Cross or Throne— it’s Your Choice

 Cross or Throne —it’s Your Choice

Philippians 4:11-13: Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

·        In 1906 the Carnation Milk Company introduced a slogan saying, “Contented cows give better milk.” Since cows were content with their lives, their milk should be better. That may be true with cows, but spiritual contentment in a Christian is a problem.

·        Paul is telling the believers that we are to be content with our earthly things, not our heavenly things. His circumstances (altitude) didn’t dictate his attitude.  The Christian who believes he has arrived spiritually, will go no further.

Ø Every Christian will become what his desires have made him. The great saints had hungry and thirsty hearts. David said, “My soul thirsts for the Living God.” The longing for more experience with Him took them to places content Christians will never see.

·        We fear extremes… as if it were possible to have too much love, or too much faith, or too much holiness.

·        In reality, we can thank God for everything up to this point, but let’s not stop here, let’s press on to the deep things of God.

·        We must keep our feet on the ground, but let our hearts reach for the heavens. We must refuse to be average. Refuse to become dry and brittle like old wineskins.

Ezekiel 37:1-5: The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.”

·        Christianity is not supposed to be dry and brittle as an old wineskin; but we are called to be filled with new wine, happiness, and joy.

·        Therefore so many of the saints experience the dryness of “the boneyard” instead of the ‘living water” of the Holy Spirit. Truth that is not experienced is no better than “error” and may be just as dangerous.

·        The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were not the victims of error; they were the victims of their failure to experience the truth they taught. Like many of our leaders today, they lack the inward experience that is available to all of us, but still just out of reach. 

Philippians 3:12-14: Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

·        Paul knew he had not “attained” spiritual maturity that so many Christians think they have. He had learned to be content with the earthly things he had but was never content with his relationship with Christ, he wanted more.

Ø Paul was unable to live an average satisfied Christian life; he wanted everything that was purchased for him at the finished work of Christ. He didn’t feel it was “greedy” to want more, and he was willing to eliminate anything in his life that would keep him from receiving more.

Ø He wouldn’t let anything in his past paralyze him … he was always moving forward. If anyone could be content with the things he had done for Christ it would be Paul, but he understood how limited his time was, and how unlimited his possibilities in Christ were.

Ø Every one of us is “called” and with our “calling” comes the power to reach forward to the prize… the prize is being transformed into the image of Christ.

·        The gospel not only provides transforming power in the human life, but it provides the model for this new life, and that model is Christ Himself.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18: Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

·        The Spirit of the Lord gives us liberty, His truth sets us free. There are so many thoughts, concepts, hurts, and pains we need to be set free from, but here’s the beautiful truth; it’s the job of the Holy Spirit.

·        We were created to “behold” something; and that is the person of Jesus Christ.

·        There is a battle for what we will behold; the things of this world or the things that are above. And we will become like that which we behold.

·        Our Father wants us to be like Jesus, the devil wants us to be like him.

·        When I was a boy, I wanted to be like my cousin, he was my idol. I walked like him, I talked like him, and I combed my hair like his, I was a little version of him.

·        However, when we grow up, not much changes we just get better at hiding our imitations. We go along with the styles, the language, and the mannerisms of our new idols… these are our choices.

·        However when we become partaker’s of His divine nature, our human nature is transformed into something new, we are transformed into the image of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5: And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my  speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

·       The cross of Christ is the most revolutionary thing ever to appear before men. The Roman cross never compromised, it wins all arguments, it’s consequences are always the same, it killed all who were nailed to it, even Jesus Himself.

·       After Jesus’ death and resurrection the apostles went out to preach His message; it was the message of the cross. It was a radical message. They carried the cross with them, and the same power of the message of the cross went with them.

·       The message of the cross transformed the lives of men. The message of the cross transformed the pagan world from its bondages to liberty and freedom.

·       The cross is effective in destroying one thing and creating another. It wins by defeating its opponent and enforcing its will upon it victim. It never compromises, it never surrenders, it only ends opposition.

·       The cross itself wasn’t the message, it was who was upon it that is the message; it’s Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Ø We must all do something about the cross, and we are only permitted two options—flee from it or die upon it—the same as Jesus.

·       If we will choose to “flee from it” we will make Christianity something other than what it is. Then the language of salvation will be empty and lack its power because we’ve left the truth of the cross.

·       If we are wise we will do what Jesus did; endure the cross and despise its shame for the joy set before us. In doing this, we are submitting to the pattern of our lives being destroyed and built up again in eternal life.

·       The cross will cut deeply in our lives where it hurts the most, destroy our carefully built reputations and bring our selfish lives to an end living in the fullness of our “new freedom” in the Spirit. 

Galatians 2:20:  I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

·       There is no contradiction here; to die that we might live! There are two kinds of dying, a dying that we should desire and a dying we should avoid at any cost. Paul had chosen that anything that kept him from experiencing the Presence of God in his life must be taken out of the way, even his own self-love.

·       Paul’s life continued, he wrote his books, he continued in ministry, but his own personality becomes strangely transparent as the light of Christ shines through him in a glorious splendor.

·       There are “some” that have tried to get themselves out of the way by withdrawing from society to fast and struggle with their flesh. This way never works, it’s too hard. NOTHING WORKS BUT THE CROSS!

Ø On every Christian’s heart there is a cross and a throne, and the Christian is on the throne until he puts himself on the cross; if he refuses the cross he remains on the throne.

·       Too many of us want to be saved, but we want Jesus to do all of the dying; no cross for us, no dethronement, and no dying. We remain king of our own little kingdom, we wear our little tin crown, and doom ourselves to weakness and lack of any real spiritual power.

·       Our uncrucified flesh will rob us of purity of heart and prevent living water from flowing in our hearts. We will remain in the Valley of Dry Bones never fulfilling our calling.

Philippians 3:7-11: But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

·       Paul had a goal for his life. Paul wanted to be found in Christ. And Paul wanted to know Christ. It was his relationship with Jesus that gave him value. Everything in comparison was like dung. He was content with his few earthly possessions, but He wanted more of Jesus.

·       He knew that God had called him. He knew that it was in that calling that he would find everything he ever needed. He knew he would find his purpose, he knew he would find fellowship with Jesus.

·       God’s not looking for a silver vessel. He’s looking for a surrendered vessel. If you can look at your life and say, “Look what I did,” or “I’m a self-made man,” then you haven’t really trusted in Christ. You are just doing things in your own strength.

·       When I got started in ministry, one of the things that really blessed me was ministering in nursing homes. I met a woman who was wealthy.  She would say, “I used to be important! People used to think I was somebody special!” But by then, nobody would come to see her… it was sad.

·       When this woman was younger, everybody thought she was special. But someday, every one of us is going to come to the end of ourselves… anyway.

·       It’s who we are in Christ that matters. That’s all that matters.

·       Paul was pressing toward the mark because he had a goal. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. Having a destination will limit your choices and help you make decisions.

Genesis 26:17-18: Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.

·        Perhaps we should act like Isaac did and open the wells again that our fathers have dug, and have been stopped up by the enemy. The waters are there, cool sweet, and satisfying.

·        The history of the saints is filled with examples of people who chose to pick up their crosses and deny themselves to follow Jesus.

·        The enemy wants you to fill in your wells of living water with the worldly things that can never satisfy you. We work and work, go into debt, buy more things to impress people who only care about themselves. This is misery.

·        The slave masters of Egypt were never as cruel as our own selfishness at the expense of the rivers of living water rising up from within us.

·        Our Promised Land is the place where we can flow in the river of the Spirit. It’s a surrendered life that allows him to carry us along to His perfect destination for us.