Cross Bearers | Kids Quest Pastor Nolan Carpenter
by Nolan Carpenter
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Matthew 27:27-32, Galatians 6:2, Romans 14:7, Isaiah 52:14, Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Romans 16:13, Luke 22:44, Luke 24:46-49

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/nolan-carpenter--cross-bearers
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Come on. Can we entertain the presence of God that we feel in this house this evening? Come on. Do I have anybody under the sound of my voice? You know you were guilty. You were found in sin. God picked you up out of the clay. God picked you up out of the pit of sin. But when that judge ruled down that ruling, it said not guilty. And I'm thankful for the mercy of God tonight. Come on, one more time. Let's lift our voices. Let's thank you for what we feel in this room tonight. God, we thank you. God, we love you today in Jesus name. If you feel the the presence of God in this place, would you say in Jesus name? In Jesus name. We'll go quickly to the word of the Lord uh this evening. Matthew chap 27 verse number 27. It's an honor to be standing before you great people tonight. And I want to give honor to to my papa dowy. And um he can say more sitted seated down may yeah see Magnolia agrees. He can say more seated than I could say up here in 45 minutes jumping around and and the only thing I want to complain to him about he gave that book to my dad. And then you called him your friend. You called me ugly but you called him your friend. But it's all right. It's all right. But I I love him dearly and uh just such a such a special man of God and I I love him love him dearly tonight. It's good to have my in-laws here tonight. Most importantly, my mother-in-law. It's good to have her here. Love her and her husband. He's here tonight as well. I love him and they're just great, great people. Matthew chap 27 verse number 27 says then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers and they stripped him and put him a scarlet robe and when they had planted a a crown of thorns they put it on his head and a reed in his right hand and they bowed the knee before him and mocked saying hell king of the Jews. They spit upon him and took the reed and smokeote him in the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took his robe off from him and put his own raignment on him and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man ofSirene, Simon by name. him they compelled to bear his cross. Another portion of scripture I'll read, you don't have to turn there. It's a short verse of scripture in Galatians chapter 6 and verse number two. It says, "Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Tonight, my assignment, my goal from heaven is simple. It's an invitation to every single person the sound of my voice. Whether you're a a seasoned saint here at First Apostolic Church or you're here by happen stance or it's just an invitation on an Easter Sunday night that you're here. It's an invitation to all to become crossbearers. I want to preach just a few moments with the help of the Lord tonight on crossbearers. You put your Bibles down. You'd raise your hands to heaven. Most importantly, lift your voice and let's invite the Holy Ghost once again into this house. God, we thank you. We thank you for your goodness. We thank you for grace and mercy. I'm so thankful, God, that verdict of my life is not guilty through the blood of Jesus Christ. Lord, I thank you for the people that have gathered here. Lord, I thank you for the mercy that we felt and the blood that we felt in this place. God, I pray tonight, God, your word is anointed. God, I pray you'd anoint me for the next few minutes. God, let us become crossbearers in this place. Let us become those who bear the cross, oh God, in our lives. Let us take the cross to our workplace and take the cross to our lost families because that's truly what's going to change our world as we become crossbearers in this place. If I have anybody tonight that wants to become a crossbearer, would you clap your hands all across this house and let's thank him for what he's going to do. God, we thank you for your goodness tonight in Jesus name. You may be seated uh in the house of the Lord this evening. On the onset of this message tonight, I've come to tell us that we need each other. We need one another. Doesn't matter how much we think we have it all together or how much we've been in church all of our lives. There's going to be a point, if you've not been there already, where you realize that you need help from somebody. Romans 14:7 says, "For none of us liveth to himself." For none of us lives to himself, and no man dieth to himself. It's very possible tonight looking around at a great crowd on on Easter Sunday night at First Apostolic Church, approximately 600 people tonight that's hearing this message being preached that in a crowd so big you're awfully alone with people all around you. You're disconnected. And the greatest thing that you can do tonight, the greatest Easter gift to you and your family would to be to connect yourself to something that is thriving, to connect your family to somebody else. Uh if me and Flannry tonight, I can't help but the probably the greatest thing for us to do tonight is to connect ourselves to the Sers that are celebrating 50 years of marriage. it would be a good idea to connect yourself to people that have it so quote unquote going going on. I don't want to be braggadocious about this church. I I I'm not going to say tonight that this church has it going on, but I want to brag on the church of the living God. It's a good idea for every single person in Blunt County, every single person, the sound of my voice that you connect yourself to the church. I'm not talking about this building, although we would love to have you every time the doors are open. But connect yourself that is predestinated. The church of the living God is the only thing that's predestined in scripture. I know there is an awful there's an awful doctrine that that talks about predestination that when you're born, you were born predestined for hell or you were born predestined for heaven. And if I would be one of the ones that was predestined for hell, that is awful. That is awful. That's not a merciful and a graceful God. But the only thing in scripture, people get it out of whack. The only thing it there is a predestination. And the church is the only thing predestined to go to heaven one day. So it'd be a good idea for us to connect oursel to something that it doesn't matter what comes its way. It doesn't matter what comes. If