38. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

39. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

40. 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.

41. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,  

42. He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

Let us pray.

Most holy and gracious heavenly Father, we thank You for who You are and for what You do. Father, hide Your son behind the cross, that Your people would see You and not me. And dear Lord, as I decrease I ask that You would increase. Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

You may be seated in the house of God this morning.

For many years we have heard about the cross. Perhaps we have become too familiar with the term without truly having a clear definition.

So what is the cross? Many say it is a place of suffering and shame. Many say it’s a place of embarrassment. Many say it’s a place of sheer terror.

But I come to submit to you this morning that the cross is simply a place of execution. It is the execution of the outer man. The cross reduces the outer man to death. It splits open the human shell. It kills our opinions. It kills our ways. It kills our cleverness. It kills our self-love. And it kills our self-interest.

What is the cross? The cross is the place where I’m reduced to nothing. The cross reduces me to nothing. In other words, it takes self out of the way. We’re talking about the cross.

Once a person becomes familiar with the cross, they become transparent. You see, when you’re hanging in a place of agony, you become transparent. When you’re in a place (glory to God) being made a spectacle of, you become transparent. And whatever’s on the inside of you is what everybody’s going to see. You ever been on the cross?

You see, the cross is the place that will show you and everybody else who you really are. You see, if you’re a child of God and you’re on the cross, it’s going to show the love, the joy, the peace, the long suffering. Oh, hallelujah. Jesus. It’s going to show all the characteristics of Almighty God.

What is the cross? The cross is the place where you die to self. The cross is the place where you begin to say, “Not me any more, but You.” It takes me out of who I think I am and brings me into who He knows that I am. We’re talking about the cross this morning.

It shows me who I am. But those are... There are many of us that don’t understand the cross. You see, a lot of us don’t realize if I don’t have a cross, then I’m not going to wear no crown. Come on. Talk to me today.

You see, there are trials and tribulations that have been placed in your way purposely. But the Bible says these light afflictions can’t be compared to the glory that’s going to be revealed in me at the day of Jesus Christ.

The cross is the place where I die, where I live no more, where I have taken Him on. I’ve decided that I don’t want me, but I want Him.

You see, they put a crown of thorns on His head. You see, the cross is the place where you’re persecuted. The cross is the place where they talk about you. Come on. Talk to me this morning. The cross is the place where they crucify you. The cross is the place where they lie on you. The cross is the place where they stab you in the back and they pierce you in the side.

We’re talking about the cross today. Oh, you ain’t never been on the cross. You ain’t never been hanging there. You ain’t never been there before. We’re talking about the cross.

See, those that really go through something, they understand the cross. But if you ain’t never had a problem, if you ain’t never had a situation or a circumstance beyond your control, and you needed divine intervention to help you, you ain’t never been on the cross.

You going to make me work today, ain’t you? It’s alright. It’s my job anyway. Oh, give God some praise today. Glory to God.

Some of us have been on the cross for a long, long time. And some of us haven’t been there long enough. You see, you’ll know you’ve been there long enough when you can see the nail prints in your hands, when you can see the nail prints in your feet, when you can see (glory to God) that your bearing in your body the Lord Jesus Christ.

The cross is the place where I got to die. Paul said in Galatians two and twenty, he said, “I’m crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, not I, but the Christ that lives on the inside of me. And the life that I live, not I live by the flesh or the... The One that loved me and gave Himself for me. It’s not me no more, but it’s Jesus.”

The life that I now live by the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. You see, I’m not trying to get a name for myself, because I bear His Name. Do you hear what I’m saying? I’m not trying to get a position. Because I’m seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Do you hear what I’m saying today? I’m already there, because I’m crucified with Christ. I got a cross, somebody. And I’m bearing my cross.

Paul said in the book of First Corinthians, he said that, “I die daily.” In order to really bear a cross, you’ve got to die daily. You’ve got to say, “Self, you better die.” You’ve got to tell what you’re thinking to die. You got to tell your way of doing things to die. You got to tell yourself to die. Come on. Give God some praise this morning.

Let me tell you something. The book of John chapter twenty, doubting Thomas said, he said, “I won’t believe except I see the nail prints in His hands and the nail prints in His feet.”

You see, sometimes folks won’t believe unless they seen you go through something. So I can’t be superficial in front of you. I got to be transparent and let you know I’m going through hell just like you go through hell. Give God some praise in this house today. Oh, my God, my God. Who am I preaching to today?

You see, preachers go through just like you. You see, a lot of us try to put on a facade like we don’t go through nothing. We probably go through more than what you ever go through. My God, my God. But we got to learn how to be transparent.

The cross is the place where you got to die. You got to say, “No more me, but I want Him.” Talking about the cross.

Whenever people fellowship with me, I should be transparent. And they should see and feel the effects of my daily execution. They should see and feel the effects of my daily execution of me.

You see, a lot of times when we become “somebody” according to society... Oh, you don’t want to talk to me today. You see, we don’t want nobody to see our flaws.

But you know, I got a few things going on myself. I’m in school. Come on, somebody. I’m getting an education degree. Amen? I’m also about to work on my master’s in divinity. You don’t want to talk. Come on. Talk to me today.

