From the manger to the cross

Welcome to the Cross Power Church podcast.

You're listening to a service from our church in Campbell, TX.

We pray this message strengthens your faith and points you to the

cross. Now let's join the service.

Good to see everybody this morning.

January the 11th failed to announce that I booked him a

year ago and forgot about it actually till I got the looking

through. But January the 11th Justin Todd

Herod great. He's won that.

He's won a lot of awards, songwriter, singer and the

Gospel Music Association. So a great preacher, a good

friend of mine, he's going to be here the 11th singing and and

blessing us a song, word and song.

So that'll be January the 11th. And that's about all now since I

got this morning. But I'd like to welcome a a new

edition here at Cross Power. We've been having babies, Amen,

And we haven't. They have, but but she said the

third time's the charm. This is the best one.

He's sleeping, Amen. I may remember kids.

That's his blessing when they sleep, huh?

But we'd like to welcome Kenneth Layton this morning.

Couch and stand up and let's see.

All right, y'all pray for them. Amen. 3 under 3, isn't that

right? Three under 3.

When you kick back in your chair today, when you get home,

realize how blessed you are. But they're blessed too.

They're just blessed while you're young, when you're when

you're old, it's not quite the blessing.

Don't seem like this, but good to be in the House of the Lord.

Good to see everybody not going to call and they got some family

here it came today. Good to see y'all and and I

don't have time to call all the names, but good to see everybody

this morning. And you know, I, I've been

preaching the last couple weeks on Christmas and the Christmas

story, but Christmas is a little different.

There's 4 gospels and the birth of Christ as mentioned in two

and you've been at the same place for nearing on 20 years

and you know you probably heard everything like I have on

Christmas, but so I'm going to take a different different walk

at it this morning. But it's good to be in the House

of the Lord. It's good to to preach the

gospel Amen. It's always good.

It's better when I find glasses I can see with so.

But as we approach Christmas, there's the minds of people

begin to think in directions. Maybe they haven't thought many

in a year, many in quite a while.

We tend to turn toward the baby, the sweet baby Jesus, and maybe

the nativity scene, maybe the activity that was around the

major scene, or maybe we go a little deeper.

And as I said, it's found in two of the four gospels and Matthew

and Luke tell the story of Jesus in the birth, but and Mark and

John focus on the ministry of Jesus.

But I'm going to kind of tie it all in today with some thoughts

that I had. But but I heard the other day

that church attendance in December and April are at an all

time high across America. And I was thinking about

Christmas. A baby in a Manger named Jesus

Christ sent to save the world. We know the story.

A lost and dying world, I might add.

And his parents had obeyed. I preached on that last week of

Joseph and how he obeyed and how he lived it, had lived through

some very hard things that he had to obey God about and the

things he had to do. But I want to share with you

some things today the Lord has laid on my heart.

And let's stand in the reading of the word in Luke's Gospel,

chapter 2. This is beyond the Manger.

This is the early life, the preteen years of Jesus before he

was 12 years old. The only childhood stories about

him. After the Manger was in the

temple at 12 years old, he got lost for three days.

They could not find Jesus. And I begin to think about those

years between 12 and 30. What happened?

As we read scripture, we know that he was no ordinary man,

that he could open the blinded eyes with one touch of his

hands. He calls the blind to see.

Can somebody say man? And at the sound of his voice,

people got up and walked out of an old tomb that was wrapped.

And dead and already had a a stitch to him, he said.

Lazarus come forth and he came back to life.

He told some men that were fishing.

He said if you'll leave it all behind, I'm going to I'm not

going to change what you do in life.

I'm just going to change what you're fishing for.

Amen. Come and follow me and I'll make

you fishers of men. What an awesome God.

But between 12 and 30, what happened to Jesus?

There's, you know, it's a mystery.

He told him follow me but I want to look today from the Manger to

the cross. I titled this from 12 to 33.

Something happens in the life of Jesus that I want us to look

about in the. Gospel of Luke chapter 2 and 49

Luke 2 · chapter mention

Jesus was missing. The parents had journeyed a

day's journey and they had to journey a day back and Scripture

says that for three days they Jesus was lost and he was in the

temple teaching some educated folk.

It seems today we think you got to be educated to teach the

Bible. I tell you what, if you get a

Bible and put in your hand and you go out and you get about

your Father's business, you will get educated.

