======================================================================== AL WHITTINGHILL 03 by Al Whittinghill ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the centrality and power of the cross in the Christian faith, highlighting the need for believers to embrace the message of Christ's death and resurrection. It calls for a deep surrender to God, acknowledging the significance of the cross in transforming lives and bringing true revival. The speaker urges listeners to have a funeral for self-will and pride, choosing to be crucified with Christ and crowned with His lordship, emphasizing the importance of living in the light of the cross daily. Duration: 28:02 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the centrality and power of the cross in the Christian faith, highlighting the need for believers to embrace the message of Christ's death and resurrection. It calls for a deep surrender to God, acknowledging the significance of the cross in transforming lives and bringing true revival. The speaker urges listeners to have a funeral for self-will and pride, choosing to be crucified with Christ and crowned with His lordship, emphasizing the importance of living in the light of the cross daily. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Today, and the apostles preach this, but when he wrote to Corinth later, Paul said, listen, I want to tell you first of all, it's foremost, foundational, most important of all, how that Christ died for us, according to the scriptures. And he was raised again on the third day, according to the scriptures, is he nailed down the word of the cross to men and women's hearts, based upon the precious word of God, and then the Lord will take the consequences, you see. He will take the consequences. God is not looking for sponsors. He's not needing that anybody should testify of him. He's not in trouble. He is not wringing his hand and saying, who will go for us? It's not like that. Who will go for us? Who has the privilege of saying yes to utter sovereign majesty, who's glorious and loving and absolutely holy, and his truth endures forever. And those who are his will also endure with him forever. In Philippians chapter three, again, I'm going to just go back to Corinthians with Paul. There was a lot of questioning going on. Paul was rebuking them about sin. You can't talk about revival if you're not going to talk about sin, and you can't deal with sin if you do it apart from the cross. And so he said to them, listen, there's a lot of people telling you many things, but I'm your spiritual father. And I want to tell you this, that we are a spectacle. We're like in the Roman Coliseum, always in suffering. And we are like the Ajax. We're all scouring. You scrub a dirty pot, go down the pan. Don't leave all the stuff that God will make you rich and all the rest. He might make you rich, but you better walk more carefully if he does. He's saying it's the cross. This is the credential. Prove your apostleship. Corinthians six of all the things that are possible to make a foolproof of their ministry. And so he writes to the Philippians. Now to the Philippians sins never mentioned in the book of Philippians. Not once. This is the precious church who gave out of their poverty. It's an awesome thing. And where Denny left off, I will begin in chapter three. He says here in verse 17, rather than being followers are imitators together of me. But you say, look through me because you see there's others to say, and Mark, Mark, those others which walk in the same way. So you have us for a two box. It's the word for typesetting. Like you hit something, you leave a letter right there. It's an impression of the mind of Christ that he's been talking about for two and a half chapters. The mind of Christ making an impression in the life, getting down on the page like that. Mark those Scorpio. And he says this verse 18 for many, not just a few stragglers for many walk of whom I've told you often. And I now tell you even weeping, they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Now, if you were to ask these people, are you the enemies of Jesus Christ? Yes. Oh boy. We love Jesus. We love Jesus. It doesn't say the enemies of Jesus. It says that the enemies of the cross of Jesus. And it says they're in this destruction. This is a strong word there. And it says the description whose God is there. That's an idiom. That means when they said earlier, means for the belly and the belly for me to meet that their, their, their chemical natures and all the epithelia, the loss of their life, guide them and provoke them and affect all their decisions or some of their decisions. Their God is their belly. They just think that their naturalness is to be Lord. Enemies of the cross of Christ. Second thing it says though, not only is their God their belly, but their glory is in their shame. Paul said he's part of the cross, but these people, if they knew the cross, these people