Turn, if you would, to John chapter
19. In our handout today, we have an article written by Pastor
Todd Nyberg. And he writes, My spiritual life
began in looking to Christ only. The way I persevere in the faith
is by continuing to look to Christ only. My desire is that the last
breath I take here on earth will be looking to Christ only. The employment of eternity, albeit
without this sinful nature, will be looking to Christ only. It closes with 1 John 3 verse
2, We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And even then, we'll still look
to Him only. You folks may not know this.
I never approach a message how, what am I going to preach for
you? I don't study that way. I ask the Lord, Lord, I need
a message for me. You may not realize this, When
I come to this pulpit, I'm preaching to myself. I bring before you
what my needs are. I know we're supposed to think
of others, and I do the best I can. But like everything else
that our Lord says, you know, we just went through Friday night
Bible study, the Beatitudes. If I was to check off There's eight of them. If I was
to go along and just check off, I can't even check off one. I'm
not meek. You guys who know me, you know.
John, that loud mouth? That guy talks way too loud.
He walks into a room, you know he's there because his voice
is booming. Well, I come before you this morning again because
I need something. I want you to read with me John
chapter 19 verses 28 through 30. After this, Jesus, knowing
that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled,
saith I first. Now there was a set of vessel
full of vinegar, and they filled the sponge with vinegar and put
it upon hyssop and put it to his mouth. That was the last
thing. Everything that was said in the
Scriptures. Now remember, the New Testament
hadn't been written yet. The Scriptures, when it talks
about the Scriptures in the New Testament years, it's talking
about the Old Testament Scriptures. Everything that was said in picture
and in type of who our Lord Jesus is, is what does it say in verse
30? And when Jesus therefore had
received the vinegar, he said, it is finished. what was finished. Salvation
of God's elect. I wish I could just get that
in my head. I wish I could just take this
little brain of mine and wrap it around that. Again, I'm talking
to me. I know you guys don't have this
problem. I go out that door and I need
help. The words come out of my mouth and I need help now. I've shared this with you before.
My prayers, I'm selfish. My prayers are for me. I pray for those I love. I pray
for our brother and sister up in Reading, Larry and Gladys,
who are separated and struggling. Oh my goodness, folks. If you
could just think of the sorrow that's going through their heart
being separated after being married for so long. You're glad she
got to see her husband for the first time. First time in two
months, or over a month, because of COVID going through that place.
But even in their situation, it's still, I need help the moment
I walk out the door. Lord, help me now! Teach me,
Lord, it's finished. determined and stated in the
Old Testament that needed to be done to redeem a people to
God? Everything a sinner needs to
be sanctified, that means set apart, that means be made holy? You can't be with the Lord without
being holy. I bet there's nobody here who
could raise their hand and say, I'll be there on what I've done.
Those people who feel that way get up and walk out of here pretty
quick. Because we preach, you don't have any righteousness
of your own, don't we? We know, don't we? We know. We
know within ourselves there's no righteousness in here. Everything
we need to be in the presence of God Almighty, we have been
set apart to receive from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
everything we need to be sanctified before God, Christ has finished. Everything man needs who is dead
and trespasses in sin, everything they need to be justified before
God's eyes is done. What does it say there in verse
28? Look again. After this, Jesus knowing that
all things were accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Now turn over to Hebrews if you would. Those of you who are in
Bible study get a double whammy in Hebrews today. I want to once
again bring before you a message of rest to those who belong to
Christ. To those who were given to Christ
by God the Father before a star ever twinkled in the sky. A message
of rest to those whose spirits are heavy laden I've been going to church every
Sunday now, I'm good. Oh no! I turned myself over to Jesus,
I'm good now, I'm fine. David, the great psalmist, says
my sins are ever before my face. Paul, the writer of so many books
in the Bibles and the Holy Scriptures says, oh wretched man that I
am. When the Lord sees the Pharisee
And the publican and the Pharisee walking into his religious building
and saying, I'm glad, Lord, that you didn't make me like others.
