The Cross Says I Love You
Key Passage: Galatians 2:20
Date: June 7, 2024
By the way, praise the Lord, you’re in church on Sunday night, Memorial Day weekend. I say this often on services like this, but this has been a lot of churches are closing the doors, whatnot.
Shame on those preachers, but a lot of times they close the doors because nobody’s there. And praise the Lord, you’re here tonight. Thank you for being faithful to the house of God. I appreciate it very, very much.
And Galatians 2:20 tonight, just fairly quickly to kind of get us going into the Lord’s Supper here just a bit. The title would be, “The Cross Says I Love You.” The Cross says I love you for the Internet. And Galatians chapter number two.
This verse here, Galatians 2:20, is just packed full of so many gems. It’s amazing the Word of God is. You think, I think, well, I’ve got that verse. Man, there’s just so much more I’ve never seen. It’s just an infinite book from an infinite God. And this is one of the great, great verses of the Bible. They’re all great, which is amazing.
Galatians 2:20. I think about Brother Warren. He used to sit up here; he’s in heaven tonight. This was his favorite verse right here, in Galatians 2:20.
By the way, good to have Mark Hardy with us tonight. Pray for him. I lost his brother this week. Brother Mark taught me this: his son went home years ago. Well, that’s just so tough for a parent to lose a child. And I said, maybe even a couple years later after that, said, maybe anniversary time. I said, “Brother Mark, I’m sorry about your loss.” And he said, “Pastor, it’s just a temporary loss.” That’s a good way to put it: temporary loss.
Galatians 2:20. Would you please stand as we bring God’s word together? Galatians chapter number two and verse number 20 of God’s word tonight. Galatians 2:20. He says, “I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”
Just that first line is so packed full. It’s hard to grasp it, really, with our human mind. But, “I am crucified with Christ.” If you ever get a hold of that truth, if I ever get a hold of that truth fully, it’s life-changing truth. “I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”
“In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.” That’s a great nugget right there. Here’s what we want to get to: “Who loved me.” Who loved me? Who loved me? I want you just think about that. Who loved me?
And just think about it. Put your name in there. Who loved you? Who loved John? Jim? Joel? Who loved you? And then he finishes it up: “And gave himself for me.”
Just for a little bit tonight, Lord’s Supper time, we try to focus on a different word each Lord’s Supper. Just for a bit tonight on this word love. The cross says He loves you. Who gave himself, who loved us, and gave himself for us.
I want you just think about it. And I want you, if you could, just visualize a little bit tonight. The Lord is saying to you personally, “I love you.” And that’s why the whole cross happened. That’s the whole purpose. I want you to think about that. And let’s just try to grasp a little bit more of His love for us tonight. Would you do that? Would you pray that God would do that in our hearts tonight?
Let’s pray. Lord, forgive me sometimes my heart and my mind are dwelling on other things and the things I want to be dwelling on instead of what I need—Your love. And, Lord, help us tonight. Would You guide our minds and, Lord, even our hearts to Your love for us? Lord, in a greater way, help us to grasp how much You love us, Lord. Father, would You use the cross? Help me to say the words as You want to say it. Would You let them just resonate that You love us? And we’ll thank You, Lord, for what You do. Father, would You do it? It cannot be me; I can’t get the job done. Lord, would You do that, please? And we’ll thank You for what You do. Father, we ask for this in the name of Jesus. We pray. Amen.
Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.
1 John 3:16 says, “Hereby we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.”
Would you just for a moment here, in your mind’s eye, would you view Jesus on the cross? Would you see Him there? Would you just visualize it? Bloodied.
His beard has been plucked out. Isaiah 50, verse number six: “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair.” I want you to visualize. I’m not sure exactly just the redness and the bleeding and maybe skin ripped out. I want you to see Jesus on the cross.
