Thanksgiving - 2026 - I Am Thankful for a God Who Loves Me

 Temple Baptist Church - 10-18-2026

John 3:16; 1 John 4:9-19

 

Introduction: 

A.  As we begin the Thanksgiving Season, I began to reflect on the goodness of God. 

 

1.  I am thankful for so many things that God has given to Barbara and I in this life.  The old song “Count Your Blessing” takes a long time to perform.  God has been good to all of us. 

 

2.  For the next few weeks, I want to reflect on some spiritual things that I am thankful for.  We often say that “God is good all of the time,” and He is.  In good times, in bad times, in uncontrollable circumstances, in times of understanding, and in times when we do not understand—God is still good!

 

B.  John 3:16 has often been called “The Gospel in a Nutshell!”  It is the most familiar and quoted verses in the Bible. Most of us learned this verse as children.

 

C.  One of the most blessed truths found in the Bible is that of the love of God for sinners.  John 3:16 is possibly the most noted and quoted of all verses of scripture and the least comprehended. 

 

1.  When I see the world, I see the sin and sorrow that permeates it.  My heart is saddened by what is taking place in the world and across this great nation this morning.  With the reject of spiritual light, then spiritual darkness always follows.

 

2.  When God sees the world, He sees sinners in need of the Saviour!  As we get closer to Christmas, our hearts should be joyful because of the gift of God gave some 2,000 years ago.

 

D.  One of the most misunderstood of Bible doctrines is the Love of God.  God’s love is not merely an expression of what He does, it is an expression of who He is! God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him!

 

1 John 4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.

 

1.  God the Father’s Love is a Universal Love – 1 Timothy 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 

 

God sent His Son to die for all mankind. There is the misconception that God does not love all of mankind.  We refer to this as Calvinism.  It is damnable heresy!

 

2.  God the Father’s Love is a Limitless Love – 1 John 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 

 

There is no sin for which His Son to die for.

 

E.  To properly cover the love of God would take more than one Sunday Morning message but I do want to tell why I am so thankful that God the Father loves this old sinner.  One of my favorite passages is found in one of my favorite chapters of the Bible:

 

John 1:9-12  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  (10)  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  (11)  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  (12)  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

 

I can type my name here.

 

1.  God the Father’s Love is a Providing Love - John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

 

God the Father knew me before I was conceived and loved me before I came to know Him.

 

2.  God the Father’s Love is a Sacrificial Love – 1 John 4:10  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

God the Father gave His Son to pay for my sin before I even committed it.

 

3.  God the Father’s Love is often Undesired and Rejected - John 1:10-11  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  (11)  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

 

More frequently in today’s society, God is no longer wanted.

 

4.  God the Father’s Love is a Personal love - John 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 

 

God the Father did not just love the world, He loved me!

 

5.  God the Father’s Love is a Transforming Love – 2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

 

God the Father knew what I would become when I was saved.

 

6.  God the Father’s Love is a Thoughtful Love - Psalms 40:17  But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God. 

 

God the Father cares about every aspect of my life.

 

7.  God the Father’s Love is an Unchanging Love - Jeremiah 31:3  The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. 

 

He planned to love me unchangingly throughout eternity.

 

8.  God the Father’s Love is a Correcting Love - Hebrews 12:5-8  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:  (6)  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.  (7)  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?  (8)  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 

 

God the Father made provision for my faults and failures as a child of God before I even failed Him.

 

9.  God the Father’s Love is a Bestowing Love - 1 John 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 

 

God the Father knew that one day I would be like Him!

 

10.  God the Father’s Love is an Influential Love – Romans 1:16-17  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  (17)  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 

 

God the Father knew that I would one day be a witness for Him.

Our Glorious Resurrection

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-3-2026

Matthew 28:1-6; John 14:15-20

 

Introduction: 

A.  This morning, because of its importance, we once again celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, along with our glorious resurrection. 

 

1.  The Resurrection was for the Declaration of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Romans 1:4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

 

2.   The Resurrection was for the Salvation of the Sinner.  Romans 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

 

3.  The Resurrection was for the Justification of the Saints of God.  Romans 4:22-25  And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.  (23)  Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;  (24)  But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;  (25)  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

 

B.  The gospel—the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ—is the blessed hope of the Christian as well as the hope of the world. 

 

1.  It is only through the finished work of Calvary, of which the resurrection is the acceptance of sin’s price paid in full, that we find eternal life and the hope of Heaven.

