Marilyn Hickey

6

description

Seven promises from the cross! Love, Joy, Peace. Having a good relationship with the Father!

Transcript of Marilyn Hickey

hen I began to study and meditate onthe last sayings of Christ, I discovered

that each statement carries with it animportant freedom for believers. Jesusspoke seven times when He was on thecross—the number of completion or per-fection. In so doing, He secured our com-plete redemption from every kind ofproblem we can face.

The powerful anointingreleased 2,000 years ago throughJesus’ last words is available toyou—today! Walking in these sevenfreedoms will transform your life.

Freedom No. 1: Forgive-ness. In the midst of His tormenton the cross Jesus poured forth anendless supply of forgivenesswhen He prayed, “ ‘Father, forgivethem, for they do not know whatthey do’ ” (Luke 23:34, NKJV).With this statement, He forgavethose who had crucified Him,became our example, and pointedtoward everyone’s need to be forgiven ofhis sins.

Jesus will pour forgiveness into yourlife, enabling you to unconditionally for-give every person who has wronged you aswell as forgive yourself. God wants to

pour the freedom to forgive into your life!In the Old Testament, God named

Himself El Shaddai, God Almighty, theSource of blessings. El Shaddai literallymeans the “many-breasted one,” which sig-nifies nourishment and productiveness.

God doesn’t just save you and take youto heaven; He supplies everything you need

to successfully live your life. Heprovides forgiveness, comfort,healing, prosperity, and provisionfor every need. God is revealed asthe One who is more than enough.

Freedom No. 2: Salvation.One of the greatest freedoms weinherited from Calvary, asidefrom forgiveness, is freedomfrom sin’s torment. Jesus saved athief next to Him just momentsbefore his death, and He is ableand willing to save you—no mat-ter how serious your sins.

The thief said, “ ‘Lord, remem-ber me when You come into Your

kingdom,’ ” and Jesus replied,“ ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will bewith Me in Paradise’ ” (Luke 23:42-43). Inthe face of death and humiliation, Jesusfreed us from shame, suffering and death.He fought the principalities and powers

C o v e r S t o r y

BY MARILYN HICKEY

THE CROSSSEVEN PROMISES FROM

The powerful

anointing

released

2,000 years

ago through

Jesus’ last

words is

available to

you today!

CHRIST ’S FINAL WORDS GUARANTEED OUR FREEDOM. HAVE YOU

FULLY EMBRACED WHAT THE SAVIOR PROPHESIED?

hen I began to study and meditate onthe last sayings of Christ, I discovered

that each statement carries with it animportant freedom for believers. Jesusspoke seven times when He was on thecross—the number of completion or per-fection. In so doing, He secured our com-plete redemption from every kind ofproblem we can face.

The powerful anointingreleased 2,000 years ago throughJesus’ last words is available toyou—today! Walking in these sevenfreedoms will transform your life.

Freedom No. 1: Forgive-ness. In the midst of His tormenton the cross Jesus poured forth anendless supply of forgivenesswhen He prayed, “ ‘Father, forgivethem, for they do not know whatthey do’ ” (Luke 23:34, NKJV).With this statement, He forgavethose who had crucified Him,became our example, and pointedtoward everyone’s need to be forgiven ofhis sins.

Jesus will pour forgiveness into yourlife, enabling you to unconditionally for-give every person who has wronged you aswell as forgive yourself. God wants to

pour the freedom to forgive into your life!In the Old Testament, God named

Himself El Shaddai, God Almighty, theSource of blessings. El Shaddai literallymeans the “many-breasted one,” which sig-nifies nourishment and productiveness.

God doesn’t just save you and take youto heaven; He supplies everything you need

to successfully live your life. Heprovides forgiveness, comfort,healing, prosperity, and provisionfor every need. God is revealed asthe One who is more than enough.

Freedom No. 2: Salvation.One of the greatest freedoms weinherited from Calvary, asidefrom forgiveness, is freedomfrom sin’s torment. Jesus saved athief next to Him just momentsbefore his death, and He is ableand willing to save you—no mat-ter how serious your sins.

The thief said, “ ‘Lord, remem-ber me when You come into Your

kingdom,’ ” and Jesus replied,“ ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will bewith Me in Paradise’ ” (Luke 23:42-43). Inthe face of death and humiliation, Jesusfreed us from shame, suffering and death.He fought the principalities and powers

C o v e r S t o r y

BY MARILYN HICKEY

THE CROSSSEVEN PROMISES FROM

The powerful

anointing

released

2,000 years

ago through

Jesus’ last

words is

available to

you today!

CHRIST ’S FINAL WORDS GUARANTEED OUR FREEDOM. HAVE YOU

FULLY EMBRACED WHAT THE SAVIOR PROPHESIED?

of darkness and took the full weight of sinupon Himself so that we could be free ofSatan and sin.