Would you look, as you see Him there on the cross, bloody and draining, just with blood all over? Would you look to His head? And would you see where there’s a crown of thorns placed on His head? Let me read for you what the scripture says about it. Matthew 27:29: “When they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, ‘King of the Jews.’”
And they spit upon Him and took the reed and smote Him on the head. Not only did He have the crown of thorns on His head, but they took that reed that they put in His hand for a bit. It was right here. They mocked Him. And then took the reed and then they hit Him on the head. And they pushed that crown of thorns down. Would you look? See, those thorns just pierced out into His skin, maybe coming out at points, poking into His skull. I want you to visualize Jesus there. He’s on the cross. He’s bloody, His beard is plucked out, He’s got a crown of thorns. His hands and His feet are nailed to the cross.
Psalm 22:16 says, “They pierced my hands and… feet.” They took nails, large nails, and they took them and they placed them somewhere along here, and they drove those nails through His hands. And I want you to imagine He’s there on the cross. He’s been there for a while now, so the swelling all around one of the wounds is the blood oozing out.
And I want you just see, would you see Jesus there on the cross? Would you get a glimpse of it there? His body’s lacerated. The cat o’ nine tails is a whip. They take the tails of it. They would weave in sharp rocks or makeshift glass and copper and everything, whatever things they could find. And they would weave that into the tails on that whip, and they would take it 39 times. We don’t know exactly how it was. Maybe they did lean Him over something, some different ways they did it. At some, they would take chains, and they’d put it on their wrist, and they would really suspend them off the ground. I tend to think that’s the way it was. I don’t know that. The reason why I think that: Psalm 22:17 says, “I may tell all my bones; they look and stare upon me.” The bones—you can see the bones. I tend to think they may have did it that way, because when they did that, that whip would just wrap around the body, and all those sharp objects, and then they just pull it. And as they’d pull it, it would just cut into the flesh. It just filleted the flesh a little bit. 39 times, sometimes 26 times in the back, 13 times on the chest. But that thing would just wrap around, and as it wrapped around, they’d just pull it. And it would just really, like a lion, you might think, as it would just tear the body.
And as you look, just this whole body lacerated. Now, have you got a glimpse of Jesus on the cross? Do you see Him there? Do you see Him swollen, been beaten, buffeted the night before, and bloody and the crown of thorns and a beard plucked out? Lacerations all over His body. Do you see all that?
And I want you to picture Jesus looking at you. I want you to just imagine His eyes catching your eyes. And I want you to imagine Jesus saying to you, “I’m doing this because I love you.” Because that’s why He was doing it. “Who loved us and gave Himself for us.” He was doing all that to show, to manifest, 1 John says, the love of God to you. He was wanting you to see in a visual human way how much He loves you.
And as your eyes meet and He says, “I’m doing this because I love you.” Would you imagine Him just saying your name? Can you imagine Him saying your name? “I love you. I love you.” Can you imagine just Him saying your name? Whatever your name is, put your name in there: “I love you.” That’s why He was going to the cross. That’s why He was going through all that because He loves you.
Would you go back to even before the cross? Would you go back to that little scene outside the garden when the soldiers, a little band of soldiers, come and Judas is there and they’re arresting? I’ve never been arrested. It’d be very humbling, I would think for sure, to be arrested. And they’re coming to arrest the Creator of the universe, God Almighty in flesh, who never sinned, never had a dirty fault, nothing, nothing, and ever did no wrong, knew no wrong the Bible says, and yet they’re arresting Him.
There’s a little scuffle there. Peter took a sword, and it probably was trying to cut Malchus, the high priest’s servant, probably trying to cut his head off, but he ducks, and when he ducks, it cuts—it cuts his ear off.
There’s a scuffle for Him. Jesus says this about that situation there. He says, “Think you now that I cannot pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than 12 legions of angels?” Now, a Roman legion, a little bit controversial, but typically somewhere between 5 and 6,000. If that’s 6,000, and He said 12, that’s 72,000 angels. Well, He’s saying He could have called 10,000. And that’s, you know, I understand the song, but it’s a whole lot more. It’s 72,000, my Jesus reference. And just one could have took care of business, but 72,000, you know? And yet He allowed them.
