So far in our overcoming process we understood that our "poverty" or our desperate need is actually an advantage. Next we saw how God solves the poverty problem with the blood covenant. The blood covenant was accomplished primarily at the Cross of Jesus. In the next few chapters we are going to focus on the Cross and learn how it is central to our Christian life as well as overcoming. As I mentioned before we need both knowledge and discipline.

We first need knowledge. Then we need discipline.

The discipline we need will be covered in the later chapters having to do with taking up our cross, or "loving our life not unto death." Discipline always comes after love. If you know for sure how much God loves you, discipline will come easy. God’s love is expressed through the Cross.

The knowledge we desperately need is knowledge about the importance of the Cross and about all of the many things that the Cross accomplished. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb..." (Revelation 12:11a). After Paul experienced all kinds of evangelism some with good results and some not, he finally said, "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). The preaching of the Cross is power; the knowledge of the Cross brings deliverance!

The Cross accomplished many great things for us and for God’s purposes. We are covering them one at a time in order to emphasize them and help you become grounded in them. By the end of this group of chapters, you will put all of these together and the Cross will become the very foundation of your Christian life. All of these individual works will be woven together into one beautiful tapestry.

Do you remember that in previous chapters we spoke of Jesus’ mission statement in Isaiah 61? One of the goals is as stated in Isaiah 61:4 is that we should be made trees, or oaks of righteousness. That word implies an un-moveable object of great strength. I want everyone reading this to become an oak of righteousness so that circumstances and emotions will not cause us to waver.

The first aspect of the Cross we will look at is redemption.

Redemption is a Bible word that confuses many people. Let’s see if we can dig out the hidden treasures in its real meaning.

According to Vines Complete Expository Dictionary, redeem means "to buy" or "buy out," especially of purchasing a slave with a view to his freedom. It means "to release by paying a price of ransom from bondage." It was a word commonly used in the market place. Think of it as going to a pawn shop to redeem something that was sold in the hands of a stranger, the wrongful but yet legal owner.

The price of redemption was the blood of Jesus. We are not explicitly told to whom was the price paid. I submit that the price was due to God Himself. And it was God Himself who paid the price.

Ephesians 1:7 says, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." We were born into slavery, yet God had a plan to redeem us even before He formed the earth.

1 Peter 1:18,19 says, "knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

Titus 2:14, says, "who [Jesus] gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." That is His treasure, a people that are His very own. A people who have been purchased out of the world, redeemed from wickedness, purified and made zealous to do what is good. And the price was Himself, it was all He had, and all He was. He laid down His life. He gave Himself to buy that field for the sake of the treasure, His redeemed people.

Parables can help us understand the truth.

The field and the treasure.

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field" (Matthew 13:44).

The man who found the treasure is Jesus. The field is the world. This is stated in Matthew 13:38 in another parable. When the man discovered that there was a treasure, he hid it. This is like Jesus putting a cover on us so that Satan cannot steal us. He did not really want the field, but he was realistic enough to know that in order to get the treasure, he had to pay the price for the field. The price of the field was very high. It cost him all he had.

God cannot be bankrupted, however, His main priority was creating a family, and Jesus was all He had for that. But he did it with joy because he knew the value of what he was obtaining in the treasure. The man’s neighbors and friends probably thought he was crazy paying that kind of price for a field that was apparently good for nothing, but they did not know about the treasure. This goes along with John 3:16 which says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Only the "whoevers" here are the ones he obtains. Those are the treasures in the field. He redeemed the world (purchased it) for the sake of the "whoevers."

A man will spend his money on what he loves.

If someone spent everything he had for you, you must be special! The value of an object is determined only by what one will pay for it. You may wish to sell your house for $5,000. and you may think that is its value. But if someone is willing to pay $500,000. for it, then that is its true value. Your value before God is shown by the life of Jesus, who was your purchase price! If you only think you are worth two pennies, and the God gave Jesus for you, then Jesus is what you are worth.

