Praise
the Lord for the work He does in us! Last time we ended with a new life in
Christ that took us through repentance, death on the cross, resurrection into a
new life in Jesus, ending with our new life being a platform for our ministry!
That is where I want to pick up today. How we use our "scars" to lead
others to the cross that they too much bear.
Let
us just dive right into the word today. We will take several looks at the
purpose of us using our cross process to lead others in their! let’s start
here:
Joh 12:3 & 7-8 NKJV Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of
spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.... (7) But Jesus said, "Let
her alone; she has kept this for the day
of My burial. (8) For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not
have always."
This is a
great picture of the preparation before the cross. You see Mary loved Jesus
dearly, and out of that love she prepared Him for the cross. She played her
part in assisting Him to the death He must die! Why? Because we know that for
Jesus to fulfill His ministry He had go to the cross! Though we see here He did
not begin this journey alone! No. He had others who walked with Him! This key
to us as the body of Christ.... We will get into this a bit more in a minute.
Next let us
look at another time Jesus was helped to the cross.
Mar 15:21 NKJV Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a
Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the
country and passing by, to bear His cross.
Again here
is another picture of others helping us to the cross! Simon, carried Jesus'
cross for a time. Though Simon could not get on that cross for Jesus. If that
had happened it would have been just another man dying on the cross. We know
that Jesus had to bear His own load, He had to die on His cross, and fulfill
His calling. This same idea was preached by Paul to the Galatians. let’s take a
quick look:
Gal 6:1-2, & 5 NKJV Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass,
you who are spiritual restore such a
one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be
tempted. (2) Bear one another's burdens, and
so fulfill the law of Christ. (5) For each one shall bear his own load.
You see
when we go though our cross process, and we come alive in Jesus a new creation,
we still bear those old scars for this very reason! That old man (the scar) is
our witness to Jesus! In our bondage, despair, sin, anxiety, etc... Jesus came
to us personally! When we were delivered from that stuff we saw Him, we felt
Him, because of this we know Him! This personal encounter makes us first hand
witnesses of Jesus! That is our ministry! That is our platform to bear the
burden of those who are in the same boat we once were! We can (out of love)
take them by the hand to lead them to the cross, so they can bear their own
load. Just like Simon carried a burden for Jesus, he couldn't bear the entire
load for Jesus. No. Jesus had to get on that cross by Himself and walk the
cross process to gain victory over sin, and death! He had to bear His own load.
That (through God) gave Him the power to save the whole world! He gave us the
example in how to carry our cross, and do it daily!
With these
two examples we see a picture that we all play a part in each other’s cross
process! Mary who out of love prepared Jesus for death and burial. Simon who
bore a burden for Jesus. These pictures show us that at times we play a
different part in a person's life. No matter what part we play it is to lead them
to Jesus, and to their cross that they must bear. You see our cross process is
not to be done alone, as others are not to walk theirs alone. That is the
beauty of the body of Christ. We are called together. Jesus said that He and
the Father are one. When we die the death that Jesus called us to, we too
become heirs with Him in new life. Jesus desired that we too become one with
Him, like He and the Father are one. If we lead others to Jesus, we lead them
to God, for we all are one in Him!
The beauty
of all of this, is that we can minister to anyone! It could be a
"season" Christian who is now having to take something in their life
to the cross. Or on the other end someone who does not know Christ yet. For
those "seasoned" Christians we minister to them, not to point out
their sin, or bondage, but because we know the freedom in Christ and
desperately want them to know it too! remember what Jesus said here:
Mat 18:15 NKJV "Moreover if
your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him
alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
Though some
would say that in doing this you are judging or that you "need to
deal" with the plank in your own eye... referenced here:
Mat 7:2-5 NKJV For with what
judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will
be measured back to you. (3) And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye,
but do not consider the plank in your own eye? (4) Or how can you say
to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? (5) Hypocrite! First
remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the
speck from your brother's eye.
The amazing
thing is when we take our "plank" to the cross we deal with it! Where
we then have the power to "witness" to others the power and glory of
God! why? so they too can be lead to God, where we all can join together as
one! That we can be a "one another" kind of people! That we would be
the spotless bride of Christ!
Just as we
minister to those already in Christ, we are also called to minister to those
outside of Christ. What better way to "witness" to others about the
power in Christ Jesus. Just think about a man deep in depression, who may have
considered taking his own life. Well if that was something you took to the
cross, and have now been delivered from it, you have a bold witness of Christ
Jesus! Oh the hope you can preach to that man! Where you can minister to Him
his need of repentance, turning to Jesus, where we meet Him at the cross, and
have the opportunity to die and be born again into a new life in Jesus! to be
free from that bondage!....
You see
your scars from your cross process are your ministry platforms! They are your
first hand witnessing testimony of the power we have in Jesus!!!! One last
example of just how powerful this is!
look at
Revelation 12:
Rev 12:11 NKJV And they overcame him (the devil) by the blood
of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they
did not love their lives to the death.
This alone
could be another days worth of study. But to keep it short, if it were not for
Jesus bearing His cross to set us free, save us, and lead us we would have no
testimony in Him. For through His cross process opened up the door for us to
have ours in Him! The word of our testimony (cross process) is the first hand
testimony of the power in Christ. It shows others that through the death(s)
(Jesus, and ours) on the cross we can be set free! Because in death the power
over our lives is broken! What an amazing truth, that in death, we deal with
the flesh and with the devils hold on us!
In closing
let me ask you this: In what way can you use your "cross" to minister
to others!.... And if you are in the middle of taking up your cross, who can
you reach out to for help getting to the end? If you are unsure, ask your
pastor, as I am sure he has see someone in your local body deal with this very
thing.
Your Brother in Christ
Grace and Peace be with you
Nate Cook, Setting Captives Free Team
Member
And Jesus said to me:
Eze 3:10b-11a "...Receive into your heart
all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears, and go, get
to the captives..."
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