Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

The Cross Pt.2

Received an interesting letter, different than what we get so many times. It has "Attention: Pastor Scott, Confidential." I get hundreds of these and they're never good news, and this one, as so many others, I began to read it and I thought, "Well this is interesting." Kind of the same things we've seen for years and years, but it goes along with the cross and the humility aspect, and that's why I decided to read a note of it this evening. It says, "Dear Pastor Scott, I'm not sure if you remember me or not. My name is John. [I didn't remember him. Chuck remembered him. He said,] I attended School of the Prophets [and I won't even mention the time frame because some of you that were around here]. I graduated here from the program and was ordained that same year. The training that I received during my time at school and as a member of the church benefited me greatly. The Lord's taken me on many journeys since these years. He's had to cut many things out of my life that never should have been there to begin with, but through this purging He has always ministered His love. But then again, you did tell us that this would happen as we drew closer to Him. Some of my fondest moments in all of my life were spent in your Romans class. Those teachings have stayed with me. I have looked over my notes many days since then and continue to rejoice in them. I'm currently ministering in the state of Ohio at a juvenile detention center. I'm not sure that you remember I always had a heart for prison ministry. The ministry isn't big or famous, but that's not what's important. We're working to hear, 'well done good and faithful servant.'"

"Anyway, the purpose of this letter was that I ran into a friend of mine not long ago, and he had said that after we had left the church you had mentioned me on your radio broadcast. It seemed that there were comments that said that I had done something that wasn't appropriate as it pertained to the ministry. Pastor Scott, if I have done anything to offend you, the school, church or ministry, please be assured that was never my intention. I sincerely and deeply apologize for anything that I may have done. Some of my greatest memories have been the two or three years that I spent under your leadership. Ever since I heard this it's been heavy on my heart. I am submitting to you for forgiveness in any thing or matter that may have caused less than favorable opinion of me in your eyes. Thank you for your time of reading this.--John."

That's not usually what we receive. And it's usually one of justification and why'd you do this, and how come. What a blessing, what a refreshing, to see someone who had heard that this was said, and if it was I'm sure that I was wrong, please forgive me. Is that the approach that so many of us take when we hear statements that were made about someone who's made observations in our life, things that we may have done? Or is the first response one to justify, trying to blame the other people that were making these observations etc.? I thought what a refreshing letter, praise God! To see someone that said, I'm sure if you said it, I'm guilty, please forgive me. That's the humility that we're talking about here as we're making reference to this cross, to dying to self-will, to an over estimation of ourselves and our perspective on things, but just a willingness to humble ourselves.

Look over at Philippians, Chapter 2 and we'll pick up into that aspect of the ministry for this evening. A couple of other letters that I want to read at another time, possibly, but in Philippians, Chapter 2, as we're talking about the cross--that's just what we're going to title this time of study, just "The Cross." What's the cross mean to you? Is it just something that hangs around people's necks? Is it a symbol? Or is it a goal, a daily goal to get self-crucified, to cause this flesh to understand there's going to be a price paid? "If you even act like, look like you're going to express yourself, I'm going to kill you. Don't even think about expressing your opinion, self." I like that Bill Cosby record, you remember that? Where he, "I said to myself, 'Self.'" And we do need to talk to ourselves, to the old man, and remind him constantly that he no longer has any power. The old man has been crucified, the body of sin destroyed that henceforth we no longer serve sin, Romans 6 tells us. This old man, this old body, has been crucified, destroyed. And we know what that word "destroyed" means. It doesn't mean annihilated, it means to be made powerless or to be put under, overpowered. The body of sin is now under the power of the regenerated spirit man. It no longer has the capacity to rule. It is not the stronger force unless will recognizes him. You can put the old man under every time, by choosing righteousness, by choosing the light, by choosing self-crucifixion, recognizing the old man dead, reckoning him, putting to the account, "You're dead. You are no longer the supreme power. You have no right to dominate my life." And it's a choice. It's how we deal with the flesh in every area of our lives. It's like in the morning, you tell self, "Get out of the bed," right? And what about when self says, "Let me have just five more minutes." Does he just want five more minutes? Really? Don't even entertain that voice. If you have a snooze alarm, forget it. You ought to hook up to your snooze alarm a 220-volt. Don't even give flesh a chance. And that's how you deal with the old man. How many of you really thought about going on a diet or decided to go on a diet? And you either never got around to it, it lasted a day, or a week, but then how many of you one day finally looked in the mirror and said, "that's enough!"? And do you want to know which mirror will cause you to stay on your diet? Not the one in your bathroom, this one [the Bible]. The one that says, "Flesh is out of control, sin is dominating your life, and its time to be obedient. It's time to bring the flesh under. And to honor God I choose to kill you, Mr. Self. [It's a good thing the Self family doesn't attend here any longer.] And you're going under." And it becomes a quality decision. And it becomes a matter of obeying God, not controlling your life.

