Highlands Fellowship The Cross: It is Finished! Transcript
Well, hey everybody and welcome to Highlands Fellowship. It's so good to have each and every one of you here with us today. I want to say a big welcome to those of you who are new with us for the very first time and we want you to make yourselves feel right at home because as we like to say around here, Highlands is home. And as we're coming up on the Easter season, we're seeing some growth at all of our campuses in Mary and Bristol here in Abington.
And what we would like to ask you to do is if you attend the 11:00 service and you call Highlands home, you've been here for a little while, we would like to have you make the sacrifice to maybe go to the 9:30 service to make room for guests and those who may be coming this Easter and maybe on into the future, but make it an opportunity for people to come to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and to feel at home here at Highlands Fellowship because it's just a simple way that we can welcome others and make room for them during this season, but it's exciting to see growth. It's exciting to see what God is doing and how he's moving in our church and through our church to see people experience life with Jesus. And that's really, really, really what we want to do today.
We're actually in week number three of a four-part message series leading up to Easter called the cross. And what we're doing in this series is we're looking at some phrases or some last words that Jesus spoke while he was actually hanging on the cross. So, if you have your Bible or a Bible app, go ahead and open those up to John chapter 19. John chapter 19 is where we'll spend most of our time today.
Uh, but let me just give you some context. If you'll remember, shortly before Jesus was on the cross, he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. And the Bible says that he was in such agony that literally drops of blood were coming from his brow a as he thought about what was ahead and about what he was about to experience on the cross. And sure enough, it was it was really worse than any of us could have ever imagined.
If you know much about what would have happened, the Roman soldiers beat him senseless. And after whipping whipping him 39 times across his back to where likely his internal organs would be exposed, they they beat him again and again and again in the face. They mocked him. They spit on him. The creation abusing the creator. They took a crown of thorns and they pushed it down on his brow so that blood streamed across his bruised face that barely even looked as if it was human.
The soldiers then took long stakes and drove them through the hands and through the feet of Jesus Christ. And there he is suspended midair on the cross. And as man did their worst, God was at his best when Jesus spoke these powerful words and prayed, "Father, forgive them for they don't even know what they're doing."
We pick up the story in John chapter 19 28. And here's what the Bible says. Later, knowing that everything had now been finished and so that scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I'm thirsty." Now, why did he say that? Well, it's interesting that in the Old Testament, there were all of these different prophecies about what would take place in his life. And there was this one prophecy that was yet to be fulfilled, and that was that they would give him vinegar to drink. And so by faith uh andor with the knowledge of God in his life, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."
And then here's what they did. They fulfilled the prophecy without even knowing what they were doing. John 19 29 says, "A jar of wine vinegar was there. So they soaked the sponge in it and put the sponge on a stock of the hip plant and lifted it to Jesus's lips." So they're they're going to give him vinegar basically to torture him while he's thirsty on the cross. But verse 30 says something so intriguing. The Bible says in the first part of John 19:30 when he had received the drink, Jesus said three three of the most amazing words that we could ever imagine. He said, "It is finished." It is finished.
Could Could I get all of you to actually say these words with me? All right, you ready? It is finished. One more time, everybody, out loud. It is finished. Imagine the moment when they finally fulfilled that very last thing, that very last unfulfilled prophecy. And Jesus in a triumphant cry declared before God, "It's done. We did it. It's finished. Everything that you sent me to do, God, it's done. Jesus said, "It is finished."
The Bible goes on to say in the second part of verse 30, "With that he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit." He did what God sent him to do. When Jesus cried out, "It is finished," he was making a powerful declaration. The phrase actually comes from a single word that carries the idea of something being uh fully completed, perfectly accomplished, and a debt completely paid. Jesus was essentially saying, "It's done. I finished the work. The debt has been paid. Father, I have done exactly what you sent me to do." That short statement carries incredible depth.
In the New Testament times, this expression, it is finished, was used in in several meaningful ways. First, it could be used by a servant reporting back to his master. After completing an assignment, the servant would return and say, "I've finished the work that you gave me to do. Everything you asked for me to do has been completed. There's nothing left undone."
