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b'When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.\\nColossians 2:13\\u202d-\\u202c15 NIV\\nhttps://bible.com/bible/111/col.2.13-15.NIV\\n\\n\\n\\n1. The Cross means love. \\n\\nChrist died for sinners. He died for people who had lost their way. He did not die because it was forced upon him. It was a choice. A choice made in love. \\n\\nBut God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners\\xa0(Romans 5:8). \\n\\nJesus still loves sinners. He came and gave his life for them. The message of the Cross remains a gift of love to those undeserving. Above all, the Cross is a symbol of love. \\n\\n2. The Cross is personal. \\n\\nIn most religions, people strive to reach deity. Christianity is the only\\xa0faith\\xa0where God has reached down to us. Our response to such a God is to know him personally. Jesus died so that he could know you. It was personal. \\n\\nI want to know Christ... I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death\\xa0(Philippians 3:10). \\n\\n3. The Cross is willful humility. \\n\\nChrist\\u2019s death was an act of his will. \\xa0In\\xa0Philippians 2:7-8, Paul states that Jesus humbled himself in obedience and died a criminal death on the Cross. Sometimes we mistakenly think that he made that decision as God. Jesus came to the conclusion to die for humanity as a human. He willed his flesh, mind, and emotions to die on the Cross. \\n\\nAnd by that will (that is the will of Jesus as a human being, not the will of God), we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all\\xa0(Hebrews 10:10). \\n\\nChrist hung on the cross on purpose. He could choose to live as he pleased, but he chose to give his life for our sake.\\xa0Galatians 2:20\\xa0says that we have been crucified with Christ \\u2013 past tense. As Christians, we are to be dead to our\\xa0will, as Christ was. Our life\\u2019s prayer should be, \\u201cNot my will, Yours be done.\\u201d And just like Jesus, it is our responsibility to act on our prayer. Being in the will of God is not a passive thing. It is an act of the will. \\n\\n4. The Cross is prophetic. \\n\\nThere are many prophecies of the Cross in the\\xa0Bible\\xa0from Genesis to Revelation. From the beginning of time, God has been planning to rescue humanity from the clutches of evil by horrific death on a cross. \\n\\nYet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed\\xa0(Isaiah 53:4-5). \\n\\nHe was disfigured, tormented, completely abused. But not only was his punishment prophesied, so was our atonement. Pierced for sin. Beaten for wholeness. Whipped for healing. A divine exchange. Blessings for curses, completeness for brokenness, unrighteousness for holiness. The redemption was prophesied. \\n\\n5. The Cross is final.\\n\\n\\n\\nSo many gaze at the Cross and yet hold on to past hurt, pain, and problems. They don\\u2019t belong on your back any longer \\u2013 Jesus has taken them on his. The debt is paid. Look to the Cross and receive your salvation. \\n\\nAnd they sang a new song with these words:\\n\\u201cYou are worthy to take the scroll\\n\\xa0and break its seals and open it. \\n\\nFor you were killed, and your blood has ransomed people for God\\n\\xa0from every tribe and language and people and nation. \\n\\nAnd you have caused them to become God\\u2019s kingdom and his priests.\\n\\xa0And they will reign on the earth.\\u201d \\n\\n(Revelation 5:9-10, NLT) \\n\\nRedeemer, Lamb of God, he is worthy. Thank you for the Cross, Lord.\\n\\n--- \\n\\nSend in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pastor-lucy-paynter/message\\nSupport this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pastor-lucy-paynter/support'