are boasting about the things that if they knew the cross, it would bring shame. It would bring shame. And how we boast of things in our day. That if we really knew the revelation from God, the cross revealed to me, Oh, a sinner is born. The cross revealed in me. Oh, the same is purified. And I begin to be changed. And it's the longer I had, I'm increasing. He increases. And if he becomes to me to live, it's Christ. And every time I'm put in a situation that the outer me can be increased, then life flows out. And the Lord Jesus is revealed more and more. That's what he's saying. That's his glory. And the third thing is they, my earthly things, my earthly things, they don't have enough time for prayer meeting. They don't have enough time for, they're always busy with this and they're all good things. The good has robbed them of what the cross will produce. Not a bad list, but it makes him an enemy of the cross Christ. So the question is, you see, in that passage, there's an example of the cross and there's an enemy of the cross. And I wonder today where we would say we are in this whole scenario. You see, because for us to say that we love Jesus and disregard his cross is a serious thing. The apostle preached these words. Crucifixion is preached in all but three new Testament books. The cross is in Philemon and second and third John, the cross is mentioned in every new Testament book. Over half of most of the gospels relate to the passion week and Paul preached the cross for 15 years, as I said, before he ever wrote down an epistle. So what are they singing about in heaven? This moment, they're singing about the cross and the atonement that the Lamb of God accomplished there. That's the most intelligent worship in eternity right now. And each of us must face this. If you're a preacher here today, you've got to face this. You've got to face this. You see, the test of every man's preaching is the word of the cross. That's the test of it. You see, it's the it's the passion of our Lord, his cross. And the test of true discipleship is, is the message foolishness to the world? Not that they feel comfortable. All over the world feels comfortable coming in your church and your church is back slowly. The message is foolishness to the world. It's offensive. They can't receive it. So you see, preaching the cross is the test of the origin. Origin of our message. It shows where it's from. It shows who's behind it. And that's what we've got to get back to in our day. If, if I don't preach the cross, I misrepresent the gospel and it becomes another gospel. And Paul said, if any man does this, this is serious. Let it be a curse. Maybe this is what's wrong with some of the ministries around us that they've gotten so caught up in the momentum of nickels and noses and momentum and methodology and purpose driven. We shouldn't be person driven with a person, a purpose driven. We should be personality driven by the person of the Lord Jesus and person enlightened. And it should not be overloaded. It should be overflowed, overflowed, joyous, glad, obedience by the precious blood of sprinklings. So any poet, any minister not committed to preach the word of the cross, however brilliant it may appear, however educated it may seem, however comforting and thrilling it is doing to sterility, many things of eternity without a cross. It's just cross was preaching. It's the spawning ground to every Harrison, all of us. That's why we are here today. So the fountainhead of all true Christian experience must be the cross. It's never through him. He, he took his own blood from the cross and sprinkled the things of heaven. Heaven changed the Lord. Jesus went to heaven. It says he, he sprinkled the things that better in heaven. The real threat. He sprinkled his own blood like Moses did the Tabernacle. It's better than bulls and goats. But he took his own blood through the heavens in the sprinkling of the throne of God. He became the throne of grace. Today, well be to the person who puts the blood out of their message and takes the cross out of the preaching and loses sight of the great exchange. No longer the Christ. This is why Paul cried out. God forbid. I shouldn't go to anything. When we leave off the cross, our sinning strengths, what we think we have to spoil becomes our ways and angels and pitfalls and stumbling blocks to others who can't discern when you leave off the cross. Natural talent without the cross is a stumbling block. To say, take it by faith without also having a no more I. That in the heart. To say, take it by faith without a no more I. It's spiritual shoplifting. It's robbing God in the truest sense of the word. So each of us must receive a heavenly vision of the cross revealed to us and the cross revealed in us. It's a heavenly passion in our bones. We got move across and it's like a burning fire in the heart and it lights the altar and it keeps you burning. It's cosmic ratings. So we communicate the unseen