Christ Crucified

[0:00] Please be seated. We're going to go to Galatians 6 shortly, but starting in Jeremiah.!

[0:13] Christ crucified. I give you today something you can boast about. Some would glory in their wisdom.

[0:33] They would brag about what they know. Some would glory in their fitness and their strength, what they've achieved. Some would glory in what they've gained, in the things that they have.

[0:45] Jeremiah talks about all of that kind of thing, and he says, Rather, something else we should glory in. He says this in Jeremiah 9 verse 23, it says, Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Neither let the mighty man glory in his might.

[1:03] Let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth glory in this, That he understandeth and knoweth me, That I am the Lord, Which exercise loving kindness, Judgment and righteousness in the earth.

[1:23] For in these things I delight, Saith the Lord. We can give glory to God. Not glory in riches, In strength, In wisdom, In our own doings, But glory in God.

[1:36] And I exhort you to that this morning. That we may know him, Who he is, And what he's done, And what he's still doing. There's surely one thing, You can boast in today.

[1:48] That you can glory in. That which makes salvation possible. We're talking about Christ crucified. Christ crucified. Really the first point. Here.

[1:58] That you can surely glory and boast, And exalt and rave about this. That which makes salvation possible. It's the cross. It's the cross. As Peter's already told us.

[2:10] This is our one and essential message. The cross. Christ crucified. This is what matters. It's the most important doctrine. It is the most soul saving, Transforming truth.

[2:23] Paul says this. We go to Galatians chapter 6. It says this. Galatians 6 verse 14. Paul says, But God forbid that I should glory, Save in the cross, Of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[2:37] By whom the world is crucified unto me, And I unto the world. As we say, There's much that we can be glad about, Lots of things we can love to talk about.

[2:48] Things we hold and dear and we love. But Paul says there's really only one, One thing. That he wants to glory in. He wants to rave about.

[2:59] He wants to glory in this. This awesome truth. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's something we glory in. It gives us true joy. It leads to new life.

[3:13] And this is the greatest act of love. Isn't it? The cross. The greatest act of love ever. So surely, We want to make much of this. We want to glory in this. We want to tell others of this.

[3:25] The cross. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ crucified. Paul says, It's what he has to preach about. We see that in 1 Corinthians 1.23.

[3:37] This was his great theme. This was his great theme. Christ crucified. He says, It says, It says, We preach. Christ crucified. This crucified Messiah.

[3:50] This is something unusual to the Jews. It was a stumbling block to them. And unto the Greeks, foolishness. Christ crucified.

[4:01] This is our message. This is our message. He is our message. We need Christ-filled sermons. Not moral lectures. We call men to faith.

[4:12] To Christ. To believe on him. Christ crucified. Friends, There's no other way of salvation. There's no other way we can be saved. The world today still thinks it's foolishness.

[4:24] The cross. They would laugh at it. A man upon a cross. He was held in utter contempt. And they still mock him today, don't they? They mock Christ. The crucified one.

[4:36] Today. They treat him with contempt. You know, when we go witnessing, we see someone would smirk and scoff and scorn and mock and deride his name still today.

[4:47] Would they not? They call him someone a fake or someone they cannot believe in. Reaching out as he does, they still spurn his love.

[5:00] Friends, the cross is not politically correct. That ugly old tree of execution. That theology of the cross. It's offensive to some.

[5:11] They don't preach it. They don't teach it. The theology of the cross. Of Christ crucified. They reject him. Even in theological institutions. Some churches scarcely talk of him.

[5:24] Of the cross. Of Christ crucified. They would talk of all manner of other things. But Christ crucified. They don't want that to be too highlighted. It's offensive.

[5:35] This teaching. We don't care. But this teaching is offensive to many. Christ crucified. He could have summoned the angels of heaven to his defense. But he surrendered himself to his captors.

[5:48] Willingly. In humility. He suffered that unjust trial. In the judgment hall. And then the cruel cross. He became obedient unto death. A death of shame.

[6:00] Of humiliation. He suffered the insults. The agony. For us. For you. For me. Imagine the weight of it. The sharpness. The curse of the cross. The fierceness of his fight.

[6:12] With the powers of darkness. The depths of woe. Even as his father's face was turned away from him. As he bore for us. The help. That our sin.

[6:24] Deserved. And then after the resurrection. He still bears the marks of the cross. Even on the throne. It reads of him. In Revelation 5 verse 6.

[6:34] Even on the throne. As he's ascended there. Amid the glories of the heavenly world. John beheld him and said. He is as a lamb. As it were. As it had been slain.

[6:46] As a lamb. He still bears the marks. That he took for you. The cross. The Christ of heaven. Still bears those marks. As his highest glory. And one day.

[6:57] With the utmost awe. We will behold them. We will behold him. We will behold those scars. Those marks of the cross. Of the Christ crucified. Consider friends today.

[7:09] The shocking reality of the cross. Our Lord lost much blood. He endured deep mental anguish. He was scourged. With a leather whip. With bones and weights.

[7:19] Attached to the ends. His skin. His nerves. His muscles. His skin. It was damaged. He was exhausted. And dehydrated. The state of shock.

[7:30] He would have been in. Before the cross even. Due to the scourging. The pain. From the crown of thorns. And the beating. He was nailed to the cross. By large.

[7:43] Square. Iron nails. Driven. Into his hands. Into his feet. Incredible pain. Shot through. All his nerves. And the slightest move.

[7:54] Was excruciating. That's where we get excruciating. It's the crucifixion. It was crucifixion pain. It was excruciating pain. The pain of the cross.

[8:05] He bore up for you. Death would have come. That extreme shock. Brought that exhaustion. That pain. That loss of blood. He was a man.

[8:16] Who did not need to die. But one who chose to die. One who came to die. It was his supreme mission. That he die. And one. Over his cross.

[8:27] Each one of us can write. He died for me. For me. Christ died for our sins. It reads in 1 Corinthians 15. 3 in part. Christ died for our sins.

[8:38] According to the scriptures. Friends. This is the truth. The life changing truth. The reality. That you can know. The humble preacher. John Bunyan.

[8:48] Spent 13 years in jail. Why? Simply for preaching. The Christ. Christ crucified. Without approval. Bunyan had no license. From the established church.

[9:00] He was a non-conformist. Christ. And the established church. Resented preachers. Who preached the cross. They told him. That they'd let him go. If he preached again. Though they put him back in jail.

[9:11] What did he do? He preached again. He preached again. He preached Christ. Crucified again. Because his number one priority. Was this. To preach Christ. It was while in Bedford jail.

[9:22] That Bunyan wrote. Pilgrim's Progress. That classic. And his name still lives on. For years. Pilgrim's Progress. was the best seller. And we must. Likewise preach.

[9:34] Christ. Crucified. Christ's death declares. God's overwhelming love. The snow of the message. That matters. In comparison. God has shown his great love for us.

[9:45] At great cost. Friends. He died that horrible death. That terrible death. To make salvation possible. Yes. For you. Christ suffered.

[9:55] It was for us. Christ died for our sins. It says. There was no other way. Someone had to die. Someone had to take. Our sin penalty. He was rejected. And despised.

[10:06] He came unto his own. And his own received him not. John 1. 11. Friends. His life was always humble. Think of who he mixed with. Was the fishermen. And the companions that were lowly.

[10:18] The common people. In culture. In class. He didn't. Seek some splendid pageants. Or earthly honours. The only time he assumed. A position of a king.

[10:29] He rode upon the fall. Of an ass. And entered Jerusalem. In triumph. As the king of meekness. Rather than of pride. He humbled himself. It says. Our Lord became obedient.

[10:40] Unto dead. Even. The death of the cross. Think of crucifixion. It was the most awful. Severe. Kind of punishment. Capital punishment.

[10:51] It was the most agonising. And shameful. Of all deaths. Every muscle. Was strained to the utmost. A helpless body. Hung. By its own leg. From lacerated flesh and bones.

[11:02] Slowly dying. From sheer anguish. What shame. He suffered there. As he hung. As Peter was put. Crucified. Between two thieves. He was looked upon.

[11:13] By men. And even treated. By his own father. As if he were the worst. And violent criminal. That ever lived or died. And Peter telling of this. He pulled no punches.

