It is Finished- and we’re just getting started!

John 19:28-30

English Standard Version Chapter 19

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

We just finished our 21 day fast as a church, and we’ve just experienced an amazing revival weekend. But we’re not about to have a post revival slump. What i’m going to share with you tonight will hopefully give you a new understanding of the meaning behind what Jesus said and did, and hopefully this will be a simple distillation of the gospel in a way that you can take with you and remember when you leave here.

(read passage again)

It is finished- was the fulfillment of Jesus as the King’s Champion.

For much of human history, when an enemy invader came to Steal, Kill, and Destroy a kingdom- the king would choose a champion from among the people to go out and fight the champion of the enemy’s kingdom. Whichever champion defeated the other, would win the victory- not only for his king- but for every citizen of the his kingdom.

This is obviously what we see when David was chosen as champion of the kingdom of Israel who went and defeated Goliath and the army that came to steal, kill, and destroy God’s people.

Just like David was the champion chosen by God in the Old Testament, Jesus- the Son of David, was God’s champion chosen to save the people of God from the enemy who came to steal our souls, kill us, and destroy the kingdom of God. Jesus’ statement “it is finished” was His announcement that He had won the victory over the enemy, and the victory was not just His, but was a victory for the King, AND victory for every citizen of the Kingdom of God.

So “it is finished” for you means- YOU have the victory. Victory over Sin, over addiction, over pain, over depression and anxiety- YOU have the victory.

You get to LIVE from a place of Victory!

2. “It is finished” also means our DEFAULT MODE for prayer, is to pray from the position of victory!

Jesus said in Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” How can we believe that we have received it? Because we are citizens of the Kingdom, and our champion won the victory.

How many times do you pray and immediately think- gee, I hope He heard me! Did you pray from a position of victory and belief, or were you doubting before the words even left your mouth? Do we believe he won the victory for us, or is our giant larger in our minds and hearts than our God is? “It is finished” means that our default setting is that we stand in Victory when we pray because our enemy has already been defeated.

3. When He said “it is finished”, Jesus became the first Gospel Preacher!

listen carefully because this will change how you read this passage forever-

the Gospel - Romans 1:16 says this: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

the word Gospel is the Bible is the word: evangelion- meaning messenger of good news. it’s where we get the word Evengelist. watch this- let’s go back to our story about the champion chosen to fight the enemy who comes against the kingdom. In Roman times, which is the time that Jesus lived in, when a champion would defeat the enemy; the fastest runner would be sent back to people to share the Good News that the Champion chosen by the King had won the victory on their behalf- which meant that their enemy was defeated for them and they could claim the victory.

This runner carrying the good news was called Evangelion- the evangelist.

So when Jesus said “it is finished” on the cross, not only was He fulfilling prohecy as claiming victory over the enemy, not only was he winning the victory on our behalf as our champion, He was also the first evangelist- sharing the good news that the victory is won and our enemy is defeated!

4. Now we follow his example: walk in victory, pray from victory, and spread the good news!

“It is finished” was the last thing Jesus said on the cross and it was the first statement declaring the good news that Jesus had won the victory.

The last thing Jesus said before He ascended gave us instructions to walk in that victory and to follow His example of sharing the good news.

Matthew 28:18–20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

He gave us His authority to walk in victory, and the assignment to share the Gospel- Evangelize- be his runners announcing the victory- GO make disciples!

CLOSE- now we’re going to spend the rest of our time tonight in prayer, so before I hand it off to Amy, I have some things for you to think about when we pray tonight:

what areas have you not been living in victory? tonight it’s time to realize that you can walk in complete victory because He won it for you, and you don’t have to win it for yourself.

What do you need to pray about from a position of victory? Let tonight be the start of a new mindset of victory in Christ when you pray about those things.

Finally- WHO do you know that needs to hear the good news that victory was won FOR them? Pray God will make you His runner to share the good news with them with Joy and Boldness!