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"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14).
In this sophisticated age, we find it hard to understand the idolatry of the Old Testament. It is incredible to read of intelligent people being so blinded as to offer worship to hand- carved images of wood, stone or precious metals.
The scriptures tell us that people went into the forest and picked a hardwood tree, cut it down, sawed it in two, then burned half of it in their ovens for cooking and gave the other half to an engraver to carve into a little god. The whole family would kneel before that graven image and say, "This is my god, my deliverer, who saves me." Such idolatry is mind-boggling to us!
Yet it was the sin of idolatry that brought down God's awful wrath on his own people. It angered him more than any other sin in the Old Testament -- so much that he declared: "The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. I will cast you out of my sight..." (Jeremiah 7:17,16,15).
This is God's declaration against idolatry in the Old Testament. And yet he hates idolatry just as much today. It brings down his wrath on any generation -- including this modern one!
[HR][/HR]There Is an Idolatry in These
Last Days Much More Wicked Than
That of the Old Testament!
[HR][/HR]A new idolatry is sweeping across America right now. No, we don't see people kneeling down before carved images anymore, in unsophisticated fashion. This modern idolatry instead seduces multitudes by its subtlety and cleverness. Yet it angers God more than any Old Testament idolatry!
The New Testament warns us that ministers will come in the last days who appear as angels of light but who are actually ministers of Satan. These men will be intense, articulate, pleasant and very resourceful. But they will be manipulated by a spirit that is not of God!
"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works" (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
Paul warned that these demonic ministers would come "...preach(ing) another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or...another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted..."
Think of what Paul is saying here. In the last days preachers will appear who seem to be men of honesty and righteousness -- but who are actually ministers under the influence of Satan himself! They will be of another spirit entirely, introducing another Christ, another spirit, another gospel.
This sounds shocking -- but it is something you and I must prepare ourselves for. If you are a Christian living in America, and you hear reports of the Holy Spirit moving in different parts of the country, you must be careful of where you go and what spirit you sit under. If you don't have discernment, you could get swept up into an idolatry that will turn you away from the cross of Christ.
I believe multitudes of Christians today are into idolatry without knowing it, having been seduced by angels of light. Paul saw this beginning to happen even in his day:
"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:6-8).
[HR][/HR]This "Other Gospel" That Paul
Mentions Is a Message of
Salvation Without the Cross!
[HR][/HR]That is the great idolatry of our day. There is a great host of preachers who have literally cast aside the message of the cross of Jesus Christ!
Be warned: It doesn't matter what anyone tells you about a great "revival" or moving of the Spirit taking place; it doesn't matter how many multitudes are involved, or how loud their praises are; it doesn't matter how "successful" a particular ministry may appear to be. If the cross of Jesus Christ is not the door through which people come, you can rest assured -- it is not a work of God!
The cross -- including its demands and hope -- are the very heart of the gospel. And any worship -- any fellowship, anything calling itself church -- is blatant idolatry if the cross is not at its center. Such worship is of another spirit entirely -- and God will have nothing to do with it. Without the cross, all that is left is chaff -- a perverted gospel, something from the pits of hell. It is an idolatry more insulting to the Lord than the idolatry of Israel!
Yet, in most churches where this "other gospel" is preached, the pews are packed. All the right words are sung and spoken. The theological terms, such as holiness, Holy Spirit and the cross, are mentioned. Everything looks good and sounds right. But the reality of the cross is not presented! The crisis of the cross, the confrontational aspects, are completely avoided. And if a sermon about the cross does not include confrontation of sin -- if it does not bring you to the crisis of the cross -- it is not the true preaching of the cross!
If I were to preach about the demands of the cross in many churches today -- with its death to all lusts and worldly pleasures -- the crowds would flee, just as they did when Jesus told them of the cost of following him. If I were to say to the comfortable multitudes, "God demands that you face your sins, kneel at the cross, deal with your wickedness" -- two-thirds of the congregation would leave offended and never come back.