I’m not sure at that point if they tied Him, if they put some kind of cuffs on them or what they did, or maybe just shoved Him and pushed Him. I’m not sure how they did it, but they arrested Him. And we could say, “Hey, Jesus, why do You let them do that to You?” Jesus stops. And He says, “Because I love you.” I love Bill. I love Tabitha. I love Miss Busho. And the whole scene, every scene of the cross is saying, “I love you. I love you.”
They took Him over to the high priest over there to Caiaphas and Annas, and really it shouldn’t be, but somewhat of two—one the son-in-law—but two high priests somewhat that year that wasn’t legally right, but they were doing it. But they took Him over there, and in the courtyard, if we will, they tortured Him all night long, the Jewish people. And they spit upon Him there. They mocked Him there. They put a black bag over His face and began to buffet Him, just pound Him with their fists. And can you imagine how swollen and bloodshot His eyes were, and bloody, and teeth maybe? No bone was broken, as Psalm tells us that, but just how bloody and broken He was from the beating all night long.
And why would Jesus take all that when He could have just wiped them all out? Because He loves you. He’s going through all that because He loves you as an individual. He’s taking it all, and what He’s saying is, “I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.” He’s trying to show you His love.
We sometimes say, and it’s truthfully, it’s the truth, “Well, the only way you can go to heaven is by Jesus Christ, His shed blood. He’s the only sinless blood there is.” And that’s true, and that’s right. He’s the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, but God—He’s infinite, omnipotent. He could have chose many other ways to make it from the very beginning where it didn’t have to be His only begotten Son. He said, “He’s God.” He could have did it a lot of other ways. Why did He choose that way? He chose that way to show you His love.
He wanted some way where humanity can grasp it a little bit, that He loves you. He wanted to manifest His love to you. 1 John 4:9: “And this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that he sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” John 15:13: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” 1 John 3:16: “Hereby we perceive the love of God because he laid down his life for us.” That’s why He chose that way to show you He loves you. He loves you. He loves you.
The next morning after that night of beating, that’s when Peter denied Him three times. The next morning, after all that, a night of that, they take Him over to Pilate, the governor. Matthew 27:12 says, “And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, ‘Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?’ He answered him never a word, insomuch that the governor marveled greatly.”
Jesus, He could have outwitted them all. He’s omniscient, but He didn’t. He chose not to. What was it in Him not even speaking at this point, not even standing to claim His righteousness? Why did He just take all that? To show you He loves you.
Every scene of the cross, every act was saying, “I love you. I love you. I love you.” We’ve already mentioned the cat o’ nine tails. John 19:1: “Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.” His cat o’ nine tails, scourging, 39 stripes, as Isaiah 52:14 says: “As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.” I don’t know. I wonder if His eyes were still in their sockets. The Bible says His visage was so marred. Why? To show you He loves you. He was taking your sin, my sin.
After all that, they made Him take an old rugged cross. This has been cut and planed and sanded and varnished, and it’s very, very much nicer, kinder than the actual cross. That old rugged cross, they put it on His back and they said, “You carry it.”
And He had to carry that old cross. Yes, they called Simon out of the crowd and said, “Help him carry it.” But He carried that old rugged cross up to that hill outside Jerusalem over there. It’s an ugly place, Golgotha, the place of the skull. If you see pictures of it, it actually looks like a skull. You’ll see it looks like two eyes and a nose and a mouth. Just an ugly old hill, but it’s beautiful because that’s where Jesus would take His cross to.
And imagine as He just, just stepping every step along the way, every step was saying, “Up.” When Satan tries to get you to doubt the love of God, go back to the cross. A man, a God-man that would do all that for me, He doesn’t hate me, He loves me. He’s proven His love for me.
