Also tonight, I'm very excited
about this. We're going to start looking at the book of Acts.
I'm going to start preaching through the book of Acts on Sunday
nights, and I'm just. I tried it 13 or 14 years ago
and I'm going to try it again and I hope I got a little bit
more light than I did then. Verse 46. And when Jesus had cried with
a loud voice, And we know what he cried when
he cried with that loud voice. It is finished. He said, Father, into thy hands, I commend or
I place my spirit. And having said thus, He gave
up the ghost. How precious are the seven sayings
of the Savior from the cross? They cannot be too often read,
repeated, preached on, or meditated on. Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. Verily I say unto you, he said
to the thief, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. He looked at his mother. Woman,
behold thy son. And he looked at John and said,
behold, thy mother. This is a reminder to us of his real humanity. He
had a mother that he loved. I think it's interesting. He
never called her mother. He always called her woman. But he loved
this woman. God had no mother. I think of that Catholic prayer,
Mary, mother of God, have mercy on us. God doesn't have a mother,
but Jesus Christ does. And then the fourth saying, my
God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? His fifth statement. I thirst. Oh, how he thirsted
for God when he was forsaken. His sixth statement, it is finished. And then his last statement,
I've never preached on this before. Father, into thy hands, I commend,
I place my spirit, Now I think it's very fitting that the last
words of our Lord was a quotation from the scripture. This is quoting Psalm 31 verse
5, where David said, into thy hands I commit my spirit. What honor the Lord puts on the
scriptures. His last words before he died
was a quotation of God's holy word. I love it when the devil
was tempting him and all three times he rebuffed
the devil's temptation. And I think this is glorious.
He could have tortured him, zapped him, sent him back down. He has
all power. He could have done anything.
But how does he deal with the devil? He deals with the scripture.
The scripture saith. The scripture saith all three
times. The scripture saith. When He rebuked the Pharisees and
the Sadducees. He did so with this, you do err
not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. If you know
the scriptures, you know the power of God. If you don't know
the scriptures, you don't know anything about the power of God. He said once again to the Pharisees,
you search the scriptures. And in them, you think you have
eternal life. You think if I can just learn
to obey this command and keep from this sin and do these things
the Bible says, I'll have eternal life. He says, you've missed
it. They are they which testify of me. That's what the scriptures
do. They testify of the Lord Jesus
Christ. When the Lord was praying for
his disciples in John chapter 17, verse 17, he said, sanctify
them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. There is no sanctification apart
from the truth. Jesus Christ is the truth. After his resurrection, he said
to the two walking on the road to Emmaus, O fools, and slow
of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Then opened he their understanding
that they might understand the scriptures. Now this book we're
looking at right now is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of
God. Inspired by God Himself, written
by God Himself to reveal to us who He really is. There is no knowledge of God
apart from the Scriptures. The issue is always what saith
the Scriptures. And it is so fitting, our Lord
loves His own Word, He wrote it, and it's so fitting that
the very last words of the Lord Jesus Christ before he died was
a quotation from the scriptures. Lord, into thy hands I commend,
I commit my spirit. Now these words speak of the
majesty and the authority of the Son of God. Father, into thy hands, I place my spirit. In John chapter five, verse 18,
we read, therefore, the Jews sought the Moor to kill him,
because not only had he broken the Sabbath, but he said also
that God was his father, making himself equal with God. And there's only one person who's
equal with God, God. Amen. Father, he spoke as equal to
God. And what he said, no other man
could say. He said, into thy hands, I place
my spirit. Nobody else could say that. Stephen
said, Lord, when he was being stoned, receive my spirit. But
no man can say to the father, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm
gonna place my spirit in your hands. He spake as equal to the
father, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace. And he gave up the ghost. No
one else ever did that. He's the only one. He gave death
permission to come and take him. He said, no man takes my life
from me. I have power to lay it down and
I have power to raise it up. This commandment have I received
of my father. Oh, the authority of Jesus Christ. He spake as equal to the father. Truer words have never been spoken
when he said after his resurrection, all power is given to me in heaven
and in earth. These words, this death speaks
of the authority of Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter's son,
the son of Mary, the son of man, the son of God. And these words were said only
after a work he knew he had completed. Don't you love the words right
before this? When he cried with a loud voice,
it is finished. In Matthew chapter 1 verse 21,
when the angels told Joseph of the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the angel told him what to name him. Thou shalt call
his name Jesus. The Greek word for the Old Testament
word, Hebrew word, Joshua. Now you remember who Joshua was.
Moses could not bring the children of Israel into the promised land.
Why could Moses not bring the children of Israel into the promised
land? Because he represents the law. And your personal obedience to
the law is not going to get you anywhere but hell. It won't get
you into the promised land. It took Joshua, Savior, to bring
the children of Israel into the promised land. Thou shalt call
his name Jesus. Joshua, the one who brings us
in for he shall save his people from their sins. And when he
said it is finished, his people, somebody may be thinking, who
are his people? Well, let me answer that real
clearly. The elect. those the father gave him before
time began. He did not represent all men
without exception. If he did, all men without exception
would be saved. This is speaking of his elect. He said, I came down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
this is the will of him which sent me that of all which he
has given me, I should lose nothing. That's who his people are. the
elect, those the Father gave him before time began. Are you
implying that he didn't die for everybody? No, that's not an
implication. That's just a plain old statement,
isn't it? Just a plain old statement. He died for his elect and he
accomplished their salvation. When he said it is finished,
He shall save His people from their sins is now He has saved
His people from their sins. And I love thinking about this.
This takes all the pressure off. My salvation was accomplished
by what Christ did for me before I was even born. Don't you love
that? He saved His people from the
penalty of sin. That's justification. He saved
his people from the power of sin. Listen, I've been delivered
from the power of sin. What do you mean by that? I can tell
you what I mean by that. There was a time when I couldn't
believe. I do now. There was a time when I didn't
even know what repentance meant. I'd hear the preacher say, repent.
I'd go, what's that mean? I'm in a continual state of repentance,
change of mind. There was a time when I didn't
have the ability to love God, had no love for God. I do now. I love him. I love him as he's
revealed in his word. I love everything about him.
Why? I've been delivered from the power of sin. What that means
is I've been given life. I was dead, and now I've been
given life. Life from the dead. That's deliverance
from the power of sin. Somebody says, I have the power
to not sin anymore. Nobody believes that. But I've given up. Shut up. All that stuff is, is you know
the word. But I have been delivered from
the power of sin. I've even been delivered from the presence of
sin in this sense. The scripture says, whom he did
predestinate, then he also called, whom he called, then he also
justified, whom he justified, then he also glorified. I'm glorified right now. As my
head is in heaven glorified, I'm there with him. shall save his people from their
sins. It is finished. He has saved
his people from their sins. He said, I pray for them. I pray
not for the world. The Lord said that. I'm not praying
for everybody. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me. For they are thine. Y'all love saying stuff like
this. because this is demonstrating that Jesus Christ is everything
in salvation. Well, how can I know if he came
to save me? Well, I can answer that question, or the Bible answers
that question, not me, the Bible. 1 Timothy 1.15 says, He came, he said, this is a faithful
saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. Now listen to
me, if you are a sinner, he came to save you. If you can answer to the term
sinner, not good person, not believer,
sinner. Can you answer to that? If you
can, he came to save you. And when he said it is finished,
the salvation of every sinner became history. Complete. Father, He could not
say, Father, into thy hands commend I my spirit, had he not completed
and finished the work he came to do. But because he completed
the work he came to do, he could say, Father, into thy hands,
I commend my spirit. Now, when he makes this statement,
Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit, this speaks not only
of a completed work but it speaks of an accepted sacrifice. An accepted sacrifice. Now you remember his fourth statement. My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? This was the time of his abandonment,
of the dereliction, that means a complete abandonment, the complete
forsaking of him because he was made sin. Now, I talked about
this a few weeks ago and I feel once again my utter stupidity
in trying to talk about something that the Bible reveals, but that
