The Village Church
T.G.I.F - Audio
[Music] If you have your Bibles open with me to Mark chapter 15. Mark chapter 15 verse 39. When the centurion who stood facing him. So that in this way he breathed his last. He said truly this man was the son of God. Pray with me. Father God will come to the time of our service in which we come to your word. And we pray that your spirit will speak through me. That your spirit will take your truth and apply it to my heart and apply it to the hearts of your people. And that we need him to come. Apart from him this means nothing. He has to take your truth and apply it to the hearts of your people. So our praise spirit come down and glorify Christ through this time and Christ in my prayer. Amen. Amen. TGIF. Thank God it's Friday. Thank God it's Friday. At the end of a busy week, a busy school week. That is an expression that we all have. As we walk out of the door, as we get into our car. Thank God it's Friday, TGIF. All of us love Friday. I know I do. And we all love it for various reasons. For some it's payday. It's the end of the work week. It's the beginning of the weekend. And most importantly, during this time of the year, it is the day of preparation before the big game on Saturday. Friday. We love Fridays. But if we could for a moment, go back 2000 years ago. And for one person, for one particular person in Jerusalem, his Friday started out just like any other Friday. He got up that morning. He put on his uniform. He headed out to his posts. He headed out to fulfill his daily responsibilities. Little did he know that that particular Friday was not going to be like any other Friday. He was going to see something. He was going to take part in something. Witness something that he has never seen before. His ordinary Friday turned out to be a life-changing Friday. It wasn't just any other Friday. You see, a routine event for him turned out to be just not any other event. Because the person he comes face to face with was just not any other man. Who is this person? John tells, Mark tells us, when the Saterian who stood facing him saw that in this way he breathed his last. He said truly this man was a son, the son of God. The Saterian, who is he? He is a professional soldier in Roman army and usually commanded over a hundred men. And like any military soldier, he had many responsibilities and one of those responsibilities was overseeing crucifixions. I'm sure he's seen his share of them. Like all human beings, when you see something for the first time, if you witness a murder or if you see a heinous crime, when you first see that, it disgusts you. You're like, "Oh, that's awful. That's inhumane. My goodness. I cannot believe what I just saw." But over time, if you continue to see that, what happens to you? If you continue to see heinous crimes over time, if you continue to witness murders over and over and over again, what would begin to happen to you? You become numb to it eventually. You become numb to it. It's safe to assume that our Saterian friend here has seen his share of crucifixions taking part in them. Probably have become numb to them. It no longer phases him. It no longer disgusts him. It's just routine. It's just part of my job as a Roman soldier. It ain't personal. It's just business. When you see things on TV, violent crimes on TV, when you witness murders on TV, you become numb to those things in real life. You can read murders in the newspaper and be like, "Hmm, someone died yesterday. You're not shot by it anymore. Are you?" It's just life, right? It's no longer disgusts you, right? It's just routine. It's like moving to a town that has a paper mill. When you first move to the town, you know the smell. You know the odor. But when you live there for months and months and months, what will begin to happen to you? You no longer smell it. You no longer smell it. You become accustomed to the smell. The odor is no longer there. The same thing has happened to this man. He no longer smells the odor of crucifixion. It's just normal. It's just life. So when he first saw Jesus, he didn't think anything was different. It wasn't anything unique about this particular man, this particular cross. It was just any other Friday, any other day on the job. To him, Jesus was just another convicted criminal getting his just punishment for his crimes against Rome. He was an enemy of the state. Was he really an enemy of the state? Did he really receive a just punishment? We know that's not true. We know that he was only convicted because the people were envious of him. He was condemned to death for no sound reason. But the centurion didn't know any of those things. Again, his Friday was starting out like any other Friday. But when we look back through the scriptures, when we look through history through God's Word, we know that that particular Friday was not any other Friday. Don't we? And we know that cross was just not any other cross. You see, death by crucifixion in the Roman Empire, it was a shameful, disgraceful way to die. It was painful. And it was reserved for the verse type of criminals, which Jesus was not. He was a righteous man crucified like a criminal. They divided up his garments. And Mark says in verse 26 of chapter 15 that the inscription of the charge against him was this king of the Jews. And as he hung on that cross, he was he was derated. He was mocked by people. They said things like save yourself. Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross. Then we would see and believe he save others, but he could not save himself. Even one of the criminals in a cross with him mocked him as well. Unlike the chief priests, the teachers of the law, the centurion did not do any of those things. He stood facing Jesus. The image you should have as a soldier standing right in front of the cross of Jesus, looking up at the Christ, facing Jesus, looking at Jesus dying. Keep in mind that he ain't planned for this. It wasn't part of his military itinerary, but to focus on Jesus' cross. That was not part of his plan. He was beginning to notice something that my dad might not just be in the other day. This cross might not just be any other cross. He's seen his share of those crucifixions. Something was different about this. There was other men in the cross, other men crucified with Jesus, but he was focused on Christ, sending on his particular cross, facing Jesus, dying on the cross. Why? The cross apart from Christ means nothing. You know that right. The cross apart from Jesus has no power. Christ gives it the power, and only his cross can grab a person's heart and change it. No one else can, no other, anything else can't do that. Nothing else has the power to do that. Only Jesus can do that. This soldier, he's a Gentile, lived a Roman lifestyle, I would assume. As we know, ancient Rome is not known for its morality, so you can assume he probably lived a Roman lifestyle. But here he is, face to face with Jesus. All of us have a story that first brought us to the cross, don't we? Don't you have a story? And if you're honest, your story is just like the centurion. You didn't plan for it. Your days started out just like any other day. You were not looking for it. You were just going on about your life. It was a regular day. Praise God that he works in our regular life to bring us to himself. So what was it for you that brought you to the throne, that brought you to the cross? Did someone share the gospel with you? Just have a life-changing moment. We all know what it is that first brought us there. And what's beautiful about the cross is that it captured our hearts. Do you remember the first time it captured your heart when it had your heart and you were in love? You remember that time? It changed your heart through the spirit and you received saving faith in Jesus. You saw your need for us saved for the first time. You saw your need for Jesus for the first time. You were changed from the inside out. I had a friend who was studying to be a doctor and he was having a hard time understanding the gospel, getting the gospel. He was a super nice guy, a good student. And every time I shared the gospel with him, he always thought he wasn't worthy because he didn't have his life lined up. So basically, he would go to the cross, put a sticky note up there and says, "I will return once I have my life together, then I'll come back to the cross." He thought the cross was for people who was healthy, who had their lives lined up, who always made the right decisions, who always did the right things. And once his life looked that way, then he was going to return to Jesus' cross and receive him. That's not the gospel. He later got it. God later showed him that the cross is not for those who have their life together. It's for those who don't have their life together. And those who live like their life have their life together or live in the lie, they're faking. No one has it all together. No one. And the cross is for messy, broken centers like me and like you. The cross is unlike anything in the world. Why? Because it accepts you where you are first. It accepts you where you are first. Then it changes you and grows you into what God wants you to be. That's the gospel. That's the power of the cross. Have your experience there. Have you forgotten it. It's powerful. It's wonderful. And the centurion is standing in front of it. That Friday, just not any other Friday, that cross, not just any other cross. Why? Because Jesus was not just any other man. He was just not any other man down on the cross. When the centurion who stood facing him saw that in this way, he breathed his last. He said, "Truly this man was the Son of God." As he stood facing Jesus, what did he see? What did he witness? What was happening to him that made him make this bold confession? He noticed how Jesus responded to his enemies. Luke tells us that Jesus said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." He prayed for the ones who had him convicted. Pray for the ones that had him nailed to the cross. "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." He heard those words. He heard Jesus' words from the thief from the cross. The thief said, "Jesus, remember me when your kingdom come." Remember me in your, hello, when you come into your kingdom. What did Jesus tell the criminal? "Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise." He was watching Jesus, seeing how Jesus treated those who hated him. He never seen anyone do this surfing across with such humility, purity, and love. He stood at the foot across, facing the dying Jesus. Something was happening to this man. He was seeing the living gospel unfold before his eyes. That's what he was witnessing. He made this bold confession, truly this man with the Son of God. Why is that unique? Seeing the gospel mark, the whole gospel is about Jesus being the Son of God. The whole gospel is about that. And this is the first person in his gospel that make that confession boldly. And this person was a Gentile not a Jew. It was a Gentile not a Jew. And what draws him to that confession was the death of Christ. When he breathed his last, he made that confession. And when he heard this cry of Jesus, he said, "Jesus ordered a loud cry and breathed his last." What was that loud cry that Jesus ordered? "Father into your hands, I commit my spirit." And having said this, he gave up his last. He gave his last breath. He was listening to Jesus say these things. And as one Christian said, this cry of Jesus was a cry of confidence. A cry by which Jesus voluntarily surrendered himself to his father. "Father into your hands, I commit my spirit." What does it mean that he breathed his