The cross serves as a profound assurance of our future, offering us hope, authority, and destiny. It is imperative to recognize that the cross does not merely cleanse our past or transform our present; it decisively secures our future. Many believers, despite their salvation, continue to live under the oppressive shadows of fear, believing that darkness holds sway over their destinies. However, we affirm that such notions are unfounded; darkness is not sovereign, for it is the cross that triumphs. Through this discourse, we shall explore the multifaceted implications of the cross, particularly how it empowers us to confront the future with confidence and purpose, as we are no longer orphans, but children of the King, equipped for victory. The discourse centers around the profound implications of the Cross as articulated in Colossians 2:15, where it is asserted that through the Cross, Jesus publicly triumphed over the powers of darkness. This episode elucidates the nature of salvation as a completed work, emphasizing that believers should not approach their future with trepidation or anxiety, but rather with the confidence of being children of the King. The host delineates how the Cross secures not only our past and present but also our future, dismantling fears of condemnation and the fragility of one's spiritual standing. It is posited that many believers live as though they are at the mercy of dark forces, which the message aims to dispel by affirming that darkness is ultimately powerless against the victory of the Cross. The episode transitions into a discussion on the authority bestowed upon believers through this victory, urging them to approach spiritual warfare not as victims but as empowered agents of God's will, reinforcing the idea that faith should be active and assertive, grounded in the truth of Christ's sacrifice. Furthermore, the host draws attention to the notion that glory follows suffering, inviting listeners to view their trials through the lens of eternal significance, as they are assured that their struggles will yield a greater purpose in God's plan. The conversation concludes with practical applications for individuals, families, and ministries, encouraging them to foster environments of hope and to reject fear-based leadership, ultimately resting in the assurance that the Cross has secured their eternal destiny.

Takeaways:

1. The cross signifies not merely survival but a profound public triumph over evil, establishing hope and authority for believers.
2. Understanding the cross transforms our perspective of the future, empowering us to live as children of the King rather than fearful orphans.
3. Christ's declaration of 'It is finished' confirms that salvation is a completed work, free from condemnation for those in Him.
4. Believers are granted authority over darkness through the cross, enabling them to resist temptation and live victoriously in Christ.

Links referenced in this episode:

1. Colossians 2:15
2. John 19:30
3. Romans 8:1
4. Romans 8:38,39
5. 1 John 3:8
6. Luke 10:19
7. James 4:7
8. 2nd Timothy 1:7
9. 2nd Corinthians 4:17
10. 2nd Corinthians 5:17
11. Corinthians 15, verse 58

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross.

Colossians 2:15.

In the ancient world, when a king won a decisive battle, he didn't keep it quiet quiet.

He held a public procession, a victory parade.

The defeated enemies were displayed as proof that their power had been broken.

It wasn't done to entertain, it was done to declare this threat is finished.

That's the language Paul is using in Colossians 2:15.

The cross was not Jesus barely surviving.

The Cross was not Jesus escaping death by luck.

The Cross was a public triumph.

What looked like shame was actually a parade.

What looked like defeat was actually a coronation.

And if you truly understand the Cross, you will stop approaching the future like a frightened orphan.

You will face it like a child of the king.

As we go on to the Message series, the deep meaning of the Cross, we need to understand that the Cross doesn't only mean your past and transform your present, doesn't only clean your past and you transform your present.

The Cross secures your future.

Message one, we discussed the Cross and your past.

Guilt, shame, condemnation and being broken.

In Message two, we discuss the Cross and your presence, surrender, discipleship and crucified living.

And now, in the third message, the Cross and your future.

Hope, authority, destiny and glory.

Because many believers are saved, but they still live as though tomorrow belongs to fear.

The devil has the final word.

The future is fragile.

God is good, but not reliable.

Heaven is real, but victory is uncertain.

The Cross comes to destroy that kind of weak, anxious Christianity.

Today we'll say what the Cross says.

Your future is not at the mercy of darkness.

