0:02

Access more. Hey

0:06

there, I'm Christine, and I'm so excited to

0:08

welcome you to the equipment in power podcast.

0:11

Now my prayer is that our time

0:13

together each week encourages you, awakens you

0:15

to the purposes of God in your

0:18

life, and activates you to follow Jesus

0:20

wholeheartedly as you live on mission for

0:22

him. Hey

0:26

podcast listeners. If you have ever

0:28

found yourself wanting to give up, you're going to want

0:30

to hear what we're about to share with you. Christine

0:33

has put together a list of 10 of

0:35

her favorite scriptures to encourage you

0:38

to keep going when you just

0:40

want to quit. Go

0:42

to christinecane.com/don't quit to get your

0:44

copy so that you'll have encouragement

0:46

ready for the next time you're

0:48

finding it hard to keep believing

0:50

that the best is yet to

0:52

come. Now let's dive in

0:54

to today's message. I

1:02

am so grateful that you have joined

1:04

us today and I truly believe that

1:06

God has a word for you that

1:08

can literally change your life. Now when

1:10

I say a word, I

1:13

literally mean a word. We're

1:15

going to focus on one specific

1:17

word that changed everything

1:20

for everyone truly for all

1:22

of eternity. We're going to

1:24

turn to the gospel of John chapter 19 verses

1:26

28 to 30. Here

1:30

in the scripture it says, after

1:32

this, when Jesus knew

1:34

that everything was now finished,

1:37

that the scripture might be fulfilled, he

1:39

said, I'm thirsty. A

1:42

jar full of sour wine was sitting there.

1:45

They fixed a sponge full of sour

1:47

wine on a hyssop branch and

1:50

held it up to his mouth. When

1:52

Jesus had received the sour wine, he said,

1:54

it is finished. Then

1:57

bowing his head, he gave up. Spirit.

2:01

You know, of course these verses

2:03

are talking about the crucifixion of Jesus

2:06

and we're gonna focus on the

2:08

last word that Jesus spoke before

2:11

dying and I'm talking about a

2:13

word. You see in our

2:15

English versions in the Bible it's actually three

2:17

words it says it is

2:19

finished. It's Jesus's

2:21

last teaching before he

2:24

dies. The last thing

2:26

that he has got to say

2:28

before he dies. Now in Greek

2:31

it's one word and that word

2:34

is tetelestai. It means

2:36

that all has now

2:38

been completed. At the

2:40

cross Jesus completed his work. At

2:43

the cross Jesus finished what he

2:45

set out to do. When

2:48

Jesus said it is finished he meant

2:50

that he had fulfilled the Old Testament

2:52

prophecies that pointed to him. He also

2:54

meant that he had completed the work

2:56

that God the Father had sent him

2:58

to do here on earth of

3:01

offering his life as a sacrifice for

3:03

our sins. The crucifixion of

3:05

Jesus Christ was unjust,

3:08

it was unfair, it

3:10

was brutal and so painful

3:12

and barbaric actually.

3:15

Maybe you've seen the movie The Passion

3:17

of the Christ. Now it's gut-wrenching to

3:20

think of all that Jesus

3:22

endured to pay the price

3:24

for our sins and the sins

3:27

of the whole world. On the

3:29

cross on that day he

3:31

uttered seven things

3:33

and I want to focus on the sixth

3:36

thing he said. Possibly the most powerful word

3:38

ever uttered actually in all of history. On

3:41

a garbage dump between two thieves

3:43

Jesus said it is finished. Now

3:46

it's important to understand that Jesus

3:49

didn't say I am

3:51

finished. He said it

3:54

is finished. This was actually a

3:56

victory shout. It was not any kind of

3:59

like admission of defeat. When

4:01

Jesus said it is finished, He was saying

4:03

everything I set out to do, I did

4:06

it. I fulfilled my purpose.

