R1650 It Is Finished

Today's message from Dr. Don Wilton is, It is Finished, as we participate in the Lord's Supper together. Won't you join us? Today Dr. Don Wilton takes us to the book of John chapter 19 and Hebrews chapter 1 to talk about the Lord's Supper and indeed to lead us, guide us through the participation of communion together. Perhaps you've never done this in a broadcast situation, but if you were just to consider grabbing a wafer, a piece of bread, some water or some juice, in just a few moments Dr. Don will lead you and allow you to participate even across the airways, even through this podcast radio broadcast.

To celebrate the Lord's Supper together. As we do so, know that we're available for you connecting on our website right now at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org and 866-899 word. We would love to connect with you.

Now Dr. Don Wilton. I want you to turn with me first to John chapter 19. I invite you to turn there with me, John chapter 19. I just want to read one verse to you. John chapter 19. It is such a powerful verse as we prepare for the Lord's Supper together. Here's what the Bible tells us in John chapter 19 and verse 30. When Jesus had received the drink, Jesus said, it is finished.

And with that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Now turn with me to Hebrews chapter 1. Turn your Bible, those pages, let's hear those pages turning.

And if you're looking it on your app, I don't know how to hear that, but do it. All right, Hebrews chapter 1. Let's understand what Jesus meant when he said it is finished. Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 1. In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets. At many times and in various ways, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.

And so he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. May the Lord write his word upon our hearts today. Jesus on the cross said, it is finished.

So what does this mean? Well, according to the writer to the Hebrews, if we expound on this passage, it is finished means three things. Very clearly, and this is God's word, what is it is finished? What did Jesus mean? It is finished. Well, the writer to the Hebrews tells us first of all, that it means God has spoken.

Any further questions? That's what Jesus meant. God has spoken. What did Jesus do?

What was he saying? Why did he say it is finished? We understand the context of the sacrifice that he made. But he was announcing that God has done what God has done. Number one, it means God has spoken. Number two, it means God has appointed.

That's what it is finished really means. God has appointed. In fact, he tells us in the second part of verse two. He says God has spoken to us by his son whom he appointed. That little word there is remarkable.

It's a beautiful word really. You know, I think even in our churches, we have a leadership summit together and how all of us work together. In a sense, we are all appointed. We all have our place, our role. Every one of us so critical to everyone else, the body all functioning together. Can you imagine God the Father, full of grace and truth, appointed his son Jesus?

What? Number one, the Bible says to be heir of all. Heir of all that God is.

Number two, as creator of all. Number three, as the radiance of God's glory. That little word radiance of God's glory means that this Jesus, who paid the price for you and me, sends forth God's light. That word radiance means that he sends forth. He shows forth and he passes over to the likes of you and me, the light of God. And forth, he's appointed, meaning that he is the sustainer. He didn't just make it because of his creatorship and radiate it because of his lightship.

He didn't just occupy a place. God is telling us it is finished means that throughout my life, I can know that this appointment of this Jesus who paid the total price, the debt for my sin, not only has done what he has done for me one time, but he sustains me. He upholds me. He encourages me.

He strengthens me by the might and power of his spirit in the inner person. That's who Jesus is. Somebody say Amen. Isn't that fantastic?

That's wonderful. God has spoken. God is appointed. But there's a third meaning of it is finished. It means God has provided. It means God has provided. That's what Jesus was saying on the cross. He's looking out there at all of those of us because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

He said it's finished. God has provided. Look at verse three. It's a powerful verse. Verse three. He says, And after he had provided purification for sin. That's such a beautiful word there. What does purification mean? It carries with it a threefold understanding. Purification for sin means forgiveness from sin.

It is finished. Jesus paid the price. His blood was shed for you and me.

There's power in the blood. He has forgiven us from our sin. But it means secondly, purification means freedom to life, not just forgiveness from sin, but freedom.

We're not only forgiven from, but we are free to live. You know what Jesus said? I love this verse. Jesus said, Excuse me, I have come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly. Isn't that fantastic?

I love that. Number three, purification means fellowship with God. Because we have peace with God. We've been reconciled to Him.

That's what this is all about, my friends. That's the Lord's Supper. Is it any wonder? Is there any wonder after having ministered on this earth that Jesus gathered his disciples together?

Got them all together in an upper room. And he said, This cup, this bread, here's what he said. I'm going to give you my modern translation. My cherished sons and daughters, tomorrow I'm going to go and finish it.