Darkness is at the mercy of the Cross.

Our first point is that the Cross secured your eternal future.

Salvation is not a wish, it's a finished work.

With that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Finished is not almost.

Finished is not pending approval.

Finished is not subject to change.

It means complete, it's paid, it's settled.

Many believers live like salvation is a fragile thing.

Like God is constantly looking for reasons to reject them.

That is a slavery mindset.

But Scripture says in Romans 8:1, Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Not less condemnation, not condemnation.

On bad days, no condemnation.

Your future is secured in Christ.

Am I convinced that neither death, nor life, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God?

As Romans 8:38,39 tells us, if you are In Christ, the future is not a cliff edge.

It's a road held by God's hand.

Now, this does not mean you become careless.

The same cross that secures you also sanctifies you.

But you must not live in spiritual barrier as if the blood of Jesus has an inspiration date.

If the cross finished your salvation, stop living like God, still decided some of your fear.

Some of you fear death.

Not just physically, but spiritually.

You fear, what if I fail?

What if I mess up?

What if I fall?

The cross answers you.

You are not held by your performance.

You are held by your Savior.

Our second point is that the cross gave you authority over darkness.

Jesus didn't negotiate with hell, he disarmed it.

Colossians 2:15 tells us, Having disarmed the powers and authorities, to disarm someone is to remove their weapon, their right to threaten you.

So how does Satan still intimidate believers?

He uses accusation, he uses fear, he uses deception, he uses intimidation, he uses condemnation, he uses delay, and he uses intimidation through circumstances.

But the cross stripped him of legitimate authority.

The enemy's primary weapon is not power, it's persuasion.

He persuades you that God is not with you.

He persuades you that your prayers don't matter.

You are still guilty, you are not protected, your future is doomed.

But the Christ tells you the enemy is a defeated Outlaw.

1 John 3:8 tells us, the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

Now hear this carefully.

If you don't understand your authority, you will beg for what you were meant to enforce.

Some Christians pray like victims, right?

Lord, please do something.

What?

But the cross trains you to pray like a soldier.

Brothers and sisters, Lord, thank you for victory.

Now I stand in that victory and obey.

Now, authority does not mean arrogance.

Authority means you stand on what God has already declared.

Nothing will harm you.

The cross is what makes that statement legal.

What does a practical authority look like?

You resist temptation, not the guilt.

Not with guilt, but with identity.

As we read in James 4:7, you reject fear with truth, not vibes.

As we read in second Timothy 1:7, you break agreement with lies in prayer.

You refuse to speak death over your future.

You live alert.

You live clean and obedient, not panicked.

The devil roars with the cross poured out his teeth.

Our third point from the message today is, glory always follows the cross.

Brothers and sisters, suffering is not the end.

Glory is.

Romans 8:17 tells us, now, if we are children Then we are heirs, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

We live in a generation that hates suffering and idolizes comfort.

But Christianity is not comfort.

First, Christianity is the cross.

First, Jesus didn't promise ease.

He promised victory, purpose and eternal glory.

The cross tells you pain is temporary, obedience is worth it.

God is using everything.

The best is still ahead.

Your future Future includes glory.

2nd Corinthians 4:17 tells us for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Paul calls troubles light and momentary, not because they feel light, but because he compares them to eternity.

Some of you are walking through heavy seasons, right?

You're working through seasons of grief, delay, betrayal, financial strain, sickness, spiritual warfare and anxiety about tomorrow.

The cross doesn't deny your pain.

It gives your pain a direction.

The cross turns suffering into strategy.

What the enemy meant to destroy you, God uses to develop you.

The cross is proof that the worst day in history became the greatest victory in eternity.

So if God can do that with Calvary, what can you do with your Friday?

Friday hur.

But Sunday is coming.

Let's look at the future, brothers and sisters, through the lens of the cross.

Let's talk about the future in three dimensions.

The first dimension, your future identity.