last? It means Jesus freely yield up his spirit. Death did not take Jesus' life. Do you know that right? Death did not take his life. He freely gave his life. You want to talk about somebody being the man? That's Jesus. That's the man. Even in death, he was still in the control of his destiny. Can you wrap your mind around that? Even as he died, he was still the man, still in control of his destiny. And so, 2000 years ago, that Friday was not any other Friday. That cross was not any other cross. That man that hung there was not just any other man. He was the son of God. And only the son of God can do something like that. What else did he see? What else happened on that Friday? Mark 15, 38 says, "The curtain of the temple was torn into from top to bottom." You say, "Well, what's significant about that in the temple?" There was two sections in the temple. There was the holy place and the most holy place. And there was a curtain that divider. The most holy place, the holy of holies, only one person could enter that place. That was the high priest that he could only go there once a year to make atonement for the sins of the people. And that curtain was torn into why, because when Jesus died, there was no longer separation between God and his people. Christ had bridged the gap between God and his people. He died at the sacrificial lamb on the cross on that Friday as a way in which man could be made right with God. Now we through him can go into the holy of holies, because of Jesus, our perfect and true high priest. His enemies did not realize that there was a divine purpose behind his death. You see, they could not see that he was the son of God. They thought by killing him, they would silence him and put an end to his message and influence. Kill the man, kill the movement. No, by killing the man, they started one. His death did not silence him. It did not put an end to his message. It did not put an end to his purpose. No, this death was the fulfillment of his mission he received from the father. He came to die as the sacrificial lamb and death did not destroy that. It did not destroy him. He destroyed death, the power sin through his death. He put those things in their place. He put death and sin in their place, told them to know their role. You see, ancient wrong crucifixion was what is a shameful and disgraceful way to die. In his enemies, they brought him shame. They thought they brought him distress. They thought they made him a victim. They thought they won. Didn't they? We won. We got rid of Jesus. We just not Jesus off. That would be the end of it. And they were wrong. After Centurion stood facing Jesus, he was not looking at a victim. Know that? Jesus was not anyone's victim on the cross. He was not a powerless victim. He hung there. He suffered there. He endured there by his own free will. He died a powerful victor over his enemies. In his, even in death, he was the victor. He won. You know that right, V is for victor, not victim. A cross that was a symbol of shame and distress and death was now a symbol of victory in life. That's what he did. He took the most disgraceful thing in Roman Empire and made a symbol of life. Because there he defeated sin and death. He only drove my conclusion. Truly, this man with the son of God. Now, if you're a believer, you're attempting to say, "I don't need to hear that sermon, Alex. I don't need to hear that. I'm already a Christian. I became a Christian. When I was five, I walked down the aisle and made my profession a faith. So I understand that, Alex. I've already done that. But don't forget, you are still prone to wonder. Prone to leave the God you claim to love. And I ask you, is the cross still wonderful to you? Like it was when you first believed. Is it still amazing? Does it still grab your heart? Does it still have your attention? Is it still powerful for the life that you live here as a believer? Is it cross? Is it dimmer in your life? Or is it bright, brighter? Is it brighter? Which is it? As you grow in your faith, the cross does not grow dimmer. It does not grow smaller. It shouldn't enlarge in your life. Every day for the rest of your life. And it all says you grow in your faith. You don't become sinless. You grow in sin more of your sin. God gives you victory over sin. He gives you victory over things you go with, but you don't ever become sinless. You grow in more of a world how sinful you are. At the end of Paul's life, what did he say? "I am the chief of all sinners." That statement was made at the end of his life. "I am the chief of all sinners." That was Paul at the end of his life. How do you see your life as you grow? "Chief of all sinners." And so when you see your sin, that cross should be growing bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and brighter and brighter and brighter. Now that I'm not saying God doesn't give you victory, he does. But he never takes you, you never get to a place where you don't need to cross. And if that's your view of Christianity, then that's not Christianity. It's not self-help because it's difficult. You can't help yourself. And you can't save yourself. That's Christianity. That's the gospel. And so we should thank God and praise God that 2,000 years ago that Friday wasn't just another Friday. You should thank God and praise God that one particular crucifixion was not just any other crucifixion. And you should thank God and praise God that Jesus was not just any other man dying or shameful death because if he was, then you're going to hell. You're lost without hope. You should praise God and thank God for that. We all should. For Jesus who died in our place because if he did not, there is no hope. You talk about the people always, when we show you faith with people, folks will say, "Well, I don't see where is God? I don't see God moving. I don't see God moving