WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:02.600 If you pull out your message notes. I want us, 2 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:04.919 on this good Friday to look at the theme of 3 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:09.000 there's nothing more for you to do. There's nothing more 4 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:10.720 for you to do. Now, I want to begin with 5 00:00:10.759 --> 00:00:13.839 a question. It's a little true confession here. How many 6 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:19.960 of you have ever said or thought, I just can't 7 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:24.039 seem to get it all finished. Cat, I see your hands. 8 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:28.519 The rest of you are liars, all right. How many 9 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:31.399 you have ever thought this, if I could just get 10 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:35.399 a week to catch up, then I could get everything completed. 11 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:38.240 How many of you have ever thought that, Yeah, okay, 12 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:41.320 I'm gonna start with the bad news. You're never gonna 13 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:44.479 get it all done. You're just never gonna get it 14 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:49.200 all done. You will die with unfinished business. Because we 15 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:51.600 live on a broken planet, and we have a limited 16 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:54.479 amount of time we all do, we all die with 17 00:00:54.719 --> 00:01:01.079 unfinished business. The world is filled with unfinished projects, unfinished dreams, 18 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:06.599 unfinished buildings, unfinished national monuments. I remember many many years ago, 19 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:09.239 when my kids were young, I took the three kids 20 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:12.799 up to see Mount Rushmore, the National Monument, and the 21 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:15.359 first thing Matthew said was, when are they going to 22 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:20.200 finish it? Dad? That's true, It's not finished. The guy 23 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:22.760 ran out of money and died, and he left it unfinished. 24 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:25.200 His son picked up the slack, worked on it for 25 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:28.719 four months, and gave up. One of our national monuments 26 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:34.159 is unfinished. In fact, only one person ever in history 27 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:38.159 has ever finished everything he had to do before he died. 28 00:01:39.239 --> 00:01:44.359 That was Jesus Christ. In John chapter four, verse thirty four, 29 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:48.840 Jesus says this, I must finish. I must finish the 30 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:52.200 work that God gave me to do. Fortunately for you 31 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:55.120 and me, he did finish it. He did finish it. 32 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:59.640 In fact, on this day, Good Friday, two thousand or 33 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:05.400 so years ago, Jesus was hanging on the cross and 34 00:02:05.480 --> 00:02:09.319 at the end of his suffering. In John chapter nineteen, 35 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:11.719 the words of Jesus are recorded, and it says this 36 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:16.039 John nineteen twenty eight and thirty, knowing that all was 37 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:20.000 now completed. It's all finished. Knowing that all of it 38 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:23.199 was now completed, and so that scripture would be fulfilled, 39 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:29.439 Jesus said, I'm thirsty. And after Jesus was given a drink, 40 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:37.719 he said, it is finished. And with that he bowed 41 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:41.759 his head and gave up his spirit. Now this phrase 42 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:47.120 it is finished, is called the word of victory. And 43 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:50.319 in the Greek carayer it's an heirest indicative tance of 44 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:54.039 where actually Jesus shouted these words. The reason he asked 45 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:56.599 for a drink. He'd been on the cross for hours. 46 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.800 His voice is parched, he doesn't have any voice, but 47 00:02:59.879 --> 00:03:02.599 he wants everybody to hear this, so he asks for 48 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:04.800 a drink. They give him a drink of water, and 49 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:11.680 then he shouts out, it is finished. It's finished, It's done, 50 00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:17.520 It's completed. Now this is the word of victory. Throughout history, 51 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:23.800 there have been many memorable words of victory and battles, 52 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:30.759 in sports contests, in you know, scientific discoveries. There are 53 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:33.919 a lot of famous words that have been shouted as 54 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.120 words of victory. I got to thinking that, you know, 55 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:41.039 this July will be the fiftieth anniversary of man walking 56 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:45.520 on the Moon. This July the fiftieth anniversary nineteen sixty nine. 57 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:49.560 July twenty ninety sixty nine, Neil Armstrong and his fellow 58 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:53.879 astronauts landed the lunar module on the on the moon, 59 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:58.960 and his famous words were, the eagle has landed. How 60 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:01.800 many of you remember that the eagle has landed. I 61 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:03.360 don't remember, and I think I was in my mother's 62 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:06.560 womb at the time I was a little young. People 63 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:10.400 have told me about this, that he said the eagle 64 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:16.560 is landed. But these three words, it is finished. These 65 00:04:16.600 --> 00:04:19.959 are the most important words in history. Nothing compares to 66 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:24.160 these words, it is finished. Jesus shout, is it now? 67 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:27.680 What's ironic is when Jesus shouted these words from the cross, 68 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:33.319 it is finished. Nobody understood what he meant. Nobody there 69 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:36.600 had the slightest idea what Jesus was saying when he 70 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:40.519 said it is finished. I'm sure the Roman soldiers thought, 71 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:44.800 this radical revolutionary is finished. Fine, we're through with him. 72 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:48.439 We've washed our hands. Fine, he's gone. I'm sure the 73 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:50.680 religious leaders who had him put on the cross thought 74 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:54.160 our competition is finished. We don't have to worry about 75 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:59.920 this messiah guy anymore. He's out of here. He's finished. Pilot. 