Watchman on the Wall

Guest (Male): Welcome to Watchman on the Wall, a daily outreach of Southwest Radio Ministries and swrc.com. God is still on the throne, and prayer changes things. A brand new week of bringing clarity to the chaos is here. Today, Josh Davis and Dr. Rob Lindsted will discuss the power of the cross and the resurrection.

Friends, as we begin a brand new week together, we need to hear from you. This program, Watchman on the Wall, is completely funded by listeners. That means by you. We can't bring you the timely topics and biblical insight without your support. Please consider giving a gift today. Visit swrc.com to give or call 1-800-652-1144. Your gift is vitally important today. We need to hear from you right now. swrc.com. Now, here's today's host, staff evangelist Josh Davis.

Josh Davis: A beautiful hymn written over 300 years ago called "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross", written by Isaac Watts, begins this way: "When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast save in the cross of Christ, my God. All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood."

Joining us today to examine the power of the cross and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is our good friend Dr. Rob Lindsted. Dr. Rob, welcome back to Watchman on the Wall.

Dr. Rob Lindsted: Thank you, Josh. It's a pleasure to be with you. One of the things I like about your introduction is you said a good friend. Through the years, we have so many memories. I have many memories with the staff and the work of Southwest Radio Church, so it's a thrill for me to be a part of your broadcast going forward.

Josh Davis: We are so grateful to be a partner with you in ministry and the wonderful team there. In fact, we're looking forward to being with you and the wonderful team at the Sunrise Christian Academy coming up May 1st and 2nd. Friends, we want to encourage you to go ahead and register for this prophecy conference. We'll be sharing more information about that as the date gets nearer, but this is just a good opportunity to remind you.

It is a free event. It's coming up May 1st and 2nd, and we want to see you there at the Sunrise Christian Academy. We'll be sharing more information about that. It is free, but we need to know that you're coming so that we can prepare enough giveaways and resources. Our phone number is 1-800-652-1144 or visit us at swrc.com. Click on events, click on that particular event, and you can register for free today.

Now, Dr. Rob, we're reflecting on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and on His resurrection. I just want you to share with our listeners today what's on your heart.

Dr. Rob Lindsted: I'm glad to because when I talk about the cross in the book *Power of the Cross*, I'm not talking about pieces of wood. Sometimes people begin to draw an affinity to a necklace that's a cross, or some churches actually say this is special wood. I'm talking about the person of the cross, the work of the cross, and the power of the cross. That's very different than trying to say we're going to make something special out of this necklace or this piece of material.

The reason I say that is because the cross represented a form of death, and it was a very special thing. You see, the Jews used stoning. They didn't use a cross. But it's clear from the Bible, if you go back to Psalm 22 and look at prophetic Old Testament passages, it's clear that Jesus was going to be crucified. Even in the Gospels, remember when He talked to Nicodemus, He said the Son of Man would be lifted up the way Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness.

The cross was something not even invented by the Romans. Now, the Romans perfected it. But Josh, here's what's interesting. When Jesus was born, maybe 50 years before, the Romans began to use the cross. They didn't invent it, but they perfected it. Within 100 years after Jesus, people would stop using the cross as a major form of death penalty.

How incredible for the Bible to say He would be lifted up, that He would be nailed to a cross, and He'd be crucified between two people. This shows that God knew the plan and Jesus submitted to the plan. That's why one of the verses I thrill at is in John 18:4. It says, "Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth and said unto them, 'Whom seek ye?'"

So He was willing to fulfill God's plan of the cross. I think the fact that it was a cross, not the usual stoning form of death, shows that this is the sovereign plan of God. That's why it's just incredible to me. In the book *Power of the Cross*, I break it into two parts. One is the seven sayings of Christ from the cross. Seven is that number of perfection and completion.

Isn't it fitting that there are seven things that He said from the cross? In other words, what He would say from the cross would show that it was a completed work and a finished work. Again, it just shows the detail that we have in God's word that makes it so special. I go through the crucifixion week in the second half of the book. I like to call it Victory Week because by the time that week is done, He has victory over sin, death, and hell. He completely finished my salvation 2,000 years ago. He had victory over the devil and over my sin and completed my salvation. That's incredible. I want to look at those seven sayings.