[11:24] When he challenged the Jewish rulers. For what they had done. And he called it. For what it was. Murder. Acts 2. Peter says.

[11:35] Him you've taken. And by wicked hands. You're slain. You're crucified. And slain. By your wicked hands. The Christ. The Christ crucified. Friends.

[11:46] Our Lord was a willing sacrifice. He intentionally went to the cross. It was not some accident. He intentionally went to the cross. He says.

[11:57] I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd. Giveth his life for the sheep. I lay down my life. For the sheep. He gave himself for us. He said.

[12:07] I lay it down. Of myself. He was freely. Willingly. Willfully. Slain. By his own will.

[12:18] And it was a passion. It says. Of this act. Of the cross. It was a passion. It's described there. In Acts 1. Verse 3. He showed himself alive.

[12:29] After his passion. Passion. It speaks of intense. Suffering. It included his soul. And his spirit. As well as his torn body. He poured out his soul.

[12:39] Unto death. Isaiah 53. Verse 12. Further. It describes it. As a travail. Now. Some of you women folk. Can identify with travail. I can't.

[12:51] But travail. It's been said. Travail. It's been. Severe. As human agony. It tells of the excruciating anguish. Of the saviour's death. As a travail. As if.

[13:01] As if birth pains. Of a new creation. At the cross. Christ died. As a substitute. In our place. Atoning for our sin.

[13:12] Christ died for. Sinners. I like to what Peter said. That the man on the. The man who confessed him as Lord.

[13:22] He identified himself as a sinner. That's the starting point. I'm a sinner. I need a saviour. You might say. I'm not a sinner. Well. You'll answer for that. I know I'm a sinner.

[13:33] But I'm a sinner saved. And you can be such. It's by his grace. It's by his cross. Christ died for sinners. Jesus. Identify as one. And call upon him. Trust him.

[13:44] He died for sinners. That we might. Not die. He suffered. For the just. The just. For the unjust. It says. That he might bring us. To God.

[13:55] 1 Peter 3. 18. It was a great victory. That day. We might look upon it. A son would look upon it. And think. It was. The end.

[14:06] But really. It was the beginning. Wasn't it? On the cross. He met Satan. And he vanquished him there. He overthrew him. He triumphed over him. It says. He defeated Satan there.

[14:16] Colossians 2. 15. He spoiled. In other words. He disarmed. These principalities and powers. He. He. He overcame them. He. He overcame these principalities and powers.

[14:29] He made a show of them openly. The cross was a. As a bold statement. Of victory. He triumphed over them. In it. In the cross. Consider this.

[14:41] It was. For me. For me. Let me read this. As someone has put it. Think of this for yourself. Put yourself in these shoes.

[14:54] Under an eastern sky. Amid a rabble cry. A man went forth. To die. For me. Thorn crowned.

[15:04] His blessed head. Blood stained. His wearing tread. Cross laden. He was led. For me. Pierced were. His hands.

[15:14] And feet. Three hours. Upon him beat. Fierce rays. Of noontide. Heat. For me. You can put your name there. You can say.

[15:25] That's for me. This is our vital message. Christ crucified. As he hung upon the cross. Even death could not come. Till he said when. It is finished. And he bowed his head.

[15:36] Beckoning death to come. As he gave up the ghost. This was the supreme object of our Lord's life. To lay down his life. For us. For the sake of others. To save us.

[15:47] Christ crucified. And this is the vital doctrine. Of the finished work. Of the cross. It's a doctrine. It's a teaching. It's a. Bible.

[15:59] Doctrine. The finished work. Of the cross. In other words. Everything was done. For your saving. Right back there. Right back there. It was finished. He says it was finished.

[16:09] It is finished. Everything was done. For your saving. That you can know. The saving today. And what's more. The cross applies to you. For your life. The work of the cross.

[16:19] Continues to work. So it was the finished work. Of the cross. For your saving. Everything was finished. For your saving. Now I was just reflecting. And you know. You might. Sack the pastor.

[16:31] For saying this. And say this is some new heresy. Because I've googled this. And no one else is teaching this. In the. Across the world wide web. This. So I'm going to declare to you.

