“FINISHED!” MEANS FINISHED

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit. – John 19:30

Mat 27:50 makes us to understand that Jesus didn’t just say, It is finished, He actually cried it out “with a loud voice”. It was the very last thing He declared before He gave up the ghost. Furthermore, in the Greek, what He declared was just one word: FINISHED!

“TELEO” (from ‘telos’) means “to end, to complete, conclude, or discharge (a debt). It means to accomplish, make an end, expire, finish.

“Telos” was also a commercial idiom in those days that meant “the debt has been PAID IN FULL.”

Therefore, this, the very last of the last words of Christ on the Cross, gives us an emphatic statement of the paradigm of the New Testament. Everything is paid for in full and FINISHED.

Jesus Christ satisfied every requirement of God on your behalf. There is no miracle you need that you do not qualify for. There is no mercy you ask for that requires additional sacrifice or penitence. God is not ‘thinking twice’ about your case.

“It is finished!” means exactly that. You don’t need to bring any other thing to the table. Other religions and cults say you must add something else: an offering, a pilgrimage, a sacrifice, some penitence, etc. But “finished” means finished.

As you read the last paragraph, you most likely assumed I was referring to the salvation experience. However, are we not guilty of applying these same rules with respect to ‘lesser’ miracles? Like breakthroughs, healing, financial turnarounds, marital settlement, etc.?

* When we tell an aging spinster to “sow a seed that will provoke Heaven so that she’ll marry this year”, we’re implying that it’s not finished.

* When we tell a Born Again Believer that some ancestral curses are still hanging in their lives, we’re implying that it’s not finished.

* When we imply that the anointing can only be attained at great personal cost, we’re implying that it’s not finished.

Let us please show reverence to what Jesus did for us at the Cross.

Do you have a current challenge? Fear not, Beloved, only believe! It is finished!

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN 

THE NEW PARADIGM

In speaking of a “new” covenant, he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. – Heb 8:13 (ISV)

In the English Bible, the word “covenant” and “testament” are both translated from the same Greek word (diatheke). When our Lord called His blood, the “blood of the new testament” (Mt 26:28), He wasn’t referring to the Books of Matthew to Revelation. He was talking about the new covenant God was about to make with mankind.

Similarly, when the Bible uses the phrase, “Old Testament” it is not referring to the books of Genesis to Malachi but to the covenant Jehovah made with the Israelites on Mount Sinai.

These 2 testaments are polar opposites of each other, and a clear understanding of their differences is vital if a Believer is to live victoriously.

The Old Testament paradigm can be summarised in one sentence: “If you do your part, then God will do His part”. (Dt 11:13, 15:5, 28:1; Ex 15:26; Lv 26:3-13). While the “New Testament”, can be summarised as: “If you believe God has done your part then God will do His part”. (Act 16:31).

This difference is so subtle, that a Believer can be living under the New Covenant but operating under the Old paradigm. In the Old, they DO IN ORDER TO GET. In the New, we DO BECAUSE HAVE ALREADY GOTTEN. 

Take eternal life, for example. In Lk 10:25-28, a man asked Jesus, what he should do to “inherit eternal life” In response our Lord told him to do what was in the law: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind...”

This, of course, is impossible. You can claim to love the Lord, but “with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind”? How long you you even keep that perfect love up?

However, under the New Covenant, when the Philippian jailer asked, “what must I do to be saved?” Paul replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved,” (Act 16:30,31).

The key phrase there is “Jesus Christ”; He’s the only one who can, – and who actually did – love the LORD with all His heart, and soul, and strength, and mind”.

This is the principle on which every other blessing in the New Covenant is received. We believe that God’s highest requirements have been met COMPLETELY by Jesus on our behalf, and therefore receive the attendant blessing by faith.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN  

GRACE: DON’T TALK BAD ABOUT MAMA

For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. – Eph 2:8

Men, even the most misogynistic and bigoted of them, will not allow any man to trash talk their mother. They may allow or even participate in disparaging comments about womenkind; but they draw the line when it comes to their own Momma!

Antagonism to the teaching of GRACE has been on the rise recently; mostly in reaction to its resurgence into mainstream church doctrine. Books have been published, dedicated websites have been set up, and even certain ‘ministries’ have been incorporated to attack any message, minister or ministry that overtly aligns itself with the teaching of ‘Grace’.

