Christ’s Words Of Victory

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.

Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into thy hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost.

Opening The Obituaries

I receive obituary notices through my email from Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home, Heritage Funeral Home, and Williams Funeral Home every day. I rarely know who these people are who passed, but I like to keep up and read the obituaries. I started this practice years ago as a Pastor when I found out I was preaching a funeral that afternoon – but no one from the Funeral Home let me know! It was only by the Grace of God that I found out.

As I read the obituaries this week, I read things like:

1. The departed loved animals, and was a collector of many things.
2. The loved one was devoted to family, faith, country, and community.
3. The person had a love for the simple things of life, like fishing, music, and spending time with family.
4. She “passed away peacefully”, and was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend.
5. The lady helped build a world shaped by devotion, honest work, and dedication.
6. If the person attended Church at all, they are noted as “a member of such and such Church”.

One of the oldies but goodies is “She earned her angel wings”. Did you know Dolly Parton earned her angel wings this week? That’s what one article stated.

As you all probably know, Dolly Parton passed away this Tuesday, August 25. She was 80 years old. One newspaper article stated “Cause of Dolly’s death revealed”. When I read the article it stated that she had “a brief battle with cancer”. May I say something about this? Dolly didn’t die because she had a brief battle with cancer. Dolly died because she had an appointment with God.

We All Have An Appointment With God

Though Moses was 120 years old when he died, he wrote in Psalm 90:

(Psalm 90:10 LSB) As for the days of our life, they contain SEVENTY YEARS, Or if due to might, EIGHTY YEARS, Yet their pride is [but] labor and wickedness; For SOON IT IS GONE AND WE FLY AWAY.

Moses lived 40 years past the average lifespan of seventy to eighty years. I believe he lived that long because he allowed God to use him. Only when Moses ceased to be used of God did he leave this earth.

The oldest Book of the Bible, Job, states:

(Job 14:1-4 LSB) Man, who is born of woman, IS SHORT LIVED AND FULL OF TURMOIL [2] “Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not stand. [3] “You also open Your eyes on him And bring me into judgment with Yourself. [4] “Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one!

Job then revealed this truth …. It is GOD Who determines our lifespan.

Job 14:5 Since HIS DAYS ARE DETERMINED, The NUMBER OF HIS MONTHS IS WITH YOU (O God); And HIS LIMITS YOU (O Lord) HAVE SET SO THAT HE CANNOT PASS.

It is God Who determines the length of life. The doctors don’t determine it. Diseases don’t determine it. We don’t determine it. There is only One human in all of history that determined when His life would end. That Person was Jesus, the Incarnate God.

Jesus said,

(John 10:17-18 LSB) For this reason the Father loves Me, because I LAY DOWN MY LIFE SO THAT I MAY TAKE IT UP AGAIN. [18] NO ONE TAKES IT AWAY FROM ME, but from Myself, I LAY IT DOWN. I HAVE AUTHORITY TO LAY IT DOWN, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.

When Pilate told Jesus “Don’t You know I have the authority to crucify You?”, Jesus replied,

(John 19:11 LSB) … You would have no authority over Me, UNLESS IT HAD BEEN GIVEN YOU FROM ABOVE…

The Prophet Isaiah (53:12) said that Messiah would “choose to pour out His soul unto death”. Jesus Christ determined the end of His life. We read today His final words:

Luke 23:46 … Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, HE GAVE UP THE GHOST.

My mama’s favorite singers were Elvis Presley, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton. They have all passed from this life. Why did they pass? Because they had an appointment with God, an appointment we must all keep. Paul wrote of this in …

(Hebrews 9:27 NKJV) And as it is APPOINTED FOR MEN TO DIE ONCE, but AFTER THIS THE JUDGMENT

We all have an appointment with God we must keep. Dolly’s appointment came this past Tuesday. Is she in Heaven? I hope so. But if she – or Elvis or Loretta – are in Heaven, the reason they will be in Heaven is because they loved Jesus, and received Him as Lord and Savior. Right after Paul speaks of our appointment with death and the judgment, he completes the thought with this:

(Hebrews 9:28 NKJV) … so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. TO THOSE WHO EAGERLY WAIT FOR HIM He will appear a second time, apart from sin, FOR SALVATION.

Do you love Jesus? Of all the obituaries I read this week, only one even referred to Jesus.

A daughter wrote, “Momma had the biggest, most selfless heart of anyone I’ve ever known. While our world feels entirely dark right now, we take comfort in knowing that she loved Jesus, and today she is in Heaven, completely restored.”

When I read obituaries and see nothing about “Jesus”, just religion or a Church name, it kind of bothers me. Because you cannot get into Heaven unless you love Jesus.

Jesus Alone Finished The Work Of Salvation

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.

Jesus said, “IT IS FINISHED”, and not “I am finished”. Jesus was not talking about His life. These were not the words of a discouraged and defeated Man. These are words of victory. Listen to what Jesus said – repeatedly – to us through the Scripture:

(John 4:34 NKJV) Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and TO FINISH HIS WORK.