 

2.  In John 14:15-20, the “Let not your heart be troubled” chapter, our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the blessed hope of both His and our resurrections.

 

John 14:15-20  If ye love me, keep my commandments.  (16)  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;  (17)  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.  (18)  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.  (19)  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.  (20)  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

 

3.  In Romans chapter 6, we find the two resurrections of the believer. 

 

a)  The resurrection of temporal life.  “newness of life.”  The present change of the saved.  Romans 6:3-5  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  (4)  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

 

b)  The resurrection of eternal life.  Romans 6:6   For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

 

C.  Often, we sing the song “Because He Lives!”  Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; because He lives, all fear is gone.  The “Capstone of Christianity” is that there is life beyond this life and that life is eternal.

 

1.  It gives hope to the hopeless.

 

2.  It gives encouragement to the discouraged.

 

3.  It gives light and life to the spiritually blinded.

 

4.  It gives joy unspeakable and full of glory to the downtrodden.

 

5.  It gives peace and joy to the bereaved.

 

6.  It gives comfort to the sick unto death.

 

7.  It gives courage to the oppressed.

 

8.  It gives strength to the weary.

 

9.  It gives victory to the defeated.

 

10.  It gives expectancy to the watcher.

 

D.  One day soon, He is coming back as He said, and we will be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

 

1 Corinthians 15:51-52  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,  (52)  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

 

Revelation 22:20-21  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.  (21)  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

 

“One day He’s coming; Oh glorious day!”

 

E.  The importance of the Resurrection:

 

1.  The Resurrection Gives Us Boldness In Death.

 

Psalms 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  (17)  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  (18)  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

 

Philippians 1:21-23  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  (22)  But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.  (23)  For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

 

2.  The Resurrection Gives Us Confidence In Preaching.

 

Romans 1:4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

 

1 Corinthians 1:18  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

 

3.  The Resurrection Gives Us Comfort In Loss.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14  But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.  (14)  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

 

2 Corinthians 5:6-8  Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:  (7)  (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)  (8)  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

 

4.  The Resurrection Gives Us Assurance In Salvation.

 

John 11:25-26  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  (26)  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

 

1 John 5:10-13  He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.  (11)  And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  (12)  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.  (13)  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

 

5.  The Resurrection Gives Us Hope in Heaven.

 

John 14:1-3  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  (2)  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  (3)  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

 

1 Peter 1:3-5  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  (4)  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,  (5)  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

Conclusion:  The greatest day in the life of the believer will be when he sees Christ.  This is a wicked, troublesome world, and the longer I live, the more I pray with the Apostle John:

 

Revelation 22:20  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

The Precious Blood of Christ

 Temple Baptist Church - 4-19-2026

John 20:15-17

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Last week, I mentioned the two ascensions of Christ.  Throughout all my years of sitting under fundamental preaching, I have never heard verse 17 explained or preached on, and yet it is one of the most important verses in the Bible!

 

B.  In verse 17, we find the resurrected Jesus as a purified High Priest.  So holy that Sinful man could not touch him!  In one verse (There are others, but for time’s sake, I will only mention the following), we find the holiness of our resurrected High Priest.

 

Romans 1:4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

 

C.  The blood of Christ that was shed paid the price for sin once, forever.

 

1.  The Approval of Christ’s sacrifice.

 

Isaiah 53:10-11  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  (11)  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

 

2.  The Acceptance of Christ’s blood, which is now shed, would soon be offered.

 

Hebrews 9:11-12  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;  (12)  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

 

D. Some teach that salvation came through the shedding of blood, the death of Christ. 

 

1.  Some of these teach that the blood of Christ ran into the ground and perished.  This is a cardinal theological error!

 

1 Corinthians 11:24-25  And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.  (25)  After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

 

1 Peter 1:18-19  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;  (19)  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:  (20)  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

 

2.  The Blood of Christ HAD to be applied; else His death-burial-resurrection would have been in vain.  These men try to separate the shedding of Christ's blood from its application.

 

3.  This false teaching concerning the lack of importance of the application of Christ’s blood destroys the Old Testament type.  The High Priest’s work was not done on the day of atonement, when the paschal lamb was slain, until that blood was applied to the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies!

 

4.  The Book of Hebrews explains the application of the blood clearly.

 

Hebrews 9:6-7  Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.  (7)  But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

 

E.  Having said these things, we find the work of Christ finished by our High Priest. 

 

John 20:15-18  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.  (16)  Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.  (17)  Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.  (18)  Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

 

1.  In verse 17, I do not doubt that Mary Magdalene, who loved her Lord so much, tried to touch Him by either falling at His feet or hugging His neck.  These were expressions of love.  She was not allowed to touch Christ. 