they burn down the city of Jerusalem in the Bible or tried to get them to stop preaching their message, the church is triumphant. The church is going to march on. I don't care how much the winds blow. The church is predestined to make it. I'm glad to be a part of something that's predestined tonight. I'm glad to be a part of something that Jesus Christ predestinated from the foundation of the world. And it's called the church. It's called the church. I want to connect myself to the church, the crossbearers, the church of the living God. We know that Jesus was not was not above reaching out in his time of need. The man Christ Jesus was not above reaching out and saying, "I need someone to help bear this cross." There are two times in scripture when Jesus Christ, yes, God roved in flesh, needed some help. I'm not taking away from his divinity tonight, but I'm just going to try to magnify the humanity that we see in scripture of Jesus Christ. There were two times where he calls and just needs he's in need of some help. He calls on one instance he calls on three of his closest friends Peter, James and John in the garden of Gethsemane. He feeling the weight of mental pressure knowing what is to come. Thoughts are flooding in his mind of the torment him know him being God. He knew what the perfect will of his father was for him to die to suffer and die on the cross. Him being God knew it was the plan from the beginning of time to die and to suffer on the cross. He knows this was the plan from the very foundation of the world. But as a man, he begs, "Oh my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." And I know we want to emphasize the divinity of Jesus Christ. And he is 100% God, but he is also 100% man. He is also 100% man that felt every nail that would enter into his body. He is also 100% man. He could heal and call the lame. He could heal and call Lazarus from the grave. But he also felt every pain, every suffering in the process of the cross. And when he needed help the most, he called for three of his friends. Come pray with me. Come pray with me, Peter, James, and John. And when he arose from prayer wanteding to be picked up by the people that were closest to him, not just the group of the disciples, but the pe the the small circle in the the small circle of the disciples that at the most pivotal moment of his life, he needs some help and he finds them asleep. Jesus under so much mental pressure, he reaches out to the people he feels that can help him bear his cross in the garden. Not a physical cross, but the cross that was weighing in his mind. And I just want to take a brief moment and stop right here and say if Christ Jesus would reach out when he's feeling pressure in his mind in his in his thoughts thoughts of torment thoughts of anguish uh anguish then who in the world are we to think we are above to keep those thoughts to oursel because I I I I know this might be controversial. shouldn't be controversial, but depression is a real thing that Satan uses. Anxiety is a real thing that Satan uses. And if Jesus Christ was not above, saying, "Peter, James, and John, I need you to help me pray. I need some people to help me bear my cross, who are we to think that we're above that we should keep these thoughts to myself?" No, no, no. That's the beautiful thing about the church. When hell begins to torment me in my mind of what could be and what could happen in my future, I reach to some people who have made it. I've reached to the salards that have been through the hard times. I reach to Papa Daddy who's been through some trying times and I say, "Help me bear this cross. Help me. Help me bear this cross." And if this is something that you're facing tonight, mental pressure in your mind, I want I want to tell you, these are a bunch of good-looking folks around here. You look at people who are dressed nice and they they look like they have it all together. But I promise you, if if they were honest with you tonight, and they will be honest with you tonight, they haven't always had it together. There was a time in their mind that Satan begin to torment them and Satan began to press them to say, "You're not good enough to attend the church of the living God. you're not good enough. You act like you had it all together, but you're not good enough to act to to just come to church and worship with everybody else. I promise you tonight, if we're honest, we need some help. We need some help. And I'm so thankful that I'm going to put myself around people who bear the cross. Jesus Christ reached out to them. He says, "I need your help. Pray with me." The humanity of Jesus was reaching out for some help. This happened three times. And he finds the people he feels like that could bear the cross with him. He finds them asleep. Could you not just bear the cross with me for one hour? Is it too much to ask you, Peter? I I know, buddy. You've got You're full of energy and we know him. We He's orange. He He You know, I we we if it's come walking all the water, bid me come. Let's go. When it comes time to help somebody bear the cross, Peter, you're asleep. Then we have another time that Jesus needed help. Jesus had stood before Pilate. Pilate had handed him over and the Roman soldiers were truly experts in the area of torture. They stripped him of his clothes, tied him to a pillar of stone, and they began to beat him with a whip. I'll do my best to to describe the whip that they used. Anywhere from five to 12 strands of leather. Metal balls were woven inside of this leather strap to ensure deep bruising during the beating. At the end of each leather strand was they would tie broken pieces of glass and broken pieces of pottery and even some bones. I mean these were experts in the the area of torture. Even some bones that they would take a a sharp knife and sharpen these bones down to to act as a knife at the end of a leather strap. any pieces of metal that they could find, any pieces of construction equipment equipment that they could find was woven on the end of this leather strap. This this this whip was designed to grab the flesh and to rip it away. He had been beaten over and over again. And these 39 stripes upon his back, these experts of torture called this the half death because half the men that went through this kind of torture and received this type of torment died from the pain and the loss of blood that it caused. He was beaten on the back and on the legs and huge pieces of skin was ripped away. on his leg mangled ribbons of flesh were hanging by a thread. Threads where you you can look at the legs of Jesus Christ. Yes, God robed in flesh, but the humanity of Jesus, you could see the muscles that was hanging there and the senu that were left on the back of his thigh. And he claimed to be the king. So they thought it fitting to give this king a crown in which they thought he was worthy of. They took threeinch long thorns and tied them together, twisted them together to make him a crown that was fitting for the self-proclaimed king. Not only did they make this this crown of thorns that had threeinch long thorns tied and twisted together, but they put it upon his head and it wasn't good enough for them to just place it there. But the Bible says that they took a rod and beat the crown of thorns upon his head. talking about the crucifixion and the bearing of cross of our our Lord Jesus Christ and took this crown of thorn and placed it and beat it into his skull. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah would say in Isaiah 52:14, "As many uh were astonis marred more than any man, and his form his form more than the sons of men." And this is what the New Living Translation says about that scripture. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured. He seemed hardly human. And from his appearance, one could scarcely know that he was even a man. That's Jesus Christ. Then the mangled, weak, frail, unrecognizable Jesus was forced to carry a 300B cross almost a mile, a half a mile uphill to a place called Goltha. Yes, sir. But this was the second time that the man Christ Jesus needed some help. Matthew 27:32 says, "And as they came out, they found a man ofSirene, Simon by name, and him they compelled to bear his cross." Simon wasn't even supposed to be there. The the scripture is kind of blurred when it comes to Simon ofSirene. It it just really it one one translation say he was a bystander. He he just he was just passing by just randomly at that time. The scripture implies that he's coming home from the country or the field where he was working and he was headed back home and and he was at the right place at the right time to be a crossbearer. There is also strong implications that he didn't know about Jesus, but yet he was the one called out from the crowd to help bear the cross of Jesus Christ. I feel the Lord tonight inviting us to become crossbearers. You think you might be here by chance or at the invitation of a coworker or a family member, but I've come to tell you, you're called out of the crowd tonight to get connected to bearing the cross of Jesus Christ. You think you're just here and it's just a chance that you're here and you're just you're making your family happy by being here on a Sunday night. It's much more than that. This is an invitation to kid to stop hearing about the cross and start picking up the cross and living it day in and day out. I'm calling someone tonight to be a crossbearer to pick up the cross with Jesus Christ and live it out every single day. I'm so thankful. When I was 5 years old, I became a crossbearer. Well, how'd you do that? Well, I repented of all my sins. That's how I bear the cross. I was baptized in Jesus' name for the remission of my sins and the fulfillment of the obedience to the cross is when I received the gift of the Holy Ghost and I bore the cross. You might only swing by this place two days a year. That's Christmas and Easter. And we don't throw off on that. We'll get you. We would love to have you anytime you you'll come. We'd love to have you. not throwing off on just Easter and Christmas, saints, but I've come to tell you it's not an accident you're here. If you become a crossbearer tonight, it'll change your life. It'll change your family's life. Simon ofSirene was there when he thought it was an accident. But God's purpose was very real. God in God's will, there is no accidents. You're not just here. It's not you. Well, God, that's a coincidence. There is no coincidence when it comes to God. There's a reason that you're here. There's a reason you feel the pulling of God's love and God's mercy. What What is that I feel? I'm telling you, that's the mercy of God that's trying to draw you closer to the cross. And when you get to the cross, he says, "I want you to bear the cross. Walk with it every day. It'll change your life. I know it might be ridiculed and made fun of, but when you have that cross on your back, it will change your life. Simon ofSirene by accident was the first one to physically touch the blood of Jesus Christ. Simon who was there by chance was the first one to feel the hot blood of redemption. Simon just by accident just by walking through and seeing a man that they I don't Is that a human? Is that an animal that they've beat? Isaiah said he's unrecognizable just by chance. He was the first one. Hey, you come put on put the cross on your back. He's the first one to feel the warmth of God's love by having the blood from the cross upon his body. Simon was the first one just by accident to feel the blood on his back, which was the warmth of his mercy and all that happened while he was passing by. I don't know about you, but you may just be passing by this church, but if you put on the cross, you'll feel the mercy of God. If you put on the cross, you'll feel the blood. What's this? I I feel like I can live again. I What's this? I feel I know I've been tormented. That I'm not good enough. I've been tormented that my family will be never put back together. But I just come by the cross and I feel the blood of redemption and the blood of restoration. That's not just something crazy you feel. That's not high energy you feel. That's the mercy of a living God that's calling you. That's a mercy of a a God of redemption that is placing his blood upon you at the right place at the right time. Can we take a moment? Just lift your hands for just a second. If you feel that cross, if you feel the blood in this place, it reaches to the lowest valley. It'll go to wherever you are. You can't outrun it, but you cannot live without it. You cannot live without you cannot live without what you feel in this place. Come on, crossbearers. Crossbearers, you may be seated. The cross is a meeting place of two things. The cross is a meeting place two different directions. Pastor Carpenter already mentioned the man that said I just feel the exact words he used. Dad was I feel high energy. I feel high energy. And he ra held out his hands with his his his wife and his little daughter. And the man almost to tear said, "I I feel look look I feel high energy." You can call it whatever you want to. That's the power of the Holy Ghost. That's the power of his blood. You can call it whatever you want to. If you want to call it the high power, you want to call it the high energy. We call