Cross Church Winnipeg Sermon Podcast

We are notorious for looking backward and for looking only at our present circumstances. We too often fail to see the good things that God wants to do in our future. Paul is not focused on prison and he is not focused on his discomforts, obstacles and aggravations. Paul sets a wonderful example for us as one who is pressing on. He is making plans. He expects that God has much work for him to do and he is persuaded that his present sufferings will pass. Too many of us are persuaded that our present afflictions will never end and that the future looks bleak. We must learn to look ahead and have the attitude of Paul who, while he was imprisoned said, “But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me, I strain toward what is ahead.” Paul is looking so far ahead that he is envisioning heaven and his reunion with Christ. Hey! Its time to start making plans. Future plans always give us hope and purpose and joy. Pray. Ask the Lord for His guidance. He will lead and guide you. Pray more and then watch what the Lord wi

Sometimes we just need to be out of commission for a while so that we can do some of the minor things that need to get done. Paul did a lot of reflecting and writing and preaching when he was locked up. One of the great things he did was speak up on behalf of Onesimus. Onesimus was a slave of Philemon who had skipped town, leaving his master behind. Because he was a slave, Onesimus was literally at Philemon’s mercy. Philemon could have done anything to Onesimus, even to the point of killing him. But Onesimus had become a Christian and a great help to Paul and so we find Paul pleading to Philemon on behalf of the runaway slave to forgive him and show Onesimus mercy. Paul was a busy man and had many important matters to attend to, but Paul had time on his hands because he was locked up. God used this downtime, prompting Paul to use his powers and influence to make a difference in the life of a wretched slave who had put his faith in God. What good can you do during this downtime?

Complaining to God and to anyone who will listen is the first thing we do when things are not going our way. As Christians, we should be better than that. Much better. Jesus never complained. Complaining is a sin. Paul tells us to “do everything without complaining…so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.” Paul wrote that when he was locked up in jail. As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to follow the example of Christ and of His servant Paul. Don’t complain about your circumstances, breakout into prayer, thanksgiving and praise. Paul and Silas were in jail in Philippi and they began to sing and the jail was broken open. Paul was given the chance to lead the Jailer and his family to Christ. What great good could you do if you started praying, praising God and giving thanks?

The disciples watched as Jesus was taken away to be crucified. They knew what was to come. They saw it many times. Jesus was going to a cruel death, nailed to a cross followed by exhaustion and asphyxiation. Four three years they listened to His message of hope and His declaration that the Kingdom of Heaven […]

When we look at Israel in the time of Christ, we can see ourselves. Israel is occupied by Rome and is at the mercy of this foreign power. These are extremely difficult times. It all seems so hopeless. People are being taxed to their limit. In some cases, they didn’t even have enough money to […]

Some of us have waited a long time for Jesus’ return and we may be tempted to be lazy in our walk with God or worse, to just give up. Peter helps us by reminding us, “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the […]

We don’t like to speak about hell, but according to scripture, it is very real and very necessary. The Lake of fire is the destination of all and anything that sets itself up against the God of the Universe. Listen carefully to this: the lake of fire is reserved for Satan, the False Prophet, Antichrist, death, all evil and all whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Jesus came to this earth as a Lamb who shed His blood to wash away the sins of all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. If you have not put your faith in Christ, then hell is your destination. There are no exceptions to this rule. The good news is that God is just and fair and it’s not His will that any should perish in the Lake of Fire, and for this reason, He has given us a way of escape. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life—that is, Heaven—through Jesus Christ.

When you see the proliferation of evil all around, wondering where God is and tempted to despair, read Revelation chapter 19. One day, the world as we know it will come to an end. John tells of the coming of the Rider on the White Horse, on his robe is written: “King of all kings and Lord of all lords!” Then John sees a glorious thing: “Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies. This is a mighty clash between heaven and hell and Jesus wins! Hallelujah!

The Revelation of Jesus Christ as told through John the Apostle is considered by some to be too difficult to understand. Yet, we are told in Revelation 1:3 that, “God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.” For the one who is a true Christian—really Born Again—Revelation is one of the most exciting books in the Bible. Revelation tells us of the defeat of Satan, of the False Prophet and the antichrist. It tells us of the judgment that is coming to a world that is violently opposed to Christ and His Church. God gives us warnings that we must pay careful attention to or else we will be caught in the same judgment that is coming to this world. You’ve been warned!

It is so easy to lose sight of what matters to God. We can so easily embrace the things of our faith that are pleasing and attractive and even fun; like worship, and fellowship and volunteering. But James, the author of the book that has his name, tells us what pure and genuine religion is. Caring for orphans and widows in their distress, and refusing to let the world corrupt us is the hard part. It would be safe to say that one of the clearest signs that we have been corrupted by the world is our refusal to care for the orphans and the widows. Cross Church is devoted to the work of caring for orphans and widows because this is what it means to pastor our church responsibly. We help Christians fulfill their duty to God by helping them fulfill their duty to the helpless.