 

2.  The Old Testament priest was washed and clothed at the Laver.  Then, as a purified high priest, he took the censor, got burning coals off the bronze altar, went into the holy place, placed incense on the hot coals, then, blood in hand, went in through the veil and applied the blood of the sacrifice to the mercy seat above the ark of the covenant.

 

F.  Both of Christ’s ascensions were of great importance.

 

1.  The First Ascension:  As our High Priest, the Priestly work had to be done, and only Christ Jesus could do it.

 

a)  From a purified High Priest who could not be touched - John 20:17  Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

 

Hebrews 9:11-12  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;  (12)  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

 

Hebrews 9:24-26  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:  (25)  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;  (26)  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

 

b)  To a merciful High Priest who can be touched.  Hallelujah!  John 20:27  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

 

Matthew 28:9  And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

 

Hebrews 4:15-16  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  (16)  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

 

2.  The Second Ascension:  At the end of His appearance here on earth after the resurrection, Christ Jesus ascended back to heaven as our High Priest representing us to God, as our Intercessor making intercession for us to God, and as our Advocate speaking to God for us.  Thus, the promise (John 14) that, if He went away, He would come again as King of kings and Lord of lords for His children.

 

Acts 1:9-11  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.  (10)  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;  (11)  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

 

Hebrews 8:1-2  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;  (2)  A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

 

G.  The Blood had to be applied.  Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

 

(People continue to look for the Ark of the Covenant but cannot find it because it is now in heaven’s Temple.)  Revelation 11:19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

 

H.  Our sin had to be atoned.  The only mention of “atonement” is in the New Testament, as well as the last mention of “atonement” found in the bible.

 

Romans 5:9-11  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.  (10)  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.  (11)  And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. 

 

Atonement – restoration to reconciliation.

 

J.  The Blood must then be Available.  Christ’s blood was shed and applied for the redemption of all mankind, from Adam to the last person who will ever live.  The Blood of Christ is AVAILABLE to all.

 

1 Peter 1:20-21  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (21)  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.  (22)  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:  (23)  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.  (24)  For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:  (25)  But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

 

K.  The Blood makes eternal life assured.  It will always be there on the Mercy Seat.  An eternal blood brings about an eternal salvation.

 

Hebrews 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

 

1.  The Price of The Blood – Acts 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

 

2.  The Purity of The Blood – Matthew 27:4  Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

3.  The Purpose of The Blood – Colossians 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

 

4.  The Product of The Blood – Ephesians 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

 

5.  The Preciousness of The Blood – Hebrews 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

 

Revelation 1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

 

6.  The Preeminence of The Blood – Hebrews 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

 

7.  The Permanence of The Blood – Hebrews 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

 

8.  The Power of The Blood – Romans 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

 

9.  The Pardoning of The Blood – Romans 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

 

10.  The Preaching of The Blood – 1 Corinthians 1:21  For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

7 Sayings of the Cross – Part 6 - It Is Finished

Temple Baptist Church - 3-29-2026

John 19:28-37

 

Introduction:

 

John 19:30  “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”  Ghost – pneuma – breath.  (As every human who dies, the spirit leaves the body at the instant of death, thus did the Son of Man.)

 

Genesis 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

 

Ecclesiastes 12:7  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

 

Jesus, the man, died; God, the Son, did not die. 

 

A.  Thus far, we have seen:

 

1.  Calvary’s Pardon as Jesus Christ cried out for the forgiveness of Herod, the king of Galilee, Pilate was the Roman governor in Judea, the Roman soldiers who drove the nails into His hands and feet carried out the brutal torture, to the Jews who planned it, and for all the human race who are responsible for His crucifixion.  “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do!”

 

2.  Calvary’s Promise as Jesus Christ responded to the penitent cry of a dying thief.  To the thief, He promised, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise,” thus giving hope to all who put their faith in Him.

 

3.  Calvary’s Provision as Jesus Christ placed His loving mother into the hands of John the beloved.  “Woman, behold thy son…Behold thy mother.”  Dying, our Lord entrusted His earthly family to His earthly church.

 

4.  Calvary’s Price as our Lord became sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him!  “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  Because Jesus Christ literally became sin for us that we might one day live forever with Him.