you and I will never really enter into or understand. But the scripture
says regarding the Lord Jesus Christ, in the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God. And the word was God. Now think of this term with God. Christ was eternally with his
father. Before time began, he was always
with the father. God didn't create man because
he's lonely. He wasn't lonely. He was with
his son. He was with His Spirit. There
was an eternal withness. And oh, the delight the Son has
in the Father, and had in the Father, and the Father has in
the Son. Oh, the delight, the union, the
oneness, the withness. And when He cried, My God, My
God, why have You forsaken Me? The withness was broken. He wasn't with God anymore. And that's what hell is. Separation
from God. He was completely forsaken. He
was completely abandoned when he was made sin. But when he said it is finished,
It's because the Father accepted what He did. And now He doesn't
say, my God, my God. He says, Father, Father. Oh, He could say it again. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Because the Father was completely
satisfied with what He did. And He was completely satisfied
and is completely satisfied with everybody He did it for. The Father completely accepted
the sacrifice of His Son. Do you know why somebody Christ
died for cannot, cannot, cannot go to hell? Because God's satisfied
with them. He looks at somebody Christ died
for and He says, you're perfect. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and you are, what's the next word? Complete. Nothing lacking, complete in Him. Complete in Thee, no
works of mine can take, dear Lord, the place of Thine. Complete,
nothing lacking. How satisfied is God with His
Son? You say, well, he's completely
satisfied. That's how satisfied he is with you, if you're in
Christ. And now he can say, go unto my
brethren and say unto them. Isn't it glorious the way the
Lord can say, go to my brethren? But I'm one of his brethren.
I'm part of the brethren. You know, that's a precious term,
the brethren. The brethren. Go unto my brethren. and say
unto them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and
your God. And we can say, our Father, which
art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Father, into thy hands I commend
my spirit. These speak of the perfect faith
of Jesus Christ. Father, into thy hands, I'm completely
and utterly in your hands. I place my spirit. Perfect faith,
perfect submission, perfect Resignation. Perfect trust. How weak is your faith? It's weaker than you realize.
I know that. Somebody says, I have strong
faith. Well, congratulations, but you know when the disciples
Look at, turn to Matthew 28 for a second. Verse 17. Matthew 28, verse 17. And when they saw him, they worshipped
him, but some doubted. Interestingly, the word some
is not in the original. They saw, they worshiped, and
they doubted. Looking at the resurrected Savior,
they doubted. Why is that so? Well, I believe
that when that man said, Lord, I believe, Help thou mine unbelief. That's the cry of every believer
because we've got something called an old nature that never believes. And as long as I'm in the flesh
I can even be looking at the resurrected Christ and still
be doubting. They did. How strong is your faith. Not very strong. How much are you plagued by unbelief?
How have you questioned God during dark times or times you did not
understand or do not understand? You question God. Do you know the Lord never did that? He never did that. Even when
he was crying, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He
never doubted God. He trusted God completely even
during that time. He said, though he slay me, yet
will I trust him. When he was abandoned, he never
stopped trusting. You see, somebody had to trust
God perfectly. Let me remind you, me and you
haven't done that, have we? He did. And that is why we're said to
be saved by his faith. Now, I want you to look at these
scriptures with me. I'm gonna look at four different scriptures.
First, turn to Romans chapter three. Now, if you don't have a King
James version of the Bible, it's not gonna read this way. If you've
got anything other than King James, it's not gonna read this
way. And that's why I would suggest
everybody read a King James version. Somebody says, well, is the King
James inspired? No. It's a translation. It's a translation. Those people who fight the King
James version only, well, what about before King James? Don't
say the translation is inspired. It's the word of God that's inspired.