You will let the Holy Spirit lead and guide you into the

direction. You will be an educated person

for Jesus Christ, because if not, the world will destroy you

today. But I want to look at what Jesus

said here in Luke 2 and 49, as I can picture Mary and Joseph

finally looking for three days to find Jesus and walking and

trudging, and they finally come up on him.

He's at the church, kind of a strange place.

If you go looking for your 12 year old today or 13 year old,

they're probably not going to be at the temple, Amen.

They're probably not going to be at the church house, especially

teaching anything because I believe sometimes we fail to

teach them. Amen.

So they don't they're they're so.

Confused today? Hello.

But look what Jesus said. He was astonished.

He said why don't you seek me? I think this should be the reply

for every born again believer today.

Why are you worried about why? I'm happy?

But what would it be like to be a preacher and have a lot of

folk like Jesus? Why do you pray for me?

Why do you? Seek me.

Did you not know that I must say that with me, That I must be

about my Father's business? Father, we thank you for your

word today. We thank you that your word's

real, that it's alive. We thank you that you're sitting

at the right hand of the Father today, making intercession for

us. I pray that every word spoken

would bring glory and honor to your name.

I pray I'd be able to to to speak this.

Word, the way you. Showed it unto me this week that

lies would be changed. God, that you would challenge us

that we must be about the Father's business in the last

days that we're living in. Father, that you would quicken

our hearts and quicken our spirits.

God, and help us to open our Bible and get it off the shelf

and begin in 2026 to be about the Father's business.

In Jesus name we pray. Hey man, you may be seated.

Do you not know that I must be about my father's business?

And in verse 50, as we read on, it says but they did not

understand the statement which he spoke to them.

I dare say it would be no different today if someone asked

what are you doing? Do you not know that I must be

about my father's business? They wouldn't understand.

Most of them would think he was working for your earthly father.

They would not understand Jesus parents that was raising the

King of the world did not understand.

But we must be about the Father's business.

See, that's the unique thing about Jesus Christ from the time

Jesus was. Born in Bethlehem, till he

probably left the temple, he left the Carpenter shop from

where he was helping his father or framing houses, whatever they

were doing. He probably worked with Joseph

and and, but his mind was often wandering off because he knew

that he must. Be about the Father's business

from the Manger in Bethlehem to the cross of Calvary.

His heart was what it was right on target.

And we read in Luke 19 and Lukes gospel of 19 and 10.

He said, Do you not know that the Son of Man came to?

Seek and to save that which was lost.

Jesus said I must be about my Father's business.

What would the Kingdom of God look like today if we as his

children was about the Father's business and we were seeking to

save those which are lost? Sometimes we forget about the

lost. The church has become very good

at forgetting about the lost. When they don't dress like us,

when they don't look like us or maybe smell like us, we forget

about the lost. Sometimes a man can I get a

witness? We must never forget about the

loss because that's what Jesus said that he came to do was to

seek. Not they may not come to you if

you sit around. I ain't LED nobody to Jesus this

year. They didn't just come.

You might have started to do a little seeking.

Hey man, because I promise you there's lost people.

There's lost people in the church house.

There's lost people at your job. There's lost.

People in the community and Jesus knew that.

That's why he said I must be about my father's business.

See, he left the cradle, but from the cradle to the cross,

from the cross to the tube, he. Knew that I must be about my

father's business. We get that way for a little

while. There's times in our life we're

on fire, man. We're seeing people saved and

we're witnessing the people. But there's all those also so

many times that we compromise. Jesus did not once compromise

and see the coolest thing about Jesus?

He had no money. He had to go fetch it from the

had to get one of his disciples to go get it from the fish

mouth, mouth of the fish because he had no money to tote around.

He had no computers. He had no jets.

He had he had no administrative assistants.

Hello. He had no associate pastors, yet

Jesus did. What many of us fail to do, He

kept his life right on track, right on course.

I believe that Jesus looked across the portals of time.

He could see many opportunities. Can you imagine what Jesus could

have been? He could have been a doctor

without a degree. He could have touched them and

they could have all been healed. He could have been the great

peacekeeper. He could have solved all the all

the world's problem. Jesus had so many things.

He could have been a peacemaker, but yet he chose to be a savior,

to save souls for eternity. He came to seek and do what save

that which was lost. I love that.

He didn't just come to seek you and let you stay the same way

you are. He came to seek and save from

our sin, save from a place called hell.

To seek and save that was which was lost.