Such churches never even mention the cross. Instead, they pour their energies into clever meetings full of showmanship, dramatic illustrations, sermons on how to cope with life's problems. Right now we're seeing a whole new generation of smart, young ministers -- bright, diligent, capable men -- who build huge complexes offering people everything from daycare to spas to body-building classes. Parishioners can now center their church involvement around recreation, entertainment, family events, musicals. It is all high tech, contemporary and non-threatening.
I believe God must wink at many of these frail attempts to attract souls with modern enticements. He seems to have much patience with such well-intentioned, fleshly efforts to promote the gospel. But God help the ministers of these churches if they refuse to warn their people to forsake their sins!
Jeremiah lamented,
"...they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness..." (Jeremiah 23:14).
"But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their doings" (verse 22).
I say to such ministers, "Bring back the cross -- or the people's blood will be upon your hands!"
[HR][/HR]The One Thing God Will Never
Endure Is the Casting Aside of
the Preaching of the Cross!
[HR][/HR]Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (Psalm 117:2). This "lifting up from the earth" Jesus mentions is his crucifixion. He was lifted up before the whole world on the cross -- an image of his great sacrifice for our sins.
God had looked down upon a sin-sick world of people bound in prison-houses of fear and despair -- full of doubt, without peace, hope or rest, groping in darkness and confusion -- and he sent his own son. So Jesus came to earth, taking on the frailty of human flesh, and told all who would listen:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
That is the invitation of the cross: It is a call to every soul that is sick of sin! Jesus was calling out to all who were weary with binding chains, powerful habits, besetting sins -- all who were tired of the lying, the cheating, the adultery, the depression. He was saying, "I know you're weary from dragging your chains around, tired of the sleepless nights. Yes, sin is a hard taskmaster. Come to me now with all your heavy burdens. There is no other way but through my cross!" Jesus died on the cross not only to forgive sin, but to break its wearying power over us!
Sin wearies the flesh. It makes us weak and sick. It saps away all that is good and kind and precious. And it hardens the heart, destroying peace and causing guilt, sorrow and shame. It consumes the mind's thoughts, weakening and darkening the soul. It brings on fear. It leads to scandal, breaks up families, hardens children. And it leads to death. Worst of all, sin shuts off all communion with God.
About five blocks from Times Square Church there is a long avenue of pornography shops. As you look at the men going in and out of those shops, you see their shoulders slumping and sadness filling their eyes. They are slaves, driven by their lust. They no longer get any pleasure from their sin. They're weary, sin-sick, desperate, with no hope.
Beloved, the church of Jesus Christ is not a supper club, nor an entertainment complex. It is a hospital for sin-sick souls! But when sin-sick people come in and are comforted in their sins -- when they are not made to confront the cross -- that is blasphemy.
I realize I am making some very serious charges in saying that many ministers have done away with the cross; that multitudes of Christians are worshiping in churches of wicked idolatry; that many pulpits are filled by men who are clever agents of the enemy. At this point you may be wondering, "What exactly do you mean by saying they have 'taken away the cross'?"
I don't mean that these ministers no longer refer to the historical Jesus and his actual crucifixion. But the fact is, it's possible to preach masterful sermons about Christ's cross in vivid detail -- to speak of his suffering, of the blood flowing from his pierced side, and to do so in tears, tenderly and lovingly -- and yet still not be preaching the cross. All of these great, wonderful things can be said by angels of light!
Years ago, I listened to a sermon by an agnostic man who pastored one of the largest churches here in New York City. He had written a number of books about Jesus. No one spoke more on the humanity, kindness and goodness of "this prophet Jesus," as he called him. But he didn't know Jesus! Jesus was not God to him.
If there is no confrontation with the cross -- if its demands are not mentioned, its crisis never preached -- then it is not the preaching of the cross!
You see, the cross is essentially a confrontation with man's sinful lifestyle. That's why it is an offense to every person who has made peace with his sin. That person wants to have Jesus and his sin. So he says, "Jesus paid it all. Now I have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart. I can enjoy myself!" No! It's a false peace -- a damning peace. He has been deceived into believing his sin is covered by the blood, even though he refuses to forsake it!