[16:41] A whole brand new teaching. Here this morning. The unfinished work. Of the cross. This is. No one else teaches this. This is a brand new doctrine. I looked at it.

[16:54] The unfinished work. Of the cross. But really. It's not some new heresy. It's the Bible truth. That the cross. Of the. The work of the cross. Is still ongoing. There's an ongoing work.

[17:04] Of the cross. In the sanctifying work. Of the believer. There's an ongoing work. There's. The work of the cross. Is. Is not completely finished. In the sense. That he is sanctifying us.

[17:14] That we are. Growing in. That sense. That the world. Is crucified. Unto me. And I. Unto the world. It's still present tense. It's still happening. The work of the cross.

[17:25] In the sense. And you know. Don't get me wrong here. But. The sense of that. Sanctifying work. We apply the cross. In our lives. The cross. Is still present. The cross. Is still happening.

[17:36] The work of the cross. The power of the cross. Is still present. Is still working. Day by day. In your life. That belief. The power of the cross. It impacts you. And me.

[17:47] Now. We're talking about the crucified. Life. The crucified. Life. As Paul says. But God forbid. That I should glory. Save in the cross. Of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[17:58] By whom. The world is crucified. Unto me. And I. Unto the world. We know. Christ crucified. Risen again. He can be your saviour. From sin. That's a fierce work.

[18:09] It's done and dusted. Everything to save you. Has been done. But trust him. Simply trust him. And receive his salvation gift. But there's more. There's more. There's the power of the cross.

[18:20] That's changing us. There's the power of the cross. By which we are crucified. Unto the world. By which the world is crucified. Unto us. There's that sanctifying work. There's that changing work.

[18:30] The power of the cross. That's changing our lives. How we live. It's present tense. So there's a sense where. As a. Born again believer. It's not God's will for us.

[18:42] To live conformed to the world. But to be crucified. Unto the world. There's a sense. You know. Some would conform. To the world. And just carry on. Just like the world.

[18:53] They're just conformed to it. As if they're just. Molded and shaped into that. Mold that is the world. But we are rather. To be crucified. Unto the world. And the Lord has made a way.

[19:04] For us to know this victory. To live above the world. To know not only his saving. But his sanctifying. That closeness. That walk with God. Paul tells us how.

[19:14] Through the cross. It's that. He says. The world is crucified unto me. And I. Unto the world. Think of the world. And what it is. The world's crucified our Lord. Should we be friends with it?

[19:28] Friendship with the world. Is enmity. It's hostile. It's hatred towards God. And the friends. The world is our enemy too. Do we look upon this world. With some kind of affection.

[19:39] With the world and its ways. The worldliness. Do we look upon this world. As a friend. Or rather as an enemy. That murdered our Lord. Can we join in its Christless pleasures.

[19:52] And godless ambitions. As someone has expressed it. How can we join with the world? It would be like some woman. Dancing with the one. Who has murdered her own brother.

[20:03] As if we could. Enjoy the company. Or the. Adopt the philosophy. Of the enemy. Of our Lord. Who would think of such a thing?

[20:14] Friends. There's that sense where you. As a godly. As a saved one. There's a sense where you. Are. Apart from. And away from.

[20:26] And crucified unto the world. The crucified life. Paul testifies. We can know that. The world is crucified unto me. And I unto the world. By the death of Christ. By his cross.

[20:36] We have died to the world. And its ways. It's the crucified life. So how do we apply this to. Our life. As saved people. To our lives. Christ died for sin.

[20:48] And we die. To sin. It says that in Romans 6.11. Paul says reckon this. He says reckon you also yourselves to be. Dead indeed unto sin. And alive.

[20:59] Unto God. Through Jesus Christ. Our Lord. So it's twofold here. Dead to sin. Alive to God. God. That's the. That's the object.

[21:11] Isn't it? That's what we should aspire to. God helping us to. And as a Christian. We die unto sin. We're free from the bondage. And control of it. We don't care for it. It has lost its appeal.

[21:22] And attraction. Now of course we know. The reality is. It's still. An ongoing thing. It's kind of unfinished. In that sense. Isn't it? That God's perfecting us.