But let me tell you something. It ain’t about that. It’s about Him crucified and being raised from the dead on the third day, with all power in His hands. I don’t care where I am, what status, what level I’m on, I want you to see Jesus.

The cross. Have you been on the cross? Have you been on the cross?

See, a lot of us when we think we’ve been there too long, we take ourselves down. See, you can’t take you down off the cross. The Bible says that they had to come and take Jesus down from the cross. You see, if you take you down from the cross, you may not have been up there long enough. So you find yourself on the cross over and over and over and over and over, being persecuted, daily, daily, daily, daily.

See, you’ll constantly have a time of war, when the Bible says there should also be a time of peace, if you take yourself down too early. Let them talk about you as long as it ain’t true.

The cross. They say it’s a place of shame. But it’s truly a place of execution. Before you became a Christian, you were dead to the things of Christ.

But Ephesians two, verse one through three says as for you, you were dead in your transgression in sin, in which you used to live. In other words, you were dead to the things of God. But now that you have become Christlike, you are to be dead to the things of the world.

It’s not just a Sunday morning sermon to hear. But it’s what I need to go out there and try to live.

I’m dead to the things of the world. They don’t mean anything to me any more. But once you became a Christian, you were dead in Christ. You were dead in Christ. You lived no longer.

What does that mean, that you live no longer? In Galatians five, verse sixteen and seventeen, Paul said, “This I say. Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” In other words, you will not fulfill the lusts of your sinful nature. If I walk in the Spirit, then I’ll do the things of the Spirit. But if I walk in the flesh, I’ll do the things of the flesh.

The Bible says that I can’t serve two masters. Either I love one and hate the other. You see, I can’t have one foot in the church and the other foot in the world. Oh, you don’t want to talk to me. There’s no straddling the fence. God said, “Either you’re for Me or you’re against Me. Either one or the other.” Oh, my God, my God.

Jesus was on the cross because of family. God had plan. He said, “I want my family back.”

You see, a lot of times when your family goes astray, you’re going to have to die to get your family back. Come on. Talk to me today. You see, when your children are out there doing any and everything, sometimes you got to die to self to get your family back again.

When He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to the Father. He said, “Father, if this cup could pass from Me...” And He prayed three times. And He said, “Nevertheless, not My will but Thine will be done.” Why? Because He knew God wanted His family back.

Family. Sometimes you got to go to the cross for family. You see, the cross is not always just about you dying for you, for your sake. But you got to die for your family’s sake.

Saints of God, people of God, children of God, what is the cross? And what does it mean to you? Don’t let the word of the cross us be an old cliche. Don’t let the word about the cross be something that you used to learn about in Sunday school. But let it be real today.

Yes, you got somewhere to go. Yes, you have somewhere to be. But think about the cross right now. What did it cost Him to be on that cross? He left His Throne in glory to come down and die that we might live. How much the more should we live for Him for what He has done for us?

You see, I’m a real preacher. And I don’t like to sugar coat nothing. See, I don’t believe in that mess about once saved and always saved. See, you got to live something. Your life got to be a testimony.

He said, “You’re either for Me or you’re against Me. You’re either for Me or you’re against Me.” Does that mean that I won’t make mistakes? No, that doesn’t mean I won’t make mistakes. The Bible says a righteous man falls seven times and gets back up again. But when I know to do right and don’t do it, the Bible says it’s then.

The cross. The cross is where you die. The flesh is where we make contact with the world. The flesh is where I sense pleasure and pain. Flesh is God’s code word for our endeavors to serve our personal desires. And sin can be boiled down to that which helps us serve our flesh.

The Bible says that we have choice. In the book of Romans chapter eight it says, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. They that after the Spirit mind the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is enmity or hostile against God.

You see, if I don’t purpose in my heart to truly serve Him with all of my heart, soul, and mind, then what I am thinking can be hostile towards God. And to be hostile towards God means that I am the enemy of God. Somebody’s got to say it. And we know what the Bible says, that He will scatter His enemies.

The cross is the place where I’m crucified. But if I... But if Christ is in you, your body is dead, because of sin. Yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

There were two criminals. And they both were hanging there with Jesus. The picture shows one on one side and one on the other. And the Bible also said that they mocked Him and said, “You know, if you’re really the Son of God, then save Yourself and save us too.”

But then one of the criminals while he was on the cross, the Bible says that he had a change of heart. And he began to rebuke the other one and say, “Don’t you fear God?” And the last thing that he said was to the Lord. He said, “Remember me.”

You see, even on the cross you can have a change of heart. This morning you may be going through pure hell. But this is not the time to turn from God. This is the time to turn to God.

The cross. The cross. Have you died on a cross? Have you been to Golgotha, the place called the skull? Have you been there? Have you been there? Have you seen His hands stretched wide? Have you seen His head hung to the side? Have you been there?

Sometimes we need to go back. Because of the pressures of life sometimes we forget the source that has all the answers. And it’s one thing to go to Him when you’re going through. But it’s another thing to go to Him when all is well.

Every head bowed. Every eye closed...