The Power of the Cross

This episode contains portions from the following programs:

"The Lord's Prayer, Day 24"

"Preparing for Worship"

"Where We Come From"

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Dannah Gresh: Easter is next weekend. Yes, that means you probably need to pull out your shopping list and get organized. But don't forget what it really means. We’re coming up on Good Friday, when we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus, the Son of God.

Crucifixion was a horrible, cruel way to die. So why do we call it Good Friday? That’s what we’re going to talk about today. Because even though thousands of people were executed on Roman crosses, there’s something special, something unique, about the death of Jesus. 

Thank you so much for joining me here on Revive Our Hearts Weekend. I’m Dannah Gresh. We’re about to look at the hope we have, because of the power of the cross.

I don’t know if you can remember a specific time where God really impressed on you the reality of Jesus’ death on the cross and what that means to you personally. We’re about to hear from Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth as she shares a specific time when God ministered to her heart in a sweet way.

You probably know this: in the overall story of history, the Bible tells us about Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration, or new creation. The events we’re celebrating this coming week—Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection—are at the center of God’s plan of redemption. Without the cross and the empty tomb, we have no gospel, no salvation, no hope of the new creation, so the cross is key!

There was a time Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth felt the Lord impressing the power of the cross in a special way. Let’s listen as she describes that moment.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Not long ago in our church, we had an observance of the Lord’s Supper. We came together to the communion table. I’m very thankful for those times because it’s always a really good time for my heart to be recalibrated and to look at Christ and His cross afresh.

This communion service occurred during the process of my studying on this passage and asking God for a fresh consciousness of my need for His forgiveness and His grace. What a precious time that was!

The Lord used that communion service as a means of grace for my own heart. You know how it goes—they may do it a little differently in your church, but our church observes it in a fairly traditional way.

The elders and the pastors passed out the little wafers, and I took my wafer and held it in my hand, and we waited until all had been served. While others were being served, we were singing together as a congregation some songs that reflect the work of Christ, the work of His cross. Songs that made us reflect on the meaning of the bread. It is the body of Christ broken for us.

We sang that song by D. A. Carson, that more contemporary hymn, “I Am Ashamed; O Lord, Forgive.” The stanzas of that hymn talk about different ways we have sinned against God.

We sang them as a confession, and then the chorus would say over and over again, “I am ashamed; O Lord, forgive,”2 reminding us that it’s my sin, it’s our sin, that sent Christ to the cross.

As we sang, God began to impress my heart with a fresh sense of the weight of my sins against Him, and I found myself not just singing vain repetitions, but really crying out to the Lord and saying, “I am ashamed; O Lord, forgive.”

But you know, our singing didn’t end there. We went on to sing, “Wonderful, merciful Savior, precious Redeemer and Friend,” transferring our focus from the weight and guilt of our sin to Christ—wonderful, merciful Savior.

You know what? I’ve sung that song many times, but I don’t remember a time when it’s been more precious to me than at that point where God was weighing in on my heart with such conviction of my guilt.

In the face of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, Christ becomes an exceedingly wonderful and merciful Savior, a precious Redeemer and Friend.

You are the one that we praise.
You are the one we adore.
You give the healing and grace [That’s what I need!]
Our hearts always hunger for.¹

After we sang that song, we were invited to eat the bread, the wafer. It was crisp; it was hard. As we bit into it, there was that sense of the body of Christ broken for me, broken for my sin, broken for our sin.

Then the juice was passed, the juice of the grape, representative of the blood of Christ. As it was passed, we sang a chorus that, again, may not be familiar to some of you, turning our eyes again to the cross:

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin;
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning your bloodstained brow.

This, the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.²

As we sang that chorus again and again, I found myself weeping in the presence of the Lord, saying, “O Lord, forgive us our debts. Forgive me my debts. But thank You for the power of the cross, where You became sin for us. You took the blame; You bore the wrath. We—I—we, this congregation of fellow forgiven sinners here, we stand forgiven at the cross.”

Oh!, precious is the flow
That makes us white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.³

So as we pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” there’s an invitation and an appeal to pray that Old Testament version of the Lord’s Prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24 ESV)

And what’s that “way”? Christ. It’s Christ—wonderful, merciful Savior. Do you love Him? Are you grateful for His forgiveness?

Dannah: Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth was teaching on the phrase “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” from the Lord’s Prayer. 

It’s so true that God can use the lyrics of a song to speak to our hearts and move our emotions, isn’t it?

Keith and Kristyn Getty understand that. Here they are talking to them about that.

Nancy: In my quiet time this morning, I did what I have done many times over the years. I pulled out a hymnal and began to sing. I’m not a singer, but I do sing for the Lord—to the Lord and for the Lord—and I found myself this morning singing a couple of hymns (all stanzas, of course) that were written many, many years ago.

