"It is Finished" || Pastor Adam Mesa

Welcome to the ALC Podcast. Here at ALC, we seek the loss,

teach the found, and send the disciples. We truly hope you're encouraged by

this week's message. With a few moments I have with you all, I'd

love to share about this Good Friday that can bring us closer to the Cross,

this moment, not just to Peter's denial, but what this day really

means for many of you guys. You've may have celebrated this day for years.

You may have grown up in church and every Good Friday you've been in

church and you've celebrated it. There may be others in this room that this

is your first Good Friday experience you've ever had in your life. No matter

where your faith, we will see what God has spoken to us thousands of

years ago is still real today. And so if you join me in John

chapter nineteen, I'm gonna read a little bit of verse for us today.

To understand the last moments of Jesus on the Cross. We could spend an

entire year you're just studying Holy Week. It would be really easy to take

a year and just study eight days. But for the sake of time,

as we look at the moments that Jesus has where his last breath is on

the horizon. That's where we'll read in John chapter nineteen, starting in verse

twenty eight. And if you don't have your Bible with you, I'll have

it up on the screens. We can follow along. But if you have

your bible, you could turn to John chapter seventeen. And would you still

do me the honor? And could we stand in honor of God's word today

as we read with one another, And we'll read about ten verses together.

Here's what it says in John chapter nineteen. It says after this, Jesus,

knowing all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst

a jar full of sour wine stood there. So they put a sponge full

of the sour wine on a hiss up branch and held it to his mouth.

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished,

and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since the day

of preparation, and so the bodies would not remain on the cross on the

Sabbath, For Sabbath was a high day. The Jews ask Pilot that their

legs be broken, and that they may be taken away. So the soldiers

came and broke the legs of the first and of those who had been crucified

with him. Well, why if they were faking their death and took them

down, they could have run away, And so breaking their legs doesn't let

them go anywhere now. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he

was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the

soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood

and water. He who saw has borne witness. His testimony is true,

and he knows that he's telling the truth. That you may also believe.

For these things took place, that scripture might be fulfilled. Not one of

his bones will be broken. And again another scripture says they will look on

him who they have pierced, You may be seated. The great ts Eliot

said this, He said, the dripping of blood is our only drink.

The bloody flesh of Jesus is our only food. In spite of what we

may think that we are sound substantial flesh and blood. Again, in spite

of that, we call this Friday good. Today is his good. Friday

is meant for you and I that we fully rely on the work of Calvary,

the work of the Cross, for all of our substance, for everything

that we need in life, for everything that we trust and hold. Dear

Jesus holds it on the cross. It's in his sacrifice that we find freedom.

It's in his sacric that we find true peace. Because he died,

and we know in a few days we will celebrate that the death was not

all. But until that moment, for many of the disciples, most of

them thought this was the end of their story. This was the end of

a three year journey. I want to share with you for a few moments.

I don't know if you've ever thought about this before, but have you

ever thought and noticed that truly it's one word that can really change your life.

Oftentimes, when we think of life changing moments, life changing experiences,

we often think that it's long drawn out moments. Right. We think of

long moments like, okay, when college is over, it's because I spent

four years of all of this studying. Many times we'll look to great speeches

or sermons or politicians to do something incredible over four years and eight years.

But what we really think about it. It's really through one word that we

see life as usually altered. If you don't believe me, this word,

when it's spoken, will change your life. If someone ever says, will

you marry me? It's just one phrase, but it's pretty life changing.

