Darvin cut up his credit card
to make me a pick. Thank you, buddy. The evangelist, Rolf Barnard,
sang this song a lot. First time I ever heard this
was when I was just a boy. I was once far away from the Savior as a sinner could be. And a thought filled my poor
heart with sadness. There's no hope for a sinner
like me. And then in that dark, lonely highway, sweetly whisper to me. Saint Christ the Redeemer has
power to save a poor sinner like me. ? I then fully trusted in the Lord
Jesus. ? ? And, oh, what a joy came to me. ? ? And now unto others I'm telling
? ? how He saved a poor sinner like me. ? others I'm telling how he saved
a poor sinner like me It's a blessing. Good morning. It is wonderful to be here with
you. It's wonderful to see you. I'm
so thankful to be allowed to be here right now. Anytime that
you get believers together from different locations, you get
a small taste of what glory is going to be like. Everybody get. I can't wait to get there with
you. Looking forward to seeing you there. It's going to be wonderful. And these moments are wonderful.
These are just precious moments that we have here on this earth
to gather around the Word and gather around our Savior and
thankful for it. I truly pray the Lord will bless
us today, tomorrow, like He did last night. Turn with me, if
you would, to Galatians chapter 1. Our message is going to come
from chapter 6, Galatians chapter 6. But I want to begin by pointing
out the opening words that the Apostle Paul gave in this letter. Galatians 1 verse 1 says, Paul, an apostle, not by men,
neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who
raised Him from the dead. And all the brethren which are
with me unto the churches of Galatia, grace be to you and
peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ who
gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this
present evil world according to the will of God and our Father. Now verse 5 says, to whom be
glory forever and ever. Amen. He opened this letter with
grace and peace from God the Father through the Lord Jesus
Christ all because He gave Himself for our sins. What an amazing
three words. He gave Himself for our sins. that He might deliver
us. Don't you want to be delivered
from this present evil world? When He comes back and two are
standing in the field and one is taken and one is left, don't
you pray to God Almighty that He'll take you? He did this that He might deliver
all of His people, all the people that the Father gave to Him.
from this present evil world according to the will of God
the Father. That's what God the Father and
God the Son and God the Spirit's will was concerning us. So verse 5 says, To whom be glory
forever and ever. Amen. To Him be the glory. To Him be all the glory forever. If you want to know what glory
will be like, it'll be us crying at the top of our lungs. To Him
be all the glory forever and ever. Amen. Now that's how Paul
opened this letter. Now I want us to look at how
he closed the letter. So turn with me, if you would,
to Galatians chapter 6. Galatians 6 verse 14, he said, 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. He opened the
letter by saying, Christ deserves all the glory for the cross that
He suffered. And he ended the letter by saying,
God forbid that I should glory in anything but the cross that Christ suffered. All the glory goes to Him. All
the glory goes to Him. The word glory means to boast
of. It means to vaunt. And that word
means to excessively boast of. It means to promote. It means
to give credit to. God forbid that I should give
that to anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Anything. Aren't you so thankful that the
Lord pulled us out of The lies of religion that gives glory
to everything but that. God's people glory in the cross. You want to get to the heart
of it. God's people glory in the cross. They boast of and
they excessively boast of and they promote and they give all
the credit to the cross. The cross. Along with those definitions,
the word glory also means to rejoice in. God's people rejoice
in the cross. That's the heart of it, the cross.
The cross. We rejoice in and we magnify
and we praise and we thank God for the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And I want to spend our time
this morning seeing what it is about the cross that we glory
in. We say that we glory in the cross.
That's what we glory in, the cross. I want us to see exactly
what it is about the cross that is so glorious. I have seven
things from the scripture that I want to bring to our attention.
