The Cross of the Lord 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:2, NIV 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. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “The Cross of the Lord,” based on 1 Corinthians 1:18 and 2:2. Could you please repeat after me? “The Cross of the Lord. The Cross of the Lord.” The secret to a Christian’s successful and victorious life lies in where they place their faith. We must place our faith on the Cross of the Lord Jesus. We must be armed with faith in the Lord based on the Cross. When we are armed with the faith of the Cross, we can live victoriously in the Lord, overcoming all problems. The reason why we stumble whenever we are faced with problems is that our foundation of faith is not correctly built. Our faith must not be based on experiences, habit, formality, church systems, or positions, but only on the Cross of Jesus Christ. We cannot emphasize the Word of God enough in our Christian life. The Word of God testifies to the Lord Jesus. The Cross is the culmination of the life of Jesus Christ. When our faith is strongly built on the foundation of the Cross, we can live a victorious and fruitful life of faith without being easily shaken. The Cross is the only way to salvation. It is the only way to happiness and eternal life. The Cross is the only way to victory and love. The Cross is the only thing that will lead us to the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, let us live victoriously by holding on to the Cross throughout our lives. We must be overwhelmed by our love for the Lord whenever we think of the Cross. We must be touched by the word “Cross” while we sing hymns. We must experience the blessing of the Lord through the Cross, being full of grace and love from the Lord. Apostle Paul lived victoriously until he was martyred, by holding on to the faith based on the Cross. He confessed to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul could boast about many things. However, after meeting the Lord Jesus on his way to Damascus, he said, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Hallelujah! Paul boasted about nothing but the Lord Jesus and His cross. What is the Cross of the Lord like? First, the Cross of the Lord is the Cross of salvation. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “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.” The messages in the Early Church were focused on Jesus Christ and His crucifixion. All their sermons were focused on the fact that Jesus took all our sins and died on the Cross. Since the contemporary Church does not speak about Jesus Christ or His Cross very much, it has stopped growing. Consequently, the contemporary Church faces various problems. When I was studying in the United States, I visited the oldest church in Philadelphia. My fellow Korean students said that the church was popular to foreign students, since they were welcomed and treated well at that church. That church had about 1,500 seats in the main sanctuary. They did not have the worship service in there, though. In the basement, they turned a classroom into a chapel, and had worship services there. About 70 people gathered at the worship service. I still clearly remember that the service took only 50 minutes, including the sermon, offering, and church announcements. The pastor introduced himself as an interim pastor and preached for about 20 minutes. He did not speak about Jesus Christ or His Cross at all. While I was listening to the sermon, I realized that it was possible to preach without talking about Jesus. He did not talk about Jesus Christ or the Cross. He talked about how Christians could live ethically and morally. Christians must live ethically and morally, but it is impossible without Jesus Christ. We cannot live victoriously without holding on to the Cross of our Lord. I was surprised at the worship service. I was also surprised after the service when the people went upstairs to the main sanctuary. They had removed all of the pews, put in large tables, and set up a huge amount of food on them. I understood why the foreign students liked that church. They spent 50 minutes in the worship service and two hours in fellowship. They ate, talked, and had fellowship with one another. I asked the pastor, “Since this church has such a large sanctuary, there must have been many people coming to this church. Where are they now?” The pastor replied, “About 3,000 people gathered to worship here during the peak of this church. But people bought houses in the suburban areas and moved away, so we have only seventy people attending now.” Even though you have moved far away, you would spend hours coming to church if the church were full of grace. One of our elders comes to our church all the way from Jeju Island every Sunday. Why? Because he loves the Lord and because Yoido Full Gospel Church is full of God’s grace. Hallelujah! If the Cross is gone, so are the life, power, and members of the church. What was the first sermon of apostle Peter? Acts 2:36 says, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” The Lord Jesus took all our sins on himself and died on the Cross. Originally, the cross was a device for carrying out the death penalty. Those who were crucified were described as cursed. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’ ” The cross of the curse has turned into the Cross of salvation, because the Lord Jesus was hung on it. 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” Jesus bore our sins in His body and died on the Cross. Whoever believes in the Lord Jesus will be saved and will become God’s child, because the Lord has forgiven all our sins through His death on the Cross. No other efforts are required for us to be saved. Good works or large donations do not guarantee one’s salvation. Those things are done as tokens of our thanksgiving after we have been saved. As long as we believe in Jesus, we will be saved and become God’s children no matter how unrighteous, sinful, and debauched we may have been. After becoming the children of God by believing in Jesus Christ, we need to live a life that is pleasing to God. I pray that the grace of the Lord Jesus will overflow from your hearts like a river. Although Westerners are generally tall, there was a man who was very short, not even five feet tall. Since people ridiculed him, he would rather stay unseen, hiding behind people. A height of five feet was short for an adult male. His name was Isaac Watts. While most Westerners have big