Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neidert. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 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 Nybert. I want to read from John chapter
19, verse 30. It's one of the seven sayings
of the Savior from the cross. Now, actually, we'll begin reading
in verse 28. After this, Jesus, knowing that
all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled,
saith I thirst. Now there was set a vessel of
vinegar, and they filled the sponge with vinegar, and put
it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore
had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head, And he
gave up the ghost. He gave permission to death at
that time to come and take him. No one else ever did that, but
he did. It is finished. What did the Lord mean by that
statement? I need to know. What did he mean? It is finished. What was finished? What was he
referring to? And the word, it is finished,
means more than the end or termination of something. It means to carry
out a thing to the full. Something that is perfectly completed
and never to be repeated. When he said it is finished,
mission accomplished. Whatever his intentions were,
he did. It is finished. Now, do you remember the Lord's
first recorded words as a 12-year-old boy? The first thing recorded
that he said was, I must be about my father's business. And when he said it is finished,
whatever his father's business was, it was finished. Early in his ministry, in John
chapter 4, he said, My meat is to do the will of him that sent
me, and to finish his work. When he was praying for his people
in the great prayer of John chapter 17, he said in John chapter 17
verse 4, I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished
the work that thou gavest me to do. And when he bowed his
head and said it is finished, He had finished the business
of the Father. He had finished the work that
the Father gave Him to do. Now, here's the thing we need
to consider. What was the work the Father gave Him to do? He
means a whole lot more than saying, well, my suffering's over. I
believe the way men interpret it is, they say, well, He finished
His part, now we need to do our part. God's done His part, now
you do your part. Oh, no. He finished the work. He perfectly completed it. Now, what is the work that the
Father gave him to do? In the opening chapter in the
New Testament, in Matthew chapter 1, verse 21, the angel tells
Joseph and Mary, Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for He shall
save his people from their sins. Now that was his work. He shall
save his people from their sins. Now when he said it is finished,
It's no longer he shall save his people from their sins, it's
he has saved his people from their sins. Now let's consider
this verse for a few moments. He shall save his people from
their sins. Who are his people? Is everybody his people? No,
the Bible knows of the righteous and the wicked. Those who believe
and those who don't believe. His people are His elect. Those the Father gave Him before
time began. The Lord's got a people. He said
in John chapter 6, verses 38 and 39, 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 hath given me I should lose nothing. but raise
it up again at the last day. He said in John 637, all that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. His people are his elect, those
he represented, those the Father gave him. Now if you say Everybody
his people, then everybody must be saved. But we know everybody
is not saved, only those who believe on him. So his people
are those the Father gave him. Now it says he shall save his
people from their sins. Here's what I need to be saved
from, my sins. Oh, my sin is most real. My sin before God, my sins of
thought, my sins of word, my sins of deed, my sins of attitude,
my sin. I know what David meant when
he said, my sin is ever before me. I need to be saved from my
sin. Thank God it says he shall save
his people from their sins. Now, how are you saved from your
sins? If he's saved, His people from their sins. First of all,
that means I've been saved from the penalty of my sin. I'll never
have to give an account for my sin because I've been saved from
the penalty of my sin. My Lord bore it on the cross.
He got what was coming to me. My sin became His. He was punished. And there is therefore now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. You know, I
hear preachers talk about, well, believers, they will be condemned
for their sin, but they'll be judged according to their sinfulness
here on earth, and they'll get a higher reward or a lower reward
based upon how good they were or how bad they were. That's
foolishness. He saved His people from their sins. There's no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. He saved His people from the
power of their sins. Sin shall not have dominion over
you, for you're not under law, but under grace. And thank God,
He'll save His people from the very presence of their sins.
And as a matter of fact, I've been saved from the presence
of my sin right now. I'm not waiting until I die.
In Christ Jesus, I've already been glorified. Now, I don't
really understand all this, but I believe it. I'm glorified in
Christ. Whom He justified, then He also
glorified past tense. If Christ is glorified, I am
too, because I'm united to Him. What a salvation! Thou shalt
call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
When He said it is finished, it's no longer He shall save
His people from their sins, it's He has saved His people from
their sins. Now, this is salvation outside
of my personal subjective experience. This is salvation by what He
did for me. And my subjective experience
is believing that. resting in what He did for me,
all God requires of me, He looks to His Son for. Thou shalt call
His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. Now this word, finished, is one
Greek word. You probably know the Bible was
written in the Greek language. And what we read is a translation
of the Bible. I love the King James Version.
I personally think it's the best translation, but it's a translation.
King James is not inspired any more than some other versions
inspired. I think it's the best translation.
And it's what I like to use. But the Greek is the inspired
word. That's the original language
that the Bible came in. And in the King James Version,
there are eight different words that are used that are translated
by this same Greek word that gives us some idea as to what
he meant when he said it is finished. Let me get them to you. The same
word is translated accomplished. It is accomplished. It is ended. It is expired. It is filled up. It is fulfilled. The word is
even translated, go. Pay. And performed, it's performed. Now, let's consider each of these
words one at a time, and that'll give us some idea as to what
the Lord meant when he said it is finished first. It is accomplished. Look at verse 28. After this,
Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that's
the exact same word in the Greek that translated finished in verse
30. It is accomplished. When our Lord was transfigured.
On the man of transfiguration at that time, his deity burst
through his humanity, his face shined like the sun. And he was
speaking with Moses and Elijah at that time. You can probably
remember that Peter and James and John, they hit the dirt and
they were watching while our Lord spake with Moses and Elijah. And you know what they were talking
about? Luke 9, 31 says they spake of the decease, his death, which
he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Now, when we think of death,
we don't normally think of an accomplishment, do we? We think, well, that's
final defeat. But with our Lord, it was an accomplishment. When
He died, He accomplished whatever it was He set out to do. When
He died, it was mission accomplished. Now, let me give you another
verse of Scripture that tells what He set out to do. Hebrews 9,
26 says, For now, once in the end of the world, hath He appeared
to put away sin. by the sacrifice of himself. Now, when he came, he came for
this purpose, to put away the sins of everybody he died for,
of everybody he represented. And he accomplished what he came
to do. That means my sin is put away. Everybody he died for has no
sin. That means right now, as I'm
speaking to you, and this is mysterious, I realize this, I'm
aware of my sin, but before God, I have no sin. 1 John 3, 5 says he was manifested
to take away our sin, and in him, is no sin. That means if I'm in him, I have
no sin. He put it away. So when he said
it is finished, mission accomplished. The sins of everybody I've died
for have been put away. The word is translated end in
Matthew chapter 11 verse 1. Daniel 9 24 says he shall make
an end of sins. That means story over. What are
the last words of the book? The end. That means it's finished. It's over. Well, what about your
sins? What sins? That story's over. It's ended.
They are gone. He hath made an end of sins. Christ has called the end of
the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Oh,
my sin has been made an end to. And then in Revelation chapter
20, verse 7, the word is translated expired. Expired, and you know
what expired means. Do you remember what happened,
what miracle took place when the Lord said it is finished?
Well, there are three things that took place when he said
it is finished and bowed his head and gave up the ghost. First,
the scripture says the earth quaked and the rocks rent. Creation overcome with what had
taken place. And then we read where the graves
of the saints were open. And then he walked about Jerusalem
after this. Now, I don't understand what all that means, but I know
what it signifies. When he died, our graves were
open. We were set free by his death. And then in the temple, that
veil that separated the presence of God The Holy of Holies. Remember, there was a holy place
and the Holy of Holies and the veil was there to where you couldn't
get into the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could come
in. This was representative of the old covenant. The covenant
of works. The ceremonial law. The moral
law. The Ten Commandments. The civil
law. All the laws given by Moses in
Exodus chapters 20-24. The law of God. The holy law
of God. Well, when our Lord died, That
veil was rent from the top to the bottom. And that signified
that the Old Covenant is expired. It's over. It's gone. And now
every believer has free access into the very presence of God. It is expired. And it was ripped from the top
to the bottom to show us this is God's work, not ours. And
notice it was ripped. It was not folded up to be brought
out again at a later date. It was ripped up. It's over.
It is expired. Now, in Revelation, chapter 15,
verse one, it's translated filled up. It is filled up. I love this. What's a fill up?