(John 5:36 NKJV) But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the WORKS WHICH THE FATHER HAS GIVEN ME TO FINISH–the very works that I do–bear witness of Me, that THE FATHER HAS SENT ME.

(John 6:38 NKJV) For I HAVE COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, not to do My own will, but THE WILL OF HIM WHO SENT ME.

From the time that Adam fell in the Garden, dragging us all into sin and death, God began to prophecy of the coming of our Savior and Lord. God told the Serpent that “the Seed of the Woman would crush his head” (Genesis 3:15), a strange prophecy for women do not carry SEED but EGGS. But later God explained Himself when He said:

(Isaiah 7:14 NKJV) Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, THE VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON, and shall call His name Immanuel.

This was fulfilled in Mary. The Angel Gabriel told Joseph:

(Matthew 1:21-23 NKJV) {Mary} will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” [22] So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: [23] “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

It was prophesied that Jesus would be the seed of Abraham (Genesis 22:18), a descendant of King David (2 Samuel 7:12-13). The Messiah would be named before He was born (Isaiah 49:1; Luke 1:30-31), and that He would be born in Bethlehem of Judea (Micah 5:2). It was prophesied that Jesus would be hated from birth (Hosea 11:1; Isaiah 49:3, 6; Matthew 2:14-15). Every part of Jesus’ life was foretold. Jesus would be despised, rejected by the Jews (Isaiah 53:3; 8:14; Psalm 69:4), and hated without a cause. Jesus would be betrayed by His close friend, abandoned by His disciples, beaten and mocked. There were over 300 prophesies fulfilled by Jesus Christ – from His Incarnation and until He died at age 33 ½ years old.

When Jesus said “It is finished”, His suffering in our place was accomplished. As Jesus hung on the Cross, the crowd mocked Him, and He said nothing. But when three hours of darkness fell on the land, the wrath of God was poured out on Jesus in our place. Jesus could have said:

(Lamentations 1:12-13 NKJV) [Is it] nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see If there is any sorrow like my sorrow, Which has been brought on me, WHICH THE LORD HAS INFLICTED IN THE DAY OF HIS FIERCE ANGER. [13] “From above HE HAS SENT FIRE INTO MY BONES, And it overpowered them; He has spread a net for my feet And turned Me back; He has made Me desolate [And] faint all the day.

Jesus Finished The Way Of Salvation

Jesus finished the Old Covenant sacrifices. Under the Old Covenant, man made animal sacrifices through a Priest. The animals “without spot or blemish” (Leviticus 1:3; 22:20; Exodus 12:5; Deuteronomy 15:21) were sacrificed on an altar to God, then the sacrificed was burned. This symbolized the wrath of God being poured out on the substitute, the animal, the innocent in the place of the guilty. The Old Covenant was temporary, until the Messiah came. The Bible tells us that

(Hebrews 10:1-4 NKJV) For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. [2] For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. [3] But in those [sacrifices there is] a reminder of sins every year. [4] For [it is] not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

No work that man does can take away the eternal judgment of God against sin. No good work we do, no penance, nothing. The animal sacrifices were a temporary thing, a teaching tool that God used to show us how desperately we need Jesus. When Jesus came into the world, He said:

(Hebrews 10:1-10 NKJV) For THE LAW, having a shadow of the good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can NEVER WITH THESE SAME SACRIFICES, which they offer continually year by year, MAKE THOSE WHO APPROACH PERFECT. [2] For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. [3] But IN THOSE SACRIFICES THERE IS A REMINDER OF SINS every year. [4] For [it is] NOT POSSIBLE THAT THE BLOOD OF BULLS AND GOATS COULD TAKE AWAY SINS. [5] Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME. [6] In burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin YOU HAD NO PLEASURE. [7] Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come–In the volume of the book it is written of Me–To do Your will, O God.’ ” [8] Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and [offerings] for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure [in them]” (which are offered according to the law), [9] then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” HE TAKES AWAY THE FIRST THAT HE MAY ESTABLISH THE SECOND. [10] By that will WE HAVE BEEN SANCTIFIED THROUGH THE OFFERING OF THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST ONCE FOR ALL.

When Jesus came to this earth, God Incarnate, God in the flesh, “HE OFFERED ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS FOREVER” (Hebrews 10:12). Under the Old Covenant, an animal symbolized the coming Christ, but a symbol cannot take away sin. The sacrifices of the Law were repeatedly yearly, reminding the penitent that they were entirely useless at fully covering sin. But when Jesus came, He was Perfect and Sinless Man. Jesus “through the eternal Spirit OFFERED HIMSELF WITHOUT SPOT TO GOD” (Hebrews 9:14). The Bible says:

(Hebrews 9:15 KJV) And for this cause {Jesus} IS THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Jesus suffered and died in our place. He Who was without sin literally became sin in our place.

Because of Jesus, we are under a New Covenant, with a Once For All sacrificial system. He have a New High Priest, and every believer is both a child of God and a priest before God.