[21:33] He's growing us. He's stretching us. He's fashioning us. He's building us. To that new and fulfilled life. And we're made alive. Unto God. It's his will for you.

[21:44] Believe it. Fellow Christian here. To die to the world. To self. To sin. And to be made alive. Fully alive.

[21:54] In Christ. By faith. So there's a sense where we have new life. And he's still working. He's still building. He's still making. He's still perfecting.

[22:06] And that new life. We live. By faith. Count yourselves. Dead indeed. Unto sin. Determined. To die to sin. That I have no more dominion over you.

[22:19] Now I started off by telling you. I'll tell you of the most wicked thing in the world. The most wicked thing in the world. Now we can all think of wicked things. Of various obvious sins.

[22:29] Or things people would consider sinful. Or worldly. Or wicked. But really the most wicked thing. It's not outside the doors of this church. But it's rather inside it.

[22:41] It's inside of us. It is our flesh. Flesh. That's what it is. That's the biggest problem. That's the wicked thing. The flesh. That old Adamic sinful nature.

[22:53] That's within us. And it's against everything. That is godly. It's against us. Ourselves. It's against God. It's against what is right. For us. It's against prayer. It's against Bible reading.

[23:05] It's against fellowship. It's against godly living. It's against soul winning. It's the flesh. Friends, it's the most wicked thing. Isn't it? Paul knew that battle. And he knew that struggle.

[23:16] He said, for in me. In my flesh dwells no good thing. For to will is present with me. I want to do right. But how to perform. How to do it. That which is good.

[23:28] I find not. He had that same fight that you have. Sometimes we look at the Bible characters. And think they're somehow so super perfect. And super saints.

[23:38] But friends, they're just like you and me. They're just ordinary. They have the same battles we have. Paul knew the same fight you have. The flesh. It gets in the way, doesn't it? It gets in the way of doing God's will.

[23:50] The flesh. God says do something and we do the opposite. God says yield here. God says surrender here. And we don't. God says get things right in your family.

[24:01] And we don't. God says get things right with the one you've fallen out with. God says forgive. And we don't. God says humble yourself. And we don't.

[24:11] God says we want to. We say we want to. But we don't. It's the flesh, isn't it? And it's in all of us, this battle.

[24:24] There was a man, an American Indian, who got saved. And he understood the struggle inside of him. And you might have heard the story that someone asked, tell me about this.

[24:35] And he said it's like a white dog and a black dog. And they've got this one. There's two dogs. And one wants to do right. One wants to do wrong. And one wants to do evil.

[24:46] One wants to do the right. And someone asked him which one, which dog wins. And he said the one I feed the most. The one I feed the most. These two dogs.

[24:57] Fighting inside your heart. Fighting inside your being. This battle between the flesh and the spirit. Which one's going to win? The one that we feed the most. How are you feeding your spirit?

[25:08] I started today by saying that I want to help you to kill something. You've got to. He's got to die. He's got to die. Sorry. No, I'm not sorry. He's honest.

[25:19] Honest to God. Something has to die, friends. And it's the flesh. We've got to kill something, don't we? Really, it's how we can apply the cross to our lives. It's that, in a way, that unfinished work.

[25:31] It's something we've got to crucify. Die daily. Day after day after day. Paul says, I die daily. He says in Romans 8 verse 8, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

[25:43] If you want to please God, the flesh has to die. The flesh has to die. I urge you today, kill the flesh. Now, that's easy for me to say. But how do you do it? We must kill the flesh in the sense, and Paul says we can.

[25:57] He says we ought to kill it. He says this in Romans 8 verse 13. He says that we can mortify it. In other words, put it to the dead. He says if you live after the flesh, you shall die.

[26:09] But if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. There's a sense where you can determine to say, God help me, I want to kill the flesh today.

[26:21] I want to kill it. Put it to death. Mortify it. Put it to death. The deeds of the flesh. The deeds of the body. Now, we know the reality is, it's an ongoing thing.

[26:32] It's unfinished in a sense. It's like when you cut a snake in two. It wriggles about for some while. And it's a bit like that, isn't it, as a Christian?

[26:44] The flesh is still wriggling about. It's still dying. It's a work that God is still affecting. And friends, the flesh is going to give you trouble until you die, isn't it?