Well, I fill up my car. I'm always grieved when I do
it for how much it costs me. But you know, every time I fill
it up, I fill it up to where it won't take any more. Even
after it's clicked, I keep going, keep going, keep going, because
I want it to be plumb full to where you can't get another drop
of gas in it. Now, when our Lord said it is
finished, He filled up. Now, here's the scripture that
will give us some light as to what that means. In Colossians
chapter 2, verses 9 and 10, it says, In Him, in the Lord Jesus
Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead in a body, and
you are complete. You are full. Nothing can be
added to you. You are complete in Him. Now,
if Christ died for you, if you're a believer, if you're someone
who rests in Him, listen to me real carefully. You can't get
any more loved of God than you are right now. You can't be loved
any less. You can't get any more accepted
by God than you are right now because your acceptance is in
the Beloved. It's in Christ. You can't get any more holy than
you are right now. You can't get any more justified
than you are right now. You can't get any more blessed
than you are right now in the Beloved. When He said it is finished,
you were filled up. I like to think about this. It
is filled. When he said it is finished,
it is filled, the church was completed. Now the church, understand
this, I, for instance, Harvard Road Grace Church, I want people
to come, I want people to be brought to a knowledge of Christ.
If the Lord makes this work for 10,000 people, that's fine. If
it's five, it's fine too. Whatever the Lord's will is. But the emphasis
people put on church growth, I mean, it's so, that's all people
think about. And I guess they think, well,
that proves we're successful, our church is growing and so on.
And that's not a scriptural attitude to have about church growth.
In reality, The church is filled up. This is a church that never
grows. Now, there's plenty of room for
you, but this church never grows because Christ loved the church
and gave himself for it. It's complete. It was complete.
All of her members were saved when Christ died. It's filled
up. Isn't that a wonderful thought?
It is filled up. Beloved, nothing can be added
to you if you're a believer. There's nothing you can lack.
All that God requires of you, you have in the Lord Jesus Christ
right now. It's not something you're waiting
on. It's something that you have. Now, this word is translated
in Acts 13 49 fulfilled. It is fulfilled, the scriptures
are fulfilled. How many times when you read
the narratives, the different gospel accounts of the death
of Christ, do you read where he did this, that the scripture
might be fulfilled? that the scripture might be fulfilled.
And the first scripture I think of, though, is that first promise
in Genesis 3, right after the fall of our first parents. He
gave this promise, the seed of woman shall bruise the serpent's
head. And when he said it is finished,
it's fulfilled. The seed of woman, the Lord Jesus
Christ has crushed the serpent's head. He's defeated Satan. It
is fulfilled. All the purposes, all the decrees,
all the will of God is fulfilled. I'd like to read you a prophecy
regarding the Messiah that's found in Daniel chapter 9. In
verse 24, this is talking about his coming. 70 weeks are determined
upon thy people and upon the holy city. And those 70 weeks
represents 70 years. It's 7 times 70. It's 490 years. And this was made, actually,
this prophecy in Daniel was made 490 years before the death of
Christ. And here he is telling of it.
Seventy weeks are determined upon the people and upon the
holy city, and here's what the Messiah will do to finish transgression. And He did. He finished it. It's
gone. And to make an end of sins. When
He said it is finished, the sins of everybody He died for were
put away. And to make reconciliation for
iniquity. God has reconciled. He doesn't
have any reason to be mad at me. And to bring in everlasting
righteousness. And that's exactly what He did
when He said it is finished. He brought in everlasting righteousness. His righteousness is given to
every one of His people. He fulfilled all these things. Whatever He came to do, He did. It is finished. Now, this is
interesting. In Matthew chapter 10, verse
23, this word is translated, Go. Now, it's finished. Go to the Father. It's finished. Go to the throne of grace. It's finished. Don't linger. Don't wait for something to happen.
Don't wait until you become better. Don't wait until you quit sinning
this particular sin or start doing that sin or refrain from
that or start doing this good thing. No, don't wait for anything.
Go right now. If you wait for something, all
that is is self-righteousness. That's just trying to make yourself
better. You can't make yourself better. But beloved, it's finished.