He could have been a national leader, he could have been a

teacher, a physician, A peacemaker, but yet he chose to

be what? A savior of souls to seek and

saved. See, the heart of Jesus was so

focused on every task that he went up against, as I said, the

day he left the Carpenter shop of Nazareth, He had one goal in

mind. What was it?

Help me The cross of Calvary. He knew he had to get to the

cross to do what to say it is finished.

He had to get to the cross from the from the Manger to the

cross. He had to do it.

But with all the misery, with all the ridicule.

How could? How could?

Jesus say that it was finished. Ever thought about that it was

still the same world that he walked around in.

He was just a savior that had came that they had not believed

in right? Many had not believed in them.

And He came preaching good tidings and love and joy and

peace, and yet they. Killed him.

We get sold out as Christians. Well, I stepped out and I tried

to save and help somebody, but they didn't believe it.

So I'm not doing it anymore. And they didn't build me a big

church as a pastor. They didn't do this.

They didn't do that. The.

Story goes on and on. What about Jesus?

He was the greatest preacher, the greatest teacher, the

greatest healer that ever lived. But what did they do to him?

They didn't just ridicule him. They didn't just talk.

About him. They killed him and hung him on

a cross. Why?

Because he spoke the truth and people don't like the truth.

Why do people not like the truth?

Because most don't. Won't set free.

Hey man, they'd rather live in their misery.

If not, get up. Get out, child of God, because

your redemption draws nigh. But how could he say this?

There were still hungry to feed, there were still the sick, there

were still people to instruct. But something happened.

The sin debt had been paid in full.

That's why he could say that it is finished.

Hey man, that's what Christmas is about to me.

It's about the sin debt. See.

I owed a debt that I could not pay, and he paid a debt that he

did not owe and I owe it all to him.

Aren't you glad? Give him praise in the house if

you're glad. He paid that debt this morning.

Wouldn't you love for someone to say the same thing when they

stand behind your casket? They done what they were called

to do just as the heart of Jesus.

They were right on target. I asked you today, when you look

at your heart, when you look at your soul, who y'all ready for

this? I don't know why he gave me this

message today, He does. I don't have to know, I just got

to preach it. When you look at your heart

today and you look at your soul, see many never do that.

We never search our soul. It's easier to search somebody

else's. Hello, search your own soul this

morning. And when you do it, ask yourself

the question, what do I see? What do I see?

Many are so distracted, intrigued by 1 trend until

another comes along. That's us suckers for the latest

craze, the the new bestseller from one project to another,

living lives with no spiritual strategy, no spiritual goal

really in mind. That's not why Jesus came.

He came hot. Why?

That we might have life, That we might have it more abundantly.

Jesus didn't stay in the Manger. He got up, and as he grew, he

said I must be about my father's business.

Jesus had a longing. I must be about my Father's

business, but. Many are easily.

Distracted by small things and forget the big things that last

for eternity. So many long to feed the poor.

Enjoy leading churches. Relish singing, teaching and

counseling the confused, praying for the sick.

Those are all good things. Because in Ephesians 2 and 10,

it says we are the workmanship created in Christ Jesus to go

around doing crazy things and wander around lost all of our

life. No, it says, we say, we look at

your neighbors say I am the workmanship created in Christ

Jesus to do good works. And you know, there's something

neat about that. It says it goes on to say that

God prepared them beforehand, that we should walk in those

good works. If not, start doing it today.

It's never too late, right? The ripple of the ripple of

today's lie is tomorrow's wake in next year's flood.

Start today. Why not start today?

How do we do this? Proverbs 4 and 23 explains it

well. It says keep your heart with all

diligence. The King James translation says

guard your heart, for out of it flow the forces or the issues of

life. How do we do this?

Think with me for a moment. Everybody should know that you

reap or you harvest what you sow Jesus spoke of that, right?

He often spoke in principles. That was so easy to understand

if you put it in the ground and you water it.

That was what they had for an example.

Now, now. We put it in Google and we

Google it. And we don't even know who's

teaching us the Google. We don't know what them people

have done. We don't know what all they've

who's even teaching us that right?

But we believe it and many speak it for truth.

Jesus was very simple. He said, put it in the ground,

something that I created that's able to nurture, that's able to

grow it and put a little water on it.

And you see what comes up. Well, this is a heavy Ravi right

here. Think with me about this.

Everybody knows or should know that you can't walk by what you

planted in the spring and a few months later you can't plant a

pepper and you come back and there's a tomato.