“Well, I’m going through a rough time.” Yes, and you will go through rough times. Never doubt someone that will go through that for you. He doesn’t hate you. He loves you, friend. Think about it. Well, all over every step, He was saying, “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
They got Him up on that hill, and the cross up on that hill, and they took Jesus. Maybe they pushed Him down, but there’s not a man in the world that could put Jesus on the cross. There’s not a Roman soldier, all of them put together, that could force His arm down on the side of that cross. Nobody could do that. The Bible says He laid down His life for us.
They put His arms out, and they got the nails out, and they pushed Him out there, and I don’t know how they did it. Maybe they put their knees on His arm, maybe they tied it down for a minute there. But nobody held Him to the cross, friend. Nobody did that. They might think they did that, but He laid down His life, and He put His arms down there, and they took that nail. They put it right there, and boy, they raised that old hammer. And Jesus could have just blinked, and that all be gone, wiped out, but He allowed that. And they took that hammer and, wow, it just came down through His hands. Why would God in flesh do that? To say, “I love you.” He’s trying to prove to the world, He’s trying to let the world—the whole world that curses Him, the world that denies Him, the world that mocks Him, the world that tries to just pervert everything He made—and He’s saying, “I love you.”
It’s amazing to me that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Amazing. He’s showing His love. Yet for a righteous man, someone scarcely died, yet for a sinner like you and I. And He said, “Go ahead, drive the nails in there.” And our feet can be pretty tender, can’t they? And they took those nails for His feet, and they drove it through His feet, the pain. Why would He allow that? Because He loves you. Friend, I want you just think about it. Think about every scene and think about Him looking at you, saying, “I’m going through this because I love you.”
Wow, the love of God. How rich and pure. It’s measureless, the love of God. Ephesians 2 talks about how we’ll understand the grace and the riches and the mercy, the love of God throughout all the ages to come. I don’t know if we’ll ever fully grasp it; we’ll be learning it more and more. I think that’ll be part of the joy of heaven, just learning more and more about it. The infinite love of God that would come down and humble Himself and become obedient even to the death, the death of the cross. Amazing.
He’s nailed to that old cross. Can you imagine He’s lying there on that cross and they began to lift it? Maybe soldiers are lifting it up. I don’t know. We all kind of imagine different things and whatnot. Maybe they had a rope tied to the top of it; I’m not sure. They began to try to stand it up. I tend to think they had a hold, maybe they used a rope somewhat to help. I don’t know. Maybe they just all, a bunch of them, try to just push it all the way up. And imagine as that cross finally got to the point, the tipping point where it could come down and just fell down in that hole. The thud and the ripping those nails and the suffocation. And the back that’s already lacerated, open wounds. You can look inside; you can see His bones. Psalm 22 talks about it, and just scraping down on that rugged cross.
He’s saying He loves you. Every scene, every step, every drop of blood—there’s so much blood shed—every drop with Him saying He loves you. Every single one of those, He never, ever died of sin. Think about it, all of them, how much He loves you. “I love you.” He went through all that just to say, “I love you” in a real, visible way. “I love you.”
Maybe the worst part of it all—Hebrews talks about despising the shame. Maybe the worst part of it all, yes, maybe the part where they stripped Him, yes, I’m sure that’s part of despising shame. Let me read for you what Isaiah 53:6 says: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Every sin that’s ever been committed, ever will be committed. Every one of my sins, not just the sins you have committed with your hands, but the sins in your heart, the thoughts of your heart, the jealousy, the anger, the murder, the lust, the pride—all of that. Every one of those sins were placed on Him.
The dirt of the world, the filth of the world. It bothered me so much. Someone was telling me about how that one of these drag queen shows, and they had a child in there, and the parents allowed it, and the parents were clapping about it. Boy, that just infuriates, but I couldn’t stand to hear that. It just bothered me. And all the sin, all the dirt, all the filth of the world—He who knew no sin became sin for us, 2 Corinthians said. That’s amazing, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. What amazing truth. And all that sin, all my sin, by the way, friend, we’re all dirty, rotten sinners.
