“It is Finished” Breaking Sin’s Dominion
Hebrews 8:8-10, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah - Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, say the Lord: I will put My laws into theirs minds, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be my people.”
Last week we saw the new covenant as it was made between the Father and the Son. And now as believers we are in Jesus, in that new covenant. We saw that it was God’s work and God’s provision that accomplished it all and mankind brought nothing worthy to redeem himself. God and God alone provided redemption for mankind. We have also seen our inability to live up to the moral Law of God. We have utterly failed and sin has reigned in our lives. We have been held in it’s dominion. As believers in the Lord Jesus, we realize that we are forgiven and our righteousness is found in Jesus Christ. But our sanctification is a work of God’s Holy Spirit and that work is where we are now studying. Yesterday we saw the utter despair of our need for deliverance from besetting sin (sin that we seem powerless to over come). We looked at how we reach the point of total brokenness before God. We looked at how we could tell if we were still trying to accomplish the work in the flesh. Now today, we will look at how to find our Deliverer.
Romans 4:20-22, “Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness.” This scripture is about Abraham and the promise of Isaac. God had given Abraham a promise that He would give him a son in his old age. The scripture tells us that Abraham became fully persuaded that God was able to perform the promise and that He would. God has promised us that He would deliver us and set us free. And like Abraham, we spend many days trying to make the promise happen. Abraham had Ishmael, a symbol of trying to accomplish the promise of God in the flesh. God waited to fulfill His promise to Abraham till it was impossible to accomplish it in the natural. God got all the glory. But before the promise came, Abraham became fully persuaded that God could and would fulfill His promise.
Now with this in mind, let’s look at John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” Do you believe this? You say, “Yes, I believe.” Now the question, “Are you fully persuaded to the point that you would stake your mortal life on it?” Let’s go to John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” The crux of our deliverance is found in us becoming fully persuaded that God and God alone can accomplish the work.
Go with me to Matthew 15:21-28 and you will see this in action. Here is a woman who is not a Jew, she is not in covenant but she sees Jesus as her ONLY SOURCE OF HOPE. There is no plan B. She is not saying, “if this does not work, I’ll go to the roman gods.” She comes to Jesus for healing for her daughter. She has great love for her daughter. She will do ANYTHING to see her daughter healed! She keeps crying out to Jesus and refuses to be turned away. The disciples beg the Lord to send her away. She cries out to Him and bows down before Him. He reminds her that she is not a covenant person and even refers to her as a dog. She is not moved. All she knows is that Jesus has the power to heal her daughter. Do you believe in Jesus this much? Do you believe that He and He alone is your source of deliverance from your besetting or overcoming sin? Are you fully persuaded that He can do it or is there doubt? Are you still trying to do it yourself? This was the whole point of yesterday’s devotion. We must come to the end of ourselves and only see Jesus as the Great Deliverer.
Oh child of God! Jesus so much desires to make us free. He came that we might be free. Listen to the promise of His coming found in Matthew 1:21, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” He would not only forgive their sins, He would save them from their sins. He is patiently waiting for us to come to an end of our self-salvation and turn to Him as our only source of deliverance. When we see Him as our only source, and come to Him with nothing to offer, empty, in need of Him to set us free, the deliverance miracle will be there. Have you reached the point where you have nothing left? Get to it as quickly as possible. Get rid of plan B. Step out of the boat and believe His promise that He will give you a new heart and mind. Then He will write His laws on your mind and heart. It all comes down to a simple truth: Trust God and His promises.
Let’s worship and pray: How we worship You, Father God! You are great above all the earth. You are worthy of all worship and praise! You have redeemed us through the blood of Your Son. You have given us great and precious promises to believe. You have carried us on eagles wings and brought us to Yourself. We feel much like Thomas, “unless we see, we will not believe.” Forgive us Father. So many times we think we have to do the work. We strive so hard. Even though You have told us that Your yoke is easy, and Your burdens are light, we still strive to free ourselves. We come to You anew today for this is the day of salvation. We come empty, in need of You, our great Deliverer. Save us O God! We ask in the precious name of our Lord Jesus, standing on Your promises. Amen.
Dr. Alan Wiggins
Associate Pastor
www.nbcornerstone.com
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