While attack on any aspect of the Gospel is naturally to be expected of this world, unfortunately, many Believers also join in this foray. They echo the world’s belittling of the doctrine of Grace with various catchall labels like, “easy-believism”, “hyper-grace churches”, “You-Can-Sin-Anyway-You-Want doctrine”, etc.

This is unfortunate, considering these sincere saints are attacking the very foundation of their faith and eternal destiny.

The Bible categorically states that we are saved by GRACE! (Eph 2:8). While important dogmata like Faith, Prayer, Holiness, Wisdom, are vital to Christian growth, without Grace, all of these will be completely ineffective.

The Gospel that we preach IS a declaration of Grace (Act 20:24; 20:32). This is what uniquely distinguishes Christianity from other Faiths. If we sideline or try to minimise this important foundation of our faith, we risk being no more than just another religion on earth.

My prayer is that the Father, “the God of all grace”, make us “strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”; through the help of the Holy Spirit – “the Spirit of Grace” – in Jesus’ Name; (1Pet 5:10; 2Ti 2:1; Heb 10:29).

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

RAHAB: A TYPE OF CHRIST

Rahab gives us a lucid example of what it means to be “saved by faith”. She’s the archetypal gentile: an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, and a stranger from the covenants of promise, who through faith became an heir of Abraham!

But Rahab is not just typical of us sinners, she’s also a type of Christ in the Old Testament. Like Christ, she was able to bring sweeping salvation to any who would come under her shelter.

When the walls of Jericho crumbled, Joshua gave a command to the 2 spies, “You made a promise to the prostitute. So go to her house and bring her out and ALL THOSE WHO ARE WITH HER.”

So the two men went into the house and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, all her family, AND ALL THOSE WHO WERE WITH HER. They put all the people in A SAFE PLACE OUTSIDE THE CAMP of Israel. (Jos 6:22-23 ERV)

Imagine with me the reaction the 2 spies would have had if they barged into Rahab’s house that day and found 50 persons instead of an expected 20 or so?  How about a hundred? How about one thousand?

It wouldn’t have mattered. Joshua, the commander-in-chief had commanded them to spare, “ALL THOSE WHO ARE WITH HER.”

What if, among the scared persons huddled in her room, they had found an Indian man, a Latino woman, a Chinese boy and a black African baby! Rahab couldn’t possibly expect them to believe these were her family members too, could she?

But it wouldn’t have mattered either; the command said, “all those who are WITH HER”.

Note that the people in Rahab’s house were never quizzed or interrogated. They were never questioned about their past deeds and behaviours. All they needed to do was come under the shelter of Rahab and their lives would be spared.

This is the salvation message in graphic form. This is the paradigm of the New Covenant.

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.  – Rom 10:12

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. – Rom 10:13

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. – Heb 4:16 

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

THE AUDACITY OF FAITH

au•dac•i•ty [aw dassitee] noun: willingness to challenge assumptions or conventions or tackle something difficult or dangerous (Encarta Dictionary).

The prostitute Rahab didn’t simply ask that her life be spared by the Israelites,

She said to the 2 spies, “...Give me a solemn pledge that you will spare the lives of my Father, Mother, Brothers, Sisters, and ALL WHO BELONG TO THEM, and rescue us from death.” – Josh 2:12,13 (NET).

To put this in perspective, realise that they haven’t even agreed to spare her life yet. If it was a covenant Jew who was making these demands, it may have even been thinkable; but here was a prostitute; whom the Israelites had a divine order to kill, reeling off a laundry list of people she wanted to be spared from judgment, as well!

How dare she do that? Because she had faith. That is why scripture holds her in high esteem; this was a woman who knew that forgiveness means qualification and boldness.

A GREAT DRAWBACK TO THE POWER OF FAITH IS A SENSE OF UNWORTHINESS.

Many of us would dare not express our desires to God because we feel we’re not worthy enough. We say to ourselves, “What have I done to deserve this? Have I been faithful enough, diligent enough, or prayerful enough?”

If it were today, we would say Rahab doesn’t have the moral right to make such a demand. Maybe that’s why she got what she wanted – and why we’re still struggling with ours. All Rahab knew was that as long as the God of Israel is concerned, anything is ask-able. 

Here’s God command to you, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt: OPEN YOUR MOUTH WIDE, and I will fill it.” (Ps 81:10)

Note the basis for your boldness: “I am the LORD who brought you out of Egypt”.

Rom 8:32  states, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

Beloved, please know today that as a child of God, you have His  explicit permission to ask for whatever you need... no matter how bold, audacious or unprecedented it may seem.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN