiting Yosemite National Park in California were swept over the 317-foot Vernal Fall.

One of the tourists, a young woman, was no doubt drawn by the alluring beauty of the raging waterfall & the fast moving Merced River below after a record winter snowfall. Tragically she slipped on a rock above the falls. Two friends reached out to rescue her & the trio was swept over the edge.

At the bottom of the trail leading to the Vernal Falls there is a sign warning about the fast moving water. Also, when entering the Yosemite Park, visitors are given a news paper warning about water hazards & to stay away from fast moving water.

Furthermore, at the top of the Vernal Fall there is a guard railing & a metal safety barricade marked with a warning. Tragically the victims of this tragedy ignored all the warning signs, climbed over the barricade & fell to a horrific death.

How foolish we say & yet, I wonder how many warnings in life we ignore.

The greatest tragedy of all is when we ignore all the warnings in God's Word, the Bible - and especially so if we ignore God's warnings about life after death.

- (aksermonillustrations.blogspot.in)

Gal 5:20-21 (ICB): “Worshiping false gods, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people,  having envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like this. I warn you now as I warned you before: Those who do these things will not be in God’s kingdom.”

OFFERING FOR MISSIONS

A minister whose heart was aglow with missionary zeal gave notice to his congregation that in the evening an offering would be taken for missions & he asked for liberal gifts.

A selfish, well-to-do man in the congregation met the preacher before the evening service & said:

“You are going to kill the church if you go on saying, ‘Give, give, give.’ No church can stand it. You are going to kill it.”

After the sermon the preacher said to the people:

“Brother Jones told me I am going to kill this church if I keep asking you to give; but, my brethren, churches don’t die that way. If anybody knows of a church that died because it had been giving too much to the Lord, I would be very much obliged if my brother would tell me where that church is, for I will visit it & say, ‘Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.’”

Source: Sword of the Lord (ministry127.com)

“The only investment I ever made which has paid consistently increasing dividends is the money I have given to the Lord.” - J. L. Kraft (head of Kraft Cheese Corporation).

2 Cor 9:6-7 (GNY): “Remember that the person who plants few seeds will have a small crop; the one who plants many seeds will have a large crop.  You should each give, then, as you have decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly.”

“Since my money is God's money, every spending decision I make is a spiritual decision.” -  John Hagee.

POOR STEWARDSHIP

A volunteer in fire department in Arkansas drew criticism for letting a house burn down.

It seems the owner hadn’t paid $20 annual fee for firefighting service. Because of the fire fighters’ inaction, two adjacent furniture shops also were destroyed.

A resident behind the shops did pay the fee while the fire was burning the shops and so his house was protected from fire.

The chief told reporters, “Once your house is on fire, you can’t pay, but if you’re a neighbor to some property that’s on fire, you can pay & join.”

When a house would burn down, fire fighters would simply stand by to see that the blaze didn’t spread to the homes of people who had paid the $20 fee.

Many of us act in just the same way. The punishment for our poor stewardship is always loss. Only when we face the loss, we start trying to make it up to God:

• Marriage - staying home from church until the storms start rising.

• Children - making church a priority once they start rebelling.

• Finances - start promising to give once it’s gone.

We cause the “fire” and then we expect God to put the fire out!

When the house catches on fire that is not the time to start paying the fire fighting fee!

Source: ‘Enough Is Enough’, John Westfall  (ministry127.com)

Pro 1:25-26 (NCV): “You did not follow my advice and did not listen when I corrected you.  So I will laugh when you are in trouble. I will make fun when disaster strikes you.”

“Many of our trouble occur because we base our choices on unreliable authorities; culture ("everyone is doing it"), tradition ("we've always done it"), reason ("it seems logical"), or emotion ("it just felt right").” -  Rick Warren.

FOCUS ON CHRIST

Marla Runyan gave her all to qualify for the Olympic Games in 1996, but her best time finished short of the mark to make the United States team.

Undeterred by that failure, she returned in 2000 & made the team for the Sydney Olympics. Her eighth place finish in the 1,500 meter race was the best finish ever for a United States woman runner.

