OUTLINE:

Tetelestai (Jn 19:30)
“It is finished!” Gives us enduring perspective.

It’s only grace when it’s from a root of love.

Grace
The Cross is THE greatest example of grace we’ve got, including the Person who hung on it, whom the Bible describes as “full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14).

Grace Never Fails
This is absolutely true, no matter what man concludes to the contrary. If you don’t see the “good” in something, it is YOUR limitation, not God’s failure. Even discipline is grace. Doubt is not from God.

You Can’t “Catch” the Wind
How often do we find ourselves “striving after wind” (Ecc)? Yet, even knowing the impossibility of “catching” it, man chooses the path of futility over God’s righteous way. Why? Arrogance!

Pr 10:23 [Amplified Classic]
It is as sport to a [self-confident] fool to do wickedness, but to have skillful and godly Wisdom is pleasure and relaxation to a man of understanding.

Pr 10:23 [Message]
An empty-head thinks mischief is fun, but a mindful person relishes wisdom.

Good Sport
If we’re going to make sport of anything, let it be to live by faith.

Job 1:21
He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

“disqualification”
We must “touch all the bases” before we touch “home plate”, lest we be disqualified from the competition. This disqualification may refer to multiple things, including, but not limited to, eternal rewards.

Good Sport
If we’re going to make sport of anything, let it be to live by faith.

Balance Statement
Only Jesus Christ has ever run the “bases” perfectly. We may find ourselves caught in a “pickle”, but by grace through faith, we shall advance. Don’t forget to show even yourself appropriate grace. (ref: Php 3:12-16)

Satan’s Strategy
It’s not that Satan doesn’t want you to run a race - he just wants you to run towards a different finish line than the one the Lord has set before you (ref. Php 3:12-16).

Love Keeps Soldiers Soldiering
Love is the great motivator; and, “Love never fails” (1Co 13:8a).

We haven’t been designed to quit.

Life In the Devil’s World
A change of circumstances doesn’t solve your problems. Your contentment is not a function of your circumstances. A new “place” guarantees new “problems”.

Sanctified Where You Are
God doesn’t make mistakes. You are where you need to be, right now. Rather than praying for deliverance from your circumstances, pray for deliverance WITHIN your circumstances!

Job’s Friends “Good Intentions”
We learn from Job’s circumstances that even well-intentioned loved ones can be stumbling blocks to us. We mustn’t ever lose sight of who our Redeemer is, who our Deliverer is, who our Lord is! Faith places our trust in Him alone.

True Wisdom
Includes knowing what you DON’T know. Too many people think that wisdom is knowing more, even inventing things in the absence of divine revelation. This is not wisdom.

Jesus’ Faith
Jesus had perfect faith. Within the sphere of that faith, He prayed to His Father to sanctify His sheep in Truth - NOT that our circumstances be changed (like so many of His sheep pray for, even today). He knows that YOU have been given the ability, by grace through faith, to persevere!