I almost wept as I heard the words of one well-known TV minister recently. He said, "Don't get too bothered by your sins. The Bible doesn't say much about sin anyway." And this Christian teacher is on television every week!
When Jesus says "I am the way" and "I am the door," he is speaking of the cross. He's saying, "You cannot be saved -- you cannot enter heaven -- unless you enter by the way of the cross!"
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber" (John 10:1).
The thief and the robber will tell you, "Repentance is not necessary. Simply believe! Godly sorrow is not important. Loving your neighbor will do! Don't fret about your sins. God loves you just the way you are!"
A recent radio report said that a church in Los Angeles has just appointed two homosexuals as pastors. The pastors said, "Everyone who comes here enters into a wonderful fellowship of love." No -- it's a "love trap"! The love trap says, "As long as you love, you can indulge in anything you please -- homosexuality, drugs, alcohol, adultery. Just love!"
Jesus says, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).
"Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (14:27).
It doesn't matter how much or how deeply your theology tells you to love. Jesus says that unless you deny yourself and enter by the way of the cross, you cannot be his follower!
[HR][/HR]Let Me Show You What
I Mean by the Confrontation
of the Cross
[HR][/HR]Consider a man who is fed up with his sinful habit yet he continually falls deeper into its clutches. He has promised himself a hundred times he will never do it again -- and, for a while, he submerges the temptation and enjoys a measure of freedom. But sometime later it comes back with greater force.
Now this man has covered up his sin, lied about it, cheated because of it -- and it has brought him great sorrow. He no longer enjoys it, but he can't quit. He just keeps going back.
The man knows he will have to stand at the judgment seat one day, and he goes through life fearing exposure and scandal. His sin has drained him, shackled him, deceived him. It has brought him down to a weariness in which he can hardly exist. He's at the end of his rope.
In this sad, weary, worn-out state, the Holy Spirit brings him this word: "There is a way out for you. There is a place of victory, peace, joy, newness of life. Accept Christ's call to run to him and find rest. Go to the cross of Jesus Christ!"
Beloved, when you kneel at the cross, you will not hear an easy, soft word -- not at first. Even though the cross is the only door to life, you are going to hear about death -- death to every sin!
At the cross, you face the crisis of your life. And that is what is missing in so many churches. The preaching of the cross brings about a crisis of sin, of self-will. It will speak to you with loving but firm words about the consequences of continuing in your sin: "Deny yourself. Embrace the death of the cross. Follow me!"
[HR][/HR]Let Me Talk to You About
the Meaning of Self-Denial
and True Repentance
[HR][/HR]Repentance means more than saying, "Lord, I am wrong." It means also saying, "Lord, you are right!"
Repentance is facing the consequences of continuing in sin. It means facing, once and for all, the truth about your sin -- that it has to end now. It is a crisis moment of truth -- a place of recognition where you admit, "I cannot continue in my sin and have the Holy Ghost living in me. I'm going to lose everything. Lord, you're right about sin bringing death upon me. I see that if I continue in it, it's going to destroy me and my family. I know I'm wrong. Oh, God -- I deny all my excuses for my sin!"
Simply put, repentance is a confrontation with your sin. The battle is fought before you get to the cross. It takes place as the Holy Spirit deals with you!
The same is true of self-denial. In short, self-denial is a confrontation that says, "Sin ends today -- now, at this point!" Contrary to what many "comfort preachers" say, self-denial is not some heartache you have to bear, or some infirmity of your flesh. When Paul said, "I die daily," he meant simply, "I've concluded I have to deny that I can continue in sin and still have Christ's favor. I don't have a special dispensation from God because I do good works and therefore am allowed to hold onto a pet sin. No! I agree with the word of God. And I deny all my rights to continue in sin!"
The glorious truth of the gospel is that if we die with Jesus, then we also come into the glory of his resurrection and into newness of life. His cross is our cross, his death is our death, and his resurrection is our resurrection, through our identification and union with him. That is the real cross we bear.
Yet this is the cross that many so-called ministers of the gospel have done away with.
