"It Is Finished !" - Inspirational Weekend

Resurrection Day is this coming Sunday, as all Christians know.  They will hear sermons and Scriptures concerning Jesus' resurrection from the dead.  He suffered a cruel and painful death; but He did it out of love for us - us undeserving humans that can be so stubborn and self-willed.  Oh how He loves us !!  We should thank Him everyday for His sacrifice because we who believe in Him will have everlasting life !  

For believers, therefore, death is not the end, but the beginning.  The beginning of life in eternity with our blessed Lord Jesus Christ; and in a new resurrected body.  

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.  Believest thou this?"   -  John 11:25-26

We have all sinned and deserve death, God's punishment.  ( Romans 3:23).  But God in His great love and mercy, sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins; to die in our place, taking the punishment that we deserved, so that those who believe in Him and in His resurrection may have eternal life. (Romans 10:9,10,13).  

Charles Spurgeon has said, "This love of Christ is indeed measureless and fathomless; none can attain unto it" ......"Herein is love! and truly it is love that "passeth knowledge".  O let this love fill our hearts with adoring gratitude, and lead us to practical manifestations of its power."

Jesus' resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith.  I urge you to read 1 Corinthians chapter 15.  Also study Isaiah 53 which prophesied about Jesus, and was written during the prophet Isaiah's  later years and he lived till around 681 BC. 

"When Jesus therefore had received  the vinegar, He said, "It is finished": and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost."     -  John 19:30

John is the only Gospel that mentions that Jesus said this.  It is no doubt the cry mentioned at Matthew 27:50 and Mark 15:37.  

The fact that Jesus said "it is finished" signifies several things:

(1)  The work of man's redemption was completed.

(2)  Every obstacle was removed, symbolized by the tearing of the veil.

(3)  The way of mercy was opened.

(4)  Jesus had met man's desperate need as a transgressor.

(5)  He had satisfied the law's demand in God's government.

(6)  He had answered every Scriptural type with an antitype. 

(7)  He had fulfilled every ancient prophecy concerning Himself.

(8)  Thus, in one word, Christ exhaustively discharged that entire 

       former dispensation in a new one.

Christ triumphed over the devil and his cohorts (evil angels) and must have sent unimaginable alarm into hades itself.  (Colossians 2:15).

In ancient times, telelestai  (finished) would be written across invoices to indicate "paid in full".  It is the same word used in John 19:28.  All was finished. Jesus had given His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).  God's will had been done.  The means of the world's salvation had now been provided.

How could we ever become self-important and self-righteous, knowing that we, as sinners, deserve death and punishment except for the love and mercy of the Lord,   We should be very humbled and very grateful for all Jesus did for us, by dying in our place.

Let us sing praises to Him, and in true gratitude worship Him as our Master and Savior !

Following is a worship song you are probably familiar with:

"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many."   -  Mark 10:45

"And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple."          -         Luke 14:27

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."   -  John 3:3

"For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."    -  John 3:17

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:  no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."  -  John 14:6

If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, I urge you to make the choice today to repent of your sins, and pray to the Lord for forgiveness.  Believe with all your being that Jesus is the Savior, and that He is waiting to pardon you if you will turn to Him in faith and repentance.  

Jesus loves you !!   

Choose Him !  Choose Life Eternal !

Romans 10:9,10,13 tells us: (9)  "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

"Stop Beating Up On Yourself When Suffering Guilt Or Condemnation" - Inspirational Weekend

The Hawaiian Moorhen in my photograph above almost looks as if it is gathering sticks.   People sometimes beat themselves up with imaginary blows from "sticks" of self-condemnation and extreme guilt.  When you think about it, that sounds a lot like perverted pride.  A "How could I, cool and collected as I am and being so righteous, ever sin like that?" attitude.   That smacks of relying on self-effort instead of relying on the good Lord to help you.  Remember that God hates pride  (Proverbs 8:13; James 4:6).