You can't plant a pea and come back and there be a banana.

We we know that, we grasp that mentally, but do we grasp it

spiritually? Jesus said that whatsoever you

sow, you shall reap or you shall harvest.

But yet strangely, what? We know that we know that, but

we forget it when it comes to the Spirit man.

What's getting quiet in here? When we cultivate our hearts or

we plant things, who's planting them?

Who's planting your thoughts every day?

Can I give you a heavy revving? Mostly it's what you're

listening to or who you're listening to or who you're

hanging out with. That's what puts those things

within you. And for few people, it's the

word of God every day that we're putting in it.

But think about this. We cultivate our hearts.

We plant things that are within us.

Many times we let the world plant it.

We let politics plant it. We let somebody that we think's

educated that knows the Bible front and back, but have never

lived the Bible when we may even let them plant it.

We don't know the the Bible says be assured of the Scriptures and

know from whom you've learned them from.

I think that's a big deal. But what we know, we forget when

we cultivate our hearts and we let the world plant things

within us. We let thoughts plant thoughts.

We let music plant. We let the time we hang out with

others plant things within us. Hey man, I'm telling you how to

live a life like Jesus today. He didn't let other people plant

within him. Every time the enemy tried, he

had a word that said it's already written.

It doesn't matter what you say, enemy.

It doesn't matter what the first Church of the religious whatever

is. It doesn't matter what you say,

it's what the word of God says because it's written.

It's forever settled in heaven and I ain't got to walk around

this life lost and wonder where to go.

All I got to do is. Dive in it.

Consider your thoughts for a moment.

You ever thought? Of them as a seed.

Some thoughts become flowers. It's a good thought.

It becomes a beautiful thing, right?

It become a flower. Others become weeds.

Either we sow seeds of hope and joy and optimism and all these

things. Or we sow seeds of doubt,

expectation. Well, I'll see that at

Christmas. The gift I get.

You shouldn't determine what you think of me.

Hello, how many of you are going to think if I give them this

little cheap thing? Oh, it's just a whirlwind.

Then you spend all your money and you're broke and you kick

and yourself. I shouldn't have spent that much

on them, but oh, it goes on and on.

Give them Jesus, Amen. Give them a scripture, something

that'll last forever, but we drive ourselves crazy.

Keep your heart with all. Diligence for out of it flow the

forces of life. But think about this.

We sow seeds of doubt. You doubt they're going to like

the gift anxiety insecurity. People go to shaken when they

hope you know what if they don't like it?

You ever searched for that hard gift for your kid?

Boy, you shopped. I mean, you thought and or maybe

it was a relative and they open and then people have the

audacity to say, I already got one of these.

If you've done that, you need to repent.

Had that sucker act like you never seen one.

Hey man, you'll pick somebody up that day.

But we're very good. Anybody ever had that happen?

Already got three of these. They probably.

Already got 1 whatever you're going to get them.

Hello. But yet we get all insecurity

and anxiety up about it right Like I told you all when my wife

wasn't here last week, she's got me.

She don't need nothing now I'm telling you that.

But you know what my next scripture is.

Do not be deceived. I was deceiving myself.

Galatians 6 and seven, it says do not be deceived.

How many is deceived? The world will deceive you, your

family will deceive you, friends will deceive you, but God will

never deceive you. But we're deceived sometimes in

thinking that God is malt. But in Galatians it says, be not

deceived. God is not malt.

For whatever a man sows, he shall also reap.

Well, that's powerful. I think of that verse every day

of my life. For he who sows to his flesh,

will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows of

the Spirit of the Spirit. Will reap everlasting life.

And I think we get good at sewing.

A lot of times Christians get good at sewing.

Good thing we want to give good things to people, but sometimes

we don't see the results of it. They open it and they say

already got it. We stand up and preach it and

they say I already heard somebody preach it better.

We stand up and we we God, I did this for you.

I give you my heart and soul and it didn't even touch the people

and sometimes we grow weary right.

There's a lot of Christians today growing weary because from

2025 years ago when Jesus came as a baby in a Manger coming

back and saying he was coming back to save a lost in the dying

world. Come on people get a little

weary. Hey, man, I pray it everyday.

Lord, I'm getting a little weary because the things that I see

around me are leading to the tribulation period.

They're leading to hunger and famine, and I'm your child and

you need to Get Me Out of here. Amen.

That's what I believe and that's what I pray.