[26:55] I know. I can say that. Of course, I die daily. 1 Corinthians 15 and 31. There's a daily fight. Friends, believers, fellow Christians here this morning. You're saved.

[27:06] You're saved by the grace of God. There's a finished work of the cross. And there's that sanctifying. There's that ongoing. There's that continual fight. There's that finishing of his work, of his creation.

[27:17] And it's by his spirit he's affecting that in you. It's the power of the cross that's still happening. It's the power of the cross in our lives. We can truly live with spiritual power for the glory of God.

[27:28] And it takes the cross to affect this. Where does the flesh die? On the cross. That's where it dies. We've got to hammer some nails in.

[27:40] Amen. We've got to see the flesh die. Determine. God helping you. I want to serve and bless and honor and glorify my God.

[27:51] Apply the cross. Apply the cross. Paul says, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I. But Christ liveth in me.

[28:05] And the life which I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God. Who loved me and gave himself for me. Paul says, I'm crucified. It's that unfinished work in the sense it's present, isn't it?

[28:17] It's happening now. I am crucified. And friends, as a believer, you can say that. You can know the power of the cross in your own life. The truth of truly living.

[28:28] Christ living in you. I want to tell you today of Christ crucified. And the crucifying of the flesh.

[28:42] There's an application for you and me, isn't there? Christ crucified. He saves us. That's done. Our crucifying is still happening.

[28:55] Day by day. Isn't it? He'll help you make that decision. That you'll determine to flee to Christ. To truly live.

[29:06] Surely we live because of Christ crucified. He's the refuge for the sinner. When the sinner sees the deep peril and awful guilt. There's refuge at Calvary's cross today.

[29:19] Friends, if you are outside of Christ. There's no better day than today. It's the day of salvation. As Peter said, isn't it? Christ crucified. Call on his name. Being like that unworthy man by his side.

[29:32] He could do nothing but call on his name. And he received new life. There's new life because of Christ crucified. God sets us free from self and sin. He gives us this new life.

[29:44] A new nature. The life of Christ in us. And because of Christ crucified, when temptation comes, we can know personal victory. And this victory extends even over death itself.

[29:56] Well, we can say with Paul, O death, where is thy victory? Where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The cross was Satan's waterloo. The devil is a defeated foe.

[30:07] The captain of our salvation has conquered him for us. And we'll conquer him in us as we trust him. It says, Revelation 12, 11, They overcame him, the devil, by the blood of the Lamb.

[30:21] Amen. Because of Christ crucified, you've got victory. You've got true life and liberty forever. As Paul tells Timothy, Christ had abolished death and had brought life and immortality to life through the gospel.

[30:35] The good news. So we have died and we are alive forevermore. Because of Christ crucified, we've got that eternal message. Friends, nothing beats this.

[30:46] This is the message. This is the message of the church. An eternal message of love for our world. And it should be on our lips. Because we know his love. It constrains us.

[30:57] He compels us. If one died for all, then we're all dead. And he died for all. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again.

[31:12] We should live unto him. Because of Christ crucified, we're called to the fellowship of his sufferings. You know, it doesn't sound too comfortable, does it?

[31:23] The fellowship of his sufferings. Friends, that's what we're called to. Will you take up your cross? Take up your cross. This is our message. Apply the cross to your life.

[31:35] Our Lord calls you to that. He says, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself. Take up his cross daily and follow me. Follow him.

[31:47] Let him inspire your zeal, your love. Grant you newness of life. Follow him. Follow in his bloodstained.

[32:00] Footsteps. Live for Christ today. Will you go to the cross? Go to the cross again today. See it in your mind's eye, if you can.

[32:11] But see the cross as he's standing in awe. And he agonizes before God the Father in Gethsemane. Till his sweat becomes, as it were, great drops of blood falling to the ground.

[32:24] Follow in horror as he's arrested like a criminal, mutilated by a Roman, we're tortured, mocked, derided. With a crown of horns, weep for him as he stumbles under the heavy burden of that wooden beam, as he's forced to carry it to the place of execution.

