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#20260403 - Look To The Cross - 2 Corinthians 5:21 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
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To learn more about the many resources available through
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Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
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visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now.
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Here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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If you have a Bible open, it's a Second Corinthians chapter 5.
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There's a lot of different places we could go for a time
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like this, but we'll we'll use Second Corinthians 5 to anchor
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us into our time today. And so, Father, we're grateful
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as we sing together here on a different day of the week.
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We don't typically come together at noon on Friday.
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So thank you for the privilege. Also for everyone joining us
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live on the radio right now, we we don't typically have a live
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broadcast to our city at 5 or at noon.
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So we're grateful for that privilege as well.
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And we welcome everyone God and just invite them into our room
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here. They're watching online as we in
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our own minds attempt to accept and to receive what this day
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represents. And although we don't know the
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exact day, we know it happened and we're grateful for it as we
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commemorate and memorialize a very most important Day in
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History in Jesus name, Amen. When Jesus instituted communion,
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he took the bread and he says to remember his broken body for you
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and he says to take the cup which is his blood shared shed
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for you and Good Friday remember reminds us of these important
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instructions. Today is known as God's most
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painful moment, the most painful moment that Jesus experienced
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and together we remember the price that was paid for our
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salvation, the forgiveness of our sins, Jesus body broken.
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We know Jesus hung on a cross, a Roman cross that was used and
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reused many, many times. But before the cross he endured
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what's known as the scourging. Roman scourging where they would
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have two scourges on either side of the victim, taking turns
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whipping the criminal, or that the one that was accused of
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crimes. Where their muscles would be
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lacerated, their veins and arteries would be torn open, and
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it was not uncommon for kidneys and spleen and other organs to
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be exposed and slashed. And most almost always a man
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would die under this, not having to face the cross.
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And yet Jesus endured to the end, would then take and pick up
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his cross, the cross beam carrying its load on his beat up
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body. Crucifixion was a cruel way to
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die. Crucifixion was invented by the
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Persians, but it was perfected by the Romans.
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Klausner, the Jewish writer, says that crucifixion is the
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most terrible and cruel death which man has ever devised for
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taking vengeance on his fellow men.
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And the Romans perfected this and used it not merely as a
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punishment, but more as an example not to mess with Rome.
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And Rome kept it exclusively for rebels, runaway slaves and the
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lowest types of criminals. So cruel was crucifixion that
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Rome did not use it on their own citizens.
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There was another way for their own citizens to face the penalty
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of their crimes. Crucifixion would have involved
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laying Jesus on his open, lacerated, bleeding back on the
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huge, rough, splintery cross. The Roman soldiers would take
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spikes 5 to 7 inches long, hammer them between the two arm
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bones at the wrist, crushing the medial nerve.
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A man would die by either asphyxiation or cardiac arrest,
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The most torturous, painful way for a person to die, as we will
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in just a moment when we take communion together, these
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elements that are are symbolic. We're trying in our imagination,
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spiritually to think upon the price that Jesus paid.
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You see, what made the price Jesus paid even more severe is
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that he was innocent, completely innocent.
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And this was a choice that He made on our behalf.
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The cross represents not just the torturous, painful way for a
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person to die, but the cross as it relates to Jesus represents
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His life exchanged for your life and mine, His perfect, sinless
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offering providing the way of escape.
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I asked you to open the Second Corinthians in chapter 5 and
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verse 21. Good Friday reminds me of this
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very important truth Paul writes under the inspiration of the
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Holy Spirit. For he made him who knew no sin
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to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God
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in him. Jesus hanging on the cross
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suffered in silence throughout all the hours of interrogation,
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torture and agony. In Isaiah chapter 53 verse
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seven, He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet He opened not
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his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the
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slaughter and as a sheep before his Shearer as a silent, so he
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opened not his mouth. And yet when the weight of
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humanity sins was poured out upon him, he cries out.
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He cries out. In Matthew's Gospel in chapter
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27, we learn about the 9th hour. Jesus cried out with a loud
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voice saying Eli, Eli, Lama Sabakhtani, that is my God.
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My God, why have you forsaken me?
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This is the expression of his heart and his emotions at the
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time. Forsaken here literally means to
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be deserted, to be abandoned or rejected.
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And these words are shocking to us, shocking to us as a relate
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to Jesus. And yet for some of you, you
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know, in a very personal way, in a very relatable way, what it's
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like to be forsaken or abandoned or to be rejected.
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It's a deep, searing personal pain that Jesus is crying out.
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These were not delusions of a man in pain.
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He, he, they, they weren't, these weren't delusional.
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He was fully conscious. As Jesus was sharing these
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things, his faith was not failing him.