I get a little weary. But right there in the Bible and

in the next verse, in verse 9, it says, But let us not grow

weary. While doing good.

It's not my season. The Rapture's not my season.

It's his season. Amen.

I just got to be ready in season, out of season.

Because he says in due season we shall reap if we do not lose

heart. Don't lose your heart this

morning. See from the Manger to the

cross. Jesus didn't lose his heart and

even on the cross he could have lost.

Hang in between. Think about sweet baby Jesus

where his ministry landed him hanging in between two thieves.

Well some pastors there would have to loosen their tie today,

wouldn't they? God, I haven't done this for you

and you go hang me and kill me between two thieves.

Who are you, God? But Jesus said nevertheless not

with my will, but dying. And then one spoke up.

He said, I found a little faith in the day.

You can be with me in paradise. Do not grow weary child of God,

while doing good for a due season.

You will reap if you do not lose heart.

The proof is everywhere. The proof is everywhere.

Driver's struck in traffic 1 gets to thinking about a busy,

messed up schedule. Gets mad.

I did that this week. Guy just kept cutting me off.

I got mad. I had to confess I didn't see

him, but I got mad. But one is angry.

The other says it's a good chance to slow down and breathe.

I don't like to breathe when I'm mad to.

You just. You go past.

It used to be the lake over there, now it's Kettle Mills.

This doesn't move this way. You go past Kettle Mills.

You can get angry if you're a driver.

If you used to. Poke it around like we do.

You know, you see that red light?

I say, man, I ain't got a red light between me and Walmart.

We're blessed. But you have to get in a

different mentality over there. It's everywhere.

Two people face a tragedy. 1 is destroyed.

I'll never, I'll never get out of this, but the other one is

determined that God will get me through it.

Two people face success. We see it all the time. 1 Pats

himself on the back and grows cocky.

That's all they used to do, but now they post it.

They post it. On Facebook and have to let

everybody know how good they are.

I remember Bob's brother Chuck. He wouldn't have 50,000 at

Calgary called Bob said Chuck do I don't know.

He ain't calling. Nobody didn't have cell phones

then, but you can see Chuck. You wouldn't know if he wouldn't

first or fell off, would you? When 50,000 Calgary didn't call

his dad while you know, but when you're good, you don't have to

advertise it, right? When you're living for God, you

ain't you just got to live for God.

Everybody else will notice it. You ain't got to post it all.

Hey man, the other gives credit to God and see when we give

credit to God, we grow grateful. Guard your heart, stay on

target. Jesus guarded his heart and his

mind because he had one goal in mind.

What's your goal today? Our hearts are so trashed out.

Let any riff raff knock on the door, we throw it open.

Anger shows up. Many let it in.

We let the revenge start. It needs a place to stay.

We pull it up a chair, don't we? Pity wants to have a party, so

we join in. Them are bad places to be pity

parties. They just beat you down.

They make you feel worthless and you know you can find plenty to

party with you in your pity. Can I say that again?

You can find plenty. You may be having a bigger pity

than they are, but they'll join in the party and they may not

even be as sick and as hurting as you are.

Before they're done, they're going to have some greater than

what you got. It's like our lifelong goal to

be sicker. It's like our lifelong goal to

hurt more. Hello.

We're trashed out. Don't let pity have a party.

Lust rings the bell. We open the door.

I know that hurt. Can I say it again?

Lust rings the bell, We open the door.

Shut the door. We must be a like a soldier at

the gate of the city. Stand at guard.

When that scripture says that, it says.

Guard your heart, for out of it flow the forces of life.

Amen. Out of it flow the forces of

life. At the conclusion of Matthew's

Gospel in 28 and 18, Jesus said an amazing thing.

Think about the baby, the sweet baby Jesus.

He had accomplished what he was sent to do.

At the end of Matthew's Gospel, he, Jesus, said all authority

has been given to me in heaven and earth.

That sounds like a Savior. All authority, not some.

He's not just authority over the sinner's prayer you prayed that

made you feel like you're going to heaven.

He's got the authority to change his sin in your life and to turn

your feet around and to fill you with the Holy Ghost and to wake

you up in heaven at the end of this life.

He has all the authority. Satan has none.

We have to stand on that authority.

God help us show some of his authority in our life.

But the problem is we don't know the.

Authority because we can't take time to read the word of God.

When we know. The Word of God, we know the

authority. We have, we know, the gospel in

which we stand upon. Amen.

Your answer is there. Why does every Christian say

read the. Word.

