"Thank you, Father, for your cross. The cross means nothing to those who are perishing, but to us it is the power of transformation, to overcome, and to become like You. A gospel without the cross is not the Gospel but the doctrine of the devil. Any other way will lead unto destruction, but only the narrow way brings us unto life! Father, we thank you for today! You have my voice, our minds, our eyes, everything that you desire to have. When You encounter us, it is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about continuously denying ourselves. The Gospel of Christ is the Gospel of the Kingdom. It is the only way to peace, joy, and righteousness. We know Christ is the Kingdom.
Father, your words are spirit and life. Thank you, Father, because we hear Your voice clearly from Your throne, here and now. And every promise that you have spoken will be manifested during this great darkness. Many are falling asleep, but you are awakening us and bringing us back to life! We are living sacrifices, well pleasing unto You! Thank you for Your fire! Father, give us grace to overcome everything that distracts us. We eat Your flesh, and we drink Your blood. Thank you, Lord, because today we will stop following the gospel of self, and we will start loving the cross!”
"For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ." Philippians 3:18
Who are the enemies of the cross? Sometimes they are right next to you, sitting right next to you. Let us be the lovers of the cross! Let us be in covenant with the cross. If we are in covenant with Jesus, we have to be in covenant with the cross! God will do everything how He has planned, and we just want to be part of it. Let's dig deep and continue to read the book of Philippians, chapter 3.
All the traditions that Paul lived under, his family, his fame, his friends, he had to count as loss for the sake of the cross. When Paul had an encounter with Jesus, Jesus did not show him how great he was going to be. No, He said, "I will show you how much you are going to suffer for My name." The cross is the Gospel. The Gospel is the cross. Anything outside this, even if it sounds so good, so Godly, the enemy will entangle you, toss you, and keep you first. That is called winds of doctrines. As the wind changes direction, it changes your focus, so do these last-day doctrines. Through the ages of time, we have seen many winds. They can never blow down the cross.
To preach the cross is the most ridiculous, offensive thing that nobody wants to hear, but it is the only way for you to manage your life without going insane. The cross is not a popular message or way. We must embrace it and live in joy, peace, and righteousness, or we will live in delusion! The way of the cross is the way of love. We cannot choose our own way. This is the jezebel inside every carnal, worldly, controlling, religious person. This must die so everything else can come alive! Counting everything as loss! We are supposed to come together to hear a message, but many come together for a massage!
"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before" (Verse 13). Forgetting all things behind… It means ALL THINGS…It is not about getting into the zone because the minute you get offended, the minute your flesh rises, you are back to the pit. There is a place in Christ. There is a place in the blood. God created us, all of us, to live in this place. We must reach forth unto the things before us. The mark is Christ, and Him crucified.
How do we do this? We don't. He does. It is His righteousness. All we need to do is allow Him and give to Him immediately. Let go of control, let go of pride, let go of self-preservation, let go of selfish ambition, and live and die for His Word.
"Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing" (Verse 15, 16). The same rule. We hate rules. Our flesh hates rules. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, but our hearts and minds hate rules, filled with rebellion. But the Word says let this heart, mind, soul, and body be submitted to the Word and to the narrow way! What does love look like? It looks like Jesus hanging on a cross.
"Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ." Verse 17,18
I want to be a friend of Christ. I want to be a friend of the cross. If Jesus said the cross is the only way, if Jesus said, if you want to be My disciple, you need to pick up YOUR cross. So, people get saved and say I believe in Jesus; right there and then, He brings the cross right next to you. Now we see the Gospel. There is no way to be seated in Christ without the cross. There is no way to live in the third heaven without the cross. Peter, I am giving you the keys to the kingdom. The keys come with the cross. Your peace comes with the cross, your life comes with the cross, your transformation comes with the cross.
If we think we can do anything without the cross, we are deceiving ourselves. The cross is all about denying yourself. Deny myself? Yes, deny yourself! How? Accepting His will for yours. Every time I read the Bible, I see that His Word is spirit and life! Following the narrow path has nothing to do with going to church. It is picking up the cross.
The true grace of God is the power of being able to obey. It helps you to say yes and get up in the morning and to follow Jesus. There are people in the church who have been deceived by other doctrines and false grace doctrines. Grace is the continuous work of the cross. Mercy is what activates the grace of God in our lives. People try to say grace is mercy. No, mercy brought grace into our lives, and it is not a one-time thing. It is a supernatural power. It is a kingdom attribute that must be continually working in and with us.
This is where we must begin to understand. We think God gave us feelings for ourselves. Well, I don't feel like praying, loving, having fellowship, fasting…You see the word "I"; when Jesus said "I", He was always pointing to His Father. The problem is that we are led by our feelings, not by the Word of God. The cross is the power of God to receive the grace to become just like Him.