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I believe as Jesus was hanging there at this moment, he was
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bearing the sins of the world. He was dying as a substitute for
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us. But it's important that we
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personalize this, not just in the abstract or in the broad
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perspective, but it's important that we personalize this for us
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individually. He was burying my sins and your
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sins in this moment. To Him was imputed the guilt of
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all of our sins. He was suffering the necessary
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punishment for those sins on our behalf, and the essence of that
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punishment was the outpouring of God's wrath.
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In some mysterious way that we can never fully understand.
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During these awful hours on the cross, the Father was pouring
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out the full measure of His wrath against sin, and the
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recipient of that wrath was not you and was not me, but was
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gone. God's own beloved Son.
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Listen, God was punishing Jesus as if He had personally
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committed every wicked deed committed by every wicked
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Sinner, and in doing so He could treat and forgive those redeemed
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ones as if they had lived Christ's perfect life.
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We know this event happened. We know there was a moment at
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Calvary when the sin of the world was put upon him.
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And even as we read in 2nd Corinthians 5, Jesus, He became
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sin even though He knew no sin, so that we might become the
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righteousness of God. Here's the significance both of
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the statement of Jesus, but also of the issue of sin when it
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comes to remembering the cross. And that is sense produces
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separation. The Bible would say that the
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wages of sin is death, but the Bible defines death as
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separation. And any one of us, we can
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examine our lives and see the separation that sin brings, the
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death of relationships and friendships and all sorts of of
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connections that we've had that sin is broken.
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The Bible says that God can't look upon sin.
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In Habakkuk chapter one verse 13, the Bible says that God is
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of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on
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wickedness. And so why do you look on those
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who dealt treacherously? The writer says Jesus was
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forsaken by God so that we would never have to be.
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Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5 says that your conduct be
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without covetousness. Be content with such things as
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you have, for he himself has said I will never leave you nor
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forsake you. And John records for us these
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final words in John 19 verse 30, that when Jesus received the
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sour wine, he said it is finished and bowing his head, He
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gave up his spirit. It's more than just a Good
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Friday. Traditionally today represents a
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great day because God did such a great thing.
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Your sins can be forgiven and washed clean.
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The the reality of what Jesus has done for us has not just
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enabled us to attend another religious service or to become a
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repetitively moral religious person.
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The death of Jesus Christ, his beating and the blood that was
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shed invites you into relationship to break and to to
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heal. Really the separation that was
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created by our own sin. Today you can say, God, I'm a
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Sinner, I admit it, and I receive the forgiveness that
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comes to your blood that was shed at Calvary because we know
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the rest of the story. On Good Friday they take him off
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the cross, they put him in a tomb, and they move on and live
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life as if everything's lost, as if all that they lived the last
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three years was just gone in a moment.
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But God was working behind the scenes.
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We know that Jesus said that three after three days he would
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rise again from the dead. And indeed, he did that.
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And as you turn your life toward Jesus Christ, you accept his
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forgiveness afresh and anew. You receive power and strength
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and vitality. Would you take out the elements
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for communion? You have them there.
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I want to tie in today communion with the cross, the importance
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of the cross. Thank you.
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In Paul's letter to the Ephesians that we are studying
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as a church, we will get to this prayer.
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It's a very powerful prayer that Paul shares with the believers
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in Ephesus, and he says this in Ephesians chapter 3, verse 17.
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He says that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that
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you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend
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with all the Saints what is the width and the length and the
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depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes
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knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
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And as we look to the cross, we see these four things.
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As you look to the cross, we see the depth of man's sin.
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When we see the Savior bleeding, we see the price that my sin
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cost Him. His love matched to the depth of
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my sin. When we look to the cross, we
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see the height of God's love. Jesus left the heights of heaven
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and came down to earth to lay His life down for us.
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When we see the arms wide open on the cross of Christ, we see
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the width of our salvation arms stretched out, embracing and
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inviting the world to Himself. And finally, when we look to the
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cross, we see the length of that God will take to reach you and
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to pursue you and those that you love, because God so loves the
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world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
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would believe in him would not perish, but have everlasting
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life. It is the blood of Jesus Christ
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that saves and cleanses and forgives.
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And that's why we choose to remember Him today.
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That's why we set a day away in the year to remember
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specifically, not exclusively friends.
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You may come from a background, a church background where it
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seems to be. That's the significance of Good
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Friday is really the only time that emphasis is placed on the
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crucifixion and burial of Christ.
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But it's something to reflect upon daily, in different angles,
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in different ways. It is an important day today for
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sure, but it's not the only day to remember.
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Jesus said to always remember as often as you do this, do this in
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remembrance of me and you have the opportunity in your own
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church family to regularly remember through communion.
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The Bible says in Acts chapter 2 and verse 42 that was something
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that made the church very, very strong was their time in God's
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Word together, their time in fellowship, which is together,
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their time in prayers, which is together, as well as their time
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taking communion together. You know, for those 12 that were
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with the Passover meal with them, they remember the first
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time communion was ever instituted.