Right. Staying in that same theme, when someone at the altar says I

do, it's pretty life changing, right most people. Some people spend a

year, two three years planning a wedding, all for that one moment to

say I do. Just to say one word, tens of thousands of dollars

is spent to hear two people say one phrase I do. But it changes

things in the same way when you were first dating your spouse, if you're

married, or maybe you've dated someone before and the first time the word I

love you was said, means a lot. I know when I told my

wife when we were dating, I love you, it took her three months

to say it back. So I remember that day vividly because when I first

said it, she said uh huh. And then finally when she said it

back, I said, oh, now we can move forward. Everything for

those ninety days felt like it was on pause until I heard her say it

back. Said, what word just one little word. We often demean the

value of one word. Maybe you've heard this before you're hired. Wow,

some I've been believing for a prayer, and maybe in that same sentence you

met with HR and maybe some of you have been blessed enough to hear with

this job comes full medical coverage. Wow. Matter of fact, how full

is this coverage you got's got a paper that full medical? Or maybe you've

gone out to lunch with someone and by the end they said, hey,

lunch is on me. I would have ordered completely different if I knew that

on the front end. Or maybe you've been at the checkout counter at a

store and then someone rings it up and they go, hmm, your item

happens to be half off. Oh my goodness, I gotta go back and

look at I gotta do a circle one more time changes everything. Or maybe

you've been with your spouse before and believing God, and you've heard your wife

come in and she says I'm pregnant. For most some said oh, some

said yay, sees, I can see where your walk has been with Jesus.

For future reference, you say yay at that point, Okay, that's

what that happens. But Let's take a turn at other words that maybe don't

mean so much, but it's still life changing. How about sitting down with

someone they say we need to talk. Oh man, dating someone, they

say, it's not you, it's me. If you grew up and your

parents said, I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed. Ah man, you

have to go and say that sitting with someone. How about your fired man?

How about your being evicted? How about hey, man, I can't

pay you back? After all? It's man, things are really about to

change between you and I, A real fat, one word, one phrase

about to change our whole relationship. What about this this sickness is terminal?

What about? Lastly, hey, I want a divorce. I want to

share with you that the words of Jesus mattered when he said it is finished.

That one phrase, that one phrase. So many people hear it,

so many people see it. We just read it in the scripture, and

so many of us will look at the when Jesus is beaten, will look

at how he has bled, will look how they put a crown of thorns

on his head. We'll look at everything. And then we just read him

say, out of his own words, it is finished. And we just

go, Okay, it's nice. What's finished. I don't know. I

think the Cross has finished time. No, no, no. When he

said it is finished, he said the work of salvation, the work of

the Cross, this journey that God has been taking humanity, it is finished.

That one phrase matters. It matters, and it changes our life.

And the one phrase Peter spoke matters because it can often be you and I

as we live life. That phrase that when three people recognize them Peter said,

I don't know him. That phrase mattered because not only was that Peter

that spoke that that day, that's you and I out on the field,

when someone's hurting, when someone's in pain, when someone needs forgiveness, when

someone needs mercy, and by the very actions that we represent the goodness of

God, it can say either we know him or we can reflect Peter in

those moments and say I don't know him. The Cross was sufficient for me,

but it's not sufficient for you. And so we have to recognize that

by God's word, in Jesus's phrase, it is finished. May it's finished,

and you got to remind yourself often the work of Calvary, it finished

some things, It finished everything that humanity needed to be brought into relationship with

God. It was God's plan that was done. One word, one phrase,

all of Jesus's ministry, summed up in a few simple words. It's

finished something you and I can hold dear this good Friday, and I want

to encourage you in the future. Church Revelations twelve eleven says this. This

is the beauty of Jesus and his one day will be in heaven with Christ.

Revelations twelve eleven says this, and they have conquered him by the blood

of the Lamb, the blood of Jesus. What this moment right here the

finished work, It says, day, who you and I we can conquer

Satan, We can conquer death. Why by the blood of the Lamb,

and why else by the word of your testimony, your testimony. Will you

make the phrase it is finished personal to give you a testimony because you can

conquer Satan and death by what the blood of Jesus and making the work of

cross your testimony It says we conquer Satan by Jesus's work, and also that

you ascribe it to your life. So many people live in parallel realities and

parallel lives. Where we recognize Jesus's work because we put a cross around our

neck or we make the sign of a cross. We recognize that aspect,

but we've never allowed it to be a testimony in our life. So we

walk almost like in a freeway where you have one car in one area and

one car in another area. When a car drives by and it's nice,

guess what, it's not your car. So you could admire it all day,

you could look at it all day, you could inspect it all day.

But until the keys are yours, all you're doing is admiring it.

Until Jesus's work becomes ours and we receive him, all we're doing with the

cross is admiring it. But the work of the cross was meant to make

it personal, to make it ours, and for God to give you a

testimony. How does God win battles in life. It's very easy understand that

the blood of Jesus is yours, and God has a story to tell in

your life with this work. It's meant to make it personal for us.