If our feelings lead us, we are not being led in the narrow way. If I am led by my emotions all the time, I will be tossed to and fro. The god of our belly (verse 19) can be our feelings, our self, our plans, or our ways!
"Father, we thank you, no weapon formed against you and your cross shall prosper. Thank you, Father. Everybody who wants to hear something else won't find it coming out of my mouth. I will preach the Gospel of the cross! There is no other way! As we are seated with Christ, there is transformation and revelation of Jesus Christ. We do not fight against the Word or against the Spirit; this type of fight is for the enemies of the cross!
The power of the cross is what will protect you and keep you, until we realize all our feelings, our fleshly feelings, everything that is outside His Word will control us. If our feelings control us, the enemy will control us. The devil uses things from the outside to keep control of you inside. He also uses the pleasures of the flesh to pretend and to mask all the pain on the inside, but it is only a band-aid. What is on the inside? Loneliness, depression, anxiety, trauma, pain, betrayal; if we hold on to them, we also become an enemy of the cross.
He is the way and the Truth. He is the narrow way. Few will find it! Very few! Why are you looking for Christ on the broad way? He is not there! Who is preaching to you doctrines of the devil? Any other teaching that is not telling you to deny yourself or try to "help your own self"! Paul said, "I boast in my weakness that the power of Christ rests upon me." I boast in me not being able to do anything, so Christ can do it! Paul saw himself and the destruction of walking on the broad way now, as he was walking on the narrow path. He can boast in his infirmities and his tribulations, knowing that the cross is the power of God.
"My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better" (Philippians 1:23). It is good for you to be here if you pick up your cross for others. It is more needful for you when somebody picks up their cross! We pick up the cross so life can be produced in others, too. The best thing you can do for your family is to pick up your cross! The best thing you can do for anyone is to deny yourself, so you can shine Christ.
God did not create man for man. God created man for God. God gave me emotions and feelings, but not for me, and not to be controlled by them. You must realize that all the feelings He gave you are for you to end up going to Him, so we can go to Him and submit our souls to Him. But we think that feelings are for us. No. It is for His own pleasure. I am offended. Are you going to retaliate or go to the cross? Anger leads you to the cross. Sadness leads you to the cross. And now, in Christ, our emotions and feelings belong all to Him. He gave us emotions so we can choose Him, find Him, and worship Him, not for us to use them for ourselves or to control others. All things were made by Him and for Him. When we choose Him, this is true worship. This is Spirit and Truth and deep commitment.
People don't know the Word, people don't read the Word for themselves, and when they do, they think it is too much, too hard for them to follow. If you don't know the Word, how are you going to follow those who follow the Word and those who preach it? How will you know if it is Truth?
I don't want people just to bring their Bible when they go to church, but they must be reading it, eating it at home. I want you to have the Word inside of you, so when we gather, the Word spoken will testify to the Word you read! Even the Jews did not recognize Jesus, the Word. They were depending on others to read the Word to them.
The prophets spoke to them, but they could not recognize the Word that was written on the pages. Preachers preach other doctrines to hearers who don't read the Word for themselves: a very dangerous thing. To figure out the Word, you don't need a theologian. You just need to read the Word, and the Spirit will explain it to you. If you rely on man, you will end up deceived. God has true prophets, but how can you know them if you don't know Him?
Everything in our lives is used so we can continue to follow Him. When we bring our will and emotions to the cross, we are worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth! "I, I, I…" Emotions are for worship. Your trauma from your past can only be healed on the cross! This self-help Gospel is false. There is no anger management. It is not a matter of managing your feelings but of being free or bound by them. Die to your feelings or your feelings will be managing you. Stop managing and go to the cross!
The pleasure forevermore is for those who pick up the cross. The suffering, the pain of the past, or the accuser will not accuse you if you are picking up your cross. Lies won't affect you anymore because you are dead to your own feelings. Everything you confess, "I DON'T…" you confess your lack of Christ. Everywhere you go by your feelings, you are remaining the god of your life. That is why Jesus said, "Not my will, but your will be done," "Not my cup, but your cup," and "Not my way but your way." I don't want to be led by my will, by my feelings, or by my ways.
When you are in sorrow, when you mourn, you must go back to Him and give it to Him, give your anger to Him, and He will give you peace. He gave you a feeling so that He can fulfill you! He gave you all these things so you can be rich in all things. He gave you a feeling of rejection, so you can run to Him and not be deceived because our choices make us. The first step is to deny. The second step is to pick up the cross. We give to get. "O Lord, I give you my life." What is your life? Spirit, soul, and body. Everything should be under subjection to the cross. Satan masqueraded worship with sound and lyrics. The devil dances and sings songs, too. It is not about what we do from the outside, but what we do from the inside.