And if we're God's people, after seeing these things, I believe
we will say, that's glorious. That really is glorious. Seven
glorious truths. There's seven facts concerning
the cross. And I have a scripture for each
one. Sometimes I tell the brethren in Kingsport, get ready, we're
going to do some turning. I turn a lot anyway, but sometimes
I tell them, get ready, we're going to turn. We're going to
turn. We're going to see this from the scripture. And all of
these scriptures that we turn to mention, you'll see the two
words, the cross. Each one of these. So seven things
about the cross that cause us to glory in it. Here's the first
one. We glory in, and I pray the Lord
will really let us enter into this because we already know
these things. May the Lord let us really enter into it, alright? We glory in, who it is exactly that hung on
that cross. Turn with me, if you would, to
John 19. John 19, verse 19. It says, And Pilate wrote a title,
and put it on the cross. And the writing was, Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Now who hung on that cross? The King did. Oh may the Lord let me get a hold
of that. The King did. You think about that, the King,
that was the King hanging there for us. Verse 5 right here says, Then
came Jesus forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple
robe, and Pilate said unto them, Behold the man. Who is the man? Look at verse 14. It was the preparation of the
Passover, and about the sixth hour he said unto the Jews, Behold
your king. Who is the king? Verse 19 says,
Jesus of Nazareth. What does it mean to say that
he is the king? You think about the fact that
this man came, Jesus of Nazareth. How amazing is it that he would
take that title to himself? One of us, made himself to be
of us. What does it mean to say that
He is the King? What exactly to its fullest degree
does it mean to say that He is the King? Turn with me over to
1 Timothy chapter 1. 1 Timothy 1. Verse 17 says, Now unto the King eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and
ever. Amen. Who is the King? God Almighty. God Almighty, the only wise God
that there is. How amazing. How amazing. 1 Timothy 3 verse 16 says, without
controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest
in the flesh. God was. justified in the Spirit, seen
of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the
world, and received up into glory. God was. So that's the first
thing we glory in concerning the cross. We glory in who it
was exactly that hung on that cross. I believe there's a danger
in referring to him as just Jesus. That was the name given to him
in his humility. but it tends to cause us to believe
He's something less than God. That was the Lord Jesus Christ. That was God hanging on that
cross. The King. Alright, here's the
second thing. The other ones are going to be
faster. I pray the Lord will let you
enter into this like He let me enter into this. This is just
Turn to Matthew 27. I just thank the Lord for this
so much. Matthew 27, verse 37, it says, and set up over His head His
accusation written, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Then were
there two thieves crucified with Him, one on the right hand and
another on the left. And they that passed by reviled
Him, wagging their heads and saying, Thou that destroyest
the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come
down from the cross. That's what they cried to Him
over and over again. If you are truly the Son of God, come down
from the cross. Now here's the question. Did
He? God's people glory in the fact,
and they praise, and they give indescribable thanks for, and
they rejoice in the fact that He didn't come down. Thank God He didn't come down. Thank God, you know, throughout
eternity, we can cry that for all eternity, thank God you didn't
come down. Thank God you didn't come down. Why didn't He come down? It's because verse 42 says, He
saved others. And in order to do that, He couldn't
save Himself. He saved others, Himself He cannot save. If He
was going to be our saving substitute, He could not save Himself. Verse 41 says, the chief priest
and the scribes and the elders, they all said that to Him, mocking
Him. But the amazing thing is, their mockery is our glory. That's
our glory. We glory in who it was that hung
on that cross for us. That was God the King. And we
glory in the fact that He didn't come down. Thank God He didn't
come down. He stayed on that cross until
the moment that He cried, it is finished and bowed His head
and sovereignly gave up His own ghost. Here's the third thing. Turn with me to Philippians 2. Philippians 2 verse 5 says, Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men. and being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. We glory in the obedience of
the cross. Though Christ was a Son, this
is what Hebrews 5 says, Though Christ was a Son, yet learned
He obedience by the things which He suffered. All of our shame
and all of our sin is due to the fact that we cannot obey
God. Men stand up here and they put
people under such bondage telling them, now you better start obeying
God. Well, I would if I could, but I can't. Not to the degree
that He demands. I cannot obey God. I read this
and I cannot do what this is telling me I must do. So Christ
came and obeyed God for us. He obeyed God for us all the
way down to the demand of our death for our sin against Him. Christ made Himself to be the
servant of God for His people. in the place of, on behalf of
His people. And because of that, verse 9
says, God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which
is above every name. And what that means is, all the
glory goes to Him. It all goes to Him. So we glory
in who hung on that cross for us. We glory in the fact that
He didn't come down. We glory in the obedience that
was displayed to God on our behalf. In Him, we have perfect obedience
to God. Complete, total, perfect obedience. All the way down to where God
said, you must die. And in Him, we did. Perfect,
complete obedience. Christ said, Lord Father, not
My will, but Thine be done. He said, I delight to do Your
will. And I delight to give that obedience to My people. Number
four, go with me to Galatians chapter five. Galatians 5 verse 11, Paul said, And I, brethren, if
I yet preach circumcision, meaning the law, you have to be circumcised,
why do I yet suffer persecution? Why would I be persecuted for
that? For then is the offense of the cross ceased. God's people glory in the offense. They glory in the offense of
the cross. Now what does that mean? We talk
about the offense of the cross. Look at verse 1. He said, Stand
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us
free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. What
he's saying is, all through this chapter in his book, he's saying
our works have no role in our salvation. Our works do not save
us. Christ saved us. Verse 2, Behold,
I, Paul, say unto you, that if you be circumcised, Christ shall
profit you nothing. Well, now you've got to be circumcised.
Well, great. But that doesn't have any standing before God.
Verse 6, For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth
anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love.
We have no part in our salvation. We contribute nothing to the
work of our salvation. This is solely in the hands of
Christ alone. Christ alone. And in that, Paul
said, lies the offense. And I believe that's right. When
I first got to Kingsport, I had it in my mind. I'm going to tell
men and women that they're sinners before God and they're going
to be offended. And I found out that's really not true. People
know what they surf on the internet. They know what they think about.