It's finished. Come to the Father right now
through the Son, just as I am without one plea, but that thy
blood was shed for me, and that thou bid'st me come to thee.
O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Go right now. It's finished.
It's a green light. The red light's over. It's a
green light. And it's not a yellow light. It's not proceed with
caution. It's a green light. Come directly into the Father's
presence through the Son because it is finished. All you need
to bring you into the Father's presence has been completed.
In Matthew chapter 17, verse 24, the word is translated paid.
It is paid. Jesus paid it all. All the debt I owe. Sin had left
a crimson stain, but he washed it white as snow. Oh, it's paid. That means I don't owe anything.
Have you ever paid off a debt? Isn't that a wonderful feeling?
I remember the first time I borrowed money. I was 16 years old. I
borrowed $600 to buy a Mustang. And I was so proud of that car,
but I remember how proud I was when I paid for it. $600. Oh,
it was a terrible debt, but I felt so free. Anytime you pay a debt,
it's free. Well, what about the debt I owe
to God's law because of my sin? What debt? It's paid. I've been
set free. I don't owe anything but gratitude
to Him. It's all been paid. Quit worrying if you're a believer
as if it hadn't been paid. It has been paid. You owe nothing
because He said it is finished. And then in Luke 2, verse 39,
I love this. It's translated performed. It
is performed. And this word performance, we
all worry about our performance. I want to be a pastor after God's
own heart. I want to do what God has called
me to do. I want to be a true pastor after
God's own heart. I want to perform that duty.
And you want to perform well on your job. You want to perform
well as a spouse, as a parent. We all want to perform. But listen
to this. It's performed. No performance
for me. My performance is His performance. David said, I will cry unto God
and to God Most High who performeth all things for me. Now, it's
performed. Listen to me real carefully.
When Jesus Christ kept the law, I did. And if you want to know
about my performance, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And you
read of the perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
that is my performance. He did it for me. I was in Him
when He did it. That's what baptism signifies.
When I'm baptized, what that signifies is this is my home.
When He lived, I lived. When he died, I died. When he
was raised, I was raised. His life is my life. I don't
try to keep the law, I kept the law. Because when Christ kept
the law, I kept the law too. It is performed. What a gospel, it is finished. What a word, it is accomplished. It is ended. It is expired. It is fulfilled. It is filled
up. It is paid. It is performed. It is finished. There's never been greater word
spoken on this earth. It is finished. Do you hear what he's saying?
It is finished. Believe it is finished. Receive. It is finished. Rest. And it is finished. Nothing to do. If he finished
it, that means there's nothing for you to do. Simply rest in
what he has done. Rejoice in it is finished. Doesn't that make you happy?
It makes me happy. Thank God it is finished. Preach. It is finished. This is the message
this world needs to hear. It is finished. The message of
false religion is go and do. The message of the gospel is
it's done. It's finished. Not a message
of works, not a message of what you need to do, not a message
of what you need to perform. It's done. It's accomplished.
There's nothing to do. It is finished. Now, I realize
somebody's going to listen to this and say, well, he doesn't
care about if it works or how you live or so on. Well, you
can say that if you want. That's not what I mean. I know that's
not what I mean. But the Lord said it is finished. And He meant
exactly what He said. It is finished. I rest in Him. The Lord said, Come unto Me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, And I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart. What a description of the Lord
Jesus. You get around religious people, they're hardly meek and
lowly in heart. They're proud and self-righteous
and you feel uncomfortable around them and you feel like they're
judging you and sizing you up. The Lord's not like that. He
who is holy is meek and lowly in your heart. And he says, come
and learn of me, you'll find rest for your souls. For my yoke
is easy, and my burden is light. Now, is this great or what? It
is finished. And when I go home tonight, I'll
crawl into my bed, weary of my sin, disappointed in myself,
But I can still lay my head on my pillow and know it is finished
and all my sins are put away and I'm complete in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, somebody that doesn't rejoice
in this, you're crazy. This is what to rejoice in. It
is finished. Now, we have this message on
cassette tape, on CD, or DVD. If you call the church email
line, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Knacker, praying
that God will be pleased to make Himself known to you. That's
our prayer. Amen. To request a copy of the
sermon you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.