Two convicted criminals were equallynear to Jesus. Both were wicked, suffering,dying and in desperate need of being setfree from their sins. Both were only a fewfeet from the Savior. Yet one died unre-pentant, and the other went to Paradise.

The conversion of the one is remarkablewhen you think about it. He accepted a suf-fering, bleeding, crucified man as his God—One who apparently had lost all power tosave and by outward appearances couldn’teven save Himself.

How was the thief able to dothis? Jesus gave the answer whenHe said to Peter, “ ‘Flesh andblood has not revealed this to you,but My Father who is in heaven’ ”(Matt. 16:17). The thief separatedhimself from death by his faith. Inthe same way you can separateyourself from things that are hold-ing you back—through faith in thecrucified and risen Lord.

Freedom No. 3: Affection.After Jesus demonstrated His com-passion for the thief, He turned Hisattention toward His mother. TheBible describes the scene: “WhenJesus therefore saw His mother,and the disciple whom He lovedstanding by, He said to His mother,‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He saidto the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ ”(John 19:26-27).

I marvel that while Jesus was engaged inthe most momentous and painful under-taking in the history of mankind—sufferingthe anguish of crucifixion and taking onHimself the sins of the world—He didn’toverlook His responsibilities as an earthlyson. Both His humanity and His deity weredisplayed for the world to see. His words

reflect the human love, gratitude andrespect He had for His mother.

Jesus gave the example for all humanrelationships. An important key to our suc-cess and freedom is embedded in the waywe treat our parents. Ephesians 6:2-3 says,“ ‘Honor your father and mother,’ whichis the first commandment with a promise:‘that it may go well with you and you maylive long on the earth.’ ”

Once you learn to honor your parents,you can apply that lesson to everyone inyour life. You will be set free to becomea loving spouse, parent or friend.

Jesus’ disciple John is the otherkey person in Jesus’ third utteranceon the cross. John’s legacy is hisfaithfulness. Many of Jesus’ follow-ers deserted Him, yet Johnremained faithful to the end. Heshowed both unconditional andbrotherly love.

When Satan is trying to destroyyour relationships, remember Jesuscarried your offenses so that youcould be free to be in fellowshipwith others. Don’t take offense;give it to Jesus!

Freedom No. 4: Accep-tance. Our freedom from rejec-tion was established by Jesus onthe cross. When Jesus cried out,“ ‘My God, My God, why have

You forsaken Me?’ ” (Matt. 27:46), Hetook the pain of all our rejections—so wecould be accepted by the Father and byothers.

No one but Jesus can erase the painof rejection or satisfy the need for accep-tance. When you are in right relationshipwith God, rejection has no sting.

You can love others despite what theydo to you if you know your Fatheraccepts you. His approval is more pow-erful and more important than any

man’s disapproval.In Old Testament times, before Jesus

came, the Jewish high priest performed anannual ceremony on what the people calledthe Day of Atonement that symbolizedGod’s taking our rejection (see Lev. 16:7-22). More than any other feast, the Day ofAtonement is symbolic of Jesus’ work onthe cross.

For the ceremony, the priest took twogoats from the Israelites. He sacrificed oneand sprinkled its blood on and before themercy seat as an atonement for sin. He tookthe other, the scapegoat, and laid both hishands on its head. Then he confessed allthe iniquities, transgressions and sins of thechildren of Israel, symbolically putting themon the goat’s head, and sent it away into thewilderness.

Too often, when rejected, we try tomake someone else our scapegoat. Weblame our mother, father, pastor, boss orsomeone else.

But Jesus is our scapegoat. He took allthe rejection we will ever experience on Hisown head, making us “accepted in theBeloved” (Eph. 1:6).

When you experience loneliness andpain, you can look to Jesus because He expe-rienced that kind of suffering as well. No onewas there to help Him on the cross. Yet inHis aloneness He began to praise God, quot-ing from Psalms 22, 31 and 69.

You, too, can praise God during yourhardest and most difficult times. Carryingrejection will cause you depression and lossof joy. But Psalm 16:11 says, “In Your pres-ence is fullness of joy.” And Nehemiah wrote,“ ‘The joy of the Lord is your strength’ ” (Neh.8:10). So give your burden to Jesus; He car-ried it for you!

Freedom No. 5: Righteousness. TheBible tells us that on the cross Jesus, “know-ing that all things were now accomplished,that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘Ithirst!’ ” (John 19:28). You might ask, what

does Jesus’ being thirsty have to do withfreedom?

He bore all our thirst, or lust—emotional,physical and mental—on the cross. Jesustook it all to free us from sinful lusts andreplaced it with His righteousness. TheBible says, “He made Him who knew nosin to be sin for us, that we might becomethe righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor.5:21). God wants His children to be free toenjoy the peace, joy and righteousness wehave in Him.