See, you don't need to be in control of your life. You need to lose your life. The decision is to be out of control. And I don't mean self ruling, I mean Jesus ruling. Now, many of our lives are out of control; that's not what I'm talking about. But it's for me to live is Christ and to perpetually, continually, daily die is gain. And this is what the Lord's bringing us to. So it's those decisions to honor God, to live contrary to our own fleshly appetites, whatever they might be. I happen to mention physical dieting, and that's an easy one to pick on because it's obvious and many of us can relate to it; but you know, those of you that are overweight, that's your problem. And because it's visible, everybody can see it. But you're no worse shape than the guy that's full of pride and has to go to the gym to work out. He's under as much bondage in the flesh as you are. The compulsion, bodily exercise profits a little, but it just profits a little. This thing is going to die. You might be able to somehow deal with gravity and aging but it's going to get you, man!

So, let's work on the inner man. Let's pursue the eternal. I don't want the obvious. What about the person that's pursuing avarice, the person that's pursuing worth through his job and his accomplishments? We all are battling our own battles, but we all have to go to the same cross, because regardless of how it expresses itself, in fitness or in fatness, it's still about self, and self has to die. So, as believers we need to come to that place. And in Philippians 2, listen to what the Spirit says through the apostle. He's talking about living in single-mindedness, in unity and in lowliness of mind, verse 3 "...esteeming others better than ourselves. [Verse 4] Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: [The renewing of the mind, the spiritual eternal mindset, let this mind be in you. Which mind? Verse 7: Who] made himself of no reputation... [Is that mind in you or are you worried about your reputation? You're worried about what people think about you. You're worried about how you look. You're worried about whether you're going to get enough to eat. "Hey, I don't give a rip how I look to other people. I just want to gratify myself." Self is the real issue here. Now, watch what he says. You've got to become of no reputation, self-serving, selfishness, self-exaltation. How did this manifest in the life of Jesus? He] took upon himself the form of a servant..." You see, when you get more concerned about other people--he spoke to it in the verses just preceding this, in lowliness of mind, esteeming others better than yourself. Look beyond yourself. Begin to look to the good that you can produce in other people's lives in becoming a servant. We all know the doctrine, though we don't all walk the walk. The greatest among us is, say it. Yes, and I've become the servant and I'm proud of it, praise God. You're not serving anybody but yourself. It's an ego thing for you. The servant isn't proud about being a servant. The servant is the servant because it honors the Lord. It's about honoring God. It's about being "the unprofitable servant." I'm just doing what I've been called to do. There's no merit in it. It doesn't make me any better. It's who I am. It's what I'm called to do. This is what Christians do. They prefer others. They seek to honor God. They choose against self whenever it becomes an issue. The form of a servant.