in my life. Understand that incarnation is love. That's God moving in your life." He sent Jesus because he loved you. Jesus died because God loved you. If he didn't care anything about you, Jesus will never came and went through what he went through. He paid a price for your sin. And if you think you have no sin, then that is sin. You understand that? You understand that right? Even your morality is sin. All your good works can be sin. Because God is not, that doesn't, you think God, how I want to say this? God is not jumping up and down when we do good works because our good works cannot save us. He still smells to him. It's vomit to him. Because we use our good works to isolate ourselves from him. No. We still need a Savior to cover even that, to cover even the good things that we do. We need a Savior for those too. Special living in the Bible bed. We have a lot of people who are good people. I go to church. I pay my tithe. I pay my 10%. I don't cheat on my spouse. I may get a little oversight about college football, but my vices are not that bad compared to other people. There's only one way in which you could be made right with God. And that is through Jesus. Not your own cross. Not your own good works. You're a Savior. We all do. And as believers, we are not just any other people. You know that right. We are His people. His beloved. And like Him, we don't have to live as victims in our circumstances. You don't have to live as a victim of your own suffering. You don't have to live as a victim of your own disappointments. A victim of your shortcomings. A victim of your failures. A victim of your enemies. A victim of your foes. You don't have to live as a victim of your sin. Whatever that may be, pornography, whatever. You don't have to live as a victim of those things. Realize that because He died a victor, He rose as a victor. Those who have seventh faith in Him cannot live as victors over all those things. Do you know that? You don't have to live as a victim as a Christian. But God through His Spirit gives you power to stand up over those things as a victor. That's the power to cross. The gospel. And even though I fail, I don't have to be a victim of that. I can still have joy. Even though I suffer loss, I don't have to be a victim. I can still be a victor in that because He was. Disappointments, shortcomings. Are we going to have them? Some people think that when I become a Christian, I'm going to have this nice, safe life. If God's going to give me everything I want, no. You will struggle. You will suffer. But you don't have to be a victim. You can be a victor in all those things. There's a story told by Reverend J.R. Miller of a boy whose sister was dying. He heard that if he could secure a single leaf from the tree of life that grew in the garden of God, the illness could be healed. So this boy set out to find this garden. And he implored the angel to let him have just one leaf. One leaf from the tree of life. The angel asked the boy if he could promise that his sister should never be sick anymore if this request were granted. That she should never be unhappy or do wrong nor be cold or hungry or be treated harshly if his request was granted. The boy said I could not promise any of those things to my sister. Then the angel opened the gate a little and bit in the child to look inside for a moment to have one glimpse of the beauty of this garden. The angel said, "Then if you still wish," the angel said, "I will myself ask the king for a leaf in the tree of life to give your sister." So the boy looks inside and he sees the beauty and the blessedness of what's inside that gate. He says softly to the angel, "I will not ask for this leaf now. There is no place in all the world so beautiful as that garden. There is no friend, so kind as the angel of death. I wish he would take you to." In Jesus, you are no longer a victim of death, but you stand as a victim over it because through it you will enter that garden of life in the next life. Let's pray. Father God, I thank you that because of what Jesus did upon the cross, there is no fear and death for those who know him. And that we truly live here sojourners passing through. We suffer, we fight, and we're going to do those things, but we are not citizens of this world. We are citizens of your kingdom. And as hell, this is who we represent. I pray through your spirit that we will represent you well. I pray, Father, that we will live as victors over the things that we go through. We're going to suffer things, Father. But Lord, we can get through them, we can fight through them. We want to know that the body of Christ working together and loving one another. So help us to live out the things that we know to be true. I pray that the cross will become beautiful to us Lord, more so than it may be right now. And that our hearts love, love Christ more and more and more. And we know your word says, Father, that he who began a good work in us, we carry that record on to the completion of death Christ. You ain't going to give up on us. None of us are what we want to be, but we ain't where we used to be either. So help us to know that our God is at work in our lives, despite the things that we see. Help us to have that kind of hope. I pray, Lord, that the voice of the enemy, Lord, we go quieter and quieter. We whisper as untruth to us, help us, Lord, to learn how to silence him when he comes to us, to try to discourage us, to break us down. I pray that your word would be at our right hand, and we will meditate upon that truth. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice. That you came and lived a life we cannot live, you died a death that we all should have died, and you did it to make us right with God. Thank you, Father, for all that Christ in my pray. Amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]