When you feel guilty and condemned, you need to humble yourself and go to God and ask for forgiveness.  Only He can forgive and cast your sins away and wipe the slate clean.  

"Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you."  -  1 Peter 5:7

But the verse we will focus on primarily this time is Romans 8:1 which says,  

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

The term "in Christ Jesus" is unique to the New Testament.  It truly expresses well the condition of the Christian as soon as he believes in Jesus, the Savior.  The true believer surrenders all to Jesus, and desires to follow closely in His footsteps; to imitate Christ as much as he possibly can.   If he is a true follower of the Lord,  his life will bear much fruit.  He looks to God and Jesus with true faith and obedience.  Therefore, the person that is in Christ is one who can say,  "In the LORD have I righteousness and strength.........".  (Isaiah 45:24)

Self-conviction is very different from Holy Spirit-conviction.  When the Lord convicts, He is specific as He lets us know where we were wrong, and He will oftentimes remind us of Scriptures to set us straight again and back on the right path.  When coming from the good Lord, it is not a morbid in-the-pits type of doom and gloom, but one that turns us to Him in repentance and a sincere heart to confess the sin and then to not continue in that sin anymore.  If you truly are converted, you have the Holy Spirit to always keep you on track where God's will is concerned.   

Self-conviction can totally consume you in despair and guilt and feelings of not being good enough; you lose proper Christian perspective and, again, you need to turn to the Lord in prayer and confession.

Another thing to consider is the fact that these intense feelings of condemnation may be coming from the enemy: satan, or one of his demons.  Such negativity is not coming from Jesus. Evil spirits want to condemn you and deceive you; satan is a liar and a deceiver, and will stop at nothing to tear you down and make you feel guilty and as if there is no hope.  When you feel evil attacks on your mind, say the name of Jesus out loud.  Or also say out loud, "I plead the blood of Jesus."  Also, pray with fervor to the Lord for help. True, devout Christians cannot be demon possessed (remember Job was righteous and yet suffered terribly from the attacks of satan); so believers today may also suffer from the negativity of the demons. You need to remember that Jesus paid the price for your sin by His shed blood at Calvary; He took God's wrath for sin (your sin) upon Himself, and paved the way for you to gain eternal life if you but have faith and believe in Him.  He paid the price for your sins.  When you become a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ, there is no more condemnation for you.  (Romans 8:1)

Remember, the Holy Spirit will not let you wallow in despair and gloom, but will move you to confess your sins and depart from them.   

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  -  1 John 1:9

But what about the unbeliever?  Then, I am afraid, the unconverted will face God's wrath.  Jesus, at the judgment, will have to say, "I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."  (Matthew 7:23;    read also Matthew 7:15-22).   This may apply primarily to the false prophets, but it also applies to unconverted and carnal persons.  

I urge you, if you have not yet accepted by faith Jesus Christ as your Savior, to do so now, while it is not too late.

We are living in the last days (Matthew 24).  Jesus will return soon to take all true believers to heaven to be with Him.  

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words."  -  1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

Those words will be a comfort to the true believers and describe the Rapture of the Church.   It is not comfort to carnal, sinful men who never gave their life to Jesus.   Many will be left behind to face the seven year tribulation period when God pours out His wrath on all the ungodly persons left behind.   There will be plagues and catastrophes like the world has never seen before.   Much of the earth will be ruined, the water turned to blood, and much more as mentioned in the Bible in the book of Revelation.   I urge you to read all of Revelation.

The Lord does not wish to see any perish, but instead that all come to repentance.  (2 Peter 3:9).

Repent and turn to the Lord today, while there is still time.  Faith and belief in Jesus is your only hope.   

Confess and repent of all known sin and begin to live a godly life.

Jesus will welcome you with open arms of forgiveness and love.

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."  -  2 Peter 3:9

"And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment."  -  1 John 3:23

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."   -  John 3:16