It Is Finished!

Notes: It Is Finished!

Matthew 27

SPEAKER:

Greg Laurie

MUSICAL GUEST:

Danny Gokey

WORSHIP TEAM:

Harvest Worship Band

SERIES:

God Came Near

Sunday, November 8, 2015 — 10:00 a.m.

God always finishes what He begins.

Philippians 1:6 NKJV

[6] being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

We are looking at the story of the death of Jesus.

Jesus gave 7 significant statements from the cross. The statement and the order was important.

Today we are looking at the statement "It is finished."

Jesus did this so that God could treat us as if we had lived his life. So God treated Jesus as if he lived our lives.

Jesus interceded for us.

When Jesus said "I thirst" this showed us even though Jesus is fully God, he is also fully man.

1 Peter 5:7 NKJV

[7] casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

When you go through pain, you can let it destroy you or you can let it transform you.

Your pain doesn't go away, but you can view it from an eternal perspective.

Thirst has been said that it is the most agonizing of all pain.

Statement 6 is "It is finished"

This is not a shout of a victim being overcome by their circumstances. This is the shout of a victor overcoming their circumstances.

Jesus came to die for the sins of the world, at this point it was performed.

Hebrews 2:14 NKJV

[14] Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

No Christian has to be under the power of sin anymore.

We all sin, but we do not have to live under the power of sin.

Pastor Greg and his wife Cathe have been married for over forty years. If you want to be married for over forty years, the only way to do that is to do it God's way.

In light of "it is finished" we should live that out. God has set us on a track that we should follow.

In Jesus' seven statements he addressed the Father 3 times. In the beginning, the middle and the end.

Matthew 27:51-54 NKJV

[51] Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, [52] and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; [53] and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. [54] So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

1. The veil in the temple was torn.

Originally only the High Priest was able to go to the other side of the veil.

The Lord ripped it from top to bottom.

We now all have direct access to the Lord. No longer did we need anyone to intercede for us. We have direct access to God now.

We have access to the Father through the Son.

Matthew 27:52-53 NKJV

[52] and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; [53] and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Why did this happen? It is sort of a preview of things to come. There will be a bodily resurrection.

Matthew 27:54 NKJV

[54] So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

A Centurion was a man that was a person in leadership. Jesus had moved him.

Luke 23:47 NKJV

[47] So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!"

Through the death of Jesus those who would be enemies, became united.

Ephesians 2:14 NKJV

[14] For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,

Luke 23:48 NKJV

[48] And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.

Isaiah 45:22 NKJV

[22] "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Look and live or look and leave.

Jesus suffered and died for me. Jesus forgives me.

Do you know the God that has died for you?