Move Forward
As believers new life started on the Cross when Christ declared “It is finished!” But what did Jesus mean by it is finished? Oh, how often we have used that term regarding ourselves, “I am finished.” Now, I am not talking about finishing a chore or assignment, but regarding life. We come to the place where we feel we can take no more and declare, “I am finished!” The pain and constant drain simply bring us to breaking point and we declare, “I am finished!”
“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His Spirit.”
John 19: 30
Please note, that Jesus didn’t declare “It is finished,’ then give up His Spirit and His head drops as we have seen in most videos, but rather He dropped His head, first, then gave up Spirit. Jesus was fully in control. This leads me to my main point. Jesus didn’t say, ‘It is finished” because He was worn out and had nothing left to give. No, that is not what happened! We need to better understand what “It is finished” means.
“it is finished” comes from the Greek, ‘Tetelestai.” But what does it mean? Overall, it means:
- To bring to completion
- To end
- To complete
- To accomplish
- To fulfill
- To finish
The tense used means that when Jesus said it is finished, He was saying- “It was finished on the Cross, it is still finished today, and it will still be finished in the future.”
We need to learn to stop listening to ourselves and our circumstances and start telling ourselves. Most of us run around listening to our symptoms, our problems, etc., and we confirm it by saying, “I am finished.” But it is time we understood who He is, who we are in Him, and our inheritance because of Him, and declare, “It is finished.”
Jesus was not saying, “I am finished,” but “It is finished!” What did He mean?
On the Cross as the world, the flesh, and all of hell were listening, He declared the victory cry, “It is finished.” We get stuck in “I am finished,” when the Lord wants us to experience, “It is finished!”
Jesus was declaring, first, that He had finished His assignment. The devil had done everything to stop Jesus and thought that on the Cross he had finally succeeded. The devil must have had a heart attack when he heard Jesus declare, “I have finished My assignment.” In other words, the perfect plan of the Father had been accomplished and the devil lost.
Secondly, this Greek word is like the word in Hebrew used by the High Priest when he enters the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the blood. Jesus was declaring His blood had paid the price and the atonement was made! Because Jesus brought the perfect blood, His statement, “It is finished,” meant it is finished forever! The victory has been fully secured, and we are fully redeemed!
Third, this word was used in business to mean a debt was paid in full! Oh, if we could get a hold of that and begin declaring that over our lives, “All my debts are fully paid FOREVER, IT IS FINISHED! You are free. I am completely clean and free! This would set so many believers free! Sadly, too many believers get stuck because they believe the devil, the world, or their flesh, and somehow, they are disqualified. They can never move forward because every time they do they make a mistake and the devil says, “You blew it! You are disqualified!” And they believe it!
Fourth, “tetelestai,’ means the beginning of a new period. Turn to Genesis, chapter twenty-six, and let’s look at the account of Isaac faced a famine.
“There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham…”
Genesis 26: 1a
What has been, will be again. It often seems like we face the same old battles, or we remain stuck fighting the same giants. The problem is we never get a victory, and we stay stuck! As we read the account, it seemed logical for Isaac to go to the land of the Philistines. We find ourselves having to humble ourselves and submit to our enemies. We put up a fierce fight but once again we fail. But the Lord instructs Isaac not to go. This sounds ridiculous as it is a time of famine and he and his family could die.
Instead, Isaac is to stand on a promise.
“Then the Lord appeared to him and said…”
Genesis 26: 2
We need to get into the Secret Place and get a larger vision of Him so that He is greater than our problem. Listen on the Cross, it was the darkest hour, and it was at the worst point, that Jesus declared, “It is finished!” In other words, “I won!’ We need to learn to walk and talk like the Master. If you are to pick up an accent accurately, you need to listen to how someone says something as well as watch to see how they say it. The part people miss it watching how they say it. So, we sound funny as we seek to sound like the Master. If we come into the Secret Place, and proactively seek His face, watching His face to hear and see what He has to say, we will learn to talk and walk like Him.