But so many times, the gruesome work of the cross, we want everything

when it comes to Jesus, except this work. We want resurrection Sunday Jesus.

I don't want crucified Jesus. I don't want cross Jesus because Jesus told

me to pick up and carry my cross, and I don't like that part.

I like the victory part. I like the part where we're glowing.

I like the part where Jesus walks out of tomb. I like the part

where there's two angels that are big body builders nearby that are just shutting down

Roman. I like that part of the story. But you can't get to

that part of the story unless you're willing to understand and accept this part of

the story and receive his death for your life. You can't get to resurrection

without death, and we can't get to resurrection without the death of ourselves,

leaving our old selves behind. That's why when so many people say God loves

me for me, No, if God loved you for you, you would

be on a cross. God loves you for Jesus because you have received Jesus.

That's why God loves you. Because you have accepted his son and the

work of his son who died for you. That is why God loves you.

That is why he accepts Us, and that's why he receives us.

You know, oftentimes, prior to this recent October, about twice a year,

I would take groups of people to Israel, and I normally would leave

tors. So I would take groups of pastors to Israel, and I'd give

him a tour of the Holy Land, and I would take our church members

to Israel and take them to tour them holy What I started doing after a

couple of years was all everybody wants to go to the Garden of Semite.

We all want to go to the place that Jesus prayed and Judas betrayed Jesus,

and that place still exists today, and all of us we want to

go to that place. We want to honor Jesus. We want to go

to the place that he was turned in and we want to understand that that

started an interrogation process that was undone just that led to his death on the

cross, and so all of us want to make that moment personal. We

always also want to go where Jesus was resurrected. But that's where we celebrate,

we think Jesus in the moment of Garden of Gosemite, we really want

to sit and just sit with Jesus's sacrifice. So I always take people.

But what I started to do when I would go on tours and take groups

was the first thing I would do because at the bottom of the garden of

Gosemite, it's all owned by old Orthodox churches that have existed for really the

institution of the church. So you have Russian Orthodox Church, you have Egyptian

Coptic Church, you have the Catholic Church, and so and so all of

them own the most pristine part of the of the land, and they have

priests that are like incredible gardeners. And so what I normally take people is

the first thing that I do is I take them about one hundred yards up

and I take them where no church has developed anything, and it's just raw.

And where it's raw, it's not really pretty, like sometimes trash blows

in, like sometimes you can see like a little kid's tricycle. Like sometimes

it's just not gets not kept, so no one gardens it. No one's

really water those olive trees. So some look good, some don't. And

so I have a picture of the one that I normally take them to.

So normally I take people to this spot and normally, you know, they're

like you see it's it's very rocky and it's very hilly. And when I

take people there and I read the passage of the Garden of Gasemine, everyone

just always kind of stands there and they and they just look at me and

then I and then I always tell them a how to talk. Hey,

we're gonna take you to this spot and then I'm gonna take you to another

spot. And so I'll take you this spot and they just look at me

and I'll say, hey, if you guys want to take a moment,

and they all just kind of they just kind of stand there and they look

like, you know, like, oh, is this it. They just

sit there and they go, Okay, guys, I'm gonna I'm gonna take

you to the gardens that that the churches own. And so then I take

them to the gardens of the of the that the churches, and then all

of a sudden, people are like, oh Jesus, yes, I see

it. Now I see what you saw. I see it, beautiful,

pristine, six hundred year old olive trees, watered every day, prayer gardens

and path And now everyone starts going Jesus, thank you Lord, thank you

that we see yo, we see you Lord, Thank you, Jesus,

Thank you Jesus. Why is that because we like the pristine part of faith.

We like that, And I always tell him, I'm gonna take it

this spot so you can get your phones and you could post on Facebook that

you've been there, and you can show all your but and then all of

a sudden, when I take them to that guard, everyone pulls out their

phone. No one had their phone out before, nobody, nobody wanted to

take a picture of that junk. But now on Facebook, Instagram people's selfie,

you know, next to the guard. This is where he was.