Jesus bought the field, but He leaves it for His servants to do the harvesting of the treasure out of the field (world). We must find the treasure, dig it up, and take it out of the earth. It has lain there a long time and it is rusty, dirty, mildewed, corroded and it needs a lot of cleaning up (discipleship).

The pearl of great price.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45-46).

The first parable shows God's love for His people collectively, but the parable of the pearl reveals the measure of God's love for each human soul, individually. We are not just part of a group; you're not a number in a large group with a faceless relationship with the boss. No, we have a personal one to one value. We are not just a number, we are a name and a face. He knows how many hairs are on our head. He knows our thoughts before we think them. He cares about our hurts and fears.

The merchant in the parable is Jesus. He was not just a tourist, He was a person who really knew the value of that for which He was looking. When He found this one pearl, He realized that it would be a good bargain to sell all He had just to buy that one pearl. In the natural his wife would have probably complained when he told her that he sold the house, the car, and the furniture, everything just for one pearl. Can you imagine how she would have reacted? How many of us would do sell everything to purchase one pearl? That is the love of Jesus, it is extravagant!

The cost of the pearl is the same as the cost of the field, all He had. What did that price represent? A pearl suggests suffering. All the gateways into New Jerusalem are made from pearl; there is no other way in! The suffering of the oyster produces a pearl. A grain of sand gets in to the shell and causes great pain. The oyster excretes a substance that turns that pain into a thing of beauty. Then the pearl has to be found and raised from the depths of the sea. Again, there is a lot of work for us, His servants. Picture Jesus holding that one pearl (you) in His hand and saying to you "It was for you that I paid that price. I gave all I had."

Soak that in for a moment. So many of us deal with rejection, inadequacy, and low self-esteem. But remember the value of something is always determined by the price that someone is willing to pay.

God purchased us off of the slave block of sin, self, and Satan. Roman slaves were sold off of a slave block with a spear stuck in the beam over their head. It was said that they were "sold under the spear." Paul likens this to our being sold under sin as slaves. Romans 7:14 says, "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin."

People find themselves in all kinds of slavery. Man was created to have dominion over plants, yet plants, in the form of alcohol and drugs keep millions of people in slavery. They have dominion over man. People attempt to control other people for their own benefit, even within marriage. Friends, business associates, even pastors feel the need to put the people around them into slavery to meet their own needs. It is subtle and most slaves don't even know that they are slaves.

I knew a person who had such a low self-esteem that he constantly berated those around him in order to lift himself up. He told me that he did not feel worthy to be loved by anyone. Therefore he hired people who were "lower" than he was so he could be loved by them.

Slavery is one of the main topics of the Bible. Slavery is the quickest way to profit and make a lot of money. Just imagine a large shoe company with 10,000 employees. How much more profit would they make if they did not pay their employees? A lot! Satan is shown to be a merchandiser, a greedy merchant.

Satan is the author of sin and slavery. The very nature of Satan, according to his description in Ezekiel 28 is that of a merchandiser, a businessperson, a commercial thief and cheat. In Revelation 18, spiritual Babylon is noted as a business trader and commercial system that also trades in the souls of men, or slaves.

How do slaves live; how do they act? A lack of identity is the primary attribute of a slave.

Humans have a created need to find their identity. Everyone wants to know "who they are." That is why you see people running around trying to get fancy cars, having certain types of friends, dressing a certain way, being part of a movie star's fan club, etc. They are trying to define who they are by how they look, what they drive and who they hang around with. Many find their identity in earning large amounts of money, others by taking poverty vows. It is interesting to see how many people take on the attributes of those they spend much time with. The more I learn about people and their problems in life, the more I see that an incorrect self-identity is the root cause of most problems.