realities as people begin to realize the reality of the strength of it all. So you see, as long as the word of the cross is discarded, the work of the church is discredited. Now I want to ask you something. Have you dealt with those things? You ever wonder why you have to keep confessing the same thing over and over and over again? Lord, I'm sorry. I have this anger problem again. I have it again. You see, maybe you can't have spider webs. Maybe you're just mopping up. It's sloppy agape. Okay. You need to come to the cross and let the Lord Jesus with the final word. You have to do it every day, but it will all emanate out of that great glorious moment just like your life in Christ emanates from that moment when you were begotten of the Holy Spirit through the word of God and you were born again. And now you live in him and move and have your being. There is a moment when the revelation of the cross, like revealed to you, where you come and you say to him, Lord, I choose it today, a revelation of your mercies to me. Oh, I haven't gotten what I deserve and I'm about to get what I don't deserve. Oh God, I choose that the cross, but it's deepest effect in my heart and taken captive by the love of Christ to chain me to your chair, chain me to your cross. You see, the cross is the doorway out of captivity. It's the entrance into the abundant life. It's the way to get revival. It's the way to continue revival. It's all said and done. The cross you take up will lay in your grave and will carry you heaven. It will carry you right to his presence. And there you will be singing about him and his atonement. All for us, just manifested the crossroads of history. The crossroads of the world is the cross. The cross. When I first saw the light, here's a great secret. It's not the presence of the cross in your life that makes you miserable. It's the absence for a Christian. Oh, the cross might make me miserable. Like, like wings to a bird would make the bird would have its wings, make them miserable. Oh, so is the cross to the Christian. Have you been set free? Don't let the devil talk you out of freedom. Don't let your situation talk you out of freedom. It's better to have Christ's cross than any king's kiss. Oh, any other king, who wants, who cares? Are you willing to be set free? We've been praying. There's been some awesome things going on. I've been marveling at how these messages have been tailored together. And how the Lord is weaving them into a message to all of us. That if we will indeed say no to ourselves. And it's over for me. I'm going to ask you today, if you're willing, to have two different things. I mean, with your full volition, intelligent consecration. In a moment, just as when you truly pray and receive the Lord. That you could say to him, Lord, I see in my life. These things that are running around like mice in an old house. And they're self-willing me. They're self-pleasing. And they're self- confidence. And self-elevation. And I don't listen to the people and the higher authorities in my life. And I know this is not right. Are you willing to say to him, Lord, bring the power of your cross into my heart of life. And let me deal with this as you speak to me. As you speak to me and show me what you heard last night. Like, not now, so wait. And you are every day to live in the light of his countenance, you see. You live in the light of who he is and what he is all about. I'm asking you to come to the feet of the Lord Jesus this day. And quietly condemn yourself as an accursed thing. And to cast it down. To kneel at your chair. It's the afternoon. And I wouldn't ask you to come here. I wouldn't think of it in the day. You don't know it. But turn your chair. It doesn't matter what it is. It could be on the middle of Main Street. And get down before him. And come and cast down before him. What you understand to be. Your life. Yourself. All that you are. And say, Son of God. I give myself utterly and totally to you. And to do your will. I choose to be the only reason that you leave me on this planet. Because if that's not the truth. He probably should have drowned you in baptism. If all he would do is teach you how to sing. He should have drowned you in baptism. If you believe in mercy. But I mean he would have taken you right to his heaven. Because then you'd be happy. You'd be able to sing. But he left you here. To be a revelation. Of the resurrection life. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. That day by day. Moment by moment. As long as he comes. Every breath. Every move. Every thought. Should be given over continually. And more and more. To the living Lord Jesus. You see. We've got to get beyond rededication. We've got to get to renunciation. To renounce our own life. And come and receive this. So there's two things. I want you to have a funeral. For yourself. An intelligent funeral. And that is the cross. When you come to the cross. And say, Lord my life. I choose it to be over. It's just as real as signing the deal on your house. When you give it to someone else. It's in the spirit. You're giving. You're giving away your rights. To happiness. And to a standard of living. And to all the things. It's all yours. When I'm trusting you with it. It's over. I'm crucified with Christ. And from now on. I'm just going to bring it to my mind. Daily. That you live in the power of this. Don't you know. That as many that are buried with Christ. Have been crucified with him. And if you don't know that. That's why there's all these deals in the church. As Paul is saying in Romans 6. But ten times in the first ten verses. He uses an heiress to say. And because of the fact that you're dead. You can appropriate that fact. And recommend it so. And choose daily. To take up your cross. And then you can yield yourself. To the living God. And let his spirit live in you. You can do this day by day. Because. It's God that works in you. To will. Yes Lord. To will. And to do. His good pleasure. You may have to work it out with fear and trembling. Which you will. Because that's good for us. To trust him. I determined to know nothing. Among you sat Jesus and him crucified. I was among you in fear and trembling. Paul did it. He knew what he did. So. No more fear of death. Because you're already dead. No more fear of loss. Because you give it up. You take up your cross. Listen to this point. I got a point here. I want to read you. Oh the bitter pain and sorrow. That a time could ever be. That I proudly said to Jesus. All of self. And none of thee. Yet he found me. I beheld him. Bleeding on that cursive tree. And my wistful heart said faintly. Son of self. Son of thee. Day by day. Praise God. His tender mercy. Healing. Helping. Full and free. Brought me Lord. While I whispered. Less of self. More of thee. Higher than the highest heavens. Deeper than the deepest sea. Lord your love at last has conquered. None of self. That's the choice. And all of thee. You can't have none of self. Without a revelation of the cross in you. And the good part is. When the cross has been revealed to you. And a sinner's been pardoned. And you're saying the ongoing yes to the cross being revealed in you. And the sin is purified. Then you can walk in the wonder of the cross. And that's the cross revealed through you. And that's when the Savior is truly proclaimed. And you can walk in the fellowship. Of his resurrection. And his sufferings. And even the conformity of his death. And you know what? You can press in and know that you're not in heaven yet. But God sees you as completely in him. Well. When you leave the son of his life at the cross. You step into darkness. There is no light that shines so bright. As the one that flashes right out of his head. You know what happens to a church when you leave the cross out? You leave off holiness. No more preaching of holiness. And happiness becomes the goal. And you hear this ringing in the corridors. And everyone's talking about happiness. It's the cross you see. And when you leave off the cross. You don't hear the term self renunciation anymore. You hear self acceptance. And self esteem. When you leave off the cross. It's no more obedience of faith. Right? Instead it's more activities. Church activities. When you leave off the cross. There's no more passion in the right sense. It's just dedication. He's a dedicated man. He's dedicated to his job. He's dedicated to his rugby. He's dedicated to fishing. He's dedicated to hot dogs. I believe that God is offended by dedication without passion. When you leave off the cross. Prayer meeting. And fasting. No, no. It's not prayer and fasting. It's planning and feasting. Together. When you leave off the cross. You give up the supernatural. And you content yourself with the superficial. And you live in the moment. And you stop wearing the armor of God. And you start trying to wear the world's camouflage. And fit in and don't rock the boat. You're no longer soft. You're just trying to be sugar. You look a lot whiter. You're just trying to sweeten up everything you're involved in. But isn't it time to get back and put on the whole armor of God. And take up the cross. And by choice. Have that funeral. And that coronation. Today I'm asking you in the name of the living Lord Jesus. To. I don't know how you receive. Some old American coming over here with a funny accent. Talking to you. I'm not the smoothest on feelings. I know that. But what I've said to you. I'll answer to God for it. What you have heard. You will also. And I would urge you. To consider the source. And to. Come before him. In the deepest trust of his glory. He's already shown you. If you've come to Calvary. His cross has been revealed to you. And have a funeral. Acknowledge the fact that when Jesus died. I choose to acknowledge that it's true. I died with him. And now. I don't want to live my own life anymore. I want to live by the faith of the Son of