76 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:05.480 The governor thought, my political headache is finished. I'm not 77 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:09.040 gonna have to worry about this guy anymore. Even the disciples, 78 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:13.439 the followers of Jesus, probably didn't understand this, and they thought, yeah, 79 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:18.959 it's finished. The dreams died, the kingdom isn't here, The 80 00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:24.680 Romans haven't been overthrowed, thrown and we're we're we're finished. 81 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:29.800 I think even the Devil misunderstood this. He thought, the 82 00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:34.839 son of God is finished. I have won I killed God. 83 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:39.639 Nobody understood what Jesus was saying when he said he 84 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:44.720 is finished. But Jesus didn't say I am finished, because 85 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:49.560 he wasn't. He didn't say I'm finished, He said it 86 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:55.079 is finished. What what was finished? His suffering, yes, his pain, yes, 87 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:58.680 the humiliation of the cross, drying a criminal's death, yes, 88 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:03.160 but so much more. What I want to do for 89 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:06.040 just a few seconds tonight is look at the five 90 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:10.600 things that Jesus finished on the cross. I don't want 91 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:14.279 you ever to misunderstand what this phrase means, because this 92 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:18.720 is the central thought of Christianity, of our faith. Now, 93 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:20.360 the first thing I need to explain to you is 94 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:23.879 that this phrase it is finished is just one word 95 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:27.600 in Greek. When Jesus shouted it out, he didn't shout 96 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:30.959 three words it is finished. The phrase it is finished 97 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:33.959 in Greek is the word to tell us sty, to 98 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:36.920 tell us sty. This is a very common Greek word, 99 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:42.439 and in ancient Greek society it was used everywhere. It 100 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:44.560 had a lot of different meanings. In fact, it had 101 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:49.319 five different meanings, and every one of these five different 102 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:52.720 meanings Jesus was referring to that when he shouted on 103 00:06:52.759 --> 00:06:56.560 the cross it is finished. In the first place, it 104 00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:00.680 was used by servants or employees. And and if you 105 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:03.240 had boss and you'd been given a job and you 106 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:05.680 finished a job, you would go into the boss and 107 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:09.079 say boss or master or whatever to tell us sty, 108 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:12.800 I finished a task. Okay, the job is done. The 109 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:15.319 job you gave me is completed. And of course Jesus 110 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:19.519 was saying that too, the job God gave me is completed. 111 00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:22.720 But it just meant the job's done. I finished the 112 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:26.040 task you gave me. But it's also a legal term, 113 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:28.759 and judges would use the word to tell us stye 114 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:31.399 in a courtroom. In fact, they would stamp it on 115 00:07:31.480 --> 00:07:35.120 prison sentences that had been commuted when you had served 116 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:37.720 your time. You did the crime, you did your time, 117 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:39.879 and you would come back before the judge and the 118 00:07:39.959 --> 00:07:43.879 judge says, you've paid your debts to to society. Justice 119 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:46.959 has been served. You've completed your sentence, you did your time. 120 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:50.240 I'll stamp your document to tell us sty justice has 121 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:54.399 been served. And Jesus meant that too when he shouted 122 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:58.639 it out. It's also an accounting term and accountants would 123 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:02.279 stamp it on bills that been paid. It literally means 124 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:05.439 paid in full. So if you paid off your car, 125 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:08.480 you stamped the bill to telestock. Your car's paid off, 126 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:10.600 you own it, free and clear. If your house is 127 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:13.519 paid off, you stamp it to telesty, paid and clear, 128 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:17.800 paid and full, the debt has been paid. This word 129 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:20.839 to telesty is found literally on tens of thousands of 130 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:26.040 documents in the ancient Middle Eastern area because it's stamped 131 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:29.839 on papyrity, often on tax bills that were paid. They 132 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:32.399 have tens of thousands. Archaeologis found tens of thous of 133 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:35.360 tax bills where they stamped what Jesus said to telesty, 134 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:39.879 meaning paid in full, you've paid your debt. But it's 135 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:43.279 also a term that artists would use. And when an 136 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:47.759 artist was painting a picture, whether pastels or oils or whatever, charcoal, 137 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:51.159 and they're finishing, and they finished, and the very last 138 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:55.240 stroke of the brush, when the painting is completed, they 139 00:08:55.240 --> 00:09:00.679 would say to telesty, the telesty, in other words, the 140 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:04.440 picture is complete. It's finished, there are no more details 141 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:09.240 to deal with, it's all done. The picture is perfect. 