The Greatest Work Ever Finished

We have two portions of the word today, one very brief, one a bit longer, John chapter 17 verses 4 and 5 and then Hebrews chapter 10 verses 1 through 14. Our Lord is praying and he says to his father, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

And now, O father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. For the law having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make those who come to it perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered because the worshipers once purged should have no more consciousness of sins.

But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice an offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.

In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, sacrifice an offering and burnt offerings, an offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hath pleasure in them which are offered by the law.

Then said he, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering often the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.

I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. Have you ever wanted to stand on something that you knew would never shake? Have you ever wanted to build on something that you knew would not sink? Have you ever wanted to devote your life to something that you knew would last, something that wouldn't vanish and be forgotten? Have you ever wanted to get your hands on something that is really final and absolute and eternal and unchanging, something that would keep your life strong and steady? Well, there is something like that. The theologians call it the finished work of Jesus Christ.

And our Lord put it this way. I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. You see, my friend, you can build your life and you can build your future on the work that Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross. And if you aren't building your life and your future on that work, you aren't living.

And all that you are doing will ultimately vanish. I want us today to consider these two verses in John 17, verses 4 and 5, so profound we couldn't begin to fathom all that they say. And yet from them, I'd like us to learn to appreciate and appropriate this finished work of Christ.

And perhaps the best way to do it is to share with you the characteristics of this work. What are the characteristics of this work of the Lord Jesus that make it so great? So great that you can build your life on it. So great that you can stake everything for time and eternity on this finished work.

Well, there are three characteristics found in these verses. First, this work is the work of God. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

Now, everyone listening to my voice is involved in some kind of work. There are some who are involved in the works of the flesh, the dirty, cheap, cowardly works of the flesh, going with the crowd, drifting down the dirty stream, the works of the flesh. He that sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.

Some are involved in the works of the devil. He's working. Liars.

Satan's the father of lies. Destroyers. The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy.

Some people are involved in evil works. The psalmist talks about those who are doing abominable works. Many people are involved in dead works.

They think they are good works, but without Jesus Christ, they're dead works. The Lord Jesus said, the work I came to do was God's work. Now, you may say, but wait a minute, you can go all through the Bible and find people who did God's work.

When Noah built an ark, he did the work of God. That's right. And when Moses built a tabernacle, he did the work of God.

Yes. When Solomon built the temple, he did the work of God. Certainly.

When Isaiah wrote his marvelous prophecy, he did the work of God. That's right. When Paul went all over starting churches, he did the work of God.

This is true. Then why is this work so great? Oh, for this reason. All of the works in the Bible up to Calvary pointed to that one work.

And all of the works in history after Calvary are built on that one work. So that when Noah built his ark, he was pointing to Calvary. When Moses built the tabernacle, he was painting a picture of Calvary.

When Abraham took Isaac up on top of the mountain, he was pointing to Jesus. You see, this is the greatest work in all the world because it's the work of God. And every work that any saint ever did prior to this was pointing to it.

And any work any saint did after this is built upon it so that our works and their works are meaningless apart from it. It's the work of God. When you open the Bible, you find God working in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and God brought light where there was darkness and God brought order where there was chaos and God formed and God filled and God made a perfect world and then God rested.

His work was done and then man sinned and God had to start working again. The father's Sabbath rest was broken by a sinner and the father had to come saying, Adam, where art thou? It wasn't the voice of a policeman looking for a criminal. It wasn't the voice of a judge looking for someone to condemn.

It was the broken heart of a loving father looking for a lost son. And ever since then God's been working. God the father went to seek and to save the lost.

God the son came to this earth to do the same work. He said, hitherto my father worketh and I work. I'm doing the same work my father did.

Twice in the gospel of John, Jesus broke the Sabbath by healing people. He did the very thing his father did back in the book of Genesis. He broke his Sabbath to restore Adam and Eve.

It was the work of God. When our Lord Jesus was born, he said, Hebrews chapter 10, lo, I come. In the volume of the book it is written of me to do thy will, O God.

When he was 12 years old, they found him in the temple talking with the doctors. And he said, didn't you know I must be about my father's business? He began his ministry. He's seated by a well.

He wins a fallen woman to salvation. Along come his disciples and they say, Master, eat. He said, I have food to eat that you don't know anything about.

My food is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. Well, what is his work? Salvation. God is no longer building the old creation.

This old creation is in the bondage of sin. It's travailing like a woman with child waiting to give birth to a glorious kingdom. He's no longer building this old creation.

He's building the new creation. And Jesus Christ did that work. Why is this work such a great work? It's the work of God.

It's the work that God began to do back in Genesis chapter three and that the Holy Spirit today is still doing when he died on the cross. Our Lord was still concerned about this work and he shouted with a loud voice. It is finished.

That's a great word. In the Greek New Testament, it's a long word to tell us die. That was a very familiar word back in Jesus day.

If you were paying off your oxen or your chariot or your house and you came with the final payment, the banker would accept your money and he would write on the bill to tell us die. It is finished. The debt is all paid.