And all our sin was placed on Him. And God Almighty, the Father, He turned His back on Jesus, His only begotten Son. And for just a brief part of history, there was separation there. And there’s not just the fellowship of the joy. And Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” By the way, Jesus wasn’t bitter. He still said, “My God, my God.” You still called Him that, but “Why hast Thou forsaken me?”
And maybe the greatest shame of all is our sin placed on Him, and God the Father has to turn His own back on His own Son. And God even says, “I don’t want the sun to shine when My only begotten Son has the sin of the world on Him.” He, who knew no sin, became sin for us because He loves you.
The resounding answer, every single scene of the cross is, “I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.” Friend, the world ought to realize the One that loves them more than anybody—so much so is Jesus Christ. He’s proven it, and He’s not just a million miles away. He says, “Well, I might help you out here there.” He’s proven His love. He’s come down and lived and died and shed His blood for you. Just imagine that God loving you that much. The cross screams out, “I love you.”
Would you just think about it? Would you imagine Him looking at you saying, “I love you”? Would you put your name in there? Just imagine Him saying, “I love you.”
You know, 1 John 4:19 says, “We love him, because he first loved us.” The more I comprehend, I grasp how much He loves me, the more I can love Him back. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”
The Lord’s Supper night is a great, great night, and let’s just go back to the cross, and let’s just remember. It’s all said and done. You might have music galore, you might feel the song galore, but friend, you have One that loves you. You’re sticking close with that in. Best friend you ever have.
“How do I know how much You love me?” Someone said, “God, how much You love me?” And He stretched His arms.
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? Would you just for a bit tonight, would you focus on the fact that He loved you? Would you just dwell on that? Would you just dwell on it? Would you love Him back? Just love Him back. Spend a little time just loving Him back. Maybe there’s a commandment. “Man, if I love Him, I’m going to obey His commandments.” I need to focus on that.
Would you please stand? We’re going to have a word of prayer. We’re just going to have our instruments play tonight during the invitation. Would you just focus on: He loves you. He loves you. Would you just dwell on that little bit tonight? Would you love Him back and thank You? And just say, “Thank You for loving me.” The greatest truth we’ll ever learn: He loves me. Never get too old to think and dwell on the fact He loves you. Would you do that?
Father, help me. Help us tonight to grasp. Lord, let it happen not just to be some story we heard when our boy or girl in Sunday school. Help it to be real to us tonight. Father, help us to visualize You shedding Your blood, Your Son, Your only begotten Son, and help us to visualize the love behind it. Help us to grasp it tonight a little more. Would You do that, Father, please? Like only You can, send Your Spirit. They’re showing us the love of Christ. Bless these few minutes of our invitation, Father, please. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.
Focus on it. He loves you. When I grasp it, it’ll take my pity parties away. It’ll change my heart for grasping.
I appreciate Mr. Cotorp’s song, “Perfect Song.” We’re coming to the time of the Lord’s Supper, and it is such a sacred time. We like to do it the best we can according to the Bible. So let’s go back. Many of you did this many times with us. Let’s go back again to 1 Corinthians 11, and let’s just kind of look at the Bible pattern. He gives us other places, but probably the clearest place over here in 1 Corinthians 11 about the Lord’s Supper. We want to make sure we’re doing it God’s ways and what God wants.
And 1 Corinthians chapter 11, and we’re going to be in verse number 24. There, 1 Corinthians 11 and verse number 24 there of God’s word. Verse number 24 says, “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.’ After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.’”
The whole purpose, the whole purpose of the Lord’s Supper is remembrance. Remember His body that He gave for us, remember His blood that He shed for us. There’s so much there. It’s why it is so sacred. Very strict warnings. We’ll read a little bit later on here, but I often think if there’s ever a time, you know, you feel like Moses where God said, “Hey, take your shoes off. You’re standing on holy ground.” It’s around the Lord’s Supper. It’s just a very sacred territory. I say there sometimes if there’s ever a time to be serious about church and things, God said, “The Lord’s Supper.”