.
they want let me post the whole thing but it is here "They Have Done Away With the Cross!" by David Wilkerson, founding pastor of Times Square Church, New York City - December 23, 1996
In this sophisticated age, we find it hard to understand the idolatry of the Old Testament. It is incredible to read of intelligent people being so blinded as to offer worship to hand- carved images of wood, stone or precious metals.
The scriptures tell us that people went into the forest and picked a hardwood tree, cut it down, sawed it in two, then burned half of it in their ovens for cooking and gave the other half to an engraver to carve into a little god. The whole family would kneel before that graven image and say, "This is my god, my deliverer, who saves me." Such idolatry is mind-boggling to us!
Yet it was the sin of idolatry that brought down God's awful wrath on his own people. It angered him more than any other sin in the Old Testament -- so much that he declared: "The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. I will cast you out of my sight..." (Jeremiah 7:17,16,15).
This is God's declaration against idolatry in the Old Testament. And yet he hates idolatry just as much today. It brings down his wrath on any generation -- including this modern one!
[HR][/HR]There Is an Idolatry in These
Last Days Much More Wicked Than
That of the Old Testament!
[HR][/HR]A new idolatry is sweeping across America right now. No, we don't see people kneeling down before carved images anymore, in unsophisticated fashion. This modern idolatry instead seduces multitudes by its subtlety and cleverness. Yet it angers God more than any Old Testament idolatry!
The New Testament warns us that ministers will come in the last days who appear as angels of light but who are actually ministers of Satan. These men will be intense, articulate, pleasant and very resourceful. But they will be manipulated by a spirit that is not of God!
"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works" (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
Paul warned that these demonic ministers would come "...preach(ing) another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or...another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted..."
Think of what Paul is saying here. In the last days preachers will appear who seem to be men of honesty and righteousness -- but who are actually ministers under the influence of Satan himself! They will be of another spirit entirely, introducing another Christ, another spirit, another gospel.
This sounds shocking -- but it is something you and I must prepare ourselves for. If you are a Christian living in America, and you hear reports of the Holy Spirit moving in different parts of the country, you must be careful of where you go and what spirit you sit under. If you don't have discernment, you could get swept up into an idolatry that will turn you away from the cross of Christ.
I believe multitudes of Christians today are into idolatry without knowing it, having been seduced by angels of light. Paul saw this beginning to happen even in his day:
"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:6-8).
[HR][/HR]This "Other Gospel" That Paul
Mentions Is a Message of
Salvation Without the Cross!
[HR][/HR]That is the great idolatry of our day. There is a great host of preachers who have literally cast aside the message of the cross of Jesus Christ!
Be warned: It doesn't matter what anyone tells you about a great "revival" or moving of the Spirit taking place; it doesn't matter how many multitudes are involved, or how loud their praises are; it doesn't matter how "successful" a particular ministry may appear to be. If the cross of Jesus Christ is not the door through which people come, you can rest assured -- it is not a work of God!
The cross -- including its demands and hope -- are the very heart of the gospel. And any worship -- any fellowship, anything calling itself church -- is blatant idolatry if the cross is not at its center. Such worship is of another spirit entirely -- and God will have nothing to do with it. Without the cross, all that is left is chaff -- a perverted gospel, something from the pits of hell. It is an idolatry more insulting to the Lord than the idolatry of Israel!
Yet, in most churches where this "other gospel" is preached, the pews are packed. All the right words are sung and spoken. The theological terms, such as holiness, Holy Spirit and the cross, are mentioned. Everything looks good and sounds right. But the reality of the cross is not presented! The crisis of the cross, the confrontational aspects, are completely avoided. And if a sermon about the cross does not include confrontation of sin -- if it does not bring you to the crisis of the cross -- it is not the true preaching of the cross!
If I were to preach about the demands of the cross in many churches today -- with its death to all lusts and worldly pleasures -- the crowds would flee, just as they did when Jesus told them of the cost of following him. If I were to say to the comfortable multitudes, "God demands that you face your sins, kneel at the cross, deal with your wickedness" -- two-thirds of the congregation would leave offended and never come back.
