DON'T STUMBLE OVER THE CROSS

It should not surprise us that since our sins are so great and God's Son is so glorious, that salvation could only come to us as a gift. We do not deserve it and cannot earn it.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

God put on display His own unique love, in that His Son died for sinful, godless, rebellious, and helpless people like us.

• The cross humbles us, stripping us of any deception of self-righteousness.
• The cross breaks us, causing us to openly and genuinely confess our sinfulness.
• The cross enables us, giving us grace to receive God's gift of salvation.
• The cross changes us, placing within us a new heart of thanks and obedience.

The Lord of glory, God's only Son, the Messiah, was crucified in our place, bearing our penalty, securing our pardon, and now by the blood of God's Lamb, we are redeemed and washed white and will one day be gathered for eternity with our crucified, risen Savior.

Don't let your pride and ego cause you to stumble over the cross.

THE BREAKING OF THE INWARD MAN

In some believers the life of Christ is confined, restricted, imprisoned and unable to come forth. In others The Lord has forged a way through brokenness and life is released.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 . . . . and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our BODY relates to us. Our SOUL relates to others. Our SPIRIT relates to God. Our body and soul were not meant to control us. That is the struggle. God's purpose is to break the outward man so the inward man may come through.

God either plans or permits things to come into our lives to break our self-sufficiency. When we come to the place that we throw up our hands and say, "I can't do this," then we have had a break through.

God knows our special makeup. By His Spirit and His Word He orders our circumstances in such a way as to bring about the breaking of the outward man. He may target our talents and abilities, our wealth or our health.

FAILURE, A STEPPING STONE

After killing an Egyptian, fugitive Moses is brought to an all time low after being on the back side of the desert for forty years. Failure becomes our friend when it drives us to God. 

Exodus 3:2 And the angel of The Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

God will use any old bush to get your attention -- a failed ministry or failed marriage or hurt, sorrow or tragedy.

Moses painfully discovered that God didn't need his fine physique, ambition, royal upbringing or scholorship. Moses needed God. He was given and assumed one of the most awesomely overwhelming ministries of all time.

1. To free two million Jews from Egyptian slavery.

2. To humiliate and ultimately defeat the armies of a world power, Egypt

3. To divide the Red Sea

4. To lead the Jews to a land they had never seen.

5. To provide water and food for them without the Golden Arches

Failure doesn't have to be a permanent stumbling block. It can be a stepping stone. 

THE REMEDY FOR SIN

Long before Adam and Eve were created, God provided a remedy for sin that would not fail if seriously applied.

• Before their sin Adam and Eve were covered in innocence "with glory".
• In their sin they were covered with "aprons of fig leaves" -- man's own failing efforts to cover himself.
• After their sin they were covered with "coats of skins" -- God covering through the shedding of blood.

Romans 5:12,17 Wherefore as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

An innocent animal had to be slain to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve. The innocent gave up his life for the guilty. It is a picture -- a symbol -- of the cross.

THE GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

Every one of us has experienced failure. There's only been one perfect person on the planet . . . and we killed Him.

Psalm 37:23-24 The steps of a good man are ordered by The Lord; and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for The Lord upholdeth him with his hand.

"Failures have no closure. The brain continues to spin the memory, trying to come up with ways to fix the mess." -- Perry Buffington, Psychologist and author in Forgive and Forget. 

Failure does not need to be final or fatal. Our God is the God of the second chance. God specializes in restoring and reusing failures. In fact, those who experience the agony of defeat are often the very ones God uses to eventually experience the thrill of victory. We have hope.

Many bear the scars of sins God has forgiven. Our sins are powerful reminders of our need for God. He usually chooses the weak, the ordinary, and the despised for His work.

Proverbs 24:16 The just man falleth seven times and riseth up again.

THE WASHING OF REGENERATION

Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart, wrought by the HolySpirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in The Lord Jesus Christ.

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saves us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

Believers are not just barely saved; they are abundantly saved. The very spirit that convicted, drew, and regenerated us, now lives in us. 

Because of the cross, we can have a brand new start with a brand new Savior with a brand new life headed for a brand new destiny.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine

O, what a foretaste of glory divine

Heir of salvation, purchase of God

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood