This message is from guest speaker Pastor John Wright.

 

Key Verse: John 19:30

Jesus said “It is finished.” What Jesus meant by this was ‘I finished what you, Father, have sent me to accomplish on this earth.’ He knew what would happen on the cross, but He still went through and shed His blood so we can have eternal life. Jesus didn’t call down His legion of angels to save Him, He went all the way.

I want to ask you today, is the cross fulfilled in your life? Is the purpose of everything that Jesus wanted to achieve out of that cross for you, have you fulfilled that today?

Three aspects of the cross designed for our lives:

1. Christ died as a substitute for our sins (Romans 3:23)

The penalty for sin is death, but Christ died for us. Today, the cross is empty. The work of Christ hanging on that cross has been fulfilled. Jesus was taken down off the cross and rose again. Isaiah 53:4-7 shows that Christ knew what was coming. Jesus is true, He was alive, He is the Son of God, He did die on the cross for us, and by His shed blood our sins are forgiven. When we receive this revelation of the truth, truly repent of our sins and call upon the name of the Lord, our sins are forgiven and we are saved from eternal death.

2. Identify ourselves with the accomplishment of the cross

Christ died in our place on that cross and we are spared eternal death. As we identify with Christ and we are a child of God, we have to die to our old way or old self (old habits). You need to ask yourself from the day I was saved what has changed in my life? If nothing has changed then I would doubt your salvation or else the scriptures are wrong but the scriptures cannot be wrong.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says this “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” As a Christian some of that old has to go and some of the new has to come. We should be able to look at ourselves and say I used to do something bad but not anymore or I never had time for good things but now I do. There are certain things we have to work at and purpose, even today we have to work at being a Christian to make sure that we don’t fall away. However, there are things that will happen because God will help you. He will take away those desires from bad habits.

What Paul is saying Galatians 2:20-21 is all of me is no longer the fullness of my life, the fullness of my life is now Christ living in me. There was a change. We need to identify ourselves with the cross. We need to be nailed to the family of God.

3. A benefit for others

Jesus is a perfect example for us to copy in our own lives. Jesus could have had a kingly life when He was here on earth, but He didn’t. He travelled barefoot and in sandals, the scriptures also say He was tired, hungry, thirsty, and He went around healing the sick. Hebrews 12:2 says for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. How can enduring the cross by joyous, what is the joy? ‘The Joy’ is what it was going to accomplish. Jesus said I’ve got to go through with this, as painful as it is going to be, because there are millions of people in history coming who can be saved and can come into the kingdom of God.

Another way of reading Luke 9:51 is “as the time approached for Him to be arrested, tortured, and then nailed on that terrible cross, before He went to was taken up heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Jesus was full of purpose that what He had to do was keep that appointment with the cross.

To me the fullness of the cross is to see a spiritual harvest. That we not only receive the revelation of Jesus, accept Christ, follow Him and become part of the family of God, but that we start to do what Jesus did doing things for others. To see the spiritual harvest we have to die to some of the advantages of normal living that the world has. These advantages can sometimes be of the flesh, sometimes of the comforts of life, sometimes of the material blessings. There is a material cost, we settle for less. We don’t have to all drive the best car, live in the best neighbourhood, and we don’t have to pursue income as the sole goal. The cross being fulfilled is when our hearts are moved to start thinking of other people and understand there are sacrifices of pleasure and leisure that we may have to make. However we don’t regard these things as losses, rather we regard them as opportunities to extend the kingdom of God. There are times that to get these opportunities to extend the kingdom of God involve a cost, but the offset is joy that rises up when you are able to bless others. It is more fulfilling and blessed to give than it is to receive. I get greater joy out of giving than I do out of receiving. Blessings come when we give and help others.

In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) Jesus commands us to go and make disciples. A disciple is a follower of Jesus it is more than telling others about Jesus, you have to get them to the point where they follow. You have to keep sharing and talking with them until they follow Jesus, because a disciple is a follower of Jesus. If you are passionate about seeing a spiritual harvest you won’t calculate or measure the cost, you will just do what has to be done. When the devil attacks or when things go wrong see it as an opportunity for God to exert His power and bring you through. When things go wrong we look to the Lord and ask Him for help. Our joy not only comes from the fact that we are saved and are not going to hell, our joy also comes from the opportunity to bless others. It is not always easy for us we have to find time and give up things, but the sacrifices that we have made are nothing compared to what Jesus did for us.

 

I just want to challenge you, are you doing some of these things? Does the cross mean all that to you?

For the cross of Jesus to be absolutely fulfilled we have to see that our victorious Christian life is not only the fruit of Him dying on that cross so that our sins can be forgiven, it is not only us starting to grow in God and then being able to identify with Christ as part of the family of God and receiving everything but giving nothing. It also involves us starting to make some sacrifices. It involves us wanting to be part of the spiritual harvest, which is the plan of Christ. Jesus died on that cross so that many can be saved. We are living in a time where many around us are not saved. There are people around us that need to know what we know.

That is my challenge for you, is the cross fulfilled in your life? If it is, not only are you saved, not only are you growing and going on with God, but you are also doing the work of the Lord for we are all God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do the good things that He has called us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

 

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If you would like to accept Jesus into your heart please pray the following prayer.
“Dear God, I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I now invite Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal Saviour.”

If you have just prayed this prayer and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, congratulations! We invite you to contact us as we would love to pray a blessing over your life and help guide you on your journey.

The next step. As a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.

• Get baptised as commanded by Christ.
• Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
• Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
• Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
• Find a local church where you can worship God.

God bless you.