Most days I am burdened. Some days are worse than others.
Some days I feel troubled and some days I feel not-so-troubled. Am I burdened
with the normal things of life? Yeah, I am: Things like money, relationships, kids,
family, the government; and things that affect day to day life. Yes those things
are burdens, and yes I think about them, and yes sometimes I become obsessed
about them, and yes sometimes I worry. Does that make me a bad person? Does
that make me self-centered?
No. We all go through things like that. I have a
different kind of burden too. One that is more important than those. The Bible
says that all those things will pass away and come to an end. Okay, so what is
my burden? My burden is how I can share something I have learned that is so “WOW”
and help you to understand.
Someone told me recently, “John, you cannot save the
world.” That struck me. And here is the "WOW" I want to share.
Jesus said from the cross, “It is finished.” The Bible
goes on to say that Jesus “gave up His Spirit, bowed His head, and died.” Jesus
is saying there is nothing more that could be done. God came to earth to become
flesh and live among us. God HIMSELF came! God HIMSELF came to earth to become
sin for us. Jesus was created to die. Have you ever thought about that?
Then at His moment of death, when there was nothing more
He could give, what did Jesus do? He released His Holy Spirit. He set His
Spirit free. He turned His Spirit loose. Jesus had already told the Apostles
that He would pray for God to send a comforter to come along side them to give
them power to teach all people the things Jesus had taught them. And there it
is. At the moment of His death, Jesus gave the world HIMSELF.
Jesus did not forgive our sin. God forgave our sins.
Jesus made it possible for that to happen. We don’t sin against Jesus. We sin
against GOD. When Jesus gave Himself in exchange for us, God’s anger was
satisfied. WE ARE FORGIVEN. IT IS FINISHED. OUR SINS ARE TO GOD “AS FAR AS THE
EAST IS FROM THE WEST.”
SO why are so many people taught to pray for God to
forgive them every day? God forgave each one of us at the cross. Everything
past, present, and future is forgiven. This is a truth that releases us, sets
us free, and turns us loose. Do you believe this? Do you trust this?
What are we free to do that we cannot do now? We say we
teach, share, preach, witness and things like that. All of those are good. The
Bible, however, says, we are to PROCLAIM the Gospel to the entire world.
Proclaim means to make known in every way possible, to shout, to scream, and to
declare that Jesus Christ is Lord! It means that above the noise of the world
and the weight of our burdens one thing stands clear: JESUS CHRIST DIED, WAS
BURIED, AND ROSE FROM THE DEAD!
Jesus made this point in John 12:32, “And
when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” The
Prophet Isaiah said long before Jesus was born that He saw “The Lord” high and
lifted up, on his throne, and with His glory filling the temple.
Only when Jesus had done everything He
could do, being lifted up on the cross, as King of Kings on His throne, and His
glory filling HIS temple (That is you and me by the way), that we could be
drawn to Him.
But we hang onto guilt and sin and
worrying if we are forgiven or not. IT IS FINISHED. YOU ARE FORGIVEN. Nothing
stands between you and OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.
But Pastor John, you don’t seem to
understand,
I still sin. – Yup got it.
I still make mistakes. – Yup got it.
There are problems in my marriage. – Yup
got it.
There are money problems. – Yup got it.
I’ve done things in the past I’m not
proud of. – Yup got it.
There are things I’ve done I wish I had
not done. – Yup got it.
I say, “That’s exactly right.” God's knows and God has
forgiven each and every mistake we have made, are making today, and will make
tomorrow. Every single one of them “is as far from God as the east is from the
west.”
So we don’t pray forgiveness. We pray thanksgiving.
Thank you Lord for saving me. I know I will make mistakes. Thank you for
forgiving me. Now let your Holy Spirit live in me to show forgiveness to
others. Let your Holy Spirit lead me to YOUR TRUTH so I will not make the
mistake again. Give me your power to help others not make mistakes also.
Now the view changes not from what I am
doing wrong in guilt but what God has done with Jesus in grace.
That person I was recently talking with was
right. I cannot change the world. You cannot either. Only God can change the
world through the blood of Jesus Christ and His love and grace that was
exchanged at the cross for our sin and guilt.