But the King James version is the best translation. And let
me show you why. Romans chapter 3, verse 19. Now we know that what things
whoever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may stand guilty
before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by
the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ. Not faith in Jesus Christ, but
by the faith of Jesus Christ. the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Turn with me to Galatians chapter
2. Galatians chapter 2. Verse 16. Knowing. This is something every believer
can say. Yeah, I know. I'm complete agreement. I know this. Knowing. that a man is not justified by
the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not
by the works of the law. I'm saved by his faith. his faithfulness. You see, his
perfect obedience and his perfect trust are inseparably connected. Turn with me to Philippians chapter
3. Verse 8, And I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for
whom I've suffered the loss of all things and do count them
but down that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having
my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ. The righteousness, which is of
God by faith. Ephesians chapter three. Verse 12, in whom we have boldness and
access with confidence by our faith in him. Didn't read that
right, did I? I don't have boldness and access
with confidence by my faith, but I have boldness and access
with confidence by the faith of him. That's how I come into
God's presence. The faith of Him, not my faith.
His faith, that's what I believe. You wanna know what I believe?
I believe I'm saved by the faith of Christ. What about your faith? That's it. I believe I'm saved
by the faith, the faithfulness, the perfect obedience, the complete
work of Christ Jesus on the cross. Only He could save from the horrible
pit and miry clay I waited patiently for the Lord. Has any other human
being done that? I guarantee you they haven't.
He's the only one. He trusted God perfectly. He
said, Father, into thy hands I place, I commend my spirit. And I have faith in his faith. That's my faith before God. His
faith. Somebody says, explain that to
me. Well, that's as close as I can come. But it's so. I don't trust my faith. I trust
him. I trust his faith, his faithfulness,
his obedience. That's the only way I have boldness
and access with confidence. It's by the faith of him. And finally, He's dying. He knows he will soon be dead. That's a miracle that the Son
of God could die in the first place. That's something that
I'm just astounded by. Life dies. And he gave up the
ghost, remember. At this time in majestic authority,
he gave death permission. Death couldn't take him unless
he gave it permission. Oh, what authority and majesty
and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. But what are his last words before
death? Father, into thy hands I commit
my spirit. Do you want to die well? Do you want to die well? Not
many do. Some die holding on to bitterness
and resentment and grudges all the way up to their death. How
unclean. Some die struggling to find some
assurance that all is well with God and yet they're finding out
that it's not. Some die fully believing that
they're saved and that they're Christians and they're going
to wake up in hell to their horror and astonishment that what they
were hoping in was no good. And they never did know anything
about what it is to trust the faith of Christ. But if you could say, Father,
Father, knowing full well that it's only because of what Christ
did on the cross, you can call him Father. Father, into thy hands, the hands of God, the sovereign,
all powerful hands of God, I commend my spirit. I'm in your hands. And that's what faith is. David
said, my times are in thy hands. Isn't that a good place for your
times to be? Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Turn with me to the 138th Psalm.
This is going to be our closing thought. Because, listen real carefully,
because the Lord said, it is finished, and said, Father, into
thy hand, I commend my spirit. Because the Lord said that, every
believer, without exception, can say this, verse eight, Psalm
138, the Lord will perfect that which concerneth
me." That's a promise. I'm already perfect in Christ
Jesus, but this is talking about my state of sinlessness when
I'm just like Christ. The Lord will. I've got this
confidence in face of all my sins and all my unbelief and
all my weakness and all my whatever else you want to fill in the
blank with. I can still say this and so can every believer. The
Lord will perfect that which concerneth me. And here's why. Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever. That's why. And just in case
you didn't get that, listen to this. Forsake not the works of
thine own hands. Now I know this so truly. If I'm saved, I'm his work. I'm the work of his hands. He
did it. Do you know that? If you're saved,
you really believe you're the work of his hands. And my final
plea is, oh Lord, forsake not the work of your hands. My times
are in his hands. My sovereign savior said, I place,
I commit my spirit in your hands. And because he's did that, I
can say with complete confidence, the Lord will perfect that which
concerns me Thy mercy, O Lord, endures forever. Forsake not
the work, the works of thine hands. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name, that you, by your spirit, would
melt each heart here to see the completeness of our salvation
because our Redeemer finished the work and placed his perfect
faith, his soul, his spirit, in perfect resignation into your
hands. And Lord, we ask that you would
give us grace to believe that we're saved by
his faith. And give us the grace to simply be found in thy hands,
not wanting to be anywhere else. Lord, you're great, you're mighty,
you're strong hands. In Christ's name we pray, amen.