It is not that I did choose thee,
Lord, Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Niver. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nivert. In John chapter 19, verse 30,
we read, when Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he
said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. It is finished. What was finished? I need to know. Every word that
came from our Savior's mouth was and is precious. He said,
the words that I speak to you, they're spirit and they are life. And we respond with Peter, thou
hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the son of the living God. Every word is precious. But there's
something exceedingly precious about the words that he uttered
when he was nailed to a cross. The Lord gave seven sayings from
the cross. The first was, Father, forgive
them. They know not what they do. And
the Father answered his prayer. Everybody he prayed for, the
Father forgave. This wasn't a generic prayer. He said in John chapter 17, verse
9, I pray for them, his disciples. I pray not for the world, but
for them which you have given me. Everybody he prayed for was
forgiven. And then he said to his mother,
woman, behold thy son. And he said to John, behold thy
mother. On the cross, even then, he was
taking care of the needs of his people. And then his cry, my
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? This gives us a glimpse of
what was going on on the cross. He was forsaken by God. He was
deserted by his father. Why? Because that's what I deserve. And he took my place. He took
my sins and my sorrows. He made them his very own. He
bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone, forsaken
by his father. And then his words to the thief
after the thief said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
You see, the thief knew who he was. Nobody else around there
did, but he did. He knew he was the Lord and he
knew he would come back as a mighty reigning king. And he said, remember
me when you come in your kingdom. And the Lord said today. thou shalt be with me in paradise." His fifth statement, I thirst. And there was no thirst like
his thirst, as he said that from the cross. And then what I just
read, it is finished. And his last words were, Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit. Now I'd like for us to confine
our thoughts to the sixth statement, it is finished. And the original, this is in
the perfect tense, a work perfectly completed, never to be repeated. It is perfectly completed. It's never to be repeated. It
is finished. It doesn't simply mean the end. It means not merely to terminate
the thing, but to carry it out to its fullest extent. It is finished. Do you remember
what his first recorded words were? In Luke chapter 2, as a
12-year-old boy, he said, wish ye not that I must be about my
father's business. And his last words, finished,
completed. He did his father's business. Early in his ministry in John
chapter four, he said, my meat is to do the will of him that
sent me and to finish his work. He said, for I came down from
heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent
me. And this is the father's will, which has sent me that
of all which he has given me, I should lose nothing, but raise
it up again at the last day. Now, At His birth, it was announced. Now, I should call His name Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sins. And in His great
high priestly prayer, in John 17, verse 4, shortly before His
death, He said, I've glorified Thee on the earth. I've finished
the work that Thou gavest Me to do. And what was that work?
To save His people from their sins. Now, He said, it is Finished. That work is done. It is completed. His people were
saved from their sins. Now, I don't know of anything
more comforting than these blessed words. It is finished. You see, this I know, that if
he left anything undone, or incomplete, there's no hope for me. But thank God, he said, it is
finished. He started it, he did everything
in between, and he finished the work the Father gave him to do. Now, in the original, This word
is translated by 12 different words in the King James Version
in both the noun and verb form of the word. I love the King
James Version. It's the only version I'll preach from. That
doesn't mean I think it's inspired. It's a translation, but I believe
it to be the best translation. And I love the authorized version,
the King James Version. And in that version, this word
is translated by 12 different words that all give us some understanding
of what the Savior meant when he said, it is finished. Now in John chapter 19, verse
28, we read, after this, Jesus, knowing that all things were
now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith I first,
there the word finished is translated accomplished. It is accomplished. Now, whatever the Savior's intentions
were, Mission accomplished. The extent of his saving work
is determined by the intentions, or the intent, or the intention
of his saving work. The extent of his atoning blood
is limited to the intention of his atoning blood. In Matthew
chapter 121, I've already quoted this, but it says, thou shalt
call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin. Is everybody his people? No.
but he shall save his people from their sin. In John 10, verse
14, he says, I laid down my life for the sheep. Is everybody a
sheep? No, there are goats as well. But he laid down his life
for the sheep. Ephesians 5, 25 says, Christ
loved the church and gave himself for it. The church is not comprised
of all men. It's comprised of the elect of
God. He loved the church and gave himself for it. By one offering,
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, not everybody,
but those who are set apart by God. And then in John 6, 39,
he said, this is the will of him that sent me, that of all
which he hath given me. I should lose nothing but raise it up
again at the last day." Now, the intentions of the Lord Jesus
Christ in shedding His precious blood was to put away the sins
of all the elect, all those the Father gave Him before the foundation
of the world. Ephesians 1 for it says according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world though
We should be holy and without blame before and this is a reference
to the elect and Christ Jesus When he said it is finished all
of the sins of all of the elect were put away now Most preachers
teach that Jesus Christ shed his precious blood for all men
without exception. Now if that's the case, unless
all men without exception are saved, he failed. He didn't get
the job done. His intentions were frustrated.
That's not going to happen. You see, he's the son of God.
His intentions can't be frustrated. Whatever he does, he's successful
at. And he said, it is finished. Mission accomplished. His people
were saved from their sins. Now this word is translated in
Luke chapter 18, verse 5, continual. continual. The Lord was giving
that encouragement for us to pray, that men ought always to
pray and not to faint. And he talked about the unjust
judge who gave the lady what she wanted, lest by her continual
coming she would weary him. This word is translated continual. This message, it is finished.
is always in effect. It's continual. There's no intermission. There's no end to it. It is finished. It's finished continually. What if his people sin? It's
finished. What if they sin gravely? It
is finished. What if they fall like Peter?
It's finished. Peter's sins were still paid
for. It's finished. What if they sin as greatly as
David did? It's finished. What if they appear
to turn their hearts from the Lord the way Solomon did? Now
we know Solomon was a believer, but for a long time it appeared
like his heart was turned from the Lord. What about somebody
like that? It's finished. You see, if Christ died for you,
he foresaw every sin you would commit. You can't sin away, it
is finished. If you're one he died for, all
your sins are forgiven sins. They're put away. You see, it
is finished is always in effect. Now, that's not going to give
someone an encouragement to sin. Good. That means I can sin all
I want because I don't need to worry about it. God's children
will never react like that. Maybe a goat would, but a sheep
wouldn't. But still, thank God for this. This is in continual
effect. It is finished. This glorious message is continual. And then in Revelation chapter
20 verse 7 the word is translated expired. It is expired. Now when the Lord Jesus said
it is finished and died, you know what happened instantly?
The veil in the temple was rent from the top to the bottom. That
veil that symbolized the Old Covenant and separation from
God, and you couldn't come into His presence. It was rent. You see, the Old Covenant has
expired. Expiration date, no believer
is under that Old Covenant of works. You're not under the law,
but you're under grace. Now I think this is very interesting
to think about. when that covenant expires. when the Lord died,
and that veil was rent. You know, all those priests were
exposed as phonies. The Ark of the Covenant had been
gone for hundreds of years, but they'd been going through the
motions of religion for their job, and that's what religion
is to most people, it's a job. It's how they make a living.
And it was exposed as nothing but phoniness. And that veil
was rent, it wasn't folded up to be brought back at a later
date, No, it was torn into. The covenant of works is expired. Every believer is under the grace
of God. In John chapter 13 verse 1, in
Romans chapter 10 verse 4, among others, the word is translated,
the end. having loved his own which were
in the world, he loved them to the end. In Romans 10 chapter
4 we read Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. Daniel
chapter 9 verse 24 says he shall make an end of sins. Now concerning my sins, the end. The end. They're not to be brought
up, they're gone. the end. He made an end of them. What sins? Once in the end of
the world hath He appeared to put away sins by the sacrifice
of Himself. And that's exactly what He did.
When He said, It is finished, that was the end of the sins
of all of His people. They're gone. They're ended. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness. And then the word is translated
in Revelation 15, 1, filled up, filled up. It is filled up. Now, whenever I get gas, I always
fill up my tank. I never get $10 worth. I never
get $20 worth. I use a credit card, fill it
up all the way because I'm always afraid gas will be more expensive
the next day. And so I go ahead and fill it
up. And when I fill it up, you can't
add a drop to it. It can't be added to. In Christ,
I'm filled up. When he said it is finished,
that means I'm filled up. I can't hold anymore. I can't
get any more saved. I can't get any more accepted.
I can't get any more holy. I can't get any more righteous.
I can't get any more perfect. I can't get any more loved by
God. I'm filled up. I'm complete in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Colossians 2, 9 and 10 says in
him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead in a body and you
are complete. You're plumb full. You can't
hold any more. You can't be any more saved if
He died for you. It is filled up. First Corinthians 1.30 says of
Him, are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made into us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Now that's a
complete salvation. That according as it's written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. And then in 1 Peter
3, verse 8, it's translated, finally. The salvation of God's
people is final. It's finalized. On the cross,
My final exams were taken and I passed with 100% because of
who He is and what He did in my behalf. It is final. Oh, if Christ died for you, That's
when you were saved. Your salvation was finalized
by what He did. It is final. And then our text
says it is finished. I love the way the translators
put that. It is finished. There's nothing
left that needs to be done. Now the message of human religion
is doom. always giving you something to
do. And you never really know if
you've done enough. It's a treadmill. Do, do, do. You need to do this. You need
to do that. The message of the gospel is it's done. There's nothing for you to do.
It's done. He did it all. It is finished. Nothing you need
to do to complete what he did. You know, the message of the
gospel is if you do this, if you do that, or the message of
human religion, works religion, is if you do this, if you do
that, if you quit doing this and start doing that, then you'll
have the forgiveness of sins. But the gospel begins. It's done. It's done. There's nothing for
you to do. Have you ever rested. Have you ever quit doing and
rested in what he has done? It is finished. You see, I'm preaching, but there's nothing
for me to do. I walk with the Lord, but there's
nothing for me to do. I love him and want to serve
him in obedience, but there's nothing for me to do because
he did it all. And I rejoice in that. I rest
in that. It is finished. And then the word is also translated
fulfilled. Every time we read. That the
scriptures might be fulfilled, that's the word that the scriptures
might be fulfilled, it is fulfilled. Now, yes, his life on earth is
fulfilled. Yes, every Old Testament type
was fulfilled. All the holy days and feast days
and Sabbath days were fulfilled. All the sacrifices, the animal
sacrifices, millions of them, they're fulfilled. Everything
was fulfilled in him. Nothing left unfulfilled. Now here's what took place when
he fulfilled this. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins, as now thou
shalt call his name Jesus. He hath saved his people from
their sins. You remember the first prophecy
regarding the gospel? The seed of woman shall bruise
the serpent's head. It's now the seed of woman the
Lord Jesus Christ has bruised the serpent's head. Everything
he did has been fulfilled and completed. And then in Matthew
chapter 10 verse 23, the word is translated go. Go. Gone. Go. What's that got to
do with it is finished? Well, because it's finished,
there's nothing keeping you back. Romans 8.32 says, He that spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall
he not with him also freely give us all things? There's nothing
to prevent him from receiving you if you come, because it's
finished. The sin payment has been made.
Go. Don't stay away. Go. It's finished. Go to the Father. Go to the throne
of grace. Go to him for mercy. He says,
come. That's the message of the gospel.