One was written by Charles Wesley, who was born 300 years ago. The other was written by John Newton, who died 200 years ago.

As I thought about this conversation that we were going to have today, I thought of the power of texts and hymns and songs that can be enduring for multiple generations. Here I am this morning, singing hymns that were written hundreds of years ago, but the texts are alive and powerful and still touching my heart today.

Is that part of what you’re hoping will happen through the hymns that you write, that there will be multiple generations of believers that will be pointed to these great themes and texts of Scripture through these hymns?

Keith Getty: We want to write the best lyrics that we possibly can, which are rich and are building people up in their faith. We want to write melodies that are as good as they can be for a congregation. And we want to marry them together.

I have no idea how long it will last. I know we certainly don’t try to write in a contemporary style, so there’s no chance we can go out of fashion, because we’re not “in fashion” in the first place. But I mean, I have no idea how long these will endure; only God knows how long they will be useful to churches.

Kristyn Getty: But there is something wonderful about standing in a church and singing songs that you know generations have sung before you, that have carried the believers and strengthened their hearts and are strengthening your heart and might strengthen the hearts of your grandchildren . . . who knows.

There’s something very beautiful about that, and the wonder of just passing on the torch of the truth to each generation through what we sing, not just what we say.

Nancy: You led our ministry in a time of singing hymns, some of which you had written. We sang one about the power of the cross, but then you also led us in singing that old classic, timeless, ageless hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” They were both precious reminders of what Christ has done for us at the cross.

Kristyn: “When I Survey” sort of firmed up our response to what the power of the cross was saying. When we consider that Christ has done all, there’s nothing we can do to add. When we consider that there is absolutely nothing we can boast in, we cannot save ourselves, we commit ourselves to Him. We are humbled, our pride is scattered away. And then that last line, we give our souls and our life and our all to that.

We love to be able to segue from “The Power of the Cross” into that song, because it creates sort of that devotional, further commitment moment that I feel like after “The Power of the Cross.”

Nancy: Now, tell me—I have some messages that I give in conferences, and I’ve given them many times—does it ever get old?

Kristyn: Well, that’s part of the ongoing struggle. I mean, you tell the same things over and over again, and what we are declaring in these songs is a living truth, so it’s connected to our everyday walk with the Lord.

When we sing “The Power of the Cross,” I find that helpful, coming out of my quiet time where I’ve confessed those things that I’ve done wrong the day before or even that very morning, and being able to attach that personal experience and frustration and guilt to the power of the cross.

So that keeps it living. It keeps it attached to real life, so sincerely you can stand up and sing, “Yet again, I testify, it is the power of the cross.”

I think that that is very, very helpful, but it can be a struggle. I do think that we fight a daily walk of understanding and humbling of ourselves before the Lord. It would probably be impossible to continue to sing—there’s only so far the emotions will carry you—and if you sing it over and over again, it needs to be connected to something much deeper than yourself.

Nancy: Well, it’s not just a matter of you standing up there and singing it, but we’re sitting in church Sunday after Sunday, singing many familiar hymns. To tell you the truth, there are times—and I love the Word, I’m teaching the Word, I’m in the Word—but there are times when I find myself losing the wonder. “How many times have I sat through sermons, given messages to women, sung these songs—yours and others’—and just been kind of mindless and heartless about the whole thing.?” How do we keep the wonder of our faith fresh?

Kristyn: I think connecting it to a genuine relationship with the Lord. In church we do repeat the same songs over and over again.

In generations past they would have had a whole hymnal, hundreds of books, and everybody could more or less read along the melodic line in the book. But our books are closed or in the pew in front of us. We have the PowerPoint in front of us.

The words come and go, and they’re probably the same ones even though there’s so many new songs that we can learn. There’s some advantage with that, but I think it has to be a personal pursuit of preparing your heart before connecting it to real life.

Dannah: Singing about the power of the cross is a wonderful way to remind ourselves of the gospel. Keith and Kristyn Getty have helped all of us do that over the years. If you’d like to hear more of that conversation they had with Nancy, you’ll find a link to it when you go to ReviveOurHearts.com/weekend and click on today’s program.

Song: "The Power of the Cross" by Keith and Kristyn Getty

Dannah: Does the cross make a difference in your everyday life? I would submit to you that, yes, it does. If you’re in God’s family the gospel has a transforming effect on all aspects of life.

Crawford and Karen Loritts talked about that with Nancy. Let’s listen.

Crawford Loritts: And by God’s grace, and I say this purely by God’s amazing grace . . . We’re not the fourth members of the Trinity. We haven’t done things perfectly here. But by God’s amazing grace, he’s used our marriage really to be a model and example to so many, not only in Karen’s family, but . . . A number of her relatives have come to Jesus, and a lot of that in large part because of seeing the transforming power of Christ in Karen’s life and in our relationship it’s been amazing. 

