"And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb...Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” (Gen.22:8;13-14)
In the mount of The Lord it was provided. The sacrifice for our sins. The redemption for our souls. What human beings are thoroughly incapable of securing for themselves, He Himself has accomplished and provided for us through Golgotha's cross. "And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him..." (John 19:17)
"And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him." - (Matt. 27:39-42)
But, He who is God incarnate, the Son of God, could not come down from the cross, because He must provide Himself as the Lamb. Those who stood there mocking and shaming Him, taunting Him to come down from the cross, would never have the opportunity to believe and be saved, if He had saved Himself. It was His cross that was providing both theirs and our salvation. We can't save ourselves, but salvation has been provided in the mount of The Lord, and it comes only by way of the cross of Calvary's hill. The old familiar hymn resounds, "On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame...but I love that old cross...where the dearest and best....for a world of lost sinners was slain!"
"In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
The message of the cross. Profoundly simple. God's mercy to forgive is provided. "...in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." (Col.1:14)
The message of the cross. Purposefully and perfectly accomplished. God's grace accomplished what is impossible for man himself to do. "...having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." - (Col.2:14)
The message of the cross. Prophecy fulfilled. God will provide Himself the lamb. "...Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus..." (Gal.3:13-14). "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). "...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold...but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot...” (1 Pet.1:18 -19)
There is no such thing as a “Cross-less Christianity”! Yet that is exactly what many would like to have you think today! Nevertheless, the power of God's provision lies in the cross! A man will never understand the cross until he stands under the cross. “Since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). The message of the cross sounds irrational to those who don’t believe it because God’s wisdom is so much different from human wisdom. "...[For]…the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Cor 1:18) Jesus didn't come to give us a moral code, we already had one in the law of Moses. Jesus didn't come to give us simply a moral philosophy, there a plenty of moral philosophies to choose from! Mankind needs more than just another prophet, it has plenty. Humanity needs more than a good moral teacher. There are many. What is needed is a savior and that is what He is. Furthermore, He is the only Savior God has provided! "...let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12). Jesus came to die as a ransom for many, his blood, his death, His cross, is what salvation's provision is!
The Lord provided and it is finished! Many churches and preachers have eliminated the cross from their preaching and from the message of the gospel! Today we have churches that have removed the cross from their buildings, or removed the cross from their sanctuaries in an effort to be modern, and politically correct; or in an effort to be seeker friendly or whatever other watered down euphemistic phrase they want to utilize to justify themselves with. However, to remove the cross is to gut the message of the gospel, because the message of the gospel IS the provision of the Lamb on the cross! "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal.6:14).
I will boast in the cross! I will uphold the cross! I will cling to the cross! Because with out the cross there is no provision for my sin! Without the cross there is no Christianity! Without the cross it's all just another futile and empty philosophy! The message of the cross! The self-righteous religionist will never understand it! The message of the cross! The worldly wise will reject it, and the legalist will neglect it. The message of the cross! The godless will hate it, and the wicked will wage war against it. But to those who are being saved it is both the provision and power of God! Please hear this! You and I both need to be reconciled to God, and in 'the mount of The Lord it was provided'! “….for, by Him (Jesus) He reconciled all things to Himself...whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (Col 1:20)
The message of the cross is the message of Gods provision. You cannot provide for it yourself. Friend, it doesn’t matter who you are, how badly you’ve sinned, or failed, or how long you’ve been struggling in a certain sin. The awesome power of God through Christ’s death on the cross is not only able to remove the penalty of it from you, but it’s also able to set you free of its control over you. That is why The Apostle Paul could say, “The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
His Grace Is Still Amazing To Me!
-Andy White-
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