Not go and do, but come. Come to me. You see, the door
is wide open to any sinner who will come because it's finished. The red light has turned green,
just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for
me, and that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come. He said, I'm the way, the truth,
and the life. The way is now open, and you
go to the Father through Jesus Christ, the Son. I'm so thankful
for that translation. And then in Matthew chapter 17,
verse 24, it's translated paid. It is paid. No debt. The only debt I owe
is gratitude because it is paid. Now, a lot of folks, when they
sing that song, Jesus paid it all, all the debt I owe, what
they mean when they sing it is Jesus paid a half, the other
half I owe. But no, I love the way the song
actually is stated. Jesus paid it all, all the debt
I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain,
he washed it white as snow. And because of that, child of
God, you are completely debt free. Now isn't that liberating? I don't think there's anything
as liberating as not having any bills to pay. Don't owe anything. All my sin has been paid for,
and I don't owe God anything but gratitude. What a debt of
gratitude I owe Him. But as far as owing Him for my
sins, it's all been paid for. It is paid. And then in Luke chapter 2, verse
39, we read where it's translated performance. It is performed. Now, if you're anything like
me, you probably stress a lot over your performance. You stress
over whether you're performing as a parent, as a spouse, how
you do on your job. I want to do well. And we stress
over our performance. But beloved, it is performance. You don't need to stress over
your performance. Perfect performance has already been accomplished.
Jesus Christ perfectly satisfied God. He perfectly kept His law. He made a perfect payment for
sins. He made a perfect satisfaction
for sin so that God is actually satisfied with everybody He died
for. God looks at me and He says,
He's holy. He's unblameable. He's unreprovable. In my sight, He has performed
perfectly. And that's what Jesus Christ
did on behalf of His people. It is performed. Perfect performance. What a blessed thought that is.
And then last, in 1 Thessalonians 2.16, this word is translated,
uttermost. Uttermost. That means uttermost. Salvation to the uttermost. It is uttermost. I love that
scripture in Hebrews 725 where it says, wherefore he is able
to save them also to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Now I'm saved by what
Christ did to the uttermost. I'm not going to get into heaven
by the skin of my teeth. No, sir, not at all. Bold shall
I stand in that great day. The believer has boldness on
the day of judgment because as he is, as Christ is, so are we
in this world. Now, saved the uttermost, nothing
lacking, nothing incomplete. It is uttermost. Now, what more blessed words
could there be? It is finished. And I love all 12 words that
this word is translated by. It is accomplished, already accomplished. It's continual. It's always in
effect. It's expired. Salvation by works
is forever out of expiration. It's gone for the believer. We're
under grace because it is expired and it's ended. He's made an
end of all my sins. Concerning my sins, the end,
chapter closed, they're gone. They are no more because it is
ended and it is filled up. I can't get any more saved than
I am. You can't add a drop to me. I don't have any room for improvement.
I can't get any more accepted, any more loved. And somebody
says, how can you say that? Well, in and of myself, I know
I'm nothing but sin, but in Christ, I can't be improved. I can't
become more saved. I can't become more holy. I can't
become more accepted. I can't become more righteous.
I'm filled up. It is finalized. Final exams
have been taken and I passed with 100% because of what my
Lord did for me. It is finalized. It is finished. It's fulfilled. Go, paid, performed,
uttermost. Now let me ask you, can you rest
in that? Now somebody's thinking, did he do this for me? Am I somebody
he died for? Well, let me tell you how you
can know. You listen real carefully. I want to ask you two questions.
Here's my first question. Are you a sinner? I'm not asking
you if you're saved or if you're born again, or if you know that
Christ died for you. I'm asking you, are you a sinner?
You see, the only people that he saves are sinners. 1 Timothy
1.15 says, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
of whom I am the chief, Paul said. Are you a sinner? And the
second question is, do you need him to finish it for you? You absolutely need him to do
everything. As one man says, I need him to
start it, do everything in between, and finish it. I need for him
to do it all. Are you someone who needs to
hear those words, it is finished? Well, if you're a sinner and
you need him to finish it for you, then you're somebody who
he has done this for and your salvation is accomplished. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at todsroadgracechurch.com
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