142 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:13.519 It's exactly every detail is done. The painting's finished. Finally, 143 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:15.679 the fifth way this word was used was used by 144 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:18.679 priest Jewish priest when they went to the temple, and 145 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:23.440 when they would offer a sacrifice to God, they would 146 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:26.240 come out and they would say to tell usty, which 147 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:31.320 means the sacrifice has been made. Now all five of 148 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:35.360 these phrases. The job is completed, justice has been served, 149 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:38.679 the debt has been paid, the picture is finished, the 150 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:41.519 sacrifice has been made. Jesus is saying all five of 151 00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:46.480 these things when he shouts to tell us, stye, it's finished. 152 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:51.639 This single word sums up Christianity in a nutshell. If 153 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:56.120 you get this one phrase, you will understand how Christianity 154 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:59.919 is different from every other faith, whether it's Buddhist, or 155 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:05.120 Muslim or Judaism or any other faith. It's all different 156 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:10.200 because of this one phrase. It is finished, and there's 157 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:29.639 nothing more for you to do. Every year, Christians from 158 00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:31.840 all over the world remember the death and resurrection of 159 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:35.799 Jesus Christ by traveling to Jerusalem, where they walk the 160 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:38.399 path that Jesus took on the way to the cross. 161 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:41.759 That path is called the Via dol Rosa. Now, since 162 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:44.240 you may not be able to ever travel to Jerusalem. 163 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:46.639 I want to suggest a way for you to celebrate 164 00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:50.360 and reflect on and pray about what Jesus did for 165 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:53.879 you on the Cross. So I've created a brand new, 166 00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:58.440 one of a kind resource, Journey with Jesus, a deluxe 167 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:03.720 hardcover gift edition book that's illustrated with really beautiful, high 168 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:08.519 quality glossy photos of mosaic tyle artwork that reflect each 169 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:12.159 of the stops that Jesus made on his journey to 170 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:15.120 the Cross. You're not ever going to forget this gift. 171 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.919 It's a great book to keep and to study over 172 00:11:17.960 --> 00:11:20.440 and over again, and it'd make a great gift for 173 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:22.000 your family and your friends too. 174 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:27.360 This one of a kind resources only available through Daily Hope. 175 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:30.559 Quantities are limited, so be sure to get yours today. 176 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:34.240 Just call eight four four four six seven thirty nine 177 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:45.519 hundred or visit Dailyhope tv dot com to get yours today. 178 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:50.600 So what did Jesus actually finish on the cross? What 179 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:53.519 did he complete by dying on the cross? What did 180 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:58.000 he accomplish by dying on the cross? Well, Jesus did 181 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:01.799 five things. You might write these down. Number one, the 182 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:04.440 first task that Jesus finished on the Cross. Is this 183 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:09.879 He fulfilled what God had promised us. He fulfilled what 184 00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:15.120 God had promised us. Now, for thousands of years, God 185 00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:18.320 had been promising to send a savior of the world, 186 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:22.559 a messiah, a savior to forgive and save us from 187 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:25.879 all of our sins. And for thousands of years there 188 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:29.840 are hundreds and hundreds of promises of God. Now, not 189 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:32.720 only are there hundreds of promises in the Old Testament, 190 00:12:32.759 --> 00:12:35.799 the old part of the Bible before Jesus called the 191 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:40.240 Old Testament, there are three hundred and eighty prophecies. Their 192 00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:42.919 prediction says, this is what the Messiah will do, This 193 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:45.879 is what the coming Savior will do. Remember Christmas under 194 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:47.960 you was born this day a savior, who is Christ 195 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:53.080 the Lord. When Jesus died on the cross, he fulfilled 196 00:12:53.159 --> 00:12:56.039 every one of the promises and every one of the 197 00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:59.320 predictions or the prophecies that had been made for thousands 198 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:01.399 of years. You see, in the Old Testament we get 199 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:04.480 a partial glimpse of God. We kind of get partially 200 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:07.879 the figure, but it's not real clear. But when Jesus comes, 201 00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:11.519 he fills in all the details. He paints the picture, 202 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:14.000 He completes the picture. He gives us what it's like. 203 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:17.360 And here's what Jesus told some people after he'd come 204 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:20.279 back to life, after he'd raised on Easter Sunday, he's 205 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:22.080 talking to some people, and here's what he says. In 206 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:25.559 Luke chapter twenty four, verse forty four to forty seven. 