103-The Seven Words from the Cross (4)#
The Seven Words from the Cross (Four)
Mark 15:33-34:
33 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over the whole land. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi! Eloi! Lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?”
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise you for your grace. Lord, when you were forsaken by the Father on the cross, it was so that we would never be forsaken by God in this world. Here we worship you, and we can call you Abba Father because Jesus was once forsaken. No matter what state we are in, you will never forsake us. When we have this certainty in our hearts, our actions will change, and we will become examples to the world, allowing more people to recognize what Jesus Christ has done.
They will receive the gospel. We once again commit this time entirely into the hands of the Holy Spirit, especially guiding each person to receive God’s word, to build each other up, to be moved by the Holy Spirit, and to be led by the Holy Spirit. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!
Sharing the Fourth Lecture on the Seven Words from the Cross
What Jesus said on the cross was: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
When Christ spoke these unforgettable words on the cross, just this one sentence was enough to melt the hardest of hearts. When we watched the short film last time, Jesus cried out loudly, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He knew this was going to happen before He suffered. Jesus on the cross was in deep sorrow because at that moment, His heart could not find comfort; God had completely forsaken Him.
The Bible says that from noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the whole land. Noon is 12 o'clock, and three in the afternoon is 3 o'clock, which means there were three hours of darkness. Between 12 and 3 o'clock, which should be the brightest time of the day, there was a tremendous change in the weather, and darkness covered the land. What does this tell us?
What we can see with our naked eyes is actually controlled by the spiritual realm. When the spiritual realm changes, the material world will immediately change. The book of Hebrews tells us that this tangible world is upheld by God's powerful word. As soon as God speaks, the whole world changes. Amen! This is our God. At that moment, when God's judgment fell upon Jesus, the whole world was dark. As mentioned earlier, at three o'clock, at that moment, Jesus cried out loudly, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.”
Eloi, I remember sharing with you before about the Greek word Eloi, which means God, the God who makes a covenant with us. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth using Yahweh, but after humanity appeared, God's name changed to Elohim, which means God. God, why have you forsaken me? “Raba” means “why.”
During this process, Jesus felt very distressed because the whole world had forsaken Him at that moment. His disciples, who had followed Him for more than three years, ran away. He had performed many miracles and comforted many people, but now, standing under the cross, no one said a word. The soldiers mocked Him, saying, “Aren't you the king of Israel? Come down from the cross! If you do, I will believe you.” When everyone forsook Him, Jesus said nothing; He did not express pain. But at that moment, in the darkness, the last one to leave Him was our Father God.
The Father had never left Jesus, but at the moment He bore our sins, the Father also left Him. So Jesus was alone and forsaken on the cross. One could say He had nothing. His personality, His righteousness, His holiness, everything was stripped away, leaving only the identity of sin. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sake; He gave Himself up. In fact, no one could kill Jesus because He had no sin.
John 10:18 states, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Jesus knew long before that He would suffer such humiliation, ridicule, and ultimately be forsaken and die. But He also knew He would rise from the dead because the purpose of His coming into this world was to bear the sins of all humanity. This includes all sins throughout history. So when He bore the curse for you and carried your sins, the Father left Him because the holy Father could never be in the presence of sin.
Brothers and sisters, remember that our Heavenly Father is absolutely just and holy; His standards have never been lowered. So at that moment, when His Son was filled with sin, He had no choice but to leave His Son, and He must execute punishment on sin.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus was handed over to men for our transgressions because we sinned; Jesus was handed over to men. When Jesus rose from the dead, it was to justify us. To be precise, it was for the redemption of sinners. He is sinless, taking the place of our sinful nature; He is righteous, taking the place of our unrighteousness. He willingly accepted God's just judgment.
Everything Jesus did was for us; He willingly allowed Himself to be struck by God. We must understand that Jesus is the true Passover lamb in the book of Exodus. When the lamb was killed and its blood was applied to the doorposts and lintels, God's judgment could not enter that house. Amen! Today, God will not judge you or punish you because of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Similarly, in the book of Numbers, there is the red heifer. After people sinned, the red heifer was burned to ashes, and the ashes had the power to cleanse from sin. Anyone who had sinned could wash in the water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer and be cleansed. This red heifer symbolizes our Jesus Christ. The true entity is Jesus Christ, who at that moment on the cross offered His precious blood completely to wash away your sins, and His precious blood will never lose its efficacy.
If you have not yet accepted Jesus and are willing to accept this Savior as your personal Savior, when you believe this way, the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse your sins. Acknowledge that you are a sinner, be willing to repent, and believe that the blood of Jesus can cleanse your sins, and you will receive forgiveness and peace. John the Baptist testified of Jesus, saying, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
The blood of Jesus does not cover our sins; it removes our sins, and you are righteous in His eyes! My dear friends, whether you believe it or not, whether you can accept it or not, our Lord Jesus has already completed salvation on the cross. His one act of righteousness on the cross completed this eternal work of redemption. Brothers and sisters, until the second coming of Jesus Christ, the door of grace is still open.
God does not care about your past, nor does He care about what you think in your heart right now. If you are willing to accept Jesus, He is willing to give you this grace and grant you life. Why did Jesus have to be crucified? It was because of our transgressions, because of our sins. But He did it willingly; no one forced Him. Because He loves us, He is willing to offer Himself and willingly be crucified for us. But why did He cry out in such great pain on the cross?
Sharing the first point: God forsaking Jesus was Jesus' greatest pain.
Mark 14:36: “He said, ‘Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’”
Jesus had this prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, and He prayed three times, all the same. He said, “Abba Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” I have asked many people before what this bitter cup refers to. They all say it is because Jesus feared being whipped, feared being humiliated, feared being crucified, feared death, and He asked God to take this cup away. If that were the case, the scripture we just read would be negated.
Jesus knew that no one could take away His identity; He came into the world knowing His mission and that this group of people would forsake Him. The very people He saved would shout, “Hosanna! Hosanna! Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” This is the deceitfulness of human nature. The Old Testament also tells us that the heart of man is deceitful above all things; who can understand it?
Jesus knew we were like this, yet He died for us. This bitter cup was absolutely not because Jesus feared death; He came precisely to die. So what does this bitter cup refer to? He knew that when He bore the sins of the world, the Father would surely leave Him.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus never left our Father God for a minute. Many times in the past, Jesus said, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me; I and the Father are one.” But at that moment on the cross, our Heavenly Father had to forsake Him. Because He was no longer holy and righteous; He was filled with your and my sins, so the Father had to leave Him and forsake this Son.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus said, “I can be whipped for them, I can die for them, but I do not want you to leave me.” The Lord Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit throughout His life; God never left Him. Because His name is Emmanuel, He was originally a prince in the kingdom of heaven, but for our sake, He was forsaken by God. He could heal us, give us life, but He did not want the Father to leave Him.
Even though it was only for a moment, just a few short hours, Jesus could not bear it. When His flesh was in pain, He did not utter a single complaint. When He was tortured and humiliated, He could endure it. Jesus never said, “The cross is too painful; Father, I want to come down; I do not want to be crucified anymore. These people are not worthy of my sacrifice; they do not understand what I am doing…” Jesus never said such things. Although He had the ability to do so, He did not because He knew that when He bore our wrath and our sins, He could exchange for us the eternal guarantee that God would never leave you again.
Brothers and sisters, we actually have many problems. Sometimes we hate others, we are greedy, proud, and jealous. Jesus knows we are like this, and He says, “Bring all of this to me; I will bear it.” Jesus did not say, “You are too filthy, too dirty; I will not die for you.” It is precisely because we are like this that we need Jesus Christ even more.
We are such people that the Father cannot accept us. We are in a severed relationship with Him. Jesus died for us to connect us forever with God. He was forsaken by God. Brothers and sisters, when He was struck by God, it was because He was filled with sin; that was our sin. Our God is just and holy.
Let us look at a passage of scripture, Isaiah 53:4-5:
4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed.
When Jesus was bearing our sins and our sorrows, the people at the foot of the cross did not understand; they thought Jesus had sinned and was being punished by God. In Isaiah, it was already prophesied that He truly bore our pain. In the New Testament, Jesus said this pain is sickness. You can find these scriptures in the New Testament. Many people came to Jesus, and everyone who came to Him was healed. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, that He truly bore our sickness and carried our pain.
He was treated harshly by God, struck by God, and forsaken by God because our sins were upon Him. Jesus knew what He was doing for us, so He said, “Because of the punishment He received, we have peace. Your peace is not free; it was bought with Jesus Christ’s life because He was forsaken by God, so you will no longer be forsaken by God. Because He has already borne the punishment for you, you are called the children of peace. Why will God keep your peace? Because someone has already paid the price.
Because of His wounds, we are healed; this is our promise. God does not say, “I will heal you when I feel like it, and I will not heal you when I do not feel like it.” God’s promise is that because of His wounds, we have been healed; Jesus has already been wounded. So you can draw from God His healing.
A couple of days ago, a brother communicated with me. He said he had believed in the Lord for more than ten years and had a question to consult. He had asked many pastors, and the pastors said, “You pray, but God may not heal you. God may heal you, or He may not heal you.”
I said, “Is that what your pastor said?”
He said, “Yes, because our pastor had prayed for some people, and they did not get healed.”
After that, the pastor said, “The sovereignty is with God; we can pray, but God’s healing is not up to us. God may heal you, or He may not heal you.”
In response to this person's doubt, I said, “Have you really believed in the Lord for more than ten years? Why do you not know what the assurance in the Bible is?” The statement your pastor made is very simple. I will give you an analogy, and you will understand. It is like a patient going to a hospital to see a doctor. After the doctor diagnoses him and prescribes medicine, the doctor says to the patient, “Take this medicine home and take it. You may not get better.” If you were that patient, would you take that medicine?
This is what happens when you do not believe in what Jesus has done for you; you will have no faith in God and will say, “Lord, is it because my behavior is not good that you do not want to accept me? You will not hear my prayer.” Jesus said, “I heal you not because of your bad behavior; I heal you because you understand what I have done for you. My wounds are enough for you to be healed. Hallelujah!”
We have a sister in our church who, after returning to her hometown, felt unwell. She is from the countryside and could not go to the hospital in time one night. At home, she kept repeating this phrase: “Because of the punishment He received, I have peace; because of His wounds, I am healed.” When she read it nearly 50 times, she said the symptoms suddenly disappeared.
Brothers and sisters, it is not about how many times you recite a verse for God to fulfill it; it is about believing that because of Jesus’ wounds, you are healed, and you will receive it immediately. It has nothing to do with your actions because Jesus on the cross wants us to receive His peace, His healing, and His life. This is our God; He was willing to be forsaken by God and the Father so that you would never be forsaken by God.
Jesus cried out loudly, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Brothers and sisters, this “why” is not because Jesus did not know; it is not Jesus questioning God. It is because He was in extreme pain and did not want to leave our Heavenly Father for even a minute. Even for a minute, it was an extremely difficult moment for Him, and the pain was immense. This proves that Jesus had an excellent relationship with our Heavenly Father.
If we do not understand Jesus’ feelings and say, “Father, do not care about me; I want to live my own life.” Even if you say this, I can assure you that no matter where you go, the Father will not forsake you. He will not leave you because of a joke or an unintentional comment. It is just that when we say, “Lord, I want to do this; do not care about me; I want to do it by my own efforts,” God is still by your side; He just cannot help you. Until one day you say, “Lord, please help me,” He will stretch out His hands to help us.
Sharing the second point, God forsook Jesus so that He would not forsake us anymore.
Jesus knew the reason He was forsaken by God, knew why He was crucified, and understood His mission. But at that moment, He cried out loudly because of His extreme pain. When we hear Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, we must understand that He did not want to leave the Father. At that moment on the cross, the Lord Jesus became sin for us. Because sinners are unworthy to call God Father, this is the only time in the Bible recorded that Jesus cried out to the Father, saying, “My God, my God.” At other times, Jesus always called Him Abba, Father. This term is universal and does not need translation; it is simply Abba. In any country, if you say Abba, it is understood as calling one’s father.
At that moment on the cross, He was unworthy to call Abba Father because He was filled with sin and had no right to call God Abba Father. But we are different; in the first chapter of John, it says that to all who received Him, He gave the right to become children of God. After becoming children of God, Paul’s letters also tell us that from that moment on, you are part of God’s family, and you can call Him Abba Father. Because you have received the spirit of sonship, you can call Abba, Father. What does this mean? This is a relationship that God has with you; from now on, you are no longer an orphan; you are the beloved child of God.