And the publican who's sitting over in the corner crying out,
Lord, have mercy on me. Who was blessed? The one who
knows what they are before God. Are you heavy laden today? I am. I think much about what needs
to be done in my life, the world around me. Have you ever cried
out to the Lord, Lord, what must I do? I have. What must I do, Lord? There's trouble all around me. My point is this, folks, it's
our natural tendency to think that there's something we can
do to fix things. The hardest thing for us to do
is to admit, I don't know how to do it. There was a bunch of
people who had heard a message from Peter. In Acts 2, verse 37, it says,
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter, and to the
rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, What shall we do? That's our nature. What shall
I do? It's disheartening to see a situation
where there's nothing you can do, isn't it? I can't do anything
about that situation for Larry Gladys. Can't do anything about it. Did
I tell you this day that salvation from your sins is just like that? It's out of your ability. You
can do nothing about it. When it comes to spiritual things,
we are completely helpless. Scripture calls it dead and trespasses
in sin. Our Lord is holy and only righteousness
can be in His presence. Then what must we do is say it
to people. Can we be made righteous? Not
by anything you can do. You can't be made righteous by
coming to church, getting baptized, worshiping, singing praises,
coming down to the front. You can't get saved by any of
that. Those who say your God is trying,
they are lying. They're flat out lying. How dare them call their imaginable
people God. Imagine how that, think about
how that is. I mean, they're calling this
person that is in their imagination God, and then taking all of his
power away from them. God means all powerful. To be
called God, you've got to have all power. All power in heaven
and earth and under earth and Jesus Christ has all that power.
Not those imaginary gods who are trying to save people. Only
the one who does save his people. Only the one who went to that
cross and hung on that cross can say it is finished and truly
mean it is finished. That's the subject of today's
message. This is what John needs to hear today. This is who I
need to look to. The one who says it's finished
and means it's finished. The one who shed his own blood
and his perfect righteousness for his people. The one who established
everything that we need to be before God. for an eternity,
the Lord Jesus Christ. I love to use this man for an
example. I ask you again, was there anything
Jonah could do? Remember what Jonah, remember
what happened to him? Just to remind us of some of
the details, and for the young folks here who may not have heard
of him yet, or heard of him and forgotten, Jonah was running
from the Lord. The Lord had sent him to go.
He said, I want you to go and preach to Nineveh. That'd be
like going down to Sacramento. Go to that biker club down in
Sacramento and go preach to those folks. Really, Lord? Are you sure? Well, that's what it was like.
And he said, no. He went and ran his own way.
The Lord allowed him, he who had all power, allowed Jonah
to take off and go running and run from him. He went down. He
got on a ship. The God of all creation. When he got all power,
brought up a big storm against the ship, and the people on the
ship wanted to blame somebody. So finally Jonah stepped forward
and said, it's me. I'm the one who's done the wrong.
OK, throw him overboard. And the Lord prepared a fish.
Remember, that's the word of God. He prepared a big fish to
swallow up Jonah. So Jonah is, here he's in the
belly of the fish. Weeds are wrapped around his
neck, whatever's in there is splashing all over him. Could
he do anything? Could he do anything? No. He couldn't. What about Lazarus? He's already dead. He's been
dead so long he stinketh, the sister says. Could he do anything? No. Man in their natural state
can do nothing to please God. Salvation is of the Lord and
of the Lord alone. We can do nothing either. It's
like that woman that was with an issue of blood. Remember that
story? She had heard about the one who
was going around healing people, and she couldn't even Just walk
up to the Lord, because there were so many people crowded around
Him. So she got down and she crawled.
If I could just touch the hem of His garment, maybe He'll save
me. She had done everything she could
herself. Everything that she could have done herself, she
tried to do. It said that she had spent every dime Every amount
of money that she had going to physicians, none of the physicians
that she had gone to could do anything for her. And that's
exactly what it is for you and I. And that brings us to one
thing, looking to Christ. That's what I need. This is a
message for me. If God speaks to your heart,
wonderful. But this is a message for me.
I need to be reminded to look to my Savior. You look to Christ once and you're
done. It means looking. There's an ing at the end. That
means continually looking to Christ. It doesn't get any better. You can't tell me that John Reeves
is going to get any better because he doesn't. If I don't stand
in my Lord and what He has done, and what He has done alone, then
I am lost. and will spend eternity in hell,
looking to Christ, the author and the finisher of my faith. That's what I need. Before the
world were made, our Lord chose a people. He chose a people to
be recipients of His love, to be the point of His mercy, to
be those that He would be gracious to, These people were chosen
before time began, they were chosen out of every tribe, every
nation, every tongue, throughout all time, and he's going about
right now, through time, calling his sheep unto himself. Aren't
you thankful he came through rescue? Aren't you thankful he came through
rescue and he said, this one's mine? He's been walking around
for 40 years thinking a little bit more of himself than he should.
He's mine. And I'm going to show him. And the world is going to
become miserable for him. But his grace is going to become
precious. I may go out through those doors
into the valley of death, But it's nothing but a shadow to
God's people. It's nothing but a shadow. Remember
that, John. Your Lord says it's finished.
There must be a sacrifice for what I have done. The Lord's
justice, the justice of God must be met and satisfied. What has
been done? His justice has been satisfied.
That's what's been done. When the Lord Jesus shed His
own blood on that cross. Now remember, the Lord Jesus
is the one who knew no sin. He knew absolutely no sin at
all. There was never anything that
ever even crossed His mind that would be against God, because
He's God in the flesh. There are three separate, distinct
people, but they are one person. How can you explain that, John?
I don't have to. I know it's true. He did nothing
that ever displeased the Father. The Lord said, God Almighty,
He said out loud so everybody around the Lord Jesus at that
time, when He came out of the water, He said, this is My beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. Everything. So when He went to
that cross, He didn't go to that cross for sins of His own. He
wasn't like those priests of the old days who would go in.
They'd have to give a sacrifice for themselves first. Christ
never had to do that. He never sinned. He was righteous
in every single way and everything that He did. Perfect. And that's
wonderful because that's what justifies us before God. When
He said it's finished, it means Everything that needed to be
for you and I to be before God, the wrath of God was shed on
Him instead of us. What you deserve was on our Savior. What I deserve, what I have earned
was laid upon my Savior. By His stripes we are healed. By His stripes alone. Our Lord God Almighty, the Father
of all creation, can only accept what is righteousness. And you
and I have none, so God provided Himself a sacrifice for His people. Look at Hebrews 10, beginning
at verse 12. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice, why? Why did Christ only have to offer
one? There was a whole bunch of priests
throughout a whole period of long time where they would go
into the temple and they would offer the sacrifice every year. Year after year after year after
year. Why did Christ only have to do
it once? Because He has all power in heaven and earth and He's
all righteousness. What He shed on that cross, It did the job where the blood
of bulls and goats did nothing but point people to Him. Look
to Christ. Look to Christ, John. Look to
Christ. After He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
did you notice that? Forever. Those of us who are
getting a little closer That day marked death. We're really
looking forward to that day forever, aren't we? Yeah. Sat down on the right hand
of God, from henceforth, expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected. That means completed. Do you
know we're complete in Christ? That's what he's talking about
when he says it's finished. There's nothing left for me to
do. Paulie, everything's done for me. If I could just wrap
my head around that, my life on this world would be so much
easier. But no, I've got to keep putting
this foolishness in my mind causing trouble for myself. I see, folks, I have been blessed
so much, so much by watching my dear brother and his wife
go through the time of life that they're in right now, sitting
back waiting, wondering, is today going to be the day? I hope so. Well, if it wasn't today, maybe
it'll be tomorrow. Oh, that blesses me so much. They get up every morning thinking
to themselves, we're looking to Christ. Is he going to be