"And being found [verse 8] in fashion as a man, he [say the next two words with me] humbled himself, [There it is. God humbled him? No. He humbled himself. God will chasten us, but we have to humble ourselves. We have to choose this cross. It has to become something you value, this death to self. And Jesus, then choosing this, he] became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." And so, these choices that we make constantly to humble ourselves, to esteem others better than ourselves, to walk in obedience and serve as we've been gifted and placed--now you've got to understand, humility may place you in a position of prominence, preeminence. Your service might appear to others to be one of authority and gain and prosperity, but it's where God put you. It's not what you took to yourself. Or it may be one of ruling under in the role of a wife, in the role of a child. And here you are, men, in a position of preeminence and humility and the servant. In reality you are lord of your house. And Sarah called him lord. But in the spiritual realm you're fulfilling the role of servant because you are ruling in lieu of. You are representing the will of God to your family and not your own will if you're walking in the spirit. And you're not trying to sustain your natural family's traditions and methods. But you're loving as you've been loved. You've been forgiven, therefore you can be forgiving to your wife and to your children. God has blessed you not because you merit but because He loves, so you minister to your wife and your children. Not because they merit but because you love, because you've been loved. You're able to express that humility, the servant's heart.

And this is what the community, the body of Chris, is all about. Each member fulfilling it's role based upon gifts and placement of the Holy Spirit where we all fulfill the role that God's placed us, that God might be glorified. No personal agendas, becoming of no reputation; in other words, putting upon ourselves--it never ceases to amaze me, natural man's perception of himself. It's just humorous. I'm a people watcher. I like to sit around and watch people. You know we all have different ideas of what looks good and some of the styles today, when we were out at the Rose Bowl, Greer and I - it looked like it was going to be really cold at the Rose Parade, so we went to get a blanket. So, we walk into this mall in LA and we were the only two white people in there. And it was really cool. We're walking through the mall, I'm just watching all these people, and the styles are all different. They had this cool barbershop in there, and I stopped and watched this guy do some artwork on a few people's heads. I was watching that and that was fun to observe, and you're seeing all the different folks. It was just a whole different environment, but watching these guys, and they're cool because they've got like three hats on, turned all different directions and bling-bling [jewelry] hanging, just draped, and pants that were 12 sizes too big and coats that you could put seven people in. I'm watching all this, and I'm going, "These dudes are cool, man!" I wonder, surely if the Lord tarries, surely they're going to look back and laugh. Like you, you know. Some of you ladies, do you remember the beehive hairdos? I know some of you that old. Don't try to look at me like you don't know what I'm talking about.

It's come back around; what about the '70s? Was that the ugliest clothes that ever hit the world? You know, orange and brown, and "these boots were made for walking" white patent, boots and short ugly brown orange - and you look back now--well it's back in, so I guess I shouldn't say that much. But it was horrible and it is again. But we think we look good. And in different cultures, I'm sorry man, but the plates in the Ubangi's lips just ain't getting it for me. Now I know what one of them's saying, "Till you've been kissed by them lips, you ain't been kissed." But it looks dangerous to me. And the plates should, like, have your food on them and not be put in your lip. You've seen them, right, the big plates? And then you see the ones that have the long necks, they have all those rings and if you took them off then their head would fall off. Did you see? They had a thing on the Discovery Channel not long ago about beauty and how it differs by cultures. Some of you that decide not to go on a diet, just go to Samoa you'd be a hot chick down there, man, because their idea is bigger the better, big momma. So, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I understand that, but the point I'm making, I think, or trying to, has to do with humbling ourselves and seeing ourselves as we really are. Humility is having the ability to truly see yourself, and to deal with it, because we are not what we think we are. We are beggars. We are weak. We are blind. We are destitute. We are evil through and through, and God loves us and had mercy on us when we deserved to go to a devil's hell, and was made sin with our sin that He might impute His righteousness to us. And we choose to go on serving ourselves and worshiping ourselves and having this image of ourselves that somehow we deserve something, and ignoring Him that loved us and died for us. And then expecting Him to be servant to our prayers. And our prayer time becomes like ordering from a menu or a Santa Claus list instead of a cry of humility that we might be like Him and honor Him for who He is and not for what He does. To bow our knee and say Your will is right. Your ways are just. Your wisdom is irrefutable and so I pray "not my will but Thy will be done. I don't understand why I'm where I am and why these circumstances surround me, but I do know this: You're good. Your ways are great. Your mercies endure forever, and I want to use the fruit of my lips to bring thanksgiving to Your name."