207 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:28.600 Jesus said, this is what I told you when I 208 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:31.919 was still with you. This is before he died. Everything 209 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:36.240 must be fulfilled that is written about me in the 210 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:38.519 Law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms, that's the 211 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:41.000 Old Testament. He said, all the stuff that was written 212 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:42.919 about me for a thousand years had to be fulfilled. 213 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:45.840 Then he opened their minds so they could understand scriptures, 214 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:49.559 and he told them this is what is written. The 215 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:53.480 Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the 216 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:57.080 third Day, and repentance and forgiveness of sin will be 217 00:13:57.159 --> 00:14:01.000 preached in his name to all nations. He's saying, I 218 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:03.759 just fulfilled all of the promises and all the predictions, 219 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:06.159 all of the prophecies that had been given for thousands 220 00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:11.000 of years. Tewod Corinthians chapter one says this verse twenty 221 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:16.440 all of God's promises have been fulfilled in him. That's 222 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:19.960 why we say Amen, when we give glory to God 223 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:23.679 through Christ. There are over seven thousand promises in this 224 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:27.080 book and they're all yours to be claimed because of 225 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:30.679 what Jesus did. He paid for these promises to be 226 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.080 fulfilled in your life. 227 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:36.159 There's a second thing that Jesus finished for us on 228 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:41.559 the cross. He's satisfied what God's justice required. He finished 229 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:46.039 that for us. God is a god of justice. God 230 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:50.840 is a God who is always fair. People can be unfair. 231 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:54.200 God cannot be unfair because he's perfect. So that's who 232 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:57.759 he is. And the reason you and I have this 233 00:14:57.879 --> 00:15:02.519 sense of fairness what's right wrong is because we're created 234 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:05.000 in the image of God. God made every one of us, 235 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:08.440 and our sense of fairness reflects the fact that God 236 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:11.200 is a god of justice and fairness, and God is 237 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.200 a god of laws. He's the creator and everything that 238 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:16.799 he's made runs according to laws that work, and I'm 239 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:19.360 glad that they do work. There are laws of physics 240 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:22.519 and laws of chemistry and laws of mathematics that work 241 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:25.559 every time. That's why the world runs and the universe 242 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:28.600 runs like it runs. But it's also true personally. There 243 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:32.480 are laws of physical laws and spiritual laws. 244 00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:34.440 And moral laws. That God gave. 245 00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:37.240 You can read that God gave his moral laws to 246 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:39.440 Moses and to the people of Israel, but it wasn't 247 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:41.240 just for them. He said, I want you to take 248 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:43.159 these moral laws. I want you to share him with 249 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:46.840 the whole world, because it's how relationships work, it's how 250 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:51.080 the world works. God gave us these laws, and you 251 00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:54.679 and I have two problems with that. Number one, we 252 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:58.720 can't keep them. We are completely unable to keep all 253 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:02.360 of God's perfect laws. Now, some people keep some of 254 00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:04.360 them some of the time, but none of us keep 255 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:07.039 all of them all of the time because we're not perfect. 256 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:08.159 None of us are. 257 00:16:08.679 --> 00:16:10.559 And you want to say the right thing, you don't 258 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:12.360 want to hurt somebody, but you end up saying the 259 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:12.919 wrong thing. 260 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:14.679 You want to do the right. 