There is such a thing as harmful charity. Giving should always point people to Christ otherwise our giving can very easily enable people to stay in their poverty. And so we must be wise in our giving. Jesus tells us that our first priority is to our brothers and sisters in need. “Whatever you have done for the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto me!” Wow! This comes as a shock for many of us, because we always thought that giving to the needy—any needy person—was a fulfillment of Jesus’ expectation of charity and kindness from us. No. Our priority is always believers…people who belong to Jesus, and the orphans who have no family and no one to teach them the way to Christ. At the final judgment, God will consider how we cared for fellow believers in need as proof of our love for Christ.

God is utterly trustworthy and deserves our love and trust. This is what Habakkuk discovered. After delving into deep conversation with the Almighty, the Prophet Habakkuk comes to an amazing conclusion: “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” In other words, if God is with you, you have all that you need, you just need to put your faith in Him.

No complaint or question ever stumped God. Just because we don’t understand the ways of God does not mean that God has lost control or doesn’t know what He is doing. In fact, God challenges us to come to Him with our questions and complaints. To the Prophet Isaiah He said, “Come, let us reason together.” You will quickly discover that God is acting as our loving Father and He is teaching us to believe Him and obey Him. He is teaching us true faith. Sometimes the love of our Heavenly Father is a tough love—someone called it severe mercy. Ultimately, God is concerned about the thoroughness of his children’s salvation and about the reputation of His Name. When we understand this, we begin to understand the ways of God; which are not as mysterious as we may think. In fact God sums up the life of a true child of God: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Who hasn’t wondered, “What on earth is God doing?” Some have given up on God and the Church and the family of God because of suffering and pain, disappointments and unanswered prayers. Poor Habakkuk was furious because it seemed that the God of Israel was not behaving as a loving God. Lives are in danger, provision is lacking and Habakkuk addresses his concerns over the fact that God will use the Babylonian empire to execute judgment on Israel for their sins. Perhaps you can relate to Habakkuk in his complaints to God. Where are you, Lord? What you are doing doesn’t make sense, Lord! Habakkuk teaches us that we can come and pour our hearts and hurts to God. We, like Habakkuk, need to learn that God is our Father and we can bring our confusion and pain to Him.

At the start of each new year, Pastors and pundits give advice about how to have a successful and productive new year. The usual theme is simple, set goals for yourself and then come up with a strategy to meet those goals. As Christians, however, we are called to fulfill one goal: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be given to you.” –Matthew 6:33. What wants and wishes fill your thoughts? Jesus warns us, “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” It takes great faith to make the will of God your primary goal.

The author of Hebrews understands the Christian life. He says, “…shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?… No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” (Hebrews 12:9-11) The right way to begin the new year is to submit to the will of the Father, who is—right now—training us in right living. Good habits in the life of the believer always flow out of a good relationship with the Father.

The first day and month of a new year often marks newness and a fresh start. Some believe that Jesus was actually born on the first day and month of the Jewish religious calendar (Nisan 1 or Aviv 1) which by the way marks the first day of creation. Being a Christian means living in the newness that Jesus the Messiah brings to all who believe in Him. Paul the Apostle puts it like this: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Our prayer is that 2020 will be a fresh start and full of newness.

As we come to the close of the year and look to 2020, we are reminded that time slips by quickly. The thinkers and idea-people of the world, along with many preachers, tell us that this is the time of the year to dream big dreams, be clear about our life-vision and set big goals for 2020 and for the rest of our lives. It all sounds very noble—in fact it sounds really wise, progressive and maybe even spiritual. (long pause) But its not biblical! Jesus is our example, our teacher; He is our Master and our Lord. Jesus never taught his disciples—or us—to dream big dreams or to have a vision for our lives. Quite the opposite. He taught us to pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” In the Garden of Gethsemane before going to die on the cross for our sins, He taught us to pursue God’s will and not our own will. After all, who dreams of dying young or who has a life-vision that includes dying a horrific and cruel death? Who has life goals that include serving God, serving others and serving the communi

We were created for communion and fellowship with God. To love God and to be loved by God is what this life is about. But sin broke that bond leaving us adrift and estranged from God for thousands of years. With the birth of Jesus everything changed. The fourth gift from God is reconciliation with Him. 600 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah looked forward to the coming of Jesus. “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”(Isaiah 7:14) And, For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

The third gift is peace through Christ. The angels actually bring the message to the shepherds and all humanity that for the first time since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, peace had come to the earth. But this peace is only for those with whom God is pleased. The shepherds who were despised as “unclean” by the religious leaders, would understand that they were the ones who were to receive God’s peace. This was mind-blowing. They believed that peace with God was out of reach for them. Sadly, where there is no peace with God there is no peace in life. Jesus came to change all that. The armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” (Luke 2:13-14)