We are made right (righteous) because Jesus said “IT IS FINISHED”.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For He {the Father} hath made Him {Jesus Christ} to be sin for us, WHO KNEW NO SIN; that WE MIGHT BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM.

We who were far off from God are brought near to God because Jesus declared, “IT IS FINISHED”.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath ONCE SUFFERED FOR SINS, the just for the unjust, that HE MIGHT BRING US TO GOD.

Jesus Christ finished the work of our salvation BY HIMSELF. He didn’t declare “WE ARE FINISHED”, but “IT IS FINISHED”. How dare you take credit for what Jesus alone did.

Jesus made the payment. His Blood redeems us from Satan’s grasp, and from sin’s mastery. Because of Jesus, “the Author and Finisher of our Faith” (Hebrews 12:2), we are saved. Because of Jesus, the Holy Spirit can cause the believers to be “born again” (John 3:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:23). Because of Jesus, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer (1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9). Because of Jesus, death has no hold on the believer (1 Corinthians 15:54-57) and Satan’s power is destroyed in your life (Hebrews 2:14-15). In fact, Jesus has abolished death for the believer (2 Timothy 1:10). Jesus said:

(John 11:25-26 NKJV) … I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. [26] “And WHOEVER LIVES AND BELIEVES IN ME SHALL NEVER DIE. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”

I Wish Everyone Would Quit Trying To Take Credit
For What Jesus Did

As I mentioned before, one of the things I often see in obituaries is “He or She EARNED THEIR ANGELS WINGS”. Angels do have wings (Isaiah 6:2, 6; Ezekiel 1:5-11; 10:15; Exodus 25:20; Revelation 4:6-8). But if you go to Heaven, you are NOT going as an angel, and you are not going because you earned or deserved it. The Bible tells us of Jesus …

Hebrews 2:9 … we see Jesus, who was MADE A LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS FOR THE SUFFERING OF DEATH, crowned with glory and honor; that HE BY THE GRACE OF GOD SHOULD TASTE DEATH FOR EVERY MAN.

Humans are a little lower than the angels. Jesus became human to taste death for us. We who are saved are not saved to be angels. We are saved to be sons of God.

As Jesus is “So much better than the angels” (Hebrews 1:4), we, because of Jesus, we are “heirs – heirs of God and JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST (Romans 8:17). We will not be angels. We will be better than the angels. We are God’s children.

You do not “earn” your way into Heaven. You do not “earn your wings”. What does the Bible say about the Christian, the person who has received Jesus as Lord and Savior:

1 Corinthians 15:42–44 Believers are raised with imperishable, glorious, powerful, spiritual bodies.

(Philippians 3:20-21 NKJV) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, [21] WHO WILL TRANSFORM OUR LOWLY BODY THAT IT MAY BE CONFORMED TO HIS GLORIOUS BODY, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

In Heaven, the Christian will not be an angel. We’ll be like Jesus.

(1 John 3:2-3 NKJV) Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that WHEN HE IS REVEALED, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, for we shall see Him as He is. [3] And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

To be an angel in Heaven would be to be demoted. We will not be like angels. We will be like Jesus. And one further thing before I go. Jesus’ final words teach us that …

There Is No Such Thing As “Soul Sleep”, The Soul Sleeping With The Body Until The Resurrection

The last thing Jesus said before passing into glory was:

Luke 23:46 Father, INTO THY HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost.

When Jesus gave His life, His soul did not “sleep” in His body for three days and three nights. Jesus told the thief who repented, “Today you shall BE WITH ME IN PARADISE” (Luke 23:43). Jesus was in Heaven. While His body lay in a tomb, the Bible says:

(Hebrews 9:11-12 NKJV) But Christ came [as] High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. [12] Not with the blood of goats and calves, but WITH HIS OWN BLOOD HE ENTERED THE MOST HOLY PLACE ONCE FOR ALL, having obtained eternal redemption.

Jesus went into the Holy of Holies in Heaven. He presented Himself to the Father, having finished the work the Father gave Him. Jesus “has the keys of Hell and death” (Revelation 1:18). Jesus has “the key of David” (Revelation 3:7). And only by faith in Jesus Christ will any of us get to Heaven.

When the Deacon Stephen was being stoned to death for speaking the Gospel, the Bible says:

(Acts 7:59 NKJV) …. they stoned Stephen as he was calling on [God] and saying, “LORD JESUS, RECEIVE MY SPIRIT”

You all have an appointment with death and with God. You all will be judged by God right after death. How will you stand through that judgment. If you have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, your soul will go to Jesus. It won’t stay asleep in a grave no more than Jesus’ soul lay asleep in the grave. You’ll leave this life to go to a greater life with Jesus.

That is, if you love Jesus. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, your works will be judged, but your salvation is secure. I hope to meet Dolly, Loretta, and Elvis in Heaven. For that matter, I hope to see you all there. Whether I do or not will depend on whether you love Jesus or not. Have you received Him as Lord and Savior? If not, today is a great day to be saved. Amen.