You know why, because I identify with the perfect part of how this portrayed,

not the ugly, gruesome reality that Jesus's own mother didn't recognize him,

not the grewsome reality that he could barely breathe, and every time he had

to take a breath, they would bend his legs so that he couldn't breathe

because his ribs were in his stomach, and so he had to push on

the nails just so he could take every breath at a time. If you

were there in Jesus's day, that moment would not be a moment. We'd

be taking a picture of it'd be a moment that we could barely rest our

eyes on, that we could barely look at. In so many of us

we say to God, God, take me to the place that's manicured,

in pristine, just like getting your nails done. Many girls they don't want

to be in proposed to unless their nails are done. But if you were

to look at the work of Jesus, it would not be the right side.

It'd be the left side. It would not be this pristie, perfect

beautiful thing. It would be rugged. It would be gruesome, and it

would be for you and I. Whose hand would you hold in that picture?

So many of us are looking for the perfected hands of life. When

Jesus and the cross, the moment where we receive him, the moment where

we come to him, it takes you taking your ugly self and saying,

I don't I don't want this anymore, I don't receive this anymore. Jesus

died so that you and I could recognize our own sin and say, God,

it is for you. Jesus bore it all on the cross. The

blood gives us access with a few moments I have look at first. Peter

Chapter one, verse eighteen to nineteen. It says, knowing this, you

were ransom from futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such

as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like a

lamb without blemish or spot. You know, I often kind of personally struggle

with this verse. Not because I don't accept it or receive it or understand.

But I find myself struggling with this, not because I don't receive God's

love, not because I don't want God's love. It's because I want to

consistently believe that I'm entitled to receive salvation on my own fruition. That verse

is meant to struggle with not because you don't want God's love. It's because

are you willing for Jesus to pay your ransom by the cross and say you

had nothing to do with it. You can't get credit for this. In

fact, we don't want no part of being involved in this. But Jesus

encourages us, says, will you carry your own cross? Will you have

your own aspect where you will say, God, I can't do what you

did, but I can receive this work, and I can't choose that one

word it is finished as my own, and I can receive that one word

as my own. And if you receive Christ's blood, what does that do

for our life? Well, then God can give you a testimony in a

simple way. If you don't know what a testimony, a simple the way

of that is God's story of goodness in your life on how He redeemed you.

And every person that receives the cross is given this testimony as a gift

of God. And what he says in Revelations twelve, it's by the word,

the spoken word, the boldness of you speaking what Christ has done that

helps you overcome the work of the enemy. God will give you a testimony.

How do I receive it? You receive Jesus by faith. You receive

this work by faith, trusting in God that that word it has finished,

is for you. It was even for Peter, even when we see on

Sunday and resurrection Sunday, even Peter was able to see that he wasn't sufficient

to hold on to what Jesus did. But Peter still ran to Jesus when

he heard he was resurrected. He didn't believe that first, but when he

saw Jesus. He believed, and he gave his life fully to the work

of Jesus after that, even to the point that Peter would be crucified upside

down on a cross by the Roman Emperor and hero. Peter would suffer some

years later the same fate that Jesus did. The only thing is is Jesus

died unto humanity and Peter died unto Jesus. That was the difference. I

think if many of us were to follow Jesus, if we are told that

you know, following Jesus may lead to death, I think a lot of

us may say, well, I don't know. I don't know if I

want that part. I'll take the resurrected part, but I don't know if

I want that part. But he gives us a testimony. First John chapter

five four says this, for everyone who has been born of God overcomes the

world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith.

It's the testimony of your faith in Jesus. And in Jesus's last breath,

he says, it is finished. I wonder what you and I would do

if you knew that it was gonna be your last breath. Soon. What

would you do with your last breath? What would you say with your last

breath? How would you summarize your life if you knew it was going to

be your last breath? You know. In March of twenty twenty, my

father in law went home to be with the Lord and he had passed due

to cancer. And there was some time when my father in law the last

periods of his life, he was at home auspice care. So for about

the last a little over a week and couple of weeks he was at home

for a little bit, and as he was laying in bed, many of

us, all of his family, would visit every day. And for about

the last six days or so, and even a little bit more, he

had gotten to the point where he couldn't eat and chew on his own,

and so he had a tube that was feeding him his food. And for

about five or six days he had gotten to the point where he didn't move

at all. He had just moved his eyes, and so as we'd come

talk to him and say hey, dad, and try to have some conversation,

he could only respond to us with his eyes. So he'd raise his

eyebrows or give a wink or whatever that is, and that's how we would

begin to share some last moments. Well, about two days before he passed.