it the gift of the Holy Ghost. That's what you feel. And it's drawing you, man. It's drawing you, sir. You feel the hot blood of redemption. You feel the hot blood of mercy that is preached through the cross. You can call it whatever you want to, but it's the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost. You could you feel I got, man, I must ate something bad. I missed a that Panda Express that we ordered for Easter. It must not be said. I just feel knots in my stomach. You can call it whatever you want to. You can call it bad panda or whatever. What it is is the drawing of the mercy of God. God is trying to pull you to respond to him. What's What's this I feel? What's this? I feel I feel like I need to go to the altar. Just worship. What that is is the pulling of the blood. The blood saying, "Come on. You haven't went too far. You haven't made too many mistakes. Come on. You can call it whatever you want to, but just come worship with us. Come bear the cross with us. Cross bearers. Cross. There's something about crossbearers. Those who are willing to bear one another's burdens. It's the law of Christ. It's the law of Christ. John, he's a disciple that Jesus loved. He writes, don't have time to really dive into it tonight, but he writes about this love so much. It's John the beloved. doesn't even mention his name when he's writing, but he's talking about himself. He's talking about he it's just, you know, that's that's cool. I like that. Just kind of inconspicuous pride. You know, he's like, "Hey, that's me. Disciple that Jesus loved." But, you know, he didn't always start out like that. Matter of fact, he was going over names and I like the sons of thunder. Sounds good. Me and my brother, we're going we're going we're mean. We're we're mean spirit. Matter of fact, he was one of the groups. He was one of the groups that a a group of people didn't believe in Jesus Christ. And he was one of the ones that, hey, how about you strike them dead? That's sound. Yeah. Bring fire from heaven. Go ahead and smite them. I like them. Well done. Go ahead, Lord. Don't leave a medium rare. John the beloved. Go ahead. Right there. Them groups that don't accept Jesus Christ, go ahead. Burn them up, Lord. That don't sound like John the Beloved to me. But when you get around the cross, when you get around the cross, God will turn that anger, sir, into love. You you you might not be able to love your children. You just feel like, I I'm not that type. Well, get around the cross and see what happens. Your wife will say, "Man, you're a mad man. You're a son of thunder to now. She just wants to be around you." This is great marriage advice, sir. All right. This is great marriage advice. you you're going from a mad man, but once you get around the cross and you figure out that God loves you and that God wants to show that love through you, that's the law of Christ. And then your wife will become there's something different about you. What it is is the cross is on your back. The blood is applied to your life. Amen. It's not my type. No, it's it's because you haven't been around the cross. That's truly what anger I I feel like anger is. John's a great person to look. We know him as the disciple that Jesus loves, but that's not how he started. And tonight, you can leave here being someone and everybody wants to be around. And that's John of 11. But there's something about crossbearers that those who are willing to bear one another's burdens. Luke 22 and 44. And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Peter, James, and John, if they would have been next to Jesus, helping him bear his burden in the garden of Gethsemane, they would have been the first one to experience the blood of Jesus Christ as Christ's literal sweat turned to great drops of blood. And I just can't help but think Jesus came to the Jews first. He came to his people first. We know the Jews rejected him and he went to the Gentiles. I can't help but think this is something that happened in scripture when he had the people that were closest to him that he wanted them to help him bear his cross. And as they fell asleep during prayer, instead of helping him bear the cross through prayer, they would have been the first ones to experience the blood and not some random passer buyer, if I could say it that way, by Simon ofSirene. It could have been crossbearer saying, "Come on, Jesus. I know your flesh is weak, but you can make it. Come on, Jesus. I I I know you're about to be beaten. I don't know what I could say right now. Jesus in prayer, but you just think how many people I know as God, you're thinking about the stripes on your back. And as man, you're saying, "Let this cup pass from me." But Jesus, if I could just help you bear the cross for a moment, Peter, if you'll help Jesus out and just say, "Hey, there's going to be people for thousands and thousands of years that are claiming healing through those 39 stripes. I don't know about you, but everybody needs someone to help them bear the cross." Every single person. And I know you feel like you can lift it on your own, but you can't. That's Satan trying to talk in your ear because this cross sometimes get heavy. And if Jesus would be reaching out to someone, who in the world are we to think that we shouldn't reach out to someone and say, "Help me to carry this burden. Help me." But what happens when you bear the cross? You have the blood applied to your life. When you bear the cross, you have the blood that heals applied to your life. When I become a crossbearer, the blood not only is on the cross, but the blood gets on me. When I help carry one another's burdens, when I go when you go to someone like brother Burket who in his his wise age is burying a different cross when you a brother go and show the love the law of Christ as the scripture mentions the blood that's on that cross that both of you are carrying it now gets on it now gets on me. There's life in the blood. There's healing in the blood. There's redemption in the blood, but the only way you get the blood on you is you get the cross on you. The only way you get the blood dripping down you and your family is you get the cross. The cross doesn't is not something to just be here at church. The cross is supposed to be on our back daily to carry the cross. And it changes you. When I begin to bear someone else's cross, something happens to me. It was when Job looked to his friends and began to bear the cross of his friends that the scripture says and the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. And not only that, the Bible says that he get God gave him Job twice as much as he did before. some