FINISHING VICTORIOUSLY
Good Friday
Pastor Clanton
Woodland Church
Friday, April 7, 2023
(John 4:34, CEV) “Jesus: I must finish the work that he gave me to do.”
(John 19:28–30, NIV) “Knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” … When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
(1 John 3:8, NIV) “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”
1. JESUS PAID FOR AND CANCELED MY DEBT OF SIN.
(Romans 8:3–4, NLT) “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. … giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
(Hebrews 9:15, NLT) “Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.”
(Colossians 2:14, CEV) “God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross.”
(Hebrews 5:9, GW) “After he had finished his work, he became the source of eternal salvation for everyone who obeys him.”
2. JESUS RESCUED ME FROM SATAN’S POWER TO DESTROY ME.
(Colossians 1:13–14, CEV) “God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, who forgives our sins and sets us free.”
(1 Corinthians 10:13, Message) “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.”
Three Assurances
A. In Christ there is no condemnation.
(Romans 8:1)
B. Nothing can separate me from the love of Christ.
(Romans 8:35-39)
C. Greater is He who lives within me than the devil.
(1 John 4:4)
3. JESUS GIVES ME ETERNAL LIFE.
(John 3:15–16, NLT) “Everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
(Hebrews 2:14–15, NLT) “The Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.”
At 4:30 a.m. a nurse came in to turn Dallas in the bed. Her visit awakened Gary. Moving Dallas awakened him too. Gary took Dallas’s hand. Dallas turned to him and told him to tell his loved ones how much he was blessed by them and how much he appreciated them. He then referenced four individuals by name and told Gary to tell each one that he will be waiting for them when they arrive.
Then, as Gary describes, “in a voice clearer than I had heard in days, he leaned his head back slightly and with his eyes closed said, ‘Thank you.’” Gary did not feel that Dallas was talking to him, but to another presence that Dallas seemed to sense in the room.
And those were the last words of Dallas Willard. “Thank you,” he said, to a very present and now finally visible to him God.
-Gary Moon, Becoming Dallas Willard, p. 240
4. JESUS GIVE ME VICTORY OVER SIN AND DEATH.
(1 Corinthians 15:54–57, NLT) “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
GROWTHWORK
(1 Corinthians 15:58, NLT) “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”
1. CELEBRATE GOD’S LOVE.
2. CELBRATE GOD’S GOODNESS.
3. CELEBRATE GOD’S POWER.
4. CELEBRATE GOD’S VICTORY.