Guest Preacher - Mr Calum Campbell (High Free)

Seeking the Lord's help, we will turn again to this portion of Scripture!

And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Particularly these words, it is finished.

Those of you who were here last Sabbath morning when I was also doing the service will remember that we looked at Joseph in Genesis chapter 37 and the evil report that Joseph gave to his father with regard to his brothers.

And we spoke of the evil report and we spoke of the love that Joseph had for his brothers. And I said last week that it was my intention to carry on with that theme and move on tonight to the hatred that Joseph's brothers had towards him.

But in the midst of all that has happened since last we were found gathered here, I believe that the Lord laid it on my heart to change that and not to speak about a sermon with regard to the dangers of hatred, but instead to seek to bring another portion of Scripture that spoke greatly of hope and encouragement.

On the 10th of September 2022, the Prince of Wales wrote a profound statement.

He wrote a statement that, to me, it is the best statement I have ever read. And it was with regard to the death of the Queen.

And in that statement he says, the world lost an extraordinary leader. And in that statement he says, that I, however, have lost my grandmother.

And he says in the statement, that she was with him by his side at this happiest moment, and she was also by his side during the saddest days of his life.

And I went back to that statement with the midst of all that has happened this week. And surely we can say that the three men that were lost to the island and to their families this week were also extraordinary people.

And some of us in here would count them as your friends. But like the Prince of Wales said, to others they are sons and fathers and husbands and partners and brothers who were with their family at the happiest of times and with their families too at the saddest of times.

But what really got to me was this phrase, this term that the Queen said during her time of service, she said this, that grief is the price we pay for love.

And he concludes and ends the statement by saying, I will honour her memory by supporting my father, the King, in every way that I can. And we have again this week been reminded, my friends, that grief is the price we pay for love.

And so we come to the word and we come to the house of the Lord. And we can do nothing but, in a sense, support and honour the King of Kings at a time such as this.

These are days of reflection for not just the family but for each and every single one of us as we are found gathered here this day. so we come to this portion of scripture that speaks to us of what Christ says, it is finished.

Where do we go when tragedy strikes? Where do we go, my friends, as a people who love the Lord when things like this happen?

Where do we go as individuals? Where do we go as families? Where do we go as a church? Where do we go as an island? When we, in a sense, feel so numb and so lost and so confused at the mysterious providence of the Lord.

Where do we go? What do we do when we lose people that we love in unexpected ways? and when their lives come to an end, we come to the word of God.

We come to Jesus Christ. We come to the one who knows what it was like when his life in this world came to an end.

We come to the one who cried it is finished. And that is why we come this night to this portion of scripture and we ask the question what is finished?

And there are three things with the Lord's help I want to seek to bring to your attention as we ask that question. What is finished? And first of all we shall say this that the fulfillment of Christ's prophecies were finished.

and secondly we shall say that Christ's sufferings were finished. And thirdly we shall say this that the work of redemption was also finished.

And as we look at these three headings and as we look at this portion of scripture it is our hope that in these words of Christ that we would find hope and encouragement as individuals and as families and as a district at such a time as this.

Up until this is just a sixth saying on the cross the Lord has said other sayings in the past. This is number six of seven.

And in the first few sayings of Christ we can say surely that there is an element of tragedy taking place at the cross where injustice is being done where one who has done no wrong has been sentenced to death in a shambolic trial as those that hated Christ sought in one way or another to put an end to his life.

And it's almost as if with some of the things that they do to Christ and he says Christ is coming across as an innocent victim but not by the time he comes to his sixth and seventh sayings.

He is no longer then a victim. He speaks as a victor, as one who is victorious, as one who is in control even though his friends and his family are so confused in the midst of all that is taking place with our Lord being crucified.

When you think of the words it is finished, my friends, do not think of them from the point of view that this is some kind of a despairing cry as Christ nears death.

It is not. And don't think of these words it is finished as words that might come from a helpless martyr's mouth. It is not.

When we read these words it is finished. They are a shout of spiritual victory coming from the mouth of our Lord and of our Saviour.

