The Work of the Cross

A Special Easter Worship Rants.... "The Work of the Cross"

I have to thank my pastor, John Muratori, for inspiring this Worship Rant on Easter. His sermon was spot on today as always and another good one. You'll be able to check it out on the link at www.calvarylife.us once it's posted.

So, do you ever hear people refer to the work of the cross, or the work that Christ did so that we could have a restored relationship with God. His work on the cross led to the forgiveness of our sins. I always used to just think that His death and resurrection was the work. While that is part of it, I now see there is more to it than that.

Ephesians 4:7-10 states "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. (Now this expression, 'He ascended,' what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)" (NASB)

These verses tell us that Christ conquered satan, death and sin for us and therefore everything that can conquer us, Christ has the victory over it. When Christ died on that Friday, he just didn't do nothing for three days and then was raised, He had work to do for us in the spiritual realm in order to complete the work of the cross, so that we might have eternal life when we enter into a saving relationship with Him.

Christ has defeated sin, satan and evil. In Revelation 1:17-18, Christ says that He is "the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." If you are holding the keys to something, you have the power and authority to unlock it.

These keys are the keys to unlock the chains of bondage, addiction, slavery, sin and eternal separation from God that governs us if we are not His children. These keys unlock gates so that the gates of hell will not prevail over us (Matthew 16:18-19) These keys give the Church power! Christ was the only one that could retrieve these keys of life and were part of the work on the cross, part of our gift of free life that Christ died for. He died so that we might live and have not only an eternal life, but one that is abundant and powerful when living according to His plans.

There is so much more that Christ's sacrificial death and work on the cross has given us including freedom, power over evil, power and authority to bind and loose, power in numbers as the "Church" and power to have victory over the enemy.

So I know from now on, I will be thinking of the Work on the Cross very differently and not just Jesus dying on the cross, being buried in the tomb and raising three days later. I now see it was much deeper, much more miraculous and much more work on Christ's part and much more meaningful to me now in my attempt to live by God's design and plans.

Easter takes on a whole new and vibrant meaning for me now and it only took just about 40 years for me to see the work of the cross in this light, never to late right?

All the best, until next time, Christ the Lord is risen today, allelujah.

Tim

Consecrated

Jeremiah 1:4-10

“Now the Word of the Lord came to me saying, before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations. Then I said, Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth. But the Lord said to me, do not say I am a youth, because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord. Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, behold I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

A friend of mine was doing her devotions and posted Jeremiah 1:5 on Facebook recently. As soon as I read it, I was reminded of a sermon by my Pastor at my church from a while back. I started thinking about it more and thought I would share what’s on my mind.

When I read this, the first thing that jumped out to me was that God knew me before I was born. He created me so he knows me and knows how He’s created me. God has wired me a certain way for His purposes and knows how best I can serve Him in the Kingdom. Jeremiah 1:5 says that not only did He know me before He created me in the womb but that He also consecrated me. This word, consecrated, sticks out to me. Consecrated by definition according to Webster’s is as follows:

1) to induct (a person) into a permanent office with a religious rite; especially to ordain to the office of bishop.

2) to make or declare sacred; especially to devote irrevocably to the worship of God by a solemn ceremony…to devote to a purpose.

If I have been consecrated by God, it must be for a purpose. Do I know what that purpose is? If I don’t, I think it scares me that I am living my life and not living it according to the plans that God has created me for. Maybe that’s why things seem so hard and difficult at times, because I am trying to do things my way. I’m trying to do things in a way that I have not been created for or wired for. If I would just submit to God’s will and ways; and realize the Master knows what is best for me; and seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, maybe, just maybe I’d be living a more worshipful life. Hmmmm, interesting.

If I make excuses or try to go against what God has for me, I’m not enabled, equipped or prepared for the battles I encounter. We can see from the passage above that God says Jeremiah will go where He has commanded and that he will speak what God commands him to speak. Why should I think that would be any different for me. It isn’t. I just need to let God rule in my life and follow His plans for me and not my own. It is comforting to know that God has prepared a way for me, He knows me and He has stretched out His hand and touched my mouth so to speak. Basically He’s anointed and given me an office that He wants me to fulfill in the kingdom. He’s consecrated me and given me the power and authority to pluck up and break down, to destroy and to overthrow and to build and to plant, all for His glory and kingdom.

The second thing I thought of when I was reading Jeremiah 1:4-10 is that if God knows me, He has consecrated me, and has set me up in an office of service to His kingdom, then He’s got a plan and a job for me to do. If I’m not doing it, if I’m not seeking Him first and all His righteousness, then I am sinning. Do I really want to be going against God’s plans that He has for me. No way. I get charged up and excited knowing God knows what is best for me and that it is part of the Great Adventure (to quote a Steven Curtis Chapman song) of life that we live. It is not a mere life of just taking it one day at a time, but living a full, a Holy Spirit filled, life that has a purpose. The purpose of glorifying God and doing my part in His kingdom all while being appropriately equipped for serving my Lord in the way He created me to serve.

We as believers have been consecrated and given a position to serve and live for Him. I repent that I have not always lived everyday with this in mind, but strive to dig deeper in my relationship with my Savior, and try to worship Him more and more every day. I pray that we all realize our consecration and the access to worshiping God that it provides.

I hope this has been a blessing to you as you read it. Thanks Catie for kick starting this off with your devotion!!!!!

Until next time…

Tim