I I don't know if this is revelatory to anybody, but a lot of times we come to the altar and it's all about me and me, my problems and my problems, but when I begin to reach across and bear somebody else's cross and when I begin to reach across the aisle and I know that family's going through something and I begin to God just when when you maybe tonight you need to get your prayers off you and get them on somebody else because when I pray for somebody else, God does something through me And when I lift somebody else up, God begins to turn my captivity around and let me enter in to freedom. I'm calling some crossbearers tonight. There's some people here that are hurting. There are people here that are suffering and they're looking for somebody to reach across and say, "You have not gone too far." They're looking for somebody to reach across and say, "Come on, walk with me. I'll take your cross." Simon, when you held the cross, when you held the cross, you held four points. Four points you held. When you hel when you held the cross on your back, you held the width of the cross that was wide enough to reach every human being. When you held the cross, Simon, you held the length of it. The length of the cross is long enough to last through all eternity. When you held the cross, you held the depth of it. And that is deep enough. That cross is deep enough to reach the most guilty of sinners. And when you held the cross, you held the height of it, which it's tall enough for us to get to heaven on it. So tonight, I'm calling some crossbearers. I'm holding a cross that will reach to the most wretched sinner. I'm talking about crossbearers tonight that it's deep enough. I don't care how much bitterness has been rooted in you. The cross is deep enough tonight to allow you to forgive and reach down to that root of bitterness and pull it. I'm preaching about the cross tonight that that cross is so high that me and my family are going to get to heaven through the power of the cross. It's wide enough to reach throughout all eternity. You know what it's wide enough to do? The width of the cross is for it to go years upon years ago when you were hurt as a child. Things that you've carried the cross after the Holy Ghost right now, things that you've carried since you were five or six years old, the cross is wide enough for you to respond to it tonight. for it to reach it for it to reach down to when you were 6 years old, 7 years old, when somebody you trusted did something to you. The cross is able to fix your memory and to wash your memory with the blood of Jesus Christ. And the cross is able to reach into your future and to change your life through the power of the cross. It's the width of the cross, the depth of the cross. Tonight I want to be a crossbearer. I want to bear the cross. Tradition says Simon went at went on to preach and was martyed when he was in in his old age preaching the saving message Jesus Christ. I I I hope this is true. This would be nice. This is great preaching. All right. Simon ofSirene who passed by Matthew uh Mark 15 and 21 they compelled Simon a Sireneian who passed by coming out of the country the father of Alexander and Rufus to bear his cross. Romans when when when when Paul is writing his book to the church at Rome he says salute Rufus chosen in the Lord and his mother and mine. I hope this is true because it makes some good preaching. That's the same Rufus that his daddy bore the cross on his back. It sure does make me feel good that I'm not just doing this for me. I'm doing it for a little girl that's watching her dad bear the cross. Yeah, people can bear the cross in the altar on Sunday night, but can we bear the cross Monday morning when nobody's around? Yeah, we can bear the cross when it's Easter Sunday morning. We come to the altar and everybody looks good. But can we bear the cross when the family's falling apart and we say we got to get on our knees and pray that God will do something in our life? If you don't think it's worth it for you, I want you to look down the aisle to that baby that's beside you or that child that's serving in the house of God tonight and say, "I know I can make it maybe if I don't bear the cross, but if I don't bear the cross, that child that child is not going to make it." One of the greatest things, and I don't want to meddle right now, but one of the greatest things my parents will ever ever do for me and my siblings is that they've te they've taught us to become crossbearers. I don't care at the end of their lives. It would be nice, oh God, it would be nice for it to be a check that says here, Nolan, you can pay off your debt. That would be so nice. I receive it in the name of Jesus. But I fear in my body that they'll look to us and say, "No, and silver and gold have we none, but such we have, such we have. Give I thee the name of Jesus." That would be the greatest thing they could pass down. The greatest thing they could pass down is saying, "Nolan, your mom, we we put the cross on our back and we walk through building program after building program. We we we we put the cross on our back with people were walking out of the church." But no, look at it now. This is not a This is not a result of talent. This is not a result of good programs. What this all is is a result of bearing the cross. Carrying the cross to a Bible study, carrying the cross to a hospital visit. It's carrying the cross. Carrying the cross. The scripture says, the scripture says in Luke 24 verse number 46, and it said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ. Everyone say behooved behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remissions of sins should be preached. So we have a connection here between verse 46 and 47. If there's no suffering of Christ, we don't have repentance or remission of sins. Preached in the name among all nation, all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my father upon you, but terry in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high. Come to tell you tonight, it behooved Christ to suffer. Behooved in this scripture means the destiny or the goal. behooved. And this scripture paints a a picture for us that it was the finish line or it was the destiny of of Jesus Christ to suffer. Sounds like a great destiny to suffer and die. But God in all of his wisdom chose a man by the name of Simon to help Jesus get to the goal or the finish line of Calvary. his crossbearing. Simon's crossbearing helped Jesus reach his goal or his destiny. It was a man that God used when the man Christ Jesus could walk another step. I saw an interesting story that I would like to share with you tonight about two brothers by the name of Pedro and Miguel Fierra Pinto. Pedro had a dream of becoming an iron man athlete. An iron man is where they swim 2.4 miles. An iron man is where along with the swimming they bike for 112 mile bike ride. An Iron Man competition is completed when the runners go on a 26.2 2mile run. And Pedro's dream of being an iron man, his goal of being an iron man was near to impossible to accomplish because a disease that struck his body at birth. This disease was called cerebral pausy. But Pedro had a brother named Miguel that it soon become become Miguel's goal to help his brother reach his goal and reach his dream by becoming an Iron Man athlete. So what Miguel did, he trained and trained not only just to swim but to pull his brother in a raft because it was his dream of swimming. Not only did he bike, but he trained with a pull cart behind his bike so he could reach the goal of his brother. Not only did Miguel run, but he ran with a push cart because his brother wasn't able to run. And so what I want to tell us tonight that somebody in this place can't accomplish their dreams without somebody else in this house. Pedro Fier Pinto is an Iron Man athlete because his brother was willing to swim when he had some pulling behind him and was able to run when he had something to push in front of him. Was able to bike when it felt I've come to tell somebody tonight, your burden is not heavy. You're my brother. Your your sister, your burden is not heavy on this church. You're my sister. We're the family of God. I don't care how crazy you are. I don't care how many dreams that you feel like God is giving you. I've come to tell you, you're not heavy. You're my brother. You're not heavy upon this church. I know you're addicted, but your addiction is not heavy. It's not a burden to us. We're going to go across the finish line right now. I feel the Holy Ghost in this place right now. Come on. I want to help somebody reach your goal. Is it addiction that you want God to deliver you from tonight? Well, I know a bunch of people that have the blood of Jesus Christ, and we're going to pull you across the finish line. I know some things happen outside of your control. But when we get together, I begin to pull you. When we get together, I begin to push you. When we get together, I'm going to swim through every stormy water. If it means to reach your goal, maybe your goal is victory tonight. You look across the aisle. I'm seeing some victorious people. You look across the aisle, maybe your marriage, your family has fallen apart. I know these you these look like perfect people, and they are. They're the closest thing to perfection on this earth. I love this church. But if we're real and honest with you, we could take the disguise off and say, "Hey, your family's broken. Mine was too. But let me help you get across the finish line. Your kids are prodical. Hey, you see that boy over there running the camera? He was too. But let me help you get across the finish line. It's so powerful when crossbearers come together because we begin to feel the weight of one another and we begin to carry one another. We begin to carry We begin to carry crossbearers. crossbearers. I can't help but think I can't help but think if Miguel will train hours and hours to get his brother who has cerebral pausy across the finish line. You don't know what this church will do for you to get you across the finish line of heaven. You don't know how far the people of this church is willing to go to get you and your family across the finish line of heaven. If a man would train so many hours for a race, how much more are we able to pull somebody out of the gates of hell and get you to the finish line? I feel a spirit of victory in this house right now. I know you don't feel victorious, but look across the aisle. Link up with them right now. Link up with them right now. Somebody who's had victory. Somebody who has been made an overcomer. You need overcomer of addiction. Reach across the aisle and grab somebody and we can pull you across the finish line. God, I love you, Jesus. I love you today, God. Come on, one more. One more moment. Let's linger in the presence that we feel. Let's linger in the presence that we feel. I feel the presence of God in this place. God's moving right now. God's moving upon the crossbearers. Ma'am and sir, I know you stumbled and fell. That cross that you were carrying years ago, I know you stumbled and fell. But let me introduce to you. Let me introduce to you some crossbearers that will help you. That will help you. I will help you. That will help you. I don't know what to do right now. I just feel God right now. I I just feel lingering right now. Crossbearers, if you help me linger in the presence of God right now, begin to pull for somebody. Begin to pray for somebody on your pew right now. Begin to pray for somebody right now. I know you may have it all together, but let's reach across and grab grab someone who's fell down. Grab a family who's who's who's tried their best to walk to run this race to to go to that finish line, but they fail. There's a spirit of victory in this house. There's an overcoming spirit in this place. There's an overcoming power in this house. There's an overcoming There's a victorious spirit in this house. What's What are we going to be victorious over tonight? We're going to be victorious over devil in hell. Over every devil that will enter the mind of our young people. We're claim victory in the name of Jesus. We claim victory through the power of the blood. In the name of Jesus, I bind every tool of hell that has been activated in this place. And I loose the spirit of victory in this house. The spirit of victory that is in every saint of God. The spirit of victory that's in every elderly couple. The spirit of victory that's through every person that's experienced healing. I loose it right now. I loose it right now in the name of Jesus. Go ahead. This is beautiful. The church is operating right now. The church is operating right now. Come on. The spirit of abandonment I bind in the name of Jesus. And I loose the love of a church that God gave. I loose the church to love that person who's abandoned. Right now. Right now. Right now. I loose it right now in the name of Jesus. I loose it right now. This is beautiful right here. It's right here. It's a beautiful thing right here. This is a cross bear that battle addictions that he's helping somebody else be victorious over their addictions right now. It's a beautiful thing about the cross. It's a beautiful thing right now. Right now in the name of Jesus. Whatever the dreams are in this house, if it's to have a a marriage that's fruitful, if it's to have a a family that's restored, God, right now in the name of Jesus, I loose this church to become crossbearers. I loose this church right now through the power of the blood to operate on those that are sitting beside them. God, right now in the name of Jesus, the same victory that's in the saints of God in this church, let it operate right now. Let the victory that's in these people operate right now. Silver and gold have none, but such I have give I thee. I've got victory through the Holy Ghost, and I give it to you right now. Let it flow right now. Let it flow from the saints of God to the cross. Let it flow for the sakes of God. To those who have failed, trying their best, God, to hold the cross. Come on. This is beautiful right here. Come on. That's good. Right here. Come on. And I'm calling somebody that that you've gotten out of ministries. You've sat down. You've relinquished yourself of everything that you've done in the house of God. You thought it was a good idea to sit down and drop your cross. I'm calling you right now of the authority of the name of Jesus to get back up to get in the ministries that you were involved in in this church. I know you thought it was a good idea. You might have been hurt, but let me tell you, the cross can heal that hurt tonight. Get back in the choir. Get back in the production team. Get back in the band. Get back greeting. Pick up the cross. Pick up the cross. Cross bearers, pick up the cross. You may be here by happen stance. You might be here just passing by wondering what all the commotions about. Pick up the cross. There's a spirit of victory in this house. It's a spirit of triumph in this house. The church is healthy tonight. It's it's going to hurting places. It's it's it's going to hurting people tonight. The church is healthy. The body's healthy. Operate right now in the Holy Ghost. Come on. The body is healthy tonight. Come on. You don't need pastor to come pray for you. What you need is a crossbearer that's been where you at, where you're going through and what you're what you're currently facing. You need that crossbearer to come where you are right now. now and to lay hands on you. If you have a sickness in your body, if you have a sickness in your body, I I I beg the church tonight, if you've ever been healed of anything, go find somebody who needs prayer of a sickness and healing of a disease and lay hands on them and pray the prayer of faith upon them. I loose I loose every parent that's had a prodal come back to church with that prodal with that mom and dad that's lost their children to the way of hell and the way of the world. They don't need pastor to come over there and pray for them. They need a prodal that's made their way back home. They need them to go and lay hands on them. I loose the body tonight. I loose the crosshairs tonight to help bear the weight. Help bear the weight. boy. Hey you put that video back on the screen for me right now. This is what's happening spiritually. Come on. This is what's happening spiritually. This church is willing to go in the roughest waters with you. The storm that you're in and the storm that you're facing. We're willing to jump in and save you and your family. We're willing to swim with you and pull you out of the pit of hell. We're willing we're willing to run with you. I don't care how far you've ran from from God. Mercy is running with you back to God. And this church is going to run with you. We'll drag you if we have to. We'll pull you out of the jail cell if we have to. We'll pull you out of an addiction clinic if we have to. And we'll run with you to the finish line. Come on. It's time for this church to get their hands dirty. It's time for this church to get some blood on the hand. The blood of Jesus Christ. It's time to pick up somebody else's cross. We're willing to ride with you. We're willing to pull you. Maybe something's happened in your life that's out of your control. Something that was you were born into. You were born into anger. You that's all you've seen in your family. You were born into it. You were born into dysfunction. Well, you don't have to remain dysfunctional. Grab on to somebody tonight and bear the cross with them. You don't have to remain in something you've been with been born into or born with tonight. You don't have to remain in that disease in your body that you were born with. Find somebody that's been victorious through healing. Find somebody that Jesus has healed and bear the cross with one another. Come on. What's the sound I hear? It's the It's the body going to work. It's the body going to wounded people. It's the body at work. What's this? What's this lingering I feel? Why are we taking so long? This is the body at work. This is the health of the church. The body is going to work. Oh, there's hurting limbs. There's hurting parts of the body. The body is healing itself right now. Maybe you're disconnected. The body is trying to pull you in. Maybe you've not attended church in a while. The body is trying to pull you in. The body, I love you tonight. Thank you. Thank you. Power of God's in this house tonight. I don't want to stop it. Just want to add something to it. Feel like God spoke so clearly. They're not a distraction. That's the body at work. It's the body at work right here. What that is is somebody else is bearing the cross with that brother. The blood's being applied to both of them. Maybe you've not felt the power of the blood. When's the last time you helped somebody else pick up the cross? Thank you, Lord. Let's face it, brother Helms. We all have problems. Everybody, every single person in this house has got some problems. All right. Bible says, you think something, you think you're all that. You're really not. You're right. That's what the Bible says. We think we have it all together. We really don't. We're We're not We're not fulfilling what the body was for. But it's impossible. Everybody's got a cross to bear. But brother Seth, we've all got some baggage. We've all got family hurts. We've all got, let's say, we've got family dreams. We've got callings. We've got some baggage. But brother Seth, I want you to hold everything right here. Brother Landrew, I want you to hold everything. All the baggage, all all the things through life and all your fulfillments, all your dreams, all your promises, all all the anointing and everything that God has for you. And I want you to hold it while bearing the cross. Go ahead. We got time. Come on, brother Andrew. Come on. Come on now. Let's put it. Let's try again. Let's try again. Thought I'd pick some better help than this. Come