PREACHED: OL,
“LIFTING UP THE CHRIST”
I. JESUS—THE
GREAT WEIGHT LIFTER!
A. An old song:
“I
was sinking down in sin, Helpless as could be, When with mighty hands of love,
JESUS LIFTED ME! From a life of dark despair, from a raging sea, from my sin
and lost estate, JESUS LIFTED ME! To a home of endless love, with himself to
be, to eternal life and peace, JESUS LIFTED ME!”
B. John
3:14, 15. “And as Moses lifted up…”
John 8:28. “When you have lifted up…”
John 12:32. “And I, when I am lifted up…”
C.
Jesus
lifted our burden of sin on the cross and in so doing:
1. He lifted our souls
back to God by his death!
He lifted our eyes from earth to heaven!
He lifted our purpose from the finite to the infinite!
He lifted destiny from hell to heaven!
a.
“He took my burden all away, up to a
brighter day; He gave me a song—a wonderful song; Brighter the way grows every
day, walking the heavenly way; He gave me a song—a wonderful song. I am
redeemed no more to die, never to say ‘good bye’; he gave me a song—a wonderful
song. He gave me a son, to sing about; He
lifted me from sin and doubt; O praise his name, He is
my king. A wonderful song HE is to me!”
II. DIFFERENT
WAYS—JESUS LIFTED UP!
A. He lifted himself…
1. He chose to die.
a. John 10:17, 18. “I lay down my life that I may take it up
again. No one take sit from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have
authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again.”
B. He was lifted by the Father…
1. John 19:11. “You would have no authority over me at all
unless it had been given to you from above…”
2. Isaiah 53:10. “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush
him; he has put him to grief…”
C. He was lifted up by the Jews…
1. They rejected him as Messiah and called for his crucifixion!
a. John 19:21. “The Jews said to him (
Pilate), ‘It is not lawful for us
to put anyone to death.’”
b. Jesus told Pilate – “…he
who
delivered me over to you has the
greater sin…” (John 19:11)
1) John 18:14. “It was Caiaphas
who had advised
the Jews that it would be expedient that
one should die for the people.”
D. He was lifted up by the Romans…
1. The Jews willed it, but could not perform it!
a. John 19:10. “Do you not know that I have the power to
release you, and I have the power to crucify you?”
E. He was and is lifted up by you and
me…
1. Isaiah 53:5. “But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought
up peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on
him the iniquity of us all.”
2. Heb 6:6. “…if they then…fall away… they are
crucifying once again the Son of God and holding him up to contempt…”
III. WE
LIFT HIM UP BY EXALTATION OR SHAME:
A. By the way we conduct ourselves as God’s children -
1. By our morality or lack of it -
a. I Pet
b. “The divorcement of morals and piety is the
characteristic of all pagan religions.”
2. By our approval or disapproval of sin
-
a. Jude 23. “…hating even the garment stained by the
flesh…”
b. Jesus said to the church in
3. By our appreciation or ingratitude
for God’s grace -
a. II
Cor
4. By our godly or ungodly example -
a. I Peter 2:11, 12. “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and
exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your
soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that
when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation.”
1) Let your lives shame your critics!
b. If our religion does not change the way we live, it is not
Christianity we are practicing!
5. In our desire to go to heaven or by a
materialistic mindset -
a. “sojourners…exiles”
b. “citizenship is in
heaven” (Phil
c. Phil 1:21-24. “For me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful
labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between
the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But
to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.”
c. Don’t allow yourself to get too much at home in this world!
6. By our focus on sharing Christ with others, or our focus on
serving ourselves -
a. Do you feel personally responsible to reach a lost soul and to
bring them to Jesus?
b. Do you feel annoyed by the need to reach the lost, and resent
that it means taking time away from what you want to do?
c. During
the Korean War in l951, there were 43 American POW’s jammed into a small hut in
1) Ice cold—trying to keep warm
2) Two were very ill—Corporal got up and grabbed them and threw
them out of the hut—they died in minutes.
3) After the war he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life
in prison.
4) The 40 witnesses were asked if they saw what was going on, and
if they did, why they didn’t stop the Corporal.
a) Answers: “Oh, Yes Sir,
we saw it, but we didn’t do anything because we were too
busy
trying to keep
warm, and, after all, it wasn’t any of our
business.”
d. Brothers and Sisters, often while we are huddled together,
there are precious souls out in the cold and they’re going to die eternally if
we don’t rescue them!
IV. AN
OLD HYMN…
A. “Jesus is standing at
your heart’s door—standing and knocking—He’s been there before. This is the
question you must face one more: WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?
At your sad heart, He is knocking
still, longing to enter your soul to thrill. You must accept Him or reject His
will: WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?
Will you leave him alone…outside? Or
will you choose Him whatever betide? This is the
question you must decide: WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?
Will you now answer his tender call?
Will you obey Him whatever befall? Follow Him daily as
Lord of all? WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?