When we do this, we truly hear the promise. How often have you been in an argument where someone says, “You are not listening to me,” or vice versa? Yet, we can quote the person exactly or they quote us perfectly. You try to explain to the person, “Yes, that is what I said, but not what I meant!” We hear words and not the Word. We know about Jesus and His Word, instead of knowing Jesus and knowing His Word. When we do know, then the Word becomes a fire and a declaration in our mouths. Remember the term “It is finished” can be understood as one giving up, or one declaring they have completed an assignment and got the victory. It is the same with His promises.
When we truly hear His Word, faith arises and if faith arises it causes an action that changes history. If we read the story, the enemy sought to derail Isaac along the way, and the devil would try to steal the Word. So, stay in the Secret Place on the day of the war! Stay in worship!
Now, look at what Isaac did in the time of famine. When we are in difficult times, we look at the little we have and think we have nothing so go on the defensive. Isaac had some seed which he could store for food in the hope of outliving the famine, or in faith he could act. If you want to see change, sow a seed in faith.
“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.”
Genesis 26: 12
Isaac didn’t scatter but purposely sowed. That meant he prepared his ground, removed the weeds, and sowed what he intended to harvest. Then he took care of his field until the harvest. He sowed where he was at. We tend to run hoping that the grass will be greener over there or we can avoid sowing. But Isaac made a stand where he was, and he sowed!
The New King James says, he “reaped,” and the KJV, “received.” The Hebrew word here “matsa” comes from a word meaning to come forth. This word here means to find, secure, acquire, to find (what was lost), to meet, to encounter, to happen, or to come to light. The Lord can bring revelation to you that you need. He might bring the right person at the right time into your life. You might find something that was lost right in time.
Notice, Isaac, received in the same year! Plus, he received, the pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing measure! Then on top of all that, God blessed him! We just want a need met, when God wants to go above and beyond and bless us. Listen to how God blessed this man:
“The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possession of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.”
Genesis 26: 13-14
The Lord wants to bring you to the place of BC, before Christ and AC, after Christ in your life.
This term he began to prosper, is, he became great. The Lord wants to take nobodies and make them great because Jesus did it on the Cross. The King James then adds, “And the man waxed great, and went forward…”(Genesis 26: 23).
Did you hear that? Listen to it again. It is time to move forward! You say how? Well, how did Jesus do it? He sowed everything on the Cross and declared under the anointing, “It is finished!”
The Lord will show you what you need to put on the altar and what you need to sow in faith. It is not always money! He may call you to do something! Whatever it is do it in faith and under the anointing.
Jesus was the Christ, or the Messiah, which means the Anointed One and His anointing. He has anointed you.
“You are complete in Christ (The Anointed One and His anointing)”
Colossians 2: 10 Emphasis added
The word in Hebrew in Genesis for “forward” is “halak” and it means:
– to go forward
– to walk
– to move forward
– to live and not die
It is time to break free and move forward and that starts when we get the “It is finished!” declaration in our lives. We need to stop saying, “I am finished,” and press into the Word and sow into our hearts His promises until we fully know who He is, who we are in Him, and our inheritance because of Him! You will know you have got there when you have a shout of authority in your lives and you have a plan to move forward. You will hear His voice telling you what seed to sow. Remember, “give and it will be given to you.” You don’t give ugly, in other words, you give but later complain about it. No, you give because you spent time in the Secret Place, and you are on the same page as the Lord. It may look like it is all over as it did for Jesus on the Cross, but you are in His hands. Remember, you only fulfill the purposes Heaven has for you and not the devils. You keep your ears listening to Heaven and eyes fixed on His face.
Then stop listening to yourself and start telling yourself. Get in the Secret Place and His Word until you know, and I underline, YOU KNOW, Who He is, who YOU are in HIM, and your inheritance because of HIM. Then begin declaring that over your life. Keep sowing that until your harvest comes. Seeds don’t sprout immediately, so don’t watch the field, watch Him and keep doing what he tells you to do. We need to start making anointed faith declarations built upon His promises that abide in us over ourselves every day and move forward into our new beginning. It is time to see Him wax you or make you into something great! Amen!?