It’s also important to understand thatJesus went to the cross as our faithful HighPriest. Hebrews 2:17 says, “It was necessaryfor Jesus to be like us...so that He could be ourmerciful and faithful High Priest before God,a Priest who would be both merciful to usand faithful to God in dealing with the sins[suffering] of the people” (The Living Bible).Today, Jesus stands next to the Father mak-ing intercession for you.

Freedom No. 6: Victory. Jesus pur-chased our final victory with His sixth utter-ance. When He gave His triumphant shout,“ ‘It is finished!’ ” (John 19:30, NKJV), He wasannouncing that the battle was over and ourvictory secured. He conquered death, sick-ness, nature, the devil and every situation.Because we are identified with Jesus’ deathand Resurrection—we too have victory overeverything we can possibly face.

God used the events surrounding Jesus’death to confirm that Jesus had finished thework of atonement. The veil’s being torn intwo gave us access to the throne of God (seeHeb. 4:16). Christ’s Resurrection providedproof that God had accepted Jesus’ sacrifice.His taking a position at the right hand of theFather demonstrated the value of His workand the Father’s pleasure in His Son. Hissending the Holy Spirit made provision, onan ongoing basis, for the church to learn howto apply the freedoms and benefits of Christ’satoning work.

Freedom No. 7: Contentment. The

final word of Jesus was for our content-ment, faith, confidence and love. WhenJesus yielded His life to the Father in pay-ment for our sins, He said, “ ‘Father, “intoYour hands I commit My spirit”’” (Luke23:46). In saying this, He released us toenjoy one of our greatest freedoms—theability to rest in the arms of our Father andGod. How blessed we are that His Father isour Father. We can now put our entire lifeand being confidently into God’s hands.We are to follow His lead by completely sur-rendering to God.

When Jesus presented Himself toGod, He also presented us. He prayed,“ ‘That they all may be one, as You,Father, are in Me, and I in You; thatthey also may be one in Us’ ” (John17:21). Jesus did this so that we wouldbe safe in God’s Presence. Like Jesus,we can have fellowship with God,regardless of the circumstances!

H I S D E AT H — O U R F R E E D O M Each of theseven last statements made by Jesus demon-strate God’s supreme power and His fore-knowledge of all that was to come.

● “ ‘Forgive them for they know notwhat they do’ ” was a fulfillment of Isaiah53:12—“He bore the sin of many, and madeintercession for the transgressors.”

● Jesus’ statement to the thief, “ ‘Todayyou will be with me in Paradise,’ ” was thefulfillment of Matthew 1:21, “ ‘You shallcall His name Jesus, for He will save Hispeople from their sins.’ ”

● His words to His mother, “ ‘Womanbehold your Son,’ ” fulfilled Luke 2:34-35,“ ‘[Jesus] is destined...for a sign which will bespoken against (yes, a sword will piercethrough your own soul also), that thethoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’ ”

● At one point Jesus asked, “ ‘My God,My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ”These same words were spoken by David in

Psalm 22:1: “My God, my God, why haveyou forsaken me?”

● His comment, “ ‘I thirst,’ ” fulfilledPsalm 69:21, “And for My thirst they gaveMe vinegar to drink.”

● His declaration “It is finished” ful-filled Psalm 22:31: “They will proclaim hisrighteousness to a people yet unborn—forhe has done [finished] it” (NIV).

● And finally, Jesus’ final words,“ ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spir-it’ ” were prophesied in Psalm 31:5, “IntoYour hands I commit My spirit.”

Jesus overcame the world to give youfreedom in every area of your life—freedomfrom unforgiveness, freedom from sin, free-dom in relationships, freedom from rejec-tion, freedom from suffering, freedom tolive victoriously, freedom to trust God! Byfaith in what Jesus accomplished on thecross, you can finish the course He has setfor you.

Hebrews 12:2 says He is the “author andfinisher of our faith” (NKJV). He has startedyou in faith and will stay with you until youhave the complete victory! You have the sevenfreedoms you need to be victorious and pros-perous in every way. ❧

MARILYN HICKEY is known for herextraordinary teaching gift. For more onher ministry, see “Meet Our Authors” (p.7).

G O I N G D E E P E R

For further study on this topic:Cries From the Cross

by Erwin W. Lutzer (Moody)How to Live Through a Bad Day

by Jack Hayford (Thomas Nelson)The Cross of Jesus

by Warren W. Wiersbe (Baker)To get connected with us, visit SpiritLed Woman

online at www.spiritledwoman.com.

YOU LOVEBECAUSE IT INSPIRED YOU TO RADICALLY CHANGE YOUR WORLD. NOW YOU LOVE YOUR WORLD BECAUSE INSPIRED A RADICAL CHANGE IN YOU.

800-749-6500

GO PRINTCHARISMAMAG.COM/GOPRINT

OR