here today? If we would just look to our Lord and Savior like
that, we would have so less problems that we have in this world. We
could sing that song, couldn't we? This world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere
beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven's
open door, and I don't feel at home in this world anymore. Looking to Christ. Only the spotless
Lamb of God could accomplish such a work, and He did it. Look over at Hebrews chapter
1. God who at sundry times, verse 1, Hebrews 1 verse 1, God who
at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in times past in
the fathers by the prophets, that's the Old Testament, hath
in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who being
the brightness of his glory, and the expressed image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power." Did
you catch that? Did it say most things? You know,
that's the way most religious folks like to see you. They believe,
if you say God is sovereign, oh yeah, oh yeah, we believe
that. We believe that. He's just not
sovereign over me. He's given me the power to make
my own decisions. He's given me the will to make
my own decisions. You have a will, all right. But
unfortunately, your natural will will draw you to hell. You will
not choose God. And those who God has chosen
know that. That was one of the first things
that crossed my mind when I was hearing the Gospel. First off,
Gene's talking about a God who deserves to be called God. He
has all power. He's all sovereign. Secondly,
He's not waiting for me. He's not waiting for me to make
a decision. He's loved me from before the
world was. He's loved me with an eternal
love. He's not going to let me go. And if I'm His, if I belong
to Him, what's going to get in His way? If anything could, He
wouldn't be God. He is the express image of God
Almighty, upholding all things by the power of His Word, of
His power when He had by Himself. Did you notice that? Did you
catch that? Did He do something and you needed to help Him? Did
He do something and He's waiting for you to do your part? No. He's by Himself. is finished. Purged. Purged our sins. He sat down on the right hand
of the Majesty on high. Who is he? Who is this man who
is the expressed image of God? It's Jesus Christ in the flesh,
born of a virgin. Born without the sin of Adam
in his loins. Born of the seed of the Spirit
He did. He pleased the Father. Who is
He? He's God Almighty in the flesh.
He's the God-Man. He's the Creator of all that
is His, as it says in John 1. He was manifest in the flesh.
What did He accomplish? He accomplished perfect, perfect
righteousness. Because He is righteousness.
Here's another thing. Wrap your mind around this. God
shed blood. He couldn't do that in spirit.
Spirit doesn't have blood. He had to become a man. Christ
had to be manifest in the flesh that he could shed his own. That
was the plan from A1. There's no plan B with God. The
plan was this. I'm going to give you a people,
son. Okay. And that people are going to
need to be redeemed because they're sinners. Okay. And you're going
to have to go do it. Okay. It's finished. It's done. You see how this is good news?
If you're a self-righteous religionist, this is not really good news
to you because, you know, I've done my part. But if you're a
dead sinner, if God has revealed It's done. It's finished. Power of Him. No man taketh my
life, He says. I lay it down. I have the power
to raise it up again. That's in John chapter 2, verse
19. Look over with me, if you would, at the 17th chapter of
John. And we'll be quick here to wrap
this up. I don't want to go too long for
you folks. John chapter 17. Look with me, if you would, at
verses 1 through 4 of John chapter 17. These words spake Jesus,
and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour has
come, glorify thy son, that thy son may also glorify thee, as
thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. How many? There's a limit. Do you see the
grace of God in shining his light in your heart? Do you see the
grace of God in shining the light in my heart, John? Remember,
this is for me, not for you guys. You guys can sleep if you want.
You see the power of God in giving life to someone, but not all? What grace. Especially when you
see that you deserve what everybody else is gonna get. Christ has
taken that forth upon Himself. He was made sin that we would
be made the righteousness of God in Him. And this is life,
he says in verse 3, this is life eternal that they might know
Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the
earth, I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do."
This is just a short time just before he goes
to the cross. He knew what was going to happen
next. He'd been telling his disciples, I've got to go up to Jerusalem.