Such churches never even mention the cross. Instead, they pour their energies into clever meetings full of showmanship, dramatic illustrations, sermons on how to cope with life's problems. Right now we're seeing a whole new generation of smart, young ministers -- bright, diligent, capable men -- who build huge complexes offering people everything from daycare to spas to body-building classes. Parishioners can now center their church involvement around recreation, entertainment, family events, musicals. It is all high tech, contemporary and non-threatening.
I believe God must wink at many of these frail attempts to attract souls with modern enticements. He seems to have much patience with such well-intentioned, fleshly efforts to promote the gospel. But God help the ministers of these churches if they refuse to warn their people to forsake their sins!
Jeremiah lamented,
"...they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness..." (Jeremiah 23:14).
"But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their doings" (verse 22).
I say to such ministers, "Bring back the cross -- or the people's blood will be upon your hands!"
[HR][/HR]The One Thing God Will Never
Endure Is the Casting Aside of
the Preaching of the Cross!
[HR][/HR]Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (Psalm 117:2). This "lifting up from the earth" Jesus mentions is his crucifixion. He was lifted up before the whole world on the cross -- an image of his great sacrifice for our sins.
God had looked down upon a sin-sick world of people bound in prison-houses of fear and despair -- full of doubt, without peace, hope or rest, groping in darkness and confusion -- and he sent his own son. So Jesus came to earth, taking on the frailty of human flesh, and told all who would listen:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
That is the invitation of the cross: It is a call to every soul that is sick of sin! Jesus was calling out to all who were weary with binding chains, powerful habits, besetting sins -- all who were tired of the lying, the cheating, the adultery, the depression. He was saying, "I know you're weary from dragging your chains around, tired of the sleepless nights. Yes, sin is a hard taskmaster. Come to me now with all your heavy burdens. There is no other way but through my cross!" Jesus died on the cross not only to forgive sin, but to break its wearying power over us!
Sin wearies the flesh. It makes us weak and sick. It saps away all that is good and kind and precious. And it hardens the heart, destroying peace and causing guilt, sorrow and shame. It consumes the mind's thoughts, weakening and darkening the soul. It brings on fear. It leads to scandal, breaks up families, hardens children. And it leads to death. Worst of all, sin shuts off all communion with God.
About five blocks from Times Square Church there is a long avenue of pornography shops. As you look at the men going in and out of those shops, you see their shoulders slumping and sadness filling their eyes. They are slaves, driven by their lust. They no longer get any pleasure from their sin. They're weary, sin-sick, desperate, with no hope.
Beloved, the church of Jesus Christ is not a supper club, nor an entertainment complex. It is a hospital for sin-sick souls! But when sin-sick people come in and are comforted in their sins -- when they are not made to confront the cross -- that is blasphemy.
I realize I am making some very serious charges in saying that many ministers have done away with the cross; that multitudes of Christians are worshiping in churches of wicked idolatry; that many pulpits are filled by men who are clever agents of the enemy. At this point you may be wondering, "What exactly do you mean by saying they have 'taken away the cross'?"
I don't mean that these ministers no longer refer to the historical Jesus and his actual crucifixion. But the fact is, it's possible to preach masterful sermons about Christ's cross in vivid detail -- to speak of his suffering, of the blood flowing from his pierced side, and to do so in tears, tenderly and lovingly -- and yet still not be preaching the cross. All of these great, wonderful things can be said by angels of light!
Years ago, I listened to a sermon by an agnostic man who pastored one of the largest churches here in New York City. He had written a number of books about Jesus. No one spoke more on the humanity, kindness and goodness of "this prophet Jesus," as he called him. But he didn't know Jesus! Jesus was not God to him.
If there is no confrontation with the cross -- if its demands are not mentioned, its crisis never preached -- then it is not the preaching of the cross!
You see, the cross is essentially a confrontation with man's sinful lifestyle. That's why it is an offense to every person who has made peace with his sin. That person wants to have Jesus and his sin. So he says, "Jesus paid it all. Now I have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart. I can enjoy myself!" No! It's a false peace -- a damning peace. He has been deceived into believing his sin is covered by the blood, even though he refuses to forsake it!