Everything that needs to be done for you, I'm going to do it. They're going to take me and they're going to nail me to a cross. And I'm going to give my life and shed my blood. And in so doing, I'm going to take your sin upon myself to the grave.

You know something? When I do, you're going to not only be forgiven of your sin, you're going to be free. You're going to be reconciled to God in fellowship with Him. It's finished. God has spoken.

There's no other way. And I want you to remember this until I come back again. We're going to celebrate the Lord's Supper together, all of us. And at the end of this, I'm going to ask you to respond to what Jesus is saying to you.

Would you bow your heads with me for a minute? Heavenly Father, right now, all of us are going to participate in the Lord's table, all who love Jesus. And Father, I pray that if there's anyone within the sound of my voice who is hearing the voice of God, the Holy Spirit, and needs to give their heart to Jesus now, that they would now place their faith and trust in you. This is what I'm praying right now, because you are praying. I pray that people right now would confess their sin and would trust you as Savior and Lord. And now, Lord Jesus, we're going to participate together in the Lord's Supper as I pray this prayer. Because it is finished, Jesus said. It has been done. And we thank you together in Jesus' name.

Amen. Perhaps moments ago, here in the middle of the program, you were praying along with Dr. Wilton to make a decision, a course correction. Please know how we'd love to pray with you. Put some resources in your hands if you'll call us at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. We'd love to speak with you, connect with great resources. And in just a moment, when we return from this exciting announcement about the end times, we'll participate with the Lord's Supper together. Believers around the world are asking these questions. Is Jesus about to come back? Is this the end of the world? Join Dr. Wilton as he answers these questions straight from God's word in his message, Is This the End? Also, as a bonus, you will receive The King is Coming by Erwin Lutzer, renowned theologian and friend. Both of these ministry resources will greatly bless, motivate and encourage you in anticipation of our Lord Jesus' return. Be assured, God has everything under control.

He is our living hope. Call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 and request Is This the End?

in the bonus book The King is Coming for yourself or your friend today. Thank you for listening and thank you for supporting The Encouraging Word. Now it's time to spread the gospel. Again, that's a resource I pray you'll consider getting a hold of.

You can go to our website right now at www.tewonline.org. But I pray that you would open your heart now to not just listen, but to participate with us as we celebrate the Lord's Supper together. I'm going to recognize our vice chairman of deacons, Mr. Mark Beck, and I'm going to ask Mark if he would be so kind as to come and pray a prayer of thanksgiving for the bread.

Thank you, Mark. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, your word says, for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven to save this world. Lord Jesus, you are that bread and we thank you for your unfailing love and your sacrifice on the cross. Lord, we pray that you bless this bread and we do this in honoring of you and your sacrifice. Amen. I want you to take your cup. If you're with us in downtown Spartanburg at celebration, you can just peel the top of that off and you'll see, and we're going to hold it. I don't want you to eat that bread yet. I want to say to the many, many scores, hundreds, and I believe thousands of people who are worshipping with us by way of television and online, I want to give you a minute.

Make sure that you have something, a cracker, piece of bread. Remember, this is a symbol of Jesus' death. He died on the cross.

His body was broken for us. So I'm going to take that cracker and I have it in my hand here and I'm just like you. Can I tell you about me? I'm a Christian man. I wish I had time to tell you a few other things about me.

But that's not important right now. I'm one of those disciples. I'm a believer. I've given my heart to Jesus. I want to tell you something. I've probably done a little more studying than some people when it comes to theology because that's been my life and I'm privileged. I'm a pastor and a shepherd and a preacher. But you know something, folks?

I don't need to over complicate this. Jesus gave his life and his body was broken for me. Do you know when I was born quite a few years ago, I was conceived and born in sin.

That's because of the sin of Adam. But there came a time in my life when I repented of my sin. I said sorry. Bible says if you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. I do. You know, I remember that day when I said, Lord Jesus, I don't get all of this.

I don't understand it all. But I confess my sin and I repent before you. My sin was so real and I knew that in my sinfulness, unforgiven, that I would be condemned to eternal hell.

I could have no fellowship with God because that relationship had been broken by my sin. And then I saw Jesus on the cross. He gave his body for me. Just as Mark has just prayed, all I got to do right now as our vice chairman led us is to say thank you, Jesus. And the Lord's Supper, Jesus said, do this in remembrance. Let's remember what Jesus has done. I'm telling you, you and I will be blessed because of Jesus.