Because they read the word and that's how they got to where.

They are today. God didn't just plop something

down magical on them. You're going to pay the price,

say man. If you want the anointing.

If you want the authority that Jesus had, you're going to pay

the price. There ain't no other way.

God help us show some authority in our life.

Read the word, see what it says about your situation.

Don't see what the neighbor says, Amen.

He don't know, she don't know. See what the word of God says

because all authority has been given to him in Jesus name.

You know how much God thought about this Manger over here, the

God of all creation that spoke and the waters were divided and

all these things happened. You know what he.

Said he said, I don't care how smart you are, I don't care what

you do in this life. There is no way to me except

through him that's powerful. Why?

Because all say that with me all authority.

See your mind is the doorway. I want you to go with me today

for a little bit. I want to tell you this little

story. Suppose you come to my house and

I said I want you to come with me over here.

I got a greenhouse. Neither is my house green nor my

thumb green. What I usually try to grow dies

because I forget to water it. Hey man, I've planted some of

the Oh yeah, you're supposed to water that days later, but I can

leave 1 going in a water through for two or three days and never

turn it off and water all the. Ground if I ever do that and the

older I get the worse it gets. Set the alarm.

I said I can't remember to set the alarm.

So I got to where you stand there and hold it now and pray

while I'm holding it. But I want you to imagine that

you come to my greenhouse and I had this beautiful greenhouse.

And I tell you, look, we're going to plant some stuff in

this greenhouse and we're going to grow it and we're going to

come back in a few months. We're going to see how beautiful

it is. It's got the right climate, it's

got misters in it that shares the right amount of water at the

same time of the day. It's a state-of-the-art.

It's a greenhouse. And I get a bucket and I said

now come with me and I go out in this field.

You know a lot of the fields around here, they grow the goat

weed. Tell me like the goat weeds.

And I walked by the goat weed. I grabbed me a few seeds and I

put it in my bucket. Oh, we can't forget cocoa bears.

I pull them out of horses tails, regular.

I spray them suckers and you can't kill them.

I want faith like a cocoa bear. I'm going to preach that one

day. I took one of them suckers one

time and turned my torch on hot and put it on a piece of of

thick sheet metal. And I melted that thing and all

the little birds burned off it. You can't burn that seed.

I want faith like a cocoa bear, but I don't want it in my

garden. But I grabbed me some cocoa bird

seeds back to my bucket, and I began to throw them in my

bucket. And I go over here and I got

some big old things. They look like gourds that grow

sometime. You ever seen them?

And I was like, where did this thing come from?

God, I ain't planted that. Ain't that just comes up.

You know what he said? He said that's how your soul is.

There's some things you ain't never seen in 2026.

Come on. Somebody that's going to come

your way, that the devil's going to invent it to distract you, so

you better be ready for whatever's coming up.

But I throw all these seeds in my bucket and I say, OK, come

on, let's go with my greenhouse. We're going to plant these.

We're going to plant these seeds.

You'd be asking me something probably.

Why do you want to plant a Kuckleberg?

Why do you want to plant these things?

Because see, the the mind is the doorway to your heart.

It's a strategic place where you determine which seeds are sown.

Can I say that again? Quit looking at your neighbor

and blaming your neighbor. It's you that determine which

seeds are so, which ones that you're going to cast out there.

But if it's all you got in your bucket, it's all you went out

and gathered is a bunch of weeds and a bunch of cockle birds and

a bunch of distractions. And it's in your bucket and you

walk in this beautiful greenhouse.

It can grow anything because he has all authority whatever you

put in it. Is going to.

Grow. And Jesus said farther than

that. He said it's not that just that

goes in you, but when it goes in you, something begins to happen,

right? And then it's what's going to

come. Out of you, Let's see.

The Holy Spirit is ready to help you manage and filter the

thoughts that try to enter. That's the key.

That's the key. If it wasn't, the Apostle Paul

wouldn't have said it. He can help you this morning.

He can help you guard your heart.

He can stand with you on the threshold and as a thought

approaches, that's questionable. What happens in 2nd Corinthians

10 and five as we read this, one of my greatest scriptures, me

and brother Jarman used to share it all the time.

I miss that. I miss sharing this with him.

We shared it all the time in 2nd Corinthians 10 and five because

I believe that is the key to the Christian life.

In 2nd Corinthians 10 and 5, it says, I'm going to go to verse

310 and three. It says for though we walk in

the flesh, you're going to get up and you're going to walk in

the flesh, but you do not war according to the flesh, but

you're going to try to fight the flesh because the church has

told you if you can get control of that flesh, you're saved.

But it says we don't really war according to the flesh.

I challenge you, go deeper than the flesh.

Get off in the flesh, get to the heart and the soul of your

being, and when you defeat it there, Amen.

When you defeat it there, you don't have to worry about the

flesh when you defeat it there. OK, how do we do that?

How did Jesus do it? From the Major to the cross, He

was. So on target, how did he do it?

Because the same word he give Apostle Paul.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the

flesh. For the weapons of our warfare

are not carnal, but they're mighty.

They're mighty in God for pulling down.

For pulling down the strongholds, casting down

arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the

knowledge of God. Everything we see today, I dare

say 90% of the airwaves, maybe more percentage than that is

trying to exalt itself against the glory of God.

We look at the churches today, I was showed a huge Christmas play

that take thousands of people to produce at Christmas and I

didn't see a lot of God in it. Why?

Because even the church today we try to exalt ourselves but come

on, I cannot preach this thing against the knowledge of God.

Jesus never one time tried to exalt himself above his heavenly

Father. He submitted to the will of the

Father. He said, nevertheless, not my

will, but thy will be done. Let your Kingdom come upon this

earth as it is in. Heaven cast down every argument

and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of

God. Well, we can do that.

But here's the hard part. Bringing every thought I got to

grab it from here to here from an average of 18 inches.

You know these people going to miss heaven by 18 inches?

It's an average of 16 to 18 inches.

I've heard from the head to the heart, a lot of people's going

to miss heaven about 18 inches. Isn't that sad?

18 inches because they never learned to cast down arguments

and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of

God, bringing every thought into captivity.

When's the last time you'd done that?

I got to do it every day. If I got to do it every day, or

I'll lay this mic down, if I begin to listen to the things

the devil's telling me, and about my future, and about I'll

do, I got to do it every day. I got to bring that thought

captive. But that ain't all we got to do

when we captive. When we get it stopped, we got

to bring it to the obedience of Christ.

We got to learn how to never let it in there again.

That's how Jesus made it from the cradle, from the Manger to

the cross. You ready for this next part?

Apostle Paul wasn't easy to follow.

He didn't lift, no, no IS undotted, no T's uncrossed.

He said you got to bring it captive.

You got to bring into the obedience of Christ, and then

you got to be ready to punish all disobedience.

When your obedience is full, punishing disobedience is hard.

Because see, when you go do. It again, you didn't punish

nothing. You didn't learn from your

mistake. You didn't learn how to never be

there again. You didn't punish your

disobedience. It's easier to just say, oh,

grace has got me, let me do it again.

Grace has got me let me do it again.

Grace has got you see what's happening when I keep leaning.

Grace is a great thing, but it says that by doing again, there

comes a time that we can walk on the blood of Jesus and we can

make the cross of Christ have no effect in our life because we're

turned over to a debase mind. We didn't think anything about

guarding the heart, guarding the mind.

Jesus did. But yet as we walk through this

greenhouse. As fertile as it.

Is I walk in there and I put the cockle birds and I put the

ragweeds and I put all those I mentioned in there.

What do you think happened? What do you think happened to my

greenhouse? The atmosphere was perfect, the

light was exact, the temperature was suited for any kind of

flower. I wanted to plant anything I

wanted to do. But as I asked.

You to join me as I collect these things.

Wouldn't you think I was a little bit crazy?

This sucker's planting A greenhouse and he's putting all

this stuff in it. I fill the bag with all the

negative, all the weeds, and then I walk around saying God.

What you going to grow well? It's probably going to look

something like a cockle bar. She going to do like Swayze?

I'll be pulling them out of a horse.

She got their little gloves on their furry and I'll throw them

at her and they just stink. She has a fit.

Cockle bears. They're from hell.

But yet I ask you join me, you're going to think I'm a

little bit crazy. Don't you think you ought to

plant some flowers? Don't you think you ought to put

something pretty in there, maybe a little fruit, something you

need on later when your spirits should get a little bit of

dryness going on? But you know, this is what

Christians do. Stay with me and I'm going to

close the story I heard about the greenhouse.

You know what he said? And they said, why won't you

plant a few flowers? Why wouldn't you plant a few

seeds? Why wouldn't you?

And this is where the God spoke to me in there.

This is where where it hit me hard.

The owner of that greenhouse, it wasn't me.

You figured that out, but he said no, they cost too much.

That's the way we are as Christians, to have those pretty

flowers. You know, churches too far.

The preacher preaches too long. The songs, I've heard them

before. Well, you know what, I got news

for you. You've heard this gospel that

I'm preaching this morning before.

But you know what God referred to you as?

What are you? You a sheep?

You dumb hey man sheep are dumb. You don't believe me go hurt you

herded some they dumb that's why they need a shepherd.

That's why Jesus did it all through it.

We dumb he can do it. Over and over again in our.

Life and we forget about it. We just keep running back to the

lines and getting out from under the cover.

That's why we need a shepherd. That's why he's the great

Shepherd. Because we dumb, we're Saddam,

we plant these things when we're body is a temple of the Holy

Ghost, a man, our body. The Bible even says that the

same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells inside of

me. Whatever I put in it, he's able

to prosper it. Come on, give him a praise in

the house. He's able to grow it, he's able

to sustain it and he's able to keep it.

So I ask you, why do you keep putting weeds?

When you're in your greenhouse, you have this vessel, you have

this treasure. Why do we keep putting in it?

Plant. Flowers.

But yet it's because we say that you have any idea how much that

cost? Yeah, I know what it costs.

It's going to cost you eternity. One of these days, that's called

forever. And if you don't put the right

things in there, you're going to spend forever somewhere.

But it's easier to listen to a preacher that won't preach you

the truth. It's easier to hear a man tell

you how God's going to prosper you if you'll give.

It's easier to do all those things because true worship cost

you something. Ask Jesus.

Ask the apostle Paul. Ask all the disciples that got

boiled, got their heads cut off, got hung upside down.

Come on, we ain't ready for what's about to happen in 26.

We ain't ready. We don't want any convenience.

Those seeds cost too much. Do you have any idea?

Yeah, I know what they cost. I know what the anointing cost.

It ain't cheap and it ain't easy.

But yet it's easier to take the easy, right easy way out.

But remember this as you stand to your feet.

A seed from a weed will not produce something beautiful.

A seed from a weed will not produce a church that divine

healing takes place in. A seed from a weed will not

produce anything beautiful. So what are you saying this

morning? What am I saying is they come

and sing this morning. The point is a Proverbs 4 and 23

guard the doorway to your heart. Submit your thoughts to the

authority of Jesus Christ. Will you listen to me for one

last minute? Be very selective about the

seeds that you plant, because they will.

Grow. They will grow.

I begin to think about this. From the Manger to the cross.

Jesus was right on target. I want to be on target.

How about you? I got to guard my heart, preach

to you a lot of things. But I want you to remember that

a seed from a weed will not produce something beautiful, but

yet we sow them every day. Take those thoughts captive.

I can't do that. You ever hear somebody talking a

certain way on the job and you just maybe it ain't.

It ain't got to be a dirty word. It's just got to be a negative,

something that's going to pull you down.

I deal with it with preachers. Hey man, most time telling me I

can't preach like I preach them and run them all off.

Oh, we can't do that. Yeah, we can.

I can preach the Word as a preacher.

Can I preach the Word? If you leave, you're the one

lost out because I'm preaching the Word.

But from the Manger to the cross, his life was so on

target. Think about it.

I wonder what Jesus must have felt when he was placed in

between two thieves. You know what have been very

easy to plant that seed in that grain.

But he knew that whatever goes in here, my God, so powerful.

I mean, all I did was walk by the tomb of Lazarus.

He'd been. Dead 3.

All I did was say Lazarus come forth and he jumped.

Out of them grave clothes. All I had, all I had to do was

walk by. Can you imagine having that much

power that Jesus had to watch what he said?

Because it would happen. It would happen.

But from the Manger to the cross, He never got off target.

Father, not my will be done. But then let's worship with this

song. It was on my heart when I woke

up this morning. Think about it.

This song speaks the message. If you need prayer, these altars

are open, but we're going to sing this beautiful song and

we're going to close. We wish everybody a Merry

Christmas. Don't let the anxiety fill your

heart. Don't try to please people.

Just think about Jesus. Say man, tell them about Jesus.

Thanks for listening to the Cross Powered Church podcast.

May you know that true hope, peace, and salvation can only be

found in Jesus. If you're near Campbell, TX, we

would love for you to join us in person.

You can find service times at crosspoweredchurch.com.