He didn't move a muscle for five or six days. And so about

two days before he passed, my mother in law called Ashley because I was

at work, and my mother in law said, hey, you could Adam

come and give Dad communion final communion in case one of these days he goes

home to be with the Lord. We want him to honor Jesus and the

work of Jesus on the cross. My wife calls me and I say absolutely.

Now you got to remember. Now, for some days he hadn't moved,

and he hadn't eaten at all. He would just move his eyes.

So we're playing, I'm planning in my head on my way, Okay,

if I go there, I got maybe we could put some some wine or

juice on a napkin and we could we could place it on his lips,

and maybe we could get the tiniest morsel of a of it because he can't

choose, so maybe maybe would just hold it on his lips. And so

I'm just trying to think of how we're gonna do this to still do communion,

and so and so I walk in the room, and then my mother

in law and my wife lean over to my father in law and they say,

Tom, your son in law is here, and he's gonna give you

communion. At this point, he bursted his eyes open and he began to

try to sit up. It took him five minutes to get from this point

to this point. But he fought with every muscle, every fiber in his

body. He hadn't moved for over almost a week, and he fought just

to sit up six inches, and he fought, and he opened up his

mouth. His tears were coming down, and we're looking at him. Everybody's

crying. He is fighting. What why was he fighting? He's fighting to

give Jesus all the honor and all of the glory with his last moments and

his last breath. He didn't say, hey, how are those elections doing.

He didn't say, hey, what are you guys gonna do with my

fishing rods. He didn't say, oh, let me do this, let

me do oh, there's a guy who owes me money back in Chicago.

He didn't say that he fought to take communion. He fought to honor the

death of Jesus. For his sins. He didn't fight anyone else. That

didn't None of that stuff mattered anymore. What only mattered to him, And

the only thing he fought his energy for was to give Jesus all the glory

in his life. And that memory is imprinted in my head because I don't

know many people that would fight to do that. I don't know many people

that would muster strength just to give Jesus their last breath. Jesus gave you

his, Would we do the same, And do we do the same for

my father in law? In that moment when he partook that bread and he

partaked that wine, he said more to everyone in that room about his life

than you could ever write in a novel. You see the word it is

finished. It means something, and it means something to him. And the

Bible has other words. The Bible has other words like You're free, you're

accepted, you're healed, you are loved, you are enough, you are

alive, you are safe, you are home, and lastly, you are

forgiven. Those are God's words over your life, over my life. As

Jesus would honor you and I with his last words, could we honor Jesus

with our life and our last words. You know, at this moment,

I'm gonna encourage you that right now, as we partaking communion together, I'll

tell you this, Compared to my father in law, this will be the

easiest communion you've ever taken, but it could really mean something to you.

It could really be powerful to you. You may not be in the same

circumstance, but you need the same blood. And today, as we take

this communion, it's a representation of the work of Jesus. And Jesus gave

it to us just a few days earlier. In that passover, Jesus held

up the bread, and he helped up the wine, and he said,

this bread represents my body that will be beaten, that will be pierced,

and that will be marred for you. And he said, this wine represents

my blood which will be shed for you. And Jesus said, as often

as you do this, remember me, not remember anything else. We're meant

to leave everything else behind. In the New Testament, Paul tells us that

before we take this, we should scan our life, look at our life

and say, is there anything that I need to put on that cross?

Is there anything I need to repent of? Is there anything I need to

confess, and that moment is meant to be a moment between you and God

that you partake. And so at this moment, I want to encourage all

of you guys. Can we stand on our feet If you don't feel comfortable

taking communion today, you don't have to if you don't want to. But

for those so this means everything to us. This isn't a toy, a

snack. This isn't something to be played with. This is something that,

at least for someone that I loved in my life, they fought everything to

take this not because of what it was, because what it represented, and

it represented that Jesus gave it all for you and I and that word it

is finished, it does mean something today. So we're gonna worship just a

little bit. We're all gonna leave here together, So I'll ask you to

stay to the end of the service, but for about a minute, we're

gonna worship, and I encourage you to have a moment with the Lord and

whenever you're ready, partaking this during the worship, and we'll come back here

and we'll leave together. So let's worship one more time together. Yeah,

for the Lord. Gotta bye. To raise everybody shake, Oh for the

Lord, gotta bird, Let's take it out? Holy, oh God you?