4:08

Everything I came to do for

4:10

you I did. I've done the

4:12

will of the Father. It's

4:15

completed. He said in John chapter 10

4:17

verse 18, I laid down my

4:19

life. No one takes it from

4:21

me. And in John 17 4, I have done the

4:23

work you have

4:26

given me to do. It's

4:28

important to know that at the cross

4:30

Jesus finished His work. He

4:32

fulfilled Old Testament prophecy and He

4:34

completed the plan of redemption. At

4:37

the cross our debt was

4:40

paid in full. Tetelestai. Now

4:43

I mentioned this was possibly the most powerful

4:45

word ever uttered and I

4:47

do mean word. It takes three

4:49

English words to say it. Jesus

4:51

spoke in His native dialect just

4:54

one word, tetelestai. Now this

4:56

word is Greek and you

4:58

know I love all things Greek. So in

5:00

the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, if

5:02

you've seen it you might remember Mr. Portokalis

5:04

believed every word had a Greek origin. Can

5:07

I just tell you my parents were the same. He

5:09

said give me a word, any word,

5:11

and I show you how the root

5:13

of that word is Greek. This

5:16

one word is a game-changing

5:19

word, tetelestai.

5:22

This one word it actually redefines and

5:25

reshapes and reinvigorates everything.

5:27

You know Charles

5:29

Spurgeon, the great preacher, he

5:32

said this and I love this quote, he

5:34

said an ocean of meaning in

5:36

a drop of language. A

5:38

mere drop for that is all we

5:40

can call one word, tetelestai.

5:44

Yet it would need all the

5:47

other words that were ever spoken

5:49

or ever can be spoken to

5:51

explain this one word. It

5:54

is all together immeasurable.

5:57

Finished. It was a conqueror's

5:59

creed. It was uttered with

6:01

a loud voice. There is

6:03

nothing of anguish about it. There

6:05

is no waiting in it. It

6:07

is the cry of one who

6:10

has completed a tremendous labour and

6:12

is about to die. And before

6:14

he utters his death prayer, Father,

6:17

into your hands I commit my spirit. He

6:20

shouts his life's last hymn

6:23

in that one word to tell us

6:25

I. I am

6:28

talking about the cross

6:30

today because the cross

6:32

is the most powerful point in

6:34

history. It is the place where all

6:37

the forces of hell and sin

6:39

were conquered. It's the place

6:41

where there is total forgiveness that's

6:43

available for everyone. It's

6:46

the place where Satan was defeated

6:48

and sin was conquered. It's the

6:50

place where our debt was paid

6:52

in full. It's the

6:55

place where salvation and healing and

6:57

freedom and life and peace and

6:59

joy and hope have all been

7:01

won. Because Jesus Christ said

7:04

to tell us to die, it

7:06

is finished. It means that

7:09

we're not finished. His

7:11

last breath was basically

7:13

our first. Where

7:16

his life ended, our

7:18

life begins. When

7:20

he died, we came to

7:22

life. Because it

7:24

is finished, you and I can

7:27

have forgiveness for our past, a

7:30

brand new life today and

7:33

a hope for the future. Do

7:36

you ever wonder what

7:38

it is? Because it

7:40

seems to be that all of us

7:43

are chasing that elusive kind of it.

7:45

Jesus said it is finished. We

7:48

think that if we could just get

7:50

it, we would be happy. The

7:53

it, I don't know what it might be in your life. It

7:55

might be a partner or a

7:57

promotion or a career. maybe

8:00

a house or some kind

8:02

of vacation or a car or a degree.

8:05

You know, maybe you want to win the lottery or, you

8:08

know, get a big break or land some

8:10

kind of deal. Or it could be a

8:12

myriad of things. We're all

8:14

chasing it. It seems like everywhere you

8:16

go, someone's chasing it or,

8:18

or they're longing for it or

8:20

man on social media, everyone's arguing

8:22

about it. And often we

8:24

settle for less than it, but more often than

8:27

not, we're not even really sure what is the

8:29

it. What is the it? How

8:31

many degrees do I need? How many promotions

8:33

do I need? How many houses? What is

8:36

it? What is it that I'm looking for?

8:38

Well, in this moment on the cross, Jesus

8:40

settles it once and for all. This

8:43

is what was finished at the cross because

8:46

it's so important that you and

8:48

I understand because when we understand

8:51

to tell us that it is

8:53

finished, when we understand what that

8:55

really means, you and I will

8:57

stop seeking it because it is

9:00

finished. Well, the first thing that was finished

9:03

is the sacrificial system. The

9:05

sacrificial system is finished in Matthew chapter

9:07

five, verse 17. Jesus

9:10

said, don't think that I came to

9:12

abolish the law or the prophets.

9:15

I didn't come to abolish, but to

9:17

fulfill. Jesus fulfilled

9:19

the law and the prophets

9:22

when he said to tell us that this is so

9:24

important. Religion was

9:27

done. The religious

9:29

system was over. When

9:31

Jesus gave himself on the cross,

9:34

he met fully, holy, completely

9:36

the righteous demands of the

9:39

law. He paid our debts

9:41

in full. There is nothing

9:43

that you or I can do

9:46

in our own strength to get

9:48

right with God. We can never

9:50

make ourselves right enough. Jesus Christ

9:52

did it all. The sacrificial

9:54

system of the Old Testament, it

9:57

is finished. It is done. After.

10:00

Passover, the people would

10:03

celebrate every year by bringing

10:05

an unblemished Lamb to the

10:07

temple and they brought

10:09

the unblemished Lamb to the temple to

10:12

be sacrificed. Now in this way, the

10:14

Jewish people would have their sins atoned

10:16

for a whole other year. Now

10:19

Jesus died during the Passover.

10:22

He himself was the Passover

10:24

Lamb that took upon himself

10:26

the sins of the world.

10:29

In 1 John chapter 2 verse 2

10:31

we read, he himself is the atoning

10:33

sacrifice for our sins and not only

10:35

for ours, but also for

10:38

those of the whole world. John

10:40

the Baptist said in John chapter

10:42

1 verse 29, the next

10:44

day John saw Jesus coming toward him

10:46

and said, look, the

10:48

Lamb of God who takes away

10:50

the sin of the world. When

10:53

Jesus died on the cross, the Lamb was

10:56

slain. The veil was

10:58

torn. Redemption is finished.

11:00

It was paid in

11:02

full. The sacrificial system

11:05

was good, but it

11:07

was pointing to a Saviour, to

11:09

Jesus. Now the Saviour had

11:11

come and it was done.

11:14

Jesus completed the work required to bring

11:16

us back into relationship with God. I

11:18

want you to hear this because

11:21

you are trying to make yourself good

11:23

enough to come to God. You are

11:25

trying to clean yourself up to come

11:27

to God. Others of you, you think

11:29

you can never come to God because

11:31

you're too tarnished, you're too blemished, you

11:33

have failed, you have sinned. There is

11:35

no way you can come to God,

11:37

but I want you to understand you

11:39

cannot work your way to heaven. How

11:42

can anything that you or I do

11:45

ever, ever surpass

11:48

the perfect finished work of

11:51

Jesus Christ on the cross? You

11:54

and I, we can't complete a

11:56

completed work. Jesus finished it. It

11:59

doesn't matter. No matter how much you try

12:01

to clean yourself up, how many good

12:04

works you try to do, how faithful

12:06

you try to stay, none of us

12:08

can finish what Jesus finished. You can't

12:10

complete a completed work. Christ

12:13

paid completely and

12:16

Christ paid perfectly for

12:18

yours and my total forgiveness,

12:21

our total righteousness and every

12:23

blessing. It's not our

12:25

work. There is nothing that we

12:28

can do to earn our salvation.

12:30

It is Christ's finished work. It's

12:32

Jesus's finished work on the cross.

