Jesus said, it is finished

John 19:28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

· It is finished, I have finished all that I came to do, I have finished the old covenant, I have fulfilled the prophecies of the past. I have prepared everything for the future.

o The veil was torn signifying that the way was open to God.

It is finished! What was behind is finished and what is ahead can begin.

Jesus is the turning point, the center of all things in our lives, as he hung there on the cross suspended between heaven and earth, between God and Man he became the mediator (1Tim2:5), the one that goes between and joins together what was separated and also gives us the ability to go forward, from the past to the future, the ability to go from old to new, death to life, temporary to eternal, he is the reason we can change. The time that we live in is measured by Jesus’ life and death. BC and AD

Heb 12:1-3 therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Phil 3:12-15 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

(God’s Witness protection program)

Let us throw off everything that hinders

Forgetting what is behind Phil 3:13

What things (birth certificates, papers, anything that will connect you to your old identity, you have to change your habits and your location)

Guilt, Anger, Hurts, Rejection, Disappointment
Sins that you committed

Why?

Define why it is important to let it go!

It will connect you to your old life.
Allow yourself to grieve, to say goodbye reason out why this is important. Luke 6:21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
If something was taken from you grieve its loss, find closure. You’re Youth, innocence, life, health, respect, name, ministry, job, your husband or wife, your children, whatever it was. Grieving is a natural process of releasing something. BUT DON’T STAY THERE!

Try to understand the offender or situation (Why? Keeps us attached to the past)

Remember Hurt people hurt people. How did this person get hurt that caused them to want to hurt you? * Try to see it from their view point. i.e.

You’re riding the train and there is a man sitting there looking out the window and his children are running around out of control and the man is not doing anything about it. You are beginning to get irritated and you can see that others are bothered too. You can’t understand how this man can be so insensitive and will not control his children. You are about to go to him and tell what you think about him, THEN someone near by stops you and says “The poor man he is just coming back from the Hospital where his wife just died” Poor man! That changes your whole view about this man doesn’t it?

Release the offender (Is the connection to the past in your mind?)

Forgiveness is to untie someone from their effect on your life. Jn20:23 Now you can release people because I have made it possible through what I just did to have sins forgiven.

Un-forgiveness and all his brothers, bitterness, anger, revenge, and many more cause us to become like the one we hate. i.e. beat up at carnival, My Father,… Fear draws the things that we do not want to happen Job 3:25 *For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. Cancer?

Look for something good that came out of it Ro.8:28 (No more debts)

A new beginning, stronger now. God can turn it around.

I didn’t have a steady home life, but I did travel the world. I have learned what I don’t want to be like…

Run the race (Without a plan for the new life you will naturally go back to the old one) Hab 2:2 Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.

Write down your new goal. * The joy set before him: In a race there is a goal. The finish line, the prize. We will never be motivated by simply leaving the past, we must also be motivated toward the future.
straining toward what is ahead No Runner was ever motivated to run because he was running away from the starting line. (some of your are still motivated to get away from something instead of to something)
I press on toward the goal to win the prize

When we are tempted to feel sorry for ourselves remember to:

Consider him who (endured the cross, scorning its shame ) endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart

He was the only person on the earth that didn’t deserve the cross, yet he was crucified, ridiculed and put to shame for us. Don’t get caught up in the type of thinking “Why me? I didn’t deserve this.
If there is one thing I can guarantee that is that we will all hurt.

He is the only reason that we can look at our past and say “It is finished” no matter how hard it was it can have an end, it doesn’t have to be my future too, now I can have a new beginning. If we are a Christian we are hidden in Christ, A new name, life, purpose, future, birth date, “all things are new”