Are you thankful every day for the work of God in your life, for the path that He's brought us on as we're continually having our own hearts revealed to us and our own vileness? Then, instead of getting bummed out and falling into self-pity, just thank God when He reveals your heart to you. Say, "Lord, thank You for giving me a glimpse and thank You for loving me. Not for my worth, but for Your sake, because You are love. I don't merit it, but I receive it by faith and grace." And we continue on and we're made strong, and then we don't expect others to have to perform to receive our love and our forgiveness because we can love as we've been loved and we can forgive as we've been forgiven. And we become servants and we become humble and we become compassionate and we're touched with one another's feeling of infirmity, because the fact is we're all messed up. We all need help. Are you willing to be helped? "Yeah, I'd sure like somebody help me to fulfill my goals." No. Are you willing to be helped? When I say are you willing to be helped, I'm saying are you willing to see yourself for what you really are. That's what the cross is all about. You'll never get a glimpse of yourself until you're on the cross.

And so, Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Now a lot of people like to hurry on to verse 9, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him..." so, praise God, if you'll humble yourself God will exalt you. Why don't you just forget about exaltation? Because, if you're striving to die for the purpose of being exalted, you're not dead. If you're looking past the cross for personal gain, then the cross is just a symbol to you and not a goal. Because the fact is, you remain on the cross. It's a daily process.

Look over to Hebrews for just a moment, and in the Hebrews passage there's a very interesting phrase that's used there. And keep your finger there in Philippians; we're going to go back in just a second. In Hebrews, Chapter 12, this twelfth chapter, of course, such a powerful passage of Scripture, the apostle starts off talking to us about the great cloud of witnesses and we're coming just off of Chapter 11of Hebrews the faith chapter, the great hall of fame of the righteous. All of them experienced their own personal cross. You say, "Yeah, we all have our cross to bear. Mine's my husband. Mine's my job. Mine's my genetic deficiencies." That's not the cross. Those are just little hiccups, inconveniences of life. The cross is not about hardship. The cross is about lordship. Cross bearing is not the difficulties of life and how heavy life has become. The cross is about coming to the place where you stop trying to carry your own life, stop trying to carry your own burdens. Jesus bore our burdens that we might bear others'. And so in Hebrews he talks about the great cloud of witnesses. And he said because of their lives, their examples, we need to "...lay aside, [verse 1 of the twelfth chapter,] every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race before us,"--sin that holds us in bondage. What are these weights; what are these sins, but the fruit of self will, personal ambition and goals, the over nourishing of the self life, defeating of the spirit man. Because the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these two are contrary the one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would do, the apostle tells us. They're contrary. You can't do what you would. The flesh can't do what it wants to if the spirit man is being fed and preeminent and the one that we choose to acknowledge as lord. The flesh can't do what it will. But the spirit man can't do what it would when we choose to honor the flesh. What is that power of volition? What is choice, really? Choice is the fruit of lordship. And self will always choose self. And Jesus as Lord of your life will always choose the spirit. Volition, self, choice has to be made once and for all to surrender volition to the Spirit of God, to the lordship of Jesus. I don't choose any longer. I obey. I have nothing to say about this. Do you want to get up? I don't have anything to say about that. Jesus is the Lord of my life. You going to work today? You going to love your wife? You going to train your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? When Jesus is Lord of your life those decisions have already been made for you.

The hard decisions of life, how hard was it for Abraham to offer up Isaac? That choice had already been made. I'm not saying in the natural it's easy. I'm not saying that there wasn't all of the mental distress and agony, but the decision had already been made. Is Jesus the Lord of your life? Yes. Amen. Have you been nailed to the cross with Him? This is what we want to read about. Jesus is not Lord if you're standing down on the ground saying, "Praise God! I just appreciate You dying for me. I acknowledge You as Lord." For Him to be Lord, you have to get up there with Him. You have to die with Him. I am crucified with Christ. I present my body. Listen to what he goes on to say. "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons..." (Hebrews 12:2-7).