261 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:16.799 Thing, you really committed to it, but you end up 262 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:19.759 doing the wrong thing. The Bible says this in Romans 263 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:22.840 eight three and four. The law of Moses could not 264 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:27.080 save us because of our sinful nature. But God put 265 00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:30.440 into effect a different plan to save us. He sent 266 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:34.960 his own son in a human body like ours, except 267 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:40.000 that ours are sinful. God destroyed sins control over us 268 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:43.600 by giving his son as a sacrifice for our sins. 269 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:48.080 He did this so that the requirement of the law 270 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:52.600 would be fully accomplished for us, who no longer follow 271 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:55.480 our sinful nature but instead follow the spirit. 272 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:57.000 So Jesus, the. 273 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:00.759 Only person who ever followed God's law, completely gave himself 274 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:02.679 for you and I so that he could offer us 275 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:05.279 something we could not attain on our own. God knew 276 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:08.359 from the beginning that we could never gain a relationship 277 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.000 with him by the law. 278 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:12.920 The law of Moses could not save us. 279 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:15.240 But he also knew that he had a different way 280 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:18.599 to solve our problem. The first problem is we're unable 281 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:21.759 to keep God's perfect laws. The second problem is justice 282 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:25.720 requires that law breakers pay a penalty. If I break 283 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:29.440 a law, there is a penalty. Fairness requires consequences to 284 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:32.519 all of our actions. If I stole money from you, 285 00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:34.960 If I was caught stealing money from you and there 286 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:37.720 was no consequences for that, that just would not be fair. 287 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:40.920 We all know that, and God has this sense of fairness, 288 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:43.279 and you and I, in our relationship with him, we 289 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:45.880 know that we've all broken a lot of God's laws. 290 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:50.799 But there's some good news. This is what Jesus finished 291 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:54.720 for us on the cross. Jesus did for us, but 292 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:58.000 God's justice requires from us. In fact, you might write 293 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:03.079 that down. Jesus did for us what God's justice requires 294 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:06.839 from us. He finished what we could not finish, so 295 00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:08.960 he could offer us something we could never gain on 296 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:12.599 our own. Hebrews chapter five, verse nine, This verse up 297 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:16.440 on the screen. After Jesus finished his work on the cross, 298 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:22.039 he became the source of eternal salvation for everyone who 299 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:25.359 obeys him. Jesus is able to do that because Jesus 300 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:28.279 satisfied God's justice. He did it for me, he did 301 00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:30.039 it for you, He did it for all mankind, and 302 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:33.319 he offers that to us. Romans ten to four says 303 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:37.119 Christ ended the law so that anyone who believes in 304 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:42.039 him may be right with God. Anyone who believes in him. 305 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:45.599 How does this become true in your life? You believe, 306 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:48.480 you trust in what he did for you, and he says, 307 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:50.400 I want to give you what you could not gain 308 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:54.200 on your own. Romans chapter five, verse eighteen sums up 309 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:56.240 everything we've been talking about the last couple of minutes. 310 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:59.920 Here it is in a nutshell. Just as one person, 311 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:03.799 Adam did it wrong and got us all in trouble. 312 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:09.200 This trouble with sin and death. Another person did it right, Jesus, 313 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:12.440 and got us out of it. But more than just 314 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:16.720 getting us out of trouble, he got us into life. 315 00:19:17.640 --> 00:19:21.440 So Jesus fulfilled God's promises on the cross, and Jesus 316 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:25.359 satisfied God's justice on the cross. Here's the third thing 317 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:29.160 that he completed on the cross. He paid off the 318 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:34.640 debt I owed God. He paid off the debt that 319 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:39.519 I owed God. You owe something to everybody you've ever 320 00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:43.799 hurt or offended or of sinned against. You owe something 321 00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:47.400 to them. But you're also in deeper debt to God, 322 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:50.640 and that's a debt you would never possibly be able 323 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:54.160 to repay on your own. But here's the good news. Colossians, 324 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:57.480 Chapter two. The Bible says this verse fourteen. We owe 325 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:01.079 a debt because we've broken God's laws, and that debt 326 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:04.759 listed all the rules we've failed to follow. But here's 327 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:08.960 a good part. But God forgave our debt, and he 328 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:14.759 canceled our debt by nailing it to the cross. Can 329 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:16.960 you imagine if tonight you went home and all of a 330 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:20.680 sudden you got a call from Visa or MasterCard, and 331 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:24.279 they called up and said, we have decided to cancel 332 00:20:24.599 --> 00:20:28.400 all your debt. We're just gonna wipe it out. Your 333 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:32.920 record is wipe clean. You are forgiven, it's all forgotten. 