I almost wept as I heard the words of one well-known TV minister recently. He said, "Don't get too bothered by your sins. The Bible doesn't say much about sin anyway." And this Christian teacher is on television every week!
When Jesus says "I am the way" and "I am the door," he is speaking of the cross. He's saying, "You cannot be saved -- you cannot enter heaven -- unless you enter by the way of the cross!"
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber" (John 10:1).
The thief and the robber will tell you, "Repentance is not necessary. Simply believe! Godly sorrow is not important. Loving your neighbor will do! Don't fret about your sins. God loves you just the way you are!"
A recent radio report said that a church in Los Angeles has just appointed two homosexuals as pastors. The pastors said, "Everyone who comes here enters into a wonderful fellowship of love." No -- it's a "love trap"! The love trap says, "As long as you love, you can indulge in anything you please -- homosexuality, drugs, alcohol, adultery. Just love!"
Jesus says, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).
"Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (14:27).
It doesn't matter how much or how deeply your theology tells you to love. Jesus says that unless you deny yourself and enter by the way of the cross, you cannot be his follower!
[HR][/HR]Let Me Show You What
I Mean by the Confrontation
of the Cross
[HR][/HR]Consider a man who is fed up with his sinful habit yet he continually falls deeper into its clutches. He has promised himself a hundred times he will never do it again -- and, for a while, he submerges the temptation and enjoys a measure of freedom. But sometime later it comes back with greater force.
Now this man has covered up his sin, lied about it, cheated because of it -- and it has brought him great sorrow. He no longer enjoys it, but he can't quit. He just keeps going back.
The man knows he will have to stand at the judgment seat one day, and he goes through life fearing exposure and scandal. His sin has drained him, shackled him, deceived him. It has brought him down to a weariness in which he can hardly exist. He's at the end of his rope.
In this sad, weary, worn-out state, the Holy Spirit brings him this word: "There is a way out for you. There is a place of victory, peace, joy, newness of life. Accept Christ's call to run to him and find rest. Go to the cross of Jesus Christ!"
Beloved, when you kneel at the cross, you will not hear an easy, soft word -- not at first. Even though the cross is the only door to life, you are going to hear about death -- death to every sin!
At the cross, you face the crisis of your life. And that is what is missing in so many churches. The preaching of the cross brings about a crisis of sin, of self-will. It will speak to you with loving but firm words about the consequences of continuing in your sin: "Deny yourself. Embrace the death of the cross. Follow me!"
[HR][/HR]Let Me Talk to You About
the Meaning of Self-Denial
and True Repentance
[HR][/HR]Repentance means more than saying, "Lord, I am wrong." It means also saying, "Lord, you are right!"
Repentance is facing the consequences of continuing in sin. It means facing, once and for all, the truth about your sin -- that it has to end now. It is a crisis moment of truth -- a place of recognition where you admit, "I cannot continue in my sin and have the Holy Ghost living in me. I'm going to lose everything. Lord, you're right about sin bringing death upon me. I see that if I continue in it, it's going to destroy me and my family. I know I'm wrong. Oh, God -- I deny all my excuses for my sin!"
Simply put, repentance is a confrontation with your sin. The battle is fought before you get to the cross. It takes place as the Holy Spirit deals with you!
The same is true of self-denial. In short, self-denial is a confrontation that says, "Sin ends today -- now, at this point!" Contrary to what many "comfort preachers" say, self-denial is not some heartache you have to bear, or some infirmity of your flesh. When Paul said, "I die daily," he meant simply, "I've concluded I have to deny that I can continue in sin and still have Christ's favor. I don't have a special dispensation from God because I do good works and therefore am allowed to hold onto a pet sin. No! I agree with the word of God. And I deny all my rights to continue in sin!"
The glorious truth of the gospel is that if we die with Jesus, then we also come into the glory of his resurrection and into newness of life. His cross is our cross, his death is our death, and his resurrection is our resurrection, through our identification and union with him. That is the real cross we bear.