And what it is, it is a declaration from the Redeemer that he has come to do and that he has accomplished to do all that the Father has asked of him to do.

In the Greek language, the words it is finished has the same word as the word accomplished.

The word is tetelastai. And tetelastai in Greek means it is finished. accomplished. And tetelia in Greek also means accomplished.

And when we read of Christ saying it is finished here, what it means in the original is it stands finished and it will always be finished.

finished. And as it was finished when Christ uttered these words, it still stands finished tonight. My friends, do you know Christ as your Saviour?

Do you understand the meaning of the words, it is finished, when he neared the end of his life? Do these words have any meaning at all to you?

It is finished. And the emphasis here is not so much on the fact that his sufferings are coming to an end. The emphasis here is the fact that Christ has now completed the work of redemption.

all that he has been asked to do. It has been really interesting to read of the way in which he is able to say these words, I thirst.

In Matthew's account, in scripture, in Matthew chapter 27, and in verse 34, we read this, that they offered him wine to drink mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink of it.

But yet here, in this portion of scripture, in verse 29, we read that a sour wine stood there, and they put it on a sponge, a sponge full of sour wine, on a husser branch, and he held it to his mouth, and he drank it.

Now, the word gall, that we read in chapter 2, in the gospel of Matthew, it's a very interesting word. The word gall is actually bile that is found within an animal, and from this bile it is used as medicine.

Even to this day, this bile, this fluid that is found within the liver of animals, even in this day and age in which we live in, is used by the Chinese people as medicine.

in their quest to help people who suffer from epilepsy and also heart pain. And the bile was used, the gall was used by the soldiers sometimes at crucifixion, in a sense to try and deaden the pain that those who were crucified were in.

and this was not done in love, this was done so that in a sense they would be able to live a little bit longer on the cross.

And if it meant that those that were being crucified could last a few hours longer in torment while being crucified, this bile would be added to them.

Why? This gall would be added, but Christ tasted it and would not drink it. But he drinks it in God John's Gospel.

As we read in verse 29 and we ask why drink it then when he didn't drink it the first time. Because when it touched his lips there was no gall to be found in it.

It was sour wine. It was the sour wine that the soldiers were drinking for their own amusement as they were getting drunk while enjoying the sufferings of Christ.

And this vinegar and this sour wine that is used here, can you picture it as it touches the lips of Christ? Can you picture it my friends as we read here as this hyssop branch is placed up to his mouth?

And it touches his lips and it moistens his lips and it moistens the tongue and then he is able to say these wonderful words aloud.

It is finished. What a saviour we have. What he endured in order to provide hope for me and hope for you.

it is finished. What was finished? Let's turn to our first heading then. The fulfillment of Christ's prophecies were fulfilled and there are multitudes of them in scripture.

There are far far far too many to mention but let me mention and bring to your attention some of them. I want to bring eight and in these eight I want you to see the hope and the confidence that there is in the Lord who has provided a way of salvation for each and every single one of us.

The prophecy that Christ would be born of a woman is given to us in Genesis 3.16 And it is rubber stamped in a sense in Galatians 4.4 where we read these words that when the fullness of time had come God sent forth a son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those that were under the law so that they might receive adoption as sons.

That's just one of many. And here's another one that the prophecy that his mother would be a virgin. This is given to us in Isaiah chapter 7 where we read these words hundreds of years before he came into the world.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. And we have that story in Matthew chapter 1.

And if that's not enough to encourage us we have the prophecy that Christ would come from the seed of Abraham. And we have that in Genesis chapter 22.

As we read that the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said by myself I have sworn declares the Lord because you have done this and withheld your son your only son I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and the sand of the seashore and your offspring shall possess the gates of the enemies and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice.

And we find mention of this in the opening words of the New Testament. The book of genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1. And over and above that we have in 2 Samuel and we have another fulfillment of scripture. We have just read about David and we have here the prophecy that Christ would be a descendant of David.

And we read in chapter 7 of 2 Samuel when the days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers. I will raise up your offspring after you.