334 00:20:33.400 --> 00:20:38.920 We're calling it our new tetelesty program. Paid in full. 335 00:20:39.559 --> 00:20:43.920 You're free. Would you like that? Oh yeah? Would you 336 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:48.079 feel free? Oh yeah? You'd want to rejoice, because that's 337 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:52.079 what happens when your debt is forgiven. That's what Jesus 338 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:53.960 Christ did on the Cross. He paid off the debt 339 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:57.680 that I owed God Colossians, Chapter one, verse fourteen. God's 340 00:20:57.720 --> 00:21:02.640 son paid the price. God's son paid the price to 341 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:07.119 free us, which means that our sins are forgiven. Which 342 00:21:07.160 --> 00:21:11.079 sins are forgiven, all of them, all of them, every 343 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:15.119 single one of them. Just to have it all wiped off, 344 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:18.160 to have your debt paid off by somebody else, that's 345 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:21.319 an amazing thing that Jesus Christ did. A couple of 346 00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:24.640 years ago, Kay and I decided we had never seen 347 00:21:24.680 --> 00:21:28.000 the colors of New England in the fall, so we 348 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:30.480 flew back to Boston and we rented a car and 349 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:33.599 drove around the thirteen states in New England for about 350 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:36.160 ten days just looking at all the color, and in 351 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:38.039 one of the little hotels that we checked in doo. 352 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:40.440 As we walked in, we saw a family standing over here. 353 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:43.160 And as we're checking in, I noticed they're like staring 354 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:45.079 at us. You could feel like their eyes are burning 355 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:50.240 in staring at us. And so yeah, I didn't pay 356 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:52.680 any much much more attention to it. But then we 357 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:54.720 went up to our room. Then the next morning we 358 00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:57.079 go down and I go down to check out, and 359 00:21:57.119 --> 00:22:02.319 as I start to check out, the says, well, sir, 360 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:08.599 your bill has already been taken care of. I said 361 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:12.079 by who? He said, by that guy, And evidently the 362 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:15.720 guy had recognized this and he had already gone over 363 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:19.000 that morning and paid off my night's bill. I go, 364 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:22.920 you're my new best friend. So I went over and 365 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:25.279 talked to him for a while, met him and found 366 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:27.559 out what state he was from. And he listens to 367 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:30.359 Daily Hope on the radio. And I just going, you're 368 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:32.960 my new best friend. Jesus wants to be your best friend. 369 00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:37.359 He's just paid off all your debt that you owed 370 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:41.519 to God. Now the Bible says this in Hebrews chapter ten, 371 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:46.200 verse eighteen. Now that sins have been forgiven, there's no 372 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:51.200 need to offer any more sacrifices. You know what your 373 00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:53.880 problem is. Your problem is you keep trying to pay 374 00:22:53.920 --> 00:23:01.119 for sins that have already been paid for. You keep 375 00:23:01.160 --> 00:23:04.759 trying to pay for sins in your life that have 376 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:07.680 already been paid for. Jesus Christ paid for every sin 377 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:10.599 you have ever committed and ever will. He's even paid 378 00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:13.319 for the ones you haven't done yet, the ones you're 379 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:16.480 gonna do next week, next year, and in ten years. 380 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:19.480 When he paid on the cross for all the sins 381 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:21.640 of humanity, he died for every one of them. There's 382 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:26.200 not any that's left out. But so many people go 383 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:31.240 around caring unnatural guilt because they don't realize their sin 384 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:33.920 has been forgiven. And in their mind, they're going, you know, 385 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:37.079 maybe if I just do this, then God will forgive me. 386 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:41.279 Maybe if I do that, then God will forgive me. 387 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:44.440 Maybe if I'm good in this area, God will forgive me. 388 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:47.000 You're trying to pay for sins that have already been 389 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:51.480 paid for. They don't need to be paid for twice. 390 00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:55.039 Jesus Christ paid for every stupid mistake I've made in life, 391 00:23:55.160 --> 00:23:58.400 every stupid mistake you've made in life, every sin, every error, 392 00:23:58.519 --> 00:24:02.359 every fault, every week. You don't need to pay for him. 393 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:06.200 That's good news. He paid off the debt that I 394 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:11.680 owed God. There is nothing more you can do. There's 395 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:13.680 nothing more you can do. It's not like, well, if 396 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:15.480 I do this thing now, God's going to smile at 397 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:17.519 me and he'll kind of even the score. Here. I 398 00:24:17.559 --> 00:24:19.240 did all this bad stuff. I gotta do this good 399 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:22.319 stuff to make it even. That's not in God's mind. 400 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:26.400 There's nothing more you can do. It's already been paid for. 401 00:24:26.599 --> 00:24:29.480