The cross makes you a new creation now, 2nd Corinthians 5:17 and guarantees your glorification later.

You don't merely go to heaven.

Heaven is moving into you now.

And you are being prepared for a future where sin is gone forever.

The second lens is your future battles.

The cross doesn't mean no battles.

It means battles from victory, not for victory.

You fight like this.

Alert, not anxious, disciplined, not desperate.

Prayerful, not paranoid.

Obedient, not overwhelmed.

The third lens is that your future about with third lens, looking through is your future purpose.

A cross centered believer is not a spectator.

You are enlisted.

The cross gives you a mission.

Preach the gospel, make disciples, love people deeply, serve with excellence and build with eternity in mind.

Here are some applicable lessons for believers.

Ministry, work and family.

For believers who fear us tomorrow, stop forecasting your future through trauma.

Stop prophesying disaster because you've been hurt before.

The cross says God writes the final chapter.

Here's a practical step.

Replace.

What if it goes wrong?

With what if God is faithful for ministry and leadership.

Let's look at what this lesson or what lessons we can look at.

Don't build ministry with fear.

Fear makes leaders control people.

Fear makes leaders compromise.

Truth.

Fear makes leaders chase applause.

A cross anchored leader has courage to confront sin, to preach holiness, to endure misunderstanding, to remain faithful when across a cross for family and life cross centered home become hope centered homes instead of we'll see nothing ever works or I'm worried you begin to speak God will provide, we will be faithful, we will obey, we will overcome for work and calling.

Your future career and assignments are not random.

The cross teaches you to work with eternity in mind.

The cross doesn't make you passive, it makes you purposeful.

Paul says, always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

As we Read in Corinthians 15, verse 58.

Brothers and sisters, the cross is not only where you got saved, the cross is where your future got secured.

When you face tomorrow, you don't face it alone.

Calvary went ahead of you.

When you when you face warfare, you don't face it as a victim.

The enemy was disarmed.

When you face suffering, you don't face it as someone do.

Glory is promised.

So stop believing like the cross is a history lesson.

The cross is your legal ground, your spiritual authority and your eternal guarantee.

The world is unstable.

Yes, economies shake.

Yes, people change.

Of course bodies fail.

We've all been there.

Death comes, definitely is.

But the cross stands like an unmovable pillar in time and eternity, declaring Jesus already won.

And if Jesus already won, then you don't have to fear, you don't have to shrink, you don't have to live timid.

You can live holy, you can live bold.

You can live focused.

You can live hopeful.

You can live ready.

Because the cross has already spoken over your future.

Let us pray.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you for the cross.

Where my past was forgiven, my present was being transformed and my future is secured.

I thank you that Jesus did not merely suffer, he triumphed.

I thank you that he disarmed the powers and authorities and made a public spectacle of Lord.

I repent for every way I have feared tomorrow as if you were not faithful.

I repent for every agreement I made with anxiety, with dread and hopelessness.

I repent for speaking defeat over my life when Christ has already declared victory.

By faith I received the finished work of Christ.

Jesus Christ.

I receive boldness.

I receive clarity.

I receive stability.

I receive the peace that surpasses understanding.

I declare that I will not be intimidated by darkness because the cross has already judged it.

Holy Spirit, strengthen me to live like a person who believes the gospel is true.

Give me courage to obey even when it costs.

Give me endurance in trials.

Give me purity in temptation.

Give me wisdom in decisions.

Let my home be filled with hope, my work be filled with excellence, and my ministry be filled with power and humility.

I declare over my future.

I belong to Jesus.

I am kept by God.

I am led by the Spirit.

I finish my works.

I will not fall away.

I will not be devoured by fear.

I will walk in authority and not arrogance.

Authority rooted in the cross and submitted to the King and Father.

When my final day comes, I will not meet death as a terrifying man.

I will meet it as a redeemed child, washed by the blood, confident in Christ and ready for glory.

Because Jesus lives, I will live also.

In Jesus name.

Amen.