The second thing is it could be used in in the world of business. When a debt had been fully paid, a merchant or a creditor would would mark the the record to show that the obligation had been satisfied. It meant paid in full. The debt is cleared. Nothing more is owed.
The third thing is this. It could be used in the context of worship and sacrifice. When a priest examined a lamb that was that was brought for sacrifice, he would carefully inspect it to make sure that it was without defect. And if the lamb was found to be flawless, the priest would declare that it was acceptable, that it was perfect and suitable for the sacrifice.
So when Jesus cried out from the cross, "It is finished," he was declaring before heaven and earth, "I have completed the work. The debt of sin has been paid in full. The sacrifice is perfect. The mission the father gave me is finished. History changed in that moment. The work of redemption had been accomplished.
And you might ask, well, what exactly did he finish? Really, so many things. Among them, countless prophecies that had been spoken centuries earlier were being fulfilled throughout the Old Testament. God promised that there would be a coming savior. And at the cross, those promises were coming to completion. In fact, there there were many prophecies spoken hundreds of years before this moment that were fulfilled in the life and the death of Jesus Christ.
Let me just give you a few. Amos, he prophesied that darkness would fall on the land and it was fulfilled. Isaiah said that Jesus would one day be rejected and he was. Psalms said that he would be betrayed. Isaiah also said that he would be beaten. He was spit upon. He was wounded and bruised for our transgressions. That came true. Psalm said that he would be mocked and he was. Zachchariah said that he would be forsaken by his friends and he was. Isaiah said that he would he would pray for his persecutors and he did. That he would be crucified by criminals or thieves and he was. Psalm says that he would be they would cast lots for his clothing and they did. It also said none of his bones would be broken and they weren't. It also said that that he would he would cry out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And he did. It was prophesied that he would be pierced and he was. It was also prophesied that that they would give him vinegar to drink and he said, "I am thirsty." And they did. It is finished. All those prophecies had been fulfilled.
What else was finished? Well, Satan's plan had been messed up since the very beginning of time. Satan did everything that he could to take Jesus off the path to the cross, but Jesus finished it. He completed what God sent him to do. The sacrifice was perfect. The debt had been paid in full. Sin lost its power and its sting for those of us who are in Jesus Christ. Jesus looked up to his father and he said, "I finished what you sent me here to do."
And the best news for all of us is that Jesus did finish the work. That's such good news. The bad news though, even though he finished, you haven't. And I and I haven't. That's right. None of us have. So here's what I want you to get today. All right. I want you to understand this is that we have unfinished business. All right? We have unfinished business. If you are alive today, you have unfinished business. There's more that God wants to do in you and through you. We all have unfinished business.
And in Revelations 3:es 1 and 2, I I want you to let this scripture really sink into your heart and sink into your spirit and and even disturb you if you find yourself in a bit of this. Okay. So, let's look at what scripture says in Revelation 3:es 1 and two. Says, "I know your deeds. You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Wake up. Strengthen what remains and is about to die. For I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of God. We have unfinished business.
You know, I remember when I was 5 years old, I came face to face with God's grace. And I don't know what it was about that moment, but the light bulb just turned on for me. And in my heart, I knew that this is it. Th this is the void that I had in my heart. and Christ is the answer and I surrendered my life over to him. And as I grew, I began to gain confidence in that. With that said, even though I was assured of my faith and of my salvation, there were times when I was so passionate and I was so fired up about God that there was nothing and no one that would get between me and accomplishing what God had created me to do. And then there were times when I was not as passionate as you can imagine. Life happens and and laziness sets in and my time with God, my intimacy with him, I could tell it was starting to to become secondary.
Then about 20 years ago, I woke up to the fact that I was the personification of this passage of scripture. I had a reputation for being alive in my actions but I was dead. I have unfinished business. My unfinished business is this. It is to live the rest of my life in such a way that the outward passion that I have for Christ is matched by by this inward character that I have in Christ. That's my unfinished business. And this is something that I want you to ask or I want to ask you today is what is yours? What is your unfinished business?