 

5.  Calvary’s Pain, as Jesus Christ’s voice was heard once more.  “I thirst.”  He suffered as no man has ever suffered, and His suffering was for our sins.

 

6.  This morning, we came to Calvary’s Purpose.  “It is finished!” 

 

In 1921, Jennie Evelyn Hussey wrote the hymn “Lead Me To Calvary. It starts out:

“King of my life I crown Thee now— Thine shall Thy glory be;

Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow, Lead me to Calvary.

“Lest I forget Gethsemane; Lest I forget Thine agony;

Lest I forget thy love for me, Lead me to Calvary.”

 

B.  Here we find words of finality!  Years ago, I heard Dr. James Crumpton preach on this subject and remember well his emphasis on the Greek word used here: “teleo.”  The last stroke of the artist’s paintbrush!

 

C.  Jesus Christ, Jehovah God incarnate, came to die for the sins of the world.  He came to finish the work that the Father gave Him to do.  In the phrase “it is finished,” we find accomplishment.  His life: His work finished and summed up in one short phrase.

 

1.  Calvary, where redemption’s price was paid.

 

2.  Calvary, where the Just became the Justifier.

 

3.  Calvary, where the Innocent took the place of the guilty.

 

4.  Calvary, where the blood shed covers my sin, my guilt, and my shame.

 

5.  Calvary, where God’s mercy is great, and His grace is free.

 

6.  Calvary, where the burdened soul finds true liberty!

 

D.  This morning, we find not a distressed voice, not a cry of defeat, BUT a clarion cry of victory! “IT IS FINISHED!”

 

E.  As I thought on this sixth saying from the cross, I pondered on just what Jesus Christ had finished.  I hope and pray that these will be a blessing to you as they were to me.

 

1.  In “It Is Finished,” we find the Word of God Verified. – Genesis 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

 

John 19:28  After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.  (There were hundreds of prophecies written concerning Jesus Christ and He fulfilled every prophecy, every promise, every “jot and tittle” perfectly and completely!  God’s Word can be depended upon not only in the performance of this life but also the expectation of the life to come.  Jesus Christ left nothing undone!)

 

2.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Work of Propitiation Finished – John 4:34  Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 

 

John 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.  (At Calvary, we find the finishing of 4,000 years of sacrifices!  Millions and millions of lambs had died while awaiting the death of THE Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.  Mankind had long awaited Messiah’s coming and we look back to His coming in wonder and amazement.  When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He was saying that the substitutionary work on the cross for us had been accomplished.)

 

Peter said, in I Peter 3:18, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”  (Jesus Christ became the “scapegoat” for you and me.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, for taking my place and dying for my sins!)

 

3.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Way of Salvation Established – John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

Proverbs 16:25  There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

 

1 Corinthians 1:17-18  For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.  (18)  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.  (Man can teach and preach anything that he chooses but it does not change the fact that salvation is through Jesus Christ and Him alone!  Not a church, not a denomination, not a movement, not a baptism, not a sacrament, not a dogma, and not an individual theology—but the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Man can go his own way but he will not go to heaven until he comes God’s way!)

 

4.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Wages of Sin Paid In Full – Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ezekiel 18:20a  The soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Jesus Christ became the “Sinner’s Substitute.”  Our sin separated us from a holy God and Jesus Christ, our Propitiation, reconciled us back to Him through the finished work of Calvary.)

2 Corinthians 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Hebrews 9:26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.  (The cross upon which Jesus died was an “altar” and He was the “sacrifice.”)

 

5.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Lost of the World Condemned – John 3:16-18  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  (17)  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  (18)   He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

 

1 John 5:10  He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

 

John 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  (As Christ suffered for us as no man ever suffered, so the sinner who rejects Christ will one day suffer for all of eternity!)

 

6.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Works of The Devil Destroyed – 1 John 3:8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

 

Revelation 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.  (God will destroy Satan’s position, his purpose, his power, his people, and ultimately his person.  Because of Calvary, one day there will be no more Satan!)

 

7.  In “It Is Finished,” We Find the Wealth of Eternity Secured – Revelation 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;  (Because of the finished work of Christ on Calvary, one day we that are saved will be “finally home!)

 

Conclusion:  I said all that to say this: “It is finished” for me this morning.  My sin is gone and my eternity secured.  Earth is my “hell,” and I am thoroughly enjoying it!  Heaven is my eternal home, and I am looking forward to it!  Even so come, Lord Jesus!