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And so they have a very rooted memory, and they were given the
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elements of communion before the cross.
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And so we know that the bread and the cup were symbolic
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because Jesus hadn't died yet. And now we are on the other side
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of the cross. These elements are symbolic of
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the broken body. And today perhaps the Holy
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Spirit would add to your understanding.
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So not only today as we leave here in a few moments right
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before we leave, after we take community, but also each time
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you take communion, you'll have a thought of of the price that
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Jesus paid. And so let's open the top
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section together and take out that little wafer there
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representing the bread that Jesus gave to the disciples,
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representing his broken body, and it's lifted up before him.
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And I'll pray a blessing over it.
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Father, we are asking today as our minds are drawn to you both
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young and old. I pray for all the children that
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are among us today, that whatever they've heard today
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that they would receive what they understand.
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That they would truly know not only children by age, but we
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also as your children. That we would understand, that
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we would gain a depth of clarity and understanding as we live our
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life and we enjoy our life. That we would also understand
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why we have our life because of the cross.
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Because of the cross we have physical life, we have spiritual
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life. And we remember your body
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broken. Today in Jesus name, let's
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partake together. Let's open the other portion
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together and lift it up before God, and I'll pray a blessing
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over it. Today we lift the cup, God
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reminded of your blood that was shed for us to think of all the
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sins that you have forgiven, both those that we have asked
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and those that we haven't come to mind yet, or we've sinned so
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much we forgot them all. But you don't Lord, you cleanse
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and wash as a loving ABBA, our Heavenly Father.
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Your Word says for us as believers today that if we
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confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us
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and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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You promise in Your Word to those outside of the family of
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God that if they confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
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believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead, they
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will be saved. And they're saved because of the
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cross and the shed blood in your power of your resurrection is
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what we'll celebrate tomorrow, actually a little sooner than it
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happened. But we pray that you would bless
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this cup as we receive it in remembrance of you.
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And we're thankful, Lord, we really are.
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That's probably the first thing out of our lips when we pray is
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we're so thankful and we mean it.
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And we look forward to the future that we have with you in
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the newness of life. So bless the cup in Jesus name.
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Let's partake. Let's stand together.
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Would you church those of you that are children in the room
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today? I just want to say how much and
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remind you how much God loves you, how he's put you in the
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family that you're in so that you might hear of His love.
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And no matter what age you are, if you understand what Jesus has
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done for you, you can be 5 years old today.
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You could be 4 years old today. You could be 400 and I guess you
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can't be 400. You, you could be 40 years old
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today. But especially I have a burden
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for you kiddos today, you children, 10 years old, 12 years
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old, you need to understand that God loves you and sent Jesus
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Christ to die for you and you can receive Jesus Christ as your
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savior today. You get to sit in here with us,
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with your parents, with your grandparents.
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You might even been invited by a friend today and you were
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invited by a friend today to hear about, I know it was a hard
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thing to hear about what Jesus went through for you, but He
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went through that for you so that you could live your life
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for Him forever. And so be sure to ask someone
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next to you if you have questions about Jesus or even
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those of you that are children that are a little bit older.
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We'll be up at the stage here to pray with you or to answer any
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questions you might have that you might leave here encouraged.
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And please, church, remember to pray for everyone that will be
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here this weekend as churches are going to be overflowing with
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people this weekend. It's going to be a great day for
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Team Jesus this weekend. I'll tell you, a lot of lives
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are going to be changed and a lot of great churches, a lot of
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great churches are going to be filled.
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I and men are going to preach the gospel and so we need to
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pray for these churches around town that are reaching your
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neighbors and reaching your Co workers and doing the work of
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the ministry until the soon return of Jesus.
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So Father, I pray today of all that we've heard and learned
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today a lot that it's just reminders for us.
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It's nothing we haven't heard before, most of us, but we do
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pray God for our community churches near and far, the up
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and down, this being on grace FN up and down the Front Range,
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just every real true church give the power in the unction of the
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Holy Spirit upon the pastors and the elders and the deacons and
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the deaconesses and all those that will be giving a little bit
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extra this weekend for the sake of a little bit extra, more
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people and kiddos on the property.
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And I pray for us today of everything that we received.
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And I have a special burden for all the kids here today.
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I do pray for their lives and their souls that now and today
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can be the day where their whole life turns around.
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They don't need to wait any longer.
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They can receive the Lord Jesus Christ today in this moment.
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And so I pray for them and all that will be here this weekend,
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should you tarry in Jesus name, Amen.
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Amen. We pray that you've been
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encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
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sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
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Call us at 87730 grace that's 877-304-7223.
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To listen to this message in its integrity or to join us for our
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live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
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or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.