Then he goes on and he says, do this together. I know I'm a bit of a stickler on some of those things and some of you just smile at me. It's symbolical of our oneness. You know, all of us are different. We're men and women and old and young. We all come from our different walks of life. But you know, when it comes to Jesus, folks, we're one.

He leveled the playing field. It's because he gave his body to be broken for me. So thanking Jesus together, would you join me? Would you be part of me and us?

This is an us thing, all of us. We're just Christian people who love Jesus and let's thank him today for his body. Let's eat together. I'm now going to ask and recognize our chairman of deacons, Mr. Chip Foster, and ask if he would be so kind as to come and to thank the Lord Jesus for the cup and for his blood. Let us pray. Father, you have told us that there can be no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. So Father, we thank you today for providing a way for us to be forgiven. Father, I thank you this morning for taking a sinful man like me and giving me access to the Father. Instead of being seen as a sinful man, I'm seen as a righteous man. Father, we thank you for your blood this morning. In Jesus' name, Amen. Thank you for that beautiful prayer.

So I'm going to turn mine upside down here and peel the top of this cup. And if you're in downtown Spartanburg in celebration, you're able to do this with me. And many of you, and I see you today, and you're precious. I see you in that nursing home. And I see you in that retirement center, and I see some of our brave, wonderful firefighters, and our men and women in blue. I love you guys and ladies. You mean the world to us, and we thank God for you. And many of you are on duty. You're guarding our streets, and you're standing in for us, and you're stopping for a minute, and you have in your hand.

And we're joining together. Jesus said after supper, he took the cup when he had supped. And he said, this cup is the new covenant.

Excuse me, can I just read to you what that means quickly? So in Hebrews chapter 9, the Bible explains it like this. It says, this is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you to keep. This is what Jesus said.

I've got to tell you what he said, because God has spoken. He did not enter the holy of holies by means of the blood of goats and of calves, but he entered the most holy place once for all by his own blood. Having obtained eternal redemption, how much more then will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, that we may serve the living God. For this reason, Christ is the mediator of the new covenant. That's why when you pray, you should always pray, dear God, and then close in and through the name of Jesus. Now I'm being technical with you, but that explains the Lord's prayer. Jesus explained prayer. He said, our Father which art in heaven, and he closed with the foreverness the covenant that he makes with us, the eternal covenant through Jesus. And as our chairman has prayed for us, Jesus gave us his life. He laid down his life, a ransom for many. He shed his blood.

He gave it away so that we can take it. And without the shedding of blood, there's no forgiveness of sin. You and I have been forgiven because Jesus' blood was shed at Calvary. Isn't that wonderful?

And then when he tells us when we drink and we do this, we need to do it together. And again, there's so much division in the world. Everybody is like divided. I mean, today, you name it, everybody's divided. Doesn't matter what it is, everybody's divided, but not when it comes to Jesus. Not in the house of God.

No, sir. You and I love Jesus, and it's all about the blood. And he did this for me, and he did this for you. Let's do this together in remembrance of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Let's drink together. Father, as our musicians come and join me here on the platform, and as we try to close a service, a worship time, and as we prepare to go out into the world, thank you for making us whiter than snow.

Whiter than snow, how can that be? Lord, today, you've allowed us to come together with our grief and our concerns and our joys. You've allowed us to participate together. You brought us together. You brought them together, and you said, do this, and we've done this, Lord. And then you went to the cross, and those disciples went out into the world, and they feared for their lives. And then the power of the Holy Spirit, because Lord Jesus, you went back.

You were seated at the right hand of the Father, and then you sent your spirit down. You said, now go into all the world, preach, teach, and baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus, today, there are people who are making and have made decisions for Christ. I pray right now at this time, this public invitation, that people would respond, be bold. I pray people would come and pray. People would come and intercede.

People would come to declare the decisions they've made for Christ. Lord, you're a wonderful God. Thank you, Jesus, for telling us on the cross that final word, it is finished.

Wow. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for what you've done for us. In Jesus' name, we pray together. Amen.

Perhaps today the Lord has spoken to you about the course correction you need, the adjustment. I pray that you would let us be a part of that next step. We have wonderful resources we want to put in your hands if you'll call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 or meet us online at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org, the place you can sign up for the daily encouraging word devotional and discover more about that Is This The End message from Dr. Wilton. We'll see you online.