The first one He said is this: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." To forgive somebody, I've been wronged before. You've probably been wronged before many times. With my human nature, it might take me a year or five years before I finally say I'm going to forgive them. But can you imagine on the cross, the nails just being driven into His hand and the pain of the suffering, the crucifixion, and the agony in the garden? Even when that pain was acute and at its peak, here's Jesus saying, "Father, forgive them."

He hasn't had five or ten years of memory to dim. He hasn't forgotten the pain. He was enduring that pain right now and He could pray, "Father, forgive them." The truth is that's an incentive for me to forgive others. It's a grand invitation to all who are saved. Listen, you come to Jesus Christ and there's forgiveness full and free. There are very few things in this world that give you that forgiveness.

I find that many young people today have things that they want to be forgiven for and they don't even know how to ask for forgiveness. So here's Jesus. He asks the Father for us for forgiveness. If I were to ask, why should He grant my request? But this is Jesus asking, and He wasn't just asking for those that were doing the deadly deed there standing around the cross. He was asking for me as well because it's my sin that put Him there. It wasn't just the Romans nailing Him there. It was my sin that put Him there. So I think that first saying is just so powerful. What a savior we have.

The second phrase, Jesus said unto him, "Verily, I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise." This one is maybe one of the most complicated ones because remember there was a request. There was one thief, and by the way, when I say thief, He was crucified between two thieves. There was one thief and he never got forgiveness, never wanted it. One thief saw that he needed it and he answered that.

Can you imagine on the cross taking time to answer a person next to you that's dying? What a promise: "Verily, I say unto thee, today, today." He knew when He was going to have it. I'm waiting for the Lord to come. I don't know if it's going to be today or tomorrow. I think it's very soon. But this thief knew today you'll be with me in paradise. What a guarantee for a man who admitted things are not good.

There's quite a story. Remember when Jesus appeared resurrected to Mary, He said, "Mary, don't touch me. I've not yet ascended to my Father." What was He doing during that time? In the book, I actually take five scriptures. I take the things that Jesus promised He'd be with the thief in paradise today. I take the promise that He would not be left in the grave. I build this whole thing about what happened to Jesus.

I think what He did, I think He went to Hades. Paradise has two compartments. One is Abraham's bosom, and one is Hades. Remember the story of the rich man where there was a rich man and a poor man? We read about it. It's not a parable. It's a real story. One went to Abraham's bosom, and one went into Hades, and there was a great gulf between the two.

It appears to me that Jesus went and set captives free. Then He goes back, He appears to Mary, and then He goes on to heaven because later He will say to the disciples, to doubting Thomas, "Touch me and see." Using this second saying, I developed what Jesus did. I emphasized this because I just had a discussion with some young people that are really good Bible students. We spent maybe four or five hours trying to trace these steps.

When it was done, one young person said He never realized how important this was because doctrinally it can fulfill the fact that His body would not be left in the grave and would see no corruption. Bodily, He could say, "Mary, don't touch me yet. I've not yet ascended to my Father." He could meet His appointment with this man who died and had accepted Him at the last moment. All these things are fulfilled in this incredible saying. It's so important and the ramifications are really significant. I hope people will take the time to read that. I'm going to suggest it become a Sunday school topic for a couple of weeks because that's how wonderful it is.

Josh Davis: That's a good idea. Friends, we're visiting with Dr. Rob Lindsted. He's explaining the power of the cross. This is a wonderful book. It's a resource available at swrc.com. That's swrc.com or give us a call, 1-800-652-1144. The book is called *Power of the Cross*.

We also have another wonderful book written by Dr. Rob Lindsted on the subject of Bible prophecy, and it's titled *What's Next on God's Calendar?*. It explores end times events like the rapture, the tribulation, Armageddon, the millennium, the Great White Throne Judgment, the new heaven, the new earth, and so much more. That book is also available at swrc.com or by calling 1-800-652-1144.

Let me remind you one more time. We're going to get to be with Dr. Rob Lindsted and his nephew, Mark Lindsted, at the upcoming Prophecy in the News live event coming to Sunrise Christian Academy just outside of Wichita, Kansas, in beautiful Bel Aire. We're going to be there May 1st and 2nd. It's totally free, and we want to see you there. Pre-registration is requested. Give us a call, 1-800-652-1144, or go to our events page at swrc.com. Well, Dr. Rob, let's continue exploring the wonderful truths that you're discussing with us on the power of the cross.