When you walked into the temple with a sacrifice, the priest would examine the sacrifice to make sure it wasn't sick or mangled. And if he found the sacrifice to be perfect, he would say to tell us die. It's perfect.

It's complete. When my Lord died on the cross, he said, it is finished. The debt has been paid.

The sacrifice is complete. It was the work of God. Now, as I meditate on these two verses, my heart begins to tremble just a little bit.

And I'll tell you why I have no problem accepting the finished work of Jesus Christ. It's the work of God. I have no problem seeing God, the son, as he looked into the face of God, the father and say, I have finished the work that you gave me to do.

But my heart trembles because one day I am going to stand before Jesus Christ. And he's going to look at me and say, what did you do while you were on earth? I hope I'll be able to look into his face and say, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work that you gave me to do.

There's some people who do God's work, but they don't bring God glory. When they do the work of God, it's a very self-centered thing. We pray against that.

Oh, may it be that when my time comes, when your time comes to stand before God, we'll be able to say, I glorified you on the earth. I finished the work that you gave me to do. You say, I don't know what work God wants me to do.

He has a work for you to do. Find it. He's given you his word.

He's given you the Holy spirit. He sent us into the world, even as he was sent into the world. And my friend, we better realize that one day we're going to stand before the savior and give an account and woe be unto that Christian who will not be able to say, I finished the work that you gave me to do.

Now, if I speak just now to a disobedient, worldly, careless, inconsistent, rebellious Christian, and you have no time to pray, no time for the word, no consideration of God's glory, no concern for a lost world. I say to you, you may make it in this world. You may get by.

You'll find other Christians who will encourage you, but the day is going to come when you'll stand before Jesus Christ and I'll stand before Jesus Christ. And the only important thing at that hour is going to be, did you glorify me on the earth? Did you finish the work that I gave you to do? It's a great work because it's the work of God. Secondly, it's a great work because it is a work of grace.

I have finished the work which thou gave this me to do in the old covenant. Nothing was finished. We read from the book of Hebrews book of Hebrews was written to the Hebrews to tell them to quit being Hebrews.

They wanted to go back to the old covenant. That was always the problem with God's people. Israel always wanted to go back, go back to Egypt, go back to the law.

Well, I read in Hebrews chapter seven and verse 11, that the priesthood made nothing perfect. For if therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, the priesthood made nothing perfect. I read in Hebrews chapter seven, verse 19, that the law made nothing perfect.

I read in Hebrews chapter nine and verse nine, that the sacrifices made nothing perfect. And he repeats this in chapter 10, verse one, the priesthood made nothing perfect. The law made nothing perfect.

The sacrifices made nothing perfect here under the old covenant. Nothing was finished year after year, day after day, decade after decade, the same sacrifices from the same people on the same altar. And every year on the annual day of atonement, the nation gathered in fasting and prayer, reminded of their sins.

And then Jesus came and the work that he did, he finished. It's a work of grace. Grace means God pays it all.

Grace means God's riches at Christ's expense. Grace means that God pays the whole bill. Now there are many people who teach us that when Jesus died, he made the down payment and we, by our good works, keep up the installment.

And this is not true. Hebrews chapter 10 says, this man, after he had made one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down. Now in the Old Testament tabernacle, there was a table, but no chair, a lamp stand, but no chair, two altars, but no chair, a basin of water, but no chair.

The only chair in the tabernacle was the throne of God on the Ark of the Covenant. God reigned there. The priest never sat down.

And you know why the priest never sat down? His work was never finished. But when Jesus finished his work, he sat down on the throne at the right hand of the father. For by one offering, one offering, not every Sunday, not every year, one offering, he has perfected forever.

Not just until they sin again, not just until they die. He has perfected forever them that are set apart through faith in Christ. It's a work of grace.

And you know what that means? That means that any person listening to me now who's got a dirty conscience, anyone listening to me right now who says, I have sinned, I need salvation, you can be saved. All you have to do is trust him. All you have to do is receive him.

Say, this is my savior. This is the one who can save me and receive him as your savior. And it's settled once and for all.

I've been reading in the journal of John Wesley. Now, as you know, John Wesley went through a tremendous conversion experience. His real problem was he didn't believe a person could be converted instantly.

He thought conversion was a process. And finally, he was convinced that conversion is an instantaneous miracle. In fact, in his pre-conversion days, John Wesley refused to go down to the prison to talk to a man who was going to be executed.

Wesley said he hasn't got time to be saved. And then Wesley realized that you can be converted in a moment of time. The transaction can take place in just a moment of time when you put your faith in Christ.

It's a work of grace. I have finished the work that you gave me to do. You see, we Christians are building our lives on something finished, something solid.

God never has to come back and say, I made a mistake. I've got to change this. I've got to change that.

No, it's all settled. Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And when you build your life on the finished work of Christ, it stands.

And the winds aren't going to blow it away and the storms aren't going to destroy it. He that doeth the will of God abideth forever. It's the work of God finished.

It's the work of grace paid for. Finally, it's a work of glory. I have glorified thee on the earth.