In fact, if you're taking notes, uh maybe even even if you aren't taking notes, I want you to write this down or or put it in your phone, whatever you've got to do. But when I say you have unfinished business, I want you to put down whatever comes into your mind that you know the Lord has spoken to you about what unfinished business you have in your mind. And it may or may not be in an area of of hypocrisy like me where your actions or lack of action didn't match up with what you said you believed. Maybe it's something that God has burdened you, created you to do that you have not seen through yet. Maybe God's called you to to adopt or to be a foster parent. And how incredible is that and that hasn't come to pass yet. Maybe your unfinished business is to forgive someone just like we've talked about over the last couple weeks. Maybe your unfinished business is to share the love of Christ with somebody that you know that you know is far from God.
So, in the next few moments, what I want to ask you to do as God, as as his spirit, by his spirit reveals his word to you, I want you to let him speak to your heart in light of what you're writing down right now or you just wrote down. Why? Because every single day that God blesses us with is another opportunity to live. And it's another opportunity to take one step closer to finishing the purposes that God has given us here on this earth. And Jesus Jesus finished well. And and let's be honest, we live in a culture where where people start many many things and finish very few. And so, how do we like Christ finish well when so few things are finished at all? So few of us really finish anything.
So I want to give you a couple of thoughts today and and maybe you can just write these down or make note of these as we seek God. God, how can I finish strong? The first thought is this. Number one is we are going to make a commitment. We're going to make a commitment. And I can kind of see your eyes and I can see uh you know the wheels turning in your heads and you're already saying you know I've done that. I've already made a commitment. I I've already done this. And I would say, have you? Have you really? You know, I think we have a skewed view of what commitment really looks like.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 11, now finish the work so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it according to your means. So I believe in our culture commitment is defined by merely eager willingness. But that isn't commitment. Like you commit, you know, I'm going to lose weight. But guys, that is only eager willingness because there's still double stuffed Oreos in your pantry, right? Too close to home. I mean, it it isn't commitment until you change and you complete what your eager willingness was about.
I'm going to tell you a story. It's in the spring of 1519. Hernando Cortez received permission from the governor of Spain to take 11 ships and 700 men to discover a new world. And they sailed all with this eager willingness, just like we've talked about, to expand the territory of Spain and to increase the treasures that they may find in this new land. And when they landed at Veraracruz, their their eager willingness waned very quickly. Because what they discovered is that there were these most violent natives that they hadn't prepared for.
And all of a sudden, the crew began to descent. They began to talk to one another. You know what? I want to go home. You know, I don't like the food. I don't like somebody chasing after me, trying to cut off my head. You know, I want to go home. And their eager willingness was gone. And when Cortez got wind of the descent, he gave an order to one of his crew. It was a simple order. He said, "Burn the ships." Burn the ships. And they did. And that that is commitment. That is taking your passionate desire to do something and drawing a line in the sand and stepping across that line and there is no turning back. No turning back. That is how we finish strong when we commit with that kind of resolve.
And that is exactly what what we see personified in our savior Jesus Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. He was battling over what what he knew would happen. And scripture says that the stress and the agony was so intense that literally the capillaries in his skin were bursting under distress and he was literally sweating blood. And you hear it in his words in Luke 22 42. Jesus says, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. Father, if you are willing, if there's any other way, please do that." And then something changed. And I believe this is the moment where our savior stepped across that line and there was no turning back. And he says this. He says, "Yet not my will but yours be done." It was in that moment. It was in that moment that it was on. If we're going to finish strong, it starts with commitment. By making a commitment with great resolve.
And then the next thing that we're going to do is this is we're going to take the next step. Take the next step. I want you to write that down or make note of this. We are going to take the next step. We make a commitment and after that we are going to take the next step. And after that, we're going to take the next step. And we're going to continue to take the next step each time it's revealed to us by our heavenly father. Why? Because the gap between our present reality, like where we live today, and where God wants us to be is so overwhelming. That's why most people don't finish. is as they look at this huge chasm or this huge gap that separates where they are from where God wants us to be that is fulfilling the vision that he has for us.