And who shall come from the body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. And then again in Matthew 1.1 you have mention of David.

You have the prophecy in Micah 5.2 that Christ is going to be born in Bethlehem. O Bethlehem who are too little to be among the clans of Judah from you shall come forth for me one who is the ruler in Israel from whose coming forth of old from the ancient of days.

Another proof that the Lord has given to us. You have the prophecy in Jeremiah not just of the wonderful things but of the awful things that are going to happen.

You are going to have the prophecy in Jeremiah and in chapter 31 you have the prophecy that when Christ is born it will bring sorrow to other children.

Thus saith the Lord a voice is heard in Ramah lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children but she refuses to be comforted because they are no more.

And you know the story don't you in Matthew chapter 2 when Herod is tricked by the wise men and he orders all the young children all the young male children that are two years of old age and less to be sentenced to death to be murdered in the hope that Christ would be one of them.

That is the fulfillment of scripture. And then you have the ones that you have known from your youngest of years. You have the prophecy that Christ would be despised.

He was despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs. And we can see that in any single one of the four gospels.

And then finally you have the prophecy that Christ should thirst on the cross. And you have this in Psalm 22 and verse 15.

My strength is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue cleaves to its jaws. You lay in the dust of death. And you have the words that we have just finished singing.

In Psalm 69. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comfort found I none. They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

Do you see the glory of Christ the Saviour? God, he didn't just magically appear. He was prophesied for many, many years, hundreds of years.

Every aspect of his life was prophesied about. All the encouragement that we needed to believe in the Son of God.

And even in this portion of Scripture that we read together, you have the prophecy there that we read of in verse 24, where they divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

These are words that you have in one of the Psalms. And then we finally come to another one, just before Christ is going to die.

Just before Christ commits the Spirit to the Lord. we have this prophecy being fulfilled. From Psalm 31 and in verse 5, into your hands I commit my spirit, you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

Oh, my friends, Scripture is full of the promises that Christ was going to come in the Old Testament, and they are revealed in the New Testament.

And that's only a tiny section, these nine that I've brought to your account. There are multitudes of other ones that you would spend all night talking about.

And surely we can say then, that Scripture in these prophecies being fulfilled, it offers us hope, and it offers us comfort in who we are living for, in who we are trusting with our souls, in who we long to see at the end of life's journey, in who we trust in as Savior and as friend.

And we are thankful, are we not, that he is our Savior and our friend, in times, in hard times, in dark times, in difficult times, in times of distress, in times of turmoil, in times of tears, we go to the one who cried, it is finished.

And that's just the prophecies of the Lord coming into the world the first time. There are other prophecies that are written about the Lord coming into the world a second time.

And we're not even going to go there. But as he came the first time, my friends, so he will come the second time. And surely this week we have been reminded of how quickly death can come into our lives and into the lives of people we know and people we love.

And we think that we might go on to live many years yet. But it's not just death that can catch us out.

He's coming back again. And Scripture tells us that he will come as a thief in the night, like death when we least expect it.

What will we be doing if he comes in our time? If the Lord Jesus Christ came tonight, would you be ready?

These were the eleven words that were blessed to me in 1991 when listening to a sermon in point. And I was desperately hoping, maybe you're the same way just now, that the preacher would just finish so that I could get home.

And the preacher that day was Reverend Alistair Smith, retired. And I don't have a clue what that man spoke about. But when he said, I'll conclude by saying these words, the thought came to me, you beauty about time too.

And then he said, these eleven words have changed my life. If the Lord Jesus Christ came tonight, would you be ready? And to this day, I don't know what text he preached on.

Oh, my friends, Christ is here nearing death. And in a sense, however long or short we have in this world, we too are nearing death.

And are we ready for it? it is finished. What was finished? We'll move to our second heading.

Christ's sufferings were finished. We cannot begin to understand the physical sufferings of Christ, the mental sufferings of Christ, the spiritual sufferings of Christ as he was crucified on Calvary.