This is a relationship between a father and son, a mother and son, a father and daughter, a mother and daughter. No matter how you behave, even if your behavior is terrible, you are still the son and the most beloved daughter of the Heavenly Father; this identity cannot be changed. This is what Jesus earned with His life because Jesus was forsaken, and God will not leave you again, nor will He be angry with you again.
Let us read a passage from Isaiah 54:8-10:
8 In a surge of anger, I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness, I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer. 9 “To me, this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. 10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
This is Isaiah 54. In the previous chapter, Isaiah 53 describes the process of our Messiah being forsaken; He was struck by God and forsaken by God for our transgressions. In chapter 54, God immediately gives us a promise that after Jesus paid the price for us, God’s promise came.
“In a surge of anger, I hid my face from you for a moment.” This moment is precisely when our Lord Jesus was on the cross. God’s anger reached its peak; He said, “My anger is surging; all of my anger, all of my wrath, fell upon Jesus in that moment.” At that moment, our Heavenly Father turned His face away and no longer looked at His Son, leaving this Son alone and forsaken on the cross. What was it for?
When Jesus was forsaken, God said, “But with everlasting kindness, I will have compassion on you.” He was forsaken, and we were shown mercy by God, and it is with everlasting kindness. You are loved by God, and it is not without cost; it is because someone was forsaken that you will not be forsaken by God. Who said this? This is what the Lord your Redeemer says.
Do not let anyone tell you that God is still angry with you, that God will judge you, that God will condemn you… This is what our God says, not what a teacher says, not what a famous pastor says; it is what our Redeemer says. He will have everlasting kindness and compassion on you because someone has already paid the price for your sins, so God treats you this way. This is like the days of Noah.
God, fearing that we would not understand, gave us an example, saying, “Just as I swore not to let the waters of Noah cover the earth again.” In that chaotic generation, in that time of everyone doing their own thing, only Noah and his family acknowledged our God. His family of eight was saved. When they came down from the ark, Noah offered clean animals as sacrifices to God. After God saw Noah’s offerings, He said, “Because of the offerings, I swear I will never again destroy the world with a flood.”
Do not believe any catastrophic movie that tells you that a flood will destroy the world in so many years; it will never happen again. Why? When you see the rainbow after the rain, it is a covenant between God and Noah. When will the rainbow disappear? Until this world ceases to exist. It is impossible to say that starting this year, the rainbow will never be seen again. You do not have the final say on this matter.
Every time you see a rainbow, remember that it is a covenant. God tells us that He will never again destroy the world with a flood. To help us understand this, He says, “When you see the rainbow, remember my covenant.” What I tell you is that God will have everlasting kindness and compassion on you, just like this covenant. God says, “Today I also swear not to be angry with you, nor to rebuke you.”
God gives us a metaphor: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed.” In this world, mountains are the most stable, and hills are also stable. God says, “Even if the mountains are shaken, this is what I tell you: even if the mountains are removed, my love will not leave you; even if the hills are moved, my covenant of peace will not be removed.” Is this not what God says to you? It is said, “This is what the Lord, who has compassion on you, says.” Why did God’s attitude change? It is because someone is bearing your sins. Amen! Thank the Lord.
Sharing the third point, God’s temporary forsaking was for eternal gain.
The Lord Jesus is the glorious high priest; the offering He presents is Himself. If Jesus had not died for us, we would surely die. If Jesus had not borne God’s punishment for us, we would still be under God’s punishment. But thank God, the Son of God, Jesus, shed His precious blood. We are cleansed by His precious blood. Some say that when we sin, we need to confess, and God will forgive us. Is this statement correct? Does it mean that if you sin today and confess, God will forgive you?
Let me give you an example. On the night of Passover, God told the Israelites, “You must kill a lamb without defect, absolutely healthy, and put its blood on the doorposts and lintels because tonight I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn.” If an Israelite family said, “We do not need to do this; it is too troublesome. We will start confessing and repenting from now on, confessing all our sins…” Will they die that night? They will surely die.
Because the Bible never tells us that after you sin, if you confess, God will forgive you. What is the wage of sin? Death. If you want to pay off your sin debt, it is simple: just die, and it will be paid off. So do not take God’s standard of justice lightly. His standard has never been lowered.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus was forsaken; He is our high priest who bore our sins. In the Old Testament, when a person sinned, they would bring a bull, sheep, dove, or turtledove to the priest and say, “High priest, I have sinned; this is my offering.” The priest would reply, “Lay your hand on the head of this sheep and say, ‘All my sins are transferred to this sheep.’” The priest would hand him a knife, and he would kill the sheep, letting its blood drip into a basin. The priest would take the basin before God and return to say, “You can go back now; go in peace! Because God has covered your sins, you do not have to die anymore. Why? Because this lamb has died for you.”
When Jesus was on the cross, He was bearing all our sins. So you do not have to pay the price for your sins anymore because you cannot afford that price; the price is death. Thank the Lord! Jesus has already died for us, so you do not have to die anymore. Some say, “Now we are under grace,” which does not mean we can indulge ourselves, do whatever we want, or despise God and others. This is incorrect.
Let me tell you a story that may help you understand better. If you understand what grace is, you will never deliberately sin.
Before I believed in the Lord, I was involved in marketing training. You may know that there is a type of training called “devil training,” which aims to unleash your potential. We once held several sessions. During one of them, I participated and saw the state of these people. Two people formed a pair; one person did nothing while the other began to play games with others. If this person made a mistake, the one paired with him had to do 50 push-ups. For every mistake, that person had to do 50 more. In the end, if that person kept making mistakes, he could end up doing 500 push-ups, and when he could not get up from the ground, no one showed him mercy. That person said to him, “This is the result of your mistakes; you do not have to bear your sins. But he has been bearing your sins all along.”
Brothers and sisters, God will not punish you anymore because He has borne your sins. When you understand this, you should know that when you sin, Jesus has borne your sins; this is the result. If you know that Jesus died for you and bore the punishment for you, understanding grace will lead you to never deliberately sin. Instead, compassion will arise from within you, and love will flow from you.
Later, when that person had done 700 push-ups, he cried and confessed his mistakes. We maintained order and said, “Do not do this; you cannot replace him. He is your scapegoat.” Brothers and sisters, if you understand the story I just told, you will understand what grace is.
God is the examiner; you can sin carelessly, but remember that every sin you commit, Jesus is paying the price for you. If you understand this, you will not deliberately slander others, spread discord, or speak ill of others. You will not deliberately indulge yourself. Amen! I also want to say that when a person says, “I do not care; I want to do whatever I want…” that person does not understand the grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus was forsaken so that we would be eternally received by God because He is our high priest who bore the punishment for our sins.
Isaiah 53:4-10 has already told us:
4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
Brothers and sisters, I wish for you to think about the story I just shared this week. God is the examiner, the overseer; the sins you commit are borne by Jesus. He has always been bearing them, so God will not punish you because He is your sin offering. If you truly understand the meaning of grace, your behavior will change. When Jesus bore all our sins, He was forsaken by God.
So at that moment, God had no compassion for Jesus because He is a just God, a judging God. He must pour out all His wrath upon Jesus. When Jesus was on the cross, He bore all our curses, all our diseases, all our burdens, and all our sins. When Jesus did all this, the Bible says He will see the labor of His soul and be satisfied. When people understand that Jesus did all this to save us, they will change.
The weak will no longer be weak; a slanderer will no longer slander; a murderer can become a missionary. These people have changed because they understand the love of Jesus Christ. A few years ago, I shared with you the testimony of Lu Daihao, a murderer. Why did he change? Because he understood the grace of Jesus Christ; he was truly changed by Jesus. He has saved countless people. The Bible says He will see the labor of His soul and be satisfied because many will be justified through knowing my righteous servant.
I do not hope that everyone just listens to the sermon in a muddled way and then lives in a muddled way. You need to recognize the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. When you realize His grace, your life will change. How do you know if you are under grace or under the law? You can tell by the words that come out of your mouth.
If you say, “I am still this kind of person,” receive from Jesus. I do not want to condemn you or put you under the law; I just want you to understand what price Jesus paid for you. Jesus loves you so much, and He has done so many things for you. He does not want you to suffer punishment, so He let His Son suffer punishment. When you understand all this, you will understand what love is. We are changed by God’s love, not by the coercion of the law.
I have said this many times: the Israelites did not improve under the law for 1500 years. When Jesus was on earth, He preached the gospel for three and a half years, and people changed. Countless families changed because of the grace of Jesus Christ. So when you have only the love of Jesus in your heart, you will have loving actions.
Finally, let me share, God forsook Jesus to fulfill the words of the Psalms.
Psalm 22 has already told us, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This is precisely the scene of Jesus on the cross. This also tells us that God is the source of everything. Our God has an attribute of being omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. When God created the world and everything in it, it was orderly. On the first day, He created this; on the second day, He created that; and finally, He created man, proving that God has a plan and order in everything He does. All objects operate according to their specific laws.
If some objects do not want to operate according to the predetermined trajectory set by God, this world, our earth, would have been gone long ago. One day, if the moon said, “Why must I always turn like this? I want to bump into the earth…” then we would have been finished! This tells us that God’s creation is absolutely not chaotic; it is meticulously arranged and designed, all in order.
From this, I want to share that you are God’s meticulous creation. Do not let anyone judge you. When others judge you, tell yourself, “I am not what you say I am; you cannot define my life.” There is no second person like me in the world, Amen! You are God’s unique creation throughout history. If you go to a factory, everything is the same; if you go to a church, everything is different. Because the church is a group of people saved by Jesus Christ, each person is unique.
Aren’t identical twins the same? They look very similar, but are they really exactly the same? Are their personalities and preferences the same? They are different. Some may say, “You are being too absolute.” There are clones; do you think that person’s personality is the same as yours? Isn’t it different? Brothers and sisters, you are God’s meticulous creation. When God created us, He also gave us some order to follow. This is not the law; it is just an order.
For example, in a family, the husband is the head of the wife, and the wife is the body of the husband. Does this mean the head is more important than the body? No, it is just an order. God says, “Wives, submit to your husbands.” Amen! This is an order, meaning that you should discuss everything with your husband and let him make the decisions. Under this complete order, God will bring great blessings to your family.
Similarly, in a church, who is the head? Jesus Christ! Always remember that the head of the church is Jesus Christ. Who is the head of the flock? It is the pastor; he is the head of the flock, and Jesus is the head of the church. Amen! There must be a head sheep among the flock, but who is the shepherd? It is the shepherd. The head in the church is the pastor or teacher, the shepherd. Therefore, the church also has an order: the flock must listen to the arrangements of the shepherd.
Everyone must take the Bible as our standard because this is the word of Jesus Christ. If we are unwilling to do this, we break God’s blessings. Indeed, some women are very strong. If you observe closely, as long as the husband has no status in the family, the wife is very dominant; such families will not fare well. Our God is such a God. Moreover, God is an unfailing and omniscient God.
He said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This is to fulfill the words of the Psalms, telling us why God allowed His Son to die on the cross. Did God know this would happen before the foundation of the world? Yes, Jesus knew long before creation that He would die for everyone one day. Why did God still do this?
We have free will; each person is God’s unique creation. In the Garden of Eden, Eve had free will. She was in happiness, but did she know happiness? No, she was in God’s love, but did she know it was God’s love? She did not know. When did she start to know? When she believed the serpent’s words and began to doubt God.
Let’s make a hypothesis so you can understand what I am trying to say. Who told Eve the words? Did Adam tell her? Our God said, “Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; if you eat, you will surely die.” The husband told the wife, and what should the wife do? Submit to her husband. Do not ask why, why…
Then the serpent came and said, “You will not surely die.” Did doubt arise? When we have mutual suspicion and doubt, the devil can easily attack you. The first to be attacked is Eve. At this point, Eve began to think, “How come what my husband said is different?” Surely one of them is wrong. If she had doubts, she should have gone directly to God and asked. Would God have answered her? Yes, God would have told her, “What I told your husband is this: if you eat, you will surely die.”
Because there is something better, do not eat this law; eat the fruit of the tree of life. Jesus Christ tells you that if you believe, you will have eternal life; do not doubt. After hearing the serpent’s words, she had doubts and went to find God to ask. If she had done that, all problems would have been solved. What is feared is that there is no communication between each other, and they judge each other, making it easy to fall into the devil’s trap.
