Shepherd's Lighthouse Church

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30

What a picture God has painted for us with these few words.

William Shakespeare asked the question, “What’s in a Word”.   

Well God is the inventor of words and He uses them most effectively.

It has been said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. 

This is Synergy. 

The last words of the Savior are a testament, and I believe that they carry a profound meaning. 

I submit that these three Words sum up His whole purpose and at the same time convey a powerful message to all those who would accept Him as Lord.

In John 4:34 Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.’

And on the Cross His work was finished. 

Yes, His mission was to set the captives free, but was there was a greater purpose to His life?  

He had come in the form of Adam not only to redeem us from the curse but also to vindicate the honor of the Father. 

His very profession, carpenter, declares it.

Listen, and rejoice as the indescribable wisdom of God unfolds a glorious mystery.

The word translated “carpenter” is the Greek word “tekton” from which we get our word “technology”. 

Its simple meaning is “craftsman”. 

But it comes from the root “timoreo” which means, “to guard or protect one’s honor”. 

Who’s Honor. 

Certainly not Adam’s or ours.

Timoreo, in turn, derives from “time” which means, “esteem, dignity”. 

The final root in this cascade is “tino” which means, “payment of a penalty”.

Notice the way God uses His word to communicate meaning beyond the reach of the casual observer? 

The Lord Jesus came to restore God’s Honor and to free the sons and daughters of Adam from Adam’s curse.

In Luke 23:46 we see the completion of God’s promise through the Cross; “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.'" Having said this, He breathed His last.”

This final statement of our Lord is more than a declaration of trust. 

It is an example that He has set before all who will follow Him.

Jesus, who Col 2:9 declares is the fulness of the Godhead in bodily form, surrendered his will in the garden of Gethsemane when He said in Mark 14:36, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

This He did to the Glory of God the Father.

And it is an instruction to all who would call Jesus, “Lord”. 

He says, “Follow Me.”

He said that His Food was to do the Will of the One who sent Him and to complete His work.  

So it should be for all who are indwelt by that Spirit that Jesus gave up with His last breath – that Holy Spirit without which nobody could accomplish the Father’s Will.

Romans 5:10 tells us that we have been reconciled by His death but saved by His life. 

His life? 

It is His life within us – the desire to do the will of the Father – this is the mind of Christ.

Each of us, when we think and act in accordance with God’s will, honor Him and declare His Glory.

It cost Jesus His life. 

And it will also cost each of us our lives as we surrender our wills to Him who is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 

This is the Great Exchange - to give up what we canno keep to gain what we cannot loose.

And this is how we glorify Him. 

This is how we give Him honor and esteem – not by fasting or sacraments for Church attendance.

But by the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

Gal 5:22-23 tells us that, “… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

In today’s church it’s easy to think that it’s all about us. 

We have become fixated on the love and grace of God toward His children.

We have come to think of God as our Servant and He is our provider and protector.

Yes we are the recipients of amazing love. 

But let us never forget that it is to the Glory of God that we have been saved. 

It is to the Glory of God that Jesus shed His blood on Calvary. 

And it is to the Glory of God that the Believer manifest Divine Will in the world.

Eph 2:10 declares, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

We are His workmanship, the product of His love. 

God’s purpose is to transform us into the likeness of Jesus.

Romans 8:29-30 “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

God has so much more for us than our comfort and happiness.

1 Cor 2:9 But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

But He can only transform us by the power of His Holy Spirit if we are willing.

He says in John 1:12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become  children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

God will not force Himself on anybody.

We must believe that Jesus is who He says He is and ask Him to reveal Himself.

It is only as we surrender our carnal ways that God will begin the glorious process of transformation.

Each of us must ask this question:  have I recognized my sins of pride and carnality and confessed them before God?

Because until we do God cannot begin His work of regeneration.

Am I so full of me that there is no room for Him?

1 John 2:16 gives us a valuable clue when it says, “For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.”

John the Baptist said it plainly in John 3:30 that, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Finally, we must ask ourselves, “Is pride standing in God’s way?”

What comes out of the mouth can reveal what is in the heart.

We must each ask ourselves, “Does my walk match my talk? ”

If you were on trial as a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you.

And I leave you with this:

When you sqeeze an orange you get orange juice - what should you get when you sqeeze a Christian?

In Psalm 100:3-5 we read, “Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”

 

Amen.