Consider Him. Listen. He endured the cross despising the shame. There's shame. There's a humiliation. There's an identity with Jesus that causes us to become the outcasts in society, the despised. Are you going to boast in that? You know, I know, that the motives are not always pure, but what about when you look at some of the traditional Pentecostals? You look at the Mennonites, the way that they dress and their little baskets and their clothes, some of the Pentecostals, the long, drab, the no make up, and everything. And we look at these people and many times we feel sorry for them because they're in bondage to works and under the law. And some of them are, and some of them are not. Some of them are not doing that out of works. Some of them are walking that way in the spirit and walking in obedience. And you know what? They don't care that you're making fun of them. They boast in it. They don't mind being weirdoes, because they're living in the spirit and they don't live for your praise. I know all the negatives about that. What are you going to do if God calls you to that? As we become more and more of an offence in our society, I mean look around us. We're being seduced constantly. How far are you going to go until you say it's enough? And we constantly today, have all of this tolerance teaching just being crammed down our throats, secular and religious. And one of these days we're going to have to stand up and say it's enough. I can't go any further. I'm not compromising. And we're going to become the byword, the despised. Is there going to be the capacity in you at that moment to choose that death and to rejoice in the death of the cross, to embrace the cross and count it gain?

Look back at Philippians for just a moment. Chapter 3, verse 7, "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, ...[so] That I may know him, [verse 10.] Look at this. So that I may know him,] and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; [the cross] If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection ..." You see most of us here want to live in resurrection power, but we don't want to go the way of the cross. You can't get the power of the resurrection without the identity, the conforming to His death, the humbling of ourselves through obedience, even to the death, the denial of self. It becomes a choice. Not whether I'm going to eat this, drink that, go there. That's not the choices we make. The choice we make is whether He's Lord or not, whether I'm going to walk in the spirit, and then I'm not going to fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Now watch what he goes on to say. "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: [complete, mature] but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ ... [Now] Brethren, I [don't] count myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, [Look:] forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before..." (Philippians 3:12, 13). A new direction, a new purpose, new goals, old things pass, Corinthians says, all things are now new. Are they? Somebody was just telling me yesterday about some of our young people here and there's some decisions that they are looking to in their life and seeking the will of God and how to know the leading of the Holy Spirit. And the fact of the matter is, you forget the things that are behind, personal ambitions and goals, whether self-induced or family induced, or sociologically-induced, whatever they might be. That no longer governs my life. That did set me on a course, those were things I thought would be interesting. I always thought I'd like to do this for a living. I always thought that I would like to marry this type of a person. I always thought that.... If you're going to go to the cross, you forget everything that was behind and say, "I am ready to do whatever You want me to do from this moment on. I have no personal agenda. It doesn't matter. I don't need family. I don't need mothers. I don't need fathers. I don't need houses. I don't need lands. I just need your presence. I count it all loss for the excellency of the knowledge of God." Are you ready to embrace the cross? Because the cross will cost you everything.

As we were out at Lake Tahoe, it was interesting, I looked in the newspaper and it was really too bad my brother was having to rough it over in Hawaii. He usually comes up and sees us when we're in Tahoe. I don't know why he chose to go to Hawaii when there was 30 feet of snow in Tahoe. It would have been cool if he was there, because I looked into the newspaper and the University of Nevada was playing Fresno State. He went to Nevada and I went to Fresno. So, Greer and I drove down from Tahoe and watched the game that night. I got talking to some people there and talking to this one guy and he said, "Do you come here, do you come and watch the Wolfpack play much?" I said, "Well, yeah, I come about every 40 years. I was here in 1964, at the new gym. It was a new gym then, 1964. They have a nice new beautiful arena that they play in now. It's a little different than the new gym-old gym, 40-year-old gym, 40-year-old gym that was new in 1940. Anyway, every 40 years yeah, I come to watch a game." And as I began to talk and I began to watch all this stuff going on. I'm watching these kids, these college kids out there playing basketball, and it happened to be the night they introduced all the athletes for the University of Nevada. So, the football team came out, the baseball team, the golf team, and the tidally-winks team, and everybody was coming out. You know how the colleges are; they've got something for everybody.

