Finished, but not Done

Introduction

Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

I would like to start this message off but by letting you know that you are not so special that you can escape the process of being anointed, now that we’ve cleared that up let’s get to the point you want to hear.

Do you remember the day when you rolled across the floor and foam came out of your mouth while you were saying ‘Yes Lord, use me, have your way, Lord’ and oh the joy you felt in that moment. Do you remember when the prophet called you out and told you ‘God’s hand is on your life, he’s going to use you to preach all over the world, sing on big stages and your going to be wealthy’, well I have given those words and i have received those words, but there is something they left out of the prophesy and that is that before God takes you higher, he first has to drop you down into something called a process. You know when you feel like you can’t hear God anymore, when every prayer partner becomes to occupied all of a sudden, when you have to figure out who you can trust amongst your friends and family, when all of a sudden your health seems to hinder you from doing what God called you to do, and it will make you question, ‘if God is calling me, why am i going through so much’, but can you tell somebody, ‘ you’ve got to drink too.’

It was the mother of James and John that came to Jesus asking if her sons could sit next to him on the left and on the right when he comes into his glory, a real noble request but she is zealous without knowledge of what it takes to come into this glory, Jesus asked the sons, do you really know what you are asking, are you able to drink of the cup that I drink, or the baptism I’m being baptized in? Which leads up to this cup he speaks of.

This cup he speaks of is a cup of sour wine which represents the bitterness of his assignment, for it was commanded in Exodus during the first passover that they should prepare the paschal lamb and make sure they season it with Maror which are bitter herbs to represent the bitterness of their slavery, and since Jesus is the sacrificial lamb for humanity its only right that he partake of the bitterness, therefore some of you may want to reconsider your urge to grab a mic if you assess the bitterness of this assignment, but for those of us who have been in this for a while we realize that the bitter days produce the strongest anointing, the mountain top produces great poetry, but the valley produces a psalm that says yay though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou are with me, tell your neighbor ‘you’ve got to drink too’.

It is in the garden of Gethsemane that Jesus prays within himself and says ‘is there any way this cup can pass from me?’ in other words I don’t know how much more bitterness I can take, and when the flesh of God tried to negotiate with God, the spirit of God rose up and said, not my will but thy will be done. So Jesus is on the cross, and he makes the statement ‘I, thirst’, and they give him the cup of sour wine, the cup that represents his agony, the cup that represents the bitterness of his assignment, the cup that represents what must be done, and after he drank it, he declared it is finished. but I lift to you, that even though the assignment was finished, eventhough he gave up the ghost, Jesus wasnt finished, but he was just getting started. Tell somebody, Neighbor, you passed this assignment, now get ready for the next. Tell them you’re finished, but your not done, because to be done, means it no longer exists, but to be finished, is not final, he still had to go see Thomas, he still had restore Peter, you still have to go get, your unsaved family, and you still have to walk into your greatest hour. Clap your hands and say there’s more.