But the whole purpose is to remember, remember what He did for us. To me, one thing I love about it: it shows how much it means to Him, just us remembering. It means so much to Him that we remember that it gives the church an ordinance. He says, “I want New Testament church—I want to stop everything, put everything on a pause.” New Testament church ought to be on the go, ought to be busy charging for the Lord Jesus Christ. But He says, when it comes this time, we’ll just stop everything. Just bring everything to a halt and just remember. That’s the whole purpose of it.
We have the Lord’s Supper, I think, this year four times this year. The Bible doesn’t tell us how often to have it. We ought to have it; we know that for sure. But we don’t want to have it so often that it becomes ritualistic; it doesn’t mean anything. We want it to be where we’re truly remembering what Jesus did for us. That’s the whole purpose of it. And this new in remembrance—that’s what it’s all about.
I want you just let your mind keep going back to all the scenes of the cross. Remember Him giving His body and His blood for you. Look at verse number 26, would you please there?
He says, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” Some will say when you put that bread in your mouth—that wafer, for some—and that juice in your mouth, that it actually becomes the body and blood of Jesus. No, that be cannibalism. Oh, He says, “Do show, do show.” No, it’s not His action; it does show His death.
Verse number 27: “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” Let’s just talk about that for a second: unworthily. We could go to the point where you say, “Well, is anybody worthy?” And there’s some truth to that. I mean, on our own, we really none are worthy.
So what are we supposed to do about it? What does the next verse say right there? There’s the next verse. Verse number 28: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”
And once He’s saying, He said, “Look, I want you to take some time and examine yourself. I want you to let the Holy Spirit go through your life with a fine-tooth comb, and He’ll point out some things.” And what do we do? If you’re a born-again Christian, of course, what do you do? If we confess our sins, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We’ll go get those sins forgiven.
Now, if I’m not saved, I for sure will not take the Lord’s Supper. If I’m saved but I’m not willing to get baptized, I would not take the Lord’s Supper. If I’m not right with the Lord, I’m not willing to get things right with the Lord, I would not take the Lord’s Supper. I often say I’d rather someone not take the Lord’s Supper than to take it unworthily. But the best thing is for us to just examine ourselves. It takes some time.
By the way, I pray the Lord you are doing so. So many of you are at the altar just seeking the Lord. And boy, you do that, He’ll point things out. And you let Him go through your life. Not that everybody had to come forward; not trying to say that. But many of you did. But you let Him go through your life, and you examine you. “Lord, am I right here? Am I right here? Is my heart right here? Is there anything separating between me and You, Lord?” You let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart, and you get forgiveness again. And through the blood and the body, you get your sins washed away, cleansed. And now you can go to Him whiter than snow. That’s what the Bible told you. We’ve seen songs about that. How? Through our righteousness? Oh, no. Oh, no. Through the righteousness of Jesus, through His shed blood, we’re forgiven, we’re cleansed. We go to the throne, and we remember wearing His robe of righteousness. And we come, and He says, “I want you just remember.”
It means so much to Him that you’re remembering. And He wants you and I, He wants us to just take some time, just remember. And would you?
We’re going to pray here in just a minute. We’re going to pass up the elements and whatnot. And by the way, here we do not require you. Some do, and every church is right. The pastor’s right to kind of choose how he thinks it ought to be. You don’t have to be a member here, but are you saved and baptized, and are you right with the Lord? That’s what He’s talking about there. And that’s your call; that’s not our call. But would you just take some time and examine yourself? And once you’ve done that, gotten clean, oh, just remember, just remember, remember what He did for you. I encourage this: to go through the different scenes of the cross and remember what all He did for you. And don’t let it just kind of be an old story; make it real to you. Remember Him saying, “I love you.”