eyes, Watts’ eyes were small. While most Westerners have a light complexion, his complexion was gray as if he were seriously ill. He considered himself as a worm. He was a worm-like being. While Watts was reading the Bible, however, he began to understand that Jesus died on the Cross for him. He repented of his sins and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. He was utterly thankful for the grace of the Cross. He realized that Jesus had died on the Cross for Watts, even though people had never recognized him. Overwhelmed by this grace, he wrote hymns No. 138 and No. 141. These two songs have the same lyrics with different tunes. Hymn No. 141 says: “Alas! and did my Saviour bleed, And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head For such a worm as I? Was it for crimes that I have done, He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! Grace unknown! And love beyond degree! Thus might I hide my blushing face While His dear cross appears, Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, And melt mine eyes to tears.” The last verse carries great inspiration. “But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of love I owe! Here, Lord, I give myself away; ‘Tis all that I can do.” “But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of love I owe! Here, Lord, I give myself away; ‘Tis all that I can do.” I want this confession to be our confession, too. There was a very wealthy woman who was not a Christian when she was young, but later on in life, she believed in Jesus. She was grateful for the grace of the Lord. She was overwhelmed by His grace, even at the thought of the Cross. One day she took her granddaughter to a market place. When a beggar asked for her help, she opened her wallet and gave him some money. Sometime later, another person asked her for help, and she gave him some money, too. Since it was the Christmas season, she put some money in a Salvation Army charity box. She gave some money to everyone who needed help. Her granddaughter said, “Grandma, Grandma, we lost a lot today.” The grandma replied, “After believing in Jesus, I lost my hot temper, my words of gossip, worldly pleasures, greed, selfishness, jealousy, and my critical mind. I only have Jesus Christ now.” Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Without Jesus, worldly riches or fame does not mean anything. If we do not have Jesus, even if we have everything on earth, our lives will be miserable. On the other hand, when we believe in Jesus Christ, we can live with thankfulness, because we are the children of God. I pray that you will live for the glory of God, holding on to the Cross of our Lord Jesus. Second, the Cross of the Lord is the Cross of power. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “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.” Verses 23-24 says, “But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” The Cross is the great power of God. It defeats sin, hopelessness, poverty, and disease. The blood of Jesus, which was shed on the Cross, overcomes all sin. It sets us free from all despair and the snares of evil spirits and disease. Revelations 12:11 says, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Even though we are weak and incapable, even though we do not possess anything, as long as we hold on to the Cross and march forward, we can be more than conquerors. We can live victoriously through the power of the Cross, because the Cross of the Lord has everything. The Cross has the power of forgiveness of sin. The Cross has the power of healing. The Cross has the power of resurrection. We can find the power of peace that brings true peace in our hearts. Only the Cross has the power of salvation. Only the Cross provides solutions to our problems. Only the Cross is the way to blessings. Only the Cross leads us to eternal life. I pray that you will march forward with faith, holding on to the Cross of our Lord. Hymn No. 214 says in verse 4, “So with banners unfurl’d to the breeze Our motto shall ‘Holiness’ be.” Hallelujah! We should not step back or collapse when we encounter various problems and trials on this earth. Instead, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and fight all trials. Let us hold on to the Cross and gain victory. I pray that you will have victorious and blessed lives on earth and meet the Lord in heaven with joy when you are called home. We must resist and defeat the devil through the Cross. Colossians 2:15 boldly declares, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” He triumphed over them by the Cross! I want you to confirm your victory by the Cross. I want you to hold on to the Cross and boldly declare, “Despair, go away! Worry and anxiety, go away! Disease, go away from me! Curses, go away!” The Cross has great power and victory. As precious children of God, we must hold on to the Cross, boasting about the Cross until we go to heaven. Third, I want to talk about the Cross of Jesus, the only thing we can boast about. Jesus Christ is the only one about whom we can boast. There would be nothing to talk about Him if we leave out the Cross of our Lord. We must boast about the Lord Jesus and His Cross. We must boast about, give glory to, and bear witness to our Lord Jesus throughout our lives. Galatians 6:14 says, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul could boast about many things. He had a good family background. He received a good education. His family was wealthy. He was born a Roman citizen. However, after believing in Jesus Christ, he considered such things rubbish. He said that the only one he could boast about was Jesus. I pray that you will boast about nothing but the Cross of the Lord Jesus now that you believe in Him. Do not make the Cross of the Lord Jesus into a shameful cross again. Make it into a glorious and proud Cross. We must examine ourselves to determine whether we have crucified the Lord Jesus repeatedly?even though we say we love Him. A Christian was meditating on the suffering of Jesus. He fell asleep and saw Jesus on the Cross in his dream or a vision. Since Jesus was suffering so severely, he wept. He thought to himself, Jesus suffered on the Cross so much?all because of me. Suddenly a Roman soldier walked to the Cross, put a ladder beside it, and climbed up the Cross. What was he doing? He saw the soldier was holding a hammer. The soldier climbed up the Cross and pushed the thorns down hard on Jesus’ head. The thorns went deeper into His flesh, causing Him to bleed more. Then