Crusade Messages

I thought you all may be interested to see some of the content of what we've been hearing over the past weekend. I've been pretty blessed by much of it myself.

Friday night Pastor John spoke about four philisophical questions many people ask themselves...

1.Where did I come from?
God (Gen. 1:26-28)

2.What am I here for?
Originally to reflect God, we were to have dominion over everything. (Gen. 1:27-31) Your purpose on earth is to glorify and honor God and love Him.(Eccl.12:13-14and Mark 12:28-31)

3.What has gone wrong?
Sin is the problem. That's what has gone wrong. You were created to live, but you die. Why? Sin. “There is none righteous, no not one.”

4.Where am I going?
You're going to die. Only once. After death is judgment. (John 3:18-19, 1:11-14, 14:1-6)

Saturday Night he spoke from Ephesians 2:1-10...

1.What are we outside of Christ?
Dead men walking, controlled by Satan, children of wrath. (Eph. 2:1-3)

2.What did he do for those who have come to Christ?
Quickened us, Raised us up so we could love and serve Him, made us fit for Him. (Eph. 2:4-6)

3.Why did He do it?
The ultimate purpose of everything: for His glory. (Eph. 2:7-10)

Sunday evening he spoke from Ephesians chapter 1, titled "Seven Benefits of Being a Christian"..

If you've received Christ, here's what is yours:

1. You've been chosen to holiness and blamelessness! (Eph. 1:4)

2. He's adopted you, He's even predestinated that adoption!! You get to be part of His family. (Eph. 1:5)

3. You're accepted in the beloved. (Eph. 1:6)

4. You are redeemed through His blood, bought with a price. Grace is free, but it certainly is not cheap. (Eph. 1:7)

5. You have been made privy to all the plans of God. (Eph. 1:8-10)

6. You have been made an heir. (Eph. 1:11-12)

7. You have the presence of God living in you, or the Holy Spirit lives in you! (Eph. 1:13-14)

If you haven't believed in Christ, you are considered with the "children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3)

The last night of the Crusade (Monday night) Mr. Hunter spoke from Revelation 5, entitled "The Throne, the Book, and the Lamb"...

~ God the Father sits on the throne, clothed in majesty and holiness. (I had to pause and imagine a being actually CLOTHED in those things. It's too big and wonderful for me to grasp.) He is surrounded by angels who sing unceasingly and untiringly "holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty" (Rev. 4:8) This God can stand no imperfection. He is ineffably holy and unapproachable.

~ "The book" is the book of the consummation of the ages. It made John weep because noone was worthy to open the seals thereof. (5:4) The book could not be opened by great strength or superior intellect. Only worthiness. No one was worthy (5:3) Wait, there is one worthy! (5:5) He's the Root of David, not the branch this time. He's the Lion of the tribe of Judah. This One is worthy. Revelation 5:6 then reads "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain". Lamb? Slain Lamb? What happened to the the Lion?

~ The Lamb is what John found. His sacrifice, his salvation. To John He was not a Lion. The Lion is reserved for those who are to be ultimately judged and condemned. The worthiness of this Lamb stands on two legs:

1. His intrinsic diety.

2. His perfect humanity.

He is absolutely worthy. God on the throne has been satisfied. Round about the throne a thunderous anthem went up declaring His worthiness. (5:12) He is worthy. If He's not the King in your heart, you have not deemed Him worthy. You will either face the Lion or the Lamb on judgment day.

I personally really enjoyed this message and thought it was a great note to end on. I was blessed by it and think quite a few others were as well.

I'm not sure I've done Mr. Hunter justice with these overviews, but I guess it's the perspective of one of the hearers. If you read anything that you find incorrect, I'd love to be corrected. I have much to learn about...well, a lot of things!

~Ellen