We can try, but we cannot get anywhere near what he endured. He suffered under the hands of the wrath of man.

He suffered under the hands of the wrath of Satan in these hours of darkness. darkness. And he suffered under the hands of God, who hid his face from him.

All so that you and me could have hope in him. All so that we would be kept in this world and comforted and prepared for the next world.

our Lord was one upon whom pain was afflicted upon him by his friends and also by his enemies.

Little wonder we call him the man of sorrows. And there are those of us in here tonight, I am sure, who in the past have experienced great physical great mental and great spiritual sufferings.

In your own experiences. But my friends tonight, remember them who are experiencing these sufferings right now.

The Morrison family, the Murray family, and the Craigie family. dark times, dark days.

How would we ever get through those of us who love the Lord? How would we ever get through these experiences without the Lord being by your side? But he will soon die.

He is nearing death. And he will soon rise again. And he will soon ascend. and never again in the experience of Christ, never again will he experience pain.

Never again will he experience torment in the hands of Satan. And never again will he experience the hiding of his father's face.

All that was finished. It is finished. And his excruciating physical pain was now almost over.

He has got just one more saying to say. And then he gives up the ghost. And the sufferings of his soul are now not almost over.

They are completely over. As he says, it is finished. How do you picture Christ on the cross when he utters these words?

It is finished. How does your mind's eye work? How do you see the son of man, the God man?

How do you see your redeemer? God! and me.

It is true when we read these words that Christ has not yet died. But his death and his burial and his resurrection and his ascension are as certain here as if they have already been accomplished.

finished. The mission that the Lord had sent him into this world, the Father had sent him into this world has now been accomplished.

Thanks be to the Lord. That that is so. And although it is not quite finished until he breathes his last breath in this world, in anticipation of his death, he says it is finished.

I wonder, my friends, will we reach that point? In our lives, will we reach the stage where we are anticipating death?

In minutes or hours to come? Or will death take us in an instant when people least expect it? I mentioned recently several places of a wonderful woman that I met when doing worship in Bethesda each month.

And she was buried last month and her name was Margaret Murray from Swainpost. But I only knew her as Peggy from Bethesda.

And she would always be there at worship time and she would always have an encouraging word when worship was over. And one day a few weeks ago the staff came in to see her and asked her did she need anything?

And she said no. I'm going to close my eyes and go and meet my Savior. her and within a matter of moments the Lord called her home.

There was a woman who was anticipating her death and there was a woman who could say of her life it is finished.

That's the kind of ending that we would all want but that's the kind of ending that very few people get. And here is Christ after 33 years in the form of a servant.

And we read now that the plan of God has been fully carried out. And he has given his body to physical torture and he has given even his soul to unspeakable absolute torment of agony.

And we read here that the cross it isn't just an instrument of his punishment but it is a symbol of the throne of his conquering love. His conquering love over death.

My friends do you know of the conquering love of Christ in your own hearts, in your own souls? Has that been your experience? Oh we give thanks today that we know what love is.

What a gift from God that we know what love is. What a gift from God that we can feel loved and that we are able to give love to family members and to friends.

What a gift. That's why my friends, that's why love hurts when those that we love and those that we know are taken away.

love and love. Whether it is quick or whether it is after a long illness, love hurts when we lose people that we love in this world.

But what of you? Do you know my friends, of the throne, of the conquering love of Christ, the one who was going to defeat death, the one who neared death, the one who said it is finished, and was soon going to rise again.

It is finished. What was finished? We move into our third and final heading. What was finished? All thanks be to God that the work of redemption is finished.

The work of redemption is finished. Where would we be tonight if the work of redemption was not finished? In John chapter 17, in John chapter 10, sorry, in verse 17, we have these words.

For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me.

I lay down my life of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up. This charge I have received from my Father.

Does it not fill us with hope and comfort when we read these words, that no one takes it from me? Doesn't matter what we go through in life?

Even when we go through things that don't make sense at all? Even when we reach the stage and we can reach the stage and shake our fist at God with anger? If we are his believing people, we are always kept in his hand.