I've got to be persecuted by the leaders of the church. I've
got to be hung up on a cross. I've got to die for three days.
And then I've got to be lifted up again to sit on my throne. And that's exactly what happened. It's finished. It's finished. Folks, if God be for us, who
can be against us? I began this message with a hope
to bring rest to those who God will cause to hear that salvation
is of the Lord. Set down your attempts to work
out your own salvation. Look not upon your own works,
and that includes your faith. Our faith is a gift, but it is
not our salvation. Great is His faithfulness, not
mine, not yours. Look at verse 5. And now, O Father,
glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the glory which I
had with Thee before the world was. Now there's two important
parts I want to bring out about that. First off, Christ Jesus
is God and was with God and was God from eternity. That's what
we read in John 1 verse 14. Look over Proverbs 8. Hold your
place there, John. We're going to come right back
to it. I want you to turn over to Proverbs. Proverbs is right
after the Psalms. Proverbs 8. Look with me beginning
at verse 23. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, wherever the earth was. When there were
no depths, I was brought forth. when there were no fountains
abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before
the hills was I brought forth. While as yet He had not made
the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust
of the world, when He prepared the heavens, I was there. When
He set a compass when He strengthened the fountains
of the deep, when He gave to the sea His decree that the water
should not pass His commandment, when He appointed the fountains
of the earth, then I was by Him as one brought up with Him, and
I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him." Who is it
that says it is finished? It is the One who created the
whole world. And here he declares that he's
going to return to the glory of the Father's presence, and
that it would be his delight. He returns to the presence of
the Father as the man Christ Jesus. For there is one God,
saith it in 1 Timothy 2.5, and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus. the mediator, the forerunner
of all whom he redeems. Our Lord is praying to be returned
to his office and to his glory, even as he was before. He is
received, exalted, and seated at the right hand of the majesty
on high right now, as we read in Hebrews 1-3. He is received
with him, and we in him as we read in Ephesians 2, 6, and He
has raised us up together and made us to sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. Is that good news? Is that good
news? Absolutely. Back in our text, verse 6. I
have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest me
out of the world. Thine they were, and Thou gavest
me them, and they have kept Thy word. Or in other words, He has
revealed the perfections of His nature. He has revealed His redemptive
will. He has revealed His gospel of
mercy and of grace and of His wisdom and His power and His
glory. Listen to the words of 1 Corinthians
1.24. 4 verse 6, For God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to
give the light of the knowledge and the glory of God in the face
of the Lord Jesus. Our Lord said it is finished,
yet our flesh continues to battle against it. Salvation of God's
people is a done deal, it's a finished work. He knoweth them that are
his, and he says in his word, My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life. He says, they shall never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand. Listen to this prayer in closing.
At that time, Jesus answered in Matthew 11, 25, and he says,
I thank thee, O Father. Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things, the wise and the prudent, We always
want to bring it around to grace. Not everybody knows that it's
finished. There's a whole lot of people, as some of you were
once, who are out there trying to earn their salvation through
something. The fact that you and I are sitting here today,
resting in Him, looking to Him alone, is only by His grace. And if you belong to Him, you
know it. I thank Thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for it seemed
good in Thy sight. Verse 27, He says this, All things
are delivered unto Me of My Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but
the Father neither knoweth any man. The Father saved the Son,
and He to whomsoever The Son will reveal Him. After the Lord says those words,
after He says, thank you, Father, for revealing this to babes,
because it seemed good in your sight, He says, come unto Me. He says to you. He says to me.
Come unto Me. all ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest
unto your souls." You want rest? You truly want rest? Our Lord's
done everything, folks. He's done it all. For His people,
it's complete. We're complete in Him. We're
perfected. Look to Jesus. He says, for my
yoke is easy and my burden is light. What a Savior. What a
Savior that would do it all for us. What a Savior that would
provide us with everything we need. Hallelujah. What a Savior.