[32:40] Cringe in revulsion as those hardened Roman soldiers pound those spikes through his hands, drive the nails through his feet, and then roughly drop the beam into place. Listen to him as he hangs there on the cross, praying for his enemies, talking lovingly to his mother, and promising salvation to the criminal who believes.

[33:01] Be still. As you see the sky grow black at noon, and as you sit through the three hours of the eerie midday darkness, listen to his cry of abandonment.

[33:12] My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Remember that on the cross, Christ endured the agony of hell for you and me. And it says, God the Father made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

[33:31] Christ crucified. It's still controversial today, isn't it? No, they want to ban this message. This is a banned subject.

[33:41] You know, I was hearing a sister was sharing a story about, in Noosa, in Queensland at the moment, the satanic church wants to put the teaching of Satanism to the school students in the classrooms of Queensland.

[34:02] Friends, this is the world we're living in. This is shocking, isn't it? And we've seen, another thing I saw lately was a man preaching the gospel on the streets of London, was torn down from his stand, and hurled away, and locked up, because he simply preached Christ, Christ crucified.

[34:24] Friends, things are getting tougher here. We've got the freedom to still go and tell this world. We've still got freedom to go door knocking in this city to take tracts and tell others.

[34:39] Christ crucified. It's controversial. One day it's going to be illegal, I put to you. Christ crucified. Let me tell you another story. I like to what Peter was sharing.

[34:50] The cross, it divides. It divides the world. It always has. It says in the word, the one on either side, one, and Jesus in the midst. Dear friend, be sure you're on the right side of the cross.

[35:07] I like to what Peter said, but different. Two souls went forth from the cross that day, both dying by Jesus' side, on either side with the Lord between, but apart, how far and wide.

[35:19] For one went out into endless night, heaven opened before his eyes, and one went in with the Son of God through the gates of paradise. Two souls will go from this place today, both children of guilt and sin, but one has said no to the Son of God.

[35:35] The other has let him in. And bright as the light of love and heaven, redeemed one, thy path shall be, but the gloom and doom of endless night. Poor lost one await for thee.

[35:47] Which side of the cross? Are you on the right side of the cross today? Friends, we want to boast about something. We want to glory about something, and not in anything, and the trappings of our lives, but we want to glory in this thing, the glory in the cross.

[36:02] The glory in the cross. Our message, Christ crucified, it's an eternal message. It's a, the message of history. It's the cross. Christ crucified.

[36:12] It's our message. By faith we can be saved. You can be saved. Believe. Trust. Turn. Trust him now. I've told about the most wicked thing in the world.

[36:24] It's in us. It's our flesh. Friends, it's a battle we all have. And it must die. By faith, we can overcome. Christ crucified is the truth our world needs.

[36:36] And you are the ones to take it. You know, I looked Saturdays, there's a few of us going witnessing. Join us. Come and join us in this soul winning effort.

[36:50] This time is short. Nothing matters more than telling others, Christ crucified. Friends, the cross, it matters. The cross, it saves those who trust the crucified one.

[37:05] He saves. That's the finished work. And the cross is still working, isn't it? It's still working. It's still doing a work by the cross. It's still doing a work whereby we crucify ourselves unto the world.

[37:18] And the world is crucified unto you. You can live the crucified life. You can see that thing called the flesh die. Maybe it'll take a while.

[37:29] You might have to cut it a few times. Hack at it a bit. Till that wriggling thing called the flesh dies. But you can get that victory. Friends, you can walk in newness of life. I urge you today to trust Christ.

[37:41] Let's pray. Lord, we praise you that it was at the cross everything was done. And we can be, I trust, as that one that simply said, Lord, Lord, remember me.

[37:53] I trust you. Lord, I believe. I come to you. We acknowledge our guilt, our sin. And you, the guiltless one, the sinless one, can take that sin away and pay for it completely fully because of your dying in our part, paying our penalty of sin.

[38:14] Lord, we thank you for that. That each one might know that today. And Lord, further, that we can know that ongoing work as the cross still impacts and changes us as we carry our own cross, as we put to death the flesh, as we die to sin daily.

[38:31] Lord, give us victory. Help us to walk in that newness of life to know that ongoing work of the cross as you effect that sanctifying in each one, that making us more like you.

[38:43] We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.