Let's read Galatians 1:6-24. When I started this message, I mentioned that grace walks with the Gospel. It is not about mercy. Mercy is needed when we fall into sin. Grace is the one that gives us power over sin! Grace gives us the strength to pick up the cross. These are the two things Paul put together: "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel." Verse 6
Who has bewitched you? Pay attention not to fall into another gospel! The gospel was never about going to church but carrying the cross! It is impossible to follow Jesus without the cross! Paul is not talking about the world as enemies of the cross, but people who were on the narrow way and ended up on the broad way! If I moved off the cross, out of the narrow way just a bit, every day, just a little bit, I would end up on the path of destruction. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. A little move out of the cross will get you off the cross eventually. A little move out of the narrow path will get you out of it. Little by little. Try to change your direction just a little bit, and you will see the damage. This is how important it is for you to read the Word and see that everything that I am saying is lined up with the narrow path.
When you give your emotions to Him, there is this incense. There is no way for me to control you, but if I tell you what to do, and you follow your feelings, there is no hope. If I try to please man, the balcony would have been filled already. Pleasing man fills seats (verse 10). If you are equipped for what is coming on the Earth, you will not take the mark. If you are not taught to pick up the cross, how will you endure the end times?
It is not about the god of your belly, but the God of the cross! No man could and would get into the kingdom of God without the cross! Be rich and have the cross is Jesus! He was poor in this world but rich in everything! He lacked nothing! It is impossible to be rich and enter into eternal life without the cross; with God, all things are possible! The only way to have eternal life and be rich is through the cross. You cannot have two masters. There is no richness without the cross. The young ruler was an enemy of the cross! That is how many people, after hearing the real Gospel, leave the church: sad! That sad feeling of losing led many, instead of them submitting it to the cross! God always promises many blessings to those who will submit all. There is no greed on the cross, there is no lack on the cross. But without the cross, you can have nothing! Embrace the cross! His yoke is easy and light! Only when you want to follow your own gospel is everything hard!
We are the children of the spirit of Elijah. We are the ones who love the Truth because we are reminded every day about picking up the cross, denying ourselves, denying our feelings, denying when flesh wants to manifest, and keeping no record of wrong. We deny the power of our feelings and our past, as Paul said, then we can deny the accuser of the brethren, because if we deny ourselves, the devil has no one to accuse. And all of those he accuses will be living in peace because everyone who embraces the cross of Jesus Christ embraces Jesus Himself! They walk with Him on the narrow path. He is not trying to be rich, He is not trying to be anything, because HE IS. And if HE IS, so are we on this Earth. And if HE IS, this is who we are. But if we do not pick up our cross, He has nothing for us. There are so many kinds of religion, sects, and doctrines of the devil that tell us that it is all about what we do and not what He did, but if we begin to embrace the work of the cross, we will not be like sheep led to the broad way of destruction. This is the only way to be free because we are embracing the cross!
What was the message you heard when you got saved? What was the message back then? That same message is the one that will keep you today. When I got saved, He came and put me right next to my cross! And told me, if you want to follow Me, you need to pick it up! This is for today, and forever. I will be a lover of the cross, even if I must die thousands of deaths in a day. I will not deny His Word, His ways, and His narrow path!
Nobody is going to be saved if we preach the gospel of self. God did not promise you anything but HIS FLESH. Christ did not come offering anything else but the Word of God. If anybody preaches anything else, let this man be accursed! When I got saved, I did not cry out to myself, to the Baptist church, to the Mormons, to Joseph Smith, to the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall, to the Law, or to any other gospel. I cried out to Jesus, and Jesus came with the cross! Jesus comes with the cross. So, embrace it! I did not cry to the god of mammon. I knew in my life, all my emotions and feelings could not fulfill my own self. I ended up saying, "God take my self, take this flesh that always wants to be high. Take all this pain and struggle and abuses, take this messed-up mind." If anyone preaches any other way or any other gospel, if anyone preaches a denomination, preaches their own way, or their own interpretation, and denies the power of the cross, this man is, and you will be the enemy of the cross.
"Father, help us to believe this Gospel." Grace came along with the cross. Grace gives us the power to carry it! We preach the Gospel of the cross! The cross is how we enter into the Kingdom of God. I will preach this Gospel. This is the one that will set you apart! This is the one that you will embrace during the storms and shaking! This is the narrow way! Walk on it! Is God on the throne? Or is your belly? Are you an enemy of the cross? Or a lover of the cross?
"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man." Verse 11
Shane W Roessiger
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