So they're all out there, and of course in my mind I'm flashing back to my college days. Knowing I could go out there and play. And my mind flashed back and I'm thinking that when I was there, I didn't think I'd be here. All of my plans, all of my ambitions, all of my life's goals were nailed to a cross, February fifth, yesterday, 1967, when I bowed my knee and died, was nailed to a cross. Went in and informed the football coach I could no longer play, I'm done. And walked away from my scholarship, and left all of the pomp and circumstance that goes along. It was interesting to watch the way the athletes are just elevated in our society today. And it was bad then too, but not as bad as it is today. And went from--I'll still never forget, somebody came up to me as soon as I came to church there at Northeast Assembly of God, when I walked in, word spread through the church. You know how is in church. Word spread through all the single girls. There's a guy here that plays for Fresno. There's a new guy. There's a guy here. And of course, when you're good looking it makes things.... A football player is at church. And the football player, just a week later, was in the church office no longer running out on the field to cheers but licking labels and putting them on newsletters. That was the day before the peel-off [labels]. My first job in the ministry was licking labels. It was a good thing that we lived sanctified lives, and without commitment Janet wouldn't have kissed me anyway, but if we had, we'd have probably got stuck together. I was the errand boy, as I've shared with you. I would have done anything to serve in the kingdom. The grass was greener. The birds sang better. Have you really died? Some say, "Well, you know, when I got saved I didn't have that experience." Why? Well you know, we're all different. I want to tell you something, man. Those that are forgiven much, love much. Now it's not just the fact that I was a bad guy. You know what I believe the Lord meant when He said those that are forgiven much, love much? Those that have allowed themselves to be forgiven of everything are able to love much. Those that die to self totally--I don't care how good you are, your righteousness is as filthy rags. When you come to the cross and you totally die, you can love much. You are free from your will. You are free to go on and acknowledge his lordship. You are free to know the power of His resurrection as we've embraced the fellowship of His sufferings.

So, as we end for this evening, do you want to know that power of resurrected life, of victorious living, of walking in the spirit? Then forget those things that are behind, verse 13. Forget all your personal ambitions, your personal traditions; forget your own personal image, your own press clippings; become of no reputation, and press toward the mark, the prize, the high calling of God, verse 14 says. Set a new goal. My day will not be complete until I've made full pursuit of Christlikeness. I've become all that I could be for Jesus today. Tomorrow's another day. I don't even know that I'm going to have tomorrow. What have we done today to become of no reputation? What have we done today to humble ourselves to obedience of the cross? What have we done today to offer up the loss of all things for the excellency of the knowledge of God? That's what the cross is all about. Daily, Luke said. Have you died today yet? You still have a few hours. And if you can die today, it will assure us of life tomorrow, because if you lose your life, you'll gain it.

Father, we thank You for Your Word, and as we prepare our hearts through this study of the cross, death becomes a fearful thing to those who don't believe in the resurrection.

Beloved, if you're afraid to die you don't believe in the resurrection. There's a power in resurrected life. If you're afraid to die, if you have to stay in control of your life, you do not believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead. You do not believe that there's power in death to bring you to life. The seed must fall into the ground and die or it abides alone. There's power in death. There's life in death. If you're not willing to die, it's because you don't believe in the resurrection.

Give us that grace, Father. Give us that faith, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord. Before you go, turn to the person next to you, say, "I chose the cross." Amen. Be sure to greet Ron and Tera. God's peace go with you, in Jesus' name.

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