And now, Father, glorify me. Now, only the son of God could pray like that. Moses prayed, show me thy glory.

Moses didn't pray glorify me. That would have been scandalous. Paul was lifted to the third heaven and he saw the glory of God.

He heard things he could not share. But Paul didn't say glorify me. Jesus Christ is God and he has the right as God, the son to come to God, the father and say, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Moses could never say that. Jeremiah could never say that. Only the son of God could say that.

He is presenting himself as the eternal God. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. It was a work of glory.

You see, he left glory to do this work. And while he did it, he glorified God. And now that he's gone back, he shares that glory with us.

It's an amazing thing. Instead of standing preaching, one should stand speechless, awestruck by such a tremendous truth. He left glory to come and do the work.

How many of us today would be willing for a demotion to accomplish a work? Our Lord Jesus Christ laid aside glory. To the best of my knowledge, only once on this earth did that glory shine through on the Mount of Transfiguration. He left glory.

He left praise to be called a drunk. He left the worship of angels to be beaten by men. He left the hallelujahs of heaven to be lied about and crucified.

He left glory to do this work. And as he did this work, he brought glory. He said, I've glorified thee on the earth.

In his life, he glorified God. In his words, he glorified God. In his works, he glorified God.

When he got the message that Lazarus was sick, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but to the glory of God. In his death, he glorified God. Father, what shall I say? Save me from this hour, but for this hour came I into the world.

Father, glorify thy name. And the Father speaks from heaven and says, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. Even in his death on the cross, our Lord glorified God.

In his resurrection, he glorified God. You see, he came from glory. And when he did his work, he did it to the glory of God.

Now he's gone back to glory. And what has he done? He's left the glory with us. Verse 22.

And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them. Not I will give them. Not if they're good, I'll give it to them.

The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them. We now have the glory. And the Lord Jesus makes an amazing statement in verse 10.

Look at the end of verse 10 of John 17. I am glorified in them. I hope that's true.

Oh, I hope that God the Father hears God the Son say as he points to this congregation, I am glorified in them. Not only as we worship him, but as we walk through this week and go through difficulties and sorrows, problems and temptations. Oh, that God the Son might be able to look down upon us and say, I am glorified in them.

Someday we're going to behold his glory. Verse 24. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.

My friend, there's glory all the way. It's glory from start to finish. There's no glory in sin.

The wages of sin is death. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Everything that man does is just short of the glory of God.

There's no glory in sin. There's pleasure in sin, but no glory in sin. There's no glory in hell, but there's glory in salvation.

My Savior left glory to do the work. As he did the work, he glorified God. Now he's gone back to glory and left the glory with us.

And our responsibility is to glorify him in all that we do and look forward to that day when we shall see his glory and share his glory for all eternity. That's why it's a great work. It's a work of God.

It's a work of grace, all finished and paid for. It's a work of glory from start to finish. You see, my friend, there is only one work that God recognizes on this earth.

When I was a little school boy, we had two or three times a week a little class that was called library. I always enjoyed that because I like to read. And I can never forget the day that I pulled off of the shelf a big thick book with a lot of pictures in it written by Richard Halliburton.

Richard Halliburton is not even listed today in numbers of the author's books, but he was a great world traveler and he had a book on the seven wonders of the world. I used to devour that book. When you live in the concrete jungles of northern Indiana, there's not much wonder.

You've watched them pour the steel. You see the smoke coming out of the refineries. And I used to sit and look at that book and say, oh, the man that performed these wonders.

Marvelous. God doesn't pay any attention to them. God's not even impressed with the exhibits down at the museum.

God's not impressed with the things that men do. When God looks down at this world, he sees one work and one work, only the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Now, if you reject that savior, if you reject that work, you're lost.

If you receive that savior and accept that finished work, you're saved. And then you can build your life on that one work that God accepts. And you can build a life that's filled with grace and God and glory, not an easy life, a hard life, but a happy life, a holy life, a useful life, a life that one day can be examined and you'll be able to stand before God someday and say, I have glorified you on the earth.

I have finished the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father. Glorify me with yourself.

He says, I will. My son pray, oh, that they might behold my glory, share my glory. Are you trusting in this finished work of Christ? Are you saying I will believe on Jesus Christ plus the 10 commandments? No, I will believe on Jesus Christ plus nothing.

My friend. I have finished the work. It is finished.

Lifted up was he to die. It is finished was his cry. Now in heaven, exalted high.

Hallelujah. What a savior. Is he your savior? You're.

And if he is, are you doing his work? Gracious father, forgive us for time and money and energy that had been wasted in futile things for our own glory. We realize that all that's really going to last is what is for your glory. Lord, you haven't called all of us to places of prominence, but you've called all of us to places of importance.

We're all a part of this great work of sharing the word of God with a hungry world. Oh, father, I come first of all, just to thank you for what Jesus did and that the work is finished and that we can receive, believe, build our lives for eternity. There are many who have never believed.

There are many who have never received. Oh, gracious father, help them today to trust the savior. To be born from above.

I pray in Jesus name. Amen.