Dr. Rob Lindsted: The next saying I call one of human relationships. There on the cross, it says in John 19 that Jesus saw His mother and the disciple standing by whom He loved. I think it was John. So He says, "Woman, behold thy son." Then He says to the disciple, "Behold thy mother." Don't you marvel that here's the Lord? He's dying a horrible death, a humiliating death because probably He was stripped of His clothes. Probably He's on a public road.

I think it was a place called Golgotha, the place of the skull. One of the reasons it's called the place of a skull, it looked like one. I've been to Israel over 70 times. There's a stone formation at the north end of Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount, that looks like a skull. I think it really got its name from the fact that at crucifixion, the bodies of those that were crucified was really not common for them to be buried.

So the fact that Jesus was buried was granted special permission to Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Otherwise, they'd take these remains from the cross, they'd throw them in a heap, the flesh would decompose, and there would be a mountain of skulls there. That's how come it became known as Golgotha, the place of the skull. While He's there at that tormenting time, He still has the sensitive nature to say, "Mother, behold your son. John, take care of my mother."

To see that He was in full control, making provision for those while He was in the midst of paying the sin debt for the world, and yet He was still concerned for His mother and her care. It's incredible. That's number three. Then we go to saying number four, which is a magnificent one. The Bible indicates that crucifixion was a six-hour ordeal. The first three of those took place with daylight. But after that, then darkness came because darkness came about the ninth hour.

That ninth hour would probably be between noon and 3:00 when the sun was the brightest. That's when darkness would come. The cry that comes out of that darkness is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It's interesting that always Jesus referred to God as His Father except at this moment when He's bearing my sin. In that relationship between God the Father and God the Son, He says, "My God, my God." The reason He was forsaken was because He was bearing my sin, the sin of the world. As a result, remember that sin separates us from God. That's why that incredible cry comes.

Then the fifth saying, He says, "I thirst." I examine it, and one of the things that I find interesting is first of all, physical thirst. This is the one who invented H2O. This is the one that could go to the woman at the well and say, "If you drink my water, you'll never thirst again." To think that the one who invented thirst and could quench not only physical thirst—He did that for David, He did it for others, He did it for Israel as they traveled through the wilderness—but He could also prevent spiritual thirst. He did that for the woman at the well. That cry of "I thirst" again fulfills the incredible story that's predicted in the Bible that He would need a drink and they would offer Him vinegar and gall. They would mock Him in doing that.

Then we come to His saying, "It is finished." Notice this. He doesn't say "I'm finished." He was going to come alive again. But He said, "It, it is finished." It was actually a cry of victory. When you ran across the finish line, you would say, "Finished, completed. The work is done, the race is over." That's what He would call. So it's a finish of His sufferings, it's a finish of the judgment for sin, it's a finish of the Old Testament sacrifices, and it's a finishing of the Father's business. What a victory statement He makes. I go into more detail than that, but that gives you an idea that we can take each of these sayings and think how they are prophetic and fulfill things. It's just wonderful.

The seventh one is this. He says, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." The Bible is clear it says He gave up the ghost. This was such a powerful statement that what I like about it is that the Centurion said, "Truly this was a godly man. This was a righteous man." Can you imagine the guy executing Him saying, "This is unique, He's a righteous man"?

Then remember Pilate would threaten Him. He'd say, "You better answer me. You better cooperate because I have power to take your life." And Jesus said, "No, you have no power." He said, "I lay down my life and I take it again." These statements are just so full of wonderful thoughts concerning our savior. I think this book now is in five or seven languages. I should know, I kind of lost track because there's some of the languages in Burma that it's in that are dialects and there's some of the Indian languages that it's in. But I know it's in Russian, and I know it's in Chinese, and in Romanian. I only speak English, so I spoke it in English and others translated it.

If we have some more time, I want to talk about the back half of the book. Preachers go longer than we should on things, but the second half of the book is the idea that sometimes we get the wrong idea of what took place. The truth is I first talk about the fact that He was a victor, not the victim. Pilate and the Romans began to treat Him like He was the victim and He was caught in the act. No, He was the victor. I show how that if I take His exact words as He stood before Pilate, as He stood before these soldiers, that He was actually the victor. Even in death, He was the victor.