on, man. Come on, brother Seth. Come on. Stack it up. Carry the cross. Come on. Along with your family baggage and everything else. I want you to walk a little bit. That's too easy. We think it's humorous, but we're doing this. We're doing this. You're trying to juggle family baggage. You're trying to juggle prodigal children and you're trying to carry the cross. But tonight, we're going to do it together. So, when we bear the cross with one another, go ahead and set your crosses down. This is the power. You can't do it on your own, but when you join up with somebody else, when you join up with somebody else, you can take childhood hurt. Come on. Throw on every bit of baggage. Come on. When we bear it, what? Come on. Bring me all your childhood trauma and put it on the cross. Bring every promise that God has given you. You can't do it alone. But when you join up with somebody, and when you join up and pick the cross, when you join up and you could carry it, you could carry the weight. When you're carrying two crosses, the wonder the Bible says where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of it. Oh, come on now. Sometimes it falls, but it still works. It still works. Where the Bible says, you can set those down, gentlemen. Bible says, if any two would agree upon one thing, let it be done. So I want tonight, this is how I feel the Lord. I know we've went long tonight, but the body is operating. If God has ever healed you physically, I'm going to need some people to back up just a little bit if you don't care. If God has ever healed you physically, I want you to come forward tonight. God has ever healed your body physically in the name of Jesus. For the Saliards, I know you're one of them. with the Mitchell Hyde. I know you're one of them. Uncle Roger, God's done so much in your life. These are people. Look at all these folks right now. I'm going ask you folks to get up as close. These are my crossbearers. All right. These are my crossbearers. We're going to have this. This is the body going to operate tonight. But you spread out if you don't care. Spread out. All right. You're looking at people that have carried the cross of physical illnesses and carried them all alone. maybe. But tonight, we're becoming crossbearers together. We're bearing one another's burdens. Now, now they'll have all the people up here. I'm going to ask I'm going to ask uh let's see. Let's see. Let's do it over here. Let's do it over here. I'm ask you to back up just a little bit. Unless you're the ones that God has healed you. I'm sorry. This is my oreness. This is my Peter coming out. This is my This is my my power. This is my craziness coming out. If God has ever healed you, this is what I felt in the prayer room tonight. If God has ever healed you mentally, emotionally, you know what? And and really tonight, if we're honest, you could go to heaven and cancer take your life. It's really hard. Now, I don't want to say really hard. Be very careful. But it's more difficult to go to heaven when there's there's a disease in your mental state. When you're being plagued with with thoughts that are not God's will. If we're honest tonight and we're only as real as we are all honest. We only are as powerful as we are honest tonight. If God has ever healed you of depression, I want you to come up. I want you to come up and just line that. Very good. And maybe you're some of the ones that God has done this in your body. God has done a an a just a miracle in your mind. All right. What you're looking at tonight is people who have bore that cross. People, good people. Look at these people. These are some of the greatest people I know, but they're some of the most honest people I know. So, I tonight I'm inviting every person that you have a physical illness in your body. You have a a a sickness in your body. You have a mental you you're you're feeling mental pressure. You're feeling pressure of the mind. Thoughts that that are telling you that you're not good enough. Satan has found a playground in your mind. I want you to come forward because the people up front are looking to bear the cross with you. They're willing to pick the cross up with you. If you have a physical need in your body, this would be a good idea. These are all people who have carried the the cross of healing. This would be a good idea to every guest. If you feel like hell is fighting your mind, you feel like hell is fighting your body, this would be a good idea to come up front and to link arms with these people who have bore the cross because they're going to get you across the finish line. You can't get there on your own, but you can get there with somebody else. You can get there with somebody else that's pulling you. I want to give time to every person in the sound of my voice. You need healing in your body. You need healing in your mind. One more time. Let the body operate. Find somebody right now to pick up the cross with right now. Maybe it's somebody that you have that same experience of healing. Would you turn to them and would you pick up the cross with them? You can't do it on your own, sir. Your family can't do it on Don't become an island to yourself, but join up with somebody. I know you've got baggage. I know you've got scars, but I also know you have promises. You have broken dreams, but you also have this promise that God's doing something. You can't carry that on your own, but you can carry it with somebody else. You can carry it with a fellow member that loves God. You can carry it with somebody. Come on, let the body operate. I loose every saint of God in this house to lay hands on the sick. I loose every saint of God to lay hands on every person that has mental pressure in their mind, thoughts of anxiety. Come on. If you're honest tonight, you'll you'll get some help. If you're honest tonight and you open up, come on. If Jesus would do it, I think it's a good idea for you to do it. I need some help. I need somebody to bury the cross with me. We've got the same goal. Why don't we do it together? We've got the same finish line. Why don't we do it together? Come on. It's not an easy journey. He never promised that this cross would not get heavy. He never promised that that hill would not be too hard to climb. But when I do it with somebody else, when I try to reach that goal with somebody else, it becomes easy. I can bear the weight of my broken dreams. I can bear the weight of my broken promises. I feel like God's forgot about me. But when you bear your weight with one another, you're reminded that God can do it. Come on. Right now, the body's operating right now. Body operate right now. Lay hands on the sick.