The thing that makes Runyan’s accomplishments even more remarkable is that she is legally blind. She is the first legally blind athlete to ever qualify for & compete in the Olympic Games.

Runyan can only see shapes & blurs, but she says that her lack of vision is actually an asset - she just focuses on the finish line in front of her rather than looking around to see what the other runners are doing.

Not having visual distractions helps her compete & win her races.

The same thing can be true in our lives. There will always be things that try to pull us away from what we should be focused on doing. Many times these will be good things, but we must be willing to set them aside & stay focused on what is most important.

Heb 12:1-2 (GW): “…We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up.   We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith…”

Source: USA Track and Field (ministry127.com)

“Instead of concentrating on your problems and getting discouraged, focus on God and meditate on His promises for you. You may have fallen down, but you don't have to stay down. God is ready, willing and able to pick you up.” -  Joyce Meyer.

CUTTING CORNERS

In 1993, 4 executives from a Florida rental car company were convicted & jailed for defrauding their customers.

Using what con artists have long referred to as a “salami technique” (you slice off tiny pieces in hopes that no one will notice & that those little pieces will build up to a large amount of money over time), they cheated at least 47,000 customers over a 4-year period.

They had modified the computer billing software to overstate the size of the gas tanks on the cars. Then whenever a customer returned the car without filling it up, the gas charge would be increased to cover those “extra” gallons of gas purchased.

It took a long time to uncover the scam because most of the customers were only charged small amount - sometimes as little as $2.00 - and very few people noticed.

God demands that we be honest in all of our dealings. Even if you are convinced that no one will ever discover your scheme, God will know.

Pro 20:10 (ERV): “The Lord hates for people to use the wrong weights and measures to cheat others.”

Source: Network World Security Newsletter, (ministry127.com)

“When we forget God, we lose the only true basis for morality and ethics, and we are cast upon the shifting sands of moral relativism in which anything goes, including lying, cheating and stealing.” -  Judge Roy Moore.

CHEATING OURSELVES

Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman tells the story of a philanthropist who bade a contractor, who had been very unfortunate, build him a dwelling, and gave him authority to choose the material & to govern every part of its construction.

At last the house was finished, but the contractor had felt that this was an opportunity for him to recover some of his lost fortune, and had put into it the poorest material & the faultiest of work.

When the house was finished the philanthropist said: "This house is for you and your family, and you can live in it as long as you please. It is yours forever," and then the poor man realized that he had built a house in which he himself must live.

He thought he was cheating the other man, but he had really been cheating himself.

That is the way we are cheated when we fail in doing our duty concerning our own homes. No man, or woman, or child ever robs the home life of any good thing which ought to be there without cheating themselves just as this contractor did.

They must live there, and many people find home a cruel, heartless place because they themselves have failed in their duty.

- Rev. R. Cameron. (moreillustrations.com)

Gal 6:7 (ICB):  Do not be fooled: You cannot cheat God. A person harvests only what he plants.

“They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” -  Hosea Ballou.

8 CONTRIBUTORS TO PEACE OF MIND

Duke University did a study on “peace of mind.” Factors found to contribute greatly to emotional & mental stability are:

1. The absence of suspicion & resentment. Nursing a grudge was a major factor in unhappiness.

2. Not living in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes & failures leads to depression.

3. Not wasting time & energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it.

4. Force yourself to stay involved with the living world. Resist the temptation to withdraw & getting into isolation during periods of emotional stress.

5. Refuse to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal. Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow & misfortune.

6. Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues - love, humor, compassion & loyalty.

7. Do not expect too much of yourself. When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation & your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable.

8. Find something bigger than yourself to believe in. Self-centered egotistical people score lowest on any test for measuring happiness.

- (ministry127.com)        

Pro 27:12 (NCV): “The wise see danger ahead and avoid it, but fools keep going and get into trouble.”

DO THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FIRST

Industrialist Charles Schwab was a key figure in Andrew Carnegie’s steel empire. Frustrated with his inability to get everything done, he once reluctantly agreed to meet with a consultant named Ivy Lee, who was recommended to him by John D. Rockefeller.

Schwab had little use for consultants, but since Rockefeller recommended Lee so highly, he scheduled the meeting. Lee’s proposal was elegantly simple.