And you may say, "I c I can't even do that." Well, yeah, you can. With the help of the Holy Spirit of God, you can. Galatians 5:2 says this. Since we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit. As we let the spirit of God lead us, we take one step and then another step and another step, like so many that have gone before, we are going to take bold steps out of addiction. We're going to take bold steps in reaching a friend for Christ. We're going to take bold steps to start a small group where people grow in their relationship with God and with Jesus and they're cared for. Well, we're going to take bold steps to become an adoptive family or a foster family. We're going to take bold steps to the promise of what God has called us to do and who he has called us to be. We are going to take bold steps.
That is why in the book of Psalms chapter 119 verse 105, scripture says this, "Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light on my path." And it's in this place that the beauty of God's word comes alive because he doesn't he doesn't give us enough revelation to go the whole way. We can't see that far. But if I can see just a little bit, I have enough to be able to take the next step. And I can see that's what he gives me. That's what he's saying with that scripture. He gives me just enough light to take one more step.
years ago, I find my I found myself away from the work that God had started in me when I became a follower of Jesus Christ. And by the goodness of God's grace, he showed me, you just need to take a step. And so I did. And that first step was confession. You got to get really honest. And then I I I took that step. And then God showed me another step. Well, in time took one step after another after another. And then there was another step that he asked me to take and that is to get accountability. And so I took that step. So you surrender yourself to to a group. You surround yourself with a group of people. You surrender your life to Christ. You give you give those those people opportunities and permission to ask you questions that honestly you're not going to enjoy answering all the time.
And then you just keep taking another step. And so you let God forgive you. You forgive yourself. And then you take another step. And there may be a step where where you tell your story because every time that you share your story about the darkness that that you were in and the light of God in your life now and the restoration that's in your life, you heal a little bit more. And then maybe, just maybe, God will use it to show someone else Christ in you. and that in him all things are possible.
So, let me ask you this. What's your next step? What is the next step that God is leading you toward? What's your next step? What is it? You don't have to map the whole thing out. I don't even know if God would even let you even if you wanted to. But what is your next step? Just take a second and in your notes, just write it down or type it out. What is it? Is it to write a note to someone? Write that down. Is it to cut up the credit cards in your life? Write that down. Is it to make a phone call that you've been holding off for a long time? Is it to fill out your resume?
Maybe your next step is is is to forgive. Maybe your next step is is is going to happen when you surrender your life to Jesus Christ for the first time today. Maybe your next step is to be obedient to Jesus and follow him in baptism where you tell the world that you are a follower of Jesus Christ. That old sinful life is dead and gone and you are going to be living as a new creation from now on. If we're going to finish strong, we're going to have to commit with great resolve. We're going to have to take these next steps.
You know, this time of year, it's so overwhelming to think about really the journey that Christ went on from from the Garden of Gethsemane to the cross. And Jesus was crucified on a hill and it was called Gagatha. And it literally means the place of the skull. And I often imagine what this journey up this hill would have looked like. He was beaten within an inch of his life, barely recognizable as a human being. And then in our place, he took those steps up that hill to carry our sin to his cross.
And in that agony with with the crown of thorns being put on his head and the thorns going into his skin, he took a step with the hope that if you would say yes to a relationship with him, with Jesus Christ, that you would become adopted as a child of God. Then he picked up a beam that he would eventually be hung on and he placed it on his beaten shoulders. And he took a step with hope that those of us who are under that suffocating weight of the bondage of sin and shame and addiction would be set free. Then he clawed his way up to the place where large nails would pierce his hands and his feet. every step that he took all the way up to his last step, he said to you and he said to me, "I love you." That's what he was saying. That's what he was doing. He was showing his love. He finished well. He finished strong.
And for those of us who still have breath in our lungs, who have not yet finished what God has purposed for us to finish, we should be encouraged by the truth of God's word. In Philippians 1 6, scripture says this, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
You know, there's this story uh of a runner in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. His name was John Steven Aquari from Tanzania. And he set out for hopes of winning Olympic gold in the 26.2 mile marathon race. But sadly for him and for his country, about midway through the race, he had this horrible accident. Falling to the ground, he gashed his knee wide open. He even dislocated his knee. certainly keeping him and most people from finishing the race, right? Well, all of the other runners left him behind and eventually entered into the stadium to finish their final lap.
And over an hour after the race had been finished or been run, all the other runners had already completed, John Steven Aquari shocked the world. When the stadium was almost empty, this very injured runner hobbled into the stadium, limping and fighting his way to the finish line. His leg wrapped with a little towel and blood running down. This very brave hero finished a race that virtually everyone else would have just quit. That's what we're going to do because we have unfinished business and God is calling us to finish the race.
After the race was done, the interviewers asked John, "Why did you do that when nobody else would have?" And John said this. He said, "My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race, but they sent me 5,000 miles to finish it." God did not send you to this earth to start a race. He sent you to this earth to finish it. Commit. Take the next step and finish. How do you do it? Well, when we get to the place where we know what, our life is not about us, that's when we're starting to recognize what God has for us.
This is what Paul said in Acts 20 24. And this is the verse of scripture that God actually used to capture my heart when he called me into full-time vocational ministry. And it's become my life verse. Acts 20:4 and it says this. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me. My only aim is to finish the race and to complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. The task of testifying to the good news of God's grace for Paul, for Jesus, for me, testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
Finish your race. If you're still alive, God is not through with you. Keep in step with the spirit. Stay close to God and follow his voice. Commit and take the next step so that one day you can stand before Jesus in heaven and hear him say, "You did what I sent you to do. Well done, my good and faithful servant." Let's commit. Let's take the next step. and let's finish the race that God has for us.
Would you pray with me today? God, there's so much in this life that we desire to do, we want to do, but we can't do apart from you. As people who follow after you, my prayer is that we would truly submit our hearts and lives to you daily. as you say in scripture, take up our cross daily, follow after you. It means sacrificing the things that we desire. But when we start to realize that our life is not about ourselves, but it is about fulfilling the mission, the vision that you have for us, the purpose that you've created us for, that's when we start to get it.
So God, continue to work in our hearts. And if this creates a little bit of dissatisfaction or maybe discontent within our lives, maybe that's a good thing. Stir our hearts, God. Stir our hearts today. Stir us to where we can't we can't be comfortable just sitting doing whatever, relaxing here, relaxing there all the time, thinking somebody else is going to take care of it. God, what have you called us to do? What have you called us to do? So God, my prayer today is that you would reveal to us very clearly what it is you've called us to do as your followers. That we would commit to it and we would take the next step. Because if we're going to finish, we've got to put one foot in front of the other, in front of the other, in front of the other. And as long as we have breath in our lungs, you have work for us to do. And I believe that it is good work. It is the best work that we could possibly do with our lives.
Maybe there's somebody here today who wants to start that good work, but you've never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Well, let me tell you this. You will never be able to fulfill the good work and purpose that God has for you apart from him. So if you want to give your heart and life over to Jesus, you can pray this prayer. You can say, "God, I admit to you today that I am a sinner and I fall short of your glorious standard each and every day. But I believe that you sent your son, Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life so that he could be the sacrifice for my sin and the sin of the world. And today, I accept that gift of grace that you give through him. and I want to follow after Jesus with everything in me.
If you've made that statement today, if you've prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of God. We're so glad that you are part of the family. We want to walk with you each and every step of the way. But take that next step. Be baptized. Tell the world that you follow after Jesus, that an old sinful nature is dead and gone, and that you live as a new creation that God has created as you follow after him.
God, we're so thankful for your grace, your love that you displayed on the cross for us. But God, we are also thankful for the power that you have to defeat death, hell, and the grave. To be resurrected on the third day, so that we can live in victory and with you for eternity. But God, we love you. We praise you. It's in the name of Jesus we pray. And everybody said, "Amen.