Oh are you? Oh? My? Mony? Isn't that honey?

Isn't that money? Isn't man? Holy? You are you? Lord?

Are you not? Oh? Molly? Isn't Berny isn't molly? Isn't now?

Brothy is some? Holy? Are you? Lord? God? Are

you? Lonny is a buncha body is a man? Buy isn't you money?

Are you Lord? God? Are you lod? Oh? My money?

Isn't Berthy isn't isn't Berny is time? W are you God? Are

you? God? Oh? God? Worthy? Berthy is a best?

Worthy? Berdy isn't last worthy? Berny isn't that worthy? Isn't Berny isn't

that worthy? Borthy? Isn't that worthy? Berny isn't last by Berthy isn't

that worthy? Borney is a lovely? Is a holy? Is holy?

Is a lash? Holly isn't holy? Isn't that holy? Is holy?

Isn't is Bney? Is money? Isn't that body is a live? Body

is a laugh. I just want to encourage you if you would join me

right now with your head bowt and your eyes closed. Maybe just hear my

words. But I'll make it simple as we go to leave here today.

But Jesus makes it plain in the Gospels, and he says this. He

said, if you would deny me before man, there will come a day

that I will deny you before my father. And so there is an opportunity

zone to receive the work of Jesus. And the opportunity ends the day we

close our eyes, the day that we die. The opportunity to receive Jesus

is over the work of Jesus, and the cross is for this life.

There will be a life to come, and the resurrection comes on Sunday.

But first we ought to die to self, repent of our sins and fully

cling to the work of the Cross. The resurrection shows us that the cross

worked, But the cross hath is to work in our life. I have

to receive this work. So I just want to encourage you from this place.

If you've never given your life to Jesus, if you've never allowed that

one phrase it is finished to be ascribed to your life. And you put

your faith in the work of Jesus, his death and resurrection, and you

repent of your sins, doesn't mean that your life gets perfect. It doesn't

mean that everything starts to piece together. What it means is you've recognized how

much you need this sacrifice, how much you need salvation. That's what this

represents. It represents being born again because of the work of Jesus. One

day all of us will stand before God and we'll have to answer for how

we lived on this earth. But either as you stand before God, Jesus

can say, oh, I acknowledge them. I know this person because they

received my finished work of the crost, or he may say I never knew

you? Did you know me on earth? Because I didn't know you.

So today is an opportunity that we can receive the work of Jesus in our

life. So I just want to encourage you if you want to receive that

work in your life today. Won't do anything fancy right now. I won't

count right now. We'll do that on Sunday. I just want you right

now, if you need to receive that work for your life and either rededicate

your life or either say this for the first time. I just want you

to lift your hand up in the air right now. I just want you

to lift your hand up high in the air. I continue to lift it.

We're gonna keep our hands up give you an opportunity to receive it.

I know I have lights on my eyes in this direction, but I do

see hands all over. I want you as you keep your hand up right

now, We're all gonna receive this prayer and say this prayer to gay together.

It's a prayer of affirmation of what the Holy Spirit is already doing.

So as your hand is raised for those that are confessing Jesus's Lord, I

just want you right now. Would everyone join me in saying this out loud

together? Can we say this, Dear Lord Jesus. In this moment,

I repent of my sin. I believe in my heart that the work of

the Cross was for me, and I believe that you rose three days later.

And in this moment I confess you as Lord and Savior, and I

commit to follow you for the rest of my days in Jesus' name a man.

Can we give a handclap to those that just responded to the work of

God in their life. We really hope you enjoyed the message, and if

you said yes to Jesus, we just want to say congratulations and give you

a free devotional to help you walk out your faith. Click the link in

the description or head over to grow dot Faith for download your devotional. Oh

and be sure to subscribe and share this podcast with your friends. Thanks for

listening to ALS podcasts and hope you tune in again