Sunday Songs:

Kings Kids Presentation:
Not Guilty (Mandisa) - https://youtu.be/r6GLMP7w5Fc
I Want It All Back (Tye Tribbett) - https://youtu.be/CT0SqO5VgVw

WORSHIP:
Nothing But the Blood Medley (Original Song Medley from UPCI General Conference 2015) - https://youtu.be/R31mVSraaxg
What A Beautiful Name (Hillsong Worship) - https://youtu.be/r5L6QlAH3L4

OTHER SONG POSSIBILITIES:
Lion and the Lamb (Bethel Music) - https://youtu.be/rT-HulZ6TQA
Victor's Crown (Darlene Zschech) - https://youtu.be/_2nBOGA6X2g

IT IS FINISHED

•The words “It is finished” form one of the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross.

•In the Greek language it is just one word, “teleo” or “finished.”

•This is the greatest word ever uttered by the greatest man who ever lived!

•In this word lies the consummation of all OT truth and the germination of all NT truth.

•Explaining the wealth of meaning in this one word is like trying to catch the wind in your hand or trying to pick up the whole ocean in a bottle. Its magnitude and majesty are unbelievable.

•It is this word that terrified Hell and sent a thrill running through Heaven – “finished!”

•Jesus had been awake now for over 30 hours. Arrested the night before in the garden of Gethsemane, he had been held prisoner all night as the Sanhedrin decided his fate in an illegal trial. Sent from Pilate to Herod and back again, his weary body had been beaten by soldiers and whipped at the whipping post. His beard had been plucked, his clothing stolen, his face spat upon.

•He has been on the cross for six hours now. From 9:00 to 12:00, the crowds have come by to mock him, but since 12:00 he has hung there alone, save for a few friends and some soldiers. The crowds have fled to their homes because of a strange darkness that has covered the land.

•There are no photos of Calvary; God would not allow us to see it! It is as if God has hung his robe over the sun.

•Theologians debate “How could God become man?” – that question is sometimes hard to answer

•But ask yourself “How could God become SIN?” – that question is almost impossible to answer!

•It is during this time that Jesus cries, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” God’s Spirit, which cannot dwell with sin, turns away. The MAN Jesus hangs on Calvary alone!!

•This was the most incredible moment in history! Hell had feared this moment for centuries, for millenniums, ever since creation! For out of the darkness at 3:00 came the cry, “finished!”

•What happened when Jesus cried “finished”?

THE VEIL OF THE TEMPLE WAS RENT TO SHOW THAT THE OLD COVENANT WAS “FINISHED” THROUGH THE WORK OF THE CROSS, AND THAT A NEW COVENANT WAS NOW “OPEN TO ALL.” THE EARTH QUAKED AS HELL ITSELF TREMBLED!

• In our simple minds, we ask the question “How could God allow His Son to be put to death?” What we don’t stop to realize is that God allowed HIS OWN BODY to be put to death! Why? Because it was the only way under God’s law to redeem us from death! He took the sin of the whole world for all time – no wonder He stumbled! But Heaven didn’t go into mourning when Jesus died! Heaven is built on the foundation of God’s Word, which said Jesus’ body could not remain in the grave!

The place that went into mourning when Jesus died was Hell! Can you imagine the devil’s panic when he looks up and sees that Heaven is NOT mourning?

Satan was expecting “I am finished!” – instead, he got “It is finished!” He then knew that “he was finished!” Through orchestrating the crucifixion, he had unwittingly fulfilled the Bible’s first messianic prophecy:

“Finished” is the language of earth. In Heaven they never say “it is finished” because “He shall reign forever and ever”! But wait a minute – they never say “it is finished” in Hell either. There will be people in Hell a billion years from now; no one will ever say “your judgment is finished.”

Your eternal destiny is decided NOW by what you do with the FINISHED work of Calvary!

No wonder Satan had tried for years to destroy Jesus!

He made King Herod so envious that he had every male child under two massacred.

He tempted Jesus in the wilderness to “take a short cut” to gain the kingdoms of the world.

He whipped up a storm on the Galilee in an attempt to drown the sleeping Jesus.

He incited angry townspeople to try and throw Jesus off a precipice.

He stirred up the hatred of the Pharisees and Chief Priests until they were successful in orchestrating the crucifixion.

He even entered one of Jesus’ own disciples and used him to betray the Master!

In his final attempt to “short-circuit” the Incarnation, Satan comes to Jesus one last time through the voices of His enemies: “Save thyself, and come down from the cross!”

But Jesus resists the temptation to come down off the cross, even as legions of angels stand ready to do his bidding!

Only by staying on the cross and giving His life could Jesus’ work be “FINISHED.”

But Jesus is not the only one delivered unto death. We also have to bear our cross!

Why does God allow this in our lives? Because he knows that we have to “die to our flesh”! (Selfish Desire)

When Paul said “I die daily,” he wasn’t talking about physical death! Every time his followers saw him, he had new bruises, injuries and broken bones from the persecution he endured.

At one point, he told Timothy that “all they which are in Asia” – his converts – had turned away from him. They probably asked, “Paul, where are the promises of God in your life? All you have are trials!” Paul would say, “I don’t understand it either!” and then just keep on serving God!!

When Christians go through trials, they have more observers than they realize!

Three realms (human, angelic & demonic) watch with interest as we fight our “life-and-death” battle against the flesh. God allows us to “die” because He knows that – like Jesus – death can’t hold us!

The devil doesn’t want you to die to your flesh! That is why he still comes to us and cries, “Come down from the cross and save yourself! There is an easier way!”

But for those who “stay on the cross” there will soon be a moment when another “shout” is heard!

Whatever the actual words, the Lord’s shout will say “FINISHED!”

CLOSING:

What selfish desires do you need to “die out” to today? What are the things in your life right now that you know are displeasing to God? It may be difficult, it will probably be a process - but YOU MUST place those things on your own personal cross in order to have Jesus Victory applied to your life. What needs to be FINISHED in your life?

The Bible tells us if we will Repent (turn from our Sin and the things that are displeasing to God), that God will forgive us and cleanse us.

We must then be Baptized in Jesus’ Name to remit or wash away our sins. After this they will never be able to be used against us, because those things are under the blood of Jesus Christ.

God promises to fill us with His Spirit (the Holy Ghost) which will give us power to rise above sin in our lives. We will know when we have received God’s Spirit, because we will speak in a language we didn’t learn as God enables us to do this. Just like they did in the early church throughout the book of Acts.

Salvation
God created humanity to have fellowship with Him, but humans defied God by sinfully living life their own way. To rectify this, we need God's saving grace to end our separation from Him.

As the Bible teaches, we believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works. Faith in Jesus is the means by which a person is justified. At the same time, a sinner must:
- Believe the gospel;
- Repent of his sinful life;
- Be baptized in water in the name of Jesus Christ;
- And receive the gift of the Holy Spirit with the initial sign of speaking with other tongues. (Acts 2:38; 4:12; 8:12-17; 10:43-48; 19:1-6)

The various aspects of faith and obedience work together in God's grace to reconcile us to God.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, or YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE BETTER - Contact us directly, we are here for you.