He told Schwab to make a list of the 6 most important things he could do the next day to further the overall function of U.S. Steel. At the end of the day, Schwab was to review the list, move anything that had not been finished to the top of the next day’s list & then add enough items to make a total of 6 again.

Within 15 minutes, the meeting concluded. Lee told Schwab to follow this practice for 30 days, and then send him a payment based on how much Schwab thought the advice was worth.

After the month ended, Schwab sent Lee a check for $25,000!

Source: Are You Your Own Worst Enemy?, Charles E. Watson, Thomas A. Idinopulos (ministry127.com)

“The most important thought that ever occupied my mind is that of my individual responsibility to God.” -  Daniel Webster.

Mk 12:33 (GNT): “And you must love God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength; and you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. It is more important to obey these two commandments than to offer on the altar animals and other sacrifices to God.”

“Because God is love, the most important lesson He wants you to learn on earth is how to love.” -  Rick Warren.

DON’T BE FOOLED!

The trees once rebelled against the axe & formed a group binding themselves that none of them would allow the axe to have wood for his handle.

But the axe attended the convention of the trees & persuaded them to give him wood for his handle, so that he could cut down just the small bushes which hid from view the splendor of the oak & the cedar trees.

Thus fooled, they gave him wood for that purpose. But the moment he was thus furnished, he chopped down the trees, sparing none of them.

Watch the beginnings of evil.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Js 1:14-16 (ERV): “You are tempted by the evil things you want. Your own desire leads you away and traps you.  Your desire grows inside you until it results in sin. Then the sin grows bigger and bigger and finally ends in death.  My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled about this.”

“There is nothing more foolish than an act of wickedness; there is no wisdom equal to that of obeying God.” -  Albert Barnes.

 

DEATH TO SELF

When a man asked George Mueller the secret of his service, Mueller responded:

“There was a day when I died, utterly died; died to George Mueller, his opinions, preferences, tastes, and will; died to the world, its approval or censure; died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends; and since then I have studied to show myself approved only to God.”

Source: The London Quarterly Review (ministry127.com)

“Fear of man is the enemy of the fear of the Lord. The fear of man pushes us to perform for man's approval rather than according to God's directives.” -  Paul Chappell.

“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.” – Paul (Gal 2:20 WEB)

“Is the world crucified to you tonight? Or does it fascinate you?” -  Leonard Ravenhill.

WAY TO HEAVEN

John Dyer, a Welsh poet & pastor from the 1700s once wrote:

“A man may go to Heaven without health, without riches, without honors, without learning, without friends; but he can never go there without Christ.”

Today our world is filled with people who are seeking some other way to God than the one found in the blood of Jesus & His precious name, but all such efforts are doomed to failure.

Jesus is the only Way to Heaven, according to the Bible.

Source: Forty Thousand Quotations, Charles Noel Douglas (ministry127.com)

Acts 4:12 (RSV): “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

“There are basically only two kinds of religions in the world: those based on human achievement and those based on divine accomplishment. One says you can earn your way to heaven; the other says you must trust in Jesus Christ alone. - John MacArthur.

THE PEACEMAKERS

"Mama, dear, I was a peacemaker today," said a little girl as she snuggled up to her mother in the evening.

"How was that?" asked the mother.

"I heard something, and I didn't tell it," was the reply.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

- The King's Business. (moreillustrations.com)

Mat 5:9 (KJV): “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

Pro 16:7 (HCSB): “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

BILLY GRAHAM

The late Evangelist Billy Graham will be laid to rest today before an audience of thousands of people in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Let’s read some of his Quotes:

God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.

We are not cisterns made for hoarding, we are channels made for sharing.

Give me five minutes with a person's checkbook, and I will tell you where their heart is.

A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone.

Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion - it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.

Only those who want everything done for them are bored.

Nothing can bring a real sense of security into the home except true love.

Tears shed for self are tears of weakness, but tears shed for others are a sign of strength.

It is not the body's posture, but the heart's attitude that counts when we pray.

God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, "I love you."

Read the Bible. Work hard and honestly. And don't complain.

The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service.

Pro 1:7 (KJV): “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”