12:35

You know, this whole

12:37

Christian deal of following Jesus and

12:39

Christian living, it's not about doing,

12:42

but it's about believing in

12:44

His finished work. It's

12:47

not ultimately about how much can I

12:49

do for Jesus, but what is it

12:51

that Jesus has already done for us?

12:54

I have to tell you that it's good

12:57

news for somebody like me. I

12:59

grew up in a system, a religious system,

13:02

where we were always trying to

13:04

do enough good things to

13:06

get God to love us. Maybe you're

13:09

in a part of the world or you've

13:11

grown up in a religious culture where you

13:13

understand exactly what I'm talking about. You just

13:15

somehow, if I could just be good enough

13:17

for God to love me. But

13:19

you know what I discovered? I was

13:21

never good enough. There was nothing that

13:23

I could do, no matter how hard

13:25

I tried. I just kept failing.

13:28

I just kept failing. It

13:30

was exhausting. It was

13:32

debilitating actually and depleting. And

13:35

then I remember when I heard the good news that

13:38

Jesus Christ paid it

13:40

all. And I

13:42

could rest in the finished work of Jesus

13:44

on the cross. Can

13:46

I tell you, it changed the entire

13:49

nature of my relationship with

13:51

God. My whole relationship with

13:53

God went from a works-based,

13:57

trying to earn God's approval.

14:00

Trying to be good enough for God,

14:02

trying to be holy enough, trying to

14:04

be lovable. It went from that to

14:07

a whole different relationship that

14:10

was predicated on love

14:12

and trust. How

14:14

could I not surrender my life

14:17

and obey the one who gave his life

14:19

for me? I started

14:22

to learn that I could do it and

14:24

I could follow Jesus and I could obey

14:26

the laws of God, not

14:28

out of some fear-based

14:31

obligation, but

14:33

I could do it from a place

14:36

of love and acceptance and approval. So

14:39

I don't follow Jesus for God's

14:42

approval, but from knowing I've already

14:44

got his approval. I

14:46

don't do the things that I do

14:49

for God's love. It's not like, oh

14:51

man, if I could just run an anti-trafficking organization

14:53

and start a women's movement and preach around the

14:55

world and do it, then God will love me.

14:57

No, no, no, it's because I know God does

14:59

love me. It's from that

15:02

place of love that I can

15:04

do what God's called me to do. I

15:06

don't do it so that God will accept

15:08

me, but I

15:10

do it from a place of

15:12

acceptance. I hope that's

15:14

as liberating for you as it

15:17

is for me. There is

15:19

nothing you can do to add

15:21

to the finished work of Jesus

15:23

Christ on the cross. He said,

15:25

to tell us, the sacrificial system,

15:27

it's finished. You can't work your

15:29

way to heaven. There is none

15:31

righteous, not one, for all have

15:34

sinned and fallen short of the

15:36

glory of God and the wages

15:38

of sin is death. But here

15:40

is the good news. The free

15:42

gift of God is eternal life

15:44

in Christ Jesus. Jesus himself, the

15:46

Passover lamb, became the ultimate sacrifice

15:48

for our sins. You think, Chris, I have

15:50

said so many things wrong. I have done

15:53

so many things wrong. I have thought so

15:55

many things wrong. Chris, my life is a

15:57

mess and I'm a failure. I'm here to

15:59

help you. Let us tell you Jesus

16:01

Christ died for you. He died

16:04

for your sins and he died

16:06

for my sins. There is nothing we

16:08

can do to add to his finished

16:10

work. We are saved by grace through

16:13

faith in Jesus Christ. His

16:15

work is finished. He

16:17

did the finished work to tell us that

16:20

there is nothing I can do to add

16:23

to what Jesus already did. The

16:25

only thing I do in response to that is

16:28

receive the forgiveness of

16:30

God, receive the mercy of

16:33

God, receive the

16:35

love of God, receive the acceptance of

16:37

God. And I wonder if you would

16:39

do that today. Instead of

16:41

running from God that you would come

16:43

home to God, that you would stop

16:46

trying to earn your way into heaven,

16:48

thinking if I just do enough good

16:50

deeds, if I just think enough good

16:52

thoughts, if I just achieve enough good

16:55

achievements, you can't achieve your way into

16:57

heaven, you can't think your way into

16:59

heaven, you can't work your way into

17:02

heaven. You receive the forgiveness of God,

17:04

you receive the love of God,

17:06

you receive the finished work of

17:08

Jesus Christ on the cross. He

17:10

said, it is finished.

