Articles
The Drawing Power of the Cross
The Drawing Power of the Cross
By Bubba Garner
“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, An angel has spoken to Him. Jesus answered and said, This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. This He said, signifying by what death He would die. The people answered Him, We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man? Then Jesus said to them, A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them” (John 12:27-36).
“And, I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” Death has a natural drawing power, an attraction that is both captivating and frightening. There is horror, mystery, and uncertainty attached to it. But we are drawn to Jesus’ death for different reasons.
We are drawn to His attitude toward death. He spent His whole life in service to His people, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,” so that He could ultimately give His life “a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Death is man’s greatest fear; for Jesus, it was His greatest feat.
We are drawn to His attitude in death. He carried His own cross “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7) and gave no answer to the abuse hurled at Him. Even when the nails were being driven through His innocent hands, He prayed for the pardon of His executioners.
We are drawn to the significance of His death. “It is finished” was His cry. Not “I” am finished; “it” is finished, what He came to do. His sacrifice for sins completed, the debt paid, He could now await His glorious resurrection and ascension to the right hand of His Father.
Through His death, we have life. Don’t be drawn away from Christ and Him crucified. It is “to those who are perishing, foolishness, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God” (1Cor. 1:18).
Forgetting the Parachute
“For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns; broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13).
The evening news reported regarding a photographer who was a skydiver. He had jumped from a plane along with numerous other skydivers and filmed the group as they fell and opened their parachutes. On the film shown on the telecast, as the final skydiver opened his chute, the picture went berserk. The announcer reported that the cameraman had fallen to his death, having jumped out of the plane without his parachute. It wasn't until he reached for the absent ripcord that he realized he was free falling without a parachute.
The photographer had faith in a parachute which was never buckled on. Faith in anything other than God, the fountain of living waters, can be just as tragic spiritually. Let us never forsake the fountain of living waters for things of lesser worth. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2Peter 3:10).
Ignoring the Warnings
The May 1984 National Geographic showed through color photos and drawings the swift and terrible destruction that wiped out the Roman Cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in A.D. 79. The explosion of Mount Vesuvius was so sudden, the residents were killed while in their routine: men and women were at the market, the rich were in their luxurious baths, and slaves were at toil. They died amid volcanic ash and superheated gasses. Even family pets suffered the same quick and final fate.
The saddest part is that these people did not have to die. Scientists confirm what ancient Roman writers record - weeks of rumblings and shakings preceded the actual explosion. Even an ominous plume of smoke was clearly visible from the mountain days before the eruption. If only they had been able to read and respond to Vesuvius's warning! (From Michael Bogart)
Peter went on to say in 2Peter 3:11-12, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?”
A Moments Wisdom
--Some people have very little to say, but you have to listen a long time to find that out.
--Only hungry minds can be taught.
--An error becomes a mistake only when you refuse to correct it.
--People often forget how fast you did a job, but they will often remember whether you did it well.
--The nearer our time comes for departure from this life, the greater our regret for wasting so much of it.
--If you have integrity, nothing else matters; if you don’t have integrity, nothing else counts.
--Contentment is something that depends little on position and much on disposition.
--A person who is on his toes has very little trouble with keeping others from stepping on them.
--It is not a question of who threw the first stone; it’s a question of who started to build with them.
--Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults.
--Criticism would be easier to take if it weren’t so often right.
--Often when you are about to make ends meet, something happens to move the ends.
--Hitting the roof is a poor way to rise up in the world.
--Solving problems is sometimes easier than living with the solutions.
--Don’t worry that your children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.
Without an Obstacle
We do not understand:
Joy -- until we have faced sorrow,
Faith -- until it is tested,
Peace -- until we have faced conflict,
Trust -- until we have been betrayed,
Love -- until it has been lost,
Hope -- until it is confronted with doubt.
Upcoming Sermons
2/9/25 AM - 2024 Report on the Work at Trilacoochee; PM - Psalms for the 21st Century Christian
2/16/25 AM - “And the Rains Descended”; PM - “Set a Guard Over My Mouth”
2/23/25 AM - Why are Some Afraid of the Gospel?; PM - Growing Up with Tares