How are we supposed to receive our identity? I believe that God has created us to receive our identity through having a relationship with another being. We are designed to become like the person that we become intimate with. God wants us to become intimate with Him, so we may receive our identity from Him and not from other people or other things, and especially not by our own opinion that may have been formed by the television set.

Having your identity in Christ is the only normal way to live. Knowing that you are valuable in His eyes in spite of the fact that you may have been rejected is step one. Step two is being at peace and having confidence in who you are just because the Holy Spirit of the Living God dwells in you. Most people, when they walk into a room filled with other people, wait and see how those other people evaluate them. Rather they should walk into a room knowing that God lives in them, and therefore they are free to love others and be servants. When you encounter others you are bringing God into that scene. That is real freedom!

Examine some of these attributes of a slave and see if you are free.

God had set these people free from slavery in Egypt, but they continued to possess a slavery mindset and mentality. These Israelites had experienced the miracle deliverance of God from the bondage of Pharaoh, through the Red Sea. They had seen miraculous supply of water and food in a hot barren desert. However they and their ancestors for over 400 years had been slaves, and even God's supernatural deliverance did not change their slavery mindset. They still behaved as slaves even though they were free people.

Scientists have discovered some amazing things about behavior. Our brain waves can be trained to act a certain way. It does not matter if circumstances change, we will still react the same way. We form habits by doing the same thing for approximately twenty-one days. Habits eventually form our character. So we find ourselves becoming someone we do not mean to become by default. We do not even know how we got to be that way.

A baby elephant is trained by tying a small rope to a small stake, which is tied to the elephant's leg. As a baby it cannot get loose, so it walks in a circle. When the baby grows up, it could easily pull the stake out of the ground, but it does not. It feels the gentle tug of the rope and its brain tells it that it is still a captive.

God has set us free from the world and Satan, yet many of us still keep the slavery mindset. Make a determination to allow God to renew your mind and to show you who you really are. Be honest with yourself as you read the following attributes of a slave.

Slaves have no self-esteem so they use other people, religion, amusement, and immorality, some of the same things the Israelites used in the Wilderness to achieve some sense of self worth.

Slaves are "men-pleasers." Refer to Ephesians 5:5-8. They are constantly trying to get the applause and approval of other people. Their work has no other meaning. If their boss, their parents or teachers are pleased with their work, they feel good about their self worth, if not, they feel like "nothings." They are always attempting to get friends who will give them their identity and self-worth.

Slaves work for "eye-service." While they are being watched, they work hard, but as soon as their authority turns their back, they goof off. They complain about their work, always looking forward to Friday because they have the weekend off [Actually Roman slaves did not have that luxury]. They hold in their resentment against their authority. They criticize them; bring them down all the time.

Slaves Complain. They always blame their problems on other people. In their mind, their horrible state of being is always somebody else's fault. They say, "if just this were that way, or if this were changed, or if we moved to another city, or if we changed jobs, or if we changed schools, or if my parents were like their parents, or etc., etc., my life would be better." "I have to do this, or I have to do that, grumble, grumble, complain, complain. I have to go to school, I have to go to work, I have to clean the house, I do not have a choice." So many people complain about our public schools, our government, and the fact that our laws don't line up exactly with the Bible. Maybe they don't. God did not say that life would be easy, but that with Him free people can live above circumstances. Slaves are the ones that complain and the more they complain the deeper into slavery they get.

Some slaves become very good at manipulation. They learn how to please and even "love" others, so that they will be "loved back." They do all these good things for other people and make sure that they realize "how much they did for them" and make sure they know "how much they owe them back."

Slaves have no authority, so they are always manipulating others in order to serve their own needs. Some slaves use their sheer brute force, like shouting and screaming in order to get others to conform. So many men today use their force to get women to submit to them. They are slaves. Slaves do not like obeying authority. They have learned that authority is bad; they hate their authorities.

