IT IS FINISHED

It is Finished The title of our story today is “It is Finished.”

That’s right my friends it is finished. Jesus Christ came to set us free from sin,

doubt, fear, and give us hope. When we look at the Gospel of John we

read about Jesus dying on a blood stained cross and John said that the final words that Jesus gave where, “It is finished.”

Yet what does that really mean for us?

Starting a Project Have you ever

started a project or a goal of some kind and felt the joy and happiness of completing that project or task?

It feels wonderful! It feels great!

Completing a Project Maybe you went to

college or university or some kind of trades school and received a certificate or a diploma or a degree.

When you where done it felt great.

Maybe you did something around the house. You went and got some wood and now you have a nice stack of wood for those cold nights.

Completing a Project Maybe you and the

kids went hunting and fishing together and now you have a freezer full of meat.

What a feeling of accomplishment! These things that we accomplish in life give us hope and security for the future.

The Gospel of John Let’s turn to the

Gospel of John chapter 19 verses 28-30 and see what’s going on and how we can apply what’s going on to our lives.

Background and History of the Text

The simplest way to describe what is going on in this passage is to say that the Gospel of John is all about the life of Jesus and what he came to accomplish.

Jesus came to live life on earth as a human, but at the same time he was fully God. Jesus was and is the Son of God.

Jesus and Sin

Jesus was arrested and accused of many lies, but aside from that he came to die on the cross for the sins of all people and all nations.

Sin entered the world through Adam, and so because of that we are all born with a sinful nature.

Which John?

In the first chapter of John in verse 29,John the Baptist says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John the Baptist is the not the author of John, but was the one who prepared the way for Jesus. The author of the Gospel of John was the Apostle John.

John Baptizing Jesus John the Baptist

baptised Jesus, after that Jesus was led into the desert and tempted by the devil, then Jesus started his earthly ministry, and at the end of his earthly ministry he died on a blood stained cross for your sins and my sins.

Ok what next?

This is where we are at when we get to John 19: 28-30

Let’s read it.

JOHN 19: 28-30

“Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am Thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

The Cross When Jesus was

nailed to the cross - with one thief on one side --and another thief on the other---he was completing what he was born into the world for.

Greatest Project Ever

Jesus had just completed the greatest project that has ever been undertaken by anyone on the face of this earth. When Jesus completed this project it affected every person that ever lived or ever will live when he said “It is finished!”

What is finished?

The way we used to live is finished?

The guilty feelings that we’ve carried for years is finished.

God Loves You

Maybe you’ve had some terrible things happen to you or you’ve done some terrible things and you feel like God could never accept you or use you.

Well, I’m here to say that God loves you, God will forgive you if you ask him to, and God can and will use you if you will let him.

You Don’t Have To Say, Yes! You don’t have to keep saying yes to

things that don’t please God. Because of what Jesus has

accomplished -your old way of life is finished.

If Jesus is in your life you can have hope and move forward.

Now that it’s finished, here are 2 things we can do. We can:

1. Love Others as Jesus loved us

2. Accept and Embrace the power of the Holy Spirit

2 Easy Steps

Giving your life to Jesus and having that be a part of your everyday life takes time and so here are 2 easy steps to take in response to living for Jesus. But before you can do these 2 simple steps you need to know that you have to be a believer in Jesus Christ.

Jesus I Need You

If your not a believer just say: Jesus I need you. I can`t live this life without your help. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Forgive me for my sins and make me the kind of person you want me to be. Thank you for my new life and giving me an eternal home in heaven. Help me to find a church where I can be spiritually feed and grow in this new life. In Jesus name. Amen.

Here`s step 1. Loving Others -John 13: 34-35

says:

34 A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Hypocrites?

I`ve heard many stories of people not wanting to go to the church because it`s full of hypocrites.

Well I don`t know if all the people who attend church are hypocrites, but I do know that we are all sinners before God and we are all in need of a Saviour who will forgive us.

Love, love, love.......

The passage says, “by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Love, love, love....

We shouldn`t have to tell anyone that we go to church or that we are a Christian, other people should know we are Christians by our love for one another.

Jesus showed the greatest form of love that anyone could ever portray. He died for you and me.

Love isn’t easy We are asked to

love others by dying to our sinful ways and loving those around us.

Loving others isn`t easy, and that`s why there`s another step to go with this one.

Step 2. Accept and embrace the power of the Holy Spirit

John 14: 15-18 says:

If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be with you and will not leave you as orphans: I will come to you

Help is Here!

When you find it hard to love others, we are suppose to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to help us love others, the way Christ wants us to love them.

Another aspect to this Holy Spirit is that we will not feel all alone.

Do you Feel Like an Orphan?

Is there anyone that has ever felt like an orphan?

Maybe you’ve experience some form of abandonment.

Maybe some of you were adopted because your biological parents couldn’t look after you.

Maybe you’ve had trouble making friends and you don’t have many friends.

Do you Feel Like an Orphan?

Maybe your parents died when you were young and you’ve never felt close to your parents.

Any of these circumstances can leave us feeling like orphans.

God will never leave us! Yet, John tells us

that the Father will not leave us as orphans. He will leave us a counsellor to be with us forever.

You don’t have to live this life in your own strength. If Jesus is in your life, you are not alone.

It is Finished

When Jesus died on the cross for you and he said, “It is finished.” That’s exactly what it means.

It is finished. Your way of living is finished. Your way of thinking is finished. Your way of treating others is finished. Your way of relying on your own strength is finished.

It is Finished

Your way of making bad choices is finished.

If you’ve made some bad choices, then turn things around and remind yourself that because of what Jesus did –it is finished.

It’s Not Too Late If your separated

from your kids or other family members because of some wrong choices---it’s not too late.

If your suffering the consequences of other bad choices---it’s not too late.

It is Finished Jesus suffered and

died for the sins of the world and he’s waiting for you to join him in what he wants to do in your life.

It’s not too late. It is finished!