No one takes any from Christ. And in John chapter 15, we read these words in verse 13.

What Christ has commanded, that you love one another as I have loved you, greater love with no man than this, than someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what the master is doing. I have called you my friends, for all that I have heard of my father I have made known to you.

Well, my friends, can you claim to be a friend of Christ? Can you come to Christ in the midst of brokenness?

Can you come to Christ in the midst of confusion, in the midst of turmoil, and say, my friend, what a blessing for the believer who can do that.

Christ? We will all die. And none of us can prevent that unless the Lord comes in our lifetime.

We will all die. Christ was sentenced to death, but Christ died when it was the right moment for him to do.

Yes, he had been sentenced to death in an awful manner. He had been sentenced to death by people who hated him.

But the moment that Christ died was not up to the soldiers or Pilate or anybody else. The moment that Christ died was when, as we read here, he said, it is finished, and he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit.

Christ would die soon. But let me tell you this, and this should fill our hearts with hope and joy and confidence tonight.

Six hours he was on the cross. three of these hours were in darkness. In the experience of Christ, it became midnight at midday, when the devil caused havoc with his soul, when the Lord hid his face from him.

death. But it was not in the darkness that Christ died. It was not in the darkness that he was put to death.

It was not in the darkness that he gave up the ghost. It was in broad daylight where everybody would see it.

Even on the cross, even as he nears death, Christ knows the joy of victory. And that is why he cries it is finished.

And that is why tonight there is no more need of us for the old ceremonial laws. That is why tonight all that is asked of us is faith alone.

And the one who cried it is finished. Amen. we have already quoted from Isaiah 53.

But let me quote again, all we like sheep have gone astray and we have turned every one to his own way. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

And here we see that the sins of the believer are transferred onto the Savior at the cross as our substitute. much in that.

You know my friends there is no substitute for God's substitute. You don't need me to tell you that. We either trust in the substitute of God and experience the glory of glory or we are lost and damned in hell forever.

there is no plan B. It is God's way or no way at all. And that is why we come in here tonight and that is why we worship the Lord and that is why the believer is dares actually dares to say that there is no sin in me.

Sorry that the believer will say that there is sin in me but there is no sin on me. How can we dare to say such a thing as that? We dare to say such a thing as that because we read in Peter that he bore our sins on his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds we are healed.

And by his wounds those of us in here tonight who love the Lord who trust in the Lord we are the trophies of his grace.

Every single day of our lives we are the trophies of his grace. Even in days of confusion even in days of difficulties even in dark days we are the trophies of his grace.

The work of Christ in bearing the penalty of sins is now complete. The work of redemption is finished. Oh thanks be to the Lord.

Thanks be to the Lord that Christ has done all not only has he done all but Christ has paid all and performed all and suffered all that he needed to suffer on your behalf and on my behalf.

What a saviour. All that was done to satisfy the divine justice of God and all that is being done as he says it is finished.

You know in human appearances in human appearances it looks as if the moment of that this is the moment of Satan's greatest victory in these three hours of turmoil in the darkness and in all that Christ endured in the wrath of God.

yet in the reality it was the hour of his ultimate defeat. His power is broken and as we read in Colossians his power is broken as far as believers are concerned.

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sins.

Is that you in here tonight? Is that me in here tonight? Is that here tonight? once we were captives were we not?

Once we were captives but now Christ has freed us and we are believers in Christ no longer captive and hell itself will never get a hold of you or I who are in Christ even though that is where we deserve to be.

What a savior. And do you know what's wonderful? And do you know what's glorious? And do you know what's amazing?

Is that the moment that you believe in God's testimony concerning his beloved son that that is the very moment that your every sin is blotted out.

And you stand accepted in Christ. Christ. Oh yeah, we'll undoubtedly we'll die and we may take things to the grave with us that we will never forgive ourselves of doing but they are forgiven in Christ.

And that is why tonight as Christians, that is why tonight as believers, we need not fear sin, we need not fear Satan, and we need not fear a law that is going to condemn us at the judgment because the believer has a saviour who cried it is finished.