They really do. You tell men and women they're sinners, and
I really believe that they say, yeah, I kind of am. But when you tell them that salvation
is in the hands of Jesus Christ alone, not theirs, and when you
tell them that it's all according to the will of God alone and
not theirs, And it's all His decision and not theirs. Whether
they're saved or not is totally His decision. And it's His work
alone, not theirs. And He gets the credit for all
of it and they get the credit for none of it. When you tell
people that, they are offended. They really are offended. The
moment that that comes out, it offends the flesh of man because
it crushes all of their pride and it crushes all of their self-worth
and it brings them down to be beggars before Him. Beggars in need of mercy. Hearing
that Christ by Himself purged our sins is so offensive to the
unbelieving world. But let me ask you this. Is it
offensive to us? Is hearing, honestly, assess
yourself, is hearing that Christ did it all? Christ paid it all. Christ satisfied it all. And Christ gets the sole credit
for it all. Is that offensive to us? That's our glory. That is our
glory. We praise and laud and cheer
the High King of Heaven for that because of what it means for
us. What does it mean for us? I'll
speed up. Number five. Look with me to
Ephesians 2. One page over. Two pages over.
Ephesians 2. Verse 13, But now in Christ Jesus, ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken
down the middle wall of partition between us. having abolished
in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained
in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man,
so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God
in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. We
were heathen, strangers, outcasts, separated from God. So Christ
joined Himself with us and then reconciled both of us in His
one body. Reconciled Himself and us back
to God through the death of His cross. Reconciliation, what that means
is two parties who were totally at odds join back together. That's a beautiful thing, isn't
it? That is such a beautiful thing. We were talking the other
day, quoting some songs, and one of them was Hark the Herald
Angels Sing. I love that song. I wish we didn't
sing that only one month a year. Hark the herald angels sing,
glory to the newborn king. I love the thought of Christ
coming into this world, the hope that it brought to us. Hark the
herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king. Peace on earth
and mercy mild. What does that mean? God and
sinners reconciled. What that means is righteousness
and peace can actually now kiss each other. Even though the natural flesh
of mankind honestly hates the solitary, that means alone, work
of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's people glory in it. They cry,
thank God He did it alone. Thank God He did it all by Himself
because of what it means for us. So we glory in who hung on
that cross. We glory in the fact that He
didn't come down. He finished the work the Father
gave Him to do. We glory in the obedience of
it. We glory in what the world considers
to be the offense of it, by Himself. Because we glory in the reconciliation
of it. Now here's the sixth thing. Turn
to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 17 says, For Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the
cross of Christ, the gospel, the cross of Christ, should be
made of none effect. We glory in the gospel of the
cross. The gospel means good news. We glory in the good news of
the cross. We have, our Lord has given to
us in the pages of this book, the most glorious message that
could ever be told. This is the happiest message
that could ever be told. How could anybody not love this
message? How could anybody hear this and say, I hate that? We
stand up and say, you are ruined, flat ruined. Christ took care
of it. You're in so much debt you could
never pay it. Christ paid it all. You were
locked down, imprisoned. Christ set you free. You had
nothing and He gave you everything. You were dead. He gave you eternal
life. And men listen to that and say,
I hate that message. How? This is the greatest thing
that could ever be told. We glory in the good news of
this message. It's nothing but rest. Nothing
but peace. Nothing but relief. You ever
get torn all the pieces over your sin and then hear how Christ
took care of it and find relief? It's a finished work. The alternative
is men standing up telling everybody, it ain't done yet. You better
go to work. No rest to be had yet. No peace yet. Not if you don't make it for
yourself. What you're doing is not good enough, you better do
it better and try harder. That's called bad news. That's
what it is. That's the message of bad news.
Horrible news. It'd be so horrible if that's
what the Word of God said. But that's not what the Word
of God says. We rejoice in, we exceedingly promote and declare
the good news that the Lord has given to us through the cross.
of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the rest in peace and relief.
Paul said, as much as in me is, I'm ready to preach the good
news of the gospel to you. And we all say the same thing,
don't we? It is, it's a delight to preach the gospel. It really,
it's a delight to hear the gospel. It's a delight to believe the
gospel. So, alright. One more, number
seven. We glory in the joy of the cross. Go with me to Hebrews 12, we'll
close with this. Hebrews 12, verse 2. looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
Him." I mean, obviously, it's joy to
us. But can you just enter into the
fact, oh, you know, Christ set His face like a flint to this.
Can you imagine what was going on in his heart as he was headed
to that cross for the love of his life? He was thinking, doing this,
I'll have her for all eternity. She'll be back with me. He did
this for the joy that was set before him. He endured the cross, despising
the shame, And He is now set down at the right hand of the
throne of God, knowing all the suffering that we brought to
Him. We look at the cross and we see all the pain we gave to
Him, all the agony God the Father laid on Him because of us. And
does it not bring our hearts such joy to think of the joy
that that brought to Him? knowing that He was doing this
for His people, knowing He was satisfying the Father, knowing
He was pleasing the Father in doing this. We glory in who it
actually was that hung on that cross. We glory in the fact that
He didn't come down. We glory in His obedience. We
glory in what the world sees to be an offense. We glory in
the reconciliation of it. We glory in the good news of
it. We glory in the joy of it. Every party involved was happy. God the Father was happy. God
the Son was happy. God the Spirit was happy. All
of God's people are happy. There is joy in heaven. joy in
heaven over every soul that the Spirit calls into the fellowship. So, God forbid that we should
glory in anything save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Alright, thank you.