Nancy: One of the things I love about your story is that you brought two very different backgrounds into marriage. That’s not unusual I suppose, but you both had parents and grandparents and great-grandparents who impacted your lives—some not in positive ways. But as you came into marriage and into Christ, He was able to redeem and to overrule the past. I think that’s a word of hope for people who are maybe younger married couples today, or even contemplating marriage. People who say, “Wow, I have this horrendous background.” In fact, Karen, you told Crawford years after your honeymoon that on the last night of your honeymoon you had a little bit of a meltdown.

Karen Loritts: I had a meltdown. We were at this great place out in a little village outside of Philadelphia. I was getting ready to go out for our last night together having dinner, and I looked into the mirror and I just started crying. I said, “What in the world have I gotten myself into? This poor man does not know what he’s marrying!” I was ready to be a bride, but I was not ready to be a wife.

I called on God. I said, “God, you have got to help me because this is going to be a hard situation. You know, Crawford comes from this great legacy of godliness, his mom and his dad they loved Jesus and were married for years and years. And I come from a single parent, living under poverty, in the streets of Philadelphia. But God saved me, and now I’ve married this man and said those vows days ago, and now I’m gonna have to live it. I was scared to death. And looking in that mirror I asked God, “God, you have got to show up and help me.” 

Nancy: So what was it you were scared of?

Karen: I was scared I wasn’t gonna be able to do all the stuff I promised to do in those vows: to love, honor, cherish, obey. I meant all those vows, but now I have to go down and live it, and I had no models for that, I had no models in my home. My mother was a single parent, all of us had different fathers, and it was just a mess. But God took my mess and made a message of my life. 

Crawford: A friend of mine, and Nancy I think you know him too, H. B. Charles, who’s a prominent preacher said something at a conference: Your past may explain you, but it doesn’t excuse you. Meaning that all of us have dysfunction in our background. One of the things that I think is a little pet peeve with me is that I think in our desire to be sympathetic and merciful and gracious and kind, we so elevate the dysfunction that we come from. It sort of diminishes the power of the cross to give us new beginnings, to change everything, including where we came from. 

I think of my bride here, and sometimes the tears will fill my eyes when I see the mother she has become, and to see how she’s imprinting our children, and how the Word of God has been dear and near to her. That’s the transforming power of Christ, because the cross changed everything in Karen’s life. It did the same thing in my mother. 

If you’re listening to us right now and you’re struggling in your marriage, and you’re wondering, Oh, how can I get over my background and all of these things? Second Corinthians 5:17 is in the Bible, “If any man or woman be in Christ they’re a new creature. Old things are passed away; behold all things become new” (paraphrased). Now, that’s not “Pollyanna.” It doesn’t mean that you won’t have to deal with the residue of bad feelings and all of that. But if God could raise a dead Jesus, He can change everything in our lives—including giving us a new beginning to help us overcome our backgrounds.

Karen: I was so afraid of disappointing God, because I had taken a vow, and God’s reputation was at stake. If I couldn’t live up to what I believed God to do in my life, then my family would say, “Well, we don’t want to know the God that Karen knows, because he’s just like us.” It’s been really amazing.

Crawford: Yes. It’s the hope and the power of the cross there. 

Dannah: Before Jesus invades your life or mine, all of us are hopeless, lost, and spinning out of control. But as Dr. Crawford Loritts and his wife Karen just reminded us, the power of the cross, the beauty of the gospel, is that God takes the reins and saves us from the destructive path we’re on.

That gives us hope. And that’s why we call Good Friday good. 

If you’d like to meditate more on Jesus and everything that His life, His words, His works, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, and His soon return mean, I recommend the Scripture cards that go along with Nancy’s book Incomparable. Each card contains a thought-provoking quote by Nancy on one side, and a Bible verse to go with it on the other. They’re beautifully designed and easy to carry with you as you go through your day. 

Right now, the Incomparable Scripture Cards are our thank-you gift to you for your donation of any amount. You can give a gift when you go to ReviveOurHearts.com and click where you see “Donate.” You’ll be able to indicate that you’d like to receive the Scripture cards there. 

Coming up on our daily program, Revive Our Hearts, Nancy continues looking at the seven phrases uttered by Jesus on the cross. It’s powerful stuff. I hope you’ll listen.

Have a meaningful Passion week and Good Friday. Thanks for listening today. I’m Dannah Gresh. We’ll see you next time for the Easter edition of Revive Our Hearts Weekend.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

¹“Wonderful, Merciful Savior,” Dawn Rogers and Eric Wyse. Copyright © 1989 Word Music.

²“The Power of the Cross,” Keith and Kristyn Getty, In Christ Alone, ℗ 2006 Getty Music Label, LLC.

³“Nothing But the Blood,” Robert Lowry and Howard Doane, 1876.

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