The believer has a saviour who has done all, who has paid all, who has accomplished all, who has performed all that was necessary for his or her salvation.

will you therefore today, my friends, if you haven't trusted as yet in Christ as your saviour, will you therefore place your trust tonight in the one who cried at Calvary, it is finished.

In a statement as I read earlier on, the Prince of Wales mentioned these incredible words that his grandmother famously said, that grief was the price we pay for love.

My friend, grief was the price that Jesus Christ paid for love to, for the love of his own people, for the love of you, for the love of me.

we think that our love for our children and for our parents and for our brothers and sisters is immeasurable and to a degree that is very true.

But what's even more immeasurable is the love that Christ has for his own people. who he's going to take home one by one.

Everybody that is in glory right now, everybody that ever sat in this church, everybody that was a member of your family, that you know and that you loved and were a believer in Christ, everybody there is in glory at this moment in time.

Why? Because they were complete in him. in this world by faith. That is why they are in glory and that is why you and I will be in glory too as this believing people.

Because they placed their trust in the Christ who died at Calvary and said it is finished. Nobody knows how we're going to end our lives.

but when that time comes and if we are one of those people who might have several weeks or several months through sickness or sorrow and suffering before the time comes when we eventually die, we will most likely die saying that there were things that we would have loved to have seen and done and completed and things that we would have loved to have finished.

My friends, the three men that lost their lives this week would have been in that same category. I came across this poem that speaks about justice, about the things that we would want to finish before we leave this world.

And the poem is called Finished and it says this, the sculptor laid his tools aside and finished though he was, he died. The artist with his brush undone laid down his brush at set of sun.

The writer with his tail half told no longer to his life could hold. The farmer put away his plough still unturned he's resting now.

God's son alone triumphant died for it is finished Jesus cried. The price is paid the battles won the great work of salvation done.

Because he finished all for me complete in him! I know I'll be. Well, my friends, in this world, we'll conclude and we will say this.

We might never fully understand the providence of God. But we fully can understand the promises of God.

And the promises of God are found in Scripture from beginning to end that all who trust in him will be saved. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that no man will perish but have everlasting life.

That is why he came, to provide a way for sinners such as you and I. And if the events of this week are not enough to move us to ask the Lord to come into our lives in order that we can be kept in this world and prepared for the next, I don't know what is.

before your lives come to an end, my friends, it might be a sudden and quick end, but before your lives come to an end, make sure, make sure, make sure, make sure, make sure that your eternal trust is in the one who cried at Calvary, it is finished.

Amen. May the Lord bless to us these thoughts from his own holy word. We shall conclude by singing together in Psalm 23. Psalm 23, the Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want, he makes me down to lie, past your screen, he leadeth me, a quiet water spy.

We shall read and sing the whole psalm from beginning to end, goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me and in God's house forevermore my dwelling place shall be.

Shall we sing these words together? The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want. The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.

He makes me down to lie, in past your streams, he leadeth me, the quiet waters by.

My soul he does restore again, and he to walk the way within the path of righteousness in for his own name He say, yea, though I walk in death star fill, yet will I fear not ill, for thou art with me and thy road and stop me comfort still!

my table thou hast furnished in presence of my cause!

!! my head thou doth with oil an eye and my cup over flows!

goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me and in God's heart for me and in God's heart God's heart forever more my dwelling place shall be!

let's pray in conclusion O Lord our God what a privilege it is to be able to say Lord our God what a privilege it is to be able to say that the Lord is my shepherd and what a privilege it is for us to know of your keeping in this world and what a privilege it is to know Lord that goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow us and in God's house forever more our dwelling place shall be all because we by your grace have been able to place our trust in the Christ who cried it is finished O may this be the experience in the fullness of time when our lives come to an end whether it comes suddenly or whether it comes slowly may it be that all that are found gathered and all that are listening to the word this night would be found in your house forevermore for all eternity until then O Lord keep us we pray in Jesus name

Amen may