And we’ll pray. Our deacons will come, and we’ll play, and we’ll pass out the elements. Would you pray with me that God would take us back to the cross?
Lord, we come. And Father, I’m so limited in my vocabulary. Really, Lord, You know, I have a small vocabulary. Lord, I pray that You would just take the words—a simple preacher, Your word, a wonderful word—and, Father, Your Spirit, and would You take us back in a real way to where Jesus, where You gave Your body and Your blood? Help us to remember. Thank You, thank You, thank You for what You did for us. Thank You for every scene of the cross. Thank You for the blood, just at the bottom of every scene, Your blood dropping down. Thank You, Jesus, for being our Lamb. Thank You for Your blood that was applied. Thank You for giving Your body. We’re just in awe that You would do that for us and that You want us to remember. Help us to do so tonight. Bless our people, Lord. Please take us back to the cross. And we’ll thank You, Lord, for what You do. And Father, we ask for this in the name of Jesus. We pray. Amen.
And them saying, “This is my body, which this do in remembrance.” The Holy of Holies is the real world. He’s our atonement. It is the very own blood on the mercy seat. And God looks down through the mercy seat at you. He sees the shed blood of Jesus. His shed blood. All the blood of Jesus. There’s power. There’s power. It’s all that. The only thing we ever see it. Would you just think? It’s just—it’s amazing. God would shed His blood. Just think about it. Think about the blood of Jesus. Cat o’ nine tails and the crown of thorns and nails in His hand, all the blood. All through the scene, He’s given His blood.
Brother Marlin, would you lift your voice and just recognize also the cup after supper saying, “This cup is the New Testament”? What a Savior. What a Savior. I mean, gave His body, gave all—I mean, just, wow, He loves us that much. I mean, you’re loved. If you’re a born-again Christian, you’ll always be loved. I mean, just, nothing can separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ. And you’re a loved individual. He’ll always love you. You’re the apple of His eye, and He loves you. And I just, just think about it. He gave His body, He gave His blood because He loves you.
It’s a little bit sombering, if you will, and you go back to a bloody scene. But at the end of it, you know, it doesn’t leave us just down. It leaves us, “Wow, rejoice.” We praise the Lord for His love. I hope it just makes you feel just where you can kind of just rest in His love. That’s what He wants. And praise the Lord for His love and His blood and His body that He gave for us. Let’s just rejoice in it. Let’s just praise Him for loved people. It’s not because we’re lovely; it’s because He’s loving, you know. And He’s just an amazing God. I know I’ve felt Him about 10 million times every day, you know, and He still loves me. He’s just a loving God. And let’s just rejoice. And He wants you to be able to just kind of rest.
And we don’t have to be fidgety and worried, if you will. And we’re loved. And I’ve been working out of a verse, and I love this part. He says, “My soul follows hard after thee; Thy right hand holdeth me up.” And you can follow hard after Him. We still fall all the time, but His right hand holds us up because it’s love. We’re just loved people. And let’s just rejoice in Him tonight. Let’s just thank Him for His body and His blood.
Brother Anthony knows pretty much every time we do that: What can wash away our sin? You know, nothing but the blood of Jesus. So when they had that Last Supper, they went out and they sung of Him, you know. And so this is one time we don’t dismiss it in prayer. We would sing to Him, and that’s the end of it. Let’s get that, “What can wash away?” I said, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” Maybe we’ll get that first and last verse in there. And let’s stand, if you would, please. Brother Anthony will lead us in it. And let’s just, let’s just praise the Lord. Praise the Lord for His blood. You’re loved people, and enjoy it, rest in it. And praise the Lord for it. I heard Him just at 2:49. And let’s just think about how much He loved you. He gave His body and His blood for you. And Brother Anthony leads in this time, please. If you need the words, 249, first and last verse, “Nothing but the Blood.”
Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar - The Cross Says I Love You - Sunday PM 05282023