When they lost everything, God did not say, “This is your own doing; I have already told you that if you eat, you will surely die. Do you take my words lightly?” God said, “Since you have done this, you must be punished.” They were cast out of the Garden of Eden. But before God cast them out, He had already provided them with salvation, you know?
What was their own method? Adam was originally a very clever person. When he realized he was naked, he used fig leaves. But how long could that last? After a while, shame would be exposed. When you are weak and doubtful, you should seek God, come before God in prayer, and let God give you a method. People can also give you some comfort, but like the fig leaves, it is very temporary. After that, you will fall back into the original problem. You should come before God. Amen.
God hopes that there will be no suspicion between us, that we will be of one heart and one mind. When God’s Son was forsaken, God truly hoped that we would not be angry with each other, that we would not attack each other. If you carefully read John 16, before Jesus went to the cross, there is a prayer on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed to the Father for us. One very important part is, “Father, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.”
Brothers and sisters, when Christians are united, the church will prosper, and your families will prosper. If we have a breach, and the devil attacks, the person who falls into the devil’s trap will certainly be in a very bad situation. I have seen too many people who have fallen into such situations. But our God will not fail. Even if you fall, God will not say, “It is your own doing; do not blame me.” God will lift you up.
When we sin, does it have nothing to do with Jesus? But Jesus still came to pay off your and my sin debt and restore our relationship with God. This is our God, thinking of our benefit. Amen! He created the world for us to enjoy, and He sent His Son into this world to regain His life for us because we lost it in the past. Brothers and sisters, when Jesus was forsaken by God today, He will not forsake you again; God’s justice has been fulfilled.
Finally, let us look at a passage from Hebrews 10:16-23:
16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time,” says the Lord. “I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” 17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” 18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
We meditate on the loud cry of Jesus on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The Lord says that after those days, that is, after Jesus was forsaken, God established a new covenant with us. This new covenant is that God will put the law of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ in our hearts. Today, it is the Holy Spirit in your heart, no longer the Ten Commandments. You are filled with the law of the Holy Spirit. He will say, “I will remember their sins and lawless acts no more.” Because Jesus was forsaken by God on the cross, today God will not forsake you again.
When you understand the true grace of Jesus Christ, you will not deliberately sin. You will become a peace offering between people, and you will not be self-righteous because you know that everything is received, not because of our actions. So there is nothing to boast about; we all receive from Jesus. Because of the blood of Jesus, we can boldly enter the Most Holy Place and come before the throne of grace. Jesus opened this way for us, and we can confidently say before God, “Father, we owe you nothing anymore because Jesus has paid the price for my sins.”
Every time I sin, I know that Jesus bore the pain for me. It gives me the strength to overcome sin once again. I no longer pray every day for what I owe God because Jesus has already paid off all my sins. During the process of listening to the sermon, all jealousy, discord, and worries in my heart will be washed away by the words of Jesus. I am a beloved person of God, coming before God, no longer in fear and trembling. I come with a sincere heart and full assurance because this faith is not mine; it is Jesus Christ’s.
When Jesus prayed to God, God would surely listen. We pray to God with the faith of Jesus. I also firmly believe in the hope we profess. We are examples to the world and peace offerings to our brothers and sisters. I am not the one who spreads discord; I am the one who brings encouragement and comfort to others. Thank and praise the Lord. Because our Lord Jesus is like this, the promise God gives us is faithful. I believe what our God says; God says He will not be angry with me anymore. I believe it. Amen! Hallelujah!
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise you for your grace. It is not because our behavior is good that you accept us; it is because of the blood of Jesus Christ that you accept us. You no longer remember our sins because Jesus has already paid the price for our sins. Because of His wounds, we have received healing; because of His punishment, we have received peace.
Peace is upon me, and health is upon me. I will become a help to others, and the words that come out of my mouth will be words that build others up because Jesus Christ is like this, so I am like this. I believe in God’s grace upon me; you love me so much, and you have prepared everything I need on the road ahead. Although there are tribulations, I will not be afraid; you will surely save me. I may be weak, but I know you will not forsake me. For this, I thank you; all glory belongs to you. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.