Sometimes we are slaves to other people. Jesus wants us bonded to our spouses, committed to our children, and friendly to those He puts into our lives. However it is all too easy to become slaves to those around us. People who have a low self-esteem tend to manipulate others because they do not believe that they are lovable. They do not feel confident that the other person will be committed without their manipulation. We are to love people from a place of freedom, not from an obligation created by the other person. At the same time, make sure that you not guilty of manipulating others.

You might say, I am no one's slave! That is just what the Jews who believed in Jesus said to Him in John 8. In Luke 4 Jesus announced freedom to the people in spiritual slavery and they tried to kill Him.

John 8:31 says, "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' They answered him, 'We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'"

Jesus knew they were still slaves even though they "believed on Him" by the way that they lived their lives. "'Abraham is our father,' they answered. 'If you were Abraham's children,' said Jesus, 'then you would do the things Abraham did'" (John 8:39).

What was the result of being purchased from slavery?

It was being made a part of God's family. From slavery to sonship! However there is a step in-between slavery and sonship. Picture a slave-trading scene. The slave was displayed on a platform called the block. The owner would brag about the slave's attributes. People would begin to bid. All of a sudden a rich man in the back raised the bid 100 times higher than the highest bidder. The crowd gasped! The slave was his. He received the papers of ownership. The slave is pulled off the block with the chains attached and is yanked over to the new owner. The new owner takes the key and unlocks the shackles. He then signs the ownership papers and hands them to the slave setting him free. The slave looks into the eyes of the rich man and says, "No one has ever loved me like this. I want to serve you all the days of my life. I make myself your bond-slave." We all have that choice. God provided a law to that affect in Exodus 21:5-6.

"But if the servant plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever" (Exodus 21:5,6).

God created us with the necessity to make a free choice to serve another.

We have no choice, we will be a slave to someone or something. It if is something, then be sure that there is someone behind that something! He passionately wants us to serve Him, and to be his "bond-slave." However the choice is ours. Many Christians do not really get a hold of this. They actually think that they are controlling their lives. But there are only two masters, Satan and Jesus, the world or the Kingdom of God. Satan deceives us and makes us think that we are in control of our own lives when really he is. Paul indicated that behind every idol there is a demon. We must make a conscious choice to offer ourselves to obey the Word of God, to live on the Word of God and to make the Word our only source for every need of our life. Only then can we be truly free!

Romans 6:16-18 says, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."

We are a brand new species of being.

When we were redeemed we not only changed ownership of our lives from Satan to God, but with that transfer our new Owner gave us His very nature and Spirit. He changed our race and citizenship. We were born again in Zion, (Psalm 87:5) and we no longer even posses the slave nature. We are New Creations in Christ, a new race and species of being that never existed until Jesus was born again from the dead and resurrected!

You are a jewel.

There is an interesting word study based around Isaiah 60 and 61. Isaiah 60:1-2 (Amp.) says, "Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you; rise to a new life]! Shine - be radiant with the glory of the Lord; for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you!"

I am told that the Hebrew language infers that this verse refers to a gem or a jewel that has been clouded with some sort of film so that it no longer shone. Then in Isaiah 61:1 the word "bound" is used. "Bound" in Hebrew infers that a gem has ceased to shine or to glow. Isaiah 61:1 further says that Jesus' mission statement is to "open the prison to them that are bound," or in other words, polish the gem that has ceased to shine.

You and I are already jewels, or God's gem stones, because He lives in us. Now He wants to polish us so that our real purpose can be manifested, to shine for Him! He is going to polish off our "junk" so that we can shine as a "jewel."

The teaching from these parables was inspired by a book titled Extravagant Love by Derek Prince.

 Prince, Derek. Extravagant Love. Charlotte, NC: Derek Prince Ministries International, 1985.

List some areas in your life where you have struggled with self esteem.

List some areas in your life where you have struggled with some of the attributes of slavery.

List practical ways through which you determine to practice helping others realize their real value.

List the questions you might have for this chapter, and/or difficulties you may have regarding the above questioning statements.