The next thing is I talk about the fact that it's majesty and not man. Here's what's interesting. The Bible said that He wouldn't answer anything. And yet I find when Jesus did answer, what do we have here? Anytime He was charged with some kind of a sin, He didn't answer because He was dying for my sin and I was capable of that sin. But if they asked concerning His lordship and whether He was God or not, then He defended the fact that He was God. Every word that came out of His mouth shows that He was majesty. Not man, but majesty.

They pretended like He was a king. They mocked Him as a king, put on a crown and so on like that. They thought this is really funny. No, He was majesty. There's going to be a day that majesty is going to judge every man. Here's man, and they were judging majesty, and they thought they had the upper hand. So many things on that amazing week, the Victory Week, come around.

Then there was another thing that I liked and it was truth, not trial. Pilate even said this: "What is truth?" He should have said, "Who is truth?" He was looking at truth. Here's Pilate saying, "I'm having a hard time deciding what's true with these people that are coming against you with charges." And so He says, "What is truth?" And there's truth looking at him.

Then one of the other considerations is He was Savior. Jesus didn't remain in the grave and Jesus didn't remain on the cross. I don't like a crucifix where Jesus is still on the cross. Jesus is not on the cross. He's on the throne. I go through a little bit of how He's Savior and He wasn't slaughtered. So many things.

The last one I'll mention is glory, not grave. Our story doesn't end in the grave. Our story is the beginning of glory. Victory Week shows the grave couldn't hold Him. Think about the power of the grave. It's one of Satan's biggest threats. It's almost ridiculous here they come to Lazarus and they said, "Lazarus, so many people are coming to Christ because you arose from the dead, we're going to kill you." What an idle threat. Here's Jesus. The grave wasn't the end. No, the grave led to glory and His glory will never end. What a victory week we have. I hope that I convey at least some of that in the little book *The Power of the Cross*.

Josh Davis: Yes, thank you so much, Dr. Rob Lindsted. Friends, if you'd like to pick up a copy of the book that he's discussing, it's called *The Power of the Cross*. It's available at swrc.com. That's swrc.com or by giving us a call, 1-800-652-1144. That's 1-800-652-1144. The book is called *The Power of the Cross*.

And friends, if you do not know Jesus as your savior, that's why we're sharing this information with you today. Please reach out to us. We want to get you some gospel information and help you to understand how that you can begin this wonderful relationship with Jesus Christ today. Dr. Rob, thank you so much for joining us on the program.

Dr. Rob Lindsted: My pleasure. I look forward to our upcoming conference.

Guest (Male): Our featured resource today is Rob Lindsted's book *The Power of the Cross*. In this book, Dr. Lindsted answers what really happened at the trial of Jesus. What was the significance of the seven sayings from the cross? Did the crucifixion make Jesus a victim or victor? Order your copy of Rob Lindsted's book *The Power of the Cross* by calling 1-800-652-1144. That's 1-800-652-1144. Or you can order online at swrc.com.

Another outstanding resource is Rob Lindsted's latest book *What's Next on God's Calendar?*. *What's Next on God's Calendar?* is a powerful, easy-to-understand guide to the six major prophetic events every believer and seeker should understand. Order both *The Power of the Cross* and *What's Next on God's Calendar?* today. 1-800-652-1144. That's 1-800-652-1144. And remember friends, when you order a book, a DVD, or any resource, you are supporting the work and ministry of Watchman on the Wall. Thank you.

I want to personally invite you to join us for a life-changing pilgrimage to Israel with Southwest Radio Ministries host Josh Davis. Explore ancient Jerusalem, worship at the Mount of Olives, and reflect by the Sea of Galilee. A transformative journey of faith awaits, November 1st through the 11th of this year. Get all the details and reserve your spot today. Visit swrc.com and click on the Israel tour banner on the homepage, or just give us a call, 1-800-652-1144. That's 1-800-652-1144. Spaces are limited, friends, so make sure you reserve your spot today. Come and join us in Israel. swrc.com and click on the Israel tour banner, or call 800-652-1144.

Friends, we're so glad you're here today. If you're a new listener to Watchman on the Wall, make sure you request your new listener pack. Inside you'll find the latest issue of our *Prophetic Observer* newsletter and a special gift. Request your free new listener pack when you call 1-800-652-1144. That's 1-800-652-1144. Tomorrow, Jewish follower of Jesus, Larry Stam, will reveal the truth of the Passover. So be sure to tune in. Watchman on the Wall is a production of Southwest Radio Ministries and is supported by faithful listeners like you. Please visit swrc.com.