Yet this is the cross that many so-called ministers of the gospel have done away with.
.
they want let me post the whole thing but it is here "They Have Done Away With the Cross!" by David Wilkerson, founding pastor of Times Square Church, New York City - December 23, 1996
Scripture seems to agree:
Revelation 6:8, "And I looked, and behold, a "pale" chloros/green horse. And the name of him who sat upon it was Death; and Sheol; the grave, followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with pestilence--the same under the authority of the beast of the earth."
a fourth part of the earth
23.2%......
Revelation 6:8, "And I looked, and behold, a "pale" chloros/green horse. And the name of him who sat upon it was Death; and Sheol; the grave, followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with pestilence--the same under the authority of the beast of the earth."
a fourth part of the earth
23.2%......
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I believe it was Ron, not Nancy, who was president.
Snopes also tried to convince us that voter fraud didn't occur during the 2012 election, despite the overwhelming evidence that it was fairly common in isolated locations. So I really don't give a rat's furry posterior what Snopes says about whether he's a Muslim or not.
He can go stand in a garage and describe himself as a car for all I care. It won't make him any more a vehicle than saying he's "a Christian" makes him a follower of Christ. I'm not his judge, but if he claims to be Christian, I am free to be his fruit inspector, and his fruit is rotten.
I don't know that he has publicly recited the šahida three times as allegedly "converts one to Islam," but he certainly does go out of his way to avoid impugning, accusing, or linking them to fanaticism and terrorism. He told the U.N. that the world cannot belong to the critics of "The Prophet." The evidence, though circumstantial, is overwhelming nonetheless.
Snopes also tried to convince us that voter fraud didn't occur during the 2012 election, despite the overwhelming evidence that it was fairly common in isolated locations. So I really don't give a rat's furry posterior what Snopes says about whether he's a Muslim or not.
He can go stand in a garage and describe himself as a car for all I care. It won't make him any more a vehicle than saying he's "a Christian" makes him a follower of Christ. I'm not his judge, but if he claims to be Christian, I am free to be his fruit inspector, and his fruit is rotten.
I don't know that he has publicly recited the šahida three times as allegedly "converts one to Islam," but he certainly does go out of his way to avoid impugning, accusing, or linking them to fanaticism and terrorism. He told the U.N. that the world cannot belong to the critics of "The Prophet." The evidence, though circumstantial, is overwhelming nonetheless.
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Now this is rather interesting considering that Nancy's astrologer was consulted when important decisions had to be made.
Actually this was on the cover story of time magazine about how any time he had a big decision to make his wife consulted astrology to get the answer...
this is regular practice for the kings:
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[SIZE=+1]Blair made political decisions based on new age reading of a hidden force called 'The Light'[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE][SIZE=-2]London Times | March 8 2004[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]
In light of the damaging revelations of Blair's former business partner, Peter Foster, the Times of London today reported on Foster's allegations of the nature of Blair's relationship with his former 'style guru,' Carole Caplin.
The article stated,
[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Foster also claims Blair phoned Caplin on returning from a visit to George W Bush in April 2002. "She told me Tony said that war against Iraq was inevitable."
In the article in Vanity Fair, Foster claims that when Blair has had clashes with Gordon Brown he has sought advice from Caplin, who got her mother Sylvia to do a new age "reading" involving a hidden force called The Light.
Foster said: "Tony would call and Carole would say, 'I'll ask mum to channel on this and ring you back.' Then she'd call back and say, 'You must not confront him on this. Now isn't the right time'.",
[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]The revelation that Blair channelled 'the light' (Lucifer?) and based political decisions on it is unsurprising in light of the past history of world leaders' fascination with the occult.[/SIZE]
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Now this is rather interesting considering that Nancy's astrologer was consulted when important decisions had to be made.
Actually this was on the cover story of time magazine about how any time he had a big decision to make his wife consulted astrology to get the answer...
Have you seen the tribute to him that was shown at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles at the time of his death?
[video=youtube;OvN1jTkzXbY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvN1jTkzXbY[/video]