17:13

If you've come from a religious system

17:15

where you kept working and trying and

17:17

you feel like a failure and you're

17:19

full of shame and guilt and condemnation,

17:21

I know what that is like. I

17:23

lived like that for so long, thinking

17:25

I'm just not good enough. God just

17:28

trying to earn the grace of God,

17:30

you've already got it. Trying

17:32

to earn the forgiveness of God, you've

17:35

already got it. Tell

17:37

us that it is

17:39

finished. The sacrificial system

17:41

is finished. Jesus became

17:43

the Passover lamb who

17:45

took away the sins

17:47

of the world. So what do you do, receive? And

17:50

receiving is one of the hardest things to do. A

17:53

lot of us were wired up. We would feel better about

17:55

it if we could just work our way to heaven. God

17:58

could just give us, could you give me 10. things

18:00

to do, God. I wanna check them up. I

18:02

wanna tick them off. But then we would have

18:04

something to do with it. And we

18:06

have nothing to do with it. Jesus did it all.

18:09

You want some kind of credit yourself. You

18:11

think, man, no, no. And you

18:14

just cannot receive a free gift,

18:16

a free gift of God. His

18:18

eternal life in Christ Jesus, it's a

18:21

free gift. Now it costs him everything,

18:23

his whole life. But he's

18:25

giving it to us for free. No

18:28

strings attached. No strings attached.

18:30

You don't have to secretly do all

18:32

this stuff in order to do, you just

18:34

receive. For some of you, that's the

18:36

hardest thing because

18:38

you've never gotten anything from

18:41

anybody with no strings attached. People

18:44

promised you things and betrayed you and hurt you.

18:47

Didn't follow through on their word. But

18:49

I want you to know your God's not like that. God

18:52

is light and in him, there is no darkness. There

18:55

is no dark side. There is no secret

18:57

little catch. Jesus

19:00

Christ paid it all to

19:02

tell us that it is finished. The work

19:04

is finished. You can't earn

19:06

your way into heaven. You receive the

19:09

grace of God. For

19:11

those that are just so used to earning

19:14

your way into stuff, one

19:16

of the hardest things you're ever gonna do is surrender

19:19

and receive the free gift of God, which

19:22

is eternal life in Christ Jesus.

19:24

I wonder today if you would do that, if you

19:26

would open up your heart and your life to

19:29

receive salvation

19:32

from Jesus Christ. Only Jesus Christ can

19:34

give us forgiveness for our past, a

19:37

brand new start today and

19:39

a hope for the future. You were created by God

19:42

for a relationship with God and it's Jesus that

19:44

connects us to God and it's

19:46

Jesus that connects us to the grace

19:48

of God. He paid it all.

19:51

What did you receive? The free gift of

19:53

salvation in Jesus name. We

20:00

hope the message has encouraged you. If

20:02

you haven't already, subscribe to the podcast so

20:04

you don't miss an episode. For

20:07

links and more,

20:09

head to christinecane.com/podcast.

20:12

We hope to see you again next week,

20:14

right here for another episode of Equipped and

20:17

Impaled. Thanks

20:32

for listening today. We hope the message

20:34

has encouraged you. If you haven't

20:36

already, subscribe to the podcast so you don't

20:38

miss an episode. For

20:40

links and more,

20:43

head to christinecane.com/podcast.

20:46

We hope to see you again next week,

20:48

right here for another episode of Equipped and

20:50

Impaled.