God. Received in me. I. Crown you. I acknowledge you. I. I. I have a coronation. An official. Coronation. Write it down. In your book. Before heaven and earth. Lord. A coronation. For the king. Of kings. I wonder. If. You'd be willing. To do that. You can't apply this message. Except to. Receive it. And when you receive it. That's how it becomes. So I want to ask you. Brother. Maybe you've been a Christian. A long time. But do you have his victory? Because we can't get victory. By just cleaning up. Sloppy. Messes we've made. Or. Becoming more refined. And improving our flesh. We only have victory. If we receive. Who he is. And what he's done. And let him. Not just do a makeover. But a total takeover. The resident. Must become president. It's got to become. He is the love of us. He is the Lord of all. No longer. We preach. Not ourselves. But Jesus Christ. The Lord. Your service. Not what I will. But that. Not my affection. But my. My life is hidden. In God. My affections are. Fixed. Set. His face. On things above. And not. The way that I think. But now. I have a right. To think. I have my own opinion. I got to have. My mind renewed. By the word of God. You sound like. A slave. I hope so. I hope so. Well. If I did that. That would make me totally different. That's the idea. A magnet. See. Because. We try to draw people. I'm almost finished. People. We try to draw people in. Promise of miracles. Multiply provisions. Mystical truth. Acceleration. They draw in. They see. What we haven't dealt with. In our own life. And become dissatisfied. Or they find somebody else. That's kind of. It's all this stuff. Because. We haven't walked. In the power. Of the cross. In our own life. So. The best way. To fix. The church. Is to start right here. The best place. To start revival. Is to get down. Before the cross. Toward Jesus. And let that be an. Alternate. I'm going to wait on you. To send the fire. And. I'm not going to just deal with. What I want to deal with. I'm going to deal with. What you want to deal with. It's your choice. It may shock you. But you have to deal with it. Let's have a funeral. And let's have. A coronation. I want to bow with you. Perhaps. Perhaps you'd like. To make your chair. Into an altar. I don't like. To do this kind of stuff. Because people start feeling. Pressure. Oh everybody else is getting down. Don't even think like that. If the Lord Jesus says to you. Turn your chair. Into an altar. And get on it. Get on the altar. And let me put my fire there. This is the end of you. Have a funeral. Lord. This day. You can write it out. You can date it. This day. I acknowledge the fact. That I am crucified with Christ. My life is over. And to me to live is. Christ. Now. To die is gain. Well let's bow. Let's bow. Sister. Go ahead. I can hear you. Father. We bow before you. And the power of the moment. is not limited. You can change the world in a millisecond. You can speak. Heavens roll into existence. You can change a human being's life in a millisecond. So the power of this moment is in you. But we come to you the right way, with a heart that's broken and contrived over the sin and failure of our own being, but most of all because it's contrasted with who you are. And oh, God, this moment, we ask that your Holy Spirit would give in each heart that has understood what we've said today, that there would come an agreement with God's will. I am crucified, yes, Lord, with Christ. I say yes to it. I don't have to kill myself. I am crucified already to God. I reckon it's my life is over. This day, I lay down myself before you, Lord, help me live out of the power of this moment of intelligent union. Help me live out of that willingness to have the sentence of death within myself that Christ might be all in all. And Lord, we also, in that same moment, Lord, not just wanting to be morbid and just taste death. Unbalance me. I want to turn and say, Lord, we crown you Lord of all. You're worthy. You're worthy not only to take the book. You're worthy to take charge of every thought, every impulse, every desire, every blood cell, everything of all of us. Just in a moment of silence, you tell me that. Deal with that. And I feel certain tonight that the Lord will put his exclamation mark on this word, and you'll have your chance to say what's in your heart if that's the case. You tell me. Deal with it. He surrenders much, who surrenders all, no matter how small his all may be. He surrenders nothing, who holds back anything. All the way down, brother, sister. Cross, become our passion and our privilege, and may the Lord Jesus publish it through our hearts and lips and lives. May it become our boasting point, the cross by which the Lord Jesus has crucified to me in the world. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/FKKKgPAfAYo.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/al-whittinghill/al-whittinghill-03/ ========================================================================