the soldier hammered a nail through His right hand even harder. He did the same to His left hand. He kept striking nails with a hammer in spite of Jesus’ groaning. The Christian could not bear to see it anymore. Therefore, he shouted, “Soldier! What are you doing?” The soldier turned around and looked at him. He himself was the soldier! Then he woke up. Whether it was a dream or a vision, he realized that he was nailing Jesus to the Cross again, because he had failed to please the Lord. He understood that it was not only 2000 years ago that Jesus was crucified, but He was also being crucified now. He realized that the Lord suffered when he did not trust or boast about the Lord, losing his temper, hating, and fighting with others. He bitterly wept and repented of his sins. I want you to examine yourself to determine whether you have hated, fought, hurt, or trampled on others, while you say you love the Lord Jesus. Let us take time to examine ourselves, to make sure that we are not crucifying Jesus again. We must pray to God, “Father, help us to never crucify the Lord Jesus again.” When we hate others, while saying, “I love the Lord,” we are crucifying the Lord again. When we raise our voices in anger, fight, yell, and hurt others, while saying, “I love the Lord,” we are crucifying the Lord again. We have to ask for His forgiveness. I pray that you will give thanks to the Lord for the Cross, spreading the good news about our Lord and His Cross all over the world. We must be witnesses of the Gospel, devoting our lives to the Lord. Now that we have received this wonderful grace of salvation, we must live as the servants of the Lord and be witnesses of the Gospel. We must preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We do not have to worry about whether people will receive the Gospel or not. What we have to do is to preach the Gospel as much as we can. Many missionaries go to outlying regions to preach the Gospel of the Lord. Malaria, endemic diseases, and various diseases often attack them, without being properly treated. One of our missionaries did not know that he had cancer until he came to Korea and had a medical checkup. Why do missionaries choose this hard life of toil? It is because they love the Lord and His Cross. They are not afraid of suffering. They are carrying their precious mission, considering suffering as the work of the Cross?not as suffering. I pray that you will not stay where you are, bothering and hurting others, but go into the world with the Gospel, and preach it to the ends of the earth. We will experience the wonderful power of God on us when we preach the Gospel, hold on to the Cross, and be armed with prayer, the Word of God, praise, and thanksgiving. A little girl was a faithful Christian in the remote countryside in Korea. She loved to go to church and listen to the sermons. She could not wait to go to church on Sundays. However, her father had been an idol worshipper for a long time. He did not like his daughter going to church. He would persecute her, saying, “Do you want to ruin our whole household?” One day when she came home from church, he grabbed her and hit her, causing her nose to bleed. Her nose kept bleeding and soaked her top and skirt. She did not carry a grudge against her father, though. She went into her room, stopped her nose from bleeding, and prayed with tears, “Lord, my Dad is doing this because he does not know You. Make him repent of his sins and believe in You, Jesus. Make my Dad a faithful servant for You.” She looked at herself and saw the bloodstains on her clothes, which reminded her of the Cross of Jesus. She wrapped her bloodstained clothes and put them in the attic. She got sick that day and became very ill and feverish. She could not eat well. If she ate anything, she would vomit whatever she ate. Doctors could not diagnose her illness. No medicine helped her, either. She was about to die with her breath very short. She cried, “Daddy, bring me the wrapped clothes from the attic.” Her father brought them to her and she held them tightly in her arms. Then she cried, “I see the Cross of Jesus. I see the Cross!” She silently breathed her last breath after that. Her father knelt down and wailed, saying, “My daughter died because of me. She died because of me. I persecuted her for believing in Jesus. She went to heaven ahead of me.” He accepted the Lord Jesus that day and became a faithful servant for the Lord, devoting his life for the glory of God. The death of a young girl brought salvation to the whole household. She boasted about the Cross of the Lord Jesus, even until her last moment on earth. The Cross is the foundation for our enthusiasm and cries. If we lose our enthusiasm for the Cross of the Lord, we have lost everything. Something must have gone wrong fundamentally. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, our minds will be completely focused on the Cross of our Lord Jesus. Without the Cross, our lives cannot be renewed. Without the Cross, we cannot expect any changes to occur in our lives. Without the Cross, we cannot expect any miracles, blessings, or grace at all. I urge you to love the Cross of our Lord with all your heart. I urge you to boast about nothing but the Cross of the Lord and to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us trust the Cross of the Lord and boast about it. I pray that Yoido Full Gospel Church will be filled with the love of Jesus Christ shown on the Cross. I pray that our church will manifest the glory of God. I pray that you will make the following confession of faith to the Lord, “I want to send out the breath of our Lord Jesus in my language. I want to show the glorious Lord. I want the blood of Jesus to flow in my veins. I want to have the heartbeat of the Lord Jesus in my heart. I want to leave the footprints of the Lord in my footsteps. I want to have the love and compassion of the Lord in my eyes. Jesus is everything to me. I cherish no one but Jesus Christ. I will boast about the Cross of the Lord whether I live or die.” I pray that you will make this confession to the Lord until He comes again. This is my earnest prayer for you. Let us pray. Our Father of infinite love, grace, and mercy, help us to boast about nothing but the Cross of the Lord throughout our lives. Pour Your grace upon us so that we will live for the glory of God, boasting about nothing but the Cross, being overwhelmed by the enormous love of the Lord who died for us. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.